WUXIA INSPIRATION: THE GOLDEN SWORD

Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate (WHOG) draws on a number of sources for inspiration. I watch a lot of wuxia movies and TV shows, and these have had a big influence not only on Ogre Gate, but on Sertorius and many of my d20 campaigns. I am hoping to share some of my favorite movies and shows in the genre here as we work on WHOG.

Note: I am writing these as a fan of the genre. I am not a movie expert or an expert in asian cinema. These are my own observations based on what I have learned by watching wuxia and kung fu movies, and by reading about them through interviews and books. But my knowledge is quite limited and I am an English speaker. So understand that my commentary comes from this perspective. 

This review contains many spoilers.

This is part of my Cheng Pei-pei review series. You can see my other reviews of her movies here: Come Drink With Me, Golden Swallow, Brothers Five,The Lady Hermit,The Shadow Whip, and Dragon Swamp.  

Introduction

The Golden Sword was released in 1969 by Shaw Brothers Studio and directed by Lo Wei. It stars Cheng Pei-pei (Jin-Feng), Kao Yuen (Bai Yu-Lung), Wang Lai (Lung Xin-Zi), Lo Wie (Bai Chun-Tung) and Wong Chung-Shun (Saintly Swordsman Luke). Action direction by Sammo Hung and Simon Chui Yee-Ang. 

I saw The Golden Sword for the first time right before doing this review and I think it might just possibly be my favorite Cheng Pei-pei. At the very least The Golden Sword sits right beside Lady Hermit and Come Drink With Me. It has also greatly added to my admiration for Low Wei as a director, who also directed The Shadow Whip and Dragon Swamp. Like those movies movies The Golden Sword puts much of its focus on story and has an adventurous quality. Lo Wei seems to make good use of Cheng Pei-pei's talents beyond wielding a sword. For example we are treated to her singing and dancing skills during a music number at the Beggar Sect camp. 

In Golden Sword Lo Wei also delivers romance, secret societies and a vast span of landscapes. It is a film where you get to witness characters develop over years. There is a mystery at the heart of the Golden Sword, and from the very first scene I was intrigued by it, finding myself eager to know the contents of a mysterious box delivered to a great master. The mystery only deepened and the box once open led to more questions I wanted answered. But following the characters over their years long journey through, the answer was worth being patient for. 

The Golden Sword 

The film opens at the Golden Sword Lodge on a stormy night, where two mysterious masked riders approach and demand to see Chief Bai Chun-Tung. When the Chief's men ask for further information, they are simply given a small box and told that Chief Bai will know who they are. With a foreboding look, he walks outside and and joins the riders, saying to his men "don't wait for me" as they take him away. 

Seven years later we are at a meeting of the 36 schools and they are about to elect Chief Ng as his successor after seven years of fruitless searching for their lost master Bai. Chief Ng promises to honor the memory of Chief Bai when his son, Bai Yu-Lung requests permission to go search for his father for three years. The Chief admires Yu-lung's dutifulness toward his father and grants permission. 

Yu-lung travels west, beyond the frontier and into a small mountain community where corruption reigns. By this time he has already been on the road for two years. He meets a young beggar named Jin-Feng who he mistakes for a young boy. Like many movies in this genre, simply donning a cap and wearing plain clothes is enough for women to pass as men. Worried for her safety, he gives Jin-Feng some food and later invites her to his room. Concerned about decorum, Jin-Feng is reluctant but eventually sleeps on the floor and evades joining him in the bed by claiming to have lice. 

Jin-Feng as beggar

That night a gang of thugs led by a man named Black Demon, accuse Bai of stealing silver they were going to transport for a trio of men called The Three Cripples. Black Demon works for Chief Yao, who regularly transports money for corrupt officials in the region. As a fight break out, Jin-Feng reveals she was the thief, and then massacres the Three Cripples. She leaves saying if Chief Yao wants to confront her about the silver he can meet her at Happy Pass. Bai asks the innkeeper where this Happy Pass is, and he says it can be anywhere, as it is the camp of the Beggar Sect. 

Jin-Feng goes back to Happy Pass and joins her fellow beggars at their camp. It seems she is the daughter of the leader, Beggar Chief An (though this might not be an actual blood relationship, it is unclear from the subtitles). Jin-Feng changes into female attire and tells Beggar Chief's wife that she is expecting a visitor. Bai arrives shortly after and they throw a celebration for him, complete with a full musical number. 

Jin-Feng in beggar camp

Chief Yao arrives in the camp the next day, demanding his silver, and Beggar Chief An playfully refuses, claiming he has spent all the money so there is nothing left to give him. Jin-Feng tells the chief that if he wants his silver, she is the one who took it. They fight and she kills him, quite brutally, leading to a battle between beggar sect and Chief Yao's men. The beggars easily defeat the chief's forces and after, as Bai is about to depart to continue his search for his father, Jin-Feng offers to go with him. 

They spend the next year searching together but fail to find Bai's father. Returning to the Golden Swords, Bai and Jin-Feng marry, attended by Chief Ng, Beggar Chief, and Keeper Pang, as well as numerous other guests. The next morning a mysterious iron box arrives as a wedding gift. Too heavy to lift, when they open it, it reveals a smaller box inside, followed by another, then another. The final box contains the Golden Sword of Bai's father. 

