Review of Cartoon Action Hour: Season Two

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Introduction

A Bit of History and Background

Cartoon Action Hour first appeared as a PDF from Spectrum Games in 2002 before being published the next year by Z-Man Games. Z-Man put out a number of supplements, including Metal Wars, Darkness Unleashed, and Star Warriors. I purchased the original PDF and was quite taken by the 108-page effort. Though rough in many places, it had lots of heart and was clearly a labor of love. But I was not so enamored as to pick up the Z-Man version or the supplements. References to the first edition refer to my 2002 PDF and not the Z-Man edition. Like the vast majority of my game collection, I never had an opportunity to play the first edition, but I rectified that for this review of the second edition.

When Cynthia Celeste Miller announced that a new edition, the Second Season (aka Cartoon Action Hour: Season Two or CAH:S2), was coming out, I asked for and received a preview/demo PDF (which she really should make available on the website). What I read reinvigorated my interest in the genre and clicked with an idea that I had brewing. For over a year, I had a concept of a fantasy campaign involving modern teenagers who get transported to a magical, fantasy world. As they searched for a way home, they also explored the world and grew more powerful. This idea is hardly new or novel, with elements of Narnia and the classic 80's Dungeons & Dragons cartoon, but I never got a chance to run it. (And really, once a game idea worms its way into my head, I can't excise it until I run it, even if just a one-shot.)

CAH:S2 seemed to be a good fit, at least for a one-shot convention game. I scheduled to run at ConQuest SF (aka Pacificon), but also planned to run for some friends at GenCon. The Dragon Warriors of Xim, as my game was titled, was advertised as "based on action-adventure cartoons such as the old classic Dungeons & Dragons and the new classic Avatar." Unfortunately, I was disappointed to learn that the release of CAH:S2 was pushed back from August to October of 2008. Undaunted, I asked Cynthia for a copy of the playtest rules with the promise to do a playtest review. And here we are.

Because I only had access to the playtest document and not the final game, this review is incomplete. I have no idea what the final page count or price will be. I have not seen the final layout or artwork, though I have seen a pre-release sample. Nor did my copy have the series guide, which I think will have a sample setting. For the sake of full disclosure, I did tell Cynthia of some typos and asked for a few rule clarifications; she was responsive, but I cannot comment on what changes (if any) were made because of my comments. I plan to update and append this review in the comments when I have an opportunity to read the final product.

The Heart of the Game

CAH:S2 is a game of retro-toons, defined as "the style of action-adventure cartoons produced during the 1980s." If you remember back to cartoons like Thundarr the Barbarian, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and G.I. Joe with fondness and not a small touch of nostalgia, then CAH:S2 may be the game for you. While technically you could use any number of games to emulate these cartoons of yesteryear, CAH:S2 has stylistic and mechanical touches that are customized for the retro-toon genre. CAH:S2 is a fun little trip back to a time when networks actively promoted their Saturday morning lineup, anime was limited or simply not available, and we actually took action figures out of the packaging. Even for those of us who, unfortunately, tend to read more different games than we can play, CAH:S2 is a fun read that had me smiling with "oh yeah!" moments that made me want to play.

Cynthia does a very good job defining the key elements of the genre such as (and I'm just copying section headers): Innocent, Gung-Ho Enthusiasm, Toy-Centric Nature, Toned Down Violence, Black and White Morality, The Good Guys Always Finished First, and The Moral of the Story. Twenty different shows are described (with Cynthia providing her own opinions) for Recommended Viewing. Also, the examples of play actually give me a feel for what is expected of the PCs, unlike many RPGs with examples that make me cringe and not want to play with those people.

