Free League Announces Blade Runner TTRPG for 2022

Free League has announced a Blade Runner RPG, set for a 2022 launch. The game is set between the two movies, and uses Free League’s Year Zero Engine.

This follows on from the Swedish publisher’s recent successful Aliens RPG, and a million dollar The One Ring Kickstarter.

The official Blade Runner RPG will propel players into the streets of Los Angeles as Blade Runners with unique specialties, personalities – and memories.

The core game and its line of expansions will push the boundaries of investigative gameplay in tabletop RPGs, giving players a range of tools to solve an array of cases far beyond retiring Replicants. Beyond the core casework, the RPG will both in setting and mechanics showcase key themes of Blade Runner – sci-fi action, corporate intrigue, existential character drama, and moral conflict – that challenge players to question your friends, empathize with your enemies, and explore the poisons and perseverance of hope and humanity during such inhumane times.

The rules of the game are based on the acclaimed Year Zero Engine, used in award-winning games such as the ALIEN RPG, Tales From the Loop and Forbidden Lands, but further developed and uniquely tailored for Blade Runner.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

What? Soldier is in this universe?!? I didn’t know that!

Only if you desperately want it to be. The writer, who co-wrote Blade Runner, said it is, and there are some passing easter egg-ish things, but it's not like there was a steward of the Blade Runner IP who was going to shut him down at the time. It's mostly brought up now by people who get overly excited about connecting non-existent dots (you know the type, the ones who swear all the Pixar movies are connected because of bad YouTube videos on the subject) or by that rarest and saddest of creatures...fans of 1998's Soldier.

 

[univoxs]

Only if you desperately want it to be. The writer, who co-wrote Blade Runner, said it is, and there are some passing easter egg-ish things, but it's not like there was a steward of the Blade Runner IP who was going to shut him down at the time. It's mostly brought up now by people who get overly excited about connecting non-existent dots (you know the type, the ones who swear all the Pixar movies are connected because of bad YouTube videos on the subject) or by that rarest and saddest of creatures...fans of 1998's Soldier.

Best canon is head canon.

 

[darjr]

Only if you desperately want it to be. The writer, who co-wrote Blade Runner, said it is, and there are some passing easter egg-ish things, but it's not like there was a steward of the Blade Runner IP who was going to shut him down at the time. It's mostly brought up now by people who get overly excited about connecting non-existent dots (you know the type, the ones who swear all the Pixar movies are connected because of bad YouTube videos on the subject) or by that rarest and saddest of creatures...fans of 1998's Soldier.

You’ve been spying on me, haven’t you?

 

[wellis]

If there's a way to connect an Aliens RPG with this new RPG...

Because, technically...they are the same world...but a century apart.

Add in Soldier and the trilogy will be complete.

I know of the Soldier connection but what is the Aliens connection (other than Ridley Scott I mean)?

 

[Minicol]

Have they said anything new about ALIEN ?

 

[schneeland]

Have they said anything new about ALIEN ?

I remember something about a new cinematic module coming from the last community update. But the next one should be in a couple of days (on their Youtube channel) - I'm sure they'll mention upcoming stuff if there's something to announce.

 

[dragoner]

I know of the Soldier connection but what is the Aliens connection (other than Ridley Scott I mean)?

Someone said you can see the Sulaco (the ship from Aliens) in BR 2049, when they are taking Deckard off world.

 

[wellis]

That feels a little flimsy for a connection. It's like daying because you saw the Millennium Falcon in the background of a Star Trek movie or episode, that the two settings are connected.

 

[dragoner]

That feels a little flimsy for a connection. It's like daying because you saw the Millennium Falcon in the background of a Star Trek movie or episode, that the two settings are connected.

Sure, though I have heard that Ridley Scott says they are in the same universe. It isn't that rigorous, however. I mean, they all just make it up as they go along.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

That feels a little flimsy for a connection. It's like daying because you saw the Millennium Falcon in the background of a Star Trek movie or episode, that the two settings are connected.

This, 100 percent.

It's not like these settings are hard to mash together at will. Could easily do a Blade Runner game featuring Alien-style synthetics as competition for replicants, and also have Predators show up, etc. etc. Just do whatever you want. But pretending this stuff is canon, or needing canon to be an excuse for doing the game you're interested in doing, seems a little pointless.