Gaming Guardians
From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia.
Gaming Guardians is a webcomic that debuted 7 May 2000 and was created by Graveyard Greg and Andrew Babb. It has had several spin-offs, including two other comics and a role-playing community. The current artist on the strip is The Webtroll.
- Addresses:
- Ran from/to: May 7 2000 - present
The comic's premise comes from the belief that every time a role-playing game is run, an alternate reality (or "system") is created. Most of the time, these systems run their course, but sometimes they are unduly influenced by outside forces (overtly or otherwise). That's where Graveyard Greg and his team, the Gaming Guardians, step in to set things right.
While the webcomic is not specifically a furry comic (unlike some of Greg's other work, such as Furry! and Carpe Diem), furry characters and systems pop up frequently.
For example, two members of Greg's team are Angus, a gentle giant of a minotaur whose mind was damaged by one of the team's enemies, and Pidge, whose primary form until recently was that of a white kitten. Greg, himself, is infected with lycanthropy, and in recent strips was learning how to control and utilize that trait.
Also, major story arcs have occurred in FurryMUCK and the Napping Cat's Dream (which itself isn't exclusively furry, but has a high percentage of furry characters, many of whom popped up in the arc). Additionally, Gaming Guardians has crossed over with other comics before -- notably, Supermegatopia. While the team has not gone to an Ironclaw system in the main comic, Greg and Webtroll have done advertisements for Ironclaw featuring Graveyard Greg and EDG (his robotic sidekick second-in-command) shilling for the RPG.
[edit] Spinoffs
Gaming Guardians has a spin-off comic known as Powergamers, which features a team of heroes who defend the real world (or "Primary System") from attacks from rogue systems. Maus Merryjest appears as one of the Powergamers in several strips, as does a tough-as-nails rat girl named Trace. (As of August 2005, the Powergamers strip is in hiatus.)
There is also a strip called The Guardians, which stems from an attempt by an enemy to trap Greg, his allies, and several enemies in a D20-based system of the enemy's design. When Greg, et. al., escaped, the system generated versions of them and kept running. This strip is similar to what Marvel Comics is doing with their "Ultimates" comics - same characters, different situations.
The Gaming Guardians and Powergamers characters have popped up elsewhere, usually as cameos.
[edit] Role-Playing community
Not surprisingly for a comic about folks defending role-playing systems, there's a role-playing community based off of the comics. Much of the role-playing occurs in two places: the Gaming Guardians IRC channels, and the Gaming Guardians forums on The Nice. There are some differences in RP continuity between the two.
For the most part, most of the characters created are rank-and-file members of the Gaming Guardians, taking care of situations that aren't drawing the attention of the "main team" (as seen in the comic). To a lesser extent, there are also Powergamer characters and role-plays, as well.
There are occasional crossovers between the Napping Cat's Dream and the Gaming Guardians forums, as characters from the Dream often find their way into the Primary System (and vice versa).
There are a sizable number of furry characters on the team, and a number have risen to "high rank" within the role-playing framework. (Most of the rank-and-file seen in the comic have been humans.)
[edit] External links
- Powergamers comic strip
- The Guardians comic strip
- Gaming Guardians forum
- Powergamers forum
- GG Roleplaying Continuity - while the continuity information is out of date, the "policy" and "newbie" pages are good resources for new players.
