Sūn Jiān 孙坚

Translated description:
"Emperor of Vigorous Combat 武烈帝 (wǔ liè dì)"

Wikipedia link: Sun Jian Wiki

Who is he:
Best known as the father of Sun Ce 孙策, Sun Quan 孙权 and Sun Shang Xiang 孙尚香, Sun Jian was one of the warlords who took part in the early coalition against Dong Zhuo 董卓. In fact, Dong Zhuo and Sun Jian were bitter enemies even before Dong Zhuo took control of the imperial family. One significant event in the life of Sun Jian was finding the imperial seal in a well in the palace ruins at Luo Yang 洛阳. Sun Jian wanted to keep the seal for himself and, thus, control huge power within his grasps. Unfortunately for him, he was betrayed and Yuan Shao 袁绍, then the leader of the coalition, confronted Sun Jian. Sun Jian vehemently denied having the seal, but Yuan Shao was convinced he was lying. Yuan Shao sent Liu Biao 刘表 to intercept Sun Jian, and it was under Liu Biao that Sun Jian's life met an abrupt end.

Character ability: "Lingering Spirit 英魂 (yīng hún)"
In the beginning of every turn, you can carry out either of the options listed below if you are not at maximum health (X represents the number of units of health you have lost thus far). Pick one other player to carry out one of the following options:

1. Draw X cards, then discard 1 card.

2. Draw 1 card, then discard X cards.

Limited to one use per turn.

Ability's relation to story:
The name "Lingering Spirit" should not be taken literally, but instead metaphorically describes Sun Jian's contribution to destroying Dong Zhuo. Being the first in the coalition of 18 warlords to attack Dong Zhuo, Sun Jian almost lost his life to Hua Xiong 华雄, but his initial strike was enough to cower Dong Zhuo and dampen his army's morale. Even after Sun Jian's death, the lessons learnt in his early attacks against Dong Zhuo served Dong Zhuo's enemies well. Thus there is a link to the ability with Sun Jian suffering damage first, yet able to leverage on that to assist his team mates or disconcert his opponents.

Additional info based on story:
1. Most famous achievement - Giving the incompetent Yuan Shu 袁术 a piece of his mind. Yuan Shu knew that Sun Jian was to accomplish big things after the coalition disbanded, and thus sought to suppress him by denying him of supplies (Yuan Shu controlled the logistics of the coalition). Sun Jian told Yuan Shu that he spearheaded the coalition's attack not only to remove Dong Zhuo but also to avenge the Yuan family, and yet Yuan Shu chose not to aid him. Yuan Shu was deeply shamed after this "scolding" and promptly resumed supplies to Sun Jian.

2. Cause of death - Killed in an ambush by Huang Zu 黄祖. After Liu Biao intercepted Sun Jian, Sun Jian managed to fend off Liu Biao and his general, Huang Zu. As Huang Zu retreated, Sun Jian gave chase but fell victim to an ambush where arrows shot out from all directions. Sun Jian was caught in the line of fire and died under fatal arrow wounds at the age of 36. When Sun Quan established the Kingdom of Sun Wu 孙吴, Sun Jian was posthumously given the title of "Emperor of Vigorous Combat".



FAQ and Disambiguation

1. How is the second option useful?

Ans: For the second, if he's at 1 health, he could force someone to draw a card and then discard three. It could potentially be very good to temporarily stop harassment or to set up for someone with an Ancient Scimitar or for offensive card characters like Zhang Fei or Huang Zhong.


2. Does Sun Jian ability activate at the start of every player's turn? Or only his turn?

Ans: It is only activated at the start of Sun Jian's turn.


3. If the target player does not have enough on-hand cards to discard ( less than X after drawing 1 card) , must this player also discard his equipment cards(if any)?

Ans: Yes the person will be forced to discard equipped cards if there are no  more on-hand cards.


4. What if the targeted player has not enough cards (both on hand and equipped) to discard after draw one card ,(eg he has zero on hand and equipped card) ?

Ans: When the player has zero cards left , nothing further happens. Eg, the player only has 1 card . Sun Jian forces player to draw 1 ,discard 3 .The player draws 1 from the deck, then discard the 2 cards he now has to become zero. Though he needs to discard 1more , he does not need to owe that 1 card.


5. Can Sun Jian use his abilities on himself?

Ans: No it must be used on another player.

Líng Tǒng 凌统

Translated Description:
Forthright and Courageous 豪情烈胆 (háo qíng liè dǎn)

Who is he:
Historically, Ling Tong was one of the most important generals under Sun Quan 孙权's command. Yet in the semi-fictional ROTK story, Ling Tong was not given much airtime. Ling Tong was put in as high regard as Lu Meng 吕蒙 and Gan Ning 甘宁, and succeeded in numerous battles as well. He is also one of those that is well remembered for having saved Sun Quan's arse from certain defeat. In his latter days, Ling Tong not longer took to the frontlines, but instead became a successful strategist and advisor to Sun Quan.

