A trio of martial artist villains worthy of a Hong Kong action-fantasy movie.
The Three Masters
These three anachronistic martial artists originate from an alternate-timeline version of the Chinese empire in 69AD, which is secretly controlled by a conspiracy of sorcerous eunuchs who subtly dominate the Imperial court. They've used magic rituals to come to the "future" of your campaign for some mysterious objective, and if the heroes don't stop them who knows what kind of temporal disruptions might take place? All of them are decidedly villainous types, although they have their own unique approaches to evil and aren't equally committed to whatever they shared goal is.
Depending on how long they've been in the current time when the heroes first encounter them, they may or may not have made contacts within the criminal underworld. If not they'll be working largely alone, although Master Fleeting Dream may be able to conjure up demonic or undead minions galore if he can perform the proper rituals. They're all good at fitting in to the scum and villainy community and won't find it hard to recruit more modern help once they do make contact.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Master Fleeting Dream
Xiu Zhang is Master of the Fleeting Dream style, an accomplished sorcerer, and a proud (some would say egotistical) member of the conspiracy that secretly controls the Chinese empire in 69AD. He serves as de facto leader of the Three Masters on their mysterious mission to the future, and his magical talents allow them to blend in to the world of 2023 as well as being their ticket back to the past. As such, he expects the others to watch his back, obey his commands and remain loyal to him. A pretentious, arrogant and evil-minded individual through and through, he might see two of those three expectations fulfilled if he's lucky.
His martial arts style uses a great deal of out-and-out magic in it, focusing on confounding opponents with illusion and trickery while he flits from victim to victim with enchanted blades flashing. He also know how to scribe magical talismans (usually strips of paper with incantations written on them) to create good fortune and repel bad luck from whoever they're attached to. These are usually used to enhance himself first and foremost, but he may deign to support his allies as well. Given time and supplies (which may include a suitable sacrificial victim) he can manage many other feats of magic as well.
Description: A slightly plump, shaven-headed man with a striking Fu Manchu mustache, dressed in an expensive brocade robe in deep purple. Often cloaked in sorcerous illusions to blend in better, or simply invisible to avoid attention. His voice is surprising high and boyish. He generally provides magical translation charms to all his allies in the modern day, which has the side effect of making their lips seem to be slightly out of synch with their words.
Gender: Imperial Eunuch And Proud Of It Age: Thirties Height: 5'8" Eyes: Green
Hair: Shaved Smooth Skin: Light East Asian Tone Build: Slightly Soft-Looking
Approach: Ninja Archetype: Inventor
Health: 30 + (5 x H)
Powers: Dream-Cutting Blades d10, Inventions d10, Illusions d8, Invisibility d8, Teleportation d6
Qualities: Magical Lore d10, Stealth d10, Criminal Underworld Info d8, Finesse d8, Master of Fleeting Dream Style d8
Status: ( # of inventions & mods) 4+ - d12 / 2-3 - d10 / 1 - d8 / 0 - d6
Abilities:
Fleeting Dream Onslaught (A) Attack multiple targets using Master of Fleeting Dream Style. Then, end up wherever you want in the scene.
Inscribe Talismans (A) Boost using Inventions. Use your Max die. Boost again using your Mid die, then either make one of those bonuses persistent and exclusive, or Attack with your Min die.
Powerful Chi (I) Whenever you create a bonus, increase the value of that bonus by one.
Vanishing Image (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Stealth die. Boost yourself using the amount of damage reduced.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Waking Dream (I) +10 Health. The heroes act as being in the Green zone for status die, ability access, and all abilities. Heroes may remove this ability with three Overcome successes. If a hero takes a minor twist while attempting these Overcomes, you may use a reaction to Hinder them by rolling your single Infernal die.
Master of Mysticism (I) If you have access to proper materials, automatically succeed at an Overcome in a situation involving harnessing magical forces.
Tactics
Master Fleeting Dream relies on misdirection, illusion and trickery. He usually avoids immediate conflict while using Inscribe Talismans supplemented by Powerful Chi to give lasting bonuses to himself and allies, relying on Vanishing Image to protect him from harm (and produce more bonuses, although these won't affect his status) while he does so. Once his status die is maxed out and his allies have received whatever benefits he feels they deserve, he shifts to using Fleeting Dream Onslaught to repeatedly appear and disappear while striking as many foes as possible.
