Xià Hóu Yuān 夏侯渊

What's with the cartoon?

Look! It's ROCKMAN doing some sort of powerdash... thing. Anyway this deviates slightly from the original portrait because he has lost his weapon, but he does look a lot cooler here!

Who is he:

Perhaps less famous than his cousin Xia Hou Dun 夏侯惇 but a one of the pillars of Cao Cao 曹操's army, Xia Hou Yuan was highly praised for his efficiency in logistics. He has been credited as one of the main reasons Cao Cao rebounded from his defeat at the battle of Red Cliffs 赤壁之战 so quickly, thanks to his reliable and prompt logistics handling. In the battlefield, Xia Hou Yuan earned his nickname "Cheetah of the West 西部猎豹" for his lightning fast capture of the cities on the western border of the Wei Kingdom 魏国. Unfortunately, many of these details would have been left out if you had read the simplified version of Romance of Three Kingdoms. The big highlight of Xia Hou Yuan was his death at Han Zhong 汉中 under the hands of Huang Zhong 黄忠.

Character ability: "Godspeed 神速 (shén sù)"

Xia Hou Yuan can use either or both of the following options listed below. When any of the options below are activated, it is equivalent to using an ATTACK 杀 card on any player (no distance limitations).

1. Skip his judgement phase as well as his drawing phase (no judgement and no drawing of 2 cards from the deck)

2. Skip his action phase as well as discard one equipment card (horse, armour or weapon). This means he can no longer use any other card in his turn. Note that this option can only be used once a turn, regardless of how many equipment cards you have.

Note: Using this ability does NOT count as having used an ATTACK card. Which means to say if Godspeed option 1 is used, the player can continue to use an ATTACK card during the action phase. Both the options can be used consecutively in one turn, thus skipping judgement, drawing and action phase whilst being able to ATTACK twice.

Ability's relation to story:

Xia Hou Yuan was known for his speed in moving his troops and catching his opponents off-guard. In his effort to capture the city of Chang Li 长离, Xia Hou Yuan discarded most of his supplies so as to be able to achieve surprise. This is probably the link behind "Godspeed" option 2 ability. In general, Xia Hou Yuan in the cardgame does bring an element of speed since he can choose to ATTACK immediately even before drawing cards. Though this speed is of no consequence whatsoever in terms of dealing damage, it does make him a very useful character since he will always be able to use ATTACK on any player at least once a turn.

Additional info based on story:

1. Most famous achievement - In his attack on Song Jian 宋健, Xia Hou Yuan was able to capture the city within two months, a very short timespan in those days. Song Jian and all his officers were massacred by Xia Hou Yuan, which ultimately scared the balls off the other opponents in the nearby region. Within a year, most of these opponents surrendered to Cao Wei 曹魏 out of fear of Xia Hou Yuan.

2. Cause of death - The tragedy of Xia Hou Yuan is the glory of Huang Zhong from Shu Han 蜀汉. The story goes that Huang Zhong set his troops up a hill overlooking Xia Hou Yuan's camp at Han Zhong 汉中. Xia Hou Yuan got upset that his camp was being spied on and rallied an attack on Huang Zhong. Huang Zhong held firm till Xia Hou Yuan's troops became weary from fighting uphill, then led a massive counter-attack downhill. Huang Zhong himself cut Xia Hou Yuan into two. 

Cáo Rén 曹仁

What's with the Cartoon:

With the extra three cards that he picks up with his ability, he can entrench himself behind fortified walls... except he sort of looks like a blue troll that just climbed over a castle wall. The artists should have let him raise the middle finger instead.

Who is he:

Every leader has their most loyal and trustworthy followers. Cao Ren was such a follower of Cao Cao 曹操. From Cao Cao's rise to power, till Cao Cao's death, Cao Ren was a formidable and trustworthy general in his camp that never once showed any signs of disloyalty nor surrender. In fact, Cao Ren saved Cao Cao's ass a couple of times. Yet it must be said that Cao Ren receives a lot less mention in the story than many other of Cao Cao's generals (such Xu Chu 许褚 and Dian Wei 典韦). Perhaps such is the fate of those who keep the world turning behind the scenes. Dr Goh Keng Swee was never as well known as Lee Kuan Yew was he?

Character ability: "Entrenched 据守 (jù shǒu)"

After the discard phase of your turn, you can draw an additional 3 cards from the deck. By doing so, you will skip your next turn. Skip your turn meaning no judgement, no drawing of cards, no using of any cards, nothing what-so-ever!

