Though a relatively new addition to the Champion Universe (in terms of his first appearance as a character), Dr. Yin Wu, the Dragon Mandarin, is one of its most dangerous, insidious, and inscrutable. His quest for power is legend among those who know of his true nature.
At the same time, the Cult of the Red Banner is a group whose evil surpasses even Dr. Yin's -- so much so that they bring out part of what little good there is in him. Their goal, the liberation of the Death Dragon, is one of the most vile of any criminal group in the world, since it would destroy all civilization as we know it. Even DEMON, if they knew of that goal, would oppose them.
This adventure covers a part of the ongoing conflict between these two formidable forces of evil. It features a number of characters from Watchers of the Dragon, and uses several from Normals Unbound for its supporting cast. A few characters, creatures, and groups from other books may also be used for additional backdrop or special options; these books include (lphabetically) Champions of the North, Classic Organizations, Enemies For Hire, The Hero Bestiary, Justice Not Law, The Ultimate Martial Artist, and VIPER. However, Watchers of the Dragon will be the only truly necessary book (other than the Champions rulebook itself, of course) to run this adventure as written.
(The adventure, as written, also features a small role for real-life movie personality Pierce Brosnan. This was done without his knowledge or permission. Mr. Brosnan, if you're reading this, I've tried to write this in a way that's both accurate and respectful to you, and I apologize for any failings on this count. Please don't sue me; I don't have any money.)
As written, the adventure assumes a PC group of 5-8 standard superheroic Champions characters, with 100 base points, up to 250 points in Disadvantages, and up to 100 points of experience. Some notes will be given after the end of the adventure on adjusting the adventure for higher- and lower-powered games, and for Dark Champions. It should take several sessions to play this adventure out; if all of the options are taken, it may take as many as six or seven, though two or three are also possible.
This adventure includes a few surprises and secrets to which players should not be privy. If you are a player and have a character who might be involved in this adventure, stop reading now. If you continue reading, your GM will come over to wherever you are and torture you mercilessly for several days. And I'll help!
It also so happens that the Dragon Shield exists in real life. (Well, not in real real life, but... well, you know what I mean. Anyway, the details of the Dragon Shield are given at the end of this text.) The legends are, of course, just as real. The artifact has been borrowed from a local museum for the movie. (If there's no appropriate museum in the area, say it's the Thorson Museum of Archæology in Hudson City.) Of course, it's used only for close-up work; for action sequences and other work where it could be damaged, a half dozen mock-ups have been made by the property masters.
Of course, the star is Pierce Brosnan (or whoever is currently starring as James Bond in the real-life films). Jocelyn Dukart (Ambrosia in Champions of the North) and Lin Chow are the "Bond Girls" of this piece, with Dukart as the villain's sexy French henchwoman and Chow as Bond's current love interest, a Chinese-American. Optionally, Rattler may also be a part of the movie, playing either one of those colorful Bond villains, or himself. Except for a few minor supporting performers, many of whom were drawn from local talent, no other actors are in the campaign city (the main villain appears only in another locale).
Behind the scenes, Ron St. John has been tapped to produce the film, on loan from his own Maverick Studios; Don Morgan (Seeker) is the martial arts coordinator, as well as Chow's "real-life" boyfriend; and Chen Wu (Gold) is costume designer, on hand on the set to work out clothing for extras and cover emergency situations. (Jennie Parker is slated to do two songs for the soundtrack, including the title sequence, but she's not on the scene for this adventure.)
The GM may, of course, feel free to add his own characters, PCs, or real-life movie personalities to this list of involved people, including replacing Jocelyn Dukart, but not any of the other above-named people. If Cindy Page is being used, for example, she'll be here with her camcorder, since two of her favorite superheroes (Ambrosia and Seeker) are involved in the movie. For that matter, if any DNPCs would be appropriate for inclusion in the cast or crew, throw them in.
While the crew has done what it can to minimize the disruption of life for the citizens of the city, the filming has necessarily raised a lot of publicity simply because of the presence of major stars like Brosnan and Dukart (this movie is Chow's big break). As a result, the filming of outdoor sequences has drawn quite a crowd of onlookers, though St. John and the rest of the cast and crew don't mind at all.
The only exception to the presence crowd is the long bicycle chase starting in Chinatown and weaving through the city's streets, in which Chow carries a prop shield while being chased by Dukart, who in turn is chased by Brosnan. This chase, which takes five days to film, should be used to establish that filming on the movie has started.
The bicycle chase culminates in the city's most recognizable (or most unusual) municipal park that is at least five miles away from Chinatown. There, a martial arts fighting sequence takes place between Brosnan and Dukart (despite the fact that neither knows any formal martial art), which Brosnan is losing until Chow rescues him by hitting Dukart in the head with the shield. This sequence takes two days to film. It also marks the beginning of the adventure from the PCs' perspective.
When this series of events occurs, the PCs may or may not be present. It's written with the assumption that they are not; the events are relayed to them later roughly as given below. If the GM can and wishes to place one or more PCs on the scene, the PCs should be allowed to alter the events however they're able to, with one exception: at the end, the Dragon Shield should end up stolen.
During the second day of filming in the park, Iron Whirlwind shows up. He has been instructed by his "father," Dr. Lin Wu, to retrieve the Dragon Shield. However, he doesn't know that a prop shield is used for action sequences, so he focuses his attention on the shield being carried by Lin Chow.
While the director is rehearsing the particular segment of the fight sequence where Chow hits Dukart with the shield, Iron Whirlwind springs up from the bushes behind Chow, strikes her down with his sword, grabs the shield, and runs away. As soon as he has a moment, however, he takes a good look at the shield -- and it doesn't exactly take an expert to tell that this shield is a fake (the weight is all wrong, and the words "Property of Universal Studios" engraved on the back is another big clue).
Where he stops just happens to be within eyeshot of the property trailer, and he sees Iron and Gold emerging with the real shield. (Since Gold is working on the film in her civilian guise of Chen Wu, she knows about the prop shields, and where the real one is stored when it's not being used. Some close-up shots were scheduled for that evening, under "artificial sun," so the real Dragon Shield was handy for the day.)
This is about the point that Seeker and Ambrosia spring into action. Not seeing Iron and Gold making their move, Seeker rips off his shirt and goes chasing after Iron Whirlwind, motivated by the latter man's attack on Lin Chow. Iron Whirlwind drops the prop shield to run away (he's been instructed to avoid capture at all costs), and turns to defend himself as Seeker draws close. Though Seeker is unarmed, he is still a better fighter than Iron Whirlwind, and will probably clean his clock within two Turns. Recognizing both this fact and that Seeker will have to leave him to help Ambrosia deal with Iron and Gold, Iron Whirlwind feigns full unconsciousness after the first solid blow after he realizes how outmaneuvered he is.
Ambrosia's dealing with Iron and Gold is somewhat less action-oriented. Since Iron is carrying the Dragon Shield, Ambrosia turns her Mind Control on him to urge him to hand it over to her. Her power is just enough to get him to do it, but Gold intervenes by grabbing the shield and running. Iron, shaken out of his controlled state, follows. Ambrosia tries to follow, attacking Gold with her Ego Attacks, but only earns Iron's wrath for her trouble. (Note: if you're not using Ambrosia, throw in some street vigilante, solo hero, or other appropriate individual, adjusting the action appropriately.)
That's when Seeker catches up with them. He first hits Iron for all he's worth, knocking him as far away from Ambrosia as possible. Then he lets the Canadian heroine deal with that villain while Seeker himself chases down Gold to retrieve the shield. Unfortunately, Gold manages to melt into the crowd before he can close the distance, and Iron similarly gets away from Ambrosia (who is hesitant about fighting him because of her fear of cutting weapons).
