Planet of the Apes Roleplaying Game Coming from Magnetic Press

Magnetic Press announced Planet of the Apes The Role-Playing Game based on the classic, long-running science fiction franchise.

The game will use the Magnetic Variant system which is a variation of the D6 System created by West End Games for their licensed RPGs Ghostbusters and Star Wars in the 1980s. From the product announcement:

Become an intellectual Chimpanzee who seeks to better apekind through science and exploration. Choose an Orangutan statesape whose weapons are philosophical debate, political savvy, and the power of the Sacred Scrolls themselves. Perhaps a Gorilla soldier is more your style—honor bound to protect Ape City and lead aggressive expansions into new territories.

What else, if not an ape? Be a time-lost astronaut struggling to grasp a world gone insane. Become a mute tribal human forced to scavenge for resources as you are hunted by murderous gorillas on horseback. The rules even allow you to play mutant survivors who use the power of their minds to turn their enemies against each other.

Your adventures in this world of madness will take you to the ruins of a world destroyed—see what remains of the Statue of Liberty, the ostentatious Ape City, the foreboding Forbidden Zone, and the mysterious mutant undercity. It is a world defined by the stark contrasts of brutality and civility. Are you ape enough to handle the truth about the world you live in or will you lose your mind to it?

The launch lineup announced so far includes the 300+ page core rulebook, The ANSA Files classic film sourcebook, The Forbidden Zone adventure box filled with game-enhancing tools, Ruins of Tomorrow boxed set of 3D resin unpainted miniatures, and additional products that will be unlocked during the pre-order campaign.

The announcement does not say this pre-order campaign will be a crowdfunding campaign, but much of the terminology used heavily implies it. No date has been announced, but there is an email sign-up for notifications on the announcement page.

 

[ART!]

Now we'll have three separate systems for Planet of the Apes styled rpgs:

Apes Victorious - OSR

Terra Primate - Unisystem

Planet of the Apes - D6 System
D6 does have a decent following, curious if the combination of the IP and rules will bring out the fans.

Terra Primate was a really good product, with several suggestions for new ways to approach the general, IP-free, "world run by apes" premise. It's one of those gaming books I regret getting rid of, but voila! it's on DriveThru for $5!!! Sold!

I am a big PotA fan, so I will back the bejeebus out of this thing.

 

[Von Ether]

Now we'll have three separate systems for Planet of the Apes styled rpgs:

Apes Victorious - OSR

Terra Primate - Unisystem

Planet of the Apes - D6 System
D6 does have a decent following, curious if the combination of the IP and rules will bring out the fans.


Totally agreed on the Sienkiewicz cover though. Wow!

Good question. I've seen d6 go up and down over the years. At one point, one publisher who had made a whole line of d6 books had to burn them as they were going no where. On the other hand, Mythic d6 seems to be going strong enough to have Khepera Publishing keep making stuff for it. As does quite a few 3pp as it does have an SRD. SRD - OpenD6

For me, one of WEG's big missteps was the art in their very cheap generic d6 book. At the time, it seemed pretty racy for something where I might run a game in a public space like a game shop.

 

[Greg K]

Over the past week or two, I was organizing my rpg spreadsheets. When I got to Apes Victorius and Terra Primate (the former I own the text only version and the latter is on my to buy), I was surprised that there has not been an official Planet of the Apes rpg.
I would have preferred a licensed version using Savage Worlds, Cinematic Unisystem, or variants of the systems used by Barbarians of Lemuria or Black Star. However, I can live with an official d6 version (Hopefully, they stay closer, mechanically to the original version of d6 Star Wars), . I am, personally, just glad it is not using PBTA, Fate, Modiphius 2d20, Genesys, Year Zero Engine, or based on d20/5e. OMMV.

 

[James Mishler]

There's some old school biological essentialism in that first paragraph. Oof.

Maybe they should have gone with the more recent films...

The great irony of the ape civilization is that the roles of the chimps, orangs, and gorillas was not based on biology -- the ape civilization castes were directly derived from the roles the humans assigned to the apes during their era as slaves.

This is shown in the fourth film, "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes," where chimpanzees serve as all around generalist servants at home or in offices or as pets most directly with humans, orangutans serve in academic capacities, and gorillas serve in more menial, physical labors (and when the revolution comes, are the first to take to arms and violence).

So the very humans whom they despise gave them basics of their civilization and caste system.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

For me, one of WEG's big missteps was the art in their very cheap generic d6 book. At the time, it seemed pretty racy for something where I might run a game in a public space like a game shop.

This book?

I never saw it open, I take it the interior art was a lot more risque?

 

[Von Ether]

This book?

I never saw it open, I take it the interior art was a lot more risque?

For the time, I felt it the interior art was a bit gory and one picture has a girl in pretty much a dental floss bikini. I'm not prudish, but I was running a drop in/drop out rpg table at a game store so my game was more family friendly.

 

[Von Ether]

And as far as d6 goes, there is also the Pip System.

 

[overgeeked]

a variation of the D6 System created by West End Games for their licensed RPGs Ghostbusters and Star Wars in the 1980s.

Oh. That’s got my interest.

 

[Tonguez]

In one of the countless billions of galaxies in the universe, lies a medium-sized star, and one of its satellites, a green and insignificant planet, is now dead.

 

[Autumnal]

In one of the countless billions of galaxies in the universe, lies a medium-sized star, and one of its satellites, a green and insignificant planet, is now dead.

But enough about Krypton. Our story is set on Earth.