Adventures of Fu: Silver Cat Is Unhappy, But Justice And Loyalty Triumphed! Also, Fu Is Being Taught Successfully!

When he announced that to Silver Cat, she was understandably unhappy. I think I heard her muttering "if you only weren't so honourable", but Fu is sure he should have misheard!

Well, at least she had some small but precious items with her...that should make her feel better, right?

So Fu left, and went on to the Beggar's Guild! That was getting a lot harder than he expected! Now, if he was to become a "proper" (-ly groomed, maybe?!?) xia, he needed to become good. Real good.

He thought long and hard about his past fights...

The next day, he spoke with his teacher Hu, judging him the more open to new ideas one. That is, he had watched a prizefighter taking blows - something that Fu himself has learned to do. But the Beggars do it quite differently: they simply allow the strike to propel them elsewhere!

The prizefighter was taking them on without budging.

Fu didn't have time to watch back then, and the man's show had ended when he came back - but he has been asking himself whether learning both methods couldn't be combined! Thus, he was now looking for instruction...
 

"That can be arranged", Hu said. "But talk to your new friend first!"
 

"My new friend?"
 

"Black Fox, I mean".
 

"Master Hu, you know very well we can't be friends! Friends are of the same station, how can a beggar be the same station as the Emperor's uncle?!? That's preposterous to even think about, he's...well, when he's paying, he's being my master. When he ain't paying, it's more like a Bigger Brother-Younger Brother relationship. Although he himself sometimes behaves like the younger brother to the point I really start wanting to chastise him!"
 

"Still, go talk to him", Hu said, not bothering to explain to Fu that Jing family is so unorthodox, they don't even abide by people's station!
 

The GM keeps telling me this...OOC. IC, Fu can't even consider such an idea.
 

So, as a dutiful student, I did. I told Black Fox I'd need a mission or two - dangerous, with doubtful success, but prone to making one famous in case of success!
 

"So you're trying to get better in order to be famous?"
 

"Definitely. The girlfriend said I'd need to be a real famous xia for her dad to agree..."
 

"Which girlfriend?"
 

"You introduced us, how can you not remember? You even made it seem like a dragon was there!"
 

"Oh...that one? So you're getting serious?"
 

"Well", Fu kinda sulked. "I wasn't planning to, definitely. But she believed I'm the love of her life. And she said she's ready to wait for - well, as long as she can avoid another marriage. If she's serious, how can I refuse to be? What would it make me to actually be?"
 

"Glad you're thinking seriously about your life! That can be arranged", Black Fox said. "But come to a lunch first. I'm paying!"
 

"When has a poor beggar I refused such an offer from the illustrious Jing?"
 

As it turned out, the lunch had two Jings, not one: the elder, Wolf, was there as well!
 

They were also talking about Fu's abilities, discussing them in front of him.
 

Turned out, they want him to be ready to kill Black Fox if he ever "goes evil". So they wanted to ask Fu whether he'd agree to be ready to train much
 

"How is that possible? He's been keeping his soul for decades, I don't believe such a travesty to be possible. If I give you a promise that I don't believe for a moment to be possible, wouldn't I be cheating you?"
 

"Then it shouldn't be that hard, right?"
 

"I can't promise that, though. Not that I'm going to kill Black Fox without making sure to try and heal him. I've seen you people doing such marvelous stuff with people's heads, I'd knock him out, and bring him to you first! If you say he can't be helped, then I'm going to kill him. Is that enough?"
 

Neither of the Jings seemed persuaded. I think Wolf considered Fu unsuitable to the job, and the younger Jing considered him "too soft, but would be hardened in the process of training".
 

At the end, we decided that Black Fox would train Fu up, so he could do the job eventually.
 

After the xia asked for explanation, Wolf explained that there are important, powerful people in the world. If they're alright, the world is alright. If they go evil, someone needs to take them down!
 

Otherwise...well, as he puts it, "the age of the Min Sorcerers is what happens when such people are left unchecked". That's like, "the time when Sauron ruled".
 

Thus, each of them is going to find his own killers that are going to keep him in check.
 

"You have such a team, too?"
 

"Of course! Haven't you met Little Minnow and Scribe Yu?"
His sworn brothers have also sworn to kill Wolf if he goes evil! And one of them is #4 in the whole of Wulin!
 

Those people aren't joking. But from what I've seen, maybe they'd actually need to act together.

So the "doggie family", as Fu calls them, threw Fu a bone: Wolf himself taught him the technique to taking strikes that he was looking for!
 

Maybe he has heard of his son's lack of success with explanations, maybe it's just how he teaches (he's old-school in many ways), but the elder Jing did something Fu very much approves of: he showed him the moves to practice, and told him on what to focus. Took them about half an hour.
 

"Now practice it", he commanded. "In a few days, you should be able to take a lot more punishment!"
 

Although the technique isn't perfect, and strong strikes are still felt, Wolf assured him that even weak weapon attacks won't harm Fu. And it would only get better when he gets better at kung-fu in general!

When combining Iron Skin and Roll with Impact, Fu rolls 1d5+8 and reduced the damage by that number. But, once he raises his style to 5+ (he's currently at 4), he'd roll 1d10+10, and end up with 1d10+12 at level 6. The hard modifier is from Roll With Impact, the die is from Iron Skin!
It's also extremely funny that Wolf himself tutored him: Fu was planning to look for a teacher in the city, and considered offering about 30 silver for it - big sum for a beggar!
With the amount of money Jing routinely gives away, such an offer might have reasonably lead to Wolf's death...from laughter.
As he said, "this is an ordinary external style called Ascending Dragon Fist, but it's often useful and teaches well how to take heavy strikes - with good conditioning, even from knives and cudgels".

Thus, Fu returned to practice. Now he's focusing on that, and with diligent practice, he started to improve. Black Fox warned him they'd need to go to chase a chest, though.
 

As he put it, "you're still looking to get famous, right?"
 

"Of course, why else would I practice that?!?"
 

The next day, they were to leave for the capital, to look for a certain chest that was stolen from the nobles that Fu and his group rescued from foreign mercenaries.
 

Turned out, this task was originally Silver Cat's, but she seemed "unwilling to go with them", as Black Fox put it. Fu was kinda perplexed - if it was another girl, he could believe her being distraught, but the beautiful emperor's aunt being moved because of an ordinary xia, who'd believe that? If it is about having fun, she could just get any other youngster she wished, right?
 

Right?!?
 

So, you all can picture Fu as perplexed. I need to find a suitable picture.

Either way, they went the next day, and Black Fox practically (though not literally) dragged Silver Cat with them. She seemed kinda grumpy.
 

Fu decided to leave her some distance, maybe she had hungover? If she was like her elder brother, that wouldn't surprise us in the slightest!
 

"Hangover is the means that gods use to remind nobles and scholars that we're all subject to their whims", Master Hu had told him once.
"Are you drunk?", Master Wu had inquired.
"Exactly! I'm also going to suffer like everyone else - tomorrow", had been the answer.

Adventures of Fu: Women Are Weird, Women From The Jing Family - Doubly More So!

Disclaimer: If you get triggered, don't read. If you read and get triggered, Your Fault.

 

That's when fate started fucking with Fu again!

He went on to train. He's been doing lots of conditioning lately, and it seems to pay off.

 

As he was doing front presses and pull-ups, he caught sight of another Jing, Silver Cat - the traps specialist who is the sister of Black Fox - chatting amiably with our Yanzi, the beggar girl.

They were looking at him doing exercises and sweating, and giggling. Well, one of them is around 16-17, the other is around 25 (and not really acting her age), what else can one expect?

Girls, Fu decided, and sagely finished his series without paying them any heed. Then he turned around and kept doing his pull-ups with his back turned to them!
(If he had any earplugs, that's where he would have been tucking them inside his ears, and the sound would be at near-max levels! As it was, he didn't).

They started giggling even more, but he ignored them for a couple of hours.

A couple of series before he was done, Silver Cat approached him. "Are you free to talk?"
 

"In a couple series", Fu answered. He might normally cut it short, but those three years weren't getting any longer!
 

She was willing to wait. In fact, she started playing slowly a taolu ("formal exercise") of his own style. And her abilities seem to at least be matching his!

 

When he finished, Yanzi was nowhere to be seen.
 

"So, what did you want?"
 

"Are you free today?"
 

"Sure!", he replied. Hey, another aunt of the Emperor! What would you think she could be after?
 

Clearly, that was a test! He knows Black Fox considers him a prospective xia who could be useful to his family. What, he knows not, but he's seen the eldest Jing (The Wolf) hiring xia, and has been hired himself. 

And, since Jing always pays handsomely, Fu is only willing to try passing all their tests!

"Do you have any preferences? It should be on me", he suggested.

 

Hey, he's got money, and last few times he was invited, the Jing family paid for his food. Even a beggar can have a bit of dignity once he's got some money, and at least try to return the gesture...

