| The Cartoon Roleplaying Game | |
|---|---|
 Cover by Kyle Miller | |
| Designers | |
| Publishers | Steve Jackson Games |
| Publication | 1984 |
| Genres | Comedy |
| Systems | Custom |
Toon is a comedy tabletop role-playing game in which the players take the roles of cartoon characters. [1] [2] It is subtitled The Cartoon Roleplaying Game. [3] Toon was designed by Greg Costikyan and developed by Warren Spector, and first published in 1984 by Steve Jackson Games. [2] [3]
Jeff Dee came up with the idea of creating a role-playing game based on cartoons when he and Greg Costikyan were talking with several other designers about genres that no one had designed game systems for; although they agreed that such a game would be impossible to design, Costikyan designed Toon a few years later as a full game with the assistance of Warren Spector. [4]
Although Toon is a genuine role-playing game requiring the participation of players and a game master (called the "Animator"), it is designed with a tongue-in-cheek style that deliberately parodies many of the conventions of more standard, "serious" role-playing games.
In Toon the player characters never die. [1] As in many role-playing games, characters have hit points, which are deducted when the character is injured (usually in combat, or by having anvils fall on them). When characters are reduced to zero hit points they do not die or fall unconscious, but fall down. Since cartoon characters never actually die, and always return in time for the next scene, a fallen down character returns to play a set time later, with all hit points restored.
This lack of true "character death" is also designed to encourage players to deliberately abandon the skills and reflexes they learned in other games, namely to have their characters able to solve problems and fight enemies while staying alive. [5] According to the game's rules, the two prime directives for Toon players to follow are "Forget Everything You Know" and "Act Before You Think". [1]
The game encourages players to have fun above all other considerations – even to the point of breaking the rules of the game. If the players and the Animator agree that a players' actions in a game are funny and enjoyable, then that players' actions are allowed and encouraged. This can be seen as a way for players to "break the fourth wall" in the game, in the same way that animated cartoons often ignore reality for the sake of laughs.
The game uses a very simple skill-based task resolution system based on a list of only 23 skills that cover all possible character actions. These are assigned to four controlling attributes, humorously named "Muscle" (strength), "Zip" (dexterity and speed), "Smarts" (intelligence) and "Chutzpah" (pushiness and self-confidence). [3] In addition, characters can have optional "Shticks", which give them unusual cartoon-like abilities, such as flying or invisibility.
The game was inspired by the classic Warner Bros. cartoons of the 1930s through the 1960s, and characters such as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, but Steve Jackson Games is careful to avoid any copyright violations. For example, there is an "Ace Corporation" in Toon products (instead of the Acme Corporation), and the writers' guidelines for Toon prohibit the use of the word "toon" to mean "a cartoon character". [6]
In the December 1984 edition of Dragon (Issue #92), Michael Dobson commented that the game "appears at first glance to be an elaborate joke." But then he went on to say that "Toon is a genuinely good idea – an original (if unlikely) concept in role-playing – that is enjoyable, fast-moving, and incredibly silly." Dobson liked the simplicity of the rules system, and concluded with a strong recommendation, saying, "Inspired silliness – the very heart of this game." [8]
In the December 1984 edition of Imagine (Issue #21), Mike Lewis liked the game, stating, "Toon is a very refreshing change from the usual run-of-the-mill rpgs which have been appearing recently. The game very firmly puts a sense of humour back into rpgs. If you are interested in cartoons, then Toon is an essential purchase – but even if you aren't, try it for a change. I am very impressed with the ideas behind this game and hope that it gets more support than most minority RPGs have done in the past. It deserves it." [9]
In the January–February 1985 edition of Space Gamer (No. 72), R.A. Greer gave a positive review, commenting, "Toon is a quick cure for all your roleplaying ills, a fast-acting balm to be applied directly to your funny bone, speeding you back to those uncomplicated days of roleplaying when it was fun!" [10]
