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View Full Version : In which I shamelessly rip off Jade Empire (walls of text)



Pronounceable
2009-04-15, 05:56 PM
Lately I've been thinking about crafting a campaign for 3-5 players that involves far east flavored, weird to ridiculous fighting styles with Dragonballish battles. Not wanting to bother with originality, I decided to rip off Jade Empire's plot. Of course, a single player CRPG plot doesn't translate that well into a real FRP campaign. So changes are needed. Here you'll find stuff I've been thinking on. It's railroady, but such is life. Needless to say, this contains SPOILERS for Jade Empire.

Also, for unexplicable reasons, I'm also ripping off Lugaru (do a search). Which means, in layman terms, players will be fighting rabbits. Anthro rabbits with any fur color available, but still rabbits. In a world populated solely by rabbits and wolves. Now, on to the great walls of text:

Gameplay:

Players will make an anthro rabbit in any color they want and get one fighting style they're allowed to make up and name. They may learn more during the campaign. Fighting styles will have to be exceedingly ridiculous and get bonus points for being silly. For those who don't want to bother, there'll be premade (but still unnamed) styles available such as:

-With a gigantic hammer drawn from Hammerspace
-With a spear triple the height of its wielder (Hammerspace again)
-With razor tipped fans and a whole lot of swirling and spinning
-With a rabbit sized bow (for melee, no shooting)
-With a sheathed sword (never drawn)
-Using only their ears (make metallic clangs when they hit)
-Carrots thrown as if by Bullseye
-Using only feet, while standing and moving around on ears (arms always crossed)
-Shooting hadoukens
-Cappoeira
-etc

Names such as Backflipping Butterfly, Raining Blades of Fury, Falling Star of Unholy Hell, Skyshatterer, Ear-Fu, Falcon Punch, Hypermega Rabbitpowa, Holy Bitchslapping Paw of Inevitable Fate, Bunny-wan-doe, etc are encouraged.

Styles will be fluff only and PCs' mechanical abilities (such as they are) will be completely equal. "More advanced" styles learnt during gameplay will provide simple combat +es and be similarly fluffed. Which means one's starting style can be other's advanced style and give advanced style bonus. Or players may want to merely increase mastery in their starting style gaining the advanced bonus.

Combats will focus on players and DM describing whatever crazy bull**** is going on in the battlefield and results will be determined by one roll per combatant. PCs have a grand total of 2 stats: combat bonus and HP. Both sides roll die and add their combat bonus. Combatant with higher result deals HP damage equal to the amount that exceeded enemy's result. Which has absolutely no effect until HP is reduced to 0, then the enemy is down. If the last attack is powerful (definition subjective), player gets to describe a fatality.

There'll be 3 types of enemies:
Mooks will come in numbers and go down when hit. They deal 1 damage every round (unless attacked in which case they're down).
Regulars will be identical to PCs with a combat bonus and a pool of HPs. They can be in groups and/or have a retinue of mooks.
Bosses will be special enemies without HP. They'll fight till DM decides battle has gone long enough at which point they'll get fatalitied/stop and continue with the exposition/run away/transform to its real form/spontaneously combust/all of the above.

Players will not be aware of enemy types.


Plot:

PCs are all students in a martial arts school near some backwater village of Rabbit Kingdom. School is run by Master Jack, an old but fit green rabbit with always dressed in blue robes and wearing a red headband, a taste for "mysterious old master" trope. PCs (who're all buddies) came from all over the Kingdom to study in this obscure but suprisingly good school and are near the end of their training. Game starts with usual monthly tournament which works as an exam for senior students like them and lesson for junior students. Each PC is paired with an NPC senior student. There's also Fifi the Lesser, the yellow and spoiled son of the infamous mob boss Fifi the Greater who looks down upon everyone. He's also paired with another senior student. Tournament is overseen by Eva, Master Jack's beautiful blue daughter. She's is the secondary teacher of the school and can kick PCs collective tails. She evaluates and grades the participants and also spars briefly with the winner at the end.

All PCs get their 1on1 matches and winners advance. Fifi the Lesser also wins. PCs then get paired and fight. Fifi narrowly defeats (tip: it's a hopeless bossfight) any PC. Tournament goes on and Fifi finally faces Eva (cutscene filled cheesy one liners followed by severe tailkicking by Eva). All get good grades (NPC senior students also get introduced).

