The Clan War Game: Toturi’s Army

Act II: Embraced by Beiden Pass

Hosoku (Bayushi Ishiwari) Abbot of the Temple of Tengen, Fortune of Literature and Writing and Secret Abbot of the Temple of Muzaka, Fortune of Enigmas

Game XIII

Date: 9AUG2012
Players: Chris Hand (Storyteller); Bobby Turman (Togashi Tajiri); Kyle Carroll (Isawa Akihito); Jeremiah Sager (O-Yama)

“When ten thousand men clash with arms and fire, it is always a single man’s actions that make the difference.” – The Tao of Shinsei

Chapter II: Embraced by Beiden Pass

Returning from the Break!

+15 XP for downtime

*Notes: Tajiri begins to experience unusual experiences with his attacks. When successful on a Daze the target gains a chance to be controlled by Tajiri via the Shuten Doji’s power.

Knowledge:
—> Learn of Hosoku/Bayushi Ishiwari and his relation to the Black Cabal, Tengen and Muzaka.
—> O-Yama communes with Kuni and learns that Soshi Taoshi and Yogo Junzo use Return of the Fallen Lord upon Bayushi Shoju against Bayushi Kachiko’s wishes.
—> Learn of the power of the Black Scrolls in relation to Fu Leng’s soul, the corruption of the Elemental Masters, etc.

Hiruma Ruhatsu encounter
—> PC’s learn of Yori’s ritual, the secret meeting and the hidden manse.
—> PC’s agree to assist Ruhatsu in ending his life in exchange for the information he gives them regarding Kuni Yori, the secret ritual, and the hidden manse. Ruhatsu kills himself via jigai, obviously corrupted by the Taint. The former Master Scout for Kuni Yori alleviates the stain upon his honor by betraying his lord further and ending his life.

Encounter the village and Shosuru
—> PC’s encounter the monk, Shosuru (name) and some peasants fighting against a group of Crab bushi.
—> Knock out two of the bushi instead of killing them
—> Tajiri learns that when he Dazes targets the Shuten Doji also goes into the targets and allows him to temporarily take control of them like the Shuten Doji of Desire would.
—> Agree to stay behind in Yoman Mura to fight against the Crab patrol
—> Receive information from Hosoku to meet him in the woods
—> Executed Crab bushi

Ambushing Kuni Kanetsugo
—> Kanetsugo has The Kami’s Will cast upon him (-5k5 to Spellcasting rolls against him, +5 to Willpower making it a 10); Armor of the Emperor (reduced by 5 on each damage die); Strike at the Roots upon Tajiri, Embrace of Kenro-ji-jin, Earth Becomes Sky; Grandfather’s Word (3rd Edition Prayers book)
—> O-Yama Increase Kanetsugo’s TN to Commune with the Earth kami by 92
—> Combat paused with Pragmatist dead

—> Killed all but one Archer and Kanetsugo (who fled using Kami’s Will and Embrace of Kenro-jo-jin)

End Combat
—> Hida Forongu slain in “honorable combat” against O-Yama
—> O-Yama changes the 4 slain into Kuni’s Crystal Samurai

*Rewards
Glory:
Status:
Honor:
Experience (Total Gained): 8 + 15 (Downtime) (129) Karma Bonuses (Total): JJ 0 (18), Bobby 2 (21), Kyle 1 (20), Jonathan 2 (7) – Stasis, Logan 1 (11) -Stasis
Other: +4 honor for aiding those beneath their station (staying in Yoman Mura); +2 Akihito for showing kindness to the captured Hida and allowing them to formulate protests against their Jigai

Bayushi Kwanchai, child of Bayushi Tangen

Game XIV

Date: 16AUG2012
Players: Chris Hand (Storyteller); Bobby Turman (Togashi Tajiri); Kyle Carroll (Isawa Akihito); Jeremiah Sager (O-Yama); Chris Drennan “Fritz” (Mirumoto Tsunake)

“While you rest, your enemy practices.” – The Tao of Shinsei

“I don’t know why I did that! I don’t even eat that stuff!” – the dying butterfly

