Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game
A neon-noir wonderland that’ll take your breath away. One way or another. An evocative world of conflicts and contrasts that dares to ask the hard questions and investigate the powers of empathy, the poisons of fear, and the burdens of being human during inhumane times. An iconic and unforgiving playground of endless possibilities that picks you up, slaps you in the face, and tells you to wake up. Time to live. Or time to die. Blade Runner The Roleplaying Game propels you into the streets of Los Angeles as Blade Runners with unique specialties, personalities – and memories. The game pushes the boundaries of investigative gameplay in tabletop RPGs, giving you a range of tools to solve an array of cases far beyond retiring Replicants. Beyond the core casework, the RPG showcases the key themes of Blade Runner – sci-fi action, corporate intrigue, existential character drama, and moral conflict. It challenges you to question your friends, empathize with your enemies, and explore the poisons and perseverance of hope and humanity during inhumane times.
Originally created by Tomas Härenstam, Joe LeFavi
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Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game Reviews (4)
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Warren
New review
The Bladerunner role-playing game markets itself as a “Neon Noir wonderland that will take your breath away.” Does it succeed? Mostly, with a few caveats. The product line comprises a 234-page hardcover rule book, a starter box set containing a condensed rules book, a case file, a set of eight customised dice, four pre-generated character sheets, a large map of LA, a deck of 70 illustrated cards showing initiative counters, NPCs, chase events and an envelope containing all the clues the players will amass during the adventure. Finally, there is a three-panel GM screen and a set of four customised dice. As you’d expect from Free League the production quality is excellent with copious illustrations throughout depicting the grim and futuristic setting of the Bladerunner universe. In fact, these are some of my favourite illustrations from across their product range. The front and end papers show a map of central Los Angeles broken down into sectors, which has been left intentionally vague to encourage the Game Runner (read GM) to add their own locations. It has a nice atmospheric feeling with stark neon yellow lines depicting major roads and buildings. A concise table of contents breaks down the book's nine chapters. You’ll have no problems getting to the pages you need, especially when there’s a comprehensive index included in the back. Each chapter begins with an evocative two-page illustration and a short quote from the films. Chapter One begins with a brief overview of the game followed by a short history of the Bladerunner universe. My overall impression is one favouring the look and feel of the Bladerunner 2049 film, rather than the 1982 one, however this is a good thing as the sequel introduced us to life outside the city and expanded the lore which is essential if Game Runners wish to create their own case files. This is not to say you can’t recreate the 1982 movie just that time has moved on and the 2049 movie felt more inclusive in the role humans and replicants played. The chapter depicts a graphical timeline from the 1980s up to 2037 when the game's default timeline is set. It charts the rise of replicants and their eventual fall after the murder of their creator at the hands of a nexus-6 in 2019. The Tyrell corporation went bust following the release of the Nexus-8 replicants which went rogue, causing the “Black out”, and sending LA back to the dark ages, wiping out the internet and most electronic records. An event briefly alluded to in Blade runner 2049 and a plot device to keep the current locations of rogue N-8’s off Bladerunner’s radar. Wallace Corporation scooped by the company only to be scooped up by the Wallace corporation whose enigmatic CEO, Niander Wallace cured world hungry before reintroducing his own Nexus-9 Replicants into the world as the benevolent, compliant saviours of humanity. His long-term goals are left vague with the Game Runner deciding if he’s a force for good or evil. Or just a narcissist egoist with a god complex. The game is set in 2037 with Nexus-9’s available as Bladerunner’s. Chapter Two is creating your Bladerunner, who can be Humans and Nexus-9 replicants. You start by choosing from one of the seven archetypes available which determine your role in the game. All have key attributes and skills, a speciality and some cash. You can even roll your appearance and name randomly if you wish. A Bladerunner’s starting capabilities are determined by their “years on the force”, the more time they’ve served the more they’ll have to spend on their attributes, skills, specialities, promotion points and cash. Nexus-9 replicants have only been around for a year so they start as rookies. Each Bladerunner has four attributes: Strength, Agility, Intelligence and Empathy, like in Free League’s other games. Here, they have a letter denoting their level rather than a number which is how replicants were rated in the films. They range from A to D and each letter corresponds to a die type. A is a D12, B a D10, C a D8 and D a D6. Skills are handled in the same manner and when you attempt a skill check you roll the relevant attribute and skill with a result of 6 or higher on each die a success with a 10 or higher a critical (2 successes). I found this confusing. There is a disconnect between cross-referencing a letter with a