I love the mechanics of this ronin-meets-Resevoir Dogs game:
http://www.timfire.com/MountainWitch/MW_resources.html
It's a great way to capture the play between trust and betrayal in samurai movies, westerns, and dark action stories.
I wanted to do something comparable but use a stripped down, genericized version of the HQ rules to do it.
I have created a number of character sheets and sticky labels which will allow players to quickly and co-operatively create characters, in the style of Mountain Witch but w. Heroquest mechanics.
The files are here.
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/HeroQuest-RPG/message/31203
I will tell you how the game goes.
Erik Weissengruber
http://www.himeji-castle.gr.jp
I am going to be riffing on the images derived from the virtual tour of Himeji Castle (the Ninja castle from "You Only Live Twice")
Riffing how?
BTW, your name came up with a discussion I had at GenCon with Piers and Hans. Say hi for me. :-)
Mike
Oh, just using the pictures for inspiration.
I didn't want to simulate by trip through the fortress grounds during my honeymoon
(Castles, Buddhists, and Snow Macaques -- don't let anyone tell you I am not a romantic!)
I was following Robin Law's suggestion in Feng Shui to use pictures rather than maps to stimulate creative fight scenes. I don't want to count off meters, I want people to say: "OK, I straddle the Well of the Suicide and toss down the goblins that Jai trips during the fight," or "Four disgraced tengu are preparing for ritual suicide in the Suicide Court."
Sounds like good technique to me. Do you share the pics with the players? Or is it just for your use?
Mike
http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=20981.0
HERE is where discussion of the session last weekend will be taking place.
In response to Mike:
Used 'em during my scene framing spiel(s).
I should have used them to fuel the dark fates (dark fate sequence too compressed to really be satisfying). No one was jumping to get fates out. I shoulda just laid down a pic and said: OK: here is an outdoor Noh theatre stage. A play is being enacted. The play is telling how a young warrior committed himself to a path of revenge. Revenge fate guy -- take it. Describe the play and what you do next."