The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Would you like to take a license and create an RPG? If so, then you should get your hands on a copy of the Sailor Moon RPG by Guardians of Order. They're the first game company to get it right the first time.

How does the game work? If you've seen Big Eyes, Small Mouth you already know this. If not, here's the deal- you want to roll low, always. Take 2d6, make a roll. Compare that against your stat. If your roll is less than or equal to that stat, you succeed. That's it. Everything revolves around that mechanic.

Combat adds one step. If the attack succeeds, you inflict damage. For unarmed attacks, this equals your Attack Combat Value. Armed attacks double that rating, while high-powered arms triple it. Magic attacks, such as those used by the Sailor Scouts and their Negaverse foes, have set ratings- you add your ACV to it, then apply damage. (Critical hits, which occur on a natural roll of 2, either add a further multiplier or outright kill the hapless target.)

Combat, like all action resolution, is quick and efficient. It's possible for any character to go down in one hit, but most take a couple of good hits before dropping. Characters may wear armor, but only male heroes (like Tuxedo Kamen) are encouraged to do so; armor aids the wearer by subtracting incoming damage before application. Weapons are also rare, unless it's used to launch magical attacks.

Character creation is simple and easy. Like Feng Shui, you can get a group up and running within a half-hour of their arrival. It's a point-driven system, but the book encourages you to stick with the hero/villain dichotomy. Players may be heroines (Sailor Scouts), heroes (Knights) or villains (Dark Warriors). Male heroes may cross gender when they transform; the book cites the Sailor Stars as examples. (It's entirely possible to be a non-powered character, but it's not recommended.)

All Sailor Scouts have an Element of Influence. This can be concrete (Water, Fire) or abstract (Purity of the Soul). This element is the foundation of the character's powers, especially their offensive powers. All Knights have an Emotion of Influence; this does the same thing. Dark Warriors have a broad base of potent powers, but it's impossible to get them all and be effective. This forces a certain degree of specialization, with the same results.

Don't know much about Sailor Moon? That's fine. The rules take about a fourth of the book. That leaves the rest of the book, which acts as an excellent reference for the first two seasons. It's also a good artbook, a reference for other places to find Sailor Moon material and a good instruction manual on the Art of Game Mastering for those who need it.

The real benefit is that this is not limited to Sailor Moon. It's not limited to the Magical Girl subgenre of the Sentai series. This book, with trivial modification to its contents, allows the GM to create damn near any sentai-like campaign. Would you like to replay Yoroiden Samurai Troopers (AKA Ronin Warriors)? Get this book and it's just a couple of rule-tweaks away. You could do any version of the Power Rangers with this, and if you want the robots you could splice in Big Eyes, Small Mouth. Hell, with this you could do The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog if you really felt debased enough to do so.

Yes, you want this book. Anime fandom is not required. If this doesn't do, then get a copy of Big Eyes, Small Mouth instead. Either way, you're getting one of the best RPGs released in 1998.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

The Sailor Moon Role-Playing Game and Resource Book
Author: Mark C. MacKinnon Category: game Company/Publisher: Guardians of Order Cost: $24.95 (US) Page count: 208 pages ISBN: 0-9682431-1-8 Playtest Review by Bradford C. Walker on 01/12/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Anime	Would you like to take a license and create an RPG? If so, then you should get your hands on a copy of the Sailor Moon RPG by Guardians of Order. They're the first game company to get it right the first time. How does the game work? If you've seen Big Eyes, Small Mouth you already know this. If not, here's the deal- you want to roll low, always. Take 2d6, make a roll. Compare that against your stat. If your roll is less than or equal to that stat, you succeed. That's it. Everything revolves around that mechanic. Combat adds one step. If the attack succeeds, you inflict damage. For unarmed attacks, this equals your Attack Combat Value. Armed attacks double that rating, while high-powered arms triple it. Magic attacks, such as those used by the Sailor Scouts and their Negaverse foes, have set ratings- you add your ACV to it, then apply damage. (Critical hits, which occur on a natural roll of 2, either add a further multiplier or outright kill the hapless target.) Combat, like all action resolution, is quick and efficient. It's possible for any character to go down in one hit, but most take a couple of good hits before dropping. Characters may wear armor, but only male heroes (like Tuxedo Kamen) are encouraged to do so; armor aids the wearer by subtracting incoming damage before application. Weapons are also rare, unless it's used to launch magical attacks. Character creation is simple and easy. Like Feng Shui, you can get a group up and running within a half-hour of their arrival. It's a point-driven system, but the book encourages you to stick with the hero/villain dichotomy. Players may be heroines (Sailor Scouts), heroes (Knights) or villains (Dark Warriors). Male heroes may cross gender when they transform; the book cites the Sailor Stars as examples. (It's entirely possible to be a non-powered character, but it's not recommended.) All Sailor Scouts have an Element of Influence. This can be concrete (Water, Fire) or abstract (Purity of the Soul). This element is the foundation of the character's powers, especially their offensive powers. All Knights have an Emotion of Influence; this does the same thing. Dark Warriors have a broad base of potent powers, but it's impossible to get them all and be effective. This forces a certain degree of specialization, with the same results. Don't know much about Sailor Moon? That's fine. The rules take about a fourth of the book. That leaves the rest of the book, which acts as an excellent reference for the first two seasons. It's also a good artbook, a reference for other places to find Sailor Moon material and a good instruction manual on the Art of Game Mastering for those who need it. The real benefit is that this is not limited to Sailor Moon. It's not limited to the Magical Girl subgenre of the Sentai series. This book, with trivial modification to its contents, allows the GM to create damn near any sentai-like campaign. Would you like to replay Yoroiden Samurai Troopers (AKA Ronin Warriors)? Get this book and it's just a couple of rule-tweaks away. You could do any version of the Power Rangers with this, and if you want the robots you could splice in Big Eyes, Small Mouth. Hell, with this you could do The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog if you really felt debased enough to do so. Yes, you want this book. Anime fandom is not required. If this doesn't do, then get a copy of Big Eyes, Small Mouth instead. Either way, you're getting one of the best RPGs released in 1998. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

The Sailor Moon Role-Playing Game and Resource Book