Chinese Alchemy

One area in which I must recognise that The Celestial Empire is wanting is Alchemy.

Chinese Alchemy is a complex and all-encompassing subject. Any description of Chinese Alchemy should touch upon Chinese history, because of its very long tradition, with roots in the most distant past; cosmology, because of its strong links with the fundamental notions of Qì, Yīn and Yáng, Wǔxíng; religion, because it is closely linked with Daoism; Traditional Chinese Medicine; Martial Arts...

It had been my firm intention upon starting working on The Celestial Empire back in 2000~2001 to have Chinese Alchemy play an essential role in the rules, at least as regards the chapters devoted to magic. However, as the rules began to take form, it became obvious that the task would be quite daunting. Also, because of the engine I had chosen (Chaosium's Basic Role-Playing System), any Alchemy rules I could write with the intent of remaining in the vein of the other BRP-inspired role-playing games simply looked too "European", whereas my aim really was to portray Chinese Alchemy as closely as possible to its real-world counterpart.

I had a draft system of which I was quite dissatisfied, so I discarded it. Then I had another, more playable, but still too European in flavour, so this got discarded too. Then I went for the easy solution and simply renamed the BRP Science (Chemistry) skill as Science (Alchemy) and added it to the skill list. This is the one on p59 of the rule book. This is also still unsatisfactory because, as it is described in the BRP book, the skill is still centred on poisons, gases, etc., just as my first attempts were.

I still hope one day to publish a real, satisfying, TCE supplement on Chinese Alchemy. It will have to be a supplement because, as written at the beginning of this post, there is so much involved.

In the meanwhile, I suggest you download a free copy of the 60-page PDF titled The Way of the Golden Elixir: A Historical Overview of Taoist Alchemy from Fabrizio Pregadio's blog. This short primer will give you an overview of internal and external Alchemy, of its Daoist origin, and of its change over time, from Antiquity to the Qīng — it will also let you realise why it's such a daunting task to translate all this into gaming terms!

Warriors of Heaven and Earth (Tiāndì Yīngxióng 天地英雄)

Warriors of Heaven and Earth is a 2003 Chinese adventure film set on the Silk Road in Táng China. The film really, really unfolds like a Celestial Empire adventure: there is an adventuring party, with different professions (soldier, caravan guard, outlaw, Buddhist monk); there is a mission: safely bring the relics of Śākyamuni to Cháng'ān; there are the bad guys: the Göktürks; there are several pivotal scenes set in as many locales: the fight in the oasis city, the fight in the gorges, the flight through the gulley and the secret cemetery, crossing the Gobi Desert, the last stand in the abandoned fortress. The last scene involves an amazing array of different Chinese weapons, including firearms. You don't want to miss this film, it's truly a TCE player's dream come true. There's also a rival adventuring party to the main protagonists'... this almost feels OSR!

The film features gritty, manoeuvres-heavy combat scenes without wire-fu, and no spells or other supernatural powers [SPOILER: except at the very end], so again it is very much in line with what a player of the Basic Role-Playing System would enjoy, as opposed to other styles of role-playing.

The film has spawned a MMORPG in China, which is testament to its high "role-playability".

Oh, and did I mention the film features the delicious  Zhào Wēi  ^_^

White Bone Demon (Báigǔjīng 白骨精)

Despite their name and their appearance, White Bone Demons are not demons nor undead, but a humanoid race with translucent skin and organs. In a distance, only their skeleton can be seen, hence the misnomer. This is usually enough to cause most opponents flee in terror. Upon close inspection, and  in broad daylight, the translucent skin and organs can be dimly seen, and the white bone demon is exposed for what it really is: a mere humanoid creature.

A white bone demoness features prominently in the Journey to the West. She is constantly trying to confuse the protagonists so that they fail their quest, using all kinds of tricks, mainly illusions, since Báigǔjīng can create illusionary faces to appear as normal people (and then hide the rest of their translucent body using loose habiliments). A white bone demon will usually avoid hand-to-hand combat, relying on its tricks to harrass or drive away opponents.

Báigǔjīng inhabit the wastelands between China and the Barbarian lands that surround her.


