Examples of things to buy/pay for:
Merchant goods – 500 (MSRP)
Ancestral favor – 2,000 per gift
Quest fees – Up to 20,000
Taxes – As determined by the Tax Collector.

Examples of things to sell/get money for:
Finding treasure
Office payouts
Business payouts
Successful caravan quests

Current Businesses and Owners:

Butcher Lang (Food)
Bucktooth So (Food)
Autumn (Food)

Food Merchants can supply such items as Feasts, Huge Wine Gourds, Master’s Herb Kits and the like.

Father Wong (Accoutrements)
Dancing Chiu (Accoutrements)
Merchant Sing (Accoutrements)

Accoutrements Merchants can supply such items as basic Armor, Weapons, and clothing such as Lovely Sashes, Cloaks, Robes, Decorative Fans, and the like.

Governor Lu (Imports/Exports)
Graceful Yin (Imports/Exports)
Tiger Lui (Imports/Exports)

Imports Merchants can supply such items as rare spices, exotic wines, unusual weapons, and the like. Warning: Prices may be higher for exotic items.

Reverend Pai (Entertainment)
Lotus (Entertainment)
Mostly Evil Yuk (Entertainment)

Entertainment Merchants can supply such items as Huge Wine Gourds, Artists Materials, Blank Scrolls, and the like.

Status and Face
Characters all have a Status level, which is a measure of their place in society. A high Status means you hold a position of authority and respect in the community. Low Status means you are of the peasantry, or are some other kind of commoner.

In addition, there is the concept of Face. As westerners understand it, it translates most closely as “honor,” though its meanings can run far deeper. Characters can earn and spend Face points to accomplish a variety of tasks.

Gaining and Losing Status
Status is heavily related to wealth and social standing. Therefore, changing Status is extremely difficult. You can raise your Status 1 level per Time Period by paying cash to the Teahouse Dragon according to the following table:

Status to be Gained Cost
2 2000
3 7500
4 25,000
5 100,000

In the confines of the Festival weekend, it is highly unlikely anyone will lose Status, though it is possible.

Status Effects
• You do not have to accept a combat challenge from someone whose Status is more than one point different from yours.
• A minimum Status level may be required to hold an Office, go on a quest, or to qualify for other benefits, including powerful favors from your ancestors.
• If you marry someone whose Status is more than one point lower than yours, you must lose 1 Face point and give your new spouse 1 Face point.

Gaining and Losing Face
If anything shameful happens to you (fail to use your Office properly, show cowardice or impoliteness, accuse someone falsely, get convicted of a crime), and this is brought to the attention of the Teahouse Dragon, you may lose a Face point. When good things happen (the attainment of an Office, any honorable or noble action), and this is brought to the Dragon’s attention, you may gain a Face point. Be forewarned, spurious and continued pestering of the Dragon may in and of itself be grounds for loss of Face.

Face Effects
• Face points may be required to use certain abilities or get the full benefits of certain Offices.
• A Face point may be used as an extra Time point.

Total Loss of Face
If you are ever required to spend a Face point and you have none left, you suffer a Total Loss of Face. If you suffer a Total Loss of Face, you suffer the following effects until you regain at least one Face point.
• Merchants don't have to deal with you.
• You can't represent your clan in any contest or council.
• You may not petition your ancestors.
• Starting Saturday, if you are defeated in combat, your opponent may declare you dead.

Romance
Romance is an important part of life, and of movies—even Kung Fu movies. However, romance in the Eastern tradition is quite different from Western romance.

The rules of romance in our game follow four simple interconnected principles:
1) Most men find most women attractive.
2) Most women are quite choosey about their men.
3) Once a woman makes a choice, she is quite devoted to her chosen paramour.
4) Men, by virtue of being so easily attracted, are also less devoted.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We fully realize that the unidirectional nature of romance in the game is sexist. However, it is very much in genre, and we hope you will take these rules in the spirit in which they are intended.

Revealing Traits
Each character has a set of traits that describe the fundamental aspects of his personality and demeanor. Each woman also has a list of traits that she finds attractive in a man.

There are two kinds of traits: public and private. Public traits are written on your name badge and are known as soon as another player sees you. Private traits are revealed after 5 minutes of conversation, with no more than one trait being revealed per Time Period. When forced to reveal a trait, you get to decide which one, though it must be a trait you haven’t yet shown that other player.

Sometimes you will reveal a trait through your actions. If that happens, then other people in a position to observe now know that trait.

The Rules of Attraction for Women
If a woman discovers that a man has a trait she finds attractive, she is Interested in him. If she discovers a second, she becomes Attracted. Three means she is Smitten.

When a woman discovers that a man has four traits she finds attractive, she is In Love, and gives him her Heart token. This can happen more than once (some women have several Heart tokens).

This has the following effects:
On the woman: She may see the Teahouse Dragon and find out what the power of love has unleashed in her (usually she acquires a new Ability card).
On the man: He follows whatever instructions are written on the woman’s Heart token (for example, “Share one goal with this woman, and take the new goal to Protect this Woman.”)

