Hong Kong Action Theatre! 2nd Edition is a game that takes a clever conceit, a film heritage rich in fast action, and a game system geared for over-the-top mayhem, and mixes them together to provide players with a large serving of excitement. The game also provides Game Masters with a cornucopia from which to spread a feast of setting material in play.
The goals the game sets for itself are clearly delineated. First, the game intends to provide for the experience of playing an actor appearing in the movies. Next, it intends to provide for the difference among the various roles that can appear in the movies. Third, it intends to provide a model of the fast action that is stock-in-trade for HK action flicks. Finally, it intends to provide information on the setting of Honk Kong for use in play. All of the facets of the game hinted at in the title are explicitly part of the game's design parameters.
The conceit the game uses in support of the first two goals is most interesting. HKAT! first has the player create the actor character. The actor possesses traits and skills that serve as a base of ability that is expanded on in each film. The players then bid on roles for their characters prior to the beginning of a new movie (adventure). The character then picks up a set of skills for the role that expand the actor's abilities.
This use of the role character mechanism provides for a strong sense of portraying an actor making movies, as the demands of each type of role and each specific role character lead to a variety of skills used in play. This also provides for a good deal of variety for players simply in terms of play; it's difficult to get bored with a given character when the character's abilities change from adventure to adventure, and a player can choose new skills with regularity.
The rules categorize skills as being available for Actor Only, Role Only, or Open for use with both. This provides a good sense of the abilities that can be granted via cinematic magic and those inherent traits that great actors being with them.
The process of creating a character is broken down clearly. Players have Character Points used in creating the characters. The steps:
1) GM Discussion--what type of movie and the "budget" (how powerful)
2) Actor Stats--Body, Mind, Soul
3) Actor Attributes
4) Actor Defects--can gain Bonus Points for raising Stats/Attributes
5) Actor Skills
6) Derived Values
7) Background Points
8) Role Creation--bid for/land a part, get required Attributes, etc. from GM, then modify with GM's approval
The fast action of Hong Kong cinema is modelled using the Tri-Stat system as a base. The game uses a modified version of the system, with the most obvious change involving the split character generation scheme just described. The system is further tweaked in point costs to reflect the specific genre, and then to provide for even faster action than in BESM. The emphasis on quick action sequences is apparent.
(The Tri-Stat system has been described in reviews of Big Eyes, Small Mouth here on RPGnet, so detailed description of that system won't appear in this review.)
The book devotes a great deal of space to information on Hong Kong and its environs. Each area is described individually and located on a map. Points of interest in each locale and notable history is provided to allow for GMs to work stories into the area.
A discussion of the history of HK cinema followed by reviews of many movies provide a great deal of information on how the genre developed and many of the key elements that appear in terms of stories and setting.
The book is rounded out with sample adventures. The adventures explain the essential conflict of the movie, the player Roles, the extras, and Key Sequences (broken down by Act).
I found that the game delivered on its promises. I very much got the feeling of having an actor character moving from movie to movie when I created a character and then tried on several Roles. There was a bit of visceral thrill in just imagining playing the character using Wire Fu movement in one role to be followed by dual, blazing pistols in the next. The switching out of Defects for character roles also added a great deal of interest, as the interplay of strengths and weaknesses in each different role provided variety to the character.
I regret not being able to have managed a couple of group sessions playing out the martial arts rules. The fights that I staged on my own certainly moved quickly enough to reflect the movies. This approach may not be pleasing to players who glory in minute details, but is very reminiscent of the flying fists and blazing guns that appear on the screen.
I learned a great deal about Hong Kong as a setting and found some pleasure in learning where movies I've seen were actually filmed. I thought information on the bystanders likely to appear in various locales would have been a useful addition, but am assuming the designers are relying on players having experience with the movies to provide that sort of setting detail.
I found the book to deliver what it set out to do: I was able to create an actor whose abilities varied by role, and who appears in movies (adventures) that fit within the genre and play out in a manner reflective of HK action sensibilites, and that can be placed clearly in a Hong Kong setting. Hong Kong Action Theatre! 2nd Edition succeeds admirably.
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