LEGACY REVIEW #13: Transdimensional TMNT (Redux Edition - Book 2)

Francois DesRochers
21 hours ago
10 min read

INTRODUCTION

We have now the second of the two redux books, the remainder of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Redux collection, remastered and reworked. This book contain several books, including Transdimensional TMNT, TMNT Guide to the Universe, and the TMNT Adventures. To be perfectly honest, back in the hey-day of the TMNT RPG, none of these books, and really most of this specific RPG series, were on my radar. As stated in the previous post, my jam and introduction to Palladium Books came by way of ROBOTECH. That said, this certainly has been a fairly comprehensive tour-de-force of nostalgia. So let's not waste any more time and get cracking into the second volume!

Note: The following is a review of the PDF versions of the two tome Kickstart TMNT & Other Strangeness Redux campaign.

Transdimensional TMNT

General. We're heading into some relatively uncharted terriroty in terms of current Palladium Books game rules. At least this was the first time I encountered the rules herein, and let me tell you, this was a treat. Erick provides a masterfully presented set of rules for travelling through time and some new elements for Players and GMs to tinker around with. Fair warning, some of the results for traversing the vastness of time are not exactly "Player-friendly."

Written By: Erick Wujcik

Published: 1989 (First Printing)

Creating a Character – Transdimensional Style! While much the character generation process remains unchanged, the Origins of the character have been broken down into a table, each result leading to another table of various results that impact the character. Some of these are very impactful, and they all refer to MORE tables and results further defined later in the book. For reference, the categories are:

Contemporary
Time Travelling
Cross-Dimensional

Note: There’s also a slew of new animals to choose from for mutation, including Jurassic, Cretaceous, Cenozoic (basically a mutant dinosaur), and more Modern animal varieties, like Mutant Hominids.

New Skills. As is want for Palladium Books to do, a series of new skills are introduced in later books. This is a kind of stealth upgrade that, thankfully, isn't really an issue as they are now all encapsulated in the two-tome Redux Collection. Huzzah!

Time and Time Again. As the segment starts with “Time is tricky in a role-playing game.” There is a system presented here to allow the GM to handle the intricacies of time travel in a way that has some real consequences. There’s a bit of language in there that requires a second, perhaps third read by the GM to get it right, but examples help smooth most out most of the likely wrinkles. There are some breaks from just presenting game mechanics, with some discourse by in-game characters, as well as some profiles of NPC Time Lords.

Wizard Magic. Mutants have long had the ability for psionics, and now we introduce the aspect of magic to the system. It’s a much more streamlined system, and one that bears some resemblance to modern magic. There’s no PPE, and the Wizard benefits from a Wizard Bonus table that functions just like a Hand-to-Hand combat table (bonuses gained per level). And of course, an alphabetized list of spells.

Time Lord Magic. Very much like the Wizard Magic (Time Lord Bonus table, list of spells), but specific to the Time Lords. I found it odd that the Time Lords Magic section not immediate follow the NPCs, but I digress. Some of those spells are crucial for anyone looking to do some serious time leaps.

Time Machines and Dimensional Devices. So, there’s no Delorean, but there is an old Cadillac series 62 Convertible souped up to take on the galaxy. A number of devices and equipment, as well as a section for upgrading vehicles and machines, are presented to provide the PCs and the GM some options on their transdimensional adventures. Don’t forget to buy your portable cross-dimensional device (for a cool $6 million); don’t ;eave home without it!

Time Travel Equipment. Something I was somewhat surprised and very happy to see was the inclusion of other period clothing, armor, and weapons. All are fully detailed for use in any modern game without traversing a dimension (e.g. so you the GM know what an 1860 .36 Colt Navy Cap-and-Ball Revolver does for damage). Includes a handy misfire table for black powder weapons and deliberate overloading.

Game Master Info. Some great information for the GM looking to plan any cross-dimensional and time travelling adventures. A lot of ancient time periods are given helpful overviews, as well as some initial encounters for some. Be prepared, some of these are nasty encounters. LOL. The info here though really is a welcome start point for any GM. Loads of ideas to glean from. I’d recommend this table for ANY GM looking for ideas for their Rifts game, or anything involving dimension hopping. This really is a gem of a section.

Temporal Mishap Table. Yeah, there’s a few tables here for the GM to play with. Some can really throw the party off-course in pretty radical ways (in terms of time periods), while others introduce oddities to the environment or the flora and fauna. There are some really neat things a GM can do to mess with the setting in a way that doesn’t derail the PCs, but definitely demonstrates something went wrong.

