Interest Check: Equal Opportunity Butt Kicking!

[MadPanda]

Feng Shui, the roleplaying game of Hong Kong Action Movie Reality, has again crossed my boards.

As yet, this project is still on the drawing board, but we've got an Uberkid (sort of) ready to find fellow Dragons to help her dismantle some people who really need to loosen up...and I promise not to inflict that damn Monkey on people this time 'round.

Almost certainly looking to start in the Contemporary Juncture and get weirder later on as the Secret Time Wars heat up with great vengeance and furious anger!

Those without the core book may find the material here to be of considerable utility:
http://www.atlas-games.com/pdf_storage/fs_briefings.pdf

[Kunoichi]

*wonders if all the references in the above post will be confusing to people who've never played Feng Shui*

I've got my character for this game completed, so if anyone would like any help making a character, I'd just like to say that I'm available to help. ^^ And also that character creation in this system is both quick and easy, unlike in certain other systems on the market.

[Muse]

Oh, lord! 

I haven't played this in forever. 

Darn, it, count me in! 

[Geeklet]

Never heard of the system, but I do love a good fight. Tomorrow when I'm less tired I'll have a look through that link...

[Laughing Hyena]

*wonders if all the references in the above post will be confusing to people who've never played Feng Shui*

I've got my character for this game completed, so if anyone would like any help making a character, I'd just like to say that I'm available to help. ^^ And also that character creation in this system is both quick and easy, unlike in certain other systems on the market.

Okay do help. I like martial arts games so lets have at it if this game is gonna be played here on the boards via tabletop.

[Jefepato]

I'm conflicted.  I like Feng Shui, but I don't much care for the setting at all.

[ReijiTabibito]

Okay, so...the fact that two of my more prodigious writing partners have tag-teamed me into joining (though one doesn't know it) is partly why I'm here.

I'm also here...so I can indulge in my Tequila tendencies.

[HairyHeretic]

Feng Shui is a lot like this

Big Trouble in Little China Trailer

with elements of this

Shoot 'Em Up Official Trailer

It's also a hell of a lot of fun.

[MadPanda]

Wowzers!  Guess I'd better think of a title!

So, for the record...any template out of the books is fair game, and if you really gotta play something a bit odd, remember that Mister GM is mildly corrupt.

This will be played out here, online.

We're starting in the contemporary juncture, possibly even with the adventure in the book (to save on GMly wear and tear).

[Kunoichi]

And if you don't have any of the books, all the character templates were made available for free here.

[Muse]

If you don't have anyone doing magic yet, is a sorcerer's apprentice type acceptable? 

I have the image of a modern girl with the right stuff becoming apprentice to a sorcerer from Juncture 69 and being taken to Hong Kong for training.  Maybe her sifu has now disapeared--was it a deliberate way of teaching her independence, or are more sinister forces involved? 

Alternativly... 

Is there a prehensile hair schtick anywhere?  :D 

[MadPanda]

Such an apprentice (most easily done using the Scrappy Kid template from 69AD with adjustments) has one tiny drawback--quite possibly underaged!

But not an impossible situation, if is more of a Scrappy Teen.

So far as I am aware, there is no prehensile hair schtick, but some of the Creature Powers would work.

[Kunoichi]

Yeah, reflavoring the Tentacle shtick would work for prehensile hair. ^^ So... what, Supernatural Creature, Abomination, or Ghost?

*looks through list*

Huh.  Or Science Ninja. Oo;

[Geeklet]

Looking through things, not that familiar with the rules, is it possible for a character to have schticks that aren't listed under their type?

[MadPanda]

How so?

Some types are more restricted than others.  Some are unique to a given template.  And some just aren't appropriate (Transformed Animals do not get Sorcery shticks...ever.)

[Kunoichi]

Generally no, but the book does encourage the GM to bend the rules a little in that area if the player's got a good character concept in mind.

