Páng Dé 庞德

Translated description:
"Ride and Rider as One 人马一体 (rén mǎ yì tǐ)"

Who is he:
The rider on a white horse, Pang De is a very capable military general that served under Ma Chao 马超 and his father, Ma Teng 马腾. After the death of Ma Teng, Pang De and Ma Chao resisted the attacks of Cao Cao 曹操 but were unable to hold on to their city of Han Zhong 汉中. Ma Chao fled to join Liu Bei 刘备 in Shu Han 蜀汉 while Pang De surrendered to Cao Wei 曹魏. Cao Cao thought highly of Pang De and gave him a high position in the military. However at the battle of Fan Cheng 樊城之战, Pang De's loyalty came into question. This was because his old partner Ma Chao and his elder brother were aiding the enemy in that very siege. To prove his loyalty, Pang De kow-towed to Cao Cao till his head bled and brought along his own coffin into battle to prove that he would rather die than return defeated. Pang De did not succeed and was executed by Guan Yu 关羽.

Character ability 1: "Horsemanship 马术 (mǎ shù)" [Enforced ability]
Your distance calculated to other players is reduced by 1.

Character ability 2: "Fearsome Advance 猛进 (měng jìn)"
Whenever your ATTACK 杀 is neutralized by a DODGE 闪 from the target player, you can discard a card from the target player.

Synergistic Partners:
Nil.

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
Nil.

Ability's Relation to Story:
Pang De has always been known for his superb horsemanship and is even nicknamed the White Horse General for his white steed. Therefore "Horsemanship" is no surprise. "Fearsome Advance" on the other hand, does not seem to have any appreciable link to the story.

It was said that Pang De always charges to the battlefield prior to anyone, thus coming the name “Fearsome Advance”. This ability, similar to Ma Chao’s “Iron Cavalry”, makes ATTACKs less dodgeable.

Huà Tuó 华佗

Translated description:
"The Miracle Physician 神医 (shén yī)"

Who is he:
His name has become synonymous with "Miracle Doctor" as he cured many strange sicknesses. Studies by historians said his medical techniques were hundreds of years ahead of his time. The Romance of Three Kingdoms story, however, deviates from history slightly and almost turns him into Super Doctor. Two prominent scenes showcase Hua Tuo's incredible healing powers: the first is his surgery on Guan Yu 关羽's arm and the second is his proposal to cure Cao Cao 曹操 of his migraine. Both of these scenarios will be described later in the "Additional info" section. Though his appearance in the story is brief, he carries significant impact. This effect is felt when Cao Cao regrets the death of Hua Tuo as his own son, Cao Chong 曹冲, becomes gravely ill. Without Hua Tuo's medical expertise, Cao Chong did not survive the illness.

Character ability 1: "First Aid 急救 (jí jiù)"
Outside of your turn, you can use a red-suited card as PEACH 桃.

Character ability 2: "Green Salve 青囊 (qīng náng)"
During your action phase, you can discard an on-hand card to cause a player to regain 1 unit of health. Limited to once per phase.

Synergistic Partners:
Nil.

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
Nil.

Ability's Relation to Story:
"First Aid" could have some connection with him saving Guan Yu from the poison arrow. Though Guan Yu wasn't exactly on his deathbed yet, the wound was life-threatening and Hua Tuo did save him. "Green Salve", on the other hand, is very much linked to the story. Hua Tuo had with him a book of his works known as the "Book of the Green Salve 青囊书". This book contained numerous medical techniques of saving lives, but was destroyed when he died. Though not told in the story, the historical accounts mention that this book was burnt by Hua Tuo himself when the prison guard refused to accept it.

