Cham Fau is a typical river valley town of about
10,000 people, located along the Hungtse basin along
the rice plain. The terrain itself is a river valley
toward the north, passing between high cliffs, eventually
widening into broad floodplains with islands and
bluffs to either side.

Cham Fau is an excellent place in which to begin a
Shou Lung campaign, as it is the model for literally
hundreds of small towns within the Empire, filled
with a variety of people, legends and stories. Each section
of the overview presents a variety of rumors, plot
complications, characters and subplots for designing
adventures around. DMs can easily experiment with
adding their own players to this ?soap opera? of life in
a typical Shou Lung township.

When we think of Cham Fau, we think of two
towns. One is the Upper Town, a ring of high hills
above the flood plain, where the wealthy and powerful
dwell in their stately mansions and temples. Here,
the streets are paved with stone and well-patrolled by
the local magistrate?s guards. Great arched gates face
the street, usually covered with bronze representations
of ?lucky? signs, dragons and monsters,
designed to scare away misfortune and evil spirits. On
the highest hill is the Monastery of the Path, with it?s
imposing red lintel gates and golden shrines. Below is
the local magistrate?s house, with high white walls and
rich wood trimmings.
Below, on the floodplain, amidst a chaos of bridges,
canals, roadways and moored river sampans, dwell
the common people; merchants, mendicants, peasants
and thieves. The roads here are of hard packed
earth and infrequently patrolled. During the spring
floods and monsoons, they turn into morasses of
mud. Between Huang Bay and the mainland, a great
canal runs north to south, jammed with houseboats,
sampans, rowboats and barges. Above this choked
waterway, arch high wooden bridges painted bright
red (the most lucky color) and covered in gold filigree
and carved symbols.
To either side of the canal, the dirt streets are
packed with a hodgepodge of houses, each with it?s
own high stone or brick wall, and tiled or thatched
roof. Unlike the homes of lands such as Kozakura and
Wa, with their light wood and paper walls, most Shou
homes are made of sundried brick and stone?in fact,
the biggest difference between a rich man?s house and
a peasant?s hut is only the quality of these materials.
The house consists of an outer stone wall, about 7 feet
high, capped with a slanted tile roof, with the main living
quarters built along one wall. In respect for the
aspects of feng shui (or location magic), this main
house (or then wu), usually is on the southernmost
side of the wall. Other living areas of less importance
are along the side walls. Because it is considered
unlucky to face the west (where the Shou underworld
is supposed to be), the front of the house will almost
never face this direction. The four or more sides of
the house face inward on open courtyards. The inner
courtyard often contains an ornamental garden, or
waterfalls and scenic ponds with koi carp. This is the
courtyard for contemplative gatherings. The outer
courtyard is often bricked, and has room for horses,
pigs and chickens to run freely.
The rooms are usually raised about 2 feet above the
central courtyards, often with space for storage
under the house. In summer, the family pigs and goats
find shelter here. In winter, the raised floors provide
protection from flooding. The floor surfaces in an
official?s house are covered in fine woods from the
southern jungles, while those in most homes are of
packed dirt or brick, eliminating the crawlspace
under the house.

The house of a Clan is normally referred to as a
compound, for it is more fortress than building. It has
many rooms for servants, children, adults and guests.
The walls are high and thick?in times of trouble or
insurrection, the Clan walls up the two entrances to
the compound and survives on its storehouses of food
and water. The servants and family are mobilized to
defend the walls, while children tend the chickens
and other livestock which has been driven indoors for
protection.

While the Kozakurans sleep on rolled mats on the
floor, the people of Shou delight in building massive
wood and iron bedsteads, oftentimes the sleeping
quarters for an entire family (the younger sons sleep
on the father?s side of the bed, the younger daughters
with their mother). These huge, ornate constructions
are passed down through the family from clan head to
clan head; in fact, a popular Shou comedy tells of a
young couple scheming to do away with their in-laws
so that they can take possession of the only comfortable
bed in the house. The rest of the furniture is also
of heavy hardwood, ornately carved with dragons,
mythical beasts, and scenes from the legends and the
histories known to every learned man. This type of
furniture is common to almost all Shou households,
even the poorest? only the number of pieces and the
ornateness change from home to home.

