Character:Tempest Wei

Age of Metal

Tempest Wei (aka Liu Xiulan)
Eccentric swordswoman

A slender youth apparently not yet old enough to shave, yet moving with the certainty and efficiency of a seasoned fighter. His fine, almost feminine features are contrasted by his unruly black hair in a not entirely unfavorable way, but the frightful intensity shining in his dark eyes can have an off-putting effect. He favors loose clothes in muted colors that allow for great freedom of movement; underneath his limbs and torso are wound with bandages of dense, tough cloth embroidered with metal threads that guard him against injury. On his travels his appearance is completed by a faded cloak formerly of high quality with torn and frayed edges near the ground and a small bundle with his worldly possessions made of a rolled-up blanket which he carries on his back.

Mechanics

4th Rank Warrior

• Lake 7
• River 2
• Chi Replenishment 2
• Chi Aura 2
• Max Skill Bonus +10
• Breath Skill: Hardiness

Skills

• Confidence +5 (2)
• Finesse +5 (2)
• Hardiness +10 (4), Focusing on Breath +5 (1)
• Inspire +10 (4), Inspiring Fear +5 (1)
• Tactics +10 (4)
• Wu Wei +5 (2), Specialty: Sensing Chi +5 (0)

Virtues

Benevolence 2, Force 4, Honor 3, Loyalty 2, Righteousness 1

Ferocity 3, Individualism 3, Obsession 1, Revenge 3, Ruthlessness 3

Disadvantages

• Secretly a woman in disguise
• Driven to seek out worthy opponents

Kung Fu

External:

• Eight Legends (Speed +5, Footwork +5, Strike +10, Damage +5, Block +5, Toughness +5)

Internal:

• Jade Spirit Sword
  • Sword Heaven
  • Dragon in Flight (2)
  • Snake Hiding in Grass (2)
  • Blade of Infinite Strokes (3)
  • Scything Moonlight Cut (4)
  • Tenfold Steel Guard (4)
• Formless
  • Submissive Steel (1)

Secret Arts:

• The Warrior's Art
• Passions and Inspirations
• Curses and Influences

Chi Conditions

• The Sword Spirit's Legacy: While behaving as if the the main reason for fighting is the pure joy of battle and regarding the opponent more as a kindred spirit than as an enemy Wei gains a +5 Laughs At modifier against any style that uses swords (Minor Hyperactivity).
• The Sacred Dance of Blades: Battle is ... By being bold and daring, not holding back or hiding her skill and giving all she has even when wounded or up against a superior opponent Wei gains a +5 Action Bonus.(Combat Approach, Minor Fire Hyperactivity, +5 Action Bonus)
• ???

Final Touches

Chi 13 Chi Threshold 13 (18 with armor) Cultivation: 10 (base Internal) +16 (techniques) +8 (lores improving kung fu) =34 -10-11-12 =1

Combat

• Light Armor (+5 Chi Threshold)

• The Moonlight-Splitting Blade (Sword/Paired/Unarmed due to Sword-heart Skill): Speed +10, Footwork +10, Strike +15, Damage +5, Block +10, Toughness +5
  • may Focus on Breath with one die
  • may Flood 1 die to increase cost of Chi Aura vs Rippling
  • may Reply on blocking by 10 or more
  • may Flood dice from River as basis for Secondary attack
  • -10 to Block if making use of its special properties
• Unarmed (Unarmed/Sword due to Sword-Heart Skill): Speed +10, Footwork +10, Strike +15, Damage +5, Block +10, Toughness +5

Background

Liu Xiulian was born as the younger daughter of a wealthy and respectable family, who certainly no one expected would ever have anything to do with the forbidden martial arts. But although she grew up with every comfort and indulgence seen to, and with reputable teachers to teach her all that a fine young lady should know she always felt that there was something missing. Something without which her life would forever continue to be nothing but an empty charade for the benefit of her parent's expectations.

The story of her life might well have become nothing but a endless mire of mediocrity and unhappiness hidden behind fake smiles. But as fate would have it there was an old beggar who used to come to the kitchen's back door to beg for food, in return for which he told fanciful stories. Stories of how things used to be in the old days, when the way of kung fu was open to everyone and Wulin heroes fought for justice and righteousness! Her mind was set ablaze with inspiration and she began to impatiently wait for the old man's return to ask more questions about the heroes of his stories and the world of the Wulin.

Naturally her parents watched this development with much worry and little understanding, and far from supporting their daughters passion they punished her and forbade her all contact with such unsavory persons and treasonous topics. But Xiulian was stubborn and headstrong even then, some might say as a natural consequence of being spoiled as a child, and so she was quickly decided on a course of action: She would run away from home to learn martial arts and become a hero like in the stories!

Life on the streets and in the wilds was hard on the pampered girl, though she quickly learned to disguise herself as a boy to avoid dangerous attention. Again her story might have ended in disaster, but her careless questions about martial arts and mentioning the name of the old beggar who'd come to her house attracted the attention of members of the Beggar Fraternity. Being compassionate and recognizing her as someone with potential they helped the 'boy' they called 'Willow Stick' with the innumerable challenges of survival, and when 'he' proved too proud to beg and too enamored with the sword's reputation as the Gentleman of all Weapons pointed her toward the mountain fortress-monastery of Zhao Pei, the Frozen Heart Sage of the Heaven Sword Alliance.

Unfortunately Zhao Shihong, the sage's daughter and promising student, had several years earlier betrayed her father along with the Alliance by becoming a dog of the Mad Emperor and bringing down Invisible Hell Killers on more than one secret place or resistance. Consequently he had ever since refused to take female students, leaving Xiulan no choice but to maintain her deception and disguise in order to become a student of this eminent master of the sword.

Now, almost a decade later, 'Tempest Wei' as she has come to be called is herself a manifest prodigy of the sword, having internalized the teachings of the Sword Spirit's legacy to a degree that would make any teacher proud. Having left the secluded mountain fortress behind 'he' now means to face the world itself, to measure his skill against any worthy opponent he can find and through constant battle sharpen his skill even further. For it is in the meeting of blades that he has found the one one thing he was missing, the feeling of being alive and joy of battle. If fame and glory accrue to his name in the process then all the better! And one day he will have to face his counterpart, the Traitor Daughter Zhao Shihong ...

The Moonlight-Splitting Blade

The Moonlight-Splitting Blade is a reminder of the soaring heights the blacksmith arts reached during the Earth Age: A sword forged from an unknown silvery alloy, so light and immaculately balanced as to feel almost weightless and quick as lightning to someone used to common weapons. Its edge splits air and even light apart in its passing, vanishing from sight or creating a multitude of confusing after-images when wielded by a master. To opposing fighters it can seem at times as if there is no blade at all, at others as if they are facing a hundred swords at once rather than only one.

Advancement

Destiny: 20 (unspent: 4)

• Internal techniques 16

Entanglement: 15

• Mohism (gratis), Treasure 3: The Moonlight-Splitting Blade (3)
• The Heaven Sword Alliance (3)
• Martial Lineage of the Sword Spirit (includes Status 5, Sword-Heart Skill, Storm of Swords) (10)
  • Destined rival: The Traitor Daughter (-2)
• Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons (1)
  • Disguised as a man (0)
  • Wu Wei Specialty: Sense Chi (0)