Monkey Man for TRPGs

 

Monkey Man is a modern action film (2024) that brings a different perspective to the screen in that the action takes place in India.

It engages in action scenes and sequences worthy of films like The Killer (2023 version), the Equalizer, the Beekeeper, and others, but I'd put it more in the sequence of John Wick.

While all of the main characters mentioned above are greats, the first three are often untouchable by their foes.

John Wick? Not so much.

And in Monkey Man, we are introduced to 'the Kid', who like John Wick, takes the abuse and keeps coming back for more.

But how can you use a movie set in India for your own games?

Sadly, many of the themes that run through Monkey Man are fairly universal.

Corruption: Here we see a system of corruption that runs through the whole of society. This includes the political, police, and religious figures. All have their fingers deep in the pie and all embetter themselves at the cost of everyone around them.

The Police: Having corrupt officers is a common theme in many countries. The opportunity to self-enrich while promoting the public good is all too often taken. This may result in the police literally stealing from people when they come across something the police think that the other people shouldn't have. "Where would you get this much money legally?" to acting as enforcers to other bad elements.

For an American take on corruption of the police, the movie Training Day or the television series the Shield should both be viewed.

The Priest: In a fantasy campaign, it can be more difficult to have a 'false' priest due to the nature of how, in many games that say use a pantheon, are directly powered by their gods. The gods are often a known factor it can be a little more tricky unless something takes out the actual god and then instructs those willing to follow it under the new mask root out all of those who are not 'heretics'.

In a modern game, a corrupt priest is far easier to see. America has many mega-churches whose teaches indicate a lot of worship of wealth. 

But what if in addition to the accumulation of wealth, they went out of their way to do other things? What if the church needed more land and a group of squatters needed to be removed?  Why then you call you good friends in the Police...

Tiers of Society: While officially the caste system is no more, much of its ramifications in Inda are still felt. So how does that work in other countries? In America, at least, anyone who thinks that there aren't different 'castes' of society isn't paying attention. These range from merely places to eat to places to be seen. 

If trying to use those elements in a campaign, the question is how the characters fit. In modern games like super-hero games, it's one thing for Tony Stark to be allowed access to someplace like The Hellfire Club, but it's quite another for someone like Peter Parker, the down-on-his-luck Spider-Man, to have the same access.

In such an instance, merely getting access TO those places is if not an outright adventure, a plot point. In Monkey Man, the Kid uses his network of overlooked poor people to first steal the purse of a powerful CEO and then personally return it to her, getting him a job on the inside. 

Not all entrances are through the front doors.

Drugs: While not a center point of the movie and further used to drive home the corruption and opulence of the upper class, drugs are a common sight in such situations and can be used as a reference point for many different elements. For example, disregard of the law. Illegal drugs were handed out like candy in special vials.  On the other hand, alcohol being served had a different purpose. It showcased that certain wines with certain meals and into certain glasses. Not knowing those things by default is seen as a mark of a lower classed person and for anyone trying to infiltrate such an organization, a dead giveaway.

Undesirables: Part of the tiers of Society is the haves. Those who dwell in the upper reaches of society, but then there are the have-nots. The undesirables if you will. And there are always more of them then there are of the upper crust.

In Monkey Man, we see this contrasted in many ways. From where the Kid sleeps amongst multiple others to the church he winds up taking refuge in after he's a wanted man. In that church, because the people dwelling there are 'undesirables', no one even thinks to look for the Kid there.

These unknown by greater society locations can act as a getaway from higher powers but that usually comes with a cost.

For example, in the comic the X-Men, one of their summer events was the Mutant Massacre where the Marauders went into 'the Tunnels' to take out the Morlocks. These 'Tunnels' were often underused and acted as a 'forbidden' place for normal people to go. If there are a few places like that known to the characters, allow them to take advantage of them to evade pursuers.

The Action: No discussion of Monkey Man and the Kid would be complete without discussing the action. While its a common theme, try to encourage players to have their characters take advantage of their local surroundings. Several of the fight sequences here take place where day to day activities have items that aren't used as weapons, but could be.

The Kitchen: The kitchen is the biggest example of this. Between a variety of heavy boards for cutting, dishes for plating, and well, silverware, including knives for cutting, the kitchen is a place where many things can be used as improv weapons.

Need to set something on fire in the kitchen? Between the various oils and fats and open flames, that shouldn't be a problem.  Need to set up an explosion? Are these gas stoves being used?

Dining Room: While not as dramatic as the kitchen perhaps, there are still plates and glasses. Breaking open a bottle of wine on an enemy's skull and then stabbing him in the throat with it are great examples of on hand weapons. This doesn't count things like jumping from table to table or bashing someone's brains out with a heavy chair. And if there's a bar in the dining room? Another place to jump atop and dual wield heavy bottles.

Monkey Man has a lot going for it and if you're running a modern campaign, fairly easy to lift wholesale into your own campaign in terms of ideas and characters. 

Creed (2015)

Lately, it seems I've been on passing the torch theme.

In Kevin Smith's Green Hornet, it's from father to son.

In Project Superpowers, it's the same characters taken out of commission magically and brought to the present day where they are sorely needed.

In Creed, it's the illegitimate son of professional boxer Apollo Creed coming of age and seeking out a mentor who knew his father in a way that only professional fighters would as Adonis Johnson Creed gains tutelage under the skillful hands and eyes of none other than Rocky Balboa, whom Creed affectionately calls "Unc."

The young Creed does a great job of being both outcast and silver spoon child. His youth finds him in a prison center for children separated from others for his continuous fighting. In walks Mary Anne, wife of Apollo Creed, and offers to take in the youth.

For those, like me, who've forgotten, Mary Anne is Apollo's wife. Adonis is not her son. It turns out Apollo had an affair and this son was born after Apollo died.

Mary Anne raises Johnson in style, providing him with a good life. Life much better than Rocky himself enjoyed at the end due to those issues he suffered in Rocky V. Still, Johnson isn't happy with a desk job and spends time fighting in Mexico where his record is 15-0 with those 15 victories being knockouts.

Quitting his day job, he seeks out Rocky for "real" mentoring. Rocky's reluctance to enter the ring in any guise again quickly folds under the determination and spirit he sees in Johnson. Soon the two are working as one with Johnson gaining greater skill under his teacher's watchful eye.

The impressive thing here is how Stallone pushes himself into the background. If you've seen Stallone's other recent movies, you know that despite his age, he's in fantastic shape. In Creed, there's none of that. He's well hidden and concealed behind layers and layers of clothes. This allows actor Michael B. Jordan to shine as Creed.

After bonding with the training, the opportunity comes for young Creed to start his professional career. Boxing is, after all, a business. Adonis claims another KO victory. This prompts more attention onto him, especially when people learn that he is the son of Apollo Creed. He'd been fighting under Adonis Johnson up to that point.

