CCC days 6 and 7- the 4 Holy Beast Guardians (2) [Fate Core]

Following on from yesterday, here are the other two descendants. 

Nam Gong Chor (南宮楚)

Male, medium height, stocky, 22-23

Aspects: 

High Concept: Perfectionist descendant of the Crimson Bird Guardian working as scribe

Trouble: Intolerant of cold 

Values humility 

Perceptive 

Special equipment: Crimson Bird Fist 

Skills:

+4: Notice

+3: Physique, Fight 

+2: Will, Lore, Investigate 

+1: Contacts, Athletics, Empathy, Resources 

Stunts: 

  1. Wind Damage. +2 to attacking with Shoot when using the Green Dragon Bow
  2. Lies upon Lies. +2 to create a Deceive advantage against someone who has believed one of your lies already during this session.

Buk Tong Ling (北堂靈)

Female, 28-29, tall and shapely 

Aspects: 

High Concept: Innocent descendant of the Snake-Turtle Guardian working as an embroiderer

Trouble: Excessively dependent 

Values communication 

Melodramatic 

Special equipment: Snake-Turtle Shield 

Skills:

+4: Crafts

+3:  Notice, Resources

+2:  Rapport, Empathy, Athletics

+1: Will, Physique, Stealth, Lore 

Stunts: 

  1. Agile turtle. Add Athletics to Physique when Defending against physical attacks 

CCC days 4 and 5- the 4 Holy Beast Guardians (1) [Fate Core]

I’ve randomly come up with the following premise for a Chinese story but don’t intend to write it so I’m using it for the character challenge instead: The Kingdom was guarded by the Armies of the 4 Holy Beasts led by the 4 Guardians until an ambitious Emperor eliminated or forced away the 4 Guardians. Generations later, the Kingdom is invaded and the only hope lies in recruiting the descendants of the 4 Guardians once again under the banner of the Kingdom. 

This post contains the first two of the four descendants. 

Dong Feng Kwok (东方玨)

Female, late teens, Petite with a gap-toothed smile 

Aspects: 

High Concept: Insinuasive descendant of the Indigo Dragon Guardian fallen on hard times

Trouble: Boastful 

Values adaptability 

Lack of confidence 

Special equipment: Indigo Dragon Bow

Skills:

+4: Deceive

+3: Stealth, Athletics

+2: Notice, Physique, Will

+1: Shoot, Rapport, Ride, Contacts

Stunts: 

  1. Wind Damage. +2 to attacking with Shoot when using the Green Dragon Bow
  2. Lies upon Lies. +2 to create a Deceive advantage against someone who has believed one of your lies already during this session.

Sai Mun Gwo (西門戈)

Male, 24-5, tall and muscular but average build 

Aspects: 

High Concept: Patient descendant of the White Tiger Guardian working as bodyguard

Trouble: Slothful 

Values harmony 

Selfish

Special equipment: White Tiger Spear 

Skills:

+4: Fight

+3: Rapport, Contacts

+2: Notice, Physique, Athletics

+1: Will, Drive, Investigate, Provoke 

Stunts: 

  1. Sharpness of Metal. +2 to attacking when Fighting with the White Tiger Spear
  2. Harmless sloth. Use Rapport rather than Deceive for Defence against Investigate 

CCC day 3- Strong willed Jack (Numenara)

I got a little bored with Fate so I moved onto making a character for Numenara. I pretty much followed the guide except that I skipped out on starting equipment:

Strong-willed Jack

Might: 11

Speed: 12

Intellect: 13 (Edge: 1)

Effort: 1

2 Cyphers

Skills: 

  • You’re trained in resisting mental effects.
  • You’re trained in tasks requiring incredible focus or concentration.
  • Perception 

Inability: 

  • Willful doesn’t mean brilliant. The difficulty of any task that involves figuring out puzzles or problems, memorizing things, or using lore is increased by one step.

Tricks of the Trade:

  • Hedge magic (1 Intellect Point)
  • Pierce (1 Speed Point) 

Background:

  • You remember little of your past, which has always seemed strange to you

Initial Link to the Starting Adventure:

  • Against your better judgment, you joined the other PCs because you saw that they were in danger.

Character Focus: 

  • Crafts unique objects 

Writing plans for 2026

I don’t tend to create new year resolutions but I had an idea yesterday which was to create a new novel project besides the WIP. To be honest, I really think that I should let it go but for now, I’m giving it the slow fade approach that I use for personal relationships. 