Mok Tien, the Fisherman
Mok Tien is a typical resident of Cham Fau, the
patriarch and head of the Mok clan. The Clan, like
most in Shou Lung, consists of Mok and his wife, their
grown up sons and their wives (who often live at
home for some time before they are established
enough to set up their own homes nearby), unmarried
daughters, assorted grandchildren and grandparents,
and various dogs, goats, pigs and other
livestock.
There are almost a dozen members of the Mok clan
currently living under one roof?an average-sized
Shou family. As head of the Clan, Mok Tien?s power is
absolute, although, as in most families, his wife Leilan
can be most vociferous in expressing her opinions.
But this happens only in private. When addressing a
senior member of the Clan, it is customary to bow and
preface his or her name with ?most honored," ?Master
? or ?Mistress.? Yet, between all this formality are
little familiar touches?a husband and wife addressing
each other fondly as ?Old Lady? and ?Old Man? in
the privacy of their rooms, or venerable grandparents
nicknaming their grandchildren by adding the
diminutive ?chan" to their given names.
A prosperous fisherman by trade, Mok Tien spends
long hours casting his nets to catch eel, carp and other
shallow water fish common in the Hungtse. Like most
Shou, he rises before dawn, pulling on his working
clothes of cotton trousers, loose over-jacket, and wide
straw hat. He pauses before the family altar to say a
brief prayer to the various household gods and burn a
stick of joss for good fortune. He then joins his family
for a breakfast of tea, rice, pickles and steamed pork
buns, or bow. After breakfast, Mok and his four adult
sons walk down through the maze of houses of the
lower town to their fishing boat, the Bright Flower of
Heavenly Sunrise.

The Bright Flower of Heavenly Sunrise
The Bright Flower is atypical of most of the boats on
the river, most of which are small, flatbottomed scows
propelled by a single oar, mounted on the stern and
vigorously pumped back and forth by the pilot. In his
youth, Mok Tien fought in the northern campaigns
and earned himself rank and some measure of
wealth. This, he invested wisely in the Bright Flower, a
38-foot sampan with a covered central cabin, a mast
and an open hold. In addition to fishing, Mok uses the
Bright Flower to carry goods up and down the river
on occasional trading trips, as well as renting the sampan
out to prospective adventurers and officials who
need to go downriver in a hurry.
Like many river dwellers, Mok Tien can be hired to
convey adventurers from place to place. His fee is 1
tael per passenger per day, and double this if the charter
will take the Bright Flower into dangerous territory
(such as the Upper Hungtse or places where pirates
have recently been spotted).
The Bright Flower is large enough to carry 10 passengers,
or five passengers and horses. It is crewed by
Mok Tien and his four sons, all of whom may be treated
as if 3d level bushi. Characters should be careful
not to anger Mok Tien with demands for charters, as
he is quite likely to turn out the entire town against
them!
Recently, Mok Tien has been harrassed by members
of the powerful Feng Su Clan, who wish him to join
their trade cartel. He has refused, but the offer has
made him uneasy. Rumor has it that the Feng Su have
allies among the river pirates. It would be easy
enough for the Bright Flower to disappear one night
on the river, to resurface further downstream with a
new coat of paint. Mok Tien nervously tells his sons to
watch the river for the first signs of trouble.

On the River
Most of the commerce of Cham Fau revolves
around farming rice and fishing. By midday, most of
the fishermen have brought in their purse nets, having
set their larger nets in the current, to be picked up
in the evening. The fishermen stick to the shore and
avoid deep water?there are too many tales of river
monsters to justify the risk. There is a long-standing
legend of a huge river serpent that lives in the deepest
part of the river, and several missing boats are attributed
to his attacks. In addition, the dread Shih Jen
Pirates have been attacking boats up and down the
river. So far, the magistrate?s guard has been unable to
bring these brigands to justice.

