TEXT: By Alice Peng
  Moon 
  Moon  
  Daughter’s
  Daughter’s    
  Fate
  Fate
  Moon 
  Moon  
  Daughter’s
  Daughter’s    
  Fate
  Fate
  PATHFINDER 
  COMPATIBLE
  
  Author:
  Author:
  Alice Peng
  Editors:
  Editors:
  Jeff Harkness, Matt Finch
  PAthfindEr ConvErsion:
  PAthfindEr ConvErsion:
  Michael Mars Russell
  ©2020 Necromancer Games All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the 
  publisher is expressly forbidden. Necromancer Games and the Necromancer Games logo, Moon Daughter’s 
  Fate is a trademark of Necromancer Games, All rights reserved. All characters, names, places, items, art, and 
  text herein are copyrighted by Necromancer Games. The mention of or reference to any company or product 
  in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. Necromancer
   
  Compatibility with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game requires the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game from 
  Paizo Publishing, LLC. See http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder 
  Roleplaying Game. Paizo Publishing, LLC does not guarantee compatibility, and does not endorse this 
  product. Pathfinder is a registered trademark of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game 
  and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility Logo are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and are 
  used under the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility License. See http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/ 
  compatibility for more information on the compatibility license This book uses the supernatural for settings, 
  characters, and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fiction and intended for entertainment 
  purposes only. Reader discretion is advised. 
   
  Art dirECtor:
  Art dirECtor:
  Casey Christofferson
  LAyout:
  LAyout:
  Suzy Moseby
  intErior Art:
  intErior Art:
  Santa Norvaisaite, Adrian Landeros
  NecromaNcer Games
  ISBN: 978-1-6656-0017-0
  PF PDF
  CArtogrAPhy:
  CArtogrAPhy:
  Robert Altbauer
  front CovEr Art:
  front CovEr Art:
  Michael Syrigos
  CovEr dEsign:
  CovEr dEsign:
  Casey Christofferson
  NECROMANCER
     Games
  TM
  Moon 
  Moon  
  Daughter’s
  Daughter’s    
  Fate
  Fate
  Moon 
  Moon  
  Daughter’s
  Daughter’s    
  Fate
  Fate
  
  2|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  2|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  ChAPtEr onE: introduCtion
  ChAPtEr onE: introduCtion .......................................................
   .......................................................3
  ovErviEw
  ovErviEw .................................................................................
   .................................................................................3
  rEAding thE AdvEnturE
  rEAding thE AdvEnturE ..............................................................
   ..............................................................3
  AdvEnturE stArt
  AdvEnturE stArt ........................................................................
   ........................................................................3
  thE EnCountEr with LEigong
  thE EnCountEr with LEigong ...................................................
   ...................................................3
  BACkground
  BACkground ............................................................................
   ............................................................................4
  ChAPtEr two: thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE
  ChAPtEr two: thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE ....................................
   ....................................6
  stArt
  stArt .......................................................................................
   .......................................................................................6
  thE roAdhousE
  thE roAdhousE .........................................................................
   .........................................................................6
  A-1. foyEr/shrinE
  A-1. foyEr/shrinE .................................................................
   .................................................................6
  thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE MAP
  thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE MAP .................................................
   .................................................7
  A-2. CourtyArd
  A-2. CourtyArd ....................................................................
   ....................................................................8
  A-2A. thE PLuM trEE
  A-2A. thE PLuM trEE ..........................................................
   ..........................................................8
  A-2B. thE wELL 
  A-2B. thE wELL  .................................................................
   .................................................................8
  A-2C. thE drAgon’s LAgoon
  A-2C. thE drAgon’s LAgoon ................................................
   ................................................9
  A-2d. And A-2E. fruit And vEgEtABLE gArdEns 
  A-2d. And A-2E. fruit And vEgEtABLE gArdEns  .................
   .................10
  10
  A-3. CArEtAkEr’s rooM
  A-3. CArEtAkEr’s rooM .......................................................
   .......................................................10
  10
  A-4. through A-9. BoArding rooMs 
  A-4. through A-9. BoArding rooMs  ...................................
   ...................................10
  10
  A-10. huA yuE’s rooM
  A-10. huA yuE’s rooM ........................................................
   ........................................................11
  11
  JournAL ExCErPt A
  JournAL ExCErPt A ...........................................................
   ...........................................................12
  12
  JournAL ExCErPt B
  JournAL ExCErPt B ...........................................................
   ...........................................................12
  12
  JournAL ExCErPt C
  JournAL ExCErPt C ...........................................................
   ...........................................................12
  12
  A-11. dining hALL
  A-11. dining hALL ...............................................................
   ...............................................................12
  12
  A-12. kitChEn
  A-12. kitChEn .....................................................................
   .....................................................................12
  12
  A-13. CELLAr 
  A-13. CELLAr  .....................................................................
   .....................................................................13
  13
  AftEr nightfALL (unfinishEd BusinEss)
  AftEr nightfALL (unfinishEd BusinEss) ........................................
   ........................................13
  13
  ChAPtEr thrEE: thE northEAst hiLLs
  ChAPtEr thrEE: thE northEAst hiLLs ...........................................
   ...........................................14
  14
  Arriving BEforE sunrisE
  Arriving BEforE sunrisE ...........................................................
   ...........................................................14
  14
  Arriving AftEr sunrisE
  Arriving AftEr sunrisE .............................................................
   .............................................................16
  16
  rEturning to yAng 
  rEturning to yAng  .................................................................
   .................................................................16
  16
  ChAPtEr four:MEi ZhEn (CoAL town)
  ChAPtEr four:MEi ZhEn (CoAL town) .......................................
   .......................................18
  18
  gAthEring inforMAtion in CoAL town 
  gAthEring inforMAtion in CoAL town  .....................................
   .....................................18
  18
  LEigong
  LEigong .............................................................................
   .............................................................................18
  18
  Asking Around
  Asking Around ...................................................................
   ...................................................................18
  18
  tALking to MinErs
  tALking to MinErs ............................................................
   ............................................................18
  18
  tALking to townsfoLk
  tALking to townsfoLk .......................................................
   .......................................................19
  19
  thE situAtion
  thE situAtion .......................................................................
   .......................................................................19
  19
  ChAPtEr fivE:thE fALLEn tEMPLE
  ChAPtEr fivE:thE fALLEn tEMPLE .................................................
   .................................................20
  20
  thE CoAL Pit
  thE CoAL Pit ..........................................................................
   ..........................................................................20
  20
  CuLtist EntrAnCE
  CuLtist EntrAnCE .................................................................
   .................................................................21
  21
  ArEA B: nuwA’s fALLEn PALACE
  ArEA B: nuwA’s fALLEn PALACE ................................................
   ................................................21
  21
  B-1. wing EntrAnCE
  B-1. wing EntrAnCE ............................................................
   ............................................................21
  21
  B2. through B6. sErvAnts’ QuArtErs
  B2. through B6. sErvAnts’ QuArtErs .....................................
   .....................................21
  21
  thE fALLEn tAMPLE MAP
  thE fALLEn tAMPLE MAP ............................................................
   ............................................................22
  22
  B-7. innEr door 
  B-7. innEr door  ................................................................
   ................................................................23
  23
  B-8. outEr CourtyArd
  B-8. outEr CourtyArd .........................................................
   .........................................................23
  23
  B-9. fEi du’s sAnCtuM
  B-9. fEi du’s sAnCtuM .........................................................
   .........................................................24
  24
  B-10. worshiP hALL
  B-10. worshiP hALL .............................................................
   .............................................................25
  25
  B-11. MEss hALL
  B-11. MEss hALL ..................................................................
   ..................................................................25
  25
  B-12. And B-13. CoLLAPsEd BuiLdings And innEr CourtyArd
  B-12. And B-13. CoLLAPsEd BuiLdings And innEr CourtyArd ....
   ....25
  25
  B-14. nuwA’s fALLEn sAnCtuM
  B-14. nuwA’s fALLEn sAnCtuM ..............................................
   ..............................................25
  25
  ConCLuding thE AdvEnturE
  ConCLuding thE AdvEnturE ......................................................
   ......................................................26
  26
  APPEndix A: nAMEs And PhrAsEs
  APPEndix A: nAMEs And PhrAsEs ...............................................
   ...............................................27
  27
  nAMEs
  nAMEs ...........................................................................
   ...........................................................................27
  27
  PhrAsEs
  PhrAsEs .........................................................................
   .........................................................................27
  27
  APPEndix B: nEw itEMs
  APPEndix B: nEw itEMs .............................................................
   .............................................................27
  27
  dAy of thE sEvEn CrAnEs
  dAy of thE sEvEn CrAnEs .....................................................
   .....................................................27
  27
  huA yuE’s xiAo (Minor ArtifACt)
  huA yuE’s xiAo (Minor ArtifACt) ..........................................
   ..........................................27
  27
  souL gourd (Minor ArtifACt)
  souL gourd (Minor ArtifACt) ..............................................
   ..............................................27
  27
  sPirit MonEy
  sPirit MonEy .......................................................................
   .......................................................................27
  27
  ZhEnniAo Poison
  ZhEnniAo Poison .................................................................
   .................................................................27
  27
  APPEndix C: nEw MonstErs
  APPEndix C: nEw MonstErs .....................................................
   .....................................................28
  28
  CAnkEr vinEs
  CAnkEr vinEs .........................................................................
   .........................................................................28
  28
  fiEndish divinE guArdiAn hydrA, sEvEn-hEAdEd
  fiEndish divinE guArdiAn hydrA, sEvEn-hEAdEd ..........................
   ..........................28
  28
  fEtid hAnds
  fEtid hAnds ............................................................................
   ............................................................................29
  29
  MEi LAn
  MEi LAn .................................................................................
   .................................................................................29
  29
  MogwAi
  MogwAi ................................................................................
   ................................................................................29
  29
  fEi du
  fEi du ................................................................................
   ................................................................................29
  29
  MogwAi, rot And fECundity
  MogwAi, rot And fECundity .................................................
   .................................................30
  30
  MogwAi, Chi thiEf
  MogwAi, Chi thiEf ...............................................................
   ...............................................................30
  30
  Qing shAn
  Qing shAn ......................................................................
   ......................................................................30
  30
  MogwAi, Chi thiEf — inCorPorEAL forM
  MogwAi, Chi thiEf — inCorPorEAL forM ...............................
   ...............................30
  30
  niu tiAn shEn
  niu tiAn shEn .........................................................................
   .........................................................................31
  31
  CorPorEAL forM
  CorPorEAL forM .................................................................
   .................................................................31
  31
  inCorPorEAL forM
  inCorPorEAL forM ...............................................................
   ...............................................................31
  31
  undErworLd PhAntAsMs
  undErworLd PhAntAsMs ...........................................................
   ...........................................................31
  31
  ABout thE Author
  ABout thE Author ...................................................................
   ...................................................................32
  32
  tABLE of ContEnts
  tABLE of ContEnts
  
   |3
  |3
  The mandates and rules of heaven outline acceptable actions 
  for gods meddling and interacting with the world of mortals. This 
  often prevents gods from taking direct action unless within a spe-
  cific domain. 
  For example, Leigong can punish someone by striking them 
  down with lightning but his lightning can’t penetrate into many 
  locations so he must use mortals to handle the situation.
  Leigong is a Chinese Taoist deity known as the “Duke of Thun-
  der” or “Thunder God.” Heaven mandated him to punish mortals 
  and spirits alike that used their knowledge of Taoism to commit 
  evil acts. His deific depictions often have him with claws, bat or 
  red-feathered wings, an axe or hammer, a chisel, and a set of 
  drums.
  thE EnCountEr with LEigong
  thE EnCountEr with LEigong
  Read or summarize the following information to the players, adding whatever 
  transition you feel is necessary from their prior adventures:
  The province of Sheng1Xi1Gu3 (Sheng Xi Gu, “Whisper 
  Valley”) is flanked by two high mountains to the northwest 
  and southeast, and bounded by hills to the northeast and 
  southwest with the Bi4Jiang1 (Bi Jiang, “Silk River”) flowing 
  through. Abundant in agriculture, coal, and trade, Shen Xi Gu 
  is a wealthy and metropolitan province with major trade routes 
  passing through the hills bounding the ends of the province.  
  You are traveling to the metropolitan city of Weifeng over 
  hilly country for the late-summer Qi1xi1 (Qixi, “The Night of 
  Sevens”) holiday festivities. You are not pursuing any mission 
  in particular, but you are looking forward to the festival. 
  Along the road, however, you run into a strange encounter.
  Any character with some kind of divine attunement can get a sense that the 
  man might be more than he appears to be.  Characters who roll a successful DC 
  15 Knowledge (religion) check can connect the symbolism in his winged robe and 
  axe to Leigong but should not be able to make any overt connections.
  This adventure by Alice Peng is suitable for 4–6 characters of levels 5–8, and 
  is located in a fictional, folkloric region of China. If the gaming group is using 
  existing characters, the means by which they reach the Whisper Valley is best 
  determined by the context of their prior adventures.
  ovErviEw
  ovErviEw
  The setup for this adventure begins with the characters discovering a provincial 
  roadhouse where a terrible attack occurred, during which a young woman was 
  taken. The situation is, however, one of considerable significance. A powerful 
  deity of the region was trapped during the battle and still lingers in a state of 
  poison-induced madness. The characters must track down the missing woman and 
  help restore the balance to the land before an evil cult (and the force behind their 
  power) can cause widespread devastation. 
  Because the land’s balance has been thrown off, another deity, Leigong (God of 
  Thunder, Smiter of Evil) has become involved, and identified the characters as a 
  possible solution to the existing problem. Their encounter with Leigong marks the 
  beginning of the adventure.
  rEAding thE AdvEnturE
  rEAding thE AdvEnturE
  The first appearance of each name in this adventure contains a guide to its tonal 
  pronunciation.
  The pronunciation of a syllable is designated with a number: 1, 2, 3, 4, or none. 
  1. A high tone, a tone used in English when someone sounds surprised. 
  2. Goes from down to up and sounds a bit like a question mark would follow it. 
  3. Goes from down to up. Rather than sounding like a question mark, this is a 
  more extended syllable.
  4. Goes from up to down. Sometimes it can sound like someone’s adding an 
  exclamation point to their word or sound almost a little angry. 
  5. No number is a common sentence ender with no true equivalent in English. 
  The word is pronounced extremely quickly and drops in the second half of 
  the syllable.
  AdvEnturE stArt
  AdvEnturE stArt
  The adventure begins when the characters encounter the disguised god 
  Lei2Gong1 (Leigong) on the road to the city of Wei4Feng1 (Weifeng, “Reason’s 
  Wind”), and they are most likely diverted from the main road to a smaller, more 
  rural route. It is relatively clear from the encounter with Leigong that an adventure 
  lies along the rural path, and the characters have no pressing business in Weifeng. 
  While there are clues in Leigong’s appearance to his identity, the characters will 
  only know him as an old man.
  By ALiCE PEng
  By ALiCE PEng
  An AdvEnturE for for 4–6 ChArACtErs of LEvELs 5–8
  An AdvEnturE for for 4–6 ChArACtErs of LEvELs 5–8
  Chapter One: IntrOduCtIOn
  Chapter One: IntrOduCtIOn
  Moon 
  Moon  
  Daughter’s
  Daughter’s    
  Fate
  Fate
  Moon 
  Moon  
  Daughter’s
  Daughter’s    
  Fate
  Fate
  
  4|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  4|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  The seed cast onto the wind by Mei Lan’s found a woman named Fei1Du2 
  (Fei Du, Flight and Study), Fei Du had been sold to her husband at a young age, 
  badly treated, then discarded by him in favor of a mistress. While conventional 
  religions taught Fei Du that she needed to work hard on herself and that she would 
  be rewarded through lifetimes of reincarnation, she was impatient. Instead,  she 
  sought to become a  Shen2 (note: see the Monsters in Chinese Folklore Side box at 
  the end of the chapter for an explanation of shen) through moral shortcuts and evil 
  acts, not knowing — or not caring — that it would corrupt and twist her essence 
  into something else. 
  Fei Du can also be written to mean “Fragrant Poison,” but it 
  would still be pronounced exactly the same in verbal communica-
  tion. This is the name she adopted later in life when she becomes 
  a cult leader.
  Fei Du studied legends and lore about those who gained power through 
  supernatural means, scouring the lands and making deals in the dark. This 
  ultimately led her to the discovery of a soul gourd hidden in the northern 
  mountains, an item that once belonged to a vanquished immortal.
  She experimented with the soul gourd, trapping people’s souls and drinking 
  them to extend her youth. She also discovered that great — but fleeting — power 
  coursed through her veins after she drank.
  Fei Du amassed followers and now presents herself as a savior to those who 
  have suffered significant loss and spiraled into self-destructive patterns. She 
  promises them the power to shape their own fates — possibly even to bring back 
  what they have lost. She even shares small sips of her draught with the most 
  devoted of her followers, empowering them to do her bidding.
  Led to Fei Du by the seeds implanted in her, Mei Lan approached the cult 
  leader and laid out a proposition. In exchange for Fei Du’s and her cult’s service, 
  she would grant Fei Du’s desire for everlasting power. As proof, Mei Lan provided 
  Fei Du the means to capture and drink the souls of spirits in addition to those 
  of humans. Intoxicated by this new power, Fei Du swore fealty to Mei Lan, not 
  knowing she was merely a means to the fairy’s ends.
  Mei Lan convinced Fei Du to set her sights higher, on more powerful gods. She 
  seeded the idea of taking the essence of Niu Tian Shen without ever specifically 
  suggesting it. When Fei Du asked her patron for aid in capturing Niu Tian Shen, 
  Mei Lan was more than happy to provide poison from a rare bird, the Zhen4Niao3 
  (zhenniao, a daemon bird) to weaken the god. Armed with what she believed to 
  be a foolproof plan, Fei Du sent a contingent of her most loyal followers to the 
  provincial roadhouse to set her trap. This brings us to the present day.
  The cultists arrived at the provincial roadhouse in the guise of weary merchants 
  making their way to the Qixi Festival to sell their goods.
  Note: Cultists are referred to using the masculine pronoun for ease of reading 
  and writing. Given the coed nature of the cults, these unnamed cultists may be of 
  either gender. 
  Qixi fEstivitiEs
  Qixi fEstivitiEs
  Qixi is a holiday born of a lovers’ tale about a cowherd 
  represented by the Altair star, and a weaving girl represented by 
  the Vega star. Their love was forbidden, so they were cast to either 
  side of the Yinjiang (Silver River), also known as the Milky Way. 
  On the seventh day of the seventh month of each year, a flock of 
  magpies builds a bridge over the Silver River so the lovers may 
  reunite for that day before again being torn away from each other.
  Though the holiday falls on the seventh day of the seventh 
  month of each year, many major cities hold weeklong festivals 
  culminating on the actual holiday.
  Besides the great food, drink, shows, and competitive events, 
  this is a great opportunity for people to find work or skilled 
  artisans from whom to commission custom work.
  Read or summarize the following information to the players.
  As you travel down the road, you begin hearing a rhythmic 
  sound reminiscent of thunder but not as loud. It is definitely not 
  thunder, though, since there are no storm clouds in the sky. The 
  source of the noise turns out to be an old man dressed in a red-
  winged robe, chopping wood with an axe. Each time the axe falls, 
  it creates the thunder-like noise.
  This is the god Leigong in human guise.  He pretends to be a simple man 
  cutting firewood and will introduce himself as Lei2Lao3Ye (Old Man Lei —Lei2 
  can be interpreted as simply a common surname but that same word also happens 
  to mean Thunder). Leigong is manipulating weather and terrain in the hopes that 
  the characters’ natures will incline them to go where Leigong is unable to.
  Assuming that the characters engage him in conversation, he informs them that 
  the road ahead is washed out, and that if they are on their way to Weifeng, they 
  might be delayed if they plan to arrive in time for the Qixi festivities. He does, 
  however, tell them that they already passed another way to the city only half a 
  mile back. It is longer, but now that the main road is washed out, it is probably 
  still the quicker path. It is also, he says rather enigmatically, the “better” path.
  The characters can continue to talk with Leigong, but the mandates and rules 
  of Heaven (see Side Box) prevent him from giving them any further useful 
  information. The only other thing he will say if asked for further information, and 
  it is of as-yet-unknown significance is: “Well, I’m chopping wood, you are on the 
  road to Weifeng, and the price of coal seems to be going up in Mei Zhen.” If the 
  characters ask about Mei Zhen, he will tell them that it’s a coal-mining town that 
  can be reached on the smaller turn-off behind them. Beyond this, he gives them no 
  further information, saying that he has to get back to his work.
  BACkground
  BACkground
  Nearly two decades ago, Qing2Shan1 (Qing Shan, “Passionate Mountain”) 
  fled execution for becoming pregnant before marriage. Fearing to be caught, 
  she avoided cities and towns, but a group of bandits attacked her on the road, 
  leaving her for dead. A traveling monk discovered her and brought her back to the 
  provincial roadhouse he managed, where he witnessed the birth of Qing Shan’s 
  daughter, Hua4Yue4 (Hua Yue, “Tranquil Moon”). After the monk died, Qing Shan 
  has been the caretaker of the roadhouse with the assistance of her daughter. 
  Bandits in the area left the two women alone, due to superstitions surrounding 
  ill fortune and destitution falling upon anyone who violated the sanctuary of a 
  provincial roadhouse.
  Hua Yue grew up to be a musical prodigy and a lover of art. Visitors to the 
  roadhouse have provided Qing Shan with all the necessary resources to raise Hua 
  Yue with a proper education, even allowing Hua Yue to amass a collection of 
  musical instruments — although most of these are of simple craftsmanship.
  Niu2Tian1Shen2 (Niu Tian Shen, “Ox Lord of New Day’s Toil”), the tutelary 
  deity of the local region, receives his power from the sun and sows the fields. 
  Several years ago, he was exploring his domain in human form when the gentle 
  strains of Hua Yue’s music mesmerized him. He started spending time at the 
  provincial roadhouse regularly, always visiting in his human guise. Over time, he 
  fell in love with the beautiful young Hua Yue.
  Niu Tian Shen hid his true nature from Qing Shan and Hua Yue, leading them 
  to believe he was just a traveling chronicler named Niu, but he secretly used his 
  favor to help the roadhouse prosper. The gardens grew more bountiful, fewer 
  vermin found their way onto the property, and the buildings seldom needed 
  repair. The roadhouse was blessed with good fortune that had been unseen for 
  generations. With each visit, Hua Yue found herself more enamored with the odd, 
  massive man and eventually developed feelings of her own for him.
  Niu Tian Shen’s wife, Mei3Lan2 (Mei Lan, “Beautiful Orchid”), a fairy, 
  discovered that the man she loved and obsessed over was enamored with a mortal. 
  Mei Lan decided in her rage that if her husband was going to love a human, that 
  humans would be his undoing. Jealous and angry, she cast a spell into the seeds 
  of a flower that she cast into the wind. The seeds’ objective was to seek out a 
  woman with greed, anger, and pain consuming her heart … and plant themselves 
  within her. Of course, being “the doting, loving, and forgiving wife” that she is, 
  she planned to use her Shen2Xian1 (Taoist Immortal Fairy) powers to save her 
  husband in the end, if he’d only see the error of his bullheaded ways.
  