Master Jack appears and congradulates all PCs. He says they're nearing the end of their training and will go a long way in martial arts if they keep the basics in mind. PCs also get the afternoon off to prance around the nearby village. On their way out, they see Fifi pestering Eva who doesn't appreciate it. PCs get the rest of the day hanging around the village, getting to know a number of nice NPCs in a pleasent environment (any genre savvy player will ofc realize the place is about to be razed). They also somehow learn that Rabbit Kingdom is ruled by Mighty King Jackrabbit (who has red fur), and rabbit religion has two gods: The White Rabbit of the Sky (lives in heaven) and Black Rabbit of the Earth (lives in underworld).

The next morning, only PCs and a few junior students are out when a villager comes running: The village is attacked by lots and lots of bandits! They must help! PCs have to go right now while junior students go get Master Jack and others. PCs (presumably) run to help the villagers. Cue combat with groups of bandits in the village that coincidentally work in groups equal to the number of PCs. Scared villagers tell them that the bandits are led by a... WOLF! Ohnoes! No rabbit can battle a wolf! Or can they? As a group of trained fighters, PCs probably can. Cue a few more bandit groups. Finally, PCs get to where wolf is. Wolf is unconcerned PCs have killed/beat his minions and sends the rest of them. Cue battle with hordes of mooks with the occasional regular thrown in. The wolf realizes there's something weird about these rabbits and decides to kill them himself. Cue hopeless bossfight. Wolves are very powerful and PCs go down in a few hits. When PCs are roughed up enough, cavalry comes in the form of Master Jack. The wolf recognizes him, says cryptic stuff about hiding and finding, and leaps forth. However, Master Jack performs a shoryuken and wolf is incinerated in one hit.

(at this point, stop and imagine that scene)

The day saved, Master Jack goes back to the school. He also mentions that he has to speak to PCs about something very important. PCs may or may not see that a few of those nice NPCs have been hurt/killed. Back in school, PCs see Fifi boasting about saving the village from bandits while other senior students goofed off. A PC (presumably) disagrees with that. He gets all hissy (you call me a liar, how dare you mock me, it's a matter of honor, etc) and challanges the PC. Eva and Master Jack are there to see, it's an official challenge that can't be refused without losing face. Cue multiple stage bossfight. Each PC fights Fifi 1on1, Eva stops the fight when a PC is down to about half HP. After fighting all PCs one by one, Fifi falls at last. He's obviously a sore loser. He does something that isn't anything Master Jack teaches: gets a huge rock from Hammerspace and throws it at the PCs. Everyone is stunned with surprise. Fortunately, Master Jack is there. He stops the attack, reminds Fifi of having forbidden him from using styles not taught in the school, chews him out for sneak attack and expels him. Fifi swears vengeance on him, on PCs, on the school, on the nearby village, and their little dogs. He then runs off.

Of course, if no PC cares about Fifi and his rantings, this whole part is skipped.

When finally PCs get to that important talk with the master, it's exposition time! He has been sensing PCs' great destiny from the moment they came to the school. They're destined to destroy a great evil that plagues the land! How does he know that? Well it's because his full name is Jazz Jackrabbit, cousin of King Spazz Jackrabbit!

At this point a sound is heard from the outside. Someone's been eavesdropping and is now scared away. Master Jack says it was Fifi the Lesser, who must now have learned that not everything is as it seems and underestimating others is a bad trait.

Back to exposition: Jazz Jackrabbit has always had a gift of sense. When they were young, he used his talents to aid his cousin King in his rule. However, the King was paranoid, though he didn't show it at that time. He didn't want anyone else to have power. He searched for others who had power. And Jazz naively found them for him. Black Rabbit of the Earth had servants on this world, the Blackbelts. They wielded the divine power of Black Rabbit, and the King didn't like that. Spazz decided to destroy Blackbelts. Jazz knew it was blasphemy. It was madness. He knew he had to stop him. As Spazz and his army marched to destroy Blackbelts, Jazz guided by his sense, went to join the Blackbelts in their struggle. It was futile. The Blackbelt's monastery was besieged and fell. (In the form of a flashback, complete with wavy scene changes and in black and white): King Spazz, a deranged but eager looking red rabbit in ceremonial yellow robes whose tongue was sticking out with the effort of gunning down Blackbelts with his magic laser gun, personally led the final charge over the huge monastery steps (accompanied by two rabbits: a vicious looking mystery rabbit clad in black iron mail and a red frowning face on his helm and a robed rabbit fighting with chopsticks). Only the then young Jazz, already in robes and the headband, escaped the burning monastery, holding a newborn bunny. The rabbit with headband stops a moment and looks down at the infant. The last of the Blackbelts. He smiles. (/end flashback)

