Wuxia 5e: How I'd Do It, Lazily

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My relationship with D&D 5e is an odd one: mechanically I consider it to be the strongest and most usable of the modern/WOTC-era Dungeons & Dragons as its not as stupidly designed as third edition, easier to mod and its not fourth edition which, while it has strengths, is such a contentious game that it can't really be used in any way resembling the originally intended form of D&D.

Where 5e shine however is that it has quite a bit of support from third party and homebrewing to a level which went missing during the era of 4th edition. As a result of this more modular design and the handful of homebrew out there the game has never been more modular, at least not since the pre-WOTC days. While I'd personally be quite happy to keep running OSR and homebrewed stuff, my crop of available players in my social circle is a lot more fussy and would rather play the current edition. As a result I've adapted my notes and ideas for a Wuxia game to simply using 5e. Its worth noting there are far better options for things even vaguely related to Wuxia than D&D. This is just meant to be a very quick, very easy to grasp modification which I could use to introduce the average D&D 5e player to some Wuxia and, to a lesser extent, some Xianxia material. Of course, given D&D is very western it would make the game's true genre to actually be 'Xuanhan' but we are getting into dense terminology that would utterly lose the average player. Basically, it's a lot more Chinese-flavored and not the bat-soup or soy sauce kind of way.

Character Options

A key thing with people who play 'modern D&D' is that they expect a lot of character options. That's just the nature of modern game design, people expect to have a lot of frankly very similar options and a lack of options is perceived not as verisimilitude (like OD&D and OSR Fighting-Men) but as some lackluster or even lazy part of the game system. However, this being a Wuxia game much greater focus is put on the following options:

• Unlike other games where it might be an afterthought, the Monk is one of the two main classes in a Wuxia game, in its myriad bizarre forms and whatever odd homebrew might exist out there. In a world where Martial Arts are central to the setting identity just as much as monsters and gods, just about any type of Monk could exist. In particular, the Swordsage will line up well with the next important class...
• The second class which is key to the setting is the Battle Master Fighter Archetype and its Maneuvers. With many expansions to the Maneuvers, both official and unofficial, this class will pretty much cover any Wuxia character that prefer to use weapons as opposed to their bare hands.
• For those of a more sneaky persuasion the Duelist Rogue from Kobold Press's Midgard Heroes Handbook is similar to a Battle Master, gaining specific techniques and tricks to use in battle.

Unlike other campaigns of 5e where characters stick to a single class, the Wuxia campaign would actively encourage players to multi class either into a Monk or a Battle Master to represent the fact just about anyone with a name knows kung fu and/or cool techniques when a fight breaks out, even seemingly pacifist doctors or demure courtesan. The bread and butter of a character's theme/gimmick should be in their chi abilities as a monk or their maneuvers as fighters. Anyone not taking levels in those classes ought to then take some variant with an access to maneuvers or something suitably thematic. One issue with D&D is that anything beyond the fighter and thief archetypes are too rooted in Western culture and fantasy to properly fit in so it requires quite a bit more fussing around to try to fit a square part into a round hole.

• Druids are less like their new age/neo-pagan 'mother nature' inspirations and are instead odd forest monks who learn from animals and forest spirits: often members of Buddhist sects which have been cast out for various heresies and turned to a life of isolation. The Fist of the Forest or Circle of the Mantis make excellent primary classes and the main source of a character's martial arts.
• Wizards are weird because one could argue they are, on some level, very Wuxia and Xianxia-esque in their own way. The D&D Wizard's power and magic is drawn from their intellect and knowledge and their overall mastery of their craft, rather than any external power. In a way one could argue that D&D Wizards are a form of 'cultivation'.
• Warlocks may initially not make a lot of sense, but their highly specific patrons could be refluffed as a form of internal alchemy meant to emulate certain beings and gods or to enhance certain styles.

So to recap: Monk, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard and maybe some highly specific form of Druid or Warlock seems the obvious way to go. The Cleric, Paladin and their ilk are too 'western' to really fit in. Given the focus on fighting with martial arts and/or weapons, it make sense most character be multi classed into something which can properly fight.

What About Races?

All Human. What? It's perfectly valid! In any case, this would still be a setting which is very, very human-centric in spite of being a world of Gods and Immortals. The modern D&D concept of treating fantasy races as another flavor of human is one I've expressed intense displeasure before, however there are still ways to make use of that.

• One possible way to use this is to play some Special Clan of ambiguously supernatural people. Members of an extended family, this clan are mostly human-like barring a few odd features. Examples of these could be a 'Demon Clan' 'Tieflings' or the strange family of Mountain Men (Goliaths) who live in the north province and are known for their large size and strength.
• Generally, playing some supernatural being should be limited to about one party member at best to keep it suitably odd and mysterious. Keep in mind none of the Dwarf, Elf, Orc and other Tolkien-esque staples are right out the window here. A possible option would be to refluff the Eladrin or Aasimar stat block for some sort of lesser 'immortal' (Xian).