Description: A man stands silently, brown with dust and
armored in an ancient style. Ever vigilant, he holds his position of attention without moving a muscle. His clothing is archaic, Chinese in style, and his weapons are ancient, and yet give the impression of being held at the ready, a mere breath from being ready to spring into action.
It’s only after a second look that the truth becomes clear: he is made of clay, terracotta formed almost impossibly into a lifelike statue by some long forgotten but inarguably skilled craftsman. The statue’s surface appears to have the rough texture of fi red clay, and yet, when touched, feels more like real skin than would be expected. When touching a wrist, throat or chest, it sometimes feels like there’s a light pulse, a wavering heartbeat just below the surface. Diagnostic equip- ment, however, reveal nothing of the sort. Still, those who have gazed upon the Terracotta Warriors often report that they cannot spend time around the statues without having the unmistakable feeling of being watched.
Background: The First Emperor of Qin ordered thou-
sands of these warriors created in preparation for his death. More than one million workers and craftsmen labored for half a century to complete the emperor’s massive crypt and his ten thousand guardians (though only just over eight thousand still survive). It was a project of such grand scope that it continued for more than a decade after the First Em- peror’s death and interment before it was declared complete
and the last of the statues were placed in an elaborate crypt surrounding their leader’s tomb.
Each Terracotta Warrior is made in the likeness of a particular individual and is recognizable from every other one. Their faces have characteristics that make them appear not just lifelike, but natural – it is the fl aws that make them look real. They are also dressed and styled properly for their rank and status. All this detail was necessary because, ac- cording to the astrologers, sorcerers and philosophers of the Emperor’s court, the army had to be real in order to follow the First Emperor into the afterlife, where his forces would march before him and make him the First Emperor of death, the underworld, the afterlife and so on. They would fi ght for him and they would defend him against all dangers. To seal their power, each Terracotta Warrior was made with a piece of the soldier or offi cer it mimicked: a bit of fl esh, a knot of hair, a broken tooth or so on. Their connection to still-living warriors would wake the statues after the First Emperor’s death, and the soldiers’ subsequent deaths would empower them further still.
The First Emperor’s fate in the afterlife is largely un- known, but the soldiers’ fates are not. Various records from around 200 B.C.E. describe thousands of warriors who were plagued with a mysterious ailment. Almost to a man, those who had donated their fl esh to the Terracotta Army found themselves unable to sleep, channeling malevolent spirits and speaking in tongues. Most died early, some in battle or on duty, but many others killed themselves, unable to deal with the effects of their illness. Within 20 years after the First Emperor’s death, not a single member of the ten
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kinds of torture which only those who are already dead can devise or endure.
Storytelling Hints: A Terracotta Warrior is a powerful tool
for protecting an area. Those who possess one have a strong de- fense against spiritual or material assailants. As well, while many reproductions have been created throughout history, owning an authentic Terracotta Warrior is a mark of status and may be seen by others as a symbol of the owner’s strength and power — and a warning when that ally dies anyway. An enemy with a terracotta warrior has the same protection, which the characters are likely to discover at the worst possible time.
On a more public note, China most certainly wants its cultural treasures back, so anyone who possesses a Terracotta Warrior, but who does not hide it, is making a statement. For an ally who reveals his possession to the characters, it says that he trusts them with his secrets; an enemy who lets it be known may well be saying that she can take the heat or is laying a trap for anyone foolish enough to turn her in. Players’ characters have a harder time using terracotta war- riors, since they are hard to safely (or discretely) move from place to place.
