31 Days / 31 Characters - KEI OKAMI

When I was in my early years of college I had an on again off again romantic relationship with a girl named Liza. We used to joke that if we weren't seeing anyone it meant we were seeing each other.

I really liked her. It could have turned into something more but for various reasons it didn't and I had to break it off. That sucked as those things often do. When I was thinking about old characters from old campaigns I started thinking about her and her character Kei Okami and decided she needed to be included in this year's 31/31 Challenge.

The character that is, not the player. Well sure, the player too but well, you know what I mean. 

This character is rather unusual and stands out on this list as a great PC from a great campaign that I had absolutely nothing to do with. I'll explain...

Character: Kei (Pronounced Kay) Okami

AKA: Kei the Wolf Girl, Wolf-Spirit Kei

Player: Liza Rodriguez 

System: Hero System, 3rd and 4th Edition
 
Campaign: The River of Dreams

Gamemaster: Unknown. Never met the guy. 

Circa: 1989-1991

Origins: I wish I knew. Liza was clearly ahead of her time when creating this character as nowadays every Video Game, Manga, and Anime are chock full of tough, sexy, feral wolf-girls. Was she the first? Probably not and I'm sure Liza's love of Japanese Anime played a part in the creation of this character. 

Anime and RPGs were among the many interests Liza and I shared but I never actually got to game with her. As I recall she had her groups and I had mine and she played in this campaign in Brooklyn on the same day I ran one of my Star Trek or Star Wars games in Manhattan. We would update each other on the various characters and goings on in each others campaigns, which is how I have this story to tell.

Backstory: At some point during Japan's late Meiji or early Taisho Periods (roughly 1888 to 1912), many of the land's ancient spirit clans found their numbers dwindling; resources grew scarce, and their magic waned with an influx of foreigners and the expanded industrialization of the islands. It was during this time that a young, female Wolf-Spirit Bushi (Warrior) - orphaned in a past war with Humans long ago - found herself on the run from a demon known as the Spirit-Eater. Doomed to fade from the world like all the other supernatural beings, the demon discovered his power and lifespan could be extended by consuming other paranormal creatures. 

The Wolf-Spirit Girl, Kei, had been alternating between fighting and running from the demon for the better part of a day. When night fell she seized her chance to escape by making her way to a Human city along a river and disguising herself as a common Mortal. This was no easy task given her wolf ears, bushy tail, dark tan complexion (very different from the locals), and lack of knowledge of basic Human customs or manners. 

While moving along the river's edge she saw a man from the West in colorful garb performing magic tricks for applause and a few coins. He smiled at her and winked over his glasses, subtly gesturing towards a passing Steamboat. It was a large ship of Western design with lantern lights and music coming from onboard. Just then the demon - also in disguise though Kei could easily smell him - burst from a crowd of people. He was bearing down on her like a charging bull! Kei ran and believing the street magician may have been trying to help her, leapt over the railings and on to the ship. 

The demon seethed and stared daggers as the boat pulled away, disappearing into the evening mist. 

Overview: The campaign focused on this very 'New-Orleans-Turn-of-The-Century' steam powered riverboat as it traveled along 'The River' from one world to the next. Yes, you read that right. Kei met some of the boat's other passengers, all of whom were from different places and times (though all roughly within the era when Steamboats regularly traveled on rivers for the most part). 

The other PCs I can recall include:

A Cowboy Gunslinger type who was extraordinarily lucky, with both the good and bad kind being equally in play. 

A Fortune Teller/Medium who could see the future using tarot cards, speak with the dead through a seance, and had other such mystical abilities.

A Masked Superhero similar to DC Comics' Hour Man. A secret formula gave him Super Strength, Speed, and Toughness for a short time. Too much of the elixir made him go mad, giving him a slight Jekyll and Hyde vibe. 

A Mechanical Person, an advanced steam-powered automaton resembling a butler or maid (I forget which) that claimed to have been Human at one time. 

The Steamboat was owned by the Street Magician fellow whom Kei had met and who Liza described as a Willy Wonka-esque figure. The ship essentially ran itself, with no Captain or Crew aboard beyond the PCs and the Magician. 

