Character Creation: Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade

I'd make an "Ask A Ninja" joke but honestly who'd get it at this point?

The Game: Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade
The Publisher: Third Eye Games
Degree of Familiarity: None!
Books Required: Just the one

I made a character for the second edition of this game some time ago, largely because I had that version in hard copy and it's a big pretty book and I found it easier to read than the PDF, but society has rules, so gotta do a character for this edition, too. 

I admit I have not done a close reading of Wu Xing, nor have I reread the 2nd ed in a while, but I don't see a lot of difference other than the 2nd edition being cleaner and having better production values. I'm sure the system has also been tweaked, but I'm equally sure that unless I compared them in play I wouldn't know.

In any case, we're in a fictionalized pseudo-Japan, there are a bunch of ninja clans that could easily be early White Wolf splats, there have been several wars involving ninjas and now the powers that be are trying to stamp them out entirely, so we're in a war for survival! Let's do this!

See what I mean about the WW thing?

Step One: Concept etc. I do not have a concept, and as such, I shall turn to my good friend "who's paying attention to the group chat" and ask for a song. I have not long to wait! Thanks, Travis!

That's Robert Palmer's "Bad Case of Loving You." Not the first song I'd have thought of for this game, but that's what makes this fun. The song is obviously about a romantic relationship that is, perhaps, unhealthy - the lyrics hint at the participants not really being fully honest or true with one another. That sounds like something I could wrangle for a ninja character. Let's continue and see what happens. 

Passion is basically a personality/motivation archetype kind of situation, and Love is one of the choices, so that's easy. Element is actually more of a personality thing, and while Fire would seem the obvious choice, I'm gonna go with Metal because metal depletion makes you a wallflower ("you think I'm cute/a little bit shy"). This means I start with Yin 2, Yang 1, and I get a combat bonus that is printed on the sheet thank you. 

Clan is the other concept-related decision. There are 10 of them (well, 10 clans and then Ronin, the "caitiff" of this arrangement), so I believe I shall roll a d10 and ignore Pack of the Black Moon, since that's what my 2nd ed character was. 7, count 'em down...Virtuous Body Gardeners. Ooh, these are the ones with magic tattoos. I'm good with that. Free Specialty in Arts, Fighting Styles are Tiger and Crocodile (dafuq is Crocodile style?), and my favored wushu are Way of the Inked Skin, Way of Fire, and Way of the Warrior. No clue what any of that means yet. 

I also get a clan gift of Item Assimilation, which allows me to absorb small objects as tattoos and reclaim them as needed. The clan drawback is that I'm all scarred and inked up, so I'm easy to recognize as a Gardener. 

Step Two is Attributes. There are 6 of them and I get 30 points, and it's one-for-one until I crest 8 points, which I don't think is gonna be a big problem. 4-5 is average, so I can be an average Joe Ninja by spreading out my points evenly, but eh.

Well, drawing on my passion of love and my element of metal, I'm thinking that I want this guy to be physically strong and unyielding, which means Charm can probably be low to average. Let's stick that at 3. I'll put 7 into Power and Vigor (17 spent), 5 into Insight (22 spent), and 4 each into Agility and Intellect. 

Step Three is starting Skills and Skill points. I get 30 Skill points plus my Int score, so 34 points, and then I get Discipline, Legerdemain, Stealth, Survival, and a Primary Fighting Style at 1 rank for free. What do I want to be good at?

Well, I think I see this character as being in love with a ninja from another clan - maybe the Living Chronicle, since the Gardeners are an offshoot of that one and there's some tension. I think they met when my dude was on guard duty, hiding in the shadows and watching a ninja-friendly village. That would imply high levels in Stealth and Perception, so I'll jack both of those up to 7 (costing 13 points because I have a free point in Stealth). I'll put 5 into Arts so I can take advantage of my free specialty and put that in Charcoals. That's 18 spent. Oh, shit, probably should take some Fortitude. Let's say 6 points? 10 left. I'll put 4 into Crocodile Style because then I get a Technique, and I want Creeping Movement. 

Six points left. Oh, dammit, I need Athletics, and why is that separate from Acrobatics? Grar. OK, 3 each into Athletics and Discipline. 

Step Four is select wushu. I get 5 levels to pick from my clan's three wushu, so let's see what's on offer. 

Ooh, well, I definitely want Ink Touch, since it's the gateway to some of the other cool powers. I want Withdraw Weapon, which lets me pull weapons out of my tats instantly, and I want Artful Defense, which lets me absorb an incoming weapon. That's 4 of my 5 levels right there. I'll also take Cauterize; I can heat my body up and seal wounds to stop bleeding. Now, where the heck do I write these on the sheet? Oh, wait, there's a third page I didn't print. Ugh, OK. Actually, y'know, I'll just write the names on my front sheet, I'm running low on ink. 

