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 SESSION XV

This is the fifteenth 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. 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. 

PAINTED DEATHS AND DEMON EMPERORS 

Making their way to Lanyin, the party stayed at the Tu Association Headquarters and discovered that Wan Lu, the man that had sold them steamed buns along the roadside, had in fact come to them to hire escorts to transport goods to the Green Raksha Inn. Tu Jin Shi's brother said he believed it was a black inn*.

Xing Ge, after getting word from The Black Parrot Society, explained that Guo Chiang, before he was killed at the River Spirit Inn, had been planning to level a formal accusation of Tea Theft at the Prefect. Such an accusation was serious with a penalty of strangulation. The Black Parrot Society also confirmed rumors that the prefect's wife was a demon or spirit. He had asked about Lady Yi Huang as well, and the message included a note from his mother saying Lady Yi Huang was a terrible person who must be killed. 

Qi Yun went with Xing Ge to find Jade Priestess in the wilderness. When they found her, they explained that it was their belief that Lady Sun Niao was instigating the conflict between Lively Luan Sect and the Demon Moon Cult. 

"Perhaps she suspects my motives for encouraging you to befriend her husband," Jade Priestess mused. "We will have to address that, but in the meantime, I have wonderful news. Lively Luan is wiped out, only Lady Luan survives. She is hiding somewhere in the prefecture, so if you find her, kill her and bring me her head in a box."

"May I ask," Said Qi Yun. "What is our motivation for befriending the prefect?"

"To align ourselves with the empire," Said Jade Priestess. "We venerate the demon emperor, and it is our belief the Glorious Emperor is staging his return. Some even believe he is Yao-Feng himself. And of course, the prefect is known to deal with exotic supernatural things, we may be able to learn powerful rituals if we are connected to him personally."

Xing Ge excused himself from their presence and she then instructed Qi Yun in Illuminating Ice Claw, as well as a ritual of offering to the Demon Emperor that required a human sacrifice. She explained it was a powerful ritual that allowed the caster to receive a gift from the Demon Emperor. 

THE WORD OF RED JADE MANSION 

The party returned to River Village, so Lu Li could join with his brother and take him with them to find their parents who had been abducted by Black Leopard Sect. When they arrived, he was using a firelance and bow, and thanked Tu Jin Shi for the give. 

"I gave you no such thing," Said Tu Jin Shi.

"It was left with a note from 'Your martial uncle' so I assumed it was you Uncle Tu Jin Shi."

They speculated on who could have sent it, concluding there were a number of possibilities. The firelance was of high quality metal, something that could be passed down for generations. 

Xing Ge sent another pigeon to Black Parrot Society asking if the location of Black Leopard Sect were known, and where he could learn the Fists of Yanshi techniques. Before going to Black Parrot Society to get a response to the queries and address some other concerns, they made a detour to Senzhou. Once there they made their daily appearance before the Prefect in his curio hall, where he asked to speak to Qi Yun alone. 

"My wife has recommended a master that aligns well with your natural aptitudes. Do what you want with this information, but she recommends you seek out Master Tu Yu of Jade Moon Sabre Sect."

"Sabre doesn't sound like it would be suitable for my style," Qi Yun said. 

"My understanding is once you meet him, you will understand that his style is a perfect fit."

Qi Yun thanked him and Xing Ge asked for a private audience before they left. After he greeted the prefect Xing Ge asked if any evidence had been obtained regarding Gongsun Yuan. 

"You were right to come to me about this matter as it seems your stepfather is indeed guilty of terrible things. I have in possession this sworn testimony from the Master of Red Jade Mansion. In his words, he witnessed Gongsun Yuan boast the following: "I killed Dao Zheng and took his wife....HA. HA. HA." 

Xing Ge thanked him and took a copy of the testimony. "I must also report something unsavory I am afraid. While conducting our investigation into the killing of Guo Chiang, we found people spreading rumors about your wife."

The prefect quaked visibly and clenched his fists in rage. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Cut out the tongues of anyone spreading these vile rumors, let all know we will not tolerate rumor-mongering in this prefecture!"

"I am afraid some of the people spreading these falsehoods were members of high society," Said Xing Ge. 

"In that case, anyone who doesn't matter, remove their tongue, anyone who does matter, submit their name to me." 

The party left and arrived at The Black Parrot Headquarters on the 2nd of the Dog Moon. This is where the session ended. 

