Pyramid Review
Qin: The Warring States
Published by Le 7ème Cercle/Cubicle 7
Designed by Romain d'Huissier, Kristoff, Neko, Pierre Buty, and Florrent
Cover by Aleksi Briclot and Florrent
Illustrated by Aleksi Briclot, Anne Rouvin, Marc Simonetti, Olivier and Stéphane Péru, and Jaouen and Christian Naits
Cartography by Bertrand Bès
274-page full-color hardcover; $37.95
Qin: The Warring States (pronounced "Chin") is a French RPG from Le 7ème Cercle inspired by books such as The Water Margin and The Art of War and films such as Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This is an RPG set in ancient China, specifically in 240 B.C. during the period of the Zhongguo, or "The Middle Kingdoms," which were comprised of the seven Warring States that arose from the ashes of the Empire. Of the seven, only one stands ready with not just soldiers and spies enough to dominate and conquer the other six, but also the mandate. The goal of Lü Buwei, regent of Qin, is to attain Tian Xia, the union of all things under Heaven, by conquering all of the lands of the Zhongguo.
Qin: The Warring States is a game of wuxia action, though it's not the immediate high-powered, high-wire action of Feng Shui (although that will come eventually). Nevertheless through the command of a Tao, a character in Qin: The Warring States can act on the Laws of Creation and so impose his will upon the world. With the right Tao, a character can jump further, higher, understand an object's weakness, be inspired to create a new object, . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: August 22, 2008
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