Though its focus is clearly on the 80's, CAH:S2 would work well for latter action-adventure cartoons like Gargoyles (90's) or Avatar: The Last Airbender (00's). Because modern series tend to be less cheesy, a mental shift in tone in the actual game play may be required, but there is no need to change any of the mechanics. I also think it would very well for any cinematic genre and if the players are not looking for a tactical battle experience. In the case of superheroes, the tone is wrong for emulating the The Dark Knight film or Smallville series, but CAH:S2 would be perfect for any of the recent Legion of Superheroes or Spiderman cartoons. In the realm of anime, CAH:S2 would work well for Slayers, Pokemon, or other lighthearted or "kids" shows.

CAH:S2 is a traditional roleplaying game with players and a GM and without rotating narrators, collaborative scene building, or other elements found in storytelling games. Of course, players and GMs can seamlessly add these elements into a CAH:S2 session if they want. I think having a more collaborative approach would work well in creating the After-Show Messages and Commercial Breaks. In my games, I had the players collectively describe a public service announcement. In both cases, the PCs appeared on screen to warn kids about the danger of fire and how their characters intervened and delivered the important message. In the ConQuest game, I also had the players describe the Dragon Warriors of Xim action figures, each adding a feature that was highlighted in the commercial. While not particularly deep, it was a very fun way to conclude the session.

Character Creation

Traits

Characters are built using Proof of Purchase Points (PoPPs). Typically, 30 PoPPs are spent to buy Traits. Traits all have a baseline, average rank of 0 and can be increased up to 10. Ranks 1-4 costs 1 PoPP each; above that, each rank costs 2 PoPPs each. For example, a Trait with rank 7 costs 10 points. Traits are very loose and player-defined. To help players get an idea for appropriate Traits, the book provides ~200 sample Traits like Acrobat, Scrappy Fighter, Grenades, Magical Amulet, Flight, and X-Ray Vision.

The first edition used broad, present Traits like Athletics or Stealth. Personally, I liked this approach and was sad to see it go. As the GM, you are always forced to make a judgment call whether or not a Trait is appropriate or not, which was something I did not enjoy when I ran Truth & Justice. Also, player-defined Traits are very hard to balance and differentiate. What is the difference between Con Artist and Fast Talker? Isn't Crack Shot (which might only apply to guns) more restrictive than Soldier (which could cover all weapons and other out-of-combat uses)?

Cynthia addresses these last concerns in three key ways:

1. The text specifically encourages players to make more specific Traits. Rather than pick Ninja as a single Trait, pick Martial Arts, Stealth, and Extremely Agile. I really like this advice, but it is undermined by having Ninja is listed among the ~200 sample Traits.
2. When two Traits, one broad and one narrow, oppose each other (like a Ninja facing off a Martial Artist), the character with the more specific Traits get a Bonus die to roll (rolling two dice and taking the best). However, not all Traits will come face-to-face this way. How often are Perceptive and Eagle Eyes going to be used in opposed rolls?
3. For really broad Traits, like Wizard, the GM can require that the player purchase Clusters (see below).

Modifiers

The first edition had a fiddly set of character building rules that involved buying up various aspects of a special ability, vehicle, animal companion, etc. For example, duration, range, speed, and size all had different point cost scales. CAH:S2 removes all that extra work, which is a welcome change. But to accommodate customization that might make Traits more or less powerful than normal, CAH:S2 uses Modifiers. Bonuses like Area or Multiple Forms cost more points while Restrictions such as Fickle or One-Shot give you points back. The Accessory Restriction, which give you back one PoPP when attached to a Trait, has what is perhaps my favorite rule/guideline:

This Trait is derived from some kind of item that can theoretically be taken away from the character temporarily (dropped, stolen, lost, etc.). Think of the Trait as representing an accessory that comes with an action figure. If it would logically be an attachable accessory, then it could very well have this Restriction.

A couple of other Modifiers worth mentioning are the Enhancer and Cluster Bonuses. A Trait with the Enhancer Bonus adds half (rounded up) its rank to other Traits. For example, The Sword of Gray Castle +3 (which is also probably an Accessory) would add its Bonus to your Barbarian +4 Trait for a total of +7 when fighting with the sword. And if you can think of another use for the sword, that action gets the Enhancer Bonus too. A Cluster bonus allows a Trait to be used for a variety of pre-defined purposes. Clusters include Attack/Defense, Movement, Manipulation, and others. For example, a character with a Trait called Telekinesis could purchase the Attack/Defense Cluster to use the power in combat, but could not fly without the Movement Cluster.

