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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Ban-Niang "Granny" Hu, Retired Imperial Guard

Growing up a street urchin in Sze, Ban-niang came to view other urchins as her siblings. She pulled them and herself through to adulthood by working as a racketeer before securing a position as an imperial soldier guard. Her siblings remained in the criminal world but retained loyalty to their sister and acted as informants and financiers to help her climb the ranks of the city watch.

Planning ahead for the day when she grew old and frail and simply wanted to enjoy the wealth and power she'd amassed, Ban-niang volunteered to be an inaugural village guard captain in the “backwaters” that was Willowshore when Lung Wa started its lumber operations. Occupying the position for over two decades, Ban-niang retired in 7088 ic but, by that point, had grown fond of the town she'd once dismissed as a backwater and stayed on in her retirement. She has cultivated her image of “Granny Hu,” pretending to let age mellow her ambitions, but in fact, she knows many folks' dark secrets and isn't afraid to use this knowledge to manipulate others.

Campaign Use

If Granny Hu becomes Willowshore's interim governor, she favors Northridge's businesses and goals. This development makes it easier for the PCs to bolster the town's defenses in the coming months, but at the cost of being able to efficiently prepare food stores for the coming winter.

Once the town of Willowshore is safe at the start of Chapter 3, the PCs can attempt to interact with Granny Hu using the Influence subsystem. An influence encounter with Granny Hu is a 3rd-level challenge, and an influence round with Granny Hu takes 1 hour. If any attempt to Influence Granny Hu results in a critical failure and the PCs have fewer than 5 Influence Points with her, she uses her So Have You Heard? ability against that PC soon thereafter.

Recall Knowledge - Humanoid (Society): DC 30
Unspecific Lore: DC 28
Specific Lore: DC 25

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Ban-Niang "Granny" HuCreature 5

Legacy Content

Unique LN Medium Human Humanoid 
Source Pathfinder #196: The Summer That Never Was pg. 90
Female human guard captain
Perception +6
Languages Common, Halfling
Skills Athletics +6, Crafting +6, Deception +8, Diplomacy +6, Intimidation +8, Society +6, Willowshore Lore +6
Str +2, Dex +1, Con +1, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4
So Have You Heard? (exploration) Frequency once per day; Effect Granny Hu can shift a PC's reputation in Willowshore over the course of 2 hours of work. She attempts a Deception check against the target's Deception, Diplomacy, or Intimidation DC, whichever is highest. If the target is admired or revered by at least one faction in Willowshore, Granny Hu takes a –1 status penalty to her check, or –2 if the target is admired or revered by both factions. The target is then temporarily immune to So Have You Heard? for 1 week.
Critical Success The target takes a –2 circumstance penalty to Charisma-based skill checks when interacting with Willowshore residents for a week.
Success As critical success, but only a –1 circumstance penalty and for only 1 day.
Failure The target is unaffected.
Critical Failure The plan backfires; not only is the target unaffected, but Granny Hu can't use So Have You Heard? for 1 month.
Items spider lily tattoo, +1 striking longsword, smoking pipe worth 20 gp
AC 15; Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +8; +1 status vs. fear, nerves of steel
HP 75
Nerves of Steel If Granny Hu succeeds at a save against a fear effect, she gets a critical success instead.Are You Sure About That? [reaction] (emotion, mental, visual) Trigger A creature within 30 feet who's visible to Granny Hu and who has been exposed to Want to Try Me? in the past week says or does something that would be against Granny Hu's interests; Effect Granny Hu makes a subtle gesture, reminding the triggering creature of their secret. The creature must succeed at a DC 17 Will Save or the triggering action is disrupted. Regardless of the outcome, the creature then becomes temporarily immune to this ability for 24 hours.Want to Try Me? [reaction] (auditory, emotion, fear, mental) Trigger A creature within 30 feet attempts to Coerce or Demoralize a creature; Effect Granny Hu threatens to expose a secret of the triggering creature. She attempts an Intimidation check against the triggering creature's Will DC. Her reputation means she can threaten a PC even if she doesn't actually know a secret, but if she does know an especially dangerous or shameful one, she gains a +2 circumstance bonus to her Intimidation check. Critical Success The creature is frightened 2, and the result of their Coerce or Demoralize attempt is reduced by one degree of success. Success As success, but frightened 1. Failure The creature is unaffected. Critical Failure The creature is unaffected, gains a +1 circumstance bonus to their Coerce or Demoralize attempt, and is immune to Want to Try Me? for 24 hours.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] longsword +8 [+3/-2] (magical, versatile P), Damage 2d8+3 slashing