Cài Wén Jī (Lady Cai) 蔡文姬

Translated description:
"The Lone Dame in Foreign Lands 异乡的孤女 (yì xiāng dè gū nǚ)"

Who is she:
Like a scene out of a Chinese horror movie, a lone damsel sits in the night out in the woods, strumming an ancient Chinese string instrument. Her long straight hair gently swaying along with the willows, her sharp face pale, white and mournful. Who is Lady Cai? What is her role in the story? Truth be told, the name Cai Wen Ji was complete new to me when I heard about this character in the Hills Pack. As it turns out, she was a very minor character, a musician and poet, but with a sad life story. Married at the age of 15 but widowed soon after, she was then held captive by the Xiong Nu 匈奴 clan chieftain for many years. He then made her his wife and she bore him children, but her heart had always yearned for home. It would be 12 years later before a particular famous warlord ransomed her... but only to fulfill his own agenda. This warlord would go on to become one of the most famous person throughout Chinese history. Who was this warlord? Read on the find out!

Character ability 1: "Dirge 悲歌 (bēi gē)"
Every instance after a player suffers damage from ATTACK, you can discard a card and let that player make a judgement. If the result is:

Hearts: the victim regains 1 unit of health.
Diamonds: the victim draws two cards.
Clubs: the attacker discards two cards.
Spades: the attacker stacks his/her character cards.

Character ability 2: "Sorrow 断肠 (duan chang)" [Enforced ability]
When you die, you cause the player who kills you to lose all the abilities of one of his/her character cards.

Synergistic Partners:
Nil.

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
“Sorrow” has been changed such that the killer only loses the abilities on one of his/her character card.

Ability's Relation to Story:
The ability mechanics do not have a direct link to the story, but the names of the abilities do. Both "Dirge" and "Sorrow" relates to the life of Lady Cai. After being imprisoned by the Xiongnu nomads, she composed a series of famous musical pieces known as the "Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute 胡笳十八拍". Later in her life, she wrote some poems with a sorrowful tone, lamenting her turbulent life. See? What did I tell you? The perfect character for a sorrowful female apparition!

Jiǎ Xǔ 贾诩

Translated description:
“The Vile Adviser without Mercy 冷酷的毒士 (lěng kù dè dú shì)”

Who is he:
His description portrays him as a mass-murderer, and history seems to back that up. After the death of Dong Zhuo 董卓, Jia Xu adviced Li Jue 李催 to take advantage of the chaos in Chang An 长安 and grab the Imperial power for himself. This would prove to be the biggest black mark on Jia Xu's life as Li Jue and Guo Si 郭汜 went on a rampage in Chang An, killing and abducting innocent civilians, burning and robbing property. Later historians place the blame squarely on Jia Xu for the holocaust. The fact is Jia Xu is an incredibly gifted advisor whose predictions have come true many times. The sad thing is his leaders did not always listen to him! While serving under Cao Cao 曹操, Jia Xu was one of the rare few who did not support the attack on Sun Wu 孙吴. Not heeding this advice, Cao Cao later met with disaster at Red Cliffs 赤壁之战. Years later while serving under Cao Pi 曹丕, Jia Xu again advised a defensive strategy instead of supporting Cao Pi's attack on either Sun Wu or Shu Han 蜀汉. Once again, his advise proved to be correct as Cao Pi was not victorious.

Character ability 1: "Unmitigated Murder 完杀 (wán shā)" [Enforced ability]
Within your turn, only yourself and players at Brink of Death can use PEACH 桃.

Character ability 2: "Descend into Chaos 乱武 (luàn wǔ)" [Single-Use Ability]
During your action phase, you can force all other players to choose between 1 of 2 options:
1. Use an ATTACK杀 on a player with the least distance from him/her
2. Lose 1 unit of health.

Character ability 3: "Behind the Curtain 帷幕 (wéi mù)" [Enforced ability]
All black-suited tool cards targeted on you will be cancelled.

Synergistic Partners:
Nil.

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
The description for "Behind the Curtain" has been modified from "has no effect" to "will be cancelled". In effect, the character is unchanged except for this definition.

Ability's Relation to Story:
No direct link is made to "Unmitigated Murder", though it can be inferred that the game makers want to add drama to this "cold-blooded murderer". "Descend into Chaos" is referring to the massacre at Chang An carried out by Li Jue and Guo Si.

