Post by Alex ST on Jun 27, 2016 9:34:05 GMT -5
In the months leading up to the start of game:
The Kolat accomplishes what no one else has managed to do: they decipher the prophecies of Uikku and realize how to prevent the return of Fu Leng. By stealing the very essence of the Hantei they will prevent any last Hantei for the prophecies to latch on to. Effectively, they will sever fate.
The Unicorn champion Shinjo Yokatsu orders trusted samurai and shugenja to travel to Dragon's Heart Lake and retrieve the heart of the Water Dragon. Yokatsu is actually a high-ranking member of the Kolat and he brings the heart to the Kolat's hidden temple. He then travels to Otosan Uchi where he takes the young prince, Hantei Sotorii, out riding. While they are safely out of the city, Yokatsu's Kolat allies use the heart to compel the Water Dragon to undermine the foundations of Otosan Uchi. This appears to cause a great earthquake the devastates the city and kills the Emperor and all direct descendants of the Hantei line other than the young Sotorii who is now the sole bearer of the Hantei name. Yokatsu returns him to the city in a show of concern and the two look through the rubble. Sotorii is trying to find his father but Yokatsu searches for and finds something else: the heart of Iuchiban.
Now Yokatsu completes the second part of the Kolat's plan. Though the Kolat do not practice maho - they are in fact, as staunchly against maho as the Crab are since slavery to the Ninth Kami is no better than slavery to the Hantei - they make an exception in this case. Yokatsu completes a ritual based on the corruption by which an oni may steal someone's name, channeling all the taint and corruption into Iuchiban's heart and keeping himself free. When the ritual is over Yokatsu controls the very name of Hantei and the rest of the Empire has forgotten he ever existed: from their perspective Hantei XXXVIII died childless. Yokatsu returns to Unicorn lands while the now-nameless child once known as Sotorii flees into the ruins of the city.
The Empire mourns the loss of the Emperor but is thrown into turmoil due to the eradication of the entire line. The champions of the Great Clans reconvene Imperial Court at Kyuden Seppun, two days' ride from Otosan Uchi. None are strong enough to claim the capital, and the devastation is profound. The earthquake flattened the buildings (though the city walls are intact, already magically healing themselves) and the flow of earth has even moved things around. The loss of life is incalculable and the heimin, hinin, and even eta are trapped in the city without food or supplies. Worst of all is the Imperial palace which, according to rumors, still stands but has transformed, its walls transmuted into shining slabs of obsidian (in fact, the spell that stole the Hantei name spilled its taint over corrupting the entire palace and turning it into a tainted fortress).
Controlling Otosan Uchi will be a key political step in claiming the throne for any clan, but at the same time no clan can afford to be too forward with their ambitions. Each clan dispatches samurai to the devastated Imperial City with orders to aid survivors, establish order, save ancient treasures, and most of all to rebuild.
Month of the Hare (March)
Players get the lay of the land. Plots should be simple:
- Aid survivors
- Acquire resources to rebuild
- Claim territory and subjects
Month of the Dragon (April)
The real dangers of the city start to reveal themselves.
- A ronin group known as the Yotsu is organizing peasants into bands for self defense
- First oni attack from the Obsidian Fortress
- A sinkhole in the still-uncertain foundation of the city reveals twisting caverns and ruins below
Month of the Serpent (May)
Different groups are trying to claim power within the city
- A yakuza cartel calling themselves the Glorious Beggars begins extorting peasants for protection
- A collapsed building is found with dozens of bodies underneath. Investigation reveals they were not killed in the earthquake but to fuel maho (foreshadowing Bloodspeakers).
- A new tribe of Ratlings called the Stone Teeth takes advantage of the ruined state of the city to establish a warren.
- The clans arguing at Kyuden Seppun over the next emperor are becoming increasingly aggressive.
Month of the Horse (June)
- A gang war starts between the Yotsu and the Glorious Beggars
- Heavy summer rains cause the river to swell wiping out survivors huts and houses along the river.
- Two of the clans begin to engage in limited warfare - small border skirmishes and raids - as a way of testing each other out should negotiations over the Emperor break down.
- The Bloodspeakers begin moving against PCs that might have information on Iuchiban's heart.
- The players discover the ruins of the Imperial Nakodo's office, containing the record of the Hantei line's marriages. Something seems off about the records (Lore: Heraldry/Void to discern).