 

Not that he didn't suspect it's not going to happen. And not happening it did!

"No, I'll insist I'm paying! There's a few places I want to show you..."
 

Oh! Clearly that would be a test, Fu concluded. And knowing the tastes of the Jing family members, she could be leading him to places where he couldn't afford even the entry fee!
 

"OK, if the respected Jing elder insists, a beggar can only agree humbly!", he nodded.

She even looked at his muscles (he trains naked to the waist), which further confirmed his suspicions this is a test. Clearly, she seemed happy with his muscular development and "visible power" (in Chinese, Li - strength, as opposed to Qi power).

So he went to change in his better clothes - the black xia suit gifted to him by Black Fox. He keeps that one clean, and he even took a quick bath. Can't afford to stink when you're trying to impress a potential employer.

And they started going around. Number one was a nice family restaurant that he, being a relative newcomer, didn't know about. They had nice steak and offered avocado salad! 

 

(Note - the GM has imported avocado, bananas and tomatoes to the setting; it's wuxia/xianxia fantasy, not historical China. I keep forgetting whether we've got potatoes, too; they wouldn't fit around that area anyway, they need lower temperatures. But the food is quite varied as a result!)
 

Number two was a type of bar (probably not what they call it in the setting) where they could drink without being molested, challenged, or seen as easy marks.

 

Neither was real expensive, but both were nice and cozy! Perfect for an interview, right?
 

He still didn't know what kind of job she was interviewing him for, but he suspected she might not know. If it was something her father, the Wolf, has ordered her to do, what else would she be doing?!?
 

And of course, the fact that she kept asking him about himself and what his plans are, also made total sense. As a consequence, he tried to make his answers complete and detailed!

Which is why, of course, when she stumbled and fell towards him, he immediately grabbed her in a double underhook!
 

She seemed surprised at his reflexes, so he immediately pulled her up - hey, that's literally what you do with underhooks! - and released her, not willing to keep the contact longer than necessary, lest she be offended!

"See? I know the unfa (application) of Two Snakes Sneak Around The Tree Branches" move! It's even from the same taolu you demonstrated today! Eh, of course I didn't continue with Righteous Beggar Turns Around, after all, I only wanted to prevent you from falling, not to take you down..."
 

In the historical China knowing the move and knowing the unfa were two separate things. The actual unfa is only shown to students the teachers trust, i.e. those from the "internal circle". So Fu is flexing that he's not one of the guys that are being told that the Double Underhook is a "double uppercut".

 

 

"Oh stop it!", she snapped! "Is there anything wrong with me?"
 

"Huh?!? What do you mean?"
 

"Oh forget it...or actually, are you into boys? Nah, doesn't matter..."
 

"Boys? What do boys have to do with anything?"
 

"Well, I'm an woman!"
 

"So what? It's not like you've invited me here as a woman*, right?"
 

"Not as a woman? How did you come to this conclusion?"
 

"Well, it's obvious, right? You're the auntie of the frigging Emperor, for Heavens' sake!"
 

"So are aunties of the Emperor not women?"
 

"Definitely not the type of women who would be interested in a beggar, I'd say! I mean, you're really beautiful" - he had discerned that she thinks he finds her ugly or something - "but your station is high above mine, it's like Heavens and Earth, there's no point even thinking about getting intimate! So I was just hoping to pass your test!"

"My what? You thought I'm here to put you to a test?"

"Yes! I mean, I wasn't sure if it's your father who sent you to ascertain my abilities, or you had some personal issue you wanted to hire me for, but obviously either one works!"

 

I mean, why was anyone surprised? She has been asking about him all night, much like a prospective employer. Granted, she was also touching him, but Fu knew that she was worried about his physical shape, and assumed it was just checking.
He also knew some employers like taking liberties with female workers, but of course, it wouldn't count if it was a woman doing that to him, right? Totally not the same thing!

 

This seemed to only make her thoughtful, though...

 

"Wait...hey! Did my brother warn you?!? That bastard!"
 

"Warn me about what? About your test?"
 

"About me killing my husband!"
 

"No, I mean - about you testing me for a job, obviously...you killed your husband? Eh, did you catch him cheating or what?"

"Would be better if he was...nah. Caught him smuggling opium from the Jing island! That's nasty stuff, Father doesn't approve at all - and neither do I!"

Fu has heard it's nasty stuff as well, so he just shrugged.

"Well, you did a good job, then! But no, nobody told me you did that. And it wouldn't have mattered, why would it? Your family, your call, and it seems like you did the righteous thing!"

She looked into his eyes and decided to trust him.

"Eh...then I guess you're actually into boys?"
 

"Boys? I still don't know what do boys have to do with anything... you mean, for sparring, right?"

 

But no, she stared at him in a way that he surmised she didn't. In fact, Silver Cat made it clear that no, she's not kidding, and Fu has been vetted already by her father, anyway. And then she asked him straight: do you want to go to her room? "I've been lonely lately", she explained.

Eh, what kind of a man would refuse, Fu wondered? Maybe one who's only into boys or something, but he didn't even find boys attractive - at least outside of a lei tai (free combat) area, where he prefers them!

So they went to her room, and she started to undress. Fu reached for her, half-expecting to be slapped away and mocked...then quickly pulled her towards himself after seeing no such thing was happening!

Then he quickly jumped back, realizing he might be committing a dishonest act, which is totally unbefitting a xia!

"Wait! I'd love to do this, but I'm not sure we could! I mean, I'm not sure whether I don't count as 'dating someone already'..."

"How could you not have known?!?"

"It's a kinda new thing, and it's not like I was thinking of such matters...you know, hunting those cannibal murderers and training? That's what had occupied my attention, what right-thinking man would do otherwise?"

I think she made a mental note: Fu has (mistaken) priorities.
 

But hey, he would have loved doing it with her, he wasn't lying! But he has been taught to live according to ideals of fairness, justice and loyalty. If a man hides such information, how is that fair? If he drops an old lover who swore she loved him, how is that loyalty?
 

Fu the Falcate Spear might not be the sharpest spearhead, nor the straightest one, but even he doesn't see a way to deviate that much!

So the woman crossed her hands (producing, in this state, a dangerously seductive effect):
 

"So go check on her, and ask her! I'll wait here!"
 

"Eh...it might take me a while. I'd need to plan that, it's not like her father would approve me! And the security is heavy. So...I'll let you know in a couple days, I hope?"

Have you tried telling to a heterodox xia to wait a couple days when she wants anything?

"Couple of days? Bullshit! Just tell me where it is, I can get anywhere - and I can get you in, too. You want to know it now, right? So you go in, clear it up with her, and we'd know where we can continue what we'd started!"

Fu was amazed. This woman might be a Silver Cat, but she has the bite of a combat dog - once she clamps on something, there's no releasing, only swallowing!
 

Eh, this might be a fun quality, for sure - but going to his lover with...a potential lover, who wants to know whether they can legally do the dirty?!? This was a bit too heterodox for him...

"Why not?", Silver Cat inquired when he voiced his objections. "I'm not going to go in, I'm not going to spy on you. If anything, I'll go check for loose items..."
 

This actually reminded him of something Yanzi has said.
 

"Heh, don't tell me...the kind that feel bad where they are and ask you to take them away?"
 

"Sorta. Sounds like a good reason to give".
 

He sighed, then agreed. After all, she is a master thief, and she'd resolve his issues getting in!

So they got in almost too easily: she used special powder to get the dogs confused, put the guards to sleep with surprise, and helped Fu to jump up to the third floor.

 

When he was safely there, Silver Cat announced to be leaving.
 

Fu jumped through, and announced his name: Fu the Falcate Spear!
 

"My hero!", the girl exclaimed, not disappointing him in the slightest. "So you survived!"
 

"That I did! And I captured the Four Southern Winds...though not by myself, the warriors Silver Cat and Black Fox, from the Jing family, did even more! But I created the plan how to get them to come to us, and I broke one of them..."
 

"So you did capture one, right?"
 

"Sure, I got to break the hand of the magorast! And then the foot!"
 

"I haven't heard that word!"
 

"Eh, a magician who's also a pederast...and in this case, that probably ranked among his better qualities!"
 

"So you captured him!", she concluded, happy, and launched herself at him!

 

It was to be some time before they could talk.
 

But then talk they did!
 

"Eh...dear, what's in the future for us?", he asked. "I mean, no way your father would approve me as a son-in-law, I think. So what are we to do?"
 

"He might", she said. "If you could become a great hero...yes, he might. But you'd need to be really famous!"
 

"That might take a while", he said. "All young xia aim at this. Only a handful ever get even close..."
 

He realized it seems like he's giving up on her, though...
 

"I mean, try I will! But it's not going to be easy, nor fast. And in the meantime?"
 

"In the meantime, I shall resist being married to some boring scholar, probably older than me as well", she promised. "I'll hold off for as long as I can!"
 

