Review: Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade

Name: Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade
Author: Eloy Lasanta
Publisher: Third Eye Games
Category: Role-Playing Game
Cost: $14.99
ISBN: 978-0-9826427-5-7
Source: Complimentary item for review

From The Publisher

The War Has Begun

The Emperor has called for blood! All ninja of the Izou Empire face the crushing might of their own nation. Where once there was peace, now there is only destruction and death. The ninja are forced to fight back, wielding the ancient art of chi manipulation alongside their shuriken and katana. Empire soldiers pack their own secret weapons to combat ninja wushu… powerful firearms.

The ninja of the realm have assembled into their own army, the Lotus Coalition. Together, they hope to take down the Empire and stop the reign of destruction upon the people of the land. That is if they can overcome centuries old feuds and rivalries that could destroy them from within!

This Book Includes:

- A guide to the Izou
- Empire and the machinations behind their Ninja Crusade.
- Information on all the Empire’s major cities and landmarks
- Rules for playing any one of the 10 most influential Ninja Clans, like the Recoiling Serpents or the Virtuous Body Gardeners
- Easy-to-learn, flexible character creation rules.
- Fully immersive mechanics and 11 Fighting Styles make combat an intense experience.
- Complete rules for 20 Wushu paths, celestial animals and tips on crafting your own ninja stories.

Thoughts

Full disclosure right up front: While the art looked really great, and while I have a ton of respect for Eloy and Third Eye Games – I was not looking forward to reviewing this game. I don’t really “do” martial arts and I hate most anime. It was pretty obvious that is what I had to look forward to with this game, and I went in thinking that it was going to suck. But my group and I are big Third Eye Games fans and we play API on a very regular basis – so we decided to give it a go.

This 220 page bookmarked PDF contains 7 chapters:

-Chapter One: Ninja vs. The Empire
This chapter is an extremely detailed look at the Ninja Wars – from the four previous to the fifth and current one.

-Chapter Two: Clans
The Lotus Coalition (an alliance of ninja formed to combat the Empire which has ordered their extinction) is made up of the following clans:

• Bamboo Herbalists
• Blazing Dancers
• Grasping Shadows
• Hidden Strands of Fate
• Living Chronicle
• Pack of the Black Moon
• Recoiling Serpents
• Virtuous Body Gardeners
• Wardens of Equilibrium
• Will of Iron
• Ronin

-Chapter Three: Character Building
This is the six-part detailed point-buy system for PCs. It is a tad time-consuming, but gives you a very well-rounded character when done right.

-Chapter Four: Wushu
There are 20 different paths of wushu – 10 general and 10 clan-specific paths. The general wushu paths are:

• Way of Beasts
• Way of Earth
• Way of Fire
• Way of Metal
• Way of Movement
• Way of Survival
• Way of the Unseen
• Way of the Warrior
• Way of Water
• Way of Wood

The clan-specific wushu paths are:

• Way of Balanced Scales
• Way of Caring Hands
• Way of Ebony Clutches
• Way of Great Serpents
• Way of Heaven’s Judgement
• Way of Immaculate Show
• Way of Inked Skin
• Way of Kept Lore
• Way of Spun Threads
• Way of Twin Beasts

-Chapter Five: Equipment And Combat
Everyone loves martial arts gear, and this chapter is filled with the weapons and equipment that no self-respecting ninja should be without. The rules of combat are a bit long, but with some play experience they do become quite a bit more understandable and easier to use. There’s also a very helpful example of combat at the end of this chapter to really flesh things out.

-Chapter Six: Antagonists
This is Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade’s “Monster Manual”, with stats and information on the people and creatures that PCs will encounter.

-Chapter Seven: Storytelling
The final chapter is a basic overview for the GM on plot hooks and storyline ideas.

The book also includes an introduction, glossary, index, and charts. All are relevant and helpful to the game itself.

We have had a really great time with this game overall. My gaming group liked substantially more than I, thanks to their heavier interest in this type of setting – but I can see myself wanting to play this again in the future because it is quite detailed.

As with all of Third Eye Games’ products, the writing and art is very good – and I can see this game being a very huge hit if it gets adequate exposure. It is an excellent value for the money and has a solid “read and enjoy” value, even if one decides not to actually play.