Behind Enemy Lines is a military role-playing game published by FASA in 1982 that is set during World War II; it was the first role-playing game of this genre.
Behind Enemy Lines was the first role-playing game set in World War II,[1] Behind Enemy Lines was the first role-playing game set in the 1940s.[2] a military system covering U.S. soldiers on the Western Front.[3] Skill and combat rules are fairly simple, as they are descended from the original Traveller systems.[3]
In the first edition, the "Character Generation and Basic Rules" book (96 pages) covers character creation, combat, maps, interrogation, and special units.[3] The "Event Tables" book (48 pages) is full of randomized tables for covering almost any kind of situation: encounters in woods, towns, and fortifications; on railroads; for parachuting and mountain climbing; etc.[3] The "Missions" book (56 pages) has three scenarios, four miniscenarios, and numerous "pregenerated" NPCs.[3] In the second edition, all this material is reorganized into a "Soldier's Handbook" (32 pages), a "Commander's Manual" (32 pages), an "Operations Book" (16 pages), and an Infantry Reference Data sheet.[3]
Behind Enemy Lines was designed by William H. Keith, Jr., with Jordan Weisman, Ross Babcock, Eric Turn, and Steve Turn, with artwork by James Clouse, William H. Keith Jr., and Jerry O'Malley.[4] The boxed set was published in 1982 by FASA and included a 96-page book, a 56-page book, and a 48-page book, a map booklet, four cardstock sheets, two cardboard counter sheets, and dice.[3] The second edition was published by FASA in 1985 as a boxed set including two 32-page books, and a 16-page book, a cardstock screen, and dice.[3]
In his 1990 book The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games, game critic Rick Swan found "The game mechanics are adequate but bland ... while large combat encounters bog down in a swamp of formulas, tables, and modifiers, they're reasonably exciting if not exactly realistic." Swan found the 8-year-old game had been superseded by superior products such as Phoenix Command and Merc, and concluded by giving the game a poor rating of only 1.5 out of 4, saying, "Neither good history nor interesing fantasy, Behind Enemy Lines is best forgotten."[5]
The first edition set of Behind Enemy Lines won an H.G. Wells Award[3] for "Best Roleplaying Rules of 1982".[6]
. Lawrence Schick. Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books . 1991. 0-87975-653-5. 253.