As soon as the sword is revealed two masked riders reach the lodge and demand Bai come with them. Bai, Jin-Feng and the rest of the wedding guests try to fight off the riders but their martial skills are too great and they take Bai with them (though not without losing a horse). When Keeper Pang inspects the horse's body he finds an emblem and tells the others it is the seal of Dragon Palace, a place people have only heard whispers about. Pang informs them that Dragon Palace is real and to be feared. In a major twist, he removes his face, which was just a mask, and the others recognize him as a man who disappeared thirty years ago called Saintly Swordsman Luke. According to Swordsman Luke he was trapped in the Palace but escaped, meeting Bai's father in the process, and both changed their identities. Jin-Feng convinces Swordsman Luke to take her to the palace to rescue Bai. 

Keeper Pang reveals he is Saintly Swordsman Luke

On their way they find Red Leaf Valley, Swordsman Luke tells Jin-Feng the tale of his journey to Dragon Palace to learn their superior techniques, that they have severe laws and are ruled by women. After fighting their 7th Lady in Red Leaf Valley,  Luke was sentenced to a lifetime of labor at the palace for trespassing. Bai's father was just a cowherd who saved found a young woman poisoned by a snake. He sucked the venom from her wound and as a reward she took him back to the Palace, taught him her techniques and married him. She was also the master of Dragon Palace: Lung Xin-Zi. However Dragon Palace has a strict rule that all first born males be killed. So Bai's father took his son and fled, meeting Luke and helping him in his escape. 

7th Lady of Dragon Palace easily defeating Luke 

After telling her his story, a strange mood descends on the Red Leaf Valley and Luke panics, flashing back to his time in hard labor. He flees and Jin-Feng vows to find Bai on her own. Eventually she finds a lady of the palace who offers to help, but informs her that Bai has already left. 

As Jin-Feng and Luke were trying to rescue Bai, he had already made his escape and found his way back to the lodge. There he finds everyone has been paralyzed so releases their pressure points to learn that they are under threat from Dragon Palace. A woman called the Executor arrives and her lackeys bring in Saintly Swordsman Luke. She plans to kill him but Bai obstructs her, finding himself on the receiving end of powerful internal energy techniques. A masked woman in black swoops in and rescues Bai, taking him back to Red Leaf Valley to reunite with Jin-Feng. His rescuer is Lung Xin-Zi, who is trying to protect her son, but says according to Dragon Palace law, even the Master must abide by their rules, so she can't do so openly. She tells Bai that his father is alive and was sentenced to 10 years labor, which has almost elapsed. She blesses the marriage and promises to abolish the laws that have torn their family apart. 

Lung Xin-Zi

At a dramatic ceremony she says she wants the laws abolished and asks the executor to inform the sect how that can be done. Pointing to a massive rock with the laws engraved on it, the executioner tells the women of Dragon Palace that the the laws can only be abolished by the blood of the master. They plead with their leader not to sacrifice herself, but she stands atop the rock and strikes own chest, releasing a flow of blood onto the stone inscription. 

The next scene is Bai, his father and Jin-Feng walking up the steps to the rock to pay their respects to Lung Xin-Zi's memory. 

A Mystery within a Mystery

The Swordplay is all very good but this isn't a wuxia film that is only about the fights (again, Sammo Hung was one of the action directors). There is a dense and epic story here, and that is what matters more than the fighting. Still it has some truly great scenes in this department. There is a playful exchange when Bai first goes to the tavern in the mountain village, where he fends off his attackers with chop sticks as they try to take his roasted chicken. Cheng Pei-pei's fight with the Three Cripples ends suddenly with their deaths, and this works well. You are expecting a longer fight but she beats them in under ten moves. In most of Cheng Pei-pei's swordplay scenes she easily outmaneuvers her foes and delivers stunningly lethal strikes. Her battle with Chief Yao is particularly gruesome and stark in this regard. Notably, she goes to rescue Bai from the Dragon Palace, not the reverse. And he is ultimately saved by his mother, rather than his father. 

Jin-Feng facing Chief Yao's men

More than the swordplay, it is the mystery of Dragon Palace that drives Golden Sword. And it is a deep riddle. This secret and widely feared organization is led by women and enforces its laws with great cruelty. In Dragon Swamp, Lo Wei also had a secret society of female warriors, but that one was a force for good. This is the inverse, with a society of women who punish men and live by a code that demands blood. 

One thing I really liked about the Golden Sword is the wide variety of settings. It isn't a martial arts movie that hangs out at the same villa for two hours. We go from villa to wilderness, to snowy village, to beggar camp, to many places along the red before reaching Red Leaf Valley and Dragon Palace itself. It coursed over these environments like a tour. 

Bai fencing with chopsticks

For gamers I think I'd recommend this over all the other Cheng Pei-pei movies. There is just too much here to pull for a game. I found myself taking notes to use for future sessions as I watched. You could easily take this movie and turn it into three or four adventures. 

The trailer below gives a good idea of the kind of swordplay and story to expect.

