Line #111 TabletopGame/Crimestrikers


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_crimestrikers_cover_screen_orig.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''[[{{Tagline}} "Armed and Extremely Furrious!"]]'']]
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4	''Crimestrikers'' is one of the series books from ''TabletopGame/CartoonActionHour: Season 3''. Created and written by Tropers/MarkLungo (except for the stats), and illustrated by various artists, the game centers on an elite team of international crimefighters who protect Creaturia, a WorldOfFunnyAnimals, from a RoguesGallery of {{Super Villain}}s.
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6	The story starts when EvilGenius Vance Coffin engineers a mass escape from the Quarry, an underground maximum security prison meant for Creaturia's worst criminals. He invites most of the escapees to join Outrage, the worldwide crime syndicate he once ran and intends to revive. CIPO ('''C'''reaturian '''I'''nternational '''P'''olice '''O'''rganization), the setting's equivalent of Interpol, responds by forming the Crimestrikers, a team of eccentric but highly-skilled specialists who pursue both agents of Outrage and other, equally powerful villains all over Creaturia. The Crimestrikers are led by Diana Mastron, one of CIPO's best agents and an expert on Vance Coffin -- because years ago, she almost married him.
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8	Check out [[Characters/{{Crimestrikers}} the character sheet]] (a work in progress) to learn more about the game's heroes and villains.
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10	----
11	!!"[[MadlibsCatchPhrase No one's troping anyone today!]]"
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13	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The series has this feel due to all the sci-fi gadgetry.
14	* ActionGirl: Since the series has several female heroes and [[DarkActionGirl villains]], this is a given.
15	* AdventureSeries: Like the other ''Cartoon Action Hour'' games, ''Crimestrikers'' evokes the feel of MerchandiseDriven action cartoons from TheEighties (although it's slightly DarkerAndEdgier than most series from that era).
16	* AgentsDating: The series has several relationships between Crimestrikers -- and all but one of them is an InterspeciesRomance.
17	* TheAlcatraz: The Quarry was ''meant'' to be this. Of course, even the toughest prison on the planet isn't perfect...
18	* AlliterativeTitle: Two of the episode seeds are titled "Museum of Madness" and "Forest of Fear".
19	* ArchnemesisDad: Walter Mastron, Diana's father, is one of the leading members of Outrage and basically Vance's [[TheDragon Dragon]].
20	* ArtificialGravity: The Gravity Glove is a small-scale example. It's a tricked-out glove that projects a "suspension beam", allowing the user to lift and suspend heavy objects for an extended time. It also works on living beings, which can lead to a high-tech variant of UnwillingSuspension.
21	* ArtificialHuman: Roderick Norco's Flexiplasm clones, which are similar to the Synthoids from ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'', down to the way they melt when they're destroyed.
22	* BadassCrew: The Crimestrikers, each of whom is very formidable in his/her own way. They work together to save Creaturia on a regular basis.
23	* BarefootCartoonAnimal: Pretty much the entire cast, since Creaturians (like many [[BeastMan anthro animals]]) usually wear full outfits, only without shoes. The exceptions are the villains who use PoweredArmor (Forster Burns) or full body disguises (Commander Ahab, The Righteous One) and the robots.
24	* BaseOnWheels: Flaming Sword, the Crimestrikers' largest and most elaborate vehicle.
25	* BatPeople: The game features two examples. Crimestriker Nyx Marama is one of the nicest characters in the series. Vladimir "Steelwing" Kavas, a deposed dictator with {{cyborg}} wings who wants his old job back, [[BatOutOfHell isn't]].
26	* UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by The Wild Guesses, who are similar to bands like Music/{{The Rolling Stones\|Band}}, Music/TheWho, Music/TheYardbirds and Music/ThePrettyThings -- except that they're {{Funny Animal}}s (and have two female members).
27	* CasinoEpisode: "Shrunk and Disorderly" is set at the Bona Fortuno, Creaturia's largest casino. Several Crimestrikers, trapped in IncredibleShrinkingMan mode, use their reduced size to wreak havoc as they avoid Outrage agents who are hunting for them.
