Cartoons and Anime

I am gearing up for a bunch of posts on Cartoon and Anime RPGs.

Not really a genre (like Horror, Fantasy or Supers) it sort of covers them all really.  It is more of a style to be honest.

With anime and Cartoon RPGs you can do things that would seem crazy or otherwise rule breaking in other games.  They can be silly, or very deadly.

Why?  Well I have picked up a few new games.  Cartoon Action Hour Season 2 and OVA.  I will also likely pick up Open Anime from Battlefield Press, so I'll mention that too.  But I am going to start off with the game that got me into all this mess, the late, great BESM.

Given how much I like horror and magic, I am certainly going to look at those from an animated perspective. And what can Anime/Cartoon RPGs help all games with.

Treasure Discovery!

So I found a disk I had burned a bunch stuff.  Mostly this was some writing I had done back in the days of the Buffy-Angel playtests and then later the Ghosts of Albion playtests.

Most of it will stay on the disk.  It is either too old or not really representative of the kinds of things I do now.  But here and there there are some gems I had forgotten about. So things that would make for some good posts. Mostly Unisystem, there is also some d20 stuff, a few other systems, and even I think something for AD&D 2nd ed.  Quite an assortment really.

It might take me a bit to sort it all out, and then a bit more to bring anything on it to post-able quality, but I am looking forward to it.

GROGNARDIA: A Common Culture

Saw this today on Grognardia: GROGNARDIA: A Common Culture

Where I grew up Metal and D&D were hand in hand. My first DM was a fan of Iron Maiden and other NWOBHM bands like no other I have since and my next, more regular DM was a fan of all sorts of metal, but also Rush. The covers looked like D&D books, complete with swords, magical looking figures and monsters. It was hard to tell where one had influenced the other.

A quick look at some of the titles of game adventures I have written over the years also shows how deeply I felt this connection: "Veteran of the Psychic Wars", "All Along the Watchtower", "Rainbow in the Dark", I even built an entire series based on the premise that music and RPGs are a natural fit, "The Hex Girls".

I guess though it has a lot to do with where you grew up and when.

Pseudo Slayers

Meetings all day today, so here is a post I had ready a while back.
I have used this in my own Ghosts of Albion games as a way to introduce slayers without the ick factor that later came with them.

It is no secret that I hated the "official" explanation for Slayers. It is a thinly veiled gang rape sequence that implies that a woman can not be empowered until after she has been subjected to a defilement by men (see "I Spit on Your Grave" for a glaring example of this, a movie Whedon as discussed in the past).  Sorry, gore-porn doesn't do it for me.  It is also no secret that I also prefer my own "Angelic birthright" explanation ("Every Angel is Terrifying: The Secret and True Origin of the Slayer and Watchers").

But that doesn’t mean I can’t use this for my own purposes. Let’s go with the idea that Slayers are the offspring of Lilith, but the Watchers, in their own hubris and arrogance decided to try to create a Slayer of their own, using the methods seen (well, seen by you all, I won’t watch it) in Season 7. What they produced though was almost, but not quite a Slayer. And if the Watchers tried doing it you can be assured that they were not alone.

Pseudo Slayers

There have been various attempts to re-create the same circumstances that created the Slayer over the last few millennia. Some have met with success, but most have been abject failures. What follows are three different types of pseudo slayers, one created by the hubris of the Watchers, one created as a tool by the Government and a third group as soldiers in a private war.

All pseudo slayers share the same basic abilities of a natural slayer, save for the visions.

Despite the lack of visions slayers and pseudo slayers instantly recognize each other for what they are. There is at least that level of psychic communication to allow that.

How a Slayer deals with a Pseudo Slayer will depend on the Slayer in question.

The Demonic Slayer

This Pseudo-Slayer was created by the machinations and hubris of a group of Watchers. Already believing the lies told to them by the Demon Belial it was not difficult to convince them to try this blasphemy. What transpired here was later recorded in the official records as the "true" version of the Slayer’s origins. But what was not included was the fate of girl they violated.