HOW TO RUN A WUXIA CAMPAIGN

I wrote an article for theRPGsite on how to run a wuxia campaign. It explains what the wuxia genre is and talks about finding the ideal system. Also discusses how to organize and manage your adventures. Here is a link to the article: How to run a wuxia campaign 

WUXIA INSPIRATION: GOLDEN SWALLOW

Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate (WHOG) draws on a number of sources for inspiration. I watch a lot of wuxia movies and TV shows, and these have had a big influence not only on Ogre Gate, but on Sertorius and many of my d20 campaigns. I am hoping to share some of my favorite movies and shows in the genre here as we work on WHOG.

Note: I am writing these as a fan of the genre. I am not a movie expert or an expert in asian cinema. These are my own observations based on what I have learned by watching wuxia and kung fu movies, and by reading about them through interviews and books. But my knowledge is quite limited and I am an English speaker. So understand that my commentary comes from this perspective. 

This review contains many spoilers.

This is part of my Cheng Pei-pei review series. You can see my other reviews of her movies here: Come Drink With Me, Brothers Five,The Lady Hermit,The Shadow Whip, and Dragon Swamp.  

The Sequel that Wasn't

I am conflicted when it comes to Golden Swallow. On the one hand, it is a great movie in its own right and Jimmy Wang gives a wonderful performance as the lead actor. On the other hand, this is something of a sequel to Come Drink With Me, but it relegates Cheng Pei-pei's character, Golden Swallow, to a secondary role. It is a film about both Golden Swallow and her lover Silver Roc but mainly it is concerned with the exploits of the latter. 

It is hard not to wish the movie gave more screen time and allowed better development of Golden Swallow. While Cheng Pei-pei does regard Golden Swallow as having the best writing of any Chang Cheh movie, in an interview she gives the impression that he oversimplified female characters, saying "He thought he knew women really well....He would tell me to have my hair down. And the way that he shot Wang Yu looking at me was very sweet. But usually girls were just there as girls." There is definitely a noticeable shift in how the character Golden Swallow is presented in this film versus King Hu's Come Drink With Me. She feels almost like a different person here, or at the very least like a person inhabiting a different world from the first movie. 

Sill despite these quibbles, I like Golden Swallow and the exceedingly violent and bloody final scene makes this a classic. 

Golden Swallow

Golden Swallow was released in 1968 by Shaw Brothers Studio and directed by Chang Cheh. It stars Jimmy Wang (Silver Roc), Cheng Pei-pei (Golden Swallow), and Lo Lieh (Golden Whip). 

Golden Swallow is a tale of love, justice and revenge. A love triangle in which the key protagonist, Silver Roc, nearly drags his allies to ruin on a ruthless quest to rid the world of iniquity. He leaps at his foes like a soaring bird and slices with an elegant gentlemen sword but is dark and brooding, seemingly incapable of forming real connections with other people.  

His opponent in love is Golden Whip, a noble and kindhearted warrior who seems to lack the killer instinct necessary to survive the martial world. He wields a bian, sometimes called the hard whip, a sort of long bludgeoning weapon with a pointy end that can be used to stab.

The object of their affection is Golden Swallow. She provides a mean between the two, capable of killing without remorse when necessary but never going beyond what the situation demands. Golden Swallow provides a middle ground between Silver Roc's ruthlessness and Golden Whip's compassion. She carries two small blades, parrying blows with one and killing with the other.

Silver Roc studied under the same master as Golden Swallow. He was an orphan, whose entire family was killed by bandits. He survived the attack but his face is stamped with a crude scar from one of the killer's sword blades. As a student he was quiet and formed a bond with only one other disciple: Golden Swallow. However the others admired him for his martial talents and he was the only one among them to master their Sifu's deadly attack "The Roc's Coup de grace", in which he leaps at his foes and kills them with a deadly flourish. At the time he was known only as Little Roc. But he left his master suddenly and without any explanation to the other students, taking several of Golden Swallow's swallow darts before departing. 

Silver Roc performing Roc's Coup de Grace

At the start of the movie, Silver Roc hatches a desperate plan to see Golden Swallow once more. He travels the land, butchering every villain and evil sect he can find, leaving one of Golden Swallow's swallow darts at the scene to implicate her. While a more stable man like Golden Whip might use conventional methods, like talking to Golden Swallow and exchanging martial arts techniques, Silver Roc is complicated and clearly bent on a path of self destruction. You get the impression this is no mere romantic gesture, but a final plea before he is consumed by is own mindless desire for revenge. 

He also is a loner and spends most of his time going from one brothel to the next. His favorite is Li Chun Yuan Brothel where he is especially close to a woman named Mei-niang. Between butcherings, we get to see the swordsman unwind and drink himself into a stupor, when he unfurls some poetic verse about his lonely wanderings and his desire to see Golden Swallow again: "With sword I travel alone. The Roc soars high into the clouds. The land is vast, but where is my home? Oh Swallow, where are you nestling?"

This is a particularly effective scene because they superimpose the the poem and its characters over a silhouette of a landscape and the figure of Silver Roc. It is somewhat melodramatic but works very well. However it isn't long before Silver Roc is back on the road, cutting down evildoers. 

