Gods: Emperor Chi'in Keeper of the Tree of Life

Emperor Chi'in

Portrait of Emperor Chi'in

The Mandate of Heaven

     Long ago, before this empire of Chi'in had been tamed, our Esteemed August Ruler fought many battles against the forces of chaos and darkness. Tireless as he is, Our Sagacious Kingship knew that he must find powerful weapons and allies to assist him in his mission.

     In his search The Son of Heaven came upon a dried lake bed. There was an old fisherman who lived in a run down hut on the old shore of this lake bed. The fisherman hosted His Majesty within his humble dwelling. The Lord of Ten Thousand Years inquired of the fisherman why the lake bed was dry. The fisherman told the tale of the comet that fell from the heavens landing in the Lake Huángsè. This comet drank up the entire lake, as well as the River Jīnshuǐ which fed the lake.
     Our Magnificent Emperor decided to go the bottom of the lake bed to investigate this comet. There he found a great golden pearl. When His Glorious Majesty reached out to touch it, a flash of lightning shot out of the sky and rent the pearl. Water issued forth from the golden pearl in strong torrential waves. A typhoon wind thrashed as Our Most Potent Emperor mightily worked to keep his footing against the winds and waters. Despite his forceful efforts he was pushed back further and further until he reached the shore of Lake Huángsè. After the numinous storm passed, a snake of five colors slithered out of the remnants of the great golden pearl and wrapped its small body around the legs of Our Excellent Puissant King. He patiently waited as the snake surrounding him grew and transmogrified into a beautiful dragon.

     As it took flight lifting him towards the sky, Our Golden Tongued Emperor spoke with the dragon. He, The Holy and Exalted One convinced the dragon to bless him with its magic and assist him in fighting the forces of chaos. The dragon, Yinglong, seeing that Our Great Principled One is an honorable man, possessed of a noble spirit, granted his wish. Yinglong gifted Our Magnanimous Lordship with the sword Chun Jun, which is made of a tooth and talon from Yinglong.

     With Yinglong at his side, His Most Chivalrous One traveled the world over fighting the forces of chaos and darkness. Still, Our Great and Exalted Emperor needed more allies and power to defeat these forces. After many long travels he found the resting place of the legendary Scroll of Qi. The Monks of Qi, sworn protectors of the Scroll, seeing Yinglong with His Most Fearsome One, swore fealty to The Great Noble Emperor. They trained him to use the knowledge of the Scroll of Qi in order to contend with the forces of chaos. With this training from the Monks of Qi and the warriors of the Order of Qi, His Great Holiness set out to continue his campaign.

     The Magnific Emperor, Yinglong, and the Monks of Qi heard tales of a great palace atop a tall mountain. Our Wise and Illustrious Majesty then traveled to the mountain, Shèng Gāoshān, with his armies. This grand pilgrimage to the top of the holy mountain was arduous and deadly. Yinglong could not fly them to the top, as the mountain reached above the sky and into Heaven.

     Undeterred, our Eminent Lord continued on foot. Yinglong and the Monks waited while Our Valiant King completed the pilgrimage alone up to the summit. When there he beheld the White Jade Palace of Fènghuáng.

      Once he made it to the enormous doors of the Palace they opened to admit our Distinguished Lordship. There he made offerings of pearls, jade, silver, and incense to the Fènghuáng. Pleased by his humility and manner the Fènghuáng gifted to His Majestic Lordship the great bow, Fènghuáng Gōng.

     A light meal and tea was served as the Fènghuáng listened to the fascinating tales of His Resplendent Majesty's mission and deeds. At the conclusion of the tales, the Fènghuáng brought Our Marvelous Lord to the Stairs of Heaven. Before The Most Honorable One was allowed to ascend the stairs, the Fènghuáng warned him to not to look at the Emperor of Heaven.

     "This," the Fènghuáng said, "is the one inviolable rule of Heaven."

