Xia

Objective

A role-playing game of virtue-driven kung-fu superheroes.

Things To Do

A combat system that's intricate enough to be gamed, but not so complex as to become truly clumsy.

Build a simplish conflict resolution system that can be expanded on and applied to the important conflicts in the game.

The Game

Xia functions around a set of Virtues - traits that represent the character's moral code, his way of interacting with the world, his overall outlook on life. In Xia, characters affect and are affected by the world around them through their Virtues. In both cases, kung-fu serves as a lens through which to focus this force of self.

In Xia, the martial arts are a way to turn a character's personality and morals towards amazing feats of martial prowess; accordingly, characters with differing personalities and moralities use kung-fu in different ways.

While Virtues are a rough representation of the character's personality, they do not define or limit the character's personality. As the character grows and changes, his morals, methods, and outlook can change, too. When this occurs, Virtues can be rearranged to a degree, or improved through the expenditure of experience points. In other words, the character defines the Virtue scores, rather than Virtue scores defining the character. If your character was once a great font of caring and generosity, but grows more cynical as the story progresses, you can rearrange your character's Virtues to properly represent that, which in turn can alter how he uses his kung-fu.

Virtues are rated 0-5, and opposing Virtues sit at opposite ends of a ten-point scale. For example:

Callousness - Compassion
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The aforementioned character with a powerful sense of caring and generosity has Callousness 0 and Compassion 5. As he changes, though, growing more cynical, his sense of love for mankind is slowly replaced by his cynicism.

Callousness - Compassion
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The character's individual Virtue ratings have changed - now he possesses Callousness 1 and Compassion 4. The five points already on this scale have really just moved down one spot. This doesn't cost experience points, it's just a way to mechanically represent the effect that this shift in outlook would have on the character's kung-fu and how he deals with the world.