Blue Planet (role-playing Game)
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''Blue Planet'' is an environmentalist science fiction
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
first published by Biohazard Games in 1997, set on the planet Poseidon.


Setting

''Blue Planet'' is set on the alien water world Poseidon, where human colonists fleeing an irreparably damaged Earth, Terran megacorporations looking for a rare ore and the indigenous aliens who live in the extensive oceans clash over how to use and steward the planet's resources. The game includes genetically "uplifted" dolphins and
orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...
s as playable characters on either side of the native/Terran dichotomy.


First edition (BPv1): Biohazard Games

The first edition (BPv1), a 348-page book dedicated to
Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), called the ...
, was demonstrated and released at
Origins Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...
in 1997 to critical acclaim, receiving a nomination for the ''Game of the Year''
Origins award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the gaming industry. They are presented by the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for games released in the preceding year. For example, t ...
. Approximately 250 of the 348 pages of the rulebook are dedicated to background about the planet Poseidon. The first edition uses a complex percentile (d100) system to resolve combat that involves the use of hit locations.


Reception

The reviewer from ''
Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...
'' #30 (March/April, 1998) stated that "When I first picked up a copy of Blue Planet, I was mesmerized by the cover. It has the same strange and soothing attraction of looking into a fishbowl. To my delight, the cover art accurately represents the beauty and depth of the world inside." In the August 1998 edition of ''
Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
'' (Issue 250),
Ray Winninger Ray Winninger is a game designer who has worked on a number of roleplaying games, including the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. He is the former Executive Producer for the Wizards of the Coast ''Dungeons & Dragons'' studio. Care ...
was impressed by the body of research behind this game. However, despite all of the detail, Winninger noted that "Conspicuously absent among all the background material is solid advice on how to create and run adventures... it would have been nice to get some of the designers' thoughts on how to use all that comprehensive background information as a backdrop for satisfying stories." He concluded with a guarded recommendation: "Blue Planet's setting is one of the most creative and unusual in recent memory. The rulebook houses enough detailed material to keep an enterprising GM going for months. The rules, however, are a bit too complex and scant for the tastes of many players."


Second edition (BPv2): Fantasy Flight Games

A second edition of the game (BPv2) was published in 2000 by
Fantasy Flight Games Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) is a game developer based in Roseville, Minnesota, United States, that creates and publishes role-playing game, role-playing, board game, board, card game, card, and dice game, dice games. As of 2014, it is a division of ...
as a series of several books. In addition to the ''Player's Guide'' and ''Moderator's Guide'', there were five supplements: ''Fluid Mechanics'', ''
First Colony First Colony is a master-planned community in Fort Bend County, Texas. The community, with approximately 50,000 residents,Kaplan, David.Blending elegance and fast food" ''Houston Chronicle''. May 13, 2010. Retrieved on May 14, 2010. encompasses ...
'', ''Frontier Justice'', ''Natural Selection'', and ''Ancient Echoes''. This edition uses a new
role-playing game system A tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG or TRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants d ...
called the ''Synergy Game System'' that streamlined and simplified the complex combat system of the first edition. Instead of percentile dice, the second edition uses one to three 10-sided dice, a new initiative system, and abstract armor and damage modeling. In 2002,
Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...
produced a
GURPS The ''Generic Universal Role Playing System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system published by Steve Jackson Games. The system is designed to run any genre using the same core mechanics. The core rules were first written by St ...
version of ''Blue Planet'' under license from Fantasy Flight Games.
FASA Games FASA Corporation was an American publisher of role-playing games, wargaming, wargames and board games between 1980 and 2001, after which they closed publishing operations for several years, becoming an IP holding company under the name FASA In ...
published a revised second edition known as ''Blue Planet Revised'' (BPR) in 2012. The revised edition consisted of two core books, the ''Player's Guide'' and the ''Game Master's Guide'', which streamlined the second edition rules and added material originally published in the ''Fluid Mechanics'' and ''Natural Selection'' supplements. These were followed by a revised ''Ancient Echoes'' supplement in 2013.


Recontact - Third Edition (BPv3): Biohazard Games

In April 2021, Biohazard Games and Gallant Knight Games launched a
kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
for ''Blue Planet: Recontact'', the third edition of the game. The crowdfunding campaign was successful, with an estimated delivery of October 2022.


Reviews

*''Backstab'' #5 *''
Casus Belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one bou ...
'' #109


References

{{reflist


External links


Biohazard Games
Environmental mass media Science fiction role-playing games Fantasy Flight Games games Role-playing games introduced in 1997 Fiction set on ocean planets