Shado-Pan

The Shado-Pan (or Shado-pan), also known as the "Sword in the Shadows" and the "Watchers on the Wall", are a secretive, elite order of highly disciplined pandaren fighters with a ninja-like culture dedicated to protecting their empire from any threat. The Shado-Pan are in a timeless struggle with the sha and the mantid. As Pandaria has no standing army, it falls to them to defend the land, so other pandaren can go about their peaceful lives. Hopeful recruits who wish to join the Shado-Pan must undergo a trial named the Trial of the Red Blossoms every seven seasons when the trees of the monastery turn red. The trial consists of three challenges, which are simple, but also deadly. The Shado-Pan are allied with the Golden Lotus and the August Celestials. Despite the arduous joining process, it is possible to retire from the Shado-Pan.

History


The Shado-Pan order, originally consisting of one-hundred warriors was founded by Emperor Shaohao 10,000 years ago under a charter, just before the Great Sundering occurred. He knew that the dark energy of the sha - the physical embodiment of negative emotions like anger, fear, hatred or doubt - represented a great threat to the pandaren if allowed to fester beneath the land. He tasked the greatest warriors of Pandaria with the sacred duty to restrain and control the sha, and to defeat it wherever it darkens the hearts of their people. And so it was that mere hours after Emperor Shaohao bested his own anger, hatred, and violence, the first of the Shado-Pan took their knee and spoke an oath to the Last Emperor. The same words have been spoken to the Lord of the Shado-Pan by every Shado-Pan initiate who has passed the Trial of the Red Blossoms ever since.

Mists of Pandaria
Taran Zhu, lord of the Shado-Pan, bore witness to the Horde and Alliance arriving within the Jade Forest and urged both sides not to bring their wars or even to give into their darkest penchants within Pandaria. This order was ignored, and adventurers recruited local denizens to their side and led them into battle, which ultimately unleashed the sha upon the land. While the Sha of Doubt attacked the Jade Forest, the Sha of Fear gained control of Grand Empress Shek'zeer, and under her command the mantid began to swarm the Serpent's Spine and even attack the yaungol within the Townlong Steppes. As a result that Shado-Pan were not only caught off-guard by the mantid's attack but had to endure a yaungol invasion of the Kun-Lai Summit.

Even as the Shado-Pan accepted the aid of Horde and Alliance forces to push back these, they couldn't help but notice the lack of reinforcements and word from the Shado-Pan Monastery. An investigation by Ban Bearheart revealed that Lord Taran Zhu and the Shado-Pan of the monastery had fallen prey to the Sha of Hatred. After expelling the Sha from the Monastery, it fled into the Townlong Steppes and the Shado-Pan gave chase to it. While in the region the Shado-Pan would clash with the invading mantid and discover that the Sha had provoked Yaungol tribes into fighting with one another. The Shado-Pan tracked down and destroyed the Sha of Hatred in spite of several setbacks. With the direst threat gone, Taran Zhu would depart from the region but the Shado-Pan would remain and recruit adventurers into combating the invading mantid, combating the yaungol (both alive and the restless spirits) and even the mogu in the northern region.

When the Thunder King was resurrected by the Zandalari, the Shado-Pan launched an assault upon the Isle of Thunder in order to put an end to the mogu-Zandalari threat.

Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde
The Shado-Pan monks took care of the wounded Tyrathan Khort and Vol'jin after being brought to the monastery by Chen Stormstout. Members of the Shado-Pan conducted campaigns against the invading Zandalari trolls and ultimately defended the monastery against the forces of Khal'ak.

Warlords of Draenor
The Shado-Pan sent several warriors to to aid in the fight against the Iron Horde, despite their small numbers. They found a fitting adversary in the arakkoa of Skyreach, whose deadly dance made use of winds similar to those which lighten the steps of the Shado-Pan themselves.

Legion
The Shado-Pan defend the Terrace of Endless Spring from an attack by the Burning Legion. Taoshi joins the Uncrowned, and Taran Zhu joins the Order of the Broken Temple.

Several monks arrived to Thunder Totem to teach the Highmountain tauren the ways of the monk.

Battle for Azeroth
At Warport Rastari in Zuldazar the Shado-Pan infiltrated the Kao-Tien mogu that were aiding the Zandalari uprising led by Zul.

When N'Zoth was freed from its prison, the Shado-Pan worked together with the Golden Lotus and Rajani to protect the Vale of Eternal Blossoms from invaders.

