WWI Mecha for your post-apocalyptic or retro SF campaigns

US Land Battle Ship

 

Engine: McNash Drive Turbines, 30 mph max
Power / Fuel Source: Atomic Furnaces (300 year lifespan)
Body Style: Battle Ship Unstable Surfaces
Handling: Road Worthy, Dex +2 (-2 unpaved)
Frame: Battle Ship, 50 HP
Structure: Sturdy, 5 AC
Modification Allotment: 24 hard points, Plus 2 Main Guns & 2 Minor Guns

Electro-Gyro Cruiser

Engine: McFlursire Fly Wheel System 50 Mph max speed, cruising 25 mphs
Power / Fuel Source: Atomic Reactor Furnace (300 year lifespan)
Body Style: Land Battle Ship, Paved Surfaces
Handling: Excellent, Dex +2 (-2 unpaved)
Frame: Battle Ship, 40 HP
Structure: Sturdy, 4 AC
Allotment Modification: 14 hard points plus main gun

Trench Destroyer

Engine: Diesel Tank Carbine 40 mph max speed, cruising speed 20 mph
Power / Fuel Source: Atomic Engine (300 year lifespan)
Body Style: Giant Tank, Off Road
Handling: Excellent, Dex +3
Frame: Tank, 40 HP
Structure: Sturdy , 4 AC
Modification Allotment: 10 hard points

Review of 'The Pay What You Want' OSR PC Resource - Demi-God Race From James Mishler Games For Your Goblinoid Games Retro Clone Rpg Systems & Your Old School Campaign

Now I've been looking for a demi god race PC Race for a little while. This one is pretty well balanced in what it does and presents the demi god very well. Demi Gods are  that ages old  union of god and man and brings them into your old school campaigns  as a playable race. These are the heroes of myth and legend stepped out of the pays of mythology and literature right on to your character sheet. And they have about as much chance of being abused as any other PC class.
The author lays the details bare right in the Drivethrurpg description: 

This Demi-God race is provided for those seeking to run a campaign inspired by the struggles of demi-gods to live among mortals. Such are the tales of the Greek demi-gods from the Heroic Age, of the Iliad and Odyssey; of the descendants of Odin among the early Migration Era tales of the Germans and early Vikings; or the tales and legends of the great heroes of India such as the Mahabharata.

Note that the abilities of the demi-god are mostly balanced out by the fact that her divine parent's enemies, inherited along with her abilities, will often seek her out to destroy her or seduce her to their side. It should also only be used in a campaign where the Labyrinth Lord has the players roll 3d6 for ability scores, limiting accessibility to races appropriately.

GRAB IT 

HERE

This product has all kinds of connotations beyond the usual pale of playing semi Greece or Roman style adventures set in a pseudo old school campaign. The demi god PC class can be applied to a wide variety of  science fantasy and science fictional campaigns especially for Labyrinth Lord and Mutant Future post apocalyptic campaigns.  The author does a fine job of presenting exactly what's needed in a concise and well thought-out package. The clocking in at only eight pages the ranges and everything is here and easily applied across the board in a complete range of stats and options right down the line. 

Reading through this product I was suddenly reminded of Gold Key comics Mighty Samson comic of  gonzo post apocalyptic goodness. The mutant hero is a mutant who falls right into the zone of adventure that this product emulates. A party of adventurers whose patronage would follow would follow the same radioactive path of heroism in the shadow of the post apocalyptic wastes. In point of fact this a perfect cross point for such a campaign. Wiki has most of the high points of the original comic book series right over HERE
In fact much of the hard work for such a campaign in the wilds of  "N'Yark" have already been done and are available right over at the Mutant Future Wiki HERE

This race could also be used to deal with the adventures of all those Sons of Hercules who were in reruns when I was a kid. Adventurers whose blood runs thick with the divine essence of the gods and present them into your old school campaigns! I love that rock and rolls intro.

On the serious side you could use the material to present an old school 'Clash Of The Titans' option with the party all half brothers and sisters drawn together for glory and adventure in their parents divine names! 

So yes I can completely see using this material in a wide variety of ways and I'm thankful for James Mishler Games for putting this out for the Goblinoid Games Retroclones. 

The Pulpastic Art Of Ron Turner As Influence For Your Old School Sci Fi Campaigns

I was introduced to Rob Turner's incredible pulptastic artwork back in 1990 something after a high school trip to England by a friend of mine. Looking at his work is like looking at a snap shot of an alternative pulp art tradition. The colors, the luridness, and everything about it screams excitement and jumps right out at the the viewer. These covers are packed with everything a fan of sci fi could want especially an old school gamer.
Just today I was cruising around Dark Roasted blend and stumbled across a tribute to one of British sci fi's master artists in my humble opinion. You can find that article right over HERE
I can't tell you the number of times the Black Avengers appeared in my games as enemies.
Ever since the 1990's I've loved his Vargo Statten covers. Simply exceptional stuff.  Ron has always been closely associated with John Russell Fearn more on this prolific writer right over HERE

Now most folks have never heard of one of the best comic book and sci fi artists whose work I admire and whose incredible pulp sensibility is still felt in my heart. Ron Turner was an exceptional British artist of pulps,comic books,children's books,etc. The man's output was incredible. But who was he?

Well according to wiki: 

Ron Turner (1922 – 19 December 1998) was a British illustrator and comic book artist.

Ron Turner became interested in science fiction at an early age, with numerous works across several media: the novels of H.G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, andJules Verne; films and film serials such as Metropolis, Things to Come, and Flash Gordon; and Alex Raymond's comic strips. He developed a keen interest in American science-fiction pulp magazines, such as Amazing Stories and Astounding Stories (now known as Analog Science Fiction), and first started to develop his talent by attempting to copy the often spectacular cover illustrations.

