RPGaDay 2026 - DAY 3 - POISE

POISE

Poise isn't a word that commonly appears in my vocabularly, either written or spoken. It isn't something I think about and few of my characters are ever developed with their 'Poise' in mind. How does Poise even apply to RPGs Let's see if we can get an idea from the definition...

According to Merriam-Webster it means 'to hold or carry in equilibrium'. Isn't that balance? Are they synonymous? Hmm. Turns out they are in fact synonyms. That doesn't really help me though and it isn't what I think of what I think of Poise. What else is there?

Ah, Google has the definition of 'graceful and elegant bearing in a person'. OK, yes, that's more what I was thinking of. Like a princess. Like a Space Princess? A Psychic Space Princess!

YES!

I'm going with a Space Princess with Psychic Powers for this one. With that in mind, it is my honor to introduce her highness, Princess Yume Nebular of the Miraisekai Empire.

As lovely, charming, and diplomatic as she is enigmatic and, if rumors are true, dangerous, Princess Yume is the youngest member of the Nebular Royal Family and the heir to the Throne of Visions. Her elder cousin Kowai is next in line should something 'happen' to her. 

While accidents and direct attempts on her life have been made by forces unknown (shhyeah, right) none have been even remotely successful. Like many members of the Nebular Royal Family, the Princess possesses Psychic Abilities, one of which appears to be Precognition, the power to see the future. It is very difficult to rid yourself of a target who knows when, where, and how a threat to them is coming. 

Unbeknownst to all but the closest of family members, Princess Yume's personal scepter, the Infinity Stave, is an ancient artifact from a highly advanced though long extinct civilization that enhances her powers while she's in contact with it. 

Princess Yume always goes about with an air of Poise and a sense of calm confidence that can only come with being able to see events that have not yet occurred. This does not make the young royal invincible of course. Just because you know a catastrophe is coming doesn't mean you can stop it.

Luckily, she has the forces of the Miraisekai Empire at her disposal and a lot of friends who can help her escape a potentially deadly situation, including the Alien Explorer Gidget Starseeker and Asatira the Space Amazon.

Yume Nebular is built on another custom/combo Archetype, this one merging Princess and Esper into my own creation, Psychic Princess. I know, I know, we're workshopping the name. 

With this entry I focused on how she might function in an adventure or overarching plot, so things like Weapons and Adventure Gear and the like were kept to a minimum; I only gave her what I thought she needed her potential role. In an ongoing campaign I might flesh her out further if my players and their PCs responded well to her. 

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Looking ahead, some of the future prompts, those towards the later half of the month, are little lacking in 'energy'. Few of them are, how shall I put it, 'action' words. Still and all, better than previous years. I may have to get creative. We'll see how it goes.  

*The name Yume isn't a name per se but a word; it means 'Dream' in Japanese. Her rival cousin Kowai's name mean 'Scary' or 'Frightening'

Likewise, the 'Miraisekai' Empire uses the Japanese words for 'Future' and 'World/Society/Civilization' to form the Future Society Empire. Is their Precognition that powerful or could they actually be from the future? Don't know yet but its fun to imagine the possibilities.

This character, her Empire, and many other aspects were inspired by the Jurai Empire and related characters in the Japanese Anime Franchise 'Tenchi Muyo'. 

RPGaDay 2026 - DAY 2 - STATURE

STATURE

The word Stature implies prominent and even imposing physical size. It also related to importance or perceived important due to ability and achievements. The word makes me think of something Science Fiction is noticably lacking in these days...Space Amazons!

Asatira 176 is an Amazon Warrior Woman from the planet Astart (Astart Sagitarri II) and a renowned interstellar adventurer. Like all the women of her world, Asatira is descended from a group of genetically engineered super soldiers who colonized the planet a few centuries back. 

Not long after arriving on the planet a terrible plague wiped out the Male population and only the Females survived. Now, over 300 years later, their society thrives as a Matriarchal Direct Democracy - One Woman, One Vote! The Astartians are much sought after as allies because of their martial prowess but are not yet members of the Galactic Federation, prefering their independant status.

Elena 225 and Asatira 176 showing variants in Astartian Battle Armor aesthetics. 

Asatira is, as you can imagine, a big woman. She stands just over 7 feet tall and weighs roughly 250 lbs. The gravity of Astart is heavier than Earth-Galactic Standard and the people are adapted to such conditions. In addition, her Stamina and Speed are as impressive as her Physical Strength; her enemies sometimes succumb to fatigue before she even breaks a sweat.

While skilled with various weapons, her favorite is a Plasma Energy based 'Ray Sword', seen here being used against a Robot Commando of the Ares Battalion, a renegade military organization originally from Mars in the Sol System. The Battalion and the Amazons of Astart are bitter rivals. 

I love this character. She just came to me upon reading today's prompt and I had to write her up. I gave her a Hoverbike and Special Gauntlets to show her people are technologically advanced and not just big barbarians. The number after her name is a hold over from the distant past when her people, being genetically engineered, were given a batch number or other such designation. Maybe they were clones? Who knows! That was a long time ago. How do they reproduce now? Hmm. Good question...

Here's her Character Sheet:

Instead of using the Amazon Archetype, I decided to do another custom one combining the Amazon and the Muscle, resulting in what I refer to as 'The Amazon Warrior'. 

I am really looking forward to running this game sometime soon and I am still considering do a Solo campaign as well. It's just a really functional system that emulates the genre of Space Opera particularly well and that is one of my favorite types of Science Fiction after all. 