In the January–February 1985 edition of Different Worlds (Issue #38), Larry DiTillio found much to like and gave the game a solid three stars out of four. He called the character generation rules "dirt simple", and found that resolving skills "is even easier than generating characters." He also admired the writing style, saying "[Greg] Costikyan has clarity, wit, and the good sense to be brief, as well as an obvious love for cartoons. The rulebook not only reads quickly and easily, it makes you eager to play the game." DiTillio concluded "for a few hours of silliness, Toon can't be beat and is a refreshing change from the ofttimes leaden pace of other role-playing games. It's fast, it's fun, it's simple." [11]
In the March 1985 edition of White Dwarf (Issue #63), Stephen Kyle gave the game an excellent overall rating of 9 out of 10, stating that "all of us have favourite cartoons or characters and Toon enables you to recreate them easily and with a lot of fun." [12]
In the April 1989 edition of Dragon (Issue #144), Jim Bambra took a retrospective look at the then five-year old game, and called it "a classic – a game which deserves the attention of everyone looking for a dramatic change of pace and emphasis in their role-playing." Bambra complimented the easy rules and flexible system, and concluded, "I highly recommend it as an evening’s entertainment and as a cure to role-playing blues. Buy a copy if you are in a silly mood or need to be cheered up." [13]
In his 1990 book The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games , game critic Rick Swan commented "If not the funniest RPG ... Toon is certainly the oddest ... It's a world of utter anarchy." Swan admired the creative list of skills and the Fifty Percent rule used by referees in ambiguous situations. However, Swan warned "Any game as freeform as Toon depends heavily on the improvisational skills of the referee, which is the game's major drawback." Despite this, Swan concluded by giving the game an excellent rating of 3.5 out of 4, saying, "In the hands of a witty referee and a group of receptive players, Toon can be hilarious, an excellent introductory game for novices, and a delightful change of pace for veterans." [14]
Marvel Super Heroes (MSH) is a licensed role playing game set in the Marvel Universe, first published by TSR in 1984. The game lets players assume the roles of Marvel superheroes such as Spider-Man, Daredevil, Hulk, Captain America, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men. The game was designed to be easily understood, and this approach proved popular. TSR published an expanded edition, Marvel Superheroes Advanced Game in 1986.
Star Frontiers is a science fiction role-playing game produced by TSR from 1982 to 1985. The game offers a space opera action-adventure setting.
Paranoia is a dystopian science-fiction tabletop role-playing game originally designed and written by Greg Costikyan, Dan Gelber, and Eric Goldberg, and first published in 1984 by West End Games. Since 2004 the game has been published under license by Mongoose Publishing. The game won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Rules of 1984 and was inducted into the Origins Awards Hall of Fame in 2007. Paranoia is notable among tabletop games for being more competitive than co-operative, with players encouraged to betray one another for their own interests, as well as for keeping a light-hearted, tongue in cheek tone despite its dystopian setting.
Chill is an investigative and modern horror role-playing game originally published by Pacesetter Ltd in 1984 that captures the feel of 20th-century horror films.
Warren Evan Spector is an American role-playing and video game designer, director, writer, producer and production designer. He is known for creating immersive sim games, which give players a wide variety of choices in how to progress. Consequences of those choices are then shown in the simulated game world in subsequent levels or missions. He is best known for the critically acclaimed video game Deus Ex that embodies the choice and consequence philosophy while combining elements of the first-person shooter, role-playing, and adventure game genres. In addition to Deus Ex, Spector is known for his work while employed by Looking Glass Studios, where he was involved in the creation of several acclaimed titles including Ultima Underworld, Ultima Underworld II, System Shock, and Thief: The Dark Project. He is employed by OtherSide Entertainment, where he was part of the development team for now-cancelled System Shock 3. He is currently working on a new immersive sim based on an original intellectual property.
Top Secret is an espionage-themed tabletop role-playing game written by Merle M. Rasmussen and first published in 1980 by TSR, Inc.
