A S S A S S I N S o f T I A N X I A
Among the many warring clans of the martial underworld of Tianxia (that which is called the jianghu), the cabal of assassins known as the Hundred Curses is among the most fearsome and disreputable. This patchwork organization of renegades from across the Three Kingdoms and beyond is not unified by any sense of loyalty or moral tenet other than violence and profit.
All members of the Hundred Curses are assigned wooden plaque with a number which identifies their place in the hierarchy of the clan, with the highest numbers being the strongest and most deadly. When a job is brought before the order, the clan leader Master One-Hundred chooses a killer from the ranks to fulfill the contract. Should that Curse fail in his mission, the contract may pass to the next number in line, and so on.
Accomplishing missions allows one to climb the ranks, while a Curse who fails a mission may be in danger of losing standing in the clan. When a Curse is slain, the one who recovers the fallen killer's number plaque receives a larger reward, in addition to the prize for completing their fallen comrade's mission.
The Hundred Curses were recently rocked by a nameless interloper who defeated several senior members, and challenged Master One-Hundred himself to a duel. The newcomer struck down the master handily, and took his famed Green Thunder Glaive for his own. His first act as the new Master One-Hundred was to initiate a worldwide search for the Three Blossom Society's missing secret scrolls.
It remains unknown who the new Master One-Hundred is, and why he seeks the scrolls, but some of the clan's most powerful members have been assigned to this task. They have travelled all the way to Duatha to retrieve the scrolls, and kill whoever who holds them.
The Hundred Curses were recently rocked by a nameless interloper who defeated several senior members, and challenged Master One-Hundred himself to a duel. The newcomer struck down the master handily, and took his famed Green Thunder Glaive for his own. His first act as the new Master One-Hundred was to initiate a worldwide search for the Three Blossom Society's missing secret scrolls.
It remains unknown who the new Master One-Hundred is, and why he seeks the scrolls, but some of the clan's most powerful members have been assigned to this task. They have travelled all the way to Duatha to retrieve the scrolls, and kill whoever who holds them.
D R A G O N - T A I L
Curse 076 (deceased)
Master of the Nine-League Sword
Ht: 6' / Wt: 170 / Hair: black / Age: 40 / Eyes: brown / Creed: Yang
Dragon-Tail is a tall middle-aged Eastern man with an upright posture, lean features, and a stern countenance.He wears dark-coloured travelling robes with a refined cut. He has a pointed, well-maintained beard, and his long hair is collected in a neat bun under his wide-brimmed straw hat. In his hand is a wooden walking staff, some seven feet in length, and bound with leather bands.
In truth, the tall staff is the scabbard for his weapon, the Nine-League-Sword. This sword has a long, lightweight, flexible blade, and Dragon-Tail is exceptionally skilled at manipulating its range and ductile qualities to bypass enemy defenses. In his hands, the blade can be serpentine and unpredictable one moment, and as rigid as a lance the next.
Additionally, Dragon-Tail is proficient in chi projection. He is able to focus his chi through his sword to create waves of lacerating energy capable of cutting targets up to 30ft away.
Dragon-Tail is an elitist at heart, and considers himself a gentleman martial-artist who stands above many of his fellow assassins in the Hundred Curses. However, in truth, he is little more than a treacherous opportunist who uses misdirection and tricks to gain the upper hand in combat.
Additionally, Dragon-Tail is proficient in chi projection. He is able to focus his chi through his sword to create waves of lacerating energy capable of cutting targets up to 30ft away.
Dragon-Tail is an elitist at heart, and considers himself a gentleman martial-artist who stands above many of his fellow assassins in the Hundred Curses. However, in truth, he is little more than a treacherous opportunist who uses misdirection and tricks to gain the upper hand in combat.
Dragon Tail was defeated by Mad Jack Tyrsson in their first meeting in a burning warehouse in Kronaca, but managed to flee. He later challenged him again in an ambush on the streets of Ladroa, but was unable to escape Tyrsson's blade a second time.
I R O N W I N D
Curse 075 (deceased)
Master of the Phoenix Wing Fans
Ht: 5'8 / Wt: 160 / Hair: black / Age: 30 / Eyes: brown / Creed: Jyongyu
Iron Wind is an average-sized man dressed in opulent style and elaborate oriental garments. In spite of his attire, all his affected splendor comes off as shabby and faintly grotesque. His clothes are wrinkled, the colours are too gaudy, and his overstated hairstyle is ill-kept and frayed.