Said newborn is now, obviously Eva. She has the destiny of all destinies, and the PCs’ destiny is intertwined with hers. Master Jack isn’t sure exactly how, but he knows they are bound to accompany Eva on her way to greatness. He also has a final test for the PCs, namely the secret cave beneath the school no one knew about. They are to retrieve the last Blackbelt (the actual belt), Eva’s mcgu.. birthright, hidden there when Master Jack first came to this place years ago. After they’re done with Master Jack, PCs go thru the secret entrance in Master’s chambers to the secret cave. It’s a long walk.

Alas, the cave is now inhabited by a... wolf?! How/when/why did it get there? No time for answers, it’s a bossfight!

Once they defeat the wolf and get the Blackbelt, a drumroll is heard followed by a giant carrot surrounded by pretty colorful lights appearing out of nowhere. It talks! Unfortunately it makes no sense, spouting some cryptic stuff about being pushed onto the train with sudden death awaiting at the end of the line. Then the giant carrot somehow opens a portal that leads PCs back to the school.

Master Jack is surprised to see the PCs back so soon. He’s upset when he learns about the giant carrot. He warns the PCs not to trust giant magical vegetables in the future. At this point, a junior student comes in to inform Master Jack that Eva is nowhere to be found. Master, who has revealed her past to her once the PCs were gone, orders PCs to find Eva immediately to give her the belt. PCs shortly learn that Eva has been kidnapped by Fifi the Lesser, who also killed a junior student that tried to stop him (PCs find the unlucky student’s feet and ears sticking out under a huge rock outside the school gate). Some villagers have seen Fifi carrying Eva to the bandit infested swamps nearby. Off PCs go (presumably).

Swamp is crawling with bandits. Lots of bandit tail is kicked as PCs follow Fifi. At some point, it’ll become obvious there’s two kinds of enemies here: native bandits and a bunch of mercenaries that has just moved in. The merc rabbits (who reveal themselves to be working for Fifi the Greater) are much more dangerous than bandits. PCs also meet a rabbit who calls himself Henry the Hermit, a gray rabbit that fights with swordchucks, who lives in the swamp and not happy with his new neighbors. He demonstrates this in a cutscene where he dispatches a large number of mercs. If told about Fifi the Lesser or Eva, he’ll want to join the PCs.

Finally PCs (and maybe Henry the Hermit) reach the main camp of mercs. There’s a giant, clockwork contraption that vaguely looks like a mosquito (which is really a small aircraft). Cue the huge battle. Fifi the Lesser has taken Eva to a nearby cave, which can be learnt from a surviving merc. To the rescue.

Strangely, this cave also has wolves inside. Fifi managed to take Eva to the farthest point of the cave while completely avoiding the wolves somehow, but PCs will have to fight. There’s 4 wolves, who are very tough but regular enemies. When they finally reach the end, Fifi is furious to see them. He upset that of all the rabbits from the miserable school and the worthless village, PCs were the ones to be spared. He claims everyone else in the school and village is dead by now thanks to him and the stupid old Jazz who let Fifi escape with the secret. He only wanted to give pretty Eva one last chance to evade his wrath. He won’t divulge any more info and initiate the bossfight. He’ll fight both wielding and throwing rocks about the size Obelix uses. He has an infinite supply of them.

The fight is brutal and long, but the PCs prevail (unless they free Eva, which’ll make the battle end after two more rounds). Alas, when he’s on the brink of death he decides to take Eva with him out of spite. He draws the biggest rock yet, and throws it to the ceiling with his last strength. The cave caves in and both Eva and Fifi is crushed by tons of rock.

