So what is being done with this? Is there still work to be done?
I might be able to help.
Care to help make a Gothic Asia netbook?
I actually have a suggestion. For the sake of making this information more easily accessable (and also a little friendlier for people who are not as familar with the history of the thread) maybe all of this stuff should go into a wiki of some sort so we can have a place to keep it all.
(Also, that way I can actually access this from work as Fraternity of Shadow is blocked from my work.
)
(Also, that way I can actually access this from work as Fraternity of Shadow is blocked from my work.
)
I can't speak for anybody else, but I can say that I have outlined pretty much all the broad brush strokes of what I'll be contributing. The rest of my efforts will be to putting details to the overviews. I'll be concentrating primarily on the Hua Empire (counterpart to real-life China, based more or less during the Ming dynasty) with perhaps a nod or two towards Jorpuk (Korea/Manchuria) and Taiga... although Waldi is the one to credit with Taiga so he gets final say about anything to do with that 
I also will try to put a few touches on Fuknaam, much though it pains me to go anywhere near that festering sore of a domain
Hua Kui (elliott20) has promised to do some pencil drawings and has actually gotten a scanner for this purpose. Maybe someday he'll actually get round to scanning in my own picture of Azalin's human face...
As for the others, I can't speak for them. I know we have to get our heads together and really brainstorm on the wu jen (wuren) spells, as well as getting a psionics or martial arts set of rules together.
HuaKui/elliott20 has the Tome of Battle, and I have Unearthed Arcana so we'll try to cobble together a workable martial arts list from that. I personally favor the idea of having a load of different styles and powers for each monk, because the Chinese view of martial arts is not that dissimilar from a European view of religious orders, or a D&D view of the schools of specialization for wizards.
All this is tempered by the fact that this summer I'm technically working, but I should have a lot more free time than I did this past year (when my law school studies began).
So the project seems like it's on temporary hold but it's far from dead.
I also will try to put a few touches on Fuknaam, much though it pains me to go anywhere near that festering sore of a domain
Hua Kui (elliott20) has promised to do some pencil drawings and has actually gotten a scanner for this purpose. Maybe someday he'll actually get round to scanning in my own picture of Azalin's human face...
As for the others, I can't speak for them. I know we have to get our heads together and really brainstorm on the wu jen (wuren) spells, as well as getting a psionics or martial arts set of rules together.
HuaKui/elliott20 has the Tome of Battle, and I have Unearthed Arcana so we'll try to cobble together a workable martial arts list from that. I personally favor the idea of having a load of different styles and powers for each monk, because the Chinese view of martial arts is not that dissimilar from a European view of religious orders, or a D&D view of the schools of specialization for wizards.
All this is tempered by the fact that this summer I'm technically working, but I should have a lot more free time than I did this past year (when my law school studies began).
So the project seems like it's on temporary hold but it's far from dead.
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The Whistler
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 1454
- Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2007 7:38 pm
- Location: Southshore
Any room for another domain? I’ve been lurking around the boards unregistered for a bit, now, but totally got inspired by this thread--you guys are good. Anyways, I thought the Tokugawa Shogunate needed some love, so here’s my own stab at world-building. Feel free to mess with it however you’d like; it’s my first try at this, and I’d appreciate any help you can give.
Oh--and I don’t know any Japanese, so all of the place names and such are cobbled together from online dictionaries and wikipedia. Did I get anything wrong?
-----------------------------
The war is over: everywhere, culture blossoms like flowering trees in spring. Yet there’s still that society of evil bards to take care of--and those rumors about the doppelgänger art thief--and that noxious green smoke surrounding the wizards’ college--and the hauntings--and the stabbings--and the disappearances--and the slow, unavoidable implosion of the central government--and let’s not forget the Phantom Duelist...
...And everybody’s so all-fired arrogant!
Golden ages aren’t always what they’re cut out to be.
***Heiseijima***
CL: 8
Cultural Background: Edo Period Japan
Landscape: A temperate island: mountains to the north, plains and rolling hills to the south. Heiseijima’s countryside is renowned for its pristine beauty, and has been the subject of more than a few poems. (For some reason, the maps you guys have drawn up don’t show up on my computer, so I’m being sorta vague about specifics; it should go pretty close to Jomon, though, and it’s not too large)
Major Settlements: Hanami-kyo, pop. 50,000: The bakufu’s administrative and cultural center, straddling the Ashi river near the coast; it somehow manages to be sprawling and well-manicured at the same time, with a particularly robust merchant quarter, an active theatrical community, and a profusion of public parks and gardens. The shogun’s complex lies on a hill to the north of the city. Hanami-kyo has suffered many fires over the past several centuries (in the nation’s false history), and whole districts have been devastated and rebuilt; accordingly, the city has more than its share of ghosts and haunted sites. The rest of the domain is more sparsely populated; other settlements include Irukawan, pop. 10,000, further south along the coast, and Matsujuku, pop. 2,000, a small logging and mining town in the foothills of the Eien mountains.
The Folk: Around 110,000 people, all told. Humans comprise most of the population, though elves, half-elves and spirit folk are noticeable minorities (around 3-5% each). These latter races, however, tend to have only a nominal sense of racial identity and “solidarity;” they mix freely with humans, and are as likely to be found in Hanami-kyo as in the countryside. Most Heisei-jin are passionately literate, artistic, refined and romantic...and thus, utterly infuriating to anyone with a lick of common sense.
