PATHS FROM NOWHERE SESSION FOUR

This is a sandbox campaign for Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate, operating in "Condor Heroes Mode". I used a lot of the procedures described in the wuxia sandbox posts. This is a campaign with three players. Before the campaign started we spent time establishing their family connections, rolling randomly for both their mothers and fathers (normally only one parent is randomly rolled, but in this case we wanted characters with potentially scandalous backgrounds). These characters each started play with just one Kung Fu Technique. 

CHARACTERS

XIANG GUIYING: The daughter of Jade Fist of Twin Fisted Eagle sect and Pale Fox, a notorious bandit. She is seeking pelts from Pearl Tigers. She is beautiful but wears a disguise to hide this from others. 

ZHENG BAO: Short and burly, he is the son of Zhang San of Bone Breaking Sect and of Reckless Storm. However San is married to Chen and has maintained the presence that Bao is Chen's son. Unfortunately due to crucial background information, Chen knows that Bao cannot be his son so is distant. Zheng Bao's uncle, Bone Breaker, is fond of him. He is seeking the Thousand Painful Deaths Flower to please his uncle. 

PAN JU (MOGHA): The son of the Witch of Zhaoze Zhou and Nergui Mogha, Pan Ju grew up in the Kushen Basin but has returned to the Banyan and Hai'an, where he knows his mother resides. 

PARTING WAYS 

After weeks of training with Hero Feng the party decided to part ways. Guiying told him that she wished to travel and practice the kung fu her 'father' had taught on the road. 

"But daughter," He said, "I had hoped to take you with me to confront Madame Wu."

When Guiying asked who Madame Wu was, he explained that he had a grudge with Madame Wu Dongmei, a notorious assassin and proprietor of the Autumn Inn. He had killed one of her friends, Copper Lobster, in a duel and this had led to a feud.

Art by Jackie Musto 

"I am not ready father," Guiying said. "But I will hopefully grow in power in my travels and return here so we can take on Madame Wu together."

Hero Feng agreed to this arrangement. Before leaving Zheng Bao asked him if there were any manuals of note in the region. Hero Feng told him about several he knew of, including the Silver Spear Manual, which Zheng Bao asked to learn more about. 

"All I know is it is in Hening, and in the possession of the head of the the Silver Spear School, Spear Immortal Xiang Di."

The party then sought a caravans in need of protection to help them find their way to Hening. They were hired by the Silent Erhu Society who agreed to take them on as an escort. 

When the party reached Hening Guiying discovered that the Autumn Inn was located in town. They decided to split, Pan Ju and Guiying would go to the Autumn Inn, while Zheng Bao would go to the Silver Spear School. 

THE SPEAR IMMORTAL 

At the school, Zheng Bao found the master teaching line drills to his students. He spoke to the master, Spear Immortal Xiang Di and told him he was interested in learning their techniques. When he mentioned that he was Bone Breaker's Nephew, Spear Immortal Xiang Di expressed admiration for his uncle and became very friendly. After seeing a minor demonstration of Zhang Bao's technique he told Zheng Bao to return in the morning early for training. 

"We do live training drills, against fully resisting opponents, so be ready," he said. 

THE AUTUMN INN 

Guiying and Ju went to the Autumn Inn where they found Madame Wu Dongmei, a stern looking woman with a scar extending from forehead to chin. Guiying approached and introduced herself saying "I am Xiang Guiying, daughter of Pale Fox and I wish to be your student Madame Wu."

Madame Wu pointed to a table. Guiying sat down and the waitresses brought tea.

"I am Mrs. Wu Dongmei, and I would like to know more, before considering you. Do you follow your in your mother's footsteps?"

"I am loyal to my mother, and she has taught me a few things, but I do not wish to be a bandit."

Mrs. Wu nodded and said "Good, because I only take on students who are righteous and only send my students to kill for righteous causes."

A waitress presented an Ox Tail Dao and Mrs. Wu retrieved it, placing it before Guiying. "This is the weapon you will use. Come with me to the courtyard where I will tell you more. 

In the courtyard, Mrs. Wu explained she was a former student of Lady White Blade, and a member of her elite squad, the Flying Phantoms. She would take Guiying on as a student, and train her to be one of her Autumn Killers, and teach her the Flying Phantoms slicing sword technique. She refused to take on Ju as a student, because she didn't feel her techniques were appropriate for men to learn, but she agreed to provide Ju with training in other martial arts she had learned and to take him on as a chef for the inn. 

THE BLOODY DRILLS OF XIAN DI 

When Zheng Bao returned to the Silver Spear School, Spear Immortal Xiang Di was waiting with some men and had black face coverings for everyone to wear and black uniforms. A carriage pulled into the courtyard and they all got inside. 

"We are going to the hills just outside town," Said Xiang Di. "Conceal your face with the cloth and follow along."

In the hills they waited by some rocks. 

"A tea caravan is passing through in the next few hours," Said Xiang Di. "I will approach them, attack on my signal."

Understanding this was a robbery, Zheng Bao followed Spear Immortal with the others when the caravan approached. It was protected by about 8 men. 

Xiang Di strode directly toward the head of the caravan and said "We are the Black Spear Gang, and demand all your goods. If you don't give us what we want, we will kill you to the last man!"

The soldiers protecting the caravan rushed forward and a melee ensued. Xiang Di and his men made short work of them, slitting their throats with their spear tips. Zheng Bao managed to snap the neck of a soldier with his spear shaft. When it was done they came away with several bricks of black tea and 3 bricks of Dragon Tea. 

Spear Immortal was very pleased with Zheng Bao's performance and told him he could join their school.