Characteristics:
STR 3D6 (10-11)
CON 3D6 (10-11)
SIZ 2D6+6 (13)
INT 3D6 (10-11)
POW 3D6 (10-11)
DEX 3D6 (10-11)
APP 2D6 (7)

Move : 8
Hit Points: 12
Qì: 10
Damage Bonus: None
Armour: None
Allegiance: Roll 1D100, 01-60: Mārā's Path 2D10+30; 61-00: Heterodoxy 6D4+6
Morale: Leader

Skills:
Dodge 30%, Invisible in the dark 80%, Knowledge (Region [Own]) 75%, Language ([Majority language of region]) INT×5%, Resist Cold 60%, Sense 50%.

Spells:
Battle Magic: Illusion 80% [limited to own face, see above]

Attacks:
Mêlée weapon 30%, damage: per weapon+db (per weapon)

Hit Location Table: Use Humanoid

RuneQuest 6: Firearms

In terms of a rules engine to power your Celestial Empire games, I have already mentioned RuneQuest 6 as a viable alternative to the Basic Role-Playing 'Big Gold Book'.

RuneQuest 6 has been available for a few months now, and I really wish I had the time to write an in-depth study of the consequences of using RuneQuest 6 as the engine of your TCE games. Some day I hope I'll be able to post something.

In the meanwhile, I really urge you to download the free Firearms supplement for RuneQuest 6 on the Design Mechanism's web-site.

Page 12 should be of particular interest for pre-European contact games, or for encounters with very early Portuguese or Dutch colonists.

Pirate Campaign Write-Up

I have already mentioned a Celestial Empire play-by-post game that has been going on on rpg.net. It is run by Asen_G.
The very same Asen is kindly sharing the introduction and the summary of another Celestial Empire game he’s currently running.
I find it very interesting because it mixes derring-do adventuring with both historical and supernatural elements, thereby showing how diverse and varied China-themed role-playing can be.

1674, near China
A single pirate ship atacks two traders. The attackers feel well-justified, as it turns out there are many martial arts masters among them! The Qing dynasty has chased many Han (and Hakka, and Hui...) from their homes, what with crushing the rebellions. Among them, many martial artists have joined not only Jianghu, but also the criminal underworld.
Just as the sailors start surrendering, the trap springs! People with caracteristic signs and skill of caravan guards start jumping from below the decks. It's time for the pirates to go back.
However, seeing his men going down when confronting some of the pirates, their leader bellows an order and issues a challenge. The pirate captain declines, having his scalp split during the fight, and the blood obscuring his vision. So he designates his first mate.
The battle doesn't last three steps, really... at least, not three steps after they pass from the traditional attempts to shame the opponent into submission.
First, the old master swings upward. His opponent parries, buying the illusion and readying himself to exploit the opportunity for a counterattack.
The old master releases his sabre's handle, and just continues his move forward. When his palm comes into contact with the chest of Li Hoi San, the Korean renegade-general, the current pirate is thrown backwards.
And then the old master's face changes, as he looks at the arrow sticking from his throat. He falls over Li's frame, spraying blood everywhere. An woman who was just shouting encouragements moments before, has pulled out a hand crossbow.
The situation is resolved quickly and with no more bloodshed after that. Having lost their commander, the caravan guards agree to stop the fight, and leave one of the ships to the victors. There is nothing of value on them — they were set up as traps and nothing else — but at least it is a ship. Should the pirates have fought on, the battle could have claimed a great toll on the pirates. So in the end both sides have shown reason – and both sides have thought that it would be different next time.
The captain is happy for a few days. In the closest port, he manages to sell off the ships (bribing the officials as needed), and picks up a few colourful characters. One of them was a student of an unorthodox master, and only seems to show visible interest in killing. The other one is a joyful girl with a spear and an attitude that won't endear her to any strict Confucians.
Luckily, overly strict Confucians do not abound on pirate ships...
They also take in a Daoist monk and his companion — obviously a courtesan — as passengers to Taiwan. That is their next destination, since the captain has received a prophecy last night in the pleasure house. The prophecy spoke about opportunity to get rich and famous there — and that's where the monk is headed as well.

⁂

The morning before their departure, Fan Meili, pirate and member of the White Lotus, notices a man with the clothes of a magistrate. Problem is, he was at an inn! Why isn't he in the yámen?
Her curiosity picked, she sits down and orders tea. Nobody recognises the sharpshooter from the naval battle days ago.
As it turns out, magistrate Yuan has "special orders", whatever that means. He also asks about some girl — and after one of his informers disappoints him, his guards (hired guards, she can notice — something else that does not fit) brutalise the man.
She leaves immediately and goes to the ship. As far as she can tell, nobody has followed her.

