Tommy's Take on The Ninja Crusade 2nd Edition

Longtime readers of the blog know I've been a pretty big fan of Third Eye Games' Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade. A while back, they released a second edition - now just called The Ninja Crusade - and I thought I'd take a peek inside.

Three Kickstarters and a Sale

Hey all, just popping in to boost the signal for three Kickstarters and a sale that you need to be aware of (see, it's right there in the title)!

DARKMOOR RPG

The Darkmoor RPG is a zany, over the top, video game inspired RPG that pulls from all kinds of pop culture elements. You define your race and class, and even have to provide all of your own drawings (actually talent hopefully not needed). You beat the cash out of enemies, level up in glowing bursts of light, and create hyper awesome special moves. Paul "Wiggy" Wade-Williams, of Triple Ace Games, has agreed to write a minisupplement for the game, and you can download an Introductory Guide that gives you a better idea of how the game works. The project is already funded, though not by a comfortable margin, with four days left to go, and you can pick up digital, softcover or hardcover rewards.

RIPPERS RESURRECTED

With five days left to go, Rippers Resurrected has demolished its funding goal and all but one of their stretch goals - a print compilation of the adventures unlocked as stretch goals, which will be given free to backers of the print levels. Rippers Resurrected as a sequel to the Rippers setting/plot point campaign (which is included as one of the stretch goals) in which Victorian monster hunters find and defeat monsters and "rip" their body parts and special abilities and add them to their bodies to gain an edge against the monsters...all while trying not to lose their grip on humanity. Pinnacle has a stellar track record on Kickstarter fulfillment, and the PDFs are set for delivery before Halloween so you can run Rippers for your group if you like. You can also add Savage Tales of Horror to your pledge, including my Deadlands adventure in vol. 2!

THE NINJA CRUSADE 2ND EDITION

Hot on the heels of the fulfillment of the Apocalypse Prevention Inc. 2nd Edition Kickstarter, Eloy Lasanta is overhauling Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade into a slightly less "crunchy" and more cinematic RPG. I have made no bones about what a fan of the first edition I am, and I was both nervous and intrigued by this upcoming 2nd edition. Dispensing with the d20-based Dynamic Gaming System, the 2nd edition will use the Chakra System, a d10 die pool system. Another huge improvement is supposed to be a system for making enemies up on the fly, very useful for a game such as The Ninja Crusade that leans heavily on PC-like foes over a bestiary. The Ninja Crusade still needs over $3,000 to hit their funding goal, but they have 19 days left to hit it. Third Eye Games has a sterling track record for Kickstarter fulfillment as well, so you can pledge with confidence.

NEOPLASTIC PRESS PAY WHAT YOU WANT SALE

In the Halloween spirit, Rafael Chandler - one of the sickest, most twisted RPG authors I know, and I mean that as a compliment - has offered seemingly everything in his back catalog (aside from SlaughterGrid, it seems) as Pay What You Want (including nothing) through Halloween. I, personally, recommend Pandemonio, which is his revision of his Dread and Spite RPGs, but you really don't have anything to lose by taste-testing any of his stuff, do you? And if you like what you read, go back and "buy" the PDFs. That's kinda how Pay What You Want works.

Tommy's Take on Tianxia: Blood, Silk & Jade

Used to be, this would have been a hard sell for me...but more and more I've been getting my martial arts geek on, and given my new found interest in Fate, I wound up backing the Tianxia Kickstarter, a martial arts setting and sourcebook for Fate Core by Vigilance Press! Before I get started, I do have to offer a huge shoutout to my blogging colleague Jay Steven Anyong, who is doing a great Let's Study series on Tianxia over on his blog.

Tommy's Take on Wu Xing: Truth and Lies

Wu Xing alternates back and forth between regional sourcebooks and clan sourcebooks. At the beginning of the year we got the latest clan sourcebook Truth and Lies, covering the rival clans The Will of Iron and the Hidden Strands.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: You will need the Wu Xing core rules to use this, which is available in print for $20 and PDF for $10. The print book is in black and white softcover. I got mine via the Truth and Lies Kickstarter a while back.

The first chapter is an in-character “fluff” chapter directed at a new recruit to the Will of Iron, filling him in on the Clan’s purpose and methods. The Will of Iron are hardcore enforcers of the law (or their law, anyway, known as The Tao of Steel, which is broken down law by law in a sidebar, featuring such gems as “Stopping a crime is meaningless if the criminal can commit it again”, “A starving innocent is tragic, but a fat criminal is an outrage” and “To tolerate a crime today weakens the resolve to enforce the law tomorrow”). Other sidebars cover notable members of the clan, including the elderly boogeyman known as Justice’s Blade. Other cool and notable tidbits about The Will of Iron include their hidden prison known as The Repeating Prison, where they imprison criminals who should not be killed but cannot be openly detained, trapping them in casks and forcing them to relive their crimes. The structure of the clan is detailed as well, including a treatise on how The Will of Iron trains. We also get a deeper discussion of The Will of Iron feels about the other clans, though they generally find something wrong with each clan.

The Hidden Strands of Fate are shadowy manipulators to The Will of Iron’s hardcore enforcers. One of the first things we learn about the Hidden Strands is that the new inductees are selected by existing members, who manipulate the destruction of the potentials’ enemies to ensure that they survive to become Hidden Strands. We also find out (from the Hidden Strands, if they are to be believed) that they have manipulated each of the clans to ensure that they have incarnated into their current forms. Greater good and all that, I suppose. So you know, they don’t like the Will of Iron. The chapter ends with a dirty tease about just precisely what role The Hidden Strands play in the Ninja Crusade, though we don’t get to SEE it.

