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.

 

[Reynard]

I really don't like that art.

I like it as a way for the game to establish its own identity and take on the subject.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I like it as a way for the game to establish its own identity and take on the subject.

I just don't like Lara Croft pushed into the background in the art for her own RPG .

 

[Abstruse]

I just don't like Lara Croft pushed into the background in the art for her own RPG .

RPGs by their nature are ensemble pieces. So it's a team of tomb raiders not just Lara Croft. Which is why she's looming over the others in the photo - she's the centerpiece and inspiration, but they're their own people doing their own adventures.

 

[SteveC]

RPGs by their nature are ensemble pieces. So it's a team of tomb raiders not just Lara Croft. Which is why she's looming over the others in the photo - she's the centerpiece and inspiration, but they're their own people doing their own adventures.

When you have a license like Tomb Raider, you have one of the most recognizable characters in popular culture. People who have never heard of Evil Hat or RPGs know who Laura Croft is. And, with the recent Avatar game, we've seen that people who are interested in the IP will pick up a game.

So we have a bunch of unknown and unremarkable characters dominating the picture. From the picture, I have little idea that this is even a Tomb Raider game. Now, of course, it says Tomb Raider in big letters, but when you have one of the world's most distinctive looking characters, they shouldn't be hidden.

I'm not saying the art is bad, but rather it doesn't sell the product. Of course this is just my opinion, okay? I'm just saying that if I didn't know who Evil Hat was, I would have zero interest in picking up this game to look at.

 

[Reynard]

When you have a license like Tomb Raider, you have one of the most recognizable characters in popular culture. People who have never heard of Evil Hat or RPGs know who Laura Croft. And, with the recent Avatar game, we've seen that people who are interested in the IP will pick up a game.

So we have a bunch of unknown and unremarkable characters dominating the picture. From the picture, I have little idea that this is even a Tomb Raider game. Now, of course, it says Tomb Raider in big letters, but when you have one of the world's most distinctive looking characters, they shouldn't be hidden.

I'm not saying the art is bad, but rather it doesn't sell the product. Of course this is just my opinion, okay? I'm just saying that if I didn't know who Evil Hat was, I would have zero interest in picking up this game to look at.

I'm not sure where you are coming from: there is a giant picture of Lara Croft front and center on the cover, right under the title.

 

[SteveC]

'm not sure where you are coming from: there is a giant picture of Lara Croft front and center on the cover, right under the title.

You have half of Laura obscured by a group of random people that I've never heard of. I'm not sure how that's complicated. I think the art style is very much Evil Hat, and I'm sure people who know them will likely be interested in the game. I'm not sure how that's going to translate to the video game fans in general, but maybe that's not the point. I hope it does.

 

[evilhat]

I like it as a way for the game to establish its own identity and take on the subject.

RPGs by their nature are ensemble pieces. So it's a team of tomb raiders not just Lara Croft. Which is why she's looming over the others in the photo - she's the centerpiece and inspiration, but they're their own people doing their own adventures.

These folks get it!

The owners of the IP (Crystal Dynamics) wanted original/ensemble characters to be foregrounded—while it's possible for someone to play (one of several possible versions of) Lara, assuming you have 2 or more players at your table, that only addresses one person, and some groups won't want the burden/responsibility of playing a canon character. It makes sense to give a visual proposal of what an ensemble team would look like.

But we did agree that Lara should be there too, so she is; looming larger than life, providing inspiration for the team, and in a position where she's got their backs. (And when generating the concept, I also insisted on a return to her signature dual-pistols presentation.)

The whole process took several months, with me generating the concept, getting CD's sign-off on that, working with CD to determine when was a good time to start pursuing the artwork ahead of the announcement and with their approvals process in mind, finding an artist, working with them through concept sketch, pencils, color flats, final rendering (each step looping through CD to make sure we were headed in a direction they wanted for the cover, which at some stages meant multiple rounds of revision), and then doing the graphic design compositing of the cover and 3d mockup, which also had a few rounds of revision-feedback loop with CD, right up to the week before the announcement.

I get that the result isn't to everyone's taste — that'd be impossible — but it's doing what it was intended to do, very deliberately.

 

[evilhat]

You have half of Laura obscured by a group of random people that I've never heard of.

Two of them are fan favorite supporting characters from the video games. Jonah from the Survivor trilogy; Amanda from Legend/Underworld.

Also, it's Lara. Not Laura.

So...

 

[SteveC]

Two of them are fan favorite supporting characters from the series. Jonah from the Survivor trilogy; Amanda from Legend/Underworld.

Also, it's Lara. Not Laura.

Ah, so +1 pedantic point for you. You really showed me! Good luck with your game.

 

[evilhat]

Ah, so +1 pedantic point for you. You really showed me! Good luck with your game.

I was more pointing out that you're critiquing something on its fidelity to the IP while showing little evidence of an understanding of who's from that IP. The Laura/Lara thing is a footnote to that, not the main point—clearly.