  ChAPtEr onE: introduCtion 
  ChAPtEr onE: introduCtion |5
  |5
  MonstErs in ChinEsE foLkLorE
  MonstErs in ChinEsE foLkLorE
  Daemons, spirits, and shen all refer to gods, of which there 
  are thousands in the mythology. The same written word is used 
  to describe soul, spirit, mysterious, supernatural, and beings of 
  immense power. It is important to remember that in the mythos, a 
  daemon or spirit isn’t inherently good, evil, or neutral. Even two of 
  the same type could have opposite natures or mixed natures. Two 
  snake spirits could have wildly different views. One could believe 
  in sucking the blood of humans while another could believe in the 
  benevolence of Guan Yin’s teachings.
  Mogui (mogwai) comes from “mo” meaning evil beings that 
  mean mortals harm, and “gui” meaning deceased vengeful spirits. 
  There are many forms of these creatures that equate to modern 
  translations as devils, demons, and undead.
  Chinese fairies come from the story of the Eight Fairies. It talks 
  about how humans ascended to immortality, gaining the status 
  of shen through esoteric Taoist disciplines. Exact powers of these 
  immortals tend to vary depending on the story, but generally 
  include teleportation, martial prowess, cunning, deception, and 
  social manipulation. The nature and behavior of the fairies have a 
  lot in common with the fairies of the Western world.
  Armed with hidden weapons and poison, the cultists spent the night lying in 
  wait to ambush Niu Tian Shen in the morning.
  Niu Tian Shen, however, did not visit the next day, and so the cultists released 
  the ox that pulled their cart and feigned that it had broken loose. They then 
  pretended to search for the ox to no avail so they could spend a second night at the 
  roadhouse.
  Again, Niu Tian Shen did not appear the following morning either. So the 
  cultists told Qing Shan that they would simply take turns pushing the cart until 
  they could find a farm from which to purchase or borrow an ox. They went outside 
  and started to push, but secretly used their blades to break the wagon wheel.
  They then told Qing Shan that they’d been too hard on the cart, which caused it 
  to catch in the road and break. The cultists spent yet a third night at the roadhouse.
  The following morning, Niu Tian Shen arrived. Quickly, the cultists went into 
  action. While the two caretakers of the roadhouse worked to put breakfast on 
  the table for all the guests, one of the cultists sneaked to their cart and retrieved 
  a bundle of blessed swords from a hidden compartment. Another cultist planted 
  vials of poison around the tree in the courtyard.
  Others loaded zhenniao poison darts into their sleeve dart guns and waited for 
  the signal to strike.
  Unfortunately, one of the cultists became nervous, and jumped into action 
  before the signal. He attacked Qing Shan in the kitchen but she screamed, alerting 
  everyone. She bolted for the dining room but her assailant caught her and thrust 
  a knife through her back before she stepped through the open doorway. The 
  overeager cultist slit her throat as a display of power before tossing her body aside 
  to join the fight. 
  The attackers, however, had deeply underestimated the power of the god they 
  were trifling with, for even in human form, Niu Tian Shen’s mass and prowess 
  were formidable. The combat quickly turned against the cultists. In a blur, the 
  disguised Niu Tian Shen overpowered the cultists. Unable to complete their 
  objective, the surviving cultists still managed to take Hua Yue hostage, whereupon 
  they fled.
  Niu Tian Shen intended to pursue, but he needed to gather his strength and heal 
  his wounds, so he stumbled to the tree in the courtyard, one of this anchor points 
  in the region, to borrow its lifeforce. When his hands touched the poisoned tree, he 
  fell unconscious and lost his corporeal form.
  Since then, Niu Tian Shen has been bound within the magically envenomed 
  circle around the tree. Unable to flee elsewhere for healing, he has had two days to 
  succumb to the poison and has devolved into madness.
  
  6|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  6|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  The adventurers arrive on the third day after the attack on the roadhouse.
  stArt
  stArt
  Some of the characters may have information that precedes their arrival at the 
  provincial roadhouse, involving the local animals and vegetation. Druids, rangers, 
  and wilderness-oriented characters notice that the wildlife has quieted or become 
  absent during the last two days of the party’s travels. Last night, even the song of 
  crickets did not accompany the characters when they camped under the sky.
  Druids, herbalists, farmers, and plant-oriented characters may notice that the 
  local flora has become especially dry and haggard over the past two days of travel, 
  even for these summer months.
  No die roll is required for the characters to notice the oddity of the area; it is 
  automatically apparent to anyone attuned to nature. Once you have given out any 
  of this information as needed, read or summarize the information below.
  You have been noticing storm clouds roll across the sky all 
  day, and they have begun to rumble their discontent. You might 
  have stopped earlier on the lonely road, in the poor cover of a few 
  trees were it not for roadside markers that promised a roadhouse 
  ahead. Unfortunately, the road proved to be longer than you 
  expected, and by the time the building appears ahead, the rain 
  has started in earnest. 
  The building looks inviting, and the once dry, cracked road has 
  quickly turned to a muddy track that only increases the desire for 
  a clean dry bed inside. Heading toward the entrance, you pass an 
  unattended cart only partially protected by a tarpaulin from the 
  rain.
  thE roAdhousE
  thE roAdhousE
  If the characters investigate the cart more closely, they can learn a few things 
  with a successful Perception check:
  DC 5:
  • The crates and jars are partially filled with sand and dirt, and there’s 
  nothing of value. This should immediately strike the characters as odd. 
  While the crates and jars are labelled to contain trade goods such as 
  tools, linen, and lanterns, an inspection of their contents reveals they are 
  partially filled with only regular sand and dirt.
  • One of the cart’s wheels is damaged. Beating the DC by 5 or more 
  reveals that the wheel seems to have been intentionally broken using a 
  bladed weapon. Coal dust is caught in the impact marks. A dirt-covered 
  (quickly turning to mud) yoke for an ox is shoved into the back of the 
  cart, the straps on it broken. Beating the DC by 5 or more reveals the 
  straps were intentionally cut.
  DC 10:
  • One small box up by the driver’s seat is filled with straw and wood 
  shavings. Beating the DC by 5 or more reveals indentations for several 
  small pouches that were once housed here. The pouches appeared to be 
  porous in nature and left a small amount of herbal residue in the box.
  • A light dusting of coal is under the protected tarp.
  DC 15:
  • A heavy blanket cascades out of a concealed compartment underneath 
  the cart. This is where the cultists smuggled their swords. The swords 
  were retrieved in a hurry; the compartment was left unpacked because 
  the cultists assumed a sure victory and time to pack it away properly.
  A-1. foyEr/shrinE
  A-1. foyEr/shrinE
  You shake off the rain as you step into the dim room. The only 
  source of light is from the fading light outside filtering through the 
  heavy rain clouds. Unlit lanterns hang from the rafters above you, 
  and the center of the room houses a cold drying stove. A shrine 
  along the far wall features the smiling figurine of a bearded old 
  man wearing an ox horn-shaped hat. To the figure’s left, a vertical 
  banner hangs with three hanzi (characters) proclaiming the 
  figure’s name to be Niu Tian Shen. A similar banner to the right 
  features a poem expressing his spheres of influence as agriculture, 
  growth of plants, health of wildlife, and that he “reigns after the 
  rooster crows but rests before the afternoon light.” The figure 
  stands on a cloth-draped table featuring various plates of offerings 
  arranged before him as well as a bowl of uncooked rice holding 
  three sticks of spent incense. 
  An open bundle of incense rests on a side table along with two 
  lid-covered ceramic donation dishes. One is marked “House,” and 
  the other “Spirit.” Several kneeling stools are set in front of the 
  shrine, and a large woven rug sits askew on the floor.
  The stove shows is empty and has not been used in some time. This is common 
  during summer months. The food offerings on the altar have spoiled and rotted.
  Inside the House dish, the characters find the canine tooth of an animal along 
  with several coins yet to be collected. The Spirit dish has a tightly rolled ball 
  of pungent herbs covered with paper along with a small sum of spirit money. 
  Wilderness-oriented characters can identify the tooth as being from a tiger. The 
  pungent herbs match the residue found in the box by the driver’s seat of the cart 
  outside.
  The characters should understand a few things at this point:
  • It is customary for someone to greet travelers who visit roadhouses. The 
  characters have not received a proper welcome.
  • They are expected to pay respects to the local god by lighting incense, 
  kneeling, and bowing several times before resting the incense in the 
  holder. A few prayers are traditionally recited at this time. 
  • Travelers who are able to do so are also expected to leave a small 
  donation in the dishes: standard money in the “House” dish and spirit 
  money or herb effigy in the “Spirit” dish for the god. People make 
  offerings and donations upon arriving, and some make additional 
  offerings when they leave.
  The characters find no evidence of the attack in this room, because the attackers 
  came to the roadhouse under the guise of being weary travelers and did not strike 
  until they were already. inside the compound.
  Leigong grants characters who show proper reverence through prayer a single 
  reroll during the course of the adventure. Characters can take the better result of 
  the two rolls.
  Chapter twO:  
  Chapter twO:  
  the prOvInCIal rOadhOuse
  the prOvInCIal rOadhOuse
  
  ChAPtEr two: thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE 
  ChAPtEr two: thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE |7
  |7
  thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE MAP
  thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE MAP
  
  8|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  8|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  A-2. CourtyArd
  A-2. CourtyArd
  You are looking out into a stone paved courtyard surrounded 
  by the buildings of the roadhouse. The rain continues lashing 
  down, and it is hot and muggy. Rain is unusual this time of year, 
  and torrential rain like this is nearly unheard of. Your clothes 
  immediately cling to you from a combination of your sweat and 
  the rain blowing under eaves of the buildings.
  Several limestone benches are arranged around the courtyard 
  along with one limestone table and five stools. What was once a 
  magnificent plum tree with fruit still hanging from its branches 
  stands in the center of the courtyard, but the entire tree is 
  withered and rotting. There is a well in the far corner of the 
  courtyard near a doorway.
  Characters investigating the courtyard notice blood in the courtyard that the 
  rain is quickly washing away on a successful DC 10 Perception check. Those 
  who press their investigation despite the weather find traces of blood trails that 
  can be tracked to two locations with a successful DC 20 Survival check. One 
  blood trail leads to the dining hall (Area A-11). They can determine that the blood 
  trail started in the kitchen and traveled into the courtyard. The other blood trail 
  leads to the plum tree in the center of the courtyard but then disappears. They can 
  determine that large humanoid footprints also end at the tree with a successful DC 
  18 Survival check.
  If the characters stay sheltered under the awning and investigate other rooms 
  in the compound first, the blood is washed away by the time they investigate the 
  courtyard, increasing the DC of the Survival checks by 5 and of the Perception 
  check by 20.
  A-2A. thE PLuM trEE
  A-2A. thE PLuM trEE
  Characters can find a large indentation where a human fell onto the earth beside 
  the tree before disappearing with a successful DC 15 Perception check. Two large 
  human handprints are burned into the tree trunk.
  Characters who approach the plum tree hear snorting and clomping sounds 
  when they are 15 feet out. If the characters continue to press and cross the 10-foot 
  mark, Niu Tian Shen (incorporeal form) steps out from the tree, and attacks.
  Every time Niu Tian Shen takes damage, the tree mirrors his wounds. Fruits 
  wither and rot, and leaves change color and fall as the tree breaks apart.
  Each time he’s forced to fight, characters hear the deep rumbling bellows and 
  snorts of a bull in pain. If the characters engage this manifestation but then retreat, 
  the manifestation cannot pursue due to being caged inside the dirt-covered area 
  around the tree. Niu Tian Shen slams against an invisible barrier before vanishing.
  Niu Tian Shen (incorporeal form) CR 6
  XP 2,400
  hp 85 (Appendix C: New Monsters, “Niu Tian Shen [incorporeal form]”)
  Characters who attempt to communicate with Niu Tian Shen have to calm him, 
  either through natural skill and talent or by playing music. Diplomacy is quite 
  difficult here, requiring a successful DC 25 check to calm him, however, Perform 
  skills calm him with a successful DC 20 check. Any characters skilled in musical 
  instruments but don’t have one with them may find something suitable in Hua 
  Yue’s room (area A-10).  Hua Yue’s xiao is exceptionally effective at calming him, 
  reducing the DC on a Perform (wind instruments) check by 5.
  If the characters are able to calm the manifestation, communication is still 
  limited due to Niu Tian Shen’s mental state — but they can get a few words such 
  as “attacked,” “poison,” “monsters,” and “love” between bellows, low growls, and 
  snorts. Feel free to add garbled gibberish between the recognizable words. 
  There is a way to improve the god’s condition, but it requires giving him 
  a potion (see the “Yang’s Potion” sidebox), which is not possible unless he 
  manifests in corporeal form. Once the poison is removed from the tree, which will 
  happen one way or another (see “After Nightfall”), Niu Tian Shen will materialize 
  in corporeal form in the hills to the Northeast of the roadhouse at sunrise. If the 
  characters have rescued the dragon Yang and talked with him, they may be in time 
  to meet the god when he materializes in corporeal form, give him the potion, and 
  bring him back to the dragon for additional help.
  Freshly dug earth can be found about 10 feet out from the trunk. If Niu Tian 
  Shen (incorporeal form) is calmed, defeated, or distracted by combat with other 
  members of the party, characters investigating the upturned soil find five empty 
  pouches planted equidistant in a ring around the tree. 
  The five empty pouches housed some sort of poison that disseminated into the 
  earth around the tree. Each pouch contains remnants of one of the five elements 
  planted in order around the tree: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.  The exterior 
  of each pouch is marked with each element’s hanzi written with smearing coal 
  powder.
  Characters can determine that these pouches are used to poison a shen’s bond 
  with their domain with a successful DC 25 Knowledge (religion) check. With 
  time, they can also identify some of the components as fairy spit and a variety of 
  herbs, and that the ingredients were combined with magic.
  Characters familiar with poisons recognize the zhenniao feather barbs and 
  spines packed into each pouch with a successful DC 20 Craft (alchemy) check..
  A-2B. thE wELL 
  A-2B. thE wELL 
  This appears to be a normal well.  The taut rope hanging from it indicates a 
  bucket at the bottom.  A quick glance shows the bucket appears intact.
  The Water Bucket 
  The water ripples from the heavy rain splashing against it but 
  the water looks fresh and clean. Bits of light glint against the 
  bottom of the bucket from what appear to be large fish-scales 
  about three inches in diameter.
  Characters can easily discern that the scales are genuine silver and pearl with a 
  successful DC 15 Appraise check. Characters who succeed at a DC 20 Knowledge 
  (religion) check believe these scales came from a silver water dragon, the spirits 
  and guardians of large bodies of water.
  The well water tastes metallic and smells like rotting vegetation, but it is safe 
  to drink — for now. The smell is so slight that a bucket of water must be pulled up 
  for the characters to notice it. The waterline appears to be about 50 feet down the 
  well.
  Down the Well
  Vegetation growing on the inner wall of the well provides good handholds and 
  makes climbing down easier. Only one Medium-sized character can fit at a time 
  into the diameter of the well. A character reaching midway down the well starts 
  to hear faint echoes of speech (see the Mei Gen encounter below for the types of 
  things that can be heard).
  As your feet touch the water, something slithers against one 
  foot and reaches for your ankle. You scramble to ascend again but 
  the rope-like vines growing against the well come to life and break 
  apart. Boils of black ichor rise to the surface of each individual 
  vine, making them look more like tentacles than plants. The ichor 
  drips as they descend, attempting to wrap around you.
  As soon as a character reaches the waterline, they are attacked by a canker 
  vine.
  Canker Vine 
  CR 8
  XP 4,800
  hp 150 (Appendix C: New Monsters, “Canker Vine”)
  
