romance of three kingdoms vol1 issue1

Newsletter Date

Volume 1, Issue 1

Romancing Cathay

Introduction his effort to help. I want to

thank Creator Workship,

Koei Co. Japan, and Wizards

of the Coast for gracious

allow me to use their

artworks. I want to thank

Derek Graeff and Alan D.

Kohler for their contribution.

Lastly, I want to thank

Napoleon, the International

Journal of the Age of

Napolean, for being the

model I want to emulate.

Without further ado,

please enjoy our preliminary

issue. Thank You.

Revisiting the Three

Kingdoms, International

Journal for Romance of the

Three Kingdoms, is

dedicated to historical period

of the Late Han Dynasty (180

AD – 220 AD) when various

warlords rose to make a

name for themselves. There

were many books, games and

videos have already been

made on this topic.

Unfortunately, most of them

are in Asian languages. The

goal of this journal is to

bring the English speaking

readers into such exciting

topic.

Eventually, Revisiting the

Three Kingdoms would

feature provocative battle

and campaign studies,

original artwork and maps,

extraordinary dioramas and

illustrations, meticulous

research, book and game

reviews, product surveys,

plus travel, calendar of

events, and much more!

I want to thank Paul Mason

and his ezine, Imazine, for

which I was inspired to

create one dedicated to the

Three Kingdoms. I want to

thank Pierre-Alexandre

Serge Henry Sicart, the

French who thought

everyone want to be French

but secretly harbored the

desire to be Zhuge Liang, for

Inside this issue:

Cào Cao, the Story of (Part 1 of 9)

1

Army Structure During the Three Kingdom Periods

12

Lü Bú: East and West Views

18

Review: Dragon Dynasty Starter Set I: the Three Kingdoms I

24

Review: Ambition of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Red Cliff

26

Review: Portal: Three Kingdoms CCG

30

Review: Ambition of the Three Kingdoms: Role Game

32

Review: Jade & Steel d20 Adventure

36

Review: Oriental Adventure 3E

38

Romancing Cathay: Membership Benefit

48

Romancing Cathay: Membership Listing

49

Romancing Cathay: Wu Member Perk/Ranking

50

Romancing Cathay: Wen Member Perk/Ranking

51

Romancing Cathay: Dragon Dynasty FAQ

52

Romacing Cathay: Three Kingdoms FAQ

54

Revisiting the Three Kingdoms

International Journal for Romance of the Three Kingdoms

We will kick off the issue

by gave a biography of the

man himself, Cáo Cao. This

will be first of nine part

series of his life.

Cáo Cao (155 AD – 220 AD)

Cáo Cao (childhood

name – Ah-mán; given

name – Mèng-dé) was born

on the East Han Dynasty

Heng Emperor’s third Year

of Perpetual Prosperity

(155 AD) in Yù State, Pèi-

guo county (modern day

An-hui Province, Qiáo

County). He died on the

East Han Dynasty Xian Em-

peror’s twenty-fifth year of

Rebuilding Peace (220 AD)

at the army base near Lùo-

yáng. He lived sixty-five

years and in the most inter-

esting time of Chinese His-

tory. His original family

Articles

Cao Cao, Life of 1 of 9

This is the image most popularly associated with Cáo Cao. Courtesy of Creator Workshop’s Romance of Three Kingdoms Card Game

together, they were up to

mischief. Despite having

adventurous activities, Cáo

Cao was also an avid

reader, especially on vari-

ous Arts of War. Of all

texts, he favored the thir-

teen chapter of Sun Tzu

Bing Fă (Art of War); he

made numerous commen-

taries to further clarify it,

that eventually made it into

a book called Mèng-dé Bing

Fă.

Despite his family’s

wealth and connections,

and his personal talents,

Cáo Cao was still insecure

and unsure about himself.

During that period of time,

(Continued on page 3)

(Continued from page 1) name was Xià-hóu; how-

ever, his father was

adopted by the Palace

Eunuch, Cáo Téng, and be-

came known as Cáo Song.

His family was very

wealthy. In fact, his father

was able to purchase the

position of Tài-wèi, or min-

ister of war, for one hun-

dred million coins.

Childhood Life Many stories regarding Cáo

Cao’s youth prefigure his

future behavior. At age

five, with several friends,

he went to swim in a

nearby lake. A river snake

appeared and frightened all

but Cáo Cao, who fought

and drove it away. At age

twelve, he enjoyed hunting

but was forbidden to by his

father. As he was sneaking

out to hunt, one day, his

uncle spotted him. Acting

quickly, he fell down as if

having a seizure. His uncle

ran to inform Cáo Song. By

the time his father arrived,

Cáo Cao was acting nor-

mally, joking with his

friends. When questioned

by his father, Cáo Cao re-

plied that his uncle never

liked him and must have

lied about him for that rea-

son. From then on, Cáo

Song never believed a word

from his brother, and Cáo

Cao was pretty much free

to do as he pleased. Cáo

Cao and Yuán Shào were

close friends in their youth;

Lineage between Cáo and Xià-hóu. Siblings are arranged from right (eldest) to left (youngest). Single line means direct descendant. Dashed line means relatives. Double line means adoption. Arrow indicates where adoption takes place. Empty block means that person’s identity can not be found.

Modern Day China, showing which Province of where Cáo Cao lived.

Articles



Shùo, a favorite eunuch of

Emperor Líng. He at-

tempted to leave the city in

middle of the night and

was caught by Cáo Cao. He

was beaten to death on the

spot with five–colored

poles. The act shocked Lùo-

yáng and order was re-

stored in the northern dis-

trict. Cáo Cao legalistic na-

ture stayed much the same

throughout his lifetime.

Though the eunuch Jian

Shùo and Emperor Líng

were angry, they still had

to congratulate and reward

Cáo Cao in public. They

also decided to remove him

from the capital, so the

privileged would not be

harmed. Cáo Cao was as-

signed to the Ní-zhou

northern province, to be

Dùn-qiu County’s Zhâng

(Chief). He was later called

back to the capital to be

Advisory Gentleman with

no actual power. A year

later, due to a shift of po-

litical fortune, Cáo Cao was

forced to retire. After two

years, Chóa-tíng (the impe-

rial court) needed someone

well-versed in the classics

and who knew the system.

After much deliberation,

they chose Cáo Cao to re-

sume his position as Advi-

sory Gentleman. By then,

he was twenty-five-year

old. During this period, he

wrote many poems, among


(Continued from page 2)

it was popular to have a

noted person to appraise

and comment on a younger

person in order for the

later to gain recognition

and connection. Being a

wild and carefree youth,

not many had good opinion

of Cáo Cao. However, at

age fifteen, he received ap-

praisal of two noted gentle-

men. Hé Yo of Nán-yáng, a

very respectable minister,

saw Cáo Cao and sighed to

his friends,

“The Royal Han

Household will be soon

extinct; to pacify the

world will be someone

like him.”

Qiáo Xuán of Liáng-guo

was a minister who had

helped in pacifying barbari-

ans and was known for his

righteousness, humility,

and incorruptibility. To

such a young man and un-

known, Qiáo Xuán said to

Cáo Cao,

“Heaven Below will

soon fall into chaos;

many will attempt to

cause confusion in or-

der to enrich their

own fiefdom; only you

can help the people

and provide a safe

haven.”

With two recommenda-

tions from such famous

individuals, Cáo Cao was

still unsure of himself. In

order to gain more recogni-

tion for entry into the

Clear-Flowing Political

Group, he sought the ap-

praisal of Xû Shào from Rú-

nán, a very prestigious ap-

praiser of character. Many

came from thousands of

miles just to have him

evaluated their characters.

His comment on Cáo Cao,

“An able minister in

time of peace; a crafty

hero in time of chaos.”

Upon hearing that, Cáo

Cao laughed and left.

Early Political Life Cáo Cao entered politic by

the age of twenty. He had

been selected into Xiào-

lián, or the Filially Pious

and Incorrupt, candidates

for commissioned civil ser-

vices. This was no doubt

due to his grandfather Cáo

Téng’s connections. His

first post was Lùo-yáng Bêi-

du-wèi or Security Chief of

North Lùo-yáng District.

Upon arriving to his post,

he instructed men to repair

the four gates of the north-

ern district. Numerous five-

colored poles were set by

each gate. Anyone caught

trespassing without a

proper pass would be

beaten to death with five-

colored poles, no excep-

tion. A few months later,

the first offender proved to

be the granduncle of Jian

“An able minister in time of peace but a crafty hero in time of chaos…” Xû Shào’s comment on

Cáo Cao Courtesy of Creator Workshop’s Romance of Three Kingdoms Card Game

Articles


Inside Anhui Province, showing where Cáo Cao was born.

Page 2 Volume 1, Issue 1

Cáo Cao’s first post as the Security Chief at the Northern Sector of Capital, Lou Yang.

Yellow Turbans During the East Han Sev-

enth Year of Luminous

Peace or First Year of Cen-

tral Pacification (184 AD),

the worst civil unrest, Yel-

low Turbans, had occurred.

Officials recorded it as a

peasants’ rebellion. In fact,

this was the culmination of

the government’s errone-

ous policies and corrup-

tion. Chóa-tíng (the impe-

rial court) was more inter-

ested in the struggling be-

tween eunuchs and minis-

ters or in the enjoyment of

debauched lifestyle. Not

much thought and concern

was given to people. Led by

Taoist priests, like Zhang

Jiâo and his brothers, peo-

ple attempted to overthrow

the government. Though it

was put down within a

year, the civil unrest was

not resolved until after the

Battle of Guan-dù, when

Cáo Cao spent time and

effort to stabilize the Cen-

tral Plain.

Cáo Cao was thirty when

the Yellow Turbans Rebel-

lion started. This is the

event that his name began

to appear in official histori-

cal records. He served un-

der Huáng Fu-song as Qí-

du-wèi, or Calvary Com-

mander. He was credited

for valiant charges against

Zhang Jiăo’s troops that

demoralized them at the


(Continued from page 3) which two especially shed

some light on his ambi-

tions and dreams:

Ode to Wine Ode to wine, in time of

peace, officials knock at

no door.

The king is virtuous and

enlightened; ministers

are loyal and conscien-

tious.

Respectful, polite and

yielding, people have no

need to complain.

Three years farming,

nine years harvests; stor-

age is full, elderly needed

not worry.

Rain is plenty, hundreds

of crops have grown.

Horses are released from

military duty and re-

turned to work on farms.

Noble baron, viscount,

count, marquise and

duke, they love the peo-

ple like their children

and guide them toward

Enlightenment.

The son is raised with his

father and brother.

Lawbreakers are pun-

ished according to their

crimes.

People do not pick up

dropped purses.

Jails are empty and win-

ter season continued.

Everyone lives to the full

extend of their life.

Even grass and insects

benefit from such a

reign.

Pass Mount Guan

Between Heaven and

Earth, Men are most pre-

cious.

The lord shepherds his

people, leads them to

Enlightenment.

Chariot tracks horses

prints, Four Corners they

appeared.

Moved out of darkness,

the people prospers and

rests.

Let sagacity and virtue

govern within and with-

out.

Charged five ranked no-

bilities, established land

law punishment.

Peruse through red book,

erase those served crime

Nobles preach and guide,

not one is derelict.

Woe to the later genera-

tion, which changes laws

on whim,

Mobilized people for the

lords, sacrificed money

and service!

Shùn elaborated eating

utensils, ten nations re-

belled against

Not like Táng-yáo, had

unmarked palace pillars

World longed Bó-yí, his

principles are exempli-

fied

Excess is the worst sin,

economy is a virtue.

Xû-yóu’s humble mod-

esty is mentioned in

songs.

Broad love uphold all,

strangers treated as rela-

tives.

“Three years farming, nine years harvests…”

Poetry: Ode to Wine

courtesy of Creator Work-shop’s Dragon Dynasty Card Game

Articles



Faction had found out

about the Imperial Relative

Faction having brought an

the outside force, namely

Dông Zhúo, they decided to

strike first. They set up an

ambush for Hé Jìn and

asked Dowager Empress Hé

to summon Great General.

When Hé Jìn received the

summon, others begged

him not to go; he did not

listen. He was certain that

his military power would

be sufficient to awe the Pal-

ace Eunuch Faction. He was

assassinated.

Yuen brothers (Shào and

Su) led the Imperial Rela-

tive Faction and assaulted

the palace. Cáo Cao stayed



Battle of Cháng-shè.

For his valor, Cáo Cao

was promoted to Jî-nán

Xiang (Chancellor of South-

ern Rescue). Within a year,

he had ended governmen-

tal abuse and corruption

and removed inefficient

ministers. People loved

him; those with political

connections hated him. He

was to be promoted again

to Bêi-jùn Tài-shôu, or

Northern County Grand

Administrator but, suspect-

ing a trap from a palace

eunuch, Cáo Cao declined

and decided to retire from

the political arena. At age

thirty-two, he reasoned

that he still could offer his

service to Chóa-tíng (the

imperial court) by age fifty.

This would give him plenty

of time to read. Even in his

retirement, he could not

escape political machina-

tion, though: Xû Shào from

Rú-nán solicited him to

join the rebellion. Cáo Cao

refused; he did not believe

that regional armed mili-

tary revolution was the an-

swer. He still believed that

the reforms ought to work

internally, starting from

the capital.

The Year of Luminous Joys (184 AD) In prior years, Chóa-tíng

(the imperial court) sum-

moned Cáo Cao back to the

capital to be Diân-jun Du-

wèi or Commander of Cere-

monial Troops. At first, he

had hoped that it was a

chance for him to help to

put down rebellions or re-

pel barbarian troops. In-

stead, he found himself

sucked into a struggling

between the Imperial Rela-

tives Faction and the Palace

Eunuch Faction within the

capital. Despite his back-

ground, he sided with the

Imperial Relatives Faction

in an attempt to curtail

power of eunuchs. He

hoped that by aligned with

the Imperial Relatives Fac-

tion, he could help to re-

duce damages and to pre-

vent unnecessary death of

many palace eunuchs.

By then, the Palace

Eunuch Faction had waned

from what it used to be ten

years ago. The Imperial

Relative Faction had the

supports of majority of

ministers and commanded

greater troops. Still, its

leader, Hé Jìn, was both

indecisive and artless. He

wanted to bring more

troops from outside and

did not listen to advice

given by Cáo Cao and other

ministers. Cáo Cao sighted

and stated privately,

“The originator of

chaos is none other

than the Great Gen-

eral, Hé Jìn.”

Once the Palace Eunuch

Huáng Fu-song— Cáo Cao’s commander at the Battle of Cháng-shè Courtesy of Creator Workshop’s Romance of Three Kingdoms Card Game

Battle of Cháng-shè where Cáo Cao was credited for valiant charges against Zhang Jiăo’s troops that demoralized them

Articles



“The origin of chaos is none other than the

Great General himself.” Cáo Cao’s comment on

Hé Jìn’s decision to summon Dông Zhúo to

the Capital Courtesy of Creator Workshop’s Romance of Three Kingdoms Card Game

county chief agreed and

released Cáo Cao. Further-

more, he had given him

some money and fresh

horses to better escape the

Si-lì Rregion at night. This

incident later became the

famed Capture and Release

of Cáo, in which Chen Gong

played the role of the

Zhong-móu Province

county chief. According to

historical records, Chen

Gong was not Zhong-móu

Province county chief.

The next famed incident

that involved Cáo Cao was

the Massacre of the Lü fam-

ily. In San Gúo Zhì, there is

no record of such incident,

but three other sources did

mention it. The first was

the official historical re-

cord, Book of Wei. Accord-

ingly, Cáo Cao visited Lü

Family in middle of the

night but Master Lü was

not home. His son and oth-

ers threatened Cáo Cao be-

cause he was alone. During

the struggle, Cáo Cao slew

some of them in order to

escape.

The second is Shì Shuo

Xin Yû written by Liu Yì-

qìng of the Sung Dynasty.

In it, Cáo Cao visited the Lü

Family and Master Lü led

his entire household to

welcome him. Cáo Cao be-

came suspicious due to

hosts’ over-enthusiasm and

thought they were to take (Continued on page 7)


and limited fighting to be

within the palace, and to

prevent any escape of the

Palace Eunuch Faction. In

the midst of chaos, both

young emperor and prince

were spirited out of the

capital and, unfortunately,

into Dông Zhúo’s grasp. By

early morning, Dông Zhúo

entered the capital as the

Emperor’s Protector. The

reign of terror began.

Contrary to what de-

scribed in Romance of the

Three Kingdoms, Cáo Cao

did not attempt to assassi-

nate Dông Zhúo. Instead,

he waited and see what

kind of government would

issue from the Emperor’s

Protector. Once he realized

that it was a tyranny, he

began to move his clan

from the capital to his

hometown or anywhere but

Lùo-yáng. Dông Zhúo had

knew about Cáo Cao and

hoped to deploy him. It

would give his rule more

legitimacy. When sum-

moned, Cáo Cao claimed

severe headaches and re-

quested a few more days of

rests before meeting the Si-

kong, Dông Zhúo’s new

rank. Apparently, Cáo

Cao’s headaches were well-

known prior then. Dông

Zhúo granted him this re-

quest. It bought more time

for his father to pack eve-

rything and leave. On the

night before, he told his

servants that he would to

rest early so he could be

ready to meet with the Si-

kong on the following day.

When he return to his

room, Cáo Cao changed

quickly and sneaked out

from the back. He pur-

chased a horse at the out-

skirts of the city and made

his way toward Chen-líu

Province. There, Cáo Hóng

had sold the family wealth

and awaited for him.

Next day, when Dông

Zhúo realized Cáo Cao’s

trickery, he immediately

issued a warrant for his

arrest and hired killers to

hunt him down. By noon,

Cáo Cao ditched his horse

and traveled on foot. A day

and a night later, he

reached the border of the

Si-lì region in Zhong-móu

Province. Urged by hunger,

he sneaked out at night

and was caught by the pa-

trols. He did not resist;

however, he insisted on

seeing the county chief.

The county chief had re-

ceived Dông Zhúo’s war-

rant for Cáo Cao and recog-

nized the person standing

before him. His night secre-

tary believed that Dông

Zhúo had usurped his posi-

tion and that the world was

on the brink of chaos. His

advice was that a hero like

Cáo Cao ought not to be

killed on a whim. The

Dông Zhúo initially want to use Cáo Cao to help give legitimacy to his government. Courtesy of Creator Workshop’s Romance of Three Kingdoms Card Game

Articles



Chen Gong was not Zhong-móu Provincial Magistrate. He did not release and escaped with Cào Cao. Courtesy of Creator Workshop’s Romance of Three Kingdoms Card Game

Commandery. There, using

money from selling their

household, they raised

troops for the inevitable

war against Dông Zhúo.

