We all know that Feng Shui, because it imitates HK action movies, has at least one vital element: the mook. Whether shot, sliced, kung-fu'ed, or set on fire by an irate sorcerer, these faceless guys are generally the key to having a cool action scene, along with the henchman and the main boss.
However, recently, I've noticed a certain burn-out in my Feng Shui story ideas on that front: the Named Characters viliains are still somewhat original, but the mooks always have the same look/tactics. Now I know they're not supposed to be an essential part of the game, but I don't want boredom to set in on any front. So I want to create a list of my fav mook archetype, and maybe someone will come up with something I haven't used yet.
-The Triad: seen in every John Woo movie that involves gun, he's generally dressed in a cheap suit, and mostly wields a gun. Also used in Jackie Chan movies set in the present when he needs to kick someone's ass.
-The Worker: you know these guys, they're also featured in a lot of heroic bloodshed movies. They're dressed in white worker suits, in order to see the blood better, and are generally a bit less skilled than their triad counterparts.
-The Thug: the cheaper version of the triad. Wears normal street clothes or ragged clothing, can sport a gun or iron bar/meat cleaver...
-The Ninja: loved by Erik Lustbader wannabees everywhere, this character is generally very athletic in his attacks, uses ninjitsu(i.e smoke bombs/walking on water/caltrops...)
and wields, generally, a short sword. I use the Five Venoms version a lot:
colored ninjas dressed in funky costumes with very special powers.
-The Chinese Restaurant Worker: also a staple of Jackie Chan movies, this guy is usually wearing a waiter outfit/shirt and usually wields a large kitchen knife.
-The Gweilo: if there's a white mook, you can be sure he's dressed in absurdly colorful 1980's clothing.
-The Policeman/modern soldier: pretty much self-explanatory.
-The Ming official: the guys seen in Once Upon A Time In China and other funky movies set in ancient China. Have cool hats, black clothing, and wield spears, mostly.
-The evil cultist: generally is dressed in one tone, has no will of his own, uses a variety of funky weapons (trident, huge sword...)
-The hopping vampire: dressed like a Ming official. He just kinda hops around.
-The zombie: you're not a geek if you don't know this one.
That's about it. Any action movie staples I missed?
__________________
Laugh points: 12: Teucer, Perfect Organism, Cessna, ChildofHaquim, Zoey, Pillsy, Mr Jack, Walmartian, Samaritan, Gizmit, Falke + Special Edition Laugh Point by Darth Tang+ Talking to a Customer Laugh Point by Hurtfulpotato
1 'You, sir, are wise' point from Gizmit
1 "cool guy" point from JaccoNamori
2 Obscure Joke Point from Cerulean Lion, clmeier
Jack-Booted Thugs: Dressed in a military uniform of varying snappiness, and has about the same marksmanship skills as an Imperial Stormtrooper. Comes in Banana Republic, Nazi, and Buro flavors.
Timelost: A gang of weirdoes dressed like Max Max characters, Usually found in the Netherworld, or in 2056 after a critical shift.
Bandits: 69 AD's resident Wandering Damage. Usually colorfully dressed, armed with bows, spears, or swords.
Acolytes: See Cultists, only with better kung-fu and shaved heads.
__________________ If the internet has shown us anything... anything... it has shown us that there is no such thing as "too batshit crazy to operate a computer." -- MemoryBeast And, because this is the internet, I now no longer know which one of us was joking around in the posts above. -- Cappadocius
CoH/V: Too many characters to list here. Head of the Uncanny Legion VG: Meetings Wednesday nights at 8PM EST!
A bit OT, but always remember the Action Movie Rule of Ninja for any mooks you use:
100 Ninjas= Crap. Not worth the uniforms on their backs. Favor the "Surround and charge one by one" technique.
10 Ninjas= Quite challenging indeed, might hold up group for ten minutes or so. One-on-one action, with swords generally.
1 Ninja= Most extreme encounter ever created. will kill less important characters, wound main characters, create devious traps, and generally PWN! at life.
__________________
People are Stupid. Given the proper motivation, people will believe anything because they either fear it is true, or because they want to believe it is true. People want to believe, so they do. -Wizard's First Rule
Watch The Warriors. Now spend five hours trying to find an excuse to shoehorn the Baseball Furies (think Kiss meets baseball players. Only their turf is Central Park. It's not supposed to make sense) into the narrative. I guess what I'm saying is that theme is important. Theme only barely needs to make sense. Theme + Action = Awesome. It's junkfood awesome, but as long as you mix it up with slightly more nutritious awesome later on it's all good.
