WUXIA INSPIRATION: THE SHADOW WHIP

Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate (WHOG) draws on a number of sources for inspiration. I watch a lot of wuxia movies and TV shows, and these have had a big influence not only on Ogre Gate, but on Sertorius and many of my d20 campaigns. I am hoping to share some of my favorite movies and shows in the genre here as we work on WHOG.

Note: I am writing these as a fan of the genre. I am not a movie expert or an expert in asian cinema. These are my own observations based on what I have learned by watching wuxia and kung fu movies, and by reading about them through interviews and books. But my knowledge is quite limited and I am an English speaker. So understand that my commentary comes from this perspective. 

This review contains many spoilers.

This is part of my Cheng Pei-pei review series. You can see my other reviews of her movies here: Come Drink With Me, Brothers Five, and The Lady Hermit. 

INTRODUCTION

Cheng Pei-pei has described Lo Wei as a story teller, in contrast to King Hu who she described as an art director. The Shadow Whip often gets compared to Hu's Come Drink With Me, because it re-unites that film's stars Cheng Pei-pei and Yueh Hua, and the comparison is often unfavorable. It should be pointed out though that they appeared in many films together between Come Drink With Me and The Shadow Whip (including Swamp Dragon and Brothers Five). I think it is clear from interviews with Cheng Pei-pei that she reserved her greatest respect for King Hu as an artist and director, and events of her later life would seem to support this as well. But it is somewhat unfair to hold The Shadow Whip to the incredibly high bar of Come Drink With Me (which is rightly widely regarded as a much better film). Personally I enjoyed the Shadow Whip immensely right from the opening scene, and I think it offers a much different look and feel than other wuxia films of the time. It does have its flaws, and it is a movie rooted firmly in the trappings of the genre. Still, I think The Shadow Whip is a strong movie, with a steady, exciting pace and a little bit of everything. 

THE SHADOW WHIP

The Shadow Whip was released in 1971* by Shaw Brothers Studio and directed by Lo Wei (Brothers Five and Fist of Fury). It stars Cheng Pei-pei (Yang Kaiyun), Yeuh Hua (Wang), Tien Feng (Fang Chengtian/The Shadow Whip), Ku Feng (Chief Hong) and Lee Kwan (Ersha). The art direction is by Chen Ching-Shen and music by Wang Fook-Ling). 

Readers have probably guessed I am a sucker for dramatic opening music and The Shadow Whip doesn't disappoint here, leading in with a strong overture, followed by an actual song within the opening sequence itself. The movie starts with a shot of a merchant caravan moving supplies between two mountain towns. One of the character's (Ersha) sings a melody about trading goods like pipes for smoking and gifts for children, and this blend of location and song that establishes the atmosphere of The Shadow Whip. 

The caravan is led by Yang Kaiyun, who runs the nearby Red Pine Village Inn with her uncle. She is accompanied by Ersha, an employee of the inn, to the nearby town of Dafeng. Along the way, a group of three horse riders calling themselves The Serial Trio**, harass Ersha for being in their way, one of them lashing him with a whip. 

The Serial Trio reach Defeng and go to the Guanyi Inn where they demand seating despite no tables being available. The inn keeper asks one of the guests, Wang Jianxin, to share his table with the trio and he agrees. Wang is peaceable with the new arrivals but between their treatment of Ersha and their unruly behavior in the Inn it is clear they are dangerous guys. 

Kaiyun leaping to avoid some darts

When Ersha and Kaiyun arrive in Dafeng, Ersha has worked himself into a fury over his beating. He spots the trio's horses by Guanyi Inn and storms in to confront them. Physically, the diminutive Ersha is no match for his assailants, but that doesn't stop him from insisting on a fight. This leads to Wang stepping in to save the smaller man and then a battle between the trio, Wang, Ersha and Kaiyun ensues. 

The fight is short-lived, as the innkeeper talks everyone into a temporary truce. The Serial Trio leaves but vows that the score hasn't yet been settled. Wang and Kaiyun exchange some friendly banter, with Wang expressing interest in Kaiyun's whip technique. He asks if she was trained by The Shadow Whip, a great master whose style resembles her own. Kaiyun tells him she learned from her uncle. After Kaiyun leaves, Wang asks the innkeeper about her and is told she runs the inn in a nearby town with her uncle. 