In 1936, at the age of 14, Turner first got work as an apprentice in Odhams, a London art studio and publishing house. By 1938, Turner was providing illustrations for the British magazine Modern Wonder. In 1940, Turner's professional art career was interrupted by the Second World War, and he was drafted into the British Army. He returned to professional illustration in the late 1940s, finding a job drawing comic strips for Scion's Big series, which were mostly centred around the crew of the Atomic Mole: a subterranean craft, that explored the theoretical "habitable spaces" beneath the Earth's crust.

Odhams eventually began publishing a line of paperback fiction, for which Turner drew numerous covers, notably the Vargo Statten series by John Russell Fearn. Turner's art raised his profile to the extent that other publishers started to send him assignments. In 1953, Turner left Odhams to try his hand at freelancing and attempt to produce a regular comic strip in the style of British cartoonist Frank Hampson, whose work he admired.

As the vogue for pulp science fiction dwindled, Turner found work doing cover illustrations again for numerous publications, such as the popular science journal Practical Mechanics. By the mid-1960s, Turner had mostly abandoned the world of monthly publishing, and was producing original paint-by-number paintings for the company Craftmaster.

In 1965, Turner was offered the opportunity to draw his first colour comic strip, based on the Gerry Anderson TV series Stingray, for TV Century 21 Stingray Extra (a holiday special issue of the weekly comic TV Century 21). The following year, Turner began contributing to TV Century 21 on a regular basis with his first continuing colour comic strip, "The Daleks", featuring the mechanical villains from the TV series Doctor Who.^[1] Turner replaced the strip's previous artist Richard Jennings, initially for issues 50 and 51 (January 1966) and then on a regular basis from issue 59 (March 1966). He continued to illustrate The Daleks until its conclusion in issue 104 (January 1967).

Between 1965 and 1969, Turner also contributed strips based on the various Anderson series to a number of TV Century 21 holiday specials and the publisher's hardback annual books, illustrating further Stingray strips in addition to ones based on Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Joe 90. He illustrated all 80 pages of the Joe 90 Puzzle Book and the same number for the Joe 90 Dot to Dot Book (both Century 21 Publishing, 1968) as well as providing strips based on the series The Champions, Star Trek and Land of the Giants for the Joe 90 Top Secret Annual (1969). In addition, he again found work with Amalgamated Press (now called Fleetway), taking over the black-and-white "Robot Builders" strip from Carlos Cruz[disambiguation needed] for Fleetway's Tiger and Hurricane comic magazine.

In the 1970s, Turner began working for IPC Media (which had absorbed Fleetway), drawing strips for the Whizzer and Chips comic, such as "Wonder-car", "Archie's Angels" and "Danny Drew's Dialling Man", which were generally aimed at the young adult market. As well as contributing a regular Star Trek strip to IPC Media'sTV21, he also continued his association with Gerry Anderson with Thunderbirds strips for the 1972 Thunderbirds Annual and the 1973 Countdown Annual.

In the late 1970s, Turner drew a number of "Judge Dredd" comic strips for 2000 A.D., although his style did not gain the favour of his editors, and the long-term assignment eventually fell to other artists. Instead, Turner found regular work on the re-launched version of IPC's formerly violent comic Action with "The Spinball Slaves"—a sequel to the science-fiction sport strip "Death Game 1999" (influenced by the 1975 film Rollerball) and its less violent sequel "Spinball". When Actionmerged with IPC's war comic Battle Picture Weekly to become Battle Action, Turner contributed a further "Spinball" sequel strip entitled "The Spinball Wars". He also worked on a revival of "Rick Random" in the re-titled 2000 A.D. and Star Lord.

By this point, Turner had started regularly providing book cover illustrations once again, on this occasion for Gryphon Books. He also painted a new six-part "Daleks" strip for Doctor Who Magazine.

Turner died of a stroke and a heart attack in 1998. His artwork has continued to appear posthumously on books published by Gryphon Books and Wildside Press, drawing on many previously unpublished pieces as well as re-printing his earlier book cover illustrations.

I was fortunate enough to receive last year a few Rick Random paperbacks from my other half. With some of the wonder old school sci fi cover art. According to a Rick Random fan site from the Wayback Machine: 

The First Detective of the Space Age and Head of the Interplanetary Bureau of Investigation. (I.B.I.) (...Or Flash Gordon meets Philip Marlowe!) Rick Random solved his first space case in the pocket-sized Super Detective Library No. 37, Crime Rides the Spaceways.
Faired haired Rick was seldom seen without a cigarette as he chased intergalactic master criminals such as John Jolson, a futuristic bank robber. In the story, '"The Frozen World", Jolson used a matter transmitter to steal gold bullion from the Interplanetary Bank in London. More info right over HERE

To get a sense of the scale, clean lines, and high weirdness that Ron Turner put into his artwork you've really got to see this cover gallery right over HERE
His artwork is perfect fodder for many of the sci fi pulptastic retroclones on the market. From Carcosa to X plorers and personally his artwork is a perfect fit for either Bandits and Battle Cruisers or Hulks & Horrors.
The artwork pulls you into the action and doesn't let go. I love the clean lines of his artwork, the lurid subject matter and everything about his take on the subject matter. His work is exceptional and I knew that very few American sci fi fans know his work. Stumbling across his work today was like a pulp vision from another plane! So many ideas jump out at the viewer and the space adventures just seem to write themselves.

