THE SONS OF LADY 87: REVISED FAN XU MAP

This is going to show up in the PDF and print versions eventually, but here is a slightly revised map of Fan Xu Prefecture for Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate and for the Sons of Lady 87 book. There was an issue with one of the legend elements not exporting. Recommend referring to this one for overland travel. 

 

CELESTIAL PLUME MASTERS SESSION 20

This was the Twentieth session of my Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate wuxia sandbox campaign, the Celestial Plume Masters, using the Sons of Lady 87 book, which was just released in print. You can see the first session HERE. You can see the nineteenth session HERE.  

PLAYER CHARACTERS 

Wei Ziying: A skilled poisoner and physician, with ties to the Relentless Corpse Sect, Wei Ziying is a disciple of the Celestial Plume Masters. He also has a longstanding friendship with Kuo Qingzhao, who wishes to know more about the poisons that killed his wife (poisons Wei Ziying knows the secrets of). Grudge: Ravenous Nun Xuanji (for the murder of Red Eagle)

Wang Haoyang: A master of stealth, Wang Haoyang is one of the Celestial Plume Master disciples. He has a lifelong friendship with Pei Ye of the Vermillion Bird Teahouse, but has attracted the affection of another member of that organization, Fan Zhen'er (he does not return the affection but wishes to avoid creating friction within the Vermillion Bird Teahouse, and possibly creating enemies). Grudge: Guan Nuan (for a duel he escaped, she feels she lost face because he was weaker than her and should have been an easy victory)

Hei Ling: A one-eyed chief in the Celestial Plume Masters, Hei Ling is the father of Li Liang, whom he wishes to cease practicing her Toad Style kung fu because of the physical toll on her body. He had Li Liang with Qixia the candied fruit in his youth and since then Qixia has grown hostile. He has a working relationship with the Wu Sisters. Grudge: Qixia the Candied Fruit Vendor (of Hai'an). Grudge: Qixia (many reasons related to their pre-existing relationship)

Iron Tiger: The newest member of the party, sent by Night Thorn to help them expand. He has a longstanding friendship with Iron Beggar Sun Kang, whom he wants to leave his lap of luxury in the House of Flying Lanterns so he can train with the Nature Loving Monks and improve his Kung Fu. Iron Beggar in turn wants Iron Tiger to leave the Celestial Plume Masters. Grudge: Pei Ye (he murdered her favorite client, Golden Cobra).

BROKEN BONES AND SEVERED LEGS

Wang Haoyang's attack failed. His wife's, did not, and she cut into the hag, Bingyin. 

The next moments saw a blaze of fists and steel. Blood became a mist hanging in the air.

Of the three, Bingyin proved most formidable. But the momentum turned to the party's favor when San, the sister of Bone Breaker, and Chen, sworn brother of Bone Breaker, leapt to attack Hei Ling, only to have their legs cut off by his leg maiming strike. 

Their bodies collapsed to the floor, their mind's conscious but their legs scattered. 

Iron Tiger broke Bingyin's knee cap. She then arced her back and unleashed a wave of blue Qi energy against the party. This had some effect but she surrendered after Iron Tiger's fist sent her crumpled to the ground. 

Hei Ling and Iron Tiger recognized San as Bone Breaker's twin sister. 

Fearless Cat
Art by Jackie Musto 

"You can go, and you can take him," Hei Ling said to Bingyin as he pointed to Chen. "But she stays. She will be treated as our guest, and you can tell Bone Breaker if it is a war he wants, it is a war he will get. Or we can deal with this like civilized people and have a real conversation."

Iron Tiger spoke to the crone as she lifted Chen and hobbled out of the boat, "Tell Bone Breaker this was a misunderstanding. He was given false information by Bronze Master." 

On the trip back they were able to speak with San. Iron Tiger had heard of her dislike for Bone Breaker's wife, Fearless Cat and suggested perhaps the ambush was her idea and not Bone Breaker's^. 

"Yes, she is a despicable woman," San said as she was recovering. 

Over the course of the journey San would put the blame for all her sect's missteps and evils on Fearless Cat. 