Chapter Three delves into the mechanics. Two new Passions are introduced: Treachery (especially for the Hidden Strands) and Pursuit (generally for the Will of Iron). The Will has new Gifts (like Sentaka, which grants bonuses to hunting criminals) and Drawbacks (like being so Sadistic that they lose control when attacking their target). Strand Gifts and Drawbacks include 100-Year Thread (using silk soaked in the blood of the clan’s enemies for 100 years) and Truthful (which is a huge problem when your whole clan is a bunch of liars). New weapons include Butterfly Swords and the impressive Seven-Branched Sword as well as the terrifying Heaven Splitter.

Two new Fighting Styles are included: Deer Style (which uses sais and is a defensive style that focuses on locking up weapons and breaking them, or striking a crushing blow when attacking off of a Parry or Dodge) and Silkworm Style (using chains and designed to take opponents down quickly). The Way of the Metal provides new Wushu which lets the ninja sense metals, split metal pieces into multiple shards and ultimately summon a magnetic storm of metal. The Way of Spun Threads can increase the strength of threads, create a whirlwind that turns their threads into wicked weapons and even transforming into a wicked warrior protruding threads from their body. The Way of Heaven’s Judgment allows the ninja to attack the guilty with increased accuracy and damage (while causing the opponent to become sloppy), allow them to reduce damage taken (and turn some of it into chi that they can use in return) and even become a walking embodiment of justice.

Three new Celestial Animals are added: Spiders, Peacocks and Silver Dragons, with an example of each, including a Celestial Spider that is hunted by the Will of Iron.

The first of the new clans is called the Sons of Steel, hardnosed warriors that make the Will of Iron look like softies. In fact, the Sons of Steel are completely emotionless. They have the Way of the Iron Mind, which allows them to shut out mind-altering effects, remove emotions from other individuals and, at the height of their power, remove emotion from everyone around them.

The second clan is Veiled Ones, an offshoot of the Hidden Strands. They have the Way of Pulled Strings which allows them to see through the eyes of their puppets, make their puppets look lifelike, and even control victims directly with their wushu.

An adventure is included that involves altering the balance of power in an Empire trade city, but both the Hidden Strands and the Will of Iron insist on including members of their clans on the strike team.

WHAT WORKS: The cool new mechanics are a great addition and some of the setting elements are nice. The options for playing the Will of Iron as “not nice” as well as playing an “honest” Strand of Fate is really intriguing as well.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK: The adventure left me a little cold for some reason.

CONCLUSION: If you like Wu Xing, there’s a lot of great setting elements here to play around with (like the Repeating Prison). There are also some swell new rules like the wushu, new styles, new weapons (I do dig the Seven-Branched Sword and Heaven’s Splitter). Unless you’re playing troupe-style, your players won’t need a ton of clan options, but the Veiled Ones or the Sons of Steel could make for great antagonists. Definitely recommended for fans of Wu Xing as there are some cool elements to use even if you don’t have Will of Iron or Hidden Strands PCs in your games.

Tommy's Take on Wu Xing: Land of Seed and Blossom

Anyone who has read this blog a long time knows that I dig Wu Xing by Third Eye Games quite a bit. This is especially impressive, since I don't really go for the whole martial arts/anime type stuff. Wu Xing has had two big hits, though, the corebook and The Firebrands, but now it's time to see how its first regional sourcebook - Lands of Seed and Blossom - fares.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: The Land of Seed and Blossom is the first regional sourcebook for Wu Xing and clocks in at $9.99 in PDF format for 109 pages, while the print version sets you back $19.99. The cover is another great piece of work, showing a pair of ninja in battle (or sparring). I own the softcover and the PDF, but this review is primarily working off of the PDF version (referencing is just faster that way).

The book opens with some flavor fiction, in which a member of the Phantom Voices meets with a member of the Grasping Shadows in hopes of gaining support for the Land of Seed and Blossom to overthrow Imperial Rule. It does not end incredibly well, due to the Empire stumbling upon the meeting, but does a good job of illustrating the politics at play.

Next, we get a history and overview of the Land of Seed and Blossom, showing how the seven clans from this land spawned from the Seven Catastrophes (which included plague, pestilence and even a mini-zombie apocalypse), hinting that the Uprising may be the Eighth Catastrophe, which would presumably spawn a new clan. Given Third Eye Games' notoriously hands off policy on metaplot, I'm not sure how that would work. This chapter also notes important facts (ninja from this land are longer lived), and disturbing truths (the Imperial occupation is starting to have its effect on the people, warping their mindset).

Seven clans are detailed as well. The Bamboo Alchemists are the clan that the Bamboo Herbalists from the corebook split off from, and they are incredibly long lived. The Crystal Bearers are believed to be the first ninja clan, and are pushing for The Land of Seed and Blossom to throw off the shackles of oppression. The Grim Creepers fended off a blight of bugs and are now host to insects...and barely human. The Phantom Voices attempt to calm the Restless Dead. The Sisterhood of the Blood are the most peaceful of the seven clans. The Splendid Chameleons are shapeshifters and guardians of the wild. Finally, Yakubyo's Pox are murdering warmongers in skull faced paint.

Coincidentally (or not) the Land of Seed and Blossom is divided into seven provinces, each largely ruled by one of the Clans. It is said that the first Immortal set foot in the Horoki Province - not surprisingly, The Crystal Bearers hold sway here. The Sisterhood of Blood rule the Kokuso Chitai Province, where they work to hold a peaceful balance between The Crystal Bearers and Yakubyo's Pox. Yuuki, capital of the Land of Seed and Blossom, sits in the heart of the Hanei Province, where Yakubyo's Pox can ensure its safety. The Shinde Shizukana Province houses The Phantom Voices, whose villages resemble graveyards as much as anything. The Bamboo Alchemists lay hidden in the Midori Province. The Toguchi Privince, home of the Grim Creepers, appears wild and overran. The Mejireta Tsuri Province, where the Splendid Chameleons dwell, is also a wild territory, but with lusher, greener grass, clearer water and so on. The Land of Seed and Blossom also holds the Untamed Wilds...which hides its secrets at its heart.

