Kara-Tur
Encyclopedia
Kara-Tur is a fantasy world
created by David Cook in the Oriental Adventures
rulebook for the First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game
in 1986. Kara-Tur's cultures and peoples are fantasy analogues of medieval China, Korea, Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, Tibet, and other regions of East Asia. In 1987, Kara-Tur was officially relocated
to the Forgotten Realms
campaign setting.
called the long background section of Kara-Tur in the book, a "bonus". Kara-Tur is described in the "Province Book" from the 1986 Swords of the Daimyo
module.
Originally intended as a western part of the continent of Oerik
, the first description of Kara-Tur, in the Oriental Adventures rulebook, made no attempt to link it with another D&D game-world. The first map of Kara-Tur appeared in the adventure module OA1: Swords of the Daimyo
, where the setting was still world-neutral. In 1987, when TSR published the first Forgotten Realms
boxed set, Kara-Tur was briefly described as the easternmost end of the continent of Faerûn
. In 1988, TSR released a boxed set, Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms
, describing the region in greater detail, with two 96-page books and maps.
for Kara-Tur appeared.
In 1990 the maps were again included in The Forgotten Realms Atlas
. Later that year TSR converted the monsters of Kara-Tur to second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules as part of the Monstrous Compendium series.
After 1990, TSR ceased publishing new material related to Kara-Tur. The setting was, however, occasionally referred to by other TSR products such as Spelljammer
and Ravenloft
.
, Wizards of the Coast
published a completely new version of Oriental Adventures. The default world of this new rulebook was Rokugan
, the setting for AEG's
Legend of the Five Rings
.
The setting of Kara-Tur still exists on Abeir-Toril
and is often mentioned in Forgotten Realms supplements. Characters and artifacts from Kara-Tur sometimes show up in Faerûn, but beyond that there is little interaction between the continents. In 2005, AEG dropped the D20 version of Legend of the Five Rings.
is undoubtedly the most powerful nation on the face of Abeir-Toril. The empire was started by a simple peasant known as Nung Fu, who was invested with the Emblems of Authority by the semi-legendary Nine Travelers (although it was his great grandson that was the first Emperor of the Li Dynasty). The Empire of Shou Lung has the longest history in Kara-Tur second only to the Empire of Wa. It has had six dynasties so far starting with Li Dynasty (Dynasty of Might), Ho Dynasty (Dynasty of Peace), Hai Dynasty (Dynasty of the Oceans), Kao Dynasty (The High Dynasty), La Dynasty (Wax Dynasty) and the Kuo Dynasty (Dynasty of the Nation). With an immense population, vast territory, and a central government managed by an efficient and generally honest bureaucracy, the Shou could, with a great deal of effort, come to completely dominate the planet. That they do not is due to cultural rather than military or economic factors. The Shou have been expansionists in the past, but the current emperor finds more pleasure in knowledge and culture than military conquest. This tendency has been reinforced by the recent Tuigan Horde invasion of 1359-1360 D.R., which devastated many of the northwestern provinces, decimated the armed forces, and left the upper ranks of the Mandarinate in a leaderless shambles. During this time, large numbers of Shou refugees fled westwards across the Golden Way trade route to the Unapproachable East in Faerûn
and settled in the Thesk region. The nation is thus still recovering from the upheavals. So, while this nation controls the largest military spelljammer fleet in Realmspace, those vessels are employed in a strictly defensive role, rooting out pirates and acting as a counter to the spelljammer fleets of Wa and the Elven Imperial Fleet.
The official head of the government is the Celestial Emperor, but in practice everyday affairs of state are handled by the Chancellor, who executes the Emperor's decrees, oversees the bureaucracy and controls the information that reaches the emperor's ears. The current Emperor is Kai Tsao Shou Chin. The Wu Jen
s are the Emperor's official court wizards, who advises the Emperor's policies with divinations and deals with magical threats. The government is composed of eight ministries: State, War, Magic, Faith, Sea, Agriculture, Public Works and State Security. It is a meritocratic system; every year the Civil Service Examination holds examinations to test candidates for government jobs. The Shou have always had a strong trading relation with Faerûn. In fact certain regions in Faerûn make a living solely on the imports from Shou Lung and many merchants, settlers, and diplomats have come to Faerûn in search of new opportunities in the West and set up the Shou Expatriate region. The people of Shou Lung frown upon the slave trade, and anybody found guilty of trafficking in slaves is put to death.
The main criminal organization in the country is the Tsui Tong (analog for the Triad), which has a certain degree of freedom to operate within the semi-independent port city of Kai Shan due to the aid and support they gave the Emperor during the Black Cycle, which brought Shou Lung back from the brink of ruin. There are no Imperial troops stationed in Kai Shan, nor are there any magistrates or town guard. The city's reputation is its greatest defense, though the Shou fleet could certainly counter any attempts by outsiders to invade the city, as it is technically still a part of Shou Lung, and surrounded by other Imperial territories. It is rumored that the Tsui have contacts with the Chainmen (though selling Shou citizens to slavers would surely bring the wrath of the Emperor down on the city, if discovered), the Tenth Pit, and even the Zhentarim
of Faerûn.
The Shou practice mainly two forms of religion, "The Path of Enlightenment" (analog for Theravadan Buddhism
) and "The Way" (analog for Daoism and Confucianism
). The majority of the people in Shou Lung practice the Path of Enlightenment, in which they worship the Celestial Emperor and the Nine Travelers and a whole host of lesser immortals and spirits who make up what is called the Celestial Bureaucracy. Unlike the people of Faerûn, devotion to a single deity is very rare in Shou Lung. The other Shou religion, which is more popular in the southern provinces, is simply called "The Way" and is more of an ethical philosophy than a true religion characterized by divinities, spirits and a fully realized metaphysics. It focuses on the enlightenment of the self through the practice of certain spiritual exercises rather than the worship of particular gods. Kana and her family were practitioners of the Way.
