[Weapons of the Gods] Wisdom of the Wulin Sage

Goddamnbatman

Goddamnbatman

Senior Member
Hello everybody! I will be your Wulin Sage, the GM essentially. It is the general discussion thread, feel free to ask me anything or voice some concerns, ideas and suggestions.


We will need to discuss how you all met each other and why you are going against Hell Clan.
 
Awesome, I'm very excited about this game!


First, a couple of questions, I'm kinda bad with history and dates, around which year will our adventure start? I recall you mentioning that the Shaolin Temple/Order has not been established yet, and that would make the date sometime before 495 AD iirc, I ask because I have contemplated making a buddhist scholar of sorts, someone that (depending if he lives long enough and until the right historical dates) could have been one of the first people involved on the construction of the Shaolin Temple and it's teachings, all of these are ideas running in my head and I haven't settled for anything yet, but I kinda want to know the 'historical' background first to get a better idea of what kind of character will work best.
 
It's 325 CE.


Yeah Shaolin is not available yet but this setting does have Zan Monks who are essentially Buddhist monks, traveling the land and helping people.So this could a possibility.


As for the history, well right now Emperor Hu is the one in charge and he is considered an unrighteous emperor, as in he doesn't have the mandate of heaven. The History is a mix of fantasy and reality, it's probably to think of the setting as every possible Wuxia movies about Ancient fantasy China that you can think of.


There are five major clans in charge and many lesser clans (feel free to make up your clan or classic stories like your clan has been destroyed/killed last survivor kind of deal).
 
Actually let me bit a little bit clearer, it's not a 100% realistic representation of Ancient China, so you can feel free to take on some liberties. Essentially just make your character and if you need help to fit the character better in the setting, I can help with that. For the Buddhism, the Zan Brotherhood, the Zan Monks seem to be the most obvious choices. It should be noted that Buddhism just emerged during the Time of Chaos, so even Zan Buddhist works with only little bit of knowledge on the matter and many don't even know about its doctrine. Of course, it could be something worth exploring as expanding Buddhism across the land.
 
Gotcha, I'm still hammering out different concepts, I have the monk one and another that it's appealing as well, let me just give a a quick reading of the books to get some more ideas flowing then I'll post what I have so far.
 
Alright, feel free to ask any questions but something that you might want to consider looking at, its from your archetype and check out the list of lores/destinies associated with it, might give you an idea or two.
 
Ok, I've been toying with other concept and backstory for a while and I wanna check in with you, this is not a final draft, and I'll probably add a few more details there and there, but maybe you can give your overall opinion and some suggestions of places and locations to better incorporate the story with the setting.

Enter my character Xiang-Long (name subject to change), a young country boy born to a single mother, who tragically died while giving birth. Raised in a small community, he was given to a local buddhist monk who ran a small orphanage, with him he grew amongst other orphans. While the monk tried to teach the kids the basics of buddhist lore and compassion to raise them as honorable and respectful people, the poor monk had his hands full, so growing in the orphanage was hard. The older kids were relentless bullies who made the other kid's lives miserable at every opportunity. Xiang's personality gave him nothing but trouble, he was a stubborn boy, tough and unwilling to take crap from anyone, he would get into fights all the time. He would lose more often than not, but he was not the kind to stand down and allow the older boys to walk all over him and the other kids, no, bruised and hurting he would hit harder every time, and with each fight he would get stronger. During this time Xiang forged a friendship with a pretty orphan girl called Yong-Mei, the two became inseparable, and Xiang would punish anyone that ever bothered her, and good luck if you ever made her cry, as Xiang's rage would fall upon you like a madman.


This was Xiang's life for a couple of years, until the monk tragically died of old age and the orphanage was no more. The community was forced to give the many kids into several different families, and this was the end of Xiang-Long and Yong-Mei's beautiful friendship. Yong-Mei was given to a loving family that moved from town into a bigger city in search of a more promising future, and Xiang-Long never saw her again. He, on the other part, was adopted by an old antisocial man, a violent drunk that saw in Xiang a strong able kid to do all the hard work he didn't like. With a drunk father and a violent nature, Xiang found himself an outcaste from town, and slowly Xiang's anger grew towards the drunk man's antics, and the town that clearly despised him.


