Shemmiechu?
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
I want to know what people's opinions are as to converting anime characters and famous videogame characters to DnD... How would you s a DM handle this type of creation and would you do this at all?
- 446 reads
Tue, 2005-04-05 11:04
#3
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
Wed, 2005-04-06 01:52
#4
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
Well, my first Urban (or Galactic) Planescape game, I'm planning on having a major story arc involving Dr. Doom of Marvel Comics Fame, as an escapee of the Land of Stories.
Other than that, I haven't really considered it.
Wed, 2005-04-06 07:01
#5
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
At first, I was going to say no to this, but on further reflection, I realized that I have frequently placed NPCs in my games who were based on fictional characters (A confused paladin based on Don Quixote, for example, or another based on Shakespeare’s Don Armado) and have used CRPGs as inspiration for some campaigns, but I always went out of my way to make sure that they weren't obviously derivative.
Wed, 2005-04-06 08:31
#6
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
The main reason why I asked is becuase we were thinking about creating a character simular- almost exactly, like Dante from Devil May Cry (one of Fidrikons, and my players idea, and an interesting one at that!). After the idea for creating him I started thinking about creating some more characters like this. There have been plenty of times were I have created characters that are based of from other anime characters, for example, I created one character who had both the personalities of Kaolla and Shinobu (my inspiration 
)- my two favorite characters from Love Hina, sweet and kind, but at the same time energetic and overly estatic at times ^^; ... Yeah I know there's the copyright deal, but I'm not going to submit them, of course they'll only be for personal use, but yer right, it's probably not a good idea to put them in an actual game. but I would still like to hear other opinions on the subject ^^
Wed, 2005-04-06 09:14
#7
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
It is a good idea in limited amounts it would be an iteresting aspect but an entire anime planescape just would not work in my opnion
Wed, 2005-04-06 09:18
#8
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
The main reason why I asked is becuase we were thinking about creating a character simular- almost exactly, like Dante from Devil May Cry (one of Fidrikons, and my players idea, and an interesting one at that
Dont involve me in this, All I said was I wanted my character to find a six-shooter in Acheron. You were the one that brought in Dante.
Wed, 2005-04-06 09:30
#9
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
Dont involve me in this, All I said was I wanted my character to find a six-shooter in Acheron. You were the one that brought in Dante.
I didn't bring in Dante- Joe did, he was the one who said that he wanted to create Dante- so thats what we're doing, alls I said was that he's your player as well... now if we're making our characters more modern, thats a different story (I don't see why we couldn't.... and it's called a magnum man, a "magnum" lol )
It is a good idea in limited amounts it would be an iteresting aspect but an entire anime planescape just would not work in my opnion
Of course, we wouldn't want to make a complete anime multiverse- that would be..... actually very interesting to see, I wonder if anyone has ever done that, but it most definately wouldn't happen with our group 
Wed, 2005-04-06 19:11
#10
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
I always thought that putting characters from other stories into your RPG campaigns was about as annoying as the seemingly-obligatory "lost dinosaurs" episode in every sci-fi series, be it a strange planet, time travel, alternate dimension. It's gimmicky and cheapens things. The real world should have nothing to do with something as surreal and fantastic as Planescape. The players deserve to get their own stories, not be fitted into someone else's. Inspiration from other things is fine, but to actually transplant a character goes too far.
Believe it or not, my general distaste for anime has nothing to do with this.
Thu, 2005-04-07 06:46
#11
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
Too bad there's not a spot on this poll for GOOD GOD, NO!
Part of the reason Planescape is so well-recieved by the creative gaming community is because it is not the run-of-the-mill "Wannabe Tolkein" setting.
Most of the reason certain sci-fi and fantasy characters are popular is because they are unique. Very rarely is an idea well-recieved that takes existing characters and drops them into an unfamiliar or different setting.
Alan Moore's brilliant League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the graphic novel, with its stylized characters and interesting asides and added advertisements, is infinately superior to the craptacular film) is a good example of when existing characters are brought into a setting made for them, and it works well. However, the worst possible examples include the "Dracula vs. Frankenstein"s and "Abbot and Costello meet the Wolfman"s, where the characters are merely thrown together with very little congruancy and development.
I, admittedly, know little about the Dante character from the DMC games, but I have a distinct feeling from looking at the character that he could quite possibly not be wholly original in and of himself. (The name and attire bring this to mind first and foremost.)