The demonic Slayer was a normal girl from a local village subjected to attacks by vampires. The Watchers came to the village claiming they could help, but in exchange they needed a young girl. Fear makes people do things they would not normally consider, so the girl was given to them. After the process the Watchers claimed a new Slayer was discovered and she would fight the creatures of the night. And fight she did. It was not so much of a battle as it was a slaughter. Vampires troubled the village no more, but that was only the beginning of the nightmare. The girl became more and more troubled. She was violent, irrational and many times regressed to a state like that of a much younger child. She alternated between periods of being "The Beast" a mindless killing machine that could not tell friend from foe and "The Child" a helpless creature with the mentality of a five year old. The village begged the Watchers to make her right again; to bring back the young woman they had destroyed. They never got the chance. During one of her episodes as "The Child" the Watchers lured her back to place where they had "made" her. In her fear with memories of her pain and suffering flooding back she reverted to "The Beast" and killed them all. The villagers last saw the girl running into the night. Other Watchers came, tried to find her, but in the end took the writings of their dead brethren and returned to their own lands. It is unknown if she is still alive, but reports as late as 1987 has speculated that her conversion process has kept her alive.

Demonic Slayer

Motivation: Kill
Attributes: STR 9, DEX 9, CON 8, INT 1, PER 7, WIL 5
Ability Scores: Muscle 24, Combat 26, Brains 16
Life Points: 97
Abilities: Attractiveness -1, Hard to Kill 5 (total), Slayer* (no obligation, no visions)

Combat
Name Score Damage
Dodge 26 -
Kick 25 20
Punch 26 18
Stake 26 18

The Initiative Slayer

There is an old saying in the halls of Government. Why build one thing, when you can have two at twice the price. The Initiative fully endorsed this principle. While Maggie Walsh’s ADAM project was deemed a categorical failure it did produce positive research gains. These research notes, as well as some Slayer DNA the Initiative acquired lead to their next project. Not a demonic army they could control, but rather a Slayer Army.

Slayer DNA has proven to be outrageously difficult to clone, so adjustments needed to be made with the DNA of various demonic creatures. Based on data obtained by the Bureau, Lilim and Seraph DNA was acquired. After many trials, a viable clone was created.

The clone, named Galatea, appears to be identical to her template, Buffy Summers, with minor augmentations. Her strength and speed have been enhanced. Her biology has been advanced to what has been described as the "Slayer Sweet Spot" of ability, or about 17 years of age. Galatea also has one other difference from Buffy. Galatea’s eyes are blue.

Galatea is aware of Buffy, they are linked on some sub-psychic level, and Buffy may even be aware of her. Currently Galatea is bidding her time, she is still employed by the Initiative (though they consider her "property") but she will make her break from them and her first stop is wherever Buffy Summers is.

(This is al loosely based on the JLU episode "Fearful Symmetry" and an off comment once comparing Buffy to Power Girl. Galatea is of course from Pygmalion).

Initiative Slayer "Galatea"

Motivation: Kill for her country; find Buffy Summers
Attributes: STR 9, DEX 9, CON 8, INT 3, PER 5, WIL 6
Ability Scores: Muscle 24, Combat 26, Brains 20
Life Points: 109
Abilities: Attractiveness +3, Slayer* (no visions, but knows what Buffy knows)

Combat
Name Score Dam
Dodge 26 -
Kick 25 20
Punch 26 18
Stake 26 18

The Thaumaturgic Slayer

Where the Demonic and Initiative Slayers were created as a means for two groups to control the power of the Slayer in some fashion, the Thaumaturic Slayer (also known as the Necromantic Slayer) was created simply as the best tool for a job.

The first group of Thaumaturgic Slayers (they are always created in groups in 4 or 5) were created by a faction of Mages to battle another faction.

The Delor and Animus factions had been fighting each other for unknown centuries. In the latest round of battles the Animus clan had been cursed by the Delor to a "living death"; their elders do not die, but instead persist in a semi-dead state. This is anathema to a group of mages that rely on the spirits of their dead elders to guide them. In turn Animus cursed Delor and Delor sent more undead monsters to fight Animus. As Mages, Animus felt that physical combat was beneath them (as do the Delor), so given that they were being attacked by undead monsters they discovered the means of replicating the Slayer. They take young girls, 15-17, and ritually kill them. They are then reanimated in new bodies made from magic. These new bodies are identical to their own save they are much stronger and faster. The girls are then summoned by agents of Animus to fight the monsters set out by Delor.

