After the barbaric violence of the Blood Tribes and the technological cruelty of the Void Elves, we wanted, with the arrival of spring, to return to something touched by wonder. Something more magical, more poetic.
In the latest survey we ran with you, one option came out strongly ahead: your desire for a release once again inspired by Asian mythologies. So this felt like the perfect moment to expand the world of the Jade Empire, this time by also wandering into a realm of elemental spirits such as storm-born beings, mischievous immortals, celestial guardians, not as dark forces but as powerful presences.
Enjoy the video then you'll want to keep reading to see if you spotted some of the inspirations and intents behind this release.
For this release, we drew our inspiration primarily from Chinese folklore, while also borrowing from Japanese folklore. We also looked to stories and films that have deeply marked us. Even if those references may not be immediately obvious, the A Chinese Ghost Story film series, One Piece, and even echoes of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954) are all part of the spirit behind this collection.
As always, we’ve got you vivid characters, each with their very distinct personality. You’ll find lightning spirits and towering thunder guardians, trickster sages, fox warriors, celestial beasts. We wanted this release to feel like a living mythology in motion.
One inspiration quietly shaping this release was the sense of unlikely fellowship found in One Piece and in the wandering protectors of Seven Samurai.
Rather than imagining a dark host of spirits, we saw something closer to a roaming supernatural legion: a strange, powerful, sometimes unruly, yet ultimately protective legion answering the call of humble villagers and carrying them into adventure.
→ That spirit of wonder, camaraderie and unexpected heroism runs through the whole collection.
And above all, we wanted this collection to carry a particularly magical spirit, perhaps a little more classical than some of our previous releases, drawing you into the singular poetry so often found in stories from Asia.
Why “Jingguai”?
The name of this release refers to the wider family of spirits found in Chinese mythology. Many people know the term YΕkai for Japanese spirits; Jingguai is roughly its Chinese counterpart.
It evokes an entire world of supernatural beings, perhaps akin, in Western imagination, to faerie creatures or lightly demonic entities: inhabitants of unseen realms who regularly come teasingly close to our own.
Colors Inspired by Living Myth
As a little extra note, the color scheme for this release was inspired by Betta (the Siamese fighting fish), especially the ones with metallic blue and red coloration. I’ve been fascinated by these fish since childhood, and their extraordinary colors felt perfect for evoking the supernatural, almost fairy-like nature of the creatures we’re presenting today.
One model especially embodies our approach to this release: the immense dragon turtle carrying a fortress inspired by the Great Wall of China. Rather than placing a generic pagoda on its back, we wanted to reinterpret something deeply rooted in Chinese imagination and give it new life through fantasy, much as we did in earlier Jade Empire releases inspired by the Terracotta Army. That creature became almost a moving landscape: a living mountain, a fortress, a myth-made creature.
FYI: We are currently finishing the Sovereign extensions for this release, and they will feature units that will complement our previous Asia-themed releases. Together, these packs will give you plenty to build truly substantial armies.
And if you lean more toward roleplaying, the huge gallery of characters spread across these releases gives you the tools to create campaigns with a uniquely rich flavor, where each character has a strong identity and seems to tell a whole story on its own.
Spirits of Mischief, Storm and Wonder
We’ll let you discover the world of these spirits for yourselves. You’ll find them sometimes mischievous, sometimes warlike, sometimes enchanting. We hope that they carry you into many colorful hours of adventure.
There is a poetry in this release that I’m especially fond of, and I hope it touches you as well.
As always, we can’t wait to hear which characters become your favorites, and how you plan to introduce them into your games, your armies and your campaigns → so do tell us!
We wish you a spring full of cherry blossoms, strange spirits, and many memorable adventures!!!
See you very soon.