When Ersha and Kaiyun return to Red Pine Village, a mysterious guest arrives (we learn later that this is Chief Hong). When Ersha sees that the man leaves no footprints in the snow, he becomes suspicious and goes to Kaiyun's uncle. Meanwhile, Kaiyun tells her uncle that she thinks he is the Shadow Whip, after learning about the master from Wang. We also learn that they have been in hiding for fifteen years but Kaiyun is too young to know the reason. When Ersha brings news of the guest, Kaiyun goes to investigate, fearing it may be a person her uncle is hiding from.

Wang and Chief Hong

Wang leaves for Red Pine Village to follow Kaiyun and is intercepted by the Serial Trio in the wilderness. They push for a fight and he agrees, but says he is pressed for time and can only spar for a few short rounds. During the battle Wang disengages and makes his way to Red Pine Inn, the Serial Trio on his tail. 

All the players converge on the Red Pine Inn, with the trio chasing Wang into the courtyard. The mysterious guest is revealed to be their master, Chief Hong. He dismisses his students and departs. Wang tells Kaiyun he believes her uncle is the Shadow Whip and wants to learn from him and tells her to have his uncle meet him at The Guangyi Inn. 

Kaiyun's uncle and Chief Hong square off in the forest, for an epic snow battle between whip and sword. Soon Kaiyun arrives to help her uncle and bring Wang's message, as Hong's Serial Trio arrive to aid their master, but the uncle tells her to go to Guangyi Inn ahead of him while he deals with the fight. She leaves and the uncle eventually manages to disengage his attackers. 

Kaiyun faces the 16 Bandits

Kaiyun returns to the Red Pine Inn to find poor Ersha speared against a post and a group of thugs called the 16 Bandits waiting for her in the inn's tavern. They tell her that her father is a criminal named Fang Chengtian, who stole 300,000 taels worth of jewelry under the protection of Chief Hong 15 years ago. According to the bandits, Chief Hong and Fang were sworn brothers, so the chief has gathered men in the martial world to help him obtain revenge. Kaiyun refuses to believe that her uncle did anything wrong and refuses to tell the Bandits where he is, leading to a spectacular fight. Her uncle returns to the Inn and helps her fend off the bandits, telling her once again to go to Guangyi and meet Wang while he deals with them. 

Uncle Fang and Kaiyun against the 16 bandits

A confused Kaiyun arrives at the Guangyi Inn and enters Wang's room, only to be attacked by him. He apologizes once he realizes she isn't her uncle, and he tells her that he is the nephew of Chief Yang of the Xuan Wu Security company. According to Wang his uncle was in charge with a shipment of jewelry, and had asked for both Chief Hong and Chief Fang's assistance protecting it. Yang was killed by Fang, who stole the jewelry, leading to the suicide of Wang's aunt. Wang wants revenge for his uncle and aunt but holds no grudge with Kaiyun, and even seems to admire her. During their talk, the inn is surrounded by Chief Hong and his forces who demands that Wang give him Kaiyun They fight together to escape the courtyard in a fight with dozens of men. They eventually escape to the woods but are tracked down by Hong for another showdown. Hong seems to think Kaiyun is Fang's daughter and therefore a fair target for his wrath, but she insists her surname is Yang, which provokes Hong and he tries to stab her. 

Fang arrives and helps them escape back to the Red Pine Inn. There Wang accuses Fang of killing his uncle, stealing the jewelry and causing his aunt's suicide. Fang explains that he is in fact The Shadow Whip but has been hiding his identity for 15 years to protect Kaiyun. He then takes them to a secret chamber below the Inn where he keeps a shrine to the Yang family and has a book that provides his account of events. 

Wang

There is a well done flashback scene to the incident 15 years ago. Chief Yang came to Fang to ask for his helps with the shipment, and Fang agreed because Chief Hong was involved and they were sworn brothers. That night his men learned of rumors that the 16 Bandits were planning to strike at Yang to steal the shipment, so he took his horse and went to Yang's inn to inform him. When he arrived, the inn was under attack led by a masked man wielding a whip using a technique similar to Fang's. He understood immediately that he was being framed and when he learned that Yang was already killed he took Yang's daughter (Kaiyun) and took her into hiding. 