An interesting side story is his grudge against Gan Ning. When Ling Tong was 15 years old, his father was killed by Gan Ning. At that time, Gan Ning had yet to cross over to Sun Ce's side and in an odd-twist of fate, Gan Ning fired a stray arrow that struck down Ling Tong's father. That grudge nearly boiled over later on as Ling Tong and Gan Ning took to swords to settle the score, but was mediated quickly by onlookers.

[2011 Old version]
Character ability: Tempest 旋风 (xuán fēng)
Whenever a card is removed from your equipped items area, you can carry out either 1 of the following 2 options:

1. Viewed as having used an ATTACK 杀 on any player (this ATTACK will not be considered in calculating the number of ATTACK card used per turn).

2. Cause 1 unit of damage to a player within physical range of 1.

[2012 New version]
Character ability: Tempest 旋风 (xuán fēng)
Each instance that you lose equipped cards, or you discard 2 or more cards in your discard phase, you can discard a total of 2 cards (one card at a time) from up to maximum of 2 players. 


(Note: Total of 2 cards means either discard 2 cards from 1 player, or 1 card each from 2 players.)

Ability's relation to story:
I'm going out on a limb on this one. Ling Tong's rescue of Sun Quan can be read in more detail under Additional Information, where the insanely heroic act of Ling Tong's forces was like a wild storm or hurricane that wreaked havoc on Zhang Liao 张辽's forces. However, that is a circumstantial link indeed, and does not make for a very good relation to the story.

On the other hand, the mechanics of this ability seems to be a wonderful link with Gan Ning's ability. Imagine Ling Tong paired in the same team with Gan Ning; it would be a nightmare for any opponent within distance of 1 from Ling Tong! However i'm not sure if the creator of this ability took the storyline between these two into consideration when creating it.

Additional Info based on story:
1. Most famous achievement - Saving Sun Quan from certain death at Xiao Yao ford 逍遥津. Under a sudden attack by Zhang Liao 张辽, who had brilliantly cut off Sun Quan's escape route, Sun Quan was left with few troops to defend himself. Ling Tong rushed to the rescue with 300 of his closest soldiers and bought enough time for Sun Quan to escape. Ling Tong paid a very high price though. All 300 of his troops, which he regarded as close as family, were killed. Ling Tong himself suffered serious wounds but managed to escape by jumping into the water. He was later rescued by Sun Quan's boat, but Ling Tong was grief-stricken nonetheless.

2. Cause of death - His age when he died is unclear. It was either 48 or 28 years old. Strange. The way in which he died is confirmed. He died of illness on his way back to Sun Quan's side after returning from a trip home. It was during that trip back to his hometown that he gained fame for his humility and respect for the everyday people, despite his great stature as a highly regarded statesperson.

Wiki Link:
Ling Tong Wiki

Wú Guó Tài (Lady Wu) 吴国太

Translated Description:
Fearsome Militant Empress 武烈皇后 (wǔ liè huáng hoù)

Who is she:
There are only a handful of elder women who are significant in the story (such as Xu Shu 徐庶's mum who hanged herself). Lady Wu is arguably the most notorious in the story because she turned the tables on her own son, Sun Quan 孙权, and gave this ruler of Wu Kingdom a massive headache! In the deadlock between the Kingdoms of Shu and Wu, one city was the epicenter of all the troubles: Jing Zhou 荆州.

Liu Bei 刘备 "borrowed" the city from Sun Quan, but he turned renegade and chose not to return this strategically crucial city. Out of frustration, Sun Quan and his advisor, Zhou Yu 周瑜, decided to up the stakes and use the classic Maiden ploy 美人计. The bait? None other than Sun Quan's very own sister, Sun Shang Xiang 孙尚香. It was a wonderful plan except for one tiny oversight... nobody told Lady Wu that the future happiness of her only daughter would be sacrificed. To make matters worse, Lady Wu only heard about the news when Liu Bei was already in town to receive his bride. Imagine her horror when she received second-hand information from the streets that her daughter was to be wedded to the enemy, without her prior knowledge!

Boy, was Sun Quan gonne be hurt reeeeeal bad.

Character ability 1: Heavenly Essence 甘露 (gān lù)
In the action phase, you can choose 2 players to exchange all of their equipped cards. The difference in the number of equipped cards between the 2 players must not be more than X, where X is the amount of health you have lost thus far. Limited to once per turn.

Character ability 2: Ameliorate 补益 (bǔ yì)
When a player is at the brink of death, you can display one of the on-hand cards of that player. If that card is not a basic card, the player will discard that card and regain 1 unit of health.

