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Disclaimer #1: This review assumes that the reader is familiar with the world of Tenchi Muyo!, or at least with my review of the Tenchi Muyo! RPG and Resource Book.

Disclaimer #2: This review contains adventure spoilers. If you are a player, why are you reading a review of the GM screen, anyway? :)

The Tenchi Muyo! GM Screen & Adventure is comprised of a 3-panel 8-1/2" x 11" screen -- black and white in the interior and glossy and color on the exterior -- and a 32-page 8-1/2" x 11" black and white booklet.

THE SCREEN

The glossy full-color exterior features one continuous group picture of the Tenchi gang, with Ryoko on the left, Tenchi in the middle, and everyone else - including characters not featured in the OAV on which the core game is based - on the right. It drives home the "proxy family" theme of Tenchi Muyo! and is sure to elicit warm-fuzzies from a Tenchi otaku.

The screen interior features almost every chart found in the main rulebook. Included are:

Character Creation Summary
Stat Value Descriptions
Character and Mecha Defects
Special Attack/Weapon Abilities and Disabilities
Character Attributes List
Sub-Attributes List
Skills List
Skill Level Descriptions
Formulas for Combat Value, Health Points, and Energy Points
Advice for the GM
Degrees of Success
Crash Damage
Attack Roll Modifications
Dice Roll Modifications
Falling Damage
Combat Flowchart

In fact, the only table missing is Weapon Table. This is an odd omission - one would expect a GM screen to focus on information the GM needs at a glance during play, and half of the charts that are featured would see little use outside of character creation. And even then, these are lists, not descriptions - you will still need to crack the book to actually use the lists unless you have a really good memory. And if you have that good of a memory, why would you need the list in the first place?

Nevertheless, the screen is attractive, sturdy, and easily legible, and the lack of more vital quick-reference information has far more to do with the simplicity of the Tri-Stat core mechanic than it does with omissions and oversights.

THE ADVENTURE

I stated in my review of the Tenchi Muyo! rulebook that I didn't think playing in the Tenchi universe without the Tenchi characters would be worthwhile. I also suggested that Guardians of Order would be unlikely to explore the OAV setting beyond the limits of the series. This adventure, "No Need for Dimensional Ladies!", proves me wrong on both counts… sort of.

"Ladies!" offers a premise that may be remarkably bittersweet, depending upon the character choices of the players. Many years have passed since the events of the OAV. By default, Tenchi is now an elderly bachelor and Ayeka and Ryoko are sisterly spinsters who haven't aged at all, still in love with Tenchi but painfully aware that he will never choose either of them.

I say "by default" because the players are expected to play the next generation of the Tenchi household - either the adult Ryo-oki or Sasami (now grown into the beautiful and powerful Tsumani), younger newcomers to the home, or the children of Tenchi and/or any of the girls. So, the past and current marital status of Tenchi and the gang depends upon whose children, if any, the players wish to play.

(As a quick aside here, why doesn't anyone in the Tenchi OAV ever point out that Tenchi is the crown prince of a culture that clearly practices polygamy, at least in its royal family? That being the case, seems to me that Tenchi could have all the girls, if he wanted them…)

At any rate, the adventure serves as a kind of segue into "Tenchi: The Next Generation," with the original characters featured as strong NPCs or (in the cases of Ryo-oki and Tsunami) as newly adult PCs.

The adventure is divided into two parts: "No Need for Space Vampires!", and the eponymous "No Need for Dimensional Ladies!".

Part One: "No Need for Space Vampires!"

"No Need for Space Vampires!" opens with the new Crown Prince and Princess of Jurai arriving at the Masaki household - ostensibly just for a visit, but quite possibly as an attempt to scout out potential suitors for both siblings. And so, right off the bat, the writer shows his grasp of what makes Tenchi great. In the rulebook review, I mentioned that the writing wasn't really funny, but that an attempt to translate the comedy of Tenchi directly into the written word would have been foolish. Here, as in the rulebook, the writer doesn't try to write the humor. Instead, he provides opportunities for humor in true Tenchi style: the chores preceding the visitors' arrival - no doubt with Ayeka, Ryoko, and "Old Man" Tenchi giving the children endless grief -- and the interactions with the arrogant, flirtatious Crown Prince Kanryu and the shy, paranoid, and easily-offended Crown Princess Sakura. (The latter rightly fears that she's to be married off and will find a double-entendre in the most innocuous of comments.)

