The Karate Guys

My d20 take on the two main protagonists from The Karate Kid trilogy.

DANIEL LARUSSO (circa the “All-Valley Under 18 Karate Championship” in The Karate Kid,
1984)
Male Human Fast Ordinary 1/Tough Ordinary 1/Strong Hero 1; CR 2
Medium-size Humanoid (height 5’ 8”, weight 125 lb.); Age 17

Init +1; Senses (core) Listen -1, Search +1, Spot +2; Senses (house) Listen/Spot +2, Search +1
Languages English

Defense 16, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+1 Dex, +5 class)
hp 19 (3 HD); Mas 11
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will -1
Action Points 6

Speed 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +2 (1d4 lethal/nonlethal, 20) or
Ranged by weapon +2
Space 5 ft. by 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +1; Grp +0
Atk Options none
Special Qualities none

Abilities Str 9, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 14
Allegiances Mr. Miyagi, karate, good; Rep +0; San 47
Feats Combat Martial Arts, Karate, White Crane

           Note: Feats listed in italics were taken from the Blood and Fists supplement.

Skills (core) Balance +5, Climb +1, Drive +2, Hide +3, Knowledge (current events) +5, Knowledge (popular culture) +6, Knowledge (streetwise) +5, Meditation +0, Perform (dance) +6, Read/Write English, Speak English, Spot +2, Swim +1, Tumble +3
Skills (house) Athletics +3, Control +5, Drive +2, Knowledge (current events) +5, Knowledge (popular culture) +6, Knowledge (streetwise) +5, Meditation +0, Perceive +2, Perform (dance) +6, Read/Write English, Sneak +3, Speak English, Tumble +3
Talents (Strong Hero) Melee Smash
Starting Occupation Student (+1 on Knowledge [current events, popular culture], Perform [dance] as permanent class skill)
Possessions (carried weight 2 lb.) casual outfit (street clothes; 2 lb.), Mongoose BMX bicycle (see Urban Arcana)
Wealth Bonus +0

“MISTER” MIYAGI NARIYOSHI (circa The Karate Kid, 1984)
Male Human Strong Hero 1/Fast Hero 1/Dedicated Hero 2/Contemplative Master 10; CR 14
Medium-size Humanoid (height 5’ 3”, weight 140 lb.); Age 59

Init +1; Senses (core) Listen +11, Search +1, Spot +4; Senses (house) Listen/Spot +19, Search +3
Languages English, Japanese

Defense 24, touch 24, flat-footed 23; Poise (+1 Dex, +13 class)
hp 53 (14 HD); Mas 11
Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +13
Action Points 12

Speed 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +10/+5 (1d4+2 lethal/nonlethal, 20) or
Melee kick +12/+7 (1d6+2 lethal/nonlethal, 20) or
Melee crane kick +12 (1d10+2 lethal/nonlethal, 20) or
Melee ridgehand +10 (1d6+2 lethal/nonlethal, 20) or
Melee snap kick +14/+9 (1d6+2 lethal/nonlethal, 20) or
Ranged by weapon +10/+5
Space 5 ft. by 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +9; Grp +10
Atk Options Block, Crane Kick, Crane Stance, Ridgehand, Snap Kick
Special Qualities ki (5/day; may alternately heal himself or another 1d4+4 hp*)
* Miyagi must expend 2 uses of ki to heal another instead

Abilities Str 12, Dex 13 (14), Con 11 (12), Int 13 (12), Wis 19 (16), Cha 12 (11)
'(-)' indicate original ability scores.
          Note: Mr. Miyagi has aging effects due to middle age.
Allegiances balance, good, karate, Daniel-san; Rep +4; San 85
Feats Attentive, Block, Builder, Combat Martial Arts, Crane Kick, Crane Stance, Karate, Kata, Ki, Poise**, Ridgehand, Simple Weapons Proficiency, Snap Kick, White Crane
** Miyagi retrained Personal Firearms Proficiency and gained Poise in its place.

