STAR-CROSSED BLADES OF THE GREEN PEONY SESSION XVI

This is the sixteenth session of our Star-Crossed Blades of the Green Peony campaign for Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate (session I can be found HERE, session II can be found HERE, session III can be found HERE, session IV can be found HERE, Session V can be found HERE, session VI can be found HERE, Session VII can be found HERE, Session VIII can be found HERE, Session IX can be found HERE, Session X can be found HERE, Session XI can be found HERE). Session XII can be found HERE. Session XIII can be found HERE. It is set in Zhang Chang prefecture (which I hope to release a blog entry for). Session XIV can be found HERE. You can find session XV HERE. In this campaign, every player rolled randomly to determine who their family are, how many siblings they have and whether individual family members are still alive. The players also gave very rough sketches of their background (no more than a few sentences) and I secretly added a "20-year" backstory to each one. I have implemented a special rule in this campaign that every encounter has a 3 in 10 chance of being connected to their secret backstory in some way. Note in this session I was play testing a specific scenario and the players were made aware prior to play.

CHARACTERS

QI YUN (MASTER POET QI YUN): A roaming martial expert who has secretly learned his martial arts from two different masters (and the masters have no knowledge of one another). 

XING GE: A traveling pipa player and the son of Lu Guiying the Iron Flower. His father died when he was five, and his mother married Gongsun Yuan, the chief of Black Parrot Society. Gongsun Yuan despises Xing Ge. 

TU JIN SHI (THUNDER LEGS): A wandering fighter seeking to be the strongest and most upright hero in the region. His father, Tu Haitao sent his mother away when he was young, after being consumed by grief over the passing of Jin Shi's brother, Tian. Shortly after his father died consuming a lethal concoction in a misguided effort to become immortal. 

LU LI (THE UNFILIAL ARCHER): A traveling physician who comes from a family of successful fishermen. 

A CACOPHONY OF PARROTS 

Xing Ge met with Han Changsi at Black Parrot lake to receive word on his messages. He gave the steward a tea brick gift. Steward Han told him that the whereabouts of the Black Leopard Villa may be known to Master Tu Yu of the Jade Moon Sabre sect. 

Then Xing Ge went to his mother and presented her with the evidence against Gongsun Yuan given to him by the magistrate.

".....'killed Dao Zheng and took his wife'....". A puzzled look crossed her face as she recited the words on the page. "What do you intend to do?"

Xing Ge explained his plan to take over Black Parrot Society then get revenge against Gongsun Yuan. He also said he intended to break the curse of Black Parrot Lake. His mother paced back and forth, seemingly very concerned, then a sudden look of resolve settled on her face."

"Very well, proceed," She thought for a moment. "I will keep your Stepfather distracted and take appropriate measures so he doesn't suspect anything in the meantime."

After, he left with the party to find Master Tu Yu in Henxian District. 

THE BEAUTY AND DEATH OF JADE MOON PALM 

The party traveled by boat to th Town of Laoshi, where they departed into the foothills and searched for Jade Moon Sabre sect*. Soon they happened upon a beggar cooking in a small camp on a hill. 

They approached and greeted him, and his response was enthusiastic. He informed them his name was Chan.  "We are seeking Master Tu Yu of Jade Moon Sabre Sect. Do you know where we can find them."

"Yes, yes," he said. "I know where The Jade Moon Sabre people are." He began pointed wildly o the south west and announced "They are that way!"

Something in his demeanor raised their suspicions. 

"Are you telling us the truth?" Tu Jin Shi asked. 

"Well not exactly," He paused and thought. "They are that way!" and he pointed to the south. Lu Li thanked him for his troubles, gave him a persimmon and partook of his mysterious meat soup**

Chan thanked them and then said "It is no trouble, but do not tell Master Tu Yu I was here. In fact, don't mention me at all when you see him."

"Well I can't lie," Said Tu Jin Shi. "That wouldn't be righteous."

"Tell you what," Said Chan. "If you keep quiet about me, I will take you to the Blind Bat."

"Is this your leader?" Asked Lu Li.

"Yes, the Chief of Immortal Bat cavern."

They agreed, and Tu Jin Shi promised to simply say nothing in order to avoid lying but also avoid revealing anything about Chan. 

They continued to travel in the hills, and on the second day failed to find Jade Moon Sabre Sect, but they did happen upon a group of Yen-Li Nuns led by an abbess. They were dressed in black robes and their faces appeared white and painted like death. 

Speaking with the Abbess they learned that Master Tu Yu was regarded as a strange man and that she was the leader of Hopping Ghost Temple. She also encouraged them to buy their paper talismans "lest they suffer the fate of others in the forest who failed to do so". They agreed and each bought one. As they were leaving the party recalled that the Sword of the Parrot King, the object needed to end the curse, was housed by Hopping Ghost Temple.***

Another day of travel and the party once again failed to find Master Tu Yu or his disciples.**** However they met a blind monk named Nansheng who seemed lost and hungry. When they found out he had been heading to Town of Laoshi, they decided to take a detour and guide him there. When the town was in sight he walked away from them and said "There is an inventor in the prefecture who devised a method of breathing underwater."

Then he disappeared as did the town itself. The party realized he had led them into Jade Moon Sabre's encampment. All the women of the sect were exceptionally beautiful and some of them carried Guqins, which attracted the attention of Xing Ge. It was explained the regular disciples were called Jade Moon Sabres while the ones with musical instruments were called Jade Harmonies. They were led to Master Tu Yu for an audience. 

After introductions and a recounting of their journey, Master Tu Yu said "You surely had a fortuitous encounter with a Bat Demon!" Expressing concern, he reassured them that Bat Demons were benevolent creatures. 

They then explained their purpose was to find Black Leopard Villa to rescue Lu Li's parents. Master Tu Tu asked for more information about the party which they volunteered. He expressed his utter hatred for the sect and told them he would agree. When Xing Ge and Qi Yun said they had interest in learning his martial arts, he said he would take male disciples, something he normally would not allow, on the condition that they brought back members of Black Leopard Villa for him to torture information out of. 

Master Tu Yu then performed a demonstration of his Jade Moon Sabre technique by slicing through three bound tree trunks with his hand. The party was impressed and asked for more information about the beggars living in Immortal Bat Cavern, if they were good people. 

"They are mostly alright," He said. "But that stupid beggar Chan, so perverted, always trying to catch a glimpse of my beautiful disciples. It makes my heart fume with rage!" And he chopped the air. 

