So, looking for some advice here, need to find a decent anime or furry type rpg for my teenage daughter. Something without too many adult themes, kinda light on the system complexity. She enjoys DnD and pathfinder, that would be the upper end of system complexity I would want.
I've considered Lo5R and Exalted, but never played either.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
D&D and Pathfinder being pretty high on the system complexity scale, finding things that are simpler should be fairly simple.
For anime, I really like Big Eyes, Small Mouth a generic system designed to have an anime feel. Haven't had much chance to play it, but I quite enjoy it. It's also got a lot of optional side-bars and rules to slide the complexity and grittiness up and down.
I've also heard good things about Ironclaw for furry type stuff. Haven't read it myself, however.
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Not sure your use of "furry" is correct.....
I have not used MouseGuard myself, but it sounds like maybe it is what you are looking for.
BESM, Ryuutama, Make You Kingdom, OVA
BESM and OVA are probably your best bet
You could try Maid rpg and Golden Sky Stories, through you might need to trim down some of the weirder stuff from maid.
Exalted is primarily anime-esque in terms of the visuals, weaponry, and combat.
Huge swords, exotic hair colours, impractical outfits, giant fighting machine frames, ridiculous combat manoeuvres, all part of the system.
Exalted would be excellent for running a shonen style game (think Bleach or One Piece), but not great for a slice of life serial. I preferred the first edition, personally. The second edition made the combat more complex and complicated.
Thanks folks, not really my area of interest, so I needed some starting points to know where to look.
I also recommend BESM
Also, for a furry/anthro game that is rules light I can say that Furry Pirates is also pretty good.
If you want fairly familiar game mechanics, there is a D20 version of BESM which had (? has) it's own SRD as well... anyway the D20 revised BESM is available on Drivethrough RPG (as is the 3rd edition of the Tri-stat BESM).
There is one for Tenchi Muyo too. Exalted is neat, but you probably want the soon-to-come third edition.
there is always Maid the Roleplaying game
Maid has some "adult themes"; I would recommend OVA, which just released an updated version of its rules. It's a pretty flexible system, with a fairly simple dice mechanic.
Maid has some "adult themes"; I would recommend OVA, which just released an updated version of its rules. It's a pretty flexible system, with a fairly simple dice mechanic.
depnds how you play it. They are pretty easy to remove and focus on the wackyness
What about the secrets of cats it's a pretty highly rated Fate suppliment
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Maid has some "adult themes"; I would recommend OVA, which just released an updated version of its rules. It's a pretty flexible system, with a fairly simple dice mechanic.
From what I have read of maid, those 'adult themes' are entirely at the Ecchi end of the spectrum. They are about as 'adult' as an episode of Ranma 1/2 or a 'carry on' film.
High School Harem Comedy looks freaking hilarious. Yandere all the way, every time...Every. Time.
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Maid has some "adult themes"
Taken from the introduction from the English version:
In the first release of the game, there were some questions from people who read the Maid RPG about the sexualized content in the game. Just like most of your garden variety anime, the Maid book contains some nods to the kinds of sexual content you can generally find in anime: Brief, random, silly, and totally not dwelled upon too long: Panty shots (reference: See 90% of All Anime), stealing underwear, bondage gear, “Madame/Queen” style characters, lecherous characters, etc. Mostly inside jokes for other anime fiends, who have seen that kind of thing on the TV screen.
But look back at the anime you’ve watched or the manga you’ve read: Unless you’re downloading hardcore porn (which is not what this game is about), the situations never lead to actual sexual contact between the characters. Lecherous masters or maids may make a pass at a pretty girl (or boy), but they always get what’s coming to them, and relatively quickly: Giant Anime Hammers, wielded by the other maids, fall when the master tries something lecherous or “Ecchi”. The dark madame may show up in bondage gear looking to punish the maids, but quickly is overcome by the other characters or just random happenstance (slipping on banana peels, tripping down stairs, etc). Actual sex in a comedy anime simply never happens: It never gets that far.
You’ll find light sexualized content in any anime: it’s just the way it is over there. For this game, though, what you should be doing with Maid is keeping it on that anime level. In movie terms, keep your “Maid RPG” anime at a “PG” or “PG-13” level. The lecherous characters never have their way: The other characters - or circumstance - stops them quickly each and every time (keep this in mind as you read through the game rules dialogue, “Master Kamiya” may do something lecherous, but he gets his ass handed to him over and over again). The sex never escalates beyond the level – if reaching that level at all – of “stealing panties” or “peeking in the shower”. There’s no sexualized violence, and no abject uncontested dominance or humiliation in comedy anime; it simply is not a part of that scene. Keep it that way in your games as well.