Fang says he wants revenge but doesn't know who the person wearing the mask was. Wang suggests that it was Chief Hong, based on his lethal reaction when Kaiyun told him her true surname. He suggests they use that against him, and have kaiyun claim to remember who killed her father to lure a confession from the chief. 

By this time all of Chief Hong's men have gathered in the courtyard and Kaiyun appears before them, saying she is the daughter of Yang and she knows the identity of her father's killer. A nervous Chief Hong dismisses her claims but the other men want to know the truth and press her to tell them. When she says it was none other than Chief Hong himself, he denies saying she couldn't possibly know it was him because he "was wearing a mask that night". His identity as the killer revealed, alliances suddenly shift, and everyone attacks Chief Hong, leading to a showdown between him Wang, Kaiyun and Fang. 

THE LASH OF THE WHIP

The fight scenes in this movie are quite interesting to view, largely because the whip takes center stage. It is a bit difficult to imagine a fight between swords and a whip, and I was skeptical before I saw it myself, but the weapon compliments Cheng Pei-pei's circular style of movement very well. And it honestly has some great martial arts choreography. Also there is plenty of straightforward swordplay as Yeuh Hua uses a sword throughout the movie. 

Wang and Kaiyun

The film makes good use of Chen Pei-pei's height; she is powerful in her stance and performance. This is in fact probably the strongest physically she has appeared in a film, just in terms of her stature, motion, attacks, etc. At least in my opinion. I may be in the minority on this point, as I haven't really seen it reflected in other reviews or commentaries, and I do not know what I am picking up on specifically but she just has a strong presence in the action scenes. 

The use of the whip really forces the filmmakers to get creative, and opens up all kinds of possibilities. They do all kinds of interesting things with it, like launching spears into people's chests with a whip lash. I really enjoyed the balance between the sword and the whip. It stretches plausibility a bit, because it is hard to imagine a person with a whip not getting cut down by swordsman, but it works for the screen. 

While I couldn't find any isolated clips from the film, I think this kill count put together by a fan helps illustrate what I am talking about: 

In terms of gaming it is a solid source of inspiration. Like a lot of these movies it introduces viewers to the idea of Security companies working with martial artists to transport goods safely through dangerous territory. There is a lot there that could be incorporated into a campaign. Also the two inns are useful because they each have a distinct feel and some imaginative flourishes. Definitely great gaming material. 

While this isn't the strongest Cheng Pei-pei film, it is a solid movie with solid performances and has unique qualities that make it one of the ones I re-watch more frequently. I think the combination of the mountain location, the whip, and Cheng Pei-pei's more powerful presence are what set it apart. 

One thing I really like about the movie is it has everything: music, comedy, tragedy, action and drama. This is common in many wuxia films and one of the reasons I like the genre. The comedy is largely provided by Ersha, who also provides the tragedy when he meets an untimely demise. It is packed with action, so there really isn't a dull moment to spare. And the plot twist in the middle where Kaiyun learns her identity followed by the flashback sequence gives the movie another layer. It is one of those films when you step back and view, has a lot of texture due to all the elements it contains. 

*I should note that the DVD I watched said it was released in 1970, but all other sources I could find indicate 1971. 

**This may have been a translation issue in my version, as the Serial Trio sounds like an odd name. 

ORCS OF THE NORTH: AN AUDIENCE WITH OZIAS

We continued our Sertorius campaign and our efforts to oversee the marriage of Orthu and Anaree. That is described in a previous blog entry. This session we also worked to help the King's plans against Caelum and were granted an audience with Ozias the Lich-god himself. 

Characters present were:

-Enos Ozihel (my character), an Orc who worships Ozias.

-Shillek, a Halfling from the Shahr Republic who has business in the North. 

-Aetos, an Orc Tribesman who died, became a Ghoul and was then blessed by Ozias of service and made into a vampire.

-Ah-Sri, a Hasri raised by Humans in Ronia.