His "rival" in this instance has some build up. One of the professionals that Adonis fought early in the film laid him out soundly. That professional in turn was knocked out at a weight in by the fighter that now Creed has the opportunity to fight: Pretty Colan.

I've mentioned before how showcasing the strength of an enemy can be done by destroying a formerly shown strong rival to the hero? Yeah, hook, line, and sinker here. Colan's so strong he breaks the other guy's jaw at a weigh in. Scary right?

But Colan is going to jail for gun possession. To earn extra money, a fight with a "Creed", even if he is young and untested in the professional ring, is seen as a sure thing.

And this leads into more training!

Now on some levels, there are obvious callbacks to the original Rocky movie. The unknown against the great champ. The theme of "going the distance." The idea of mentors and their values. The numerous training montages. These are all solid devices.

But the film goes a little further in character development. Adonis is no Rocky. He's had a different life. While there has been the struggle, especially in acceptance of never getting to talk to his real father, he later young life was a breeze in comparison. His training under the legendary Rocky is no small thing either.

But the film pushes further. Rocky becomes a sort of father figure for young Creed. But is also diagnosed with Cancer and after seeing the treatments fail to help his wife, Rocky declines them, prepared for death.

Adonis and Rocky decide they will fight together! It's an interesting choice as they don't shy too much from the effects of chemo and the damage it causes to both the physical aspects of a person, or the appetites of a person. Especially telling when it's an Italian who's been shown to enjoy eating rich food.

Creed has some technical bits that were off when I viewed it. The use of Green Screen is blatantly obvious in the last fight where the two boxers are clearly the only thing in the actual room and everything else has been added afterward.

But that's a minor complaint in all. I suspect as the screens get better, especially with Ultra Definition or HD 4 or whatever professionals are calling it now, those flaws in old movies will only be more obvious. It'll be like watching DVDs of old 50's horror movies and laughing at how obvious it all seems.

I'm not a sports fan but Creed is a worthy addition to the Rocky series and sets up things to move forward with or without Rocky as a contributing cast member. If you've enjoyed the original Rocky and the recent version of it where Rocky is older but still fighting, Creed is in that vein.

Star Trek Beyond

Hard to believe that the new Star Trek franchise is already on it's third film. Star Trek Beyond brings the cast of the previous two films and their evolving plot lines back around. This will be my "spoiler free" thoughts on Beyond.


I saw it in Imax 3-D with immersive technology or whatever they are calling it. What I call it is loud! I felt like Grand Pa Simpsonwhere he's screaming that they need to turn it up and people's heads are exploding.

In terms of movie review, it's quality summer fair.

Sound? Check. Things blow up nice and loud.

Visuals? Check. Colors are crisp and bright and dark and shadowy as appropriate.

Plot? If you overthink it, it's going to go by the wayside. The big "reveal" actually caught one of my friends by surprise but me and another friend were like, "Yeah, I know where this is going..."

Character designs? Space battles? Destruction of the Enterprise?

Solid designs on the bad guys and the new alien ally. There's several nods to the previous Star Trek series in that in the dreaded real world, actor Leonard Nimoy recently died and that is tastefully incorporated into the film at a few moments of introspection.

Space battles are done well giving a sense of different styles of combat that in this particular setting, we haven't seen before.

The albino design on the alien with the blue markings, Jaylah? The new main bad guy Krall? The ship and technology that Krall uses to devastating effect against the Enterprise? All thumbs up.

Of course there are moments for the "Three" if you will, Jim, Spock, and Bones. They are the foundation on which the other members move around. In many ways, most Star Trek movies and stories are not about the aliens, they are not about the dangers. They are about the relationship these three have.

This is true even when there is a push to make things more inclusive. No matter how much the theory of inclusivity is pushed, the standard ring of three remain the backbone in this film from which all things move forward.

Spock having a hard time in his relationship with Uhura? Well, heck, that's not as important as how his relationship with Kirk is going.

Jim thinking of leaving his ship for a promotion? Again, not as important as hanging with Spock!

Bones being bones and providing a nice chunk of humor here?

And it's not that other actors don't get a few minutes here and there. I'd even argue that outside of the big three, the biggest 'star' of the movie is Scotty. It's Scotty who finds a native ally in Jaylah. He gets a nice chunk of screen time and his sense of humor works well here.

If you're a fan of the new cast and want to see a summer blockbuster, this is a great movie to see at the theater to beat the heat.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

I rarely get to the theater that often but have been fortunate enough that the last few I've seen have been great entertainment for completely different reasons.

Prior to seeing Mad Max Fury Road, I took my girlfriend to see Woman in Gold. Very solid movie, very moving.

My mom is getting on in age but she still loves many genres of music and movies. I asked her if she wanted to see Mad Max Fury Road. She was excited. Last movie she had seen in the theater was Django.

Since she gets out even rarer than I do, I sprung for the 3-D version.

It was well worth it.

Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron play broken action heroes in a world that makes no sense and should not exist.

It is a world with beautiful vistas consisting of barren landscapes with a surprising amount of variety to them. If they are not racing through desert sands, they are blasting through rocky badlands. If they are not stuck in mud and rain, they are fighting nature itself surrounded on all sides by tornadoes of sand and lightning of massive size and scope within sandstorms of such fury that smaller vehicles are thrown away like toys from a bored hand.

In many ways, the vehicles themselves are characters. While the introduction, as several previous movies in the series have done, relies on separating Max from his iconic vehicle, we get to see many more of all shapes and sizes. The weathering effects on these would be great for anyone interesting in seeing how metal ages and corrodes.

The visuals are so arresting I'm strongly considering getting the art book behind the movie. It looks like it has a lot of takes on how the world eventually evolved into what I saw in the theater.

Previous Mad Max movies have been filled with characters whose designs and catch phrases are so unique and iconic once seen, that they become meme's long after the movies have been in the theaters. Given that this is 2015, I'm sure that the main villain, Immortan Joe, played by an actor who was in the original Mad Max movie (no relation), is going to have numerous quotes attributed to him as are those who follow him and fight against him.

There are so many unique looking characters, that I'm eager to see Fury Road again. So many unique designs ranging from the 'Half-Life' warriors to the various musicians lead by a guitarist atop moving vehicles shooting fire out of the guitar. The soundtrack, at least the instrumental part, is pulse pounding and keeps the blood racing along with the drivers.

In terms of story and dialog, the film is razor thin. It's not that there is no dialog, but the movie's strengths don't rely on words. It's not that there isn't a story, but it's very basic on the surface.

Rather, the movie is about the action. While there are a few notable exceptions, such as when Max is trying to escape 'The Citadel', most of the film actually occurs on the move. Charlize Theron, playing a piston armed cyborg, Furiosa, drives a massive vehicle and is armed to the teeth. After an initial stand off with Max, the two work to escape from Immortan Joe.

