And then a thought occured to me......there will NEVER be a Masters of the Universe d20 game. Granted, He-Man was a really hokey cartoon, but the 2002 relaunch made it a viable fantasy setting.....owned by Mattel.
I seriously doubt Mattel would ever support Hasbro, even indirectly by going through another RPG publisher, but it was a fun idea.
Has anyone else had this notion, or is there existing material online for a d20 He-Man game?
Hey, that was inspired by D&D...
Has anyone else had this notion, or is there existing material online for a d20 He-Man game?
I've come across some MotU d20 material online before. I don't recall where, and I have no idea if it's still out there.
Granted, He-Man was a really hokey cartoon, but the 2002 relaunch made it a viable fantasy setting
Yes, the cartoon was hokey. I'm not familiar with the relaunch, but I liked the little booklets that came with the original toys. Not the comics that added some of the bad stuff from the cartoon, but the original (I think there were four) booklets that showed He-Man leaving his barbarian tribe to fight evil. The setting info was minimal, but it provided the basics of a potentially interesting campaign, if tweaked properly. It could, for example, be made more gritty, like Conan's Hyborian Age. (He-Man was supposed to be based on Conan, after all, until they realized that the Conan stories weren't suitable for children.)
If anyone can find them out there, the Skeletor ones interesting (in a marilyn-manson kind of way), but my favourite is definately Buzz Off. Bee-Men ftw!
I was pondering various sources that would make good fantasy d20 games that haven't already been done- or don't have a close enough counterpart. There's Arthurian games, Conan, Slaine, all the WotC campaign settings, even computer games like Diablo and WoW.
I'm not entirely sure of your phrasing but do you mean that those settings haven't been made into D20 games? Because I know at least Conan, Diablo and WoW have.... WoW twice.
How about Thundarr the Barbarian D20? I just want to hear my players scream "Ariel, Uklah! We Ride!"
I've thought of making a campaign that contained elements of Thundarr.
Anyway, Pound Puppies, the RPG, never gonna happen.
How about Thundarr the Barbarian D20? I just want to hear my players scream "Ariel, Uklah! We Ride!"
man, I loved that cartoon as a kid. It was my all time favorite
How about Thundarr the Barbarian D20? I just want to hear my players scream "Ariel, Uklah! We Ride!"
Back in the day our gm did a thundaar setting for 1st edition he also did a The Land setting it was fun to be a urvile
So yeah. Pirates of Darkwater D20
Here's one that not too many people are likely to remeber but man it would have been cool. There used to be this cartoon on called The Pirates of Darkwater. It had magic, it had Pirates (obviously) and it had a geeky talking monkey bird.
So yeah. Pirates of Darkwater D20
I use to love that cartoon although I wanted to kill that stupid monkey bird
ElfQuest anybody?
Yes, please!
But preferably by Mongoose for their RuneQuest game. Havard
Here's one that not too many people are likely to remeber but man it would have been cool. There used to be this cartoon on called The Pirates of Darkwater. It had magic, it had Pirates (obviously) and it had a geeky talking monkey bird.
So yeah. Pirates of Darkwater D20
I always really liked the Niddler the monkeybird. Really, his comic relief had a dark element that gets over looked, he was a slave that was basically kept nearly starving by his master. He was definitely done best in the first few episodes of the show, and the character went a bit down hill after that, but he was one of the few comic relief characters in a cartoon that didn't annoy me.
The monkeybirds really were a pretty well done race I thought. Humans looked down upon them as just beasts, and treated them as such, but they really were just as intelligent as human beings. They lived in colonies like bees with only one fertile female at any given time, and had huge communal nests. I'd like to do a D20 write up for them as a race at some point, because the ones I've seen were not true to the race's fluff, and one I saw was just grabbing fluff and mechanics from the aarakocra, which really doesn't work.
Anyhow there was a Pirates of Darkwater RPG, I don't remember it very well but I think it was D20, and I don't remember being impressed with it.
Both Pirates of Darkwater and He-man could be really awesome if done for a more mature audience. The newest He-man cartoon was really well done too.
I started a thread where I'm trying to make monkeybirds, and hopefully some other Pirates of Darkwater creatures and some classes in D20. I need help though.