Thus, Fu concluded she really wants to marry him. Not that he minded...although he hadn't even considered marrying when he agreed to Black Fox's offer...but listen he had, and what kind of man would just say "it wasn't me, I didn't know what would happen, no fair"?
 

A lesser man than Fu the Falcate Spear, that's for sure!
 

Bad news for Silver Cat!

*And then Fu would have been expected to pay, so her behaviour didn't show she's treating him as a man, in his book.

Adventures of Fu: Fu's Ambush Works, Villains Are Executed, Fu Wonders What To Do!

Anyone who reads our After-Action Reports/Actual Plays does so at his or her own damn risk. We don't shy away from stuff that triggers people.

 

Also, previous session.

***

In short, Fu's ambush worked flawlessly. The two xia with him are consummate thieves and spies, so while he was sitting there, they removed the minions of the Four Southern Winds and started attacking them one by one. He distracted the Four Southern Winds and lured one of them in the traps that Silver Cat (Black Fox's sister) had set.

 

Then, when their wizard tried running, Fu chased him. The man tried transforming into a bird, but Fu managed to grab a wing...

 

And when the guy tried to use his beak on his hand, Fu's answer was "let him, I keep breaking the wing, like a fried chicken's".

At the end, one of Fu's fingers didn't work properly, but neither did the wizard's wing. Then Fu broke one of his legs for good measure, too. Then he used a sleeper hold to put him to sleep.

He did eat Minor Miraculous Restoring Pills, which Jing Xiaomei had given him (she calls them "candy"), stopping his own bleeding. Black Fox's sister, Silver Cat, also set the bones in his finger and hand straight, which also helped.

And then we dragged them to the prison (Fu objected every step of the way to having to carry the magorast, but didn't bring himself to execute him to make it easier). At the end, Black Fox put them to sleep, and transported them with a portal! Yay for laziness!
 

The Four Southern Winds all have standing death penalties, ranging from "being torn between four buffalos (or other bovids)" and "death of a thousand cuts", and all got executed literally the next morning!

Fu decided against watching that, though. He finds it fun to break down people that fight him, he's not finding it fun to watch them being killed when helpless. That's just a necessity, nobody wants the 4SW to escape!

Since we got them with a dirty song regarding the octopi* that Black Fox had written, Fu gave him all the money, and told him "that's the best way to gain money with a song"! 

 

Black Fox did, in turn, give it to the Beggars' Fraternity that Fu is part of, but Fu the Falcate Spear believes that this has nothing to do with him, it's between Black Fox and the leaders of the clan!

"But at lest, now I can visit that girl again! Fu the Falcate Spear did capture dangerous criminals", he mused. Black Fox snickered.
 

"I see you'll understand you're a xia, not merely a beggar", he observed, approvingly.

And then Fu went to see Blue Monkey at the Golden Lotus. He brought him the good news about 4SW, told him to be less daring next time (they were already in a fight, why did he need to jump forward?!?), and was already planning to go check whether the Golden Lotus girls have some food remains, when some guards arrived.
 

The personal guards of the local magistrate were there to arrest the elder Jing! He was being accused of plotting against the Emperor!
 

Surprisingly, the man went dutifully. Fu elected to follow him, just as dutifully, and the sorcerer - who wasn't being restrained at all, what kind of arrest is that?!? - actually talked the guards into agreeing! 

 

Turned out, the issue was to be resolved without major issues, too. 

 

The Wolf asked to be put under house arrest, which was granted. He also pointed out that the accusation of plotting against the emperor and his half-brother...makes no frigging sense, seeing as how he is the emperor's granddad, and the uncle of said half-brother. 

 

He didn't mention that the Emperor and his half-brother are actually alive and well. Neither did Fu.

 

Fu only thought that if he was that guy, he'd tell the magistrate to come to him, instead...

 

But the magistrate, probably realizing that this man in front of him might actually be in the running to become next emperor - that is, if the emperor is indeed dead, as the Prime Minister Pei has ascertained - was very, very cooperative. Thus he imposed the required house arrest, and seeing how the elder Jing is the owner of one of the most luxurious whorehouses and lives there when in Middle City, that doesn't look as bad as it might have...

Additionally, the magistrate agreed to send a message that he can't guarantee the security of such an important person, please send someone to bring him to the capital to answer for any crimes!

Of course, as Fu realized with no small amount of enjoyment, if no such person can get inside the city, none of them can be held accountable for bringing the accused to the capital!

Now, keep in mind, I believe that Pei can order him to just bring the prisoner...but he has "read" the intentions of Pei, which are probably to remain a perpetual regent! To get that, he needs to have the support of the administration. And he ain't getting that if he abuses influential members of the administration.

 

And you ain't getting a post as the magistrate of Middle City unless you're influential. So Pei can spoil that plan, but it would cost him.

 

Also, yes, the man whose daughter Fu fucked couple of nights ago is a rather influential one!

 None of this is known to Fu himself.

After that, Fu went to see the police precinct. Finding the cop whom he'd almost sold a book to, he asked whether they have any outstanding jobs that might use the help of a xia.

Turned out, however, that they didn't. I mean, there were some series of thefts from noble families, but Fu shared with the cop that he can't be bothered about property crimes against rich people. They ain't gonna go hungry over it, their fault if they didn't hire good enough guards!

The cop agreed that he doesn't see it as a really pressing matter, either. Then he proved that he's a total stick-in-the-mud, by refusing Fu's offer to buy him a drink. Can't drink while on duty!

 He's one of the few that can't, I think.

Either way, Fu went on to sleep.

Then he got roused by Black Fox himself.

 

*They all had octopi tattooed on their faces! I guess the executioner might skin those during the execution. Or not. Who cares, after all? 

Adventures of Wang: Rooting Out Corruption, Bringing Punishment To The Wicked - part 2

Anyone who reads any of the Actual Play/After-Action Reports from our campaigns does so at his or her own damn risk. There are topics that might trigger somebody and we don't shy away from those. If you read on, have fun!

***

The next day Wang organised a walk in the hills where we had a painting and poetry competition. Not much is worth saying, other than the fact that it was the women this time who drew the ire of Young She-Wolf...for being too friendly with Wang, in her opinion.

"Hey, cheer up! They are just friendly. Well, and they're fishing for a rich, well-connected husband of good lineage. But mostly, they're friendly. And I wasn't getting jealous when they offered me to buy your contract! I just told'em I don't believe anyone but me can deal with you, even if I needed the money..."
 

"Who says I'm being jealous? It's just they're so...useless! If you want to lay with another, at least she should be one worthy of talking to afterwards! And of course, I'd expect you to invite me to join!"
 

...OK, Wang didn't quite expect the last part - so, if she expects being invited, she definitely considers it that they're dating, not just sleeping together?!? - but he took it in stride.
 

"I'll keep it in mind, but I'm really not interested in them right now. Just take it as them appreciating your lover, and let's go!"

OTOH, Black Fox had a much harder task: we had decided he had to seduce the wife of the Corrupt City Magistrate Yin - and, after seducing her, to persuade her to raise the alarm, saying she had spotted the jewels YSW brought last night!

He is a well-known womanizer, we knew from previous sessions...and she would want to raise the alarm to avoid attracting suspicions that she knew about the burglary all along!

(As far as we know, he poisoned the guy to bring him heavy stomach issues. Once he was secure that Yin is not going to interfere, Black Fox also seduced the concubines of the guy!)

That task was carried out with flying colours, and the next day, early in the morning, Corrupt City Magistrate Yin had been accused of having carried an inside job on the district governor!

Even better, however: the same day the Investigative Magistrate appeared: she's one of the few magistrates rumoured to be incorruptible, named Fen.

 

Wang: "What, were they trying to get rid of her in the capital?!?"

 

Sounded likely.

So we immediately went to see her, and brought to her the complaints. The ones with accompanying documents.

 

And we told her that we've got more of these, but we had not investigated them...

She asked us to bring them. Black Fox immediately went to "our inn" (actually, teleported to the base of the Sword of Justice and took the whole crate!) and brought it all to her.

She started going.

 

The next day, she had pegged Yin not only for the burglary, but for covering a rape and a murder as well. Basically, he was judged as "accessory to crime" and hanged.
His wife wasn't charged, given that she had given him up.

 

(Black Fox took the concubines for himself, given that Yin's Wife had accused them of complicity in everything. Not willing to have them die because of our framing, he brought them to some nearby village and loaned them enough money to let them open an inn. They get a source of income, he gets 25% of the income, his father's accountant is going to be happy!)

An unexpected development, though, was that Black Fox kinda got enamoured with Fen, and remained behind to help her and protect her. Deep country, she's fighting corruption? Sounds like she's liable to become the victim of a hunting accident.

Even when no hunting has been going on, one must add!