Lying between Kara-Tur and the Horse-Plains was a Great Wall of Stone, better known as the Dragonwall. According to legend, a wu jen wizard was tasked by the emperor to find a way to keep the Tuigan hordes from raiding Shou Lung's northern provinces. The wu jen stole the Jade Mirror from the sea dragon Pao Hu Jen, whose body was thousands of kilometers long. The wu jen led the dragon on a chase along the border, and at a certain point stopped and held up the Jade Mirror to the dragon's eyes, which instantly turned him to stone. After his petrified body fell to the ground, the emperor had his engineers carve fortifications into it so that it could serve them as a defensive wall.
Composed of six provinces T'u Lung is everything Shou Lung could become but is not. The provinces are ruled by hereditary nobles who pay as little attention to the T'u Emperor as they can get away with (although the real power rests with Empress Dowager Wai Locunni Eio). Taxes go unpaid, free men are enslaved, and criminals left free. The government is corrupt on all levels, though in some rare districts a local magistrate may be somewhat honest and honorable. Poverty runs rampant throughout the nation. Unless forced to unite by some outside force (in the past this has most often been an invading Shou army) the nobles of T'u Lung fight incessantly among themselves.
Many of the cities and towns are now in ruins, and even those that have not been abandoned have many ruined buildings. On the other hand, the nation's corrupt, ineffective government allows neogi, Chainmen, and pirate raids unheard of access. Only the random presence of powerful wu jen or shamans in some of the smaller villages appear as potential dangers to raiders. The nation has an active slave trade that often captures and sells Shou subjects to the Thayan slavers of Faerûn.
Waan government is similar to that of Kozakura as well, as there is an Emperor whose position is largely ceremonial, and the real ruler of the nation is the Shogun, Matasuuri Nagahide. Unlike Kozakura, however, the Shogunate of Wa is strong and vital, and in fact Wa is enjoying the longest period of peace of any nation in Kara-Tur. Peace has led to advancements in education and the arts, as well as a general increase in prosperity. The official religion of the country is a variation of the Shou Path of Enlightenment. A rigid caste-based social system ensures domestic tranquility, the distinct castes are strictly adhered to, travel is monitored by the Shogunate, and religion is regulated.
The nation is rather xenophobic and contact with foreign elements is forbidden. Foreign vessels are only allowed to dock at the port of Akkaido. Those who have adopted foreign customs and ways are oppressed, especially those who follow the recently imported Western deity, Chauntea, the Goddess of Agriculture. In fact, most officials will go out of their way to make life hard for foreigners while they stay in Wa. The nation's prosperity is limited to the nobility and the merchants, as the peasantry staggers under a dizzying array of obligations, rules, and taxes. Ironically, Wa had a good trade relationship with Shou Lung, whom the Waans were once at war with, and anyone from Wa was granted Shou citizenship if they could prove that they had Shou ancestry, since many Shou soldiers remained in Wa and intermarried with the locals after the Omi War. In fact, the famous Grey Blossom mercenaries of Wa were started by Shou Army soldiers who decided to stay in Wa.
Ronin and out of work bushi caused many problems in Wa since the Shogun's administrative reforms reduced the numbers of the nobility and soldiery to more reasonable levels. The Shogun had been considering setting up a colony on the planet Garden in Realmspace for the express purpose of reducing the number of troublemakers in his realm. Like Kozakura, the main criminal organization was the Yakuza.
) and full of beautiful mountains, thick forests and sparkling seas. The majority of the inhabitants live on the main island of Shinkoku, but there are nearly a thousand islands surrounding it. Because Korobokkuru living in the Empire were often treated as lower class citizens while the memories of subjugation from the humans during the formation of the Empire was still fresh in the Korobokkuru's memories, many of the Korobokuru lived along the coasts, and in the inaccessible central mountains far from human settlements. Powerful samurai ruled the land, and in theory their power devolved from the Kozakuran Emperor of the Jade Throne. For many years the position of Emperor had been a purely ceremonial office, however, and the real political power rested in the hands of the Shogun, the military commander and dictator of the nation. The nation is currently in the midst of a Byzantine civil war between various feudal factions and has not had much contact with outsiders. The official Kozakuran state religion is known as the faith of the Eight Million Gods (an analog for Japanese Shinto
), which involved worship of a host of animistic nature deities and spirits including a sun goddess and the Emperor of Kozakura himself, who was believed to have descended from a divine ancestry related to the sun goddess. There was also another popular religion called the Way of Enlightenment, which was a variation of the Shou Path of Enlightenment that was brought to Kozakura by Shou missionaries. The Kozakuran variation of this faith's name also serves as an insult to the other rival Shou religion to the Path of Enlightenment, which is known colloquially in Shou Lung as "The Way". The main criminal organization are called the Yakuza
.
s of the Horse-Plain has tried countless times to invade their neighbors, the Shou and T'u Lung and have been successful on a few accounts, but their victories were often short lived. Recently though, Tuigan tribes successfully breached the Dragonwall and devastated many of the northwestern provinces of the Shou Empire. During this invasion, many Shou refugees fled to Faerûn
and settled in the Thesk region of the Unapproachable East. The Horde tribes were eventually driven out and the Shou and T'u have been focusing most of their military prowess towards defending against further invasions.
Shou Lung quickly captured the northern and southern coastlines of Wa but the fortification of central Wa by Nobunaga proved stronger and central Wa avoided the consequences of the Shou invasion. Many captured northern and southern coastal Wa daimyos betrayed Nobunaga after their cities fell and they lent their aid to the Shou generals.
The Shou Emperor, who was aboard the royal flagship, was assassinated by the ninja Fukio who was in disguise. However, Fukio was not able to escape and was killed by the Emperor's Western wu jen Rourke. The Emblems of Authority were recovered by Rourke but he was slain when he returned to the Imperial Palace in Shou Lung. With no heir, many of the most powerful Shou generals returned to Shou Lung and fought for power leaving only a handful to continue the invasion of Wa. The Shou leadership was thrown into despair and this period is known as the Black Cycle. With the greatly reduced number of Shou troops now occupying its territory, Wa was able to take back most of the occupied provinces from the Shou. Even though most Shou troops were driven back, they were never truly defeated and Wa was left in a state of sporadic warfare. Some of the remaining Shou generals continued with guerrilla warfare against the Wa while others offered an armistice to the Wa Emperor and were granted governorship over the territories they controlled. When a new Shou Emperor finally ascended the throne and tried to enlist his former generals back into Shou service, many of them decided to side with the throne of Wa rather than the Shou. Even so, their resistance was futile since the remaining Wa daimyos were divided and suspicious of each other and the years of war had left Wa with no effective central government. Shou Lung soon took control of Wa.
