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Sons of the Dragon


The Main Man

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In 1973, Bruce Lee died of mysterious circumstances. Two years later, his last five students returned to avenge his death as the Sons of the Dragon.

 

 

 

This is a campaign that combines elements of Crimebusting Pulp HERO, Vigilante Crimefighting Dark Champions, and American Viewpoint Cinematic Ninja HERO.

 

It assumes that some or all of the martial arts mythos are true as well as delving into a conspiracy web around the famed martial artist's death (instead of the rather more mundane and plot seedless "death by misadventure."

 

The Sons of the Dragon are masked vigilantes who are masters of combat, hand to hand and ranged, who fight crime while investigating the death of their former master while also defending his honor and proving that Jeet Kune Do is the supreme martial art.

 

So far it is in its budding stages. I am not yet sure whether to go with the universal (between the three genres) 100+100 point totals or to go with Low-Powered Superheroic (150 +100).

 

A lot of the campaign will revolve around the PC's finding and investigating clues while fighting crime.

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Re: Sons of the Dragon

 

Second part of a paragraph?

 

Well, the seeds of it started when I wanted to create a game that blended several genres together because I don't believe that I can GM them all as separate campaigns and hope to get any cohesive storyline going in all of them.

 

So I took the principle or "epicenter" years of each genre: 1930 for Pulp, 1990 for Dark Champions to get between the 80's and 90's and 2005 for Cinematic Ninja HERO for that post-The Matrix action cinema we have today

 

Subtract 1900 from each year and you get 30, 90, and 105.

 

Add them together and you get 225.

 

Divide by three for the average and it is exactly 75.

 

Add 1900 back in and you get 1975.

 

Or: (1930 + 1990 + 2005)/3 = 1975

 

 

So I got to thinking: what could be going on at this time?

 

At first I thought of Bruce Lee except that he is dead two years before that average.

 

But it clicked after I analyzed the tropes and saw where they fit together (I will provide these notes later).

 

 

I also noticed that all three campaign types are recommended at 100+100 point totals so it just seemed to fit like a glove.

 

 

 

Capsule Explanation: The Shadow meets The Punisher meets Bruce Lee with an occasional dose of Big Trouble in Little China.

 

 

Some of my goals: Character-identified weapons (kind of like TMNT), Color-Coded Oriental Dragon Masks (Black, Blue, Green, Red, White; Also kind of like TMNT; Protective Gear to Boot), Martial arts experts fighting crime while on the hunt for their master's killer but finding themselves delving into the secret world of the martial arts, and others that I cannot think of off the top of my head.

 

 

All of this before I even noticed your sig a few weeks back.

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Re: Sons of the Dragon

 

In 1973, Bruce Lee died of mysterious circumstances. Two years later, his last five students returned to avenge his death as the Sons of the Dragon.

 

 

 

This is a campaign that combines elements of Crimebusting Pulp HERO, Vigilante Crimefighting Dark Champions, and American Viewpoint Cinematic Ninja HERO.

 

It assumes that some or all of the martial arts mythos are true as well as delving into a conspiracy web around the famed martial artist's death (instead of the rather more mundane and .

 

The Sons of the Dragon are masked vigilantes who are masters of combat, hand to hand and ranged, who fight crime while investigating the death of their former master while also defending his honor and proving that Jeet Kune Do is the supreme martial art.

 

So far it is in its budding stages. I am not yet sure whether to go with the universal (between the three genres) 100+100 point totals or to go with Low-Powered Superheroic (150 +100).

 

A lot of the campaign will revolve around the PC's finding and investigating clues while fighting crime.

the part you left out was after:insteadof the rather more mundane and"unlees you put"and "in there by mistake

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Re: Sons of the Dragon

 

the part you left out was after:insteadof the rather more mundane and"unlees you put"and "in there by mistake

 

Oh, oops. Silly me. :rolleyes:

 

Now I'm trying to remember what I was going to put there.:think:

 

Aha, I remember it and I'll correct it.

 

The train must have left the station in that original post.

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Re: Sons of the Dragon

 

Here's the comprehensive list of genre elements from Dark Champions, Ninja HERO, and Pulp HERO and how they apply to my plans for the campaign.

 

Genre Elements

Bold = Multi-genre elements

Italic = Contradictory elements

Underlined = Synergistic elements

 

The Abducted Girl/Sexism/Women - Women are a non-issue in this campaign.

 

Action, Action, Action - Martial arts, guns, and two-fisted justice deliver a one-inch punch of excitement in every adventure.

 

Bandits - Modern crooks and crime bosses are the bread and butter of the Sons of the Dragon’s mission.

 

Black and White Morality - The Sons of the Dragon can count on easy moral choices in most of their adventures.

 

Blow to the Head - Sometimes our heroes might be caught off-guard by sneaky enemies, especially when they are not together.

 

Books & Scrolls - The secret world of the martial arts holds plenty of knowledge within such various texts for the Sons and their enemies to wage war on one another.

 

Capture and Amazing Escapes - The Sons of the Dragon may often bite off more than they can chew and will have to use their wits and abilities to escape their captors.