Wang, however, let him hang with her ("offering his services as a scholar") and merely offered to Fen to change the militia as well.

 

"I have the exact right people to replace them with, they were trying to help the victims and had organized themselves!"


And then we returned to the Swords of Justice to tell them they're now an official organisation and can keep doing the same and get paid for it.

 

"Also, once you are working for the state, you can prevent corruption much more easily!"

 

They swore that if they approve of Fen, they're going to work for her. Wang had little concerns on that account, so he and YSW called it a job well done, and left to find other places that might need a similar treatment.

 

And also, to travel for a while, just the two of them...

Fun fact, we actually got attacked on the way. We basically scared them (a small group who believed it's just one man, discounting the woman) and they ran.

 

So we chased them using Lightfoot abilities, and captured them. Turned out, they were just hungry.

 

So we gave them money, and told them if they needed help, they should look for the new heads of the militia. We doubt they would.


Also, we went back to Willow City (the District city), which is known for its weaponsmiths. YSW was all over the weapons, and Wang bought her a new sword - one that shoots darts from its handle, a new invention!

 

He made it a point to pay from his own funds, but doubts she noticed the difference.

He only got himself a nice dagger.

After that, they went on to the city where he owns a bordello. They teleported, of course, and he briefly checked the books while she was practicing taolu with her new sword.

 

Then they left to get food and stuff for the trip. See, this island is known for its volcanic beaches, and they wanted to find an isolated one in order not to be bothered by anyone - and not to bother anyone with their activities (fighting and f...whatever, they just want some quality time!), because they're both shy* like that!

However, the city is known far and wide not for its volcano, but for its seers and diviners. So they want to visit one, and Wang suggested they should visit one. He then paid for 5 questions, and offered that they play a modified "truth or dare": they both can ask any question, preferably one that's interesting to both of them, but they also both hear the answer!
 

Beware what you ask...
 

 She suggested he should ask first, and he did. He asked "how many days until Black Fox leaves magistrate Fen".
 

Answer: two days and he'll have to!
 

Wang: Hmm, she didn't look that easy, and she might need protection for longer. Maybe we should arrange something...
 

But he forgot all about it after he heard the next questions of the YSW.
 

"Is the sleeper going to wake?"

 

The medium got into a trance, and the answer was "the blood of the traitor is destroying the seal".
 

Wang: "What?!?"
 

YSW: "You don't want to know!"
 

Wang: "No, I don't, you're quite right! Sounds like something your Dad would care about, not me! Well, ask another one, that was boring..."
 

Then YSW asked:
 

"Where's the Red Queen's corpse?"
 

"She's in the Scorpion Oasis, in Jin**, and she's not quite dead!"
 

YSW asked again.
 

"How is that possible? I was told she was dead?"
 

"She was, but she was brought back..."
 

Then we mostly used the rest of the questions to learn more about who is protecting her, but the answer was the kinda unexpected "The King of Hollow".
Wang only used the last question to ask whether the two of them are destined to marry. 

"The stars can't tell, but you're going to have a long and fruitful relationship".
 

Wang: "Fruitful? Whatdoyamean, fruitful?!? Is she going to get pregnant?!?"
 

...but that was the last question, so he got no answers.

Then they went to the beach anyway to make plans. They decided to go and find Red Queen, probably with Black Fox and nobody else. Why? Because everyone else would try to stop them! (For no reason, as far as they can tell...)
 

Otherwise, the three days they spent went nice. Wang used the time together to ask her if they were dating, or just being fuckbuddies.
 

She didn't believe it's worth discussing. So he sighed, and admitted he'd want it to be done properly, so he invited her to accept officially to date him!
 

"What difference would it make?"
 

"I'd do indecent things to you right now if you were to agree..."
 

"I agree!"
 

And that's how they started dating. Well, Wang at least managed to persuade her to put off the whole endeavour and to learn the transport spell first, so they could run away if the Transport Staff (an artifact allowing to cast the transport magic 3 times for every time the Hour of the Rat has elapsed) was taken away from them!

He himself was going to use this time (about a month) to learn Jin language. Studying twice a day diligently for a couple hours, he wouldn't pass for a local, but at least he could understand them (YSW speaks Jin already***, her uncle leaves there, though she never visited). 

 

They stopped going there some decades ago, before that they were sending them to learn alchemy, of which the elder brother Jing**** is among the best masters!

They went to Middle City, where they're learning with Jing Xiaomei in the Golden Lotus. Wang also started learning Willow Blade Song, because YSW is studying diligently, all day long.
 

He said he is going to take her to an evening out - and he did. It was fun, but the details only matter for them. After all, they're officially dating now, right?
She really needed that, he reasoned. And she admitted she'd needed the rest, because her idea of studying diligently is best described as "cramming".

Wang also used this time to visit two seers and to ask them important stuff about his relationship, including some stuff he didn't understand about earlier comments.

 

In short, one of them explained that his girlfriend is probably into girls, too, so she'd be quite open to threesomes - if she liked the other girl.
 

Wang: "OK, so where's the catch?"
 

Seer (a middle-aged woman): "That you're lucky?"
 

Wang: "I agree I got lucky, but I'm asking where's the trap? Nothing is ever only good!"
 

(He didn't think about the "two mothers in law" trap. I rolled, he hadn't heard the joke).
 

He also realized that he'd best behave with YSW, not that he didn't know, and that if he wants to leave her, it's best to make her leave. Not that he wants to, but he feels a bit weird, knowing that he isn't fully free to leave...

And that is where we stopped, because the other two's lives need to be resolved, too. This one month might impact them dramatically, especially Fu!

*Ha!
**That's Jin, the country, not Jing, the family name of Wolf, Young She-Wolf, Black Fox and White Fox, which Wang calls "the doggie family".
***As the GM puts it, the kids of the Jing family obviously don't get much time for themselves while growing up, including for social life - which explains why they needed Wang, if you ask me! During the crisis, YSW probably got her first whiff of "me time", and of course, she used to hook up with someone...that someone being Wang.
****A.k.a. the White Dragon, one of the BBEGs of the setting, and the man that my third character, Hoi, is working for!

Adventures of Wang: Rooting Out Corruption, Bringing Punishment To The Wicked - part 1

Anyone who reads any of the Actual Play/After-Action Reports from our campaigns does so at his or her own damn risk. There are topics that might trigger somebody and we don't shy away from those. If you read on, have fun!

***

So the session started with Wang and YSW being blindfolded and lead to the Swords* of Justice' place. Black Fox remained behind, given that him and his sister are in telepathic contact via a magic that all children of the Wolf are learning first.

 

Basically, we had one of the best kung-fu warriors in the world as unseen back-up.

 

Excuse me if Wang believed he might act a bit cocky!

We discussed with them that we very much approve what they're doing. They seemed, however, to be preparing to face the official army!
 

As in, they were training the peasants to fight...
 

Wang didn't approve of that. Instead, he told them to hold off, and that the officials can be dealt with with much less violence. They didn't seem to believe it's possible, though, because as they put it, the local officials are all connected with the important families, and corrupted.
 

He promised them that this would be resolved once the Emperor returns.
 

"He's dead, we heard. Both of them, him and his half brother".
 

"They're not", Wang blurted and immediately regretted, but it was too late. He asked them to keep silent about it, and merely prepare to acknowledge the lawful emperor when he's restored!
 

They were getting suspicious, though, so he finally relented, and told them that name of Jing - the Wolf, explaining that he's saved the emperor. When they doubted it, he pointed out that YSW's name is Jing, too, and she's Wolf's youngest daughter. 

 

(Normally he wouldn't attract attention to her. But then, back-up).
 

And, he stressed that part, when the emperor returns, the corruption would be rooted out!
 

They agreed that the plan sounds better than fighting the army, but they pointed out we had no proof of our claims. On the other hand, if we could help them solve a pressing matter...
 

What matter?
 

The local city's magistrate, some Yin guy, was visiting the district magistrate in the main city of the district and complaining about their actions. They were both taking money from the same people, if they obeyed our friends' warning, that would stop.

 

And if they didn't, they'd need to risk defying the warning of the Swords of Justice.
So they had asked for the army to be involved!
 

Thus, it was suggested that if we could prevent the army's involvement, it would establish we can deal with the authorities, and prove our mettle at the same time...
Wang liked that and actually agreed immediately!

Before going, he did ask for specific examples of the infractions that were going unpunished here, and stuff like that. In return, he got a whole chest of those, all of significant crimes: extortion, unlawful beatings, obviously unlawful decisions of the court, rape, murder.
 

Only problem is, nobody was able to deliver those! Anyone that tried, disappeared!
Wang immediately went into war mode. Meaning he grabbed a piece of paper and started writing a document accompanying one of the complaints.

 

A document he signed with the name of his adoptive father, and put his seal on! Remember, he's been adopted? (And BTW, the documents are in complete order, having been signed off by the emperor himself and deposited in the relevant yamen court!)