Ability's relation to story:

This is an interesting one. There actually is one scene in the story where Cao Ren was entrenched in his city, pretty much helplessly on the defensive. When Guan Yu 关羽attacked the city of Fan Cheng 樊城 where Cao Ren was situated, Guan Yu starved the city and flooded it by redirecting river flow. Despite the odds, Cao Ren kept his troops' morale up and held out till reinforcements came. This is probably where the "Entrenched" ability arises from. But if you ask me, it's kinda strange to base an ability on a dire circumstance! I'm not the biggest fan of this ability and i'm still researching (using Cao Ren as often as possible) on how to make this ability work to my advantage.

Additional info based on story:

1. Most famous achievement - Riding out to rescue his own troops when they were losing the battle against Zhou Yu 周瑜. Right after the battle of Red Cliffs 赤壁之战, where Cao Cao got his ass whooped bad, Zhou Yu pressed on and attacked the city of Jiang Ling 江陵. Cao Ren was tasked to protect Jiang Ling and sent his aide Niu Jin 牛金 and 300 troops to defend, but these troops were losing the fight and could not escape. Cao Ren personally rode out to rescued them. His troops respect Cao Ren so much that after they exclaimed, "General, you are truly a man from Heaven!" This exclamation can be found in its original unabridged form on the card itself just below his character ability description "将军真天人也!"

2. Cause of death - At this current moment i'm not fully sure about the details of his death. All I can gather is that Cao Ren died of sickness at the age of 56. I did not manage to dig out any information about the sickness nor the circumstances surrounding his death. If anyone knows, please leave me a comment and share with all of us.

Yáng Xiū 杨修

What's with the cartoon?
Yang Xiu is eating the famous cake that gives his ability its name. You can even see the words 一合酥 on the box!

Who is he:
Famed to be one of the most brilliant advisers to Cao Cao 曹操, Yang Xiu was either a genius or a lunatic. Going by his track-record of excellent advice and superior logic, he was mostly trusted, even respected, by Cao Cao. On the other hand, Yang Xiu has a nasty habit of thinking way too far and conjuring up dramatic assumptions for harmless incidents. He was the ancient equivalent of a conspiracy-theorist, and that ultimately cost him his life. Learn from the ancients, don't be too smart for your own good.

Character ability 1: Have your Cake (and eat it) 啖酪 (dàn lào)
When you are targeted by a tool card that also affects other players, you can immediately draw a card. If you do so, that tool card has no effect on you.

Character ability 2: The Wishing Bone 鸡肋 (jī lèi)
Whenever you receive damage, you can voice out a card type (basic cards, tool cards or equipment cards). The player that caused you damage can no longer use, play, or discard any on-hand cards of that type until the end of that round.

Ability's relation to story:
You probably heard the phrase "have your cake and eat it too", but a literal version of this scenario actually happened to Yang Xiu. A nomadic tribe sent a box of cakes to Cao Cao as a gift. Cao Cao wrote on the box the words "一合酥" (a box of cake). Upon seeing this, Yang Xiu grabbed a spoon and shared the cake with all of Cao Cao's followers. A puzzled Cao Cao asked for an explanation, to which Yang Xiu replied, "You wrote the words "one mouthful for every person", dare I not obey?" The answer lies in breaking up the words "一合" (a box) into its constituent parts "一人一口" (a mouthful per person). Cao Cao probably gave him the WTF-look. He wasn't happy that his cake was eaten. The mechanics of this ability seems to create that benefit of "eating your cake" by allowing you to draw a card, but it does miss out on the danger to himself that occurred in the story.

"The Wishing Bone" is another famous incident. Cao Cao was contemplating a retreat after his general Xiahou Yuan 夏侯渊 was defeated by Huang Zhong 黄忠. He could not decide if it was better to stay and fight or to withdraw, and it weighed heavily on his mind. He repeatedly muttered the words "chicken bones" as he drank his chicken soup, probably not referring to anything specific. Yang Xiu got wind of the words "chicken bones" and told all the generals to prepare for a retreat. "Chicken bones are tasteless if eaten, but its a pity to discard them as they are useful for soup. He is signalling that advance is futile, and a retreat is imminent. Prepare to retreat, lest there be panic when the order is given." Boy was Cao Cao pissed when he heard that troop morale was dampened by the smart-aleck Yang Xiu!