Aroused by his passion,

other wealthy families con-

tributed to his cause.

Throughout that time, Cáo

Cao practically lived among

his troops, to train them

and to prepare weapons.

Many heroes, like Yuè Jìn

(courtesy name: Wen-qian)

from Yáng-ping-wèi-gúo, Lî

Diân (courtesy name: Màn-

chéng) from Shan-yáng-jù-

lù, Xià-hóu Dun (courtesy

name: Yuán-ràng), and his (Continued on page 8)


him in for rewards. He

wanted to leave and con-

flict ensured. Cáo Cao

killed entire Lü Family be-

fore making his escape.

The third is urban myth

akin to that of Romance of

the Three Kingdoms.

Whence, Cáo Cao and Chen

Gong sought refuge with Lü

family. While Master Lü

went away to purchase

wise, Cáo Cao overheard

the conversation between

servants about sharpen

knives to kill the pig. He

thought they were meant to

kill him. His life was in

danger and had to act first.

Only after killing everyone

did he realized that they

were to prepare a feast for

him. He then escaped from

Lü Household with Chen

Gong. On their way, they

met Master Lü, who was on

his way back from the vil-

lage with fresh wine. Fear-

ing that he would find out

about the massacre and

report them, Cáo Cao killed

Master Lü. Chen Gong criti-

cized Cáo Cao’s behavior

and who, replied by utters

the villainous phase:

“T’is better for me to

wrong the world than

to have the world

wrong me.”

Cáo Cao’s blackguard

reputation most likely to

stem from this comment.

Of these three sources,

the urban myth can be dis-

carded outright. Lü Family

located within the Si-lì re-

gion, where the security

was at its heaviest. Master

Lü could not made such a

big show of treating Cáo

Cao, a wanted criminal, to a

feast, nor would he have

dared to leave for another

village for wine. In addi-

tion, the very inclusion of

Chen Gong in this incident

invalidates the line of

thought.

For Cáo Cao to seek ref-

uge with Lü family, he had

to deem Master Lü trust-

worthy. It would be

unlikely, as is the case in

the Shì Shuo Xin Yû, for

Cáo Cao to suspect Master

Lü’s betrayal. Nor would it

be likely for Lü Family to

make such an elaborate

display of welcoming a

criminal wanted by the im-

perial court.

The most likely event is

thus the version given by

the Book of Wei. Though

Master Lü may have known

Cáo Cao well, the rest of

family did not have close

ties with him. In the ab-

sence of Master Lü, some

tension may have occurred

and Cáo Cao may have had

to resort to violence to

make good his escape.

Cáo Cao met up with

Cáo Hóng at the Chen-líu

Cáo Cao Escaped from Lùo-yáng to Chen-líu Province 1) He was captured and released at Zhong-móu

Province 2) Incident of the Lü family 3) Final Destination

Articles



buried treasures. The capi-

tal had been razed to the

ground. Upon hearing such

news, Cáo Cao was angered

and felt impotent about the

situation. He wrote a

eulogy to echo this tragedy.

Ju-lù (eulogy)

Twenty generations

the Han has reigned,

last entrusted to ill

nature;

Like a monkey in

man’s clothing, he

knew little but

dreamed big,

Indecisive and afraid

to commit, a lord

hunted by his ser-

vants.

As white rainbows

became endless suns,

the entrusted was

first to suffer.

A bandit minister

held the root of the

nation, murdered the

lords and razed the

capital.

The dynastic founda-

tions were swept

away, the palaces

burned down, the

temples on ancestral

grounds desecrated.

Uprooted and forced

to march West, peo-

ple howled and cried

along the way.

Observing Lùo-yáng’s



brother Xià-hóu Yuan

(courtesy name: Miào-cái)

from Pèi-guo Qiáo County

flocked to his banner. A

few days later, Cáo Rén

joined them after having

seen Cáo Song safely to Xú-

zhou. And just when the

funds had been used up,

Cáo Cao met his first bene-

factor, Wèi Guan, a Filially

Pious and Incorrupt of the

Chen-líu Commandery. Wèi

Guan came from a rich and

powerful family who val-

ued righteousness over

wealth. Upon being intro-

duced to Cáo Cao, Wèi

Guan told his friends that,

“This is the man who

will pacified Below

Heaven.”

So he helped by contrib-

uted his family’s wealth

and by raised more

funds to support Cáo

Cao’s force. On the

twelfth month of the

East Han Emperor Ling’s

Sixth Year of Central

Pacification, or Emperor

Xiàn’s First Year of Per-

petual Han (189 AD),

Cáo Cao had raise an

army of righteousness.

Alliance

Eastern Commandery

Grand Administrator

Qiáo Mào was disgusted

at Dông Zhúo’s behavior.

He forged a decree from

the Three Grands accusing

Dông Zhúo of tyranny and

usurping the Emperor’s

power. He asked other

leaders to raise arms to

rescue Emperor. A total of

seventeen leaders and war-

lords answered his called.

North, South, and East of

Lùo-yáng were under block-

ade by the Alliance troops.

Among them, Yuán Shào

was elected leader. The

only dissenting voice was

that of Bào Xìn of Jì-beî. He

predicted that the Alliance

would fall apart and that

Cáo Cao would be a better

leader than Yuán Shào.

To prevent the capture of

Lùo-yáng, Dông Zhúo relo-

cated almost everyone to

Cháng-an. Tombs and mau-

soleums of the rich and

powerful were raided for

Members of the Alliance

Articles



units, rushed to Cáo Cao’s

side and dismount to let

his commander escape.

Wielding the twin short

halberd Cáo Cao spoke

thus: “I’m prepared to die,

my brother, please return

to the main camp and

strengthen its defense.”

Cáo Hóng, with the reins

in one hand and swinging a

broad blade with the other,

yelled: “Grand Cáo, please

mount up. Hóng will follow

on foot!”

“Bandit troops will arrive

soon in great amount, what

will you do?” asked Cáo



lifeless husk caused

heartache and flow-

ing tears.

What’s most dishearten-

ing is the Alliance’s passiv-

ity. Dông Zhúo had been on

the run toward the West,

his troops were ill disci-

plined and the morale was

low. But, as Bào Xìn of Jì-

beî had predicted, mem-

bers of the Alliances were

reluctant to commit. Their

elected leader, Yuán Shào,

did not react to the news of

Lùo-yáng’s destruction. He

chose caution. Unable to

stand it anymore, Cáo Cao

rode to the main camp:

“Wasn’t our Alliance

formed to fight a tyrant?

Now, our forces have

gathered, what are we

waiting for? It used to be

hard to break through

because of Dông Zhúo

garrisoned the imperial

capital Lùo-yáng, had the

beckoning of Imperial

Troops, and had strong

fortifications on the east-

ern font. Now, he volun-

tary withdraws westward,

forcing the emperor and

the court to migrate to

Cháng-an; everyone is

shocked by his barbaric

behavior, the morale of

his troops is at the ebb,

Heaven stresses his fail-

ure. All we need is one

battle to break his force;

why not take the initia-

tive?”

Still Yuán Shào decided

not to move, he argued of

the unwillingness of each

warlord, of problems with

supply lines, and of fear of

ambush along the way to

Lùo-yáng. Disappointed,

Cáo Cao decided to lead his

own personal force of five

thousand troops to march

westward. His first bene-

factor, Wèi Guan, joined

with three thousand

troops.

They met Xú Róng, a pro-

Dông Zhúo Grand Adminis-

trator, at Xíng-yáng (in

modern day Hé-nán Prov-

ince). Cáo Cao launched

several attacks. How-

ever, due to lack of

troop strength and

insufficient training,

he lost a lot of men.

Wèi Guan died in that

battle. Xú Róng saw

the weakening of his

opponent’s troop

strength and launched

an attack. Cáo Cao

counterattacked. Both

troops clashed and

Cáo Cao’s steed was

shot under him. He

was forced to fight on

foot and wounded

dozens of enemies.

Despite his effort, his

smaller troop strength

could not break

through the enemy

line. Cáo Hóng, com-

mander of vanguard

Cáo Cao’s proposed plan of attack are in dash lines. 1) Yuán Shào led his force along the north of Yellow River 2) Remaining Alliance attacked from the center. 3) Yuan Shu led his force to cut off Dông Zhúo’s retreat

toward Cháng-an.

Articles



“Heaven Below can do without Cào Hong, but not without Grand Cào (Cao)!”

Cào Hong

Courtesy of Koei’s Battle of Red Cliff CCG


Cao.

Cáo Hóng fervently re-

plied, “Heaven Below can

do without Cáo Hóng, but

not without Grand Cáo!”

With that, he took off his

mail shirt and forced Cáo

Cao to mount up. He fol-

lowed on foot back to the

defensive lines.

It was near dusk, Cáo’s

force, under cover of night,

fought and retreated with

order. The Xià-hóu brothers

held the defensive perime-

ter steadily. Cáo Rén, Yuè

Jìn and Lî Diân also re-

turned with their troops.

Together, they were able to

ward off the attack.

For several days and

menacing and prove to all

Below Heaven that we are

on the righteous path.

Dông Zhúo’s tyranny

would lose much strength.

Those who go with the

flow will flourish, and

those who go against the

flow will perish. This plan

will be successful.

Presently, we are gath-

ered under the banner of

rescuing our Emperor and

we call ourselves right-

eous. Yet, we hesitate and

dare not advance. Every-

one Below Heaven is dis-

appointed. Even in my

heart, I feel ashamed by

everyone’s behavior.”

His call fell in deaf ears.

Even his close friend,

Zhang Mào, disagreed with

him. Seeing the reactions of

the Alliance, Cáo Cao real-

ized that times had

changed, and days of the

East Han Dynasty were

numbered. The Time of

Chaos had arrived, when

every lord would rise and

fight to control Below

Heaven. Therefore, he with-

drew from the Alliance and

took both Xià-hóu Dun and

Cáo Hóng southward to

Yáng Zhou to raise troops.

Cáo Hóng knew Chén Wen,

governor of Yáng Zhou,

through family connec-

tions. The governor in-

structed the Grand Admin-

istrator of Dan-yáng to pre-(Continued on page 11)

many battles later,

Xú Róng saw that

Cáo’s force was

small but still had

high morale. He

feared that the Alli-

ance would arrive

soon with reinforce-

ment. He withdrew

his troops to the

next defensive posi-

tion. Cáo Cao also

pulled out.

Back to the main

base, Cáo Cao found

that the Alliance was

more concerned

with preparing

meals and organiz-

ing entertainment.

They had apparently for-

gotten all about the tragedy

suffered by the East Han

Imperial Family, all about

the purpose of the Alliance.

Bitterly, Cáo Cao ex-

claimed, “Everyone, please

consider my strategy: Yuán

Shào’s troops are coming

from the north; our position

is secured and soldiers are

well rested; and Yuán Shù’s

force is traveling along the

river from the south. We

have more than enough to

overwhelm the government

in Cháng-an.

Even if we are to build up

fortifications, to set up

numerous phantom

troops, and to engage no

enemy directly, we can

make ourselves more

Battle of Xing-Yang

Articles



his time, waiting to see

how the situation would

evolve.

pointed and recognized

that profit troops were not

dependable. To fight for

Below Heaven, one must

build his own personal

troops. He returned to Gui

(in modern An-hui Prov-

ince) and Jiàn-ping (on the

modern border of Hé-nán

and An-hui Provinces).

There, he raised over a

thousand troops. He then

traveled northward beyond

the Yellow River to Hé-nèi.

Cáo Cao began to raise

troops from surrounding

areas, to make connections

with the local powers, and

to gain monetary and man-

power support. He bided

(Continued from page 10) pare four thousand troops

for Cáo Cao. However,

these mercenaries thought

themselves betrayed by

Chén Wen, who wanted

them to fight in a war with

little personal gain.

One night, after several

days of travel, the merce-

naries rebelled and at-

tempted to rush into Cáo

Cao’s main camp to rob.

Cáo Cao personally slew

dozens of them with a pair

of short-halberd. Less than

five hundred soldiers re-

mained.

Cáo Cao was disap- “Seeing the reactions of the Alliance… Cào Cao realized that times have

changed, and days of East Han Dynasty were numbered.. Therefore, he withdraw from the

Alliance.”

Courtesy of Creator Workshop’s Dragon Dynasty CCG

Articles



divert funds to build their

own private troops. Besides

government, nobility or

those of wealthy family

also began to create their

own personal guards to

protect their households

and caravans that often

numbered into hundreds if

not greater.

Army Composition Army is break down into

six levels. At the basis is

the wû or squad (5). It is

made of five soldiers.

Squad sergeant is called

wû-zhâng. Five wû formed

into liâng or platoon (25).

Platoon captain is called liâng-si-mă. Four liâng

composed a zú or company

(100). Company

commander is called zú-

zhâng. Five zú created a lû

or battalion (500). Battalion

commander is called lû-

shuài but more likely to be

led by jiang-jun or general

of first to third rank. Five

lû arranged into a shi or

regiment (2,500). Regiment

commander is called shi-

shuài but, again, more

likely to be led by jiang-jun

or general of fourth to

sixth rank. And five shi is

called jun or army. Jiang-

jun or general of seventh

or eighth rank led it. A

typical army would have

twelve thousands five

hundred men (12,500).

Imperial capital can

command up to eight

Despite numerous writs of

Arts of War, Chinese

armies in ancient times

were not favorable looked

upon. Even fewer are any

records of army

composition involved in

any battles. However, of

many attractions to

Romance of Three

Kingdoms are tales of

battles. It would be a

disservice if these were not

mention in future issues of

Revisiting the Three

Kingdoms. Here is my

attempt to introduce to

English readers of army

structure during late Hans

to Three Kingdom Periods.

Army Creation Traditionally, there are

three ways to create an

army. First, the

conscription allowed

nobility or ministers to

assemble any number of

peasants to form an army.

This is most spontaneous

and most variables. It is

often used when war or

battle is impending. And

there is no set number,

men from entire family or

village could be drafted

into an army. Once the

crisis is over, army is

quickly disbanded to allow

peasants returned to work

on farms. Second, the

mandatory active duty

requirement designated a

person from each house to

serve in armed forces upon

reaching certain age. Tour

of duty required 2 years

where first year is within

localities and second year

is at the border. In time of

peace, one month out of

each year is spent on to

build road, fortified cities,

and to farm at government

or noble lands. Third, the

recruitment is when

government actively paid

moneys or goods to attract

a group of people to

become permanent

soldiers. Once enlisted,

these people became

soldiers in life, their names

were entered into book of

census under armed force

category. And if the father

became ineligible as

soldier, his son took over,

and if an elder brother

became ineligible, younger

brother took over, so forth

and so on. They were

commonly referred to as

shì-bing (Generation

Troops).

By the times of Late Han

Dynasty, criminals were

often pressed into armed

services for the ever-

expanding military

necessities and further

retrenchment of the

imperial city. Localities

were often left with no

defense against bandits or

other rabble rousing. In

response, governors

petitioned and granted the

right to form provincial

armies. They began to

Bing Chinese character for

Soldier

Liâng Chinese character for Platoon of 25 troops.

Wû Chinese character for Squad of 5 troops.


Articles

Army Structure During the Three Kingdoms Period

Foot trained troops how to

march or retreat in

accordance with signals,

and how to form or change

formations.

Each year, there were

four field exercises. Each

occurred in a separate

season. During spring,

troops learned to interpret

audio signals. Drums

denoted advancing. Fast

beating meant charge; slow

beating meant advance

cautiously. Cymbals

denoted retreating. Fast

notes meant rapid retreat;

slow notes meant fighting

withdraw. At summer,

troops practiced living

outdoors. They have to be

familiar with nighttime

activity as setting up and

breaking down campsites

and posting sentry. They

memorized other divisions’

markings and signs. At fall,

troops familiarized

themselves with visual

signals such as flags and

banners. The raising

banners signaled troops to

stand up, lowering banner

gestured troops to sit or

lying down. The color of

banners means which

formation troops were to

organize into. There were

five colors (yellow, white,

black, bluish-green, red)

that corresponded to five

elements (earth, metal,

water, wood, fire). And

during winter, a mock

armies at a time. Si-mâ, or

minister of war, Grand

General, and later on Prime

Minister, commanded up to

five armies. A state

governor could only call up

three armies at a time. An

army would either being a

central army or local army

with the former received

better training and

equipment than the other.

For troops stationed at

the imperial palace, there

are two types: wèi-shì and

láng. Wèi-shì, or imperial

guards, are typical guards

whose are controlled under

ministry of Wèi-wèi (palace

security). Typical duties

included guarding gates

and palace entrances and

to patrol outer parameters

of palace area.

Láng are part of ministry

of láng-zhong-lìng (central

command of gentleman).

They acted as bodyguards,

messengers, or even

servants to the emperor,

and to patrol inner

parameters of palace area.

Officially, their rankings

are quite low, yet, their

proximity to the throne

gave them certain status or

power. In certain incidents,

one can move from being a

láng to a powerful position

like general or to dà hóng-

lü (Grand Herald).

Traditionally, only

ministers who have salary

of two thousands or more

stones of grains and have

been in position for more

than three years could

sponsor their sons or

relatives. In Late Han

Period, requirement had

been extended to local

ministers who could

sponsor xiào-lián (Filially

Pious and Incorrupt), and

to people who have

donated significant amount

of goods to Imperial

Treasury to nominate their

sons or relatives.

In fact, becoming a láng

might be the fastest and

surest way to advance to

high level of military rank.

From Han Dynasty forward,

Chóa-tíng (Imperial Court)

tended to favor civil

ministers over military

personnel. For the later,

career advancement had

nearly halted for those who

started at the bottom.

Army Training The purpose of training

was to improve troops

combat effectiveness as

one unit. Five lessons are

to be taught. Lesson of

Eyes and Ears taught

troops how to follow visual

and audio signals to the

letter. Lesson of Heart

drilled rules and regulation

and consequences for

disobedience. Lesson of

Hand instructed troops

how to fight with weapons

at hand. And Lesson of

Volume 1, Issue 1

Zú Chinese character for

Company of 100 troops.

Lû Chinese character for

battalion of 500 troops.

Shi Chinese character

for regiment of 2,500 troops.

Articles


Jun Chinese character

for army of 12,500 troops.

Cavalry: Focal power for an orthodox tactics and flexibility for unorthodox tactics.


the secondary weapon.

