Wúxia Heroes of Dárdünah

Wúxia Heroes of Dárdünah is a club for fans of anthropomorphic role-playing and high-flying martial arts. A fansite for players of Dárdünah who are fans of “Fantasy Martial Arts” as portrayed in Wuxia fiction novels, wire-fu movies, anime and so on.

The mission here is to share non-canon, ‘house-rules’ supplemental skills, martial styles and rituals for the SHARD role-playing game that exist as an option for fans of the Wúxia genre. These rules are unauthorized for tournament play, and not officially recognized by Shard Studios nor licensed as an official Shard/Dárdünah supplement, but they are made with every attempt to ensure compatibility with the Shard Role Playing Game System.

Wúxia Optional Martial Arts Rules

As a playtester of Dárdünah, since the beginning of the effort to create a new game system, I have been involved in the process as a commentator and occasional contributor. I wrote nearly 70% of the first draft of the martial arts rules for the system several incarnations ago. Since then many other brilliant contributors have expanded and improved the system until it is the excellent thing you know today. I still have a lot of ideas up my sleeve however and I know that after reading the upcoming "Magic and Martial Arts" rulebook, many of you will too. I figured i would start the ball rolling by presenting some of my "House Rules" additions to the Martial Arts rules and eagerly invite you all to join and contribute your own ingenious expansions and supplemental rules for Mystic Martial Arts. Please comment on my ideas with any corrections or suggestions and please submit your own ideas. I look forward to sharing the many great ideas we will all have with my gaming group in the years to come.

May your crystal never shatter,

"Ghorüm" - Rev. Dr. Eric Z. Willman

Concepts of Wúxia Combat in Shard

Martial Arts Combat in the Shard RolePlaying Game system is based real-world-style fighting, with a cinematic flair. Like you might see in movies like 'Ong Bak', 'Fist of Legend', 'Supercop', and other non-wire enhanced films. It is supposed to be hard-hitting, fast moving, versatile and acrobatic. However it doesn't allow for any bending of basic physics or the inclusion of mystical effects in most cases. (Heaven's Sword and Vortahk Style come to mind as exceptions)
In Wúxia Combat this realistic and very badass, UFC-style kind of beat-down is relaxed in favor of bending reality a bit for even more fantastic, cinematic play. In Wúxia Combat, almost every fight will involve visible manifestations of supernatural energies, non-Paksin characters flying or jumping impossible distances, unreasonable destruction of inanimate objects and surprising collateral damage to the surroundings. One might liken it more to the movie 'Fearless' or the 'Once Upon a Time in China' series than an Tony Jaa film.
When you bring Wuxia into your version of Dárdünah it fundamentally changes the balance of power in the world UNLESS you apply the concept of "The World of Martial Arts" as it is expounded upon in some Wuxia cinema. ( For a great example of the collision of the normal world and 'the world of martial arts' see the movie Swordsman III: The East is Red. ) The general idea is that the rarified temperment of the ascended martial artists capable of Mystic Kung Fu is generally so lofty and above mortal concerns that the advanced practitioners take no part in and are mostly heedless of the petty struggles for short-lived temporal power common to the nromal world and thus do not involve themselves in struggles between nations and do not come into direct conflict with Isvars and Amins as a result. (see the movie Legend of Zu for an example of this non-interference lifestyle at work)
Now that's less fun that the other form of traditional Wuxia literature where the mystic martial arts heroes are in DIRECT conflict with Corrupt Ministers, Diabolical Eunuchs of the Imperial Chambers and even Despotic Emperors themselves! In this version though, the imperial courts are CHOCK FULL of flying-guillotine-wielding, invisible, teleporting, ninja assassins as well as ministers who can karate-chop boulders in half with their bare hands and deflect hurled Great-Axes with folding, rice-paper fans. For example in the movie Hero or Curse of the Golden Flower or Legend of the Black Scorpion.

still in open editing