Every few sessions the Steamboat would run a low on supplies or need repairs for some reason and dock at a port on 'The River' that could be literally anywhere. From what I can recall they once stopped at a medieval fishing town that thought they were circus performers of some kind. Another adventure had them at a late 16th century Pirate Cove. They encountered such adversaries as Unseelie Court Faeries, bloodthirsty Pirates, a Ghost Ship of Undead Sailors (late Age of Sail), and more. There was a Big Bad, a central menace behind it all that wanted the Steamboat and possibly the Magician but it wasn't a person; more like an abstract concept focused on crushing one's dreams. 

The Highlights:

The two tales I remember the best are:

Stopping at a Napoleonic Era French port, the Gunslinger met a very lovely and charming 'Lady of the Evening' and invited her onto 'his' boat, claiming he won it in a card game. She turned out to be a powerful Vampire and the PCs were pretty outclassed. Thanks to excellent teamwork and the players' own knowledge of the Steamboat's layout (including the way each PC had defined their private staterooms), the heroes were able to beat her. 

Another story involved needing to travel down the river to get a medicine to heal one of the PCs. Kei covered their escape, holding off a dozen Spanish Inquisitor Zombies pretty much by herself. She got the job done with clever moves, great rolls, and a little help from a pack of Iberian Wolves. 

Game Info:

I never saw Kei's Character Sheet and Liza and I didn't talk rules, so I can't give you much solid information on Kei's attributes and the like but there are some things I do recall. 

The system used was initially Champions 3rd Edition, later updated to 4th. All the PCs started out as 200 Point Characters, with 150 Base Points and up to 50 points of Disadvantages. I believe Attribute Limits were enforced. 

Liza described Kei as twice as strong as a normal Human (Strength 20?), able to outrun turn of the century soldiers on horseback, capable of Anime leaps of 20-25 ft. or so, and tough enough to take very limited small arms fire. She would get hurt and bleed but would likely survive. Possibly more Justice, Inc. than Champions?

Her Powers and Skills included a Heightened Sense of Smell and Hearing, the ability to See in the Dark, Regeneration (amusingly she could regenerate faster if she could lick the wound), and the ability to Detect the Presence of Supernatural Entities such as ghosts, demons, and other spirits. Kei could 'smell' an Oni or similar creature even if she could not see it. 

The Wolf Girl was highly skilled at Hunting and Tracking, Stealth, Swordsmanship, and Martial Arts. Her fighting style involved a lot of launching herself at enemies from a crouched position and leaping down on enemies from above. 

In combat she initially wielded a Wakizashi of poor quality but was later gifted with a paired Katana and Wakizashi of superior, possibly supernatural quality. She could also scratch with her clawed fingernails or bite someone with her very sharp teeth. 

Her Disadvantages included a noted lack of proper Human etiquette, being baffled by many Human devices and tools, a very short temper (though her anger was just as quickly forgotten), and a need to howl at the full moon. 

Notes:

Okami means 'Wolf' in Japanese.

Kei - pronounced Kay - is the name of one half of the famous Japanese Science Fiction duo The Dirty Pair; the other being Yuri. Kei's hair is often referred to as a 'Wolf Cut'. 

I based the illustrations of Kei on the work of Japanese Manga Writer and Artist Kunihiko Tanaka, best known for the Anime and Manga 'Fam and Ihrie: The Ruin Explorers' and the Xenogears and Xenosaga series of video games. 

Liza's group preferred Fantasy over Superheroes but preferred the Hero System over other Fantasy games. That was likely a contributing factor to the creation of this campaign. 

What's next? A trip to the 25th Century aboard the starship Relativity and a visit with its reluctant captain, LANCE GRAVITY! Hyperwarp to Maximum!

AD
Barking Alien

31 Days / 31 Characters - DIETRICH ARMBUSTER

Steampunk is one of those genres I don't delve into very often. Not because I don't enjoy it but like Medieval Fantasy, it rarely lands for me in a way that gives me a lasting desire to run or play it.

