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. 

ELIXIR CATASTROPHES

In my wuxia sandbox campaign using the Sons of Lady 87 book, one thing that has started to come up is the use of external alchemy to create transformative substances. These are very setting appropriate but present balance issues the more open I am as a GM in adjudicating their creation (and I like to be open to things the players try to do in game).

Transformative substances are one of the more interesting parts of play for me in Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate. They can work in a variety of ways but basically use external alchemy to produce pills, elixirs, etc that can change things at a fundamental level. Usually the changes are temporary but can increase over time with regular use (there are some substances though that produce more long term effects). An example of a transformative substance is the Human Forming Essence, which can be used by animals, demons and other creatures to take human form. 

Recently one of the players has been using his Alchemy skill to produce a substance that improves the performance of his minions by radically accelerating cultivation (in mechanical terms his aim would basically increase Qi Ranks). 

The 1993 film Green Snake 

There is precedent for this in the system because I introduce a pill based on Monkey King's background in Journey to the West. This item is called the Heavenly Pill and there are extraordinary conditions surrounding its use, so that will be a very big natural limit should the player pursue making this substance. But this got me thinking about ways to introduce a table to use when players want to make a very powerful substance that could achieve great benefit but might be counterbalanced by some of its side effects (generally speaking I like to give transformative and longevity substances side effects). 

This table is meant to be used anytime a powerful transformative substance is created as its inherent drawback: 

Like the tables I shared the other day this one is still very preliminary. I will likely make some adjustments over the course of my Celestial Plume Masters campaign. 

I am still working with the player to determine what this might look like in the end (and not settle whether this table would apply to the substance he is attempting to discover). It will likely have heavy side effects or be temporary, granting an increase in Qi that goes away after a period of time and is followed by recovery (perhaps through lost Hardiness points). 

THE ENCHANTRESS DISCUSSION

On the latest Wuxia Weekend podcast we talk about Chor Yuen's The Enchantress, a 1983 film that blends wuxia and ghosts to interesting effect. It is about a ghost named Shui Tianjiao, who was killed when her husband joined forces with her enemies in a sect war 18-years ago. Now she uses her daughter (born shortly before her death) to get revenge on the entire martial world. 

While everyone enjoyed the movie, opinions differed on how good it was. Most of us agreed the strength of the film was its atmosphere and ghostly special effects. The story is good when you understand it, but it could have used more screen time (with perhaps less screen time being dedicated to the near-30 minute final battle). Still it is a very nice mixture of supernatural and martial arts, where it fully commits to both. There are lots of characters, lots of fights, and some very interesting spooky moments. 

Unfortunately The Enchantress is difficult to obtain these days (I've only ever been able to find it on VCD). So if you want to watch it, you might have to search around for a good deal. We do recommend it if you like Chor Yuen and want to see his take on Ghosts and Wuxia together. However, if you are not as familiar with Chor Yuen, you might want to start with some of his other films like Death Duel, Web of Death, Magic Blade, Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan or Duel for Gold. 

GAMING STRANGE TALES FROM A CHINESE STUDIO 55-56: KING OF THE NINE MOUNTAINS AND THE FOX OF FENZHOU

I have been making NPCs, monsters and scenarios inspired by Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. For each entry I take two or more stories from the Penguin Edition translated by John Minford and make gameable material. You can see my previous entry HERE. 

Today I am doing King of the Nine Mountains (#55) and The Fox of Fenzhou (#56). 

King of the Nine Mountains is about a scholar official named Li who rents out his garden to an old man only to find he's invited a family of thousands of fox spirits into his home. He resolves to kill them and uses saltpeter and fire to burn the creatures. The old man is outraged and vows revenge for the deaths of his fellow foxes. Years later Li encounters a fortune teller who tells him he has the mandate of heaven, and offers to help him lead an army to take the throne. He wages a rebellion against the Empire with the help of the fortune teller (who becomes his marshal). In the end it turns out the marshal is the vengeful fox spirit, setting him up for a fall. 

The Fox of Fenzhou is another story about a fox spirit, but this time it falls in love an official named Zhu and the two have a relatively happy life together. However Zhu is promoted and then must go to mourn his mother when she dies. To reach his mother he must cross a river and it is explained that the fox is unable to cross bodies of water. It seems the lovers are going to have to part, when the fox is able to persuade the local river god to let her pass. 

I added in headers separating the content by story this time. That way it is easier to see where the ideas are coming from. This doesn't mean they are pure models of the material. In some cases I just took inspiration and went a different direction to fit it to the setting or make it more interesting. However with King of Nine Mountains, I made a direct translation into game mechanics. I simply decided to continue the Fox Marshal's tale beyond his initial revenge (which is what the story deals with) and turn him into a figure roaming the setting. 