PARASOL AND BEGGARS 

Back in Mai Cun another of Iron Tiger's recruits arrived*. It was a woman dressed in the fashion of the empire's upper crust. She presented herself as Twin Dagger Zaun Shanhu. 

They allowed a demonstration and she appeared to display tremendous lethality using two daggers. When asked if she knew the Storming Daggers technique, Zuan Shanhu scoffed and didn't seem to think much of it, preferring her own approach. Then she was permitted to demonstrate the full force of her technique on Hei Ling, who willingly let her blades cut into his flesh. The effect appeared impressive. 

Iron Tiger offered her a position. Zuan Shanhu said she had two requirements: 

"Know that I will never walk anywhere. I expect to be carried by palanquin and have sufficient men for the job, whatever the mission. Also I would like to continue living in the manner I am accustomed. My chambers should be exceptionally high quality and I will receive a stipend**."

Iron Tiger agreed and saw that she was given adequate quarters until more permanent arrangements could be made. 

Iron Tiger then hired a famous local detective named Liu Wan to investigate the matter of the Nature Loving Monks siding against them in the conflict. Wang Haoyang wasn't concerned, but Hei Ling and Iron Tiger were more worried about it. 

Liu Wan carried a parasol and seemed confident in his abilities. He asked for one golden tael upfront and two when he finished the missions. He told them he would find out about the beggars in a say's time. 

LIU WAN RETURNS 

Carrying a sack saturated with blood, Liu Wan bowed to Hei Ling. They could see a recent wound upon his face, a rather ghastly one. 

He calmly removed a head from the bag. "The Nature Loving Monks tried to ambush me, but I managed to make this one speak before I cut off the head."

"We are sorry you were attacked but you seem to have handled yourself well," Said Hei Ling. "Please tell us what you learned."

"It seems that he," Liu Wan said pointing to Wang Haoyang, "was seen by a beggar murdering Drunken Cricket, the wife of Chief Qu Wanli. So they have turned against you and you should expect them to attempt assassinations against Wang Haoyang in the near future."

Liu Wan was thanked for his service and given his two golden taels. Iron Tiger asked to retain him permanently and he said he would consider it over the next ten days. Iron Tiger offered to have him a new parasol crafted by Master San in Mai Cun. 

They debated how to handle the matter. Hei Ling sent a gift of 50,000 spades to all the regional Nature Loving Monk chiefs except for Chief Qu Wanli hoping to turn them against him and earn their loyalty. He also included a message that read: 

There was an unfortunate incident involving Drunken Cricket. We did not mean to offend the Nature Loving Monks. But you should also know the truth about Chief Qu Wanli: he was selling dangerously low quality celestial plume that was causing death and social disorder in Tung-On.

This is where the session ended. 

^Prior to the battle, I had asked the players to make a roll to see whether these characters were part of the setting canon or if all the Bone Breaker material was part of the Bone Breaker campaign canon as they are very different. In the campaign, San despised Fearless Cat with a passion. In the books this is described more as a fear of Fearless Cat, but in the campaign, San wanted Fearless Cat to die. This roll also would affect whether members of Bone Breaker sect had certain items and abilities. 

*Iron Tiger had put word out that he was seeking to hire several great masters into his service. 

**For each of the masters that Iron Tiger recruits, I make a roll to see how closely they align with the criteria he gave to his men, then I use the Bedrock App to make a random character and establish the NPC's personality and history based on their kung fu and skills. In the case of Zuan Shanhu, she had a number of skills that seemed more aristocratic so I quickly put together details that included she was born into a wealthy family, had a quirk that she demanded her employers provide a palanquin (but despite this she still trained most of the day to help explain things like her 4d10 Athletics). The visual that hit me was the Eunuch in the original Dragon Gate Inn movie, who spends the entire film being taken to the final battle on a palanquin by his servants. I imagine that is how she approaches all her missions. 

