My role-playing group has made its voice heard and HKAT will be this summer role-playing project. Of course, I can't leave well enough alone, and though I like the various Attributes in the game and how they simulate Hong Kong movies, there's really a piece of the puzzle missing. While I agree that the game's contention that mechanically, a punch is a punch is a punch (they at least include a variety is the strength of those punches), reducing martial arts to generic punches and kicks robs the game of important flavor. After all, how many classic martial arts films were about specific styles, often developed to defeat the dominant style of the day? To model that aspect of kung fu movies, I'm introducing the concept of Preferred Styles to the game.Preferred Styles are an Attribute which can be taken by an Actor (Jet Li has Wushu, for example, while Donnie Yen certainly has mixed martial arts) or, more commonly, a Role. If taken as an Actor Attribute, it looks like this:
Preferred Style (Actor Only)
Cost: 1 Point/Level
Relevant Stat: None
When Attributes and Skills from the Preferred Style are purchased for a Role, their TOTAL cost is reduced by the number of Levels in this Attribute. The extra points may always be spent on other Attributes and Skills or to raise the ones the Role already has. The total cost may not be lowered by more than was spent for the Attributes and Skills from the Preferred Style. Once per film, regardless of whether or not the Actor's Role has any of the Preferred Style's Attributes, the GM may allow him or her to pay 1-5 Star Points (GM's discretion) to use an Attribute,Skill, special ability or punch/kick/grapple bonus associated with the Style. An Actor may only have one Preferred Style, but may change it over the course of his or her career by purchasing it again (through the Character Advancement rules), voiding the original Style.
Preferred Styles come into their own as Role Attributes, and in part act as Attribute/Skill packages related to a particular Style. GameMasters may hand out these bundles wholesale to Actors when they successfully bid for a Role, or use them as options an Actor must choose from, and may of course limit which options are actually available based on game genre (wire fu options, for example). When Actors can pick their own Attributes more freely, they may use these suggestions to create a more coherent Style. In addition to the Attribute packages, Styles will often have certain special abilities, including their own distinctive bonuses and penalties on punches, kicks and/or wrestling maneuvers. Many Styles come with a built-in weakness as well. (GMs should not forget to award Actors with Preferred Styles extra points to spend when their Styles are represented.) Here are a few examples, though most Styles will be created on demand (players' or GM's).
So for example, say you wanted to recreate the plot and feel of the famous Chang Cheh movie The Five Deadly Venoms, you'd need to create Centipede, Snake, Scorpion, Gecko and Toad styles. Let's do three of them right now (keep in mind that on skill checks, bonuses are minuses[-] and penalties are pluses[+] in HKAT):
Preferred Style: Centipede
Wriggly and quick, Centipede's strikes are so fast that it is almost as if he has a hundred arms and legs. The weakness of this style is to attack both the opponent's upper and lower body in a simultaneous assault.
Package: Extra Attacks Level 4-6, Extra Defenses Level 4-6, Swift Reactions Level 1; Wire Fu: Fists of Fury, Whirlwind Attack, Whirlwind Dodge
Special: Centipede Punch [Damage -2, Initiative +2, Hit -1 from second punch on in the same round, Defense +1]. Animal Totem bonus: -2 to Hit and Defense against Mantis Style.
Weakness: +3 Defense against simultaneous attacks to upper and lower body.
Preferred Style: Snake
One hand is the venomous fangs and precise finger motor control. The other is the stinging whip of a rattling tail. Masters of this ability can also fight extremely well from a prone position. The weakness of this style is to prevent the Snake from using both hands in combination.
Package: Focused Damage Level 2; Wire Fu (choose 3): Be Like Water, Block Fu Power, Counterstrike, Nerve Strike, Precise Strike, Speed of the Cobra, Slithering (the Snake can move at normal speeds while lying on his stomach, and half speed while on his back)
Special: Snake Fang Finger [Damage +1, Initiative -2, Hit -1, Defense +1], -1 bonus to all Wrestling maneuvers. Prone fighting: Snake gets no penalties for fighting from a prone position.