Silver Roc

And the path he carves here is especially brutal. We get one scene after another of Silver Roc effortlessly slicing through dozens of bandits, culminating in a fabulous attack on the Golden Dragon headquarters. The Golden Dragons are vicious, murdering innocent people and their families, and then cutting out the hearts of enemies and quartering their own men when they fail to follow orders. It is clear from the very moment you see them, these are bad people. Yet as Silver Roc cuts them down, one questions if his sadism is greater than theirs. He burns the place down and leaves another swallow dart at the scene.  

As this unfolds, Golden Swallow is living in a mountain valley with Golden Whip, where they train together. They meet one of Golden Whip's martial brothers, Flying Fox. He brings news of the deadly hero Silver Roc and his exploits murdering thugs and bandits. Golden Swallow wonders if this Silver Roc could be her old classmate Little Roc. 

Golden Whip, Golden Swallow and Flying Fox

As they are walk through the wilderness the three are ambushed by Iron Face, Liu Chong, Double Blade and Fan Len. They were all wronged in some way by Silver Roc's actions, and because he left the swallow pin at each scene, they've come to Golden Swallow to settle the grudge. Golden Swallow and Golden Whip both make short work of them, but Flying Fox is wounded in the fight and they bring him back to their valley to recuperate. It is obvious after the battle that Golden Whip considers Golden Swallow too eager to kill, and she regards his hesitancy to do so as a possible weakness. 

Back in the valley, Golden Swallow is convinced that Silver Roc is behind everything, and that this is his way of trying to see her again. After they treat Flying Fox of his injuries, Golden Swallow leaves to deal with Silver Roc on her own, however Golden Whip follows after her. 

Meanwhile, Silver Roc hears the cries of a grieving mother from his brothel window and is informed that her husband was murdered and her son forced to commit suicide by the two Master Cao's who wanted the family's land. This fills Silver Roc with rage and he goes after the men, finding the first Cao easily before setting out for a tea house where he believes the other to be. 

Silver Roc Burning the Golden Dragons

On the road Golden Swallow is attacked by a group of thugs who have united under the new head of Golden Dragon, Poison Dragon Wang to seek vengeance against her. She fends them off and manages to escape. Somehow Golden Whip manages to find Silver Roc first and arrives at the Tea House just after the hero has rendered justice and killed the second Master Cao. Silver Roc stands over one of Cao's men, who pleads for his life, and his first strike against the man is parried by Golden Whip who encourages him to show mercy. Still in a fury, Silver Roc slices the man's throat.

There the two have a cold stand-off and exchange of words. Golden Whip takes exception to Silver Roc's cruelty but it is clear that this is really about jealousy. They agree to a duel when Golden Swallow arrives and tries to dissuade them. Both are insistent on fighting, however when Golden Swallow tells them that she is now being hunted by a newly united criminal underworld, Silver Roc promises to deal with them for her first. 

Silver Roc makes his way to find Poison Dragon Wang, again slicing his way through henchmen who fall before his sword like blades of grass. Golden Swallow and Golden Whip give pursuit but are always one step behind, picking off his scraps as they try to catch up. After facing a group of guards called The Five Heroes, Silver Roc faces against Poison Dragon Wang in a ruined tomb. There he is about to kill Wang when Golden Swallow and Golden Whip arrive. A wounded henchmen tries to strike Swallow and Silver Roc's efforts to protect her give Poison Dragon Wang an opportunity to escape. Once again Silver Roc gives chase and the other two return to their valley home. 

Later Golden Swallow tries to find Silver Roc by going to different brothels. At one of them she runs into Flying Fox, a long-standing patron of such establishments, and he tells her that Silver Roc sees a girl name Mei-niang at Li Chun Yuan Brothel. She goes there and the two spend the night together after drinking and talking. Though she asked him not to go to his duel with Golden Whip, the date and time are already made for the next day and he departs in the middle of the night to meet his fate. 

Golden Swallow and Silver Roc meet again

The next morning, Mei-niang and Golden Swallow try to track Silver Roc down to stop the duel. They are followed by a Poison Dragon Wang, who plans to use the duel to his advantage and kill Golden Swallow and Silver Roc. He is intercepted by Flying Fox, who buys some time for his friends but dies in the effort. 

As all the characters converge on the duel, where the two men have already been fighting for some time, Silver Roc is distracted by the presence of Poison Dragon Wang and leaps over Golden Whip to stab him. As he does, Golden Whip's bian is accidentally split and drives into Silver Roc's belly, wounding him mortally. He does manage to kill Poison Dragon Wang but he loses a lot of blood and knows he is going to die. 

Golden Swallow

Golden Swallow tells Silver Roc that she loves him, and he asks Golden Whip to take her away so she doesn't see him die. Instead he stays in the company of Mei-Niang (who he doesn't love) as he fades. 

Just when it looks like we have arrived at the melancholy ending, Silver Roc hears the sound of marching, of Poison Dragon Wang's troops arriving. Determined to die a hero, he faces them all, taking arrows and swords, whip lashes and hooks but defeating them in the end. He stands triumphant over his enemies and declares that he "still reigns as supreme swordsman." 