CELESTIAL PLUME MASTERS SESSION FIFTEEN

This was the Fifteenth session^ of my Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate wuxia sandbox campaign, the Celestial Plume Masters, using the Sons of Lady 87 book, which was just released in print. You can see the first session HERE. You can see the fourteenth session HERE.  

PLAYER CHARACTERS 

Wei Ziying: A skilled poisoner and physician, with ties to the Relentless Corpse Sect, Wei Ziying is a disciple of the Celestial Plume Masters. He also has a longstanding friendship with Kuo Qingzhao, who wishes to know more about the poisons that killed his wife (poisons Wei Ziying knows the secrets of). Grudge: Ravenous Nun Xuanji (for the murder of Red Eagle)

Wang Haoyang: A master of stealth, Wang Haoyang is one of the Celestial Plume Master disciples. He has a lifelong friendship with Pei Ye of the Vermillion Bird Teahouse, but has attracted the affection of another member of that organization, Fan Zhen'er (he does not return the affection but wishes to avoid creating friction within the Vermillion Bird Teahouse, and possibly creating enemies). Grudge: Guan Nuan (for a duel he escaped, she feels she lost face because he was weaker than her and should have been an easy victory)

Hei Ling: A one-eyed chief in the Celestial Plume Masters, Hei Ling is the father of Li Liang, whom he wishes to cease practicing her Toad Style kung fu because of the physical toll on her body. He had Li Liang with Qixia the candied fruit in his youth and since then Qixia has grown hostile. He has a working relationship with the Wu Sisters. Grudge: Qixia the Candied Fruit Vendor (of Hai'an). Grudge: Qixia (many reasons related to their pre-existing relationship)

Iron Tiger: The newest member of the party, sent by Night Thorn to help them expand. He has a longstanding friendship with Iron Beggar Sun Kang, whom he wants to leave his lap of luxury in the House of Flying Lanterns so he can train with the Nature Loving Monks and improve his Kung Fu. Iron Beggar in turn wants Iron Tiger to leave the Celestial Plume Masters. Grudge: Pei Ye (he murdered her favorite client, Golden Cobra). 

THE BATTLE OF THE FORGOTTEN BRIDGE

Wei Ziying was sent on orders from Lady 87 to kill the remaining six leaders of the Seven Demons*, who were on their way to meet The House of Loma at ruined bridge over a dry riverbed south of San Ci. They came in search of allies. What the Seven Demon leadership did not realize was they were walking into an ambush set by Lady 87, and that the House of Loma were coordinating with Wei Ziying and Big Sister Hong Na. 

Wei Ziying went to the bridge with Big Sister Hong Na, Mule-Head Hong (a high ranking member of the 87 Killers), Three-Handed Feng (leader of the House of Loma), Lulu (a crucial member of the house of Loma) and ten of the House of Loma Disciples. Wei Ziying snuck under the bridge with Lulu and Big Sister Hong Na, leaving Mule-Head Hong and Three-Handed Feng to wait on the bridge (the disciples stayed far from sight in the area). 

The seven demons remaining were: Zhizhu (the leader), Yao Yun, Ai, Bone General, Qanku, and Wuzhi. Fubai had been killed so they had a disciple dress up as him. 

Zhizhu
Art by Jackie Musto

As the Seven Demons approached they saw the disciples hidden behind some trees**. As they got closer one of the Seven Demons recognized the face of Mule-Head Hong as a member of the 87 Killers and mentioned this to the leader Zhizhu***.

"It's a trap." Zhizhu stopped her men and instructed everyone to flee. 

What ensued was rather chaotic with Yao Yun, Ai, Zhizhu, and Bone General all using Swift Stride to escape the area****. Wei Ziying leapt out and assailed Qanku with a flash of venom droplets that quickly entered his blood stream. 

Wuzhi was also wounded by fled as well using his Swift Stride, only to be followed by Lulu who landed a series of kicks against him forcing until his spit up blood. 

Seeing her brother in trouble, Zhizhu commended Bone General and Yaoyun to great stride with her to save him. They leapt in, and Bone General used his Bone Pulling Hook to rip Lulu's leg bones from her body*****

Lulu had a moment to choose between fleeing and landing a fatal blow against Wuzhi. She chose to flee and made her way back to the bridge (though she was possessed by a Qi Spirit at this point as she had over-exerted her martial arts). 