Month of the Goat (July)
- Several clans go to active war with each other. The aims are limited and formally declared (i.e. "We will lead a force of 500 men and capture this castle!") so PCs are not expected to fight the war but they are expected to support it.
- The Glorious Beggars take territory from the Yotsu. They are surprisingly well-funded for bandits (they are actually supported by the Tortoise).
- Some of the peasants flee to the samurai for protection. Others look to protect themselves as the Yotsu taught them. Some strike out at the Nezumi.
- Players discover the chamber where Iuchiban's hidden heart was kept (it is, of course, now empty due to Yokatsu).
- The Nakodo's records become a point contention as all the clans seek to strengthen their ties to the remnants of the Hantei line, or even hope to discover a potential heir.
Month of the Monkey (August)
- Alarmed at the state of the Empire Bayushi Shoju journeys to Kyuden Togashi and begs Togashi, in his guise as Yokuni, to take the Throne as the only living Kami. Togashi does not answer; he sees what the Kolat have done (as a Kami he sees both the current world and the world without the Kolat's spell) but because he cannot see his own future does not know if it is better to take the throne or attempt to restore the natural order. He sends cryptic orders to the Dragon to search for Sotorii. Shoju sends less cryptic orders to the Scorpion to find out what the Dragon know.
- Peasants begin declaring fealty to a new minor clan: the Tiger, comprised by the Yotsu. The Yotsu actively disavow this title but they will not abandon the peasants they've sworn to protect.
- Further exploration below the city reveals the cause of the earthquake was an underground river that undermined the city's foundation, not a true earthquake.
- The Nakodo's records go missing when they are stolen by a Kolat operative.
Month of the Rooster (September)
- One of the Great Clans takes affront at the Tiger "Minor Clan" and begins fighting the Yotsu (they will not deign to call it war) for their presumption, despite their protests against the title. Another Clan (again dependent on PC actions) offers fealty to the Yotsu.
- The Bloodspeakers move to capture the section of the city where Iuchiban's heart resided, unleashing powerful maho, brainwashed cultists, and large numbers of undead.
- The conflicts between the clans are causing interruptions in normal commerce. Not enough food reaches Otosan Uchi for all the peasants. If the problem can't be solved there will be large scale starvation over the next few months.
- Rumors reach the city of a strange ronin and a young ward traveling the Empire together, sometimes fighting to protect the helpless and at other times visiting shrines and temples. In truth they are the Hooded Ronin (Shinsei's descendant, who is one of the few mortals who can see through the Kolat's spell) and Sotorii.
Month of the Dog (October)
- Investigation into the Bloodspeaker attack reveals that they had raised far more undead than should have been possible. The source is revealed to be the bodies of citizens killed in the earthquake but not cleared from the rubble. It seems there are insufficient eta in the city for the job. No one knows where the eta have gone and investigation is likely to be unpleasant (in truth, the Kolat have recruited them promising them a better life. This is a lie; the Kolat don't want equality but just to be on top).
- The Glorious Beggars begin smuggling food into the city, thanks to their Tortoise allies, and selling it at great expense on the blackmarket. Those who can't pay their prices are doomed to starve come winter.
- Recklessly fast rebuilding results in a disaster (collapsed building, fires from structures too close together, etc.).
- The Hooded Ronin and his disciple aid the Yotsu in a battle against the Glorious Beggars then disappear.
Month of the Boar (November)
- News comes that an Imperial magistrate will arrive at the city next month to investigate progress.
- The Stone Chewer ratlings are discovered to have made a warren in of the unclaimed temples.
- For the first month there is insufficient food. Many heimin and hinin go on half rations. Others swear service to the nameless samurai by the Fortress.
- Fearful of what dangers the city represents, one of the Hub villages offers fealty to one of the Great Clans. This will give the Clan unprecedented influence over the Imperial City. Other clans quickly make overtures to gain fealty from the other three Hub villages or to block the efforts of the other Clans.
- Rumors surface that a brave samurai without a name has established a residence near the former Imperial Palace, now the Obsidian Fortress, in defiance of the corruption it reprsents, and that she will protect any who swear fealty to her. In fact, the "noble" samurai is a Ryokaku no Oni (see Enemies of the Empire, p. 166-167).
