L5R - Campaign Summary
Bayushi Kenzo (Richard) ... Scorpion clan - bushi (warrior), Emerald (Imperial) magistrate.
Bayushi Muneori (Jonas) ... Scorpion clan - bushi (warrior), Imperial magistrate, cousin of Kenzo
Isawa no Superu Kyasuta (Jeff) ... Phoenix clan - shugenja, yoriki (assistant) to the magistrates.
Yumi (Wayne) ... Wasp clan - archer, yoriki to the magistrates.
Other Important Names
Doji Satsume ... Crane Clan Champion, Emerald Champion, head of Imperial Magistrates - and thus Kenzo and Muneori’s boss.
Yogo Osako ... deputy police chief in the Scorpion city of Ryoko Owari, where the magistrates thwarted a Moon Cult plot to disrupt an important ritual and throw the city into chaos.
Meishozo Nisei ... apparently a Kuni Witch Hunter, who gave valuable assistance to the magistrates in Ryoko Owari, but who proved to be an impostor and made off with a tainted artefact.
Shinjo Gidayu ... middle ranking Unicorn daimyo. The magistrates know, but have concealed, that Gidayu is the actual father of the Imperial niece, Otomo Yoroshiku. Gidayu is aware of their knowledge of this, as is Otomo Yoroshiku.
Shinjo Iruko ... Gidayu’s yojimbo, now betrothed to Bayushi Kenzo.
Yogo Kaede ... wife of Bayushi Muneori, cousin of Yogo Junzo, new head of the Yogo shugenja family of the Scorpion clan. The marriage is not a happy one.
The Seventh Circuit (continued)
Kenzo and Muneori have been recently appointed as Emerald Magistrates, during a significant expansion of the magistrate ranks. This has been prompted by a succession of ill omens and a concern over an upsurge in curious supernatural events, and the new magistrates have a roving brief to seek out and investigate such incidents. To this end they are accompanied by a shugenja to give magical assistance. The PCs have been assigned to the Imperial Seventh Circuit, a largely rural beat which skirts the mysterious Shinomen Forest. They have been instructed by the Emerald Champion’s office to pay particular attention to reports of strange beasts in the hill country between the Western edge of the Shinomen Forest, and the Spine of the World Mountains, a backwater area populated by a mixture of Crab and Unicorn vassal families. Their first destination is Rinchiru, seat of the Danaino family, where they are seeking information about the sightings....
Rinchiru
Lord: Danaino Ichiro
Fealty: Unicorn vassal
The magistrates find a domain which is being badly managed by an inexperienced young lord who seems to have lost faith in bushido. While there have been no odd events on his land, he reports the presence of a troublesome giant on the lands of his neighbour, Naha Bantaro, and has heard of a winged beast that is terrorising the lands of the Akutagawa family further south. At his mother’s prompting, Lord Ichiro agrees to guide them around the neighbouring lands - she seems to hope that the experience of accompanying the Imperial magistrates will teach him how to behave.
Shiro Shojo
Lord: Shojo Eiichi
Fealty: Crab vassal
Eiichi keeps his daughters as effective captives. Any man who wishes to marry one of them must defeat the elderly Eiichi’s champion, a mysterious and skilful bushi in full mask and armour. (Lord Ichiro is one of those who failed.) The magistrates realise that the unknown warrior is in fact Lady Fumie, Eiichi’s second wife, a disgraced Crane duellist who became a ronin. They keep this knowledge to themselves and do not intervene.
Etsuji
Lord: Abbot Hojo
Fealty: Order of Shinsei
Also visiting the monastery, under Crab protection, is the Dragon emissary Mirumoto Daini, who was involved in the Jade Council that appointed the rash of new magistrates. He reveals little about his mission. The magistrates, wishing to speak to the “prophesying monk” Shuo, attempt the test of the mystical caverns beneath the monastery. Like everyone else, they fail, but suffer no injury in doing so. This also is something that Lord Ichiro attempted and failed. Shuo makes a couple of cryptic statements which mean little to the magistrates.