Chapter II: Embraced by Beiden Pass

Adding Mirumoto
—> Mechanical – Mirumoto Tsunake [Fritz] – gains 1 Karma point for starting the game; will gain 1 additional point for putting his character up on the Obsidian Portal site and writing up a background
—> Story – Mirumoto Tsunake [Fritz] has lechery; he was seen at one point in the vicinity, alone, with Mirumoto Hitomi, daimyo of the Mirumoto family (for personal, but non-romantic business regarding her cousin in the Mirumoto family); an “individual” saw the encounter and used gossip/rumors to blow it out of proportion; events led to many in the Dragon believing that Mirumoto Tsunake had deflowered the chaste samurai-ko; courtiers and diplomats within the Mirumoto used their potent leverage to shift all blame towards Mirumoto Tsunake to make others believe that he had started the rumors himself to attain fame; he gained Dishonored and the majority of Dragon believe that he dishonorably attempted to raise his reputation at the expense of the Mirumoto daimyo; for his failures Mirumoto Tsunake was sent to the front lines of Toturi’s Army
—> Mirumoto Tsunake was sent with one of the forward scouts towards the northern portion of the Scorpion territory; his group encountered a pack of goblins that they hunted down into Hare territory; upon finding them they were ambushed by Free Ogres and all but the Mirumoto were slain; barely surviving, Mirumoto Tsunake was forced to flee in order to relay information to the Hare Champion that such dangerous beasts were upon their land; prior to locating the Hare daimyo, Mirumoto Tsunake began to lose memory of his occurrences (he came across Shiba Hanami and Isawa Ujina-uo – the Elemental Master of Void decided to take the Mirumoto with him into the woods)
—> Upon arrival in the Scorpion wood, Mirumoto Tsunake was able to escape from/flee from Ujina-uo as Hanami attempted to fight him; Tsunake was found in the woods by Kwanchai and Hosoku and is recovering at this time

The Hidden Temple to Tengen (and Muzaka)

Entering Hosoku’s Wood/Traitor’s Grove
—> PC’s make note of signs of human habitation within the trees (ropes, deer stands, etc.). They also find one of Kwanchai’s attack stands that he has used with ropes and unusual maneuvers to get to
—> Unveiling of information, Mirumoto Tsunake, etcetera.
—> Revelation that Kenshin’s Helm may be a very dangerous item.
—> Tajiri attempting to decipher the Puzzle feels the effects of the Shuten Doji of Desire trying to entice him
—> Fails Willpower roll; gets stabbed by Kwanchai through the hand; stands stock still trying to resist the urge to use Maho; the Shuten Doji is attempting to force him to use it
—> Tajiri takes over O-Yama
—> Tajiri punches Tsunake in the face and attempts to take him over; fails once; hits again; does enough damage to attempt to kill Tsunake
—> Technically has slain Tsunake – the Shuten Doji keeps him alive to use his blood and soul; this will permanently link Mirumoto Tsunake and Togashi Tajiri
—> Hosoku retrieves Akihito; Akihito maintains his connection with Hotei and enters the room with the power of Hotei within him
—> Akihito enters the room and attempts to cut off Tajiri’s arm (left arm)
—> Tajiri loses his left arm (28 damage total)
—> O-Yama uses Earth Becomes Sky and destroys portions of the temple to batter Tajiri into destruction.
—> Akihito unleashes his Path to Inner Peace and before Tsunake can die Akihito heals him
—> The Shuten Doji prevents Kuni’s Crystal Breath from working the same upon Tajiri again; instead, Tajiri comes back to life without his left arm; the left arm turns into Crystal

The Puzzle Art

Hotei’s Blessing
—> Akihito met with Hotei and learned powerful information about the Black Scroll, the darkness of Fu Leng, a darkness rising, and the meeting with Shosuro in Togashi Mountains (Kyuden Togashi)
—> Learns that the Dark God is the Emperor and that the Seven Thunders must defeat him, but that the Helm may contain a contingency. There is another Dark power coming on the horizon that may help defeat Fu Leng and may be more dangerous.
—> Hosoku states that while he reads the scrolls that the PCs must learn where the powerful shugenja are sending their minion to seek out the Black Scroll.
—> Tajiri and O-Yama open the painting/puzzle and find the information
—> Muzaka reveals the vision of Kokujin/Shosuro to Togashi Tajiri
—> The PC’s decide to go visit the manse to find out if the spell there will reveal the information on the location of the scroll
—> PC’s locate the Hidden Library of Muzaka, Fortune of Enigmas
—> PC’s encounter Kuni Kanetsugo again upon leaving the Temple to Tengen; he has decided to accompany them to seek the destruction of corrupted elements within the Kuni family

PC’s go after the Manse
—> Encounter the Kuni Yori betrayal of Ujina-uo. Kuni Yori, Necromancer and daimyo of the Kuni family and Isawa Ujina-uo, Elemental Master of Void combine their efforts and sacrifice the body (and soul?) of Shiba Hanami in order to summon a unique and never before seen oni, Akeru. Akeru is the Elemental Terror of Void and unlike any other oni in existence (maintaining a tie to the Void because of his connection with Ujina-uo). Yori attempts to betray Ujina-uo after the ritual, but the Elemental Master dismisses the Crab bushi and destroys them in a cloud of dust then disappears.
—> Kuni Yori decides to flee the battle once the PC’s make themselves known instead of staying behind. He leaves his lieutenants to deal with the situation.