Cross-Dimensional Travel. Now we get into what is essentially “rifting” to another dimension, vice the time travel we’ve covered. There are another series of incredibly helpful and informative tables for the GM to play with and inform design decisions for any adventures they design, encounters they plan to develop.

Adventures. A number of adventures pre-set and ready for any GM to really leverage the theme with their Players. All are well done in my opinion, provide the GM a great start-point or a template for how to develop their own adventures. Several NPCs and antagonists are provided that could always be thrown into a modern setting adventure as well. I won't go over any details here, to keep the acute spoilers to a minimum.

TMNT Guide to the Universe

General. Bearing in mind much of TMNT Redux - Book 2 is about interplanetary travel and time travel, it behooves us to present something for the GM to use in terms of what's out there past the edges of the Solar System. This module does the job; more crucially IMHO, it provides the GM and Players a framework for building vehicles and the combat rules for role-playing vehicular combat. One could look at this entire module as a GM resource.

Written By: Erick Wujcik

Published: 1987 (First Printing)

Commentary. Another bit of an oddity in that this one was published prior to the previous entry. That said, Transdimentional does such a good job providing the mechanics and GM material, this it only seems logical this be placed after.

Vehicle Creation Rules. Steps, tables and mechanics for vehicle creation (duh…). There’s a lot of information there to pore over. My only quibble is the completely non-intuitive Speed Class from the Speed Improvement Table. Other than that, this is a simple yet effective step-by-step system.

Vehicle Rules. We come back around to very much the same as you would find in HU2. And just like my critiques of the way it is presented there (and in here), is the information needs to be summarized in point form for impact and effect. You can keep some flavor text, but a heading with concise effects only helps the GM better understand things. This goes for pretty much the entirety of this section. Provides some information for running Vehicle, Aerospace and Nautical combat, as wellas Vehicle Damage tables to apply effects to damage incurred.

A Guide to the TMNT Universe. Without giving too much of it away, the TMNT Earth is essentially in the outer edges of the galactic backwater , making it very remote and unenticing for random explorers. Hence the (likely) lack of contact. That said, there are several galactic federations that are detailed herein, including a narrative that could be exploited or ignored by the GM as they see fit.

Techno-Cosmic Research Institute (T.C.R.I.). Run by a race called the Utroms, we get an introduction into their technology. For reference, Fugitoid is a member of the T.C.R.I.
The Triceratons. As one imagines, a race of bipedal triceratops mutants engaged in a vast intergalactic bid for expansion. Their background and some basic shock troopers with their armour, weapons and vehicles are provided. I somehow get that the triceratops was Erick Wujcik's favourite dinosaur. LOL
The Human Federation. No, not the one you’re thinking of. Although, I suppose you could start locking phasers and the like, but trademark infringement is a thing. Some typical “Federat” pilots and their orbital fighters, other vehicles and equipment of note.
Border Region. Most have been broken or conquered by the Triceratons, but the Ghouli remain a problem (dubious given their stats), and the Ka’Trib (essentially giant mutant alligators), the mutated Spineks, and Halvesh’toid Makers.
Free Trade Zone. Controlled by the Vourans, who have succumbed to the Mutagen virus.
Common Races & Wild Planets. A few races are detailed that can be found anywhere across the setting.

Adventures. It wouldn’t be a TMNT product without an adventure module or two. Both involve the conflict and narrative described previously.

Tigers of Tibet. Starts with a warning that this will be “difficult” for hack-and-slash players, more suited to those able to ‘role-play’ their way through certain obstacles. After reading the adventure, I’m not in a position to disagree.
Doc Feral and the Mutant Mastering Mind Machine. A bit of a tongue twister. And the adventure is one that will mess with your mind too!

Terror by Transmat (Comic). A nice, 10 page comic strip that takes our four favourite half-shell heroes across the galaxy.

TMNT ADVENTURES!

General. Some 40 years after the fact, this supplement of adventure modules holds up well. I mean really well. Though grounded in some of the era's social consciousness, the general formula and presentation of the adventures within hold to this day. This, I firmly believe, is one of those elements that Erick Wujcik really shines through; his process produced something that was poignant and terribly popular at the time; the products remain evergreen. It occurs to me that much of what is presented in my Adventure Design post can be found in spirit within the Adventures module.

