We're going loud! Attached here is the Release version of the game—1.4!
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.
What recourse do we have? When this dead world is reanimated by the Necromancer named Neoliberalism and the God named Capital?
You play as WANDERERS traveling and cultivating power, wandering the land to find purpose or fighting for the rebirth of a better world after the violent crushing of heroic revolutions by the international forces of neoliberal capitalists, devotees to the Black Nectar of Infinite Progress. Bourgeois peace is manufactured reality—be radical. Fuck up and dare to venture past liberal ideology.
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 system that 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.
However...
While the game itself is finished, there will be typos, grammar errors, and some balancing that we'll sort out with the game out in public.
There'll be more dungeons and modules! There are already multiple Game Design Essays on the Patreon regarding the mechanics and system choices.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone that takes the time to check this game out. I never thought I'd be able to make something like this, I write as if I'm going to be gone tomorrow. If you're able to or would like to support me, as this game is completely free, consider checking out my Patreon! Thank you, and may your days be beautiful.
This game is actually the TTRPG for my ongoing Dark Xianxia Web Serial: God Obliterating Vajra. Check it out if you can!
Don’t be ashamed of who you are. You have the fire. You are the only one that can believe in yourself. The world will doubt you, but you are greater than the world. I am on your side.
Resolve The Contradiction.
Until all the hells are empty.
Until all beings are free.
And for my dearest patrons, a preview of what's to come this month...
1.41 Fixes
Hey all! Had some time this week to deploy some fixes and edits. Also some things I forgot to put in for the public release, so as an apology I've added a whole new ass page!
Here's a Changelog:
Some minor edits for everyone fixing up a bit more typos (and putting in some late new mechanics. Again no revisions)
Fixed a bunch of typos
Added Apelah as an artist!
Modified the values of Cultivation Elixir a bit
Added new XP Triggers (I forgot to add these in before public release)
Clarified Transcendence rules
Added parasols, rope dart, and silk cloth as starting weapons
Adjusted the damage and ranges of weapons to be more accurate. The new ranges lean on "effective range" instead of maximum range. Shooting beyond range is possible, but incurs -1 Adjustments per 10hx.
Burning Hot Chamber now gives +1 dmg to guns.
To tie into the clarified Transcendence mechanic, there's a new page for DEATH MECHANICS.
New Death Mechanics
Work together or die apart.
Gaining 3 Injuries immediately Kills you. Lose consciousness. Your Cultivation leaves the world. What recourse have we?
Some lesser Cultivators procure elixirs and items to try and cheat death. But these are difficult to create, take a long time, and much materiel. Only the Ruling Class can perform such things.
Nay, greater Cultivators craft no elixir but communities. Communes. Connections. Infrastructures. Knowing that they are but one of many, and that is their greatest strength. To strengthen the All is to strengthen the Individual, and in this action of Mass Cultivation is the Individual turned into the People.
Performing a Great Work for a community, wielding your Skill to help them cultivate by materially benefitting them, is one of the methods for Transcendence (p. XX). In doing this, that Community ascends to the same Awakening Stage of the Wanderer.
When the Wanderer dies, instead of finding a new Wanderer, you can discover a Wanderer from one of the Communities you've performed a Great Work for. You can play as this Wanderer, and you can say that they have the same Cultivations, Skills, and so on as your recently killed Wanderer. As long as the Commune lives, the People are Immortal.
But be careful and be skillful. You cannot die an unlimited amount of times and keep taking from the Community. You must contribute something back first. Else, become the very Oppressive Class that you try to break free from.
Remember—you are not separate from others. You are the Others. You are the World. To love everyone else is to love yourself. To love yourself is to love everyone else.