Roleplaying Games (RPGs)
Roleplaying games are an enjoyable form of group storytelling. Note that I
am referring to RPGs in their original incarnation, i.e. paper roleplaying games, played
by a bunch of people sitting around a table with some rules, character sheets and dice (as
well as plenty o' junk food and Coke!). Most people nowadays think
that RPG refers exclusively to a genre of computer game. I'm actually
a videogame designer by profession, but I was first published in 1986
in the paper roleplaying game field, and have enjoyed the past-time
for over 20 years now. |
| Anyway, there are a few published RPGs devoted to the Hong Kong film genre.
To my
mind the best is Hong
Kong Action Theatre, which perfectly captures the spirit of
the films. The game was originally published by Event Horizon Productions, but was
acquired by Guardians of Order in September 1999. Before they passed
beyond, EHP released Swords
of the Middle Kingdoms, a stand-alone game based on the HKAT system, set
in the mythical Chinese fantasy world of Wulin. Whereas HKAT is designed for
single session play, Swords is designed for continuous campaign play.
Guardians of Order fully revised the system and have published Hong Kong Action Theatre! 2nd
Edition and a wuxia supplement Blue Dragon, White Tiger.
I was involved with playtesting the new version, and am
pleased to report that it maintains the spirit of the original while
streamlining the rules. Less number crunching and more fu - it's a
great game.
An even more popular HK RPG is Feng
Shui, which has a devoted following across the Internet.
Originally published by Dedalus Games, it was out of print for a while, but Atlas
Games have recently acquired the rights and reprinted the core rules. Supplements
have also appeared. Lotsa folks dig Feng Shui, but I
personally find that it's in-built cyberpunkish campaign setting unnecessary
and annoying.
You can
order these games from the Australian games mail order outfit Military Simulations.
Coming soon and looking cool is Romancing
Cathay, a Three Kingdoms RPG which is currently being
designed. Also in production is Weapons
of the Gods, a wuxia RPG based on Tony Wong's popular comic
series.
On the web, Wizards of the Coast released Dragon
Fist online as a free PDF - it's a Hong
Kong fantasy world and supplement written by Chris Pramas for the original RPG chestnut, Advanced
Dungeons & Dragons. A revised D20 version will see print from
Green Ronin
in July 2003.
There are also some HK-flavoured RPG systems available exclusively
on-line: Once Upon a Time in
China is hosted right here and uses the Pendragon rules.
Outlaws of the
Water Margin and Cathay Arts of
Role Playing are original systems.
See below for plenty of links, and happy gaming!
|
Hong Kong
Action Theatre!
2nd Edition
Blue Dragon,
White Tiger
(for HKAT2)
Hong Kong
Action Theatre!
1st Edition
Feng Shui
Dragon Fist (AD&D)
|