The Rules of Attraction for Men
In Kung Fu movies, men tend to have an increasingly large coterie of adoring women surrounding them, and they (of course) enjoy this without worrying about how the women feel. It’s only when they truly fall in love themselves that a recognizable Western romance occurs.

Therefore, men have no traits they find especially attractive in women—all women are equally attractive to them. They do not learn traits nor give Hearts. Only the women do this.
During the course of the game, men may find they are receiving one or more Heart tokens from various women. Once during the game each man has the ability to choose his True Love from among the women whose Heart tokens he possesses. He may do this at any time as long as he possesses at least one Heart token. He may also wait as long as he wishes, possibly never choosing at all.

If he does choose, he goes to the Teahouse Dragon and exchanges his chosen one’s Heart token for a new True Love Heart Ability. Once he does this, he must give back all other Heart tokens he has received.

The kicker: the more Heart tokens the man possesses when he makes his choice, the more times he may use the True Love Heart Ability. This encourages men to have as large a circle of admirers as possible. On the other hand, he must make a choice at some point if he wants the special Heart power at all.

The chosen woman also gains an upgrade to her own Heart power. This gives the women some incentive to be the one chosen, and to encourage their beloveds to make up their minds!

Combat

The Challenge
You may challenge anyone to a combat except during the amnesty periods of the Festival contests. They must accept if their Status is within one point of yours. Otherwise they may scoff and decline. More than one person may challenge a target, but they must all be able to fight that opponent. If they are of different statuses, the challenged party may accept from some and scoff at others.

Defending Someone: If someone is challenged in your presence, you may ask them if they would like help defending themselves. If they invite you to join, you may do so even if you would otherwise not qualify to challenge or fight the attacker due to Status or Time Period constraints.

Starting Combat: Before combat starts, opponents must decide if they are “sparring” or fighting. If they don’t agree, then they’re “fighting.” Sparring is a friendly bout with no damage permanently done to anyone.

Once everyone nearby has had a chance to get involved (if they qualify), combat is joined. If you're not present at the start of the battle, but come upon a battle you wish to join, you must wait until the start of the next round. You may only join one side or the other (no 3-way battles) and only if invited. The first time you try to join a combat, you must win an RSP vs any one of your opponents-to-be. To join at the beginning of the round after that one, you must win or tie. If there is yet a further round, you may automatically join.

A “Blow”
You have a set of combat cards that represent all of the martial arts moves that you know (one card per move). When players match moves to see the outcome, that’s called a “blow.” Combat is fought in rounds; each round is 5 blows. No move may be used more than once a round.

For each blow, both players pick a card; when both have chosen, cards are revealed.

Speed: Compare the speeds of the cards, listed in the upper right corner. Refer to the appropriate row of your card (faster than your opponent, equal speeds, slower than your opponent, or the opponent played a Block) to see how much damage you do, and the amount of damage you stop from being done to you. Typically, the faster move will do damage, and the slower move will do nothing, but this is not always the case.

Block: If one of the players plays a block, the other player uses the “Blocked” row of the combat card regardless of their relative speeds. This is because the block may not be powerful enough to stop all of the damage from an attack, even if it is faster.

Dodge: If you successfully dodge, (i.e., the result in the stopped column is “All”) you take no damage; your opponent is considered not to have touched you at all.

Speed Bonus: If you use a move that has a + next to one or more rows, you add the + number to the speed of your next move if the blow resolved on that row. If you use a move that has a - next to one or more rows, you subtract the - number from the speed of your next move if the blow resolved on that row.

Multiple Opponents
Each player picks a target for each blow. When resolving speeds vs that target use the speed number in Bold. When resolving speed vs other opponents, use the number in ( ). Damage only applies to the target; damage stopped applies to all opponents. Cards are resolved fastest to slowest. If a player is knocked out before their card resolves they do no damage and stop no further damage.

End of Round
If the combat hasn’t ended by the time all cards have been used, that’s a round and the combatants may declare a draw. If they don’t want a draw (both must agree to a draw), then either one may try to escape.

To escape after the first round, you must win a round of Rock Scissors Paper (RSP). If you are fighting multiple opponents, you only have to beat the person who issues the challenge against you.

To escape after the second round, you must win or tie.

If you want to escape after the third round, you may do so automatically.

If either player doesn’t want a draw, and neither player wants to try to escape (or an escape attempt fails), then you pick up your 5 combat cards, and fight another round. You can’t try to escape again until 5 cards are used again.

Ability Cards: Most fighters will have one or more special Ability combat cards as well. The Ability will tell you when it can be played. Some characters might have combat abilities that negate yours.

End of Combat
Combat ends when a draw is declared or one player loses all his health points. If there is a draw, the combat is over and there are no further effects. Also, if the fight was “sparring,” there are no further effects and everyone’s health is restored to what it was before the fight.