Greg Costikyan, sometimes known under the pseudonym "Designer X", is an American game designer and science fiction writer. Costikyan's career spans nearly all extant genres of gaming, including: hex-based wargames, role-playing games, boardgames, card games, computer games, online games, and mobile games. Several of his games have won Origins Awards. He co-founded Manifesto Games, now out of business, with Johnny Wilson in 2005.
The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game is a fantasy role-playing game published by Palladium Books in 1983.
James Bond 007: Role-Playing In Her Majesty's Secret Service is a spy fiction tabletop role-playing game based on the James Bond books and films. It is designed by Gerard Christopher Klug and was published by Victory Games, a subsidiary of Avalon Hill. The game and its supplements were published from 1983 until 1987, when the license lapsed. At its time of publication, it was the most popular espionage role-playing game.
Ghostbusters is a comedy role-playing game published by West End Games (WEG) in 1986 that is based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters.
Bushido is a Samurai role-playing game set in Feudal Japan, originally designed by Robert N. Charrette and Paul R. Hume and published originally by Tyr Games, then Phoenix Games, and subsequently by Fantasy Games Unlimited. The setting for the game is a land called Nippon, and characters adventure in this heroic, mythic, and fantastic analogue of Japan's past.
Lords of Creation is a multi-genre tabletop role-playing game published by Avalon Hill in 1983. Although expectations were high when Avalon Hill entered the role-playing game market, the game failed to find an audience and was discontinued relatively quickly.
Timemaster is a role-playing game centered on traveling through time and alternate dimensions, published by Pacesetter Ltd in 1984. Players take on the role of Time Corps agents who fix deviations in the timeline of the game. The primary antagonists are the Demoreans, a fictional race of shape-shifting aliens from another dimension who are determined to mold time to suit their needs.
The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game is a licensed pulp style action-adventure role-playing game published by TSR in 1984 that is based on the Indiana Jones movie franchise.
Sandman: Map of Halaal is a role-playing game (RPG) published by Pacesetter Ltd in 1985 that was marketed as an "Instant Adventure" requiring no preparation by the players — their characters awake with amnesia and must struggle to discover who they are. Map of Halaal was the first in a planned trilogy of Sandman adventures, but Pacesetter went out of business before the rest of the series could be published.
The Bullwinkle and Rocky Role-Playing Party Game is a role-playing game published by TSR in 1988. It is based on characters and settings from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.
Masks of Nyarlathotep, subtitled Perilous Adventures to Thwart the Dark God, is an adventure campaign first published by Chaosium in 1984 for the second edition of the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu. A number of revised editions have subsequently been published. Masks of Nyarlathotep is a series of several sequential adventures set in the 1920s that take the player characters from New York, to London, Cairo, Nairobi, and Shanghai as they deal with the threat of the god Nyarlathotep. Screenwriter Larry DiTillio wrote the adventure with game designer Lynn Willis during a writer's strike. It received positive reviews in game periodicals including Casus Belli, The Space Gamer, White Dwarf, Different Worlds, and Dragon, and is considered to be one of the best roleplaying adventures of all time.
The Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep is an adventure campaign published by Chaosium in 1996 for the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu; it is the third edition of the adventure campaign Masks of Nyarlathotep originally published in 1984. It is a series of several sequential adventures set in the 1920s that take the player characters from New York, to London, Cairo, Nairobi, and Shanghai as they deal with the threat of the god Nyarlathotep. The Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep is a revised and expanded version of the original adventure scenario with additional material by new authors. It won an Origins Award and received positive reviews in game periodicals including Arcane and Dragon.
The End is a role-playing game published by Scapegoat Games in 1995.
Galaxy Guide 2: Yavin and Bespin is a supplement published by West End Games in 1989 for the science fiction role-playing game Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, which itself is based on Star Wars.
| Authority control databases: National |
|---|
