This was a long time coming and I am so glad to finally have gotten my stinkin’ paws on it. The buy in was $49 with additional addons available for the game. I did purchase addons but will be reviewing them separately. I ended up paying $147 to get what I felt I needed. They can be purchased here: https://store.magnetic-press.com/collections/games
First thing to mention is how large the rulebook is at 308 pages. They did a lot research, pulling out stuff I had no idea about, though I am a more casual fan who has seen the movies, vaguely remember the cartoon on TV, and never read any of the books or comics. From the book: The Canon of this RPG is based on the classic 1968 movie and its 4 sequels, incorporates aspects of the 1974 TV Series, and 1975s Return to the Planet of the Apes and novelizations. The original novels “Conspiracy” (2011) and Death of the Planet of the Apes are also included, along with many aspects of the original comic series (1974 - 1976), as well as nods to over 5 decades of classic Planet of the Apes source materials. (Some paraphrasing done). The ruleset is the Magnetic Variant (same as the Carbon Grey RPG) of the West End Games D6 System.
Chapter one is the usual brief overview of the world you’ll play in and welcome to RPGs, as well as the types of gameplay available like Serial Play (campaign), Premiere Play (one-offs with movie feel and stakes to go with it), and Solo Play. There’s even a note about discrimination and bigotry in the game and how the theme of the game should be about overcoming hatred and not succumbing to it.
Chapter 2 is a rules primer to give a feel for how to the game works.
Now we get to the meat of the game:
Chapter 3 The Great Apes. Chimpanzees, Gorillas, and Orangutans are discussed in depth, as are some others that didn’t make it, such as baboons, monkeys, and bonobos. Ape government is in there, as is information about the Sacred Scrolls and Quota System. There are also 12 ape archetypes one can choose from, including: Ape Journalist, Ape Scientist, Philosopher Ape, and Service Ape.
Chapter 4 is about the Beast Man. They differentiate between Tribal Humans and Astro-nauts (a play on the word, as in how one of the Apes would pronounce it). This chapter and the previous have been written from an Ape’s perspective, so one can expect certain…biases. As a sidenote, throughout the book are scattered lines of dialog from the movies. If one wants to play a Tribal Human, they are unable to talk without someone (Ape or Astro-naut) to teach them. They do break down nicely the “ecology” of the Tribal Human and the “ecology” of the Astro-naut, so it can be easier to play the respective type. There are 8 archetypes to be played, 4 for Tribal Humans and 4 for Astro-nauts.
Chapter 5 is Children of the Bomb (like I said, they went all-out and inclusive in this). This chapter is NOT written from an Ape perspective as few mutants have been seen by Apes, so little is actually known. We get a breakdown of the government system and religion, the difference between mutants and underdwellers, and other necessary information. There are 4 archetypes available, 3 of which have psionic powers, which is also explained in the chapter. There’s even a blurb about The Makers and their role. Psionic Powers come in the form of: Divination, Transmogrification, Manipulation, and a handful of melding of the 3.
Chapter 6 is all about character creation, and even a short solo adventure one can play to get a handle on the system.
Chapter 7 is combat and recovery. It covers the combat sequence, defenses, healing, and mental trauma. Pretty standard stuff.
Chapter 8 is Mandemus’ Armory, describing a wide array of weaponry.
Chapter 9 covers vehicles of all types that can be found across the many timelines in the game, from the past (our modern times) to the future (present timeline of the movies).
Chapter 10 is the all important chapter about running the game. It covers all environments one would come across in the world and any effects that could happen.
Chapter 11 goes more in depth about the world. Ape City, the Provinces, The Forbidden Zone and many others, as well as various NPCs one can come across.
Chapter 12 is all about adventures. It includes an introductory adventure, campaign hooks, adventure hooks, and tool to make your own adventures.
