Chapter 2-There Is Nothing I Can Do For A Dead Woman.
The response for Cinema Robotica has been fairly impressive, to say the least. However, I didn't get that many votes, besides one or two inane requests (including one of "Pleeze pt up more nekkid wimen", which has just gotten a very nasty flame). The result-you get some jazz and blues and the ability to watch Cowboy Bebop.
Take the following items-
Stir at 2070, add a shattered Moon, humanity expanded all over the solar system, and a cast of very eccentric bounty hunters, and you have Cowboy Bebop in a nutshell. All the characters have a background to them, sometimes unique, sometimes weird, sometimes hidden-and always with some relevance when the point is brought up. Let's take one of the characters, Spike Spigel, the Bruce Lee-worshipping, pick-pocketing, former Tong-enforcer and look at him a bit more closely.
From the start, Spike's background has been....enigmatic to say the least. He pairs up with the ex-cop Jet "Black Dog" Black and the two of them become bounty hunters, tracking down criminals that escape in the chaotic conditions of the Solar System in 2070. The very first episode, we learn that Spike is very casual about how he regards women-
SPIKE
Already died once.
(Spike stands up)
Got killed by a woman.
-but what does this mean? How did he get "killed by a woman"? The criminal that Spike chases through the episode has what appears to be a pregnant girlfriend whom wants to escape to Mars, where, in her words, they have everything. Spike tries to talk her out of this notion, apparently knowing the situation for having lived there. Why did Spike leave Mars?
We get a hint of this in the fifth episode "Ballad Of Falling Angels", where Spike returns to Mars in an effort to arrest a member of the Red Dragons Tong. Apparently, this Tong is probably the most powerful in on Mars, if not the Solar System, and Spike runs into-by design-the Tong assassin Sid Vicious. We learn, later, that Sid and Spike were once friends, but at one point, Spike "walked away" from the Tong, essentially falling out of grace. Why he fell out of grace appears to be because of a woman-a woman who's name we learn later is Julia....
Continue onwards to the two part Jupiter Jazz episodes, where Spike intercepts a message intended for Julia on Europa. Believing that this is his Julia, Spike goes to Europa-just as Vicious arrives to conclude a drug deal with an ex-mercenary friend of Vicious. As both Vicious and Spike battle each other, we learn more about what happened between the two-it seems that Spike was taken in high regard in the Red Dragons and might have even been groomed for a more powerful position. We also learn just how dangerous Spike's enemy is, as Vicious is revealed to have sold his own unit out for money and set up the his "friend" for the blame. Also, we learn that Julia has passed through Europa-for what reason, no-one can tell.
We now come to the end of the series, and the final two episode set of "The Real Folk Blues". Here, we learn the last pieces of the puzzle that we have been waiting to fit into the rest of the story : Spike came down with the most dangerous of all diseases for a hit man-a conscience. He fell in love with a woman, Julia, and planned one thing and one thing alone-to do one last job for the Red Dragons and get out of the Tong, get out of the murdering life, and make their lives anew somewhere else. However, Vicious-Spike's best friend-regards this as a betrayal and sets it up so that if Spike manages to survive the hit, Julia will have to kill him or be killed herself.
Julia, in love with Spike as well, tears up the note which would take her to him and escapes herself. Spike survives the hit, and tries to find Julia-and fails. Hunted by the Red Dragons and without help, Spike escapes and remakes himself as a bounty hunter. When Spike returns to Mars-for the last time-he manages to find Julia as the two try to escape Mars and make their own life. But, as Vicious takes over control of the Red Dragons in a bloody revolution, his men hunt down all of Spike's friends and allies. The very last hit is on Julia, as the two try to gain access to the passports and documents to escape Mars. One shot, and Julia dies-and Spike is left with nothing.
In their last conversation, after the hit on Julia, Jet Black asks Spike-
JET
Is It For The Woman?
(Pause for a few beats)
SPIKE
There is nothing I can do
for a dead woman.
This is the end of it all. Spike has nothing to go back to-the Bebop was badly damaged by a Red Dragons strike team, Jet is injured, Faye cannot help....and Spike goes into the Red Dragons headquarters to see if he's really alive. And, in a battle reminiscent of Hong Kong Blood Opera, Spike finds out.
Note, this is just one character-the "main" character as it were, but that one character has all that background and depth to him. And, while the other characters have a slight lack of the....violence of background that Spike has, they all have a "legacy" to them-a background that gives them context and a history that gives them people to know, contacts to hit if they need info, and a reputation to uphold or dismiss. Even Faye Valentine, who has amnesia, has built up a store of memories from the short time that she has been awake and aware after being de-thawed from cryogenic suspension.
