Death Likes To Ooze From a Corpse
November 14th, 1934, Sichuan, China, in the small village of Zhongquan, Ziliujing County. A large group of beggars have taken over the town’s local salt merchant guildhall, establishing a beggars guild. Rumors abound that they’re with the communists, who had begun their Long March a month prior. You are an agent of the Kuomintang’s NBIS, sent to ascertain the reality of the situation. You will end up uncovering something much, much worse. At the center of it all is the Xuanyuanmin, a race of immortal, parasitic worms that uses humanity as their hosts.
What Are the Xuanyuanmin?
The Xuanyuanmin are a race of immortal, parasitic worms from China’s prehistory. They used to rule a vast empire before it was destroyed by the Old Ones. Now, they’re looking to take back what’s theirs, stealing the beggars of Sichuan for their plot. They worship an ancient serpentine god, Xuanyuan, who is loosely associated with the Yellow Emperor of myth. The worms will first take control over the brain, heart, and colon, coinciding with the upper, middle, and lower dantians, before taking full control over the body. Once full control is taken, the host body is invulnerable to bullets, swords, spears, and artillery-fire. An infected person can be identified by its missing teeth, lack of nose and lips, whisky-grayed irises, and thick, scale-like skin. The disease progresses in stages, until the body possesses all identifiers. As such, those in early stages may lack some features but possess others. Early stage hosts may only have some missing teeth, for example. These worms have dark skin, possess human faces, and feed on liquid mercury.
Briefing
It’s 9:34 AM, early in the morning on November 22nd. A train makes a brief stop at a small salt-mining village on its way to the city of Zigong. Inside are agents of the Kuomintang, far from where their party’s influence reaches. Surrounding them are eleven local warlords, vying for control over the province, alongside the communist Szechuan-Shensi Soviet. You’re here to prevent this little town from becoming another base for the communists.The guild hall has been seized by a group of beggars, mostly from Shaanxi and Henan, all speaking dialects from separate parts of the country. This has caused quite a commotion for the local populace, and the salt merchants believe their leader has skipped town because of the incident.
Progression
The True Story of Ah Q
The agents will set about the town, looking to uncover more information about the incident. The agents can either speak to the salt merchants, normal townsfolk, or some of the beggars themselves. The townsfolk won’t have much to divulge, and the salt merchants will be set up at the old gambling house. Only two beggars will be found panhandling outside of a tea house; one will be missing several teeth and singing a folk tune from Henan,. In order to get information out of the salt merchants, the agents will need to roll successfully in a bureaucracy check. It is recommended to speak to the salt merchants first.
If the check is passed, the agents will learn that the beggars arrived to the town late in the night, and were found having already taken the guild hall. The guild leader tried and failed to get them to leave. The beggars are described as bull-headed and unreasonable. The next day, the guild leader went missing. None of the salt merchants are particularly perturbed by this, as he is known to flee when the going gets tough. China is still in a period of violence and strife, after all.Talking with the two panhandling beggars will allow the agents to set up a meeting with their leader. The one singing Henan folk tunes will lead the conversation with the agents, while the other for the most part remains silent. The agents will need to pass a persuasion check in order to set up the meeting. The check will be low, as the agents are supposed to pass it. They will meet at midnight.Heading to the guild hall, they will find its doors open, but the inside will be completely dark. Entering it, they will search through empty rooms until they find the guild leader tied up, the beggar leader trying to stuff something in his mouth. The beggar leader will be missing his teeth and lips, smell like a rotting corpse, and have gray, whisky eyes. The agents will need to roll a 1d6 SAN check. The beggar leader will almost immediately try to attack the agents, with the intent to kill. The agents will find that the beggar leader is invulnerable to bullets, and is above their pay grade.In the aftermath, the beggar leader will have run off with the guild leader. Half of the town’s beggars will have disappeared in the morning.
The Peach Blossom Spring
After a couple of days, one of the town’s farmers will report of an army of people moving across his field during the night, and reports will start coming in from neighboring villages of the sudden arrival of large groups of beggars. Alongside this, folk healers will start appearing, foretelling of the coming of a mysterious Green Heaven that will end China’s woes when a new star enters the night sky. What happened at the guild hall is clearly connected to these events. The agents will need to kidnap some infected looking beggars in order to learn more. Interrogating the beggar, they will be able to learn about the plot to reclaim their ancient empire that once ruled Asia known as the Cui dynasty, corresponding with the I-Ching hexagram for “Clustering.” If there is a physician amongst the agents, or they have hired one, they will also have a chance to learn about the infection process through an autopsy. The agents will learn about the Xuanyuanmin stronghold hidden somewhere in the mountains of eastern Sichuan, and will need to pinpoint its specific location. The place will be found at the mouth of a small river.The place discovered is a village lost in time. People wear clothes and use tools from the Shang dynasty, with a large dirt mound at the center of town. All the men will be at various stages of infection. The leader of the worms’ plot is the head-shaman, and he will be seen giving sacrifices to Xuanyuan. The agents will need to infiltrate the town, requiring anthropology, history, or disguise checks in order to blend in, and study the inhabitants, where they will find the worms are weak to fire. In the night, the agents will witness a “coming-of-age” ceremony that sees the town's children infected with the parasitic worms. If one of the agents watches the ceremony, they will need to roll a 2d10 SAN check.
