Exhales. Ok. Magic. Chinese magic is weird. It’s mixed up so much with the religion(s), regions, and other systems of supernatural influence. Honestly, it’s a mess and capturing the exact feel has been rather difficult. And that’s not even getting into Japanese magic which is more animistic then anything else. So where did I start. […]
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Carpe Blogiem: The Middle Kingdom Primer – Chi Powers
Chi powers will be the “main attraction” of the Middle Kingdom. I decided early on that I wouldn’t be using the typical chi skills available in GURPS. I did this intentionally. I wanted more powers than there were skills and I wanted unique powers for each player (if they wanted them). To get the latter I needed to […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Narrative Focusing
So this post is going to be about how I go about preparing narrative/plots for a story arc. This is different from my writing process or how I take notes, or how I do game prep. But they are related to all of those. I call this process “narrative focusing”. Essentially, narrative focusing is an outline […]
Continue readingCarpe Blogiem: The Middle Kingdom Primer – Setting History II
Here are the Wū of the setting. The Wū Characters with martial arts powers can either declare for a Wū (or House) or choose to become houseless. Being houseless means you don’t have to be ordered about or must commit to the cause of a given Wū, but it also means you don’t have the […]
Continue readingCarpe Blogiem: The Middle Kingdom Primer – Setting History I
Here we go – a concise setting history. This one won’t be near as long as some of the others as those have had time to “mature” while this new campaign is just that. New. I’ll likely add more to this as the campaign progresses. The History of the Middle Kingdom The world of The Middle Kingdom […]
Continue readingCarpe Blogiem: Ruminations on a Wuxia Campaign V
Like[TBA] my previous posts this one is kind of an “outloud thinking” post. I’ve discussed doing research on Chinese history and folklore, the general thrust of the campaign, how I was approaching character creation, and what cinematic/optional rules I would be putting into play. This post is going to talk about all of that and […]
Continue readingCarpe Blogiem: Ruminations on a Wuxia Campaign IV
Like my previous posts this one is kind of an “outloud thinking” post. I’ve discussed doing research on Chinese history and folklore, the general thrust of the campaign, and how I was approaching character creation. This post is going to talk about the general optional rules I’d be using for the campaign. First, I decided […]
Continue readingCarpe Blogiem: Ruminations on a Wuxia Campaign III
Like my previous posts this one is kind of an “outloud thinking” post. I’ve discussed doing research on Chinese history and folklore as well as the general thrust of the campaign, this post is going to talk about the more mechanical aspects of the campaign. First, I decided I would not be using the chi-based […]
Continue readingCarpe Blogiem: Ruminations on a Wuxia Campaign II
Like my previous post this one is kind of an “outloud thinking” as I work through my notes, sources, and mind to tie together a campaign. I think the first thing I need to get right is the atmosphere. Wuxia is not just martial arts, flying fist, and furious action. It’s a mindset. The protagonists need […]
Continue readingCarpe Blogiem: Ruminations on a Wuxia Campaign
Ahhh, that new campaign smell. I know, I know, you’re thinking “Dude, this is like the third one in as many months. What gives?” Well, what gives is pretty simple: If a campaign doesn’t spark for me I don’t force it. That way lies burnout for gaming period. My players mostly understand that. The DF […]
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