The Inside Scoop on Gaming

INTRODUCTION

In general, I don't much like 80's-era Saturday morning cartoons. Even back when I was in their target audience -- which wasn't all that long of a time period, since my cartoon-watching days caught just the front end of the toy-line-as-TV-series trend -- I found most of them pretty silly. My true loves were the early animes -- Speed Racer and Starblazers, for example. (Thundarr the Barbarian being a noteworthy exception. ) I suppose I found the unspoken ban on character death to be condescending -- even the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon irritated me in this regard.

So why on earth would I request a review copy of Cartoon Action Hour (hereafter "CAH"), a downloadable .pdf game by Cynthia Celeste Miller dedicated to Saturday morning cartoons? A fair question. The answer is that while I'm not a big fan of the genre (or medium, or whatever you want to call it), I am a huge fan of rules-light, over-the-top systems that can cover a large ability scale. And that's precisely what's required for a game covering Saturday morning cartoons. Hence, my interest.

Channel 1: Introduction

In an admirably concise two pages, this chapter explains the subject matter of the game and the materials needed to play it, covers the requisite "What is Roleplaying?" question, and gives a chapter-by-chapter (or channel-by-channel, as the book refers to them) breakdown of the book. It also introduces the running sidebar commentary and dialogue from Cynthia and Kargorr, a two-bit cartoon villain she's hired to "spice things up".

Channel 2: Character

As befits an RPG based on a medium focussed on visuals and basic character concepts, CAH begins character creation where many RPGs wrap it up: with name, personality, background, and appearance, along with the all-important "tagline" (e.g., "short-tempered barbarian").

Then it's on to the numbers. Players get a pool of Character Points (CPs) with which to build their characters, the size of which will vary from series to series -- generally 60 to 100. And at the top of the shopping list are Traits.

Traits

Like Over the Edge, CAH doesn't distinguish between what other games would call "Attributes" and "Skills". Instead, both are lumped together as "Traits". Unlike OtE, however, CAH provides a set list of Traits from which to choose, rather than allowing them to be created and defined by the players. Now, ordinarily, disconnected attributes and skills -- or, in this case, undifferentiated attributes and skills -- are a major system turn-off to me. For some reason, though, they didn't bother me so much in this game. It may just be the fact that for the most part, the skills are pretty mutually exclusive, so combining them in the same way that, say, Dexterity and Acrobatics would be combined isn't much of an issue.

The game divides Traits into three categories:

Physical Traits: Athletics, Body, Coordination, Driving, Piloting, Ranged Combat, Riding, Stealth, Unarmed Combat

Mental Traits: Computers, Demolitions, Detective, Disguise, Inventor, Knowledge, Medical, Perception, Repair, Science, Survival, Willpower

Social Traits: Appearance, Artist, Performer, Persuasion, Psychology, Streetwise, Wealth, Writing

Obviously, with this being a semi-generic system, not all Traits will apply in every setting.

The human Trait scale is -4 to 4 with a zero average. Superhuman Trait levels (a.k.a. super-ratings) don't start at 5, however; instead, they are expressed as 4 (X), where X is a number from 2 to 5. (So, the top of the CAH scale would be a Trait score of 4 (5)). Positive Traits cost two CPs per level, and negative Traits provide an extra CP per level. (So, you'd get 2 CPs for taking a Trait at -2.)

* * * * *

Playtest: I decided to convert the characters from my Danger Quest playtest. One quirk of the CAH character creation soon revealed itself: Because negative traits serve the same function as do "Disadvantages" in other games, modern settings allow for better Trait scores than do primitive ones. Why? Because in more primitive settings, there are fewer Traits available to take at negative scores in order to gain more CPs to spend. For example, a Computers Trait isn't appropriate in the pseudo-30's Danger Quest setting, so it isn't possible to take it at a negative score. In still more primitive settings, such Traits as Driving and Demolitions might be out as well. This isn't an enormous problem, so long as the GM keeps it in mind when deciding how many CPs to allow in a given setting.

* * * * *

In order to make the broad Traits more specific, they may be assigned levels of Specialties -- for example, Science 3 could become Science 3 (Life Sciences 1). When using a Specialty, the Trait counts at the specialty level above the base score when used for the specialty but counts at the specialty level below the base score for everything else. So, someone with Science 3 (Life Sciences 1) would have an effective Science score of 4 when dealing with Life Sciences but an effective score of 2 when dealing with any other scientific field.

