Tianxia Blood Silk & Jade:Righteous Pheasant Zheng
Appearance: Like the bird his title suggests, Zheng possesses bony and pointed features. Though middle aged, he looks older due to a hard life of study and dedication to his office. He wears fine silk of red, black, and white with the emblem of a silver pheasant representing his rank proudly emblazoned on his chest. Much of his hair falls down the back of his neck from under his cap. He has two rings on each middle finger, but they are not meant to signify wealth, but instead serve to connect to his iron pens which he can spin to cut down his foes. He keeps a satchel of government papers and writing utensils with him at all times.
History: Zheng is a magistrate who was sent away from his noble family as a child so as to not threaten the lines of succession. He was raised in the imperial capital as one of the many scholar-officials, but while he rose to power, his family fell into ruin. Zheng was unaware of this misfortune until by happenstance he encountered his brother on a mission. They joined forces with Zheng acting as the official and Qiang as his enforcer and bodyguard.
Aspects:
High Concept: Dedicated Imperial Magistrate: From a young age, Zheng was raised in the imperial capital to be a devoted servant. Not only has he come to regard the state as his employer, but also his second family that took him in and gave him purpose while his old one had no place for him. Thus, when matters of state are involved, Zheng is the guy who will get things done.
Trouble: The One Case that Still Haunts Me: During his early career, Zheng was assigned to help hide a young singer who survived a massacre perpetrated by the General of Shadows Mountain Ox. However, due to an error on his part, word leaked to Mountain Ox's spies within the government. Instead of Zheng, they confused him for an innocent constable who was executed despite his best efforts. To this day, he has vowed to bring Mountain Ox to justice.
The Older Brother Takes Charge: Zheng and Qiang are in a complicated place between authority and filial piety and neither are afraid to pull rank on each other. While Zheng has complicated opinions about his family, the one exception is his older brother who was always kind to him. Though an imperial servant requires a cold heart, Zheng finds that it melts when his brother is involved. Thus, he is likely to put aside his better judgment when his brother gets a foolhardy idea in his head.
Don't Look Under the Rug: Zheng has a poor tolerance for corruption, but is corrupt himself, and has often had to work with disreputable characters to see that justice is served. Thus, Zheng has made deals with certain associates that he feels he can trust, and is willing to hide their deeds, especially when they can be traced back to him. While he is not keen on forcing or blackmailing said associates, he will often stress when he needs their help or requires favors.
Pen is Mightier than the Sword: Years of studying calligraphy have given Zheng precision and swiftness with his iron pens. However, he has found that this skill does not serve him best with the art of writing, but instead the art of combat. By performing the delicate strokes to create words, he has found a deeper connection with the world and the laws that govern it.
Skills:
Great: Lore
Good: Will, Empathy
Fair: Fight, Athletics, Notice
Average: Contacts, Deceive, Chi, Investigate
Kung Fu: Righteous Dragon (Iron Dragon)
Righteous Dragon Form
Techniques:
Iron Body, Iron Mind: +2 body bonus to creating an advantage relating to resisting or coping with pain, intimidation, or fear.
Iron Cleaves the Stone: Ignore 2 points of Armor when making an attack to inflict physical stress.
Dragon Rules the Heavens: Use Chi or Fight (selected when you take this Technique) instead of Athletics in rolls involving entering zones or preventing others from doing so. Apply a +2 bonus if both Athletics and the selected Skill are the same rank or Athletics is greater.
Stunts:
Strength from Determination: Use Will instead of Physique on any overcome rolls representing feats of strength.
Lie Whisperer: +2 to all Empathy rolls made to discern or discover lies, whether they’re directed at you or someone else.
The Law of Writing: You can spend a fate point to use Lore in place of any other skill for one roll or exchange, so long as you are close enough to write on or near it, and the desired reaction is subtle enough.
Physical Stress: 2
Mental Stress: 4
Refresh: 2
Fate Points: 2
