Quote from: Sigmund;561958Or a 20th century earth version of the Avatarverse, that would be fun too Technology could have been developed to level the playing field somewhat vs. the benders.

The playing field is actually pretty level as of the first season of legend of Korra (not that it was that uneven before in my opinion). Between chi-blocking techniques, electric gloves, limb-binding gadgets, unbendable mechs and other innovations one could actually argue that bending is dangerously close to becoming a mundane martial art at best and a parlor trick at worst, which is a conflict I find facinating (though I doubt the show will go too far in that direction). That's why I mentioned "Once Upon a Time in China," which I recall explored the idea of guns obsoleting even the most spectacular martial art tricks.

Quote from: Mistwell;561967Quick question from a guy who has no clue about this setting - Is The Legend of Korra related to this setting? Because I was at the panel for The Legend of Korra Season 2 (or they called it Book 2) at Comic Con (by accident, while waiting for another panel) and it looked pretty neat.

Go get the DVDs for Avatar: The Last Airbender.  Seriously, you won't regret it.  Then watch The Legend of Korra.  You won't regret that, either.  Both are better than most of the stuff made for adults and rise way above being children's television.

Quote from: Spike;561896I'm not sure why exactly a resource management aspect to bending is necessary at all.

The limiting factor I've seen in the show, which comes up in the bending arenas more than anyplace else, is physical fatigue from the motions and taking hits, and the more powerful characters eventually wind up being able to do quite a bit with very little motion.  So if you wanted to model that, I would have some sort of fatigue mechanism where fatigue is gained by the motion of bending or physically fighting, fairly quickly regained from resting, and the more skilled a bender gets, the more power they get out of less motion such that they not only get more powerful affects (attacks, blocks, entangles, and environmental changes) from a move but less fatigue from doing it.

To be honest, I'm not all that interested in seeing these shows turned into a role-playing game because I feel pretty certain than any effort to do so is going to miss out on what makes the show so wonderful.

The best fatigue mechanic I can think of is Champions/Hero, and from what I can tell it's also one of those bits that cause people to complain about how... complex that game is.

And also one of those ignored things... which just seems foolish given how many options turn on not ignoring mundane rules like, oh, endurance.

But I agree in principle.

I haven't watched much of the show, though I'm confident I would like it plenty.  Loads of people seem to be interested in how to game it.

As many have said explicitly or implicitly, I think it depends on what aspects of the show you most want to emulate accurately.  Especially bending: do you want detailed narrative descriptions with simple mechanics, or do you want specific rules outlining what you can and can't do?

Do you want the emphasis on combat or not-combat? (Given how much rules space is given to this in most games, I think the question can be as simple as that.)

I think a lot of the answers here are pretty rules-light, which is a safe way to make sure you're getting the right feel when playing with other fans.  

I'm not a huge fan of it, but I think Marvel Heroic Roleplaying could be a good fit.

Personally, unless you love Exalted, I think it's way too cumbersome to generate something that doesn't seem much like the series except in tone.

I probably would agree with those that would use M&M, because at least the effects there could be created by the players and new effects could be stunted with Hero Points.  The game plays pretty fast.

For a combat intensive game, I'll shill my own Fight!, specifically using the Dramatic Combat Rules.  The normal rules are very focused on video game combat, but the Dramatic rules are intended for a more shonen anime feel.  Non-combat effects are wide open and handled much more simply in the rules.

Quick Edit to add: if you think the "Rage Bar Mechanic" is a good thing, Fight! has several specific rules options for them.

Quote from: Werekoala;387379Anyone ever tried, or have thoughts on, what game might do the setting some justice?

TSR's Marvel Super Heroes.  Especially by taking advantage of the Stunt system.

Spoiler

The Karma rules would work too.  Nobody is actually killed on screen.