What Licensed RPG Do You Wish Existed But Doesn't?

[humble minion]

Another vote for the Malazan books. Plus, Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt is absolutely crying out to be a D&D-like RPG setting. Kim Newman's Anno Dracula and/or Diogenes Club and/or Drearcliff Grange. Neal Asher's Prador books (the author is, sadly, a bit of a jerk, but the books are wonderfully gonzo). Django Wexler's Shadow Campaigns. SA Chakraborty's City of Brass. China Mieville's Bas-Lag.

 

[overgeeked]

There is a PODW rpg

Wow. Huh. I’ll have to investigate.

 

[The Shadow]

Ugh. No racist Sad Puppy nonsense.

The thread is about settings, not authors. I could say more, but that's also not relevant to the thread. If you wouldn't enjoy the setting, fine.

 

[Faolyn]

Neverwhere and Stardust both cry out to be RPG settings.

Neverwhere definitely. It's "dark fairy tale," but completely unlike any other dark fairy tale setting, even those that are urban in nature. I would love to see a setting based on that. Especially since it's so big, as the book states that basically every old city has a mirror version.

Actually, it might even be worth it to have a generic "Gaiman Faerie Tale" system, since so much of what he writes could be part of the same setting. If it weren't for the time spans involved, even Good Omens would fit in well.

 

[overgeeked]

The thread is about settings, not authors. I could say more, but that's also not relevant to the thread. If you wouldn't enjoy the setting, fine.

Mostly because licensing the setting would give money to a racist.

For people who don’t know, ol’ Larry is about a half-step shy of being the sci-fi fandom’s equivalent to the Pundit. Only beaten out by Vox Day.

 

[Faolyn]

While I know that there's already a GURPS Discworld, I'd love to see it under a more narrative system.

 

[humble minion]

While I know that there's already a GURPS Discworld, I'd love to see it under a more narrative system.

Yeah, lots of licenced games from book series etc seem to use GURPS regardless of system appropriateness, it's a bit frustrating. Girl Genius is another one I'd love to see use a narrative system, and Vorkosigan.

 

[Corinnguard]

The Allie Beckstrom series by Devon Monk. Devon Monk - Wikipedia It's an urban fantasy series.

 

[Fenris-77]

Sigh, the Malazan Books for sure. It's odd, there's a ton of pretty standard TTRPG fare there, but the magic system and some of the peripherals are a hard sell.

 

[The Shadow]

Yeah, lots of licenced games from book series etc seem to use GURPS regardless of system appropriateness, it's a bit frustrating. Girl Genius is another one I'd love to see use a narrative system, and Vorkosigan.

Quoted for truth! GURPS is way too heavy-handed for my taste.

SJ Games is a unique combination of a system I don't much care for and supplements I love to pieces! You can nearly always mine great ideas out of a GURPS supplement, regardless of the system you plan to use it with.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir. No, Thirsty Sword Lesbians does not count. I want lesbian necromancers in space, thank you. But seriously rules for playing a necromancer and they’re cavalier, or a member of the cohort, choosing your house and your place within it. Ugh. Yes pls. I’d be torn between the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth houses. Or Ninth, just to be maximally goth and sad.

Yeah this is a setting begging for a custom game with mid-crunch rules and a formalized deal with either a player controls both (Ars Magica style) or different players control each and have rules for being bonded with each other.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

While I know that there's already a GURPS Discworld, I'd love to see it under a more narrative system.

Something as freeform and loosey-goosey as Discworld would work great as a PbtA game or even Lasers and Feelings.

 

[John Desmarais]

I’ve always thought the world of Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar novels would make a good rpg setting.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I’ve always thought the world of Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar novels would make a good rpg setting.

Blue Rose (any version) genuinely does a good job there. Not that licenced Valdemar might not be even nicer, but at least that's fairly close (and extremely heavily inspired by it).

 

[John Desmarais]

Blue Rose (any version) genuinely does a good job there. Not that licenced Valdemar might not be even nicer, but at least that's fairly close (and extremely heavily inspired by it).

I have Blue Rose, and it does capture a lot of flavor - but I‘m greedy, I want the specific IP.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Oh and game-setting-wise, one I'm surprised no-one has mentioned yet, Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse (Shadow and Bone, Six of Crows, etc.), which is a very game-able setting in a sort of similar era (and sometimes vibe) to Dishonored, with a large variety of different magically-empowered, extremely normally competent/lucky, or otherwise fancy individuals, including even combat cyborgs (!!!) and at least two (possibly more) different magic systems, one of which is basically forms of psionics ("The Small Science"), not entirely unlike Aeon/Trinity, the other of which is actual reality-breaking magic-magic (and which is much rarer and more badguy-ish). They're also at a tech level where repeating firearms exist (but are defeated by a lot of the magic) and there are tanks, planes, even (minor spoilers for a late book) floating sea-fortress superweapons and so on.

 

[Blue Orange]

Wow. Huh. I’ll have to investigate.

http://piratesofdarkwater.net/buriedtreasure/podw-rpg-worldbook.pdf

http://piratesofdarkwater.net/buriedtreasure/podw-rpg-charactersheets.pdf

Always happy to help out a fellow fan. Get it before it vanishes in a jitatin crash!

 

[Blue Orange]

Thundarr the Barbarian. Pirates of Dark Water. Anything Miyazaki.

There is also an obscure, fan-made Thundarr rpg:

Under the Broken Moon, the Thundarr the Barbarian Role-Playing Game

Under the Broken Moon is a role-playing game set in the world of Thundarr the Barbarian, using mechanics from Atlas Games' Over the Edge, by Jonathan Tweet. Under the Broken Moon is hosted by RPG Library.

www.rpglibrary.org

 

[overgeeked]

There is also an obscure, fan-made Thundarr rpg:

Under the Broken Moon, the Thundarr the Barbarian Role-Playing Game

Under the Broken Moon is a role-playing game set in the world of Thundarr the Barbarian, using mechanics from Atlas Games' Over the Edge, by Jonathan Tweet. Under the Broken Moon is hosted by RPG Library.

www.rpglibrary.org

Nice. But yeah, there are a dozen or so close enough games out there. Mutant Crawl Classics, Masters of Umdaar (Fate), DCC: Empire of the East, on and on. Great cartoon. Love me some science-fantasy.

 

[Davies]

Narnia. Lemme play a mouse swashbuckler pls and thanks.

What a fascinating idea! All sorts of Talking Beasts, humans, dwarves, centaurs, dryads, and more! (And some of the humans might be from Earth.)

Technically has been licensed, though it was for a series of Choose Your Own Narnian Adventure books with some game-like elements, as I recall.

It feels like there should have been a Myth Adventures RPG, with Phil Foglio art and everything. I can imagine something having come out in the early 90s, or even early 00s as a d20 system game.

Aahz and Skeeve were statted up for the RoleAids module Wizards.