!!insidediv!!



Being the Official Discussion Forum for HYPERBOREA®, a role-playing game of swords, sorcery, and weird science-fantasy


Visit us at the HYPERBOREA web site!


You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?

4/05/2014 9:30 pm  #1


Movies

Seen any good movies lately?

I watched 47 Ronin a couple of nights ago. Parts of it were fun, parts of it were bad, but at the end of the day, there were some cool fantasy elements and fight scenes, so I'd recommend it if you come across it on cable and don't have anything else going on. Don't pay money for it, at least not based on my recommendation.

What it really made me wonder is... has anyone considered throwing a samurai into Hyperborea? I could easily see a few marching or riding through the snowy mountains of feudal Japan, only to find themselves swept up in a supernatural blizzard and deposited into the Spiral Mountain Array.


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
 

4/06/2014 12:32 am  #2


Re: Movies

There's an interesting.

For Samurai in Hyperborea I'd use Cataphract (samurai, I believe I've read somewhere, were quite adept at horseback fighting) or Fighter (lots of Weapon Mastery, plus Weapon Grand Mastery and Heroic Fighting, all do a very nice job of capturing samurai as portrayed in both Western and Japanese cinema).

 

4/06/2014 6:25 am  #3


Re: Movies

The Butcher wrote:

There's an interesting.

Thanks!

The Butcher wrote:

For Samurai in Hyperborea I'd use Cataphract (samurai, I believe I've read somewhere, were quite adept at horseback fighting) or Fighter (lots of Weapon Mastery, plus Weapon Grand Mastery and Heroic Fighting, all do a very nice job of capturing samurai as portrayed in both Western and Japanese cinema).

Agreed, those are both great ideas. Trust me, my mind is already racing at how to incorporate some demon-masked samurai warrior into the mix and I have some good ideas brewing.


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
     Thread Starter
 

4/06/2014 6:56 am  #4


Re: Movies

I'd add Honour, Horsemanship, no shield allowed and no Chaotic alignment to the Fighter class to make a samurai subclass.

What disturb me most with 47 Ronin was the "based on a real event" speech at the beginning. WTF ? It's a movie about monsters, sorcery and invincible Keanu Reeves.
It's quite a good inspiration for L5R though. At least visually. 

 

4/06/2014 4:28 pm  #5


Re: Movies

Odysseus wrote:

What disturb me most with 47 Ronin was the "based on a real event" speech at the beginning.

Yeah, I laughed aloud at that part.

It's an easy movie to beat up, no question.


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
     Thread Starter
 

4/07/2014 3:57 pm  #6


Re: Movies

Yeah.... my Bachelor's in history is based around feudal and pre-modern Japan... I have some problems with the Reeves movie, though I can put it aside if its fun. I imagine it irks the Japanese considering that 47 Ronin tale is a much loved cultural story. I understand there was some outrage against the Shogun miniseries because of the way it portrayed their history (many of the characters are based on historical figures). Anyway... i'll have to catch the movie on Netflix.

As far as samurai in Hyperborea... heck yes! The changes mentioned all sound good... no shields, lawful, etc. Mounted archery was an important skill to samurai of the early period, though it was a rarity by the 16th century, when matchlocks were adopted. The bow they used, the daikyu, should be considered a longbow, it is unique in that the handle is off-set to allow its use from the saddle. Do a quick search for the modern sport "yabusame" for examples.

For questions I'd weapon mastery, I might restrict it to:
Bastard sword (katana)
Short scimitar (wakizashi)
Longbow (daikyu)
Long spear (yari )
Glaive/halberd (naginata)
Maybe a few other "most common" or respected weapons.

Last edited by joseph (4/07/2014 4:03 pm)


ravengodgames.blogspot.com ~ cartography, writing, game design
Author, Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess
 

4/07/2014 4:53 pm  #7


Re: Movies

joseph wrote:

Yeah.... my Bachelor's in history is based around feudal and pre-modern Japan... I have some problems with the Reeves movie, though I can put it aside if its fun. I imagine it irks the Japanese considering that 47 Ronin tale is a much loved cultural story. I understand there was some outrage against the Shogun miniseries because of the way it portrayed their history (many of the characters are based on historical figures). Anyway... i'll have to catch the movie on Netflix.

If you can shelve your academic perspective, you might enjoy it, but otherwise...


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
     Thread Starter
 

4/07/2014 5:02 pm  #8


Re: Movies

Yeah I can usually do that, I see movies for what they are ..entertainment. Same thing with the Last Samurai, terrible history but not a terrible flick.

For those interested in samurai film:
Seven Samurai
The Hidden Fortress
Ran
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Sword of Doom
Zatoichi (many film versions)
Lone Wolf and Cub (5 films?)
47 Samurai
Musashi Miyamoto (Mifune trilogy)
Musashi Miyamoto (5-film series)
Rashomon
Kwaidan
Shinobi no mono (ninja series)


ravengodgames.blogspot.com ~ cartography, writing, game design
Author, Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess
 

4/07/2014 5:07 pm  #9


Re: Movies

Nice! Thanks for that list. What are your top three?


