Best wuxia RPG?

[dbolack]

If we are going into other genres, Heroic Trio and its sequel The Executioners does a good job of blending wuxia with modern urban superhero tropes

I would consider ItFW a more traditional setting, even if there are hints of Gun Powder and steam.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I would consider ItFW a more traditional setting, even if there are hints of Gun Powder and steam.

I agree it is tradition, I just mentioned this example because it also blends genres

 

[dbolack]

I agree it is tradition, I just mentioned this example because it also blends genres

Oh, absolutely fair. There are a lot of fantastic modern takes, whether you're looking at Gun Fu or just a modern timeline, hell, Rothrock has a new flick any day now.

 

[jian]

In terms of archetypal work, Bride with White Hair would be my choice, but there are many, many others.

I know Feng Shui the RPG exists, but don't know much about it.

Feng Shui is based on 1990s Hong Kong films, pretty much all the genre ones. So it has PC archetypes based on gangsters and heroic bloodshed heroes (John Woo, Ringo Lam etc), wuxia champions (and even early xianxia like Zu, as well as dozens of characters played by Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Brigitte Lin etc), dystopia science fiction films, A Chinese Ghost Story, and so on. This kind of boils down to a game you could use to run Big Trouble in Little China, which is actually its core DNA.

The PCs are from various specific times and places (“junctures”) such as 1850 Hong Kong and 1996 (modern era when the game came out), and a dystopian near future with cyborgs and magitech. They try and defend their preferred version of history (presumably our version) since it’s possible to change history by taking control of magical Feng Shui sites at various times and places, hence the name of the game.

The system is best known for its d6-d6 mechanic and the Shot system for initiative, which was also adopted by Exalted 2E among others.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Feng Shui is based on 1990s Hong Kong films, pretty much all the genre ones. So it has PC archetypes based on gangsters and heroic bloodshed heroes (John Woo, Ringo Lam etc), wuxia champions (and even early xianxia like Zu, as well as dozens of characters played by Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Brigitte Lin etc), dystopia science fiction films, A Chinese Ghost Story, and so on. This kind of boils down to a game you could use to run Big Trouble in Little China, which is actually its core DNA.

The PCs are from various specific times and places (“junctures”) such as 1850 Hong Kong and 1996 (modern era when the game came out), and a dystopian near future with cyborgs and magitech. They try and defend their preferred version of history (presumably our version) since it’s possible to change history by taking control of magical Feng Shui sites at various times and places, hence the name of the game.

The system is best known for its d6-d6 mechanic and the Shot system for initiative, which was also adopted by Exalted 2E among others.

Speaking of Robin Laws, I once ran a campaign using my RBRB system for combat with all the other stuff handled using Hillfolk (we were trying to go for a heavily dramatic campaign). I think kludging that system to pretty much any wuxia system of your choice for combat is great way to hit that.

There is also Hearts of Wulin which is designed more for the wuxia melodrama (especially like you see in Chinese wuxia TV series)

 

[Bedrockgames]

Oh, absolutely fair. There are a lot of fantastic modern takes, whether you're looking at Gun Fu or just a modern timeline, hell, Rothrock has a new flick any day now.

Into the Far West is a good choice too because I think western and wuxia really blend well (a lot of those 70s Shaw Brothers lift Ennio Morricone music for a reason)

 

[jian]

I feel like that is a nearly perfect film. The other two in the series are pretty good as well

I don't think I could settle on just one movie. One of the things that is so great about the genre is how many outstanding wuxia films are out there. Movies that leap to mind would be Duel to the Death, Come Drink with Me, Reign of Assassins, Heroes Shed No Tears (the Chor Yuen movie), One Armed Swordsman, A Touch of Zen, Lady Hermit, The Bride with White Hair, House of Flying Daggers, Swordsman II, Last Hurrah for Chivalry and the Brave Archer series. Eight Diagram Pole Fighter is another great one.

A film that is a little hard to come by but one I would highly recommend is Duel for Gold (1971). It is about four characters who are all involved in a heist and start to distrust one another (it is an early 70s movie but think something like Reservoir Dogs, except a wuxia setting). Another great one is Web of Death. It has everything and is kind of off the wall.

