Tomb Raider RPG Cancelled For Creative Differences

Evil Hat Publishing has just announced that the official Tomb Raider TTRPG has been cancelled.

Sad news: We are canceling the Tomb Raider RPG project. Due to creative differences we couldn’t get our vision to gel with the licensor’s, so we've chosen to part ways.

The stellar team designing this game put their hearts into making this an exciting, dynamic RPG of adventure and exploration.

We're proud of the work they've done and we plan to retool the project as a standalone game with a fresh, original setting.

You haven’t seen the last of it.

An official Tomb Raider RPG was originally announced by Square Enix in 2021 for the 25th anniversary of the property. 2023's Lara Croft's Mark of the Phoenix released as free PDF on the Crystal Dynamics website.

The Evil Hat version was announced in February 2024 as a full-color hardback book. The plan was to allow you to play Truth Seekers, allies and contemporaries of Lara Croft who Indiana Jones out hidden artifacts for the benefit of good.

Explore hidden tombs and uncover powerful secrets! Defy danger as you race to discover forgotten artifacts and prevent nefarious forces from exploiting them! Race to unearth secret artifacts and forgotten truths in order to save them from the nefarious forces that would exploit them!

Mystery awaits, and sometimes, the answers we seek can only be found in shadow…

In this officially licensed tabletop RPG you play members of the Truth Seekers: contemporaries of Lara Croft who strive to reveal long-hidden knowledge and thwart those who would steal and exploit artifacts for their own gains. It is a game of action, exploration, and self-discovery. Face perilous challenges and tough choices as you learn what it takes to be a hero.

Tomb Raider: Shadows of Truth requires 3-6 players, pencils, paper, the rulebook, and at least six 6-sided dice in order to play.

Your group will collectively create their Team using one of the Team Playbooks and then build individual Team members choosing from the Crafter, Scholar, Hunter, Companion, Legacy, Changed, and Reclaimer. One player, the Keeper of Truths, describes the dynamic and compelling world around the Team as they all make the connections which bring the adventure to life.

Collect Truths and draw upon your Maps, Aid, and Lore to boost your rolls as you race to enter the Final Tomb!

The Truth is hidden. The Truth is dangerous. And in the end, the power of Truth is what we make it.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

That's easy:
Tomb Savers
The PCs are part of a specialist team under a UNESCO-style organisation, who are tasked with finding and securing sites of cultural and historical significance to protect them from the likes of Jones, Croft, Drake and co.

You should drop a line to Evil Hat. The UNESCO-style organization is good, especially since -- in the real world -- it's being targeted by oligarchs and their supporters nowadays, which makes what they're doing even more important and heroic.

 

[agrayday]

I understand in certain industries/trades. if you are working on a product, and the agreement or product doesn't work out, you cannot use any of the processes, mechanics, or ideas during its creation in another product.
I would assume this isn't a common occurrence or typically done with Licensed RPG's, especially if sitting on top of another core system? I understand core licensed art, and names related to the IP cant be used of course.

 

[Morrus]

I understand in certain industries/trades. if you are working on a product, and the agreement or product doesn't work out, you cannot use any of the processes, mechanics, or ideas during its creation in another product.
I would assume this isn't a common occurrence or typically done with Licensed RPG's, especially if sitting on top of another core system? I understand core licensed art, and names related to the IP cant be used of course.

This is all just case-by-case depending on the contract/license. I don't imagine that powering a game with 5E or Fate or some other existing system would limit your ability to use that system in the future. I mean, I guess somebody could sign a contract saying that, but ... well, don't sign a contract saying that.

 

[John Lloyd1]

Just a note on the underlying system Evil Hat were using.

It doesn't seem to be using FATE. The character archetypes don't look like how you would wright one for FATE and refer to 'moves' which is not a FATE thing.

Evil Hat have been doing a lot of Powered by the Apocalypse and Blades in the Dark derived games recently. I'm not familiar with those, but I guess it would be of that lineage.

 

[The Firebird]

I remember there was a micro-blowup about the direction from some people online when this was announced. Probably the complaints you'd suspect, and probably for the reasons you suspect. That was over a year ago; seems a long time to keep it in development if it was that bad a match. The point being the non traditional direction was known back then.

That said, it could be a matter that either Evil Hat went harder than expected, or the people in charge at the licensor changed over the course of the project. Or maybe the vision for the Tomb Raider franchise (which has been aware of the harms to indigenous people in more recent games, per the article) has changed.

This seems reasonable to me. There is a limit to how much reinterpretation is feasible while making the license worthwhile.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Just a note on the underlying system Evil Hat were using.

It doesn't seem to be using FATE. The character archetypes don't look like how you would wright one for FATE and refer to 'moves' which is not a FATE thing.

Evil Hat have been doing a lot of Powered by the Apocalypse and Blades in the Dark derived games recently. I'm not familiar with those, but I guess it would be of that lineage.

The Rascal article said it was a PbtA derivative.

 

[grankless]

The article is beyond a paywall, but I wonder if the licensor was looking for something less political?

Rascal subscriptions are free. Their articles that are locked behind a paid subscription say so.

 

[Nikosandros]

Rascal subscriptions are free. Their articles that are locked behind a paid subscription say so.

Thanks, I didn't know that. Having read "subscription", I assumed it was a paid one.

 

[Nikosandros]

Just a note on the underlying system Evil Hat were using.

It doesn't seem to be using FATE. The character archetypes don't look like how you would wright one for FATE and refer to 'moves' which is not a FATE thing.

Evil Hat have been doing a lot of Powered by the Apocalypse and Blades in the Dark derived games recently. I'm not familiar with those, but I guess it would be of that lineage.

IIRC, some time ago, Evil Hat announced that they were moving away from FATE and toward PbtA and FitD.

 

[John Lloyd1]

IIRC, some time ago, Evil Hat announced that they were moving away from FATE and toward PbtA and FitD.

They announced they are going to do a Masters of Umdaar Kickstarter. But that has been the first one in a while.