Effects
Bolster Territory (••): The Terracotta Warrior contains
a dormant warrior ghost, ready to fi ght beyond its death for its master. Every Terracotta Warrior would leap to the ready were the spirit of the First Emperor threatened within their range of senses (or at least that is what the First Emperor would have liked to believe), but the First Emperor’s ghost is nowhere to be seen. By smearing a small amount of her blood on a war- rior’s lips, a character can attune the statue to herself. It does not leap to defend her as it was designed to do for its emperor, but it does strengthen her against her enemies. When she is threatened in the terracotta warrior’s presence, the effects of Bolster Territory automatically activate (without the lethal wound cost). The character also feels empowered, as though she had effective backup in the situation, and her enemies feel the vague discomfort that comes with suspecting they might be outnumbered or outgunned despite the apparent odds of the situation. The character must ritually attune the warrior every week to maintain its vigil; attunement also costs four Willpower points each week. She may instead attune it permanently by spending one permanent Willpower dot. Attuned warriors (using either method) give the character access to their Smite powers. Each additional attuned terracotta warrior within the power’s range increases the Bolster Territory benefi ts by +1; a maximum honor guard of 10 terracotta warriors can combine in one area for this effect.
Smite (•••): The warriors were the First Emperor’s
sword in the afterlife as well as his shield – he could not hope to conquer death, the afterlife and the realms of Heaven without strong soldiers. At his command, the spirits of these warriors would strike out against his enemies and destroy them. Ghostly spears, swords and arrows attack victims. This Power functions as Smite with these changes: Only one enemy of the character suffers the damage; the character can name the target thousand soldiers who gave their likeness (and their fl esh)
to the Terracotta Army were still alive — but the emperor got his honor guard. After that, of course, there is no offi cial word on the fate of the project. No one can truly know whether the First Emperor’s plans worked or not – though some of China’s masters of the occult reported, through séances and communing with the spirits of those who had gone before, that a period of mysterious order and calm overtook the realm of the afterlife little more than ten years past the First Emperor’s death.
Chinese farmers discovered the crypt of the Terracotta Army in 1974, and the government immediately cordoned off the area, restricting access almost entirely for the fi rst few years and then eventually allowing archeologists, scientists and fi nally tourists to visit the soldier-statues. The Terracotta Army is a monument to the nation’s heritage, and one they will not allow to be damaged or sullied. Even to this day, the Chinese government lets the terracotta warriors out of the country only rarely: they exhibited four at the 1982 World’s Fair, a few were part of the Imperial Tombs of China exhibit which toured American museums in the 1990s, and twelve are currently being allowed to visit various European muse- ums in a similar traveling exhibit.
After a few of the Terracotta Warriors were displayed as part of a short American tour of museums in the early 1990s, many with an interest in artifacts have at least heard of the army. An Academics Specialty in China or Chinese History gives characters access to many of the legends (modern or historic, respectively) about the Terracotta Army. Anyone with a decent Crafts skill and a Specialty related to sculpture, ceramics or clay has heard of the excruciating scope of their creation, at least in passing. Likewise, those familiar with China’s history immediately before the Common Era, or who have done research in the burial rites of the wealthy or powerful throughout history are probably aware of the Army’s existence and the reason for their original creation.
• One of the four displayed at the World’s Fair was replaced with a replica. Two of the twelve lent to museums are fakes. In most accounts, China does not know of the replacements, though conspiracy theorists argue that their loss is part of some complex plan.
• There is a little bit of human fl esh in every terracotta war- rior. Some say it is a bit of brain or eyes, others say it is the heart or any piece of fl esh at all. Legends claim that this “sacrifi ce” had to be willingly given, but that many soldiers, after falling sick while their likeness was being crafted, at- tempted to sabotage the creation of the Army in an attempt to regain their “souls”.
• One accounting from a medium who purported to have channeled an ancestor spirit from the period claims that the First Emperor lost control of his army not long after his death. Finding themselves (for the most part) prematurely on the non-living side of existence, the medium claims, the soldiers turned on the leader who was responsible for their fates and subjected him to the
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(and must do so for inanimate targets) or simply allow the warrior to assault someone the character considers an enemy who is within range. The character need not be holding the statue, and the power’s “fl are” is only obvious within about a city block. The power’s cost activates any terracotta warriors in the area attuned to her; each attacks a designated target or someone considered an enemy. The attack’s damage doubles against targets in Twilight.