"Behind the Curtain" is interesting. Jia Xu happens to be the longest-living advisor in the Three Kingdoms Era, and the reason for this is rather unglamorous. He is remembered as someone who will save his own ass before the higher purpose. Numerous times he has switched allegiance as his leaders started to fail, finally ending up at Cao Wei 曹魏 till his death. Even then, Jia Xu stayed away from expressing emotions that would compromise his true thoughts. In his later years he became a recluse, and did not even speak in private to anyone else. The "Curtain" in this case is his silence and evasive character, making him less susceptible to ploys and schemes. Thus the ability is apt for him since it makes him impervious to a large number of tool cards.

Zhāng Jiǎo 张角

Translated description:
"General of Heaven 天公将军 (tiān gōng jiāng jūn)"

Who is he:
The leader and inciter of the yellow turban rebellion, Zhang Jiao became a hero to the those suffering under the corrupt and decaying Han Dynasty 汉朝. Due to a terrible famine that hit China at around 180 AD, the people suffered terribly and yet were further tormented by corrupt and greedy officials. It was then that Zhang Jiao met a strange old man in a cave which gave him 3 books, said to contain the ways of a mysterious art. After mastering the books, Zhang Jiao could control the wind, rain, and lightning and became a sorcerer. Despite having these powers, Zhang Jiao won the hearts of the people by providing aid and supplies to those in need. It was thus that tens of thousands rallied behind Zhang Jiao in his bid to overthrow the Han Dynasty. He never succeeded however, and was defeated by those who were loyal to dynasty, namely Liu Bei 刘备 and Cao Cao 曹操.

Character ability 1: "Lightning Strike 雷击 (léi jī)"
Whenever you use or play a DODGE 闪, you can select another player to make a judgement. If the result is the suit of spades, you inflict 2 units of lightning damage to that player.

Character ability 2: "Dark Sorcery 鬼道 (gǔi dào)"
Before the judgement card of a player takes effect, you can interchange that judgement card with a black-suited card.

Synergistic Partners:
Nil.

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
The Ruler Ability is removed. Otherwise, Zhang Jiao is the same!

Ability's Relation to Story:
In the story, there wasn't much mention of Zhang Jiao himself. From what is written, it is known that can he control the weather (like Storm from X-Men). Therefore "Thunder Strike" is a direct link. There is no mention of any form of deception or intervention such as "Dark Sorcery", however.

“Dark Sorcery”, along with “Demonic Talent” (the ability of Sima Yi 司马懿), are the only abilities that alter judgement directly. In the story, it was said that the Mandate of Heaven of Han Dynasty is about to pass off, so Zhang Jiao was given mystical ciphers by an immortal to change the world. Zhang Jiao then used the ciphers to initiate the Yellow Turban Rebellion, signaling the beginning of the Three Kingdoms Era. As a result, Zhang Jiao can alter judgement(fate) with his cipher, while Sima Yi, the “fated” one to end the Three Kingdoms Era, can change the judgement with his talent.

Yán Liáng & Wén Chǒu 颜良文丑

Translated description:
"Tiger & Wolf Brothers 虎狼兄弟 (hǔ láng xiōng dì)"

Who is he:
The top 2 military generals under Yuan Shao 袁绍, Yan Liang and Wen Chou were good friends and were said to be equal in combat skills. The story did not give them much air time, but enough mention was made to highlight their ability. Under the early coalition led by Yuan Shao, a formidable opponent called Hua Xiong 华雄 challenged the coalition and killed many generals. Yuan Shao lamented that both Yan Liang and Wen Chou were not around, else they would surely destroy Hua Xiong easily. Later parts of the story did not mention both Yan Liang and Wen Chou together in combat, but these two are typically associated. It does seem like their capabilities were over-promised as both fell victim to Guan Yu 关羽.