Characters: Dedicated spellcasters are common, both divine and arcane; the capitol also has a decent amount of rogues. Bards are characteristic of the domain: budding performers recieve one-on-one mentoring in a regulated music school system, and the island bursts with experienced koto, shamisen, and shakuhachi players, among other musicians. Straightforward melee combatants, however, are extremely rare. Those that do exist are usually ridiculously ostentatious about it, and often prone to overstating their abilities; a few, though, are simply down-to-earth misfits in an effete society.
Languages: Rokuma, some Hua
Religion: Minglun jiao, the kami. A bit of the Celestial Beauracracy’s religious philosophy has begun to trickle over from the mainland, as well.
The Law: Ostensibly a military dictatorship, actually an immense oligarchic beauracracy referred to as the bakufu. Shogun Yoshiyasu absents himself from decision-making almost entirely, preferring to while away his time on entertainment and artistic pursuits; when forced to “lay down the law,” he usually orders the execution of whomever he likes least, hoping that the problem will solve itself. The bakufu itself is little better: Heisei-jin make excellent functionaries, and the island’s governmental apparatus is a overweight, antiquated mess, mired in red tape and ceremony. Real power lies with the shogun’s advisers--scions of noble families, who play the various government departments off of each other in order to further their own petty ends. To date, their innumerable rivalries and counter-rivalries--as well as the sheer number of beauracrats--have kept the country in a finely balanced equilibrium, and everything appears serene on the surface. Yet the system is rotting from the inside out: if some dramatic event does not occur to hasten its demise, the bakufu is doomed to a long, slow collapse.
Trade/Resources: Silk, ceramics, gold and silver, art. Heiseijima has enough farmland to be economically self-sustaining, and has been voluntarily isolationist in the past. Recent international developments (see Politics, below) have spurred the bakufu to open the country’s ports; still, they keep foreign trade limited, and only export luxury items. (Most of Hanami-kyo’s merchants are focused on domestic money-making.)
Coinage: Koban, currently inflating rapidly thanks to a flush citizenry and a profligate government. Some in the treasury department have proposed a shift from coins to paper money, though this would hardly help matters.
Politics: As the Law section above indicates, the government’s internal affairs are backbiting, ineffectual, and far too convoluted to describe comprehensively--though the bakufu’s officials take pains to maintain the illusion of institutional harmony. The interdepartmental feud dujour, however, is the rivalry between Yoshiyasu’s corrupt spymaster and his marginally less corrupt chief of Hanami-kyo police. What began as an abstract debate about the particulars of jurisdiction has developed into a deadly game of one-up-manship between the two men and their organizations: the secret police has taken to yanking random “offenders” from the streets in an effort to prove that their interpretation of the law is correct, and the public police has behaved little better. Of course, both interpretations of the law involve a 95% conviction rate--but both men find this fact irrelevant. After all, it’s where the criminal is executed that really matters...
Unfortunately, this example is rather indicative of Heisei politics as a whole.
Internationally, things are just as interesting. Heiseijima’s military is a joke, and the island would normally be a prime target for Jomon’s expansionist designs--especially because Lord Minamoto despises the shogunate as a bunch of ivory-tower sissies. However, the threat of invasion has spurred Yoshiyasu’s advisers (in a rare moment of agreement) to open the country’s ports; Heiseijima’s mountains are rich in silver and gold, and the Minister of Trade now ensures that a good deal of it flows straight to Tekkoukyuu. Thus, Minamoto is in the uncomfortable position of having his softest military target bankrolling his military ambitions. As much as it irks him, he knows that it’s bad strategy to invade the country--and face economic catastrophe until he can get its mines under his control--when the bakufu is willing to give him considerable tribute for free. Add that to the fact that many of Jomon’s aristocrats have taken a liking to Heisei luxury items (and would likely be upset if anything interrupted overseas trade), and the clockwork darklord has no choice but to take a more subtle tack. He’s currently using espionage and coercion to undermine the bakufu from within--not that it needs the help.
Heiseijima’s recent moves towards internationalism, however unwilling, have caused other countries to take notice. The daimyos of Rokushima Taiyoo view the shogunate with a mixture of wonder and envy: they’re rather awed by its wealth and refinement, but they would likely attack it if they were not so consumed with infighting. Other nations are friendlier: Hua scholars and Singapurensian merchants can now be seen wandering Hanami-kyo’s streets, braving the haughty attitudes of the natives in hopes of returning home richer and wiser.
Darklord: Shogun Iwanari Yoshiyasu
Being a bastard child is no picnic. Born a bamboo spirit folk in a family of humans, Yoshiyasu was always a black sheep. His home society was located on an unknown prime material world, and was consumed with feudal warfare. Though nearly all of the Iwanaris were dedicated fighters--not of exceptional lineage, but more honorable than most--Yoshiyasu had no stomach for battle, preferring artistic pursuits instead. His family supported his proclivities, and ensured that he had a proper education and training in his areas of interest. Before long, Yoshiyasu was renowned the country over as an exceptional painter, poet, and musician: a true renaissance man in a land of warriors.
Unfortunately, artistry only goes so far. When Yoshiyasu’s family drew the ire of a larger neighboring clan, they invited all of their members back home to prepare for battle--it was going to take some fancy strategy to win against their opponents’ superior numbers. In deference to Yoshiyasu’s temperment, they gave him a noncombatant job: he would be a courier, tasked with traveling to a distant allied family and asking them to send desperately needed reinforcements. The artist left the Iwanaris’ compound fully aware that his actions would decide his family’s fate.