And now, the GM asks, what does this offer me? Quite a bit, actually-
Dancing To The Beat Of Your Own Drummer-If Gundam is heavy on the orchestra music and marching chants, Cowboy Bebop is jazz and blues. The music makes the series-especially how Yoko Kanno makes use of blues music to "set the scene" musically. Imagine what your game would be like if it was set to, for example, the big-band music of the '40s or the "raker" rock of the '70s. Getting samples of the music to listen to-and have ready for your players, is very easy with access to Napster and similar MP3-gathering programs. Find a small selection of your musical themes, check them out, and then start hunting for more to fill up your computer, MP3 player, or burned CD for your games-having music in the background makes the suspension of disbelief easier for players, especially if the music "fits" the general era/theme that you're playing.
Everybody's Got A Story, Even When They Don't Think So-So, your players all bring out one type of character (for example, ex-pilots) to the first game. But, what kind of ex-pilots are they? One guy that's very lucky and very agile could have been a test pilot, risking his life in planes that were held together by bailing wire and spit. Or maybe he was a demonstration pilot, like the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels-and hated by his "line" companions as being wimpy and too soft for real combat. Maybe he was even a damn good fighter pilot in real combat, having survived so long by skill and luck. And, they all have a story-what made them interested in flying in the first place? What was their first piloting experience? How did they get (find something for them to receive, one way or another)? Learning the quirks of the characters gives a GM handles for plot twists, complications, places to put enemies and allies, and all other sorts of items that a GM could make very wonderful use of.
It's Not About One Character-As one GM pointed out to me, "A good game isn't a movie-it's troupe acting." Nowhere is this more shown than in Cowboy Bebop-every character has at least one episode to them, allowing them to shine. (My personal favorite, from a humor standpoint, is the "Mushroom Samba" episode where Ein and Ed go out and actually capture a criminal). This is difficult in a gaming group, as the egos will keep most players from feeling like they're sidelined or used as foils. Also, it's entirely possible to spend TOO much time on a player, letting them hog the spotlight. There are reasons, at times, for a GM to really pay attention to a player (such as the time I learned tactics by having my character kicked one way and another down the street-and the details pointed out in vivid color), but most of the time the GM shouldn't allow one player to monopolize action. How the GM does this is an exercise to the reader, but I recommend that GM's allow anybody to speak-and find painful ways to ding other players that fail to give their fellow gamer respect.
Blowing Up Stuff Is Optional-Well, kinda. Sort-of. While the characters do indulge in a bit of property damage, there isn't that much actual destruction in Cowboy Bebop. No space colonies are slammed into Earth, the Moon was shattered a long, long time ago, you can blow stuff up but not very BIG stuff. This does, honestly, go against the grain of most players, whom seem to be addicted to massive guns like crack cocaine. While the GM does have the rights to control weapons however he wants, heavy-handed "you can't have it" either pisses off players or they'll try to figure out ways around it. Be a bit more subtle. How the hell are they going to hide that BFG 10,000 when they go out on a stake out? Under the guy's trench coat? What happens if they get to a restaurant, and the matrie`d insists that they hand over their guns-all of them-for safe keeping? Do the players make a big scene (and attract attention to themselves) or what? Give your enemies body armor enough to make the huge guns worthless-but otherwise vulnerable. Of course, if you're interested in property damage, that's your call.
Cowboy Bebop takes most of the action from how the characters interact, and react, with the world. Sometimes oddly, sometimes with good or bad judgment, and usually with some kind of surprise, but always with How The World Works. A game that has this kind of interaction almost screams for pre-preparation. It also asks for a main enemy that either shows up at very irregular but deadly intervals or the "spider in the web" Keiser Souze-type that makes every effort to kill the player(s), but from hiding.
What does this mean for players? They have to stay on their character's toes, no doubt about it. There are many, MANY items on both the Web and in writing that will help players to "build up" a character's background and a list of enemies and allies. A little bit of preparation will save you hours of headaches-and give you many things to annoy your players with (Player A has an enemy that despises them-but that same person is Player B's lover!). Like anything, a little spice raises flavor in the meal-but too much drowns it out. Bizarre plot complications are fun, no doubt, but use them sparingly. And, at all parts, have fun!
Another Cinema Robotica up, another set of reviews in two weeks. Then, we take apart Neon Genesis Evangelion to show you how not to run a game. See you in two weeks!
Cowboy Bebop | Mobile Suit Gundam | Neon Gensis Evangelion
BIO
Jonathan Souza, besides being a fairly snazzy dresser, is a mecha nut and fan of just about anything robotic. He still seeks employment, and hopes to find a job soon. He also hopes to find a girlfriend soon, as he is getting rather lonely.
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Created on April 15, 2001.