  ChAPtEr two: thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE 
  ChAPtEr two: thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE |9
  |9
  With a sigh, he tilts his head from side to side and steps onto the 
  islet. His dragon body melts away and in its place is a human man 
  dressed in diaphanous blue and white flowing robes, floor length 
  pearlescent white hair, silver eyes, and blue lips. He straightens 
  his clothes, dusts, and smooths out his sleeves.
  Yang thanks the characters and introduces himself. The characters may have 
  varying degrees of information depending upon how much of the roadhouse they 
  have explored. After any initial pleasantries, the conversation will most likely 
  begin with the quote from the text box below.
  Mei Gen, a mogui, came to my cave this morning after the big 
  ox was attacked above. The mogui caught me while I was taking a 
  nap. I can tell you this: he wouldn’t have dared try such an attack 
  on my lagoon if the ox was fully himself.
  This is likely to cause the characters to ask questions about “the ox,” and the 
  conversation can proceed — approximately — along these lines. Depending on 
  the questions the characters ask, not all of these points may get raised.
  • The ox was attacked a couple of days ago.
  • “The ox lives above but he also lives in the hills to the northeast. He 
  comes to the place above often. He visits me sometimes, but he always 
  wants something. It’s always boring work that I don’t want to do.”
  • Characters should get the impression that Yang finds Niu Tian Shen 
  annoying and bothersome. Yang rolls his eyes, sighs, and shrugs a lot.
  • “Ox comes in human form to visit the mortal girl above. She intoxicates 
  him with her music, and he’s enamored.” Yang clearly disapproves of 
  Niu Tian Shen’s infatuation with the mortal.
  • He mentions that the ox believes it is true love. If the characters press 
  Yang about Niu Tian Shen’s romantic life, the dragon may mention that 
  the ox is rumored to be married to a fairy that lives high in the northwest 
  mountains. Ox never goes into the mountains though.
  Whenever it seems appropriate, Yang will make his request to the characters, 
  roughly as follows:
  Ox can’t take human form now. He’s in a state of madness and 
  very sick. I can feel it seeping into the lands above, and it will 
  soon reach my lagoon. If we don’t help him, I may fall victim to it 
  with time. You’re clearly capable and understand the ’work, work, 
  work’ mentality. Will you help?
  If the characters ask what Yang means about “falling victim”, he’ll explain. 
  “The ox is dying, and with him, the land. I have heard stories of deserts in distant 
  lands where gods fought and died, but I have never seen it with my own eyes. I do 
  not wish to see it.”
  If the characters agree to help, Yang pulls a small pearl vial from the sleeve of 
  his robe. “Once you calm him, make him drink this. It suppresses the madness, 
  temporarily, and should allow you to communicate with him.”
  Once the characters have defeated the canker vine, they will be able to see more 
  of the space at the well bottom.
  You can now see that the well taps into a slow-moving 
  underground river. It is shallow enough for you to walk along the 
  bottom while keeping your shoulders and head above water.
  A malicious cackle reverberates from downriver.
  Following the cackle leads the characters to an underground lagoon.
  A-2C. thE drAgon’s LAgoon
  A-2C. thE drAgon’s LAgoon
  Rounding a turn in the passageway, you smell the immediate 
  stench of fecundity and rot. Fungus of all shapes and sizes grow 
  along the walls of a water-filled cavern, some giving off an eerie 
  luminescent glow that is enough to see by. A silver-and-pearl-
  colored dragon lies on a tiny islet in the center of a large lagoon. 
  Its blue beard hangs limply against the sand and grit. Tendrils 
  from the same type of plant you fought minutes ago are wrapped 
  along the coiled length of this magnificent creature.
  A pale, waiflike figure dressed in loose dark robes watches over 
  the dragon. The figure has long warped fingernails, and veins 
  bulge across its skin. It smiles with a venomous grin as it regards 
  the helpless dragon. “Once my pet has had its fun …”
  Mei Gen CR 8
  XP 4,800
  hp 92 (Appendix C: New Monsters, “Mogwai, Rot and Fecundity”)
  This mogui is Mei2 Gen1 (Mei Gen, Rot Root). Mei Gen is clearly enraged at 
  the interruption and exchanges haughty words with the characters before attacking 
  to “dispose of the nuisance.” If attacked, his eyes go black and green as lightning 
  crackles from them. Listed below are some of the phrases he spouts at the 
  characters; feel free to create your own based on these:
  * “I didn’t expect I’d get to have mortals for dessert so soon.” 
  * “Leigong can’t see so deep underground. What he can’t see, he can’t punish.”
  * “I’ll feed your chi to my pets and make you into fertilizer.”
  If the characters defeat Mei Gen, the canker vines wrapped around the dragon 
  Yang2 (Yang, Ocean, Silver Coin) go limp and can easily be removed.
  The dragon stretches out with a yawn and jumps into the water. 
  He swims around the islet for several laps, his tail splashing 
  water onto the small land mass.
  The dragon Yang is grateful for being rescued but rolls his eyes and feigns 
  boredom if the characters become impatient trying to get his attention. Yang 
  finally addresses the characters after a few laps. Yang is currently regenerating in 
  the water. He is a little bit lazy but enjoys riddles and proverbs. In his mind, he 
  always has time and many beings are just too impatient.
  Yang 
  CR 8
  XP 4,800
  hp 85 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3, “Sea Dragon, Young”)
  
  10|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  10|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  However, one peach tree in area A-2D is worth noting:
  A single peach tree seems yet untouched by decay, but it is 
  scarred by a lightning strike some time in its history.  This tree 
  has a few ripe peaches ready for picking.
  These peaches are a gift to the characters from Leigong to reward and assist 
  them. When eaten, they heal 9 hit points and allow characters an additional save 
  with a +2 divine bonus against any diseases or poisons affecting them.
  The tree has 4 peaches.
  A-3. CArEtAkEr’s rooM
  A-3. CArEtAkEr’s rooM
  This room is cozy and warm, with diaphanous fabric curtains 
  draped from the boxed-in bed. Two silk screens with painted 
  mountainscapes block a metal tub from sight. A wardrobe 
  filled with simple women’s clothes is pushed against one wall. 
   
   
  A hand mirror is face down on the mirror-less vanity. The wash 
  basin still has water in it and the latrine basin isn’t in the room.
  This is Qing Shan’s room. Characters searching the room may find a small 
  hiding space dug into the dirt under some floorboards by the bed. An old, dust-
  covered box rests inside and contains a wrapped martial arts manual titled Day of 
  the Seven Cranes.
  A-4. through A-9. BoArding rooMs 
  A-4. through A-9. BoArding rooMs 
  These boarding rooms for travelers are all uniform and relatively sparse. The 
  furniture is functional and serviceable but not new or expensive. Each room 
  includes a nook-style bed, a table and two chairs, a tea set on the table, a ceramic 
  latrine basin, and a mirror-less vanity with a large bowl and a pitcher.
  Characters searching these rooms find a couple of travel satchels with basic 
  travel necessities such as water gourds. A little coal dust is found on all of the 
  satchels.
  In the first two rooms the characters choose to investigate, they hear the 
  chittering of rats nearby but won’t find any to engage. The third room the 
  characters investigate contains 1d4 rat swarms. 
  Rat Swarm (4) 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  hp 16 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary, “Rat Swarm”)
  In Area A-7, the characters find a sword hidden in a travel-bedroll one of the 
  cultists left behind with a successful DC 20 Perception check. The weapon is in 
  a poorly fitting sheath. Gelsemium flowers are engraved along the metal blade, 
  which is also covered in coal dust. Recognizing the flowers requires a successful 
  DC 10 Knowledge (nature) check. Characters may know that the coal dust is a 
  trick assassins and some cults use so that their weapons don’t catch the light with 
  a successful DC 15 Stealth check. Characters may recall another name for these 
  flowers with a successful DC 15 Knowledge (nature) check: heartbreaker’s grass. 
  It is known to be an exceptionally poisonous yellow flowering plant.
  yAng’s Potion
  yAng’s Potion
  The small pearl vial Yang gives to the characters is the only 
  way to reduce Niu Tian Shen’s madness to the point that the god 
  can communicate relatively clearly, although it cannot restore him 
  to full health. Once Niu Tian Shen drinks the contents of the vial, 
  he will remember and be able to communicate as described in the 
  “Memories of Niu Tian Shen” sidebox in Chapter Three.
  If the characters demand payment, they obviously offend Yang. He reluctantly 
  offers a handful of molted scales worth 2,000 gp but expects the characters to 
  realize the error of their ways and decline. If any characters accept this payment, 
  they are marked with his disfavor.
  If the characters don’t ask for payment, Yang remembers the characters and 
  favors them in the future.
  He encourages them to bring the ox to him because he believes he can diagnose 
  the poison. It is possible he can design a cure if the characters help procure the 
  rare ingredients.
  Yang tells the characters that they should seek the ox out in the morning light 
  on the pastures in the hills to the northeast. Touched by the rays of the sun, he 
  should take the corporeal form of an oversized ox.
  Yang provides the characters with very clear landmarks and says it should be a 
  two to three hour walk for a human. It is important that they make it before high 
  sun. He also warns the characters that the ox will not be in his right mind so they 
  need to subdue or calm him.
  If asked about music, Yang laughs and says, “Who is to say the ox wasn’t mad 
  before the poison? He did cut off his own horn and fashion it into a xiao (a vertical 
  end-blown flute) for his mortal love. I’d never cut off my beautiful mane for 
  anyone.” He punctuates his statement by running a hand through his hair, pulling 
  it forward over his shoulder. He then recites a proverb, “Those who hear not the 
  music, think the dancers mad,” and shrugs.
  If presented with the coal pendants or the coal-covered sword with gelsemium 
  on it (found in area A-7), Yang pulls away, muttering a prayer, “Leigong protect 
  me from such a fate.” He is clearly scared and speaks in a hushed whisper about 
  rumors of a dark cult that seeks power by taking the souls of daemons such 
  as himself and the ox. He will also, if asked, explain who Leigong is (see the 
  adventure start for details — Leigong is the disguised thunder god the characters 
  met at the beginning of the adventure).
  He can also give them the information that gelsemium is extremely poisonous 
  to humans and many animals but has no effect on daemons, so it couldn’t be what 
  poisoned the ox.
  “Several water sprites bring me fresh water from the mountains, and they 
  tell me about the Tan4shi4 (Tanshi, coal addicts) working their waters, hiding 
  underneath the mountains. The sprites say their leader is called Fragrant Poison. I 
  think they are a dark cult seeking power and ascension through unnatural means.”
  “The water sprites say that the dark cult has caught a few of their number in the 
  past but most of them are too fast and able to hide from the cultists.”
  A-2d. And A-2E. fruit And vEgEtABLE gArdEns 
  A-2d. And A-2E. fruit And vEgEtABLE gArdEns 
  These two areas cannot be seen or accessed from the main courtyard.
  Rows of planter boxes line the paved ground here, each filled 
  with various fruit and vegetable plants. Little sticks with colored 
  string tied around them act as markers in front of each plant. 
  Most of what hasn’t ripened has dried and withered, and most of 
  what has ripened but wasn’t picked is now rotting.
  
  ChAPtEr two: thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE 
  ChAPtEr two: thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE |11
  |11
  A-10. huA yuE’s rooM
  A-10. huA yuE’s rooM
  Entering this room, you can see that someone took great 
  care to decorate and maintain it. Each wall is covered with a 
  white silk screen painted with mountains and meadows, and 
  overlaid with poems written vertically from right to left. The 
  calligraphy here matches that on the banners in the shrine. 
   
   
  A bed is on the far end of the room. The frame is built into 
  the ceiling, and panels come around the front. Several layers 
  of curtains hang down just past the mattress. To the left of 
  the door, a low table functions as a desk and has embroidery, 
  painting, and sewing projects cluttering its surface. This 
  room includes the washbasin and latrine from the other 
  rooms, but the vanity here has a mirror, unlike the others. 
   
   
  Scattered all around the room are musical instruments, mostly 
  of simple craftsmanship and not much in the way of decoration.
  Two instruments stand out from the rest. A guqin, a seven-stringed zither, is 
  decorated with inlaid coral shaped into a winged serpent. The other is a xiao, a 
  vertical end-blown flute usually made of bamboo. This is Hua Yue’s xiao, which 
  has a scene of a woman dancing her way to the mountains skillfully carved into 
  the material. Closer inspection reveals that it is made from an animal horn and not 
  the expected bamboo. The xiao detects as magical.
  Hue Yue’s xiao is made from the horn of Niu Tian Shen, who has a close 
  spiritual connection to it. Given the strength of the connection and the pure nature 
  of the xiao, Niu Tian Shen is able to burst the bonds holding him near the tree so 
  he can defend the xiao from theft.
  If characters remove the xiao from Hua Yue’s room without playing it, Niu 
  Tian Shen (incorporeal form) forms outside the room and attacks, trying to 
  knock them back into the room (if the characters haven’t already defeated him 
  in the courtyard). The manifestation continues to attack the bearer of the xiao, 
  gaining the effects of rage against the target of his ire. 
  The characters may manage to calm Niu Tian Shen by their diplomatic skills or 
  by playing the xiao: see Area A2-A.
  Niu Tian Shen (incorporeal form) CR 6
  XP 2,400
  hp 85 (Appendix C: New Monsters, “Niu Tian Shen [incorporeal form]”)
  
  12|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  12|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  Searching the room uncovers a journal Hua Yue kept in her desk (or under her 
  pillow). Flipping through it, characters find a few passages of interest:
  JournAL ExCErPt A
  JournAL ExCErPt A
  I couldn’t sleep again last night so I sneaked out under the 
  moonlight and followed the stars. It was morning by the time I 
  stopped on the hills in a beautiful pasture with spring flowers 
  sprouting between the wild grass. From it, I can look down 
  into the distance and see where I came from. The roadhouse 
  is so small that I couldn’t even pick it out in the distance. 
   
   
  I fell asleep in the grass. When I woke, a huge ox was standing 
  still and staring at me. I was terrified at first, even screamed, but 
  somehow the ox looked concerned for me and snorted several times. 
   
   
  When he didn’t make a move toward me, I picked a handful 
  of grass and offered it to him, then played music while he grazed 
  beside me. I could have sworn he was dancing.
  JournAL ExCErPt B
  JournAL ExCErPt B
  Mother says Master Niu sent word he’d be visiting tomorrow 
  morning. I can’t wait to play the xiao for him. It was such an 
  extravagant gift; I can’t imagine how much it cost. I wrote several 
  songs for Master Niu. I’m so nervous. I hope he likes them.
  JournAL ExCErPt C
  JournAL ExCErPt C
  I’m beginning to understand why mountains are the gateway 
  to heaven. I brought a picnic to the hill today, my personal 
  heaven. I made sure to bring some fruit in case the ox was there. 
   
   
  Oh, the horror! Poor ox lost a horn! I wish he could tell me what 
  happened. I worry it hurts him. He ate the fruit from my hand and 
  licked the juice off my arm. At least he’s in good spirits despite 
  missing one of his horns now.
  Several other entries reference regular visits to the hill along with sketches of 
  the area and the view from the hilltop. The characters can use these sketches and 
  some basic knowledge to map their way to the location if they think of it.
  In the entries, Hua Yue often mentions encountering Master Niu on the hilltop 
  on a regular basis. She tends to detail those encounters with extreme care. Though 
  she never comes out and writes it in her journal, there’s a strong implication that 
  Hua Yue has a significant crush on Master Niu.
  Several other entries mention occasional encounters with the ox on the hilltop 
  and the rapport the two built through music. She even comments on the absolute 
  hilarity of watching the ox dance. 
  A-11. dining hALL
  A-11. dining hALL
  Stepping into the dining hall, you come upon a horrific 
  scene and the smell of death. What was once a rectangular 
  wooden table and a dozen chairs is now a mess of broken 
  and splintered wood. Three men and a woman are dead 
  in this room, a couple of them draped over the broken 
  furniture. Blades and blowguns lie just out of their grasps. 
   
   
  The corpses have begun to sprout a variety of fungi, mushrooms, 
  and molds, with a large pool of blood producing a rainbow-colored 
  growth. Their faces are obscured or decayed beyond recognition. 
   
   
  The door to the kitchen is closed, but you pick up the distinct 
  scent of fresh steamed baozi, rice, and vegetables in the air mixing 
  with the smell of rot and decay in the dining hall. Sounds of metal 
  on metal can be heard from the kitchen.
  A half dozen coal-dusted swords, two coal-dusted daggers, and two blowguns 
  can be found scattered around the room. A number of the surviving attackers 
  dropped their weapons as they fled with their hostage.
  Characters who succeed at a DC 15 Stealth check note that covering a blade 
  with coal or soot is a way assassins avoid having the blades reflect light and giving 
  away their position. 
  The bodies of the men and women are dressed alike, with each wearing gray 
  linen robes with white robes lining them. The only sign of wealth in their clothes 
  is a red silk sash around their waist, marking them as poor merchants. All their 
  clothes and the weapons found around this room have coal dust on them.
  Investigating the bodies reveals that each one wears a pendant carved of chunks 
  of coal. A seal is stamped onto each of them in red. The seals read “Duan Chan 
  Cao” (“Heartbreaker Grass”). The bottom of each of these chunks of coal has 
  been fashioned into a chop (a stamp most often used among the wealthy as their 
  signature). Each chop has a different inscription.
  Further investigation reveals that each body has several harnesses and 
  scabbards designed to conceal a small weapon. One of them is also carrying a 
  regional map with the roadhouse specifically marked on it (see Cultist’s Map).
  Characters investigating the corpses have a 1-in-3 chance of discovering and 
  being attacked by rot grubs!
  Rot Grub Swarm CR 7
  XP 3,200
  hp 85 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Bestiary 3, “Rot Grub Swarm”)
  A-12. kitChEn
  A-12. kitChEn
  The kitchen is bustling with activity. A middle-aged woman 
  dressed in a floral robe soaked in blood stands over the stove with a 
  wok in one hand and a metal spatula in the other. A stacked bamboo 
  steamer nestled in another wok is over another section of the stove. 
   
   
  A closer look reveals that the woman’s throat has been slit, 
  her neck wound providing a gruesome second smile where the 
  blood dried. Her disheveled hair is pulled up into a bun, but loose 
  strands are matted with dried blood, gluing bits of it to her face 
  and neck. A dagger runs through her from back to sternum.
  
  ChAPtEr two: thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE 
  ChAPtEr two: thE ProvinCiAL roAdhousE |13
  |13
  In the lore, stories speak of people having their throats slit or 
  tongues removed after death so the dead “can tell no tale (secrets).”
  This is Qing Shan, who is now a chi thief mogwai. She can talk with the 
  characters but cannot provide any useful information because her attackers slit 
  her throat so “she can tell no secrets” after they killed her. Her throat wasn’t slit 
  deep enough to render her mute, however. Characters who succeed at a DC 20 
  Knowledge (planes or religion) check will perceive that the slit throat acts as a 
  curse on her.
  The 
  woman 
  seems 
  startled 
  by 
  your 
  presence 
  but 
  turns to greet you. She attempts to smile, but the dead 
  flesh on her face causes her face to contort strangely. 
   
