Editing EdgeOfHeaven/CampaignLoresheet (section)

==Factions==
===Mountain Heart Sect===
'''Concept: Austere and withdrawn monks relentlessly pursuing enlightenment'''<br>
Most Buddhists of Shen Zhou have learned to accomodate a certain amount of worldiness in their practices; it is the price of spreading their teachings wide across the land. The monks of the Mountain Heart Sect make no such allowances. They spurn other philosophies, keep themselves aloof from matters of politics, and demand detachment in their adherents from the (as they have it) merely illusory concerns of everyday life. Following the practices of their founder, they all undergo a long apprenticeship in stonemasonry: it inculcates in initiates humility and diligence.<br>
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'''Thousand Boddhisatva Caves'''<br>
The culmination of the decade-long process of initiation into the Sect is the carving of a Buddha into the cave walls. It represents the removal of all that is superfluous to enlightenment and the elevation of a common worker’s practice into a form of meditation, to say nothing of the diligence required to perform such a task. It is said that to look upon a monk’s carving is to gain insight into his very essence; each stone Buddha is distinct, and bears the signature of its maker.
*'''3 Fortune''': You have visited the grottoes of the Mountain Heart Sect and studied the stone Busas found there. Once per story, declare that you have seen the statue of a member of the Mountain Heart Sect; if you find yourself in opposition to him, you will always laugh at his actions, and never fear them.
*'''5 Fortune''': Meditation among the stone Busas has affected you deeply. The example of the Mountain Heart sculptors has paved a path toward greater enlightenment and inner harmony. Work with your Sage to design a Minor Cultivation Hyperactivity that rewards you when you act in accord with Mountain Heart teachings.<br>
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'''The Empty Sutras'''<br>
The distinguishing feature of Mountain Heart philosophy is its rigorous focus on illusion as the cause for suffering and evil in the world. Nowhere is that philosophy more completely explicated than in the so-called Empty Sutras, which purport to be the records of conversations of the sect’s founder with his first disciples as they discuss the teachings of the Buddha and, somewhat incongruously, the practice of stonemasonry. It is thought that careful study of the Sutras, access to which is restricted to the longest-serving members of the Sect, will lead finally to the re-discovery of the Veil Rent Asunder, the transcendent style said to be the apogee of the Sect’s practices and beliefs.
*'''3 Destiny''': The Empty Sutras will play a role in your story. Perhaps you have been sent to learn them by the Little Forest Sect, or perhaps you seek them of your own accord. Whatever the case, it is no mean feat for an outsider to gain access to them.
*'''8 Victory''': You are to rediscover the Veil Rent Asunder transcendent style; if you are a member of the Sect, surely this will elevate you to the very heights of admiration and respect. If you are not, things might be a little more complicated …
**'''-2''': The rediscovery of the style will cost you something very dear to you; work with your sage to find an appropriate price.

'''The Third Mason'''<br>
The founder of the Mountain Heart Sect was an unlettered mason; legend has it that he worked in Blazing Beacon, one of many workers tasked with building a marvelous Buddhist temple. He overheard the monks’ teachings to their students and their disputations among themselves. Despite his lack of education (or perhaps because of it!) he saw through the needless filigree with which the monks decorated the teachings of the Buddha. When the temple was completed, he laid down his tools before the refined monks, rebuked them for their ostentatious displays and asked them to follow him to the mountains so that they could meditate and remove from themselves the illusions that had led them all so far astray.<br> 
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Each man to ascend to the leadership of the Sect abandons his name; as their founder is known by no other moniker than “the Mason,” they have taken the same name for themselves. The current holder of the name is revered for and distinguished by his kindness and eagerness to help initiates; he can often be found wandering the grottoes, engaging even the newest disciplines in protracted and congenial conversation.<br> 
*'''3 Fortune''': The Third Mason has met and taken an interest in you. If you are a member of the Sect, perhaps he has seen something promising in you — perhaps he even sees you as a potential successor! If you are not of the Sect, how did you meet the Mason, and what does he see in you?
**'''0 Bonus''': Among the Mountain Heart Sect, you have 2 Status: A Friend of the Mason; this gives you access to the Sect that outsiders otherwise do not enjoy
'''10 Destiny/Victory''': The tenure of the Third Mason approaches its end. You will play a vital role in determining his successor — or you will be his successor!

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===Ten-Thousand Clan Pact===
*'''4 Destiny''': One of the Emperor's Concubines has been promised to the Kaagan; your story will intersect with hers. Will you be the one to make sure she is brought to his palace in distant Kashgar and preserve the newly-won peace, or will you save her from a life in a strange and distant court, consequences be damned?
*'''5+ Fortune''': The Kaagan of the Ten-Thousand Clan Pact owes you a favor! What have you (or your ancestors) done to earn such a benison? He commands the clever merchants of the Crimson Hills Clan, the tireless warriors of the Sky Wheel Clan, and the peerless lords of the Moon Clan; his are the tent cities along the Dragons Blood Mountains in the north, and his are the ingenious Garden Cities along the Golden Peaks in the south. Work with your Sage to determine why such a powerful figure owes you a favor, and what kind of repayment you can expect in return.
====Storm Brother Clan====
''(The status and related options can be used as a template for other clans in the Pact.)''
*'''1-2 Status''': You were either born into one of the clans of the Pact, or adopted into one. Work with your sage to detail which Clan you were affiliated with, and why you're no longer with them.
**'''0 Bonus''': You have a +5 Survival Specialty: the Empty Hand Desert.
**'''0/5 Disadvantage''': Ostracized. Whatever your past with the Storm Brothers, they have cast you out. None among them may offer you hospitality or aid of any kind, and will likely be hostile toward you on any pretext — a truly dangerous status in the Empty Hands Desert.
*'''2 Fortune''': You have contacts within the otherwise clannish and insular Storm Brothers, and can serve as a go-between with them and your people.
*'''5 Destiny''': The Storm Brother Clan shares a long, secret and tempestuous history with the Xiongnu invaders who became the Jin Dynasty; you will play an important role in the coming conflict between them, whether as a peace-maker, as the one who tips the balance of power, or the curse that befalls both houses.

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===The Four Devil Ring===
While the departure of the Old Owl Legion and the subsequent fall of the Jade Gate fortress essentially closed Huangdi's Path to the Silk Road, the corridor remained the fastest and most convenient route from the western lands into the heart of Shen Zhou. As a result, smuggling became a viable and often immensely profitable activity for those who still lived in the towns of the region; it was also very dangerous, and prone to create gang wars that made the Warring States period look pacific. In time, order emerged from the chaos of competing gangs and criminal overlords. A syndicate of gangs, one representing each of the three major towns along the Path, plus a gang of outlaws from the barbarian Storm Brother Clan, formed and has controlled the smuggling routes for the past generation. The members are: the Hell Riders (from the desert); the Stone Pig Gang (Blazing Beacon); Bloodwine Brotherhood (Wine Springs); and the Trackless Friends (Bronze Horse).<br>
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With the return of the legions and the Silk Road caravans, their 'business model' is very much in danger. But they know the territory, and the gangs command loyalty and respect in their respective towns. Surely they must have something up their sleeves to survive this change in circumstance!
*'''2 Bonus''': You know the ways of the Four Devils Ring as well as any member, and quite a bit better than most. You get a +5 bonus to any social action involving the Four Devils Ring, including the Courtier's Arts.
*'''3 Fortune''': Somehow, you have learned of the Ring's plans for surviving - and thriving - once imperial government returns to the Path. Secrets like that can be dangerous ... both for you and them.
====The Stone Pigs====
Blazing Beacon's own "Devil," and by an impartial reckoning, the strongest individual gang of the four. In addition to their criminal enterprises in the region (including, but not limited to, smuggling, theft, extortion, and murder), they also serve, often quite capably, as the police, the firemen, the militia and all-around civil servants of the town. Few would call their governance merciful or enlightened, and to wear the blue sash that marks membership in the gang is to be immune to what passes for law, but that hardly distinguishes them from many places that enjoy the protection of the Emperor.<br>
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It's something of an open secret that Duke Ko, the boss-in-all-but-name of the town, is their chief.
*'''1+ Involvement''': Your tale will intertwine with the Stone Pigs Gang; perhaps you will set them on a righteous path, or perhaps you'll come to lead them.
*'''2 Status''': You're not a member of the gang, but you're known and liked and/or respected by them. Senior members of the gang will treat you with respect, while junior members who treat you disrespectfully will suffer censure behind closed doors.
**'''0 Bonus''': No one knows the region better than the Stone Pigs do, and you've absorbed much of their knowledge. You gain a +5 Bonus to any survival rolls in and around Blazing Beacon.