Wa, the Anime & Manga RPG

In the wake of the fall of the Empire, the Succession Wars have claimed millions of lives. The once-bustling lands are gearing up for war, clan against clan, caste against caste, and man against spirit.

Wa (short for "Wasureimonogatari") is an action-oriented, table-top role-playing-focused game set in a fantasy version of feudal Japan, where spirits, monsters, and kami are all very real.

Wa is a table-top game in the tradition of Dungeons & Dragons, Legend of the Five Rings, and Fate, but where it differs is that it focuses on the role-playing, storytelling aspect of table-top gaming rather than statistics or rules minutia.

Wa is built around the finest, most tried-and-true, sword-tested tropes from anime and manga. In Wa, you'll see beast people, katana-wielding samurai, ki-powered ninja, spiritually enlightened shugenja, ancient mountain hermits, and powerful blood ties that go back for millennia. Combat is explosive, quick, and merciless. Your heroes will master powers of your choosing, and wield them against a vast array of foes, from possessed paper lanterns to powerful samurai generals to conniving corrupt kami.

Wa thrives on intense, rapid combat, active, emotional characters, and deep, meaningful storylines. Wa is eschews sword-and-sorcery and dungeon crawling in favor of twisted tales of revenge, love, betrayal, and martial prowess.

Wa's game system is unique. It walks the line between effect-based and outcome-based systems, providing a general framework for how attacks and defenses should work, while allowing you to describe the action yourself.

The main mechanic in Wa is an opposed Skill Roll that the player can get bonuses on for interesting role-playing and well described combat techniques. This means that while there is a random element to combat, players who really need to succeed on a roll can tilt the odds in their favor by making the game interesting for everyone else!

Creative role-playing and clever maneuvers are rewarded in Wa. Coming up with a way to outsmart your opponent nets you bonuses to your rolls, providing a quick, sturdy mechanic that reinforces good roleplaying. It wouldn't feel like an anime if people weren't kicking boulders at each other and cutting down castles.