So what's the relation of "The Wishing Bone" to the story? Not much. It seems more like a defensive mechanism while the story shows that incident was anything but defensive!

Additional info based on story:
1. Most famous achievement - Pulling stories and reasoning out of thin air. The two stories listed above are but two incidents. There are others as well, some completely illogical (or logical, depending on your perspective) but all very creative.

2. Cause of death - Executed by Cao Cao. Seriously, he outsmarted himself. The signal for retreat in the "Wishing Bone" story was a military breach of conduct, and people have been executed for much less. Cao Cao bit the bullet and executed Yang Xiu. After Yang Xiu's death, Cao Cao did not retreat but instead advanced on the enemy. It was a horrible defeat, and Cao Cao regretted not listening to Yang Xiu after all.

Zhēn Jī 甄姬

What's with the cartoon?

Just a cuter version of the thigh-revealing peakaboo that was the original portrait.

Who is she:

An extremely beautiful woman with smarts and capability, Zhen Ji was Cao Pi 曹丕's first wife. The word 姬 is a title for "lady". Thus her real name is not Zhen Ji, but rather Zhen Luo 甄洛. Her life was a down-hill rollercoaster of misfortune and victimization. She lost her father at the age of 2, was married to Yuan Shao 袁绍's son Yuan Xi 袁熙, but was forcefully remarried to Cao Pi after he became obsessed with her beauty. After giving birth to Cao Rui 曹睿, she fell out of favor with Cao Pi due to rumours and bad-mouthing from his concubine, Guo Nu Wang 郭女王. Zhen Ji never did manage to win back Cao Pi's favor. Instead, the bad-mouthing from Guo Nu Wang became worse. Zhen Ji paid the ultimate price when Cao Pi, poisoned by Guo Nu Wang's words, forced Zhen Ji to commit suicide.

Character ability 1: "Impetus for War 倾国 (qīng guó)"

Every on-hand card that is a "club" or a "spade" suit can be used as DODGE 闪 at any time.

Character ability 2: "Goddess Luo 洛神 (luò shén)"

At the beginning of the turn (before judgement phase for any time-delay tool cards), Zhen Ji can choose to flip a judgement card. If the judgement card is a black-suited card ("clubs" or "spades"), she can keep the card as an on-hand card and she can continue to flip over another judgement card. Once the judgement card is red-suited card, the ability ends and she cannot keep that red-suited card.

Important note: This ability takes precedence BEFORE the judgement of time-delay tool cards (such as LIGHTNING).

It is perfectly possible for Zhen Ji to amass over 10 cards in a row using this ability, provided it is a string of consecutive black-suited cards. It is also perfectly possible to amass none at all if the very first card is red-suited.

Note that after the ability ends, Zhen Ji can still draw 2 more cards from the deck as per normal. (Yes she will have a shit load of cards if she's lucky!)

Ability's relation to story:

"Impetus to war" is not linked to the story. Though we know that Cao Pi peeled her from Yuan Xi, she was not the reason Cao Cao destroyed Yuan Shao and family. This ability is probably centered around game mechanics than history. "Goddess Luo" stems from a poem written by Cao Zhi 曹植, Cao Pi's brother, known as "Goddess of the Luo River 洛水之神", apparently praising the goddess for her ethereal beauty, intelligence and capability. It is rumoured that Cao Zhi had an affair with Zhen Ji.

Additional info based on story:

1. Most famous achievement - Giving birth to the man who would become Emperor of Wei, Cao Rui. This became the sore point that eventually led to her death, because Guo Nu Wang poisoned Cao Pi into believing that Cao Rui is not his child but Yuan Xi's.

2. Cause of death - Suicide... but more likely forced than willing. The exact method of death is unclear, but one story goes that Cao Pi personally handed her a glass of poison to drink. Zhen Ji knows full well what it means, so after drinking but before the poison takes effect, she cleans the glass. This is so as to protect Cao Pi's reputation, since for an emperor to murder his own wife is detrimental to his reign.

Zhāng Liáo 张辽

What's with the cartoon?

Unfortunately, this is just a cuter version of the original SanGuoSha portait. There does not seem to be any hidden meaning.