"I must tell you then," Said Xing Ge, "We saw him the other day on a nearby hill."

"What?!" Master Tu Yu pointed at four of his disciples "You come with me!"

He then turned to Xing Ge "Show me the way so I can smash his skull with my Jade Moon Palm!"

Tu Jin Shu refused to participate and would only go halfway with them (he offered to stay behind in the camp but Master Tu Yu did not trust him to remain among his disciples). They continued on and found Chan resting in his camp. 

"You two!" Master Tu Yu pointed at Qi Yun and Xing Ge. "Restrain him for me!" They leapt forward to attack, and Lu Li joined in. 

*

Waiting for the party, Tu Jin Shi spoke to the Bat Demon, not knowing if it could hear his word. He explained what happened and asked it to intervene if Chan is deserving. The ground began to shift and from the earth, emerged a wooden mask, similar to an opera mask, with stylized bat features painted on it. Tu Jin Shi thanked the Bat Demon and promised to protect the mask. 

*

Xing Ge blasted Chan with a flow of blue phoenix energy, then Lu Li slammed his head with a bow. Rushing forward, Master Tu Yu struck Chan with both palms, obliterating a portion of his skull. Chan collapsed in a bloody pile. 

Master Tu Yu laughed and pointed at the remains. "Your first lesson: This is how you use Jade Moon Palm!". He then kicked the body and instructed his disciples to bury it. 

"Excellent!" He said to Xing Ge and Qi Yun. "Your information was good. I will make you full disciples when you return!". 

He then told them where to find Black Leopard Villa. The session ended after the party regrouped. 

*This was a series of Inverted Encounter Rolls

**The meat was quail

***This was a fated encounter

****They were searched a small, four hex area of the map 

STAR-CROSSED BLADES OF THE GREEN PEONY

This is the Tenth session of our Star-Crossed Blades of the Green Peony campaign for Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate (session I can be found HERE, session II can be found HERE, session III can be found HERE, session IV can be found HERE, Session V can be found HERE, session VI can be found HERE, Session VII can be found HERE, Session VIII can be found HERE, Session IX can be found HERE). It is set in Zhang Chang prefecture (which I hope to release a blog entry for). In this campaign, every player rolled randomly to determine who their family are, how many siblings they have and whether individual family members are still alive. The players also gave very rough sketches of their background (no more than a few sentences) and I secretly added a "20-year" backstory to each one. I have implemented a special rule in this campaign that every encounter has a 3 in 10 chance of being connected to their secret backstory in some way. Note in this session I was play testing a specific scenario and the players were made aware prior to play.

CHARACTERS

QI YUN: A roaming martial expert who has secretly learned his martial arts from two different masters (and the masters have no knowledge of one another). 

XING GE: A traveling pipa player and the son of Lu Guiying the Iron Flower. His father died when he was five, and his mother married Gongsun Yuan, the chief of Black Parrot Society. Gongsun Yuan despises Xing Ge. 

TU JIN SHI (THUNDER LEGS): A wandering fighter seeking to be the strongest and most upright hero in the region. His father, Tu Haitao sent his mother away when he was young, after being consumed by grief over the passing of Jin Shi's brother, Tian. Shortly after his father died consuming a lethal concoction in a misguided effort to become immortal. 

LU LI (THE UNFILIAL ARCHER): A traveling physician who comes from a family of successful fishermen. 

THE BLACK PARROT SOCIETY 

The players traveled north to the Black Parrot Society so Xing Ge could speak with his mother about his father's recent attempt on his life and an another matter that eluded his memory for the time being. On the way he brought his mother, Lu Guiying, an embroidered weimao (a wide brimmed hat with a long veil to block dust) that she could use to conceal her Iron Hat. For a design he chose a flower, because her nickname is the Iron Flower. 

As they made their way through the dense Yiaoguai forest, Tu Jin Shi, taking up the front, heard the distant murmur of a human voice, seeming to be in great pain. 

"Is anyone there? Are you in trouble?"

A contorted voice responded "Help....Help...."

He followed it into the woods and as he entered a dark green viper launched from a tree and bit him in the thigh. Immediately he felt overcome by heat and experienced localized swelling. 

Lu Li sent a hail of arrows into the woods, killing multiple vipers. He then used the vipers to create an antidote with his exceptional medical knowledge. A cure was administered and Tu Jin Shi survived. 

There they were greeted by high ranking disciples who informed Xing Ge that Chief Gongun Yuan wished to speak with him in his hall. He thanked them and then went to his mother. They met in her garden, the rest of the party present. 

"I must tell you mother, there was an attempt on my life. My step-father's chief assassin, Qian Henglao, ambushed us and tried to kill me with his jade arrows.

Lu Guiying pounded her fist into her palm saying "I knew he couldn't be trusted. That terrible woman, Lady Yu Huang, must have got to him. We should have killed her ages ago!"

"I must tell you mother, we asked Qian Henglao who sent him, and he said it was Gongsun Yuan. It seems he sent him to kill me."

"You are too naive my son," she said. "Clearly that filthy villain Yi Huang, seeks to sew turmoil in our organization, by implicating your father. I just fear we are not ready to contend with her."

"Still mother, Gongsun Yuan wishes to see me, I would like for you to be by my side when I inform him about this matter."

She agreed and they went to Gongsun, who greeted them from his dais and made niceties. 

"Qian Henglao?" Gongsun asked after they had explained everything. 

"Yes, but we managed to kill him."

"Well it is good you put that traitor in the ground. I am glad you are alive, I had heard there was a plot by Huo Long Cavern Sect to abduct you."

Gongsun Yuan thought for a moment then said "I have been meaning to give you this."

He handed a medallion in the shape of a black bird to Xing Ge.

"I want to make you Steward of Black Parrot Lake, it is a prestigious position and will signal to Huo Long Cavern that you have my full protection."

He explained the responsibilities and Xing Ge thanked him but said he could not perform the duties the positioned required as he still needed to travel. As a compromise, Gongsun Yuan offered to make his holding of the post ceremonial. Someone else, likely Master Han, would perform the duties, but he would be given a retinue of ten disciples and have all the privileges of the post. He also asked Xing Ge to keep look out for news on anything that would help them contend with Lady Yi Huang. 

Before departing, Xing Ge took lessons from his mother in the Unveiling the Iron Flower Technique. She also gave him one of her old blood stained iron hats. 