Strange Stars By Trey Causey For Your Old School Space Opera Campaigns

Strange Stars is a brand new Seventies style interstellar sci fi/science fantasy setting book cram jam packed with new space faring cultures, monsters, peoples, NPC's, technology,etc.
According to the author's blog:
The full-color, premium paper soft cover is coming soon--hopefully in the next couple of weeks. The system books for Fate and old school style gaming (Stars Without Number compatible) will be out later this year. More information right over HERE

Grab It Right
HERE

So I've been watching and waiting for this title for months and been watching the evolution as well as creative process on Trey's blog for months. This is some pretty damn exciting stuff for the sci fi/sci fantasy fan here. I can't wait to see this product in the flesh as it were. The Pdf is available right now at Drivethrurpg. Personally I'd grab a copy and get into Strange Stars. 

Retrofuture Inspiration Artwork From Japan For Your Old School Space And Post Apocalyptic Campaign

I was doing a bit of research for an upcoming campaign and stumbled upon this great set of Japanese retro future artwork from the 1930's through 1960's. These are great inspiration from a series of articles from Avi Abrams from the Dark Roasted Blend Site. These would work great for an old school  science fiction, post apocalyptic, or science fantasy campaign.
The article and artwork is available right over HERE

Nothing like  fire fighting robot/mecha for a  post apocalyptic game.



Nothing like a space rescue to add a bit of spice to a space based game. Weird cutting airlock tool from this space pod from a search and rescue organization. Also perfect for your space pirate gang as well. 

Spider based robotic alien colony ships from a piece of Japanese model art. I've used these things a few times in games and they intimate the hell out of players.


Science Fiction magazine covers were some extreme machines with some awesome transport and missile combat robotoid mecha. 


Deep Earth or Mining vessels from a Journey To The Center Of The Earth, these craft are really useful as relics for post apocalyptic game. They seem to enable PC's to get into lots of inner Earth trouble. I love the look of the legs on this craft. 

A bit of deep sea fishing,mining, and scavenging can be used as part of a space based game or as a post apocalyptic gaming. This craft is perfect for a coast tribe of mutant scavengers or some other under water salvage adventurers. It's oblivious a group with resources that has access to technological maintenance.



I've used mini planes as set pieces for action when managing space ports and other giant space space craft. One man planes are great for space games. They're easy to manufacture in a future setting, simple to store, and run on electrical power. Add in solar power for that eco friendly angle.
Street Level space ports and urban environments are often over looked in space games. This 1960s style article really has a 'George Jetson' retro future vibe going on. There are lots of details going in this piece of artwork and it would really give a DM plenty of room to expand this piece into a who encounter or adventure by itself.


Continuing the Jetson vibe here we've got an apartment that could be used as the basis for a bit of post apocalyptic fodder or an encounter for a computer interface in a space opera campaign.


We end with a venerable piece of artwork of a great combat space tank from the venerable artist 
  Shigeru Komatsuzaki 

Fire Under The Sand - A Post Apocalyptic Mars Actual Play For The Stars Without Numbers Rpg System

During to tonight's game I decided to give the PC's something really nasty to deal with they've been taking quite a bit of time with some of the ruins that they've been exploring near the 'Robot's Graveyard' a massive pit of ancient ruins and mecha as well as combat robot remains along with lots and lots of unidentifiable technology.  While exploring a few side tunnels in tonight's game a the sensors on ATV explorer started giving off a warning. They'd just discovered the remains of an Orion style atomic rocket( want to know more about the Orion project? Go right over HERE ) with its pile still intact. They were going to tag it when something huge and nasty started to roll in. 

That's when the Flame tanks from Apex Heavy Division rolled in. These massive treaded monsters are a simple, and cost effective mechanism for dealing with abnormal threats upon the Martian landscape. These tanks were followed by masses of 1d30 android post tech troopers.
 The PC's mecha weren't going to be a match for the mutant life form cleansing flame tanks and their white clad android troopers. The PC's quickly worked their way down tunnel dropping a radio beacon upon their Nuclear rocket find. They left the troopers to their cleansing.

The Apex Heavy Industry Flame Tank 
The Flame Tanks is a perfect answer to your genocidal mutant cleansing projects. Built of light space age materials and armor, this android drive and controlled tank is the perfect economical and cost effectiveness way of dealing with mutant populations,zombie infestations,and rebel tribal martian nests of resistance.
Each tank boasts six space age flame throwers which have an effective range of over 500/2000 . They can quickly and easily solve any problem of mutant Martian madness in a timely fashion. 

Original Source Right Over HERE
Flame Tank 
Cost: 40,000 
Speed: 4 
Armor: 7 
Hit Points: 25 
Crew :6 
TL: 3/4 with space age materials 
Weapons: 6 Rapid Deploying Flame Throwers 3d6 damage per round Range 500/2000
Magazine 20 Cost 8,000 

Android Flame Trooper Crewmen/Soldiers  

Number 1d6 

Armor Class: 4 

Hit Dice: 2 

Attack Bonus +2 

Damage 2d8 mag rifle, flame thrower 1d4 per shot followed by same damage each round. 

Saving Throw 15+ 

Move:30 

Morale: 9 

Skill bonus:+1
Another Scott Hover aka Kellri Free Download
The Weird Science PDF 

 There are times when you need a random high tech artifact and your players know ever single technological artifact in your favorite post apocalyptic old school rpg and science fiction retro clone. 
We've got you covered! Simply go over to Scott Hover's old blog and download the Weird Science pdf.  Grab it Right Over HERE 

 The PDF is nice because it works well with just about any science fiction retro clone and has that old school DYI vibe built in. The pdf has come in handy time and again especially with SWN. All in all a very handy download. We use the same pick from column A. and column B method of old school game design.

Because of the retrofuture vibe of my post apocalyptic Mars game and the fact that I've got to sometimes come up with techno babble artifacts on the fly. This is a plus.Work into this equation with background of the SWN game and you can see why this one is a handy thing to have at the table when your players are rolling dice to figure out what the shiny, black,metal and plastic box from an alien lost city is. 

