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''Worlds of Wonder'' is a multi-genre set of three
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 ...
s (RPGs) produced by
Chaosium Chaosium Inc. is a publisher of tabletop role-playing games established by Greg Stafford in 1975. Chaosium's major titles include '' Call of Cthulhu'', based on the horror fiction stories of H. P. Lovecraft'', RuneQuest Glorantha'', ''Pendragon'' ...
in 1982 that all used the
Basic Role-Playing ''Basic Role-Playing'' (''BRP'') is a tabletop role-playing game which originated in the ''RuneQuest'' fantasy role-playing game. Chaosium released the ''BRP'' standalone booklet in 1980 in the boxed set release of the second edition of ''RuneQu ...
set of rules.


Description

Chaosium, like other early RPG publishers, created several games in different genres, each with its own set of rules for character generation, combat, etc. Characters from one game couldn't be exported to another game without a complete overhaul of abilities, skills, weapons and equipment. In 1980, in an effort to create a standardized rule system, Chaosium published a generic game system called ''Basic Role-Playing'' (''BRP''). In 1982, Chaosium published ''Worlds of Wonder'', a collection of three RPGs that all used BRP as their rules system. It was the industry's first multi-RPG product that would work with the same set of rules. Characters from one RPG could be shifted to the other RPGs with minimal adjustments.


Components

The game came as a
boxed set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...
that contained: * a 16-page booklet ''
Basic Role-Playing ''Basic Role-Playing'' (''BRP'') is a tabletop role-playing game which originated in the ''RuneQuest'' fantasy role-playing game. Chaosium released the ''BRP'' standalone booklet in 1980 in the boxed set release of the second edition of ''RuneQu ...
'' * a 16-page booklet ''Magic World'' * a 16-page booklet ''Superworld'' * a 16-page booklet ''Future World'' * a 4-page leaflet explaining how to join the games together, using a neutral crossroads called the "City of Wonder" that would allow characters to move between the three RPGs. Money from each setting could be converted to other worlds' currencies in the city. * a 2-page map of the "City of Wonder" * a 4-page leaflet with reference tables * a cardboard sheet of figures to be cut out and used as figurines * a 4-sided die, three 6-sided dice, an 8-sided die, and a 20-sided die


Basic Role-Playing

The ''Basic Role-Playing'' booklet was a summary of the game system devised by
Greg Stafford Francis Gregory Stafford (February 9, 1948 – October 10, 2018), usually known as Greg Stafford, was an American game designer, publisher, and practitioner of shamanism. Stafford is most famous as the creator of the fantasy world of Glorantha ...
and
Lynn Willis Lynn Willis (died January 18, 2013) was a wargame and role-playing game designer, best known for his work with Metagaming Concepts, Game Designers' Workshop (GDW), and Chaosium. Biography Willis began by designing science fiction wargames for Me ...
in 1980.


''Magic World''

The ''Magic World'' booklet, written by Steve Perrin and Gordon Monson, is a fantasy RPG similar to ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
'' and ''RuneQuest''. It contains game rules specific to this world such as the use of magic. Initial characters can start as one of four professions (Warriors, Rogues, Sages and Sorcerers) and one of the standard Tolkienesque
fantasy races There are a number of lists of fictional species: Extraterrestrial *List of fictional extraterrestrials (by media type) *Lists of fictional alien species: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, ...
, such as dwarfs, trolls, goblins, and elves. In most other RPGs to that time, the spellcaster cast a spell and success required the target to fail a saving throw. In ''Magic World'', casting a spell is a skill much like picking a lock or swinging a sword — the spellcaster achieves success with a good skill roll. (This system was later incorporated into the third edition of ''RuneQuest''.) The last three pages of the booklet contain a sample adventure.