Silver Roc on his way to face Poison Dragon Wang

Golden Swallow buries him in the mountain valley, where she intends to stay the rest of her life. Golden Whip leaves and says he will never see her again, but gives his cabin to Mei-niang, who also seems intent on residing by Silver Roc's gravesite. 

Blood and Spirit

This movie is exceptionally bloody and particularly ruthless in how it depicts violence. There are two scenes where characters cut open their own belly just to prove their honesty and loyalty. The movie is filled with images like this. Still there is an underlying elegance to the fight choreography, particularly with Jimmy Wang's Silver Roc, who flies through the air with flowing white sleeves and slashes like a dervish. 

Jimmy Wang is rather lean, so this style works for his physique. His face is hard, but his body is like a dancer's. He dashes and whirls his way to victory and carries himself with a lightness that is believable in its deadliness. 

There are several standout scenes. Unfortunately Cheng Pei-pei doesn't get as much fight time in this one. She is mainly on the edge of the film. Even Lo Lieh, who has third billing really, gets some of the better swordplay scenes. This is definitely one of the disappointments of the movie. 

Golden Whip

The scenes that work mainly focus on Jimmy Wang, and the crowning jewel of Golden Swallow is his final battle against Poison Dragon's men. It is so bloody it borders on the ridiculous but it still manages to ring true. Already dying, Jimmy Wang's Silver Roc is impaled with four swords, down to the very hilts, wounded by countless arrows and stabbed a number of times, but still stands and fends off his opponents. The scene plays like a crucifixion and has a lot of emotional weight because of its bloodiness. For me, it is the visual depiction of the martial art notion of indomitable spirit. Siver Roc is a character who simply refuses to lose, who refuses to die until he has won.

Silver Roc as the supreme swordsman

 

I do recommend Golden Swallow, though I think it is not the best Cheng Pei-pei vehicle. If you want to see a film with her in a more prominent role, I would suggest Come Drink with Me or Lady Hermit. However Jimmy Wang is a tremendous actor and you won't be disappointed by Golden Swallow if you go in not expecting a straight sequel of Come Drink With Me. 

Let it tumble...but come prepared

I am working on a wuxia in RPGs article for theRPGsite so today is going to be brief entry as that is taking up much of my extra time. Last night I was thinking about what trips me up most as a GM. I think the thing that disrupts my performance the most isn't players avoiding things I might have planned for, it is when they approach the things I have planned from a completely unexpected angle. I've found the best reaction to is be adaptive, shake some of the prep from your mind and allow things to move organically. 

I like to go into a game session with a strategy, having actual notes and material on hand, but also having a game plan for things that are likely to come up. For example, in my Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate session I knew that one of my NPCs would be looking to discuss some concerns about the Sect alliances and about his daughter marrying one of the PCs. So I had a simple not to this effect on a bullet pointed list, among other such reminders for different characters and events, to consult and keep in mind during play. Personally I just find that sort of thing useful, in case I grow a little forgetful. But the problem with it, is my mind can get too focused on what I have written, and forget all of the unwritten possibilities. 

I look at it a bit like an athlete going into an event. You have a game plan, you have some notion of what you'll do should X,Y or Z occur, but those are just hypotheticals, once you are in the moment, you have to deal with whatever is in front of you, and make the best choice for that moment. 

It is just like that when you are GMing. You can explore the hypotheticals before the game, you can plan some notes and have an idea where things are going, but if you don't see the possibilities as things are unfolding because you are thinking about what you had planned, you miss out. 

So let things unfold. Allow the dice to tumble as they will and an interesting campaign will emerge. 

WUXIA INSPIRATION: DRAGON SWAMP

Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate (WHOG) draws on a number of sources for inspiration. I watch a lot of wuxia movies and TV shows, and these have had a big influence not only on Ogre Gate, but on Sertorius and many of my d20 campaigns. I am hoping to share some of my favorite movies and shows in the genre here as we work on WHOG.

Note: I am writing these as a fan of the genre. I am not a movie expert or an expert in asian cinema. These are my own observations based on what I have learned by watching wuxia and kung fu movies, and by reading about them through interviews and books. But my knowledge is quite limited and I am an English speaker. So understand that my commentary comes from this perspective. 

This review contains many spoilers.

This is part of my Cheng Pei-pei review series. You can see my other reviews of her movies here: Come Drink With Me, Brothers Five,The Lady Hermit, and The Shadow Whip. 

INTRODUCTION

Dragon Swamp is unusual, even more so that The Shadow Whip, for a number of reasons.  The setting is highly atmospheric, bordering on fantasy or horror in terms of look and feel. Watching it one is reminded of old Hammer Studios sets, with its fog filled bogs and sound-stage wilderness. There is even a hint of Yoda's Dagobah here. This is wuxia done with heavy emphasis on the fantastic, with an adventurous plot revolving around the theft of a magic sword called the Jade Dragon (supposedly the same sword stolen by Jen/Jiaolong and Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Youth preserving elixirs, Qi powered energy blasts and ancestral curses abound in Dragon Swamp. One of the most interesting aspects of the movie is Cheng Pei-pei plays two different roles, sharing screen time with herself. 