     With this warning in mind, Our Splendid King of Kings ascended the Stairs of Heaven. At the top of the stairs within the throne room of the Emperor of Heaven is where His Fine Lordship pleaded his case for the power to defeat chaos.

     The Emperor of Heaven said nothing during this petition and at the conclusion Our Astute Lord looked not at the Emperor of Heaven, patiently waiting for him to speak. Long moments passed, becoming long minutes. His Sterling Eminence fought hard with curiosity, longing and wanting to look upon the Emperor of Heaven. After many hours passed The Great Slayer of Chaos, facing towards the floor, opened his eyes. Refusing to look upon that which was forbidden he saw at his feet a red square stone.

     Carved into the stone was the Seal of the Mandate of Heaven. His most Respectful One bowed deeply to the Emperor of Heaven thanking him for his gift and returned down the Stairs of Heaven. At the bottom of the Stairs the Fènghuáng still waited. Seeing that Our Modest King held the Seal of the Mandate of Heaven, the Fènghuáng escorted His Enlightened Majesty out of the White Jade Palace of Fènghuáng.

     Now that Our Most Venerable One had the tools needed to defeat the forces of chaos and darkness he set forth down Shèng Gāoshān. His Magnificence won many skirmishes. These victories are what allowed our great empire to form.

Bùxiǔ de Huángdì (不朽的皇帝), The Dark One, Esteemed August Ruler of Life, Keeper of the Tree of Life

Intermediate Power (Chi'in Empire, LE)

Portfolio: Life & Death, Law & Order, Technology, Literature and Writing. 
Domain Name: Chi'in Empire, The Forbidden City. 
Superior: Amn 
Allies: Pharaoh Inmhotep, Beowa, Erron of Solitude. 
Foes: Wazirëkyn, Yaldabaoth. 
Symbol: The Seal of the Mandate of Heaven. 
Worshiper Alignment: Any.

Overview

     Emperor Chi'in is the Ruler of the mysterious land of Chi'in. He is the protector of the Tree of Life, the fruit of which is supposed to grant immortality to whomever eats it. It is said that he was the first god to create order out of the chaos of creation and brought forth humankind and gave them laws and civilization.

Chi'in's Avatar

A/C: -10

HD: 35

HP: 1

THAC0: -10

#Att: 1r

Dmg: Death

MR: 90%

Size: M

Move: 12

Str: 19

Dex: 17

Con: 25

Int: 23

Wis: 24

Cha: 23

Com: 25

PPDM: 1

RSW: 1

PP: 1

BW: 1

OS: 1

Fear: 1

Horror: 1

Madness: 1

      Chi'in heals all damage done to him instantly and is immune to disease, poison & all forms of charm, hold and mind affecting spells. He cannot be killed by any known means and is a warrior-king of unparalleled skill and cunning. In combat he is treated as a 50th level fighter.
     Chi'in has a few special attacks he has mastered over the many eons of his existence. He can attack one opponent within 1,000 paces and cause instant death to a being of lesser than demi-god status with his One Thousand Step Smiting Touch. He can attack every opponent within his view, doing 5d10 damage and causing affected survivors, to kneel in supplication with his Emperor of Heaven Gaze. He can knock over an entire army with a single swipe of his sword, named Chun Jun. Leaving them defenseless on their backs for 3d6 rounds with his Typhoon Sword Strike. He can, with his bow Fènghuáng Gōng, fire the Rain of 10,000 Meteors. Shooting a single arrow, it then becomes 10,000 arrows. These strike unerringly up to 13 miles distant doing 1d8 damage, then explode and cause 3d6 fire damage per arrow.
     Beyond these martial abilities Chi'in is the ruler of one of the more powerful empires of Xaqi. The country is a well run kingdom with an efficient bureaucracy of well trained and tested individuals. The general populace is well fed and ordered, with basic schooling for all citizens. There are several temples and monasteries. A well trained and equipped army of about 3 million, with the ability to muster 10 times that in defense of the realm.
     His personal estate is surrounded by an orchard of orderly and carefully pruned peach trees. Each one is manicured to look exactly alike and legend states that one of the trees is the fabled Tree of Life.

