SERTORIUS IS READY FOR RELEASE

Sertorius is ready to be released in PDF and Print. The PDF should be available within the next couple of weeks. The print will become available in the months to come.

WUXIA INSPIRATION: JOURNEY TO THE WEST (CONQUERING THE DEMONS)

Note: Before reading my overview, you might want to check out this review of the movie by Fu Cru, it gives a very good overview and three guys who know quite a bit about the genre. I highly recommend checking it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyDE85JiK-Q

(Spoiler Warning)

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons is an action comedy produced, written and directed by Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, King of Comedy and Shaolin Soccer). It stars Shu Qi (Gorgeous, A Beautiful LIfe and the Transporter) as Miss Duan and Wen Zhang (The Sorcerer and the White Snake) as Tang Sanzang. Like most Stephen Chow films this blends martial arts with slapstick comedy to great effect but has a slightly more serious tone. The phrase high stakes slap stick kept leaping out at me as I watched it.

Released in 2013, Journey to the West is based on the 16^th century Chinese novel of the same name, but set before the monk Tang Sanzang gains his disciples and goes west in search of sacred Buddhist sutras. Tang Sanzang is the same character as Longevity Monk in A Chinese Odyssey which I talked about in another blog entry (Here: http://thebedrockblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/wuxia-inspiration-chinese-odyssey.html). Same character, he just goes by different titles that are not always translated the same into English. But this is him when he is young and still a disciple himself. He is a demon hunter whose master has taught him to defeat foes with love and compassion, using the “boundless power” of the 300 Nursery Rhymes to subdue them.

The film begins in a small fishing village built along the water in an elaborate series of platforms, piers and ladders that set the stage for a lengthy slapstick opening. A fisherman

is killed by a freaky looking water demon, that looks a cross between a giant catfish and lion fish. Tang Sanzang arrives, it should be pointed out with a head of messy dreadlocked hair, just as a Taoist priest claims to have vanquished the demon after killing a mere stingray. Sanzang tries to warn the villagers that there is still a demon in the water but the priest convinces them it is safe and they go back in, leading quickly to the demise of several villagers. For the next twenty or so minutes we witness Sanzang wrestling with both the priest and the demon fish in a really well choreographed action sequence that has all the comedic elements you expect in a Stephen Chow movie. However this is much darker, and we even see the water demon devour and kill a small child (and not just any child but one they spent the early minutes of the film introducing to the audience). I was a bit surprised by that and it kind of establishes the tone for the rest of the film (balancing humor and serious stuff).

Eventually Sanzang beaches the fish and it transforms back into human form (in this movie all demons were humans who turned demonic after death because of some major grievance in the way they were killed or in their life). The monk takes out his 300 Nursery Rhymes manual and tries to free the demon by singing its contents. This ends with the demon beating Sanzang senseless as another demon hunter arrives (Miss Duan). Miss Duan kicks the living crap out of the demon and turns him into a sort of plush toy, to the humiliation of Sanzang.

Despondent at his failure, Sanzang goes back to his master (who looks suspiciously like the Laughing Buddha: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budai) who has been busy making illustrations of the demon fish and its history. Sanzang asks if his master was incorrect to choose him for a disciple. His master says he was correct to choose him, but he just lacks that “certain something”.

Next Sanzang battles a pig demon at the Gao Inn (which serves human flesh to guests, kills them and then cooks them for the next round of customers). Again Miss Duan arrives and basically picks up the slack for the monk. During the fight, Miss Duan uses a magic ring that can change size, multiply and cut demons down. She almost succeeds in capturing it and making it plush but the demon escapes and sends both hunters fleeing for their lives. In a quiet moment by the water Sanzang explains his ideals, that he hunts for the greater good in his quest for enlightenment not for money or fame. Miss Duan closes her eyes and insists on being kiss, to which Sanzang flees in terror (because he draws a distinction between greater Love and Lesser Love, seeing the latter as an obstacle in his quest). From this point on in the movie Miss Duan lovestruck, persuing Sanzang in a very aggressive, borderline criminal manner, which provides most of the humor in the middle of the film.

Returning to his master, Sanzang is told that to he can defeat the pig demon by going west in search of Sun Wukong (the Monkey King) who has been imprisoned in a mountain by the Buddha. He warns Sanzang that Monkey King is tricky and will try to deceive him, but says he may gain that “certain something” if he tries to get his help.

