Royal Palace
(He-Man and the Masters of the Universe)
– King Randor.
Context
A location in the He-man and the Masters of the Universe animated TV series of the 1980s. If you’re not familiar with that, you’ll want to first read our notes about the Masters of the Universe setting.
The Royal Palace is the reigning seat of government in Eternia. It’s the official home of the ruling family and base of operations for the heroic warriors.
Scope
There is a lot of information in this article. One might find what they’re looking for best by typing (Ctrl+f) to search keywords.
This article details:
- Many of the weapons, features, laws of the land, and vehicles. In alphabetic order.
- Royal Guards and unique personalities at the palace.
- The sentient and heroic robot horse, Stridor.
- Which episodes are used for reference.
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Location
Type:
A sprawling palace atop a huge mesa.
Situation:
South of Snake Mountain (Episode: Visitors from Earth).
Area:
The Royal Palace has outposts all over Eternia.
Land Boundaries:
Unrevealed, but they certainly have boundaries. The main characters know where they are and whose land they are in.
Climate:
Temperate.
Terrain:
The mesa supporting the Palace stands high in the plains surrounding it. Mount Eternia is nearby.
Natural resources:
None. They import everything – even Rainbow Quartz, which is only found in Snake Mountain.
Elevation extremes:
The Mesa itself stands equal to the height of the Palace’s tallest structure. So, a couple hundred feet.
Natural hazards:
None inside the palace proper. In the surrounding area, peasant villages dot the landscape. There is a danger of animal, plant, and monster attacks.
Weather phenomenon shouldn’t be an issue since Duncan once built a weather-controlling satellite. Still, they are plagued by bad weather (episode: Curse of the Spellstone).
Photo taken by thefwoosh.com, in their toy review for the Royal Palace playset .
Politics
Profile:
Eternia appears to be a pretty stable Monarchy with Randor as the King and Adam as the heir apparent.
King Randor tries hard to be a good and fair king. His subjects respect him, including his Lords and Ladies. Other kings are given respect and allowed to rule their own lands. As long as they aren’t evil.
King Randor will enact justice against evildoers.
Current Ruler:
King Randor and Queen Marlena. The Royal family is normally in agreement. But, if they aren’t Malena will defer to Randor’s judgment.
Current Government:
Monarch and Royal Family.
Administrative Divisions:
King Randor and Queen Marlena are the current rulers. Their decrees are law.
Lords and Ladies with title inside the kingdom govern their own lands, within the confines of the law.
When Prince Adam acts in a diplomatic function, he speaks for his father, the king.
Legal System:
The laws of the land are declared to all, everyone knows them. King Randor holds court and passes judgment on criminals. This usually ends with the guilty sent to the prison mines.
Royal Proclamations:
During the Series, King Randor only hands down a few new proclamations.
- He-man Day. Became an annual holiday letting He-man know how much he means to everyone in the kingdom. This was modified to include several other heroes including Orko.
- Eternia Day. On this day, when the poor and needy can come before King Randor and ask anything. He will use the Scepter of Power to grant their wishes. The Sceptor has been handed down through generations to Randor. (episode: The Magic Falls)
- The 4th of July. Actually this was a joke. Teela commented that Orko’s dumpling recipe, which exploded, would be good for the next 4th of July celebration (episode: The Good shall survive).
The law:
Eternia has no slavery.
The hunting of animals for sport is outlawed on Eternia (episode: The Huntsman).
When not stated, Eternia can be assumed to have the same laws as the United States.
Internal political activity:
Practically non-existent. This isn’t Game of Thrones.
Once revealed as evil, a villain is dealt with. Second chances are given, but even then, it usually comes with some kind of punishment. Trust must be earned.
External political activity:
Good and evil are clearly defined polar opposites. There is no in-between. The Royal Palace is good, while Skeletor and his followers are evil.
Individuals have been known to switch sides. But pretending to be on the other side won’t work for long.
The Main Theme
Setting the mood while you read.
Apparently available for download on Amazon (but looks fishy).
Economics
The Royal Palace is involved in a world and a universal economy. But it’s mostly background. For instance, we know they have trade agreements with allies like the planet Phantos.
See the “Wealth” section in the Masters of the Universe Setting article.
