The resurgence in popularity of games like Dungeons & Dragons has set game designers in search of new worlds to explore via roleplaying games. Ahead of Renegade Con on August 27th and August 28th, Senior Producer of Roleplaying Games for Renegade Studios Elisa Teague gave us an exclusive look inside The Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook and the new system that powers this line of tabletop RPGs.
“The Essence20 Roleplaying System is a d20 based system that uses what I call a ‘fashion plate’ system for character design,” said Teague, “drawing from three aspects: what type of person are they, what is their function as part of the team, and what experiences have they had in their life prior to becoming a hero?”
These elements, known as Origin, Role and Influence, come together to build a new Power Ranger ready to battle the forces of evil. Essence20 uses dice to represent different skill or power levels. Rather than only using different dice for damage rolls, the game gives players the satisfying feeling of tossing a big handful out onto the table.
“When rolling Skills Tests and Attack Rolls,” said Teague, “a player will always roll a d20 plus the applicable die for the type of roll they are making, resulting in a total that must exceed the Skill Test’s Difficulty in order to succeed. Essence20 also includes a ladder mechanic, where if a character has specialized in a particular Skill, they may roll their Skill Die plus every other die type under it, choosing the highest die result to add to their d20 roll. A critical success is made when any Skill Die shows its highest number, giving a huge chance of rolling crits, mathematically, and of course, then being able to roleplay those epic results in the most heroic way possible!”
One of the most common consequences in games for bad rolls or bad plans is character death. The idea of heroes dying at the hands of the bad guys in a Power Rangers game doesn’t seem like a good fit, so the designers went another route for those dark moments when the villains have the upper hand.
“Power Rangers characters don’t die,” said Teague. “Your team may lose against a Threat, and your character may be taken out of combat, but there is no lethal damage to player characters in the game. If Defeated, your team may face dire consequences, but that just gives an opportunity for another adventure, in which you may approach the task at hand in a different way.”
The first Power Rangers show, Might Morphin Power Rangers, debuted in 1993 as a show that brought Japanese sentai shows to American audiences. The franchise has gone on for 28 seasons, thousands of toys and comics and a handful of feature films. The first book covers the first six seasons of the show, though players could also use the 2017 Power Rangers reboot as an example of how to update the concepts of the show.
“The Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook covers the time when Zordon was the mentor of the Power Rangers,” said Teague. “This Core Rulebook focuses on Angel Grove and the Command Center as a central base of action, with Zordon and Alpha 5 as the contact points for missions and Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd as the main villains behind the Threats characters will face.”
Fans have been clamoring for RPGs set in the worlds of GI Joe, Transformers, and Power Rangers for decades. More information on this game, as well as the other Essence20 versions of GIJoe, Transformers and My Little Pony will be available during Renegade Con Special Edition, August 27th and 28th, 2021.
