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10 Wuxia Movies that make Perfect RPG One-Shots (Part 2)
10 Wuxia Movies that make Perfect RPG One-Shots (Part 2)
If you missed the introduction to this two-part series, you can get it here. No need for jabbering, let's get right into the movies!
Warning: There will be some spoilers in the movie descriptions!
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#5: Magnificent Bodyguards (1978) - DVD - Prime
Categories: Bodyguard, Escort, Plot Twist
Pre-gen Characters Required: No
Suggested Game Style: Linear
This quirky movie is a very early Jackie Chan film in a typical wuxia setting, as opposed to the more comedic kung fu flicks that he later became famous for. It even has Star Wars music in the soundtrack, believe it or not. I wouldn't really recommend this movie to watch for fun unless you're a huge wuxia fanatic and want to add it to your list of completed films. That said, it has a very simple bodyguard plot (take a person from point A to point B) that would make for a great one-shot, including a twist ending that wouldn't be hard to replicate in a game setting. The obstacles and enemies faced on the way could be lifted directly from the movie.
Advice: The twist ending and climactic fight in the movie do not feel particularly satisfying (at least to me), as they don't resolve the plot well or provide a good "end" for the main character(s). Think of a way to have a more rewarding conclusion for your players.
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Categories: Bodyguard, Escort, Intrigue, Brutal
Pre-gen Characters Required: Maybe
Suggested Game Style: Linear
This movie takes place about as late in history as Righteous Blood, Ruthless Blades is designed to operate: in 1905 Hong Kong during the final days of the crumbling Qing Dynasty. It revolves around a group of revolutionaries tasked with protecting Sun Yat-Sen from assassination. The bodyguard team and their associates feature numerous unique characters with special traits and abilities. In this regard, modeling a one-shot after this movie would be great if you are inclined to use pre-gen characters, as you could emulate the various team members.
In terms of the adventure structure, you could copy the movie almost directly, giving the characters the exact same mission, and throwing the same obstacles in their way. Of course, there are various twists and turns that might not be possible to replicate, but you can stick to the basic plot beats. If your players have seen the movie, you might want to mix things up a bit for variety's sake.
In the movie, a lot of the characters die for the mission; how much you emulate that aspect will be up to your playstyle and the preferences of your group.
Advice: If you plan to copy the plot exactly, take some time to study the historical realities behind the movie, including details about Sun Yat-Sen, the Chinese United League, Empress Dowager Cixi, etc. Alternatively, have the same adventure structure, but place it in a different time period. Also, considering that firearms could be present in the setting, you might want to homebrew some rules for them.
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#3 Brotherhood of Blades (2002) - YouTube
Categories: Palace Intrigue, Conspiracies, Potential PVP
Pre-gen Characters Required: Yes
Suggested Game Style: Sandbox
Set in 1627, the movie tells the story of three "Imperial Assassins" who fall into a web of intrigue. Please note that "assassin" is a very bad translation, as the characters are actually members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a real-life imperial secret police in the Ming Dynasty. All three characters have differing motivations, and while they keep secrets from each other, they are loyal to each other down to the end.
This setup for this movie would be perfect for a small group of experienced roleplayers who don't mind keeping secrets from each other. Without getting into spoilers, I'll say that the actions of some of the characters in the movie prove detrimental to their friends in different ways. The characters all have their own secrets, and that is what drives much of the plot. The intrigue and plot twists of this movie could make for a great drama at the game table, as long as you have mature players who can handle some good PVP if it develops.
The backstories of the characters are crucial to the plot, so pre-gen characters would be ideal. That said, if your players have seen the movie already, or are good at creating complex characters, you could always work with them to create custom characters.
Advice: If you use custom characters, make sure their secrets and back stories relate to the plot. Also, do some research into the Embroidered Uniform Guard, as well as the notorious historical eunuch Wei Zhongxian, who is one of the main antagonists in the movie. He and the Eastern Depot are historical realities that contain boundless opportunities for wuxia roleplaying.
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#2 Bride with White Hair 2 (1993) - Prime
Categories: Teamwork, "Dungeon Crawl", Heist
Pre-gen Characters Required: Probably
Suggested Game Style: Dungeon Crawl
There's one thing I need to get out of the way first: I hate this movie. If you're a fan of the first film, and haven't seen this sequel, don't expect the two to be alike at all. That said, it's a great foundation to use for a "dungeon crawl" or "heist" wuxia. I don't recommend trying to emulate the plot exactly, other than perhaps the opening hook. However, the aspects of the movie that relate to their mission of sneaking into a fortified location can be easily ported over to a wuxia "dungeon crawl" or similarly themed game.
