Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook
Publisher	Renegade Game Studios
First published	August 22, 2022
Written by	Ryan Costello, Gabriel Hicks, JF Sambrano, Bryan C.P. Steele, Elisa Teague & Eddy Webb
ISBN	ISBN 978-1-7368843-3-1
Page count	288
Price	$55.00 USD

The Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook is a rulebook for the Transformers Roleplaying Game. It was released digitally on August 2 2022, with a physical release following later in the year.

The book contains rules for players and Game Masters, with a focus on creating fun stories and engaging combat, as well as tools for creating characters, an extensive library of weapons and equipment, and a dossier full of potential enemies. It also contains the introductory adventure "Troubled Waters".

Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

• Prime's War Journal
• Autobots vs. Decepticons
  • Earth Time Units and Their Interrelation with Cybertronian Perception by Perceptor
• Transcript of an interview with Jetfire
• The War for Energon
• Earth: Our New Home
  • Autobot Lexicon
• Autobot Data Files
• The Transformers Roleplaying Game
• The Game Master
• Playing the Game

Chapter 2: Character Creation

• Creating Your Character
• Step 0: Discuss with your GM & Other Players
• Step 1: Character Concept
• Step 2: Essence Score Increases and Skill Point Investment
• Step 3: Select Influences
• Step 4: Select an Origin
• Step 5: Select a Role
• Step 6: Describe your Character
• Step 7: Form a Team

Chapter 3: Influences

• Hang-Ups
• Background Bonds
• Having Multiple Influences
• Customizing an Influence
• Bureaucrat
• Cube Player
• Experiment
• Former Senator
• Gladiator
• Hunter
• Inventor
• Machinist
• Racer
• Scavenger
• Security
• War Veteran
• Hang-Ups

Chapter 4: Origins

• Choosing Your Origin
• Converting Between modes
• Origin Traits
  • Fitting In
• Bot Mode Statistics
• Alt Mode Statistics
  • Filling in the Driver's Seat
• Defining Your Alt Mode
  • What About Beast Modes?
• Chassis Selection
• Champion
• Cutter
• Lookout
• Monolith
• Outrider
• Rainmaker
• Seeker
  • Cool Your Jets
• Support

Chapter 5: Roles

• Role Out
• Role Overview
• For the Allspark!
• Analyst
• Field Commander
• Gunner
• Modemaster
  • Defining Your Mini-Con
• Scientist
• Scout
• Warrior
  • Losing a Limb

Chapter 6: Essence Scores and Skills

• Essence Scores - The Four 'S's
• Skills and Specializations
• Skills Ranks and Skill Tests
• Unskilled Rolls
• Specializations
• Gaining Skills and Specializations
• Essences & Skills
• Strength
• Speed
• Smarts
• Social
• Using Skills
• Step One: Choose Skill
• Step Two: Skill Dice Shifts
• Step Three: Edge, Snag, or Both?
• Step Four: Determine Difficulty
  • Edge and Snag versus Upshift and Downshift
• Step Five: Roll Skill Test
  • Skill Tests are Meaningful
• Step Six: Determine Results
• Story Points - The Great Equalizer
• Energon Points

Chapter 7: General Perks

• Picking General Perks
  • Who is your Companion to You?
• Mini-Con Perks

Chapter 8: Equipment

• Hardpoints
• Assignment and Requisition
• Equipment Properties
• Weapons
• Weapons List
• Upgrades
• Armor
• Kits
• Support Equipment
• Vehicles
• Non-Cybertronian Vehicles

Chapter 9: Combat

• The Flow of Combat
• A Combat in Steps
  • Creatures in Disguise
• Types of Actions
  • Decepticons, Attack! Group Initiative
• Free Actions
• Movement
• Combat Actions
• Types of Attacks
• Melee Attacks
• Ranged Attacks
• Blast Attacks
• Multiple Targets
• Multi-Weapon Attacks
• Making an Attack
• Character Size and Scale
  • Scale and Size on the Table
• Damage and Repairing Damage
  • Discuss Defeat with your Table
  • Optional Rule: Human Engineers
• Vehicle and Alt Mode Combat
• Aerospace Combat
• Space Combat
• Operating Vehicles
• Other Forms of Combat

Chapter 10: Exploration

• Time
• Movement
  • A Bulldozer As Fast As A Motorcycle?
• Special Types of Movement
• The Environment
• Recharging
• Diseases
• Conditions
• Interactions with Humans
• Between Missions and Downtime

Chapter 11: Locations

• Cybertronian Bases
• Decepticon Headquarters
• Other Bases
• Interesting Places
• Potential Attack Sites
• Common Earth Biomes

Chapter 12: Threats

• Playing Threats
• Non Combat Adversaries
• Loot
• Combining Threats
• Specific Decepticons

