Bù Liànshī 步练师

Translated Description:
"The Uncrowned Empress 无冕之后 (wú miǎn zhī hoù)"

Who is she:
Never heard of her. Lady Bu, as she was known to her subjects, had practically no air-time in the story. However Lady Bu was immensely important to Sun Quan 孙权. Struck by her beauty, Sun Quan made her his concubine, and she quickly became his favorite. Thanks to her personality and respect for those around her, she quickly won the favour of the the palace. In fact they started addressing her obliquely as "Empress". Sun Quan himself wanted to make her his Empress when he declared himself Emperor of Wu, however he did not do so because his court and advisors preferred someone else as Empress for political reasons. Neither lady became Empress in their lifetimes, but Sun Quan posthumously made Lady Bu the Empress of Wu after her death. Perhaps that was the only way both factions could have been satisfied.

Character ability 1: Pacify 安恤 (ān xù)
In the action phase, you can choose 2 players (other than yourself) with different number of on-hand cards. The player with less on-hand cards will acquire 1 card from the other player, and display it to all players. If that card is not the suit of Spades, you can draw 1 card from the deck. Limited to once per turn.

Character ability 2: In Loving Memory 追忆 (zhuī yì)
When you die, you can choose one player (other than yourself and the player who killed you) to draw 3 cards and regain 1 unit of health.

Ability's relation to story:
Both “Pacify” and “In Loving Memory” comes from the imagination of the designer. “Pacificy” was used to depict that Bu Lianshi did her best to pacify the emotion of an aging Sun Quan (Sun Quan became insane in his later life). This ability weakens the powerful to strengthen the weak. Also, if that card is not spades-suit (which represents malignant intentions), she would receive a reward by drawing one more card. This ability is so powerful that it makes Bu Lianshi one of the most hunted-down characters. As a running joke, she is especially good at weakening Sun Quan, who tends to keep a lot of on-hand cards for using “Balance of Power”, so she is one of the best rebels when Sun Quan is the ruler.


“In Loving Memory” refers to the fact that she was posthumously titled by Sun Quan, so the designer imagined that Sun Quan missed her. It allows Bu Lianshi to protect her love after her death.

How to obtain this card:
Bu Lianshi is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Hàn Dāng 韩当

Translated Description
“Marquis of Shi Cheng 石城侯 (shí chéng hoù)"

Who is he:
Yet another old-timer with decades of frontline experience, Han Dang served 3 "generations" of Wu leaders (technically speaking, its 2 generations since Sun Ce 孙策 and Sun Quan 孙权 were brothers, but you get the idea). From the earliest days of Sun Jian 孙坚, Han Dang was always the vanguard but never the commander. A loyal, capable and trusted servant, he practically put his entire life in the service of Wu Kingdom. He even took part in the battle of Red Cliffs as the person who rescued the renegade defector Huang Gai 黄盖. Alas, his glory would be tainted, then contaminated by the acts of his son, Han Zong 韩综, who was so hated by Sun Quan that he was hunted down, beheaded, and presented at Sun Quan's tomb.

Character Ability 1: Mounted Archer 弓骑 (gōng jì)
You can use or play one equipment card as an ATTACK 杀 card. The ATTACK used via this ability has no distance limitations.

Character Ability 2: Resolver of Troubles解烦 (jiě fán)
When any player is at the brink of death, you can use an ATTACK on the player whose turn it currently is. If this ATTACK causes damage, you prevent the damage and is instead viewed as having used PEACH 桃 on the player at the brink of death.

Ability's relation to story:
Han Dang was diligent and respected his subordinates. He was known for his talent of mounted archery, which was odd for people living in Southern China, who could not obtained horses as easily as people living in Northern China, which gives rise of the ability “Mounted Archer”.


“Resolver of Troubles” came from the name of his "Trouble-solving troops 解烦卒", the elite troops of Wu led by Han Dang himself. The mechanism referred to his frequent rescue of other Wu generals. He was partner of Zhou Tai 周泰, and it was Sun Quan who promoted him. In fiction, he saved Huang Gai in Red Cliffs. The ability allows Han Dang to save others by attacking the source of damage. However, betrayed by its name, this ability is extremely troublesome. What happens if this ATTACK deals damage and Han Dang does not prevent it, letting the source of damage enters the Brink of Death? If Han Dang attacks Xiahou Dun 夏侯惇 or Fa Zheng 法正, and receives damage/loses health and enters Brink of Death? If Han Dang attacks Zhang Jiao 张角 and Zhang Jiao activates his ability? This ability is extremely troublesome…

I suspect that the mechanics in "Resolver of Troubles" is such that the damage MUST be prevented. At least that is how I interpreted it because there is no mentioned of "choice" in preventing the damage in the ability. "此【杀】造成伤害时，你防止此伤害" As you can see the option of choice, typically in the use of the words "可以", is missing.