Yinglong

     Chi'in's primary mount is Yinglong. A dragon of great age and power. It is said that this dragon can fly swiftly across the sky, going from one edge of the world to the other in a single day without ever tiring.
     Yinglong is worshiped as a deity in its own right. Yinglong is the bringer of rain in the Chi'in mythology. Both rains beneficial to agriculture and the torrential monsoon rains that cause rivers to run over their banks and destroy villages.
     Yinglong is the eldest of the dragons of Chi'in. There are also the dragons, Ao Guang, Ao Qin, Ao Run, and Ao Shun.
     Dragons are depicted as the bringers of good fortune and luck. They also bring misfortune to those who dishonor their family, village or emperor. The dragon is also a symbol of Imperial authority within Chi'in.

The Clergy

     Priests of Chi'in are varied in their backgrounds but are all made to pass competitive examinations designed to show that they understand the imperial laws and are able to dutifully follow them. These are not priests in the more western sense of the word but more like divine administrators. As administrators and bureaucrats they have a significant amount of power over their assigned areas. Given that responsibility they are also held to almost draconian rules and oversight.
     These bureaucrats are usually restricted to warrior and priest classes. The occasional thief is able to buy his way into a post, though they tend not to last long if they cannot perform the duties. It is the rare Wu Jen (wizard) that chooses to become an administrator or bureaucrat.

Clergy Alignment: Any Lawful

Turn/Control Undead: No 

Bonus Proficiencies: Bureaucracy, Law, Read and Write Chi'inese.

Required Proficiencies: Ancient History, Local History, Mathematics.

     Depending on the test scores received the applicant could be placed in any number of government posts. They could be placed in control of a social welfare program such as a retirement home, public clinic, public school, or pauper graveyard.
     The applicant could be placed in the widespread postal system that provides swift communication throughout the empire. The central government employs thousands of postal workers of various ranks to provide service for post offices and larger postal stations.
     They could be placed in the printing or minting office that controls the monetary system of Chi'in. This office is in charge of taxation, collections and official printings of books and other paper based propaganda.
     The foreign ministers office deals with trade and keeping tabs on all foreign born visitors and residents. This office collects duties from foreign trade but does not collect internal taxes.
     The office of Magistrate is a highly sought after position. Those who serve as judges are highly respected. They determine the guilty party in a criminal act. Meting out punishment accordingly, usually caning. A guilty individual or party brought to court for a criminal or civil offense are not viewed as wholly innocent until proven otherwise. Also, accusers are viewed with a high level of suspicion by the magistrates. The court system has very high monetary costs to it. So most people try to come to an agreement outside of the courts whenever possible.
     Relatedly, the candidate could be placed into a post as a constable or inspector. These persons make up the bulk of the police forces within different provinces as well as determining cause of death in cases of murders or suicide. The constabulary are where many former soldiers or fighting monks get placed.
     Lastly, the most sought after post is that of Prefect. This grants the person high status and they are essentially to lord of the prefecture or province depending on the posting.

Divine Bureaucrat

Requirements: Int 12, Wis 13, Str 9
Prime Requisite: Wis
Alignment: Any Lawful
Weapons: Any
Armour: All
Major Spheres: None, as no spells are granted
Minor Spheres: None, as no spells are granted
Magical Items: Any
Races allowed: Human, Korobokuru, Hengeyokai, Spirit Folk

Special Granted Powers

     Divine Bureaucrats do not gain proficiency slots like normal priests. They get a slot at every level and must choose to save or use it for either a weapon or nonweapon slot. They do start out with the normal slot allotment as other priest types. They can choose proficiencies from any category as long as there is a teacher or text available to grant them said knowledge.
     Many Divine Bureaucrats also dedicate themselves to the martial arts. The followers of the Qi Arts are said to possess powers similar to magical abilities.

Spell-like abilities: None