The Sculptor of Death!
The Knights Vigilant (without Sahara, who is busy with the NYPL Halloween events) defend a Chinatown celebration.
Structure
Exposition
Big Trouble in Little Chinatown!
Thrilling Tales of Wonder present … Knights Vigilant in … The Sculptor of Death!
Greetings True Believers!
With summer passing into memory and temperatures starting to dip, there can be no doubt that fall is in the air! And with that comes fall festivals!
All across New York, celebrations of the fall season are underway. Such as the new Halloween Festival in Chinatown! With fireworks, performers, and food it's a feast for the senses. One that even the local criminal element has taken steps to protect!
But while criminal gangs from the Disco Boys, Jade Falcons, and even the Golden Lotus declare a truce during the festivities, something still does not sit right. Sensing that there is a disturbance in the air, Fu Qiang Xue – otherwise known as 'Apothecary Fu' – has contacted the Knights Vigilant to enlist their aid.
While it could be nothing, just the worries of a retired crime fighter. But with this many of the local criminal element in one space at one time? Who knows what might happen!
Grab some dim sum and get ready, there may be fireworks yet to come!
This is Not Stan Lee saying … EXCELSIOR!
Conflict
Part I: The Sculptor Of Death
Chapter One
Chapter One
Chinatown Festival
Music : Pork Chop Express
With the mid-autumn festival complete, Chinatown starts a new festival for the arrival of Halloween. Crowds are moving between booths, some fireworks are on display, and even the Golden Lotus seem to be less interested in making trouble.
Music: Unforgiven
Just when a pair of street performers come out to play instruments and tell a story to the crowd, a group of ninja rise up from across the street festival! At first, they look like just another of the local gangs come out to the festivities.
1: Seeing something suspicious
Heroes (perception): Int vs 13
1/2 rap: They are quite skilled. They weren't there a moment ago. But they are now.
1 rap or more: They literally appeared out of nowhere. It was as if one moment they were part of the crowd, the next they dropped their 'average citizen' disguise and let themselves be seen.
1/2 rap: They are quite skilled. They weren't there a moment ago. But they are now.
1 rap or more: They literally appeared out of nowhere. It was as if one moment they were part of the crowd, the next they dropped their 'average citizen' disguise and let themselves be seen.
2: EITHER once spotted or heroes wait long enough, this mysterious band of ninjas assault the crowd. It's all stealing purses, wallets, etc and passing them among each other while they run. Along the way, they'll shove and pummel citizens to be distractions.
The gang calls themselves the Ghost Circle Dragons. They wear black uniforms with a blood red trim along the hemline. They wear cloth masks painted in the style of the Chinese opera. The faces are blue and yellow. ( stubborn and treachery ).
A group of five has one leader, he would be acting more like a 'mime', who is also a ninja with powers! The powers are a mental illusion ability ( aka clouding the minds of the victims ) to make them believe the mime illusions are real.
Note:
There is a 50% change ( 1-5 on a d10 ) the ninja is an illusion created by the Ninja Mime.
Defeating the Ninja Mime will NOT remove the ninja, as the ninja mime's mental illusions last for a certain amount of time, not as long as the ninja mime is awake.
Ghost Circle Dragon Ninja
Dex: 03
Str: 02
Bod: 03
Int: 03
Wil: 02
Min: 03
Inf: 02
Aur: 02
Spi: 03
Motivation:Ninja
Occupation:Ninja
Resources {or Wealth}: 003
Init: 010
HP: 000
Powers:
Ultra-vision: 02
Bonuses and Limitations:
Ultra-vision is Night Vision Only (-1) and a Skilled Power
Skills:
Acrobatics (Athletics, Climbing): 04, Martial Artist: 04, Thief (Stealth): 04, Weaponry (Ninja weapons): 04
Advantages:
Familiarity (Ninja lore), possibly a Language
Connections:
Their ninja clan (Low)
Drawbacks:
Usually none
Equipment:
- Generic ninja melee weapon {BODY 04, EV 04 (05 w/Martial artist)} – usually a sword, but might be a pair of kama (hand sickles), a one-metre long weighted chain, a pair of sai or a pair of butterfly swords. More exotic weapons are possible but those are the recurrent ones.