How to obtain this character:
Han Dang is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Chéng Pǔ 程普

Translated Description:
"Minister spanning 3 Generations 三朝之臣 (sān cháo zhī chén)"

Who is he:
It is Wu kingdom's great fortune to have so many capable and single-mindedly loyal talents aiding the Sun family in their must difficult times. Similar to Han Dang 韩当, Cheng Pu was recruited in the days of Sun Jian 孙坚, and he fought alongside Sun Jian's children till his death. If you are familiar with the ROTK story in the early period, Sun Jian was one of the first to arrive in the captial Luo Yang 洛阳 after forcing Dong Zhuo 董卓 to retreat. It was then that Cheng Pu found the imperial seal in a well. This seal turned out to be the drop of blood that drew the sharks, where Sun Jian was ultimately killed because he had planned to use the seal to wrestle power for himself.

Years later, Cheng Pu served under both Sun Ce 孙策 and Sun Quan 孙权, and was one of the key figures alongside Zhou Yu 周瑜 during the epic battle at Red Cliffs. However his death was incredibly ironic. In a bout of ruthlessness, Cheng Pu decided to burn over one hundred betrayers alive. The smoke and fumes that rose up from the burning bodies poisoned him and he died soon after. Woah!

Character Ability 1: Toxic Pyre 疠火 (lì huǒ)
You can use 1 normal ATTACK 杀 as FIRE ATTACK 火杀. If this FIRE ATTACK causes damage, you lose 1 unit of health after all damage calculations has been concluded. When you use FIRE ATTACK, you can select 1 additional target player.

Character Ability 2: Superior Vintage 醇醪 (chún láo)
When the ending phase of your turn begins, if there are no cards on your character card, you can place any number of ATTACK cards on your character card (these cards are referred to as "VINTAGE"). When a player is on the brink on death, you can discard a VINTAGE card and this is viewed as the player having used WINE 酒.

Ability's relation to story:
Cheng Pu died after he burnt the corpses of hundreds of rebellious Wu troops. It was said that toxic smoke killed him. "Toxic Pyre" refers to his reason of death. The ability allows him to burn multiple enemies by fire, especially powerful with IRON SHACKLES 铁锁链环 (Cheng Pu also participated in the Battle of Red Cliffs). If you deal damage by converted ATTACKs, you would inhale the toxic smoke and lose one unit of health.

"Superior Vintage" refers to the relationship between Zhou Yu and him. It comes from the sentence "与公瑾交,若饮醇醪,不觉自醉: To socialize with Zhou Yu is like drinking wine of the most superior vintage - I feel inebriated (by his talents) without realizing it". This ability is very odd. It allows Cheng Pu to heal others by converting his ATTACK to WINE. It clashes with "Toxic Pyre" as they both consume ATTACK cards. Also, why does Cheng Pu have such ability? "Superior Vintage" is used to praise Zhou Yu, not Cheng Pu himself. Perhaps it wants to show Cheng Pu abandoning his hatred (ATTACK) and gain friendship (WINE that can only be used to save people)?

How to obtain this character:
Cheng Pu is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Zhōng Huì 钟会

Translated Description:
"The Audacious Schemer 桀骜的野心家 (jié ào dè yě xīn jiā)"

Who is he:
This is one of those guys who smiles at you and could seem to be the most reliable guy, except that he's been secretly plotting to take over the world! Unlike "Brain" from "Pinky and the Brain", Zhong Hui doesn't just talk about it, he has consistently taken action to carry out his audacious plans. In the final few chapters of ROTK, Deng Ai 邓艾 had led the Wei forces to successfully defeat Shu Kingdom. Although Jiang Wei 姜维 surrendered, Jiang Wei never lost hope in reviving Shu. It just so happened that Zhong Hui was jealous of Deng Ai's success, and plotted with Jiang Wei to rebel and take back the kingdom for themselves again.

Alas, like a hollywood double agent script, Zhong Hui's actions over the years had already raised suspicion and his ploy to rebel was uncovered quickly. In the madness that followed, both Wei forces and the rebels of Jiang Wei and Zhong Hui clashed in the bloody melee. Neither Jiang Wei nor Zhong Hui survived, and thus sealed the fate of Shu kingdom forever.

