Revenge!

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Revenge! was a hybrid board game and prototype roleplaying game devised primarily by Jack Harness and played by the members of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society in 1974 and 1975. It received occasional mention in APA-L where it was compared to Dungeon! (though the two were unrelated) and Dungeons & Dragons (Original Edition). Descriptions of play suggest a fusion of traditional board game mechanics with early roleplaying components.

The game was played on a grid board, described as somewhat similar to Monopoly though larger, where grid squares contained a variety of planets or game effects. Players could accumulate army tokens and employ them competitively on certain "Dueling Planets" in a process that appears similar to the mechanics used in Risk. Players that were eliminated from the game would be reincarnated as one of five "mythic characters" with special in-game abilities. These five characters were Vulchurella, the Torturer's Ugly Daughter; Prince Putrid (the usurped lawful ruler); Pastor Fazool (a corrupt cleric); Green Slime (a spreader of poison); and the Emperor (who did not move but instead moved other pieces). The economy of the game was apparently based on buying, selling, and leasing planets among the various players--for example, the Emperor was required to earn a certain amount of money each turn or face elimination.

Lee Gold has described the rules as "very complex", and the game appears to have undergone continuous revision during play over at least a few years, gradually picking up more elements associated with roleplaying. Vetting of new rules appears to have been done by popular acclaim.

Because this is rules set (RPG) describes an unpublished prototype we will not list a RPG Item for this entry.