I get this thought in my head from time to time so I thought I would do a post about it. There have been 3 professionally produced RPGs based on Lord of the Rings and many fan made homebrew games using some form of D&D or some homebrew system; there are also many forum games based on Lord of the Rings. I would think a Narnia rpg would have been professionally produced by now, but there has not been one. I have searched several times for a fan made Narnia system but all I have found are some D20 conversion notes. I have found several forum based Narnia games available.
I was just curious if anybody had any thoughts about the absence of an rpg based on The Chronicles of Narnia? Given the popularity of the books and the recent movies, I would think that at least a fan made game would be available.
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You can pretty much run Narnia straight out of the box with D&D game mechanics. As far as setting, you can just take that from the novels.
ReplyDeleteIt does pretty much feel like vanilla fantasy with the addition of talking animals. Still, I would have thought somebody might use it as a nice, introductory product.
DeleteI think the real question is why have their been LotR, but not many others? There has been Conan. I know there has been at least one if not more based on Weiss/Hickman books. There is also the Wheel of Time.
ReplyDeleteIt is a bit of a puzzle as to what gets made into an rpg and what doesn't. I suspect the main issues are:
1. Ability to license (for a reasonable fee)
2. Potential profitability based on fan base.
3. Designers being fans of the work.
In Narnia's case, it seems to be that it is mostly a kids book. It is not taken seriously by any adults that I know of. I have never known any gamers to really be into it. I mean just look at the demographics and ticket sales for the Narnia movies and LotR. You will see a much larger and older audience for LotR. This is the gamer audience. I don't think the Narnia audience is.
On the other hand, maybe just no one has thought about it.
With that said, pretty much no rpg based on movies/books has been a success. While some may not have been flops, it was only their initial release that had any success. 3 LotR, Wheel of Time, Sovereign Stone, Firefly, and probably a bunch more have been made and all pretty much failed. They aren't around anymore. It just is not successful to base an rpg around another product.
Now, if really want to ponder something, why didn't WotC sign a deal to make a Harry Potter RPG? I mean if there was anything that could have brought in a phenomenally huge audience to rpgs, an audience that is fine with reading paper and not just text in an mmorpg, it was this audience. If they would have spent the millions to get a license, then playing rpgs might have had a renaissance.
Good points all around, Darius. Your reasoning makes a lot of sense to me. It seems people mention a lack of an introductory type product to bring in a younger crowd to the roleplaying hobby. I was kinda curious about the ability of something like Narnia, Prydain, or some other book series to serve that purpose. You mentioned the property - Harry Potter - that could have served as the beginning to a true roleplaying renaissance. It did get a ton of kids reading so I'm sure it would have had a similar (although smaller) impact on our hobby.
DeleteI would think Narnia or the world of Harry Potter would serve well as an introduction to rpg for younger kids. My husband and I game and my girls are now getting interested in it as well. My older one (15) is fine with Pathfinder (the current system we play) but the younger one (9) is still a bit put off by rules and the "bigness" of the books.
DeleteA paired down version - not dumbed down, mind you - would be a good way to get a kid's foot wet, so to speak. Similar but more concise rules, characters etc. paired with the already rich worlds most kids are familiar with... keep it OGL so it is still friendly... I think it would be a hit!
That is exactly what I had in mind! Pathfinder is awesome but the rulebook could definitely be intimidating to a new player. I also think that it could be a hit. Do something similar to the D&D /AD&D split with the rules. Maybe add in some license specific game rules to emulate a certain aspect of the book or movie.
DeleteI think there needs to be a distinction between setting and rules. You can have a Narnia setting and complex rules. It seems the main issue would be having rules useful for younger children. Setting would be to get the children "interested."
ReplyDeleteFurther, we need to look at access to product. Let's say that young children would be interested in Narnia (or whatever setting you want.) Would those kids know what an rpg is? Would they want to play one? How would they get access to one? Unfortunately, it is not like it was in 1984 where kids can find rpgs in the toy section at their local Walmart. If it were, then Narnia would have a much better chance.
It seems that even if 5th graders would want to play a Narnia rpg, they wouldn't know about it or be able to access it. I mean if your kid is going to the local gaming store, he probably doesn't need Narnia to get him interested in gaming.
With Harry Potter, anything with that name would have sold. It was the only brand big enough to make kids seek it out and purchase it. I don't see that with other brands. You might be able to do it with Avatar: The Last Airbender still. I mean it is on the Legend of Kora which is more for teenagers, but it might have enough popularity to get kids to seek it out. I mean Nick would promote it on their website at least.
Now, as for rules. There is an rpg designed for young children. It is Kids, Castles, and Caves. You can get it at rpgnow.com
I agree. I think the time for a Narnia game done professionally has passed. It had a lot of potential when Basic D&D was in the Sears catalog and the AD&D hardbacks were at Toys-R-Us. A Narnia game could have been sold with the books at book fairs. These days it would definitely take something with the pull of Potter. It's an interesting what if, but the time has more than likely passed.
DeleteSad but true I think. On the other hand, there isn't anything stopping someone from putting together a setting supplement for an existing RPG. I know I'd love to see it!
DeleteA fan adaptation would definitely work and it would give someone an excuse to read the books again. Hmmmm.........
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