I’ve been thinking a bit more about that Power Rangers setting and playing with a few concepts since the last time I posted about it. I looked into a couple of systems, a few mechanics, and some narrative structures that I could use for it. Here’s the fruit of that labor.
First off I’d want to use the West End Games D6 Adventure system. It’s a versatile and easy to learn system with the mechanical crunchiness that such a setting would require. I’ll have to design each piece of equipment myself and that’ll take some balancing work, but in the end it won’t be that hard because even if things turn out to be overpowered or even underpowered it can easily be dealt with in a Power Rangers style fashion. Which is of course to say that it ends up never used again, only used against specific enemies, or the enemies get some type of immunity or strength boost from that point on.
I really like the Charge Point economy concept I came up with and will definitely be using that for this idea, I just have to come up with the specific costs and a table for the players/GM to follow. The actual Morphing and power-up structure is going to be a little bit tricky to initially build but should be easy to follow in game. Rangers usually follow a pretty standard pattern for the escalation of their fights in an episode/series: Pure Human, In-between form (think of the Ninja forms they got in MMPR), Morphed, Power Weapons, other special power-ups or vehicles, Zords, summon allies, Megazord/s, and finally the Ultrazord. This pattern makes it easy to setup the escalating costs and what power-ups will be available with certain amounts of charge once I figure out how much that charge may cost.
Character creation should be relatively easy. You make a teenager with attitude, or 20-something with attitude, whatever. You get the standard pool of resources for character creation and make a person. Each character should have a unique set of skills and everyone’s characters should know each other in some way. When they morph into their Ranger forms the characters will get various automatic boosts to their abilities depending upon their ranger color. Some will be generic boosts and some will be specific to their role on the team. Remember, each Ranger is specifically selected for their role based upon compatibility with the color they wear. Oh, and there must be 5 players. That’s a requirement
Now as for how the Narrative will play out, this one is easy. Treat every single session as a single episode of the series, including Theme Music and an introduction of the cast at the start every play session. If the plot of the episode isn’t resolved before the end of game session the GM is required to end the session on a cliffhanger and give a recap at the start of the next session before playing the theme music. The game is based off of a TV show for kids so the sessions will kept lighthearted and cartoony in some ways. Evil is evil, the only gray area villains will be the ones who can change sides or who are under the influence of a spell/plot device. There will always be something that has some type of moral lesson about teamwork that the rangers must overcome.
This shit writes itself!
Villains and monsters are going to be a little bit difficult to visualize without me being an artist, but I can probably find a way to photoshop some things together or find good visuals on the internet.
Now, what would the plot be based around? Each generation of Rangers has a command center and a theme they follow. I’m thinking of reaching back into the Power Rangers lore vaults and pull out some of the unused ideas for the TV show, specifically the Hexagon concept.
The Hexagon was an idea that was being built up to while Power Rangers was still under the control of Saban. It was a new type of command center that was publicly funded and well-defended. The idea was that Tommy Oliver (the former Green, White, and Red-Zeo Ranger) helped to found an organized resistance to the evil in the universe that kept finding its way to Earth. The Hexagon would be the command center for multiple Ranger teams and would be modeled after the Pentagon. Except, y’know, full of giant supertech/magic research departments. It was really going to be a way that they could just use multiple series at the same time, sell more toys, and not worry too much about a constantly consistent plot with a single season of stock footage. It was never used because they decided to go a completely different direction with the series because they were under the assumption they were ending the series.
For me, the Hexagon represents a great alternate timeline option that allows me a stepping off point for the “series” I’d be running. It can be its own thing without running into dealing with canon issues and all that crap. Plus, Tommy Oliver as the equivalent of a Chief of Operations for a military branch.
Of course I could also go with the ultra-realistic interpretation of everything including what access to that tech means for humanity, the death and destruction of such battles taking their toll on the world economy, and all the fun stuff that goes along with that stuff. I’d rather keep it a light-hearted and campy romp with people abusing the shit out of the word “Morph” in more exotic and unlikely ways though. We have enough darkness in all the other settings I pay attention to that this one should be allowed to be enjoyed for what it is.
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