KING BOXER DISCUSSION

 

CELESTIAL PLUME MASTERS SESSION 20

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

PLAYER CHARACTERS 

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

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

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

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

BROKEN BONES AND SEVERED LEGS

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fearless Cat
Art by Jackie Musto 

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

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

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

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

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

PARASOL AND BEGGARS 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LIU WAN RETURNS 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is where the session ended. 

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

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

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

CELESTIAL PLUME MASTERS SESSION 19

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

PLAYER CHARACTERS 

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

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

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

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

BLACK COBRA LEAVES MAI CUN 

Fan Zhen'er and her husband Wang Haoyang followed Black Cobra as she left Guan Manor and made her way through the byways of Mai Cun. They hid in the shadows*. She stepped on a small bridge. They emerged from the ebon backroads in a dancing swirl of steel**. She toppled dead down the sloping bridge, blood seeping through the perfect sable scales of her armor. They took her silver spear and armor soaked in blood. Wang Haoyang judged the emeralds she had gifted to be worth 500,000 spades.  

THE CELESTIAL MASTERS

The party deliberated in Guan Manor for some time. Hei Ling conferred with Hua Yin and promised to help her find her remaining son, asking her if there was anything else they could d. She asked if they could go with her to the Banyan when they found her other son and force his father to recognize him as his own. They agreed and Hua Yin was satisfied. 

Iron Tiger had sent his men to find and hire great masters. Hu Ba was already in their service. A man named Spinning Fist Ma Rong came and said he would gladly serve if the sect gave him good tea fields to cultivate and supplied him with fine quality tea bricks. Iron Tiger suggested they would take the tea fields in Daoxu, as they had to go there anyways, but ultimately t would be better if they could construct new fields in Tung-On, which would take time to design and plan. Spinning Fist Ma Rong agreed to temporarily being given the fields in Daoxu with promise of more in Tung-on. 

Hei Ling decided to assess the spoils of their victory. Examining Lady 87's holdings Hei Ling discovered they were quite rich indeed. It seemed wealth would no longer be concerned as she had ample stores of silk, salt, her own salt mines, collected taxes from the locals and enforced a tax on local criminals. With this new found money they decided to allow Iron Tiger 1.8 million spades to begin work on new tea fields outside of Tung-On. 

Hei Ling then worked towards creating a better information network over the next several weeks***. 

Iron Tiger spoke with Hua Yin, seeking her wisdom on a challenge to improving his kung fu. The style he had mastered came from a manual he found in a ruined temple, but he had mastered all the techniques and the principles of those techniques made it impossible to learn outside their style. He wanted to know if she knew of any possible solution. She told him it sounded like he had found Iron Tiger Temple, and that there were two other manuals lost when the sect was extinguished by Jade Phoenix Sect. However there have long been rumors that the manuals were under the protection of a lineage of secret masters in hiding. 

After some debate the party determined that they needed to change their name, and improve their reputation. They would no longer be the Celestial Plume Masters, but the Celestial Masters. 

SPINNING SWORD OF MASTER CHEN

The party went to Daoxu where Hei Ling met with his long time friend, Scholar Han. They talked and caught up with one another, then Hei Ling asked if he could persuade Scholar Han to take a post inside one of his territories (Scholar Han had just passed the imperial exams and this would be easy to arrange). But Scholar Han said he wanted to be closer to the capital, not in the backwater of Fan Xu. 

"You were once involved with Silver Chrysanthemum brother?"

"Yes," Said Scholar Han. "But that was some time ago."

Art by Jackie Musto 

"If I could arrange it so she was willing to discuss marriage with you, would you consider taking a post inside my territory."

"Well, that would certainly make things different. Yes, if you can genuinely persuade her, then I would be willing to stay and help serve you here."

Hei Ling left, promising that he would make the necessary arrangements and went with Iron Tiger to Master Chen's Spinning Dragon School.

Iron Tiger confronted Master Chen politely saying he wanted a sparring match with stakes. 

"What sort of stakes did you have in mind?"

