Modiphius Entertainment
Modiphius Entertainment Ltd. is a tabletop role-playing game and board game publisher based in Fulham, London that is known for licensed adaptations of established media. Notable titles include Star Trek Adventures, Fallout the Roleplaying Game, Dune: Adventures in the Imperium, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld: Adventures in Ankh-Morpork, and the Mass Effect board game.
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Game company |
| Founded | 2012 in London |
| Founders | Chris Birch, Rita Birch |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
| Owners |
|
| Website | www.modiphius.net |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
Modiphius Entertainment Ltd. is a tabletop role-playing game and board game publisher based in Fulham, London that is known for licensed adaptations of established media. Notable titles include Star Trek Adventures,[2][3][4] Fallout the Roleplaying Game,[5][6][7] Dune: Adventures in the Imperium,[8][9] Terry Pratchett’s Discworld: Adventures in Ankh-Morpork,[6] and the Mass Effect board game.[10][11][12]
History
[edit]Modiphius was founded in 2012 by husband-wife team Rita and Chris Birch to publish their first game, Achtung! Cthulhu.[13] The company have since published a number of product lines based on independent licenses and established brands.
Games
[edit]Achtung! Cthulhu
[edit]In 2013 the company raised £177,000 through Kickstarter to create Achtung! Cthulhu, a tabletop RPG set in the Second World War inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft.[14] The first series of adventures for Achtung! Cthulhu is called "Zero Point," with the first two chapters called "Three Kings" and "Heroes of the Sea" by Sarah Newton.[15] The game was well-received in the RPG community, and won several awards, including Best Roleplaying Game at the 2014 UK Games Expo.[16] In 2018 a videogame based on the franchise - called Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics - was released by Auroch Digital.[17]
Mutant Chronicles
[edit]In 2013 Modiphius released the 3rd edition of popular post-apocalyptic RPG Mutant Chronicles.
Fallout
[edit]In 2017 the company acquired the license for Bethesda property Fallout and in 2018 released Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, a tabletop wargame featuring characters and settings from the videogame series.[18] The company announced in 2019 that they would be working on an RPG expansion to Fallout: Wasteland Warfare to be released in the same year.
Modiphius developed a Fallout tabletop RPG using their 2d20 system, called Fallout the Roleplaying Game.[5] The game entered beta in 2019 with a projected release in 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fallout the Roleplaying Game released digitally in March 2021, with a physical release in July the same year.[6][7]
Star Trek Adventures
[edit]In 2017 the company released their first edition of Star Trek Adventures, an RPG series based on the television series Star Trek.[19] In 2024 the company released the quick start guide for the second edition of Star Trek Adventures as a free PDF.[20] The full core rules for the second edition released in August 2024 at Gen Con.[2][3][4]
Dune: Adventures in the Imperium
[edit]In May 2021, Modiphius released Dune: Adventures in the Imperium, based on Dune (franchise).[8][9] It won a Gold ENNIE Award for "Best Writing" with a writing team including Banana Chan. It was also nominated for "Product of the Year.".[21] Modiphius announced an expansion, Fall of the Imperium, in 2024.[22]
Discworld
[edit]In February 2024, Modiphius acquired the license to produce Terry Pratchett’s Discworld: Adventures in Ankh-Morpork.[6] Modiphius launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project in October 2024.[23][24]
Mass Effect
[edit]In 2024, Modiphius announced pre-orders for a Mass Effect board game.[10][11][12]
Other franchises
[edit]- In 2014 the company released Thunderbirds, a co-operative board game designed by Matt Leacock based on the British children's TV show Thunderbirds.[25]
- In 2015, the company announced a licensing deal for Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian property, with the publication of a roleplaying game, Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of, and an ongoing line of supplements in that setting.[26]
- In 2018 the company announced they would be working with DreamWorks Animation to produce a board game based on the children's films Kung Fu Panda.[27]
- In 2018, they announced a John Carter of Mars roleplaying game and line of supporting material,[28] based on the early-1900s pulp science fantasy series by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
- In 2022, they collaborate with Shawn Tomkin, Ironsworn creator, to publish a deluxe edition of its sci-fi supplement, Starforged.[29]
References
[edit]- ^ "Companies House Profile". Retrieved 18 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Modiphius Announces 'Star Trek Adventures RPG 2E'". icv2.com. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
- ^ a b Zambrano, J. R. (2024-02-26). "Modiphius Opens Hailing Frequencies for 'Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition'". Bell of Lost Souls. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ a b Jovanée, Alice (2024-08-21). "Get over 30 campaigns and add-ons for Star Trek Adventures with this $25 bundle". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ a b Carter, Chase (2024-05-01). "Fallout TV show's popularity doubled sales of the series' tabletop games, sold out the official RPG". Dicebreaker. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ a b c d Velocci, Carli (2024-02-29). "The first Discworld RPG in nearly three decades is on the way from Modiphius". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ a b Zambrano, J. R. (2024-04-29). "One Day Left In The Fallout RPG Sale At Modiphius". Bell of Lost Souls. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ a b Mekinda, Sean (2021-10-27). "Like the film, Dune's new tabletop role-playing game understands what makes the book great". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ a b "Dune: Adventures in the Imperium RPG review". Dicebreaker. May 6, 2021. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
- ^ a b Shepard, Kenneth (2024-08-29). "Gaze Upon The Majesty That Is The Mass Effect Board Game". Kotaku. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ a b Jovanée, Alice (2024-09-03). "Where to pre-order Mass Effect: The Board Game". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ a b Majumdar, Rahul (2024-03-05). "Mass Effect Is Getting a Tabletop RPG This Year, and It's Looking Promising". Men's Journal | Video Games. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ "ABOUT". Modiphius. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
- ^ "Achtung! Cthulhu - The WW2 Keeper's & Investigator's Guides". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
- ^ "Discover the Secret History of World War Two in Achtung! Cthulhu – Black Gate". 27 October 2012.
- ^ "ACHTUNG! CTHULHU". Modiphius. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
- ^ "Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
- ^ "FALLOUT". Modiphius. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
- ^ "STAR TREK". Modiphius. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
- ^ McAleer, Jeff (2024-04-24). "Score the Free Star Trek Adventures 2E Quickstart in PDF - The Gaming Gang". Retrieved 2024-04-27.
- ^ "2022 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards". Archived from the original on 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
- ^ Mekinda, Sean (2024-02-22). "Dune: Fall of the Imperium asks players to either confront Muad'dib, or bend the knee". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ "The Discworld RPG Kickstarter offers impossible dice and a Tray Of Death". Wargamer. 2024-10-15. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ "The Discworld RPG lets you play any Terry Pratchett species you want". Wargamer. 2024-09-18. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
- ^ "THUNDERBIRDS". Modiphius. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
- ^ "Modiphius Brings Robert E. Howard's Conan To Tabletop RPGs". VR World. 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
- ^ "KUNG FU PANDA". Modiphius. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
- ^ "JOHN CARTER". Modiphius. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
- ^ Zambrano, J. R. (2022-09-16). "RPG: Modiphius Teams Up With the Creator of 'Ironsworn: Starforged' for a Deluxe Edition". Bell of Lost Souls. Retrieved 2024-11-16.