The Battle of Red Cliffs
After finding and infiltrating the town, the agents will escape to the small city of Ya’an, and will need a boat and cache of explosives in order to execute the plan. The agents can either request them from their patrons back in Nanjing, or they can try and get them from the local warlords. If they ask the KMT, they will need to pass a bureaucracy check. If they ask the warlords, they will need to pass a persuasion check. A boat can be acquired from a local fisherman. The fisherman can either be recruited into the plan, or the agents can try to man the boat themselves. The agents will need to pass a very high persuasion check in order to recruit the fisherman.In order to execute the plan successfully, the agents will need to pass navigation and drive checks in order to bring the boat down the river and into the hidden village. If the fisherman is recruited, these rolls are thrown out. The agents will need to pass a demolition check in order to successfully ignite the bombs within the boat and set the town ablaze, thereby defeating the parasites.
On Success:
Once the boat explodes, fire will spread all over the compound, igniting the liquid mercury in the worm’s bodies, causing them to die. The mercury will turn into an acidic gas, removing all evidence of what happened here. All the agents present on the boat will die, but so will all the Xuanyuanmin parasites and their evil plot. The story will die with the agents, and the occult will remain hidden to the world.
On Failure:
Things in Sichuan will remain quiet until the night of the DQ Herculis supernova in December, 1934. With this supernova, a new star will be added to the Hercules constellation, signaling the beginning of the so-called Green Heaven. Thousands of infected beggars, armed with swords, spears, and guns, will rise against local warlords, and the warlords will turn to a scorched-earth policy, with thousands of poor and homeless civilians being rounded up and killed.
Stat Blocks
Xuanyuan Host – Stage OneSTR: 14 | CON: 13 | DEX: 12 | INT: 6 | POW: 8 | HP: 14
Armor: 1 (hardened skin, reduced nerve impact)
Sanity Loss: 0/1d4
SKILLS
Athletics 50% | Unarmed Combat 55% | Grapple 40% | Alertness 40% | Stealth 30% | Melee weapons 40%
ATTACKS
Bite (teeth missing, infected gums): 35%, 1d6
Claw / Rake: 45%, 1d4
Improvised Weapon: 40%, 1d6+1
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Iron Body Invocation: Xuanyuan Host – Stage One takes half damage, rounding up, from small-calibre rounds, such as those from pistols. Rifles, shotguns, and melee ignore this.
Erratic Martial Form: Opponents suffer −10% on melee attacksArt of Leaping: Once per scene, can choose to “leap” a distance equal to 4x its current HP in feet instead of a normal movement.An individual who has been taken by the worms, they have only just begun the parasitic process. Natural inhibitions to prevent the overuse of muscles have been eroded, granting this individual unnatural strength, and the ability to leap across great distances. The individual is still alive, and the parasite has yet to gain full control over the body. Brief moments of lucidity pattern a mind taken by a violent and raving creature.
