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.

 

[Zarithar]

They lost me the moment they stuck a woman with running blades on her legs on the cover. If they'd cared enough to spend five minutes researching the actual disability they would have easily discovered that running blades are only useful for, wait for it, running. Specifically running on a hard even surface with good traction. They are awful for everything else, and especially for clambering around in a ruin in the jungle. An actual prosthetic for that would have feet on it, because feet are important for things like standing and walking. The fact that they did not do that bare minimum research was enough to clearly tell me that they were the sort of people who viewed disabled people as a checkbox to flaunt for their product and not someone to be supporting.

That was my impression as well. Performative inclusivity at its finest. No thanks.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

I really wish that folks that license these IPs would quit thinking that they need to design Yet Another RPG Rule System(YARPGRS). Instead do something like Powered By GURPS and put a brief note in the front of your Core book that says 'To use this product, you also need access to <rule book name>.' Now most of your book can be spent on describing how Tomb Raiding works instead of being YARPGRS. Don't like GURPS? Paizo is a fair way down the path of having a universal d20 system between PF2 and SF2 and how they are interoperable with each other. Mongoose seems to be doing the same thing with their Traveller system.

I could see a Tomb Raider game world set 10 years after the events in the movies and game where Lara Croft has used her family wealth to create a Croft Explorations Inc and you are one of the folks "Working for Lara Croft". Avoids the problem of there can be only one Lara and everyone else is a sidekick.

As a big GURPS fan I get your argument but when I look at this from a new gamer perspective just picking up Tomb Raider, if I were to then have to buy a bunch of FATE books to play it.....I simply wouldn't. Some games do benefit from including the rules (even GURPS does this on occasion.)

 

[Reynard]

As a big GURPS fan I get your argument but when I look at this from a new gamer perspective just picking up Tomb Raider, if I were to then have to buy a bunch of FATE books to play it.....I simply wouldn't. Some games do benefit from including the rules (even GURPS does this on occasion.)

In fact, I would say any license meant to pull people to GURPS was released with at least the GURPS Lite rules built in.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

In fact, I would say any license meant to pull people to GURPS was released with at least the GURPS Lite rules built in.

Exactly. GURPS did this with Transhunan Space, WWII, Hellboy, Dungeons Fantasy, Traveller (iirc), and a few others I dont recall atm.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

Exactly. GURPS did this with Transhunan Space, WWII, Hellboy, Dungeons Fantasy, Traveller (iirc), and a few others I dont recall atm.

PS238, may it rest in peace.

 

[Ulfgeir]

Exactly. GURPS did this with Transhunan Space, WWII, Hellboy, Dungeons Fantasy, Traveller (iirc), and a few others I dont recall atm.

And Girl Genius.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

And Discworld GURPS, I believe.

 

[Epic Meepo]

They lost me the moment they stuck a woman with running blades on her legs on the cover. If they'd cared enough to spend five minutes researching the actual disability they would have easily discovered that running blades are only useful for, wait for it, running. Specifically running on a hard even surface with good traction. They are awful for everything else, and especially for clambering around in a ruin in the jungle. An actual prosthetic for that would have feet on it, because feet are important for things like standing and walking. The fact that they did not do that bare minimum research was enough to clearly tell me that they were the sort of people who viewed disabled people as a checkbox to flaunt for their product and not someone to be supporting.

Maybe their research consisted of watching the movie Kingsman: The Secret Service. One of the characters in that movie was all about unrealistic running blade physics. (It's not a movie I'd recommend, so feel free to take my word for it and save yourself two hours which could be better spent doing something else.)