GoCorral

I’ve been mulling over what I want out of the different Chinese RPGs I’ve been reading. None of them have been exactly what I was envisioning for a system. I think part of the reason for that is that I’m looking for something that approaches the five elements with a detailed scientific perspective, as they were approached in ancient China. Unfortunately, that’s not how the five elements are treated in the modern age. In the modern world the five elements are most associated with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and all the pseudo-science that comes with that.

The evolution of wu xing over the centuries deserves more of an explanation. Originally the five elements along with yin and yang were seen as the quintessential forces in the universe. Similar to how the four elements were viewed in the Western practice of alchemy. Those who believe in the five elements followed a scientific experiment process. A doctor might look at an herb and try to deduce what element it represented. A flower that blooms in summer might be a fire plant for example. That doctor might then use that flower to treat a patient suffering from something he classified as a wood illness (fire burns the wood away). If it works, great! They diagnosed the problem correctly. If not, the doctor writes that down and has to try something else. Were they wrong about the illness being wood or the herb being fire? Or was it simply not potent enough? Experimentation yields results and the greater body of knowledge expands as a result.

The issue with that expansion of knowledge is that it does not support metaphysical elemental systems like the four elements and the four humors or the five elements and the ten zangfu organs. A greater body of knowledge shows that the best solution for a cut received on a boat is not a poultice of earth herbs that “absorb water.” It’s an antiseptic bandage. In the last two centuries the practice of medicine has become much more effective. Tools outside of wuxing such as vaccines, antibiotics, and basic sanitation have done amazing work resulting in almost double the average lifespan since 200BCE when TCM’s principles were being explored. The Western world abandoned four humor methodology in favor of germ theory during the Age of Enlightenment. China largely has as well, but TCM remains as a sort of Dark Age religious ritual still practiced today.

We know that wu xing was originally a scientific practice. People tried to make sense of the world using the tools and knowledge they had. Fumbling in the dark the first researchers lit small candles for others, eventually revealing that the five elements were not the way the world was organized. But I want a fantasy system where the five element system is true. Modern conceptions of wu xing end up just being nonsense with justifications for what occurred after the fact instead of a system with any kind of predictability.

The ideal wu xing RPG for me would have the entire system guided by the interactions in the following picture.

There are generating sheng interactions. Water causes plants to grow. Wood burns to make fire. Fire reduces things to ash, making earth. Earth is mined to produce metal. At night water condenses onto metal.

And there are overpowering or destructive ke interactions. Water puts out fire. Fire melts metal. Metal cuts down trees. Wood grows out of the earth. Earth dams up water and controls the flow of rivers.

Those interactions are the heart of what I want in a wu xing system. Ironclaw and Righteous Blood Ruthless Blades have the overpowering cycle but only in a very limited way. I’d like a martial arts system that allows elemental moves to flow into each other. Similar to how Gloomhaven lets you infuse the battlefield with an element that is then consumed. For example, I use a metal move. This generates a water element. My buddy goes next and he uses a water move, consuming the water element I created to power up his attack. He targets a fire user for bonus damage from the infusion. Additionally his water move generates a wood element for later usage by my buddy and me or our opponents in the fight.

So there’s a natural flow and an awareness of how best to defeat enemies of different elements. I’d like the combat to feel similar to Pathfinder 2e‘s squad combat, but with a focus on the elements for how teamwork is generated. In order for people to get it, the elemental system has to be a central part of the system. Not just a subsystem like it is in Ironclaw and RBRB. A complicated subsystem that relies on teamwork will likely be ignored by most of the player base. The five elements must be front and center in the system rules to really take advantage of the interactions between the elements within the sheng and ke cycles.

I still have a few more Chinese RPG systems to read through. I added Legend of the Five Rings to my list, but I’m prepared for disappointment. It’s a Japanese system and its elemental system is based on Miyamoto’s air, earth, fire, water, and void elements. I’m going to look at Palladium and Rifts, but as universal systems their Chinese add-ons are probably not going to cut it. I want to take a look at Vampire the Masquerade‘s China content. The specific nature of VtM is unlikely to be appealing to me, but its such a different take on Chinese RPGs that I’m curious to read it regardless. I’ve also been reading through Pathfinder‘s content on Eastern inspired adventures and rules. After those ones I’ll also investigate some Forged in the Dark (Shibuyan Knights) or Powered by the Apocalypse (Hearts of Wulin) solutions. If I end up designing my own system those narrative-first games might be the framework that I use.

Expect a few more RPG reviews about China games to trickle in. And maybe a few game design blog posts as well!