Chung Kuel (LL)

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==Chung Kuel (intermediate god)==
Also known as K'uei Hsing, Chung Kuel was a brilliant mortal who finished first in all of his examinations. However, he was so ugly that the Emperor would not affirm his success. When the despondent Chung Kuel threw himself into the sea, a turtle saved his life. The Emperor took this as a divine sign and acknowledged the examination result.
Chung Kuel served so efficiently and honestly that Shangti granted him immortality, making him assistant to Wen Chang Ti, god of literature. Eventually, as the need for bureaucrats increased, Shang-ti created a ministry to watch over truth and the examination process, placing Chung Kuel in charge of it. In his true form, Chung Kuel is a finely dressed man with a magnificent pot-belly, a hairy nose of grotesque proportions, red-rimmed eyes, and a tiny chin completely lost beneath the folds of his bulging cheeks.
Role-playing notes: Chung Kuel's primary duty is to oversee the imperial examinations. There is a 50% chance that he will notice any cheating. This chance increases to 75% if magic is used. When a cheater is noticed, his test paper bursts into flames in his hand, inflicting 2d6 points of fire damage (no save allowed).
Statistics: AL lg; WAL non-evil; AoC truth and testing; SY ruler and writing brush.
==Chung Kuel's Avatar (priest 17)==
Chung Kuel's avatar resembles the god himself: finely dressed and repulsively ugly. He can draw upon any sphere for his spells. In addition, he may also cast any wizard spell as if it were a priest's spell of the same level.
: Str 18
: Int 20
: MV 15
: AC 2
: #AT 1	
: Dex 16
: Wis 20
: SZ 6'
: HD 17
: THAC0 5	
: Con 16
: Cha 0
: MR 20%
: HP 136
: Dmg 1d6 + 3(staff) +2
Special Att/Def: Anyone looking at Chung Kuel's avatar must save versus petrification or look away. He can always detect a lie and his staff, which is a + 3 weapon, also acts as a rod of cancellation.
==Duties of the Priesthood==
Priests dedicated to Chung Kuel must be honest, scholarly, and ugly. Their primary duty consists of administering imperial examinations, though they are often employed as investigators in cases of official corruption.
Requirements: AB standard, but maximum Charisma of 9; AL lg; WP staff, club, mace; AR a; SP all, charm', divination, healing, protection, summoning ; PW 5) detect lie; 10) detect lie (no saving throw); TU nil.
==Sage Advice (Dragon Issue #200)==
These are unofficial suggestions for using the optional spheres of priest spells from the Tome of Magic with the deities of the Chineese pantheon in Legends & Lore:
* Chung Kuel: Major: Numbers; Minor: Thought, Time.