Nine Swords Under Heaven

Genre: Wuxia/Xianxia (Martial Arts Fantasy)

Tech Level (TL): Early TL 1

TL Exceptions: Much TL 0 gear still in wide use; marginal Gadgeteer-produced TL 2/3 gear

Power Level: 300 points

Realism Level: Cinematic/Over-the-Top

Campaign Synopsis and Recent Events:

About 5 years ago: The Nine Blades of Heaven begin to reappear - the first time they have been seen in over five hundred years. The Jade Emperor sends out the Hounds to track down the swords and determine their would-be wielders.

Timeline of Significant Historical Events:

1 Celestial Era (CE):

Tiān Xūkōng, the Heavenly Nothingness, awakens in the void of chaos and forms the stars and the sky, simultaneously birthing Lixao Setsun (“Primal Flame”), Lixao Shaipei (“Enveloping Rivers”), and the Four Cardinal Beasts (the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise of the North), who hold up the sky.

5 CE:

Lixao Setsun and Lixao Shaipei marry, and from their union comes Lixao Feicao (“Stone Prince”), who is born blind, lame, and mute, and Lixao Mai (“Silver Moon Princess”). Lixao Shaipei cries over her crippled son, creating the rivers, the lakes, and the oceans, from which spring hundreds of nature spirits.

8-15 CE:

A number of gods are born from the unions of these spirits, including Pao Tetl (“The Boar”), Uspa (“White Lotus”), and Taz-Khala (“Eternal Alchemist”). The plants and animals are born as a result of the trysts between Pao Tetl and a number of nature spirits. Experimenting with this new life, Taz-Khala creates the first medicines, offering them to Lixao Shaipei to use on her son. Lixao Feicao is cured, and in her gratitude Lixao Shaipei agrees to grant Taz-Khala one wish; he asks her to create a race of beings in the image of the gods. She agrees, and calls upon the other gods (with the exception of her husband, who she fears will be angered) to aid her: Pao Tetl provides meat from his hunts and molds it into human form, Lixao Shaipei draws from the rivers of the world to create the blood that flows through them, Uspa breathes life into them, Lixao Mai gives them their hopes and ambitions, and Taz-Khala grants them the knowledge they need to attain them.

Money and Currency

The previous three Jade Emperors have made a concerted effort to consolidate and regulate currency, and have been largely successful. Two coins are standard: the copper piece and the silver piece, and these are valid legal tender anywhere in the empire. However, rural communities still sometimes trade in cowrie shells, and most villages make at least partial use of barter systems.

Currency/$ Value: Tóng Bì (Copper Money)/$1

Currency/$ Value: Yín Bì (Silver Money)/$10

Is Slavery Legal? Not as such, but indentured servitude is common as punishment for a crime or to pay off a debt. An agreement is made detailing the length of service; 5-, 10-, and 20-year tenures and lifetime arrangements being the most common. Sometimes these workers are even compensated for their work. This compensation need not be monetary; a poor peasant may agree to himself and any children he may have becoming slaves so that his grandchildren will be adopted into his master's family.

Major Nations

The Jade Empire is the only human civilization known to exist. Apart from the lands under the domain of the Emperor and his administrators, there exist dozens, perhaps hundreds, of small tribes of humans living in the surrounding jungles.

Name: The Jade Empire

Capital: Jewel on the Lake

Ruler: Emperor Long Yún of the Heavenly Jade Dynasty

Population: 7,345,700

Cultural Familiarities: Jade Empire (Eastern), Jade Empire (Northern), Jade Empire (Southern)

Language(s): Jade Tongue. This language is used throughout the empire, and extensive bureaucracy has protected the written form from linguistic drift. The spoken form of the language has three dialects: Eastern, Northern, and Southern. A person who knows one of these languages understands the others at a comprehension level one lower (for example, someone with Native spoken Eastern Jade Tongue has Accented spoken understanding of the Eastern and Southern dialects).

Typical Literacy: None

TL: 0/1

Society/Government: Theocratic Dictatorship

Control Rating (CR): 5

Corruption modifier: -3

Other Major Planes of Existence

Name: Sorrow Mist Land

Type: Afterlife (?)

Description: This is the home plane of all the varieties of devils that plague tianxia. All that is known of it comes from divination, as nobody has ever been there and returned alive. Its terrain consists of endless gray swamps and plains, occasionally punctuated by a mountain or two. It is theorized that those who are killed by a demon have their souls removed from the cycle of reincarnation and dragged here to suffer for all of eternity.

Name: Great Peach Field

Type: Afterlife

Description: The realm of Gods, Buddhas, and the Tiāntángniăo (Heaven Peach Bird). Here it is always Spring and the weather always temperate. It is said to be the final resting place of the soul who has completed his journey of reincarnation, but the enlightened denizens spend their time honing their minds and bodies, attempting to ascend further. Particularly devout ascetics and powerful sorcerers have reported visiting the Great Peach Field while still alive, but there is no definitive proof to any of these claims.

GURPS Character Creation Guide

Starting Points: 300

Disadvantage Limit: -50 (Below-Native literacy and Innumerate do not count against this total). This is a "soft" limit. If you can justify disadvantage choices worth more than -50 points, I may allow you to take them

Quirk Limit: Up to -6, of which a maximum of 4 can be “roleplay-only” (i.e. without occasional inherent penalties)

Suggested Character Types: See Character Templates, below. You must pick one of these.

Attributes and Secondary Characteristics

All levels are relative to the base; i.e. ST may noy be lower than 8 (10-2) or higher than 18 (10+8). See also House Rules, above.