As of 2006 the battle has taken a new turn. Delor is now in passion of the magical tome that Animus uses to create their own Slayers. In the last creation five girls in New York City were converted, but one, Lise, was killed and taken by Delor. The other girls, Kate, Rachel, Rose, and Claire, have been converted and know they must battle Delor directly. If they succeed they will be allowed to return to their old lives.

Thaumaturgic Slayer

The thaumaturgic slayer uses same stats as a standard Slayer. While they do not receive visions or prophecies, they are aware of each other and when and where they are needed.
(Note: The Thaumaturgic Slayer is very loosely based on the Anime "Red Garden" and "Red Garden: Dead Girls", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Garden)

Reflection time!

Lot's going on around the ole' Other Side over the last few days. Let's recap.

New Followers
Welcome all new followers and thank you for your continued support to all!  If there is anything you would like to see me opine about, shoot me an email or a post.  I turned off moderation, which means I do get the occasional spammer, but I thought it would be better for ease of communications.

Ronnie Jame Dio
RJD died.  Truthfully he was as much an influence on my games as are names like Moorcock and Tolkien.  OK, maybe not that much, but he was still an influence.

Twilight the RPG
WOW. That struck a nerve.  I want to spend some more time on this one.  Just not sure what else I want to say yet.

Pathfinder weekend
Got to play Pathfinder with "the big kids" again this weekend.  I am just 125 XP for leveling up!   IT was a great time.  We were also just a table down from where Mike "Chgwiz" was playing his old school OSRIC game.  I didn't talk to him about his leaving the blog scene (I thought that would be rude), but it sounds like he has a hell of a game going.  So that is awesome.

More later today I think.

Willow & Tara: d20 Modern

d20 Modern and Urban Arcana

D20.  To many it was the best thing since sliced bread and the Internet. To others, well, they were vocal on how much they hated it.   D20 Modern is the modern version of the 3.x Dungeons and Dragons game (there is no Modern d20 game out yet for 4th edition).   I was always mostly neutral to it.  I liked it, yes, but it seems like a huge tool to do the job I was already doing quite well with Unisystem.  Though I really wanted to run a modern D&D game that took place on Oerth or even my own world.  So all the same countries and species, in a world where jet fighters and computers exist next to dragons and magic.  Yeah Dragon Mag talked about doing it years ago with their Greyhawk 2000 game.  One day I'll get to do it.

Anyway, back in the day I was doing tons of conversions.  I would (and still do really), pick up a game read it, digest it, and then figure out how to convert some of my characters.  I have a lot I convert, an immortal assassin, a teen witch, a staunch defender of good and a hunter of demons, and an occult scholar.  All of which are very interesting. To me.  But not so much to others I think.  Sure I have had a long history with these character since the early 80's in some cases.  I know them, but no one else really does.  My old players from High School and College might, but I don't think they read this blog or my posts at all.

So I figured if I was going to do conversions then I needed a) the same character(s) each time so I could compare and contrast the outcomes, b) characters others knew so I could talk about them and get some opinions back and c) had magic since that was what I most interested in.  Since I had already been playing a Willow and Tara based game that began with WitchCraft, moved to Buffy and then Ghosts of Albion the choices seemed obvious to me.  Plus it was part of my mandate to get Willow and Tara together in every world.  So, my course was set.  I was going to try out a bunch of d20 based modern games to see if I could create a world that was a modern supernatural horror game with more of an emphasis on character building and role-playing than I had done before.  Unisystem was perfect, but if I wanted to do something on my own I needed a system I could use on my own.

