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Untamed Worlds: Anthropomorphic Science Fiction Roleplaying
An action-packed roleplaying game of animals uplifted to serve as humanity's agents among the stars.
Welcome to space, the last great wilderness. While humanity has reached the stars, most humans live on Earth and other developed worlds, relying on the brave – or desperate – few to tame this dangerous new frontier. After disastrous experiments with human and AI operatives, the collected nations and mega-corporations of Earth turned to the animal kingdom, genetically modifying and enhancing various species to protect their off-world interests. As humanity extends its reach into Untamed Space, the elite, if expendable, animals of the United Expeditionary Force are the tip of the spear.
Untamed Worlds is a military science fiction roleplaying game of anthropomorphic action in which dog-faced soldiers, gorilla commandos, chameleon snipers, octopus gunslingers, and other uplifted animals fight to defend a humanity that looks down on them. The 2D6-based system is simple but dynamic, with success and failure constantly generating new tactical options for players to exploit and challenges to which they must adapt. Whether pacifying alien threats and rebel factions, hunting down rogue AIs, or exploring the unknown, it's never a dull day in the UEF!
Welcome to space, the last great wilderness. While humanity has reached the stars, most humans live on Earth and other developed worlds, relying on the brave – or desperate – few to tame this dangerous new frontier. After disastrous experiments with human and AI operatives, the collected nations and mega-corporations of Earth turned to the animal kingdom, genetically modifying and enhancing various species to protect their off-world interests. As humanity extends its reach into Untamed Space, the elite, if expendable, animals of the United Expeditionary Force are the tip of the spear.
Untamed Worlds is a military science fiction roleplaying game of anthropomorphic action in which dog-faced soldiers, gorilla commandos, chameleon snipers, octopus gunslingers, and other uplifted animals fight to defend a humanity that looks down on them. The 2D6-based system is simple but dynamic, with success and failure constantly generating new tactical options for players to exploit and challenges to which they must adapt. Whether pacifying alien threats and rebel factions, hunting down rogue AIs, or exploring the unknown, it's never a dull day in the UEF!
288 pages, Hardcover
Published September 16, 2025
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February 26, 2026I read this a bit ago and wrote a bunch on it, but forgot to post here I guess, so:
How? Osprey RPG collection.
What / Yeah, so?
First: the book is, for Osprey, a bit big.
(Is it? Grabbing the last few non-supplement books on the website:
128 pp: Terror Beneath, Two Sides of the Coin, Pressure (kinda supplementy, but I'll allow it)
160 pp: Hard City, Urban Decay
192 pp: Hooded Man
224 pp: Tomorrow City
272 pp: Through the Hedgerow
288 pp: Untamed Worlds
So average, 186; mode 128, median 160? So, yeah, bigger but not a solo outlier.)
Which means there's some sections -- like gear and vehicles and hazards and mission types -- that I'm tempted to skim; but there's bits of world building and tone setting going on in all those areas.
Second, the premise is that you are anthropomorphic animals put into dangerous space situations to advance the cause of humanity (i.e., exploiting the solar system for the corporations and the rich).
Throughout, Norris is very clear on the tone and purpose: this game is meant to be fun for the players, but not necessarily for the characters, as they get passed over for benefits that their hard work won. And the explicit expected arc of the game is that after you do a bunch of missions as military members, you'll probably want to go rogue and help support the local communities/other uplifted animals.
But still, he notes, this is space opera rather than hard science, with satire of exploitation running throughout. (The list of possible mysteries/adventure seeds includes "bloodsport" and it notes "every long-running [sf tv] series eventually makes" an episode with an underground fighting ring, so why not throw one of those in?)
What do PCs do in the setting before they rebel? Well, there's bug aliens, arachnid aliens, other uplifted animals from failed and cutting-edge experiments, human dissidents and extremists ("Space Nazis are losers"), rogue AI -- all sorts of fun monsters.
(I'm torn about the one planet that's been taken over by an Elon stand-in, Oaklan Funk. I appreciate the acid it uses to describe this character, but maybe I don't want to deal with him at all.)
Third, system: 2d6 + skill - difficulty -- get 7 and over, and it's a success. If you get higher than 7, you get points you can spend on additional effects or bank in Momentum points; go lower, and the GM gets points they can spend on bad effects (or just bank as Momentum). Seems clean, adaptable to lots of situations. I'm torn on momentum points, but maybe I just don't like the name. (What they really do, the author says, is keep the momentum at the table, since rather than figure out how to spend your bonus points, you can always just take them as Momentum.)