His upgrade expands his ability to alter foes' perception, trapping them in a dreamlike illusion. His mastery lets him create powerful ritual magic effects when supplied with suitable tools, including the temporal passage that brought them to the modern day (or the heroes to the past) in the first place.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Master Five Venoms
Master Five Venoms' true name is unknown, possibly even to himself. A master spy, assassin, and infiltrator, he works with the conspiracy controlling 69AD China but isn't fully trusted by them, which is something he admires about the organization. Trust is for fools. He (or sometimes she, as the mood takes them) adopts and abandons surface identities regularly, relying on practical disguise and acting skills rather than Master Fleeting Dreams' magical tricks an cunning enough that he can get along fairly well in 2023 even without such assistance. It's quite possible he might choose to remain in the future after the Three Masters complete their mission, most likely faking his own death to do so.
The Five Venoms style includes a great deal of secret alchemical knowledge beyond mere poison making, including truth drugs, fast-acting medicinal substances, mind-altering vapors and powders, and artificial pheromones that can manipulate many types of animals. It also offers near-immunity to most poisons and, some say, unnatural longevity or even immortality. Masters of the style are invariably accompanied by swarms of venomous vermin, which they use both as alchemical components and as an army of chemically-controlled minions. While each individual stinging scuttler, biting bug or slithering serpent is little threat to a wary human, they never appear as individuals, and many a foe has fallen screaming under a tide of tiny crawling horrors.
Description: Wildly variable thanks to a talent for disguise, but most often an unassuming local civilian in loose fitting clothing. At close range their unpleasant chemical scent may give the game away. When fighting openly, they favor a loose green gi marked with ominous stains and acid burns. Close observation will reveal they're crawling with vermin infesting their clothing and whatever wig they may be wearing. They're excellent mimics and can imitate most human voices and some animals.
Gender: Fluid Age: Usually Seems Twenty-Something Height: 5'9" Eyes: Black
Hair: White (Black Wig) Skin: Dark East Asian Tone Build: Deceptively Fit
Approach: Leech Archetype: Overlord
Health: 30 + (5 x H)
Powers: Toxic d10, Animal Control d8, Wall-Crawling d6
Qualities: Criminal Underworld Info d8, Master of Five Venoms Style d8, Medicine d8, Stealth d8
Status: (# of Minions & Lieutenants) 9+ - d12 / 5-8 - d10 / 3-4 - d8 / 1-2 - d6 / 0 - d4
Abilities:
Alchemical Effusion (A) Boost using Medicine for all your minions until the start of your next turn.
Enduring Vermin (R) Reroll any number of minion saves against the same Attack.
Stinging Strike (A) Hinder using Toxic. Use your Max + Min die. Boost using your Mid die.
Toxic Powders (A) Hinder multiple targets using Toxic. Recover Health equal to your Min die. If you roll doubles, Attack one of the targets using your Max die.
Venomous Little Friends (A) Use Master of Five Venoms Style to create a number of minions equal to the value of your Max die. The starting die size of for those minions is the same as the size of your Min die.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Power Upgrade (I) +20 Health. Increase all Power dice sizes by one (max d12).
Master of Superiority (I) As long as you are manifesting an effect related to a power you have at d12, automatically succeed at an Overcome involving usage of those powers.
Tactics
Master Five Venoms prefers to toy with his foes in combat, leaving the actual killing work to his verminous minions. He'll usually call on his Venomous Little Friends once or twice at the start of a conflict to establish a decent status die, with each use helping improve the size of minion generated by the next. Repeat as needed to maintain at least a d8 status. Multi-target minion sweeps will be met with an Enduring Vermin reaction, and he'll single out heroes with such abilities with Stinging Strike, often taking a twist to make the penalty last for two uses, representing hurling whole handfuls of poisonous insects onto the target. If there are several heroes focusing on his minions he'll use Toxic Powders instead, spending any available bonuses wherever they seem most useful (healing, improving the penalties, possibly even on damage if he rolls doubles). If he starts his turn with 5+ minions in play he'll usually switch to Alchemical Effusion rather than acting for himself, trying to deal out massive damage while he has the chance.
