RPGnet
Reviews | Game Index | Forums | Press | Wiki | Columns | Store
 

Go Back   RPGnet Forums > RPGnet Appendix > RPGnet Reviews

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 03-30-2007, 01:00 AM
RPGnet Reviews
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
[RPG]: Wuxia, reviewed by Jocelyn Robitaille (4/3)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12873.phtml

Jocelyn Robitaille's Summary:

Old school wushu adventures in cinematic china. An in-depth look.

Go to the full review for more information.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 03-30-2007, 06:16 AM
C.W.Richeson's Avatar
C.W.Richeson C.W.Richeson is offline
RPG Reviewer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Posts: 8,909
Re: [RPG]: Wuxia, reviewed by Jocelyn Robitaille (4/3)

Another great review, Jocelyn, thanks! I agree that the up front agreement to provide something cool for every session or suffer a harsh penalty is a poor way to encourage player contributions. I really like the idea of a success pool that players can give and take from, as it seems like a nice mechanic for teamwork oriented combat.

Do you see any major difficulty in using Wuxia for other existing settings? Does Wuxia have any rules for magic? I see mention of magic items that can be picked up during character creation, but what about magic using martial artists?

Given that you already have other martial arts games, how would you compare Wuxia to them?
__________________
Latest Reviews: Martial Power, Diaspora, Chronica Feudalis, Monster Manual 2, Baby Names, Open Grave, Ultimate Toolbox, Manual of the Planes.
Next Review: Dragonomicon, Geist.
My Article on RPG reviewing for those considering taking it up!
LiveJournal
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 03-30-2007, 05:24 PM
Jocelyn Robitaille's Avatar
Jocelyn Robitaille Jocelyn Robitaille is offline
Gamer Extraordinaire
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Montréal, Québec
Posts: 2,171
Re: [RPG]: Wuxia, reviewed by Jocelyn Robitaille (4/3)

Quote:
Originally Posted by C.W.Richeson View Post
Do you see any major difficulty in using Wuxia for other existing settings?
Yes. Although I understand that Studio Mammouth uses the Persona system as their flagship mechanics for all their other RPGs (including Hex, about which I'll be writing a review in a week or two), the system as presented in Wuxia is completely geared towards emulating the chinese martial arts movie genre. In short, that means that could use it for another setting (say regular fantasy), but you'd have to throw away a lot of the system (including almost all of the powers). You'd then have to come up with new powers and manoeuvres and somesuch to fit what you're aiming for. It might be fun for someone who enjoys homeruling heavily, but otherwise I'm guessing you're better off buying a game more tailored to your needs.

Then again, Hex might prove me wrong. We'll just have to see.

Quote:
Does Wuxia have any rules for magic? I see mention of magic items that can be picked up during character creation, but what about magic using martial artists?
Magic is covered by the powers listed for the "Sorcerer" character type, plus a few listed in the "Monk" character type. If you're wondering what sort of magic you can expect, think A Chinese Ghost Story and its sequels. Examples of most powers provided in the book can be found in those three films, either on the side of good or evil.

Quote:
Given that you already have other martial arts games, how would you compare Wuxia to them?
I'll go with the two chinese-themed martial arts games I've pursued : Weapons of the Gods and Feng Shui.

It's very different in scope and feel from Weapons of the Gods. Wuxia can emulate movies like Iron Monkey, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or A Chinese Ghost Story quite well. What is doesn't do well is the kind of
movies WotG does best : highly "magical" wuxia flicks like Zu Warriors or Stormriders. Also, there's a whole non-combat side to Weapons of the Gods that is basically absent from Wuxia. In that regard, it is much more combat-focussed than WotG.

It's much closer to Feng Shui, actually. Although Feng Shui tackles the chinese martial arts movie genre differently - and emulates a bunch of other genres all the whille - but aim for genre emulation more than anything else. This said, I think Wuxia equips you much better to emulate the chinese martial arts movie genre than Feng Shui does. Moreover, the powers, manoeuvres and fighting styles presented in Wuxia feel more directly lifted from the movies then Feng Shui's - something I consider a strenght. Apart from that, however, both games have the same tight focus on combat.
__________________
Jocelyn Robitaille **Immersive Roleplaying : Now can I please play with my nuts?*
"Beef is not what Jay said to Nas,
Beef is when the working folks can't find jobs."

-Mos Def
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:02 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
© 1996-2006 RPGnet® and individual posters. Compilation copyright RPGnet.