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Hero Born Q8: Gaming
How would you do wuxia gaming? What elements of the genre are important to include in the game?
There are quite a few wuxia-inspired games out there. Exalted leans into the detail of the techniques. Hearts of Wulin (I believe) emphasises the emotional side of things. The Avatar game (a wuxia/western hybrid) is all about balance. Tenra Bansho Zero lies somewhere in between, with some speial abilities and mechanical support for emotional goals.
How would you do it?
Comments
Commenting so I get to read other responses. I'm especially interested in how, and indeed if, it's possible in a game to move away from goal-oriented models of progress towards the IMHO rather different aims of this kid of martial art.
A Hero Born probably tries to straddle both, in that there is the overall goal of the contest between the children and therefore the need to master particular techniques for that, plus the moral/ethical side of defending the helpless peasantry against the wickedness of certain officials - but at the same time the teaching is not resolutely focused on those goals but has a wider personal intent.
Kind of like rock-paper-scissors but with more permutations and less randomness?
Or scripted combat in Burning Wheel / Mouse Guard. (Oh, the debates the players had when choosing actions in Mouse Guard...)
What about Qin do you think supports the wuxia style of play?
With Qin, as you increase weapon style level, you get access to more techniques, which have fanciful names (as well and more common English names). The include The Bear Strike (knock out blow), The Sharp Thorn (direct hit), False Carelessness (feint), The Torrent of Blades (mystification), and The Cyclone of Blood (whirlwind block).
Ranged weapons have a different set of techniques.
magic is divided into External Alchemy (potions, elixirs, ointments, and talismans) and Internal Alchemy, which seems to be mental techniques, which calls on your Taoism, Internal Alchemy, Meditation, and Medicine skills. Some of these are Chi is the Breath of Life, Bend Like the Reeds, The Shared Breath, The Stream That Flows Unseen, and The Vital Principle. Internal alchemy also includes Divination (including Geomancy and Spirit Communion) and Exorcism.
There's also a Renown mechanism, Breath of Life, Chi, etc. and a whole chapter called Jiang Hu: The World of Martial Arts, which talks about clans, Dia xin (knights in search of perfection), outlaws, and martial arts culture.
Under inspiration at the back, it doesn't list Condor Heroes, but does list Shi Ji by Sima Qian, and The Water Margin, several books on Taoism and other cultural matters, and a plethora of wuxia movies.
I intend on releasing a Blood Games 4 wuxia toolbox. This has been in the cards since Blood Games 4 was written. This book will most definitely inform it. It has already informed the Blood Games 4 - Cradle of Wyrms setting book currently in playtest.
What things from the book are informing the game? Anything you'd like to share?
At this point we are just starting to work things out. It may be that the Wulin game will be based on StarCluster rather than BloodGames as it doesn't share the magic of BloodGames and instead would be better served by an extension of the StarCluster Psionics ToolBook, which already has an option for chi and yin/yang powers. Anyway, the importance of lineage, both blood and teaching; the fractal nature of the Wulin; the difference between Freaks and traditional orders; The whole gunfighter style prestige thing with 'Who's your Sifu"; the idea of predicting what the opponent will do by knowing their training lineage, The differences between Taoist and Buddhist practitioners - a whole lot of things firmed up in my head that were nebulous before.
Well, these are elements I am aiming for which were inspired by this book! I HOPE to be able to codify these things in the game!