Jade Dragons & Hungry Ghosts ( Lesbian wuxia - accepting characters )

Started by Dhi, June 22, 2015, 03:57:19 PM

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Dhi

A scent of camellia blows across the riverfront as the village of Pai Sun prepares for the first evening of its Paper Boat Festival. The first wave of hand-folded crafts have been spotted across the water, bearing gifts from Pai Sun's sister village upstream. In the boughs of a gnarled oriental cypress, a masked woman waits for nightfall.

I'm looking for players for a freeform wuxia fantasy adventure, which will be a mix of romantic settings, campy action, and scantily-clad, smutty fun. I have a 4 act structure planned which first explores the setting of a troubled village, second indulges in some over the top kung fu fighting, third raises the stakes with intrigue, and fourth concludes the story with a climactic showdown. But, if there are motivated players willing to pilot their own stories, I would also be interested in opening the game to a sandbox format.

What is wuxia?
Think kung fu fantasy, an Eastern mythology with chivalrous heroes, Taoist sorcerers, and supernatural creatures like ki-rin, heavenly dragons, hopping vampires, ghosts, and demons of a highly structured hell. The wuxia hero extolls altruism, justice, individualism, loyalty, courage, honesty, disregard for material wealth and a desire for glory. She embodies Confucian ideals but follows the Tao arts of kung fu exercise and sorcery, a renaissance woman of the fantastical orient.

China, Korea, or Japan?
This will be a mashup of Asian cultures so that players can write what they know and celebrate what they love, even if it isn't indigenous to a certain time or place in China. My own inspirations are Korean, and I know we have many on E who appreciate Japanese culture. If it can fit into the wuxia genre and it inspires you, we can blur the lines when it comes to historical accuracy.

Pai Sun
The village of Pai Sun lies on the fictional Bamboo River, a realm of pastoral farmland, misty forest, breathtaking mountain paths and forgotten valleys. Upstream lies Pai Sun's sister village of An Yung, the "Silver Garden," and downstream lies the Imperial garrison of Mu Rim and the gates of the Dragon Wall. Though Pai Sun is a simple village, subsisting on farming and fishing, its position on the river ford sees a constant traffic of Imperials, and it lies equidistant from the four rival schools of kung fu which flourish in the region. The honorable Lord Chiang rules Pai Sun with an iron fist and a force of one hundred and twenty-five loyal wardens, and his daughter, the elegant Nam Seon, boasts a dowry fit for a prince.

Plenty more details to come if interest is sufficient. So who's down?

Character sheet:


[float=right][img height=400 padding=8]<URL for optional character image goes here>[/img][/float]
[b]名字 Name :[/b] <Your character's name. Family names come first>
[b]功夫 Style :[/b] <Your style of kung fu, which could be Shaolin, Wudang, Emei or Kongtong, or one of your own devising. If it's unique to your character, please describe it!>
[b]五行 Element :[/b] <Water, Metal, Earth, Wood, or Fire>
[b]喜歡 Ons :[/b]
[b]反感 Offs :[/b]

[b]高度 Height :[/b]
[b]个子 Build :[/b]
[b]描写 Description :[/b]
[b]个性 Personality :[/b]

[b]传记 Story:[/b] <A short biography. Doesn't have to be Shakespeare!>






Angie

Avatar is by Lemonfont. Will remove it if he asks me to.

Come check the Cyberpunk Images Thread!

Kadigan



Chrystal


Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

Crash


"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
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RedPhoenix

Apologies & Absences | Ons & Offs
I move the stars for no one.

Lady Kitsune

I am working on it, I swear!

Crash

okay so I am looking at cheesecake wandering monk type



or this image which I love but have no idea what to do with.


"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Kadigan

I have no idea what sort of backstory I'd go with, but I do like this image..


Dhi

Fantastic!

The Four Rival Schools
All wuxia heroes and villains study some form of kung fu, often over long years. Theirs is a craft which crosses over from physical training into the mystical and spiritual. Although more than these four schools exist in wuxia, these are the four most prevalent.

