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| OVA - Open Versatile Anime rpg Revised edition review |
Since yesterday I've made an adaptation of Ryuko Matoi from Kill la Kill to OVA rpg, I thought that today I'd review the OVA revised edition.
0,)
Introduction
OVA is an rpg made by Clay Gardner, from Wise Turtle, with the
objective to emulate the anime/manga genre, capturing its fast pace,
wacky hijinks and over-the-top action. It uses a customized dice pool
mechanics using a number of d6s (normally around 5 to 10), rolling
them together, and all adding together the dice that come up with the
same number for the best result (rolling a 6, 6, 5, 5, 5 would result
in a 15, for example). Its first edition dates from 2006, and, in
2013, it got its revised edition, which I participated in the
kickstarter campaign and it is the one I'm reviewing today.
In this article, I will take a look into the game mechanics, the
book's design, the clarity of text and my overall thoughs about the
game.
1,)
Rules (a view into the game mechanics)
Firstly, one interesting thing to note about OVA is that, although
the basic mechanics of the game center around your common bombastic
and overblown anime/manga series, the system is extremely maleable
and easy to adapt to any anime genre you prefer – from romantic
comedies to investigative horro, to even overpowered shonen series.
With that first point noted, let's go into the main aspects of the
system.
.
Character Creation (Abilities and weakenesses): Character
creation in OVA is done with the use of giving each character
Abilities (ranging from +1 to +5) and Weaknesses (from -1 to -3). In
basic character creation, the values must end in a zero sum (both
abilities and weaknesses must be equal in total value). The system
provides a very extensive list of abilities and weaknesses, many that
are even similar in nature
Values
are relative to the setting, and +0 does not mean that you are bad.
In fact, +0 is the normal value of a common person. Having +1 in an
attribute means that you trainned in the subject, while +3 means you
are extremely talented and with +5 you are one of the best people in
the whole world in that ability. It is somewhat similar to the FATE
ladder (+1 average, +2 fair, +3 good, +4 great, +5 superb). The book
states that no character should have more than +5 in an ability, or
that it should be a very rare occurrence.
.
Customization (Perks and Flaws): The
main tool for customization is what the system calls 'perks' and
'flaws'. It basically is a mechanic that adds a cost for activating
an ability in endurance points (the 'stamina' of the system) when you
use that ability for an specific action. Perks add special benefits
(like a paralysing move, a special effect, a bonus to the roll) while
costing endurance, and flaws add penalties while reducing the
endurance cost. No endurance cost may go below 0 (which means that
the ability has no cost of activation).
This
might be the strongest ascpet in the system, because it allows the
player to create special attacks for its character in order to
simulate anime special attacks and defences. For example, you may
create an attack named 'Kamehameha', that has damage +3 for a total
of 15 endurance points per activation. Or maybe say 'Focusing the
mind's eye', giving +3 to a perception roll for the cost of 15
endurance. All this proccess is very easy and simple – you just
have to add endurance costs following the list of Perks and Flaws.
.
Conflict Resolution: As I said
at the introduction, the system uses a d6 customized pool, where same
numbers rolled are added together. Basically, you roll 2d6 as base,
+1 per relevant Ability and -1 per relevant Weaknesses. So, if you
want to drive a spaceship and you had Pilot +2, Knowledge: Spaceships
+1 and Clumsy -2, you'd roll 3d6 (2 + 2 +1 – 2). After rolling, you
compare the total with either a fixed difficult number or one opposed
roll. If you roll higher, you succeed.
Combat
uses the same mechanic. You add relevant combat abilities, deduce
appliable weaknesses and, if your roll higher, you succeed hurting
the adversary. For each point your attack goes over the enemy
defence, you cause your Damage factor (Dx) to it. So, if your roll
was 5,5, 3,2,6 (total of 10) vs 3,3,1 (total of 6), you cause 4 times
your damage factor. The base damage factor is 1, and it is boosted by
abilities (such as Strong and Attack) and with perks like extra
damage. So, in the example from before, if you are attacking in melee
and you have Strong +2, your Dx would be 3, and you'd cause 12 damage
(4x3) in your opponent. Damage is deduced from the opponentes Health.
If Health gets to 0, then damage starts chipping away out of
Endurance. When Endurance is also 0, the character faints.
2,)
Presentation (text layout, visuals, images and overall book
aesthetics)
This is one beautiful rpg books, maybe one of the most beautiful I've
ever seen. The text is easy to read, the tables are nice, the
diagramation is on point. Text-wise layout, I have little to
criticize. Well trimmed and well done. And, about the visuals, the
art direction is outstanding. It encapsulates the 'spirit' of the
game and what it intends on being – a campy, over-the-top anime
style rpg in its core. I think that the only weak part I've seen in
the book's presentation is its summary. Blend, not very descriptive
and overall boring, it does not match the other exceptional art and
layout of the rest of the book.
3,)
Problems (the cons of the game)
. Too
many dice: Rolling dice might
become clumbersome when you have a few powered characters rolling for
each attack and defence around 8+ dice. However, although bothersome,
it is not as much as in other games, like D&D 4e or Pathfinder,
where rolling dice even more time consuming.
. Lack
of some key anime abilities: The
book has no Elemental Control, Regeneration and Alternate Forms
abilities. Although some of them you can emulate with perks (like
Alternate Form could be a customized Transformation, and Regeneration
could be a Heal that can only be used on yourself) it is lackluster
that the game has no direct options for a 'pokemon trainner'
character, a 'transformer' robot or an 'elemental bender' similar to
Avatar (even though Avatar is 'not anime'). This is one of the
greatest problems with the game, although they can be easily solved
with extra material and expansions.
.
Confusing text: The text is
confusing in many aspects, specially in regards to how exactly Flaws
and Weaknesses interact. Besides that, many abilities are very, very
similar in nature and, although that is a design choice (the idea
being that you are able to customize exactly how you imagine your
character), it makes things confusing for a player in a mechanical
point o view.
.
Awkward power progression: Although
the system have an option for escale, it is very lacking and it does
not play well games where power surges abound. For example, playing
something like a many layered 'super saiyan' transformations would
not work well since the top ability level is +5. It is very easy to
circumvent this by using houserulling. Just allow abilities beyond +5
and put a maximum cap of 10 dice, and every die beyond that add +2 to
the roll. So, if you have a roll of 14 dice, you'd roll 10 and add +8
to the total. Nevertheles, as it's written, the rules cannot sustain
games with much varied power level characters.
4,)
Final saying (a quick recap of all the goods and cons of the game)
If you wish to play an anime game, I recommend OVA rpg 100%. Although
its basic rules are geared towards a more tongue-in-cheek experience,
it can easily be adapted to any anime genre without much problem. The
dice mechanic is different, interesting and fun, even though
sometimes too clustered. The strongest points in the system are
character creation (the zero-sum allows for some very unique
characters with many curious weaknesses) and the perks and flaws
(which allow the creation of anime-like powers and special attacks on
spot). Even though it may be lacking in some very pin-pointed aspects
(power levels and lack of some very common anime And in fact, if you
are wishing to play a supers game, OVA might be good for you too,
although I'd say that I prefer Icons for such things.
And you, what do you think about OVA rpg? Do you think on playing it?
I hope you folks liked this review.
Until next time,
Valete
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