Adνеrtisеmеnt
History
The Royal Palace is sometimes referred to as Eternia or Eternos. Home to King Randor and Queen Marlena of Earth.
King Miro, Randor’s father, was lost in a battle with his evil enemy, The Enchantress (no relation). Randor never believed he was dead. This was before Orko came to Eternia (Episode: Search for the past).
Scientific achievements and historical events
- A space probe – Man-At-Arms launched a space probe into deep space and made contact with the alien being, Ohm (episode: The Arena).
- The Widgets gave the Royal Palace a new reactor. It provided another source of safe energy for the entire Palace.
- The Rainbow Tunnel was built by King Randor for Adam and Teela when they were young.
- Skeletor used a floating island to try to smash the Great Eternian Dam. Once defeated and his island captured, King Randor turned it into a National Park for everyone to enjoy (episode: Island of Fear).
Royal Palace Sites of Interest
- The Throneroom. Two thrones sit side by side. Guests and dignitaries are welcomed here.
- The courtyard. Adam, Teela, and Man-at-arms have training sessions here.
- The Energizer Chamber. Far under the Palace, reachable only by elevator. A mineral called “Eternium” powers all the Royal Palace. One small shard has supplied the Palace with all its energy for centuries (episode: Double Edged Sword).
- The Hall of Kings has statues of previous Eternian Kings. There is a statue of Tamusk there (episode: The Time Wheel).
- The Prison Mine is mentioned in several episodes as a form of punishment but never shown.
- Royal Gardens. Man-At-Arms built an irrigation system for these, controlled by a series of valves. It even included a water-fall. Lizard-Man relaxed in a rock garden on the Palace grounds.
- Man-At-Arms has built a safe-room for himself, Teela, and the Royal family for emergencies. It has a thick, durable, hydraulic door [BODY 15].
Palace Personalities
Who’s at the Palace besides the namedA character with more narrative immunity than nameless extras heroes?
- Chef Allen is the Royal Chef (episode: The taking of Grayskull).
- Melaktha, the Royal Archaeologist and his apprentice, Stanlin.
- Mishi – Adam’s wrestling coach.
- Professor Smallen – The Ancient Archives keeper. He’s a small aging man with glasses. Research scientist, linguist, and archaeologist. He never forgets a book.
- The Royal Palace sometimes hosts page boys from other kingdoms. While there, the pages learn how to behave in the Royal court and attend to daily duties.
- Many soldiers defend the Palace and the Royal family. When enemies approach a siren may be sounded. Teela is the Captain of the guard.
- The Palace has a few servant and security droids.
- Man-At-Arms has stated there are “technos” who act as mechanics for the Palace.
- An unnamed Court Physician (episode: To save Skeletor).
- The traveling circus comes around every so often to the Royal Palace. The Circus travels by rocket train.
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DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
ROYAL PALACE [BODY 17].
Equipment
Man-At-Arms invents and maintains the equipment, vehicles, and weapons at the Palace.
Beam-Ray [BODY 05, Energy Blast: 22]. It may be set as low as 09 APs for sculpting stone up to 22, blasting tunnels through mountains.
Beeper [BODY 02, Summon Animals: 06]. Man-At-Arms designed it to attract anything that flies. It can attract Wolf-bats as well as the hero Stratos.
Communicator [BODY 02, Radio Communications: 14, R#5]. This was like hand-held walkie-talkies. There are at least two of these.
Converter [BODY 03, Transformation: 06, R#2]. Converts sand and chemicals into a nutritious meal. It produces a single four-inch protein-bar. It tastes great.
Electro-thought projector. Use stats for the memory projector (below) but it only gets surface thoughts. It doesn’t need a helmet. It only reads the target’s mind and projects it on a large view screen.
HIGH-FREQUENCY TRANSMITTER [BODY 06, Radio Communications: 20, R#5]. This transmitter controls communications for all devices in the Kingdom.
Homing Device [BODY 01, Radio Communications: 10, R#5]. This pair of homing devices may only be set to either send or receive to one another. Usually, they are set so that one sends and the other receives. No other communication may be used only a beeping as the pair are closer together.
Hover-Melter [BODY 06, Laser Beam: 12, Radio Communications: 02 R#5]. It can melt away rock leaving behind precious minerals or melt ice to allow ships to travel freely in frozen waters.