[Muse]

lol  I wasn't thinking someone that young.  More like a modern sorcerer.  Little less rich, not quite so much sorcery, and more diverse skills. 

Does the game assume every charecter is built on template variation? 

[MadPanda]

No--the templates are the usual way of building characters.

[Kunoichi]

Pretty much, yes. ^^; Like in action movies, characters start out as one of a variety of common archetypes.  What differentiates them from other characters of the same archetype is where they develop from there.  So, you start out as, say, an Everyman Hero or a Karate Cop, customize the character type as far as it allows you to, and then get to playing from there.

It's a very quick and easy form of character creation. ^^

[MadPanda]

Now for the important question--there will likely be naughtiness from time to time, but I'd like to keep that to side threads and brief when it happens...

Y'all want this Light?  Or Bondage?  Mister GM no likee the non-consensual stuff.

[Kunoichi]

Given that this is the sort of game that allows for cybernetically-augmented, hyper-intelligent primates as player characters, we might end up in Extreme, you know. :P

We probably won't be unless someone decides they want to play a jetpack-wearing, bazooka-wielding monkey, though. ;D

I'm fine with either Light or Bondage, myself.

[MadPanda]

Errr, no.  That's be Exotic.  Extreme refers to the sort of things that happen in the game.

Feng Shui falls under the Exotic category already (Ghosts, Cyborgs, TA's...)

[HairyHeretic]

And if you don't have any of the books, all the character templates were made available for free here.

Also, I might be able to facilitate acquisition of the Core Rules, should anyone want to PM me. ^^;

*Ahem*

Rule 5: This server is governed by the laws of the United States. You will not link to or provide warez, illegal pdfs or mp3s, and so on. Threats will be dealt with accordingly.

I have no doubt you simply meant you could provide directions to a webstore where the game could be purchased, right? :)

[Laughing Hyena]

I still need help trying to make a character Kuinochi and whats the setting in place at the moment?

[MadPanda]

Contemporary Juncture.
Hong Kong, early spring, 1997.

[ReijiTabibito]

*Ahem*

Rule 5: This server is governed by the laws of the United States. You will not link to or provide warez, illegal pdfs or mp3s, and so on. Threats will be dealt with accordingly.

I have no doubt you simply meant you could provide directions to a webstore where the game could be purchased, right? :)

Uhm, Hairy, you did read the part where the distributors had distributed those templates for free?

[Geeklet]

I believe Hairy wasn't talking about the link, but the line below it about acquiring the core rules.

[MadPanda]

Yep.  Free collection for templates, cool.  Free archive of rules summary, cool.  Unauthorized copy of the main book?  Not cool.

[HairyHeretic]

Templates yes, core rules no.

Given there was already a link to the templates, I took core rules to mean something along the lines of a pdf of the rulebook. If I have misinterpreted what Kunoichi meant, I will of course apologise for that.

[Kunoichi]

Removed. ^^; Sorry for the late response.  Tonight was family night.

[Kunoichi]

I still need help trying to make a character Kuinochi and whats the setting in place at the moment?

Alright, time to get down to making a character, Hyena. ^^ First things first is to determine what sort of character type you'd like to play as.  The link I gave out earlier is the official listing of all available character types, so the first thing you should do is look through that to figure out which one you'd like to play.

After that, you'll be able to customize it a little bit.

[Laughing Hyena]

Alright lets see... This is a martial arts game after all. I think I pick Karate Cop just to stay in the right time period and stay in the spirit of it.

[Kunoichi]

Alright, I'll PM you the relevant details. ^^

[Muse]

So we have karate cop and what? 

[Kunoichi]

Well, after speaking with Reiji, I learned that he's playing a Maverick Cop, and I know that I'm playing an Uber-Kid.  Geeklet's making a Dallas Rocket, and I'm also walking someone else through the process of creating a Masked Avenger, though I don't know for sure if he'll join in play. ^^;

That still leaves 54 other character types up as options, assuming no one takes the (perfectly valid) option of doubling up on a given archetype. ;D

Edit: And assuming we don't count the various transformed animal packages for both the Transformed Animal and Lodge Survivor character types as being entirely separate archetypes...

