Zhaojun
The Trickster
Archetype: Mysterious Rival
It's difficult to judge Zhaojun's intentions or predict her methods. She operates according to an unknowable code of justice, a secret divine agenda, and the turbulent heart of an unknown common girl. Untangling her motivations is as difficult as finding a flaw in her perfectly rehearsed martial arts.
Aesthetic: Divine Possession
Anyone who has attended a festival in the flower kingdoms will recognize the style. She carries the formal paper lantern, patterned with spidery warding kanji and elaborate watercolour flower patterns. She wears the formal robes of blue and white, elegant and impractical, run through with gently clicking soft beads. She wears the stone god's mask, the traditional ritual instrument by which a priestess may address a god as an equal. Her hair is done up in the elaborate and traditional bun and braid, long and dark and heavy. In all ways she might be ready to lead a procession or beseech a divinity.
But there is a difference between seeing a ready fireplace and seeing it alight.
The lantern burns with an eerie supernatural blue. The mask shifts between expressions depending on the light and her pose. Her dress flows in a supernatural breeze. Her hair flicks like a lioness' tail and her fingernails are long and sharp. At times she seems to have the aspect of a cat, as predatory as any N'yari, crouching low to the ground, the shape of her motions clear through her dress. At times she has the aspect of a divinity, floating a foot off the ground so her dress just barely brushes the floor. At times she seems inhumanly normal, able to put her feet up and talk so unconcernedly your mind brushes away the glint of blue fire in the depths of that stone mask. Strange phenomena follow her. Prayer strips tear themselves from trees to float behind her, catching the blue fire and burning like candles. Strange winds or lulls in the monsoon rain herald her presence. Statues of the gods change their postures when she draws near - bowing down, drawing blades, revealing themselves as blessed or wicked.
STATS
Daring +1
Wit +1
Spirit -1
Grace +2
Heart +1
Too Many Feelings: 1
Start at 1 and increase your Feelings by 1 each time you gain a String, someone gains a String on you, or you mark a Condition. You may also choose to increase your Feelings any time you find yourself gasping or swooning over someone. Strings assigned during character creation don’t increase your Feelings.
When you open up to someone whose regard matters to you, reduce your Feelings by 2. When you secretly perform a loving act for someone, reduce your Feelings by 1.
If your Feelings track reaches 4, you can’t hold it in anymore. Tear off the mask and scream what you’ve been holding in, do what you’ve been afraid to do, and damn the consequences. You can give anyone present a String on you to gain a String on them. Stop when the consequences catch up with you, for good or ill.
Afterwards, reduce your Feelings to 0 and clear a Condition. It feels good to get it out, at least in the moment.
Ew, Feelings: When someone offers you Emotional Support and you refuse to open up, increase your Feelings by 1 and choose 1 from the listed options for that move as if they rolled 7–9. If they rolled 10+, they know they got through to you; they gain the benefits of a 10+ result as if you had opened up.
The Mask: When you seek to persuade an NPC of a lie about yourself, roll +Wit: 10+: Choose 2 7–9: Choose 1
They believe a big lie
The lie you have chosen is unexpectedly perfect, creating a new opportunity
They give you the benefit of the doubt and remain convinced even if there is some evidence of your lie
Additionally, whenever a PC Figures You Out, you can give false answers. You must increase your Feelings by 1 at the end of any scene where you do this.
Play the Part: When you use someone else’s personal item or clothing to disguise yourself as them, roll +Daring:
10+: While you remain so dressed, your disguise is perfect; only your words or deeds may expose you.
7–9: Someone sees through your disguise, but they don’t give you away just yet. Give them a String.
Center of the Web: When someone approaches you to get something from you or threaten you, choose 1:
Gain a String on them or they lose a String on you
Ask them a question from the Figure Out a Person move
+1 ongoing against them for the scene
Knives behind the Mask: When someone reveals a secret about you in your presence, you’re prepared with a damaging secret about them. If you reveal it now in retaliation, they mark a Condition. If you keep the secret for the time being, gain a String on them.
I Ship It: When you want to make a match between two other people and talk up one to the other, roll +Heart:
10+: You may give the listener a String on the other person or give the other person a String on the listener
7–9: As above, and the listener can either take a String on you or give the other person a String on you
Anyone involved may mark XP if they become Smitten with anyone else involved, including the Trickster (immediately or later this session, maximum of 1 XP per PC).
Truths of Heart and Blade
A Beautiful Lie: When you become Smitten with someone, say why, give them a String, and answer this question:
- What secret do you have that you think would make them reject you if they knew?
I See through You: When you Figure Out a Person during a physical conflict, you may additionally ask one of these questions, even on a 6-:
- Who do you want me to be?
- What are you most afraid of right now?
Strings I possess on others:
Who has seen a hint of what’s behind your mask?
Who has been the worst victim of your trickery?
Whom are you most concerned about?