On their way out they stopped to speak with Master Han, who managed the sect's information network. They asked him about Black Leopard Villa, he was able to narrow down the possible location of its headquarters to a thirty mile area. He also told them that the only time the disciples left Black Leopard Villa was to retrieve or track down escaped members. But he warned them that their leader, Jade Leopard was feared for her Jade Leopard Palm and Jade Moon Saber. He then gave Xing Ge a pigeon in a cage to use in case of an emergency (which Xing Ge handed to his men to care for). 

The party then travelled back to Xi An and Xing Ge commissioned a life-like portrait of Thundering Scorpion. He then had his men spread rumors at local teahouses and inns that White Scorpion has been seen along the road between Xi An and Li An. 

From there they set out for Li An to meet with Sheriff Bao. As they traveled through he forest, still under the Demon Moon, they heard a booming voice:

"Delicious meats have arrived!"

They saw nothing, but Tu Jin Shi discerned it was before them, yet not visible. 

"Show yourself!"

A creature shimmered into view. It was a tall beast, similar to the ones they had encountered in the woods before. Towering and with black claws and teeth it laughed and leapt to devour Tu Jin Shi. 

Though his kung fu could not hurt it, he was able to evade the attack using his martial arts. Lu Li launched a Jade Arrow at the creature and it died almost instantly. 

After the battle, Xing Ge recalled that he forgot to tell his mother, Gongsun Yuan killed his father. 

This is where the session ended. 

STAR-CROSSED BLADES OF THE GREEN PEONY SESSION IX

This is the Ninth session of our Star-Crossed Blades of the Green Peony campaign for Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate (session I can be found HERE, session II can be found HERE, session III can be found HERE, session IV can be found HERE, Session V can be found HERE, session VI can be found HERE, Session VII can be found HERE, Session VIII can be found HERE). It is set in Zhang Chang prefecture (which I hope to release a blog entry for). In this campaign, every player rolled randomly to determine who their family are, how many siblings they have and whether individual family members are still alive. The players also gave very rough sketches of their background (no more than a few sentences) and I secretly added a "20-year" backstory to each one. I have implemented a special rule in this campaign that every encounter has a 3 in 10 chance of being connected to their secret backstory in some way. Note in this session I was play testing a specific scenario and the players were made aware prior to play.

CHARACTERS

QI YUN: A roaming martial expert who has secretly learned his martial arts from two different masters (and the masters have no knowledge of one another). 

XING GE: A traveling pipa player and the son of Lu Guiying the Iron Flower. His father died when he was five, and his mother married Gongsun Yuan, the chief of Black Parrot Society. Gongsun Yuan despises Xing Ge. 

TU JIN SHI (THUNDER LEGS): A wandering fighter seeking to be the strongest and most upright hero in the region. His father, Tu Haitao sent his mother away when he was young, after being consumed by grief over the passing of Jin Shi's brother, Tian. Shortly after his father died consuming a lethal concoction in a misguided effort to become immortal. 

LU LI (THE UNFILIAL ARCHER): A traveling physician who comes from a family of successful fishermen. 

THE BLOOD OF THE DEMON MOON 

The Party decided to track down Thundering Scorpion to get to the bottom of the matter by venturing into the Yiaoguai Forest in search of bandits. They eventually came upon the aftermath of a robbery and followed tracks, where they found a man with a dragon long pole sitting atop a large stone*. 

"I am Tu Jin Shi, who are you?"

The man perked up and spoke "I am Long Pole Huo, and you are disturbing my camp."

"We happened upon a robbery down the way," Said Tu Jin Shi, "And I wanted to get to the bottom of the mater. Are you a bandit?"

"Some mistake me for such," Said Long Pole Huo."And you are still in my territory, leave or face my long pole!"

Tu Jin Shi asked to spar, and Strange Dragon Long Pole Huo met him with ferocity and lethal intent. They traded blows, then Strange Dragon Long Pole send a ripple through the air with his spear tip, and the energy split Tu Jin Shi in two. 

Instead of one Tu Jin Shi, there were two. And the two halves were completely unharmed, each a perfect copy of the other. 

Strange Dragon Long Pole chuckled and planted his long pole in the ground. "Now be gone before I get angry!"

The two halves of Tu Jin Shi felt an instant enmity towards one another, and one half, launched into the air to deliver a Kick of the Chaos Star, hitting both his split self and Strange Dragon Long Pole Huo. 

As the fight unfolded, Lu Li made a point of observing, trying to identify the technique Strange Dragon Long Pole Huo had used. However he could not. It was an utterly baffling spear technique to his eyes. 

In moments, Tu Jin Shi had pulverized his other self and Strange Dragon Long Pole Huo. He left the latter alive, but defeating his other half caused him to rejoin with himself. 

They dragged Strange Dragon Long Pole Huo to the local magistrate in Xi An. On the way they question him about Thundering Scorpion, and he said he didn't know the man, but knew his brother, a mad beggar named Chu Leng. They learned the Chu Leng was a wanderer who could be found in the forests and along the rivers of the region. 

They got luxurious rooms at the Orchid Bridge Inn, an ornate tower that is perched over the canal and only accessible by boat. They set out again to the forest, but cautiously as they were in the early days of the Demon Moon. As they traveled the road in the Yaoguai Forest, they heard an eerie song, sung by creatures in the shadows. They became lethargic and fatigued, and passed out. 

Eight Hours later they awakened, and it was dark out. Each one of them had a narrow wound near a vein, and had been drained of blood**. Their possessions, everything except their clothing, were gone. 

Lu Li healed tended to everyone's injuries but could only do so much. Still weak and near death, Xing Ge found tracks that lead deep into a wide dell, and lounging amid the party's belongings, were small creatures with black claws and sharp tusks: Yaksha Demons. It seemed they had recently feasted and the players could see more treasures gathered nearby. As the Yaksha Demons were sleeping, they launched a surprise assault, with Qi Yun leaping to retrieve Lu Li's bow, and Tu Jin Shi launching a barrage of kicks that left the thieves in a bloody pulp. 

They picked up their property and sifted through the other treasures finding spears, swords, meteor hammers, twelve ounces of gecko cinnabar, a brick of Menglao's Black Tea, fine quality robes and dresses worth thousands of spades, a box of seven golden taels, and two bolts of silk. They left the clothing and silk but took everything else. In addition they found The Manual of the Golden King, which contained the Majesty of the Lion technique. 

As they left the dell and returned to the road, they saw a man with a group of nine spearmen standing there. He was familiar. Tu Jin Shi recognized him as the Wan Di, the man from Huo Long Cavern sect, whose disciples they had bested (see HERE). 