—> Akeru flees to head north towards Kyuden Togashi
PAUSE COMBAT!

Rewards
Glory:
Status:
Honor:
Experience (Total Gained): 10 (139) Karma Bonuses (Total): JJ 1 (19), Bobby 2 (23), Kyle 2 (22), Fritz 2 (2) Jonathan 2 (7) – Stasis, Logan 1 (11) – Stasis
Other:

Akeru no Oni, Elementl Terror of Void

Game XV

Date: 23AUG2012
Players: Chris Hand (Storyteller); Bobby Turman (Togashi Tajiri); Kyle Carroll (Isawa Akihito) absent; Jeremiah Sager (O-Yama); Chris Drennan “Fritz” (Mirumoto Tsunake)

“The only true test of courage is the last one.” – The Tao of Shinsei

Chapter II: Embraced by Beiden Pass

Combat Continued
—> O-yama and Akihito full out assault Kuni Waseni (Waseni is O-Yama’s former sensei and the maho-tsukai responsible for the death of his mother and the transformation of his father into an Aka-name).
—> Tajiri chases after the Akeru with the Crystal Samurai hoping to stop it before it can find the Black Scroll; he dazes the creature, but fails to be able to use Void; realizing the error of his ways, he considers retreat; the Crystal samurai arrive and assault the Akeru, but afterwards it uses one of its Void powers and teleports via the Void. When it leaves, the Akeru leaves an image of a road near Kyuden Togashi behind in Tajiri’s mind.
—> Waseni takes enough damage to die…he releases his last Shadowlands Power/Maho ability and explodes damage outward throughout the region
—> All Zombies explode dealing 3k3 to anyone within 25’
—> Akihito takes 79 damage from the Zombies exploding as every other character abandons the area. Akihito is knocked unconscious, but remains very much alive.
—> Apprentices takes half (40); O-Yama finishes them off with Earth Becomes Sky
—> Tajiri attempts to Falling Star Strike Oyamako and finds that the Akeru is still in the area. Oyamako is destroyed quickly afterwards.
—> Group kills all the enemies; however, Traitor’s Grove is coming alive with shiryo, gaki and dark spirits being released from their eternal pain
—> O-Yama has the Crystal Samurai begin to collect the dead bodies for burnination

Post Combat
—> Mirumoto Tsunake enters the ruins of the manse and finds the walls of the place torn asunder and cleared out to make the entire structure a single summoning chamber. The middle of the place opens up into a bottomless chasm from which the Akeru birthed from out of Void and Darkness. Splattered all about the dark pit and across nearly every inch of the ruins, blood covers the area. The body of Shiba Hanami, ripped and bloodied hangs spread-eagle and naked, ruined, arms and legs akimbo, above a circle of candles and blood. Hanami’s face is frozen in terror and pain.

—> O-Yama burns the manse to the ground, but in the interim, Traitor’s Grove comes to life. It seems that a side-effect of the powerful ritual Ujina-uo and Yori performed was to awaken and release all of the traitorous and trapped souls bound within Traitor’s Grove. The Scorpion forest comes to life.

Escape from Traitor’s Grove
—> The PC’s each begin to flee from Traitor’s Grove as powerful spirits from Gaki-do, Toshigoku, and Jigoku pour from their tormented bindings and attempt to take over the bodies of the living.
—> O-Yama vanishes beneath the earth being hounded by spirits who can travel through the material ground.
—> Tajiri takes off running carrying the unconscious form of Isawa Akihito barely staying ahead of his pursuers and dodging spirits on all sides.
—> Tsunake runs slowest and gets assaulted by a massively sized spirit that nearly takes him over. He is later attacked by a spirit of a traitorous ninja and begins to realize he will not be able to outrun the tireless yorei forever.

—> Traitor’s Grove darkens during the day as the foul magics awakening it unleash a torrent of kansen into the air. Shadowed clouds cover the area and an evil wind blows violently through the trees.