Lango Computer [BODY 05, Comprehend Languages: 12, R#0].
Man-at-Arms’ Lab [24 APs].
MECHANICAL ANIMALS [Physical Attributes match their living counterparts, Skin Armor: 01, Artist (Actor): 07 (portraying the animal’s actions and mannerisms). Here is an example from the series:
ANDROID HORSE [Dex 02 Str 05 Body 05 Int 01 Will 01, Artist (Actor): 07, Running: 05, Skin Armor: 01, Bonuses and Limitations: Artist (Actor) is only to imitate a real horse (-1 FC), R#2, Cost: 88]. Note: these mechanical horses get treated like living horses, housed in barns or tethered to posts when not ridden.
The Android Horses enforce this further by acting like horses too. Whinnying and rearing if startled, grazing, nosing up to be petted, etc..
They are used in many other kingdoms, apparently, only peasants use real beasts of burdens.
The one Adam rode he named, Strider (episode: Pawns of the Gamemaster). He’s not to be mistaken with Stridor (detailed below).
Memory Projector [BODY 03, Mind Probe: 13]. Projects a large energy screen that plays like a Television. It shows a specific memory from the person wearing the projector.
Motorized skis [BODY 03, Running: 05].
ORBITING ETERNO-SCOPE [BODY 04, Detect (Element): 24, Telescopic Vision: 20, Radio Communications: 22, Bonuses and Limitations: Detect may be tuned to whatever desired element and pin-pointed by the telescope]. This is an orbiting satellite with a telescope that sends pictures back to Eternia.
Portable Teleportation device [BODY 02, Teleportation: 07, R#3]. Man-At-Arms says he could move any object anywhere. He wanted to test it in a remote area though afraid it might fail with catastrophic results. Man-At-Arms went on to say that if the batteries are fresh it could even teleport four or five people.
Rock Softener [BODY 05, Energy Blast: 18, Power drain: 28, Bonuses and Limitations: Energy Blast destroys materials at a molecular level. It may only damage inanimate objects that have been targeted for at least 03 phases. APs that were Power Drained are returned immediately once out of the Rock Softener’s beam. Power Drain affects STR attribute only (-2 FC). R#2]. Turns rocky areas to soft soil for farming. This thing is very powerful. When turned on He-man it drained him of his Strength, dropping him in a single shot. All effects are reversible with the turn of a handy dial.
Shrinking Ray [BODY 03, Shrinking: 12, R#2].
Snare gun “Lasso” [BODY 05, Snare: 12, R#5]. This weapon sits on a tripod. It stands about waist high to Man-at-Arms. The trigger is a button on the top. When pressed, a length of energized rope ensnares the target.
Snare was rated at 05 APs at the beginning of the episode but by the end, Teela and Man-At-Arms had tweaked it to its current value.
SUPERCOMPUTER [BODY 06 Int 02, Detect (Geological Occurrences): 14, Remote Sensing: 14, R#2]. This super-computer can observe and transmit catastrophes happening anywhere in Eternia. Man-At-Arms can converse with this computer and it will report all that it can to him.
Tether-line [BODY 05. 04 APs of length with a zip-line handle].
Underwater breathing device [BODY 03, Sealed Systems: 05, Bonuses and Limitations: Free Diving only]
VHO [BODY 04, Aura of Fear: 05, Sonic beam: 01, Bonuses and Limitations: Aura of Fear and Sonic Beam only affects animals and those who can hear it]. Essentially a fear-inducing dog-whistle.
WEATHER CONTROLLING SATELLITE [BODY 04, Flight: 01, Weather Control: 13, R#7].
Web-cord [BODY 04 Str 03]. The web-cord is a hand-held rod that looks kind of like a long flashlight. A beam fired from it quickly gels into a taut strong rope. Str represents the amount of weight the “web” will hold before falling away from its point of contact.
Stridor
Stridor is Man-At-Arm’s creation. A mechanical war horse.
It has terrific strength and a computer system that detects trouble. The perfect companion for He-man. Stridor uses a megaphone loud whinny to sound a warning of danger.
By the end of the episode, Stridor gained mental and mystical attributes, becoming more than a machine. His thoughts were on roaming free (episode: Origin of the Sorceress).
