I'm thinking we've settled probably enough to make a start on things. Final details for character sheets (move selections and suchlike) can be sorted even after the in-character posts.

Would be useful to have Entanglements and Bonds (or at least some of them) finalized early doors though as they can directly impact on how things are set up.

I should have a first IC post up this weekend.

To begin with, based on our discussions so far, I take it Chung would have a Bond+1 with Dai Chiao (NPC) based on loyalty to his former commander and their vow of revenge against Kin Xia, and a Bond+1 with Wen Yunfei based on their shared hostility to the imperial authorities. If Wen would prefer to role play Chung's meeting with him and their forming this Bond, I am willing to do it that way, or we can assume they have already met, probably not long before the game starts. A some point early in the game, I expect Chung would also meet Lady Sun.
Regarding Entanglements, I believe Chung has an NPC Entanglement with Dai Chiao as described in earlier posts -- Dai is focused solely on revenge, Chung shares Dai's desire for revenge but has a competing desire to live a more worldly (and longer) life. Chung could have a Entanglement with Wen with both of them working to defeat the authorities, locally to begin with and perhaps ultimately on a wider scale; Chung might have the same reservations he has with Dai, that is not being willing to take reckless risks and hoping to enjoy life along the way. If we need a connection with Lady Sun, it might be that Chung would see her and admire her and attempt to help her, which could conflict with his commitments to Wen and/or Dai.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:15, Sun 31 Mar.

Do we want to post our potential Entanglements and see if we can find places to put each other's characters? I saw in the rules that Bonds are meant to come from Entanglements so maybe that will help us establish it.
I'm good with a +1 bond with Chung right off the bat though, especially if the proposed General Entanglement below sounds good to you.

I originally chose these Romantic and General Entanglements from the book.


Entanglements:
I disguised myself to get close to (blank), but (blank), their lover, suspects and hates me.
-or-
I love (blank), but they have declared their hatred of 'my kind' after what happened to (blank).
[From the Fantastic Wuxia section]

My master, (Blank), has secretly trained me as part of a revenge plot against my friend, (blank).
-or-
(Blank) has given me private, secret training, but (blank) will be enraged if they learn of it. [From Courtly Wuxia]

---

Right now, I could see potential for:

My master, Daoist Peng, has secretly trained me as part of a revenge plot against my friend, (Someone who might have been part of an attack on Demons). Maybe this could've been the army, and maybe it could create some complications between our PCs if Dai Chiao and Chung Wu-Ma did some questionable things when they were still under the leadership of Kin Xia. Sort of like ex stormtroopers of Star Wars facing the consequences of their actions? What do you think, Chung?

For Romantic, I suppose:

I disguised myself to get close to (blank), but (blank), their lover, suspects and hates me.

I was thinking a love interest could be a disciple of Red Crow Monastery? It sounds like it could easily be one of the orthodox cultivation clans that perhaps even participated in eliminating the Wangyuan clan. Would I be able to request NPC disciples that fit?

Or if we are want to tie our player characters closer together, perhaps a cousin/relation of Lady Sun's instead, as they also seem to be a similar clan. All depending on if everyone is okay with the idea.


This is all still speculation, so let me know your thoughts. I'm open to changing things around.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:00, Sat 30 Mar.

I am happy with any connections. Anyue is a known do good'er. She helps the common folk and thwarts bandits and raider ( if they are causing harm to farmers and the common folk, she might help against someone wealthy but mostly she's in it to make life better for the people. )

Her romantic entanglement is with an NPC.

It seems to me that the "(Blank) has given me private, secret training, but (blank) will be enraged if they learn of it. [From Courtly Wuxia]"
entanglement could apply with Peng and Chung, in that while Chung is initially sympathetic to Wen's hostility to the authorities, and would not mind his having trained with Peng if he believes Peng is a conventional Daoist, he might be very upset if he discovered he was actually Demonic. I think the legends he has heard about the lost prince portrayed the prince simply as a heroic warrior, maybe with some conventional Daoist powers, but not Demonic.
Regarding Lady Sun, she might join with Chung  (and Wen?) in chivalrously defending local farmers against exploitation by either the magistrate or the rich merchant, but she might draw the line at actual revolt against the imperial government,

I'm going to put up two starting IC posts shortly. Should be later tonight but might run into tomorrow as it's been quite the day!