Another set of documents was signed off by Young She-Wolf, though of course she used her own family name. Remember the part where the emperor is actually a grandkid of the Wolf? She's literally the Emperor's Aunt!
 

And we got Black Fox to come as well, the Emperor's Uncle.
At the end we got like 20 of these, accompanied by documents stating more or less "I have personally verified the complaint and found it meritorous. The signatory is going to inquire about the actions taken in relation to it in a month after it's been deposited".
 

Thus equipped, we went to the district capital. Via the new spell, of course!

There, we found...well, pretty much the same thing we expected. We announced ourselves, they've heard of my father (I skipped the "adoptive" part, he's in a distant enough part of the world!) and we went to shop for my concubine!
 

Concubine, you ask? Yes. I'd asked Young She-Wolf to play the part, because we really want her around me, and we don't want to introduce her as "Jing"! Thus, she is the daughter of an inn-keeper, should anyone ask...

She hates the idea, but agrees it's the best one. So at least we went to shop for clothes. Her main query was whether she could move freely in them, and to discard them easily, should the need arise. (She's not into striptease...as far as I know, maybe I should ask... but then she'd rather fight in her undergarments than die in official clothes!)
 

When we arrived, we had an invitation to a party this evening. (Both of us, our GM doesn't do separate-genders parties).

There, YSW actually became the star of the evening when the women started showing their talents: singing, dancing, playing music...
 

Wang: "Well, we can't show you playing on the instrument I like you best at, anything else?"
 

She, however, danced while composing and reciting poetry. Of course, she isn't actually much of a poet! But her brother is, and she can keep dancing while he is telling her the lines...

No, we don't play fair.

I actually got some offers from well-connected men to "buy off her contract". I politely declined, stating that my family is rich enough, and I like her well enough, there's no need for this.
 

(Her comments were more along the lines of "breaking fingers and cutting off parts they don't need". Wang told her she should be flattered, people obviously estimated her highly!
 

Fun fact, she's actually the one paying for our sudden switch to luxurious life! Out of her pocket money, as far as Wang could tell. Jing family is rich!)

Either way, the important part was that we learned was the following:
 

-We were introduced to Yin, Corrupt City Magistrate.
 

-The request to send army has already been denied.
 

-The central authority was sending an investigator with special powers to investigate the matter, who had the power to ask for army involvement if she believed.
 

-The investigating magistrate was due 2 days from now, literally the day after tomorrow.
 

-There had been robberies in the district capital, too. The taxes had been stolen, and the summer villa of the governor was broken in and burglarized.

As a consequence of the above:

*Wang scandalized everyone by suggesting that the taxes were probably stolen by a rich man. "How so?!?" "Well, have you noticed someone being newly rich? If no, he was already rich before! That, or he left immediately!" People actually started considering it...

 

And Wang got an offer to join the Dark Judges, the same corrupt nobles' organization he had infiltrated before!
 

He was also told he'd be recommended to Minister Pei, the Corrupt Eunuch Official who's behind the plot to replace the Emperor.

*YSW expressed the opinion that the burglary sounds like the work of some friends of her, the Water Jade Society (rich girls fighting for the downtrodden, they're part of the setting book).

*Wang told her to go find them - and importantly, if they were behind it, to take some easily recognizable, valuable item.

 

This means she excused herself early.

*Wang remained to listen to the increasingly drunk conversations. They arrived more or less simultaneously at the inn.

 

She carried some jewels that had been stolen from the governor's house - her friends were behind that one, though not behind the "taxing the taxman" operation.

*The GM admits OOC those guys were inspired by a Russian series about a similar group, the name of the series is "Sword". I've never watched it and she knows it.

After-Action Report: Road to Monsterberg, sessions 6 & 7

After the last session, Marzena's player, also the GM's girlfriend, dropped from the campaign and we got a new player, our Warhammer GM!

His character is Jules-Henry Desfornaux, Ratibor's executioner, hailing all the way from France after some rumors surrounding his family force him to hit the road. From here on out, Marzena finds employment with Lothar and sticks around his house. 

Personally, I find it that it's fully suitable for a Warhammer veteran to play an executioner! Also, as a last note: this session is narrated by our GM.

The next morning, Marzena has gone to inform and fetch Lothar about the events at the inn. When Lothar arrives, he comes accompanied by his guards and Ratibor's executioner, whom he trusts to manipulate the beastie's remains.

Vuk and Estelle, at Lothar's request, go to secure the spider from upstairs. Nobody had really checked on the spider since Vuk knocked it out during the night. The corpse is there, so Vuk starts poking and prodding it, only to realize that the spider wasn't really dead - it was knocked out and is now very unhappy at being woken back up. Miraculously, Vuk and Estelle manage to finish the damn thing without anyone else getting bitten and poisoned.

When Lothar eventually sics Jules to inspect the spider's corpse, Jules obediently does so.

Now, due to the trouble with his family line, which involves a supposed curse laid on them for executing Gilles de Rais, Jules has spent some time researching the occult to figure out a way to escape the supposed curse. He doesn't have any actual magical skills, but he is familiar with some profane topics.

So when Jules recognizes the sigil of the fiend Baal (with a very lucky critical roll), he first nearly has a heart attack, then he asks to speak with Lothar privately, visibly losing it. The two agree to keep the nature of the sigil a secret from the party and the people of Ratibor, since this is obviously a matter for the Dominicans.

Instead, Lothar just gives them some "Tears of Chios" he's imported from abroad to help their nerves, tells them to take some time for themselves, and invites them to welcome Duke Nicholas of Oppolen when he arrives in a few hours.

(Asen: Ah, so it was Nicholas, not Nicolaus!)

When Duke Nicholas arrives, the group is invited to share breakfast with him and his companions. Even the executioner is invited, so that he may give his testimony about the spider if asked, though of course he sort of just mills about the yard at a respectful distance instead of touching any of the food or sharing people's company. 

Breakfast also includes my new character - Wojslav Stolt, Katarzyna Stolt's somewhat ardent brother, who has been petitioning for someone to help his family rescue his sister.

During the breakfast, Estelle does a great job of speaking for the party in front of Nicholas, her fancy words even earning her the Duke's compliments. The local Dominican abbot was less amused, however, and started probing for any heresy or heathenry that may have invited unholy attention in Ratibor. Even Lothar, who tries to speak up to placate the abbot, is quickly cowed. Things come to a head when Vuk makes the sign of the cross in the Orthodox way, which causes the abbot to come down on him with some very pointed questions. 

(Remember, we know OOC that Vuk still secretly worships Dazhbog, a Slavic pagan deity, so he has very real reasons to be afraid here!)

Vuk starts blubbering and completely losing it (Willpower is a very fun skill to dump), and only a very unwelcome interjection by Estelle gives Vuk some time to compose himself, find the right words, and barely get his story straight in front of the abbot. Estelle, meanwhile, gets harshly rebuffed by both the Duke and the Abbot for forgetting her place (so much for that bonus Ehren for making a strong first impression on the Duke).

Moving on, the Duke buys off the party's captive lancer from them.

Well, technically, he was Jaroslaw's prisoner so the money goes to Kristan, who then shares it with the party and keeps enough to pay for his master's treatment. Jaroslav had mentioned he intends to give them half, so that's what the dutiful squire does!

Meanwhile...

Barbara Rockember pries into some people's lives, in particular wringing the truth about Jules past from him despite his futile attempts to brush it under the rug.

After the breakfast, the party, Wojslav Stolt (who is told by Lothar that the party are currently the frontrunners for helping him rescue his sister), and Jules the executioner (who is now becoming fast friends with both Vuk and Estelle), are invited to participate in the next day's hunt. 

Jules' presence is mostly a way for Lothar to keep an eye on the party. Plus, having someone who knows about the occult on the lookout for more dirty business happening around the party is easier for Lothar's peace of mind than completely handing off matters to the Dominicans.

They spend the afternoon browsing the markets and gathering rumors. While doing so, Jules spots someone following them, so he leads the party to his workplace (i.e., Ratibor's prison), where it's safer and where he keeps his homemade hooch hidden.

Eventually, Jules, Wojslav, Vuk, and Estelle corner the person who's following them and recognize him as a servant of the Dominicans. Wojslav surprises the man by plainly inviting him to tag along with them in town, promising him that nothing bad will happen to him, and saying they have nothing to hide. With little other options, the Dominican servant just relents and tags along at a respectful distance, keeping an eye on them.

Elias, meanwhile, spends the day a bit paranoid after hearing about what happened to his friends at the Sleeping Lynx. So after breakfast with the Duke, he asks around for where a man can find a ballistrino and some poison. Unfortunately for Elias, he lacks any streetwise skills, so the end result is something like a first year art history major going to the bad part of town and asking for the "marijuanies".