"Impressive!" He said. "You dealt with those creatures skillfully."

Tu Jin Shi thanked him and once niceties were out of the way, Wan Di got to the point: "I want to have a rematch. I think my men," He pointed to the nine spearmen behind him "can contend with your Thunder Legs."

Tu Jin Shi agreed but said they needed to recover first. Wan Di offered to let them recover at his camp, where they were fed fine foods and given comfortable tents. 

They asked more about the Black Parrot Society and Wan Di told them they were at war with the sect, because the chief Gongsun Yuan, coveted one of their great treasures.

"He is a vile and greedy man," said Wan Di. "But I can tell you the truth, my real name is Pei Qi, and I am the son of Lady Yi Huang The Winter Phoenix." 

On the fourth day of the Demon Moon, when the party was recovered, they had a friendly rematch. Qi Yun launched a tree bounding stride, injuring several of the nine spearmen, Lu Li rained arrows on them, then Tu Jin Shi launched his infamous Kick of the Chaos Star technique. However the spearmen grouped into a formation and countered his attack. 

Satisfied he had demonstrated that he cracked Tu Jin Shi's technique, Pei Qi/Wan Di bowed and the fight ended. He expressed interest in hearing about their meeting with the Black Parrot Society and offered his hospitality any time in the future. 

Before they left the party asked about his mother, and learned she was friends with Prefect Diao Yue, a detail that interested Qi Yun. They also asked about Thundering Scorpion, and if he knew why some people said he was wicked, and others said it was White Scorpion simply ruining his reputation. 

"Thundering Scorpion and White Scorpion are one and the same. It is sad really. He was once a bandit, a ruthless bandit. And one day he slaughtered a caravan, only to discover one of his victims was his own father. This drove him mad. Filled with remorse, he turned a new leaf and became a righteous hero, but could not confront his own guilt. He attributed his crimes to a man named White Scorpion and has been seeking to bring him to justice ever since (blocking all memory of what he had done from his mind)."

After hearing this information they departed, and Pei Qi gave them a butterfly sword with his name etched into it. 

"Show this anytime you deal with Huo Long cavern Sect. They will know you are my friends when you see it." 

Tu Jin Shi graciously accepted and said he was glad to call Pei Qi a friend. 

This is where the session ended. 

*This is an example of an inverted encounter roll. Because they were looking for a specific bandit I made a d10 table on the fly with all the bandits in the area, weighted in favor of finding Thundering Scorpion because of their efforts. These are the d10 results I wrote down: 1-Thunderbolt Gang; 2-Golden Centipede Bandits; 3-Shu Bao the Laughing Thrush; 4-The Lightning Sage; 5-Strange Dragon Long Pole Huo; 6-10-Thundering Scorpion 

**They had been drained by Yaksha demons, and left with only 1 Wound each

MAINTAINING WUXIA CAMPAIGN LONGEVITY PART ONE

This is part of an ongoing series on long lasting wuxia campaigns (and a casual Saturday post while I recover from being sick). I have been running regular Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate campaigns since we started work on them in 2014, and before that I ran a  number of wuxia campaigns using other systems. When we started work on Ogre Gate, one of my goals was long term play, and I tried to incorporate the things I had observed added to long term play. Here are key things that helped me. 

D&D-ISMS

While I would not compare Ogre Gate to Dungeons and Dragons, or claim it is an OSR game, it does have some D&D-isms. In general these were things I felt were shared by D&D and wuxia (like inns for example). I think it is important to get into because I often see online discussion about wuxia or horror campaigns dismiss D&D or D&Disms. But D&D is a great game and can work for genres like wuxia and horror (I've seen it work for years). Obviously there are system concerns people may have around emulation, and that is a topic unto itself which I might get into later (because I believe Ravenloft was a highly effective Gothic Horror campaign world using the D&D system). But today I just want to focus on features of D&D that can help add longevity to your campaign, not focus on system issues. 

D&D has a lot of features that lend themselves to long term campaign play. You have large tomes of monsters, pages of spells, magic items, etc. It also has concepts like the dungeon, wilderness exploration, random encounter tables, etc. It is a highly gameable approach to play, and I think one of the reasons D&D and its various iterations (whether they be official or clones) is something about its core ingredients and adventure structures, function well for week to week play. When I was working on Ogre Gate, while it wasn't a retroclone or d20 system, and in many ways the polar opposite of D&D, I made a point of not shying away from D&D-isms I felt contributed to healthy campaigns. I had run a number of wuxia campaigns using 1E and 3E Oriental Adventures for example and had noticed certain things lent themselves to long term play but also to reducing GM burnout in terms of how you prep. 

Having some fantastical elements definitely helps. And chief among these is monsters. That is one reason why Ogre Gate has a robust monster section. What having monsters in the setting allows for is a change of pace from human-centric play. Monsters are challenges, they can serve as the basis for an entire adventure. A haunted house for example, almost writes itself once you start with the monster. Anyone who follows my session logs probably sees most adventures are not about monsters, but they crop up from time to time. And I think this element of the setting breathes life into the campaigns. It makes it so it isn't always just about sects and feuds. While monsters are generally not common features of wuxia, there are exceptions, but this is one area where I think leaning into other source material like Pu Songling is helpful. One of the key moments of development for me with Ogre Gate was when I started intentionally using Pu Songling as inspiration for adventure ideas. 

Other elements of D&D are much more at home with the wuxia genre itself. Random encounters for example can help emulate a living martial world. Wilderness exploration certain fits with characters in wuxia stories going on long adventures, often to exotic and dangerous places. But my favorite D&D adjacent feature of wuxia is the dungeon. 

Everyone seems to understand that wuxia has a strong character driven element. Many efforts to emulate the wuxia genre, including my own, Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate, put great emphasis on character and sect conflict and the drama that can flow from that. But I think people often tend to see wuxia as being less at home with dungeons or classic adventure structures you might find in traditional RPGs like D&D. One thing I tried to do with Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate was embrace tried and true approaches alongside the more character driven approach. Wuxia often features things like love triangles, sect politics and stories about torn loyalties. But it is also an adventure genre. Even melodramatic wuxia films like The Thundering Sword, have plenty of adventure tropes like the aforementioned Thundering Sword and a trapped tomb where said sword is located. 

Dungeons are perfectly at home in wuxia. Whether it is finding a manual in the tomb of an ancient master, or a complex that is part of a sect headquarters, dungeon exploration adds another dimension of play to your wuxia campaign and helps produce a more robust martial world. 

