Dare Ni Denwa o Kakeru Nodesu Ka?

Whoa, that's strange.

What should we do?

Get the Ghostbusters!

Whoa, that's weird.

What should we do?

Get the Ghostbusters!*

Much like when I wondered how the Japanese Tabletop RPG community felt about playing in the Star Trek universe, it was inevitable that I would be curious about their interest in gaming Ghostbusters. When I become fascinated by a particular genre or setting, my deep interest in Japanese pop culture just makes me want to know how they treat the same subject. 

From past conversations with Japanese friends I know that the original film was very popular in Japan and the 2016 film did fairly well too. I don't have a clear idea how Ghostbusters II did. Around the time Ghostbusters: Afterlife was released in Japan I was speaking with a friend living in Chiba over DIscord (I think) and she indicated that had also been well-received.

Ghostbusters Japan

The Official Japanese Ghostbusters Fan Club

Thoughts drifted back to all this as Halloween 2023 approached. I knew I'd be talking about Ghostbusters RPGing and thought, 'Why not see if they play/played in the Ghostbusters world over there'. Honestly, I didn't expect to find much. If Star Trek only got a little coverage in their TRPG circles, what chance did I have of finding GB references?

I was pleasantly surprised...

Lucy, an original non-canon Ghostbusters character

Designed and illustrated by Shunya Yamashita

for Kotobukiya's Bishoujo Statues series.

As it turns out, while I came across only a handful of Ghostbusters RPG mentions, they were all very interesting. One Japanese gamer I spoke to on a TRPG forum said, "Horror games are the most popular type in Japan. Call of Cthulhu is our biggest game. We also include a lot of humor in our games, even that one (CoC). Ghostbusters is a good choice if you want both things."

To that end he directed me to an article on playing a Ghostbuster in Call of Cthulhu! Sort of. Really it was about using the Call of Cthulhu system to run a Ghostbusters game, much the way the Japanese seem to love using that system to run many other kinds of horror. 

Here's what I was able to translate...

Ghostbuster for Call of Cthulhu (TRPG Japan)

It is a profession that exorcises evil spirits as a business. In addition to those who own offices or are employees of those offices, there are also those who undertake individual/independent work. This person also has the job of a detective who investigates strange phenomena. They don't have any kind of psychic powers but if they are a famous Ghostbusters they may have powerful artifacts.

Driving (Car)

Electrical Repair or Electronics

Mechanical Repair

Occult

Psychology

Shooting (Handgun or Rifle)

Any 1 Interpersonal Skill

Any 1 Skill of Your Choice

Credit: 9~50%

Vocational skill points: EDU x 2 + DEX x 2

Art by Sato Sio

Cool, huh? What I find particularly interesting is the idea that there might be individual Ghostbusters not directly tied to a franchise. So, a freelance Ghostbuster? How would that work? It would be a really intriguing premise for a Solo or One-on-One (one Player, one Ghostmaster) campaign, no? 

Also curious is the idea that veteran Ghostbusters might have mystic relics in their possession (and hopefully not the other way around!). I've often wondered about books of ancient spells and such might be something a Ghostbusters group could look into. 

Lastly, I am surprised there isn't any direct mention of the Ghostbusters' equipment. Things like the Proton Packs, Ghost Traps, PKE Meters, and the like would seem to appeal to the Mecha loving Japanese pop culture crowd.

Art by Gurumeda for the Japanese movie magazine Cinema Today

Encouraged by my previous discovery I pressed on and was very excited to find that a session of the original West End Games Ghostbusters RPG had been run at a Japanese gaming convention called Hammakon in 2022.

The Gamemaster of that session, Onagi Sunaga, gave a promotional write-up of the adventure they planned to run as one would expect to see in an RPG con game preview. I was fortunate to message Onagi-san and received a response pretty quickly.  She was kind enough to clarify the premise of the story and a little of how it went. What follows is a write-up of that session, paraphrased and edited by me for this post. 

Ghostbusters International

GM: Onagi Sunaga

Number of players: 2-4

TRPG beginners: Welcome

System beginners: Welcome

Game/System Description

A humorous horror TRPG based on the American movie franchise 'Ghostbusters'. PCs become franchise operators of a Ghostbusters office and fight against the ghost turmoil. The game is a 1989 piece designed by Call of Cthulhu's Sandy Petersen and others (Referring to the Second Edition of the game - as noted - Ghostbusters International). The judgment is a success if the total number rolled on your ability dice exceeds the target value. However, there is a 1/6 chance that something strange will happen, so don't let your guard down!

Scenario Overview

Ghost extermination set in the city of Tokyo! Will you be able to finish in the black without getting confused on your way to the site or having strange photos of you posted on social media?