On the night of the battle, the cavalry never came. Yoshiyasu, resentful of his “unrefined” relatives and thinking himself above battle altogether, had shirked his duty, choosing instead to attend an autumn moon viewing with a few of his aristocratic friends. As his family was brutally slaughtered thanks to his own arrogant negligence, the mists rose up around him...
Now, Shogun Yoshiyasu rules over a country of people just like him, and it’s not going so well. He’s the greatest artist in his domain, yet the constant need to attend to affairs of state distracts him from his work. He compensates by keeping official business to a bare minimum, holding painfully short cabinet meetings and summarily executing anyone who seems to be causing trouble; this brand of “leadership,” naturally, is ripping his government apart. Even so, the self-centered shogun would be entirely unremorseful--if the Dark Powers hadn’t seen fit to give him a warped sort of conscience. Every month or so, Yoshiyasu is seized with the inescapable desire to wreak bloody, martial justice upon the world. The pressure to do so builds and builds until he finds it impossible to concentrate on anything else: his dreams are filled with clashing samurai, and he becomes confused and prone to memory loss. To date, he has only found one way to satiate this urge.
All over Heiseijima, rumor tells of a Phantom Duelist: a hooded figure dressed all in black, who appears only at night. He is said to accost lone passers-by, accusing them of dishonoring their warrior ancestors, then formally challenging them to an iaijutsu duel and cutting them down where they stand. Nobody has seen the Duelist and lived, as no Heisei-jin are martially adept enough to defeat him; it is said that he doesn’t discriminate between good or evil when choosing his opponents, but will challenge anyone who appears “soft.” Some peg him as a vengeful samurai ghost, teaching his decadent descendants a grisly lesson about the importance of bravery. Some deride him as a myth--but never walk alone after dark, just in case.
Nobody except Yoshiyasu knows the truth. Though his swordsmanship improves tenfold whenever he issues a challenge as the Duelist, he is secretly terrified during every confrontation--and he can never stop himself from fighting to the bloody finish. Unbeknownst to Yoshiyasu, however, random dueling is not the only solution to his problem: any display of courage or honor can temporarily relieve his cursed bloodlust. Yet since the shogun is unlikely to act justly or responsibly of his own accord, and since he is too mortified to tell anyone about his secret identity, he will probably never realize that he has other options. The way things are going, the Phantom Duelist will be around for quite some time...
Oh--and I don’t know any Japanese, so all of the place names and such are cobbled together from online dictionaries and wikipedia. Did I get anything wrong?
-----------------------------
The war is over: everywhere, culture blossoms like flowering trees in spring. Yet there’s still that society of evil bards to take care of--and those rumors about the doppelgänger art thief--and that noxious green smoke surrounding the wizards’ college--and the hauntings--and the stabbings--and the disappearances--and the slow, unavoidable implosion of the central government--and let’s not forget the Phantom Duelist...
...And everybody’s so all-fired arrogant!
Golden ages aren’t always what they’re cut out to be.
***Heiseijima***
CL: 8
Cultural Background: Edo Period Japan
Landscape: A temperate island: mountains to the north, plains and rolling hills to the south. Heiseijima’s countryside is renowned for its pristine beauty, and has been the subject of more than a few poems. (For some reason, the maps you guys have drawn up don’t show up on my computer, so I’m being sorta vague about specifics; it should go pretty close to Jomon, though, and it’s not too large)
Major Settlements: Hanami-kyo, pop. 50,000: The bakufu’s administrative and cultural center, straddling the Ashi river near the coast; it somehow manages to be sprawling and well-manicured at the same time, with a particularly robust merchant quarter, an active theatrical community, and a profusion of public parks and gardens. The shogun’s complex lies on a hill to the north of the city. Hanami-kyo has suffered many fires over the past several centuries (in the nation’s false history), and whole districts have been devastated and rebuilt; accordingly, the city has more than its share of ghosts and haunted sites. The rest of the domain is more sparsely populated; other settlements include Irukawan, pop. 10,000, further south along the coast, and Matsujuku, pop. 2,000, a small logging and mining town in the foothills of the Eien mountains.
The Folk: Around 110,000 people, all told. Humans comprise most of the population, though elves, half-elves and spirit folk are noticeable minorities (around 3-5% each). These latter races, however, tend to have only a nominal sense of racial identity and “solidarity;” they mix freely with humans, and are as likely to be found in Hanami-kyo as in the countryside. Most Heisei-jin are passionately literate, artistic, refined and romantic...and thus, utterly infuriating to anyone with a lick of common sense.
Characters: Dedicated spellcasters are common, both divine and arcane; the capitol also has a decent amount of rogues. Bards are characteristic of the domain: budding performers recieve one-on-one mentoring in a regulated music school system, and the island bursts with experienced koto, shamisen, and shakuhachi players, among other musicians. Straightforward melee combatants, however, are extremely rare. Those that do exist are usually ridiculously ostentatious about it, and often prone to overstating their abilities; a few, though, are simply down-to-earth misfits in an effete society.
Languages: Rokuma, some Hua
Religion: Minglun jiao, the kami. A bit of the Celestial Beauracracy’s religious philosophy has begun to trickle over from the mainland, as well.