I see Asatira as a sort of 'Big Sister' figure for Gidget, the latter wishing she was half as cool as this badass Space Amazon. Meanwhile Asatira is well aware Gidget is good at things she herself is not, like piloting Starships and understanding complex Sciences like Biology. 

What a team they'd make, right!

Where to next - or is it who to next - as we explore the denizens of Frontier Sector Zeta and the universe of Space Opera Heroes!

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*Asatira is a Female name of Swahili origin meaning 'History' or 'Legend'. Quite fitting if I do say so myself. 

Asatira's homeworld of Astart (Astart Sagitarri II) is named for Astarte, the Hellenized form of the name of the ancient Near Eastern goddess, Attart. Attart is a counterpart to Ishtar and a female diety connected to Beauty, Sexuality, Royal Power, Healing, and War.  

RPGaDay 2026 - DAY 1 - DISCIPLINE

DISCIPLINE

An appropriate first word, as that's exactly what I'll need and hope to have to get anywhere with this particular Challenge. My track record here isn't particularly good.

When I think Discipline I think of 'Officer' type characters, like those serving in Starfleet and many Superheroes; those charged with the defense and well-being of civilians, institutions, and their fellow officers. 

Introducing Captain Lacey Pepper, the Sector Commanding Officer of the Galaxy Police in my rapidly developing Space Opera Heroes campaign universe. 

A career officer who worked her way up from Frontier Traffic Control, to Subsector 'Beat Cop', to the top law enforcement authority at the edge of Galactic Federation Space, Captain Pepper is equally liked and feared by the officers under her command. She's tough but fair and has a lot more compassion than most people might expect given her by-the-book outward demeanor. 

Flag of The Galactic Federation Galaxy Police

Galaxy Police Badge

So what makes Lacey Pepper stand out among the great many officers who constantly put their lives on the line to help the citizens of the Galactic Federation through anti-piracy operations, emergency responses and rescues, and interstellar community outreach? Discipline! She has a clear moral code, she sticks by it, and she has organized her life and her work (which are basically indistinguishable) in such a way as to allow her to apply her principles to the universe around her. This only works because she pursues her goals with unparalleled focus and resolve.  

And her she is in Space Opera Heroes Character Sheet form. Pretty simple to write-up. Once again she is an original Archetype, this one really just a variant on Super Heroine but with some added Law Enforcement skills like Investigation and Search. Super Heroine actually comes with Negotiation, which is largely why I choose that as my starting point. 

OK, Day 1 is complete. On to Day 2...

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*Lacey Pepper gets her first name from Mary Beth Lacey, one of the two policewomen in the Female led Police Procedural Drama 'Cagney and Lacey', played by the incomparable Tyne Daley. It was a ground-breaking and Emmy Award winning series that ran on ABC Television for seven seasons, between 1982-1988. 

Before Cagney and Lacey there was an even more pioneering show, Police Woman. Starring American television icon Angie Dickenson as Sgt. 'Pepper' Anderson, the series lasted four seasons and ran on NBC between 1974-1978. It was one of the first police/crime dramas to focus on a Female lead, proceeded only months before by 'Get Christie Love!' starring the beautiful and talented Teresea Graves. That show is itself remarkable for having a Black Actress as the star of a Detective/Crime series.

Space Opera Heroes - The Star of Life

Following up from my dicussion of Space Opera Heroes' basic rules, I thought the next, best thing to do is try making up a character.

I don't know about you but this is what I always do when I come across new RPGs that I'm interested in. I learn the system's base mechanic and then try to make up a PC. This is the approach that gives me the fastest and most efficient 'feel for the game'.

Let's take a look at the Character Sheet.

Pretty simple and straightforward design I think. Easy enough to read. I did very little alteration from the Japanese version; just a few adjustments to accomodate the translations. I like that you can fit everything on one sheet, at least at the start. 

To assist me with this I have once again called upon my new friend Gidget Starseeker, an Alien Explorer currently venturing into the frontier sectors with her robot companion, GUS.

Before we get started, I want to be completely transparent: Space Opera Heroes is a little...well...a product of its time. That's not exactly right. Hmm. I'll try to explain.

Primarily emulating the Space Opera genre fiction of the 1930s to the 1970s, the game focuses on the Space Opera HERO, not the Space Opera HEROINE. Most of the Archetypes are assumed to be male because those were the protagonists in Science Fiction of the era most influential on the game. Buck Rogers, Captain Future, Captain Harlock, Crusher Joe, Flash Gordon, Lensman, and many other stories were very male hero-centric.

At the same time, the game seems self-aware and progressive enough to address this. It provides several Female specific Archetypes that are no less effective than their Male counterparts. Furthermore, the game acknowledges the increasing number of Female protagonists in the genre (remember this game was written in 1992). As influential as Perry Rodan and Star King were on the RPG, the game also lists The Dirty Pair, Gall Force, Queen Esmeralda, Rumiko Takahashi's story 'The Superwoman', and other Female protagonist-led titles as major inspirations.

In the end, I am going to run and play my game my way and my way says guys, gals, non-binary pals, and everyone else is treated equally. We're all using the same rules and we can all be Space Opera Heroes. To be clear, the game is not of a counter opinion. It is simply written from the standpoint of a Japanese guy from the early 90s talking about a genre whose Golden Age was in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. 

OK? Cool. Onward...

Character Creation

There are two ways to create a Player Character in Space Opera Heroes. The first way is the long way and creates a character from the ground up. I'll have to give that a try sometime soon. The second way interests me much more: Archetypes. Basically choose or even invent an Archetype - which is not unlike a Template in Star Wars D6 or a Career in ALIEN - allocate some Skill Points, make a few choices, get some gear, and you're ready to go. That's where I started so that's what I'm going to talk about. 