Retro-toons are filled with sidekicks (animal, robotic, etc.), transforming characters, and special vehicles (sold separately). And a few have characters who combine together to form another type of character (like the 3 pandas from the cartoon Pandamonium who combined together to form a larger, more powerful panda with special powers). Anyway, CAH:S2 has very clear and self-consistent rules for such things. In fact, if you want a companion who's alternate form is a vehicle, you can do that easily. Basically, you have a number of PoPPs based on the rank of the original Trait to make the companion, form, or vehicle. Gestalts work the same except that Traits/points from multiple characters are combined. My only quibble about this section of the rules is that they are so self-consistent that some blocks of text are repeated two or three times.

You get PoPPs back by taking Detrimental Traits, ranked as 1X (Mediocre) or 2X (Poor). When using these Traits, you roll 1 or 2 Detriment Dice (more about those later).

For The Dragon Warriors of Xim, I created eight pregenerated characters (6 PCs and 2 NPCs that could be run as PCs if needed). This proved harder than I thought it should be. With 30 build points, you can give a PC 7 Traits at rank 4 (World-Class) and still have points left over. To me, this seemed far more than I needed or wanted. I immediately thought of how much easier it would be in Risus, with only 10 dice to spread among a few clichés. Part of my problem was that I was creating inexperienced teenagers and then adding on a special element-control ability they would gain once they crossed over in to the magical world of Xim. To use more points, I ended up sinking more points than I had planned into their individual control element Traits, first by setting the rank to 7 (10 points right there), and then using the Cluster bonus 4 times to spend another 8 points. As the GM, I could have simply said that the Clusters were included, especially since all the PCs had the exact same ones and there wasn't a intra-party balance issue, but then I don't know what I would have spent the 8 points on. Sure, I could have simply built the PCs on fewer points, but I wanted to stay true to the game I was playtesting and reviewing.

Oomph

PCs have an Oomph score, which starts at 2 but can be increased or decreased by spending or receiving PoPPs. Oomph is CAH:S2's version of drama/hero/plot points. It also determines the character's Threshold rating used to determine Insta-Defeat (see below). Oomph can be spent to re-roll a die, add another die, counterattack (turn a successful defense into a successful attack), remove a Setback Token, avoid Insta-Defeat, alter scene details, or (temporarily) alter a Trait. Oomph cannot be used to cancel the effects of a Flub (natural 1). NPCs do not have Oomph, but the GM has a pool of Oomph to spend for the NPCs, such as allowing the villain a quick getaway.

As with most games with a similar mechanic, Oomph can be used as a carrot to reward players for good roleplaying, performing appropriately heroic actions, activating a PC's Subplot, etc. But CAH:S2 goes one step further and allows the GM to use Oomph as a stick, deducting Oomph for behavior not befitting a retro-toon, including attacking another PC or innocent NPCs, being overly violent or crude, or just being uncooperative and anti-social. A male PC can also be penalized for directly striking a female NPC (I'll let you chew on that one for a while).

PCs start each session--I'm sorry, episode--with their base Oomph, plus any unspent Oomph carried over from the previous episode.

Factoids and Subplots

Factoids are tidbits of description and bullet points that add personality and provide roleplaying hooks. These include descriptive elements like "Does not use contractions," "Eats a lot," and "Sucker for a pretty face." Unlike Traits, Factoids do not add bonuses (or penalties), but I do think provide that instant character recognition. Let's face it, retro-toon character personalities typically hung on a few key elements and that was about it. On a team, each member had their own quirk or look, that made them unique and that is where I see Factoids coming in.

