Hearts of Wulin

 

Look folks, this review is gonna be kinda weird. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with PBTA. On the one hand, I greatly appreciate the framework that Mr. Baker set up. I heartily agree that RPGs are a conversation, with mechanics coming on specific triggers. Yup, I'm with that part. But there's a hyper-focus to PBTA that I have a hard time with. Maybe that's the vestiges of DnD still living within my soul fighting to survive or whatever, but the scope of a good PBTA game is so small it weirds me out. I like the more "old school" feel, of having discrete skills that can be used in multiple ways. By paring down the "moves" of skills into something more restricted I just feel like something is lost.

Now, to be fair, this is my second PBTA I've ever actually played, the first being Dungeon World. I've been told in no uncertain terms by PBTA apologists that the PBTA tech has evolved past that point, and has done so in earnest.

That may be true, but the hyper focus of skills into genre emulation isn't gone in this PBTA game. It's done better, yes, but my underlying issue with all PBTA remains: you're telling me how to play. Thank you kindly, but I don't want you telling me how to play. That's not your job, Designer-Person. Give me somewhat specific tools, with some guidance on how to use them, and I'll figure it out from there.

So no, I'm not quite the target audience for this game. 

But y'know what? I decided to bite on this one. Most of the important movies of my childhood and teenaged years include Chinese martial art films. I mean, Hero is as influential on me as Clannad, not to mention House of Flying Daggers. It's a genre I've not explored in a very long time, and one I could stand to look at again. That and I saw a session of it played online and was astounded at how emotionally safe everyone was during it. There was some seriously heavy stuff going down, but everyone was fine! It was awesome!

I still don't have the hardcopy in my hands, thanks to COVID. That made learning the game a bit harder; I don't absorb information from PDFs terribly well. But fortunately I had a PBTA aficionado around to help, so I was able to lean on him a bit during play. Fortunately, I found the game relatively easy to pick up. PBTA is normally pretty easy to learn, at least in my experience, and that's not different here. You just play, and the GM butts in with mechanics when necessary until you learn it. It's a pretty simple process.

And, let's be honest, the moves themselves aren't that mechanically different from most other PBTA games I've read. Granted, I want to do this genre, but that doesn't change the involuntary twitch. And, to be fair, that's my problem, not the designers. But I wound up loving this game.

It's because of the Internal Conflict move.

Basically, if you run into a spot that might create emotional distress, you roll this move. You get XP, just for having to do the move. You then have three possible outcomes, all of them various levels of bad but.... they're mostly open. You can just do what you think best within the context. This one move creates some of the most fun I've ever seen in an RPG. Your character can go crazy and you're emotionally shielded from it. If you want to have a really RP intense game, then emotional shielding like this is crucial. You have to be able to point at the mask and go "This is happening to this thing, this object, not to me"

What I love about this mechanic is that it allows you to radically shift the narrative in ways that are consistent with your character. One of the issues I've frequently run into as a GM is the wish to control the plot. I think part of my issue that I like lots of elements being introduced, just to see how the characters react. With this? I don't have to. Just ask if it's a moment of Internal Conflict. The plot practically writes itself after that. Just throw new things to drive everyone nuts, sit back, and grab the popcorn.

And that's not including the more high fantasy moves that are included in the back of the book. I really appreciated having these put in. They work more to my tastes, and I'm glad that they were included to expand the scope of the game. That's something I really like. I know I'll be using them a lot.

So you grab these very specific moves, combine it with a good and strong reaction mechanic, and you have a recipe for awesomeness. I did a Mortal Kombat-inspired game and we didn't even fight until the end. We didn't need to, I just called for Inner Conflict rolls and just saw where it went from there. And when we did fight it was really intense and cool, because we had all this interpersonal drama going on.

I really look forward to getting the book in my hands. The PDF is gorgeous and put together well. It's hard not to get inspired by the art, which is compellingly ethereal. The text is well laid out and clear. My lack of ability to read the text is my own hang up; this is really well done stuff. If you can read PDFs and get something out of them I think you'd have an easy time for it. 

Despite my own prejudices this is easily one of my favorite games. The mechanics are extremely well oriented, with a good reaction mechanic to help redirect the narrative. There's actually some good variety, a bit of a wider scope allowed. The drama these mechanics elicit are so heartfelt.

And heartfelt is my jam.