This involves not only fighting off the hordes of Immortan Joe and his strange family, including a son whose strength no man is a match for, as well as his gun totting grand father and accountant brother who keeps a tally of the cost, but the people whose lands they cut through. This allows Max and Furiosa to fight several varieties in mad chase scenes and fiery explosions as opposed to one large showdown.

As someone who enjoys thinking about world building, one of the interesting things here, is that unlike just the pure quest for oil in the Road Warrior, we have a bit of mythology building here. Some weird type of Norse live a violent warrior life forever if you die in combat clashing against say, Max's only goal, that of survival. It's an interesting contrast and reminded me a bit of Beyond Thunderdome where there's a bit of setup and logic in how the people see themselves.

Max Max Fury Road is easily a film worth seeing on the big screen. The explosions, the chase, the characters. They don't have to be seen in a big screen but the experience will only be better for it.

I is For Iron Man

Another character that needs no introduction, Iron Man is a superhero whose origins actual start not in some modern post Middle East country, but rather, Vietnam where a young Tony Stark was captured after being injured by a mine. Using super science to save himself and at the same time, create suit of armor, the invincible Iron Man was born.

Vietnam?

Yup.

Marvel Comics uses this thing called a 'sliding' scale so that whenever a character would be aged beyond a reasonable doubt, the real world events are switched over to something more modern and sensible. Back when Iron Man was first created , 1963, Vietnam was something recent as opposed to now (2015) where the Middle East is still a hotbed of activity.

This is, again, one of the reasons I try to recommend people look beyond the current crop of what's popular.

While the Iron Man movie franchise of movies has been entertaining, and Robert was a brilliant casting decision, fully showing what superhero movies can be, it's a very modern take on the character. While I'm not going to say that the original comics are works of art, some stories hold up better than others, it's a fascinating look at where we thought technology would be at the time.

Think about it. In 1963 they came up with the idea for someone who could create a suit of armor that is both defense and weapon. That had a myriad collection of abilities. That would evolve and change with the times. That would get specific suits to deal with specific menaces. That's a lot of imagination today, much less over forty years ago.

Another interesting aspect of the historical read? Crimson Dynamo, Black Widow, and Titanium Man are all Russian superhero counters to Iron Man, brought on by the Cold War. Modern readers may not even have the proper context for what that means. It's almost like being a historian, picking up clues as to what type of society Iron Man was created in and his stories told in. The comics reflect the culture.

Another thing? Hawkeye. While popular in the movies, Hawkeye was initially Iron Man's enemy until he became a hero. A redeemed soul so to speak. It's a showcasing of how things progress over longer periods of time, as opposed to a movie that at best has over an hour to bring in all that character development and special effects. 

One inexpensive way to get some of the back story of Iron Man, are the Essential collections.  It looks like the first few are out but secondary sellers have them.

For those not interested in such, Marvel Comics directly has an 'Unlimited' pass that allows you to read any of the digital comics on their website. It's usually about six months behind the current publication dates and it, last I had a sub, was a little bit chaotic in it's organization, but if you are a comic fan, it is well worth it.

Anyone have any favorite Iron Man arcs? Any arcs that are absolute garbage and should be avoided? Throw a comment into the old blog and share those hits and misses.

H is For Howard

Back to the semi-regular A to Z Challenge.

H is for Howard.

Robert E Howard to be more specific.

On one hand, some people might think that Robert E Howard needs no nod, needs no recommendation, needs no introduction.

I would ask those people how they enjoy Robert's historical fiction. How they like his Western stories. What they think of his horror writing. How they like his boxing tales. Yes, a genre devoted to boxing! Hey, the 20s and 30s were a different time man, don't judge!

For some people, I don't want to generalize and say most, but for some, Robert E. Howard only comes to their mind thanks to the movies about Conan. With three movies under his belt and another supposedly on his way, Conan has earned a bit of that fame. No shame in that.



Some might have been introduced to Robert E Howard though one of the other movies including Kull or Solomon Kane. Neither of which actually has much to do with the material it was based on. Well, in that aspect at least the Conan movies share some similarities as much of the material in the movies has little to do with the fiction.



Outside of the movies, Robert E. Howard has benefited greatly from the efforts of +Dark Horse Comics who have not only kept Conan alive and relevant in today's market, but have also brought many of his lesser known characters, including the aforementioned Kull and Solomon Kane, to comics. Even better, they have reprinted many of the older books, including the magazines. This brings the older era of comics to a modern audience who otherwise would not have that historical context to enjoy. For an example of not Conan action, check out tehir Robert E. Howard's Savage Sword with a free preview here.

Equally important, not that long ago, Del Rey publishing brought back numerous stories and not just Conan. This allows those with an interest in one of the giants of many genres, not just sword and sorcery, but horror, history, pulp, and western, to get a taste of tense, action packed writing.

When I talk about a solid foundation, one of the benefits of reading material written long ago, is no matter what the author's intention, you also get a touch of the author's time. Robert E. Howard was no stranger to the recently ended horrors of slavery. He spoke with numerous people whose relatives had been freed in living memory. Whose relatives might have directly come from Africa. He knew the horrors of the boom town. The lure of money and the desolation of the wastes. His America was a different one that we currently live in.

Take some time and get to know Robert E. Howard beyond Conan, beyond Solomon Kane, and beyond Kull. You'll be glad you did.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Rare is the time I get to see a movie while it's in the theater. Yesterday however, while visiting Adepticon to pick up my Kickstarter rewards from Tectonic Craft Studios, my amigos and I had some time to kill and visited the local AMC Theater and saw movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Very good movie and while I'm not sure it's the 'best' super hero movie or even the 'best' Marvel super hero movie, it's well worth watching.

One, while it uses a good deal of humor and has some catchy bits, it's also got a lot of gravitas to it. The situations are taken from many concerns people have these days in terms of security versus freedom. It may not be a movie of the times, but it is certainly reflective of the times.

Two, the action sequences are fantastic. I'm not one of those who mourns the death of 'shaky' camera when it comes to fight scenes, nor was I ever a fan of seeing little of the action in exchange for seeing some dude's face grimacing in pain and wondering what the hell was actually going on. The scenes are shot in enough detail and speed where you get the 'full effect' so to speak.

Three, the scenery. Not all of the action takes place in exactly the same spots. We have a battle on the freeway that is worthy of comparison to the Matrix II as well as many other great scenes.

Four, the characters. While this is a great Captain America moment, the 'secondary' characters like Nick Fury, Black Widow, and the Falcon, all have great moments of their own. They might not necessarily have the 'character' moments that Captain America himself does, but they get their share of the action.

