Mongoose New License

[Neo]

bigger than bond... that'd be AUSTIN POWERS BABEEEE YEAH!

My money is on Starship Troopers..though if it isnt I'm sure it will be something else I like

Alien/Predator (or both) RPG
Wing Commander RPG
Battlestar Galactica (though i know it isnt this)
Terminator (though i know it isnt this)
Resident Evil (though i know it isnt this)
Final Fantasy (though i know it isnt this)
Tomb Raider RPG

all have a sony/movie/computer game/book linkage and id be quite happy with any of them...

But other clues given were "think WH40k", which is very much dark, gothic sci fi with masses of troops and vehicles (aliens and starship troopers both could fit this for different reasons).

As stated for it to be a might armies game it has to be something that armies would make sense in (again starship troopers.. and aliens with marines, corporates, aliens etc.. but not seen in huge armies).

Then the various individual comments said (some of which were tied in to Starship Troopers), though one about not everyone making it back I guess could be attributed to either Aliens or Starship Troopers.

So for my money i'd say one of these two..and i'd put my money on Starship Troopers.

of course i coudl well have added 2 + 2 and come up with 59... I guess only time will tell

 

[Bendris Noulg]

I'm wondering, what is Black Company (that somebody attributed to Green Ronin). I would think if this Mongoose license supposed to be something big the non geeks should recognize it too.

That was me...

(The Chronicles of...) The Black Company is a series of books by Glen Cook about, well, "The" Black Company, last of the Free Companies of Khatavor (think I spelled that wrong...). It is everything you had described in the "cool campaign ideas" thread: bleak, grim, no real metaplot (except for politics, of course), but a chance of hope if the right people win the battle (which were usually large-scale national conflicts). Focuses mostly on the life of mercenaries, being pawns of political intrigue within a sorcerous regime, and the fact that the good people in the world usually don't leave the farm (for obvious reasons). I've gotten more inspiration from it than from any other series, including Lord of the Rings (if I got anything from Tolkein, it's the drive for detail). Hell, I've gotten more from it than I have a lot of supplements.

And if Chris & company mess it up, I'll come down on them harder than I've ever came down on WotC.

Seriously , I have the utmost faith in GR on this... There really are only a few companies I would have been happy with getting the license, and GR is one of them... Although, with what I've seen of Slain and Conan, I would have been happy with Mongoose as well. I would have trusted Bastion with it, but they are doing what they clearly do best already, so I'm happy they're not getting distracted from Oathbound and general supplements. I'm just happy that it's in the hands of someone that's not going to treat it like "D&D with a dark paint job".

Anyhow, to point...

Yeah, I'm going to parrot the call for Starship Troopers. The movie was slick and the book was excellent.

Indiana Jones would be cool, too, but I don't know if WotC inhereted that license from TSR or if it expired long ago.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Is Starship Troopers really considered 'bigger' than Dune?

Bigger? No. However, the premise of Dune is kinda deep and difficult to translate into an RPG. Really, take your pick:

Evolution vs Genetic Engineering vs Selective Breeding vs God's Own Plan

or

Emotions vs Religion vs Politics

or

Industry vs Ecology

or

Free Will vs Predestiny

Shall I go on?

But here's the biggest problem with Dune as an RPG: How do you balance it? There was no doubt at all that the Fremen were the ultimate fighting force, with but a handful taking down squads of the Emporer's elite Saudekar. Do you make the Fremen as powerful as they were, making them "broken" in modern gamer-speak, or do you balance them and tick-off the literary fans? And how on earth would you balance the "Hand of God" or even the God Emporer himself?

So, yeah, a Dune RPG is possible (I've seen one, in fact, and WotC had a license but dumped the project, and there's a GURPS fanbook I've seen floating online), but it's got too many issues that don't fit well in todays gaming market, both in theme and character power.

If you're looking for the flavor of Dune in a d20 game, look into Fading Suns (Holistic Designs). It's not exact, but the feel of the setting (so far in the future that Earth is a half-forgotten myth and religious themes proliferate the universe) is in the same vein. Its non-d20 version is well supported, so the material's there if you don't mind converting from one system to the other.

 

[Kichwas]

Isn't Glen Cook an RPG writer?

That actually does not sound like the kind of stuff I described as interesting to me.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Isn't Glen Cook an RPG writer?

You mean Monte Cook?

That actually does not sound like the kind of stuff I described as interesting to me.

My bad... That was Buttercup.

Low magic, uncaring gods, yet still a spark of hope. With no metaplot at all. A world plunged in a dark age, but that has hope for a renaissance some day. Good maps. Lots of good maps. I like to see different cultures, especially if they despise each other.

Oh, and if there aren't any elves or gnomes, that's a huge plus.

But, still, I answered your question anyway.

 

[thalmin]

And so ends the debate, Starship Troopers it is. See this announcement

 

[Mirth]

How is Starship Troopers bigger than Bond?!? WTF?!?

 

[TheAuldGrump]

How is Starship Troopers bigger than Bond?!? WTF?!?

Box office receipts.
Television show.
Special effects.

Take your pick. I like Bond (well, Connery Bond) better than Starship Troopers, but I would have to say that it is a bigger (not better) license.

My own guess of course would be Spawn of Fashan D20 - Heroic Roleplay in the Lands of West Where Melvin is Standing Now!

The Auld Grump

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Eh... Not getting my $ on this one.

I was hoping for something that was a big deal. This just isn't it. Oh well.

 

[Mirth]

Box office receipts.
Television show.
Special effects.

Take your pick. I like Bond (well, Connery Bond) better than Starship Troopers, but I would have to say that it is a bigger (not better) license.

My own guess of course would be Spawn of Fashan D20 - Heroic Roleplay in the Lands of West Where Melvin is Standing Now!

The Auld Grump

I dunno. I find it hard to believe that one movie and a TV show beat out the receipts of all of the Bond movies put together. Add in DVD and book sales and I'd say Bond walks all over Troopers.

Definitely a case of overhype IMNSHO.

Mirth