The cool mechanical stuff comes next. For instance, instead of the Elemental natures, each ninja has a Birthstone that affects their temperment depending on the amount of chi they have: Diamond, Emerald, Onyx, Opal and Ruby. A new Passion is also added in Martyr. The sole new Gift is related to the Caste system in this kingdom, from Gatherer to Family Bearer to Hunter to Adventurer to Advisor to Chief. A pair of Drawbacks are present, one in which your ninja has contracted a blood disease and the other in which they never received a birthstone.

We get new Fighting Styles. Frog (which has a few leaping tricks), Rhino (think charging and thick skin), Sloth (think before you act) and Spider (which likes to focus on multiple attacks).

We also get new Wushu: The Way of Denied Repose can fend of death...to the point of raising the dead - including the user - at the higher ends of the spectrum! Way of the Hive Body is as creepy as it sounds, starting with using bugs as messengers, developing into using them as eyes, and even transforming into a swarm. Way of Molded Bodies allows you to use your bones as weapons, stretch and make servants of your flesh, switch genders and even perfectly clone yourself! The Way of Shards seems pretty basic...until the ninja uncaps the limits of their power and taps into a strength akin to the Immortals. The way of Unending Blight is used to unleash disease on all around.

Bats, boars and frogs are added as Celestial animals.

Though the Blossom Ninjas are hostile towards the Lotus Coalition Ninja, the adventure in the back of the book is designed specifically to bridge that gap. It's a short adventure, designed soley to connect the two sets of ninjas and can be used as a mixed group (as it seems to be intended) or for Lotus Ninjas (entering the Land of Seed and Blossom for the first time) or Blossom Ninjas (escorting Lotus Ninjas into the Land of Seed and Blossom).

The book does include an index, as well as a hint at the next Wu Xing Book: Truth and Lies (focusing on the Strands of Fate and the Will of Iron).

WHAT WORKS: Crazy cool new powers, which is kind of the Wu Xing specialty, and a group of unique clans, who have a whole game mechanic that somewhat sets them apart from the Lotus ninjas (the Birthstones). The writing has great flow, as the Province descriptions move seamlessly from one clan to the next. The book is full of plot seeds that can be picked up on and developed. I nearly complained about how the new clans were kind of useless with the old clans, due to hostilities, but that was resolved nicely with the adventure.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: I'm a sucker for a good bestiary, and Wu Xing doesn't have one. Oni are still vaguely defined, and one art piece has ninja fighting off carnivorous plants, which are kind of outside the purview of the setting thus far. Shouldn't be too hard to swipe monsters from Part-Time Gods or API, but what if folks don't HAVE those games?

CONCLUSION: I still love Wu Xing for all its crazy, over the top stuff like turning into bug swarms and transforming your bones into weapons. A very worthy collection of material for Wu Xing and a very promising start to the regional sourcebook series. In fact, I would say the adventure is the most *useful* adventure included in a Third Eye Games book because of how simply and effectively it ties the Lands of Seed and Blossom to the Lotus Coalition. Strong recommendation for Wu Xing fans.

Tommy's Take on Wu Xing: The Firebrands

I have trumpeted the virtues of Wu Xing pretty loudly since its release, and I AM pretty much a fan of supplements, so there probably weren't a ton of people more excited than I was when The Firebrands was released. Currently available as a 90 page PDF for $9.99, or part of a bundle with Wu Xing for $20.94, it is the first of the Clan Books, detailing the history and activities of the Blazing Dancers and the Virtuous Body Gardeners, as well as shedding light on some new techniques and Wushu for them...and hopefully, it will be the first of many. It looks as though the plan is to "pair off" the clans, covering a couple of clans per book or so (thematically linked).

What You Need To Know: As noted, this book is all about tearing back the veil for the Blazing Dancers and the Virtuous Body Gardeners. The Blazing Dancers are the performance artists of Wu Xing, while the Virtuous Body Gardeners cover themselves in tattoos which can give them cool and freaky powers (like turning tattoos into weapons, for instance). Aside from a fiction-only prologue, the book is divided into four chapters, the first covering the Burning Dancers, the second covering the Virtuous Body Gardners, the third covering all of the new mechanical material in the book, including some new clans, and the fourth being an adventure.

The two clan chapters are written in character, as if part of a one sided conversation. In the Blazing Dancers chapter, the narrator has been the target of an attempted poisoning by The Grasping Shadows, but has proven immune to the poison's effect. She explains to the assassin just why the Grasping Shadows would want her dead, using it as an expository hook to explain the history of the Blazing Dancers and their role in the world as more than just "dancing fools" as any hold them to be. The narrator's baton seems to be handed off to Odoriko Minori, she explains the role that the Blazing Dancers serve inside of the Lotus Coalition, as well as expands upon the sentence or two "Clan Impressions" from the Wu Xing rulebook. We also learn about the sects within the clan, from the Tamers (animal tamers) and Bellows (fire manipulators) to The Thousand and The Hand. The latter two are particularly interesting, as they show just what the Blazing Dancers are capable of, with the former being masked agents who operate with strict autonomy and anonymity, while the latter are essentially spies and infiltrators sent blend in wherever needed (being skilled actors). The narrator switches again, and we get an overview of some of the geography relevant to the Burning Dancers, with helpful hints and plot points (never hire an unregistered guide). Finally the baton changes hands one last time, this time to the former assassin who has been lectured to through this chapter, both embracing the ideas of the Blazing Dancers while struggling against the ideals, somewhat stuck in her Grasping Shadows mindset.