Doubly unfortunately for Elias (and unknown to him in character or OOC), he does all this while followed by a Dominican himself. Not great. This will possibly lead to something further down the line.

Anyway, Elias meets up with the rest of the party as the evening approaches. Everyone's pretty on edge at this point, so at Jules' suggestion they decide to head to the premiere establishment for "slumming it" in Ratibor - Hairy Hanno's Taphouse over in New Town, the last place the militia close up each night and the beating heart of Ratibor's night life.

This night, between the servants of Duke Nicholas' retinue and the people of Ratibor wanting to take their minds off of the troubling rumors surrounding events at the Sleeping Lynx, Hanno's is packed. People drinking, playing dice, etc. There's also cockfights being organized in the walled back yard.

Seeing a group containing the town executioner and a very low-Ehren Serbian that just keeps smiling at her, Hanno's wife does her best to politely decline service to the group so they don't scare away her customers. But Jules, in his best impression of a quiet and good little boy, manages to melt her heart with pity after a few great rolls. Not only is he not turned away, not only is he not charged triple or double the price, he is just asked to put some mittens on when touching anything, not bother the other patrons, and keep the Serb in check.

Wojslav ends up paying the cockfighting entry fee for Jules and Vuk, so all three of them go to bet on the upcoming match between the birds Tatar and Bloodwattle. Jules figures out Bloodwattle is meaner and likelier to win, while Vuk just likes Tatar a lot for an inexplicable reason.

Jules and Wojslav end up betting 4 kreuzer each on Bloodwattle and losing them against the odds, much to Vuk's delight at Tatar's ferocity.

Meanwhile, Estelle is busy playing for the taphouse while Elias plays dice outside with scruffy looking individuals and somehow cajoles them into telling him where he can buy a ballistrino in exchange for returning their bet to them. After he finally learns of where he can get one, he realizes he has less than a fifth of the money he needs to buy it and likely concludes he should have just taken the dice money.

Wojslav buys the corpse of Bloodwattle and asks Hanno's wife to cook it for him (he lost me money, now we're going to eat it!)

Vuk and Jules (who had already started early on Jules rank homemade hooch), drink cheap ale like fish. Vuk holds up, but Jules even has a passion for being a complete pig - so he ends up going way overboard despite his few remaining brain cells screaming at him that he has to get up before dawn for a hunt the next morning. 

Jules ends up hallucinating Bloodwattle's remains beckoning him over, then fails his endurance rolls and blows chunks over Wojslav's nice meal.

Everyone shambles back to "The Sleeping Lynx", kept out of the fools' cage only by Lothar's protection spurred by his upcoming need for them. Elias treats the worst of Jules' intoxication with some home remedies, but come dawn he can still barely walk. 

Adventures of Hoi: Bringing A Blind Swordsmith To The BBEG, Meeting The Dragon Of Time, Getting A Free Warning

Anyone who reads any of the Actual Play/After-Action Reports from our campaigns does so at his or her own damn risk. There are topics that might trigger somebody and we don't shy away from those. If you read on, have fun!

Also, previous session (kinda) in the Adventures of Hoi!

***

 

The game started with me being summoned to White Dragons quarters. I went and bowed.

 

White Dragon needed a certain master of swords to come to his palace. He'd been invited already, but refused.

 

Who? The blind swordsmith, master Nakamura, of course!
 

"Bring him to me from Scorpion Oasis. Try to persuade him first!"
 

"How harmed can he be during the persuasion?"
 

"He should be able to work and answer questions. Again, only as necessary. You'll be provided funds to pay for his services, should he require payment in gold."
 

"...does he need legs to work?"
 

"Try to bring him whole. If he refuses, you might need to remove those legs, but here".
 

White Dragon and Hoi understand each other perfectly.
"Any other parameters?"
 

"None. But you'll get a sample to carry, this might interest him."
 

So Hoi got a chest of gold, and a chest with metallic meteorite ore, to carry to Scorpion Oasis.
 

He bowed, and went to take his gifted sword. The sword had warned him not to bring him in White Dragon's presence, he's carried it before, so he'd sense the sword's presence...and the master inside is his grand (grand-grand?) father, too!
 

The sword didn't like travelling for weeks, though, when it (he, actually...) heard Hoi wanted to move the long, safe way - not passing Magic Mountains.
 

But Hoi believed that the gold, ore and his luggage would be too much to carry in eagle form. He wanted a horse, instead.
 

"I can help. Take your luggage and no horse".

And it transformed, becoming like an "anime-style surf-blade" (GM description) and lifting Hoi. So Hoi air-skated away (well, after first leaving the city on foot, the sword's presence is to be kept a secret from everyone).
 

He decided to minimize the odds of distractions and being spotted, and after a couple hours of travel this way, he went to sleep in a clearing. 

 

"We're going to travel during the night, sleep the day. If I get attacked on the ground, I'd rather fight when there's light. Also, people seeing us in the night might not be able to identify us, we don't want it known that you're a flying sword".

So Hoi went to sleep.
 

The sword doesn't sleep, so he woke him up shortly before nightfall.
 

"Wake up! Time to act!"
 

"Five more minutes!"
 

"Five guys ahead, trying to sneak up on you!"
 

Hoi woke up, but didn't open his eyes, no need to warn them if the warning was belated.
 

"Distance?"
 

"50 meters".
 

"Their formation?"
 

"Spreading and trying to encircle you. Don't seem too competent!"
 

"Do they have bows?"
 

"Only one, the one on 6".
 

Hoi rose up, snatching a stone.
 

"Let's just fly away!"
 

"But we could get some exercise!"
 

"Yeah, but I'm burdened with two chests, and I'd need to move. Not worth it. Let's just fly to pass near the bowman, we'll entertain ourselves in the next village!"
 

And so we flew. I instructed the sword to make a small turn left and down, and used the sudden dip to throw the stone. It struck the bowman in the head, knocking him out!
 

Hoi didn't consider this to be grounds to stop.

Instead, we arrived at a village. There, Hoi used the funds he's been provided - sufficient for a trip that was expected to last for weeks, remember - to get himself room, board and company.
 

How do you get all of this on such a place? You give a large tip to the serving girl and tell her what you're looking for.
 

"I'll see what I can do, if Young Master is leaving large tips".
 

"No, that wasn't a large tip. But the entertainer might get one".
 

...Well, and probably more than just the tip, but that's neither here, nor now.
 

Basically, a decent-looking girl arrived in his room and thoroughly entertained both his sword, and the sword's handle.
 

Importantly, the spirit in the sword stopped complaining about not getting to exercise on the wannabe robbers. And Hoi even remembered her name...well, her "professional handle".
 

They left in the evening and travelled mostly uneventfully...right until a dragon appeared and caught up to them. He wanted a specific pearl he'd lost on a betting game against my sword's inside essence, the elder Jing!
 

And no, the Dragon of Time had proof Jing had cheated. And no, he wasn't taking "no" for an answer, we had a month to find it! Any arguments like "but you didn't catch him in the act" were just brushed away! Whiner and sore loser!
 

Only problem, Jing had both gained and lost it before even dying...i.e. centuries ago! And it was likely lost in the city of the dead, the zombies-sewn place of Jin where even Hoi refuses to thread without a wet facemask!

Worst of all, we asked him what the Dragon needs the pearl so badly for. His answer stunned us...
 

"I'm going to dissolve it in ambrosia and drink it in order to sleep through the whole war!"
 

"War?"
 

"The incoming one! The last Ming sorcerer is going to start it, and the scions of the Jing* family are not heeding the prophesies!"
 

"Ain't he dead?"
 

"No, they just kept him alive and dismembered him, and spread the parts in different areas! Why, no idea, but he has all the power of all the demon-worshipping Ming Sorcerers of old, the ones who had enslaved the world and used it as a playground for them and their demons..."
 

He suggested also it might be because when one of the Ming got killed, the surviving ones got all his power. So yes, the last one had all the power of all of them!
 

To quote Hoi at this stage: "Oh fuck!"
 

And this thing? It's about to get loose!
 

"Who's helping him?"
 

"The Dead Men's King in that city you mentioned earlier!" 

 

(BTW, it seems the dragon is mistaking names a lot, because he mixes up names that dropped out of use with current ones and those that are yet to be. And he outright doesn't pay attention to "mortals' names", so he couldn't tell us specific names of the mortals helping the Last Ming!)
 

"Only him?"
 

"Well, there's some morons calling themselves the New Ming, but morons lack even a drop of the blood! And some morons in the Empire, thinking themselves smart, but are being used as useful tools... Dark Judgment* or something! I don't pay attention to mortals' names!"
 

"We'll do our best, but we might not be able to even find your pearl in a month. Say, have you tried big amounts of normal drugs?", Hoi suggested helpfully.
 

"Besides, no matter what you demand, my duty demands that I need to get to the Scorpion Oasis to find master Nakamura, and that's going to take time. Unless you can help us get there in less time, being the Dragon of Time?"
 