If they were “fighting” and one character lost all his health, the winner can:
• “Arrest” the loser (see Law, below)
• Take one item of their choice from the loser. This option costs 1 Face point.
• Demand to hear one Secret at random (each character has a list of secrets) or
• Use a special Ability that’s marked with “Use when you defeat an opponent in combat.”

Regardless, no combat may be declared between the original participants in that Time Period without the consent of both players (but you can always defend someone, even against someone you’ve previously fought in this Time Period). A player not giving consent within the same Time Period does not lose any face.

Healing
At the start of each Time Period, all characters regain 5 of their lost health. A healer might be able to make you feel better faster.

Quests
There are many quests available this weekend, including some that only one player may embark upon, and some that many players may race to finish. Normally, three pieces of knowledge are needed to complete a quest; each piece is contained on a Knowledge card. The card(s) must be in the possession of the player(s) on the quest in order to be used. Some quests have additional requirements. These can include traits or abilities needed by the questers, other items (which may or may not be used up on the quest), cash, and/or the presence of a specific person or type of person.

Rumors, Research, and Time Points
Some characters start the game with rumors and may be willing to share them with you. You can also attempt to acquire random rumors from the Teahouse Dragon. This costs a Time point and gets you a “fortune cookie.”

If you have a rumor about a quest, you may do research about that rumor in the Barbarian Lands by spending a Time point. Assuming you meet any listed requirements, you gain a Knowledge card. Once you have one of the three cards you can usually research the other two (assuming you also have more Time points).

Once you have all the necessary ingredients, it costs one more Time point to go on the quest (see the Barbarian Lands Dragon). Everyone going must spend a Time point.
Beware! The more well known a quest is, the more likely it is that someone else is trying to complete it. Some quests can be completed multiple times, but most can have only one victor.

Merchant Caravans
Launching a merchant caravan of silk or tea is a special “quest” that can be done over and over. It requires no rumor, just cash and a Time point. See the Barbarian Lands Dragon for more information.

Law
Usually martial arts characters appear to be above the law, or fighting directly against the law. But the threat of arrest (or worse) by guards and officials is always present.

Criminal Activities
In most cases, what constitutes a crime is easy to tell: murder, theft, and defiance of the Emperor are always crimes. However, even when a case appears cut-and-dried, justice may not be dispensed on the spot. If a criminal isn’t “accidentally” killed during his apprehension, he must be brought before a magistrate.

Arrest
Anyone can make an arrest; you simply have to defeat your opponent in combat. If you do, you may demand that he or she accompany you to find a magistrate. You have five minutes to do so. If you fail, you must set your captive free. Remember, even a criminal may decline a combat challenge made by someone whose Status is more than one point different from his own. (Note that some people, such as militia members, can challenge anyone regardless of Status.)

Trial
The magistrates are Governor Lu, Captain Leo, and any one deputy they may each designate. Only they may set a penalty for your crime. If you are arrested and brought before a magistrate, various Ability cards may be played to establish your guilt or innocence. You may call witnesses and/or plead your case, but all trials must be completed in 15 minutes or less. At the end of this time, the magistrate must hand down his or her decision. The magistrates each have information sheets detailing what punishments are allowed for each type of crime.

Death
If someone bests you in combat, he or she will sometimes have the option of killing you. You might also die on a quest, from poison, or as punishment for a crime.

If your character dies, your “body” vanishes. You must now go to the Temple, and tell the Assessor (the Temple Dragon), that you are dead. You give the Assessor all cash and items you possess at the time of your death. The Assessor gives you a new information sheet representing your ghostly self, and sends you on your merry way. The sheet explains the details of being dead.

To be successful as a Ghost, you’ll need friends to burn hell money to you. Make sure to make some friends, just in case!

Petitioning Ancestors
During the Festival of the Dead, you may spend a Time point to petition your ancestors with gifts of cash and request favors from them. These favors come in the form of “Joss Sticks,” which contain all sorts of beneficence from the gods.

Making the Petition
To make a petition, you must go to the Temple Dragon. You must spend a Time point to make your petition, and you may then spend 2,000 cash per favor you wish. You may not request more favors than your Status level.

Example: Eunuch Xi, Status 5, spends 1 Time point and 8,000 cash to acquire four Joss Sticks from his ancestors. If he wanted a fifth Stick, he’d have to spend 2,000 more. He couldn’t get any more favors unless he spent another Time point.

Types of Favors
There are two different types of Joss Sticks. For each favor you request, you may get one Stick of one type. The two types are:

• Physical Joss: Contains all sorts of benefits in the physical world: quests, combat, money, and more.
• Spiritual Joss: Contains benefits in the spirit world, including trait changes, ghost powers, romance, face, and more.

Getting Joss Sticks
The preferred method is to pick up the container of Sticks and shake it gently at a slight incline. As the Sticks rise up, one will eventually fall out of the container (if more than one falls out, the first one to hit the ground is the one you get).

You get one “shake” per favor requested. You can shake from different containers for each favor, if you wish.

The Temple Dragon will give you Ability cards corresponding to the number on your Joss Stick(s).