Month of the Rat (December)
- The Imperial magistrate arrives just before the first hard winter snow, trapping him in Otosan Uchi for the winter.
- Peasants riot to protest the food shortages.
- The Glorious Beggars try to extort the nameless samurai by the Fortress. They are slaughtered mercilessly.
- Though armies cannot move in the winter snow, the samurai of different clans in the hub villages find excuses to duel or just begin out-and-out brawling.
- The Hooded Ronin brings his disciple to the Great Clans and announces he is looking for a tutor for his young charge. He cannot pay for the teaching nor does he offer any reward.
Month of the Ox (January)
- Kolat spies have discovered the Hooded Ronin's location, and recognize Sotorii (thanks to Shinjo Yokatsu's description they know he is a target even if most of them don't know why). They dispatch assassins.
- With the river frozen and the roads blocked by snow it becomes impossible to move food into the city. Starvation takes hold. The Yotsu raid Glorious Beggar holdings to acquire food to distribute to the peasants. The Glorious Beggars retaliate by putting the peasants' homes to the torch.
- A "benevolent merchant" arrives in the city through the snow. Moved by the city's plight he begins distributing rice for almost nothing and sometimes even for free. In fact he is a devoted servant of Fu Leng sent to fight the Bloodspeaker influence and much of the rice is actually morei no oni spawn (see Enemies of hte Empire, p. 160-161).
- The nameless samurai kidnaps the nameless Sotorii and begins to test his purity.
Month of the Tiger (February)
- The morei no oni begin to spawn. The merchant who brought them is seen either disappearing into the Obsidian Fortress or into the estate of the nameless samurai (decide which at the time).
- Sotorii passes the nameless samurai's tests. She forces him through a marriage ceremony and consummates the marriage which will leave her pregnant with the demonic offspring of the Hantei line (though not even she knows the child's strength).
Year 2: The New Clan War
One of the Great Clans makes a bid for the Throne. War begins in earnest as they push towards Otosan Uchi.
Year 3: The Second Day of Thunder
Fu Leng's return has been averted. There is no Hantei for him to possess and since the Scorpion were not destroyed the Black Scrolls were never opened. Instead, Jigoku chooses a different Champion (to be determined based on how game plays out but I'm leaning towards the child of Sotorii and the oni).
The Kolat accomplishes what no one else has managed to do: they decipher the prophecies of Uikku and realize how to prevent the return of Fu Leng. By stealing the very essence of the Hantei they will prevent any last Hantei for the prophecies to latch on to. Effectively, they will sever fate.
The Unicorn champion Shinjo Yokatsu orders trusted samurai and shugenja to travel to Dragon's Heart Lake and retrieve the heart of the Water Dragon. Yokatsu is actually a high-ranking member of the Kolat and he brings the heart to the Kolat's hidden temple. He then travels to Otosan Uchi where he takes the young prince, Hantei Sotorii, out riding. While they are safely out of the city, Yokatsu's Kolat allies use the heart to compel the Water Dragon to undermine the foundations of Otosan Uchi. This appears to cause a great earthquake the devastates the city and kills the Emperor and all direct descendants of the Hantei line other than the young Sotorii who is now the sole bearer of the Hantei name. Yokatsu returns him to the city in a show of concern and the two look through the rubble. Sotorii is trying to find his father but Yokatsu searches for and finds something else: the heart of Iuchiban.
Now Yokatsu completes the second part of the Kolat's plan. Though the Kolat do not practice maho - they are in fact, as staunchly against maho as the Crab are since slavery to the Ninth Kami is no better than slavery to the Hantei - they make an exception in this case. Yokatsu completes a ritual based on the corruption by which an oni may steal someone's name, channeling all the taint and corruption into Iuchiban's heart and keeping himself free. When the ritual is over Yokatsu controls the very name of Hantei and the rest of the Empire has forgotten he ever existed: from their perspective Hantei XXXVIII died childless. Yokatsu returns to Unicorn lands while the now-nameless child once known as Sotorii flees into the ruins of the city.
The Empire mourns the loss of the Emperor but is thrown into turmoil due to the eradication of the entire line. The champions of the Great Clans reconvene Imperial Court at Kyuden Seppun, two days' ride from Otosan Uchi. None are strong enough to claim the capital, and the devastation is profound. The earthquake flattened the buildings (though the city walls are intact, already magically healing themselves) and the flow of earth has even moved things around. The loss of life is incalculable and the heimin, hinin, and even eta are trapped in the city without food or supplies. Worst of all is the Imperial palace which, according to rumors, still stands but has transformed, its walls transmuted into shining slabs of obsidian (in fact, the spell that stole the Hantei name spilled its taint over corrupting the entire palace and turning it into a tainted fortress).
