Li Mu Bai? Why, he was a fighter, of course.
Li Mu Bai: male human; ftr17; CR 17; HD 17d10+85; 183 hp; Spd 30 ft; AC 29; Atk +29/+24/+19/+14 melee (Green Destiny, 1d6+11/12-20); SQ dimension door 1/day, air walk 2 hrs/day; AL LN; SV Fort +20, Ref +19, Will +16; Str 20, Dex 24, Con 20, Int 13, Wis 19, Cha 15.
Skills and Feats: Jump +25, Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Expertise, Improved Critical (rapier), Improved Unarmed Strike, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Power Attack, Spring Attack, Sunder, Weapon Finesse (rapier), Weapon Focus (rapier), Weapon Specialisation (rapier), Whirlwind Attack.
Equipment: Green Destiny (+4 keen defending rapier), +8 bracers of armour, +4 ring of protection, +5 cloak of resistance, +6 gloves of dexterity, +4 belt of strength, +4 amulet of constitution, +4 headband of wisdom, boots of air walk*, ring of dimension door**.
* like winged boots, but substituting the air walk spell for fly.
** like the cape of the mountebank, but without the dramatic puff of smoke.
All that gear fits in under the equipment limit for a 17th level PC, using the DMG tables.
But he didn't _have_ that gear in the movie, I hear you say. Well, perhaps he did, and perhaps he didn't. There are ways of giving high-powered PCs magical abilities without straining credibility vis-a-vis magic items. See AEG's Magic of Rokugan for a great example of how to handwave away D&D-scale magic in an ostensibly low-item-count world.
IMO, this just goes to show how high-level D&D is 99% wuxia. Every high-level character worth his or her salt (at least any high-level character who wants to survive) is going to be able to fly and teleport. The only wart is the presence of heavy armour, but even that isn't always a given -- many groups seem to prefer light or no armour, seeing the disadvantages of full plate as outweighing the benefits.
Hong "and I bet you were thinking I was going to plug the
martial artist, didn't you?" Ooi
