Shadows of Shen Zhou: The Falling Wren Society
The Falling Wren Society
Destiny Cost: 2
Study Difficulty (Learning): 20
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.
The Falling Wren always held to three core beliefs: That culture and civilization must be nurtured and preserved, that injustice must be faced even if one must go against the way of things, and that one must have compassion and act in the best interest of the common man. In this way, they believed that they followed the path laid out by the Three Righteous Kings, and of the Yellow Emperor before them. In modern times the unity of the Falling Wren began to break down; the opinion of its members divided as to which task should be given the most attention. At the time of its destruction, the Falling Wren was divided into three schools of thought, and they have each survived to the present day in their own way.
The most coherent splinter group, The Changing Seasons Sect, was formed by those most at odds with the leadership of the Falling Wren at the time of its destruction. They considered preserving knowledge and culture paramount to all else, influencing those in power where possible, but never to take overt action against them. They have numerous strongholds hidden throughout Shen Zhou, each housing a copy of their incredibly exhaustive digital library. It holds not only every Pre-Qin text ever found by the Society, but also a number of other rare texts that have been nearly lost throughout Shen Zhou’s history. The Sect is quite giving with this information if approached, but only if they determine that the petitioner is seeking the knowledge for the proper reasons. They determine this by utilizing the All-Encompassing Index; a powerful supercomputer developed using the ancient knowledge of the I-Ching!
The second splinter group is more a loosely-connected group of wandering bands known collectively as the Brothers of Kuan. They were inspired by those few Society members who survived and spread throughout Shen Zhou, dedicating themselves to protecting the common man from the predations of bandits and corrupt officials. Their intent is noble, but their lack of powerful Kung Fu has caused their numbers to dwindle in recent years.
The final group, the Sword of Wu, believed that the best way to affect change in the land was to deal with corruption wherever it was found. Those who had lost the Mandate of Heaven were of prime importance, for their unrighteous actions flowed outward and brought ruin to every subject in their kingdom. They were all but wiped out along with the rest of the Society, the notorious Fallen Xue their last known adherent.
Discounts on Related Lore -1 Confucianism -1 Zhou Dynasty
Secrets of Destiny: The Changing Seasons Sect
*Bonus: If you have an Affiliation with the Changing Seasons Sect, or have encountered and befriended them during play, you have access to their library. This grants you a +5 to any Learning for the purposes of researching an ancient or obscure topic.
1: Entangled Destiny. Your Destiny will touch that of the Changing Seasons sect.
3: Fortune. Gain an Affiliation with the Changing Seasons Sect.
2: Fortune. You have access to the All-Encompassing Index! Once per chapter you may use the supercomputer to gain a +10 modifier to your next Prediction roll. Note that the destiny cost must be spent each time.
Secrets of Destiny: The Brothers of Kuan
2: Victory. The members of the Brothers of Kuan have heard of your work among the common man, and wish to serve under you. You receive 5 Gang-level followers for every Recent Deed of Kuan you’ve accomplished. Unless you have the means to support them they leave at the end of the Chapter.