If you're interested in getting more background on the comics this movie draws from, I recommend the following:

Captain America: Winter Soldier Vol 1: $3.99 in Kindle format.
Captain America: Winter Soldier Vol 2: $8.79 in Kindle format.
Captain America: Civil War: $3.99 in Kindle format.
The Death of Captain America Vol 1: $3.99 in Kindle format.
Captain America: Road to Reborn: $3.99 in Kindle format.
Captain America: Reborn: $3.99 in Kindle format.

Ed's strength in the comics, is that he was able to take elements like the Civil War that was going on in Marvel at the time and adapt them to the story he was already telling. A lot of these were on sale so they make a great jumping on point for those who enjoy comics.

I'll be doing spoilers next so for those who want no specific spoilers, read no further.

First, I'd like to thank Ed for breaking the rules of 'no one stays dead in the Marvel Universe except Bucky and Uncle Ben' For decades that was an excepted rule and was rarely broke. There was much fan angst about it when it happened but damn if a lot of great stories haven't come out of the whole thing.

In addition, while issues like work for hire and ownership of things continue to crop up in the comic industry, especially as the become mega movies, if you're able to, really LOOK and experience the movie, and then look and experience the original comic books. No, not the ones I'm suggesting you read about Winter Soldier, but like, Avengers #4. You know, the one from 50-60 years ago. Those comics, regardless of how great a footstep they started, have very little to do with the movies success today. Thank the current creators and artists who've made the movies, in my opinion, that much better than the previously were in decades past.

In terms of specifics, I thought that there was some weaknesses to the movie. When you look at villains, the Winter Soldier, due to his training and his physical augmentation in the form of at least a robotic arm, make a great foil for Captain America.

Someone like that is needed due to the sheer physical power Captain America brings in the movies. At the start of the movie, Steve, good old Captain America in civis, is lapping a fellow runner over and over and not actually trying to, he's just that good.

As the movie progresses and we see just how good he is, you might wonder, what can stop him? Apparently a super soldier who Steve knows and doesn't necessarily want to fight, but rather save, is the answer.

And again, the action sequences between the Winter Soldier and Captain America aren't the problem. It's that 'Bucky' isn't necessarily the villain. He's just the hammer if you will.

The real 'villain', Robert Redford playing Alexander Pierce, is completely wasted. We don't really get a good grip on why he does what he does or even what the whole 'Hydra' mission is about. It's hard for me to take it seriously when in his current position he's always got pretty much everything he wanted. There's really no 'agenda' outside of Pinky and the Brain methodology. What exactly would Pierce get in his new world order? He also gets so little screen time that I think his talents are wasted.

When building your villains, it's always great if the players have good fights and challenging fights. If they can use the environment around them and challenge their enemies in different ways while facing threats that might not normally be part of the standard.

But if the end result is some dweeb that doesn't really have an end game plan in mind? M'eh.

Another nice thing about the movie, is that it's essentially accepted that this is the Marvel Universe. They don't spent any time on the 'origin' of the Falcon. He's a soldier who happens to know how to use a specific type of super suit. We don't have to have a special origin tale to determine how he got it, or how Bucky as the Winter Soldier has a bionic arm. We can just accept those things now.

In terms of 'big', it's also great to see that the Marvel Studio isn't afraid to shake things up. By the end of the film, S.H.I.E.D. is in shambles and things appear to have taken a very different turn than anyone would probably have assumed they would. With the 'mega' structure that brought characters together previously, how will future movies like the Avengers work? How will the television series itself continue? Marvel has a little bit of a hook here with this option.

Three Outlaw Samurai by Hideo Gosha

My membership to +Hulu expires every now and then and every now and then I feel a need to watch some Samurai action. +Hulu for whatever reason, appears to have an excellent relation with +The Criterion Collection , a company renown for their taste in films and giving those films 'deluxe' treatment and restoration but perhaps more importantly to the people I know, tons of Samurai films including the classics like Yojimbo, Samurai trilogy, and Seven Samurai.

When looking for something new to watch, I recognized the title Three Outlaw Samurai from another movie I watched not that long ago, Sword of the Beast. (I think the guy was also in Kill!)While I haven't written about that one, one of the actors from there is present here as well so that was a plus for me. Being a selection on Hulu from The Criterion Collection was another plus.

Looking into the history of the movie, it's old, from 1964 and it's DVD and bluray versions are fairly recent, 2012. It's apparently based on a television show of the same name, which I've never seen available. This is an 'origin' tale in how the Three Outlaw Samurai first met and joined together if Wiki is to be believed.

So on it went to the old Samsung Pro 12.2. Let me tell you, I've been using that tablet to watch cartoons like Ugly Americans and Bob's Burgers, but it did a fantastic job streaming Three Outlaw Samurai. I have to imagine that a lot of the crispness of the image and the quality of the sound, even from that tablet, was due to the excellent restoration job that the guys at Criterion did.

In terms of plot, pacing, and characters, Three Outlaw Samurai doesn't necessarily follow the 'standard' that other movies have often utilized, but it does have elements of them. There will be some spoilers below so if you'd rather have none, go sign up for a trial of Hulu or buy the DVD and enjoy it's awesomeness.

But in terms of cliches that work well because, well, they're still true today in the  dreaded real world?

For example, corrupt government? Check. Corrupt isn't necessarily the correct word here if taken into the full context of 'evil'. Rather, there are instances in the samurai society that when a man's word is given, especially between two samurai, that it's unbreakable. Such is NOT the case here where words are exchanged, punishments agreed on dealt out, but then instead of letting things go, power and appearance of power must be maintained and so the honorable thing is left to the wayside.

Note that this 'corruption' goes further than that. For example, while the farmers are rebelling against what they feel are unfair payments and taxes they must make, due not to their unwillingness to pay mind you, but poor harvest thanks to seasonalities that they can't control, they take prisoner the daughter of the magistrate. In turn, the magistrate takes prisoner one of the farmer's daughters and has her beaten in front of the farmers to demoralize them and get his daughter back. The daughter knowing the importance of her father's mission though, bites her tongue off in order to prevent herself from being used any further against the peasant cause.

Incompetent government? Check. Note that the two things are not quite the same. Towards the end of the film, when the outlaw samurai are fairly easily dispatching the foes sent against them, the 'villains' decide to burn the mill that the samurai are hiding in. If that had been done at the start of the film, the whole thing would've been vastly different.

Nobility: This one is a little trickier. In A Game of Thrones, Ned Stark has been dead since the end of season one. His name is still invoked by people who talk about how much they respected him and what he tried to do and what he stood for. It winds up getting some killed and winds up in part, setting some on a different path. The presence of nobility, or a noble spirit, even when set against another, such as the case of Shiba and the things he forces the magistrate's daughter to see as they really are.

Status Change: One of the things that threads its way through the story, is that the peasants may be poor off, but the Samurai as a caste, are not doing much better. The magistrate, while having his own forces, hires various thugs and prisoners to do his dirty work because the samurai are out of work and hungry. Not hungry for work mind you, but literally hungry. Their era as knights who are well provided for due to their nature of being on the front line, is no longer needed.

