D&D General Kara Tur 5e

[Corinnguard]

I keep forgetting I backed that. Physical books when.

I wish I knew. They were supposed to have come out earlier this year.

 

[Tonguez]

In the past decade or so Chinese language fantasy fiction has really taken off, and now there really is no reason for a western creator to be ignorant of them. So many of the character options in OA were based on Japanese archetypes: here are some distinctly fantastic but uniquely Chinese ideas I'd like to see alongside samurai ninjas and shugenjas

I would like:

Some sort of class or subclass that is explicitly called a "fangshi" - a "master of recipes", referring to Chinese alchemy, though this is also a better translation of a d&d style wizard with their spell books and such

A class or subclass explicitly flavored around a xia from wuxia: that is a weapon using "knight errant" figure (contrasted with the unarmed monk) with supernatural powers and a desire for justice.

A class, subclass or feat that is inspired by contemporary Chinese "cultivation" fantasy: that is, getting supernatural powers through meditating and performing "internal alchemy" on oneself.

Very much this, there are a tonne of Asian writers and designers in Asia - China, Japan, Korea, South East Asia who could be brought in to design a dynamic fantasy setting.

I'd love to see a set of adventures akin to Radiant Citadel which then get expanded into their own culture-zones. Maybe call on the designers of MTG Shengmen too (The Shengmen born Planeswalker Yanggu appears in the Forgotten Realms deck as a Druid)

 

[humble minion]

I wish I knew. They were supposed to have come out earlier this year.

Latest I heard was delivery in September, though whether that's 'arriving in your letterbox in September' or 'the slow freighter leaves China in September and even once it arrives you still have to wait for customs, fulfillment centres, and postage' I'm less sure about.

 

[Corinnguard]

Latest I heard was delivery in September, though whether that's 'arriving in your letterbox in September' or 'the slow freighter leaves China in September and even once it arrives you still have to wait for customs, fulfillment centres, and postage' I'm less sure about.

If it is the former, then the timing would be perfect for me.

 

[JConstantine]

In the past decade or so Chinese language fantasy fiction has really taken off, and now there really is no reason for a western creator to be ignorant of them.

At this point, I'd consider that less than the bare minimum. I would expect creators with cultural ties to be hired to add authenticity and respect to the cultures being used as influence.

A class or subclass explicitly flavored around a xia from wuxia: that is a weapon using "knight errant" figure (contrasted with the unarmed monk) with supernatural powers and a desire for justice.

The samurai subclass sort of touches on this, no?

 

[Shades of Eternity]

I believe any creator with a vision should have the freedom to create.
If they are from the culture in question, bonus points, but it's more critical for locals of an area to have buy-in, than the writers themselves.

 

[JConstantine]

Oath of Wuxia Paladin?

I'd say the martial hero in wuxia is more of a fighter than a paladin. While the protagonist often is a goodly sort in a black-and-white world, there's no paladin style oath. Some heroes become villains, some villains become heroes, but it's not typically the fall to the dark side or subsequent redemption we see with Oathbreakers or Star Wars.

And Way of Alchemy Monk?

While the word alchemy is used in translation, neidan (internal alchemy) is a metaphysical sort of alchemy, where the practitioner uses their body to manipulate the Three Treasures - three energies that are essential to life. It's partially baked into the monk at a baseline with it's ki points. "Way of Cultivation" would be a better name, I think.

 

[JConstantine]

Female Nishikin

Male Nishikin

Anthropomorphic koi people kinda weird me out, but these pieces are gorgeous. Who's the artist?

 

[Corinnguard]

Anthropomorphic koi people kinda weird me out, but these pieces are gorgeous. Who's the artist?

The artist's name for these two pics is Ognjen Sporin. The link below contains a number of pictures and sketches from Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms. Both of the Nishikin are Ronins, a Ranger subclass.

Ognjen Sporin

 

[haakon1]

With all of the recent talk about a 5e version of Kara Tur thanks to the Oni's Right Hand article, what would everyone like to see if WoTC made it official?

My wishlist: Return to the spirit of the 1985 book.

1) Focus on Japan, not all of Asia. Most of the original OA was on Japanese themes. All the original play testers were Japanese. Double down on this. And other countries later if the demand is there.

2) Folklore themed. One of the best things about OA was the folklore theme in the adventures, including those in Dungeon. Go back to this - not D&D retreading itself endlessly, but fantasy focused on folklore elements like ghosts and spirits - not Beholders & Builds.

3) It’s own stand-alone setting, not (necessarily) Forgotten Realms. OA was originally its own place, vaguely hinted in previews to be in Greyhawk. It doesn’t need to be a side piece to another setting.

4) NEW: Tie in to “Shogun”. The current streaming series is great, so be more clear you can do that in OA.

5) NEW: Obviously, OA is no longer an acceptable name, due to a shift in the language. Kara-Tur is not great either though - tied to a legacy of too many underdeveloped takes on real world places (was “Koryo” ever in a module? Why do we need it anymore than we need a specific Portugal analog in Faerun?) and basically a failure within FR. Come up with a new name. “Swords of the Shogun” (a play on OA1 “Swords of the Daimyo”), “Ninjas & Samurai”, something new that says what it is?