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In D&D's history, twice now, a sourcebook called Oriental Adventures has been published - the first for AD&D 1st edition, written by none other than Gary Gygax himself, and the second for 3.0. Both times, its basic purpose has been to provide information and mechanics to assist DMs and players who want to run games using a more "Asian" feel. In 1e's day, this was inspired by the chop-sockey kung fu films being imported from China, whilst towards the day of 3e, anime and manga were starting to work their way into "nerd" culture. With 5e's desire to bring back lots of old-school material, and the 2010s being a time in which anime/manga fandom is widespread, it's a perfect era to include yet another take on this classic sourcebook.
But, the thing is... the Oriental Adventures sourcebooks of the past have not been entirely good. Honestly, they've been kind of rubbish. In particular, the races are... pretty awful: Korobokuru are outright called "Oriental Dwarves" (and culture-wise are pretty close to halflings), Spirit Folk are Oriental Elves in almost every way that matters, and Hengeyokai take the fascinating variety of shapeshifting animal yokai of myth and boil them down to one super-bland one-trick race that tries to cover the entire cluster at once. 3e was a little better, with the Nezumi ratfolk and the Indian-based Vanara (who are also excellent choices for making a race out of the Monkeys of the Mountain of Flowers & Fruit - aka, the offspring of the famous Son Wukong/Son Goku).
So, yeah, if you were in charge of making the 5e version of the Oriental Adventures sourcebook, what would you put in it, and why?
Myself? Well...
Reprinting the Honor system from the DMG is unavoidable, as is the Samurai & Kensai subclasses from Xanathar's Guide, on account of the "PHB +1" methodology that 5e crunch books try to adhere to.
Fluff sections on the importance of Family & Honor, as seen in both versions of the OA splat so far, are also important; these are big deals. To this, I would add a discussion on the uniquely Eastern approach to alignment, which is far less black and white than the Western version that D&D's 9-grid so clumsily tries to accommodate. Most importantly: nothing is absolute in Eastern alignment, and balance is more directly accorded to good - even creatures that seem "evil" to Western eyes, those spirits associated with the negative aspects of the world, have an expected place to be and a role to fill. That's why demonic and monstrous protagonists are so common in modern anime/manga.
Given that 5e tries to avoid overly complicated rules systems, I would probably avoid giving new systems for Martial Arts. Maybe make feats for "special techniques", which is what people really want - let players emulate Street Fighter or Wuxia.
The Shaman, Shugenja, Sohei and Wu Jen all have some potential as new subclasses.
* The Shaman is tricky, but I think it could work as an alternative to the Life & Nature Clerics; a lightly armored healer who also focuses on attacking "unnatural creatures" (Constructs, Outsiders, & Undead).
* The Shugenja in 3e is a kind of Elemental Wizard-Priest, using the Sorcerer as its basic chassis. In 5e, I would probably go with making it a Sorcerous Origin that sub-divides its features & powers based on which of the four elements you are devoted to.
* The Sohei is a Monk/Paladin hybrid, combining monk fighting styles with limited spell use and broader weapon talents. I would make this as a new Monk Tradition that grants access to some spells and heightened weapon abilities, playing off of its Ki mastery - sort of a Paladin-esque and competently done version of the 4 Elements Monk.
* The Wu Jen could perhaps work as a new Wizard tradition, although it needs a lot of work to make its 5 Elements Magic focus more viable, especially as the Spell Secrets system of 3e does not work in an edition where metamagic is a Sorcerer thing. Its subclass features could support this elemental theme, or give it some Monkly elements, ala that one version from AD&D.
Races should kick the "sacred cow" of the 1e OA square in the gonads. Oriental Fantasy is filled with all manner of mystical and magical beings living alongside or not too dissimilarly from humans; what does it say about D&D when the sourcebook on Oriental Fantasy actually results in a less fantastic world than most urban fantasy manga! Name of the game is to bring in strong, distinctly Oriental races, which makes for an interesting replacement to the classic Elves & Dwarves & Orcs. Kneejerk contenders for that position?
* Kitsune: Without a doubt the most famous Oriental Fantasy race in the world, hands down. In Pathfinder can make them an interesting PC race, then surely D&D can do better than just hiding them under the piece-of-rubbish that was the Hengeyokai, Fox race option.