When the battle was over, Qanku was dead and the rest of the Seven Demons had fled. 

THE SHIFTING ALLIANCES OF IRON GOD MENG 

Hei Ling and Wang Haoyang made their way back to Tung-On, first by land to Yun Hu, then by boat along the canal. Iron Tiger went from He Yun to Tung-On by chariot with his men, so was a couple days behind them. 

When Hei Ling and Wang Haoyang arrives in Tung-On, they sent word to Hua Yin of Night Thorn's Death, then Hei Ling went to see Iron God Meng after receiving a message requesting his presence. 

When he arrived at the Lucky Mountain Gambling Hall, something felt off, but he could not quite put his finger on it******

He came to Iron God Meng's new audience hall, where baskets of King Cobras lined the wall alongside Iron God Meng's guards. 

"Greetings Brother," Said Iron God Meng. 

Hei Ling could see that something was wrong with his sworn brother's expression. He discerned that his skin and eyes were darkened and showed signs of illness or exposure to poison.*******

Iron God Meng slumped a bit in his chair and looked more wild than normal. 

"I have made a decision and need to tell you about it Brother. But I warn you, you are not going to like it."

"Please Brother," Said Hei Ling. "We can speak freely with one another."

"I have decided to join forces with the 87 Killers. The war is bending in their favor: Night Thorn is dead."********

"But brother, the winds of war can change, do not be too hasty and ally with someone who will lose in the end."

"There is more," Said Iron God Meng. "The 87 Killers have destroyed the Heavenly Wind Cult by sending their Palm Mistress to her grave, defeated Demonic Venom Sect in the same way, and is increasing its allies." 

"Give me some time," Said Hei Ling. "Events are unfolding that will change the outcome I assure you. I ask you to wait before striking anyone, so you aren't committed to a losing struggle."

"I have committed my forces, but I will not use them against your men, as we are sworn brothers, and should I hear word that something has unfolded, I will remember your words." 

This is where the session ended.  

*Because this was going to be a major battle and a potentially long and large one (not in sheer numbers but in numbers of important NPCs), I had the two other players present (we were down one player) run the Seven Demons. I like to do this sometimes because it can make for a more competitive fight (players tend to run NPCs more ruthlessly sometimes). 

**This was simply a Detect roll 

***This was a result of an Institutions (Sects) Roll TN 10. So it was a very unlikely result

****Here I ruled that anyone who fled the area using Great Stride could be chased by another if that person succeeded in an opposed roll against their Great Stride roll (and that the pursuer could make an attack on a success). 

*****He got two tens on the attack roll 

******This was due to the player failing his Detect roll, had he succeeded he would have noticed more details alerting him to Iron God Meng's change of plans (i.e. guards at attention and placed around the hall more strategically, etc) 

*******This was a result of a Medicine Roll 

********As far as Hei Ling was aware, Iron God Meng did not understand Night Thorn's importance in the organization. This was true, and his awareness was a product of Lady 87 promoting Night Thorn's death and his importance to the Celestial Plume Masters throughout the martial world 

^This was actually a long session but the log is short, due to much of the focus being on a major battle at the beginning which took some time to set up and run (no miniatures but the players needed to familiarize themselves with the characters they were running and each turn of combat was carefully evaluated)

CELESTIAL PLUME MASTERS SESSION TEN

This was the tenth session of my Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate wuxia sandbox campaign, the Celestial Plume Masters using the Sons of Lady 87 book, which was just released in print. You can see the first session HERE. You can see the Ninth session HERE. 

