is a Japanese mixed-genre

tabletop role-playing game 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 ...

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...

product, based on an oriental

science fantasy file:Warhammer40kcosplay.jpg, Cosplay of a character from the ''Warhammer 40,000'' tabletop game; one critic has characterized the game's setting as "action-oriented science-fantasy." Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction ...

RPG '' Tenra Bansho'',

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

RPG ''Terra the Gunslinger'', and post-apocalypse

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...

RPG '' Angel Gear''. All three of the original games were designed by Jun'ichi Inoue.

Concept

The setting is based after the intercontinental war between two continents: Tenra (similar to a high-magic

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

) and Terra (similar to a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

). After the war, the world was changed by the influence of great culture clash between oriental and occidental nations. The game starts from that point, after the two cultures have had some time to intermingle. That's when the mysterious alien "Angels" arrive, great psychic/magical creatures with strange and unknowable motives. The basic setup of the game is two radical cultures joining together to fight off an alien invasion. There are over 40

character class In tabletop games and video games, a character class is an occupation, profession, or role assigned to a game character to highlight and differentiate their capabilities and specializations. In role-playing games (RPGs), character classes ag ...

es based on oriental and western cultures in basic rulebook, which include ''houshi'' ( buddhist monk), ''Jinguuke'' (

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

's agent belonging to the ''Jinguuke'' clan),

ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

, onmyouji,

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

, ''Yoroi-nori'' (

pilot),

gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers () or in the late 19th and early 20th century gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslin ...

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

and

private eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

, rocket ranger (member of US Army's special

airborne forces Airborne forces are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in airborne units are also known as paratroopers. The main ...

), saloon girl and steam mage. To emphasize the cultural mashup, classes are mixable: One could create a ninja gunfighter, a Taoist Sorcerer Catholic priest, a kugutsu (living doll) saloon girl, and so on. Oriental and western characters fight against the angels that are arch-foes of humankind together. The game is using the Standard RPG System, a ruleset also used for ''

Alshard is a Japanese role-playing game designed by Jun'ichi Inoue and Fareast Amusement Research. It was released in July 2002. The current, version 1.5, known as was published in July 2005. It is a fantasy role-playing game with mechanical items like ...

'', '' Alshard Gaia'' and ''Kaze no Stigma RPG'' There are variances for character generation, and there are additional extra rules for things like Fate and Asura, the latter meaning, in this context, the possibility of becoming evil.

Differences from source material

The world as imagined in the original ''Tenra Bansho'' game (1996–1997) and the original ''Terra the Gunslinger'' game was a huge planet with contained Tenra's "Japan" to the East, Terra's "USA" to the West. Tenra originally makes reference to the continent of India to Tenra's East. In ''Tenra War'', this world is reconfigured so that the lands of Tenra are to the "South", the lands of Terra are to the "North", and they exist together in one giant

Ringworld ''Ringworld'' is a 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. ''Ringworld'' tells the story of Louis Wu and his companions on a mission to the Ringworld, an ...

-like structure.

List of products

*''Tenra War'', basic rulebook,

Enterbrain , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on January 30, 1987, as . Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strate ...

, *''Lost Heaven'', supplement,

External links

Tenra War official site

Angel Gear RPG
{{in lang, ja Japanese role-playing games Science fiction role-playing games Fantasy role-playing games Role-playing games introduced in 2007 Kadokawa Corporation franchises

Concept

Differences from source material

List of products

See also

External links