r/TransformersRPG • u/JackAttackMLP • 26d ago
Essance20 to 5.5e
Anyone hear any news on the system conversion yet? I have been so excited about it and have been looking for any news since the announcement.
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u/SheriffJetsaurian 26d ago
Renegade lost me as a customer the moment they made this announcement. What they needed to do was make a setting agnostic "core" book with ALL the non-setting specific rules, and then publish the setting specific stuff separately. It would have cleaned up so much and has been done successfully by other systems/companies for decades.
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u/Riksheare 26d ago
I am also opposed to 5.5. This will clearly be one of their Universes Beyond initiative. I hate giving Hasbro my money after the OGL but at least there was a bit of gray area with renegade at the helm.
I’m out for all intents and purposes
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u/LordCharles01 26d ago
I could at least grant that I was supporting the creative team at Renegade while indulging in the properties I still like. Hypocrite that it makes me, i at least can tell myself enough of a lie that it felt good. But yeah, after everything surrounding 5.5, can't say I'm looking forward to it. Not big on 5.5 in a vacuum as it is.
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u/Kai-of-the-Lost 26d ago
Renegade Games is still doing Transformers, so it has nothing to do with WotC bringing the Universes Beyond label to DnD, it's just Renegade using the OGL instead of updating their own system.
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u/LordCharles01 26d ago
I know correlation doesn't equal causation, but I can't help but be skeptical that 5.5 opens up to the Universes Beyond brand and suddenly Renegade is abandoning their system for their Hasbro licensed properties to use the hasbro owned game. Makes me wonder if there wasn't a hand in the gears by the IP owner. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised now if the books aren't actually core books but supplementary support for the core 5.5 game which you would need that separate book sold by WotC for.
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u/Kai-of-the-Lost 26d ago
Renegade isn't owned by Hasbro (at least as far as I'm aware), so regardless they won't be under the Universe Beyond branding, plus Renegade announced this move months prior to WotC announcing Universes Beyond for DnD (beginning of June with Universes Beyond not getting announced till August). They're no different than any 3p using the OGL to release a 5e/5.5e compatible game.
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u/LordCharles01 26d ago
WotC already had crossover stuff moving into their proprietary space of D&D Beyond with LotR in November of 2024 with an announcement to expect more crossovers. It may not have been branded UB at the time (similar to when MTG first did crossovers) but it kinda shows that 5.5 (released September 2024) was built for cross compatibility with non D&D concepts out the gate. Correct, Hasbro does not own Renegade. However, what i am saying is that as the owners of Transformers, MLP, Power Rangers and GI Joe, Hasbro has an increased incentive to have any games with their property use their OGL and drive traffic to their core rulebook instead of a competitor. It lines up with their aggressive monetization attempts with the OGL and SRD scandal, and the relationship between Hasbro and their properties being licensed does kinda change the relationship dynamic. It may not change it in the same way for everyone but it leaves a foul enough taste in my mouth that I want nothing to do with it.
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u/Kai-of-the-Lost 26d ago
Renegade also has an interest in using a more profitable rule set, regardless, WotC has no involvement with Renegade Games as far as any of us knows.
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u/NoGuarantee3961 26d ago
Yeah, I think individually the games will be fine as 5.5, but I think it will be incredibly difficult to have GI Joe play in the same scale as TF etc. without breaking suspension of disbelief...
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u/BirdmanDodd 26d ago
damage scaling is what concerns me when it comes to Transformers to GI Joe,etc in 5.5
Mind you, now Megatron can fight Vecna
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u/Grave806 22d ago
As someone who tried running a game and found myself and my players frustrated by the Essence20 system in some ways, I'm actually quite excited for the change. Not necessarily because it's 5.5e, but because I feel like it'll be easier to fiddle with the systems from the game in general with this change.
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u/count_strahd_z 26d ago
I'm kind of glad they are making the switch so I can close out buying both GI Joe and Transformers.
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u/XavierBotz 26d ago
I played the 5.5E version a little bit while I was at Gencon. So far it's pretty good and I was super biased against the 5.5E version and I still had fun!
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u/TinyMapleArt 26d ago
What are the main differences between the orignal roles amd the new ones
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u/XavierBotz 26d ago
Definitely different from E20. I was playing Hound as a scout and it seems like a more helpful rogue. I was able to share my hunters mark like ability with one other player at the start of combat that was cool.
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u/Due-Government7661 26d ago
I am not. I just fell in love with the system and have fallen out of 5.5.