And the dragon actually agreed that's within his abilities, and gave us a ride to Scorpion Oasis. It was nice seeing even dragons admit the importance of duty and following the orders of one's superiors!

Once there, I went quickly to purchase a magic kite from a local sorcerer, and sent it to White Dragon.
 

"Boss, there's a war brewing! A Dragon told me...the Dragon of Time! Said your family has been ignoring some prophesies, last Ming sorcerer is getting help escaping from Dark Dishwashers or something and from New Mings, and that it's gonna be nasty! Continuing with the mission, Hoi, out."

It takes one hour each way, so I hired a guide and went straight to Nakamura's house. A young beardless student met me.
 

"I have personal message for the master", I said.
 

Then, after being introduced, I presented him the ore.
 

"That's metal that fell from the sky. I believe my master wants you to fashion a mighty weapon from it, and there's more ore in Rot, our capital!"
 

"So you're serving White Dragon?"
 

"That I am! And a war is coming, so a weapon like this shall be necessary!"
 

"Is your master going to start it?"
"No! A dragon told me someone who was imprisoned centuries ago is going to! Who would be better than master Nakamura to shape this ore into a weapon?"
 

"Nobody's better, indeed... Come tomorrow at dawn. I need to think!"
 

I bowed, and left. I had a good feeling!

Once in an inn, I started an orgy for my sword (three female entertainers and lots of drugs, which I purchased, so I let them play with each other and my sword) while waiting for kites to arrive, and writing replies.
 

"I just like a nice athmosphere!", as I explained. "I'll have my fun when I'm done with the important business!"
 

I did take time until midnight to pay them attention, though. Hoi calls that "thug's life meditations" - thinking your plans over during an orgy is best!

The next morning Hoi was up an hour before dawn. When I arrived, Master Nakamura and his lone student were packing up.
 

We sent off their donkey, attached their cart to the surfboard, and flew away immediately.
 

During the travel, Hoi practiced sword skills with the student, and guessed correctly that it's a girl. He didn't care one bit, and made it clear to her: "you're master Nakamura's student, doesn't matter to me whether you're a girl!"
 

He didn't explain that, but after all, there's many girls he can have, and those wouldn't anger Nakamura! She wasn't anything special, either...
 

Now, my sword told me she has been starting to look at me favourably. But Hoi didn't care much about that, either! He's White Dragon's assassin, why would he 

care about a girl's feelings?
 

So when we stopped in the village from the first night, he called the entertainer (...her stage name was "something something Lotus", I decided it's "Blowing Lotus") to his room.
 

The next morning, the student was icy towards him. He didn't care about that, either! He just asked what's wrong, and was told nothing's wrong.
 

So he just let it slide, and before leaving them - after we arrived in  the city of Rot, that is - let her know that if she wants someone to practice with, she can call me. Have a nice day either way!

Then I went to report, fully expecting I might not survive! As expected, White Dragon asked how we'd arrived that quickly, and I had to give him the sword and explain where I'd got it/him!

I suspect the grandfather and grandson spoke at length. Finally White Dragon returned the sword to Hoi, surprising me quite a bit.

"Keep this away from me...and no matter what, don't show it any pictures!"
 

"I'd guessed that last part already, boss! I need to see the treasurer now, I'm returning most of the money...Nakamura only cared about the ore! I think the man loves his job..."

And that's how this session ended, too!

 

 

 

 

Notes:

*Jing, as in the family name of the White Dragon...and his brother, The Wolf. The campaign is named "Wolf and Dragon Campaign" for a reason!
 

**The joke Hoi made here is probably untranslatable, as he called them "Dark Dish-Washers". The roots of the words "judging" and "dish" have only one letter of difference in Bulgarian, so you can reasonably misremember "Dark Judges" as "Dark Dishes" and assume it's "Dark Dishwashers", instead.

The Adventures of Wang: How The Story Begins Before The Story On The Blog

Warning: If you find anything triggering, you're well advised to stop reading now.

The first session of the Wolf&Dragon campaign began with me playing Wang, a scholar-warrior. A brief list of his accomplishments - actually what happened in earlier sessions - would include the following (I'm summarizing in bullet form):
 

*He was found out by Wolf after his village got destroyed by demons. Yes, that same Wolf, the head of the Jing family, The Wizard from Fu's Adventures. In fact, if you're wondering, the whole game is named "Wolf and Dragon" after him and his brother, White Dragon, also known as "the BBEG of the setting"...

*He helped the Wolf to destroy the demon. His combat abilities are negligible next to Wolf's and his children's, but he had one great advantage he capitalized on: Everybody knows them, nobody knew him. 

*Important: Wolf's daughter, Jing Xiaomei, used the demon's essence to create a magic spell that existed in the rules already, but was unknown in the setting: Transport. So, only the Jing family have Transport now, which is a huge advantage!

*He infiltrated corrupt nobles' organisation, corrupt cult of the Ming sorcerers, and destroyed the organisation that was feeding them sacrificial victims and sextoys for their parties. Yes, it's that kind of parties.
 

*As a consequence, and to facilitate said infiltration, Wolf arranged for a really corrupt noble (hints were made that he was a serial killer, and that he would never have another scion because he murders all family, and that Wolf has "exiled" him as a last resort to stop the murders, with a "last warning") to adopt Wang! 

*So now Wang is actually carrying the family name Li, I think (I need to double-check the name). And he actually has a noble lineage. That is going to be mightily important...

*In the process, Wang managed to borrow money from Wolf to create his own establishment - actually a bordello - in a distant resort. He's also got an entourage, consisting mostly of former victims of the aforementioned organisation. Actually, the staff in his establishment also consists of them, he's just offering them better pay, and what we'd call health-and-retirement plans. 

Mind you, Wolf gave them other offers, too. Wang only took those that liked the idea. (He's not like Hoi, let's leave it at this).

*The head of his establishment is a sorceress who used to help providing victims for the afforementioned villains. She has received mental orders (by Wolf) to reject her evil ways, and a clear warning that if she ever breaks through, the delayed punishment for her crimes would catch up to her, with interests. 

Since she saw Wolf punishing those that were seen as "beyond hope for redemption" by turning them into fishes and throwing them in the sea, I think she's not going to err from the mostly-righteous path of being a productive member of society!

*Part of Wang's entourage are a hulking big guy who keeps teaching him Spiraling Wind Storm, the style his late teacher had begun instructing him in, and a nice middle-aged female bodyguard with a sense of duty. Wolf liked them both, after Wang hired them as part of his cover as "rich fratboy", and now the sorcerer used them as his envoys for a time. 

I've offered them work in my establishment, not sure whether they've taken me on it (I haven't been there in a while, though).

*In the process, Wolf managed to save the young emperor. Then, in a daring operation, we also half-kidnapped, half-evacuated his half-brother, who actually looks so much like the emperor, it's hard to tell them apart! The two look and behave like twins. The plot of the Evil Eunuch Minister (mandatory for the genre, IMO) was to exchange them and to rule through the half-brother.

*Now that this plan is foiled, the two are somewhere else. Wang doesn't know where, and actually insisted on not knowing. 

He doesn't believe himself to be a hero that's able to resist torture, so he doesn't want to know something as important.

*After the demon got destroyed, Wang hooked up with Wolf's youngest daughter, called Young She-Wolf. Since Wolf is actually 200 yo at this stage (he rejuvenates with demon-extracted pills and special exercises, which are implied to be of a tantric nature), she's got a niece who's older than her. She is on the younger side, meaning "about the age when she is of age to start a family".

As far as Wang's concerned, she's sexy and nice. She's also no-nonsense, not caring about other people's opinion, and has been brought up mostly by her mother, a high-level military official on active duty, until the mother's death... and probably as a consequence of that, she's adventurous enough. Though he also knows that she hasn't had other adventures of a sexual nature before, meaning she can also exercise restraint!

Thus, he is interested in her, but doesn't make long-term plans. I mean, he's been told Wolf doesn't make plans about his daughters' marriages, and leaves them plenty of personal freedom even by today's standards (though he also expects them to be available to help him), but he's not sure either that she entertains such prospects about him - and doesn't want to be rejected! Besides, he's not sure that he wants to settle, either, at least not yet. There's so much of the world to see and he wants to see it!

Though it might be nice if he could see it with her at his side...

- Fun fact, they were actually introduced by Black Fox, who believed Wang would be a good influence on his sister and "possibly prevent her from much heavier mistakes", IIRC. So he mostly keeps on the good side of her family: Jing the Elder believes him to be a competent young man with good prospects, and Jing Xiaomei, her (much older and menacing) sister came to consider him a competent young man who's mostly tempering her 10-minutes-younger brother's natural propensity to get involved in trouble!

Yes, shipping is part of this game, a lot - actually to an extent that I'm going to mostly omit (you can thank me later).

