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This time around I am doing Wild Dog (#24), Past Lives (#25), and Fox in the Bottle (#26). The Wild Dog is a bizarre story that almost becomes comical in its depiction of rising corpses. However the source of the corpses is tragic, because they are the slaughtered remains of men put to death by the Manchu as they attempt to quell a rebellion. In the story a man hides among a mass of decapitated corpses to evade the overzealous soldiers, and the corpses rise up in fear as a wild dog approaches to eat their brains. For this one I came up with some fun monsters. I liked the idea of things that seem like zombies at first but could actually be helpful. The next story, Past Lives, is one of my favorite. It is about a scholar named Liu who can remember his past lives because he emptied out the 'soup of oblivion' while the King of Hell was looking the other way. We get to see Liu living life as a dog and a horse. When he finally becomes human, he empathizes with animals because he knows what it is like to be a beast of burden. The descriptions in this chapter offer some interesting observations. I decided to expand my past lives table a bit (placed it last because it is longer than the other entries). Fox in the Bottle is about a Fox Spirit who possesses a woman during the day and retreats into a bottle at night. It is short and to the point, but could serve as the basis for an interesting scenario or encounter.
WILD CORPSE DOG
These ravenous creatures eat human brains and are particularly fond of flesh that has begun to rot. They look like dogs, capable of standing slightly upright, with powerful jaws and 4-inch long teeth. They use these to break open their victim's heads and devour the delicate tissue inside.
Defenses: Hardiness 6, Evade 6, Parry 5, Stealth 8, Wits 3, Resolve 7
Key Skills: Bite: 2d10 (3d10 Open Damage or 3d10 Open plus 3 Extra wounds), Speed: 4d10 (50 feet), Muscle: 2d10, Detect: 5d10
Max Wounds: 3
Powers
Bite: The bite of Wild Corpse Dog is incredibly strong and can be especially deadly if they latch onto the head. Make a Bite Roll against Parry. On a Success they do 3d10 Open Damage. On a Total Success they bust open the skull doing 3d10 Open Damage plus 3 Extra Wounds (these three extra wounds take twice as long as normal to heal). COWARDLY CORPSES
These are the slaughtered remains of the innocent. Good people who died at the hands of the corrupt or powerful. They look like the pallid coprses of dismembered people but can still talk. Some are decapitated, others missing limbs or digits. They tend to lie in massive heaps as they were left, then animate when they think no one is around. They are afraid to die again, so play dead until things seem safe. However if they are engaged and a person gains their trust, they can be friendly and provide useful information. Cowardly Corpses are particular favorites of the Wild Corpse Dogs. There is a 2 in 10 Chance of a Wild Corpse Dog showing up when characters encounter Cowardly Corpses.
Defenses: Hardiness 6, Evade 3, Parry 3, Stealth 10, Wits 8, Resolve 4
Key Skills: Arm
Strike: 1d10 (Damage 1d10), Speed: 3d10, Detect: 2d10, Muscle: 2d10, Talent (Any one): 2d10, Places (Local Area): 3d10, History (Any One): 2d10, Creatures (All): 2d10, Survival (All): 2d10, Persuade: 2d10, Deception: 3d10
Max Wounds: 12
Hide: Cowardly Corpses are afraid of people and monsters. Anytime someone approaches, they pretend to be lifeless. Anyone looking at them just sees dead bodies. However on a Detect TN 10, movement is discernible.
Knowledge: Cowardly Corpses protect themselves with knowledge of monsters, places and history. They are usually found in groups and pool their memories efficiently. This makes them particularly helpful if their trust can be gained.
Dead: Cowardly Corpses can be destroyed through normal attacks but they are particularly tough to destroy. This is reflected in their high Max Wounds. But Mundane attacks are harmful to them.
Bottled Foxes are young Fox Spirits who can possess humans and turn into a plume of vapor capable of receding into a vessel or container. They can also take the form of a small fox. They like to take over people, but are not particularly convincing when they possess someone. Bottled Foxes are so named because they are often found in bottles or similar objects where they like to hide in wait before possessing a target.
