Mr. Welch's Mad Musings: GI JOE RPG
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- It's a licensed military game about a 80's toy line and cartoon! This should be one of the most dreaded games I've ever reviewed, but does it have an ace in the hole or is it jinxed from the start?
When I first picked up this game, and ran it, we all had a good time. I quickly realized that you don't have to make just Joes or Cobra. In an adventure I made for low-level starting characters, I made the A-Team, and put them in as a cameo to have the Joes work with these guys.
I then realized that I could make Michael Knight and KITT. Once I realized that, I made Stringfellow Hawke and Airwolf, Blue Thunder, Street Hawk, and started in on MASK. I threw in the Duke boys in there for fun.
Heck, you could conceivably make the Terminator, Robocop, and others. If you understand how these rules work, the sky's the limit.
So, now, I'm making a campaign that will arguably be the greatest homage to 80s TV shows and heroes. I'm excluding the movies and Transformers, because what I have in mind means that the Transformers would quickly become the focus of this campaign, because only the Autobots can really challenge the Decepticons here. Naturally, for the same reasons, I'm excluding the other titles that Renegade has put out there, like Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and My Little Pony. Because when the end-game enemies show up, those particular guys will be no match for the Rangers or probably even Pinky Pie.
Who are the end-game villains? Well, I'm focusing on anything from the 80s TV shows, not the movies. That's a hint.
Incidentally, I've tried making Jonathan Chase, a.k.a. Manimal. I don't think it quite works, unless somehow I juryrig it with Transformers rules with alt-modes.
That cameo from Tex caught me off guard
I hope you also give the Transformers RPG a chance as well, works on the same system as G.I Joe and the corebook lets you become a Triple Changer like Blitzwing or Astrotrain
Or a Soundwave-style deployer.
I'm kinda hoping they keep this up and we get a Saturday Morning GURPs thing where your team of Autobots, G.I. Joes, and (hopefully) Visionaries have to go against V.E.N.O.M and the Inhumanoids all while keeping The Misfits from winning the battle of the bands.
@@Yawgmothx I dunno. IDW's stuff shows that trying to make universes TOO shared can be... problematic. Or maybe just because they went too far against the supernatural stuff in Transformers, and wrote themselves into a corner when they tried to make Visionaries a thing. But a link between Transformers and MASK makes sense (see: the one-off reference in Prime).
One of the combiners punching the magma-mouthed kaiju would be fun...
Same, no one expects wild Tex cameo
I love that I'm the Joe apologist and you're the honest man going,"It was a toy commercial,there was better written media". And I'm like,"Feminism is pretending that GI Joe is flawless art".
That was partially a joke. You don't break the 65 episode barrier unless you are doing something very right.
Now we just need a curtsy flush game of this to fill it out with even more strange and extreme.
I would love to see that.
I arrived at "Military Trained Cassowary" a split second before it was mentioned in the video. :D Thanks for the great overview.
I'm totally stealing Smiley and Drop Bear if I manage to run a game...
Yeah...the E4 Mafia specialist is definitely gonna know where the best drugs are.
E4 Mafia represent!
Man, this game is everything young gamer me wanted and ended up making.
My best friend and I were both artsy kids who lived and died by cartoons, comics and RPGs. We would make up a game for any cartoon we liked or felt had possible RPG fun to be had (Gummy Bears was a blast, BTW). Among these homebrewed games was G.I. Joe. Almost more of an excuse to draw original characters (OCs as my kids call them), we mush have pumped out as many new characters, villains and new specialist troop types, enemies and vehicles as the original toy line.
I don't have any of that old art but when I saw this game on the shelf, it took every bit of strength I had to not snatch it away and dive into the deep end of nostalgia. Fortunately, my aversion to licensed tie-ins and my shrinking discretionary spending budget gave me the resolve I needed to avoid it.
Your video may just have swayed me though...
Curse you Mr. Welch! (shouted in my best, whiny, hissing. Cobra Commander voice)
Now we know, and knowing is half the battle! GI-JOE!!!!!!
The transformers book, which renegade adaptated as well, is similar. Both books are worth picking up if you have a fond memory of saturday mornings with a big bowl of sugary cereal.
coco puffs
I so want to crossover GI Joe and Transformers like the WWII comic book.