When civil war erupted in Shou Lung between the Shou and the T'u and the northern provinces of Shou were invaded by the Horse Barbarians, the remaining Waan daimyos took advantage of this opportunity and under the united banner of Nitta Shogoro, they were able to finally drive out the occupying Shou troops. Beset on all sides, the Shou conceded ultimate defeat and Wa was declared an independent state. The two countries quickly reached an agreement to open their ports to one another's merchants to allow trade between the two countries and to fill both emperors' treasuries. The Grey Blossom mercenary regiment of the Shou Army that had occupied Wa asked permission to remain in Wa since they had been stationed there for so long that they had made their own lives in that nation, many intermarrying with Waan wives. The Shou and Wa Emperors granted them permission to remain and they became one of the most famous mercenary bands of Wa. But in less than 5 years, the petty Wa warlords turned on each other once more and the Waan government was split into factions and plunged the island into 200 years of civil war before any type of stable government was established. Up to this day, the Waan daimyos remain divided but they provide a unified front against all foreigners.
During the Black Cycle, the southern area of Shou Lung (now the Empire of T'u Lung), was marked by repeated invasions from southern barbarian tribes. Only a small number of cities that still had feudal lords in power maintained any semblance of order. The most powerful of these feudal families were the Yang and Wai clans. Also during this time the Cult of the Black Panther reemerged and began helping peasant families that were displaced by the war between the Imperial Army and the invading southern barbarian tribes. Shortly after the Wa declaration of independence from Shou rule, the southern provinces were plagued with screaming spirits that killed many incompetent and corrupt bureaucrats in what is now known as the Nights of Screaming Demons. Later investigations linked this event to the Cult of the Black Panther. Soon, many key military positions in the Shou Army were filled by people from the southern provinces. When the southern barbarians again attempted to invade the Empire, the Shou Army made short work of the invading barbarians. After the last Emperor of the Kao Dynasty, he was succeeded by his cousin who established the La Dynasty. The first Shou emperor of the La Dynasty was a weak ruler whose court was easily infiltrated by the agents of the Cult of the Black Panther who secretly ruled and manipulated the Shou government from within. The Yang and Wai clans soon led a revolt against the corrupt northern bureaucrats and quickly established a power base of their own in the south provinces. At this point the nobles of the south considered themselves a separate force from the bureaucrats of the La Dynasty who governed the northern provinces, but believed that they still belonged to the same Shou nation and they also continued to acknowledge the authority of the Shou emperor, even if his authority was recognized only in name in the southern provinces.
When two concubines of the last Emperor of the La Dynasty gave birth within hours of each other, he refused to name an heir knowing that if he did, his life would be in jeopardy. Years later he died before naming either of his sons as heir. The northern bureaucrats favored Prince Shin Lu while the southern nobles favored Prince Shin Gisen. War broke out between the northern and the southern provinces as the various factions rallied behind their preferred candidate for the Imperial throne. Shin Lu's forces defeated Shin Gisen's troops but were too weak and exhausted to pursue the enemy and eradicated the military strength of the southern nobility. Shin Lu proclaimed himself the Emperor of Shou Lung and established the newborn Kuo Dynasty. Shortly after Shin Ginsen proclaimed himself as the first Emperor of the Lui Dynasty and established the T'u Lung Empire in the six southern provinces that had long been largely autonomous from the rest of the Shou state. To repel the Shou troops from his newborn state, Shin Ginsen appealed to secret societies such as the Black Leopard Cult and granted them amnesty from Imperial persecution along with other religious and political organizations that were considered illegal in Shou Lung as long as they lent their considerable power to repelling the Shou from T'u territory. The T'u proved successful at driving the Shou Army back across the border with the aid of their new allies, and established the independence of their Empire—but the price was high, for now the throne of T'u Lung never had as strong a grasp over its state as the Shou ruler did over his. For the next 250 years, Shou and T'u waged what are known as the Uncountable Wars, with these conflicts ravaging the territories that lay along the Shou-T'u border.
modules (in chronological order):
"http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/w/wizardsOfTheCoast/byProductType/roleplayingGames/dungeonsDragons/aDAndD1/orientalAdventures/v5748btpy7mei"
"http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/w/wizardsOfTheCoast/byProductType/roleplayingGames/dungeonsDragons/aDAndD1/orientalAdventures/v5748btpy7mej"
"http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/w/wizardsOfTheCoast/byProductType/roleplayingGames/dungeonsDragons/aDAndD1/orientalAdventures/v5748btpy7mek"
"http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/w/wizardsOfTheCoast/byProductType/roleplayingGames/dungeonsDragons/aDAndD1/orientalAdventures/v5748btpy7mel"
"http://paizo.com/store/brand/forgottenRealms/roleplayingGames/2ndEdition/v5748btpy7mju"
style books (one was actually released before the original Oriental Adventures book):
One of novels in The Empires Trilogy is set in Shou Lung of Kara-Tur.
Fantasy world
A fantasy world is a fictional universe used in fantasy novels and games. Typical worlds involve magic or magical abilities and often, but not always, either a medieval or futuristic theme...
created by David Cook in the Oriental Adventures
Oriental Adventures
Oriental Adventures is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
rulebook for the First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
in 1986. Kara-Tur's cultures and peoples are fantasy analogues of medieval China, Korea, Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, Tibet, and other regions of East Asia. In 1987, Kara-Tur was officially relocated
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
to the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
campaign setting.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
The fantasy setting known as Kara-Tur was described in the original 1985 Oriental Adventures book. A reviewer for White DwarfWhite Dwarf (magazine)
White Dwarf is a magazine published by British games manufacturer Games Workshop. Initially covering a wide variety of fantasy and science-fiction role-playing and board games, particularly the role playing games Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest and Traveller...
called the long background section of Kara-Tur in the book, a "bonus". Kara-Tur is described in the "Province Book" from the 1986 Swords of the Daimyo
Swords of the Daimyo
Swords of the Daimyo is a 1986 adventure module for the Oriental Adventures rules of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Contents:Swords of the Daimyo contains three adventures...
module.