In order to create 'Alien Explorer', an Archetype that doesn't exist in the game, I looked at the over 40 different Archetypes and essentially combined elements of two together. Looking over the list, it seemed the closet relatives to what I wanted would be Female Doctor/Scientist and Lucky Heroine. My character is mainly built on the latter but I gave up Energy Sword in exchange for Sensors and I added a Science: Biology Skill. The other Skills that fill out the Archetype are Evasion, Firearms-Pistol, Intuition, Spaceship Navigation, and Spaceship Pilot. Your Archetype also provides you with a set of Attributes.

Most of the Archetypes have six Skills and if they don't, the Skills start at a higher Base Score and/or the character will have one or two Attributes that are pretty high.  

When spending the 11 Skill Points I received to improve these Skills, I added one or two to the numbers the Skills automatically came with (1 for everything except Evasion, which is 2) and had one point left over. I used the one point to create a Special Ability, 'Danger Sense', which helps to define Gidget as an Alien (it is her Antenna that give her this ability). 

I haven't figured out how money works or rather I haven't figured out how much money you start with. It is noted that PCs start with some kind of Starship and considering I will likely be using Gidget as a Solo Character, I decided to give her a Callisto Class vessel. These are typical of Player Character type spaceships and can be decked out for Smuggling, Fighting, Exploring, or virtually any other configuration. Remember, the game doesn't give Starships much detail, treating them like just another piece of equipment. I'm expanding the Starship rules by porting over mechanics from Space Ship Story (more on that in a future post). 

I gave her a basic Spacesuit, a Robot Companion, a Raygun (the lowest power type), and a few other minor devices. Overall, the PC's equipment was just stuff I decided to give her as opposed to actual 'purchases'. Once I figure out the money situation I'll pay off the debt she has [if any]. 

Here's what her write-up looks like:

 

I like her. I like her a lot actually. She was fun to create,  which if you know me you know that's a pretty big deal for me to say  I don't generally enjoy Character Creation but here it was fun. It felt like picking a Template like those in Star Wars D6 and getting a character that feels more like classic Traveller. She was simple and remarkably quick to make but has just enough detail and uniqueness for me to 'get her' almost instantly.

Fun Fact: In the example I used in the previous post I said she had a Sensors and Science: Biology Skill of 2 each but that was just a guess based on my initial eyeballing of the Character Creation system. Once I figured out I had accidentally given her too many Skills, I redistributed her Skill Points enabling her to obtain higher ranks in certain ones (as noted on the sheet above). 

Dang it, she's cool and I am looking forward to exploring frontier space with her. 

Next up? Most likely her starship, the GFI-S.S. Wanderer, a modified GP-JS-Zeta Callisto Class Explorer. 

Is there something you'd like to know more about or see? Leave a comment and let me know.

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Barking Alien

Origin of the Title: 'The Star of Life' was a Science Fiction Novel written by Edmond Hamilton and published in exerpts in Startling Stories Magazine in 1947.

Space Opera Heroes - Operation Future

I've been kind of obsessed with the 'old school' Japanese TRPG Space Opera Heroes lately and while I was going over it I just happen to run into this friendly young lady who offered to help me get a better understanding of the system. 

She calls herself 'Gidget Starseeker' because, as she explained, her real name sounds vaguely like Gidget and the rest is unpronouceable by Humans. Fair enough. I promised that if she helped me to better grok this game I would make her a Character Sheet and possibly chronicle some of her adventures. 

He goes nothing...

The base mechanic of the game is very simple: when the outcome of a judgement would be variable, unclear, and especially dramatic, the player rolls 1 six-sided die and adds their character's appropriate Attribute and Skill to the result. If the final number meets or beats a Target Number the action succeeds. If not, the actions fails. Unless...well we'll get to that.

Attribute (Stat) + Skill + 1D6 Result = Total Roll

Now here's where things get interesting and the game shows its commitment to the Space Opera genre. Space Opera Heroes don't fail very often. In fact, they often succeed with epic effect! To this end, each judgement roll of your six-sided die is an Exploding Six-sided Die! That's right, the 1D6 you roll on every action check explodes on a 6!

For those unfamiliar with the Exploding Die concept; If you roll a 6 you add the result to your Stat+Skill and roll again, adding the next result to your total. If that number is a 6 you roll again, repeating the process until you don't roll a 6. 

For every 5 points over the Target Number the roll achieves, the character is able to do +1 Damage and/or gain an additional benefit of varying degrees. According to the rules it would look something like this:

Roll is < The Target Number = Failure. (Unless...see below)

Roll is = or > than the Target Number = Success!

Roll is > the Target Number +5 = Effective Success. +1 Damage or Situation Benefit.

Roll is > the Target Number +10 = Critical Success. +2 Damage or 2 Situation Benefits.

Roll is > the Target Number +15 = Extraordinary Success. +3 Damage or 3 Benefits.

Roll is > the Target Number +20 or more = Legendary Success. +4 Damage or 4 Benefits.

If it is appropriate to the scene you can split the Damage and Benefits so that, for example, an Extraordinary Success could be +4 Damage and 2 Situation Benefits. Likewise it could be +2 Damage and 4 Benefits. Only one point of Damage and one Benefit may be exchanged in this way. 