Step Five is Bonus Points. Ooh, and I can take Drawbacks to get more. Let's do that first. 

I want Enemy to represent my problematic relationship. I'll just take it at 2 BP because I don't think she's trying to kill me, it's just that our relationship is not really sanctioned by our clans and we have this habit of running off to be together at inopportune times. I'll say that an incident involving improperly mixed inks left him Easily Poisoned (3 points). Sure, fuck it, I'll take Shy for 2 points. That's 7 BP, that'll do. Let's spend 'em!

Skills are one-for-one, so that's handy. I have 17 BP to throw around. I feel like I do want some Acrobatics, so I'll put 4 there. I'll put two more in Athletics to take me up to 5, and I'll do that with Discipline too. That's 8 spent, 9 to go. I'll spent 4 and buy Intellect and Agility up to 5. Five points remaining, let's look at Gifts. I like Natural Brawler, I'll take that. And then I'll take Ally 2 - also representing my lady-love. 

And now we figure out derived stuff! I...will just fill those in, remembering my -3 to vs. poison. 

Shin Miura was recruited into the Gardeners at a young age, and his ability to remain still and observant was cultivated into being a skill sentry. He's not as combat-capable as some other ninja, but it's widely acknowledged that he's got the potential to be a potent warrior...if he'd just stop chasing after Kazue. 

Kazue and Shin have been lovers since they were teens, and while she went and joined the Living Chronicle and he joined the Gardeners, they're still very much in love. Or at least, Shin feels that they are. Kazue is deep and unknowable, and Shin's more patient than a lot of others would be.

Shin is tall and stocky. Like all Gardeners he's scarred and inked, but he favors shading in his tattoos (he also prefers to make art with charcoals). He's interested to see if he can bind dust or even broken glass into a tattoo to fling at an attacker, even though that has the potential to go very wrong if someone screws it up.

That'll do it!

Character Creation: Ninja Crusade 2nd Ed

Happy Saturday, time for a character.

The Game: Ninja Crusade, 2nd Edition
The Publisher: Third Eye Games 
Degree of Familiarity: None, just read it
Books Required: Just the one.

I am generally not a fan of games that take a deep dive into cultures I'm unfamiliar with. It's not a matter of not wanting to play something unlike my own demographics, but more that I know I'm not going to get the cultural contexts (being a middle class white dude from Ohio), and without a frame of reference I'd rather play pure fantasy and be able to make shit up than get someone else's life wrong.

With that said, in reading Ninja Crusade, I found the setting oddly compelling. I don't think there's a lot of realistic Japanese history going on, here, and I'm in no position to judge authenticity and cultural appropriation type stuff. I just know that the presentation of the history was easy to read and digest and the character options seem really cool.

Speaking of which, chargen! Character Creation proceeds in seven steps, and in each (or at least most) of the steps, you're choosing from a broad category and a sub-category, which give you boosts and bonuses. I like this setup; it seems pretty simple to explain and there's not too much in the way of point allocation within a long list (which is fine when everyone has a copy of the book and is savvy on chargen norms, but when the hell does that happen).

Step One: Ocean. This is the baseline of the character's personality. First thing I choose is an element: Fire, Earth, Water, Metal, or Wood. I want to play a character who adheres to the "sneaky in the shadows" side of a ninja, who sets traps and plans his approach carefully. To me that suggests Metal (could be Water, too, but I like the focus on justice and rules that Metal brings). That gives me Deception, Discipline, Might, and Speed +1, and shifts my Yin to +1. I also get a Temperament that gives me a Gift and a Trigger. I'll take Quiet. I get +1 Stealth in a crowd, but I gain 1 Karma when I stay quiet instead of passing along important information (this would be challenging to play for me).

Step Two: Village. Here I pick a profession and a focus. I think I want to be a Farmer. That gives me +1 in Athletics, Marksman, Might, and Survival. Now, for Focus...hmm. Harvester or Herder? I think Herder. I get +1 Stealth in forests and fields, but I can gain 1 Karma when I stick out in an urban environment.

