[RPG]: Cartoon Action Hour: The 1980's Action Cartoon RPG, reviewed by Lisa Padol (5/4)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10608.phtml

Lisa Padol's Summary:

Cartoon Action Hour covers its chosen genre in loving detail. And how can one resist a book that got the would-be world dominator Kargorr to illustrate its examples?

Go to the full review for more information.

Post originally by Aka-Chan at 2004-08-27 13:23:23
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Nice review, but let me tell a little bit about my experience with the character generation system. It looks like a lot, but it's not really. It's actually very quick and simple without sacrificing flexibility. Oh, boy, is this sucker flexible.

I went from not knowing anything about how to make a character to having a completely-fleshed-out character(story hooks, tagline, description, powers, the works) in less than two hours. And the character actually did everything I wanted it to do.

Remember, this is a first-timer with no prior experience with the char-gen system. My next characters won't take nearly as long now that I have some experience. >^_^<

The SCP pools are a stroke of genius, in my opinion. They're similar to BESM's "Own a Big Mecha" attribute, only better. Simple, flexible, and they allow you to have an alternate form, animal companion, or vehicle without it taking too much away from your character itself.

Oh, and making special weapons is easier in CAH than it is in other effects-based systems like BESM. My character's weapon is a boomerang of sorts, and it took less than 5 minutes to go from idea to reality. Power level medium, damage 4+body, range medium, area of effect 9 yards, burst attack, item. Voila, a 17-CP boomerang.

Just my 2 cents.

Post originally by Doug at 2004-08-28 22:56:49
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MASK is one of the shows they reference in the text, but it's one of the toughest to do in the system.

The major idea of MASK was that they had vehicles that could turn into other vehicles. While CAH does have rules for vehicles and alternate forms, there's no easy way to build a vehicle with an alternate form. As a character gimmick, anyway.

Post originally by Cynthia Celeste Miller at 2004-08-29 06:53:16
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Thanks for the great review, Lisa. It was well thought out and very fair.

Post originally by Cynthia Celeste Miller at 2004-08-29 06:56:00
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A very popular game designer (whose name must go unmentioned for the time being) is tackling a M.A.S.K.-like series book, so that obstacle will be dealt with accordingly.

So if you dig M.A.S.K. and want to use those elements in CAH, then stay tuned! =0)

Post originally by Cynthia Celeste Miller at 2004-08-29 06:56:36
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Wow! Very kind words, Aka-Chan. Thank you kindly.