His face painted theatrically with whiskers, Wei Nong braced himself as the enemy's ram tore into his dragonship's portside and grapples raked into the railings. Sergeant Crane Legs, as he preferred to do combat atop stilts, signalled to him and the other three as he leaned against the shrine house.
Wei Nong and his partner then watched Long Legs sling one of the "Two Head Snakes" onto the ramming ship with his hands while the other stood atop his shoulders. The two tethered together by a length of chain, somersaulted onto the enemy's deck and leapfrogged with great jumps towards an officer haranguing his buccanneers to board the dragonship.
Wei Nong did not see the two cartwheel in circles around the commander, entangling him thoroughly and going to work on him with swords. Nor did he see Long Legs send a monkey up the other vessel's mainmast with a torch while Long Legs himself, with remarkable ease, strided aboard the pirate ship, blowing forth firey naptha across the decks and throwing a handful of darts at an opposing mage. Wei Nong and the other "Curious Rat" were busy on the underside of the other ship spiking it's rudder. Spying an aft porthole, they wiggled their way through and proceeded to set fire to the captain's cabin and the bundles of sailcloth in hold.
Description: Shou dragonships have often been targets of piracy due to the rich trading goods they carry, particularly silk, and the rarities they bring back to the Emperor's court. Dragon Temple sohei and pengs, the common footsoldiers that have defended them, oftentimes get overwhelmed by enemy boarders due to heavy armor or inadequate tactics. In the Book of War it is written: "The opponent sallies forth to take your village. Yet he does not fight well when his own home is on fire." From this teaching, the Wing Jen Sen were born.
Those showing dextrous talents and proper loyalty to the Emperor, often at Komite or other martial arts tournaments or within the ranks of the provincial, noble and colonial armies, are recruited to serve in the only military force under the Ministry of Glorious Flight. Their chief officer is Generalissimo Chian Ku Liek, a grizzled veteran who lost an eye and hand detonating an enemy ship's magazine. He is said to have a boon friendship with a ki-rin and answers to Har Pei Wei, the current Minister of Glorius Flight. Many of the officers are former piao shih, hardened caravan guardsmen that still bear bandoleers containing the trademark darts, now incendiary, of their former profession. Their numbers remain small with squads of five on board a ship serving alongside the sohei of the shrine and the pengs and perhaps a company of 100 dispersed throughout a flotilla on a given deployment.
Skilled at acrobatics, leaping and the Rat and Flea wu-shu styles which primarily rely on movement, these marines eschew armor and rely on nimbleness to bring the battle back to the boarder's vessel. From there, they set fire to sails, rigging and the hull as well as harry the enemy captains so that the dragonship may have a chance to escape. Their feats include tightrope walking/climbing to cut the booms down from a mast, then swinging to the next and tumbling while brandishing lit torches to ignite anything flammeable that they come across.
Rather than the repeating crossbow common among Shou sailors or smokepowder weapons favored by the Wa-an ashigaru, they prefer a variety of single-handed swords from the darn dien, tau kien, (Manchu) broadsword and the tai chi sword , telescopic polearms that can also be used for vaulting often mounted with a torch , the whip and various chain weapons. Weapon use is often integrated wu shu-style into their very mobile martial arts. A pair might even tether together with a chain of bladed links in a special coordinated martial arts style that rends sails, sweeps decks and engangles enemy officers, a new tactic that is finding more trainees. With a firebrand and a mouthful of spirits, they also spit to create as many fires as possible aboard the enemy ship and distract it's crew's attention from boarding the Shou vessel. They are skilled at the application of 'fierce fire oil' (naphtha or 'Greek fire') prevalent on many of the firedragons, not shy of carrying a couple skins of it aboard the enemy's vessel. A newer development is the training of pet monkeys to assist a Wing Jen Sen in creating mayhem on the opposing ship.
Not as the land-based lin kuei, of which the Royal Vagabonds are the most famous, these spry warriors instead ply their trade among the junks and dragonships of the empire to safeguard them despite their own possible abandonment as a result. Many a raider who thought the Shou were easy prize vessels have been dismayed at the sight of wiry fighters scampering across the undersides of the locked ships to pin and immobilize rudders and hurling themselves off of the upswept tail of a dragonship to cut sails, hit the deck and torch whatever is flammeable. When the dragonship cuts away the grappling lines and breaks free, the sooty-faced Wing Jen Sen is filled with immense satisfaction and promise for a generalship within the Celestial Bureaucracy.
Role: Fighters, particularly chanshi (bushi) are readily accepted into the kit. Chujen (kensai) often become instructors in the two exclusive schools. Thieves of the buccaneer kit, usually reformed wako/pirates, are sometimes recruited. Tong shu (yakuza), due to questionable allegiances, and nobles (samurai), because to court responsibilities, do not often find their way into the Wing Jen Sen. Piao shih, the original founders of the service, are now mainly in officership positions, dispatching units and seeking promising recruits. PCs abandoning a previous kit retain their previous abilites and skills provided they are able to practice them and are complementary to their new duties. As most are recruited by demonstrations of martial arts prowess, previous styles are often seen mixed with the two exclusive schools in combat.
