“It is said there are three kinds of strength: the strength of the body, the strength of the will, and the strength of the story. Of these, the last is the most dangerous.”

— Master Long Feather

Setting Rules

Welcome to the martial world—a place of dramatic duels, exaggerated emotion, and impossible grace. This page presents new rules to help capture the feel of classic kung fu cinema. These are not merely mechanical tweaks—they are the lens through which your entire campaign should move.

Expect flourishes. Expect melodrama. Expect high-flying kicks and low-simmering vengeance.

This page includes:

Setting-specific rules that reinforce genre expectations
Modified and new skills, including martial arts styles
SWADE setting rules to tune your game

Embrace Genre Conventions

The world of Five Fists of the Burning Temple is not realistic—it is mythic. Heroes recover from brutal beatings with a quiet cup of tea. Villains shout their lineage before striking. Every leap, every punch, every spinning flourish says something about who you are. And your fame will spread.

To encourage this energy, every player receives +1 Benny for embracing genre conventions. This includes:

Shouting out the name of your attack before striking
Dramatic slow-motion narrations or poses
Obeying the unwritten codes of honor, or dramatically violating them
Stylized flashbacks, training sequences, or boasts

Honor

“A warrior’s style is their weapon. A warrior’s name is their shield.”

— Master Ghost Palm

Honor is a new derived attribute that reflects a character’s public legend in the martial world. A beginning character’s Honor starts at 0 and ranges from –4 (Infamous) to +4 (Revered). Most common folk and sect members will react to your interaction attempts based on your Rep.

Honor is not just fame, but how you are perceived in the Jianghu—through your duels, style, honor, insults, and how often your name is whispered in tea houses.

How It Works

Honor Modifies Social Rolls: Add your Honor to Persuasion, Intimidation, Taunt, and Boast rolls if the NPC has heard of you. Use Common Knowledge or a Smarts die roll to determine recognition.

Honor Gains: Characters gain +1 Honor for actions like:

Winning a formal duel in public
Saving a village, temple, or master
Performing a named technique in front of witnesses
Publicly defeating a known martial artist
Showing mercy or nobility when vengeance was expected

Honor Loss: Characters lose Honor for:

Killing a defenseless foe or interrupting a duel (–1 or –2)
Fleeing from a challenge in front of witnesses (–1)
Publicly dishonoring a sect or violating hospitality (–2)
Being exposed as a liar, fraud, or coward (–1 to –3)

Sample Honor Levels

Honor Score	Title	Public Reaction
–4	Cursed Name	Feared, hunted; sects may refuse to interact
–2	Dishonored Blade	Shunned by temples and masters
0	Unknown	Must prove yourself before receiving respect
+1	Wandering Hero	Friendly welcome, minor fame
+2	Named Duelist	Respected by sects, disciples request teachings
+3	Sword-Saint	You’re a known quantity—duels follow you
+4	Living Scroll	Poets write of you; emperors may send letters

NPC Reactions by Reputation

Rep	Peasants	Rival Sects	Masters
+3–4	Bow, whisper stories	Avoid conflict, show respect	May offer secret training
+1–2	Respectful, curious	May challenge or test you	Watch silently
0	Indifferent	Unimpressed, may insult	Ignore you
–1 to –2	Nervous, suspicious	Eager to provoke or shame	Deny you access entirely
–3 or worse	Flee or spit	Bounties posted	Seek to erase your legacy

Honor as a Mechanical Trigger

Some Edges, plot events, or martial scrolls may require a certain Honor level.

Examples:

To learn the Whispering Phoenix Scroll, the character must possess Honor +2 or higher and be accepted by a known sect.
If Honor falls to –3, the character is marked by the Secret Order of Judges and must fight monthly duels to clear their name.

Optional: Regional Reputation

Honor can be tracked regionally, such as +2 in Shanli Province or –1 in the Pearl Lantern Coast, to reflect local fame or infamy. This adds depth and creates roleplay tension when traveling.

New Skills

Martial Arts [Style] (Agility)

The new Martial Arts [Style] skill replaces the Fighting skill for martial attacks and moves outlined in Burning Temple. The character must then choose martial art style, such as Tiger Style or Crane Style, as explained here.

A character with Martial Arts skill and the Martial Artist Edge does Str + d6 damage unarmed.

A character without the Martial Artist Edge may take this skill, but deals only Str + d4 damage, does not count as armed, and cannot access martial styles, stances, or Signature Techniques.

Your choice of style affects unarmed and weapon attacks performed “in style” and governs your use of Combat Maneuvers.

Characters may only benefit from one style at a time.

Experienced characters may learn additional styles with training and the Dual Stylist Edge.

Note: Fighting skill still remains in the game, but represents a rougher, more brawling style of combat. It is mostly used by civilians and other untrained fighters. In general, PCs will not need to have both Fighting and Martial Arts [Style].