His upgrade improves his durability and all his powers, as well as enabling his mastery whenever one of his mods from a Toxic-keyed ability is in play.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Five Venoms Swarm d4 to d12 minion (see Venomous Little Friends)
Description: A miscellany of carefully-bred and venomous vermin, including spiders, centipedes, wasps, small serpents and scorpions, as well as less readily-identifiable creations of alchemical hybridization. What prevents them from scattering or preying on one another is a mystery known only to masters of the Five Venoms Style. The larger their current die size the denser the swarm is.
Inescapable Swarm: When you Attack, one point of the damage you deal is irreducible.
Painful Venoms: When you deal damage to a target, they gain a -1 exclusive "Stinging Pain" penalty.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Master Shackled Fist
Wong Lo is undisputed Master of the Shackled Fist style and an all-around badass brawler. Once a mere village bully, then an Imperial army levy, he soon deserted to join a mercenary company where he would be paid better for his talent for fighting. He crossed paths with an aging Shackled Fist practitioner during the course of his adventures and quickly took to the new role of student until he'd surpassed his teacher. At that point he killed the old man, stole his life savings, and went off to make a name for himself in the world of martial arts fighters, always pursuing any road to wealth that opened before him. It wasn't long before the eunuch courtier conspiracy approached him to employ his brutal skills in their service, which has now led him to an unimagined future.
His Shackled Fist fighting style mixes savage close quarters techniques with deadly chain-fighting maneuvers that offer some reach and the ability to entangle and drag in elusive opponents. It also trains endurance and fighting spirit to the limits of human ability, and perhaps a fair way beyond. Generally seen as a simple style suitable only for thugs, Wong Lo has taken it beyond that stereotype. He employs his own unique moves along with unexpected cunning to surprise foes who've taken him for merely being an over-muscled thug.
Description: A powerfully built brute of a man, wearing sandals and a white gi with the sleeves ripped off. He has a steel circlet on his brow and carries a twelve foot length of chain with a hinged iron shackle on each end, donning one or both of them during combat as he performs various moves.
Gender: Male Age: Thirties Height: 6'0" Eyes: Dark Brown
Hair: Shaved, Black Stubble Skin: Medium East Asian Tone Build: Ape-Like Brute
Approach: Skilled Archetype: Guerrilla
Health: 35 + (5 x H)
Powers: Fighting Chains d10, Vitality d8, Swinging d6
Qualities: Close Combat d10, Fitness d10, Acrobatics d8, Criminal Underworld Info d8, Master of Shackled Fist Style d8, Self-Discipline d8
Status: (# of Enemies Engaged) 4+ - d10 / 2-3 - d8 / 0-1 - d6
Abilities:
Blur of Iron (I) If you are outnumbered by nearby opponents, reduce all damage dealt to you by two.
Entangling Chains (A) Attack one target using Master of Shackled Fist Style. Use your Max + Min die. Defend against all Attacks from targets other than that target with your Mid die until your next turn. All Defended damage is dealt to the target of your Attack instead.
Versatile Style (A) Take any basic action using your Max die. Recover Health equal to your Mid die.
Whirling Chain Deflection (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Close Combat die. Deal that much damage to another target.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Group Fighter (I) +20 Health. When you take an action that lets you make an Attack, also make an Attack using your Mid die.
Master Mercenary (I) If you have a contract for a specific task, automatically succeed at an Overcome when your payment is at stake.
Tactics
Master Shackled Fist prefers to face his foes in a group, charging into their ranks to use their numbers against them with Entangling Chains and Blur of Iron while further protecting himself with Whirling Chain Deflection as needed. More cunning than the simple brawler he appears to be, he's quick to use his Versatile Style for unexpected moves and some healing when injured. Sudden Hinders, Boosts or Overcomes to start challenges or reposition foes are all popular choices.
His upgrade improves both damage output and base Health. His mastery reflects his greed. He's here for the pay offered by the Eaters of the Lotus and that alone.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Design Notes
If it somehow wasn't obvious, the backstory of these three is taken straight from the Shadowfist card game and original Feng Shui RPG. Not the first time I've done an homage to that superlatively strange setting. Probably won't be the last.
No comments:
Post a Comment