I have often felt that people use names and character concepts from other resources (directly taking, inspiration is a different matter altogether.) when they are unable or unsure of their own creativity to create a unique on their own.
Thu, 2005-04-07 08:10
#12
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
wow... uh... I'll take that as not a good idea ^^;;;
Thu, 2005-04-07 08:26
#13
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
If they are from a fantasy anime, why not? Characters from Final Fantasy, Golden Sun, or Inuyasha would fit, but Major Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell would not. Even something like LastEXILE would be mostly appropriate.
Of course, this would be a collective decision with the GM and players. The universe might have to be changed a little as well.
I think Naruto would make a great addition to Urban Planescape. For many people the point of playing an rpg is to take the role of a cool character in an awesome setting. Anime has that in spades.
However, D20 is a bit too anal for the fast-paced unreal action of most anime. I'd use the tri-stat rules to integrate anime into planescape.
Heh, Samurai Champloo wandering off into the Outlands would be wild.
Thu, 2005-04-07 09:45
#14
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
I take back my complaint anime is accesible throgh the plnes and I would kill to have an anime based party inuyasha vash dante(not anime but it's close enough)lain*shrugs*they all can be converted with ease and not to maention you take your fav. villans to knives ,narakou it might just work
Thu, 2005-04-07 09:52
#15
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
My idea wasn't to completely alter the campaign setting to an anime and videogame base, but rather incorperate some characters, and I agree with Krypter, they would have to fit into the setting, so Dante probably wouldn't be good for a fantasy setting, but rather a more urban-overrun-by-demons setting
Thu, 2005-04-07 12:39
#16
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
true but it would be a neat novelty (the DM says:vash pulls his sleek firearm and pulls the trigger just missing the kobold)
Thu, 2005-04-07 12:52
#17
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
Believe it or not, my general distaste for anime has nothing to do with this.
Yea! Someone else who hasn't been duped of Japanese pop-culture.
If I saw a videogame monster that seemed particularly interesting I might put it in, but that would be about it.
Thu, 2005-04-07 18:27
#18
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
There would be no problem with putting a Dante clone into a D&D game.
What is Dante?
A human with demon blood (I.E. Half Demon or Teifling).
A Guy who hates demons (I.E. A Demon slayer)
A dude with a witty sense of humor.
It's not like it's a very original concept. It'd be just like playing a Tiefling demonslayer who uses pistols and a sword. No big deal really.
Fri, 2005-04-08 06:31
#19
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
There would be no problem with putting a Dante clone into a D&D game.
What is Dante?
A human with demon blood (I.E. Half Demon or Teifling).
A Guy who hates demons (I.E. A Demon slayer)
A dude with a witty sense of humor.
It's not like it's a very original concept. It'd be just like playing a Tiefling demonslayer who uses pistols and a sword. No big deal really.
someone finally argrees about dante.....YES!!!
Fri, 2005-04-08 06:50
#20
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
There would be no problem with putting a Dante clone into a D&D game.
It's not like it's a very original concept. It'd be just like playing a Tiefling demonslayer who uses pistols and a sword. No big deal really.
Leg-
The difference between playing a tiefling demon slayer and playing "Dante" is fairly large in my book. In one, the character is created by the player, and has their own set of goals, history, and growth. "Dante" was created for a different media entirely, has a preconcieved character determination, and is disassociated from the player.
I feel fairly strong about this because as a DM I know that when a player does not create their own character, they run the heavy risk of not connecting with backstory and psyche of the character, turning that character into no more set scores and vague concepts, rather than a unique creation which they completely control. Rehashing characters from other media sources to play them in D&D is something I stopped once I realized the importance of character development to stem away from ROLLplaying.
You must admit, creating your own character is much easier to play than one which is predetermined for you.
Fri, 2005-04-08 08:29
#21
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
Characters already have a set mindset- yours, sure thier attitudes are completely made for you, but when creating a character don't you give that character it's own personality? the personality is already there, personally I'd think it'd be easier to roleplay a character that's already there and you know the history of... although I do find it to be a bit cheap, becuase it takes away from the creativity of the player (actually creating a personality and history), but I have no problem with the idea as a DM, as long as the whole party isn't an anime or video game character.
