Gauging Interest- Eastern Fantasy (Legends of the Wulin)

[Inerrant Lust]

So, I have discovered a new system that I might be interested in trying my hand at GMing.

Though you'll have to be patient with me, as it'd be a learning experience for me as well. But basically, I have a setting in mind which is not a mythological version of imperial China, but instead something akin to what Middle-earth and forgotten realms is to European fantasy. ...Not Rokugan.

Essentially, it would borrow heavily from traditional Chinese culture... and so everything you would see in Legends of the Wulin would fit right in place. Just replace all instances of 'China' with the land of 'Xia', and you're just about done. Although there are elements of Japanese culture in the form of colonies on the fringe of the empire (the land representing Japan was overrun by demons in the setting's backstory) and the Korea proxy is right next door.

So, essentially.. I'd like to see who would be interested in playing in an eastern fantasy setting using this system. If you are, please tell me what kind of character you'd like to play and what kind of plot/setting you'd like to explore. The setting is one I have been working on for Nanowrimo, brainstormed over the course of many many many hours on guard shifts last month.

Some ideas for plots...

• It is an ancient and mythological time in the history of the Xia Empire. Godlike beings have made the world so, and the land is divided into states, some as large as provinces... and others as small as single cities. There is an Emperor, but his power extends to the walls of his city and no further. He is revered... but ultimately irrelevant. It is in these times that the tales of wandering martial artists and sages were born- where men and women became immortals and where the enlightened saints traveled amongst mortals.


• The Xia Empire has been in a state of civil war for two hundred years, but the young Emperor is on the cusp of mending it whole. The last states to fall are the southern-most lands on the fringe of the empire... and the northern Gosam kingdom, ethnically distinct from the Xia. But envoys from the independent nation of Yamatai have come seeking the young emperor's help... Their sacred islands have become infested with demons and gods- benevolent or not, the land has become inhospitable as a result of the conflict. The Queen Himiko tells the emperor that her people are fleeing the islands in many thousands of ships and will land on Xia soil with or without their consent. She proposes the Queen and the Emperor marry, but many are wary of this foreigner bringing with her millions of refugees and heaven knows how many other problems. Still, the Yamatai are a war-like people, honed in battle by the centuries they have spent engaged with the demons of their land...


• The Emperor has been arrested by his own Prime Minister, who seeks to reform the government. It is no secret that his/her excellency also desires the throne for him/herself, and has already received the nine bestowments- a symbol of the Emperor's imminent abdication. There is a growing faction in the Empire who seek to restore the old dynasty to its true and rightful power... while there are others who believe that it is time a new dynasty to reign, one started by the Prime Minister. The two remain hidden from one another, plotting and maneuvering until the time for war comes. If the realm fractures again, it would be the third warring states era. The previous civil war lasted for two hundred years...

[ShadowFox89]

 As the one who suggested said system, very interested. I should note that background-building before the game is somewhat essential to Legends of the Wulin.

[pilkunnussija]

Very interested, if you'll take a beginner to the system.

[Inerrant Lust]

I'm a beginner too, so you might need to be a bit patient with me as well. ;)

But I would need to know what kind of character you'd like to play, the general type of plot/scenes you'd like to see, ect. Those three ideas in the original post are just concepts, and not necessarily concrete- but if they help you create a character or inspire any sort of interest in seeing something particular happen, then by all means..

[pilkunnussija]

I've always been partial to the roaming type who falls into someone else's trouble, and helps out for their own motives. Like Jackie Chan's character in The Forbidden Kingdom. In practical terms, either a warrior or a scholar...

[ShadowFox89]

 Well, the character I'll e playing is a wandering doctor looking for the cure to her father's illness, and is a member of a clan/organization of bodyguards for hire. She is honor-bound to uphold the contract she is hired for no matter what, unless it is broken by someone else.

[schnookums]

I don't have a specific character idea, but this does look like a lot of fun, so color me interested.

[ShadowFox89]

 As far as time period to play in.... the character idea I had can go in any plot, but I think the third idea would provide the chance for enough character interaction and growth of most anyone.

[pilkunnussija]

Tons of potential in that third plot, for sure.

[Inerrant Lust]

So then the third plot?

And the PCs being wandering Wu Xia hero types? How would you like them involved in larger meta-plot? They are likely not regular officials of the Imperial Court (though they could have a connection, such as being former members or being on a mission for them.)

Alternatively, the larger meta-plot of the clash between the Emperor's supporters and the Prime Minister could be entirely irrelevant to the PCs, though it would occasionally get in the way or have minor influences in the plot (IE; The Civil War as it appeared in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly)

[ShadowFox89]

Wei Li could have easily been hired out by someone as a bodyguard and doctor for someone. There's also the whole thing with her father's illness.

[pilkunnussija]

Traveling scholar could be on the run from some aspect of the war. Maybe he was affiliated with an order too close to one side or the other, but not close enough to be worth protecting.