Interesting Development: TENRA WAR!
So, I have heard rumors of it here and there for a while now, but it’s confirmed: The latest game by Junichi Inoue (designer of Tenra Bansho) is coming out Next Month, in March! It’s called Tenra WAR (天羅WAR) and it features basically a giant culture clash and war between the world of Tenra Bansho (Japan high-tech feudal society) and the world of the 2002 game “Terra: The Gunslinger”, a high-action steampunk Western setting (with some other high-tech and magical elements).
The designer, for his own home projects, has been developing poseable figurine toys and the like for this hypothetical mash-up: Basically JIN-ROH looking chaingun-wielding Rocket Rangers, and cat-eared high tech automaton maids (Here’s a site that features pictures from all the models).
Well, the Tenra WAR Role-Playing Game based on the idea is just wrapping up, probably at the presses right now, for a March release. Here’s some details that I’m aware of:
1) This new game will not be using the game rules of Tenra Bansho, nor the card-based rules of Terra the Gunslinger.
2) Rather, it is the first of their new(ish) system which is FEAR’s attempt at a streamlined, universal d20-ish system, called “SAS”: Standard Adventure System. This is the same ruleset that the fantasy game “Alshard” uses.
3) It’s an awesome ruleset in general, and basically plays out like an “Exalted Lite”. With classes and class-based powers, it’s easy to jump into, understand and play if all you have ever seen of RPGs was “Final Fantasy” and the like (the original Alshard system was cleverly crafted and targeted to new RPGers who were familiar with console games).
4) I’ll be sure to pick up a few copies on release, and perhaps review the basics here at some point when I have time. Anything that FEAR produces tends to make its way to my shelf (I’m a huge fan).
5) However, none of this impacts the release of the English version of Tenra Bansho Zero. Tenra WAR is not going to be “the new/upgraded version of Tenra Bansho”; rather it is going to be something completely different, in terms of focus, setting and direction. We’re excited to see how the final product will look, but it’’s going to be a completely different game.
More on Tenra WAR later!
SRS Basic « Yaruki Zero Games said,
March 11, 2007 @ 1:05 pm
[...] Also, as Andy noted, FEAR is putting out a new game called Tenra WAR, apparently a crazy crossover between Tenra Bansho and Terra The Gunslinger. AFAIK it’ll be the first SRS-branded game, where neither of the games it’s based on used the proto-SRS that appeared in many other FEAR games. [...]
SRS Basic-- eGamingLot said,
May 4, 2007 @ 12:05 am
[...] Also, as Andy noted, FEAR is putting out a new game called Tenra WAR, apparently a crazy crossover between Tenra Bansho and Terra The Gunslinger. AFAIK it’ll be the first SRS-branded game, where neither of the games it’s based on used the proto-SRS that appeared in many other FEAR games. [...]
Jacob said,
November 18, 2009 @ 2:35 pm
Hey, kind of late to the party here, but are there any plans to translate Tenra WAR? Not that I’m not excited for TBZ, but Tenra WAR sounds really interesting.
Diamond Sutra said,
December 13, 2009 @ 11:19 pm
Hey Jacob, I apologize for the long delay, been in limbo at work recently.
TENRA WAR is a post all in itself.
Unfortunately, I’m not going to be translating Tenra War, but would support anyone’s efforts to do so. The game is using a variation of the SRS system, but neither Tenra Bansho or the original Terra the Gunslinger (the original Western game which makes up the other half of the campaign setting to “Tenra War”, which uses a playing card-based system) use that system, it’s a whole new thing which is very class and level focused.
It’s also a little bizarre by the standards of the games which came before it: It’s an interesting take on the setting; “HYPER FEUDAL JAPAN and HYPER WESTERN AMERICA meet… and FIGHT!” …but the game /begins/ after that fight is over, and the cultures have started to integrate… and that’s when the Angels (think Evangelion Angels) come down and start eating the world. So you have gonzo Japan, gonzo steampunk western America, and then they’re blended together with more gonzo on top. I think having Tenra out there as a foundation might generate future interest in Tenra War, but we’ll see.
But let it be said, having a Catholic Priest-Ninja wandering around with a Buddhist Monk Gunfighter is a juicy combination…