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After devoting your whole youth to your training, you have finally perfected your martial techniques to the point that your master has nothing else to teach you. The moment has come for you to begin your pilgrimage, the journey that will allow you to perfect your skills and to develop your personal techniques. You will have to find your fighting Way by yourself and create your own unique fighting style.
This Role-play Game has been developed so that it can be played by just one person, or by two or multiple players, according to the Mode of your choice. If played with many friends, Musha Shugyō can therefore be used as a sort of board game, structured like a fighting tournament.
Draw your inspiration from plots similar to those of The King of Fighters, Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter, or of movies such as Bloodsport, No Hold Barred, or Ip Man. The main source of inspiration is the Web Series: Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist; therefore, we strongly suggest that you watch it in order to get into the right atmosphere.
Many role-play games are devised for a group of Characters, where there isn’t a real main character even if the group usually has a leader. In Musha Shugyō, in contrast, your Character is the only hero in the adventure. There are many plots, in any media and settings, in which you can find the same thing: just think of Dragon Ball where, in the end, it is Goku who saves the day, of Conan the Barbarian, and Elric of Melniboné; even Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken) has a similarly structured plot. In these stories, we often see one or more secondary Characters who stand by the hero, even for a long time, but in the end he will have to reach the end of his journey by himself. Musha Shugyō is a perfect instrument to simulate this kind of stories.
The Game Setting
In Musha Shugyō you’ll travel around the world using your fantasy, visiting new places and meeting new cultures, facing any kind of adversity using your sole strength. During your travel, you’ll face various opponents, getting better and better, developing new martial techniques, trying to become a real master!
Make new friends, meet new allies and opponents, sure you’ll also make some enemies. Will you find the strength to go on and not give up during the hard travel of the warrior?
Musha Shugyō ‘s setting is really flexible. You can play in the real world -both modern or ancient times- or even include fantasy elements: secret wrestlers societies (did anybody said Tiger’s Cave from Tiger Mask?), sinister criminal associations, even supernatural events! The handbook will include multiple suggestions to help you create your unique adventures. You can find inspiration in famous videogames, movies, comics and so much more. Just think about Mortal Kombat: in the plot of this game, strong warriors from all over the world are summoned in an external dimension, so that they can participate in a deadly tournament where they’ll meet not only strong human opponents, but even obnoxious monsters and deadly semi-human creatures with supernatural powers. Consider now Street Fighter, where a pitiless terroristic organization’s boss is determined in conquering the world, assembling a huge army composed of the best brainwashed martial experts from around the globe.
It’s all up to your fantasy: the game will help you during the whole process of creating an adventure or an entire campaign.
How to Play
The game system has been developed to be fast and easy to learn. Both when playing an adventure or a fight, every roll needs just a six sided dice to work.
There are various game modes:
Single Player Mode
Diary Mode Tournament Mode Kumitè Mode Challenge Mode
Two Players Mode
Random Encounter Guided Adventure
Multiplayer Mode
Multiplayer Guided Mode Multiplayer Tournament Mode
Musha Shugyō can even be played as a tabletop game, a very fast and customizable one. The box will include 10 pre-generated Characters, ready to fight, all with their own special and super techniques, with a unique fighting style. Just like in an arcade fighting game, you’ll be able to engage your friends in furious fights, based on combos, special and super moves, developing your own funny and original strategies!
If you play alone, Musha Shugyō lets you live exciting adventures in Diary Mode: it will be an experience similar to a game-book, but you’ll get to write the original story of your Character. The handbook will guide you step-by-step during your pilgrimage. Each time you’ll need help, the Oracle will automatically give you new suggestions on how the story should be developed. Will you interpret its words in the right way?
You can even face a one player tournament, exactly like in an arcade fighting game. For example, in Kumité Mode you’ll have to survive, wave after wave, in a never ending series of fights against random opponents. In Challenge Mode you’ll try to solve a series of missions that will test your abilities in making combos or damages with very limited starting points. Solve all these challenges and you’ll become a master of Musha Shugyō!
Playing with a friends you’ll live great adventures together even with no Guide (Game Master), using the Oracle’s game mechanics. You and your friend can even play Diary Mode without meeting and then, one day, play together again: your Characters lived their own personal adventures and then met again to live some new action! When playing with a lot of friends, Musha Shugyō becomes similar to a common Role Playing Game, where the Guide will prepare adventures, play NPCs and help Players in facing exciting battles.
There are really plenty of ways to have fun with Musha Shugyō!
