Sun Forged Oath
Saner "Low Vice" Hu
Natural Philosopher
Description:
ATTRIBUTES
Strength 2
Dexterity 5
Stamina 5
Charisma 5
Manipulation 2
Appearance 2
Perception 3
Intelligence 5
Wits 5
ABILITIES
Archery 3
Athletics 1
Awareness 2
Brawl 1
Bureaucracy 2
Craft [Metalwork] 5
Craft [Artifacts] 3
Craft [Wood] 1
Craft [Alchemy] 1
Dodge 3
Integrity 3
Investigation 1
Larceny 0
Linguistics 2
Lore 4
Martial Arts 0
Medicine 2
Melee 2
Occult 5
Performance 3
Presence 3
Resistance 1
Ride 0
Sail 0
Socialize 5
Stealth 0
Survival 0
Thrown 0
War 1
SPECIALTIES
Archery (Flame)
Craft (Fine Detail)
Integrity (Obstinate)
Linguistics (Ciphers)
Occult (Sorcery)
MERITS
Allies (Fortunate Tributaries) ooo
Artifact (Sorcery-Capturing Cord) oooo
Artifact (Ward vs Demons) o
Artifact (Exorcist Tools) o
Artifact (Warding Talisman) o.
Eidetic Memory oo
Followers (Sorcerer-Technicians, Exorcists, and Sages) oo
Influence (Wise Sorcerer) oo
Influence (Teacher of Arcane Lore) o
Influence (Wise Shaman of Yuan) o
Language (Old Realm) o
Mentor (Burnt Soma) o
Mentor (Jushei Miyori)ooo
Resources (Stipends and Allowances) o
Retainer (Third Rusted Nail) oo
Retainer (Green-Maw Guardian of the Mist Grove) oo
Retainers (Spy Ring of 21 Neomah infiltrating Thorns) oo+
Retainer (Thunder Bird) oo
Retainer (Cloud Person) oo
Spirit Familiar (Ivory Shadow)ooo
INTIMACIES
Defining Principle: “Freedom. Forever.”
Defining Principle: “If it’s worth engineering, it’s worth over-engineering.”
Defining Principle: “Willful ignorance is a sin.”
Major Tie: The Artifice Department (Comradery) – major
Major Tie: Aiko (wonder)
Major Tie: The Man (instinctive distaste)
Major Tie: Resplendent Jade Elixir (Disappointment)
Major Principle: “Technology (and learning) is the way forward.”
Major Principle: “Governments should be afraid of their people.”
Major Principle: “Information wants to be free.”
Major Principle: “I’m going to change the world”
Major Principle: “Better to light a flame piece than curse the darkness.”
Major Principle: " ‘Leave well enough alone’ is ignorance and sloth"
Major Principle: “If people have more information, they will make better choices.”
Major Principle: “Hubris is just a fancy word for uppity”
Major Principle: “The Immaculate Philosophy is just Propaganda”
Major Principle “Demons are tools, nothing more”
Minor Tie: Aroku Saras (Dangerous Tool)
Minor Tie: Solid Mountain (Disgust)
Minor Tie: Bureaucratic authority (Distaste)
Minor Tie: Imperial authority (Hatred)
Minor Tie: Working classes (paternalistic protectiveness)
Minor Tie: Burnt Soma (Comradery)
Minor Tie: Burnt Soma (Respect)
Minor Tie: Cyriss, Maiden of Gears (Interest)
Minor Tie: Cyriss, Maiden of Gears (Reverence)
Minor Tie: Eagle Wind (Respect)
Minor Tie: Relentless Vanguard (Respect)
Minor Tie: Relentless Vanguard (Friendship
Minor Tie: Resplendent Jade Elixir (Admiration)
Minor Tie: Demon Cult (Distaste)
Minor Tie: Demon Cult (Condescension)
Minor Tie: Radiant Koi (Professional Respect)
Minor Tie: The Beautiful People (Suspicion)
Minor Tie: Mint By Midnight (Attraction)
Minor Tie: Mint By Midnight
Minor Tie: Subdued Summer (Friendship)
Minor Tie: Silent Flower (Respect)
Minor Tie: Four Distant Shores (Respect)
Minor Tie: Khidara Cyush (Friendship)
Minor Tie: White Hawk (Disgust)
Minor Tie: Yuan Patriarchy (Revulsion)
Minor Tie: Mental magic (dislike)
Minor Tie: Jushei Miyori (Grateful)
Minor Tie: Fair Folk (Distrust)
Minor Tie: Sharp as Talons (Respect)
Minor Tie: Singed Wing of Dawn (Dislike)
Minor Tie: Silent Peach (Approval)
Minor Tie: Bristling Tiger (Admiration)
Minor Tie: The Three (piety)
Minor Tie: The Three (cautious respect)
Minor Tie: Typhon (hate)
Minor Tie: Quiet Prayer (distaste/disgust)
Minor Principle: “Eat the rich”.
Minor Principle: “Perfect is the enemy of good…”
Minor Principle: “…But still strive for perfection.”