PLAYER CHARACTERS 

Wei Ziying: A skilled poisoner and physician, with ties to the Relentless Corpse Sect, Wei Ziying is a disciple of the Celestial Plume Masters. He also has a longstanding friendship with Kuo Qingzhao, who wishes to know more about the poisons that killed his wife (poisons Wei Ziying knows the secrets of). Grudge: Ravenous Nun Xuanji (for the murder of Red Eagle)

Wang Haoyang: A master of stealth, Wang Haoyang is one of the Celestial Plume Master disciples. He has a lifelong friendship with Pei Ye of the Vermillion Bird Teahouse, but has attracted the affection of another member of that organization, Fan Zhen'er (he does not return the affection but wishes to avoid creating friction within the Vermillion Bird Teahouse, and possibly creating enemies). Grudge: Guan Nuan (for a duel he escaped, she feels she lost face because he was weaker than her and should have been an easy victory)

Hei Ling: A one-eyed chief in the Celestial Plume Masters, Hei Ling is the father of Li Liang, whom he wishes to cease practicing her Toad Style kung fu because of the physical toll on her body. He had Li Liang with Qixia the candied fruit in his youth and since then Qixia has grown hostile. He has a working relationship with the Wu Sisters. Grudge: Qixia the Candied Fruit Vendor (of Hai'an). Grudge: Qixia (many reasons related to their pre-existing relationship)

Iron Tiger: The newest member of the party, sent by Night Thorn to help them expand. He has a longstanding friendship with Iron Beggar Sun Kang, whom he wants to leave his lap of luxury in the House of Flying Lanterns so he can train with the Nature Loving Monks and improve his Kung Fu. Iron Beggar in turn wants Iron Tiger to leave the Celestial Plume Masters. Grudge: Pei Ye (he murdered her favorite client, Golden Cobra). 

A DEAD MAN MAKES WEI ZIYING A RICH MAN 

Upon arrival in Tung-On they found Iron God Meng still training with venomous snakes and someone named Duo Na waiting for Wei Ziying in a partitioned area of the gambling hall. 

Duo Na was dressed in expensive robes and said he worked for Wei Ziying's friend Kuo Qingzhao of the Red Owl Society. He brought news that Kuo Qingzhao died in his sleep* and had bequeathed his wealth and his title of Chief of the Red Owl Society to Wei Ziying. 

Wei Ziying explained the situation and headed to the Red Owl headquarters to see the body and people in mourning (and to inspect his new residence). There he saw only hired mourners, and was himself the closest thing to a friend or loved one. While he observed the mourners, a strange woman surprised him and introduced herself as Fan Heng. She had a black sword and was dressed in Hai'anese fashion. As he led her to an audience chamber to speak privately he noticed an unnerving black mist emanating from beneath her robes.

Fan Heng by Jackie Musto 

She asked "You are the new chief of the Red Owl Society?"

"I am," Wei Ziying replied. 

Fan Heng asked "And you have inherited all the powers, responsibilities and obligations of the Red Owl Society, and all the promises it has made?"

"I have," he replied. 

"I represent an organization that he promised something very precious to: The Sword of Time. We gave him so much for this promise and have grown tired of waiting for him to make good. Now that he is dead, it is your responsibility."

"I will look into this matter and see what I can do for you," He said. 

"Kuo Qingzhao made a deal with us, and the price for breaking that deal is not small. You will obtain the Sword of Time."

"What is your organization?"

"I speak for Feng Yin of the House of Paper Shadows."***

Not knowing who the House of Paper Shadows were he thanked her and promised to do his best, then went to find out more about the situation. 

HEI LING TENDS TO BUSINESS 

Hei Ling tended to his treasury to inspect the money from Rong E'hua, then he sent a message to Jinsa asking Iron Tiger to procure the body of Qixia (Hei Ling's daughter Li Liang wanted to use the bones to make a handle for her weapon).  

He then decided to place Fan Zhen'er in charge of managing the Red Owl Society information network in their absence. 

WEI ZIYING FINDS THE SWORD OF TIME 

Going to Iron God Meng's he conveyed what he learned to Hei Ling, who then spoke with Iron God Meng and learned that the House of Paper Shadows was powerful, used dark magic, and not a force Wei Ziying could contend with. But he also was told that Yao Chaoyun of the Yao Family Pawn Broker Shop might have information on the sword. 

