Character Project: Let's Get Silly

Man, what a stressful week.  In an effort to relieve some of that stress, I'm hitting that often neglected Steve Jackson game, TOON.

Products: TOON: The Cartoon Roleplaying Game (1984) & Son of TOON (1986)

Aaron Aardvark

     Description:  Aaron looks like a typical aardvark.  He stands three feet tall and has a long snout.  He usually looks tired and unkempt.  He wears rumpled shirts (no pants) and carries a cup of coffee that always seems to be full.  He speaks in a low monotone voice and acts like nothing surprises him.

     Beliefs and Goals: Sleep during the day and stay up all night.  Scrounge for ants and termites to eat, and wash them down with a nice, hot cup of java.  Try to look unimpressed and unaffected by even the most bizarre occurrences.  Watch out for lions, leopards, dogs, big snakes, or anything else that might want to eat me.  You can usually out-think them (but try not to work too hard or look too stressed while doing it).
     Hit Points: 11

Muscle: 3
     Break Down Door: 3
     Climb: 3
     Fight: 5
     Pick Up Heavy Thing: 3
     Throw: 3

Zip: 2
     Dodge: 2
     Drive Vehicle: 2
     Fire Gun: 2
     Jump: 2
     Ride: 2
     Run: 2
     Swim: 2

Smarts: 6
     Hide/Spot Hidden: 8
     Identify Dangerous Thing: 9
     Read: 9
     Resist Fast-Talk: 9
     See/Hear/Smell: 9
     Set/Disarm Trap: 7
     Track/Cover Tracks: 7

Chutzpah: 4
     Fast-Talk: 7
     Pass/Detect Shoddy Goods: 7
     Sleight of Hand: 4
     Sneak: 4

Schtick:
     Incredible Speed (Burrowing) 5

I was starting to like this character by the time I finished him.  I tried putting myself in a mindset of the old animators, who would develop an idea around an almost real situation first - an animal in its natural habitat that otherwise acted human.  The TOON game, though, has no such 'logic' controlling it (they make a distinction between 'character' animals and 'real' animals, for example).  Still, the two or three times I played the game was enjoyable, for what it was, and I'd play it again.

Of course, I wonder how much contemporary players would get of the game, considering Saturday Morning Cartoons are pretty much over (I think Cartoon Network helped to kill that notion).  Unless the younger kids go out of their way to educate themselves in old Warner Bros. and MGM mayhem, I think a lot of the concept would be lost on them.

Then again, the TOON game was never intended for great things - it's a pick-up game, after all.  It's something to do while you're waiting for the rest of the players to show up.  The game was reprinted as a Deluxe Edition in 1991, comprising over 200 pages (up from the thin module-size prints of 40 pages or so), and that was followed by three additional 200+ page supplements. The supplements were increasingly silly, and by the time the last one was printed (TOON Ace Catalog) the already-difficult-to-take-seriously game was almost completely unplayable because they abandoned any comprehension of rules and started to violate their own premises.  It's one thing to be funny, but another thing entirely to be unusable.

Related Links
TOON at Steve Jackson Games

Character Project: Four Color System

After going through the Marvel files, I wanted to look at the revamped rules put together by Phil Reed and Michael Hammes of Ronin Arts.  I don't know what to say about the product, other than you can get a free .pdf download of it from a number of places (Lulu is one) and that it is intentionally a bare-bones system.  Some people like that kind of thing, and would leave it that way.  I am going to interpret this fact as a gift to the hobby from Reed and Hammes, who don't have the time to flesh out a full system.  It's all open content, published by Seraphim Guard (and Lulu gives credit to 'Public Domain' as the author).  There has been some supportive material, but not as much as OSRIC.  For the most part, the product was put together kind of hastily, but Reed and Hammes met their goals.  The rules are intended to be altered and filled in by anyone that wants to use the basic mechanics to develop a full system.  At least one person is already on that task (ThatArtGuy, who did some nice Judge's screen and character sheet work for the original MSH game), but I don't know the status of that project.

Either way, here is a new character put together with the 4C system.  This is FASERIP compatible, so I'll try to reflect that in the stat block here.

The White Lion (Skilled Human)

Melee 20

Coordination 30

Brawn 10

Fortitude 30

Intellect 10

Awareness 30

Willpower 10

Damage 90

Fortune 50

Lifestyle 70

Repute 50

Known Powers

Invisibility 6

Mind Control 10

Astoundingly Wealthy

Skills

Business/Finance

Meditation

Occult Lore

Martial Arts

Oriental Weapons

Background

When his private plane crashed in the mountains of Tibet, billionaire playboy Trenton Buckner was wounded and lost among the snowy peaks.  On the verge of death, from both the wounds he received in the crash and exposure to frigid temperatures, he was rescued by monks from a hidden nearby monastery.  They nursed him back to health, during which time Trenton had time to reevaluate his life.  Upon his recovery, he begged the monastery's lama to accept him into the order and teach him their ways.  He learned quickly, and in a few short years he returned to America with the knowledge and abilities he had gained.  Realizing he could put his talents and resources to better use than he had in the past, Trenton donned a white suit and mask to become the White Lion!

