Hong Kong Action Theatre: Difference between revisions

The game has players playing actors who star in Hong Kong action movies. But this is not a game about doing the boring stuff that real actors have to do sometimes (such as dealing with staff and crew, redoing takes, dealing with the public, etc.), but is more of a framework for running action-packed one-shot "movies," with the characters playing different "roles" in the movie, doing crazy stunts to earn Star Power, and kicking copious amounts of ass in the process. Every character is a martial arts dynamo as well as a [[Gun Fu]] god, and while the roles they play may change from movie to movie, the overall character remains the same -- thesame—the character's basic fighting style stays with the character from movie to movie, and the character has a Signature Move that can be counted on to show up in each movie, such as Bruce Lee's habit of flipping out when an enemy makes him bleed, Jean-Claude Van Damme's habit of doing the splits, Chow Yun-Fat's penchant for chewing on toothpicks, Jackie Chan's spectacular leaping from great heights, Arnold Schwarzenegger's "I'll be back" [[Catch Phrase]] and so on.

HKAT's difficulty ratings in combat are based directly on how important a character is to the general plot rather than their general skill ratings. Characters of no Importance are typically innocent bystanders who generally don't offer any reason to be attacked (and often make for prime [[Kick the Dog]] fodder for the bad guys). Characters of Minor Importance ([[Mook|Mooks]]s and [[Red Shirt|Red Shirts]]s) are among the easier targets to hit and tend to go down in droves. Characters of Moderate Importance (minor named characters) are the standard for named Extras and are a bit tougher to take out than Minor characters. Characters of Major Importance comprise [[Player Characters]], important allies and major villains including [[The Dragon]], and Extreme Importance is reserved for the [[Big Bad]] and other characters who are generally not taken down until the final scene.

* '''Bizarre Fantasy''' - This category of HK movies includes fantasy, sci-fi and horror movies. Bizarre Fantasy can use any plot under Gunplay or Martial Arts, but adds its own weird touch to the mix. [[Kung Fu Wizard|Kung Fu Wizards]]s, crazy [[Wire Fu]], magical weapons, truly bizarre creatures and other outlandish elements typify this genre, which includes many examples of [[Wuxia]] cinema as well.

[[Category:Tabletop GameGames]]