Minor Principle: “Information is Valuable”
CHARMS
Phantom Arrow Technique
Monkey Leap Technique
Sensory Acuity Prana
Deft Official’s Way
Flawless Handiwork Method
Bright-Forging Prana
Reed in the Wind
Watchman’s Infallible Eye
Harmonious Academic Methodology
Bottomless Wellspring Approach
Excellent Strike
Masterful Performance Exercise
Listener Swaying Arguement
Spirit-Detecting Glance
Spirit-Cutting Attack
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
Ox-Body Technique
Motive DiscerningTechnique
Energic Influence Technique
Rancor-Raising Spirit
War God Descendent
SORCERY
Sorcerous Initiation: Five Phase Harmony
Shaping Rituals:
Academic Sorcery: Five Phase Harmony is well defined and well researched, and as such is often transmitted not just master to student but also in an academic context almost as a natural philosophy. Once per story, she may perform sorcerous research and then roll (Intelligence + Lore), gaining sorcerous motes equal to the successes that last for that story’s duration. Access to a library or a mentor adds one to two bonus dice to this roll.
Pacing the Constellations: You may pace the constellations instead of a move action on a turn when you take a Shape Sorcery action. Your Defense is lowered by one, but you may roll 1 extra die, or receive +1 success on the casting of your control spell. You may additionally choose to walk more elaborate or intricate patterns, trading up to 2 initiative for dice to shape sorcery at 1:1.
Incantations and Gestures: The sorcerer channels Essence through esoteric formulae and rigorously-practiced mudras. Once per scene, when she stunts the first shape sorcery roll of a spell with invocations or mudras, she gains (stunt rating + 2) sorcerous motes towards completing the spell. Enhancing her control spell doesn’t count against this once-per-scene limit.
Soul Perfecting Elixir. You can create a magical potion with a Difficulty 2 (Intelligence + Craft) roll, or a large batch at Difficulty 4. When you drink a potion, you roll (Stamina + Occult) and gain sorcerous motes equal to the successes which last for the scene.
Dream Prophecy: When the sorcerer sleeps, her player may describe the strange visions that haunt her. She recovers no Willpower from sleep, instead rolling (Wits + Occult) and gaining one sorcerous mote per success. These motes last until the next time she sleeps, and can be spent towards any spell she casts. If the sorcerer spends all of the sorcerous motes granted by a dream casting her control spell, each counts as two motes towards meeting the spell’s cost. Once per story, the sorcerer’s player may stunt to describe how the current situation was somehow symbolized by her dreams, essentially declaring that her past dreams retroactively foreshadow the present. Doing so awards her a number of sorcerous motes equal to (her Essence x [stunt level + 1]), which last for the duration of the scene.
Spells:
Infallible Messenger (Control). Demon of the First Circle. Summon Elemental.
Sorcerous Workings:
Devil Trap in Mist Grove. Exp 1
Sorcerous Merits:
Astrology oo: As the thaumaturgical ritual Tea Reading oo save that it is enacted through consulting horoscopes, star charts, and the heavens themselves.
Exorcism oo
Words of Binding oo: (What Fire Has Wrought KS Manuscript p 417)
Dancing Air Intercession ooo
OTHER ATTRIBUTES
Willpower 8
Essence 1
Personal Motes 12
Peripheral Motes 33
ARTIFACTS
Enchanted Demon Warding Amulet
Sorcery Capturing Cord
Exorcists Tools
Ghost Warding Talisman
GEAR
Small Tool Kit.
Arcane Symbols, Tools, and Reagents.
Exceptional Flame Piece
Exceptional Flame Piece Maintenance Kit.
Writing kit.
Exceptional Chain Shirt.
Small puzzle box.
Chap Book with Dreaming Harvesting Sorcerous Ritual.
Bio:
Born and raised in Lookshy to a successful merchant, Iron Faith Hu, and a renowned artist and jeweler, Maisi Hu, Saner Hu grew up in a life of comfort, if not extravagance. A keen mind that quickly took to the family trade and fascination with the esoteric made him a natural candidate for the Academy of Fivefold Enlightenment, and thence the elite carde of sorcerer-engineers. He excelled quickly and easily in the academy, achieved recognition as a master and a doctor, and became a valued member of Lookshy’s department of Artifice.
Throughout his academic and professional career he bacame both more radical and anti-authoritarian and more sure of his superiority or at least indispensability. In truth, he was one of the finest craftsmen and sorcerers ever to work with Lookshy, but never perfectly indispensable. He had recently become more angry at the overreach of the Gens class in general, and a few nobles in particular, and worse become more vocal about it. His position was not as secure as he once thought, and a concerted political effort was made to see him removed from his post, at least temporarily.
His friends didn’t want to see him imprisoned and executed, his superiors didn’t want to loose a valuable worker permanently, and even the insulted nobles didn’t want to loose access to a valuable resource, no matter how odious. However, it was decided that it would be best for everyone involved if Saner Hu left town for a while. A pretense was fabricated about sabbaticals and foreign research opportunities while friends packed bags and spirited him out of the city, over his and his enemies protestations.
Thus it is that he came to be in Tenyou, far away from the machinations of Lookshy, investigating the ruins and sorcerous wreckage of a bygone age.