@Malaky renegade is also releasing a crossover book, which might be worth looking into for compatibility between the games. Transformers are built the same as jies, so their weapons and stats will look alike.
The sedan with 2 strength looks like the medic with the same 2 in his own strength
@@Ironcaster I already have it preordered at my FLGS, LOL.
The power rangers book is also pretty fun. My group is currently doing a bi weekly campaign of that. We had to homebrew some stuff but it's a blast. My only real gripe is that stat distribution is solely dependent on your color. Red will always be your strong leader guy, black is your strong talky guy, blue is always your smart nerd, yellow is always speeding and so on. That's fine if you are recreating the original ranger team but if you are making your own new team it's very limiting. Though thankfully it's simple enough to homebrew the hell out of.
Tex cameo made me spite take. I needed that.
So, FYI. the Cobra book has a new Infantry option, the Armiger. Increased weapon training, bonuses when using those chosen weapons, extra attacks with them, etc. Not quite your solution, but it's there.
Sir, you always present your self brilliantly.
There have been a few new books since this review dropped. Renegade got the license to Sergeant Slaughter and now has a pack and book devoted to him and his Marauders. Apparently, Renegade got a lot of unhappy letters from members of the Marine Corps, so the Sergeant Slaughter Sourcebook now has the Marine Corps as its own origin branch. The Cobra Codex added a lot of extra rules and new ways to play, Renegade also added an Infantry specialization in Cobra Codex, the Armiger, which focuses on fighting with a number of signature weapons and acts like a proper infantryman.
Hopefully they compile a lot of the errata and fixes into a second edition.
I'm starting to think the new Cobra Book is an urban legend. Can't find it anywhere
@@Mr_Welch I saw it in a game store a few weeks back, but that store is the biggest in my state. Would have bought it, but didn't have the scratch.
Interestingly, my GM banned Vanguards because he had trouble balancing them with the rest of the team. They way he described it, a properly built Vanguard is basically a Glitterboy with all the attendant issues.
@@Mr_Welch I ended up ordering it from Renegade directly.
Also, the crossover book is really fun, talking about various opportunities for crossovers, from the straight-from-G2 Cobra rebuilding Megatron, to their own idea of having a Florida-based Power rangers group dealing with a local biker gang that turns out to be the Dreadnoks.
"no WIS or CON scores."
Caught me by surprise, but it makes sense, if you're in, you're top of the heap in terms of constitution anyway, this is a story about the dudes who could do a perfect PFT while smoking a cigar. If you enlisted, we also know which is your dump stat....
Great overview happy to hear d20 modern is happening!
We'd play games a lot like G.I. Joe only using Heroes Unlimited. It just fits. But then you could play any sort of game with that system.
Afaik the Gi Joe, Transformers, My Little Pony and Power Rangers books are all compatible.
I have no idea how to make a coherent game out of that but I'm willing to get my 8yo and some of his friends to find out
It's probably because all of these have IDW comic lines, and there was (and maybe still is) a time when at least GI Joe and Transformers took place in the same comic universe (for some reason)
IIRC Transformers was launched via a G.I Joe Cross promotion so the answer is literally just copying those comics.
I actually really like MLP but making it actiony is cringe so pass on that from me.
There’s the crossover book, too. With random story ideas as “Florida-based Ranger team finds the gang that keeps causing trouble is the Dreadnoks.”
Gosh Welch, your Tex impersonation is really good. I almost thought that was the genuine article!
I don’t like that there’s no way to guarantee access to a specific piece of equipment
Many Joes were largely defined by having special equipment. Flash’s whole role was “laser rifle trooper,” Low Light was the “night spotter,” Barbecue is a firefighter. But you cannot build a character with guaranteed access to a laser weapon, night vision gear, or fire protection equipment.
Even Joes whose gimmicks weren’t based on their gear often had signature weapons or other pieces of kit. Lady Jaye’s javelins, Scarlet’s crossbows, Roadblock’s HMG, Deep-Six’s power armor, etc.
