While most of us are more versed in the popularity of Manga, rather than Chinese or Japanese history the mash of these elements in Ninja Crusade Second Edition (NC2E), might escape your notice check. The game not only offers player characters an opportunity to dawn the balaclava and take the role of ninja, but incorporates a unique juxtaposed setting, merging elements of 10th century Chinese and 12th century (Feudal) Japanese, histories. One caveat: Samurai don’t exist.
The settings main protagonist, the Izou Empire encompasses ten provinces and is abound by five lesser kingdoms. Each province is ruled in secret by an indigenous ninja clan. Select members (the player characters) from each clan make up the Lotus Coalition, the chief resistance of the Ninja Crusade; the Izou Empire’s pursuit to rid the land of the ninja tradition, once and for all.
While the history of NC2E is extensive, the set pieces based on what the GM will run are less specific than I’d prefer in a feudal orient style RPG. Indeed, what is present is well-written, but the history outreaches the actual setting in regards to content. This approach will appeal to GMs who prefer to color in their own particulars, with a current timeline. Subjectively speaking, I prefer a bit more of the mundane details, based on the crunch of such a system.
The rules of Ninja Crusade 2nd Edition are called the Chakra System; skill based, and a d10 dice pool. Most checks involve rolling a pool of d10s against a difficult set by the GM and combine the total rank of two different skills, which indicates how many dice are rolled. A result of 7-9 count as 1 success, while the result of 10 counts as 2 successes. An interesting aspect of this system is that if the players use the same two skills more than twice the GM is encouraged to implement a cumulative penalty. In regards to moves attempted in combat, this encourages players to get creative in describing their attacks, rather than use the same (and highest) ranked skills exclusively.
The PDF upon my screen features two full color maps, while the remaining is 237 pages is clean black a white goodness. Most of the writing is standard double column format, including a hyperlinked Table of Contents, and hyperlinked page marks within the text. This is an organized and user friendly PDF. Greyscale illustrations are plentiful, and expressive, in high detailed vector graphics.
Overall, this is certainly a product that should appeal, especially if you have interest in running Manga or a feudal orient style RPG. I might be mincing onions here, but I wouldn’t put this NC2E in the Wuxia or martial hero category, but it could certainly be used to facilitate elements of those stories. The Chakra System is quick and easy to comprehend. Included are 18 pre-generated ninja heroes, so getting a game ready at convention or unleashing it as a new RPG for your tabletop friends is a matter of print and go.
Disclosure: This review contains affiliate links.
