Emperor Jianwen, or Zha Yunwen, fled the Ming Palace after his uncle rebelled against him. It is said that he left in disguise as a Buddhist monk and fled to Southeast China. The fate of the second Ming emperor is unknown.
Lai Chun was the creator of Eagle Claw Fantsi martial arts, and he passed his skills to his students. Tao Chiag learned this martial arts, and since its creation, it has been passed on. I'm not sure of the exact date of its creation, but it should be around the time of the early Ming Dynasty.
Other Characters:
Fang Xiaoru was given the "extermination of ten degrees of kinship" for refusing to write an inaugural address for Zhu Di, the Yongle Emperor and third Ming emperor.
Admiral Zheng He, leader of the Chinese Treasure Fleet, may have been sent by the Ming emperor to find and capture Emperor Jianwen.
Paths/Tips/Endings:
1) There is a secret path that involves romance.
2) A high SCORE can provide a secure ending. In the beginning, SCORE is obtained by making decisions considered correct and proper.
3) There is one normal ending, three special endings, one death ending (with several ways to reach it), and one secret ending.
Notes:
1) I've combined some of the aspects of the new and old Ming palaces into one portrayed in the beginning of the story.
2) Money is in silver coins (often strung together).
3) Yunwen is the emperor's personal name. Jianwen is the name of his era of the reign's name, and he is referred to as the latter (or simply "Majesty") by his subordinates.
4) The poem on "Nightfall" page is a real poem by Wang Wei, a late Ming Dynasty female poet. I translated/interpreted it (with some help from a native Chinese speaker), and it was hard. I used this instead of a poem I made up because I felt that it'd be a better representation of Chinese poetry than anything I could conjure.
5) Real People: Zhu Yunwen (2nd Ming Emperor), Zhu Di (3rd Ming Emperor), Xiaominrang (2nd Ming Empress), Fang Xiaoru (2nd Emperor's Advisor), Lai Chun (creator Eagle Claw Fantsi martial arts), Tao Chiag (student of Lai Chun), Zhang Sanfeng (Creator of Taichi).
6) This is likely false, but I make Zhu Yunwen and Tao Chiag the same person; Tao Chiag is just his alias.
7) Journey to the West and Water Margin are both one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The former was written in the Ming Dynasty, and the latter was set in the Song dynasty (prior to the Ming). I felt that they were suitable additions to the novel even though they were published after the time. Like Wang Wei's poem, I felt that these books are a better potrayal of Chinese culture than anything I could conjure.
8) The Fuzhou referred to in this storygame is NOT the one in Fujian, which is by the ocean and not a river. DAYS and MOVES are not applicable until you are in the city of Fuzhou.
9) Extermination of nine degrees of kinship was the most severe punishment, and Fang Xiaoru's punishment was the first that was "ten degrees". This meant killing him, his family, his extended family, children (there was often an age limit), cousins, etc. I believe ten kinships means ten families in his family tree.
Acknowledgements:
A big thanks and hugs to Saika, Alekos, and MinnieKing for beta-reading my storygame! :D And dealing with me, as usual.
