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1[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Cartoon_Action_Hour_4542.jpg]]
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3Somewhere between the silliness of ''TabletopGame/{{Toon}}'' and the seriousness of ''Prime Time Adventures'', there sits a book. This book is ''Cartoon Action Hour'', a tabletop RPG that invokes the spirit of the MerchandiseDriven adventure cartoons of TheEighties.
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5''Cartoon Action Hour'' has a lot of a shout-outs to 1980s cartoons, including ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' (''Transbots''), ''WesternAnimation/{{ThunderCats|1985}}'' (''Action Cats''), and ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'' (the ''WesternAnimation/{{Inhumanoids}}''-like ''Dark Brigade'' and the regular version as ''Strikeforce Freedom'', replacing snake-themed villains with spider-themed villains), for example. The series that gets the most attention is ''Warriors of the Cosmos'', which is basically a loving tribute to ''[[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]''.
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7"Cartoon Action Hour: Season Two" was released on Oct 30, 2008. Season 3 was released Nov. 8, 2013; it marked the start of a major expansion, as several series books have been published under the Season 3 banner. These games have their own pages:
8[[index]]
9* ''TabletopGame/{{Crimestrikers}}''
10* ''TabletopGame/GalacticHeroes''
11* ''TabletopGame/PunkRockSavesTheWorld''
12* ''TabletopGame/{{Wasteland 2010}}''
13[[/index]]
14----
15!!Cartoon Action Tropes:
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17* AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle: You earn extra experience by playing your characters in the After-the-Show Message.
18* CallAHitPointASmeerp: Have their own quirky names for common role-playing terms, including "editions" being called "seasons".
19%%* CaptainErsatz: All over the dang place.
20%%* ExperiencePoint: Guilty as charged.
21* CastOfExpies: Most of the premade material is pretty blatant in being a lawyer-friendly version of a beloved 80's series.
22%%* CriticalFailure: Called a "Flub".
23* EnsembleCast: Since this was made to capture the feel of 80s cartoons, but with the ethos of a tabletop role-playing game, they're designed to be about a group of characters, and not a singular hero and his sidekicks. Such as in ''He-Man''.
24* GreekChorus: Kargorr, a fictional villain from ''TabletopGame/GalacticHeroes'', shows you how ''not'' to play the game. For CAH: Season 2, John Bravesteel, a fictional hero from the same series, keeps Kargorr in check. In "CAH:S3", a character from another fictional series, Sarah Strongheart of ''Power Princesses'', joins the two.
25* HitPoints: Called Hurt Points in CAH:S1. Avoided in CAH: Season 2, replaced with "Set Back Tokens". Even more cartoon logical!
26%%* {{Mana}}: Avoided with Spell Clusters.
27* MerchandiseDriven: At least in the first version, players were encouraged to think of creating their character and coming up with that character's abilities as designing that character's action figure.
28* {{Mooks}}: Called Goons. Rules are provided to handle those who get their hides kicked time and time again.
29* NeverSayDie: Completely embraced. Characters don't die, they're only knocked out or captured. ''Unless'' you're gaming out TheMovie.
30* NoodleIncident: Kargorr, the failed villain complains about a comic relief character, Ziggle. John Bravesteel, Kargorr's heroic counterpart, says that Kargorr is just upset that Ziggle defeated him once--and tries to tell it to the audience, Kargorr shuts Bravesteel up by saying no one wants to hear from him.
31* PointBuildSystem: Uses Character Points (First season) and Proof of Purchase Points (Second season).
32* PopularityPower: There's an optional set of rules where events on the production side of the show can affect the player characters. This is reflected by them earning "Cool" points which can be traded in for upgrades, such as a new writer coming on board [[CreatorsPet who likes the player's character, and writes them as more of a badass]]. Alternatively, characters who do badly can be forced to retire from the show.
33* {{Retraux}}: The rule book even includes a glossary of 80's slang, but only in the first edition.
34* ShoutOut: The whole RPG and 'Cartoon Logic' is a ShoutOut to cartoons of the 1980s.
35* SmallNameBigEgo: Kargorr, so very much. His whole shtick is that he's an incompetent HarmlessVillain (bordering on a DastardlyWhiplash) who thinks of himself as a fearsome BigBad.
36* TimmStyle: Despite being heavily inspired by MerchandiseDriven Adventure [[SaturdayMorningCartoon Saturday Morning Cartoons]] of TheEighties, a lot of the artwork in the second edition is in this artstyle which is more associated with TheNineties. Some of it was retained in the third edition.