(...thought Eva was gonna be the Mary Sue DMPC, did you? Well, take that!)

When they exit the cave, the party (which may or may not include Hermit) will see a lot of mechanical mosquito thingies flying towards the village. Whether he’s joined or not, Hermit will be there to provide the exposition. Those machines can carry firebombs and soldiers. They also bear Fifi the Greater’s flag, just like the one parked over there. Probaby Fifi the Lesser wasn’t bluffing, and everyone in the village and school will die/is dead already. No way PCs can run back to the village in time, but if they REALLY want to, the Hermit can drive the contraption. Not that it’d do any good to anyone, looking at the number of enemy mosquitos flying...


I better stop detailing now. The tracks... I mean the story goes on further following Jade Empire’s plot. Rest of the story:


PCs get to village. Master Jack surrendered to Lettuce Commandos, King Spazz’s secret gestapo (which employs wolves to train their rabbit members, therefore having the strongest fighters) in return to have them spare the innocents. They didn’t. Hermit knows much about those guys. Their leader is Death’s Paw, the black armored rabbit from the flashback. His right hand is Alpha Wolf, who led this attack. Everyone else is dead/dies after exposition.

A mysterious red female ninja rabbit attacks them some time later. She hates Death’s Paw and assumes the party is his servants as they’re coming from the burnt village. She escapes but keeps spying on them.

PCs find Fifi the Greater’s hideout. They meet Master Crafter Earscrew (white rabbit with huge goggles and a straw hat), creator of aircraft. He joins them. PCs face and kill Fifi the Greater, who had Master Jack shipped to rabbit capital, Albequerque. They steal Fifi the Greater’s personal aircraft and fly there. Fifi was a lackey of Death’s Paw. Party is now wanted by Lettuce Commandos.

The party gets to Albequerque. They bump into the (very hot if you’re into furries) Royal Princess And Heir to the Kingdom, Jessica Jackrabbit. She’s red. She arranges a secret meeting with the party. Obviously, she was the mysterious ninja. She doesn’t believe Jazz Jackrabbit story, but she needs party’s help. She thinks evil Death’s Paw has secretly taken control of the kingdom with the Lettuce Commandos and her father is being manipulated. If they can find evidence of Death Paw’s evil, she’ll show it to King Spazz and the Rabbit Kingdom will be saved. In return, she’ll help them find Master Jack.

Party has to infiltrate secret Lettuce Base, HQ of Lettuce Commandos (all of whom are manipulating evil bastards in the vein of drow), wherever it is. Both evidence of evildoing and Master Jack is likely to be there. Party manages to get recruited by Lettuce Commandos. The hermit, who knew suspiciously too much about Lettuce Commandos, disappears. They’re taken to Lettuce Base (which is reached after taking the left turn), get drawn into intrigue between two feuding Commando Masters (who are wolves), get themselves recognized as brilliant prospectives, and meet Alpha Wolf. Alpha Wolf recognizes them. They kill him after a long battle. But Death’s Paw has come. The party can’t face him. Cue the reveal: the Hermit, who’s an ex-Lettuce that quit when Death’s Paw came to power and things turned evil, sneaked in the Base and was watching the party. He attacks Death’s Paw as the party runs. Death’s Paw easily defeats Hermit, but it was a ruse as he had already activated the base’s self destruct sequence (no self respecting evil HQ is complete without one). The HQ collapses, starting from the central room where Death’s Paw is buried along Hermit.

The giant glowing carrot from nowhere keeps appearing from time to time. It keeps speaking annoyingly cryptic.

Party now has plenty of evidence. Princess Jessica takes them to the palace to see the King. When they get there, they find King Spazz and a chained Master Jack. He really is Jazz Jackrabbit after all. Jazz says these last Blackbelts will defeat Spazz. Spazz is furious. He’s also unhappy to his daughter there.

The hook: Death’s Paw wasn’t plotting behind Spazz’s back, he was following his orders. Spazz was the true evil, much to the shock of Jessica.

The line: Epic bossfight with King Spazz (who has a magic laser gun and knows kung fu). And there’s mooks. Hordes of mooks. Finally PCs defeat the evil King, but he rises again as a Glowing Wolf! A what? Another epic bossfight. Finally Spazz is killed for good, alas Jessica Jackrabbit also falls during the battle.