Character ability: "Dual Heroes 双雄 (shuāng xióng)"
During your draw phase, you can forfeit drawing cards from the deck and make a judgement instead. You acquire this judgement card, and you can use an on-hand card with the different colour of the judgement card as DUEL决斗 in this turn.

Synergistic Partners:
Yuan Shao 袁绍 (Lord)

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
Nil.

Ability's Relation to Story:
Very little relation can be drawn from the story linking DUEL to these two characters. All that is known is that both of them are commonly referred together as a pair, thus the name "Dual Heroes".

They were known for their combat abilities, and dueled with Guan Yu in the story. Eventually, they were killed by Guan Yu for their incompetence in the duel. As a result, they can convert on-hand cards to DUEL, and Guan Yu, the man who killed them, is almost invulnerable to DUEL (he can convert red cards to ATTACK) and can strike back Yan Liang & Wen Chou easily.

Yuán Shào 袁绍

Translated description:
"Aristocratic Ancestry 高贵的名门 (gāo guì dè míng mén)"

Who is he:
At one point of time he became the most powerful warlord in all of China, thanks to a coalition of numerous warlords in an effort to overthrow the tyrannical Dong Zhuo 董卓. He was the most powerful because he was nominated to lead the entire coalition, akin to the modern day Secretary-General of the United Nations, thanks to his noble ancestry. His great-grandfather was an interior minister that served directly under the Emperor. However Yuan Shao's power was short-lived, as he very quickly lost the respect of the other warlords in the coalition. He became known as an incompetent leader that made poor use of his resources and was too indecisive to be effective. The coalition fell apart and Yuan Shao turned back to being warlord of the northern territories. He did not last very long as Cao Cao 曹操 sought to eliminate him and bring the entire northern China under his rule.

Character ability: "Barrage 乱击 (luàn jī)"
During your action phase, you can use two on-hand cards with the same suit as RAINING ARROWS 万箭齐发.

Synergistic Partners:
Yan Liang & Wen Chou 颜良&文丑 (Most trusted Generals)

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
The Ruler Ability is removed. Other than that, he is identical to SGS.

Ability's Relation to Story:
Yuan Shao's use of arrows is already mentioned in my post on RAINING ARROWS 万箭齐发.

Lǚ Bù 吕布

Translated description:
"Ultimate Combat Skills - Personified 武的化身 (wǔ dè huà shēn)"

Who is he:
Quite possibly the best fighter in all of China in that era, Lu Bu was a formidable general that struck fear in his opponents. Yet for all his military prowess and combat ability, Lu Bu was not the smartest of people. Throw in a tinge of greed, a sprinkle of lust, and you have a riding, fighting disaster atop four hooves. Dong Zhuo 董卓 found that out the hard way. To win Lu Bu's favour, Dong Zhuo showered Lu Bu with expensive gifts such as the Red Hare 赤兔 horse and an assortment of jewels. Lu Bu came under Dong Zhuo's wing after all receiving all those goodies, then ended up murdering Dong Zhuo victim over a woman. After Dong Zhuo's death, Lu Bu became a minor warlord and led a series of battles in an effort to expand his territory. However his poor use of strategy and refusal to listen to advice ultimately caused his downfall.

Character ability: "Without Equal 无双 (wú shuāng)" [Enforced ability]
After selecting a player as the target of your ATTACK 杀, the target of your ATTACK need to use two DODGE 闪 successively to neutralize your ATTACK. During a DUEL 决斗, your opponent needs to play two ATTACKS successively each time.

Synergistic Partners:
Diao Chan (Puppet Master)

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
Lu Bu has 2.5 units of maximum health instead of 2, differentiating him from other characters with 4 units of maximum health in normal SGS. Another character with this additional health is Guan Yu 关羽. Some joke that they eat their horse, RED HARE 赤兔, to gain an addition 0.5 units of maximum health.
The description of “Without Equal” is slightly changed to clarify the timing of activation.

In general, Lu Bu is unchanged from the original SGS.