''Future World''

The ''Future World'' booklet, also written by Perrin and Monson, with interior and cover art by Rick Becker, is a science fiction setting similar to '' Traveller'' by
Game Designers Workshop Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) was a wargame and role-playing game publisher from 1973 to 1996. Many of their games are now carried by other publishers. History Game Designers' Workshop was originally established June 22, 1973. The founding m ...
. Like ''Traveller'', the Chaosium setting employs a large interstellar empire. Characters can start as members of one of six professions (Army, Civilian, Criminal, ICE, Scouts, or Science), and can choose human, several types of aliens ( ursinoids,
insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
oids, and
sauria Sauria is the clade containing the most recent common ancestor of archosaurs (such as crocodilians, dinosaurs, etc.) and lepidosaurs ( lizards and kin), and all its descendants. Since most molecular phylogenies recover turtles as more closely re ...
ns), or a robot as their race. The booklet ends with a three-page adventure.


''Superworld''

The booklet for ''Superworld'' was written by Perrin and Steve Henderson, with interior and cover art by Roland Brown. The setting is the modern world, where, similar to the superhero RPGs ''
Villains & Vigilantes ''Villains and Vigilantes'' (abbreviated as ''V&V'') is a superhero-themed role-playing game which competed primarily with ''Champions'' and ''Superworld'' in the early to mid-1980s. Origin ''Villains and Vigilantes'' was the first role-playi ...
'' and ''
Champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the Victory, victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and w ...
'', the
player characters 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 ...
have superpowers. During character generation, these powers are bought with Hero Points. Hero Points can also be spent to raise characteristics like strength or dexterity. Additional Hero Points can be gained by taking disabilities like blindness or vulnerability to certain attacks. The booklet ends with a three-page adventure. ''Superworld'' was the only RPG of the three included with this game to be published as a stand-alone game. However, up against several other well-established competitors, it never gained an audience, and publication was discontinued after only three supplements.


Reception

William A. Barton reviewed ''Worlds of Wonder'' in ''
The Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...
'' No. 51. Barton commented that "Overall, though its component parts may not be earth-shattering or overly innovative, ''Worlds of Wonder'' is still a pretty good buy." Trevor Graver reviewed ''Worlds of Wonder'' for ''
White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...
'' #34, giving it an overall rating of 7 out of 10, and stated that "In summary, ''Worlds of Wonder'' is a good buy if your are into swords and sorcery, crimefighting, and space opera (not the game) without starships. Even then, you may feel that ''Chaosium'' have only provided the 'bones' of each system, leaving you to wait for the release of more material." In the August 1982 edition of ''
Different Worlds ''Different Worlds'' was an American role-playing games magazine published from 1979 to 1987. Scope ''Different Worlds'' published support articles, scenarios, and variants for various role-playing games including ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Ru ...
'' (Issue #22), C.D. Martin called the games "entry-level", only suitable for beginners due the simplicity of their rules. Of the three included RPGs, Martin thought ''Superworld" was the strongest, commenting, "This one has the greatest staying power." He concluded, "''Worlds of Wonder'' is a superior product. If Chaosium backs it up with prepackaged scenarios, it will be with us for a long time. I highly recommend it." In the August 1982 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 ...
'' (Issue 64), John Sapienza, more than his contemporaries, realized the implications of developing a cross-genre rules system, commenting, "I believe that ''WOW'' represents an attempt to develop a set of basic operating rules that can be applied to any gaming world. I think that Chaosium carried this out with considerable success, although I think there is room for improvement in applying the same rule in parallel situations." Sapienza concluded with a strong recommendation, saying, "I consider this an advancement of the state of the art in game design, and the beginning of a new generation of games, and well worth the attempt. ''Worlds of Wonder'' more than a set of minigames, it’s a major game system, and well worth exploring for both the novice and the experienced rolegamer."


Other recognition

A copy of ''Worlds of Wonder'' is held in the collection of the
Strong National Museum of Play The Strong National Museum of Play (known as just The Strong Museum or simply the Strong) is part of The Strong in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1969 and based initially on the personal collection of Rochester native Margaret ...
(object 110.211.5).


References

{{reflist Basic Role-Playing System Greg Stafford games Lynn Willis games Role-playing games introduced in 1982 Steve Perrin games Universal role-playing games