Xuanyuan Host – Stage TwoSTR: 7 | CON: 18 | DEX: 12 | INT: 11 | POW: 12 | HP: 20Armor: 2
SKILLS
Alertness 50% | Athletics 30% | Occult 60% | Unarmed Combat 45%| Dodge 40% | Stealth 40%ATTACKS
Finger Form Invocation: 50%, 1d8 unnatural energy, target must roll POW to resist hallucinations of ancient chimera, and suffer 2d8 SAN loss.Violation of Great Dao: 40%, 1d8 unnatural energy, target must roll POW or lose next action, and suffer 2d4 SAN loss.SPECIAL ABILITIESEffortless Conviction: Xuanyuan Host - Stage Two gains +10% success chance for first fighting action in scene
Silver Body Invocation: Only fire, explosive, AP ammo, or heavy weapons can damage Xuanyuan Host – Stage TwoArterial Mercury: Xuanyuan Host – Stage Two is immune to morale checks and intimidationHYPERGEOMETRYAlchemical Equation for Noxious Mist: A poisonous cloud is released from the hands. Target must roll disadvantage on attack and POW checks. Lasts 3 turns.Reinforce Core: Something changes deep within the host. Armor goes up by 1 point for 3 turns. The individual has begun to die, allowing for a full takeover of the mind. Overuse of muscles has led to general atrophying, causing a dropoff in general strength. However, the individual has gained access to occult magics mastered by the worms. This individual is very dangerous, being totally impervious to bullets. Their appearance is more corpse-like, with missing teeth and grayed irises. The individual follows the worm’s instinct, leading to erratic and unpredictable behavior.Xuanyuan Host – Final StageSTR: 3 | CON: 20 | DEX: 8 | INT: 18 | POW: 18 | HP: 24 Armor: 3SKILLSAlertness 70% | Occult 80% | Dodge 30% | Stealth 50% | Unarmed Combat 40% | Athletics 25%ATTACKS
True Name of God Chant: 50%, 1d10 unnatural energy, target must roll POW to resist or lose two actions, and suffer 2d8 SAN loss.True Sight Evocation: 60%, 1d10 unnatural energy, target must roll POW to resist visions of the whole cosmic Dao, or suffer 2d10 SAN loss.
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Walking Husks: Fire-based attacks ignore all armor and deal double damage. All movement for Xuanyuan Host – Final Stage is halved.Gold Body Invocation: Only fire or explosives can damage Xuanyuan Host – Final Stage. Additionally, Xuanyuan Host – Final Stage is immune to morale checks, intimidation, stun, knockout, pain, and bleeding.
Palliating Cinnabar: Once per scene, heals 1d8 HP by expelling mercury vapor from its body.HYPERGEOMETRYSeventeen-Fold Command: The corpse whispers something under its breath. The target must pass a POW check or the enemy will take control of their body for 3 actions.
Leech Vital Energies Equation: The corpse opens its mouth and unleashes a terrible scream, stealing air from the target. Target is stunned for 1 scene. Practitioner gains +20% success chance on next attack. The individual has completely died, and the worm puppets its corpse like a doll. The lips and nose have fallen off, and only cartilage is left in the arms. This corpse feels no pain, and walks around muttering chants and incantations under its breath. A mere catalyst to spread the parasite further, this corpse will attack anything human it comes across.Xuanyuan ShamanSTR: 5 | CON: 20 | DEX: 8 | INT: 23 | POW: 18 | HP: 30Armor: 5SKILLSAlertness 85% | Occult 100% | Dodge 50% | Stealth 50% | Unarmed Combat 30% | Athletics 15%ATTACKS
Call to Gonggong: 65%, 1d20 unnatural energy, you feel as if there are rushing waters under your skin. You must roll a POW check to resist the urge to rip your skin off. Always deals 2d20 SAN loss, deals 1d8 damage if check fails.
Call to Lady Chou: 55%, 1d20 unnatural energy, a lady approaches and burns away. You feel as if poison rain is falling onto you. You must roll a POW check to resist the faux-pain. Always deals 2d12 SAN loss, stuns for 3 actions if check fails.SPECIAL ABILITIES
Effortless Levitation: Once per scene, the shaman can choose to “fly” a distance equal to 4x its current HP in feet instead of a normal movement.
Boundless Quicksilver Essence: Once per scene, heals 1d10 HP. Only immune to fire and explosives, both ignore armor and deal double damage.
The True Dao is Nameless: Immune to morale checks, intimidation, stun, knockout, pain, and bleeding. All hypergeometry rituals deal 2d4 SAN loss.HYPERGEOMETRYSummon Celestial Swords: Swords materialize and fly from the enemy’s hands. Target must roll to dodge. Deals 1d6 damage if failed.
Progenitor-Thearch Channeling Ritual: Near the end of a fight, the shaman will start meditating. Shaman will be stunned for 5 actions. Players will die if the ritual is completed, leading to a mission failure.
Guideways Through Strange Beasts: With quick hand gestures, three visions of chimera will materialize around the shaman. Chimeras will dematerialize as soon as contact is made with one. All player rolls are at a disadvantage until all the chimeras are destroyed.The dark leader of the entire group, this worm shows its age. For it, moments are a pattern of past, present, and future, the mind has completely gone. The corpse speaks in hushed and heavy breaths, referring to events that have occurred before or after the present moment. Any interaction with this individual will lead to sanity loss, and the master worm possesses dangerous occult knowledge.
Special Thanksto my friend Mayo for helping with the stat blocks.
Credits
Death Likes To Ooze From a Corpse was written by Pigsy for the 2025 Shotgun Scenario contest.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/124_MxFH4Msrofdg0IKhYpJshr9MBMurQ12RywfRo-q4/edit