As he is leaving on his quest, Sanzang is captured by a group of foreign demon hunters who claim to kill both demons and demon hunters. The point is proven when they parade a group of prisoners that includes Miss Duan. In an effort to save Sanzang, Miss Duan claims that he isn’t a demon hunter, but her husband and a music teacher, pointing to his 300 Nursery Rhymes as evidence. They demand couple prove their love in a public display and it is quickly revealed that this was an elaborate hoax by Miss Duan to entrap Sanzang as her husband. The group of hunters are actually her subordinates and she has him imprisoned when he refuses. A lot happens here and it is a very funny sequence but the scene culminates with the return of the pig demon. Again there is another big battle and the demon proves too much for them. Three more demon hunters arrive, drawn by the lure of fame, and send the Pig Demon running away. The trio are all pompous and full of themselves, but perhaps the most endearing in the group is Prince Important.

Pretending to be wounded and on the verge of death, Miss Duan tries to trick Sanzang into expressing his affection for her and he humiliates her before the trio of demon hunters and her crew. In a rage she rips up his books of nursery rhymes and he leaves to find the Monkey King.

In the west Sanzang finds the monkey king in human form, and convinces him to help them capture the pig demon. Monkey King (who has been trapped in the cave for 500 years) tells him to get a beautiful women and have her dance by the moonlight to lure the creature to his cave. Having followed him to the cave, Miss Duan volunteers and they manage to trap the Pig Demon. After their victory Miss Duan places her ring on Sanzngs finger asking him to marry her, he refuses and she leaves. But before leaving she gives him back his book of rhymes which she tries to restore (however because she couldn’t read it the words are all mixed up). Monkey King basically says he is a fool to reject such a beautiful women and it becomes clear that Sanzang is having a change of heart on the issue. However Monkey King tricks Sanzang into moving a lotus flower that blocks the moonlight from entering his prison, so he can see the moon. This not only frees Monkey King, but causes him to transform back into his monkey body.

This is the most devilish version of the Monkey King I have seen. He is small, very small, and filled with bitter rage and cruelty. Sanzang takes a meditative position and begins to chant, causing Monkey King to demand he stop, pulling out the monks hair as he does so, until Sanzang is almost completely bald. The trio of demon hunters arrive and each face Monkey King in turn, only to be brutally destroyed. Monkey King returns his attention to Sanzang, but is thwarted when Miss Daun returns and vows to kill Monkey King for pulling out his hair. She is defeated and as she dies, Sanzang admits his love for her. Monkey King then throws her body into the sky and bursts it into a million fragments, leaving only the book of rhymes, now revealed to be a Buddhist sutra. As Monkey King taunts Sanzang, the monk (now radiant and transformed) chants from the sutra and a vast battle between Buddha and Monkey King commences. In the end Monkey King is defeated by the palm of Buddha. He then appears in a peaceful looking hill with Sanzang who places Miss Duans magic ring on Monkey King’s head, which becomes his famous circlet.

Going back to his master, Sanzang reveals that he learned through his loss of Miss Duan that there is no difference between Greater and Lesser Love. His master instructs him to go to India to bring back sacred Buddhist texts. Monkey King is now at his side as a disciple and joined by both the water demon and pig demon (the former in human form, the latter with pig-like features). They set out and we see the four companions beginning their famous quest.

I was really excited about Journey to the West when I heard about it and have been anticipating viewing it all year. Normally that leads to disappointment for me, but this is a really strong Stephen Chow movie, better than Shaolin Soccer and possibly equal to Kung Fu Hustle. I liked the actors and every scene managed to both make me laugh and captivate me. You also really cared for the characters. While the very first special effect zoom looked a bit shaky, the rest of the effects were wonderful, particularly the demons and the final Buddha Palm shot at the end of the film. I was mainly focused her on giving an overview of the plot, so I may have done  a disservice to the comedy of the movie (which is excellent).