Size

Cartoon characters come in all shapes and sizes, and size matters a great deal in combat. CAH wisely factors this into character creation. Size ranges from Microscopic to Gargantuan (up to 100,000' tall), and every step away from the settings' "default size" costs 3 CPs.

Oomph & Stunt Points

These two point pools are a big part of what gives CAH its action cartoon feel. More about them under "Rules". For now, just keep in mind that characters default to 1 Oomph and 0 Stunt Points and can purchase more of both at character creation.

Hurt Points

As the name implies, Hurt Points are the CAH incarnation of hit points. Base Hurt Points start at 29 for a Body Trait of 0 and increase or decrease by three points per Body Trait level. The character's Willpower rating then modifies this base score. I like this blend of physical and mental stamina and the balance between them -- sheer determination may keep you going a while longer, but it can only do so much, after all. The end result, however, is an awful lot of Hurt Points. More on that in a bit.

Special Abilities

Now comes the tricky part: emulating all of those wild and wacky abilities from action cartoons. In essence, this makes CAH a supers game, and superpowers are seldom easy to model.

Up until now, CAH has been very rules-light. Here, that changes big time. Rather than provide a shopping list of powers, the book provides a do-it-yourself kit consisting of four steps:

Define the Special Ability

Purchase a Power Level

Purchase Components

Choose Modifiers

Aside from just saying what the power does, Defining the Special Ability involves determining into which category the power falls: Defensive, Offensive, Movement, Transformation, or Miscellaneous Special Abilities, Animal Companions, or Vehicles.

Purchasing a Power Level requires the player and GM to agree upon whether the suggested power will be of Low, Medium, or High impact on the story -- the more useful the power, the higher the cost.

* * * * *

Playtest: I found that usefulness a little difficult to establish at this stage of power creation. Granted, certain powers are pretty obviously more powerful than others, but rating every power before all the details are worked out is problematic.

One of the two players in my Danger Quest game had a gypsy who could shapeshift into a large cat. I figured that was pretty useful but not likely to tip the balance in any given adventure, so I decided it would be at a Medium power level.

* * * * *

Now it's time to Purchase Components. This is where the process gets crunchy. Not HERO-crunchy, mind you, but it's pretty darn crunchy compared to the rest of the system. The components in question are kept relatively basic, but that's only because they can be tricked out further by the modifiers in the next step.

The components include Rating (for Special Abilities that require an action check but aren't related to Traits), Healing, Size Alteration, Duration, Trait Modification, Range, Mode of Travel, Damage Rating, and Transformation (which includes the Merging component, for creating multi-vehicle super-robots a la Voltron).

I found the way the game handles Merging to be pretty amusing. The members of the traditionally five-member team shares the CP cost of building the Merged robot, and one of them gets to be the Head. The Head gets the final say on all robot actions, but if all of the other members disagree, they can veto the Head and cause the robot to disassemble.

Duration is a little awkward. The text explains that the GM must use common sense regarding whether a given Special Ability should have a Duration -- superstrength or claws, for example, probably should not. But if the player wants to apply a Duration to a power that normally wouldn't have one -- if he wants a character who can temporarily boost his strength, for example -- the cost of the power would go up, not down.

Choosing Modifiers is the point at which you flesh out the Components -- adding bonuses and drawbacks that turn a generic Offensive Special Ability into a silenced full-auto six-shooter disintegrator ray gun powered by Xanthubian Moon Crystals.

* * * * *

Playtest: And speaking of guns, this is where you'll come for all of your weapons and most of your fancy equipment as well as your powers -- in CAH terms, a weapon is just an Offensive Special Ability with the "Item" restriction, for example. The problem is that there aren't any guidelines here. I was trying to create a heavy pistol, for example, and had to just take a guess at the appropriate stats. The closest thing I had on which to base my decision was a laser pistol in one of the examples at the end of the chapter.

One character's "Touch of Healing" ability was a piece of cake to translate: 1 CP spent on the Healing Component for 1 Hurt Point restored per use. All done.

The same character's "Beast Form" power, which I translated using the Transformation Component, was a little trickier. Since the cost of such a component is based largely upon the cost of the alternate form -- which, in turn, is based upon the rules for Animal Companions and Vehicles -- I'll touch on that below.