-Varia, a Human from East.

-Poro, a Kobold tradesmen. 

-Orto Turanus, a one-armed Orc scholar from Caelum. 

This session began where the last left off, with us continuing to groom Prince Orthu for his upcoming marriage with Anaree, daughter of the Emperor of Mandaru. We also revisited Anaree herself to gauge her feelings on our most recent accommodations. 

King Malka agreed to make Anaree a general in his army and she would be allowed an elf consort (which would also make an heir possible). She liked this arrangement but took pleasure in belittling our intelligence and upbringing, which were were more than happy to endure for the sake of our King. It also seemed like we were establishing ourselves as her most trusted contacts in Atroxis. 

We then returned to Atroxis via the portals the King's Sertori created. There we learned that Ozias wished an audience with us in his ice palace. We set north immediately for the Island of Atroxis. Though a short voyage we became lost at sea briefly due to a poor Survival Roll on the Captain's part. This brought us into the waters of pirates who tried to board our ship. Attempting to take a ship with seven Sertori aboard proved their undoing and we defeated them, taking some prisoners and bringing the bodies of the dead as offerings to our god. 

Finally we made it to the ice palace of Daethron, and appeared before Ozias in a chamber lined with pristine armor and a glowing throne. The lich appeared before us and spoke, thanking us for our efforts and giving us the gift of "the second death" as a reward. This gift means when we next die in battle, we will rise back to life. It only works one and is considered a rare honor, reserved for a select few. 

Enos made the mistake of asking how to put the gift to use, and Ozias replied "Destroy the Caelcori and defeat Caelum." The Caelcori are a powerful order of Sertori who operate in the shadows of Caelum society. Ozias told us that Atroxis cannot defeat Caelum unless the Caelcori are taken out first. We accepted his decree and took our leave. 

This presented a huge issue. The Caelcori are secretive and powerful. There is no way seven Sertori can defeat them in a direct battle. Particularly our seven, because so few of us have combat spells. Instead we decided to recruit and secured the King's permission to grant 100 acres of land to any Sertori who comes to Atroxis to serve. We also went to Mandaru to speak with the Emperor. 

Getting an audience with the emperor required bringing Prince Orthu. We decided to present our plan to Veja Kashan (The Emperor) as if it had been the prince's (in order to improve his standing among the elves). We wanted to recruit from the Fellowship of Promestus in Ronia but Ronia is at war with Sardona, a client of the Mandaru. Veja Kashan said he was agreeable and could offer the Sardonan's land after the conquest if they allowed us to work with the fellowship but we would need to go and ask the Sardonans ourselves. 

We are currently working on making those arrangements but in the meantime we decided to lure and capture a Caelcori. Our plan is to infect him with Aetos' vampirism, creating a minion we can send back to the Caelcori headquarters. 

We learned that there is a Caelcori member along the frontier between Caelum and Atroxis who is a sort of ranger and known for investigating into our area. We constructed an inn and spread rumors that is was spawned by a recent Grim. We then used spells to make the place appear supernatural, with Aetos acting as the inn keeper. 

A Gru Sertori showed up and became suspicious by some of our actions. Aetos bit him in the neck and the Gru cast a powerful spell, making himself blind but vastly increasing his powers. This is where the session ended and we intend to resume the combat next time. 

THE MEANING OF JIANGHU

I had the pleasure of meeting Chang Yaoyuan through wuxia fan pages online. He is from China, well versed in Chinese literature and is enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge of wuxia with English-speakers. In this video he explains the concept of Jianghu, getting into the literal and metaphorical meaning of the original chinese characters.

WUXIA INSPIRATION: THE LADY HERMIT

Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate (WHOG) draws on a number of sources for inspiration. I watch a lot of wuxia movies and TV shows, and these have had a big influence not only on Ogre Gate, but on Sertorius and many of my d20 campaigns. I am hoping to share some of my favorite movies and shows in the genre here as we work on WHOG.

Note: I am writing these as a fan of the genre. I am not a movie expert or an expert in asian cinema. These are my own observations based on what I have learned by watching wuxia and kung fu movies, and by reading about them through interviews and books. But my knowledge is quite limited and I am an English speaker. So understand that my commentary comes from this perspective. 

