Brandon Leon-Gambetta is Kickstarting a Powered by the Apocalypse RPG based on telenovelas. That’s not a word I’ve seen before, but I know the genre thanks to its parodies in pop-culture.
Hunky men that look good with their tops off, sexy women that are equally capable as highflying business owners or housewives, lots of brief romances and longer-lasting drama. It’s an unusual concept for a game, and of the $5,000 initial ask, at the time of writing, $27,000+ has been raised. Kickstarter likes this one and you can read it up over at the campaign page.
Pasión de las Pasiones is a second attempt. The first was published, unfinished by Magpie Games in 2017. Brandon Leon-Gambetta has been working on it ever since.
A pledge of $15 will get you the core rules in PDF and digital stretch goals. Step up to $30 and find shipping and you’ll get the softcover thrown in. There are dice and other bonuses, but once you get up to $70 then the hardcover core rules, along with the supporting cat deck becomes available to you.
The games played in Pasión de las Pasiones are generally one-shots for 3-5 players and GM. It’s hard to see how a scenario would work. Players have six base playbooks to pick from when it comes to characters; the flirty one, or evil twin brother, for example.
I think these TV shows tend to be more daytime drama than erotica; however, Pasión de las Pasiones has conditions tracked for each character; lustful, obsessed, zealous, lovelorn, defensive and raging and for any playbook, you’ll be monitoring four of them. If events conspire, then your character might end up having an epic, worthy for meme, TV meltdown.
Meltdowns are intended to be domino effects in which your unpredictable actions influence other characters conditions, nudging them towards a meltdown of their own.
I suspect a game like this needs to be handled maturely.
Are you tempted by Pasión de las Pasiones as an RPG? Let us know why you’re considering the Kickstarter, or not, in the comments below.