Boast (Smarts or Spirit)

The new Boast skill helps when you want to trash-talk an opponent. Boasting, a mainstay of martial arts movies, can intimidate, demoralize, insult, and shame your opponents and have significant effects in combat.

Use Boast as a Test action against your target’s Smarts or Spirit. On a success, your opponent is Distracted. On a Raise, they are Distracted and Vulnerable.

Boasting can only be attempted once per round per opponent and works best before or during a duel, never after.

Setting Rules

These rules define the physics and social logic of kung fu cinema.

Damage to an Opponent

In Five Fists of the Burning Temple, unarmed combat is a disciplined martial path capable of ending duels, breaking bones, and delivering poetic justice. But while unarmed attacks are formidable, they are not limitless—and weapons always provide a decisive edge.

Base Unarmed Damage

Characters using the Martial Arts skill deal unarmed damage based on their training:

Attacker has…	Unarmed Damage Base
Fighting (untrained)	Str + d4
Martial Arts skill only (no Edge)	Str + d6
Martial Artist Edge	Str + d6 (Fighting) or Str + d8 (Martial Arts)
Martial Warrior Edge	Increase to max of Str + d8
Bruiser Edge	Adds bonus on Raise (+1d4 or +1d6)

Unarmed strikes from trained characters are always treated as armed for the purposes of resisting Disarm, applying Parry bonuses, or interacting with maneuvers that target “armed” fighters.

At Martial Arts d8+, unarmed attacks also count as magical for purposes of bypassing supernatural resistances, such as spirits, demons, or jiangshi.

Unarmed Damage Stacking Limits

To maintain balance and prevent abuse, a character may gain a maximum of +2 damage die steps to unarmed attacks from Edges such as Martial Artist, Martial Warrior, or Brawler.

The hard cap for base unarmed damage is Str + d8.

Any further increases to damage must come from:

Weapons
Signature Techniques
Raise effects, such as from Bruiser
Combat Maneuvers

Armed Combat Always Hits Harder

Weapons in Five Fists of the Burning Temple do not replace your base unarmed damage but enhance it. Each melee weapon adds a flat bonus to your unarmed damage roll:

Weapon Type	Bonus
Dagger, chain, fan, or scarf	+1
Sword, saber, spear, staff, or polearm	+2
Improvised objects	Usually +0 to +2, GM’s discretion

Example: A character with the Martial Artist Edge and Martial Arts d8, armed with a saber (+2), deals Str + d8 + 2 damage.

Weapons can also provide advantages in combat, such as enhanced Parry, increased Reach, or the ability to trap or entangle an opponent.

Martial Style Matters

Your martial style is your identity. You may only use one martial style at a time. Switching styles requires an Action unless you have an Edge that says otherwise.

Each style includes:

A Stance Bonus
Three Signature Techniques
Favored Combat Maneuvers
Favored weapons

Duels of Honor

A formal duel is sacred and must not be interrupted.

Characters who interfere with a declared duel suffer –2 to all Trait rolls until the duel ends
Duelists who fight with proper honor earn +1 Benny
If someone breaks the rules of the duel, the offended duelist gains +2 to all rolls against them for 2 rounds

Wire Fu and Gravity-Defying Movement

Characters with Martial Arts [Style] d8+ and Spirit d6+ are considered Wire Fu-Capable. They may:

Leap horizontally up to 6" or vertically up to 4" without a roll
Run across unstable terrain such as walls, treetops, or ropes with an Agility roll (–2 if narrow or slick)
Engage in mid-air combat for one round without penalty

Special techniques or Edges may allow continued mid-air fighting.

Improvised Weapons & the Environment

Everything is a weapon if you are dramatic enough.

Object	Damage	Special
Chair	Str + d4	+1 to Shove attempts
Serving Tray	Str + d4	+1 Parry for 1 round (block stance)
Soup Bowl	—	Blind target (Agility Trick)
Scroll	—	Distract or Entangle (Trick +2)
Lantern	Str + d4	Sets flammable targets on fire

Gain:

+1 to any Test or roll for using props creatively
+2 if it is hilarious or legendary

Using multiple props in a single stunt grants a Benny or reroll at GM discretion.

Dubbing Rules

Bad dubbing is part of the kung fu cinematic experience.

Dub Bonus

If a player mimics poorly dubbed dialogue—mismatched lip-sync, weird pacing, echo-y inflection—they gain +1 to any roll once per scene.

Australian Dubbing Bonus

If the bad dubbing is done with a passable Aussie accent, gain +1 to a Test.

Echo Dub

Repeat a line twice with rising drama.

Example: “You killed my master… my master!”

The target must make a Spirit roll or become Distracted.

The Rule of Mooks Go Flying

If a PC incapacitates or kills an Extra with a Raise, they may narrate the mook being launched across a table, through a wall, or into a pond of koi.

There is no additional mechanic—just style.

Creative narration earns Bennies. Encourage it.

Five Fists of the Burning Temple Home • Character Creation • Styles • Maneuvers • Edges & Hindrances • Setting Rules • Weapons