This is the third installment of my Cheng Pei-pei review series. You can see my others here: Come Drink with Me & Brothers Five. Again, for those who do not know her name, Cheng Pei-pei is probably familiar from her role as Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. 

This review contains many spoilers.

Cheng Pei-pei "Queen of Swords"

The Lady Hermit is not only one of my favorite Cheng Pei-pei films, it also one of her last movie before she semi-retired from Hong Kong cinema and moved to America to start a family and open a dance studio and pursue television. Thankfully, she did return to make more films. 

In the old-school wuxia of the 50s and early 60s, female martial heroes were a staple, and common protagonists. King Hu's Come Drink With Me, which starred Cheng Pei-pei, marked the shift to new school wuxia, with greater focus on realistic bloodshed. The film was such a success that it made Cheng Pei-pei a star and led to other female knight errant vehicles. Though the wuxia genre had featured many females in prominent roles to this point, the global Kung Fu explosion of the 70s (that started with Bruce Lee) changed things and women were increasingly given less screen time in swordplay films. In an interview Cheng Pei-pei regarded her decision to move to the US favorably in light of this development saying "When Bruce Lee arrived, actresses started to have very small parts. It’s a good thing I left when I did, otherwise I might never have left."

I think this is another reason her movies are important. They are a different kind of martial arts experience that was overshadowed for a time after Lee's break-through in The Big Boss. This isn't to detract from Lee. There is a reason he became such a hit and that his films continue to resonate. I love 70s Kung Fu movies as well as new wuxia, but it did have an impact and I think one of the downsides is less interest in prominent female roles for over a decade and less interest in the elegance and flow you find in Cheng Pei-pei's movies.

The Lady Hermit

The Lady Hermit was made in 1971 by Shaw Brothers Studio and directed by Ho Meng-hua. The movie stars Cheng Pei-pei as Leng Yushuang (better known as The Lady Hermit), Shih Szu as Cui and Lo Lieh as Cheng-chun. The main villain, Black Demon, is played by Wang Hsia. Notably, Sammo Hung has a very small role as one of the Black Demon's minions. The Lady Hermit was meant to serve as a vehicle for establishing Shih Szu as the next Cheng Pei-pei. This is reflected in the plot of the film and Cheng Pei-pei has since expressed her dislike of the idea.

Cheng Pei-pei as Lady Hermit

The story is quite simple and the action does not dominate the central focus, which is the relationship between the three main characters: Lady Hermit*, Cui and Cheng-chun. The film opens in Baijang Town with a gruesome off-camera murder committed by mysterious masked men. Later we learn the murder is part of a protection racket arranged in the name of Lady Hermit (but in actuality by her enemy Black Demon as an attempt to lure The Lady from hiding). 

The film then shifts to another nearby town where the young Cui has come in search of the famous Lady Hermit, who has been in hiding for the past three years after being defeated by Black Demon. Cui is bold but overconfident and even callous. She finds work and lodging at the Da An Security Company which transports and guards goods for local merchants. Da An is operated by the kindly Mr. Wang. At the company headquarters Cui meets a maid named Leng, who is later revealed to be Lady Hermit. 

Shih Szu as Cui

Another member of the security company, Cheng-chun, agrees to take Cui to Baijang town with a shipment to follow rumors of Lady Hermit in the area. While there, she learns that the Chun Kuei Temple is selling protective charms for ten taels in the name of Lady Hermit and that households who do not display the charms on their windows, get murdered in the middle of the night (thus the murder sequence at the start of the movie). She and Cheng-Chun return to the Da An Security company and Cui tells Leng about the temple and its alleged ties to Lady Hermit. 

Cui and Cheng-chun return to the temple that night to investigate and discover an impostor Lady Hermit who threatens to kill them if they don't reveal the real Lady's whereabouts. At the final moment, Leng arrives and an enormous battle ensues culminating in a duel between the two Lady Hermits. The heroes are victorious but Leng leaves the Da An Security company and goes back into hiding now that her identity has been revealed. 