Faceless Hordes: One of the things about many Samurai movies, is that there are 'skilled' samurai and then people who pretty much hold a sword and hope that they don't get in a fight. The Three Outlaw Samurai are of course the former but if you were using a game system that didn't say, involve morale, even they would fail to the faceless hordes. Instead, when the Three Outlaws prove their merit, and do it quickly and with style, those who aren't 'professional', such as hired ronin, tend to flee, or breakaway and reform.

Status Unchanged: In Seven Samurai, one of the classics of the genre, even though the heroes have triumphed at the end of the movie, things haven't really changed. The peasants are going to continue to have a hard time of things just without the bandits. The samurai who are dead will get no hero burial. Their legends will not live on. Here, despite the broken promises of the magistrate and despite all those killed, the peasants don't rise up, the world doesn't change. The Three Outlaws survive and go onward to new adventures but the world remains much as it was at the start of the film.

Wandering Ronin: The initial meeting between Shiba and the peasants occurs because Shiba is a wandering ronin. The other two he eventually teams with, are also wandering ronin, even though initially one of them is a retainer for the magistrate. Problem with being a ronin working for a corrupt magistrate is that you've completely expendable.  In many ways, role playing games are built off of the whole concept of wandering adventurer so much so that these adventurers have come to jokingly be called 'murder hobos'.

Three Outlaw Samurai is worthy of being considered a classic of the genre and its many twists and turns can easily be incorporated into most types of role playing games.

IMDb entry found here.

Wiki entry found here.

Amazon Sales: Kindle, blu-Ray and other goods

For March, I'll didn't run through the kindle sales list of $3.99 or less because nothing there looked appealing to me.

Today though, for their Gold Box deal of the day, Amazon decided that they would like a little (or a lot) of my money. Some great deals on the various kindle format books. 

Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales [Kindle Edition]: $1.99. I've read a few of Ray's stories in my 42 years and this is almost a thousand pages of goodness. 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia [Kindle Edition] another classic. I'll be Honest, I haven't read this in about 20-25 years but it's the start of one of the oldest fantasy series out there and it's been made into Television and movies so if you want to get an inexpensive start to the series, here's the first one for $1.99.

American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition: A Novel [Kindle Edition] Sometimes you want something a little more modern and Neil Gaiman doesn't disappoint. If you want to see what gods would be created like in the modern world and have something different to enjoy, Neil's book is on sale for $1.99.

Coraline 10th Anniversary Edition [Kindle Edition], another book by Neil Gaiman and well, 10th anniversary shows it has some staying power and also has a movie based on it. Also for $1.99.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance [Kindle Edition] by Robert Pirsig is one I'm throwing up here not because it's fantasy or science fiction but because it's one of those books I read in college and thought it a very intense story and one worth reading again. For $1.99 it's an inexpensive volume. 

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. Here's I'm asking for opinions. Anyone read this? It looks more up my mom's alley but I think she read it when it first came out. For $1.99 though I wouldn't mind rebuying it, especially as it doesn't take up much shelf space.

There are a few other books that look to be good based on what I've heard of them. Anyone have any particular recommendations on them?

In other items though, it's Joss Whedon week.  The funny thing is, most people probably interested in the stuff on sale here, yeah, they probably already have it because he tends to build up a large fanbase.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Series on dvd, not bluray, for $63.99. Hate to say it but never really a big fan personally. In most situations, the genre itself isn't my thing although there are some gems in the series. 

Firefly: The Complete Series ah, now we're talking. The dvd is $12.99 and the bluray $18.49. 

Angel: The Complete Series another one I'm going to confess to never being a fan of. Heck, I haven't even seen any of these to tell you if there are any 'gems' within it's borders. Has a lot of fans though and it's been at a few comic book companies so there has to be some appeal eh? $56.99 for the whole thing. 

Sopranos: $139.99. I'm so out of touch, I don't know if that's a good price or not. A family based crime drama where, like many of the better series, it's all about the characters. Well worth checking out for those who never have. 

Well, I think that's enough spam for this morning. Anyone have any particular favorites? I saw that they had the Dollhouse on sale as well but to be honest, have no clue about the whole series. I've heard it referred to as a snore fest for example.

If you know anyone who might enjoy any of those sales, +1 and share it on.

Storage 24

So with the death of the Legends of the Five Rings game, I'm doing some reading on my own. I like Lorefinder for the Pathfinder game engine (essentially 3.5+) but I'm so pressed for time these days, I know that the chances of me actually running something straight out of the mind are slim to none. I need some prewritten adventurers to at least germinate and steal maps and other good stuff from.

Now mind you, I may still never run anything but...

I recalled the Grey Citadel, an old Necromancer Games adventure that had some mystery, some urban exploration, and some dungeon crawling. The author put a lot of stuff in there that I enjoyed, and the old Dark Loch website still has a lot of fun free stuff on it.

While reading through the Grey Citadel and thinking of how I'd 'convert' it or add some of that Lorefinder stuff to it, I decided to flip on Netflix and watch Storage 24, Wikipedia link here. It's essentially one of those alien hunting people through dark and twisted corridor type deals. You know, like Alien, Aliens, Creature, Abyss, Leviathan, and I'm sure a ton of other movies that I'm missing.

I was surprised in that it wasn't terrible. I was expecting something to just listen to in the background while I took some campaign notes but there were a few things that that I noted that are used time and time again in horror films so thought I'd point a few of them out in case you're wanting to run some horror scenarios or at least some 'bug hunt' style games.

1. Visibility is terrible. This can range from visibility being cut off by there being no light, to visibility being blocked because there are obstacles, like say spider webs or other opaque yet light objects in the way.

2. Previous Victims: The party should find previous victims of the creature. The wounds they suffered shouldn't be noticible at first. For example, the party approaches the victim from the side or from behind and when they tap them on the shoulder, the victim falls over dead or the party member pulls a blood soaked hand back. Sometimes these victims are hidden in say, the vents or closets or some feeding area that the party may find later. The victims conditions might provide the party an idea of how large a creature their facing, how it's bite is (mandibles versus fangs for example) as well as if the creature has talons like a bear or claws like a crab.

3. Extra Characters: If it's a bug hunt, be sure to put a few munchable NPCs in the mix. Give them a little personality so that when the beast eats them, the party members are motivated to stop the creature more than they might normally be.

4. Red Herring Characters: When the party first comes across the situation, perhaps they are completely unaware that there are monsters at all and think that the murders are being caused by a madman. This can lead to some interesting scenarios and potentially the party killing an innocent person.

5.Sound Effects: Many monsters, like say Godzilla, have their own unique roar. You know when you hear the enormous roar of Godzillia well before he's seen on the screen that he's around. Have some special sound effect you can use when the players are deciding their next course of action just to let them know that the monster isn't waiting for them.