The Law: Ostensibly a military dictatorship, actually an immense oligarchic beauracracy referred to as the bakufu. Shogun Yoshiyasu absents himself from decision-making almost entirely, preferring to while away his time on entertainment and artistic pursuits; when forced to “lay down the law,” he usually orders the execution of whomever he likes least, hoping that the problem will solve itself. The bakufu itself is little better: Heisei-jin make excellent functionaries, and the island’s governmental apparatus is a overweight, antiquated mess, mired in red tape and ceremony. Real power lies with the shogun’s advisers--scions of noble families, who play the various government departments off of each other in order to further their own petty ends. To date, their innumerable rivalries and counter-rivalries--as well as the sheer number of beauracrats--have kept the country in a finely balanced equilibrium, and everything appears serene on the surface. Yet the system is rotting from the inside out: if some dramatic event does not occur to hasten its demise, the bakufu is doomed to a long, slow collapse.
Trade/Resources: Silk, ceramics, gold and silver, art. Heiseijima has enough farmland to be economically self-sustaining, and has been voluntarily isolationist in the past. Recent international developments (see Politics, below) have spurred the bakufu to open the country’s ports; still, they keep foreign trade limited, and only export luxury items. (Most of Hanami-kyo’s merchants are focused on domestic money-making.)
Coinage: Koban, currently inflating rapidly thanks to a flush citizenry and a profligate government. Some in the treasury department have proposed a shift from coins to paper money, though this would hardly help matters.
Politics: As the Law section above indicates, the government’s internal affairs are backbiting, ineffectual, and far too convoluted to describe comprehensively--though the bakufu’s officials take pains to maintain the illusion of institutional harmony. The interdepartmental feud dujour, however, is the rivalry between Yoshiyasu’s corrupt spymaster and his marginally less corrupt chief of Hanami-kyo police. What began as an abstract debate about the particulars of jurisdiction has developed into a deadly game of one-up-manship between the two men and their organizations: the secret police has taken to yanking random “offenders” from the streets in an effort to prove that their interpretation of the law is correct, and the public police has behaved little better. Of course, both interpretations of the law involve a 95% conviction rate--but both men find this fact irrelevant. After all, it’s where the criminal is executed that really matters...
Unfortunately, this example is rather indicative of Heisei politics as a whole.
Internationally, things are just as interesting. Heiseijima’s military is a joke, and the island would normally be a prime target for Jomon’s expansionist designs--especially because Lord Minamoto despises the shogunate as a bunch of ivory-tower sissies. However, the threat of invasion has spurred Yoshiyasu’s advisers (in a rare moment of agreement) to open the country’s ports; Heiseijima’s mountains are rich in silver and gold, and the Minister of Trade now ensures that a good deal of it flows straight to Tekkoukyuu. Thus, Minamoto is in the uncomfortable position of having his softest military target bankrolling his military ambitions. As much as it irks him, he knows that it’s bad strategy to invade the country--and face economic catastrophe until he can get its mines under his control--when the bakufu is willing to give him considerable tribute for free. Add that to the fact that many of Jomon’s aristocrats have taken a liking to Heisei luxury items (and would likely be upset if anything interrupted overseas trade), and the clockwork darklord has no choice but to take a more subtle tack. He’s currently using espionage and coercion to undermine the bakufu from within--not that it needs the help.
Heiseijima’s recent moves towards internationalism, however unwilling, have caused other countries to take notice. The daimyos of Rokushima Taiyoo view the shogunate with a mixture of wonder and envy: they’re rather awed by its wealth and refinement, but they would likely attack it if they were not so consumed with infighting. Other nations are friendlier: Hua scholars and Singapurensian merchants can now be seen wandering Hanami-kyo’s streets, braving the haughty attitudes of the natives in hopes of returning home richer and wiser.
Darklord: Shogun Iwanari Yoshiyasu
Being a bastard child is no picnic. Born a bamboo spirit folk in a family of humans, Yoshiyasu was always a black sheep. His home society was located on an unknown prime material world, and was consumed with feudal warfare. Though nearly all of the Iwanaris were dedicated fighters--not of exceptional lineage, but more honorable than most--Yoshiyasu had no stomach for battle, preferring artistic pursuits instead. His family supported his proclivities, and ensured that he had a proper education and training in his areas of interest. Before long, Yoshiyasu was renowned the country over as an exceptional painter, poet, and musician: a true renaissance man in a land of warriors.
Unfortunately, artistry only goes so far. When Yoshiyasu’s family drew the ire of a larger neighboring clan, they invited all of their members back home to prepare for battle--it was going to take some fancy strategy to win against their opponents’ superior numbers. In deference to Yoshiyasu’s temperment, they gave him a noncombatant job: he would be a courier, tasked with traveling to a distant allied family and asking them to send desperately needed reinforcements. The artist left the Iwanaris’ compound fully aware that his actions would decide his family’s fate.
On the night of the battle, the cavalry never came. Yoshiyasu, resentful of his “unrefined” relatives and thinking himself above battle altogether, had shirked his duty, choosing instead to attend an autumn moon viewing with a few of his aristocratic friends. As his family was brutally slaughtered thanks to his own arrogant negligence, the mists rose up around him...
Now, Shogun Yoshiyasu rules over a country of people just like him, and it’s not going so well. He’s the greatest artist in his domain, yet the constant need to attend to affairs of state distracts him from his work. He compensates by keeping official business to a bare minimum, holding painfully short cabinet meetings and summarily executing anyone who seems to be causing trouble; this brand of “leadership,” naturally, is ripping his government apart. Even so, the self-centered shogun would be entirely unremorseful--if the Dark Powers hadn’t seen fit to give him a warped sort of conscience. Every month or so, Yoshiyasu is seized with the inescapable desire to wreak bloody, martial justice upon the world. The pressure to do so builds and builds until he finds it impossible to concentrate on anything else: his dreams are filled with clashing samurai, and he becomes confused and prone to memory loss. To date, he has only found one way to satiate this urge.
