The Arabian Knights was a cartoon produced for the Banana Splits show. It concerns an deposed prince, Turhan, and a band of super powered allies trying to re-install him on the throne of Baghdad. The cartoons are actually pretty fun and imaginative for the cut-rate production values practiced by HB during that period (though, to be honest, they would get much, much worse). The upside of all these cartoons was that, even though the production values were usually not up to par, the initial design work was done by the great Alex Toth.
The Arabian Knights work well as a super team because each of the members has a small number of abilities. For this reason, we'll build each with 15,000 XP. Without further ado, the Arabian Knights ...
TURHAN, Ex-Prince of Baghdad
Adventurer Lvl 8 (11,400 XP)
Str 4; Int 2; Wis 1; Dex 12; Con 5; Cha 5
HP 50; DC 14; SPD 2Powers: P - Super Dexterity (+6) (3,600 XP)
Gear: Sword
NIDA, Daughter of the Caliph
Adventurer Lvl 10 (15,000 XP)
Str 4; Int 3; Wis 2; Dex 4; Con 2; Cha 3
HP 45; DC 11; SPD 2
Powers: None
Gear: Sword
RASEEM
Adventurer Lvl 4 (3,900 XP)
Str 6; Int 2; Wis 2; Dex 5; Con 6; Cha 2
HP 35; DC 11; SPD 2
Powers: P - Super Strength (+6) (3,600 XP)
Sidekick: Zazuum, donkey with the Whirlwind (Single-Use; 7,500 XP) power
FARIEK
Sorcerer Lvl 5 (5,000 XP)
Str 2; Int 6; Wis 4; Dex 2; Con 6; Cha 4
HP 25; DC 10; SPD 2
Powers: Sorcery (10,000 XP)
BEZ THE BEAST
Adventurer Lvl 5 (5,000 XP)
Str 4; Int 2; Wis 5; Dex 5; Con 4; Cha 5
HP 35; DC 11; SPD 2
Powers: P - Polymorph (10,000 XP)
Posts
Cool. I remember these guys fondly from various syndicated cartoon shows in my childhood, though Samson and Goliath was probably my favorite of the superhero-ish HB shows.
ReplyDeleteAgreed - for those who don't know the cartoon, Samson was a kid who rode around on a vespa and could turn into a superhero. More importantly, he also turned his dog, Goliath, into a giant lion with laser eyes. Hanna Barbera hit its high point in the 1960s - Herculoids, Space Ghost, Jonny Quest, the classic Yogi, Huckleberry Hound and Quickdraw McGraw cartoons. Not as good as the classic Disney and Warner Bros. stuff from the 1940s and 1950s, but still some great stuff by some ex-Disney and Warner employees on a very tight budget.
ReplyDeleteAdd stats to an assortment of Toth's character style sheets and you'd have the best rogue's gallery ever :)
ReplyDeleteAmen to that!
ReplyDeleteBrillaint! I grew up on the Banana Splits and the Arabian Knights (and, of course, the Three Musketeers and Danger Island) so I'm delighted to see this post, captain. Brilliant work in the statting of them. Seeing Mystery Men do a broad range of things really helps "sell" the system, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteSo even though they've been done (and done well) for AD&D already, how about doing The Herculoids next? :)
This, sir, is great. The Arabian Knights was one of my favorite cartoons as a child.
ReplyDelete