LEGENDS OF OGRE GATE: HISTORY OF THE BOLD KING AND SMILING LUO'S POWDER

At Wuxia World you can catch the latest chapters of Legends of Ogre Gate, which tell the story of Sunan and Bao. You can read the latest chapter HERE. To start from the beginning, check out the INDEX. 

SMILING LUO'S POWDER
First introduced in the early court of Sunan by Sun Mai's rival, Smiling Luo, this fine powder can reveal the true form of any creature, such as a demon in human guise or something using an enchantment to change its form. It is a smoky powder that can engulf 20 x 20 foot area in a great plume. Roll Small Ranged against Evade. On a Success, roll 3d10 against the Hardiness of any Demon affected. If that meets or exceeds its Hardiness, the demon returns to its true form, or its true nature is revealed to those watching. 

Art by Jackie Musto 

HISTORY OF THE BOLD KING
This is a book that contains a lengthy history of the Demon Emperor, and much of it is purportedly written by Sunan himself (though clearly this is a compilation and the product of many authors). It is sometimes called The Forbidden History of the Bold King. But certain sections of the book do appear to be the words of Sunan. According to the book, the Demon Emperor was really a fair and compassionate ruler who made mistakes but was never tyrannical. However, he was betrayed and placed into a deep sleep, then replaced by an imposter. This imposter, says the Forbidden History of the Bold King, is the Demon Emperor known to history. Eventually the original Demon Emperor died, but the text claims he was reborn many times and one of his incarnations will have its memories restored when given the Breath of Awakening. 

But the book is more than an account of history, it is a text compiled by followers of the "true Demon Emperor" whom they call "King of the Pure Ones". It includes many Rituals, among them the Heart Taking Ritual (WHOG, 171). It also contains a ritual called The Breath of Awakening, which it claims will awaken the King of the Pure Ones when he is found. The book gives advice on how to identify incarnations of the King of the Pure Ones. The traits it lists are many but include: he will be short, he will have a beard, he will have powers over Ogre Demons and unleash storms against his foes. 

Fragments of the book can be found scattered throughout the world, but the full text is supposedly buried in the tomb of Cai Yanbo. 

PATH OF THE PURE ONES 
This book was created by a splinter group of the Demon Emperor's followers who compiled the History of the Bold King. They believe that the Demon Emperor, or the King of the Pure Ones as they call him, is a path of understanding and that anyone with enough effort can become like him over time. This state is called being a Pure One. They caution against the False Pure Ones, whom they describe as dead flesh. A true pure one, says the book, changes over time and gains enormous power. The book does not lay the path out, but states such a path exists, and explains that the people who follow the path will diminish in size as their spirit and meridians purify through correct cultivation and insight*. There is a mantra repeated in the book "The King of the Pure Ones did not sleep, the King of the Pure Ones was not reborn, the King of the Pure Ones Awakens in us all". 

BREATH OF AWAKENING (TN 9)
This Ritual can restore a person's memories of their past lives. It can be incredibly damaging and confusing to perform on someone as multiple experiences and personalities awaken in their mind. However, over time, they can learn to adjust. But for the first year they temporarily gain a random Mental Affliction (WHOG 168) and have trouble knowing their present from their pasts. 

*What this means exactly is up to the GM, but how this functions in my games is I let players effectively gain Sertori magic from Sertorius. However each spell they gain, reduces their body by a small amount (after they gain 4 spells, their body changes into that of a dwarf). I use the Random Spell chart on Page 41 of the Sertorius rulebook for this.