Tenohirotani
Lord: Naha Bantaro
Fealty: Unicorn Vassal
A troublesome giant, the last of a group of three which were previously of little bother, is holed up by a mountain lake and lobbing rocks into the domain of Lord Bantaro. The childless Bantaro has offered to adopt the samurai who rids him of the beast - amongst those who tried and failed was the magistrates' companion, Lord Ichiro. Isawa Kyasuta’s magic comes in extremely useful as the magistrates manage to corner the creature and, having realised (with help from one of Shuo’s previously incomprehensible utterances) that it is shackled to the corpse of its brother by a magical chain, free it. It agrees to return to the deep mountains and cause no more trouble. It also releases three missing bushi who had attempted to win Bantaro’s boon.
The magistrates discover that the problem was partly caused by a monster hunting party led by the Emerald Champion’s son, Doji Kuwanan, who needlessly killed the mother giant.
It is unseemly for the grateful Bantaro to adopt the Imperial Magistrates, but their yoriki, the Wasp archer Yumi, gets him to agree that he will adopt her if she can arrange a suitable marriage within two years.
Masaki
Lord(s): The sons of Nekosetsu Katsura (no official succession has been announced)
Fealty: Crab vassals
This is a very isolated mountain domain, potentially productive but in a poor way suggestive of long-term mismanagement. The magistrates arrive to find that other visitors are already present. Asahina Rie, the widow of a close friend of the late Nekosetsu Katsura, has arrived following the death of her husband, with her two daughters to honour a pledge that one of them would marry one of Katura’s sons. But the six brothers are a rough lot, bawdy and drunken, who show little respect for the women or the magistrates, though the youngest brother, Katsuo, seems more reasonable. The brutal and mysterious death of one brother leads the magistrates to discover a story of murder, betrayal, adultery and sabotage which has blighted the family for two generations and has led to the raising of a powerful vengeful spirit. As the killings escalate they manage to defeat the ghost just in time to save two of the brothers (not entirely coincidentally, these are the two that they now know not to have been fathered by Lord Katsura, and are also the least boorish).
The eldest remaining brother, Nekosetsu Katsuhige, is officially installed as the lord of the domain. The attractive Yumi does not discourage Katsuo, the other survivor, from showing an interest in her - he appears to be sensible and a competent administrator - and negotiations result in the agreement that both the surviving bothers will shortly marry; Katsuhige to Asahina Rinako, Katsuo to Yumi (once she has completed her duties on this magisterial circuit). This is good business for Yumi - as a minor vassal, Katsuo is not too discouraged by her low social status, but he is a satisfactory marriage for the purposes of her arrangement with Lord Bantaro.
Keisui
Lord: Akutagawa Ryonosuke
Fealty: Crab vassal
Keisui is a gloomy place, beset by troubles. A year ago, the lord’s heir, Hiro, was betrothed to the lovely Abe Haketako, the daughter of another Crab vassal family nearby, and a famous beauty. But then she vanished whilst collecting herbs on the borders of the Shinomen. On hearing the news, Hiro and his most trusted retainer, Edano, rode out to search for her and were not seen again. Ryunosuke went into a decline, and is now gravely ill. Meanwhile, his realm is troubled by the so-called Red Beast (or, Feathered Beast), which emerges from the Shinomen Forest at irregular intervals to kill livestock and commit random mayhem. It is said to be giant bird, and to come from the forest close to the site of the Hebi no Chakuden (Serpent Hall), a mysterious ruin just within the forest. When the monks at Etsuji were consulted, they thought that if a samurai of pure heart were able to spend a night within Serpent Hall, the visitation might be dispelled. Those who have tried have either fled in incoherent fear (as did Lord Ichiro when he tried), or have vanished.
