If you were going to run a Thundarr the Barbarian game, *right* now, what system would you use? I've been pondering this for the past few days. And while I am a great fan (OK, I am obsessed) of the D20 system, I'm not sure it would work for me here. I am leaning towards the Deadlands: Reloaded, Savage Worlds setting. I think the Arcane Backgrounds would allow the right mix of tech and magic. You would have to create some mutation options and a Mutant Master style Arcane Background but I think it would be doable. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Yeah, Savage Worlds would be my go-to as well -- as it generally is if I'm looking for good old-fashioned brain-dead cartoony action.

Cartoon Action Hour: Season 2 (which is nothing like its 1st ed.), because it's great and Thundarr et. al are *exactly* the sorts of retro toons it was designed to emulate.

Alternatively, Under the Broken Moon: The Thundarr Roleplaying Game because it's free, works smoothly (it's based on Over The Edge), and it's specifically for roleplaying in the Thundarr the Barbarian setting.

As an extra alternative, Barbarians of Lemuria with Barbarians of the Aftermath, because it's straightforward, simple, and does what it says on the tin.

cheers!
Colin

OD&D/Whitebox.  Add a Mok race and there you go.

QuoteMok Class Abilities as Fighter, but also include:

Weapon/Armor Restrictions:  Moks generally do not wear Armor but instead have natural AC's of 5 [14]  

Incredible Strength: Moks receive +2 to STR with a max of 19 (+2 if 19!)  Yep, they're crazy strong.

Big Cats: Moks all have an irrational fear of water, and would rather die in battle than ford even a small stream.

EDIT: hey, never knew about Under the Broken Moon! That is rad Colin, thanks for the link.

I'd use Fudge. I would steep myself in the DVDs for a weekend, so it was all on the top of my head, then I would cut Fudge to do it. Similarly, but more obscure, I might prefer to use The Ultimate Power, an odd game that married Metascape's weird dice to Fudge's scope and take on generic play.

I might use Duel. Or Action. Or any of a bunch of odd little beer and pretzels games from the 90s that don't get much play anymore. The world is so simple that it doesn't take much structure to model it. The characters are so standard for games that almost any is set up to model them. If your game doesn't support wizards with eye lasers, it's not much of a game. Anything light and fun would be appropriate.

It wouldn't be out of the question, I guess, if I had a group that was totally into it, to use Hero or GURPs and go all out. The Arduin game I have set up already has all the elements I'd need to go full Thudarr. There's an embarrassment of options.

Quote from: kregmosier;452438EDIT: hey, never knew about Under the Broken Moon! That is rad Colin, thanks for the link.

Cool, isn't it? A lot of folks pass them by, but truth be told there are some awesome free rpgs out there. Mazes & Minotaurs, Under the Broken Moon, The Moons of Zoon, Dungeonslayers, etc. All great stuff.

Colin

Quote from: Tetsubo;452429If you were going to run a Thundarr the Barbarian game, *right* now, what system would you use? I've been pondering this for the past few days. And while I am a great fan (OK, I am obsessed) of the D20 system, I'm not sure it would work for me here. I am leaning towards the Deadlands: Reloaded, Savage Worlds setting. I think the Arcane Backgrounds would allow the right mix of tech and magic. You would have to create some mutation options and a Mutant Master style Arcane Background but I think it would be doable. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Probably Savage Worlds.  That system just seems to fit utterly gonzo things pretty well.

I have a dusty old copy of that Thundarr game, and it's definitely worth checking out. I like to use rules my group already knows when I can, but if they were willing, there's nothing wrong with it.

I had a tangentially-related question that doesn't really seem to deserve its own thread. Let's say you were going to develop Thundarr a little as a more fully-realized game setting, and you wanted to use some more detailed or involved rules. What kinds of things would you want to expand? More geography? Organizations? Monsters? Beams that make a noise other than "ooooooWAHoooooo!"?

Part of what's awesome about Thundarr is that it's pretty skeletal, like a spaghetti western. You don't necessarily want to lose that as you build more of a world for characters to live in. So how much would you add and in what areas?

Depends on the group. If they like modern mechanics and miniatures, then I definitely go with the new D&D 4e Gamma World. If they want something Olde Skool, then I go with a GW 1e / OD&D mashup.

Either the old Dream Park game or AD&D/GW 1e.

If I had to run it *right now*, I'd use The Fantasy Trip. Although the core game includes high fantasy elements (elves & dwarves), those can easily be left out, and aside from those, the overall vibe of Cidri is fairly S&S with a touch of science fantasy/post-apocalyptic. Magic is flashy/cartoony. Tech is easily accommodated. There's even a solo adventure, Security Station, where the characters are supposed to be barbarians from a metal-poor region who explore a military headquarters/fallout shelter that was transported to Cidri by the ancient interdimensional race of Mnoren.

So, since I know TFT almost like the back of my hand, that's what I'd use. If I was concerned about providing the players with easy access to their own sets of rules, I'd point them to Legends of the Ancient World or to one of these other sites:

http://www.thefantasyquest.com/
http://livingfree.wikidot.com/warrior-wizard/

Only problem is, I'd have to vet those versions beforehand. LotAW has a few changes but I'm pretty sure it preserves the spirit of TFT.

A second possibility would be GURPS, mainly because I did the ground work translating "The Island of Entellope" from Space Gamer #68 into GURPS terms.

Cartoon Action Hour Season 2. I feel like I'm repeating myself.

Its so strange that the only other game that uses the system for Over The Edge would be Thundarr...

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;452676Its so strange that the only other game that uses the system for Over The Edge would be Thundarr...

Jorune over the Edge

Star Wars: Over the Empire
(Not finished, though. It originated in a very long RPGnet discussion.)

Well, ok, I stand corrected.  But the Thundarr one was the one I'd known about for years.

RPGPundit