In the Rice Fields
The rice farmers also have their own interests. Currently,
most of the paddies in the town are controlled
by two Clans?the Shen Clan, who own two large
fields, and the Shuii Clan, who also own two large
fields. The ambitious Shen have tried for many years
to add the rich fields of their neighbors to their own
properties, with little success. But rumor has it that a
recent alliance with the Yellow Hand Tong threaten to
change all this, by making the Shen an even more formidable
force. The unallied farmers in the valley carefully
watch over their shoulders, as the two great
Clans maneuver for position. A battle seems inevitable.

The Inn of the Lucky Dragon
The Lucky Dragon Inn is the center of activity in
Cham Fau. Before dawn, the fishermen stop in for
breakfast, while travelers awake and prepare to move
on. There is some discussion of events during the
night, as members of the guard pass by. As the day
passes, the fishermen pass through with their morning
catch. Lin Po, the owner of the Lucky Dragon,
buys the best of the catch for the afternoon meals,
while his wife Lan-ying oversees the lunch crowd.
Lin Po has been fortunate in that he has three
strong sons to help in the restaurant. However, he also
has seven daughters?not quite as fortunate, in that
he will be hard pressed to provide dowries for each of
them! Lin Po's sons are currently studying at the
Wang Ho school of kung fu, and one of them is about
to take the examination for the Civil Service. Little
does Lin Po know that his eldest daughter is also preparing
for the examination, and has been studying
kung fu with one of the young monks at the local monastery.
The monk, Chen Tsao, is considering renouncing
his vows and running away with the beautiful
Mei-yuan, but as of yet, his love remains undeclared.
The Inn of the Lucky Dragon is the largest establishment
in town, and provides meals as well as lodging. It
is a three building compound -- The largest section is
the inn, with a stable to one side and the family quarters
between. For 1 tael a night, one can purchase a
private room and a three course dinner. For 10 yuan,
a space in a 10 person communal room can be had,
with rice, tea and pickles.

The Lucky Dragon is a safe place to spend the night;
even in the communal sleeping rooms, there is little
danger of theft. The surrounding area is well
patrolled by the guard, and the Po family is always on
the lookout for cutpurses and thieves among the clientele.

The Wang Ho School
Across the expanse of Huang Bay, the Master of the
Wang Ho School anxiously awaits one of his students.
Recently, there have been attacks on members of his
school by unknown martial artists.
The fame of the Wang Ho school is well known
throughout the Hungtse River valley, and there are
many rival schools who oppose the Wangs. The annual
Tournament at the Fortress of General Tsuo is a
week away, and Master Wang suspects that his rivals
plan to destroy the school before it can enter the competition.
Unknown to Master Wang, his most promising student,
Kung Chin Lo, has been approached by the powerful
Tsui Tong. When he refused their offers, the
secret society kidnapped his sister to force him to
cooperate. The Tsui have a great deal of money riding
on the outcome of the upcoming tourney. Their man
waits at the Inn of the Lucky Dragon for Kung Chin?s
answer. What he doesn?t know is that the Kung has
mobilized other members of the Wang School, and
they are preparing to attack the Tsui kidnappers
tonight.

The White Tiger Monastery
In the Great Temple, the monks practice with sai
and tonfa, their ragged shouts echoing in the still air
of late afternoon. Since dawn, they have been practicing
thus, honing their skills. Tonight the Abbot Cho
Fong has promised that the White Tiger Monks will
strike at the Kwan Ying Temple. It is a fitting time, at
the end of the Festival of Lanterns, to eradicate the
rebellious monks from Cham Fau, and to forever
establish the White Tiger Order in the Town. After all,
are they not approved by the Department of Celestial
Supervision itself? Have not the Immortals themselves
appeared to their leader, telling him the place and
time to strike?

From his vantage point in the vast graveyard of
Upper Cham Fau, the wu jen Zo Chung smiles.
Already, his illusions have convinced the gullible
Shou-ling Abbot to wage war upon the priests of
Kwan Ying. The resulting insurrection will force the
magistrate to call out the guard and expel the White
Tiger Order. Then Zo Chung can bring in his own candidates
for the monastery; candidates he can control.
Already, his webs of sorcery are accomplishing his
evil designs.

