We first encountered the elderly Chinese physician called Elder Doctor in January 1892 in Hong Kong. He was behind a plot to cause a murder/suicide scandal within the British upper crust in Hong Kong; we think he hoped that the British would be sufficiently embarrassed to withdraw from Hong Kong. The Travelers were largely able to foil the plot although Governor Sir Robinson did kill himself. We also learned about Elder Doctor’s fondness of poisons, notably curate, a fast-acting poison.
In July 1892, we discovered and foiled a plot in India involving two Hindu were-tigers who were attacking British colonists. We suspect that Elder Doctor was behind this new distraction for the British empire.
A more frontal assault came in the following month in Hong Kong when massive attacks by undead creatures (called ghouls and ghasts by our more knowledgeable experts) were trying to kill the foreigners on the island. The Chinese had been warned. Our Travelers defeated the undead threat and forced a powerful mystic to flee. We believe that mystic was armed with something called the Dagger of Kali—an artifact with reputed great powers over the undead.
That same month, our Society launched a counter thrust and secretly explored a secret underground laboratory of Elder Doctor’s in Canton with the aid of a Chinese agent placed in his employ. Our brave Travelers discovered that Elder Doctor was examining methods of constructing living beings from assorted body parts (called golems) as well as growing mundane creatures and plants to enormous sizes. Minor damage was done to his operations, but unfortunately some Travelers were captured and held as prisoners for more than two years. We must presume that all of their knowledge about the Society was disclosed to Elder Doctor during their captivity. They were later released as part of a bargain with the Society.
Most likely because of the failures of his early plots and his new insights about the Society, Elder Doctor ventured on a tour to Chinatowns in London, New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. In his wake, we discovered a plot by two Hindu spellcasters to influence British Royalty in February 1893. The Travelers stopped the plot but unfortunately the Singhs escaped jail; we surmise magically. Again we see Elder Doctor using surrogates from India. It was almost a year later when we discovered that a gift (the Sash of the Shao-Lin Monk) by Elder Doctor to the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of San Francisco interacted with a powerful cursed coin for ill effect. We do not believe that consequence was planned, or could be anticipated by Elder Doctor. Our Travelers also found that Elder Doctor was considered a paternal figure amongst the San Francisco Chinatown, a feeling echoed in 1898 in New York City Chinatown. We are uncertain if his actions were simply motivated by concerns about the welfare of the Chinese living abroad or if he was recruiting agents to influence, spy or act on his behalf in England and the United States.
The attack by Japan on China in mid-1894 led to a whirlwind of events. Elder Doctor had succeeded in unearthing and animating a large army of ancient constructs (clay soldiers) which are nigh unstoppable by mundane means. The Japanese army was lost and surrendered to China. At the express direction of the Council of the Society, our Travelers met with Elder Doctor himself to conclude a bargain. To obtain the book, The Wisdom of the Yellow Emperor, which the Society badly wanted, the Travelers performed a little mission for Elder Doctor. They retrieved a spirit tablet from the Ming Emperors' Tombs and placed it in the Forbidden City in the Hall of Ancestors. Unfortunately, a ghost of the late Ming Emperor appeared, but the heroes escaped. The heroes obtained the book from Elder Doctor and left China, most complaining bitterly to the Society. Some adventurers received magical swords (Sword of the Palace Guard) or other gifts as thanks from Elder Doctor. Elder Doctor also freed his captives from the Canton adventure
Because of his winning the war with Japan, Elder Doctor was elevated to a Mandarin of the First Rank, and later became Viceroy of China. In the intervening years, he has been concentrating on consolidating his political power within China. Although China still has an Emperor, Elder Doctor is the real ruler of China.
We must note that in spite of early setbacks and even an attack on his laboratory, Elder Doctor has not as yet initiated any attacks on Society members or the Society itself. He does appear to honor the letter of any agreement but he does not volunteer information contrary to his interests. However, we do think he will vigorously defend himself against any personal attack (most likely with bodyguards).
We judge that Elder Doctor is obsessed with protecting China and Chinese against foreign adversaries. All of his actions to date seem to support that objective.
Elder Doctor (Tseng Kang-Yin) is very tall, 6’2”, and thin. Since his rise to power, he wears his long white hair up in a top-knot, under his jewel-topped peacock hat. He wears green spectacles. He has long, slender fingers with polished nails. His features are very angular. He wears green silk robes embroidered with a White Crane (symbol of a Mandarin of the First Rank), and a Russian sable coat belted at the waist with a jade clasp in winter (or a gold coat in summer). He carries an enameled pocket watch surrounded by pearls. Two ivory chopstick cases, a silver dagger sheath, several pouches and a purse hang from his belt. He wears a jade amulet on a silver necklace around his neck. He wears green satin slippers. He appears to be in his 80s. He radiates magic.