—> Mirumoto Tsunake encounters Bayushi Baku, servant of Traitor’s Grove, while fleeing from the tormented spirits
—> Baku will assist him if he comes, but for a price.
—> Baku’s price is that he will be released into the world (Sworn Enemy: Bayushi Kachiko 5) and the spiritual damage causes (Bad Fortune: Lingering Misfortune 3) and Ally (Bayushi Baku 4/4)
—> Gains Baku’s Yari, an awakened Yari
—> Junshin; Baku’s binding releases the other spirits it was bound to (though they are already released because of the ritual); these spirits will seek out the destruction of the ruling family of the Bayushi and Shosuro lines
—> The other spirits are five in number and variously assassins, actors, bushi, etc (Shosuro, Soshi, 2 Bayushi and a Yogo)
—> Hosoku informs the PCs that Bayushi Tesurugi is released

—> Kwanchai finds Tajiri and Akihito: “How often do you talk to yourself?”

—> During one of his attempts to use Void, Tajiri finds that he cannot and believes that the Akeru is following them. The PC’s become aware that they could be followed by the Akeru at any time…potentially leaving them open to assault and drainage of Void.

—> Mirumoto Tsunake and O-Yama agree to allow Bayushi Baku to leave Traitor’s Grove in exchange for his assistance in saving Tsunake’s life (while Baku was a part of Tsunake the other traitorous spirits could not harm him). Baku is given the body of one of the Crystal Samurai and allowed to venture forth to stop the eventual assassination attempt on Bayushi Kachiko.

Hosoku’s Information: The Helm, the Traitor, and the Black Scroll
—> PC’s become aware of the relationship between Bayushi Tesurugi, the first spirit bound in Traitor’s Grove for selling 3 Black Scrolls, the Black Scroll (The Doom of Fu Leng), and Kenshin’s Helm’s history
—> PC’s know that Miya Yumi has possession of Kenshin’s Helm, but do not know where she intends to take it.
—> PC’ believe that Akeru potentially seeks to find the woman trapped in the Crystal Prison
—> PC’s gain Ally Hosoku (Bayushi Ishiwari) Abbot of the Hidden Library of Muzaka (Temple of Tengen) and Master of Secrets (has all kinds of Forbidden Knowledge and secret Scorpion information)

—> O-Yama witnesses Akeru no Oni eating the souls of some of the Traitors in the Grove
—> O-Yama gets called “the Fortune of Death” by Baku
—> O-Yama leaves behind one of the Crystal Samurai to defend the Hidden Library
—> Hosoku’s Spies will all become taken over by the released Gaki, spirits of Toshigoku, and others and will become an angry plague upon the Scorpion in the future
—> O-Yama Embrace of Kenro-ro-jin on Kwanchai (releases Kwanchai from Traitor’s Grove)

—> The PC’s learn from Hosoku’s findings in the lost lore that Kenshin’s Helm is an ancient and dangerous artifact going back to the dawn of the Empire. Miya Kenshin was a faithless follower of the original Miya and utilized his power at creation to craft the kabuto and curse it. The Helm was completed, but Kenshin could not complete the second half of his ritual before dying. The Helm was given to the Miya family daimyo in honor of his ability at Kenshin’s funeral.

The PC’s and Hosoku conclude that they must find the individual who knows where the Black Scroll can be located in order to attempt to destroy it

PC’s are also keenly aware that the solution to their troubles, the item they seek, is none other than a Black Scroll and that it may become necessary for someone to utilize the scroll and become permanently Shadowlands Tainted.

For more information on the Helm and what the PC’s have learned about it:
Kenshin’s Helm

The Road to the Second Battle of Beiden Pass
—> The PCs are stopped by an Imperial Legion Chui and his dozen men (Seppun Boyun)
—> A shugenja (Seppun) and his yojimbo wait in the back while the other 10 + leader fan out around the group
—> “You are under arrest!”
—> The PC’s are being detained by 13 Imperial Legionnaires
 Seppun Goshun (Air Shugenja Rank 4), Yojimbo (the Kaze), leader (Rank 4 Seppun bushi), 5 Rank 2 and 5 Rank 3 Seppun Bushi
—> The group banters back and forth for a bit before the Seppun leader grows tired of the PC’s refusal to obey his commands and demands their death. The chui is following Imperial Law and his will is in line with the Law. Should the PC’s kill the Imperials they will technically be slaying Legionnaires in due course of their duty.

Rewards
Glory:
Status:
Honor:
Experience (Total Gained): 9 (148) Karma Bonuses (Total): JJ 1 (20), Bobby 2 (25), Kyle 2 (24), Fritz 2 (4) Jonathan 2 (7) – Stasis, Logan 1 (11) – Stasis
Other: