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Usagi Yojimbo Roleplaying Game
You've read his adventures... now play them! From the pages of the Usagi Yojimbo comic book by Eisner Award-winning artist-creator Stan Sakai, and published by Dark Horse Comics, comes the exciting roleplaying game from Gold Rush Games! Now in it's third printing, with a redesigned back cover! The Usagi Yojimbo Roleplaying Game uses the Instant Fuzion game system, a fast and easy rules system, making it an excellent introductory game for new players. Character creation is quick and simple; you'll be playing in minutes! And because the Usagi Yojimbo Roleplaying Game is Fuzion-powered, it's compatible with all other Fuzion games, New Milenium, Sengoku, the Bubblegum Crisis RPG, Shards of the Core, and the Dragonball Z RPG! Also includes conversion notes for the FUDGE RPG! But it's more than just a game. The Usagi Yojimbo Roleplaying Game is also a valuable resource for Usagi comic book fans and collectors. It Official Usagi Yojimbo timeline!
Character Index!
Map of Usagi's Japan!
Art and Quotes from Stan Sakai!
"Hebi," a limited print short story by Stan Sakai!
Original cover art by Stan Sakai and Tom Luth! The Usagi Yojimbo Roleplaying Game was nominated for the 1998 Origins Award for Best Rolpaying Game! Usagi Yojimbo is a trademark owned by Usagi Studios and is used under license. Chanbara Roleplaying in Feudal Japan is a trademark owned by Gold Rush Games, a division of Gold Rush Entertainment, Inc. Fuzion is a trademark owned byThe Fuzion Labs Group. Shards of the Stone is a trademark owned by Shards Entertainment/Cybergames.com. Champions is a registered trademark owned by Hero Games, Inc. Bubblegum Crisis is a trademark owned by Artmic, Inc. and Youmex, Inc. Dragonball Z is a registered trademark of TOEI Animation CO., Ltd. FUDGE is a trademark owned by Steffan O'Sullivan and is used under license.
Character Index!
Map of Usagi's Japan!
Art and Quotes from Stan Sakai!
"Hebi," a limited print short story by Stan Sakai!
Original cover art by Stan Sakai and Tom Luth! The Usagi Yojimbo Roleplaying Game was nominated for the 1998 Origins Award for Best Rolpaying Game! Usagi Yojimbo is a trademark owned by Usagi Studios and is used under license. Chanbara Roleplaying in Feudal Japan is a trademark owned by Gold Rush Games, a division of Gold Rush Entertainment, Inc. Fuzion is a trademark owned byThe Fuzion Labs Group. Shards of the Stone is a trademark owned by Shards Entertainment/Cybergames.com. Champions is a registered trademark owned by Hero Games, Inc. Bubblegum Crisis is a trademark owned by Artmic, Inc. and Youmex, Inc. Dragonball Z is a registered trademark of TOEI Animation CO., Ltd. FUDGE is a trademark owned by Steffan O'Sullivan and is used under license.
- GenresRole Playing Games
Paperback
Published October 1, 1998
9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 14, 2020
Here we are with Greg Stolze’s Usagi Yojimbo game, the first of the breed, published by Gold Rush Games in 1997 and using the Fuzion system created by Mike Pondsmith and the folks at Hero Games. Of the 3 RPGs based on Stan Sakai’s IP, this one is the simplest and the quickest read, while still holding all the flavor or Usagi’s world. It’s not a super-exciting system, but it does have a few cool features.
Let me note that I have not played this game, only read the text, so take my thoughts and evaluations for what their worth.