Stridor
| Dex: 03 | Str: 10 | Bod: 10 |
| Int: 01 | Wil: 02 | Min: 01 |
| Inf: 01 | Aur: 00 | Spi: 01 |
| Init: 005 | HP: 000 |
Powers:
Danger Sense: 02, Running: 05
Skills:
Artist (Actor): 04
Bonuses and Limitations:
Artist (Actor) is only to imitate a real horse.
Advantages:
Life Support (Full).
Motivation:
Responsibility of Power.
Occupation:
Heroic Armored War Horse.
Wealth:
004
Weapons
All manner of melee weapons are available at the palace. Use standard stats for those.
Any melee weapon crafted from Phantonium will have a BODY 18.
Electric Force Shield [BODY 05, Force Shield: 10, Flame immunity: 10]. An energy shield projected from a wrist band on the left hand. Once deployed by the press of a button, the shield acts as a medium-sized shield.
Energy Pistol [BODY 04, Energy Blast: 06, R#5]. These are sometimes shaped like a flash-light instead of a pistol.
Energy Rifle [BODY 05, Energy Blast: 08, R#5].
Energy Shields [BODY 04, Force Shield: 10, Reflection/Deflection: 05, R#5] mounted on wrist bracers. These were tested by He-man and used in some late episodes of She-Ra (episode: Shades of Orko).
Freeze Ray Pistol [BODY 04, Ice Production: 08, R#5, Bonuses and Limitations: May only be used to trap target in a block of ice (-4 FC)]. Man-At-Arms will sometimes carry this sidearm with him when on trips, especially when guarding the King.
Later, Man-At-Arms makes a new more powerful Freeze Ray in his lab but it is never as reliable as his Pistol.
Stasis Ray [BODY 05, Mystic Freeze: 12, R#5].
Vehicles
ATTACK-TRAK [BODY 11 Int 03 Str 07, Initiative: 07, Cling: 05, Energy Blast: 13, Extra-Limb: 08, Life Sense: 05, Lightning: 09, Radio Communications: 05, Radar Sense: 14, Running: 05, Skin Armor: 08 (only vs crashes); Vehicles (Land): 04, Bonuses and Limitations:
- Extra-Limb represents the Attack-Trak’s sand shovel arm. It extends from the front of the vehicle.
- Life Sense is Discerning (+1).
- Lightning is touch only.
- The Attack-Trak has an A.I. that understands commands. It can act on its own and has a personality including a sense of humor. It has sophisticated voice recognition. Recognizing and obeying Duncan or He-man but not Orko.
- The Attack-Trak can analyze terrain and give a calculated guess whether it will be able to clear an obstacle or not. It successfully traversed 5 meters of fallen rock with ease.
- Attack-Trak was very happy when Man-At-Arms was found alive and well. It showed the machine actually cared for its creator.
When Adam needed to travel in the ice kingdom. Princess Janice remarked that she had noticed Adam’s “Snow-Trak”. Perhaps like the Wind Raider, Man-At-Arms also outfitted at least one Attack-Trak for arctic travel. There’s always a Sky-sled or two stored within the Attack-Trak. He-man calls it “Trak” for short.
DRAGON WALKER [BODY 12 Str 11, Flame Project: 15, Running: 03, R#5]. Looking its best in the episode Attack from Below.
Fastest ship (sea) [BODY 11, Swimming*: 07, R#3]. In a later episode, Man-At-Arms added a computer to run the ship automatically. Like the Wind Raider. Also, a Solo-Scope which acts like Sonar [Int 01, Sonar: 11].
JET-CRAWLER [BODY 07 Str 04 Int 02, Running: 05, R#5].
LASER BOLT [BODY 05, Flight: 10, R#5]. In the series, this vehicle does not have laser cannons – but Mattel’s toy version did.
ROTO-ROCKET [BODY 10, Running: 03, Digging: 12, R#5].
SKY-SLED [BODY 07 Int 01, Flight: 07, Energy Blast: 12, R#3, Cost: 104]. The gas pedal is on the right side. When riderless, the Sky-sled will slow to a stop, descend to the ground, and shut off.