Ability's Relation to Story:
The link can actually be found in the subscript line written under his ability description. It is a phrase said by Chen Gong 陈宫, his advisor when Lu Bu became warlord, that reads:

"His courage and bravery, unsurmountable. His eagerness for battle, unprecedented. Yet brave but without cunning. Violent but without benevolence. 骁勇无敌, 善战无前. 然勇而无谋, 暴而少仁."

无双 literal translates to "Without Equal" and refers to his incredibly combat skills. Thankfully, it does not seem to be sarcastic referring to his intellect as well.

Diāo Chán 貂蝉

Translated description:
"The Dancer with Unrivaled Beauty 绝世的舞姬 (jué shì dè wǔ jì)”

Who is she:
Regarded as one of the 4 great beauties of ancient China, Diao Chan is one of the classic examples of the "Beautiful Maiden Ploy 美人计". The willing pawn of Wang Yun 王允 in his grand scheme to destroy the tyrannical Dong Zhuo 董卓, Diao Chan flirted with Lu Bu 吕布 while submitting herself to Dong Zhuo as his concubine. In doing so, she pitted godfather against godson, causing severe dissension and distrust amongst them. Dong Zhuo relents that he needs the incredible combat skills of Lu Bu to maintain his power, but the mercenarial Lu Bu had little to lose. Wang Yun further convinces Lu Bu to murder Dong Zhuo and take Diao Chan for himself, which he eventually does. In some versions of the story, Diao Chan is said to have truly loved Lu Bu but became distraught on knowing Wang Yun's scheme. The original version, however, seems to state that Diao Chan knowingly wanted to kill Dong Zhuo and participated actively in Wang Yun's ploy.

Character ability 1: " Seed of Animosity 离间 (lí jiān)"
During your action phase, you can discard a card and select two other male characters. It is then viewed as one of the players used a DUEL 决斗 on the other player. This DUEL cannot be responded to with NEGATE 无懈可击. Limited to once per phase.

Character ability 2: " Envious Moon 闭月 (bì yuè)"
At your end phase, you can draw a card.

Synergistic Partners:
Lu Bu (Puppet)

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
The description of "Seed of Animosity" has been modified such that you cannot use it on yourself even if you have a male character card as your major character card. Note that the gender of the victims is based on the main character if both are exposed, or based on the only exposed character. But otherwise, this character is unchanged from SGS.

Ability's Relation to Story:
"Seed of Animosity" is one of the best matched ability to the story in the entire game. This ability completely embodies Diao Chan's persona in the story, which is simply using her beauty to cause two men to fight each other. "Envious Moon" comes from a longer proverb used to describe the 4 great beauties of ancient China.

"沉鱼落雁, 闭月羞花" which means the fish stare at them till they forget to swim and sink to the bottom, the geese forget to flap their wings and fall to earth, the moon hides behind the clouds in envy, and the flowers slink low and bow the petals in shame. Why does Diao Chan get to take one extra card for being beautiful? The same reason Zhou Yu 周瑜 gets one more card for being handsome!

Pān Fèng 潘凤

Translated description:
"The Superior General of the Coalition 联军上将 (lián jūn shàng jiāng)"

Who is he:
If you thought Yu Ji 于吉 and Zuo Ci 左慈 were joke characters, wait till you hear the story of Pan Feng! Pan Feng was a fictional character wielding a poleaxe and was a general serving the weak warlord Han Fu 韩馥. In ROTK, Pan Feng was one many generals slayed by Hua Xiong 华雄, and he had a grand total of 2 lines of airtime in the entire story!

So why did YOKA put such a non-consequential character in Kingdom Wars? Apparently, Pan Feng was repeatedly poked fun of by the online population and sarcastically given the title "The most powerful general in the Three Kingdoms Era". From this sprang forth numerous parody biographies that exaggerate his abilities to ridiculous extents. It seems that YOKA designed this character for his popularity within Chinese Internet users. Want to know more about Pan Feng's "larger than reality" parodies? Read on to find out!

Character ability: "Insanity Axe 狂斧 (kuáng fǔ)"
Every instance after your ATTACK 杀 inflicts damage to your victim, you can select a card in the equipped item area of your victim and relocate it to your equipped item area, or discard it.

Synergistic Partners:
Nil

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
He is a brand new character specially created for Kingdom Wars.

Ability's Relation to Story:
The name of his ability relates to his weapon, but I cannot find any relevance to fictional or the fake biographies. Perhaps YOKA mixed up Pan Feng and Pan Zhang 潘璋, who captured Guan Yu 关羽 and took his crescent blade? By the way, this ability combines well with the ROCK CLEAVING AXE 贯石斧, the only axe weapon card in the game.

Trivia:
One of the most famous parodies of Pan Feng was “The Great Biography of the Unparalleled Pan Feng 无双潘凤大传”, in which Pan Feng was a superior general of great strength and wisdom. He used a poleaxe of 180 catties (Guan Yu's only weighed 82 catties), and served Han Fu after seven visits by Han Fu himself (a parody of Zhuge Liang 诸葛亮 serving Liu Bei 刘备 after three personal visits by Liu Bei). He could beat up Yan Liang and Wen Chou 颜良文丑 easily. Fear of his presence, Yuan Shao conspired to kill him by giving him a sick horse as his mount so that he would be killed by Hua Xiong. If you observe carefully, you would find that the horse of Pan Feng in the card illustration looks dreadly!

Jì Líng 纪灵

Translated description:
"Chief of Zhongjia 仲家的主将 (zhòng jiā de zhǔ jiāng)"

Who is he:
Brave, ferocious, but not the quickest thinker. Ji Ling was the chief of Yuan Shu 袁术’s forces and wielded the TRIDENT GLAIVE 三尖两刃刀, one of the new weapons in Kingdom Wars. His skills were said to match those of Guan Yu 关羽, but in one famous encounter, Ji Ling was knee-deep in a clumsy predicament. While on orders to destroy Liu Bei 刘备, Ji Ling was summoned by Lu Bu 吕布 to a meeting. What Ji Ling did not realize was that Lu Bu was planning to coax Ji Ling to back away from Liu Bei. Lu Bu told Ji Ling that if should he (Lu Bu) be able to strike his halberd with an arrow from 150 paces away, Ji Ling would fold his troops and go home. Ji Ling claimed that such a feat was impossible, thus he foolishly gave his word.

Cue one of the biggest facepalms in Three Kingdom's history as Lu Bu comfortably let fly an arrow that struck his halberd with a loud clang. Ji Ling marched on home to a momentous scolding from his lord!

Character ability: "Double Edged 双刃 (shuāng rèn)"
At the beginning of your action phase, you can conduct Points Duel with another player. If you win, it is viewed as you using an ATTACK 杀 on that player or on another player from the victim's Kingdom (this ATTACK will not be considered in calculating the number of ATTACK cards used in your action phase). If you do not win, you action phase is ended.

Synergistic Partners:
Nil

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
He is a brand new character specially created for Kingdom Wars.

Ability's Relation to Story:
According to ZYZ, there are four implicit meanings of “Double Edge”. Firstly, it refers to the bet between Ji Ling and Lu Bu. If his opponent wins the bet, Ji Ling would be forced to retreat. In terms of game mechanism, if he does not win the points duel, he would lose his chance of action. Secondly, it refers to his weapon, the TRIDENT GLAIVE, which was three-pointed and two-edged. Thirdly, if Ji Ling wins the points duel, he would be able to strike twice (the virtual ATTACK and the ATTACK used in the action phase). Fourthly, if Ji Ling loses the points duel, he would lose his action phase, so the ability is double-edged.

Tián Fēng 田丰

Translated description:
"The Precious Talent of Hebei 河北瑰杰 (hé běi guī jié)"

Who is he:
You know how some people's lives serve as a reminder to others not to make that same mistake? Tian Feng is one of those unfortunate people. Undoubtedly a brilliant advisor to Yuan shao 袁绍, Tian Feng presented many astute plans to his lord. Even Cao Cao 曹操 praised Tian Feng for his abilities. Xun Yu 荀彧 went so far as to call Tian Feng "Bold but treacherous".