   
  “Hello, hello! I trust my daughter has you settling in? Our 
  humble roadhouse is getting quite full but I’m sure we’ll find 
  space to keep you all comfortable during your short stay! Go have 
  a seat in the hall. Dinner’s almost ready, and I made some baozi 
  for you to travel with in the morning!”
  Qing Shan is able to answer basic questions but does not remember the attack 
  or details of her death:
  • “I’m Qing Shan. My daughter and I keep this place running and travelers 
  fed.”
  • “My daughter? Her name is Hua Yue. She’s the one who greeted you 
  when you arrived.”
  • “Three days ago, nine merchants arrived and suffered bad luck day after 
  day so they stayed far longer than they expected. They weren’t very 
  sociable, so I mostly just let them be except for meals. (Her timing is 
  off; it’s actually been five days, because she stopped being able to track 
  time when she died.)
  • If the characters push Qing Shan to remember what happened, she’ll 
  explain things away with statements such as, “Oh, Hua Yue’s probably 
  run off to her hills again.” Get creative if pressed for more.
  • If the characters manage to find a way to force Qing Shan to confront her 
  condition, she will turn on the characters and attack.  She will lose what 
  memories she does have until her next return.
  Qing Shan 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  hp 37 (Appendix C: New Monsters, “Mogwai, Chi Thief”)
  Speak with dead will not produce more information without first casting remove 
  curse on her. Qing Shan’s timing will be accurate if questioned under a speak with 
  dead spell, and she gives accurate accounts of the information she knows.
  Qing shan is a mogui but of a different subtype than Mei Gen. If the characters 
  fight and defeat her, she rises again at moonrise and returns to maintaining the 
  grounds by sweeping the courtyard, watering the dying plants, picking dying 
  plants to cook, and cooking in the kitchen. Each time she rises in this way, she is a 
  more diminished version of her human self and becomes more easily angered and 
  aggressive. 
  If the characters chop her into tiny bits, char her to dust, or make Qing Shan 
  mush, she comes back without a body and is far more dangerous. Characters who 
  make a successful DC 20 Knowledge (religion) may know that a mogui without a 
  body is prone to possessing those who do.
  The only way to truly lay Qing Shan to rest is to have a suitable monk, cleric, 
  priest, or family member perform a transition ceremony that includes the burning 
  of spirit money and special incense. A cleric character can perform the ceremony.
  A-13. CELLAr 
  A-13. CELLAr 
  This cellar is little more than a five-foot-deep pit filled with varying sizes of 
  ceramic jars. Some are used to store dry goods while others store fermenting 
  foods. There’s just enough space for one Medium-sized creature to enter the pit 
  and get to the stored foodstuffs.
  Unfortunately, the accelerated corruption and rot which affects the roadhouse 
  has already spread into this storage. About 50% of the containers of dried rice, 
  seeds, nuts, and fruits are still edible, and 30% of the fermented products including 
  dry and wet brined pickled peppers and various vegetables are still edible.
  Characters find a +1 silver weapon (fitting what someone in the group would 
  use), 6 potions of cure light wounds nestled in a box covered with sawdust and 
  straw, and a spirit stone (a stone of good luck [luckstone]) stashed behind several 
  fermentation jars on a shelf built into the wall. All of it looks rather old, untouched 
  for quite some time. 
  The spirit stone is a piece of white jade shaped like a gourd with a red string 
  and ornate knotting tied around it.
  AftEr nightfALL (unfinishEd BusinEss)
  AftEr nightfALL (unfinishEd BusinEss)
  The rain stops around midnight but rumblings of thunder and occasional flashes 
  of lightning ring in the distance well into midmorning.
  Late in the night, if the characters haven’t already pulled the poison satchels 
  from around the tree in the courtyard, the rotting bark and bugs peel off the tree 
  and shape into hands crawling around the courtyard searching for something. 
  There are 4 fetid hand swarms meandering around.
  Fetid Hands Swarm (4) 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  hp 9 (Appendix C: New Monsters, “Fetid Hands Swarm”)
  Some of these hands start digging at the dirt around the tree, tearing up roots 
  and revealing the five buried pouches. Others crawl around the courtyard and 
  possibly even make their way into rooms where the characters are spending 
  the night. These hands crawl across the dark floor or drop out of the rafters. 
  Characters are far more likely to smell them before they see them.
  After dealing with these hands, the characters find the poison pouches 
  unearthed and displaced. Niu Tian Shen has been released and appears later in the 
  hills.
  An hour or two before dawn, if the characters haven’t already explored the 
  lagoon, they hear the sound of painful whimpers echoing up to the courtyard from 
  the well. 
  Yang is far weaker if rescued at this time. He provides the same information 
  as before but is far less playful about it, curling up in a ball on the islet in human 
  form and on the edge of sleep during the entire conversation.
  
  14|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  14|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  The Northeast Hills are approximately a two to three hour walk. Mention that 
  the characters still hear the rumbling of distant thunderclaps during their journey 
  despite it no longer raining or a cloud even appearing in the sky.
  Niu Tian Shan appears on the hilltop at sunrise, and shortly thereafter a group 
  of cultists arrive and attack him. Depending on when the characters arrive, they 
  may have a chance to subdue and question the maddened god before the cultists 
  come onto the scene.
  Even diminished by the poison you now know is festering 
  in the land and its god, the hills northeast of the roadhouse 
  are a place of beauty. Hiking up the hillsides, the grass grows 
  taller, and you weave through copses of bamboo trees. What 
  was likely green and verdant just a week ago now shows signs 
  of drying and wilting. Leaves on some of the trees are wilting. 
   
   
  White, yellow, and red wildflowers dot the landscape, many 
  missing some or half their petals. They reach for the sun along 
  with the tall grass that stretches more than three feet high by the 
  time you reach the hilltop.
  Regardless of how things develop, the characters observe that whenever Niu 
  Tian Shen exerts himself, the plants around him begin to die.
  Arriving BEforE sunrisE
  Arriving BEforE sunrisE
  Characters who arrive before dawn are able to set up whatever procedures and 
  precautions they would like while waiting for the ox’s arrival. If they are looking 
  for cover, the slope of the hillside and the tall grass are both options.
  As the sun crests over the mountains, you watch the hilltop for 
  any signs of the ox. Sunlight catches on something you can’t see, 
  and it flares bright, momentarily blinding you. When your senses 
  return, a massive ox with one horn and gashes in it shoulder and 
  sides stands before you. It snorts, smelling the air, and clomps 
  its hooves against the ground several times before backing away 
  from your position and collapsing into the tall grass.
   
  Niu Tian Shen 
  CR 8
  XP 4,800
  hp 101 (Appendix C: New Monsters, “Niu Tian Shen”)
  If Niu Tian Shen is calmed or subdued, the characters can use the draught 
  Yang gave them to temporarily suppress his madness. Characters could also cast 
  neutralize poison on Niu Tian Shen to make the draught’s effect permanent and 
  remove the poison, but it requires far more powerful magic than the characters 
  have available to actually restore Niu Tian Shen to health.
  MEMoriEs of niu tiAn shEn
  MEMoriEs of niu tiAn shEn
  At first, Niu Tian Shen is quite disoriented. Characters may 
  need to pose questions, prompt him and fill in information they 
  have gathered. Memories return in bits and pieces, but a complete 
  picture can be formed by interacting with the characters.
  Niu Tian Shen was looking in on his friends Matron Shan 
  and her daughter, Hua Yue. Time hasn’t been passing logically 
  for him since he was poisoned, but with the characters filling in 
  information, he guesses it happened four or five mornings ago.
  He remembers the provincial roadhouse being filled with more 
  guests than he’d seen in years, but not liking the smell of coal 
  and filth that clung to the merchants gathering in the dining hall 
  for breakfast. Matron Shan made porridge and fried dough with 
  sweetened hot soy milk to drink. Thoughts of Matron Shan’s food 
  quickly distracts Niu Tian Shen. He rambles on about the various 
  dishes she cooks and how they are all of the best quality.
  He remembers Matron Shan screaming. He ran inside to help 
  and was attacked. A moment later, a man emerged from the 
  kitchen with Matron Shan’s limp form shielding him. The assassin 
  slit her throat before casting her aside.
  Thinking back to before the fight, Niu Tian Shen recalls that 
  one of the attackers might have slipped out to the cart parked 
  outside and fetched larger bladed weapons. He saw a man bring 
  a large, blanket-wrapped bundle in on his back but didn’t think 
  anything of it at the time.
  After the fight, Niu Tian Shen recalls that he pulled himself 
  to the plum tree, an anchor of his power. He hoped to re-energize 
  himself with the divine essence imbued in the tree. However, 
  when he pulled upon the energy within the tree, he discovered it 
  was poisoned and corrupt. He can’t remember or make sense of 
  anything after that.
  Everything after that is a haze, but he does remember someone 
  calling out about orders “not to kill the girl.” He had a panic attack 
  when he realized he’d lost track of Hua Yue. 
  Unless he’s captured and imprisoned by appropriate means, he 
  remains anchored to this hilltop until he either heals or dies. Each 
  morning, he returns to the hilltop as the sun crests the mountains.
  He has other anchors across the region but this is the center 
  of his power and where he is tied to most strongly. The nearest 
  other tether is the poisoned plum tree in the roadhouse courtyard. 
  But he is unable to return there due to the corruption ritual the 
  cultists performed.  
  Unless the characters leave very shortly, they will be present when the cultists 
  attack.
  Chapter three:  
  Chapter three:  
  the nOrtheast hIlls
  the nOrtheast hIlls
  
  ChAPtEr thrEE: thE northEAst hiLLs 
  ChAPtEr thrEE: thE northEAst hiLLs |15
  |15
  Cultist’s Map
  Cultist’s Map
  Roadhouse
  Roadhouse
  Two Days
  Two Days
  Mei Zhen
  Mei Zhen
  Wei Feng
  Wei Feng
  N
  S
  W
  E
  
  16|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  16|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  Characters who develop a rapport with the cultist might make headway in 
  reversing the brainwashing. Characters may be able to play on the cultist’s 
  previous identity to provide the fanatic some clarity and perspective with a 
  successful DC 20 Diplomacy check. Doing so yields some better information: 
  • Their temple is located near Meizhen to the southeast. It is hidden deep 
  below an abandoned mine.
  • Fragrant Poison has a powerful magic item, but the cultist doesn’t know 
  the nature of its power.
  • Characters need a key to enter the “great temple.”
  • Fragrant Poison and her followers used to operate out of abandoned 
  houses in the recesses of the southern mountains until their new patron 
  goddess moved them to the “great temple” a few months ago.
  • Their new patron goddess created a magical doorway that the cultists 
  use to enter the “great temple.” The cultists wear chops around their 
  necks; every supplicant must wear one to enter. 
  • This group was sent out when the provincial roadhouse attack failed.
  Niu Tian Shen is scared, and attacks at the slightest provocation, but he can 
  be calmed by playing the xiao or by diplomatic skill. Characters who examine 
  him after the battle with the cultists find barbs and broken shafts from zhenniao 
  bird feathers in several of the wounds. Extracting them without doing more 
  damage requires a successful DC 15 Heal check. Talking with the god after the 
  cultist attack, provided he is calmed and given Yang’s potion, yields the same 
  information as if the characters had arrived before sunrise.
  rEturning to yAng 
  rEturning to yAng 
  With the information the characters learn on the hill, they may choose to return 
  to Yang with or without Niu Tian Shen, possibly hoping they can get him some 
  help before the next morning light.
  Read or summarize the following if the characters return to Yang during the day:
  Yang’s serpentine form can be seen moving just beneath the 
  surface of the water when you return to the lagoon. Sensing 
  your presence in his water, he makes his way over and surfaces. 
  He cocks his head from side to side scrutinizing you for several 
  moments before changing into his human form. Despite being 
  soaking wet, his robes float outward rather than cling to his skin.
  Read or summarize the following if the characters return to Yang during the night:
  You return to find Yang’s serpentine form coiled on the islet. He 
  snores loudly, making small waves in the water with each exhale. 
  The light shimmers against his skin, and you see the bruises from 
  the canker vine pulse across his body. When you move into the 
  water of the lagoon, he startles awake and leaps into the water. 
  Moments later, he swims up to you, cocking his head from side 
  to side. He scrutinizes you for several moments before changing 
  into his human form. You see bruises on his arms, face, and neck. 
  Despite being soaking wet, his robes float outward rather than 
  cling to his skin.
  Yang 
  CR 8
  XP 4,800
  hp 85 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3, “Sea Dragon, Young”)
  Arriving AftEr sunrisE
  Arriving AftEr sunrisE
  Characters who arrive on the hilltop before high sun but after sunrise see 
  cultists attacking Niu Tian Shen, who is currently manifested as an unusually large 
  ox.
  The characters ascend the opposite side of the hill from the cultists, so they are 
  unlikely to notice the cultists before the attack.
  Rounding a copse of bamboo trees, the sound of a loud 
  bellowing animal rings through the air. Quickly searching 
  for the source, you spot a massive, obviously wounded 
  ox atop the hill. The ox is missing one of its horns and 
  is fighting for its life against a handful of attackers. 
   
   
  Neither side seems to notice your presence, allowing you to 
  draw closer for a better look. Men and women are dressed in gray 
  robes, red sashes, and wield coal-dusted blades that don’t reflect 
  the light. Each attacker’s face has a hanzi (written character) 
  drawn from forehead to chin, in black, likely coal dust mixed with 
  water.
  Niu Tian Shen will have little to no effect on a battle between the characters 
  and the cultists, given his condition. The characters will have to defeat the 
  cultists without any measurable help from the god. The battle involves 1 cultist 
  lieutenant, 1 cultist assassin, 1 cultist magic user, and 2 cultist monks.
  Cultist Assassin CR 5
  XP 1,600
  hp 45 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game GameMastery Guide, “Tomb 
  Raider”)
  Cultist Lieutenant 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  hp 48 (Pathfinder Campaign Setting Inner Sea NPC Codex, “Silent 
  Enforcer”)
  Cultist Magic User 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  hp 33 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game GameMastery Guide, “Battle 
  Mage”)
  Cultist Monk (2) CR 4
  XP 1,200
  hp 31 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game NPC Codex, “Cruel Devotee”)
  The cultists have a map showing a section of the region that includes the 
  provincial roadhouse in the lower right corner and Mei Zhen on the upper left 
  corner.
  Questioning any captured cultists yields some information: 
  • The cultist is a devotee of Fragrant Poison, their great leader. She is so 
  powerful that the goddess Mei Lan sought her out and promised her 
  people a great future.
  • The cultist doesn’t fear death because they believe Mei Lan will reward 
  them for their sacrifice.
  • Becoming a cultist involved a ritual separation from the cultist’s former 
  life. They gave up property, name, and personal identity as a sacrifice to 
  Fragrant Poison in preparation for true enlightenment. Every cultist is 
  required to make this sacrifice.
  
  ChAPtEr thrEE: thE northEAst hiLLs 
  ChAPtEr thrEE: thE northEAst hiLLs |17
  |17
  If the characters didn’t bring Niu Tian Shen with them, Yang is initially 
  disappointed. He listens to what the characters learned, offering minimal feedback.
  If the characters brought Niu Tian Shen with them, Yang pulls him deeper into 
  the lagoon and attempts to heal him with the water and his powers. He encourages 
  the characters to share what they’ve learned while he works.
  Either way, Yang shakes his head in frustration when the characters finish 
  catching him up on their progress and discoveries.
  “He is beyond my power but perhaps not beyond yours,” 
  Yang says. “I need answers. To get them, I need something that 
  embodies the nature of a predator.”
  Yang emphasizes that it has to be something born of the beast such as a tooth, 
  claw, feather, tuft of fur, or anything else that is suitable for dipping into ink. One 
  possibility would be the tiger tooth the characters may have discovered in the 
  foyer/shrine (area A-1).
  Characters can also offer items from their equipment that they feel fit this 
  description if they give a good enough reason.
  Adjust the following boxed text with the item and corresponding animal:
  Yang pulls a scroll case and vial of ink from his sleeves and 
  settles down on his islet. He dips the (ITEM) you gave him into 
  the ink and writes a series of characters vertically down the 
  unfurling scroll. You hear a loud roar through the chamber, and 
  the apparition of a massive (ANIMAL) blows through the room 
  like a gust of wind. Carried on the wind, you hear, “To be made 
  whole, body and soul, what was given freely must be returned 
  with equal sincerity.”
  After due consideration and conversation with the characters, Yang will help 
  the characters arrive at the conclusion that Niu Tian Shen’s horn must be restored.  
  Gifts are sacred and the horn was gifted to Hua Yue so she must return it sincerely 
  and freely. This is why Mei Lan gave the cultists specific instructions not to harm 
  the girl. She needs Hua Yue alive and well to control her husband when the horn is 
  returned to him as part of her plan. 
  If the characters have obtained the cultists’ map and mention it to Yang, he will 
  ask to see it. When he has looked at it, he will point out it is a map of the local 
  region.
  “We’re here.  The hills are here.  This, up here, is Mei Zhen, 
  Coal Town,” he will point out.
  
  18|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  18|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  LEigong
  LEigong
  Once again, the old man is Leigong the Thunder God. Leigong introduces 
  himself as Lei Lao Ye (Old Man Lei). Religious characters may recognize some 
  odd similarities between Lei Lao Ye and stories of Leigong that they may have 
  heard with a successful DC 15 Knowledge (religion) check. Allow them to see 
  resemblances but no outward assumptions.
  He mentions that he recognizes the group but claims he can’t quite place where 
  they met before. When reminded, he laughs, “Oh, yes. My old addled mind. 
  Come, you must be hungry. I know a little place with the best dumplings in the 
  region!”
  Lei Lao Ye is a larger-than-life drummer with a bit of a belly. When walking 
  down the street with the characters, he alternates between drumming on his belly 
  and the drum strapped to his side. He’s a man of high spirits, and his presence 
  easily fills up the room. He buys a round of drinks and meals for everyone in the 
  establishment.
  “So, did you get lost and turned around? Thought you all were heading to 
  Weifeng? I hear the festivities there are pretty epic.” If the characters share the 
  reason for their visit to Mei Zhen, Lei Lao Ye mentions that there have been some 
  rumors of troubles in the short time he’s been in town but it’s all very hush-hush.
  He mentions that all the inns are full, but he’s staying with some performers. 
  They have a spare room the characters can share if they intend to spend the night.
  Asking Around
  Asking Around
  The characters are able to move about town speaking with locals to learn 
  some information. In general, people are welcoming despite being a little scared. 
  They try to push characters into buying merchandise and items for the festival. 
  Characters must build a little rapport with the townsfolk to loosen their tongues.
  goods for sALE
  goods for sALE
  Items being sold for the Qixi festival include carvings of exotic 
  flowers, animals, and unusual birds. These are usually carved into 
  melon skins but some dealers also offer carvings on wood and coal. 
  A variety of teas, fruits, nuts, and melon seeds are being sold as 
  offerings to the weaver fairy. Bundles of wildflowers are woven for 
  hanging on oxen effigies, and fried pastries flavored for every fruit 
  and flower can be found for indulging on. Qixi is also one of several 
  holidays when skilled craftsmen travel to cities to peddle their 
  services and wares.  All the food will be void of animal products.
  tALking to MinErs
  tALking to MinErs
  A couple of miners are gathered in tea and entertainment houses share stories 
  for proper libations, vegetarian food, and good company.
  The mining process involves digging a pit in the ground, setting up a pulley 
  system up top much like a water well and sending miners down with bamboo 
  ladders to harvest while they tunnel.
  In General
  Most of the people in the area laugh off any talk of cultists, saying things like, 
  “Children’s stories to make them behave,” or “If coal-loving cultists exist, maybe I 
  should join them. They have magical ways of mining that won’t hurt my back?” or 
  “Can the cultists regrow the leg I lost in a mining accident?”
  The Elderly Miner
  One elderly, superstitious miner tells the characters about a pit they abandoned 
  after breaking through to the third level of Diyu (Hell), the Hell of Boiling Sands. 
  It is a place where you burn in an ocean of hot sand and dirt. The sand itself 
  comes alive to drag you into the smoldering heat and causes you to suffer eternal 
  suffocation. He’s very insistent that a number of young miners were pulled deep 
  into the boiling sands by living sand. He tried to stop the search party but his 
  warnings fell on deaf ears. When a handful of the search party returned, they were 
  “as white as the dead.” One went mad; the others packed up and left. The one who 
  went mad is known as the “Wrapped Man.”
  Either the Elderly Miner or the Wrapped Man can give the characters directions 
  to the Coal Pit entrance to Nuwa’s Fallen Palace.
  Chapter FOur: 
  Chapter FOur: 
  MeI Zhen
  MeI Zhen
  (CoAL town)
  (CoAL town)
  By now, the characters should have enough information to realize that the 
  coal mine near Mei Zhen is in some way associated with the goings-on at the 
  roadhouse, and they will presumably head in that direction.
  Mei Zhen means “Coal Town,” but can also be written to mean 
  “Plum Flower Town” — it is still pronounced exactly the same in 
  verbal communication. This confusion is frequent among people 
  who aren’t familiar with the area due to its reputation for being 
  metropolitan and wealthy. 
  The characters must travel up a series of small roads and travel-beaten paths 
  born that takes them northwest to Mei Zhen. The journey takes approximately two 
  days.
  Along the way, the characters cross paths with miners, tradesman, and tourists 
  during the latter half of the journey. 
  The characters continue hearing distant thunderclaps during their trip but these 
  are relatively rare.
  gAthEring inforMAtion in CoAL town 
  gAthEring inforMAtion in CoAL town 
  When the characters arrive in Mei Zhen, the town’s modest Qixi festivities 
  are in full swing. They arrive on the third or fourth day of the seventh month 
  depending on their travel plans. While not a metropolitan city like Weifeng, Mei 
  Zhen receives its share of tourists due to its mistaken namesakes of “Plum Flower 
  Town”.
  The locals aren’t as jovial or festive as they are most years, given the recent 
  troubles with people going missing in the mines, talks of people being cursed, and 
  supplies going missing. They are generally putting on a brave face.
  Slow rhythmic thunder beats through Mei Zhen when you 
  arrive, although it is not raining. Street stalls filled with food and 
  wares line the way into the town square where the statue of a tree 
  has been molded out of coal. Paper plum flowers are affixed to the 
  branches in abundance.
  The general flow of traffic leads the characters toward the town’s square where 
  an acrobatic troupe is performing around the tree. A man with a set of drums sits at 
  the base of the tree, and the characters realize that the sound of thunder they have 
  been hearing is actually the beating of this drum.
  Besides the slow rhythmic thunder of the red drum, the man’s 
  fingers are also tapping a quick and light rain sound. His long 
  black hair has shocks of white playing in it, something you hadn’t 
  noticed during your first encounter. His booming laughter mixes 
  into the music being played like a harmony synchronized with 
  the melody. You quickly recognize the man’s red winged robes as 
  the good samaritan who told you about the washed-out road a few 
  days earlier.
  