28	* CoolBike: Several kinds.
29	** One of the standard Crimestriker vehicles is the Thrillseeker, a motorcycle that can convert to flying mode.
30	** The Rapid Pulse, G.T. Overley's custom ride, is an enclosed cycle-like vehicle. It's inspired by ''WesternAnimation/{{Visionaries}}''[='=] Lancer Cycle and ''Shadow Strikers''' Smokescreen.
31	** Audrey Claymore has a hovercycle, the Prairie Protector.
32	** Trix Condello has her own mini-hovercycle, the Trixter.
33	* CunningLikeAFox: The series pits two of these characters, TheHero Diana Mastron and BigBad Vance Coffin, against each other. Hendrik Alquist isn't quite up to their level, but he's still a GeniusBruiser.
34	* DetectiveAnimal: The Crimestrikers, of course.
35	* DriveInTheater: Ray Hiltebrand's wife Laura owns the Harbor Lights Drive-In, which is threatened by Ray's old enemy Major Scorn in "10 Minutes to Showtime".
36	* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: In a non-military variation, the game focuses on a special unit within an international crimefighting organization.
37	* UsefulNotes/EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage: Shows up in a few places. The two major Hydreran characters, Donacina ("little gift") and Rasavanto ("racial savior"), both have {{Portmanteau}} names derived from the language. It's also used for some location names, such as the nation Alta Montejo ("high mountain"), the space station Stelamiko ("star friend"), the Windfall City casino Bona Fortuno ("good fortune"), and the two deserts, Senfina ("endless") and Ora Morto ("golden death").
38	* EverythingSensor: The Scanscope, part of the Crimestrikers' standard equipment. The book states that "it can detect, scan and analyze anything the heroes need it to in each story." It's also a [[CommLinks communications device]].
39	* FakeBand: Two of them, The Wild Guesses (from "Take a Wild Guess") and Weapons Lab Disaster (from "The Righteous Rock 'N Roll Rampage"), get their own episodes. The latter story also mentions several other bands in passing.
40	* FantasticRacism: Fuels the ongoing conflict between the Hydrerans and the surface world. In Creaturia's distant past, it was even worse: the dragons were [[FinalSolution hunted to extinction]], although the species returns thanks to [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke genetic engineering]].
41	* FantasticSlurs: If you hate Hydrerans, they're "sea scum"; if you hate surface-dwelling species, they're "crawlers".
42	* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Creaturia has several nations, many of which are versions of actual countries.
43	** Freeland is the equivalent to UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates.
44	** Albria is UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} and Tamessa, its capital city, is UsefulNotes/{{London}}.
45	** Alta Montejo is based on UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} and several other Eastern European countries.
46	** Azania is UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica and one of its major cities, Ikapa, is Cape Town. Unlike the other examples, both names come from RealLife.
47	** Calebernia [[InvokedTrope invokes]] the {{Scotireland}} trope, down to its {{Portmanteau}} name (a combination of Caledonia and Hibernia).
48	** Norden is derived from the various Scandinavian nations.
49	* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Vance brings three historical villains (BlackKnight Forster Burns, {{Pirate}} Mordecai Hackett, and {{Outlaw}} "Tombstone Tom" Thornfield) to the present; as the Time Terror Team, they continue with the chaotic violence that made them infamous. Fortunately, Vance also brings legendary Frontier Era hero Audrey Claymore along with Tom by accident.
50	* FishPeople: The Hydrerans, a race of amphibious humanoids who have a tense relationship with the land dwellers. They're returning to the world stage after a period of isolation, but evildoers such as Rasavanto and PARCH are threatening their attempts to make peace.
51	* FunWithAcronyms:
52	** H.A.M.R., the '''H'''eavily '''A'''rmed '''M'''odular '''R'''obot, is one of the Crimestrikers.
53	** Donacina uses a SEALS ('''S'''ea '''E'''mulation '''A'''tmospheric '''L'''ife '''S'''upport) helmet to simulate the Hydreran atmosphere during extended missions in hostile surface world environments.
