Xiao Hu

[Maeko]

Name: Xiao Hu
Gender: F
Race Human
Class: Tong shu (4)
Alignment NG
Age 19

XP:6000

Stats :

Ab. score mod.
Str 14 +2
Dex 19 +4 (4th level point)
Con 12 +1
Int 12 +1
Wis 10 +0
Cha 12 +1

HP 24/24

AC 17 = 10 + Dex (4) + leather armour +1 (+3)
vs. Touch 14
Flatfooted 13

Init +8

Saving throws:
Fort +2 (1+Con)
Ref +8 (4+Dex)
Will +1 (1+Wis)

Feats: improuved initiative, ambidexterity, two weapon fighting.

base attack bonus: +3

Melee: +5 = 3 + Str (+2)
Ranged: +7 = 3 + Dex (+4)

Weapons:
Nu: +7, dmg 1d8, (19-20)x2 piercing

+1 Fighting Wheel: +6/+8, dmg 1d6+3, (19-20)x2, piercing, 10ft Incre
Fighting Wheel masterwork: +6/+8, 1d6+2, (19-20)x2, piercing, 10ft Incre

Silvered Daggers(2): +5/+7 ,1d4+2 (19-20)x2, piercing, 10ft Incre

Armor
Leather +1 (AC bonus 3)

Skills. (skill points : 70)

Appraise:+1 (Int.)

Balance:+8 (4+Dex)

Bluff:+1 (Cha.)

Climb:+4 (2+Str.)

Disable Device :+10 (7+Int. +2 misc.)

Diplomacy:+1 (Cha)

Disguise:+4 (3+Cha)

Escape Artist:+8 (4+Dex)

Gather Info:+3 (2+Cha)

Hide:+11 (7+Dex)

Intimidate:+1 (Cha)

Jump:+5 (3+Str.)

Listen:+5 (5)

Move Silently:+11 (7+Dex)

Open Lock:+10 (4+Dex+2misc)

Pick Pocket: +5 (1+Dex)

Ride:+4 (Dex)

Search : +8 (7+Int)

Sense Motive: +2 (2)

Spot: +5 (5)

Swim: +2 (Str)

Tumble:+8 (4+Dex)

U. Rope: +7(3+Dex)


Languages : Chinese, Orc, Japanese

Miscellaneous magic

1 potion of cure light wounds

Normal equipment

thieves’ tool masterwork
grappling hook
caltrops
39 bolts
backpack
bedroll
winter blanket
flint and steel
bull eye’s lantern
3 pints oil
small mirror
belt pouch
silk rope
2 sacks
wetstone
explorer’s outfit
cold weather outfit

enough food and water for 1 person for 2 weeks


Money

19 GP
8 SP

Background

Xiao Hu doesn’t know her family, all she knows is that one day a couple of refugees from the countryside asked Master Li if he needed another apprentice for his troupe of acrobat children; he did, and the two refugees came back with a little girl of about four, they agreed on three strings of coppers and 5 pounds of rice, and the business was sealed.
Her life was hard but not unfair, for one now the little girl ate every day, and, if she was obedient and trained hard, she would not be beaten.
She showed promise, and as soon as she was ready, Master Li started training her in his ‘other’ trade.
Xiao Hu did well, soon earning a ‘real’ name (Xiao Hu means ‘young fox’), instead of her infantile nickname (it was Xingxing, meaning ‘lucky one’). She enjoys her life, considering it to be a far better one than the lot of a peasant or a common worker.

[Maeko]

Sorry, I tried to edit my post to put the skill info in the proper columns, no way... :-(, if you want, master, I'll send the sheet to you by e-mail

[Cadogan Trahem]

I made some changes to your character sheet to make it easier to read but I didn't even try to touch skills :)

Best if you do something like this...