Organization


The Lord of the Shado-Pan is the leader of the order, currently Taran Zhu (and before him, his father). The rest of the order is divided into three "disciplines", each headed by a Master, who reports directly to the Lord. Shado-Pan-in-training are acolytes, who wear white scarves, while the main forces wear red scarves.

When a pandaren becomes fully Shado-Pan, the monk travels with one of the order's master artisans deep below the earth into the heart of the Kun-Lai mountains and marks out a little piece of the mountain's bones. The artisan then carves it into the monk's likeness, leaving it connected to the bone. When the monk dies, the statue breaks free. All such statues are gathered and stored in the Shado-Pan Monastery so that all may remember those who came before.

Omnia
The Omnia discipline is led by Master Yalia Sagewhisper. They are charged with maintaining the wisdom, knowledge, and sacred traditions of the order. Classes known to be in this discipline include priests and mages. Omnia Mages can be found in Townlong Steppes holding open a portal between the Shado-Pan Garrison and Shan'ze Dao. Omnia Priests and Mages can also be found assisting adventurers seeking to gain reputation with the Shado-Pan. Frost and Fire mages have been witnessed among the ranks of the Omnia, along with Holy and/or Discipline priests. The discipline also contains scholars.

Blackguard
The Blackguard discipline is led by Master Wan Snowdrift. The warriors of the Shado-pan must answer to the Blackguard master, and the master's blade tests the blade of each and every Shado-Pan, including the ones guarding their walls, such as the Serpent's Spine. Classes known to be in this discipline include warriors and monks.

Wu Kao
The Wu Kao discipline is led by Master Nurong. They are the order's scouts, hunters, spies, and assassins. They bring death from the shadows and teach monsters to fear the night. Classes known to be in this discipline include hunters and rogues.

Trial of the Red Blossoms
Not just anyone can be a Shado-pan. Every seven seasons, the sacred trees of Shado-Pan Monastery grow blossoms of a fiery red: the sign to begin the trials for those wishing to join the order, a gauntlet of pain and rigor that kills most who submit to it. Twelve candidates are chosen, but only a maximum of six can pass all the trials. At least three months beforehand, each applicant is selected by Shado-pan agents from across Pandaria as a worthy candidate, often teenagers but some as young as 11 years old, and given a ring. Skillfully carved from a white tiger's fang with the order's snarling tiger symbol inlaid with silver across the top, the rings guarantee safe entrance through the front gates. The initiates must enter alone and told to bring no weapons or armor, as it would not help them (and if necessary, to wear some warmer clothes).

As the initiates stand on the Bridge of Initiation, the Master of the Omnia explains that the trial consists of three tests: the Test of Resolve (which they themselves will preside over), the Test of Strength by the Blackguard Master, and the Test of Spirit by the Wu Kao Master. While each is a traditional trial, each Master has the right to forgo tradition to conduct their Trial as they see fit. The Omnia master will also point out that each one is deadly for those that don't pass, and gives the candidates one last chance to change their minds about going through with the trial; while there is no dishonor with walking away at this point, neither will they ever be allowed to return. Once the ones that quit are escorted away, the master will officially begin the Trial of the Red Blossoms.

The initiates must get to a small, tiger-shaped iron brazier on a rocky shelf at the other side of the lake, which the Bridge of Initiation hangs over, and retrieve a coin buried under the hot coals to return to the Omnia master in the grove. To continue, each initiate must get a coin, and there are only six. They are given vague advice about "swimming quickly" just before the collapsible bridge dumps them into the lake. Here is where listening to the advice of "no armor, no weapons" pays off; those that do not strip off their heavy gear in time drown, not to mention the ones that can't swim at all. It should also be noted that it doesn't matter if the season is in the middle of winter and the lake partially frozen over -- a test is a test.
 * Test of Resolve

On the other side, six chains are provided to climb the twenty feet up to the brazier. Depending on how fast their reflexes are, digging out the white-hot coin will at least give them a blistered palm. They can then run back around the lake to the master, hand over the coin and motioned to wait at the side.

The initiates that pass are led to a training dojo by the Omnia master, who leaves them there for the Blackguard master. At the very center of the arena sit three massive bronze bells; ancient, sacred artifacts marked with words of power, crafted with magic and metallurgy to withstand the depredations of time, and each tuned to sound one perfect note. As part of their magic, they will not ring properly unless lifted and struck hard. Each bell hides a different type of death: the death that steals, the death that hides and the death that saves. The master will wait in the grove until they hear all three bells and then return. The master will then uncover the death that steals, leave, and lock the doors.
 * Test of Strength

The death that steals is represented by venom, such as from the fangs of a Bamboo Python: it sneaks into the body through tiny little doors and leaves with your soul, like a thief. The death that hides can be represented by a stealthy hunter, like a tiger. The death that saves are weapons, so that the initiates can kill the animals. Part of the test is not just surviving it, but using your head to figure out the clues and discover which bell hides the weapons, instead of having to fight both animals at the same time. It also forces the initiates - who were all competitors in the previous trial - to work together or die.

