Apologies for the slight delay in posts – in short, I got covid just as I started a new job. But normal service resumes! Here, a one-shot set in the Ancient juncture for Feng Shui 2 that was originally prepped to run for Robin Laws himself! (Sadly, his attendance at Kraken was prevented)

As before, I’ve presented this pretty much as-prepped – feedback earlier was that this sort of rough-and-ready style wasn’t a problem, and gave some insight into what prep notes could actually look like – so enjoy and let me know if you’d like more ‘official’ stuff instead.

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Chang’an Critter Carnival

Man Yee Chan’s amazing performing animal circus has come to Chang’an City! As guests of Empress Wu Zeitan, you are there to witness their amazing performances when disaster strikes – the animals, and more importantly, the Empress, are kidnapped! Can you recover the animals and save the day?

S1 – Carnival, middle of city in arena – FIGHT / CHASE through bustling market streets

We begin with a long pan over the city of Chang’an – centre of the Tang dynasty, China 69 AD – and a Juncture, one of the times that the time war is fought over.

• Down from the white-snowed mountains along rocky roads to gleaming pagodas
• Parallel roads begin as we move towards the centre of the city
• Twin market wards have been extended, and meet in the centre of a bustling square
• Pyramids of spices, street food vendors, exquisite silks, intricate jewelry, grotesque puppets – all sold here
• We come to a large tent, with palace guards outside it, wearing stern wooden masks – and see the Empress, first female empress of the dynasty, who is the reason for all of this – and she is celebrating her birthday

And you, as the heroes of the land, are at her side, of course, along with Sharpened Tortoise, her vizier. A man who exudes age, wisdom, and a kind of passive menace.

• Montage introduction – action scene from previous adventure

In front of her, we see a heavily-made up woman, Man Yee Chan, who holds a fan and a draws back a curtain as ranks of juggling monkeys parade up and down in front of the empress’ bored face. This is the amazing animal circus!

• Each describe an act – interspersed with the Empress (and Sharpened Tortoise’s) interaction. The Empress is generally bored, Sharpened Tortoise is generally amused. We also see the palace guards gradually filter in to watch

At the finale, all the animals combine in a vast juggling scene – and, with a crack, multicoloured smoke makes you blink your eyes – and a muffled scream, as the Empress is gone!

The tent billows, as many of the palace guard’s masks have fallen to the ground – and the Empress, and Sharpened Tortoise, are on horseback being taken through the market

Fight – rescue one of them – they will not be able to rescue both of them.

Improvised Weapons: Mannequins, robes and silks, clothing racks, great big steaming woks of stir fry, big wooden spoons for said woks

Things that can happen

• Enemy pauses to take a bite of a delicious street food snack
• A heavily-laded wagon of gourds stops across the PCs tracks
• The central fountain sites a mid-air wuxia duel
• Somebody is thrown through a stall
• A crying child is separated from its mother by the fight and must be rescued
• A cage smashes and a crowd of normal monkeys run amok

As the fight begins and they give chase, they find their way blocked by some palace guards who, with their masks asked, are now clearly apes! From out of the street food stalls, the tell-tale high-pitched chattering of spellcasting comes through.

S1 they just face mooks

10 Ape Palace Guards [9 / 9 / 8 / 10]

5 Eunuch Sorcerers [10 / 10 / 8/ 8]

5 Juggling Monkeys (substitute with another animal if easier) [8 / 10 / 11/ 6]

ALL Attack 8  / Def 13 / Speed 5 / Damage 9

S2 they can close to Man Yee Chan and her Apeservant accomplice

Man Yee Chan – Martial Arts 13 / Def 13 / Tou 5 / Spd 8 [11 / 11 / 14 / 10]

Animal-themed improvised attack Damage 10

Buzzsaw Baboon, Apeservant – Scrougetech 13 / Def 12 / Tou 6/ Spd 6 [10 / 11 / 8 / 9]

Buzzhand damage 11

Furious Wrath

S2 – Intermission – investigate, RP, find out

What’s really going on?

The Animal Carnival is using Chi sorcery to make its animals preternaturally clever, and are now caught between the Eaters of the Lotus – who have used them as helpful test subjects – and The Jammers – who want to uplift the apes earlier. Man Yee Chan is an adversary too, but she is allied with Laughing Snake, a skinny ambitious sorcerer, and Eternal Heavenly Gorilla, an albino gorilla from the future who wears sunglasses and has a cybernetic arm. The potions that are used to uplift the animals are almost run out, and they seek to kidnap the Empress in order to get the materials needed to produce much more of it.

All of the facts below can be learned with an appropriate skill check (usually difficulty 10)

Around the animal carnival and where they were staying in the city, there are several bottles of strongly-smelling chi potions, scented with white blossom flowers (which only grow above the city)

The city guards – if you can find those who can be trusted – can identify that the horses fled towards the mountains, and the monastery up there.

Man Yee Chan was apprenticed to Hang Feng, the best animal trainer in the city, who is now washed up and depressed as her Carnival has all the success and he has none. He knows she started meeting with strange doings, and suspects the potions are from the Eaters of the Lotus. Play him as morose and shifty, terrified of retribution, accompanied by a sympathetic parrot / monkey / dog. When she left, he believes she was going to the White Monastery on the Mountains, and she took her animals with her.

As they make their investigations, a parliament bird arrives at the palace, speaking – Four thousand bags of gold will be sufficient to release the captives. While this appears a recorder message, Paquett, the bird, is quite chatty and can tell them all about the monastery.

CUT to Eternal Heavenly Gorilla, in a vast throne, addressing Laughing Snake.

Soon our plan will be almost done – the potion production has been successful – once we have the power, we shall rule together!

S3 – Montage to base of operations for Man Yee Chan – secret Shaolin temple in the mountains, aided by cyber-apes! The mountains are overrun by sorcerers, summoned demons, and cyber-apes

S4 – Fight! Man Yee Chan – sorcerer – and ape allies – to recover the Empress

The White Mountain Monastery is a fortified shaolin temple. It has clearly been prepared to keep people outside. Skill checks to get inside without triggering e.g. greek fire launchers

Improvised Weapons: Huge braziers, cybernetic equipment and drills, large cauldrons of potions, potion racks, half-constructed walls

Things that can happen:

• Fight foes along the top of the walls
• Knife slide down a hanging tapestry or banner
• Fight up the tight spiral staircase
• Tip over a brazier and set the tapestries above on fire
• Greek fire launchers have been set outside the monastery
• Cyber manufactory starts up suddenly and begins lurching across the courtyard.

Eternal Heavenly Gorilla, BOSS

Martial Arts 16 / Def 14 / Tou 8/ Spd 7 [ 9 / 12 / 10 / 10]

Improbable Spinning Kicks Damage (max Dmg+1)

Back to the Wall 

Taskmaster

Whichever of Man Yee Chan or Buzzsaw Baboon cheesed it last fight

Laughing Snake – FF

Sorcery 13 / Def 13 / Tou 5 / Spd 7 (or 10) [11 / 8 / 9 / 8] or [14 / 11 / 12 / 11]

Blast damage 10

Ablative Lackey

Massive Martial Artist Bison – FF

Martial Arts 14 / Def 13 / Tou 6/ Spd 6 [8 /8 / 8/ 11] or [11 / 11 / 11/ 14]

Massive Mace damage 10

Levelling Strike

15 assorted animals and monks [9 / 6 / 8 / 8]

ALL Attack 8  / Def 13 / Speed 5 / Damage 9