ST: Min. -2, Max. +8

HP: Min. 0.7xST, Max. 1.3xST

DX: Min. -2, Max. +6

Will: Min. -4, Max. +4

IQ: Min. -2, Max. +6

Per: Min. -4, Max. +4

HT: Min. -2, Max. +6

SI: Min. -2, Max. +6

SP: Min. 0.7xSI, Max. 1.3xSI

FP: Min. 0.7xHT, Max. 1.3xHT

Basic Speed: Min. -2.00, Max. +2.00

Basic Move: Min. -2, Max. +2

Social Traits

Low TL: Low TL 1 (giving a TL of 0) is allowed. This is appropriate for anyone raised outside of the capital or another metropolitan area.

High TL: No.

Status Levels (Min./Max.): -1/3

PC Starting Wealth: $500

Wealth Levels (Min./Max.): Dead Broke/Wealthy.

Cultures (for Cultural Familiarity): Jade Empire (Eastern), Jade Empire (Northern), Jade Empire (Southern).

Languages: Northern Jade Tongue, Eastern Jade Tongue, Southern Jade Tongue. Those with appropriate backgrounds may pick more obscure choices, e.g. spirit languages.

Social Stigma: Of these, Criminal, Disowned, Ignorant, Minority Group, Second-Class Citizen, and Valuable Property are relevant to the players. Social Stigma (Subjugated) is widespread but concerns currently indentured servants. Escaped servants should take an Enemy instead. Members of isolated tribes sometimes suffer Social Stigma (Minority Group). The Jade Empire also has a history of applying Social Stigma (Minority Group) to minority religious or philosophical movements. As agriculture continues to develop, there is an increasing trend towards lowering the status of women. Except for at the fringes of its territory, women of the Jade Empire suffer Social Stigma (Valuable Property).

Social Regard: The elderly have Social Regard (Venerated) 1 or 2; Current and ex-bureaucrats have Social Regard (Respected) 1 (unless they have done something serious to lose that respect). Other types are unavailable.

Rank: Starting PCs may be former members of an organization (take Courtesy Rank and consult the GM), but as of now you are freelancers.

Advantages

Required Advantages

Reawakened.

Allowed Special Advantages

Gadgeteer (Regular), Trained by a Master. At the GM's discretion, any Advantage can form the basis of a Chi Power; see Chi Powers. Daredevil, Destiny, Luck, Super Luck, and Serendipity are explicitly not allowed; I am using Destiny Points instead. See Optional Rules and House Rules.

Disadvantages

Required Disadvantages

None, but characters are very strongly encouraged to take at least one "good" Disadvantage (e.g. Code of Honor, Honesty, Sense of Duty, etc.). You needn't be a goody-two-shoes, but you shouldn't be a remorseless spree killer either. Wuxia does mean "Martial Heroes", after all. You will need a very good explanation for why your character does not have one of these.

Allowed Special Disadvantages

Special Disadvantages (e.g. Divine Curse) may be potentially allowed on a case-by-case basis, particularly if they fit the "vibe" of your chi powers (e.g. a fire elementalist with a weakness to rain). In all cases, run these by the GM before taking them.

Prohibited Mundane Disadvantages

Dependents or Enemies with a Frequency greater than 9; Sadism. Crippling physical or mental disavantages will of course inhibit your kung fu prowess, but they have a lot of precedence in the genre. Consider taking the Distinctive Features Quirk in cases where your skill is such that having e.g. only one eye doesn't inconvenience you.

Appropriate Enemies

Name Power Intent Modifiers Base Point Cost The Jade Empire as a whole is too decentralized to be taken as an enemy, but a few of its subordinate groups qualify:

Wūshù Lièquǎn

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Skills

Required Skills

Every character should have:

Special Skills

Alchemy and Herb Lore

See also Magic.

Breath Control

In addition to this skills' benefits in the Basic Set, a successful skill roll lets you regain one SP in only two minutes. You may take an Optional Specialty: Chi OR Physical. Breath Control (Chi) only allows SP recovery, and Breath Control (Physical) only allows FP recovery.

Cinematic Martial Arts Skills

None. These are Advantage-based instead; see Chi Powers.

New Skill: Expert Skill (Style Analysis)

Available Optional Specialties: Armed or Unarmed OR a particular region. This skill replaces both Expert Skill (Hoplology) and Hidden Lore (Secret Styles), and is capable of doing everything either of those skills could do. Additionally, it can act as a Complementary Skill to a Tactics roll.

Magic

See also Chi Powers, Alchemy and Herb Lore.

Jobs

I will not be using the Job rules in this game. You will be too occupied by your quest to keep regular employment, anyway! Down time will be abstracted.

Common Equipment (Weapons, Armor, Vehicles, etc.)

All TL 0 gear and most TL 1 gear is available in the largest towns, but in more rural markets supplies of TL 1 gear will likely be limited or nonexistent. For the most part, equipment uses the rules in GURPS Low-Tech and its companions as written. The exception is with weapon, armor, and tool materials: For reasons of scarcity, all obsidian gear is 3x list price, copper gear is 5x list price, and bronze is 10x list price. For bronze, this price multiplier is in addition to existing modifiers (for example, bronze plate having +3 CF). This price multiplier is separate from and applies after that of weapon quality, etc. (anything using the CF rules). Due to the existence of inventors and gadgeteers, some TL 2 or TL 3 gear may be purchasable. For the most part, however, these are one-off items and cannot be taken at character creation. In all cases, ask the GM.

Religion and Philosophy

The Jade Empire pursues a mostly homogenous pantheistic faith centered on worshipping the Jade Emperor as a living god, although animism is common (and very heretical) on the fringes of the empire. The gods of the pantheon are described in the Pantheon page.

The Jade Empire also has a rich philisophical tradition; some of the more common schools of thought are described in the Philosophies page.