WEEKLY PLAY

As much as possible, I think weekly play is one key to successful long term campaigns. Life can be challenging, so sometimes sessions have to get rescheduled, but overall I find a schedule of once a week, much better than once every other week or once every month, for maintaining the momentum of a campaign. 

THE CYCLE OF GRUDGES AND VIOLENCE 

This is incredibly important element of my long term campaigns. In wuxia characters are often motivated by a desire for revenge, grudges need to be settled. And these can span generations sometimes. Toward this end, Grudge tables are essential to my campaigns. 

Grudge tables have several ways they can work but the core idea is anytime the players kill an NPC, upset a sect or group, or even embarrass another martial hero, there is always the chance a grudge arises. Generally this should be up to the GMs judgement based on what he knows about the group or characters in question. Once it is established there is a grudge, they are put on a 2d10 table. As each grudge is handled, the grudges move position. The GM then rolls regularly before play to see if a grudge encounter happens that session (and encounter tables have entries for Grudge Encounters as well so they can come up during a random encounter as well). 

Grudges give the game focus. Even if the players are meandering or not following a clear path, a grudge introduces a problem they eventually have to deal with. And the GM can get quite creative with grudges. A grudge encounter can simply mean the players have a run in with the disciples of a rival sect or a specific person they have a grudge with. But sometimes sects and enemies hire assassins. And sending waves of increasingly colorful and skilled assassins when grudge come up is a fun way to liven up play (assassins are just enjoyable to make). 

They also give the game fuel. It draws the players into the cycle of violence in the martial world, which can often be quite endless. 

NOTE TAKING

If you don't take notes, long term campaigns are impossible to maintain. You need to know very basic things, like which NPCs are alive and dead, but also you have to track changes that have occurred to the setting as the campaign has gone on. 

I think note taking has other benefits for wuxia that might not be obvious. I've mentioned in this in previous discussions about 'pinning it down' but frequently in wuxia characters have encounters with random martial experts or thugs, and these are always stark characters of the martial world, people with signature kung fu and weapons, often strange personality quirks. Note taking skills can help you when you need to make NPCs like this on the fly. Through note taking I became very good at inventing techniques, weapons and overall personalities for groups of martial experts...all in the moment. So not taking helps your campaign not just by tracking what happened, but giving you a tool for instant prep when unexpected things come up. And when you write it down that makes it more objective than if you don't. 

RUN CHARACTER BASED CAMPAIGNS

My campaigns tend to be character based. Occasionally, when I am running shorter campaigns for horror RPGs, I may do more monster of the week style adventures, but when I am running Ogre Gate, I always start each session asking the players what they want to do, without any real plan of my own. I may have prepped details I knew were important, NPCs in the setting might be plotting or planning things of their own, but I am not working to fold what the players are doing into any of these things. My campaigns are about letting the players decide what they want to do, who they want to deal with, etc. There is always a back and forth as things go, so if they piss off a sect, adventure might come to them in the form of a grudge, and if they grow their reputation, people may ask for their services, but there is never any obligation for the players to do so. And the adventures they go on just flow from what happens. I don't think in terms of paths or needing to pace things a certain way. That means things never go off the rails, but also that I never get overly burned out. Path adventures, and this is not a knock on them, take a lot of prep. Doing that week to week can burn you out (I know because I did it for years). But a more open character based approach, means you as the GM basically prepare like an hour between each session. You might work on more at your leisure, but that is mostly just world building stuff. It can be more prep before the campaign begins, but once things get started it's about treating the players, NPCs, sects, etc as live things in the setting: a living adventure. 

I don't think this is the only way to do things. But it is a way that has consistently worked well for me. 

PARTING THOUGHTS

As I said, this is what worked for me. I find everyone has a different idea of what wuxia should be at their game table. Not everyone is going to want monsters in a wuxia campaign for example (and if you don't, but like Ogre Gate, you can just push monsters to the side or try the grittier Righteous Blood Ruthless Blades system I co-wrote with Jeremy Bai). What I have learned though is deal with the table have before you. Worry about your game table, what makes things work for you, and make the wuxia campaign you want to make (don't make a wuxia campaign to impress someone on the internet you don't even game with). I will try to get back to this topic in the near future. 

In the meantime, if you found this post helpful, check out my Wuxia Sandbox posts HERE. 

THE STAR-CROSSED BLADES OF THE GREEN PEONY SESSION VIII

This is the Eighth session of our Star-Crossed Blades of the Green Peony campaign for Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate (session I can be found HERE, session II can be found HERE, session III can be found HERE, session IV can be found HERE, Session V can be found HERE, session VI can be found HERE, Session VII can be found HERE). It is set in Zhang Chang prefecture (which I hope to release a blog entry for). In this campaign, every player rolled randomly to determine who their family are, how many siblings they have and whether individual family members are still alive. The players also gave very rough sketches of their background (no more than a few sentences) and I secretly added a "20-year" backstory to each one. I have implemented a special rule in this campaign that every encounter has a 3 in 10 chance of being connected to their secret backstory in some way. Note in this session I was play testing a specific scenario and the players were made aware prior to play.

CHARACTERS

QI YUN: A roaming martial expert who has secretly learned his martial arts from two different masters (and the masters have no knowledge of one another). 

XING GE: A traveling pipa player and the son of Lu Guiying the Iron Flower. His father died when he was five, and his mother married Gongsun Yuan, the chief of Black Parrot Society. Gongsun Yuan despises Xing Ge. 

TU JIN SHI (THUNDER LEGS): A wandering fighter seeking to be the strongest and most upright hero in the region. His father, Tu Haitao sent his mother away when he was young, after being consumed by grief over the passing of Jin Shi's brother, Tian. Shortly after his father died consuming a lethal concoction in a misguided effort to become immortal. 

LU LI (THE UNFILIAL ARCHER): A traveling physician who comes from a family of successful fishermen. 

THUNDER LEGS 

The party continued toward their destination and, after a brief encounter with a constable patrol, came upon disciples of Huo Long Cavern sect, all armed with butterfly swords. The head disciple, who announced himself as Wan Di, demanded they hand over Xing Ge.

"Why should we hand over our companion to you?" Asked Qi Yun.

"He is an enemy of Lady Yi Huang, and the son of the vile, disgusting Gongsun Yuan. You must hand him over!" Said Wan Di.

"He is not the son of Gongsun Yuan," Said Tu Jin Shi.

"This is true," Said Lu Li. "We can confirm there is no blood relationship between them. 