The Virtuous Body Gardeners chapter is told in a similar format, with rotating narrators speaking to a new recruit. We first learn of the history of the Virtuous Body Gardners as a splinter clan broken off from the Living Chronicle (not surprising, given the propensity of each to tattoo), with the difference being that while the Living Chronicle focuses on the facts of events, the Virtuous Body Gardeners focus on the feeling and emotion behind events. The second narrator discusses in detail the kinds of body modifications undertaken by The Virtuous Body Gardeners (complete with an unsettling image of one hanging from wire hooked through rings in their body over bamboo spikes), as well as a tale about a Virtuous Body Gardener and an encounter with a spider-like oni. Next, we get another run-through of relevant geographic locations, before switching narrators to learn about the breakdown of the clan structure. There are interesting tidbits about the needles used by the Virtuous Body Gardeners, which are keyed to each clan member, with interchangeable handles so that one can perform work on another without breaking the bonds between the flesh and the needles. Sumi Rika is our narrator here, as she embelishes on the insights she provided in the Wu Xing corebook as well, expanding on the thoughts and relationships between the Virtuous Body Gardeners and the other clans.

Chapter three is all about game mechanics, providing a new Passion (Teaching) as well as Dancer and Ink specific Gifts and Drawbacks. For instance, Gifts are provided for those wishing to play a Tamer, Bellow, Thousand or Hand, or the Ink Drawback Unscarred and Unpainted, which shows them as very reluctant to embrace the clan philosophy. Seven new weapons are included, as well as the Fox and Scorpion Fighting Styles. New Wushu is provided for the Ways of Fire, Immaculate Show and Inked Skin, allowing the users to heat their palms before making attacks, produce a bright flash that momentarily holds their targets in place or unleash a barrage of chains from their very bodies. New Celestial Animals are provided in the form of Foxes, Phoenixes and Red Dragons, as well as three whole new clans: The Gracious Illustrators (with their Way of 18 Strokes Wushu), the Grey Tigers (with the Way of Bloody Claws) and the Winds of Aion (and their Way of Deadly Crescendos). The former work with the Living Chronicle and can use their Wushu from such "basic" wonders are painting a hole into a wall that they need to pass, to painting the future and making it come true. The latter are...in a word...paranoid. They are incredibly secretive, to the point that they will kill other ninja just for knowing they exist. The Winds of Aion are musicians, and if you think that just means that they just play flutes, you haven't been paying attention. They have an intense rivalry with the Dancers, to the point that they will betray the Lotus Coalition to The Empire just to strike blows against the Dancers.

Fittingly, the included adventure is designed for Dancers, Inks or (perhaps ideally) a mixed party. It is a rescue mission to retrieve a captive Ink, whose liberation has been made possible by a disgraced Dancer seeking redemption. It's a fairly straightforward infiltrate and release mission, but I give particular props to the climax, which turns into a pitched battle with a lethal swordsman ON A TIGHTROPE...this adds an extra awesome complication, because the PCs not only have to stay alive - they have to avoid knocking their adversary to the ground below and causing an extra commotion. There is also a page dedicated to providing extra material if the PCs decide to snoop around the castle instead of trying to get straight in and out. The adventure even ends with a couple of follow-up ideas.

What Works: The adventure is very well done if you don't mind a fairly linear adventure, and is keyed to the strengths of the Inks and Dancers (ESPECIALLY the Dancers). The extra information on the clans is great, from the different sects inside the Dancers (and the mechanical support in the form of Gifts) to the different types of body modifications for the Inks, and the new Wushu is some pretty great stuff. The Gracious Illustrators and the Winds of Aion are interesting extensions spinning off of the existing clan concepts, providing more options for players. The production values take a step up here with tighter editing than the core book had and a GORGEOUS cover. Having the "perspective" characters from the Wu Xing corebook as narrators in the Clan chapters was a very nice touch.

What Doesn't Work: I'm not a fan of large chunks of books written from an in-character perspective, and many of the voices felt so similar that I didn't realize at first that we were switching narrators on my initial read-through. The Grey Tigers are a cool concept, but just seem very out of place to me in *this* book...seeming like they would be much more at home in a book about the Recoiling Serpents or the Pack of the Black Moon. In fact, the only link I could see to the Dancers or Inks was that they count Way of the Fire among their Favored Wushu.

Conclusion: The Blazing Dancers are not one of my favorite clans, but this book does a lot to make them very cool. While there is some room for improvement, the basic template for future clan books is in place and looks great. Like any great supplement, there's nothing in here that you ABSOLUTELY NEED in order to play Wu Xing, but if you like Wu Xing, you will have a lot of cool stuff you can use, especially if you are a fan of The Blazing Dancers or Virtuous Body Gardners. Great start to the Clanbook series...I can't wait to see what's next.

Tommy's Take on Iron Dynasty: Way of the Ronin

It's going to be hard not to compare Iron Dynasty: Way of the Ronin with Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade, given how strong of an impression that game made on me, and how recently it was that I reviewed it.

One big difference is that Iron Dynasty is kind of inspired by anime...whereas Wu Xing is heavily inspired by anime...that alone should tweak the feel considerably. I'm also terribly familiar with Savage Worlds...it being my favorite in print RPG system...so that, plus Reality Blurs' reputation (I've never read RunePunk or Realms of Cthulhu, believe it or not) gives me high hopes going in.

So...does Iron Dynasty live up to "heavy metal oriental action"? Savage Worlds is probably a great system to accomodate it.

WORDS FROM A WISEMAN

Here is the setting "fluff", laying the groundwork for the world. Industrialization is crushing the spirit and honor that true warriors lived by, and in the face of imperialistic expansion all who would truly live free are being called to take up the sword and embrace the Way of the Ronin.

Okay, that does sound awesome. Kinda appeals to the libertarian in me, not to get too political.

The Iron Dynasty begins with the assassination of the Emperor and the installation of one of his two twin sons as the new Emperor. When the missing twin returns home, he's exiled (instead of killed, as the Emperor was told to do by his handlers)...and winds up returning - now the Witch-King - with an army of machines, crushing his brother's empire and taking his place, ruling with the might of machines.

Years later, history repeats itself somewhat as the new Witch-King, cousin of the new Empress, arrives...seeking to take the throne. He's dismissed out of hand, and leaves a nasty parting gift that wreaks havoc and leaves the throne empty.

For the next twenty years, up to the "present", The Empress' Honor Guard have ruled the Empire, now calling themselves the Lord Generals...and they're a little crazy.