Fri, 2005-04-08 09:34
#22
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
all I can say is there is advantages and disadvantages
Fri, 2005-04-08 10:43
#23
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
a all anime battle royal across the planes would be a uniqe way of doing an anime campiagn yes no mabye
Sun, 2005-04-10 10:12
#24
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
Firstly, Dante rocks. He's so badass that if he walked into the plain of portals, every single demon in the layer would get to the nearest portal away as fast as they could. He's extremely powerful(closing on epic), so I wouldn't recommend him as a PC.
Secondly, for the stats: http://www.guardiansorder.com/games/d20/srd/
OGL, and it's got the single most customisable char creation in the sphere.
If that's a bit too complicated(I freely admit it, that ruleset scares even me every now and then), I'd put him as a half-celestial(possibly do away with the SAs, lower the ECL accordingly) rather than a cambion, as Sparda was quite obviously risen when he met Dantes' mom(whose name escapes me right now). Besides from that, he'd be a fast/gunslinger with a few levels in psionic agent(specialising in movement aiding spells- speed of thought and up the walls are a must). Let him do, ohhh, 2d6 damage at crit 20 with Ebony and Ivory, whilst the swords ignore DR and are about +3, along with the other enchantments. Dunno how you'd incorporate the demon-forms without BESMs attributes, though. As for why he's on the planes, well, I haven't played his last two games, but I imagine he'd still be pretty interested in finding his brother and apologizing for the whole "killing" stuff.
And thirdly, if you mess up his character or mock him in the game, I will hunt you down. Okay, so maybe I'm too lazy for that, but I'd still be annoyed.
-A hopeless Dante fanboy
Sun, 2005-04-10 12:24
#25
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
As a PC, playing a character clone can be rather dangerous. This comes up in HERO games, especially superhero campaigns. Let's say a player wants a character like Wolverine. A character inspired by Wolverine, that could be doable. What happens most often here is that the player wants to play Wolverine. This might start off innocently - sure, you can play Wolverine. Let's just work out what we think his powers/stats are. It will be a problem later, though. Since the player feels it's playing Wolverine, it will try to make arguments for doing things it's character can't do, because 'Wolverine did it in X-Men #156, and I'm Wolverine'. It's usually a problem you don't want to have to get into.
As an NPC, it might work. Probably best as a few short cameos, though. The players occasionally see Dante stalking across the Lower Planes, or maybe he'll help them in a couple fights against really tough demons.
Sun, 2005-04-10 18:16
#26
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
And thirdly, if you mess up his character or mock him in the game, I will hunt you down. Okay, so maybe I'm too lazy for that, but I'd still be annoyed.
-A hopeless Dante fanboy
This is the most powerful argument for not introducing him into your game as an NPC. Your players can definitely pick up on this fanboyism, and if you make Dante in any way outshine them, they will want to gut him like a fish and mock him incessantly.
Only introduce an NPC into your campaign if you're comfortable with him being mocked and/or destroyed-- and if you make the NPC more powerful than the PCs or make the game revolve around him, expect it to happen.
Sun, 2005-04-10 23:10
#27
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
One of the amazing things about d20 is that the rules are general enough to give anyone a cameo with impunity. One of the amazing things about Planescape is that you could meet anyone within the bounds of the setting. The only things you need to watch out for are:
- The character is an NPC just like any other. Stat him/her as appropriate, but obey the rules.
- Some adjustment to the character's history will be necessary to make his/her presence sensical.
- It's easy to overdo this kind of thing.
Shemmiechu?
Hey, by the rules of Pokemon d20, she could be caught. Of course, there's the small but important fact that you need to get her unconscious first...[/]
Mon, 2005-04-11 09:10
#28
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
Clueless wrote:
Shemmiechu?
Hey, by the rules of Pokemon d20, she could be caught. Of course, there's the small but important fact that you need to get her unconscious first...
