Difference between revisions of "Agents of Empress Wu:Iron Flute Zhang"

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(Kung Fu:)
(Aspects:)
 
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===Picture:===
 
===Picture:===
  
 
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[[File:Dragon_Flute_Zhang_pic.png|200px|thumb|left|alt text]]
 
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'''High Concept:''' Vagabond scapegrace poet
 
'''High Concept:''' Vagabond scapegrace poet
  
'''Trouble:''' Fickle child of the Tao
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'''Trouble:''' Intoxicated child of the Tao
  
 
'''Phase One:''' Mysterious Origins, Powerful Friends
 
'''Phase One:''' Mysterious Origins, Powerful Friends
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'''Phase Two:''' Deeper Than He Looks
 
'''Phase Two:''' Deeper Than He Looks
  
'''Phase Three:''' Always Histrionic, Sometimes Charming
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'''Phase Three:''' Always Flamboyant, Sometimes Charming
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''' Ghost Monkey'''
 
''' Ghost Monkey'''
  
'''Form Aspect:''' Forest Crane stylists merge situational awareness, circular movements, and defensive posture to create a reactive style that uses the environment and an opponent’s own aggression against them. Forest Crane practitioners are among some of the most graceful and balanced fighters around.
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'''Form Aspect:''' Ghost Monkey concentrates on the mastery of internal energies to augment the style’s acrobatic defenses and attacks. Pushes, feints, sweeps, and pressure point strikes hinder an attacker, making him easier to outmaneuver and subdue. Rolls and dodges keep opponents at a distance until the practitioner can find the right opening to finish the fight with a disabling strike or grapple. One of the most physical of the Ghost styles, many underestimate the inner power of the capering, mocking Ghost Monkey.
  
 
'''Techniques:'''
 
'''Techniques:'''
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'' Monkey Rolls Away:'' When invoking an aspect or advantage during a defense roll, gain 2 Armor Rating against the attack if it succeeds.
 
'' Monkey Rolls Away:'' When invoking an aspect or advantage during a defense roll, gain 2 Armor Rating against the attack if it succeeds.
  
''Crane Stuns the Carp:'' If you succeed on a Fight attack with style, you may create a STUNNED advantage on a target with a free invocation instead of taking a bonus.
 
  
''Leaves Like Razors:'' When invoking a situation aspect or environment-based advantage in a Fight attack, you add +2 Weapon Rating to that attack
 
  
 
'''Lost Technique:'''
 
'''Lost Technique:'''
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===Stunts:===
 
===Stunts:===
''Honey Works Better than Vinegar:'' Can use Empathy instead of Provoke to make mental attacks.
 
  
''Squirrel Thrives in the Trees:'' +2 on Athletics to overcome or create an advantage in awkward, rough, or dangerous terrain (trees, cliffs, rooftops, balconies, etc.)
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''The Power of Song:'' Can use Crafts (poetry) instead of Provoke, Rapport, Empathy or Deceive with any attempt to sway or move the minds of others, so long as he can recite a poem or ballad.
  
''All Heed the Beauty of the Mountain Songbird:'' +2 on Chi to create an advantage on herself or others when singing.
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''Floodlike Chi:'' Can use Chi instead of Will in any test of wills, representing his harmony with the Way of the cosmos.
  
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''Zhang's Iron Flute:'' +2 with ranged Shoot Attacks as far as next zone, representing poison or tranquilizing blowgun darts.
  
===Phases:===
 
  
'''First Phase:'''  ''The Mountains Teach Secrets of which the Empire Knows Not''
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The people of Shenzhou like to tell lurid stories of mountain kingdoms where women are tyrants and men are slaves, but the truth is more mundane.  Xiao Hu comes from a matrilineal tribe beyond Shenzhou's western borders where gender status is equal, but land and status is passed on from mother to daughter, and the eldest matrons have final say in important village and tribal matters.  Xiao Hu and her identical twin sister Da Hu grew up learning the rare Gemini Union kung fu technique that was only known to her people (or so they all thought).  When one of the rare caravan traders from Shenzhou came to their village, her (slightly elder) twin sister fell in love with him, but swore Xiao Hu to secrecy lest their family be scandalized.
 