DRAGON SWAMP

Dragon Swamp was released by Shaw Brothers in 1969 and directed by Lo Wei. It is another movie pairing Cheng Pei-pei (Fan Ying and Qing-er) with Yueh Hua (Roaming Knight). It also stars Tung Li (Dragon Swamp Master), Lo Lieh (Yu Jiang), Wong Chung-Shun (Dachuan/Song Yue/White Faced General), Ku Feng (Master Song Junyi) and Lo Wei (Master Fan). Cinematography is by Wu Cho-Hua and Art Direction by Chan King-Sam.

The movie begins as Dachuan tries to flee from Lingshan Chunyang Taoist Temple after stealing the Jade Dragon Sword. The temples takes back the sword but he escapes with his eldest son, leaving his wife, Fan Ying, and their infant daughter, to face the consequences of his actions. Master Fan, leader of the Lingshan Sect, reveals that Dachuan is actually a man known as White-Faced General and accuses Fan Ying of aiding Dachuan to take the sword. According to Master Fan, Dachuan had stolen the sword three years prior, and remained with Fan Ying for three years in order to learn the temples' other secrets. Fan Ying pleads her innocence and it is unclear from the subtitles if she was tricked, ensorcelled or willingly helped Dachuan. Master Fan decides to follow the laws of his order and banish her to the Dragon Swamp for 20 years. He shows some compassion, giving her two daggers and a spell, as well as advice on how to survive, including telling her about the dangerous but capricious Dragon Swamp Master. He then says he will raise her daughter for her in the safety of the temple. We see Fan Ying depart by boat to Dragon Swamp and then the film flashes forward.

Twenty years later we see her daughter, Qing-er (who doesn't know about her mother Fan Ying) playfully practicing as instructed by her master. She returns to her fellow students in the temple as another thief (this one masked) once again takes the Jade Dragon Sword from the Jingang Pagoda. Master Fan announces the theft to his students, telling them of the swords bloody history (which according to the subtitles killed an incarnation of the Buddha), and saying that the blade will curse the family of anyone who takes it. He then instructs his students to depart and find the sword. 

Qing-er

We next see Qing-er in Zhennan, in a small town under the effective control of a man named Yu Jiang). Qing-er learns that Yu-Jiang is head of security and plans to host a feast that evening. Going to the feast, Qing-er meets another wandering warrior who simply calls himself Roaming Knight. They form an immediate connection as Qing-er falls under the suspicion of Yu-Jiang, who seems to recognize her. He has his men attack her and we are treated to an excellent tea house fight scene. Roaming Knight helps defend Qing-er who learns through an exchange that Yu-Jiang was the masked thief who stole the sword. Yu wounds Qing-er with the Jade Dragon, so Roaming Knight carries her away and escapes to the wilderness. 

As he treats her wounds, Roaming Knight says that Qing-er looks like his long lost love, a woman who left him for another man and disappeared twenty years ago. He wants to help her, and says that the Dragon Swamp Master is powerful enough to help her get the sword back. The two set off for the swamp, intending to ask the Master for assistance. 

Qing-er facing Yu Jiang and his men

The journey through the swamp is lots of fun, if riddled with questionable effects. There are enormous monitor lizards shown in the background, but you can see the screens these images are projected on to. They encounter sinking sand traps and aquatic monsters before they receive an audience with the Dragon Swamp Master, who is protected by an army of all female warriors. 

Dragon Swamp Master hears their case and promises to help. Roaming Knight is grateful and departs to continue his search for his lost love. After he leaves the Dragon Swamp Master is revealed to be Fan Ying dressed as a man. She uses a facial mask to hide her features and the hairs of a dragon to disguise her voice. By consuming dragon bladders for the past 20 years she has also kept her youth. While she doesn't tell Qing-er that she is her mother, Fan Ying clearly cares for her and says they should be sworn sisters. She also informs Qing-er that she killed the original Dragon Swamp Master years ago. Together they go back to Yu Jiang to take the sword (though Fan Ying disguises herself as the Dragon Swamp Master for the journey). 

I will say more about this later but it is worth mentioning here that Cheng Pei-pei does an excellent job playing two separate characters (though when she is dressed as Dragon Swamp Master another actor plays the role). The split screen is quite seamless and the mannerisms between both her roles are entirely different. 

When they reach Yu Jiang's estate, we get another impressive fight. When the underlings demand to know their attacker's identity Fan Ying as Dragon Swamp Master says "You'll piss your pants if I tell you my name." I don't know if this is an accurate translation of the original dialogue but the delivery had me laughing. It was a bold and humorous line.

Fan Ying and Qing-er

After beating, but not harming, Yu Jiang's men, they are invited to speak inside. There Yu Jiang proves eloquent but treacherous, refusing to give them the sword. After another fight, which features several fantastic wuxia powers, Fan Ying/Dragon Swamp Master subdues Yu with a technique I refer to as Gravity Palm, pulling him against his will and demanding he turn over the sword. Ju Jiang seems to relent, and bows to show his defeat, but this only unleashes a red plume of poison gas that afflicts Fan Ying. He then tells Fan Ying she only has 8 days to live, but Fan Ying strikes him in the face with her own poisoned darts, and informs him he has only five days to live, and will need to give her an antidote if he doesn't want to die. 

