Here are a few:
THUNDARR, THE BARBARIAN
In the year 1997, a runaway planet comes hurtling between the earth and the moon unleashing cosmic destruction.
Man's civilization is cast in ruin.
Two thousand years later, Earth is reborn.
A strange new world rises from the old.
A world of savagery, super-science and sorcery.
But one man bursts his bonds to fight for truth and justice.
He is Thundarr, the Barbarian!
Along with his companions Ookla the Mok and Princess Ariel,
he pits his strength, his courage and his fabulous sunsword
against the forces of evil.
SECRETS OF ISIS
"Oh my Queen," said the Royal Sorcerer to Hatshepsut.
"With this amulet, you and your descendants will be endowed by the goddess Isis with the power of the animals and the elements.
You will soar as the falcon soars.
Run with the speed of gazelles
and command the elements of sky and earth."
Three thousand years later, a young science teacher uncovers this lost treasure and discovers she is heir to the Secrets of Isis.
And so, unknown even to her closest friends, Rick Mason and Cindy Lee,
she becomes a duo-person: Andrea Thomas, teacher, and Isis, dedicated foe of evil, defender of the weak and champion of truth and justice.
HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
I am Adam, Prince of Eternia and Defender of the secrets of Castle Greyskull.
This is Cringer, my fearless friend.
Fabulous secret powers were revealed to me the day I held aloft my magic sword and said: "By the Power of Greyskull!"
Cringer became the mighty Battlecat and I became He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe.
Only three others share this secret:
The Sorceress, Man-at-Arms and Orko.
Together we defend Castle Greyskull from
the evil forces of Skeletor.
Marshall, Will and Holly
On a routine expedition
Met the greatest earthquake ever known
High on the rapids
It struck their tiny raft
And plunged them down a thousand feet below
To the Land of the Lost
To the Land of the Lost
To the Land of the Lost
*voice of Grumpy the t-rex* GRAAR! :D
from the Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_the_Lost_%281974_TV_series%29
Land of the Lost details the adventures of a family of three (father Rick Marshall, son Will — around 18 yrs old — and younger daughter Holly-around 12 years old) who are trapped in an alien world inhabited by dinosaurs, chimpanzee-like cavemen called Pakuni, and aggressive, humanoid/lizard creatures called Sleestak that have a mix of insectoid and reptilian characteristics. The episode plots focus on the family's efforts to survive and find a way back to their own world, but the exploration of the exotic features of the Land of the Lost are also an ongoing part of the story.[3]
The series is notable for having a much darker and serious tone than most children's series, and for having a grander and more epic storytelling vision than most shows. The relatively complex plots, unique internal mythology, and ambitious special effects (generally considered unrealistic and even campy today, but advanced for Saturday morning TV in the 1970s) have earned the show a large popular following, particularly among adults who watched the show and other Krofft productions as children.
I seem to remember that the Sleestaks claimed the Pylons were built by their ancestors but that they had since "devolved" and lost the knowledge on how they worked. Each Pylon was a planetary control device with a table of glowing gemstone buttons. Pressing the buttons in certain sequences caused orbiting satellites to change position and create various effects such as affecting the weather, create earthquakes, open dimensional gateways, etc.
The party is an army-unit, ordered to do something that would strategically be a setback to the enemy, but would be a crime in peace-time. Upon their return, they find their superior officer is assassinated and no evidence of them acting under orders. They face criminal charges.
Houserules: all weapons do non-lethal damage, characters have a complete alchemist's and artisan's lab in their back-pockets, every subject of a Coup-de-Grace has to be locked in a barn for at least 6 hours before the CdG is performed.
overview: The legendary kingdom is ruled by good King Baaldorf and Queen Lattinia. Their daughter, Ariel, is engaged to Prince Erik Greystone, who becomes Camarand's champion against a neighboring kingdom ruled by evil Prince Dirk Blackpool. Erik is assisted by his servant, Marko, the strongest man in the kingdom and often hindered by his ne'er-do-well playboy brother, Justin.
Classic story of evil vs stupid.
Tour of Duty
How could you not like a show that used Paint it Black as their main theme song. It would make a great POL campaign with a group off fighting he great and last war.
A 50-year-old teacher turned mystery writer solves crimes in one of the most boring hours of your life.
:P
Murder, She Wrote
A 50-year-old teacher turned mystery writer solves crimes in one of the most boring hours of your life.
:P
LOL. Inspiration comes from all manner of sources.
PIRATES OF DARK WATER:
Thirteen Treasures of Ancient Time, Thirteen Treasures of Rule in Rhyme.
If Returned to their Native Land, A New Day Dawns for Octopon!
Darkness descends on all the lands, For these Riches two shall vie,
In the Realm of Dark Water where the Treasures lie.
Now I know there are also a number of players who are drawn to the Archipelago/Water World/Pirate-Theme scenarios. Well, Pirates of Dark Water would be right up your ally.
The cartoon took place on the watery world of Mer which was being overcome by an evil substance known as "dark water-" sort of a inky, oily sludge with life of its own. It consumed all life that touched it and was slowly spreading across the planet. Dark Water was the direct by-product of the demonic creature known as the Dark Dweller, a being that lived far below the surface of the planet.