This game is almost unplayable without more rules.  There are no talent sets and some of the 'powers' extend outside the realm of what are normally considered 'powers.'  Some of these would be better set aside as some kind of resource or background.  More importantly, they violate the concept of powers as they were presented in the original material.  Furthermore, the over-generalized method of character creation (everything is rolled on a single table) makes a character feel less specialized and the different origin options less important.  A character becomes a list of statistics with arbitrary meanings behind them.  

The 'thesaurus disease' seems to have hit this product, too.  I realize that the attributes directly relate to the FASERIP system, but I doubt there is a need to worry too much about a few terminology uses when there have been industry standards for years.   Is it really that much of a problem to keep using Strength, Health and Agility?

As I said, there are some supportive materials for the 4C system so far, but these mechanics need a more complete treatment to be useful.   I'm hoping ThatArtGuy finishes his project (the last reference to it that I've heard was almost a year ago), or that someone else gives it the complete once-over.

Related Links

Marvel Heroes Classic Roleplaying

Ronin Arts

Design: Ability Scores

"Why have Attributes at all?"  Few gamers ask this question unless they mean it as a snarky response to questions about the use of Attribute checks as a separate system from skill checks.  I ask the question legitimately.  There is an overwhelming number of game systems that rely on skills over attributes, but the attribute system is still in place.  At most, attributes are used as a small boost or minor advantage increase on top of the skill.  I think the bigger issue is what that means in terms of the game being played.

Considering that attribute systems have become a standard, I start to wonder if that means most games are pretty much the same.  There are setting differences, and that's almost all that distinguishes them.  I haven't seen (at least not for several years) a game that boasts a mechanic system as the best way to represent a particular type of setting, rather than touting the setting itself.  I don't necessarily want to focus on settings, but it's hard to discuss attributes in any realistic way without mentioning it.

I can think of one game that doesn't use an attribute system - at least not the way we think of it.  Car Wars characters spend so little time on foot (the game calls people who walk 'pedestrians') that there is almost no need for attributes.  Characters focus on skill use, and the greatest use comes from three skills in particular: Driver, Mechanic, and Gunner.  On top of that, they have stats for Prestige (which changes during a campaign) and Wealth (which also changes).  Every character starts with 3 hit points, and only someone with a weightlifting skill can increase that.  The scale of the game, after all, is based on big American sedans of the 1980s as the average, and a puny human is much less durable.  The "Character Sheets" for vehicles, though, are outrageously complex, and there is no clear-cut method of 'character' creation for vehicles.  There is a lot of basic information that the GM has to supply arbitrarily with no guidance to new GMs.

The only system I've seen that comes close to minimalizing attributes is the famous D6 system (West End Games and the original Star Wars RPG).  Attributes begin as a basic start of what and where a character's abilities sit, but they can be totally left behind after some development.  Okay, after a LOT of development.  I haven't seen a sustainable D6 campaign in which characters developed more than a couple of their favorite skills beyond basic attribute levels.  Even so, I wonder what a character with a 5D rating in Strength can lift compared to a character with a 2D Strength but an 8D Lifting skill.  It just doesn't seem feasible to me that the first character can't lift more than the second, even with that skill bonus.  For that matter, I don't quite understand why Lifting is a skill at all, and not just a representation of a developed Strength attribute.


Are Attributes Necessary for Skill Systems?
Couple Questions, If I May
Car Wars

Game Design: Playercentric vs. Worldcentric

 

I have a few minutes between moments of work, here, so I thought I'd bang out some thoughts.  I responded to a comment with this idea, but I wanted to develop it in its own post. 

People are polarizing roleplaying ideas along the wrong lines: roleplay vs. hack and slash, rules heavy vs. rules light... there was a time when people polarized between reality and fantasy, but that was wrong, too.  As a minor-league rhetorician, I have to ask, what are the assumptions we are making about this hobby?  In other words, what is it that we are taking for granted without asking about?

Is anyone asking why we focus on players so much?  I don't mean players as opposed to Game Masters (player vs. DM mentality was another misplaced polarization).  I mean intentionally placing the players as stars of the world rather than highlighting the world and letting characters run around in it. 

It sounds crazy, right?  Aren't we supposed to make the players the center of the action?  After all, without them there would be no game.  But there is a problem.  Everyone wants to be in on the act, including the Game Master.  He (or she, I guess) wants that complex story to get noticed and appreciated, just as much as the players want to get noticed.  The story unfolds, not unlike a video game plot, where the players have a choice here, a choice there, they 'roleplay', meaning they act in a way that is consistent with a personality quirk rather than learn and grow, but otherwise they make very few decisions.

Like I said in my comment, what happened to the objective world that could be explored?  Out beyond the walls of the homes and institutions where we place so much importance on ourselves, the world cares little for us and keeps spinning, spinning.  Is meaning in our lives thrust upon us by the universe, or is it forged by our own actions and determination?  When nature cares little for us, slapping our coasts with devastating waves or tearing the ground out from underneath us, how do we make our lives our own?  Why do we rely so much on our destinies being played out for us, while we sit as passive, complacent consumers, taking what's marketed to us rather than forging our own tools and clearing our own paths?

