Anime-based PBeM roleplaying game starting up...

From: c60a-2bf@web-2h.berkeley.edu (Michael K. Ellis)

Date: Sun, 19 Nov 1989 10:35:18 +0000

I'm going to try to do something I've been wanting to do for a while now,
which is running a PBeM campaign.  I'm not real sure just how one goes about
announcing this sort of thing, so bear with me for a second...

(And apologies to those of you on rec.arts.anime who have no interest in
roleplaying games.  Just trying to reach a possibly interested audience.)

(ahem)

***Announcing:  The Ranma Campaign***
"Love and Tears, Panda and Kempo"

Since two of my favorite things these days are anime (Japanese animation) and
roleplaying games, I've decided to combine the two and start up an anime-
based campaign.  For lack of a better frame, (and adhering to the rule,
"Only steal from the best") I've decided to use the world created by Rumiko
Takahashi, that of Ranma 1/2.  The characters found there will create the
foundation for the campaign, and should serve to get the PC's into the spirit
of what I'm trying to do.

What I'm aiming for in this campaign is to capture the spirit and feel of
a Japanese anime show, and to get the players into it as much as possible.
For those of you who have never seen anime before, it's not your typical
Hana-Barbaric cartoon, it's something a whole lot different.  Funnily enough,
the best one sentence description I've found for what I'm trying to do is
the phrase used by the show's producers, "Love and Tears, Panda and Kempo."
(Kempo is another word for martial arts.)

The emphasis here will be on player interaction.  I'm looking for a bunch of
PC's who will bicker, squabble, fall in love, get engaged (but not married,
not yet) fight humongous martial arts battles, get exotic Chinese curses,
and generally cause trouble for themselves.  There will be the occasional
fight (properly staged of course), lots of indiscriminate bashing, and of
course the PC's have to deal with each other.  Just like in Ranma.

As far as the players themselves, and the mechanics of the game in general,
the campaign will use Champs 4 rules, and I'm looking for about 8-10 people
to begin with.  I'll add more if possible (I'll expect some attrition).
I'd prefer people with good knowledge of both anime and Champions 4, but
it's not essential, and I'd prefer somebody who knows nothing aboutbut is into the spirit of the game over a total Champs Guru or Anime God
who isn't willing to adapt themself to the campaign.

I'll try to send anybody who wants it the background file, and I'll
provisionally take about 15 people or so.  There's a reason for this,
finals are coming up, and I need to finish setting up the campaign, so the
campaign itself will get started early to mid Jan, after I get back to
school.  This will allow me to get good PC backgrounds, settle everybody
in, and get a good foundation to hang the chaos on.  I'm anticipating some
people to drop off over Xmas.

Note: This campaign is not a Dungeon Crawl, a Superhero Power Trip, or
Far Future Space Fantasy.  Munchkins, Powergamers, Dragonslayers, and
Overlords of the Galaxy need not apply.  This is going to be a storytelling
type game, with a lot of (I hope) humor, pathos, and slightly strange
"everyday" situations.  And, of course, at least one Panda.

One last thing:  above all, I need people with solid email links to me.  If
you send me email which bounces, and it isn't a temporary problem, there's
no point in posting to the net asking for the background file, because
flaky mail links helped kill off the last pbem game I was in, and I'm going
to avoid that like the plague.

Background files go out "en masse" the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so get those
requests in now.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Michael K. Ellis				ellis@ocf.berkeley.edu
						c60a-2bf@WEB.berkeley.edu
(Please use the ocf address as a primary, as the other account dies at
the end of the semester.)

"Would you like to kick them, Miss, er...?"

"Mmm, no.  No thank you.  These are nice shoes."
						-Sandman #11