Specific Decepticons Acid Storm Airachnid Armorhide Astrotrain Barricade Blitzwing Breakdown Cyclonus Dead End Demolisher Detour Kickback		Knock Out Mega-Octane Megatron Ravage Shockwave Skywarp Slipstream Starscream Soundwave Tantrum Thundercracker		Decepticon Drones Insecticon Drone Scourge Drone Seeker Bomber		General Decepticon Threats Decepticon Annihilator Decepticon Assassin Decepticon Commando Decepticon Seeker Decepticon Seeker Rookie Decepticon Seeker Scout Decepticon Sniper Decepticon Soldied Decepticon Spy
Unaligned Cybertronians Cybertronian Brawler Cybertronian Trader Heat Seeker Drone		Human Threats and NPCs Human Civilian Human Military Pilot Human Scientist Human Soldier		Vehicle Threats Armored Tank Combat Jeep Combat Jet Compact Car Military Helicopter		Mini Sub Motorcycle Pickup Truck Race Car Speed Boat

Chapter 13: Running an Adventure

• Adventure Balance
• Adventure Breakdown
  • Gaming Terms: Campaign vs. Session vs. Part vs. Scene
• Troubled Waters
• Preparing the Game
• Beginning the Adventure
• Part 1: The Abandoned Energon Facility
• Part 2: The Bridge is Falling Down!
• Part 3: YOU ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED, STARSCREAM!

Notes

Errors

• Some of the Decepticon statistics block have mistakes in them:
  • Kickback is listed as having a Social Essence score of 8 and a Cleverness of 13. The rules state that a character's base Cleverness is 10 + the character's Social Essence score. This means that Kickback should have either a Social of 3, or a Cleverness of 18.
  • The Decepticon Sniper states that it has a Strength Essence score of 4 and a Toughness of 13, but according to the rules, a character's base Toughness is 10 + the character's Strength Essence score. This means that the Sniper should have either a Strength of 3, or a Toughness of 14.

Transformers references

• In an effort to consolidate the differences in Cybertronian and Earthling units of time Perceptor and Wheeljack present a handy reference sheet for any Autobot recruit concerned with such things. According to them; one nano-klik equals one second; a klik is comparative to a minute; a cycle is roughly the same as an hour; a solar cycle is naturally a day; an orbital cycle equals one month; a Cybertronian stellar cycle matches up with a human year; and a vorn is likened to a century.
• The interview with Jetfire indicates that he was once a Decepticon, a common narrative surrounding the character. Jetfire also notes how he was the one who gave Optimus Prime the heads-up regarding Earth as a viablesource of Energon. Him being one of the first Transformers to learn of or to visit Earth is also something that dates back to the early days of the character.
  • The interview itself is conducted by Rewind who was the Autobot's chief chronicler in the pages of IDW's More than Meets the Eye comic. He even notes that the camera attached to the side of his head is "always recording", something that he was prone to do in the comic as well.
• Grimlock, of all people, is left in charge of explaining the Autobot Lexicon to the reader. He explains that he was "encouraged" by his "great friend" Optimus Prime to write his memo in bot mode, as his alt mode "sometimes leaves [him] less articulate." This is a clear reference to Grimlock's namesake from the Cyberverse cartoon.
• Among the terminology explained in said lexicon are a lot of common words like "alt mode", Cybertron, and Energon. Less common, however, are phrases like Functionalism, NAIL, and Rite of the Autobrand.
  • "Functionalism" is described as an outdated Cybertronian philosophy according to which Transformers were forced to pursue careers that mirrored their alt mode, and which the Decepticons rebelled against. Notably, with the exception of one issue from the 2005 IDW continuity, the concept has been consistently referred to as functionism. Whether this is an error, or an indication of the concept being renamed is unclear.
  • "NAIL" is short for "non-affiliated indigenous lifeform", i.e. a Cybertronian who doesn't pledge allegiance to either the Autobots or the Decepticons.
  • The Rite of the Autobrand is described as the ritual during which a Cybertronian is inducted into the Autobot ranks by having the symbol of the Autobots branded onto their body.
    • All three of these terms became a more prominent fixture within Transformers lore during Phase Two of IDW's first Transformers run, even though the latter had been introduced much earlier.
• Among the "Influences" you can choose for your Transfromers character is "Cube Player". Cube was first introduced as a popular Cybertronian sport in the Cyberverse cartoon.
• Another Influence is that of "Gladiator", with gladiatorial combat being another favorite of many a Cybertronian in a slew of different continuities.
• The "Racer" Influence makes mention of Velocitron, a Cybertronian colony world concerned almost entirely with racing.
• The metal Durabyllium is mentioned in the "General Perks" section, and a character can equip themselves with "Durabyllium Super-Alloy".
• The General Perk "Mayhem Attack" is named after the Decepticon strike force, Mayhem Attack Squad.
• The "Threats" chapter contain an collection of other randomly assorted tidbits such as:
  • Blitzwing speaks German, a likely nod to his Transformers: Animated counterpart.
  • Slipstream's bio mentions that she may be "an advanced clone of Stascream", a clear reference to her status as just that in Animated.
  • Breakdown's profile, while just as limited as the rest of the Cons', hints at a partnership with Knock Out, and Knock Out's cheekily refers to Breakdown as his "assistant". This seemingly springs from the popular fan theory that Breakdown's Transformers: Prime namesake and Knock Out were more than just allies, something that IDW Publishing built upon once the duo had been introduced in first the 2005 continuity, and then again in 2021.
    • As a further nod to Prime Breakdown, this Breakdown is shown with his hand transformed into a large hammer, a weapon favored by the former.
• The Autobot Road originates in the Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers manga, but Wheeljack's technical name for it, the Global Space Bridge, comes from 2001's Robots in Disguise, essentially blending the two similar concepts into one. The Autobots' use of a world-spanning network of transwarp portals also called to mind the GroundBridge from Transformers: Prime.
• The energy-producing black stone pyramid in the Gulf of Mexico might be based on the Black Pyramid from Robots in Disguise, both being underwater pyramids made of a black stone used to generate power of a Cybertronian origin.