  ChAPtEr four: MEi ZhEn 
  ChAPtEr four: MEi ZhEn |19
  |19
  The Wrapped Man
  Characters can easily track down the maddened man, who is known around 
  town as Lao Bao (The Wrapped Man). He’s is a panhandler who surrounds 
  himself with red lanterns. He wraps his hat, shoes, and walking stick in strips of 
  paper with calligraphy painted across it. The characters can immediately tell that 
  those letters are attempts at Fu2lu4 (Fulu, Taoist magic script).
  Characters who understand the arcane or divine note that the fulu was not done 
  properly and has no magical effect.
  Lao Bao rants and rambles at anyone who will listen, “The dark ones, they 
  came for my soul. They’ll come for your soul.” Characters who try to redirect or 
  interrupt anger him. “You don’t understand! They come in the night! They take us 
  to feed their dark gods! Blood in the alleys. … Families from their beds …”
  The Frightened Miner
  Over drinks, a miner brings up that before they abandoned the cursed mine, he 
  saw something strange one night. He left his tent to relieve himself and spotted a 
  group of people all dressed in the same dark clothes. He leans in conspiratorially 
  and adds, “It was a bright moon that night, not quite full but I saw they all had big 
  hanzi drawn across their faces.” He watched them approach a cliff where the earth 
  folded in on itself to create a “V” in the wall. One by one, they disappeared into 
  it. He peed his pants and took off back to town, leaving all his mining gear in the 
  camp. “I ran all night …”
  The Frightened Miner can give the characters directions that take them to the 
  Cultists’ Entrance to Nuwa’s Fallen Palace. He will not accompany them to the 
  place, however.
  tALking to townsfoLk
  tALking to townsfoLk
  The characters detect magical and fake fulu hanging from doorways and 
  windows all around town. Inquiring about them with the owners of the homes 
  and businesses reveals that the town has been suffering some bad luck in recent 
  months.
  People started going missing in the night three or four month ago. One at a 
  time, a few days apart, and with no predictable pattern. It hasn’t happened in about 
  three weeks though.
  Supplies also started to go missing regularly about four months ago. Expected 
  shipments sometimes never arrived. There are no reports of banditry causing it, 
  but people are worried there might be a food supply shortage if this continues.
  Tools have been breaking unexpectedly, which causes some to whisper of the 
  town being cursed.
  Others instead argue that “Old Man Fu2 (Fu, “charm/talisman”) never cared for 
  his tools,” or “Guan1Po2 (Guan Po, “Matron Mountain Pass/To Close or Shut”) 
  bought the shovel from Bai2Zhu2 (Baizhu, “White Candle”). Everyone knows he 
  uses cheap materials and cuts corners. Of course it broke!”
  Characters inquiring where people get the legitimate fulu learn that a holy man 
  who lives in a small shrine to Leigong just outside town created them. People 
  simply call him Lao3Ye2 (Lao Ye, “Old Grandpa”); no one knows his real name.
  Lao Ye
  Lao Ye is a grizzled old retired monster hunter with scars across his face and 
  body to prove it. He’s willing to make each character up to two fulu if they make 
  donations to the shrine worth at least 100 gp per character.
  It takes roughly one hour to prepare himself to craft the fulu and an additional 
  hour per fulu he makes.
  Each fulu he makes wards the character from one save during their encounter 
  with Fei Du. This includes the poison tea. The characters may not even realize 
  they were the targets of the save because the wards redirect the effects to the 
  scroll.
  fuLu syMBoLs
  fuLu syMBoLs
  Fulu is a form of Taoist magic wherein symbols and 
  incantations are written or painted on paper as charms, wards, 
  and active spells. It stems from the ideas of words having power 
  and, when written, the ephemeral becomes real. Several other 
  Taoist aspects factor in also.
  thE situAtion
  thE situAtion
  Cultists are hiding among the civilians in Mei Zhen. They are participating in 
  the festivities, selling goods as street vendors, and maybe even working as servers. 
  Characters asking questions likely get their attention.
  The cultists pay a street urchin to keep an eye on the characters. If the 
  characters catch the street rat, he knows nothing about a cult and says he was just 
  paid to keep an eye on the nosy tourists and report to a vendor selling coal-based 
  artwork. Characters can pay the child more to point out the vendor who hired 
  them. If the characters want to confront the coal-art vendor, remind them that they 
  are in the midst of the Qixi festivities. There’s a good crowd celebrating.
  If they approach, the vendor’s assistant intercepts the characters, asking if she 
  can help them. The vendor uses this distraction to slip into the crowd and head 
  toward a nearby residence. He’s not trying to be particularly stealthy because he 
  actually wants the characters to follow him. A large group of cultists is waiting to 
  spring an ambush.
  If the characters follow the vendor into the courtyard, 24 cultists flood out of 
  the buildings all around them while 12 dart blowers pop up on the rooftops. The 
  building in front of them is two stories tall while the ones on the left and right are 
  only a single story. 
  If stealth or alternative methods are used to follow the “bait,” the characters 
  may be able to gather enough information to adjust the odds in their favor.
  This fight is built to take place at multiple heights and is set up in an area where 
  fireballs and other major area-of-effect spells should hit only one-third to half of 
  the enemies at a time.
  Cultist Assassin CR 5
  XP 1,600
  hp 45 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game GameMastery Guide, “Tomb 
  Raider”)
  Cultist Dart Blower (12) CR 4
  XP 1,200
  hp 37 (Pathfinder Campaign Setting Inner Sea NPC Codex, “Sodden 
  Scavenger”)
  Cultist Lieutenant (2) 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  hp 48 (Pathfinder Campaign Setting Inner Sea NPC Codex, “Silent 
  Enforcer”)
  Cultist Magic User 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  hp 33 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game GameMastery Guide, “Battle 
  Mage”)
  Cultist Monk (20) CR 4
  XP 1,200
  hp 31 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game NPC Codex, “Cruel Devotee”)
  If questioned, any captured cultists reveal that a handful of fellow cultists are in 
  Mei Zhen. They were sent away from the great temple a few days ago and ordered 
  not to return until summoned. Many among them believe they are being punished 
  for failing their leader and goddess.
  See the description of the cultists in Chapter Three for other information they 
  may know.By the time the characters finish gathering the information, it is getting 
  pretty late in the day. They may choose to accept Leigong’s hospitality, in which 
  case the night passes uneventfully. Or they may choose to get a head-start to their 
  next destination. 
  
  20|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  20|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  Chapter FIve: 
  Chapter FIve: 
  the Fallen teMple
  the Fallen teMple
  Long ago, Nu3Wa1, (Nuwa, mother goddess and creator of mankind), lived in 
  a majestic palace built into the highest peaks of Heaven with her brother-husband 
  Fu2Xi1 (Fuxi, the emperor god).
  An ancient tale tells of a great war between two great powers of Heaven. The 
  losing side was cast into the underworld and banned from Heaven. The fallout 
  from this war and exile caused the Four Pillars of Heaven to crumble.
  Nuwa combined her magic with the color-stones and raised Heaven back into 
  the skies. But this selfless act came at the cost of being unable to save her own 
  place of power. Nuwa’s palace fell deep into the underworld, and with it, the 
  remaining cache of color-stones she had painstakingly sought. The cataclysmic 
  clash of powers placed everything in the palace and around it in temporal stasis.
  CrystAL LEgEnds
  CrystAL LEgEnds
  According to legend and myth, Nuwa quested across the known 
  worlds and gathered a cache of magical color-stones. These are 
  believed to be akin to magical versions of crystals amethysts, 
  azurites, quartz, jasper, obsidian, turquoise, etc. She smelted five 
  of these magical crystals together to fix the Four Pillars of Heaven 
  when they crumbled.
  Mei Lan found a part of Nuwa’s fallen palace by sheer luck and saw her 
  opportunity to use its power. Wanting to keep a close eye on Fei Du and the 
  disciples, she convinced the cult to upgrade from their abandoned farmhouses into 
  the fallen palace. 
  When the cultists returned without Niu Tian Shen, Mei Lan took his blood from 
  their weapons and sent the cultists away. She’s harnessing the power of Nuwa’s 
  remaining cache of colored-stones to siphon her husband’s lifeforce for her own 
  ends. To ensure she wouldn’t be disturbed, Mei Lan used her magic to awaken 
  underworld energies and beings best left alone.
  Fei Du didn’t leave with the other cultists; instead, she locked herself in her 
  room.
  Only a small wing of Nuwa’s fallen palace is accessible during this adventure. 
  The remainder is buried or destroyed.
  There are two entrances to the fallen palace, one through a coal pit and the 
  other a magic doorway used by the cultists. The characters can learn about either 
  of these entrances from miners in Mei Zhen, and interrogating the cultists might 
  lead directly to the cultists’ entrance.
  thE CoAL Pit
  thE CoAL Pit
  If the characters investigate the coal pit mentioned by the Elderly Miner in Mei 
  Zhen, they find signs hammered into the ground starting at about a quarter mile 
  out. Most of the signs have no writing but are configured to warn of danger or 
  cursed lands ahead. Unlit red lanterns hang off poles erected near the path to scare 
  away evil. There’s even a shrine to the ancestors and the dead on the town’s side 
  of the red lantern perimeter.
  You find the abandoned mining pit surprisingly intact. The 
  15-foot-diameter pit’s pulley system and rope are still attached 
  at the top. With a quick glance down the hole, you see a small 
  wooden landing wedged into the wall of the pit about 30 feet 
  down. The remainder of the pit goes too deep for your eyes to see.
  The characters must lower themselves a total of 300 feet before they hit bottom. 
  They find a new wooden landing every 30 feet but each one is big enough only for 
  one person to stand on at a time. The platforms have a 20% chance of breaking 
  under characters whose total weight exceeds 250 lbs.
  Occasionally, the characters discover small alcoves and other irregularities in 
  the shaft, but none of these are full side passages or tunnels. Some are big enough 
  for a character to stand or even sit inside if needed.
  Once characters descend past 200 feet, 4 coal demons pull themselves from the 
  walls and attack.
  Coal Demon (4) CR 3
  XP 800
  hp 16 (Tome of Horrors Complete, “Mephit, Smoke”)
  Remove Speed Fly (50 ft.); Add Speed Burrow (50 ft.)
   
  If any of the characters is holding onto the walls, the coal demons burrow into the 
  earth and push upward under their grip, burning their hands and possibly causing 
  them to release their hold. 
  If characters are flying, the coal demons simply jump across the pit to grab them. 
  These creatures are not afraid of falling because they simply catch the walls as 
  they fall and burrow inward, emerging where they choose.
  Read the following once characters reach the bottom of the pit:
  The warm, muggy air down here smells mildly of mildew, dirt, 
  and dust. A tunnel opens to the east. Following it for a short 
  distance, you see bits of roof shale and painted stone embedded 
  in the walls, ceiling, and floor of the otherwise natural stone and 
  dirt tunnel.
  The roof shale and painted stone are very unusual to find in mines or caverns. 
  These pieces come from Nuwa’s palace and the other Heavenly buildings that 
  fell during the collapse of the four pillars. Dwarves notice that the characters are 
  definitely descending into the earth.
  A foul stench of rot and feces wafts to your nostrils.
  Surface
  Wooden Landings 
  every 30 ft.
  Coal Demons
  Snake Guardian
  Statue
  to the Fallen Palace
  (20 ft. drop)
  200 ft.
  100 ft.
  The
  The  
  COal
  COal  
    
   Pit
  Pit
  
  ChAPtEr fivE: thE fALLEn tEMPLE 
  ChAPtEr fivE: thE fALLEn tEMPLE |21
  |21
  Give the characters some time to react, prepare, and maybe even get the jump 
  on the snake ahead.
  Cresting a rise in the tunnel, you see nearly a dozen 
  dead, decaying miners. Two piles of bones are picked clean 
  and discarded along one side of this tunnel. A single hiss is 
  followed by another, and another, until a chorus rings out.  
   
   
  A massive, seven-headed snake slithers out of the shadows. 
  Dried black ichor crusts the corner of its many red eyes. Festering 
  wounds expose a number of ribs along the snake’s body. Much of 
  its midsection festers with abscesses.
  Once a guardian of Nuwa’s palace, this fiendish seven-headed divine 
  guardian hydra fell into the depths of the underworld with the palace and was 
  corrupted. The snake doesn’t have any treasure.
  Fiendish Divine Guardian Hydra, Seven-headed 
  CR 6
  XP 2,400
  hp 67 (Appendix C: New Monsters, “Fiendish Divine Guardian Hydra, 
  Seven-headed”)
  If the fallen guardian is defeated, the characters can discover a 20-foot-deep 
  hole in the tunnel floor. The hole is more than five feet in diameter and worn 
  smooth from the snake traveling in and out. If the characters continue exploring 
  the tunnel before they drop down, they quickly find that it dead-ends at a crumpled 
  wall near the remains of a statue.
  The statue was once two snake tails intertwined with the upper bodies of a man 
  and a woman facing each other. Now, it is split down the middle with the man and 
  woman falling to opposite sides. The arms and parts of their heads are shattered, 
  and large portions of the tail disappear into the cavern and crumpled wall.
  Characters who drop down the hole land on the rooftop of the worship hall 
  (Area 10). A nest with five four-foot-tall eggs is on this rooftop. Three are intact 
  but two are only broken shells. These eggs were laid hundreds of years ago.
  CuLtist EntrAnCE
  CuLtist EntrAnCE
  It isn’t hard to spot where the cliff folds in on itself to form a 
  “V” shape in the rock. It’s hard to believe this is the entrance to 
  some “great temple.”
  Searching the surface of the rock wall reveals a small, one-inch-diameter 
  indentation where a chop could fit. Mei Lan installed this magical doorway for the 
  cultists to travel to and from Nuwa’s fallen palace. Every supplicant must wear his 
  or her chop in order to pass through the doorway.
  Slipping in the chop, the lock begins to turn clockwise and 
  rotates until it stops with a click. Light blue lines crackle like veins 
  across the stone, and a gentle gust of air pushes outward. The 
  blue lines grow and become an oval portal with colors shimmering 
  across the surface like light passing through a piece of quartz.
  This portal radiates conjuration magic. Characters cannot see what is on the 
  other side. Characters who step through find themselves outside the wing entrance 
  (Area B-1) of Nuwa’s Fallen Palace.
  ArEA B: nuwA’s fALLEn PALACE
  ArEA B: nuwA’s fALLEn PALACE
  B-1. wing EntrAnCE
  B-1. wing EntrAnCE
  If the characters use the cultists’ keys to enter, they are dimensionally teleported 
  here.
  You find yourselves in front of a subterranean castle, in a 
  huge cavern. The castle appears to be somewhat damaged, and 
  in some places it melds into the rock — you get the sense that 
  it was not originally built underground, but somehow merged 
  into this oppressive place as a result of magic or some bizarre 
  catastrophe. Nevertheless, it is vast, and if this is only a portion of 
  the original you cannot conceive how large it must have once been. 
   
   
  You stand outside a large red double door. A pillar on each 
  side of the door is formed of a coiled giant snake spiraling its 
  way to the top. The snake’s maw is open, and the fangs bite into 
  the underside of the awning. The building itself is old and worn. 
  There’s evidence of significant damage, with cracks running up 
  the foundation into the lower half of the walls. Broken shingles 
  from the roof are strewn on the ground.
  B2. through B6. sErvAnts’ QuArtErs
  B2. through B6. sErvAnts’ QuArtErs
  These five rooms share the same general description with only a few minor 
  changes.
  This room obviously once served as quarters for the palace 
  servants. Cracked and timeworn murals of dancing and feasts 
  cover the walls. A closer look reveals that the participants 
  all have human upper bodies but the lower bodies of snakes. 
   
   
  The original furniture has been stripped save for an ancient 
  metal latrine basin in the corner. In their place are straw mat cots 
  wrapped in linen. Small bundles sit at the foot of each of the beds. 
  A coal-dusted white linen partition provides a modicum of privacy 
  between each roommate.
  The bundles at the foot of each bed include a change of clothes, an empty rice 
  bowl, chopsticks, and a concealed weapon harness. The clothes belong to the 
  cultists. Characters may use them as disguises if they desire. Characters also find 
  six whetstones in the room.
  A sketchbook someone has secretly been keeping is hidden under a floorboard 
  beneath a cot in one of the rooms. All the art is drawn with coal dust, and most 
  depict the same three people. The two men and one woman all appear to be in 
  their late 20s to early 30s. Most of the pieces depict them fishing or down by 
  the river. One stands out from the rest and shows the three sitting down for a tea 
  ceremony.
  Stuffed into one of the straw cots is a handful of miscellaneous jade jewelry.
  