* Tanuki: Because if we've got the kitsune, we should try and bring in the Tanuki as well. If Kitsune are the "real" elf-equivalent of Japan, then these are Japan's dwarves. Well, its gnomes, at least.
* Bakeneko: Because the catgirl meme will not die, and bakeneko and all their variants are deeply intertwined with Japanese folk-lore.
* Kappa: Though their monstrous stories are more famous, kappa are also said to be friendly to humans, having taught them the secrets of medicine and wrestling. As a strength-focused amphibious small race, they're certainly more interesting and unique than forest-dwelling rural bumpkin halflings (korobokuru).
* Oni: The orcs of Japanese mythology, whilst Oni are often malevolent, they are also often allied to the gods or find redemption. You telling me you couldn't get an RPG hook out of "you were sent up from Hell to catch a monster/evil spirit that escaped, and you need to buddy up with these mortals so you've actually got the strength to drag its sorry ass back to Hell"?
* Jorogumo: Yeah, I know, these gals are always portrayed as bad guys in the stories, but D&D has a long tradition of offering bad guy races - orcs, goblinoids, gnolls, ogres... hell, we got freaking Yuan-ti purebloods in Volo's Guide, and they're supposed to be emotionless world-conquering cannibalistic sociopaths. Surely D&D can reskin Jorogumo into a femme fatale "edgy" PC race, alongside the tiefling and shadar-kai?
* Vanara: Whether you want to try an Indian-flavored setting or reflavor them as Chinese/Japanese because of a certain monkey god, you can't beat the appeal of benevolent butt-kicking monkey martial artists.
* Naga: Now, these would probably need to either be Rokugan-style "snake-folk with arms", but still, this is a friendly race in Indian mythology and it's certainly an appealing concept. More non-evil, non-primitive reptile folk in D&D, the better.
* Nezumi: I admit I don't know why these are an "oriental" race - I think they were only in OA 3e because it tried to double up as a Rokugan Campaign Setting. But I like ratfolk, and if they're good enough for Rokugan and Kamigawa, they're good enough for me!
There are certainly other possibilities for this list, but my understanding of the fascinating world of Oriental Fantasy races is less than stellar, and mostly centered on Japanese mythology.
That's... all I can think of as necessary for a 5e Oriental Adventures off the top of my head. What about you folks? Any opinions?
But, the thing is... the Oriental Adventures sourcebooks of the past have not been entirely good. Honestly, they've been kind of rubbish. In particular, the races are... pretty awful: Korobokuru are outright called "Oriental Dwarves" (and culture-wise are pretty close to halflings), Spirit Folk are Oriental Elves in almost every way that matters, and Hengeyokai take the fascinating variety of shapeshifting animal yokai of myth and boil them down to one super-bland one-trick race that tries to cover the entire cluster at once. 3e was a little better, with the Nezumi ratfolk and the Indian-based Vanara (who are also excellent choices for making a race out of the Monkeys of the Mountain of Flowers & Fruit - aka, the offspring of the famous Son Wukong/Son Goku).
So, yeah, if you were in charge of making the 5e version of the Oriental Adventures sourcebook, what would you put in it, and why?
Myself? Well...
Reprinting the Honor system from the DMG is unavoidable, as is the Samurai & Kensai subclasses from Xanathar's Guide, on account of the "PHB +1" methodology that 5e crunch books try to adhere to.
Fluff sections on the importance of Family & Honor, as seen in both versions of the OA splat so far, are also important; these are big deals. To this, I would add a discussion on the uniquely Eastern approach to alignment, which is far less black and white than the Western version that D&D's 9-grid so clumsily tries to accommodate. Most importantly: nothing is absolute in Eastern alignment, and balance is more directly accorded to good - even creatures that seem "evil" to Western eyes, those spirits associated with the negative aspects of the world, have an expected place to be and a role to fill. That's why demonic and monstrous protagonists are so common in modern anime/manga.
Given that 5e tries to avoid overly complicated rules systems, I would probably avoid giving new systems for Martial Arts. Maybe make feats for "special techniques", which is what people really want - let players emulate Street Fighter or Wuxia.
