Mighty, Fast, and Weird!

Remember cartoons like Space Ghost, Dino Boy, Thundarr, Birdman, and the Galaxy
Trio? Well, I do, and this game is all about letting people get together around a table and
narrate pisodes o! their o"n #sho"s$ like those%
&eck, you could e'en (ust use those actual sho"s !or your games i! you "ant, no one)s
lookin)%
These cartoons tended to be *uick, cra+y, and none too subtle% They "ere mighty, they
"ere !ast, and they "ere "eird% &ence, the name o! this game%
,n episode o! one o! these sho"s ran about - to ./ minutes long% 0nce you get used to
the #rules$ to this game, it shouldn)t take you much longer to play out one o! your o"n
episodes%
1o", i! you don)t "ant to use one o! the old sho"s !or your game, you)re going to "ant
to create your o"n #series%$ Read on%
2reating a 2artoon Series
When you !irst get together, you and your !ello" players "ill create a Cartoon Series
!rom scratch, deciding on the Title, Opening Theme, the Main Characters, the
Supporting Characters, and the World Setting, !illing in the details as a team%
0nce your series is up and running, one player "ill take the role o! Writer%
2reating 2haracters
The players o! the game "ill be controlling a cast o! Main Characters in the game%
They "ill also be suggesting Actions !or some Supporting Characters, but the Writer
"ill be deciding ho" those turn out%
Main Characters ha'e one #attribute$ in R3G4speak, and that is their Character Type%
There are three 2haracter Types to choose !rom 5can you guess "hat they might possibly
be? &mmmm?67 Mighty, Fast, and Weird% Surprise8
Mighty characters tend to sol'e 3roblems "ith their !ists and their "eapons9 they rely on
!orce, and they are good at using it%
Fast characters tend to sol'e 3roblems "ith speed and trickery% They are nimble in body
and mind, hard to catch and harder to predict%
Weird characters tend to sol'e 3roblems "ith their minds and their understanding o! the
unkno"n !orces o! the uni'erse% Some o! them ha'e strange, inhuman po"ers, and some
(ust seem like they do:
;ost characters "ill ha'e only one Character Type, but some "ill ha'e more% To help
you and your Writer decide on "hich Character Type best suits your character,
consider the !ollo"ing7
In the cast o! Thundarr the Barbarian, 0okla "ould be Mighty, ,riel "ould be
Weird, but Thundarr himsel! "ould be Mighty and Fast%
The cast o! Jonny uest "ould be #typed out$ like so7 Race < Mighty,
Dr% =uest < Weird, >onny < Fast, &ad(i < Fast and Weird, and
Bandit < Supporting Character%
;ulti4Type 2haracters
2haracters "ith more than one Character Type 5like Thundarr and &ad(i6 can act as any
o! the Types attributed to them, but they must declare "hich Type they are using be!ore
they take Action%
?or example, ha'ing been chased do"n an alley by thugs, &ad(i)s player decides to use
his Weird Character Type to say the magic "ords 5Sim, Sim, Sala Bim86 and le'itate a
stray length o! rope into the air to ser'e as his means o! escape%
&ad(i)s player could ha'e used his Fast Character Type to turn and scamper lo" to the
ground, surrying beneath his pursuers) legs as they stumble in con!usion and surprise%
ither "ay, a player must declare "hich Character Type is being used be!ore a !ead is
chosen 5more on that later6%
Supporting 2haracters
Bandit !rom >onny =uest, Bronty !rom Dino Boy, and Blip !rom Space Ghost are
examples o! "hat "ill be called Supporting Characters in this game%
, Supporting Character can help the Main Characters, or they could end up
distracting or hindering them% 0!ten, their o'erly curious "anderings pro'ide the
impetus !or a ne" ad'enture%
1o, Supporting Characters do not all ha'e to be pets or animals o! some sort% They
don)t all ha'e to ha'e names that start "ith #B$, either% :But that is "eird, isn)t it?