  22|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  22|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  thE fALLEn tAMPLE MAP
  thE fALLEn tAMPLE MAP
  
  ChAPtEr fivE: thE fALLEn tEMPLE 
  ChAPtEr fivE: thE fALLEn tEMPLE |23
  |23
  Read the following when characters leave the second room:
  As you begin to leave the room, giggles fill the air around you, 
  but you don’t see anyone. Finally the giggling subsides and a voice 
  speaks up, “And where are you running off to in such a hurry?” 
  With these words, the white linen curtains pull from their anchors 
  and dance around the room. The swirling fabric advances quickly 
  and whirls around, obscuring sight. The walls disappear and the 
  world spins.
  Each character can react but unless they have powerful destructive magic such 
  as fireball, they are unable to destroy the enchanted linens whirling around in the 
  air about them. If they do have such magic, the encounter ends when the floating 
  sheets are destroyed.
  After each character reacts, the fabric ceases dancing and falls to the ground, 
  forming into fashionable robes draped over a dozen beautiful men and women.
  The small, dark, confined space disappears, replaced by a 
  brightly lit and opulent banquet hall filled with music, food, and 
  drink. Several beautiful men and women with food and drink in 
  hand rush up to you. Silk panels lining the walls depict painted 
  portraits of people dressed in reds and blues with trims of gold. 
  Beautiful trees and gardens are painted onto other silk panels. A 
  final set of panels has a poem about the kindness and generosity 
  of their creator. It feels as if you have stepped into the murals on 
  the walls of the rooms, except these people definitely have legs 
  and not snake tails.
  These underworld phantasms start by casting charm person on a couple of the 
  characters they feel most receptive. They ply the characters with kindness, food, 
  drink, and promise their heart’s desires. The food and drink leave the characters in 
  an altered state of mind and oblivious to anything but the party.
  Characters who maintain their wits are attacked. The scene around these 
  characters darkens, and the majority of the people in the room simply fade away.
  Underworld Phantasm (12) 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400
  hp 90 (Appendix C: New Monsters, “Underworld Phantasm”)
  B-7. innEr door 
  B-7. innEr door 
  This is the inner door of the palace wing and separates the servants’ quarters 
  from Nuwa’s inner sanctum. The walls on either side of this door are painted 
  with murals of a snake-bodied creature with a human torso and head. The being 
  is defeating a variety of monsters. The snake’s body moves across several scenes, 
  weaving between the monsters. The mural is in disrepair from age and the fall 
  from Heaven.
  B-8. outEr CourtyArd
  B-8. outEr CourtyArd
  The coppery smell and taste of blood in the air mutes the musty 
  air of the cavern. A grim and horrific scene lies ahead, where 
  sinister-looking black metal cages are suspended at various 
  heights from the cavern’s ceiling. Several cages have spikes facing 
  inward, while others have strange cranks or gears attached on 
  the outside.
  Fresh and dried blood paint and pool across the paved 
  courtyard. Calcified trees are stained red from the well-used cages 
  suspended above them. Skulls and bones of various creature litter 
  the space alongside debris from the battered buildings.
  Quiet whimpers of pain can be heard coming from one of the 
  nearby cages, along with the eerie drip, drip, drip of blood trickling 
  onto a nearby tree. It would seem that at least one prisoner still 
  lives.
  Some of the black metal cages (equivalent to cold iron) hanging over the 
  courtyard detect of magic. A large pile of ash is off to one corner of the courtyard. 
  Investigating it reveals small remnants of furniture. The cultists piled rotting and 
  broken furniture from various rooms here and burned the heap.
  Characters searching for the whimpering soul find a white fox named Bi4Shou3 
  (Bishou, “Monarch’s Hand”) in one of the square cages. The fox is wounded and 
  weak. A strange crank is on the outside of the magical cage, but nothing is visible 
  that should stop the fox from squeezing between the bars. 
  This crank was used to shrink the cage, which forced Bishou to shift from his 
  human form to that of the fox. The handle can be cranked in the opposite direction 
  to make the cage up to three times bigger, which is enough space for a human.
  Bishou can also be written to mean Sheltering Hand (Protec-
  tor) but it would still be pronounced exactly the same in verbal 
  communication. Bishou works for Lord Wu2 (Wu, “Nobody”), the 
  gatekeeper of Heaven. He was sent to retrieve the soul gourd and 
  deliver it to the Eternal Vault. Both interpretations of Bishou’s 
  name speak to his station.
  Bishou can speak while in animal form, but he currently has large blanks in 
  his memory. He feels as if his memory is actively slipping away while he talks 
  with the characters. He’s been focusing on remembering his mission to retrieve 
  something belonging to his lord. Yet he cannot remember his lord’s name or the 
  item.
  He knows that the mission is very important, and that the fate of many souls is 
  on the line. He knows that many humans have come and gone while he has been 
  in the cage. Recently, all but one of them left.
  The cage leeches Bishou’s magical powers and creates a feedback field that 
  prevents him from teleporting out or squeezing between the bars. Bishou’s 
  Heavenly soldier nature is directly oppositional to the place in which he’s being 
  kept, so it is slowly draining away his self-identity and his memories.
  Characters can pick the lock of the cage to release Bishou with a successful DC 
  20 Disable Device check. The magic doesn’t prevent tampering from the outside 
  of the cage.
  Bishou has a sandy-colored birthmark shaped like a gourd just below his 
  neck on the front of his chest. The blood of mortals, including the blood in this 
  courtyard, burns the white fox on contact and lights his fur on fire. He takes 1d6 
  damage every round until the blood is washed off and the fire is put out.
  Bishou CR 6
  XP 2,400
  hp 59 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 2, “Vulpinal”)
  Two of the cages house miners from the search party that was sent after the first 
  group of miners who went missing. They are dehydrated and starving but can be 
  healed and questioned. Their cages have inward-facing spikes along the walls and 
  roofs. Their names are Tu3An1 (Tuan, “Peaceful Earth”) and Gu3Dong4 (Gudong, 
  “Drum in Motion”). Both miners beg the characters to release them from the cages 
  and take them back to Mei Zhen.
  Tuan saw other prisoners taken away, never to return. But the cultists stopped 
  taking people days, maybe weeks, ago. He doesn’t have an exact count of days 
  because there’s no real sense of time down here. He doesn’t know why they 
  stopped, but he’s certain the reprieve won’t last forever.
  They’ve seen the cultists come and go and believe their leader is someone 
  named Fei Du. They’ve only seen her once or twice, but she mentioned that her 
  patron ordered the feedings be put on hold. They don’t know what that means.
  Gudong recalls that a group of cultists came through recently. They carried 
  bloody weapons and took a girl into the big two-story building. They exited 
  without their weapons and the girl. He thinks he passed out for a while but 
  remembers waking up later when all the cultists were leaving. 
  Gudong hasn’t seen Fei Du since that day, so he guesses she left with the 
  cultists.
  
  24|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  24|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  Another cage has earth and fire sprites packed tightly together. They’re 
  weak but when the characters approach, they stomp and buzz about trying to 
  communicate. The cage radiates magic, and the sprites bounce against some sort 
  of forcefield between the bars. Characters cannot communicate with them unless 
  they share an elemental language or have some magical means to do so. The 
  cultists captured the sprites, and the cult leader was “eating” them by sucking their 
  souls into a magical gourd and then drinking the soul from the gourd. She recently 
  stopped, but they don’t know why. 
  At some point while the characters are investigating the cages, the fresh blood 
  pools rise up as 2 blood golems and attack. These creatures are formed from the 
  corruption in the area combined with Mei Lan’s powers.
  Hua Yue is not in any of the cages.
  Blood Golem (2) CR 6
  XP 2,400
  hp 64 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 4, “Golem, Blood”)
  B-9. fEi du’s sAnCtuM
  B-9. fEi du’s sAnCtuM
  Whatever this room once was, it has been transformed into 
  a luxurious bedroom. White lanterns and a handful of candles 
  provide light but also fill areas of the room with dancing shadows.
  A sickly-sweet perfume hangs oppressively in the air, mixed 
  with the spicy scent of cinnamon and lightly musty machilus wood. 
  There are polished redwood tables, stools, a bed, and a vanity, 
  all engraved and carved with intricate designs of various winged 
  creatures. Red, silk-covered pillows and sheets are embroidered 
  with similar winged creatures in gold, white, and blue thread.
  A woman sits cross legged on the floor in front of a scholar’s 
  desk. She has pale skin marred by black veins that pulse up her 
  neck and face. Her eyes are flooded with blood. She’s gracefully 
  holding one sleeve back and writing in an open scroll. She slides 
  a well-manicured index finger up her brush and gestures for 
  you to wait. She writes one more word and leans down to blow 
  a greenish-gray breath across the paper before rolling the scroll 
  closed.
  Fei Du is in the process of losing her soul and transforming into a monster. 
  She is currently penning the saga of her rise to immortality and godhood. She is 
  egotistical and delusional. She believes she’s ascending, when in reality all her 
  experiments and practices caused her to twist and mutate into a poisonous mogui.
  If the characters play to her ego, she offers them tea and tells them her story, 
  expecting to gain more worshippers. Unbeknownst to Fei Du, her fingernails are 
  envenomed. Measuring the tea leaves infuses them with poison. Characters who 
  drink the tea must make a DC 14 Fortitude save versus poison. If they fail, black 
  veins spread across their skin and start choking them to death.
  Fei Du’s Poison
  Type poison, ingested; Save Fortitude DC 14; Onset 1 round; 
  Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; Cure 2 consecutive saves
  Effect 1d4 Strength damage. A creature reduced to 0 Strength by the 
  poison asphyxiates and immediately begins suffocating. Creatures 
  that do not breathe are immune to this suffocation, but not the 
  Strength damage.
  See the adventure background for details about her history.
  Fei Du will answer a few questions:
  * Hua Yue is still alive. “That little thief stole a heart that doesn’t belong to her. 
  Now she’s going to give back his gift if it’s the last thing she does. My goddess 
  will see to that and reward me for my service while punishing his betrayal.”
  * She believes she will ascend to take over for Niu Tian Shen once he’s 
  removed from the picture. Niu Tian Shen didn’t understand his place, so he 
  doesn’t deserve to keep it.
  Characters may circumvent this fight by turning Fei Du against her patron 
  goddess. If she can be convinced that Mei Lan is not going to hold up her end of 
  the deal, she joins the characters in confronting the goddess.
  Fei Du wears expensive green robes embroidered all over with winged 
  creatures. Half her hair is pinned up with several jade, gold, and pearl accessories. 
  The black veins spreading across her skin and her long green fingernails contrast 
  sharply with her pale features. 
  During a fight, she flings out her robes and casts a stinking cloud centered on her 
  (to which she is immune). 
  
  ChAPtEr fivE: thE fALLEn tEMPLE 
  ChAPtEr fivE: thE fALLEn tEMPLE |25
  |25
  B-12. And B-13. CoLLAPsEd BuiLdings And innEr 
  B-12. And B-13. CoLLAPsEd BuiLdings And innEr 
  CourtyArd
  CourtyArd
  This area is pitch black. Characters must provide their own light sources or have 
  darkvision to compensate.
  The cavern’s rock swallows the buildings to the left and right. 
  Embedded in the rock are two 16-foot-tall blue-skinned statues 
  with horns, tusks, and four arms. They look poised to pull 
  themselves free. Their eyes are so realistic that they seem to 
  follow movement in the courtyard.
  These aren’t statues. They are actually underworld creatures in stasis caused by 
  the magical fallout when the palace fell from Heaven. Mei Lan’s ritual is waking 
  them.
  The shadows shift against the light, making it appear that 
  one of the statues moved its arm. Its arms are raised, its claws 
  extended and poised for a pounce.
  When the characters reach the middle of the inner courtyard, they start to hear 
  the rumbling of earth and feel minor tremors in the ground beneath their feet. The 
  creatures are pulling themselves free.
  A loud rumble is followed by the cracking and crashing of stone.
  The 2 blue-skinned devils come to life and attack.
  Blue-skinned Devil (2) 
  CR 8
  XP 4,800
  hp 92 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary, “Oni, Ogre Mage”)
  Remove Gear All; Add Attack 4 Claws +15 (1d6 + 7)
  B-14. nuwA’s fALLEn sAnCtuM
  B-14. nuwA’s fALLEn sAnCtuM
  This is where Nuwa stored her cache of color-stones. 
  A number of uncut crystals are shaped into a throne against 
  the far wall. Stalks and vines of various orchids weave between 
  the gaps between the crystals to cover the seat and the arms of 
  the throne. A woman with long, silver hair adorned with living 
  orchids sits on the throne. She’s dressed in a yellow robe with 
  extra-long sleeves. Embroidered orchids dance across the yellow 
  fabric, moving with the flickering of light and shadow. A blue 
  sash hanging from her waist is matched by a narrow blue scarf 
  wrapped around her back and over her arm
  A young woman dressed in simple peasant garb with a white-
  topped robe covered with a blue skirt sits beside her on the smooth 
  crystal floor. She plucks at the strings of a guqin, which fills the 
  echoing chamber with music. An orchid is tucked behind one of 
  her ear
  Large crystals shoot up around the room like stalagmites. 
  Several glow or reflect light from unknown origins.
  She fights and parries with two poisoned cultist daggers. Her fighting style uses 
  her robes, specifically her sleeves, to hide where her attacks are coming from. This 
  allows her to feint with a +2 circumstance bonus.
  Fei Du CR 8
  XP 4,800
  hp 58 (Appendix C: New Monsters, “Fei Du”)
  Once characters deal with Fei Du, they have free rein to search her room. 
  A redwood altar box with orchids carved into its ivory door panels is in a dark 
  corner on the opposite side of the room from the bed. Wisps of incense float from 
  the negative spaces between the carvings. (Ivory is extremely rare because of the 
  region’s Taoist and Buddhist culture. Sourcing ivory would normally be from an 
  animal that died of natural causes.)
  Characters who open the box find:
  •  Several wooden panels painted with various colors of orchid flowers. 
  •  A gold statue of a beautiful woman dressed in long flowing robes 
  standing on an open orchid flower. Her robes are engraved with orchids 
  that are filled in with colored dyes.
  •  An offering of peaches and oranges in a jade bowl with two dragons 
  carved on opposite sides. The lip of the bowl is so thin that light 
  passes through it. Characters who eat the offerings bring bad luck on 
  themselves. They are forced to reroll their first successful die roll against 
  Mei Lan and keep the new result.
  A gold incense bowl in the room is filled with sand and holds three sticks of 
  still-burning incense. It’s clear that this is where the strong smell of cinnamon and 
  machilus wood is coming from.
  A secret compartment in the bed that contains the soul gourd the white fox 
  Bishou was sent to retrieve can be found with a successful DC 20 Perception 
  check. The soul gourd detects of powerful magic. 
  The mirror on the vanity shows each character not as they look but as they wish 
  to see themselves. It was a gift to Fei Du from Mei Lan so she wouldn’t see what 
  she was actually becoming. 
  Inside the drawers of the vanity, characters find jewelry and some makeup. 
  Included in the jewelry is a complicated decorative knot linked with three coins. 
  It radiates magic and functions as a brooch of shielding with 3d4 x 10 points of 
  protection (max 101) on it before unraveling itself.
  A sharpened hairpin functions as a +1 frost returning dart.
  B-10. worshiP hALL
  B-10. worshiP hALL
  This room is two stories tall with the second story being an internal balcony 
  with staircases leading up from two sides. An eight-foot-tall wooden statue in the 
  center of the far wall is of the same beautiful woman as found in the altar box 
  in Fei Du’s sanctum (Area B-9), complete with her standing on an orchid. The 
  flooring appears to be made of some sort of packed clay. Otherwise, the room is 
  empty.
  Characters who go upstairs find that the stairs are rickety and not maintained, 
  requiring a DC 15 Acrobatics or Climb check to avoid falling through. Boards 
  may break off. Characters who successfully make it to the top find themselves 
  breaking through brittle and weak flooring. The wood is infested with the same 
  blight as the furniture that the cultists piled up and burned. 
  B-11. MEss hALL
  B-11. MEss hALL
  This room is mostly empty, with only some straw mats covered in linen left 
  for seating around the room. Characters can find a large bucket containing empty 
  bowls, several jars of fermented food items, and a bamboo box filled with cold, 
  cooked rice.
  
  26|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  26|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  COnCludIng the 
  COnCludIng the 
  adventure
  adventure
  After characters talk sense into Mei Lan or defeat her in combat, they can find 
  a bloodstained knife that is being used to siphon Niu Tian Shen’s lifeforce. The 
  blade is embedded in a color-stone. Pulling the knife from the color-stone disrupts 
  the ritual and returns Niu Tian Shen to normal (see below).
  Hua Yue can summon Niu Tian Shen by playing the xiao. She’s then able to 
  return his horn, which fuses back into place.
  Several options for concluding the adventure include but are not limited to:
  MEi LAn And niu tiAn shEn ArE rEunitEd
  MEi LAn And niu tiAn shEn ArE rEunitEd
  Niu Tian Shen is healed, but his memory has also been erased. Mei Lan uses 
  this opportunity to build a new reality and a new beginning for them. Niu Tian 
  Shen and Mei Lan renew their marital vows, and he moves into the mountains 
  with her. 
  Unfortunately, this leaves Niu Tian Shen only tenuously tied to his domain. 
  Agriculture in the region suffer for years, and the land won’t be able to support the 
  current population. A significant recession occurs.
  If characters don’t rescue Hua Yue, she disappears, never to be heard from 
  again.
  niu tiAn shEn is rEunitEd with his truE LovE, huA yuE
  niu tiAn shEn is rEunitEd with his truE LovE, huA yuE
  Once Niu Tian Shen is made whole, characters can heal him with their magic. 
  The lands are revitalized and heal before the night of Qixi.
  fEi du is sEt on A PAth of rEdEMPtion
  fEi du is sEt on A PAth of rEdEMPtion
  Fei Du is open to suggestions on how to redeem herself. If the characters don’t 
  direct her path, she seeks out Lord Wu and begs him to allow her to serve him in 
  penance.
  thE ChArACtErs wALkEd AwAy froM thE AdvEnturE or didn’t finish 
  thE ChArACtErs wALkEd AwAy froM thE AdvEnturE or didn’t finish 
  BEforE thE night of Qixi
  BEforE thE night of Qixi
  The lands continue to die. On the night of Qixi, Mei Lan’s siphoning ritual 
  consumes Niu Tian Shen’s soul, which severs his connection with the land. She 
  feeds him Meng Po’s five-flavored tea of forgetfulness and takes him away to her 
  home in the skies.
  Within days, the lands start wasting away to desert. Fei Du rises as a dark lord 
  of the land.
  The woman on the throne is Mei Lan, while Hua Yue sits on the floor. If the 
  characters attack Mei Lan, Hua Yue throws herself in the way and calls out to the 
  group. She claims that Mei Lan is just trying to save her husband.
  Hua Yue is under the effects of a charm person spell cast by Mei Lan. This 
  causes Hua Yue to believe Mei Lan is her trusted best friend and will behave 
  accordingly.  It is important to understand that Hua Yue’s nature and motivations 
  are still accessible to the characters.
  Mei Lan is not completely evil, yet. She is lovesick and her perspective on the 
  world has been warped with time and her powers. If she isn’t set on a different 
  course soon, Leigong or another Heavenly soldier is likely to be sent to remove 
  her from existence.
  She has no interest in fighting the characters. She has convinced Hua Yue that 
  she must return the xiao to Niu Tian Shen so that he can be healed and made 
  whole.
  If Fei Du is with the characters, she accuses Mei Lan of tricking and using her. 
  She is quite open about her version of what happened. She has done everything 
  Mei Lan asked of her, including pausing her experiments on the prisoners.
  In the hands of the rightful owner, the xiao can summon Niu Tian Shen. If 
  this happens, Mei Lan has medicine prepared to heal him once he’s made whole. 
  Secretly, Mei Lan also intends to dose her husband with a cup of Meng Po’s five-
  flavored tea of forgetfulness for a fresh start to their relationship.
  Meng Po is the goddess of the afterlife. She serves a special soup 
  on the Bridge of Forgetfulness to wipe a person’s memory before 
  they step into the afterlife or are reincarnated. She waits for dead 
  souls at the entrance to the ninth realm of the dead.
  Alternatively, she is known for collecting various herbs from 
  earthly ponds and streams to make her five-flavored tea of forget-
  fulness. This tea is given to each soul to drink before they leave the 
  underworld. The tea causes immediate and permanent amnesia as 
  it wipes away all memories of their past lives.
  Mei Lan and Niu Tian Shen were married through an arranged marriage. 
  She fell madly in love with Niu Tian Shen, while he eventually grew to love 
  her. Still, they struggled to get along; it was a volatile relationship with poor 
  communication. Eventually, the two agreed to live separate lives. Since then, Niu 
  Tian Shen has avoided the mountains where his wife resides.
  If asked about her association with the cultists, she expresses embarrassment. “I 
  let jealousy get the best of me, I’ll admit.”
  Mei Lan claims that the cultists were doing some very evil things before 
  she came around. She put a stop to it and was helping them seek redemption. 
  She actually did stop the cultists from continuing their murder spree, which is 
  something hinted at by prisoners in the outer courtyard (area B-8). Mei Lan 
  figured that if she couldn’t redeem Fei Du and the cultists, she would turn them 
  over for judgement.
  Characters can point out that she used her knowledge and powers to cause harm 
  to humans and spirits. She initially denies this, but can be persuaded to see the 
  truth.
  Characters may notice during the conversation that the crystals seem to be 
  activated for some sort of siphoning ritual with a successful DC 20 Knowledge 
  (arcana) check. If confronted about this, Mei Lan explains she was trying to save 
  her husband’s essence because she didn’t know how else to retrieve his horn or 
  summon him.
  If any characters knowledgeable in poison took the remnants of zhenniao 
  feathers from the provincial roadhouse and concocted their own poison dose, it 
  can be used against Mei Lan. If Mei Lan fails a DC 20 Fortitude saving throw, she 
  suffers a 20% failure rate on her spellcasting due to confusion caused by the toxin.
  Mei Lan CR 9
  XP 6,400
  hp 82 (Appendix C: New Monsters, “Mei Lan”)
  If her hit points drops below 20%, she teleports away with a parting curse under 
  her breath (if reduced to 0 hit points, her contingent teleport lets her escape). 
  Characters earn her ire. She ends up somewhere gravely wounded and very 
  peeved
  .
  