"If I win, you give me your best student to train as my disciple, if you win, I will become your disciple."

Master Chen nodded agreement. 

"Well first you need to understand this will be a no holds barred match, you may suffer a painful injury."

"In that case please do not take offense if you leave Daoxu a crippled man," Master Chen replied. 

In the initial rounds Master Chen wounded Iron Tiger with his sword strokes, at one point using Slicing Blade of the Flying Phantoms, a technique that is extremely dangerous to counter. Despite the wounds and blood, Iron Tiger took control in the second half of the match, digging his fingers into Master Chen and breaking his arm in a debilitating compound fracture. Master Chen tried to continue but was forced to concede defeat after another serious injury. 

Though in pain, Master Chen calms brought him to a hall to introduce Iron Tiger to his top student, Left-Handed Dragon. He instructed him to go with Iron Tiger and treat him as his master, and informed Iron Tiger that he must not ask Left-Handed Dragon to violate his Dehuan principles if he took him as a student. Iron Tiger agreed and returned with his new disciple to Hei Ling. 

Before leaving, Hei Ling went to Headman Ruang Shan, whose clan controlled the tea fields. He proposed an arrangement where the headman would be granted a siszeable manor in Mai Cun, and given servants and have his needs tended to, should he leave Daoxu and give the fields to Spinning Fist Ma Rong. There was some negotiation, but it was settled and made official through the appropriate paperwork. 

THE GREEN GODDESS 

When they got back to Mai Cun, word reach them that a meeting had been arranged by Bronze Master with Bone Breaker Sect to resolve the conflict with Iron Tiger. The meeting would be held in Yu Zhing, on a porcelain merchant ship called the Green Goddess. 

They road non-stop to Hu Qin. Wang Haoyang and Fan Zhen'er snuck into the boat****. Then Hei Ling, Iron Tiger and Wei Ziying went inside where they were led to a central room below deck to meet a disciple of Bone Breaker Sect. The man told them to be seated and explained their position. 

"We do not like this Iron Tiger going around, using techniques that are rumored to have been stolen from us."

"Please," said Iron Tiger. "If you just let me explain I think you will see those rumors are false."

"The rumors also state you have said on several occasions when asked if your techniques were taught to you by Bone Breaker, that our master was a relic of the past and that you intended to crush our sect."

"Lies," Said Iron Tiger. "These were lies spread by a woman named Pe Ye, who has an inexplicable hatred for me. She seeks to sew discord and ruin my reputation."

"The rumors have been confirmed by someone reputable," Said the disciple.

"Who?"

"Bronze Master."

With that, the walls of the room crashed open. A man sprang from one, a woman another, and a strange looking crone burst forth with a cleaver in her hand. Unseen by anyone, Wang Haoyang leapt to his allies defense from the surprise. 

*Using their Stealth of the Spider Demon techniques

**Blade of the Dancing Fox 

***His information Network now has a ranking of 3d10 inside his territory

****Fan Zhen'er was seen but Wang Haoyang was not. 

Bedrock Q&A

I will be doing a Q&A on youtube and putting together a list of questions about everything related to Bedrock Games. Feel free to ask a question about any of of our games, rules, etc., using the contact page on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you! 

BIG BATTLES AND PLAYER CHARACTERS

Something I have been doing quite a bit lately, mostly in the interest of keeping everyone involved as we veer into larger and larger combats in our Celestial Plume Masters campaigns is having the players take on the the role of NPCs during big battles. I've also been doing something I blogged about a while ago, which is weaving individual character duels and small skirmishes into a much larger fight. This allows for us to have a massive city-wide conflict between multiple sects but still enables two sect leaders or two heroes to face off amid the burning rubble and destruction. It is a bit on the cinematic side, a bit of a reductive approach (it doesn't capture every detail of mass combat) but it does a good job folding it all in together. 

