Hong Kong Action Theater: Preferred Styles and Other Teahouse Rules

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, regadless 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/grabble 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: Toad
Toads 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 versions 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.

Doctor Who #149: The Underwater Menace Part 3

"Nothing in the vorld can stop me now!!!"TECHNICAL SPECS: The episode exists and is available on DVD in the Lost in Time boxed set. First aired Jan.28 1967.

IN THIS ONE... The fish people go on strike, the Doctor and friends try to capture Zaroff and a famous line (above) is spoken.

REVIEW: So this is the episode we do have access to at this time, and it seems the grainy telesnaps didn't do justice to its flaws. The costumes, when seen in stark contrasts and movement look impossibly silly (especially the guard uniform with the Robin mask and conch helmet), and the sets are much more cramped than one might expect. Of course, how much scenery can there be when Joseph Fürst chews it all up like it's his last meal on Earth? Wow, that is a BIG performance from Zaroff. HUGE. And it may be on the better reasons to watch the episode. Thous looks deep to see the madness in his eyes, but he really doesn't need to. And when Zaroff gets physical, well, he can shrug big rocks off. His murder of the brave priest Ramo is another piece of camp, with the trident sticking out of him at a 90 degree angle, violent but comical.

Still, I'll give points to the production for some of its designs. The market place is small, but crowded and full of life. Those kids playing in a fountain with a small fish add a lot. Unfortunately, the music in the scene is completely insane and like a lot of the sound design, too loud to properly hear the dialog. The fish people are fairly well realized, though they skimped on the make-up by having a few of them be incomplete transformations (at least, that's what it looks like). The ballet where they swim/fly around on wires is mostly good - not that many wires showing - but oh my, it lasts forever and has no plot value. At this point, the fishies are supposed to be on strike (like everyone else, they do what they're told by, well, ANY character who speaks), so why are they shot doing stuff?

But that's the story's continued problem. The plot is nonsense and the characters all act stupidly. Even the Doctor here, whose plan hinges on Zaroff actually conducting the search himself. He does, but on the eve of his greatest triumph, should the lead scientist be acting like a common guard? If you're going to stop the countdown by capturing Zaroff, why is there a need to make the fish go on strike? And why does the food spoil within hours except to turn the farming strike into a real threat? The second Doctor, painted as a master of disguise since he set foot on his first planet, here takes on the persona of a shade-wearing swami, not that the costume holds very long, or even hides him in a crowd of Atlanteans wearing shell costumes. Camp? Yes. Drinking game in the making? Maybe. Good? Dear Amdo, no!

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-Low - The visuals sometimes take on an exotic quality not unlike The Web Planet's, but the script is cringe-worthy. Whovian Man cannot live on that last line alone!

Dial H for Hypnosis

Three short stories per issue and almost a dozen characters per issue means I'll continue to split Adventure Comics into two posts, which will just make the fun last twice as long, right?

Case 21: Adventure Comics #480
Dial Holders: Chris and Vicki
Dial Type: Watch and Pendant Dials
Dialing: Chris and Vicki's transformations are sometimes accompanied by loud noises (like BOOM!). An energy-guzzling villain can sense the power inherent to the Dials apparently from a continent away, and his analysis reveals them to be "mystical". The Dials confer skills as well as powers, so that for example, Molecular Maiden can understand the physics required to create "cosmic fuel" out of free atoms.