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=959891
He-man would be great to do to, I know people have tried, but once again I haven't seen any really impressive attempts at it.
To be honest im not so hot on He Man, Kinda cheesy if u ask me:D But the "Pirates of Dark Water" CPS would be interesting. I remember watching that show as a kid, it scared the hell outa me when the dudes fell in the water lol!
PS!!! Lodoss Wars would be a WICKED setting!!!!!
... better, but still kinda kiddy. Now, if you just took the basic elements of He-man, and threw a darker tone to it, you could have something there. It also can't be called "HE MAN" lol;)I means... Morrowind, Ovlivion, all that... It should be EASY to adapt to D20 in theory - it have a certain tolkienesque feel. And for videogames, they are very detailed - lot of game lore.
1) Everyone would want to be He-Man (or perhaps She-Ra) and nobody else, since he has the power and the other caracters, tough as they may be, look puny by comparison. Just imagine:
[indent]Player1: Woohoo! I get to be He-man!
Player 2: What, Mecha-neck again? Screw you guys, I'm going home.[/indent]
2) If they de-empahsized He-man (Is it me or does this post have a lot of hyphens?) by calling it Masters of the Universe, it might cause people to remember the live-action film. There are reasons that not all 80's films are remembered fondly. I mean seriously, Dolph Lundgren? What were you thinking?
How about Thundarr the Barbarian D20? I just want to hear my players scream "Ariel, Uklah! We Ride!"
The only Problem with Thundarr is that its technically a post-apocalyptic setting. Isn't there a rule that all suchs settings have to suck as RPGs? Instead, how about Galtar and the Golden Lance?
Here's one that not too many people are likely to remeber but man it would have been cool. There used to be this cartoon on called The Pirates of Darkwater.
Dude, who doesn't remeber that? I remeber it and I don't think I ever even watched it! I remeber not being interested as a kid since I thought that Prince Ren seemed kinda light in the loafers.. I mean he doesn't even have a full sword to use! Thanks to a friend of mine that was obsessed though, a mispronunciation of one of the show's curses is still part of my vocabulary. There was an RPG for it too, looks pretty lame though. You can see more about it at this site.
*Edit* Whoops, almost forgot Blackstar even though I uhh... just learned about it. I had a toy from the series as a kid, though, I'd always wondered what it was from. I guess a guy with a sword riding a dragon may have inflenced me from a young age.
1) Everyone would want to be He-Man (or perhaps She-Ra) and nobody else, since he has the power and the other caracters, tough as they may be, look puny by comparison. Just imagine:
Actually, all the characters I would be interested in playing are the evil guys in that series...
Oh, except Orco. Orco would be fun!
My PCs often talk about how they should print mini settings based on ages(Days of Thunder,Age of Dragons,Crown Wars,Netheril, Imaskar...) those would be cool.
Anyway, Pound Puppies, the RPG, never gonna happen.
Unfortunately, I think you are correct.
I still maintain hope for a Muppet Babies campaign setting, though. But I wonder if Animal's racial level adjustment would be too steep for normal play?
Nuff sed.
Unfortunately, I think you are correct.
I still maintain hope for a Muppet Babies campaign setting, though. But I wonder if Animal's racial level adjustment would be too steep for normal play?
Eh, the muppets don't really have the kind of extreme racial adjustments as one would associate with their animals. Sure, Kerpit may be super dexterious and Miss Piggy may be super strong and Gonzo can survive with little harm through things that would leave normal people smashed to pieces...
But what about Fozzy? How do his abilities reflect being a bear?
Or a Care Bears D20 RPG?
Eh, the muppets don't really have the kind of extreme racial adjustments as one would associate with their animals. Sure, Kerpit may be super dexterious and Miss Piggy may be super strong and Gonzo can survive with little harm through things that would leave normal people smashed to pieces...
But what about Fozzy? How do his abilities reflect being a bear?
Fozzie the Bear, like all bears, possesses superior fuzziness. As if this isn't enough, they also gave him the bear's natural bonus to Perform: Comedy (joke-telling) checks made while brandishing a rubber chicken. I guess that's somewhat balanced by his massive penalty to all other Perform: Comedy (joke-telling) checks he makes.