His face is sour, pudgy, and unattractive, and overladen with courtly powders that make him look more sickly than stately. He smells of perfumed rancidity, like moldering fruit, and louche manners are effete and overly performative.
He often wears a wry smile as he fans himself with a humorously oversized folding-fan, which is decorated with painted flowers on a black background. In his sleeve, he keeps a second, matching fan in reserve...
He often wears a wry smile as he fans himself with a humorously oversized folding-fan, which is decorated with painted flowers on a black background. In his sleeve, he keeps a second, matching fan in reserve...
In spite of his clownish appearance and pretentious style, Iron Wind is nonetheless a deadly assassin. The Phoenix Wing Fans are vicious weapons which can expand to deploy a fringe of sharp blades. Each can unfold into a full circle, permitting him to wield them like razor-edged shields.
Iron Wind prefers to fight defensively, and attacks at a distance. His most devastating tactic is to hurl one of his circular fans like a spinning discus, cutting down anyone in its path. He propels and controls the flight of these spinning blades with his focused chi energy, and can command them to return to his hand at will. However, he avoids throwing both fans at once, preferring to keep one in-hand for defense and close combat if needed.
Iron Wind engaged Korvuus and Lonzo in combat in the streets of Kronaca. Stunned by a pistol wound from Lonzo, he was unable to catch the returning fan he had thrown, and was decapitated by his own weapon.
G H O S T H A N D
Curse 081 (deceased)
Master of the Eight-Ghost Sword-Juggling Style
Ht: 5'7 / Wt: 150 / Hair: bald / Age: 30 / Eyes: brown / Creed: Oyama
Ghost Hand is a smirking bald man of slight build with a long scar across his scalp. He is dressed in a black Oyama-style tunic and trousers printed with a pattern of grinning white skulls. He wears armour made of lightweight black-laquered metal plates bound snugly to his body. In Ladroa, he wears a simple white mask, featureless but for the eyelets and a crescent-shaped smile.
Most notably of all, he wears an abundance of swords around his body - two on each hip, and four more crossed on his back. The swords are mostly all of Eastern style, but are of different designs, both curved and straight.
Ghost Hand is a fast-draw expert, and can deploy a sword in the blink of an eye. He is also able to snatch knives or arrows out of the air with startling speed and accuracy, and send them back in the direction they came.
However, his most outlandish skill is a form of sword-juggling, wherein he uses a sword in each hand to spin and control other swords in the air, sending them hurtling towards his enemies, or catching them again on the rebound. With as many as four swords in play at a time, he has an uncanny awareness of where every sword is at all times. He can easily maintain a whirling flurry of blades even in the heat of battle, as if the extra swords were being wielded by ghostly hands. His opponents usually have much greater difficulty tracking these blades, at least until they find one buried in their own neck.
When working in tandem with his partner, Black Wasp, these two sword jugglers can create a deadly storm of flying blades in a constant volley between them, with their hapless targets in the middle, being cut to ribbons.
Ghost Hand and Black Wasp were both slain during their ambush on Kuan and his companions in the crowded Mercado Largo of Ladroa. Many innocent bystanders were caught in the crossfire of this battle.
B L A C K W A S P
Curse 082 (deceased)
Mistress of the Steel Swarm
Black Wasp is an attractive Eastern woman with a scar under her left eye and short-cropped black hair with dyed purple tips. She wears a short black kimono and baggy trousers printed with white flying insects. Over this, she wears light armour made of overlapping black leather plates similar in style to her partner Ghost Hand. Covering her face is a simple white mask with only eyelets and a deep semi-circular frown.
On each hip, she carries a lightweight sword that tapers to a hooked tip. Arranged on her back is a spoke-wheel-like array of several dozen stiletto blades, each 12 inches long, with a small ring on the pommel.
Using the curled ends of her paired swords, she can hook the stilettos behind her back and hurl them at targets with tremendous speed and accuracy. In addition to maintaining a relentless barrage of blades, she is also a skilled blade-juggler like Ghost Hand, and is adept at deflecting, controlling, and redirecting any sharp objects that come her way.
