Toon (role-playing game)

Infobox RPG
title= Toon


caption=
designer= Greg Costikyan, Warren Spector
publisher= Steve Jackson Games
date= 1984
genre= Comedy
system= Custom
footnotes=

"Toon" is a role-playing game in which the players take the roles of cartoon characters.cite web|url=http://www.gamerdad.com/detail.cfm?itemID=2322| title=Unplugged #23: A Parental Guide to Role-playing Games III| last=Carlson| first=Matt| publisher=GamerDad [http://www.gamerdad.com/index.cfm] | year=2005| month=May| accessdate=2007-10-09] cite web|url=http://www.helium.com/tm/122897/there-years-wonderful-comic| title=Roleplaying games for comic relief| last=Gernhardt III| first=Henry| publisher=Helium [http://www.helium.com/] | accessdate=2007-10-09] citation
contribution=Toon
title=Hobby Games: The 100 Best
author=David "Zeb" Cook
author-link=David Cook (game designer)
editor-last=Lowder
editor-first=James
editor-link=James Lowder
publisher=Green Ronin Publishing
pages=327-330
year=2007
isbn=978-1-932442-96-0] It is subtitled "The Cartoon Roleplaying Game".cite web| url=http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_6560.html| title=Toon (Playtest Review)| last=de Oude| first=Jake| year=2002| month=March| publisher=RPGnet| accessdate=2007-10-09]

"Toon" was designed by Greg Costikyan and developed by Warren Spector, and first published in 1984 by Steve Jackson Games.

Although "Toon" is a genuine role-playing game requiring the participation of players and a game master (called the "Animator" here), it is designed with a tongue-in-cheek style that deliberately parodies many of the conventions of more standard, "serious" role-playing games.

In "Toon" the players characters never die. As in many role-playing games, characters have hit points, which are deducted when the character is injured (usually in combat, or by having anvils fall on them). When a character is reduced to zero hit points he does not die or fall unconscious, but falls down. Since cartoon characters never actually die, and always return in time for the next scene, a fallen down character returns to play a set time later, with all hit points restored.

This lack of true "character death" is also designed to encourage players to deliberately abandon the skills and reflexes they learned in other games, namely to have their characters able to solve problems and fight enemies while staying alive. [cite journal| last =Staplehust| first =Graham| authorlink =| coauthors =| title =Open Box: Dungeon Modules| format = review| journal =White Dwarf| issue =Issue 63| pages =12| publisher =Games Workshop| year = 1985| month = March| issn =0265-8712| accessdate = ] According to the game's rules, the two prime directives for "Toon" players to follow are "Forget Everything You Know" and "Act Before You Think".

The game encourages players to have fun above all other considerations - even to the point of breaking the rules of the game. If the players and the Animator agree that a players' actions in a game are funny and enjoyable, then that players' actions are allowed and encouraged. This can be seen as a way for players to "break the fourth wall" in the game, in the same way that animated cartoons often ignore reality for the sake of laughs.

The game uses a very simple skill-based task resolution system based on a list of only 23 skills that cover all possible character actions. These are assigned to four controlling attributes, humorously named "Muscle" (strength), "Zip" (dexterity and speed), "Smarts" (intelligence) and "Chutzpah" (pushiness and self-confidence). In addition, characters can have optional "Shticks", which give them unusual cartoon-like abilities, such as flying or invisibility.

The game was clearly inspired by the classic Warner Bros. cartoons of the 1930s through the 1960s, and characters such as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, but Steve Jackson Games is careful to avoid any copyright violations. For example, there is an "Ace Corporation" in "Toon" products (instead of the Acme Corporation), and the writers' guidelines for "Toon" prohibit the use of the word "toon" to mean "a cartoon character". [ [http://www.sjgames.com/general/guidelines/authors/toon.html Writing For "Toon"] ]

"Toon" books

* "Toon: The Cartoon Roleplaying Game" - 1984, out of print.
* "Toon Silly Stuff" - 1985, out of print.
* "Son of Toon" - 1985, out of print.
* "Toon Strikes Again" - 1985, out of print.
* "Toon: The Cartoon Roleplaying Game (Deluxe Edition)" - 1991. Incorporates all material from the original edition, plus "Toon Silly Stuff", "Son of Toon", and "Toon Strikes Again".
* "Tooniversal Tour Guide" - 1992. [cite web|url=http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_3137.html| last=Waters |first=Evan|title=Tooniversal Tour Guide (Review)| publisher=RPGnet| year=2000| month=June| accessdate=2007-10-09]
* "Toon Tales" - 1993.
* "Toon Ace Catalog" - 1994.
* "Toon Munchkin" - 2006.

See also

* Toon
* Cartoon physics

References

External links

* [http://www.sjgames.com/toon/ "Toon: The Cartoon Roleplaying Game"]
* [http://www.pbmcube.com/pbm3/games/5966/toon-rpg.html "Toon: RPG online game"]