* * * * *

Animal Companions & Vehicles

These are actually two separate sections, but I'm combining them simply because they both apply the same basic concept: The player spends CPs to purchase a pool of Special Character Points (SCPs) with which to create the animal or vehicle. The cost of SCP pools strikes me as a little odd, for two reasons.

First, the CPs required increase by twos up to 18, then by tens from 20 onward, but the SCPs increase by fives up to 30, then by tens up to 40, then by twenties after that. As a result, the progression is more than a little jerky. For example, going from 12 to 14 CPs takes you from 30 to 40 SCPs, but going from 14 to 16 CPs takes you from 40 to 60 SCPs.

And second, it's possible -- probable, even -- that given the CP-to-SCP relationship, an Animal Companion or Vehicle will end up being more powerful than the character himself. For example, if the CP allotment for a given series is 100, a player could spend 40 of those points to create an Animal Companion built on 140 SCPs. Given the fact Animal Companions and Vehicles are, by default, extensions of the character, that's an awfully cheap power boost. Mitigating this situation somewhat are the facts that Animal Companions and Vehicles aren't sentient by default, that non-sentient vehicles are limited in the Traits they may possess, and that Traits which even sentient Animal Companions couldn't natural possess cost more to purchase.

* * * * *

Playtest: This wasn't really an issue when it came to re-creating one character's ability to turn into a panther, since the player only chose to spend 8 CPs for 20 SCPs. Again, however, the lack of examples made the process a little more tricky than it needed to be. In Danger Quest, all I needed to do was look up the stats for a panther for the alternate form. In CAH, the player and I had to come up with the Trait scores from scratch.

* * * * *

One last note about Animal Companions/Vehicles: the Transformation Component provides a bit of a loophole to get around the aforementioned drawbacks. While "normal" Animal Companions and Vehicles are non-sentient by default, the Transformed shapes of the player character are (presumably) sentient, which should, logically, provide access to the otherwise restricted skills for the base cost of the Component. Moreover, Transformation uses the Animal Companion/Vehicles CP/SCP table to determine the SCPs for humanoid shapes as well. (Think Captain Marvel.) So, unless the GM slaps a Duration requirement on Transformation, there's no system-based reason preventing the player from creating a vastly superior alternate humanoid form and simply remaining in that form. (Granted, the author does acknowledge that there are ways to abuse the system and that player responsibility and GM oversight are the best remedies.)

Story Hooks

Story Hooks are the CAH equivalent of "Drawbacks" or "Disadvantages" -- things like fears, archenemies, codes of conduct, and mental problems. However, unlike many games, Story Hooks do not provide extra Character Points; instead, dealing with and roleplaying Story Hooks in the course of a game will earn the character more experience points, with the actual amount based upon whether the Hook is rated Minor, Moderate, or Major.

I like the way this approach helps avoid min-maxing at character creation. And like the chip system in Deadlands, it puts bringing up character drawbacks more fully in the player's court. Sure, the players can take up to five Story Hooks, but none of them will do the player any good if they aren't roleplayed. (Well, or unless the GM introduces them into the session, in the case of things like archenemies. But in such cases, this system gives the players reason to ask the GM to include them.)

Channel 3: Rules

The basic CAH mechanic is just about as simple as they come: 1d12 + Trait compared to a Difficulty Number (DN) ranging from 2 on up to 17 and beyond. Opposed roles just substitute an opponent's roll for the DN. A natural 1 is always a failure (a mechanic that always bugs me). A natural 12, however, is not an automatic success. Instead, remember that Oomph score I mentioned earlier? Well, it's meant to simulate the character's "star status". As part of that function, it's added to the character's total when he gets a natural 12.

Now, about those super-ratings... When making a roll for a Trait with a super-rating, the number in parenthesis is the number of d12s rolled. The player takes the highest roll and adds the Trait score as usual. So, for example, if a PC has a Strength of 4 (3) -- 4 being the required Trait level to have a super-rating -- his player would roll 3d12, take the highest roll, and add 4 to get his final result. Also, on natural 12s, the player can add the super-rating and the Oomph score.

* * * * *

Playtest: Big problem here. This mechanic means that superhero types are simply more likely to succeed at levels possible for normal humans, getting superhuman results only if they're lucky. For example, let's assume that Spider-man has the highest possible Athletics score -- 4 (5). I roll five times and get a superhuman result -- i.e., a natural 12, which allows the super-rating to be added to the total -- once. The rest of the time, Spidey's performance is merely that of a very competent mundane human.

