Shadows of Shen Zhou: List of People

The following is a list of various NPCs and organizations populating the Shadows of Shen Zhou.

Contacts & Supporting NPCs

• Bu is a 13 year old boy who Shadow Panther Lightfoot to. He idolizes her and the Wulin.
• C.B. Sun is the dispatcher for a taxi cab service. She is a good source of information, and I've helped out when a taxi driver called in sick. We regularly trade favors back and forth.
• Changying is the owner and operator of a flower stand on the corner of his protection route. The flower stand has been there a long time - Changying's grandmother was an old woman who ran it when Chao was small, and Changying just helped a bit. Sometimes she gave him tea or a little rice when times were hard on the street, and she once cleaned up a cut on his arm after a fight. He didn't see them again after he moved in with Master Ling, or indeed until fairly recently. She hasn't realized he's the same Chao as the little boy her grandmother was kind to, if she even remembers those times. Chao remembers, though, and he's exempted her from paying protection money. She doesn't know why, and he won't explain - he only insisted that she never tell anyone the envelope she passes to him will always be empty.
• Doctor Juan runs a clinic in Inauspicious Calligraphy. He often has a need for an ambulance driver, and is a well respected physician. There are rumors that he has ties to the Yellow River Society, but few believe them as the rumors seem to come from a Nan courtier who has a long standing feud with Juan.
• Fallen Xue was the leader of the Falling Wren Society before it was destroyed. Over a century old, he is an enemy of the state. Ascending Tai is his student. He is also a Predictionist.
• Guozhi is a police detective. Occasionally seeks out Chao to speak to him, although these meetings are always in secret. Chao isn't an informer, and Guozhi doesn't take bribes, but the two have a kind of common interest in keeping order in the place. For this reason, a few oblique words shared between the two can sometimes accomplish much.
• Liao Yi is the second oldest sister of Liao Mei.
• Mechanized Shang is a Daoist Engineer and a prominent participant in the internal politics of the Blue Flame Clan. Currently on a secret mission (possibly in hiding), he is actively researching alternative energies. Yijia the Courier was once his messenger and bodyguard, and still sees him as a visionary.
• Mama Lao is the owner and madame of the Sweeping Willow House. A former prostitute herself, still handsome despite the fact that the bloom of her youth has faded, she sees herself as an important entrepreneur in Inauspicious Calligraphy. She seeks a way to make a profit in the blighted district while still treating her girls well.
• Twelve Bones Qian is the leader of the Red Banner Triad, a powerful Triad in the City. He is creator of Six Ritual Jades Kung Fu. His daughter is Qian Ai Xian.

Enemies & Antagonist NPCs

• Crimson Hawk is a member of Hell Clan, and was the leader of the Hell Clan group that was involved in the Year of the Tiger Fight in Inauspicious Calligraphy. He fled using Lightfoot techniques after Tai displayed powerful kung fu. He has also offended Chou Gang gravely.
• Iron Brother is a hulking, masked member of Hell Clan who was involved in the Year of the Tiger Fight at Inauspicious Calligraphy. He uses a large metal I-beam as a weapon. After seeing Crimson Hawk and Scented Thorns escape, he surrendered.
• Scented Thorns is a member of Hell Clan that was involved in the Year of the Tiger Fight at Inauspicious Calligraphy, and fled when she saw Crimson Hawk escape. She uses a whip. Yijia has sworn to remember her.
• Spiteful Chen is a member of Hell Clan that was involved in the Year of the Tiger Fight at Inauspicious Calligraphy. He is an archer, and surrendered after being stunned by Yijia the Courier.

Other NPCs

• Qian Lao is the son of Twelve Bones Qian and elder brother to Qian Ai Xian. He was the heir apparent to take over the Red Banner Triad when his father stepped down, but was recently killed.
• Wheeling Wing is an influential and successful member of the Blue Flame Clan who owns a shipping company. He is currently holding a package for Yijia the Courier from Mechanized Shang until Yijia pays him a large sum of money.
• Xiang Lung is right hand man to Twelve Bones Qian and was supposed to marry Qian Ai Xian before her disappearance.

Clans

• The Bei Clan is still one of the major clans.
• The Blue Flame Clan is present in the city, but has not yet acted in the campaign. It is still a minor clan.
• The Dong Clan is still one of the major clans.
• Hell Clan, aka The Heaven and Earth Alliance, is active in the city. Some of its members attempted to claim Inauspicious Calligraphy as their own, but were defeated in the Year of the Tiger Fight.
• The Mao-Shan Clan is as mysterious as ever, though it's presence in the city is suspected as it is doubtful they would simply allow Shadow Panther to be beyond their reach. It is still a minor clan
• The Nan Clan is still one of the 5 major clans.
• The Xi Clan is still one of the major clans

Factions, Sects, & Gangs

• The Copper Devils are a mercenary secret society that hires out for muscle and specializing in terror tactics. Founded by a woman rumored to be a Mao Shan exile, it's philosophy is strongly Objectivist, believing only in the strength and authority of power, with their main goal the acquisition of more power and influence.
• The Demon Scholars are still a powerful group of baneful humans who wish to destroy every piece of order created by Heaven and the Yellow Emperor.
• The Red Banner Triad is a powerful triad in the city.
• The Six Upright Devils is the name of the Wulin heroes at the center of this campaign. Its current membership is limited to its six founding members (Ascending Tai, Chou Gang, Liao Mei, Qian Ai Xian, Shadow Panther, and Yijia the Courier). Consequently, it is the only organization in this list that does not qualify as an actor by the rules of the great game.
• The Yellow Turban Society still exists and is still fighting against the clan patronage system in the name of the peasantry (now proletariat?)

State Actors

• The Auspicious Ministry of Harmonious Communication, or Harmony, is an information gathering organization of the Imperial Bureaucracy.
• The Ministry of Righteous Progress is a shadowy arm of the government bureaucracy that actively stamps out anyone or anything it believes may destabilize the Empire.
• The Urban Guardians of Peace, aka the UGP, are the police in the city. They do not have enough resources or dutiful officers to successfully keep the peace in the city, and they know it. Instead, the practice a sort of triage, maintaining as much order as possible where it is most necessary. While Legalists defend the intent of this policy, none argue that the question of what districts need what degree of peace has created countless opportunities for corruption. They generally ignore Inauspicious Calligraphy, though they have noted the arrival of the Six Upright Devils. To date, however, it remains in their interest to do nothing, as neither the Six nor Inauspicious Calligraphy are worth their time. Yet.