(Basic cards are ATTACK 杀 (any type), DODGE 闪, PEACH 桃, or WINE 酒)

Ability's relation to story:
The abilities do not seem to follow the story much, though there are some interesting points to the ability names. The Chinese characters 甘露 have a few meanings, the most common refers to "liquid essence" and is used in poems. I chose this version because it sounds more royal and fitting for an Empress... in comparison to the other meanings. You see, 甘露 can also mean the leaf of a plant, similar to the banana plant, that is used in modern chinese desserts. We can choose to pervert the words 甘露 even further and think of them as an acronym of the 4 characters "甘愿暴露", which translates to "willingly expose (the body)".

Logically speaking, "willingly expose" seems to denote some form of stripping, which would more accurately describe this ability, doesn't it?

The 2nd ability "Ameliorate" has very link to the story. Probably the only instance of Lady Wu offering any assistance was when she stopped Sun Quan from launching an all-out invasion of Jing Zhou, but only because her daughter was in that city. This ability does seem to be related to the game mechanics though. Since Sun Shang Xiang is has the ability to heal, therefore so should her mother?

Additional info based on story:
1. Most famous achievement - Ironically, Lady Wu turned out to like Liu Bei quite a fair bit. Since the word was already out in the street that Liu Bei was to marry Sun Shang Xiang, Lady Wu could not possibly rubbish  it as a rumor. The only chance was to meet Liu Bei in person when he asks for Sun Shang Xiang's hand, and disapprove of him using her maternal rights. Yet Liu Bei was a righteous and honest leader (or so the story claims) and quickly won the approval of Lady Wu. In fact, she happily gave the marriage her blessing! This turned out to be a disaster for Sun Quan, because the ploy was to trick Liu Bei into entering the city and keep him under house-arrest indefinitely, without actually having to marry his sister to Liu Bei. Now as it turns out, not only will Liu Bei enjoy the royal treatment as a guest of Lady Wu's, he will actually be walking away with Sun Shang Xiang's hand in marriage!

2. Cause of death - There is an anomaly in the story here that differs from history. In the story, there were 2 women who were married to Sun Jian 孙坚 (Lady Wu's husband). One was Lady Wu herself, and another was her younger sister. The story states that Sun Quan's mother was the elder Lady Wu, who died early and asked Sun Quan to treat her younger sister like his own mother. The younger sister gave birth to Sun Shang Xiang, thus making Sun Shang Xiang the half-sister of Sun Quan. However, none of these is true in history, as there was only one Lady Wu and both Sun Quan and Sun Shang Xiang have the same mother. There appears to be no mention of the cause of Lady Wu's death.

Wiki Link
Lady Wu Wiki

Xú Shèng 徐盛

Translated Description:
The Steel Barricade of Jiang Dong 江东的铁壁 (jiāng dōng dè tiě bì)

(Note: Jiang Dong is a region in the East of China. It literally translates to "East of the river")

Who is he:
Accomplished but complacent, Xu Sheng is a celebrated general under Sun Quan 孙权 that was born into a family of proud militants. In his time serving under Sun Quan, Xu Sheng was known for his courage and strong leadership that, more than once, overcame difficult situations. During his earlier years of service, he was able to defend his position from the warlord Huang She 黄射 while being outnumbered 5 to 1. Not only did he deal massive damage to Huang She's forces, Xu Sheng was able to charge out to engage in melee combat despite being grossly outnumbered... and still emerge overwhelmingly victorious! Xu Sheng then participated in numerous major battles against Cao Cao 曹操, Cao Pi 曹丕, and Liu Bei 刘备, and was victorious far more often than he was defeated.

However, Xu Sheng was also known for his arrogance. In fact he considered himself born into status and refused to be put under the command of one other prominent Wu Kingdom general. This other general also appears in this game, and has far more battle scars than he has hair. Who is this other general? And why did Xu Sheng refuse to be put under his command? Read on the find out.

Character ability: Annihilate 破军 (pò jūn)
Whenever your ATTACK 杀 causes damage, you can force your victim to draw X cards from the deck (X being the number of health units the victim currently has. X has a maximum of 5), after which the victim must flip his or her character card over.

Ability's relation to story:
"Annihilate" is presumably related to Xu Sheng's complete decimation of Huang She's forces. In the story, the word 破 was used to describe Xu Sheng's victory over Huang She, where 破 means to tear or destroy and signifies the annihilation of the enemy. This ability ties in quite nicely, since the more the opponent is in peril, the stronger this ability becomes. It is the perfect tool to seal the fate of a struggling opponent.