A helpful sidebar informs us that Iron Dynasty has largely removed the class system typically found in feudal oriental societies.

Good set-up, told concisely, not overly verbose...and sets up a Ronin vs Crazy Empire With Guns And War Machines.

PATHS TO UNDERSTANDING

As is common in Savage Worlds books (and deservedly so) the character creation chapter begins with a listing of common character types for the setting...and we're talking pages worth. So if you're stuck for an appropriate concept, look no further.

This is followed up with nine sample characters of different concepts. Additionally, the book points out five "roles" that should be fulfilled. The upside of Savage Worlds is that it is EXCEEDINGLY easy to toss an NPC into a role to fill in a skill/knowledge gap without the game becoming cumbersome. The recommended roles are Talker, Healer, Infiltrator, Thinker, Warrior.

CHARACTER CREATION

Oh, woops...it is it's own chapter.

Still.

Humans are your only choice in the game, and they get a free Edge of Heroic Rank or less to start with, amping the power level up a bit, which is certainly fine for the setting. Otherwise, character creation is largely the same as in other Savage Worlds games.

It is also recommended that the PCs get "defining interests", which are similar to the Common Knowledge bonuses.

We get a few new Hindrances, a couple of which are familiar from other sources but wholly appropriate for the setting, such as Prideful...(a villain with Prideful will never deliver a finishing blow, for example).

Edges are where the setting really pops, as we get three new Arcane Backgrounds, which inform us that we're getting some new powers as well. They can be roughly categorized as mad scientists, priests and wizards.

Not surprisingly, there are all kinds of new Combat Edges in the game, like the impressive Arrow Cutting, which allows you to use your Parry score against physical missiles fired at you, rather than the standard TN of 4. Another nice one is Scabbard Block, allowing a swordsman to use his scabbard as a shield. Silent Kill is another great one: If your Ninja (or whoever) kills a foe unnoticed in a single round, they can either attempt to hide the body quickly, or pin it in place.

There are a LOT of new Edges...my biggest disappointment here is that there are no new Legendary Edges, unfortunately.

ARMS & EQUIPMENT

The equipment chapter begins with a conversion chart for money, which can be helpful if, among other things, you want to buy something that didn't make it into the book.

Helpfully, there are a lot of images and descriptions of armor and weapons, so that you can tell what they are. Seriously, I love this for any game that uses either non-standard equipment or non-standard naming conventions. It may seems like a little thing, but it's not. Having a page of illustrations for the various armors is tremendously useful. In addition, there are four different "grades" of equipment, modifying the prices and giving bonuses and penalties are appropriate. For the weapons that are essentially just renamed from common western names, a handy translation guide is present as well.

All in all, props for the equipment chapter for the little things as much as the big things.

SETTING RULES

Every Savage Setting typically stands apart because of the setting rules, which modify the core rules a bit to evoke an appropriate feel.

A lot of these are minor: Guts is removed in place of a Spirit check for fear effects and the like. Some Edges are modified or outright excluded, or replaced by new Edges. A couple of new uses for existing skills are listed, like using Intimidation to interrogate and Persuasion as both a Disguise skill and too perform seduction.

There are also Extended Trait Checks, which are reminiscent of Skill Challenges from D&D4e, and will probably be of much interest to some SW players.

KEY ELEMENTS

Here we get some new powers, as well as one important tweak: Speak Language now lets you talk to Nature Spirits.

New powers allow your heroes to banish oni and spirits from the mortal realm, raise the dead(!) (yes, it is a Legendary power), and travel long distances by stepping through dimensions. There are several more powers, giving plenty of options to choose from for the Arcane Background types.

A new Reputation system is included that can range from -100 to +100 and provides a benefit depending on your ranking. Agt -60, for instance, you essentially have the Mentor Edge, where followers seek you out to learn from you...at +95, you have a Sidekick showing up to help you out.

We also get Dueling rules, which have several pages of guidelines (and no, are not the same rules from Deadlands, which would feel out of place here). Duels can influence your Reputation, whether by winning, losing, accepting or refusing.

We also get a little more detail on black powder weapons such as firearms, grenades and the like and some useful guidelines on calculating troops for using the Mass Battle rules (which I'm a big fan of, personally, and love the opportunity to use in SW).

KONOYO: THE KNOWN WORLD

Now we getting into the setting chapter proper, starting with the five races of people in Konoyo, and how they differ in appearance, dress, etc. Note: This is race in the classic Our World sense, not in the classic Fantasy World sense. Everyone's still human.

Nine provinces are also laid out, each getting about a page, detailing their economy, legal system, allies, enemies and even the common outlook of the people. Like with the background in the beginning, I applaud the author for their verbage here: They never go long winded, giving you the details and getting out.

SECRETS OF THE SENSEI

Thus would be the GMing section...specifically, the somewhat more detailed information on each Province with cities, factions and places of interest, as well as plot seeds that can be used as inspiration or misdirection. Again, this section could easily go long winded...God knows a lot of game books do...but not so here. For me, at least, the level of detail feels about juuust right...because if you're hitting me with a wall of setting text, it better be some amazingly interesting stuff. Here, we get enough information to use any part of the world, though a little work has to go into all of it, because it's not meticulously detailed.

KESSHI TALES

What's one way to sell me on a book? Include a random adventure generator...which this does. It feels similar to the one in Solomon Kane, but expanded, especially with a few tables specific to the setting, which is awesome. You can roll up the premise of the adventure, the mcguffin, the basic location, the supporting cast...all of the good stuff.

We also get a system for designing "Corrupted", who are people that have been...er...corrupted by dark mojo.

Templates are provided for Lesser and Greater Oni, as well as "Yokai", with random tables that can be used to further modify them for effect. Finally, we get four Monstrous Templates that can be added to most creatures: Clockwork (clockwork samurai FTW!), Demon-Blooded, Ghostly and Kami-Possessed.