Lady Hermit and Cui at Chung Kuei Temple

Cui is determined to learn martial arts from Lady Hermit and tracks her down by hitching a ride with a wagon. She then convinces the Lady to accept her as a student after many failed attempts to persuade her. The two take-up residence in an abandoned cottage and Cui begins her training. 

Cui returns one last time to Da An Security to say good bye to Cheng-chun, whom she has fallen in love with. She tells him she has found the Lady Hermit, and agrees to teach him what she learns in the evenings if he meets her at the cemetery. Cui's attempts to woo Cheng-chun are complicated by his secret love for Leng. This love triangle forms the core of the story.

Cheng-chun and Cui

During her training, Cui learns that the Lady Hermit has been in hiding for three years, after she was seriously wounded by Black Demon. Like Cui, the Lady wanted to be a hero and rid the world of evil, but could not defeat him. Her wound still troubles her and impedes her ability to fight at times. She has also been developing a technique, called Flying Tiger Style, to counter Black Demon's "shadowless claws" and throws. She teaches this to Cui, hoping one of them will be capable of destroying her former nemesis. 

While Cui is away from the cottage on an errand, Black Demon learns of Lady Hermit's connection to the Da An Security company and sends men there to find her. The head of the company, Mr. Wang, refuses to reveal anything and the whole household is slaughtered. Cheng-chun is nearly killed in the battle and ensuing fire, but flees to the wilderness and desperately calls for Lady Hermit who finds him. 

Lady Hermit and Cheng-chun

This is where one of the most impressive scenes of the movies takes place, in which Leng assaults the murderers at tea house and litters the place with corpses. I will talk about this more below in the section on swordplay.

Leng returns to the cottage, where Cheng-chun is staying in separate quarters. They both share affection for one another, but Lady Hermit says she has vowed no other pre-occupations until she kills Black Demon, so she cannot give him her love. Still they enjoy many sweet moments and an evening together in the cottage hiding from a particularly nasty storm. Cui returns to the cottage after this storm and is furious to discover her master and Cheng-chun have stayed under the same roof. She vents her jealousy at Cheng-chun during their training and eventually storms off to kill Black Demon in a fit of rage. Lady Hermit and Cheng-Chun follow after her, leading to the climactic confrontation of the film. 

Cui and Lady Hermit face Black Demon

After a massive assault on Black Demon's compound, Lady Hermit kills him using her flying  tiger attack, though she is very badly wounded in the process. In order to restore peace between her and Cui, she plunges her saber into the ground and leaves while her two companions are exploring a chamber in the complex. When Cui and Cheng-chun return they find a blood written note that reads "Good riddance to evil. My sword is a wedding gift." After which Cui weeps and vows to find her master. 

A Swirl of Blades

A wonderful shot of Black Demon's Shadowless Claws

There are many very well executed action sequences in The Lady Hermit but it does a good job of not overdoing it. This is a strength of the film. There are extended periods in the center of the movie where very little action occurs and we have opportunities for character development. That said, this is classic Cheng Pei-pei, and makes solid use of her smooth, flowing strikes and her graceful footwork. 

Something also needs to be said about the cinematography and art direction. This is a very well shot movie and things seem carefully placed. There are several moments like this, but the most memorable is the point-of-view from Black Demon's perspective when he and Cui meet for the first time (above).  

The Lady Hermit also features a whip, wielded by Cui at the start of the film. You don't see whip used so extensively so this was a nice change of pace, though another Cheng Pei-pei movie from the same year, The Shadow Whip, does feature one. 

While the majority of good swordplay occurs at the end of the film, there is a crucial fight in the middle after Mr. Wang and his Da An Security have been slaughtered.  In this iconic sequence Lady Hermit tracks down the men who massacred the Da An Security company seeking revenge for Mr. Wang. Though the following clip is low quality, I think it captures what is good about Cheng Pei-pei movies, both in terms of her whirling sword movements and her intensity as an actress. There are no subtitles, but midway through she points her blade at three men and declares to them in turn "I want your head. I want your shoulder. I want your leg." Leng then unleashes a devastating attack severing each limb as promised. At about the 1:15 mark the fighting begins:

I think the climax of the film has the bulk of the best swordplay. There are some truly exceptional swordplay and action scenes in this portion of the movie. Much of the action centers on Shih Szu as Cui, but Cheng Pei-pei has the more impressive sequences. We get a series of fast paced, sword twirling episodes over a wide variety of locations, raging from a road-side tavern to a collapsing rope-bridge and even a Pagoda scaling. The final showdown between Lady Hermit and Black Demon is stellar. It is also rare because we get to see Cheng Pei-pei drop her sword and resort to hand-strikes and throws for a change.