Ah, but all is not fun and games in Tenchiland, as usual. It seems that the godlike D3 has decided to depose his even more godlike mistress, Lady Tokimi. As part of D3's plans, he sends a group of body-snatching Space Vampires to Earth to possess the bodies of the visiting Jurai nobles and (more importantly) their living ships. Tokimi, while well aware of D3's scheme, does not want D3 to know she knows. She also doesn't want the children to know about the Space Vampires yet, because they are not ready to face this threat.

So, Tokimi decides to kill two birds with one stone and distract the children with a test of their worthiness. She puts Tenchi in a coma and draws forth his spirit to form a shade of the slain villain Kagato - with the full power of Tenchi himself! She also paralyzes Ryoko and Ayeka so they can't interfere. It's the kids' show, now.

Kagato's Shade taunts the children, then takes Washu's escaped battle-cabbit Ryo-Soja and leads the children on a chase to the Galaxy Police station on Earths' moon. The Space Vampires used the sub-space portal located there to get within striking distance of Earth, and the heroes will encounter their brutal handiwork as they pursue Kagato's Shade. As they confront the Shade at the station, they discover clues that the Shade was not responsible for the total slaughter there. The PCs (hopefully) defeat Kagato's Shade, after which the freed spirit of Tenchi will award one of them with Ryo-Soja and his Space Vampire-busting Spirit Blaster. Then an AI projection of Washu appears to inform them that Washu herself has been attacked by Jurai spacecraft and has therefore completely sealed off the Earth with a Super Force Field that she refuses to lower - not even for the kids!

Now what??

From a plot standpoint, there's really not much to this chapter. It's a simple railroad trip leading up to a slugfest with a big bad guy. Furthermore, the confrontation in the Galaxy Police station could really use a map -- as it is, the GM just has to improvise the layout of the place until he decides he's ready for the PCs to meet Kagato. However, the strength of this section is not in the scripted events, but rather in the room it leaves for unscripted ones. In that, it excels. And that's important, since the PCs will be completely new characters by default and will need time to get to know one another. And besides, there's plot to spare in the next section…

Part Two: "No Need for Dimensional Ladies!"

This chapter is as big and complex as the first chapter was small and simplistic. To call it "open-ended" would be an understatement.

The children of the Tenchi household know that Jurai spacecraft have attacked Washu back on Earth. Now they have to figure out why, and what to do about it. And there are clues scattered literally all over the galaxy and beyond. Their investigations can take them to multiple far-flung destinations in almost any order, including Earth (which is under siege by D3's forces), Jurai (where they will discover that D3 has used the Space Vampires to possess the entire Jurai fleet), the home planet of the Space Vampires, and the home realms of both D3 and Lady Tokimi. Opportunities for interaction abound, and the GM can easily increase or decrease the amount of combat required. The clues found at each location should help the players see the big picture, and even if they do not, help can arrive in the form of the bungling but uncannily lucky Galaxy Police Detective Mihoshi. The PCs have multiple ways in which to defeat D3, and even if they fail, it isn't Armageddon - Tokimi's abdication to D3 certainly will lead to some big changes in the galaxy, but exactly what those changes will be is in the GM's hands.

In short, aside from the relatively minor inconvenience of no location maps, this is the epitome of good adventure design. The only real drawback will be for GMs who depend heavily on pregenerated adventures - if your players enjoy playing in this alternate future, further support of it most likely will be up to you.

OTHER GOODIES

In addition to the adventure, the booklet includes nine detailed plot hooks that again demonstrate the writer's remarkable grasp of the source material's charm. Each and every one of these hooks reads like the plot for an actual season of the show. These include such ideas as the girls accompanying Tenchi when he returns to high school, the whole group attending the Galaxy Academy, Washu's experiments and creations (including Ryo-okhi) going completely haywire in various ways, and a look back into Washu's long, long history.

Rounding out the booklet are four nifty little NPC record sheets.

STYLE

Guardians of Order's dependence upon original series artwork for their Tenchi books is beginning to show signs of strain in a few places. While it's put to very good use overall, we're given a picture of young Tenchi to illustrate "Old Man" Tenchi and a picture of Ryoko's demon from the OAV to represent the Space Vampires. Other than that, no complaints at all. Both the book and the screen look great, and the writing is thoroughly clear and engaging. I found no typos.

CONCLUSION

If you just want a GM screen, this product is moderately pricey but quite acceptable. If you want a great adventure, however, this product becomes a really good buy, and if you want both, it's a great one.