Defenses: Hardiness 3, Evade 8, Parry 2, Stealth 8, Wits Varies, Resolve Varies
Key Skills: Bite: 1d10 (Damage 0d10), Speed: 2d10, Fly: 1d10, Muscle: 0d10, Detect: 2d10, Command: 2d10, Persuade: 1d10, Deception: 1d10
Max Wounds: 1
Powers
Track: Foxes can use their Detect Skill to track scent.
Possession: To take possession of a target the Bottled Fox rolls Command against Resolve. On a Success it takes over the body for 1d10 hours. Anytime they want the person do act, they must make another Command roll. On a Failure, the target briefly breaks through and the effect is their expression looks pained and their body flails a little. This also allows the victim to say something before being overcome by the Fox Spirit again.
Vapor Form: A bottled Fox can take the form of a vaporous substance, allowing them to pass through narrow spaces and into small containers. They can stay inside a bottle in this form for years. They cannot be harmed by most attacks in this form, but energy attacks, such as Qi, cold, fire, etc can harm them while in Vapor Form.
PAST LIVES TABLES
Simply roll on each table, then on each table that follows
provided it seems appropriate to do so for your result. This will give you an
idea of who the character may have been in a past life.
SPECIES
Roll (1d10)
1-3
Human
4-6
Animal
7-8
Insect
9
Monster
10
Spirit or Demon
SEX
Roll (1d10)
Result
1-5
Male
6-10
Female
HUMAN
Roll (1d10)
1-2 Daolin
3-4 Khus
5-6 Sai
7-8 Shen
9 Yan
10 Zun
ANIIMAL
Roll (1d10)
1 Fox
2 Wolf
3 Mouse
4 Crocodile
5 Bear
6 Snake
7 Lizard
8 Pig
9 Turtle
10 Roll
on Animal II
ANIMAL II
Roll 1d10
1 Elephant
2 Tiger
3 Flying
Crocodile
4 Lion
5 Rabbit
6 Owl
7 Dog
8 Monkey
9 Bird
10 Zhen
Bird
INSECTS
Roll (1d10)
1 Butterfly
2 Scorpion
3 Spider
4 Centipede
5 Ant
6 Wasp
7 Beetle
8 Worm
9 Mantis
10 Mosquito
MONSTER
Roll (1d10)
1 Bixie
2 Xiaoyang
3 Roc
4 Red
Ro Fish
5 Nao
Ren
6 Jufu
7 Heyu
8 Fire
Glutton
9 Dragon
Horse
10 Fei
Beast
SPIRIT OR DEMON
Roll (1d10)
1 Spirited Beast/Demon
2 Qi
Spirit
3 Raksha
4 Yaksha
5 Ogre
Demon
6 Painted
Death
7 Gui
8 Kui
Demon
9 Mountain
God
10 Celestial
Demon
REPUTATION AMONG ALLIES (If Applicable)
Roll (1d10)
Result
1
Cruel
2
Cunning
3 Merciful
4
Selfless
5
Calm
6
Pure
7
Brave
8
Righteous
9
Loyal
10
Filial
REPUTATION AMONG ENEMIES (If Applicable)
Roll (1d10)
1
Cruel
2
Unfilial
3
Disloyal
4
Unjust
5
Cowardly
6
Shameful
7
Ferocious
8
Selfish
9
Vengeful
10
Poisoner
MARTIAL STATURE
Roll (1d10)
1-3
None
4-6
Wandering Hero (Qi Rank 1-2)
7-8
Great Wandering Hero (Qi Ranks 2-5)
9
Master (Qi Rank 6)
10
Profound Master (Qi Ranks 7+)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Roll (1d10)
1-3
None
4-6
Terrible, Infamous, a villain of the worst sort
7-8
Good, famous and well regarded during life
9 Great, famous and something you did lasted to
the present
10
Incredible, venerated after death
OCCUPATION (If Applicable)
Roll (1d10)
1-3
Merchant
4-6
Artisan
7-8
Farmer
9 Scholar Official
10
Beggar
DEATH
Roll (1d10)
1-3
Violent, combat related death
4-6
Exposure or Illness
7-8
Violent, non-combat related death (an accident)
9
Suicide
10 Peacefully of old age or
similar reason
MISDEED
1 Murderer
2-3 Heart
Breaker
4 Betrayer
5 Rite
Breaker
6 Law
Breaker
7-8 Liar
9 Unfilial
10 Bully
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