Music Martial Arts

DeepFlowingRiver

DeepFlowingRiver

Junior Member
Well if any of you have seen Kung Fu Hustle (horrible flick, but cool none-the-less) There are two villians that use musical instruments to send flying daggers of sound at their victims.


If there is any style already like this please let me know. If not, anyone want to help me develop it? I think it would add a whole new demention to performance based characters.
 
DeepFlowingRiver said:
Well if any of you have seen Kung Fu Hustle (horrible flick, but cool none-the-less)
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Horrible flick!!! How dare you, sir!!


I love that scene, but I'm unsure if it is a martial arts style or just the instrument being an Artifact.


~FC.
 
well horrible in the sense of movie making, great in the sense of being a cool movie.


So would it then be more a ranged attack style with a musical weapon artifact  then a martial arts style?
 
It might make for an interesting Artifact if the user riolls Performance to attack.


-S
 
Judging by the visuals in the movie, I think it should be made out of soulsteel, perhaps with some hungry ghosts trapped within it that are released to attack.


-S
 
Stillborn said:
Judging by the visuals in the movie, I think it should be made out of soulsteel, perhaps with some hungry ghosts trapped within it that are released to attack.
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Nice.  Also, when the instrument is played to a dead body, it releases the hungry ghost and traps it within the instrument, ready to release.


~FC.
 
Nice.  Also' date=' when the instrument is played to a dead body, it releases the hungry ghost and traps it within the instrument, ready to release.[/quote']
...and if the instrument kills someone, it sucks in their hungry ghost as well.


-S
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I'd guess 3. Four, if it really lays some smackdown, but no more than that.


-S
 
Stillborn said:
Nice.  Also' date=' when the instrument is played to a dead body, it releases the hungry ghost and traps it within the instrument, ready to release.[/quote']
...and if the instrument kills someone, it sucks in their hungry ghost as well.
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Yeah, but that would be harder, since the death of the mortal would have enraged their lower spirit whereas a resting hungry ghost (in an already dead body) is, well, kinda slumbering.


~FC.
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DeepFlowingRiver said:
This thing is turning into quite the artifact. What kind of level do you think this thing would be?
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Depends on the type of attack it does.  The simple 'punch' and 'slash' attacks, then a three.  The releasing of the dead army, then a four, definately.


~FC.
 
What the musicians did doesn't look at all like a standalone supernatural martial art - closer to a high-Essence Performance-based attack using a pretty powerful Artifact.


You could probably make a music-and-performance-driven style, by following the example Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style provides.  It might include Charms like this one.
 
What would the essence requirement be with that kind of charm going on, 3? 4?


So far it would be a level 3 artifact that does Lethal Damage with hungry ghosts flying out of it. It would also be able to raise hungry ghosts to be sucked into the artifact.


You would use perhaps Performance + Lore perhaps?


Would the damage be unsoakable?
 
DeepFlowingRiver said:
What would the essence requirement be with that kind of charm going on, 3? 4?
So far it would be a level 3 artifact that does Lethal Damage with hungry ghosts flying out of it. It would also be able to raise hungry ghosts to be sucked into the artifact.


You would use perhaps Performance + Lore perhaps?


Would the damage be unsoakable?
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Why would Lore come into it?  For that matter, why vary the usual attribute + ability rule at all?


Let's start with the basics.  What do we have?  Musicians who can cause damage at range using their musical instrument.  It is fairly light and they are adept at wielding it.  Beyond that, they have skill in the physical close-combat forms (punches, kicks, and so forth), but much prefer the relative safety and effectiveness of their instrument.


I wouldn't call it "hungry ghosts" the way it was represented in the movie, although you could do that if you want.


Let's start with the Charm.


Shadowed Creation's Requiem (Abyssal Performance) - cost 10m 1W, Scene, Simple, Performance 5, Essence 4.  The Abyssal calls on her ties to the Underworld, and the many memories which float like bittersweet odors on the cold winds of the shadowlands.  Through her performance, she may summon forth the shades of material things - the swords of soldiers who fell ages past, the laughter of children running heedlessly through a plague-stricken village's streets - and give them a semblance of reality again.  These phantasms will appear in the area around the Abyssal, subject to her commands and wishes... (we'll work out some mechanics for fear, bedazzlement, or whatever - the Charm should stand on its own)


Now the item.