For protection, armors

were designed to match

specific function of troops.

For cavalry, armor is

basically two piece leather

lamellar constructions that

protected front and back

body of rider. Arms were

freed up to allow wielding

of various weapons.

Infantry has to move fast

and unencumbered. They

wore leather tunics. For

additional protection, they

carried shields. Depended

on funding, shields can be

made of wood and covered

with lacquered leather to

iron or steel shield. An

interesting alternative to

shield is the vertical bar

used by hand-to-hand

infantry. These are less (Continued on page 15)


battle was conducted.

Troops performed in front

of high-ranking ministers,

nobility, or generals of

what they have learned

throughout the year.

Arms & Armors During the time of Late

Han to Three Kingdoms

period, it is also a time of

break in terms of weapons

and armors of antiquity

were replaced by arms and

armors of middle ages.

Even new troops classes

succeeded to replace old

troop types.

Cavalry had taken over

roles that used to reserve

for Chariot. They now

acted as shocked troops,

scouting, harassing, and

rapidly deployed force.

Accordingly, cavalry was

viewed to provide focal

power for an orthodox

tactics and flexibility for

unorthodox tactics. Horses

were imported at great

expanses from the distant

nomads. They were trained

to fight on horse with

following weapons: bow,

crossbow, halberd, spear,

saber, and sword.

Infantry still maintained

the dominant force on the

battlefield since the time of

Qin Dynasty. Infantry are

divided into specific

functions. Some were

trained crossbowmen, long-

spear men, swordsmen,

siege specialists, heavily

artilleries, and personal

guards. Infantry were

trained extensively in the

primary weapon and then

Chariot: Once numbered in hundred and thousands during Spring & Autumn had reduced to teens by Late Han Dynasty.

Articles


they wore elaborated

designs of iron helmets

inlaid with leather and soft

cloth to soften the blow.

Army Battle Formation The smallest unit is wû. It

is made of five men in a

row. To form into a liâng

(25 troops), wû are placed

at four corner, and the

center. Then this formation

is repeated when four liâng

combined into a zú (100

troops) by having a liâng

placed at each corner, the

central was reserved for

commanding officer and

bulky than shield, and

thereby, more

maneuverable. Basically, it

is an iron bar with a handle

for troops to hold on. It is

just as effective blocking

melee weapons but useless

against missile attacks. For

officers and commanders,

the base material for

armors had been iron plate

imitating leather. This

ensured flexibility and even

distribution of weight.

Helmets followed similar

patterned. For the majority

of troops, they wore

leather-lacquered caps. For

officers and commanders,

Volume 1, Issue 1

Crossbowman: They were trained to be at the front line and shoot down charging enemy

Spearman: Their often deployed right behind crossbowman and were readied to set against charging enemies while crossbowmen filed pass them.

Swordsman: Any enemy break through spearman formation were to be hacked down by these infantry.

his support staffs. From

then on, five smaller units

each stationed at a corner

and the center to form into

a larger group.

On the march, row

became column. Wû was a

single column of five men.

A liâng (25 troops) was

three columns of wû. Then

this formation is repeated

onward.

In battle, formation is

created at zú (100 troops)

level. Generals often used

banner to indicate what

formation each zú is to

form. For example, yellow

Articles


Officers: They were at the front of their troops fighting and rally their men.


Squad Formation

Platoon Formation

Company Formation Battalion Formation

Articles


punishment. There is no

exception! The next

important criterion is xìn

(trust). Once spoken of

rules and regulations, they

are to be followed.

Promised of rewards and

punishments must deliver

when conditions were met.

If leniency set in, then

army as a whole would fail

to function. Lastly is yán

(strictness). The army had

to know rules and

regulations at the start.

And to demonstrate the

seriousness of these rules

and regulations, three out

of ten soldiers were

executed. Once these

soldiers witness the

seriousness of rules and

regulations, they would

behave with strict

disciplined.

banner meant the block

formation. White banner

denoted a circular

formation. Black banner

called for wave formation.

Bluish-green banner

changed to line formation.

And red banner set up a

spearhead formation. The

formation at zú level can

be combined into

distinguish shaped in lû

(500 troops) level or even

at level shi (2,500 troops)

level. Some of commonly

mentioned shi level

formations are crane wing,

fish scale, and long

serpent.

Punishments & Rewards In ancient time,

punishment was viewed as

to prevent people for doing

certain things; reward was

viewed as to encourage

people to do certain things.

However, punishment was

given a primary action and

reward as secondary

action. They believed that

if rewards were given too

often, people began to

compete for rewards, and

competition led to chaos.

But, if punishments were

given too often, people

would not remember not to

behave improperly nor

were they likely to compete

for punishment. Therefore,

punishments led to orderly

organization.

One could only deal out

punishments and rewards

when he had following

criteria. He must have gong

(fairness). If one’s enemy

had achieved above and

beyond call of duty, he

must be rewarded. If one’s

relative had broken the

law, he must be

Volume 1, Issue 1

Block Formation

Regiment Formation

Army Formation

Circular Formation

Wave Formation

Spearhead Formation

Line Formation

Articles


Yuán brought his forces to

Luò-yáng. He plotted with

Hé Jìn to get rid of

eunuchs. Ding Yuán

promoted to Commander

of Capital. After the death

of Hé Jìn, Dông Zhuo

entered the capital and

attempted to control the

situation. He had to get rid

of Ding Yuán and annexed

his forces. Dông Zhuo

knew that Lü Bù was

trusted by Ding Yuán,

therefore, he bribed Lü Bù

to kill Ding Yuán. Lü Bù

committed such act and

delivered Ding Yuán’s head

to Dông Zhuo. For such act,

Lü Bù promoted to cavalry

commander and became

foster-son to Dông Zhuo

who believed in him.

Under Dông Zhuo Lü Bù was skilled in

archery, horsemanship and

martial art, plus his

strength was greater than

most, his nickname was

General Swift. He gradually

advanced to the position of

Zhong-láng-jiàng or central

gentleman’s general and

ennobled to Hóu-jué

(marquise). Dông Zhuo

knew many people

objected to his policy and

afraid for assassination, so

he had Lü Bù as his

bodyguard. However Dông

Zhuo was arrogant and

impatient. When he became

angry, he often acted

without thinking about

During the early stage of

the Decline and Fall of East

Han Dynasty (190 A.D. –

200 A.D.), none shined

more prominently and

ended abruptly than Lü Bù,

the greatest fighter of his

time. For eons in Asia, he

was viewed as the worst of

the worst a person can be.

But to most Westerners, he

was considered a tragic

hero, and deserved much

admiration. Like most

Asian readers, my view was

also shaped by tradition

Chinese culture that Lü Bù

was a buffoon. Only

through the Three

Kingdoms mailing list and

exchanged ideas with

Western readers did my

view began to change. I

believed it may be worth

while to write an article

about the greatest warrior

of the Three Kingdoms

period. Below is my

translation of Lü Bù

character from San-gú-zhì,

Ambitions of the Three

Kingdoms (ATK), the

official historical records.

And see how he differed

from the more popular

novel, Romance of the

Three Kingdoms (RTK).

Official Historical Record of Lü Bù

Early Days Lü Bù, his former name is

Fèng Xian, came

from Wû-yuán jun

(five plains county)

Jîu-yuán xiàn (nine

plains township; in

modern day

NeiMongol Province

Wû-yuán City). Due

to his exceptional

strength and

bravery, he enlisted

into military at Jing

Zhou. When state

governor Ding Yuán

became cavalry

commander, he had

Lü Bù to be his

Second in

Command. He

treated Lü Bù like

his own son. After

the death of Han

Emperor Líng, Ding

Lü Fèng Xian aks Lü Bù Courtesy of Creators Work-

shop’s Three Kingdoms Card

Game

Lü Bù came from Wû-yuán jun (five plains county) Jîu-yuán xiàn (nine plains township) which is located in modern day Nei-Mongo Province’s Wû-yuán City.


Articles

Lü Bù Views from the East and the West

troops, and several

thousand cavalries. Lü Bù

had a horse named Red

Hare (possibly a gift from

Dông Zhuo). He often

joined with his fellow

generals, Chéng Lián and

Wèi Yuè, to spearhead the

attacks. He defeated Zhang

Yen and requested for

additional reinforcement.

But because his troops

discipline were bad and

they often-committed

robbery, Yuán Shào began

to think of him as a

nuisance. When Lü Bù

realized how Yuán Shào

felt about him, he asked to

be released. Yuán Shào

feared that Lü Bù might

come back and wrestle his

position away. He hired

assassins to eliminate Lü

Bù at night. They didn’t

succeed. Lü Bù fled

southward with Yuán

Shào’s troops hot on his

tail. But those troops never

really get close enough to

fight Lü Bù. His reputation

was well known.

Lü Bù met up with Zhang

Miâo, a close friend of Cáo

Cao. They admired each

other that they had formed

a blood brother. By then,

Zhang Miâo was already

resent Cáo Cao’s

achievement and also

feared that Yuán Shào may

pressure Cáo Cao to kill

him. Together with Chén

Gong, they plotted to

wrestle Yen Zhou away

consequences. There was

an incident over small

matter, he picked up a

hand-halberd and stabbed

Lü Bù. Fortunately, Lü Bù

was quick and dodge it; he

apologized to Dông Zhuo.

Though Dông Zhuo forgave

him, Lü Bù became

resentful. Often times,

Dông Zhuo asked Lü Bù to

stand guard at his house.

Lü Bù had an affair with a

Dông Zhuo’s servant girl

(which became the

legendary affair of Diao

Chán and Lü Bù), but he

was afraid that Dông Zhuo

would found out. This

caused additional anxiety.

Initially, Lü Bù was a

friend of Wáng Yûn, Si-tú

or Minister of Domestic

Affair, because they came

from the same region.

Later, when Lü Bù went to

see Wáng Yûn to vent some

steams of being nearly

killed by Dông Zhuo, Wáng

Yûn was in midst of

discussing with Sun Ruì, an

archer warrior servant,

about Dông Zhuo

assassination. They wanted

Lü Bù to be their inside

man. Lü Bù explained, “I

have father-son

relationship with Dông

Zhuo!”

Wáng Yûn argued, “Your

surname is Lü and thus

have no blood relation with

Dông Zhuo. You are in

constant fear of him, how

can that be a father-son

relationship?”

Lü Bù agreed and

personally slew Dông Zhuo.

Wáng Yûn promoted Lü Bù

to become Instill Bravery

General, additional perks

to make his status as high

as the Three Grands, and

award another township to

be Lü Bù’s fief. Together,

they took control of the

Imperial Court. Dông

Zhuo’s death had caused

much anger among people

from Liáng Zhou. When Lî

Jué and other decided to

retake Cháng-An, Lü Bù

could not defend it.

Around sixty days after the

death of Dông Zhuo, Lü Bù

fled with several hundreds

cavalry. He sought

audience with Yuán Shù.

Serving Other Lords Initially, Lü Bù thought that

by slaying Dông Zhuo, he

had done avenge for Yuán’s

family. Therefore Yuán Shù

would grant him audience.

Instead, Yuán Shù dislike

the fickleness of Lü Bù’s

nature and did not grant

the audience. Lü Bù

traveled north to seek

audience with Yuán Shào.

Together, they attacked

Zhang Yen, an ally of Gong-

sun Zàn during with Yuán

Shào’s bid for northern

supremacy. Zhang Yen had

ten thousand strong elite

Dông Zhuo — reputed the second step father of Lü Bù; also killed by his foster son. Courtesy of Koei’s Battle of Red

Cliff CCG

Ding Yuán — reputed the first step-father of Lü Bù. Died under Lü Bù’s greed. Courtesy of Creators Workshop’s

Dragon Dynasty Card Game

Volume 1, Issue 1

Articles


decent from the Heaven!”

Next day, everyone

gather for another feast.

Then all withdrew to return

home.

Lü Bù & Yuán Shù Despite past incidents,

Yuán Shù decided to form

an alliance with Lü Bù. He

asked for the hand of Lü

Bù’s daughter to be his

son’s bride. Lü Bù agreed.

When Yuán Shù planned to

proclaim emperor, he sent

Han Yin to tell Lü Bù of his

plan and at the same time,

escorted Lü Bù’s daughter

back. When the local prime

minister, Chén Gui, heard

about such news, he was

afraid that once the

alliance is formed, it would

bring disaster for the

nation. So he sought

audience with Lü Bù and

said,

“Cáo Cao upheld the

emperor, rebuilt the nation,

his might shook four seas.

General should seek

coalition with him, then

Heaven Below would be as

stable as the Great Mount

Tai. Now, if you are to

associate with Yuán Shù

through marriage, then

people throughout Heaven

Below would call you

unjust and that is as

dangerous as stacking eggs

on top of one another.”

Lü Bù was harbored

anger at Yuán Shù who had

from Cáo Cao. They asked

Lü Bù to be the governor of

Yen Zhou. He accepted. Lü

Bù fought Cáo Cao to a

standstill for nearly a

hundred days. Then a

plague of locusts forced

both armies to withdraw.

Next year, Cáo Cao

renewed his attacks (these

will be detailed in

upcoming chapter 2 of Life

of Cáo Cao). After a series

of defeat, Lü Bù fled

eastward to seek audience

with Liú Bèi. When Liú Bèi

was away to attack Yuán

Shù, at the urge of Chén

Gong, Lü Bù usurped Liú

Bèi’s position as the

governor of Xú Zhou. When

Liú Bèi returned, Lü Bù

granted him the same

position and the same post

that was formerly his.

Governor of Xú Zhou Saw what had befall on Liú

Bèi, Yuán Shù decided to

counterattack by

commanded Jì Líng to lead

an army of thirty

thousands. Liú Bèi sent

messenger to Lü Bù to ask

for reinforcement. Lü Bù

asked opinions of his

followers.

They all advised,

“General often want to kill

Liú Bèi, now let Yuán Shù

do the job for you.”

Lü Bù replied, “No so, if

Yuán Shù defeated Liú Bèi,

he would link up new

alliance which would then

have us surrounded.

Therefore, it is in our best

interest to rescue Liú Bèi.”

With that, he led a

thousand infantries and

two hundred cavalries to

rescue Liú Bèi. Upon

hearing his arrival, Jì Líng

called off his attacks. Lü Bù

invited Jì Líng for a feast.

In midst of banquet, Lü Bù

spoke to Jì Líng.

“Xuán-dé (Liú Bèi’s

personal name) is my

younger brother. He is

besieged by all sides so I

come to help him. I dislike

watching men fight with

each other and much

prefer to resolve the issue

peacefully.”

Lü Bù told his troop to

set up a halberd at the gate

(there were no distance

given in the official text)

and said,

“Everyone, see how I

would hit the small tip of

that halberd. If I did it with

one shot, my lords, this

battle is over. If not, then

you may fight between

yourself.”

Lü Bù picked up his bow

and arrow and hit the small

tip of that halberd in one

shot. Everyone was

shocked and exclaimed,

“General is indeed

Diao Chán — the beauty that divided between a father and his son. Was she real or a folk-legend? Courtesy of Creators

Workshop’s Dragon Dynasty

Card Game

Wáng Yûn — chief architect of Dông Zhuo’s downfall, yet, too inflexible to save the Dynasty. Courtesy of Creators


Card Game


Articles


When Yuán Shù heard

what Lü Bù had done, he

became angry. He allied

with Wei Xian and Yang

Fèng, and ordered his great

general, Zhang Xun, to

attack Lü Bù. Lü Bù

complained to Chén Deng,

“Now Yuán Shù is

attacking because of you.

What are you going to do?”

Chén Deng replied, “Wei

Xian, Yang Fèng and Yuán

Shù allied too suddenly

and is not plan ahead. It

will not be in their

individual’s interest to help

out one another. Child

Deng (common express for

an unmarried man to refer

himself) figure that they

are like caged up roosters

and would not stay

together long. It is not hard

to break them apart.”

Lü Bù adopted Chén

Deng’s scheme and sent

men to negotiate with Wei

Xian and Yang Fèng. Both

did agreed to Lü Bù’s

proposal and surrender to

him. Together, they

attacked Yuán Shù with the

understood that all loots

are to be divided between

Wei and Yang forces. Zhang

Xun was soundly defeated.

Fall of Lü Bù On the Third Year of

Rebuilding Peace (198 A.

D.), Lü Bù rebelled again.

This time, he sided with

declined to help him when

he first seek audience.

Despite the fact that his

daughter was on route, he

sent men to bring her back.

He broke off the wedding

with Yuán Shù and sent

Han Yin to Xû-chang (then

the third capital of Late

Han Dynasty) to be

executed. Chén Gui wanted

his son, Chén Deng to go

see Cáo Cao, but Lü Bù

refused. Then, Chóa-tíng

(the imperial court) send

ministers to promote Lü Bù

to General of the Left

Army. Lü Bù was pleased

and agreed to let Chén

Deng go to Xû-chang to

thanks Emperor in his

stead. Chén Deng met Cáo

Cao and reported that Lü

Bù is brave but lack of

scheme, lack of human

feelings, and tend to desert

his men in a heartbeat. It is

best to have him remove as

quickly as possible.

Cáo Cao said, “Lü Bù’s

ambition is like a wolf, and

ought not to keep alive for

extended period. If it is not

from you, I would hardly

know the details.”

Cáo Cao immediately

promoted Chén Deng to

the position of two

thousand stones of grain

salary and have him

became the Administrator

of Guâng-líng Prefecture (in

modern day Jiangsu

Province Jiangdu city).

When Chén Deng was

about to leave, Cáo Cao

bade him farewell, grabbed

his hand and said,

“The situation in the

East is in your hand.”

He commanded Chén

Deng to be ready to answer

the call from within.

Originally, Lü Bù wanted

Chén Deng to go to Xû-

chang to lobby for the

governorship of Xú Zhou.

When he returned, Lü Bù

was upset, he took out a

short halberd, chopped

table in half and accused,

“Your father advised me

to assist Grand Cáo and

broke off marriage with

Yuán Shù. Now, I got

nothing to show for. You

and your father are

instead, promoted. If this is

not treason, what is?

Explained yourself!”

Chén Deng calmly and

slowly replied,

“When I met Grand Cáo,

I told him that General is to

be treated like a tiger; you

have to feed it else it would

kill. Grand Cáo replied that

it was not true; General is

to be treated like an eagle,

you have to keep it hungry.

If it sated, it will fly away

from you.”

Lü Bù was pleased with

the statement.