*scratchs his head* I'm so confused...
anyway, I agree that it could get out of hand fast- we made him a little too powerful, so we decided to downgrade his guns to his money limit, have him find his sword (once he's a much higher level, he'll have to earn it) and he not going to be exactally like Dante, becuase that would be impossible if you play by the rules, so he is going to be a bit watered down, and the player using his will have to earn his abilities (feats and weapon augmentations, shock bursting and the like) on his own through quests... I guess it depends on the person playing and what the DM allows, Dante's history would fit perfectly into planescape, he'd generally be a tiefling demonslayer, or fighter who has a fued with fiends (wich is wierd becuase his sword is a momento of his father, who was a fiend *shrugs*, loves his pop hates all other fiends). I'm for it, but I can understand why those who are against it are, and I respect that ^^ ...
still would like to here more peoples opinions and the like
Mon, 2005-04-11 09:47
#29
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
Maybe its a twisted self-loathing thing...
and if the sword is a memento from his father, well, maybe he keeps it around for the only reason that he needs it to kill his enemies.
A love/hate relationship with his own weapon. It makes me giggle sometimes...
Mon, 2005-04-11 10:04
#30
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
Maybe, I never really did understand why he hunts fiends, I'd have to ask swan why. well either way we have to keep some sort of balance in the game and rules, we can't bend everything so that Dantes original powers will fit, like his shifting ability were for a short time he goes into a sort of demonic rage and turns into a demon, that would be extreamly difficult if not impossable to fit into the game- well as a player, an NPC on the other hand, that wouldn't be a problem.
anyway... Just Anime and Video game characters in general- our creation of Dante spawned this question, but it was supposed to be Anime and video games in general... I'm starting to see where adding in characters from Anime and video games is not a good idea, I've been questioning actually having them in our campaigns towards the negative- there are just certian things, that using them as PCs wouldn't neccisaraly fit
Tue, 2005-04-12 12:03
#31
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
anyway... Just Anime and Video game characters in general- our creation of Dante spawned this question, but it was supposed to be Anime and video games in general... I'm starting to see where adding in characters from Anime and video games is not a good idea, I've been questioning actually having them in our campaigns towards the negative- there are just certian things, that using them as PCs wouldn't neccisaraly fit
Thank you. Yes, please get your own set of creativity. Impose this high opinion of your game on your players as well, and you will have a campaign and game that is worthwhile and talked about for years to come, as opposed to looking back on it years from now thinking, "You remember when we thought that was cool? Man, that was sad. We have much better things now." When, in fact, "the new hip thing" is a rehash of the "old hip thing". (It happens in kid's toys all the time, and is repeated more in video games than many other things.)
As a side note, putting Dante in a Planescape campaign is about as realistic as putting Sonic the Hedgehog into one, and about as ludicrous, in my book. You could justify Sonic as being the spawn of an animal lord of the beastlands (or, hell, a shifter from eberron of hedgehog perfection), who fights a steampunk version of an evil mage who just happens to use technology to transform the critters of the Beastlands into robotic minions. He collects rings of protection to keep himself safe from the deadly nature of the world, and has turned blue due to an experiment that gave him a base 300 speed and a through-the-roof dexterity. In fact, you can justify about anything with Planescape (D20 stats in general), but gimme a break, would you really WANT TO?
You can be a fan-boy to the Xtreme, and still be creative about your character generation. Become inspired by the creative aspects of others, but do not be bound by them. Otherwise, methinks its just plain sad.
Wed, 2005-04-13 08:23
#32
Videogame and anime characters introduced in DnD?
We decided to put away dante, hey I'm creative (draws writes poems stories and new DnD ideas almost everyday lol) , we decided that it'd be better if we created characters from our own ideas, so we now have a really wierd and screwed up party, but it works. I currently am using a Drow Positai ranger/deepwood sniper who's a doomguard, worships Bahamut and seeks revenge on Tiamat due to the fact that her family was killed by her followers, and loves to sing and gets up an hour early just to pray to Bahamut for protection (somehow I see too many contradictions in this character, but oh well, I'll fill in the holes!), and Dante was replaced with a Toadiwog cancermage who's a bit overly paranoid. But yeah, thanks for all the insight, it was greatly appreciated
P.S. I could never see Sonic as a DnD character *quivers*
Well putting copyright issues aside, I wouldn't really put a character directly in from an anime. That is I wouldn't say take Link from Legend of Zelda and give him D&D stats and play him in planescape unless it was a lighter more comedic game.
In standard Planescape I think the characters need to be original. That's not to say you can't have characters that are similar to Anime. As a source for inspiration it is fine, but as a source for direct conversion I don't think it works too well.
Then again I could see loths selling planar children strange familiars in red and white balls. They make their familiars fight and the familiars slowly drain their souls away. "Arcanachu I choose you!"