Saturday, September 27, 2025

Counterpart RPG (1991)

COUNTERPART is an old RPG that I created back in 1991. (Sorry for the lousy scan job. Pictures were taken by phone.) It uses the same dice mechanism as Freespace/Xerospace which shows that I stuck with that mechanic for over 8 years. 



The titular thematic element, that of the "Counterpart" is seen again in Phantasy Star: Ragol's Curse in the form of the Mobile Android Guardian or MAG. That's straight out of Phantasy Star Online, but I had the idea first. (A quick search shows that PSO was first released for the Dreamcast in 2000, nine years after Counterpart.)

Of course, I probably based the idea on something I saw or read. If I had to guess, it's likely a mix of the Ioun Stone (a D&D magic item that floated around a person's head), that floating training droid that Luke practices with in Star Wars, and a Green Lantern's power Ring (which seeks out the person most worthy of wielding it.) But, I honestly can't remember. Still it's cool to find these connections in hindsight. (I can't believe I've been designing RPGs for nearly 35 years.)

Jeff

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