Today I want to discuss how I handled this in my most recent session of the Celestial Plume Masters campaign. I am a big believer in having a tool box filled with different approaches and being fairly transparent with my players about how those tools are used. This makes it easier to tailor everything to a given situation, without being forced to impose a sub-system or strict mechanic upon it (sometimes individual moments require more flexibility in my opinion). This doesn't mean core rules are ignored or cast aside, but more often that they are adapted and adjusted to the situation. Here you will see I am drawing on existing rules in the Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate rulebook and tools established in other books, but tweaking them, occasionally sidestepping and replacing them with other tools. 

The above image is my very bad rough sketch of the Guan Manor in Mai Cun, where the initial attack by the House of Paper Shadows in last session occurred. Here is a map of Mai Cun itself: 

Map by Francesca Baerald 

Importantly we didn't use the map of Mai Cun (we just went by memory because it has been such a common location). But individual ground level tactics weren't as important as politics, dialogue and individual fights, because the larger battles were abstracted into dice rolls. 

The method was a simplified version of what is in the Lady 87 book, except I eyeballed the different factions involved in the fight, assigned d10 ranks to each based on size and power, and combined them to give each side a total. Also before the session I went over the players forces with them and talked about what rank each of their factions should be (their input was important here). The result, which I felt matched the present situation in the campaign was their side, the Celestial Plume Masters, had 9d10, while the 87 Killers had 7d10 (this number would change due to events at the start of the battle). 

Combat was taken in phases. Each phase, if all the leadership on both sides commanded and didn't venture too far from their men to fight individually, maintained their side's dice pool at its present rank. If anyone decided to take on an individual foe or venture off to achieve an objective they lowered their sides dice pool by 1d10, to reflect the lack of command. 

Prior to the battle itself, was the attack on Guan Manor by the House of Paper Shadows. This gave a mole in the 87 Killers an opportunity to attack and kill Lady 87, which lowered their rank by 1d10. Had the attack resulted in the death of Guan Nuan, then it would have been lowered by 2d10 total. 

So the battle began with the celestial Plume Masters having 9d10 and the 87 Killers 6d10. But the player controlling Wang Haoyang went to assassinate Guan Nuan during the first phase, and the player controlling Iron Tiger sought out White Browed Demoness, resulting in the Celestial Plume Masters rolling 7d10 against 6d10. 

During the attack on Guan Manor by the House of Paper Shadows, because this would take roughly an hour or so of time, I allowed all the players not present (only one player character was present at the battle) to play individual NPCs on the 87 Killers side, while I controlled the House of Paper Shadows. This worked really well because it gave the 87 Killers more of a fighting chance, but also kept the players engaged. It is a bit of an odd technique because they are playing NPCs whom they are at war with, but I've found this approach to work pretty well when I want to conduct a large battle, and one every sword stroke to count, but don't want to just have the players watch me roll dice. Granted this could also be done before the session, but events in the session itself were going to affect what happened. 

The rough sketch in the first image gives my general overview of the 87 Killers forces. This is how I imagine a typical sect guarding its leader on important occasions. So she was fairly well guarded, and it was really only the presence of the traitor, Li Pu, that led to Lady 87 herself being killed. Since the battle was cut short once the House of Paper Shadows believed that Wei Ziying, their target, had been killed, this would otherwise have not impacted the battle between the players and the 87 Killers. 

I also found allowing the players to engage opponents one on one during the battles very effective. It really did create a sense of cinematic drama that didn't feel forced or out of place (the players were choosing to seek out these foes and it naturally flowed from the events around them). I quite like how this feels in practice. It also feels very wuxia to me. But importantly it doesn't ignore the larger conflict unfolding around them.  

CELESTIAL PLUME MASTERS SESSION EIGHTEEN

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

PLAYER CHARACTERS 

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

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

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

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

SHADOWS IN GUAN MANOR^ 

As leather shadow puppets danced upon the walls the people in the hall were a swirl of spinning steel. 

Upon the dais from which Lady 87 renounced the House of Paper Shadows offer, her men got into formation. Among them her daughter, Guan Nuan, Big Sister Hong Na, White Browed Demoness, Yuhuan, Li Pu, and Wei Ziying. 

