You have not been back in Jin for almost a year now. After the Jin-Olgaeth War ended, you and your small mercenary company took up a job west of the great mountains, in tiefling lands. You all certainly did not expect the Yizong Emperor to die a few weeks after you left and the whole empire to fall into chaos. For better or worse, the relatively boring job kept you out of Jin for almost a year and now you all are back, at the end of autumn.

A promising lead brings you all to Ceonling, the western capital and imperial necropolis. The city approaches a mountain fortress, and both its sanctity and relative lack of meaningful resources dissuades would-be conquerors. It is in this quiet city, in a small temple, that you will accept a job that promises to thrust you into the great game that plays across Jin now.



Sign-Ups
Player|Character|Race|Class|Sheet
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Item|Cost|Damage|Weight|Properties
Pistol|250 gp|1d10 piercing|3 lb|Ammunition (range 30/90), loading
Musket|500 gp|1d12 piercing|10 lb|Ammunition (range 40/120), loading, two-handed
Cho ko nu|50 gp|1d8 piercing|18 lb|Ammunition (80/320), heavy, two-handed, reload (12 shots)

Slow Natural Healing
Original: At the end of a long rest, a character regains all lost hit points. The character also regains spent Hit Dice, up to a number of dice equal to half of the character’s total number of them. For example, if a character has eight Hit Dice, he or she can regain four spent Hit Dice upon finishing a long rest.

Change: Characters don't regain hit points at the end of a long rest. Instead, a character can spend Hit Dice to heal at the end of a long rest, just as with a short rest. The character then regains the usual number of Hit Dice, as described above.

Climb Onto a Bigger Creature
A suitably large opponent can be treated as terrain for the purpose of jumping onto its
back or clinging to a limb. After making any ability checks necessary to get into position and onto the larger creature, the smaller creature uses its action to make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by the target's Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If it wins the contest, the smaller creature successfully moves into the target creature's space and clings to its body. While in the target's space, the smaller creature moves with the target and has advantage on attack rolls
against it.

The smaller creature can move around within the larger creature's space, treating the space as difficult terrain. The larger creature's ability to attack the smaller creature depends on the smaller creature's location. The larger creature can dislodge the smaller creature as an action- knocking it off, scraping it against a wall, or grabbing and throwing it- by making a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the smaller creature's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. The smaller creature chooses which ability to use.

Disarm
A creature can use a weapon attack to knock a weapon or another item from a target's grasp. The attacker makes an attack roll contested by the target's Strength (Athletics) check or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the attacker wins the contest, the attack causes no damage or other ill effect, but the defender drops the item.

The attacker has disadvantage on its attack roll if the target is holding the item with two or more hands. The target has advantage on its ability check if it is larger than the attacking creature, or disadvantage if it is smaller.

Mark
This option makes it easier for melee combatants to harry each other with opportunity attacks.
When a creature makes a melee attack, it can also mark its target. Until the end of the attacker's next turn, any opportunity attack it makes against the marked target has advantage. The opportunity attack doesn't expend the attacker's reaction, but the attacker can't make the attack if anything, such as the incapacitated condition or the shocking grasp spell, is preventing it from taking reactions. The attacker is limited to one opportunity attack per turn.

Overrun
When a creature tries to move through a hostile creature's space, the mover can try to force its way through by overrunning the hostile creature. As an action or a bonus action, the mover makes a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the hostile creature's Strength (Athletics) check. The creature attempting the overrun has advantage on this check if it is larger than the hostile creature, or disadvantage if it is smaller. If the mover wins the contest, it can move through the
hostile creature's space once this turn.

Shove Aside
With this option, a creature uses the special shove attack from the Player's Handbook to force a target to the side, rather than away. The attacker has disadvantage on its Strength (Athletics) check when it does so. If that check is successful, the attacker moves the target 5 feet to a different space within its reach.

Tumble
A creature can try to tumble through a hostile creature's space, ducking and weaving past the opponent. As an action or a bonus action, the tumbler makes a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by the hostile creature's Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the tumbler wins the contest, it can move through the hostile creature's space once this turn.

Hitting Cover
When a ranged attack misses a target that has cover, you can use this optional rule to determine whether the cover was struck by the attack.

First, determine whether the attack roll would have hit the protected target without the cover. If the attack roll falls within a range low enough to miss the target but high enough to strike the target if there had been no cover, the object used for cover is struck. If a creature is providing cover for the missed creature and the attack roll exceeds the AC of the covering creature, the covering creature is hit.