[Muse]

hehehe. 

Okay, I like my sorceress now. 


  Once there was a virile young man who sacrificed his manhood for ultimate power. 
  He hated himself for it. 
  Though he achieved indescribable magical and political power, he thirsted for the virility of his youth.  One day, he spotted a beautiful girl trimming herbs in her grandmother's garden.  This was White Orchid, daughter to a midwife and granddaughter to a medicine woman.  He took her as his servant. 
  White Orchid could have spent her life a sullen victim of circumstance, virgin bride of a horrific eunuch.  Instead she determined to take control of her destiny.  She mixed herbal potions to soothe his memories of the virility that was once his while easing the tension from his body with deft massages.  After a time, he came to love her despite having no room for anything else but evil in his hear.  He beat her sometimes, but other times he could deny her nothing, not even the secrets of magic.  She restored her own youth, cured her own scars, learned potent spells, and addicted him to ever stronger potions.  Finally she fled him through space and time to a place where she could seek allies and make her bid for freedom. 

A place called Hong Kong. 

[Kunoichi]

Hmm, that certainly looks good.  Though, her former husband made for a rather poor Lotus Magician, given that their tagline is 'Lust for nothing but power'. :P

*works on a suitable description for her own character*

Out of curiosity, which character type are you using?

[Muse]

The Sorcerer. 

I'm taking Influence instead of Movement so that she can replace mundane drugs with magical influences as soon as she learns them. 

So she's his dirty little secret, that he not only had this obsession as a week spot, but he trained her 'til she became an enemy of their alliance.  :D 

Um... 

Can I both raise Chi by 2 and Magic by 2? 

[Kunoichi]

*checks*

Well, Magic has a = next to it, so it can't be raised any higher than it already is during character creation, unfortunately.

[Muse]

ah, so I have to give her a difrent secondary ability? 

[Kunoichi]

Yep.

[Muse]

Name:  White Orchid
Type:   Sorceress
Wealth:  Rich
Juncture:  69

Melodramatic Hook:  Escape the clutches of the Eunich who trained her and grow strong enough to destroy him. 

Description:  A fair beauty of ancient china with small feat, round breasts, slender waist, and hair that falls to her calves when she releases it form her bun. 

Story: 
   Once there was a virile young man who sacrificed his manhood for ulitmate power. 
  He hated himself for it. 
  Though he achieved indescribable magical and political power, he thirsted for the virility of his youth.  One day, he spotted a beautiful girl trimming herbs in her grandmother's garden.  This was White Orchid, daughter to a midwife and granddaughter to a medicine woman.  He took her as his servant. 
  White Orchid could have spent her life a sullen victim of circumstance, virgin bride of a horrific eunuch.  Instead she determined to take control of her destiny.  She mixed herbal potions to soothe his memories of the virility that was once his while easing the tension from his body with deft massages.  After a time, he came to love her despite having no room for anything else but evil in his heart.  He beat her sometimes, but other times he could deny her nothing, not even the secrets of magic.  She restored her own youth, cured her own scars, learned potent spells, and addicted him to ever stronger potions.  Finally she fled him through space and time to a place where she could seek allies and make her bid for freedom. 

A place called Hong Kong. 


Fortune Dice Remaining: 
Wound Points Sustained: 
Unspent Experience Points: 0

Body: 7
Chi: 0 (Magic +8)
Mind: 7 (Cha +9)
Ref:  7

Skills: 
Info: History +4 (11)
Info: Herbs (Culinary, Medicinal, and the Kind that Make You Forget) +2 (+9)
Info: The Secret War +2 (+9)
Sorcery +7 (17)

Blast
Divination
Fertility
Heal
Manipulation

If I put one of my +2s in Chi instead of in Body, do I have any benefits pertaining to luck, or to coming closer to learning Kung fu if I choose too?  (I know it won't raise my magic.) 

