Yakuza only appeared in the Edo period (1603−1868), yet they are a staple of Japanese-flavoured TTRPGs, irrespective of which era the game is set in.
I would remove yakuza from my games altogether, but it is obvious that players expect their being available as a choice for PCs. I have hence made some research as to what kind of profession or occupation could be the forebears of yakuza—so as to make them available in games set in the Sengoku era. According to most sources, tekiya, who peddled stolen or smuggled goods, and bakuto, i.e., gamblers (gambling being illegal) were the predecessors of yakuza. However, both groups are also only mentioned in the Edo period. Back to square one.
An article I have found (see below) mentions the gorotsuki, vagabond-like ne’er-do-wells who, apparently, were already mentioned in the Kamakura period (1185−1333). They also had a variety of different profiles (smugglers, entertainers, magic-users, etc.), so they are a good candidate for a ‘chivalrous bandit’ kind of occupation.
The River Judge is a free novelette by S. L. Huang, the Hugo-winning author of The Water Outlaws, a retelling of the beloved Water Margin bandit novel, but from a womanly point of view.
The River Judge is a prequel to The Water Outlaws. But what interests me particularly in this short piece of fiction is how it presents in a precise and detailed way life in a rural village far from government interference... Self-rule is the norm, and whenever officials come in from the city, the townsfolk know it can only bring trouble upon them.
The other aspect is, of course, the oppressive patriarchy that governs absolutely every single aspect of women’s lives— and how it may eventually lead women to taking up banditry.
First, I assume the city has been generated and named according to the instructions.
Second, I roll 2D8 to place the waterway. I roll 3 and 7. There is a river flowing though the side, and I replace the road segment in square No.7 with a river segment.
Third, let us assume the adventurers leave the city by the southern gate. I roll 1D4 to populate square No.7, rolling a 2: there is a road that intersects the river.
The adventurers take the road eastwards. I roll 1D4 to populate square No.8, rolling a 3: there are orchards.
The adventurers continue eastwards. I roll 1D4+1 to populate te following square, rolling a 4: 4+1=5— I must roll on Table B. I roll 1D6, rolling a 5: there is a cavern.
Imperial Chinese cities would almost invariably be square and walled, with a street grid orientated according to North-South and East-West axes. There would be a main gate at the middle of each wall segment, with a large road leading to it.
The city itself would be quite isolated, the centre of imperial law and order amidst a vast, unruly wilderness.
starting city map
In this blog post, I will present a method to generate a sandbox centred on an imperial Chinese city.
First, generate your city per my blog post from 13 April 2012. Name the city per this other blog post. This will be the adventurer party’s base.
Second, roll 2D8 to determine the direction of the closest waterway; trace it on the map above by joining the two numbered squares. If the two rolled numbers are identical, replace the waterway with a lake.
Third, populate the map as your adventurers start exploring the region around the city. As indicated above, roll the die on Table A depending on the background colour of the square being explored:
Dark green: roll 1D4 on Table A.
Medium green: roll 1D4+1 on Table A.
Light green: roll 1D4+2 on Table A.
Yellow: roll 1D8+4 on Table A.
Table A - Master Table
DieResults
1Fields
2Road†
3Orchards
4Farms
5Re-Roll, Table B
6Grassland
7Forest
8Hill
9Wasteland
10Swamp/Marsh
11Sea/Lake
12Mountain/Peak
†If there is already a road, add one that is perpendicular to the already-existing one.
Table B - Uncommon Locations
DieResults
1Tower/Pagoda
2Hamlet
3Village
4Shrine/Temple/Monastery, Orthodox
5Cavern/Grotto
6Re-Roll, Table C
Table C - Special Locations
DieResults
1Hermit/Isolated Scholar
2Bandit Lair
3Martial Arts School/Secret Society Headquarters
4Shrine/Temple/Monastery, Heterodox
5Re-Roll 1D4 on Table C, Abandoned
6GM's Choice
A final note: This method is different from my post here where the idea was for the GM to prepare a whole region ahead of running their game. Here the idea is to randomly make up the region as the game unfolds, so as to surprise both the players and the GM.
