SWORDS UP, WANDERERS.
THE PEOPLE ARE WAITING.
MAKE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL HAPPEN.
WE ARE ON YOUR SIDE.
10,000 SWORDS AGAINST HEAVEN is an Ultraviolent Tropical Gothic Xianxia Tabletop Role-Playing Game set in a Buddho-Communist Revolutionary Asia Dark Fantasy World.
Out for free!
Ultraviolent Tropical Gothic Xianxia Role-Playing
As Wanderers, you will cultivate your spirit—your Ardor—into burgeoning Cultivation Wombs that will allow you to attain greater power. But remember that this power can only be attained in two ways: by the strength of the community or by exploitation of the oppressed. Which way will you take? Look closer and you will know that there is a right answer. All Cultivation leads to Power, but not all Roads lead to Enlightenment.
It is Ultraviolent because it deals with the wielding of violence to break free from cycles of violence. The World reels from Post-Calamity and burgeoning, unstoppable capitalism. Those exploited are even more exploited, those that benefit benefit even more. It understands that Violence is the only recourse against those committing Violence, but it is a pure, unalloyed Violence that wishes only to break free from oppression that breaks cycles, instead of Violence wishing to gain the power to oppress.
It is Tropical Gothic because 10kSwords’ World centers cultures, aesthetics, ideas, and ideologies that resonate or look like the ones in our third world, in the neocolonies and current colonies and semicolonies and semifeudal states of our world. In the socialist states of our world. Tropical Gothic is an old literary concept that blends gothic horror with tropical realities, dealing with colonial violence, marginalized indigenous histories, imperial faiths clashing with local cults, monstrous legacy of colonies and liberalism.
It is Xianxia because this world is a Dark Fantasy rooted in Buddhism, Daoism, and Folk Religion. Wanderers must cultivate themselves and, more importantly, their communities to create a force powerful enough to topple heaven—in this case, the neoliberal world order. Collect violence, esoterica, and lore to benefit not just themselves but the People. To cultivate for one’s own power is not Ultraviolence.
here, our systems...
Built from a 3d6 roll under system inspired by the likes of GURPS, Fading Suns, and Exalted. But the game's rules express gritty world-first principles similar to the OSR or NSR movements. It is a normal Success/Failure system—Failure is not always just a failure of action, but can also be an opportunity for chaos or absurdity, or a partial pass forward.
a robust Intercessor system (GM) where Intercessors telegraph the movements of the world, and then apply appropriate consequences.
The Liquid Steel Ultraviolence System: a brutal, skull-on-pavement, bloody-knuckles xianxia combat systemthat emphasizes the brutal exchanges found in many xianxia fiction and media, fusing supernatural spirit-violence with gritty The Raid 1 & 2, Ong Bak, and Sleeping Dogs style visceral pugilism. Built from the same Telegraph system of the Intercessor, so combat is not a separate "screen" but directly in the fiction, a sudden bite of mechanic or of reality. You can see what an enemy is about to do and react accordingly as a decision point, similar to Soulslike games in feel.
The Attachments System, inspired by Exalted 3e's Intimacies system, where social situations are driven by the Attachments of everyone involved and the leverage, manipulation, or influencing of these Attachments.
The Enlightenment System which is a currency gained by learning new things or seeing things you're not supposed to see, and then spent when picking items, searching rooms, etc. to gain Lore about them. A mechanized version of Player Notes. The more Enlightenment you have, the stronger your connection to the unknown of Magick, but the stronger some Magicks' effect on you is too. And the more Mad you become (what is madness but sanity in an insane system?)
Cultivations that let you learn Technicks and Magicks from the World, letting you change the world or attempt to End Violence. These come as Martial Arts or Magick Arts.
Resolve The Contradiction.
Until all the hells are empty.
Until all beings are free.