Pre-gen characters would work great, as you could create characters with specific skills and abilities needed to get past the traps and obstacles they will encounter on the way to the target destination. Adding in a few backstory elements tying characters to the enemies they'll meet could also add a nice flair.
Advice: If your players don't mind their characters dying (for instance, if you run this as a one-shot with pre-gen characters that they don't really care about), then make sure all the challenges they face are dialed up to 10 in terms of lethality. Just warn them that a TPK is highly possible!
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Category: Bodyguard, Escort, Plot Twist
Pre-gen Characters Required: No
Suggested Game Style: Linear
This is a cult favorite for many who are fans of Shaw Brothers wuxia films. While I don't particularly like the costumes, just about everything else about it is genius. It starts out as a fairly straightforward escort job, with a journey fraught with traps, ambushes, etc. Throw in a powerful group of antagonists, some unexpected twists, and great characters that could make either PCs or NPCs, and you have a goldmine of material to draw on for a one-shot. It's sort of like Magnificent Bodyguards (see above), except infinitely better in terms of being a good movie.
Because this is an "escort iterm from point A to point B", you can generally follow a linear plot, as the players will most likely have no choice but to proceed along the road toward the destination.
Advice: One of the characters in the movie is a drunken constable who would make a great NPC "guide" if you have less-experienced players, or if you want to have a bit more control as the GM.
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I hope these ten movies can provide you with some good inspiration to creat your own wuxia one-shots, adventures, and campaigns. And while they're specifically selected with Righteous Blood, Ruthless Blades in mind, they could work with virtually any system, even non-wuxia games.
Friday, January 1, 2021
10 Wuxia Movies that make Perfect RPG One-Shots (Part 1)
10 Wuxia Movies that make Perfect RPG One-Shots (Part 1)
Whether you're a wuxia junkie or just passingly familiar with the genre, it can be a challenge to find wuxia movies that truly work well as RPG adventures. Truth be told, most wuxia movies are just not easily adapted to the game table. For instance, while Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) is widely regarded as a masterpiece, its heavy use of dramatic character interactions and extremely specific plot developments make a bad choice to convert into an adventure. Bride With White Hair (1993) is another classic, but the importance of dramatic misunderstandings and unexpected plot twists make it virtually impossible to port into game format. And Dragon/Wu Xia (2011), despite being one of my favorite films, is so specifically tied to the two lead characters, the mystery that surrounds them, and the shifting viewpoint, that turning it into an RPG session is basically impossible.
However, I've identified ten movies that can easily be converted into one-shot adventures for Righteous Blood, Ruthless Blades, the first five of which I'll talk about here, with the other five being covered in an upcoming blog. With a bit of work, these movies can also be turned into multi-session adventures or campaigns. Or they could be inserted into existing games for a change of pace or to start the players down a new path. Regardless, by spending a couple hours with any of these movies, you can come up with plenty of adventure hooks, NPC ideas, twists and turns, and plot concepts.
In most of these examples, there are only one or two protagonists, while in an RPG, you'll likely have multiple players. But with a bit of tweaking, they can easily be adapted for groups.
Warning: There will be spoilers in the movie descriptions!
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#10 - Finger of Doom (1972) - YouTube
Categories: Horror, Mystery, Investigation
Pre-gen Characters Required: Maybe
Suggested Game Style: Linear
This creepy wuxia flick revolves around a group of martial brothers unraveling the mystery of the disappearance of powerful martial artists in the Jianghu. The titular technique Finger of Doom turns people into zombies, and the movie features scheming antagonists and a rivalry between two powerful women who can use the Finger of Doom. The GM could easily have the players take the role of the investigators. Having pre-generated characters for the players would be an easy way to inherently connect them to the plot, for instance, by having one of the initial victims be part of their group, similar to the movie. That said, allowing the players to use their own characters would work just as well.
In the movie, the investigators get picked off one by one and turned into zombies, which is probably not the best aspect to emulate for most game groups. However, most of the main plot beats and the antagonists could be lifted straight from the movie and put into a one-shot. Furthermore, by throwing events at the players regardless of their progress in unraveling the mystery, similar to the way events play out in the movie, you could make your session very fast-paced and thrilling.
Advice: The Finger of Doom technique is key to the plot, so GMs will need to homebrew a Signature Ability to replicate it.