*Black inns serve human meat 

STAR-CROSSED BLADES OF THE GREEN PEONY SESSION XIV

This is the fourteenth 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). 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. 

THE PAINTED MAIDEN 

Reflecting on their experience hearing a Black Parrot utter the words about the lifting the Curse at Black Parrot Lake, Xing Ge asked his men about the Tomb of the Parrot King and how it came to be cursed. They told him that when his sword was stolen ages ago, it sank and was flooded until the area became a lake. One of his men, A-Fu, said "I know where the sword is kept." And explained it was known to be an artifact of Hopping Ghost Temple. 

Believing the murders of Qi Yun's co-disciples were the most pressing matter, he then asked his men if any knew about recent rumors about Painted Maiden sightings*. They informed him, they had heard of sightings happening along the river, of bodies being found by members of Chi Song River Gang. They also said a body was found in the town of Jiaoshi. 

Xing Ge left two of his men behind to watch their new abode. They took passage on an imperial tea vessel. On the ship, Tu Jin Shi was looking for anyone who might be a painted maiden and happened to notice a famed courtesan named Gentle Moon Qin. Asking about her, he learned she was a favorite of General Lu, a minor commander in the area**. Tu Jin Shi began to follow the courtesan, but when she turned her nose up at him and walked away, he decided this was a sign she was just a normal person. 

The players knew that there was a famous inn in Jiaoshi run by a woman rumored to be a Fox Spirit, Lady Xuan Chi. They also understood, even though the city was governed by City Lord Shuang Yi, the true power in the region was the Fox Spirit and that her organization, River Spirit Sect, was quite powerful. 

They decided to go to the River Spirit Inn to speak with her. There they found a large inn upon an island in the river, shrouded in a dense mist, its multiple stories rising high into the sky, with each one offering a greater pleasure than the one below. 

They met with her on a balcony of the second story, but Tu Jin Shi's gruff ways were off-putting to her. She did explain that about a week prior, someone was found dead in one of the inn rooms, a merchant named Guo Chiang. People had said it looked like a painted maiden killed him. 

"And what would a Painted Maiden look like?" Tu Jin Shi asked. 

"Like a normal person of course," Said Lady Xuan Chi. "They can assume human form and use this to live among us and devour victims. This is just a rumor of course, the constables handled the matter."

Though she was growing more and more irritated by Tu Jin Shi's unrefined manners, when it came to her attention that Master Poet Qi Yun was among his group, she took more interest in them. 

"Did anyone interact with the merchant here before his death?" Tu Jin Shi asked. 

"Yes, a number of people did."

"Well I believe I have learned everything we can, thank you for your help."

"Do you want to know their identities?" Asked Lady Xuan Chi (at this point she was fully contemptuous of him). 

Tu Jin Shi indicated he woud very much like to know this information. 

"If Master Poet Qi Yun would honor us with an exclusive Huaben, only to be performed at my establishment, I would be willing to provide you these details." 

Qi Yun wrote a story about a beggar dreaming of ascending the 18 levels of pleasure at The River Spirit Inn***, set to music composed by Xing Ge****. 

She explained that merchant Guo Chiang had interacted with Magistrate Lao of Yue Town, who had been staying at the inn and on friendly terms with him. He also spoke with the Prefect's wife, Sun Niao. Red Cicada, a courtesan at the River Spirit Inn, had spent a night with him. And Lady Yi Huang of Huo Long Cavern Sect had spoken to Guo Chiang. 

"Why were so many influential people speaking with him?" Asked Lu Li. 

"Because he is obscenely wealthy." Said Lady Xuan Chi. 

They also found out that the body was already buried then secured a dinner audience with Red Cicada, which cost them five hundred spades. 

During the meal, they asked about what she discussed with Guo Chiang but refused to disclose that saying it was private. She did say Sun Niao had concerns about Guo Chiang's activities, and agreed that he was likely killed by a Painted Maiden. 

They pressed her further about Sun Niao and she said there were rumors she was such a creature. Explaining that people knew she was the one the prefect sent to deal with his enemies. She also confirmed that Sun Niao was the last person seen with Guo Chiang. However after telling them her suspicions about Sun Niao, Red Cicada became visibly fearful and as they were leaving she clutched Xing Ge by the hand saying and gazing at him intently "I cannot rest easy after speaking so openly about the Prefect's wife. As long as she lives I will be fearful."