THE KING OF NINE MOUNTAINS

THE FOX MARSHAL 
Not all Fox Spirits desire only to feed or to love, some have lost family and loved ones to the cruelty of man. When this happens they burn with a desire for vengeance and use their powers to wage war against humanity. The Fox Marshal is one such Fox Spirit. His entire family was killed by a wicked scholar named Li. Years ago, The Fox Marshal and his family of thousands had moved into a wing of Li's residence for 100 taels. Li discovered they were Foxes and burned the whole clan with hundreds of pounds of saltpetre. The Fox Marshal bided his time and returned to the man in the guise of an astrologer, claiming he was destined to rule the empire. He then raised an army of thousands and became Li's Marshal, all with the aim of abandoning Li as he was on the brink of victory. As a result all of Li's family perished by execution. 

Satisfied with his revenge, but still burning with rage, The Fox Marshal realized he still had an entire army at his command. Now he leads his group through the land, razing villages, conquering cities and basically doing whatever he can to inflict misery on humanity. He often remains in one conquered place for months, before growing bored and moving to the next target of his vengeance. 

Defenses: Hardiness 6, Evade 6, Parry 7, Stealth 7, Wits 9, Resolve 8

Key Skills: Bite: 3d10 (2d10 Damage), Arm Strike: 3d10 (5d10 Damage), Medium Melee: 3d10 or 2d10 with Ox Tail, Speed: 7d10, Detect: 5d10, Persuade: 4d10, Command: 3d10, Deception: 3d10, Endurance: 2d10, Muscle: 2d10, Empathy: 3d10, Trade (Architecture and Engineering): 3d10, Talent (Disguise): 2d10, Talent (Poetry): 2d10, Talent (Singing): 2d10, Talent (Theft): 2d10, Institutions (Military): 3d10, Classics (The 26 Stratagems of Jiang Laozi): 3d10, Read Script (Feishu): 3d10, Language (Daoyun): 3d10, Classics (The Book of Fortunes): 3d10

Max Wounds: 13
Equipment: Ox Tail Dao (4d10 Damage, -1d10 Accuracy)

Powers

Drain: Fox Marshal feeds by drinking the blood of his foes. He normally does this on the battlefield, where his soldiers find it an acceptable practice. Whenever he makes an Arm Strike roll, do Normal Damage plus drain 1 Hardiness. Anyone reduced to 0 is completely drained and dies. Every 100 people he completely drains, he gains 1 Max Wound. 

Misleading Voice: The Fox Marshal can convince men of his lies and earn their loyalty by saying what he believes they want to hear. This power can work on whole groups of men, even armies, at a time. To Convince People, make a Deception Roll against Wits. On a Success what he says seems obviously true to the target (s). 

Compelling Voice: He can also use his voice  to impel people to take action, but it only works on those with no cultivation (anyone with ranks in Qi is immune). Roll Command against Resolve. On a Success he can cause all affected to take a desired action in the next day. This could be anything from going to war to having a drink at the local wine shop.

Forms: The Fox Marshal can take human form, or the form of a Fox. He can also grow claws or teeth as needed for attacks. 

Houses of Splendor: Even in a small space, Fox Marshal can create intricate and comfortable living spaces. He can spring forth a whole miniature city with his mind. This enables him to provide luxurious accommodations for his men on the road. To do this he needs an enclosed space, such as a cave, a courtyard, a small glen. Then he can produce any accommodations he desires within the enclosure. To use this ability he must make a Trade (Architecture and Engineering) TN 7 Roll. 

Saltpetre Vulnerability: Fox Marshal is vulnerable to saltpetre. The substance does 1 Extra Wound when used in any attack against him. Any use of Divine Fire does 2 Extra Wounds against him. 

Kung Fu Techniques (Wiajia: 3, Neigong 1): Blade of the Dancing Fox, Blasting Blade, Breath of Fury, Blade Pinch (Counter), Whirling Dodge (Counter)


THE FOX'S ARMY (10,000)

Defenses: Hardiness 3, Evade 3, Parry 3, Stealth 6, Wits 6, Resolve 6

Key Skills: Grapple: 0d10, Throw: 0d10, Arm Strike: 0d10, Leg Strike: 0d10, Light Melee: 0d10, Medium Melee: 0d10, Heavy Melee: 1d10, Small Ranged: 0d10, Speed: 1d10, Muscle: 0d10

Max Wounds: 1

Weapons: Qiang (2d10 Damage or 0d10 Damage), Leather Lamellar (-1d10 Damage against blunt weapons)

THE FOX OF FENZHOU

TAN LAN THE GOD OF SOUTHERN FEI RIVER
Tan Lan is said to be a kindly old man who regales local orphans with his stories by the river. However in truth he is a greedy and avaricious river god. The orphans he speaks to, slowly turn into dragons as he tells his tales. He then sends them into the river to collect gold and treasure from hapless travelers. He can be kind when he wishes and will respond to offerings of wealth by keeping his waters calm, letting landbound fox spirits and other creatures pass, and providing ample water during drought. 

