Settings and Story-Lines

一 Spring and Autumn & Warring States

As the power of the Zhou Dynasty continuous to fade away, the states Qin, Han, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Chu and Yan are at war fighting for dominance along the yellow river. Each state claims their rights to the throne and the Mandate of Heaven and with this they try to conquer the other states and rule their kings.

Rescue the Queen

Someone has kidnapped the Queen and her closest servants. No one has noticed, except the eunuchs in the royal service. The culprits are on the run and you are called to investigate, follow and capture them before they can reach the states boarder. The king has equipped you with the necessary papers and resources to act fast without being held back...

Capture the Queen

The kingdom Li has started to recruit on a large scale and your spies have gathered information that Li plans an invasion of your kingdom. Your king has given you special orders to capture the Queen of Li to negotiate a truce and allow you to arm yourself...

Seize the means of production

Zhao is producing weapons in great number, threatening the status quo. Zhao is richer in natural resources and your king is worried about an arms race. In order to deescalate the situation, you are sent to Zhou to start an uprising among the workers...

Wei is rich in natural resources and has started to produce weapons through a new, faster method. Your king is worried about this development and wants you to steal the knowledge of this new method. Rumor has it, the magistrate of Wei has hidden the scroll with the method somewhere in the courts library...

Master Sun

The neighboring state Wu is suspiciously quiet. Wu is small and doesn't have a strong army, but rumor has it, they enlisted a new General, supposedly a strategic Mastermind. Your king grows worried and sends you as spies into Wu to find out more...

二 The Samurai of Japan

Throughout the history of Japan, noble warriors, the Samurai, held important positions in the military and as their strength grew took more and more influence in politics. Samurai are associated with their lord or clan and these relationships were held sacred. The teachings created in samurai culture influence daily life and these noble warriors represented the strength of their clan.

Rising Sun, Waning Sun

Prince Shōtokus witty greeting to the Chinese emperor, calling him the sovereign of the land where the sun sets and himself the sovereign of the land where the suns rises was received with animosity. Politics and Buddhistic believes dictate harmony, but the prince’s spies have sent notice of a group of strange looking fishermen landing ashore not far from the capital…

Once a sword, now a vegetable knife

During the last war, your lord has bet on the wrong horse and your clan has lost invaluable alliances and with this, influence. Ever since, your lord has lost his way. You wish to reinstall the standing of your clan and make new alliances...

Phoenix from the ashes

Dark times have come. Emperor Konoe has passed away and his father and former Emperor Tobe led his forth son Emperor Go-Shirakawa to the Chrysanthemum Throne. The royal family is split over this decision and when Tobe dies, a civil war is brewing. The clans of Minimoto and Taira side with the rivaling brothers, throwing you into a power-struggle full of intrigue and dishonor...

Even if it’s raining spears

You gave your word to protect the small chest entrusted to you without opening it. Breaking your oath would bring dishonor to you and your clan...

Hitting Saya

A duel is set up. Your opponent, the man who stole the heart of the one you love, demands retribution for your carelessness when you accidentally hit his scabbard. Or was it an accident…?

This storyline is a great set up for flashbacks. Once a duel is demanded, there is no backing down without losing your honor, so you might as well describe the location and setting of the duel first and flash back into important moments that led to this showdown.

三 Modern day Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a booming and pulsing city and handling center of many goods - legal and illegal: drugs, weapons, ivory, protected animals and humans are traded in the harbors and dark alleys. Syndicates have a strong hold one parts of the city, while political forces battle for control. But Hong Kong is more than organized crime and a stage for political power-plays.

Crystal-Clear

A vicious new gang has entered the highly competitive drug market, but the police force is overwhelmed with this new thread in the drug scene. Off the books, you are hired to infiltrate this new group and gather intel. It was made clear to you, that you are on your own in this mission without any backing from the government or the police...

Hack-n-Slash

The syndicate has lost invaluable information, stored on a thumb drive. It was lost when a deal with a competing gang went south, but you are not sure if it entered the hands of the gang or if an undercover cop managed to snatch it. The drive is protected, but it is just a matter of time until someone will be able to access the hidden files. Your job is to recover the data and replace it with false date, leaving behind a Trojan to spy on the finder...

Oh, the Ivory!