Tenchi Muyo! GM Screen & Adventure
Tenchi Muyo! GM Screen & Adventure Capsule Review by Dan Davenport on 01/09/01 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) A good GM screen and a great adventure from a writer who clearly knows and loves the source material. Product: Tenchi Muyo! GM Screen & Adventure Author: Jesse Scoble Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Guardians of Order Line: Tenchi Muyo! Cost: $12.95 Page count: 32 Year published: 2000 ISBN: 1-894525-11-6 SKU: 07-002 Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Dan Davenport on 01/09/01 Genre tags: Fantasy Science Fiction Modern day Space Comedy Anime Vampire Asian/Far East	*Disclaimer #1:* This review assumes that the reader is familiar with the world of Tenchi Muyo!, or at least with my review of the Tenchi Muyo! RPG and Resource Book. *Disclaimer #2:* This review contains adventure spoilers. If you are a player, why are you reading a review of the GM screen, anyway? :) The Tenchi Muyo! GM Screen & Adventure is comprised of a 3-panel 8-1/2" x 11" screen -- black and white in the interior and glossy and color on the exterior -- and a 32-page 8-1/2" x 11" black and white booklet. THE SCREEN The glossy full-color exterior features one continuous group picture of the Tenchi gang, with Ryoko on the left, Tenchi in the middle, and everyone else - including characters not featured in the OAV on which the core game is based - on the right. It drives home the "proxy family" theme of Tenchi Muyo! and is sure to elicit warm-fuzzies from a Tenchi otaku. The screen interior features almost every chart found in the main rulebook. Included are: Character Creation Summary Stat Value Descriptions Character and Mecha Defects Special Attack/Weapon Abilities and Disabilities Character Attributes List Sub-Attributes List Skills List Skill Level Descriptions Formulas for Combat Value, Health Points, and Energy Points Advice for the GM Degrees of Success Crash Damage Attack Roll Modifications Dice Roll Modifications Falling Damage Combat Flowchart In fact, the only table missing is Weapon Table. This is an odd omission - one would expect a GM screen to focus on information the GM needs at a glance during play, and half of the charts that are featured would see little use outside of character creation. And even then, these are lists, not descriptions - you will still need to crack the book to actually use the lists unless you have a really good memory. And if you have that good of a memory, why would you need the list in the first place? Nevertheless, the screen is attractive, sturdy, and easily legible, and the lack of more vital quick-reference information has far more to do with the simplicity of the Tri-Stat core mechanic than it does with omissions and oversights. THE ADVENTURE I stated in my review of the Tenchi Muyo! rulebook that I didn't think playing in the Tenchi universe without the Tenchi characters would be worthwhile. I also suggested that Guardians of Order would be unlikely to explore the OAV setting beyond the limits of the series. This adventure, "No Need for Dimensional Ladies!", proves me wrong on both counts… sort of. "Ladies!" offers a premise that may be remarkably bittersweet, depending upon the character choices of the players. Many years have passed since the events of the OAV. By default, Tenchi is now an elderly bachelor and Ayeka and Ryoko are sisterly spinsters who haven't aged at all, still in love with Tenchi but painfully aware that he will never choose either of them. I say "by default" because the players are expected to play the next generation of the Tenchi household - either the adult Ryo-oki or Sasami (now grown into the beautiful and powerful Tsumani), younger newcomers to the home, or the children of Tenchi and/or any of the girls. So, the past and current marital status of Tenchi and the gang depends upon whose children, if any, the players wish to play. (As a quick aside here, why doesn't anyone in the Tenchi OAV ever point out that Tenchi is the crown prince of a culture that clearly practices polygamy, at least in its royal family? That being the case, seems to me that Tenchi could have all the girls, if he wanted them…) At any rate, the adventure serves as a kind of segue into "Tenchi: The Next Generation," with the original characters featured as strong NPCs or (in the cases of Ryo-oki and Tsunami) as newly adult PCs. The adventure is divided into two parts: "No Need for Space Vampires!", and the eponymous "No Need for Dimensional Ladies!". Part One: "No Need for Space Vampires!" "No Need for Space Vampires!" opens with the new Crown Prince and Princess of Jurai arriving at the Masaki household - ostensibly just for a visit, but quite possibly as an attempt to scout out potential suitors for both siblings. And so, right off the bat, the writer shows his grasp of what makes Tenchi great. In the rulebook review, I mentioned that the writing wasn't really funny, but that an attempt to translate the comedy of Tenchi directly into the written word would have been foolish. Here, as in the rulebook, the writer doesn't try to write the humor. Instead, he provides opportunities for humor in true Tenchi style: the chores preceding the visitors' arrival - no doubt with Ayeka, Ryoko, and "Old Man" Tenchi giving the children endless grief -- and the interactions with the arrogant, flirtatious Crown Prince Kanryu and the shy, paranoid, and easily-offended Crown Princess