RPG Encyclopedia: X-Z
0-9
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X-Z
Index
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Xandoria Core Fuzion
- 1st ed by J. Parker (2005) Dilly Green Bean Games
-
A science fantasy RPG set on a planet that once was the greatest prison
in the universe. After a mysterious cataclysm, it was thrown into
an ice age, and recovered centuries later with the the construction
of Atmosphere Controllers. The planet is now lush with life, but
plagued by hidden horrors still lurking there. It uses a variant
of the Fuzion system, originaly
from R. Talsorian games.
-
Xenoforce
- 1st ed by Simon Parkinson (1997) Dragon Games
-
An alien invasion conspiracy RPG, based around a secret government
organization dedicated to defending the Earth against an alliance of
aliens planning to infiltrate and conquer Earth. In 1947, a number
of aliens were left behind from a crashed spaceship, who allied to
prepare for a slower-than-light invasion centuries in the future.
There are five types of aliens on Earth: Controller, Infiltrater,
Observer, Morpher, Grunt. The system uses five attributes (Strength,
Perception, Constitution, Agility, Influence) and various percentile
skills. Character creation includes random-roll attributes (2d4 x 10
+ 1d10, for a range from 21 to 90) and point-bought skills.
-
Xro Dinn Chronicles
- 1st ed by Matthew Webster, Eric Wujcik, Aaron Rosenberg, Dan Ryan, Jamie Jarvis, Matthew Webster, Darrell Hardy (2001) Ionian Game Studios
-
A hard science fiction RPG, set in a lawless sector of the galaxy known
as the Frontier. Five races are plagued by the shapeshifting
Sharr'Dann, who are more powerful physically and technologically
than any other race. It uses a skill-based system using d20 rolls.
-
Year of the Phoenix
- 1st ed by Martin Wixted (1986) FGU
-
A sci-fi RPG set in 2197 where Russians occupy most of North
America. Astronauts of the U.S. Space Command crash-land after
an unusual "temporal displacement", and emerge to oppose them.
It uses a percentile skill-based system. Character creation is
limited point-bought.
-
Yellow Dawn: The Age of Hastur
- 1st ed by David J. Rodger (2005) Lulu
- 1st ed by David J. Rodger (2008)
-
A post-apocalyptic horror RPG set in a future where the Earth's
population has been devastated by disease some time in the 2030s.
The orbital colonies and deep-space habitats cut off contact to
protect themselves from infection and did nothing to help.
After over 70% of the population died, further horrors emerged
including zombies and orcs (the results of infection) as well as
more supernatural phenomena. It uses a percentile skill-based system
similar to Call of Cthulhu,
adding Ranks to professions that represent conviction and faith in
your own abilities, that function similar to a character level system.
-
Ysgarth
- 1st ed by David Nalle (1979) Ragnarok Press
- 2nd ed (1980)
- 3rd ed (1982)
- 4th ed (1982)
- 5th ed (1985)
- 7th ed (1998)
-
A fantasy-genre RPG, which has changed significantly over 7
editions. In general, it uses a percentile skill system, with
limited point-bought character creation. It has an
action-point-based combat system.
-
Yurl'h
- 1st ed by Patrick Durand-Peyrolles (1995) Tamise Productions
-
A French-language medieval fantasy RPG. It uses a d6 and d100
based sytem.
-
Yuuyake Koyake
- 1st ed by Ryo Kamiya (2006) Sunset Games
-
A modern-day fantasy RPG where the player characters are henge -
magical animals with able take on human form. Adventures focus on
helping ordinary people in a town in rural Japan. Character creation
starts with picking one of six character types, each with their own
special abilities: fox, raccoon dog, cat, dog, rabbit, or bird.
Resolution uses a diceless system based on point spending. Each
character has a Connection stats (from 1 to 5) to the town and to
each other PC. At the start of each scene, a character gets points
of Wonder equal to total connections to them, and points of Feelings
equal to total connections from others. Wonder is spent on special
powers, Feelings to boost attributes, and both can be spent on
transforming.