- Medium-powered bow {BODY 04, Projectile weapon: 03, Ammo: 01, Limitation: Low Penetration}
- Enough shuriken {BODY 01, EV 02, Note: thrown weapons}
- Kusari-gama {BODY 04, EV 04 (05 w/Martial artist), Extra limb: 04, Stretching: 01}. A long weighted chain with a kama at one hand. The Extra Limb (the chain) is principally used to Wrestle, Grapple or Disarm.
Ghost Circle Dragon Ninja Mime
Dex: 04
Str: 03
Bod: 04
Int: 04
Wil: 03
Min: 04
Inf: 02
Aur: 02
Spi: 03
Motivation:Ninja
Occupation:Ninja
Resources {or Wealth}: 004
Init: 012
HP: 010
Powers:
Ultra-vision: 03, Mental Illusion: 05 (used to make opponents believe in the invisible walls, etc)
Bonuses and Limitations:
Ultra-vision is Night Vision Only (-1) and a Skilled Power
Skills:
Acrobatics: 05, Martial Artist: 04, Military science (Camouflage): 05, Thief (Security systems, stealth): 05, Weaponry (Ninja weapons): 05
Advantages:
Familiarity (Ninja lore), Iron Nerves, possibly a Language
Connections:
Their ninja clan (Low)
Drawbacks:
MIA toward the Ninja Code (whatever that is)
Equipment:
- Generic ninja melee weapon {BODY 04, EV 04 (05 w/Martial artist)} – usually a sword, but might be a pair of kama (hand sickles), a one-metre long weighted chain, a pair of sai or a pair of butterfly swords. More exotic weapons are possible but those are the recurrent ones.
- SILENT CHAINMAIL {BODY 04, Blunting: 04, Skin armour: 01, Limitations: Only effective vs. blades and arrows, Partial coverage (-3CS Trick Shot to bypass)}. Light, tightly-assembled chainmail hidden under clothing.
- Enough shuriken {BODY 01, EV 02, Note: thrown weapons}
- Flash-smoke mini-grenade (x2BODY 01, Flash: 02, Fog: 04, Bonus: Flash and Fog are Combined, Drawback: Grenade Drawback}
- Climbing claws on hand and feet {BODY 04, Prehensile Feet Advantage}
- Medium-powered bow {BODY 04, Projectile weapon: 03, Ammo: 01, Bow Advantage (effective EV is 04, effective Ranged is 06), Limitation: Low Penetration}
- Kusari-gama {BODY 04, EV 04 (05 w/Martial artist), Extra limb: 04, Stretching: 01}. A long weighted chain with a kama at one hand. The Extra Limb (the chain) is principally used to Wrestle, Grapple or Disarm.
- Blowgun {BODY 01, Poison touch: 05, Range: 03, Ammo: 01, Thief (Stealth): 04, Drawback: Long Reload Time, Limitations: Range requires blowing in the tube, Thief only to muffle the shot, Poison touch cannot penetrate any sort of armour (or natural RV 7+ against piercing attacks)}
Music: None Shall Live
Outside , and inside, the shop a lone woman battles six opponents at once. It is Fu Qiang Xue's niece, Fu Mai Lin. She is able to keep five at bay, but the sixth is a Ninja Mime and that tips the balance.
When the heroes arrive, she is using a weighted scarf as a weapon. But she is losing due to the interference of the Ninja Mime.
What Fu Mai Lin knows:
Fu Mai Lin arrived after the ninja gang had broken into the shop. They seemed to already know the inventory and had found her uncle's special back room.
Music: Hurt
The back room is devastated. Apothecary Fu's personal effects have been looted. Photos, small mementos, etc were taken.
His assortment of powders and his lab where he makes them has been devastated. A message written on the back wall says:
"Now, not even YOU can stop what will come!"
Out of the wreckage, Apothecary Fu realizes that an ancient gem he recovered from an ancient set of ruins in far Northern Japan is missing. It is called the Stone of Insight. It was set in a mysterious metal circlet that would never scratch. Fu has always suspected the circlet was Damascus Steel or something even more exotic.
