Sengoku (role-playing game)
Encyclopedia
Sengoku: Chanbara Roleplaying in Feudal Japan is a Samurai
role-playing game
, created by Anthony J. Bryant and Mark Arsenault and published by Gold Rush Games. The setting for the game is 16th century Japan
. The tone can be realistic, heroic as in Akira Kurosawa
films, or superhero
ic as in many manga
comicbooks.
Sengoku comes as a single book. It uses the Fuzion
rules system, which is highly-rated for flexibility but can be difficult to learn.
The game is striking for the great volume of well-researched background material that it includes, perhaps at the expense of clarity of the rules. There are detailed descriptions of society, weapons, language, locations, etc., a comprehensive filmography, and quotations scattered throughout the book to add "flavor".
The creators' original intention was to publish a new version of the Bushido role-playing game
but for legal reasons this proved impossible, necessitating the creation of a completely new game.
A revised edition of Sengoku was published in 2002.
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, created by Anthony J. Bryant and Mark Arsenault and published by Gold Rush Games. The setting for the game is 16th century Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The tone can be realistic, heroic as in Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
films, or superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
ic as in many manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
comicbooks.
Sengoku comes as a single book. It uses the Fuzion
Fuzion
Fuzion is a generic role-playing game system created by the collaboration of R. Talsorian Games and Hero Games. Fuzion is a combination of the Interlock System, , and the HERO system...
rules system, which is highly-rated for flexibility but can be difficult to learn.
The game is striking for the great volume of well-researched background material that it includes, perhaps at the expense of clarity of the rules. There are detailed descriptions of society, weapons, language, locations, etc., a comprehensive filmography, and quotations scattered throughout the book to add "flavor".
The creators' original intention was to publish a new version of the Bushido role-playing game
Bushido (role-playing game)
Bushido is a Samurai role-playing game set in Feudal Japan, originally designed by Robert N. Charrette and Paul R. Hume and published originally by Tyr Games then Phoenix Games and subsequently by Fantasy Games Unlimited...
but for legal reasons this proved impossible, necessitating the creation of a completely new game.
A revised edition of Sengoku was published in 2002.
See also
- Bushido (role-playing game)Bushido (role-playing game)Bushido is a Samurai role-playing game set in Feudal Japan, originally designed by Robert N. Charrette and Paul R. Hume and published originally by Tyr Games then Phoenix Games and subsequently by Fantasy Games Unlimited...
: produced in 1981 by Fantasy Games UnlimitedFantasy Games UnlimitedFantasy Games Unlimited, often referred to as just FGU, is a publishing house for both table-top and role-playing games. They have no in-house design teams and rely on submitted material from outside talent.-History:...
. - Oriental AdventuresOriental AdventuresOriental Adventures is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
: a supplement for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, produced in 1985 by Gary GygaxGary GygaxErnest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
's TSR, Inc.TSR, Inc.Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
and later rereleased in 2001 by Wizards of the CoastWizards of the CoastWizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
. - Legend of the Five RingsLegend of the Five RingsLegend of the Five Rings is a fictional setting created by the John Wick and published by Alderac Entertainment Group in 1995. The setting primarily involves the fictional country of Rokugan, though some additional areas and cultures have been discussed. Rokugan is based roughly on feudal Japan...
: a role-playing game and accompanying collectible card gameCollectible card gamethumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
, produced in 1995 by Alderac Entertainment GroupAlderac Entertainment GroupAlderac Entertainment Group, or AEG, is a publisher of role-playing game and collectible card game products. AEG was formed by Jolly Blackburn in 1993 and is based in the city of Ontario, California...
.