           Note: Feats listed in italics were taken from the Blood and Fists supplement.
Skills (core) Balance +3, Craft (mechanical) +8, Craft (structural) +9, Diplomacy +5 (+2 after 1 min. of study), Drive +2, Investigate +3, Jump +5, Knowledge (earth & life sciences) +6, Knowledge (streetwise) +5, Knowledge (theology & philosophy) +8, Listen +11, Meditation +19, Pressure Points +10, Read/Write English, Read/Write Japanese, Sense Motive +14 (+2 after 1 min. of study), Speak English, Repair +7, Speak Japanese, Swim +4, Tumble +5, Zen Mastery +14
Skills (house) Athletics +7, Control +3, Craft (mechanical) +8, Craft (structural) +9, Deduce +3, Drive +2, Knowledge (earth & life sciences) +6, Knowledge (streetwise) +5, Knowledge (theology & philosophy) +8, Meditation +19, Perceive +19 (+2 on Sense Motive, +2 after 1 min. of study), Persuade +5, Pressure Points +10, Read/Write English, Read/Write Japanese, Speak English, Repair +7, Speak Japanese, Tumble +5, Zen Mastery +14
Talents (Strong Hero) Melee Smash
Talents (Fast Hero) Evasion
Talents (Dedicated Hero) Empathy
Talents (Contemplative Master) Mastery (Accurate Kick 1, Accurate Kick 2, Hard Kick 2, Ki Mastery 1, Ki Mastery 3)
Starting Occupation Military (Drive as permanent class skill, +1 on Swim; Personal Firearms Proficiency)
Possessions (carried weight 4 lb.) casual outfit (khaki attire w/heavy-duty belt; 4 lb.), hachimaki, deluxe mechanical tool kit (kept at house; 45 lb.), hashi
Wealth Bonus +12

"Wait a second! How did Daniel do the crane kick to win the tournament in the movie?! He doesn't even have the feat!!

Okay, for you purists out there. Here's the deal. Daniel is shown practicing the crane stance and famous kick on the wooden pylon at the beach during those training montages. Having observed Miyagi enough, it's reasonable to assume he knew the basics of how it's performed, if not how to do it on command when needed like Miyagi did. Daniel will ultimately get that feat; he's essentially building toward it. That said, it's also reasonable to assume that Daniel haggled with the GM and burned a couple action points to be able to use the crane kick. Once. He's only shown using the crane kick with any success once in any of the films. This is a great example of how a character can do things that aren't written down yet. Work with your GM, be creative, and build off what's established in the campaign, and there's really no reason why a character shouldn't be able to at least try things they've never done before.

Plus, the rules are really more guidelines, anyway!

In the News: "Trump is a friggin' retard."

Star Wars is NOT science-fiction!! (Or, Star Wars IS fantasy!!)

Full stop.

This may seem antithetical to some, but it's really never been a paradigm shift for me (or many others for that matter; just Google it and see). Call me discerning. Or a snob—if it makes you feel any better. Honestly, though, the issue is made clear in writing from the start.

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away.…"

That's how they all begin. It's a riff on, "Once upon a time…" which is the traditional opening of a fable or fairytale. Such stories are firmly in the purview of fantasy, not science-fiction.

The simplest distinction that can be drawn between fantasy stories and science-fiction ones is when they happen. Generally speaking, fantasy stories take place in the past; science-fiction stories are often set in the future. Of course, exceptions to this exist, but there are exceptions to every rule. And the rule here is simple. "A long time ago," after all.