Character ability 1: Amassing Power 权计 (quán jì)
After you receive 1 unit damage, you can draw 1 card, then place 1 on-hand card on your character card. This card will be known as a "Power" card. Every "Power" card you have on your character card, your on-hand card limit increases by +1.

(Note: "Power" cards are viewed as being removed from play.)

Character ability 2: Uprising 自立 (zì lì) [Awakening ability]
At the beginning of your turn, if you have 3 or more "Power" cards, you must reduce 1 unit of your maximum health limit, then either regain 1 unit of health or draw 2 cards.

You also acquire the ability "Eradicate 排异".
(In the action phase, you can discard 1 "Power" card and allow any player to draw 2 cards. After drawing 2 cards, if that player has more on-hand cards than you, you inflict 1 unit of damage on that player. Limited to once per phase.)

Ability's relation to story:
The abilities of Zhong Hui are simple yet well-designed, contrast to those of OKF2012 characters, who are sophisticated and poorly-designed. They represented different actions in Zhong Hui’s life and shared similarities with Deng Ai (his rival) and Jiang Wei (his seemingly comrade). “权计” was a mixture of权(power) and 计(schemes). It showed how Zhong Hui was promoted to his place. He seized power by presenting schemes to his boss in the Rebellion of Zhuge Dan, while plotted secretly to steal the troops from his comrades in the Conquest of Shu Kingdom, against Zhuge Xu and Deng Ai. Noticeably, he could use this ability only when he suffered damage, referring to the fact that he crawled to his place by his actions in military campaigns. If Zhuge Dan did not rebel, he would not be able to present his schemes; if Jiang Wei did not attack Wei Kingdom, Sima Zhao would not initiate the Conquest of Shu Kingdom, and Zhong Hui would not have seized power from his comrades.

You may notice the similarity between Deng Ai’s “Amassing Terrain” and Zhong Hui’s “Seizure of Power”. Both of them involve cards removed from game, and these cards served functions before and after awakening. However, the sources and functions of these cards were different, presenting the difference in their lives. For the sources, Deng Ai’s “Amassing Terrain” is activated by loss of cards outside his turn. This is because Deng Ai was originally a low-ranked agricultural official, who developed farmlands when there were deficiencies. Zhong Hui’s “Seizure of Power” is activated by suffering damage. This is because Zhong Hui was born of high class as a strategist of Wei (symbolized by damage-triggered ability like “Bequeathed Strategies” and “Eternal Loyalty”), and he seized power in military campaigns. For functions, Deng Ai’s “Terrain” allowed he to reach his enemies easily for improved logistics, while Zhong Hui’s “Power” allowed him to store more cards, symbolizing Zhong Hui hiding his ambition before his rebellion.
His awakening ability, “Uprising”, referred to his notorious rebellion after the Conquest of Shu Kingdom. The ability mechanism resembled Deng Ai and Jiang Wei, as he needed to accumulated three cards removed from game (similar to Deng Ai), and he could choose to regain 1 unit of card or draw 2 cards (similar to Jiang Wei). It should be noted that Zhong Hui’s “Uprising” was more difficult to activate when compared to Deng Ai’s “Conduit”, suiting the historical fact. Deng Ai was promoted for his contribution of constructing canals and became a general to “Blitz” the Shu Kingdom, which turns out to trigger the rebellion of Zhong Hui.

Literally, “排异” means “eliminating those who oppose you”. This ability allowed Zhong Hui to use his political and military “Power” accumulated before his rebellion to seemingly support a character. However, if that character has more on-hand cards than you, you are indeed injuring him. This is reflected by the fact that Zhong Hui denounced Deng Ai by accusing him to be ambitious and rebellious (with too many cards that can harm someone).

Tactics:
As foretold by ZYZ # 17, this ability correlated to Jiang Wei and Deng Ai very much. Zhong Hui can delay the awakening of Jiang Wei by letting him to draw cards (Jiang Wei awakens if he has no on-hand card at the beginning of his turn), while replenishing Jiang Wei’s combat ability by allowing him to draw more cards after awakening without damaging him. On the other hand, Zhong Hui and Deng Ai were independent to each other before awakening (before Zhong Hui’s uprising, they both served Sima Zhao and fought against Shu), while Zhong Hui can suppress Deng Ai by activating “Conspiracy” against him. After Deng Ai’s awakening (becoming a general against Shu) and uses of “Blitz” (victory over Shu Kingdom), he would have lower health and a whole bunch of cards. It would be easy to deal damage to Deng Ai by “Conspiracy”, while the damage would not activate “Amassing Terrain” (Deng Ai cannot resist Zhong Hui’s false accusation).

