XXVc RPG Supplement “Hardware” Ad from 1992
During the summer of 1989, while on a camping trip, I ran across the Buck Rogers: Arrival* short story collection. Designed as an introduction to the TSR reboot of the Buck Rogers story, Arrival* took me by surprise since it was one of my first encounters with cyberpunk elements that weren’t set firmly in a cyberpunk-styled setting.
By the time 1992 rolled around, TSR had produced several novels and even had a roleplaying game — Buck Rogers XXVc (Amazon.com search*) — on the market. The line never really took off, though, and the XXVc wikipedia entry is the place to learn more.
Personally, I found the game and setting quite fun. The genetically-modified “races,” the blend of space opera and (at the time) cutting edge science, and the entire feel was a blast. I’ve got several of the books from the game on my shelf and realize that I should probably track down the few missing modules; an incomplete series is a crime against personal libraries.
Related articles
- Ten Random RPG Supplements from My Collection (battlegrip.com)
- [Farsight Blogger] OSR D&D S&P using XXVc with some Mods (farsightblogger.blogspot.com)
I loved the Buck Rogers relaunch! I never played or even saw the role-playing game (and didn’t need to, I already had the Star Wars one), but I played the computer game, Countdown to Doomsday, constantly. Even after my Commodore 64 bit the dust, I can remember renting the Genesis version.