Controlling Otosan Uchi will be a key political step in claiming the throne for any clan, but at the same time no clan can afford to be too forward with their ambitions. Each clan dispatches samurai to the devastated Imperial City with orders to aid survivors, establish order, save ancient treasures, and most of all to rebuild.
Month of the Hare (March)
Players get the lay of the land. Plots should be simple:
- Aid survivors
- Acquire resources to rebuild
- Claim territory and subjects
Month of the Dragon (April)
The real dangers of the city start to reveal themselves.
- A ronin group known as the Yotsu is organizing peasants into bands for self defense
- First oni attack from the Obsidian Fortress
- A sinkhole in the still-uncertain foundation of the city reveals twisting caverns and ruins below
Month of the Serpent (May)
Different groups are trying to claim power within the city
- A yakuza cartel calling themselves the Glorious Beggars begins extorting peasants for protection
- A collapsed building is found with dozens of bodies underneath. Investigation reveals they were not killed in the earthquake but to fuel maho (foreshadowing Bloodspeakers).
- A new tribe of Ratlings called the Stone Teeth takes advantage of the ruined state of the city to establish a warren.
- The clans arguing at Kyuden Seppun over the next emperor are becoming increasingly aggressive.
Month of the Horse (June)
- A gang war starts between the Yotsu and the Glorious Beggars
- Heavy summer rains cause the river to swell wiping out survivors huts and houses along the river.
- Two of the clans begin to engage in limited warfare - small border skirmishes and raids - as a way of testing each other out should negotiations over the Emperor break down.
- The Bloodspeakers begin moving against PCs that might have information on Iuchiban's heart.
- The players discover the ruins of the Imperial Nakodo's office, containing the record of the Hantei line's marriages. Something seems off about the records (Lore: Heraldry/Void to discern).
Month of the Goat (July)
- Several clans go to active war with each other. The aims are limited and formally declared (i.e. "We will lead a force of 500 men and capture this castle!") so PCs are not expected to fight the war but they are expected to support it.
- The Glorious Beggars take territory from the Yotsu. They are surprisingly well-funded for bandits (they are actually supported by the Tortoise).
- Some of the peasants flee to the samurai for protection. Others look to protect themselves as the Yotsu taught them. Some strike out at the Nezumi.
- Players discover the chamber where Iuchiban's hidden heart was kept (it is, of course, now empty due to Yokatsu).
- The Nakodo's records become a point contention as all the clans seek to strengthen their ties to the remnants of the Hantei line, or even hope to discover a potential heir.
Month of the Monkey (August)
- Alarmed at the state of the Empire Bayushi Shoju journeys to Kyuden Togashi and begs Togashi, in his guise as Yokuni, to take the Throne as the only living Kami. Togashi does not answer; he sees what the Kolat have done (as a Kami he sees both the current world and the world without the Kolat's spell) but because he cannot see his own future does not know if it is better to take the throne or attempt to restore the natural order. He sends cryptic orders to the Dragon to search for Sotorii. Shoju sends less cryptic orders to the Scorpion to find out what the Dragon know.
- Peasants begin declaring fealty to a new minor clan: the Tiger, comprised by the Yotsu. The Yotsu actively disavow this title but they will not abandon the peasants they've sworn to protect.
- Further exploration below the city reveals the cause of the earthquake was an underground river that undermined the city's foundation, not a true earthquake.
- The Nakodo's records go missing when they are stolen by a Kolat operative.
Month of the Rooster (September)
- One of the Great Clans takes affront at the Tiger "Minor Clan" and begins fighting the Yotsu (they will not deign to call it war) for their presumption, despite their protests against the title. Another Clan (again dependent on PC actions) offers fealty to the Yotsu.
- The Bloodspeakers move to capture the section of the city where Iuchiban's heart resided, unleashing powerful maho, brainwashed cultists, and large numbers of undead.
- The conflicts between the clans are causing interruptions in normal commerce. Not enough food reaches Otosan Uchi for all the peasants. If the problem can't be solved there will be large scale starvation over the next few months.