Yu Jiang seems to agree and says he will take her to his master, he also relinquishes the sword. Fan Ying gives the sword to Qing-er and tells her to go back to Lingshan Temple and return it to Master Fan. Reluctantly Qing-er agrees. Just before she leaves we see Yu Jiang whisper something to two of his men, who depart with devious looks in their eyes. 

On the road back to the temple Qing-er is sidetracked and led to believe the road ahead is closed by flooding, so she takes a shortcut and finds herself at an inn. The scene that unfolds clearly references the iconic inn fight from Come Drink With Me but is still quite well done. As Qing-er sits to take her meal, one by one, different masters come into the inn's tavern and give her intimidating stare. These are each men she encountered along her to the inn, so it is clear she has been set up. They attack and she kills and wounds several. Cornering the leader she demands to know who sent him, but he pleads that he is just a bandit and they mistook her for an easy target. She lets him go and he returns later than evening, stealing the sword from her room and leaving a fake one in its place. In the morning Qing-er knows immediate that the Jade Dragon has been stolen and demands the inn keeper tell her about the men who attacked her the night before, threatening to kill him if he doesn't talk. He has no useful information but she follows a set of wagon tracks to the villa of Master Song. 

Fan Ying is already in villa, as Yu Jiang's master is none other than Dachuan, now calling himself Song Yue and serves as an important underling to Master Song Junyi, leader of the Song Clan. It appears Dachuan has a plan to overthrow his master and control the 72 Clans. Fan Ying gives Yu Jiang the antidote but Dachuan refuses to give her one in exchange. She reveals her identity to him but he still refuses saying he must kill her since she knows the secret of his identity. 

Qing-er arrives at the gates of the Song compound and there she also meets Master Song (who knows nothing of the theft) traveling with Roaming Knight (still looking for his lost love). She tells them what happened and they go inside the villa with her to confront Dachuan. We get a splendid battle that ends with Roaming Knight being mortally wounded and Master Song being driven into a locked hall with some of his remaining loyal men. During the battle Roaming Knight sees Fan Ying and she tells him that Qing-er is her daughter. Qing-er escapes with Roaming Knight to treat his wounds, but he is dying. Before he passes he reveals that Fan Ying is her mother and Dachuan her father. As Qing-er weeps over the body of her lost friend, one of her temple brothers happens upon her and agrees to help her take on Dachuan. Before setting out he sends a messenger bird to inform their master. 

Qing-er and Roaming Knight

Back in the Song Villa, Dachuan is planning his rise to power and has placed Fan Ying in a dungeon. Yu Jiang hears her cries of pain from the poison and feels pity for her. He then goes to Dachuan, who seems to acknowledge him as his son, and requests that they give her the antidote and let her go. Dachuan is reluctant but says he will consider it after Fan Ying gets the seal of the Songs for him (which is contained in the hall holding Master Song Junyi). They set fire to the hall and Yu retrieves the seal. Qing-er fights her way to the dungeon and rescues her mother. 

Just as Dachuan's plans are about to succeed, Master Fan arrives and blasts the mastermind with a Qi strike, causing him to caught up blood. As he lay dying, Qing-er arrives with Fan Ying and they learn that Yu Jiang is her eldest son (taken 20 years ago). Dachuan gives Fan Ying the antidote, appears remorseful and asks her to protect Yu Jiang. Fan Ying begs asks her master to show mercy, but he banishes her son to Dragon Swamp for 20 years, and tells the mother and daughter to return together to the temple. 

A SPECTACULAR ADVENTURE

There are some strong swordplay scenes in the movie, particularly the first one during Yu Jiang's feast and the fight between Qing-er and the bandits at the Inn. Swamp Dragon also mixes in plenty of magical wuxia powers, like energy blasts, air gliding and more. It is definitely a treat in this respect and it keeps a very steady, energetic pace. The fight choreography isn't quite at the level of Lady Hermit, but it is still quite good. 

However this more than just a series of fights strung together loosely by plot, it is a story of redemption and family, as well as a great fantasy adventure. The sets and locations immerse you in another world. Fan Ying's Dragon Swamp lair is a subterranean paradise. The Lingshan Temple feels like something out of Raiders of the Lost Ark, complete with a booby trapped pagoda. On that level this is a highly engrossing film. 

Some of the effects are poor. Part of that is what was available at the time, some of that is a product of execution. It is all forgivable, and at times even adds to the movie. However the split screen is done well, and the wirework isn't too shabby. 

Particularly worthy of praise is Cheng Pei-pei's performance as both mother and daughter. You really believe these are two different characters. There was no need for willful suspension of disbelief as her movements, mannerisms, and voice capture distinct personalities. 

There are also many touching moments in Dragon Swamp. The relationship between Qing-er and Fan Ying is done well, with plenty of sentimentality. The death of Roaming Knight is effective and the redemption of Dachuan is poignant. 

For gaming this movie has a ton of stuff. Between the swamp and pagoda alone there is lots to incorporate into a game. The character backgrounds would all serve great for NPC material (even PC material). The conflict between Master Song and Dachuan, also would work well as a campaign backdrop. 

I highly recommend Dragon Swamp. It is one of the better Cheng Pei-pei movies in my series of reviews. It is an especially good choice for someone not as familiar with the genre, but who likes fantasy or adventure films. 