All over Heiseijima, rumor tells of a Phantom Duelist: a hooded figure dressed all in black, who appears only at night. He is said to accost lone passers-by, accusing them of dishonoring their warrior ancestors, then formally challenging them to an iaijutsu duel and cutting them down where they stand. Nobody has seen the Duelist and lived, as no Heisei-jin are martially adept enough to defeat him; it is said that he doesn’t discriminate between good or evil when choosing his opponents, but will challenge anyone who appears “soft.” Some peg him as a vengeful samurai ghost, teaching his decadent descendants a grisly lesson about the importance of bravery. Some deride him as a myth--but never walk alone after dark, just in case.
Nobody except Yoshiyasu knows the truth. Though his swordsmanship improves tenfold whenever he issues a challenge as the Duelist, he is secretly terrified during every confrontation--and he can never stop himself from fighting to the bloody finish. Unbeknownst to Yoshiyasu, however, random dueling is not the only solution to his problem: any display of courage or honor can temporarily relieve his cursed bloodlust. Yet since the shogun is unlikely to act justly or responsibly of his own accord, and since he is too mortified to tell anyone about his secret identity, he will probably never realize that he has other options. The way things are going, the Phantom Duelist will be around for quite some time...
No survivors? Then where do the stories come from, I wonder?The Whistler wrote: All over Heiseijima, rumor tells of a Phantom Duelist: a hooded figure dressed all in black, who appears only at night. He is said to accost lone passers-by, accusing them of dishonoring their warrior ancestors, then formally challenging them to an iaijutsu duel and cutting them down where they stand. Nobody has seen the Duelist and lived, as no Heisei-jin are martially adept enough to defeat him; it is said that he doesn’t discriminate between good or evil when choosing his opponents, but will challenge anyone who appears “soft.”
-Jack Sparrow
"No, but evil is still being — Is having reason — Being reasonable! Mousie understands? Is always being reason. Is punishing world for not being... Like in head. Is always reason. World should be different, is reason."
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The Whistler
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 1454
- Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2007 7:38 pm
- Location: Southshore
I like the level of detail on Heiseijima... could that be joined geographically with Jomon? Perhaps Jomon is similar to the Kurile islands up in the north for its early-Industrial base, and Heiseijima is like the lush, farmland-rich islands to the south of a Japan-style archipelago?
I have gotten my hands on a Tome of Battle and it's interesting reading. Definitely some food for thought in that book there.
I have gotten my hands on a Tome of Battle and it's interesting reading. Definitely some food for thought in that book there.
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The Whistler
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 1454
- Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2007 7:38 pm
- Location: Southshore
Sounds cool; the closer the two domains are, the more politically unstable Heiseijima gets, which is fine by me. 
I'm just glad that my breaking into the thread a year late and yelling "here's a domain what I wroted" isn't seen as too off-base.
Ooh, and Tome of Battle is totally awesome. Do you think it would work if each of the nine disciplines was associated with a specific domain?
I'm just glad that my breaking into the thread a year late and yelling "here's a domain what I wroted" isn't seen as too off-base.Ooh, and Tome of Battle is totally awesome. Do you think it would work if each of the nine disciplines was associated with a specific domain?
http://www.obakemono.com/
All of these entries are very, very good.
There's one monster missing from there that I think is a definite must: in a game called Kuon there's a monster called a gaki, but it's not really the gaki of Japanese myth. More appropriate would be to call it the "Asian Zombie". It looks like a normal human, but it's bound to a wicker basket that it hides in at night. After its creation it has to bring food back with it into the wicker basket (maybe once a week, but it could do more if it was hungry). It starts off with only needing a mouse-sized creature, but every time it drags something into its basket it needs something bigger the next time to satiate it - the size caps at around a human sized creature.
On paper it doesn't sound so bad, but watching the creature dragging someone through the halls into it's basket, leaving blood trails but no body, is very creepy.
All of these entries are very, very good.
There's one monster missing from there that I think is a definite must: in a game called Kuon there's a monster called a gaki, but it's not really the gaki of Japanese myth. More appropriate would be to call it the "Asian Zombie". It looks like a normal human, but it's bound to a wicker basket that it hides in at night. After its creation it has to bring food back with it into the wicker basket (maybe once a week, but it could do more if it was hungry). It starts off with only needing a mouse-sized creature, but every time it drags something into its basket it needs something bigger the next time to satiate it - the size caps at around a human sized creature.
On paper it doesn't sound so bad, but watching the creature dragging someone through the halls into it's basket, leaving blood trails but no body, is very creepy.
"No, but evil is still being — Is having reason — Being reasonable! Mousie understands? Is always being reason. Is punishing world for not being... Like in head. Is always reason. World should be different, is reason."
I've taken the liberty to write up some martial arts clan material to populate the gothic asia landscape with. I'll post them later when I've got more done.
The Shu Mountain Swordsman
During the age of philosophy, thousands upon thousands of schools of thought came into existence as each and every scholar offers up their own unique interpretation on ethics, humanity, life, etc.
A curious branch off of this movement was the rise of the martial scholars, a school of thought that attempts to bond the philosophical understand with their own martial practices. This practice endured beyond it's time, and managed to create a lasting tradition that persisted even through the age of martial art, a time in which martial arts flourished much like the age of philosophy.
One of these schools was the Shu Mountain swordsman, a school of thought that focuses not just on the usage and techniques of the blade, but ultimately, the more spiritual aspects of practice. The sword became not a tool for just bloodshed, but a means in which a person can transcend his own limits and humanity through meditation, practice, and contemplative thought.