You are low-level criminals, always out to catch a big fish. You keep a close eye on the syndicate and the police in order to scrape up the pieces when a deal goes south, or the police raids a remote warehouse. And just as luck wants it, you find yourself in a recently raided warehouse digging through the shipping containers, when you discover an unopened box filled with Ivory figurines. This could be the big break you have waited for...

Dim-Sum

Your grandma has worked hard her entire life building a reputation for her little Dim-Sum shop. Locals and well-informed tourist enjoy her delicacies, but her shop is threatened by a fast food chain...

Monkey Business

You just arrived in Hong Kong for your vacation, dropped off your backpacks in your hostel, took the ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong island and are hiking up Victoria Peak. You find a monkey in the bushes and feed him pieces of your sandwich when you hear a sharp whistle. The monkey jumps you, grabs your wallet and runs...

Chungking Mansion

On a budget, you went to Hong Kong and ended up in Chungking Mansion. The shower offers no relief from the humid heat and the sad looking AC unit in your room just circulates stale air and the smell of rancid curry. The old man at the front desk is smoking one cigarette after the other and a young girl in a short skirt and heavy make-up is filing her nails. You find everything as the internet has warned you, but still something feels strange...

Hit Me!

You went all out on your ticket to Hong Kong, that's why you ended up in a shabby dorm in Chungking Mansion. You have just enough in your pocket for dinner, but heard of a place where you could double your funds with the right hand or the throw of a die, and if luck is on your side, you might be invited into one of the upscale places...

This storyline will most certainly end up in situations that involve gambling. How you resolve these situations should be based on the story you tell.

If the gambling is a crucial part of your story, you should think about the many ways one might be able to influence ones’ luck: counting cards, physically manipulating dice, marking cards. All of these attempts will result in a roll based on your skills and the situation you are in.

If you feel, the gambling part of your story would be shown in a movie as a quick montage of shots with beat-heavy music in the background, sum up your skills and roll these against the overall situation. Remember, you can always add more details if the situation changes.

四 A Future Utopia/Dystopia.

Imagine a place where race, gender or social status doesn't define your future, any form of decease is eradicated, and people don't suffer from any hardship. Does this sound too good to be true? It possibly is: look further, beyond the city limits and you might find a scrapyard where people fight to survive, and morality comes second.

Rollerball

Life in the scrapyards is tedious and the only excitement is the weekly rollerball tournament – a vicious sport. Your team wants to enter the tournament and try their luck, but you have to convince the league about your abilities and the excitement you will add to the show… \

Put on your Shades

The Scrapyard has seen many challenges in recent years with rivaling gangs fighting over power, but since a group of strange men wearing sunglasses has moved into the neighborhood it has become suspiciously quiet...

Alien Overlords

Advances in technology have skyrocketed your civilization into the space age. The rich and successful enjoy a splendid life on a space station orbiting earth while the unlucky ones’ face hunger, decease and crimes on Earth. But all is not as well as it seems since we made contact to a technical advanced alien species...

To the stars

After society has reached beyond the stars, the few staying behind had to fight their own battles: The great plague. Isolated in Space-Heaven, a settlement looking to build a rocket to reach the giant space station orbiting Earth, you face wild animals and freezing conditions looking for parts in the scrapyard…

Message from Sam

Space-Heaven, a settlement eager to reconnect with the space port orbiting Earth is working hard on building a rocket from scratch. You find yourself having visions and dreams, and believe these visions are the key to building the rocket. You find a group of friends and strangers willing to follow these dreams into the wilderness to the remains of an old rocket factory…

Rule Overview

Elements Yin Yang/Virtues Characteristic
1 Wood anger kindness, benevolence idealism, spontaneity, curiosity; growth & vitality
2 Fire hate, shame honor, awe, joy, wisdom passion, intensity; swelling & brimming with energy
3 Earth worry, anxiety faith, integrity agreeableness, honesty; levelling, fruition, moderation
4 Metal sadness grief bravery, righteousness intuition, rationality, mind; harvesting & collecting
5 Water fear passion, propriety erudition, resourcefulness, wit; retreat & stillness
6 Qi The omnipotent energy in everything.
  • Balance Yin & Yang
  • Eliminate first Yin then Yang elements (🡺)
  • Yang-气: balance out a Yin element or create your Yang element
  • Yin-气 left: automatic failure.
  • Rolling own element enhances effect
  • resolve consequences (refer to the table) or store for setting the next scene
  • Success: equal elements of Yin & Yang are left, or Yang dominates Yin
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