A quick reminder from Liú Bèi had shorten Lü Bù’s career. Courtesy of Creators

Workshop’s Dragon

Dynasty Card Game

Chén Deng — his advises destroyed Lü Bù Courtesy of Creators


Card Game


Articles


Chén Shòu (the author of

San-gú-zhì, Ambitions of

the Three Kingdoms, the

official historical records)

critiqued of Lü Bù as

follow:

“Lü Bù’s bravery is like a

ferocious tiger, not known

for heroic tactic nor

devious stratagem,

frivolous and tricky,

repeatedly inconsistent,

and set his heart on

profitability. From

antiquity to present, a man

like his, never did not face

annihilation.”

East View The consentient view of

most Asians followed along

Chén Shòu critique. Of the

Five Relations exhorted by

Confucius, Lü Bù had

broken three: Minister to

his Lord, Son to his Father,

Friend to Friend. Most

readers would forgive him

if the cause for the break

were for greater good. But

that is not the case. Lü Bù

did them for personal

gains.

Another major failing of

Lü Bù was his repeated

inconsistency, the result of

his selfishness. Though he

knew what he wanted in

life, he can not follow one

path leading to it. Had he

followed Ding Yuán to the

very end, Dông Zhuo would

not be able to control the

imperial court. And Lü Bù’s

Yuán Shù and send Gao

Shùn to attack Liú Bèi. Cáo

Cao sent Xiàhóu Dun to

assist. Gao Shùn defeated

both Liú Bèi and Xiàhóu

Dun. Cáo Cao forced to

personally led the

campaign against Lü Bù.

His forces arrived at Xià Pi.

He explained the cost of

continual resistance to Lü

Bù. Lü Bù was hesitated

and thought about

surrender. But Chén Gong

and others feared that they

have already beyond Cáo

Cao’s mercy and talked Lü

Bù out of surrendering. Lü

Bù send man to ask for

reinforcement from Yuán

Shù. He personally led a

thousand plus cavalries to

battle. They were defeated

and retreated back to the

city. Yuán Shù never sent

reinforcement. Lü Bù was

fierce but artless, yet he

distrusted other. He can

not control his troops nor

could he trust his officers.

And his officers all have

opinions of their own and

bickered among

themselves. Hence, every

battle they fought was the

losing one. Cáo Cao dug

moat around the city, he

was in no hurry. The city

was siege for three months.

There was no unity among

Lü Bù’s officials. Hòu

Chéng, Sòng Xiàn and Wei

Yuè captured Chén Gong

and led their troops to

surrender. Lü Bù led his

personal troops to the

White Door Tower and

overlooked the forces

surround his city. He

finally decided to

surrender.

When Lü Bù brought

before Cáo Cao, he

complained, “The rope is

too tight, couldn’t you

loosen it up a bit?”

Cáo Cao replied, “When

one captured a tiger, it’s

best to held it tight.”

Lü Bù begged Cáo Cao,

“Enlightened Grand’s worst

worry was none other than

me, Lü Bù. Now, I have

submitted to you, there will

be no more difficulty in

Heaven Below. If the

Enlightened Grand leads

the infantry, and I cavalry,

then soon Heaven Below

would be at peace.”

Seeing that Cáo Cao was

tempted by the ideas, Liú

Bèi quickly reminded Cáo

Cao.

“Does Enlightened Grand

not remember what Lü Bù

did to Ding Jiàn Yáng (Ding

Yuán’s official title) and

Dông Tài-shuài (Dông

Zhuo’s final title)?”

Cáo Cao nodded his

head. Lü Bù pointed to Liú

Bèi and exclaimed, ‘That

bastard is not to be

trusted!”

Lü Bù was executed by

strangulation.

Many have exploited Lü Bù’s weakness. Courtesy of Creators Work-

shop’s Dragon Dynasty Card

Game

Battle of Heroic Trio or Unfair Fight? Courtesy of Creators Work-

shop’s Dragon Dynasty

Card Game


Articles


his troops during his fight

with Zhang Yan. He had

defeated Cáo Cao many

times in battles, but still

lost the ownership of Yen

Zhou. And eventually, he

lost Xú Zhou! No wonder,

Chén Gong bitterly accused

Lü Bù, “If only this

simpleton was to follow my

advise, our position would

be reverse!” as his

explanation why they lost

to Cáo Cao.

West View Nearly most Western

readers, not precondition

by ATK, RTK, or even Rújia

(Confucianism), have

nothing but admiration for

Lü Bù. After all, heroes like

Lü Bù could be found in

western myths and

literatures. Achilles,

Simpson and Lancelot, to

name a few, all shared

similar traits as Lü Bù.

They were considered to be

tragic heroes. What

constituted noble about Lü

Bù is his perfection as the

warrior. Though it did not

mention in ATK and RTK, it

is obvious that Lü Bù had

no high political ambition.

He was readily to serve

under the Han Dynasty, or

Dông Zhuo or even Cáo

Cao without qualm. His joy

was to be in the thick of a

battle. And his downfall,

personal gratification,

seemed insignificant in

light to Westerners whose

fame would be just as great

because he protected Ding

Yuán. Had he followed

Dông Zhuo to the very end,

Lü Bù would be rich and

wealthy. And he would be

the man that the Alliance

would fear the most in

battle. Had he followed

consistently of Chén

Gong’s advise, Lü Bù would

be the warlord, Cáo Cao

hate to meet in battle and

the death of Liú Bèi. Any of

these routes would lead Lü

Bù to greatness had he but

followed it through.

Lü Bù the warrior was

par none, however, Lü Bù

the commander had left a

lot to desire for. There was

no doubt that he was a very

charismatic man and his

troops loved him. But in

battle, he could not lead

his force to victory except

by brute force. There were

not many records of his

days under Ding Yuán. But

most likely, Lü Bù was used

as the commander of

shocked troops or the

spearhead. There is not

much tactics required, just

bravery and ferociousness.

Under Dông Zhuo, Lü Bù

received more troops and

more commanding

position. Though ATK is

muted on Lü Bù’s

involvement in battle, RTK

described how Lü Bù

literally stopped the

advance of Alliance at the

Tiger Trap Pass. Lü Bù took

on the Three Brothers after

he slew one general,

defeated two other

generals. That last fight

came to a standstill, Lü Bù

was getting tired. So he

broke free from the fight

and retreated. Somehow, in

RTK, this became a rout!

Advisors told Dông Zhuo

to withdraw because troops

were distraught at Lü Bù’s

defeat. (This has to be one

heavy dose of artistic

license. If anything,

defending troops ought to

be in high morale because

their champion, Lü Bù, had

defeated two generals in

previous day; today, he

defeated three generals and

then took on three other

generals at once. He fought

them to a standstill. When

he withdraw, others did not

have the chivalry of letting

him go. Instead, they

chased him relentlessly.)

Still, even the RTK author

could not deny the fact

that the Alliance had move

no further toward Lùo-yáng

since then. But this just

reinforced the image of Lü

Bù the warrior.

During the brief

interlude after the death of

Dông Zhuo and the

governorship of Xú Zhou,

Lü Bù the inept general was

clearly demonstrated. He

lost capital city to two

mediocre generals: Lî Jué

and Guo Si. He could not

maintain the discipline of

Lü Bù, the greatest warrior of the Three Kingdoms. Courtesy of Creators

Workshop’s Dragon

Dynasty Card Game

Not many have demonstrated such physical prowess as Lü Bù Courtesy of Creators

Workshop’s Dragon

Dynasty Card Game

Volume 1, Issue 1

Articles


Articles


Sample Event Card Courtesy of Creators Workshop’s Dragon Dynasty Card Game

Sample Character Card Courtesy of Creators Workshop’s Dragon Dynasty Card Game


Game Review

Creator Workshop’s

Dragon Dynasty Starter Set: Three Kingdoms I

across the field of battle,

but you watch with a wry

grin crossing your face,

picturing the image of

victory. Then a great cry

rises up from your flank

and you turn to see what

you believe is enemy

reinforcements. Instead,

you find betrayal and

You watch greedily as your

armies march across

mystical China, handing

you an endless stream of

victories. Every river they

crossed ran red, every farm

they crossed was barren.

Victory was only a fingers

width away from you as

you come to look upon the

great fortress of the Wu

Emperor. Behind the thick

walls lay the Wu Emperor,

and with him your chance

for victory. With great joy,

you order your forces to

launch their attack on the

fort. The clang of swords

and the screams of the

dead echo an eerie chorus

prized possessions or

beautiful women in order

to keep Lü Bù loyal. And Lü

Bù was more than a match

against Guan Yû and Zhang

Fei in battle.

Having fought against

Cáo Cao on numerous

times and with perfect

understanding that Cáo

Cao had different political

agenda than him, Liú Bèi

knew that eventually, he

would have to face Cáo Cao

in battle. He had to do

what he can to cripple Cáo

Cao’s wing of ambition.

Therefore, his caution may

sound as if his concern for

Cáo Cao, but had weaken

the Enlightened Grand in

the end. Forget about any

promise made to his

brother-in-arm.

star athletes have achieved

incredible fame and

fabulous wealth. To these

readers, Lü Bù was

meteoric star cut short by

Liú Bèi, his brother in arm.

When I first read RTK, I

did not give much thought

of Lü Bù’s plea to Cáo Cao.

“Enlightened Grand’s

worst worry was none

other than me, Lü Bù. Now,

I have submitted to you,

there will be no more

difficulty in Heaven Below.

If the Enlightened Grand

leads the infantry, and I

cavalry, then soon Heaven

Below would be at peace.”

And why Liú Bèi

reminded Cáo Cao.

“Does Enlightened Grand

not remember what Lü Bù

did to Ding Jiàn Yáng (Ding

Yuán’s official title) and

Dông Tài-shuài (Dông

Zhuo’s final title)?”

Especially after he

promised to help Lü Bù get

clemency.

Thanks to discussion

with Gradius King via the

Three Kingdoms

newsgroup, I realized why

Liú Bèi did what he had to

do. From both books, it

was plain that Cáo Cao was

weighing the benefits of

having Lü Bù served him or

have him dead. If not

prompt by Liú Bèi, most

likely Cáo Cao would

release Lü Bù. Why,

because Cáo Cao was a

better manager than Ding

Yuán and Dông Zhuo. He

knew exactly what were Lü

Bù’s strengths and

weaknesses. And Cáo Cao,

being practical man, would

have no problem gave away

Game Review

Creator Workshop’s

Dragon Dynasty Starter Set: Three Kingdoms I

Sample Artifact Card Courtesy of Creators Work-shop’s Dragon Dynasty Card Game

“Dragon Dynasty: Three Kingdoms is, in the end, a great game that is easy to learn and may take forever to truly master, the true essence behind what a Collectible Card Game should be.“

Volume 1, Issue 1

of the cards. As an

American who has almost

zero background in China,

the names can be a bit odd.

Furthermore, there are a lot

of cards that require you to

name a character in the

deck so that you can search

for it, but when many

characters share the same

family name this often

results in vague

descriptions of characters,

which does not work for

characters that on occasion

look like one another.

Dragon Dynasty: Three

Kingdoms is, in the end, a

great game that is easy to

learn and may take forever

to truly master, the true

essence behind what a

Collectible Card Game

should be. If you’re a fan

of Chinese history, check it

out. If you love the

Romance Of The Three

Kingdoms, then you should

check it out. If your a

gamer whose been feeling

that most of the new

games, and indeed most of

the old games, have lost

sight in the essence behind

what a CCG should be,

check it out. Heck, check

this game out anyway,

you're sure to like.

— Derek Graeff

treachery. Some of your

General's, promised riches

and titles far exceeding

those you could offer, had

turned on you and were

now fighting your own

forces. Unable to change

the tide of battle, you bid a

hasty retreat away from the

fortress, and away from

victory.

Dragon Dynasty: Three

Kingdoms is an English

translation of a Chinese

based card game. The

actual set, Three Kingdoms,

is based upon the people,

places and events depicted

in the ancient Chinese

story, as well as from

history. In the game,

players scramble to be the

first to score a total of 10

victory points, while trying

to prevent the opponent

from achieving the same

destiny. However, the

multitude of other victory

and loosing conditions

printed on various cards

themselves makes this a

difficult task in and of

itself. Mechanically, the

game borrows from various

other card games out on

the market while at the

same time putting its own

twist on it. For instance,

the combat mechanic is

similar to that seen in Star

Wars. Compare the total

combat stat plus a random

factor, a dice value on the

top card of your deck, with

the opponents. The higher

number wins, the loser

being discarded. However,

since the random factor is

the equivalent of a six-

sided dice, you'll never see

something higher than a

six. Another mechanic,

which serves to further

immerse the player into the

role of somebody pulling

the strings from behind the

scene, is the bribery action.

This action allows players

to try and gain control of

an opposing player’s

character. So, as soon as

someone hits the table,

they are open game.

Like all games, Dragon

Dynasty: Three Kingdoms

does suffer from its own

faults as well. Most of

these problems have

nothing to do with the

actual mechanics of the

game, nor the cards

themselves. The first

problem lies in the

rulebook. The game is easy

to learn, but the rulebook

is just a few pages that

does not cover everything

one needs to know in order

to play. Another problem

albeit only for somebody

who notices almost every

error is in spelling and

grammar, which can easily

be worked out. The last

true issue with the game

lies in the names of some

Sample Location Card Courtesy of Creators


Card Game

“In a brief skirmish, Cáo Cao’s Ambition had burned away by combined knowledge of local climate and Wu’s treachery.”

There are two categories:

Fate and Battle (for lack of

better translation) cards.

Fate Cards acted like Lands

in M:TG. It comes in three

flavors: Heaven, Earth, and

Man. This concept

reinforced with the ideas

that Cáo Cao was favored

by Heaven by being at the

right place at the right

time; Sun Quán was

favored by Earth by being

the defender of his land;

and Liú Bèi was favored by

Man as he has lots of

brilliant advisors and

fearsome generals. Each of

Battle cards requires a

combination of Heaven,

Earth, and Man Fate cards

in order to activate. For

example, to bring General

Cáo Cao into play, he

would require 5 Heaven

Cards and 1 Man Card; to

bring General Sun Quán

into play, he would require

5 Earth Cards; and to bring

General Liú Bèi into play,

he would require 1 Heaven

Card, 1 Earth Card, and 5

Man Cards.)

Battle Cards are further

divided by colors and by

types. There are four

colors. Red represents

Heaven and Cáo Cao’s

forces. Blue represents

Earth and Sun Quán’s

forces. Green represents

Man and Liú Bèi’s forces.

White represents other

Introduction Ambition of the Three

Kingdoms: Battle of Red

Cliff (hereinafter known as

ATK:BRC) is another dying

CCG on the subject of RTK.

This product came from

Koei, the maker of

wonderful computer games

such as Three Kingdoms,

Bandits of Ancient China,

Gengis Khan, and etc. ATK:

BRC is Koei’s second entry

into a non-computer game

industry. And like its

predecessor, Ambition of

the Three Kingdoms:

Tabletop Role Game

(hereinafter known as ATK:

TRG), it suffered a slow

death. Whether it is due to

lack of support, ho-hum

game mechanic, or small

number of gamers. We will

never know. However, it

may be of value to those

who are interested in

collecting paraphernalia

related to RTK.

ATK:BRC focused on one

specific event of Three

Kingdoms era, the Battle of

Red Cliff. This was the only

place and time where all

three leaders (Cáo Cao, Liú

Bèi and Sun Quán) were

within each other’s reach.

Event leading up to this

event was that Cáo Cao had

just acquired Jing Zhou

from Liú Biâo’s younger

son. Heard that his

nemesis, Liú Bèi had fled

south with group of

refugee. Cáo Cao decided

to press his luck and went

after Liú Bèi as opposed to

consolidate his hold on

Jing Zhou. Meantime, Liú

Bèi had send Zhugé Liàng

to Sun Quán and hoped for

an alliance. In a famous

battle of debate, Zhugé

Liàng defeated the dove

faction within Sun Quán’s

court, and enraged both

Sun Quán and Zhou Yú to

join Liú Bèi in fighting off

Cáo Cao’s advance. During

interim of the preparation

for both sides to do one

battle that ended all battle,

a battle of wits occurred

between Zhugé Liàng and

Zhou Yú with Lû Sù being

portrayed as the bumbling

fool. In a brief skirmish,

Cáo Cao’s Ambition had

burned away by combined

knowledge of local climate

and Wu’s treachery. As the

Prime Minister fled north,

he encountered not once,

but three of Liú Bèi’s Five

Tiger Generals. He barely

escaped with his life. At the

end of Battle of Red Cliff,

the formation of Three

Kingdoms was inevitable.

Component At first glance, there are lot

of similarity between ATK:

BRC and Magic: The

Gathering (hereinafter

known as M:TG) There are

258 cards in ATK:BRC.

Sample Fate Cards Courtesy of Koei’s Battle of

Red Cliff CCG


Game Review:

Koei’s

Ambition of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Red Cliff

The Red Faction’s General Card Courtesy of Koei’s Battle of Red Cliff CCG

Villainous Cáo Cao. This is

very similar to Legends of

Five Rings used of same

personality card with

different experience trait. A

major advantage of General

cards over Troop cards is

that former can attack

independently of Troop

cards.

Most troops can not

attack on their own, they

required a General Card to

lead them. Some of troop

cards have special trait that

when they attacks, they can

only be defended by

opposing cards of same

traits (e.g. only those with

archer trait can defend

against attacking army with

archer trait). Again, this is

very similar to M:TG.

Items are power-up for

Generals. Most of them

increased attached

general’s Offense and/or

Defense. One reduces a

General’s Offense and

increase Defense by the

same amount (i.e. Baby Liú

Chán). The most interesting

one is the Item Card called,

Spirit of Lü Bù. This gives

+4/+4 to a general’s

Offense and Defense. It

also forces an army of a

Lord with higher

Endurance to retreat from

battle. These Item cards

have certain costs in

Heaven, Earth and/or Man.

influences.

The types of Battle cards

are Lords, Generals and

Troops, Items, Events, and

Schemes.

There are fifteen types

of Lords with five for each

of Heave, Earth and Man

color type. At the start of

the game, each player

selects a Lord to represent

him. Lord cards are noted

for their endurance or hit

points, starting hand size,

maximum hand size, and

one special ability. Both

Lord Cáo Cao and Lord Liú

Bèi have highest endurance

(21). Lord Liú Bèi and Lord

Lù Xùn have largest

starting hand size (7). And

the maximum number of

cards in hand is 8 and

share by Lord Liú Bèi, Lord

Simâ Yì and Lord Xún Yù.