Move Silently: +8 (4+Dex)

Then I know you have 4 ranks, and I look at dex knowing you have a +4 mod making +8. For Misc or Race, just say (4+Dex+Race+Misc{+1}) and so forth. :)

I'll leave it to you because I couldn't make heads or tails of the skills while editing. :)

[Maeko]

Done! Looks far better now. :-)

[Cadogan Trahem]

Ok now I'll spend the next few days putting all the information you need to know here. And then I'll start out a game thread for you. :)

[Maeko]

GREAT! :-)

[Maeko]

OOPS! Forgot to tell you: Xiao Hu is from Wei (always had a soft spot for Caocao myself).

[Cadogan Trahem]

Things you should Know;

General Chinese History from Out of Character thread; plus..

CaoCao claims to have the side of Heaven through the Divine Mandate (the Divine Mandate fortells future rulers of China with the impression that Heaven chooses Divine Leaders - many people believe in the Divine Mandate).

CaoCao has probably the best trained cavalery in China.

Rumours say that Wu has been using Exotic beasts to fight in campaigns, standing nearly twice the height of men and over four times the weight of a horse, these beasts have two long teeth which protrude like spears from their mouth, with a arm and hand on their face they often bare men with bows.

Women in the Three Kingdoms

Like most cultures of the time, the Three Kingdomws are a man's world. Daughters are burdens to be married off as soon as possible. Many families keep slave girls, and slavers have no qualms about kidnapping them.

However, in Mythical China, Heroines can and do rise about these limitations. The Chinese accept female wu, nuns, spies, entertainers and artists. Additionally, there are two other ways for women to stand proudly in a male-dominated world: Magic and the Martial Arts.

Magical talent, particularly of the animist variety knows no difference between men and women. Female shamans and sorcerers wield spells just as powerful as those of their male counterparts. A powerful female spellcaster can easily earn atleast a grudging respect from male onlookers with even a simple display of her magical power.

Chinese legends are full of heroines who scoff at the idea of female inferiority. Though mastery of the martial arts, female characters can easily force the issue upon unsuspecting male adversaries.

Clothing

The Chinese believed strongly in the phrase "the clothes make the man." The civilized dress of the Middle Kingdom set it apart from the barbarians. The basic outfit for all chinese from the lowest urchin to the wealthiest shih, consisted of a tunic belted with a sash, loose pants, and a padded jacket fastened by buttons made of knotted cord. Women added dresses and aprons. Round, woven straw hats offered protection from the sun and rain.

The length of the sleeves and the tunic depended on the nature of the wearer's work. Peasants, soldiers, and martial artists favoured short of no sleeves and loose garments that allowed for maximum freedom of movement. Many commoners and soldiers also adopted from the horse barbarians a custom of wearing leather pants and sturdy boots which made fighting, riding, and farming much easier. By contrast an Imperial Minister's formal robes might trail several feet behind him.

Commoners made clothes out of hemp or nettle-fibers while the rich indulged mainly in silk. The poorest Chinese wore uncomfortable straw sandals or simply went barefoot.

Cloth or leather boots were the most common footwear, but the wealthy and their servants enjoyed brocade slippers. The well-to-do decorated their clothes with embroidery. Magistrates and other bureaucrats wore ritual capes as part of their offices, and special tunics were used for religious obervances.

Color determined social status in the Three Kingdoms. Commoners usually wore black or earth tones. Purples, Greens, and Blues were reserved for officials, and only the Emperor and his personal staff wore yellow. White was for mourning, red for weddings. Women made heavy use of makeup and the idle rich of both sexes sported long fingernails to show that they were above menial labor.

Food

China's diet evolved drmatically as its boarders absorbed new peoples. Originally, the Chinese ate millet cakes and also grew wheat and barley. Meant was expensive, so people used fruit, beans, tubers, onions, dumplings and spices like ginger and basil to lavour their meals. Occasionally, they had beef while the rich could afford luxuries like pork and chicken.

As the Chinese moved south, they discovered seafood and, most importantly, rice. By the time of the Three Kingdoms, rice dominated both their cuisine and their thought. "To ear rice" is a common Chinese description for having supper, the main mean of the day.