When we did RBRB, we settled on three movies as a wuxia crash course: Magic Blade, Bride With White Hair and Reign of Assassins. That was aiming for a darker feel but it does gives a pretty good range of eras of wuxia.

But the fun of wuxia is diving into the movies and finding all the gems. I'm sure after I type this, I'll remember some great movie I half forgot that belongs on the above list

Wuxia is also much more mainstream these days, partly because of all the tropes from CTHD (and The Matrix) which are all over more mainstream films and media, but also because of all the Chinese and Taiwanese TV dramas and films (and the books they’re based on) being a mere Netflix search away. The Untamed, Eternal Love, Ashes of Love, and Handsome Siblings are all good examples.

(Now you could argue that many of these series are xianxia (“immortal heroes” - similar to wuxia but with more supernatural or magical elements, and with a significant focus on cultivating your qi (inner power) to gain supernatural abilities or even achieve immortality - this is why xianxia media, especially Chinese comics (manhua) and online fiction, tend to be called “cultivation fantasy”) than wuxia. And I won’t disagree, but there’s a lot of overlap, especially in the complex personal relationships department.)

There are also Korean and Japanese wuxia works, especially the former. There’s a huge body of Korean novels and webcomics devoted to wuxia (“murim*”) stories, which generally use Medieval China That Never Was as a setting but with Korean names and tropes. The most commonly used sects in murim are Mount Hua (a righteous sect of swordsmen) and the Heavenly Demon Cult (bad guys, basically the Zhentarim or similar gangster cultists; not much like the guys from Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre). I personally recommend the following:

• I’m a Martial Arts Villainess but I’m the Strongest**
• Return of the Blossoming Blade
• Infinite Levelling Murim
• Murim Login**
• Best Teacher Baek

*This is the Korean pronunciation of the characters for wulin (“world of martial arts”) rather than wuxia (“muhak”), but it is the more common name for Korean wuxia stories.

**Yes, these use tropes from other genres such as “reborn as the villainess” (like Bakarina) and “VR login into a fantasy world” (like SAO). There’s a lot of cross-pollination from different genres in Korean media.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Temple of the Red Lotus trilogy (Temple of the Red Lotus, Twin Swords, and The Sword and the Lute) is another great one (very early new wuxia from Shaw Brothers in the mid-60s)

 

[Bedrockgames]

Wuxia is also much more mainstream these days, partly because of all the tropes from CTHD (and The Matrix) which are all over more mainstream films and media, but also because of all the....

I agree it seems to be gaining in popularity. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon also had a lot to do with it. I remember when we just called them flying swordsmen movies or wire-fu. And what you could find was quite sporadic. When I first picked up Swordsman II it was just called Legend of the Swordsman and I had no idea there were two other movies. The Hong Kong Action Theatre! film list was actually my bible for a while (I remember taking it with me to blockbuster and sun coast to find movies lol)

 

[jian]

I agree it seems to be gaining in popularity. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon also had a lot to do with it. I remember when we just called them flying swordsmen movies or wire-fu. And what you could find was quite sporadic. When I first picked up Swordsman II it was just called Legend of the Swordsman and I had no idea there were two other movies. The Hong Kong Action Theatre! film list was actually my bible for a while (I remember taking it with me to blockbuster and sun coast to find movies lol)

Yup, I remember devouring wuxia films from Blockbuster as soon as they appeared (hey, it’s all I had back then, 30 years ago in England). The dubbing/translation was dodgy and often the films had been cut or adapted badly, but still I watched and rewatched Swordsman 2, Moon Warriors, OUATIC 1-3, Tai Chi Master, New Dragon Gate Inn, Burning Shaolin, Bride with White Hair, Fong Sai Yuk 1-2, Kung Fu Cult Master*, Iron Monkey*, Last Hero in China, New Legend of Shaolin, Wing Chun, etc. You could have put Jet Li in the worst schlock and I’d have watched it (yeah, Wong Jing, I see you; I can see High Risk is a Die Hard ripoff).

*My favourites; the former because it’s the most wuxia thing ever, and the latter because it’s an amazing film even without Jet Li (the picking up papers scene is wonderful).