BTW, if you observe carefully, Deng Ai had an advantage when fighting Zhong Hui, because Zhong Hui’s “Taunt” on Deng Ai would always activate “Amassing Terrain”, while “Amassing Terrain” would allow “Deng Ai” use “Blitz” on the weakened Zhong Hui.

How to obtain this character?
Zhong Hui is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Liú Biǎo 刘表

Translated Description:
“Lord of Southern Han 跨蹈汉南 (kuā dǎo hàn nán)"

Who is he:
One extremely important person in the Three Kingdoms era who, serendipitously, created Liu Bei 刘备's power which immortalized the legends of Shu Kingdom. In a nutshell, if not for Liu Biao, Liu Bei would have died prematurely and Cao Cao 曹操 would likely have taken over China.

Liu Biao is a distant-uncle of Liu Bei who ruled over the strategic stronghold of Jing Zhou 荆州. It was Liu Biao's forces that killed Sun Jian 孙坚, father of Sun Ce 孙策 and Sun Quan 孙权. When Cao Cao began to rise to power, Liu Bei betrayed Cao Cao and fled, seeking refuge with Liu Biao. Liu Biao agreed to shelter Liu Bei, however Liu Biao was not highly respected due to his indecisiveness and his inability to exploit his talented generals. Zhuge Liang 诸葛亮 even told Liu Bei not to rest hopes in his uncle for the preservation of the Han dynasty, and that Liu Bei is a much stronger leader himself.

Consequently, Liu Biao came under extreme pressure from Cao Cao's marauding forces sweeping south, and Sun Quan's forces thirsting to avenge his father. He fell sick and died soon after. To add insult to injury, Liu Biao's intention was to let his elder son inherit his position, but his will was changed by his wife and his second son laid claim instead. Soon after, his weakling second son succumbed to pressure from Cao Cao.

Character Ability 1: "Self-preservation自守 (zì shoǔ)"
During the drawing phase, you may draw additional X number of cards (X being the number of units of health lost thus far), than skip your action phase.

Character Ability 2:  "House of Royalty 宗室 (zhōng shì)" [Enforced ability]
For every allegiance still in play, your on-hand card limit is increased by +1.

Ability's relation to story:
“Self-preservation” refers to his personality and action. He preserved himself from the conflicts of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao 袁绍. He withdraws from invasion to make Jing Province prosper. Therefore, he can draw more cards (showing prosperity) at the cost of action (without the ambition to invade others).

“House of Royalty” refers to his bloodline. He was a member of the royal family.

As you may observe, both abilities have relationship with Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu 袁术. Both Liu Biao and Yuan Shu can draw loads of cards because they both govern a prosperous region, which on-hand cards represent resources. Liu Biao can store more cards like Yuan Shao, because they are both born of high rank. Liu Biao is a clansman of the royal family, while Yuan Shao comes from the noble Yuan family. Yuan Shao can only store more cards when he is the ruler, but Liu Biao can store more cards regardless of his role, similar to Yuan Shu (Yuan Shu possesses the ruler ability regardless of his role).

How to obtain this character:
Liu Biao is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Huá Xióng 华雄

Translated Description:
"Demon General 魔将 (mó jiàng)"

Who is he:
On one hand, Hua Xiong is an almost insignificant character in the entire story. You know he is not important by the speed at which he was killed by Guan Yu 关羽, no different from those nameless wrestlers who get trounced by the famous wrestling stars within 5 minutes.

On the other hand, Hua Xiong very nearly changed the entire course of history early in the Three Kingdoms period. The day before he was cut down by Guan Yu, Hua Xiong came very close to slaying Sun Jian 孙坚, and that could have distorted the future of Wu Kingdom 吴国.

In the story, Hua Xiong was credited as being a strong combatant, just shy of Lu Bu 吕布's abilities. I guess there was a need to let the heroes of the story (the 3 sworn brothers) take precedence and thus he appeared for a grand total of one miserable little chapter before his head was served on a platter. Wouldn't you be pissed if you were him?? Little wonder that he is one pissed off Demon!

Character Ability 1: "Reckless 恃勇(shi yǒng)" [Enforced ability]
Every instance that you suffer damage from a red ATTACK 杀 or WINE ATTACK 酒杀, your maximum health limit is reduced by 1.

