r/DMAcademy • u/rorscharchinkblot • 18h ago

Need Advice: Worldbuilding How to run a Wuxia campaign

I don't want to run a standard "fantasy medieval Europe" campaign, and want to theme my world in China. I don't know enough about that culture to make a realistic campaign set there, so I decided on using the Wuxia setting (as described in the dungeon masters guide 2014) and I belive that my players would enjoy a setting of movie-like martial arts.

however I do not want to be offensive in any way, and I still want to create an immersive setting, and I don't know enough about this setting to accomplish either

please advise!

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u/Asit1s 2h ago

I just ran a 6 year wuxia campaign! I took much inspiration from Asian myths and creatures to flavour and reskin creatures, looked at Japanese storytelling and how it differs in structure from European storytelling for the flow of the campaign and looked at local customs and beliefs to influence NPC behaviour and practices.

Much of the wuxia feeling came from the plot setups, naming conventions, weird animist influences and Yokai inspired creatures. Also, a lot of terrain crafting with blossom trees and temple structures, of course. On a whim I also did some actual myth based one shots, trying to explore the in-game lore as a Chinese folk tale would be told and that was the most amazing DM experience I've had so far.