-Fun fact, Young She-Wolf (YSW, what kind of abbreviation is YSW?!?) is actually a very skilled practitioner of Wang's style, Spiraling Wind's Storm. That was the pretext Black Fox used to introduce them: he literally invited her to give Wang a lesson. She was happy to oblige. So he is actually learning from her the style her mother taught her.

-Importantly, Wang doesn't see himself as serving Wolf any more. He has only gratitude for the man, but he kinda dreads the idea of becoming Wolf's son-in-law, and he believes that his help is also payment for Wolf and the Two Foxes destroying the demon and capturing its essence!

Amusingly, for all of said campaign that you can see - Fu and Hoi are the newer characters - Wang is very nearly a starting character mechanically. No, I'm not joking. He got almost no XP, and I probably wasted half of what he got by forgetting to write it down. Hey, it still worked out!

But it also means he's worse-off in the fighting department than Fu. Keep in mind, he's also much less likely to actually fight...

-Thus the adventure had already begun with Wang, YSW, her brother and Black Fox riding away to "see how the land fares and help the common people". Actually, it was a mutual decision that we didn't want to participate in organizing Wolf's (latest) wedding, and wanted a holiday, dammit! See the above list of stuff? Wang honestly wanted some rest and happy times with YSW!

White Fox (not Silver, she is actually cultivating an ominous image) Jing Xiaomei suspected as much, but since she can't stop us, she let us go, hoping we'd end up being good influence on him...

- We ended up finding a village where people were feeling really, really unhappy from the district magistrates. And I do mean the "better to tangle with a robber than with a magistrate's relative: both would rob you, but the robber you're allowed to defend against" was a feeling that was expressed!

Even worse, there were clans of those people. And they were interconnected, and using both hired muscle and the local militia - which is supposed to keep the order - to enforce their will and interests.

Of course, we decided that this can't stand. Wang and Black Fox started a campaign of Black PR where the better scholar (not Wang, he was just a student - Black Fox had passed the exams with flying colours decades ago) wrote a dirty song about the local magistrate integrity. Comparisons with an eunuch-like virility, and mentions of his marital fidelity and goats also went into the mix.

The goal was to make it catchy above all, and people were singing it in no time...

-Then, after investigating for inns where the people really dislike the authorities, and going to drink in one of those, we also heard that there was a group of criminals that visited the local officials at night and delivered bodily punishments, along with warnings to stop bothering the locals.

Wang and Black Fox (YSW had retired early to our chambers, deciding to let them do some manly bonding) decided we need to do likewise, and if possible, meet those guys who didn't label themselves freedom fighters, but were this for all intents and purposes.

We also identified one local who seemed to know the most about the secretive group. Almost suspiciously so, in fact, as Wang believed. So of course, Wang asked that specific guy who the most vile official was...and later told the two half-siblings that we should go visit that specific official this very night!

We encountered the group (what a coincidence, almost as if they also believed that's the nastiest official!), and told them we're here for the same thing. We delivered the stern warning together and we expressed interest in meeting them. They offered to take us to their leader, on the condition that they bind our eyes. YSW isn't too worried, she knows perfectly well how to fight without looking, and Wang isn't worried either, he believes he's safer with these people than with the local officials.

This is where the session actually begun.

But that's a different story and shall be told next time.

Adventures of Hoi: Killing Demons, Saving People, Being Perplexed (potentially highly triggering)

Anyone who reads any of the Actual Play/After-Action Reports from our campaigns does so at his or her own damn risk. There are topics that might trigger somebody and we don't shy away from those. If you read on, have fun!

***

My Art of Wuxia RPG character Hoi just stopped a human sacrifice recently.

Not being an exact paragon of the xia ideals, he was quite surprised by himself*, but he was following the advice of a hermit, so he let it slide...

Here's the list of Hoi's in-game...accomplishments...so far:

-A supply run to the pirate slave markets (an army has needs for labour, too), he performed excellently there. He didn't get all the slaves he wanted, but he got most of them.

Importantly, on the way there he passed through Magic Mountains, an accursed place. Hoi has no fear, feeling others should be afraid of him, but he is courteous to everyone right until he decides to kill (then he doesn't bother excusing himself for being rude). This helped him out, as the hermit gave him passage, and a sword that allows Hoi to walk on the water.

-Murdering nobles and bringing their magical trinkets to the White Dragon. He didn't ask why they had to die, he asked whether their families should outlive them (yes, discretion was required, so nobody else died).

-Training the wife of a neighbouring ruler how to dispose of him stealthily (literally exhausting him with sex, while she had the advantage of being drugged - and, Hoi suspects, he was as well, to ensure he won't make it). Then we visited her to impose an artifact she probably didn't want (it allows strangling her at a distance) on her neck. 

She came to the White Dragon for an extended visit a week later, and a White Dragon's puppet has been ruling her husband's city ever since.

During said mission, was under direct oversight from the White Dragon's daughter (and her body servant), which turned out to be way more fun than high-station bosses usually are.

-Visiting a cave somewhere to inspect some kind of seal. There was an old map of the World Before The Cataclysm, Hoi did his best to remember it just in case. He couldn't find the cave, though: he only knows one fourth of the way. The other fours are known to three different servants of the White Dragon, who seem muchly similar to him.

-Visiting the aforementioned hermit in his spare time. 

Hoi had found the man interesting (not "of interest", just fun to be around) and asking him whether he requires anything, and whether he wanted his sword back.

The hermit inspected the sword and asked how many men he had killed (7, counting the women as well) and whether he had killed any demons - which got a negative answer.

Then the hermit sent him to visit a particular place in the magic mountain, and do as he sees fit, in order to "get closer to his sword". 

There, Hoi saw a demon summoning ritual - some moronic witches were going to sacrifice a young girl - and killed the morons to prevent it. Then he noticed the demon had appeared, so he killed the demon, too, cackling maniacally.

Why? Because the sword had just said "oh, demon blood is the best" upon him delivering the first strike.

Thus, the reason he stopped the sacrifice is simply that the sword seemed like it wants to kill those there, except the sacrificial victim.

Yes, he asked his sword about everyone specifically. 

Killing the witches wasn't a fight worthy of more than a mention in one of his reports. ("Met three witches, killed them, turned out the demon is coming anyway, which would suggest the ritual wasn't actually necessary - I think it's just being attracted by the smell of blood. Killing the demon required lots of time, effort, and incurred me some minor wounds, and a bill for uniform repair, due to being swallowed - had to cut my way out of the stomach").

Once the fight had concluded, he realized he's just saved a fair maiden...well, a girl about 7-8 years of age. A future maiden, then.

"Am I a righteous xia** now? No, that's ridiculous... But, if I leave her here, it's like I'm wasting my own efforts fighting to save her!"

So he released her. She ran into the deep, magical jungle (they're literally in Magic Mountains).

He shrugged.

"Ah well, guess this one wasn't meant to be..."

Then it turned out the talking pet monkeys of the hermit had saved her and brought her back to him. So he decided he should actually bring her to her village.

Which he did - carried her away while in eagle form, she was in a reed basket that the hermit's pet monkeys prepared). 

The sword, who is telepathic***, talked to the girl to calm her down - Hoi can't speak as an eagle - and later mentioned he likes her, "she's a bloodthirsty little one".

"Maybe I should visit her in a few years and see if she's still like that, if yes, she could be useful", Hoi answered. "Either way, we'll see if she's still grateful for being saved".

Nope, he's not doing anything without an eye towards gain.

He also reported dutifully about killing witches, but omitted the presence of the sword, reasoning that it's his own now.  In fact, he never brings it in the presence of White Dragon or his daughters (the man only has daughters).

Notes:

*He's basically serving the supposed BBEG of the setting, and does so in a methodic, ruthless fashion. I suspect the GM is playing said BBEG as a "misunderstood badass", but Hoi doesn't see it this way - he believes the boss is out to be Number One, no scruples allowed, and is willing to support him (and being his right-hand man has perks)!

Yes, I'm the ninja serving the BBEG, envy me!

Also, for reference, I have 3 PCs in this campaign. One is a guy who would fight for ideals, revenge, or to protect others. Another is a guy who would fight for ideals, for revenge, but usually it's just because it seems like it would be a fun fight.

Hoi, however, is a guy who would fight someone because he was ordered to fight, because he was ordered to kill somebody and didn't manage to do it without fighting, because he wants the guy to suffer, or for profit. 

**Xia are supposed to protect the weak, punish the wicked and act with honour. Hoi knows full well he's one of those many xia would like to punish.

***Turned out, there was an ancient kung-fu master imprisoned inside, who had been a robber, pirate, highwayman, swindler and warrior. It just had been sleeping - until it tasted demon blood.

It has also been determined since that Hoi and the sword like each other's company alright. It probably helps that Hoi is helping the sword satisfy its carnal urges it has a handle that's quite nice, and Hoi pays different whores to use it.