Lord Cáo Cao’s special

ability is that all his

Generals and Troops gain

+1 Offense. Lord Sun

Quán’s special ability is

that every time his general

is defeated, he gains

endurance equal to that

general’s defensive score

up to maximum of 20. Lord

Liú Bèi’s special ability is

that all his Generals and

Troops gain +1 Defense.

Generals & Troops are

the largest components of

ATK:BRC. Famous generals,

devious advisors, and

valiant soldiers have

appeared. They all have

certain costs in Heaven,

Earth, and/or Man. At the

bottom right of the cards,

each is ranked, from left to

right, in its Offense,

Defense, and Knowledge

score. This plays as same

as Magic where one used

Offense to overcome

Defense to determine any

points go through to

reduce Lord’s Endurance.

Knowledge allows player to

use another card type,

Scheme. Player may pool

any number of Generals or

Advisors in order to satisfy

a Scheme card’s Knowledge

requirement.

Certain Generals and

Advisors have special

traits. These special

abilities gives certain

benefits in combat like

Zhang Fei, he can attack

twice with his army. It is

also interesting to see that

all of Lord Cards also

appeared in General Cards.

Some turned up more than

twice. This reflects that

personality in various

stages at Battle of Red

Cliff. For instance, beside a

Lord card for Cáo Cao,

there are three additional

General cards for Cáo Cao.

One is known as Cáo Cao at

Yang-tze. He has different

cost, attributes, and ability

than say Fleeing Cáo Cao or

Blue Faction’s Scheme Card Courtesy of Koei’s Battle of Red Cliff CCG

Green Faction’s Advisor Card Courtesy of Koei’s Battle of Red Cliff CCG

“Player may pool any number of Generals or Advisors in order to satisfy a Scheme card’s Knowledge requirement. “

Volume 1, Issue 1

Game Review:

Koei’s

Ambition of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Red Cliff

area along with rest of

them. Then troops are

reorganized. Scheme card

can be played.

3) Politics — Player can

brings out card(s) from his

hand to play as long as

there are sufficient Fate

Cards to pay for the cost.

Scheme card can be played.

4) Battle — There are six

phases in a Battle.

a) Assign Attacking

Force

b) Any Scheme Card

can be played

c) Assign Defending

Force

d) Any Scheme Card

can be played

e) Compared

Attacking Strength vs.

Defending Strength —

either attack fails or

defending lord takes

damage equal to the

difference between

Attacking Strength

and Defending

Strength.

f) Resolution. — Both

participating forces

bowed their units.

5) Aftermath — Player

can brings out card(s) from

his hand to play as long as

there are sufficient Fate

Cards to pay for the cost.

Scheme card can be played.

Events are situations or

famous moments occurred

around the time of Battle

of Red Cliff. Some are

natural events, and other

are men made. There are

those that give benefits to

the card owner. And then

there are those that give

penalty to another players.

All these have varies


Earth, and/or Man cost.

Schemes are equivalent

of spells in any other CCGs.

Here contains some of

notable stratagems of that

time like Borrow the

Southeast Wind, Empty

Castle Scheme, Borrow

Arrows with Ships of Straw,

and etc. Each Scheme Card

has knowledge cost. Player

tapped any number of

Generals and Advisors

cards in order to activate

or play the Scheme Card.

The most powerful of all

Scheme Cards is the

Stratagem of Fire. It costs 6

knowledge. It destroyed all

non Green color force on

board in addition to doing

3 points of damage to non

Green Lords!

Game Play Each player constructed a

deck that contained 15

fates card of any


Earth and/or Man and a

minimum of 40 battle

cards with no more than 3

of same cards. It is possible

to play a Cáo Cao deck:

Lord Cáo Cao, 3 x Cáo Cao

at Yang-tze, 3 x Fleeing Cáo

Cao and 3 x Villainous Cáo

Cao. However, be aware

that once a player played a

personality card (for

example, Zhang Fei), then

no other player can bring

into play any variation of

that personality card.

At the beginning of a

game, a referee or someone

shuffles their Fate cards

into one deck that places at

the center of the play area.

Each player revealed what

Lord they are playing

(though don’t know what

steps are to be taken when

there are multiple people

with the same Lord card).

Both players determine

who goes first. This can be

done with traditional

paper-rock-scissors, a roll

of dice, or by seniority.

There are six steps

during a player’s turn.

1) Waiting for Orders —

Player straightened out his

bowed cards and the Fate

Cards in play. No Scheme

card can be played.

2) Organization — Player

first draws a Battle Card

then a Fate Card. Battle

Card is taken into Player’s

hand. Fate Card is to be

placed in the center of play

White Neutral Faction Event Card Courtesy of Koei’s Battle of Red Cliff CCG

Sample Army Card Courtesy of Koei’s Battle of Red Cliff CCG


“It is possible to play a Cáo Cao deck: Lord Cáo Cao, 3 x Cáo Cao at Yang-tze, 3 x Fleeing Cáo Cao and 3 x Villainous Cáo Cao.“

Game Review:

Koei’s

Ambition of Three Kingdoms: Battle of Red Cliff

Back of a Card Courtesy of Koei’s Battle of Red Cliff CCG

Item Card Courtesy of Koei’s Battle of Red Cliff CCG

“Koei has no intention of export outside of Japan.”

Volume 1, Issue 1

Game Review:

Koei’s

Ambition of Three Kingdoms: Battle of Red Cliff

with the grandfather of

CCGs.

Ultimately, RTK:BRC is

relegated to item of

interest to RTK collectors

because the lack of support

through continue

expansion and the lack of

english translation. Koei

has several advantages

over the other two RTK

CCGs, namely the brand

position. Most people,

includes yours truly, knew

about RTK through playing

Koei’s RTK computer game.

Even after withdraw from

US market, people still

remembered fondly playing

RTK on pc or video system.

So, if Koei is to seriously

expanding outside of

Japan, they would be One.

For people who are

interested in seeking to

collect RTK:BRC, Japan

Yahoo!Auction is the best

source for getting them at

relatively cheap price. The

only problem is that most

sellers do not ship oversea

and most likely don’t speak

English.

6) Fins — Player makes

sure that his hand-size

does not exceed the

maximum of his Lord card.

Scheme card can be play.

This sequence of play

alternates among players

until one player remains

with his Lord having more

than 0 endurance.

Evaluation RTK:BRC have several

advantages over other RTK

CCGs. After all, Koei has

the brand recognition as it

has recently produced

Romance of Three

Kingdoms VIII for

Japanese, Korean, and

Traditional Chinese edition.

It has database full of

Romance of Three

Kingdoms images and arts

and some of which are very

beautiful to look at. It has

an unique game mechanic

of Scheme cards not

limited solely by Advisor

Personality (as opposed to

other CCGs where only

Wizards can cast spells). It

solved the problem of

having unique personality

by having multiple of them

in various stages (as

opposed to other CCGs

where required Experience

1, Experience 2, Experience

3, etc. trait that makes the

game mechanic awkward or

those that only show up

once) during Three

Kingdoms storyline. Most

players would recognize

that Villainous Cáo Cao

comes before Cáo Cao at

Yang-tze which comes

before Fleeing Cáo Cao.

However, it also has

some minor nuisances.

First of all, it is in Japanese.

Koei has no intention of

export outside of Japan.

Second, the idea of mixing

Fate cards together would

not sit well with most

players. Even though these

are considered common

cards, people do take

possession of their cards,

common or not, seriously.

Even by using card sleeves,

it would reduce the

uncertainty, as player

would recognize which

cards are his and the

possibility of drawing a

particular type of Fate card.

And the game mechanic

has a strong similarity M:

TG. It is a minor nuisance

because most people are

familiar and comfortable

Deception are all

considered as Sorcery. It

requires X amount of cost

in order to activate.

Game Play A player has to construct at

minimum of 40 cards deck

with no more than 3 of a

kind cards. And each

player starts the game with

20 life (or endurance to

borrow from other RTK

CCG). Players alternate

their turns once they

determined who goes first.

There are eight steps

during each player’s turn.

Untap—player

straighten all of his cards

that were tapped or turned

90 degree from previous

turn. However, there are

cards that may require

longer duration of being

tapped.

Upkeep—player paid

Upkeep on certain

creatures or artifacts in

order to keep them in play.

Draw Card—except on

the first turn, player draws

a card.

Main—here player

summon creatures and/or

use sorcery as long as he

has sufficient land to pay

for the cost and that it

would not result in losing

his life below 1.

Combat—player used

the summoned creatures to

attack with except that

creatures summoned this

Introduction Portal: Three Kingdoms

(hereinafter known as P:

TK) is Wizards of the

Coast’s attempt to expand

its share into Asian market.

After all, RTK is a popular

subject in the East. To

make it into playable card

game would attract more

Asian consumers into CCG

market. Well, something

went wrong along the way

and P:TK became the

relative that WOTC is too

embarrassed to introduce

into US market.

P:TK is an 180 cards

Portal expansion with both

a 40 cards pre-constructed

starter deck or 8 cards

boosters. The scope of P:TK

is to cover entire period

from 189 AD to 249 AD.

Component There are two main types

of cards: Land vs. Non-

land. There are five colors

of Land cards ranged from

Green (forest), Red

(mountain), Blue (island),

Black (swamp), and White

(plain). These cards power

Non-land cards.

Non-land cards are

further divided into

Creatures and Sorcery.

These cards are also color-

coded. Black is associated

all things Wei Kingdom;

you will find Cáo Cao as

Legend, Cunning Advisor

as Advisor, and Wei Scout

as Soldier. Blue is

associated all thing Wu

Kingdom; you will find Sun

Quán as Creature-Legend,

Council of Advisors as

Creature-Advisors, and Red

Cliff Armada as Creature-

Ships. Green is associated

mystics, barbarians and

nature; you will find Lady

Zhurong as Creature-

Legend, Taoist Hermit as

Creature-Mystic, and

Southern Elephant as

Creature-Elephant. Red is

associated with other

minor players of the Three

Kingdom era; you will find

Diaochan as Creature-

Legend, Yellow Scarves

Troops as Creature-

Soldiers, and Imperial

Recruiter as Creature-

Advisor. White is

associated all thing Shu

Kingdom; you will find Liu

Bei as Legend, Shu Farmer

as Farmer, and Shu Foot

Soldier as Soldier. Then

there are the twelve Zodiac

Creatures from Green, Red

and Black color schemes.

Though they have flavor

texts derived from the

Three Kingdoms novel,

these creatures are not part

of the storyline. It seems

that game designer just

want to slap some

creatures on in order to fill

the space.

Famous events in RTK

are considered to be

Sorcery Cards in P:TK. (Liu

Bei’s) Vengeance, (Emperor

Xian’s Blooded) Imperial

Edict, and (Zhou Yu’s)

Cao Cao, Legendary Creature of Black Faction. Courtesy of WOTC’s Portal: Three Kingdoms CCG


Famous events in RTK are considered to be Sorcery in Portal: Three Kingdoms

Game Review

Wizard’s of the Coast

Portal: Three Kingdoms

Mana Cards from three of five possible factions. Courtesy of WOTC’s Portal:

Three Kingdoms CCG

of having 12 more

character from the classic

novel. Third, the designers

of P:TK have little

knowledge of characters in

romance of three

kingdoms. The most

glaring error is that Sun Ce

has lower offensive/

defensive strength than

Sun Quan in P:TK. Lastly, P:

TK seemed static in a sense

that characters are taken

from specific period of

their lives. There is no

sense of character

development or changes as

most apparently in Koei’s

RTK:BRC.

Grant, all but the first

issue seemed nit-pick from

a RTK fanboy. But then

readers of this journal have

more knowledge about

Romance of Three

Kingdoms than average

audience. Therefore, it is

safe to point out these

seemly nit-pickings faults

with P:TK.

P:TK is a great interest

to those who loves to

collect all things Three

Kingdoms. It is an okay

expansion set for M:TG

players. For non-

Americans, this can be

another example of how

ignorant American

marketers botching up

another culture’s history.

P:TK can be found in

online auction such as

Ebay.com, just be prepared

to pay for an exuberant

round can not attack. They

suffered summon sickness.

Attacker selects creature or

creatures. Defender

selected his. Only creatures

with same special trait (i.e.

flying, charging, flanking)

can block attacking

creatures of same trait.

Once both players have

selected their creatures.

Attacker compared its

offensive strength against

defending creature’s

defensive strength. If

offense is less than defense

then attacker returns

tapped and do no damage

to the defender. If offense

is equal to defense, then

the defending creature dies

while protecting its master.

Attacker returned and

tapped. If offense is greater

than defense, then the

defending creature dies

and defending player lost

life point equals to the

difference between offense

and defense strength.

When player satisfies with

his attack does he progress

to next step.

Main 2—Player may cast

any sorcery or summon

creatures provide that

there are still some lands

left to power the card.

End—Here is where any

sorcery effects or game

effects that have the

duration state, “end at end

of the turn”. This is that

End of turn stage.

Clean-up—Player counts

how many cards in his

hand. If necessary, he has

to discard cards from his

hand down to maximum

hand size.

The object of the game

is to reduce opponent’s life

force to 0 or less.

Evaluation This game has several

things in its favor. It has

good Chinese style

artworks as most of the

artists were from China on

par with Koei’s Romance of

Three Kingdoms: Battle of

Red Cliff. It has brand

recognition as most card

gamers were familiar with

the M:TG card mechanic. It

has the marketing clout as

Wizards of the Coast, the

originator of collectible

card game. All in all, most

expect this to be the hit out

of all four Three Kingdoms

theme card games.

However, P:TK was dead

before it got a chance to

start. First of all, why

Wizards choose to release

P:TK solely in Asia with

English, Chinese, Japanese

and Korean edition and not

release in US which is its

strongest consumer base.

The translations are

already available. Second,

P:TK has the smallest

selection of familiar

characters from Romance

of Three Kingdoms story. If

anything, Zodiac Creatures

should be replaced in favor

Why are Zodiac Creatures included but not other more famous RTK personalities? Courtesy of WOTC’s Portal:

Three Kingdoms CCG

Empty City Ruse is con-sidered to be White Faction Sorcery. Courtesy of WOTC’s Portal: Three Kingdoms CCG

Volume 1, Issue 1

Game Review


Portal: Three Kingdoms

about China, the Japanese

have one huge advantage.

That is, they use kanji

(Chinese ideographs) as a

part of their writing

system. This means that

the names of the

characters appearing in

Three Kingdoms (and there

are a lot of them, believe

me!) can be rendered in the

same form they are in

Chinese, and they are

therefore easier to

recognise and remember. It

also means that the

occasional puns about the

composition of characters'

names become

comprehensible, since

Japanese readers will

understand the structure

of the ideographs which

lies behind such puns.

One possible

disadvantage is that, with

very few exceptions,

Japanese readers are totally

ignorant of the

pronunciation of the

names. A common habit of

the Japanese is to name

Chinese people using the

This review is done by a

friend of mine who lived in

Japan. I came upon his

website and remembered

this review. I have asked

and received the

permission to reprint here.

So here is Paul Mason's

review of the Three

Kingdoms Role Playing

Game.

Sangokushi Engi Sangokushi Engi is best

translated 'Romance of the

Three Kingdoms Role-play'.

Although published by the

Japanese company Koei,

famous for its computer

strategy games, this is

actually a face-to-face (or

'tabletalk' as the Japanese

say) rolegame. Like most

Japanese role-playing

games, it is marred by the

use of tacky manga-style

artwork throughout. On the

other hand, unlike almost

every other Japanese

rolegame (except the Edo

period chambara game I'm

considering getting next) it

eschews crappy boiled

down D&D-derived western

hack fantasy backgrounds

for something a little more

substantial. The something

more substantial is the

mammoth Chinese epic of

the fall of the Han dynasty,

Romance of the Three

Kingdoms. Since the novel

form of the legend was

written around the same

time as The Water Margin

and the two are considered

the leading examples of

traditional Chinese

historical adventure fiction,

I'm sure you can imagine

that my interest was more

than piqued by the

discovery of this game.

Unfortunately I cannot

recommend you all rush

out and acquire it, for the

simple reason that it's in

Japanese. However, I will

try to describe its approach

and systems, so that you

have some idea of the way

the better end of the

Japanese rolegame

industry is going.

In doing a rolegame

Formation of the Three Kingdoms along with their specialty. Courtesy of Koei’s Ambition of

the Three Kingdoms Role Game


Game Review

Koei’s Ambition of the Three Kingdoms Role Game

Game Review


Portal: Three Kingdoms price and expansive

oversea shipping cost.

Good ole Cao Cao according to Koei’s RPG Courtesy of Koei’s Ambition of the Three Kingdoms Role Game

Say 'Mao Zedong' or 'Deng Xiaoping' to a Japanese and you will be met with incomprehension. 'Mo Takuto' and 'To Shohei' would elicit instant recognition. So it's almost as if we were to play a Roman rolegame with all Caecilivs, Marcvs and Ivlianvs instead being referred to as Cecil, Mark and Julian. Except not, because the Japanese readings of Chinese names are not the kun (or native Japanese readings, used for most Japanese names) but the on, the Chinese-derived readings.

previously seen done

successfully. This is to

use miniatures (or

cardboard cut-outs) for

combat, but not as a

literal visualisation of

the scene, but in an

abstract representation

of combat.

Sangokushi Engi

combats are fought on

a nine by nine grid

which is supplied on

the reverse of the

paper cover (the bound

book is two-colour, so the

colour cover is just a dust

jacket). Opponents roll

against each other as

above (obviously the

'difficulty' to beat is the

opponent's roll) and

according to their result

and the weapons they use,

the counters representing

the combatants move

across the board. When the

counters come over to your

side, it's going badly for

your character (depending

on armour worn, if it

reaches the square on the

edge it may mean death or

injury). In the case of non-

player characters, moving

the counter over to their

side may result in them

fleeing.

It's a very simple

concept. There are no hit

points: you're either fine,

injured or dead. This is a

reasonably clean idea,

allowing players to

Japanese reading of the

ideographs. Say 'Mao

Zedong' or 'Deng Xiaoping'

to a Japanese and you will

be met with

incomprehension. 'Mo

Takuto' and 'To Shohei'

would elicit instant

recognition. So it's almost

as if we were to play a

Roman rolegame with all

Caecilivs, Marcvs and

Ivlianvs instead being

referred to as Cecil, Mark

and Julian. Except not,

because the Japanese

readings of Chinese names

are not the kun (or native

Japanese readings, used for

most Japanese names) but

the on, the Chinese-derived

readings.