Ability's relation to story:
Hua Xiong was a strong combatant serving Dong Zhuo 董卓. According to records, he looked like a loathsome American superhero (or supervillain), with a body as strong as a tiger, his waist as powerful as wolves, his head as fierce as leopards and his arms as aggressive as gorillas. In fiction, he was assigned as the protector of Si Shui Pass 汜水关, killing many generals of the coalition. He was eventually killed by Guan Yu in a single slash, to reflect Guan Yu's strength. Six max health relates himself to Dong Zhuo. “Reckless” refers to his defeat over Guan Yu. Nevertheless, he lacks playability…

How to obtain this character:
Hua Xiong is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Guān Xìng & Zhāng Bāo 关兴 & 张苞

Translated Description:
"Cubs of the Generals 将门虎子 (jiàng mén hǔ zǐ)”
(Note: The title is a commonly used phrase for describing a boy coming from the family of a general, who would eventually inherit his father's skills and bravery.

Who are they:
Think George Bush Jr, or Lee Hsien Loong, and you get the general idea. True, neither Bush Jr nor Prime Minister Lee are "generals", but as the children of incredibly significant history-makers, the cubs are usually not too shabby in their abilities.

Guan Xing is the second son of Guan Yu 关羽. His elder brother Guan Ping 关平 died with their father in the hands of Lu Meng 吕蒙. Zhang Bao is the eldest son of Zhang Fei 张飞, and first appeared in ROTK to inform Liu Bei 刘备 of his father's death. Both the cubs are strong fighters and well-liked by Zhuge Liang 诸葛亮, but both were urgent to avenge their fathers by leading the vanguard. They almost came to blows before Liu Bei intervened and forced them to swear an oath of brotherhood, just like their fathers did. From then on, they usually went into battle together.

Character Ability: Spirit of their Fathers 父魂 (fù hún)
In the drawing phase, you can forfeit the drawing of cards and, instead, display the top two cards from the deck, then receive them. If the two cards displayed are of different colours, you receive the abilities "Warrior Saint 武圣" and "Berserk 咆哮" till the end of your turn.

(Recall:
"Warrior Saint 武圣"
Every card with a "heart" or "diamonds" suit (effectively all red-suit cards) can be used as an ATTACK 杀 card.

"Berserk 咆哮"
You can use as many ATTACK 杀 cards as you wish during your turn.)

Ability's relation to story:
Readers are scathing in his comments for this character's ability. "The ability allows Guan Xing and Zhang Bao to inherit the skills of their fathers respectively, without creativity…" Well, their observation is a 100% accurate. Still, the ability sounds exciting and should make for interesting play. Given Liu Bei in the same team and this character will probably bring armageddon.

How to obtain this character:
Guan Xing and Zhang Bao is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Liào Huà 廖化

Translated Description:
"Put through the Mill of Time 历经沧桑 (jīng lì cāng sāng)

Who is he:
Not many people live long enough to witness the birth, pinnacle, and extermination of a state. This old man is one of those rare people. In fact it is believed that he witnessed the entire ROTK timeline as a soldier. As a child soldier, he served under Zhang Jiao 张角 in the yellow turban rebellion, then under Guan Yu 关羽 and Liu Bei 刘备 under the early Shu formation, then Zhuge Liang 诸葛亮 and Jiang Wei 姜维 in the later days of the kingdom. He was alive for so long that he was still alive when the Jin Empire 晋朝 was formed.

Yet the criticism that some have (which I do not subscribe to) about Liao Hua is that he never did enough for Shu. Those who went beyond and excelled, such as Guan Yu, Ma Chao 马超, died valiantly in battle when they pushed too hard. I disagree with this. After all, Zhao Yun 赵云 did not die in battle. Nonetheless, Liao Hua is definitely one of those names that came up often in discussions of ROTK. This old man, he played one heckuva lifetime.

Character Ability 1: Forefront 当先 (dāng xiān) [Enforced ability]
At the beginning of the turn, you perform an extra action phase.

Character Ability 2: Longetivity 伏枥 (fú lì) [Single-use ability]
When you are on the brink of death, you can regain X units of health (X being the number of allegiances still in play). After which you must flip your character card.

Abilities relation to story:
Literally, 伏枥 means “stabled”. Ironically, 伏枥 comes from one of the sentences in Cao Cao's poem "老骥伏枥，志在千里；烈士暮年，壮心不已: An old war-horse may be stabled, yet still it longs to gallop a thousand miles; And a noble-hearted man though advanced in years, never abandons his proud aspirations". This ability was meant to generalize that Liao Hua possessed a long lifespan and his bluffing death. Liao Hua is the vanguard of Late Shu and he was likely the person with longest lifespan in Three Kingdoms Era (excluding the immortal Zuo Ci 左慈), thus giving the ability “Forefront”.

