LEGACY REVIEW #12: TMNT & Other Strangeness (Redux Edition - Book 1)
- Francois DesRochers
- Nov 18
- 11 min read
Updated: 24 hours ago
INTRODUCTION
For most people of my age cohort, it’s almost impossible for anyone to have gone through school (grade, junior or high school) without hearing the phrase Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or hearing that catchy tune from the animated series on television during a commercial break. For a while, TMNT was pretty much everywhere; even if not your “thing” and had no idea what or why they were named as they were, or their favourite food, you recognized the t-shirts and the merchandise when you saw it. Palladium Books really did find itself in an enviable position in the 1980s and 1990s, with some of the most recognizable Intellectual Properties converted to their gaming system, TMNT included. Several products tapped into the zeitgeist and Palladium Books was on the radar for shelf space at the Friendly Local Gaming Store.
You can imagine my surprise when, on a phone call with Kevin, he laid the bomb that Palladium Books had re-acquired the license for releasing the TMNT RPG. This was some time ago, and frankly, something not even remotely on my radar. I knew about the TMNT products, but came into Palladium Books via the ROBOTECH franchise and then went whole-hog into Rifts. I never had the chance to get into TMNT before the license dropped. Well, I was certainly emboldened by the opportunity to acquire the TMNT books, more so since they were getting refreshed. My discussions with Sean reinforced this enthusiasm. So when the Kickstarter campaign launched, I committed to the Mutagen Green Foil Cover level.
Note: The following is a review of the PDF versions of the two tome Kickstarter TMNT & Other Strangeness Redux Campaign.
TMNT & Other Strangeness
General. The Redux edition we are going through is coming out 40 years after the fact. Going on a limb, because I don't own the originals, it should be largely unchanged from the original, except for the obvious benefits from updated printing technology, a refresh in the text for layout, and imagery in terms of colours and options for how the product can be developed for you, the Game Master and your Players.
Written By: Erick Wujcik
Published: 1985 (First Printing)
Commentary. The original 1985 introductory comments from Erick Wujcik remain, reinforcing the limitation of animal forms presented in the character development segment. Let’s be honest, if the Player is quibbling over semantics of a specific type of song bird and how the character development doesn’t “represent” their vision, I would suggest this is a problem the GM address with the Player; this is not the game system’s problem. I digress.
Glossary. A handy if truncated list of terms.
Creating Mutant Animal Characters. This really is the meat and potatoes for most Players - how to create impactful and fun to play mutants.
Attributes. Down to the nitty-gritty. We have the updated formatting for headers, text and tables. There is still a significant issue with Attribute text presenting what should be in tabular or point form, but instead is just a big block of text. I did like the pivot for the Attribute Table and the addition of the Movement Table, though I'm not much for using miniatures and prescribed movement values. I do need to once again point out the issue difference between yards and meters, particularly at longer ranges.
Animal. The Animal Category table then provides another series of tables for each selection, which may or may not be too restrictive for Players and Game Masters. Feel free to just pick you animal type.
Origins. This table can have a wide-range of impacts on character creation. It defines skill selections, equipment, education levels. Again, possibly something the GM tweaks.
Mutate. Possibly one of the greatest mechanics I’ve seen for mutant animal creation rules, we get into the Biological Energy Points (Bio-E). This is effected by the animal size, human features, animal abilities and psionic powers. The higher, more effective, the more Bio-E it costs. The greater in size you get, the tougher and more durable the mutant, but the fewer Bio-E you get to play with. Smaller mutants have more Bio-E but balance that with less directly impactful abilities. Finally, the more humanoid in nature (read: the less mutant they appear) costs more Bio-E. It’s not a perfectly granular system, but with so many options, it is really difficult to expect something so finely tuned that you could "game" the conversions. That said, it is inherently intuitive and easy to go through, and doesn't really present too many options to shove Players into some sort of "analysis paralysis." Pic a mutant animal you want to play, and start playing with the Bio-E available. Game on!
Animal Section
Psionic Powers. Like advertised on the tin. A list of psionics, what they do, how many Bio-E points they cost.
Animal Abilities. Special abilities like breathing (e.g. gills), claws and talons, tunneling, extra limbs, flight, heightened senses and more. These are described in detail to how they benefit the character, as they are list in the animal mutations provided in the next section (along with Bio-E costs).
Animal Descriptions. A loooong list of animal mutations and options available. I started modeling how many options there could be and stopped once it reached over 10,000 (and that didn’t take long). There are a few oddities in there (e.g. the scaling for Apes on page 25 seem ‘off’). Like I said, don’t look for ultra-granularity. Needless to say, 26 pages of mutations are available.
Alignments. You know them, we love them.
Education and Skills. The system for skills in this game is very different from most of the other PB games. More akin to Heroes Unlimited, they are laid out in Professional and Amateur, by category; I have to say the table of page 55 is a bit unintuitive. The skills and Hand-to-Hand Combat are laid out over the following pages
Weapons and Equipment. A very nicely compiled and well presented series of close combat ninja, and modern weapons, leading into equipment and vehicles.