As a scholarly kind of swordsman, many of the masters of the art have written volumes upon volumes of text detailing their beliefs, teachings, and philosophy towards the Shu Mountain swordstyle. The sheer size of literature available is quite daunting and is all stored within school's own library.
However, one piece of text has been regarded as the definitive and formulative philosophy behind the Shu Mountain sword.
Many have regarded this text as the formulative philosophy behind the Shu sword. As such, it has became the standard reading for many of the new students.
This, however, while being the most defining aspect, is not the most famous of this school.
That honor belongs to the Shu Mountain sword's most treasured technique, the flying sword.
The users of this technique has tapped into their consciousness and understood the very nature of the world, allowing them to gain control over their blade without even having to make physical contact with their weapon. Just by sheer manipulation of their chi, they can control their blade and use it to fight at a distance. As their technique becomes more and more refined, so does the strength and accuracy of their blade.
By the Master Hu Qiao's own record, by the time they have attained the second level of enlightenment, they no longer need a weapon to even control, allowing them to manifest the weapon through their own chi.
Many of the masters of the art have learned to use this chi and their blade to astonishing and jaw dropping effects.
Master Lien Yi, who was also known as the Blade Celestial, has on occasion STOOD on his own flying sword to achieve flight. Master Gung Shu, also known as the "Gladius Domini", pioneered a technique known as the "meteor shower", where he rained a thousand blades made of his own chi upon his foes.
These are the more prominant examples of the Shu Mountain sword's might. And with such prominant symbols to their name, it is no wonder that this school has managed to endure for such a long time.
Since I wanted to make this particular school represent the varying interpretative thoughts on martial arts, there will not be just one build / PrC for this class. Instead, each NPC build here represents an interpretation of their philosophy.
monk is interchangeable with swordsage.
Li Xiaoyao: Swordsage 7/Kensai X
He's the leader of the different interpretations of the Shu Mountain sword. His school, however, is highly unstable due to Li Xiaoyao's own propensity to wonder lust.
Primarily, he will be using his weapon bonus to get dancing on his blade.
Lien Yi, the Blade Celestial: Swordsage 2/psychic warrior 5//psychic weapon master X
He's the leader of the order, and the authority of what constitutes the Orthodox thought of the Shu Mountain sword.
Psionics have plenty of powers that allow you to do something to the effect I'm looking for.
Master Gung Shu: Swordsage 2/Warlock X (I threw in a level or two of Swordsage/monk just to give it a more complete "fluff" feel)
Master Gung Shu is one of the most feared Shu Mountain warriors. He is also deadly enemies with the Blade Celestial. Years ago, the two men both competed for the affection of the beautiful Ling Er as well as leadership of the Shu Mountain order. When the two finally came to a head, they dueled each other, but came to a draw when Ling Er threw herself between the two to stop the fight. Unfortunately, this killed Ling Er as she stepped into the way of their income maelstorm like chi.
Master Gung Shu was filled with self-loathing and left the mountains, leaving Lien Yi to lead the order. The two have no set eyes upon each other in over 20 years. Whenever this topic is brought up, the two men would speak highly of each other's skills, but their words would be filled with bitterness and venom.
Huang Yao Shi: Swordsage 2 / Cleric X
Huang Yao Shi is one of the main instructors on the Shu Mountains. Unlike a lot of the other Shu Mountain warriors, Huang Yao Shi is student of many different disciplines and styles. His focus, however, turned to be internal medicine. (Owing much of his training to his time spent as a disciple of the 9 Veins, an order that teaches the moulding and usage of chi rather than just it's refinement) From a mixture of his training as a doctor and as an internal martial artist, his knowledge of internal medicine and usage of chi therapy is unmatched.
Not many are sure as to why Huang Yao Shi abandoned his old order to come under the banner of the Shu Mountain.
spiritual weapon + various other cleric buffs will make this one work nicely
Wimp Lo: Bard 1
Joke character. He'll be my Dan Hibiki. His technique? cast mage hand and use that to wield the blade with an awesome 0 str for a magnificant -5 to hit and damage. His basically my excuse to use this line: "Pay no attention to Wimp Lo, we purposely trained him wrong... as a joke"
The Shu Mountain Swordsman
During the age of philosophy, thousands upon thousands of schools of thought came into existence as each and every scholar offers up their own unique interpretation on ethics, humanity, life, etc.
A curious branch off of this movement was the rise of the martial scholars, a school of thought that attempts to bond the philosophical understand with their own martial practices. This practice endured beyond it's time, and managed to create a lasting tradition that persisted even through the age of martial art, a time in which martial arts flourished much like the age of philosophy.
One of these schools was the Shu Mountain swordsman, a school of thought that focuses not just on the usage and techniques of the blade, but ultimately, the more spiritual aspects of practice. The sword became not a tool for just bloodshed, but a means in which a person can transcend his own limits and humanity through meditation, practice, and contemplative thought.
As a scholarly kind of swordsman, many of the masters of the art have written volumes upon volumes of text detailing their beliefs, teachings, and philosophy towards the Shu Mountain swordstyle. The sheer size of literature available is quite daunting and is all stored within school's own library.
However, one piece of text has been regarded as the definitive and formulative philosophy behind the Shu Mountain sword.
--- the late Master Hu Qiao, from his memoirs about his journey
It is believed by many of the great master swordsman, that the Shu Mountain sword is not just a fighting style, but a way of life. Like many of those masters, I have dedicated my entire life in this pursuit, almost obsessively trying to find the ultimate sword. The perfect strike, so to speak.
