By Vanessa Hoskins
Zhang Yong, Spirit Tender
In the great fighting tournaments across Tian Xia, a competitor will occasionally perish in the heat of battle. Sometimes their lust for battle, desire to win, or enduring competitive spirit lingers, often resulting in a haunting. When this happens, it’s up to a ghost eater to defeat the lingering soul to send it to the afterlife.
Ten years ago, during the previous Ruby Phoenix Tournament, Yong was a boy of 13 years working as a water carrier, though he dreamed of one day fighting in the tournament and making a name for himself, especially to set him apart from his many accomplished human, orc, and half-orc cousins. Yong imagined showing the world his skill, determination, and fierce grasp on life and excelling at something all his own. That very grasp saved his life when an errant undead specter disrupted a match, tearing through the ringside where Yong was carrying water. Though he was gravely injured in the incident, Yong was brought into the care of the tournament’s resident ghost eater and, from her, learned how to fight the corruption of lingering souls.
Now, Yong is one of the tournament’s most renown ghost eaters, tasked with cleansing any haunts, ghosts, or spiritual phenomena that remain after a particularly grueling battle. Though he sometimes shudders at the memory of that terrifying day ten years ago, through sheer determination, he carries on, finding that in guiding these souls to rest, he’s found not just a way to purge the ghosts of his own past, but a rare talent as a spirit tender, one all his own.
Plot Hooks
Game Masters can use the following plot hooks to integrate Zhang Yong into their ongoing Pathfinder campaigns.
- The players’ competitors could be having trouble with a particularly powerful haunt or ghost disrupting a practice space and wish to seek Yong’s aid to purge it.
- The competitors hear of Yong’s childhood trauma, and how those memories cause him distress today. They may wish to help the young man face those fears and move past the pain.
- The ghost of Yong’s former master has risen for this decade’s Ruby Phoenix Tournament, thinking she is still the head ghost eater. Yong is having trouble facing his old master alone and seeks the players’ competitors for guidance and assistance sending his old master safely to Pharasma’s court.