Boorish Drunken Sword could not be called one of her men. He was a useless drunk soaked in wine. Boorish Drunken Sword staggered Silver Haired Beauty with his deep biting blade.

Li Pu was one of Lady 87s men. He was the cherished Brother Seventy-Seven. Li Pu eviscerated Lady 87 with his Blade of the Dancing Fox. 

Art by Jackie Musto 

Lady 87 collapsed as Wei Ziying sent his needles flying towards Silver-Haired Beauty. The moment their poison entered his blood, Silver Haired Beauty's delicate features exploded and an enormous wasp crawled from his skull as his body slid into the ground and clung to the blade held by Boorish Drunken Sword. 

Yuhuan slaughtered the wasp with a hail of daggers, leaving a spray of chitin on the floor. 

From the roof, Fan Heng, a shadow hero, materialized and leapt down upon Wei Ziying, using a most extraordinary attack design to rip his limbs from his body. But Wei Ziying used his turn of the Zhen Bird to employ a ruse. 

Taking a fresh body that resembled him, and that was dressed to look exactly as he did, Wei Ziying, in an incredible act of dexterity and cunning* he swapped positions with the corpse, allowing Fan Heng to pull out its arm as it dropped 'dead' to the floor. 

Fan Heng believed she had killed Wei Ziying. 

Yuhuan tried to stop Li Pu as he fled with Lady 87's head out the hall but her rope dart failed to land sufficiently to restrain him and he got away. 

The agents of the House of Paper Shadows dissipated, believing they killed the man they came for. 

THE BATTLE OF MAI CUN 

Word had reached Chief Hei Ling of Lady 87's death. He also heard news that Iron God Meng and his men were in the city, patrolling the alleys and streets leading to Guan Manor. The Jade Owl Bandits were there as well. Perhaps most troubling, Nature Loving Monks were very active in the area too. 

On his side were Long Ma Hall (or what remained of it). The Seven Demons (what remained of them), and the Vermillion Bird Teahouse. And he had all of the Celestial Plume Masters save one on his side as well as his own personal forces. 

A messenger arrived with a carrier pigeon and a box. 

"Greetings Chief Hei Ling. The 87th Lady of the Guan Family is dead. The new Lady 87 sends you this token. 

The box was presented to Chief Hei Ling and inside were two slips of 'paper'. One read peace. The other read 'war'.

Insulted and sensing Hua Yin's unrelenting grief for her son Night Thorn, he cut off the messengers fingers and tied them to the messenger pigeon before releasing it back towards Guan Manor. 

He sent his forces into Mai Cun under the command of his inner circle. And the battle raged in the streets as Wang Haoyang and Fan Zhen'er snuck into Guan Manor to assassinate the new leader**. 

Guan Nuan, granddaughter of Lady 87, was now in command of the 87 killers. 

Neither she nor her men saw Wang Haoyang or Fan Zhen'er creep into the reception hall. 

They did not see the blaze of steel fall from the sky, leaving Yuhuan and Guan Nuan lifeless on the ground. 

As the battle raged in the streets of Mai Cun, the forces of the Celestial Plume Masters left bodies in their wake and took captives along the way. 

In the chaos, Iron Tiger and White Browed Demoness found one another and faced off. She attempted her strangling brow but he countered and ripped her eyebrows from her forehead, then broke her leg. She attempted a hail of daggers but was in an inconvenient position, so she missed. He kicked her in the ribs and broke them then smashed her head with his heel. 

Several leaders on both sides perished in the battle***: Big Sister Hong Na, Butterfly King Yan Shimin, and Iron Beggar Sun Kang all died. Lady 87's Grandson, Guan Duan also was killed by mistake. 