And yet, after 50 years of study, contemplation, and strife, I have came to this horrible realization:
There is no perfect strike.
No strike, by virtue of being a strike, can possibly be perfect. The need of the strike alone, has already tainted the very notion of perfection.
I have mapped out my own progression for those who will come after me to bare witness and perhaps learn from what meager wisdom I may have traded for with my youth.
There are 3 levels of swordsmanship:
1st level: You and your blade is one. Your blade is nothing more than an extension of limbs and it's manipulation is no more natural than use of your own hands. You strike like lightning, without hesitation and with blinding accuracy.
2nd level: Speed of thought. That is the crux of the second level. You understand now that all strikes stem not from the limb, the arm, or the body. But rather, it strikes from the mind. With the mind, the will and the heart is what initiates your strike and it is what guides the rest of you. That mind alone, is the source of the weapon. As such, you no longer need your blade. You don't even need a weapon. With your bare hands, you may strike at a foe from 100 paces.
3rd level: The end of thought. I came to realize and understand the nature of conflict and strife. With the very notion of conflict comes unending strife. The will of the blade begets more conflict and ultimately violence. To end that will, is to achieve ultimate peace, for if the will for conflict is what initiates the blade, then to release that will, is to attain ultimate mastery over the self once again. After all, if one were to strike without thought, one is not thinking. And without the will to strike, one will know peace. with that, he can feel the world around him, react to it in the most natural way. He is like the water, who parts and moves in a stream around his obstacles. There is no conflict, no strife, only knowledge of the world.
As of this writing, I am but a student of this world, and yet I can stop and marvel the vast depth of which this world offers. It is truly enlightening.
Many have regarded this text as the formulative philosophy behind the Shu sword. As such, it has became the standard reading for many of the new students.
This, however, while being the most defining aspect, is not the most famous of this school.
That honor belongs to the Shu Mountain sword's most treasured technique, the flying sword.
The users of this technique has tapped into their consciousness and understood the very nature of the world, allowing them to gain control over their blade without even having to make physical contact with their weapon. Just by sheer manipulation of their chi, they can control their blade and use it to fight at a distance. As their technique becomes more and more refined, so does the strength and accuracy of their blade.
By the Master Hu Qiao's own record, by the time they have attained the second level of enlightenment, they no longer need a weapon to even control, allowing them to manifest the weapon through their own chi.
Many of the masters of the art have learned to use this chi and their blade to astonishing and jaw dropping effects.
Master Lien Yi, who was also known as the Blade Celestial, has on occasion STOOD on his own flying sword to achieve flight. Master Gung Shu, also known as the "Gladius Domini", pioneered a technique known as the "meteor shower", where he rained a thousand blades made of his own chi upon his foes.
These are the more prominant examples of the Shu Mountain sword's might. And with such prominant symbols to their name, it is no wonder that this school has managed to endure for such a long time.
Since I wanted to make this particular school represent the varying interpretative thoughts on martial arts, there will not be just one build / PrC for this class. Instead, each NPC build here represents an interpretation of their philosophy.
monk is interchangeable with swordsage.
Li Xiaoyao: Swordsage 7/Kensai X
He's the leader of the different interpretations of the Shu Mountain sword. His school, however, is highly unstable due to Li Xiaoyao's own propensity to wonder lust.
Primarily, he will be using his weapon bonus to get dancing on his blade.
Lien Yi, the Blade Celestial: Swordsage 2/psychic warrior 5//psychic weapon master X
He's the leader of the order, and the authority of what constitutes the Orthodox thought of the Shu Mountain sword.
Psionics have plenty of powers that allow you to do something to the effect I'm looking for.
Master Gung Shu: Swordsage 2/Warlock X (I threw in a level or two of Swordsage/monk just to give it a more complete "fluff" feel)
Master Gung Shu is one of the most feared Shu Mountain warriors. He is also deadly enemies with the Blade Celestial. Years ago, the two men both competed for the affection of the beautiful Ling Er as well as leadership of the Shu Mountain order. When the two finally came to a head, they dueled each other, but came to a draw when Ling Er threw herself between the two to stop the fight. Unfortunately, this killed Ling Er as she stepped into the way of their income maelstorm like chi.
Master Gung Shu was filled with self-loathing and left the mountains, leaving Lien Yi to lead the order. The two have no set eyes upon each other in over 20 years. Whenever this topic is brought up, the two men would speak highly of each other's skills, but their words would be filled with bitterness and venom.
Huang Yao Shi: Swordsage 2 / Cleric X
Huang Yao Shi is one of the main instructors on the Shu Mountains. Unlike a lot of the other Shu Mountain warriors, Huang Yao Shi is student of many different disciplines and styles. His focus, however, turned to be internal medicine. (Owing much of his training to his time spent as a disciple of the 9 Veins, an order that teaches the moulding and usage of chi rather than just it's refinement) From a mixture of his training as a doctor and as an internal martial artist, his knowledge of internal medicine and usage of chi therapy is unmatched.
Not many are sure as to why Huang Yao Shi abandoned his old order to come under the banner of the Shu Mountain.
spiritual weapon + various other cleric buffs will make this one work nicely
Wimp Lo: Bard 1
Joke character. He'll be my Dan Hibiki. His technique? cast mage hand and use that to wield the blade with an awesome 0 str for a magnificant -5 to hit and damage. His basically my excuse to use this line: "Pay no attention to Wimp Lo, we purposely trained him wrong... as a joke"
A few notes. Are you interested in using standardized Pinyin throughout? (Lien = Lian, chi = qi, etc.) If so, just hit the edit button. (I will likewise reedit this post to reflect.)