- Rumors reach the city of a strange ronin and a young ward traveling the Empire together, sometimes fighting to protect the helpless and at other times visiting shrines and temples. In truth they are the Hooded Ronin (Shinsei's descendant, who is one of the few mortals who can see through the Kolat's spell) and Sotorii.
Month of the Dog (October)
- Investigation into the Bloodspeaker attack reveals that they had raised far more undead than should have been possible. The source is revealed to be the bodies of citizens killed in the earthquake but not cleared from the rubble. It seems there are insufficient eta in the city for the job. No one knows where the eta have gone and investigation is likely to be unpleasant (in truth, the Kolat have recruited them promising them a better life. This is a lie; the Kolat don't want equality but just to be on top).
- The Glorious Beggars begin smuggling food into the city, thanks to their Tortoise allies, and selling it at great expense on the blackmarket. Those who can't pay their prices are doomed to starve come winter.
- Recklessly fast rebuilding results in a disaster (collapsed building, fires from structures too close together, etc.).
- The Hooded Ronin and his disciple aid the Yotsu in a battle against the Glorious Beggars then disappear.
Month of the Boar (November)
- News comes that an Imperial magistrate will arrive at the city next month to investigate progress.
- The Stone Chewer ratlings are discovered to have made a warren in of the unclaimed temples.
- For the first month there is insufficient food. Many heimin and hinin go on half rations. Others swear service to the nameless samurai by the Fortress.
- Fearful of what dangers the city represents, one of the Hub villages offers fealty to one of the Great Clans. This will give the Clan unprecedented influence over the Imperial City. Other clans quickly make overtures to gain fealty from the other three Hub villages or to block the efforts of the other Clans.
- Rumors surface that a brave samurai without a name has established a residence near the former Imperial Palace, now the Obsidian Fortress, in defiance of the corruption it reprsents, and that she will protect any who swear fealty to her. In fact, the "noble" samurai is a Ryokaku no Oni (see Enemies of the Empire, p. 166-167).
Month of the Rat (December)
- The Imperial magistrate arrives just before the first hard winter snow, trapping him in Otosan Uchi for the winter.
- Peasants riot to protest the food shortages.
- The Glorious Beggars try to extort the nameless samurai by the Fortress. They are slaughtered mercilessly.
- Though armies cannot move in the winter snow, the samurai of different clans in the hub villages find excuses to duel or just begin out-and-out brawling.
- The Hooded Ronin brings his disciple to the Great Clans and announces he is looking for a tutor for his young charge. He cannot pay for the teaching nor does he offer any reward.
Month of the Ox (January)
- Kolat spies have discovered the Hooded Ronin's location, and recognize Sotorii (thanks to Shinjo Yokatsu's description they know he is a target even if most of them don't know why). They dispatch assassins.
- With the river frozen and the roads blocked by snow it becomes impossible to move food into the city. Starvation takes hold. The Yotsu raid Glorious Beggar holdings to acquire food to distribute to the peasants. The Glorious Beggars retaliate by putting the peasants' homes to the torch.
- A "benevolent merchant" arrives in the city through the snow. Moved by the city's plight he begins distributing rice for almost nothing and sometimes even for free. In fact he is a devoted servant of Fu Leng sent to fight the Bloodspeaker influence and much of the rice is actually morei no oni spawn (see Enemies of hte Empire, p. 160-161).
- The nameless samurai kidnaps the nameless Sotorii and begins to test his purity.
Month of the Tiger (February)
- The morei no oni begin to spawn. The merchant who brought them is seen either disappearing into the Obsidian Fortress or into the estate of the nameless samurai (decide which at the time).
- Sotorii passes the nameless samurai's tests. She forces him through a marriage ceremony and consummates the marriage which will leave her pregnant with the demonic offspring of the Hantei line (though not even she knows the child's strength).
Year 2: The New Clan War
One of the Great Clans makes a bid for the Throne. War begins in earnest as they push towards Otosan Uchi.
Year 3: The Second Day of Thunder
Fu Leng's return has been averted. There is no Hantei for him to possess and since the Scorpion were not destroyed the Black Scrolls were never opened. Instead, Jigoku chooses a different Champion (to be determined based on how game plays out but I'm leaning towards the child of Sotorii and the oni).