The Fortress of General Tsuo
Behind the great stone walls of his fortress, General
Tsuo smiles. Soon, the Shen Mei nobles will arrive,
ostensibly to attend the great tournament held each
year. The Shen Mei will secretly be bringing the Jade
Mirror of Shih with them. Soon, the general will command
a new army to challenge the Emperor-an army
of stone, invincible and eternal: The Stone Army of
Kuo Meilan.
In the meantime, he watches his champion, Chien
Ying Lien, practice his katas in the great courtyard of
the fortress. Chien Ying is a master of the Leopard
school. Already he has defeated over 100 men. The
general smiles. This time, he and his Grey Phoenix
dojo will take the prize away from the upstart Master
Wang.

The Magistrate?s House
Li Sung Ming is the new magistrate in the area.
Recently appointed, he is a clever young man of a
noble family. The Cham Fau position is a very good
posting for one so young, and he suspects that he has
been placed here for reasons not immediately
apparent. This bothers him considerably.
Li Sung?s mentor in the bureaucracy is Tok Feng Lo,
a powerful mandarin and Second Assistant to the
Minister of State. Li Sung knows that a powerful mentor
is not always an advantage?the student often
inherits the enemies of his teacher. He suspects that
Tok has used his influence to get Li Sung safely out of
the way of a power struggle at Court. But assassins
and sorcerers have a long reach.
But other things bother Li Sung more. Last night, he
was visited by the writer T?an Chen, a secret agent of
the Ministry of the Security of the Empire. T?an
warned Li to watch for signs of secret meetings
between members of the Shen Mei Clan, formidable
noble enemies of the Emperor, and General Tsuo. And
in the city, a conflict between the headstrong Abbot of
the White Tiger Monastery and the Temple of Kwan
Ying the Compassionate is about to explode into violence.
In the last week, the guard has had to break up
at least three fights between rival groups of monks.
40
Li Sung?s new wife enters his writing room. She is
the eldest daughter of the Master of Wang Ho school,
and a skilled martial artist in her own right. She
brings word to her husband that his wu jen has
arrived for the Feast of Lanterns banquet. At last,
thinks the harried Magistrate. Something is going
right.

The Guard of Cham Fau
The Captain of the Magistrate?s Guard shifts uneasily
in his saddle. From his position at the edge of the
upper city, he can observe all of lower Cham Fau
below. He has been captain of the guard for over ten
years, serving through three successive magistrates.
His finely honed instincts tell him there will be trouble
tonight. Not the usual Festival troubles of drunken
fishermen and hotheaded young scholars getting into
fights. He feels a storm brewing in every quarter of
the town tonight, and he doesn?t like it. He calls to his
second in command. ?Issue weapons tonight,? he says
quietly. ?I want men in every section of town. Tell
them to be ready for anything.? The lieutenant nods
and rides away. The captain still does not feel happy
about this. He has only 20 men. And it will be a bad
night.

The Map of Cham Fau
The Map of Cham Fau Upon this scroll, I have written
the principal places of Cham Fau, their locations
and their importance. These are:

1) Ting Shen Island. The Fortress home of General
Kung Pao Tsuo, a famous general and confidant
of the last emperor. Heavily guarded, the fortress is
home to an immense art collection. Each year, General
Tsuo holds a martial arts competition on the grounds
of the fortress, inviting martial artists from all over
Shou Lung.

2) Farm of Mo Shi Tam. Ostensibly, this is the
home of the Tam clan, known for breeding fine steeds
for the Emperor?s One Thousand Horses. Only horses
of a certain bloodline are used?all are black, with
characteristic arched necks and a white star on the
forehead. In addition, the Tam farm is the home of the
Amada Tong, a powerful, criminal secret society

3) Min Fang Island. The estate of Lord Kai Mai
Lin, a high lord of the mandarinate and father to the
current Second Concubine, Pai Lin. The estate teems
with many wild and rare animals brought there by
Lord Lin, an avid hunter and conservationist. Min
Fangs? isolated position makes it an excellent place for
Court nobility to meet and plot in safety.