And the sinker: When they free Master Jack and ask about Blackbelt business, he replies it’s all about the mcg...the belt. Whoever has the belt, can wield the power of Black Rabbit of the Earth. As he’s explaning this, Jazz is standing over his fallen cousin. He picks up the magic laser gun and suddenly guns down the whole party in mid sentence. They’re all killed instantly.

Now who didn't see that one coming?

PCs are now ghosts. They are in underworld and are met with the giant glowing carrot. Which reveals itself to be the Black Rabbit of the Earth. It couldn’t speak clearly in the world but here, in her own realm, she can finally dump the whole exposition she’s was forced to hold onto:

Years ago, after the monastery of her servants fell, her mortal form was captured by the three Jackrabbits: Spazz, Jack and Roger. Spazz was going to siphon divine power off Black Rabbit’s mortal body. Jazz convinced their other cousin Roger to gang up on Spazz during the ritual and take the power for themselves.

A flashback, this time in color: Spazz standing near an altar that has a glowy aura engulfing him, Death’s Paw and robed rabbit with chopsticks (now known to be Roger) standing a few steps behind. Suddenly Roger attacks Spazz’s seemingly undefended behind. A tentacle of light shots from the aura and catches him in mid air. He screams as the view rapidly zooms away. The green rabbit with red headband and holding an infant is hiding in some rubble when he hears the scream and shivers. Screams go on as the moon moves in the sky. When moon is gone, the rabbit leaves his hideout and runs. He runs as the monastery burns behind him. He stops a moment and looks at the infant. He smiles. He experiences a sudden decapitation syndrome and falls forward. Death’s Paw stands behind him with a bloody sword. He takes off the scary faced helm to reveal Jazz’s face. He takes the headband from the corpse and puts it on. Then he removes his armor, takes the infant and runs away. (/end flashback)

Black Rabbit explains Spazz realized Jazz’s role in the betrayal and tried to hunt him all these years. Jazz has been planning all this campaign from that night. Now he’ll have all the divine power of Black Rabbit AND the kingdom. Also, Black Rabbit’s job is to judge the souls of the dead and send them to heaven or back to world to reincarnate (so she has power over souls). Since she’s captured, she can’t do it. Now the underworld is crawling with restless spirits. Some of these spirits escape to the world, where they become monstrous wolves that feed on rabbits. There’s always been some wolves but their number has increased a lot. Blackbelts’ job was to hunt wolves, they were great fighters for that (again, it’s all in the belt, which CAN be posessed as a group). Alas, they have been destroyed as well. If Black Rabbit is not freed, wolves willl keep increasing in numbers and eat all rabbits in the end.

Now Black Rabbit also has a plan of her own. She knew this would happen. She can resurrect the PCs with her last power and they can defeat Jazz if they’re not surprised like that. Then they have to kill her mortal form so she can reincarnate, which is imprisoned in Royal Palace. And do it as fast as possible since Jazz is constantly draining her power. But they need to travel to the ghost of Blackbelt Monastery, where Black Rabbit can do it.

They go there. Ghosts of Blackbelts and Jackrabbit soldiers who died when monastery fell are still there, fighting the same battle. PCs battle their way through. When they get inside monastery, they meet ghost of Eva. She’s learned what’s been going on, and wants to live again like the PCs. Black Rabbit claims she can resurrect only her or the PCs, and she needs the stronger side to go, so... Bossfight. Eva is difficult, but PCs prevail. In the end, Eva laments for her life as PCs are resurrected, a scene that can be played for tragedy or comedy.

PCs are back to the world of the living. Jazz, who has become king by now, is invincible and halfway to godhood, senses it. He reanimates Death’s Paw, who has been revealed to be Roger Jackrabbit’s soul bound to Jazz’s old armor as punishment for betrayal by Spazz. Lettuce Commando army led by Death’s Paw marches to ruins of Blackbelt Monastery where PCs are. PCs either bravely face the army leading to a siege scene from a CRPG (culminating in a bossfight against an immortal Death’s Paw that must be ran away from once the rest of the army is down), or avoid it and go to palace with help of Master Crafter Earscrew.

