EVIL PARTY, EVIL PLAYERS?

I saw this article by Clem Bastow in my feed today, which examines the ethics of violence in roleplaying games. It is an interesting read and features commentary from Ethan Gilsdorf, a writer I have a lot of respect for. Some of the points raised I agree with, some I disagree. I won't tell my readers what they should think of the article. Read it for yourself and decide. It is definitely worth reading, whether you agree with the views expressed or not. It certainly got me thinking about the subject. Here are some of my thoughts. 

The person playing Jesus in
this campaign kicked puppies for fun.
The guy playing Satan
volunteered at the local soup kitchen.

I've run mafia campaigns, evil party adventures and am presently handling a group of players who are trying to overturn heaven by aligning themselves with the Demon Emperor. These are not how most of my campaigns play out but as a GM I am pretty open to darker PCs. I've always liked monsters and villains, and these are characters I enjoy seeing pop up from time to time. So my perspective not he issue may be different from many others. 

A key question the Bastow article asks: "is D&D violence more sinister [than other media] because we are the ones manifesting it?". I think there is a genuine concern out there that if you play a truly evil character, this will somehow carry over into your regular life, or that it is a reflection of something really dark inside that person. People have expressed similar concerns about horror movies and video games. In the 80s parents groups and religious organizations had such concerns about D&D. Now I find a lot of gamers asking the question themselves. 

In my experience running games with evil characters, this just isn't the case. I've actually seen quite the opposite, with the people who are the most adjusted and "normal" being the ones who are able to play fully evil characters. I've also never seen any bleed from what peoples characters do in the game (whether that be cold blooded murder or torture) into peoples' every day lives. If anything it seems to be a release valve the same way aggressive music is. We are playing characters because they are fun and compelling, not because we want to be them. 

Another question that is raised is the morality of killing nameless orcs and kobolds in D&D. While I think in the real every day world we absolutely have to be careful about demonizing people and groups (and that such demonization is often a precursor to horrendous acts) this is ultimately a fantasy. I can conceive of a game world where there are objective forces of law, chaos, good, evil and neutrality, where the creatures inhabiting that world are often in cosmic alignment with those forces, and not have that shape my world view in any way. Frankly I think if you are relying on your D&D game to inform your sense of right and wrong, you are looking in the wrong place for morality. 

When I first started playing D&D, I had a lot of trouble understanding how the god of the bible wasn't in the GM's setting. I had been raised very religious and this was something I just had difficulty imagining. I kept pestering the GM with questions about where God was? He would just say "he doesn't exist in this setting, there is a pantheon of gods instead." I didn't understand this and had trouble accepting it because I couldn't separate my own beliefs from the beliefs found in the game. I needed them to align. As I got older, I began to understand this is more like a thought exercise. You can have a setting that doesn't have gravity for example or doesn't have the color blue. You can also have a setting that has different moral assumptions built into the universe itself. They don't have to align with the morality we carry with us in our daily lives. Fort his reason, I think it is okay to have a world where orcs are evil and humans are good, so long as you are not using orcs to stand in for a real world group of people or something. I will say, I personally find that a more boring approach to play (just my personal taste). But I don't think there is anything wrong with it. 

The article raises the issue of GM responsibility in terms of policing player behavior or ensuring there is some kind of cosmic justice. Here I think the GM's only responsibility is to the welfare of the players themselves and to the integrity of the setting. If player characters kill without mercy, the consequences that stem from that, shouldn't be so I can teach the players a lesson about how to conduct themselves in the real world (they are adults and I am not their teacher or psychologist). The consequences should just be whatever the natural consequences of the action would be (they could be beneficial or harmful to the characters depending on the circumstance). 

My view here is we are all mature adults, and we can all hold these things at arms length. Just like if we were to sit down together and watch the Texas Chainsaw Massacre or the Sopranos, my friends don't need me to lecture them on the inappropriate use of chainsaws and firearms. They already know not to saw people in half or shoot them in the back of the head (and if they don't, I doubt a speech from me is going to change much). It is the same in gaming. The players come to the table equipped with their beliefs about right and wrong. It isn't my job as the GM to alter that or shape it (and any disagreements about morality among people at the table should be handled in the real world, not passive aggressively handled in the campaign). It is certainly interesting to see moral dilemmas the characters face unfold, but I wouldn't mistake that for any kind of personal development on our part. At the end of the day this is just a game, it is a fantasy and entertainment. 

