dougmander
Explorer
Rock Opera '79. The RPG of rock and rebellion in a campy dystopian retro-future.
In the distant future of 1979, can you overthrow the evil Discocracy and restore rock’s right to rule?
Imagine your favorite rock band of all time. Better yet, a supergroup with stars from legendary acts that never had the chance to jam together in real life. Now imagine you and your friends are in that band. And you’re starring in a dystopic, science-fiction rock opera, where rock is outlawed and disco music is used to keep the population docile and distracted.
Your PC belongs to one of the four tribes of rock: glam, funk, prog, or metal. Each one has its own society and unique rock powers. Your stats are determined by your chosen star sign: Chops, Heart, Mojo, and Muscle.
You’ll start from the bottom of the heap, and go head-to-head in rock rumbles with rival outlaw bands, competing for fans. One moment you’re screaming down Highway 9 on your chopper bikes, guitars slung over your back. The next moment, you’re taking the stage in a dive bar to duke it out with another hungry rock act. With some airplay from pirate radio and an army of fans, you could take on the Discocracy and liberate the masses. But the shadowy Man in charge of the opposition has a fiendish array of minions to throw at you, from android spies to ham-fisted bouncers and sexy sirens. If it happened in a classic rock opera or in your favorite 70s dystopian science fiction flick, it’s here!
The game mechanic is based around stacking dice. Add to your stack to access a cool power, but keep in mind that your opponents can force you to add dice to your stack too. If your stack tumbles, the feedback could drive away your fans! Fans are like XP, you win them from a pool of fan tokens and every time you add 100 new fans you level up, gaining a stat point, a posse member, and cool swag like a chopper, effects pedal, or stage fx.
The PDF rulebook includes a detailed gazetteer, two incredible full-color maps, stats for rival rock bands and minions, and a full-on rock opera, "Down in the Bemusement Park", plus premises for further adventures in outer space and on the mean streets of Highway 9. All you need to play are lots of d6s of similar size and weight.
This game is not my first rodeo. I'm the author and illustrator of Northern Crown: New World Adventures (Atlas Games 2005) and Dungeonteller (2015). I hope you'll check out Rock Opera '79 and feel free to ask questions in this thread.
Doug
In the distant future of 1979, can you overthrow the evil Discocracy and restore rock’s right to rule?
Imagine your favorite rock band of all time. Better yet, a supergroup with stars from legendary acts that never had the chance to jam together in real life. Now imagine you and your friends are in that band. And you’re starring in a dystopic, science-fiction rock opera, where rock is outlawed and disco music is used to keep the population docile and distracted.
Your PC belongs to one of the four tribes of rock: glam, funk, prog, or metal. Each one has its own society and unique rock powers. Your stats are determined by your chosen star sign: Chops, Heart, Mojo, and Muscle.
You’ll start from the bottom of the heap, and go head-to-head in rock rumbles with rival outlaw bands, competing for fans. One moment you’re screaming down Highway 9 on your chopper bikes, guitars slung over your back. The next moment, you’re taking the stage in a dive bar to duke it out with another hungry rock act. With some airplay from pirate radio and an army of fans, you could take on the Discocracy and liberate the masses. But the shadowy Man in charge of the opposition has a fiendish array of minions to throw at you, from android spies to ham-fisted bouncers and sexy sirens. If it happened in a classic rock opera or in your favorite 70s dystopian science fiction flick, it’s here!
The game mechanic is based around stacking dice. Add to your stack to access a cool power, but keep in mind that your opponents can force you to add dice to your stack too. If your stack tumbles, the feedback could drive away your fans! Fans are like XP, you win them from a pool of fan tokens and every time you add 100 new fans you level up, gaining a stat point, a posse member, and cool swag like a chopper, effects pedal, or stage fx.
The PDF rulebook includes a detailed gazetteer, two incredible full-color maps, stats for rival rock bands and minions, and a full-on rock opera, "Down in the Bemusement Park", plus premises for further adventures in outer space and on the mean streets of Highway 9. All you need to play are lots of d6s of similar size and weight.
This game is not my first rodeo. I'm the author and illustrator of Northern Crown: New World Adventures (Atlas Games 2005) and Dungeonteller (2015). I hope you'll check out Rock Opera '79 and feel free to ask questions in this thread.
Doug
