Fans of tabletop RPGs have seen their share of movie-licensed material on store shelves. Free League Publishing adapted the sci-fi horror classic Alien into a TTRPG. That same publisher has a Kickstarter for an official Blade Runner TTRPG that is live right now. But when it comes to dedicated TTRPG adaptations of straightforward action cinema, many different projects lean more towards inspiration than direct adaptation. However, the developers behind Everyday Heroes will be adapting eight classic movies from the 1980s to the present.
For those not aware, Everyday Heroes is the name of a new TTRPG system being developed by Evil Genius. Rather than it being fantasy, sci-fi, or horror, the goal of the system is to be a spiritual successor to the old D20 Modern system, which focused more on the fantasy of modern action movies. In fact, one of the co-designers of D20 Modern, Jeff Grubb - the same creative vision behind the original Spelljammer - is working with Evil Genius on this new system.
It was during an interview with Dicebreaker that the minds behind Everyday Heroes announced their action movie adaptations collectively called Season of Adventure. These will be adaptations of eight different action movies spanning from the 1980s all the way up to the 2010s. Starting in the 80s, the adaptations will include Sylvester Stallone's iconic Rambo, the dystopian urban adventure Escape From New York, and the story of dueling immortals that is Highlander. Representing the 1990s is Jean-Claude Van Damme's cyborg action Universal Soldier, the Arnold Schwartzenegger sci-fi action vehicle Total Recall, and the moody gothic revenge tale of Alex Proyas' The Crow. Finally representing more recent blockbuster action movies are TTRPG adaptations of Guillermo Del Toro's mecha monster spectacle Pacific Rim and Jordan Vogt-Roberts' contribution to the Monsterverse, Kong: Skull Island.
Each of these books will run on the Everyday Heroes' RPG system. Each book will be roughly 100 pages and include not just an adventure based on the source material, but new rules and mechanics for that setting. Both Pacific Rim and Kong: Skull Island will receive additional supplementary material for Game Masters to explore the respective universe of both franchises in additional adventures. Furthermore, Evil Genius' owner, Dave Scott, confirmed all of this material is completely compatible with the most popular TTRPG system right now: Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition.
If you want to build a Highlander and throw them back into your favourite D&D setting, you can. Or if you want your cyborg-enhanced universal soldier to lay waste in the maximum security prison of New York, you can do that too.
“If you had a wisecracking character that owned a chainsaw and shotgun, you could plop him into your D&D game no problem. Also, if you wanted Rambo to go monster hunting on Skull Island, that works as well.
The Season of Adventure books will be offered as a part of Everyday Heroes' Kickstarter campaign. Each book will cost $20, or $130 if bought as a bundle. The campaign is set to go live May 17.