I have briefly mentioned the Ten Courts of Hell on page 36 of the Celestial Empire. This is the place in the netherworld where evil whitesouls stay awaiting their judgement, and where they undergo the judgement itself after having spent some time in this purgatory.
There is a fundamental text of Chinese Folk Religion from the 18th century AD, the Yùlì Bǎochāo 玉歷寶鈔 (the Jade Guidebook), that describes the ten infernal tribunals in detail; you may read it here.
In a nutshell, the whitesoul of the deceased arrives at the gate of Fēngdū (see illustration) where their name is registered, then proceeds to the first court of Hell. This is the most lenient place in Purgatory, for those who committed suicide and who must stay there until the equivalent of what the duration of their life would have been had they not committed suicide has elapsed. Everybody else is ushered into the second court of Hell.
The whitesouls of those who kidnapped or robbed people during their lifetime remain in the second court of Hell to undergo several series of terrible torments. Everybody else is ushered into the third court of Hell.
The whitesouls of those who accepted bribes during their lifetime remain in the third court of Hell to undergo even worse terrible torments.
Etc. etc. with ever more atrocious depictions of torments until the ninth court for arsonists, assassins, rapists, and the like.
The tenth court is not a place of punishment but the place where those whose time of suffering has expired go in order to await the details of their rebirth through the wheel of karma.
Outlaws of the Water Margin is the roleplaying game that initially made me want to write my own frp game set in Imperial China. It is also an early example of a ‘culture rpg’, a kind of role-playing game that is really different from our usual escapist games.
I have recently discovered that the podcast “Ludonarrative Dissidents” had covered the game, in particular the cultural environment in which it had been created.
The Celestial Empire is not a fantasy tabletop role-playing game inspired by the myths and the history of Cathay, but a TTRPG firmly set in Imperial China, her culture, and her society. As a result, the rules as written strongly encourage the players to have a male character of Hàn ethnicity.
Now I realise this mayn’t be everybody’s cup of tea, and that today’s TTRPG public expects more diversity, both in terms of gender and of ethnicity, when generating their player characters.
However, having the GM set their campaign at the time of the Táng dynasty, and particularly in the capital city of Cháng’ān, could provide a solution. Under the Táng (618-907 AD), Cháng’ān, the eastern end of the Silk Road, was one of the largest metropolises of the world, a cosmopolitan city with several neighbourhoods explicitly designed to house the many merchants, pilgrims, envoys, missionaries, etc. coming from the lands to the West of the Celestial Empire.
This picture (from Twitter) shows the various ethnic groups one might have encountered in the streets of Cháng’ān under the Táng.
Note: the English-language translations in the yellow labels are from a Chinese Facebook group. “Rakshasa” is a wrong interpretation of the original “羅剎”, which used to mean “Russian” and which now indeed means Rakshasa [although I doubt there were any Russians in Cháng’ān; that is an utter anachronism].
Except for Japan, there aren't many Asian tabletop RPGs out there. Here are a few links to Asian tabletop RPG companies/individuals that I have found online:
I have stumbled upon a very interesting post about tigers in Vietnamese legend and lore. The link is here, and I am copying the most relevant parts below just in case the original post should disappear from the internet (as it often happens); I am not trying to appropriate it!
The Godly Origin of the Tiger
In Vietnam, the tiger is also known as Chuá Sơn Lâm (The God of the Mountain and Forest). The creation myth of the tiger tells of a mutinous heavenly deity by the name of Phạm Nhĩ. While Phạm Nhĩ was remarkably strong and talented, he plotted against the Jade Emperor as he thought he would be a more worthy ruler of the Heavens. Phạm Nhĩ created a huge ruckus, and he was almost successful in his exploits, until Buddha intervened and captured him. Buddha handed him back to the Jade Emperor, but warned that Phạm Nhĩ should not be killed for his crime. Instead, he was reincarnated as an animal on Earth – but he still retained his extraordinary strength and hearing (the name Phạm Nhĩ refers to his long ears).