Of course, while all this is happening, the security force on the scene (mostly made up of conventional security guards, with some local police) herds the crowd away from the action. They get some help from Brosnan, who moves to protect innocent bystanders until St. John says something about what will happen to his insurance premiums if Brosnan gets hurt. At the same time, paramedics head straight for Chow to deal with her injury, which turns out to be less serious than at first thought. And when Seeker goes to check on Iron Whirlwind, he is (of course) gone.
Note: If the GM has contrived to have the PCs present for this theft, they may manage to prevent it. In this case, during the confusion of the battle, a conventional member of the Cult of the Red Banner who has been working undercover as a cable puller sneaks the Dragon Shield to a compatriot hiding in the crowd, who passes it to another, who passes it further.... Let it suffice to say that the Dragon Shield will be gone. Even if a PC takes personal charge of it, he'll find himself ambushed by three Red Banner Cultists (whose stats will be discussed at the end of this document). This might also be a good time for a PC's Hunter to show up and make things miserable.
When news of the theft gets out, the curator of the museum from which the Dragon Shield was borrowed will be having a proverbial cow. Even if you've already established this individual in your campaign as a particularly serene individual, this serenity will be, at best, very tenuous right now. He will absolutely insist and demand that St. John do anything and everything possible to get the shield back, or he will sue both him and the studio for some obscene amount of money. St. John decides that this includes engaging the PCs to retrieve it, and he uses whatever means is most appropriate (from hiring them to begging) to convince them to help.
Seeker will also want to help, especially since Lin Chow's injury will apparently mean that shooting will have to be suspended, at least until St. John and the director can rearrange the shooting schedule. St. John gives him leave for that evening, but tells him to report in first thing in the morning.
If any of the PCs have significant Contacts in Chinatown, the Martial World, or any other appropriate field, they should be able to find an abandoned pawnshop that the Cult of the Red Banner is rumored to be using for their meetings. If they don't have such Contacts, Seeker may have some local friends that can help in that respect, or may be able to use his famous name to get the information. Role-play out any meetings, and don't make the lead too easy to follow, but get them there.
As an option, the person who finally points them to the pawnshop can also mention "a couple of other guys" who were asking similar questions. If asked, he gives descriptions that Seeker (if nobody else) can identify as Iron Whirlwind and Golden Axe.
When they arrive at the pawnshop, use the map on page 210 of Champions for the basic layout. However, the place is a shambles. All of the furniture is demolished, and there are corpses everywhere. Only two people still survive, and unless one of the PCs has some magic or a very good Paramedic Skill, they're not going to last much longer. One regains consciousness about a minute after the PCs arrive, and the other about five minutes later; both willingly answer any questions put to them, as long as the answers won't compromise the Cult.
The obvious turn of events is that Iron Whirlwind, Golden Axe, and Golden Axe's pet tiger slaughtered the Cultists and stole the shield. This may indeed be what happened, but there are a couple of other options.
There are two other forces that might be interested in the Dragon Shield. One is DEMON (from Classic Organizations); the other is Stephen Pierce, who has connections to VIPER. Either of these two may have been the actual force behind the Red Banner massacre. DEMON would send a Morbane of the Outer Circle, with a half-dozen Demon-Warriors; VIPER would send in two or three Five-Teams, possibly with the Snake Pack for extra muscle.
(Note that use of DEMON and/or VIPER in this adventure is definitely an option. This adventure is written to have a mostly Chinese flavor to it, and these organizations spoil that flavor somewhat. On the other hand, they also increase the complexity of the adventure, and this may be desirable for some GMs. You might solve this dilemma by giving the forces a Chinese slant. For example, the Morbane might be a Ch'ing Shih from pages 32-33 of Watchers of the Dragon, with Kung Fu, a 60 point magic VPP, appropriate Chinese Sorcerer skills modeled after Dr. Yin, and possibly such abilities as hing kung and dim mak for added color. Similarly, the VIPER force could be loaded with Unarmed Combat Specialists specializing in Kung Fu, with a Chinese or Chinese-American commander.)
No matter who was behind the attack, Iron and Gold were not present; both had returned to their "civilian" lives, and in fact Iron had left the pawnshop just minutes before the massacre. The Cultists had tried to fight back, but didn't really stand a chance against their attackers. The means of the Cultists' deaths will, of course, depend on which force attacked them, but will be certain in any event.
If DEMON or VIPER was the force that massacred the Red Banner Cult, then it's always possible that the other of the pair will attack the first. (Given their respective resources, it's somewhat more likely that DEMON will attack VIPER than the other way around.) If you want this to happen, then the PCs can begin to trace down the group behind the massacre (using similar methods as before), only to find that group's base demolished by a force twice as large, and the Dragon Shield once again gone. And, in this case as well, Iron Whirlwind and Golden Axe are one step ahead of them as well, though Copper Spear has now joined them (and, one can assume, Silver Hand is on his way).
In any event, it's all of the Four Sons of the Dragon who attack DEMON or VIPER to finally take the Dragon Shield. The PCs may catch up with them at this point, if you want to run a battle between the two forces. Given that all four brothers plus Golden Axe's pet tiger are present, the PCs should lose this battle. If they win, then the next section (where the PCs trace the Four Sons' travels) should be skipped, and the following section adjusted to reflect that situation. On the other hand, if the Four Sons are winning to easily, you can have Green Dragon show up to attack Iron Whirlwind (for injuring his sister).
At any rate, by the time all this is over, it's the Four Sons who are in possession of the Dragon Shield. They start toward home.
Hunting down the Four Sons of the Dragon will be a little more difficult than it was to chase down the other forces involved in this.
Unknown to the PCs, Iron and Gold have been chasing one step beind them, using the PCs' detective work to guide their steps. The siblings are fanatically loyal to the Cult of the Red Banner, and they want vengeance on the Four Sons for the slaughter (whom they blame for it even if they're not the ones who did it). At the same time, if DEMON and/or VIPER are involved in this, they won't easily give up either.
Note that, by this time, Seeker will no longer be working with the PCs. He will give what help he can, but he is under contract to work on the movie, and Ron St. John trusts the PCs to be able to handle the situation themselves. Hopefully this trust will not be misplaced. (The same rule applies to Ambrosia, by the way, though she'll be a little less anxious to get involved in this particular case, sharing St. John's view.) In short, at this point the PCs will be on their own.
If the campaign city is San Francisco or nearby, or if it's been established that Dr. Yin Wu lives in or near the campaign city, then the following events should be skipped; go straight to the next section.
What has happened is that the Four Sons of the Dragon have each chosen a different route back to San Francisco. Copper Spear is travelling by nonstop jet; Golden Axe and his tiger are going by rail (he's presenting his usual cover as an exotic animal trainer); Iron Whirlwind is taking a bus; and Silver Hand is taking a cruise ship if the campaign is on the west coast, or a different air route (via propeller craft) otherwise. (If the campaign is taking place overseas from San Francisco -- say, in Australia -- the contrive to have the four brothers still taking four different means of transportation, two by air and the other two by sea.) While one might expect Copper Spear to be taking the Dragon Shield to his "father," since he's the Brothers' leader and the one taking the fastest means of travel, the shield is actually being transported by Silver Hand.
If the PCs are competent in tracing their travel plans, they should be allowed to catch up with either Copper Spear or Golden Axe (or, possibly, both).