Originally intended as a western part of the continent of Oerik
Oerik
In the Dungeons and Dragons World of Greyhawk Campaign setting, Oerik is the largest continent on the world of Oerth, where the Greyhawk campaign takes place.Oerik is named after the Oeridians, a human people who settled much of the continent...
, the first description of Kara-Tur, in the Oriental Adventures rulebook, made no attempt to link it with another D&D game-world. The first map of Kara-Tur appeared in the adventure module OA1: Swords of the Daimyo
Swords of the Daimyo
Swords of the Daimyo is a 1986 adventure module for the Oriental Adventures rules of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Contents:Swords of the Daimyo contains three adventures...
, where the setting was still world-neutral. In 1987, when TSR published the first Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
boxed set, Kara-Tur was briefly described as the easternmost end of the continent of Faerûn
Faerûn
Faerûn is a fictional subcontinent, the primary setting of the Dungeons & Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It is described at a relatively high level in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from Wizards of the Coast, and various locales and aspects are described in more detail by separate...
. In 1988, TSR released a boxed set, Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms
Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms
Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms is an accessory for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Contents:Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms details a Forgotten Realms campaign setting for use with Oriental Adventures, which describes the eastern land of Kara-Tur and its geography, population,...
, describing the region in greater detail, with two 96-page books and maps.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition
In 1989 a printing of Trail MapsTrail Map (Dungeons & Dragons)
The Trail Map series are several accessories for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Publication history:The TSR staff produced five Trail Map releases, each one published in 1989 as a very large color map in an outer folder.TM1 The Western Countries Trail Map detailed the travel...
for Kara-Tur appeared.
In 1990 the maps were again included in The Forgotten Realms Atlas
The Forgotten Realms Atlas
The Forgotten Realms Atlas was a book produced by Karen Wynn Fonstad and provided detailed maps of the Forgotten Realms, a fictional setting in the Dungeons and Dragons universe. The atlas also included timelines of various novels set in the world...
. Later that year TSR converted the monsters of Kara-Tur to second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules as part of the Monstrous Compendium series.
After 1990, TSR ceased publishing new material related to Kara-Tur. The setting was, however, occasionally referred to by other TSR products such as Spelljammer
Spelljammer
Spelljammer is a campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which features a fantastical outer space environment....
and Ravenloft
Ravenloft
Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called domains brought together by a mysterious force known only as "The Dark...
.
Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition
After the release of Third Edition Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
published a completely new version of Oriental Adventures. The default world of this new rulebook was Rokugan
Rokugan
Rokugan is the fictional empire which is the main power in the Legend of the Five Rings setting, the basis for the Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game, Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game, the board game Art of War and the now out of print Clan War Miniatures game, all from...
, the setting for AEG's
Alderac Entertainment Group
Alderac Entertainment Group, or AEG, is a publisher of role-playing game and collectible card game products. AEG was formed by Jolly Blackburn in 1993 and is based in the city of Ontario, California...
Legend of the Five Rings
Legend of the Five Rings
Legend of the Five Rings is a fictional setting created by the John Wick and published by Alderac Entertainment Group in 1995. The setting primarily involves the fictional country of Rokugan, though some additional areas and cultures have been discussed. Rokugan is based roughly on feudal Japan...
.
The setting of Kara-Tur still exists on Abeir-Toril
Abeir-Toril
Abeir-Toril is the name of the fictional planet that makes up the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, as well as the Al-Qadim and Maztica campaign settings and the 1st edition version of the Oriental Adventures campaign setting.The name is archaic, meaning "cradle of life." It...
and is often mentioned in Forgotten Realms supplements. Characters and artifacts from Kara-Tur sometimes show up in Faerûn, but beyond that there is little interaction between the continents. In 2005, AEG dropped the D20 version of Legend of the Five Rings.
Nations
Various countries described in the set include:- Shou Lung: Han ChineseHan ChineseHan Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(Imperial period) - T'u Lung: Historical dissident states of Southern China (i.e. Nanzhao, formerly centred in present-day YunnanYunnanYunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
province) - Wa: Feudal Japan (Edo Period)
- Kozakura: Japan/Ryukyu IslandsRyukyu IslandsThe , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
- Northern Wastes: ManchuriaManchuriaManchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
/Northeast ChinaNortheast ChinaNortheast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces... - Tabot: TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
- Koryo: KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
- Ra-Khati: NepalNepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
- Island Kingdoms: Pre-colonial HinduHinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
-influenced civilizations in what is now present-day IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Malaysia and the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. - Horse-Plains: MongoliaMongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
- Malatra: Pre-colonial IndochinaIndochinaThe Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
Shou Lung
The vast human empire of Shou LungShou Lung
In the fictional campaign setting known as the Forgotten Realms, Shou Lung is a country in the continent of Kara-Tur, which is located to the east of Faerûn...
is undoubtedly the most powerful nation on the face of Abeir-Toril. The empire was started by a simple peasant known as Nung Fu, who was invested with the Emblems of Authority by the semi-legendary Nine Travelers (although it was his great grandson that was the first Emperor of the Li Dynasty). The Empire of Shou Lung has the longest history in Kara-Tur second only to the Empire of Wa. It has had six dynasties so far starting with Li Dynasty (Dynasty of Might), Ho Dynasty (Dynasty of Peace), Hai Dynasty (Dynasty of the Oceans), Kao Dynasty (The High Dynasty), La Dynasty (Wax Dynasty) and the Kuo Dynasty (Dynasty of the Nation). With an immense population, vast territory, and a central government managed by an efficient and generally honest bureaucracy, the Shou could, with a great deal of effort, come to completely dominate the planet. That they do not is due to cultural rather than military or economic factors. The Shou have been expansionists in the past, but the current emperor finds more pleasure in knowledge and culture than military conquest. This tendency has been reinforced by the recent Tuigan Horde invasion of 1359-1360 D.R., which devastated many of the northwestern provinces, decimated the armed forces, and left the upper ranks of the Mandarinate in a leaderless shambles. During this time, large numbers of Shou refugees fled westwards across the Golden Way trade route to the Unapproachable East in Faerûn
Faerûn
Faerûn is a fictional subcontinent, the primary setting of the Dungeons & Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It is described at a relatively high level in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from Wizards of the Coast, and various locales and aspects are described in more detail by separate...
and settled in the Thesk region. The nation is thus still recovering from the upheavals. So, while this nation controls the largest military spelljammer fleet in Realmspace, those vessels are employed in a strictly defensive role, rooting out pirates and acting as a counter to the spelljammer fleets of Wa and the Elven Imperial Fleet.