Xiang's adoptive father had a secret though, he was a disgraced warrior that hid from the public eye, overwhelmed by shame he turned to the bottle and threw away all the skill and glory he ever achieved. One day, a group of bandits attacked the town, and that's when Xiang noticed that his old man was more than he let everyone know, he witnessed the apparently drunk old man dispatching a couple of thieves with impressive martial arts skill. Afterwards, Xiang begged for him to teach him, a request that was denied with a strong beating as payment. This did not deter Xiang, but instead motivated him to keep asking, every day he would ask the old drunk the same thing, and every day he would get beaten by the old man. Wether the former warrior meant to train Xiang-Long or not, it's a secret only he knew, but through the years the numerous beatings Xiang received, turned the small boy into a young man of considerable skill. Fed up by his father's self destructive life, and the bad looks he received from the town, Xiang left his life as a mere peasant to make a name for himself, he knew he would be an outcaste wherever he went, but he counted on his stubbornness and raw skill to grow stronger every day, until the time came where he would prove himself as the strongest martial artist the land had ever seen.


Long story short, it's a classic hero's journey character, a young country boy forced by the circumstances into taking a life of adventure with a thirst for greatness, a potential love interest from a troublesome past, and a stubborn attitude that will keep his tale going.
 
Let see, you are probably from the South , guessing somewhere in Bei Clan territories. So far this backstory kind of make me think more of a Warrior than a Scholar (if you are still going that route), especially with the struggle and conflicts all along the way. As a scholar the main focus is knowledge and usually they get a solid education in their background. Of course it is possible later on when you reach third rank to buy a second archetype, so you can do things like Warrior - Scholar. The biggest differences between the archetypes is how you can channel your chi, so something to consider. Maybe make the bandits being part of a small branch of Hell Clan for some fun.


So far looks like your character would learn a basic style to get by, so guessing Universal Blow, a jade chi style, so Might is important would be his most likely style unless of course, he found a mentor beside his father, since not too clear, if he did learn drunken Monkey style from him. If you do learn Drunken Monkey style, you should consider bumping your Wu Wei stat to get a decent amount of Silver Chi.


Lores that you might want to consider anything related to the South, Love/relationship Destiny with Yong-Mei, Parent-child destiny with his drunken father, Advantages: Robust, Tough as Nails or Healthy as an Ox. Those of course are just suggestions and you can do as you please. Something to consider as well, since your character doesn't know his heritage, a lineage bloodline might be an interesting twist. Of course don't forget to use some destiny points to at least buy one or two kung fu styles with a few techniques.


Destiny Points are really the biggest way to customize your character.
 
Yeah, I kinda forgot to add that I would be following a Warrior archetype instead of the Scholar. I had not considered a lineage bloodline, but I like the sound of that, I'll add some of your suggestions to it.
 
Oh almost forgot one quick easy way to go for an unknown bloodline/destiny is Ancestral Prestige (p. 178) discounted since you have to quest/look for it and only cost 1 destiny point with the discount.
 
Hey! I have submitted my character but am unsure if it stays close enough to the story and if I need to change anything. Please comment on it. Also, do you think the characters could meet at some kind of convention?
 
Possible but first working on each character individually before putting them all together. I'll take a look at your character and give my input.
 
Okay guys. Not that I want to rush you or anything but... HURRY UP!


:D No, I'm joking. It is very exciting though :rolleyes:
 
Since I guess this question will come up, how I'm handling the destiny points stuffs:


-There are 3 kind of destiny, Xia Destiny, essentially the virtuous and righteous hero destiny, people respect and love you. The Corrupt Destiny people will respect and fear you. If eventually you earn a lot of corrupt destiny, you might end up on the recruitment list for Hell Clan and saying No is usually a bad idea. In this campaign, joining Hell Clan is essentially losing. The third one is Transcendent Destiny, this destiny is very special, it's like a gift from the universe. To even earn Transcendent Destiny, you must do things which will change history for good or ill or gone outside the plans of heaven. Transcendent Destiny can be traded for impressive favors, such as becoming immortal to not die of old age, regenerate organs or limbs etc...


-Every thread will be considered essentially a session where each character will be able to earn 5 to 7 destiny points. 7 would usually be the limit but in some rare circumstances, you might earn more, would really need to blow my mind. Joss distribution will be at my own discretion, beside the ones that you earn with lucky rolls.


-You can earn Joss , Virtues and Destiny outside of the game! Yes! It depends if you do things ooc which could correspond to the virtue or for those who feels so inspired, it is possible for you to post a journal/diary of your character, stories about your character or insights for some reasons, maybe you bring something to the attention of the players. Of course, it's relatively rare but see more as a way to socialize with the others players and keep a good atmosphere in and out of game while actually becoming better.


