''Indiana Jones and the Rising Sun'' is a supplement published by West End Games (WEG) in 1994 for the action-adventure role-playing game ''

The World of Indiana Jones ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'', itself based on the ''

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...

'' movie franchise.

Description

''Indiana Jones and the Rising Sun'' provides information about using Japan in the 1930s as a setting. Content includes an overview of Japan at that time, the military, society and culture, martial arts, and equipment that would be found in Japan at that time. There is also a chapter titled "Unearthly Nippon" that outlines various Japanese supernatural phenomena and creatures. New role-playing material includes several new

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

types such as local guide, spy, and street kid. The book includes a complete adventure, "Indiana Jones and the Masamune Blade": The player characters must trace the whereabouts of an archaeology professor, who has gone missing during an expedition to Japan to search for a rare artifact. A pair of cardstock gamemaster's screens come with the book.

Publication history

After WEG developed a standard role-playing game system in 1994 called Masterbook, they used it for licensed role-playing games based on ''

Necroscope ''Necroscope'' is the title of a series of horror novels by British author Brian Lumley. The term ''necroscope'', as defined in the series, describes someone who can communicate with the dead (coined Deadspeak later in the series). Unlike ...

'', '' Species'', '' Tales from the Crypt'', '' Tank Girl'', '' World of Aden'', and ''Indiana Jones''. ( TSR had actually held the license for ''Indiana Jones'' in 1984, but their product ''

The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game ''The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game'' is a licensed pulp style action-adventure role-playing game published by TSR in 1984 that is based on the ''Indiana Jones'' movie franchise. Publication history In 1984, TSR gained the li ...

'' was not a big hit and TSR allowed the license to expire in 1994.) When WEG gained the license, they immediately published ''The World of Indiana Jones'' in 1994. The game's first supplement, ''Indiana Jones and the Rising Sun'', was published the same year, a 96-page book designed by Bill Olmesdahl and

David Pulver David L. Pulver (born 2 November 1965 in Kingston, Ontario) is a Canadian freelance writer and game designer, author of more than fifty role-playing game rulebooks and supplements, including the award-winning ''Transhuman Space''. Early life and e ...

, and developed and edited by Greg Farshtey, with interior art by Paul Daly, Jaime Lombardo and Ron Hill, and cover design by Tim Bobko.

Reception

In the March 1995 edition of ''

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

'' (#215), Rick Swan thought the book offered "a good mix" of material, and called the included adventure "compelling" and "creepy". Although Swan found the martial arts chapter "lackluster", he especially liked the "Unearthly Nippon" chapter about supernatural Japan. He concluded by giving the book an average rating of 4 out of 6, saying, "''Indiana Jones and the Rising Sun'' is a must for aficionados of supernatural pulp."

Other reviews

*''Rollespilsmagasinet Fønix'', Issue 7 (March/April 1995, p. 56, in Danish)

References

{{rpg-stub Role-playing game adventures Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1994