To become a Wing Jen Sen, the character must have a Strength of 12, Constitution of 13, Dexterity of 14 and an Intelligence of 11. In abandoning this kit, the character becomes a renegade outlaw within the Shou empire that will utilize it's full resources to hunt down the individual. To assure that the styles stay within sanctioned confines, the two martial arts schools will send representatives to challenge the deserter to a death duel.
Secondary Skills: Required: Weaponsmith
Weapon Proficiencies: Required: The Wing Jen Sen must take proficiency in one of the below martial arts schools with associated weapons.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bonus: Spacemanship, Jumping, Tumbling; Recommended: Fire Building, Weaponsmithing, Spacefighting, Tightrope Walking, Animal Training (monkey)
Equipment: The Wing Jen Sen is required to purchase the equipment involved in the martial arts style and weapon proficiency chosen. No armor is allowed, though other forms of magical protection are. Incendiary devices and equipment other than smokepowder are favored as well.
Special Benefits: The Wing Jen Sen gets free basic martial arts proficiency in one of the two schools.
Curious Rat
hard/soft style
+1 AT
-2 AC
movement based (legs)
chain/rope broad group
short blades tight group
movement1, 2, 4, 5, 6
push 2
throw 1,2
mental/physical 2, 5
This style is said to have come about by a sailor on watch witnessing a pack of warf rats scurring about, invading every nook and cranny of the ship he was on. The movements are reminiscent of the bold, inquisitive creatures and the artist may often scamper about on all fours as much as stand upright to fight. Practitioners often approach from the undersides of ships, suddenly appearing behind the enemy. Principal weapons are the darn dien (Chinese shortsword), whip and the various entangling chain or rope weapons.
"Flea-Springs-and-Bites"
soft style
+1 AT
-3 AC
movement based (legs)
spears tight group
oriental blades tight group
movement 4, 1, 2, 3 (Note:"Leap" takes precedence in order of
learning)
kick 3
vital area 1
mental/physical 6
The first Shou encounters with the thri-kreen, as well as the ubitiquous vermin, inspired this newer style. Curiously, the practitioner is often in a crouched position, ready to spring away, and presenting a S size target to opponents. Bold leaps, and snapping strikes are characteristic in this style oriented to deck combat. Principal weapons are the "Manchu" broadsword and the chain spear.
Besides the standard maneuvers shown, these mental/physical maneuvers are available to both martial arts styles:
Firespitting- With a torch and holding practiced amounts of flammeable liquid in the mouth the artist can blow flame as per burning hands spell once per two levels. Effective casting level is half artist's level. The torch itself can be used to parry and strike as a half-staff weapon.
Contortion- The artist is limber enough to temporarily disjoint bones. This is used to gain entry through small portholes and hatches on a ship and escape through impasseable areas. Takes 1 rnd. to move through such obstacle.
"Two-Heads Snake" (subschool of
"Flea-Springs-and-Bites")
As above but students gain :
Lock 1, 2, 3, 4
And two other unique manuevers:
Weapon- "Chain Staff", similar to "Steel Cloth" by making chain extremely taut, it can be used as straight pole between two martial artist for vaulting. Artists of exceptional strength can even support their partner upon it.
Mental/Physical- "Two Heads-Same Mind", both artists get same initiative, whichever is best.
Students of this subschool train in tandem, one left and one right handed. A length of chain whose center links are sharp blades is attached to their belts. What would seem a disadvantaged way to fight becomes a unique combat technique with coordinated practice. Each artist can make an entangling attack or combat manuever using rolls, sudden reversals of direction and other acts of acrobatic finesse. This is in addition to their other weapon in hand. The two will often leap at great height from an enemy's yardarms to rip sails or encircle and harrass the captain fouling command and control.
Special Hindrances: As the "Marine" kit in Complete Spacefarer's Handbook. Chujen are particularly tied to training duties.
Wealth Options: As the "Marine" kit in Complete Spacefarer's Handbook.
Races: Besides humans, spacefaring korobukuru chanshi often gravitate to this service lacking the other technical skills of shipcraft. Spirit folk, tied to their own world, find such shipboard life unappealing. It is rumored that rat hegenyokai control the "Curious Rat" school, but it has kept a spotless and honest record thus far. Other hegenyokai may exist within the Wing Jen Sen but have kept their identities hidden. Gromman males are beginning to be heavily recruited due to their affinity to the martial style. Otherwise, very rarely and with great scrutiny are non-Shou allowed into the ranks of this elite force.
