Renegade announces new editions of Transformers, GI Joe, and Power Rangers RPGs, using D&D 5.5E instead of Essence20

Renegade is ending support for its Essence20 game system, in favor of Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E. Today, Renegade announced it was planning on publishing new editions of its Transformers, GI Joe, and Power Rangers RPG systems. However, the new editions will not use the bespoke Essence20 game system created by Renegade. Instead, the new editions will use a modified version of Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E. Renegade will also release Essence20 to 5.5E conversion guides for free on their website at a later date. Update: Renegade said on their Discord that they were ending support for E20 releases because sales were insufficient to continue with the system.

Renegade will release a BackerKit crowdfunding campaign for the new games, with Transformers and GI Joe running first and a Power Rangers BackerKit coming at a later time.

The Essence20 line seems to have been popular for Renegade, as they've been publishing content for all three licensed properties (as well as My Little Pony) since 2022. All three properties are licensed by Hasbro, which of course also owns Wizards of the Coast, the maker of Dungeons & Dragons. One could speculate that Hasbro could have pushed for a change to their big games system, but one could also argue that Renegade is looking to expand their playerbase by switching from a bespoke game system to a system with a massive existing playerbase.

 

[Reef]

Funny were just the opposite. Is EDH pretty self-contained? I wasn't interested in movie IPs it adapted for modules/supplements.

The core book is self contained. And they released a separate book that collected all the mechanical changes from the movie modules, without the fluff. So you could get the new classes, rules, etc. without having to buy each one if you weren't interested.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I’m shocked…shocked, I say…that someone making a TTRPG of a licensed property chooses to follow the money.

Creativity and game design should still matter.

 

[Belen]

The core book is self contained. And they released a separate book that collected all the mechanical changes from the movie modules, without the fluff. So you could get the new classes, rules, etc. without having to buy each one if you weren't interested.

In fact, they lost most of those licenses. You can no longer buy them anyway so the companion book it worth it.

 

[chuckdee]

So while they may be switching due to popularity now, the question then becomes why they created their own system back in 2020/21 instead of using 5e back then already.

Because they had faith in their bespoke system + IP == success, when that formula doesn't really work. Essence20 was a pretty bland system IMO. It did have its upsides, which is why I'm sad to see yet another IP fold into DD5e, but it wasn't different enough to make it a must have. I did like the focus on not making HP a huge amount, however. It made combat go faster once you could get your strategies in place, unlike D&D where it doesn't matter as much if you make mistakes.

 

[chuckdee]

In fact, they lost most of those licenses. You can no longer buy them anyway so the companion book it worth it.

I didn't hear that. Was it to do with the kerfluffle? Or something else?

 

[Stormonu]

I didn't hear that. Was it to do with the kerfluffle? Or something else?

Evil Genius pretty much self-exploded due to the actions of the CEO and his support of ...gah, can't remember the name of it, but essentially virtual items with a bitchain like bitcoin. His employees quit over it (and I suspect other workplace issues).

 

[mamba]

Creativity and game design should still matter.

the two are not mutually exclusive, you can be creative while using 5.5 as your base

 

[mamba]

Because they had faith in their bespoke system + IP == success, when that formula doesn't really work. Essence20 was a pretty bland system IMO. It did have its upsides, which is why I'm sad to see yet another IP fold into DD5e, but it wasn't different enough to make it a must have. I did like the focus on not making HP a huge amount, however. It made combat go faster once you could get your strategies in place, unlike D&D where it doesn't matter as much if you make mistakes.

you can have lower HP classes in 5e as well, you do not need a separate system for that.

Clearly they thought their system would be a better fit and sell well enough. Guess we will see whether switching to 5.5 helps with sales or just creates a short uptick. If it still doesn’t work, maybe the IP just is not that attractive

 

[Belen]

I didn't hear that. Was it to do with the kerfluffle? Or something else?

No clue but it seemed to happen pretty quickly and before the blockchain garbage.

They are still putting out regular content through their version of DDB.

 

[Belen]

you can have lower HP classes in 5e as well, you do not need a separate system for that.

Clearly they thought their system would be a better fit and sell well enough. Guess we will see whether switching to 5.5 helps with sales or just creates a short uptick. If it still doesn’t work, maybe the IP just is not that attractive

They seem to be trying to expand the audience through more licenses and one-off books.