The best way to emulate a Willow & Tara RPG style game using the core d20 Modern rules is to use the Urban Arcana supplement. Urban Arcana is a little heavier on the open magic than your typical Unisystem game, but less so than your average D&D game. But perfect for my Willow & Tara, Season 3 game that I had planned out.  In fact I would have to say that it was these d20 conversions, in particular this one, the Mutants and Masterminds one and even, if I dare, the Macho Women with Guns d20 one.  The whole idea here is this would be a world where everyone knew magic was real and the monsters that used to haunt the night would walk about during the day.  Urbana Arcana then seemed a good fit.  Almost.

Here is the first problem. None of the six basic core classes has a magic using option. Most of the magic using advanced courses require at a minimum 6 ranks of a skill. Sure you can get to that in two levels, so that is not so bad (and actually works well for Willow) it is more difficult with someone like Tara who has been casting since she was little. The Hedge Wizard profession works ok for level 2 and the magical heritage feat can cover some more, but this feels less organic than say just taking a level of Sorcery/Magic or the Gift.

Here are Willow and Tara for the d20 Modern RPG

Willow Rosenberg: Female Human, Smart Hero 5, Occultist 1, Mage 7 (level 13). Medium Humanoid. Student/Hedge Wizard, hp 45, DC 14, Init +0, BAB +3 (+2 melee, +3 ranged), Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +7, Reputation +3, Wealth +1 Action Points 75.
Strength 9 (-1), Dexterity 11 (0), Constitution 11 (0), Intelligence 18 (+4), Wisdom 16 (+3), Charisma 17 (+3)
Height 5’3”, Weight 110lbs, Eyes Green, Hair Red, Date of Birth Jan 1981 (25 in 2006)
Skills: Bluff +4, Computer +19, Concentration +10, Craft (Chemical) +10, Craft (Electronics) +8, Craft (Mechanical) +7, Decipher Script +14, Diplomacy +4, Disable Device +9, Drive +2, Escape Artist +2, Gather Information +8, Handle Animal +4, Hide +1, Investigate +9, Knowledge (Arcana) +18, Knowledge (Earth Sciences) +8, Knowledge (Physical Sciences) +8, Knowledge (Theology) +9, Listen +5, Navigate +5, Perform (Ritual) +7, Read/Write Languages (Latin, French, Hebrew) +2, Repair +8, Research +20, Sense Motive +4, Speak Languages (Latin, French, Hebrew) +2, Spellcraft +14, Survival +5, Use Magical Devices +9.
Feats: Archaic Weapons Proficiency, Educated (Arcana and Sciences), Focused, Gearhead, Magical Affinity, Meticulous, Simple Weapons Proficiency, Spell Slinger, Studious, Toughness, Trustworthy
Talents/Special Abilities: Savant Computer Use +5 and Research +5, Plan, Spell Resistance +6, Arcane Spells and Skills, Combat Casting

Tara Maclay: Female Human, Dedicated Hero 6, Mystic 6 (level 12). Medium Humanoid. Student/Hedge Wizard, hp 49, DC 12, Init -1, BAB +4 (+5 melee, +3 ranged), Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +9, Reputation +2, Wealth +1 Action Points 41.
Strength 12 (+1), Dexterity 9 (-1), Constitution 12 (+1), Intelligence 16 (+3), Wisdom 18 (+4), Charisma 16 (+3)
Height 5’5”, Weight 125lbs, Eyes Blue, Hair Blond, Date of Birth Nov 7, 1981 (25 in 2006)
Skills: Bluff +4, Computer +7, Concentration +6, Craft (Chemical) +3, Decipher Script +9, Diplomacy +10, Gamble +7, Gather Information +3, Handle Animal +7, Hide +3, Investigate +7, Knowledge (Arcana) +12, Knowledge (Philosophy) +11, Knowledge (Theology) +11, Listen +10, Navigate +3, Perform (Dancing) +8, Perform (Painting) +8, Perform (Ritual) +7, Perform (Singing) +8, Read/Write Languages (Latin, Greek, French, Japanese) +2, Repair +3, Research +12, Sense Motive +13, Speak Languages (Latin, French, Japanese) +2, Spellcraft +12, Survival +9, Use Magical Devices +8.
Feats: Archaic Weapons Proficiency, Cautious, Creative, Educated (Humanities), Focused, Iron Will, Low Profile, Magical Heritage, Meticulous, Simple Weapons Proficiency, Studious, Trustworthy
Talents/Special Abilities: Spell Resistance +6, Divine Spells and Skills, Arcane Skills Talent: Empathy, Talent: Intuition 5/day, Talent: Healing Knack, Brew Potions, Combat Casting, Turn Undead