But who wants to make a bear that doesn't dual-wield rubber chickens?!? Not this guy.
On second thought, though... I suppose you're right. Fozzie has a lower powerlevel than some other characters (Dr. Honeydew, for one! What crack-head thought he was balanced?). But its likely he'd still overshadow many character concepts, like the single-class Beaker...
Wocka Wocka!
A 4e D20 Zelda would be cool if done right (and I don't consider the D20 3e that I've seen online as made right).
D20 Avatar: The Last Airbender would be cool. Monk + elemental sorcerer.
A 4e D20 Zelda would be cool if done right (and I don't consider the D20 3e that I've seen online as made right).
Both the 4 kingdoms and hyrule are nice settings, but they are involved in stories that demand a single hero fix everything in the world (well.. 2 heroes and 1 of those heroes sidekicks in Avatar).
You can't play a campaign for those worlds without it revolving around those specific heroes, at least not a higher level campaign.
1. Base the setting in Eternia's ancient past
2. Base the setting in Eternia's near/distant future.
You cannot easily run a game where heores like He-Man and the Masters (Ram Man, Teela, Man-at-Arms, Orko, Man-E-Faces, et al) are there to do the heroics. This could only work if the PCs were members of the Masters and He-Man was somehow removed from the setting/ or always disposed fighting the badguys a few levels higher than the Masters.
My ideas of He-Man come from the original mini-comics (where there was no Prince Adam, and He-Man didn't even try to hide the fact that he was a blatant rip-off of Conan), and the 2000 cartoon series and the associated comic books.
By combining these two aspects together, we could produce the following setting:
'He-Man' is no longer 'Prince Adam', but is mroe like the original mini-comics; he is a wandering hero-protector figure that is intrinsically tied to guarding the mysteries of Castle Grayskull. He is an NPC only.
The PCs are members of the Masters of the Universe, the elite, heroic guards of the nation of Eternia. Pcs could even potentially start out as wandering heroes, far from Eternos, from places like the Berserker Islands, the Dark Hemisphere, Subternia (yup, the 'underdark' of Eternia!), the Mystic Mountains, etc.
Possible PC Races: (some may be level adjustments)
Humans (would have regional stat variations?)
Andreenids (bee people- like Buzz-Off)
Avionans/ Bird Men (like Stratos)
Qadians (Cat-people from Felis Qadi)
Androids (like Roboto and Fakor)
Cyborgs (like Mechaneck, Man-E-Faces, Trap-Jaw,etc.)
Caligar (lizard-men, like Whiplash)
Berserkers(?) (Animal-men from the Berserker Islands, like Beast-Man)
Classes could include: (this could make a good Gestaldt game!)
'Techno-Warrior' (like Man-at-Arms and Trap Jaw) [Tinker, Inventor, etc.]
Mystic (like Zodac and Sy-Klone) [Think Monk + Psion]
Scout (like Stratos and Mechaneck)
Sorceror (like Evil-Lyn, Orko, and the Sorceress)
Weapon Master (like Tri-Klops, Teela, and Skeletor-to an extent)
Mage (like Skeletor, Count Marzo, and The Faceless One)
Berserker (like Beast-Man, Clawful, Fist-o, and Ram Man)
Asssassin/Hunter (like Cobra Khan and Webstor)
Shaman (like Moss-Man and Evil-Seed)
Marksman (like Tri-Klops, Roboto, Stratos)
Warrior (like Ram Man, Man-E-Faces, and any other 'Fighter-type')
Prestige Classes might include Beastmaster, Mounted Warrior, Archmage, Champion, etc.
He-Man, and NPCs of that claibur are probably Templated/PrC'd?
NPC Races/Monsters would include:
Dragons
Kulotak (sp?) (Cold-dwelling Yeti-like miners of Eternium...think Adamantine)
Shadow Beasts
Plant Monsters
Ancient 'gods'
Spoleans (sp?) (Subternia-dwelling Bat people)
Giants
Demons/Devils/Outsiders (Including Hordak and his evil horde)
Snake Men (led by King Hsss)
Undead (especially Skeletor's undead legions)
etc. etc. [in the 80's cartoon, there were Widgets, Orcs, etc....]
