Lost in Jianghu/Loresheets/Campaign

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Book One

• All characters begin with 3 Involvement in Bird's Progress; players may spend more Destiny to increase that if they wish. The nature of the Involvement should reflect the character's place in life of the busy city.
  • Players may choose one of the following Bird's Progress loresheets to access free of charge: The City Above, The City Below, or The Grand Docks.

The Four Bronze Rings

(0 Destiny)

In a city as chaotic as Bird's Progress, where the Imperial magistrates sent from Jiankiang show so little interest in the tedious work of governance (preferring instead to enjoy the fruits of their relationships with the mercantile powers-that-be), the difficult and thankless task of keeping the city running—or at least averting outright disaster—falls to the most powerful of the Rivers and Lakes. In Bird's Progress, that means the Eagle Talons, the Beggar Fraternity, the Square Hole Circle, and the Four Ox Union; collectively, they are known as the Four Bronze Rings, a name first taken from the humble teahouse where the original agreement was struck.

The Four Bronze Rings is not itself a sect, nor is it an alliance of any kind; there are no formal rules or founding documents to govern them. It's rather a loose set of protocols, habits, and rituals that allow the pillars of the Bird's Progress Wulin to avoid stepping on each other's toes and, in the process, to make sure that the city they call home remains a place worth living in. What has allowed the Rings to survive is that there are no deeper alliances or blocs; for example, the Eagle Talons and Square Hole Circle both strongly oppose anything that disrupts trade, while the Four Ox Union and the Beggar Fraternity see nothing wrong with allowing and even encouraging a certain amount of banditry to see wealth redistributed. But then when there is a common enemy, the Talons and the Union invariably favor an aggressive response, while the Circle and Fraternity take a more diplomatic approach; and the Fraternity and the Talons are much more comfortable with outsider Wulin, while the Union and the Circle tend to be far more suspicious.

• Players whose characters are members of one of the Four Bronze Rings sects have the following bonuses:
  • Choose a free specialty in Politics: Bird's Progress Wulin or Survival: Bird's Progress.
  • A -2 Destiny discount to buy access to the loresheets of any of the other 4BR-member sects.
• Players whose characters are not members of one of those sects have free access to one of the 4BR-member sect loresheets, plus a bonus 3 Involvement with that sect.

Threats at the Doorstep
It is not only the internal chaos of Bird's Progress that occupies the efforts of the Four Bronze Rings; there are external threats, as well. From the north, tendrils of corruption reach out from the Black Lotus Lodge and into the city's slums and Willow Districts; from the east, out in the Bohai Sea, the Southern Dragon Pirates pose a constant threat to the sea-trade that is the city's lifeline; and from the southwest, the Eastern Bureau and its Liquid Metal Delegates seem to pay especial attention to what goes on among the Wulin of in this raucous city.

• 3+ Involvement: One of these Sects (or maybe even some other force altogether!) will be a significant part of the story, and the threat it poses will bear on you particularly. Work with your Sage to develop the details.

Black Tiger, Golden Rod Tournament
In most of Shen Zhou, the Golden Fortune Festival, devoted to propitiating Caishen, god of prosperity, is a minor, one-day holiday. But in Bird's Progress, Caishen looms much larger in the imaginations and devotional practices of the business-obsessed residents, and his Festival stretches out over a whole 10-day celebration, filled with parades, wonderful foods, and blessings laid upon businesses, ships, and anything else involving trade. But the real highlight is the Black Tiger, Golden Rod Tournament, organized each year by the Four Bronze Rings. Twenty-four entrants (mostly from within Bird's Progress, and mostly chosen from among the 4BR member-sects) compete over six days, culminating with the final held on the last day of the Golden Fortune Festival, for the glory of total victory!

• Players have 1 Involvement free to specify the nature of their role in the tournament: as a contestant, as one of those responsible for its running, as an honored guest, or something else.
• 2+ Destiny: Another participant or circumstance of the tournament allows you to address a separate problem you're facing or goal you're seeking. Work with your Sage to determine the details.
• 4 Fortune: Although you are a contestant in the tournament, you somehow have an in with the Tournament Judges who set the conditions for each contest, giving you a leg up on your opponent! In the first three rounds of any tournament combat, you always Laugh At your opponent's attacks and never Fear them.
  • -2: This information has come at a significant price; you owe your source a major favor that they will quickly try to cash in.

A Fifth Ring?
Thanks to the tireless work of Old Doc Baozhen, head of the Four Ox Union, Bird's Progress may be on the verge of a new era: one of peace with the Southern Dragon Pirate Clan. For decades, from their base on Poison Mist Atoll in the Bohai Sea, the Southern Dragon Pirates, under the command of the Weiguo, the Iron Captain, have been a constant blight on the shipping lanes that keep Bird's Progress prosperous. But now Baozhen has arranged for the Second Dragon Prince, younger son of Empress Stingray and the Southern Dragon King, to attend this year's Golden Fortune Festival and to serve as the honorary Judge of its Black Tiger, Golden Rod Tournament. It is widely believed this is a prelude to the announcement of the Southern Dragons joining the Bronze Rings.

While it would be a boon to the city overall, there are those who oppose this event. The Eagle Talons have been its most vociferous opponents among the Rings; rumor has it that the East Chamber has taken a strong interest in this bit of Wulin politics; and while no word has come out of the Black Lotus Lodge, it would surely be a severe blow to the Society if the Rings' attention could be placed solely upon their operations in the city.

• 3+ Fortune: You have learned of a plot to disrupt the addition of the Southern Dragon Pirate Clan to the Four Bronze Rings; work with your Sage to determine what you know and whence you learned it, but it will give you a significant advantage in
• 5 Destiny: You will play a decisive role in the question of the Fifth Ring; you may not be the only determining factor in whether a fifth ring is added, but you will at least shape the aftermath of their successful or failed inclusion.