Shaolin
The fast, aggressive techniques demonstrated by the likes of Ip Man and Bruce Lee are said to have their roots in Shaolin, an order of Buddhist monks turned steely precision weapon against the barbarians beyond the Dragon Wall. The close range forms of grappling and channeling chi into ferocious attacks on vital points is a contest of wills, famously able to bring low even spirits and demons with techniques such as the Drunken Fist, Thousand Hands Buddha Palm, and Wild Demon Staff.

Wudang
Followers of the sorcerous books of the Tao practice forms of alchemy both external and internal. External alchemy concerns the preparation of elixirs and poultices said to grant magical powers, while inner alchemy concerns mystical changes within the self and mastery of chi. Practitioners of Wudang master these arts in the hopes of becoming physically immortal. Because Wudang alchemy involves cinnabar, its alchemists are also masters of poison. Among its sorcerous techniques include Cloud-Ascending Ladder, Eight Trigrams Soaring Dragon Palm, and Ring The Distant Bell Fist.

Emei
The noble art of the sword saint is a harmonious and graceful craft which combines the geometric balance of feng shui with the elegant poise of fencing. Most, but not all students of Emei are trained in the use of a sword, saber, or woman's hairpin. Emei's precision strikes and nimble defenses prove more than a match against larger and physically stronger opponents, earning it a strong following of female martial artists. Although the original masters of Emei and their misty mountain culture have vanished from the world, its beautiful techniques still survive in the Leap of the Heavens, White Eyebrow Prick, and the dread Dim Mak.

Kongtong
The flow of the Tao, oneness with the universe, is best observed in the motions of the Kongtong. Fluid exercises meant to loosen the body to the subtle pull of Tao form the eclectic training of this school, founded on strong principles of community and chivalry. Because the Tao moves the body like a leaf in the wind, masters of this art are said to be perfectly inexhaustible. The students of Kongtong are an urban breed, trained in the use of unexpected weapons such as the fan, the weighted bracelet, the scarf, and the walking cane. These extravagant, unpredictable forms include Flower Form, Seven Harms Fist, and Between Heaven And Hell Grind.

Crash

Since I am going with a monk type, I think Shaolin would be best, though I love the idea of Kongtong.

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Zaer Darkwail

I voice interest as well :). Work later my char concept and such.

Crash

Quote from: Vercile on June 22, 2015, 09:38:35 PM
Brief Character Sheet Of Interest!


Name: Xiu Lihua
Age: 24
Sex: Female
Sexuality: Homosexual
School: Shaolin
Style: Shaolin Kung Fu
Weapon:Bo-Staff

Beautiful image Vercile!

If I don't do a monk I will do a Taoist Alchemist which ever one we feel we need.

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Rel Mayer


Crash

Dhi - Do you have any references you are using for Taoist Alchemy and Sorcery?

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Angie

So uh, do names have to be obviously Chinese or are we allowed a bit of leeway? Checking for later.
Avatar is by Lemonfont. Will remove it if he asks me to.

Come check the Cyberpunk Images Thread!

Crash


"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Chrystal

Quote from: Dhi on June 22, 2015, 08:48:40 PM

The Four Rival Schools


Shaolin


Wudang


Emei


Kongtong


Right. Colour me totally confused!

Do we have to specialise? By choosing one school over another are we restricting our interactions with other characters? Can we create the character and have them assigned to a school based on abilities or do we have to choose a school and create a character to fit? What sort of abilities and character traits are you looking for?

My character concept was going to be the youngest daughter of a rich merchant or possibly a prince - someone with a lot of money anyway - who is a totally spoiled brat. She is given a choice of marrying a man or becoming a nun, and instead runs away to the Wuxia school, where she discovers her true calling and hidden talents. Something like that, anyway?

Not sure if that works...

Either that, or ... Ooooh, no, I don't think I'll reveal this idea publicly...

Please check out my latest A/A post.
I would rather watch a movie then have dinner than have dinner then watch a movie!