4) Bright Flower of Heavenly Sunrise. This is
the main dock where the Flower is moored, the Mok
family being prestigious enough to have it?s own dock
space. The two small outbuildings to the West are drying
sheds for the Mok family?s fish.

5) The Seven Sons Tavern. Named by the proprietess,
Lin Mei, who has seven strapping sons, it is a
wine shop, serving rice wine, plum brandy, and potstickers.
The Seven Sons Tavern is a local meeting
place for the young men of Cham Fau, particularly the
students of the Wang Ho school and it?s rival, the General
?s Grey Phoenix dojo on Ting Shen Island.

6) Mok Clan family compound.

7) The Lucky Dragon Inn. This is a large inn,
catering to the river trade. It is open at at all hours,
and is well known up and down the Hungtse for it?s
fine meals.

8) The Central Marketplace. This area is an
open, brick-tiled space where local farmers and merchants
set up stalls to sell wares. Around it are all the
permanent shops of ?downtown? Cham Fau.

9) T?ung Shen?s Strong Steeds of Noble Birth
Stable. Here horses may be purchased by travelers
at a nominal price of 3 c?hien. It is rumored that T?ung
Shen?s stable sometimes features horses stolen from
the farm of Mo Shi Tam, horse breeder of the Emperor
?s One Thousand Horses. But this has never been
proven.

10) Master San Mei?s House of Apothecary.
Here, one may purchase potions, elixirs, rare herbs
and other medicinal things. In addition, Master San
stocks many supplies for spells and sorceries.

11) Lo Fan?s Magnificent House of Weapons.
An excellent place in which to purchase weapons of
all types, including swords, daggers, polearms, armor
and kung fu weapons.

12) Shou Mai Ting Restaurant. Specializing in
Northern Cuisine from Chukei, including noodle
based dishes. Cheaper than the Lucky Dragon Inn.

13) House of Fo Wok, the Tailor. Fo Wok is a
skilled weaver and tailor? specializing in silk and
embroidered work.

14) House of Chih Liao, the Physician. Trained
in the arts and skills of the Court Physicians, Chih
Liao is also a skilled shukenja (5th level).

16) Temple of Kwan Ying, Mistress of Compassion.
A small temple administered to by monks of
the unapproved Grey Cat sect. Occasional conflicts
arise between these monks and the members of the
Dragon sect of the nearby White Tiger monastery.

16) Mi Fa Teug?s Ever Bountiful Emporium
of Dried Goods and Traveler?s Accessories.
Here, the traveler can purchase food, traveling gear,
and other needed supplies.

17) The Garrison House of the Cham Fau
Guard. combining a magistrate?s office, the jails, an
armory and sleeping quarters for 20 guardsmen.

18) Wa Ko Inn. An inexpensive inn favored by less
legitimate travelers visiting Cham Fau. The inn is also
a meeting place for the Black Tiger secret society.

19) Compound of the Shen Clan. The Shens are
major buyers and shippers of rice in the area, owning
both fields adjacent to the warehouse. They are
wealthy patrons of the Yellow Hand long.

20) Warehouse of the Shen Clan, used for Yellow
Hand Tong meetings.

21) Warehouse of the Shen Clan, and secret
dojo for practicing in the Yellow Hand kung fu style.

22) Feng Su Warehouses. Here are stored various
grain and trade goods for the Feng Su Clans? cargo
operations. Occasionally, the Feng Su have been
known to take contraband or illegal cargoes, and it is
here that these illicit things are stored. The Feng Su
are suspected of having a secret alliance with the Shi
Jen Pirates.

23) The Feng Su Compound. The Feng Su Clan
owns a small fleet of five cargo ships similar to the
Bright Flower of Heavenly Sunrise. However, they are
primarily grain transporters, carrying the rice of the
community eastwards to the markets of Wang Kuo
and Hai Yuan. Their ships are docked at the Glorious
Moon Flower Rising fish dock, which is the only berth
large enough to accommodate all of them.