CAMPAIGN FRAMEWORKS

Seven campaign frameworks are included, with recommended character types, adversaries, locations, rewards, etc. Each framework is given a set-up and a sample plot progression that could be developed into Plot Points with a little work. The first one is Heroes of the People with a story arc called The Seven, Oh, Y'Know...and is a band of, say, samurai summoned to help, say, a village against, say, bandits...although their plot arc includes 90% more demons than The Seven Samurai did.

Fields of Blood is all about battlefield conflict, in which the heroes rise from footsoldiers to battlefield generals.

Vengeance is Mine should be a REALLY self explanatory campaign type, and so on. While these aren't the most useful for actually laying out individual adventures, they do a nice job of relaying the depth of the setting and helping to structure a campaign.

PEOPLE OF KONOYO

These are your stock NPC stat blocks for various walks of life and so forth. Seven pages, from Animal Handlers to Yakuza. Pretty much most of what you're going to need is present here, for killing or otherwise.

CREATURES OF KONOYO

Ah, monsters...

Starting with the spider-like Baku, through elemental spirits and even common animals. Iron Dynasty doesn't just leave you at the mercy of using random monsters, instead providing many options for you, demonic and otherwise.

THE MIGHTY KIKAI

This would be the section on the giant war machines...we get basic information on light, medium and heavy kikai...with word that more will be coming in The Art of War, apparently an upcoming supplement. There is enough information here to use the three stat blocks, and since it'll be illegal for most PCs to have one, this is probably sufficient information.

TWENTY MYSTIC RELICS

This is kind of a self explanatory chapter...being about twenty mystic relics.

We have weapons like a bone spear made from the leg of an oni, a flute that can jog people's memories, a mask that can grant a lion's roar, an orb that can raise the dead and a lucky stone that grants the owner a benny at the beginning of the session as well as any time they draw a Joker.

Finally, we get an extensive index and a full color map.

The PDF is bookmarked, searchable, copy and paste enabled, has a clickable table of contents and is layered (not that it's a high end product, graphically speaking, as it is almost entirely black and white).

There is a credit for the character sheet design, but that seems to be missing from the book...I assume it is on the Reality Blurs website. If so, that's a minor, but annoying, omission. I'm not a fan of that or the lack of Legendary Edges...in a perfect world, every setting would have at least a couple of Legendary Specific Edges, if for no other reason than to help dispel the annoying misconception that Savage Worlds ends at Legendary. I'm also a bigger fan of the slightly more "westernized" oriental setting found in Wu Xing than I am here, but that's a personal preference and nothing more. Ultimately, it's two superficially similar settings with wildly different executions.

I do like the variety of campaign and character options, the random tables are always welcome, the equipment chapter is *incredibly* well done, tons of new Edges and some cool new powers (including Resurrection, making its first Savage Worlds appearance that I recall seeing).

A very worthy addition to the Savage Worlds library, showing off how SW can do cool martial arts action.

Tommy's Take on Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade

Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade was a bit of a hard sell for me, being a quasi fantasy game in an oriental mish-mash fantasy culture with a heavy anime influence...that is kind of a laundry list of things I don't like (except for the fantasy part).

And yet, while I was reading (and loving) Apocalypse Prevention Inc., the book's writer Eloy Lasanta asked me if I would be interested in checking out Wu Xing for a review...off the strength of the API series, I said yes.

Wu Xing is available in hardcopy from Studio 2 Publishing and in PDF from RPGnow. The core rules are 221 pages with simple cover design and decent amount of black and white art. Like API, you never get the feeling that art is being used to fill space and inflate page count. It uses the Dynamic Gaming System, which is fundamentally simple, with lots of cool combat crunch (making it about spot on for the genre, I think).

...IN BRIEF

The book opens with a one page summary of the game, including the ten Ninja Clans and the clanless Ronin. The whole set-up is very reminiscent of the group set-up in World of Darkness games, so there is probably going to be a hint of familiarity for folks.

WHAT IS ROLEPLAYING?

Pretty standard "what is roleplaying" section, with a little example, with a Ninja PC trying to end a fight with intimidation and not conflict.

NINJA VS THE EMPIRE

This is the setting chapter, and it is a nice setting indeed. Ninjas are kinda like superheros, using their chi to do amazing things that mere mortals cannot.

The ninja made their first public move during the Crime Rebellion, also known as The First Ninja War, when they crippled the Orime Empire in a guerrilla war.

From there ninja clans as they exist today began, and the kingdoms that arose from the fall of the Orime Empire hired the clans to do their dirty deeds, sparking the Mercenary Wars, also known as the Second Ninja War.

The War of Withered Fangs, or the Third Ninja War, occured when The Slithering Gods began slaughtering other, smaller ninja clans. This one ended when the ninja publicly aligned with kingdoms and the Izou Empire and broke the back of the Withered Fangs, which evolved into the Recoiling Serpents.

The Expansion Wars, or Fourth Ninja War, saw an end to the affiliations between the ninja and the Empire as the Empire quickly expanded into ninja lands, taking everything they could. The Emperor outlawed ninjas and public use of chi.

The Ninja Crusade, the Fifth Ninja War, is where we are at now...The Empire is hunting and killing ninja at every turn. The ninja have formed the Lotus Coalition to pool resources against The Empire.

We get an overview of the ten ninja clans, each of which have a very distinct worldviews and even martial arts, but have a built in reason to work together due to the Lotus Coalition.

Ninja used to be recruited by blood, but as time has moved on, ninja are now recruited as often as they are born. There is also a bit about the student-master relationship and how the reputation of the master can go with the student, for better or for worse.

A very informative discussion follows on how the ninja have set up hidden cities, the basic structure of clan politics and realities of clan rivalries, even with the Lotus Coalition.

We get the Lotus Coalition side of things, where they joined forces after the Empire moved to gunpowder fueled weapons and slaughtered ninja for about a year before they they joined forces. The Big Tent of the Lotus Coalition still has a lot of in fighting, and it nearly got torn apart when a groom from The Pack of the Black Moon and a bride from The Recoiling Serpents had their peace-brokering wedding spoiled when the groom was mysteriously poisoned, casting suspicion on the Recoiling Serpents.

