Fame: "Ah yes, I recall Patience Meng. Young 'Longing- for-the-mountain,' yes? One of the finest minds of all Shen Zhou, but quite literally a man before his time! If you've ever wondered what the greatest sages do before they retire to the mountains as old wise men, and actually begin their careers as great sages, well, this is it. They enter the Wulin and wait as patiently as they can for the years to turn their hair appropriately white!
He's hardly idling, though. As sad as it is for him to be a young man, and not yet a wizened old master, he's putting his genius to work in the world to learn wisdom! You can't fault his kung-fu, but it's his advice that does the greatest good... why, it was his plans that won the Broken Sword Battle, that won the heart of Ice-hand Jen for Firehair Shen, and won the Foolish King Wager! Such a humble young man, too, always seeming grateful for the chance to test out his wisdom, almost like he fears it will go rusty while he waits for old age!
Is that him there? Why it must be — three ring staff, the best beard he can muster, an old man's clothes still too new to need patching. You couldn't mistake that earnest serenity or those sharp eyes — Patience Meng has come to Unruly Devil!"
History and Heart: A wise child, the youngest of a large brood of minor nobles, you quickly realised that it was your destiny to be a wise old man of the mountains. Then a moment of perfect horror hit you: you were only ten, and old age was at least fifty years away!
You comforted yourself with the knowledge that you were not yet educated. A decade later, you had devoured every available scrap of knowledge, and your father was beginning to make noises about exams and gainful employment! Forty years of government service, you judged, would not make you wise so much as exceptionally cynical. While close, it was not exactly right for your destiny. You resolved to become a sorcerer, and set out into the wilderness to learn from the great Daoists.
Of course, they could see your destiny too. They taught you a few things, but found your quest amusing. “How can you leave the world if you've never been there?” they'd say, which apparently passes for a joke of greatest hilarity if you've been on a mountain long enough. Taking their wisdom to heart you took up a staff and entered the Wulin, hoping that the tumult of the Martial Arts World will teach you wisdom while you face its many challenges, and generally keep you busy while the years drag on so very slowly.
You seek out challenge with an open heart, looking to find the correct balance of wisdom and virtue to solve every problem. Where necessary, you act yourself — breaking heads if they need it — but you also give exceptionally good advice. Even your most obscure or strange suggestions often turn out for the best, so you try to share your wisdom when you can. You have fallen in with a band of heroes on your way to Only Six Devils, and you can sense that being with them will bring challenge to constantly — you're quite grateful and will do your best to keep them together! You're not motivated by worldly desires but you realise you must experience the world, so it's valuable to be a part of this heroic band! You do your best to keep them from getting into too much trouble, of course...
ORIGIN: Young Sage
PASSION: Obsession - Wisdom
REGION: Western Yang (Xi Territory)
ATTRIBUTES & SKILLS (All Skills have +1 die to their rating unless otherwise noted)
MIGHT (JADE/WOOD CHI) 1
Fight 3 [kicks 1] (no bonus)
Hardiness 1
SPEED (CRIMSON/FIRE CHI) 2
Initiative 3 [advice 1] (no bonus)
Dodge 2
Finesse 1
Melee 3 [staff 1] (no bonus)
PRESENCE (GOLD/EARTH CHI) 2
Confidence 2
Grace 3 [advice 1] (no bonus)
GENIUS (WHITE/WATER CHI) 5
Learning 3
Medicine 3 [advice 1]
Tactics 3 [advice 1]
WU WEI (SILVER/METAL CHI) 5
Awareness 3
Investigation 3
Senses 3 [hearing 1]
CHI AURA: 2
RIVER: 2
HEALTH POINTS PER LEVEL: 15
ARMOUR: 5
Kung Fu and Extraordinary Techniques
| Weapon | Initiative | Attack/Block | Damage |
| Kick | 3d + 15 | 4d | Result dice - 5 |
| Three-Ring Staff | 3d | 4d + 15 | Result dice + 10 |
Lightfoot
Common Any Chi
Lightfoot is the ability to defy the rules of the world as you move! Every member of the Wulin has this kung-fu — it's so universal that you can spend any colour of chi to fuel its techniques!