The Tiger and the Toad
I love finding common threads in tales around the world, and discovering the similarities between this story andThe Turtle and the Hare, as well asThe Banquet of the Twelve Zodiac, made me appreciate it all the more. In this story, a toad dissuade a tiger from devouring it by proposing a competition to see who can jump across the river first. During the jump, the toad hangs onto the tiger’s tail for most of the way, and leap across at the last moment to emerge as the victor. You can see the echoes of how the rat tricked its way to become the first member of the lunar zodiac sign, as well as the ever-present commentary between might and wit in fairy tales.
How the Tiger got Its Stripes
As a child, my favourite kinds of tales were the ones that attempted to explain the natural world around us. Like with many fairy tales, I am surprised at how dark it is now that I look back on it. The tale starts with a tiger who saw an ox being used as a beast of burden by a farmer. The tiger asked the ox why it willingly submitted to a human, when it was exponentially stronger. The ox replied it had to follow the human due to his cleverness, but could not explain what ‘cleverness’ was to the expectant tiger. The tiger then went to ask the farmer to show him this object called ‘cleverness’, and the farmer used the tiger’s curiosity to tie him to a tree and set him on fire (yes, folklore comes with a sobering dose of casual animal cruelty!). While the tiger escaped from the fire, it bore the burn marks from the event, and all tigers henceforth were burn with the black burn marks on their body. The ox? It fell over laughing when the tiger was caught and lost all of its upper teeth, which is why ox now only have teeth on their lower jaw. A two for one creation fable, so to speak.
Tigers in Our Language
Tigers are traditionally respected in Vietnam. Up until the past decade, it was still common practice to avoid referring to tigers as ‘con cọp’ or ‘con hổ’ (tiger), but instead using the titles of ‘ông’ (grandfather) or ‘cậu’ (uncle). In Southern Vietnam, the first born son was called ‘anh hai’ (second elder brother), as the title ‘anh cả’ (eldest brother) was saved for the tiger.
One of the most common folk name for a tiger is ‘Ông Ba Mươi’ (Grandfather Thirty), the name came from a rumored tradition once held. The emperors of yore would reward hunter who can catch a tiger with 30 quan tiền (an archaic Vietnamese currency, loan word from the Chinese 貫) as they prevented the destruction wrecked by tigers. However, they will simultaneously be punished by 30 lashes, for displacing the revered creatures from their natural habitat.
There are many Viet proverbs and ca dao (Vietnamese folk poetry) relating to tigers, one of the most well-known ones tells of the dominance of tigers over other landlocked creatures:
Trời sinh Hùm chẳng có vây, Hùm mà có cánh, Hùm bay lên trời.
Loose Translation: The tiger was born without scales, If the tiger had wings, it would fly to the heavens.
Vietnamese Folk Poetry
The poem puts forward that if tigers had scales like a fish, or wings like a bird, they would also dominate the sea and the sky. This is a call-back to the tiger’s godly origin, from a deity who almost became the Emperor of the Heavens.
Tigers are ubiquitious in Vietnamese idioms, a few examples are below. If you are versed in your Chinese idioms, you’ll notice the crossover because *gestures at the Viet colonial history*:
“Hùm dữ không ăn thịt con” Translation: Vicious tigers won’t eat their own cubs.
Refers to the bonds between parent and child.
“Mình Hổ, tay vượn” Translation: The body of a tiger, the hands of a monkey.
This saying is used to describe anyone who’s at the peak of their physical state: strong like a tiger and as agile as a monkey.
If you’re familiar with the wuxia movieCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, you already know what this means. In Vietnamese, it refers to a destination with hidden spiritual potential.
“Hổ phụ sinh hổ tử” Translation: A tiger will father a tiger
Referring to the similarities between parent and child, as well as that insidious expectation that an accomplished parent would have an equally talented offspring.
