Honk Kong based games... Options

[Glock-9mm]

Hey all,

I am running my SR4 game in Hong Kong and as far as I can tell, I may in fact be the only person in the world to be doing this, though I am sure thats an exageration. :-?

Now if anyone else out there is running their game in HK, I'm dead keen to know what information sources are they using aside from "SR4 - Runners Havens" and the old Asia book?

Regards
Glock-9mm (NZ)

[FrankTrollman]

I'm big on Google Earth for that location.

-Frank

[BishopMcQ]

DireRadiant is running a game based in HK in the PbP section. Linkage

His recruiting thread also has some info. Linkage

[DireRadiant]

[blakkie]

Yeah, I grabbed some screen caps of Google Earth, patched them together, and printed it out on multiple pages. Unfortunately it seems that Google earth doesn't have road coverage in HK, and also the resolution of the photos are far less than in NA. :(

DireRadiant, do you have a list of links you've used? I'll see what I can dreg up of what I've grabbed off the Internets.

EDIT: Personally what I'm looking for are street maps. Plus I'm trying to get a handle on the true size and shape of Kowloon Walled City so I can edit it into the Google Earth picture.

@Glock-9mm

Outside of Shadows of Asia, which I find gives great colour for the surrounding region, there isn't that much direct HK coverage. Which is why I was so thrilled to have it in RH, I've been waiting for more HK for a long time. I'm pretty sure there were just a couple of blubs here and there, all of which are covered in Runners Havens with more detail to boot. Although I suppose Synner could weigh in on that more definatively since his research for the piece would involve tracking down every prior HK reference in SR canon.

[DireRadiant]

[lorechaser]

Indeed - Demonseed Elite's blog at http://www.sprawledout.com/ has more information that would be useful.

I'd also watch a lot of movies. Black Rain and Bladerunner being the first two that come to mind.

Then play a couple games of Munchkin Fu, and throw in a dash of Feng Shui.

"You see a Hong Kong Tong wielding a Hong Kong Bong wearing a Hong Kong Thong singing a Hong Kong Song. He's casting a spell."

[blakkie]

Regarding KWC there is stuff for the current day park out there, I've got a map for the current day park. Unfortunately it doesn't have a scale or size marked. Best guess I have is based on it's area (about 31ha) which I've combined with the tourist type map that suggests about twice the distance East-West as North-South, which brings a size or nearly 4km by 8 km (or 2.5 miles by 5 miles). Is that about right?

There are also a few photos out there of the old Walled City slum in the late 80's in the process of being torn down. They really evoke images of what it might be like in 2070. But it seems like it is just the core we were looking at, with this huge park all around it (it's on the Wiki page for KWC Park) so I'm guessing it is in the latter stages of development of the park.

[DireRadiant]

[Synner]

[lorechaser]

[Demonseed Elite]

My blog will be getting more HK info in the future too. It's just been backburnered at the moment because Corp Enclaves is taking all my free time.

I also know of a great site that had pictures of the old Walled City. I should still have it bookmarked, I'll check when I get out of work.

[Mal-2]

[FlakJacket]

This site, surprisningly enough entitled Kowloon Walled City, has some excellent photographs of the place from shortly before it was pulled down. Check out the aerial view circa 1971 in the History section as well the ones down the right hand side of the Perception and Architecture pages.

[Fortune]

[PBTHHHHT]

Those would be the guys in the New Revolution... ;-)

[lorechaser]

[Fortune]

Like fungus.

[Grinder]

Or Microsoft.

[Abschalten]

I don't use any geographical resources aside from Shadows of Asia and Runner Havens for my own Hong Kong game. However, I do go for cultural resources in order to help me paint a better picture of what life in East Asia, specifically Hong Kong, is like and how different it is from the Western world.

For my own Hong Kong-based campaign, I've done a good bit of reading on the concept of Wuxing -- not just the magical tradition, but the mysticism and philosophy behind it in general. Wuxing permeates just about every aspect of Chinese philosophical thought, so it's worth knowing if you're looking to run in Hong Kong. For instance, I give every NPC (and even every PC) a wuxing elemental affiliation, and depending on how one individual interacts with another, they'll get a +2 dice bonus. (For example, Metal cuts Wood, so if a Metal-affiliated individual fires a gun at a Wood-affiliated person, he will get the bonus... Also, Fire generates Earth, so if a Fire-affiliated person does something to help the Earth-affiliated person, both parties get +2 to their pools.) The magician in the group is actually a wujen, so I put "Discover elemental affiliation" under 3 hits on the Assensing test for him, so he could theoretically figure out the affiliation of an NPC and pass that information along.

I've also managed to incorporate the I-Ching into our game. I pull up the 8x8 I-Ching grid, and at various points in the session I'll roll two d8 dice. Depending on how the dice fall, I consult the table and figure out which hexagram is "drawn." I read the description of the hexagram, and then slant the campaign in that way in order to incorporate it into the game -- With special surprises if I ever roll "Brightness Hiding," or hexagram #36. It's quite a fun exercise for me, the GM, as it keeps me on my toes.

I highly recommend looking into the various major religions that are native to that region of the world and having some background knowlege in them. Eastern religion is highly syncretic -- meaning you aren't exclusively of one faith or the other. With Chinese folk mythology, Hinduism, your various sects of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, ancestor worship, Wuxing philosophy and a host of smaller religions in the region, faith and belief are a great deal more complex, especially since they can be picked from like a salad bar.

These are just things I've done for my Hong Kong game. I may have strayed off topic a bit, but I have massive fun running in the FEZ. First off, it's not Seattle, and second it's got such a totally different feel to it. It's refreshing, and in my opinion, well thought out enough to provide lots of fun for a gaming group that's interested in playing there.

[Demonseed Elite]