But why did I say that Tian Feng's life is a lesson for us? Tian Feng's biggest mistake was to choose the wrong leader to follow. Yuan Shao was an indecisive leader and he rarely knew which advice was good, and which was plain suicide. Yuan shao chose not to listen to Tian Feng, and even imprisoned him. The foolish Yuan Shao eventually led his army to defeat in the Battle of Guandu. During the retreat of Yuan Shao, Pang Ji 逢纪 accused Tian Feng of “looking happy to hear the defeat of Yuan Shao”. Yuan Shao was enraged and sentenced Tian Feng to death. Tian Feng predicted this, and chose to kill himself before the execution.

Bottom line... choose your boss wisely. Learn from Tian Feng and don't let his death go in vain!

Character ability 1: "Deathly Counsel 死谏 (sǐ jiàn)"
When you lose your last on-hand card, you can discard 1 card from another player.

Character ability 2: "With the Tide 随势 (suí shì)" [Enforced ability]
When another player goes into brink of death, if the source of damage that caused it is from the same Kingdom as you are, draw 1 card from the deck. When a player from the same Kingdom as you dies, you lose 1 unit of health.

Synergistic Partners:
Nil.

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
He is a brand new character specially created for Kingdom Wars.

Ability's Relation to Story:
“Deathly Counsel” refers to Tian Feng’s upright actions to admonish his ruler. This ability can be useful against Wei characters (that values cards over health), but to use it is to stake your life, as you need to have no on-hand cards left.

“With the Tide” refers to his tragic fate. During his imprisonment, Tian Feng predicted that Yuan Shao would pardon him if the battle was victorious, and kill him if defeated. His prediction was right, as the defeated Yuan Shao sentenced him to death. This enforced ability allows Tian Feng to gain power (cards) if his allies win the battle (forcing someone to the Brink of Death), and loses health if his allies are defeated.

Zōu Shì (Lady Zou) 邹氏

Translated description:
"Enticement of the Succubus 惑心之魅 (huò xīn zhī mèi)"

Who is she:
"Morrigan" from Darkstalkers. Get the picture? Unfortunately, Lady Zou cannot transform into bats or suck the life out of you. But she very nearly did bring about the death of Cao Cao 曹操 with her provocative flirts. Like a story out of a soft-porn novel, the rendezvous of Lady Zou with Cao Cao was an adulterous episode of one man messing with his ally's wife. And how do adulterous couples fair in the end? Tragically, of course! The cuckoo-ed husband Zhang Xiu 张绣 raided Cao Cao's army and very nearly killed him. Cao Cao escaped, but suffered the loss of his most beloved bodyguard, Dian Wei 典韦, and his eldest son Cao Ang 曹昂. So you see, kids, adultery... adultery's bad... um-kay?

Character ability 1: "Femme Fatale 祸水 (huò shuǐ)"
During the action phase, you can expose this character card. Within your turns, if this character card is exposed, other players cannot expose their character cards.

Character ability 2: " Impetus for Conflicts 倾城 (qīng chéng)"
During the action phase, you can discard an equipment card and select another player that has both character cards already exposed. You then choose one of that player's character cards and "hide" it (flip it over such that it is in the hidden state).

Synergistic Partners:
Nil.

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
She is a brand new character specially created for Kingdom Wars.

Ability's Relation to Story:
Both “Femme Fatale” and “Impetus for Conflicts” related to Lady Zhou’s charm. Her beauty can force all hidden characters to stay ‘asleep’, and their abilities cannot be activated within her turn. She could also ‘take off her clothes’ to make someone ‘asleep’…okay, you know what I mean.