There is a way around this, but it draws upon a loophole that's not exactly in the spirit of the rules: The Trait Modification Component can increase Trait ratings. Taken literally (i.e., Trait ratings only, not super-ratings) and without Duration, this would allow Trait scores in excess of 4.

* * * * *

Players can spend Stunt Points to add their characters' Oomph scores to die rolls, with the number of Stunt Points spent acting as a multiplier to the Oomph score (i.e, if a character has an Oomph of 3 and spends two Stunt Points, he can add 6 to the die roll). This adds an interesting dynamic: Characters with high Oomph have the potential to achieve higher roll totals, but characters with high Stunt Point scores can give themselves higher roll totals.

Channel 4: Combat

Initiative is determined by d12 + Oomph -- in CAH, it's star power, not speed, that determine who goes first. A little silly, maybe, but appropriate enough for the subject matter.

Hand-to-hand combat involves pitting the attacker's Armed or Unarmed Combat against the Defender's Athletics. Ranged combat involves a Ranged Combat (natch) roll against a difficulty based upon range. In both cases, a wide variety of modifiers apply, from the relative sizes of the opponents to obscured vision and cover. Mental attacks use Willpower for both the attacker and the defender.

The game treats dodges and parries as passive, rather than active, defenses. In the case of dodging, all attacks against the character are at -3, but the dodging character is likewise at -3 if he chooses to attack. Parrying forces the attacker to roll a second time and take the second outcome. If the parry is successful, the defender can get a free riposte at -2. Dodging automatically applies to every attack in a round, but repeated parries give a cumulative +1 to the result of the attacker's second roll. I'm fine with the dodging mechanic, but the parrying mechanic bugs me a little -- in either case, the defender is going to be rolling Athletics, which makes sense for dodging but not so much for parrying. The world's greatest swordsman in CAH would still need to purchase a high Athletics Trait in order to put up a decent defense.

Damage is randomly rolled on a d12 + the attack's Damage Rating ("DR"). In hand-to-hand combat, the attacker's Body Trait (and super-rating, if any) adds to this total as well. Oomph scores also add to damage on a natural 12 on the attack roll. Unfortunately, skill doesn't factor into this equation at all, so CAH may not be the best choice for fans of swashbuckling.

It's also not the best choice for fans of realism, but that pretty much goes without saying. There are no wound penalties of any kind, for example, and damage doesn't result in death -- not unless the player agrees to let the character die, at any rate, and even then, it should only happen as a plot device. Normally, running out of Hurt Points just means that the character is out of the fight (or "OOF"). This is an 80's action cartoon game, after all.

* * * * *

Playtest: My playtest combat pitted the two PCs against a pride of jaguars. I quickly noted two issues regarding damage in this game.

First, I think that CAH is missing something important about the use of deadly weapons in 80's action cartoons. It's not that characters got hit by such weapons but weren't really hurt; rather, characters just didn't get hit by such weapons in the first place. Not if they could actually be hurt by them in the first place, anyway. In G.I. Joe, for example, characters seemed to intimidate the opposition into surrender through massive ammo expenditure, A-Team-style. And the only time Thundarr the Barbarian or the ranger in the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon ever actually attacked something directly with their fancy weapons was when the targets couldn't actually be hurt by those weapons. Now, this fact didn't directly affect my playtest, since it wasn't really set in a cartoon universe. But in the course of playing out the combat, I realized that if I had been running a cartoon-based game, it would be awfully hard to describe successful hits with deadly weapons and still stay true to the spirit of the subject matter.

On a less esoteric note, characters can take a huge amount of damage -- so much so that even the weakest characters could only be killed -- or "OFF'd", rather -- in a single blow by an unusually powerful weapon.

For example, the jaguars had slightly above-average Hurt Points scores -- 35. The guestimated handguns the PCs used against them had DRs of 4. That means that the best possible damage the guns could do was 16 Hurt Points, not counting the PCs' Oomph scores. But even if the jaguars had had Body Traits of -4, they'd still have base Hurt Points of 17. In other words, if you want to take out an infant in one shot in this game, you'd better be packing some serious heat.

* * * * *

As if death immunity weren't generous enough, heroes heal up quite rapidly from all that non-life-threatening damage as well. Damage is rated in three time scales:

"Right Away" (immediately after taking damage) -- before the character has time to heal at all.
"A Short While Later" (around 12 hours after taking damage) -- the character regains ½ his Hurt Points.