Anyway, linguistic

quirks aside, one of the

first things that strikes you

on opening this game is

that the reader is assumed

to be familiar with the


Kingdoms. And why not?

It's a phenomenally

successful story in Japan,

certainly comparable in

popularity to the stories of

Robin Hood or King Arthur

in the US (to choose

another example of

imported legends). This

makes me extremely

jealous, as it means that

the designers of the game

can just get right down to

the nitty gritty without

having to set the scene, or

even explain very much

about the China of the

period (though actually

they do fairly well at these

later on).

Attributes & Game Play The nitty gritty, in this

case, is a respectably clean

system. Characters are

rated for six characteristics

(tradition is a big thing in

Japan, remember), which I

will translate as Martial

Prowess, Physical Craft,

Presence, Negotiation,

Knowledge and Leadership.

These are rated out of 100

though the right hand digit

is dropped when

calculating chances of

success. On top of these,

characters can acquire

ability in a variety of skills,

each of which is associated

with one of the above

characteristics. These skills

are rated from 1 to 5. To

resolve action, the referee

sets a difficulty ranging

from 4-6 ('Even a baby

could do it') to 27 or over

('A feat that will go down in

Chinese history'). The

player rolls two dice and

adds the appropriate

characteristic plus skill (if

they have one).

That's more or less it.

Nothing so far should be

particularly unfamiliar or

startling to any of you lot.

The combat system does,

however, introduce an

unusual idea that I haven't

Volume 1, Issue 1

Game Review

Koei’s

Ambition of the Three Kingdoms Role Game

Combat Grid used in Sangokushi Engi Courtesy of Koei’s Ambition of

the Three Kingdoms Role Game

just gives the

circumstances in which the

Cunning Plan can be used,

and the result. This enables

the game to include player

characters who are able to

achieve results similar to

those achieved in the novel

by such masters as Zhuge

Liang (who ranks alongside

Sherlock Holmes as one of

the great Clever Buggers of

the world of literature). The

disadvantage, of course, is

that such abstraction

detracts a little from

visualisation.

Spy characters have 18

available special abilities-as

you'd expect, stuff like

moving without sound, and

hiding things, but also

impersonating animals and

being able to pass as a

local. Merchant characters'

main special abilities are in

the area of contacts,

finding lodgings, having

friends who pop up

conveniently to help, and

so on. Heroines have a

variety of possible abilities

ranging from martial to

marital, including

persuasion and deception.

Game Background Information

It becomes evident how

simple this game is when

you realise that the same

basic tables are reprinted

throughout the book. In

fact the rules occupy a

mere 64 pages, the

concentrate on the game,

rather than the gory details

of their characters' injuries.

However, I can't help

wondering if a little gory

detail might not be a good

thing? After all, in the book

(readers of a sensitive

disposition should skip to

the next paragraph) Xiahou

Dun cops an arrow in the

eye, plucks it out, eyeball

still skewered and,

exclaiming something

along the lines of 'My

illustrious parents didn't

give me this body to waste

on the likes of you!' eats

his own eyeball.

So anyway, having

established that this is

probably a version of the

story based on the manga

rather than the

unexpurgated original, how

else does it capture the

feel? Well, players have to

roll for the good and bad

fortune that has befallen

their character up to now

(including things they were

born as). It's quite a nice

idea, setting up all kinds of

in-game shenanigans such

as being a criminal, having

been ripped off by

someone in the past,

having a huge appetite and

so on. Less successful is

the necessity to choose

character classes. I can't

help feel that this is out of

a feeling that 'It's a role-

playing game-it has to have

classes' rather than any

real need. Even stranger is

the admonition that each

player should play a

different character class.

Since three of the main

characters in the novel, Liu

Bei, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu

are all warriors, this is a bit

odd. The available classes,

by the way, are Warrior,

Spy, Scholar, Merchant and

Heroine.

Character Classes Character classes affect

your character's starting

attributes and also provide

special abilities which may

be invoked only once

during a game session. I

like this idea (and used it in

a previous version of the

Water Margin). Warriors

have two types of special

ability: 'Know Your Enemy,

Know Yourself', which

enables you to gauge the

ability of a potential

opponent, and 'Action In

The Face of Death', which

varies (you have to roll on a

table during character

creation) but provides

warriors with a number of

special abilities, along with

a phrase with which they

are invoked.

Scholars acquire their

special abilities from a

table of Thirty-Six Cunning

Plans. These demonstrate

the very abstract nature of

some of these rules. Rather

than actually going into the

nitty-gritty of the plan, this


Game Review

Koei’s


1) Starting Position (Warrior on top (A) used a short weapon; warrior on bottom (B) used a long weapon)

2) B scored a hit, forced A to retreat 2 steps due to long weapon damage.

3) A scored a hit, forced B to retreat 1 step due to short weapon damage

4) A scored a critical hit against B who also failed to recover

5) B scored a hit, but A rolled critical success on recovery and lost only 1 step.

Courtesy of Koei’s Ambition of the

Three Kingdoms Role Game

Sangokushi Engi has a rather simple system by most modern western standards… It's also unashamedly historically based.

this way, and why they

want to read such things

even when they know how

to play. But I won't. The

second supplement

basically expands the

combat rules. I am left

wondering if they will ever

get round to doing the

magic rules so

conspicuously missing

from the basic rules.

I very much doubt if

Koei would ever consider

releasing Sangokushi Engi

in English. Given that the


Kingdoms is even less well

known than The Water

Margin, I can't see that

there would be a massive

market for it, and the cost

of translation would

probably be prohibitive. To

be honest, apart from me

there can't be all that many

people in the world who

combine the knowledge of

Japanese, Chinese, English

and rolegaming necessary

to translate it properly. As

the ineptitude of the small

amount of translation on

the video game Virtua

Fighter demonstrates, in

Japan bad translation is the

rule rather than the

exception. Still, if there are

any completists out there

who would like to own a

rolegame containing not a

single word of English, I'd

be very happy to send you

a copy. It costs a mere

remaining 80 or so being

given over to background.

One thing I would have

liked to have seen more of

is magic. A skill of magic

exists, but incredibly there

is no magic system. It may

appear in an as yet

unpublished supplement.

This demonstrates that the

perceived audience for this

game is rather more

serious than their UK or US

counterparts, for whom the

history section would most

certainly have been

considered less important

than a magic system.

The background sections

enlarge on just how much

this game stands and falls

on its authenticity to the

legend. A general

introduction is given to the

historical period (the later

Han) and the political,

military and religious

structures that shape it.

General society is also

described: travelling, food,

houses, agriculture

entertainment and the like.

A timeline of the events of

the Three Kingdoms,

complete with maps, is also

provided. Readers who

have played Koei's

computer strategy game


Kingdoms should be

familiar with this stuff. All

of the major characters

from the story are then

described, and given game

statistics. This is followed

by general character

descriptions: generic

robbers, merchants,

scholars and so on. The

book is then rounded off

with a basic (and I mean

basic) scenario involving a

fight with some bandits.

This game is so close to

what I'd like to do myself

that it has really given me

new hope. It may be that

releasing the Water Margin

in Japanese might be a

better idea, but sadly I'm

not yet ready to undertake

such a mammoth

translation job. Sangokushi

Engi has a rather simple

system by most modern

western standards, and, I'd

say, by Japanese standards

too: the most popular

western rolegames here are

AD&D, GURPS (which has

spawned a large number of

Japanese-authored

products) and Torg. It's

also unashamedly

historically based.

I'll be very interested to

see how well it does here. It

already has two

supplements. The first is a

book of 'replays'. This is a

bizarre Japanese habit of

selling game write-ups. I

could probably get all

sociological and

intercultural about why

Japanese gamers need to

be shown how to play in

Available character classes: warrior, scholar, spy, merchant, and heroine Courtesy of Koei’s Ambition of the Three Kingdoms Role Game

Map of Lùo-yáng Courtesy of Koei’s Ambition

of the Three Kingdoms Role

Game

Volume 1, Issue 1

Game Review

Koei’s


Rocket as weapon in Jade & Steel

Courtesy of Microsoft

Clipart website


The author accurately describes magic as a tool that is neither good nor evil. He touches on the Chinese concepts of magic based on alchemy, the five elements, feng shui and I-ching.

Game Review

Koei’s


Buddha should have access

to the Trickery Domain, or

why a daoist cleric should

have access to the War

Domain.

Paragraphs on Crime

and Punishment are

interesting. Yet the allotted

space could have been put

to better use by discussing

the economic situation. The

adventure has more to do

with the life in a city than

about bringing criminals

back to justice.

There are two open

gaming contents (OGC) in

Part I. By definition, OGC

can be used by other

parties for their own

personal or enterprising

schemes. One OGC is about

food, the other is about

clothing. However, it is a

misconception to declare

that the idle rich sported

long fingernails. It is only

true in the last dynasty, the

Manchu, and only toward

Introduction Jade & Steel (hereinafter

known as J&S) is the first

d20 adventure to take

place in the Three

Kingdoms era. It is part of

a historical fantasy

adventure series from

Avalanche Press (http://

www.avalanchepress.com).

With its 48 pages, the

book is rather thin, which

may have severely cramped

the writing and limited the

available information. It is

divided into three sections:

background information,

player sections, and

adventure. Let’s examine

each one separately:

Background Information Overall, this section

contains enough materials

on how to run a Jade &

Steel adventure. It

describes briefly history,

magic, philosophy and

religion, crime and

punishment.

For the Three Kingdoms

enthusiasts, the brief

history section proves a bit

misleading, as it confuses

at times events and/or

people. For example,

General Tung Cho/Dong

Zhou was not summoned

to the capital by evil

eunuchs but by their arch-

rivals, the imperial

relatives.

The author accurately

describes magic as a tool

that is neither good nor

evil. He touches on the

Chinese concepts of magic

based on alchemy, the five

elements, feng shui and I-

ching.

Likewise, the author did

a good job with philosophy

and religion. He manages

to touch on all the major

philosophies of that

period. However, one can

wonder why a cleric of

Game Review

Avalanche Press’s

Jade & Steel

1900 yen, which at current

exchange rates is just over

£13. Not a bad price all in

all, especially since when

you take into account

relative standards of living,

it's the equivalent of just

over a fiver! Chinese Alchemy Equipments

Courtesy of http://www.

vigyanprasar.com/dream/

may2000/chinesfarneca.jpg

“Lu Bu was a

conspicuous figure in

the forefront. His hair

was arranged under a

handsome headdress

of gold, and he had

donned a embroidered

thousand-flower

fighting robe, a

pheasant-tailed

helmet, and breast

plate, and round his

waist was a gleaming

jade belt with a lion's

head clasp. With spear

set he rode close

behind his master

Ding Yuan.”

RTK 3 (http://www.threekingdoms.com)

In themselves, those

warrior prestige classes are

good; they are just not

completely appropriate for

the chosen period.

With regards to Chinese

weapons, the author states

that the jiann, hook sword

and butterfly sword are to

be considered exotic. In

game term, it means that a

character has to spend a

feat to be able to use them

properly. What would make

sense for characters of

western origin, who have

never seen them prior

entering China, does not

make sense for Chinese-

born characters. These

weapons are very

commonly seen (almost

every daoist carries a jiann,

and street gangs a pair of

butterfly swords) and thus

the twilight days when

China was trampled by the

imperialist European

powers.

Players Information The whole of this section is

OGC. There are six new

prestige classes, three for

warriors and three for

spell-casters. The latter are

very appropriate to the

genre and period: they lean

more toward Daoism than

Buddhism, which arrived in

China around 50 – 70 CE

(common era). The first is

the Alchemist whose

objective is to create the

elixir of life, very true to

the Chinese concept. His

other class abilities

included brewing any

spells into potion, tablets,

painting, and even gaseous

form. Imaging players’

horror when they throw

what they thought a flash

pallet, and instead, it is a

fireball pallet. Another

prestige class is the

Diviner. His ability to

predict future almost gives

him uncanny luck ability.

Though it would be nice to

see how the author would

include the use of I-Ching

in game play, the scope

and size limitation of this

adventure curtailed that

ideas. And then there is the

Geomancer prestige class.

He controlled the power of

Feng Shui and he can

protect a location like no

body could. His other

abilities include the fact

that he could empower

other players with certain

powers when they stayed

at his location of power for

a minimum of 8 hours.

These spell-caster prestige

classes are very

appropriate to the genre.

Unfortunately, the

author could not rid

himself of the idea that all

martial artists are monks.

Though this myth is fed by

some wuxia movies, such

as Iron Monkey, it is not

always the case. Many

martial art schools were

not affiliated with any

monastic order. Case in

point, Michelle Yeoh’s Yu

Shu Lien and Ziyi Zhang’s

Sha-Long characters from

Crouching Tiger Hidden

Dragon are not part of any

monastic order. (On a side

note, Dragon Fist RPG does

acknowledge the fact that

not all martial artists

belong to the monk class; it

has the fighter class learn

new martial art maneuvers

a bit like a spellcaster

learns new spells.) Two out

of the three warrior

prestige classes reflect this

limitation. And these two

classes, despite their

powerful class abilities, are

woefully in the wrong

period, as the sample

description below

demonstrates.

Form School of Feng Shui Courtesy of http://www.

fengshui-fanzine.co.uk/

Contents.htm

Sample of Dim Mark Technique Courtesy of http://www.

bushido-online.com/dimmak/

dimmak006.htm

Unfortunately, the author could not rid himself of the idea that all martial artists are monks.

Volume 1, Issue 1

Game Review

Avalanche Press’s

Jade & Steel

Tool for Chinese Divination Courtesy of http://www.

csupomona.edu/~inch/

group4/beliefs.html

Is it Vanara or Monkey hengeyokai Courtesy of Microsoft

Clipart website


Game Review

Avalanche Press’s

Jade & Steel

a fantasy East

Asian themed setting and

rules with the Oriental

Adventures book for 1e

AD&D, and the subsequent

Kara-Tur boxed set.

Perhaps the most popular

such RPG in this vein is the

Rokugan setting for the

Legend of the Five Rings

CCG and RPG.

Years later, Wizards of

the Coast owns the rights

to Dungeons & Dragons

and to Legends of the Five

Rings. When it announced

that a new Oriental

I have planned to write an

Oriental Adventure when it

first came out. Fortunately,

when visited rpg.net, I saw

Mr. Kohler’s review of

Oriental Adventure. His

detailed analysis of the

book is very enjoyable to

read and if I was to write a

review, I would have

nothing more to add.

Therefore, I asked and

received Mr. Kohler’s

permission to reprint his

review for this ezine.

Oriental Adventure Fantasy RPGs have long

flirted with the fantastical

notions associated with the

Far East. Samurai and ninja

have appeared in a variety

of computer and tabletop

RPGs, and a few games

have been totally based

around settings drawn

from historical and

mythical references in East

Asian cultures. FGU

presented a fantasy RPG

based on ancient Japan

called Bushido. TSR came

up with its own version of

Game Review

Wizards of the Coast’s

Oriental Adventure Third Edition

not chosen the Three

Kingdoms as its

background. With a setting

such as this, the

expectations are high, and

a lot of preparation is

required. Presently, if the

setting were the Manchu

Dynasty (as in Crouching

Tiger, Hidden Dragon),

then the entire book would

make perfect sense,

including the warrior

prestige classes. By setting

itself in the Three

Kingdoms era, the book

had to face high

expectations, that simply

could not be filled.

in no way “exotic.” These

weapons would have

benefited from being

treated in the Weapon

Equivalencies paragraph, in

which the author compares

certain Chinese weapons to

their western/D&D

equivalents.

Adventures The adventure follows the

traditional theme of love

vs. duty. Not to give away

too much plot, it is

sufficient to say the

adventure is very fast-

paced and at time, feels

like Hong Kong cinema. But

if the players expect to be

given to meet famous

personalities from the

Three Kingdoms period,

they will be disappointed.

There is a glaring

confusion in the adventure.

At the beginning, Pai San is

a city. However, on the

map, it seems more like a

personal estate of the

major NPC. Further on, Pai

San is described as a

stronghold on a hill

overlooking the town.

Then, at the grand finale, it

becomes a city again.

Conclusion Jade & Steel is a good,

solid adventure book and

would be perfect… had it

creation. The introduction

also sets up a convention

that will be used

throughout the book: a

“Legends of the Five Rings”

logo is used to denote

parts that will be used in

the Rokugan setting. Much

of the book is not used in

Rokugan. For example,

there are no Hengeyokai,

Wu Jen, or Sohei in the

Rokugan setting.

The first chapter covers

character races. It

introduces five new PC

races:

• Hengeyokai – A race of

shapeshifters, each

associated with one

specific animal type. All

hengeyokai have a

Wisdom penalty, but

their racial bonus and

special powers depend

on their type. Unlike the

version in the original

OA, the Hengeyokai

here have no alignment

restrictions by type. The

hengeyokai is the only

race in OA with a

character level modifier,

and the same rules are

presented for handling

this as in the Forgotten

Realms Campaign

Setting and the Manual

of the Planes.

• Korobokuru – A race of

dwarflike humanoids,

which also appeared in

the old OA. They have

many traits in common

Adventures would be

published, many old fans

of previous AD&D material

expected a re-appearance

of the Kara-Tur setting.

Alas, this was not to

happen. As WotC owns the

rights to Rokugan, it made

little sense for it to

promote a relatively

obscure setting over a well-

accepted one. The “sample

setting” in the 3e Oriental

Adventures is, therefore,

Rokugan.

It’s not all Rokugan,

however. James Wyatt

promised us that one of his

influences was the

Dragonfist game, inspired

by Wuxia, fantastical

Chinese martial arts epics,

as well as the old Oriental

Adventures hardbound and

other sources.

A First Look Oriental Adventures is a

256-page hardbound book.

The cover is somewhat

unconventional for a WotC

hardbound, in that it does

not match any of the

existing cover schemes. For

example, the Psionics

Handbook had a brown

cover in the style of the

Player’s Handbook, and the

Manual of the Planes had a

blue cover matching the

style of the Dungeon

Master’s Guide. The

Oriental Adventures book,

on the other hand, has a

cover with the appearance

of beige monogrammed

paper with a cloth back and

a depiction of a samurai-

like warrior wielding two

swords (and carrying a

third), all done in a very

classical Asian style.

The interior is illustrated

with full-color art – and

outstanding full-color art

at that. Artists contributing

to the book include Wayne

Reynolds, Raven Mimura,

Arnie Swekel, Matt Cavotta,

Larry Dixon, David Martin,

Darrell Riche, Richard

Sardinha, and Brian

Snoddy. The book’s

borders are made to

resemble wood building

material. This combines to

make this easily the most

attractive hardcover for

Dungeons & Dragons 3rd

edition that WotC has

published to date.