What the Situation Benefits are should be discussed between the Space Opera Master and PC Hero. Maybe your Laser Gun shoots one Pirate and he falls back, knocking another Pirate off his feet. Perhaps you hack into a Computer System to shut down the Alarm and you discovered the fastest path to your target. Benefits can translate to getting more information if you are performing a Sensor scan or asking Scientific questions. 

The Target Numbers in general are as follows:

3 - Very Easy (Usually not worth rolling for)

4 - Fairly Easy

6 - Easy

8 - Standard

9 - Tricky. Slightly Difficult.

10 - Difficult

12 - Very Difficult

15 - Extremely Difficult 

In some situations the player may get to roll more than 1D6. When doing so, you identify which one of your dice is the Base Die, the one representing the PC and the only one that Explodes. The other dice come from outside the PC (explained below) and are rolled along with the Base Die but only the Highest Score Rolled Counts. Again, if that roll is a 6 on the Base Die, you roll again as per the Exploding Die rules above. 

Why would the PC get extra dice? There are a number of reasons but the most commons ones are:

The PC getting as assist from other PCs or a Major NPC.

The PC's Starship has a Special Feature that grants a bonus die. 

The PC has Special Gear or a Special Ability like Psychic Power or Cybernetics. 

Here's a play example: 

Gidget is trying to scan a Biological Sample held in an illegal lab. The bad guys are trying to get in but she's used the computer to lock the door. Scanning with her Multi-Scanner is Easy (Target Number 6) but she is in a hurry. Her enemies will break in soon enough. That's a difficulty increase to 7.

Gidget's Intellect is 3 and her Sensors and Biology Skills are both 2. We'll say its Sensors. So she's rolling 1D6 + 3 + 2. Here we go...oops. A 1. That's a 6 Total, one less than she needs. Before she finishes her scan the villains open the door and point their Ray Guns at her. 

Example Two:

Same situation but Gidget isn't alone. She is with her robot companion, GUS (Guardian Utility Scout). While she is scanning, GUS is overriding the door controls so the enemy can't open it without blowing the door off but they don't know that right away. 

Once again, Gidget rolls her Intellect + Sensors + 1D6 but now she gets an extra 1D6 thanks to GUS' assistance. So 3 + 2 + a 2D6 roll, resulting in...oh wow. A 5 and a 6 on the Base Die. I roll again. 6. Again and I get a 1. Great Galaxies! 3+2+6+6+1 = 18! The Target Number was 7 and she beat it by 11 so that's a Critical Success! She not only Succeeds in scanning the sample but also manages to erase the data in the bad guys' computer and gets herself and GUS to a hatch in the ceiling for their escape. 

Now, I've been mentioning that if you don't meet the Target Number you Fail your action 'Unless'...well that unless is if you spend a Hero Point. If you Fail and spend a Hero Point you Succeed with a Consequence. Things work but don't go exactly as planned. Maybe a new problem arises. Like many other Japanese TRPGs, Success after Fail comes with a cost and makes things a bit more complicated (and interesting).

Lastly...

Hero Points

Hero Points are pretty awesome in this game, generally allowing the PCs to be as hard to defeat as a Space Opera Hero in the genre fiction show be. At the same time, Space Opera Heroes are famous from getting out of the frying pan and into the fire; getting away from a corridor full of Stormtroopers can land you in a Trash Compactor with a garbage squid and walls that will crush you flat. 

Here's what they can be used for:

Fail a Judgement Roll for any Action Check, spend 1 HP and Success w/ Consequence

Spend 1 HP, an Attack against your PC misses. Beware! Something or someone got hit.

Otherwise, spend 1 HP to lower the Damage Rank your character has taken. 

Spend 1, take an Attack meant for someone else. You take damage. Spend 1 to reduce.

Spend 1 to have a one time item you need. You find it near by or in your pack.

Spend 1 to gain Skill you don't already have. Must be related to one on your sheet.

Some of these have particulars that I should to go into greater detail about, so expect to see that soon. 

I'd like to thank you all for coming by and checking this out. I'd also like to thank Gidget for all her help. GUS too. You might be hearing a lot more from them in the near future. 

Ah, Future! Get it?

Later days,

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Barking Alien

Origin of the Title: 'Operation Future' was a Science Fiction Short Story and Exerpt Collection published by Permabooks in 1955. The anthology was edited by Groff Conklin. 

HEROES IN SPAAACE!

What's up next on the Barking Alien agenda Adam?

I'll take 'Obscure 'Old School' Japanese Science Fiction Tabletop RPGs' for the win, Jack!

You got it...

Space Opera Heroes

Written by Atsushi Yamakita

Produced by Far East Amusement Research - F.E.A.R.

Published by Hobby Japan, 1992

I can't even tell you how many times I've come across physical copies of this game and not purchased it over the years. So. Many. Times.

It was, quite literally, the Japanese TRPG I would see most often, on a regular basis really, in Books Kinokuniya, Asahiya Books (no longer around), and my very first love, Zen Oriental Books (also long gone). I never picked it up because...well there was always a reason. 

• I don't have the money right now.
• I can't read Japanese (like that stopped me before or since - lame excuse!).
• I'll get it next time. They always have a copy.
• This other one is rarer/cooler/less expensive.
• It doesn't look all that great. 

I even remember a Japanese friend telling me it was nothing special and that no one into gaming in Japan talks about it. It only had one supplement put out for it. Maybe my friend was right. Maybe it wasn't so great. And so little support? How popular could it have been? All that said...it always nagged at me. I had to get it and sure enough once I decided to...it was no where to be found. 

Space Opera Heroes 2

A Supplement of Additional Rules, Options, and Ideas. 

