Toon (role-playing game)
|
|
Toon is a role-playing game in which the players take the roles of cartoon characters. It is subtitled The Cartoon Roleplaying Game.
Toon was designed by Greg Costikyan and developed by Warren Spector, and first published in 1984 by Steve Jackson Games.
Although Toon is a genuine role-playing game requiring the participation of players and a game master (called the "Animator" here), it is designed with a tongue-in-cheek style that deliberately parodies many of the conventions of more standard, "serious" role-playing games.
For instance, in Toon the players' characters don't die - ever. 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). Unlike most games, however, when a character is reduced to zero hit points he does not die or fall unconscious, but falls 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. 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".
The game encourages players to be 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). In addition, characters can have optional "Shticks", which give them unusual cartoon-like abilities, such as flying or invisibility.
Although Toon is careful to avoid any copyright violations, it is clear that the game was inspired by the classic Warner Brothers cartoons of the 1940s through the '60s, and characters such as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.
Toon books
- Toon: The Cartoon Roleplaying Game - 1984, out of print.
- Toon Silly Stuff - 1985, out of print.
- Son of Toon - 1985, out of print.
- Toon Strikes Again - 1985, out of print.
- Toon: The Cartoon Roleplaying Game (Deluxe Edition) - 1991. Incorporates all material from the original edition, plus Toon Silly Stuff, Son of Toon, and Toon Strikes Again.
- Tooniversal Tour Guide - 1992.
- Toon Tales - 1993.
- Toon Ace Catalog - 1994.
See also
External link
- Toon: The Cartoon Roleplaying Game (http://www.sjgames.com/toon/)it:Toon