The official head of the government is the Celestial Emperor, but in practice everyday affairs of state are handled by the Chancellor, who executes the Emperor's decrees, oversees the bureaucracy and controls the information that reaches the emperor's ears. The current Emperor is Kai Tsao Shou Chin. The Wu Jen
Wu jen
The wu jen is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition :The wu jen was introduced in the original 1st edition Oriental Adventures book...
s are the Emperor's official court wizards, who advises the Emperor's policies with divinations and deals with magical threats. The government is composed of eight ministries: State, War, Magic, Faith, Sea, Agriculture, Public Works and State Security. It is a meritocratic system; every year the Civil Service Examination holds examinations to test candidates for government jobs. The Shou have always had a strong trading relation with Faerûn. In fact certain regions in Faerûn make a living solely on the imports from Shou Lung and many merchants, settlers, and diplomats have come to Faerûn in search of new opportunities in the West and set up the Shou Expatriate region. The people of Shou Lung frown upon the slave trade, and anybody found guilty of trafficking in slaves is put to death.
The main criminal organization in the country is the Tsui Tong (analog for the Triad), which has a certain degree of freedom to operate within the semi-independent port city of Kai Shan due to the aid and support they gave the Emperor during the Black Cycle, which brought Shou Lung back from the brink of ruin. There are no Imperial troops stationed in Kai Shan, nor are there any magistrates or town guard. The city's reputation is its greatest defense, though the Shou fleet could certainly counter any attempts by outsiders to invade the city, as it is technically still a part of Shou Lung, and surrounded by other Imperial territories. It is rumored that the Tsui have contacts with the Chainmen (though selling Shou citizens to slavers would surely bring the wrath of the Emperor down on the city, if discovered), the Tenth Pit, and even the Zhentarim
Zhentarim
The Zhentarim is a fictional organization in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Also known as the Black Network, it is an evil organization based on the continent of Faerûn. One of its goals is to dominate the lands from the Moonsea to the...
of Faerûn.
The Shou practice mainly two forms of religion, "The Path of Enlightenment" (analog for Theravadan Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
) and "The Way" (analog for Daoism and Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
). The majority of the people in Shou Lung practice the Path of Enlightenment, in which they worship the Celestial Emperor and the Nine Travelers and a whole host of lesser immortals and spirits who make up what is called the Celestial Bureaucracy. Unlike the people of Faerûn, devotion to a single deity is very rare in Shou Lung. The other Shou religion, which is more popular in the southern provinces, is simply called "The Way" and is more of an ethical philosophy than a true religion characterized by divinities, spirits and a fully realized metaphysics. It focuses on the enlightenment of the self through the practice of certain spiritual exercises rather than the worship of particular gods. Kana and her family were practitioners of the Way.
Lying between Kara-Tur and the Horse-Plains was a Great Wall of Stone, better known as the Dragonwall. According to legend, a wu jen wizard was tasked by the emperor to find a way to keep the Tuigan hordes from raiding Shou Lung's northern provinces. The wu jen stole the Jade Mirror from the sea dragon Pao Hu Jen, whose body was thousands of kilometers long. The wu jen led the dragon on a chase along the border, and at a certain point stopped and held up the Jade Mirror to the dragon's eyes, which instantly turned him to stone. After his petrified body fell to the ground, the emperor had his engineers carve fortifications into it so that it could serve them as a defensive wall.
T'u Lung
T'u Lung has been a separate state from Shou Lung since breaking away from its northern neighbor nearly three centuries ago. It used to be the southern part of the Shou Lung Empire. Since the establishment of the Lui Dynasty (the Green Dynasty) and the founding of the T'u Lung Empire, Shou Lung and T'u Lung have officially been at war, although the conflicts have ebbed and flowed, of course, but the provinces along their borders have become deserted and ruined from the endemic warfare. There is currently a truce between the two nations.Composed of six provinces T'u Lung is everything Shou Lung could become but is not. The provinces are ruled by hereditary nobles who pay as little attention to the T'u Emperor as they can get away with (although the real power rests with Empress Dowager Wai Locunni Eio). Taxes go unpaid, free men are enslaved, and criminals left free. The government is corrupt on all levels, though in some rare districts a local magistrate may be somewhat honest and honorable. Poverty runs rampant throughout the nation. Unless forced to unite by some outside force (in the past this has most often been an invading Shou army) the nobles of T'u Lung fight incessantly among themselves.
Many of the cities and towns are now in ruins, and even those that have not been abandoned have many ruined buildings. On the other hand, the nation's corrupt, ineffective government allows neogi, Chainmen, and pirate raids unheard of access. Only the random presence of powerful wu jen or shamans in some of the smaller villages appear as potential dangers to raiders. The nation has an active slave trade that often captures and sells Shou subjects to the Thayan slavers of Faerûn.
Wa
Emperor Kochi first claimed the island of Wa and started his empire when the Sacred Wand and the Moonlight Arrow, the emblems of the Imperial office, were given to him by the Spirit of Wa. The Empire of Wa was the first imperial state to be established in Kara-Tur, according to Waan tradition. The island nation of Wa has much in common with Kozakura culturally, despite (or perhaps because of) the two nations' traditional rivalry, but was mostly inhabited by non-human races such as the Hengeyokai. The Hengeyokai were humanoid spirit-animals who came in many forms such as rats, foxes, dogs and cats. Like Kozakura, Wa was composed of a series of islands clustered around a large central island, Tsukishima. Over 80% of Wa was mountainous, the other 20% composed the strips of habitable land along the coasts. Wa was particularly cursed by nature, as typhoons and earthquakes were not uncommon, and many of Wa's volcanoes were still active.Waan government is similar to that of Kozakura as well, as there is an Emperor whose position is largely ceremonial, and the real ruler of the nation is the Shogun, Matasuuri Nagahide. Unlike Kozakura, however, the Shogunate of Wa is strong and vital, and in fact Wa is enjoying the longest period of peace of any nation in Kara-Tur. Peace has led to advancements in education and the arts, as well as a general increase in prosperity. The official religion of the country is a variation of the Shou Path of Enlightenment. A rigid caste-based social system ensures domestic tranquility, the distinct castes are strictly adhered to, travel is monitored by the Shogunate, and religion is regulated.
