In 2012 I ran my first Fate game using the Dresden Files RPG setting/rules. The game was closer in nature to Supernatural, with the players driving across the US in “cool cars” solving mysteries and hunting monsters. One of the NPCs became a regular guest star, allowing me to play a GM PC. This is the write-up of Ashley Jiang Song, party girl and monster hunter.
Ashley Jiang Song
Age: 23
Template: Champion of the Ancient
High Concept: Warrior-Child of a Dynasty
Trouble: Having Fun Is More Fun Than Working
Background
2nd-born of a Hunter and Alchemist, Ashley trained but wasn’t expected to continue the fight. As such, she had the freedom to socialize that her brother didn’t.
Aspect: Party-Girl and Social Butterfly
Example Invoke: Ingratiate yourself with a party crowd
Example Consequence: Shirk duties in favor of a party or socialization
Rising Conflict
When her brother was slain, honor fell to her to fight the monsters. The sword of her family was in her hands.
Aspect: My Family’s Sword
Example Invoke: Channel strength or will through the sword
Example Consequence: Be recognized by the enemy as a specific type of threat
First Story: Chinese Takeaway
Revenging her brother put her up against a Huli jing (fox spirit). The trickster was difficult and Song nearly perished. Now she packs her car with equipment for everything–be it for a hunt or a party.
Aspect: Equipped for Everything
Example Invoke: Have the right tool for the job
Example Consequence: What you’re looking for isn’t always easy to find in the clutter
Second Story: Oh, China Girl
A Yaoguai, in orangutan form, was kidnapping Chinese girls and devouring them, apparently trying to find one who was holy enough to grant them immortality through consumption. Without stopping to plan Ashley allowed herself to be captured and fight the demon directly the moment it was in view.
Aspect: Act First, Think Later
Example Invoke: Act first and fastest
Example Consequence: Be too busy acting first you miss something important
Third Story: China Grove
Ashley’s parents gave her a lot of leeway in her youth, as they watched more closely over her brother. With his death and her embrace as a hunter, fighting for the honor of her ancestors, her parents often now take a closer look at her life and lifestyle. And Ashley does her best not to disappoint them.
Aspect: For the Honor of my Parents
Example Invoke: Give yourself a boost of encouragement/stamina to please your parents
Example Consequence: Push yourself too hard or in the wrong direction under the pressure of living up to your parent’s expectations
Background
Ashley Jiang Song was born in the heart of Los Angeles’s Chinatown. Her brother, James Jiang Zhuang, was four years older and, as the eldest male in the family, was destined with the honor to wield Jiao Qing Long, a sword passed to the eldest surviving male family member (or eldest female in the rare case of no male) in order to protect the people against monsters. Though it was Ashley’s brother who would wield the family sword, she was still trained–as all family members had been for generations–so she could help the people and defender herself against monsters; even if it seemed only a handful of people on the planet believed in monsters anymore.
Modern morals and behaviors will find their way into even the most traditional of homes and, as a child of the late 80’s in Las Angeles, Ashley was granted freedoms that her duty-bound brother could not have. She had an active social life and many friends; in her teens she discovered joys in shopping malls and dance clubs. Ashley found she could use her attractiveness as its own sort of martial art, to get what she wanted from boys–but without the disrupting any social circles or appearing “sluttish.” Not even her parents seemed to worry about their darling daughter. The world was her oyster.
She enjoyed a pleasurable lifestyle, but also grew up at the feet of her parents. She was not blind to the world most never saw. Her father, Gan, was a Hunter and her mother, Yue, an Alchemist. They met in China in the late 1970’s when Gan was tracking down a Sorceress. Enamored with the Sorceress’s beauty, Gan spent time helping the Sorceress close the Gateway to the Other World instead of dispatching her. A practitioner of alchemy, the Sorceress kept many of her skills and would be a target to other Hunters and warriors–especially in China. The two married and, with the blessing of Gan’s family, moved to Los Angeles, where they would protect Little China with Jiao Qing Long. Gan’s brother, was entrusted with a new sword, forged in the same ancient methods as original and with the mystical help of Yue. This sword was the Wei Qing Long (Tail of the Azure Dragon) and would be the new defender of the old world. The couple set up an exotic herbs and acupuncture shop in Chinatown; James was born two years following the move and Ashley was brought into the world four years after that.
Little China was home to many fiends and creatures unheard of by most other Hunters. China had brought their own monsters with it. Gan had much to do. Though few American Hunters ventured into Little China, Gan was active throughout L.A. and made friends in the loose-knit community. He made no friend better than Native American Elijah Morsette, who Ashley and her brother knew as “Uncle Moose”. Moose always had a story and a gift from an exotic part of the world when he visited and loved talking about “critters,” as he called them.
Ashley’s more care-free life changed last year when brother was slain by a trickster spirit. As the eldest, indeed the only, child it became her duty to wield the family sword and take the role of a Hunter. It was rare for a female to wield the sword, but it wasn’t unprecedented. Ashley’s own grandmother, Mei, was born into the Song family and was the last remaining carrier of the sword before her children.
The new warrior nearly succumbed to her brother’s fate but, thanks to having the right equipment at the right time, managed to not only survive but also dispatch the Huli jing. This cemented the idea that she’d need to always have the right gear on hand. She sold her small two-door car in favor of a Honda Element and began a shopping spree for applicable gear (and a cute new dress). Always a savvy shopper, Ashley was able to pick up some unique items without maxing out her credit cards. The back of her new vehicle is a mess of hunting equipment, survival gear and party dresses and shoes.
Family Sword: Jiao Qing Long
The Jiao Qing Long (Horn of the Azure Dragon) is a jian (double-edged straight sword) forged in the later years of the Tang Dynasty (around 904 AD). Its blade has a bluish tint and the pommel depicts the Azure Dragon sigil.
Base Refresh: 8
Total Refresh: 4
Skills
Superb:
Great: Presence, Rapport, Weapons
Good: Contacts, Empathy, Endurance
Fair: Athletics, Fists, Scholarship
Average: Guns, Resources, Stealth
Powers & Stunts [-0]
Stunt: Sex Appeal (+2 to Rapport rolls when attempting to seduce)
Stunt: Teflon Persona (+1 armor against social attacks)
Stunt: Power Shopper (+2 to Resources rolls when shopping, provides a discount to purchases)
Stunt: Wall of Death (Can attack multiple enemies with a melee weapon at once–see spray attacks on p326)
Stress Tracks
Physical 000
Mental 00
Social 0000
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