RPGaDay 26: Favorite inspiration for your game

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In 2086, two peaceful aliens journey to Earth seeking our help. In return, they gave us the plans for our first hyperdrive, allowing mankind to open the doors to the stars. We have assembled a team of unique individuals to protect Earth and our allies. Courageous pioneers committed to the highest ideals of justice and dedicated to preserving law and order across the new frontier. These are the adventures of the Galaxy Rangers. 


My sister and I loved the animated series Galaxy Rangers so much my sister actually named her son after one of the characters.  The series, for those who have the misfortune of being unfamiliar with it, is a combination Space Opera/Superhero/Western featuring four main characters (Niko, Zachary, "Doc," and Shane, from left to right, above) who each possessed superhuman abilities (or at least gadgets, in the case of Doc) and used them to zip around the new space frontier solving mysteries, catching criminals, and battling the "Crown Empire."  What set the series apart from similar toy-pushing fare is that the characters were well developed, had relatively elaborate backstories, and developed as the series progressed.

Because of the large number of episodes, their quality, and the cross-genre setting, I have been able to shamelessly rip off plot lines for sci-fi, superhero, and even fantasy adventures.  The show borrowed so heavily from Star Wars at times (an evil empire with armored goons, an Abbott-and-Costello comedic duo, a gazillion aliens) that most Star Wars campaigns I have run have had at least a couple of Galaxy Ranger-inspired stories in it.

The real treat is that Zachary Foxx is voiced by Jerry Orbach, so now when I watch Law and Order, I constantly hope Lenny will tap his badge and then blast someone with his cyborg arm.

Comments

  1. Adam DicksteinAugust 26, 2015 at 5:17 PM

    It should come as no surprise that I too ABSOLUTELY LOVED The Galaxy Rangers.

    You say it is your favorite source of inspiration, and that you've used material from it in Star Wars games. Have you ever run a Galaxy Rangers game, or used ideas from it anywhere else?

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownSeptember 11, 2015 at 9:16 AM

    I loved it as well. I've been inspired on the player side of the table, most directly creating a superhero with Gooseman's ability to adapt to the environment with a little bit of time. (And "environment" could include things like "getting shot with lasers", like when Goose put his arm in the plasma beam to prove he was a supertrooper)

    ReplyDelete

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