The game would definitely take on a mission-based, super-heroic feel, in order to emulate the comics and cartoons.
There would be options for playing eitehr Heroes or Villains, or something in between?
I personally always like Skeletor/Keldor better, as the 'bad' guys always got to go 'dungeon-delving', and it was He-Man and the Masters that always tried to stop them.
Additionally, Skeletor used to be 'Keldor', before Randor accidentally melted his face off....then Keldor made a pact with Hordak, and became a Lich, of sorts- and crazy. At least according to the newest canon.
Keldor originally was the last of his race (other than, possibly, Sy-Klone) and sought the aquisition of knowledge/power, and vengeance against the Eternians for forcing him to the Dark Hemisphere.
The game has a very Good vs. Evil overtone, but the depth of the shows/comics make those lines a little blurry in some areas. Skeletor is, definitely Evil, but he's also often in the 'right'!
Anyway, as for settings in the near future, He-man has disappeared, potentially sacrificing himself to save Eternia from the war that ensued between Hordak and the Snakemen, with Skeletor helping to save his own hide. The Evil Horde of Hordak are banished to their extra-dimensional prison, and the Snake Men and their 'god', Serpos, are likewise defeated- most killed, some retreat to the Dark Hemisphere or Subternia, and their leaders banished back to their magical prison.
The world is in shambles, but re-builds. Eternia is ruled by the aging King Randor- with no heir to take his place. Teela has taken over the mantle of her mother, The Sorceress, at Castle Grayskull, He-Man is dead (presumably...), Duncan (Man-at-Arms) acts as regeant/advisor to Randor, Orko regained his magical abilities, and is probably off on some quest to find He-Man, or something, and Skeletor rebuilds his forces in hopes of conquest. In this setting, there is no space-travel, and no She-Ra. It also allows new characters to be infused into the He-Man mythos.
Many of the traditional Masters are dead, especially Mechaneck, and the PCs are the next generation- heroes and adventurers in an age of near-chaos.
Adventures could include:
Protecting outlying villages from predation/raiders
Spying on Skeletor's forces
Hunting Snakemen survivors in Subternia
Diplomatic missions with other races/nations
Stopping other villainous types, such as Evil-Seed, Count Marzo, etc.
Searching for ancient relics to aid in some endeavor or another.
Stopping an enemy from gaining a magic relic.
Etc. Etc.
The technology level would be 'Advanced, but Regionalized'. Technology is not 'mass-produced', but only locally, as needed.
There are a lot of kinks.
In fact, 3e is probably a really bad match for a game like this, as its multi-classing rules are crap, and it doesn't fit that 'high-action-super-heroic-tone'.
Possibly 4e is a better fit? Maybe a weird skill-based system, with talent trees and feats, and a generic 'template-class', I dunno.
Thoughts?
P.S. I ran a homebrew Pirates of Darkwater game a few years back- it was fun. It makes a good setting if you tweak it a bit.
Even though the PCs are not 'over-powered' in relation to the rules of 4e as a whole, as the Designers say, the previews we see so far seem to indicate a slightly more 'dynamic' style of play than your typical pseudo-medieval dungeon delving. This would fit perfectly with the 'over-the-top' heroics of Masters of the Universe.
The 'Points of Light' theme also seems to mesh perfectly with the idea of advancing the He-Man mythos forward 10-20 years.
Pockets of civilization remain after a great cataclysm (war between Snakemen, Hordak's horde, Skeletor, Eternians...world war, really) and the heroes have the job of exploring/rebuilding.
Take 4e, add a 'Tinker' class, add some variant Talent trees, add a new skill or two, expand equipment options to include lasers with damage equivalent to SWSE, and add some variant races.
Magic Items would become pseudo-technological in nature for some, and completely magical for others- while powerful magic items would be unique artifacts, such as the Ram Stone (Guarded by the Faceless One- Evil-Lyn's father!). Bracers of Armor +2? Those produce a Deflection Field via technology harnessing mystic crystals! Guantlets of Ogre Power? Cybernetic Enhancements! etc. etc.
Also, the Wizard 'Implements' fits uncannily with the He-Man style of magic, as various items, amulets, staffs, etc. enhance magic (Skeletor's Havoc Staff), or are the source of magic (Count Marzo's amulet).