Often I find that Steampunk is a more interesting concept than any one example of its execution. Not so much 'more than the sum of its parts' but more its parts than the final sum. 

There are exceptions. 

Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water is a Japanese Anime TV Series and feature film that was among the first Japanese cartoons I ever saw from the acclaimed Studio GAINAX, the production group behind Neon Genesis Evangelion. The story deals with two young people, Nadia and Jean, as they team up to avoid jewel thieves who are after Nadia's blue crystal pendent. Things take an epic turn and the tale greatly expands when the youngsters are rescued by none other then Captain Nemo and learn the secret of Nadia's necklace, The Blue Water. 

It wasn't long after seeing the Secret of Blue Water film that I got to play a Japanese Tabletalk RPG clearly inspired by GAINAX movie and other Steampunk stories popular in Japan. The TRPG was called Gear Antique. I played the Orkney Islands bodyguard and personal assistant of a 13 year old German boy genius named Dietrich Armbuster.

Character: Dietrich Armbuster

AKA: The Crossbow Boy

Player: I do not recall the player's name. 

System: Gear Antique, 1st Edition - Tsukuda Hobby

 

Convention One-Shot: How The Battle Lost Its Weapon

Gamemaster: I don't recall the GM's name either. Gomen nasai!

Circa: 1991 or 92.

The game took place over about four hours at a small, local RPG convention in New Jersey. By small I mean as compared to modern conventions like GenCon and Origins or even Dexcon.

Origins: I remember the GM telling me that he'd spent several years stationed in Japan while in the US Armed Forces and had only been back a few months prior to running the game. In his time overseas he'd developed a love of Anime and Manga but he'd been a TRPG gamer since the late 70s.

He picked up several Japanese RPGs while over there and really wanted to introduce his friends in the US to these games when he got back. Unfortunately all they wanted to do was return to their old D&D campaign. Frustrated at first, he decided to apply to run a few games at this convention. 

Having seen The Secret of Blue Water before leaving Japan, Gear Antique was one of the games he definitely wanted to showcase.

Gear Antique Boxed Set, 1991

The contents

The PCs were pre-generated but we (the players) were able make minor adjustments and give the characters any personality that we wished. I took a big brute of a man who may have been part Faerie or Giant (it was never definitively confirmed). In my backstory I'd saved the boy inventor Dietrich Armbuster from a group of ruffians who turned out to be 'Foreign Agents' trying to kidnap the lad. 

The fellow who chose Dietrich and I instantly formed a connection and broke into in-character banter immediately; he the adventurous and determined boy on a mission and me the protective older brother/uncle type who kept him safe while struggling to understand the scientific jargon he regularly spouted. 

Backstory: Dietrich Armbuster was a brilliant inventor and had been ever since he was 5 years old. At the young age of half a decade Armbuster invented a Pneumatic Crossbow. Now at the age of 13 his weapon was a thing of terrible beauty. From its simple beginnings it was now capable of holding a multiple bolt 'clip', firing a variety of trick quarrels, and could build pressure sufficient to put down the enemy's mobile, steam-powered vehicles (Steampunk Tanks). 

An Evil Organization bent on world domination was after the weapon and hoped to capture Dietrich as well and force him to invent more wonderous weaponry. With my character's help he'd managed to escape but they weren't going to give up easily. 

After a series of adventures that took place prior to the scenario we played, Dietrich and I were now part of a group of individuals who all had a beef with the Evil Organization. Among them was a Female Teenager of British origin, her Mechanical Maid, and a dashing French Swordsman. The British young lady was the daughter of a spy and had learned many espionage skills. Our mission was to make it across Paris to the newly completed Eiffel Tower to meet with an airship at the top. The Airship Captain was a trusted contact of hers who would then get us to safety. 

Overview: Fun. Just absolute, rip-roaring, no-holds-barred fun.

The personalities, the period/genre perfect dialog, the over-the-top action, and yet simultaneously subdued 'look' of everything was just picture perfect. The GM managed to get the feel of Steampunk Anime while at the same time making it all comprehensible to the non-Otaku members of the group. 