Slicing Deeper Into The Post Apocalyptic Mars Campaign For Your Old School Stars Without Number Campaign And A Free Sci Fi Download Resource Kellri's Random City Blocks For Tech Tuesday

 Imagine an Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars that is in the grip of a post apocalyptic era, a world of Leigh Brackett Mutant Red Martians tribes, ancient A.I driven death machines, and a landscape littered with a the ruins of a once thriving post colonial Mars.
This whole world as well as the solar system have been shunted into a pocket dimension by powers from beyond the scope of mankind. It is only now beginning to be explored and exploited after centuries of isolation 

This Tuesday I'm diving back into my post apocalyptic Mars campaign once again. Looking around I discover or should I say rediscovered Arthur C. Clark's book Exploration in Space. The book postulates about exploring our solar system and beyond. It looks pretty instrumental in his later books and ideas put forth in 2001 and its sequels. Explorations is from 1951 and this is one of the color plates based on a drawing by R.A. Smith which was turned into a painting by Leslie Carr. The original post is from  HERE
  

So these domed outposts would make great megadungeons in my Stars Without Numbers game. The retrofuture look goes right along with the post colonial period Mars history which then extends into a post apocalyptic Mars. This is a Mars that has only been 88 to 90 % percent terraformed. The whole planet is part Edgar Rice Burroughs and part high weirdness. The players have been exploring the Martian underworld which has its own challenges.
The surface is a mess of 'death machines' such as this super tank from the 1939 issue of Amazing Stories. Then there are the warring city states,the plagues, and much more. 

Meanwhile below the surface of Mars the whole planet is riddled with tunnels, megalev road ways, crazed A.I.'s, weird abandoned Earth Colony geo fronts, robots, ghuls, and much more. 


There are hundred of small ruins and a planet crisscrossed and riddled with thousands of tunnels. There are still working sub cars that routinely work and power still connects to certain A.I. controlled facilities. 

Its only now that explorers from Earth and beyond are starting to land on Mars in atomic powered rockets and beginning to explore the layout of what's left behind. They're not the only ones. Already there are those who are funneling out resources, slaves, and mutant species for export and worse to other universes.
 They're also running into mutant red men neanderthals, vicious lowlander and out lander tribes of what remains of some of the most viciously hit entropic city state survivors. Mutant degenerates who have been shaped by the fallout from horrid entropic bombs.
Tuesday night's adventure picks up with our heroes trying to piece together the lay of the land and find out who or what has been wiping out some of the Apex Adventurer parties down below in the bleak tunnels of Mars. 
The Tech Tuesday  Free Download
Scott Hover's Kellri's Random Cityblocks

 Grab it Right Over HERE
Grab it under the heading 'SciFi City Blocks' 
 So how do I fill out my Martian underground fast and with weird random stuff that goes right along with the proto Fifties and Sixties sci fi vibe that I'm using for this material? Well there's a great little nine page free download that randomly allows a DM to create from whole cloth all of the lost post Colonial Martian or old school sci fi buildings at the drop of a hat. This of course is Kellri's Random City Blocks pdf from way back in the ancient days of 2008.

This is done as a 'Chinese Restaurant' method of creating city blocks. One thing from column A.and another from table B, the funny thing is that it works very well. Block by block an entire city comes together rather quickly and for old school DYI this is a solid as well as easy method for creation.  

Much of the material can be used to fill entire space ports, colonies, and much more. Oddly because of the generic nature of the pdf it works rather well with Stars Without Number and for that game its a nice addition to the DM's old school arsenal. The fact is that because of the OD&D nature of the SWN game this one gets a ton of use in my games. Originally I downloaded it to fill out the backgrounds of Gamma World and Mutant Future. But its simply too darn useful to simply sit on a shelf. So it gets a lot of air play in my old school campaigns. I'm dusting it off for Tuesday's game. I hope you find it as useful as I do. 

80's Cartoon C.O.P.S As Fodder For Your Old School Science Fiction Campaign

C.O.P.S. was a great cyberpunk cartoon from way, way, back when that seemed to feed a need in kids back in the Eighties. This was another perfect example of synergy multi media  marketing done right. They had everything done right with this one. They had the comics, the cartoon, the toys, and the whole cyberpunk look tie in. Now with the Robocop remake and all things retrofuture sort of coming back around isn't it time you as a DM took a look at this one for your old school science fiction campaign?

Someone on wiki did a really nice breakdown of this one : 

• The Year: 2020.^[2]
• The Place: Empire City.
• The Situation: Brandon “Big Boss” Babel (along with his gang of crooks) is holding the entire city under the palm of his iron hand and the Empire City Police Department can do nothing to stop him.^[6]

As a last resort, Mayor Davis requests federal assistance. The FBI sends in Special Agent Baldwin P. Vess (Codename: Bulletproof) to help take down Big Boss. However, Vess suffered very serious injuries in a car wreck during a fight with Big Boss' criminal henchmen and had to be taken to the hospital. Facing years of rehabilitation, Vess is outfitted with a cybernetic bulletproof torso that allows him to walk again.