Tea, another Chinese favourite, did not exist during the Three Kingdoms Period. It would not appear in China for another 400 years. Before tea, however, they did have alcohol. They distilled rice into beer and wines, and, as the Middle Kingdom grew wealthier, the gentry learn to enjoy grape win and coconut liquors. Southern travelers always drank heavily, believing that alcohol warded off malaria.

[Cadogan Trahem]

As explained to you by Master Li

An Empire in Strife

Around 150 AD, cults and secret societies spread throughout the failing Empire. These groups, often led by Taoist magicians, established communes to protect their members from the hard times that bore down upon the land. In the captital, palace eunuchs continued their age-old power plays and political maneuvers, effectively ruling the Empire by themselves. Rich merchantsbought out bankrupt framers and then treated their tenants as serfs, emplying gangs of thugs to enforce their order. Common folk flocked to these wandering priests and magicians, hoping for aid from heaven.

These cults often established communes where their members shared property. Priests cured the sick with miracls and heard confessions of criminals. Some, on the other hand, simply took what they wanted to build their homes. By the 180's, these uprisings had become such a problem that the eunuchs in the capital were forced to take action against them.

The eunuchs sought out General Tung Cho to suppress the revolt. Instead, however, he seized the capital and restored the Imperial Family to the throne. When rival generals rose to challenge his control of the Empire, Tung Cho kidnapped the Emperor and fled west. For several years, rival factions fought for control, winning and losing the Emperor untill 190, when General Cao Cao finally managed to win through.

Cao Cao had the services of three great heroes; Lui Bei, Change Fei and Kuan Yu. They helped him supress the cults during the 180's, but, rather then see China's rulers return to their self-destructive political intrigues, Lui Bei seiezed his own lands and founded the Kingdom of Shu. Change Fei and Kuan Yu went with him to serve in his court. With the legendary warriors gone, other rival generals marshaled their forces and Sun Chaun set up the coastal Kingdom of Wu.

In 208, Coa Cao tried to reconquer the Three Kingdoms. He lost and retreated to his own capital and found the Kingdom of Wei.

An Empire Divided

By 210 AD, China is an empire in name only. The center of the universe is divided into three rival states. Wei with its capital in Loyand is ruled by Cao Cao and the Emperor. Rival warlord Sun Chuan rules Wu out of the coastal city of Naking, and the hero-princes Lui Bei, Chang Fei and Kaun Yu watch over Shu from their capital at Chengtu.

Wei, with its active economy and fertile farmland is the richest of the Three Kingdoms. Despite their political rivalry, Shu maintains ties with the Tibetan tribes to bolster its military strength. Wu, on the other hand, with its large barbarian population, has neither the wealth of Wei nor the strength of Shu. Its diplomats travel constantly between the other two kingdoms in an effort to prevent an invasion. Wu also trades with India by sea, which has made it the centre of Chinese Buddhism.

Magic

To the people of the Three Kingdoms, magic (Ch'ishu) is very real, and rules many aspects of life. Every person's soul is divided into good Hun and an evil P'o, which Necromancers can bind to corpses to create the undead. The services of diviners and geomancers are highly prized and every Emperor seeks out alchemists to unlock the secrets of the fabled Elixir of Life. Chinese legends are full of wise and terrible dragons, beautiful ki-rin (unicorns), sorcerers, magic potions, spirits, monsters, demons, and great warriors who control of their Ch'i (life force) allows them to perform super superhuman feats in battle. The cosmic forces of Yin and Yang shape and balance all life, and the understanding of these interactions grants the enlightenment and power. The Yin/Yang symbol represents proportion, and that each contains a small part of the other. The balance of Yin and Yang affects the living by controlling the flow of Ch'i in all things.

Most magicians learn spells from elder family members or as apprentices. Elder Magicians constantly seek out students as trained assistants, companions for mystic quests or "volunteers" to test prototype Elixirs of Life. This last duty can often be very dangerous since most Elixirs contain poisonous ingredients such as mercury.