I realize I've talked a lot about the game and not the character of Dietrich Armbuster specifically. There are is a reason for this; I thought it best to first establish the world of Gear Antique since most of my readers would be completely unfamiliar with it. Now that you've got the gist, I'll discuss Armbuster a bit more. 

In a game scenario such as this, with an unfamiliar genre, system, and setting, a true ensemble cast adventure would prove difficult. People learn and adapt to things at different speeds. With this in mind it made sense to have a 'Star Character' or at the very least one of two leads and have the scenario largely revolve around them. Dietrich was certainly that character, with the plot of trying to capture an experimental weapon and its inventor made all the more urgent and relatable when one of the PCs is said inventor and is carrying said weapon.

To his credit, the player who played Armbuster got it right off the bat and used said bat to knock it out of the park (Ooh! Look at me! I made a sportsball analogy all by myself!). Not only was he everything a young male Anime lead should be - Clever, Gung-Ho, Empathic, and Annoyingly Adorable - but he did it in such a way that it made it that much easier for everyone else to fall into their roles.

Showing off his scientific knowledge but being naive in regards to who to trust made me look all the more street smart but book dim. Being brave and concerned for her safety while implying it might be 'too dangerous' for a young lady established a relationship with the teenage female-spy-in-training that was right out of many Anime.. 

The Highlights:

It's been a while but in one instance Armbuster was hanging off the Eiffel Tower by a Grappling Line Bolt he fired to prevent himself from plummeting to his death (have I mentioned how much I love the word plummet? Not enough plummeting occurs in games these days).

The English girl chastised him for his continuously reckless behavior and the two started to bicker. Meanwhile the main villain, a man dressed in an elaborate and eccentric Napoleonic general's uniform, begins to sneakily descend on them from higher up the tower. The Englishwoman is tapped on the shoulder by her Automaton Assistant, who then slaps her lightly across the face, lifts Dietrich up by the line, places him safely on the landing, and then slaps his face. The two stare at her stunned, look at each other, and burst into laughter. 

Just then the Metal Maid is yanked off the platform by the villain and thrown to her destruction! The villain drew a pistol, the Frenchman disarmed him with his sword, and Dietrich handed my character a bolt and shouted, "Jump!"

My eyes bulged for a second and then I did. I leapt off the landing and fell like a stone. Dietrich called for the Mechanical Maid to release any pent up steam, which (with a Wind of Luck Roll) slowed her descent a bit. Then I clicked a button on the bolt and POOF! - a hybrid Parachute/Balloon burst out, enabling me to grab the Automaton and the two of us crashed to the ground below, injured but alive. SO exciting!

Game Info:

I wish! I don't have the stats or info for any of the characters from this game as it wasn't one I ran. Additionally, I was never able to get a copy of Gear Antique, though a friend of mine had a copy which enabled me to run a few short games back in the day. 

I might go into greater detail on the game and its system in the future when I return to my discussions of Japanese TRPGs. 

Notes:

Armbuster comes from the term 'amburst' - an old Germanic word for a crossbow. 

My character had an Orkney accent based on having recently heard it on a British sitcom. 

Next...

We continue exploring the worlds and characters of Japanese TRPGs with EVERYN WOLFSHADOW, an Elven Forest Witch who travels with her seeing-eye Wolf. Smell you then! 

AD

Barking Alien

Elseworlds

I once said that aside from Star Trek, Star Wars may be the game I've run most often. Looking back, that may not be true. It may well be Superheroes if you consider the genre and not any one particular system. It was most certainly superhero comic books that got me into gaming in the first place.

Though I have never before run a Golden Age Superhero campaign, I have run a number of Superhero campaigns in non-standard settings. Recently, while I was reminiscing with a few friends about these old games, I thought it might may a fun post to mention them. Here are but three...