Tigers in Legends
Like many other East and South-east Asian culture, Vietnamese also revere the Bạch Hổ (White Tiger). You can see a White Tiger carved onto the shrine near the famous Hoàn Kiếm lake in Hà Nội. In the ancient capital Huế, there are not just one, but two notable bridges that once went by the name of Bạch Hổ. One of them is now a popular tourist landmark of the city.
Legends of extraordinary men who defeat tigers with their bare hands are also passed on as an example of their might. You may already be familiar with Wǔ Sōng from the Chinese classicWater Margin,but Vietnamese have a similar figure in Mai Hắc Đế (Mai, the Black Emperor). Mai successfully led the uprising against Táng Dynasty rule in Vietnam in 722AD, and ruled for a short time over a region of the country. One of his backstory told of the slaying of a tiger by his bare hands to avenge his mother.
There are a few ethnic groups who claim the tiger as their ancestor, too. Myths tell of tigers (usually the White Tiger mentioned above), who took on human form, fell in love, and the children of these union became the descendants of tigers. Notable examples are prominent families bearing the surnames Vương, Bành, Dương, Điền, Đàm, Trướng, and Nhiễm. They migrated to Vietnam from the regions of Húběi, Húnán, and Sìchuān in China and carried these legends with them.
Urban Legend: The Three-Claws Tiger
The tiger’s hold on Viet people’s imagination is not a relic of the past. As recently as the 1940s, urban legend of the Cọp Ba Móng (The Tiger with Three Claws/Foot) haunted our thoughts. This was a fearsome tiger who feasted on human meat, there were many reasons proposed for its bias for human flesh – was it because it was used to devouring the corpses of our fallen soldiers? Perhaps it lived for so long that it was close to attaining human intelligence? There were also disputes on its origin, the most popular one being that it escaped from the menagerie of a wealthy French official. Having lost one of its foot in captivity, it turned its hatred and anger onto the Vietnamese villagers in the neighboring area. Among the brewing anti-colonial sentiment at the time, I can see why this theory held particular allure. In any event, it became the harbinger of death and military intervention was introduced to remove it. I can’t quite figure out what happened to the tiger on my readings, but it’s certainly a legend I will ponder for a long time.
Only tangentially relevant to this blog but still... I have found it interesting.
There is a crowdfunding campaign going on to fund a set of Call of Cthulhu 7th edition adventures cum background set in colonial Vietnam, circa 1925-1955. Some content is specific to WWII-era adventures, but some ideas could easily be stolen for a TCE/CoC cross-over game set in Vietnam, in particular the Hòa Hảo Buddhist militias, the entities that offer the temptation of enlightenment, the Expédition Lemont to the mythical city of gold, and the possibility to tie in the Plateau of Leng with Southeast Asia.
See p128 of The Celestial Empire for further details on running cross-over adventures with the Call of Cthulhu game.
Tetsubō is one of those games that “almost happened”. Time and time again, it was on the brink of publication, and then for various reason it got cancelled. First in the 80s as a Japanese-flavoured Warhammer supplement, then putatively as a Dragon Warriors supplement, then two years ago it went back to its original scope and again almost got published as a Japanese-flavoured Zweihänder supplement (so much that it even got its cover that was circulated on Twitter; it’s the picture I am showing here), and now its authors are revealing that they may eventually publish it as a stand-alone role-playing game powered by the same engine as Paul Mason’sOutlaws of the Water Margin – which would be über cool since I really like the latter.
What can I say at the moment? Be patient as a Zen monk; wait and see!
My three or four faithful readers may remember that the reason my historical role-playing game set in Imperial China The Celestial Empire isn’t available any longer is because its original publisher, Alephtar Games, lost the licence to publish games using the Basic Role-Playing System, owned by the Chaosium, as their engine.
However, the Chaosium have just announced an Open Gaming Licence for the Basic Role-Playing System (all the details are on my other blog), meaning that The Celestial Empire might return, probably under another form, should I finally manage to finish the manuscript of my East Asian 16th century setting.
