Wushu (role-playing game)
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Wushu is a free universal role-playing game by Dan Bayn released under the Creative Commons license.
Wushu is a non-traditional RPG. In a traditional game, you describe what you’d like your character to do, and then roll the dice to see if you succeed. In Wushu, you describe what your character does, and then roll dice to see how effective it was. For example, in a traditional RPG, you’d say: “I try to hit him with my sword.” and roll dice to see if you succeed. In Wushu, you say: “I slash across his stomach, releasing a spray of blood.” and then roll dice to see what effect this has on the larger plot.
Wushu runs on several principles. The first is the Principle of Narrative Truth, called PoNT by the fans. What this means is that whatever a player describes is exactly what happens. By doing so, Wushu can more closely emulate an over-the-top action movie style of play, since there are no penalties for difficult or flashy maneuvers. (In fact there’s a bonus, see below.) This doesn’t get out of control, however, thanks to the second principle: the Veto. Anyone at the table, Gamemaster or Player, can veto any detail and ask the player to describe something different. This helps ensure that the tone and genre of the game is maintained at all times. Players can even use this mechanic to suggest alternatives to one another, which helps create a stronger shared-storytelling experience.
Wushu’s mechanics are essentially a roll-under system using six sided dice. What makes it different is that you are given bonus dice for adding more description to your maneuver, called Details. For example, “I hit him” is worth one die. “I hit him with a quick hook, followed by an uppercut” is worth two dice. And: “I smash him across the face with a left hook, followed by a right jab, then a rising uppercut. I hear the sound of his jaw snapping, and I growl out an insulting comment about his mother.” would be worth 5 dice. To prevent players from getting too long winded, there is a dice cap set in place. Players may also choose to filibuster, which in Wushu terms means to give a description that is long and entertaining enough to reach the cap, without having to count each individual detail.
Once you have your dice pool, you split it into Yin and Yang pools, or “defense” and “offense”. The Yang dice represent your ability to affect the world, while the Yin dice represent your ability to defend your narrative. Regardless of what you described, you can allocate these dice as you see fit.
Your narrative ability is represented by “Chi” points. Mechanically speaking, the way they work is that when you go into negative points, you lose your ability to narrate what happens, and you are effectively at the mercy of anyone else. Unlike other systems, this doesn’t necessarily represent actual damage to your character. Depending on the situation, your character might surrender, give up the location of the secret rebel base, go unconscious, or whatever else they story might demand.
A free version of the game is available on Dan Bayn's website, and there is also the Wushu Wiki, with extensive resources for the game created by fans. In addition to the freebies, there are several inexpensive pay-versions of the game available on RPGnow covering pulp, kung fu/wire-fu action, magic and mini-guides to sword-fights, gun-fights and car-chases. There are also three settings: Roanoke, a horror setting based in Virginia in the 1500's; Erebus, a noir setting; and The Fringe, which has the tagline of "Sanity is a one trick pony."
[edit] Wushu Products
- Wushu-Open Free basic rules of the game.
- A Wushu Guide to the Matrix A free preview of the Wushu rules, plus supplements & adventures.
- Wire-Fu Your comprehensive guide to running Wushu games in the style of Hero & The Matrix!
- Pulp-Fu A Wushu game of noir style & pulp action!
- A Wushu Guide to Car-Fu High speed chases, acrobatic stunts, and cars as melee weapons!
- A Wushu Guide to Gun-Fu Guns, lots of guns, spaghetti westerns, gangsters, and snipers.
- A Wushu Guide to Cut-Fu Swords and knives from the Three Musketeers to the Seven Samurai.
- A Wushu Guide to Wyrd-Fu Magic and high strangeness, from hoodoo to hermeticism.
- Wushu Open Reloaded A fan-made attempt at a generic Wushu supplement.