Crash

Quote from: Chrystal on June 23, 2015, 03:31:35 AM
Right. Colour me totally confused!

Do we have to specialise? By choosing one school over another are we restricting our interactions with other characters? Can we create the character and have them assigned to a school based on abilities or do we have to choose a school and create a character to fit? What sort of abilities and character traits are you looking for?

My character concept was going to be the youngest daughter of a rich merchant or possibly a prince - someone with a lot of money anyway - who is a totally spoiled brat. She is given a choice of marrying a man or becoming a nun, and instead runs away to the Wuxia school, where she discovers her true calling and hidden talents. Something like that, anyway?

Not sure if that works...

Either that, or ... Ooooh, no, I don't think I'll reveal this idea publicly...

I don't believe that by picking one school it will limit your interaction with the others, but that doesn't mean that schools and there students don't all think their Kung-Fu is better than the others.  That said yes I think each character should have a general school that they study.  At least that is the impression I got from Dhi hen we were PMing back and forth.

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
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Pumpkin Seeds


Kadigan

I had a sort of thought for a character similar in vein to the Count of Monte Cristo, someone wrongly imprisoned an an ancient master also in the same prison teaches her the ways of Kung Fu.

Dhi

Quote from: Chrystal on June 23, 2015, 03:31:35 AM
Right. Colour me totally confused!

Do we have to specialise? By choosing one school over another are we restricting our interactions with other characters? Can we create the character and have them assigned to a school based on abilities or do we have to choose a school and create a character to fit? What sort of abilities and character traits are you looking for?

My character concept was going to be the youngest daughter of a rich merchant or possibly a prince - someone with a lot of money anyway - who is a totally spoiled brat. She is given a choice of marrying a man or becoming a nun, and instead runs away to the Wuxia school, where she discovers her true calling and hidden talents. Something like that, anyway?

Not sure if that works...

Either that, or ... Ooooh, no, I don't think I'll reveal this idea publicly...
Your school will represent who trained you, and hopefully help to provide some flavor for your style of kung fu or sorcery. This is almost always a single school, since true mastery is for most a lifelong pursuit. In many real life martial arts, the highest degree you can earn is only awarded postmortem. As wuxia characters you're wandering masters, not relegated to the school grounds. Wuxia characters encounter one another in the wild, where the different styles can mix and interact- that's part of the fun of kung fu films for many people. For this story, "the wild" will be the region of Pai Sun, away from the schools where you were trained.

You're welcome to invent your own lesser known school, or use another from wuxia, as long as you don't mind providing a description. Some other schools from wuxia would include Beggar's Sect, which would be a sort of urban parkour, and the Qingcheng, Taoist sorcerers who master moves so quick and subtle that they're described as invisible.

Quote from: Angiejuusan on June 23, 2015, 02:30:49 AM
So uh, do names have to be obviously Chinese or are we allowed a bit of leeway? Checking for later.
They oughtn't be Sara Jones, but you can definitely have some leeway. I'm already using one Korean name, and plenty of wuxia characters are named things like Laughing Rain. Japanese names are a little more distinctive so I would be careful with those, but it's not impossible for a Japanese name to be at home in wuxia.

Quote from: Crash on June 23, 2015, 12:44:15 AM
Dhi - Do you have any references you are using for Taoist Alchemy and Sorcery?
No, I wish I did! Tabletop games might be a good place to look for the magic of the Tao, distilled from the modern religion of Taoism. Someone else has already done the work for us there of pulling out what's interesting and conducive to kung fu action.

Crash

I am trying to meld Taoist alchemy (external) with a martial art.  Not sure how I am going to do that.  I do like your note on so fast they are invisible.  It kind of reminds me of the flowing, gliding movements of the monks from the recent 47 Ronin movie.

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Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Pumpkin Seeds

Would a type of Drunken style work?  He is ingesting potions and such in place of actual alcohol or perhaps using alcohol as a base for the potions so he takes on a drunken appearance along with being empowered by the potion?