The text density is fairly

high, using a font size and

spacing similar to other

non-core D&D 3e

rulebooks. The overall

price is a somewhat painful

$34.95 US, but this isn’t

too surprising in contrast

with other WotC full-color

books.

Characters from the Far East The Oriental Adventures

book is divided into twelve

chapters and three

appendices. The first five

chapters cover character

Game Review



Unfortunately, there is no purple piggy Hengeyokai. Courtesy of Microsoft Clip Arts

Human races are divided into several clans Courtesy of Microsoft

Clip Arts

It’s not all Rokugan, however. James Wyatt promised us that one of his influences was the Dragonfist game, inspired by Wuxia, fantastical Chinese martial arts

Volume 1, Issue 1

Nezumi are uniquely Rokugan race. Courtesy of Microsoft Clip Arts

Samurai may awaken magical ability within the weapon. Courtesy of Microsoft Clip Arts


the ill-conceived rule that monks may not advance after they multiclass does not apply in OA

most of the changes are

minor. For example,

fighters only add a few new

feats introduced in the

book to their list of feats,

and most classes revise

their list of known

weapons to include some

of the existing weapons.

The biggest change is the

monk. In OA, monks add

knowledge (religion) to

their class skills and may

trade some of their virtual

feats for other martial arts

feats. In addition, the ill-

conceived rule that monks

may not advance after they

multiclass does not apply

in OA – which sounds like a

good general rule to me.

The new core character

classes introduced in OA

3e are:

• Samurai – The samurai

is a modified fighter. It

has fewer feats available

than a fighter, but gets

more skill points and a

more courtly skill

selection, and it has

access to the ancestral

daisho ability. This

ability gives the samurai

character a weapon that

is part of his heritage.

The samurai may

sacrifice wealth to

“awaken” magical

abilities within the

weapon.

• Shaman – This divine

spellcasting class is

basically the Shukenja

with standard D&D

dwarves, but suffer a

penalty to Intelligence

instead of Wisdom, are

a small race, and have

barbarian as a preferred

class. They are depicted

as somewhat primitive

and uncouth.

• Nezumi – A race of

ratlike humanoids from

the Rokugan setting.

Nezumi have a

resistance to the

“Shadowlands taint.”

The region that is the

Shadowlands was

formerly the homeland

of the Nezumi.

• Spirit Folk – Another

race that also appeared

in the original OA. Spirit

folk are results of a

union between humans

and various nature

spirits. There are three

types of spirit folk:

bamboo, river, and sea.

They have no racial

ability score modifiers,

and like humans and

half-elves always treat

their highest level class

as a favored class. They

receive low-light vision

plus other special

abilities based on their

spirit folk type.

• Vanara – A race of

monkeylike humanoids,

drawn from Indian

myth. Vanara have

intelligence and wisdom

bonuses and a strength

penalty, as well as

climbing movement,

low-light vision, and a

satchel of skill bonuses.

In addition to the new

races, the chapter

discusses how to integrate

existing core D&D races to

an OA-style campaign. In

the case of humans in the

Rokugan setting, clan

determines the character’s

bonus feat and favored

class. The other races have

a few notes on how they

can be made to fit with the

elements in the OA book.

For example, elves can pick

wu jen instead of wizard as

a favored class, and

dwarves have their combat

bonuses expanded to some

creatures in the OA setting

and can choose fighter or

samurai as a favored class.

The second chapter

focuses on core character

classes. This includes

tweaks and guidelines for

using existing D&D 3e

classes, as well as five new

character classes

specifically for an East-

Asian themed setting.

Several classes from the

PHB are as a default not

used in the Rokugan

setting: bard, cleric, druid,

paladin, and wizard. Of

course, in homebrew

settings, the GM may have

different ideas about what

belongs and what doesn’t.

Of the existing classes,

Game Review



Ninja are consid-ered as prestige class. Courtesy of Microsoft

Clip Arts

Wu Jen the oriental element wizard Courtesy of Microsoft Clip Arts

Oriental Adventures suggests that members of ninja clans start out in whatever class is most appropriate to their particular role within the clan

Volume 1, Issue 1

class. Are ninja

martial artists,

magicians, or

charlatans? Different

sources portray them

in different ways.

History and fantasy

both suggest that

ninja are born into

ninja clans and

trained from

childhood, which

might suggest that a

base class is

appropriate — but

they’re trained from

childhood to a variety

of different tasks.

Thus, instead of a

single ninja class,

Oriental Adventures

suggests that

members of ninja

clans start out in

whatever class is most

appropriate to their

particular role within

the clan — whether

that's rogue, monk,

fighter, or a

spellcasting class like

shaman, shugenja, or

wu jen. From that

point, a ninja can

multiclass if he wants

to: fighter/rogues,

monk/rogues, and

monk/spellcasters all

make interesting

ninja. Then, in order

to get the unique and

powerful ninja

abilities, a character

can adopt either the

new ninja spy prestige

from OA 1e. It is

somewhat similar to a

cleric. It has less armor

and undead turning

capability, a different

spell selection, an

animal companion, and

free martial arts feats.

The shaman is not

available in the Rokugan

setting.

• Shugenja – This class is

more or less a

conversion of the

Shugenja from the

Legend of the Five Rings

RPG. It is probably the

most unusual fit to the

D&D 3e system. The

shugenja is a divine

spellcaster, and must

choose a school and an

element that will steer

its spell selection. They

also, however, cast

spells like a sorcerer:

they have a limited

number of known spells

but do not need to

prepare their spells

• Sohei – The sohei are

warrior-monks and

temple guardians. They

have a limited spell

selection like paladins

and have special

abilities such as ki

frenzy (sort of a minor

version of the

barbarian’s rage),

various martial arts

feats, and eventually

gain abilities like the

barbarian’s damage

reduction and the

templar’s mettle. Sohei

do not appear in the

Rokugan setting.

• Wu jen – The wu jen is a

sort of elemental

wizard. The wu jen spell

list is somewhat similar

to the wizard spell list,

but with a greater focus

on the classic Chinese

elements: earth, fire,

metal, water, and wood.

Wu jen gains bonuses if

they know every spell of

an element available to

them. They do not get

the free feats a wizard

does. They do, though,

get spell secrets, which

are sort of like focused

metamagic feats; yet for

each spell secret they

adopt, they must also

adopt a taboo. Wu jen

are not used in the

Rokugan setting.

Notably, there is no

ninja core class. This may

take some of you by

surprise. James Wyatt had

this to say in an interview

about his reasoning:

Different people —

whether they are

historians, fantasy

authors, filmmakers,

or gamers — have

different ideas of what

ninja were or should

be, and as a result

their abilities are

difficult to define in

the terms of a single

Game Review



Fearsome Bear Warrior prestige class Courtesy of Microsoft

Clip Arts

Eunuch Warlock? Courtesy of http://

www2.egenet.com.tr/

mastersj/encyclopedia-

k.html


according to James Wyatt, the blade dancer was based on Swordman Yen from A Chinese Ghost Story

henshin mystics,

Shintao monks are a

monk prestige class

that gains supernatural

abilities.

• Singh Rager – The singh

rager is an usual twist

on a beserker. The singh

rager has a rage ability

similar to the

barbarian’s, but singh

ragers are more

disciplined than bear

warriors or barbarians.

• Tatooed monk – Monks

that bear tattoos

granting them

supernatural abilities.

• Void disciple – In

Rokugan, there are five

elements of magic. The

shugenja master one of

the four basic

elements – air, fire,

water, and earth. Yet in

Rokugan, the fifth

element is void, the

element that connects

the other elements. The

void disciple seeks to

master this element,

which gives the void

disciple divinatory and

fate-influencing powers.

• Weapon Master

(Kensei) – This is almost

identical to the Weapon

Master prestige class in

the Sword & Fist book.

The Weapon Master

receives additional

abilities while armed

with a masterwork

weapon that they have

class or the good old-

fashioned assassin

prestige class from the

DMG.

The chapter on prestige

classes is loaded with ideas

for advanced careers and

organizations for an East-

Asian themed game. The

list is impressive, but there

are even more in the

Rokugan chapters. Many of

them have applicability

beyond that of OA games.

In brief, the prestige

classes are:

• Battle Maiden – Female

elite cavalry, based on

the Rokugan Utaku

school.

• Bear Warrior – A

berserker with the

ability to actually shift

into bear form.

• Blade Dancer – A wuxia-

inspired warrior with

impressive acrobatic

ability. According to

James Wyatt, the blade

dancer was based on

Swordman Yen from A

Chinese Ghost Story, but

I also see it a variety of

other wuxia-type

sources.

• Eunuch Warlock – An

arcane spellcaster with

some boosted

spellcasting ability.

Depicted as the power

behind the throne of a

corrupt emperor in

some OA settings.

• Henshin Mystic – A

monk that attains a

variety of supernatural

abilities in the quest for

divinity.

• Iajutsu Master – A

master of the art of

Iajutsu, the art of

drawing and striking

with the weapon in one

motion. In Rokugan,

Iajutsu dueling is an

important form of

dueling.

• Kishi Charger – Another

elite cavalry type that

forms a special bond

with its mounts. In

Rokugan, they are

members of the Unicorn

clan trained in the

Shinjo school.

• Ninja Spy – The

archetypal ninja, the

ninja spy has abilities

that enhance stealth

and mobility.

• Shadow Scout – The

shadow scout is a sort

of ranger specialized in

operating in dangerous

territory. In Rokugan, it

represents some

members of the Crab

clan.

• Shapeshifter – The

shapeshifter is a

prestige class that

further develops the

ability of a spellcaster

or creature with an alter

form ability.

• Shintao monk – Like

Game Review



Katana, the weapon of choice for any Oriental Adventure Curtsey of http://

www.3donline.com.br/

public_gallery/katana-hi.jpg

Yakuza, a prestige class? Curtsey of http://www.

japanforever.net/yakuza.

jpg

Unlike 1e OA, the system for honor is not numeric.

Volume 1, Issue 1

Sword & Fist, the katana is

treated as a masterwork

bastard sword. Technically,

the katana is smaller than a

bastard sword, but the

convention works well

enough. The way it was

wielded resembles the way

bastard swords are

handled under D&D

mechanics, and it is a much

better approach than

promoting the katana to

the “super-weapon” that it

was under 1e and 2e.

As you might expect, a

few ninja gimmicks like

eggshell grenades are

available. The ninja-to is

treated as an exotic

weapon, however, which

struck me as a little odd

since it is basically a

(crappy) short sword.

In the realm of spells,

many spell lists are

provided for the new

classes, and many of the

existing spells in the PHB

are referenced. Many new

spells are also provided.

Some of these are simply

rearrangements of existing

spells. For example, the

shugenja have access to the

spell protection from taint

that operates much like the

classic protection from evil.

Many other spells are

brand new, though, and

very interesting additions

to a campaign. One very

cool spell is snake darts.

This spell requires snake

chosen as their forte.

• Witch Hunter – Witch

Hunters are proficient

in both fighting and

magic, and are trained

in vanquishing ghosts

and evil spirits.

• Yakuza – The classic

organized crime figure

from Japanese history,

the yakuza has many

rogue-like abilities in

addition to knowledge

and leadership abilities

befitting a senior

member of the Yakuza.

The skills sections offers

new specialties for skills

appropriate to an OA

campaign, and new uses

for existing skills –

including a very wuxia-

esque list of new uses for

the Tumble skill. The book

also introduces a new skill:

iajutsu focus. This skill is

useful primarily in an

iajutsu duel, in which the

duelists attempt to strike

each other starting from a

position with swords

sheathed. If you strike an

opponent flatfooted, an

iajutsu focus skill roll can

result in increased damage

to the opponent.

The book also

introduces a number of

new feats. Most of these

are sorted into two

categories: ancestor feats

and martial arts feats. As

you might expect, martial

arts feats provide new

combat options for

characters. Ancestor feats

are primarily aimed at the

Rokugan setting but can

really be used for any

Japan-themed campaign.

They provide bonuses to

the character based on the

abilities attributed to a

legendary ancestor. For

example, if an ancestor was

a noted diplomat, the

ancestor feat great

diplomat gives a bonus to

the character’s Diplomacy

rolls and Leadership score.

The book provides a

brief system for honor.

Unlike 1e OA, the system

for honor is not numeric. A

simpler system for honor

that divides honor into five

ranks is provided. In

addition to this system, the

suggestion is tendered that

you can use honor in the

place alignment in your

game.

New Goodies Then next big chunk of the

book is the new equipment,

spells, and magic items

available to characters in

OA campaigns. The list is

long enough that I won’t

attempt to enumerate all of

the particulars, but instead

hit a few high points.

The description and

equipment chapter

includes a variety of Asian

weapons, armor, and other

items. As was the case in

Game Review



Spells in Oriental Adventure are categorized according to Chinese Five Elements. Courtesy of Microsoft

Clip Arts

martial arts system builds on the feat system Courtesy of Microsoft

Clip Arts


“It [3rd martial art] seems like a pale shadow of the old OA martial arts system.”

style. This gives the

character some mechanical

benefits. For example, if

you have all the feats of the

“empty hand mastery” list,

your unarmed damage

improves by one step.

I have to say that while I

think this works after a

fashion, I am really not

wild about it. It seems like

a pale shadow of the old

OA martial arts system. 1e

OA had a system whereby

you could put together

unique styles from

component maneuvers. The

new system offers nowhere

near the flavor and variety.

I feel it would have been

much better springing off

from the feat system into

the prestige class mechanic

(which seems to be widely

used in other places in the

book for “fighting schools”;

I am at a loss as to why this

wasn’t done here.)

The iajustsu duel rules

are largely an outgrowth of

Rokugan, where these rules

are very important.

Basically, if two samurai

face off and agree to an

iajustu duel, they run a

combat using the iajustu

duel rules. When the

duelists face off, they can

try to determine things

about each other’s

capability before the fight

begins. If it is obvious that

the opponent is superior, a

duelist may cede the duel

tattoos on the caster’s

arms as a focus. When the

spell is cast, the snakes fly

out and strike a target, and

bite the target (inflicting

poison on the target as

well).

For fans of the old 1e

OA will recognize many of

those spells here in 3e

format, such as lightning

blade (which was

enchanted blade in 1e) and

fire shuriken.

Likewise, many magic

items were updated from

the previous edition.

Unfortunately, it appears

that the author did not

choose the Complete Book

of Ninjas as a resource for

magic items, a book with

some interesting items that

would have made good

additions.

There are a variety of

new weapon enchantments

such as honorable and

dishonorable weapons,

which are sort of a parallel

of holy and unholy

weapons in the DMG. The

major difference you may

notice is that many of the

enchantments detailed here

do not add to the weapon’s

effective bonus for the

purposes of the market

price, but rather have a

direct price modifier. These

enchantments are typically

of the sort that does not

give a direct combat

modifier, but instead gives

the user some sort of

bonus. For example, a

balance weapon gives the

user a +8 bonus to Balance

checks while carrying the

weapon.

A new category of magic

weapon is introduced:

talismans. Nothing too new

to see here – talismans

basically operate like

potions. Talismans are

simply a different method

of storing low-level spell

abilities.

Finally, new special

materials are introduced.

Most prominent among

these are jade and

obsidian, which are useful

against Shadowlands

creatures if you play a

Rokugan (or Rokugan

inspired) game.

Combat The combat chapter

focuses on some aspects of

combat that are not part of

the basic D&D 3e rules,

though they do fit well with

the existing rules. Three

areas are covered: martial

arts, iajutsu duels, and

psychic combat.

Martial arts is what

seems to be on everyone’s

mind. Basically, the martial

arts system builds on the

feat system. If your

character selects the

correct package of martial

arts feats, he receives (free

of charge) mastery of that

Game Review



5 pages out of 254 on how to create a Chinese, Japanese, India, or South Asian campaign. Courtesy of Microsoft Clip Arts

You be surprised to see images of Dragon in the new OA. Courtesy of Microsoft

Clip Arts

“One chapter is devoted to the topic of campaign design. The chapter ends up being more of a GM’s miscellany and musings than rigorous guidelines for making an Oriental Adventures campaign setting.”

Volume 1, Issue 1

suggestions are given

regarding what sort of

fantastical elements would

not fit if you were going to

do a low-magic campaign

based on historical Japan.

Unfortunately, I felt that

this chapter needed more

guidelines on how things

should fit together.

The chapter does have a

few interesting and useful

elements, including a list of

alternate names for the

largely Japan-influenced

class names for campaigns

based on Japanese,

Chinese, and Indian

culture. For example, a

shaman might be entitled a

so, itako, or kannushi in a

Japan-inspired setting; a

dang-ki or wu in a Chinese

setting; and a Brahmin in

an Indian-inspired setting.

Of course, if you really

want to remain faithful to

the source setting, you may

have to do your own

research to determine how

the classes fit into the

setting. For example, a

brahmin had a role in India

that made him more

prominent than the warrior

caste, which was not true

in Japan. I really felt this

cultural list should have

touched on other regions

of Asia, such as Siam or

Korea.

Similarly, a weapon

equivalent table is

provided, which gives the

before it begins. Otherwise,

the duel proceeds, and

each combatant rolls his

Iajutsu Focus skill as an

initiative roll. The first

strike is treated as a

surprise round, so both are

effectively flat footed and

stand to take a lot of

damage.

The psychic duel is not

anything you would expect

to find in the Psionics

Handbook. Rather, it is a

war of nerves, and rules for

this originally appeared in

1e OA. In such a duel, the

opponents basically stare

each other down, and must

make Will saves each round

until one of them loses

composure. The loser of

such a “duel” receives a

penalty in combat as if

affected by the bane spell.

Monsters! Monsters! Monsters! This section of the book is

probably the most lavishly

illustrated. Many new

monsters are provided,

most of them derived from

Japanese myth or from

Rokugan. Nonetheless, the

creatures are very cool and

you may be tempted to use

them in your everyday

campaign. Some may seem

a little strange, like the

“hopping vampires” that

people seem to love or

hate.

Two new type modifiers

are introduced for

monsters: spirit and

shadowlands. Both

modifiers’ primary effects

are for ajudicating magic.

For example, certain spells

operate specifically against

spirits, and certain

weapons have deleterious

effects against

shadowlands creatures.

Spirit creatures are not

necessarily incorporeal, as

many “spirits” in East

Asian mythologies were

flesh-and-bone.

