Back to the 80s

[Dannyalcatraz]

Yesss! At some point we started taking these giant sheets of paper and drawing these epic fights between two ninja clans. Good times. Wish I still had that Trapper Keeper.

I think I may still have 1-2 on one of my gaming bookshelves...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Lol, yeah! I did the same, but they were massive pirate fights and epic fantasy battles.
Except my drawing skills were (are) less than zero, so everyone looked like ambulatory coconuts.

I’m stealing “Ambulatory Coconuts“ as a possible band name. Or maybe “Coconauts”.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Oh, I was and am terrible at drawing. My brother was a little better. Didn't stop us from having fun.

Lol, yeah! I did the same, but they were massive pirate fights and epic fantasy battles.
Except my drawing skills were (are) less than zero, so everyone looked like ambulatory coconuts.

I keep hoping that Death Saves will put out a Trapper Keeper.

I think I may still have 1-2 on one of my gaming bookshelves...

 

[MGibster]

You know what else was big in the 1980s? American and European martial arts flicks and TV series. They started in the 1970s, sure, but they EXPLODED in the 80s. The American Ninja movies. The Master TV show. Bloodsport. Gymkata. Circle of Iron.

Insert "Do not cite the deep magic to me, witch. I was there when it was written." meme here. Oh, man, I remember growing up with ninjas and martial arts everywhere in the 80s. It was my dream to get my hands on some "Chinese" throwing stars but I never lucked out. Back in the 90s, my gaming group toyed around with the idea of running GURPS Martial Arts as we were big on movies like Blood Sport, Enter the Dragon, and other such movies. We decided not to because one player was insistent on making a "gun" guy and the rest of us could just be his support.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Insert "Do not cite the deep magic to me, witch. I was there when it was written." meme here. Oh, man, I remember growing up with ninjas and martial arts everywhere in the 80s. It was my dream to get my hands on some "Chinese" throwing stars but I never lucked out. Back in the 90s, my gaming group toyed around with the idea of running GURPS Martial Arts as we were big on movies like Blood Sport, Enter the Dragon, and other such movies. We decided not to because one player was insistent on making a "gun" guy and the rest of us could just be his support.

While I am a bona fide HEROphile, GURPS’ Martial Arts would be another strong contender for running this kind of campaign, no doubt.

 

[aramis erak]

You know what else was big in the 1980s? American and European martial arts flicks and TV series. They started in the 1970s, sure, but they EXPLODED in the 80s. The American Ninja movies. The Master TV show. Bloodsport. Gymkata. Circle of Iron.

And besides the Asian actors who started working in Hollywood, you saw the rise of homegrown talents like Don “The Dragon” Wilson. Cynthia Rothrock. Steven Segal. Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Even Rutger Hauer got in on the action: Blind Fury. Yes, Hauer plays a blind martial artist on a rampage to save a buddy's kid.

You also left out Roadhouse and Surf Nazis Must Die, and similar low budget actionfests. (If you've never seen it, SNMD is a blacksploitation feminist action flick. The protagonist is a retired black woman on a highly-effective rampage after her son is killed...)

Edit to add: SNMD is available to buy/rent on youtube.

 

[MGibster]

Even Rutger Hauer got in on the action: Blind Fury. Yes, Hauer plays a blind martial artist on a rampage to save a buddy's kid.

Some meanies even make his burrito too spicy!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Even Rutger Hauer got in on the action: Blind Fury. Yes, Hauer plays a blind martial artist on a rampage to save a buddy's kid.

You also left out Roadhouse and Surf Nazis Must Die, and similar low budget actionfests. (If you've never seen it, SNMD is a blacksploitation feminist action flick. The protagonist is a retired black woman on a highly-effective rampage after her son is killed...)

Edit to add: SNMD is available to buy/rent on youtube.

SNMD I’ve seen, but not Hauer’s flick.

Another thing that was everywhere in the 80s were slasher movies, especially those with a supernatural antagonist. A campaign run in such a setting might work with newer games like Monster of the Week, but I think something as rules-light as possible could work even better.

So something like the old In the Labyrinth/The Fantasy Trip RPG (or its modernized knockoff from Dark City Games) would be another good option. Even if your bodycount starts putting CoC or Paranoia! to shame, nobody will feel too left out because ChaGen only takes minutes. Hell, some players might even take multiple PC deaths as a matter of pride.

 

[Grognards]

The Radical High RPG, like, totally!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]