The first will be set in the yamen of the Magistrate as he provides an introduction and formal meal to his visitor; Sun AnYue.

The second will be more 'of the people' and feature Chung and Wen enjoying the hospitality of the Inn of the Five Silver Fish.

That shouldn't be taken as any sort of indicator that the characters should stay separated in that manner, or at all, for the long haul - just a way of introducing people in a manner as befits their social status. I'll move things on fairly swiftly from that to the point each character can pick what sort of threads they want to explore.

Sounds good o me. I was already picturing Chung in an inn, his natural habitat

I'm good with that! The legends could just say the clan stood up against tyranny or injustice or something like that, especially if they were trying to keep the name in a positive light.
I'll put this down as my entanglement:

Daoist Peng has given me private, secret training, but Chung Wu-Ma will be enraged if they learn of it.

Very good!

Sorry for the lateness of this guys, I lost electricity with a storm.

In reply to Sun AnYue (msg # 36):Understood. Several places in my area also lost power in recent storm, tho' fortunately not my home. I am glad you are back.

I hope you get power back soon Sun!

Sorry for the delay myself.
I have officially moved everything into a new apartment this week. I just got internet connected yesterday. I feel so exhausted though. There has been so much furniture to move and boxes to unpack and everything is still really dirty.

I have to go to work today until late, but I will have a response tomorrow.

Deepest sympathy on moving. The last time I moved into a new place, with about 8000 books, I firmly told my wife I was not moving again as long as I lived. That was nearly 18 years ago, and so far, I have managed to stick to it.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:11, Sat 13 Apr.

Thank you! And Wow, I wish I get that luck someday. I have a much smaller collection of stuff, so it's not nearly as arduous. I'm lucky my parents were able to help me too. The hardest thing for me is I'm moving from a small apartment to a barely larger apartment, and some rooms are even smaller than before. Furniture has been a nightmare to arrange properly, and there's just so much cleaning involved around those moments. I just want to chuck my couches out the window sometimes. :P

Anyway, at least I'm arranged enough to post.

Being retired for the last 9 years helps with not moving.

I should note I am planning to attend an SCA coronation tomorrow, so I will probably not be posting tomorrow (April 13).

No problem, sounds fun!

I'll let the characters chat for a bit longer and then move things along.

As it turns out, the event (or more accurately, the part I was involved in) ended earlier than I expected, so I got back in time to check in here. But thank you for your patience.

I think we can take a leisurely pace.
I thought I would have more time yesterday, then my family came calling and they somehow took up my whole evening. My mother can be exhausting sometimes.
I just posted though. I hope Sun is doing okay getting back up after the storm.

Sorry, I might've misread your first line of dialogue. I just meant I wouldn't directly ask the innkeeper about the Shining Path outright. Doing it in a more roundabout way. :P

Sorry, for the delay - busy weekend. I'll get a post up tomorrow moving us on to the game proper.

In reply to Wen Yunfei (msg # 45):

Very good.

Sorry, I know it's been a whole week since my last post.
I'm visiting my sister out of state to take care of her while she's recovering from surgery. She's been in a worrying amount of pain previously, but it's finally getting better these last few days. I should be able to be more regular in posting now.

Very glad your sister is is having less pain. I am just back from knee replacement, but my pain seems to be well-controlled, though I am still drowsy.

Glad to hear you're recovering well! The drowsiness must be annoying but it's better than the pain.

They prescribed her Oxycodone, and she told me she felt like she was drifting in and out, like the pain was far away, but she couldn't really focus on anything else either.
We've heard some scary stories, so she tried to take it as little as possible and get by with Tylenol in between. It was rough, but now she says she doesn't even need the Tylenol as often anymore so I'm optimistic.

I am very glad your sister no longer needs heavy pai meds. I had oxycodone when I had my hips replaced, and I was pretty disoriented, but for my knee they have only prescribed tramadol, and have let me judge when I take it, which is as little as possible.