BLACK MYTH for ICRPG

With help of Ezzerharden’s primer and a lot of delicious art from Black Myth: Wukong.

BIO FORM: Everyone is at least half Celestial. That means that they are more tangible and powerful than most creatures in the world, the spar of Heaven powering their souls.

• You start with 7 STAT points and 5 EFFORT points: you are a force to be reckoned with.

• You have an animal form of your choice you can occupy once a day.

• You operate on a different power scale: mortal creatures, like people and animals, never have HEARTS, only mystical entities can challenge your might in this way.

MARTIAL EFFORT: GUNS and KUNG FU both use a d8 EFFORT dice. However, in order to be “proficient” in these advanced weapons, you have to have at least 1 point in normal WEAPON EFFORT to represent your general training.

STARTING ARCHETYPE: Choose one of the options below, which gives you an extra piece of equipment and a starting ABILITY.

MONK You have honed your body with martial arts, meditation, and intense discipline. You get Focus Wraps (+2 MARTIAL EFFORT) and Mobile Mastery (You have ADVANTAGE on attacks when you move in the same ROUND).

ALCHEMIST Having mastered the traditional arts of healing, you’ve moved onto the greater pursuit- creating the False Gold of Immortality. You get an Herbal Kit (3 uses, heal ULTIMATE EFFORT) and the Midas Touch (once a day, touch something inanimate and turn it to gold).

NOBLE You are insanely rich and powerful, the scion of one of the Emperors of the Middle Kingdoms. You get a Badge of Imperial Authority (“I’m with the Emperor.”) and Commanding Word (Once a day, point to someone and command them, with a CHA roll if they’re inhuman, they must do what you ask).

GENERAL You have mastered the art of war, your skill in combat and leadership absolutely legendary. You get a Victor's Whetstone (Use this on a weapon to get ADVANTAGE on your next d4 attack rolls) and Command (On your turn, you can command an ally to attack for free).

MYSTIC You tap into the latent energies that suffuse the cosmos, known as Qi (“chee”). You get Prayer Beads (+2 MAGIC EFFORT) and Qi Manipulation (Take damage in order to automatically damage someone FAR from you for the same amount).

EIDOLON You are practically a specter, and shadows are like a cloak you wear on your shoulders. You get a Spider’s Mantle (As long as you are in darkness, you can climb on walls) and a Umbral Touch (Once a day, extinguish all light sources FAR from you and regain 1 HP per light extinguished).

INVOKER You summon idols and spirits from the strange realms beyond. You have a pet (1 HEART, +1 to all rolls and EFFORT) and a Spirit Step (Teleport anywhere you can see with a WIS roll, if you fail, you get shunted somewhere random in the cosmos).

STARTING LOOT: In addition to 4 pieces of ALFHEIM starting LOOT, start off with 2 Glyphs of any form. Each Glyph manifests itself differently depending on the form it takes. It can be used as a SPELL, a TATTOO, INSCRIBED on any item, or carved specifially into a WEAPON. (For example, Sun Wukong’s staff would be a quarterstaff with a STEEL INSCRIPTION and a WOOD WEAPON inscription, and that one item would be his magical starting LOOT.) Each one has a different effect:

	SPELL	TATTOO	INSCRIPTION	WEAPON
WATER	HEAL. Heal for MAGIC EFFORT.	FLOW. Your speed is doubled, and your body becomes amorphous, fitting through anywhere water can.	PLENTIFUL. The object goes above and beyond what it is supposed to do- a bag might have extradimensional volume, or produce 3 gold coins every time you open it...	EVER-FLOWING. If you get a 15+ on an attack roll, you can attack again.
STEEL	FABRICATE. Mold something metal into something else of equal volume for d4 ROUNDS.	IRON SKIN. +3 DEFENSE.	INVULNERABLE. This item cannot be destroyed or FUMBLED.	MAGIC-BUSTER. If you deal a HEART of EFFORT, you destroy enchantments on the target.
WOOD	OVERGROWTH. Touch a plant to have it explode in size instantly.	EVERGREEN. When you’re conscious, you regenerate 1 HP per ROUND so long as you haven’t taken fire or poison damage in the last ROUND.	SENTIENT. This weapon has a mind of its own, and communicates to you in some way.	RESIZING. The weapon can resize to any (reasonable) size.
FIRE	FLAME RAY. Create conflagration in a line FAR from you, it deals MAGIC EFFORT.	HOT SKIN. Deal BASIC EFFORT to anyone who hits you with a melee attack.	CONSUMABLE. When you destroy, consume, or break this item, something epic happens!	CONFLAGRATION. The weapon lights what it hits on fire, dealing BASIC EFFORT each ROUND until put out.
AIR	WEATHER CONTROL. Do a HEART of MAGIC EFFORT to control the weather for d4 ROUNDS.	WIND WALKER. You can fly half your speed.	POWERFUL. Like the gale and typhoon, the forces of nature give this item ULTIMATE EFFORT.	DANCING. Let go of your weapon and it will attack for you. It has a +0 to hit and uses your EFFORT bonus.

THE PREMISE: You all are graduates of the Still Pond Monastery, one of the Eight Pillars. Having graduated long ago, you all receive rather sheepish-sounding letters from the Oni in charge of the monastery, Master Fao. Despite appearing to be a hard, stone-faced demagogue during your time in his training, in your adulthood you realize that he was actually relatively ditzy and reckless, especially because of his penchant for “collecting” magic artifacts. He explains that the Monastery is in some trouble due to his recent escapades, and that he needs your help to set it right...

THE WORLD: The Middle Kingdoms, land of the mortal Emperors locked in eternal war for territory, lies in between the Eight Pillars, structures that bridge the mystical world with the corporeal. Beyond their perimeter, the magical realms of the Kunlun Mountains, Scarlet River, Flowing Sands, and Pure Lands are home to mighty Celestials and terrible beasts, like the Vermilion Phoenix and the Onyx Tortoise...

THE COSMOS: The Eight Pillars each also act as gateways to Heaven (Tian, home of the Jade Emperor and the Celestial Court) and Hell (Diyu, home of Lord Yama and his infernal servants). In addition, each planet is aligned with a specific element: Mercury (WATER), Venus (METAL), Mars (FIRE), Jupiter (WOOD), Saturn (AIR).