If they catch up with Copper Spear, he will cooperate with any detention without a fight, but the PCs will have to let him go. He doesn't have the Dragon Shield with him, and there's no solid evidence to tie him to any crime at present. His spear is being shipped as luggage and has been declared, and transporting it is only illegal if he carries it with him or tries to keep it a secret. (If the PCs have encountered him before, there may be some outstanding warrants against him for those older crimes. In this case, his "father" will send a couple of Ch'ing-Shih or other agents to rescue him, or he may be sprung by his other three Brothers when they're all back in San Francisco.)
Golden Axe's case is a little different. The PCs may have evidence to directly tie him, or at least his tiger, to the massacre at the Red Banner Cult meeting place. If they catch up with him and confront him, he will fight back or attempt to escape. Copper Spear (who arrives ahead of him) may even show up, along with Silver Hand (if he travelled by air) and a few of their "father's" followers and creatures, to prevent his arrest, and of course having the tiger along will help the Brothers. Afterward, the PCs may find a shield hidden in the floor of the tiger's cage, but this will turn out to be the prop shield that Iron Whirlwind grabbed by mistake.
If the PCs don't track down any of the Four Brothers, then their next lead is hearing about Golden Axe and his tiger being attacked by Iron and Gold at the Amtrak station in San Francisco. The fight was brief, and no bystanders were injured. After man and tiger escaped, the siblings found the shield in the floor of the tiger's cage, discovered the prop shield, and left it behind as they made their own escape just ahead of the police.
At the end of all this activity, the Four Sons of the Dragon will be safe at home on their father's estate. The PCs, if they're worth their salt, will have followed them to San Francisco, but will be smart enough to not storm the estate.
One of the PCs may have the moxie to request an audience with Dr. Yin. Because of his personal philosophy, he has no telephone, but he is reachable by post, which takes overnight in the same city. Whether this message is sent out or not, a red sparrow comes to wherever the PCs are staying (the return address on the message, or even their base if it's in the area). The sparrow carries in its beak a small scroll tied with a red ribbon, which it drops into one character's hand (the one who wrote, or the leader). If an audience was requested, the note simply reads:
This note is signed only with an unusual Chinese character, which the PCs will only recognize if they've encountered Dr. Yin before.
If no message has been sent to Dr. Yin, the note reads as follows:
Noble Warriors,
It has come to my attention that we have been in conflict on a certain matter. It may be of interest to you to come to my estate, and learn my motivations. If you will come on the morrow, one hour before sundown, much will be made clear.
Dr. Yin Wu
He may also choose to invite only one or two of the PCs to his estate. Remember that he strongly disdains technology; if there are PCs who are dependent on technology, such as powered armor users, he will not invite that individual (though he might make an exception for, say, a cyborg who had no choice in that status, if the character has shown himself to be particularly honorable of character). Beyond this, he will tend to invite any ethnic Chinese or other characters who speak Mandarin, any formal martial artists who have shown themselves to be skilled, and the group's leader if that seems appropriate (not necessarily in that order). If you elect to take this option, simply replace the "Noble Warriors" salutation on the note with the name(s) of the PC(s) being invited.
The PCs may agree to visit or not, as they see fit. If they do not, of course, they'll miss the whole next scene, and lose out on some useful information.
Dr. Yin's estate is quite ably described in Chapter Three of Watchers of the Dragon, when Seeker visits the place in the course of that book's story. Familiarize yourself with the descriptions there, and use them when the PCs visit. They'll be escorted into the same room that Seeker visits in that story, and made to wait an amount of time appropriate to a Chinese master, but not so long as to be considered rude among Westerners (unless there's a Chinese or Chinese-American PC present who can brief the others on such points of Chinese ettiquette as gift-giving and the kowtow).
On the whole, once he arrives in the room Dr. Yin is unusually tolerant of Westerners' ignorance of Chinese customs. Rather than demand certain behavior, as is his usual practice, he will expect nothing more than basic respect and courtesy. Bringing any weapons will be considered an affront, and any powerful technological items a mild insult; the houseboy will tell the offending character of their error and ask to relieve him of the offending item for the duration of the visit (and no longer, he promises). Still, knowledge of and adherence to Chinese customs will certainly count in the PCs' favor. It will also make a good impression if all PCs who visit actually speak Mandarin, which will be the language of conversation if this is the case.
After any pleasantries are exchanged -- with tea served by a very displeased-looking Iron Whirlwind -- Dr. Yin will give the following explanation (more or less, depending on what precedes it):
"No doubt you are very curious as to the purpose behind my actions. I assure you, I instructed my sons that as few innocent people would be injured. I truly regret the injury inflicted upon Ms. Chow. As you can see," he indicates the tea, "this greivous offense is being quite properly punished. But you may be certain that, while that injury was quite unnecessary, it was for what even you would agree is a good cause.
"There is a great evil spirit which my people have called Szé Lóng, the Death Dragon. It is as vile and evil, I am sure, as any spirit you have ever encountered. Have you heard of it?"
If there is a martial-arts character present who has not heard of the Death Dragon, and the Tournament of the Dragon has not been run in your campaign, Dr. Yin will launch into the full explanation on pages 20-22 of Watchers of the Dragon. If the Tournament is in the works, this would be a good time to get that character an invitation. On the other hand, if everyone present is (for whatever reason) familiar with the Death Dragon and its story, he'll skip explanation of this part altogether. If neither of the above cases is true, he'll give the following condensed explanation of the Death Dragon:
"The Death Dragon is a great evil from the Outer World. In the ancient days of mankind, when it was called the Great Dragon of the North, some worshipped it and sacrificed to it to gain appeasement -- and power. Many of them did indeed receive great power, and became vessels of immense evil. Through them, the Death Dragon sought to corrupt and eventually destroy the whole world.
"But there were others who opposed the Death Dragon. These were the wizards and sages who sought peace and tranquility in the world. The Death Dragon, in its pride, attacked the wizards and sought to destroy them. But his overconfidence became his undoing, for the wizards had prepared a trap for him. Though many died in the Szé Lóng's attack, the trap was spring, and the Death Dragon was cast back to its home in the Spirit Plane, and imprisoned with mystic fetters."
Once he's established, by one means or another, that everyone present knows how the Death Dragon was imprisoned, he will continue:
"Szé Lóng's imprisonment did not end his worship, however. Those who had followed him, stripped of their black powers, sought to regain what they once had. To regain their sorcerous magic, however, they had to free their Dragon King, and so the Cult survived with that goal -- and no other, save perhaps vengeance on those who had imprisoned him.
"The vengeance was swift, but incomplete. Those wizards that they were able to battle died within five years at the hands of the Cult's assassins. But this numbered only a third of those who had survived the Death Dragon's attack, and those who survived gained followers in their continued quest against Szé Lóng. To this day, both of these groups still exist.
"Those who oppose Szé Lóng call ourselves the Watchers of the Dragon. The Death Dragon still asserts itself from time to time, and it is our duty to repel it.
"Those who follow it call themselves the Cult of the Dragon King. Publicly, they are identified by the red banner they fly to identify their deity. Western anthropologists call them the Cult of the Red Banner. They believe the Cult to be an innocuous philosophical and religious group. As you can surely see for yourselves by now, they are quite wrong. Even without my explanation, knowledge that the siblings Iron and Gold are servants of the Cult of the Dragon King should reveal a taste of their viciousness, as the growl of a tiger hints at its deadliness.
"And this brings us to the Dragon Shield. You may surmise that the dragon engraved on the Dragon Shield is the Death Dragon, but it is not. In all of my studies, in fact, there has been no connection between the Dragon Shield and the Death Dragon before these events into which you have been drawn. I sincerely hope -- as should you -- that this final connection brings about the events which I believe they have ordered.