Additional info related to story:
1. Most famous achievement - Refusing to take orders from Zhou Tai. Due to Xu Sheng's heritage, he has always considered himself as upper-class. Thus when Sun Quan assigned Zhou Tai to be in command of Xu Sheng and his forces, Xu Sheng took that as an insult. To appease Xu Sheng, Sun Quan threw a banquet where Zhou Tai, Xu Sheng and other generals were present. During the banquet, Sun Quan asked Zhou Tai to show the numerous battle scars that he has sustained in his line of duty, and thus Xu Sheng's respect for Zhou Tai began to grow. It just so happens that Zhou Tai had also saved Xu Sheng from certain death by risking life and limb, charging into a horde of enemy soldiers and bringing Xu Sheng back to safety. Xu Sheng owes him!

2. Cause of death - There is no exact year of his death, much less the circumstances causing it. It is only known that he died within a 7 year range between the year 222 AD and 229 AD.

Wiki Link:
Xu Sheng Wiki

Zhāng Zhāo & Zhāng Hóng 张昭&张纮

Translated description:
"Talents to administrate Heaven and Earth 经天纬地 (jīng tiān wěi dì)"

Who are they:
Scrawny and wind-worn with age. This is the constant stereotypical image of Chinese military advisers, and these two aging old men fit that stereotype perfectly... well, sort of. Though the images and portraits show Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong as old geezers, the pair were already advisers to the Wu kingdom since they were much much younger. Collectively known as "Er Zhang 二张" or "The Two Zhang's", Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong were first recruited by the the warlord, Sun Jian 孙坚, who was Sun Quan 孙权's father. The two Zhang's were approximately the same age as Sun Jian and will stay loyal to the Wu Kingdom for decades till their death. Tragically, the two Zhang's went through the deaths of both Sun Jian, and his elder son, Sun Ce 孙策. It was on Sun Ce's deathbed that he famously said to his little brother Sun Quan, "Should [you] have doubts upon internal affairs, [you] must turn to Zhang Zhao; for outer matters [you] must consult Zhou Yu 周瑜." Sun Quan wisely employed the two Zhang's for the entire duration of his reign, and saw the Wu Kingdom rise to become one of the three crucial kingdoms of the era.

Character ability 1: "Blunt advice 直谏 (zhí jiàn)"
In the action phase, you can put an on-hand equipment card in the equipped card area of another character (you cannot replace an equipment already equipped). If you do so, you can draw a card.

Character ability 2: "Stabilization 固政 (gù zhèng)"
At the end of other players’ discard phase, you can return a card that was discarded in this phase to the player. If you do so, you can take the other cards discarded in this phase as your own on-hand cards.

Ability's relation to story:
"Blunt advice" refers to Zhang Zhao’s various advices to Sun Quan. As an official of Wu Kingdom, Zhang Zhao aided the young Sun Quan to administrate internal affairs while Zhou Yu managed external affairs. Wise but stubborn, Zhang Zhao criticized Sun Quan whenever he found the Sun Quan's decision incorrect. Although Zhang Zhao was often correct, his blunt attitude angered Sun Quan to the extent that Sun Quan once thought of killing him. Thankfully Sun Quan was able to cool down and took his advice, which always benefited the Wu Kingdom.

The ability mechanics seem to be play on the words "Blunt", and can be interpreted as being "in your face". That's how the ability works, by forcefully shoving weapons/armour/horses unto allies (or enemies when it is helpful). Not so much related to the story itself.

"Stabilization" refers to Zhang Hong’s contribution to Wu Kingdom. Firstly, Zhang Hong made a plan for Sun Ce, advising him to defeat the warlords Yuan Shu 袁术 and Liu Biao 刘表 to obtain land for Wu Kingdom's survival. Secondly, after the death of Sun Ce, Cao Cao 曹操 intended to eliminate the Wu kingdom. It was Zhang Hong who utilized his diplomatic skills to stop Cao Cao, buying time for Sun Quan to cope with the internal issues of the state. Thirdly, Zhang Hong aided Sun Quan to consolidate his control in politics and in the military, even personally stopping Sun Quan’s reckless actions on the battlefield. Fourthly, he advised Sun Quan to set the capital of Wu Kingdom at Mo Ling 秣陵 (present day Nan Jing 南京), a strategic location which is most suitable to be held tightly. How does all this relate to picking up discarded cards and benefiting from it? I have no idea. Perhaps they simply needed any random name to affix unto this very cool ability?

Additional info based on story:
Most famous achievement - Administration of Internal affairs of Wu Kingdom. There were many brilliant generals in Wu Kingdom, but few ministers existed. Sun Quan was too young to handle the internal affairs of the whole kingdom, and his impulsive actions jeopardized the safety of his realm. It was the two Zhangs who corrected his mistake and stabilized politics, allowing Wu Kingdom to prosper.

Cause of death - Natural causes. The two Zhangs died as old men, still faithful and loyal to the Sun family as they have been throughout their entire lives.

Wiki Link:
Zhang Zhao Wiki
Zhang Hong Wiki