My players had the same problem. It was easy enough to homebrew, but you shouldn't have to do that for key equipment
This video actually convinced me to pick up the core rule book and try to run this with a few friends! Thank you for all the work you put into the video!
I had gotten Transformers, and a friend has Power Rangers. After this review I picked up Joe, and then the crossover/GM Guide.
So it's like a Only War game played with the tone of the Street Fighter Storytelling game?
It sound fun, I'll have to pick it up and see if I can't get my Rifts Group to try it.
Only war: Street fighter sounds like a campaign.
"It's a bright and cheery day in the town of...townsland, in the beautiful state of...er...Stateton, in the Good old US of A! A handful of Joes are enjoying a day off, going to pick up their dry cleaning, when suddenly Ninjas attack!
This comment amused me because hasbro got the license for Street Fighter and put it in GI Joe in late 90s.
So I guess you play the Imperial Guard as presented in Imperial propaganda XD ?
Did I hear that d20 Modern is next?! Yes please. What a delightful mess that'll be lol
It will be glorious
And after that D20 Future!
I think I can turn this into metal gear
But Mr Welch, knowing is half the battle. And you wouldn't know that unless you watched the cartoon
Weaponized cassowary... Truly, that is peak murder.
I have the Transformers RPG, from the same game studio. I may pick up the G.I. Joe RPG and create a better shared universe than Marvel, Devil's Due or IDW made. All I need is "Twenty Questions: with Hector Ramirez" and I'll be set to go!
I have an idea for a three-way shared universe with Power Rangers, GI Joe, and Transformers. Based loosely on X-Com 2, with the three game origins lining up with the three Resistance factions. The Joes, as the badass normals of the group, line up a bit with the Reapers. The rogue-enemy-group of the Skirmishers and the outside-context-problem Templars can be either of the remaining, depending on if the big bads are something like the Machine Empire (so Skirmishers = Rangers), or the Decepticons/Quintessons/etc (so the Skirmishers would be Autobots).
This sound like a goofy fun one shot game
The thing with GI Joe is that Cobra and the Joes are funded by the same organization - Hasbro.
A comment and like for the algorithm
Eurotrip. Great movie.
Informative and entertaining as always. I'd play this if someone offered to run it. I picked up a box of JOE minies thinking I might run a GI JOE SW or GURPS game. Probably Savage Worlds is a better fit.
I was thinking of doing the same thing. Freedom Squadron for SW is very obviously non-licensed GI Joe. It's a good source for military/branch background edges, but also Rifts and Mutant Chronicles for Savage Worlds both have decent things to pull from.
@@imjodokast Thanks for the tips. If you're in the Houston area, and you think you have what it takes to gather the Critical Elements needed to build a Weather Control Device before Cobra, sign up for recruitment.
@@dane3038 unfortunately not in the area, but good luck with the mission.
AND KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE
It's a nice looking book, good binding, good visual style. Just feels good in the hand. Only issue is it doesn't come with camo face paint.
So I play Black Hops. Awesome
If my understanding is correct Mech Infantry IRL are still ground pounders they just get trucked around by a IFV (i.e Bradly, Redback, BMP-x etc) that is native within the section/squad. They dismount the IFV to fight on foot and the IFV stays about to provide fire support.
Sorry to be pedantic.
That's exactly what it is. But the game has all their rules devoted to operating vehicles regardless of type. So pilots, tankers and helmsmen all use the mechanized infantry subclass
@@Mr_Welch ah, sorry boss. I misinterpreted what you where saying. Yeah that is a bit cooked.
Also, thanks for your video about Twilight: 2000 because of you I bought the 4e boxset and love it to bits.
Keep up the good work mate :)
YO JOE!!!
You are my kind of nerd sir
Maybe it's for the better that Hasbro outsources IPs like these instead of letting WotC handle it. Those coastal spellcasters tend to be downright useless for anything that's _not_ D&D or Magic the Gathering. Their mismanagement put the final nail in the coffin of HeroScape, and they only managed to create a decent-ish Star Wars RPG with their 3rd attempt.
Even in their "element" D&D and M:TG are being systematically torn apart into ever inferior games.