Who is he:

Supposedly one of the top 5 generals of the Kingdom of Cao Wei 曹魏, Zhang Liao did not initially intend to follow under Cao Cao 曹操. In fact, Zhang Liao offered his neck for Cao Cao for beheading rather than choose to surrender. While Zhang Liao was serving Lu Bu 吕布, word had already went around of Zhang Liao's combat ability and his righteous character. Guan Yu 关羽 once asked him why he was serving for a man such as Lu Bu and Zhang Liao could only look down in shame. The two later became fast friends, though circumstances dictate they had to be enemies. Zhang Liao achieved renown under Cao Cao as a steadfast and competent general. His title of "General of the Front" was given to him by Cao Pi 曹丕 after Cao Pi succeeded Cao Cao.

Character ability: "Sudden Strike 突击 (tū jī)"

In the drawing phase, Zhang Liao can choose to forgo drawing cards from the deck and, instead, draw 1 on-hand card from other players. Maximum 2 players (2 cards nett intake), minimum 1 player (1 card nett intake).

Note that Zhang Liao cannot mix "Sudden Raid" with drawing from the deck (ie: he cannot draw one card from the deck and one card from a player). 

Ability's relation to story:

This part of the story occurs in the battle of He Fei 合肥之战 where Sun Quan 孙权, ruler of Sun Wu 孙吴, led a massive army to attack He Fei. Zhang Liao was one of 3 Cao Wei generals guarding He Fei, but they only had a combined army of 7000 men, many times less than the enemy. Leading the troops out, Zhang Liao bravely charged into the enemy and his combat prowess scared the balls off his enemy. Sun Quan's troops started deserting, not really knowing how large Zhang Liao's army was. Sun Quan climbed up a hill and saw that Zhang Liao was vastly outnumbered. He ordered his troops to encircle Zhang Liao. Unexpectedly, Zhang Liao suddenly charged out of the encirclement (thus the name "Sudden Strike") with a handful of troops and made straight for Sun Quan. The rest of Zhang Liao's troops cried out to him, "General! Have you abandoned us?!" Hearing this, Zhang Liao turned back and rescued his troops from certain death. Both parties grew weary and tired, thus they broke battle and headed back to camp.

Additional info based on story:

1. Most famous achievement - His cursing and swearing at Cao Cao and his refusal to surrender. This occurred early on in the story where Zhang Liao's leader Lu Bu had been executed by Cao Cao. In contrast to Lu Bu, who pleaded for mercy, Zhang Liao cussed Cao Cao endlessly and refused to surrender. Cao Cao was pissed off enough to bring a sword and wanted to decapitate him personally. Zhang Liao responded by sticking his neck out and welcoming death. Liu Bei 刘备 and Guan Yu 关羽 intervened and pleaded for Zhang Liao to be spared. Impressed by Zhang Liao's righteousness and courage, Cao Cao then put down his sword and personally unbound Zhang Liao. It was thus that Zhang Liao came to respect Cao Cao the same and, thence, began a great leader-servant relationship.

2. Cause of death - Zhang Liao suffered an arrow wound after rescuing Cao Pi from Wu forces. Though they were all eventually rescued by Xu Huang 徐晃, Zhang Liao succumbed to his wound and died soon after.

Xǔ Chǔ 许褚

What's with the cartoon?

Xu Chu's ability is taken to the extreme in this adorable cartoon. Instead of being "Bare-chested", they drew him practically "butt-naked"! This is also because the words 裸衣 for his ability can be taken to mean "stripped of clothing"... and no, they did not mention to what extent he has to strip. 

Who is he:

Long-serving bodyguard of Cao Cao 曹操, Xu Chu was said to be a huge person. His height was about 2 meters and his waist 52 inches. Probably one of the 20 most famous characters in Romance of Three Kingdoms, he has significant air-time in the story for the many instances that stood forth to protect Cao Cao. His combat ability was reputed to be on par with Zhang Fei 张飞, Guan Yu 关羽 and company. His moment of glory came in the fictional account of him stripping off all his armour for his fight with Ma Chao 马超. This bravado mixed with insanity helped him secure a place in history.

Character ability: "Bare-Chested 裸衣 (luǒ yī)"

Xu Chu can choose to draw 1 card less in his drawing phase. If he chooses to do so, any ATTACK 杀 and DUEL 决斗 that he uses in the action phase results in 1 additional unit of damage to his opponent. Note that if Xu Chu loses the DUEL, he only needs lose 1 unit. But if he wins, the victim loses 2 units.