Name: Mister Mystical, Master of Magic (alliterative!)
Created by: Jeff Anderson, Age 13, of Alpena, Michigan
Costume: The red and yellow color scheme works, and though the chest area is a bit over-busy, the red helmet gives Mister Mystical an interesting look, not unknown among DC's mystical heroes. The mystic flame coming off of it is a big plus.
Powers: Mister Mystical can conceivably create any effect with his magic. In the story, he creates mystical bonds and a magical spaceship (albeit one that requires fuel from another source).
Sighted: In Fairfax, fighting a the Sphinx. In the end, he creates a spaceship to help the Sphinx return home.
Possibilities: As a recurring character, he might have been appealing, if only to keep readers thinking about what's under that helm. Is his head on fire like Dormammu's? The idea of a helmed magic hero connects him to Dr. Fate, and that connection could be mined to create a more coherent magical family of characters.
Integration Quotient: 60% (I'd use the Dr. Fate connection for all it's worth)
Name: Molecular Maiden (very Legion reject)
Created by: Dennis Trachim, age 12, of Winnipeg, Canada
Costume: With those long boots, Molecular Maiden is just knee-holes away from Supergirl, though the similar gloves make he look like one of those stretchable toys, tiny in the center and long everywhere else (including the hair). Not ugly, but pretty generic.
Powers: M.M. can manipulate matter at the molecular level, though the limits of her powers are not well-known. She can excite air molecules to let her fly, and creates "cosmic fuel" that will allow the Sphinx to get home.
Sighted: In Fairfax, fighting the Sphinx. In the end, she creates fuel for the Sphinx's spaceship and waves him home.
Possibilities: Sometimes, I like to think the Dial H heroes spend all their time protecting their creators' home towns, especially when those places are in Canada. In the Marvel Universe, Canada has Alpha Flight. In the DCU, my country might have those Dialed heroes. Thank me later, Winnipeg.
Integration Quotient: 15% (pretty slim possibilities because she's just too generic)
Name: Hypno-Girl (very Legion, this one, or even Hero of Lallor)
Created by: Elliott Buchholz, age 16, of Fords, New Jersey
Costume: Borders on the fashion nightmare. The Lone Ranger mask. The two red buttons on her front (one a buckle, the other whatever the Dial transforms into). The strange hanging chad cut on her shorts. The way the gloved sleeves turns make her arms a bit claw-like.
Powers: Hypno-Girl fires a beam from her head that puts people in a hypnotic trance (limited to 2 or 3, it seems). She can put them to sleep or to work fighting for her.
Sighted: On Thunder Axe's private island HQ. She helped defeat the villain and rescue wealthy socialites (including Vicki's own parents).
Possibilities: Mind control is not the most valorous or interesting of powers for a hero, and Hypno-Girl's got an ugly costume and dated name besides. I think I probably hit it right on the head when I mentioned the Heroes of Lallor. She might fit in there.
Integration Quotient: 10% (oh, I'm sorry, you don't remember the Heroes of Lallor?)
Name: Star Flare, the Human Missile (hardly representative of his abilities)
Created by: Terrence Mohammed, age 15, of Jackson Heights, New York
Costume: Star Flare looks a lot like a science fiction barbarian might. Think Killraven or a very comic booky John Carter. The asymmetrical chest piece even has a Kirbyesque vibe to it (though it's not quite drawn that way inside the book where all you notice is the fat piping). Otherwise, it's pretty straightforward attire.
Powers: According to Hypno-Girl, Star Flare "makes his own energy", whatever that means. He can fly and is a skillful fighter, especially with his Star Sword, which can slice through anything, including Thunder Axe's axe.
Sighted: On Thunder Axe's private island HQ. He defeats the villain and destroys his unique weapon.
Possibilities: Star Flare's incongruities might make him a potable New God, but he could conceivably have sustained a short Sword & Science series like, say, the original Starfire's.
Integration Quotient: 45% (the sword gives him a niche to exploit, but I don't think he'd last very long)