number. You’ll soon get used to it, but I don’t see why they couldn’t use a numerical system in the first place. Your Health rating determines how much damage you can take, and it’s not much so don’t expect to last long in a fire fight. Replicants are hardier than their humans as counterparts. Finally, resolve is your tolerance for mental stress. Next up is your key memory, a neat idea, where you design a memory, whether it’s real, or in the case of replicants an implant which represents your personality. It can be used in game to restore stress and help you earn humanity points; a kind of experience point award for being human. I like it. Your key relationship is created in the same manner and is used by the Game Runner to create events in the game during downtime. Determine your starting cash, signature item, gear, appearance, name and address and you’re done. I found character creation to be quick and fun. Chapter Three describes the game system. There are twelve skills linked to your four attributes and a thirteen linked to the vehicle you happen to be driving, which is a neat touch. The core mechanic is: roll your attribute and skill dice with a 6 on a die being a success. Should you be lucky enough to roll a 10 or more (only on a D10 and 12) then you score two successes. That’s it. One success is normally all you need extra successes allowing you to perform something above and beyond such as completing the task faster or scoring extra damage in combat. Should you fail, you can push your roll though there’s risk of taking health and resolve damage. Replicants can push twice and only suffer mental stress they fail. The rules cover group skill checks to speed up play and advantage/disadvantage where you either remove the lower die or add one. Opposed rolls are uncommon outside combat and the game benefits because of it. It’s a quick, intuitive system with my only caveat the disconnect between letter and number referencing I mentioned earlier. Chapter Four is combat and chases. Combat is deadly, you might be able to take one or two hits before you’re rolling on the critical table. You can only die through critical hits, but you’ll rake them up soon enough if you’re not careful which illustrates the lethality of Bladerunner universe. Combat is handled in a concise manner with a few options to take once the guns are drawn. The chapter ends with the chase mechanics. Basically, if you or your opponent flees a chase ensues, which can be on foot, in a car or in the air. Each side chooses secretly from a list of possible actions to be revealed simultaneously. To add a random element the Game Runner selects an obstacle which can help or hinder depending on whether you are fleeing or pursuing. It works well though it’s much nicer to use the chase cards from the starter set than read out from a table. Chapter Five is a guide to Los Angeles in 2037 and its inhabitants who haven’t been fortunate or rich enough to escape to the off-world colonies. Lifestyle is determined by how high up you live in the mega-buildings, below one hundred and you’re scum. Five hundred plus and you're one of the super-rich unreachable in their decadent penthouses. The city is supposedly run by the authorities and protected by the police, but make no mistake, it’s the Wallace Corporation that runs the whole show, such is their power and influence. And, as a Bladerunner, don’t ever make the mistake of accusing them of anything you’re in for a long fall. City life, culture, food, drugs, sex, and survival are covered before a brief look at LA’s sectors. These have been left intentionally vague to allow the Game Runner to expand them, though I suspect there will be a future LA sourcebook release. I would have preferred more locations to avoid improvising during the game. This chapter could have been improved with more locations and NPC’s to populate them. Chapter Six briefly looks at the powers that be with the Wallace Corp ruling the roost and way below them the LAPD. The UN is covered though they have been relegated to a ceremonial role. There’s a look at the evolution of replicants and their miserable lot in life. A short chapter. Chapter Seven is all about the LAPD and its divisions, internal politics and a Bladerunner’s place in the scheme of things. The LAPD building towers above everyone in the city, except Wallace Corp with state-of-the-art surveillance to spy on the citizens swarming below. Esper cameras are everywhere recording everything, with all the accumulated data instantly accessible from the LAPD’s all-powerful Mainframe. A fleet of spinners sit ready for Bladerunner’s to fly across the city to work their cases, along with a vast resource of weapons, technology, and personnel. Though you’ll need clearance from Deputy Chief Holden or a handy bribe to acquire the rarer items. Wallace Corporation is covered next with their record libraries and memory labs. Want to know what implants a rogue N-8 has? Here's the place to visit. Your street level assets are briefly discussed, your reputation on the LAPD and the mean streets, standard police procedures and how to work a crime scene. Chapter Eight is all about gear. There are some great illustrations covering storage devices, weapons, vehicles, medicine and the LAPD’s mainframe and crime lab. You can even have a synthetic augmentation installed if you’re brave enough and can afford it. The Bladerunner’s signature weapons and spinners are beautifully illustrated in full page spreads. There is a small range of weapons and gear available for purchase outside your standard issue equipment and the chapter finishes off with civilian gear and the ubiquitous shopping