They went to the shop and found Yao Changyun, his wife, some hired muscle and a crying baby. They spoke with him about the sword of time and explained that Wei Ziying was the new chief of Red Owl Society. 

"Well I happen to have the Sword of Time, I had procured it for Mr. Kuo and was looking for another buyer when I heard he died but it seems I can sell it to you."

They asked how much and he told them 20,000 spades. They decided to make the purchase, as it would still be valuable as an antique even if it was fake. 

Wei Ziying brought it to Fan Heng, who inspected it and said it was a forgery. 

"How can I tell if it is a forgery or not?" He asked

"It is like looking at a sword through an opaque stone. You have two months to bring me the real Sword of Time." 

WORDS OF THE VERMILLION BIRD 

Hei Ling went to the Vermillion Bird Teahouse to pay Hua Yin her four hundred thousand spades and to see if she knew anything about the Sword of Time. Hua Yin accepted the payment graciously and agreed to the new terms (he would owe no more money or service, except the promise of finding her son). He asked about the Sword of Time and she told him she knew a thing or two about it. 

He asked if she knew where it was. 

"This information is valuable, more costly than your payment for Fan Zhen'er. At least twice as valuable as Fan Zhen'er," she said. 

Hei Ling agreed to pay her 800,000 spades for the information and she informed him that the Sword of Time was in the possession of Master Zhan at the Temple of Supreme Righteousness. She also warned him that Master Zhan was extremely powerful, beyond anything either of them had contended with, nearly an immortal. 

Hei Ling thanked her but left with grave concerns. On his way out Hua Yin said "As this is the sword of time, it is possible that the sword exists in two places, perhaps more, at once." 

NIGHT THORN

They decided to travel to Celestial Plume headquarters in River Village to pay tribute. On the way they discussed their options. They agreed things were grim that contending with either the House of Paper Shadows or Master Zhan seemed quite beyond their abilities. They hatched a plan to have Wei Ziying feign betrayal of the Celestial Plume Masters, so that he could worm his way into the 87 Killers. The goal would be to rise as quickly as possible and hope that when the House of Paper Shadows came for him, he could bend their wrath towards the entire 87 Killer sect. 

When they reached River Village they were greeted by Night Thorn but did not see their other master. He accepted their tribute and then listened to their plan. At first he was cautious saying that he worried the House of Paper Shadows might simply kill Wei Ziying in his sleep and do nothing to Lady 87 or her men. But they explained that just as Wei Ziying had inherited the promises made by Kuo Qingzhao, if he were to die Lady 87 would also inherit this responsibility**. Night Thorn decided that it was worth the risk once they explained, as it only seemed to sacrifice one person for the possibility of taking out the 87 killers entirely. He agreed to their plan.

They also suggested they could ambush the 87 Killers by having Wei Ziying feed information about the school in Jinsa, but have Iron Tiger and Emerald Cobra ambush them when they attack. He supported this idea as well. 

He then told Hei Ling to recruit more men and to form more alliances so they could bring a greater force against the 87 Killers. 

*Last session Wei Ziying performed the Wealth Attainment ritual and this is the fruit of that magic 

**This was just speculation on their part. 

***The proper name of the organization is the Society of Leather Shadows but she employed the colloquial term to get maximal intimidating effect: which didn't work initially because he did not know who they were. She also invoked Feng Yin, rather than the House of Paper Shadows nominal director, which I opted for because she was trying to be as intimidating as possible and Kuo Qingzhao was a member of the organization who would have known about Feng Yin. 

QI RANK ADVANCEMENT FOR NPCS IN WANDERING HEROES OF OGRE GATE

There are a number of ways to advance NPCs in Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate. One of my favorite is the Going into Seclusion method in the Lady 87 Campaign book (you can also see an early version of this idea on the blog). Sometimes I use more granular methods or random ones. I put the two tables below together today for my Celestial Plume Masters campaign. 

