Wushu (role-playing game)

Wushu is a free universal role-playing game by Dan Bayn released under the Creative Commons license.

Wushu is a non-traditional role-playing game. In a traditional game, a player would describe his character's action, and then roll dice to see if it succeed. In Wushu, a player describes what his character does, and then rolls dice to determine how effective the action was. For example, in a traditional RPG, one would say "I try to hit him with my sword." and roll dice to determine success. In Wushu, one would say: "I slash across his stomach, releasing a spray of blood." and then roll dice to determine the effect on the larger plot.

Wushu runs on several principles. The first is the Principle of Narrative Truth, called PoNT by the fans. This means that whatever a player describes is exactly what happens. By doing so, Wushu can more closely emulate an over-the-top action movie style of play, since there are no penalties for difficult or flashy maneuvers. Counterbalancing the first principle is the second principle: the Veto. Anyone at the table, gamemaster or player, can veto any detail and ask the player to describe something different. This helps ensure that the tone and genre of the game is maintained at all times. Players can even use this mechanic to suggest alternatives to one another, which helps create a stronger shared-storytelling experience.

See also

* Feng Shui, the Hong Kong action movie RPG

External links

* [http://www.bayn.org/wushu/index.html Homepage of Wushu RPG]