I felt that "Forefront" was a nice-ability without a suitable name. They could have given that name to any character with Vanguard experience in the story, so I felt it's not really tied to Liao Hua. Liao Hua faked his own death in order to escape from Wu kingdom in order to rejoin Guan Yu. This ability has both the element of "a second life" and longevity. Well linked!

How to obtain this character:
Liao Hua is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Mǎ Dài 马岱

Translated Description:
"Entrusted during the crisis 临危受命 (lín wēi shòu mìng)"

Who is he:
This guy has a rather dirty resume, because his biggest credit is in tricking and murdering a "compatriot". Before we get to that, let's talk about his relations to other characters. Ma Dai was the cousin of Ma Chao 马超, though Ma Dai never quite got the fame (or infamy) of his cousin. He served for Shu Kingdom and was more notable during Zhuge Liang 诸葛亮's expeditions.

But enough riff-raff. Let's get to the juicy bit. Zhuge Liang once praised Ma Dai as one of the most loyal to Shu Kingdom. You could say that Zhuge Liang was right, because Ma Dai's loyalty led him to feint friendship with Shu's most famous traitor... Wei Yan 魏延. Ma Dai was part of Zhuge Liang's plot to keep check on Wei Yan as the latter seemed likely to revolt. True enough, Wei Yan turned rebel after Zhuge Liang's death, but Ma Dai seized the opportunity whilst an insider to assassinate the rebel. Give this man a trophy!

Character ability 1: Horsemanship 马术 (mǎ shù) [Enforced Ability]
In distance calculations between you and other players, you will always be at -1.

Character ability 2: Backstab 潜袭 (qián xí)
Whenever you use ATTACK 杀 to cause damage to a player within distance of 1, you can flip a judgement card. If the judgement is not hearts, you prevent this damage and instead cause the player reduce his max health units by 1.

Ability's relation to story:
“Backstab” refers to his killing of Wei Yan. In ROTK, Wei Yan revolted against Shu Han. However, Zhuge Liang predicted that and entrusted a mission to Ma Dai before his death. Ma Dai falsely followed Wei Yan. When Wei Yan shouted out “who dares to kill me?”, Ma Dai slayed him from behind. The ability allows Ma Dai to reduce his enemy’s max. health, so Wei Yan cannot regain his health back by his ability “Insanity Streak”.

However, this ability is buggy and overpowered. It is buggy because the presence of awakening abilities of other characters. Awakening abilities use max health as a sign to indicate whether that character has awakened or not. But with this character, it would be impossible. Also, for Deng Ai 邓艾, Jiang Wei 姜维, Sun Ce 孙策, and Zhong Hui 钟会, their awakening abilities require them to reduce 1 max health when awakening. What happen if Ma Dai has reduced their max health to 1…

The ability is overpowered because of it can reduce max health. As you may observe, 1 max health represents 1 normal ability in most characters. But for Ma Dai, he can reduce their max.health…even Cai Wenji can disable abilities at her death. Also, it is extremely powerful to all characters damage-triggered abilities (because it reduces max.health) and abilities related to lost health (e.g. Sun Jian 孙坚, Zhang Chunhua 张春华 and Wang Yi 王异).

How to obtain this character?
Ma Dai is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Wáng Yì 王异

Translated Description:
"The Elated Damsel 快意的巾帼 (kuài yì dè jīn guò)"

Who is she?
The more I studied up on this new female character, the more confused  I became. The confusion stems from the disparity between Wang Yi in literature/history, and Wang Yi as described in this card. The last adjective I would use to describe her is "Elated"! She attempted suicide twice, covered her body in mud and sh*t for a year, then eventually roused herself up to be a fearsome fighter and steely, ruthless loyalty. Put it this way: how could you call someone "happy and blissful" when this person rather let her sons die in the hands of the enemy than talk peace?

I seriously don't get it. If someone out there knows more about this than I do, please do share!