Just some after-thoughts.
-Coyote
PS for the cartoon fans and lovers of Prince Adam, just say that Skeletor found out, outed him, and the world then mourned even harder, years later, when Adam, hero of Eternia, sacrificed himself to stop the destruction of Eternia? Sort of messianic, maybe that's a bad idea. Would be funny to see little Widget Adam-cultists....lol. Seriously, for those that love Adam, it could still work, and would add a layer of depth to the NPCs that mourn him, such as the reclusive Sorceress (Teela) at Grayskull, his parents Randor and Marlena, and his mentor, Duncan (Man-at-Arms), etc.
Just ideas. Maybe I'll make a RPG fan site in the future for all to enjoy for free? Who knows.
Not a specific setting persay, but I cannot see a completely non-magical setting coming into existence anytime soon.
As something supported by Wizards? Not a chance. Something 3rd party? It could happen. I was going to Mention Monte Cook's Iron Kingdoms line, but I guess it merely removes magic items, not magic altogether. Still, even some past Wizards porducts, like the AEG and Unearthed Arcana offered variant rules and items to survive in low/no magic campaigns.
I use to love that cartoon although I wanted to kill that stupid monkey bird
Yeah, parrotes are cool, monkeys ftw, but monkey birds should be shot on sight.
I only saw a few episodes of that cartoon. I like the new show on Cartoon network "Thunderhawks" IIRC. Good for a d20 Modern with its Skyknights and those bike/plane hybrids. Kinda cool.
EDIT: Oh, yeah, also would love to see the DC properties Hellblazer (aka DC's magician heavy side of their world headed by John Constantine) and the Books of Magic (same "sub-world" different take and protagonist).
:D LoTR campaign setting!!! But it must have all the fluff from other books beside the Hobbit and The LOTR trilogy(Silmiriliain!<-spelling?). It would be cool if they made that, and it would prolly do really good too. Im sure lots of people would like to have adventures and know more compatible info about the world and its ancient histories.
Now, are you talking about d20 and/or WoTC? Cause Iron Crown did LoTR way back when and LoTR was done again (d20 I think but not sure) after the movies came out.
Likewise, there is a free Thundarr the Barbarian RPG out there called Under the Broken Moon. It isn't d20 System, but it's a start and is good enough to get you playing.
LotR has been done... twice! Once (and in my opinion, far better) by Iron Crown Enterprises back in 1982 (they lost the license in 1999 and subsequently declared bankruptcy), and then again in 2002, when Decipher took over, following the success of the Peter Jackson films. I've heard rumors that their license has expired as well, but I really don't know for certain.
Pirates of Dark Water has been introduced as an RPG in at least two different forms; one by Mindgames, Inc. in 1994, and again as a free game created by a 3rd party.
The Muppets, The Smurfs, Care Bears, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Samurai Jack, Zelda, Thundercats, Strawberry Shortcake, and Masters of the Universe, so far I know, have not seen print as role-playing games. I take that back, FASA, back in 1985, did a very simple RPG based on Masters of the Universe, but it was a combination boardgame/RPG and you could only used "named" characters from the show. It is best forgotten. (Much like TSR's Indiana Jones the RPG back in 1985.)
I seem to want to recall a Masters of the Universe supplement for the d6 System or the Masterbook system (one of the two), but I can't find a reference to it. Anyone?
Personally, I'm still anticipating "drow priestess Barbie," with spiderweb stockings and snake-headed whip. Sadly, that hasn't materialized yet either.
Anyway the artist Claudio Pozas did a DnD-influenced He-Man set of pictures on his website i thought were very cool. http://www.enworld.org/Pozas/masters.html
yeah well anyway i no make the english good but Hordak is a Demon Lord. I pretty much signed up for the idea of this as a game right there and then.
/She-Ra?
The only problem i see with this, is the same problem I had as a kid- Skeletor and his minions are portrayed as the Player Characters in the story.
Think about it.
Who is always going into dungeons/ruins looking for lost treasures/power?
Who always has to fight enemies that want to thwart their attempts at every turn?
