D&D 4E 4e and anime

[The Merciful]

2) It doesn't have to be "real" anime, it just has to include tropes and general ideas to evoke the feeling of anime... just as Ravenloft is not Dracula, as FR is not LotR, Eberron not Steampunk. But they certainly evoke that feeling.

The thing is, I own quite a few anime DVDs and I have seen more, yet I have no idea what the "feeling of anime" would be. Especially when it comes to fantasy RPG settings.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Can I take feat that gives me a +4 to special ability attacks if I scream out the name of the power real loud?

 

[WhatGravitas]

The thing is, I own quite a few anime DVDs and I have seen more, yet I have no idea what the "feeling of anime" would be. Especially when it comes to fantasy RPG settings.

See, generally, I'd say I don't have a real clue what anime is - I dig Witch Hunter Robin, Samurai Champloo and Azumanga. In none of these, people produce shockwaves or begin to fly around.

But from the post of the thread starter, I see what many people see as anime-feeling: Over-the-top-action with colourful attack names:

I want my fighter to be able to slash his sword and cause a pressure wave to strike an enemy at a distance, or smash his hammer against the ground and cause a shockwave that stuns or knocks down every enemy nearby. I want my rogue to be able to move so fast he leaves an after-image that confuses his enemy, allowing him to backstab, or my ranger to rush through multiple enemies, slicing at each one as he goes by.

Considering the popularity of (back then) Dragonball or (now) Inuyasha, Bleach and Naruto, they all share some traits: Warriors flying around with attacks with spectacular displays and names.

While I know that's a gross simplification and ignores MANY animes out there (as everything Miyazaki, the stuff I've named above, and other stuff I know due to friends), it's probably what people think when they think "anime", i.e. the more you know about animes, the less you actually know what this catch-all term thrown around means.

Cheers, LT.

 

[am181d]

I was watching "Howl's Moving Castle" again last night. What a great film. I would *love* to play in a D&D game like that.

 

[AllisterH]

Wait, really?

That makes the tension I recall between her and Goury kinda creepy.

However, it is technically when humans can start adventuring.

Cheers, -- N

Lina Starts Adventuring when she's 14.

Meets gourry just before her 16th birthday.

End of Try is approximately 2 years after her 1st adventure with Gourry.

Gourry himself is 2-3 years older than Lina.

Don't worry. Nothing really creepy going on there.

 

[Wanderer20]

If you're even giving Ravenloft and Planescape as examples, why do you think D&D can accommodate stuff as Ravenloft AND Planescape but NOT anime?

You've said D&D is something else than anime, but then, what is D&D? Dark Sun? Planescape? Ravenloft? Forgotten Realms? Mystara? Eberron? A game with wacky space hamsters (i.e. Spelljammer)?

I'd rather say, WotC should do an animesque setting, allowing people accommodate that style, just as D&D can be used for Ravenloft, Planescape, Forgotten Realms, and Eberron. All of these four settings don't mix at all, but still they're D&D. Why isn't that the case with anime?

If D&D can have Spelljammers, it can have anime. Just don't try to use them all at once.

Cheers, LT.

When I said "Ravenloft with Planescape" I wanted to show how they are different (one is gothic and the other is high magic -and much else-) and how their elements cannot coexist in the same adventure/setting.

What is D&D?

Well, core D&D, the generic fantasy the three rulebooks should be built on, has not Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Planescape, or everything that is non-strictly fantasy.

Of course this has not stopped in previous editions the birth of the above mentioned variants (which I appreciate more than standard fantasy), but each one of them came with additionals rules, races, classes, game mechanics (horror checks, psionics, great wheel) which made possible to play with different styles.

The Core rules with the capital 'c' should and must be and remain general fantasy (I think to Greyhawk model mostly).

After you have a functioning core system, you can start to implement the variant settings; these rules "where every class has magic capabilities, in a way or another" do not belong to what Core was in previous editions.

 

[Mirtek]

I keep trying to think of what level LInna Inverse would be, and then slam up against the fact that she's 15 years old.

Actually there is already a Slayers D20 setting and it even has several stats for the main heroes showing them at different points during the anime seasons.

 

[Maleketh]

Actually there is already a Slayers D20 setting and it even has several stats for the main heroes showing them at different points during the anime seasons.

Yeah, and it's terrible. Even keeping out of all the little mistakes, there is no way that Gourry has an Intelligence of 13.

But with regards to the topic at hand, I'm of the mindset that D&D could use some anime-ish flavor, but that it should be in a splatbook. Anime still has a fairly limited audience in the Western world, and people who want to run D&D as the traditional fantasy game that is usually is should be able to do so without making a lot of changes to the core rules.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

The way 4E is turning out, they might as well throw in a wholesale change to anime. At this point I almost expect it. :\

 

[Clavis]

IMHO the basic D&D game should be a simple ruleset that assumes a generic traditional Western fantasy setting (based heavily on actual legends and the classic fantasy authors). Other styles of play (wire-fu & anime, science fantasy, dark gothic fantasy, historical earth, etc.) should be available as modular add-ons that do not change the expected baseline. The basic rules should be written in such a way that additional rules and settings can easily slot-in and simply replace baseline rules elements, if players desire. This way, those who want an anime-style game under the D&D name can have it, and those who want traditional Western fantasy can have it too. As it is, it doesn't look like 4th edition D&D is going to be that kind of game. Rather, it seems that new D&D's flavor is going to be very specific to itself, and hard-wired into the rules. Oh well, every corporation has to have their "New Coke".