However, I do think there is an ethics of evil in gaming that is important to address. This isn't a question of what your player character does to NPCs or PCs (in many games player characters slaughtering the innocent or killing their fellow party members is perfectly fine). It is a matter of what how your character's actions affect other players at the table. Basically, is everyone on board with you playing your character at "maximum evil" or is there an expectation that you will tone it down a notch. There is an unspoken divide between players who fully commit to being an evil character and the more typical approach which is to play a sanitized version of evil. I think this is where the ethics of evil in gaming becomes more important because instead of fretting over the fake death of imaginary orcs, this is about the impact you are having on your friends at the table. When there is clearly an expectation that you should "tone it down a notch", then the right thing to do is tone it down. But if everyone is onboard for random carnage, go ahead an crank it up. 

In short, be as evil as you want in your games. Just don't be a jerk about it. I've run enough mafia campaigns where player characters are trying to kill each other to know that can be a great deal of fun and present interesting challenges for a group of players who want that kind of game. But it would be a horrible choice for a group that wants harmony in the party and with players who don't want to worry about their character being killed by a fellow PC in the middle of the night. 

THE SECRET OF JE VALLEY XVII: MERCY IS FOR THE WEAK?

This campaign is set ten years after a previous set of adventures (HERE). This is the seventeenth session of the current campaign (Session XVI can be found HERE). It was an interim session conducted online. 

Characters*:
Xue Lingsu (Purple Cavern Sect)
Xi Kang(Affiliated with Mr. Red Claw)
Zhi Zhu (No Sect)
Long Shu (Purple Cavern Sect)
Min (Purple Cavern Sect)
Rong (Tree-Dwelling Nun Sect)
Nuan (Xi Kang's Disciple and a former Flying Phantom)
Niang the Demon Hunter (A martial hero who knows how to kill the Yao)

Last session the party snuck into General Dee's residence in Yuzhing to destroy the heart boxes of emperor's martial experts (which would kill them). However it was a trap and the heart boxes were fake. Led there by Shan Lushan, head of Zhaoze sect, they were attacked by paper shadows as a gate fell to trap them in place. The party fought its way out and burned down a section of the building in the process. They also seemed to kill Shan Lushan. 

Shan Lushan

They went back to their ship and regrouped. Kang found a small outpost of the Red Claw gang at a lacquered goods shop and learned that the general had had several meetings in the last few days with the leader of the Qui Pan Bandits, Zhang Wan (who came to the city with a large retinue). He learned that the leader was staying at the Towering Chrysanthemum and had several Flying Phantoms with him (a group the party believed had been eradicated with the destruction of Mystic Sword Sectt). He also learned that the Zhang Wan was meeting with the General again in the morning. Kang returned to the ship and reprimanded his disciple, Nuan (who was a former Flying Phantom herself). She had told him the Flying Phantoms were no more, and asked for an explanation. Juan convinced him that she had truly through they were destroyed so he sent her to spy on the bandit leader at the Towering Chrysanthemum. She returned, confirming at least 100 bandits, a robed figure, an Abbot of some sort and the presence of 10 Flying Phantoms.  

The party sent Zhi Zhu to spy on the Zhang Wan's meeting with the General. It was difficult to find a place to sneak into, but she settled on a crawl space beneath the floor (which was accessibly because of the fire). 

Over the course of the meeting she was struck by the cruelty of both the general and the bandit leader (each boasting about recent kills). The two met for over two hours, enjoying a meal. Zhang Wan commented on the state of the building when he arrived, but the general assured him the heart boxes were safe in Fan. Though Zhi Zhu could not see what was happening, she heard the General say "The object is being protected at Red Mountain Villa, but I have a way inside. It is the will of heaven that these enter into your hands...have a safe journey to west."  