Shadowlands creatures are

primarily outsiders from

the Shadowlands realm of

the Rokugan setting.

Personal favorites in this

section are the Oni and the

Shadowlands Oni (they are

different), as well as the

Dokufu. In addition to the

menagerie of new creatures

presented in this chapter,

the campaign chapter also

provides guidelines for

adapting existing creatures

in the Monster Manual and

Monsters of Faerun to an

OA campaign.

Campaign Design One chapter is devoted to

the topic of campaign

design. The chapter ends

up being more of a GM’s

miscellany and musings

than rigorous guidelines

for making an Oriental

Adventures campaign

setting. For example, some

Game Review



Some maps are provided in the Campaign Design Chapter Courtesy of Microsoft Clip Arts

Japan? No. Rokugan. Courtesy of Microsoft Clip Arts


“A mere one-page discussion is provided discussing how to use the elements in the book, along with an intriguing (but incomplete) discussion of putting together a sample setting.”

The Shadowlands

chapter likewise contains a

section regarding the

history of the Shadowlands

and mechanics dealing with

the Shadowlands. This

includes a “taint” mechanic

that describes the

supernatural corruption

associated with the

Shadowlands, and two

prestige classes that

represent those who fall

under the sway of the taint:

the Maho-Bujin (“blood

warrior”) and maho-tsukai

(“blood sorcerer”).

Not being too familiar

with the RPG material for

L5R, I can’t comment too

specifically on how good an

adaptation this is. The

ideas, however, seem neat

and potentially useful for

adapting to your own

campaign, even if you do

not plan on using the

setting per se.

Conclusions Visually, this is quite

possibly the most stunning

3e supplement by Wizards

of the Coast to date,

showing a great deal of

flare and artistic talent,

and being well-organized

and readable.

This is primarily a

mechanical supplement. If

prestige classes and feats

do not serve to convey the

feeling of a game to you,

you may find this book

closest approximations of a

variety of weapons used in

East Asia. Unlike the class

table, the weapon table

includes entries from a

variety of East Asian

cultures.

Race options are

discussed, along with

effective character level

(ECL) modifiers for a

number of monsters that

may be appropriate for an

OA campaign. The same

system is used for ECL here

as was used in FRCS and

MotP. The author teases

you with the possibility

that you can line up the

seven clans of Rokugan

with the seven basic races

of D&D, giving you elf

cranes, dwarf crabs, and so

forth . . . an idea that I

must admit sounds like an

interesting spin.

Some time is spent

discussing how to

incorporate other D&D

supplements such as the

class books (including

some yet-to-be-published

ones) and the Psionics

Handbook.

A mere one-page

discussion is provided

discussing how to use the

elements in the book, along

with an intriguing (but

incomplete) discussion of

putting together a sample

setting.

An entry is provided for

the “spirit world” as a

plane in the cosmology of

an OA setting.

Some maps are provided

in the chapter, depicting

some possible locations

that could play host to a

Rokugan or other OA game.

Finally, a brief

discussion is provided for

departing from the

prevailing D&D “treasure”

method of rewards that is

somewhat inappropriate in

an East Asian-themed

campaign.

Overall, I felt this

chapter needed to be much

larger. At least two or three

pages devoted to each

cultural model would have

been justifiable as a

baseline for GMs who wish

to build their own OA

setting.

Into Rokugan (and the Shadowlands) The final two chapters give

an overview and some

salient details of Rokugan

and the Shadowlands. The

Rokugan chapter discusses

the history and culture of

Rokugan, the seven clans

of Rokugan (and the minor

clans), and how they

theoretically fit into the

D&D system. Each clan has

a prestige class unique to

the clan (but largely

adaptable if you are not

playing in Rokugan) and

adventure hooks.

Game Review



Much, much works need to be done if to use Oriental Adventures to create the Three Kingdoms campaign. Courtesy of Microsoft Clip

Arts

Everything in the history [of L5R] seems like it is going on out of reach from the characters Courtesy of Microsoft

Clip Arts

“Still, I consider this a strong supplement. It does the hardest work for the GM: the mechanics.”

Volume 1, Issue 1

Game Review


Oriental Adventure Third Edition same old tired prattle

about imbalance.

-Alan D. Kohler

Editor’s Note When I first heard of the

updated version of Oriental

Adventure, I was excited.

After reading and playing

Dungeons & Dragon Third

Edition, I thought it is a

possibility to create the

Three Kingdoms campaign

background or campaign

book using the d20 System.

Originally, I have hoped

that I was able to draw

information from Oriental

Adventure Third Edition.

But after reading the book

and this review, I realized

it would be far easier to

discard Oriental Adventure

Third Edition all together

and just to use both the

Players’ Handbook and the

Dungeon Master Guide as

reference materials.

Oriental Adventure Third

Edition simply has too

many distractions and

myopic notion of Chinese

fantasy to be able to use as

a reference material. The

book, however, is good at

what it set out to be, to run

adventures in the world of

Rokugan.

insufficient. That said, this

is a strong mechanical

supplement, with most of

the pieces that you will

need to put together an

East Asian-themed game. I

do feel it needs more

support for running those

campaigns beyond the

mechanics, though.

A case in point . . . in the

statement by James Wyatt

that I quoted above, he

alludes to a discussion of

what a ninja clan might

look like in the book. If it is

in there, I can’t find it. The

book is very short on

implementation notes

outside of Rokugan. In

addition to spelling out

how implementing some

common elements of such

settings might look like in

the 3e rules, it would have

been nice to see the book

go beyond flagging stuff

that belongs in the

Rokugan setting and

flagging elements that

belong in a variety of

culturally-inspired settings

(e.g., Japanese, Chinese,

Siamese, Korean, Indian,

etc.)

I have mixed feelings

about making Rokugan the

default/sample setting of

the book. On one hand,

Rokugan and the

Shadowlands contain a lot

of neat ideas, and their

mechanical

implementations in OA

were well done. The

Shadowlands, the Taint,

Rokugan Shugenja, and the

Clans are all interesting

elements for a game taken

individually or together. In

reading through the

Rokugan chapter, however,

I recognized one of the

elements that kept me at

arm’s distance from L5R in

the first place: the

metaplot. Everything in the

history seems like it is

going on out of reach from

the characters, and it

seems as if everything

important has already

happened. I understand

that Rokugan is a well

developed setting, but I

wonder if that space would

have been better spent

turning the book into a

universal tool rather than a

semi-slave to one setting.

Still, I consider this a

strong supplement. It does

the hardest work for the

GM: the mechanics. If you

want to make your own

setting, you may have to do

some research if you are

not already familiar with

the culture and folklore of

East Asia. I have already

heard some complaints

that this book is somehow

“unbalanced” with respect

to the rest of the game. I

consider this book to be

much better than many

WotC books on that score,

and these complaints strike

me as little more than the

Romancing Cathay

Membership Benefits • Players received

sneak preview or

sample cards of up-

coming released.

• Based on their

ranking, players

receive additional

perks.

• Membership

information is kept

strictly confidential.

We do not sell it to

any third party, nor

do we solicit players

for any reason.

Sign up for Membership If you are interested in participated our membership program, please fill out the online form (http://www.romancingcathay.com/newsite/membership.html) or fill out the form on the back of this journal. The annual membership fee is $5.00 which covers both the paperwork to set up your record and the membership card to be sent to the address you give us.

For us, the membership

program is a way to keep

track of the number of

people interested in our

products, thus, to better

gauge their popularity.

Hopefully, thanks to your

feedback, our games will

always get better. The

membership program is

also a way for us to simply

say "Thank You" for

playing our games.

We are very proud for

you to choose us in the

ocean of CCGs; it allows us

to reward players and

tournament organizers.

Below are some of the

perks we are offering to

players who join our

membership program.

Membership Perks • Players can trade

their cards with us

for cards they don't

have, for certain foil

cards, or for other

types of cards

(provided that they

included SASE).

Cards are traded on

same rarity scheme

(i.e. foil for foil, rare

for rare, uncommon

for uncommon, and

common for

common). Cards

have to be in mint to

good condition. You

will get a random

card of same rarity

scheme and

different from what

you have sent in.

• Players can trade

among themselves

with us acting as

clearinghouse for

free (provided that

each participant

included SASE).

• Players choose

either the Wu

(martial) track or the

Wen (bureaucrat)

track. Wu Players

actively participate

in tournaments and

have their winning

and losing recorded

by Wen Players who

then report back to

Romancing Cathay

for official update.

• Players are ranked

according to the

number of games

they played. Players

are ranked

according to the

number of

tournaments they

organized.


Romancing Cathay

Romancing Cathay

Membership Listing Wu [ranking, tournament participated] Wen [ranking, tournament organized]

California Graeff, Derek

• Wu (1, 3)

Maryland Donnelly, Krista

• Wu

Ohio Conn II, Denson

• Wu (1, 1)

Lin, Chuan

• Wu (1, 3)

• Wen (1, 3)

Stoneburner, James

• Wu

Wisconsin Joswick, Paul

• Wu (1,3)

Lathrop, David

• Wu (1,3)


Sample Membership Card

Back of a Sample Membership Card


Wu Members are the martial part of Romancing Cathay Membership. They participate

organized tournament, testing their skills against other players, and let Wen Members record

winning and losing to be reported back to Romancing Cathay for official update.

• War — Wu Members played against each other in a series of battles. Wen Members

are the Magistrate.

• Perks — Upon entering a new rank, Wu Member receives a perk as listed below and a

new membership card. New membership card contains special ability (SA) that can be

used during the game (including tournament).

War Rank Title Perks

0-5 1 Soldier Card of Choice

SA: play additional card

6-11 2 Veteran Card of Choice

SA: reroll 1D

12-18 3 Captain of Vanguard Card of Choice

SA: straighten additional card

19-26 4 Captain of

Rearguard

Foil Card

SA: add 1D

27-35 5 Champion Foil Card

SA: take additional card back to hand

36-45 6 Marshal of Elephant

Guards

Foil Card

SA: play additional card x2

46-56 7 Marshal of Leopard

Guards

Sheet

SA: reroll 1D x2

57-68 8 Marshal of Tiger

Guards

Sheet

SA: straighten additional card x2

69-81 9 Marshal of Lion

Guards

Sheet

SA: add 1D x2

82-95 10 Marshal of Unicorn

Guards

Cap

SA: take additional card back to hand

x2

Romancing Cathay

Wu Members Ranking & Benefits

Wen Members are the civil part of Romancing Cathay Membership. They organize

tournament, record winning and losing, arbitrate ruling between players, and report back to

Romancing Cathay for official update.

• War — Wen Member organizes tournament (or War) where Wu Members played

against each other in a series of battles. Wen Members are the Magistrate.

• Perks — Upon entering a new rank, Wen Member receives a perk as listed below and

a new membership card. New membership card contains special ability (SA) that can

be used during the game (including tournament).

War Rank Title Perks

0-5 1 Scholar Card of Choice

SA: draw 1

6-11 2 Mandarin Candidate Card of Choice

SA: redirect 1

12-18 3 Mandarin Foil Card

SA: handsize +1

19-26 4 Magistrate Foil Card

SA: draw 1 or redirect 1

27-35 5 County Magistrate Sheet

SA: draw 1 x2

36-45 6 Prefecture

Magistrate

Sheet

SA: redirect 1 x2

46-56 7 State Governor Cap

SA: handsize increase +2

57-68 8 Military Governor Cap

SA: draw 1 or redirect 1 x2

69-81 9 Minister of Imperial

Supervision

T-Shirt

SA: Play one additional Event or

Personality Card

82-95 10 Minister of Treasury T-Shirt

SA: draws additional 2 cards

Romancing Cathay

Wen Members Ranking & Benefits

Volume 1, Issue 1


Character

Q What's the rarity of

Zhang Fei (#10) and

Gao Shing (#45)?

Their rarity is missing from

the list

Zhang Fei is RARE.

Gao Shing is

UNCOMMON.

Q Deng Mao: His

ability is Jugong:

Examine target

player's deck and discard x

card(s) off that deck. Is that

x cards off the top of the

deck? Or do you get to go

through the deck and pick

out the specific cards you

want discarded? (Much

more powerful)

His ability is to go

though the deck and

pick out cards you

want to discard!

Q Ding Yuen: Does he

and another

personality card

jugong when they come in

to play?

Yes, both he and

another personality

card are jugong when

they come in to play.

Q Diao Chan: If she

controlled other

personality cards as

she leaves play in any

fashion, what happens to

controlled personality?

Chinese version

Despite best effort,

something is still lost along

the way of translation.

Note: Character Abilities

can be played at anytime.

Note: Character with

Lighting Symbol can come

into play at anytime.

Game Play

Q The rules mention

that as an

alternative to

winning by reaching 10

victory points first, when

the players run through

their decks, the one with

the most VPs wins. Is this

after *both* (or all) players

go through their decks? Or

after just one player does?

Given the amount of

drawing and forced

discards, this makes a

significant difference.

The game ends as

soon as a player

reaches a victory

condition. And the

game end at the turn

all players have

drawn out their decks.

Q Does the game truly

end immediately

after a player

reaches 10 victory points?

Or should it be after one

player starts his turn with

10 victory points? (Thereby

giving the other players

one last chance to stop him

from winning.

A player wins

immediately when he

gets at least 10 victory

points! So other

players must stop him

only before he reach

10 points!

Q On new expansion

set, Water Margin I,

there is +/- VP

printed on card. What does

it means?

When a card with +/-

VP is successfully

played, its owner gets

to decide which value

this card will be. Once

decided, it is in effect

until the card is

removed or discarded.

Q Can personality

card attach to land

directly? On the

rulebook, it only seems like

that troop card can attach

to land card, and

personality card attaches

to troop card.

Personality card can

attach directly to Land

or Troop card.

Q Certain card

number has R in

front of it. What

does it mean?

Cards with R are

special series. They

are given to players

as prize for winning

tournament.

Romancing Cathay

Dragon Dynasty Collectible Card Game

Frequently Asked Questions

Volume 1, Issue 1

gain victory points at

2 or more at a time.

Q Zhang Jiao: It did

not print on the

card, but does it

mean that if a player has

Zhang Jiao and his total vp

is less than 0 but greater

than -10, he is not out of

game?

When a player

controls Zhang Jiao,

he has to be able to

get to -10 VP as quick

as possible in order to

Win the game. Player

would lose if he stops

anywhere between 0

to -9.

Q WM: Jiang Zhong,

a.k.a. Door God, his

ability says gain

control of target hand and

draw X cards (X equal to

the victory point of the

land). Does it mean all land

cards in play, all land cards

under Jiang Zhong player's

or one targeted land card?

Target one land card.

Event

Q Sweet Memory:

Does it really

means random or is

it a misprint?

Random is intended.

originally meanings

are "When Diao Chan

leaves play, the

personalities she

controlled shall

Remove From Game"

Q Ten Regular

Attendants:

Wouldn't they hurt

you more than your

opponent? They each give -

1 victory points and their

ability is Jugong: Target

personality card loses x

victory points till end of the

turn (x equal to number of

Ten Regular Attendants in

play). It seems like you're

always suffering from the

negative VP while you have

to jugong to make your

opponent suffer

temporarily. Or am I

misunderstanding

something?

It is true. Players

always use it in

DRAFT formation

rather than

CONSTRUCT

formation. However, it

is quite useful if you

are playing a Zhang

Jiao theme deck whose

victory condition is to

get below -10. If you

have 10 Ten Regular

Attendants, this can

be easily done. Also,

missing from the text

is that you can have

ten duplicates of Ten

Regular Attendants’

cards in your deck.

This is valid in all

tournaments.

Q Zhao Yun : His

ability is Name

Zhao Yun: Draw

and reveal top card from

your deck until Zhao Yun

has been found. Take Zhao

Yun into your hand. All

other revealed cards are

removed from the game.

(This can only apply if Zhao

Yun is not in play) Isn't this

ability impossible to use?

He's essentially searching

for himself. But if he's in

play, you can't use it. Is he

meant to be able to search

for someone else?

Zhao Yun ability

allows you to call for

him at anytime when

he is in your play

deck.

Q Young Emperor

Han: His special

losing condition is

You are out of the game

when your victory score

total is in single digit. But

since you win anyway as

soon as you get out of the

single digits (reach 10

points), what would be the

point of playing him? Or

does it mean if you only

have 1 victory point, you

lose?

The single digit here

means single

increment. You must

Romancing Cathay

Dragon Dynasty Collectible Card Game



Boosted Morale event to

his attacking character. Is

this correct?

Yes, a better wording

would be, redirect to a

target of your choice.

Despite best effort,

something is still lost along

the way of translation.

Note: Character Abilities

can be played at anytime.

Note: Character with

Lighting Symbol can come

into play at anytime.

Game Play

Q As regards winning

the game, does a

player win

immediately upon having

total land values of 6 or

more at the BEGINNING of

his or her turn, even if the

family deck has NOT been

drawn out twice?

Yes, at the beginning of a player's turn, he immediately wins if he has 6+ in total land value.

Q As regards the

game turn

structure, am I

correct in thinking that

each player completes the

Beginning, Main, and End

phases (subject to

interruption from instant

cards played by other

players) before play passes

to the next player?

Yes, each player completes each phases within his turn before passing the play to his left.

Character

Q Lord Liou Biao is

supposed to start

the game with Jing

Zhou, but there is no such

character in the deck.

Jing Zhou is a land.

Q Lord Sun Chuy is

supposed to start

the game with Yang

Zhou, but there is no such

character in the deck.

Yang Zhou is a land.

Q Qiao the Elder card

says she adds +2

political power and

+1 combat power to Lord

Sun Quan. Should this

actually refer to Lord Sun

Chyu?

Yes, translation got

botch in this card.

Qiao the Elder gives

additional bonus to

Lord Sun Chyu.

Event

Q Event card,

Trapped reads,

Target card whose

target is decided by you. An

example of how we played

this was David played an

instant Event, Boosted

Morale, to increase the

combat power of one of his

characters who was being

attacked. Bill then played

the instant Event, Trapped,

to change the target of the

Romancing Cathay

Romance of the Three Kingdoms Tabletop Card Game


Games About Ancient China

10050 Montgomery Rd, #368 Cincinnati, OH 45242-5322

Phone: 513-967-0739 Fax: 949-266-8395

web: http://www.romancingcathay.com Email: [email protected]

Romancing Cathay

romance of three kingdoms vol1 issue1

Entertainment & Humor

kingdoms faq

kingdoms ccg

kingdoms international

kingdoms card game

romancing cathay introduction

cao childhood

romacing cathay

dragon dynasty faq