Thanks to reddit user martinjanmansson, we have access – here – to a fantastically detailed map of the trade routes of Eurasia in the 11th/12th centuries AD, i.e., under the Sòng dynasty of China.
I have added below the maps of interest for an East Asian campaign:
Alas, the crowdfunding campaign for Rise of the Yōkai Koku (a Sengoku Jidai-themed campaign by Alephtar Games) did not reach its target goal, meaning the supplement will only be released as a PDF rather than a fully-fledged book. ETA is September 2018.
The Purple Maiden (Zǐgū 紫姑) is a minor deity of Chinese Folk Religion mostly worshipped by women via a very peculiar possession cult: instead of possessing a medium, the Purple Maiden takes possession of her effigy during the night of her festival (the 15th day of the 1st month).
The effigy is thus swayed in various directions by the weight of the possessing deity; the movements of the effigy are then interpreted by the Ritual Master / Shaman / Spirit-Medium to divine about the prospects of the coming year in terms of silk output, or any other women-related produce.
As with most Chinese Folk Religion deities, the Purple Maiden is an apotheosised mortal. She was a concubine killed by the jealous wife of her master, close to the pigsty or to the latrine of the household. This is why her cult takes place next to the pigsty or latrine. An alternate (and possibly truer) hypothesis is that the stinking parts of the household were deemed inhabited by malevolent spirits, and a tale was fabricated to create a benevolent spirit guarding said parts of the household.
Whatever the truth, the cult of the Purple Maiden has been popular since the Táng dynasty. Under the Sòng, Zǐgū can be called upon even outside of her festival night via a small doll made of chopsticks and wicker, and animated by children. The doll traces lines on the ground, which are then interpreted for divination. This is probably the first instance of fújī (spirit-writing, see p94 of The Celestial Empire), the divination technique that became so popular from the Sòng dynasty on.
The crowdfunding campaign for Rise of the Yōkai Koku, by Alephtar Games, has started on ulule. Rise of the Yōkai Koku (妖怪國) is an adventure/campaign setting for Revolution D100 set in 16th-century Japan, at the time of the feudal anarchy known as the Sengoku Jidai (戰國時代, "Age of Warring States").
Although the campaign is specifically tailored for Revolution D100, I believe you can easily adapt it to any D100-based role-playing game.
my character from the play tests
Here are three excerpts from the ulule blurb:
"After his defeat at the hand of Oda Nobunaga, the great Daimyō Azai Nagamasa commits seppuku. The only hope for what is left of his retinue is a secret alliance with the Takeda clan, the only one strong enough to oppose Nobunaga. However, Takeda Shingen demands a hostage to guarantee the loyalty of Nagamasa’s former retainers. The hostage must reach the Shinano province without Nobunaga being aware of his presence, but the road passes through Oda territory. A group of brave adventurers must accompany the hostage in his dangerous journey."
The first part of the booklet contains two different methods to generate Japanese characters suitable to the Sengoku Jidai era – including some unusual ones – and specific rules for roleplaying in the period, and in Japanese culture in general: Buddhist schools, the influence of Shintō practices, Japanese martial disciplines and so on. The second part is the adventure itself, in which the player characters take the role of protectors of the hostage at the court of the great Takeda Shingen. The campaign is divided into ten chapters between which the players will have plenty of opportunities to evolve their characters along their preferred path.
Other information about the product:
Expected size 64 to 80 pages, letter format.
Standard character generation option based on Background and Occupation.
Questionnaire-based character generation option which defines your character abilities and history according to the answers you choose.
Stunts for Japanese swordsmanship and other martial techniques.
Statistics for Japanese weapons and armour.
Simple magic powers based on Buddhist meditation techniques.
Different flavours of Buddhist schools, from highly orthodox Zen to the weird practices of Shugendō, with all shades of esoteric Buddhism in between. Each school provides slightly different magic.
As per the title of this blog post... Here is the link; in 10 pages, you get more historically-accurate RPG material than in most faux Japanese role-playing games.