Why we created this game
Musha Shugyō was born from a series of experiments by the game designer Luca De Marini, through various moments and times. It often happens to stay with nothing to do for a long time, like during a boring travel or conference, with just a sheet of paper and a pencil.
At a certain point during the development of this game, it was clear that Musha Shugyō was not a simple mini-game, but a new system to have fun roleplaying even when alone. Game mechanics are fast, similar to those of an arcade fighting game. The game is thrilling and it lets you play not only alone but with friends too, in whole freedom.
Briefly, it’s a game like you probably have never seen before: you can play it in so many modes, it can be a role playing game or a tabletop game.
The Random Encounter Mode also solves a common problem for budy people with a family and a hard work: it’s not easy to regularly meed with friends to play RPG sessions. In Musha Shugyō each player can keep playing alone in Diary Mode and then meet the other players again, telling them his lonely adventures and going on with the main quest!
We want Musha Shugyō to be as exciting for you as it has been for us and so many other testers since when we developed it in a refined form. We hope you’ll find a fresh and new way to roleplay, with the help of Musha Shugyō.
Why should I pledge?
Musha Shugyō is not an easy game to produce. Sure, we could have produced simple A5 handbooks, suggesting players could manage to print / get the missing components like tokens in some other way. But we wanted to give you an exclusive and complete product. Therefore, in the box you’ll find absolutely everything you need to play.
Here’s what’ll be in the box:
Handbook; 2 six-sided dice; 10 bookmarks/pre-filled character sheets for Musha Shugyō Playing Characters (PCs in short); 55 illustrated cards with Musha Shugyō Characters special moves patterns; 24 yellow tokens for Combo Points and 60 red tokens for Life Points
All materials will be of excellent quality. To be able to afford this production level, we need your help. This is not the usual misused kickstarter, it’s not a reservation service. Musha Shugyō needs your economic help for real, if we want to produce it in a great way! Together, we can make it happen! It’s all up to your help. We are doing the best we can to ensure you that the game will be over top quality level.
Share the news, talk about it with your friends, share our Facebook and Google Plus posts and this game will be a reality! There are so many ways you help Musha Shugyō!
Rewards
For every belt, from green and over, please add 8€ for shipping costs. You can alternatively pick up your copy of the game during “Lucca Comics & Games 2014” for free. Delivering time for all Black Belts is November 2014.
5€ OR MORE
YELLOW BELT
Handbook in PDF format, to play Musha Shugyō without any accessories included in the box.
20€ OR MORE
GREEN BELT – ONLY 10 AVAILABLE
Contents of the Red Belt
25€ OR MORE
BLUE BELT – ONLY 30 AVAILABLE
Contents of the Red Belt
30€ OR MORE
RED BELT
Instructions Handbook in English and Italian 2 six-sided dice 10 pre-generated Character postcards 55 illustrated cards, picturing schemes of the special and super moves 24 yellow token for Combo points and 60 red tokens for Life points Instructions Handbook in PDF format
40€ OR MORE
BLACK BELT, FIRST DAN
Red Belt contents Esclusive Musha Shugyo T-Shirt
50€ OR MORE
BLACK BELT, SECOND DAN – ONLY 16 AVAILABLE
Red Belt contents Subscription to esclusive MS tournament during Lucca 2014. The winner will get the 200€ pledge (max 24)
60€ OR MORE
BLACK BELT, THIRD DAN – MAX 24
Red Belt contents Dinner with the author of the game, Luca De Marini, during Lucca Comics & Games 2014
70€ OR MORE
BLACK BELT, FOURTH DAN – ONLY 8 AVAILABLE
Red Belt contents Subscription to esclusive MS tournament during Lucca 2014. The winner will get the 200€ pledge (minimum 8, max 24) Dinner with the author of the game, Luca De Marini, during Lucca Comics & Games 2014
80€ OR MORE
BLACK BELT, FIFTH DAN – ONLY 10 AVAILABLE
Red Belt contents Original sketches of the work-in-progres illustrations of the game
100€ OR MORE
BLACK BELT, SIXTH DAN – ONLY 5 AVAILABLE
Five copies of the game, as described in the Red Belt contents.
200€ OR MORE
BLACK BELT, SEVENTH DAN – ONLY 5 AVAILABLE
Red Belt contents Get a personalized character, created from your own concept. It will be officially inserted in the first game expansion Musha Shugyō – “The Secrets of Chi” – complete with full color illustration, dedication by the author and illustrators. You’ll also get the original work-in-progress sketches and character development sketches.
Goals / Stretch Goals
€ 2.000 – Obiettivo della campagna
€ 2.500 – First expansion, “The Secrets of Chi”: Burn Your Cosmo!