[Kunoichi]

It will raise both your Fortune and Kung Fu stats by 2, yes.

[Muse]

*Bows*  Thank yuo Kuno-chan! 

[Kunoichi]

You're welcome, Muse. ^^

Rho ☼ 33, aka 'Rhoda'

Melodramatic Hook: Rhoda has a 'sister' (fellow Uber-Kid) whom she got separated from during her daring escape from the CDCA lab where she was 'born'.

Description: A 16-year-old girl with a lithe, athletic build, Rhoda has skin the color of caramel, light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a very sharp sword.  She commonly wears her hair in pigtails, and her usual outfit involves fingerless leather gloves, a sleeveless hooded jacket, and shorts worn under a knee-length skirt.

Story: Part of a top-secret government program first begun in the dystopian future, Subject Rho ☼ 33 was one of a number of children who were tweaked, trained and trimmed from fertilization onwards in an attempt to create a group of 'perfect' human beings.  What the CDCA goons who created her and the other kids never realized, however, was that in their quest to create better, smarter human beings, they had created ones smart enough to escape their clutches.

Escaping into the underworld of 2056, Rho charmed her way into the employ of one of the last great martial arts masters of the future and set about covertly learning martial arts, watching as the man trained his paying students and practicing what she saw in secret, later.  The movements came easily to her, as all things did, and before long, she had picked up quite a bit of skill in the martial arts.  PubOrd cracked down on the hidden dojo before she could learn more than a single truly supernatural martial arts technique, however, and she was forced to escape to some place even deeper from the surface of the future's twisted little society, into the Netherworld, and from there, back into the past.

Which was how she found herself in Hong Kong, in the year 1996...

Juncture: 2056

Attributes:
Bod =4
Chi 6
Mnd =11
Ref 5 (Spd 7)

Skills:
Detective 0 (11)*
Deceit +2 (=13)
Fix-It 0 (11)*
Medicine 0 (11)*
Guns 0 (5)*
Martial Arts +8 (=13)
Info/Geomancy 0 (11)*
Info/Computers +2 (13)
Info/Psychology +2 (13)

Skills marked with an asterisk (*) were not taught to you; you learned how to do them by paying close attention.

Shticks:
Friend of the Darkness      Chi: 1 / Shots: 1
You can act normally in partial or complete darkness with no Action Value penalties; effect lasts until end of sequence.

Quick Study: You get an extra experience point every session because you learn things so damn fast.

"Elementary, my dear Watson:" Your keen intellect and superb perception allow you to figure things out that the hoi polloi wouldn't catch in a million years.  You can spend a Fortune Die and have the GM tell you one fact.  This can be a person's skill level in a given ability, or details of a specific shtick.  It can also be used on the world around you.  You get to pick the fact, but it has to be pretty specific.  The GM has veto power, of course, but should give you something.

Squirmy Lil' Bastard: Like the Scrappy Kid, your Action Value when dodging is always 2 higher than your Martial Arts value.

Weapons:
Buro 9   10/1/17+1
Sword   8

Wealth Level:
Poor

[Kunoichi]

Oh, and Muse, for your Blast schtick, you only gain 3 special effects for it upon first taking that particular schtick. ^^; For all the rest, you have access to all the listed special effects, but for Blast, you only get 3 to start.

[Muse]

Name:  White Orchid
Type:   Sorceress
Wealth:  Rich
Juncture:  69

Melodramatic Hook:  Escape the clutches of Chou Su, the Eunuch who trained her and grow strong enough to destroy him. 

