Jianghu - a Wuxia-themed campaign
The word Jianghu ("rivers and lakes") refers to the community of martial artists. Although unknown when the term was first used, it now signifies the whole of the martial arts practitioner in the world. No one knows when Jianghu first came into existence in the world. However, what’s definite is that they possess a different strength and mentality compared to normal people. In order to stop the possibility of the normal world and the martial arts world colliding together, for generations martial artists have created academies, federations and all kinds of estabilishments in order to keep the appropriate distance between martial artists and normal people. Because of this, the Jianghu and the normal society have been able to coexist for a very long time.
The Jianghu is not completely separate from ordinary society, however. They share the same lands and eat from the same farms. The distance between the two is a trick of societal perception. A martial arts legend and a dutiful farmer might eat lunch at the same table, but as far as social expectation is concerned, they live in different worlds. It's said that the biggest martial arts clans, societies and sects have agreements with governments in order to keep a safe distance between the Jianghu and normal society, to the point that it's an unwritten rule that such distance must be preserved. But there are those who use their strength to bully and exploit the others. Sometimes the heroes becomes enemies of governments when the later is unable to uphold justice or protect the innocent, and sometimes the government is infiltrated by corrupt martial artists that seek to further their corruption.
The Jianghu is no longer restricted to China today. When the Boxer Rebellion failed in 1900 and the Righteous and Harmonious Fists were eliminated, China ended occupied by foreign potencies. The end of such prestigious and reputable society threw the Jianghu into disarray. Some sects sought refuge outside of China. They ran, scattered to the far reaches of the empire. To Europe, to Mongolia, to the South-East islands. Even to the American continents did they run. And so it was that the Jianghu secretly thrived in every land.
Today is 2014 and still China is occupied by foreign potencies. The Qing Dynasty is but a puppet. The potencies managed to deal with their problems of superpopulation by sending the excess to China, to the point that it's very common to see foreigners in China. The Jianghu in China is stronger than before: The wound left by the end of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists Sect is healed and once again the governments feel the need to respect the Jianghu. Even some foreigners also joined reputable sects, upholding justice and fighting against corruption. Rumors says that a new nationalist movement is becoming stronger as The Hundred Ghosts started to become really active in China, vowing to punish those who commited injustice. While respected for upholding justice and punishing the wicked, their ruthless methods and unorthodox skills makes the Jianghu Alliance in doubt about their true intentions.
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This game is inspired on the works of Jin Yong novels and other Wuxia novels/games. While combat plays a role in this kind of game, that is only one element of a Wuxia story. Tragedies, romances and misunderstandings are common themes in a true Wuxia story, which means that the game will (hopefully) be filled with meaningful social RP.
The game is supposed to be "semi-realistic": the characters will indeed possess abilities that are beyond realistic levels, but not beyong the point estabilished by the wuxia setting. Humans are fragile things, so you can fully expect characters dying if they're not careful.
I'll be using The Window as the RPG system. You're welcome to play even if you don't know it, it's easy to the point that you can learn it instantly at character creation.
