With this dedication author Junichi Inoue acknowledges the contribution of the authors of White Box in his Japanese RPG, Tenra Bansho Zero. The hobby spread internationally not long after White Box and other titles became available. The new hobby, first developed in the Midwest, quickly gained followers across the nation and beyond the American borders. Today we have many fine games developed around the globe and being translated into English from other languages. I consider this a great boon as I am finding many of the translated titles to be very captivating.
Wonderfully translated by Andy Kitkowski who takes extra pains to include extra explanatory text so that those of us not intimately familiar with Japanese culture references can "get it", Tenra Bansho Zero (TBZ) is beautifully illustrated "Hyper Asian Fantasy" (as it bills itself) and a game with revolutionary mechanics sometimes compared to kabuki theater. Written by an Anime artist, TBZ makes use of Japanese Anime and Manga tropes. I think of Ninja Scroll, but there are also giant armors, mannequins and high tech gadgets. TBZ comes as two large volumes and is packed with cultural goodness describing the imaginary world of Tenra. Rules fall into the more narrative style and use a dice pool system.
Ryuutama, written by Atsuhiro Okada and translated by Matt Sanchez and Andy Kitkowski, is another Japanese TRPG (Table-talk Role Playing Game as it refers to the hobby) I really like. Ryuutama is a game about traveling adventure and PCs represent more mundane folks than the heroes found in most RPGs; merchants, farmers, and artisans, rather than fighting men, magic users and clerics. The referee creates and runs the Ryuu (dragon) who sometimes assists, points the way and rewards the party of travelers. Together the players and referee create a story which "feeds the young dragons", keeping the land healthy. The game book is beautifully illustrated and has an environmental theme that runs throughout. It reminds me of Princess Mononoke.
Two Swedish RPGs I find particularly inspiring are Whitehack by Christian Mehrstam and Symbaroum published by Jarnringen, authors Martin Bergstrom, Mattias Johnsson, Anders Lekberg, Mattias Lilja and Johan Nohr. Physically Whitehack and Symbaroum couldn't be more different, but both are packed with great gaming ideas and fantastic settings. Whitehack is a thin 64 page book with a simple character-sheet cover and no interior illustrations - there isn't even a map of the White Curse world, but it isn't missed. Whitehack makes good use of the reader's imagination to visualize the setting. In contrast, Symbaroum is lavishly illustrated with color images on nearly every one of its 264 pages. I like dark fantasy settings and Symbaroum's artwork invokes one of the darkest moods I have seen in gaming books. The setting for the Symbaroum core book is Davokar, a dark forest on the edge of civilization inhabited by hostile elves and worse. It is very rich in detail and definitely not cookie-cutter stuff. Symbaroum uses a unique (to me) d20 system where only the player rolls the dice. The referee takes their cue from the player roll and describes what happens, so it's bit on the narrative side. Whitehack uses two d20's rolled together (similar to 5th Edition) and has a chargen system that I think is genius! There are three classes, Deft, Strong and Wise. Each classes has a number of slots that give the PC special abilities, such as combat abilities or spell abilities. Whitehack classifies species (race), vocation and affiliation as Groups and uses these to greatly individualize the PC. Groups can be virtually anything the player and referee agree to and empower the PC to have advantages (take the higher roll of two d20s) when performing an activity relevant to one of their Groups.
Among the more traditional translated games I have encountered are Aventuras en La Marca del Este (Adventures in the East Mark) by Pedro Gil and friends, and Epees & Sorcellerie (Swords & Sorcerie) by Nicolas Dessaux. Adventures... is a Spanish take on the Red Box version of the World's Most Famous RPG and follows the original pretty well (although there are some changes like the addition of the Paladin and Explorer classes). It is a strong product that comes in a nice box with a referee screen and dice, has excellent artwork, reads well and includes an original setting, the "East Mark", that I find very engaging. Epees... uses a 2d6 system and is not a direct clone, but has a strong White Box feel about it, although with a bit less Tolkien and a bit more sword & sorcery. Epees draws on the Chainmail rules as well as White Box and the OSR in general to create a game with its own feel. Comparing it to White Box, I find Epees illustrative of the subtle ways rule changes can influence implied setting.
I have not had the privilege of gaming with a group outside my own country, but I am very encouraged for the hobby by the things I read on the web and the games I have come in contact with that originate outside the United States. The hobby seems to be thriving beyond North America and many good ideas and games are coming in as well as going out these days. I think Gary and Dave would be pleased.
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