Qin: The Warring States

I’ve been reading ‘s copy of Qin: The Warring States, the english translation of a french RPG: A wuxia-genre game set in China’s warring states period.

I need to get a copy of this game. First of all, it’s gorgeous. Second, it is pretty much the best wuxia-genre RPG I’ve read….supplanting even Rebecca Borgstrom’s brilliant Weapons of the Gods. WOTG is detailed and amazing, but Qin manages to pull off the same level of setting and genre detail with a rules system that I find far more elegant and evocative. Character stats based on the 5 Chinese elements, a game system that allows for over-the-top kung fu, and a magic system that replicates alchemy, sorcery and more.

I’m getting an itch to do something with Qin — although not using the standard wuxia setting out-of-the-box. I’m thinking that this system would be a great choice for me to explore an idea that I’ve had — a “genre mash-up” fantasy. Whereas most fantasy uses medieval/dark-ages Europe as its foundation, my nameless idea uses a mix of the American western and Chinese wuxia, perhaps with a few other kitchen-sink genre elements thrown in for spice.

Not sure if anything will come of it, but this nifty RPG is perfect for exploration of the idea, if nothing else.

9 Replies to “Qin: The Warring States”

  1. It’s a lovely book. I was lucky enough to get one at GenCon Indy last August and was amazed it then took the best part of five months to get into general circulation!!

    I took my copy to the shop and the games club I run and wet a load of peoples appetites only to starve them in the gaming wilderness!

    Glad it’s here now though :)

  2. I’m another “picked it up at GenCon” guy, and absolutely loved Qin.

    Sometimes it’s the little things … like the fact that balanced near equal stats offer more advantage than widely disparate stats. it’s a simple idea, but it hooks in perfectly to concepts of balanced Yin and Yang.

    Doug.

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