"The Dragon Shield is one of five items which is required for a great spell which will harden the seals on the Death Dragon's prison. It will not bind Szé Lóng indefinitely; but instead of every sixty years, it will be able to assert itself once every seven hundred and twenty years. This will make the world a much safer place.
"I now have, as you are aware, the Dragon Shield. I also possess the Dragon Helm, the Dragon Breastplate, and the Dragon Greave. What I still require is the Dragon Sword.
"My difficulty is this. While my Four Sons have ably acquired the four items already in my possession, for rather... complex reasons, neither they nor I myself can pursue the Dragon Sword in its current holding place. The spell which uses the five Dragon Artifacts must be cast when the stars are exactly right, which they will be in ten days and not again for more than another century. I require assistance. I had thought to merely hire some mercenaries of appropriate ability, such as the Raiders, but if you would be willing to assist me in this, I would consider it a most honorable favor, which I give you my word shall be repaid -- just as Chow Lin will be properly compensated for her injury.
But I must also warn you of this: should the Cult of the Dragon King acquire even one of the five artifacts -- yes, including the Dragon Sword -- they may be able to free the Death Dragon from its imprisonment altogether, and let it roam free. That, I'm afraid, would mean a never- ending Dark Age for this world."
So far Dr. Yin has told the PCs nothing but the truth (at least, as he understands it), and anyone with the ability to detect lies -- whether as a skill, spell, device, or innate ability -- will know this.
The proverbial ball is definitely in the PCs' court. If they press the issue of the Dragon Shield, Dr. Yin will assure them that, once he has finished his spell, he will gladly return the shield to the museum to which it belongs. (Similarly, if they've managed to keep hold of the Dragon Shield, he will ask them for it, giving the same promise.) The Dragon Greave was taken from the Brotherhood of the Dragon's Fang, and so it will likewise be returned, but the Helm and Breastplate were come about by legal means and he intends to keep them. Likewise, the Dragon Sword is in the hands of someone who should not be allowed to have it, so he will keep it himself. (He won't go into further detail than that about the Sword's location without the PCs' promise of assistance.)
If the PCs wish to discuss the request in private, away from the estate, Dr. Yin will gladly give them the time they need. Until sundown the next day should not be too short of a deadline. If they have not given their agreement before then, he will simply hire the Raiders for the job.
If they agree to the job, go to the next section. If they decline or let time run out, skip to the section after that.
Once the PCs agree to retrieve the Dragon Sword for Dr. Yin, or at least hear out the details of the mission (he will be very cautious as to the nature of any compromise), he will give them a scroll with handwritten instructions as shown below. If two or more PCs, including the group's leader, have Literacy in Mandarin, then that's the language it's written in; otherwise it will be in English.
"In Singapore, there lives a man named Fu Qung-Fa. He is an investment broker, well known in that city's financial circles. He is also well known in that part of the world, as far away as Hong Kong and Manila, as a master swordsman and collector of rare swords. His is not the largest, nor most ambitious, nor most beautiful, nor even most valuable collection of swords in his part of the world. But it is quite well-known.
"The pinnacle of his collection is a display showing three swords which, at the least, are rumored to have magical properties. One is a sword he believes to be Excalibur; it is not. The second is a sabre once belonging to an Arabian prince whose name would be unfamiliar to you; the powers of this sword are inconsequential. The third sword is the Dragon Sword.
"Fu Qung-Fa is a vicious and self-centered man. That he has achieved the success he has in both the financial and Martial Arts worlds, despite his consistently uncaring attitude toward others, is an affront to humanity, both Chinese and Occidental. Like the rogue elephant which blindly charges through the village at cliffside, he causes much destruction for his own pleasure, but his own destruction will come soon enough.
"The sources of information I've used tell me that he did not come by the sword by any conventional means. It formerly was in the possession of a collector of rare Chinese artifacts in Hong Kong. After he learned that the man had the sword, he hired investigators to watch the man's life, and learned that he had a mistress whose age was somewhat less than that allowed by Hong Kong law. Thus, he gained the sword by blackmail, though he did pay a token price to make the exchange appear legal.
"How you acquire the Dragon Sword from him is entirely your own affair. I have the financial resources to reimburse you for any expenses you may incur, including whatever you find appropriate should you choose to purchase the sword from Fu. However, you should consult with me should the price exceed two million American dollars. Should you choose to simply liberate the sword from him, it and the other two 'mystical' swords are stored in a secret basement under the billiard table in his home. The billiard room is at the southeast corner of the building.
"Do not under any circumstances use magic, whether directly or through an artifact, against Mr. Fu or while in his home. He fears magical attack more than the conventional sort, and has many safeguards against magical attack. If this were not the case, either I or the organization which calls itself DEMON would have taken the sword long before now. As it stands, I am no more able to take the sword for myself than would a mouse, for even the non-magical safeguards are formidable. He has also had the ill taste to use electronic devices in the security of his home, and I have no desire to deal with these.
"Though I have directly suggested purchase, extortion, and burglary as means of obtaining the Dragon Sword, do not consider yourself limited to those options. If you can devise a means that has not occurred to me, one which better utilizes your unique skills and abilities, by all means pursue it. The details of your methods are unimportant to me. I care only to acquire the Dragon Sword.
"I wish you the best of fortune in this endeavor."
Whether the note is in English or Mandarin, it's signed with the unusual Chinese character which Yin uses as his sigil.
By this time, the "Combat Monsters" in your group may be frustrated; it's entirely possible that up to three sessions have been played without a battle! Well, let's not keep them disappointed. An assassination attempt against the PCs should get their adrenaline flowing.
Whether the PCs went home (or wherever) from Dr. Yin's estate after accepting, rejecting, or promising to think about the mission, the Cult of the Red Banner will assume that they've accepted it. It's pretty obvious (if not already demonstrated) that Iron and Gold alone are no match for all of the PCs, however, so they've hired some help: Xiu Kwan, who also calls himself Hong Kuei, the "Scarlet Demon." If even those three don't seem enough, they may add Green Dragon and/or Sodeptan (especially if one of the PCs has taken one of them as a Hunter or otherwise as a personal enemy), or provide support with a few Red Banner Cultists.
If the PCs are visitors to San Francisco, then they're probably all staying at the same hotel or motel. In this case, the attack will take place at dawn. It will also take place at dawn if the PCs live in the same city as Dr. Yin, but spend the night in the same location (such as at their base). Otherwise the attack force will wait until most or all of the PCs are together for some other reason, such as a team meeting.
The basic attack plan is this: Xiu Kwan focuses on the team's leader, while Iron and Gold cover his sides to keep others from attacking him. However, if either sibling has been humiliated by one of the heroes before, the other will want revenge, and may break ranks to get it. Green Dragon, if he's here, will likewise attack whoever he hates, but will serve a purpose by keeping that individual busy. Any Red Banner Cultists who are involved in this will solve a similar purpose (keeping a certain hero busy while Xiu Kwan, Iron, and Gold do their work).
The PCs should, of course, win this fight. Whether the villains escape or are captured should depend on their actions, and those of the PCs. If the PCs are losing badly, then feel free to send help. The most blatant form of help would be to have the Four Sons of the Dragon rescue them -- a doubly ironic event if they fought the PCs at any time earlier. If something less drastic is needed, you could have the crimefighter who Hunts Iron and Gold show up, or have a VIPER force catch up to Green Dragon as well as meet with this thread of the Quest. (And note that nobody's yet explained to the PCs why VIPER's so interested in these artificats!)
