The adventures of Aang, Korra, and their friends will soon be coming to your home — a tabletop Avatar: The Last Airbender RPG is now in production.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is a popular cartoon that originally aired on Nickelodeon; it was later followed by the sequel The Legend of Korra. Characters live in a world where "Benders" can manipulate elements such as Earth or Fire using magical martial arts. The shows focus on Aang and Korra, respectively, both of whom are avatars — mighty beings that have the uncanny ability to bend all of the elements.
Both shows were certainly popular enough in their heydey, but the franchise got a recent resurgence with its addition to Netflix. A live-action series is also in the works, although some fans are concerned about the departure of the show's original creators last year. Now, this wonderful universe is being adapted as a tabletop role-playing game!
How Will the Avatar: The Last Airbender RPG Work?
The Avatar: The Last Air Bender RPG will be a tabletop role-playing game — that is to say, it will be a game similar to stuff like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and GURPS. This new RPG is being produced by Magpie Games, a tabletop developer that already has 10 games under its belt.
The RPG will allow players to create characters in the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe using "playbooks," a special set of templates that help you make an interesting and compelling character. It's not quite clear if players would be able to play as the show's characters, but a tabletop RPG typically allows the players and game master enough creative freedom to do exactly that.
"We’re incredibly excited to bring the tales of brave benders and loyal friendships to tabletop roleplaying games; we know so many fans of both series have been waiting years for this moment!" Magpie Games CEO Mark Diaz Truman
Several pre-built quests have also been detailed. You could protect merchants from the Triple Threat Triad, travel through a spirit portal to rescue a child trapped in the Spirit World, negotiate peace between two rival factions in the Earth Kingdom, or explore all sorts of other interesting mysteries in the ATLA universe — all of which should prove for some pretty interesting player experiences out of the box.
Of course, this is a tabletop role-playing game — that means that the game master and players will likely have the tools to make up their own adventures, too. Considering the amount of ATLA fanfiction out there in the world, I'm sure that the show's fans can cook up some pretty interesting stuff on their own, too.
When is the Avatar: The Last Airbender RPG Release Date?
The Avatar: The Last Airbender RPG release date will be sometime in February 2022 — that's when the Core Book will be launching. This book should have everything players need to get a game going.
Today's announcement also notes that that won't be the end — supplements for the game will arrive in August 2022 and February 2023. It's unclear what other supplemental material will be released (if any), but Magpie Games says that it's secured a "multi-year" license for the franchise.
For now, you can sign up for Magpie Games' newsletter to stay apprised of this game's development. You can also check out Magpie Games' other releases.
Are you excited for the Avatar: The Last Airbender RPG? What would you like to do in the ATLA universe? Let us know in the comments below!
