Shan Tai
Shan Tai is a powerful sorcerer who is the 69 AD version of a mad
scientist. When he was a member of the Thorns of the Lotus, he was
one of their best at conjuring and commanding supernatural creatures.
His interests extended further than the mere control of demons,
however: he wanted to bridge the gap between human and demon, and his
dangerous experiments so worried his fellow eunuch sorcerers that they
insisted he cease and desist, lest he endanger their overall plans.
Shan Tai disagreed, and fled to the Netherworld, where he used his
attunement to a number of the Thorns’ Feng Shui sites to shape himself
a set of dwellings in hollowed-out stalactites and stalagmites in a
massive cavern.
Shan Tai’s experiments involve various ways of mixing human and demon.
Uncooperative and incompetent demons often found themselves being broken
up for spare parts. Some demons received transplants from humans, though
this is more rare.
Those who know of Shan Tai are very concerned that he may hook up with
the Architects of the Flesh.
Human Modifications
Demon Blood is a simple matter of a magically assisted
transfusion of blood from a demon to a human being. (The demon
usually drinks the human blood in return, though occasionally receives
it as a return transfusion.) A human taking a transfusion of demon
blood gains +2 Toughness, +2 Agility, +1 Magic, –2 Mind, and
–1 Chi. Mooks with demon blood require an Outcome 2 higher than
normal to go down. This counts as one Creature Power for determining
number of psychoses.
A Demon Eye can be implanted in the forehead or in a regular
eye; it is always noticeably inhuman when open, though is hard to spot
in the forehead when closed. Implanting the eye gives +2 Magic, –2
Chi, and the Creature Schtick of either Domination or Brain Shredder.
The eye must be open in order to use the Schtick.
Implanting a Demon Heart gives +1 Magic, –1 Mind, and gives two
schticks to spend on Inevitable Comeback or Regeneration. This form
of implantation has a very strong effect on the emotions, and the recipients
of demon hearts become dangerously passionate.
A person with a Demon Stomach (actually, the entire digestive
tract) gets two schticks to spend on Rancid Breath or Foul Spew.
They gain +1 Constitution, +1 Magic, and –2 Charisma. Recipients of
demon stomachs acquire voracious appetites and often become gourmands
and gluttons, and their table manners deteriorate precipitously.
Demon Lungs give two schticks in Rancid Breath, Blast, or
Amphibious. They gain +1 Magic and –1 Chi.
The recipient of a Demon Liver has their personal chi warped
into a new and bizarre pattern, and gains two schticks in Armor or
Soul Twist, along with +1 Magic, +1 Body, –1 Mind, and –1 Chi.
A Demon Limb gives +2 Strength with that limb only, and the
Abysmal Spines schtick. People with demon limbs often find themselves
prone to action without forethought using those extremities.
It is rumored that Shan Tai is no longer a eunuch, thanks to his
own experimentation.
Side Effects
Humans with demon parts find themselves suffering from aspects of
demonic nature. For a start, their Creature Powers take juncture modifiers as
supernatural creatures, and are vulnerable to the Summoning schtick of
Sorcery. They acquire a craving for human flesh and indulgence in
violence. If their Willpower is less than the number of Creature
Powers they have, they probably have a major psychosis related to their
mixed human and demonic nature. (Common ones include a complete
disregard for human life, multiple personality order with one personality
being in complete denial of the demonic modifications, and paranoia.)
They subtract twice their number of schticks from nonmagical healing
effects. The demonic essence in them often wreaks small, minor changes,
resulting in bloodshot eyes (often with irises of unusual color), thick,
tough fingernails, and unruly hair that may also be of a color not found
in nature.
Demon Modifications
Most demonic modifications are only worthwhile when using parts from
particularly powerful humans— like player characters! (If PC’s
are captured, they may find themselves used for experiments. They
can be presented with a particularly impressive degree of angst if
they are aided in escape by a demon who has gone over to the side of
Good because of the influence of a part of that PC’s body!)
A demon with a transfusion of Human Blood loses a point of Magic,
gains a point of Mind, and becomes one point harder to affect with
Summoning than they were before the transfusion.
A demon with a human heart loses a point of Magic, but gains one-third
the Kung Fu of the donor. The demon can immediately spend XP to buy any
of the Fu schticks of the donor for themselves.
Side effects
Demons with human parts can acquire human weaknesses, such as empathy
and compassion. They may find themselves questioning their own actions,
and some will go rogue and attempt to atone for their evil deeds.
Surgery
Transplant surgery can be performed and reversed by any sorcerer with
the Schticks of Movement, Summoning, Fertility, and Heal. It helps
a great deal to have the Medicine skill, as well as Info/Anatomy.
Shan Tai is known to use the Conjured Weapons effect of Blast in
his surgeries. (A transfusion requires only Fertility, Heal, and
Summoning, and enough blood to completely replace all the blood in
a person’s body— about two gallons.)