Sakura. (The latter rightly fears that she's to be married off and will find a double-entendre in the most innocuous of comments.) Ah, but all is not fun and games in Tenchiland, as usual. It seems that the godlike D3 has decided to depose his even more godlike mistress, Lady Tokimi. As part of D3's plans, he sends a group of body-snatching Space Vampires to Earth to possess the bodies of the visiting Jurai nobles and (more importantly) their living ships. Tokimi, while well aware of D3's scheme, does not want D3 to know she knows. She also doesn't want the children to know about the Space Vampires yet, because they are not ready to face this threat. So, Tokimi decides to kill two birds with one stone and distract the children with a test of their worthiness. She puts Tenchi in a coma and draws forth his spirit to form a shade of the slain villain Kagato - with the full power of Tenchi himself! She also paralyzes Ryoko and Ayeka so they can't interfere. It's the kids' show, now. Kagato's Shade taunts the children, then takes Washu's escaped battle-cabbit Ryo-Soja and leads the children on a chase to the Galaxy Police station on Earths' moon. The Space Vampires used the sub-space portal located there to get within striking distance of Earth, and the heroes will encounter their brutal handiwork as they pursue Kagato's Shade. As they confront the Shade at the station, they discover clues that the Shade was not responsible for the total slaughter there. The PCs (hopefully) defeat Kagato's Shade, after which the freed spirit of Tenchi will award one of them with Ryo-Soja and his Space Vampire-busting Spirit Blaster. Then an AI projection of Washu appears to inform them that Washu herself has been attacked by Jurai spacecraft and has therefore completely sealed off the Earth with a Super Force Field that she refuses to lower - not even for the kids! Now what?? From a plot standpoint, there's really not much to this chapter. It's a simple railroad trip leading up to a slugfest with a big bad guy. Furthermore, the confrontation in the Galaxy Police station could really use a map -- as it is, the GM just has to improvise the layout of the place until he decides he's ready for the PCs to meet Kagato. However, the strength of this section is not in the scripted events, but rather in the room it leaves for unscripted ones. In that, it excels. And that's important, since the PCs will be completely new characters by default and will need time to get to know one another. And besides, there's plot to spare in the next section… Part Two: "No Need for Dimensional Ladies!" This chapter is as big and complex as the first chapter was small and simplistic. To call it "open-ended" would be an understatement. The children of the Tenchi household know that Jurai spacecraft have attacked Washu back on Earth. Now they have to figure out why, and what to do about it. And there are clues scattered literally all over the galaxy and beyond. Their investigations can take them to multiple far-flung destinations in almost any order, including Earth (which is under siege by D3's forces), Jurai (where they will discover that D3 has used the Space Vampires to possess the entire Jurai fleet), the home planet of the Space Vampires, and the home realms of both D3 and Lady Tokimi. Opportunities for interaction abound, and the GM can easily increase or decrease the amount of combat required. The clues found at each location should help the players see the big picture, and even if they do not, help can arrive in the form of the bungling but uncannily lucky Galaxy Police Detective Mihoshi. The PCs have multiple ways in which to defeat D3, and even if they fail, it isn't Armageddon - Tokimi's abdication to D3 certainly will lead to some big changes in the galaxy, but exactly what those changes will be is in the GM's hands. In short, aside from the relatively minor inconvenience of no location maps, this is the epitome of good adventure design. The only real drawback will be for GMs who depend heavily on pregenerated adventures - if your players enjoy playing in this alternate future, further support of it most likely will be up to you. OTHER GOODIES In addition to the adventure, the booklet includes nine detailed plot hooks that again demonstrate the writer's remarkable grasp of the source material's charm. Each and every one of these hooks reads like the plot for an actual season of the show. These include such ideas as the girls accompanying Tenchi when he returns to high school, the whole group attending the Galaxy Academy, Washu's experiments and creations (including Ryo-okhi) going completely haywire in various ways, and a look back into Washu's long, long history. Rounding out the booklet are four nifty little NPC record sheets. STYLE Guardians of Order's dependence upon original series artwork for their Tenchi books is beginning to show signs of strain in a few places. While it's put to very good use overall, we're given a picture of young Tenchi to illustrate "Old Man" Tenchi and a picture of Ryoko's demon from the OAV to represent the Space Vampires. Other than that, no complaints at all. Both the book and the screen look great, and the writing is thoroughly clear and engaging. I found no typos. CONCLUSION If you just want a GM screen, this product is moderately pricey but quite acceptable. If you want a great adventure, however, this product becomes a really good buy, and if you want both, it's a great one.