Avatar: The Last Airbender

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TL;DR a setting for AZN kung-fu and high magic without being the over-the-top Exalted and not the highbrow Legend of the Five Rings.

Lets say you want something that is fantasy, set in a large complex world that in no way rips off JRR Tolkien, is presented in visual form and is just well made all around. Well Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko had come to your aid with Avatar: The Last Airbender and its new followup The Legend of Korra. It is in no way related to James Cameron's similarly titled work (thank god).

Setting

You have a world modelled primarily off asia (in particular dynastic China), plus some people can magically manipulate simple matter using martial arts moves called "bending." Benders can bending one and only one of Earth, Air, Fire or Water. The exception to this rule is one person called the "Avatar" who can master all four types of bending, and universally regarded as a spiritual leader (think: the Dalai Lama). There is only ever one Avatar in each generation, who is the reincarnation of the previous Avatar can can remember (converse with the ghosts of) previous Avatars.

The world has one language, and four nations:

• The Water Tribes: Hunter-gatherer Eskimo-like people who live in the North and South polar regions. The South Pole tribe consists of stereotypical Eskimos, whereas the ones living at the North Pole got bored of making simple igloos and carved their entire city out of ice. Then they added canals to troll the physicists. There is also a water tribe scattered in equatorial swamps that manipulate the swamp vines by bending the water saturating the vines. Analogous to Indonesia, or a snowy Philippines?

• The Earth Kingdom: A large loose continental power ruled out of the massive fortified city of Ba Sing Se. Wealthy and prosperous, they are masters of resource harvesting with bending as a safe and efficient means of mining metals and rare earths, and reduced labour required for farming. Culturally diverse, but largely modeled on China and Korea. The most urban culture.

• The Fire Nation: A technologically advanced state based off of a volcanic island chain with Imperialistic Ambitions (so, Japan). By technologically advanced, we mean they have steampunk tanks, ironclad ships, a giant freaking drill and hot-air zeppelins. Their culture encourages ambition and competition.

• The Air Nomads: Monastic wanderer-gatherers who lived ascetic lives, like what white people think Tibetans live like. They have four temple-cities that the wanderers will cycle through, and monuments scattered throughout the territories of the other three nations. By the time of the first story, the Air Nomads were purged with holy fire by the Fire Nation in an attempt to prevent the reincarnation of the next Avatar. The Avatar was born to Air Nomads anyways, and is the protagonist of the first story.

There is a fifth faction, of the fae creatures collectively called "Spirits," who used to be common but have mostly left the physical world behind for their own Spirit World that is an alternate dimension. The spirits that remain in the physical world are dedicated to the places they reside, interacting very little with people but they have been known to pick-up on the ambient mood of communities around them (ie. a river spirit will be irritable if the river is polluted an neglected, a mountain spirit will be confrontational if the nation has been at war).

When the first story starts, the Fire Nation has been expanding aggressively into the Earth Nation for four generations, which hasn't been reacting beyond resisting in small city states and issuing an "everything is fine they'll never win" message from the capital in what's obvious procrastination, hoping the Fire Nation will give up and decide the constant sieges are too expensive (spoiler: nope). The Fire Nation has already extinguished the Air Nomads, satisfied they have prevented the rebirth of the next Avatar prophesied to end their conquering. The Fire Nation naval aggression have made a virtual embargo on the Water Tribes, isolating north from south and both from the Earth Nation.

The only surviving Air Nomad after the pogrom is the current Avatar, who hid himself in cryosleep. Nobody was around to resuscitate him so he was out of the picture for a century or so. His education was interrupted, and feels he needs to learn all four forms of bending as well as visit each of the isolated culture/nations before he can fulfil his purpose as a peacemaker.

The second story is sixty years after the first story, and the world's technology has advanced to the level of the 1900's -- ironclad ships are common, we can see industrial manufacturing in privately-owned companies instead of Fire Nation government military efforts, automobiles are uncommon but visible, and we see people listening to crystal radios. Most of the story takes place in "Republic City," a city-state independent of the other three nations and regarded as a symbol of the international peace. There is civil unrest, as the improved technology is closing the gap between benders and non-benders, causing resentment since benders have had a leg-up in social strata. There is an organized insurgency against benders calling themselves "Equalists," matched by a "let them eat cake" attitude from the bender upper class.

The Avatar of this era is a young woman from the water tribes who is comfortable with the physical powers granted by her mastery of multiple elements, but stunted in her training with spiritual matters and diplomacy, making her a poor mediator in the role that's expect of her, and easily manipulated by politicians. The Equalist insurgents are lead by a charismatic leader named "Amon," who claims to have a method for permanently disabling any person's bending ability; crippling the Avatar would be a huge symbolic victory for the Equalists, who see the Avatar as the pinnacle bender and biggest target for their resentments.