6.Larger Implications. In the movie Storage 24, even as the characters inside are fighting for their lives, there are hints of something much larger going on in the background. When the plane carrying the alien first fails, there are special agents on the scene. There are a lot of military on the scene. When the characters catch news of the plane crash, they see that the city is filled with military and more is incoming. When the movie finally ends? The city is under attack by aliens in spaceships. Yeah, the movie went there. But in other movies, like Alien or Aliens, there are other things afoot that the characters may not initially realize. After all, Ripley didn't know about the Corporate uses for the alien until later, after the android on the ship almost killed her, and of course in the sequel when she's betrayed again to the corporation's needs.

7. Creature abilities. One of the reasons why you want to throw the lights out on the characters is that often, the creature has much better senses than those it hunts. It may see in the dark, it may not have eyes at all. It may have movement abilities that make it so that it can easily outrun any person or even car.

8. The Roof! In many of these style movies, the first thing that happens is someone is looking down at some blood dripping from... somewhere and then they get it into their heads to look up and wham! That sucker can stick to the walls and move through the vents like they were going out of style.  Giving the creature movement abilities means more than just making it faster than the characters.

9. Limited Room to Maneuver. In some games, characters can become powerful very fast. In some situations though, your ability to navigate is negated by not being able to move. For example, if you have to crawl through sewer pipes or through air ducts or vents or narrow hallways. The standard might be limited the types of weapons the characters can use as well as giving them the same penalty they might suffer as if they were prone.

Storage 24 isn't going to win any movie awards but its not a bad movie and hits all of the 'standard' bug hunt features tackled above as well as some interpersonal drama that if you can't figure out in the first few moments of the movie, aren't really paying attention.

The passing of a Kung Fu Icon Run Run Shaw

Blogger apparently ate my post so this is a report.  Or a prepost? Anyway...
As reported by New York times, NPR, and other sources, the 106 year old media master, Run Run Shaw, has passed.

I'm not a film scholar. I grew up one of those dumb kids who was 'reached' by the 'Kung Fu' that Run Run Shaw brought over many times in many movies.

Some of my favorites are below. Things to remember though. One, is these were often done on a low budget. Two, they have a different perspective than most Westernized films. At least most of them. Three, they're from a different time and period.

Fists of Fury: I could just go, "Bruce Lee" and that would make it one of my favorite movies. But that's nonsense. As old as I am, I was born in 1971 so I was maybe 1 year old when this first came out. There are a ton of m'eh versions of this movie out in terms of transfer but I hear this one isn't too bad but if you're looking for a definitive version, I hear searching Amazon.UK is your better bet.

Fists of Fury is one of those simple movies where Bruce's character is told, "Honor your promise and don't fight" but hey, he discovers that his working environment is not what is seems and so must break his promise! This movie is over forty years old and it still brings the Wushu.


Five Fingers of Death: Also known as King Boxer. Another one from 1972. One of the 'fun' things about this movie is it's one of the first ones I remember with a 'secret' technique aka the Iron Fist or Iron Palm, depending on your translation. It's got a LOT of fighting and well, if Kung Fu is your thing...


Looking up his movies, I think I may be running into some directed by the sons but were ones that I enjoyed so I'm springing them up here.


The 36th Chamber of Shaolin: Thinking that the Shaolin Monks and the mystic elements associated with them? This is one of the movies that would make a good starting point to see where all of that came from 1978! Here we have some kindly wise old masters and the outsider who wishes to learn their secrets to take the fight back against corruption! Heck, this one is even on blu ray.


There are a lot more but again, no scholar, just someone who enjoyed a lot of these films, but saw them when he was a younger man and honestly can't remember most of them. They turn into a blur of kung fu with angry students, wise old masters, and the deadly arts of hand to hand combat!


But there is one that he is an unaccredited producer of...

Blade Runner: Yup, this one has all sorts of editions including a four disk edition and a blu ray.  I myself had one of those ultimate edition things that was sadly destroyed in a move. Verily that sucketh!

With my buddies getting ready to run more Legends of the Five Rings, or L5R, I think that instead of the next Samurai I was going to do, a crab who actually tried to be sociable, it's time to review the Dragon and see if I can monkey up a monk for Friday.


What about the rest of wushu fans out there? Any particular favorites jump to the forefront? Any particular stories about Shaw that you think people should know about? Share the

47 Ronin (Movie 2014 version)

So 2014 has started off pretty good for me. I finished a good book, knocked out a couple of miniatures, and even took my mom to see 47 Ronin with Keanu Reeves among others.

It was not what I thought it was. This may be because the advertising did the movie wrong. For example, if you look at the poster I've got up here, we've got some freaky looking dude with awesome tattoos. Yeah, he's in the movie for like five minutes at most. The ads that I saw for the movie, were heavy on the supernatural action. There is that, but it is well spaced, almost secondary to the whole gist of the movie, which is the based on the tale of the 47 Ronin. Which by the way is an amazon kindle book for like $2.99 in a few varieties.

For me, the movie has more than enough to make it enjoyable. The costumes are fantastic, the landscape is lush and inspiring, the soundtrack is great, the visuals are stunning. The fight scenes are well done with numerous pieces of action that could fit into several genres. The story or at least the themes and elements that make the story so well loved, are close enough to the original that Keanu's role for me at least, wasn't a major distraction.

I'll be discussing specific spoilers below so if you'd rather have none, read no further.

1. The Outcast. Keanu Reeves is the outcast character Kai, a 'half' breed who was left to die and taken in by Tengu and escaped them and served the Lord Asano.  Now that in and of itself may make some people groan that 'Kai' has too much spotlight but interestingly enough, the key things that COULD have made Keanu too overbearing, at least for me, are absent. For example, he is a loner, but that's because he is a social piranha. He has a specialized set of skills and knowledge, but for much of the film, those things are useless. He's a great fighter, but he gets stomped on by the champion of the enemy, who appears to be a giant suit of animated armor as we never see the actual person under it.

But outcasts are fun. Games are filled with them. It's been a while since I've played Legend of the Five Rings, but that was one of the few games I remember, at the time at least, that being a Ronin sucked. There wer mechanics built into the game that made it hard to keep up with the clan samurai if you weren't one of them.

And Kai is outcast in that way too. He is not samurai. HIs social status is low and while a retainer for the lord, and having the love of the lord's daughter, and even some friendship among the samurai, he is treated poorly by most of them and yet knows his social standing and what role his future will take if he stays there.

2. Good planning is rewarded. One of the things that surprised me a bit was that the plan of the Samurai, for the most part, goes fantastic until it comes time for the very end game itself at which point something goes wrong, but it goes right for so long I was like, "Man, are they going to just pull the whole thing off without a hitch?" The planning works well and if your players have great plans and ideas, those should be rewarded.

