Bryan H. Rombough

This week, I’m looking at some of the most WTF RPG publications I haven’t already covered, starting with The Future King (1985), which might be the WTF-iest.

The booklet is by Tom Moldvay of B/X D&D fame, and spins out, thematically, from his gonzo Avalon Hill RPG Lords of Creation. Mechanically, though, Moldvay opted for a stripped-down system that focuses on character interaction and uses a pair of D6; the full rules run about a page and are surprisingly light for the period.

The scenario is unhinged, however. Players take the role of six heroes summoned out of time — Nostradamus, the Viking Harald Hardraada, the Welsh freedom fighter Owen Glendower, Doc Holiday, Cyrano de Bergerac and Bruce Lee — who are tasked with finding a number of magical items — the skeleton of Sir Bedivere, Excalibur (naturally) and the magic bell that will wake the sleeping king and his knights. Nostradamus has a bunch of prophecies that can possibly help player through the plot, but honestly, the adventure is a series of scenes that, while jumping through time and space, are pretty linear in practice. Random encounters (with Sinbad, the Red Dragon, Comte St. Germain and a futuristic soldier of fortune, among others) spice things up. As much as Moldvay pretends the scenario is about character interaction and puzzling out riddles, success is mostly determined by successfully kicking the butts of a series of guardians, which include a cyborg and Sir Mordred. It’s all over the place, a fever dream all the way through.

A little while ago I did some new helmet stickers for BLKOUT.