Meanwhile, I am trying to approach the next project a bit differently and enter it from the angle of characters as opposed to plot although I do have a main plot in mind. It would still be Chinese fantasy and while I was initially debating between urban versus traditional high fantasy I’ve now decided to settle with traditional high fantasy. My protagonists would be teenagers (because the stakes would be higher with that setup) although I’m not sure that would really make it YA- my vocabulary use and writing style is not that compatible with a YA audience. Then again, there is no rule that says having a teen protagonist or protagonists makes the novel YA per se so I will just do the writing first and then categorisation/genre later. 

The main plot would centre on the abduction of a protagonist who has a telepathic bond with her twin sister. So the stakes for the sisters are very clear: for the abducted, to escape and for the other one, to save her sister. I’m intending to use first person for the abducted sister and third person limited for the other one. I will try to keep the number of casts down for this project since I feel like what ‘killed’ the other one was too many people involved that I just can’t get into the head of. 

CCC days 1 and 2: Lan and Chi, twin sisters (Fate Core)

For starters, I am using the FATE Core system for character generation which is a very quick process compared to alternative systems. I am not doing it all the way, just 4 aspects for each twin sister and their starting skill pyramid. But that is really just skipping 1 aspect and the stunts section (which can be thought of as special moves or more generally how skills work differently for the given character). 

Below are snapshots from roll20 templates:

ChiDownload
LanDownload

Character Creation Challenge 2026

I’ve decided to take part in the 2026 character creation challenge. And I’m not going to post up every day but would rather combine two days at least because otherwise the post would be too sparse. 

Days 1 and 2: Lan and Chi, twin sisters for my new novel project

Day 3: Strong willed, Jack (Numenara)

Days 4 and 5: the 4 Holy Beast Guardians (1) [Fate Core]

Days 6 and 7: the 4 Holy Beast Guardians (2) [Fate Core]

Day 8- Honest but obstructive female military support officer (Central Casting 2e/D&D)

Day 9- Ming, peacock parkour instructor (Cortex Supernatural)

Day 10- Ming, narcissitic parkour instructor (Fate Core)

Day 11- Nam, insecure parkour instruction (Fate Core)

Day 12- direction blind bar-fighting bogatyr (7th seas)

Day 13- Charming rogue/crafter (7th seas)

Days 14 and 15- mage mother and daughter (Fate Core)

Days 16, 17 and 18- Immortals (Fate Core)

Days 19 and 20- System bounty hunters (Fate Core)

Days 21 and 22- Occult Investigators (Estoterrorist using Gumshoe rules)

Days 23, 24, 25 and 26: Time Line Protectors (Fate Accelerated)

Days 27, 28, 29 and 30: Time Line Protectors Team 2 (Fate Accelerated)

I don’t know if other people feel…. 

The opening line is from Access Road by Alison Luterman. 

I don’t know if other people feel this way, feel the way I do. Yeah, that’s what a lot of people expressed, at some time. I don’t particularly feel anything right now. Sure, there is the ebb and flow of emotions. But it’s all underneath like undertow. Very much so. 

I don’t know if other people feel happy the way I do. Maybe they do. Maybe they don’t. Do I care? Not really. Happiness is personal. Should be personal. If you weigh your own happiness down with others’, that just makes it so much harder for yourself. So why do it? Conservation of effort is a survival instinct, is it not? Why go against it? 

I don’t know if other people feel sad the way I do. I don’t even remember feeling sad. I’ve never liked tragedies. I don’t tend to read them. I don’t set out to watch any. They leave something nasty behind in my stomach or my mind afterwards. I feel bad things in my stomach, as a kind of formless weight. That’s how I know I feel bad. Otherwise, I block it. I block it from my consciousness. I’m a great believer in the unconscious, in self-healing. My unconscious usually takes care of it for me. Usually. 

I don’t know if other people feel angry the way I do. I don’t get angry much either and never quite file it away. It falls under bad things for me. I don’t actually feel heat or anything like that. It’s just a weight, a formless weight. 

The Role of Etiquette in Chinese culture (3)- Ceremonial Rites 

There used to be more ceremonial rites in ancient China but many have grown out of fashion. For example, the coming of age ceremony for the high born where males aged 20 are capped and given a courtesy name while girls’ hair is styled into a bun and given a hairpin at the age of 15 have unsurprisingly mostly ceased to be practised. Instead, the modern definition for adulthood being 18 years old is used and mostly there is no ceremony other than the standard birthday party or family dinner. 