Bonus Supervillains
Name: The Sphinx (Marvel has a Sphinx, of course, but the wider DCU too - it was the name of a couple of Quality Comics villains, and the French name of the Riddler on television!)
Created by: David Wile, age 18, of Nova Scotia, Canada (no town?)
Costume: The yellow and black give the Sphinx a golden look, one that reminds you just enough of his sculptural namesake, with his pharaoh headdress. The V-shaped antennae possibly sell his alien origins, but are the weakest part of the design.
Powers: The Sphinx has massive mental powers, but they seem dependent on the amount of energy he can drain from living beings and technology alike. He survived for five millennia buried in Egypt and influenced the minds of the natives to build the Sphinx statue (he was trying to make them excavate though). He can fly at untold speeds, and senses great energy sources from far away (from Egypt to New England). In addition to draining energy from people and machines, he can throw tractor beams to move those energy sources about.
Sighted: An Osiran, his craft crashed in Ancient Egypt more than 5000 years ago and he was buried under the ground where the natives were influenced to build a statue that looked just like his craft. When somebody started drilling for oil right next to the Sphinx(es), it awakened him. He flew to Fairfax to drain the power from the H Dials, but Chris and Vicki decided to help him and create a spacecraft that would return him home.
Possibilities: Though apparently a homage to Sutekh from Doctor Who's Pyramids of Mars, the Sphinx's ties to both outer space and Ancient Egypt gives him a lot of potential for recurring appearances. His influence might have been felt back in time by Nabu, Black Adam or Hawkman, for example.
Integration Quotient: 90% (clean look, good name, and an origin story with a lot of interesting baggage)
Name: Thunder Axe (fairly cool, but it's also the name of his weapon)
Created by: Joe Johnson, age 14, of Long Mont, Colorado
Costume: Thunder Axe looks vaguely like a Spaceknight, but the pink gloves have got to go (his henchmen are primarily pink, so they must've been desperate). The face plate has some intimidation factor, but the triangular ears are rather silly. And the axe/lightning motif on his chest looks like he's trying to hard. There's too much going on there, especially with the four pink dots surrounding it. The featureless axe is also devoid of interest. All in all, Thunder Axe looks better on the cover where he gets nice blue highlights are more decorative armor.
Powers: Thunder Axe is an able, armored fighter, but he's nothing without his thunder axe, which can be thrown great distances (miles, even!) cut through anything, and always return to his hand (after hooking a suitcase full of money if need be). Thunder Axe also has a hydrofoil and a private island HQ.
Sighted: Off the coast near Fairfax. Thunder Axe attacked a cruise ship and captured various socialites to ransom them for millions. He was apprehended by the Dial heroes, which makes it at least his second arrest.
Possibilities: A fair generic villain with an axe that acts a lot like Thor's hammer, the fact that I can't immediately name a superhero to match him against works against him. Aquaman, I guess? Aquaman always needs new villains to fight in or near his native environment.
Integration Quotient: 40% (ultimately boring, his future appearances are severely in doubt)

Five more characters YOU invented in the issue's third story, but you'll have to stay tuned to the SBG!

Doctor Who #148: The Underwater Menace Part 2

"This is what will happen. Zaroff intends to raise Atlantis... but in little pieces."TECHNICAL SPECS: Though this episode was recovered late last year, it has yet to be released to the public. A reconstruction will have to do in the meantime. First aired Jan.21 1967.

IN THIS ONE... Everybody escapes their fate and Zaroff reveals his plans to blow up the Earth.

REVIEW: What does this episode have in common with Galaxy 4 Part 3? Both were found in 2011, and it may be that both deserved to be missing. But where Galaxy 4 is simply noisome and boring, The Underwater Menace may have performances of interest to offer on video. Troughton's in particular. I can't wait to see how he does Zaroff's crazy eyes, how he plays with a headdress (this week's hat?), or his subtle sabotage of the power control to save Polly from her fishy fate. Maybe Polly, Ben and Jamie will also benefit. It's hard to imagine the guest cast doing any better though. Ara is all "I'm helping you because the script tells me to", and there's little to make Ramo, Damon, Thous, Sean and Jacko particularly memorable. Zaroff IS memorable, but for being completely insane. Has there been a crazier villain in Doctor Who, EVER? He wants to blow up the world just because he can. The achievement! Yes, well...

Of course, the science behind it is all bad. The Doctor says the Earth is BELIEVED to have a molten core as if it weren't fact, and Zaroff's plan is to drain the ocean away into a drill hole, like the planet is some giant bathtub. No matter how brilliant he's supposed to be, why is this even the idea of a scientist whose claim to fame is feeding the masses with plankton? The story is DUMB, plain and simple. Zaroff's "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" line is surely the Whovian equivalent of Ed Wood's "Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!" The only people in Atlantis who listen to reason are those who have already decided they dislike Zaroff, but since reasoning with people is what drives the plot, we're only ever frustrated. It just can't be done. These characters are all cartoons.

