Kill Bill FH???????

[tkdguy]

I just saw that flick last night, and I enjoyed it, even if it has more cheese than an extra large pizza. Definitely it qualifies as a fantasy; the fact that people can bring their katanas in an airplane without a fuss is proof enough. Not to mention taking lots of damage without dying.

 

Anyway, here's the idea. It's set in modern-day earth, with all the modern-day conveniences: electricity, good plumbing, medicine, cars, etc. The difference is that people duke it out with swords and other melee weapons found in FH and UMA. That is, when they're not doing any kung fu (or any other style) fighting.

 

That leads to a couple of questions: First, what happened to all the guns? Just don't allow them. Maybe they don't exist. Maybe they're only used to fight wars. In either case, all your assassins use bows and crossbows. Okay, the movie had guns once in a while, but this is FANTASY, okay?

 

The other question is: What are the cops doing to stop all this? You could answer this several ways. Maybe cops are ineffectual or corrupt, answering to the local crime boss. Maybe there are no cops, or they're hired by big businesses to enforce their policies. Again, a stretch of imagination is required.

 

The nice part is, you can use package deals from different sourcebooks. Aside from some of the warrior package deals in FH, you can use some of the ones in Star HERO, like the doctor and the scientist. Ninjas would fit well in this genre. You know where I'm going.

 

You can even add things not in the movie. You don't want a humans only campaign? Use a few races from Star HERO or FH, although the former sourcebook would fit better IMO. Also, psionics would fit better than magic, but but there's nothing stopping you from having magic if you want it. But it's best to keep the power levels low eithe way.

 

Is this logical? Not in the least, but then, neither was the movie. Is it fun? I think it can be if you do it right. I'll let you know how it turns out if I try it soon.

[tkdguy]

Come to think of it, this would make a great Highlander campaign too.

[Black Rose]

Originally posted by tkdguy

Definitely it qualifies as a fantasy; the fact that people can bring their katanas in an airplane without a fuss is proof enough.

 

Originally posted by tkdguy

Come to think of it, this would make a great Highlander campaign too.

 

Well, if you take it as a given that Immortals would subtly (and not-so-subtly) alter the world around them to make things easier for themselves (and why not? normal humans do it all the time) then I think it would be not too uncommon for people to be allowed to bring sword-like objects on airplanes, into bars, etc. Why would you want to be seen as strange when someone sees your katana-space effect slip?

[tkdguy]

Good point. Although I admit that adding the Highlander bit was an afterthought. I originally envisioned the campaign without any supernatural elements. But I thought it could work with supernatural stuff too.

 

Then if you want to go overboard, you can can do a Highlander/Kill Bill/Underworld/Big Trouble in Little China crossover. Then again, maybe not. I've seen campaigns blow up by including too much stuff.

[Markdoc]

Why don't people use guns in Kill Bill? For the same reasons they don't make much use of them in the Matrix:

 

A cool guy with a sword or his fists can beat the crap out of anyone with a gun

 

#1. In gaming terms, give people plenty of points to build characters, and don't go to heavily into realism. If a player want to carry his plane onto a sword let him make his 18- concealment roll against the pleb guard's roll (probably 8-, with a +3 for excellent equipment).

 

#2 Rule that no character (PC or NPC) can spend more than 10 points on gun-related skills/powers.

 

This means that guns would be fine for plebs, and if you are in a hurry, players could pile on the weaponry to gun down the mooks (it's probably quicker to spray the hall down with an M60, than fight your way through 30 mooks with a sword). But when it comes to the chief bad guys, you're never going to be able to hit them, so it's time to haul out the Katana.

 

That should do the trick.

 

cheers, Mark

[Lupus]

Originally posted by Markdoc

Why don't people use guns in Kill Bill? For the same reasons they don't make much use of them in the Matrix:

 

A cool guy with a sword or his fists can beat the crap out of anyone with a gun

 

#1. In gaming terms, give people plenty of points to build characters, and don't go to heavily into realism. If a player want to carry his plane onto a sword let him make his 18- concealment roll against the pleb guard's roll (probably 8-, with a +3 for excellent equipment).