Believing the object to be the Phoenix Crown of Bao (which she had give to the Immortals of Red Mountain Villa) Zhi Zhu returned to the ship and informed the party of the exchange. They decided that they had to eradicate the Zhang Wan before he could go west (believing he planned to reclaim the Phoenix Crown) and then immediately go North to Fan to destroy the heart boxes. 

The only problem was the size of the Zhang Wan's retinue. They had Nuan carve a message onto the pillar of the Towering Chrysanthemum, in a code only known to the Mystic Sword Sect, making it seem like Lady White Blade had returned as a spirit demanding the remaining Flying Phantoms give up the secular world and become nuns on Mount Hai'an or face her wrath. 

This was an effective technique as the Flying Phantoms live in constant fear of Lady White Blade and vengeful spirits are a reality of the setting. Eight of the Flying Phantoms left suddenly upon seeing the markings, not wanting to take any chances, while two remained with Zhang Wan. 

Meanwhile Kang went back to his Red Claw contact and obtained ten thunderbolt balls (Basically bombs). They also secured a smaller boat and readied to leave as soon as Zhang Wan boarded his ship. 

Zhi Zhu stood watch on the docks. When Zhang Wan arrived he looked angry and had only two Flying Phantoms. He was flanked by 100 bandits, the abbot but there was also a giant robed figure carrying a spear tip, and the party realized later that this was Zhang Kang, the Bandit King they encountered at Ogre Gate Inn (who was after them because they stole his Jade Horse). Zhang Kang was not a mortal man, he had been twisted into a terrible creature with horns and writing snakes for eyes. 

A Flying Phantom of
Mystic Sword Sect

They set out on the river and kept about half a mile ahead of Zhang Wan. When they reached a wide point before the grand canal, they put their plan into action. Lingsu, Min and Rong each used Great Stride to take a Thunderbolt Ball to the mast of the ship. Then they each dropped them onto the deck, creating an enormous blast. Kang flew above the ship and dropped a Thunderbolt Ball, which exploded below the deck. 

The ship erupted into flames and started to sink, with the bandits all struggling to survive the water. Zhang Wan, Zhang Kang and Spear Tip, The Abbot and the Flying Phantoms leapt to the shore. Min used Great Stride to reach them, as did Lingsu and Rong. Nuan flew and carried Zhi Zhu, while Kang flew on his own. 

As Kang was heading toward the shore, the Iron Spear Tip whipped toward him and sliced his side. He tried to evade with Dip of the Drunken Snake but was still hit. Zhi Zhu unfurled her arms of Silk and managed to control the spear. With Nuan's help she moved it several hundred feet away from everyone else on one of the shores. There the spear tip escaped and attacked Zhi Zhu, but she used Turn of the Caltrop, which flicked the spear tip toward Zhang Kang. 

On the shore Min was met with Zhang Wan's gaze, which caused her bones to bend inside her body. This was excruciating and she unsheathed her Jian then attacked. She was able to slash Zhang Wan badly with Slicing Blade of the Flying Phantoms Technique and he stumbled back. The Abbot grabbed the bandit leader and fled into the air with him to the south. Lingsu used Great Stride to go after them. 

Nuan landed on the Shore and impaled Zhang Kang with her Ox Tail Dao. It didn't kill him, but hurt him a great deal. Zhi Zhu reached the fray and unleashed a hail of Storming Daggers on one of the Flying Phantoms, killing her instantly. Zhang Kang slammed Nuan with his fist, sending her back ten feet. 

Lingsu attached himself to the Abbot, hoping to force him to land. Abbot balled his fist and struck Lingsu in the mouth, inflicting a terrible blow and knocking out most of his teeth, save a few. Lingsu used Sword Whipping Strike and lacerated Zhang Wan. Kang use Tai Lan's Staff strike to batter Abboy, forcing him to release Wan and Lingsu (who plummeted to the ground after a brief tug of war). As they fell to the ground, Lingsu was able to twist Wan's body so it absorbed most of the impact and died. 

Nuan charged Zhang Kang and impaled him again, forcing him to his knees; Spear Tip immediately placed herself in-between Kang and the party, shaking in the air like an enraged hornet. Min used Swan Taming Strike to dispatch the other Phantom. 

