GAMING STRANGE TALES FROM A CHINESE STUDIO: THE MONK OF CHANGQING AND MORE

I am doing a series of entries inspired by Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling. The latest stories are The Monk of Changqing, The Snake-Charmer, The Wounded Python and the Fornicating Dog. You can see my previous entry HERE. 

The Monk of Changqing is about a monk who attains enlightenment the moment he dies, causing his spirit to wander and possess another man. I decided to use this as inspiration for a new monster, taking a lot of liberties to make it more interesting in a gaming context. The Snake Charmer and Wounded Python are somewhat similar, with the first being about a snake charmer who tames and releases green snakes. I already used this as inspiration for the Talent (Snake Charming) Skill (WHOG, pages 44-45). Here I decided to make a snake charmer NPC. The Fornicating Dog was more tricky. It is about a dog who has sex with his master's wife then rips apart the master in what seems to be a jealous rage. The local magistrates tries both the woman and dog with a bit of public spectacle. I might come back to that one later but for now, will hold it in abeyance. 

ENLIGHTENED SPIRITS
These are the spirits of men and women who have died on the cusp of immortality or religious enlightenment. Their spirit departs and seeks to possess the nearest body possible. It takes a while for such a spirit to understand what has happened, but once it does it will be driven to find its old body if benevolent so it can relinquish control of the victim. If it is malevolent it seeks to maintain control and use the new body as a vessel for further cultivation.

Defenses: Wits 8, Resolve 9

Key Skills: Command: 2d10, Meditation: 3d10, Religion (Pick One): 3d10, Rituals (Any 3): 3d10 

Qi: Varies

Max Wounds: Varies

Key Kung Fu and Martial Disciplines: Varies

Powers

Stats: An Enlightened Spirit gains the Hardiness, Evade, Parry and Stealth of the target but retains its Wits and Resolve. It gains the Physical and Combat Skills of the target but retains its Mental, Specialist and Knowledge Skills. It loses any Kung Fu Abilities it had, but gains those possessed by the target (as well as its Martial Disciplines and Qi Ranks). Its Max Wounds are the possessed target's. 

Possess: To possess a target, roll Command against Resolve. On a Success the target it possessed for a day. On a Total Success the target is possessed for a week. When possession ends, the Enlightened Spirit can roll again to maintain. 

Special Powers: Individual spirits have powers specified in their entries.

Max Wounds: Add the number of Wounds in the entry to the possessed target.

Insights: An Enlightened Spirit has two insights. Roll on Insight Table One and on Insight Table Two (WHOG page 166) to determine what these are). 

VIPER MASTER LIANG

Viper Master Liang is a kindly but deeply vindictive man. He adores snakes and always carries four with him in woven baskets: Autumn Sage, Physician Shan, Green Tornado and Mindful Viper. His favorite is Autumn Sage. He treats his snakes as his children. However Viper Master Liang has a dark side when people mistreat or fail to pay proper respects to his serpents. If he believes an individual has insulted one of his snakes, even unintentionally, he will release the snake upon the person when they least expect it. All of his snakes are venomous Southern Snakes (WHOG, page 357). 

Defenses: Hardiness 6, Evade 3, Parry 4, Stealth 10, Wits 7, Resolve 8

Key Skills: Arm Strike: 2d10, Small Ranged: 1d10, Speed: 3d10, Detect: 2d10, Muscle: 1d10, Deception: 1d10, Persuade: 1d10, Empathy: 2d10, Survival (Wilderness): 3d10, Talent (Souna Horn): 3d10, Talent (Snake Charming): 3d10, Creatures (Animals): 3d10, Trade (Fabric): 2d10

Max Wounds: 1

Equipment: Snakes (x4), Baskets, Suona Horn

Expertise: Creatures-Snakes