For some reason, I recently developed a hankering for role-playing He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.  Granted, I recently watched the Dolph Lundgren movie from '88.  In any case, what would be a good system for this?  I know of Cartoon Action Hour, but that's a little too... narrative for my taste.

Well, Barbarians of Lemuria of course!

Quote from: Celestial;843354For some reason, I recently developed a hankering for role-playing He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.  Granted, I recently watched the Dolph Lundgren movie from '88.  In any case, what would be a good system for this?  I know of Cartoon Action Hour, but that's a little too... narrative for my taste.

There is a He-Man game out there, though it may be tough to track down: http://w-g-r.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-masters-of-universe-role-playing.html

At the very least, a resource like this would be good for the setting material.

For system, I think that depends on what style play you want. Savage Worlds probably can handle it pretty well (especially if you add a few custom elements yourself). I could see it in GURPS too. It might even make a fun OSR d20 game if you want to do the heavy lifting of customizing the system yourself.

Been thinking about this for a quarter-century. For Motion Picture feel and low narrative elements, probably Savage Worlds. HERO would also work.

Brendan--as far as I know (and I know a lot ), there's no setting material in the official RPG. You're better off with the series bibles available online and the mini-comics collection due out in November.

The very obscure, very eccentric FASA MotU game is basically an almost unplayable incomplete boardgame. Barbarians of Lemuria and Savage Worlds are both good choices. For some odd reason I think FASERIP TSR Marvel Super Heroes would be a good fit as well.

For maximum effect, you should have a big-ass play area and use action figures as miniatures. If somebody wants to create their own character, make them go out and get a dollar store or thrift store toy and customize it. For "Game balance", absolutely no more than US $3.00 can be spent on character creation.

The Masters of the Universe RPG was so bad....so, so bad.

Even as a kid back in the 80s, we went with the TSR Conan RPG instead.

Quote from: Armchair Gamer;843359and the mini-comics collection due out in November.

!!!!

Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;843360If somebody wants to create their own character, make them go out and get a dollar store or thrift store toy and customize it. For "Game balance", absolutely no more than US $3.00 can be spent on character creation.

I like your thinking and would like to subscribe to your newsletter...

Quote from: Ratman_tf;843412!!!!

  Now that I'm back on my main computer, I can provide an Amazon link and details.

  Yes, Dark Horse is putting out a massive--1200-page 6" x 9" volume--collection of MotU minicomics on November 3rd. It is set to include every minicomic published for the vintage line, Princess of Power, the 4-part New Adventures, 2 or 3 comics that were used as promos for the 200X relaunch, and 3 of the minis that have been included with select figures from the new Classics line. (Those last tend not to have the best story, but the art's worth your time.) Also included will be behind-the-scenes stuff, annotations on textual variations and foreign editions, and if the slides from SDCC can be trusted, an unpublished vintage minicomic.

   Also, for those who want to get a look at the older roots, here are some resources-- the series bible from 1982 that set out a lot of what would come to be 'canon' for later sources, the series guide that promoted the Filmation series in inchoate form (with some differences from the final product), the 1981 licensing guide that goes back to the pre-Filmation roots, the 1982 style guide (not much information, but lots of vintage art), and the 1987 style guide that includes a bunch of character profiles--perfect to help build PCs.

  (Sad fanboy? Me? Surely you jest. )

I'd second others here and Savage Worlds or Barbarians of Lemuria.

Nobody has mentioned Cartoon Action Hour? It was literally made for this very thing.

Quote from: Piestrio;843469Nobody has mentioned Cartoon Action Hour? It was literally made for this very thing.

The OP mentioned it but said it was too narrative for his tastes.

I was kicking around a similar idea this weekend and thinking about using M&M 3e.

Quote from: Armchair Gamer;843474The OP mentioned it but said it was too narrative for his tastes.

I should probably learn to read one of these days

CAH is fine if you want to emulate the feel of an 80's cartoon first, and a specific setting second. That's why I didn't find it very appealing for running Transformers, as I like the 80's cartoon, but don't particularly want to run my game like an 80's cartoon.