"I do not care if he is related by blood. Do you deny that he is the Iron Flowers son? And that Gongsun Yuan is his stepfather? He does the work of the Black Parrot Society."

"You are mistaken that he is working for the Black Parrot Society," Said Tu Jin Shi. "While they may technically be his family, they are our enemies. They sent an assassin against us recently and we killed him. We plan to address this matter when we can but we're not just going to hand over our friend to you."

"Then you will have to forgive us if we seem ruthless!" Said Wan Di. 

Qi Yun taunted them by reading a passage from the record he had been keeping of the party's exploits*. 

Wan Di strode up to Tu Jin Shu and and made a potent stab, but his target used Weapon Stride to land on his blade and deliver an attack of his own. 

Qi Yun leapt into the trees, using his Tree Bounding Strike technique to bend and slam the trees upon the other six disciples. Four of them whirled away from the attack but two were hit. 

Leaping into the air, Tu Jin Shi used Kick of the Chaos Star to deliver several attacks to the disciples, knocking out four of them. The two left standing ran away. But Tu Jin Shin said he would keep fighting them if they fled, so they froze. 

When Wan Di realized his men were defeated and that two had tried to flee, he acknowledged that the party had won and began backing off. 

"This isn't over Thunder Legs!" The man shouted. 

"You really need to learn to make your own judgements and not listen blindly to other peoples' words. Even I know this, and I am an idiot!" Said Tu Jin Shi. 

RETURNING LADY WANG PENG TO YUE MANOR 

The men departed and the party went on their way, continuing to Xi An. After an an uneventful encounter with more constables, who seemed to be checking what goods people were transporting, they eventually reached Yue Manor and were received by Wang Shan who thanked them for escorting his wife, Wang Peng. They explained why it took them so long and he was untroubled, even grateful. He gave them each a gift. To Tu Jin Shi, he gave a saber with a jade hilt. Qi Yun he gifted a parasol with a beautiful depiction of Supreme Judge Yu on the surface. Xing Ge he presented a pipa made from rare wood, with ivory and onyx inlays. Lu Li was given a bow with fine carvings of deer and wolves. He then said they were welcome at Yue Manor any time. 

NORTH TO FACE GOLDEN MONKEY

The party headed north, to make Tu Jin Shi's appointed duel with Golden Monkey in Niaojing, but along the way they stopped at Clearwater Lake to see his master. As they traveled Qi Yun saw a Zhen Bird following them in the sky, and recognized it as Red Beak, his master, Jade Priestesses pet. When they reached clear water lake, he left the group and found Jade Priestess near a tree. 

She asked about his travels and was pleased by what he told her. Then she said "I want you to befriend Prefect Diao Yue. He has agents all over the prefecture and you should be able to find a channel to communicate with him through them."

She didn't explain any further, but Qi Yun indicated he would obey. Before he left, she instructed him in Life Stealing Blue Claw technique, informing him the technique required sacrifices to the Five Ghosts. 

At Clearwater Lake, Tu Jin Shi found his master, Lady Jade, still wearing a mask. He showed her his new saber and told her about their exploits. She trained him in a technique called Cleaving Sabre and was pleased by his mastery of it within a short time. Tu Jin Shi, discerned something like pride in there demeanor**. However she said the saber looked unfamiliar in his hands and that he should spend time making the weapon an extension of his body.  

The group headed towards Niaojing, but when Lu Li realized his hometown, North River Village was along the way, he decided to stop in and check on his younger siblings (the eldest was 17 but the youngest was only nine and he wanted to make sure they were okay as his parents had been abducted by Black Leopard Villa some time ago). 

They found the children were being watched by the oldest woman in the village, Gu Jing. Lu Li explained what had happened with his parents, and the woman rebuked him, spitting on the floor and calling him Unfilial. She said he should have gone and saved them. The party tried to explain that it was not possible to do so and they needed to make preparations to face the organization. Qi Yun even read passages from one of his books that painted Lu Li's conduct in purely heroic terms. She left in disgust and began telling the other villagers what happened***.

The second brother, Lu Lin, grabbed a rusty sword and stormed off to save his parents but the party obstructed him. Eventually he was convinced it would be too dangerous, but they taught him some kung fu and told him to practice so he could help when the time came. Lu Lin tried to kowtow to the whole party as his masters but they refused. However, Lu Li decided to take Lu Lin and his other siblings (Lu Yun, Lu Yi, and Lu Linfung) with him to watch Tu Jin Shi's match with Golden Monkey. 

When they reached Niaojing they found Singing Scholar Gao, and paid for information about Thundering Scorpion. They found out that it was unclear whether Thundering Scorpion was a reformed bandit or still up to his old ways. But he told them another man, White Scorpion, might be sullying his reputation deliberately. They also found out that the merchant who hired them to deal with Thundering Scorpion had ties to the criminal underworld. 

Before the match, Lu Li spent time mastering a technique called Burning Beetle's Airborne Oppression. Qi Yun mastered Life Stealing Blue Claw. 

At the Crystal Teahouse, Golden Monkey and Tu Jin Shi had a rematch. Confident, Golden Monkey let Tu Jin Shi have the first strike. He used his new Turtle Snaps its Jaws technique, clamping his hands loudly against Golden Monkey's ears. 

"You have gotten better," Said Golden Monkey. "Now I won't hold back!"

He leapt into the air with a spinning elbow and was surprised when Tu Jin Shi countered with Guiding the Crashing wave, throwing him with tremendous force to the floor. Tu Jin Shi then launched an attack with Cleave of the Sabre, but missed due to his lack of familiarity with the weapon. 

Lu Li and Qi Yun could see that Golden Monkey was nervous as he spin into another elbow attack, crashing sharply against Tu Jin Shi's forehead. While he could easily have killed him, he controlled his power and merely knocked Tu Jin Shi out. 

Again, Lu Li and Qi Yun could see a look of relief on Golden Monkey's face. When Tu Jin Shi came too, he asked if they could fight again in a month. 

"No," Golden Monkey said, his lack of confidence clear to Tu Jin Shi's companions. "I think you need more time to recover. I gave you a good trashing. We better make it six months from now."

This is where the session ended. 

 

*Qi Yun has been keeping 'double books' of their travels, one is more truthful, the other paints everything they have done as heroic 

**This was the product of an Empathy roll. He didn't specifically discern pride, but picked up on a swell of emotion which was interpreted that way due to context. 