The nation is rather xenophobic and contact with foreign elements is forbidden. Foreign vessels are only allowed to dock at the port of Akkaido. Those who have adopted foreign customs and ways are oppressed, especially those who follow the recently imported Western deity, Chauntea, the Goddess of Agriculture. In fact, most officials will go out of their way to make life hard for foreigners while they stay in Wa. The nation's prosperity is limited to the nobility and the merchants, as the peasantry staggers under a dizzying array of obligations, rules, and taxes. Ironically, Wa had a good trade relationship with Shou Lung, whom the Waans were once at war with, and anyone from Wa was granted Shou citizenship if they could prove that they had Shou ancestry, since many Shou soldiers remained in Wa and intermarried with the locals after the Omi War. In fact, the famous Grey Blossom mercenaries of Wa were started by Shou Army soldiers who decided to stay in Wa.
Ronin and out of work bushi caused many problems in Wa since the Shogun's administrative reforms reduced the numbers of the nobility and soldiery to more reasonable levels. The Shogun had been considering setting up a colony on the planet Garden in Realmspace for the express purpose of reducing the number of troublemakers in his realm. Like Kozakura, the main criminal organization was the Yakuza.
Kozakura
The island Empire of Kozakura was founded by Emperor Miki late into the Omi Wars when the land was not yet "discovered" by the Shou and Wa nations. The land of Kozakura was inhabited by the humans and Korobokuru (a Far Eastern analog to the DwarvesDwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters...
) and full of beautiful mountains, thick forests and sparkling seas. The majority of the inhabitants live on the main island of Shinkoku, but there are nearly a thousand islands surrounding it. Because Korobokkuru living in the Empire were often treated as lower class citizens while the memories of subjugation from the humans during the formation of the Empire was still fresh in the Korobokkuru's memories, many of the Korobokuru lived along the coasts, and in the inaccessible central mountains far from human settlements. Powerful samurai ruled the land, and in theory their power devolved from the Kozakuran Emperor of the Jade Throne. For many years the position of Emperor had been a purely ceremonial office, however, and the real political power rested in the hands of the Shogun, the military commander and dictator of the nation. The nation is currently in the midst of a Byzantine civil war between various feudal factions and has not had much contact with outsiders. The official Kozakuran state religion is known as the faith of the Eight Million Gods (an analog for Japanese Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
), which involved worship of a host of animistic nature deities and spirits including a sun goddess and the Emperor of Kozakura himself, who was believed to have descended from a divine ancestry related to the sun goddess. There was also another popular religion called the Way of Enlightenment, which was a variation of the Shou Path of Enlightenment that was brought to Kozakura by Shou missionaries. The Kozakuran variation of this faith's name also serves as an insult to the other rival Shou religion to the Path of Enlightenment, which is known colloquially in Shou Lung as "The Way". The main criminal organization are called the Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
.
Tabot
The Tabot nation was formed during the "Year of Frost" when the Shou Ho Dynasty decreed that the Path of Enlightenment was to be the official and only religion in Shou Lung. Many monks, temples and religious orders of the Way were persecuted in Shou Lung and they fled to the mountains. The temple militias of sohei and monks that fled there formed an alliance against the Shou and founded the nation of Tabot. The Shou attempted invasions well into the early Kai Dynasty but had little success due to the Crystalline Warriors of Ji that protected Tabot. Centuries later, the nobles of Tabot were overthrown by a six-year-old boy called the High Lord of Oceans, and established Tabot's current theocratic government in which the clergy of the Way holds most political power in the mountainous nation.Koryo
The Kingdom of Koryo held power over the entire peninsula of Choson. The kingdom had it origins in the Kingdom of Silla. When the King of Silla attempted to launch an attack on their hated enemies the Kozakurans (who had tried to invade the Choson Peninsula in the past), his fleet was destroyed by a tsunami, which allowed one of his generals, Wanang Sun, to overthrow him. Under Sun, he was able to unite all the factions of Choson and establish the united Koryo Kingdom.Horse-Plains
The barbarianBarbarian
Barbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
s of the Horse-Plain has tried countless times to invade their neighbors, the Shou and T'u Lung and have been successful on a few accounts, but their victories were often short lived. Recently though, Tuigan tribes successfully breached the Dragonwall and devastated many of the northwestern provinces of the Shou Empire. During this invasion, many Shou refugees fled to Faerûn
Faerûn
Faerûn is a fictional subcontinent, the primary setting of the Dungeons & Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It is described at a relatively high level in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from Wizards of the Coast, and various locales and aspects are described in more detail by separate...
and settled in the Thesk region of the Unapproachable East. The Horde tribes were eventually driven out and the Shou and T'u have been focusing most of their military prowess towards defending against further invasions.
Omi War
During the Hai Dynasty in Shou Lung when Wa pirates raided the Celestial Sea and the Shou coastlines, the Shou Emperor was convinced that the Wa warlords had something to do with it. He demanded that the warlords cease and desist and swear fealty to him. Offended, the Wa Emperor refused and gave no reply to the Shou. Seeing no end to the raids and attacks by the pirates, the Shou Emperor amassed a fleet of 100,000 ships to launch an invasion of Wa. Hearing of the pending invasion, the Wa Emperor enlisted the aid of a counselor named Nobunaga who prepared Wa's defenses and sent the ninja master Fukio to infiltrate Shou Lung.Shou Lung quickly captured the northern and southern coastlines of Wa but the fortification of central Wa by Nobunaga proved stronger and central Wa avoided the consequences of the Shou invasion. Many captured northern and southern coastal Wa daimyos betrayed Nobunaga after their cities fell and they lent their aid to the Shou generals.