Unfortunately I could not find a clip of the final battle. But this clip of the movie's kill counts, put together by a fan, does give a good idea of the kind of swordplay to expect in the movie. In particular it highlights the footwork and spinning sword flourishes I mentioned above. 

*Also called Leng or Leng Yushuang through the article. 

WANDERING HEROES OF OGRE GATE PLAYTEST VII

Technical difficulties continues this session, which resulted in less play time, but not as bad as last week. I hope to have these problems resolved before next game. 

The party continued north to the Tsun Forest to find the Tree Dwelling Nuns. There they negotiated an alliance that would be sealed if the party would go to Je Valley and kill the Gentle Demon (a great master who kidnapped a member of their sect). The party agreed and headed south. Along the way The Venom of Zhoaze (Si) and his daughter (Ju) tracked down the party to discuss their strategy against the other sects. Si revealed that he was working on an alliance with Je Valley sect, which created a problem, since they were on their way to kill the head of Je Valley. They discussed it and decided a few days was needed to figure out how to handle this complication. Si then asked for a private meeting with Leng regarding a matter of "great importance".

Away from the rest of the party, Si announced that his daughter was in love with Leng and that he wanted them to marry. Leng was flattered but already married to Min, so he declined (as politely as possible). Unfazed, Si told him to leave Min and marry Ju. Leng also declined this proposal. Si became furious, and said he would shatter the alliance over the issue if his daughter's will was not met. Again Leng declined. Si left in a huff saying he would be back in ten days for Leng's final decision on the matter. 

Min understood the purpose of The Venom's meeting with Leng and became angry, but he managed to explain and reassure her. The group then set out toward Je Valley, discussing their options along the way. They were attacked by two more Bronze Monks (see last playtest report) and a lengthy combat ensued. 

Two Bronze Monks proved difficult indeed and the party well might have been killed in this conflict, though they did manage to harm one of the Monks quite badly. The Monks focused their efforts on Min and attacked her until she was incapacitated, at which point they left, leaving the party to wonder the purpose of the attack. Over the next few days they helped Min recover and then set out again. 

Though short, a number of interesting things happened this session. In the combat we saw Spinning Back Kick and Kick of the Golden Elephant interact. The first is a counter against the latter. We also found some text issues in the healing section that needed fixing. 

The reason for Leng's ongoing issues with Min and The Venom of Zhaoze is his Fated Flaw.   This has been an interesting development in the game and the players seem to like it a lot. Even though Fate can be heavy handed at times, because they know it is something in the setting and a product of a player's decision to take the flaw, they are quite okay with it. It has been so successful that we worked out a new fate mechanic that can be applied to an entire party over the course of the campaign. I will post about that later and we will see how it goes in play testing. 

Why Wuxia?

The other day, my friend Chang posted a video which we linked here providing a literal definition of Wuxia. If you missed it, here is Chang's Explanation of Wuxia along with some links breaking the idea down into possible English explanations. Usually it is translated as something like "honorable Hero", "chivalrous hero" or "martial hero". Chang's definition focuses on the root meanings and connotations in which Wuxia means those who are powerful who protect the powerless with martial arts. Personally I am no scholar, just a fan and an English speaker. So I will leave the details of its precise meaning to others. I simply provide this overview of possible meanings to lead into today's subject. I am just an American who likes wuxia movies. I cannot approach the nuanced understanding of a native speaker. 