24) The Forest of Shen Hua. A deep and forbidding
area, the forest is the home of the fabled Men of
the Woods. The men (actually a mixture of men, women,
spirit folk, hengeyokai and korobokuru), are an
almost legendary band who defended the villages of
the Hungste Valley against the evil and corrupt mandarins
of the previous Emperor. The Men of the
Woods have been pardoned by Emperor Kai Tsao
Chin, but still remain in hiding.

25) The Compound of the Shuii Clan. The
Shuii farm the two paddies adjacent to their property.
Recently, they have been under pressure from the
wealthy Shen Clan, who wish to add this land to their
holdings. There have been several fights between
sons of the two clans.

26) The Wang Ho School of Martial Arts.
Home to the Empire-famed Wang Clan, masters of the
Lightning Fist technique. For many years now, students
of the Wang Ho School have won the annual
tournament at the Fortress of General Tsuo.

27) The White Tiger Monastery. This temple is
maintained by an approved order of Shou-ling monks,
who maintain a retreat and a temple to Nung Chang,
the god of farming. There are occasional battles
between the monks and the unapproved ?rebel?
monks of the Temple of Kwan Ying. These monks
study the Tiger style of kung fu.

28) The Compound of The Magistrate, Li
Sung Ming. There are three sections to the house;
the Main House, the Hall of Celebration, and the
House of The Ever Welcome Guest.

29) Fu Te (wealthy) region of Cham Fau. This
neighborhood is home to the majority of wealthy and
titled people of Cham Fau.

30) The Compound of the Tai Jen Clan. The
Tai Jen are, for some mysterious reason, favored by a
great Kirin, who visits the farm regularly. The Tai Jen
have a beautiful daughter of marriageable age?
perhaps the reason is not so mysterious after all.

31) The House of Zo Chung Kao, wu jen advisor
to the Magistrate. Unbeknownst to the magistrate,
Zo Chung is a Black Chung Tao. He hopes to
increase the importance of Cham Fau, creating a
haven for the nobility and a possible power base for
rebellion. Zo Chung lives near the graveyard, and
often summons spirits there.

32) House of T?an Chen. Ostensibly a scholar and
writer of court fiction, whose works are much in
demand at Court, T?an Chen is actually an agent of the
Ministry of Security of the Imperial State, whose task
is to maintain a watch on possible subversives such as
General Tsuo, Lord Kai Mai Lin and the various secret
societies known to operate in the region.

33) House of To Sheng Li. To Sheng is a professional
bodyguard of high reputation, despite the fact
that he is korobokuru. He will often hire out as a personal
guard to travelers along the river.

34) Tz? Wei Grove. This grove is in the midst of the
Weng Tam Clan rice paddy. It is a midnight rendezvous
for lovers from the Fu Te section of town. At the
center of the grove is a small shrine to Kwan Ying,
maintained by the hermit Lan To Te.

35) The House of Hermit Lan To Te. Lan To
appears to be a crazy old hermit who lives out on the
furthest edge of the town. In reality, he is the White
Chung shukenja Tao Lan, spiritual guardian of Cham
Fau.

36) The House of Tang Hai Tao. The Tang Clan
are reputed to be simple fishermen of rough ways. In
reality, their compound is the base of the dread Shih
Jen Pirates, who prey on shipping throughout the
Middle Hungtse.

37) Compound of the Yen Chow Clan. The Yen
Chow are a loose clan of farming families who are
producers and weavers of silk.

38) Glorious Moon Flower Rising Fish Dock.
This is the equivalent of the town docks, built under
the direction of the magistrate to comply with orders
of The Most Farsighted Department of Public Constructions
and Civil Works. This is where all public
shipping is berthed.

39) Mu Pei Cemetery. The official cemetery of
Upper Cham Fau, it is known for mysterious hauntings
and a demon woman-creature called the Lover of
Shin Mei.

40) Twelve Serpent Deep. The deepest part of
the river, this area is rumored to be the home of a vast
monster, possibly a river dragon, which has, on several
occasions, swallowed up ships without a trace.