Legends say the circlet could allow certain wearers, if they were of the right mind, to open their third eye. Most went mad trying. Fu has tried to destroy the thing with no success.
A reproduction of the famous Fuchun Teahouse in China. The owner, Charlie Lin, is one of the major businessmen in the area who is trying to improve Chinatown as a whole.
One of the four temple dog statues inside the tea house. The owner, xxx, was quite proud of having recovered the statues from a ruined teahouse in Northern China.
Notes:
What is so special about the temple dog statue?
Inside the dog is a perfectly carved iron heart. The heart is magnetic and is filled with a a layer of frankincense oil. The inner chamber is said to contain the remnant of an ancient metal from the sky that glowed with a fierce power. The heart was used as a source of power for devices and on rare occasions ... people who were strong enough to channel it. It is very unstable.
Legend has it that it once got out of control and made an entire village of 20,000 people vanish without a trace.
The other three statues have mention of this and are guardians of the heart. They are ancient automatons that move when not seen. Their goal is to recover the heart and take it back to the pedestals. Once they attack a victim, they can THEN be seen to move. They are all powered by hearts of Thanagarian Nth Metal from the same wreckage.
Wong Kei Inn is modeled after the ancient inn and tea house style in China. It is across the street from White Dove China House restaurant and two doors down from the Lily Emporium - owned and operated by "Auntie" Falene Liu. The Lily is known as a mahjong parlor that has long been suspected of gambling and smuggling.
The Wong Kei Inn is run and owned by Brian Zhang.
An ancient set of mahjong tiles. They were on loan from the Lily Emporium. "Auntie" wanted to make a good impression by advertising to the tourists coming to stay for the festival.
Notes:
Security is far lighter at the Wong Kei Inn. Auntie can't send an army of goons, it would be suspicious.
The mahjong tiles have been in her family for nine generations. Before that, she knows they were located in Southern China. They are called the "speaking tiles" as legend says some people have heard voices from the tiles.
The tiles look like a creamy jade. In reality they are a silicon base receiver chip system. Together, they can form a network if used properly.
After the first fight, shop owners will come over to see if Apothecary Fu is all right. One, Brian Zhang, resents the vigilantes saying they should leave. Their curse attracts this trouble.
Charlie Lin (Fuchun Teahouse) and "Auntie" Falene Liu (Lily Emporium) disagree with Brian, calling him a whiner.
Apothecary Fu argues with Brian until Mr. Zhang storms off.
Music: Immortals ( play after the bad guy talks )
Crunching sounds as he grabs up a dumpster to use as a bludgeon.
Namahage: "Well! Looks like this won't be dull after all. Master will be pleased with Namahage once he squashes all of you!"
Namahage
He goes by the name "Namahage". He's basically a brute and a major lieutenant of Liu Qiang. He is huge, being eight feet tall and built like a truck. He wears a Namahage mask and face paint. Other than the black and red ninja outfit, he has a straw cape.
Namahage has a ninja mime with him and seven "henchmen" which are mime illusions.
Dex: 04
Str: 09
Bod: 09
Int: 03
Wil: 02
Min: 04
Inf: 03
Aur: 02
Spi: 03
Motivation: Not much, really
Occupation: None
Resources {or Wealth}: N/A
Init: 010
HP: 020
Powers:
Growth: 05; Skin Armor: 3 ( looks like stone )
Bonuses and Limitations:
Growth is Always On and already factored in
Skills:
None
Advantages:
Immortal, Iron Nerves, Language (Ancient Greek)
Connections:
Equipment:
Tends to throw large things, hit like a truck.
Ghost Circle Dragon Ninja Mime
Dex: 04
Str: 03
Bod: 04
Int: 04
Wil: 03
Min: 04
Inf: 02
Aur: 02
Spi: 03
Motivation:Ninja
Occupation:Ninja
Resources {or Wealth}: 004
Init: 012
HP: 010
Powers:
Ultra-vision: 03, Mental Illusion: 05 (used to make opponents believe in the invisible walls, etc)
Bonuses and Limitations:
Ultra-vision is Night Vision Only (-1) and a Skilled Power
Skills:
Acrobatics: 05, Martial Artist: 04, Military science (Camouflage): 05, Thief (Security systems, stealth): 05, Weaponry (Ninja weapons): 05
Advantages:
Familiarity (Ninja lore), Iron Nerves, possibly a Language
Connections:
Their ninja clan (Low)
Drawbacks:
MIA toward the Ninja Code (whatever that is)
Equipment:
- Generic ninja melee weapon {BODY 04, EV 04 (05 w/Martial artist)} – usually a sword, but might be a pair of kama (hand sickles), a one-metre long weighted chain, a pair of sai or a pair of butterfly swords. More exotic weapons are possible but those are the recurrent ones.
