Indian / East Asian Settings

[Sparky McDibben]

Hey y'all,

I did some quick Googling and I haven't found any good D&D Indian or East Asian settings. Looking for something compatible with some variety of D&D, whether that's 5E, OSR, Lamentations, etc.

[RedMage125]

Hey y'all,

I did some quick Googling and I haven't found any good D&D Indian or East Asian settings. Looking for something compatible with some variety of D&D, whether that's 5E, OSR, Lamentations, etc.

Legend of the Five Rings is usually best done as its own system, according to the purists, but had a d20 iteration during the 3e era. That setting (Rokugan) had a very distinct East Asia theme. Mostly Japanese, as they have Samurai, but also China (great wall, tao, some of the supernatural elements are based off Chinese mythology and monsters). There's also an element of Mongolia (the Unicorn Clan) and Tibet (Dragon Clan).

Kara-Tur is an Asian themed setting. It's technically part of Forgotten Realms, but far to the east.

Al-Qadim is also technically part of FR. It's not quite Indian, but more of a "1001 Arabian Nights" kind of fantasy setting.

If you'd like 5e specifically, I don't know of any official settings, but there's a book on DMs Guild that I bought, and it's pretty good. It's called "Heroes of the Orient". Has a lot of East Asian themed subclasses, races, feats, and even a new class (called the Shogun, it's a lot like a 5e version of the 4e Warlord).

[Sparky McDibben]

Legend of the Five Rings is usually best done as its own system, according to the purists, but had a d20 iteration during the 3e era. That setting (Rokugan) had a very distinct East Asia theme. Mostly Japanese, as they have Samurai, but also China (great wall, tao, some of the supernatural elements are based off Chinese mythology and monsters). There's also an element of Mongolia (the Unicorn Clan) and Tibet (Dragon Clan).

Kara-Tur is an Asian themed setting. It's technically part of Forgotten Realms, but far to the east.

Al-Qadim is also technically part of FR. It's not quite Indian, but more of a "1001 Arabian Nights" kind of fantasy setting.

If you'd like 5e specifically, I don't know of any official settings, but there's a book on DMs Guild that I bought, and it's pretty good. It's called "Heroes of the Orient". Has a lot of East Asian themed subclasses, races, feats, and even a new class (called the Shogun, it's a lot like a 5e version of the 4e Warlord).

Oh man, I remember Rokugan! Got some real weird looks carrying that out of Borders back in the day. Kara-Tur and Al-Qadim are a little farther off from what I was looking for, but good callouts. Thanks!

[Luccan]

There's Mahasarpa from 3e as well, explicitly more Indian/SE Asian. But it's not super detailed

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Sparky McDibben
Looking for something compatible with some variety of D&D….

Pathfinder has an Eastern-themed continent, Tian Xia, in its default world of Golarion. Dragon Empires Gazetteer is probably the best place to start, but it’s longer on flavor than useful detail. Most of the nations only have a single page of description, and they tend to be vaguely Chinese- or Japanese-esque. It’s not the strongest aspect of Golarion.

Golarion also has Vudra, which is rather obviously patterned after India, but it's only given half a page in the Inner Sea World Guide. There’s a few pages more in the the Distant Shores supplement, detailing a single city in Vudra, but it’s not especially inspired and would take a lot of fleshing out to actually be useful in a game. But there might be elements you can make use of.

.

[thorr-kan]

Dragon Magazine had a good series of articles on India for 2E with kits and spells. Issues can be determined here:
https://www.aeolia.net/dragondex/

2E Legends & Lore had an extended bit on Indian metaphysics along with the Indian pantheon. Shallow and dated, but good enough for RPG purposes.

Steve Jackson Games just published GURPS Hot Spots: Sriwijaya. It has been reviewed as Fantasy Indonesia from the 7th-14th centuries. PDF only, and like all GURPS products, well researched, I'd assume.

The lesser known RPGA Living Jungle campaign, Malatra, from 2E D&D might fit the jungle themes. It was set in the FR, on a "lost world" plateau, and surround by a Somebody Else's Problem field.

ETA: Al-Qadim will give you more Indian flavor than you think. The League of the Pantheon and the Cities of the Ancients areas are good for western India flavor. The Golden Voyages boxed set is perfect for a Sinbad-style adventure, which is a trope in India as well.

ETA, AGAIN! The Forgotten Realms wiki is good for an overview of the AQ, Malatra, and Kara Tur info without having to dig up old PDFs or boxed sets.

[Saintheart]

Sorry, I know this is pulling something out of the past pages, but I just came across a reference to an indie 3rd party setting that's specifically Indochinese: Yoon-Suin the Purple Land. (https://noisms-games.squarespace.com/creations/yoon-suin-the-purple-land) Comes recommended, apparently.

[EccentricCircle]

Actual indian settings are very rare for some reason. Mahasarpa is a tiny free pdf, though not bad. There was a SE asia themed land in 2e hollow earth, and some detail in al-Qadim which would be of use. I think there is a 3rd party psionic setting called mindshadows for 3e, but i'd have to dig out the book to see how indian it actually is. The Malatra book is findable online. Vudra in pathfinder isn't super developed.

My advice is don't look for an rpg book at all. They often aren't that well researched anyway, and won't give you useful tools to use out of the box as they are all too old. They'll just be full of hastily researched stereotypes, from an age before the internet made it easier to learn about other cultures.

You don't need their rules.
5e is a nice flexible toolbox which isn't hard to focus by controlling race and class options. Pathfinder 1 is even more adaptable and has most of the races from Hindu mythology in its bestiaries or in the case of Vanara as playable races.

I'd grab a few history books. Read up on the actual cultures, and use that to inform what character options you use in your game. if you want more of a primary source for mythic india then read the Ramayana and Mahabharata. For historical india check out the relevant chapters from the Travels of ibn Battuta. He lived there for years, and talks a lot about how the royal court of the Delhi Sultanate worked, so is an indispensable source for muslim india.

Good luck and have fun. Its a fascinating setting to explore!

[Schwann145]

Just wanted to add that L5R is coming out with 5e content in the (near?) future; "Adventures in Rokugan."

Here's a link to their webpage about it. (https://edge-studio.net/categories-games/adventures-in-rokugan/)

Cheers!

[SpyOne]

As was said above, while it is nice for a book about a setting to use the rules system you are using, it isn't really necessary.
And I totally understand preferring a setting inspired by a historical place to information on that historical place. If nothing else it lets you see how someone else thinks magic being real might change things.

To that end, Legend Of The Five Rings put out Legend Of The Burning Sands, which is sort of an Arabian setting. And it references The Ivory Kingdoms, which seems to be their Not-India. I don't know if they ever did a sourcebook for it.

Thanks for the lead on that GURPS PDF. It sounds like it is up my alley.

[Schwann145]

To that end, Legend Of The Five Rings put out Legend Of The Burning Sands, which is sort of an Arabian setting. And it references The Ivory Kingdoms, which seems to be their Not-India. I don't know if they ever did a sourcebook for it.

They did indeed. It's based on the same rules used for Legend of the Five Rings 3rd Edition. It's the only RPG product for the Burning Sands they published though, as the IP wasn't nearly as popular, so no additional sourcebooks to expand upon things.
You can find it on Amazon.

[SpyOne]

Sorry, I was unclear.
I have the Legend Of The Burning Sands book, it was the Ivory Kingdoms that I didn't know if they ever did a book for.
It would seem they did not.