Qian Shi
Qian Shi is one of the Kumo Ananasi of Hong Kong. A man of perverse tastes, Qian Shi has contacts among the triads, the police, and the media. He makes his home under Victoria Peak where he has an elaborate underground complex.
Biography
Qian Shi’s heart rejoiced when he learned he belonged to the hengeyokai spider-people. He had always been fascinated with the spider’s patient ways and well as its potential for ruthlessness and viciousness. He followed the pull of his inner self and applied himself to studying poisons and restricted his mind to patient thought and planning in meticulous detail.
Qian Shi had his first change when Hong Kong first came under British Administration and Shi’s family were brokers and liaisons between the British and the Chinese merchant houses. Qian Shi expected to learn skills suitable to his place but he found those practices boring and demeaning. He was chided for being unruly and willful behaviour. Qian Shi did nothing at first but soon began planting seeds of discord and distrust. It took four years, but he did erode the ties of honor and affection among the family. When his plan was completely in place he pulled one single strand of the great web he wove.
His father believed his mother was unfaithful to him, so he killed her in a fit of rage. The “lover” really was an innocent friend of the family. Shi’s oldest brother knew his mother was innocent and shamed his father for the act. Shi’s father killed himself in front of Shi’s oldest brother.
The next brother did not know the specifics of what happened to his parents and blamed his older brother for their death. They fought bitterly and finally dueled each other with knives (conveniently covered in poison by Qian Shi) killing each other. This left only his sisters, brother-in-laws, widowed sister-in-laws, nieces and nephews. Shi started the next phase of his grand scheme.
Over the next month, Shi’s brothers-in-laws fell into debt and ran afoul of the Triads. Shi sold his sisters and sisters-in-law into servitude throughout Hong Kong and Mainland China. He kept all his nieces and nephews in his already elaborate underground complex, feeding off them and than discarding their bloodless husks. He did keep one of his favourite nieces, Qian Jing, which meant Thousand Crystals. Shi preserved her, as best he could though he did sever her hamstrings to slate one of his hungers. She was his pleasure pet. When she eventually die he acquired a replacement and named her Jing. Currently he has made his way to the eighth “Jing.”
With no family ties, Qian Shi cultivated his ties to the Triads. He became extremely wealthy with participation in the Opium trade as well as the prostitution trade. He made a name for himself acquiring young girls and boys and training them for “specialty” clients - including the snuff trade. His knowledge of poisons brought him to the attention of apothecaries and alchemists. He has managed to acquire a small hoard of magical items. He once had strong ties with the Tremere Oliver Thrace selling him rare blood types and bits of information regarding the spirits of the dead (most of which were lies)
Qian Shi cared not about the change over. He had hidden from foreign overlords more than once in the last century. He already ensnared many of the Chinese government officials in his beautiful web of bribes and depravity. He only needs to pull on a few strands to make many fall.
Appearance
Qian Shi’s Homid form resembles a Cantonese man in his prime (mid-30s). Although he is not handsome by any means, he can appear strangely seductive when he wishes. He dresses conservatively, so as not to call attention to himself. In his own lair, Shi prefers to wear mandarin-style robes of dark silk and other luxurious materials. His Lilian (or man-spider form) stands seven-feet tall, and is covered with a coat of fine velvety-black hairs. His six arms and two legs give him great mobility and multiple attack capability. In Pithus (or Pit Spider) form, Shi becomes a gigantic (five-foot long) black spider, with all its attendant capabilities. He assumes Crawlerling form (in which his body breaks down into hundreds of tiny spiders) only for purposes of escape or espionage.
Character Sheet
Unlike most shapeshifters, Goblin Spiders must drink blood to sustain themselves, similar to Western vampires. Most Kumo have Blood Pools of 10, Qian Shi’s lifespan and alchemical knowledge have enabled him to transcend this limitation.
Gallery
References
- WOD: World of Darkness: Hong Kong, p. 105-107