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Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate is our wuxia RPG. It is available HERE in PDF. It should be out in print in about a month.
Characters
Peng Ke-Yen: Eccentric daughter of a merchant who goes against conventions and is notable for her white and black streaked hair. From Dashen village.
Peng Pei: Daughter of two low Yen-Li priests. Also from Dashen village.
Zhendao: A former slave of a man named Zhao.
Shin Du: A performer and actor who is a perfect shot with the bow.
Song Pei: A one-armed physician.
The party fended off the spirit best they could as Peng Pei filled the stone coffin with water and placed the remains of Shang Si inside. Zhendao struck with his butterfly swords and as he did so, the mark on his chest flared, sending a blast of energy at Shang Si. They were somewhat batted by the end but managed to fill the coffin and then use a Spirit Keeping ritual to lay Shang Si to rest, causing his spirit to explode in a blur of light.
They returned to the surface and the desiccated Supreme Abbess Li told them they could retrieve the Thousand Painful Deaths Flower.
First they went into a room with a pool of water and a statue of a nun that read "Granny Wind". The nun pointed at the pool. They learned if they dropped valuable objects into the water images of the future would flash on the surface. Placing a golden tael inside, Song Pei saw an image of the homestead they passed on their way to the temple. Inside the woman who had given them shelter, clothes and told them to return for healing if they needed, had them all paralyzed and was clutching the Thousand Painful Deaths Flower. She strode around the room cackling. Then the image disappeared.
After that they went into a long chamber deep in the complex. While passing by Supreme Abbess Li's meditation dais, they noticed that her cushion had sacred writing on it. Song Pei tried meditating on the cushion and discovered it greatly improved his ability to do so. After some debate, he stole the cushion, placing it in his robes.
They found another long hall, at the end of which was the Thousand Painful Deaths Flower. There were old nuns who looked like warped mahogany trees twisted into the sky. Their feet were rooted to the ground and their faces turned to face them, expressions of agony on their features. Peng Pei leapt passed them and grabbed the Thousand Painful Deaths Flower, then jumped back and the party fled. The nuns extended unnaturally long arms, narrowly missing them as they made their escape.
On their way out, Supreme Abbess Li thanked them and showed them to the entrance. Peng Ke-Yen asked loudly if Song Pei intended to give her cushion back, which enraged the abbess.
Song Pei and the rest of the party fled from the temple, down its steps into the hills. The could hear Supreme Abbess Li leaping behind them as they ran.
She eventually caught up and struck Song Pei in the chest, sending him crashing against an outcropping. She also bit him and began draining his life energy.
Song Pei trapped her with a wind technique, allowing the others to strike. The most effective attack was Peng Pei's Jade Rending Claw. The Abbess managed to strike Zhendao as well, but they eventually put her down and then performed a Spirit Keeping Ritual.
They journeyed south and reached Hening. There they saw signs of bloodshed in the streets and came to a place called the autumn inn. Peng Pei asked around town to see if there were any worthy masters. She learned that the Wan Clan and the Autumn Killers were the best. Pei realized the autumn killers must be connected to the inn. She spoke with the owner, Mrs. Wu and said she wanted to learn from her. Mrs. Wu said she would teach her if she was obedient and killed whenever asked to do so. Pei said she would but told her she would have to travel.
Mrs. Wu asked her to bring the head of a Wan Chu, a servant of the Wan Clan. Once she did, Pei could be her disciple.
From there the party went to Huisheng, both to cure Ke-Yen of her spirit possession but also to follow the signs of the Golden Rakshas. Ke-Yen was cured by a group of Yen-li Priests.
Zhendao and Peng Pei followed signs in the city (arrows imbedded in alleyways) until they reached a dead end with a crack on its surface. Zhendao pushed the crack and it revealed a passage which took them to a mirror-city shrouded in nightfall. In a courtyard they found a horde of Golden Rakshas and in the center was the man with the staff-bow.
He told them to kneel, which they did. He then told them to bow, which they did. He instructed them to call him Hidden Arrow, Thirteenth Chief of the Golden Rakshas. They were both given Golden Raksha masks.
He asked them if they had obtained the Thousand Painful Deaths Flower and intended to use it agains the Plum Tree Monk.
They told him they had.
He said the weapon would prove nearly useless, that the Plum Tree Monk was a god and such a device would only scratch his flesh. However he knew that the Plum Tree Monk had a weakness: Jade. And he also knew of a massive jade deposit that originated in heaven. With this object they could weaken and maybe even kill him. Hidden Arrow told them to find the Jade, use it against the Plum Tree Monk and bring it back to him.
They asked where they could find it.
"Go to the Glorious Inn in East Gate, speak to a man named Sou...he will lead the way."
That night, Ke-Yen awoke and saw Granny Wind standing near her window. She motioned and then fled to another rooftop. Ke-Yen followed.
Granny Wind asked if she had the Thousand Painful Deaths Flower.
Ke-Yen said she did.
"Give it to me."
Ke-Yen explained she wanted to use it to help save Sister Fox.
"Sister Fox is dying, no use fighting it....Brother Wolf has gone too far to protect her. I will not demand you give me the flower, I want you to give it to me willingly."
Ke-Yen said she could retrieve it and give it to her later.
"I will see you in three days" said Granny Wind, then she leapt away into the night.
When Ke-Yen explained the situation to the group, they agreed, but Song Pei asked for an introduction, which Ke-Yen reluctantly agreed to.
They took a ship to East Gate. On the third day of the voyage, Ke-Yen awoke below deck, to the face of Granny Wind. Song Pei was also there watching with one eye open. Ke-Yen gave her the Thousand Painful Deaths flower, which she handed to the shadow of a woman nearby. Then Ke-Yen asked if her companion could have an audience.
As this was going on, Song Pei peaked at the Time Shattering Monkey Manual to see what it said (as it recorded events around it). He noticed that it described Granny Wind as "Maiden of the Jade Blue Sky".
She went above deck and spoke with Song Pei there. It did not go well.
"Granny Wind," Song Pei said.
"You are not qualified to address me as Granny Wind" She said. "You may address me as Maiden of the Jade Blue Sky."
The conversation continued to go poorly. Song Pei realized that Granny Wind was in conflict with Brother Wolf and his ties to the man made him her enemy. He asked what he could do to protect Ke-Yen:
"Keep her from evil men and doing evil deeds."
Then she leapt off the ship and disappeared.
Soon they arrived in East Gate and went to the Glorious Inn. A slovenly and casual man named Sou was in fact there and he spoke with them. He said he knew where the jade was, but if he revealed the location they had to promise not to tell anyone at all, or he'd remove their tongues.
They debated this choice. Then he made another offer. He would give them the location, allow them to speak of it, if they slaughtered everyone there, no exceptions. Zhendao agreed, but Song Pei did not. Eventually, when Zhendao persuaded Sou to allow them not to kill any slaves present, Song Pei seemed more pleased with the arrangement.
Sou told them all they needed to do was go to Stone Forest Hill and speak to his sworn Brother Chao. He knew the location of the jade.
As this was going on, they noticed something not quite right about the faces of the people at the inn.
They decided to look once again at the Time Shattering Monkey Manual. It described Sou as Chao, saying he was dead, and it described the location as the headquarters of the Glorious Death Cult.
They addressed him as Chao and asked why he couldn't just take them now.
"You are ruining my fun," He said, then agreed to take them.
This is where the session ended.
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