This is my first time reading a game using the Fuzion system, so I was interested to see what it entailed. Basically, or at least in this game’s version of it, it’s a roll+bonus. Your character is made up of stats and skills. The four stats are physical, mental, combat, and movement. Those stats will start out ranging between 3 and 8 here. In addition, there is a pre-set list of skills that define how well you can do certain things. Because this is Usagi’s world, you character has a species (dog, cat, rabbit, fox, etc.) and an occupation (bodyguard, wanderer, monk, etc.) that give you bonuses to your stats ands skills along with special powers. After you make those basic decisions and, you have a small pool of points to finish off your character by buying skills and stats. In the end, your stats will range between zero (if you put no points into buying them and got no bonuses due to your species and occupation choices) and 8 (technically, the numbers go as high as 10, but the game limits how much you can begin with. Then, during the game, when you go to do a thing and want to roll to see the results, you roll 3D6 (always) and add your relevant stat and relevant skill scores. So let’s say you have a 5 combat and a 4 kenjutsu skill (that’s skill with a sword), you’d roll 3D6 and add 9. If it’s an opposed roll, as it would be in combat, you compare your total with your opponent’s total, and the highest roll wins. If it’s an unopposed roll, the GM sets a “task number” for you to hit to be successful, scaling that number to reflect the difficulty of the task, with 14 being easy and 26 being nigh impossible.
And that’s it for the basic mechanic of the game. It’s a rather uninspiring system, from the concept to the stat names. On the plus side, it’s really easy to understand and use. Like all the other Usagi RPGs that would follow it, this game saved its most exciting mechanics for combat. In order to create dramatic rounds of one-on-one dueling, Stolze creates a little rock-paper-scissors set of strategies at each combatant much choose from in any given round. The three strategies are “total attack,” “cautious attack,” and “total defense.” Depending on what your opponent chooses, the outcome varies from no one takes damage, to someone takes double damage. Stolze recommends using a selection of playing cards for each combatant so that choices can be revealed simultaneously, each suit representing a strategy. That sounds fun, and it allows for dramatic pauses in the conversation that mirror the full-page panels in the comic as both characters stare each other down before battle. This technique will go on to be developed even further in games like Burning Wheel, but this is a cool, stripped down version that can make for solid battle scenes.
The improvement system is simultaneously wishy-washy and interesting. The game doesn’t come down with a single method to say “this is how you gain experience.” Instead it offers several without a strong commitment to any. And the way you spend experience points to improve your character is as dull as the skill system. But one of the suggestions that Stolze makes for gaining experience is actually pretty fun and could serve to fuel a story in addition to improving a character. Here’s the single sentence pitch: “To improve a skill, or gain an ability, you and your Game Master agree upon three tasks which will educate you in that ability or skill.” So you say to the GM, I want to improve my physical stat, what can I do? Then you can work out, say, that you’re going to climb the three highest mountains on Honshu, or you’re going to challenge the best wrestlers in three of the various towns you pass through, or whatever else strikes your collective fancy. It’s a great way to give characters drive and purpose, and it’s both simple and malleable.
I also give the game credit for knowing exactly what it is. All your skills play directly into your ability to find trouble, avoid trouble, or cause trouble. We don’t need to worry about encumbrance, drowning, falling, or any of that jazz. Everything beyond the event horizon of trouble is left to freeplay. You aren’t in danger of building a cool character with a bunch of suggestive skills only to find out that you don’t use any of them and should have buffed up your combat stat instead.
I really like the look and layout of the book. There are a lot of panels using Sakai’s art, and it’s pretty easy to find what you’re looking for, in part because the book is so short. The whole book is about 90 magazine-sized page, with lots of pictures. Stolze keeps it light on history and setting information, to his credit. While there is plenty to draw on within the text itself, he clearly expects you to be familiar with the comics, the world it depicts, and the kinds of stories it tells. Sadly, there are no tools for the GM, only advice. Standard fair for a game in the late 90s, but disappointing all the same.
I’d happily play or run this game.
I think my favorite iteration of the three Usagi games is Jason Holmgren’s first edition for Sanguine, but I do prefer the way this version strips out all the small stuff, leaving healing to between adventures. In all the versions, the systems put all the heavy lifting on the GMs and give them very little tools to lighten the load. I hate to say it, but there’s still room for a fourth Usagi game.
Let me note that I have not played this game, only read the text, so take my thoughts and evaluations for what their worth.