Subplots are complications that can make the character's life more difficult. These are things like an archenemy, secret, or weakness. Subplots do not provide PoPPs (like Disadvantages from GURPS or Hero), but instead provide Oomph when they come into play. PCs can have up to 3 Subplots, but these can be altered during the course of the campaign (called a Series). In my one-shot game, I did not bother with Subplots, but I think they would work well for a longer Series provided the GM and players find a way to work them in.

Advancement

I am not a fan of character advancement, but I cannot fault a game for including it. CAH:S2 slows down advancement by only allowing it between seasons (typically 13 episodes for a retro-toon). And this makes sense, as characters were often retooled between seasons. Characters are awarded experienced points based on the number of episodes they appeared in and any After Show Messages they participated in. (This, by the way points to an option for a Series to have a rotating cast of PCs rather than a fixed lineup each episode.) Players then roll a d12 and add their xp to determine how many more PoPPs (2 to 4) they earned. Ick. I'm sorry, but I really dislike random advancement, especially when there is no randomness in character creation. I didn't like it in Savage Worlds and many people agreed as it was dropped from the latest Explorer's Edition. Moving along, these PoPPs can be used to increase Traits, buy new Traits, add bonuses, etc. Rather than roll for improvement, the player might choose to simply revamp the character, shuffling Trait values, subplots, etc.

Game Mechanics

Summary

To do something, you roll 1d12 and add the appropriate Trait (from 1 to 10). This total is compared to an opposed roll by the GM (who may just "take 6" instead of rolling) who also adds a modifier based on the opposing Trait or difficulty. The highest total wins; technically, there are rules for breaking ties and you only need to meet the GM's total for an unopposed action, but if you just ruled "PCs win ties," I won't tell anyone.

Rolling a natural 1 is a Flub: an automatic failure that cannot be overcome by Oomph (see below). Rolling a natural 12 is a Boon, doubling the rank of the Trait (or add +1 in the case of a rank-0 Trait).

Sometimes, you have to roll 1 or more Detriment Dice. In that case roll two or more dice and take the lowest result. Benefit dice allow you to roll multiple dice and take the highest result. Not only do these effect the average roll total, but the Detriment and Benefit Dice also increase the odds of a Flub or Boon, respectively.

One of my favorite rules is that each time the same Trait is used for the same task in the scene, you are penalized with a Detriment Dice. This encourages the creative use of multiple Traits rather than relying on the same Trait over and over. This is especially good for players who get stuck in a combat rut of "I swing my sword" by forcing them to come up with new maneuvers and using Traits that may be lower, but don't have Detriment Dice. However, the definition of "same task" is a bit squishy and open to interpretation. I think you have to give players some slack when it comes to defensive Traits; I don't necessarily think its fair to penalize players for using "Tough as Nails" to resist an attack more than once in a scene.

Turn-Based Combat

Initiative is optional and goes by individuals or groups. The initiative roll is a d12 added to the characters base Oomph. During a turn, a character can move and act (in either order). A combat check is a standard opposed roll between an attack and an appropriate defense.

Note that there is not separate rolls for "to hit" and "damage" which does mean that that the Brute +6 has a 50/50 chance of beating a Speedster +6. As I noted my Truth & Justice review, "The advantage to the system is speed and not having to worry about which is a 'better build.' The disadvantage is that you often lose the tactical and descriptive difference between disparate powers." For retro-toons, the tactical differences don't really mean anything and everything falls on how creative and descriptive the players and GM can be. When I ran T&J, I missed having the distinction between hitting less often but for more damage versus hitting more often but for less damage. But I did not miss this when I ran CAH:S2.

A successful attack results in the defender taking a Setback Token. An attack that wins by a huge margin (larger than the target's Threshold rating), the defender is "Insta-defeated" and taken out with one shot. Setback Tokens have no mechanical effects (no negative modifiers, no death spiral), but a character is defeated upon receiving the fourth Setback Token. Defeated never means death in a retro-toon. It could mean being captured, buried a pile of rubble, or being knocked out. In any case, the character(s) begins the next scene with no Setback Tokens, but perhaps in a new predicament, such as being tied up in the villain's death trap. The use of Setback Tokens is one of my favorite elements of the game. No one is actually hurt in a retro-toon--they are simply defeated (usually in time for the commercial break). Nothing kills action like paperwork and not having to track hit points (as you did in the first edition) and not worrying about diminished abilities help keep the game lively.

