A Temple Adventure Here's how an average game might go. Bright and early, the tribunal opens for the morning. The magistrate and his lieutenants are being thoroughly bored by a report on harvests when suddenly Old Mr. Wang, the blacksmith, races in. His shop has been burglarized, and an antique statue recently uncovered by a mute traveling vagabond has been stolen. The magistrate orders the tribunal cleared, as he and the lieutenants pre pare to inspect the scene. At the shop, the particulars come out. The figurine was that of a six-armed woman, in the style of the southern barbarians. The vagabond, Hws Mao, claimed that he had found it in a haunted field, where he had slept to win a bet. Made of gilded bronze, the figure had rubies for eyes, each one worth five gold bars. Naturally Wang had not told the ruffian that. He had bar gained the man down to five copper coins (from ten). Only four others knew that the statue was in the shop. Wang had consulted the jeweler Lin Kai about removing the stones. The retired Imperist Councilor Han Ta-Ma was a collector of antiquities, and had come with his eldest son Han Ming to examine the object. Wang's assistant, Meng Lan, was the only other person who had a key to the strongbox where the statue had been stored. Meng was now missing. Wang also mentioned that Han Ming had reacted strangely to the statue. He had become agitated, licking his lips repeatedly, and had obviously wanted the statue badly. After getting a sketch of the statue, the magistrate sends our heroes out looking for Meng Lan and Hwa Mao, while he himself speak to Councilor Han and Jeweler Lin. After a few turns, the party finds Meng -- dead. His face is frozen in an exprasion of indescribable horror, but there's not a mark on hb body. Back at the tribunal, the magistrate summons Meng's spirit to testify as to how he died. Meng's ghost is incoherent and gives little help, other than the fact that he was strangled by six hands!. The magistrate decides that the statue must be cursed. Next, he summons Hwa Mao's spirit to tell about how he died, but the spirit does not appear. Apparently Mr. Hwa is still alive, but for how long? The magistrate sends his lieutenants out into the night. After a fruitless search, they meet the magistrate in a nearby resraurant for breakfast. He informs them that Lin the jeweler is still alive. Lin says he knows nothing about the statue except that the rubies are real. The magistrate tells them to search harder, and leaves. After the lieutenants dice to see who pays for the meal (a common custom, incidentally), a beggar sidles up to them. He claims that for a little money, he will tell them where to find Hwa Mao. Threatening him with the tribunal, they get the beggar to lead them to The Phoenix Inn, a shack in the bad part of town. Hwa Mao has been staying there along with various other lowlife. The moment the lieutenants enter, Hwa Mao waves wildly at them, signing that they are lieutenants, and rouses the lowlife to attack. A general melee ensues, in which the lieurenants must take Hwa Mao alive, and capture as many of the lowlifes as they can, dead or alive. If Hwa Mao escapes, the block warden grabs him in the streer (the brawl attracted his attention). In the tribunal, Hwa Mao gives his mute testimony. He had slept in a cursed battlefield in order to win a bet with his gang boss. He found the statue there. The boss had grabbed it. Three nights later the boss was dead -- strangled. Everyone thought it had been treachery -- somebody trying to take over the gang and make off with the statue. The second in command was hard pressed to keep control, but he did, for three nights. Then he died. Three nights after that, Wen, a third gang member, died, demolishing their theory of treachery. Although he'd been the best thief left in their band, Wen had not taken control of the gang, preferring to rob rather than run things. It looked as though a curse had come upon them, and the only new thing in their lives was the statue. That's why the gang had abandoned him in the night, leaving him the statue. Terrified, Hwa Mao had attempted to sell it at his earliest opportunity. Wang had taken it off his hands a day before it was due to kill again. (Bonus points if any of the characters come up with the questions "How long ago did the gang leave Mao alone with the statue?" or "What do we know about Meng's background?". By now they should be thinking along the lines of a monster killing off those who touch the statue, in order of level.) The magistrate calls in Han, Lin, and Wang, and explains the situation. Wang is terrified, and demands protection. Han is unconcerned, saying that he has a special charm of protection. Lin is also unworried, but doesn't say why. A letter from the temple indicates that no evil emanations have been found