Sailor Moon was a manga, then an anime that rose to popularity back in the ’90s. Featuring the adventures of Usagi Tsukino (or Serena as she's called in the English dub) and her friends as they lead double lives; regular teenagers dealing with all the obstacles of that age, and Sailor Scouts charged with guarding the Earth against otherworldly foes and forces. Sailor Moon remains popular to this day; it's been rebooted with the anime Sailor Moon Crystal, the movies are still sold and shown in theaters and toys and merchandise are sold around the world.

Something that might surprise you though is that there is a tabletop RPG based on the series! Here are ten things you didn’t know about this forgotten game.

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10 The Origin Story

The Sailor Moon Tabletop RPG was a fully licensed product produced by Mark C. MacKinnon. MacKinnon was the president of a game company called Guardians of Order that made several other RPGs as well. There were physical books put into print for the game in paperback form. The books included color pictures and tons of context to help American audiences understand some of the nuances of Japanese culture so they can keep them in mind when creating and playing through their own adventures.

Unfortunately, the company went bankrupt in 2006 but its legacy of games and their gaming system (which we will talk about later) remains.

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9 How To Get It

As previously mentioned, the Guardians of Order went out of business 13 years ago. Obviously, this means that the books for the game are not in print anymore, meaning there are a finite number of copies floating around. Amazon lists several places you can buy them from prices ranging from under $20 to over $100 in various conditions. If you really want to have a physical book, you can take this route, but if you’re looking to save money, the best thing to do is to get a pdf from the Internet.

This is a safe website from where to get the rule book, which is free and not copyright protected due to the nonexistence of the company that created it.

8 Few Dice Are Needed

 

Most tabletop RPGs require a bevy of dice to play the game. Not only do you have to have several types of dice, but you will need multiples of each variety. That's not necessary for this game. In order to create your characters and play the actual game, you’ll need just two d6s or six-sided dice.

If you have traditional board games in your home then you won’t even need to purchase dice as you can simply scavenge the dice from those. This is meant to keep things simple and streamlined; no searching for a certain type of die in a mountain of dice, just have your two six-sided dice, either numbered or with dots, and you are good to go.

7 A Unique Attack and Skill Check System

As you’ll come to see, the Sailor Moon RPG does things a little differently than other games in its genre. In most other tabletop RPGs you are aiming to roll high and you want any other additives or bonuses to add to that score. The opposite is true in the Sailor Moon RPG. When you roll, you are hoping for low numbers and any “bonuses” you might have will lower that number even further.

The lower your total for your attack or skill check means the better you succeed at it. If you exceed the difficulty, the extent of your failure increases the higher the roll is.

6 The Tri-Stat System

Most standard RPGs have numerous general stats that preside over categories of skills. For example, a strength stat would apply to skills such as athletics or a charisma stat is linking to skills involving people such as persuasion, lying, and charming.

The Sailor Moon RPG simplifies all of this by boiling everything down into its Tri-Stat System: Mind, Body, and Soul. The Mind stat handles everything from mental fortitude and intelligence. Body presides over physical toughness, athletics, and grace. Lastly, Soul is a character’s will and also serves to provide how powerful their magical powers are. These three stats govern a host of skills and attributes for you to choose from.

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5 Stats For Your Favorite Characters

The character creation process will be briefly covered in this list a little later but if making your own characters isn’t your strong suit or you’re curious about how Sailor Moon herself would play in this game, you are in luck. There is an entire section of the book dedicated to character sheets for all your favorite characters from the series, including both the heroes and villains.

Not only can this help streamline a game by everyone just picking one of these premade characters, but it can help you grasp some of the concepts presented by the instructions. You can also use the villain characters sheets as quick reference for creating combat encounters.

4 Ample Context

Sailor Moon ran for several seasons, has numerous manga volumes, has one T.V. special and three movies. All of this adds up to a lot of content, character development and storylines. Many of us enjoyed the series during our childhood, so much of this content might seem a little fuzzy.

Included in the beginning chapters of the resource book, there is a detailed summary for all this content, with a healthy blend of the Japanese and English dub of the anime. It also talks about the magical girl genre, what it represents and its appeal. All this serves as ample context to help you get in the right frame of mind to play.

3 Comprehensive Guide for Full Immersion

The resource book doesn’t just provide context for the Sailor Moon series and the magical girl genre in anime, it also has an entire section on Japan itself. Many of the city locations in the anime were based on real places that the creator of the series, Naoko Takeuchi, lived, worked, and shopped at.

The book talks about different districts of Tokyo and what you can expect to find there. It also talks about Japanese customs and society so that as you roleplay your characters, you can truly immerse yourself and pay proper respect and homage to the culture and country that produced this beloved series.

2 Detailed and Inclusive Character Creation

The character creation in this game is extremely detailed and in-depth. After you figure out your stats, you get a pool of points to choose abilities from. In addition, the game encourages you to build an imperfect character. There is a list of flaws for your character such as phobias, weaknesses, or inabilities and picking these defects will give you more points to spend on positive things.

In addition, not only does it give options for creating a Sailor Scout, you can make a Knight (like Tuxedo Mask) or a villain character. It also states that your character can be a male Sailor Scout, or really whatever you want, which adds to the inclusive feeling that this game is truly for everyone

1 Premade Adventures

The resource book for the Sailor Moon RPG also contains two premade adventures; perfect for doing a practice run with you and your friends! The first adventure is titled, “Where's Rini?” and has everyone play as one of the known Sailor Scouts from the anime. The game is set between episodes and features a hint of mystery as you search for Rini (or Sailor Chibi-Moon) who has run off after a temper tantrum.

The second adventure, “The Children of Mercury” will let the players try their hand at creating their own characters. These characters will all be children of Sailor Mercury and going on their first adventure as Sailor Scouts or Knights.

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