3. Mini-Quests: When the 47 Ronin lose their master, they disband save for Kai who for some reason, instead of being killed, is just sold into slavery. One of the first things the Ronin do when getting back together, is seek Kai for his help in dealing with the witch of the enemy. Kai is a slave on a dutch island filled with all sorts of crazy characters and is fighting for his life in a gladiator arena when first spotted against what might as well be an ogre. The escape from slavery is short but well acted with lots of swordplay and a dash of fire to give the pursuers something else to think about. But men with no masters have no right to say, bear arms, especially katanas, the soul of a samurai.

Kai however, raised by Tengu, has the solution in something he calls, if I'm not remembering wrong, the Forest of Swords where the Tengu will give the samurai a gift of katanas if they can pass a test. It's a quick jaunt and showcases some very interesting visuals on the Tengu here who do not appear to be the traditional versions I've seen, and it has something for both the 'mundanes' and for Keanu himself to do.

Heck, part of the problem some may have had is there is too much in the time frame and that there needed to be more bits and elements given here. If this had done well, perhaps we'd have seen a movie showcasing what Kai was doing in the dutch island as a slave, perhaps we'd get to see some more of the giant warrior or the pirate with all the tattoos. A lot of potential in all those great sets and costumes.

4. Rivals: Spider Man, Bat Man, and other super heroes, have their very own rogue's gallery. Many super heroes do. Many characters in Manga, like Goku do. They have that one enemy that keeps coming back and who keeps increasing their own power in order to either beat the other character or simply to be the best at what they do. I thought for sure that after Kai was curb stompped by the big armored samurai that there would be a rematch but nope, that sucker gets blown up by explosives. It's a great scene and reminds me at least, that not everything has to come to one on one combat.

47 Ronin may not fit everyone's bill. It veers a bit from the historical version. It's heavily advertised with fantasy elements but doesn't have a LOT of them in there but at the end, I enjoyed it.

The Guillotines (2012)

So at Best Buy the other day looking over computers. My desktop has always been a piece of crap. Second Dell I've had that has been plagued by issues and well, it'll be the last Dell I have outside of those provided by corporate.

After deciding I'm too old and stupid to know what any of the new computers actually mean in terms of horsepower and monitor resolution, I wander over to the movie section. Man, it's been a while. The movie selection is terrible and takes up a small footprint in the store. Probably for the best though as people have Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, and Amazon Prime among other bits.

I saw this cover for the Guillotines and was like, "Man, that looks bad ass."

I then went home and watched it on Netflix.

Overall it has some nice scenery, a few good fight scenes, some fantastic costumes but what starts off with a tremendous high energy ass kicking winds up a morality tale about the Emperor of China. In that aspect it reminded me of Hero. Yes, I'm the Emperor and I've done all these terrible things but hell, it'll be worse without me so let me kill you now. Ugh.

If you enjoy movies for the fighting and other bits I've mentioned, enjoy the first say, thirty minutes and then take a nap or something. After seeing this, I want to see Rise of the Guillotines or something where we get two hours of awesome flying guillotine action!

Below I'll be discussing some of the things I enjoyed about the movie.

1. Style. When the Guillotines are first introduced, it's like a super hero team. They have unique weapons that launch flying weapons that resemble something between Krull's flying weapon and Xena's chakram. Their uniforms are also very stylishly designed. This gives them a unique and powerful look.

2. Obsolescence: Time marches on. The ability of the Guillotines to kill someone at ten paces is nothing compared to the new firearms that China has started using. In a role playing game, I would expect that the players would be some of the top notch users and that the average rifle user would be a mook. Here though, because it's about China and the Empire and it's rise to modernity, well, the Guillotines who were so viciously bad ass at the start of the movie are completely punk'd.

In a role playing game, playing against type, playing against the rise of technology, is a part and parcel of the game. For example, one Osprey book I'm reading, English Longbowman 1330-1515 put the decline, but still in use and still dangerous longbowman, in an era where guns are, if not common, at least on use alongside cannons. It's the skill set that the characters bring to the game that make it interesting. One of the more popular shows on television right now is Arrow and that's a guy with a fancy longbow in the modern era of automatic weapons showing he can make a difference.

There is also the role of the individual. Military is great for well, military action but not necessarily as useful in going into tombs and fighting against weird monsters. Specialists are useful for those types of things.

4. Specialized Group: The Guillotines are the fist of the emperor and his private assassins. The movie wavers a little in why they have to die. In most places you'd figure, "Hey, we've got these new weapons so we're going to upgrade you." or at the very least retire you. Giving the government the going to kill you to cover up your existence while sending out even better trained killers is a bit silly but sending them out because the players know something and are somehow dangerous to the government? Now that's something that can easily be done.

This can happen in a few ways. The players could be prophesied to kill the emperor. They could be local heroes and the emperor is jealous. They could have failed some subtle test that another power group that wants the character's spot put into place.

5. The Enemy of my enemy... When the movie starts, the Guillotines are hunting down a cult. They capture the leader by the name of 'Wolf'' but in a daring escape sequence that involves explosions and an excellent display of throwing knives, he escapes. The Guillotines are sent to recapture him, but during that same time frame, are written off as obsolete so as the Guillotines are punk'd by farmers and riflemen, the two that escape wind up working with Wolf. Roles can change rapidly when the tide moves against the characters.

6. Role Reversal: While I did not like the way the Guillotines were beaten down, I have no problem with the idea of it. Adventurers that have a guild or an actual social standing losing that standing is a long held part of story telling. Characters change roles and positions often. For example, Spider Man has gone from a solo hero who was essentially too broke to own a car to a top rated scientists and well, to other elements that might not be well appreciated but show the character and individual struggle against the elements arranged against him.

For example, when there is a reward put on the Guillotines and the common farming folk turn on them, well, I can't imagine a group of player characters getting butchered like sheep as the movie cast does. However, if there was say a Paladin or other good aligned character in the party, I can't imagine them just chopping and hacking their way free from the crowd either. The challenge of how characters deal with the change is what can propel the game forward.

A useful thing to keep in mind though, is what is the final result? In a role playing game, say in Baldur's Gate during 1st edition, if the players were members of the Flaming Fist and that group was outlawed, would the final goal be to restore the Flaming Fist to legitimacy in Baldur's Gate? To accept that their time there was ended? To fund a new organization somewhere far away and start anew? To tear down the city in a final blaze of glory?

The few action scenes we have, the awesome unique style of the weapons, the costumes and scenery along with the sets provide some great visual inspiration but the movie is not where I would have liked it to wind up in terms of type of movie. Check it out on Netflix and let me know what you think.

Riddick (Movie 2013)

Took the mother out to see Van Diesel in his latest movie, Riddick. It's a sequel to a character that's had a few video games, movies, and even a carton movie made about him. there was even a motion comic to help fill in between the previous movie, the Chronicles of Riddick, and this one.