I realize wuxia is a term that has emerged somewhat recently in the US. I don't remember when I first encountered it, but I know prior to that I just tended to lump all martial arts movies together. I was certainly consuming wuxia before I became aware of it as a distinct sub-genre. I tended to prefer films like Tai Chi Master to Fist of Fury (though I still very much loved Fist of Fury). But the thing to understand is wuxia is a clear sub genre of martial arts films, and wuxia movies tend to be set in historical periods and feature chi-fueled martial arts and swordplay. Wuxia films are the ones where characters defy gravity by leaping long distances or skimming over pools of water and perform incredible feats like unleashing energy blasts on their foes. They also tend to be set on the periphery of imperial control, either in literal frontiers or within martial underworlds. I think it's this combination of history, fantasy and rogue settings that make wuxia an ideal genre for gamers and roleplaying games. 

Sometimes an analogy is a good way to grasp a genre. A lot of folks compare wuxia to western films, and there is much shared there. Robin Hood is also another example that is vaguely reminiscent. But these all lack the fantastic components like lightness kung fu and the ability to channel and use your chi. I think the closest thing we have to wuxia is Star Wars. In the newer films especially you see the physicality of wuxia in many of the Jedi battles, but the original trilogy also has that combination of martial arts and supernatural that I think helps explain some of the appeal of wuxia. 

I have been doing a series here called Wuxia Inspiration, in which I attempt to review films in the genre. Part of this is because I am watching and re-watching a bunch of wuxia movies as we make Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate, and my enthusiasm for them leads me to write blog entries. My other aim is to help create more interest in wuxia among gamers and to show it can be approached in a light way without getting pedantic or intimidated by those who know more about the genre than you. 

Here are the reviews I have up so far: Last Hurrah for Chivalry, Killer Clans, New Dragon Gate Inn, The One-Armed Swordsman, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, Swordsman II and Swordsman, Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, A Chinese Odyssey, Come Drink with Me, and Brothers Five. 

The last two are part of a series of Cheng Pei-pei reviews I hope to do over the next few months. You may recognize her as Jade Fox from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but she has been appearing in wuxia films since the 1960s and is arguably one of the greatest actors in the genre. What I like about her movies is the acrobatics she brings to it and the grace of movement. There is a real rhythm and musical flow to her swordplay that stands out. Because she had a background as a dancer she brought that to her martial arts work on films like Come Drink With Me and The Lady Hermit. People also frequently single out Come Drink With Me as the first modern wuxia movie, so I think it is appropriate to start there and with Cheng Pei-pei when tackling the subject. 

The others are a pretty even mix of old, not-so-old and recent wuxia films or television series. It is a deep genre. Not only are there countless movies to track down and view, there are television series that have 30-50 hour long episodes. That is a lot to dig into, and it can be fun if you find the right series that connects with your interests. Most of these series and movies are based on wuxia novels by writers like Louis Cha and Gu Long. They are not widely available in English (at least in print) but online translations exist. 

Here is the thing I want to avoid in all this though: I don't want to make wuxia seem like something that is inaccessible because it is unfamiliar or part of an exclusive fan club. I don't want to handle the material like it is magic because it comes from another country, and I don't want this to be a "hot chicks with swords" thing. In particular, I want to avoid the pedantry. Sometimes you encounter strains of that in our geek culture around things and I am just interested in talking about this as a fan, not as an expert or someone with more knowledge than they have (though I will happily bring guys like Chang in here who do have more first hand knowledge to help explain things). 

So to answer the question I started this article with, the reason I am talking about wuxia and writing these reviews is I believe it has a lot that can inspire gamers, even those running more traditional fantasy. Even if you ignore the martial arts, the wirework, and the historical setting, wuxia movies, series and books have all the elements found in a good game of D&D. In fact I would argue they make better use of some of the same staples. Inns and Taverns in wuxia offer a lot more in terms of adventure potential than they often do in western fantasy (at least in my opinion). Another feature of wuxia that I think would appeal to western gamers is the parity of women and men in battle. 


Down the road I will do some articles helping to explain some of the things in wuxia that look unusual to American eyes. Things like why characters can leap hundreds of feet or create an air blast by slashing their sword. I think the more you understand these elements, the more fun wuxia becomes, because it isn't all random abilities, there is an internal logic at work, just like a fantasy setting with magic has internal logic that explains what wizards can do.