Ability's relation to the story:

In his duel with Ma Chao, the two generals were fairly matched for over a hundred rounds. Xu Chu then momentarily backs off, strips off all his armour, then goes back to continue the duel bare-chested! This act of madness is followed later by his discarding his sword and grabbing Ma Chao's spear under his armpit. The ensuing struggle snaps the spear in two. The two then hack at each other with their halves of the broken spear. No wonder that Ma Chao later describes Xu Chu as a tiger gone insane.

Additional info based on story:

1. Most famous achievement - His strip-tease episode as mentioned above.

2. Cause of death - Xu Chu probably died of old-age. He served 3 generations of Cao Cao's family: under Cao Cao, followed by Cao Pi 曹丕 after Cao Cao's death, followed by Cao Rui 曹睿 after Cao Pi's death. His loyalty to the Cao family was unquestioned. He was then posthumously titled Zhuang Hou 壮侯 (Marquis of Strength).

Xià Hóu Dūn 夏侯惇

What's with the cartoon?

Why he is peeling petals off a flower, I have no clue. Perhaps it has to do with him losing his eye?? Or is he longing for his fair-lady? There has never seem to be any mention of this though!

Who is he:

Best remembered for the scene where he lost his eye, Xia Hou Dun is a ferocious combat general with balls of steel and fiery determination. He is one of Cao Cao 曹操's most loyal generals and is supposedly a distant relative. The story goes that Xia Hou Dun was caught in an ambush and suffered an arrow to his eye. His troops were panic-stricken, thinking that their general had fallen. But then Xia Hou Dun grabbed the arrow and yanked it out of his head, pulling with it his eyeball skewered on the arrow shaft. With one gulp he swallows his own eyeball, then charges right back at the assailant. Needless to say, the assailant died a horrible death when Xia Hou Dun got to him. His act of swallowing his eye-ball rallied his troops' morale and scared the shit out of his enemies. Henceforth, the name of Xia Hou Dun has become synonymous with bravery and gung-ho.

Character ability: "An Eye for an Eye 刚烈 (gāng liè)"

Everytime Xia Hou Dun suffers damage (count by occurrence and not by units of damage), he can choose to flip a judgement card. If the judgement is not the suit of "hearts", the source player that caused the damage can choose 1 of 2 options.

Option 1: Lose 1 unit of health

Option 2: Discard any 2 on-hand cards (chosen by the source player, and not Xia Hou Dun)

Ability's relation to story:

I could not help but use a pun to translate 刚烈 as "an eye for an eye". The most straightforward link to the story is where Xia Hou Dun impales Cao Xing 曹性 for firing the arrow that wasted his eye. It is said that Xia Hou Dun impaled Cao Xing's face before trampling his body beneath his horse. In the cardgame, this ability is a very effective deterrent to opponents. A wonderful psychological link to the story in terms of the effect Xia Hou Dun has on his enemies.

Additional info based on story:

1. Most famous achievement - Losing his bloody eye!

2. Cause of death - In the historical account, Xia Hou Dun dies of an illness at an age of approximately 50 - 60 years old. But this defers from the Romance of Three Kingdoms story which dramatized his death as being caused by an encounter with Guan Yu 关羽's ghost. In the olden days, illnesses were very much attributed to supernatural reasons, thus it is not too far-fetched for readers to believe (especially in the 1300's when the story was written).

Sī Mǎ Yì 司马懿

What's with the cartoon?

The cartoon is a cute-version of the original portrait in SanGuoSha, where he is seen having the ability to conjure up blue flames... which is of course a complete understatement of his power.

Who is he:

The cunning. The scheming. The ultimate bad guy. He is the beginning of the end of the Three Kingdoms era. If you have never read Romance of Three Kingdoms, my apologies for the spoiler. We are talking about a man of ambition so great, it transcended two generations after his death before it was achieved. Portrayed as cunning and untrustworthy with promises, Si Ma Yi is practically demonized by the story. No doubt he was the most important military advisor the Kingdom of Cao Wei 曹魏 ever had, time would never dilute his usurper legacy that erased Cao Wei off the face of the planet. As tribute to this incredibly smart yet devious historical figure, the card game has aptly given Si Ma Yi abilities that make him a formidable opponent. Meet the most dangerous character in the entire San Guo Sha 三国杀 card game.

Character ability 1: "Retaliation 反馈 (fǎn kuì)"

When Si Ma Yi receives any damage, he can obtain 1 card (whether on-hand or equipped) from the player who is the source of the damage. In most cases, source of damage is the player who is currently in the action phase (that player's turn) that played an offensive move.