Again, most folks who have seen any anime already know this, and will fall into this "PG-13" zone pretty quickly: Everyone tends to be on the same page in regards to treating any sexual content lightly (if it appears at all: In most games it simply doesn't), and not as the focus of the game. In the last six months of watching games play out in real life and online, we’ve seen this in action: All games were mostly played out as intended: “PG” to “PG-13” rated comedy romps. Remember this as you sit down to play with your friends. Your game can get as light or dark as you want, but the sexualized content was meant to be ephemeral to the game, and not the focus. If you feel that your friends are playing up those aspects too much, or you feel that the game is getting “creepy”, then let them know right away so that it can be steered back on course: If sex happens, you’re playing the game wrong. If dominance or humiliation happens and goes unchecked by the other characters (controlled by the players) or circumstance controlled by the GM), again, you’re playing the game wrong.
So with that in mind, get out there and play!
High School Harem Comedy looks freaking hilarious. Yandere all the way, every time...Every. Time.
OMG yes! The opportunity to play a Yandere character would be so much fun.
"But Akio-kun, this way we can be together forever." *Snuggles up to the bound young man, then pulls the cord attatched to the lid of the chest freezer, so it closes them in together.*
Tenra Bansho Zero is a translation of a Japanese RPG and has a unique feel all of its own. Fabulous artwork too.
While not a traditional anime game, it can easily be played that way. It's basically St Trinians the RPG, but allows for weird/mad science, summoning eldritch horrors and so on as well.
From the product page:
St Erisian's school for girls has stood for over a hundred years and survived war, plague, famine, demonic attack, strange explosions in the science block and countless attempts to get it closed by the government.
However, to be fair, not all of these disasters were the fault of the girls who study there.
Hellcats and Hockeysticks is a Role-playing game in which your characters are among the most feared and disreputable creatures of all - Schoolgirls!
At St Erisian's the girls are taught to be curious, forthright, inventive and above all, what they want to be, and to give hell to anyone who tries to stop them.
I think it could easily be run as an anime themed game set in a school, or even just shift the setting. The system uses d6s only and is pretty simple.
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No one's mentioned Anima Prime yet, so I'll give the pitch for that one.
It's a game of high-flying anime fantasy in the style of Final Fantasy. It's not really a game for emulating the actual combat mechanics of the Final Fantasy games, it's for emulating the high-flying action that always seems to take place when the game takes over for you and you get to watch a cutscene where the characters do all kinds of cool s%$&.
The game uses a simple dice pool system with three distinct pools: Action Dice, Strike Dice and Charge Dice. You use Action Dice to do maneuvers, which are basically just descriptive stunts that you do to gather Strike and Charge Dice. Strike Dice are used for actual attacks, while Charge Dice are used for powering your character's various supernatural abilities.
The thing is, at the start of each scene you only start with Action Dice. This means that there's no alpha-striking in the game. Your first actions will be spent narrating cool backflips, suppressive fire, maybe even clashing swords with the enemy, but no damage will be exchanged during the first exchanges of a conflict.
The game's assumed setting is very much a Final Fantasy 7, 8, 10 and 13-ish mix of futuristic and fantasy elements, but since very little of the game's system is tied to the actual setting it easily adapts to almost any kind of setting.
Speaking of adapting it to various settings, there's Rookvale, which is an adaptation of Anima Prime's system for... well, grimdark Pokemon is what I've heard it being called. It's actually pretty awesome. It's got that whole Attack on Titan feel of an isolated human kingdom suddenly getting invaded by an outside threat (demons in this case) and the players having to fight the threat with sword and spell and, of course, binding the demons to their will and sending them to fight each other.
I suggest you check out Anima Prime if you want a "vanilla" version of the system, but Rookvale is such a fantastic adaptation of the system that I can't not mention it.
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Oh, and now I actually read the OP properly.
It sounds to me like you want Golden Sky Stories. It's a Japanese RPG that's been translated into English about cute little shapeshifting animal people helping people with their daily troubles in a magical realist rural Japan.
It has both the anime and the "furry" bits, as in your characters are literally animals that can shapeshift into humans, with a human form with animal features in between (not like an anthropomorphic animal, more like human with bunny ears and tail).
It's basically the most ^_^ RPG I've ever had the pleasure of reading, and it's very much about coming up with non-violent solutions to problems. It's good for "little stories," self-contained sessions that last at most two hours, but you can chain those stories into an extended series easily. It's perfect for emulating the feel of slice of life anime.
Thanks for all the help folks, went with Iron Claw, has beena big hit, she loves it!
Tenra Bansho Zero is a translation of a Japanese RPG and has a unique feel all of its own. Fabulous artwork too.
I recently took a look a Tenra Bansho, that has some facinating gaming ideas built into it. Definately something I have to run at some point
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Double Cross also gets a recommendation for anyone else interested. It's another Japanese RPG, based in a modern or near-future Earth where the spread of a virus-like entity causes people to gain superhuman abilities. If you've ever wanted to run a game in the vein of a chuunibyou anime like Darker than Black or Tokyo Ghoul, it's the game for you.