SERTORIUS FILLABLE CHARACTER SHEET

A player in one of our Sertorius groups made this handy fillable PDF character sheet for the game. This is still a work in progress but wanted to share it. Right now we just have one for Sertori characters: http://www.bedrockgames.net/Regular_Sheet_7_Fillable-2.pdf

Be sure to check the Sertorius page of our website for updates in the near future: http://www.bedrockgames.net/untitled1.html

SERTORIUS WITH A CLASSIC FANTASY PARTY

We are still getting Sertorius ready for print and PDF release so I haven't had much time to post here. We have also been preparing our free PDF support for Sertorius, which includes spell expansions, an adventure and other material like our Wuxia setting. Today I want to talk about our latest project for the free PDFs: Classic Fantasy. 

For those who don't know, Sertorius will be supported by expansion material in the form of free PDFs. We knew people would want more spells and options, but we didn't want anyone to feel pressured to buy options or spells they may not use. So we decided to release our expansion books for free. 

Classic Fantasy will likely be released between Book of the Archon I (our free spell expansion) and The Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate (our Wuxia setting for Sertorius). In the default Sertorius game, the players are generally assumed to be spell casters called Sertori and they have a huge advantage over other character types due to their nature. However we wanted to provide options for groups looking for the classic warrior, thief, and wizard style play. So we put together a packet and started running sessions of it two weeks ago. 

The new packet, which we are just calling the Classic Fantasy Party Packet for now, contains rules for making burglars and warriors who can stand beside Sertori in an adventure and hold their own. Warriors rule the battlefield and burglars are masters of stealth and cunning. In a Classic Fantasy Sertorius campaign, the players can opt to be a Sertori, a Warrior or a Burglars before they select their background. Both have their own characters sheets and abilities. 

Warriors can take lots of wounds, deliver lots of wounds, and strike multiple foes. They also have special combat abilities called maneuvers. They gain more maneuvers as they advance and examples include things like "Gut" and "Behead", which both allow for spectacular attacks in combat. 

Burglars are have a broad selection of abilities called Tricks, and they get a lot of them. These include "Vital Strike", "Disguise", "Disarm Trap" and "Poison Immunity". 

We are having tons of fun with this one. If players like it, we may release similar free PDFs. 

The Landlord's Daughter

Very excited to hear that The Landlord's Daughter will be released in print and is available for pre-order. I have been a fan of Colonial Gothic since it came out around 2007 or so. This is an adventure that Bill and I wrote. Naturally it is an investigation:

http://roguegames.tumblr.com/post/86297087265/rogue-games-warns-you-to-beware-of-the-secrets-hidden?utm_content=bufferbfc17&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

SERTORIUS PROOFS

Sertorius is just about ready for release. We are just finalizing the layout and fine-tuning some of the borders. Here is a glimpse of what to expect:

Monsters
We have an extensive monster section in the book that covers everything from mundane threats to god-like foes from other realms. The monster chapter is nearly 100 pages (1/5th of the entire book) and follows an easy-to-read format as seen to the right.

Familiar and Exotic Character Races
There are nine races to choose from in Sertorius: Human, Halfling, Dwarf, Elf, Hasri, Ogre, Gru, Orc and Kobold. The traditional races are familiar with some new twists and we also introduce unique creatures like the Hasri (reptilian humanoids). 












Each race is individually detailed with easy-to-read stat blocks and cultural descriptions. 

Spell and Miracles
Sertorius is a game about mighty spell casters. There are 80 spells in the book with complete descriptions and handy stat blocks. In addition there are powerful abilities called Thauma (Miracles) that experienced Sertori can gain access to. We will also be releasing expanded spell lists for free by PDF for groups that want more options. 

Afflictions and Grims
Spell-casting in Sertorius is easy but comes with some risk. Those who push themselves too far can be overwhelmed by the potent energies they channel, succumbing to mental and physical afflictions. If this process continues unchecked, the Sertori may become a Grim: a powerful supernatural force. 

Equipment and Trade Goods
The equipment chapter includes weapons, armor, trade goods, musical instruments, clothing, transport, lists of wages and more. 















These are just a few of the highlights of the book. The final layout is 500 pages with fourteen chapters covering Rules, Character Creation, Gods, Religions, Organizations, Peoples and Places, Monsters, Magical Objects, History, NPCs, and more. 

GP ADVENTURES LAUNCHES

Our friends Benoist Poire and Ernie Gygax Jr. have launched their company website: http://www.gp-adventures.com