Using the curled ends of her paired swords, she can hook the stilettos behind her back and hurl them at targets with tremendous speed and accuracy. In addition to maintaining a relentless barrage of blades, she is also a skilled blade-juggler like Ghost Hand, and is adept at deflecting, controlling, and redirecting any sharp objects that come her way.
Ghost Hand and Black Wasp were both slain during their ambush on Kuan and his companions in the crowded Mercado Largo of Ladroa. Many innocent bystanders were caught in the crossfire of this battle.
S N A K E S K I N D E V I L
Curse 087 (deceased)
Master of the Flying Serpent Fangs
Ht: 5'10 / Wt: 180 / Hair: black / Age: 30 / Eyes: brown / Creed: Zhu
A man in his 30s with a gaunt face, sunken eyes, and a sickly smile. He wears a tattered hood over a metal cap that covers part of his scalp, with matted hair spilling from underneath. His trousers and loose, wide-sleeved tunic are crisscrossed with deep slashes. Beneath his garments, his skin appears to be scaled in a serpentine diamond pattern.
His signature weapons are the Flying Serpent Fangs, two broad-bladed daggers, each of which is attached to his wrist by a fine coiled chain. Not only can these blades be whirled around his body in a manner similar to a rope-dart, but also, every link in the chain tethers is finely-toothed in such a way that they can slice through flesh (and even bone) if they should ever entangle an enemy. One of Snakeskin Devil's favourite techniques is to loop a chain around an enemy's neck, and then sever the head with one firm yank.
What first resembles reptilian scales on his skin is actually an ingenious undersuit of fine wire mesh made of an extremely durable metal. The strands of this mesh provide him with excellent resistance against slashes and cuts, which is both useful in combat, and also essential to protect his own body against the razor-sharp cutting power of his own chains.
Even among the Hundred Curses, Snakeskin Devil considered a freak, one who approaches his grisly work with a sickening glee. He also practices a rare martial-art style that stresses stealth, speed, and creepy low-to-the-ground, snakelike movements. This makes him extremely slippery and difficult to contain.
Even among the Hundred Curses, Snakeskin Devil considered a freak, one who approaches his grisly work with a sickening glee. He also practices a rare martial-art style that stresses stealth, speed, and creepy low-to-the-ground, snakelike movements. This makes him extremely slippery and difficult to contain.
Snakeskin Devil was slain when he ambushed Kuan and his companions in the Ladroa Bosque after the incident at the Butterfly Garden brothel. Before finding his true prey, he murdered several Ladroa Watchmen, seemingly for no other reason than his own sadistic amusement.
T H E S H O E - M O N G E R
Shing YenYen - Curse 078 (deceased)
Master of the Spiral-Step Cut
Ht: 5'7 / Wt: 150 / Hair: black / Age: 24 / Eyes: brown / Creed: Huan
Shing YenYen, the assassin called the Shoe-Monger, is a lean, muscular, beardless man in his early 20s with an impudent grin. His bronzed chest is usually bared, and he dresses as a common porter in baggy trousers, a shirt tied at his waist, and a loose turban containing unkempt hair. A single metal earring dangles from a short chain.
Across his shoulders, he typically carries a 7ft pole, over which are hung shoes, boots, and sandals of various sizes and styles. Even for used, slightly-spattered shoes, his prices are very low.
Tucked into his sash behind his back is the Log-Cutter, a heavy, 2-foot-long cleaver-like blade, with saw-like serrations along its edge. This weapon was taken as a souvenir from Chopper Ko, a noted ganglord in Shing's home city of Ma Tsu. It looks awkward and cumbersome, and too robust for someone of the Shoe-Monger's slight frame.
Young Shing was taught the Spiral Step by a fallen master named Drunkard Chu. This low stance makes use of rapid spinning movements to dodge around enemies and add power to strikes. By using this technique to whirl his entire body, Shing has synthesized a method for using the heavy Log-Cutter blade with terrifying speed and power.
Across his shoulders, he typically carries a 7ft pole, over which are hung shoes, boots, and sandals of various sizes and styles. Even for used, slightly-spattered shoes, his prices are very low.
Tucked into his sash behind his back is the Log-Cutter, a heavy, 2-foot-long cleaver-like blade, with saw-like serrations along its edge. This weapon was taken as a souvenir from Chopper Ko, a noted ganglord in Shing's home city of Ma Tsu. It looks awkward and cumbersome, and too robust for someone of the Shoe-Monger's slight frame.