Weapons do a base damage, armor protects from some hits (and degrades by 1 at every hit). There's a bunch of special descriptors for weapons, armors, vehicles, etc.
Characters are bundles of skills, tricks/special descriptor (your elephant soldier gets "Big 'Un", etc.).
As you adventure, you may get promotions and medals (unlikely), experience, and influence -- which is the commodity that also translates from your service time to your rogue time. There's some examples of how you can spend influence to change the world around you -- but honestly, so much of the text is about what life is like in the UEF (the military branch you're a part of) and relatively little on what life is like as a rogue and how influence works there to let you keep adventuring rather than just being hunted down by waves of loyal UEF forces.
But that might be my only substantive criticism of the game.
Oh, and four: art: the book has a few little spot art pieces here and there, but seems like most pages are text (maybe contributing to the book feeling big), except for the ~20 pages of full page character art, showing one or another anthropomorphic animal -- sniper chameleon, mechanic bear smoking a cigar, camel soldier, etc.
Sum: I really like this! But it could use a supplement about going rogue.
How? Osprey RPG collection.
What / Yeah, so?
First: the book is, for Osprey, a bit big.
(Is it? Grabbing the last few non-supplement books on the website:
128 pp: Terror Beneath, Two Sides of the Coin, Pressure (kinda supplementy, but I'll allow it)
160 pp: Hard City, Urban Decay
192 pp: Hooded Man
224 pp: Tomorrow City
272 pp: Through the Hedgerow
288 pp: Untamed Worlds
So average, 186; mode 128, median 160? So, yeah, bigger but not a solo outlier.)
Which means there's some sections -- like gear and vehicles and hazards and mission types -- that I'm tempted to skim; but there's bits of world building and tone setting going on in all those areas.
Second, the premise is that you are anthropomorphic animals put into dangerous space situations to advance the cause of humanity (i.e., exploiting the solar system for the corporations and the rich).
Throughout, Norris is very clear on the tone and purpose: this game is meant to be fun for the players, but not necessarily for the characters, as they get passed over for benefits that their hard work won. And the explicit expected arc of the game is that after you do a bunch of missions as military members, you'll probably want to go rogue and help support the local communities/other uplifted animals.
But still, he notes, this is space opera rather than hard science, with satire of exploitation running throughout. (The list of possible mysteries/adventure seeds includes "bloodsport" and it notes "every long-running [sf tv] series eventually makes" an episode with an underground fighting ring, so why not throw one of those in?)
What do PCs do in the setting before they rebel? Well, there's bug aliens, arachnid aliens, other uplifted animals from failed and cutting-edge experiments, human dissidents and extremists ("Space Nazis are losers"), rogue AI -- all sorts of fun monsters.
(I'm torn about the one planet that's been taken over by an Elon stand-in, Oaklan Funk. I appreciate the acid it uses to describe this character, but maybe I don't want to deal with him at all.)
Third, system: 2d6 + skill - difficulty -- get 7 and over, and it's a success. If you get higher than 7, you get points you can spend on additional effects or bank in Momentum points; go lower, and the GM gets points they can spend on bad effects (or just bank as Momentum). Seems clean, adaptable to lots of situations. I'm torn on momentum points, but maybe I just don't like the name. (What they really do, the author says, is keep the momentum at the table, since rather than figure out how to spend your bonus points, you can always just take them as Momentum.)
Weapons do a base damage, armor protects from some hits (and degrades by 1 at every hit). There's a bunch of special descriptors for weapons, armors, vehicles, etc.
Characters are bundles of skills, tricks/special descriptor (your elephant soldier gets "Big 'Un", etc.).
As you adventure, you may get promotions and medals (unlikely), experience, and influence -- which is the commodity that also translates from your service time to your rogue time. There's some examples of how you can spend influence to change the world around you -- but honestly, so much of the text is about what life is like in the UEF (the military branch you're a part of) and relatively little on what life is like as a rogue and how influence works there to let you keep adventuring rather than just being hunted down by waves of loyal UEF forces.
But that might be my only substantive criticism of the game.
Oh, and four: art: the book has a few little spot art pieces here and there, but seems like most pages are text (maybe contributing to the book feeling big), except for the ~20 pages of full page character art, showing one or another anthropomorphic animal -- sniper chameleon, mechanic bear smoking a cigar, camel soldier, etc.
Sum: I really like this! But it could use a supplement about going rogue.
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