Fast forward to last week when I was doing some JTRPG research and I just happen to come across a reference to Space Opera Heroes purely by chance. I copied and pasted the Kanji and did a search to see if I could find any more about this 34 year old year that hardly gets a mention these days. What did I find? Apparently, the original author of the game wrote a sequel of sorts in 1998 titled 'Star Road' and when he did, he put the entire first edition rulebook online...for FREE! 

Star Road

A 1998 Sequel to Space Opera Heroes

Written by Atsushi Yamakita

Produced by Far East Amusement Research - F.E.A.R.

Published by Gamer Field

Needless to say, I've been downloading and translating the book and WOW, was everyone wrong about this thing. It's low key awesome! It features a number of interesting ideas that are kind of unusual for games of that period in both the Japanese and the US market.

Space Opera Heroes Features Include:

• Characters can be built quickly using one of 40+ Archetypes!
• It's rules-lite, with a simple Stat+Skill+1D6 vs. a Target Number base mechanic.
• PCs can use Hero Points to achieve various special actions or effects.
• There are NHP - Negative Hero Points for the Space Opera Master!
• The Heroes (PCs) can't die unless the player wants to allow for that. Wha?!?
• Missions are always successful but there can be serious consequences. 
• Classic Space Opera tropes are not just encouraged but enforced.
• There is a recommended adventure structure to keep things feeling Space Opera. 

These are just some of the cool concepts in the game. I am still going through the rules of course but I keep finding more and more intriguing bits. 

A few things I would change: Starships are mentioned throughout but the rules for them are almost non-existant. That is to say, they don't have a system for making spacecraft, what to do with them beyond fighting, etc. The game essentially treats starships as items your character owns, no different from a Laser Pistol or Ray Sword (an alternative name for Lightsaber that I must say I really like). I would probably incorporate the rules from Space Ship Story into the game to expand the starship into a character and a useful base (and you know how much I love bases). 

Another thing is Aliens; the attitude the game takes towards aliens is novel but not one that particularly appeals to me. It implies that while there are primitive forms of alien life and ancient civilizations with relics to be found, there are no active Alien Intelligences in the setting until a PC makes first contact with one. 

I get this and it is reminiscent of a certain type of Science Fiction from the same era as Space Opera's Golden Age. At the same time, E. E. Smith's Lensman series, identified as a major inspiration for this game, was chock ful of sapient aliens! Looking at the game's 'Appendix N' you've got Captain Future, Captain Harlock, Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy, Larry Niven's Known Space books, Star Trek, Star Wars, and many others that feature aliens as regularly interacting with the Humans of Space. 

Granted, I think what the game was going for is something more in the vein of Crusher Joe, The Dirty Pair, Season 1 Space: 1999, and other more Humancentric settings. Thing is, I love Space Opera and only tolerate Humans so I'd likely make alien Archetypes or a single, flexible Archetype called Alien. After all, there are Optional Rules for Robot Archetypes that range from a Humanoid Robot to a powerful Combat Robot to a Replicant/Bioroid type. Why not an Alien?

I did not expect to write about this game tonight, let alone write this much on the subject.

Smurfs, Open World Exploration, and more Space Opera Heroes to come real soon,

Good night Space Cowboy!

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Cutthroat Planet

The Tabletop Roleplaying Game hobby has had more than a few tales of 'Games-That-Never-Were'. Games that were designed, developed, and sometimes even announced but for one reason or another didn't come to pass. Essentially, we're talking RPG vaporware. 

Japan's TRPG market isn't immune to this phenomena. Of particular note in this category is a game I've been obsessed with for many years; Cutthroat Planet. 

Cutthroat Planet is, or would have been, a Retro-Futurisc Space Opera TRPG focused on the PCs as heroic Space Pirates in a galaxy ruled by an evil empire. The idea is reminiscent of Space Pirate Captain Harlock, with the pirates as rebels against a tyrannical imperium.

The game, and its failure to materialize, has quite an interesting history.  

The game was the brainchild of Hayami Rasenjin, a prolific artist and writer who has worked in the fields of Manga, Anime, and Japanese TTRPGs for over three decades. Rasejin is a fan and advocate of Roleplaying Playing Games himself and has done a great many illustrations for the Japanese TRPG industry over the years. His works include being the main artist on SATASUPE, the 'Asian Punk' RPG that remains a favorite in Japan and of yours truly.

Honestly, I'm a big fan of Rasenjin and have been since before I really knew his name. I would see his artwork in various Japanese Roleplaying Games and Roleplaying Game related magazines and eventually started following him on Social Media. During my search for more projects he'd worked on, I came across the subject of this post, Cutthroat Planet.

Sometime around 2001, Hayami Rasejin came up with an idea for a Tabletop Roleplaying Game in which the players are freedom fighting Space Pirates flying between Earth and 'The Second Solar System' preying upon the unjust and overly bureacratic Terran Empire. Set in a Retro-Future Space Opera universe inspired by Flash Gordon and early Science Fiction Anime and Manga, the game had a wonderful setting but no rules.

He eventually tried using a few different systems, even testing them out at Sci-Fi and Gaming conventions but he wasn't satisfied with any of them. One magazine article suggested the game was going to be released as using the rules of SATASUPE, which I personally think would have been awesome. In the end, Rasenjin just couldn't find or create a set of mechanics that he felt were right for the idea and so it went on the backburner.

An RPG Convention program from November of 2001

featuring a listing for a Cutthroat Planet playtest.

Special Guest Greg Stafford of Glorantha and Pendragon fame!

Fast forward to sometime in late 2003 or early 2004 and the game design studio known as Adventure Planning Bureau had come up with a new system they planned on using for an upcoming project but no setting had yet been developed. Designer Toichiro Kawashima had created Saikoro (Dice) Fiction and Rasejin, who was familiar with APB, met with him to discuss applying Dice Fiction to his Cutthroat Planet idea.

After writing began on the Cutthroat Planet game, a second Dice Fiction game went into development, Neighborhood Fairy Tale RPG Peek-a-Boo, sometimes referred to by the nickname Peek-a-Boo Horror (another game I really love). Peek-a-Boo was written and created by Toichiro Kawashima himself, with the help of illustrator (and later Kawashima's wife) Nagomi Ochiai, and the staff of APB.  For unclear reasons, Cutthroat Planet was delayed, while Peek-a-Boo continued on at a solid pace.

When Peek-a-Boo was complete, Advanced Planning Bureau decided to release it first and it did very well. Eventually, the popularity of it lead other creators and designers to contact Kawashima and APB about using Dice Fiction for their ideas, creating a sort of 'universal system' and making APB the biggest of the smaller design studios.The company and its system now supports over a two dozen titles, including InSane, Kill Death Business, and Uncle Gap.

By late 2006, after announcements and magazine articles indicating Cutthroat Planet was scheduled for a June 30th release, the following statement was sent out by Adventure Planning Bureau to retailers:

(Translated from Japanese)

Thank you very much for your support.

We have announced that the release of 'Cutthroat Planet', which was scheduled for June 30th,
has been postponed.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

The official release date has not yet been decided, but we are aiming for an early next year release.

The game itself is currently being produced under the direction of designer Hayami Rasenjin
but we are currently in the final stages of adjustment to further enhance the game's quality and are therefore unable to release it.

Repeated announcements of release delays have led to rumors from various quarters that the
game may not be released after all but we are making every effort to ensure that as many users as possible can enjoy this wonderful title.

We apologize for any concern and inconvenience this may cause and we ask that you please wait a little longer.

We will contact you as soon as the release date is finalized.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

We would like to once again apologize for any inconvenience caused.

We look forward to your continued support.

June 26, 2006
Kokusai Tsushinsha Co., Ltd.

An issue of the Japanese TRPG magazine R.P.G. Gamer had an article on the game in the Vol. 4, October 25th 2007 issue accompanied by Rasenjin's art. I am unable to find any further references to the game. Well...sort of...

A Japanese gamer blog that has what has to be the best name for a blog ever, 'Only The Dice Are Honest: Possibly the most pointless TRPG blog in Japan', posted a congratulations on the release of Cutthroat Planet finally coming out in 2010, only to reveal that it was an April Fools joke on the blogger's part. 

So what went wrong?

Sadly, I can find no official confirmation of what happened to this project, though some clues to its failure to launch can be found in the blog entries of various APB personnel and Rasejin himself over the years. 

It would seem that other projects drew Hayami Rasejin's attention away from his writing and overseeing Cutthroat Planet, including his work as a Design Assistant and Consultant in the Anime industry. Higher paying work and more immediate turnaround meant these sorts of professional gigs took precedent over his personal passion project. 

In addition, his popularity as a Manga writer and artist blossomed and he would later do quite well in the medium with a series called 'A Galactic Journey Worthy of a Baron', many elements of which seem to have been influenced by ideas he had originally created for Cutthroat Planet. 

A Galactic Journey Worthy of a Baron, By Hayami Rasenjin. Volume 1

Finally, while not said out right, I get the impression that Rasenjin wasn't entirely happy with the Dice Fiction system version of the game. Blog posts by those who followed the project through the early days and convention playtests mention his use of D20s in some versions, D10s in others, and I get the impression he never found the mechanics that quite matched his vision. I've been there so I get that. 

I lament that this TRPG never truly happened in a way that fans of Rasenjin, Science Fiction Space Opera, and Roleplaying Games had hoped it would. It is a path not taken and a missed opportunity that could have been an excellent addition to any collection of Japanese TRPGs.

 

Later Days,

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31 Days / 31 Characters - JIN'HOKO

Tenchi Muyo! is a Sci-Fi/Space Opera Harem Comedy franchise created by Masaki Kajishima that first appeared as a six episode OVA (Original Video Animation) series in Japan in 1992. The title translates to 'No Need for Tenchi', with Tenchi Masaki being the titular character. His name is also a play on words translating to 'Heaven and Earth', such that the series could also be called 'No Need for Heaven and Earth'. 

Since 1992 the franchise has produced four additional OVA series, three multi-season Anime television shows, three animated feature films, two Manga series, and numerous novels as well as light novels, some published in Japan and some produced by an American publishing company here in the U.S. There have been several spin-offs as well, including Magical Girl Pretty Sammy, Photon: The Idiot Adventures, and Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure (itself a partial parody of Evangelion). The Magnificent World of El-Hazard, a seeming unrelated series, is revealed through the course of its OVA to also be connected to the 'Tenchiverse'.

One of the more popular spin-offs, which has spawned a TV series, an OVA series, a Manga, and a string of light novels, is called Tenchi Muyo! GXP. In 2012 the Anime aired on Adult Swim in the US and elsewhere. It follows the adventures of unlucky Earth boy Seina Yamada, who is mistakenly recruited into the interplanetary law enforcement agency known as the Galaxy Police. Keep this in mind for later. 

In Japan, a TRPG set in the Tenchi Muyo! universe was produced for the multi-genre/setting game MAGIUS. The main book and three supplements came out between 1995 and 1996. Guardians of Order put out a Tenchi Muyo! RPG and 'Resource' Book in 2000. This was followed by a GM Screen and sourcebooks for two of the television shows, Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Tokyo.

The Tenchi Muyo! RPG products using MAGIUS by Fujimi Shobo

The Tenchi Muyo! RPG products by Guardians of Order

Tenchi Muyo! is a franchise very near and dear to me. Not only am I a really big fan of it but also because it's how I met my ex-wife.

We met when she came into the Japanese Pop Culture Entertainment related retail store where I was working. She came in that day looking for the latest installment of Tenchi Muyo!. The thing was, Selina really knew her stuff and had been aware of the first OVA series even before it came out in America. As a result, she was unsure what was available in the US already and what hadn't yet been released here. We ended up talking quite a bit, bonding over our mutual love of Tenchi and company. About a year later we got together outside of work to watch some Anime and the rest is history [and just about the best ten years of my life].*

Cool story but what does this have to do with a character for the 31 Days/31 Characters Challenge? Well...

The first Galaxy Police we encounter in the Tenchi Muyo! universe:

Mihoshi (kneeling) and Kiyone (standing)

At some point prior to 2002 I told Selina about an idea that had come to me, a really cool concept for a Tenchi Muyo! Anime, Manga, or maybe a TRPG campaign; Ginga Keisatsu Muyo! or 'No Need for The Galaxy Police!'. Selina liked the idea but said it would probably go over better as a game than as a Japanese series. Most fans prefer their 'Tenchi' be Earth related. I figured she was probably right. Sure enough a couple years later Studio AIC released the newest installment of the Tenchi Muyo franchise, Tenchi Muyo GXP!. 

Tenchi Muyo! GXP

The game concept stuck with me however, even after Selina and I parted ways, and sometime around 2010(?) I ran a one-shot session of Ginga Keisatsu Muyo at a Pop Culture convention with a large Anime/Manga presence (though it wasn't an Anime Convention). The most memorable and exciting character was Jin'Hoko...

Character: Jin'Hoko

AKA: Detective First Class, Jin

Player: Nikki

System: Teenagers from Outer Space, 1st Edition, with my 'Advanced TFOS' houserules. 

I have a special surprise for you all down below in the 'Game Info' section. Keeping reading!

 

Nature: One-Shot: Ginga Keisatsu Muyo! No Need for the Galaxy Police!

Gamemaster: Adam Dickstein

Circa: 2010(?)

Not entirely positive if it was 2009, 2010, or 2011. 

Origins: I kinda gave away the origins of this game and character earlier in the post but I'll get more specific about Officer Jin'Hoko herself:

More often than not I create Pre-Gens when running games at conventions. When doing so I always leave room for the player to customize their PC, name them, and come up with a bit of background.

A cool gal named Nikki picked the Wau Officer and called her Jin, later changing it to Jin'Hoko. The Wau are a species of intelligent, humanoid felines resembling lions. She used the extra points I gave out to raise her 'Blaster' Knack and asked me if she could switch out or add a custom Power called 'Blaster-Fu' which I'll discuss later. Of course I said yes, replacing another Power on the character sheet. Her background was kind of made-up as she went along but it ended up being absolutely excellent. 

Backstory: Officer Jin'Hoko is First Class Detective of the Galaxy Police, the interstellar law enforcement division of the Galaxy Federation. She had served as a loyal, dedicated, and efficient police-being for sometime prior to the game's incident. At least, that's what the records show. The truth is not too different but often leaves out her reckless use of her GP Blasters when apprehending Space Pirates.

We additionally learn that Jin'Hoko's family were once profitable merchants who'd been preyed upon by the Space Pirate Cometia to the point where they couldn't stay in business. Jin initially applied to the Galaxy Academy in order to support her family and someday defeat Cometia.  

In this adventure, she gets her chance.

Emblem of the Galaxy Police

Overview: Galaxy Police Officers Hikari and Kumonosu are having lunch at a space station 'drive-in' diner when they receive a call from their precinct, the infamous Space Pirate Cometia is attacking a freighter in the vicinity of Diaspora! The two Officers immediately take off in their Patrol Ship and head for the incident. Hikari, a relatively recent graduate of the Galaxy Police Academy suggests they call for back-up as Cometia and her vessel, the Dragon Riot, are ranked among the most dangerous criminals in outer space. Kumonosu agrees. 

Hearing their request, GP Detective First Class Jin'Hoko and Special Investigator Chikao Arakane - with her robot sidekick 'Chiru-B1' - respond and fly to the scene of the crime at top speed. As their three ships arrive, the Transport/Freighter is burning and listing while a spikey, odd looking spacecraft tries to land on it and presumably board the merchant ship. 

The Galaxy Police [PCs], over the course of the session, discover that the freighter was actually a getaway vessel of another group of pirates and Cometia was trying to stop them from escaping with a fabulous treasure. The treasure included a royal relic belonging to a Great House of the Jurai Empire, one connected to Officer Hikari's family.

Things get further confused and complicated over the next three hours as Jin'Hoko and her allies learn Cometia was created and controlled by a bio-engineering genius turned Crime Boss/Pirate Queen. Her early 'career' as a Space Pirate was the villain commanding her to commit acts of piracy. Freed from this a few years back, Cometia has been trying to make up for what she'd been forced to do by hunting down other Pirates. 

Left to Right:

Detective Jin'Hoko, Rookie Officer Hikari, Chiru-B1

Special Investigator Chikao, and Veteran Officer Kumonosu.

The grand finale had the entire PC group plus Cometia fighting the Pirate Queen and her horde of crazy Space Pirates throughout her hideout/headquarters/starship which had a trans-dimensional M.C. Escher floorplan. 

Highlights:

Cometia manages to board the freighter and begins attacking the people on board (who are pirates but this isn't known to the PCs yet). Jin'Hoko and Special Investigator Chikao enter the cargo ship from a different airlock and Jin'Hoko runs up a wall, then launches herself at Cometia. The Wau badass slams the notorious Space Pirate into a bulkhead rolling a Crit! Nikki then said Jin'Hoko opens up on Cometia with her two Blasters at point blank and rolled, Criting AGAIN! 

I was about to say something since Nikki really shouldn't have made that second roll. This was technically her taking two actions. Everyone at the table just stared at Nikki with their jaws having dropped and then started clapping or shouting 'Yeah!' and so we went with it. Furthermore, Crits in Teenagers from Outer Space are actually kind of bad. The rules are you don't just succeed or even really succeed but you Super-Duper-Over-Succeed. Jin ends up blowing Cometia through the ships hull and - FLOOSH! - explosive decompression! Chiru-B1 rushes to help Chikao while Hikari and Kumonosu race to save Jin'Hoko. Meanwhile, a badly injured Cometia shook her fist and shouted at Jin (which no one could hear through the soundless void of space). 

In the final battle Jin uses her heightened sense of smell in concert with her Blaster-Fu ability to shoot a bunch of Pirate goons to her right, left, and behind her or her friends without directly looking at them. She would often pair up with other PCs, creating some really cool and different combos based on her partner at the time. One of my favorites was right before facing the Pirate Queen Big Bad when Jin and Hikari work together. Hikari is revealed to be part Royal Blooded Jurai and possessed a variation of Tenchi's Light Hawk Wings power. Hikari absorbed blasts from Jin'Hoko's pistols and used the energy to fire off a barrage of light bolts - basically releasing two dozen baseball-sized photon torpedoes. Jin's idea. 

 

The notorious but actually reluctant Space Pirate Cometia!

Game Info:

The one-shot I ran used my own 'Advanced TFOS' variant of the Teenagers from Outer Space game but I thought it would be fun to try and build Jin'Hoko in the game Space Ship Story, the Japanese indie Space Opera TRPG I mentioned in my previous post. SSS seems perfect for this sort of setting and character. Let's see how this goes...

First, I think Detective Jin'Hoko's Classes would be Gunner and Officer. At first I thought Gunner/Neighbor because Neighbor is used to represent alien characters and Jin is a Wau, a species of lion-like humanoids. The thing is, other than her physical prowess and supernormal sense of smell, Jin wasn't particularly 'alien' in her personality, mindset, or story. I gave her a bonus +1 to Senses here when smelling for trouble. I could use to bump up her Physical Body stat though. Hmm.

As mentioned in my prior entry, PCs start with two Specialty Skills (one from each Class) and five additional skills, one of which must be Class based and one must be a Support Skill. The rest can be made up of any combination of Class and Support. For Jin'Hoko I chose:

Cooperative Attack (Officer Specialty Skill)

Interference (Gunner Specialty Skill)

Investigate (Support Skill)

Military Tactics (Officer Class Skill)

Pilot (Support Skill)

Shooter (Gunner Class Skill)

Twin Barrel (Gunner Class Skill)

One of her Skills is custom - Twin Barrels. I created a virtually identical ability for the TFOS version so I just gave it to her here. It would qualify as a Gunner Class Skill. 

I assume her Intercomp (a combination Communicator/Personal Computer) is in the form of the Galaxy Police Watch. In the Animation there is also a sensor in it that can detect lifeforms but here I'm going to say hers doesn't have that. During the game that kind of thing was usually left up to Officer Hikari and the robot Chiru-B1.

The last thing I'd like to point out is under Special Items - The Control Cube. This is an item from the Tenchi Muyo! universe that looks like a faintly glowing, blue or red plastic cube about the size of a softball. The Control Cube is an extradimensional device that is capable of holding a number of items within it. By twisting and turning it (like a Rubik's Cube) the user can pull out the equipment they need. 

Notes:

Jin'Hoko's name is a play on 'Raion no hōkō' which means 'lion's roar'.

As noted, Jin is a Wau, a humanoid feline species resembling lions. Numerous characters of this species have appeared in the various Tenchi series and the Wau are noted to be long standing members of the Galaxy Federation. 

Jin'Hoko was inspired by the Wau we'd seen before but also M'Ress from Star Trek: The Animated Series. Nikki admitted to thinking about her when making the character. 

Nikki did an amazing job of playing Detective Jin'Hoko as both 'Action Hero out for Vengence' and someone with a bit of a moral quandary. Jin grew up believing the Space Pirate Cometia to be the 'boogeyman' who attacked her family's ships and ruining their livelihood. To find out it might have been this Pirate Queen villain and her cronies, that Cometia might be on the side of good, turned Jin's world (galaxy?) upside down. She (Nikki) really played it well. 

Legacy:

Unfortunately, I haven't thought about this character in a long time. In fact, I haven't thought about the Tenchi Muyo franchise in quite. That's a shame. It is certainly one of my all time favorite universes. 

Perhaps it deserves a rewatch...

Our next entry believes in the truth of the broth, the power of pork, and the wisdom of fresh vegetables. Most of all, KENTARO SHOUJI lives by The Way of the Noodle.

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