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(+2)

Rise Of The Apes is a tabletop system for playing through the new Planet Of The Apes trilogy.

The PDF is 16 pages, with a layout that's slightly cramped in a few places but otherwise flavorful and easy to read.

Contents-wise, Rise is very narrativist and very structured, but not always clear about what that structure means. The game goes through specific acts focused around canon setpieces, and the game's mechanics change as the players progress through these acts, but the GM really has to work to keep the game in a gamelike shape rather than a freeform roleplaying exercise.

The core resolution system is d6 pool, count 4+s. The pool is built from a stat, your relationships with other characters, several miscellaneous bonuses, and a floating bonus based on how organized and unified your overall group of apes is.

Skills also exist, but don't seem to do anything. They're simply a reflection of what your points in a given stat mean for your character.

There are also HP bars that show up during the final act, but no clear guidance for what happens if they run out.

And there isn't really strong guidance on how the game is supposed to end, nor hard mechanical endpoints for the individual acts, so having a GM is kind of essential for pacing and progress.

There *are* GM resources, both in the form of written advice, a character sheet, and the game's pre-planned structure, but if you're not already comfortable GMing, this might be a little tricky to run.

Overall, if you're a fan of the Planet Of The Apes prequel trilogy, you're willing to wing it and use the rulebook as a rough outline, and you like mechanics that unfold and change during play, this is a neat game with a lot of good ideas and worth checking out.

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Thanks for the review! Really appreciate the constructive feedback!