Grandfather Jiang

From Gothpoodle

Bone Shadow Cahalith Alpha (Lodge of the Endless Moon, Lodge of Scars, Lodge of Voices)

Description

Hishu

An ancient Chinese man with short white hair, fu manchu moustache, long whispy beard, bushy eyebrows over brown eyes, and wrinkled brown skin. He wears a knee-length yellow silk tunic with golden embroidery of a phoenix amidst flames, loose white cotton pants, and sandles. A clear crystal (Purity Jewel fetish) hangs from a silver chain around his neck. He usually wears a broad-brimmed straw hat and carries a silver-headed walking stick (Tempest Cane fetish) while outside. While he appears relatively frail, he has an aura of immense predatory power and authority.

Urhan

A snow white wolf with pale blue eyes.

Storytelling Hints

Jiang is a fiercely intelligence and perceptive person, but tends to play to the image of a doddering old man in his decline. He talks a lot, loving to tell stories and gossip, but is always using the reactions of people to what he says to judge them. He is always interested in people's pasts, long since learning the lesson of the Shadow that the past is closer than you think and never really goes away. Jiang doesn't share Hugh Keegan's bitterness, cynicism, or hatred. He's seen many sad things in his life and been through difficult times, but he knows they all past, that wounds recover, and no slight is so great that it can't be mended. That said, he is wary of the Silver Kings and, of course, Henry's Get and keeps a close eye on any threat in the city as alpha of the Protectorate.

Stats

• Mental Attributes: Intelligence 5, Wits 4, Resolve 6*.
• Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2.
• Social Attributes: Presence 6, Manipulation 4, Composure 7.
• Mental Skills: Academics (Uratha History) 4, Crafts 2, Investigation 3, Medicine 2, Occult (Vampires) 6, Politics (Spirit) 6.
• Physical Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 5, Drive 1, Firearms 1, Larceny 1, Stealth 4, Survival 5, Weaponry (Staff) 4.
• Social Skills: Animal Ken 3, Empathy (Sense Motives) 3, Expression (Poetry) 4, Intimidation 4, Persuasion 6, Socialize 4, Streetwise 5, Subterfuge 7.
• Merits: Allies (Protectorate) 5, Ancestral Vessel 5, Brawling Dodge 1, Contacts (Chinese Uratha, Chinatown Police, San Francisco Politicians, Chinatown Businessmen, Vampires) 5, Danger Sense 2, Encyclopedic Knowledge 4, Fighting Style (Kung Fu) 4, Fighting Style (Staff Fighting) 3 (only usable in Dalu), Inspiring 4, Languages (Cantonese, First Tongue, Hoisanese, Mandarin, Wu) 5, Meditative Mind 1, Resources 5, Retainer (Wolf-Blooded Assistant) 4.
• Primal Urge: 7
• Willpower: 13*
• Harmony: 7
• Virtue: Fortitude
• Vice: Lust
• Health: 7
• Initiative: 9
• Defense: 2
• Speed: 9
• Renown: Cunning 5, Glory 5, Honor 5, Purity 5, Wisdom 5.
• Gifts: (1) Death Sight, Know Name, Pack Awareness, Sense Malice, The Right Words; (2) Camaraderie, Eyes of the Slain, Ghost Knife, Scent of Taint, Ward Versus Humans; (3) Corpse Witness, Echo Dream, Sagacity, Technology Ward, True Leader; (4) Shadow Ward, Soul Read, Spirit Skin, Unspoken Communication, Word of Quiet; (5) Communion with the Land, Omen Gazing, Vengeance of the Slain, Victor’s Song, Ward of Spirit Slumber.
• Rituals: 5; Rites: All non-lodge specific rites plus (?) Honor the Benevolant Spirit; (4) Claws of Ashes; (5) Rite of the Ancestor-Shadow.
• Fetishes: Purity Jewel (Instant; extended roll to force spirit to Hisil) 2, Tempest Cane (Instant; travel one mile per success via lightning bolt during a storm) 4.

Background

Jiang Jin was born at the turn of the century and watched his family decimated by plague, earthquake, and fire by the time of his First Change, just after World War I. He dedicated himself heart and soul to the survival of his family through this hard time and those to come. As fewer and fewer Chinese were allowed into the country, no new wolf-blooded arrived to refresh depleted stocks and so Jiang was forced to marry a human woman. Nonetheless, two of his five children and five of his grandchildren Changed, proving the strength of his line. Jiang’s own vitality was apparent to those who saw him outlive his wife and all of his children and continue to lead his pack to the present day. The years during the Depression and World War II were mostly spent fighting the Ivory Claws on Nob Hill and skirmishes are still common, but left to younger folk. His last great combat victory was in the late 50s, when he earned his entry into the Lodge of Scars by challenging every member of the Henry's Get to single combat (including their totem) and defeating them all without a single death and without taking a single wound. The peace won by that challenge has lasted to this day. Since then, he has been instrumental in the formation of the Golden Mountain Protectorate and is its uncontested leader. Lately, though, he is hard-pressed to leave Chinatown and generally spends his time in Portsmouth Square playing Chinese chess with other old men and reminiscing on old times. His beta runs the day-to-day affairs of the pack but comes daily to keep his alpha informed and get his advice.