"A Long While Later" (roughly 24 hours) -- the character regains all of his Hurt Points.

The chapter also covers vehicle combat without adding much more complexity, factoring in such things as maneuverability, ramming, and critical hits. I do wonder why critical hits weren't offered as an option for non-vehicular combat as well, since that might have spiced up the somewhat dry Hurt Point drain.

Channel 5: Game Master

A grab-bag of GM tools and advice, this chapter is divided into four sub-sections.

Sub-Channel One: Miscellaneous Rules

True to its name, this section offers up a mix of additional rules to flesh out the system.

Character advancement isn't anything particularly noteworthy, unless you count the flat costs for increasing ability scores. What is noteworthy is the fact that NPCs (both good and evil) gain a random number of experience points for every adventure in which they participate, averaging out to about what a PC would get for showing up and being roleplayed well. Since 80's action cartoon villains tend to stick around episode after episode, this provides a way to help them keep pace with their foes without relying completely upon GM fiat. I'm not sure how big of a perk this is, but it's an interesting approach that I haven't seen before.

The invention-building rules are extremely basic, just requiring a Wealth roll against the cost of the materials and an Inventor roll against the complexity of the device. Really, though, this is just a way for PCs to purchase Special Ability items with experience points during play rather than between adventures.

When it comes to lifting weights, characters can lift a set amount based upon their Body scores without having to make a roll. So far, so good. But the scale used points out the inadequacy of the super-rating mechanic. While the lifting capacities of the four Body super-ratings are left flexible, a PC with Body 4 (5) would be able to lift a mountain by default. Compare that to the just marginally superhuman performance of my hypothetical Spidey with his Athletics of 4 (5).

Speaking of superhuman capabilities, any 80's action cartoon character worth his ink can take out mobs of goons single-handedly. Obviously, then, a "mook rule" for CAH is a must. Well, when it comes to disposable thugs, CAH does Feng Shui one better: rather than making goons into weak individual foes, CAH lumps them together into "mobs" that stand or fall as one. Each mob has a "Goon Factor" rating that serves as the difficulty number for the PC's Armed, Unarmed, or Ranged Combat roll; on a success, the PC takes out the whole darned mob in whatever manner the player describes. On a failure, he gets one more chance at -2 before he's overwhelmed (and probably captured).

Sub-Channel Two: Game Mastering

A good portion of this section is the sort of "What It Means To Be A GM" advice found in most games these days -- you need to know the rules, you need to improvise, you can fudge the dice rolls, etc., etc. The tips on embracing the genre, however, are priceless, including how to have an "after-show message" (as in "Knowing is half the battle!") and how to have a "movie" adventure (by making it grander in scope and more potentially dangerous than adventures in the "series" proper).

The section concludes with a few handy narrative tricks for the GM, including cliffhangers, cut scenes, flashbacks, and the inevitable head villain escape. Nice, but nothing groundbreaking.

Sub-Channel Three: The Series

A handy checklist for creating your own 80's cartoon setting, including required, banned, and new Traits, and any limits on Trait scores. In the "Villainy 101" section, the author lovingly describes how to create a true-to-genre baddie, complete with theme, costume, and the all-important repertoire of rated-G curses. Bah!! What wretched drivel!!

Sub-Channel Four: The Episode

This section breaks down the individual adventure in the same way the previous one breaks down the individual setting. There's nothing particularly cartoon-ish about these tips, however -- strictly generic roleplaying stuff. Not that that’s a bad thing.

Channel 6: Line-up

This chapter presents four fairly detailed series and a large selection of "series seeds".

Sub-Channel One: Read-to-Run Series

The text bills these chapters as ready to run with "minimal fuss". However, while the write-ups include descriptions of major characters and details following the guidelines provided in Channel 5, the lack of Trait scores and the relative complexity of Special Ability creation leaves more fuss than I'd call "minimal".

Warriors of the Cosmos: If ever there were a "generic" 80's action cartoon, this is it. Magic and technology mingle freely in a clash of good vs. evil featuring warriors with names like Combato, Noblara, Spydar, and Monstro. A nice choice if you're nostalgic for He-Man and company.