Young Shing was taught the Spiral Step by a fallen master named Drunkard Chu. This low stance makes use of rapid spinning movements to dodge around enemies and add power to strikes. By using this technique to whirl his entire body, Shing has synthesized a method for using the heavy Log-Cutter blade with terrifying speed and power.
At his core, Shing is a crude, cocky, street tough. He worships speed and is callous towards anyone who can't keep up with him. The nature of his technique makes him extremely hard to track or pin down in combat. Once he closes distance with his foes, the Log-cutter delivers such a powerful cutting stroke that it can sever a limb in a single pass. It is his cruel talent for taking off legs just below the knee that has become his signature.
Shing's father was a shoe peddler in Ma Tsu. His dying wish was for his son to carry on the family business as a way of keeping him out of the local gangs. Now, despite being one of the Huan's kingdom's most fearsome killers, the Shoe-Monger fulfills his filial promise in his own way... by selling off the shoes from those legs he cuts off.
After learning Kuan would bring the Third Scripture to Ladroa, the Shoe-Monger waited in the city for him. During this time, he took a side job from Lorentino di Magappi to exterminate any of the Reborn in Darkness cult still occupying the Grey Lodge. He later stalked and nearly killed Kuan in a backstreet ambush, but the monk managed to escape across the rooftops.Some time afterward, the Shoe-Monger teamed up with Dragon-Tail to intercept Kuan's companions in the Ladroa Puerto. He narrowly defeated Kuan a second time, but was captured by Jack and Kian, who decided to cut off his legs, just as he had done to so many others. He was soon after handed over to Mariscal Gorgones to stand trial. He is believed to have been executed for his crimes
R E D R A I N
Curse 091
The Killer Who Walks in his Own Shadow
Ht: 5'9 / Wt: 155 / Hair: black / Age: 40 / Eyes: brown / Creed: Zhu
A plain, wry-faced man of average height, with a scruffy layer of stubble, and hair loosely arranged in a topknot. His robes are well-worn, and he wears the shabby remains of a old scale-mail mantle draped over his shoulders. In one hand, he carries a large parasol covered with lacquered black canvas,
Red Rain is one of the top-ten assassins in the Hundred Curses clan, although little is known about his origins. It is rumoured that he is not a man, but an evil spirit. He often seems to simply appear out of the ether, accompanied by a heavy scent of fresh blood. It is rare that anyone ever sees him arrive or depart, but some claim to have seen him flying through the air like a ghost, his parasol bearing him aloft on the wind.
He is famed for the Hell Parasol, an exotic weapon with an unusual appearance and style. This folding parasol is wrought of sturdy steel, with struts like razor-sharp shears. In spite of the weight of the weapon, Red Rain wields it with great skill, as if it weighed no more than a normal parasol. By almost imperceptibly spinning the handle of the Hell parasol in his grip, Red Rain turns the its rim into a humming cutting edge, capable of slicing through muscle and bone quite easily.
Red Rain's gaze is perpetually downcast, and he wears an expression of morbid disinterest -- though this should not be taken to indicate that he is unwary. It is said that when Red Rain makes eye contact with someone, their death is a certainty.
He is famed for the Hell Parasol, an exotic weapon with an unusual appearance and style. This folding parasol is wrought of sturdy steel, with struts like razor-sharp shears. In spite of the weight of the weapon, Red Rain wields it with great skill, as if it weighed no more than a normal parasol. By almost imperceptibly spinning the handle of the Hell parasol in his grip, Red Rain turns the its rim into a humming cutting edge, capable of slicing through muscle and bone quite easily.
Red Rain's gaze is perpetually downcast, and he wears an expression of morbid disinterest -- though this should not be taken to indicate that he is unwary. It is said that when Red Rain makes eye contact with someone, their death is a certainty.
Red Rain's motives are mysterious even to his fellow Curses. Rather than taking the opportunity to challenge Kuan for the Third Scripture, he instead followed Kuan to Ladroa, letting the monk lead him to the Divine-Faced Hero, Feng Yaoshi.
When Feng Yaoshi was poisoned by an unknown assailant using the Saint's Palm technique, Red Rain became dispirited, stating that Feng had once been his brother, but then betrayed him by seducing his wife. Unable to claim his revenge, he lost interest in the Third Scripture, and left Kuan alone.