While staying at the hospital, Bulletproof, knowing he cannot do all of this alone, sends out Empire City police officer P.J. O'Malley (Codename: LongArm) and rookie officer Donny Brooks (Codename: HardTop) to round up the best law enforcers from all over the country. With these men and women — including David E. "Highway" Harlson, Colt "Mace" Howards, Stan "Barricade" Hyde, Tina "Mainframe" Cassidy, Walker "Sundown" Calhoun, Suzie "Mirage" Young, Hugh S. "Bullseye" Forward, and Rex "Bowser" Pointer and his robot dog, Blitz — he forms a team that is “the finest law enforcement agency there is in the country.” Bulletproof becomes the proud founder and commander of COPS. Together, he and his COPS team are able to take down Big Boss and his gang of crooks and thwart the first of many of Big Boss' criminal schemes.^[7]

Each episode has a title that begins with “The Case of...” with a different phrase being added to it (i.e. “The Case of the Iron C.O.P.S. and Wooden CROOKS”; “The Case of the Half-Pint Hero”; and “The Case of the Crime Nobody Heard”) along with the COPS file number. Bulletproof would narrate at the beginning of the episode as well as at the end, concluding by repeating the COPS file number and title, ending it with “Case Closed” with an “Closed” mark being stamped onto the file folder. The two exceptions are the first parts of each of the two-part episodes, “The Case of Big Boss' Master Plan” and “The Case of C.O.P.S. File #1,” where the conclusion of the episode is marked with a “Case Continued” plastered on the files.

In the cartoon, the COPS frequently shouted, “It's Crime Fighting Time!” as a battle cry when it was time to bag the CROOKS and solve a caper. Meanwhile, the CROOKS would shout “Crime's a-wasting!” whenever they went to do another caper, whether it was pulling another heist (as in so many episodes such as “The Case of the Blur Bandits”), giving C.O.P.S. a hard time to the point of replacing (actually disposing) them for good (as in “The Case of the Big Boss' Master Plan”) or taking captive a certain individual to be heldprisoner for ransom (as in “The Case of the Ransomed Rascal”).

The music for the series was created by Shuki Levy, while the COPS theme music was written and composed by Haim Saban.

Numerous characters were featured in the cartoon that did not have action figures (Including Mainframe, Brian O'Malley, Whitney Morgan, Nightshade, Ms. Demeanor, and Mirage).

According to wiki : 

This cartoon, which ran from 1988–1989, used the tag line: "Fighting crime in a future time, protecting Empire City from Big Boss and his gang of crooks"

There is a ton of material, hooks, crooks, and capers that can be used to hook into your old school science fiction campaign 

Here's a break down of the cast according to wiki : 

COPS.[edit]

• Baldwin P. "Bulletproof" Vess (voiced by Ken Ryan)^[1] - The main protagonist of the series and leader of COPS Baldwin P. Vess is a Federal Agent from the FBI who was called in to help take down Big Boss. During the fight, he ends up seriously injured in a car wreck and is taken to the hospital. To save his life, Mayor Davis had the research scientists from the Overdine Institute perform an operation that gives Baldwin a cybernetic torso to save his life as it would take years for his torso to recover. Going by the name "Bulletproof" due to the cybernetic torso being able to deflect bullets, Baldwin assembles a team of highly trained police officers from across the country to form COPS and stop Big Boss and his gang of crooks. He is representative of a Police Detective or an F.B.I. Agent.

• P.J. "LongArm" O'Malley (voiced by John Stocker) - P.J. O'Malley serves as a police sergeant for the Empire City Police Department. Second in command of COPS, he is a very compassionate officer who has the talent to convince juvenile delinquents to give up their criminal ways and become law abiding citizens. He wears a wrist device that extends out a handcuff-like device to grab criminals escaping the law, or as an improvised grappling hook. He is representative of a Beat Cop.

• Rex "Bowser" Pointer (voiced by Nick Nichols) - A police officer who worked for the Chicago Police Department. He loves animals and is the handler of Blitz. He is representative of a K-9 officer.
  • Blitz - Bowser's robotic dog who thinks like a human being.

• Walker "Sundown" Calhoun (voiced by Len Carlson) - A police officer who was a former Texas Sheriff. He is an excellent lasso handler and sharpshooter known for conducting special investigations. He is representative of a Texas Ranger.

• Sgt. Colt "Mace" Howards (voiced by Len Carlson) - A police officer who worked for the Philadelphia Police Department. He is known for his tactical strategies, his laser "Mazooka," and his love for a femme fatale named Nightshade. He is representative of aS.W.A.T. Officer.

• Dave E. "Highway" Harlson (voiced by Ray James) - A police officer who worked for the California Highway Patrol. He is a known ace cycle trooper who is not good at baking cookies. He is representative of a Motorcycle patrol officer.

• Stan "Barricade" Hyde (voiced by Ray James) - A soft-spoken police officer who worked for the Detroit Police Department. He is known for his calm demeanor, his M.U.L.E. device, and crowd control. He is representative of Riot Control. He also seems to have training in Hostage Negotiation.

• Donnie "Hardtop" Brooks (voiced by Darrin Baker) - A rookie police officer who works for Empire City's Police Department. He is the driver of the COPS' Ironsides vehicle and has a crush on ECTV news reporter Whitney Morgan. He is representative of a Patrol and Pursuit Officer.

• Hugh S. "Bullseye" Forward (voiced by Peter Keleghan) - A police officer who worked for the Miami Police Department. He is the best police helicopter pilot on the force which earned him the nickname "Bullseye." He is representative of a Police Helicopter pilot.

• Tina "Mainframe" Cassidy (voiced by Mary Long) - A police computer specialist who works for Empire City's Police Department. She is the best computer jockey ever whose talent in computer wizardry has helped solve even the most chaotic of capers. She is representative of a Police Technical Analyst.

• Susie "Mirage" Young (voiced by Elizabeth Hanna) - A female police officer who worked with the San Francisco Police Department. She is known for her talented work in undercover investigations. She is representative of a Vice Officer.

• Hy "Taser" Watts - A police officer who worked with the Seattle Police Department and is known for tasering crooks who try to resist arrest. He appeared in a few episodes.