1. Surefoot. Using this technique lets you run on water, climb at your running speed, cling to walls like a spider, and take no damage from falling. Cost: 1 chi of any colour.
God of Wind Kick
Common White Chi (Brutal: Kicks only)
Critical: Maim or Stun
This fierce style channels the power of your genius to kick at the most vulnerable places on a foe with the speed of the wind!
1. Earthly Spirit Kick. Activate this technique at the beginning of the round to gain a +10 modifier to the Speed of your kick, +1d damage for your first attack, and the ability to leap 20 yards as a free action to make that attack. Cost: 1 White chi
2. Heavenly Deity Kick. As Earthly Spirit kick, but with a +5 modifier to Strike. The damage modifier is now +2 dice, and leaping distance becomes 30 yards. Cost: 2 White chi
Waves Like Water
Common Silver Chi (Artful/Brutal: Long weapons only)
Critical: Disarm or Maim
This style uses the length and flexibility of your staff to create a blurring shield around you, snaking through your opponents' defence!
1. Sliding Strike. Activate this technique at the beginning of the round to apply a -10 modifier to the opponent's defence when attacking.. Cost: 1 Silver chi
2. Fierce Flexible Fence. Activate this technique to gain a +10 modifier your weapon's Strike for all blocks for the round. You may defend against Ranged attacks without penalty. Cost: 2 Silver chi
3. Rolling Wave Attack. Activate this technique to gain a +10 modifier to your weapon's Strike for all attacks and blocks this round, and ignore 5 points of armour on any successful attack. Cost: 3 Silver chi
Extraordinary Daoist Spells: You can use one of these Techniques as a Full Action. You must also spend a Free Action to use them — this is the cost of the ritual finger gestures needed to work the spell! Alternately, you may instead pace the pattern of constellations and gain a +5 modifier to your Learning roll — this prevents you from Covering Ground this round.
Great Benison of Fire: If you succeed on a Moderate (20) Learning roll, you apply a +10 modifier to an ally's next action.
Terrible Rising Water Technique: Make a Moderate (20) Learning roll, opposed by your target's Awareness. If you succeed, they are unable to approach within 15 yards of someone or something of your choice for the next round.
Sheltering Water Intercession: Make a Moderate (20) Learning roll. If you succeed, only those who beat your Learning roll with your Awareness can look at you — to everyone else, you're invisible for the next five rounds.
Summoning the Earth's Folly Technique: Make a Moderate (20) Learning roll, opposed by your target's Awareness. If you succeed, they suffer chi flow loss in the colour of your choice until they commit an act of folly — something plausible but stupid.
Secret Art of Genius: Your sheer brilliance allows you to make the finest plans! When trying to make a brilliant plan, roll a skill appropriate to the plan's nature (Initiative for effective timing, Medicine for health, Tactics for military matters, Grace for social matters) at a Moderate (20) difficulty. You gain a +5 modifier for your particular genius for tactics. Normally this roll can only take place between scenes — making a plan in a single turn applies a -10 modifier.
If you succeed, you may spend a point of Joss to make the plan efficacious. You may have two such plans running at once. When making the plan, choose one of the following effects to benefit anyone actively following your plan:
Note: These Techniques are not the end of Patience's Scholar abilities. In longer term games, a Scholar can apply the Daoist Secret Arts to manipulate the luck and destiny of friend and foe alike, creating and changing curses and blessings!
Strategy: Patience is the weakest fighter of the pre-generated characters, but by no means the least dangerous. Don't get involved in the thick of combat too lightly — stay back, using your Extraordinary Techniques to confound and manipulate opponents until you've filled your River. Then leap in with a God of Wind attack, following up with a River-fuelled Rolling Wave Attack! Try to lay clever plans before going into battle — don't sweat the details, as the bonuses given by the Secret Art of Genius simulate good planning. Improved Attributes and Chi Regeneration are more useful than a +5 modifier in combat, but that modifier can be a big deal for non-combat skills where such modifiers are rarer.
This text is copied from the pdf of Jye Nicolson's Auspicious Beginnings without permission, but it's a free adventure so I expect it's basically ok (if you're going to play this you probably don't want to read the adventure in advance).