It is unknown how a traditional Test of Spirit is conducted, as when the mists vanished from around Pandaria, mantid assassins from Grand Empress Shek'zeer attempted to smuggle a sha-infested tiger into the trial, in the hopes that untrained initiates would cause the sha to fully manifest and be killed by it. It could then go on to hide in the monastery and continue killing initiates and raise no suspicions because initiates die at every trial anyway. Three surviving initiates defeated this sha, but were told by the Wu Kao master that the sha have marked them and now know everything about them. Even at that very moment, they could feel fear as they had never known before. Every encounter in the future would become more difficult and more terrifying; while they could be trained in how to destroy the sha and taught how to arm themselves against their fear, it was guaranteed that it would never go away. For their test, they were asked if they would still join the Shado-pan, willfully choosing to face the sha again for the rest of their lives, even knowing what senior students did not, and only veteran Shado-pan dared to face. The three agreed to join.
 * Test of Spirit

As for the blistered palms received from the white-hot coin, these heal into scars shaped like the face of the tiger minted on the coin - a permanent mark of the initiate's resolve.

Faction description
The shadowy protectors of Pandaria's temples, the Shado-Pan are wrought with mystery.

Quests
Most of the quests in Townlong Steppes reward reputation with the Shado-Pan, including all of the dailies at the Shado-Pan Garrison at level 90.

Completing non-daily Shado-Pan quests in Kun-Lai Summit and Townlong Steppes will net roughly 5000/6000 reputation. To raise reputations beyond that level, one needs first to reach with the Golden Lotus to unlock Shado-Pan dailies.

Humans can get to merely from regular quests thanks to their racial reputation bonus, provided they turn in the one-time drop from the Sha of Anger.

Kun-Lai Summit storyline
"The Shado-Pan" storyline of Slum It in the Summit in Kun-Lai Summit awards Shado-Pan reputation.

Townlong Steppes storyline
Nearly all of the main storyline quests in Townlong Steppes (all parts of One Steppe Forward, Two Steppes Back except "Mistlurkers in the Sumprushes") award reputation with the Shado-Pan.

Shado-Pan Garrison one-offs

 * The Challenger's Ring: Chao the Voice (+350)
 * The Challenger's Ring: Hawkmaster Nurong (+350)
 * The Challenger's Ring: Lao-Chin the Iron Belly (+350)
 * The Challenger's Ring: Snow Blossom (+350)
 * The Challenger's Ring: Tenwu of the Red Smoke (+350)
 * The Challenger's Ring: Yalia Sagewhisper (+350)
 * Through the Portal (+250)

Finale
At reputation, a short quest chain opens up at the Shado-Pan Garrison:

Companions
When heading out on a pack of dailies, the player is offered to take one of the nine companions. Each of the three major daily packs has up to three companions available to choose from: one is available immediately, and the other two are unlocked after defeating them in a Challenger's Ring quest at and  reputation, respectively.

Every companion also has a generic name, which is displayed instead of their personal name when a player with that companion is seen by other players.

One option you can use, if you have not done/finished the Shado-Pan dailies for the day, is to take up one of the dailies so you can choose a companion and use them during a challenge.

Notes and trivia

 * Shado-Pan stable masters have the title of "Tigermaster" (or "Tigermistress"), as evidenced by Liu-Do, Gai-Lin and Min-To.
 * The name of the Shado-Pan is most likely a combination of "Shadow" and "Pandaren". While clear in reference, it is only one letter different from the (joke) pandaren hero unit known as the Shodo-Pan.
 * The Shado-Pan seem to be somewhat based on the Night's Watch of the fantasy novel series  by . Both are soldiers in black who devote their lives to guarding a great wall.
 * Two of the Shado-Pan's on-click quotes ("We are the watchers on the wall." and "We are the sword in the shadows.") are very similar to lines from the oath all members of the Night's Watch swear, further cementing the reference.
 * It was initially concepted as the Shado-pan clan.
 * During the beta, some NPCs had the title, and occasionally the term is used in quests like The Emperor's Gift.