Willow is obviously a Smart Hero, no question. I also gave her a level of Occultist to cover her “dabbling” stage and Mage to cover her spell casting. Tara on the other hand is less obviously a Dedicated Hero but it fits well. I opted for Mystic for her and not Mage since magic feel different. This does give her the troublesome Turn Undead which is a power that does not exist in Unisystem. However, since this is the Dragon and Phoenix canon Tara did gain the divine ability to frighten vampires and undead. I’ll tone down this power and amp up her Healing Knack to cover her Healing power in Unisystem.

Both start out as students and then gain the Hedge Wizard occupation as well. This gives them a few more cantrips (minor spels) before they enter their magic classes proper. Both can use incantations. Tara also has intuition and empathy to cover her Empath and Sight qualities from Unisystem.

Neither are strong fighters, here or in Unisystem, so that converts well enough.

Qualities convert to Feats as per AFMBE-R (Eden's "All Flesh Must Be Eaten"). Many were based on what feats were offered by class and what makes sense. At this point I’d imagine both girls (and any Unisystem character for that matter) would have Archaic and Simple Weapons Proficiencies.
Willow has Magical Aptitude to cover her quick rise in the magical ranks and Tara has Magical Heritage since her mother and grandmother were both witches.
Toughness (feat) is roughly the same as Hard to Kill (quality).

Skills convert on a 1 for 2 basis, so every one rank of Unisystem gives you 2 ranks of d20. That works fine as a base, but the two games are not powered the same. So to get a level based on Spell power, you end up with a higher level character (Willow is 13th level here) and a lot more skill points to spread around. Fortunately there are a lot more skills in d20.

Drawbacks are (will continue to be) the big issue. Modern d20 has nothing similar and this is a problem because they really should. For this we will have to move to other games. To use the Nega-Feats rules from AFMBE-R then conceivably we swap in a few feats and reduce their overall level. But that might not be an issue really and should only give us an extra level or at best two.

Overall I was pleased, just not overly so.  They certainly worked but they were not as satisfying as the Mutants and Masterminds versions I post earlier (but actually did later).  The nice thing about d20 was (and is for those still using it) that there was always going to be some 3rd party product that would come along that I could add in to all of this.

After I wrote these conversions the d20 Dark*Matter came along.  I had been a fan of the Alternity/Dark*Matter game when it came out, but went down the path of the WitchCraft RPG instead.  I added some bits from that, but mixing Urban Arcana and Dark*Matter is like mixing WitchCraft RPG with Conspiracy X.  Yes tehy cover similar ground, use the same rules and even have things in the games that the other game can use, but most of the fundamental philosophies of the games make even the same thing look complete different.  So they were less compatible than I hoped.

I have other ones I have tried to various levels of success.  But in every case I took something away from the process that I would use in later games, regardless of the system used.  From this I got obviously the d20 feel, but also the idea that running a modern game in a magic rich world is a good idea.

Twilight RPG? Sure, why not.

I was talking with some friends online and couple of topics came up that were not-quite but sorta-related.  The first was the rash of vampire fiction and the "changes" happening to it.  Namely that vampires are no longer terrible monsters but super powerful, but dangerous, boyfriends.  They do things now like fall in love with women several decades their younger or move about in sunlight.

To this I simply say.

When was this new?  Cause I seem to recall reading similar things in "Interview with a Vampire" and "Dracula".