Wang Yi was the wife of an official called Zhao Ang 赵昂. Her husband is so insignificant that he does not have his own Wiki write-up. Yes, the curry is all Wang Yi, whose life story can be summed up as Princess Diana-turned-Whitney Houston (during her drug episode)-turned-Joan of Arc. While her husband was away, a revolt happened and both her sons died while attempting to quell the rebellion. In the face of certain death, she chose suicide, then decided not to so as to bring up her daughter. She covered herself up in mud and crap so as to stay chaste (and not get savaged by the enemy). When the rebellion ended, Wang Yi and daughter journeyed to meet her husband, but halfway decided to complete her suicide since her daughter was now safe. However she was rescued... then years later became quite the fighter! How did that happen? Read on the find out.

Character ability 1: Death over Desecration 贞烈 (zhēn liè)
Before your judgement card takes effect, you can display the top card of the deck and use it as a substitute.

Character ability 2: Hatch a Plan 秘计 (mì jì)

If you are injured before the beginning (or ending) phase of your turn, you can flip a judgement card. If the judgement card is black-suited, you can view X cards from the top of the deck (X being units of health lost), then give these cards to a player. 

Ability's relation to story:

"Death over Desecration" referred to Wang Yi's action to protect her daughter's and her own chastity. During her husband's leave, some rebellous troops sieged the city and killed her sons, she intended to commit suicide, but he did not so so because no one would protect her daughter after her death. Instead, she covered herself in clothes soaked in sewage of feces. When her husband returned, she intended to commit suicide because it was a responsibility to commit suicide to protect her chastity for her husband in dangerous situations, and she merely delayed this process to protect her daughter.

"Hatch a Plan" referred to Wang Yi's ability to plot when falsely serving her enemies.

Trivia:
For what ever reason, Wang Yi's failed suicides turned her resolve and loyalty to her country as hard as heat-treated steel. She once rode into battle beside her husband, using the bow and arrow as her weapon. She also gave the troops her jewellery, which did wonders for morale. Even after Ma Chao 马超 captured the heir to Zhao Ang (I suspect the heir is not her son, but son of another wife), she bluntly told her husband not to succumb to blackmail, but fight to the death and let the heir die. Die the heir did, but it just shows how merciless and cold Wang Yi became in her fight for her their sovereignty.

Comments by Authors:
I am disappointed by both her illustration and her abilities. The illustration was too sexy, not suiting the fact that she forfeited her beauty to protect her daughter. Her abilities just did not fit the mechanisms. "Death over Desecration" did not show how Wang Yi protected herself. Instead, it showed that she did not surrender to fate. This is a judgment tinkering ability, which makes it complicated when multiple judgement tinkerers are present. Imagine what would happen if Sima Yi, Zhang Jiao and Wang Yi were present... Also, "Hatch a Plan" did not have any relationship to her plots!

I noticed that "Death over Desecration" has been amended since first translation. Now the ability applies only to her own judgement cards, which would make more sense now since she was protecting herself in the story. However "Hatch a Plan" is an enigma to me. I didn't find much reference to her hatching any plans, or what those plans were. It seemed more like she was the trumpet-blower, rallying everyone to fight for their cause. And I still cannot understand why her description is "快意的巾帼"!! Can someone please enlighten us??

How to obtain this character?
Wang Yi is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Cáo Zhāng 曹彰

Translated Description:
"The Yellow Bearded Son 黄须儿 (huáng xū ér)"

Who is he:
We all have funny nicknames given by our parents, which is their way of personalizing that bond between child and parents. Thus to have Cao Zhang's father, Cao Cao 曹操, endearingly nickname him "my yellow bearded son" was a sign of his father's fondness. In his youth, Cao Zhang was said to have wrestled with live beasts using his bare hands. His ferocity and his courage would make him an excellent general.

But did Cao Cao want Cao Zhang to be a general? No. Instead, Cao Cao wanted Cao Zhang to be a doctor! Cao Zhang gave his father the 3rd century equivalent of the finger, and pursued military warfare against his father's wishes. In later years he would again disobey his father's orders, but for prudent reasons that turn out to be right.

A brave and accomplished warrior with tactical smarts, surely Cao Zhang should have succeeded Cao Cao as ruler of Wei... but why didn't he? Read on to find out!

Character ability: Versatile Fighter 将驰
During the drawing phase, you can choose 1 of 2 options.

1. Draw 1 extra card. If you do so, you cannot use or play any ATTACK 杀 cards until your turn is over.

2. Draw 1 card less. If you do so, any ATTACK cards used during your action phase has unlimited range. You can also use 1 more ATTACK card in that turn. Effects last till your turn is over.

Ability's relation to story:
This ability was meant to show off the military talent of Cao Zhang. According to the character designer, he wanted to depict a general riding and fighting in the Northern regions of China, thus giving the name of this ability.

