Blood and Fists news
- Thread starter Vigilance
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Vigilance
Explorer
Game balance mostly.
With the blocking rules as they currently stand (and they are being tweaked in the upcoming revision) you can block as many times as you have attacks. So Block Lock, Block Disarm, and Counterattack basically allow you to block attacks and inflict harm (or at least inconvenience) on your opponent.
Also, I think the majority of blocks taught in the dojo are not combination blocks as they work in BNF. I think most practitioners are blocking (on one round) and then grappling (in the next round). Obviously the goal is to get that down to a reflexive action (which is what being able to do it as an AoO represents to me), but that takes years, possibly decades.
With the blocking rules as they currently stand (and they are being tweaked in the upcoming revision) you can block as many times as you have attacks. So Block Lock, Block Disarm, and Counterattack basically allow you to block attacks and inflict harm (or at least inconvenience) on your opponent.
Also, I think the majority of blocks taught in the dojo are not combination blocks as they work in BNF. I think most practitioners are blocking (on one round) and then grappling (in the next round). Obviously the goal is to get that down to a reflexive action (which is what being able to do it as an AoO represents to me), but that takes years, possibly decades.
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Vigilance
Explorer
Ok- having just wrapped major design work on Legends of Excalibur's Campaign Guide, Blood and Fists II is now my full time job through completion. Thought I'd let you guys in on some preliminary details.
New Classes: weapon master (advanced), ninja (advanced), yakuza (advanced), sensei (prestige), zen master (prestige).
New styles: a whole boatload, but definitely including the much-asked for Krav Maga and Hwarang Do (these are already done in the manuscript already).
New Ki Feats: quite a few of these already.
A new campaign model: at least one.
Any questions/comments/requests will, as always, be considered and appreciated.
Chuck
New Classes: weapon master (advanced), ninja (advanced), yakuza (advanced), sensei (prestige), zen master (prestige).
New styles: a whole boatload, but definitely including the much-asked for Krav Maga and Hwarang Do (these are already done in the manuscript already).
New Ki Feats: quite a few of these already.
A new campaign model: at least one.
Any questions/comments/requests will, as always, be considered and appreciated.
Chuck
Charles,
Could you send me a preview of Hwarang Do? I would be happy to comment on it . In my MA reference library, I have 3 books by the Hwarang do's Grandmaster, the two weapon books by Michael Echanis, and nearly every article published for the style.
Also, will you be posting a bibliography in B&F II? I always like seeing what sources rpg author's use for their style write-ups (my only disappointment with B&F was that their was no bibliography).
Greg
Could you send me a preview of Hwarang Do? I would be happy to comment on it . In my MA reference library, I have 3 books by the Hwarang do's Grandmaster, the two weapon books by Michael Echanis, and nearly every article published for the style.
Also, will you be posting a bibliography in B&F II? I always like seeing what sources rpg author's use for their style write-ups (my only disappointment with B&F was that their was no bibliography).
Greg
Vigilance
Explorer
There will be a bibliography for the new BNF (I have been sternly chastised and told not to refer to it as BNF 2 so please note I did not do that!). I didnt include it in the first one because I didn't think anyone would care mostly, but also because retracing my steps in internet research isnt always easy.
Vigilance
Explorer
And, since I am a really great guy, I will post this preview.
Hwa Rang Do
History: Hwa Rang Do, which means “Way of the Flowering Manhood” was created by Dr. Joo Bang Lee in 1960. This martial arts style traces its combat techniques and strict moral code to the Hwarang, or Flower Knights of Silla, one of the three kingdoms that comprise modern day Korea. Although Dr. Lee’s style descended from much older forms and traditions, it was he who created the syllabus for systematic study of the art, and the requirements for belt rankings, so in the modern sense of creation this is the creation of the style we today call Hwa Rang Do.
In addition to combat, Ki, and healing arts (known as Insool), Hwa Rang Do practitioners also follow a strict moral code based on five core principals: loyalty to country, loyalty to parents and teachers, trust among friends, courage in the face of danger, and the taking of life only when necessary. In addition to the five core principals, which extend back to the ancient Flower Knights of the Hwarang, Dr. Lee added nine “founding moralities”: humanity, justice, courtesy, wisdom, trust, goodness, virtue, loyalty, and courage.
Prerequisites: Combat Martial Arts or Defensive Martial Arts
Effect: You are proficient in punching and kicking and are considered armed when making such attacks. You provoke no attacks of opportunity when making trip attacks. This feat adds Balance, Pressure Points and Treat Injury to your list of class skills. Hwa Rang Do is an external martial art whose attacks are modified by Strength.
Hwa Rang Do
History: Hwa Rang Do, which means “Way of the Flowering Manhood” was created by Dr. Joo Bang Lee in 1960. This martial arts style traces its combat techniques and strict moral code to the Hwarang, or Flower Knights of Silla, one of the three kingdoms that comprise modern day Korea. Although Dr. Lee’s style descended from much older forms and traditions, it was he who created the syllabus for systematic study of the art, and the requirements for belt rankings, so in the modern sense of creation this is the creation of the style we today call Hwa Rang Do.
