The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

[ghoyle1]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

I'm really just looking for some creatures that a Chinese sorceror might have on hand to give the heroes a hard time, or spy on them, or just to have around to show that he's a real Chinese badass. For example, I know I'll be working Hopping Vampires in there somewhere.

[Susano]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

I'm really just looking for some creatures that a Chinese sorceror might have on hand to give the heroes a hard time' date=' or spy on them, or just to have around to show that he's a real Chinese badass. For example, I know I'll be working Hopping Vampires in there somewhere.[/quote']

 

Chiang-Shih -- vampire

Qiongqi -- bizarre mountain-dwelling beast

Poh -- flesh-eating horse

K'uei -- ghost

[ghoyle1]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

Many thanks! Do you know of some more that would be of use in an urban environment?

 

Guy

[Susano]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

Many thanks! Do you know of some more that would be of use in an urban environment?

 

Vampires & ghosts.

 

You may also want to look up spirit-foxes and were-animals (animals that assume human form).

 

I don't want to get too in depth, because this all will be in the manuscript I submit.

[Curufea]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

What's that monster from the rogue-like games? I think the letter used is a "t", but it's an asian monster..

Tengu or something?

[Susano]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

What's that monster from the rogue-like games? I think the letter used is a "t", but it's an asian monster..

Tengu or something?

 

Tengu is a Japanese mountain goblin.

[ghoyle1]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

I don't really need a whole lot of description at this point; I'll try and find the descriptions on the Internet or whatever mythological resources I have available. I just need a place to look because Chinese mythology, unlike greek and roman mythology, is relatively unknown to me.

 

I may have some AD&D Oriental Adventures material somewhere, I'll have to see if I can ferret out what's really Chinese and what's not.

 

Guy

[Susano]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

I don't really need a whole lot of description at this point; I'll try and find the descriptions on the Internet or whatever mythological resources I have available. I just need a place to look because Chinese mythology, unlike greek and roman mythology, is relatively unknown to me.

 

I may have some AD&D Oriental Adventures material somewhere, I'll have to see if I can ferret out what's really Chinese and what's not.

 

Try punching the names into google and seeing what you get. Also try The Vampire Encyclopedia and Ninja Hero for 5th Edition.

[Black Rose]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

What's that monster from the rogue-like games? I think the letter used is a "t", but it's an asian monster..

Tengu or something?

Tengu.... Crow goblins in more than one reference. If you can lay your hands on Watchers of the Dragon, there's a writeup of one. Basically, take a strong, tough winged flyer, make them really good with a katana, add some spooky ninja stealth tricks, and maybe some freaky spook-the-villagers magic. These guys should be quick, strong, pretty tough, have a few tricks to throw their opponents off, and use a katana near the top of the charts - these are the guys you can use when you need a good excuse for your bad-*** sword skillz "My character trained with a Tengu kensai for seven years, to find but a single night had passed in the world of Men."

 

Oh yeah, and they should fly.

[Susano]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

Tengu.... Crow goblins in more than one reference. If you can lay your hands on Watchers of the Dragon' date=' there's a writeup of one. Basically, take a strong, tough winged flyer, make them [i']really[/i] good with a katana, add some spooky ninja stealth tricks, and maybe some freaky spook-the-villagers magic. These guys should be quick, strong, pretty tough, have a few tricks to throw their opponents off, and use a katana near the top of the charts - these are the guys you can use when you need a good excuse for your bad-*** sword skillz "My character trained with a Tengu kensai for seven years, to find but a single night had passed in the world of Men."

 

Oh yeah, and they should fly.

 

Basically. Having tengu around allows you to use every crazy sword stunt you ever saw in anime, manga, a video game, or HK cinema.

[ghoyle1]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

Those would be great, but aren't they Japanese, not Chinese? Is there some kind of Chinese monster like that?

 

Guy

[Susano]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

Those would be great' date=' but aren't they Japanese, not Chinese? Is there some kind of Chinese monster like that?[/quote']

 

Shen. Shen can be virtually anything and include various forms of fairy/goblin/nature spirit.

[Mad_Ernie]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

Ultra Rob posted a website link in a more recent thread that is basically Lester Dent's formula for developing a story (pulp or otherwise). It might be good to check that out.

 

Also, I have found in trying to develop stories for story-sake or RPGs, it is best to work backwards. Start with the villian and how you want it to end. Do you want the heroes to prevail and have everything come to a climatic conclusion? Is this the first in a series of adventures with continuing characters(villians)? Do you want to wipe out all of the characters because you or your players hate them and want to start over?