A more fitting, if less elegant, solution would be to let the PCs get rescued by the Masters of the Jade Palace of Heaven, the group described in The Ultimate Martial Artist, page 237. This is a secret society allied to the Watchers of the Dragon, specifically formed to oppose the Cult of the Red Banner (whereas the Watchers of the Dragon directly oppose the Death Dragon). If you choose to do this, then use the Generic Martial Arts Thug statistics (on page 143 of Watchers of the Dragon) for typical Masters, though one out of every five or six will be Martial Arts Lieutenants, leading the others (with Oratory and Tactics Skills). If you have The Ultimate Martial Artist, remember to give them one of the "internal" Chinese martial arts styles (Hsing-I, Pakua, Tai Ch'i, or possibly even Silken Blade Kung Fu) rather than Red Banner Style. There should also be at least three Masters present who, in place of martial arts, has a 40-point magic VPP; these three will stand at high ground and direct their spells where extra help is needed. After the rescue, the Masters just leave, though if the PCs have declined Dr. Yin's mission one of the sorcerers stays around long enough to urge them to reconsider. (They'd take the mission themselves, but they just don't have the resources to pull it off.)
On the other hand, if the PCs have possession of the shield and refused to give it to Dr. Yin when he asked for it, he will send all of his Four Sons and a collection of Chinese goblins to make sure the job gets done. This battle should be overwhelmingly balanced against the PCs; they should lose. Copper Spear extends his "father's" apologies for this desperate action (though it's quite clear that he's the only one of the Four Sons who shares this remorse).
If the PCs have refused the mission, and don't change their minds after this, then the adventure is over for them. They may hear about the Raiders carrying out the mission as originally planned, and a couple of weeks later the Dragon Shield is returned to the museum where it belongs (just as Dr. Yin had promised). They may (at the GM's discretion) receive a note similar to that shown at the end of this adventure, and may also hear about the Raiders' experience on Dragon Island, but their direct involvement in this case has come to an inglorious end.
Hopefully -- and probably against their better judgement -- the PCs will head off to Singapore to get the Dragon Sword. They may take whatever transportation they deem appropriate, from a commercial flight to their own means of transport.
Make Singapore come alive for your players! First describe the journey there, the calm North Pacific, the beautiful Hawaiian Islands (since they'll probably have to stop there for fuel if nothing else), the island-dotted South Pacific, Manila (another likely stop-over) and the lovely Philippine Islands, the serene South China Sea, the exotic vegatation on the Malay Peninsula, and finally the bustling city-state of Singapore itself. Do some research on Singapore, and drop little facts here and there to remind the players of the exotic locale that their characters are in -- not the least of which are the equatorial climate and the dominance of the Chinese language.
Once they arrive, the PCs are discretely contacted by a member of the Masters of the Jade Palace in Heaven, who are allied with Dr. Yin in his opposition to the Cult of the Red Banner. (Most likely, he'll be their bellhop at the hotel they're staying at, though you can probably come up with other possibilities as well.) This Master explains that, if they need to get a message to Dr. Yin, or have need of any other help in their quest, they should notify him.
As Dr. Yin's note suggests, they may choose any method of obtaining the sword that they wish. While he implies purchase, blackmail, and burglary as three possibilities, the players may be able to devise some fourth method, such as a Mission: Impossible type of sting operation. Be sure to give them points for creativity on this count, especially if they have an inventive plan.
Everything they've been told about Fu Qung-Fa is true. He is indeed a quite noted investment broker is this, the financial capital of the Far East. While not on anybody's list of most wealthy people in Singapore, he is wealthy enough to own his own beach estate near the west end of Singapore, not far from the border with Malaysia. He is also a very good swordsman, though not quite a true master. As anyone who has met him can attest, he is also a selfish and generally unpleasant person.
If they choose to purchase the Dragon Sword, Fu will not state that it he is willing to sell it. He will name an initial price in Singapore dollars roughly equivalent to five million US dollars at the current rate. However, he will word his statement very carefully (such as, "What would you say to a price of four and one-half million Singapore dollars?"). He wants to see how high the PCs are willing to go in their bartering.
If they bid over one million US dollars, he will be very curious as to their motives, as the Dragon Sword could not be worth more than a quarter million for its historical and cultural value alone. He'll hire whatever investigators he can afford to learn of the PCs' backgrounds and recent movements, all of which should give him ample clues as to what's going on. If he should learn of or deduce the sword's true value, he'll try to jack the price up to fifty million.
Should he learn of its value after selling it, he'll find a way to pass the information about the Sword and the identities of the people who just bought it on to one of the other parties searching for the sword (most likely VIPER). Of course, that's just one more attack that the PCs will have to deal with....
If they choose to blackmail Fu for the sword based on his means of getting it, they will want to play very carefully. Certainly blackmail is illegal in Singapore, but he committed his blackmail in Hong Kong, and anyway, where's their proof? On the other hand, they may be able to uncover some unrelated less-than-honest dealings of his and get the Dragon Sword from him that way.
Remember, though, that if they're caught, the PCs will have to pay the appropriate penalties in Singapore, or cause an "international incident" (and the latter may not be avoidable even if the PCs do take their lumps).
Even more dangerous is the prospect of burgling Fu's home. The police in Singapore may not be equipped to handle supers, but UNTIL is, and they won't hesitate to treat the PCs as supervillains, even if the PCs have a good relationship with them until now. This is also another means to an "international incident." On the other hand, it is expedient, and a bit of blackmail could keep Fu from notifying the police.
The text of Dr. Yin's note, as written above, assumes that you're using Milford Mansion (from pages C49-C51 of Champions) for the Fu mansion floorplan. You may use that or any other published floorplan, or you may make up your own. (If you move the billiard room, or hide the swords in a different spot altogether, be sure to change the text of the note accordingly.) Fu's house is decorated with a generally Chinese flavor, but it actually looks more Western than Chinese -- a fact which irritates some of his neighbors.
What the PCs were told about the house is also true; it is very well protected against magical attack. The estate around the building (but not the house) has a Persistent 10d6 Suppress Magic over it. The walls have an additional 10 DEF, 10 Mental Defense, and 10 Power Defense that work against magic only (a -1 Limitation). The locations on the Milford Mansion map that show ceiling blasters are actually modified and enchanted land mines (3d6 Killing Explosion, Penetrating, Difficult to Dispel, No Range, IAF, 1 charge) with flecks of silver liberally included in the charge, magically Triggered to go off when a magical being passes within thirteen feet (2") without an intervening wall.
Not that the conventional defenses are anything to sneeze at, either. The fence surrounding the grounds is electrified, doing a 3d6 NND Damage Shield to anyone that touches it. The alarm system is a very advanced electronic one (-5 to Security Systems Rolls), and the grounds and entire main floor are watched on a monitor system. There are also a dozen guards, including the one in the monitor room. (Use the Terrorist write-up from Justice, Not Law, Conventional Agents from VIPER, or VIPER Standard Agents from Champions. In any event they will be armed with AK-47s [2d6-1 RKA, +1 Range Mod, +3 OCV, Autofire, 30 charges, OAF], two concussion grenades [6d6 EB, Explosion, OAF, 2 charges], and two gas grenades [3d6 NND vs having to breathe, Area Effect -- 3" radius, OAF, 2 charges].) Optionally, two to four of the guards each have charge of two Doberman Pinschers (with stats on page 139 of the Hero Bestiary -- or optionally use those of Sparky the Wonder Dog in Normals Unbound).
All this shouldn't be enough to defeat the heroes, but it may keep them occupied until the police and/or UNTIL arrive.
Of course, the above description still applies if the PCs decide to storm the place instead of sneak in. The only real difference is that the authorities will be on their way that much more quickly.
As stated earlier, should the PCs come up with some other means to get the Sword, allow them some license for creativity.