• Wayne R. "CheckPoint" Sneeden III - A military officer who grew up in Alabama. He works for the United States Army and joins forces with COPS. Very fearful, nervous, anxious, but stays on the case with the team anyway to help get the job done. His toy File Card says his "father was a member of a top-secret military team in the 80’s and 90’s", referencing G.I. Joe character Beach Head(AKA Wayne R. Sneeden)^[8]

• Robert E. "A.P.E.S." Waldo - A police officer who worked with the Boston Police Department. He has a pair of long grappling hand devices similar to LongArm's powercuffs. A.P.E.S. is short for Automated Police Enforcement System. He appeared in "The Case of the High Iron Hoods."

• Roger "Airwave" Wilco - A police officer who worked with the Los Angeles Police Department and is a good communications expert.

• Francis "Inferno" Devlin - A firefighter who worked with the San Francisco Fire Department. He appeared in a few episodes including "The Case of The Bad Luck Burglar."

• Dudley "Powderkeg" Defuze - A police officer who worked with the Washington D.C. Police Department that is known for disarming and defusing bombs and other types of explosives. He helped Squeeky Kleen neutralize the Midas Glove that Squeeky wore in "The Case of the Midas Touch."

• Max "Nightstick" Mulukai - A police officer who worked with the Honolulu Police Department and is an expert in martial arts. He appeared in a few episodes including "The Case of the Missing Memory."

• Sherman A. "Heavyweight" Patton - A military officer who worked at Fort Leavenworth. He joined up with COPS where he serves as their A.T.A.C. (short for Armored Tactical Attack Craft) Driver.

C.R.O.O.K.S.[edit]

• Brandon "Big Boss" Babel (voiced by Len Carlson impersonating Edward G. Robinson) - The primary antagonist of the series. Brandon "Big Boss" Babel is a crime lord who plans to rule Empire City with an iron fist...literally.
  • Scratch - Big Boss' pet weasel with metal paws and cybernetic armor. He is always seen in the company of Big Boss.

• Berserko (voiced by Paul De La Rosa) - Barney L. Fatheringhouse is an impulsive, dim-witted thug who is the proud nephew of Big Boss.

• Rock Krusher (voiced by Brent Titcomb) - Edmund Scarry is a super-strong thug who works for Big Boss. He often uses a heavy-duty jackhammer in order to get into bank vaults. At one point he was romantically involved with Ms. Demeanor.

• Ms. Demeanor (voiced by Paulina Gillis) - Stephanie Demeanor is a middle-aged, super-strong woman with the appearance of a normal businesswoman. She works for Big Boss. She has the muscular physique of a champion bodybuilder.

• Turbo Tu-Tone (voiced by Dan Hennessey) - Ted Stavely is a minion of Big Boss who serves as his getaway driver. He was the one responsible for causing the car wreck that resulted in Baldwin P. Vess gaining a cybernetic torso.

• Doctor Badvibes (voiced by Ron Rubin) - Dr. Percival "Percy" Cranial is a brilliant, though completely deranged mad scientist. Ever since he was fired from Comtrex Technologies Incorporated for stealing top secret electronics, he works for Big Boss devising inventions and robotic minions for Big Boss's gang. He has a glass dome on top of his head which shows his abnormally large brain and is known to create literal brainstorms by charging electricity through his brainwaves to form a cloud that can produce rain, thunder, and lightning.
  • Buzzbomb (voiced by Ron Rubin) - A robot created by Dr. Badvibes for companionship that works for Big Boss. He has a buzzsaw on one arm and a clamper on the other.
  • WALDO - A small robot created by Dr. Badvibes.
  • Shifty - A shape-shifting android created by Dr. Badvibes.
  • Nightmare the Android - An android that was created by Dr. Badvibes.

• Nightshade (voiced by Jane Schoettle) - Rafaella Diamond was born into a rich family. She ended up disowned when she turned to crime stealing expensive and exotic jewellery for the thrill of it, not out of financial needs. She now works for Big Boss, and is secretly in love with Mace.

• Buttons McBoomBoom (voiced by Nick Nichols) - Constantine Saunders is minion of Big Boss. He is seen wearing a red suit and fedora and carries around a violin case that hides his favourite playtoy, a deadly modified Thompson submachine gun with a scope attachment that he uses to blast away at any target at will. Buttons McBoomBoom hides underneath his suit a cybernetic torso that conceals twin machine guns with which he blasts away after he unbuttons his shirt to reveal them in the heat of battle against either the COPS or a bug.

• Squeeky Kleen (voiced by Marvin Goldhar)^[1] - Dirk McHugh is a bald criminal who serves as Big Boss' lackey.

• Koo-Koo - A time bomb expert that works for Big Boss.

• Hyena - A criminal mastermind that uses jokes in his crime. He held a criminal contest against Big Boss to determine who will stay in Empire City and who will leave. A challenge like that caused Big Boss to orchestrate Highway's kidnapping in order to get Bulletproof and Barricade to help him. During the criminal games, COPS managed to turn the tables against Hyena and his goons and arrest them. Hyena and his henchmen later inexplicably popped up as minions of Big Boss.
  • Bullit - Bullit is a henchman of Hyena. He wears rocket boots and a bullet-shaped helmet strong enough to break safes.
  • Louie the Plumber (voiced by Ron Rubin) - A plumber-themed criminal who is a henchman of Hyena. He has a mechanical left arm containing a grappling hook.