As far as movies go, I didn't have a lot of expectations. I knew that it wasn't going to have the budget, the world hopping, the massive special effects or scale of the previous movie, but rather, would harken back to Pitch Black with some variances thrown into the survival horror bit. And I was pretty dead on in that assessment.

In terms of special effects and overall structure, it's not a terrible movie. The monsters look pretty slick, Riddick is at a very high competency level here, the story is simple but told in a way that I wasn't shaking my fist at the screen every fifteen minutes like I was with Elysium so thumbs up.

I'll be doing some spoilers below so if you want no spoilers for Riddick, read no more.

In terms of inspiration, it really is an old school type of adventure not necessarily in role playing purposes but in the genre it fits into. Riddick goes from being a king who doesn't want to rule to being an outcast refuge again. This is a bit harder to capture in a role playing game because character power level tends to only move in one direction and that's up.

However Riddick's personal fighting ability hasn't been diminished. Rather he manages to stay atop his game even when using improved weapons. This movie would make a good Dark Sun episode in those terms.

But in terms of using it for RPG purposes, well, it's so simple that it would essentially take up a part of a session. Step one would be stranding the players in a hostile territory. Step two establish some of the hostiles. Step three, provide a method and reason that the character needs to get out of the hostile territory right away. Everything else is character interaction.

By making the territory hostile, it changes from say, Cast Away, to well, Riddick. Without motivation to survive with action and deeds, the characters pretty much don't have a lot of potential motivation unless something big and important is happening where they left off.

Some games are able to do this with an island setting. others do it with demi-planes. Others do it with large ships like say, a Space Hulk.

In terms of establishing the hostiles, many games have specific creatures that are only native to one part of the setting, to one particular plane, or are just not used that often. The old adventure Island of the Serpent was one prototype of third party settings back in the Role Aids days although it wasn't Role Aids, and they crafted a ton of weird monsters for that local. It helps bring in flavor and design and shows how this area is different.

In terms of method and reason the characters need to go, if they have no way out or can't find one, again, the possible motivation to leave diminishes if not outright fades. In terms of needing to go? Aliens used a reactor getting ready to explode. Riddick uses a host of monsters riding from the ground when awakened by a rain storm. The need to escape is high in both instances because well, you gonna die if you stick around.

Riddick provides some great monsters and action moments for those looking for quick entertainment.

The Wolverine (Movie 2013)

I've been dying to see Pacific Rim but one of the few people I hang with and actually do things with was like, "No hoss, we gotta see the Wolverine. You know what I'm saying hoss? Screw them Go-Bot rejects fighting Rodan."

Since he was driving I allowed him to sway my decision and will hopefully get to see Pacific Rim tomorrow or soon as I suspect it, like the Lone Ranger, will be out of the theaters relatively soon. Too much competition this summer I'm afraid.

The short review? Action packed with a few twists and turns that shouldn't surprise anyone whose paying attention. Uses a few different bits of source material, throws it in the blender and comes out with a movie that's highly watchable. I saw it in digital 3-D and while I don't think it took anything away from the movie, I also don't think it added anything. It's not like you see the Wolverine clawing at your face or anything.

Below I'll be discussing some specific spoilers of the movie and how they may apply to different role playing games. If you want no spoilers, read no further.

1. Break the rules. In Dungeons and Dragons, magic items by level are generally a must. In super hero games, characters losing their powers and overcoming that disability is a standard ploy. In this instance, Wolverine loses the ability to heal. I'd say he's forced to rely on his other skill sets but that doesn't really happen. Much like Superman plowing through something that should kill him, Wolverine does the same here. It's not necessarily a bad thing but beware that some characters are NOT going to work around any disadvantages you place on them and may just launch themselves forward. Depending on how you run your game, that may be a death sentence in and of itself.

There are times though, when if the players have a great plan, you should allow it to blossom. For example, Death's Head in one of his older incarnations, in the graphic novel The Body In Question, is in a techno-magic zone that changes power source from technology to magic seemingly at random. Death's Head however has been rebuilt in the future from where he was originally created and his future technology is able to determine when the switch happens allowing him to get the drop on the bad guy at the best possible moment. Let the players win when they've earned it.

2. Multiple Factions. Depending on the setting, there may be multiple factions at work that actually work for each other. In the Wolverine, we have Wolverine essentially as a one man army. His love interest is the granddaughter in the Yashida family. Turns out the husband has arranged her marriage with a political faction but has also used that political faction to hire Yakuza to kill her because the patriarch of the family has left everything to the granddaughter. Throw in the grandfather having his own group of ninjas unrelated to the Yakuza and his own mutant enforcer and you have a nice variety of opposition for Wolverine to fight. This bit with multiple factions also allows the GM to throw a variety of villains at the characters as opposed to the Ninja of the Week.

3. The Unexpected. Related to #1 the Unexpected is something that shouldn't happen. Marvel tends to showcase how 'serious' things are by breaking Captain America's shield. It's a trick they don't use too often so it still has some impact. You know when the shield is broken, or Thor's hammer is broken, that Marvel is going, "This is dangerous! For reals!" and trying to showcase the level of danger the characters are in.  In the movie, for me at least, the unexpected moment happens when Wolverine has his claws actually cut off. It's a bit of a power drain but not quite in the same league as the metal claws at least, were artificial to the character.

4. Character motivation. Wolverine's initial character motivation is initially to mope. Thankfully once he gets into mission mode that tends to fade until at the end Wolverine is... while I don't want to say back to his old butt kicking self, he is at least back in the game and is more appreciative of what he has.  What motivates the characters? If they're motivated by protecting the weak, give them someone to protect. If they're motivated by righting wrongs, give them some wrongs to right.

5. Visual Inspiration. I've mentioned before that the environment should play some type of role in the game. There's a great fight sequence here where Wolverine is fighting atop a bullet train using his claws to anchor himself to the train and jumping up to avoid various obsticles and then trying to anchor himself again. When you can have the characters fighting on a moving space ship, dueling on a submerging submarine or on the back or some monstrous creature, you're doing it right. In a similar manner, the Silver Samurai of the movie is a great visual for say a Silver Golem. Way back in the day, Palladium Games made 'Grypon Claws', gloves that became invisible and let you pop claws out.  I can't remember if the claws were indestructible or not but probably. I think they did like 2d6 or something. Sound familiar? Get that and a ring of regeneration and well, there you go eh?

Imagine a game taking it's cue from the Eternal Champion. One of the characters has "the sword" and knows that they are doomed. An old ally actually takes that doom and the sword away from them but turns out the character needs the sword.

Or go "before" the movie. The characters are hired to retrieve large amounts of adamant and mithril with no questions asked. What will their mysterious employer do with all of these rare metals? Why has the cambion alchemists been seen working with him?

The Wolverine has a lot of things to consider for your own games and a lot of those bits may fit into different genres.