31 Questions For Barking Alien - Phase II - Question 9

The dark ruminations that plague my endless existence have been disturbed by Miguel de Rojas once again! Suffer with me as I attempt to answer Question #9...

Judging from your timeline, you probably were right in the middle of the World of Darkness craze at the right age and place, yet it doesn't seem to have impacted your gaming in any meaningful way. Can you tell us how you lived it?

I've written and re-written this post half a dozen times already, diving deep into my history with the World of Darkness, how I first discovered it, my initial thoughts, my first campaign, blah blah yada yada. It was all to give context to how I really want to answer this question. Instead, I'll get right to the point...

Although I was impressed by the game, partly caught up in the hype and partly appreciative to encounter a game that eschewed the approach taken by many 'Old School Mainstream' games of the time (late 1980s/early 1990s), I didn't really hop on that train until Mage came around. 

The game seemed cool, the mechanics interesting, but I've never been much of a horror fan and the games' gray-to-black morals held no interest for me. Remember, this is the guy whose favorite TRPGs are related to Star Trek, Star Wars, and Silver/Bronze Age Superheroes. I couldn't care less about vampires [at the time], was only slightly more intrigued by werewolves, and it wasn't until World of Darkness started to become a full on 'World' that it really grabbed my interest and attention. 

By the time Mage: The Ascension came out there were a number of supplements that expanded the setting quite a bit. It was about this time, with more than just Vampires, Werewolves, and Wizards running around, that I fully invested in the game line and decided to run a game. I ended up running a number of short-to-medium length campaigns until I hit upon a cool idea for a longer term game.

I had a number of people interested and the campaign opened with a real bang. The details allude me right now but the very first scene had one of the PCs waking up with a hangover on top of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, unsure of how and when he got there. The initial session went over quite well, as did the campaign. Not longer after I played in a friend's campaign where I got to play a Mummy. Really fun.

After that...nothing really. I don't recall playing any World of Darkness related games again until much later; a few years in fact. It wasn't until I ran a brief jaunt of Mage and a slightly longer game of Changeling [both] with Selina (see my previous post). Why? That is, why did I just kind of drop the World of Darkness?

Well...

It just really wasn't my bag. I mean it kinda was but not as much as other things were and are. I would definitiely put World of Darkness and its various installments, particularly Changeling and Mage, on a list of 'Games I've Enjoyed' but it would be much further down the list than Star Trek Adventures, Smurfs, Ghostbusters, Star Wars D6, Traveller, Champions, Ars Magica, and perhaps another dozen RPGs. I'm just not that into the bleak, gothic-punk genre and subject matter. I prefer my heroes heroic, my universes hopeful, and colors a bit on the brighter and bold side. Usually. I do like some spooky stuff. 

Did it impact my gaming in a meaningful way? Hmm. I think at the time it did have a noticable effect on me, getting me out of my comfort zone and exploring somewhat darker subject matter than I traditionally focused on. At the same time, when I think about my somewhat renewed interest in the Creepy and Disturbing, I don't think of World of Darkness. At least I haven't. I honestly haven't thought about it in years prior to this question. My tastes lean more towards ghost stories, Stranger Things, Ghostbusters of course, and some Anime/Manga horror. 

The World of Darkness was a big, powerful blip along the timeline of my 48 years in the hobby but in the end, it was but a blip.

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Barking Alien

Big Sword, Short Skirt

Aside from the games of Mike Pondsmith and R. Talsorian, I often find that, for many gamers, few other names even ring a bell when it comes to Anime and Manga style RPGs published in America (or available here at least).*

Of course this is not true but as a good deal of time has passed since the height of Anime/Manga gaming popularity**, it is easy to forget all that came before. Let's see if I can refresh your memories.

Big Eyes, Small Mouth

Probably the most successful and most well known Western RPG that is not mecha focused, Big Eyes, Small Mouth (or BESM), was first published in 1997 by the Canada based company Guardians of Order (now since defunct). Utilizing its own rule system, known as the Tri-Stat System, BESM attempted to be a sort of Anime/Manga GURPS. It was touted as a universal RPG system but one that distinctly maintained the flavor of Japanese comics and animation.

BESM was quite popular in its time and spawned two later editions as well as numerous supplements. Some focused on a particular genre or subgenre, such as their Science Fiction sourcebook 'Big Robots, Cool Starships', or specific settings, like S. John Ross's amazing Uresia, Grave of Heaven.

In addition, the game generated a number of popular licensed sourcebooks for Anime being made available in the United States. Sailor Moon, Slayers, Tenchi Muyo and a good number of other titles came out as sourcebooks and later 'Ultimate Fan Guides', which weren't so much RPG products as much as what they're name implies, guide books on the shows for the fans.

In 2003, amid the D20 craze generated by the Open Gaming License Wizards of the Coast had made available with Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition, Guardians of Order jumped on the bandwagon to create BESM D20. Opinions on whether or not this was a good idea in the long run are of course mixed.

The game's third edition had been delayed quite some time due to Guardians of Order going into bankruptcy. The companies properties were eventually purchased by Arthaus, a subsidiary of White Wolf and BESM Third Edition was published in 2007.

While there is no denying the passion that went into making this game (it was by Otaku, for Otaku for sure), I never really took a shine to it in any of its forms. For one thing, for a game called 'Tri-Stat' (Which implied to me the simplicity of only three stats or attributes) it seemed a very crunchy and clunky system. While its basic mechanic was simple enough, roll two D6 and add the appropriate stat and/or skill as a modifier, the game was point based similar to Hero System or GURPS.

The idea was that you could take X amount of points and build a super agile, samurai sword wielding school girl while I took the same amount of points and built a telepathic, teenage mecha pilot. The problem was, for me, that while that's awesome for American Superheroes, is it necessary for Anime characters?

Furthermore, nothing amount the game's mechanics felt overly Anime and Manga-Themed. There were bits and pieces but it largely felt like the games creators and/or writers over analyzed the genre and tried too hard to translate the often over the top, ridiculousness of Japanese pop culture entertainment into exacting numbers.

BESM was a major player in the gaming hobby for quite some time and it remains a favorite for many trying to run RPG campaigns in an Anime and Manga influenced or even oriented setting. Unfortunately, it is not my personal cup of Sweat.

Matte, motto arimasu! Sugu ni modotte kuru!

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Barking Alien

*BESM comes from Canada.

**Bet you didn't know it had a height of popularity. Now you do.