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

Key Skills: Bite: 4d10 (6d10 Open Damage), Smash: 4d10 (4d10 plus 3 Extra Wounds*), Grapple: 5d10, Arm Strike: 6d10, Leg Strike: 4d10, Light Melee: 4d10, Medium Melee: 7d10, Speed: 4d10, Swim: 6d10, Fly: 3d10, Muscle: 5d10, Endurance: 4d10, Meditation: 4d10, Divination: 4d10, Persuade: 4d10, Detect: 3d10, Read Scripts (All): 3d10, Languages (All): 3d10, Religion (All): 2d10, Institutions (Bureaucracy of Heaven): 3d10, Talent (Poetry): 3d10, History (All): 3d10, Talent (Theft): 5d10

Qi: 30

Max Wounds: 61

Flaw: Greedy 

Key Kung Fu Techniques (Dianxue 3, Qingong 3):

Tan Lan knows all Dianxue and Qinggong Kung Fu Techniques

Profound Techniques: Celestial Seal, Great Transference, Ride the Cloud, Sleeves of Frost, Roar of the Dragon, Wave of Frost

Powers

Beast Strength (x40)

Bite: With his enormous jaws in Dragon form he can bite up to 8 targets at a time with a swooping attack, doing 6d10 Open Damage. 

Smash: His body can slam into buildings and crowds, covering a 150 foot long and 10 foot wide area. Roll 4d10 against Evade. On a Success anyone hit takes 4d10 plus 3 Extra Wounds. On a Total Success they take 6d10 plus 4 Extra Wounds. 

Immunity: Tan Lan can only be harmed by Kung Fu Techniques, Profound Kung Fu Techniques, and Immortal Powers. However, he can never be permanently killed (this requires a decree from the Enlightened Goddess). If he takes 61 Wounds he vanishes and reappears in one day in the Enlightened Goddesses’ Court.

Regeneration: Tan Lan regenerates 1 Wound every round.  

Control River: Tan Lan has complete control of the river. He can cause the waters to flow with great speed, increasing the Swim or Sail to TN 10 or lowering it to TN 1. He can also control local weather near the river, creating rain, wind or small storms. 

Transform Orphans to Dragons: Tan Lan takes pity on orphans and views them as his children. When he speaks to them, roll Persuade against Resolve. On a Success any orphan (no matter how old) turns into one of his Little Dragons forever. 

Change Form: Tan Lan can take the form of an old man or of a great river dragon. In his river dragon form he can bite with tremendous force and smash the land around him. 

TAN LAN'S LITTLE DRAGONS
Tan Lan's little dragons are easily mistaken for crocodiles but they are actually small dragons. They were once human orphans who were transformed by the river god into their present state. Now they roam the Southern Fei River in search of riches for Tan Lan. When they see anyone with wealth or valuables, they attack and steal them. 

Defenses: Hardiness 5, Evade 6, Parry 6, Stealth 6 (10 in water or forest), Wits 7, Resolve 6

Key Skills: Bite: 4d10 (Damage 4d10 Open), Claws: 3d10 (3d10 Damage), Tail: 2d10 (Damage 1d10 plus 1 Extra Wound), Swim/Fly: 4d10, Speed: 4d10, Muscle: 4d10, Detect: 3d10, Athletics: 4d10, History (All): 1d10, Meditation: 2d10, Divination: 2d10, Talent (Theft): 3d10

Max Wounds: 20

Equipment: Silver Spear (6d10 Damage, +2d10 Accuracy)**

Powers

Beast Strength (x2)

Flight: Little Dragons can move through the air like water.

Human Form: The Little Dragons can take human form. 

Kung Fu (Waijia 2, Qinggong 2): Spear Swipe, Tai Lan's Staff Strike, Flying Swan Kick, Graceful Retreat (Counter)

**In human Form

LANDBOUND FOXES
Landbound Foxes are usually affectionate and kind toward humans, draining them but not to the point of death. Therefore they are less out of favor with the gods. 

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

Key Skills: Bite: 3d10 (2d10 Damage), Speed: 7d10, Detect: 5d10, Muscle: 1d10, Empathy: 3d10, Persuade: 4d10, Deception: 4d10, Knowledge and Talent (Any 4): 3d10, Divination: 3d10

Max Wounds: 10

Powers

Enervation: Landbound Foxes cultivate by draining ejaculate. If they do this at least once a month for a year, they gain 1 Max Wound. Each time they drain a person the target is temporarily drained of 1 Hardiness (returns at rate of 1 per week). The target must be willing. 

Enchanting Form: The true form of an Landbound Fox is a fox, but to most people they look like beautiful women. Anytime a person first sees the Landbound Fox, roll 4d10 against Wits. On a Success the target only sees a beautiful woman. On a failure the person sees a trace feature of the fox's real form (a bushy tail, yellow eyes, whiskers, etc). This is brief, as the Landbound Fox can roll 4d10 against Wits immediately to restore the illusion in the person's mind. Once an Landbound succeeds against a target, they will always see her as a beautiful woman unless they actively attempt to check for evidence to the contrary (in which case another roll is called for). 

Favored: Rituals and magic that normally affect Spirits and Demons suffer a -2d10 Penalty against Landbound Foxes. They also gain a +2d10 bonus to break out of any magical containment. 

Landbound: Landbound Foxes cannot cross bodies of water. Doing so instantly kills them. 

Petition: Landbound Foxes can use Divination to petition local deities for an audience.