Character 10: Hijinx

Up next is a game idea that really tickles my interest even if the implementation is wonky. Today we have Hijinx, a game inspired by those crime-solving musician cartoons like Josey and the Pussycats or Jabberjaws. The game is split into two parts, performing at ggs and solving crimes.

The solving crimes bit is fairly well done (I particularly love the rules for chase scenes in which you can set up an elaborate trap for the villain) but the main drawcard here are the shows the characters play in. Hijinx replaces combat with performances and thus the classes are all different types of musicians. Rather than killing foes, your job is to win over those audience members who are too bored, angry, distracted or jealous of your awesomeness to enjoy your show. Reduce an opponent to 0 "cool points" and you've got a new fan. Get reduced to -10 cool points yourself and you're so bummed out by the haters harshing your mellow you quit the music business.

This all sounds really cool, however there are a few wierd things about it that worry me. The main thing is movement, where you move your focus to hostile audience members. You only have a certain range you can switch focus, but they can do it at will, which seems really unfair. Also, I have no damn idea how flanking is supposed to work in this game. I've looked at it over and over again and it still stumps me every time.

Overall I really do love Hijinx, and it would be great for a one-shot or even a short campaign arc (interestingly, hitting level 10 is the "end-game" of Hijinx, sginifying you've sold a platinum record and made it into the big leagues) but I'd definitely iron out a few kinks. In fact, I'd probably knock out the crime solving part altogether and run it in a more "serious" style. But to each their own.

Time to roll those dice again! My scores are:

10, 11, 16, 8, 15, 14

Okay, next up we have music style, basically the band's genre. There are 6 to choose from, so it turns out my band is a Hip-hop band (*shudder* I'm really not a hip hop fan), giving all the band members a +1 to reflex saves. Then we roll 1d8 (rolling 8s again) for class for whihc we get a Bass player. Bass players have a couple of abilities that allow them to heal other band members, sending good vibes their way, later using their mellow to resist hostile vibes.

Okay, so a bass player for a hip-hop band is a bit odd. However, a bit of tinkering and Leon is ready to set down the rythm for his band Vain Station (yeah, I'm not the best hip-hop band namer, so sue me)

Leon: Bassist1; Init -1; CD 1d8+3; cp 14; Defense 15 (+2 class, +2 wis, +2 threads); Vibe +3 (1d8+3, used bass); Range 15ft,; SQ Good vibes 4/set; Saves Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +4; Str 11, Dex 8, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 15, Cha 14
Skills and Feats Animal Empathy +6, Diplomacy +6, Knowledge (politics) +7, Knowledge (pop culture) +7, Read Lips +6, Spot +6; Songwriter (Political), Too cool
Equipment: Used Bass, Lucky shirt, Fan Club, $80

Leon is a tough guy who would work well in the background of a performance. He can sit there and scout out hostile audience members with his hefty spot bonus and back up bummed out band-members with his good vibes ability. If necessary, he can even take the lead on a song and use his decent Defense, hefty number of cool points and songwriter ability (dude knows his subtext) to both take a hit and dish it out again.

I was tempted to do up the entire Vain station lineup, and perhaps one day I will. Alas, the show must go on and I'll be finishing up the Polyhedron characters with Deathnet next installment.