While Kuan was a prisoner in the Carcelario of Ladroa, Red Rain intervened when mysterious agents attempted to steal the Scripture from Mariscal custody. In the ensuing clash, Red Rain mortally wounded the Mariscal Saltamontes, but was injured himself in combat with Kuan and Jack Tyrsson.
Red Rain was present when Dragon-Tail and the Shoemonger failed to take the Scripture from Kuan in an ambush on the streets on Ladroa. He observed the battle from a distance but did not participate in the fighting. He remains at large.
S C H O L A R W U
Curse 089
August Master of the Weasel-Tail Glaive
Ht: 6' / Wt: 170 / Hair: grey / Age: 65 / Eyes: brown / Creed: Yang
“Scholar Wu is an honorable, cultivated man. The only reason he rests at Number 89 is because he truly seeks only to perfect his skills. He takes contracts if they interest him, and prefers not to sully his blade on those who are unworthy. I suppose it would be an honour for a wretch like me to be killed by him.”
- Red Rain
The Curse known as Scholar Wu 089 is in fact Wu Fa Wenzhao, a famous calligraphist, formerly employed by the Yang Emperor.
He is a tall, erudite man with steely grey hair in a tidy topknot, and a well-groomed beard. He is finely attired in elegant-but-austere robes, with a jade brooch hanging from his belt that indicates his status as an artist esteemed by the imperial court.
Wu Fa Wenzhao was from a family of means, but was too talented to remain idle. Rather than studying for the Imperial Service Exams and obtaining a court post, he was instead invited to study under the Immortal Sages in the mountains of Zhu when he was still just a child.
He returned to the secular world as a talented young man, and became a celebrated genius of his art. His skill with the brush was widely admired, and eventually won him a position as the Emperor’s personal calligrapher.
By the time Wu Fa Wenzhao turned forty, the Yang Emperor had named him a peer of heaven for his mastery of the craft. It was even believed that the Heavenly Prince Shao Zi had conferred immortality upon him in recognition of his divine art.
However, years after receiving these accolades, he retreated from public life. He turned his back on the pursuit of calligraphy and left his position at the Imperial Palace. It was said that he no longer found joy in the brush, for he had nothing left to learn. For this reason, he would need to begin again, and seek perfection in some other form.
Scholar Wu tracked Kuan Yang to the Principality of Auspenheim, where he invited the monk to a duel on the frozen Zauber Lake. Prior to the duel, Wu painted a large scroll for the classical Yang poem Sunset at the Black Tortoise Gate.Wu dominated the duel, and at a pivotal moment it became clear that he was mainly toying with Kuan, as his principal focus was carving calligraphic characters into the surface of the lake such that they would fill with Kuan's blood and eventually spell out the afore-mentioned poem.
Due to magical interference from his comrade Korvuus, Kuan was able to turn the tide of the duel. Wu's poem was ruined and his dignity gravely wounded in the ensuing fight. When Kuan learned of Korvuus' interference, he acknowledged to Wu that his victory was false.
Dispirited by the experience, Wu condemned his own hubris in creating an impure fighting style that was too dependent on his pride as a calligrapher, and he apologized for not facing Kuan in earnest as he should have. He announced that he would begin his training anew, but promised that he and Kuan would finish their duel some day in the future. He surrendered his Weasel-Tail Glaive to Kuan, and encouraged him to train well so he would be ready for their next match. His current whereabouts are unknown.
N O T C H - B L A D E
Curse 093
Master of the Pig-Killing Sword
Ht: ? / Wt: ? / Hair: ? / Age: ? / Eyes: ? / Creed: Yang
“He’s got no technique, no clan, no school. He’s like… just some fucking bumpkin who picked up a busted old sword one day, and started killing real martial artists. You can’t read him, can’t hit him, and you definitely can’t fucking parry him. That’s why they hate him - he shows us that all our magic powers, fancy clans, and secret styles ain’t worth shit. It’s a good thing he’s stupid as hell, otherwise he’d probably be here already.”- Shing YenYen the Shoe-Monger
“We all have unclean hands. For Notch-Blade, it just never occurs to him to rinse away that filth. He is a simpler creature than any of us, and I must envy his contentment. Facing him is like standing next to a rotten tree in a windstorm. Or approaching a rabid dog chained to a post. There is nothing to be gained from it. It is better simply not to be in the way."- Red Rain