- SILENT CHAINMAIL {BODY 04, Blunting: 04, Skin armour: 01, Limitations: Only effective vs. blades and arrows, Partial coverage (-3CS Trick Shot to bypass)}. Light, tightly-assembled chainmail hidden under clothing.
- Enough shuriken {BODY 01, EV 02, Note: thrown weapons}
- Flash-smoke mini-grenade (x2BODY 01, Flash: 02, Fog: 04, Bonus: Flash and Fog are Combined, Drawback: Grenade Drawback}
- Climbing claws on hand and feet {BODY 04, Prehensile Feet Advantage}
- Medium-powered bow {BODY 04, Projectile weapon: 03, Ammo: 01, Bow Advantage (effective EV is 04, effective Ranged is 06), Limitation: Low Penetration}
- Kusari-gama {BODY 04, EV 04 (05 w/Martial artist), Extra limb: 04, Stretching: 01}. A long weighted chain with a kama at one hand. The Extra Limb (the chain) is principally used to Wrestle, Grapple or Disarm.
- Blowgun {BODY 01, Poison touch: 05, Range: 03, Ammo: 01, Thief (Stealth): 04, Drawback: Long Reload Time, Limitations: Range requires blowing in the tube, Thief only to muffle the shot, Poison touch cannot penetrate any sort of armour (or natural RV 7+ against piercing attacks)}
Music:
When Namahage goes down, the ninja run ( even illusionary ones ). They scatter in all directions, but regroup to behind the Wong Kei Inn where they take the lift down to the Storm Drains.
Fu Mai Lin will be found beaten up. She finds the nearest Knights Vigilant, telling them that the ninja's took Apothecary Fu!
Notes:
They try and obscure their tracks and lay traps for any heroes following them. At every trap, there are 1 - 4 ninjas that will attack. As always, they are 50% illusion.
Traps are:
- Smoke paste: Smoke erupts from granules on the ground filling a 2AP area. Smoke becomes sticky web, holding the victim fast.
- Stun snares: Web like netting shoots out sticking to whomever is in a 2AP range. On contact, it delivers a 2AP Lightning touch range.
- Fist of a Thousand Monkeys: Oily black smoke erupts from splatters of powder. The powder itself has a 1 AP glue to it to slow down the victim. The powder has a Mental Illusion of 5AP. The illusions are of 2 foot tall monkeys ( not a thousand but they move fast ) that attack the victim.
A young girl and her brother saw ninjas running toward the buildings where the Inn and the Lily Emporium are.
Tracks on the road lead to the White Dove restaurant and the Lily Emporium. The place is in an uproar. Ninjas came through! Patrons are wanting to leave.
Some say they ran out the back, some say into the kitchen, some say they ran to the roof.
Basement access is unlocked, but the door is pulled shut.
Perception / Detective vs 12:
1/2 RAP: Security footage sees them enter the kitchen area. There is a basement access, ninjas entered. Then eased out quietly once commotion started.
Full RAP: Same as above, but one ninja points towards the Inn before they leave out the back ( or roof if heroes used the back ).
1/2 RAP: Security footage sees them enter the kitchen area. There is a basement access, ninjas entered. Then eased out quietly once commotion started.
Full RAP: Same as above, but one ninja points towards the Inn before they leave out the back ( or roof if heroes used the back ).
While the ninjas did not go here, they trapped the basement to slow the heroes down:
Traps are:
- Smoke paste: Smoke erupts from granules on the ground filling a 2AP area. Smoke becomes sticky web, holding the victim fast.