This is my first time reading a game using the Fuzion system, so I was interested to see what it entailed. Basically, or at least in this game’s version of it, it’s a roll+bonus. Your character is made up of stats and skills. The four stats are physical, mental, combat, and movement. Those stats will start out ranging between 3 and 8 here. In addition, there is a pre-set list of skills that define how well you can do certain things. Because this is Usagi’s world, you character has a species (dog, cat, rabbit, fox, etc.) and an occupation (bodyguard, wanderer, monk, etc.) that give you bonuses to your stats ands skills along with special powers. After you make those basic decisions and, you have a small pool of points to finish off your character by buying skills and stats. In the end, your stats will range between zero (if you put no points into buying them and got no bonuses due to your species and occupation choices) and 8 (technically, the numbers go as high as 10, but the game limits how much you can begin with. Then, during the game, when you go to do a thing and want to roll to see the results, you roll 3D6 (always) and add your relevant stat and relevant skill scores. So let’s say you have a 5 combat and a 4 kenjutsu skill (that’s skill with a sword), you’d roll 3D6 and add 9. If it’s an opposed roll, as it would be in combat, you compare your total with your opponent’s total, and the highest roll wins. If it’s an unopposed roll, the GM sets a “task number” for you to hit to be successful, scaling that number to reflect the difficulty of the task, with 14 being easy and 26 being nigh impossible.
And that’s it for the basic mechanic of the game. It’s a rather uninspiring system, from the concept to the stat names. On the plus side, it’s really easy to understand and use. Like all the other Usagi RPGs that would follow it, this game saved its most exciting mechanics for combat. In order to create dramatic rounds of one-on-one dueling, Stolze creates a little rock-paper-scissors set of strategies at each combatant much choose from in any given round. The three strategies are “total attack,” “cautious attack,” and “total defense.” Depending on what your opponent chooses, the outcome varies from no one takes damage, to someone takes double damage. Stolze recommends using a selection of playing cards for each combatant so that choices can be revealed simultaneously, each suit representing a strategy. That sounds fun, and it allows for dramatic pauses in the conversation that mirror the full-page panels in the comic as both characters stare each other down before battle. This technique will go on to be developed even further in games like Burning Wheel, but this is a cool, stripped down version that can make for solid battle scenes.
The improvement system is simultaneously wishy-washy and interesting. The game doesn’t come down with a single method to say “this is how you gain experience.” Instead it offers several without a strong commitment to any. And the way you spend experience points to improve your character is as dull as the skill system. But one of the suggestions that Stolze makes for gaining experience is actually pretty fun and could serve to fuel a story in addition to improving a character. Here’s the single sentence pitch: “To improve a skill, or gain an ability, you and your Game Master agree upon three tasks which will educate you in that ability or skill.” So you say to the GM, I want to improve my physical stat, what can I do? Then you can work out, say, that you’re going to climb the three highest mountains on Honshu, or you’re going to challenge the best wrestlers in three of the various towns you pass through, or whatever else strikes your collective fancy. It’s a great way to give characters drive and purpose, and it’s both simple and malleable.
I also give the game credit for knowing exactly what it is. All your skills play directly into your ability to find trouble, avoid trouble, or cause trouble. We don’t need to worry about encumbrance, drowning, falling, or any of that jazz. Everything beyond the event horizon of trouble is left to freeplay. You aren’t in danger of building a cool character with a bunch of suggestive skills only to find out that you don’t use any of them and should have buffed up your combat stat instead.
I really like the look and layout of the book. There are a lot of panels using Sakai’s art, and it’s pretty easy to find what you’re looking for, in part because the book is so short. The whole book is about 90 magazine-sized page, with lots of pictures. Stolze keeps it light on history and setting information, to his credit. While there is plenty to draw on within the text itself, he clearly expects you to be familiar with the comics, the world it depicts, and the kinds of stories it tells. Sadly, there are no tools for the GM, only advice. Standard fair for a game in the late 90s, but disappointing all the same.
I’d happily play or run this game.
I think my favorite iteration of the three Usagi games is Jason Holmgren’s first edition for Sanguine, but I do prefer the way this version strips out all the small stuff, leaving healing to between adventures. In all the versions, the systems put all the heavy lifting on the GMs and give them very little tools to lighten the load. I hate to say it, but there’s still room for a fourth Usagi game.
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September 2, 2022Quick housekeeping note: I am not a fan of the new Goodreads interface. So are there other shelves that this could go under? Maybe.