 
 
One day their village was attacked by masked bandits who pillaged and slaughtered nearly everyone.  Xiao Hu fought as best she could, but her sister was missing, so she could not fight together with her use their secret technique.  Even worse, some of the bandits fought in pairs using the Gemini Union (albeit at low skill).  How was this possible?  Trying to catch their fleeing leader, Xiao Hu saw his mask fall off and realized this was her sister's lover.  Stunned for a moment, Xiao Hu noticed too late her twin sister emerge from the bushes to strike her senseless.  Afterwards, she told the tribal matrons what she saw, but they wouldn't believe it--especially since they hadn't know about her sister's affair before this.  Believing her sister killed or captured, they accused Xiao Hu of making it up and slandering her sister out of jealously.  She was banished from her people for her stubborn refusal to change her story.  Now she finds herself working in the fabled Empire, but she has lost the ability of the Gemini Union along with her sister.  Still, she follows up every rumor hoping to find her again someday.
 
 
 
'''Second Phase:'''  ''The Only Foreigner in the Constabulary''
 
 
 
Xiao Hu traveled to the province of Jiangzhou in hopes of finding her sister or the bandit she ran off with.  She was dismayed to find the subjects of this supposedly sophisticated Empire of Shenzhou to be a collection of rude, ignorant and belligerent louts.  At first, she was often cheated by merchants who saw an easy mark in this barbarian girl from the sticks, but she soon learned to avoid the more obvious scams and even managed to get restitution through judicious use of her kung fu.
 
 
 
One day while in a rough teahouse, following up a (false) lead on her sister's bandit lover, she was accosted by a band of rude local boys who thought they could have their way with a seemingly helpless exotic girl.  After thrashing them soundly, she was approached by a local gangster impressed by her skill.  He invited her to join his gang, knowing she'd be handy luring in victims to rob.  She told him bluntly what she thought of bandits and what he could do with himself.  Naturally this started a brawl as the gangster had to recover face from being insulted by this girl in public.  Little did everyone realize that agents of Zhuge Zhen-Wo was in the room watching all this incognito.  After breaking up the fight and arresting the lot of them, the agent sent Xiao Hu to Zhuge Zhen-Wo himself with a recommendation she be hired.  "A foreigner might be useful," Zhuge said, and so she was pardoned for causing a disturbance and joined the force.
 
 
 
'''Third Phase:'''  ''The Case of the Singing Detective''
 
  
General Yang was long suspected of stealing weapons and supplies from the military treasury and selling them to bandits and rebels.  But since he was a distant cousin of the provincial governor, the constabulary had to tread carefully and catch him in the act.  He was very careful and suspicious, however.  Only his close family and childhood friends were in his inner circle, which no one from the outside could enter. 
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=== Background:===
  
Until... one day General Yang met this foreign maiden singing native folk-songs in a teahouse.  Being a music lover himself, he hired her to be a singer at his mansion so he could hear her every night.  Since she was a foreigner with a poor grasp of proper speech, she would have no particular loyalty to the Empire and no one would listen to a foreigner accusing a general, right?  After gaining General Yang's trust and secretly taking notes on all his illegal activities, Xiao Hu kept him entertained with a concert as agents of the Constabulary rounded up his henchmen and all the incriminating evidence before raiding his mansion.  The poor general tried to hold the singing girl at knife point as a hostage, but you can guess how badly that turned out...
 
