Power Rangers, G.I. Joe, and Transformers role-playing games are on the way.
Three licensed role-playing game licenses based on Power Rangers, G.I. Joe and Transformers universes are now available. Three new licensed role-playing games will be available based on the Power Rangers, G.I. Joe, and Transformers universes. Publisher Renegade Game Studios first announced these projects in September 2020. Now it says they won’t be using the same mechanics that power Dungeons & Dragons. The company instead has created its own d20-based system, Essence20. Designer Elisa Teague is leading the development.
Renegade stated that all three brands are under license from Hasbro. Hasbro also owns Wizards of the Coast D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast. Alongside D&D, Wizards also offers an open-source version of its ruleset, known as the 5th Edition Open Gaming License. Other companies also produce content that is based on OGL and market it as compatible with D&D.
The OGL most recently made headlines as the foundation for Auroboros: Coils of the Serpent, a new tabletop RPG setting from Warcraft and StarCraft co-creator Chris Metzen that earned more than $1.2 million on Kickstarter in May.
Renegade stated that, although we initially announced that these RPGs would use the 5th Edition Open Game License, it was “during development” that it became apparent that a custom system would allow fans better take advantage of these worlds.
Renegade claims that Essence20 will use 20-sided dice. The core mechanic adds another die to these rolls. It can range from d2 up to d20, depending on the character’s skill ranking. The players add the results of both dice together to try and exceed the difficulty rating for any challenge they face.
Renegade states that characters with a specific skill can roll their skill dice and any below it, picking the highest result to increase their chances of success. A max value roll on any die is a crucial success. This increases the chances of crits as well as creating more opportunities to play great roleplaying with them.