Harp of the Weeping Heart (Artifact 3).  This diabolical musical instrument is said to be strung with the hairs of a poisoned mother and tuned to the dying screams of her tortured daughter, whose souls may still reside in its frame.  It is comprised partially of soulsteel and wood grown in the Black Chase.  The Harp has the power to realize the dreams of the dead, transforming their memories into reality in the area in which it is played.  Ghostly characters may use their Arcanoi to... (work out some sort of Arcanoi-boosting ability here)


Finally, the two together.  The Abyssal calls forth the dreams of dead things, using the Harp's power to direct them as weapons.
 
This looks great, sounds like we even need an abyssal to go along with it. Anyways, what kind of damage do you think this thing could really do?
 
DeepFlowingRiver said:
This looks great, sounds like we even need an abyssal to go along with it. Anyways, what kind of damage do you think this thing could really do?
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I leave the exact damage ratings and such as an exercise for the reader.


I see no reason not to make it do whatever weapon damage you like, though.  Wielded on the site of a battlefield, you should be able to conjure just about any kind of weapon you care to name, and direct it to attack at range.
 
Gorged on Rapture settled his skeletally-thin body onto the stool and picked up the long mahogany instrument, laying it on his lap.  Beyond stood Son of the Sun, father of a third of the children in the now-ruined village.  The Solar had been away while Gorged on Rapture had taken his fill, and only recently returned.  When he had found what Gorged on Rapture had left, he wept for three days, and the clouds in the sky had shed their rain to the last drop with him.


No matter how much Gorged on Rapture consumed, he would never grow to a healthy proportion.  His appetites were both unending and unnatural.  Through the eyes he'd consumed, he had watched from the villagers' perspective as they performed their martial rituals.  Now the weapons had fallen, the bodies and their belongings had been given burials appropriate to the Abyssal's nature, and their souls and possessions were in his care.


Gorged on Rapture sighed at such thoughts, as the Son of the Sun drew his orichalcum-shod staff and lowered his body into a fighting stance known as the Symphony of the Wolf.


And Gorged on Rapture began to pluck the strings of his instrument.


.....


The battle was inconclusive, even after a night of fighting.  Son of the Sun bled from a thousand cut, places where the barely-glimpsed ghosts of the villagers' weapons had struck him.  Gorged on Rapture was untouched.


Son of the Sun raised his head to the sky, reaching up for the sunrise.  He began to sing.  And as he did, the Abyssal realized something.  The spirits of the villagers were rising.  The children, who had been so happy-seeming before the bliss of death had overtaken them, rose from their graves.  He could see their spirits gathering together around the Solar.


He watched in puzzlement as they began to advance.  Son of the Sun sang a ballad, a pastoral air that was somehow nostalgic to the Abyssal.  It was about harvests and moon-watching and wine, but its power was undeniable.  It was stealing the souls of the villagers away from his control.


As the children led the berzerk rush toward him, sightless eyesockets glaring accusingly and fingers extended like talons, Gorged on Rapture began to feel a new sensation.


Regret.
 
I have to say, I like it!


Shackles cast to the air


8m, 1w


Duration: Instant


Type: Simple


Min Performance: 5


Min Essence: 3


Prerequisites: Heroism Encouraging Presence, Heart Compelling Method


Through the use of this charm, the Solar sings an inspiring ballad or a mournful dirge intended to reach the very soul of those listening.


The player makes a charisma+performance roll, and on a success, those hearing the song are freed of any bindings or obligations they are beholden to. This effect is ineffective if the targets are bound by a being with a greater essence than the player.


This charm can be used to free slaves from institutionalised fear, ghosts from supernatural bindings or wyld-touched humans from the fair folk. It does not, however, correct any weaknesses that may have led to their initial binding; the slaves may not be self-reliant once freed and may seek the character as a new master, and the wyld-tainted will still be tainted and possibly soul-numb.
 
In regards to actual musical MA (instead of Performance charms), I'd borrow heavily from powers bestowed upon bards from other RPG systems. Lots of area-effect charms that deal status effects or even damage, and defensive charms that employ hardened sonic waves to deflect attacks. Stuff like that.
 
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