Anime Champions?

[PhantomGM2602]

I just had a thought,no an idea. Has anyone considered doing anime and manga heroes in the Hero system? Any input would be welcome.

[Doug Limmer]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

I suspect you'll see a flood of responses shortly (or, maybe shortly once Monday comes around). To start you off with some Hero Games published stuff:

 

• "Anime and the Hero System" is an article in Digital Hero #8
  
• Ninja Hero covers some anime and video game topics
  
• Kazei 5 (PDF from 4th edition, but still available in the company store) is cyberpunk with anime flavoring
  
• Robot Warriors and Robot Gladiators (4th edition supplements; one or both may have PDF versions in the store) help with some types of anime
  
• The Ultimate Vehicle (5th edition) also has some stuff regarding anime-type robots and vehicles
  

[yamamura]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

What Doug said plus Susano's site has a ton of anime chara. I even have a couple on mine...

[Edsel]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

Yeah. What yamamura said. Susano's site has a lot of really good stuff. The link is here.

[Susano]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

I suspect you'll see a flood of responses shortly (or, maybe shortly once Monday comes around). To start you off with some Hero Games published stuff:

 

• "Anime and the Hero System" is an article in Digital Hero #8
  
• Ninja Hero covers some anime and video game topics
  
• Kazei 5 (PDF from 4th edition, but still available in the company store) is cyberpunk with anime flavoring
  

 

Yeah, I did all that and run Surbrook's Stuff as well.

 

"Anime and the Hero System" is about 17,000 words on anime conventions and such, with some HERO comments and two sample characters -- a mecha pilot and a magical girl (what did people think of that, BTW? I never saw any feedback.).

 

Ninja Hero discusses anime and video game martial arts and includes the following sample anime NPCs: Tsukikiage the ninja (who clocks in at around 500 pts of shadow-magic whoopass), John Wa the Monkey King (my play on the original Songoku the Monkey King), and Kayli the Destroyer, who's a pastiche/homage to a certain well-known manga/anime series featuring super-powerful martial artists.

 

Kazei 5 is my never-ending project. It combines a lot of 80s anime influences into a near-future "old-school" cyberpunk world. If you liked Appleseed, Bubblegum Crisis, Akira, Ghost In The Shell, Silent Mobius, and Battle Angel odds are you'll like this.

[PhantomGM2602]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

Yeah' date=' I did all that and run Surbrook's Stuff as well.

 

"Anime and the Hero System" is about 17,000 words on anime conventions and such, with some HERO comments and two sample characters -- a mecha pilot and a magical girl (what did people think of that, BTW? I never saw any feedback.).

 

Ninja Hero discusses anime and video game martial arts and includes the following sample anime NPCs: Tsukikiage the ninja (who clocks in at around 500 pts of shadow-magic whoopass), John Wa the Monkey King (my play on the original Songoku the Monkey King), and Kayli the Destroyer, who's a pastiche/homage to a certain well-known manga/anime series featuring super-powerful martial artists.

 

Kazei 5 is my never-ending project. It combines a lot of 80s anime influences into a near-future "old-school" cyberpunk world. If you liked Appleseed, Bubblegum Crisis, Akira, Ghost In The Shell, Silent Mobius, and Battle Angel odds are you'll like this.

OK robots ,cyborgs and Martial artists[if you count the DragonBall Z and GT Characters] May be all good and that, but what about roleplaying Magic Girls[sailor Moon,Rayearth],Monster trainers[Pokemon,Digimon,Monster Rancher],

Space Warriors{Yamato],Sentai Teams,[ Power Rangers] and Fantasy Fighters[Lodoss,Slayers,Inu-Yasha]

Not to mention Pop Music Idols[Mink,Pop Chance Session] and Sports.

Any more inputs besides mine?

[ParitySoul]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

Still would be nice to actually see a collection of this in a book. With other ideas on how to flavor any of the other genres. A good kick at games like OVA and BESM that make it out like HERO and such can't do good Anime.

[Susano]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

OK robots ' date='cyborgs and Martial artists[if you count the DragonBall Z and GT Characters'] May be all good and that, but what about roleplaying Magic Girls[sailor Moon,Rayearth],Monster trainers[Pokemon,Digimon,Monster Rancher],

Space Warriors{Yamato],Sentai Teams,[ Power Rangers] and Fantasy Fighters[Lodoss,Slayers,Inu-Yasha]

Not to mention Pop Music Idols[Mink,Pop Chance Session] and Sports.

Hope that would whet your Appitite?

 

I'm not sure I understand your question... Whet my appetite in what way? "Anime and the HERO System" covers some of the stuff you mention here. My website won't because I tend to write-up stuff I like, which means I own it, and have it to reference. I certainly am not going to buy Dragon Half just to do a Mink character sheet. Same for most everything else you mention.

 

If given the change to write an "Anime HERO" book, I'd do my research sure, but I doubt that will be happening anytime soon.

