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<blockquote data-quote="Scupper" data-source="post: 310792" data-attributes="member: 2593"><p><strong>John Carpenter's <em>Big Trouble in Little China</em></strong></p><p></p><p>Note: Some of the characters described here use non-core classes and feats from <em>Oriental Adventures</em> and <em>Sword and Fist</em>.</p><p></p><p><u>Characters</u></p><p></p><p><strong>Jack Burton</strong> - Jack is clearly adept at making the best use of his reflexes, but displays a comical incompetence with non-monk weapons, which he inexplicably chooses to use through most of the film. His most impressive act in the film showcases his use of the "snatch arrows" feat from <strong><em>Sword and Fist</em></strong> and we can deduce his likely maximum statistics from that feat's requirements. Monk 4 (to get the minimum BAB of +3 for the feat), with a Dexterity of 14-15. Feats include improved unarmed strike (auto), deflect arrows (auto), snatch arrows. Some might argue for a level or two of Expert to reflect his work as a truck driver, but it is clear that he is neither a good truck driver nor a good businessman (note his struggles with his insurance company).</p><p></p><p><strong>Wang Chi</strong> - Wang seems to get better and better as the film progresses, likely because he is getting more XP than Jack (probably by DM fiat, as technically they are in a party and should share the XP, regardless of the fact that Wang does 95% of the fighting). By the end of the film, we've seen Wang successfully take on Rain mano a mano, so we can assume that Wang is more powerful than the weakest of the Three Storms. Wang is probably an 8th-level Monk by this point, as he can clearly use the "leap of the clouds" ability to jump further than a normal person could.</p><p></p><p><strong>Egg Shen</strong> - Though often referred to as a "sorcerer," Egg is quite clearly a Wu Jen. He is gruff and secretive and dislikes company. Like Jack, Egg is clearly undeserving of a level of Expert, as his driving is atrocious. Egg uses the spell <em>fire seeds</em> repeatedly, and that seems to be his best move, so we'll place him at 12th-level Wu Jen.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lo Pan</strong> - Like Egg, Lo Pan is probably a Wu Jen with the addition of the ghost template, and we see that Lo Pan is slightly more powerful one-on-one than Egg. In a highly plot-dependent rules interpretation, Lo Pan manages to lose the ghost template toward the end of the film. He clearly does not take on the lich template, as some have suggested, as no phylactery is located and there was no sequel. We'll place Lo Pan at 14th-Level Wu Jen.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Three Storms</strong> - Rain, Lightning and Thunder are almost a prototypical group of "evil adventurers," and two of the three are quite powerful. It's worth noting that they all posess <em>hats of levitation</em>.</p><p></p><p><em>Thunder</em>, the ostensible leader of the group, clearly outmatches Wang Chi at the end of the film, and the best that Wang can do is fight defensively the entire time. He seems quite in control of his own metabolism, and we'll assume he's got the "diamond body" ability down (though it's not shown in the film). Clearly he also posesses a cursed item that casts <em>enlarge</em> on him, but eventually causes him to explode messily. We'll peg Thunder at 11th-level monk.</p><p></p><p><em>Lightning</em>, the go-to guy. Lightning is obviously a multiclassed character, and more than likely a shugenja. His hand-to-hand prowess is untested in the film, and likely inferior to his fellows. We see him cast <em>lightning bolt</em> at least four times during the course of the film, but that's about all he knows at that level. We'll place Lightning at 11th-level shujenga (soshi school, most likely)/1st-level monk.</p><p></p><p><em>Rain</em> the weak one. Who let this guy into the club? No mystical abilities to speak of, and not even particularly powerful in melee. Rain shows about the same level of monk development as Wang Chi, but is not quite able to best Wang, despite the fact that Wang has been fighting several other people before encountering Rain. He does have "leap of the clouds" going for him, but that's about it. We'll call him a 7th-level monk.</p><p></p><p><u>Highlights and Rules Gaffes</u> </p><p></p><p><em>Big Trouble</em> is remarkably gaffe-free. It should be noted that Carpenter is a pretty forgiving DM, as he throws very few challenging NPCs at the heroes, and only three monsters: an overgrown Eyeball (from Monsters of Faerun), a Carrion Crawler-like thing, and a rather stunted, unarmed Ogre.