***At this point in the campaign, people began calling Lu Li The Unfilial Archer. Characters can pick their own martial nicknames at character creation or they can emerge over the course of the campaign. We opted to have this arise out of campaign events. Their exploits are significant enough that people know who they are and will start using nicknames to refer to them. 

GAMEMASTERING WUXIA: LETHALITY AND BALANCE IN OGRE GATE AND RBRB

Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate and Righteous Blood Ruthless Blades both take an approach to design that embraces lethality and kung fu techniques that vary considerably in power (even at the same Qi Rank). Balance is not the point of the techniques. This can be contrasted with the parent system, Sertorius, where balance was a goal (and many of our earlier games before that as well). The reason for this shift was two-fold. First, we wanted to emulate the carnage you see on screen in wuxia films like Golden Swallow and Killer Clans. Second, less balance proved more fun in playtest. This was something we initially realized when working on the the first Book of the Archon for Sertorius, where we created a spell expansion that had spells unrestricted by balance consideration. We found they made the game more exciting and when players were offered the balanced versus the unbalanced option, they almost always chose the unbalanced one. It is also much more emulative of the source material. In wuxia and kung fu movies and novels, there are spikes in power. Some characters are amazing, others are not. And we wanted to capture that. None of this is to say there isn't a kind of balance in the game, but for the most part, what balance exists arises organically in the setting and still largely unforgiving. 

Related to this is a central concept introduced in Ogre Gate: The Evolving or Changing Kung Fu Landscape. This is meant to reflect what you see so often in wuxia media: the martial world going through periods of chaos and disruption then returning to equilibrium as new Kung Fu emerges to contend with powerful techniques that upset the balance. Here is the text from the core book:

And I clarified this point further in the Sons of Lady 87 Book here: 

A perfect example of this in the books, and in my own campaigns, is the technique Blade of the Dancing Fox. This was very powerful and players quickly discovered how useful it was. When it first emerged, and started to become known in the campaign, not only did several players start taking it, they soon found NPCs were emerging who knew it as well. This is one way balance can be achieved (a technique simply becomes more ubiquitous as its fame grows and sects covet it). But eventually someone devised a counter: Swift Reply of the Fox (this technique appears in War of Swarming Beggars). Usually that is what begins to occur. The martial world evolves over time, so that there is a natural balance in the world. This doesn't mean characters don't get killed by super powerful technique or some characters don't have better techniques than others, but it means eventually even the most powerful hero with a great technique like Blade of the Dancing Fox, eventually meets their match or eventually the presence of their power alone attracts enemies in larger numbers (whether it is heroic sects uniting to deal with a threat, or challengers seeking to prove they can beat the most powerful people in the martial world). 

As you can see this is crucial to managing powerful techniques in the game. And this is meant to emulate something that happens in both wuxia and Kung Fu: a powerful martial arts technique or weapon is introduced that rocks the martial world by creating a huge power imbalance, but eventually a solution arises to nullify or counter the technique. For this to work the GM needs to understand this principle and be open to new techniques emerging from player characters and NPCs in response. 

Another thing the GM should keep in mind is the sects and NPCs. Many of the more powerful Kung Fu techniques belong to equally powerful sects. So even acquiring them, puts a player character in danger, and using them once acquired can attract the attention of the sect. This doesn't mean the GM is meant to simply spam problems at a player because they have a good technique, but it highlights an important aspect of power in the martial world: everything has consequences and power itself can become its own headache. This by the way was an aspect of Sertorius as well. Players becoming powerful is not really a problem. It can be fun, even its own source of adventure. But the GM needs to understand how it produces complications, as those complications will be things that become a focus in the campaign. 

Characters in wuxia and kung fu films are not always equal in power, some are very weak, some are very strong, and while sometimes this is due simply to the point in training a character is at, often it boils down to individual martial arts techniques being much better or worse than others. The game also doesn't assume or guarantee that characters become great heroes of martial artists. That is often what protagonists in wuxia are, but my approach has been more to emulate the world of Condor Heroes or Heroes Shed no Tears, not the plot lines. One of the things I enjoy about playing is finding out who the players are over the course of the campaign. Do they become one of the greats like Guo Jing, a villain, or simply someone who dies, perhaps giving others reason to get revenge? 

While both games lean into drama, neither leans into story structure, so what this brings in terms of emulation is not a guarantee that your character will survive as a hero or survive to die spectacularly at the end. It does mean, because death is on the table, there are ample opportunities for drama. Death almost always produces drama. A good way to think of it is you never really know who or where you are in the story. You could just be a bit player meant to die under a henchman's sword, and that might launch the real story of your brother coming for revenge. It isn't about story structure it is about situations, drama, bloodshed, etc. 

Take the Venom Mob film Crippled Avengers as an example. At the start of this movie, the entire party of characters is maimed in some way. One is deafened, the other blinded, another has his legs cut off, and one is even made into an idiot when they crush his head in a vice. This all happens at the start of the movie. It is essentially a TPK with an asterisk. And it launches the heroes on their path to training around their new disabilities so they can confront the father and son who maimed them. That is how lethality operates in a Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate or Righteous Blood Ruthless Blades campaign (particularly the later where maiming is probably more common). Now there is no guarantee they will survive, this is very much a play to find out what happens kind of system. But whatever it is, it will be a solid evening of swordplay. It is also why back-up characters are crucial. 

Generally Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate is more forgiving than Righteous Blood Ruthless Blades, because it is a bit easier for players to gauge how many more hits they can take in a given fight, but this isn't always the case. Character deaths happen for all kinds of reasons in campaigns and this is something built into the game's design. I am not personally a fan of giving PCs plot armor, and that is something that has been constant in all our games (whether it is Terror Network, Servants of Gaius or Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate). Sometimes that means characters meet anti-climactic ends because the system is not loaded for only dramatic outcomes in that respect and the GM is not supposed to tip the scales. You are playing to discover what happens, which I think is more exciting and also acknowledges that this is a game using random dice rolls. Fighting against random dice to achieve story goals can be a terrible exercise in frustration for all. 

There is another element that these games embrace, particularly Ogre Gate, which is some of the gonzo quality in many wuxia. Everything in wuxia feels heightened, the characters, the battles, the situations, etc. Some movies and books leans into this in a very heavy way, like Web of Death or Holy Flame of the Martial World, and those influences are certainly there. But it is also present in more typical examples like The Condor Heroes trilogy or Smiling Proud Wanderer. Or take some of the film versions, like Swordsman II* or Brave Archer Series. One of the things that makes these films so exciting is how wild and inventive they are, and the kind of plot turns they lean into. 