Trivia

• This book was originally slated for release in early 2022, but several delays saw it waylaid for months until the digital edition finally released in August. As per Renegade Game Studios' online storefront, physical copies are estimated to drop later in the year. Players who pre-ordered the physical version also received the digital PDF for free.
• Aside from art produced specifically for this book and the art from Hasbro's various Evergreen design documents, the artwork provided within borrows a lot of material from IDW Publishing's two runs as hosts for the Transformers comic book license. As such, a number of prolific Transformers artists have their work featured within the book, including Brendan Cahill, Casey Coller, Andrew Griffith, Guido Guidi, Marcelo Matere, Alex Milne, Sara Pitre-Durocher, Livio Ramondelli, E. J. Su, Priscilla Tramontano, and many more.
  • One artist who gets no mention in the book's credits, despite his covers to both The Transformers: Stormbringer #1 and Spotlight: Cliffjumper being found inside, is Don Figueroa. This isn't the first time Don's work has gone unrecognized by Hasbro or its affiliates. Poor guy can't catch a break.
• Much of the Hasbro-produced art from this book sees character sporting their Evergreen designs, a standard for Hasbro-licensed products and auxiliary media since 2016.
  • Notable exceptions to this rule include:
    • Blurr, who's based on his appearance in IDW's first continuity. Although, that iconic design has gone on to inspire his apperance in the Cyberverse cartoon, meaning that it's basically his Evergreen design by this point.
    • Similarly, Drift is based on Guido Guidi's designs from All Hail megatron'.
    • Broadside who looks like his incarnation from the G1 cartoon.
    • Armorhide and Mega-Octane are in their Unite Warriors designs.
    • Hubcap who shares his design with the character's incarnation from the Transformers Legends mobile game, itself a G1-ified version of his Movieverse counterpart.
• The "Autobot Data Files" found in the first chapter, as well as the Decepticons found in the chapter "Threats", present a who's who of famous and infamous characters, including the ever-present Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Starscream, but also a whole slew of B- and C-list characters, some of whom we rarely see represented in any type of media, including:
  • Veritable newcomers such as Anode, Rubble, and Gauge.
  • Nobodies like Armorhide and Mega-Octane from Robots in Disguise/Car Robots.
  • The G1 incarnations of Demolisher of Transformers: Armada fame, and Airachnid and Knock Out who both originally appeared in Transformers: Prime.
  • A few random combiner team members; Breakdown, Dead End, and Tantrum.
  • Strangest of all, however, might be the inclusion of Erector, who hasn't had a toy out since 1989, and whose appearances are so rare that his "Notes" section on this very wiki is about as long as the rest of his page combined. His most recent appearance, and one of his most prominent at that, was in issues 10 and 11 of Transformers: Galaxies in 2020.
• While there exists 5 Decepticons who are mentioned as being able to become parts of a larger combiner (Armorhide, Breakdown, Dead End, Mega-Octane, and Tantrum), there are no actual rules in the book detailing how combiners work gameplay-wise.
  • Odds are Renegade will make use of mechanics similar to those for the combined Zords featured in their Mighty Morphin Power Rangers roleplaying game.
• The statistics block for the "Scourge Drone" describes these space-faring threats as "flying warriors cloned form the maniacal and loyal Cyclonus". Cyclonus' own bio confirms that Unicron created him as a template for Galvatron's primary forces. This is at odds with the usual depiction of Scourge being the template on which these warriors are based.