The series followed the quest of the young Prince Ren of the fallen City-Kingdom of Octopon. Ren's father, King Primus, had been held prisoner aboard the Maelstrom, the ship of the dread Pirate-Lord Bloth. Primus sought the mystical gems known as the 13 Treasures of Rule. Whoever controlled the treasures could effectively control the dark water. King Primus wished to rid the planet of the substance while Bloth sought only to use the substance to become more powerful and control the world.
Primus died while escaping his imprisonment but not before passing the quest onto his son, Prince Ren. Ren is joined by Ioz (a pirate), Niddler (a monkey-bird) and Tula (an ecomancer).
Each episode had the heroes travelling from island to island across the world while trying to obtain the lost treasures all the while trying to avoid being captured by Bloth.
Lots of neat adventure/campaign ideas abound, including:
ecomancy: similar to druidic magic. Ecomancy involved control of the environment, nature, weather and animals.
The Wraith: Ren's ship which had a detachable main sail that acted as a glider!
Cinder Sand: used like gun powder to light torches
Lantern Fish: illuminous fish kept in glass bowls to provide light
Acidic Starfish: launched from small catapults at enemy ships. The star fish would attach to wooden masts, etc and eat away at the wood.
Leviathans: enormous sea-serpents that lived in the deep oceans of the world. Some of the primitive people of Mer worshiped the Leviathans.
This was another great 80s cartoon that was accompanied by the obligatory toy line and short-lived comic book. Unfortunately, it didn't have a big enough following I guess and was quickly cancelled.
The premise of the show was a post-apocalytic world known as Prysmos. Prysmos was a scientifically advanced world with sky scrapers, flying cars, etc. With the alignment of the 3 suns, however, the Age of Science came to an end and the Age of Magic returned. All technology failed and the population was thrown back to a seemingly stone age.
The wise wizard Merklynn appeared to the the surviving population and promised them great power if they could face and defeat his challenges in the Iron Mountain. Out of all the knights that tried, only 14 succeeded and each was granted magical powers.
The good knights became known as the Spectral Knights. The evil knights became known as the Darkling Lords. Each was granted a magical animal totem. The totem was a reflection of their own true inner self. The knight could transform into this totem animal for a limited time and use its abilities.
Leoric (leader)= lion, granted the Staff of Wisdom
Ectar = fox
Cryotek= bear, granted the Staff of Strength
Galadria= dolphin
Witterquick= cheetah, granted the Staff of Lightspeed
Arzon= eagle, granted the Staff of Knowledge
Feryl= wolf
Darkstorm (leader)= mollusk, granted the Staff of Decay
Cravex= phylot, granted the Staff of Fear
Lexor= armadillo, granted the Staff of Invulnerability
Reekon= lizard
Virulina= shark
Mordred= beetle
Cindarr= gorilla, granted the Staff of Destruction
In addition, some of the knights carried staffs that were likewise imbued with magical power. Each power was usuable once and then the staff would have to be recharged in Merklynn's magical pool (and he never gave the power away for free- knights would have to perform some service for him)
Staff of Wisdom=
"Whispered secrets of a shattered age
I summon you, renew this sage!"
Staff of Knowledge=
"A whim, a thought and more is sought.
Awake my mind. Thy will be wrought!"
Staff of Strength=
"Three suns align call forth your light
and fill the archer's bow with might!"
Staff of Lightspeed=
"Sheath these feet in the driving gale,
Make swift these legs o'er land I sail!"
Staff of Decay=
"By what creeps, what crawls, by what does not
May all that grows recede and rot!"
Staff of Fear
"Oh mist-filled pits, dark, dank, unclear,
Touch all before me with frost-fingered fear!"
Staff of Destruction=
"By nature's hand, by craft, by art,
What once was one now fly apart!"
Staff of Invulnerability=
"The arrows turn, the swords rebel,
Let nothing pierce this mortal shell!"
Just change the player races to Feline types (Dragonborn as Tigers, Halflings as Housecats, Elves as Leopards, Dwarves as Mountain Lions etc...)
Also Cities of Gold- The players are Spanish kids stowed away with Conquistadors (who are the usually the bad guys in the series) or Aztec/Mayan kids and they find dungeons full of crazy gold-solar-powered Aztech (yes I can spell Aztec, it was a bad pun okay) like flying gold birds and ships (gold seems like a bad choice for aviation and shipping but that's Aztecs for you).
Sectaurs: Warriors of Symbion was a line of action figures released by Coleco in 1984.
The premise was that "somewhere in space, somewhere in time," exists a planet called Symbion, where a genetic experiment fails. Frightening changes take place that cannot be stopped. The result? A world where insects and arachnids grow to frightening proportions. A world where the inhabitants have taken on the awesome characteristics of insects and arachnids. Prince Dargon, ruler of the peaceful Shining Realm of Prosperon, and his allies are in conflict with the forces of Empress Devora, ruler of the Dark Domain of Synax, and her henchmen, for possession of the Hyves, fortresses of an ancient civilization holding the key to ultimate power. Each character was "tele-bonded" with intelligent, non-anthropomorphic insect creatures called Insectoids that had a special ability, and shared each other's "pleasure and pain."
An animated mini-series that spanned five episodes was created based on the characters, and Marvel Comics published an eight issue limited series about them as well. A read along record storybook was also made