Character ability 2: "Demonic Talent 鬼才 (guǐ cái)"

After any judgement card has been flipped over, Si Ma Yi can immediately play one of his on-hand cards to "replace" the judgement card. Note that Si Ma Yi cannot take back the original judgement card. Net effect is Si Ma Yi loses one on-hand card to change the judgement card.

Ability's relation to story:

It is generally well-known that Si Ma Yi was a smart and shrewd strategist, but no, he was not smart enough to tinker with heaven's will. The abilities themselves do not reflect Si Ma Yi as well as how these abilities are used during game play. As a "Judgement Tinkerer", Si Ma Yi can just crouch inactively, waiting for judgement cards to appear before he rears his ugly head. This somewhat resembles the life mission of Si Ma Yi as he lay in wait for the right moment, then pouncing on opportunity to usurp an entire Cao Wei kingdom for his own.

Additional info based on story:

1. Most famous achievement - The man that started the end of the Three Kingdoms era. Si Ma Yi handed down power to his son and grandson, who ultimately concurred all of China to form the Jin Dynasty 晋朝 (AD 265 - 420).

2. Cause of death - Si Ma Yi died of old-age at 72. His son Si Ma Shi 司马师 took over the reigns and strengthened his family's control over Cao Wei, followed by his grandson Si Ma Zhao 司马昭 who united China.

Guō Jiā 郭嘉

What's with the cartoon?

Seems like he is conjuring magic of some sort with the Taoist symbols in his hand. Perhaps the image refers to his uncanny predictions??

Who is he:

It is said that Cao Cao 曹操 would have won the war if Guo Jia had lived longer. In the early days of Cao Cao's expeditions, there were usually more than one advisor by Cao Cao's side, but Guo Jia's analysis of situations and predictions always seemed to be correct. It is a pity that Guo Jia and Zhu Ge Liang 诸葛亮 belonged to two different chronological segments, and thus never had a chance to compete head-to-head. Despite knowing his days were numbered, Guo Jia could accurately predict how the near future would unravel. On realizing that Guo Jia was absolutely right about how things played out even weeks after his death, Cao Cao wept for the loss of this amazing talent. Like Dian Wei 典韦, Guo Jia died much too early and severely handicapped the potential of Cao Cao's army. The game makers of San Guo Sha 三国杀 paid adequate tribute to the brilliance of Guo Jia by making him one of the most powerful and most popular characters in the entire game. A search of player comments on forums turn up numerous praises for Guo Jia, with many declaring him their all-time favorite character to use.

Character ability 1: "Envy of Heaven 天妒 (tiān dù)"

Guo Jia can obtain any judgement card that he flips over. For example, every time he undergoes judgement for LIGHTNING 闪电 during his turn, he can keep the judgement card that he flipped over. However if he uses ATTACK 杀 on a player that equipped EIGHT TRIGRAMS 八卦阵, Guo Jia cannot keep the judgement card for judgement of EIGHT TRIGRAMS because that card would be flipped over by the target player and not himself.

Character ability 2: "Bequeathed Strategy 遗计 (yí jì)"

For every 1 unit of damage that Guo Jia receives, he can draw 2 cards from the deck. He can then choose to give away one, two, or none of these 2 cards to any player.

Ability's relation to story:

Brilliant!!! The chinese name for "Envy of Heaven" is called 天妒 and is short for a more common phrase called 天妒英才 (tiān dù yīng cíi). It translates as "heaven is jealous of a person with such immense intellect/skill/potential" and is morbidly used to describe rare talents who died young. Chinese like to think that heaven struck them down out of jealousy. Guo Jia's "Envy of Heaven" ability seems to mock the heavens as he can benefit from heaven's will (judgement cards). "Bequeathed Strategy" is equally apt as it almost re-enacts Guo Jia's contribution to Cao Cao after dying. Read more about the story behind "Bequeathed Strategy" below.

Additional info based on story:

1. Most famous achievement - Guo Jia's bequeathed strategy to Cao Cao. After Yuan Shao 袁绍 and his sons Yuan Shang 袁尚 and Yuan Xi 袁熙 were defeated by Cao Cao, Guo Jia died of illness. He left Cao Cao a secret strategy that said Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi would flee to join Gong Sun Kang 公孙康 and told Cao Cao not to pursue. Guo Jia predicted that Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi's heads would be sent by Gong Sun Kang as long as Cao Cao did not make any move against Gong Sun Kang. This went against the advice of many of Cao Cao's generals, who felt they should crush the brothers while they were weak. True enough, everything that Guo Jia predicted came true.

