ASIAN ACTION HEROES
NIEH HSIAO TSING
Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 8 STR -2 11- Lift 75.8 kg; 1 1/2d6 HTH Damage [1] 17 DEX 21 12- OCV: 6/DCV: 6 10 CON 0 11- 10 BODY 0 11- 15 INT 5 12- PER Roll 12- 20 EGO 20 13- ECV: 7 15 PRE 5 12- PRE Attack: 3d6 30 COM 10 15- 6 PD 4 Total: 6 PD (0 rPD) 6 ED 4 Total: 6 ED (0 rED) 4 SPD 13 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 6 REC 4 30 END 5 30 STUN 11 Total Characteristic Cost: 100 Movement: Running: 6"/12" Flight: 12"/24" Leaping: 1"/2" Swimming: 2"/4" Teleportation: 12"/12" Cost Powers & Skills 12 Flexible Sleeves: Elemental Control, 30-point powers, all slots Gestures (-1/4) 15 1) Entangling Sleeves: Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, Takes No Damage From Attacks (+1/2); Vulnerable (Very Common; Fire/Heat; -1), No Range (-1/2), Cannot Form Barriers (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4), END 6 7 2) Gripping Sleeves: Telekinesis (20 STR); No Range (-1/2), Affects Whole Object (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4), END 3 13 3) Extended Sleeves: Stretching 6", Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Always Direct (-1/4), Limited Body Parts (arms; -1/4), No Velocity Damage (-1/4), Physical Manifestation (sleeves; -1/4), Gestures (-1/4) 27 Breath Attack: EB 4d6, NND (DEF: being a ghost or other undead, not needing to breathe, or being a "holy" man; +1); No Range (-1/2), END 4 5 Breath Attack: Telekinesis (10 STR); Cannot Be USed To Cause Damage (-1), Only To Push Away (-1/2), Affects Whole Object (-1/4), Limited Range (about 3"; -1/4), END 1 20 Haunting Sounds: Hearing Group Images 1" radius, -5 to PER Rolls, END 2 60 Ghostly Form: Desolidification , Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2), Invisible Power Effects (Fully Invisible; +1); Only To Protect Against Physical/Non- Magical Weapons (-1) 42 Walking On Air: Flight 12", Invisible to Hearing Group (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) 24 Instantaneous Movement: Teleportation 12", Invisible to Hearing Group (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Only To "Vanish" When No One Is Looking (-1/2), No Noncombat movement (-1/4) 5 Can See In The Dark: Nightvision 50 Ghost: LS (Eating: Character does not eat; Immunity All terrestrial poisons and chemical warfare agents; Immunity: All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents; Longevity: Immortal; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing; Sleeping: Character does not sleep) 5 Ghostly Clothes: Cosmetic Transform 2d6 (standard effect: 6 points) (clothing into any other clothing); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), Limited Target (clothes; -1/2), END 1 Talents 38 Supernatural Senses: Danger Sense (general area, any danger, Function as a Sense) 13- Skills 6 +2 with Sleeve Elemental Control 5 +1 with all Interaction Skills 3 Acting 12- 2 AK: Lan Ro Temple 11- 3 High Society 12- 3 KS: Music 12- 0 Language: Cantonese (idiomatic; literate) 7 Mimicry 14- 3 Persuasion 12- 5 PS: Play Lute (Biwa) 14- 5 PS: Dancing 14- 5 PS: Singing 14- 7 Seduction 14- 3 Stealth 12- 380 Total Powers & Skills Cost 480 Total Character Cost 200+ Disadvantages 10 Distinctive Features: Cold To The Touch And Very Pale (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 15 Distinctive Features: Very Beautiful (Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 15 Physical Limitation: Physically Repelled By Good Luck Charms And Holy Texts (Infrequently, Fully Impairing) 15 Psychological Limitation: Cannot Stand The Light Of Day (Uncommon, Total) 10 Psychological Limitation: Dislikes Her "Sisters" (Common, Moderate) 20 Psychological Limitation: Must Obey The Orders Of The Matron (Very Common, Strong) 5 Psychological Limitation: Protective Of Friends/Loved Ones (Very Common, Strong) 15 Susceptibility: 1d6 damage per Phase (Uncommon) 5 Susceptibility: holy artifacts and objects 1d6 damage Instant (Uncommon) 170 Pao-Yeh-Pao-Lo-Mi Bonus 480 Total Disadvantage Points
Background/History: Nieh Hsiao Tsing is the name of a female ghost that appears in Tsui Hark's A Chinese Ghost Story. Killed at a young age, she was cremated and buried in a graveyard behind Lan Ro temple. Unfortunately, the urn containing her ashes was buried amid the roots of an evil "tree demon" (a.k.a. "the Matron") and her soul has been enslaved by said demon. Now, she is forced to lure men into the confines of the temple, seduce them, and in doing so provide the tree demon with a continuous supply of victims upon which to feed.
For all intents and purposes, Nieh Hsiao Tsing is pretty much a "normal" person, at least physically. Being a ghost she does have a number of very unusual powers, which are detailed below.
Note: the name "Nieh Hsiao Tsing" is pronounced (as near as I can tell) "Knee Sue Sing".