It is expected to be a two-part series: a tutorial scenario + an original scenario (the setting will be Tokyo).

We will prepare a pre-generated character but if people wish we will have them create an original PC. Be prepared to play in Japanese.

It is a good idea for the players to have 2 or more six-sided dice...or even 8. In addition, some items are available for rental [at the convention].

Additional Information

The setting is modern day Japan and the PCs played through the following situation:

A giant kashiwa mochi-like ghost appeared at the site of Tokyo Tower a few months ago, along with a few other spirits, and was defeated in the Tone River by the Tokyo Ghostbusters. Although this entity and others were defeated, the Ghostbusters didn't get rid of all the ghosts. Some of the spooks were able to escape capture. Therefore, Ghostbusters International decided to expand the Japanese franchise and took on the task of exterminating the ghosts that had run away in Tokyo. Ghostbusters International Inc. used this as an opportunity to increase the number of franchises in Japan as well.

After completing the training to become a Ghostbuster and signing the contracts, the PCs played through the scenario 'House Pests' included in the RPG rulebook [adapted to take place in Tokyo, Japan].

The scenario is about getting rid of ghosts that chased away a family who had just moved to the suburbs. We will enter a dungeon-like private house with about 10 rooms and hunt down the ghosts there. However, it doesn't go exactly as it should...

Wow. I love the backstory! For a one or two-shot session at a convention, that is some great world-building background material for a Tokyo Ghostbusters campaign setting. I want to know more about that first team. Not only who were they but did they all survive? Is that why they needed to hire the PCs? Did they all survive and separate to open other franchise offices in different cities in Japan? So many ideas!

More Ghostbusters art by Gurumeda

My third and final score was a mention of using the Japanese TRPG 'Ghost Hunters' to run Ghostbusters. Supposedly there was a fan-made supplement at one point, a Ghostbusters Doujinshi Sourcebook for use with Ghost Hunters 2nd Edition. Sadly, that is the extent of what I could find on the subject; a single reference, long out of date. Still and all, I felt inspired by this as it indicated to me that the first two occurrences of Japanese Ghostbusters RPG fandom weren't just flukes. If there were three, there could be more. 

My Ectogoggles are on and my PKE Meter is out. The search continues...

Until next time...

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Barking Alien

*Japanese translation of the Ghostbusters theme song, 1984

The post's title says, 'Who are you going to call?' in Japanese

Mountains of Madness

Continuing with my discussion of Horror in Japanese Pop Culture, we move on to...wait. Did you just hear that? What was that? It sounded like...hmmm...probably just the wind.

Anyway, I'd like to discuss Horror Tabletop Gaming and its gripping hold on the Japanese market. 

While the popularity of Tabletop RPGs has increased considerably in Japan over the last decade and especially in the the past two to three years, it is still a very small industry. It is considerably smaller than the relatively small market it is in the USA. 

Here in the States, Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder have the lion's share of players/consumers, with the next closest game(s) pretty far behind. In Japan, Call of Cthulhu is currently the most popular tabletalk (more on that below) RPG. Yes, that Call of Cthulhu; the one created by Sandy Petersen and company and originally published by Chaosium Inc. in 1981. 

The Japanese translated Call of Cthulhu RPG - specifically the game's 3rd Edition - landed in Japan in 1986, at first published by Hobby Japan and later taken over by Kadokawa, one of the largest publishing companies in Japan. It is largely developed for Kadokawa by Arclight, known for putting out TRPG, Card Games, Board Games, and Role & Roll Magazine (a monthly physical magazine dedicated to role playing and card games and my personal favorite such Japanese periodical).

This poster was made for a Call of Cthulhu 'live play'

video which featured Anime Voice Actors playing

the RPG in order to promote the game. 

Call of Cthulhu and the Cthulhu Mythos caught the cultural imagination of the Japanese due largely to the Horror elements that appeal to them throughout the genre - body horror, loss of individuality and sense of self, the 'cosmic' / Science Fiction origins of the often kaiju-sized monsters - these things are all central to Call of Cthulhu.

Additionally, the Basic Role-Playing Game created by Greg Stafford and Lynn Willis and used for Call of Cthulhu turned out to be very well received by the tabletalk gaming fans of Japan. The system's use in emulating the 'real world', from the 1920s to modern times is especially valuable to its customers who seem to really enjoy gaming in such settings. 

What I find particularly interesting is that today the popularity of CoC is so great that it has spawned (heh) a slew of new material unique to Japan. In addition to a variety of sourcebooks and adventures created by Arclight, a vast array of Doujinshi or fan produced, self-published works are made for Call of Cthulhu, many of which are not directly focused on or connected to the Lovercraftian stories themselves. 

