Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Fantasy Core RPG: Jianghu Setting-Palace-Famous Personages

Fantasy Core RPG
© Jerry Harris 2013
(This link will take you to the Fantasy Core Index.)


Famous personages at the court.

There are several near permanent fixtures in the Palace Court, such as those in charge of the servant staff (think Dowton Abbey) and various others.  Here are a couple of the most intriguing.  These can get you started on coming up with some of your own. 

The true holders of power seem to always be in possession of the keys to the bedroom.
The Mistress of the Backstairs is one of the more sensitive positions in the North Chamber.  The Governor does not maintain a “harem” as such, but should he desire the company of one of his mistresses or perhaps a guest, it is this officer’s job to contact such women, and to escort them to and from his private chambers discretely.  (There is literally a “backstairs” for this purpose.)   
   
The current holder of this office is an old matron, Mistress Inari.  The otherwise meticulous and skeptical Minister Liu of the North Chamber does nothing to ever interfere with Inari’s duties and only assists her.  (If there are any glaring chinks in palace security, this is it.)  However, other members of the North Chamber often refer to Mistress Inari as an Immortal, a deified human in mortal form.  This may or may not be a joke.  She came on to the staff shortly after the Yong incident (described next).


A proper castle must have a ghost.
It was the most regrettable incident in the history of Governor Yu’s court, even more than the death of his wife.  The previous Minister of the East Chamber, Yong, publicly accused high priestess Lynn-Che of running a secret society plotting the downfall of the Governor at a societal function.  Yong claimed this was the only way to get the Governor to finally listen to him.  It was an unprecedented breach of etiquette.  All present were shamed and dishonored by the act.  Even the evidence which he presented was highly suspicious, though he claimed it had been tampered with. 

The Governor had no choice but to order the immediate execution of his most trusted aide.  Yong had come prepared for a fight though.  With all of his powerful spells (including many forbidden ones), magic items, and even undead and demonic allies, even in the highly secure palace, he would not be taken without a very stiff fight.  Lynn-Che was gravely wounded, along with Hong, the Governor’s bodyguard.  Any number of guests, soldiers, and security guards were killed and turned to undead warriors on the spot, all fighting for Yong.  In the end, Minister Liu, Xun (then Sub-Minister under Yong), and Master Kogi (head of invisible security) managed to pin him long enough for the Governor himself to deliver the deathblow. 

Needless to say, the palace has been haunted by Yong’s ghost ever since.  This was the worst case scenario for creating a ghost: a powerful magic user, using forbidden spells, unhallowing his death grounds with the undead, killed by magical means, the victim of a wrongful death (because he was right about Lynn-Che), his remains were improperly and dishonorably disposed of, and lastly, he cursed everyone present right before he died.  Any one of these factors could cause a supernatural problem with someone’s death, but all of them at once, is an almost unthinkable haunting situation. 

In spite on-going efforts by Lynn-Che and other shamen, and even foreign exorcists, Yong will not be dislodged.  Horrifying dreams (sometimes causing the death of the sleeper), frightening illusionary visions, occasional suicides and madness, poltergeist-like events, temporary possession, and the Palace itself can longer be totally secured from demons in disguise because of its tainted aura, are all just weekly events here.  However, the Yong incident is an unspeakable event.  No one will talk about it, but for the rumors of outsiders and only in the strictest confidence by those who experienced it.   

The really scary thing is that Yong has never shown his truly terrifying level of power, likely due to his allegiance to the Governor, even in death.  Even his burning hatred of Lynn-Che, Liu, Xun, and Kogi, is tempered more by his desire to see them all dishonored and executed, than just wanting them killed.  Yong is always manipulating human pawns and gathering information to achieve those ends.  His only real limitations are his non-corporal presence, being chained to the spot of his death (he can traverse the First Level, Second Level, and basement), and that he’s insane.

Stats for typical ghosts will be listed in the Monster section, but Yong is no typical ghost.  A major exorcism (probably with a divine artifact) would be necessary to just get him to manifest in a form that could be physically combated.  Then you’re really in trouble.  Yong may have maxed out stats along with a host of forbidden spells at his disposal.  (By the way, his secret workshop and cache of forbidden spells has never been found.)  I’d suggest something of a multi-stage quest to find elements for an exorcism.  Yong’s abilities in any showdown would be determined by how many of these elements the characters are able to gather, so his stats would vary based on that. 

Of course, just definitely exposing Lynn-Che to the Governor would be enough to get rid of him.  (Certainly at this point, if Minister Xun or anyone else suspects her, they willl never act on it.)  Yong will make an attempt at killing Xun, Liu, and Kogi (or try to get them to kill each other) before passing on.  Getting rid of Yong would make you a hero in the Governor’s court.  Or, he could be a tremendous ally against the Governor’s court, if properly played.  Yong’s loyalty to the Governor would have to be somehow subverted, however.         

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