within the city. The lieutenants meet for lunch and discussion. Is the statue really cursed? Is Councilor Han really protected from harm? The wrongful arrest or death of an Imperial Councilor would ruin all their careers, but so would allowing him to die at the hands of a demon. In addition, Han seems unconcerned about his son, who might have touched the object. Why? Jeweler Lin too, is unconcerned. What is Lin hiding? Could he be a magician in disguise, or have magical defenses? As it turns out, Jeweler Lin is a mage. He knows the item is non-magical, and believes that he can handle a mundane threat. Councilor Han has been expecting a visitor. He had left Imperial service when it was discovered his son was mixed up with an evil cult, in order to 'deprogram' him. The statue is a death warrant from the cult, sent to them with Wang's unknowing help. Hwa Mao is a liar and an assassin. His whole story is a lie. He is out to kill Han and his son, and make it look like a curse got them. There are several ways to uncover all this, with the magistrate's help. A further search of Mao's things will reveal the potion he used to overcome the power of the magistrate's truth spell (his muteness is a ruse, used to mask the fact that his voice would not be heard while the potion was in use), and the device he used to strangle Meng. A trip to the capital to look up old records would uncover Councilor Han's story. A few detection spells may discover Han's and Lin's defenses. Should the characters not turn up the truth, the magistrate will eventually solve the case, sending the lieutenants to deal with the criminal Mao and any cohorts, supernatural or otherwise, and bring them in for the final judgement. The lieutenants relax afterwards in their favorite inn, spending their well-earned salary on pots of wine and boiled crab, and discussing the fine points of the case. Suddenly, a cry is heard from the kitchen.. Further Adventures The magistrate moves once every three to four years to a new district, taking his lieutenants with him, so you don't have to worry about "milking" an area dry. Have the players kill off all the monsters, then announce that the magistrate's assignment is up, and that you are moving on. You can also change the type of game by reassigning him. Don't like hack-and-slash any more? Move them all closer to the capital, and indulge in a little court intrigue. Tired of intrigue? Move them to a border district and fight monsters. Each move should increase the magistrate's level, so that he can keep up with his entourage. Eventually the magistrate is promoted to a higher rank -- first to prefect, in charge of several districts, then to a higher post such as provincial governor (runs an entire province), imperial censor (inspects trouble spots), or courtier. By choosing the promotion that best suits the way you play, you can run high level adventures in the field, in the palace, or both. Bibliography van Gulik, Robert. The Chinese Gold Murders. London: Harper and Row, 1959. van Gulik, Robert. The Chinese Lake Murders. London: Harper and Row, 1960. van Gulik, Robert. The Chinese Bell Murders. London: Harper and Row, 1958. van Gulik, Robert. The Chinese Maze Murders. London: Harper and Row, 1952. van Gulik, Robert. The Chinese Nail Murders. These five books, listed in internal chronological order, are the basic set of Judge Dee mysteries. They are an excellent look at life in the tribunal, and the mysteries contain enough details to run a hundred adventures. Other interesting books in the series are: van Gulik, Robert. The Haunted Monastery. London: Harper and Row, 1961. A look inside a Taoist temple, what goes on there, and whar can be found within. van Gulik, Robert. The Red Pavilion. London: Harper and Row 1964. An old Chinese amusement resort is the setting for this murder mystery. The seamier side of China, if you will, and an excellent setting for adventure. van Gulik, Robert. Judge Dee At Work. London: Harper and Row, 1967. Eight short stories with backgrounds ranging from military posts to a poor man's hovel. Good cross section of life. Also recommended: Five Deadly Venoms, a B-grade chop-socky which has the single redeeming quality in that it was set in a tribunal, allowing the referee to see all my article's little details in action -- in lots of action. In addition, scenes in the Star Trek TNG pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" are set in a pseudo-Chinese law court. Ignore the big moving chair. Courting the Orient: An Adventure Section 1 Back to Shadis #25 Table of Contents Back to Shadis List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master List of Magazines © Copyright 1996 by Alderac Entertainment Group This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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