Over Arms is a tabletop RPG inspired by JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and the Persona video games
Stands by me.
A new RPG currently on Kickstarter wants to bring the style and energy of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Persona to the tabletop.
Over Arms is said to be heavily inspired by the popular manga-turned-anime and roleplaying video game series, both acclaimed for their distinctive visual style and exploration of psychological aspects through a blend of fantastical elements and realism.
The rules-light RPG sees players create a ‘User’ character assisted by an ‘Anima’, a representation of their internal psyche and emotional state that can lend aid during combat and everyday life - a concept similar to the titular beings in the Persona series and JoJo’s Stands, both of which are powerful psychic entities typically summoned during battles.
Gameplay uses a range of dice, from d4 to d12, placed on each character’s stats. The respective die is rolled when a challenge of that type takes place. Players can also spend their anima points to create a junction, combining their User and Anima’s stats to roll two dice and up their chances of success - although Anima points are limited, making it a costly decision.
Players are able to personalise their Animas’ powers as they define their character, with the game’s light ruleset said to allow for a large amount of flexibility in creating abilities, ranging from controlling elements such as fire and lightning to manipulating characters’ thoughts.
Over Arms is said to be built for stories involving mystery and intrigue, with the game master creating multiple ‘Phases’ as part of a roughly four-to-six-hour scenario. These scene-like events include an equal mix of combat and narrative, providing structure for the story, and are said to be easy to generate using rules in the core rulebook.
The upcoming RPG is the first title crowdfunded by Rookie Jet Studio, with creator Cory Burns having released a number of indie roleplaying games on Itch.io previously.
The 100-plus-page rulebook features the core rules for playing, running custom games as a GM and creating characters, as well as a pre-made adventure. The book also includes information on The Mirage, Over Arm’s setting aimed at providing a dungeon-crawl experience, and a bestiary of the ‘Animus’ creatures that inhabit the world.
Over Arms is currently live on Kickstarter, where it passed its initial funding goal in under two hours. The campaign will run until September 17th, with the game’s digital and physical editions planned for release next spring. The RPG’s quickstart rules are available now as a free download.