Who, at mid-power levels, moves from fighting local menaces (the Masters) to fighting would-be conquerors (the Snake-Men), and at epic levels is faced with the wrath of an outer-planes deamon lord and his endless horde (Hordak)?
Skeletor is on a quest for the power of Eternia/the power of the Elders (in the 2000 series). Skeletor has a rag-tag band of adventurers left over from his previous attempts at conquest.
Skeletor has to fight 'the man' (Eternian imperialism and their elite task force the Masters of the Universe).
Skeletor is always dungeon-delving (or sending his goons in adventuring groups) for lost artfacts to increase his power, complete a ritual, etc.
Skeletor fits the mold of D&D play, not He-Man and the 'good guys'.
Is Skeletor 'Evil'? Yes. But he's still the focus of the Eternian saga created as backstory for the toy line.
He-Man is a lackey of the Eternians. He fights Skeletor without questioning, as he's convinced it's the 'Right' thing to do, as Skeletor is 'Evil', and 'Evil' MUST be 'Wrong'.
How about creating an Eternian game where all the players are minions of Skeletor? The object of the campaign is to loot dungeons at low levels, fight the Masters/form alliances with other Dark Hemisphere inhabitants at low-mid levels, get involved in Snake-men story arcs, He-Man battles, and conspiracies at mid levels, and attempt to overthrow Skeletor, fight Hordak, and assault Grayskull at epic levels?
Just an idea.
Besides, what do the Masters DO anyway? Hang around the palace, eat food, laugh at poor Orko, make technological weaponry for use in war (even in times of peace), attempt to create an alliance with the other civilized lands of the Light Hemisphere under the pretense of fighting possible 'terrorism' from Skeletor and his forces, unquestioningly fight 'Evil', act as stewards for tribal lands and fringe villages without asking first (playing Big Brother), etc.
When looked at in this light, Skeletor is a deranged freedom fighter, trying to overthrow Imperial civilization, re-claim the light hemisphere for all the banished/oppressed races (that are considered 'Evil' or loathesome) that have been forced out of the light by the Eternians and their ilk.
Although there is the illusion of Good vs Evil, beneath the fascade is the deeper story of a power-hungry meglomaniac swordsman/mage that seeks to overthrow a civilization that destroyed the previous way of life. Of course, he went crazy after Captain Randor deflected a vial of acid onto Skeletor and burned his face off (which is when he turned to Hordak to save him)...
Point is, Skeletor (formerly known as Keldor) is EVIL, but he's more like Attila the Hun conquering Rome in terms of power, and more like William Wallace fighting the British in terms of cause.
Hope I gave you guys a new perspective to ponder...
According to the Icons of Evil comics released after the 2000 series aired, Skeletor only gained what little technology he has access to after defeating an isolated, semi-altruistic techno-mage and his fortress of mechanized defenses.
At the time, Tri-Klops was known as Swordsman, and worked for the techno-mage in servitude for sparing his life from bandits. Skeletor assaulted the fortress with might and magic, breached the defenses, and tricked Swordsman into killing his former master. After Skeletor has his excuse for a techno-mechanic create the iconic three-eyed visor for Tri-Klops, it is implied that Tri-Klops then takes over as Skeletor's resident inventor/artificer. (Tri-Klops created TrapJaw's various prostheses, as well as the majority of Skeletor's sparce techno-vehicles, etc.)
Overall, Skeletor relies on undead shock troops (his skeletal army), magic (his own, Evil-lyn's, and various artifacts) and sheer might (Beast-Man, Clawful, etc.).
Skeletor employs a myriad of different specialists and allies (Tri-Klops' techno-savvy, Mer-Man's control of sealife and spying skills, etc.), all of which he had to painstakingly assemble over many years, and it was by no means easy.
From Keldor to Skeletor, he has always been on an epic quest to control the power of the Elders (god-like immortals left over from the time King Grayskull once ruled the fledgling civilization of Eternia) and re-claim the Light Hemisphere.
I'm not saying I'd like Skeletor as a person, but he does have a staggering case in his defense.
From NE Keldor the adventurer, to LE Keldor the conqueror, to CE Skeletor the overlord and bringer of vengeance.