Tommy K and the Star Kitties: A teen New Wave/Punk band from Earth tries to entertain a galaxy in which music is banned, all the while trying to find their way back to Earth and avoid the clutches of the cruel Slaggorian Police Force. Looks like a lot of fun. It reminds me a bit of a cartoon called Kid Video. (One of my best friends during the 80's was the spitting image of Kid Video. What's that got to do with this review? Not a thing. Right, moving on, then…)

Dark Brigade: Special Forces use laser rifles and guts to protect Earth from an army of assorted Gothic monsters. A great idea, although the descriptions of some members of the "Brotherhood of Death" seem a little gruesome for an 80's cartoon.

The Defenders of Aqua City: High-tech heroes protect humanity's last refuge, a domed undersea city, from rampaging mutants, bloodthirsty pirates, and a monstrous alien entity. This one features relatively complex NPCs for the genre, including a villain motivated by grief and misplaced anger and the aforementioned monstrous alien entity held in check by affection for the daughter of Aqua City's mayor.

Sub-Channel Two: Series Seeds

These are the setting equivalent of "plot hooks" -- just ideas for a CAH series with little to no game mechanics information.

Teen Angel Squad: The Archangel Michael enlists a group of human teenagers to join Heaven's battle against the forces of Hell, giving each of them an amulet that grants them superhuman angelic powers.

The Outlaws of Skull Gulch: Heroic outlaws battle the corrupt governor and his henchman on a sci-fi world with an Old West flair.

Planet Patrol: The crew of a crashed Planet Patrol ship recruits select earthling youths to help defend the galaxy from the evil Warlord Zoldan. In the process, they discover that humans possess latent superpowers unimagined by either side of the conflict.

Ruined World: In 2169, a cross-dimensional disaster lays waste to the Earth and paves the way for an invasion of Lovecraftian baddies known as the Dark Ones. Only the freedom fighters known as Strikeforce stand between the Dark Ones and the end of humanity.

My Alien Brother: An anime-esque setting involving a ten-year-old boy who gets his birthday wish for a brother in the form of a crashed flying saucer with his blue-skinned, pointy-eared double inside. This one's unusual in that it basically mandates both the number of players -- two -- and the characters they will play.

The Transbots: A Transformers knockoff, with the minor twist that the good and evil factions work for opposing corporations.

Texas 2351: In a Starblazers-like setting, a mysterious alien fleet proves invulnerable to Earth's state-of-the-art energy weapons but vulnerable to century-old railguns, missles, and slugthrowers. As a result, Earth takes a fleet of obsolete space battleships out of mothballs, led by the USS Texas. I'd be more interested in seeing this as an actual cartoon than I would playing it as a game. Although, as a cartoon, it sounds like it might be a little too violent for 80's action. (80's cartoons favored energy weapons, simply because their effects were so nebulous. No need to show blood from a hit.)

Team Bulwark: A merging robot series a la Voltron. Not much more to say about this one. (Am I the only person who preferred the "vehicle" Voltron to the "lion" Voltron? And why the Hell didn't they just merge into Voltron right off the bat? Ah, well… Moving on…)

Final Lap: Like Speed Racer, the PCs form an any time, any where, any vehicle racing team, busting criminals along the way.

Dekledd: The PCs are archeologists who stumble through an ancient dimensional gate in South America to the fantasy world of Dekledd, where they are pursued by the evil Lord Killgrave. (So, basically, this series seed just gives a name to a generic fantasy world and it's main baddie and gives a reason for the PCs to get there.)

Strikeforce Freedom: G.I. Joe with the serial numbers filed off, and the snake-themed Cobra replaced by the arachnid-themed Spider.

Superadvanced Rocketship GARMON XL: An odd premise that's clearly more anime than 80's action cartoon. In the universe of the future, each colonized star system produces one sort of product. A bored prince sells off his holdings to build a massive starship in which to roam in search of adventure. Said prince is also suffers from an unrequited love and creates a robotic replacement for her. (No, no way is this the stuff of 80's Saturday mornings…)

Inter-Galactic Wars: Humans, the catlike Felinoids, and the telepathic Vreear must set aside their differences to battle the Gholari, a race with a culture and physiology dedicated to warfare.L

Holoverse: In the far future, certain humans called "Portalers" gain the ability to temporarily summon powerful holographic beings of all shapes and sizes from another plane of existence -- but any given Portaler can only summon two specific Holo-Beings.

The Super Battle Brothers: Two humans rise through the ranks in the futuristic sport of Lazer Boxing, hoping to prove that humans have what it takes to beat powerful alien boxers -- even Gorenatron, the nasty Heavyweight Champion.