 

Then go to the villian. You have Fu Manchu character in mind. To borrow a phrase from acting school, what's his/her motivation? What goals/objectives does he/she have in mind? Who are his/her friends/family? What is their motivation?

 

Then location becomes important. Who are the other "players" in the area? Rival factions? Law & order? Other heroes who might be on a similar or altogether different quest?

 

You get the idea?

 

Mad_Ernie

[ghoyle1]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

Michael: Thanks for the shen! I think that's definitely one I'll use. When the Asian Bestiary comes out, I'm definitely nabbing one.

 

Mad_Ernie: I've seen the Lester Dent formula before, but thanks for reminding me! And the working-backwards formula sounds like it could prove to be very valuable.

 

Thanks again, everybody! Now I need to start getting some of this down on paper, err, computer...

 

Guy

[ghoyle1]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

OK, here's a preliminary synopsis for the scenario as it stands now. I've ended up borrowing (and hopefully filing off the serial numbers) from "Fists of the Warlord" (in Ninja Hero 4th Edition, p. 154), a little from "Big Trouble in Little China", and combined it with the General Chang's Chicken idea.

 

 

 

The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

Setting: 1934 in “San Frederico”, a prominent West Coast city, including the “Peking West” (Chinatown) neighborhood. Peking West is well known as a place where outsiders can come and indulge their taste for wild living. This is a tongue-in-cheek pulp-style adventure with larger-than-life characters (see character generation rules when they’re done).

 

Synopsis: Almost 3000 years ago, the notorious General Chang led an army of virtually invinceable warriors in an attempt to conquer China. His secret was a legendary chicken dish, prepared by a sorcerer of great cunning. Since that time, however, the secret of the recipe was lost, and only inferior versions of General Chang’s chicken have been prepared in the Chinese restaurants of the world.

 

That chicken recipe has now surfaced again, albeit in three separate fragments. Dr. Wu, businessman, sorcerer, and crimelord, has determined to retrieve the recipe at all costs. If Dr. Wu gains all 3 parts, then he will be able to fulfill his evil plan to turn ordinary people into bulletproof, unstoppable warriors loyal to him. As more and more people are converted, he will take city after city. He plans to crush China’s enemies (America, England, Germany, Russia, and Japan) and then restore his homeland to its rightful place as the center of the world.

 

Dr. Wu must accomplish these things for his plan to succeed:

1) Acquire all the parts of the recipe. He has only one, and knows (through divination) that the other parts exist here in town. (The players will receive one at the beginning of the adventure, and the third one will be found by one side or another during the game). There can be several fights over the possession of the fragments. Also, the fragment that Dr. Wu possesses has the ingredient list, so his thugs can go searching for the rare and exotic ingredients inevitably contained in the recipe, before he gets the formulas and rituals contained in the other two fragments.

2) Persuade the owners of all the Chinese restaurants in Peking West to sell their restaurants to him, using the fighting tong he controls to pressure them. This will enable him to distribute General Chang’s Legendary Chicken. (Very few of the owners will, in fact, give him any resistance, since he’s such a hero to the community; those that do oppose him might be a good source of aid and alliance for the PCs.)

3) Perform the ceremony necessary to create General Chang’s Legendary Chicken, and start serving it to the world! (If things get that far, the PCs will probably be on their own!)

 

Dr. Wu’s Resources and Limitations

1) He’s a powerful sorcerer disguised as a very successful businessman, the “godfather of Peking West”

2) Dr. Wu is looked on as a benefactor to the citizens of Peking West. He has helped out many businesses and families when times were tough, and has even used his connections in China to get political prisoners released. Many residents will in fact be ready to aid him and his minions, though outward signs of sorcery will probably frighten the hell out of them.

3) He’s got a powerful tong working for him, making him the “godfather of Peking West”

4) He has a legitimate import business as well as opium dens, prostitution and slave trading. These businesses are also well-guarded.

5) He has a few demons working with him, but they are too hard to replace for him to squander except for big trouble.

6) He has a large Taoist temple with access to the underground catacombs of Chinatown. This is where the ceremony will take place; I think it’s probably got a giant Wok in it. (Maybe he has Iron Chefs? Wouldn’t THAT be a battle!)

7) All the mystical energy Dr. Wu is expending is upsetting the chi flow in this area. Already, various supernatural problems are popping up in Chinatown and the rest of San Frederico proper. (In fact, maybe a haunting or other spooky event could get the PCs involved). An earthquake is a definite possibility, a small one foreshadowing things to come at first, then maybe another at some pivotal time. If the Doctor’s ceremony succeeds, a major quake might result, destroying much of the city, setting fires, etc.

