For my Birthday a few weeks ago, I grabbed a PDF off of my list of RPG’s that I have been keeping an eye on. I picked up Qin: The Warring States. The game is set in the Warring States period of China, and is a Wuxia style game, with Martial Arts, Taoisms, and Magic.

I am about half-way through reading the rules, and I am enjoying them. The rules have a very Asian feel to them, with a focus on themes like the elements and balance. I won’t do a full review of the game, as there have been a few good reviews that have already been done, and in more depth than I would do in any review.

What I really like about the Qin game is the attention to historical and cultural detail. This game is very much like Sengoku, containing a wealth of information about the setting, including politics, religion, and day to day life. I find that with games that are historical in nature, and that are outside of euro-centric themes, that prevail in most modern RPG’s, a strong section on setting, is key to help the GM create the level of immersion necessary to make the world feel real for the players.

So while I have not finished reading the entire rules yet, I did invite Sargon and Dr. J over to make some characters for the game. It took us a little bit fumbling through the rules, not in the design of the character creation rules, but our lack of experience with the system and the mechanics of the game. In the end we put together a few characters that we will take out in a week or two, to take the combat system through its paces.

So with the reading of Qin, I have also re-awakened my love for Martial Arts movies. I have always enjoyed all flavors of Martial Arts movies, but lately I have been drawn to the high-end Wuxia films like, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, and House of The Flying Daggers. On Friday night, I sat and watched Seven Swords. It was a good film, with some entertaining combat scenes. It was not as good as some of the films I listed above, but it was a entertaining and had several great combat scenes.

This week I have selected a movie called Warriors of Heaven and Earth, to add to my Wuxia collection, and I have made plans to go and see Forbidden Kingdom, with Spenser, and Dr. J, next week. All the while I will continue to read Qin, and feed my current Wuxia interest.

My current plan for Qin is to run some very light sessions of it, and not in any serious campaign. I am still holding true to my Iron Heroes campaign, and my time is too limited to be running two campaigns at the same time. But I cannot resist the images of sword fights in tea houses, or battles that jump from rooftop to rooftop, and from tree to tree.