Description:  A fair beauty of ancient china with small feat, round breasts, slender waist, and hair that falls to her calves when she releases it form her bun. 
Height:     5’   Weight: 99lbs      Bust: B   

Story: 
Once there was a virile young man named Chou Su who sacrificed his manhood for ultimate power.  He hated himself for it. 
Though he achieved indescribable magical and political power, he thirsted for the virility of his youth.  One day, he spotted a beautiful girl trimming herbs in her grandmother's garden.  This was White Orchid, daughter to a midwife and granddaughter to a medicine woman.  He took her as his servant. 
White Orchid could have spent her life a sullen victim of circumstance, virgin bride of a horrific eunuch.  Instead she determined to take control of her destiny.  She mixed herbal potions to soothe his memories of the virility that was once his while easing the tension from his body with deft massages.  After a time, he came to love her despite having no room for anything else but evil in his heart.  He beat her sometimes, but other times he could deny her nothing, not even the secrets of magic.  She restored her own youth, cured her own scars, learned potent spells, and addicted him to ever stronger potions.  Finally she fled him through space and time to a place where she could seek allies and make her bid for freedom. 
A place called Hong Kong. 


Fortune Dice Remaining: 
Wound Points Sustained: 
Unspent Experience Points: 0

Body:   5
Chi:   2  (Magic +8)
Mind:   7  (Cha +9)
Ref:   7

Skills: 
Info: History +4 (11)
Info: Herbs (Culinary, Medicinal, and the Kind that Make You Forget) +2 (+9)
Info: The Secret War +2 (+9)
Sorcery +7 (15)

Blast
--Conjured Weapons
--Fire
--Ice
Divination
--Revelation
--Prediction
--Warning
Fertility
--De-Attunement
--Germination
--Growth
--Harvest Chi
--Observe Chi
--Steal Chi
--Restore Chi
Heal
--Cure Disease
--Heal Wounds
--Immortality
--Material Restoration
--Poison Antidote
Influence
--Emotion Potions
--Enchantment
--Illusion
--Inspiration

[Laughing Hyena]

Lawrence Thompson - Everyman Hero

Melodramatic Hook: Runs a pawn shop as his business in Hong Kong. Hot items or valued items could come in there or attract unwanted attention from crime organizations.

Description: A twenty-four year old immigrant from the States. With black hair and blue eyes he wears a t-shirt of blue and cargo jeans of tan coloring with work boots. He stands out quite well in hong kong which might explain why he gets into such mischief.

Story: Initially he was a promising student that always wanted to see the world and become a martial arts stuntman, his dreams were dashed by cruel misfortunes initially when journeying to Hong Kong, he could not go home. Stranded there ever since, he bounced from job to job he eventually fell into some opportunistic fortune getting a job as a Pawn Shop which he runs with a silver tongue and quick wit. The pawn shop is not his but rather owned by a widow who has taken a shine upon the boy whether he wants the affections or not. And she is a lot tougher and intimidating then she looks. All the while he hopes for a big break into the world of cinema.

Juncture: Modern

Attributes:
Bod 7
Chi 0 (For =11)
Mnd 5 (Wil 6)
Ref 7

Divide 4 points among your primary attributes.  Add 1 to a single secondary attribute.

Skills:
Driving +5 (12) [Max 14]
Guns +4 (11) [Max 13]
Info/Beer +8 (13)
Info/Classic Cars +5 (10)
Info/Sports Fan +8 (13)
Info/Stadium Rock +7 (12)
Martial Arts +6 (13) [Max 13]

Add 5 Skill Bonuses.  If you want new areas of knowledge for your Info skills, be prepared for the GM to veto anything which isn't sufficiently lowbrow.  You should change your Info skills to more appropriate areas if you're from 69, 1850, or 2056.

Schticks:
Lucky - Fortune Dice spent do not reduce your Fortune Rating for the purposes of making Fortune Checks.

This'll Do - You get +1 AV for any creative attack you make with an improvised weapon, such as pool cues, barbells, frozen chicken dinners, beer bottles, shopping carts, etc.  The same improvised weapon should not be carried around and/or used from scene to scene - it should be a weapon of opportunity, rather than habit.