We also get the history of the Izou Empire, and my favorite part is the Emperor himself. Emperor Izou ascended to the throne at the age of ten and quickly consolidated his power. This continued until his two sons were caught in the crossfire between two ninja clans, leaving the future Emperor dead and the surviving brother seething with rage. This led to the public ban on ninja, which lasted until an undentified clan attacked the Emperor's wife and daughter, decapitating the former and giving the latter a slow acting, lethal poison...at that point, the war expanded to any chi users and the Ninja Crusade began. The author does a great job of establishing that Emperor Izou is a bastard, but he is also justified in his rage.

We get introduced to the class system, which is very important to the setting. The classes start with Commoners, Artisans, Merchants, Warriors and Nobles...with Untouchables being those beneath Commoners, on the outskirts of the Class system.

There is a short bit about religion, which doesn't play a huge role in the game, but there is a growing religion about a single figure who is greater than any ninja or the Emperor, so that religion sure isn't too popular in the Empire.

A big section follows on the ten provinces of The Empire, with plot seeds built in for use in the game. This is followed by The Five Kingdoms, which are the remaining kingdoms that exist outside of The Empire. Both an Empire map and a World map are included, and the information in the sections provides ample information without bogging the sections down with Too Much Detail.

CLANS

This is the overview of the ten clans, plus the Ronin. The set-up is very similar to how clans, tribes, etc, are treated in World of Darkness games, with the overview and stereotype of each clan, the clan's thoughts on the other clans, the Ronin, the Lotus Coalition and The Empire, plus clan specific character creation information.

The Bamboo Herbalists: The Bamboo Herbalists are healers, but they are far from stodgy, cleric types...they are thrill seeking adventurers, to a fault. However, they are imbued with a resistance against disease and poison.

Blazing Dancers: Blazing Dancers are often not taken as seriously as the other clans, due to being performers at heart. However, they are very much ninja like the other clans, capable of their own deadliness. They can muster minor magical effects to use to enhance their performances.

Grasping Shadows: These guys are what most people commonly think of when they think of ninjas: Assassins appearing from the shadows and killing their targets. The begin with extra levels in the "core" ninja skills, but REALLY do not play well with the other clans.

Hidden Strands of Fate: Dirty, dirty manipulators who are very likely playing EVERYONE for fools. They often have hidden objectives within missions and will order their members to sabotage Lotus Coalition missions. They can actually physically manipulate common threads with chi, playing on their nicknames.

Living Chronicle: The Living Chronicle tattoo history on their bodies, and their dead are preserved as a record of what has happened. Knowing that they are a living part of history provides them extra resistance against fear, but they don't relate well with people.

Pack of the Blood Moon: Exceedingly loyal, each member of the Pack has an animal companion that it shares a spiritual link with...to the point that any powers they use extend to the animal as well.

The Recoiling Serpents: They have an inherent, extreme amount of flexibility...but an extremely overdeveloped sense of vengeance.

The Virtuous Body Gardeners: These guys broke off from The Living Chronicle and tattoo themselves heavily. However, they can use chi to manifest their tattoos in unique ways. In fact, they can incorporate minor objects into the tattoos! However, they stand out like sore thumbs.

The Wardens of Equilibrium: Every Warden has a partner whose chi is opposite their own. They are obsessed with balance to the point that they will change sides in a conflict if it becomes unbalanced.

Will of Iron: These guys are obsessessed with justice, holding it above anything, even turning on allies who do wrong. Being metaphorically unyielding as metal, they can become attuned to metal (such as swords), and cannot be disarmed if they made the weapon themselves.

Ronin: Ronin can mix and match skills, powers and fighting styles, but lack the resources and power base of clan members.

My main comment on this section is that the comments from each representative clan member about the other clans was at first very jarring and very "western"...to the point that it almost bugged me. But as I'm not a huge fan of the source material, it probably made it easier for me to accept it all.

CHARACTER BUILDING

Character building is point based, being very similar to Apocalypse Prevention, Inc. However, some bits are necessarily different.

You start by selecting your Concept, Passion, Element and Clan. Concept and Passion function largely as they do in API, while Element helps determine your starting Chi and Clan has a huge impact on you, as it dictates the Fighting Styles and Wushu (special powers) available to you.


The Passions either mirror the API passions or come close, but the Elements are a new bit. The chi users are tied to an element that holds sway over them, informing their actions, and when their chi is out of balance or depleted, the element influences them further. Earth-natured characters are heavily focused on balannce, Fire-balanced characters tend to be energetic leaders, Metal-balanced characters are firm, rigid and focused on justice, Water-focused are intelligent and cautious and Wood-natured are both kind and resilient. It also helps determmine your chi, which is used too power your wushu (Wu Xing's name for kewl powers).

Chi comes in both Yin and Yang varieties, which can fuel wushu or provide a number of effects each, depending on the type of chi. You can also absorb too much chi, which can explode if not expelled fast enough.

The API stats of Power, Agility, Vigor, Intellect, Insight and Charm present here as well, with 30 points divided among them. All ninjas get a rank each in Legerdemain, Discipline, Stealth, Survival and their Primary Fighting Style before their 30 skill points kick in.

The Fighting Styles have charts full of modifiers...but also have special techniquest that the players can learn. Every style has an area that it is weak in and one that it is strong in, as well as a weapon that it favors.

The styles are Bear (these guys can seriously take a hit, and can unleash frightening roars), Crane (they strike early and often, but for less overall damage), Crocodile (slower, stronger attacks), Dragon (skilled at fighting multiple opponents at once), Eagle (they try to keep their distance), Hawk (focused on striking very quickly), Horse (they try to outlast their opponents with pure stamina), Monkey (more unorthodox attacks), Snake (focusing on coiled, measured strikes), Tiger (heavy on damage, but not energy efficient) and Wildcat (heavy strikes, but a lot of openings).