  APPEndiCEs A & B
  APPEndiCEs A & B|27
  |27
  appendIx a: 
  appendIx a: 
  naMes
  naMes and phrases
  and phrases
  Names and phrases in Chinese often have multiple meanings because the 
  spoken word can have multiple ways to write it; the different written characters 
  have different meanings. This wordplay is used in this module with characters 
  such as Fei Du, which means Flight and Read/Study, but written differently can 
  mean Fragrant Poison. The following tables contains some common words and 
  phrases you can use in the adventure, as well as the names and meanings of 
  various NPCs.
  nAMEs
  nAMEs
  Name
  Phonetic Writing
  English
  牛天神
  Niu Tian Shen
  Ox Lord of New Day’s Toil
  美蘭
  Mei Lan
  Beautiful Orchard
  飛讀/馡毒
  Fei Du
  Flight & Study/Fragrant Poison
  嫿月
  Hua Yue
  Tranquil Moon
  毋
  Wu
  “Nobody” (Surname Form)
  辟手/庇手
  Bishou
  Monarch’s Hand/Sheltering Hand 
  (Protector)
  土安
  Tuan
  Peaceful Earth
  鼓動
  Gudong
  Drum in Motion
  煤鎮/梅鎮
  Mei Zhen
  Coal Town/Plum Flower Town
  謂風
  Weifeng
  Reason’s Wind
  雷公
  Leigong
  God of Thunder
  洋
  Yang
  Ocean, Vast, Silver Coin, Foreign
  PhrAsEs
  PhrAsEs
  Chinese
  Phonetic Writing
  English
  你好
  Ni3 Hao3
  Hello (informal)
  您好
  Nin2 Hao3
  Hello (formal)
  再見
  Zai4jian4
  Goodbye
  謝謝
  Xie4xie
  Thank you
  不客氣
  Bu4ke4qi
  You’re welcome
  歡迎光臨
  Huan1ying2guang1lin2
  Welcome (in the context 
  of hospitality)
  走了
  Zou3 Le
  Gone away (through 
  movement)
  多少錢
  Duo1 Shao3 Qian2
  How much money?
  來了
  Lai2le
  Arriving/Coming!
  appendIx B:  
  appendIx B:  
  new
  new IteMs
  IteMs
  dAy of thE sEvEn CrAnEs
  dAy of thE sEvEn CrAnEs
  Aura strong abjuration; CL 17th; Slot —; Price 5,000 gp; Weight 5 lbs.
  Characters who flip through the book see diagrams of motion and notes about 
  focusing and channeling one’s lifeforce to direct certain outcomes. Many of the 
  poses and motions reflect the movements of a crane in flight and on land.
  A character may study the martial practices within this manual for one week, 
  excluding all activity other than eating, sleeping, and training. At the end of a 
  week, they gain a +1 inherent bonus to their AC due to the defensive maneuvers 
  they learn. This bonus to AC fades if they do not practice their training each day 
  for at least one uninterrupted hour while using the manual as a reference. The 
  manual can provide this bonus only to one creature at a time. If training is not 
  performed for more than a week, a character must restart their one-week training 
  with the book, or another character can begin their own study.
  Feats Craft Wondrous Item, miracle or wish; Cost 2,500 gp
  huA yuE’s xiAo (Minor ArtifACt)
  huA yuE’s xiAo (Minor ArtifACt)
  This is a vertical end-blown flute bearing a scene of a woman dancing her way 
  to the mountains skillfully carved into the material. It is made from the horn of 
  Niu Tian Shen.
  Successfully playing the instrument does two things:
  * Calms the maddened Niu Tian Shen. (This is important if characters track 
  him down later in the adventure.)
  * Manifests a vision based on the song played. If the characters play a sad 
  ballad, they call forth a vision of the attack at the provincial roadhouse. Characters 
  can manifest other visions when playing music, depending on the song. With time, 
  the characters may even learn to control how the visions manifest.
  souL gourd (Minor ArtifACt)
  souL gourd (Minor ArtifACt)
  Bottle gourds have many magical and symbolic references.  From being Taoist 
  Fulu charms to bottle gourds being holding magical elixirs, and even myths of 
  Bottle Gourds being portals to another world.
  In the case of the Soul Gourd, it is a magical artifact that is able to trap souls 
  and allow them to be drunk as elixirs. 
  sPirit MonEy
  sPirit MonEy
  Spirit money is not technically a magic item, but it is a means of connecting 
  with the spirit world.
  Spirit money (also known as Hell money, incense paper, or joss paper) is 
  burned for the dead or for mystical beings to ensure that they are well taken care 
  of in the spirit world. Sometimes, objects fashioned out of this special paper — 
  such as paper jewelry, clothes, or furniture — are burned as offerings.
  ZhEnniAo Poison
  ZhEnniAo Poison
  Zhenniao are daemon birds with varied reports on their appearance. The most 
  common stories describe them as a cross between a peacock and a crane. They are 
  extremely poisonous, from beak to feather. Lore speaks of their venom coming 
  from the poisonous vipers that make up the bulk of these unique birds’ diets. The 
  poison’s interaction with the birds’ chemistry concentrates and mutates the viper 
  poison, infusing the birds from beak to tail feathers. One bite of their meat is said 
  to cause instant death in a human.
  While no known antidote or cure exists in the mortal world, lore speaks of 
  neutralizing the toxin using a great rhino horn but only if the poison isn’t yet in the 
  bloodstream.
  
  28|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  28|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  CAnkEr vinEs
  CAnkEr vinEs
  These vines grow around themselves and resemble woven rope. Canker vines 
  feed on life and can sense living Chi. They attack only living creatures, never 
  undead or objects. These vines tend to grow around 30 to 60 feet long when 
  bundled together.
  When attacking, the vines open and extend outward like many tendrils to 
  completely engulf the target. Boils of black ichor surface along the lengths of each 
  individual vine and burst against the skin of the living, acting as a sedative and 
  corrosive acid. The vines strangle and suffocate incapacitated victims.
  CAnkEr vinE 
  Cr 8
  CAnkEr vinE 
  Cr 8
  XP 4,800
  Unique canopy creeper
  NE Huge plant
  Init +7; Senses lifesense, low-light vision; Perception +13
  AC 23, touch 11, flat-footed 20 (+3 Dex, +12 natural, -2 size)
  hp 150 (12d8+96); fast healing 2
  Fort +16, Ref +9, Will +4
  Immune electricity, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, poison, 
  polymorph, sleep, stunning; Resist fire 10
  Weaknesses vulnerability to cold
  Speed 10 ft., climb 20 ft.
  Melee bite +15 (2d6 + 12)
  Ranged 4 vine tendrils +10 (grab plus feed plus pull)
  Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
  Special Attacks aquatic attack, feed, pull (30 ft.)
  Str 26, Dex 16, Con 26, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 10
  Base Atk +9; CMB +19 (+23 grapple); CMD 32 (can’t be tripped)
  Feats Blind-fight, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Lightning 
  Reflexes, Multiattack, Skill Focus (Climb)
  Skills Acrobatics +3 (-5 to jump), Climb +19, Perception +13, Stealth 
  +4 (+20 in water); Racial Modifiers Perception +4, Stealth +16 in 
  water
  SQ camouflage, vine tendrils
  Special Abilities
  Aquatic Attack (Ex) +2 bonus on attack rolls when battling a creature 
  that is in water.
  Camouflage (Ex) Because a canker vine blends in with the foliage 
  that is its natural habitat, a DC 20 Perception check (modified 
  for distance) is required to notice it before it attacks for the first 
  time. Any creature with ranks in Survival or Knowledge (nature) 
  can use either of those skills (also modified for distance) instead of 
  Perception to notice the plant.
  Feed (Ex) Grappled creature take 1d8 + 1 Strength damage.
  Vine Tendrils (Ex) A canker vine can take control of any network 
  of vines it has attached itself to and use up to four of those vines 
  as weapons to strike out at targets up to 100 feet away. The vine 
  tendrils have 10 hit points, DR 5 / slashing, and a Break DC of 21. 
  If one of these vines is destroyed, the canopy creeper can assume 
  control of another vine as a move action to bring it to bear in combat.
  appendIx C:  
  appendIx C:  
  new
  new MOnsters
  MOnsters
  fiEndish divinE guArdiAn hydrA,  
  fiEndish divinE guArdiAn hydrA,  
  sEvEn-hEAdEd
  sEvEn-hEAdEd
  This seven-headed snake was a guardian of humanity but the fall of Nuwa’s 
  palace into the underworld allowed darkness and corruption to seep into its very 
  essence. While the snake’s various bites hurt its foes, the injected venom is a bigger 
  danger. The snake likes to “ferment” its meals by letting its victims die slowly due 
  to injury and paralysis; it swallows them whole at a later date.  
  fiEndish divinE guArdiAn hydrA,
  fiEndish divinE guArdiAn hydrA,
  sEvEn-hEAdEd 
  Cr 6
  sEvEn-hEAdEd 
  Cr 6
  XP 2,400
  NE Huge magical beast (evil)
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception 
  +19
  AC 17, touch 9, flat-footed 16 (+1 Dex, +8 natural, -2 size)
  hp 67 (7d10+28); fast healing 7
  Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +6
  Defensive Abilities ability healing; DR 5/good; Immune disease, 
  mind-affecting effects, poison; Resist cold 10, fire 10; SR 11
  Speed 40 ft., swim 20 ft.
  Melee 7 bites +8 (1d8 + 3 plus poison)
  Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
  Special Attacks poison, pounce, smite good
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th; concentration +9)
     At will—dimension door (within sacred site only)
     3/day—alarm, knock
     1/day—arcane lock, augury, clairaudience / clairvoyance, dismissal 
  (DC 17), hold portal
  Str 17, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 6, Wis 15, Cha 14
  Base Atk +7; CMB +12; CMD 23 (can’t be tripped)
  Feats Combat Reflexes, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack
  Skills Acrobatics +1 (+5 to jump), Perception +19, Sense Motive +7, 
  Swim +11; Racial Modifiers +7 Perception, +5 Sense Motive
  SQ blessed life, divine swiftness, hydra traits, regenerate head, sacred 
  site
  Special Abilities
  Ability Healing (Ex) A divine guardian heals 1 point of ability damage 
  per round in each damaged ability score.
  Blessed Life (Ex) A divine guardian does not age or breathe. It does not 
  require food, drink, or sleep.
  Divine Swiftness (Ex) A divine guardian is gifted with incredible 
  speed, granting it a +4 bonus on initiative rolls. In addition, each 
  of the base creature’s speeds is doubled. If the base creature has a 
  fly speed, the divine guardian’s maneuverability becomes perfect if 
  it was not already. If the divine guardian acquires the air, earth, 
  or water subtype, it gains a fly, burrow, or swim speed equal to its 
  highest speed.
  Hydra Traits (Ex) A hydra can be killed by severing all of its heads 
  or slaying its body. Any attack that is not an attempt to sever a 
  head affects the body, including area attacks or attacks that cause 
  piercing or bludgeoning damage. To sever a head, an opponent must 
  make a sunder attempt with a slashing weapon targeting a head. A 
  head is considered a separate weapon with hardness 0 and hit points 
  equal to the hydra’s HD. To sever a head, an opponent must inflict 
  enough damage to reduce the head’s hit points to 0 or less. Severing 
  a head deals damage to the hydra’s body equal to the hydra’s current 
  HD. A hydra can’t attack with a severed head, but takes no other 
  penalties.
  Poison:  - Injury (DC 17) (Ex) Poison—Injury; save Fort DC 17; 
  frequency 1 / round 4 rounds; effect paralysis for 1d4 rounds; cure 1 
  save.
  Regenerate Head (Ex) When a hydra’s head is destroyed, two heads 
  regrow in 1d4 rounds. A hydra cannot have more than twice its 
  original number of heads at any one time. To prevent new heads 
  from growing, at least 5 points of acid or fire damage must be 
  dealt to the stump (a touch attack to hit) before they appear. Acid 
  or fire damage from area attacks can affect stumps and the body 
  simultaneously. A hydra doesn’t die from losing its heads until all 
  are cut off and the stumps seared by acid or fire.
  
  APPEndix C: nEw MonstErs 
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  |29
  Sacred Site (Ex) Each divine guardian is assigned to guard a specific 
  site sacred to the deity that invested it with power. This area may 
  be a structure, a series of structures, or a natural site with clearly 
  defined borders. It can be as large as a city, but in most cases it’s a 
  single temple or a sacred grove. Gods don’t waste their powers on 
  places that their worshipers can protect, so most divine guardians 
  keep watch over abandoned burial grounds or lost temples. The 
  divine guardian of such a site is charged with protecting it from 
  harm and preventing incursions by those not of the faith. It must 
  keep its vigil until the god deems the guardian’s task done.
  If the divine guardian ever moves out of the area defined as the 
  sacred site, it immediately loses the divine guardian template and 
  any spellcasting ability the deity might have granted from class 
  levels. It cannot regain the template unless it atones for its failure 
  (usually by completing some quest or via an atonement spell) and 
  reenters the site within 1 week. Otherwise, it loses the template 
  permanently, taking 6d6 points of Constitution drain as the years of 
  lost food, drink, and sleep return to it tenfold. A creature that lacks a 
  Constitution score takes 2d6 points of damage per Hit Die from this 
  process. Even if it survives the Constitution drain, the creature can 
  never regain the template.
  Smite Good (1/day) (Su) +2 to hit, +7 to damage when used.
  fEtid hAnds
  fEtid hAnds
  Formed of rotting tree bark and insects, these hands are in constant “search” of 
  something but cursed to never find what they seek or at least not to realize it when 
  they find it.
  fEtid hAnds swArM 
  Cr 1
  fEtid hAnds swArM 
  Cr 1
  XP 400
  NE Fine undead (swarm)
  Init +1; Senses blindsense 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
  AC 19, touch 19, flat-footed 18 (+1 Dex, +8 size)
  hp 9 (1d8+5)
  Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +2
  Defensive Abilities swarm traits; Immune undead traits
  Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.
  Melee swarm (1d6 plus grab)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
  Special Attacks distraction (DC 12), mark quarry, strangle
  Str 13, Dex 13, Con —, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 14
  Base Atk +0; CMB —; CMD —
  Feats Toughness
  Skills Acrobatics +1 (+5 to jump), Climb +9, Perception +4, Survival 
  +4; Racial Modifiers +4 Survival
  Languages Common (can’t speak)
  Special Abilities
  Distraction (DC 12) (Ex) Nauseate foes for 1 round on failed save. (Fort 
  neg.)
  Mark Quarry (designated quarry) (Su) A fetid hand swarm is assigned 
  a quarry by anointing the hands with a drop of the intended quarry’s 
  blood. If the hands have no current quarry, they automatically gain 
  the next creature they damage as their quarry. Once attuned to a 
  target, they become aware of the target’s location as if under the 
  effect of a continuous locate creature spell. The hands gain a +1 
  bonus on all attack rolls, damage rolls, and skill checks made to seek 
  out and destroy the marked quarry. The mark quarry ability lasts 
  until the quarry or the hands are slain.
  Strangle (Ex) Grappled foes cannot speak or cast spells with verbal 
  components.
  MEi LAn
  MEi LAn
  Mei Lan starts by casting dominate person on the character with the biggest 
  weapon or the one that is most heavily armored. She then commands that 
  character to kill the rest of the group. She’s an enchantment specialist but casts 
  some volatile spells by flinging fulu scripts at her targets. 
  MEi LAn 
  Cr 9
  MEi LAn 
  Cr 9
  XP 6,400
  CN Medium fey
  Init +4; Senses low-light vision; Perception +19
  AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 16 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 natural)
  hp 82 (15d6+30); regeneration 5 (fire or acid)
  Fort +7, Ref +13, Will +10
  DR 5/cold iron and magic
  Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (good)
  Melee 2 claws +7 (1d4)
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15th; concentration +20)
     At will—charm person (DC 16)
     3/day—bestow curse (DC 18), deep slumber (DC 18), lightning bolt 
  (DC 18)
     1/day—cone of cold (DC 20), dominate person (DC 20), teleport
     1/week—contingency
  Str 10, Dex 18, Con 15, Int 15, Wis 13, Cha 21
  Base Atk +7; CMB +7; CMD 22
  Feats Combat Expertise, Crane Style, Crane Wing, Deflect Arrows, 
  Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike, Redirect Attack, Snatch Arrows
  Skills Bluff +23, Diplomacy +23, Fly +26, Knowledge (local) +20, 
  Knowledge (nature) +20, Perception +19, Sense Motive +19, Use 
  Magic Device +23
  Languages Common, Sylvan
  MogwAi
  MogwAi
  fEi du
  fEi du
  Fei Du wears expensive green robes embroidered all over with winged 
  creatures. Half her hair is pinned up with several jade, gold, and pearl accessories. 
  The black veins spreading across her skin and her long green fingernails contrast 
  sharply with her pale features. 
  fEi du 
  Cr 8
  fEi du 
  Cr 8
  XP 4,800
  NE Medium fey
  Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +16
  AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 10 (+3 Dex)
  hp 58 (13d6+13)
  Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +8
  DR 5/magic and silver; Immune poison; SR 19
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee +1 injecting toxic virulent dagger +5/+5/+0/+0 (1d4 + 1 plus 
  poison [DC 20] /19-20) or
     +1 injecting toxic virulent dagger +7/+2 (1d4 + 1 plus poison [DC 20] 
  /19-20)
  Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 13th; concentration +16)
     6th (4/day)—geas / quest, planar binding (DC 19)
     5th (6/day)—mass charm person (DC 18), dominate person (DC 18), 
  teleport
     4th (6/day)—aggravate affliction, contingent venom (DC 17), 
  miasmatic form, sword to snake (DC 17)
     3rd (7/day)—create soul gem (DC 16), ja noi aspect, nauseating trail 
  (DC 16), stinking cloud (DC 16)
     2nd (7/day)—accelerate poison (DC 15), demand offering (DC 15), 
  hidden blades, languid venom (DC 15), unnatural lust (DC 15)
     1st (7/day)—charm person (DC 14), mage armor, memory lapse (DC 
  14), obscure poison, poisoned egg
     0 (at will)—dancing lights, detect poison, ghost sound (DC 13), 
  haunted fey aspect, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, read 
  magic, touch of fatigue (DC 13)
  Str 11, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 17
  Base Atk +6; CMB +6; CMD 19
  Feats Combat Expertise, Greater Feint, Improved Feint, Improved 
  
