TYpical. One day you're going to high school and your class predicent is trying to strangle you; the very next moment you're in a bizarre new world with giant insectoid armies, weird technology, priestesses with mystic powers and a a little lesbian girl who thinks you're the splitting image of ehr girlfriemd. Did I mention you;re a guy?
If this is your life, you must be Makoto Mizuhara, hapless hero of the classic anime series E-Hazard the Maginficent World. The series is from one of the producers of Tenchi-Muyo, and it shows, as Makoto (in spite of spending most of the series in drag) turns out to be quite the unwilling chick magnet. But the series is much more than that -- it's romantic, adventurous and chock full of intrigue and suspense. No wonder it's a cult favorite. And now it is the latest anime series to get Guardians of Order's "RPG and Resource Guide" treatment, and like Tenchi before it they do a spelndid job with a world that is an even better place to avdneutree than the worlds of tenchji or Sailor Moon (Guardians'biggest previous hits).
If you're familiar with the Tri-Stat system of BESM and their other anime games, you already know how to play El-Hazard. Basicaly, characters have three stats: Body, Mind and Soul. These can range from 1 to 12, with 12 being the Very Best in the Universe. (I have only seen one stat of 12 in all of my long experience with Tri-Stat). To do something, you roll less than your relevant stat on 2d6. Skills provide modifiers to the die roll. Charcters gain special and unique abilitites by taking Attributes, and this is where the various Tri-Stat games vary -- the number and nature of available attributes. Charcters are built on points, with each stat and attrbitue level costing a certain number of points -- skills come from a seperate point pool.
El-Hazard has some variations on these rules (although not as many as "Tri-Stat Compatible" gam,es Hong Kong Action Theatre and Heaven & earth). Instead of mecha, most of the time chatracters buy "Relics". THis fits the background, where much of the really advenced technology is a leftover from El-Hazard's previous tenants. Some characters can even BE Relics, as is the case of the "Demon God" Ifurita, wind-up doll of mass destruction. Ifurita is built on more points than any precviously published Tri-Stat character. There are several different types of characters, each of which can get access to different types of atributes, from displaced Earthees like makoto, Fujisawa-sensei and Jinnai to natives and members of the elisuve, deadly phantom Tribe.
Where the El-Hazard RPG really shines, hoevere, is in its protrayal of the world and the characters of the series. As in the other GoO RPG and Resource Guides, this is as much about interpreting the series as roleplaying in it. There are detailed profiles, complete with game stats, of all the major characters. The reader gets to see what makes Makoto, a nice guy in a very weird situation, tick. They get to see the poigniance of Fujisawa-sensei's situation -- a man whose vices could be his literal downfall in a world where he could be extremely powerful if only he stayed clean and sober. Even Jinnai, the student body president from Makoto's school who takes command of the Bugrom army and whose maniacl laughter can strip paint at thirty paces, is detailed in great detail, giving you most of what you need to know to roleplahy him convincingly. There are some glaring omissions in the character profiles -- I would love to see how muc h damage Fatora could take before going to her maker, buit I can see why this didn;t happen.
Geographical details are not described -- there's no map of el-Hazard. Players esseentially just go from place to place at GM discretion. This is not a bad thing in itself, as no map other than the most general was ever provided in the series.
The presentation of the book is, of course, spelndid. The book is crammed to the full with color stills from the series, obtained off laserdisc (the DVD is comign but not out yet). The pictures are well-chosen and relevant, and give an excellent picture of both the series and why you would want to watch it. All seven episodes are summarized in mammoth detail, so if you haven;t seen El-Hazard yet you're going to find a ton of spoilers (be cautious!).
The playability of the game is quite good. The system is simple enough that only two die rolls are required to resolve most combat actions 9attack and defense), as damamge is pre-set for each attack. Only one die roll is required to resolve most other actions. everything is done on 2d6. Running an El-hazard campaignw ould be very easy, and there are a dozen game hooks provided to get GMs started, some of which are quite interesting and all of which deal with loose ends in the series. (THere have been sequels and alternative versions of the El-Hazard OVA series, but those are not covered here.)
In short, for fans of El-hazard who game this book is indispensible. The book is also a great introduction to the El-hazard OVA series and will provide a great incentive to actually watch it. They have done a superb job with this book.
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