Japan-based Fantasy HERO

[Michael Hopcroft]

Has anyone based their Fantasy HERO games around feudal Japan as a a setting? There are all sorts of interesting things you could do with it.

 

The samurai mindest is ideal for fantasy, and samurai make ideal adventuring characters 9especialoly wandering ronin who could be called upon to face viturally any situation. Magic could be provided by the powers of Shinto priests and miko (shrine maidens) who are in tunr with the spirit world, by Buddhist mionks and priests.

 

jaoansese mythology is full of monsters and creatures who could be thrown into a game, from demonic oni to their unique varieties of vampires and shapeshifters. Many japanese fantasy campaigns may verge into horror territory is the supernbatural becomes a major factor.

 

Then there are the daimyos and their near-constant intrigue and warfare. Everyone, it seems, wants to be shogun or military dictator, but since the post is occupied this can lead to no end of trouble. PCs who are elite agents of the shogun could face interesting times -- and if you've attracted the shogun's unfavroable attention, where do you run on an island?

[Rage]

Re: Japan-based Fantasy HERO

 

Umm... I stole heaps of the monsters from Spirited Away. That was interesting.

 

"Ok, a giant Sumo Raddish is looking at you."

[Edsel]

Re: Japan-based Fantasy HERO

 

Alas this is another one of those settings that facinates me. I'd love to play in such a campaign or run one. However my plate is too full as it is.

 

So many games, so little time.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: Japan-based Fantasy HERO

 

I ran such a campaign.

 

It was set during the Sengoku Jidai, and Nobunaga Oda was the background villain (the PC's never got to face him though).

 

There were demons and yomi everywhere.

 

The PC's consisted of a Ninja, a Miko, a Samurai, a big, strong Bushi and Ronin/Ninja hybrid type.

 

Think Rurouni Kenshin meets Ninja Scroll meets Yotoden meets Yoma meets Inu Yasha.

 

One of the coolest games I've ever run, if I do say so myself

[CorpCommander]

Re: Japan-based Fantasy HERO

 

If you want a head start, get Senjoku from Gold Rush Games. It can be pretty easily ported to Hero. It is a FANTASTIC reference material as well.

 

Samurai is my favorite period. I have hundreds of Samurai figures and I wrote the miniatures game "Japanese Art of War." Its a wonderful and long time period with incredible history. The mythology is rich and can be and should be combined with chinese and Indian mythology. Though we view Japan as Isolationist, one cannot fully understand Japanese history without understanding Chinese and Korean history as well.

 

In the last D20 game I was in, I had a character from Oriental Adventures. That was fun to play.

[Markdoc]

Re: Japan-based Fantasy HERO

 

I've also run such a game - you can get all the gruesome details here:

 

http://www.geocities.com/markdoc.geo/Gaming_stuff/Sengoku/sengoku_front_page.html

 

There's basically everything you need to run the game laid out on a platter for the would-be GM.

 

I tended to de-emphasise magic in favour of swordplay: I wanted something closer to Lone Wolf than Ninja Scroll. Anyway, running it was a great deal of fun, both for me and apparently for the players.

 

It's apparently popular with other people as well - literally hundreds of GMs have downloaded the adventures and many have written back to say how much they enjoyed it. Sadly, most of them use the Fuzion or Lo5R rules, though

 

cheers, Mark

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Japan-based Fantasy HERO

 

Mark, this stuff is marvelous! Have you considered having the link to your website listed in the "Fantasy Hero" section of "Hero Links?" It would be a great addition to the Hero online resources. If you'd be interested, here's how to go about it according to the intro to the Links page:

 

If you have a HERO System-related Web page that you'd like us to list here, please e-mail Webmaster Ben Seeman (benseeman@herogames.com) with the name of the site, the URL, a brief (no more than one paragraph) description, and a recommendation for which links page we should list it on.

[Markdoc]

Re: Japan-based Fantasy HERO

 

Thanks for the kind words LL - but it is linked, sorta. It's just that the link goes to my Front page.

 

What I posted yesterday was just the Japanese campaign - there are a variety of other campaigns linked off the main page plus other Hreo system goodness.

 

cheers, Mark

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Japan-based Fantasy HERO

 

Fair enough. It's just that I've visited your Cyber Empire, but completely missed this. I think I found your Fuzion version webpage first, and just assumed that was the totality of it - especially given the "Sengoku" name.

 

IMHO this site is distinctive enough, and of such quality and potential appeal, that it deserves a separate listing. But of course you should present it as you wish. FWIW I've already posted the link to it to my "Fun With HERO System" thread on RPGnet, so you may be getting some new visitors.