Appendix I: Glossaries

This appendix contains two glossaries. The first is a very thorough list of terms used in CAH. The second is a highly amusing -- dare I say "radical"? -- list of 1980's slang terms, perfect for settings like Teen Angel Squad presumably set during that time period. (You know, referring to the '80's as "that time period" makes me feel really old.)

Appendix II: Recommended Viewing

A description of twenty hallmark 80's action cartoons, including airdates and commentary from the author.

Appendix III: Designer's Notes

Surprisingly touching musings from the author regarding the relative innocence of the 1980's as reflected in the cartoons of the day, and how events of subsequent years gradually stripped away that innocence, culminating in the events of September 11, 2001.

STYLE

The review copy I received has a lower resolution than the standard version, so I'll cut the art a little slack. Nevertheless, I'd have to say that the average quality of the art is fairly mediocre, even by the mediocre animation standards of many of the shows it seeks to emulate. While a few of the pieces are pretty good, several others look particularly amateurish -- including, surprisingly, the cover. And the picture on page 67 of a barbarian brandishing a two-handed sword with a blade scarcely longer than the hilt made me wince.

The layout is much more attractive, thankfully. Each page features a star motif that bleeds off of the edge of the page and is set slightly left of center, with the right side of the body text following the right vertical line of the star. That's a lot less complicated than it sounds -- just keep in mind that the right side of the main copy block starts mid-page and angles down to the lower left corner. The first (and usually only) sidebar on a given page appears in the upper right corner, outside of the main text block, with subsequent sidebars placed either below the first (when they're small enough to fit) or in the mid- to lower left with the text wrapped around them. On the whole, it's a nice, clean layout that gives the book a consistent and orderly appearance.

The typesetting's not quite so clear, however. While the text is nicely spaced and the fonts are easy on the eye, I found that the various headers started to blur together in some of the more detailed chapters, forcing me to backtrack to make sure where I was in the hierarchy.

The writing, on the other hand, is not only crystal clear, but it is also completely engaging. Cynthia's love of the subject matter shines through with every word, and that love becomes infectious. She even manages to pull off the running sidebar dialogue between herself and the laughable cartoon mastermind Kargorr -- something that I feared would become more annoying than amusing. Moreover, her writing style is completely without pretense. "Perky" and "bubbly" might seem condescending terms to use, but I can find no better words to describe her personality as it shines through in this book. Those of you familiar with her posts on the RPGnet Forum will be in familiar territory. In short, it is a remarkably un-gamer-y book.

CONCLUSION

Despite Cynthia's aforementioned infectious enthusiasm, I didn't come away eager to run an 80's action cartoon adventure. It's still just not my thing. That's no reflection on the game, however.

I also didn't come away eager to use the system for other purposes. Part of this, too, is simply a matter of taste -- while the basic mechanic is easy enough, the Special Ability assembly kit feels far too complex in comparison with the rest of the system, like a shark latched onto a remora. A larger problem for me, however, is the super-rating issue I described. I'd be very likely to use super-ratings in any setting for which I'd use CAH, and the system just doesn't work to my liking. However, I am told that this mechanic will be revised for the hard copy version of the game, which could prompt me to give it another look. I'd also need some example characters and equipment to use as benchmarks, and I suspect that for those, I'd have to wait for the forthcoming sourcebooks.

That said, if you're the sort who enjoys power assembly systems and doesn't require examples to help you do so, and if the game mechanic issues I've described don't bother you, then this game would make a very nice purchase. $10 isn't bad at all for a surprisingly substantive system combined with an enjoyable read, especially if you share the author's love of 80's action cartoons.

SUBSTANCE:

Setting

Quality = 4.0

Quantity = 3.0

The majority of the setting material takes the form of series ideas and tips on giving one's game the feel of an 80's cartoon. Nice, but none of it is sufficient to carry a game on its own.

Rules

Quality = 4.0

Quantity = 3.5

A solid enough system aside from the problems I mentioned. Some more concrete examples would be very helpful -- a simple bestiary and equipment, for example.

STYLE:

Artwork = 3.0
Layout/Readability = 4.0
Writing = 4.5
Proofreading = -0.0

(I've come to realize that it's a little silly to give positive points for no errors, so from here on out, I'm only going to subtract points from the total style score for poor proofreading.)