I think I only had one Insta-Defeat in my games, and that was against a PC fighting the boss monster at the climax. The player hadn't saved any Oomph to get out of it, so missed several rounds of action. Being a convention game though, I found a way to get the character back into action through the aid of the other PCs.

Scene-Based Combat

Sometimes playing out a battle would simply take too long for the dramatic payoff it would provide. When the PCs are storming the shield generator protecting the space station, you don't want to spend an hour of them wading through clones while the master villain sits in the control room looking at his watch, waiting for the PCs to finally arrive. Scene-based combat allows an entire battle to be resolved in one roll--either the PCs break through and into the control room, or they are lead in chains. PCs have a Battle Rating, based on their best Trait. In Scene-based combat, you roll a single die for the PCs, adding all their Battle Ratings together to form one big total. The same is done for the NPCs. Whoever rolls highest (PCs win ties) wins and describes how they won.

Goons

Goons (called Mooks or Extras in other games) are there to be defeated by the PCs. In fact, it takes a squad (~3-6) of them to take on a single PC. Fighting Goons uses scene-based combat and so a squad can be dispatched with one roll. Goons are (usually) so ineffectual that they roll a Detriment Die and don't have any Traits to add to the roll. There are rules for designing beefier Goons, assigning PoPPs to increase their Battle Rating, making them more skilled, etc. Without doing this, even two PCs and their combined Battle Ratings will be enough to take down any number of Goon squads.

When you mix Goons with henchmen and other, more competent NPCs, things can get tricky. One way to deal with it is to just send the Goons first, let the PCs spend a round defeating them, and then have them face the henchmen. This is certainly in genre, but it can get tiresome. I tend to think of Goon squad as a single NPC who go down with a single Setback Token and use the normal turn-based combat.

Other Stuff

The Series

In a welcome change of pace, and in contrast to this review, CAH:S2 describes how to setup a Series before the chapter (called a Channel) on character creation. After all, retro-toons spanned such a vast range of genres and settings that it would be impossible to create a character without knowing what the Series was about. This chapter isn't long, only about five pages, but it is very useful.

It starts with a Tagline, that marketing slogan that lets you know the Series is more than meets the eye. Designing a Series can be as easy as picking a genre (fantasy), giving it a twist (PCs are teenagers from modern day and given the power to control the elements), defining the tech level (medieval with low magic), and giving the PCs an ultimate goal (to free Xim from the clutches of the Demoness and then return home). The GM can incorporate gimmicks and fads, or as I think of it, how the Series will sell the action figures and toys. In addition, the GM needs to determine the limits on character creation and any new or modified rules.

Bravesteel and Kargorr

The first edition featured an annoying mascot character named Kargorr, a retro-toon villain there to make snarky comments about the game (and its author) from the margins. He's still there, but less annoying and now he is joined by his nemesis, Bravesteel. The two have little exchanges that I did not find as funny as they are meant to be, but nonetheless still contain some useful commentary and advice.

Game Mastering

The advice for game masters is top-notch. Because so much rides on the tone and style of the episode rather than the mechanics of the game, the GM has a lot of responsibility. Cynthia does a good job covering the standards and clichés of retro-toons, which can be quite different than most rpgs. For example, no one is ever directly injured by fire; burns are much too gruesome (and real) for retro-toons. Instead, we are presented with this on how to handle fire-based attacks:

The damage is attributed not to exposure to the flames, but to some type of chain reaction from them. For example, the flamethrower catches the wall on fire, which spreads to the ceiling, scorches the rafters, and causes one of the beams to fall down and land on top of the character.