Giriel 1
Piripiri 1
Kalaya Na 2
Han 2
Machi 1
XP: 2
Conditions:
Insecure
The Trickster
Archetype: Mysterious Rival
It's difficult to judge Zhaojun's intentions or predict her methods. She operates according to an unknowable code of justice, a secret divine agenda, and the turbulent heart of an unknown common girl. Untangling her motivations is as difficult as finding a flaw in her perfectly rehearsed martial arts.
Aesthetic: Divine Possession
Anyone who has attended a festival in the flower kingdoms will recognize the style. She carries the formal paper lantern, patterned with spidery warding kanji and elaborate watercolour flower patterns. She wears the formal robes of blue and white, elegant and impractical, run through with gently clicking soft beads. She wears the stone god's mask, the traditional ritual instrument by which a priestess may address a god as an equal. Her hair is done up in the elaborate and traditional bun and braid, long and dark and heavy. In all ways she might be ready to lead a procession or beseech a divinity.
But there is a difference between seeing a ready fireplace and seeing it alight.
The lantern burns with an eerie supernatural blue. The mask shifts between expressions depending on the light and her pose. Her dress flows in a supernatural breeze. Her hair flicks like a lioness' tail and her fingernails are long and sharp. At times she seems to have the aspect of a cat, as predatory as any N'yari, crouching low to the ground, the shape of her motions clear through her dress. At times she has the aspect of a divinity, floating a foot off the ground so her dress just barely brushes the floor. At times she seems inhumanly normal, able to put her feet up and talk so unconcernedly your mind brushes away the glint of blue fire in the depths of that stone mask. Strange phenomena follow her. Prayer strips tear themselves from trees to float behind her, catching the blue fire and burning like candles. Strange winds or lulls in the monsoon rain herald her presence. Statues of the gods change their postures when she draws near - bowing down, drawing blades, revealing themselves as blessed or wicked.
STATS
Daring +1
Wit +1
Spirit -1
Grace +2
Heart +1
Too Many Feelings: 1
Start at 1 and increase your Feelings by 1 each time you gain a String, someone gains a String on you, or you mark a Condition. You may also choose to increase your Feelings any time you find yourself gasping or swooning over someone. Strings assigned during character creation don’t increase your Feelings.
When you open up to someone whose regard matters to you, reduce your Feelings by 2. When you secretly perform a loving act for someone, reduce your Feelings by 1.
If your Feelings track reaches 4, you can’t hold it in anymore. Tear off the mask and scream what you’ve been holding in, do what you’ve been afraid to do, and damn the consequences. You can give anyone present a String on you to gain a String on them. Stop when the consequences catch up with you, for good or ill.
Afterwards, reduce your Feelings to 0 and clear a Condition. It feels good to get it out, at least in the moment.
Ew, Feelings: When someone offers you Emotional Support and you refuse to open up, increase your Feelings by 1 and choose 1 from the listed options for that move as if they rolled 7–9. If they rolled 10+, they know they got through to you; they gain the benefits of a 10+ result as if you had opened up.
The Mask: When you seek to persuade an NPC of a lie about yourself, roll +Wit: 10+: Choose 2 7–9: Choose 1
They believe a big lie
The lie you have chosen is unexpectedly perfect, creating a new opportunity
They give you the benefit of the doubt and remain convinced even if there is some evidence of your lie
Additionally, whenever a PC Figures You Out, you can give false answers. You must increase your Feelings by 1 at the end of any scene where you do this.
Play the Part: When you use someone else’s personal item or clothing to disguise yourself as them, roll +Daring:
10+: While you remain so dressed, your disguise is perfect; only your words or deeds may expose you.
7–9: Someone sees through your disguise, but they don’t give you away just yet. Give them a String.
Center of the Web: When someone approaches you to get something from you or threaten you, choose 1:
Gain a String on them or they lose a String on you
Ask them a question from the Figure Out a Person move
+1 ongoing against them for the scene
Knives behind the Mask: When someone reveals a secret about you in your presence, you’re prepared with a damaging secret about them. If you reveal it now in retaliation, they mark a Condition. If you keep the secret for the time being, gain a String on them.
I Ship It: When you want to make a match between two other people and talk up one to the other, roll +Heart:
10+: You may give the listener a String on the other person or give the other person a String on the listener
7–9: As above, and the listener can either take a String on you or give the other person a String on you
Anyone involved may mark XP if they become Smitten with anyone else involved, including the Trickster (immediately or later this session, maximum of 1 XP per PC).
Truths of Heart and Blade
A Beautiful Lie: When you become Smitten with someone, say why, give them a String, and answer this question:
- What secret do you have that you think would make them reject you if they knew?
I See through You: When you Figure Out a Person during a physical conflict, you may additionally ask one of these questions, even on a 6-:
- Who do you want me to be?
- What are you most afraid of right now?
Strings I possess on others:
Who has seen a hint of what’s behind your mask?
Who has been the worst victim of your trickery?
Whom are you most concerned about?
Giriel 1
Piripiri 1
Kalaya Na 2
Han 2
Machi 1
XP: 2
Conditions:
Insecure