The first table is a method for calculating NPC advancement over time. It can be done session to session, like PCs, or in time in the game world (using either weekly or daily increments----you can also use monthly if you prefer). This assumes an average of 2 XP gained each session/week/day and just charts it out over time. It also uses the revised XP chart from the Bedrock Games website (rather than the one in the rulebook). One thing you will notice is a bit of a hump at the Qi rank 7 mark, because this is the entry point into the profound levels of martial arts. So it takes considerable time to get there from Qi rank 6. After Qi 7 however it reduces back down to a more reasonable level. 

This can be used to figure out a characters Qi rank when they are re-introduced (if they were Qi 3 when the players met them 20 sessions ago, they could be Qi rank 6 in the present session). It is just a tool. You can use any approach you want here, from eye-balling the level to giving your NPCs XP the way you do PCs. 

I also came up with a random method, the above Defeated Master Progression Table. This was designed to handle NPCs who suffer a big defeat at the hands of the players, to determine how they react, but I may turn it into a more general table for randomly determine a given NPCs current level. 

Because the table was designed this afternoon it is just a rough attempt. I am sharing it with my players before the game for feedback and will probably make changes based on that, then make further changes after using it in play (and then create a modified version for NPCs in general). 

The Defeated Master Progression Table was designed with Li Liang in mind, an NPC one of the characters defeated in humiliating and painful fashion to strike a physical and psychological blow (with the aim of impacting her performance in a duel one year from now). So it was created with that specific tactic in mind (and meant to reward it much of the time, but also keep open the possibility that the defeat serves as a key motivator for the NPC). Once I have a chance to test it out tonight and make some changes I should be able to write about how it went and possibly put together a new version. 

GUIDE TO OGRE GATE

With the release of Sons of Lady 87: an Ogre Gate Campaign, I thought it would be a good time to provide an overview of the Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate system and setting landscape. 

The core book is Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate. It is a wuxia rules system based on d10 dice pools, skills and a vast number of Kung Fu techniques. The core d10 mechanic is sleek and works pretty quickly too. You simply roll your pool, take the single highest result and compare it to the target number to see if you succeeded. Characters advance by gaining ranks in Qi, which happens when they meet certain thresholds for experience (i.e. finding or stealing a martial arts manual, fighting an opponent more powerful than themselves, growing their reputation, etc). It is set in a fantasy world inspired by Song Dynasty China. The book itself is 492 pages, with a large portion devoted to Kung Fu techniques and setting. It also includes sects, NPCs, everything you need to make a character and a sample adventure. There is also crucial GM advice, including guidance on using the Grudge Encounter system (which really helps emulate the feel of a jianghu setting). It is the only book you need to play Ogre Gate, and it is available as a pay-what-you-want HERE, and available in print HERE. 

The next most important book for the setting is Ogre Gate Inn and the Strange Land of Li Fan. This provides a full description of the client kingdom Li Fan, a host of sects, NPCs, maps (including Yao Gong Palace), a large adventure inspired by the Dragon Inn films, new Kung Fu techniques and monsters. The adventure takes up three chapter of the book and the book itself comes in at about 190 pages or so. There is a ton of adventure material to draw on in this one. It also has a bit more supernatural horror in it. Ogre Gate Inn and the Strange Land of Li Fan is available in print and in PDF. 

And of course there is the Sons of Lady 87 Campaign Book. This provides an overview of the imperial prefecture of Fan Xu. It also is focused on criminal organizations with an emphasis on the 87 Killers. It is available in PDF and will be available in print soon. 

The next two books are adventures. 

The first is The House of Paper Shadows. This one is a pure blend of wuxia and horror. It takes the players to the House of Paper Shadows, a mysterious organization in the Qi Xien setting, where they face all kinds of horrors and can be transported back in time to the dark events that created the House of Paper Shadows in the first place. The house of Paper Shadows is available in print and PDF and is100 pages. 

The next adventure is called Tournament of Daolu. This is just a fun book. It spans time and place as well, starting with an adventure in the southen wilderness, but culminating in a tournament in the city of Daolu, where the players may find themselves back in time meeting Sunan and Sun Mai. The city is well fleshed out, and the tournament is structured providing the GM with a clear way to manage elimination and competitors. The Tournament of Daolu is only available in PDF.

