Sunday, August 27, 2017

DISPOSABLE DISCIPLES SESSIONS 61-62: SHATTERED TIME

This is a log for my ongoing Disposable Disciples of Bone Kingdom campaign. You can see the previous session log HERE.  Note that I began recording sessions, so this has allowed me to do more detailed session logs.

Player Characters: 

Shen Chun/Crazed Raksha
Little Bai
Red Crane 
Ong Lao
Min (Feiyan)

Disciples of the Sect: 

Red Eagle (Little Bai)
Dim-Witted Chen (Shen Chun)
Xiaomei 

Sects Alliances: 

GOLDEN WAY ALLIANCE 

An alliance of orthodox sects lead by Shen Chun (Zhao Kang-Green Cat Kang) and his wife Da Mei Mei. They wield the wind saber of Sunan and the Phoenix Crown of Bao. Their alliance includes Temple of the Jade Mercies, remnants of Relentless Corpse Sect, Purple Cavern Sect, Nature Loving Monk Sect, Dehua Sect, Golden Dragon Sect and connections with the House of Paper Shadows. 

THE SOUTH WIND SOCIETY 
Rivals to the Golden Way, they have been absorbing sects in the south and in Hai'an. They are led by Cunning Dragon and have absorbed: Tree Dwelling Nuns, Perfect Heaven Lineage, Southern River Sect, Sun Mai Sect, Glorious Death Cult, Crescent Moon Sect, and a small group lead by Silent Dagger. 

Rulers:
Zhen Dao Empire: Emperor Zhao
Hai'an: Queen Ai Nu
Li Fan: King Yuan

This session log, like the previous one, is odd because they were play testing material in an upcoming book and I don't want to spoil too much for people who might play through them. So things will be a little vague in places. 

The party found they had gone back in time in the last session and they had to find another means to reach the present. They buried the chariot, encasing it in a protective barrier, in a location near where they knew their sect would build a new headquarters in the future. Then they found a method on Mount Dao for returning home. 

At mount dao they realized that they were eight days early, so camped. On the final day a woman with a crystal sword appeared and told them to leave. She said that she was Lady Ping of Celestial Heart Sect and she wanted them to leave her mountain. The party thought of resisting but agreed to depart. 

They headed south and reached the old Sect Headquarters in Li Fan. This may seem strange because in the previous session logs, Li Fan was overrun by the Yan and the entire sect was forced to flee south. However they placed a message with the Chariot giving their future selves knowledge of these dangers. They retained their old memories, but changed the present considerably. One major change is the Yan invasion never occurred. Another was the party never went to Dee (a lot of changes followed from this). They had to learn the details of the changes in pieces as they spoke with people at the sect. 

They discovered that the martial world was divided into two halves: one was the Golden Way Alliance lead by Shen Chun and Da Mei Mei (it should also be noted that Shen Chun's named had changed to Zhao Kang, and people called him Green Cat Kang for some reason), the other was The South Wind Society led by Cunning Dragon. 

When they reached the headquarters, Lingsu greeted them. This was a welcome surprise as he had died before they changed the past. Because they didn't go to Dee, he was still alive. He informed them that they had been mastering the chariot and had used the chariot twice to go into the past. He explained that the first time was a failure and made the present far worse, but they went back again and managed to change enough history that the House of Paper Shadows was their ally. 

Lingsu also said he had spoken with Kang (the old leader of the Martial World). Kang had been terribly drunk but said he knew the whereabouts of The Cave of the Raksha Clan. He said it was important but he couldn't trust Lingsu with the information. It was implied he wanted to give the message directly to Shen Chun. 

They spoke as a group in the reception hall with Da Mei Mei. Lingsu said that he had heard rumors Cunning Dragon was looking for an artifact called the Mask of the Timeless Master. He believed Cunning Dragon knew about their attempts to change time (since he was aware of the Chariot's powers) and sought the mask so he too could alter history to his favor. Da Mei Mei told Shen Chun she had a number of books for him on the potential whereabouts of the Mask of the Timeless Master. When they examined these books, they found that the Cave of the Raksha was a very likely location. 

