Night's Black Agents: Shadow Kings of Kowloon

[Poh Tun Kai]

This Saturday at 8pm in Rendezvous Corner (below Wira Games), I'm running a Night's Black Agents adventure for Ivan, Razzman and Khi-Jon: Shadow Kings of Kowloon. Cinematic rules, martial arts and a new kind of vampire threat...

[Poh Tun Kai]

From September 2015 until now, we've been playing an Asian Night's Black Agents campaign featuring a handful of freelance agents pitted against an ancient supernatural conspiracy, the Shadow Kings.

Our key characters are

Ali, former Millî İstihbarat Teşkilatı agent who's been given a burn notice. He's looking for restoration.

Han Lee, HSBC bagman who's turned against his former masters. His weapons are arson and digital intrusion.

Jon Chow, Hong Kong hitman who's grown an inconvenient conscience. A gunman supreme.

When handsome young Hong Kong shipping tycoon Wu Fei-Hong suddenly turned his back on his family and friends and started negotiating to break up his late father's corporate empire, Fei-Hong's brilliant and spirited sister Wu Li Ling hired Ali, Han Lee and Jon Chow to find out who had their hooks in her brother, and to find a way to get him back.

Ali led the way in tracking down a panicky private investigator named Boston Chang who had tried to investigate Fei-Hong for Li Ling. By charming a travel agency clerk named Phyllis and staking out Boston's personal porn stash mailbox, Ali was able to corner Boston, who admitted that he was trying to flee the country after digging too deep into the Shadow Kings, a powerful criminal group that had killed off all his contacts. There were rumours of the Shadow Kings' supernatural powers...and the one symbol that might repel them: the pat kua mirror.

Meanwhile, Han Lee discovered that one of Fei-Hong's new friends was his former enemy Euston Chau, a powerful and reclusive HSBC strategic planning director.

Fei-Hong's ex-boyfriend Philip had been asking his own questions about Fei-Hong's new friends, a cult of high society longevity enthusiasts who had secret meetings at certain Kowloon Chinese medicine shops. Ali and Jon tracked down Philip and saved him from gangster thugs in a brawl in the Temple Street night market involving a motorbike, a quad-rotor drone and a bunch of caged chickens. After stashing Philip in a safe boat in Hong Kong Harbour, the agents investigated several medicine shops and learned of the secret society known as the Eight-Hundred-Year Society. Ali's animal parts-dealer contact Hannibal Chau told the team that a new wave of traditional medicine shops from Mainland China had been moving in to Hong Kong, buying out or forcing out the existing shops one by one. This Eight-Hundred-Year Society was something old from the mainland that was now gaining influence among the rich and powerful in Hong Kong. Through surveillance, the agents learned when the next secret meeting would occur.

With a little convincing by Ali, Philip agreed to infiltrate the Eight-Hundred-Year Society meeting in hopes of finding Fei-Hong. Han Lee, the team's gadgeteer, installed a listening bug inside Philip's ring, a memento given to him by Fei-Hong.

The local chapter of the Eight-Hundred-Year society met in a secret sealed basement underneath the multi-storey car park behind one of the medicine shops. The agents listened in from a safe distance as Philip met the mistress of the Deputy Minister of Culture, several wealthy Hong Kong businessmen, and various other cultists who mentioned an upcoming cultural exhibition in the Hong Kong Museum of History, to be officiated by the Deputy Minister. This exhibit would have enormous cultural significance to the Shadow Kings. Then Euston arrived, to be showed with adulation and worship by the cultists, all of whom hoped that he would drink from them. But the Shadow King chose Philip to be his target. Philip screamed something about not being able to see anything just before he was drained by the vampire. Fei-Hong, who was also present, claimed the ring and brought it back with him. This enabled the agents to trail him back to the secure condo where Euston kept Fei-Hong, his pet. Fei-Hong sounded like he was in thrall of his "master" but regretted Philip's death nonetheless.

A shocking end to Philip and the first session. 2XP. Heat 0.

[Poh Tun Kai]

The agents were able to (mostly) rationalise their horrible sacrifice of Philip to the vampires, losing only a little sleep, and carried on in their mission. By hacking HSBC's email, Han Lee had learned of Euston's dealings with Romanian business partners. However, whatever Euston's "special projects" were, he didn't keep them anywhere that a hacker could access.

After discussing with Li Ling, the agents worked out a plan to take action against the Shadow Kings - and see how they reacted to a small provocation at the Wu Zetian exhibition at the museum. Li Ling knew that Euston would be there with Fei-Hong, so she planned to confront her brother there and present him with lawyers' papers that would prevent him from breaking up the shipping company any further. Han Lee would accompany her to keep her safe. Meanwhile, the plan was for Ali to attend the exhibition using a date with Phyllis as his cover to observe Euston and see his reactions, while Jon would also infiltrate as the combat element - just in case.

Jon Chow spent a few hours scoping out the Hong Kong Museum and learned about the heightened security and metal detectors that would protect the Wu Zetian exhibition on the third floor. He decided to plant several of the team's clean handguns in the toilet tanks of several men's rooms. Unfortunately, he lacked the skills needed to successfully hide the weapons and they were later discovered and seized!

On the night of the show, Li Ling, Han Lee, Ali and Phyllis arrived through the main entrance and encountered the huge crowds and journalists. The world-famous actress Fan Bingbing of the Wu Zetian TV series was present as a special guest, which resulted in wall-to-wall crowds. Everyone made their way in slowly and got into position. Jon Chow entered through the back and soon discovered that police were waiting to catch him in a trap - one which he evaded.

Ali and Phyllis met one of Euston's security detail, a bumbling newbie who was easy to trick. When he went off to the men's room, Jon Chow ambushed him and seized his comms earpiece.

At the exhibition, Li Ling had an icy face-off with Euston and Fei-Hong. She slapped him with the legal injunction and watched as Euston and Fei-Hong backed off. Meanwhile, Ali noticed the presence of a strange man who looked like a hippie with long hair and a bad Hawaiian shirt. The hippie-like fellow seemed to be watching Euston and wasn't afraid to be seen.

Before the Shadow King officer could leave the museum show, a man approached him suddenly with a personal message. "She wants to see you. At Heaven's Beach. She's dying."

Suddenly, Euston dropped whatever his plans were. He took Fei-Hong and his best guard to the Mercedes (well, Fei-Hong's Mercedes) and drove off towards an old seaside tenement called Heaven's Beach. Through the captured earpiece, Jon was able to listen in. Euston was leaving behind most of his bodyguard entourage, and he would be going outside of the Shadow Kings' territory without backup. This might be the best chance to get an advantage on him, or at least learn more about his urgent personal matter. Without time to prepare, and without much in the way of weapons, the agents prepared to follow.

"Ali, come back with me. Would you like to drink with me at my place?" asked Phyllis, feeling the love.

"Nooooooo!!!" Ali was shattered, but he had to decline. Mission first.

2XP. Heat 0.