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#9 Web of Death (1976) - Prime
Categories: Powerful Item, Intrigue, Martial Arts Contest
Pre-gen Characters Required: No
Suggested Game Style: Sandbox
This classic movie revolves around a common wuxia trope that perfectly fits the Jianghu we created for RBRB. Competing interest groups are trying to acquire a powerful item, while at the same time, an important martial arts contest looms on the horizon. In the movie, the powerful device is a magical spider, the powers of which are similar to one of the Top Ten Weapons in Righteous Blood, Ruthless Blades, namely, the Mother of Lightning. Essentially, it's a device that can massacre large numbers of opponents. In the movie, a villainous member of the Five Poisons Clan wants to use the device to slaughter the righteous sects, who are planning the martial arts contest to decide who will lead the martial world. In replicating this adventure, the GM could have the players be members of any of the various factions. Plan events to start out similarly to the plot of the movie, but be prepared for the players to take the story in a different direction.
Advice: Let the players' actions determine how events ultimately play out. Some movie elements, such as the romantic subplot, would be difficult to pull off and should probably be avoided. That said, the romantic element could be an amazing twist if you have players that are inclined to form romantic relationships with NPCs.
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#8 The Duel (2000) - Prime
Categories: Mystery, Investigation, Martial Arts Contest
Pre-gen Characters Required: No
Suggested Game Style: Sandbox
This China Summer Blockbuster (well, it was really a Chinese New Year Blockbuster, but same idea), is based on a classic Gu Long novel featuring the wuxia detective Lu Xiaofeng. As the "duel of the century" approaches, Lu Xiaofeng investigates mysterious goings-on in the capital city and its surroundings. Of course, there's a shocking conspiracy to be rooted out. At the same time, a frenzy develops regarding the upcoming duel, and bets are being placed left and right, with all the shenanigans you might imagine. Running a one-shot based on this movie would be on the challenging side, as the GM would have to take a lot of care in planning out the clues, key events, plot twists, etc.
Advice: Draw primarily on the general plot idea and key events/clues/schemes, with less focus on trying to replicate the protagonist's actions in the movie.
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#7: The Fate of Lee Khan (1973) - Blu-ray - DVD - Prime (Rentable)
Categories: Assassination, Intrigue, Isolated Location
Pre-gen Characters Required: Maybe
Suggested Game Style: Sandbox
This King Hu classic is the perfect material for an assassination adventure. The assassins arrive separately at a remote inn in advance of their quarry, giving them time to make plans and meet up with allies. Tensions mount as enemy agents also arrive in advance, and plot twists occur, leaving the audience wondering if the plot will be pulled off successfully. For the most part, the antagonists and main plot beats could be lifted directly from the movie and used in an adventure. Having pre-generated characters for your player would be ideal, as you could create a team of assassins with varying skills and abilities that are intended to be used in different aspects of the job. However, player-generated characters could work just as well.
The Dragon Gate Inn series of movies (the first of which was also directed by King Hu) is similar to The Fate of Lee Khan, except that they involve the protagonists holing up in the remote inn while facing external threats, as they prepare to flee the country. To one extent or another, all of the various versions could be ported into one-shots.
Dragon Gate Inn (1967) -Blu-ray - DVD - Prime - YouTube (Rentable)
New Dragon Gate Inn (1992) - DVD
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011) - Blu-ray - DVD - Prime
Advice: Make sure to stick with the "remote inn" aspect. I once planned a complex adventure based on The Fate of Lee Khan, but made the mistake of setting the inn right in the middle of a big city. The players immediately derailed all of my plans, and the adventure turned out nothing like the movie (it was still a blast, just not what I had initially planned). Having the players isolated in the remote wilderness or frontier will make the scenario easier to manage. It will also be easier to replicate the mounting tensions as mysterious individuals arrive at the inn, and plots are hatched.
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#6: Killer Constable (1980) - Blu-ray - DVD - Prime
Category: Mystery, Bloodbath, Traveling
Pre-gen Characters Required: Maybe
Suggested Game Style: Linear
This gritty and violent film follows one of China's top constables as he tracks down thieves who robbed the imperial treasury. As you might expect, there's a big twist in the end. The most relevant aspect of the movie is the ruthless personality of the protagonist, which makes this a great candidate for pre-generated characters. If the players are willing, they could even form a team of merciless constables who follow the general philosophy of the movie's main character, which is basically "kill all lawbreakers". Regardless of how you handle the characters, the main plot hook and the various twists and turns can be easily duplicated in a one-shot session. For the most part, the plot follows the structure of: 1) Travel to next location 2) Uncover clue. 3) Fight. 4) Back to 1. Because of the fairly linear nature of the plot, the GM will need to exercise caution to avoid railroading the players.
Advice: Make sure the players have plenty of opportunities for bloodshed in the form of weak NPCs who can easily be defeated in waves. That said, make sure to emulate the desperate nature of many of the combat scenes. And if possible, have a major "darkest moment" replicating how the main character ends up in a no-win situation and is severely wounded.
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In the next installment, I'll get into my "top 5 wuxia movies that can be converted into one-shots," including a few that were released in recent years. Check it out here!