To the people in the Three Kingdoms, magic is as real as the ground beneath their feet. It is simply a fact of life. Neither inherently "good" nor "evil," magic is simply another tool. Clearly a potent one, but a tool nonetheless. Magic convinces dragons to bring more rain to help failing crops. It enchances the Ch'i flow in an area to bring good fortune on those who live there. It allows mortals to divine the future. It banishes evil creatures and vengeful ghosts, sending them to their proper place in Heaven. Perhaps the ultimate goal of all Chinese magic, however, is eternal life.

Unlike their western counterparts Chinese alchemists strive to discover the Elixir of Life, a magical concoction that allows the person who drinks it to live forever. Rulers surround themselves with powerful magicians and often drive them to pursue the heights of the magical arts in the hope of unlocking the secret of immortality. A spellcaster who manages to raise a person from the dead or restore youth and vitality to aging flesh is likely to be showered with riches and prestige. Even so Mythical China remains a land full of powerful mysterious beings that are privy to secrets that mortal magicians can rarely begin to comprehent. A wise magician treads carefully, for the spirits can be the greatest teachers, or the deadliest enemies.

The Five Elements

The Chinese believe in five elements: Earth (balance), Fire (greater Yang), Metal (lesser Yin), Water (greater Yin), and wood (lesser Yang). Each element signifies a different deree of Yin (cool, luminous, feminine) or Yang (warm, energetic, masculine). The Chinese base their entire understanding of magic on the balance of Yin and Yang and the cyclical influence of the five elements on aspects of reality.

Each element's influence is inevitably overcome by that of another. In time, the new dominant element is replaced by a third, and so forth until the cycle is renewed. Additionally, each element's influence is controlled and restrained by two others. The cycle of ebb and flow repeats endlessly and ultimately results in a perfect ballance of Yin and Yang in all things. The cycle turns in the following order.

1. Wood supplants Earth. Metal controls wood and Fire limits its influence.

2. Metal supplants Wood. Fire controls Metal and Water limits its influence.

3. Fire supplants Metal. Water controls Fire and Earth limits its influence.

4. Water supplants Fire. Earth controls Water and Wood limits its influence.

5. Earth supplants Water. Wood controls Earth and Metal limits its influence.


Each dominant element is controlled by the one that later replaces it and limited by the element that controls its successor. Chinese magicians, especially diviners, take advantage of the cycle to aid their magic, but ultimately, all Chinese recognize that the cycle maintains the important balance between Yin and Yang and that all are subject to its influence. The Chinese believe that those who live according to the cycle will have good luck and that trying to resist its influence can bring dire consequences.



Beyond the basic Yin and Yang knowledge you know little of religious followings, however you've heard of Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Legalism, and Animism the exact nature of these religions escapes you however.

[Maeko]

Thanks for the great recap, Cadogan!

Recently I've been rather busy with modern China and needed to freshen up a bit Three Kingdom knowledge.

Are you a fellow sinologist, by any chance?

[Cadogan Trahem]

No, im a Historian-in-Training. :) I just show particular interest in the Asian region, I often learn about different countries and sometimes I find that I like it so much that I play a game based there. All the information above is from the "Jade and Steel: Roleplaying in Mythical China" however, and was not common knowledge to me before I read the book through. As I understand it its a fairly accurate represenation of the Three Kingdoms Period which really sets it apart from most roleplaying books. :)

[Maeko]

I can confirm it's sound info :-).

I never played in an historical setting before, but already love this one.
It's the time of epic, chivalric stories...

[Maeko]

A little 'flavour' footnote on food (or better, drink). Even now tea is a bit of a luxury.

Normally a meal is (and was) accompanied either by warm soups (of many kinds, according to the dishes they go with), or boiled water (drunk warm, never cold), THAT was a bit of a shock, at first, to me, but I can assure you it's great, even in summer it's much more refreshing than iced drinks. They say that tea was discovered when some leaves fell, by chance in a pot of boiling water.

About clothing, Xiao Hu will go for confortable, well kept but plain clothes that don't stand out and allow for freedom of movement