The Shou Emperor, who was aboard the royal flagship, was assassinated by the ninja Fukio who was in disguise. However, Fukio was not able to escape and was killed by the Emperor's Western wu jen Rourke. The Emblems of Authority were recovered by Rourke but he was slain when he returned to the Imperial Palace in Shou Lung. With no heir, many of the most powerful Shou generals returned to Shou Lung and fought for power leaving only a handful to continue the invasion of Wa. The Shou leadership was thrown into despair and this period is known as the Black Cycle. With the greatly reduced number of Shou troops now occupying its territory, Wa was able to take back most of the occupied provinces from the Shou. Even though most Shou troops were driven back, they were never truly defeated and Wa was left in a state of sporadic warfare. Some of the remaining Shou generals continued with guerrilla warfare against the Wa while others offered an armistice to the Wa Emperor and were granted governorship over the territories they controlled. When a new Shou Emperor finally ascended the throne and tried to enlist his former generals back into Shou service, many of them decided to side with the throne of Wa rather than the Shou. Even so, their resistance was futile since the remaining Wa daimyos were divided and suspicious of each other and the years of war had left Wa with no effective central government. Shou Lung soon took control of Wa.
When civil war erupted in Shou Lung between the Shou and the T'u and the northern provinces of Shou were invaded by the Horse Barbarians, the remaining Waan daimyos took advantage of this opportunity and under the united banner of Nitta Shogoro, they were able to finally drive out the occupying Shou troops. Beset on all sides, the Shou conceded ultimate defeat and Wa was declared an independent state. The two countries quickly reached an agreement to open their ports to one another's merchants to allow trade between the two countries and to fill both emperors' treasuries. The Grey Blossom mercenary regiment of the Shou Army that had occupied Wa asked permission to remain in Wa since they had been stationed there for so long that they had made their own lives in that nation, many intermarrying with Waan wives. The Shou and Wa Emperors granted them permission to remain and they became one of the most famous mercenary bands of Wa. But in less than 5 years, the petty Wa warlords turned on each other once more and the Waan government was split into factions and plunged the island into 200 years of civil war before any type of stable government was established. Up to this day, the Waan daimyos remain divided but they provide a unified front against all foreigners.
Black Cycle
When the Shou Emperor was assassinated during the Omi War and there was no heir to the throne, the leadership of Shou Lung fell into chaos. The six southern provinces (now the Empire of T'u Lung), were marked by repeated invasions from southern barbarian tribes. Only a small number of cities that still had feudal lords in power maintained any semblance of order. The most famous of these feudal families were the Yang and Wai clans, which later played a large role in the Shou and T'u Lung civil war. The western lands also fell under the control of Copper Demons who ruled the land in a brutal fashion. A criminal family from Kai Shan eventually seized control of that city and became semi-independent. This family later supported an adventurer name Wo Mai, who claimed to be a descendent of the Shou Empire's founder, in recovering the Emblems of Authority and was crowned the new Emperor and established the Kao Dynasty. Because of the criminal family's aid to Wo Mai, the city of Kai Shan to this day retains its autonomy and the ruling criminal family grew into what is known today as the Triad or Tsui Tong. Wo Mai and the Seven Heroes and Seven Nonmen soon set forth for the western regions and ended the reign of the Copper Demons. They also defeated the last of the barbarian tribes invading the southern provinces and reestablished Shou control. Also at this time, a secret organization called the Cult of the Black Panther was helping peasants that were displaced by the war between Imperial troops and the invading southern barbarians start new lives independent of barbarian and Shou control alike.Uncountable Wars
The civil war between Shou Lung and the six southern provinces of its empire who later formed the breakaway Empire of T'u Lung had its seeds planted when the first Li Dynasty of the Empire was established. During that time, a secret organization known as the Cult of the Black Panther, whose leaders claimed that they were immortals who had aided the Nine Travelers in ruling Kara-Tur when they were still humans, made a claim that they were the rightful successors to the Nine Travelers. Because of their mystic powers, they were held in more fear and reverence in the southern provinces than the Shou Emperor. Led by the great General Wo Chan, Shou troops fought the Cult of the Black Panther in what was later known as the Battle of Infinite Darkness, and managed to destroy the Cult's temple in Durkon. The Shou finally ended the resistance in the southern provinces and established firm political control over the area. The leader of the Cult was never found.During the Black Cycle, the southern area of Shou Lung (now the Empire of T'u Lung), was marked by repeated invasions from southern barbarian tribes. Only a small number of cities that still had feudal lords in power maintained any semblance of order. The most powerful of these feudal families were the Yang and Wai clans. Also during this time the Cult of the Black Panther reemerged and began helping peasant families that were displaced by the war between the Imperial Army and the invading southern barbarian tribes. Shortly after the Wa declaration of independence from Shou rule, the southern provinces were plagued with screaming spirits that killed many incompetent and corrupt bureaucrats in what is now known as the Nights of Screaming Demons. Later investigations linked this event to the Cult of the Black Panther. Soon, many key military positions in the Shou Army were filled by people from the southern provinces. When the southern barbarians again attempted to invade the Empire, the Shou Army made short work of the invading barbarians. After the last Emperor of the Kao Dynasty, he was succeeded by his cousin who established the La Dynasty. The first Shou emperor of the La Dynasty was a weak ruler whose court was easily infiltrated by the agents of the Cult of the Black Panther who secretly ruled and manipulated the Shou government from within. The Yang and Wai clans soon led a revolt against the corrupt northern bureaucrats and quickly established a power base of their own in the south provinces. At this point the nobles of the south considered themselves a separate force from the bureaucrats of the La Dynasty who governed the northern provinces, but believed that they still belonged to the same Shou nation and they also continued to acknowledge the authority of the Shou emperor, even if his authority was recognized only in name in the southern provinces.
