Warring States Campaign Setting?

[Palanan]

Can anyone recommend a campaign setting based on the Warring States period of ancient China?

Almost by definition this would have to be third-party, and for this request I’m open to anything compatible with 3.X or Pathfinder. I’ve seen one or two quasi-mythical Chinese settings before, but I’m especially interested in anything based on the Warring States.

Bonus points if there are mounted steppe archers to raid the northern borders and demand tribute in silks and princesses, although that’s not essential.

[ViperMagnum357]

Not an exact fit, but the Rokugan campaign setting is fairly close. While the aesthetic and terminology is primarily feudal Japan, there are strong influences of ancient Chinese and Korean history; specifically, Chinese style dragons, Chinese mythology all over the place, and a vast empire that spends far more time making war upon itself than enemy nations. The focus is on the Emerald Empire, with the clans fighting primarily over territory and matters of perceived honor; in terms of applicability to the Chinese warring states, there are historical periods within the setting where the Empire fractured with two Emperors, like the War of Spirits, or saw one 'country' in the form of a clan effectively removed, like the sojourn of the Unicorn clan or exile of the Scorpion clan. Plenty to work with there, since AEG spent two decades developing the setting.

The d20 books are a little odd, since they include rules for both the d20 system and AEG's proprietary rpg system, but there is plenty to work with. Oriental Adventures provides a bare bones look at Rokugan, but the 'Rokugan Campaign Setting' book provides the rest of the relevant systems and fills in most of the fluff blanks in addition to the crunch. If you want a quick overview of the fluff, a quick dive into the L5R wikia for the history of the setting should suffice.

[Palanan]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm aware of Rokugan, but its focus and feel is primarily quasi-feudal Japan. I'm looking for something based much more closely on the Warring States and Qin's ascendancy, which is a very different era.

[Cruiser1]

Have you seen "Jade and Steel - Roleplaying in Mythic China" by Avalanche Press? It's a short book, but is set in the "Three States" period, which is close to the era you're looking for. It's described at: https://www.dndarchive.com/content/jade-and-steel-%E2%80%93-roleplaying-mythic-china

[Florian]

No can do, at least not for anything D20 based. I know some RPG systems based on the period, the main one being Qin: The Warring States, which are quite good but work because they are not based on 3E D&D.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Cruiser1
Have you seen "Jade and Steel - Roleplaying in Mythic China" by Avalanche Press? It's a short book, but is set in the "Three States" period, which is close to the era you're looking for.

I haven't seen that before, but it looks really interesting, thanks. The review notes it's too short to be a full campaign setting, but it does sound like a great start.