  30|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  30|Moon dAughtEr’s fAtE
  Two-weapon Fighting, Subtle Poisoner, Two-weapon Feint, Two-
  weapon Fighting
  Skills Bluff +19, Diplomacy +19, Disguise +19, Perception +16, Sense 
  Motive +16, Sleight of Hand +19, Stealth +19, Use Magic Device +19
  Languages Aklo, Common, Sylvan
  Combat Gear wyvern poison (10); Other Gear +1 injecting toxic 
  virulent dagger (wyvern poison [3]), +1 injecting toxic virulent dagger 
  (wyvern poison [3]), speed sheath (2)
  Special Abilities
  Greater Feint Feinted foe loses DEX until the beginning of your next 
  turn, rather than on next attack.
  Improved Feint You can make a Bluff check to feint in combat as a 
  move action.
  Subtle Poisoner You can apply poison as part of drawing a weapon.
  Two-Weapon Feint Forgo first melee attack to feint
  Wyvern Poison
  Type poison (injury); Save Fortitude DC 17; Frequency 1/round for 6 
  rounds; Cure 2 consecutive saves
  Effect 1d4 Con damage
  MogwAi, rot And fECundity
  MogwAi, rot And fECundity
  MEi gEn
  MEi gEn
  Mei Gen shoots green and black lightning bolts from his fingertips at a single 
  target whenever there are 3 or more characters in a line. If the lightning strikes an 
  area of the wall that doesn’t already have fungus growing, fungus grows rapidly 
  in the area. If he hits an area with existing fungus, spores release a cloud that 
  obscures sight within a five-foot radius.
  Between those rounds, he flies around the room clawing at the characters with 
  his nasty, diseased nails. Each time his nails connect, the character must save 
  against his Charisma draining poison.
  MogwAi, rot And fECundity 
  Cr 8
  MogwAi, rot And fECundity 
  Cr 8
  XP 4,800
  NE Large outsider (giant, native, oni, shapechanger)
  Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +13
  AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+3 Dex, +5 natural, -1 size)
  hp 92 (8d10+48); regeneration 5 (fire or acid)
  Fort +12, Ref +5, Will +10
  DR 5/magic and silver; SR 19
  Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)
  Melee 2 claws +14 (1d6 + 7 plus poison)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
  Special Attacks poison
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th; concentration +11)
     Constant—fly
     At will—fungal blisters, grasping tentacles
     3/day—lightning bolt (DC 16)
     1/day—black tentacles
  Str 24, Dex 17, Con 23, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 17
  Base Atk +8; CMB +16; CMD 29
  Feats Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Iron 
  Will
  Skills Acrobatics +3 (+7 to jump), Bluff +14, Fly +16, Knowledge 
  (nature) +13, Knowledge (planes) +13, Knowledge (religion) +13, 
  Perception +13, Sense Motive +13, Spellcraft +13
  Languages Aklo, Common, Giant, Sylvan
  Special Abilities
  Poison:  - Injury (DC 20) (Ex) Poison—Injury; save Fort DC 20; 
  frequency 1 / round 4 rounds; effect 1 Cha drain; cure 1 save.
  MogwAi, Chi thiEf
  MogwAi, Chi thiEf
  Qing shAn
  Qing shAn
  Qing Shan is a rather common type of mogwai, a spirit returned to the land of 
  the living that straddles life and death. When forced to confront their reality, they 
  steal the chi of others in an attempt to return fully to the world of the living.
  Chi thieves breathe in the chi of their targets. The range is often dependent on 
  how powerful of a mogwai it is. In the case of Qing Shan, she grabs the head or 
  neck of her target and breathes in.
  MogwAi, Chi thiEf 
  Cr 4
  MogwAi, Chi thiEf 
  Cr 4
  XP 1,200
  NE Medium undead (extraplanar, oni)
  Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +9
  AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +2 natural)
  hp 37 (5d8+15)
  Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +5
  DR 5 / magic and silver; Immune undead traits
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee slam +3 (1d4), touch +3 (1 plus energy drain)
  Special Attacks energy drain (one level, DC 15)
  Str 10, Dex 13, Con —, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 17
  Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 14
  Feats Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Stand Still
  Skills Disguise +11, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (religion) +9, 
  Perception +9, Sense Motive +9
  Languages Common, Necronomus
  SQ rejuvenation
  Special Abilities
  Rejuvenation (Su) A slain chi thief mogwai returns to unlife at full 
  hit points at the next sundown. On the anniversary of its wrongful 
  death, a chi thief mogwai reforms 1 hour after it is reduced to 0 hit 
  points. The only way to destroy a chi thief mogwai is to bring to light 
  the true offender or lay the spirit to rest with a ritual.
  MogwAi, Chi thiEf — inCorPorEAL forM
  MogwAi, Chi thiEf — inCorPorEAL forM
  A chi thief possesses a suitable living host and waits for an opportune time to 
  suck the chi out of unsuspecting people.
  MogwAi, Chi thiEf (inCorPorEAL forM) 
  Cr 4
  MogwAi, Chi thiEf (inCorPorEAL forM) 
  Cr 4
  XP 1,200
  NE Medium undead (extraplanar, incorporeal, oni)
  Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +9
  AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+3 deflection, +1 Dex)
  hp 37 (5d8+15)
  Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +5
  Defensive Abilities incorporeal; DR 5/magic and silver; Immune 
  undead traits
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee slam +4 (1d4+1), touch +4 (2 plus energy drain)
  Special Attacks energy drain (one level, DC 15)
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +8)
     At will—possession (DC 18)
  Str —, Dex 13, Con —, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 17
  Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 17
  Feats Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Stand Still
  Skills Disguise +11, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (religion) +9, 
  Perception +9, Sense Motive +9
  Languages Common, Necronomus
  SQ rejuvenation
  Special Abilities
  Rejuvenation (Su) A slain chi thief mogwai returns to unlife at full 
  hit points at the next sundown. On the anniversary of its wrongful 
  death, a chi thief mogwai reforms 1 hour after it is reduced to 0 hit 
  points. The only way to destroy a chi thief mogwai is to bring to light 
  the true offender or lay the spirit to rest with a ritual.
  
  APPEndix C: nEw MonstErs 
  APPEndix C: nEw MonstErs |31
  |31
  niu tiAn shEn
  niu tiAn shEn
  CorPorEAL forM
  CorPorEAL forM
  A massive, obviously wounded ox. The ox is missing one of its horns. He is 
  almost twice the size of a standard ox. The slobber and snot coming from his nose 
  and mouth are a grayish-green ichor.
  niu tiAn shEn 
  Cr 8
  niu tiAn shEn 
  Cr 8
  XP 4,800
  NG Huge outsider (kami, native)
  Init -1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +11
  AC 20, touch 7, flat-footed 20 (-1 Dex, +13 natural, -2 size)
  hp 101 (8d10+56); fast healing 4
  Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +6
  DR 5/magic and silver; Immune bleed, mind-affecting effects, 
  petrification, polymorph; Resist acid 10, electricity 10, fire 10
  Speed 40 ft.
  Melee gore +18 (3d6 + 18 plus 1d6 acid)
  Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
  Special Attacks acid (1d6 acid), trample (3d6 + 18, DC 26)
  Str 35, Dex 8, Con 23, Int 13, Wis 11, Cha 14
  Base Atk +8; CMB +22 (+24 bull rush); CMD 31 (33 vs. bull rush, 35 
  vs. trip)
  Feats Endurance, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Toughness
  Skills Acrobatics -1 (+3 to jump), Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge 
  (nature) +9, Knowledge (planes) +12, Perception +11, Perform (wind 
  instruments) +10, Profession (farmer) +8, Sense Motive +11
  Languages Celestial, Common; telepathy 100 ft.
  SQ merge with ward
  Special Abilities
  Merge with Ward (Su) As a standard action, a kami can merge its body 
  and mind with its ward. When merged, the kami can observe the 
  surrounding region with its senses as if it were using its own body, 
  as well as via any senses its ward might have. It has no control over 
  its ward, nor can it communicate or otherwise take any action other 
  than to emerge from its ward as a standard action. A kami must 
  be adjacent to its ward to merge with or emerge from it. If its ward 
  is a creature, plant, or object, the kami can emerge mounted on 
  the creature provided the kami’s body is at least one size category 
  smaller than the creature. If its ward is a location, the kami may 
  emerge at any point within that location. 
  inCorPorEAL forM
  inCorPorEAL forM
  Niu Tian Shen is unable to manifest in corporeal form at this time. The 
  zhenniao poison affected his mind and left him maddened, running on primal 
  instinct.
  niu tiAn shEn (inCorPorEAL forM) 
  Cr 6
  niu tiAn shEn (inCorPorEAL forM) 
  Cr 6
  XP 2,400
  NG Large outsider (incorporeal, kami, native)
  Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception 
  +11
  AC 17, touch 9, flat-footed 17 (+8 natural, -1 size)
  hp 85 (8d10+40); fast healing 4
  Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +6
  Immune bleed, mind-affecting effects, petrification, polymorph; Resist 
  acid 10, electricity 10, fire 10
  Speed 40 ft.
  Melee gore +15 (2d6 + 12 plus 1d6 acid)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
  Special Attacks trample (2d6 + 12 plus 1d6 acid, DC 22)
  Str 27, Dex 10, Con 19, Int 13, Wis 11, Cha 14
  Base Atk +8; CMB +17 (+19 bull rush); CMD 27 (29 vs. bull rush, 31 
  vs. trip)
  Feats Endurance, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Toughness
  Skills Acrobatics +0 (+4 to jump), Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge 
  (nature) +9, Knowledge (planes) +12, Perception +11, Perform (wind 
  instruments) +10, Profession (farmer) +8, Sense Motive +11
  Languages Celestial, Common; telepathy 100 ft.
  SQ merge with ward
  Special Abilities
  Merge with Ward (Su) As a standard action, a kami can merge its body 
  and mind with its ward. When merged, the kami can observe the 
  surrounding region with its senses as if it were using its own body, 
  as well as via any senses its ward might have. It has no control over 
  its ward, nor can it communicate or otherwise take any action other 
  than to emerge from its ward as a standard action. A kami must 
  be adjacent to its ward to merge with or emerge from it. If its ward 
  is a creature, plant, or object, the kami can emerge mounted on 
  the creature provided the kami’s body is at least one size category 
  smaller than the creature. If its ward is a location, the kami may 
  emerge at any point within that location. 
  undErworLd PhAntAsMs
  undErworLd PhAntAsMs
  Underworld Phantasms are incorporeal beings condemned to wander the 
  underworld. Once awakened, they want to stay and hope to use the characters to 
  achieve that goal.
  They are translucent, with pale and tortured features. Their hair flows loosely 
  back, and their eyes are hollow.
  They try to possess a character and use that being to attack the others. If that 
  doesn’t work, they wail, causing sonic damage.
  undErworLd PhAntAsM 
  Cr 9
  undErworLd PhAntAsM 
  Cr 9
  XP 6,400
  CE Medium undead (incorporeal)
  Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +21
  AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 13 (+3 deflection, +5 Dex)
  hp 90 (12d8+36)
  Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +10
  Defensive Abilities incorporeal; Immune undead traits
  Speed fly 60 ft. (perfect)
  Melee touch +15 (1d6 + 2 plus energy drain)
  Special Attacks energy drain (one level, DC 19), piercing scream (6d6 
  sonic damage, once every 1d4 rounds), possession
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th; concentration +15)
     3/day—charm person (DC 16)
  Str —, Dex 21, Con —, Int 15, Wis 15, Cha 16
  Base Atk +9; CMB +14; CMD 27
  Feats Ability Focus (charm person), Alertness, Blind-fight, Great 
  Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (touch attack)
  Skills Bluff +15, Fly +28, Intimidate +18, Perception +21, Sense 
  Motive +21, Stealth +20
  Languages Abyssal, Common, Necronomus
  Special Abilities
  Piercing Scream (DC 19) (Su) Every 1d4 rounds, deal 6d6 sonic damage 
  to creatures in 60-ft cone (Fort half).
  Possession (DC 19) (Su) Once per round, by making a successful 
  incorporeal touch attack, a phantasm can merge its body with a 
  creature on the Material Plane. This ability is similar to a magic 
  jar spell, except that it doesn’t require a receptacle. If the attack 
  succeeds, the phantasm’s body vanishes into the opponent’s body. 
  The target can resist the attack with a successful Will save (DC 21). 
  A creature that successfully saves is immune to that phantasm’s 
  possession ability for one day.
  A possessing phantasm automatically deals one negative level (from its 
  energy drain ability) each round. A possessed creature can attempt a 
  Will save (DC 19) each round to force the phantasm out of its body. If 
  successful, the phantasm is ejected from the host and cannot attempt 
  to possess the same host for 1 minute. If turned or subjected to a 
  dismissal spell while possessing a host, the phantasm is likewise 
  ejected. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
  
  Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Necromancer Games 
  LLC’s Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open 
  Game Content: product and product line names, logos and identifying marks including trade dress; artifacts; 
  creatures;  characters;  stories,  storylines,  plots,  thematic  elements,  dialogue,  incidents,  language,  artwork, 
  symbols,  designs,  depictions,  likenesses,  formats,  poses,  concepts,  themes  and  graphic,  photographic  and 
  other visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters, spells, enchantments, personalities, 
  teams,  personas,  likenesses  and  special  abilities;  places,  locations,  environments,  creatures,  equipment, 
  magical or supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other trademark or 
  registered trademark clearly identified as Product Identity. Previously released Open Game Content is excluded 
  from the above list. 
  Notice of Open Game Content: This product contains Open Game Content, as defined in the Open Game 
  License, below. Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of the Open Game License. 
  Designation of Open Game Content: Subject to the Product Identity Designation herein, the following 
  material is designated as Open Game Content. (1) all monster statistics, descriptions of special abilities, and 
  sentences including game mechanics such as die rolls, probabilities, and/or other material required to be open 
  game content as part of the game rules, or previously released as Open Game Content, (2) all portions of spell 
  descriptions that include rules-specific definitions of the effect of the spells, and all material previously released 
  as Open Game Content, (3) all other descriptions of game-rule effects specifying die rolls or other mechanic 
  features of the game, whether in traps, magic items, hazards, or anywhere else in the text, (4) all previously 
  released Open Game Content, material required to be Open Game Content under the terms of the Open Game 
  License, and public domain material anywhere in the text. 
  Use of Content from Tome of Horrors Complete: This product contains or references content from the 
  Tome of Horrors Complete and/or other monster Tomes by Necromancer Games. Such content is used by 
  permission and an abbreviated Section 15 entry has been approved. Citation to monsters from the Tome of 
  Horrors Complete or other monster Tomes must be done by citation to that original work. 
  OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a 
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, 
  Inc. (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved. 
  1. Definitions: (a) “Contributors” means the copyright and/or trademark owners who have contributed 
  Open Game Content; (b) “Derivative Material” means copyrighted material including derivative works and 
  translations (including into other computer languages), potation, modification, correction, addition, extension, 
  upgrade, improvement, compilation, abridgement, or other form in which an existing work may be recast, 
  transformed, or adapted; (c) “Distribute” means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly 
  display, transmit, or otherwise distribute; (d) “Open Game Content” means the game mechanic and includes 
  the methods, procedures, processes, and routines to the extent such content does not embody the Product 
  Identity and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game 
  Content by the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative 
  works under copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity; (e) “Product Identity” means product 
  and product line names, logos, and identifying marks including trade dress; artifacts; creatures and characters; 
  stories,  storylines,  plots,  thematic  elements,  dialogue,  incidents,  language,  artwork,  symbols,  designs, 
  depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes, and graphic, photographic, and other visual or audio 
  representations; names and descriptions of characters, spells, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, 
  likenesses, and special abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magic or supernatural 
  abilities  or  effects,  logos,  symbols,  or  graphic  designs;  and  any  other  trademark  or  registered  trademark 
  clearly identified as Product Identity by the owner of the Product Identity, and which specifically excludes the 
  Open Game Content; (f) “Trademark” means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, designs that are used by a 
  Contributor to identify itself or its products or the associated products contributed to the Open Game License by 
  the Contributor; (g) “Use”, “Used”, or “Using” means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate, 
  and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open Game Content; (h) “You” or “Your” means the licensee in 
  terms of this agreement. 
  2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice indicating that 
  the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of this License. You must affix such a notice 
  to any Open Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this License except 
  as described by the License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content 
  distributed using this License. 
  3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your acceptance of the terms 
  of this License. 
  4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors grant 
  You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, 
  the Open Game Content. 
  5. Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original material as Open Game 
  Content, You represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to 
  grant the rights conveyed by this License. 
  6. Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to 
  include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying, 
  or  distributing,  and  You  must  add  the  title,  the  copyright  date,  and  the  copyright  holder’s  name  to  the 
  COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you Distribute. 
  7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an indication as to 
  compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of each element 
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  Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed 
  in another, independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of 
  any Product Identity in Open Game Content does not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product 
  Identity. The owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title, and interest 
  in and to that Product Identity. 
  8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content, You must clearly indicate which portions of the 
  work that you are distributing are Open Game Content. 
  9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this License. 
  You may use any authorized version of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License to 
  copy, modify, and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under any version of this License. 
  10. Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every copy of the Open Game 
  Content You Distribute. 
  11. Use of Contribute Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game Content using the name 
  of any Contributor unless You have written permission from the Contributor to do so. 
  12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License with 
  respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, or governmental regulation then 
  You may not Use any Open Game Material so affected. 
  13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with all terms herein and 
  fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses shall survive the 
  termination of this License. 
  14. Reformation: If any provisions of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be 
  reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable. 
  15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  Open Game License v 1.0a © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.  
  System Reference Document 5.0  ©  2016, Wizards  of  the  Coast,  Inc.; Authors  Mike  Mearls,  Jeremy 
  Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell, 
  Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. 
  Pathfinder 
  Roleplaying 
  Game 
  Reference 
  Document. © 
  2011, 
  Paizo 
  Publishing, 
  LLC; 
  Author: Paizo Publishing, LLC. 
  Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. © 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, 
  based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams. 
  Original Spell Name Compendium © 2002 Clark Peterson 
  Moon Daughter’s Fate, © 2020, Necromancer Games; Author Alice Peng.  
  NECROMANCER
     Games
  TM
  ABout thE Author
  ABout thE Author
  Alice is a Chinese-American born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area of 
  California. Both her parents fled from China to Taiwan at very young ages and 
  later emigrated to America. Growing up the oldest of two children, Alice was 
  taught to speak Mandarin at home and English outside the home. While at home, 
  she listened to tapes and watched Chinese TV shows about Sun1 Wu4kong1 (The 
  Monkey King), Feng1 Shen2 Bang4 (Creation of the Gods/Investiture of the Gods), 
  and many stories about magic and mythology from the Chinese culture. This 
  imbued her with a strong passion for the genre and culture. She hopes to give a 
  glimpse into the epic craziness of a world where gods and immortals constantly 
  meddle and involve themselves in the everyday lives of mankind.
  Alice has been a pen & paper gamer since the late ’90s and is a true polygamer. 
  Every genre and system she can get exposure to, she tries to experience. She tries 
  to experience games of every genre and system, from the crunch-heavy Hero 
  System to the system light Ghost Echo. She’s played more than 200 games, and 
  that number continues to climb. Alice is a host of the Babies with Knives podcast 
  that focuses on teaching a variety of tabletop roleplaying games.
  
  NECROMANCER
     Games
  TM
  Moon 
  Moon  
  Daughter’s
  Daughter’s    
  Fate
  Fate
  Moon 
  Moon  
  Daughter’s
  Daughter’s    
  Fate
  Fate
  Beginning with an encounter with a disguised god, Moon Daughter’s 
  Fate brings the characters into the province of Sheng Xi Gui, 
  “Whisper Valley,” where divine matters have taken a dangerous 
  turn. Alice Peng has crafted an intricate situation based on Chinese 
  folklore that begins with a mystery and can end in various different 
  resolutions of a quarrel among gods, with a healthy dose of fighting 
  and mayhem along the way. The players’ skills at negotiation and 
  mysteries are crucial in addition to combat tactics, and at times the 
  characters’ lives may depend upon problem-solving rather than their 
  fighting skills.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Pathfinder/1st Edition/3rd Party/Necromancers of the Northwest/Moon-Daughters-Fate-PF.pdf