We are in the midst of another "Vampire Craze" that seems to pop up every so often.  The last one was of course Anne Rice, Lost Boys and Vampire the Masquerade.  Now it is Twilight, The Vampire Diaries and even True Blood.   I am going to focus on Twilight a bit since it is the most contentious of the lot.
Honestly, I have no big issue with Twilight's vampires (except they are not really vampires are they) or even the fact that a 100+ year old is in love with a High School Girl.  I tend to believe that if a person becomes a vampire that regardless of the chronological age their body is stuck at a certain physical age and mental age.  They might learn more, but in a sense their mentality is stuck, frozen in time.  My biggest issue with the books is the vapid empty dialog,  Mary-Sue characters, and thinly veiled personal sermons.  But I will grant this.  The success of those books has lead to an entire publishing craze of "Modern Supernatural Romance" or "Chick Lit" that has been a huge success in their own right.
Laurel K. Hamilton may have been one of the first, but it took Stephenie Meyer and her "Sparkly Vampires" to make it cross-over.

Which leads me to my next thought.
Should there be a Twilight RPG?

There are a lot of compelling reasons to do so.
Let's start with the obvious, Twilight sold nearly 30 million books in 2008 and 27M in 2009.  There have been two movies of her books, which have made close to $1.2 Billion (that's a "B").   That's a lot of money.  A licensed RPG would be make money if only for the Twilight fans wanting more of this world.

Other obvious reasons.
There is the werwolf/vampire back-story that, and lets be honest here, seems totally cribbed from White Wolf, but it is more of a turf war ala "West Side Story" than the bloody wars of "Underworld".  Though now the mental image of vampires and werewolves singing while fighting is certain to haunt me for days.  But it does make for a good game.

Lets talk marketing.  Who loves "Twilight" besides Kelly Clarkson and President Obama? Pre-teen and teenage girls.
What market have RPGs not done particularly well in?  Yeah.
"Twilight the RPG" could be the gateway drug to RPGs for this market.  Look, this is 2010, we have dropped the stereotypes.  We know girls like and play RPGs. Maybe we have White Wolf to thank for that as well. But we also know that it is still a very territory for marketing.  AND I should point out it is not just young girls and women.  It is "older" women (and by that I mean older than the protagonist Bella, so 20+) that buy and enjoy these books.  What do we know about women in the marketplace?  Well how about this (from Neilsen Media) Women make the buying choices in the family, women have more money now than they ever did, and while men are being laid off at double-digit rates, women are keeping their jobs.

And the game companies know all of this.

We have products out now that are specifically try to appeal to young girls.  Games like Bella Sara are a perfect example of this.

A Twilight game would need to focus on the things that made the books so popular.  Interpersonal relationships, destiny, fated-loves and so on.  As a game it would need to have mechanics that were simple so they do what they need to do and then get out of the way (for the newbie gamers) and powerful enough to keep the narrative flowing (for the more experienced ones).  Blue Rose I think tried to do this to some degree, and I think design-wise they mostly got it right.  It does all the things I mentioned above, but I think ultimately Blue Rose was hampered more by what people thought it was rather than what it really was.
By putting the Twilight label on the game you eliminate that and everyone knows what you are getting up front.  Plus we all know I am convinced that Blue Rose would be fantastic as a horror game.
Combat would be minimal, but it would still occur.  Afterall these vampires and werewolves have to attack something sometime.

Of course I could see this using White Wolf's World of Darkness games too or even Cinematic Unisystem.  Though in both cases somethings might need to be tweaked or redesigned.

The downsides though are numerous as well.  Gamers, it seems to person, hate Twilight.  Or at least I never met one that likes it.  I don't even like it.  The vampires of Twilight are mocked and rightfully so. Gamers would not buy a Twilight RPG unless it had something so mind wracking cool about it that getting it was more of a lure than anything else.
So lets pretend for a second there is a Twilight game out there and people pick it up for whatever their personal reasons are.  Who is going to play this game? and how?

The trouble with the RPG biz is there is shit all nothing in terms of market research.
Companies rarely know what people wan't and they rarely can provide it when they do know.  There are exceptions of course. Paizo and Green Ronin take a lot of customer feedback for example.  But I bet you that if there was a demand out there for a particular game, no company would know about it in any systematic way.  We rely a lot on word of mouth.  Maybe this is fine, but it is very reaction-based and sometimes companies move too slow to do anything about it.

Twilight the Role-Playing Game is not coming to a FLGS near you anytime soon.  But part of me still wonders that maybe it should.