Something I discovered taking this approach from the early playtests to now (with Ogre Gate in particular as that is the primary system I run week to week), is this really lends itself to long term campaigns. And making long-term, sustainable, wuxia campaigns was a major goal from the outset. When you get out of the mindset of plot armor and hinging the story on a single character, even if their stories are important while they live, it opens the game up to more durable sources of fuel and attention. A total party kill for example is not the end of the campaign, it is a great beginning. An important character dying, can mean an exciting new direction for the campaign. A character obtaining an overpowered technique puts them at the center of conflict in the martial world, the adventures start to write themselves as other clans seek to deal with that person. Characters who find themselves weak or feeble, have solid motivation for finding a solution to that weakness. They may seek out a powerful technique/weapon or die trying. When you combine this with many of the other classic elements I have discussed before (sect conflict, wuxia dungeons, etc) it has given me campaigns that last for years. 

I will talk more about Gamemastering wuxia campaigns future posts based on my own play at the table. Feel free to send me a message or comment about something you would like to see me discuss.

*By part III of this series the movies deviate wildly from the books, so I mention this one as it is well regarded by many fans because it was marketed in the west as a stand alone movie under titles like The Legend of the Swordsman. 

 

THE ANGRY RIVER REVIEW

Released in 1971 The Angry River is directed by Huang Feng and stars Angela Mao. It is about a woman whose father is poisoned by the Moon Cult's Seven Deadly Thorn. To save him she must travel far across the Angry River, into a dangerous valley where the only remedy, Ganoderma Atrum, is protected. She faces the temple's guardians and discovers to leave the temple to bring her father the cure she must let the guardians disable her Kung Fu. What unfolds is a story of a martial hero, stripped of her powers, braving a long journey home, while in possession of a highly prized herb that not only cures the Seven Deadly Thorn poison, but increases a person's martial abilities. By making the hero so vulnerable for such a long duration of the film, we see how strong her will and character truly are. It also reveals the virtue and vice of everyone else around her. 

Huang Feng made several Angela Mao films, including Lady Whirlwind (1972), Hapkido (1972), The Tournament (1974) and When Taekwondo Strikes (just to name a few). And he directed The Crimson Charm (1971), which I reviewed HERE. The others I have covered on the podcast, and I recommend all but would single out Hapkido as my favorite. 

Angela Mao is known to all I am sure, but for those who haven't seen her movies, she brings real martial arts to the screen and is well known for her kicks. Her movies don't always get the level of quality her talents deserve but as a former Taekwondo practitioner myself, I adore her kicking and the overall explosiveness of her martial arts. The Angry River isn't a kung fu movie though, so this is not the kind of performance we see from her in When Taekwondo Strikes or Hapkido. It is closer to a movie like Broken Oath (1977) or The Invincible Eight (1971). 

There is some confusion over whether this is the first Golden Harvest movie or not, as the title also seems to be taken by The Invincible Eight. Similarly there is confusion over whether this is Angela Mao's first role. It seems The Angry River was the first Golden Harvest production, but The Invincible Eight was released first. Also Angela Mao was in the The Eight Bandits in 1968, so it appears her first role was actually years earlier. 

The Angry River is an impressive film. It is a bit sharper than many other early Golden Harvest Movies, both in terms of visual presentation and in style (some of this could be due to the transfer being clear). It has one-foot firmly planted in that late 60s Shaw Brothers wuxia era, but still feels like a refreshing change. I think it is one of the their best efforts and sure to please anyone who loves the classic wuxia style, but is open to more fantasy elements. 

The music is great, it freely samples from On Her Majesty's Secret Service for wonderful effect for example. And the incidental music all adds to the mood. 

There are plenty of practical effects and some work great, others not so much. I rather enjoyed the giant lizard man in a rubber suit scene. It is what it is, but fun and surprising. But the rope crossing, which is essential because it takes place over the Angry River itself, was something of a disappointment. It looked like very shoddy blue screen (or something similar). 

The Angry River was an interesting threat. It wasn't entirely clear what its full nature was, but anything that fell into it, caught on fire. So that felt suitably dangerous. However it is less central to the plot than one might think from the title. More of an important threshold for the hero to cross. 

As mentioned this is a movie where the heroine loses her kung fu. That is a genre staple, though it is more typical for side characters to be the recipients of this fate. Here it works, and reminded me of a later film, Superman II. I loved it for many of the same reasons I enjoyed that movie as a kid. I won't spoil anything, but I will say when she loses her powers she is told if things get too disastrous, she can restore her Kung Fu and regain her powers by eating the Ganoderma Atrum. This would mean there would not be any left for her father, but it puts the possibility on the table of her regaining her abilities at some point. 

What is interesting is just how much loss of martial ability affects her. It does not only impacting her fighting. It affects her ability to endure the long journey itself, to ward off illness, etc. The film makes the point that Kung Fu is about more than just swords and fists, these characters are exceptional in all kinds of other ways, which explains why they can stand so easily outside of normal social convention sometimes. But here, she is suddenly vulnerable and often reliant on the good will of other heroes. We see this clearly in the contrast between her journey to the Angry River, which is fairly effortless, and the long, painful trek home. 

We also don't know who she can trust, because once it is known she is powerless and carrying this valuable and coveted herb, characters who once seemed righteous, suddenly behave differently. I found myself on the edge of my seat from set-ups as simple as her recovering at an inn after nearly dying from a long journey. Righteous heroes turn into vultures and any time she is resting, or weak from travel, I was worried someone would steal the herb from her. There is even a hero who almost rises to the level of love interest, and becomes her protector, but in the back of my mind, I wondered if he could be trusted. 

The fights are solid. This is an early Angela Mao film, and she only gets sharper with time, but here the performances work and the fight choreography, by Han Ying-Chieh and Sammo Hung work great. It is worth mentioning I discussed them in my review of The Invincible Eight as they served as martial arts directors for that movie too. And the fight with Pai Ying's King of Hell is awesome (in some ways it reminds me of his performance in Dragon Inn). The fight scene are are a little more old-fashioned than the later Golden Harvest movies, particularly post Bruce Lee films, but anyone familiar with late 60s Shaw Brothers action should enjoy this. 

This film looks great too. Not just in the filming itself, but the sets, the costumes. With the exception of the aforementioned rubber lizard man suit, everything looks stellar. I strongly recommend The Angry River. Not only is it notable as the first Golden Harvest Production, it is an important Angela Mao film and has a unique take on the protagonist losing their martial arts, which allows it to tell a much different story. 

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.