# Wushu: The Ancient Art of Action Roleplaying tags: #game/rpg/wushu ![[Wushu (logo).png]] *Wushu* is a roleplaying game for people who find math tedious and physics optional. It operates on the "Principle of Narrative Truth," which is a fancy way of saying that if you describe it, it happens. There are no "to-hit" rolls to see *if* you punch the ninja; you simply describe punching the ninja, and the universe obliges. The dice do not determine success or failure; they determine how much your gratuitous violence contributes to the actual pacing of the scene. It is a game of cinematic emulation where "being cool" is the only stat that actually matters. If you enjoy the sound of your own voice describing slow-motion gunfights, this is likely your holy grail. ## Mechanics The core mechanic is deceptively simple: **You sing for your supper.** ### The Dice Pool (Dice for Details) You do not roll based on your character's skill level; you roll based on how much effort you put into your description. You gain one six-sided die (d6) for every **Detail** you include in your narration. - **Example:** "I punch him" earns you 1 die. Boring. - **Better:** "I slide across the banquet table (1), kicking up a cloud of roasted pheasant (2), and drive my heel into the guard's throat (3)." That earns you 3 dice. There is typically a cap (usually 4 to 6 dice) to prevent players from filibustering the session with ten-minute monologues about their coat physics. ### Resolution Once you have your pool, you roll against a **Trait**. - Standard Traits are target number **2**. - Your character's specialized Traits (e.g., *Master of the Flying Guillotine* or *Cynical Necromancer*) are typically **4** or **5**. - Every die that rolls **below or equal to** the target number is a Success. ### Yin and Yang This is the only part where you might actually face consequences. Before rolling, you must divide your dice pool into **Yang dice** and **Yin dice**. - **Yang Dice:** These are for offense. Hits here reduce the Scene's "Threat" or the villain's health. - **Yin Dice:** These are for defense. You need at least one success here to defend against the scene's danger. If you fail to generate enough Yin hits, you lose **Chi** (your narrative plot armor). Run out of Chi, and you are removed from the scene (usually in a humiliating fashion). ### Mooks vs. Nemeses - **Mooks:** They have no stats. They are set dressing made of meat. They exist solely to make you look competent. They inflict a flat 1 hit of damage per round, forcing you to allocate at least one Yin die to defense. - **Nemeses:** These are actual threats. They have their own Traits and Chi, and they roll dice back at you. ## Editions The game has evolved, though "evolved" might be too strong a word for "added more examples." - ***Wushu Open***: The original, bare-bones framework, released under a **Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 (CC BY 2.0)** license. It was extremely light, trusting players to figure out the nuances. It included the "Scab Roll" rule for rolling without descriptions, which was rightly discarded because it encouraged boring play. - ***Wushu: Black Belt Edition***: The definitive version. It compiles the core rules along with the "Wushu Guides" (*Cut-Fu*, *Gun-Fu*, *Car-Fu*, and *Wyrd-Fu*). It clarifies that *everything* is a detail—social manipulation, hacking, and exorcisms all work exactly like kung fu. It also includes specific settings like *Clockwork Wuxia*. ## References - [Official Wushu Page - DanielBayn.com](http://danielbayn.com/wushu/ "null") - [Wushu: Black Belt Edition - DriveThruRPG Product Page](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/143146/Wushu-Black-Belt-Edition "null")