Actual Play: Wu# With the 9Qs: Qs 4-6

This is part 3 of my actual play write-up of my solo play in a Wuxia-World. Read more about it in part 1 (setup) and part 2 (Qs 1-3).

Q 4. How can the fight be brought to the enemy, gaining ground for the heroic motivation?

Be the players first:
Encounter: infiltration The two ninjas decide to wait until dusk settles. What’s at stake is: Are they able to infiltrate the cultists' village without getting caught?
The PCs spend a Fate token to declare that they find a weakness in the perimeter which they want to exploit lowering the diff rating of the roll to 1. Be the GM next:
Random Idea Generator: chain + lightning The PCs are able to locate the leaders’ shack. It’s a round building made from wood which is guarded by two ninjas. Genzen uses his clan’s wushu on them. Threads curl up from his fingers and lash out at the guards. The enemies get strangled and die with a choking sound.
Although the building is occupied the inhabitants are asleep. While searching for documents about the attack on the Lotus Coalition Hikari stumbles and makes some noise. The two PCs stand still. Have they woken up someone? They have. A ninja is entering the room. “What are you doing here?” He charges them and manages to grapple Hikari. In the end he doesn’t stand a chance against the two fledgling ninjas as he is short-handed but Hikari attains some broken rips from the tackling (negative aspect).
The two ninjas find the study in the upper level of the building. There’s a huge wooden table with documents spread over it. When Hikari reaches out to the documents a chain of lightning suddenly appears and the documents are encased by a lightning cage. Be the players next:
Genzen uses his wushu. Magic threads roll up the documents into a scroll which he can fit into a gap in the lightning cage.
Hikari: “Let’s see if there is something of value in here.” They both skip through the documents. One of the scrolls contain an order to attack the Lotus Coalition’s training camp. “We should hurry because we don’t know if someone was alerted by the lighting cage mage.”
The two PCs are able to flee the cultists’ headquarters without further ado.

Q 5. How can any heroic gains from the results of Question 4 suddenly be undermined as new information about the true face/scheme/power of the enemy becomes known?

Be the GM first: Random Idea Generator: fatigue + envelope
Encounter: betrayal + combat The PCs are on their way back to their camp when they see some ninjas heading towards them. They are ninjas from their training camp. “We are sent here to accompany you and to help you. Have you gotten some intel about the Cult of the Dragonfly?” Genzen and Hikari nod and tell them about the documents.
“You see, Chuushin-sama sent us. He doesn’t want the documents to be shown to the council.” - “Why?” - “Because he told the cultists to attack the training camp.” The enemy ninjas engage. Be the players next:
Hikari smirks. “My ink will show you: death can come in the blink of an eye! It was a mistake to attack us, traitors!” Genzen lets his wushu threads speak for him: lashing out and strangling enemies. They let one of them live as proof.
Standing over the traitors Genzen ponders: “We should be careful now. Chuushin Genpo is an enemy to the Lotus Coalition. It would be best no to return to the training camp but to inform the Council itself.” Be the GM first:
Chuushin Genpo is a traitor to the Lotus Coalition. His motivation isn’t clear yet.
The two PCs know that it is not easy to get to the Wardens Of Equilibrium, the Lotus Coalition’s leaders. Due to some recent attack on some of their hidden villages the Wardens are very cautious. Also, time is of importance. No one knows when the next attack will take place.

Q 6. How can the adverse results from Questions 4 and 5 be further intensified, forcing the heroes to commit to a do-or-die course of action in accordance with the heroic motivation?

Be the GM first: Random Idea Generator: rescue + horse
Encounter: pursuit + combat On their way to the lands of the Wardens Of Equilibrium a fleeing horse is running towards them. A young maid is riding the horse. She is panicked and looks behind her. While she races past the two stunned novice ninjas she screams: “Run, they are coming!”
Soon a group of Empire soldiers is approaching. They haven’t spotted the two ninja yet. Be the players next:
(GM compel of Genzen’s aspect knight in shining armor) Genzen refuses to hide and wants to battle the soldiers in order to save the damsel in distress. He spans invisible threads across the street as a trap. The soldiers’ horses run into them and the soldiers are dismounted.
A brawl begins. The ninjas emerge as winners. Ordinary soldiers are not a match for them, hrhr. Be the GM next:
The soldiers are defeated but the damsel has fled. If the PCs want to find out why she was being pursuited they need to take a detour which will cost valuable time. At the moment, she is safe but how long will it last?

Next, Qs 4-6…

All the links:
F# by R. Hunter Gogh
WuXing by Eloy Lasanta
the 9Qs by John Fiore