Weakness: If one of his arms is immobilized, all combat actions suffer a +1 penalty.
Preferred Style: ToadToads are nearly invulnerable to weapons. The style, sometimes called Qigong, is a primarily defensive pose, but makes the practitioner invincible to just about any form of attack, including blades and puncture. They can even bend solid metal. The weakness of this style is that any master of the Toad style has a "weak spot" that when punctured, drains the user's Toad style benefits (most notably the iron skin.)
Package: Damn Healthy!; Sword Fu: Shatter Weapon (may be done bare-handed); Wire Fu: Iron Skin (skin counts as full-body armor that stops 10 points of damage), Superhuman Lunge, Unyielding Stance
Special: -2 bonus to all Wrestling maneuvers. Toads can make Grab maneuvers against weapons with their bare skin, gaining a -3 bonus to do so if just hit by that weapon. The attempt to grab is made as a Defense action. Animal Totem bonus: -1 to Hit and Defense against Centipede Style.
Weakness: At the start of the film, the Toad should select a part of the body that is his or her only weakness (examples: Ears, eyes, armpits, navel), write it down on a piece of paper and not show it to anyone (not even the GM). If the Toad is ever hit on that part of the body by a Called Shot, he or she must fess up to it (showing the paper), take unarmored damage and accept that all his or her Wire Fu abilities have been drained (until healing has taken place). Honor is important in Kung Fu films - an Actor must reveal his weakness at the end of the film and if he or she cheated, he or she loses all Star Points (at the start of the next film, will get whatever role the other actors don't want).
For variety's sake, here's a Style not based on an animal totem:
Preferred Style: Wushu
Wushu is actually a very generic term for Chinese martial arts, but in kung fu films, the word is most often associated with the performance-based, quick and fluid, acrobatic style of Jet Li.
Package: Art of Distraction Level 3 (using a martial arts demonstration), Extra Defenses Level 2, Signature/Graceful, Swift Reactions Level 2, Acrobatics Skill Level 3; Wire Fu: Be Like Water, Feather Foot, Rapid Strike
Special: Tumbling fist [Damage -3, Initiative +2, Hit -2], Eight trigram palm [Damage +1, Hit -1, Defense +1], Supreme ultimate fist [Damage +4, Initiative -1, Defense +2], Shape intent kick [Damage -1, Initiative +1, Hit -1]. The Wushu artist also gains a -1 Hit bonus when using one of the twelve weapons of Shaolin.
Weakness: Wire Fu Disability - Slow Motion. If the Wushu artist has performed for his opponent (with Art of Distraction), that opponent may spend a Star Point to use Judge Opponent on him or her.
Hey players! Any style you absolutely want to see stated-up?
Other House Rules
Description bonuses: Flavor is all-important. When players describe their actions in a particularly colorful and exciting way, the GM shall give him or her a -1 bonus to succeed at that action. Conversely, the GM may is allowed to give players a +1 penalty for particularly boring descriptions (you know what I mean, "I hit him"), in particular at climactic moments.
Training montages: The training montage, often covering an entire year or more, is a beloved tradition of the kung fu film. When the plot demands it, a Role may enter into a training montage, learning a new Preferred Style in a matter of only a few scenes that show the character's progress and the new techniques learned. The GM may give the character a package, replace the Role's Attributes with the new package, require the Actor to spend Star Points to acquire the new package, or even ask that Skill tests are made in each montage scene to learn (or not) each part of the Style package.The Tony Jaa Variant: HKAT features a number of fun variants that simulate types of action films. In Guerrilla Filming, for example, the GM improvises the whole game and rolling a natural 12 creates major accidents for the Actors/Roles. One special event variant I'd like to try is one based on Thai action superstar Tony Jaa's films. His trademark is that the action is more real than movie magic, with crazy stunts and fights with real physical contact. To simulate that contact, I'd be tempted to try the new approach to martial arts (of a version of it) I've tried to design on this very blog. I'll let the article speak for itself.
I admit to having other ideas, but they'll keep for later. Hopefully, you weren't bored by my thoughts on an obscure (but fun!) little game.
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