In addition to combat, Ki, and healing arts (known as Insool), Hwa Rang Do practitioners also follow a strict moral code based on five core principals: loyalty to country, loyalty to parents and teachers, trust among friends, courage in the face of danger, and the taking of life only when necessary. In addition to the five core principals, which extend back to the ancient Flower Knights of the Hwarang, Dr. Lee added nine “founding moralities”: humanity, justice, courtesy, wisdom, trust, goodness, virtue, loyalty, and courage.
Prerequisites: Combat Martial Arts or Defensive Martial Arts
Effect: You are proficient in punching and kicking and are considered armed when making such attacks. You provoke no attacks of opportunity when making trip attacks. This feat adds Balance, Pressure Points and Treat Injury to your list of class skills. Hwa Rang Do is an external martial art whose attacks are modified by Strength.
Vigilance said:
Groovy.
Based on the title, perhaps the sample setting will be modern-day Hong Kong? A gamer's guide to Hong Kong would be great.
Maybe somewhere down the pike you could do a hanmei adventure book...settings, personalities, and plot details for a globe-spanning butt-kicking campaign. Plus a slew of fighters, statted out at low, medium, and high level.
Were I to run such a game, I think I would start in an urban environment...say, Hell's Kitchen or the South Bronx...and try for a "Def Jam Vendetta" streetfighting feel. Then as they advance through the ranks, they end up in increasingly fantastic environments, until we're finally at the Hidden City of the Seven Immortals fighting characters straight out of a video game...
Vig, one thing I'm trying to work out...in a hanmei campaign, how do keep the party together, so to speak? I assume that if you have five PCs, for example, you just structure the hanmei so that in the early rounds, the top five fighters advance. Make the PCs buff enough that they'll probably come out on top.
Maybe after a few adventures, the PCs have enough shared experiences and mutual respect that even if some of them don't advance to the next round, they will stick around to watch their buddies' backs, act as training partners, hold the other guy's Gatoraid, etc.
I assume the revised BnF is still on the table, too. Excellent.
Blood and Fists: Reninja'd. You know you want it.
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Vigilance
Explorer
When I ran the Hanmei the first round was backstory. In other words, one PC arrived in Hong Kong looking for his daughter, one PC was the reporter attempting to bust up the bloodsport, etc.
The earlier rounds (the street scenes) mostly grew out of the playtesting experience where we just statted up NPCs and threw them against each other to see how the system worked.
The campaign model idea is indeed a modern-day hong kong setting. I might include multiple campaign models.
Lastly, the revision of BNF is still on the table, I have tweaked one last thing (made the Ki feats a little more worth taking). It will be released (I believe) closer to the release of the new BNF (notice I did not call it BNF 2 to avoid another stern reprimand).
Chuck
The earlier rounds (the street scenes) mostly grew out of the playtesting experience where we just statted up NPCs and threw them against each other to see how the system worked.
The campaign model idea is indeed a modern-day hong kong setting. I might include multiple campaign models.
Lastly, the revision of BNF is still on the table, I have tweaked one last thing (made the Ki feats a little more worth taking). It will be released (I believe) closer to the release of the new BNF (notice I did not call it BNF 2 to avoid another stern reprimand).
Chuck
Vigilance said:
I've kicked around a few different setting ideas myself...
I still pull out my notes on 1930s Shanghai once in a while...that would be great for a pulp / martial arts game...Indy plus Big Trouble in Little China plus Jackie Chan Adventures plus the Madripoor issues of Wolverine.
As a fan of the Destroyer and Larry Hama paramilitary ninja comics [G.I. Joe and the far more obscure Nth Man], I could also see running a modern-day espionage game, as a team of martial artists is recruited by an ultrasecret government agency to carry out black ops missions. This would go nicely with Blood and Guts and my shiny new Weapons Locker.
Finally, I still like the setup of an eclectic group of martial artists who share studio space. Most would have some kind of day job that could provide story hooks. This would be a nice way to do more of a street-level campaign.
Glad to hear the ki feats will be a little more beefy.
Vigilance
Explorer
GI Joe (of which I am a huge fan) is the main reason I am including a modern ninja. It was on my list for BNF, but I decided against it, out of a feeling that there are no more ninja (which I think is likely true). However, since I am reading through my Joe tradebacks, I have decided they definitely should be included.
And in keeping with including what one of my martial arts books referred to as "the fantastic and the fatuous", there are going to be more Ki feats, and the whole system got a minor tweak to make the feat investment a little more sensible.
Chuck
And in keeping with including what one of my martial arts books referred to as "the fantastic and the fatuous", there are going to be more Ki feats, and the whole system got a minor tweak to make the feat investment a little more sensible.
Chuck
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