Lingsu and Kang chased Abbot to the shore. As Spear Tip flew in a frenzy to protect him, Zhang Kang said "Mercy, show me mercy and I'll leave". 

Kang said "Mercy is for the weak." Then went to deal with Abbot. He struck with his staff and he dropped to surrender. Min was going to kill him to avenge Lingsu, but was persuaded to merely cut off his hands. 

There was an unease as the party decided what to do with Zhang Kang. They eventually decided to let him go with Spear Tip to the west. 

This is where the session ended. 

WANDERING HEROES OF OGRE GATE: SECT PREVIEWS

(From left to right) Temple of the Nine Suns,
Mystic Sword Sect, Sun Mai Sect, Perfect Heaven Lineage Sect

Martial Sects are an important feature of Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate. Here are a few of the sects from the rules with illustration from Jackie Musto. There are 16 major sects in the rulebook so this is just a quick look. 

This is an illustration of four sects in the game. I will describe them below from left to right. 

Temple of the Nine Suns
This is a very old sect that has changed a great deal over time. They believe in Nine Ages, which they call Suns. Each age requires humanity adapt with new ideals and practices. The present era is the seventh so the sect embraces individuality, pleasure and the unorthodox to match it. Some take this to incredible extremes, at best they reject convention, at worst they kill at will and bring chaos wherever they go. The Temple of Nine Suns focuses primarily on Internal Kung Fu and unarmed attacks. 

Mystic Sword Sect
This is a sect so dedicated to righteousness that they've become a danger to the stability of the martial world. Any transgression against the code of the Xia, however slight, warrants immediate punishment. Led by Lady White Blade, the sect is even more cruel toward its own members. Disciples are harshly punished, even killed, for falling short of Lady' White Blade's expectations. One branch of the sect, the Flying Phantoms (pictured above) wear masks to conceal the disfigurements their master has rendered for their failures. Despite their apparent lust for blood, the sect venerates Hen-Shi, a goddess of mercy and compassion. When pressed on this matter, their response is to declare death "a kind of mercy". Mystic Sword Sect is known for its swordplay and lightness kung fu. 

Sun Mai Sect
This is our version of Shaolin. The chief virtues of Sun Mai are Compassion and Mercy, Truthfulness and True Understanding. The aim of which is to experience the perfect realm, or Wan Mei. According to the teachings of Shisan, one who has achieved this understanding can sense the interconnectedness of all things and therefore truly understand why compassion and mercy are at the heart of their religion. They also venerate Hen-Shi, not because they view her as some distant deity who needs placating but because they believe she is an idea that is present in every person and by looking to her as a model one can cultivate compassion and mercy. While they will use violence to defeat foes who pose a threat, Sun Mai monks are not supposed to kill and should only do so when all other options have been exhausted. They would rather work to rehabilitate an evil foe, than kill. Sun Mai is known for its wide ranging techniques that include weapons, palm strikes, internal energy, and lightness kung fu. 

Perfect Heaven Lineage Sect

This is a righteous sect that is devoted to the restoring Hai'an and defeating the Glorious Emperor. They venerate the memory of Perfect Heaven Lineage’s founder Cai Shimei of Yu and venerate all the gods and immortals under Xian Nu Shen’s authority. For them the chief virtue is for man to understand his place within this hierarchy and to behave accordingly.The Perfect Heaven Lineage Sect is well-versed in many Rituals to help them fight evil. They are also knowledgeable about religion and other esoteric beliefs. They have a particular interest in the importance of the Phoenix and Dragon principles, which is why they like to balance their order perfectly with half the members being women and half the members being men. The sect is known for its swordplay and pressure point techniques. 

 

SKETCHING A CITY

I am not the best mapper in the world, but I find it very helpful when running a game to map out settlements. For a campaign, as long as the map tells you what you need to know at the table, it doesn't have to look pretty. If they end up in one of our books, we hire artists to turn them into something more presentable. Here is a map I've been working on today. 

This is the city of Fan, the capital of Li Fan and an potentially important place in upcoming sessions (depending on what unfolds). I based it on images of streets and houses in Shanxi province. 