Minor criminals[edit]

Not all enemies of COPS are members of Big Boss' gang:

• The Bugman - A short criminal who uses an insect-controlling device that enables him to control insects to commit his crimes after people stopped showing up to his flea circus. He joined up with Big Boss' gang, but left when he did not get a high pay. This causes Nightshade and Buttons McBoomBoom to steal his bugs and the insect-controlling device and use them in their crimes. When Mainframe and Bowser and Blitz found him after tailing Gaylord, they help him into regaining his insect-controlling device. Though Buttons and Nightshade are defeated, Bugman is also arrested. He was last seen restarting his flea circus in prison where his entertaining of the guards is a diversion for Gaylord who secretly makes for the keys. In "The Case of the Lesser of Two Weevils," Bugman escapes from prison when Gaylord gets captured by his rival the Boll Weevil. When Boll Weevil was defeated, Bugman and Gaylord went back to show business.
  • Gaylord - A weevil who is the Bugman's favorite insect. He leads Bugman's insects in Bugman's crime spree.

• Jim Vargas - The corrupt head of City Council who was bribed by Big Boss to make the Instant Justice Machines. When the Instant Justice Machines caught Mace and Barricade trespassing in Vetrocon, he called Big Boss on what to do. When COPS storms Vetrocon, Vargas unleashes the Instant Justice Machines on them. When Mace and Barricade catch up to Vargas, he demands immunity and an offer to name names of anyone involved. Vargas even gives himself up and was sentence to prison.
  • Instant Justice Machines - A bunch of robots built by Jim Vargas in order to put COPS out of business. They act not only aspolice officers, but also as judges and jailers leaving the culprit trapped until a police car comes by. Some of the crimes they busted involved a man illegally parking on a spot that is only allowed on Tuesdays, a woman jaywalking, a man littering when his hat fell off in the wind while carrying groceries, and two teens speeding on their skateboards. When it came to Highway busting Ms. Demeanor, an Instant Justice Machine found her innocent of all charges. The Instant Justice Machines ended up fighting COPS when they stormed Vetrocon. Barricade even talked the Instant Justice Machine guarding him and Mac into releasing them. When Mace and Barricade end up cornering Vargas, the other Instant Justice Machines stopped their attacks. Following Vargas' arrest, most of the Instant Justice Machines were deactivated except for the one that Barricade talked into freeing him and Mace.

• Johnny Yuma - Johnny Yuma is the former partner of Sundown who became an outlaw. He was put away for trying to steal the money they recovered from a robbery and various train robberies. He eventually escapes from the Texas State Prison to take revenge on Sundown. When Turbo Tu-Tone sees him, he calls up Big Boss who instructs him to follow Johnny and know his every move. Sundown hears of Johnny's prison break and manages to confront him when he breaks into the cowboy museum and regains his lasso. Johnny manages to lasso Sundown to a robotic bull. As Johnny heads out to rob the Silver Bullet Express, Turbo Tu-Tone trails him and turns on the robotic bull to stall Sundown. Upon being tipped off by Turbo Tu-Tone, Big Boss sends Berserko, Rock Krusher, and Buttons McBoomBoom to recruit Johnny Yuma. When the three rendezvous with Turbo Tu-Tone to recruit Johnny Yuma into Big Boss' gang, Johnny Yuma tells them that he works alone and defeats them. Johnny then leaves to go rob the Silver Bullet Express prompting Berserko to lead the Turbo Tu-Tone, Rock Krusher, and Buttons McBoomBoom into robbing it first. Sundown manages to catch up to Johnny Yuma on the Silver Bullet Express and ends up fighting him until Big Boss' minions crash the fight. After Berserko, Turbo Tu-Tone, Rock Krusher, and Buttons McBoomBoom were defeated, Johnny Yuma agrees to return to jail to finish his sentence which led to an early release due to good behavior. He now works as a deputy in a small Texas town.

• Small Guy -

• Jenny Wringer - A female con artist.

• Big Momma - An old lady who is Big Boss's mother and Berserko's great-aunt. She is blind to the fact that her son is not as skinny as she thought to have been. When she once visited Empire City to visit her son, Big Boss had to cover up his criminal side by stating that he is a philanthropist and even started an orphanage with his henchmen posing as orphans. Due to his mother being around, he was not able to successfully steal the money and had to donate it to charity. In "The Case of the Lost Boss," she secretly moves to Kansas and orchestrates her son's kidnapping before he can plan a heist on Stargy Island's diamond mines. Big Momma's kidnapping of Big Boss caused his henchman to blame the COPS for Big Boss' disappearance causing them to capture Barricade. Berserko tails the COPS when they run into Big Momma and informs Dr. Badvibes that Big Boss is at Big Momma's apartment. The crooks managed to swipe Big Boss from Big Momma's apartment so that they can get on with their plans to take over Stargy Island. COPS thwarted Big Boss' plans causing him to escape with Big Momma.

• Mukluk - A tricky Canadian thief.

• Boll Weevil - An insect-themed villain. He once captured Gaylord causing Bugman to escape from prison to get him back.

• Addictem - A drug dealer who was selling Crystal Twists that were causing people to become addicted to them. He tried to join Big Boss' gang only to be denied since Big Boss does not do drug dealing. Because of Addictem spreading his Crystal Twist drugs across Empire City and Berserko falling into a Crystal Twist crate trying to steal the Mayan Gold, Big Boss and his gang had to team up with COPS to stop Addictem's drug ring. When Addictem was chased into the hospital and grabbed by Berserko, Addictem surrendered to COPS to evade getting beaten up by Berserko. Addictem was sentenced to life in prison and those who were affected by the Crystal Twists are recovering from them.

Supporting characters[edit]

• Mayor Davis - The mayor of Empire City.

• Commissioner Highwaters - The police commissioner of Empire City.

• Whitney Morgan (voiced by Jeri Craden) - ECTV Reporter.

• Beamer - Whitney Morgan's camera robot.

• Brian O'Malley - LongArm's son.

Minor characters[edit]

• Judge Davis - Mayor Davis' twin brother.