One note of caution: like some of the other Cheng Pei-pei movies I will be reviewing soon, Dragon Swamp is difficult to find these days. Not only is it hard to locate but the only copies I have ever seen have all been in formats like region 3 (which is difficult to play on an American DVD player) or even video disc. This is made worse by the fact that collectors are largely the ones acquiring copies, so prices can rise. 

While I could not find any clips, this trailer of the movie gives an idea what to expect: 

THE IMAGE IN THE MIRROR: THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-REFLECTION (GM ADVICE)

As a Game Master it is important to know what skills you bring to the table, to what your strengths are so you can make the best use of them. This is also importance for confidence. Like in any form of public presentation or speaking, uncertainty and nervousness by the GM can reduce the enjoyment of the other participants and cause them to become less engaged. So it is understandable that many GMs like to focus on what they do well and pay less attention to their weaknesses. However occasional self reflection on where you fall short can make running games easier in the long term. 

We all like to believe we are excellent Game Masters. I think most of us are excellent, because GMing involves a lot of hard work and prep. So any person who decides to helm a game, gets automatic credit from me as a player, simply because of the effort involved. It is also potentially embarrassing. You are laying out all your best ideas each week for your friends to pass judgment on. Still everyone has areas where they would like to improve. In my opinion the best way to approach this in gaming is to take it in small steps, dealing with one element at a time. 

It begins with an honest assessment of your GMing style. You want to ask yourself where you feel the least comfortable, that is usually where you'll find weaknesses. Sometimes these are not an issue. If you and your group don't like big dramatic speeches from NPCs, then it really isn't a problem if you haven't developed this much. On the other hand, if your group loves them, but you have difficulty delivering, then you might want to practice improving that skill. 

GM ATTRIBUTES

I am going to divide the game master skill set into some arbitrary categories just for the purpose of making discussion easier. There are any number of ways to slice this but these are areas I think you can take in turn to assess: 

System Mastery: I believe this is important if your a game master. Knowing the system you run matters because that affects the speed and flow of game play. I don't think every GM needs to be an encyclopedia of course. As long as you know enough to run the game smoothly and teach it to new players, that is enough. However I think it is something that should improve, not diminish, over the course of a campaign. If you find the latter occurring, or you find you just don't know the system well enough, here is my advice. 

Read the rule book at least twice all the way through (with the exception of sections that references chapters). Then before each game re-read the rules portion and the character creation portion. Because it comes up a lot, one thing I like to do, if the book has it, is re-read the combat section the morning of each game. After a while you won't need to read every last word, but may choose to focus on a particular area like the grappling rules or vehicle combat. 

Mastery of the the Material: This includes both setting and adventure material, whether home-brewed or published. This is equally important to system mastery. It slows down the game if you don't know the details of the setting or the names of your NPCs. It is easy to get lazy on this front so it is definitely worth evaluating where you are on this every so often. 

If you find you want to improve your master of material, I suggest begin with organization. If you are not organized, finding information during the game will quite difficult. So set up a proper binder, computer file or online method for organizing your campaign materials. 

Once things are organized make sure you review and evaluate what you have. Look for gaps so they don't come up during play. Even though it is all your own stuff, it is easy to forget what you've written, so re-read it once in a while. If you are running published material, then you ought to read and re-read until you are familiar with it. 

Performance: This can be further divided into many subgroups (voices, ad libbing, playing NPCs, description, etc). I think everybody has places they are strong and places they are weak here. I am weak on voices and on gathering steam. It usually takes me about 30 minutes to get into the flow of running a game and I am not especially fond of speaking with accents and the like. 

Some of performance includes natural talent, so there will be limits to what you can do. We can't all set the scene like James Earl Jones. Still I'm always surprised what a bit of hard work and practice can achieve. Anyone can make a Lamborghini go fast but if you can soup-up a jalopy to go fast that is truly impressive. 

Preparation: This is important and dovetails with mastery of material, but it is its own separate category as well. Really this is more about time you put in between games and how you use that time. It is also something that will fluctuate as you GM more. You may find you require less prep time as you gain experience, but you might also find yourself unable to prep as much as you like due to circumstances. The key here is to recognize what is realistic and work within those constraints. You definitely don't want to have prep time interfere with more important aspects of your life, but you also don't want to waste your players' time by not prepping enough. It is a balance. 

If you find you don't have enough time to prep, I suggest aiming for efficiency. A big help here is to write down what you absolutely need for the next session then work on those in order of importance. While listening to music during prep can be an inspiration for some it may also be a distraction that slows you down, so pay attention to the environment you prep in and remove anything that detracts from speedy prep. 

If you are simply not prepping enough because of lack of interest, it may be time to take a break from GMing and be a player for a while. 

Every so often, I find it helpful to take a break and just be a player. It really does help you see things from the other side and it can recharge your batteries a bit. Another reason I think this helps is it exposes you to someone else's GMing style, which can give you ideas for running your own games. 

So take a little time to examine your GMing practices. If you are happy with how you run games, then that is great and no need to work on anything. If there is something you'd like to improve, the above advice may be of use to you.