I've heard good things about Double Cross, but never checked it out. It sounds like a pretty cool game, and I especially like the fact that it's got mechanical support for playing the same character in other groups or even having rotating GMs.
Although as far as I've understood it, Japanese RPGs have sort of developed in a different direction in this regard: I know I'm speaking in generalities, but supposedly Japanese RPGs are more geared towards one-shot play, with players taking their characters from one GM's game to another, and there isn't really a concept of a grand campaign. You can even see this type of design in the aforementioned Golden Sky Stories: even though characters start each game with connections between each other and the town they are in, at the end of each session these connections are erased and turned into memories. This allows for taking your Golden Sky Stories character from one GM's game to another, since connections are done at the beginning of each session and even moving between towns you will always have connections to the people in the new town.
Teenagers From Outer Space.
I see that Iron Claw has already been a big hit, but I too advocate for the original game of Manga, Mutants, and Mayhem. You know. If you ever feel like running a game deeply steeped in the humor of Rumiko Takahashi. ;)
Teenagers From Outer Space.I see that Iron Claw has already been a big hit, but I too advocate for the original game of Manga, Mutants, and Mayhem. You know. If you ever feel like running a game deeply steeped in the humor of Rumiko Takahashi. ;)
...I think I remember that game....I played Athena, who had retired from being a Goddess of war and become a waitress at a fast food place
the rest is hazy but brings up memories of wtf?
Representing Giant Allege. In the post-robopocalypse world of Ground Judge (which may just be Australia), crime and war are just parts of everyday life. Players take the role of lawyers, the sole arbiters of justice and the most powerful beings in Ground Judge. What makes lawyers so powerful? Simple: They pilot giant robots in a world where the justice of the courts is determined by giant robot duels.
... so it's Phoenix Wright meets any one of a thousand mecha anime...
Where has this game been all my life?!
it's Big O!!
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BESM is actually a great system. I'm actually torn between which I prefer, the 2nd or the 3rd edition.
BESM d20 is a lot like most of the other d20 translations of other rule systems that came out during 3.0 and early 3.5....it's playable if someone in your group absolutely refuses to play non-d20 games, but it looses the essence.
TOON and Mouse Guard are both great, fun games that are relatively rules lite.
Mouse Guard has a fairly positive following.
Teenagers from outer space,
Big eyes, small mouth,
Tales from the floating vagabond,
are all fairly light/fun. (i'm partial to floating vagabond for it's brand of humor)
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Ryuutama has manga style art and a very upbeat feel. The English translation was successfully kickstarted and the book will be ready to ship in early Oct. You get a free pdf of the rules now if you buy it.
I ordered my copy last week. The rules are on the lite side. I don't have any kids, but if I did and they liked anime, I would definitely play this RPG with them.
Not sure I'll be able to sell my DnD5E group on it, but I'm interested to read the rules anyway. It's core concepts were enough to intrigue me.
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Ryuutama has manga style art and a very upbeat feel. The English translation was successfully kickstarted and the book will be ready to ship in early Oct. You get a free pdf of the rules now if you buy it.
I ordered my copy last week. The rules are on the lite side. I don't have any kids, but if I did and they liked anime, I would definitely play this RPG with them.
Not sure I'll be able to sell my DnD5E group on it, but I'm interested to read the rules anyway. It's core concepts were enough to intrigue me.
Yeah, Ryuutama is cool and good.
I highly recommend the Anima: Beyond Fantasy RPG by Fantasy Flight Games
I highly recommend the Anima: Beyond Fantasy RPG by Fantasy Flight GamesThere's a caveat here. Anima was originally in Spanish, and FFG's budget for translating it amounted to the change between the couch cushions. No human translator ever actually touched Anima. The whole thing was machine-translated. The books aren't unreadable, but there's a lot of phrasing ambiguity. You definitely want someone who knows the game already with you if you want to play Anima.
Hahaha if you only knew, the Spanish version of Anima is just as bad... Sadly... :'(
But thanks for stating that. It is a very important point with Anima
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Isn't Anima: Beyond Fantasy basically just Rolemaster with gunblades and Final Fantasy style summons? Because Rolemaster owns.
E: Speaking of Final Fantasy, there's a rules light easily reskinnable tactical combat RPG called Strike! out there and I know for a fact that someone is already using it to run a Final Fantasy Tactics RPG on Roll20. Strike! owns.
E: Also, Strike! has rules in the back for running a campaign that's basically Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I believe is also an anime
Isn't Anima: Beyond Fantasy basically just Rolemaster with gunblades and Final Fantasy style summons? Because Rolemaster owns.
E: Speaking of Final Fantasy, there's a rules light easily reskinnable tactical combat RPG called Strike! out there and I know for a fact that someone is already using it to run a Final Fantasy Tactics RPG on Roll20. Strike! owns.
E: Also, Strike! has rules in the back for running a campaign that's basically Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I believe is also an anime
Avatar isn't anime, though it's a common misconception. Western series with a lot of influence from anime.