System Advice - Anime Adventures?

[Lilithgow]

Now, coming up soonish, I have to run a game for some friends of mine.

I asked them what they wanted to play, confident that I could match whatever they asked for. And then they asked for an Anime type game, and I realized that I have no idea what to do regarding that.

So basically, I need suggestions. I'll make a little list here of pseudo requirements, but yeah, any advice is most appreciated.


Must be Simple-ish (This is most likely a one-shot, and I'd rather not spend it explaining rules)
Must be ridiculous - I believe the way it was put to me was "I want to punch a dinosaur out of a building"
Must be adaptable.


Now, if this sounds plausible, or even like that game your group plays every week, please let me know!

[Kylarra]

Well, until we got to adaptable I was all set to say maid (http://maidrpg.com/). :smallfrown:

BESM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Eyes_Small_Mouth) is pretty amusing, either tristat or d20.

edit: Tri-stat (http://tristat.wikispaces.com/).

[KillianHawkeye]

I've heard Exalted is supposed to be ridiculously awesome, but it's lacking in the simplicity department.

[Delivery Ninja]

Mutants and Masterminds comes to mind. If they're already familiar with the basic D20 system, the slight differences in the system should be pretty simple to pick up as they go. As far as being ridiculous goes, the proper application of Super-Strength can certainly lead to sending enemies flying rather easily, in my experience. And as for adaptability? Well, you can use even just the basic rulebook to come up with a lot more than just the superhero games it set out to model...

[Aroka]

Definitely BESM. You can't get a much better combination of ridiculous, simple, and adaptable than the Tri-Stat version.

[Badgerish]

FATE3 / Spirit of the Century.

Both simple and involved (Simple: everything uses 4 fudge dice and almost everything is done via 4 actions. Involved: your characters are really important, they want/need a history and to be intertwined with the other PC's stories, plenty of leeway in adjudicating aspects and uses of skills, so you need to be consistent)

Uses zones for location-tracking, which is simple and effective. Has a default power-level of pretty high (so you can punch out man-sized dinosaurs pretty easily, if you are focused on that)

[The Rose Dragon]

Definitely BESM. You can't get a much better combination of ridiculous, simple, and adaptable than the Tri-Stat version.

Those three, and terribly poor mechanics.

I suggest Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition along with Mecha & Manga. It will allow you to play in most genres anime has (except for a Monty Haul type of campaign, which I am led to believe is the premise of Slayers).

Note that Monster is an anime as much as Gurren Lagaan. Most systems can't handle both type of games. You might want to define the genre you are interested in better if you want a clearer answer.

[BobVosh]

BESM
M&M
Exalted.

Boy I didn't contribute much there. Although out of all of those Exalted is the one with dinosaurs that expects you to punch them around. Both in flavors of Dragon-kings (think bowser) and dinosaurs specifically bred when times were even more wacky to piss out pure heroin.

[13379\/\/4R]

You should try OVA: the Open Versatile Anime RPG. It can be very crazy if you want it to be, and it is very rules light. My OVA game has an 8 ft tall pro wrestler(he is the most powerful combat character), a lost in dimensions sorceress, a telekinetic tiger-man, and a billionaire with a genetically altered ninja monkey that is horribly addicted to marijuana(he is the second strongest)... oh! And a mad scientist who's inventions tend to explode. its tons of fun and I urge you to at least read the book.

[Arbane]

RISUS (http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/risus.htm) springs to mind. Simple, ridiculous, and adaptable.

[Thajocoth]

First RPG I ever played had ridiculous stuff like that. The dinosaur was a player though... Never got punched out of a building. It was DC heroes. Put the right points in the right things... Make the right villains, it fits, I think. Having only played four RPGs though, you're better off taking someone else's suggestion.

[Gralamin]

BESM is a bit simpler to learn then Mutants and Masterminds 2e with Mecha and Manga. It also has mostly worse mechanics (Some exceptions, and certain types of Anime games work better in one or the other). Both are good fun, in my experience, however.

[Bagel]

besm 3rd edition and follow all the "keep it simple " notes its light and versatile that way, honestly my favorite gaming system (sorry WoTC :P)

[HunterOfJello]

according to many posters on this forum, 3.5e using the Tome of Battle supplement would be perfect for this