Night Watch -- What system?

[jdrakeh]

I've just finished watching the excellent Night Watch film based on author Sergey Lukyanenko's novel of the same name. If you haven't seen it, rent it. Night Watch is a refreshingly different take on modern gothic monsters, with moments of light humor amidst moral quandry and Russia's own take on Wuxia. More importantly, vampires aren't closet-dwelling freaks dressed in black who turn into dust if the sun hits them and werewolves don't corner the shapechanging market. In general, things don't cleave to the tired supernatural stereotypes so common in Western film and literature. So, those of you who have seen the movie (or read the novel) and know where I'm coming from. . .

What game system would you use for this?

Both versions of the World of Darkness are pretty much right out by my estimation (they come loaded with their own special view of how the supernatural works, precious little of whcih jibes with the vision of Lukyanenko). Nightlife may work, but it's long OOP. Bureau 13 has much in common with the film in a thematic sense, but its system is anything but cinematic. So, what games are out there (d20 or otherwise) that might be able to pull off distinctly Russian supernatural warfare with the fury of John Woo and the depth of Nietzsche? Is In Dark Alleys an option? ORC seems to be a bit heavy on the numbers for Russian Wuxia. What about Blood Games (from Flying Mice) or The Whispering Vault?

Hook me up ENWorld!

 

[hong]

Hm, don't remember that much wuxia in the movie. What I do remember is that the central character was probably the least-badass vampire hunter I've ever seen. Still a cool movie though.

 

[jdrakeh]

Hm, don't remember that much wuxia in the movie. What I do remember is that the central character was probably the least-badass vampire hunter I've ever seen. Still a cool movie though.

Wuxia wasn't probably the right term, but it's the best I could think of to describe some of the vehicular stunts and the initial fight scene in the beauty salon (especially some of the grappling). Had that Chinese action movie flair, you know. As for the protagonist. . .

Yeah. Absolutely not your 'kill everything that moves' protagonist of American cinema. Really, that was a large part of the film's appeal for me. The supernaturals in the film are remarkably human, not unstoppable killing machines (with the possible exception of the Great Ones, who have enough sense not to revert to V:TM mode).

It's a fresh, different, take on something that has become rather old hat in American film (or films produced for American audiences) and literature. Here's hoping that 21st Century Fox's involvement doesn't taint the 2007 sequel too much

 

[-SIN-]

To my knowledge 'Day Watch' has already finished being filmed.

Nightwatch had a lot of potential, but sadly didn't deliver. From the moment you see the chick run through the door, morph into a tiger, leap off the wall to barrel into the room, you sit and wait, and wait, and wait for the guy named 'BEAR' to do something similar...

I liked the main character - interesting concept.

The ending sucked. Again, it had much more potential, but failed.

Daywatch, according to the director will be more action orientated. Nightwatch was meant to give a rough outline of what's going on. The second movie explains it all a lot more. The final movie - don't no what it's called - 'mid-afternoon watch?'.... Is meant to be the ultimate battle between good & evil...

 

[jdrakeh]

The ending sucked. Again, it had much more potential, but failed.

The extended ending is much, much, more fitting. But. . . this thread is about what game system could be used to recreate that setting (ideally, without a bunch of house rules)

 

[Aeric]

I haven't seen it yet, but the first thing I thought upon seeing the trailer was, "cool, it's Mage: the Movie!"

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I've heard of them, but never read/seen them.

When in doubt, go with a flexible system.

HERO 5th, Mutants & Masterminds 2nd, and (pains me though it does to say it) GURPS 4Ed should all be able to handle something like this.

From what I understand, you might also get some milage out of True 20.

 

[Blackrat]

To OPs original guestion: I think that World of Darkness is the only system that incorporates the cinematic battles and supernatural abilitites well enough. Just change some of the fluff like vampires weaknesses to sunlight and such, and you should have it covered. Although it's been a while since I saw the movie so my memory of what was in it isn't so fresh anymore.

 

[Ulrik]

Feng Shui?

Simple, flexible and action movie oriented, with a buttload of supernatural abilities already covered.

You might want to tone down the starting characters, though, but that shouldn´t be that difficult (although you´ll miss out on the fun of mook-bowling )

 

[Imaro]

I would suggest the Armageddon game from eden studios, gigantic list of powers and for magic get the free download of Witchcraft at their website. The Mystery Codex and Abomination Codex would also be helpful.