Chinese New Year, that is. In celebration, Tabletop Adventures has put our historical fantasy product Jade and Steel (about mythic China) on sale at a 15% discount through February 4. Taking this time to recognize the presence of Chinese influence and options in roleplaying, we also present a compilation of several other products on DriveThruRPG that focus on China. These are primarily fantasy products that deal with ancient China, but there are some others toward the end of the list.
The product that may be the most use with Jade and Steel is Tabletop Gaming Guide to: Three Kingdoms China, which presents more historical information about that evocative period of Chinese history. It seems to be mostly system-neutral, with a supplement on using the material with Savage Worlds and a couple other systems.
One specialized book useful for a game in a China-like setting is Blades of the Lunar Kingdom, which presents historical information and magical swords for 5th edition D&D. Another is Mythic Monsters #38: China from Legendary Games, which includes half-a- dozen dragons plus other creatures from Chinese history and myth. In need of an adventure based on Chinese folklore? Try Moon Daughter’s Fate, available for several systems from our friends at Frog God Games.
Related maps are Map of China Circa 506 BC and Tall Ships 16: Chinese Junk Fleet. Thematic elements that could be used for making a map, or possibly for play with a VTT, are in Worldographer Ancient China Battlemat, Settlement, and World/Kingdom Map Icons.
A stand-alone game set in mythic China is Qin, The Warring States. Using a custom system, it allows a different style of roleplaying in a similar ancient setting. Another different system is supported in GURPS Classic: China, which uses GURPS Third Edition.
If old-school systems are more your thing, you could check out the original Asian setting for D&D in Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms, or see Mad Monks of Kwantoom for Labyrinth Lord (or other OSR systems), by Kabuki Kaiser.
Interested in recent, rather than ancient, China? Take a look at Old Shanghai Sourcebook, a system-free setting for 1930s China to use with pulp, modern, horror, or other genres. Speaking of horror, the World of Darkness has its own Chinese-inspired sourcebooks, such as Bloodline – Qín Hùwèi, and Clanbook: Jiang Shi, about the unusual vampires of China.
Finally, the list wraps up with some resources on China and other nearby Asian countries. For inspiration on clothing and more, see India, China & The Tartar Tribes: The History Of Dress, Arms & Tools Reference Collection, a set of full-color illustrations. Focused on the area of western China is World Building Library: Tibetan Dress, Arms & Armor from Expeditious Retreat Press. That company has a series of short products on Tibet (and others on India) in their “World Building Library” line. Also from Expeditious Retreat Press is A Magical Society: Silk Road. This covers overland trade such as the historical trade routes through Central Asia, and could provide excellent information for a GM who wants to link a Chinese-inspired area to an existing campaign world.
We hope all these ideas will help GMs change up the standard quasi-medieval European roleplaying setting for something with a different feel. Augment your imagination with products from Tabletop Adventures!
