So, I recently started a Jadeclaw campaign and figured I might try keeping a journal of this adventure. This should help me make a better game as well as hopefully give entertainment and inspiration to those who read the journal. Keep in mind that this will be visible to the players, so if you have comments or suggestions you'd rather the players not see, send them to me privately. Further, I will attempt to avoid revealing spoilers for the future.

For those of you who don't know, Ironclaw is a furry fantasy tabletop RPG. In the traditional pencil and paper style, the players take control of characters who act as their avatar into the world and story that I, the Game Master, weave. For those of you who are familiar with RPGs of this nature but not Ironclaw, I highly recommend you look into it. Ironclaw: Squaring the Circle is the base book for 2nd Edition and is beautifully made with a full color interior and fantastic art. I've gushed about it in older journals. The expansion Book of Jade (Jadeclaw for short), expanded the world into a feudal Chinese setting.

Now, the cast of characters:

Alfonse – Male Red Fox Bounty Hunter
This fox hails from Calabria, the main continent setting of Ironclaw. He has traveled to the land of Zhongguo, sent there by the Renaldi, a powerful vulpine merchant family, to hunt a number of dangerous criminals. His arms bear many scars inflicted both by his enemies and mishaps with his own gear. Armed with a mace, for pounding his prey into submission, a stiletto for silencing those in his path, and a pistol for emergencies, he has undergone a lengthy ocean voyage to reach the strange continent of Zhongguo and it's enigmatic inhabitants. First on his list of targets is a regional bandit leader known as Heng Xue or Permanent Snow.

Zho Ti – Male Elephant Martial Artist
This gruff and laconic elephant originally hails from the barbarian lands of Yindu to the south of Zhongguo, though he has traveled civilized lands for many years now. He may be armed with a small variety of weapons, but he is truly fierce when using feet or fist, trunk or tusk. What led him to Zhongguo and why he travels remains a mystery.

Shi Mian – Female Snow Leopard Archer
This snowmew was a natural with the bow before these skills were honed as an auxiliary to the mighty armies of Zhongguo. Through her flows the blood of mountain nomads, who live tough lives in snow and ice, high above the fertile plains and forests. Recently, she has acquired sacred and rare texts which details the very secrets of the bow and has set out to learn their secrets.

Huang Zhi Ling – Male Red Panda Volcano Mage
This shining cat has studied for many years under the tutelage of a master of the ways of fire and fist, possessing the mastery of the five elements and combining it with unarmed combat. Huang Zhi Ling has recently mastered the basics of his school and has been sent out by his master to wander the world and hone his skills.

The adventure begins with Alfonse, stepping onto the dock of the city of Wu in the state of Wu. A long, grueling voyage behind him, this weary traveler strides down the dock towards the shore. A shady dockhand suddenly points at him and declares 'For you crimes against Permanent Snow, you shall die!' This otter and a rat pull out ill kept weapons and attack. Nearby, Huang Zhi Ling, his eyes shrouded by his iconic hat, walks down the street, headed for the docks to begin seeking his fortune, when two ruffians block his path. Decrying that he shall die for the crimes of his school and his master, he too is set upon. Nearby, as Zho Ti browses the poor wares of a vegetable stall, the mouse vendor pulls out a sword and announces a similar death sentence, joined by a nearby shrew stall keeper with a bow. Shi Mian, walking along the docks, sees two oxen striding towards him. They look startled with the previous three cries go up nearly in unison, looking sheepish that they hadn't reached their target yet. But they point and it is clear they plan to attack.

The fight lasts no more than half a minute. Alfonse, pressed by the dockhands, manages to fight them off and set paw on dry land once more, but is injured in the process. Shi Mian dispatches the two oxen before saving the captain of the ship that bore Alfonse with a well placed arrow. The shining cat began lighting assailants on fire through sheer force of will, even as feline archers appeared. And Zho Ti, initially frightened by the sudden attack of rodent merchants, dispatched one before grabbing another with his truck. So held, he began to pull the unfortunate soul onto and off of those great tusks, rending the shrew into an unrecognizable pile.

With their attackers dead or fled, the sound of the city guard approaching becomes unmistakable. A quick search of the bodies reveals a letter. Written by Permanent Snow, he directs that the party is to be eliminated in broad daylight as an example to those who would challenge him. Further, the letter warns that the attackers better succeed or they should not return and more shall be sent. Finally, when successful, they are to return to his tea house in the state of Chi, the border of Zhongguo as a whole and the western barbarian tribes.

The thankful bat captain, already heading that way, took the party on board. Another month of sea travel, around the lands of Yindu to the state of Chi, passed in misery. The party introduced themselves to each other, not understanding why they had been targeted in this attack, but no answers were apparent. Finally, after the bleak trip, the four intrepid adventurers found themselves in Chi.

Once more on blessed land, they began the journey to the tea house. Two days they walked, relearning the joys of land and of forest in the spring. They then reached the isolated tea house, the lair of Permanent Snow. Three felt the best plan was to walk in the front door, seeking Heng Xue, while Shi Mian decided to flank through the kitchen. Upon entering the tea house, the room went silent. A brash dog proclaimed 'There's only three, we can take 'em!' and weapons were drawn. Meanwhile, Shi Mian's attempt to flank through the kitchen failed when one of the two oxen cooks threw a cleaver at her head and they attacked.

The fight was fierce and savage. The party was wounded and pushed out of the inn at one point, but fought back refusing to retreat or to die. The snowmew was forced back as well before dispatching the cooks and returning to support the rest of the team. With archers on the second floor harrying the party, Permanent Snow, a rough boar, charged Shi Mian, who was cut off from the group. Desperately fending off his attacks, the bounty hunter pulled out his pistol, firing at Heng Xue to save the archers life, and blowing the head of the boar apart. With their leader dead and the shock of a firearm, the remaining men scattered into the night air, leaving the party, bloody and stunned, reeling from the vicious and close fight. Which is when the patrolling imperial army unit arrives.

The four suspected murders are quickly disarmed and arrested. They are roughed up and thrown in a wagon as the soldiers explore the charnel house, seizing paperwork found inside. The party is hauled before an Imperial Magistrate not of Justice, but of Tax, a peacock by the name of Ming Yi or Bright Justice. They are left bound, forced to kneel before the magistrate. The peacock takes his time reviewing the seized documents.

Finally, he looks up and, with great regret, announces that the papers clearly indicate that Permanent Snow was a villain and an enemy of the empire. Instead of being executed, which they clearly deserve, he is authorized and required to reward them. They will be given a small portion of Heng Xue's holdings. This will be an inn, located in a small town in the mountains of Chi. They are to be made official citizens of Chi. Finally, for their service, they will be granted the right to provide only half the tax expected of them in the first year. This tax value was calculated based off the past 5 years of income from this inn.

Six months hence, in the fall, the party will be jointly required to pay 75,000 Bu (the average peasant makes less than 1 Bu a day, meaning the modern equivalent is roughly $5 million US). This is because every bit of stolen loot, plundered ship, or ransomed victim was dutifully and officially recorded as income from the inn. There is no problem with the paperwork reporting this as it was all witnessed and attested to by magistrates, meaning that it is entirely official. And the inn is a reward from an imperial magistrate in the name of the Emperor himself, meaning that the empire will take grave offense to any attempt to avoid taxation or destruction of the inn.

The party, now rewarded with an inn and crushing tax burden, is released. Weary in body and spirit, they must now travel to their new home, which they have never seen, and prepare to face a suddenly daunting future. For villains may be slain and evils overcome, but one day soon, the weight of impending tax will fall. The only thing certain of their future is death and taxes.

Session 2 is here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5124896/