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
     Thread Starter
 

4/07/2014 5:54 pm  #10


Re: Movies

Ran, Rashomon, and Seven Samurai. Impossible to go wrong there.

 

4/08/2014 2:52 pm  #11


Re: Movies

Add to that Hideo Gosha's movies like 3 outlaw samurai, Goyokin or Hitokiri.
This last one might be better appreciated if you have some knowledge about the historical characters portrayed.
 

 

4/08/2014 4:31 pm  #12


Re: Movies

Odysseus wrote:

Add to that Hideo Gosha's movies like 3 outlaw samurai, Goyokin or Hitokiri.
This last one might be better appreciated if you have some knowledge about the historical characters portrayed.
 

Another great director!
As far as favorites, all of the Akira Kurosawa films are excellent, I an particularly found of Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Seven Samurai is also great, and kind of D&D - a group of unemployed samurai are hired to protect a farming village from banditry. The characters are great!

Aside from those, Sword of Doom is visually fantastic and has very interesting characters. The main character is actually the bad guy. The movie ends abruptly, but it is in fact only the first part of a novel called "Great Buddha Pass." The remainder was never completed ...though another trilogy called Sword Devil does the whole tale.

I'm also fond of the Shinobi series... if you want to see reasonably believable ninja films, this is them.

The original Zatoichi films are great adventures, but since there are so many (like 26?) they can be formulaic but still fun... I mean, the hero is a blind masseuse master swordsman, who protects the weak and does a little gambling on the side, fully employing his super-hearing to cheat.


ravengodgames.blogspot.com ~ cartography, writing, game design
Author, Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess
 

4/08/2014 5:07 pm  #13


Re: Movies

It's also really fun to do double features of Yojimbo and Fistful of Dollars and Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven.

 

4/08/2014 5:18 pm  #14


Re: Movies

Thanks for your list there, joseph! I will be cheking out Sword of Doom and Shinobi for sure


Níu man ek heima, níu íviðjur,
mjötvið mæran fyr mold neðan.
(Völuspá)
(Nine worlds I knew,the nine in the tree with mighty roots beneath the mold)
Realmsofmelpomene
 

4/10/2014 7:36 am  #15


Re: Movies

Crisippo wrote:

Thanks for your list there, joseph! I will be cheking out Sword of Doom and Shinobi for sure

Let me know what you think, I'd be happy to discuss!


ravengodgames.blogspot.com ~ cartography, writing, game design
Author, Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess
 

5/08/2016 7:29 am  #16


Re: Movies

Saw The VVitch with two capital Vs (not a W). Very, Very cool horror flick set in 17th century New England. Creepy, subtle and authentic feeling with a good script and good acting. Really makes me want to feature a coven as the main antagonists in an adventure. Highly recommended!

I'm pretty excited to hear the director/writer has plans to make a Nosferatu film because I think he'd do a terrific job.


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
     Thread Starter
 

5/09/2016 11:22 am  #17


Re: Movies

Chainsaw wrote:

Saw The VVitch with two capital Vs (not a W). Very, Very cool horror flick set in 17th century New England. Creepy, subtle and authentic feeling with a good script and good acting. Really makes me want to feature a coven as the main antagonists in an adventure. Highly recommended!

I'm pretty excited to hear the director/writer has plans to make a Nosferatu film because I think he'd do a terrific job.

I saw this, too! It was good. I think my interpretation was different from a lot of people's. I thought it was a successful animal-liberation parable starring an awesome goat. Here's what happens when you suck at farming and mistreat the animals, jerkwad! (. . . I may have shouted out loud in the theater.)

 

5/09/2016 12:24 pm  #18


Re: Movies

Handy Haversack wrote:

Chainsaw wrote:

Saw The VVitch with two capital Vs (not a W).

I saw this, too! It was good. I think my interpretation was different from a lot of people's. I thought it was a successful animal-liberation parable starring an awesome goat. Here's what happens when you suck at farming and mistreat the animals, jerkwad! (. . . I may have shouted out loud in the theater.)

Hahaha!


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
     Thread Starter
 

5/13/2016 8:51 am  #19


Re: Movies

I also thought The Witch (I refuse to indulge their tomfoolery with the lettering) was pretty good.  It gave me some adventure ideas, which is always a good thing (for everyone but my players).

Last edited by Blackadder23 (5/13/2016 10:01 am)


Michael Sipe 1979-2018
Rest in peace, brother.
 

Board footera






© 2009-2024 North Wind Adventures, LLC. “HYPERBOREA” is a registered trademark of North Wind Adventures, LLC. “Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea,” “AS&SH,” and all other North Wind Adventures product names and their respective logos are trademarks of North Wind Adventures, LLC in the USA and other countries. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.