Are there features or sections of the final Wandering Blades core book that you'd like to see? Anything that you believe would be helpful? Are there other genres you'd like to see this system applied to?
Post them here!
Lethal wuxia melodrama in an old-school inspired tabletop RPG package by Daniel Kwan · By
I would love to have dedicated sections of the book to lore about the world of the Wandering Blades, the jianghu and perhaps even the world outside of the jianghu.
The combat system right now looks really cool, but without more context about the world of the Wandering Blades, it might be difficult to begin roleplaying without a foundation to go off of.
In particular, I would love more information on the different Martial Art Sects featured in the Youxia class section, it could help with character creation and help create connections with NPCs and help build the jianghu the players will be a part of!
I think in the vein of lethal melodrama, I would also wish for mechanics to facilitate that, whether it be rolling for a tragic event that spurred the players on their journey, or rewarding players making dramatic moves!
If there's anything else I can think of I'll continue posting in this thread!
I’d love a section of random tables where you could roll up an adventure with factions, NPCs, and plots/schemes. Having something to riff off of when coming up with adventure scenarios is a godsend. Plus it could be a great way to show what Wuxia adventures might look like for a newcomer. Something similar to the adventure tables in Vaults of Vaarn would be cool!
A variant ability for the Youxia that allows for characters to use unarmed strikes (palm strikes or clawed fingers) instead of a weapon.
Another thing is that techniques in wuxia novels (especially Jin Yong, less so Gu Long) often fill the role of magic items you see in other OSR games; hidden, powerful discoveries that define the character. Typically these techniques allow a character to forge their own destiny rather than adhering strictly to a sect, especially when they are in conflict with any masters of their sect
Characters often move between different sects and I don't know if that is applicable to this game
Great suggestion(s)!
Given the short form nature of games (1-5 sessions), I opted to design the youxia around a fixed class. Now that said, I don't see why a player couldn't choose to switch their sect (and associated sect ability) through the course of a story. This would give them the starting sect technique(s) and then access to the others!
As for unarmed strikes, it could be an easy case of adding an amendment to the "signature weapon" ability to include their literal body!
On the note of "magic item" equivalents, I've actually written a section on martial arts manuals in the core rulebook manuscript!
Optional rules for xianxia elements, cultivation that could uplift the PC to the level of operating as gods through martial arts and special katas and internal cultivation.
Also, optional modern-day setting where old jiangshi rivalries have lasted into the modern day. How have techniques shifted with the times?
Any thoughts on optional “extended play” rule? I do like the straight-forward exp/level system you have already! (reminds me of Kevin Crawford’s work)
I’m just thinking of running a longer game (ideally every other week for a year-ish) which is my typical format since we don’t get much done per session an ‘adventure’ tends to spread over at least a few sessions.
I can also house-rule it easily, I just know the “system mastery”/mechanic focused players might see 5 levels and think there’s not much room to plan/work with (ie their form of play outside the game sessions).
Off the top of my head I could do exp at the end of adventures, check the math and extend the levels beyond 5th, or hand out less exp each time. (Of course narrative/arbitrary levelling is also an option)
Context note: This is me just skimming the quickstart and having backed the KS I haven’t run it yet or given an in-depth read, so a grain of salt should be taken with this feedback :)
Hey James! Great question (and to be compared to Kevin Crawford's work means a lot)!
I thought a lot about how many levels to provide each class. Since I envisioned Wandering Blades as a toolkit for wuxia movies and for the combat to be highly lethal, I opted for a lower maximum level.
That said, even with the the current exp system, you can still engage in a longer form game (if the characters survive) if you include martial arts manuals. Rules for these aren't in the quickstart, but to put it simply...they enable players to trade exp for martial arts techniques! This way, you may have lower level characters with powerful techniques fighting alongside higher level characters with standard ones!
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to post here or on the Wandering Blades Discord server: https://discord.gg/y4C3vynp8q