Personality/Motivation: Hsiao Tsing's disadvantages are pretty simple, although GMs should feel free to edit the Psychological Limitations depending upon use. Hsiao Tsing is a fairly nice person, forced to do terrible things by her master. She doesn't care much for the matron, and will try and ignore her commands for as long as possible. She also doesn't like her "sisters" either (i.e. the other female ghosts inhabiting the temple). As a ghost she is physically repulsed by the mere sight of holy texts, good luck charms and similar symbols. She cannot look at such objects, and to actually confront her with a holy item will (at the very least) cause her to look away and usually drive her away. She also can't handle such objects, as they will burn her hands. Hsiao Tsing also cannot stand sunlight, and must remain in shadows or darkness if out during the day (which usually renders her immobile). If caught in direct sunlight, Hsiao Tsing will start to dissipate into a cloud of smoke.
Powers/Tactics: The powers exhibited by Hsiao Tsing are very different than those that are common associated with Western ghosts. For starters, she is solid to the touch and doesn't seem capable of turning insubstantial. On the other hand, when Leslie Cheung's character first meets Hsiao Tsing, he accidentally throws his knife blade right through her, and it ends up sticking out of the back wall. I've built this as a form of limited Desolidification which only affects things like non-magical knives, swords, arrows, and so on. Enchanted or holy weapons will affect her normally.
Hsiao Tsing's costume comes with long, flowing sleeves, which she can cause to extend at will. By manipulating her sleeves, she can restrain a target, or reach out and grab something at range. The strength she can apply via her sleeves seems to be much greater than her natural strength, hence the No Range Telekinesis. Any use of her sleeve powers requires Hsiao Tsing to engage in some rather acrobatic manipulations, thus the "Gestures" Limitation. Breaking free of her grasp has the special effect of her sleeve's tearing, but this doesn't seem to affect her powers any.
Hsiao Tsing exhibits at least two different powers based on simply blowing out a breath of air. The first is the ability to simply render a person unconscious for a few moments Aside from the standard defenses (no need to breathe and so on) I seriously doubt that such an attack will affect any reasonably skilled or experienced priest, or other holy man (such as Swordsman Zen in A Chinese Ghost Story I or the old priest in A Chinese Ghost Story III). Naturally, such a requirement is up to the GM to fully define. Hsiao Tsing's other breath power is the ability to push small objects away by blowing on them. For example, at one point she blows a snake up into a tree. She also can mimic a wide variety of sounds, including bird calls and wolf howls. This power is often used to confuse, drive away or lure a target/victim.
As a ghost, Hsiao Tsing possess some interesting movement powers. She doesn't seem to walk anymore, but flies about. When trying to move normally, she will "walk," but that is merely be a visual effect. At times, especially if walking slowly, she won't even seem to move, but will look to glide across the floor. Hsiao Tsing's other movement power is the ability to appear out of nowhere. This teleport power only works if no one is looking, but as soon as some one looks away, Hsiao Tsing can appear or disappear at will.
Hsiao Tsing's other powers are pretty simple: she can see in the dark, change her clothing at will, and being dead, doesn't have to sleep, eat, age, and so on. She is also quite aware of dangerous situations before they truly develop (like the arrival of Swordsmen Zen, or the coming of dawn).
In A Chinese Ghost Story III, Joey Wang plays another ghost character. This version exhibits a few new powers, including the ability to extend her fingernails into long narrow claws, and uses her hair in much the same way Hsiao Tsing uses her sleeves.
Appearance: Hsiao Tsing is played by actress Joey Wang (who stars in all three A Chinese Ghost Story films). She is of average height, standing about 5'3" or so, with a slight build, fine features and long, black hair that falls to about mid back. Since she is a ghost, Hsiao Tsing is very pale, and unusually cold to the touch. Naturally, she doesn't age, and still looks the same as when she died. She is normally dressed in long, white, flowing gowns, but can change garments in an instant, dressing herself in whatever outfit she desires.
Designer's Notes:
Hsiao Tsing' Ashes: Hsiao Tsing ashes reside in a small ceramic pot, buried in the Lan Ro graveyard. This small pot is more of a plot device than anything else, but for completeness sake I offer the following notes. Hsiao Tsing usually resides "within" the pot during the day, thus the pot could be considered a form of Extra Dimensional Movement (to the realm of the dead). The pot also allows someone to control Hsiao Tsing if they wish. Carrying the pot about means that one can safely take Hsiao Tsing from place to place. Returning the pot to Hsiao Tsing directly (or allowing her to claim it) means that she is freed from her supernatural existence and can return to the cosmic wheel to be reincarnated as a new person. This last fact is her aim (and part of the plot) of A Chinese Ghost Story.
The Matron: The Matron is one thousand years old and feeds upon the bodies of men to increase her (its?) life. Any description of the Matron certainly wouldn't do it justice, the movie should really be seen to get the full understanding of it's powers. (Perhaps I'll write her and Swordsmen Zen up at some point...)
Nieh Hsiao Tsing's Hero Designer File
(Nieh Hsiao Tsing created by Tsui Hark, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)
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