It also has an auto-pilot that can be programmed to travel, unmanned. It does have a specific range though, Teela mentioned it needs recharging.
This versatile flying vehicle was called a Battle-Ram in early episodes. Later, Battle-Ram was only used for the name of the Sky-sled when attached to the four-wheeled vehicle detailed below. The Battle-Ram has either a disintegration cannon or tow-line attachment. Of course, the Sky-sled can’t fly while attached.
BATTLE-RAM [BODY 07 Str 05, Disintegration: 13, Running: 05, Snare: 08].
Sky sled.
Battle ram.
SKY SPY [BODY 10 Str 12, Flight: 08 (30), Telescopic Vision: 16, Bonuses and Limitations: Flight 08 inside an atmosphere, R#3]. Man-At-Arms says it will give a complete picture of Skeletor’s every move.
STRATO-BLASTER [BODY 07 Str 04, Flight: 10, R#3].
TALON FIGHTER [BODY 07 Int 02 Str 04, Vehicles: 03, Flight: 08, R#2]. The Talon Fighter has a decent A.I. reporting all damage taken, and taking over with autopilot when needed. Even coming at He-man’s whistle. The Talon Fighter can come to a complete stop in the air as if someone hit the brakes!
WIND RAIDER [BODY 07 Int 02 Str 04, Vehicles: 03, Claws: 07, Energy Blast: 07, Flight: 08, Laser Beam: 07, Radio Communications: 14, R#2]. The Wind Raider has a decent A.I. reporting all damage taken, taking over with autopilot when needed. Even coming at He-man’s whistle. It can also hover in place and can still glide when it loses all power.
Claws represent a grappling cable the Wind Raider can use to harpoon another vehicle and tow it behind itself. The line is 05 APs long with a Body 07.
Man-at-arms attached a new rocket booster powered by Corodite to one Wind Raider. [BODY 07, Flight: 09, Flight: 28, Bonuses and Limitations: Flight 28 is only for space flight, R#5] (episode: Jacob and the Widgets).
ICE-RAIDER. Essentially a Wind-raider built to withstand arctic temperatures – 1 AP lower Body, Cold Immunity: 04, Running: 05 (sleds).
ZOOM-CHARIOT [BODY 07, Vehicles: 03, Flight: 09, R#3]. This one is owned by King Randor.
The Royal Palace Guard
As Captain of the guard, Teela can call on Royal Palace soldiers to help her defend it. She can gather a contingent of a dozen or so guards in less than a minute and have them airborne on Sky-Sleds.
Generic Palace Guard
| Dex: 03 | Str: 02 | Bod: 03 |
| Int: 02 | Wil: 02 | Min: 03 |
| Inf: 02 | Aur: 02 | Spi: 03 |
| Init: 007 | HP: 000 |
Skills:
Military Science: 03, Vehicles (Air): 03, Weaponry: 03
Advantages:
Area Knowledge (Royal Palace), Rank (varies).
Connections:
Royal Palace (Low).
Drawbacks:
Varies.
Motivation:
Responsibility of Power.
Occupation:
Soldier.
Wealth:
000
Equipment:
- Energy Trident [BODY 07, Enhance (EV): 01 (cap 03), Descriptor: Piercing, Energy Blast: 05, R#2].
- SKY-SLED [BODY 07 INT 01, Flight: 07, Energy Blast: 12, R#3, Cost: 104].
- Iron Spear [BODY 05, Enhance (EV): 01 (cap 03), Descriptor: Piercing].
- Energy Rifle [BODY 05, Energy Blast: 08, R#5].
- Rampart mounted heavy cannons [BODY 10, Energy Blast: 15, R#5].
- Laser rifle with tripod [BODY 05, Laser Beam: 07, R#5].
Source of Character: Filmation Presents 1983/1984 animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the 1985 movie The Secret of the Sword, the 1985 movie He-man and She-Ra Christmas Special, the 1986 Skeletor’s Revenge, The 1983 He-man: The Greatest Adventures of All, 2017 The Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-man and the Masters of the Universe, He-man and She-Ra: A complete guide to the animated series.
Helper(s): Wikipedia, he-man.wikia.com, YouTube, Sébastien Andrivet, Adam Fuqua.
Writeup completed on the 27th of March, 2020.