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.)