I took inspiration from a few different places, and you can see the images here provided of them. These are images from wiki pages but I've been using a handful of books to help me layout cities and houses. The most useful one by far is Vernacular Architecture: Domestic Spaces of Ancient China by Wang Qijun. Another one that has been helpful is Chinese Architecture by Cai Yanxin. 

Lion City

Generally my interest in history is more with institutions, politics and religion; material culture (architecture, weapons, tools, textiles, etc) is something I am not as naturally as interested in, so I find I have to make up for it a bit when mapping. Books like the ones listed above are useful to me in that respect. Journal articles are also helpful. 

One aspect of the city I like is the submerged Old Fan City. This is loosely inspired by Lion City (a Han Dynasty city submerged in 1959). Lion City was submerged as part of a dam project, but I liked the idea and decided to have the original settlement sunk beneath the lake by an act of the Demon Emperor. The old houses and streets can be seen from the surface, but water ghosts (Shui Gui) haunt just below the surface, attacking anyone who isn't a member of the Hui family (the ghosts are still loyal to the royal line that ruled when they lived). The Kings of Fan take advantage of this and occupy a palace on an island in the center of the lake. 

This is the nearly complete sketch of Fan. I tried to capture the architecture in the above images, particularly the narrow courtyards, but it proved a bit tricky for my meager illustration skills. 

BLOOD OF THE DEMON MOON CULT SESSION X: A FREAK IN THE JADE HALL

This is the campaign log for the tenth session of a google+run Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate campaign. The previous session is described HERE. 

Note: I am running two campaigns in the same setting and treating them as occurring in different realities with some vague similarities. Characters in one may appear in the other, but there are no direct causal effects from one campaign to the next. Partly this is to playtest, but this is also partly due to the multi-dimensional aspect of the universe I run all my games in. It would theoretically be possible for the party from the Blood of the Demon Moon cult campaign to dimension travel to the Secret of Je Valley Campaign, in which case direct interactions could occur (and they could even meet their counterparts in the alternate dimension). 

Player Characters
Mofeng: A young wandering Hero who is frequently at odds with his traveling companion Zhang Wan
Zhang Wan (Bone Breaker): An unpredictable and violent martial expert who is the brother of Zhang San. Third chief of Qui Pan Bandits
Zhang San: A wandering hero and sister of Zhang Wan, more calm than her brother
Chen: A poisoner and healer known for his lazy ways.

Key NPCs
Jade Priestess: Bone Breaker's Sifu and former member of the Demon Moon Cult
Jade Butterfly: San's Sifu
Prince Yuan: Son of the King of Li Fan, controls the eastern territories. 
General Dee: An important military commander in Hu Qin who pays Bone Breaker for services 
Iron Spear Tip: A magic weapon with a mind of its own, the bride of Zhang Kang.

This campaign has been interesting to watch unfold. The party has been interested primarily in building up a base of power in the region by forging alliances with corrupt officials, key sect leaders and supernatural forces. Such arrangements have not been without cost, one player character has lost permanent points in Hardiness. This session he may have condemned himself to an early and painful death. But though such exchanges they have managed to do things like take control of a local group of bandits and inn. One of the big reasons for their success, beyond natural talents they possess, is they've slowly begun to venerate and serve the Demon Emperor (an ancient and powerful evil exiled from existence that longs to return). 

One thing that became important this session, or at least that the players started to become more aware of, is Fate. In Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate, Fate is real and can be deciphered through a number of means such as astrology. It isn't a future set in stone, it is more about your life having a trend or connection to something else. I roll Fate randomly before play and my campaigns have been informing the tables as I run them. 

Here are the events of the session. 

THE TEMPLE OF ENLIGHTENED DISARRAY After meeting with General Dee in Hu Qin, Bone Breaker, San and their retinue went to Stone Forest Hill to meet Prince Yuan. He granted an audience and they asked for his help eliminating Hu Gao. The prince summoned a priest who asked Jade Priestess, Bone Breaker and San to write their name on a Turtle Shell. He explained he wanted to take a divination before determine how to proceed with them. 