[Doug Limmer]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

I certainly am not going to buy Dragon Half just to do a Mink character sheet. Same for most everything else you mention.

I think he meant Mink from Cyber Idol Mink by Megumi Tachikawa. Of course' date=' you wouldn't buy [i']Mink[/i] just to do a character sheet any more than you would buy Dragon Half just to do a character sheet.

 

I'm not quite sure what PhantomGM6101 is looking for. If he's looking to design characters, then anime characters aren't really any more difficult to design than any other characters. (Heck, I even did one.)

 

If you're looking for inspiration for things like play style and character style, to get you in the right "mood" for anime gaming, then frankly I'd suggest looking at BESM (since a new edition is coming out, you might be able to pick up an old one for cheap). Not for the game, necessarily[1], but for the anime-play-style advice. I seem to remember that it had some good sections on that, and gaming advice can always be ported to another game.

 

[1] Not that it's a bad game or anything.

[yamamura]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

In certain aspect manga/anime is too broad to be easily pigeon holed into nice catergories with easy to follow rules. Let us take shoujo for example, if I was running Utena, I would run it differently then if I was running Sailor Moon or Land of the Blindfolded. All three are shoujo and all three have romance in them, but just as Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea is different in feeling and telling then J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, so are these different from each other. You can isolate certain themes and tropes but to catch the spirit of each, you need to watch it with the people you are going to be playing with and work to together to emulate the feelings. A system can give rules for handling the tropes (for example sanity checks in horror) but I feel they can bind you and trip you up.

 

As I have said I do have 2 characters that are not based on a particular anime/manga but inspired by anime/manga and even one though horror based;

http://wanderingthoughts.net/Chara/tamaki.html

http://wanderingthoughts.net/Chara/princesscandy.html

http://wanderingthoughts.net/Chara/Kawakami.html

 

I think your list alone shows the varied series and the problems it would involve trying to write a book and not leave somebody upset that you didn't do their favourite series. But I am saying a book can't be done, just it would be hard.

 

Also a plug for Michael Hopcroft here; check out Heart Quest, it does cover some of the basic shoujo tropes and is alot better then the book BESM published under their Magnus Opus line.

 

http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_6878.html

[Guest Major Tom]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

I've been in two anime-based campaigns myself; the first was based on the

Aura Battler Dunbine series, and the other was based on the Saint

Seiya series. Both were short-lived campaigns, but fun while they last-

ed. I think that the GM also ran a mecha campaign based on Mobile Suit

Gundam before I was part of the game group; I do know that he had a

lot of mecha writeups for the campaign that he let me have copies of.

 

 

Major Tom

[steriaca]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

What can I say but...

 

...creating a "fanticy swords and sorcery" anime charater is not that difrent than creating a standard Fanticy Hero charater. All you realy need is to sit down and watch both Lodus Wars series, pluss a few other anime series. And make shure your players knows ahead of time what to expect.

 

By the way, I recomend eather the BESM version of The Slayers and/or the D20 version of the same book.

[Lethosos]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

"Slayers" is your best bet for a fantasy anime world--not too high fantasy; just enough that your players will get a little jaded at the idea of throwing heap big magic around.

 

Full Metal Alchemist is excellent for a Steampunk-type campaign; just add mad scientists who make big mecha/golems and you've got a framework. I would reccomend moving to America instead of rural Germany, though.

 

Kazei 5 is close to a Sci-Fi anime world as you can get it and not change a thing--I'd have gone with Silent Mobius itself for the fun in it, but YMMV. It depends on how high or low you want it.

 

Magical girl stuff is prolly the best for a modern-day game--you can't go too over-the-top, as cheese is inherent in this genere.

[Susano]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

"Slayers" is your best bet for a fantasy anime world--not too high fantasy; just enough that your players will get a little jaded at the idea of throwing heap big magic around.

 

Full Metal Alchemist is excellent for a Steampunk-type campaign; just add mad scientists who make big mecha/golems and you've got a framework. I would reccomend moving to America instead of rural Germany, though.

 

Although it's not anime, I'd recommend investigating GIRL GENIUS to go along with FMA.

 

Kazei 5 is close to a Sci-Fi anime world as you can get it and not change a thing--I'd have gone with Silent Mobius itself for the fun in it' date=' but YMMV. It depends on how high or low you want it.[/quote']

 

I didn't know as much about SILENT MOBIUS then as I do know... and the players might not have taken to the magical spells and extra-dimensional monsters.

[RomanMetal]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

Curious that I’m reading Kazei 5 right now. :thumbup:

I’m half the book now and is a good recourse for anime and non-anime alike.

 

Not to mention Pop Music Idols[Mink' date=Pop Chance Session] and Sports.

Hope that would whet your Appitite?

In Kazei 5 there are a few powers mentioned related to music like “Power: +1/+2 with all music related skills” and “Power: Mimicry 14-, Perfect Pitch”.