• Linda O'Malley - LongArm's wife.

• Mickey O'Malley - LongArm's dad.

• President of the United States - An unnamed African-American female.

• Suds Sparko - A criminal put away by Mickey O’Malley in the 1990s, who later became Rock Krusher’s cell mate. Before he was arrested he was able to hide his loot in a laundromat.

• Brannigan -

• Prince Baddin -

• Nancy and Kathleen - Nightshade's sisters.

• Greasy -

• Audrey Ferrer -

• Samantha - A tomboy who helps the cops out during an investigation Dr. Badvibes's circus.

• Captain Crimefighter -

• Inspector Yukon - A RCMP Mountie.

• Agent Belson - An Executive Protection Unit agent (this show's version of The Secret Service).

• Brandon Welch Master 5000 -

The Cops Comics DC Tie In 

The DC comic was where the real action was when it came to to the cartoon. This show came out right around the height of the everything is Cyberpunk thing.
The comic ran for fifteen issues which isn't bad at all.

C.O.P.S. (Central Organization of Police Specialists) was a fifteen-issue comic bookseries created based on a Hasbro toy line. The series was written by Doug Moenchand published by DC Comics.

Even though these were kids comics they had a lot more meat then the cartoon. 

 Here's a quick overview of the first five issues according to wiki : 

The Case of COPS File #1 – BadVibes

Dr. BadVibes join forces with Big Boss and his gang of Crooks and creates a device that shakes buildings to the ground. Special Agent Baldwin P. Vess arrives in Empire City to experience the following: get blown up by an attack made by Turbo Tu-tone andRock Krusher on the 647 Precinct (A.K.A. "Purgatory"), fixed with a cybernetic torso, apprehending Berserko, and forming a team of the best law enforcers there is in thecountry known as C.O.P.S. (Central Organization of Police Specialists). Together, Baldwin Vess (Code name: Bulletproof) and his C.O.P.S. team, with the help of Donny Brooks in his armored assault vehicle and Tina Cassidy in front of the terminal, destroys the vibrating machine built by Dr. BadVibes at an old abandoned sewage plant, thwarting the first of many of Big Boss' crooked plans. As a result Bulletproof graciously welcomed Tina (Codename: Mainframe) and Donny (Codename: Hardtop) to the C.O.P.S. team.

The Case of the COPS File #2 – The Long Cuff of the Law

Big Boss takes revenge on Longarm by sending Buttons McBoomBoom to harass his family. Longarm (P.J. O'Malley), after learning about what happened, goes after and arrests McBoomBoom.

The Case of COPS File #3 – The Vibe Piper of Empire City

Dr. BadVibes unleashes an army of mechanical rats to free all of the inmates at the Empire City Prison. His plan is thwarted by C.O.P.S. officers Highway (Dave E. Harlson) and Sgt. Mace (Colt Howards), who shoots his laser bazooka and destroys Buzzbomb while stopping the parade of crooks who were making their way out of prison, only to get stopped in their tracks by Highway. Meanwhile, Buttons McBoomBoom escapes.

The Case of the COPS File #4 – Sundown Hates Bugs!

Like Buttons McBoomBoom in the cartoon, Sundown (Walker Calhoun) in the comics hates bugs. Big Boss takes advantage of this and sends Ms. Demeanor to plant all over the 647th Precinct mechanical bugs to serve as radio transmitters that will send out messages to Big Boss about what's going on with the C.O.P.S. However, thanks to Bowser (Rex Pointer) who turns on his electric razor to shave his mustache only to pick up the signal coming from the bugs, the C.O.P.S. found out all about it. At once, the C.O.P.S. team located the bugs and destroy them. Then they geared up to defend the precinct from the attacks from the crooks who laid siege on the precinct to get their hands on the 5 million dollars in cash the C.O.P.S. are assign to guard. The C.O.P.S., however, stopped the broadcast and defeated the Crooks while Ms. Demeanor carries out a much different plan to usurp Big Boss and become the new crime lord of Empire City.

The Case of COPS File #5 – A Bowser and his Blitz

Rock Krusher destroys Blitz, leaving Bowser deeply traumatized. Bowser reminisces about Blitz and his first dog Maxie while the lab boys rebuild Blitz. Bowser decides to avenge Blitz by going after Dr. BadVibes and Rock Krusher. Blitz broke loose after being rebuilt and joins Bowser in taking down Rock Krusher and send him behind bars.

Using C.O.P.S For Your Old School Science Fiction Campaign 

C.O.P.S. had the potential to really be used lampoon some of what was going on in the world of the 80's and certainly it does now. There are numerous retroclone games that can easily emulate and take this property into a solid retro future campaign. 
Both Stars Without Number and Xplorers has the potential to use this cartoon to its ends. Simply have the PC's pick up one or more of the leads from where the cartoon left off and go.
Another potential that I've used with this one is that the city depicted in the cartoon is actually a an android construct and the criminals are actually A.I's being used to keep the C.O.P.S busy and trained until they can arrive planetside for their real mission. They're all aboard a vessel straight out of Metamorphosis Alpha first edition. Things start going off course when the mutant monsters begin to show up!
 I've also used this one for a straight up Cyberpunk 2020 style campaign which surprised the hell out of the players when the gloves came off . Perps and C.O.P.S. died and the game got very interesting very fast. Use the DC comics for this approach. They're cheap, easy to find, and mostly ( this is the last time I checked in the dollar bins of comic stores).

On Line Support

 

A solid large entry on C.O.P.S 

HERE

• COPS HQ Website
• There is also a Facebook group HERE

This blog entry is not meant as a challenge to the copyright or trade mark to any of the holders or owners of C.O.P.S . This blog entry is for entertainment purposes only.