It's interesting that you have the Swordsage/Kensai as a multiclass. I think the first is from Tome of Battle and the second is from the Oriental Adventures... but I suspect the two were intended to be the same (the Japanese "Kensai" translates into "sword sage").
At least, that was before Wizards decided to make Tome of Battle an entirely European-flavor martial arts book and exclude Asian characters from it entirely. As if excluding Asian characters from the PHB and standard frigging Monk class wasn't enough. </rant>
So if I understand this correctly, are you casting the Shu Mountain style as the precursor of the entire martial arts profusion in the Hua empire?
It's interesting that you have the Swordsage/Kensai as a multiclass. I think the first is from Tome of Battle and the second is from the Oriental Adventures... but I suspect the two were intended to be the same (the Japanese "Kensai" translates into "sword sage").
At least, that was before Wizards decided to make Tome of Battle an entirely European-flavor martial arts book and exclude Asian characters from it entirely. As if excluding Asian characters from the PHB and standard frigging Monk class wasn't enough. </rant>
So if I understand this correctly, are you casting the Shu Mountain style as the precursor of the entire martial arts profusion in the Hua empire?
gah, blame that on me never going over my own work. There was a fair amount of writing kinks in the text that I need to work with.
But to clarify, no, the Shu mountain swordsman are not the basis of all martial arts within the Hua kingdom. They are but a mere sect that resulted from the martial attitude which permeated the era.
I'll write up more about the ancestors later.
But to clarify, no, the Shu mountain swordsman are not the basis of all martial arts within the Hua kingdom. They are but a mere sect that resulted from the martial attitude which permeated the era.
I'll write up more about the ancestors later.
Another thing that I think we mentioned in face to face meetings but never posted on this board:
There are some people who think the Monk class is underpowered. Or at least, that it requires a much greater focus on generally good ability scores than any other class. I have no scientific analysis to back this up whatsoever, just a heuristic experimental experience, and that is that the Monk generally isn't as good an offensive force as a Fighter, and can't match the range of a spellcaster.
One possible balance is to give Hua Monks a slight bonus. The Tome of Battle has nine separate "schools" or disciplines of martial arts maneuvers, and it presents three classes (Crusader, Swordsage, Warblade) that has access to more than one of these schools.
Why not give monks access to one school only? That would prevent them from making the ToB classes redundant (because Monks still can only use that one school's maneuvers) but it would also give them greater power and allow them to contribute more to a party.
I'm thinking this bonus belongs more just to monks that come from the three central kingdoms of the Hua empire, because of the special focus and government backing for the temples and monasteries there. A monk in western Ravenloft doesn't get these bonuses. (Think of it as a campaign-specific bonus, rather like how Dark Sun characters start off automatically with a few extra class levels.)
So Monks progress thus: they choose a discipline that they're conversant in. Barring exceptional circumstances, the monk must limit himself to that discipline only. (It's conceivable that a monk could go wandering and find many different teachers to teach him the moves of a different discipline - this gives the DM much control over advancement, similar to a wizard's spellbook.) Each level that's divisible by 2, the monk can access a higher level maneuver from the school's list. There is no limit to the number of maneuvers that he can master from that school's list, because each school only has relatively few maneuvers per level. (The ToB puts limits because each ToB class can choose from multiple schools. If you limit it to one school, there is not much of a balance problem.)
Progression wise, most schools also build upon their own internal maneuvers as prerequisites to access higher level maneuvers.
This may need tweaking (perhaps even give a monk access to two maneuver disciplines?) but I think it could work.
There are some people who think the Monk class is underpowered. Or at least, that it requires a much greater focus on generally good ability scores than any other class. I have no scientific analysis to back this up whatsoever, just a heuristic experimental experience, and that is that the Monk generally isn't as good an offensive force as a Fighter, and can't match the range of a spellcaster.
One possible balance is to give Hua Monks a slight bonus. The Tome of Battle has nine separate "schools" or disciplines of martial arts maneuvers, and it presents three classes (Crusader, Swordsage, Warblade) that has access to more than one of these schools.
Why not give monks access to one school only? That would prevent them from making the ToB classes redundant (because Monks still can only use that one school's maneuvers) but it would also give them greater power and allow them to contribute more to a party.
I'm thinking this bonus belongs more just to monks that come from the three central kingdoms of the Hua empire, because of the special focus and government backing for the temples and monasteries there. A monk in western Ravenloft doesn't get these bonuses. (Think of it as a campaign-specific bonus, rather like how Dark Sun characters start off automatically with a few extra class levels.)
So Monks progress thus: they choose a discipline that they're conversant in. Barring exceptional circumstances, the monk must limit himself to that discipline only. (It's conceivable that a monk could go wandering and find many different teachers to teach him the moves of a different discipline - this gives the DM much control over advancement, similar to a wizard's spellbook.) Each level that's divisible by 2, the monk can access a higher level maneuver from the school's list. There is no limit to the number of maneuvers that he can master from that school's list, because each school only has relatively few maneuvers per level. (The ToB puts limits because each ToB class can choose from multiple schools. If you limit it to one school, there is not much of a balance problem.)
Progression wise, most schools also build upon their own internal maneuvers as prerequisites to access higher level maneuvers.
This may need tweaking (perhaps even give a monk access to two maneuver disciplines?) but I think it could work.