54	** PARCH stands for '''P'''eople '''A'''gainst '''R'''ampaging '''C'''riminal '''H'''ydrerans, although this meaning has decreased in use since most of the members have forgotten what it stands for.
55	** I.T.T.T., the '''I'''ndividual '''T'''elepathic '''T'''ransmitter '''T'''erminal, is an alien MindControlDevice that's used in two episodes.
56	** PLUS ('''P'''eace, '''L'''ove, '''U'''nderstanding and '''S'''afety) is a movement that strives to create unity in the midst of increasing bigotry and supervillain activity.
57	** Combined with ToiletHumor in the pilot episode "It All Began on Doomsday", when Jeff proposes calling the new group '''F'''ast '''A'''ction '''R'''esponse '''T'''eam.
58	** A more serious example from "It All Began on Doomsday": Outrage threatens the world with a compound called DOOM because physical contact with it causes '''D'''issolution '''O'''f '''O'''rganic '''M'''atter.
59	* GadgeteerGenius: The Crimestrikers have several, including Esperanza Sixtos, Darian "DX" Xenos and Tanix Calvo. Their EvilCounterpart is Dolores Dedmond of Outrage.
60	* GenderEqualEnsemble: The Crimestrikers, more or less. The book has entries for ten women, eight men, and a male-identifying robot. Add [[TheMedic team medic]] Calvin Statler, who doesn't get his own entry, and the ratio becomes 10/10.
61	* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke: The specialty of Roderick Norco, a MadScientist who works for Outrage. In particular, he's obsessed with creating {{Super Soldier}}s, but most of his experiments have failed. Even worse from his perspective, his two most successful subjects have both become Crimestrikers: Nyx Marama (a bat who can make her body [[BioluminescenceIsCool glow in the dark]]) and Arcana (the first dragon since the species was subjected to FinalSolution in the distant past).
62	* GlobalCurrency: The SIMU ('''S'''tandard '''I'''nternational '''M'''onetary '''U'''nit), which is accepted all over Creaturia.
63	* GreatEscape: The mass jailbreak from the Quarry that kicks off the series.
64	* HeroesRUs: The Crimestrikers team is influenced by heroic organizations in 80s cartoons such as ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'', ''WesternAnimation/{{MASK}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/COPS1988'', as well as earlier examples such as [[Series/TheManFromUNCLE U.N.C.]][[Series/TheGirlFromUNCLE L.E.]] and [[ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} S.H.I.]][[Series/AgentsOfSHIELD E.L.D.]].
65	* HeroicDog: Ray Hiltebrand (the Crimestrikers' BenevolentBoss) and his son Liam (a member of the subgroup Operation Overnight) both qualify.
66	* HumanlikeHandAnatomy[=/=]HumanlikeFootAnatomy: All Creaturians have these, to the point of [[DefiedTrope defying]] the FourFingeredHands trope -- their hands have five fingers. (Their feet have only three toes, though.)
67	* HumanResources: The leadership of Outrage ultimately plan to harvest the LifeEnergy from most of Creaturia's population with a KillSat, using them as [[LivingBattery Living Batteries]] to turn themselves (and a few carefully selected allies) into [[ImmortalitySeeker nearly immortal]] [[AGodAmI pseudo-gods]] -- and killing their victims (who will include most Outrage agents) in the process.
68	* ImmuneToMindControl: In "I.T.T.T.", the titular MindControlDevice doesn't affect the Crimestrikers because their Bio Beacons block its effects.
69	* IncredibleShrinkingMan: One of Esperanza Sixtos' inventions is the Shrinksphere, a kind of reverse [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pokéball]] that absorbs people into a sphere, where they stay in what amounts to a luxury hotel room. It's used to capture villains and smuggle the heroes into or out of enemy territory. In "Shrunk and Disorderly", a PhlebotinumBreakdown with the Shrinksphere causes several Crimestrikers to get stuck at 15cm/6" tall.