Take Sean and Jacko. Ben and Jamie meet up with them in the mines, and they've got an escape plan. But that escape plan is as dumb as everyone else's plans. They've found a tunnel that leads to somewhere unknown, and they can't return to the mine under penalty of death if they take it. It's foolhardy in the extreme. Why Ben and Jamie follow is anyone's guess, and they're real lucky that it coincidentally reunites them with Polly in the temple. The audience isn't so lucky though, as the trip through the tunnel maze is long and dull, especially on audio-only, and even its bit of jeopardy ellicits a yawn.

REWATCHABILITY: Low - I could have picked at a lot more nits, but at some point, you've just go to throw in the towel and admit it's just not very good and leave it at that. When Lost in Time 2 is released, the episode might go up to Medium-Low, but I doubt it'll achieve more.

I Swear I Was Going to Have a Substantial Post Ready

...but I was so close to finishing Season 1 of Game of Thrones, it all got away from me.Sean Bean, pray for me to the Old Gods that I may do better tomorrow.

Doctor Who #147: The Underwater Menace Part 1

"You're not turning me into a fish!"TECHNICAL SPECS: One of two episodes from this story still missing from the archives (a brief clip survives). Though I've heard the CD version narrated by Anneke Wils, but will use a reconstruction for the purposes of this review. First aired Jan.14 1967.

IN THIS ONE... The TARDIS crew are captured in 1970s Atlantis and are almost sacrificed to an ancient goddess.

REVIEW: Oh, Underwater Menace, do you deserve your bad reputation? You probably do. In some circles referred to as the Plan 9 from Outer Space of Doctor Who, it might be enjoyed as a piece of kitsch à la Ed Wood. Hey, it's even got a mad scientist with a thick accent who claims to have a pet octopus. That's right out of Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster. And what a mish-mash! It's science vs. religion, using extreme sensibilities. One one side, Professor Zaroff the mad scientist. On the other, High Priest Lolem who wants to sacrifice the outsiders as soon as he sees them. Both amoral. And the whole thing set in a contemporary sunken Atlantis that likes to surgically implant plastic gills on people and turn them into fish-people to farm the sea bed. Where else but in Doctor Who, eh?

We're at least spared the serial's notorious cheapness (at least, until the surviving episodes) and from the grainy pictures and audio, it's hard to tell whether the design stands up or not. The Atlanteans' attire could be silly or inspired (did I spot a giant fish-head helmet?), and the statue of the goddess, itself fish-like looks pretty cool. We've got beach scenes and caves on location, and a death trap worthy of Indiana Jones or James Bond, with progressively sloping tables threatening to dump our heroes into a shark tank. The video might show this to be terribly staged, who knows, so the missing video may be a mercy. In the single clip we have, as Polly is forced into an operating room to meet her fishy fate, we may note mirrored metal walls, and in that moment, yes, the production design does look interesting. Is the newly-found Part 2 a revelation? Time will tell.

But of course, beyond its design and premise, The Underwater Menace suffers from a pretty lame script. Jamie's first scene aboard the TARDIS is boring and stilted, the Doctor seems obsessed with prehistory for no good reason (Polly actually figures out the date), and pulls a great big shortcut by knowing who Zaroff is already. The only sympathetic guest character is Ara who does whatever the Doctor tells her to as if she owed him her life, but of course, they've never met. Not that the villains have much of a motivation either, except executing the script's demands in terms of jeopardy and deus ex machina. The episode also forgets about the TARDIS' translation powers and has Polly speak various languages to see if the natives speak them. Happy to see Polly's skills, but they're moot in the context of the program.

THEORIES: The Doctor signs a note "Dr. W" as if to imply, once again, that his true name is Who. From Romana's long true name, we may assume the "Who" sound is at least the first syllable of his Gallifreyan name.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-Low - The premise is completely cracked and I admire that. However, it's no excuse for a bad script.

Bionic Sexism... by Kenner

So Steve Austin gets Mission Control Center...And Jamie Summers gets a Bionic Beauty Salon?!
They obviously just cannibalized The Prisoner's Electroshock Therapy Playset for that one...