San refused, but Bone Breaker and Jade Priestess both wrote their names on the shell. The priest then brought the turtle shell to a fire and burned it until it cracked, going to the prince's ear and whispering something. 

The Prince suddenly seemed more friendly to the party and said he would help. After a discussion the Prince recommended that they go to the Temple of Enlightened Disarray in the heart of the Yellow Forest. He felt that, based on the priest's reading of the shell, they might have luck there. When asked about the temple, he informed them it was a reclusive order who occasionally intervened in human affairs by lending out powerful artifacts. 

Before leaving Bone Breaker sent a message to the Chen at Ogre Gate Inn, asking him to treat the ambassador from House of Paper Shadows like a king (he had arranged a meeting with the House of Paper Shadows during his meeting with General Dee). 

On their way through the Yellow Forest, the party was attacked by man-eating Yellow Birds, who were easily concealed by the foliage. The prince was terribly wounded in the attack, having his neck bit. San was nearly bitten as well but managed to evade the swooping birds with her Whirling Dodge technique. Jade Priestess used Blasting Blade to slice through two of the birds. Bone Breaker killed one using Clutch of the Hawk and San destroyed another with a powerful kick. After the battle Jade Priestess used her Qi energy to heal the prince. 

At the Temple of Enlightened Disarray a junior monk brought them into circular chamberr below ground with eight passageways extending from it. Abbot Kung Xu came and spoke with them. The party explained that they were trying to defeat Hu Gao and needed help. The Abbot asked "Blood shed or Cunning?". 

At first Bone Breaker said both, but when the Abbot said they had to choose one, he selected "cunning". With that a young monk named Jinfu came from one of the passages carrying a bronze Gu, or ewer. The Abbot explained that this was the Bronze Gu of Zhao. That they would lend it to the party to help them deal with Hu Gao but it must be returned and Jinfu would be its caretaker while they were using it (also, if Jinfu or the Gu were harmed the temple would kill them all). According to the Abbot anyone who drank from the Gu lost ten years of their personal memories with each sip. He clarified that this would not eliminate a person's Kung Fu or talents, just that it would erase memories of people and feelings.  

They took the Gu with them and headed for Goaxing. On the way, Bone Breaker explained to Prince Yuan that the scroll was now in the possession of General Dee. This created some tension and disagreement. The Prince explained that he had been hatching a ten year scheme against Hu Gao with the Wall Scroll and that the scroll itself would bring back one of the Demon Emperor's Ogre Generals. Now that it was possessed by Dee, the Prince would lose the favor he was hoping to gain with the Demon Emperor. They resolved to deal with the matter after they handled Hero Gao. 


On their way to Gaoxing, Bone Breaker awoke during the night sweating and feeling strange. Looking down he saw his hands appeared long and thick skinned. The next morning the party awoke to find him missing. Jade Priestess was adamant that they had to find him quickly. They searched all day but could not find him. Bone Breaker awoke by a river drenched in blood to find the body of a peasant facedown in the water. Inspecting the corpse he saw its face was ravaged and its bones crushed by something powerful. He tried to find a settlement but got lost. Two days after he disappeared the party found him wandering the woods. 

Jade Priestess told Bone Breaker that his ritual to the Demon Emperor must have worked and that he was transforming into something during the hour of the Monkey. Slowly he would gain control of the power, but in its initial phases they would need to restrain him at night. 

Back at the Ogre Gate Inn Chen makes a deal with a local scholar to help him sift through the paper work at the inn and find the secret ingredient to the establishment's signature dish: Dragon Eating Gold. He learned it was it was a type of numinous mushroom found inside the trapped tomb below the inn. Shortly after this, a member of the House of Paper Shadows arrived and was given a room. 

In Goaxing Jade Priestess looked for chains or a cage to protect Bone Breaker at night. Meanwhile San, Prince Yuan and Bone Breaker inspected local wine houses looking for one that Hu Gao might frequent. They found one and threatened the family of the proprietor forcing him to secretly serve wine from their magic Gu to the greatly feared martial hero on his next visit.

