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.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Probably because 5e sucks and they were likely hoping to get enough people with functional brains to try a superior system...any superior system.

But alas, the sheep only buy what they're told by the paid promoters.

Mod Note:

At ENWorld, we expect members to engage in polite discussion with their fellow members and to generally be civil to one another, even when they disagree. Odds are good that introducing yourself here by broadly insulting D&D 5Ed fans is going to be taken personally by someone here, resulting in possible attention from the moderators.

Et voilà!

Going forward, if you’re going to disagree with someone, please don’t do so in a disagreeable fashion. Be civil, or be removed.

 

[aramis erak]

Part of the fun of TTRPGs is the players rewriting the canon to add their own ideas, no matter how crazy they are. My intention was never a KP 2.0. but something more family-friendly and focused into comedy, like a sci-fi version of magical girls/mahou shojo.
I am talking about some optional rule for humans workings as Transfomers' sidekicks, in a way like familiar for wizards.

Let's imagine this idea for a campaign. The world is a dystopia ruled by Cobra (secretly controlled by an alien cult from the shadows). Then a group of teen girls (Emily Anders, Kelsey Ace, Lily Parker, April Swanson and Chloe Rose) find a shinning crystal. These are cybertronian sparks, and the great surprise is thanks these some vehicles become the reincarnation of autobots. Now our little group of brave heroines have got a blessed power that allow them to start a rebelion against the Cobra distopian dictatorship. (OMG! I have just mixed George Orwell's "1984", G.I.Joe, Pretty Cure Glitter Force and Transfomers!!)

Magic is canon in Transformers universe but not used by Cybertronians.

My suggestion for Power Rangers is this like a portal fantasy. The difference is here PCs can choose the time to face the villains. Let's imagine an attack of foot minions when the heroes are in weeks of the final tests. Maybe the scriptwritters of the TV show wouldn't dare but some Game-Masters would do.

That´s far from universally held. What I´ve seen over the last 35 years of online discussions (yes, usenet in 91; technically wwivnet, too) Mash-ups are not appreciated by most of the fandoms' members; a small, vocal subset think them great, and most others think them reasons to quit a campaign; with a small margin of don´t mind types.

Star Trek and Star Wars both have had long and heated discussions of mash-ups... and the fans who liked them always get shouted down... at least until it appears in canonical materials.

 

[overgeeked]

Far too many 5E fan refuse to even try anything else. That's the core of the problem. So either the whole of the "industry" caters to them or withers and dies. Yay, capitalism. Best case scenario they either finally get tired of that system in another decade or leave the hobby so the rest of us can get back to playing other games again.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Far too many 5E fan refuse to even try anything else. That's the core of the problem. So either the whole of the "industry" caters to them or withers and dies. Yay, capitalism. Best case scenario they either finally get tired of that system in another decade or leave the hobby so the rest of us can get back to playing other games again.

What precisely is stopping you playing other games right now?

 

[overgeeked]

What precisely is stopping you playing other games right now?

Too many people obsessed with 5E and unwilling to try anything else. I know plenty of gamers. None of them will play anything but 5E. I've repeatedly done the VTT thing looking for people. On the off chance something does start, the players immediately start complaining it's not 5E and the game folds. I've repeatedly done the play-by-post thing looking for people. It's a repeat of my VTT experience, only it takes longer. So what precisely is stopping me from playing other games right now? 5E players who refuse to even try any other system.

 

[beta-ray]

Wow that took a turn.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Far too many 5E fan refuse to even try anything else. That's the core of the problem. So either the whole of the "industry" caters to them or withers and dies. Yay, capitalism.

C’mon now, that’s not “capitalism”, that’s just a heavily skewed market preference.

The other games can do just fine; they just can’t expect to be huge.

What precisely is stopping you playing other games right now?

Too many people obsessed with 5E and unwilling to try anything else. I know plenty of gamers. None of them will play anything but 5E.

I went through similar experiences with prior editions. My main group for more than 20 years played 2Ed, 3Ed, and 4Ed D&D, 1 failed RIFTS campaign, and one similarly failed Mutants & Mastered campaign.

They were initially very enthusiastic about my plan to to a campaign based on the MtG setting, but bailed as soon as I announced it was going to be done in HERO.

 

[R_J_K75]

They were initially very enthusiastic about my plan to to a campaign based on the MtG setting, but bailed as soon as I announced it was going to be done in HERO.

My guess is that for most people who are not hardcore gamers, D&D/d20/5E is the most accessible. I'd say I'm neither a casual gamer nor am I a hardcore gamer, but somewhere in the middle. I've played games other than D&D but they were usually pretty D&D and d20 based adjacent except for a few d6 systems. In my experience I've had very limited success trying other games outside of D&D/d20. Any deviance from them lasts very short and we always come back to D&D/d20.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

My guess is that for most people who are not hardcore gamers, D&D/d20/5E is the most accessible.

There’s a truth to that, but it wasn’t the dynamic in the group I mentioned- in fact, it was kind of topsy turvy. Most were veteran gamers. The guy who was down for anything was essentially a casual/noob.

The group I was in prior to that was mainly D&D, GURPS & HERO vets, with the latter two being the primaries. It was also the group in which I played the most different systems overall: more than 50, including a couple of playtests.

 

[R_J_K75]

t was also the group in which I played the most different systems overall: more than 50, including a couple of playtests.

Wow, 50 that's a lot. If I had to guess I think Ive played maybe 10 systems total. But the groups I've played with usually start with D&D and venture out for a system or two, then circle back. I can't remember the last time I gamed. Might've been last November, February, I honestly can't remember when or what we last played, but I got harangued into playing a D&D 2024 Dark Sun campaign the first Monday in July.