2. Cause of death - During the northern expedition to erradicate the Yuan brothers, Cao Cao's army travelled light for speed but was ill-prepared for the terrible weather. Guo Jia fell sick along the journey and was unable to join Cao Cao at the battles. By the time Cao Cao returned after the battle was won, Guo Jia had already succumbed to his illness. He was 37.

Cáo Cāo 曹操

What's with the cartoon?
Cao Cao's ability in this game is masochistic! Therefore he is blocking the arrow with his hand to capture it and use it for later, just like his ability.

Who is he:

The "bad" guy. The Machiavellian. The Julius Caesar of Ancient China... or at least that is what the story teller Luo Guan Zhong 罗贯中 wants you to think of Cao Cao. This guy is one interesting character; ruthless, intelligent, user of ploys and ambushes, but yet chivalrous at the same time. He treats his loyal subjects and talents with respect and admiration, yet is paranoid and fearful of assassinations. Perhaps it is due to his "unpolitically correct" way of achieving success (through ploys, ambushes, trickery and murder) that is the cause for his negative portrayal in the story. It is said that the story itself was heavily edited to downplay Cao Cao's accomplishments so as to emphasize Liu Bei 刘备's confucius-styled leadership. Either way, there is really no denying that Cao Cao is one great leader of his time and one of the most famous Chinese historical figures of all time.

Character ability 1: "Villainous Hero 奸雄 (jiān xióng)"

Cao Cao can immediately acquire the card (or cards) that resulted in him suffering damage. Here are some examples of how that works:

Example 1 - When he is the target of ATTACK 杀, Cao Cao can choose not use DODGE 闪, suffer the 1 unit of damage, and acquire the ATTACK card that was used.

Example 2 (complex scenario) - When he uses DODGE to evade an ATTACK but the attacker has equipped Stone Cleaving Axe 贯石斧 and chooses to discard 2 cards to cause damage anyways, Cao Cao suffers the damage but cannot pick up BOTH of the cards that were discarded to cause the damage. This is because the card that causes the damage is the ATTACK and not the discarded cards. Contrast this to the Serpent Halberd 丈八蛇矛, where the 2 cards used in that instance represents an ATTACK card, and thus Cao Cao can pick up both of those cards if he suffers damage.

Character ability 2: [Ruler ability] "Royal Escort 护驾 (hù jià)"

As the role of RULER 主公, Cao Cao can ask any Wei character 魏将 to use DODGE on his behalf where applicable.

Ability's relation to story:

"Villainous hero" must be one of the best thought-of abilities in the game. It is not ridiculously powerful or god-like, very useful in the game, and a wonderful fit for Cao Cao's personality in the story. Every time he met defeat, Cao Cao would bounce back and bite the face off his opponents, then convince the enemy generals to surrender into his service. Such was the case of Zhang Liao 张辽, who surrendered to Cao Cao after Lu Bu 吕布 was defeated, then became one of the Kingdom of Cao Wei 曹魏's great generals. It was also mentioned that Cao Cao loves only women who have already been taken, then relish the thought of snatching the woman away from her partner. As for "Royal escort", Cao Cao has had his ass saved countless times by his generals, who always appear just in the nick of time.

Additional info based on story:

1. Most famous achievement - He set the foundations for the Kingdom of Cao Wei, which became the precursor unifying the whole of China under the rule of Si Ma Zhao 司马昭. Though by that time, Si Ma Zhao had usurped Cao Wei for his own and established the Jin Dynasty of China 晋朝 (AD 265 - 420), nevertheless Cao Cao really was the father of all that groundwork. No Cao Cao, no Jin Dynasty, history would be completely different! Simple as that.

2. Cause of death - Cao Cao experienced endless headaches in his dying days. To cure him, his subjects brought him the most famous doctor of the time, Hua Tuo 华陀, who diagnosed his sickness as some form of rheumatism of the skull. Hua Tuo proposed to hack Cao Cao's head open for surgery, which in the century AD 200 is pretty much insane! Cao Cao, being all paranoid about assassination attempts, tossed Hua Tuo into jail for the suggestion. Without the doctor to cure him, Cao Cao succumbed to the sickness (whatever it was) soon after.