The hit Warner Brothers-turned-CW show Supernatural took the world by storm during its fifteen-season run. Fans around the world followed the Winchester brothers’ story as Sam and Dean hunted demons and stopped the world from ending more than once. Supernatural merchandise can still be found in abundance in different stores, showing the influence the show had on pop culture and media overall. Supernatural more than earned its place in the cultural zeitgeist, even making its way into the TTRPG sphere with the Supernatural Role Playing Game.
TTRPGs, or table-top role-playing games, are great ways for groups of people to flex their creative thinking skills and craft one-of-a-kind story experiences. Most TTRPGs are based on the foundation laid by Dungeons and Dragons, the first role-playing game ever published. There are different systems used in TTRPGs, and players don’t always have to speak or act in character depending on the rules of the table. The Supernatural Role Playing Game consisted of a core book and a follow-up collection titled Supernatural Role Playing Game: Adventures.
What is the Supernatural Role Playing Game?
The Supernatural Role Playing Game was designed by Jamie Chambers and published by Margaret Weis Productions in 2009. The TTRPG was in development since 2007 and utilizes the Cortex System. This system puts the focus on story development and characterization before other parts of the TTRPG experience. The Supernatural Role Playing Game was actually the last role-playing game released with a Cortex System design, and was the last role-playing game made by Chambers.
The Supernatural Role Playing Game can be played by anywhere from two-to-five players along with a Game Master, or GM. Players will also need to have polyhedral dice, as is typical with most TTRPGs. Players can take on the role of Dean or Sam Winchester, along with other hunters who are dedicated to “saving people and hunting things.” When creating these characters, players choose Attributes and Complications that impact their character and how they interact with the game. Attributes are positive traits, but Complications make things a bit more, well, complicated in certain situations via negative character traits.
Beyond the Supernatural Role Playing Game core book, players could also invest in what essentially functions as an add-on to the TTRPG: Supernatural Role Playing Game: Adventures. The supplemental book added five adventures to the Supernatural Role Playing Game, allowing players to continue with the hunter characters they’d made, or start over with new ones. Supernatural Adventures released a few months after the core book, debuting in March 2010.
Is the Supernatural Role Playing Game Good?
The Supernatural Role Playing Game wasn’t poorly received, but it wasn’t given high praise either. The Supernatural Role Playing Game was by no means revolutionary in the world of TTPRGs, but it was a fun experience for fans of the show. While it wasn’t the best choice for those who hadn’t watched the show, fans were able to step into the shoes of Supernatural hunters and even re-live some plotlines from the show. It was a TTRPG dream-come-true for fans, but otherwise, the Supernatural Role Playing Game was pretty much a standard title.
Supernatural was not the first television show to get the TTRPG treatment, and it certainly hasn’t been the last. Though the Supernatural Role Playing Game came out twelve years ago, it’s worth knowing about because it shows how influential Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki were as Dean and Sam Winchester. It also shows how television shows can delve into the gaming sphere with relative ease.
However, anyone looking to get their hands on a copy of the Supernatural Role Playing Game or Supernatural Adventures nowadays will be making quite a costly investment. Both the core book and supplement book retail for over $100 dollars each, so for now it may be best to just remember the Supernatural Role Playing Game as a collectible TTRPG, and appreciate the impact it had on the genre overall.
Supernatural Role Playing Game is available now.