''Hollow Earth Expedition'' is a

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhame ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

set in the fictitious Hollow Earth (see

Hollow Earth theory The Hollow Earth is a concept proposing that the planet Earth is entirely hollow or contains a substantial interior space. Notably suggested by Edmond Halley in the late 17th century, the notion was disproven, first tentatively by Pierre Bougue ...

), published by Exile Game Studio. The game has been nominated for several

Origins Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

and

ENnie The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN World i ...

awards since its release in 2006. The main rule book is ''Hollow Earth Expedition''.

System

''Hollow Earth Expedition'' uses the Ubiquity rules, which were also created by Exile Game Studio. The main feature of the system is its use of binary dice pool rolls to determine success. Under the default rules, each even number rolled counts as a success, while odd numbers count as nothing. Odd 'nothings' do not cancel out even 'successes', making dice rolling quick and simple. This binary system has also led to the development of special Ubiquity Dice.

Game setting

The surface world

Hollow Earth Expedition is set in the 1930s. On the surface, everything appears as it does in our real world history books, but if you dig a little deeper you encounter secret societies and villainous organizations, many of whom have a vested interest in the Hollow Earth. Two organizations are detailed in the main rulebook: the Terra Arcana and the

Thule Society The Thule Society (; german: Thule-Gesellschaft), originally the ''Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum'' ("Study Group for Germanic Antiquity"), was a German occultist and '' Völkisch'' group founded in Munich shortly after World War I, ...

. Further organizations are listed in the first expansion, Secrets of the Surface World. The Terra Arcanum is an

esoteric Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas a ...

society dedicated to keeping the Hollow Earth a secret. They have their foundations deep in the mists of time, and only a few of their current members realize their true origins. The

are based on an actual organization associated with the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In HEX they have a deep interest in getting into the Hollow Earth and the powerful ancient weapons they believe are kept there.

The Hollow Earth

The Hollow Earth boasts a wide selection of beasts and humans.

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s and other extinct creatures still live and hunt and are hunted by the various human groups who have become stranded in the Hollow Earth over the centuries. Not a great deal of detail is provided about the Hollow Earth in the main book, allowing Game Masters to customize the terrain to suit their campaign. Mysteries of the Hollow Earth expands a great deal on the denizens of Hollow Earth, including rules for beastmen of various sorts, and provides details such as a map and gazetteer for those GMs who want a more fleshed-out world, rather than the more nebulous "land of mysteries" from the core book.

Mars

Revelations of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

expands the setting to include the dying and dangerous Red Planet.

Explore a desolate world filled with strange aliens, bizarre creatures, and ancient artifacts buried beneath its shifting sands. Discover xenophobic nomads roaming the wastelands,
sky pirates ''Sky Pirates'' (also known as ''Dakota Harris'') is a 1986 Australian adventure film written and produced by John D. Lamond, and directed by Colin Eggleston. The film was inspired by Steven Spielberg's ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981), as we ...
prowling the air in their great flying vessels, and power-hungry warlords fighting over dwindling resources. Take shelter within one of the great walled city-states, and rub shoulders with haughty nobles, devout priests, and greedy merchants who plot and scheme therein.

Products

* ''Hollow Earth Expedition'' (also available in Spanish, French and German) * Game Master Screen * ''Secrets of the Surface World Source Book'' * ''Mysteries of the Hollow Earth Source Book'' * ''Perils of the Surface World Source Book'' (perfect paperback compilation of four adventure modules: Miracle Stone of the Amazon, Frozen City of Terror, Legacy of the Terra Arcanum and Five Talons of the Jade Dragon) * ''Revelations of Mars Source Book'' * Revelations of Mars GM Screen (also contain 16 page adventure, 'Planet of the Red Death') * Ubiquity Dice * Revelations of Mars Ubiquity Dice * Ubiquity Style Chips for each of the four sourcebooks * Quick Start Rules and adventures for

Free RPG Day Free RPG Day is an annual promotional event by the Tabletop role-playing game industry. The event rules are fairly simple: participating publishers provide special free copies of games to participating game stores; the game store agrees to provi ...

2008-2016

Critical reception

Reviews

*''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

'' *'' Black Gate''

Awards

Hollow Earth Expedition ENnies: * (2007) Best Cover Art (Silver Award Winner) * (2007) Best Writing (Nominated) * (2007) Best Game(Nominated) * (2007) Product of the Year (Nominated) Origins: * (2007) Roleplaying Game of the Year (Nominated) Hollow Earth Expedition GM Screen ENnies: * (2008) Best Accessory (Nominated) Origins: * (2008) Game Support (Nominated) Secrets of the Surface World ENnies: * (2008) Best Supplement (Silver Award Winner) Mysteries of The Hollow Earth ENnies: * (2010) Best Supplement (Gold Award Winner) Perils of the Surface World ENnies: * (2011) Best Adventure (for Miracle Stone of the Amazon) (Nominated)

References

External links

Official site
at Exile Game Studio {{RPG systems Adaptations of works by Edgar Rice Burroughs ENnies winners Historical role-playing games Hollow Earth in fiction Role-playing game systems Role-playing games introduced in 2006 Universal role-playing games Pulp and noir period role-playing games