37* VillainExclusivityClause: Addressed in the game that while there were exceptions (cf. shows like ''WesternAnimation/{{Thundercats}}'', ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers''), most 80's cartoons had just one group of bad guys who fought the heroes in every episode. The premade settings for the game almost always adhere to this.
38* {{Zeerust}}: Invoked. There are sidebars here and there in the various books deliberately urging the GM not to base technology in their setting on real things, but on the silly technology in 80s sci-fi cartoons. Like supercomputers that use 5.25 floppy disks.
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43!!''Warriors of the Cosmos''
44The fictional series, ''Warriors of the Cosmos'', deals with Iconia, a once peaceful planet, now under the attack of Nekrottus's Blackskull Empire. The BigGood, King Rastor of Haven, brings together a group of heroes called Guardians of Iconia to defeat Nekrottus' forces once and for all.
45** Now has a full-page sourcebook. ''The Complete Guide to Warriors of the Cosmos''.
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47!!The fictional series, "Warriors of the Cosmos", has the following tropes:
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49* AllMonksKnowKungFu: Oshida comes from an order of monks who study martial arts, but otherwise live an austere lifestyle.
50* CoolOldGuy: Merlis, who doesn't go on missions because of his advanced age (he's Really700YearsOld).
51* {{Cowgirl}}: Sure-Shot is the Iconian equivalent, since she dresses like one, comes from "the Frontier", is gifted with ImprobableAimingSkills, and even has [[UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents the accent]]. She's also an explorer who has traveled all over the planet.
52* DealWithTheDevil: Nekrottus sold his soul to a demon named S'Groth to become all powerful. Atypically for the trope, Nekrottus got the best of the deal; he managed to banish S'Groth back to the Nether Regions.
53* EekAMouse, or WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Serpentina has a fear of rodents.
54* TheEmpire: The Blackskull Empire.
55* {{Expy}}: While the Shadow Queen is mainly based on [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 Evil-Lyn]], down to her Backstory involving AnotherDimension, her appearance is (mostly) inspired by the [[WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero The Baroness]]. Both characters wear glasses and dark catsuits.
56* FaceHeelTurn: Shadow Queen comes from AnotherDimension where she was Darella Jogar, a heroic leader in LaResistance. When she went through a portal to Iconia, the trip somehow turned her evil, and Shadow Queen was the result.
57* LizardFolk: Serpentina is a reptilian humanoid.
58* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: The man who became Nekrottus was once Merlis' student, although he may have been EvilAllAlong.
59* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Guardians of Iconia themselves--{{Justified|Trope}} as they are a mixture of different humanoids and races of Iconia.
60* LaResistance: The Guardians of Iconia.
61* RobotBuddy: Combato, who is a LighterAndSofter version of Franchise/{{Robocop}}.
62* ShoutOut: To ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983''.
63** Merlis the wizard advisor usually has the classic campy CosmicMotifs of stars and moons on his robes, but if you look close at them you'll usually shapes like hearts, clovers and horseshoes too, images well-known to 80s kids who would've seen lots of commercials for Lucky Charms cereal while watching their favorite cartoons.
64* SpinOff: ''Ladies of Might'', which happen to be in a special St. Valentine's Day PDF file. The third edition appeared to [[{{Retcon}} retcon]] it into a [[WhatCouldHaveBeen never-made]] spin-off called ''Warrior Women of Iconia''.
65* TheStarscream: Shadow Queen fits this role.
66* TakeOverTheWorld: Nekrottus's goal.
67* WizardClassic: Everything about Merlis evokes this trope.
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69=========
70!!''Strikeforce Freedom''
71
72The fictional series ''Strikeforce Freedom'' deals with the titular military force fighting SPIDER, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world.
73
74!!''Strikeforce Freedom'' has the following tropes:
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76%%* TheBaroness: Her blonde haired {{expy}}, The Black Widow.
77%%* BigBad: General Arachnid.
78%%* ShoutOut: To ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero''.
79%%* TheSquad
80* TakeOverTheWorld: The goal of SPIDER chaos warfare.
81
82=========
83!!''Transbots''
84
85The fictional series, ''Transbots'' deals with Trevor Hastings' Transbots as they battle against Maximillian Mercy's Warbots.
86
87!!''Transbots'' has the following tropes:
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89%%* BigBad: Maximillian Mercy.
90%%* ShoutOut: To %%''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers''.
91%%* TakeOverTheWorld: Maximillian's goal.
92* TransformingMecha: Both the Transbots and the Warbots fit this trope.

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