The Shaman, Shugenja, Sohei and Wu Jen all have some potential as new subclasses.
* The Shaman is tricky, but I think it could work as an alternative to the Life & Nature Clerics; a lightly armored healer who also focuses on attacking "unnatural creatures" (Constructs, Outsiders, & Undead).
* The Shugenja in 3e is a kind of Elemental Wizard-Priest, using the Sorcerer as its basic chassis. In 5e, I would probably go with making it a Sorcerous Origin that sub-divides its features & powers based on which of the four elements you are devoted to.
* The Sohei is a Monk/Paladin hybrid, combining monk fighting styles with limited spell use and broader weapon talents. I would make this as a new Monk Tradition that grants access to some spells and heightened weapon abilities, playing off of its Ki mastery - sort of a Paladin-esque and competently done version of the 4 Elements Monk.
* The Wu Jen could perhaps work as a new Wizard tradition, although it needs a lot of work to make its 5 Elements Magic focus more viable, especially as the Spell Secrets system of 3e does not work in an edition where metamagic is a Sorcerer thing. Its subclass features could support this elemental theme, or give it some Monkly elements, ala that one version from AD&D.
Races should kick the "sacred cow" of the 1e OA square in the gonads. Oriental Fantasy is filled with all manner of mystical and magical beings living alongside or not too dissimilarly from humans; what does it say about D&D when the sourcebook on Oriental Fantasy actually results in a less fantastic world than most urban fantasy manga! Name of the game is to bring in strong, distinctly Oriental races, which makes for an interesting replacement to the classic Elves & Dwarves & Orcs. Kneejerk contenders for that position?
* Kitsune: Without a doubt the most famous Oriental Fantasy race in the world, hands down. In Pathfinder can make them an interesting PC race, then surely D&D can do better than just hiding them under the piece-of-rubbish that was the Hengeyokai, Fox race option.
* Tanuki: Because if we've got the kitsune, we should try and bring in the Tanuki as well. If Kitsune are the "real" elf-equivalent of Japan, then these are Japan's dwarves. Well, its gnomes, at least.
* Bakeneko: Because the catgirl meme will not die, and bakeneko and all their variants are deeply intertwined with Japanese folk-lore.
* Kappa: Though their monstrous stories are more famous, kappa are also said to be friendly to humans, having taught them the secrets of medicine and wrestling. As a strength-focused amphibious small race, they're certainly more interesting and unique than forest-dwelling rural bumpkin halflings (korobokuru).
* Oni: The orcs of Japanese mythology, whilst Oni are often malevolent, they are also often allied to the gods or find redemption. You telling me you couldn't get an RPG hook out of "you were sent up from Hell to catch a monster/evil spirit that escaped, and you need to buddy up with these mortals so you've actually got the strength to drag its sorry ass back to Hell"?
* Jorogumo: Yeah, I know, these gals are always portrayed as bad guys in the stories, but D&D has a long tradition of offering bad guy races - orcs, goblinoids, gnolls, ogres... hell, we got freaking Yuan-ti purebloods in Volo's Guide, and they're supposed to be emotionless world-conquering cannibalistic sociopaths. Surely D&D can reskin Jorogumo into a femme fatale "edgy" PC race, alongside the tiefling and shadar-kai?
* Vanara: Whether you want to try an Indian-flavored setting or reflavor them as Chinese/Japanese because of a certain monkey god, you can't beat the appeal of benevolent butt-kicking monkey martial artists.
* Naga: Now, these would probably need to either be Rokugan-style "snake-folk with arms", but still, this is a friendly race in Indian mythology and it's certainly an appealing concept. More non-evil, non-primitive reptile folk in D&D, the better.
* Nezumi: I admit I don't know why these are an "oriental" race - I think they were only in OA 3e because it tried to double up as a Rokugan Campaign Setting. But I like ratfolk, and if they're good enough for Rokugan and Kamigawa, they're good enough for me!
There are certainly other possibilities for this list, but my understanding of the fascinating world of Oriental Fantasy races is less than stellar, and mostly centered on Japanese mythology.
That's... all I can think of as necessary for a 5e Oriental Adventures off the top of my head. What about you folks? Any opinions?