Step Three: River. Here we pick a tragedy that hit the character and shaped them in a some way. I really like this step. I should conceptualize a little. I kind of want this to be a natural disaster, is that an option? Ah, yes, Victim of Circumstance. Oh, wait, these tragedies are really classified more by the effect they had than the genesis, so I need to think about it that way. Hmm. I think my character's village was destroyed in a fire that blazed out of control during a particularly dry spell during the summer, and left him Displaced. That's Victim of Circumstance, and that gives me +1 Crafts, Marksman, Perception, and Survival. Displaced gives me +1 Crafts when making stuff out of rudimentary supplies, and I get 1 Karma when I'm offended by what I perceive as an offer of charity.

Step Four: Forge. There's this war of ninja going on, as the Empire cracks down on them, and my character has a role therein. I already know I want to be a Scout, and for my Title I'll take Pathfinder. Scout gives me +1 Athletics, Fortitude, Perception, and Travel, and Pathfinder gives me +1 Crafts to make or find traps, and I get 1 Karma when I mistake an innocent for an enemy.

Step Five: Mountain. Here's where we pick the mystical ninja shit. I need to pick a clan, and I already know I want Pack of the Black Moon. I get a goddamn ninja dog, which is awesome. My Clan Gift, in fact, is said doggo. It'll fight alongside me and I can spend Ki to have any justu (magic ninja shit) I do to myself affect the dog as well. Neat! I get +1 to Athletics, Fortitude, Might, and Survival as well, and my Ki goes +1 Yang.

Contacts! This is kinda similar to Blades in the Dark, actually; there are a bunch of named characters and I pick one to be an Ally and one to be a Rival. I'll say that Sanada Mako, the trickster and illusionist, is my Ally (she's using folktales to scare away soldiers, which is good for me and my herds and we can team up when need be). My Rival is Tsuki Mei, a hunter who goes into the deep wilds to trap exotic animals for rich people, which I find really abhorrent.

Normally I'd do Bonds here, too, but those apply to other PCs, and it's just me, so on we go.

Step Six: Temple. Customization, baby. First up I get 10 Skill points, which is good because I have no points in Stealth, though I have some bonuses. I'll put three there. Two more points in Crafts, so I'm good at traps. Five left. Two in Fighting, one in Knowledge, one each in Intuition and Intimidation, that's 10. I also get two Specialties, so I'll put one in Fighting (+1 when fighting silently) and Intimidation (+1 when I'm with my doggo).

Now, Fighting Styles. I get access to Dragon and Horse Styles from my clan, but I have other options, including Trap Styles, which I know I want. I'll take Trap Mastery at level 1, meaning I can create all six types of trap, but I'm better at capture and knockdown traps. I'll also take Horse Kick at level one, so I can do that kickass thing where I jump up and kick a dude with both feet.

Step Seven: Skies. Finally, the magical stuff, or jutsu. I get six points, and justu are either Basic (1 point), Median (2 points), or Advanced (3 points). I can buy at any level, and I get access to the Way of Twin Beasts from my Clan. Let's check it out.

OK, I want Tree Hopping (which lets me jump real high from a wooden surface, like a tree), which means I'm trained in the Way of Wood. I need to take at least some Way of Twin Beasts, so let's look at that. OH SHIT, I can have my dog pee on someone and track him. That's really cool.

Well, I want In the High Grass (makes us stealthy) and Yellow Mark (the aforementioned pee-mark). And then I'll be trained in the Way of Metal, too (since I get a bonus), and I'll take The Metal Within (I can hide metal things in my flesh) and Weapon Craft (from Wood; I can touch a tree and make a wooden weapon).

And now the derived stuff, at the end where it should go: Health is 7, Psyche is 6, Initiative is 5, Strength is 6, and Movement is 9. Now I just need the background type stuff.

Riku Sumida grew up in a family of farmers. He demonstrated an aptitude for animal husbandry, and his family shifted their focus away from growing and towards herding as a result. When he was a teenager, he was courted by a ninja village run by the Pack of the Black Moon, and while he was tempted, it felt wrong to leave his family.

The first that destroyed the village and ruined his family convinced him otherwise, and Riku joined the clan, taking the name Shizukana Ryoken (the Quiet Hound). He is quite capable of fighting with a staff, a blade, or his bare hands and feet, but he much prefers to have his faithful ninja dog  Nageku (Mourning) lure them into traps. Riku is angry at the cowards who would burn a village to fight a war, and feels that while they might not feel the need to follow the rules of engagement and decency, he should. As such, he refuses to use poison in his traps, and leans toward capturing or incapacitating foes rather than killing them. His grip on these scruples weakens every day the war continues, however.

Riku is lean and slim, but deceptively strong. He keeps small shards of metal in his legs and forearms in case he needs to sever bonds or cut a throat, and he always keeps a length of twine for quickly setting traps on his person.