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Other Suns: Furries and Formulae

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Other Suns (dig that killer logo with the subtle silhouette in the "O") was released by Fantasy Games Unlimited in 1983 amidst a deluge of crunchy SF games: Universe, Aftermath, Space Opera, and The Morrow Project were all released within four years of each other, and those followed the popular, if less mathematically-intimidating, Traveller and Star Frontiers. The simulationism of this one is typical of the era - though I'd even say it eclipses the norm in some regards - which is probably why it's best known as the first "furry" RPG. Whether this is a good or bad thing, or simply not a thing, depends on your connotations with that term. Regardless, it was released concurrently with the Albedo comic books (which would eventually be the source of the first 'official' furry RPG) and almost certainly wasn't an intentional part of that fandom. For my part, anthropomorphized animals don't hold much appeal for various reasons; that said, I t
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Midnight at the Well of Ludicrous Player Races

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I found this box set for a non-insignificant price in a game store's used section; it'd been resealed so I could only go on the cover illustration and title (the back is blank white). Both are fantastic. I had hopes, I guess, for a Fantasy Games Unlimited-style trove of esoteric formulas and pinpoint-detailed character sheets, de rigueur  for small-press RPGs at the time, but I got something both better and worse in different ways. Midnight at the Well of Souls is the first novel (1977) in an SF series by a guy named Jack L Chalker. I'm not familiar, but then I'm not much of a reader in that genre. Based solely on the cover art (the exact same as the novel's) I expected the game to be a swords & sorcery romp with centaurs and pyromancy but it's not that at all. Almost all of the system, released in 1986, was written by a fan of the series named Timothy A. Green - hence TAG Industries, the publisher - and he provides the most honest introduction I've
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Bram Stoker's Dracula (the film): The RPG

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After gaining some notoriety for Phoenix Command (1986), a simulationist tactical RPG notorious for some of the most detailed (and least playable) combat rules ever put to print, Leading Edge Games managed to secure the rights to publish official RPG rules for several popular films of the late '80s to early '90s. Among these were Aliens, Lawnmower Man, and Terminator 2 (which I believe only saw release as a miniatures game). Think a game design company best known for ultra-crunchy realism is a good fit for big-budget action franchises? I'll give you one guess. Not too much going on here, against what I was expecting. Clean, if fairly boring. First step: roll a d% to determine background. Sounds good, and reminds me of the career determination in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Turns out Jimmy the Vampire Hunter is a professional occultist. We'll find out what that entails later. Step two: either build your Primary Characteristics via point-buy or roll 3d6
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