When two concubines of the last Emperor of the La Dynasty gave birth within hours of each other, he refused to name an heir knowing that if he did, his life would be in jeopardy. Years later he died before naming either of his sons as heir. The northern bureaucrats favored Prince Shin Lu while the southern nobles favored Prince Shin Gisen. War broke out between the northern and the southern provinces as the various factions rallied behind their preferred candidate for the Imperial throne. Shin Lu's forces defeated Shin Gisen's troops but were too weak and exhausted to pursue the enemy and eradicated the military strength of the southern nobility. Shin Lu proclaimed himself the Emperor of Shou Lung and established the newborn Kuo Dynasty. Shortly after Shin Ginsen proclaimed himself as the first Emperor of the Lui Dynasty and established the T'u Lung Empire in the six southern provinces that had long been largely autonomous from the rest of the Shou state. To repel the Shou troops from his newborn state, Shin Ginsen appealed to secret societies such as the Black Leopard Cult and granted them amnesty from Imperial persecution along with other religious and political organizations that were considered illegal in Shou Lung as long as they lent their considerable power to repelling the Shou from T'u territory. The T'u proved successful at driving the Shou Army back across the border with the aid of their new allies, and established the independence of their Empire—but the price was high, for now the throne of T'u Lung never had as strong a grasp over its state as the Shou ruler did over his. For the next 250 years, Shou and T'u waged what are known as the Uncountable Wars, with these conflicts ravaging the territories that lay along the Shou-T'u border.
The Great Hunt
When Wa was planning to expand its territory, they sent an invasion fleet with 1,000 ships to Kozakura led by Hidegari Iegusa. The Waan fleet was able to capture the southern tip of Shinkoku with little trouble but could not advance further because of Kozakuran fortifications. The borders of the captured territory were raided constantly by Kozakuran troops. Both sides attempted to break the stalemate and Kozakuran troops led by Honda no Motosune launched a naval strike against the Waan ships and for days battles raged on the decks of 300 ships. In the end, Iegusa was killed and his army driven out of Shinoku. During this period, the non-humans in the occupied areas rebelled against their Waan colonizers and established independence. They hunted down all Waan survivors and stragglers and exacted a violent revenge on them. They made it into a sport and this period eventually came to be known as the Great Hunt. When Motosune drove out the remaining Waan fleets, he tried to reestablish control in the southern areas. To his surprise, the people of the area previously occupied by the Waan forces refused to be reincorporated into the Kozakuran Empire and insisted on remaining independent. Motosune massacred the spirit folk inhabitants of these villages and reclaimed control over the southern prefectures of Kozakura, but in so doing the Kozakuran Shogunate earned the enmity of the spirit folk of Kozakura for many centuries.Official Material
- Kara-Tur, the eastern realm
- The Assam Portal
- Harmun Righthand
- Room 13: Ogre Trouble (features Tharrusk - an Ogre Mage from Kara-Tur)
Specific prestige classes
- Dragon Samurai
- Drunken Master
- Geomancer
- Kensai
- Ronin
- Shou Disciple
- Shugenja
- Wu-Jen
Modules
The Kara-Tur campaign setting inspired the following 8 adventureAdventure (role-playing games)
An adventure is either a published or otherwise written collection of plot, character, and location details used by a gamemaster to manage the plot or story in a role-playing game. Each adventure is based upon a particular gaming genre and is normally designed for use with a specific game or gaming...
modules (in chronological order):
- OA1, Swords of the DaimyoSwords of the DaimyoSwords of the Daimyo is a 1986 adventure module for the Oriental Adventures rules of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Contents:Swords of the Daimyo contains three adventures...
(1986)
"http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/w/wizardsOfTheCoast/byProductType/roleplayingGames/dungeonsDragons/aDAndD1/orientalAdventures/v5748btpy7mei"
- OA2, Night of the Seven SwordsNight of the Seven SwordsNight of the Seven Swords is a 1986 adventure module for the Oriental Adventures rules of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Plot summary:Night of the Seven Swords includes four linked scenarios...
(1986)
"http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/w/wizardsOfTheCoast/byProductType/roleplayingGames/dungeonsDragons/aDAndD1/orientalAdventures/v5748btpy7mej"
- OA3, Ochimo: The Spirit WarriorOchimo: The Spirit WarriorOchimo: The Spirit Warrior is an adventure module published in 1987 for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Plot summary:Ochimo the Spirit Warrior is intended for use with the Oriental Adventures supplement...
(1987)
"http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/w/wizardsOfTheCoast/byProductType/roleplayingGames/dungeonsDragons/aDAndD1/orientalAdventures/v5748btpy7mek"
- OA4, Blood of the YakuzaBlood of the YakuzaBlood of the Yakuza is a module in the Oriental Adventures subset of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms product line.-Plot summary:...
(1987)
"http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/w/wizardsOfTheCoast/byProductType/roleplayingGames/dungeonsDragons/aDAndD1/orientalAdventures/v5748btpy7mel"
- OA5, Mad Monkey vs. the Dragon ClawMad Monkey vs. the Dragon ClawMad Monkey vs. the Dragon Claw is an adventure module published in 1988 for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Plot summary:Mad Monkey vs...
(1988, zip) http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/tsr9242.zip - FROA1, Ninja Wars (1990)
"http://paizo.com/store/brand/forgottenRealms/roleplayingGames/2ndEdition/v5748btpy7mju"
- OA6, Ronin ChallengeRonin ChallengeRonin Challenge is an adventure module published in 1990 for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Plot summary:...
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/tsr9257.zip (1990, zip) - OA7, Test of the SamuraiTest of the SamuraiTest of the Samurai is an adventure module published in 1990 for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Plot summary:...
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/tsr9258.zip (1990)
Books
There were 3 choose your own adventureChoose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions and the plot's outcome. The series was based on a...
style books (one was actually released before the original Oriental Adventures book):
- Blade of the Young Samurai - Endless QuestEndless QuestThe Endless Quest books were two series of gamebooks released by TSR. These books were the result of an Educational department established by TSR to develop curriculum programs for reading, math, history, and problem solving....
23 (1984) - Test of the Ninja - AD&D Adventure Gamebook 5 (1985)
- Warlords - 1 on 1 Book 7 (1986)
One of novels in The Empires Trilogy is set in Shou Lung of Kara-Tur.
Other
- Dragon (magazine)Dragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#315, for information on ancestor feats and martial arts styles.