The Story
The Jade Kingdom
The Jade Kingdom is a traditional monarchy led by
Lord Sri Brana, a charismatic and flamboyant king
who for many years has ruled the many small groups
living in the Gulf of the Moon. This area once was
dominated by the opium trade but is now ruled by the
aristocracy. The aristocrats maintain their country’s
autonomy with trade agreements for some of their
plentiful resources such as spice and hardwoods. It
is a land of tall jungle-covered mountains stepping
down to wide, rich river plains. Mysticism is deeply
engrained here, including tales of magical empires
long lost to the inroads of jungle and ocean.
The Jade Kingdom has declared war on the Shadow Clan in order
to protect its shipping channels. At the same time, warlord Shao
Lung was organizing the fractured states in the north into the Iron
Empire. Lord Brana hopes to rid himself of the pesky Shadow Clan
first and then turn his attention full force against the Iron Empire,
rather than attempt to tackle both problems at once. He laughed at
the first attempts of the Iron Empire. He is sure it will be a simple
matter to put them back in their place. Unfortunately, Lord Brana
may have underestimated the situation.
Jade Kingdom Boats
Jade Kingdom boats are adapted from junks and sampans and their
weapons are haphazard at best. On the other hand, they do know
their jungle rivers well and are more numerous than other factions.
The sampans are relatively slow on the water but do carry some
weapons that make them a threat. These
include chain guns, rocket launchers, mine
launchers, and torpedo launchers. The
smaller-class sampans are easy to
destroy with weapons or even by
crashing your Shadow Clan boat
right through their flimsy
wooden hulls. The larger
sampans can take more
of a beating.
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Your name is Shao Kai. You were formerly a
lieutenant with the Northern League, but thanks
to Ped Zeng, leader and warlord of the Shadow
Clan, you have been rescued. Your rescue comes
with a price. In exchange for your life you have
been conscripted into the Shadow Clan for your
skippering expertise to fight against the
Shadow Clan’s enemies: the Jade Kingdom
and the Iron Empire.
Your new Shadow Clan allies, an informal
collective of young freedom-loving raiders, are
out to seek fortune and infamy. Many of them
are exiles and refugees from parts of the mainland, having fled
to the tropical archipelagos of the Shadow Islands along the
Dragon Sea’s southern and eastern edges.
Though not malicious or bloodthirsty, the Shadow Clan lives a life
of freedom through piracy, trading, and smuggling, especially by
picking off Jade Kingdom freighters loaded with goods from the
Jade Kingdom’s wealthy merchant class. This makes
them a persistent thorn in the side of the Jade
Kingdom’s leader, Lord Sri Brana.
Shadow Clan boats are swift and their captains
bold—this is how they make up for their relatively
light armament and weaponry, and lesser
numbers. Ped Zeng has put to sea his entire
Shadow Clan fleet and declared open season
on any Jade Kingdom boats that threaten his
livelihood. He is a wise and cavalier sea rogue,
in love with the good life but intent on
maintaining Clan sovereignty in the Dragon
Sea. On the other hand, because of the
increasing threat from the Iron Empire, Ped has
instructed his men to fight or flee Iron Empire
boats at their own discretion, and risk.
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