Hi, I’m Daniel Thurman

Daniel reviews cyberpunk books, games, and more.

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  • Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game Tabletop RPG Coming to Kickstarter

    Back in September we reported that Blade Runner would be made into a fantastic-looking tabletop RPG. Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game was announced as a collaborative project between movie/television production company Alcon Entertainment (Blade Runner 2049) and Free League Publishing (Alien: The Roleplaying Game).

    On Thursday, Free League Publishing announced that the game will be funded via Kickstarter, scheduled to launch on May 3rd at 6am US Pacific Time (9am US Eastern, 3pm Central European). According to an email from Free League, backers of Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game who pledge within the first 24 hours will receive a bonus item, which is yet to be announced.

    In addition to the Kickstarter, Free League has stated that more news and artwork will be posted on the Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game’s official website. For right now, you can sign up to be notified when the campaign goes live via its Kicksarter page.

    Revealed back in September, the BLADE RUNNER RPG propels players into the neon noir streets of Los Angeles as Blade Runners. Set in the year 2037, the adventures begin shortly after the Wallace Corporation debuts the new Nexus-9 Replicants on Earth, giving players the choice to play as either human or Replicant Blade Runners with different specialties, personalities, and memories.

    PR Email

    Some new artwork from the Blade Runner TTRPG was also revealed in the email. And it’s looking quite lovely. As we previously stated, the artwork for this project nails the mood and aesthetic of Blade Runner perfectly.

    Like we said, lovely.

    I have little doubt this Kickstarter is going to be a smash success given the surging popularity of tabletop RPG’s in recent years. And of course of Blade Runner itself. If you are planning on backing Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game when it goes live on May 3rd, don’t forget to sign up to be notified so that you don’t miss those nice (we assume) bonus items you will get for backing within the first 24 hours.

    If you are not a tabletop RPG player, this project is probably still worth backing for the art associated with it alone. It is also likely going to be considered canon with the rest of the Blade Runner theatrical universe, similar to other Blade Runner media, and something any fan of the franchise is going to want in their collection.

  • Tokyo:Otherscape Is a New TTRPG Seemingly Inspired by Shadowrun

    Amit Moshe and Son of Oak Game Studio, creators of the popular tabletop RPG game City of Mist have launched a Kickstarter to fund their new project, Tokyo:Otherscape. The TTRPG is based on the City of Mist engine and similarly features a modern/futuristic setting juxtaposed against fantasy-based plot elements and characters.

    Backing the project will help fund the creation of the game’s corebook, Metro:Otherscape and its urban setting book, Tokyo:Otherscape. Pledging at the lowest, $29 level gets you both. There is also a $99 box set level which gets you both books as well as five pregen character folios and a bunch of other goodies.

    :Otherscape is a new cyberpunk RPG that combines supernatural powers inspired by mythology and legend. It is designed by Amit Moshe and Son of Oak Game Studio, the award-winning team that created City of Mist, with art by manga artist Isago Fukuda and other gifted artists.

    Inspired by Japanese cyberpunk masterpieces like Ghost In The Shell and Akira, :Otherscape will take your group on a rollercoaster ride of gunfights, vehicle chases, cyberspace and urban-scape exploration, clashes of mythology and technology, faction wars, and philosophical questions about the nature of being human — and how to transcend it.

    Tokyo:Otherscape’s Kickstarter Page

    While the Kickstarter page lists the project’s inspirations as Ghost in the Shell and Akira, we can’t help but notice similarities to another cyberpunk/fantasy fusion, Shadowrun. The fusion of cyberpunk and mythic fantasy is not something that is done very often and it’s actually quite nice to see another project doing it.

    The Kickstarter also states the game will feature art by manga artist Isago Fukuda, creator of the QUEERZ! manga series. Son of Oak also worked with Fukuda to adapt that manga to a TTRPG.

    Tokyo:Otherscape shows real promise. The Kickstarter has been a massive success as well. As of the writing of this article, the project is funded at $148,000 which is far beyond the original goal of $35,000. The setting and story are compelling and the artwork is gorgeous. As I’ve stated many other times on this blog, I’m not really a TTRPG guy but I love the way this sounds and looks.

  • CY_BORG, A Cyberpunk Spinoff of MÖRK BORG TTRPG Announced

    Free League, the publisher behind the popular Alien and upcoming Blade Runner table top RPGs, and developer Stockholm Kartell, announced today that a cyberpunk-themed spinoff of their MÖRK BORG game called CY_BORG is in development.

    CY_BORG seems aesthetically similar to MÖRK BORG. It looks dark and gritty, but with a lot less doom/black metal and a lot more industiral/techno-punk. Rather than a doomy apocalyptic setting, the game will take place in a futuristic dystopia which is. . .also doomy and apocalyptic, actually. And in fact Free League has stated that the game is compatible with MÖRK BORG.

    CY_BORG will be funded via an upcoming Kickstarter campaign. So if you like TTRPGs and you are into this type of aesthetic, which I assume you are as a reader of this blog, you can head there now to sign up to be notified for when the Kickstarter goes live.

    CY_BORG is a cyberpunk spinoff game based on and compatible with multi-award-winning apocalyptic heavy metal RPG MÖRK BORG. This is to noise, industrial and underground hiphop what MÖRK BORG is to doom and black metal. Rules-light, rage-heavy. A fever-dream of tech, punk and fury. Of fighting a failed future. A deck-hacking, brick-throwing upheaval of a game.

    -Press Release

    As I’ve said before, I’m not a TTRPG person, but CY_BORG along with the previously announced Blade Runner game might get me to finally dive in to one. Or two now, I guess.

  • A Blade Runner Tabletop RPG is in Development

    Sometime next year, Blade Runner is going to be made into a tabletop RPG game. The game is in development now and is going to be published by Free League Publishing, the same publisher that brought us the excellent Alien tabletop RPG back in 2019.

    In Blade Runner The Roleplaying Game will give players a choice between playing as a human or a replicant blade runner. You are tasked with hunting down replicants in the degraded, neon-soaked streets of Los Angeles in the year 2037. This places the plot somewhere between the original Blade Runner film and Blade Runner 2049.

    Set in the year 2037, the Core Rulebook begins the adventure shortly after the Wallace Corporation debuts the new Nexus-9 Replicants on Earth, giving players the choice to play as either human or Replicant Blade Runners.

    As a member of the LAPD’s Rep-Detect Unit, you’ll face impossible choices and find beauty and humanity in the stubborn resilience to keep fighting. To persevere through pain. To agonize over itches you can’t scratch. To do questionable and extraordinary things, chasing after fleeting moments of love, hope, and redemption to be lost in time like tears in rain.

    Other than that, it’s just a normal day on the force, so get to work and grab some noodles on the way. That stack of cases won’t crack itself. It’s a shame you won’t live long enough to solve them all.

    But then again, who does?

    -Press Release

    They seem to have really nailed the aesthetic of the Blade Runner universe here, not only in the proposed narrative of this game, but also in its gorgeous artwork. It’s absolutely stunning and perfectly represents the environment and mood of the world.

    Images: Free League Publishing

    I will admit that I am not the biggest TTRPG player. In fact I really don’t play them at all. But I can definitely appreciate well made adaptations of some of my favorite franchises (and in this instance, my favorite one). This one might actually get me to dive in and give it a go.

    Whether you’re into table top games or not, it’s great to see all the attention Blade Runner seems to be getting of late. The 2017 sequel film, the upcoming anime, the long lost 90’s PC point and click adventure game getting re-released, and now a beautifully crafted TTRPG, have all contributed to a welcome resurgence of interest in the series.