kiosks, stores, cafes, clubs, and vendors scattered throughout the city. Chapter Nine is for the GM only and addresses how to run the game. It states up front that this game is different, your investigators will be searching for clues. How you go about this and which resources you use are entirely up to you but remember you’re on the clock. A day is broken up into four shifts and a spinner can fly anywhere in one shift. The players are encouraged to split up to speed up the investigation, something most RPGs are loath to suggest. But it’s essential here if you want to finish the case before time runs out and something bad happens. Bladerunner’s can share information instantly and upload clues back to the LADP. They can also choose to withhold information to protect someone to earn humanity points which are used to increase skills or follow the letter of the law to earn promotion points which buy skill specialities, specialised equipment and can be traded-in for money. The game strikes a balance between what it means to be human and a Bladerunner with the moral ambiguity that’s brings. There are suggested downtime events when your Bladerunner is off the clock. Where they recover health and resolve, interact with key relationships or experience random encounters in the city. The chapter ends with a lacklustre case file generator. Just a series of random tables to determine the who, what, why, when, and where of a crime which feels like an afterthought. For a game that empathises investigation above all else I would have expected more, with a fully flesh out case file a welcome addition. There’s a comprehensive index and that’s it. Overall, I’d give the game an eight out of ten. Superb production quality, good writing and solid game mechanics. I would have liked more background information on city locations, NPCs, and an introductory case file for perspective. Game Runners so they can run the game without too much creative effort. Otherwise, a solid game recommended for those wishing to experience a noir-themed game of criminal investigation and who wish to explore what it means to be human.
(Nick Fotopoulos) Dungeon Master Adamantine
New review
The cinematic adventures are awesome. No replayability.
Kel
New review
Blade Runner by Free League uses the latest version of their house game engine (Year Zero) to bring players into the rain slick LA streets circa 2036. Taking the role of Blade Runners, characters are either humans or replicants assigned to solve crimes related to Replicants. They'll face corruption, political influence, and the ever watchful Wallace Corporation that could be a friend or foe. Although the scope is relatively narrow, the game world and fiction offers a lot of depth and there are excellent opportunity for roleplaying. Moral quandaries, future shock moments, and what it really means to be human are great themes to explore. I've been running Blade Runner for a couple of years now and have found the game system to be robust yet flexible enough to handle everything that comes up. If you have any interest in detective stories, brutal action (the game system is very deadly), the Blade Runner movies, or dark science fiction, I can highly recommend this game to you.
Luke The GM
Ran 20 sessions
Blade Runner is an emotionally and visually intense game. It's one of my favorite games to run in and focuses on detective-work. The game offers campaign and "Case File" play but much of the focus is on the official "Case Files". "Case Files" are published modules that can be comfortably played in 3-6 sessions. The game mechanics do an amazing job setting up a "race against the clock" feel at times. My players have enjoyed the experience of solving the mystery and chasing down leads. The handouts and crime-scene photos really add to the immersion. Gameplay is fast, and focuses a lot on the narrative. There's no ammo to track, there isn't even a set encumbrance rating. The game is completely focused on getting you into the action. A unique card-based Chase mechanic also adds to the fun. We also enjoy the moral dilemmas that are faced by the law, and we've had some awesome PvP moments where the character is so motivated by the events that they have to act. These grey-areas and tough decisions really bring out the grittiness that is Blade Runner.
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Explore Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game Archetypes
Analyst
You are the master of the crime lab. Streetwise hunch-chasers with their V-K briefcases and blasters are the past. Booksmart fact-finders like you are the future. Chemistry, pathology, ballistics, criminology, microbiology, toxicology, morphology... these are your blasters, and all you need to crack a case is your lab, coffee, and some personal space. As a forensics specialist, you methodically and meticulously agonize over every bit of evidence. You can wring the truth from a crime scene with a trace sweep and cursory glance. And when you're in the lab, you're a god. Running countless tests with cutting-edge tech like an orchestral conductor. Sure, the job forces you to interact with others more than you'd like. People only make sense to you on the autopsy table, and while you have infinite patience for research, you reserve little for bureaucracy and stupidity. Facts rarely make friends with obtuse systems and minds. In truth, few will ever under- stand your genius, but most appreciate it enough to keep the scene clean for you. The relics can't close a case without you, but they can keep the glory. You'll keep the corner office with central air, unlimited espresso, and the sexiest tech money can buy.