In terms of modern ceremonies, marriage still remains one of the most important ones and some of the associated rituals like the tea ceremony (the newly wed kneel down and hand a cup of tea to parents on both sides) and gate crushing (groom and best men having to complete a series of tests before the bridesmaids would let them see the bride) are still intact. But marriage in ancient times involved the Six Etiquette, a six step process involving: 1) a proposal of marriage by the male family; 2) asking for the bride’s name and birth details; 3) placing the would-be bride’s details at the family altar to confirm compatibility; 4) sending betrothal gifts from the male to the female family; 5) selection of a wedding date and 6) the wedding ceremony itself. 

There were also a set of extensive rites for new borns but only the one-hundred day feast has really survived to modern times across regions. For example, the rite of ‘Pick the anniversary’ celebrated on the first birthday of the child where he/she is presented with a number of objects and is supposed to pick one that resembles their future is not practiced anymore in Hong Kong. 

Funeral rites were also governed by etiquette going back before the founding of the first dynasty that unified all of ancient China. In particular, different social classes were entitled to different treatments for their funerals. I am currently reading a Chinese online novel set in the Warring State period and it recounts how Confucius is considered a noble class but has not gained a certain level to be buried according to the top tier of formality. Nowadays, this is no longer the case and funeral rites pretty much depend on the region you are living in and the preference of the family and deceased. 

Moonlake’s Book Discoveries- December 2025

Fantasy

The Crack at the Heart of Everything by Fiona Fenn

I like it okay as a redemption story but it hasn’t really struck any deep seated chord with me. The ending is somewhat interesting but I’m not sure what it does for the story exactly. 

An exchange of Gifts by Anne McCaffrey

Okay for a fantasy novella aimed towards the younger ages (the foreword just said this is for her grand daughter and it felt fairly YA), I was really trying to read the Pern series but too popular so I just browsed some of her other titles and came up with this.

Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake 

I think this is urban fantasy but is really a sibling drama type of book. I had thoughts of giving it up to be honest except that there is a question underlying the story that ‘hooks’ me into continuing. And then work overflooded me for two days and that forced break made me lose interest in it and so I abandoned it. 

The Hills have Spies by Mercedes Lackey 

Somehow I’m in a fantasy mode and the name Mercedes Lackey popped up in my mind. I don’t think I have read any of her novels and I have enjoyed my first foray into the Valdemar setting. I was expecting somewhere else for the ending but I can’t say I’m actually disappointed. 

Eye Spy by Mercedes Lackey 

This is again a good YA fantasy set in Valdemar, not as exciting as the first of the trilogy but good enough in its own right. Not many complaints and I think I will go onto the last of the trilogy. 

Spy, spy again by Mercedes Lackey 

The structure of this trilogy reminds me of a bridge with a sagging middle in that the premise of this novel has become exciting again compared to the middle novel. The narrative has also gone back to being a divergent one because there are two perspectives that make up this story (this also happened with book 1) and I enjoy the way that it’s not always alternating between the two perspectives but that it flows more organically depending on events. 

Overall, a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. 

The Last Herald-Mage trilogy by Mercedes Lackey 

This is an omnibus version that my local library stocks in ebook form. Going from the Family Spies to this, I was much taken aback by the starting story for the legendary Vanyel. I also somehow had the expectation that this would perhaps be a tight-knit trilogy as opposed to standalone due to a recurring element described in book 1 (and book 3 somehow did tie back in with book 1 due to this precise element in an oblique way but it still wasn’t a tight-knit trilogy where the three tells a single story as opposed to three different stories) but I’m not too disappointed by this. Overall, a satisfying read. 

Moonalake’s Writing Updates- December 2025

I have officially moved onto draft 0.84, which is somewhat of a milestone since I’ve been stuck at draft 0.83 for three years and a little bit over now. 

One of the main takeaways (well, I’ve always known this but the Excel exercise gave me a much clearer idea of the difference between my male and female protagonist in terms of my progress on them. I’ve got Act 1 pretty much down pat for my female protagonist but not so for my male protagonist) is that I really need to work on the plotline for my male protagonist. And this is what I’m doing right now. 

Not much to report on the WIP but this is one of the biggest achievements I’ve attained for a while now. So hurray!