Okay, we are now onto chapter 2: Character Creation. Expect many Mary Sue jokes. Oh, and to explain why there are three posts and yet there are two, I wanted to see what would happen if I were to erase it. Turns out that the blog would still exist. Okay, let’s read!
So the GM talks about creation and tells us how a couple of people made their characters. One is Sailor Mercury, another is Alexander who becomes Crimson Blade, and another is Chad, who becomes... Sailor... Nebula... Is this the dude with the messy hair? The guy who always hits on Raye? Oh God, I am seeing him in a skirt! Ahh! {Jumps out window}. There is a list of steps one must take to create their character. Step one: Secure the keys (Yes, you will have to put up with the Vorkuta jokes as well) Discuss with the GM. It’s pretty much just how to set up your campaign. In this case, our players have decided to have it set during the Doom Tree arc (Early on in the second season) and that it will be dramatic.
Step two: Ascend from darkness Outlining your character. This step asks us if we want to be a scout, and if so, what kind (Inner, Outer, or Other). Other options include being a relative of a character (Hello! I just happen to be Serena’s long lost sister from America! And I have her powers!) or an original character (Hello! My name is Tsukasa, I have no memory and I can transform into... Wrong show!). I like how the book tells us that it is somewhat not normal for men to become Sailor Scouts and recommend we go for the Gender Bender route. But I liked the idea of a crossdressing Chad... Sad face. However, it does tell us about the Knights, which I will restate: I only remember one guy who was a Knight! The book also tells us that we should go the Tommy-route if we are to play the villains, because you know, you can’t have a villain and a hero in the same group without one of them doing a turn. Don’t feel like playing as a Scout, Knight, or Villain? Then just play as a Monster of the Week or one of the animal mentors. In a box, we see who are players are playing as, and I am very disappointed that Chad went with the Gender Bender route. If you excuse me, I will go watch the crossdressing scene from Persona4 to remedy this.
(Ten minutes later)
Oh, Teddie, you know how to make me laugh. Anyways, Step three: Rain fire assign stats. The stats are Body, Mind, and Soul. Next page and we see a Sailor Says. It says, “Kids, there’s nothing more cool-” NO! SHE IS TALKING ABOUT BEAUTY BEING IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER! So there are two methods of dealing stats, either you can use a set amount of points or you can roll your stats and then add points to them. Our players went with the former so is to avoid overpowered characters. And I just like the picture on page 28 as it looks like something Outta The BLAM would use as an avatar.
Step four: Unleash the horde Give the characters attributes. It’s the average GURPS style “you have this many points you can give to your character and give them abilities. But let’s see the abilities for ourselves, shall we? First we have Scout/Knight powers. The book describes the Knights being in formal wear. This is only based on Tuxedo Mask. So is Moonlight Knight’s outfit formal as well? A more appropriate description is uniform. Because Fukus are school uniforms, so a knight’s should me a more graduated version, like a work uniform... no wait, Constructor Goggles sounds bad, let’s go back to formal wear. So we are told about the scouts, which is what any fan of the show would know about the Scouts (for those who don’t know, they are Princesses of their respective planet with a elemental power), but the Knights take the cake. Instead of Princes, they are guardians of their respective planets, and instead of elemental powers, they are influenced by emotions, like hope, fear, compassion... You know what, just give the Knights a bloody ring and they can just be called Lanterns, because that’s where you are going with this. Oh and they share a bond with the Scout and try to justify why they can pull of Big Damn Heroes Once an Episode. Both Scouts and Knights can talk with one another via telepathy (Well, it is more complicated than that). It also mentions transformations but the less I get into making the usual joke with that, the better. (Instead, I ask you to watch the Robot Chicken sketch)
So, on to our first attribute: Animal Guardians. Now you too can have your own nanny in the form of a cat. Or a bat. Or any other animal you can think of. Yes, even aliens count. That would be funny to see someone’s mentor being a Xenomorph.
Next attribute is the ability to combine powers. No, not like Captain Planet, but combining attacks, or combining powers to teleport (or any other thing you can’t do alone) or simply channeling your energy to one person.
Next is power over the elements (For the Scouts) and the emotions (for the Knights). Basic run of the mill stuff. Except for the examples it gives: according to the chart, a person mastered in the power of water could break a dam by pressurizing the water at level 3, sink a cruiser via whirlpool at level 5, and destroy entire cities with a tsunami at level 6. Uh... that’s the kind of thing A VILLAIN would do! However, power over gravity gives off better sounding examples. Over onto emotions and we see that Darien’s power his Hope, which explains why after he pulls off a Big Damn Heroes do the scouts get off their lazy asses and defeat the monster. Knights can influence the feelings of people. Which leads to the awkward examples: First there is Anger, level 1 is simply making someone irritated, but as the level increases, so does the intensity. Level 4 has that guy beat someone up for no reason and level 6 makes that guy an outright murderer. Knights can be assholes that way. Next we have love. This works somewhat like C.C.’s Geass, as opposed to “Love Me!”, the knight has the power to tell someone to “Love Someone Else!” Though this could lead to “Love Me!” if said person the Knight is trying to get someone to love is the Knight himself. I know these are just examples, but this could turn into downright abuse. This, however, would be something I would see in an episode of Sailor Moon. Therefore, it makes sense for the examples to show how they can be abused. Then again, we do have the animal mentors to try to stop the heroes from swaying in this path.
Let us move on to the next attribute. The use of a device. This could be a weapon, or a disguise pen. Each level offers a level of advantage to the user. For example, while a disguise pen would have little advantage (really?), the Silver Crystal provides a huge advantage. I can see how the device’s measures sum up “how well they do in the fight against evil” but I can at least think of a few more good things to do with a pen compared to a crystal. For one, disguising yourself as the villain’s crush, and then when that villain is distracted, stab them in the back. I know that is cheating, but the book offers the power to level cities with tidal waves.
Next is Knight Attacks. You know how in Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask makes his entrances by throwing a rose at the monster? Yeah, that’s the ability. This ability gives you the power to throw random, non-combat items at monsters. Oh, and they change when a Knight’s emotional influence has changed.
Next is healing. Some activate when in the presence of another Knight or Scout, and some activate during combat. Nothing special about that.
Next up is the Sailor Attacks, which is basically an elemental attack. There is even some Pokemon-esqe rule on how conflicting elements affect the damage (Mercury used Bubblebeam! It’s Super Effective!). Alright, we are done with this post, as it became too long. Next post will focus on the villains, and their awesome powers... If they have any.