⁂

The ship has only recently departed when a tornado moved towards her. There is already a boat it has swiped from the water. Worse, it moves right after their ship irrespective of her manoeuvres, as if directed...
Almost everybody has relinquished hope and resigned themselves to a future bath, when the courtesan Liu Xiulang suggests using a piece of fireworks against the tornado. Fan Meili shots it and manages to hit the tornado close to its centre.
Obviously that is too much for the storm-spirit, because the tornado dissipates.
Two of the three people in the 'flying' ship even survive. One of them is a woman, and the other one is a fisherman that she has hired. The woman turns out to be Hua, a famous master of the bow (and some say, half-Korean— but never said it to her face).
It turns out that she has heard of the battle. And she wants to see Fan Meili. A quick competition later, it turns out Fan is not up to task in her book — hitting a piece of wood wasn't a problem. Shooting your bow while standing at the top of the mast and hitting a piece of wood was. Well, not for Hua.
As they arrive to Taiwan, two things become obvious. First, the captain has taken an interest in the courtesan. Second, her current employer is unfazed by this.
So after arranging formalities, the captain goes to his cabin — and not alone. The monk has already left, and the crew disembarks to get their own fun.
A couple of hours later, the courtesan is no longer there, but the captain is dead, with one of Hua's arrows through his chest. Luckily, Fan Meili manages to prove to the angry sailors that Hua has nothing to do with it — the captain has been poisoned earlier, and the arrow has been sticked in later.
The tea the captain and the courtesan have been drinking isn't poisoned, however, except what little remained in his cup. The perpetrator remains unknown.
The next day, they have to pick a new captain!
Most crew members support the first mate but the new spearwoman also presents her candidature.
A duel follows, with the two of them duelling. This time, Li Hoi San lasts much longer, and manages to win, albeit not unwounded! Clearly, the old master simply was too good for him.
After the second cut, Li Baozhai surrenders. The Korean congratulates her skills, and offeres her a place in the crew, and promises her advancement opprtunities.
She accepts.

⁂

That very evening, Li Hoi San decides to settle some old debts in Korea. To this end, he hires a couple new warriors, including a Han woman with a Sun-Moon spear and Sun-Moon blades on her sides. She is accompanied by her friends, both of them Barbarians — a long-nosed one, and a southern one from some islands in the ocean. In a fit of drunken honesty, Li promises them to help them as they help him — whatever their heart wish is, since his is to punish his disciple who has betrayed him.
The long-nosed Barbarian does not accept, but the other two do, which prompts a long scene of separation. But sometimes, friendship and even love have to step aside. Li isn't the only one with unsettled debts, the woman makes clear.
After that, they contact the local criminals, who want a smuggler ship captured, and are ready to go.

⁂

And then the adventure REALLY begins!
Ships are captured, sold, and re-fitted for piracy. Enemies are made, both human and supernatural. Couples (and love triangles, and a pentagram...) are formed and broken — or cut.
Li Hoi San gets his revenge. Korea receives a new king, who promises to abandon the practice of using hopping dead under sorcerous control as cheap labour and soldiers.
No doubt, this makes the Celestial bureaucracy happy. And Wen Xiaofan, as the last heir of Ming (who used a Sun-Moon weapons for a reason!) was even happier at having secured the help of Korea.
Mystics are contacted, their words studied, and their errands followed. Masters are found, and asked for teachings — or challenged. Numerous battles fought, and only Li Hoi San has lost his hand — but arranging the deal between the student of a martial arts master and a fox spirit, serves as payment for giving him a new hand. And they only have to run once, maybe twice.
Even a dragon has been defeated — although it is a human-made one. Some demons don't attract as much attention.
And then, near the fall of the tumultous year, a Korean army consisting mostly of freed slaves, is ready to join the anti-Qing rebellion in China.
Where will the story go?
Who knows?

Most of the players in this game don't post in RPG-related blogs. But if you want to know more about this campaign game, the GM (Асен Сварталфар) can be contacted relatively easily; he can be found on RPG.net posting under the nickname Asen_G, or through his e-mail address: asen.georgiev1980 [at] abv.bg.