The defeat of the 87 Killers was conclusive and thorough. The characters took over Guan Manor and the Vermillion Birds captured Iron God Meng. Hua Yin presented Iron God Meng to Chief Hei Ling who was deliberating how to treat his sworn brother. As his men encouraged him to kill the man, Iron God Meng bled. Some noticed, but Hei Ling did not. He finally said that Iron God Meng could leave, but as the former master of the Golden Way stepped from the hall he fell and died****

Over the next several days Chief Hei Ling consolidated his base of power in Mai Cun and distributed a fair share to those who had helped him rise. He gave Iron Tiger the Lucky Mountain Gambling Hall and their martial school in Tung-On. Hua Yin remained in Mai Cun to discuss arrangements with Hei Ling. 

Qian Xiao, leader of the sect in name only quietly retired to his plume. 

While Hei Ling was holding an audience, a person came bearing a box of nine emeralds as a gift. The person who gifted the emeralds was a woman in flexible armor that resembled snake scales and seemed uniquely designed. 

"Greetings Chief Hei Ling of the Celestial Plume Masters, I am Black Cobra of the Cobra Clan, and bring these gifts on behalf of my master, King Cobra."

"Why should I accept gifts from a man who imprisons my daughter and extorts me for the privilege of seeing her"

"He wishes for you to come to our headquarters, to bring Iron Tiger, and then you can see your daughter. He has not imprisoned her. She is his disciple and focused on her training."

"He and I will meet in due time, when I see fit."

Black Cobra turned to Iron Tiger and said "King Cobra wishes to duel with you, but a fair duel. He proposes a game of chess using a decide of his own design, which will be as lethal as any duel but account for your inferior martial abilities."

"I would prefer a straight forward duel if he does not mind," Said Iron Tiger. 

"He only makes the offer out of a sense of fairness. You can face him directly if you wish, but I promise you will be utterly destroyed. You would at least have a chance if you faced him for a more civilized match of chess."

"Tell him I am not suited to such games, that if he wants a more fair arrangement, a breaking competition would be more fitting."

"I will tell him of your request Iron Tiger," she said. 

After the meeting, Iron Tiger made arrangements through his network to contact Bronze Master and ask him to arrange a private meeting with the leader of Bone Breaking Sect. 

^Though we played the game in a very straight forward manner, I am employing a slightly dramatic session log style through these both for my own amusement and to make them more entertaining. 

*This involved a roll for the Counter as well as Eluding Viper and a Deception roll against Fan Heng. It is also something that I allowed because it felt genre appropriate, but in another setting it might be too incredible to work 

**The mass combat was determined by a dice pool roll off between Celestial Plume Masters (9d10) and the 87 Killers 6d10 due to the assassination of Lady 87 prior to the battle). Each time player characters broke from the mass combat as leaders and important heroes, they lowered the Celestial Plume Dice Pool by 1. So when Wang Haoyang went to assassinate Guan Nuan, it lowered the dice pool to 8d10, and when Iron Tiger faced off with White Browed Demoness, this lowered it to 7d10. However as soon as they finished their individual combat this once again raised the dice pool up. 

***Any result of 10 on the dice pool roll off indicated a leader had been killed. The leader was chosen randomly

****Iron God Meng had developed a new Kung Fu Technique with King Cobra Venom that caused his blood to thin so that on any Total Success he began bleeding to death. 

CELESTIAL PLUME MASTERS SESSION SEVENTEEN

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

PLAYER CHARACTERS 

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

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

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

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

THE DEEP SLEEP OF THE SEVEN DEMONS^ 

Wei Ziying sent returned continued his attacks on the Seven Demons in Long Ma Hall with Mule Head Hong, White-Browed Demoness, and Big Sister Hong Na. They followed the same pattern as before, with Big Sister Hong Na sneaking into the bed chamber and attacking the sect leader in their sleep, then the rest of the party would swarm in before an alarm could be issued. In each case White Browed Demoness would use her Strangling Brow to silence foes so they could not sound the alert*. 

Art by Jackie Musto

Their next victim was Yao Yun. Hong Na's plunged her Deep Biting Blade into his sleeping body and he awakened, only to be assailed with a storm of White Browed Demoness daggers and killed. 

Wei Ziying decided it would be best to take out Zhizhu the leader of the Seven Demons, next. She too was stabbed in her sleep by Big Sister Hong Na and rather easily dispatched by the rest of the party. 