Written By: Erick Wujcik

Published: 1986 (First Printing)

Commentary. Yet another one of the sub-set that seems printed “out of sequence,” which is perfectly fine, as much of it is really GM-facing kind of material. Buried in the back-end of the two-book Redux package makes sense. I’m hesitant to provide too much detail to the review of this section. Not because I didn’t like what I saw (quite the opposite), more out of an abundance of caution to not spoil the adventure for anyone looking to run these by their gaming group. The adventures, and a precis of the information are:

The Doomsday Bears. Introduced to the Terror Bears, the PCs need to stop this delightfully diabolical foursome’s plot to cause some serious global kind of instability and mayhem. Each Terror Bear is fully fleshed out for the GM.
Mr. Bionic. Somebody in a bionic suit is causing problems, and the PCs need to figure who and why, and how to stop him.
Revered Judge. Attending a rock concert, the lead singer triggers something odd in the PCs, and adventures ensue.
Mouse Monster Menace. Yet another tongue twister, LOL. Yet another Doc Feral Adventure, this time he needs your help. Mutation experiments have gone haywire, and the PCs need to come in and take control of the situation.

The New York Ninja (Comic). Another 10 page comic for your reading pleasure.

The White Ronin. Clear warning at the beginning that likely a third of the party will not survive this adventure. Well, pass another slice of pizza and let’s go! This adventure comes with nine pre-built characters to choose from and is recommended to be played with them, but can be substituted with the normal PCs. The GM likely just needs to introduce the White Ronin a bit prior to this adventure. The adventure is a series of encounters, with a specific approach to them to succeed. This is a fairly involved scenario that requires a couple of read throughs and presents with a few twists and turns.

Tributes. Another series of tributes, with some great sketch art and photographs of the key players in the TMNT and TMNT RPG lines. Some names you will be familiar with from across the Palladium spectrum are in here, and there are some very touching and great anecdotes. Well worth the read and surely a source of nostalgia for anyone who was a fan of the cartoons and the RPG during that hey-day era.

Artistic Tributes. Last but certainly not least, we end with some fantastic artistic tributes to the TMNT IP. There are some truly spectacular, evocative pieces in here; each of them do the subject matter justice in their own way. There are some real blasts from the Palladium Books past with the artists names (e.g. Gustovich), and some of the newer artists you'd recognize from more recent publications.

CONCLUSION

When you had so much fun reading the first of these two books, you kind of wonder what the second is going to look like. Will it hold up to the value and content that was presented with the TMNT & OS baseline game? Will any new creation rules come with a couple of banger adventures thereafter? Well, let me tell you, the wait was definitely worth it, and the 'sequel' does more than it's fair share to hold itself up to its Book 1. In what I would not casually describe as a GM-centric book, this volume provides the collected works of three books in one source that any TMNT GM will be able to put to great use; or at the very least, be able to leverage for their own sessions.

As mentioned in last week's review for TMNT & OS Redux (Book 1), my foray into the world of Palladium Books began with ROBOTECH. So much so, I'm doing reviews of all the previously licensed ROBOTECH RPG and Jack McKinney Novelization (also found in Legacy Reviews). Anecdotally, I've found most gamers my age came to start playing Palladium Books games either through the operatic sci-fi route of ROBOTECH, or via the hugely popular and aggressively catchy and zany adventures of the mutants in a half-shell of TMNT. And while playing mutant characters has never really been my 'thing,' I can understand the appeal of it, and certainly can the effect of immersing into the world of the TMNT IP. And there is a lot of fun stuff to be had for adventuring. This book in particular is a bevy of delights for the GM. And I can see myself using a few sections from both books for other games and projects I'll be submitting to Palladium Books.

The real message out of this review is the real power and inspiration that Erick Wujcik provided to the TMNT & OS RPG and the supplements that followed. There are some truly remarkable game mechanics that are still in play and usable to this day, found in current print with other Palladium Books RPGs. For those not yet adopting the information, I'd strongly suggest GMs of any other PB RPG have a gander at the Time Travel portion for ideas; some remarkable stuff in there that could be used for impacts to any inter-dimensional travel just as well. Can't think of an alien race to portray in Rifts, Phase World, or Chaos Earth? What about some wacky corporate shenanigans involving mutations in Heroes Unlimited, Nightbane, or Beyond the Supernatural? In terms of cross pollination with the remainder of their library, I'm incredibly happy that see the TMNT books return, and even more so to see them remastered and in such vibrant colour.

Cowabunga, indeed.

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