70	* IngestingKnowledge: Edu-strips, which are modeled on the breath strips sold in drug stores, allow users to absorb information (or have secrets implanted in their minds) by swallowing them.
71	* InterspeciesFriendship: Several, considering that Creaturia is a multispecies world. Especially prevalent among the Crimestrikers, who are TrueCompanions.
72	* InterpolSpecialAgent: The Crimestrikers are the Creaturian equivalent.
73	* KillerRobot: Besides the Slaydrones, "Museum of Madness" has several of them disguised as statues of heroes from Creaturian history.
74	* TheKlan: PARCH, a terrorist organization dedicated to wiping out the Hydrerans (and the dragons, once Arcana appears).
75	* MacGuffinLocation: "In Search of Ancient Secrets" [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this trope]]. The Unthinkable Archive is [[GreatBigLibraryOfEverything a secret storehouse for art, literature and artifacts]] that have been considered dangerous by oppressive governments over the centuries. Created by a BenevolentConspiracy of artists, scholars and PersecutedIntellectuals who wanted to preserve the knowledge, the Archive's ever-changing location was lost to history until just recently. The story has the Crimestrikers helping to explore the Archive -- and protect it from those who still seek to destroy it.
76	* MadScientist: Two of them, both working for Outrage: weapons expert Dolores Dedmond and [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke monster-making geneticist]] Roderick Norco. Their GoodCounterpart, Esperanza Sixtos of the Crimestrikers, has [[LabcoatOfScienceAndMedicine the look]] and [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} the personality]], but is too heroic, ethical and safety-conscious to qualify.
77	* MechaMooks: The Slaydrones, the collective name for four varieties of KillerRobot that serve Outrage. The book [[LampshadeHanging notes]] that Vance likes to use them because "they always follow orders, never think for themselves, and can be deactivated between crimes."
78	* MixedAnimalSpeciesTeam: Both the Crimestrikers and most of the criminal organizations they fight fall under this trope. The sole exception is Warlord Rasavanto's Torrent Troopers, an army of [[ANaziByAnyOtherName racist]] Hydrerans, and even then Rasavanto will ally himself with land dwellers to further his goals -- or go after "[[CategoryTraitor race traitors]]" from his own species who oppose him, such as Donacina.
79	* MultinationalTeam: Both the Crimestrikers and Outrage.
80	* OneWordTitle: The name of the game itself (which doubles as a TeamTitle), as well as the episode seeds "I.T.T.T.", "Abandoned" and "Schemata".
81	* OneWorldOrder: Creaturia has a (mostly) benevolent world government, led by a parliamentary body-cum-FictionalUnitedNations called the Creaturian Council.
82	* OnlyOneName: The naming convention among both the Hydrerans and the dragons.
83	* OperationBlank: Operation Overnight, the Crimestrikers' "night shift" subteam which is comprised of members from nocturnal species.
84	* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Well, there's only one of them (at least for now) because of the [[FinalSolution dragon genocide]] in the distant past. Also, they were/are more like winged {{Draconic Humanoid}}s.
85	* OutlawTown: Neondis, a supervillain-friendly nation ruled by corruption and bribery, is a country-sized version of this trope. Its capital, Windfall City, is a more traditional example.
86	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Several examples.
87	** Commander Ahab's PARCH and Rasavanto's Torrent Troopers are on opposite sides of the land-dweller/Hydreran conflict, and each group is motivated by its hatred of the other.
88	** VigilanteMan The Righteous One and Outrage agent Willis Grubb are also bigoted against Hydrerans.
89	** Back in the Creaturian equivalent of DarkAgeEurope, Forster Burns of the Time Terror Team helped lead the anti-dragon genocide. In ThePresentDay, his fear and loathing of the species is unabated now that Arcana exists.
90	* QuestioningTitle: "Whatever Happened to the Dragons?"
91	* RealTime: "10 Minutes to Showtime", in which the Crimestrikers have 10 minutes to find a bomb before it destroys the Harbor Lights Drive-In, uses this. The InUniverse TV episode has a digital countdown on the screen, while gamers are encouraged to use a timer while searching for an object representing the bomb.