- Stun snares: Web like netting shoots out sticking to whomever is in a 2AP range. On contact, it delivers a 2AP Lightning touch range.
- Fist of a Thousand Monkeys: Oily black smoke erupts from splatters of powder. The powder itself has a 1 AP glue to it to slow down the victim. The powder has a Mental Illusion of 5AP. The illusions are of 2 foot tall monkeys ( not a thousand but they move fast ) that attack the victim.
After trap effects:
The basement door shuts via a trigger. The device is on their side, but a bomb can be heard beeping.
Bomb:
Bomb is not complex, but is powerful enough to seriously injure anyone in the basement and take them out of action. It is a concussive explosion bomb.
Int / Gadgetry vs 13 to disarm.
Bomb is not complex, but is powerful enough to seriously injure anyone in the basement and take them out of action. It is a concussive explosion bomb.
Int / Gadgetry vs 13 to disarm.
Back at the Wong Kei Inn, if confronted, Brian Zhang will resent the vigilantes messing with the inn. He says they are bad for business and property values.
If pushed, he'll cave, saying that he lives in fear of them. He says they call themselves the Ghost Circle Dragons and serve some 'master' who calls himself Tenger Khan. Tenger Khan has his daughter held captive to make sure Brian cooperates.
He will tell them the ninjas are using the lift elevator to get into his basement. From there, they are using an old maintenance access into the storm drains.
Rising Action
Terracotta Two Step!
Thrilling Tales of Wonder present … Knights Vigilant in … The Sculptor of Death, Part 2!
Greetings True Believers!
A riot in Chinatown! The Fall festival broken up by ninjas? But who were they? And what could they possibly want with a temple dog statue, an ancient circlet associated with insanity and death, and all the other items that were stolen?
Most important, what happened to Taki? She vanished, leaving only Kara there to help the team!
Using a map created by Moon Knight's mini-bots, the Knights Vigilant race after the ninjas through the storm drains under Chinatown. Hopefully, they'll find the ninjas and the answer to their questions!
It looks like they're digging in to get to the bottom of things, True Believers! Let's look in and see how they're doing!
This is Not Stan Lee saying … EXCELSIOR!
Components
Hooks
Clue to Statesman and Moon Knight:
You see these guys standing in the middle of a long room.The room used to be a subway terminal from 1927. Now it is decorated in ‘retro-Chinese' decor. Not entirely historically accurate.There are two doors on the far side of the room. You hear occasional electrical discharges coming from behind the doors.
Clues to Taki and Kara:
Kara uses her Precognition powerIn your mind's eye … you see the gloom of the storm drains … the flicker of old bulbs that need replacing. The storm drains are empty. The lights flicker and large shadows moved walking into the spot the statues are in now. When the lights cooperate again, both statues are there just as your team arrived at the junction.
Kara sees the history of the temple dogs ….
Legend has it that the Four Dogs of Kwan Li guard all items of their temple with dedication. Even each other. If something is stolen from their 'temple', even another temple dog, the other three will hunt the thief down to exact justice and return the missing item to its rightful place. According to legend, they will not move when observed. Instead, they move in stealth when no one watches them.
Further back in time … you see the dogs emerge from a crater and metal wreckage … the time period is 2nd century China.
You (Taki) woke in the body of a terracotta warrior. Aside from the fact it's a Chinese terracotta statue, you know that the statue is more than animated fiberglass, clay and concrete. There is electronics inside. But the "feel" of it is wrong. Like it doesn't belong here. The electronics are deep inside the statue.
You know the person behind this calls himself 'Tenger Khan' and kept talking about being the "rightful inheritor of Genghis Khan's legacy". He's assembling a device.
You know the way, but also know it may be guarded and or trapped.
Even covered by shadow, you see temple dog legs … but they look very 'techno organic'. Once they "sit", the legs "grow" stone.
Relations
Protagonists
The Knights Vigilant
Allies
Apothecary Fu and his niece, Fu Mai Lin
Adversaries
- Ghost Circle Dragons, including assorted "Ninja Mimes"
- Namahage
- assorted mechanical "Temple Dogs"
- Tenger Khan
Plot type
overview
Related Characters
Related Organizations
Related Locations
Comments