This is the first Usagi Yojimbo RPG (well, first of two), from 1998, and -- wait, you know about Usagi Yojimbo, right? It's a comic book by Stan Sakai that follows a rabbit ronin in Edo-period Japan full of anthropomorphic animal characters; Usagi wanders through the world, righting wrongs, getting caught up with the evil intrigues of the main villain (and only fully human character), and stumbling into variations on other big Japanese texts (e.g., there's Lone Wolf and Cub characters, a Zatoichi-esque blind swordsman, etc.).
So, simple premise with lots of fun, right?
And the rpg is simple and fun, too -- though I haven't read Usagi in many years, so on skimming this time, one of my favorite things was just the use of comic book art to illustrate things. (Which is a fine and cost-saving thing to do.)
I mean, the system is pretty simple (stat+roll) -- the Fuzion system was a generic RPG system co-owned by two companies and I guess sort of a combination of their two house systems -- but there's a mini-system for duels (which are important to samurai fiction and also is basically rock-paper-scissors, so not too hard to think about). The character creation process is simple and fine -- choose an animal and choose a job, add the stats for those to get your character.
"Simple and fine" seems to be the goal of this RPG, which makes sense because it really seems focused on fans of the comic book. Like: there's a 4 pp info on "what is an RPG and what are dice, etc.", and while there's 12 pp on character creation, there's also 10 pp on characters from the comics, ~7 pp on the timeline of the comics, a 5 pp character index (which just tells you who that character is and where they appeared in the comic), and an 8 pp comic. So this isn't just "furry Edo," this is quite definitively "play in Usagi's world and even run into the same characters."
That's licensed RPGs for you.
The gamemaster section is a little thin for an introductory RPG at only 8 pp, but really hits the tonal swing of Usagi, which goes from "ha, here's a goat samurai" to "this mother killed her child to save her village." But also there's two included adventures here that seem good for beginning players and GMs: a ghost haunting a temple; a runaway heiress.
I do feel like this short book is missing something, and I wonder if that's monsters, because that's the one and only supplement for this RPG. And that book is pretty boring in the sense that it's just stats for traditional Japanese monsters, along with a little adventure seed, most of which didn't grab me.
This is the first Usagi Yojimbo RPG (well, first of two), from 1998, and -- wait, you know about Usagi Yojimbo, right? It's a comic book by Stan Sakai that follows a rabbit ronin in Edo-period Japan full of anthropomorphic animal characters; Usagi wanders through the world, righting wrongs, getting caught up with the evil intrigues of the main villain (and only fully human character), and stumbling into variations on other big Japanese texts (e.g., there's Lone Wolf and Cub characters, a Zatoichi-esque blind swordsman, etc.).
So, simple premise with lots of fun, right?
And the rpg is simple and fun, too -- though I haven't read Usagi in many years, so on skimming this time, one of my favorite things was just the use of comic book art to illustrate things. (Which is a fine and cost-saving thing to do.)
I mean, the system is pretty simple (stat+roll) -- the Fuzion system was a generic RPG system co-owned by two companies and I guess sort of a combination of their two house systems -- but there's a mini-system for duels (which are important to samurai fiction and also is basically rock-paper-scissors, so not too hard to think about). The character creation process is simple and fine -- choose an animal and choose a job, add the stats for those to get your character.
"Simple and fine" seems to be the goal of this RPG, which makes sense because it really seems focused on fans of the comic book. Like: there's a 4 pp info on "what is an RPG and what are dice, etc.", and while there's 12 pp on character creation, there's also 10 pp on characters from the comics, ~7 pp on the timeline of the comics, a 5 pp character index (which just tells you who that character is and where they appeared in the comic), and an 8 pp comic. So this isn't just "furry Edo," this is quite definitively "play in Usagi's world and even run into the same characters."
That's licensed RPGs for you.
The gamemaster section is a little thin for an introductory RPG at only 8 pp, but really hits the tonal swing of Usagi, which goes from "ha, here's a goat samurai" to "this mother killed her child to save her village." But also there's two included adventures here that seem good for beginning players and GMs: a ghost haunting a temple; a runaway heiress.
I do feel like this short book is missing something, and I wonder if that's monsters, because that's the one and only supplement for this RPG. And that book is pretty boring in the sense that it's just stats for traditional Japanese monsters, along with a little adventure seed, most of which didn't grab me.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews