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The Celestial Emperor has lain dead for several months now, and his reincarnation has yet to be found amongst the people of the empire. Chaos threatens to break out as warlords, eunuchs, and priests seek to shape the future of the empire by taking the Jade Throne for themselves while the land falls apart around their perfumed heads. Bandits, newly emboldened by the lack of retaliation for their crimes, swoop down upon their prey in greater numbers while old rivalries threaten to bring dojos and temples to open warfare with one another to settle old blood-grudges. Drought, famine, and poverty spread like diseases in the absence of government oversight of essential duties. Peasants and nobles alike find their lives falling apart, unnoticed by the un-caring monolithic empire that is busy tearing itself apart at the seems.
However....hope remains.
For every dishonorable villain who preys on the helpless, new heroes arise to face them down. Martial artists across the empire find themselves thrown into the storm the country has become and struggle to forge their own paths through it all. Some are a stabilizing force, crushing bandit armies, exposing corruption and deceit among the nobility and imperial court, or ending the threat of vile practitioners of the martial arts. Others seek to write a new destiny for the land and its beleaguered people, to establish their own legends and kingdoms to act as a guiding light for the downtrodden in search of better tomorrows. A few merely seek glory and fame, but despite these selfish actions manage to improve the lot of those around them by way of the deeds they perform to become famous. Martial artists clash in truly epic displays of ability and prowess, each weapon swing and blow engraving the names of these warriors in the Book of Eternity. In this time of chaos and hardship, there's much need for heroes and many who seek to answer that call...
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Warriors and Wuxia is meant to be a collaborative effort to use the Tome of Battle rules (and some of the very finely made home-brew on these very forums) to create a cinematic wuxia setting compatible with 3.5 D&D rules. The setting itself is a blending of Chinese, Japanese, and Indian influences (With a couple more mixed in as well) that is epitomized in the empire of the Celestial Emperor that spans the breadth of the known world. The action is fast-paced and hard-hitting, while tragic love stories, deadly political intrigue, and almost Shakespearean tales of revenge unfold around high-flying wuxia heroes. The empire is corrupt and rotten to the core beneath a lair of gilt and riches, but one of the key themes of this setting is that people have the potential to change the world around them with enough effort, even if Fate itself seems to conspire against them. As was mentioned before, this project uses all of the material from the Tome of Battle (though not any of the setting described within it, like Reshar and his Temple), including legacy weapons if the DM in question allows them, BUT there's not quite enough material there to form a comprehensive setting entirely on it's own.
So, to account for this, a LOT of Tome of Battle homebrew is going to be included in this project and I don't take any credit for any of it (aside from the stuff I actually made), that belongs to the wonderful people who've created this material. First up is going to be home-brew and optional rules that can (and should!) be included in any Warriors & Wuxia game to create a better Wuxia experience for all involved.
Added Rules
There are certain rules that need to be used in addition to the normal D&D rules to properly emulate the cinematic combat of a setting like this. I’ve included links to those rules below, as well as one or two of my own fashioning.
Armor as Damage Reduction
Character Traits
Players should be encouraged to pick traits for their characters, to help better define the character as a whole.
Contacts
As with Defense Bonus, the currently allowed classes fall under the table as such...Spoiler
Column A
Dancer, Warrior-Poet
Column B
Crusader, Swashbuckler, Warlord
Column C
Sohei Adept, Sublime Assassin, Warblade
Column D
Blade Master, Guru, Swordsage
Defense Bonus
Of the current classes allowed for use in a Warriors and Wuxia game, they fall under the following categories each. Note: In a W&W game, the Defense Bonus counts as a Dodge bonus to defense, meaning that it does not apply in any situation where the character's Dexterity bonus does not apply to their AC.
SpoilerColumn A
Dancer, Guru
Column B
Sublime Assassin, Swashbuckler, Swordsage, and Warrior-Poet,
Column C
Blade Master, Sohei Adept, and Warblade
Column D
Crusader, and Warlord
Honor
Honor, as a whole, is a replacement for the alignment grid for Warriors and Wuxia. The people of the empire don't care as much if someone is good or evil, but for how honorable a person are they and how honorable a family they came from. Much like the alignment system though, there are different steps to Honor that their player chooses upon character creation (and may change depending on the character's actions during play). These steps can be found here.
Also, while the people of the empire may not care about good or evil, certain class abilities very well might. For this purpose, after deciding how honorable their character is a player must decide if their character is Good, Neutral, or Evil. Note, that while Warriors and Wuxia doesn't have a standard cosmology where there's literal planes and creatures of pure good and pure evil, it still takes an objective view of such matters, not a subjective one.
Flight
Spoiler
This is an almost integral part of most cinematic wuxia/kung-fu films and settings and this one is no different! This rule allows characters to perform astounding feats of athleticism without requiring them to spend valuable resources to do something that every cinematic wuxia star seems capable of. When these rules refer to level, they refer to a character's initiator level which is determined as such. Each level in a martial adept class adds +1 to a character's initiator level, each level in a non-martial adept class that has a full BaB counts a 1/2 while ever level in a class that does not have a full base attack only counts as 1/4. Initiator level is always rounded down.
At 5th level a character gains the ability to walk or run across surfaces that wouldn’t otherwise allow such passage (such as water, quicksand, rough terrain, floors on the verge of collapse, etc.). The character must begin and end their movement on a surface capable of supporting their weight (and making any balance checks that might be required for narrow surfaces) but may otherwise treat such surfaces as normal terrain. If the character does not end their movement on a surface capable of sustaining their weight then they are treated as if they had just stepped unto it at the end of their turn. A character crossing water will fall into it and need to begin swimming, for example. Not, this movement does not protect the character (in any way) from any hazards the surface might have. Crossing lava, for example, would deal damage to the character as if they’d been splashed with it for every five feet that they cross, making it a very dangerous prospect.
At 10th level, the character’s ability to go where no one else can reaches a new height. As long as the character begins and ends their movement on a surface capable of sustaining their weight (and again, making any balance checks that might be required), the character is treated as having a fly speed equal to their land speed with good maneuverability. If the character does not end their movement on a surface that can support their weight, then they immediately begin to fall once their movement has ended unless there is something the character can grab a hold of. If the character makes an attack in the middle of this movement then all of their forward momentum is halted and any remaining movement (if the character can move after attacking, such as by using the Spring Attack feat) must be used to go in the opposite direction.
At 15th level, a character is able to balance on things that no other person ever could. The tips of spears, blades of grass, narrow branches, almost anything can be used to support the character’s weight as long as they make a Balance check (DC 25). If they fail this check then the surface is treated as being unable to support the character, as normal, and the character will begin falling. Additionally, if the character makes an unarmed melee attack against an opponent and hits in mid-flight (or makes an unarmed melee attack as their last attack if they get multiple attacks while moving), then the character is treated as having a surface that can support their weight and doesn’t begin to fall at the end of their turn. On their next turn the character can make another leap, at half speed, by pushing off of the opponent. If the character makes another unarmed melee attack as their last attack, then they are capable of jumping again on their next turn, the penalty to their speed remains at half of their total speed.
Improved Flight (Feat)
Requires: 10th level, ability to fly
Benefit: The character treats their maneuverability while flying as one step better (from good to perfect if using the flying rules above) and may make a standing Jump check before moving. However far they would have been capable of jumping is added to their fly speed for the round, enabling a character to potentially go much further then normal. Abilities that allow a character to treat a standing jump as a running jump of any kind act as normal.
Item Enhancement
Warriors and Wuxia is, for the most part, a non-magical setting. Aside from the occasional legacy item, artifact, and supernatural disciplines magic just...doesn't seem to exist at all. Still, that leaves very few material awards that a DM can reward players with, which is why I recommend using these Item Enhancement rules from Avatar: the Last Airbender d20. These are along the line of 'mundane' enhancements a character can add to their gear, exceptional craftsmanship rather then magical enchantments.
To create these weapons, characters need to use the following feats (also from Avatar d20, but reprinted here for convenience's sake)
SpoilerCraft Item of Renown [General]
Prerequisite: Craft (specific skill) 6 ranks
Benefit: With this feat, the craftsman improves upon his existing talent at creating superior masterwork items. The master craftsman can create masterwork items that are twice as effective as standard masterwork items – weapons confer a +2 bonus to attack rolls, armor bonus is increased by 2, and skill bonus items confer a +4 bonus. These items of renown take twice as long to create.
Normal: Masterwork weapons confer a +1 bonus to attacks, bonus is increased by 1, and skill bonus items confer a +2 bonus.
Craft Item of Fame [General]
Prerequisite: Item of Renown, Craft (specific skill) 9 ranks
Benefit: With this feat, the craftsman improves upon his existing talent at creating superior masterwork items. The master craftsman can create masterwork items that are three times as effective as standard masterwork items – weapons confer a +3 bonus to attack rolls, armor bonus is increased by 3, and skill bonus items confer a +6 bonus. These items of renown take three times as long to create.
Normal: Masterwork weapons confer a +1 bonus to attacks, bonus is increased by 1, and skill bonusitems confer a +2 bonus.
Craft Item of Glory [General]
Prerequisite: Item of Renown, Item of Fame, Craft (specific skill) 12 ranks
Benefit: With this feat, the craftsman improves upon his existing talent at creating superior masterwork items. The master craftsman can create masterwork items that are four times as effective as standard masterwork items – weapons confer a +4 bonus to attack rolls, armor bonus is increased by 4, and skill bonus items confer a +8 bonus. These items of renown take four times as long to create.
Normal: Masterwork weapons confer a +1 bonus to attacks, bonus is increased by 1, and skill bonus items confer a +2 bonus.
Craft Item of Legend [General]
Prerequisite: Item of Renown, Item of Fame, Item of Glory, Craft (specific skill) 15 ranks
Benefit: With this feat, the craftsman improves upon his existing talent at creating superior masterwork items. The master craftsman can create masterwork items that are five times as effective as standard masterwork items – weapons confer a +5 bonus to attack rolls, armor bonus is increased by 5, and skill bonus items confer a +10 bonus. These items of renown take five times as long to create.
Normal: Masterwork weapons confer a +1 bonus to attacks, bonus is increased by 1, and skill bonus items confer a +2 bonus.
Reputation
SpoilerAs a martial artist becomes more powerful, it is only common that they also become more well-known as well. This setting uses the Event-Based Reputation rules from the SRD, with a minor addition. At 5th, 10, 15th, and 20th level, every character gains a +2 bonus to their reputation score that will apply no matter how well known they are in any given area. 5th level martial artists will find themselves relatively well known in the immediate area or where the majority of their famous deeds were performed. 10th level martial artists are known across several provinces, or even an entire point of the compass. 15th level martial artists are known and respected/feared all over the empire for their prowess in battle, their deeds well known and recorded. Very few martial artists make it to 20th level, but these individuals have transcended mere fame to become legends. They're stories will always be remembered for better or worst. The most powerful of martial artists will find themselves recognized, even in areas they’ve never traveled to before in their lives. As the rules in the SRD point out though, notoriety is not always good. If a character is recognized by an NPC (or PC), then they gain a +5 bonus on their Martial Lore check to reveal information about the character, what style they practice, famous deeds, and so on. While knowing that a character has personally felled a small army of a noble’s guards in the past may deter some assailants, it’s just as likely to incite others who want to use the character’s defeat to fling themselves higher in status.
Many martial artists, as they become more famous, adopt a name that reflects their ‘true soul’ and the philosophy behind their style of combat. The famous Bright Steel and Long Shadow are examples of such martial artists, especially since all but their closest companions have forgotten their true names. Keep in mind that these ‘true soul names’ don’t count as a nom de plumes for the purposes of keeping track of a separate Reputation score unless the character makes some effort and uses the Disguise skill to distinguish their normal self from their true soul name, in which case it’s treated as a nom de plume normally.