==========

Other RPGs converted to HERO System

Check out under “BIG EYES, SMALL MOUTH”, “DRAGONBALL Z”, and “ROBOTECH”

[Susano]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

Curious that I’m reading Kazei 5 right now. :thumbup:

I’m half the book now and is a good recourse for anime and non-anime alike.

 

In Kazei 5 there are a few powers mentioned related to music like “Power: +1/+2 with all music related skills†and “Power: Mimicry 14-, Perfect Pitchâ€.

 

Thank you. I am hoping to be able to do a second edition of the book and have done up some 5th Edition character sheets for some of the major players (Ran, Shion, Kitten, Marta, and so on).

[Samuraiko]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

I'm still trying to figure out how to do Kurenai as a Champions character... the immortality is the easy part, it's the everything ELSE that's a major pain!

 

Michelle

aka

Samuraiko

[Intrope]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

Although it's not anime' date=' I'd recommend investigating GIRL GENIUS to go along with FMA.[/quote']

 

BTW, Girl Genius has moved to the web at http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/cgi-bin/gg101.cgi?date=20050221

 

And it would be a very good world to base a game on. Very open ended and many mysteries to explore!

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

I just had a thought' date='no an idea. Has anyone considered doing anime and manga heroes in the Hero system? Any input would be welcome.[/quote']

 

I've used the HERO System specifically for that purpose since I got it way back in '92. (actually, back '90 when a friend gave me his copy of Robot Warriors)

 

In my opinion, its the only system around that can get close to a lot of the madness you see going on in anime. BESM is merely a simplified version of HERO for quick and dirty task resolution, so their claim that HERO can't do it right is pure bull....

[Susano]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

I've used the HERO System specifically for that purpose since I got it way back in '92. (actually, back '90 when a friend gave me his copy of Robot Warriors)

 

In my opinion, its the only system around that can get close to a lot of the madness you see going on in anime. BESM is merely a simplified version of HERO for quick and dirty task resolution, so their claim that HERO can't do it right is pure bull....

 

Agreed!

[Ura-Maru]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

The great thing is, everything Hero does wrong when it’s trying to be realistic is actually right for anime. Especially from the mid to late 80’s.

 

Swords slicing down trees in one stroke: Check.

Priss getting whaled on for 15 minutes by boomers without serious injury: Check.

Athletes jumping three times their height: Check.

A martial arts kick knocking the target back 10’ and imbedding him in a wall: Check.

Target getting back up with only light bruising: Check.

Laws of physics working differently depending on who’s doing what: Check.

Annoying DNPCs showing up 90% of the time and getting in trouble: Check.

Fighting unimpaired for 10 rounds even with bullet holes in most of your vital organs, only to collapse once all the bad guys are taken out: Check.

Never changing your equipment load, even when hideously inappropriate, because that would require redrawing all your cels: Check.

It’s surprisingly hard to kill people. Almost impossible without an edged weapon: Check.

Changing your equipment and armor halfway through the series, after a ‘radiation accident’ (and to market the new action figures): Check.

Soliloquy-Improved Presence attacks: Check.

Dive for Cover: Check.

The more @#$!!ed up you are, and the more personal problems you have, the better you are at everything: Check.

All genres working eerily the same: Check.

 

Just remember. All genres are superheroic. No matter how few points you’re built on, EVERYONE has to pay for their equipment.

 

And Ablative is your friend.

 

---

“There’s one rule above all for men’s battles: The big, macho gorilla guy can never win when fighting the slender and incredibly handsome main character! This battle was over the moment you showed up with your ugly face!!â€

[Guest Major Tom]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

Let's not forget one of anime's more interesting ways to screw around with

a character's life, courtesy of Kimagure Orange Road:

 

Being in love with one girl while being pursued by yet another girl who thinks

that you're equally in love with her.

 

Of course, the corollary to the above is that Girl No.#2's boyfriend is always

beating up on you because he thinks you're trying to make a move on her.

 

Ain't love grand?

 

 

Major Tom :lol:

[PhantomGM2602]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

Don't forget Ranma1/2 in which a guy is persued by a gaggle of girls all over japan--dispite the fact that HE turns into a girl when he gets splashed with cold water.

[Susano]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

Don't forget Ranma1/2 in which a guy is persued by a gaggle of girls all over japan--dispite the fact that HE turns into a girl when he gets splashed with cold water.

 

Or Tenchi Muyo! in which Tenchi ends up with around 1/2 dozen women living at his house.

 

Or Ah! My Goddess! in which Keiichi has 3+ goddesses living at his house at any one time (actually an old temple).

 

Or El Hazard in which Makoto must deal with at least three women who have fallen for him (a schoolmate, a priestess, and a city-destroying warmachine).

 

Or.... well... you get the idea. "Harem" anime is a common theme.

[yamamura]

Re: Anime Champions?

 

All which is to say that Love Hina is totally original;)