-
Zero
- 1st ed by Steve Stone, Lester Smith (1997) Archangel
- 2nd ed (1999) Dynasty
-
A bizarre sci-fi game where PC's are biomech hive members cut
off from the collective consciousness (the god-queen "Zero"). The
characters learn to become individuals and find that their lives
were not as nice as they thought. Worse, they are now considered
enemies of the hive. It uses a simple skill system: Choose a
number of skills that you want to concentrate on ("Focus
skills"). The number you chose is your Focus rating. On focus
skills you want to roll over the Focus rating;
on other skills you want to roll under the
Focus rating. Thus, the more Focus skills you have, the worse
you are at them. The roll is 1d6 times 1d6 (i.e. 1 to 36).
-
Zły Cien: Kruki Urojenia
- 1st ed by Jacek J. Greczyszyn (1995) Szaman
-
A Polish-language fantasy RPG based on Slavic history and mythology.
The title translates as "The Evil Shadow: Ravens of Delusion". It
was the first original Polish-language RPG. It uses a complex
rules system.
-
Zombeja! Ovella! / Zombie Cinema
- 1st ed by Eero Tuovinen (2007) Arkenstone Publishing
- 1st English ed (2008) Arkenstone Publishing
-
A horror genre storytelling game about a zombie apocalypse, that mixes
board game and role-playing elements. Players take turns directing
scenes, and by conflicts with other players their character token may
move closer to the zombie token. If the zombie token is in the same
scene, the player describes how their character is killed. The game
comes in a boxed set that includes a game board, tokens, rules sheet,
and 27 Cinema Cards. Players choose from three types of character
cards for creating their characters.
-
Zombi: The Earth won't hold the Dead...
- 1st ed by Matt Johnston, Colin Johnston, Paul Keenan (1999) Crucible
-
A modern-day zombie horror RPG, based primarily on the George
Romero movies. It is published as a 68-page 5"x8" booklet that
includes the brief rules and more detailed background. It is set
in a world where in 1999 the dead begin to rise and rapidly cause
a breakdown of society. It uses a minimalist system. There are
10 traits (combining attributes and skills). Actions are
resolved by rolling 2d6 under trait + modifiers.
-
Zombieroolipeli Kalmo
- 1st ed by Risto J. Hieta, Hans Zenjuga (1999) Artic Ranger Production
- 2nd ed (1999) Artic Ranger Production
-
A small-press Finnish-language tongue-in-cheeck horror RPG, whose title
translates to "Zombie Roleplaying Game: the Dead". A thin and small
A6-sized booklet, printed by Tehokopiointi KY. The PC's are zombies,
generated by various random-roll methods including previous profession
(lumberjack, celebrity, hobo, mafia boss,...) and how the character
died (i.e. the burglar shot back or bondage game gone too far).
Action resolution uses d6 and d8. There is a live-action version
of this game entitled "Elokalmo" (roughly "Life-Dead").
-
Zone
- 1st ed by Nicolas Thery, Franck Bouchaud (1986) Siroz
-
A French-language modern-day suburban-violence / teen
rebellion RPG.
-
Zontana Epi (Ζωντανα Επι)
- 1st ed by Thomas Mastakouris (2000) Aiolos
-
"Living Epics" -- A Greek-language RPG set in the mythic
Greece of Homer's epics. It uses a skill-based system.
-
The Zorcerer of Zo
- 1st ed by Chad Underkoffler (2006) Atomic Sock Monkey Press
-
A fairy tale fantasy RPG using a variant of the Prose Descriptive
Qualities (PDQ) system from
in Truth & Justice.
It includes description of the genre and many notes from campaign play,
but only a few details on a sample setting. Resolution is based on
2d6 + stat versus difficulty or opposed roll, possibly modified by
spending Hero Point(s). Character creation is limited point-bought,
distributing 6 Ranks of Qualities among player-defined traits and
defining one Flaw that grants Hero Points when invoked.
John H. Kim
<jhkim@darkshire.net>
Last modified: Mon Jul 2 09:15:53 2018