Xing Ge sent a messenger pigeon to Black Parrot society asking about the Prefect's wife and all the other suspects, with instructions for the response to be sent to their nearest outpost in Lanyin. Before leaving they went to the constable and spoke with the coroner. 

The coroner confirmed that the body appeared eaten by a large mouth, and one that could be mistaken for alligator bites. He told them as well that no noise was mentioned by anyone at the inn during the time of the murder, but emphasized it was a pleasure house where such sounds could easily be misinterpreted or ignored. He also expected more papers and other items in the room, so suspected things were taken. 

When they asked if any evidence was found he handed Xing Ge a jade hairpin and said it was clutched in the dead man's hand. He also noted there were signs Guo Chiang fought back. 

Xing Ge remembered seeing the hairpin before when they first met Sun Niao on the boat. 

Before leaving the constable told them the case was effectively closed. 

This is where the session ended. 

*I had assigned an "Information Network" rating of 0d10 to his men, for occasions like this. I rolled 2d10 to take the lowest and got an 8. 

**This was intentional disinformation by her true client: Chief Patrolling Inspector Luo Sha (who was traveling in secret on the ship). 

***There are not literally 18 levels at the inn, but he chose the number for poetic reasons. 

****They both got 9s on their rolls, so the story and music were of very high quality and acceptable to Lady Xuan Chi. 

ROLLING DICE IN WANDERING HEROES OF OGRE GATE

DO YOU COUNT SUCCESSES IN OGRE GATE?

This post is more of a small point of clarification about Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate and the Network system. Something that comes up in a lot of online posts and reviews, is describing the game as 'counting successes'. I don't think this is intentional, more people being efficient in their description. But I think it is important for me to clarify just in case there is any misunderstanding about how to play. 

While it is true if you count Total Successes on Damage Rolls, and you do count successes on Open Damage Rolls. In all other instances of play you do not. It is built around the core Network system design of roll a pool of d10 and take the single highest result. So if you roll 3d10, getting 4, 2, and 7, you just take the seven. Things like Open Damage only start to emerge in Sertorius. And that is meant as an exception to the general rule. Counting Successes was something we considered a problem to avoid when designing the system. This is a minor point but I wanted to raise it in case anyone out there is playing Ogre Gate and counting successes on normal rolls. If it is a normal skill or attack roll, you just take the single highest result. Most damage rolls that is also true, unless you get a 10 or an ability turns it into an Open Damage roll. 

STAR-CROSSED BLADES OF THE GREEN PEONY SESSION XI

This is the eleventh 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). 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 RAKSHA AND THE SCORPION 

The party dragged the body of the creature to Li An, and found a scholar who was writing a Gazetteer of the region for the emperor to give it to named Master Situ Hai. They sent their men in to notify Situ Hai they were holding the body just outside town. 

"We killed this in the Yaoguai Forest," Lu Li told him when he arrived. 

"You didn't kill this," He said skeptically as he inspected it. 

"We used a special poisoned arrow," Said Qi Yun.

"This gentlemen, is a Raksha Demon of the Yaoguai Forest," He continued to examine it. "Had this been a normal Yaksha, your arrows would have been completely useless against it. Consider yourselves fortunate. How much do you want for it?"

The party agreed to exchange it for copies of the draft of his Gazetteer, with the understanding that they would inform him if they discovered any errors in their travels through the forest. 

The party stayed at the Golden Swallow for three nights, hoping Thundering Scorpion would arrive to clear his name. They sent Xing Ge and his men to collect their persimmon shipment from Lanyin. 

On the second day, a man resembling the poster and flanked by disciples whose attire they recognized, arrived and approached the party while they sat at a table. 

"Thunder Legs! I have a quarrel with you!"

He pointed at Tu Jin Shi, and demanded to know why they were ruining his reputation. 

A heated argument followed where they accused his men of behaving recklessly and attacking them at the Jade Gourd (killing an innocent person in the process).  He dismissed their accusation and countered that they had been transporting a stolen necklace and his men were merely trying to achieve it. He kept trying to bring the conversation back to them ruining his reputation. When they brought up stories they had heard that he and White Scorpion were one and the same, he scoffed, saying he was a righteous hero. Thundering Scorpion kept retuning to the matter of the posters.  

"But your methods are reckless and endanger innocent people," Tu Jin Shi said. 

"Justice is messy," Thundering Scorpion said. "My methods are effective. Our thunderbolts get the job done.....I want these posters taken down and my reputation restored!" 