 

Car Chases - Criminals will often flee from the Sons of the Dragon as their reputation grows. It is their choice to pursue them as they wish.

 

Car Go Boom - Why not let car wrecks explode in a world of martial arts mysticism?

 

Chinatown - The Sons of the Dragon will frequently find themselves visiting Chinatowns of large cities or even China itself.

 

Cliffhangers - The Sons of the Dragon wouldn’t be half as exciting if everything gets resolved in a single sitting, would it?

 

Coincidence/Complications/Unexplained Absurdities - These will generally be handled with Heroic Action Points.

 

Conspiracies – In addition to Bruce Lee’s death, more conspiracies will crop up and hopefully be foiled by the Sons of the Dragon as the campaign endures.

 

Contacts - During the two years of training, the Sons of the Dragon should have acquired a variety of useful contacts to help them on their conquest of crime and will hopefully continue to make more.

 

Crisis Management - The Sons of the Dragon should have taken quite well to remember the adaptability of JKD. They have trained themselves to be able to handle close to any situation on hand lest their enemies get the best of them.

 

Dead Relatives - The Sons of the Dragon hold the honor, memory, and respect of Bruce Lee above others in a way that is similar to avenging a loved one but they do not necessarily have any dead family members that have particularly inspired them.

 

Deathtraps - Many of the heroes’ enemies will try to kill them James Bond-style rather than directly confront them.

 

Disguise - The Sons of the Dragon may be heroes but they know the value of not being seen or recognized. Their uniquely designed helmets conceal their identities and are icons of intimidation wherever they go.

 

Enemy Becomes Friend - Honor is not restricted to our heroes and redemption is not impossible for the enemy because the Sons of the Dragon generally believe that everyone deserves a second chance.

 

Exotic Locales - The Sons of the Dragons will visit many strange and exotic places in their search for combat perfection and their master’s killers which will often get them into conflict with unfamiliar territory.

 

Feuds - Different kinds of feuds like traditional martial arts feuds (including Jeet Kune Do vs. other Martial Arts) or gang turf wars will be encountered in various adventures.

 

Flexible Realities/The Modern Day/The Real World - The mid-70’s serve as the average year between the campaign’s source materials. Cinematic realism is stressed but the heroes will have progressively weirder encounters as they delve into the secret world of the martial arts.

 

Eunuchs/The Government is Your Friend - The government is a variable encounter. Sometimes the governor is crooked but other times the mayor’s daughter needs to be saved. However, their private parts (or lack thereof) are their own business.

 

The Great War - The Vietnam War makes for a great military training background for the Sons of the Dragon and can also be a great source of villains. Too bad the war itself wasn’t so great.

 

Guns and Weapons - Even Bruce Lee admitted that all the martial arts in the world is no match for a good shot, which is something that the Sons of the Dragon have taken to heart by mastering many forms of armed and unarmed combat.

 

The Hero(es) Alone/The Slow Sidekick - The heroes generally operate on their own terms but sometimes they may be given a chance to really shine versus NPC’s.

 

He’s Not Dead Yet - Sometimes it’s the villains’ mastery of chi, sometimes it’s their technology, and other times they are just plain tough. There’s plenty of room for villains to perpetuate this element.

 

High Technology/Weird Science - Our heroes will encounter and invent many spiffy new James Bond-style gizmos that compensate for modern technology.

 

Hyper-Competence - The Sons of the Dragon are general experts of all kinds of combat with each specializing in other, less militant areas as well to form an elite crime busting unit.

 

Incompetent Cops - Bruce Lee’s death could not have been stopped by mere policemen and our heroes know that their war against crime will take them to places that the police could never hope to be helpful.

 

The Jazz Age - Rock, Funk, and other music genres have generally replaced Jazz in with the Sons of the Dragon but the kinds of roles that musicians play is still active if not stylistically translated.

 

Last-Second Ingenuity - This will not generally occur by the GM’s hands but a very judicious use of Heroic Action Points may bring it about.

 

Into the Unknown/Chi/Magic & Sorcerers/Ghosts & Other Supernatural Monsters/Weird Science - Bruce Lee’s death left the door to the secret martial arts world ajar for the Sons of the Dragon to walk through as they discover that there is so much more than they thought there was to know about the martial arts which may overwhelm them if they are not careful.

 

Melodrama - The principle motivation for the campaign is pretty melodramatic in and of itself and the campaign draws from three melodramatic sources so this should be well emphasized.

 

Money - The Sons of the Dragon do well for themselves through their alternate identities.

 

Murder - The murder of Bruce Lee is the driving point of the whole campaign and our heroes will certainly encounter many more murderers.

 

Ninja - The Sons of the Dragon will encounter more than Chinese threats such as authentic ninja that may or may not possess mystic powers or high technology.

 

Old Masters - The Sons of the Dragon were trained by the rather young Bruce Lee but they may have or will receive further training in their adventures from masters of other martial arts, some of whom may very well be old.