Characters

The Last Airbender

• Aang: Protagonist de jour. Mostly optimistic (when he's not panicking) and the nimblest motherfucker you'll ever meet. Favorite mode of transport: flying bison. Known to go godmode when shit hits the fan.
• Katara: Feminist motherly waterbending love interest. Occasionally kicks ass. WARNING: FRIENDSHIP SPEECHES AHEAD. The only one in the group with any resemblance of common sense other than Aang, and has a suprising amount of wisdom and knowledge for her age.
• Sokka: Katara's bigger brother, the smart logical one in a world of magic Kung Fu and Spirits that get pissed off if you over log an area. The non bender of the group and has to think his way to victory. Man's man, ladies man, master swordsman, brilliant scientist, leader of men, and a genius in the use of comedy in all its shapes and forms, from the one-liner to the pratfall. We all wish we were Sokka.
• Toph Bei Fong: A blind twelve year old girl introduced in Season 2. Also a massive badass and the best Earthbender in existence.
• Zuko: Exiled firebender prince. Originally a whiny bitch attempting to hunt the avatar to end his exile, but undergoes *gasp* CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT [/gasp] and transitions to antihero and then companion.
• Azula: Zuko's crazy badass dominatrix sister. Also a magnificent bitch with mommy-issues. Hobbies: Shooting lightning, being better than you and volley ball.
• Iroh: Zuko's uncle. Basically what would happen if one of the dirtier-minded Buddhas could shoot lightning, breathe fire, and drink enough tea to cause a younger man's heart explode. A fun guy to be around, minus the team-killing
• Momo: Aang's companion. Hybrid of a bat and a lemur - This is normal in the Avatar universe. Is a cute little bugger.
• Appa: Aformentioned flying bison. Hasn't got a lot of personality and fucntions as the group's main center of operations, supplied by a platform on its back. A large part of the second season is focused on getting Abba back from captivity.
• Ozai: Ruler of the Fire Nation, crappy father (burned and exiled his son for being 'rude'; rude here meaning protesting against using new recruits as cannon fodder), and above all evil mother fucker (not surprising considering he's played by Mark Hamil aka Joker). Willing to genocide entire races and nations in order to ensure his power, and his country's undisputed supremacy. Joke's on him when Aang strips him of his powers and his previously banished son becomes the new monarch and throws him in the dungeons to rot.

Legend of Korra

• Korra: The title character, and a brash tomboy and athlete who lacks spiritual aptitude (which means she punches people instead of meditating and talking things through like some kind of hippy... which isn't a good ideal when your chief enemy is claiming you oppress people who disagree with them). Gets her ass kicked a lot despite already mastering three of the four elements. The team's Avatar.
• Mako: Writers said he's "Zuko without the angst" however they forgot Zuko had other traits and so is just some generic dude Korra wants to make out with, and kind of a creepy asshole. His primary characteristic is a scarf. Team's Firebender. Becomes a cop in the second season. Probably named after the late famous Japanese actor Mako, who also voiced Iroh in The Last Airbender.
• Bolin: Mako's younger brother unlike Mako, Bolin is an earthbender and has character traits. He's the team's "funny guy", being on the better side of the whole dudebro thing while avoiding asshole territory.
• Amon: Eliphas the Inheritor's bastard son and a hero of the common man and working class who strives to end the oppression of foul bending class and bring about true equality and a golden age of happiness. His name is first because he is the best. Also, has the BEST voice in the entire series.
• Asami Sato: Daughter of this world's inventor of the automobile and easily the most rounded and best member of Team Avatar (unless you're a Mako/Korra shipper, in which case she's an evil rich slut and totally going to be a traitor, you guys). The token normal, and oddly enough the only good guy to never lost a fight (namely because she brings a taser to a kung fu fight).
• Naga: Korra's pet Polar Bear-Dog.
• Vaatu: Meet the Chaos God of the Avatar world.
• Raava: Vaatu's lawful good twin. Her and her brother get together every ten thousand years or so and duke it out at the center of the spirit world in order to determine whether the next eon will be an age of relative peace and harmony, or pants-shitting grimdarkness.
• Unalaq: Lorgar of the Avatar world.
• Varrick: The Littlefinger of the Avatar universe. He at first appears to be very eccentric and friendly to Team Avatar, but it turns out he is manipulating entire wars in order to profit off of them. Probably has tons of crack stowed away on many of his boats.

Warning

Under no circumstances allow M Night Shyamalan near this franchise again.

Games

• There's an Apocalpyse World hack for Avatar like stories. (They dropped the sex movies, you perv.)
• There's a Savage Worlds splatbook for Avatar (link needed)
• "Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple" for the vaguely Asian-setting protagonist gang tries to solve other people's problems & hilarity ensues, with a little magic but there's no hit points so there's no kung-fu roll playing here.