Next they went after the Bone General. His hook sword play was known for mutilating foes, so they were cautious. Big Sister Hong Na stabbed him using her Deep Biting Blade once again. He awakened but was put back to death's slumber in a blaze of steel from Mule Head Hong's  Blade of the Dancing Fox technique. 

Only one of the Seven Demons, the weakest of them, remained: Wuzhi. The poet slept soundly and was awakened by the steel of Big Sister Hong Na's deep biting blade implanted in her chest. She clung to life enough to sound the alarm and also launched Big Sister Hong Na into the air with her hook sword**. 

Mule Head Hong rushed in with a flurry of kicks to finish off the last of the demons, and as Big Sister Hong Na soared through the air***, she attempted to imitate Wuzhi's voice**** and said to the followers they heard rushing towards the room "It is nothing, I simply had a nightmare and fell out of bed." 

Miraculously the ploy worked, they made sure Wuzhi was dead and fled back to Mai Cun. 

THE HOUSE OF PAPER SHADOWS 

It was now the 5th day of the Turtle Moon. The appointed day for Wei Ziying to hand over the Sword of Time to the House of Paper Shadows. Failure meant death by the hands of their agents. 

A corpse had been delivered to Wei Ziying's room the day before. A corpse that resembled Wei Ziying. 

As Lady 87 held court Hei Ling and Hua Yin gathered their forces around Mai Cun.

Art by Jackie Musto 

In the stillness of the hall someone announced the arrival of Zuan Yuan of the House of Paper Shadows. The man known also as Silver Haired Beauty, approached Lady Eighty Seven and spoke, "Greetings 87th Lady of the Guan House. We do not wish to disturb you at this time, but merely seek what is owed from a member of your sect, Wei Ziying."

"Silver Haired Beauty, what does he owe the Master of the House of Paper Shadows?"

"The sword of time, but he has failed, so now his life is owed to us."

Lady 87 looked to Wei Ziying and asked for an explanation, which he provided, explaining that he had inherited this debt and that he was unable to obtain the sword, but had heard rumors it was with the House of Paper Shadows themselves. 

Lady 87 thought for a moment and turned her head towards Zuan Yuan again. "I cannot," she said. "Wei Ziying is an accomplished member of this sect and deserves our loyalty. If you want him, you will have to take him from us."*****

"Be reasonable Lady, we have no fight with you and you know our reputation."

"If it is my appointed day to die, so be it. But your reputation may not be as deserved as people say."

Zuan Yuan waved his hand and the drone of a suona horn filled the chamber as black silhouettes of shadow puppets appeared upon the wall and danced in the flickering light.  

^This entry is short as it just covers a long night of killing in Long Ma Hall. Because this scenario focused on one character in the party (we knew these fights may take the whole session), I had the other three players each take on the role of the NPCs accompanying Wei Ziying to Long Ma Hall: Hei Ling's player was Mule Head Hong, Iron Tiger's Player was White Browed Demoness, and Wang Haoyang's player was Big Sister Hong Na. Note I also do not give a blow for blow account in this retelling

*This ability also enables her to make an additional Kung Fu Technique attack in the same round so it was very useful tactically in this scenario

**She used Hurling Hook to do this

***Hurling Hook keeps a character in the air for one round 

****In game terms I asked the player to make a Deception Roll (99% sure it was Deception I asked for) but told them this was only going to work on a TN 9, to which one of the other players said TN 10 seemed more appropriate, so we went with that. The player in control of Big Sister Hong Na rolled a 10. 

*****I was not certain that Wei Ziying's plan was sound and that it would work (his aim here had been to work his way into the 87 killers, earn their loyalty then turn the house of paper shadows upon them while faking his own death). I decided the method to determine whether Lady 87 would protect him, and thus cause his plan to work, would be to roll a d10 against TN 9, but deduct -1 to -2 for each successful mission he went on (the number would be based on the power of his foes). At the start of last session it was TN 5 and he brought it down to TN 3 with his success at Long Ma Hall.