- Rank Advancement, essentially doing the at the movies meaning that you need ten full deeds for rank advancement which can be done in two ways: You can follow the virtuous path and earn 2 deeds in each virtue, it shows balance and control. Usually you will gain rank faster by following that code.


The next one is more action intensive, or called the passionate path, where you get five deeds in at least one virtue and all the rest in whatever virtues. Essentially you focus your attention on only one virtue.


It should be noted that you can keep earning destiny points but you cannot spend it, if it goes above your rank limit in Wulin:


Rank 1 - Destiny 200+ river/chi aura 5, Chi Maximum 9+


Rank 2* - Destiny 150-199 river/chi aura 4, Chi Maximum 8


Rank 3 - Destiny 100- 149 river/chi aura 3, Chi Maximum 7


Rank 4 - Destiny 50 - 99 river/chi aura 2, Chi Maximum 6


Rank 5 - Destiny less than 50 river/chi aura 1, Chi Maximum 5


*= it should be noted that the plan is for you guys to reach higher end of rank 2 and fight Dominion so plan accordingly.


-There will be some opportunities to spend destiny on the spot because of some events, like getting the favors of a city/organization or some people, learning about some lores not known before, obtaining a God Class Weapon etc...Some events will be once in a lifetime opportunity, some will be lasting etc...depend on the situation.
 
Tell me something, what's the mechanical possibility to have an unarmed martial artist? I really like the concept of the baddass warrior that needs nothing but his fists and kicks to put the hurt on every baddie he encounters, but I know that in role playing games this is not always the 'smart' way to go in terms of game mechanics, I've read some of the kung fu styles and I know there's quite a few that are unarmed, but I just wanna know how feasible is this, also if we're to eventually encounter a Weapon of the Gods and use it, my unarmed focus might prevent me from using any weapon (not just a WofG0) with a decent amount of skill.
 
There is one Weapon of the God which uses unarmed attack, I'll have to reread it again as I forgot the name of the weapon. Melee Skill is not too bad to have for anybody. It is possible to fight with your fists /kicks only I mean look at Dominion, he doesn't use any weapons and is the most powerful martial artist in Shen Zhou right now.


Most people are unarmed, I would strongly recommend to take the advantage Iron Fist (3) , it protects you from taking health damage while blocking weapons with your fists. Iron Fists can be taken multiple times to apply to teeth and feet as well. There are some martial arts styles which improves your unarmed attacks to be better than weapons as well. Also your fists become quality fists which means you can increase either with a +5 modifier: Speed, Strike or Damage.


Default Unarmed attack:


Punch or Kick speed +15, Strike+0 , Damage -5 , Type Brutal
 
Something that might come up as well or a clan that you might consider gaining favor for or work on a backstory to have been mentored by one of them:


The Bei Clan, they practice the Fists of Iron Style(Uncommon style, destiny cost 10), the first level technique make your fists into living weapons for only 1 Jade Chi a round. Remember as warriors archetype, you can start with one uncommon style but since it's a Bei Clan style, just give a decent explanation of where and how you learned it.
 
I am a member of the Xi clan. Hurrah! Until this game kicks off I am going to be pouring my heart and soul in to the two worlds which I desperately want to role play;


The Demonata and the Enemy.


GRRR! I didn't think it'd be so irritating waiting for interest lol
 
Actually I had my eyes on Dragon Palms from the WotG companion, seems to fit the theme I'm going for a bit better if it's ok to take it with proper backstory explanation.
 
Midori said:
What of your character have you already put together? (or is it a secret ;) )
Click to expand...
I'll add a few more things to the backstory I posted earlier, mostly regarding the past of his parents and his lineage, but essentially it's the same, a young proud and stubborn country boy with a secret past, searching to prove himself to the world.
 
If you have never seen it or seen it before, just for fun, good inspiration to describe dodging/blocking and shows off a lot of mobility. Yeah it's not ancient china but the modern aspect is not too important in that scene:


[media]



[/media]
Good example of a 2nd rank Xia Warrior fighting mooks (rank 5) with shatterfoot, universal blow and possibly Golden Temple Bells style vs another 2nd rank corrupt warrior (using the toad formless technique and heaven thunder style), example at the end of a Kung Fu Marvels (using kung fu style to create a technique on the go, possibly even gaining transcendent destiny with the Buddha figure in the sky)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top