When Hu Gao arrived he was at first suspicious of the innkeeper's sudden nervousness, but calmed when told that the innkeeper was worried about his daughter's health. He drank the wine from the Gu and soon stared blankly at the wall. After a few moments, he stormed from the wine house, smashing the door on his way out. 

Jade Priestess secured manacles to help manage Bone Breaker's transformations. And suggested they chain him to a tree each night, at a safe distance from everyone else. Armed with this security they left Gaoxing for the Yellow Forest to return the Gu. 

They brought the Gu back to the Temple of Enlightened Disarray and Bone Breaker tried to work out an agreement with Abbot Kung Xu. The Abbot invited him to a private audience and said he could not enter into any kind of alliance but that he seen Bone Breaker's fate, that he was entwined with the Demon Emperor and with the Kushen (as friend, ally or victim he could not decipher). The Abbot further explained that their temple was devoted to Qi Zhao and sought to manipulate history by being in alignment with nature itself, using forces of good and evil for the ultimate betterment of the world. He hinted that Bone Breaker and his party would have some use in this respect and that while he was not their friend or ally, they should return in the future when they need assistance. He might be willing to help. 

The party returned with Prince Yuan to his palace and agreed to go with the prince to General Dee in Hu Qin to take back the wall scroll. General Dee was upset that Bone Breaker revealed the Wall Scroll was in his possession but in the interest of avoiding a war with Li Fan, he gave back the wall scroll under the condition that Bone Breaker informed him when the prince was close to unlocking its powers. 

A FREAK IN THE JADE HALL
They went back to the Ogre Gate Inn and to make a deal with the House of Paper Shadows. 

On their arrival Chen explained that the secret ingredient for Dragon Eating Gold was in the Tomb of General Dou Lun. Bone Breaker went to visit Zhang Kang, asking him to tunnel from his lair into the tomb (hoping to find an area less trapped). He persuaded Kang Zhang, telling the snake-eyed bandit king that he now had many followers on the surface and that his following was growing greater by the day. 

He and Zhang Kang slowly made their way from chamber to chamber in the tomb, triggering traps to detect their location and eventually made it safely to a burial chamber with a stone coffin bearing a memorial dedicated to General Dou Lun. There they found the mushrooms and took some with them. 

Kang Zhang told Bone Breaker he wanted a temple dedicated to his honor and he wanted to awoke in the morning to the sound of his followers singing. 

The cook prepared Dragon Eating Gold and the party hosted a private dinner for the House of Paper Shadow Emissary. He explained that they could summon shadows upon the wall to attack their enemies, performing a demonstration himself. In the demonstration a shadow puppet appeared on the wall when he played a horn and it cut off the arm of Bone Breaker's shadow, causing his left arm to be completely paralyzed. Impressed, the party asked to work with the House of Paper Shadows. The organization agreed to send five horn players to the inn to assist them, in exchange for helping them create an information network in the area. 

The party then went south to Heaven's Canyon to the jade halls of Heaven Palace Sect. Chen had already been to the palace before and discovered they may be able to make the land more fertile in the area around the inn (for a price). At first, Bone Breaker sought an alliance with Heaven Palace but was told they make no alliances, that they only provide solutions to problems for a price. In the middle of Jade Hall, Bone Breaker asked how the Heaven Palace sect could grant such requests. Qinwen the Keeper of the Seven Talismans and head of Heaven Palace Sect said he could bend reality to his will. When Bone Breaker asked what it would cost to make the lands around the inn fertile, Qinwen told him the price would be heavy but he could not specify its nature until after the transaction (though he did indicate it would likely involve loss of life for someone close to the person who benefited from the solution). Bone Breaker tried to convince his sister, San, to make the request, but she refused, not seeing the wisdom of making deals with a strange man in a jade hall. Eventually Chen volunteered and as asked to approach. 

Qinwen present him with a stone and asked for a drop of blood. When the blood touched the stone, golden letters glowed on the stone's surface reading "The price is Bone Breaker will die painfully in exactly five years."

Returning to the Inn, Bone Breaker discussed with Jade Priestess ways around his new fate. They also began planning a venture into the Kushan Basin to find the Face of Vaagu.