The GM needs to lead by example and eventually the players will get into the right mode. In my game, a player noted how in retro-toons, you could always tell where the pit was because it was drawn a different color. Cynthia not only mentions that, but also gives suggestions on how to integrate those kinds of details into the game; it's in the section titled "Cheese and How to Use It."

Other areas of advice include:

• Constructing a rogues gallery, with master villain, lieutenant, henchmen, and goons
• Creating an episode using a three-act structure
• Designing a Series based on multiple PCs per player or a single central star
• Incorporating Commercial Breaks and After-Show Messages
• Playing a Movie based on the Series
• Using Cut Scenes
• Embracing the genre and using cartoon logic
• And much more!

Most of the game mastering advice comes from Cynthia watching (I'm guessing) hundreds of hours of retro-toons and writing down everything that makes them stand out from other cartoons. She then incorporated them into the CAH:S2 to make it stand out from other roleplaying games.

The Conclusion

Of the two sessions I ran, the first included more mature gamers, most in their 50's. The players of the ConQuest game ranged in ages from 8 to 40+. CAH:S2 resonated very well with the players who "got it," who understood what retro-toons were all about. For the others, typically older gamers, CAH:S2 worked well as an enjoyable rules-light, action-adventure game, but the retro-toon vibe never fully clicked. Hell, some of them had never even watched cartoons in the 80's. Pre-teen players should have no difficulty jumping right into the proper mindset and might even benefit from the moral messages typical of the genre (should the GM be so included to make it an educational game).

Mechanically, CAH:S2 reminded me of strongly of Risus and PDQ. Indeed, fans of those systems (or others) could very well run a retro-toon campaign without having to pick up CAH:S2. However, I think that fans of the genre will be pleased with the advice, tone, and ideas presented in CAH:S2, even if they end up using their favorite system.

When deciding whether or not to buy an rpg, I often think about whether or not I need it. Do I need another fantasy, pulp, superhero, supernatural horror, or generic system if I already have several other games that fill those niches? In some cases, the answer is "yes" because the games I have are lacking, not quite hitting the mark for me, or because it is a licensed property that interests me. But in most cases, I can safely answer "no" and wait for someone to run a campaign before committing to yet another rpg purchase. However, even if I don't need an rpg, I may still want it. It may be new take on a genre or mash of genres, it may a different tone or perspective (compare for example, Hunter: The Vigil versus Demon Hunters), or it may simply be the art and design. CAH:S2 definitely falls in the category of "don't need, but want."

Too often when I read a roleplaying game, I have no idea what to do with it. Even a good game may leave me without the inspiration or motivation to run a scenario. Some of the most detailed and rich settings can leave me thinking, "yeah, but what are the PCs supposed to do?" After reading CAH:S2, I wanted to run something. Ideas were popping into my head with every page and I couldn't wait to get started. Now, I'm not sure if I could run an entire season of CAH:S2; the cartoon logic and cheese may wear out its welcome. And of course anyone looking for mechanical depth where you can explore different character builds and use an array of nifty powers will become bored with CAH:S2's simple, freewheeling system. But if you look at the classic retro-toons that we know and love, very few of them lasted longer than a season or two anyway.

If you are looking for a serious, gritty, heavy game, then CAH:S2 isn't the game for you. If you are a fan of retro-tunes, Cartoon Action Hour: Season Two is a fun read and even more fun to play. If you are a fan of modern action-adventure cartoons (or have kids who are), then CAH:S2 would fit the bill as well.

Regarding the Style (layout, art, coolness, readability) and Substance (content, text, fun, workmanship), I'm tempted to give it 5/5, but I haven't seen the final product. The sample layout I saw was a little scattered and finding a specific rule may be tricky. The nice, clean colored line art suffers a bit from being a little too simple and digital. With that in mind, I'm giving it a 4 in Style for coolness and readability, but keeping the Substance a solid for 5 for content and a ton of fun. And remember, knowing is half the battle.