Sample Characters

A protege of the Duke of Wu, Pan Cao is the Governor General of Dragon Tooth fort, a sizable outpost on the western border of the Empire. He received membership in the Chrysanthemum Order after catching the notorious rebel, Fang Xu, as he attempted to escape Imperial Justice. Cao is a member of the Ministry of War

Strategy 3
Administration 2
Martial Arts - Kung Fu 2

• Wealth (+) : As Governor of Dragon Tooth, Cao has been able to make a sizable fortune from taxation and extortion.
• Master (+) : Duke Meng is a demanding master, but his knowledge of strategy may be unmatched in Chi'in.
• Mystical Artifact (+) : When Fang Xu was captured he was found carrying an urn bearing ancient markings. Pan Cao has taken the urn for safekeeping until he can have it properly studied by a sage.
• Responsibility (-) : Pan Cao is responsible both for policing the Western border. He is tasked with both preventing lawbreakers from fleeing the Empire and crushing raids by the bandit groups that live on the outskirts of the desert.
• Doomed Love (-) : The general is hopelessly in love with Smiling Dog, the handsome young leader of the most troublesome bandit clan in the region.

A man of medicine who was found wandering the mountains of Wei, and promptly recruited by the Black Lotus after healing several of their injured members after a battle with the northern barbarians. Bei Tian is a member of the Ministry of War

Medicine 4
Artifice 3

• Mystical Artifact (+) : In his travels Bei Tian once found a well crafted staff lying abandoned beside the path, he took it as it seemed like a good walking stick.
• Exalted (+) : Bei Tian is well respected as a great Physician.
• Attendants (+) : Occasionally those whose life Bei Tian has saved have nowhere else to go, and decide to follow him. This is now a reasonable group of devotees, who have personally sworn to protect him.
• Enemy (-) : Bei Tian healed a young Imperial Captain after they were stuck by an assassin from the northern wastes. For saving their target, this assassin has sworn vengeance against Bei Tian.
• Sickness (-) Unfortunately, Bei Tian is not so skilled as to be able to cure their own disease; a chronic misalignment of chi causing occasional fits of shaking.

Formerly an orphan in the streets of Xiang Geung, Ni Chang has demonstrated extraordinary aptitude for tradecraft and was promptly recruited by the Order of the Black Lotus to carry out Imperial Dictates. Ni Chang is a member of the Ministry of Culture

Tradecraft 4
Martial Arts - Black Beetle Style 2
Administration 1

• Secret Technique (++) : As a member of the Order of the Black Lotus, Ni Chang knows the secret word that unlocks doors.
• Exalted (+) : Ni Chang has performed admirably, bringing swift death to the enemies of the Dragon Throne.
• Spy Network (+) : Ni Chang has a comprehensive network of agents .
• Style Weakness (-) : Black Beetle Style's focus on parries makes it especially weak against people who hit very hard and fast.
• Haunted (-) : Ni Chang is haunted by the spirit of Golden Jizou, a former corrupt official in the Mercantile Guild.
• Enlightened (-) : Ni Chang's occupation has left her with nightmares and visions that have perplexed the Imperial Doctors.

Lu spent seven years studying Iron Whip style under the renowned Master Shen, but unfortunately three years into her training he was slain by a rival school and had to complete her training as a ghost. Under this somewhat unorthodox training Lu's hair turned white and she learned much of the strengths and weaknesses of spirits. For a time she wandered Chi'in nobly fighting bandits and demons. Her wandering ended when she saved the Emperor from being thrown from his horse by a wicked spirit and so was named an Honourable Companion and became one of his True Friends.

Martial Arts - Iron Whip Style 3
Occult 3
Medicine 1

• Master (+): Master Shen has become increasingly withdrawn from the affairs of the living but the irascible ghost is still willing to provide guidance, though sometimes at the price of increasing bizarre gifts.
• Doomed Love (-): In the year before his death, Lu was a poor student to Shen, often slipping out to meet Steadfast Ox. But Ox was one of those that attacked and killed Master Shen, and Lu has sworn neither to forgive nor forget though they still love one another.
• Rival Style (-): The students of the Dragon Shield are stolid unshakeable defenders who rely on the exhaustion or inattention of their opponents before they strike.
• Legendary Item (+, Level 1): When Master Shen died his Iron Whip, a gift from the gods, broke beneath him. Lu wove the fragments into her hair where the enchantment renders them invisible till she strikes and allows her rang beyond the length of her hair.
• Sickness (-): Learning from and battling ghosts has left Lu's chi distempered and even with her own knowledge of herbs she is left as weak as a child on occasions.
• Imperial Writ (+): The Emperor has granted Lu the right to enter forbidden places and read proscribed texts the better to battle the supernatural enemies of the Empire of Chi'in.
• Mysterious Artifact (+): An ivory pendant from the south pressed into Lu's hands by a grateful soothsayer, but without a prophecy. Somehow Lu is sure it will be important.