8) Dr. Wu’s activities have not gone unnoticed. The only restaurants that are not going along with Dr. Wu’s plan are affiliated with the rival Tong, which has some magicians and warriors of their own. They can offer advice and assistance to the PCs (but they’ll probably not participate in the big fights for various reasons; the PCs should take center stage, not stand back and watch NPCs do their fighting for them).

9) Why did General Chang’s army fail to take over China? There must be a secret “antidote” for the powers granted by the Legendary Chicken. What can it be? (Somebody suggested “hot dogs”, which is very tempting; maybe the secret weakness is discovered at a baseball game…)

 

Sources and Inspiration: “Big Trouble in Little China”; Ninja Hero for Hero System 4th Edition; Gold Rush Games’ “San Angelo” and “Dragon’s Gate”; GURPS China & Martial Arts; Hong Kong Action Theatre! 2nd edition and “Blue Dragon, White Tiger” for HKAT!

 

 

Thanks also to the HeroGames.com message boards, and the DragonsOfTheEast and pulp_rpg mailing lists at groups.yahoo.com

[Curufea]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

If you want some made-up Chinese or Japanese monster names, I creaeted a list for my fantasy campaign - and where I couldn't find a suitable name for a standard fantasy monster, I used the various dictionaries :-

 

Race (Japanese) (Mandarin)

Humans Hito Yuán rén

Feline, Cat Banbutsunoreichou Rén lèi

Feline, Tiger Torareichou Lao hu rén lèi

Feline, Cheetah Subayaireichou Zhàn rén lèi

Feline, Lion Shishireichou Ní rén lèi

Centaur, Horse Kentaurosu Bì rén

Centaur, Lion Shishijin Ní bì

Lizardmen, Cold Blooded Tokagejin Bì hu rén

Lizardmen, Warm Blooded Ekijin Tuó rén

Lizardmen, Cold Blooded, Mature Doragonjin Jiao rén

Lizardmen, Cold Blooded, Ancient Doragon Téng

Dwarfs, Hill/Mountain Kobito Zhu

Elf, Dark Erufu Xiao àn

Elf, Wood Sennyo Xiao mù cái

Elf, Sea Ningyo Xiao hai

Elf, High Shinzuiyo Xiao jing líng

Gargoyle Ga-goiru Fei diao xiàng

Giant Jaianto Jù rén

Gnome Ikichika Chi

Goblin Keshou Xiao yao jing

Hobbits Issunboushi Ai zi

Ogre Oni Yao guài

Orc Shachi Yao wù

Serpent-Folk Hebijin Shé rén

Sprite Yousei Liang

Troll Kyokan Yao chi

Canine, Wolf Urufujin Bèi rén

Canine, Dog Inujin Gou rén

[Susano]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

Ningyo' date=' Oni[/quote']

 

For the record, both of these are currently mentioned in the HSAB.

[ghoyle1]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

Thanks for the list, Curufea! That'll definitely be handy.

 

Guy

[Duke Bushido]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

If you want some made-up Chinese or Japanese monster names, I creaeted a list for my fantasy campaign - and where I couldn't find a suitable name for a standard fantasy monster, I used the various dictionaries :-

 

 

Thank you thank you thank you for that little list!

 

I have been wanting to get some 'exotic' names for various races in some of our games-- names with some real meaning behind them as opposed to the classic 'scrabble tiles and add vowels' kind of thing--- but so far have had little luck finding online language dictionaries and such (the translator pages such as babelfish don't do quite what I want, as I am looking for the 'real' names of very much _unreal_ things......

 

But with a dictionary and maybe some grammar/usage guidelines, I think I could make suitable tags for these races and places.

 

When compiling your list, did you stumbe across any such dictionaries online?

[Curufea]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

Unfortunately not. Many of these names just combine an adjective and a noun from the dictionary - where I couldn't find a suitable equivalent. I'd start searching for words such as spirit, fairy, ghost, magic and so forth to get many of the names as well. There is a list of other languages as well (each nation has its own language in my setting) here:

http://www.curufea.com/games/western/5e/races_n.php

 

I'll post the links to all the dictionaries and online tools I used in a separate thread rather than dragging this one so off-topic

[st barbara]

Re: The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Wu

 

Don't forget all those opium dens and brothels to which innocent young westerners are lured by those insidious "Oriental Fiends" as settings for adventure. Then of course there is the "tong war" aspect or rival schools of martial artists who will contest for supremacy in Chinatown. The movie "Year of The Dragon" contains elements of this with a ruthless oriental criminal contending with more established criminal elements (both Asian and Italian/American) for control of the drug trade !