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RTGoodman
2008-04-16, 07:14 PM
Browsing around the internet (I don't even remember how), I stumbled upon a link to an open-source RPG system called Wushu (http://wiki.saberpunk.net/Wushu/HomePage), where instead of following strict mechanics, what your character can do is just based on the creative way you come up with things. According to the site, "Wushu rewards vivid, creative stunts, making it an ideal system for games based on action movies, adventure comics, and many other media."

The core mechanic, as described by the site:


In Wushu, players are encouraged to make as many attacks, leaps, dives, parries, and ripostes as they like before any dice are rolled. Each “round” is divided into two parts, which everyone completes at the same time. First, the group Describes the scene; this is the important part because their narration determines what actually happens in the game world. Then, they Resolve their dice rolls to see how well it all worked.

This seems like a fun system, and claims to be adaptable for various different genres and styles. I don't have any experience with RPGs besides D&D/d20, a little HERO System, and some others I've flipped through (Gunslingers & Gamblers, Runequest), so I don't know anything about these "rules-light" (to me, at least) system.

Has anyone else played this or looked at it? To me, reading through the information, it seems like this would be a great game for Play by Post. There's no initiative stuff, combat is completely free-form, and your whole turn can be resolved in describing your action and rolling a few d6s (assuming no one vetoes your actions).

What does the Playground think?

Nebo_
2008-04-16, 07:50 PM
I read this about a month ago. It looks like it has a lot of potential, but you'd need everyone to be pretty co-operative, which kind of rules out my group playing it.

Various
2008-04-16, 09:02 PM
Heard of it before but never really looked at it. Looks like it would be great to handle just about anything. Probably a good system to use for new players because its very light in the rules. But there's my problem with it, not enough rules! Guess I'm too bound by my experiences with D&D. Still I'd like to use if for a Star Wars game, maybe even a Naruto-like one.

RTGoodman
2008-04-17, 01:06 AM
... you'd need everyone to be pretty co-operative, which kind of rules out my group playing it.

Yeah, I'm definitely not trying it with my current group. I'm waiting until the summer when I move back home near my older groups.


Heard of it before but never really looked at it. Looks like it would be great to handle just about anything. Probably a good system to use for new players because its very light in the rules. But there's my problem with it, not enough rules! Guess I'm too bound by my experiences with D&D. Still I'd like to use if for a Star Wars game, maybe even a Naruto-like one.

Yeah, it's definitely adaptable enough to do anything with it. I've already thought about how great it'd be for a superhero game, a sci-fi/modern style game, or maybe even Wild West. Oh, or maybe a Firefly-style Wild-West/sci-fi hybrid... *plots*

As for being rules-light, there are several "crunchier" versions in the Fan Rules section of the site I link in the opening post. I haven't looked through them all yet, but there appear to be variants with d10s, rules for character advancements and experience, setbacks (like fatigue), special abilities, spellcasting systems, and all manner of houserules.

Reel On, Love
2008-04-17, 01:16 AM
Wushu is a great rules-light system for groups that are all on the same page and can communicate well (AKA, not most of them).

elliott20
2008-04-17, 08:33 AM
I dare say most Rules-Light system tend to focus very heavily on the player narrative.

To run a game like this, you need to make sure that your group's gaming mentality changes from trying to game the system to being more focused on the narrative itself. Because in a game like this, without the ability to game the system, the players will get confused. You need to make sure that they are all on the same page and are open to this new experience first before you can try it.

Having said that though, I personally sometimes prefer this type of gaming over the old-fashion D&D crunch fest simply because it also takes far less time to put together with your friends.