However Lingsu had other concerns. He showed Shen Chun a Bronze Sword they had obtained from soldiers who attacked their disciples. The disciples killed all but one. They took the man prisoner and found his weapons and armor seemed rather out of date. Bronze swords hadn't been widely used in over 1000 years. The man they captured claimed to be from Mu Turen, a kingdom that was destroyed ages ago. 

Lingsu told Shen Chun that the current emperor supported them with silence and by awarding them gate plaques praising their virtues. He believed the Emperor didn't want to provoke Cunning Dragon against him. The emperor was also soft, perhaps too soft. Lawlessness was an everyday reality. In part this was because Emperor Zhao came to power by defeating the Glorious Emperor ten years ago (this was not how things happened before they changed time). And so he didn't want to mirror the reign of the tyrant. The Emperor relied on martial heroes to help keep some semblance of order. 

Regarding his name, Shen Chun learned that people called him Green Cat Kang because there were rumors he was related to Fearless Cat. In Fact many believed that was why he killed her. And there were rumors he also killed Iron Clawed Lion to silence him. Lingsu noted that these were clearly false, as they had found ample evidence it was Ferocious Flower who killed him. As in their previous time, Ferocious Flower's hands were cut off. 

Realizing there was a sect war, Shen Chun instructed Ong to have his Hechi interrogate the sect for traitors. Hechi can discern truth with their horn, so they painstakingly questioned everyone until they found men lying about their loyalties. Through this method they uprooted a conspiracy of 75 planning to assassinate Shen Chun. 

Not liking the political situation, Shen Chun gathered Min, Ong, Red Crane, and Dim Witted Chen then headed north to speak with the Emperor. He decided they would seek out the Mask of the Timeless Master on his return, and he asked Lingsu to arrange a meeting with Kang as soon as possible. 

On their way north, as they neared Mount Dao, Min spotted something following them. It looked like a Spirited Crab to her eyes, but was far off in the distance. They approached it and Ong used Qinggong to meet it swiftly. When he reached the creature he realized it wasn't a demonic crab, but rather someone in a thick suit of armor, with a sealed visor. He carried a tubular canon and fired massive blasts of energy. 

The figure launched a powerful beam at Dim Witted Chen, frying his chest and nearly killing him. Ong used his Hands of the Ox Tail and dug into the figure's armor. As he did, crackles and sparks glimmered with his cut. During the fray, Red Crane calmed things by offering a truce. He convinced the figure to talk. 

"You should surrender, I need the Raksha's chariot."

"Why?"

"To get home", said the figure. 

"Where is home"

"The south", said the figure. 

"But you are from another era?"

"I am from the time of the Republic." Said the figure. 

"How did you get here"

"I slipped through. I saw a flash in the forest and when I went to inspect it, I was in this primitive, uncivilized age." Said the figure. 

"What is your name?"

"Xiao Hai," Said the figure. 

"That suit you are wearing, what is it?"

"Standard issue armor"

"Perhaps," said Red Crane, "We can make a deal. We will help you get home if you lend us the armor?"

At this point negotiations broke down swiftly. Fighting resumed. Xiao Hai fired another blast of energy, causing a crater next to Ong. Ong charged and used his technique to slash through the armor, digging deeply, causing sparks, until it fell silent and stopped moving. Red Crane cracked open the suit and inside found an unconscious man. 

They woke up the man and interrogated him. He disliked them immensely. Called them savages and barbarians. He barely considered them human. Min punched him. He fell unconscious. 

Min and Red Crane went to Tung On and sent for disciples to come and escort the man and the armor back to the headquarters. Red Crane was convinced they could use the armor to turn the tide of the sect war (a war they were apparently losing). On the way back to the base of Mount Dao, they passed by some merchants. Red Crane purchased Naqani Mud and an herbal concoction. 

They reached Mount Dao and this is where the session ended. 






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