The Event-Based Reputation rules can be found here. Note that this rule also allows for the Low Profile and Renown feats to be used as well, with no change to either feats effects.
Stunting
Much like Exalted, players should be rewarded if they take the effort to role-play their character's actions, to help promote the highly cinematic fighting this setting ascribes to. At the DM's judgement, they may give a player a bonus of +1d6 to +3d6, depending on how well and...well...awesome their character's actions were described. The DM decides at the beginning of the game if the highest number among a character's stunt dice is accepted, all of them, or some combination there of. Stunting can only be used to apply to an attack roll, skill check, or saving throws at the DM's discretion. If the character uses a counter maneuver, then they can attempt to stunt for that as well.
Weapon Group Feats
There are many and varied weapons that can be used in a W&W campaign, and very few of them are unsuitable, if any. The simple fact is that martial artists films and heroes are known for their unusual choice of weapons and the exotic weapons they choose to wield. However, many such weapons are exotic (thus requiring a feat to use that specific weapon) or are spread out across numerous splat-books. Thus, a W&W game uses the Weapon Group feats, to give players some more options when it comes to determining what weapons their character can use.
Warblade, Blademaster: Basic +4 (like Fighter)
Warlord, Crusader, Wildheart, Swordsage, Swashbuckler: Basic +3 (like Paladin, Barbarian, Ranger)
Warrior Poet, Sublime Assassin, Dancer, Sohie Adept: Basic +2 (like Bard, Rogue, Cleric)
Guru: Basic +1 (like Monk)
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Helpful Kung-Fu Feats
In addition to these rules, this is a list of helpful feats that players can select for their characters. This list is far from comprehensive and will be added to over time as I find more feats and on suggestion.
Complete Warrior
SpoilerAnvil of Thunder
Armor Skin
Bear Fang
Clever Wrestling
Close-Quarters Fighting
Crescent Moon
Defensive Throw
Eagle Claw Attack
Earth's Embrace
Fists of Iron
Flying Kick
Freezing the Lifeblood
Hammer's Edge
High Sword Low Axe
Karmic Strike
Lightning Mace
Pain Touch
Raptor School
Roundabout Kick
Spinning Halberd
Sun School
Three Mountains
Weakening Touch
Dragon Magazine Compendium
SpoilerCircle Master
Circle Student
Dead Eye
Defensive Dodge
Haft Strike
Hammer Fist
Kung-Fu Genius (This feat's ability is changed so that it may affect swordsages and gurus)
Long Strike
Mercurial Strike
Pole Balance
Pole Fighter
Ring the Golden Bell
Riposte
Shorten Grip
Single Blade Style
Spinning Defense
Unorthodox Flurry
Vault
Oriental Adventures
SpoilerEmpty Hand Mastery
Falling Star Strike
Foot and Fist Mastery
Grappling Block
The Gentle Way Mastery
Unbalancing Strike
Player's Handbook II
SpoilerCombat Cloak Expert
Crushing Strike
Einhander
Fiery Fist
Fiery Ki Defense
Ki Blast
Leap of the Heavens
Lunging Strike
Short Haft
Versatile Unarmed Strike
Water Splitting Stone
Sandstorm
SpoilerPharaoh's Fist
Rattlesnake Strike
Serpent Fang
Stormwrack
SpoilerCurling Wave Strike
Storm of Flying Strikes
Sword and Fist
SpoilerCircle Kick
Lightning Fists
Mantis Leap
Off-hand Parry
The Warrior's Way
Optional Rules:
Warheart Items: Good for using in place of the Items of Legacy material or along side it.
Stone Dragon Redux: Exactly what it says on the tin, an alternate take on the Stone Dragon discipline.
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Index
Classes
Fighting Styles
Disciplines
The Empire and Jueru
Thrice-Forged, Example Beleaguered Town