Interestingly, “倾城” and “倾国” (the ability of Zhen Ji 甄姬) comes from the same story---a concubine of an emperor said to be so beautiful that she could ‘ruin cities’ and ‘ruin kingdoms’. The presence of Lady Zou leads to the Battle of Wancheng 宛城, and thus comes the name “倾城 (lit. ruin cities)”.

Mǎ Téng 马腾

Translated description:
"Galloping through the Western Border 驰骋西陲 (chí chěng xī chuí)"

Who is he:
Among the father and son relations in ROTK, Ma Teng and Ma Chao 马超 was left out for some reason by SGS creators till now. We all know that Ma Chao was one of Liu Bei 刘备's most trusted generals, but his father, Ma Teng, was quite exemplary as well. Born into poverty, he crawled from rags to governorship through his charisma and skills. Alas, Ma Teng was not single-minded in his loyalty, switching back and forth between ally and traitor. His reckoning came when he plotted against Cao Cao 曹操, only for the plot to be discovered. Ma Teng died and nearly lost his entire family. Ma Chao escaped though, and the rest is history!

Character ability 1: "Horsemanship 马术 (mǎ shù)" [Enforced ability]
Your physical distance to other players is reduced by 1.

Character ability 2: "Call of Valour 雄异 (xióng yì)" [Single-use ability]
During your action phase, you can let every players of the same Kingdom as you draw three cards each. If your Kingdom has the least (or amongst the least) number of players among all the Kingdoms in play, you regain 1 unit of health.

Synergistic Partners:
Nil.

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
He is a brand new character specially created for Kingdom Wars.

Ability's Relation to Story:
“Horsemanship” is the traditional ability of generals from Liang Province, for leading elite forces of cavalry. “雄异” was a term originally used to describe the charsimatic look of Ma Teng, and refers to Ma Teng’s superb leadership in leading his troops. This ability provides a burst of cards for all players of your Kingdom, symbolizing the power of Ma Teng’s massive troops of horsemen that ravaged the enemy in a sudden.

Kǒng Róng 孔融

Translated Description:
"Stern and Just 凛然重义 (lǐn rán zhòng yì)"

Who is he:
In the old SGS, we used to say that Yuan Shao 袁绍 had heritage, and Liu Bei 刘备 was a descendant of Han Emperors. That's nothing when you come face to face with Kong Rong... or so thinks the man. He is the descendant of Confucius himself. Nevermind that Confucius died 700 years before he was born. Nevermind that he is the 20th generation descendant and is probably further from Confucius than any of us are from Obama. He is a descendant!!

Kong Rong himself was a famous Confucian scholar. He was a child prodigy in his childhood and a mediocre warlord in his adulthood. He later humiliated the “antagonist” Cao Cao 曹操 several times, which eventually led to the execution of his whole family. That's not really the brightest thing to do, is it?

Descendant of Confucius? PROVE IT!

Character ability 1: "Celebrity 名士 (míng shì) "
Whenever you receive damage, if the source of damage has hidden character cards, the damage is reduced by -1.

Character ability 2: "Comity 礼让 (lǐ ràng) "
When your cards are discarded into the discard pile, you can give those cards to another player.

Difference from Normal SanGuoSha:
He is a brand new character specially created for Kingdom Wars. He does seem like an interesting character doesn't he?

Ability's Relation to Story:
"Celebrity" refers to Kong Rong’s fame as a Confucian scholar. People with hidden ambition (hidden character card) cannot harm him. This ability is pretty powerful in the early stages, but useless in latter stages. This suits the fact that Kong Rong remains unscathed in his early days for the fear of losing support from Confucian scholars. In his later days, his fame could not protect him.

"Comity" refers to his personality towards those who were admired by him. A famous story was “Kong Rong ceding the pear 孔融让梨”, where the young Kong Rong gave the big pears for his brothers, and picked the smallest for himself, symbolizing filial love. As an official, he recommended Mi Heng 祢衡 to Cao Cao, saying that Mi Heng possessed talents superior to him. In Kingdom Wars, he could give his discarded cards (actively and passively) to other players.