Cyborg Commando
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''Cyborg Commando'' is a
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as 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 ...
(RPG) published by New Infinities Productions, Inc. (NIPI) in
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
. The designers were well-known in the role-playing game market —
Gary Gygax Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering tabletop role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson. In the 1960s, Gygax creat ...
,
Frank Mentzer Jacob Franklin Mentzer III is an American fantasy author and game designer who worked on early materials for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. He was an employee of TSR, Inc. from 1980 to 1986, spending part of that tim ...
and
Kim Mohan Kim Rudolph Mohan (May 4, 1949 – December 12, 2022) was an American author, editor and game designer best known for works related to the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Early life and education Mohan was born in Chicago, Illinois, on ...
, but despite this name recognition, the game was a commercial failure.


Description

The game is set in 2035 when Earth is invaded by aliens called Xenoborgs. For its defense, humanity has developed a new kind of soldier: the Cyborg Commando, a mechanical/electronical human-like structure that can be implanted with a willing human's brain.


10X system

''Cyborg Commando'' introduced the "10X" dice-rolling mechanism: To determine the success or failure of a skill challenge or combat, the player rolls two 10-sided dice and multiplies the results. (Example: The player rolls a 2 and a 10 and multiplies them together for a result of 20.) Unlike many role-playing games of the time where higher results were more favorable, in this game, lower results are needed for success.


Publication history

Gary Gygax was the co-creator of the fantasy role-playing game ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
'' first published by TSR in 1974. But by 1986, Gygax had lost control of TSR, and left the company to form NIPI, taking former TSR employees Frank Menzer and Kim Mohan with him. ''Cyborg Commando'' was their first game, designed by Mohan and Mentzer based on an outline by Gygax. Although the names of the creators, well-known by game players, featured heavily in the game's promotion, the grim dystopian setting and robots with human brains failed to click with Gygax's fantasy gamers. As game critic Rick Swan noted, "Its difficult rules and narrow scope severely limited its appeal." Ultimately, the game was a commercial failure. Although two more
boxed set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...
s were planned and promoted, in the end, only three adventures for the game system were ever published: #''San Francisco Knights'' 1987 #''Film at Eleven'' 1987 #''Operation Bifrost'' 1988


Novels

Three ''Cyborg Commando'' novels were published not long after the game with minor modifications of Cyborg Commando's skills and behaviour, which prompted a short explanation at the back of the books for game owners detailing why the changes were made. #''Planet in Peril'' by Kim Mohan and Pamela O'Neill. Published in November 1987 by Ace/New Infinities, Inc. . #''Chase into Space'' by Kim Mohan and Pamela O'Neill. Published in January 1988 by New Infinities, Inc. . #''The Ultimate Prize'' by Kim Mohan and Pamela O'Neill. Published in March 1988 by New Infinities, Inc. .


Reception

Stewart Wieck Stewart Douglas Wieck (May 10, 1968 – June 22, 2017) was one of the founders of the publishing company, White Wolf, Inc. He was also one of the original writers of Mage: The Ascension. Career Stewart Wieck was born in Freeport, Illinois, in 1 ...
reviewed ''Cyborg Commando'' in '' White Wolf'' #9 (1988), rating it an 8 out of 10 and stated that "This is not a game for the beginner. The material can be daunting even in the eyes of a seasoned gamer. Surprisingly, all this glitter is gold." In his 1990 book ''
The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games ''The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' is a book written by Rick Swan and published by St. Martin's Press in 1990 that explains role-playing games and provides reviews of those that were on the market at the time. Contents ''The Complete G ...
'', game critic
Rick Swan Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR. His work for TSR, mostly for ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'', appeared from 1989 to 1995. Swan also wrote '' The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin' ...
thought the game was "a first-rate design — innovative, compelling and startling in its uncompromising approach to science-fiction gaming." However, Swan warned that "Though the rules are straightforward and clearly explained, they're also quite complicated ... The no-nonsense approach and sheer volume of detail can overwhelm even the most experienced player." Swan concluded by giving the game an excellent rating of 3.5 out of 4, saying, "For those up to the challenge, it's definitely worth checking out — ''Cyborg Commando'' is hardcore role-playing at its best." Lynn Bryant reviewed the novels ''Planet in Peril'' and ''Chase into Space'' in ''
Space Gamer/Fantasy 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. 83, and commented that "They prove to be tightly written, well plotted, full of action, and just plain good reading. You get insight into what it is like to lose most of your body to mechanical substitutes and then have to fight a war. There is also a good sense of the outrage all the race will feel at being invaded. Even if you never look at the game, you'll enjoy the books." Writing 27 years after ''Cyborg Commando''s publication, game historian Shannon Appelcline noted the game's complex rules and the lack of connection to Gygax's ''D&D'' fans, and wrote, "As a result of these various factors, ''Cyborg Commando'' is today seen as one of the biggest flops in the industry."


References

{{Reflist Fiction about cyborgs Gary Gygax games Military role-playing games Role-playing games introduced in 1987 Science fiction role-playing games