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Scupper, post: 310792, member: 2593"] [b]John Carpenter's [i]Big Trouble in Little China[/i][/b] Note: Some of the characters described here use non-core classes and feats from [i]Oriental Adventures[/i] and [i]Sword and Fist[/i]. [U]Characters[/U] [b]Jack Burton[/b] - Jack is clearly adept at making the best use of his reflexes, but displays a comical incompetence with non-monk weapons, which he inexplicably chooses to use through most of the film. His most impressive act in the film showcases his use of the "snatch arrows" feat from [b][i]Sword and Fist[/i][/b] and we can deduce his likely maximum statistics from that feat's requirements. Monk 4 (to get the minimum BAB of +3 for the feat), with a Dexterity of 14-15. Feats include improved unarmed strike (auto), deflect arrows (auto), snatch arrows. Some might argue for a level or two of Expert to reflect his work as a truck driver, but it is clear that he is neither a good truck driver nor a good businessman (note his struggles with his insurance company). [b]Wang Chi[/b] - Wang seems to get better and better as the film progresses, likely because he is getting more XP than Jack (probably by DM fiat, as technically they are in a party and should share the XP, regardless of the fact that Wang does 95% of the fighting). By the end of the film, we've seen Wang successfully take on Rain mano a mano, so we can assume that Wang is more powerful than the weakest of the Three Storms. Wang is probably an 8th-level Monk by this point, as he can clearly use the "leap of the clouds" ability to jump further than a normal person could. [b]Egg Shen[/b] - Though often referred to as a "sorcerer," Egg is quite clearly a Wu Jen. He is gruff and secretive and dislikes company. Like Jack, Egg is clearly undeserving of a level of Expert, as his driving is atrocious. Egg uses the spell [i]fire seeds[/i] repeatedly, and that seems to be his best move, so we'll place him at 12th-level Wu Jen. [b]Lo Pan[/b] - Like Egg, Lo Pan is probably a Wu Jen with the addition of the ghost template, and we see that Lo Pan is slightly more powerful one-on-one than Egg. In a highly plot-dependent rules interpretation, Lo Pan manages to lose the ghost template toward the end of the film. He clearly does not take on the lich template, as some have suggested, as no phylactery is located and there was no sequel. We'll place Lo Pan at 14th-Level Wu Jen. [b]The Three Storms[/b] - Rain, Lightning and Thunder are almost a prototypical group of "evil adventurers," and two of the three are quite powerful. It's worth noting that they all posess [i]hats of levitation[/i]. [i]Thunder[/i], the ostensible leader of the group, clearly outmatches Wang Chi at the end of the film, and the best that Wang can do is fight defensively the entire time. He seems quite in control of his own metabolism, and we'll assume he's got the "diamond body" ability down (though it's not shown in the film). Clearly he also posesses a cursed item that casts [i]enlarge[/i] on him, but eventually causes him to explode messily. We'll peg Thunder at 11th-level monk. [i]Lightning[/i], the go-to guy. Lightning is obviously a multiclassed character, and more than likely a shugenja. His hand-to-hand prowess is untested in the film, and likely inferior to his fellows. We see him cast [i]lightning bolt[/i] at least four times during the course of the film, but that's about all he knows at that level. We'll place Lightning at 11th-level shujenga (soshi school, most likely)/1st-level monk. [i]Rain[/i] the weak one. Who let this guy into the club? No mystical abilities to speak of, and not even particularly powerful in melee. Rain shows about the same level of monk development as Wang Chi, but is not quite able to best Wang, despite the fact that Wang has been fighting several other people before encountering Rain. He does have "leap of the clouds" going for him, but that's about it. We'll call him a 7th-level monk. [U]Highlights and Rules Gaffes[/U] [i]Big Trouble[/i] is remarkably gaffe-free. It should be noted that Carpenter is a pretty forgiving DM, as he throws very few challenging NPCs at the heroes, and only three monsters: an overgrown Eyeball (from Monsters of Faerun), a Carrion Crawler-like thing, and a rather stunted, unarmed Ogre. [/QUOTE]
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