Jadeclaw: Anthropomorphic Fantasy Role Playing

by Chuan Lin

Enter the world of Zhongguo, where Dragons and Phoenixes live among Cats, Rats, Dogs, and dozens of other races … Where the Celestial Bureaucracy governs not only the Noble Houses of Earth, but also the Heaven Court and even the weather itself … Where evil lurks in forgotten places, and ambition stirs in the hearts of the greedy and the wrathful … Where masters of the mystic martial arts make impossible feats look effortless … Where wizards conjure forth balls of fire, bolts of lightning, thunderstorms, or even changes to fate itself … Where adventure can be found from the uncharted wilderness, to the Forbidden City of Majing, and all places in between. Anthropomorphic Fantasy Role-Playing is a complete game in one volume. Create the character you want to play from the many Races and Careers of Zhongguo, or invent your own. Immerse yourself in martial-arts battles and spell-casting with a game system that is simple to learn yet endless in possibility. Experience the wonder of a fantastic kingdom where the destiny of a thousand years can be decided in an instant. Jadeclaw is another bold direction in fantasy role-playing games. Features Based on mythical China during time of the Warring States period. An innovative gaming system designed with both the novice and the experienced gamer in mind. Simple enough that one can start playing in only 15 minutes, yet with hundreds of options for an experience as complex and as rich as desired. 30 Races and over 70 character careers that can be mixed and matched without restrictions … plus rules for making your own races and careers! A diverse collection of magic representing over 200 spells!. Over 180 Martial Arts, including five "Secret Schools". A detailed campaign setting of Zhonggou, including over a dozen maps including a 2 page spread featuring the entire realm around Zhonggou, a wealth of resources, and descriptions of important personages and States. Over 288 Illustrations! To play Jadeclaw, you will also need pencil and paper, and polyhedral dice (four-sided, six-sided, eight-sided, ten-sided and twelve-sided).

Genres: Gaming, Role Playing Games, Fantasy

Paperback

Published January 20, 2002

Reviews

[Joseph Teller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jadeclaw is an anthropomorphic Fantasy game that uses an advanced version of the mechanic used in Ironclaw.

It moves into the realm of Eastern Fantasy, rather than western, which is what Ironclaw was associated with. It has a more complex and sophisticated magical arts system, as well as a full blown cinematic martial arts system.

The book is huge in comparison to its predecessor, but doesn't have a pile of support books to follow, its pretty much standalone as is.

Unfortunately it suffers in the process from a limited support, as it came out in time to face off against the 3,000 lb gorilla of WoTC's Dungeons & Dragons D20 and was basically strangled by the marketing, distribution monopoly and merchandising of that other franchise.

Its a nice niche game, and thanks to the ruthlessness in the market, has left it floundering for years.