Best wuxia RPG?

[Bedrockgames]

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, 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).

*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).

Blockbuster and sun coast were my lifeline. Also the movies were more precious because you really had to work to see them. I still recall watching Snake in the Eagles Shadow (not really wuxia) every night for like three weeks straight and never growing bored of it.

Those are all great. Tai Chi Master is awesome. I love that movie. Anything with Jet Li is generally a good time. Like you said, it almost didn't matter what it was. Kung Fu Cult Master draws on really great source material, which I think really makes a difference. The Once Upon a Time in China films are also stellar. I'd say my three favorites of his are Tai Chi Master, Swordsman II and Fearless. Wing Chun is also an incredible movie (if you can get a half decent copy lol). Iron Monkey has impeccable action choreography, and Donnie Yen is the genuine article like Jet Li

I still have a soft spot for the bad dubs

 

[Bedrockgames]

In terms of gaming, what kind of wuxia campaigns do you guys like to run in terms of adventure structure ?

 

[Joshua Randall]

So, it’s not wuxia but the book Bridge of Birds is absolutely stellar (I’m overdue for a re-read) and was a huge influence on the video game Jade Empire (which is BioWare’s best game and yes, I will fight you if you disagree) which is wuxia. Ish. Anyway. Both are great and worth your time to read / play.

Honestly for an RPG? I’d probably use Fate. It does the blend of high-action and interpersonal drama as well as anything out there, is flexible, well supported, in print.

 

[jian]

In terms of gaming, what kind of wuxia campaigns do you guys like to run in terms of adventure structure ?

This is a pretty difficult question. I’ve run quite a few wuxia one-offs (based on tournaments or the fall of Shaolin or whatever) but I’m a bit stumped about what I’d like in a campaign.

Assuming you’ve got buy-in you could just have a longer one-off structure with clear limits on character options (e.g. “You are all junior students of the Mount Hua sect which has sadly fallen from its former position at the head of the orthodox sects; however, the Heavenly Demon, the immortal martial arts genius who nearly overthrew the world of martial arts a century ago, has returned to reform his Cult and aims to conquer the Imperial throne itself. Only a true master of Mount Hua’s Thirty-Two Peach Blossoms Style can hope to defeat him”).

If you want a wider range of character options then you kind of have to explain, as usual, what all these wonderful snowflakes are doing hanging out together and cooperating. I quite favour the Dragon Fist model here - give them a single enemy that threatens the entire world of martial arts and possibly the world, such as the demon emperor Jianmin. What has Jianmin taken from you personally, PC? What will you do to bring peace to the land once more and restore the Mandate of Heaven to a righteous emperor?

 

[jian]

So, it’s not wuxia but the book Bridge of Birds is absolutely stellar (I’m overdue for a re-read) and was a huge influence on the video game Jade Empire (which is BioWare’s best game and yes, I will fight you if you disagree) which is wuxia. Ish. Anyway. Both are great and worth your time to read / play.

Honestly for an RPG? I’d probably use Fate. It does the blend of high-action and interpersonal drama as well as anything out there, is flexible, well supported, in print.

Hey, while I could argue that Bridge of Birds (which is awesome, I’m looking at my copy on my bookshelf right now) is more like shenmo rather than wuxia, it’s still a great inspiration for wuxia or xianxia shenanigans. I would also argue that the most high profile wuxia property in town for the last decade or two is Kung Fu Panda, and I’ll fight anyone who thinks KFP isn’t wuxia. Going back to RPGs, I would definitely recommend Yin Yang Panda, more for setting inspiration than for the mechanics.

(Shenmo or “gods and demons fiction” is Chinese fantasy that’s more concerned with the supernatural doings of, well, mythological gods and demons than anything else. Journey to the West (Saiyuki in Japanese) is a good example. Again, there are some good modern Korean examples, such as Mystic Pop-up Bar (it’s on Netflix).)

 

[aramis erak]

Hero System and Martial Hero combine to an excellent Wuxia-Capable game. Limit speed to 4, and 3 for non-martial artists. and it even flows pretty well once one gets used to the 12 phase chart. The wide range of martial arts covered is amusingly large

Surprisingly, Ninjas and Superspies (Palladium) plays pretty well... provided one doesn't mind the abject lack of social mechanics. (TMNT is not as good at it. Hybridizing them, however... booyah! Caveat about social remains.)

Savage Worlds can be easily set to do Wuxia, as it allows powers to be martial arts based.

Mechanically, tho' Wuxia doesn't need special rules, just ignoring physics and upscaling the narrative.

Cortex Prime or FATE Core can easily be tweaked to do Wuxia.

 

[RenleyRenfield]

Ah, this is an old question.

For those who don’t know, wuxia (martial heroes) is a genre of novels, films, TV, etc mostly concerned with the adventures of martial artists in a version of medieval China that never was. These heroes fight each other, leaping from tree to tree with flashing swords, gathering in sects such as the Shaolin Temple or the Wudang clan, and having terribly complicated personal lives. The most archetypal wuxia work in modern times is probably the 2000 film version of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, though there are many other examples such as the books by Louis Cha.

Back in the day, the wuxia TTRPG to beat would undoubtedly have been Weapons of the Gods, terrible art and incomprehensible Secret Arts rules and all. There’s a rewritten version called Legends of the Wulin, which is rather over-complicated for my taste.

There are many others since, of course. There’s Righteous Blood Ruthless Blades, which does a good job with both system and setting; it’s based on Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate, which has more supernatural elements and a really solid setting, and it’s PWYW to boot. There’s Tianxia for FATE, which has the virtue of simplicity, though I’m not entirely happy with the way martial arts styles work there. There’s also Art of Wuxia, which is perfectly fine.

What have you all played, run, liked, and disliked from the above or other games?

I made a Wuxia version of Exalted using Cortex Prime , is here for free (link)

It has a subsection for Cultivation too if desired.

 

[SteveC]

May I suggest Into the Badlands as something to watch along the same lines. I really liked it, although the last half season dropped off.

 

[dbolack]

Ah, this is an old question.

For those who don’t know, wuxia (martial heroes) is a genre of novels, films, TV, etc mostly concerned with the adventures of martial artists in a version of medieval China that never was. These heroes fight each other, leaping from tree to tree with flashing swords, gathering in sects such as the Shaolin Temple or the Wudang clan, and having terribly complicated personal lives. The most archetypal wuxia work in modern times is probably the 2000 film version of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, though there are many other examples such as the books by Louis Cha.

There is also Chris Pramas Dragonfist, if you can find it.

 

[jian]

There is also Chris Pramas Dragonfist, if you can find it.

Yes, I mentioned it in a previous post but I agree it’s a bit hard to find - I have a copy from when it was freely available on the WotC site. There’s also its retroclone (Flying Swordsmen) which I think someone else mentioned earlier.