 

Personal Sacrifice/Romantic and Social Detachment - The heroes have foregone their own romantic, physical, and social lives to honorably avenge their master’s death, never to stop until the task is done.

 

Religion - The Sons of the Dragon follow many of Bruce Lee’s philosophies but not necessarily to the point of religion.

 

Revenge - This is one of the main themes of the Sons of the Dragon as they avenge the death of their master, Bruce Lee.

 

Rival Schools/Styles/Signboards/Tournaments/Unusual/Unbeatable Styles - These elements come together as the Sons of the Dragon defend the reputation of JKD and Bruce Lee’s schools by participating in tournaments, competitions, and duels.

 

Shallow Characters - This is a superficially accurate description of the heroes. They have many commonalities and specific idiosyncrasies but their actual character depth depends on gameplay.

 

Shaolin - The Shaolin temple still exists and may hold martial arts knowledge that our heroes will need to learn to further their training.

 

Students - The Sons of the Dragon were students (of Bruce Lee) themselves who continue to train and may come to adopt students of their own.

 

Theft - Whether they deal with common thieves on the streets or encounter important artifacts being stolen, the Sons of the Dragon may find themselves dealing with theft on a frequent basis.

 

Travel - The Sons of the Dragon will be making frequent trips around the globe as they fight crime from place to place or even pursue particular criminals all while in search of their master’s killers.

 

Villainous Doom - The main enemies of the Sons of the Dragon will often kill themselves in order to hide the secrets behind Bruce Lee’s death.

 

Violence Solves Everything - The Sons of the Dragon will find that their combat skills will ultimately conquer their enemies after all their efforts as with most of its source material.

 

The Yellow Peril & the Red Menace - Communism still looms and can be a steady supply of enemies especially in foreign adventures.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Re: Sons of the Dragon

 

Not yet; it's on the backburner at the moment.

 

I did come up with one neat idea though:

 

Dragon Belt

- Interlocking, customizable components

- Metal Handles (2): Brass Knuckles, Weapon Handles

- Flexible Sword Belt

- Blades (2): Butterfly Swords, Polearm Blade

- Chains (2): Three-Bo Staff, Nunchaku, Kusari-Gama, Manriki Gusari, Generic Chain

- Stick Extenders (4): Kali Sticks, Bo Staff, Jo Staffs, Nunchaku, Polearm, Tonfa

- Weights (4): Kusari Gama, Bo Staff, Weapon Butt, Manriki Gusari

- Kama Blades (2): Kama, Kusari Gama

 

Essentially it maximizes Close Combat capability for the SotD.

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Re: Sons of the Dragon

 

Not yet; it's on the backburner at the moment.

 

I did come up with one neat idea though:

 

Dragon Belt

- Interlocking, customizable components

- Metal Handles (2): Brass Knuckles, Weapon Handles

- Flexible Sword Belt

- Blades (2): Butterfly Swords, Polearm Blade

- Chains (2): Three-Bo Staff, Nunchaku, Kusari-Gama, Manriki Gusari, Generic Chain

- Stick Extenders (4): Kali Sticks, Bo Staff, Jo Staffs, Nunchaku, Polearm, Tonfa

- Weights (4): Kusari Gama, Bo Staff, Weapon Butt, Manriki Gusari

- Kama Blades (2): Kama, Kusari Gama

 

Essentially it maximizes Close Combat capability for the SotD.

:thumbup::thumbup:could someone rep the main man for me?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Re: Sons of the Dragon

 

Just got DC:TAS for further inspiration.

 

I figure that it would be appropriate because the Pulp genre gave birth to the Superhero genre (and DC really) while DC: TAS is really a subgenre of Superheroes.

 

I think that the Son of the Dragon paradigm would be a Shadow/Punisher/Bruce Lee hybrid. Or just Golden Age Batman.

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Re: Sons of the Dragon

 

Just got DC:TAS for further inspiration.

 

I figure that it would be appropriate because the Pulp genre gave birth to the Superhero genre (and DC really) while DC: TAS is really a subgenre of Superheroes.

 

I think that the Son of the Dragon paradigm would be a Shadow/Punisher/Bruce Lee hybrid. Or just Golden Age Batman.

good idea main man

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Re: Sons of the Dragon

 

good idea main man

 

I'm also currently trying to figure out which scale to use:

 

100+100 Powerful Heroic: All three source sub-genres* use this.

 

150+100 Low Superheroic: There's going to be gadgetry and bizarre techniques and menaces.

 

125+125 Very Powerful Heroic: A hybrid of the above two.

 

 

Thoughts?

 

*Crimebusting Pulp HERO, Vigilante Crimefighting Dark Champions, and Cinematic Martial Arts Ninja HERO

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Re: Sons of the Dragon

 

Seems to make the most sense for reason already posted.

 

I'm also trying to figure out how to handle Gadgets vs. Resource Points: this is something that I could never really get a grasp of for some reason.

 

I've seen DC characters with gadgets and with Resource Points and they always leave me wondering: Why not have the gadget be Equipment then?

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  • 4 weeks later...

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