1o" that you ha'e your cast all !igured out, it)s time to get them into some trouble8
2reating an pisode
The Writer must come up "ith an "pisode Title, a Setup Scene, some #roblems !or the
characters to be !aced "ith, and a Big Bad $uy !or the Big Sho%do%n%
This is kind o! a lot o! "ork% @ou may "ant to go ahead and block o!! some time%
Starting an pisode
When the group is ready to play, one or more o! the players 5possibly including the
Writer6 "ill read the Opening Theme, and then the Writer "ill re'eal the "pisode
Title to the group%
Setup Scene
1ext, the Writer "ill &arrate the Setup Scene to the group% @es, the Writer "ill
completely describe the scene that gets your group in trouble% This cartoon is only se'en
minutes long, and "e do not ha'e time !or less honest !orms o! railroading%
The players may be directed to read dialogue during the Setup Scene in their character)s
'oices, or the Writer may (ust act out all o! the characters !or this Scene%
When the Setup Scene is o'er, the characters "ill no" be in some kind o! trouble% In the
"orld o! cartoons, getting out o! that trouble is kno"n as ha'ing an Ad'enture%
,d'enture Scenes
Ad'enture Scenes "ill consist o! the players being presented "ith a #roblem,
attempting Actions to sol'e the #roblem, and hope!ully getting to the
Big Sho%do%n near the end o! the "pisode%
3roblems
'ery Ad'enture Scene starts "ith a total o! A potential #roblems% These 3roblems "ill
a!!ect each group o! characters, so i! the characters are split up into three groups, each
group "ill !ace A potential 3roblems be!ore they can reach the Big Sho%do%n%
3roblem Types
3roblems "ill come in B Types7 Mighty, Fast, and Weird(
ach Type o! #roblem describes the Type o! character that is best suited to take Action
against that kind o! #roblem%
3layers "ill not kno" "hat Type o! #roblem they are !acing at !irst% They must guess
based on the description o! the #roblem gi'en by the Writer%
Ceads and Backups
When presented "ith a #roblem, the group decides "hich character "ill take the !ead in
attempting to sol'e the #roblem "ith an Action% The other characters "ill be Bac)up%
The players "ant to choose a !ead that they think matches the Type o! #roblem that
they are !aced "ith, i! possible%
The player o! the character in the !ead "ill describe their idea !or the Action, and the
players o! the Bac)up characters "ill describe ho" they are going to assist the !ead
character in attempting that Action%
3roblem Intensity
0nce those decisions are made, the Writer rolls BDA and discards the lo"est die% The
sum o! the remaining t"o dice is the *ntensity o! the #roblem% I! this is the !irst
#roblem in the "pisode 5or part o! the !irst group6, the Writer adds nothing to the
Intensity%
?or each #roblem a!ter the !irst, the Writer "ill add . to the !inal #roblem *ntensity
be!ore the players can roll !or their Action%
,ction Intensity
The !ead player then rolls .DA% ach Bac)up player also rolls .DA%
I! the players ha'e picked up a !ead "ith a Character Type that matches the #roblem
Type that they are !aced "ith, then the Bac)up players "ill gi'e their highest die to the
!ead player%
I! the !ead Character Type does not match the #roblem Type, the Bac)up players "ill
gi'e their lo"est die to the !ead player% 5I! there is only one Bac)up player, then that
player "ill roll t"o dice6% The sum o! all the dice that the !ead player ends up "ith is
the Action *ntensity% This number may be ad(usted by Supporting Characters and
+eroic ",,orts%
Supporting 2haracters
?or each Supporting Character present, a player "ill roll .DA and check the !ollo"ing
results7
-. /h0oh!
1 . +ey!
203 . 4eah!
5 . Way to go!
6/h0oh!7 < The Supporting Character is no" in trouble8 The Supporting Character
is out o! the Scene, and may ha'e to be rescued%
6+ey!7 < The Supporting Character runs around and makes a minor nuisance o!