So I encourage people to close their eyes and put themselves into a setting.  Feel the dank walls of the dungeon around you, smell the sweetness in the air from the moss and lichen and the rich smoking wood of the burning torch.  Remember that the walls are close, too close, and that you're underground.  Even if you don't get killed outright here, there is still the chance of a rock slide blocking the entrance or a pit trap dropping you into the infinite reaches of caverns below.  There is never any guarantee that you'll return alive, no matter how well-equipped you are or how powerful.  Around you is the isolating darkness of the unknown, and only the brave or ignorant take these exploratory excursions lightly.  Even the sarcastic quips of the party's thief is an effort to push away the lingering anxiety that comes from being reminded of one's own mortality in the face of a dangerous and quiet hallway of stone and earth...

Character Project - Marvel Super Heroes

The game I started playing with was not D&D, but instead was Marvel Super Heroes.  This was during the mid- to late-80s, when D&D was vilified as a gateway to Satan worshiping.  As a compromise, I was allowed to play some games that focused specifically on heroism.  Marvel was one, and Star Wars was another.  That didn't keep me from sneaking off to play D&D (or other, much more violent games, like Twilight 2000).  Still, Marvel Super Heroes has a special place in my heart.

This entry is going to be unlike previous ones because I'm not going to use a particular product to gauge my critique on.   Instead, I'm going to pull out an old database I've created that is an amalgam of several sources: The Advanced Set, The Ultimate Powers Book, Realms of Magic, and a couple of Dragon Magazine articles.

EL CHUPACABRA


STATISTICS

F  In (36)
A  In (36)
S  Fe (1)
E  Ex (16)
R  Pr (3)
I   Gd (8)
P  In (36)

Health: 89
Karma: 47
Resources: Fe (1)
Popularity: -5

BACKGROUND
Real Name: Unknown
Occupation: Vagrant
Legal Status: The world at large believes El Chupacabra to be only a legend.
Identity: Publicly known
Place of Birth: Puerto Rico
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Base of Operations: Mobile
Past Group Affiliations: None
Present Group Affiliations: None

KNOWN POWERS
Pheromones: El Chupacabra can emit an Excellent (16) Rank stench through his pores that causes nausea.  Anyone subjected to the stench must make a successful Endurance Feat against this power's intensity or be incapacitated until El Chupacabra leaves the area or stops emitting pheromones.  He can emit the stench for a number of rounds equal to his power rank each day.

Leaping: El Chupacabra can leap up with Remarkable (26) ability.

Danger Sense: El Chupacabra detects danger with Amazing (46) ability.  He may substitute this rank for his Intuition for the purposes of combat.

Natural Weapons: El Chupacabra has several large quills that run along his spine.  Additionally, he has long fangs and claws that he may use in combat.  These sharp objects cause Amazing (46) damage.

Infravision: El Chupacabra can see into the infrared spectrum with Excellent (16) range and ability.

Shrinking: Because of his diminutive stature, El Chupacabra is considered to have permanent Feeble (1) rank shrinking.

Talents: El Chupacabra has learned how to survive in the wilds and may be considered to have survival and stealth talents.  He has also shown a remarkable ability to learn and understand languages (particularly Spanish and English), though he is unable to speak them.  Finally, El Chupacabra is considered to have the Acrobatics and Tumbling talents, receiving a +1CS to all FEATS involving those actions.

Contacts: In his travels, El Chupacabra has met many people that he may call friends, particularly the outcast and unwanted.  Furthermore, he has attained a form of cult hero status in many areas of the Southern United States, Mexico, Central America and South America.

This is a difficult system to nail down.  There is a remarkable combination of organic, build-as-you-go character creation and controlled random generation.  I think it helps best to have a clear idea of a character before sitting down with dice, because every time I let random chance determine any part of the creation process, I end up with the oddest characters (the first and last time I let the dice think for me entirely, I inadvertently recreated a giant space hamster from the Spelljammer AD&D setting).  On the other hand, any sort of randomness in a character creation process means that a player has to be willing to sacrifice at least part of his initial concept.  Sometimes this means a character could have lower scores than the player would like, and other times this means a generalized or uninspired character concept becomes a more individualized and interesting one.  This encourages adaptation to circumstance, something players will have to take with them into the playing of the game itself.

All things being fair, I should include some hard criticism of the game as a whole.  Combat is fast and fun, but damage is static, which often leads to regretfully frustrating encounters.  An armor ranking effectively defends against all attacks equal to or less than that rank, and no matter how much a character exerts himself, he always does the same amount of damage.  That means there is no way for strengths of equal rank to overcome one another.  Furthermore, the Marvel Super Heroes RPG is an early example of a single mechanic that dominates a rules set.  However, I get the distinct feeling, while looking at the Basic set rules and supplements, that the game was designed as simplified role-playing rather than something more complex.  The Advanced set was a change from that, as the developers moved from a simple rules set to a larger complex world.  Like many single-mechanic games, the character was the central focus rather than the setting itself... and that is the setting: the unique individual existing in a normal world.