If you follow the newer canon of the Eternian mythos, the story is really a struggle between Keldor/Skeletor and the misguided King Randor (pawn of the Elders).
My take on it is this:
After King Grayskull empowered his allies with his mystical energy, and transformed them into the Elders, the Elders had different ideas as to how things should be done. Much like Arthur's knights, the early Church in Rome, or America's eventual government officials, the Elders took a good idea and twisted it to their own ends.
The Elders maintained a rigid power balance for however many centuries, keeping the light side of the hemisphere free of 'undesirables', such as the inhabitants of the Berserker Islands, the descendants of the destroyed kingdom of Zalesia (The Faceless One, Evil-lyn), The race Kronos was from (aka TrapJaw), etc. They also made sure races such as the Kaligar and Spoleans stayed in Subternia (Eternia's Underdark!).
They made sure that magical power would never be allowed to reach their power, and only allowed the guardian of Grayskull (currently the Sorceress, soon-to-be her daughter, Teela) to maintain any semblance of magical might.
Many would-be raiders/insurrections/etc. were put down by the Eternians, and uber-technology was developed as a replacement and counter to magic. Essentially, the immortal Elders created a rigid technocracy onder the guise of 'good' and the expansion civilization in order to create a power balance, and thus never have their power challenged/taken.
Until Keldor came along. Not content to sit idly by in the desolate lands of the Dark Hemisphere in a constant state of tribal warfare and survival, Keldor sought out power in all its forms. He became a master swordsman, and a powerful mage. He eventually aquired hes Havoc Staff (formerly owned by Evil-Lyn's father), and his powers increased exponentially. After amassing power and conquering the majority of the Dark Hemisphere in an Attila-like fashione, he was finally ready to take vengeance on the Elders, take their power for himself, and become ruler of the world to boot.
During the war with Eternia, Keldor's only real rival was the tactically brilliant Captain Randor, leader of the Eternian army, and his allies (Man-at-Arms, Mechaneck, Ram Man, Stratos, etc.).
Eventually, Keldor and his horde of barbarians, mercenaries, and undead made it to the heart of the city of Eternos, and an epic battle ensued.
Keldor confronted Randor on the steps of the Hall of Wisdom, where the Elders resided, and both fought fiercely. Randor disarms Keldor, and Keldor in turn throws a vial of magical acid at Randor. Randor deflects it with his shield, and the liquid hits Keldor in the face... so Keldor and his forces retreat.
you can watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPQ1iQmXlvM
So, anyway, Keldor makes a pact with Hordak and gets turned into a lich of sorts.
you can watch it here (starting 40 seconds in):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUXlbF1tsZs
After retreating to the Dark Hemisphere, the elders seal off the that side of the planet with a great wall! Of course, Skeletor re-builds his forces, finds a way through, and attacks Eternia only to find that the Council of Elders no longer exist!!!!
Eventually, Skeletor finds out that the Elders sealed their power away in Castle Grayskull, and so the castle becomes the focus of the game. It also seems that Skeletor is driven to claim the power of the elders (and not just kill them as initially implied in the encounter in the Hall of Wisdom) in order to become powerful enough to defy Hordak, whom he owes his life to.
Skeletor is not one to bow to anyone, and so this means he has to have the power of the Elders, and that nuisance He-Man stands in his way.
Long story short: Skeletor, while evil, and his minions, are the real 'PCs' of the Eternian mythology. Yay Skeletor!
I'm done ranting now.
Samuri Jack
That would be Sooooo Cool:D
As for the He Man: I always though of it as a good RIFTS setting, but it could work.
The Setting I would Love to see is Inuyuasha
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I am wondering if anyone has heard anything about a Full Metal Alchemist RPG?
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?p=16401817#post16401817
Granted, I don't know a thing about the original stuff it's supposedly based on, but I loved the games....
For an average console JRPG it had a good amount of depth and lore put into how the magic worked, and some of the different empires, and such.
Ah well, if someone can suggest "muppet babies", I don't see how an old video game rip-off couldn't work ;)
You know.... I might actually be interested in something like that too....
With He-Man, I have to admit, I'd pass right by it with nothing more than a chuckle.
Too many horrible childhood memories of low-quality animation and Dolph Lundgren *shudder*