Tomb Raider Licensed RPG Announced by Evil Hat Publishing

Evil Hat Publishing, makers of FATE and Blades in the Dark, have announced an officially licensed RPG based on the Tomb Raider video game franchise starring the iconic character Lara Croft.

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From the announcement:

Explore hidden tombs and uncover powerful secrets! Defy danger as you race to discover forgotten artifacts and prevent nefarious forces from exploiting them! Race to unearth secret artifacts and forgotten truths in order to save them from the nefarious forces that would exploit them!

Mystery awaits, and sometimes, the answers we seek can only be found in shadow…

In this officially licensed tabletop RPG you play members of the Truth Seekers: contemporaries of Lara Croft who strive to reveal long-hidden knowledge and thwart those who would steal and exploit artifacts for their own gains. It is a game of action, exploration, and self-discovery. Face perilous challenges and tough choices as you learn what it takes to be a hero.

Tomb Raider: Shadows of Truth requires 3-6 players, pencils, paper, the rulebook, and at least six 6-sided dice in order to play.

Your group will collectively create their Team using one of the Team Playbooks and then build individual Team members choosing from the Crafter, Scholar, Hunter, Companion, Legacy, Changed, and Reclaimer. One player, the Keeper of Truths, describes the dynamic and compelling world around the Team as they all make the connections which bring the adventure to life.

Collect Truths and draw upon your Maps, Aid, and Lore to boost your rolls as you race to enter the Final Tomb!

The Truth is hidden. The Truth is dangerous. And in the end, the power of Truth is what we make it.

Based on the hit franchise from Crystal Dynamics, Tomb Raider: Shadows of Truth will be a 8.5 x 11 full-color hardcover containing rules, advice, and adventures for both Seekers and Keepers alike. Currently under development in-house at Evil Hat, a public playtest will launch soon and crowdfunding in service of its production is expected in 2025.

To stay tuned to further announcements about the game, including the upcoming playtest, make sure to join the Society of Raiders on the official franchise website here.

Though there hasn't been a new video game in the Tomb Raider franchise since 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider, developer Aspyr recently released a remaster of the first three games, Tomb Raider I-III Remaster on PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series S/X, and Nintendo Switch earlier this month. The only other official tabletop RPG for the Tomb Raider franchise was 2023's Lara Croft's Mark of the Phoenix released as free PDF on the Crystal Dynamics website.

As part of the promotion for the Tomb Raider: Shadows of Truth announcement, Evil Hat has provided a coupon for 20% off of any of their games with the code ENTERTHETOMB during checkout from the Evil Hat store.

 

[evilhat]

I appreciate the mod note, but I just want to say, it's all good here. I get where their concerns were coming from and why some of my responses didn't land as well as they could have. I'm not scared off!

 

[Reynard]

Cover issues aside, I am very interested to see how the system marries PbtA and FitD elements.

 

[Nikosandros]

Cover issues aside, I am very interested to see how the system marries PbtA and FitD elements.

That's intriguing for me as well. I'll admit that I have very little experience with PbtA, but I've played some Blades in the Dark.

 

[evilhat]

To give a brisk preview ahead of folks playtesting it: The biggest influence (IMO; I'm not Rae) will be seen in the use of Forged-style dice. "Standard" 2d6 PBTA with fixed numeric bonuses tends to have a narrower band of uncertainty (so to speak) — once you've got a +3 to a roll, you're on average gonna score a 10+ which, while a success, also tends to be a lot less interesting (story/action wise) than a 7-9 "mixed' result. In my own playtesting experience I tend to see Forged dice as giving a more dynamic feel that doesn't get unpleasantly predictable when folks manage to stack the numbers up. But beyond dice, sharp eyes may also spot how the idea of risk positioning plays into the different phases of play, and the effect that has on what sorts of moves are on offer during those phases. And then there's the Crew-like role that the Team playbooks occupy in the design.

n.b., Rae solved the "predictability" challenge in a different way in Apocalypse Keys, which is worth checking out too; there, the middle result is success, with the high result being too much success, bringing consequences. (That's been seen in other PBTA games as well, of course, but AK doesn't stop there.)

 

[Autumnal]

Great. Now I HAVE to write and run a convention game called Across the Laraverse.

Crisis on Infinite Laras
Lara’s Secret Wars

Fred: does the discount code on the website apply to ebooks as well?

Also, I am once again a little in awe of your skill at dealing with the public. I had to sit on my hands so often to keep myself from writing something stupid and trouble-making.

 

[evilhat]

Crisis on Infinite Laras
Lara’s Secret Wars

The TRCU MultiLaraVerse...

Fred: does the discount code on the website apply to ebooks as well?

I didn't do the requesting/setup with that code, that was my marketing/web folks, but the logline I'm seeing for that config reads "we are doing 20% off all non-sale items (print and PDF) as part of the TR announcement. Coupon code ENTERTHETOMB, through March 31."

Also, I am once again a little in awe of your skill at dealing with the public. I had to sit on my hands so often to keep myself from writing something stupid and trouble-making.

And here I was upbraiding myself for bobbling the ball earlier. But I've been fully or nearly-fully off of social media for four years, so the batteries are a bit recharged in that respect (and I'm sticking to better focused venues like RPG forums during this limited toe-dip).

 

[Autumnal]

Thanks!

 

[Aldarc]

Edit: Saw the mod note.