Cityspeaker
Speak long enough to the city, it speaks back to you. You've got rats in every gutter. Pigeons on every rooftop. Urchins in every port. You lived and sinned with them since you were kids, so when you come round, they see only the face they trust. Not the badge you'd never show. Working undercover these many years, the lines blurred long ago. Only judges can say what's right anymore. You're only here to stop what's wrong. The fugitives, terrorists, traffickers, hatemongers, and copkillers preying upon the city. Hiding and thriving in the moskos where only the downtrodden roam. Irasshai as a bird. When these trespassers make even the biggest vermin scurry, they run to you. Every syndicate, scumbag, scavenger, and slumlord. Every fisher king and unseen string holding up the city and keeping it down. You know every lófaszt on a first-name basis, all to oust the worst and turn blind eyes to the rest. It haunted you at first, but work Vice long enough and you'll learn that good and bad are torn from the same thin justifications and lies. Bend and twist them into whatever you - like, but clench a fist and both crumble all the same.
Doxie
You always know what to say. Body language. Eye contact. Vocal tones. Body temperature. Pulse rate. Even scent. Every detail another window into your subject's state of mind. Earlier models used this data to serve a person's needs. You only serve the law. Now those same signals enable you to detect and project anything you want. Anything the case demands. Your hyper-awareness and self-control enable you to manipulate every fiber of your being, convincing others to trust you. To fear you. To betray all they hold dear, just to see you smile. You pity them. What hope could they have, against something like you? Even still, it could be worse for them. Words are not your only weapons. You are a prime physical specimen born with ten lifetimes of lethal black ops training in close combat, infiltration, assassination. With flawless grace, dexterity, and athleticism, your natural gifts and guile can flip, slip, slither, and slit into anywhere. Through anyone. To do anything you must. Your orders are often ruthless, but you choose to poison with compassion. If you must be brutal, you will make it beautiful. If you are the last thing they see, it should be something to behold.
Enforcer
You've seen things most people wouldn't believe. A few tours in the Off-World Colonization Defense Program put you in every shittastic situation conceivable. Kick-murder squads. Hostage situations. Counterterrorism. Demolitions. And you survived them all, only to find yourself unable to relate to anyone without a target in their sights. The LAPD was the only other place you made sense. And not just because they've got more artillery than some CDP outfits. It's a bad day when somebody needs you, and you've seen enough shit to assess and survive any hostile situation. Hell if these flatfoots know how to deal with a crisis they can't just interrogate to death. When real bad-asses take the stage, it's your job to give 'em a show. You're not the standard-issue CDP shitkicker, but you're not ashamed that grunt life suits you. Clock in. Obtain objectives. Eliminate targets. Clock out. And if you can squeeze in a stiff drink and a shag, huzzah. There isn't a problem you can't solve with a beer or a battering ram. So as long as they keep serving up targets, you'll be putting them in body bags until somebody puts you in one.
Inspector
Some call you a career politician. Others a political crusader. You don't care what they think. You work the system and you never play nice, though everybody knows to play nice with you. And not just to kiss up to their future boss. It's your job to keep saboteurs of the status quo at bay, may they come from outside or within. When big messes occur, you clean them up. And with every mess you fix, somebody owes you a favor. A whisper. And you hear a lot from high places. You spend more time in courtrooms, fundraisers, and night- clubs than the office. Doesn't mean you're not doing the job. Your little black book is the upper crust of elite rings to kiss, wrists to twist, and backs to stab. As a master of manipulation, you can tear through red tape, leap through loopholes, and quell every controversy. But let's face it, the only case you're ever working is your own. It's no coincidence that you only work cases promising future headlines and new strings to pull. You're determined to reach the top of that corporate ladder, even if you burn every rung beneath you as you go.
Skimmer
Everybody but you knows that you're more kipple than cop. There's so much dirt under your nails, getting clean is an act of futility. Naivety. Screw 'em. Let them talk. If internal affairs could get you, they'd have cuffed you by now. Fact is, they need you. Sure, there's more cream than caffeine in your cup. Skimming is a slippery slope, and few would call you graceful. But you're still a damn good cop, and when trash needs taking out, you're the only one willing to get dirty. If you're lacking evidence, maybe you'll plant some. If somebody isn't talking, maybe you'll make them. You owe half the city and the other half owes you. So if the case conveniently settles a debt or squashes ants hoarding all the crumbs, all the same so long as the paperwork is filed in triplicate. And you have flawless penmanship when covering your own ass. This city doesn't play fair. Why should you? So what if you've got a side hustle? Who cares if special interests can buy your protection like a side of fries? Your way of life ain't cheap, and last you checked, banks don't accept good intentions as collateral.