Cleaving Through Creatures
If your player characters regularly fight hordes of lower-level monsters, consider using this optional rule to help speed up such fights.

When a melee attack reduces an undamaged creature to 0 hit points, any excess damage from that attack might carry over to another creature nearby. The attacker targets another creature within reach and, if the original attack roll can hit it, applies any remaining damage to it. If that creature was undamaged and is likewise reduced to 0 hit points, repeat this process, carrying over the remaining damage until there are no valid targets, or until the damage carried over fails to reduce an undamaged creature to 0 hit points.

Injuries
When a creature rolls a natural critical hit against another creature, in addition to the standard critical hit effects, the first creature rerolls that attack roll with all modifiers and/or advantage/disadvantage. If this second roll hits as well, the DM will roll on the Lingering Injuries table (DMG 272), possibly rerolling if the result doesn't make sense with the attack.

More fun in the Saigai? Count me in! No idea what exactly I'll play right now but I'm certainly interested.

Also hey firearms! Shame they are more expensive then anyone could reasonably afford. Guess I'll just have to acquire one at some point.

I'm interested.

EDIT: I was directed here by Garren. Then I took a deeper look at the world and I'm very impressed.

The character concept I'd like to run is a half-elf; a former thug and petty thief, a tragic incident changes him and he becomes a Paladin of Vengence. I could see him having worked for the Four Sisters in the lowest ranks before following the gods of his father, embracing the Celestial Council.

I'm interested, although I have no idea about what to play. Give me a couple of days and I'll have something.

Thanks!

FYI, the Four Sisters Tong does not exist yet. This game takes place about 250 years before they came about in Hoi Lan Fa. So, your character could be associated with a gang still, but not this particular one yet.

Waiting on a response from DS about some technical things but I'm currently looking at playing a War Priest with the intention of multi-classing into a Abjurer - a tin-can warmage sort of thing. Not sure what race yet.

Check.

Two questions:

1) Starting funds are listed as "Standard". So roll for them or take the average?
2) Would you be opposed to letting me reskin hand axes as kukri knives?

1. Either is fine, but stick with your choice. Roll here.
2. That's fine.

x10

Edit: With the extra 20, 110gp total, correct?

I edited it to an extra 50gp, but yes. Plus the other extra gp you get with your class.

So DS since this is set 250 years before the last game (and I assume current timeline) what's changed in Hoi Lan Fa? Is it still free and independent? Who is currently in command of the place? I was thinking of playing a minor family member from one of the Ten Yellow Houses (assuming that's a thing I could do) but wanted to make sure they we're a thing 250 years ago.

If I have my timeline right 250 years ago would still be under the rule of the Olgaeth Republic yes?

Yes, Hoi Lan Fa has been a colony fully under the dwarves for a little more than a year now. The Ten Yellow Houses are indeed around, as the local aristocracy. They will have recently been forced out of their separate estates into a central location where the dwarves can keep watch over them. The peak over this court/plaza the nobles live in has become the dwarves' base of operations, Victory Peak.

Since Hoi Lan Fa has only recently been isolated, the houses still have strong connections to the rest of their family in Jin, as well as the other noble houses.

Ooh. 140 solves a few choices for me.

Can you fill me in on the Celestial Council? What age is it at the time of the game?

It is still the Age of the Rabbit and has been for thousands of years. Think astrological ages.

What else do you want to know?

Do people who worship the Council align with a specific member, honor only the member whose age it currently is or honor all as appropriate?

Aside from Rabbit and Fox, who are the other members?

(If this is already published in the primer and I missed it, feel free to just point me in the direction)

Ugh, I lost my post since I got logged out.

Eladrin either worship the Celestial Court as a whole or the current god on the moon, Tsusaki. Individuals may favor certain other courtiers, but the gods do not have meaningful power off the throne, except in service to the sovereign. As it is, the gods do not have distinct portfolios, as they are all gods of stars and the night, but their personal outlooks on life characterize the age they rule.

Some but not all of the other Celestial Courtiers include:

• Tanusunoro, the happy-go-lucky raccoon dog god. His age is said to be characterized by relaxed happiness and a lessening of the political intrigue common to court of Kakuriyo.
• Okeima, the noble wolf god. His ascension is said to usher in a great age of peace as he will protect the eladrin from demons and evil spirits.
• Karasungu, the maliciously hungry crow god. Her age is said to be one of unceasing war and great bloodshed.

Cool beans. Last question and I think I've got my backstory: Languages? Pretty much out of the book?

Assuming nothings changed in the past 250 years these are the language options available to characters in this world setting.