After that there is the sects of the martial world series, which has 6 entries. These are PDFs that each include one new sect. Presently they are: Maidens of the Jade Blue Sky, The Silken Robe Society, Crocodile Sect, Relentless Corpse Sect, Temple of the Jade Mercies, and The Glorious Death Cult. Each PDF is just 50 cents. 

In addition this blog contains a number of useful Ogre Gate books. The first is War of Swarming Beggars. This is a campaign and setting book that describes Hai'an, a land in the south that is still independent from the empire. You can find it HERE. There is some really great stuff in it in my opinion. Originally I was going to put it out as a print and PDF book but other projects became more important to prioritize. So this is pretty much a full module, it just hasn't been through the normal editing process and it has no art. 

The Blood Stained Roads of the Martial World was also meant to be a book, but it got sidelined as other projects vied for the pipeline. It is essentially an encounter book but the encounters are quite fleshed out. Think of it as one big encounter table with the encounters fully described. 

The Profound Masters is also on the blog. This goes into more depth with profound sects and abilities. 

Journey to the South provides a description of the lands south of Hai'an. This is pretty useful and includes my hand drawn map. I ran a number of campaigns that ventured into this territory so most of the stuff here comes from those sessions. 

There is also an official Ogre Gate novel called Legends of Ogre Gate, which describes the rise of the ancient heroes Sunan and Bao (important figured mentioned in the setting history of the core rulebook). This was written by Jeremy "Deathblade" Bai, who co-wrote Tournament of Daolu, Righteous Blood, Ruthless Blades and was a part of many of the early Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate campaigns. At the time Jeremy was translating xianxia novels so he was able to bring that knowledge to the setting. It is a large book, at 808 pages with nearly 100 chapters. 

There are also two Ogre Gate adjacent books out there. The first is Strange Tales of Songling, which is a Bedrock Games book that was inspired by Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and similar stories. I decided to make the game after I went through the penguin edition of Strange Tales of Songling (which is shorter than the multivolume sets) and did one entry on the blog for every story in the book. Each entry was Ogre Gate content inspired by that particular story. It was so much fun, I made a simplified version of the Ogre Gate system specifically for a setting inspired by Pu Songling's stories and similar anomaly accounts. Strange Tales of Songling is available in PDF and in print. 

Then there is Righteous Blood, Ruthless Blades published by Osprey Games. It is available in print and PDF. I co-designed this with Jeremy, and it is quite different from Ogre Gate, but uses the same core mechanics. Unlike Ogre Gate it is set in historical China and it is specifically emulating the wuxia style of Gu Long. I'm very proud of how this one came out. It really captures what we were going for. One thing I love about it is it does a great job of emulating the genre while still remaining highly gameable. Also where Ogre Gate is sect-focused, the Jianghu of RBRB is places greater priority on individual characters. There are still sects, of course but the emphasis was more on unique characters who populate the martial world and their relationships with one another. 

SONS OF LADY 87 AVAILABLE IN PDF

Sons of Lady 87: An Ogre Gate Campaign is available in PDF (and soon to be available in print). 

Sons of Lady 87 brings the underworld of Fan Xu Prefecture to life with a massive cast of NPCs. Explore the criminal life of the southern empire, serving Lady 87, or working against her, as new recruits working their way up the ranks. This campaign book focuses on gangs and criminal sects vying for dominance in the region. 

It features tables for managing sect warfare, at-the-table advice for running extended Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate campaigns, a complete overview of Fan Xu Prefecture, and much more. 

Sons of Lady 87 provides a full chapter on the 87 Killers, a criminal shadow empire led by Lady 87. It also includes a visual guide to all the sects in the area, helping clarify alliances and conflicts. 

It includes new profound sects, new kung fu techniques, and new equipment. 

The book is illustrated throughout with artwork by Jackie Musto, maps by Francesca Baerald and a prefecture map by Robert Conley. 

Check it out and be sure to leave a review if you enjoy it!