  
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Iron Flute Zhang is the quintessential ''youxia,'' wandering the countryside with just his scrip and his robe, playing his flute and righting wrongs with his longsword. He's also one of the best poets of the age, although he's atrociously irresponsible about it, dropping his manuscripts by the wayside or paying for wine with poems. His true origins and background are a mystery, one that he deliberately cultivates and embroiders; there are strong suspicions that he is the child of a good family, roaming under a false identity to sow his wild oats and avoid besmirching the family name. His trademark iron flute is his muse, and also a cudgel and a blowpipe when it needs to be. If he can't subdue or shame his adversaries with his flute, he pulls out his straight ''jian,'' which stretches from his shoulders to his knees and which he carries slung on his back.
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Zhang wears a taichi disk on his chest, and is actually a far more serious and devout Taoist than he pretends to be. He takes the Taoist principle of going with the flow to extremes, and often the flow is out of a wine gourd.
  
 
[[http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Agents_of_Empress_Wu Campaign Main Page]]
 
[[http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Agents_of_Empress_Wu Campaign Main Page]]
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__NOTOC__

Latest revision as of 15:33, 25 January 2021

Character: Iron Flute Zhang[edit]

Jianghu Rank: 1

Refresh: 3


Picture:[edit]

alt text

Aspects:[edit]

High Concept: Vagabond scapegrace poet

Trouble: Intoxicated child of the Tao

Phase One: Mysterious Origins, Powerful Friends

Phase Two: Deeper Than He Looks

Phase Three: Always Flamboyant, Sometimes Charming



Skills:[edit]

Great (+4) Crafts (Poetry)

Good (+3) Chi, Fight

Fair (+2) Athletics, Lore, Shoot

Average (+1) Physique, Rapport, Provoke, Investigate


Stress:[edit]

Physical O O O

Mental O O O


Consequences:[edit]

Mild [2]: _________________________

Moderate [4]: _____________________

Severe [6]: _______________________


Kung Fu:[edit]

Ghost Monkey

Form Aspect: Ghost Monkey concentrates on the mastery of internal energies to augment the style’s acrobatic defenses and attacks. Pushes, feints, sweeps, and pressure point strikes hinder an attacker, making him easier to outmaneuver and subdue. Rolls and dodges keep opponents at a distance until the practitioner can find the right opening to finish the fight with a disabling strike or grapple. One of the most physical of the Ghost styles, many underestimate the inner power of the capering, mocking Ghost Monkey.

Techniques:

Monkey Rolls Away: When invoking an aspect or advantage during a defense roll, gain 2 Armor Rating against the attack if it succeeds.


Lost Technique:

Drunken Immortal Form: Acts as a normal aspect (Intoxication is inspiration), though one only applicable when fighting while drinking, drunk, or acting drunk. Opponents cannot create an advantage on you based on exploiting your intoxicated state, and any invocations usable with Kung Fu Forms may be used with Drunken Immortal Form as well.


Stunts:[edit]

The Power of Song: Can use Crafts (poetry) instead of Provoke, Rapport, Empathy or Deceive with any attempt to sway or move the minds of others, so long as he can recite a poem or ballad.

Floodlike Chi: Can use Chi instead of Will in any test of wills, representing his harmony with the Way of the cosmos.

Zhang's Iron Flute: +2 with ranged Shoot Attacks as far as next zone, representing poison or tranquilizing blowgun darts.



Background:[edit]

Iron Flute Zhang is the quintessential youxia, wandering the countryside with just his scrip and his robe, playing his flute and righting wrongs with his longsword. He's also one of the best poets of the age, although he's atrociously irresponsible about it, dropping his manuscripts by the wayside or paying for wine with poems. His true origins and background are a mystery, one that he deliberately cultivates and embroiders; there are strong suspicions that he is the child of a good family, roaming under a false identity to sow his wild oats and avoid besmirching the family name. His trademark iron flute is his muse, and also a cudgel and a blowpipe when it needs to be. If he can't subdue or shame his adversaries with his flute, he pulls out his straight jian, which stretches from his shoulders to his knees and which he carries slung on his back. Zhang wears a taichi disk on his chest, and is actually a far more serious and devout Taoist than he pretends to be. He takes the Taoist principle of going with the flow to extremes, and often the flow is out of a wine gourd.

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