Getting warmed up? (I know I am.) Alright then! Now, for the meat and potatoes. Star Wars features ample tropes and archetypes the likes of which are far more often seen in fantasy than they are in science-fiction. Legion are the fantasy stories that concern young squires led by knights into saving princesses held by dark lords in their impregnable fortresses. The first Star Wars, later re-sub-titled Episode IV: A New Hope, is mainly about a young farm boy who goes off with a Jedi Knight to save a certain Alderaanian princess from the clutches of a Dark Lord of the Sith in the bowels of the Death Star. Pretty striking similarity, no? And it goes well beyond simple naming conventions. (Speaking of which, Skywalker is a surname you'd expect to find in fantasy, right alongside Greybeard, or Hawkwinter, or Brightblade, etc.). The fact that the Jedi wield lightsabers like broadswords (fantasy!) and use the Force like they're casting spells (fantasy!) and fight Sith lords clad in heavy armor or crowned in demon horns (fantasy!) is a central hallmark throughout ALL the films (not to mention books, comics, games, and TV shows)! Take any of these key components away and, by extension striping out the fantasy too, Star Wars becomes something else entirely!

Here's something else entirely: Star Trek! If you didn't know any better, both "Wars" and "Trek" would seem to travel in the same circles. And while the dueling fandoms often bicker over which is better, there are some definite differences that should be noted. Chiefly, Wars is (more) fantasy/Trek is (more) sci-fi. How much more? 70/30 split for Wars, 30/70 for Trek (at least), I'd say. Wars is more swashbuckling, pulpy adventures in space (fantasy!), whereas Trek is more humanistic, social adventures in space. Wars is couched more in mythology; Trek in philosophy. That doesn't make one inherently better than the other, but it does make them distinct: Trek as science-fiction with fantasy sprinkled in, and Wars a fantasy with touches of science-fiction.

"Wait!" you say. "Did you just concede that Star Wars has science-fiction in it?! Isn't that the opposite of what you're trying to prove!?"

No. Star Wars IS a fantasy. A fantasy with science-fiction elements. And dramatic elements. And comedic elements. Lots of fiction includes different elements. Virtually no where does a book, film, or TV show stick to one storytelling element to the exclusion of all others. Dramas can be funny, action can be thought-provoking, and romance can be scary. That's called creativity!

So, what are the science-fiction elements in Star Wars? Well, starships, lasers, droids, space stations, and midi-chlorians, to be precise. (Lightsabers are just "frozen-laser" tech, by the way! Shocker!) None of these things are essential to Star Wars storytelling. Star Wars is essentially a meditation on family, destiny, and rebelling against one or both. For something to be science-fiction, the story most often explores the relationship between its characters and the technological marvels they employ. Science-fiction is more at-home meditating on how we can or can't coexist with the technology in our lives. You could just as easily replace the technological marvels in Star Wars with horses, magic wands, familiars (or golems), sky fortresses, and mana (or "magical essence") and tell the exact same stories (minus the science-fiction elements).

(To say nothing of the fact that the technological marvels in Star Wars all make an awful lot of noise in space. Nothing science-fiction-y about that at all.)

How about the Death Star? That's a pretty big technological marvel with variations that are featured in many of the movies. The Death Star is to Star Wars, as the One Ring is to the Lord of the Rings: an object to be destroyed. Doesn't really matter what that object is. The technological marvels in Star Wars are just that: objects. Objects vs subjects. None of the technological marvels in the Star Wars films really form the subject of its storytelling.

Let's explore this dichotomy a little more by examining how technological marvels in two famous science-fiction films form the subject of their narratives and differ from what is in Star Wars. First, Blade Runner. In Blade Runner, the replicants are the technological marvel, and the storytelling centers around how humans reconcile with the fact that replicants (synthetic humans) are virtually the same as the real thing. Who's to say that a replicant who has an identity, memories, and dreams of electric sheep isn't human? This is science-fiction. Now, The Matrix. In The Matrix, the technological marvel is the titular "matrix": a computer program that is used to simulate human experience so that those same humans' bodies can be used as a power source. The whole crux of the story is based on the battle between humans and machines in a fight for the future. Again, science fiction. Many great science-fiction stories explore this topic, from 2001: A Space Odyssey, to the Terminator series, to Avatar. This same storytelling lens is not applied to any of the technological marvels in Star Wars.

To wit, Star Wars is not science-fiction. (It's fantasy.)

Full stop.

(Read more about my personal stance on Star Wars here!)