Other suggestions:
Street Performers (any juncture) musicans, breakdancers, mimes, metal-painted robot mimes that only make whirring noises for modern age, in previous ages you could have stuff like snake charmers on loan from India, maybe some gypsies or mongols or other nomadic folk. The important part is they've been gathered together because law and order means that they'll be rousted from their pitches. Or possibly they're just all bastards. If you really want to have some fun, get the players on the bad side of a travelling circus. Hey, it worked for White Wolf. Alternately, if the players just had a knock-down drag out fight with a Named Opponent through a street market or a steel mill or a maternity ward or some place where valuable stuff gets wrecked you could have the employees out for blood which segues into...
Angry Mobs: Perhaps the transformed animal or supernatural creature PC's true nature is revealed. Perhaps you've been accused of disloyalty/muder/grand theft auto. They have pitchforks and frankenstein rakes. You have kung fu and guns.
Other Mafias (modern juncture): Cosa Nostra in cheap suits, Yakuza in cheaper suits with bad pompadors and punchperms, Russian mafia in tracksuits all trying to muscle in on the triads and guess who's stuck in the middle?
Theme Ingredient: What does the named character have that makes him or her special. Now make it about half as cool, mass-produce it and distribute it to his mooks. Cool-ass glowing sword? Less-cool kind of shiny swords for the mooks or just swords of any type. Can she kick your head off? Then her men can kick high even if it's just for show. Are the twins secretly transformed egrets? Then their mooks have weird bird-looking helmets which provide delicious foreshadowing.
Pirates: Especially in the 1850 and 79 AD junctures. China has a history of pirates as wild and wooly as anything Howard Pyle ever chronicled. Hell, it makes Howard look like Gomer.
Also robots. Robots aren't as cool as regular mooks because they don't bleed. They may, at your discretion, explode. This will almost make up for it.
Also robots. Robots aren't as cool as regular mooks because they don't bleed. They may, at your discretion, explode. This will almost make up for it.
I respectfully disagree. Robots can also have arms ripped off and used as weapons, legs sliced off from under them, heads blown off with a shotgun blast, bodies chopped up by autofire -- and they still KEEP ON COMING, still doing their level best to kill your ass. Kinda like a high-tech zombie flick, only these guys aren't interested in eating your brains.
And the best part about robots? You can fuck them up as badly as you want, but still keep it PG-13.
__________________ "The Earth is the greatest repository of Bad Luck in the Universe. Even if you've been around for billions of years, this little planet will screw you up like nothing you've encountered before. Your aeons-old law enforcement organization will fold. Your loyal scouts will suddenly start deserting you like there's no tomorrow. If you eat planets, you will not be able to digest this one. The queen of your vast empire will fall for a guy from this world."
- Mark Mohrfield, from this thread on Comic Book Universes, summing up Earth's role in sci-fi rather well.
And let's not forget the mooks employed by the evil corporation, which has become the big villain of 90s/2000s action flicks and games -- bad guys in nicely-tailored corporate suits with Uzis in their hands.
And evil corporations are definitely rich enough to hire mercenaries, who come all decked out in paramilitary garb and use assault rifles and submachine guns to do the corp's dirty work.
__________________ "The Earth is the greatest repository of Bad Luck in the Universe. Even if you've been around for billions of years, this little planet will screw you up like nothing you've encountered before. Your aeons-old law enforcement organization will fold. Your loyal scouts will suddenly start deserting you like there's no tomorrow. If you eat planets, you will not be able to digest this one. The queen of your vast empire will fall for a guy from this world."
- Mark Mohrfield, from this thread on Comic Book Universes, summing up Earth's role in sci-fi rather well.
And let's not forget the mooks employed by the evil corporation, which has become the big villain of 90s/2000s action flicks and games -- bad guys in nicely-tailored corporate suits with Uzis in their hands.
Just remember: when it comes to Corporate Ninjas, the price tag on the suit is a direct reflection of their ability to kick your ass. If he's dressed in Moore's, you can knock guys like him down like bowling pins; if he's dressed in Armani, he's effectively a Named Character - even if his "name" is only "The Ultra-Badass Thug In Black Armani Silk".
Well, there's Bikers - dressed in leather and outrageous hairdos and wielding chains, brass knuckles, molotov cocktails, and their motorcycles.
In the evil boss' drug dens you might also find desperately loyal Drug Addicts - sweaty guys with dilated pupils and terrible aim. Alternatively, they could be juiced on PCP or fictional drugs that actually increase their fighting ability.
Linear Mode