Weapons:
None.  You'll just have to find one somewhere.  However, if the campaign starts in the middle of a fight then you might want to consult with your GM to see if you've already snagged one.

[MadPanda]

Muse, Sorcery has a max DV of 15 on that template.

Guess I'd better think of a title quick and get an OOC and Cast thread up before you guys run away with this!  Kunoichi is probably going to be stuck with duty as co-GM...

I still want to know: Light or Bondage?  Cast your votes now, folks, or be smitten by a command decision.

Command Decision implemented.  We are in Bondage-Exotic Small Groups.

Cast Thread is here:
https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=103102.0

OOC is here:
https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=103102.0

Story thread will be here...
https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=103104.0

Move all discussion over there, please, and wait for the announcement in OOC when I've got the story post started.

Melodramatic hooks notwithstanding, plan to find yourselves in the Yaumatei district of HongKong on a Wednesday night in February 1996, at a little place called the Eating Counter.

[ReijiTabibito]

MP, need a GM decision on something.

The Gun Schtick Signature Weapon says that whenever you take it, you select a single gun, and you get a +3 damage bonus to that particular weapon.  The wording of the Schtick isn't great, so I need to know for my own Schticks if it's one of a couple of things.

A: You must pick a different gun every time you take the Schtick.

B: You can select the same gun (or guns) multiple times.

[MadPanda]

I would ask why you feel the need to take it more than once, because the whole point of having a Signature Weapon is that you've got one signature weapon.

You take it once per weapon (Golden Comeback lets you apply it to other things too).

No, you don't get to take multiple bonuses for the same weapon  That would be silly.

[ReijiTabibito]

I will not exploit the GM.
I will not exploit the GM.
I will not exploit the GM.
I will not exploit the GM.

Okay.  Just checking.

[MadPanda]

Teach me to look it up before responding!

The text itself says more or less that each time you select it, you may choose another weapon that is a signature weapon.  So one bonus per weapon, but you may have more than one.

[ReijiTabibito]

Right.  But I was asking about stacking bonuses on the same weapon, which you ruled we can't do.  Understandable, since dropping multiple schticks in it would give a ridiculous bonus to damage, so much so that a handgun could blow up a tank...

[MadPanda]

Yeah.  No.  Not gonna happen.  One bonus per weapon, and I'm probably going to want to hear a damn good explanation as to why you have more than one of these.  (The obvious answer is, of course, a matching pair of the same sort of gun, which I'm more likely to okay.  Don't try to tell me you have a Signature Hellharrower, though.)

Also remember that it isn't a bonus for any ol' Glock 19.  It's your special, lucky, custom-build Glock 19 that was a birthday present from your sweet Aunt Petunia.  Any other Glock 19 is just a gun.

[ReijiTabibito]

Well, considering the ruling, I'm going to be getting only 1 rank in it anyway.  Besides, I have plenty of other categories to spend my Schticks in - Both Guns Blazing, Carnival of Carnage, Lightning Reload...

And remember, the benefit of a Signature Weapon isn't just in the bonus damage, it's in the damage itself.  FS rules state that no Signature Weapon can be destroyed.

[MadPanda]

Also remember that if you're fighting mooks, that +3 Damage bonus doesn't do a thing.  (Remind me to tell you about the Mookinator and the problems he created for my tabletop group...)

[Kunoichi]

Mookinator?  Sounds like an unnamed character who was favored by the random number god...

[MadPanda]

Nope.  He was an anti-mook squad PC, so lethal and efficient that a number of mooks sufficient to challenge him for a whole combat round was more than enough to swamp the other PCs.  (Perfectly legal build, I should add...)

[Kunoichi]

Hmm, probably combining Carnival of Carnage with other useful multi-target effects...

[MadPanda]

Yep.

[MadPanda]

Okay, game's full up!  So I'm shutting this down for now.  Check back later if you're interested and didn't see it in time...we may split the party or someone may drop.