92	* ReformedCriminal: Car thief[=/=]BadassDriver G.T. Overley and ConArtist Beatrix "Trix" Condello, both of whom join the Crimestrikers to use their skills for good.
93	* RoguesGallery: Includes the forces of Outrage, Emperor Rasavanto and his Torrent Troopers, Commander Ahab and his PARCH agents, Steelwing, Major Scorn, and The Righteous One.
94	* SeriesContinuityError: Kali Kilbride's twin sister is referred to as Blythe throughout most of the book and Brigid in the synopsis of "My Sister, My Enemy". [[invoked]] WordOfGod says her actual name is Blythe.
95	* ShiningCity: Bonita Harbor, the exotic port city where both the Crimestrikers and the Creaturian Council are based. The book describes it as "UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco meets UsefulNotes/{{Auckland}} meets ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'''s Cape Suzette". It's also something of a HubCity, considering its political and cultural importance.
96	* SixthRanger: Technically, any Crimestriker who joined the team after the original mission with the first five.
97	* SomeKindOfForceField: In "10 Minutes to Showtime", the Crimestrikers can't just evacuate the endangered drive-in because Major Scorn has trapped everyone inside with a force field. One scene shows Liam Hiltebrand talking with his parents on opposite sides of the barrier.
98	* SuperSerum: Roderick Norco's FantasticDrug creation Smash, which gives its users SuperStrength.
99	** PsychoSerum: If the users take it too often, it turns them into [[HulkingOut hulking monsters]], but Outrage always forgets to mention that part...
100	* TheSyndicate: In the BackStory, Outrage was this until CIPO brought it down. Since the Quarry escape, Vance is working to revive the organization, but his plans are even more extensive.
101	* SyntheticPlague: The titular menace in "The Hydreran Plague", which is bioengineered by PARCH to affect only Hydrerans.
102	* ThouShaltNotKill: The Crimestrikers never kill anyone (or [[MurderByInaction allow anyone to die]]) for any reason.
103	* TimeTravel: It exists, but it's very limited. Outrage discovers Tempestium, a [[{{Unobtanium}} rare element]] that makes time travel possible, and uses it to bring three historical criminals called the Time Terror Team into the present. (Audrey Claymore also makes the trip by accident.)
104	* TimeTravelTaboo: Under orders from the Creaturian Council, CIPO agents round up all the Tempestium they can find and lock it away before it can be misused again. So the world is safe -- at least as long as no more Tempestium is discovered...
105	* TownWithADarkSecret: The subject of "A Friendly Little Town". Outrage [[TakingOverTheTown takes over]] the rural village of Pleasant Valley because it's the only source of a material they need. They maintain a facade of normality for people who are passing through, but most of the residents live in fear of their conquerors -- at least until Trix Condello and H.A.M.R. show up to help the local [[LaResistance resistance]].
106	* TrackingChip: The Bio Beacon, a device surgically implanted in each Crimestriker's brainstem. It also functions as an InUniverse LifeMeter, monitoring the health of each agent as well as their location.
107	* TrueCompanions: The Crimestrikers are unified by bonds of love and friendship as well as their mission to protect Creaturia.
108	* UnderwaterCity: Not surprisingly, Hydrera has several of them. The most prominent is the capital, Sharaneda, which is just off the coast of Bonita Harbor.
109	* WeaponizedCar: The Mob Mobile, a ''WesternAnimation/{{MASK}}''-style Outrage vehicle that looks like an ordinary sedan until its hidden weapons are deployed.
110	* TheWildWest: The Frontier Era, where Audrey Claymore and "Tombstone Tom" Thornfield come from, is the Creaturian equivalent.
111	* WorldOfFunnyAnimals: Creaturia, whose residents are all anthropomorphic animals.
112	* JustForFun/XMeetsY: ''Crimestrikers'' is basically ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' meets ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}''. Or, given the eighties cartoon theme of the system, possibly ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'' meets ''WesternAnimation/TheDisneyAfternoon''.

Context TabletopGame / Crimestrikers