Experience. We get the standard Palladium Books Experience Points section
Don’t Judge a Book… (Comic). A nice eight-page comic delivered by Kevin Eastment and Peter Laird.
Combat. An overview of the terminology and conduct of running combat. Without the original books, I can’t tell what’s been updated, but comparing to modern PB games, there are a few hidden updates in there.
Game Mastering. There are some great entries for the newbie Game Master to keep in mind when considering how to conduct that position, character creation, and running adventures.
Adventures. A series of small adventures and NPCs for the GM to read through and/or leverage. Some of the classics are presented here, like the Terror Bears and Doc Feral.
TMNT (NPCs). It just wouldn’t be complete if the game didn’t actually provide the main characters as NPCs. Among a series of characters (and there's a LOT), we get:
Raphael
Leonardo
Donatello
Michelangelo
Splinter
April O’Neil
Shredder
Foot Clan Ninja
TURTLES GO TO HOLLYWOOD
General. This is really an adventure module for the TMNT & OS RPG that takes the characters to the west coast. Once there, the Player Characters can get themselves embroiled into some corporate shenanigans that gets settled on the streets, in the board room, on the movie set, you pick the Hollywood stereotype, it’s likely in there! There is a lot of zany adventure possibilities.
Written By: Daniel Greenberg
Published: 1990
Night Moves. A series of texts for the GM to read basically can get the Players from any major urban center and deposit them in Hollywood. The crime cartel SoloChem is distributing a drug called ‘Blue Ice’ and the PCs are there to stop it! Sounds like a raid to the corporate headquarters is needed! A well-fleshed out segment sets the GM for success here., including NPC and “goons” for the PCs to defeat, and opportunity for “sneak and peak.” There are a few ways to resolve this segment.
I Love L.A. The raid uncovered a subliminal message generator (SMG) and the plan to deploy it using film or television. Note: for more modern game play, stick in a sort of trojan virus for cellular and mobile apps or laptops and tablet devices too. The PCs need to find and defeat the Ratt Pack, who are helping with the SMG. This single reel presents a load of options for the GM, and ultimately introduces the Foot Clan “Frogmen” (non-mutant kind) to fight against, and the White Rabbit.
Monolithic Movie Studios. Lots of detail, including a list of upcoming productions, LOL. There is an interestingly relaxed view to mutants, given the props and special effects of the industry.
Note: One could imagine more so 30 years later! Movie stars are a weird breed too. The cartel and Blue Ice issue is still a thing, and several scenes develop the plot and the studios. The Cabaret section has some humorous roleplaying possibilities, with some interesting character names.
Strategy Session. A bit of a bridge section, it’s more an information seeking, strategizing and development of the party’s way forward. How are the PCs going to compile the information they’ve gleaned about the Ratt Pack, Blue Ice, the SMG, Foot Clan’s involvement, and how to best deal with it. We also get the Ratt Pack’s lair described.
Battle Beyond the Soundstage. Final showdown and the adventure’s climax. There are some great points for largescale melee combats, and gives the GM some fantastic tools to wrap-up the adventure (no pun intended). Some of the Ratt Pack and NPC backgrounds are provided as a fleshed out characters.
TRUCKIN’ TURTLES
General. I found it genuinely odd this would come after Turtles Goes to Hollywood, as this one provides the GM the very scenario and adventure design tools to get from New York City to Hollywood. That said, this adventure module could easily be exploited for a series of single-session adventures or as a campaign. This bodes well for the playability and is only limited by the GM’s imagination. Not bad for a book published over 30 years ago!
Written by: Jape Trostle, Kevin Siembieda
Published: November 1989 (First Printing)
Introduction. The roles, setting and framework for allowing the PCs to basically traverse from one urban setting to another. This provides the GM a wide array of choices and opportunities to exploit. Does anyone remember the old Rand McNally road maps you could buy at almost any convenience store checkout? Well, now the GM can exploit Google Maps, which is a real boon for adventure planning.
Enter Bert. The PCs come across a dark alley, a lone trucker back against the wall, facing off a group of 20 leather-clad thugs. This is your basic introduction to a key NPC, and sets up the scenario for the remainder of the adventure.
The Truck. Detailed information for the GM on Bert’s rig. There is a runner car for those that can’t fit into the cab or crew compartment of the 18-wheeler’s tractor truck. Fair warning, the runner is a Porsche, Why? Because why not! LOL. Throw in a guy “dressed like a walking ferret or an owl,” what trouble could possibly come? Bert is a secretive dude. The cargo gets loaded but remains a mystery. Few details are provided, but this section allows the Players to sleuth a bit.