Ronin get 12 Bonus Points to spend on Gifts, everyone else gets 10. Many of the API Gifts and Drawbacks are here, but there are several new ones that are specific to Wu Xing, including determining your class.

A very handy reference guide is included, with a summary of all the steps in character creation and page number references for everything that didn't fit on the two pages. A sample character, built step by step, is included...complete with character sheet.

WUSHU

This is the Kewl Powerz chapter. Some powers can be powered by any kind of chi...some require either Yin or Yang specifically. A character's clan provides a bonus to the clan's favored Wushu, and the character's Element can provide bonuses or penalties in circumstances where other elements are involved.

There are ten general Wushu and ten clan specific Wushu. The general Wushus include The Ways of Beasts, Earth, Fire, Metal, Movement, Survival, the Unseen, the Warrior, Waterr and Wood. The Clan Specific Wushu are the Ways of Balanced Scales, Caring Hands, Ebony Clutches, Great Serpents, Heaven's Judgement, the Immaculate Show, Inked Skin, Kept Lore, Spun Threads and Twin Beasts.

Every Way begins with minor effects which grow in power and effect. The Way of Beasts, for instance, begin with using Yang to enhance the ninjas eye sight and culminates in being able to transform into an animal. The Way of Fire can be used to cauterize a ninja's wounds and stop bleeding...or breathe fire. The Way of Metal can provide some very cool, Magneto-esque effects. The Way of Movement starts with running up walls, moves to running THROUGH walls and ends in teleportation.

The Wardens of Equilibrium can destroy chi, the Bamboo Herbalists can actually raise the dead, the Grasping Shadows can bind a target's shadow (semiparalyzing the target), Recoiling Serpents can shed their skin (healing surface injuries in the process), the Will of Iron can create diviine weapons of judgement that only harm their target (and harm them BADLY), the Blazing Dancers can learn an opponent's moves for a fight (including their Wushu if they sacrifice chi), the Virtuous Body Gardeners can draw weapons from their tattoos, the Living Chronicle can place the memories of themselves (or someone else) into a blank book, the Hidden Strands of Fate can manipulate their vocal cords to alter their voices and the Pack of the Blood Moon can atually merge their bodies with their canine companions!

That is just a sampling of the effects brought on by the Clan Specific Wushu. There are also guidelines for PCs altering Wushu, combining aspects of Wushu and even creating Wushu from scratch.

EQUIPMENT AND COMBAT

Wu Xing uses a very lite wealth system: You compare your Class ranking to the Cost of items, and if it is equal to, or better, and you could reasonably access the item, it's yours. Starting equipment is not limited to Class, but by character concept.

All of the weapons are given a brief description, as well as the armor. The armor of the Empire is bulletproof, which can be a nice surprise if a ninja takes away a gun and turns it on one of the Emperor's warriors.

Wu Xing uses the same combat system as API, implementing the Counts system, where characters can take multiple actions per round based off of the speed of their attacks. If you like combat with a lot of options, the Wu Xing system is going to be right up your alley. It provides a ton of choices, without a huge amount of crunch.

Most major (and minor) situations are covered by the rules, including some loose guidelines for combat in unusual situations such as fighting on rooftops or even treetops.

Making traps is also covered in this chapter, as ninja sure do like to use traps. They can even use chi powered traps, and guidelines are given for the different types of traps.

The chapter ends with a combat sample that runs through the paces, showing combat tracking system.

The combat system is crunchy in the sense that it provides a ton of options, though tracking Health, Stamina and Chi might get to be a bit much for some people. Personally, I think it just pushes the border, with the payoff exceeding the work, especially in small scale combats (1 on 1 or other small conflicts).

ANTAGONISTS

This chapter covers the important, useful stat blocks in the game, starting with animals. Townsfolk, town guards and local vigilantes are up next. The Empire's soldiers, engineers, Golden Lions and executioners are included. Various ninja stat blocks are provided, and then the book veers into spirit animals...celestial animals, both lesser and greater, that the ninja can bond with, as well as oni - big, bad demons.

My primary complaint with this chapter is that it could use a bit more description regarding oni. A single "average" oni is present, but a few more examples would have been preferable.

STORYTELLING

This is, essentially, the GMing chapter. It encourages you to make sure that you are making the players the centerpiece of the story, and provides a list of the anime inspirations. I've heard of several of the anime, but I don't think I've seen any of them, except in passing. There are several campaign types provided, with plot hooks to work off of.

The book ends with several reference pieces, starting with a glossary, then an index, the Fighting Style charts, a single page character sheet, blank combat tracker and three page character sheet.

CONCLUSION

I don't really like anime. I don't really like martial arts movies. There should be no compelling reason for me to enjoy the game...and yet, it is just FILLED with "cool". The setting should be incredibly one note, with Ninjas vs Empire, but there is still a ton of room to play around with. The world is large, with plenty of room open for you to detail it yourself. Several mysteries are set up, but are meant to be answered by GMs as their campaigns dictate, not to be filled in by future supplements, an approach similar to that of Apocalypse Prevention, Inc...there is no metaplot dictating the direction of the Ninja Crusade, which I consider a plus.

There are some issues, however. The editing was a bit suspect on this one, with notable issues in the first chapter (especially with homonyms, such as the "Forth Ninja War"). More examples for oni could have been great as well.

The book is in black and white, but as manga is typically in black and white, I don't consider that a style issue, and virtually every page is two columns of text, so the 221 pages are FILLED. With two RPGs produced so far, Third Eye Games has rapidly moved into my top tier of favored publishers this year and Eloy Lasanta seems to have a knack for creating settings that I just want to dive into and play in that is matched, to me, only by the Pinnacle crew.

I have reviewed a lot of games this year, and I would be hard pressed to find one I recommend more than Wu Xing. I can't WAIT to see more, from Wu Xing and from Third Eye Games in general.