Therein lies the part that fascinates me the most but might surprise traditional fans of the game. The doujinshi I've seen run the gambit from tragic vampire romance to possessed serial killers to a mini-zombie apocalypse. Additionally, there are a ton of Cthulhu Replays.

As I've discussed before, though perhaps not thoroughly enough, the Japanese TRPG market is all about the Replays. These are recounts of gaming sessions, often accompanied by rules, Player and GM tips, or the like, in the form of Manga. The second cover above (left to right - top row) is for a Replay Manga entitled 'R'lyeh High School, a very Japanese style story about a High School that trains students to fight off Cthulhu.

My friend Ray, whom I game with quite regularly and who happens to be a big fan of Anime and Manga, noted that Japanese Horror tends to blur the lines of its sub-genres. This would explain why the fan made CoC scenarios and comics are so diverse. To the Japanese creators and their audience, nameless, faceless, monstrosities from beyond time and space are part of the Cthulhu Mythos but so are ghosts, mummies, and murderous madmen. It's all Horror and therefore it all works in the Call of Cthulhu game. 

As with any successful endeavor there is bound to be competition and copycats. In the case of CoC, while no other Horror game matches it in popularity, others have made a name for themselves by either being similar but with some sort of twist or wholly unique. 

Next up I will discuss some of those, particularly my favorites: Peekaboo Horror and inSane - two games utilizing the Dice Fiction rules system. 

See you then...

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Barking Alien

MAGIC AND MACHINERY

A slight change of plans.

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am going to be easing up on the theme of Anime/Manga gaming and just posting whatever I feel like talking about, including Anime/Manga gaming if indeed the mood strikes me.

 

With the generally lackluster response and interest in the subject however, I am loosing steam and my thoughts are drifting to other ideas. I've mentioned this before, it's how my head works.

 

So for now, I did want to show off one of my favorite Japanese Table Top RPGS. A mix of Dungeons and Dragons and Battletech - Medieval Fantasy crossed with Giant Robots. Lord of the Rings + Pacific Rim =

 

WARES BLADE

  

   

Clockwise from Upper Left;

Wares Blade - 1st Edition Boxed Set (1988),
Wares Blade 'The Renewal' - 2nd Edition Boxed Set (1995-97)

Wares Blade D20 Rulebook (2008), Fan art from one of dozens of Wares Blade blog sites

Wares Blade - Wares 1092 Tactical/Strategy Game for the Playstation (1997)

Wares Blade 'Ryude Knight' Resin Model Kit (2000),
One of the many Wares Blade setting novels (2003)

Center: Wares Blade Fold Out Poster From 'RPG' Magazine (1994)

 

 

The cover of the May 1991 issue of one of my favorite Japanese gaming magazines, entitled simply and elegantly enough 'RPG Magazine'. This is probably one of the first issues I ever purchased and it is still in mint condition. The feature article is of course, Wares Blade.

Rules

In its original form the game plays like a modified and slightly streamlined version of the original Battletech game, with PCs handled in a system most closely akin to Call of Cthulhu (Basic Role Playing system) meets D&D.

Magic

Magic is somewhat akin to Ars Magica crossed with Runequest. There are schools of magic, known as 'Gates', that correspond to various elements. The eight Gates are Earth, Fire, Metal, Moon, Sun, Water, Wind, and Wood. There is a ninth Gate that isn't directly connected to any of the elements called the 'Outer Gate', often referred to as the Out Gate. It deals with simple magic that doesn't fall under the auspices of the other domains.

Interestingly, the Undead are tied to the Earth Gate, since the dead are buried in the Earth. Dwarves are usually of the Earth or Metal Gate, leading many to distrust them and view them as having contact with Necromancers. Dragons, most of them anyway, are connected to the Fire Gate and Shapeshifters with the Moon.

Mana, known as Renpo in the game, is everywhere and in all things, although the type/Gate of the Renpo is dependant on the thing you are referring to. Mountains contain mainly Earth and Metal Gate Renpo while the Ocean contains mainly Water and perhaps some Wood.

Ware Stones are rare mystical rocks (more minerals than gems or crystals) that contain and focus Renpo. Wizards often wear jewelry and carry foci embedded with these stones to assist  them with spell casting. The stones are required to create any kind of permanent magic item, including the 12-18 foot battle armors known as the Machine Soldiers.

Original Wares Blade illustration by Qu-Ro-Quro
  

Machinery

Machine Soldiers are the giant robots that give this otherwise traditional fantasy game its rather specific twist. There are many kinds of Machine Soldiers and indeed, 'Machine Soldier' is perhaps the least impressive of them. Those that existed in the time of the 'Old Dynasty Empire' were far more amazing than the ones being built in the setting's present (Wares 1092) and are called Ryude Knights. Between the artifact-like Ryude Knights and the cheap, 'modern' copy Machine Soldiers are the Machine Knights, which are either of superior, modern craftsmanship or are partially made from the remains of a damaged Ryude Knight.