Trouble With Ninjas. A rather comical set-up to a combat encounter; classically derived from the animated series. The PCs have a combat encounter with some ninjas, and a pink Cadillac (I’ll just leave that there; it’s worth the read). I really appreciated that this section has options for whether the PCs fight off the incursion or not without derailing the adventure. Well done, well designed. With the destination as silicon valley, the road from the PCs “city” could be derived from anywhere in North America. Ergo, the source/destination could just as easily be replaced with any other cities. The GM is given some nice breakdown that could be applied almost universally, or modified with very little effort. Another superb design choice.
Burger Heaven/Fast Food Hell. As the PCs and Bert get hungry, signs for a grand opening for a new burger joint draws their attention. With patrons and staff dressed in silly costumes, the PCs are free to walk about unmolested. An encounter leads to a “messy situation” that I won’t spoil. Certain party compositions will solidly handle this encounter, others mostly relegated to saving people.
Gateway Arch. The truck and PCs make their way through St. Louis. With a scenario that involves the police surrounding a subversive group’s grand operation to demonstrate their power and reinforce their manifesto, it’s up to the PCs to bring things to a halt. How the party handles the scenario is up to them, but it is a well done, discrete combat adventure that could be run as a one-shot.
Close Encounter of the Super Villain Kind. As one would expect, we see the a mini-culmination with a Bib Bad Evil Guy. After the Gateway Arch, several states’ worth of travel is interrupted by another combat scenario.
Rocky Mountain Mutants. A multi-car crash site in dense fog has Bert stop the truck to investigate. Another encounter with a band of mutants ensues, and how the PCs deal with the combat elements determines the flow of certain events in this section.
Final Battle at the O.K. Corral. As they make their way into Nevada, our intrepid warriors are now concluding the adventure. The villains want the cargo from Bert’s truck, and we get Bert’s origin story. Set in a cowboy western-style locale, it is somewhat amusing to have ninja’s clad in cowboy outfits over their ninja clothes. We have shoot outs, ambushes, and a faceoff with some of the named NPCs from earlier parts that leave a satisfying amount of room for the GM to play with – tie it off neatly, or make it into something more, it’s all up to you!
GM Tips for Trucking Turtles. There is a fair amount presented to help the GM calculate things and prepare the adventures ahead of time. A number of tables give a fair amount to play with traffic (urban or rural), random hostile encounters, and optional crash tables. I particularly enjoyed the Truck Stops and Greasy Spoons section, despite the fact is would have been much better received back in the day than GMs with contemporary internet resources.
BEHIND THE SCENES
The Making of TMNT & Other Strangeness. The final pages of the books are devoted to a bit of a historical testimonial on the how and who that was involved with Kevin’s introduction to the TMNT IP, his fascination for the setting, and how it would make a great RPG. There is an interesting series of twists and turns, as well as some insights into the RPG publishing world, and the vagaries of the mainstream media at play that can make things turn on a dime, so to speak. Included are a series of some very impactful sketches from the time, and some correspondence between some of the bigger names involved.
Tributes. Lastly, but not least, a series of tributes from stakeholders, artists and authors from various aspects of the TMNT universe; both written and supported by visual media. Again, some interesting artistic entries that show some varied forms, some of which have been adapted into the alternate covers and various additional options for the Kickstarter.
CONCLUSION
The Redux edition we are going through is coming out 40 years after the fact. Largely unchanged from the original, it benefits from updated printing technology, a refresh in the text in layout, and imagery in terms of colours and options for how the product can be developed for you, the Game Master/Player. A lot of this is simply a refresh of the original material, as originally published back in the day, some of it as old or older than many of the readers. The Kickstarter has presented Palladium Books with a significant opportunity to leverage some nostalgia and rebrand one of their most popular game systems for a newer generation to explore.
There is a lot of material from these old books that really hold up well to modern game design and design theory. The Bio-E system was ahead of its time, and the adventure modules presented in Truckin’ Turtles and Turtles Go to Hollywood are really (really really) good for something produced over 30 years ago. The artwork is a reflection of its time, and includes some newer pieces in the Tribute segment that do the subject absolute justice.
The TMNT title is back in the Palladium Books library, and regardless that playing anthropomorphic superheroes isn't my first pick for playing an RPG, there is a lot to be joyful for. The old products are back and remastered, and looking fantastic. I’ve had the chance to revisit some very old and absolutely fantastic modules that, quite frankly, were probably revolutionary for the era; they still stand up today, which says something for the system Erick Wujcik concocted. And it's that same system that lives on, now providing any GM a great wealth of mutant characters for whatever system they are running, but able to tie into the TMNT Intellectual Property and universe. Be it PFRPG, Nightbane, HU2, Rifts (duh), AtB (double-duh), BtS or Ninjas & Superspies, there is no shortage of comics and TMNT-related content for a GM to draw adventure ideas from. Cowabunga, indeed.
Next week, the review TMNT Transdimensional Adventures (Book 2) of the Kickstarter Campaign, followed by a Wrap-Up post on the physical books, once they arrive.
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