SUPERS: 1889

Using a heavily houseruled/homebrewed/kitbashed version of GDW's Space:1889 game, this short but memorable campaign focused on the first superhero team the world had ever known (a point of continuity I've kept throughout many later Supers campaigns). The team consisted of a number of unusually gifted individuals operating under Queen Victoria for the purpose of protecting the world from a German mad scientist and his army of steampunk robots powered by quasi-mystic crystals from Mars. The campaign's background was original though I borrowed librally from the Space:1889 game, Marvel, DC and other sources.

JUSTICE LEAGUE EARTH

Run with the DC Heroes RPG by Mayfair Games, this campaign was set in the 30th century of the Legion of Superheroes, my favorite comic book superteam of all time. The premise was, in celebration of the Earth's freedom from a Dominion invasion and to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the formation of its unified world government EarthGov, a reformed Vidar (aka the villain Universo) assembled a team of superheroes he called the Justice League of Earth. Vidar explained that the Legion has to protect the entire United Planets and that's not only a lot of work but they can't be everywhere which is how the invasion of Earth by the Dominion occured.

Vidar's JLE was designed to emulate the famous 20th and 21st century Justice League teams and consisted of heroes from all over the planet. From Japan, Talon Guard, the team's bird of prey themed Batman who resembled the heroes of Battle of the Planets/G-Force/Gatchaman. From Ireland, Balefire, a descendant of Alan Scott/Green Lantern and Jade who possessed mystical green flames he could shape into virtually anything. From Kenya, Radi Roho, 'The Lightning Spirit' who possessed the superspeed of the Flash but could also read the speed force to determine information about objects in motion. From an unknown African nation (a mystery to be revealed later in the campaign) came Nubia, whose physical abilities, combat experience and skill with melee weapons resembled none other than Wonder Woman. Finally, from the good old U.S. of A. came Maximum, a half-Daxamite, half-Human hero with a powerful secret who represented the one and only Man of Steel - Superman!

It was eventually revealed that Universo intended to use his mind control powers and hidden devices in the JLE's ear plug communicators to turn them into his personal army. Talon Guard figured it out and freed Maximum seconds before the latter pulverized the former. Maximum than used his secret weapon to reach the rest of the team and free them or fight them as needed with Talon Guard going after Universo himself (until the rest of the group could catch up). Maximum's secret? His Human side. Family name: Freeman. As in Freddy Freeman, Capt. Marvel Jr.. When Maximum says, "CAPTAIN MARVEL", a bolt of lightning and a crack of thunder transform him into Max Marvel. Plus Daxamite. Yeah baby.

THE LAST PROTECTORS

A Gamma World game originally run by a friend but which I took over half way through because he was starting to run out of ideas and had difficulty with 'where to go' with Gamma World. I've had this issue as well with Post Apocalypse settings. Sometimes its hard for story oriented GMs to find a focus or purpose to a Gamma World campaign.

My idea once I took over what my pal had already developed was that it seemed clear to me he was trying to determine who was at fault for the current state of the planet. I also thought he was hinting at some epic event as the cause or at least the catalyst. Furthermore, we had found an ancient device the was receiving messages from the Moon. So my thought was...

There was a Crisis on Infinite Earths and nobody won. Everybody lost. Gamma World is the way it is because an infinite number of parallel Earths merged and not quite correctly. Its also why mutants abound and many have superpowers. Our main enemy had been a robot mastermind who reminded me of Brainiac or Ultron.

I decided that the villain was indeed an arch-nemesis of the original heroes of one of the Earths who was the only real survivor from the time of the Ancients (i.e. the time of superhero comics). On the Moon, unbeknownst to the PCs, was the headquarters of 'The Protectors', the primary superteam of the old world. Its own AI was attempting to contact any member it could by communicator (and had been trying this for hundreds and hundreds of years). Eventually the PCs find the ruins of a 'Batcave' like base belonging to another long dead hero and use its intact rocketship/plane to reach the HQ on the Moon. There they are assumed to be various heroes by the base's damaged AI and healed and repaired by it, against their will and not completely correctly (new mutations, powers altered or adjusted, etc.).

Ever run an off beat Supers game? Tell me about it.

Up, up and away,

AD
Barking Alien