I'm not too fond of what is going on with the White Wolf license over at Renegade, but the GI Joe core book is solid. GI Joe was my jam as a kid and I watched it religiously, had a bunch of the figures and vehicles, had the base, but didn't have the Flagg...a kid down the street from me did though. It seems like the key to understanding how to run the game is to watch a bunch of 80's action movies.
As for the comics...just skip IDW. Devil's Due did an awesome job when they brought GI Joe back, and even picked it up where the original Marvel run left off, plus it was written by Larry Hama. I watched some of the cartoon a few years ago, and aside from some characters being annoying, like Shipwreck, I feel like it holds up better than most cartoons.
Love it! I do wonder if they had any gen x service folks as play testers with the odd choice for the infantry. Any chance you'll do the WestEnd Ghostbusters game?
I would love To do Ghostbusters if I could 1st find a copy which is no small task
@Mr. Welch Yeah I think I found one for 80ish a while back. Ended up giving in and downloading everything from Ghostbusters Ressurection guys. Got to make a pretty fun South Texas flavored campaign, which sorta ruined the franchise when I saw what could be done with the concept outside of New York and Gozer. If I come across it, I'll send it your way. My wife has made new VHS and sourcebooks verboten in the house.
@@Mr_Welch Don't you have a PO box? Just ask if someone has it. You're arguably an RPG museum and museums rely heavily on donated artefacts.
Hail Nobra!
There's no way I'm not going to play this game as a jetpack equipped demolition tech specialist and I'm going to fly into the battlefield and level some kobra vehicles and a heavy weapon emplacements with so many explosives it will make the opening of a 1989 Indy g.i. Joe movie . AKA the explosion scene Michael Bay wish she had made. Look like some cheap firecrackers. Hell yeah give me a jetpack get some C4
Very interesting!
Random ninja attacks...so this is reincarnation of Street Fighter?
They do share a mutual universe
Did you get Tex of the Black Pants Legion to say the final line for you?
Recycled from a previous project
Cool
I would be interested to see what this game could be manipulated into. Halo? F.E.A.R.?
Yeah, IDW had some REALLY GOOD stuff, but also some REALLY BAD stuff when they went all grimderp and tried to make a shared universe of all those Hasbro toys.
I agree, go all in. If you're not going over-the-top, you're not playing GI Joe right. For all it's faults, this is why I liked the second live action movie much more than the first, because it understood that, and just went for it.
Personally, if I ran a GIJoe game, it would be more like Renegades, where they crossed the core Joe characters with the A Team.
self propelled sand bags
TEX!!!
You can have a military trained, armored, attack Cassowary?
If my players brought that to the table I'd have to immediately throw a Quebecois Cobra with a cybernetic, meth-fueled Canada Goose at them to level the playing field. Sweet titty-fucking christ I wanna run this game now.
I'm gonna have to dig into reviews of the Power Rangers RPG. I have ZERO nostalgia for GI Joe, but I'd 100% written off all the hasbro games as licensed trash. Hearing that GI Joe is any good at all, I'm going to have to at least consider getting Power Rangers now.
Make sure you do not buy a 1st printing of Power Rangers. I have heard there was a lot of issues with it.
@@MalakyoftheOSR Heard the same! Thanks for the warning!
does it have rules for Action man?
It doesn't have stats for any of the named Joe's Just for Cobra
I grew up in the 80s and was deep into G.I. Joe as were many of my friends. I don't know a single person that actually likes Sergeant slaughter. I thought it was such a stupid concept.
Can you make a drone operator?
D20 modern is kinda meh.
Yes they have extensive rules for drones but that's kind of their generic term for robot as well
It's only been 30ish minutes and I've thought of three I'd make.
1. Weezer- The gamer turned resper drone operator.
2. Fall out boy- the g.i joe power armour(yes i have the toys to prove it that they have power armour.) wearing, that uses a davy crocket and flamers.
3. Willie Nelson, the Space shuttle door gunner, veteran of the cobra moon water wars.
2:13 - Seriously? You blacked out Robert Downey Jr.'s face for this? Wouldn't that just make it black-er face??
Robert Downey Jr.? That is clearly a Cambodian lead farmer
I had fun once and it was awful