Musha Shugyō is an ambitious project and with your help, it can get better and better, becoming so much more than the simple basic game box. Reaching this goal, we’ll start developing a new expansion which will grow in terms of contents if further goals will be reached!
Anyone who contributes with a Green Belt or more will get this new expansion in PDF format.
The Secrets of Chi will include new rules to manage a warrior’s Aura, the powerful internal energy typical of every martial arts master in japanese anime, like Fist of the North Star of Saint Seiya: using this expansion, you’ll be able to play adventures with characters able to burn their internal energy to get even stronger!
This expansion will also include all of the characters realixed thanks tot the Seventh Dan – Black Belt offer.
Delivery time: January 2015
€ 3.000 – Musha Shugyo comic, first issue
The great Alex Irzaqi will realize a Musha Shugyo comic: follow the stories of new characters never seen in the game box! Reaching this goal, anyone who contributed with a Green Belt or more will get a PDF copy of the comic too.
Delivery time: March 2015
€ 3.500 – New contents for The Secrets of Chi: Tag Tournament Mode
The Secrets of Chi will include a new fighter and the rules to play in Tag Tournament Mode, like in many of the best next generation fighting games!
Delivery time will be delayed to: April 2015
€ 4.000 – Musha Shugyo comic, second issue
Second volume for Alex Irzaqui’s comic! Reaching this goal, anyone who contributed with a Green Belt or more will get a PDF copy of the comic too.
Delivery time: April 2015
€ 4.500 – New contents for The Secrets of Chi: Here Comes a New Challenger!
The Secrets of Chi will now include new game modes: Battle Royale and Royal Rumble.
€ 5.000 – Musha Shugyo comic, third issue
Third volume for Alex Irzaqui’s comic! Reaching this goal, anyone who contributed with a Green Belt or more will get a PDF copy of the comic too.
Delivery time: May 2015
€ 5.500 – New contents for The Secrets of Chi: Multidiary Mode
The Secrets of Chi will now include two new original characters and a new game mode: Multidiary. Play solo using multiple characters, writing the story of how their destinies will be intertwined in a mysterious adventure! Something like Game of Thrones.
€ 6.000 – Original Soundtrack: 3 tracks
Davide Quaroni, of the development team’s illustrators, is a master of the quick pencil technique, but he also trained year after year in the sacred discipline of the Rock Music! What’s better than some genuine rock music for a Musha Shugyo game session?
Reaching this goal, Davide will compose an original soundtrack for Musha Shugyo. Three tracks in MP3 format will be delivered via web to anyone who contributed with a green belt or more.
Delivery time: April 2015
€ 6.500 – Original Soundtrack: 2 more tracks (5 in total)
The Soundtrack will include 2 more tracks!
Delivery time: April 2015
€ 7.000 – Original Soundtrack: 2 more tracks (7 in total)
The Soundtrack will include 2 more tracks!
Delivery time: April 2015
Questions/Answers
Is the game in English or Italian only? Musha Shugyo has been translated by a professional translator in English already. It will be produced in both languages. In the game box you’ll already find an English handbook, as well as an Italian one. Everything’s multilingual, you’ll be able to play straight away!
Will you ship to my country? The quick answer is, yes, it’s very likely. Maybe please comment the Ulule campaign if you are outside Europe and would like to have a shipping quote! For Europe residents, the 8€ fee is sufficient.
Why didn’t you create an English Ulule campaign to begin with? We don’t have a foreign distributor, for now. We’ll try and find one as soon as possible. If you are interested in distributing Musha Shugyo in your country, please comment the Ulule campaign! You are most welcome. This campaign has been created mainly for Italian customers because we’ll present the game during the italian fair: Lucca Comics & Games. Doesn’t mean the game’s not ready to play for English players too!
Who wrote this English page? I’m Luca De Marini, the game designer of the team. I’m no professional translator and I’m not the one who translated Musha Shugyo in English. Please, don’t assume my poor knowledge of English will be the standard for the English Handbook!
Can I play a demo of Musha Shugyo online? Sure you can, just contact me: Luca De Marini, via Facebook or Google Plus. We’ll play via hangout! And yes, I can roleplay in English and sure I can explain you the rules of Musha Shugyo!
Development Team
Luca de Marini – author
Paolo Maggi – editor
Davide Quaroni – illustrator
Alex Irzaqi – illustrator
Daniele Musashi – illustrator
Daniele Orlandini – illustrator
Gionata Dal Farra – publisher
Davide Rizzi – staff GG Studio
Edoardo Dalla Via – staff GG Studio