Tu Jin Shi tried to explain the posters were from their companion Xing Ge, who was away. 

There was further argument with lots of accusation, when Thundering Scorpion insisted on a duel with Xing Ge. Tu Jin Shi became furious and flatly refused. Finally Tu Jin Shi and Thundering Scorpion agreed to duel each other. The terms were: If Thundering Scorpion Lost, he would stop using his thunderbolts inside city limits, if Tu Jin Shi lost, he would call Thundering Scorpion "Father". 

They squared off outside the city by a river. There were onlookers. 

Thundering Scorpion launched into a pressure point technique, but Tu Jin Shi sent him crashing to the ground with a counter. Then Tu Jin Shi flew into a fury with his saber, but missed, not being well trained in the weapon. 

Stepping back fifteen feet, Thundering Scorpion through his thunderbolt into the air. It flew in a red haze, blasting Tu Jin Shi and setting him aflame. The red energy lingered and settled around his heart, making him feel worn and weary. 

As a precaution, Qi Yun took up a thunderbolt ball and got into his stance, preparing to emulate Thundering Scorpion to counter his attacks if things became dire. "I could be your disciple," He said to Thundering Scorpion. 

Tu Jin Shi used Turtles Snaps its jaws, clapping Thundering Scorpions ears to deafen him. 

Lu Li analyzed Thundering Scorpions Thunderbolt attack, and determined it was not a waijia technique. 

Thundering Scorpion sent another thunderbolt flying, blasting Tu Jin Shi again, knocking him unconscious. He then put out the flame and helped him, telling his friends to administer aid. Lu Li treated his injuries and alleviated some of his symptoms. 

After the match, Tu Jin Shi agreed to call Thundering Scorpion father and the party agreed to take down the posters. Thundering Scorpion promised to beat his men for their behavior at the Jade Gourd. 

Before he left, he asked Qi Yun if he really wanted to be his disciple. Qi Yun threw the thunderbolt at a tree and it exploded against it. He then told Thundering Scorpion he did not wish to be.

Thundering Scorpion handed him a thunderbolt and said "Train more with this, if you change your mind, you can come to me to learn more."

He then told them where in the Yaioguai Forest he could be found and departed. 

They spent the next few days getting new clothes and gifts so Qi Yun could head north to meet with his master, Lively Luan. He made sure to have the rest of the party buy better clothes as his master had demanding taste. They then found passage on a boat and journeyed along the river. 

THE LADY OF SHENZHOU 

In their cabin there was a knock at the door. Answering, they saw a sailor. 

"Sir," The sailor pointed at Qi Yun. "A guest wishes to speak with you."

Qi Yun and the rest of the party followed the sailor who led them to a cabin door. Inside were soldiers, among them, one soldier whose eyes were black and vaporous. A woman, in the finest clothing they ever laid eyes on, sat regal upon a chair.

"Welcome Qi Yun," She said. 

"Thank you Madame," He said. "I was told you wished to speak with me."

"Yes, I am Lady Sun Niao." She said. "What business do you have with the prefect?"

"Business Lady Sun Niao?"

"You do wish to meet the Prefect?" She asked. 

Surprised Qi Yun said "I had intended to do so Lady Sun Niao."

"Why do you want to meet with the prefect?" She asked. 

"When one is rising in this world, it is helpful to make friends in high places."

"Do you have any talents or skills that the prefect would find useful?"

"Skills....." Qi Yun began.

"If I may Lady Sun Niao," Tu Jin Shi spoke. "I am not an educated man, and am regarded as an idiot, but Qi Yun has been traveling with us and in our travels, he has accomplished many great things. Just the other day, he killed a Raksha Demon with us. Together we can be of great use I believe."

"I am a talented writer as well," Said Qi Yun. 

Lady Sun Niao nodded and looked at Qi Yun, "Those are indeed valuable skills. I can arrange a meeting with the prefect if you like." 

"Yes that would be most agreeable Lady Sun Niao."

They agreed to go to the prefect in Shenzhou, and she handed them a red talisman to give to the guards at the city gates when they arrived. 

"Thank you for being so kind Lady Sun Niao" Said Tu Jin Shi. 

"It isn't kindness. I am merely looking after the interests of my husband."

They bid farewell and departed. As they were leaving she said to Qi Yun "Give my regards to your masters." 

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.