Geography and Setting

Map of The Ahanic Western Continent
from The Wares 1092 Artbook and Sourcebook

Modified by me. I removed the Japanese place names
and intend to rewrite them in English.

 

The physical setting is called Ahan, also known as 'The World of Wares' (in reference to the importance of the Renpo stones). Only the Ahanic Western Continent is fully fleshed out in the original game, with the East being a 'land of spirits'. At one point, we do learn of a Human and Elven land whose people resemble the Celts and Gauls mixed together. The land in questions sits on the border between the Western Continent and the Eastern spirit lands. The country itself, 'Farthest Ki'Dein', is somewhat like Ireland or Scotland.

The center of the Western Continent is called Kedamon, a land of demons and monsters that also houses the ruins of the Old Dynasty Empire. It is mainly desert and in some areas borders haunted Jungles and woodlands prone to terrible storms. 

At the continent's Western most edges are the kingdoms most player characters would call home. These include many 'holy sites', places of historical, cultural and spiritual importance to the people of Ahan. There are few if any gods remaining, as apparently most of them were killed in a war between the Old Dynasty Empire and the heavens which resulted in the demon infested wasteland in the middle of the continent. Instead, the people worship spirits and spirtual places. These locations are often fought over by various factions and are one of the key sources of conflict in the Wares Blade setting.

There is a lot more I can tell you but for now this will do.

I am disappointed in the turn out for this month but at the same time, I realize not everyone is going to get jazzed about something so foreign (pun intended) to their experience.

Next up...I'm not sure.

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Barking Alien

If The Stars Aligned

I'm really pleased that my last post generated some actual discussion. Though it may seem a simple thing to some, its the part of my blog that I really enjoy the most. Don't get me wrong, its always fun standing on my soapbox and shouting madly into the ether but it really feels worthwhile when other voices shout back.

***

In a Facebook post I asked my friends who game...

"The stars align and you have the chance to play your favorite RPG tomorrow with the perfect GM and group. What game is it?"

There were 9 separate responses. The range of players covered people who have gamed with me for anywhere between never and 20 years (there were some responses from friends who game who I've never personally played with). None of those who responded are people that I game with currently. Their ages ranged from mid 20s to mid-to-late 40s. Ethnicities varied greatly. All responders were Male.

1 For Call of Cthulhu
2 For Champions
1 For D&D
1 For Marvel Super Heroes (Classic Marvel RPG) or Mutants & Masterminds
1 For Metamorphosis Alpha/Gamma World
1 For Pathfinder
1 For Shadowrun
1 For Star Trek
1 For Star Wars

In total the post received around 30 comments as we discussed the results and other games we would have added to the list as secondary choices, etc.

My own vote would be Star Trek or Traveller, with the caveat that I'd rather run them than play them.

There were a few surprises in the mix.

I expected the guy who voted for Star Wars to vote for Star Trek. That was seriously jarring. He mentioned really, really liking our old Star Wars campaigns and getting his Star Trek fix recently thanks to Star Trek Online. Personally I feel that statement is a mini-blasphemy but I will let it slide 'cause he is one of my oldest friends.

Another surprise was the vote for Pathfinder, which came from an old friend who moved out to the West Coast and came back recently. This fella was big into Champions, Teenagers From Outer Space, Mekton and other 80's RPGs. Never pegged him as a D&D guy, let alone one who would be into its evolutionary descendant.

One thing I wasn't stunned by was that only two of the nine responses would want to play D&D or a D&D-related game. This simply illustrates what I've noted on this blog many times before; Medieval Fantasy as a genre was simply not the most popular subject for game among the RPGers I've known and gamed with.

***

Tomorrow begins the month of December, last month of the year and very possibly, the last month for the planet if any of the various doomsayers are correct. Of course, they would have to be correct in their understanding of the often misread and mistranslated Mayan calendar and how it applies to the so-called 'End Times'. See you on the 22nd of December.

Now then, I have a plan to do something most unusual for me this December...talk a lot about Dungeons and Dragons.

Specifically, My D&D, the personal 'variant' that I sometimes refer to as D&D-But-Not and D&D-For-Those-Who-Don't-Like-D&D. My biggest fear is that I won't be able to convey how different it is from 'regular' D&D. I've also never shared the rules or setting in all their glory with so many people before. If it wasn't for the potential for planetary extermination and strange celestial events I don't think I would be crazy enough to try.

Wish me luck.

***

Finally, having some thoughts about returning to run something once a month at my FLGS. Not sure what or when or how but the prospect is exciting.

***

Next Stop...Aerth.

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Barking Alien