themsel'es, but ends up upsetting the Main Characters as much as the #roblem% 1o
real di!!erence is made to the !ead player)s Action *ntensity%
64eah!7 < The Supporting Character has done something to help out "ith the
#roblem8 ,dd . to the !inal Action *ntensity%
6Way to go!7 < The Supporting Character has done something really extra cool to help
the players sol'e this #roblem8 ,dd D to the !inal Action *ntensity%
,ll o! these results should be 'ery color!ully described, o! course% The Writer can
choose to take ad'antage o! an 6/h0oh!7 result in any "ay that ser'es the story o! the
"pisode% The result could e'en lead to the next #roblem8
&eroic !!orts
I! a player chooses, their character may attempt a +eroic ",,ort during an Action%
The player then rolls .DA% 0n a .4B, the attempt !ails% 0n a E4A, the attempt succeeds%
, success has the !ollo"ing e!!ects7
The !ead Character Type no" matches the #roblem Type, e'en i! it did not
be!ore%
The Bac)up players re4roll their lo"est die, and gi'e the ne" #highest die$ to the
!ead player%
D points are added to the !inal Action *ntensity%
0nly one character can attempt a +eroic ",,ort during an Action%
The character that attempted the +eroic ",,ort cannot do so again !or the rest o! the
"pisode, and they are also considered to ha'e no Character Type !or the rest o! the
"pisode%
, character that attempted a +eroic ",,ort may still be chosen as the !ead in an Action
against a !uture #roblem, or e'en during the Big Sho%do%n, but that character)s
#Character Type$ "ill only be o! use i! someone else uses a
+eroic ",,ort to assist them%
Solo &eroes
I! only one Main Character is present !or a Scene, that player "ill roll Bac)up dice as
though there "ere t"o Bac)up players present% , penalty o! 4. is subtracted !rom the
solo hero)s !inal Action *ntensity, though% It)s !ine to shine, but brother, it sure does
help to ha'e !riends%
2on*uering a 3roblem
I! the !inal Action *ntensity is higher than the #roblem *ntensity, then the players ha'e
Con8uered the 3roblem%
Sho"do"n Bonus
ach #A$ that "as rolled during the Con8uering o! a #roblem is recorded as a
Sho%do%n Bonus by the Writer% The players "ill ha'e use !or these bonuses later%
scalation 2heck
,lso, each #A$ rolled during the Action taken against the #roblem, "hether the #roblem
"as Con8uered or not, is then re4rolled be!ore mo'ing on% This re4rolling acti'ity is
called an "scalation Chec)%
I! any o! the re4rolled dice come up as a F or a A, then the number o! #roblems in the
"pisode is reduced by .%
There!ore, i! the group Con8uers the !irst three #roblems, and passes their !irst three
"scalation Chec)s, the total number o! #roblems in the "pisode "ould be reduced to B,
and the game "ould then mo'e directly to the Big Sho%do%n%
&ey, these cartoons are sometimes only about G minutes long% Try to keep up8
I! a group does not Con8uer a #roblem, then the group has been 9e,eated% The Writer
"ill decide 5and describe6 "hat happens to a 9e,eated group% The group may still get
past the #roblem, but they may not do so "ith much dignity, or they may pay a certain
price !or their progress% The Writer "ill keep track o! all 9e,eats su!!ered by the group%
0! course, the group might not get past the #roblem, and this 9e,eat may instead lead
them to their next #roblem%
The bottom line is7
I! the Action *ntensity is higher than the #roblem *ntensity, the players get to describe
"hat happens%
I! the Action *ntensity is lo"er than the #roblem *ntensity, the Writer gets to describe
"hat happens%
The Big Sho"do"n
0nce all o! the #roblems ha'e been Con8uered 5or once the players ha'e su!!ered their
!inal 9e,eat6, the "pisode mo'es to the Big Sho%do%n%
During the Big Sho%do%n, the players "ill !ace the Big Bad $uy% This bad guy may be
male or !emale% The Big Bad $uy may in !act be an ob(ect, like a robot, or a !orce o!
nature, like a 'olcano%
The Big Bad $uy is 'ery much like a #roblem, but this !inal enemy is represented by a
Sho%do%n *ntensity%
The Writer rolls BDA, keeping the highest t"o% This is the starting Sho"do"n Intensity%
The Sho"do"n Intensity is then ad(usted as !ollo"s7
H. !or each Main Character present during the Big Sho%do%n%
H. !or each 9e,eat pre'iously su!!ered by the group during the "pisode%
4. !or each Sho%do%n Bonus pre'iously earned during the "pisode%
The players then generate an Action *ntensity, (ust as they "ould against any other
3roblem%
&o"e'er, during the Big Sho%do%n, all characters that ha'e not attempted a +eroic
",,ort be!ore can do so no"% ,ll successes "ill count at once%
When the !inal intensities are compared, the right to describe "hat happens goes to the
"inning side%
'en i! the players #lose$, their characters should probably #"in$, in the spirit o! these
classic cartoons%
&o"e'er, i! the players #lose$ the Big Sho"do"n, the Writer should be sure to make
that #'ictory$ come at a cost% The Big Bad Guy probably gets a"ay, or the group)s
expensi'e escape 'ehicle is destroyed, etc%
Big Caugh
,!ter the Big Sho%do%n, the pisode mo'es to that nice, relaxing scene right be!ore the
credits% Whiche'er side "on the Big Sho%do%n "ill choose the person to make the !irst
statement about the scene, then that player "ill pick the next person, "ho must make the
next statement, and so on% In this !ashion, the entire group at the table "ill "rite the
classic Big !augh (oke to end this pisode8