Either way, PCs sneak into palace. They find the mortal body of Black Bunny (which is a gigantic black bunny impaled on a gigantic metal spike). There, Death’s Paw catches up with them again. A trick bossfight ensues that ends when PCs kill the Black Bunny of the Earth’s body. She reincarnates, gets her power back from Jazz and frees Roger’s soul from the armor. Now Jazz Jackrabbit is a mortal again.

Then PCs go kill Jazz Jackrabbit in a suitably epic battle, removing the last of Jackrabbits from the world and plunging the Rabbit Kingdom into a bitter civil war to determine the next king.



Whew. I wonder if anyone will read it (I certainly wouldn’t). But no matter. Writing it down is good enough for me. Now I have the layout of the campaign. If I get any suggestions or criticism, it’d just be a bonus.

AeonWarior
2009-04-16, 04:45 PM
a few questions

First what sidequests are you prepared for becuse Jade Empire felt waaaay to short with just the main quest. the arena is a given becuse you need to get so far there to get in the lotus assasins HQ but what about the other quests I havent done all the sidequests so I woldent know.

Second I like that you changed some npc's story I can just see Gau the lesser dieing like that once you beat him. but what about the gardian and the two swords guy that helps you get though Gau the grater's lair I cant remember his name.

well I'm out of time I'll continue this later

The Rose Dragon
2009-04-16, 04:54 PM
You killed Dawn Star. That is unacceptable. You will pay for it with your life. :smallbiggrin:

Pronounceable
2009-04-16, 05:26 PM
Dawn Star, Scmawn Star, I cut Sir von Fontlebottom. That is unacceptable...


As for length, though the Arena and Necropolis will be in, the real bulk of game time will be spent describing how various colorful rabbits are eviscerating, bitchslapping and humiliating others using swordchucks, umbrellas and lightsabers. Therefore main quest should take long enough.

The Rose Dragon
2009-04-16, 05:31 PM
You cut out John Cleese?

Sir, I must ask that you reintroduce him immediately. As a plot-centric character, even.

AeonWarior
2009-04-17, 12:19 PM
continued from my last post

Three are you going to use any open palm/closed fist choises? at least use the endgame one where
you have a choice of ether destrying the water dragons body or useing her power agenst the final boss. I can see the PCs getting into a fight over who gets to be the new god or someting

This idea is too funny (or could be) for me not to keep tabs on is there a way for you to wright down what hapens so we can read it later?

the only way your going to get away with this is if your players avent played Jade Empire but knowing Jade Empire's plot makes this funnyer (especaly seing how you've changed it) so do your players know the plot?

Ever sense playing Jade Empire I've wanted to adapt it to a pen and paper form and you re-sparked my intrest I'll have the beginings of such an adaption by later today or tomarow

Knaight
2009-04-17, 12:33 PM
Also, for unexplicable reasons, I'm also ripping off Lugaru (do a search). Which means, in layman terms, players will be fighting rabbits. Anthro rabbits with any fur color available, but still rabbits. In a world populated solely by rabbits and wolves. Now, on to the great walls of text:


How can this be inexplicable. Ripping off Lugaru is easy to explain. Its. Frickin. Awesome.

Rip of Overgrowth though, it looks like its going to be better.

The Rose Dragon
2009-04-17, 02:01 PM
So what system do you intend to use for this?

Obviously my suggestion is BESM.

EDIT: Other than that, Exalted or M&M would also work. But since it has anthropomorphic rabbits, it needs BESM.

GURPS Bunnies and Burrows is, if I recall, about normal rabbits so it may not be of much use.

Knaight
2009-04-17, 02:11 PM
I've pulled anthropomorphic rabbits off in Fudge before(along with mice, rats, iguanas, geckos, ferrets, and a few other creatures), fairly easily, in a campaign setting I made called Sunlit Kingdoms. It wasn't very good, but I was new at the system then, and had decided to follow the advice of somebody on the internet who had a rather dramatically different taste in mechanics than me. But it works well, and is a fun system. You could probably also pull this off in savage worlds.

Pronounceable
2009-04-17, 06:26 PM
The "system" I'll use is there in gameplay part (such as it is). It'll be more random bull****ing arount the table than a proper RPG campaign. But there's always the possibility of a Cerebus. We shall see.