 

#2 Rule that no character (PC or NPC) can spend more than 10 points on gun-related skills/powers.

In the film, with swords on planes, it looks more as though it's just legal. The Bride isn't the only one - a guy sitting near her has his sword by his side, too. It looks almost as though there are sword-holders attached to the seats.

 

Some more ideas for making melee king: if someone has engaged you in melee (usually by moving next to you and attacking), you can't disengage from combat except by beating them in a skill contest - mostly DEX vs DEX, but Acrobatics could possibly be substituted.

 

Also, if you shoot at someone who has you pinned in melee, any weapons larger than a handgun get a free block attempt against them, which takes no action on behalf of the melee attacker. If you use a handgun, that can be blocked normally (with an abort) or dodged.

 

Perhaps also assess a penalty to DCV if you don't have a weapon in-hand to block with (rifles count, but take damage when used to block and may break). I'd assess this penalty (possibly at a reduced rate) even if the opponent is skilled in unarmed combat - unless they Dodge. Even in Jackie Chan films, when he's faced with someone with a sword, he has to duck and weave until he grabs something to block the sword with. Having proficiency with improvised weapons, however, will negate the penalty, however, until the improved weapons are destroyed.

 

And, of course, high-quality weapons can give substantial bonuses.

 

All of this means that Armed Melee Combat is King.

[tkdguy]

But what about the movies where the unarmed hero starts beating up people with swords (like Bruce Lee in The Chinese Connection)? Some heroes even start kicking their enemies even when they have swords!

[Markdoc]

>>>But what about the movies where the unarmed hero starts beating up people with swords (like Bruce Lee in The Chinese Connection)? Some heroes even start kicking their enemies even when they have swords!<<<

 

Just depends where you spent your points. I have had characters who deal just as much damage with their fists as they do with a sword, so why bother to carry a sword?

 

I wouldn't add in extra penalties to blocking against a weapon: it's against the spirit of the genre (most people will use swords anyway, if equipment is free, because hey! Its a free HKA).

 

But unless you restrict guns in some way you WILL get guns playing a major role, simply because of the attraction of firepower: I speak from experience here.

 

cheers, Mark

[bjbrown]

Re: Kill Bill FH???????

 

Originally posted by tkdguy

The other question is: What are the cops doing to stop all this? You could answer this several ways. Maybe cops are ineffectual or corrupt, answering to the local crime boss. Maybe there are no cops, or they're hired by big businesses to enforce their policies. Again, a stretch of imagination is required.

 

"Cops got better things to do than get killed." - Wang Chi (Big Trouble in Little China)

[Lupus]

Originally posted by Markdoc

>>>But what about the movies where the unarmed hero starts beating up people with swords (like Bruce Lee in The Chinese Connection)? Some heroes even start kicking their enemies even when they have swords!<<<

 

Just depends where you spent your points. I have had characters who deal just as much damage with their fists as they do with a sword, so why bother to carry a sword?

 

I wouldn't add in extra penalties to blocking against a weapon: it's against the spirit of the genre (most people will use swords anyway, if equipment is free, because hey! Its a free HKA).

 

But unless you restrict guns in some way you WILL get guns playing a major role, simply because of the attraction of firepower: I speak from experience here.

 

cheers, Mark

Yeah, good points. I'd still be tempted to assess penalties for people without a weapon. It still means you can do the Bruce Lee thing and kick the hell outta people who aren't as good as you. Or he could buy a couple of penalty skill levels.

 

But good points.

[bjbrown]

I don't think you need special rules to neutralize guns. High speed and good movement will close the range gap quickly, and a sweep disarm will get the guns out of enemy hands. Missile Defection (and Reflection) is helpful, as well as a good martial dodge maneuver and some handy Combat Luck. Let your players worry about adding abilities to deal with opponents with guns.

 

Even your gun-toting villains shouldn't turn down a challenge to a hand-to-hand fight- that's just plain dishonorable. It's a genre thing. (Perhaps it's a psych. lim.- cannot ignore hand-to-hand challenge.)

 

When one of your players wants to build a gun-toter, just simply say no, that's not the spirit of the game.