Commentary On The Ape Victorious Rpg From Goblinoid Games As Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaign

Alright so this new rpg from Goblinoid games was given a brand new birth announcement on G+ yesterday. This is Ape Victorious and its a whole new system based around the idea that you are playing an adventurer stuck on a planet of apes after a post apocalyptic downfall of Man's world. Sounds familiar but what is different about this game and the Advanced Ape Class from Great Khan games? Well day and night actually, because this game system plugs into the the entire pop culture ideas of the post apocalyptic age genre. To give you an idea of the power and weirdness of this phenomena. Here's the original Planet Of The Apes Trailer from 1968 and let it simply soak through you for a moment.

Ape Victorious is going to plug right into that whole range of Ape pop culture and will allow you to bring an entirely different aesthetic to your old school table campaign worlds. But is the game going to be a quality piece both useful and playable or another shelf warmer that looks pretty on your shelves? I have a feeling given whose involved that your going to see an entire range of PC types from that Chimpanzees are the smart scientists/doctors of the society, Gorillas will be  the military brutes, and Orangutans are the politicians/religious figures of the game and your players are going to be center stage.

This is going to be a game that will take your PC's from the killing fields that surround ape city to the bowels of a vast underground Forbidden Zone of your own making. The difference here is that your PC's will be driving the action and it will dovetail into the other family of Goblinoid Games retroclone and old school rpgs including Mutant Future, Star Ships & Space Men Second Edition and the Labyrinth Lord products. Basically this will open up the entire range of campaign options for your table from mutants, aliens, and horrors beyond the ken of ape and man! So prepare yourselves for what's coming! Given that Tim Snider is involved we're going to get a full mutant and ape treatment! I for one can't wait. When this game was announced here's what went through my demented head! I grew up a huge fan of the Planet of the Apes series and this game is going to plug into it with its own twists and turns given the fact that Goblinoid Games always does this sort of thing. Sure you can probably play the entire range of Apes material but given that its going to have its own worlds and settings probably far removed from the Planet of the Apes itself. It also is going to have conversion notes for add in Mutant Future and Star Ships & Space Men second edition which means that technically you could back add this game into the background of your Lamentations of the Flame Princess games. Ape Soldiers on Carcosa brings a whole new level of weirdness to the planetary hi jinks! Also apes in historical Germany and Europe? The mind boggles at the terror and weirdness!

So what are we talking about here? We'll this is is the official announcement blow  that I saw on G+ two days ago;

Apes Victorious coming this summer!

ALERT! ALERT! PREMATURE LANDING!

You groggily come back to consciousness after a long cryosleep. Your ship’s warning system is telling you the ship has entered the atmosphere of a planet and is about to crash land under autopilot. Crawling to a seat, you buckle in, joining your fellow astronauts as you quickly check instrument readings.

Through the cockpit window you see a barren, desolate landscape flashing by. The ship skims a large lake before coming to a stop just off the pebble shore. The computer tells you there is a breathable atmosphere, and after gathering survival packs the crew exits the ship.

“Where are we?” you ask each other, as everyone wades to the shore seeing a wasteland with little vegetation.

“Which planet is this? We must have gone off course on our return from Alpha Centauri.”

Then there is the sound of hoof beats, adding to the disorientation. Hoof beats? Are we on Earth?

Around an embankment comes several riders bearing rifles. As they approach, the sun glares in your eyes and a shot fires, a companion to your left falls to the ground holding his stomach. A large rider stops in front of you, momentarily blocking the sun and providing a clear look at his face.

“An ape! We’re on a planet ruled by apes!”

Apes Victorious is a roleplaying game in which you take the role of an astronaut from the 1970’s who finds himself marooned on a future Earth ruled by intelligent apes. Players may also take the role of an ape, a degenerated human, or a psi-active underdweller. Fight to survive in this post-apocalyptic future ruled by four species of apes. Or play apes who hunt humans for sport. For a different kind of campaign, play highly intelligent but insane underdwellers who have advanced technology and powerful psi powers.

This book contains:

·         A complete game

·         A post-nuclear apocalyptic setting in which apes have become the dominant species

·         Six player classes

·         Animals and creatures of the post-nuclear future

·         Campaign advice

·         A complete introductory adventure

·         Conversion notes for compatible games including Labyrinth Lord, Mutant Future, and Starships & Spacemen 2e

By Daniel Proctor with additional material by Tim Snider. Cover by Mark Allen, interior illustrations TBA.

I can't wait for this to be hitting the shelves this Summer and can't wait to see what is going to happen! A brand new system for Goblinoid Games is always a good thing in my humble opinion!