The End of Arcana: Part 2
I'm not up for going through the whole thing, so I'll just post some setup for now:
Following the big fight and the morning after, where I may tie up some loose ends (such as Sergeant Kenjii Sagara and his daughter, Kei's attempt to solidify his power, and Hinako's worry that she capable of leading everyone the way she was supposed to.), everyone gathers at the Tower the next day. Everyone being much of the Arcana, but certainly not all. I'd start by first having Matthias mention that Kaoru's sister, Kaori, vanished last night, and then have other people mention non-Arcana vanishing. In actuality, five humans vanished, including Kaori, Chikako, AND that homeless guy you once met in a subway. More on that later.
Once all the Arcana were gathered, Hinako would start the ritual. Said ritual involves most of the Arcana concentrating their energy at Tokyo Tower, the focal point, while the others went to seal the rifts that the oni were creating, using their power through the artifacts. Each rift was located at one of the five points surrounding Tokyo Tower, and had to be closed before the Messengers arrived to fully open it. Big surprise: the PCs were going to be one of the groups to seal a rift, and theirs was going to conveniently be the construction site at the pier.
* Trivia: Originally the site was only going to be used once, but once I started using it more and more often, I decided fairly early on that there was no more fitting place to have the final battle than here.
One problem: There's five rifts, only four items. Hinako explains that the final rift CAN be sealed, but without an artifact, it would have to be done from both sides. In other words, someone was going to have to be trapped in the Oni world, and with its harsh climate and unfriendly denizens, that meant pretty much certain death.
Which is why Saki was going to volunteer to do it. Of all the Arcana present, she stood the best chance of at least surviving, even if she was trapped.
Still, one more problem: Without an artifact to channel power, Saki would need a very powerful ally to accompany her. There aren't many Arcana with that kind of power. Luckily for her, and the rest of you, Shika was going to arrive just in time to offer her services.
I imagine that would all have taken one session, though I usually underestimate things like this, so who knows? Anyhow, after giving you some time to say your goodbyes, everyone would depart.
* Trivia: I didn't really think about who would lead the other groups, but now that it's on my mind... The five groups would probably be the PCs, Saki & Shika, Matthias and the remainder of the Jackals, what's left of the Band, and.... Uh, I dunno about the last one. Tomoyuki, perhaps.
Next up: Fighting! Lots and lots of fighting!
Following the big fight and the morning after, where I may tie up some loose ends (such as Sergeant Kenjii Sagara and his daughter, Kei's attempt to solidify his power, and Hinako's worry that she capable of leading everyone the way she was supposed to.), everyone gathers at the Tower the next day. Everyone being much of the Arcana, but certainly not all. I'd start by first having Matthias mention that Kaoru's sister, Kaori, vanished last night, and then have other people mention non-Arcana vanishing. In actuality, five humans vanished, including Kaori, Chikako, AND that homeless guy you once met in a subway. More on that later.
Once all the Arcana were gathered, Hinako would start the ritual. Said ritual involves most of the Arcana concentrating their energy at Tokyo Tower, the focal point, while the others went to seal the rifts that the oni were creating, using their power through the artifacts. Each rift was located at one of the five points surrounding Tokyo Tower, and had to be closed before the Messengers arrived to fully open it. Big surprise: the PCs were going to be one of the groups to seal a rift, and theirs was going to conveniently be the construction site at the pier.
* Trivia: Originally the site was only going to be used once, but once I started using it more and more often, I decided fairly early on that there was no more fitting place to have the final battle than here.
One problem: There's five rifts, only four items. Hinako explains that the final rift CAN be sealed, but without an artifact, it would have to be done from both sides. In other words, someone was going to have to be trapped in the Oni world, and with its harsh climate and unfriendly denizens, that meant pretty much certain death.
Which is why Saki was going to volunteer to do it. Of all the Arcana present, she stood the best chance of at least surviving, even if she was trapped.
Still, one more problem: Without an artifact to channel power, Saki would need a very powerful ally to accompany her. There aren't many Arcana with that kind of power. Luckily for her, and the rest of you, Shika was going to arrive just in time to offer her services.
I imagine that would all have taken one session, though I usually underestimate things like this, so who knows? Anyhow, after giving you some time to say your goodbyes, everyone would depart.
* Trivia: I didn't really think about who would lead the other groups, but now that it's on my mind... The five groups would probably be the PCs, Saki & Shika, Matthias and the remainder of the Jackals, what's left of the Band, and.... Uh, I dunno about the last one. Tomoyuki, perhaps.
Next up: Fighting! Lots and lots of fighting!