They may try to use some kind of legal leverage against Fu. Use common sense on what will work, but also remember that Singapore is not part of the United States, and therefore is not subject to our Constitution (it has its own). The criminal codes of the two countries are very similar, but not identical. Something that would get laughed at in the United States just might work in Singapore, and vice versa. Though success is highly unlikely, it may just be possible to find some loophole in the law that would enable the PCs to take the Dragon Sword from Fu Qung-Fa by legal means.
By the same token, the PCs might try to convince Fu to give up the sword willingly, either by a Mission: Impossible style sting operation as mentioned before, or by some other means. Give them some leeway on this; don't let the operation go completely without a hitch (unless it's very well-planned), but don't stack the deck against them either.
If the PCs are unable to get the sword, they will have to return to the United States empty-handed. You should therefore (unless you're running a particularly realistic or gritty campaign) "bend" events slightly in their favor, so they will fail only if they do something especially stupid. Hopefully they won't end up before the Magistrate having to face charges of burglary (or worse) and winding up in ASEAN's version of Stronghold.
But let's assume that the PCs (and players) haven't completely lost their senses, and that they were successful in getting the sword. If you are using DEMON and/or VIPER in this scenario, they may face battle before they leave Singapore.
The DEMON forces will be led by the same Ch'ing-Shih as described before, with a full dozen Chinese Demon-Warriors. This battle will take place in the small hours of the morning, or in some other situation where the battle will not be witnessed by many, and they will try to kill the PCs as well as take the Dragon Sword. If the PCs have not encountered this DEMON team before, and especially if they don't yet know the true nature of DEMON, there will be a decoy team of two Demonspawn agents per PC making a frontal assault while the Ch'ing-Shih leader and two Demon-Warriors try to kidnap the PC carrying the sword. While they'll almost certainly try to kill that PC, whether they try to kill the others will depend on how much of their true nature has been revealed.
The VIPER attack will be more public, possibly taking place at the air terminal. The force will include two Five-Teams of Regular Agents, two Five-Teams of Air Force Agents, two Five-Teams of other specialist agents tailored to fit the PC team, and two Chimera Four-Man Battle Pods. They'll just try to take the sword and escape, though they may employ some kind of more subtle if a frontal attack has already been tried and failed.
If you did not have the opportunity to run the attack by Iron, Gold, and Xiu Kwan before they left the United States, now might be a good time. You could just say that the filming of the movie came to Singapore. For that matter, if all three got away last time, they could just try again now! This would also be a good time to add Green Dragon or (especially) Sodeptan to their ranks, if you didn't use them earlier. In this case, however, Seeker would be a good person to come to the PCs' rescue, possibly with Ambrosia's help. (If the attack is public, Pierce Brosnan may once again try to help protect bystanders until he's reminded that he's just as subject to getting hurt as they are.)
The Cult of the Red Banner has still not given up on getting the Dragon Sword. They have been tracking the PCs, knowing that they'll have the sword with them before they return to the United States. What they do about it depends on what kind of transportation the team is using.
The Cult is quite well equipped for taking over a commercial flight. They have members who are pilots, service personnel, and managers at most of the major world airlines. They also have several members who do a good deal of world travel. Thus, it's no problem for them to arrange for up to a dozen of their number to be on a commercial flight, whether it's a conventional flight or a chartered flight.
Soon after the flight leaves Manila, the Cultists spring into action. In addition to their usual abilities, half of them carry AK-47s (described above), while the other half carry Uzis (1d6+1 RKA, +2 OCV, Autofire, 40 shots). Remember that at least some of the crew is in on this too -- and if it's a charter flight, then all of the crew may be Cult members! They will use whatever force, threats, and other means (including Interrogation Skill) against the PCs to learn where the Dragon Sword is being carried, and retrieve it.
Their plan is that once they get the sword, one of the emergency exits is opened and all Cult members parachute off the plane. If there are civilians aboard, this means that some passengers (especially elderly ones) may experience medical problems as air rushes out of the cabin. If the PCs are alone, then they'll have to land the plane on their own (the pilot disabled the radio just before leaving).
Hopefully, though, it won't get to that point, especially if the PCs are experienced. Not only are Iron and Gold not involved in this, but neither are any other superpowered opponents (unless you want to throw in some Cult members with magical powers or who are dragon-men). The only complications will be the potential loss of air pressure, and the presence of any civilians who could get hurt in the cross-fire. (And remember that the Cultists don't care about hurting civilians!)
It's also possible that the Cultists will fail to find the Dragon Sword by this means, and force the craft to land on Dragon Island, with results as noted below.
The Cult will have a somewhat more difficult time of things if the PCs are using their own transportation. If they have a particularly well-defended vessel, some sort of teleport technology, or something equally hard to penetrate, they may give up on trying to get the Dragon Sword, at least for now. They just might also wait until the PCs disembark in San Francisco and carry out the above scenario at the airport. In this case they'll use a somewhat more powerful group than what's described above, to make up for the fact that there is no threat of a crash.
Short of that, though, they'll wait until the PCs' plane is over international waters after leaving Manila, and then approach it with four F-15 Eagles that they've acquired (possibly from Fu Qung-Fa!) and have members trained and silled in their operation. For the F-15s, use the stats on page 195 of Champions, adding the weapons of the Huey Cobra on the same page. They'll radio the PCs and try to force them to land on Dragon Island, an uncharted island in the Pacific about halfway between Manila and Guam. If the PCs refuse, the Cultists will open fire, hoping to damage them just enough to force a landing. Even if they do destroy the PCs' craft, they expect to be able to search the wreckage later.
If the PCs do land, the Cultists will use whatever force they can manage to get them off their craft, and search it until they find the Dragon Sword. If they succeed, they plan on killing the PCs (though how easy that is remains to be seen). If not, they'll use any means of interrogation at their disposal to get them to talk, until they get the sword. Even if the PCs don't talk, a Cult wizard may use Detect Magic to obtain it.
Don't hold back on what kind of forces the Cult has at their disposal in this event. It's probably going to be the final confrontation with them for quite some time. They may have Martial Arts Thugs and Lieutenants, sorcerers, and dragon-men with them. Iron and Gold may also be present, as may Xiu Kwan; Green Dragon, if he has been used here, will almost certainly be absent, though Sodeptan will almost certainly be here, and may be present even if this marks his first appearance in the adventure.
As you may notice from the write-up of the Dragon Sword, any Cultist touching the bare metal of the sword with his bare skin will set off a reaction that will not be pleasant for the Cultists. Iron, Gold, and Xiu Kwan should get away by hiding in the forest, and will probably be in no mood to fight the PCs at this point, but the PCs should be able to find their way home afterward, whether in their own craft or in "borrowed" F-15 Eagles.
By now, the PCs should be able to get back to San Francisco with the Dragon Sword in tow. (As noted elsewhere in this text, most airport security and customs will allow people to transport non-explosive weapons, such as a spear or sword, provided they have some legitimate reason for doing so. They've already had a rough visit; don't make this part a hassle. If one of the PCs has a profession such as attorney, Far East historian, martial arts instructor, or museum curator, then that should be enough for this purpose.)
If the PCs check up on Lin Chow, they will find that "an anonymous benefactor" has agreed to pay all of her medical costs, including any physical rehabilitation. They will also learn that, despite needing over three hundred stitches, her injury was relatively superficial; she's only having to spend four days away from work (which is easy enough to schedule around), though she'll have to use a stand-in for action sequences for the rest of the movie. At any rate, the only lasting effect of the whole incident will be a big white scar across her back, and she wasn't planning on doing any nude scenes anyway.
They should have no problem getting the Dragon Sword to Dr. Lin. He will greet them well, thank them, and accept the sword. He will also give them any money he owes them (in cash), and you may assign any appropriate Favors from him (to the leader, to each PC, or to the group as a whole).
A few days later, an appropriate PC (a Chinese ethnic, or the team's leader) will encounter a red sparrow, which drops a small scroll into his hand. The scroll, tied with a red ribbon, reads as follows:
Noble Warriors,
I again thank you for your assistance in the matter of the Dragon Sword. You have shown yourselves to be worthy allies. I do not expect us to be allies in the future, but when we do meet again I have no doubt that you will be equally worthy adversaries.
I am assuming that you have an interest as to the results of your efforts. They have not been altogether fruitless. However, I find that I must admit that my research was in error.
While the Dragon Sword does have some appreciable power which may be used against the Cult of the Dragon King, its four companions, including the Dragon Shield, are virtually powerless. They do have some mystic abilities, but there is nothing that is of use to me or my magics. Therefore, like seed scattered on stone, the spell which I had hoped to cast to strengthen Szé Lóng's imprisonment will be fruitless.
Do not feel that your efforts have been for nothing. At the very least, you have relieved a most unworthy man of a potentially very dangerous artifact. Those who opposed our efforts also suffered some considerable losses. (Here he will detail all of the damage suffered by the Cult of the Red Banner, plus DEMON and VIPER if they were involved, even before the PCs agreed to go after the Dragon Sword.) So while the main goal of your mission proved unfruitful, it did have a very positive effect on the world.
(Only if Stephen Pierce prompted VIPER into involvement in this scenario will this paragraph appear in Dr. Yin's note.) There is one turn of events that I had not foreseen, which you should be aware of. In Hudson City (or wherever Pierce is located in your campaign) there is a man, his name unknown to me, who has made a most vile pact with dark forces. I do not know the exact nature of these forces, but they are formidable. He has benefitted from their assistance, and now wishes to escape his contract. He has been using his connections with VIPER to collect mystical objects that might free him from his curse. While he is not truly dangerous in his own right, he is increasingly desperate as his fateful date approaches. Oppose him, aid him, or avoid him at your own discretion, but be wary of him in any event.
You should soon receive word that, as I promised, the Dragon Shield has been returned to the Thorson Museum (or whatever museum it was borrowed from). No doubt it will be once again forwarded from there to the motion picture makers who had been borrowing it. I have likewise returned the Dragon Greave to the Brotherhood of the Dragon's Fang, though I doubt that you have any contacts that could confirm this fact.
May all your paths be safe, and may your paths never cross mine in battle.
Yours Truly,
Dr. Yin Wu
Note that even if the main text of the note is in Chinese, Dr. Wu signs his note in English as well as with the pictogram that represents his name. This is the greatest act of deference and respect that the PCs will ever get from him; even the note itself is little more than a courtesy.
Two artifacts play a significant role in this adventure: the Dragon Shield and the Dragon Sword. These are detailed below. If the GM wishes, he may create statistics for the Dragon Breastplate, the Dragon Greave, and the Dragon Helm based on what's given here the Dragon Shield. However, except for the Dragon Shield, all of these artifacts are essentially taken out of play after this scenario.
Characters with appropriate Knowledge Skills covering Chinese Sorcery and/or the Death Dragon may be aware (on a Roll of either of those two Skills at -5) that, according to certain sources, a sorcerer of sufficient power who possesses all five of these artifacts may strengthen the fetters of any powerful spirit who has been bound in the Spirit Plane from this one. It so happens that this information is false, but there are no sources to tell a character this short of examining the artifacts' magical properties or actually trying the spell.
According to the legends, the Dragon Shield has many important mystic properties of its own. With it, the holder is virtually impervious to attack from spirits, and can command the obedience of certain lesser spirits. After a bit of concentration, a warrior may be able to boost his agility. Finally, even a novice holding the shield may be able to deflect incoming arrows and thrown weapons with little effort.
The Dragon Shield's write-up is as follows:
Dragon Shield: Multipower (25 points), OAF (12)
The Dragon Shield is a circular bronze shield exactly 3'5" in diameter. Its back (the side that faces the holder) is plain and smooth, but the front is intricately worked with a design of a very fearsome-looking dragon, with its mouth positioned in the center and looking like it's ready to blow flame. The border around the edge is 3" wide, and has twelve dragons that look like they may be the central dragon's offspring, and in battle-ready poses.
Legends about the Dragon Sword also abound, and accurately describe it as the most powerful of the five Dragon artifacts. It's said to be able to cut through spirit and stone equally well, and to be able even to cut through magical bindings of the mind. While not a hundred percent accurate, these descriptions are essentially true.
Writings about this artifact also suggest that it's something that should not be allowed into the hands of any worshipper of the Dragon King. Those writings are very carefully worded, however. In truth, the Dragon Sword is not a source of power for those worshippers, but a source of danger. Should any such person so much as touch the sword with his bare skin, both he and any other worshippers of the Dragon King in the vicinity (a distance of over 300 feet) will be obliterated in torturous flames of agony. Others in the area, while able to see the light and feel the heat and hear the roar of the flames, will be unaffected by them. This property of the Dragon Sword cannot be found except in the most very obscure writings (which neither Dr. Yin nor the Red Banner Cult have found).
The write-up for the Dragon Sword is as follows:
Dragon Sword (Independent, OAF):
The sword is a darn do with a steel blade and bronze hilt. The blade has an engraving on each side of a rampant Chinese dragon; if one were able to see through the blade, the two engravings would appear identical. The hilt has stylized, non-representative Chinese designs of 14th-century design.
There are a couple of options in this adventure where certain new characters may be used. A couple of them are included in the text of the adventure. Those hard to define in a single sentence are given here.
For statistics, Mr. Fu simply uses the Competent Normal character sheet on page 134 of Champions. Boost his INT and PRE to 18 each, and his SPD to 4. If you don't have The Ultimate Martial Artist, just give him the full range of Kung Fu Maneuvers from Champions (page 33); if you do, he should also have the Escape and Legsweep maneuvers, and the Blades and Staff Weapon Elements. He also has +2 Combat Skill Levels with hand-to-hand combat, +2 with Kung Fu, and +2 with swords. He has a collection of swords from around the world; in serious combat against other martial artists he will want to use a hook sword, though a butterfly sword in each hand will be preferred against supers.
He should also every possible Skill fitting to a prominent (and slightly crooked) investment broker: Acting, Bribery, Bureaucratics, Concealment, Conversation, Deduction, Forgery, Gambling, High Society, Lipreading, Oratory, Persuasion, PS: Investment Broker, Seduction, Sleight of Hand, Trading, enough appropriate Knowledge Skills to warrant Scholar, and enough good Contacts to qualify for being Well-Connected.
And don't forget his safeguards against magic! He always (even when sleeping or in the shower) wears a ring (IIF) that alerts him to the presence and location of magic (Detect Magic, Ranged, Targeting), and automatically counterattacks anyone who tries to use magic against his mind (4d6 Ego Attack, Damage Shield, 0 END Persistent, Magic Only, 4 charges). He also has a pendant (OAF) which he can activate three times a day as a personal protection against all magical attack (6d6 Suppress all magic, Personal Immunity, No Range, 3 continuing charges for 5 minutes). Finally, despite Singapore's strict gun control laws, he carries a concealed automatic pistol (1d6+1 RKA, +1 STUN Mod) with silver-coated bullets.
His Disadvantages should be pretty self-explanatory by now. Certainly he has Style Disadvantage for Kung Fu (even if he does use a "bastard" form). He is Cocky in his Martial Arts Abilities as well as Greedy, Self-Centered, and Superstitious. His ill dealings have earned him a Reputation for ruthlessness in financial circles, to go with his Reputation for viciousness in Martial Arts circles. He is also Watched by the Singapore Trade Commission. (Hunted by various people he's hurt in the past and Normal Characteristic Maxima may be added according to GM taste.)
Despite its description in both The Ultimate Martial Artist (pages 235-236) and Watchers of the Dragon (page 47), no statistics are given for a typical member of the Cult of the Red Dragon. What you can use for this depends on what books you have. The basic statistics should be those of the Martial Arts Thug on page 143 of Watchers of the Dragon, though about one in ten will use the stats for a Martial Arts Lieutenant on page 144. In either case, replace the Generic Martial Arts maneuvers with the closest equivalents from Red Banner Style on page 236 of The Ultimate Martial Artist if you have that book, or some from Kung Fu on page 33 of Champions if you don't.
The description in The Ultimate Martial Artist states that some Cult members have certain black magic powers. If you want to include this as you run the scenario, spend the unspent points from the Martial Arts Thug character sheet (and, perhaps, some of the points supposed to be spent on Skills) on appropriate spells from Dr. Yin Wu's list on pages 25-28 of Watchers of the Dragon. You might also find some appropriate tips in The Ultimate Super Mage. About one Cultist in ten will have these magic powers.
According to the description of the Cult in Watchers of the Dragon, some Cultists have allowed themselves to be transformed into man-dragon monsters. These individuals are not explicitly used in this adventure, but you may add them if you wish. For statistics, if you don't want to make something up yourself, use the statistics for a tengu on page 53 of Watchers of the Dragon, with Kenjutsu replaced with Red Banner Style and appropriate changes in weaponry. Alternately, if you have the Hero Bestiary, you can simply give a regular Cultist a Multiform into a Lesser Dragon (page 35).
Some characters may be overwhelmed by this adventure as written; others may be too powerful for it. And it may need extensive reworking for Dark Champions characters.
If the scenario is too underpowered, the most obvious solution is to add more agents to any given encounter. After all, even though most battles don't have a set need for the ending, the PCs should at least have to work for their victory. For example, instead of six VIPER Five-Teams and two Vehicles, you can double that number. You can also give some of the Red Banner Cultists certain magical powers that are useful in combat, and which can hurt the characters badly.
If a scene describes a certain force that the PCs find at a spot and then describe a potential rescue, and both seem underpowered, increase only the rescue force unless the main force seems just ridiculously overwhelmed.
The scene at Dragon Island is an important one to have the PCs lose (assuming you get to run it at all). As with agents, you can simply throw in more F-15s, or possibly give them some stolen VIPER vehicles that are more deadly. On the island, Iron, Gold, and Xiu Kwan should be enough extra muscle to add to the agents to keep the PCs quiet, and Green Dragon and Sodeptan are already suggested for added force; however, the GM may wish to include certain other mercenaries from Enemies For Hire or of his own creation just to be sure.
Other than that, the only truly awkward force to increase in power would be the Four Sons of the Dragon, when faced alone. If each brother applying his Array Aid twice and keeping the tiger on hand isn't enough to make them a challenge for the PCs, give each of them +1 SPD and +2 Combat Skill Levels with Hand-to-Hand Combat. You can also supplement their forces with some of Yin Wu's monsters.
As above, it's not really important that the PCs win any given scenario; if their lives are in danger, there are cases where a rescue force is described, but otherwise the loss of one battle won't ruin the whole scenario. Most of the time, therefore, what's written here can stand. However, you may prefer to weaken the NPC forces in at least some cases so the players feel like they at least have a chance of winning.
The easiest way to make this scenario less powerful is to reduce the number of opponents in any given scenario. Where all four Sons of the Dragon supposedly appear in an encounter, for example, perhaps Golden Axe and his tiger had to sit out because of injuries in an encounter with someone else. If an encounter describes two Red Banner Cultists per PC, make them face only three Cultists per two PCs. Tailor the encounters to fit the PC group.
Another way of helping out characters who are underpowered for the scenario is to allow Seeker and/or Ambrosia to stay with them. In Seeker's case, you may have to use a lower-powered version (say, the version from Champions Universe, if not the one from the Champions rulebook). Also, since the Four Sons of the Dragon are all Hunted by a hero team left unidentified in their published write-ups, you could have members of that team show up to help. (Personally, since Yin Wu is supposedly located in San Francisco, I recommend the Protectors from To Serve and Protect or the eventually-upcoming Champions By the Bay.)
The only exception to this need to downgrade is the encounter at Dragon Island. If you run this segment of the adventure, do not reduce the Cult's forces in any way (notwitstanding what you have to do to convert to Dark Champions). This is a case where the PCs aren't supposed to stand a chance in direct battle against the enemy, but by surrendering, they will win.
Most of the characters involved in this adventure are from Watchers of the Dragon, which has notes of its own on how to translate the characters in it to a normal, street-level game without superpowers. Likewise, VIPER has its own tips on running as a Dark Champions outfit (such as the heavy reliance on Conventional Weapons agents).
If the GM wants to use Jocelyn Dukart aka Ambrosia, just drop her mental powers (and the Disadvantages that go with them, including Hunted by Genocide), or put them into a gas gun as an OAF if you want to keep her pheromonal theme. With the points you get from that, give her Skills appropriate to a cat burglar. Her background should eliminate her connection with the Sentinels, unless you want to convert the whole team (and its background) into Dark Champions terms.
Similarly, no changes need to be made to Fu Qung-Fa himself or his home, except that the magical defenses can be eliminated.
DEMON is not really appropriate for a Dark Champions game, at least not without considerable conversion in style, substance, and motivation, especially reducing the mystic powers or eliminating them altogether. If you want to go through that conversion and use them like that, though, go right ahead.
The first real problem here, though, is motivation for this scenario in a campaign where magic does not exist. If there are no superpowers at all in your game -- including mystic powers -- then the reason for collecting the Dragon Sword practically becomes moot. After all, if it has no mystic powers, then what good is it to Yin Wu? What good would it be to the Cult of the Red Banner? What good would it be to Stephen Pierce? None of them would gain anything, or cause anyone any harm, with it.
One way to motivate the PCs into retrieving the Dragon Sword is to have the Four Sons kidnap Lin Chow, and possibly others involved in the movie (Jocelyn Dukart, Ron St. John, or even Pierce Brosnan), demanding that the PCs retrieve the Dragon Sword from Fu Qung-Fa as ransom. Thus, Dr. Yin, the Cult of the Red Banner, and Pierce may all believe in the artifacts' mystic power, but the PCs don't have to, and they doesn't even have to really be mystical.
The other big problem is with the ending on Dragon Island. The endings that bypass that island don't need to be changed, but something will have to pull the PCs' fat out of the fire once they're overwhelmed. Sending in UNTIL, United States paratroopers, or troops from some other friendly nation is one possibility; the PCs can then either sneak off with the Dragon Sword, or claim it as their own (at least, their responsibility) and leave with it under that premise. Another way to resolve this is to have one of the other forces pursuing the sword (VIPER, most likely) attack the island, and let the PCs grab the sword and escape in the confusion.
On the other hand, if you're running a mystical Dark Champions campaign, or one with at least occasional superpowers and mysticism (such as in an "Indiana Jones" style of story, where magic is big and used as a plot device only), then you only need to alter the statistics of the pre-published characters, if that much. The story can be run as written.
This adventure is © 1996-2000 by Bob Greenwade. E-mail
me if you have any comments or questions.