Wise Turtle Publishing

OVA is finally out, and that can only mean one thing...time to get started on something else!

As it stands, both OVA Fantasy and OVA Mecha genre books are already in the works, with OVA Shoujo planned.

But what would you REALLY like to see next? Mecha smashing action? sword-swinging, spell-slinging fantasy? Magical baton whirling magical girls? Ninjas, samurai, and devious spirits? Incredibly cute collectable creatures of commercial conjuring?

Just reply to this message with your thoughts!

I was going to mention OVA Shoujo, but apparently you have that covered.

Although I don't know what you would call it given GoO's embrace of the term, there'sa good supplement to be had in the discussion of "gun bunny" series like Gunsmith Cats, Madlax and Noir. It could also be expanded to include police dramas (and police comedies -- think You're Under Arrest), caper stories (Lupin III) and general espionage.

Another possibility is cyberpunk and "transhumanist" anime such as Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed, Chobits and, to a lesser extent, Bubblegum Crisis.

How about the ariel adventures genre represented by things like Porco Rosso, Castle in the Sky and Last Exile?

These are some pretty good ideas! Although I'll avoid using the gunbunny term, the modern spy/adventurer/assassin genre does seem to have enough anime under its belt to perhaps warrant a book...

cyperpunk and BGC are both covered by the mecha book, or will be rather.

Flying rules may also be covered in that book.

Me, I vote for sword-swinging, spell-slinging fantasy. That's what my group plays, that's what I need in order to be able to use OVA for my campaigns. Regards, Andrea

Being a role player for a long time and having only recently been converted to an anime fan, I'd stick with Andrea and prefer fantasy.
(But it goes without mentioning, that I'd buy both, as soon as they come out, if they have the same high production quality as the main rule book ).
On the other hand, a producing a mecha supplement could be a better move. BESM and RandomAnime make some effort to cover mecha generation in the main rule book. After publishing "Minionomicon" (Gadgets, weapons & minions) and "Collectemon" ("expanded critter creation rules for monsters, pets and humanoids (like elves, dwarves, orcs, vampires, fae, and even the occasional cat girl)" the next supplement for RandomAnime will be a mecha supplement. There is not much there in OVA, so a mecha supplement could be a better move to make it a "complete" anime rpg. (Not my personal opinion but maybe the point of view of anime fans.)

That was the line of thought I was going with. Though I still don't know which will happen first. Depends on if I'm in more of a fantasy or sci-fi mood, I guess.

Though, I will not be adding many rules to OVA Mecha. There will be a tactical rule system and scale rules. Mecha will be made pretty much the same way characters are.

Clay, would you consider giving us a few hints about what you are planning for Fantasy (and Mecha, but that's not my field) OVA? I am especially interested in the magic system.
If you give us an idea of how you are planning to address it, maybe we can provide some input.
Regards,
Andrea

Clay wrote:Though, I will not be adding many rules to OVA Mecha. There will be a tactical rule system and scale rules. Mecha will be made pretty much the same way characters are.

That are the three things that came as well to my mind:
- A system for battle between two or more Mechas
- Rules concerning how to handle damage for Mechas of different sizes (or damage between characters & Mecha or damage between Mecha and inanimate objects like from houses to planet size)
- Some new Mecha specific Abilities & Weaknesses

That should cover the rules. And apart from that? Examples of how to apply the rules and settings (three are already mentioned?)

Momo: The rules for sizes is what I refer to when I say "scale" rules. As for additional Abilities and Weaknesses...we'll see ^_~

Andrea: Both books are basically "Setting" books, including 2-3 detailed settings. For Fantasy, I plan to incorporate quite a few different magic systems so players have a lot to, well, play with. But if you have any favorite magic systems you'd like me to take a look at, I'd be happy to lend an ear. ^^

Well, I have two favs which I'd like to see in the rules.

One is "Ars Magica style" magic, that is, magic is invoked by combining a verb (action) and a noun (domain), and the magician has to buy skills into the separate stats, i.e.

(i am using english names, though ars has latin, for simplicity)

Pierrot the Magus
create 2
destroy 1
change 1
fire 1
animals 1

would cast a fireball (create + fire) with +3 dice, vanish a dog at (destroy+animal) with +2 dice, etc.

The second: magic is performed by summoning demons and spirits and having them do your bidding ("Stormbringer" style). There could be "families" of spirits and the player ought to buy skill in summoning each family, like:

Hassan the Invoker

demons of death 2
spirits of fire 1
water demons 2

Just my two eurocents

I've heard Ars Magica had a pretty neat system, and indeed, it does seem VERY interesting. However, it's potentially complex, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable copying such a unique system. But maybe I can make my own spin on it...

As for summoning, there should be lots of "kinds" of magic to play with. You'll see :3

I am pretty sure you could develop it in a unique anime way. After all, latin language is not very much in theme

Andrea wrote:Well, I have two favs which I'd like to see in the rules.

One is "Ars Magica style" magic, that is, magic is invoked by combining a verb (action) and a noun (domain), and the magician has to buy skills into the separate stats, i.e.

(i am using english names, though ars has latin, for simplicity)

Pierrot the Magus
create 2
destroy 1
change 1
fire 1
animals 1

would cast a fireball (create + fire) with +3 dice, vanish a dog at (destroy+animal) with +2 dice, etc.

Hmm, interesting...you could have a "Magic: Freestyle" ability, that allows you to buy sub-abilities kinda like transformation. You could probably get away with six verbs and six nouns...I've been toying with this style magic for a while now for another game, but I think it would be easy to kitbash it into OVA...

Oh, and to stay on topic: Clay, is there an "official" OVA universe, where all the sample characters are running around? I kinda got that impression from their descriptions...there seems to be a lot of crossover between backgrounds. If there is, I wouldn't mind seeing a setting book for it.

The official OVA universe, if you want to call it that, is modern day Japan. I wanted to keep the setting for them generic enough to apply to most campaigns. (Ie. Karis could be used in a sci-fi campaign or modern day, Raine ancient Japan or now, Auren....you get the picture) That said, I probably won't make any kind of official setting for them. I want to leave something for our Game Master's to do :3

Anyway, Magic kinda already works like transformation. You can emulate any Ability.

I'll keep everyone's suggestions in mind, anyway. ^^