In addition, I believe 将驰 was a pun on 张弛 "Versatile Fighter", referring to the versatile warrior and the meaning of skillfulness. According to the designer, he must be versatile enough to defeat the normadic tribe known for their high mobility and hit-and-run tactics. When it was not the time to attack, Cao Zhang prepared himself for the coming battle (draw one more cards without attack). When he found chances, he struck his enemies with full strength without hesitation (no drawing cards for more aggressive actions). Being the northern defense line that support Cao Cao's southern campaigns, he could draw more cards to trigger Cao Cao's Ruler ability "Royal Escort 护驾".

Trivia:
You probably know by now that Cao Cao was succeeded by Cao Pi 曹丕 instead of Cao Zhang. There are a few versions of what happened following the ascension of Cao Pi, but all seemed to agree on 2 things:

1. Cao Zhang was away during his father's death. He was on his way back to see Cao Cao but never made it back in time.

2. Cao Pi was paranoid and insecure about Cao Zhang challenging his succession.

History recounts that Cao Pi sent Cao Zhang away to lord over a region of Wei, far from the capital to be a threat. Cao Zhang died soon after due to an illness. However another version of history says that Cao Pi deviously poisoned Cao Zhang over a game of chess. Which is the truth, we may never know. As for ROTK, the author made Cao Zhang's return to the capital seem like a military campaign, bringing with him thousands of troops. However Cao Zhang had no intention to strike Cao Pi, but instead came and left as a mourner, and nothing more.

Personal opinion, I think Cao Zhang would have made a better ruler than Cao Pi, but that's not to say that Cao Pi wasn't successful in his own way.

How to obtain this character:
Cao Zhang is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Xún Yoū 荀攸

Translated Description:
"Master Strategist of Cao Wei 曹魏的谋主 (cáo wèi dè moú shì)"

Who is he:
In a time where heroes and talents sprouted like cow grass after a blaze, there were simply too many important people for all of them to have gained as much attention as they deserve. Xun You was one of these lesser known greats. Many of the big achievements behind Cao Cao 曹操's early conquests had Xun You's influence. He was on of Cao Cao's most brilliant and effective advisors, playing a key role in the eradication of Lu Bu 吕布 and Yuan Shao 袁绍. It also happens the Xun You is the nephew of another brilliant advisor to Cao Cao, Xun Yu 荀彧.

Xun You was a quiet and low-profile figure, but his strategies were wickedly effective! For this reason, Cao Cao very much trusted Xun You. Alas, his low-profile prevented stories and fables, and ultimately he never got the popular hype he rightly deserve in history. But perhaps, that was just how he would have preferred it.

Character ability 1: Contrivance 奇策 (qí cè)
In the action phase, you can use all your on-hand cards (minimum of one) as any one non-time-delay tool card. Limited to once per turn.

Character ability 2: Playing Dumb 智愚 (zhì yú)
Every instance after you receive damage, you can draw a card, then display all your on-hand cards. If all your on-hand cards are of the same colour, the source of your damage must discard one on-hand card.

Ability's relation to story:
"Contrivance" originated from Xun You's ability to plot numerous stratagems. He was responsible for the flooding that defeated Lu Bu, as well as the victory over the Yaun Shao and his sons (some were contributed by Guo Jia 郭嘉). It was said that he plotted twelve contrived schemes for Cao Cao in his life, but no one knew what those schemes were. Only his close friend, Zhong Yao 钟繇, knew the exact details of each scheme, but Zhong Yao died before ever publicizing them. The game mechanism allowed Xun You to use his on-hand cards as one of the twelve tool cards (corresponding to the 12 contrived schemes). As the loyal supporter of Cao Cao (unlike his uncle, Xun Yu, who was loyal to the Han dynasty), he could convert his on-hand cards as AOE to give all his on-hand cards to Cao Cao, symbolising his presentation of schemes to Cao Cao.

"Playing Dumb" referred to Xun You's personality. Xun You liked to pretend to be a mediocre adviser, and revealed his wisdom only when it was needed. Cao Cao said "公達外愚內智，外怯內勇，外弱內強 Gongda (the style name of Xun You) feigned ignorance to hide his wisdom, feigned cowardice to hide his courage, feigned weakness to hide his strength". In Xun You's early life, he and his friend plotted the assassination of Dong Zhuo 董卓, but they failed and were arrested. His friend commited suicide for fear of tortures, while Xun You stayed calm and lived casually in prison. When Dong Zhuo observed this, he spared his life.

How to obtain this character:
Xun You is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!