During their first supper at Keisui, the magistrates discover that Mirumoto Daini is also present, having visited to enquire about the same matter as themselves. He admits to a strong interest in the Shinomen Forest. They are unable to get any information from the semi-comatose Akutagawa Ryunosuke. But then Koron, the blind travelling biwa player who is providing the entertainment, suddenly starts an unfamiliar song, which tells a story about Hiro and Haketake. This suggests that Hiro, having consulted the hermit monk Soto, entered into a magical bargain with the kenku guardian of a magical grove in the Shinomen Forest. The recent troubles stem from his accidental breaking of the vow he took there to ensure the favour of Abe Hakotake. Afterwards Koron doesn’t even remember singing the song.
The magistrates seek out Soto, who tells them the location of the magic grove - none other than Hebi no Chakuden - and the magistrates, along with Mirumoto Daini, set off to investigate. Attempting to overnight at Serpent Hall, a peculiar ruin whose name is explained by the constant snake motif in its decoration, they are assailed by an escalating series of visions, including an attack by spectral beasts, half-man, half-snake, which deals real damage. They are only saved from fleeing in terror after the third such incident, when Mirumoto Daini expends some sort of nemuranai (magic item).
The next morning, they find themselves in a subtly changed Serpent Hall - slightly less ruined, and with a thick bower at its heart in which a beautiful woman is trapped, softly singing a nonsense song over and over, a massive thorn poised menacingly over her heart. All attempts to penetrate the bower are failures, including a magical intervention by Isawa Kyasuta which is aggressively reflected at him. They then encounter the kenku, a tall crow-man with a mocking tone, who tells them that if they are to release Abe Hakotake from the bower, and find Akutagawa Hiro, they must “follow the path, once and again”, defeating its challenges and not straying. And indeed, as the kenku flies off, they find a distinct track leading away from Hebi no Chakuden...
Part III to follow.
Bayushi Muneori (Jonas) ... Scorpion clan - bushi (warrior), Imperial magistrate, cousin of Kenzo
Isawa no Superu Kyasuta (Jeff) ... Phoenix clan - shugenja, yoriki (assistant) to the magistrates.
Yumi (Wayne) ... Wasp clan - archer, yoriki to the magistrates.
Other Important Names
Doji Satsume ... Crane Clan Champion, Emerald Champion, head of Imperial Magistrates - and thus Kenzo and Muneori’s boss.
Yogo Osako ... deputy police chief in the Scorpion city of Ryoko Owari, where the magistrates thwarted a Moon Cult plot to disrupt an important ritual and throw the city into chaos.
Meishozo Nisei ... apparently a Kuni Witch Hunter, who gave valuable assistance to the magistrates in Ryoko Owari, but who proved to be an impostor and made off with a tainted artefact.
Shinjo Gidayu ... middle ranking Unicorn daimyo. The magistrates know, but have concealed, that Gidayu is the actual father of the Imperial niece, Otomo Yoroshiku. Gidayu is aware of their knowledge of this, as is Otomo Yoroshiku.
Shinjo Iruko ... Gidayu’s yojimbo, now betrothed to Bayushi Kenzo.
Yogo Kaede ... wife of Bayushi Muneori, cousin of Yogo Junzo, new head of the Yogo shugenja family of the Scorpion clan. The marriage is not a happy one.
The Seventh Circuit (continued)
Kenzo and Muneori have been recently appointed as Emerald Magistrates, during a significant expansion of the magistrate ranks. This has been prompted by a succession of ill omens and a concern over an upsurge in curious supernatural events, and the new magistrates have a roving brief to seek out and investigate such incidents. To this end they are accompanied by a shugenja to give magical assistance. The PCs have been assigned to the Imperial Seventh Circuit, a largely rural beat which skirts the mysterious Shinomen Forest. They have been instructed by the Emerald Champion’s office to pay particular attention to reports of strange beasts in the hill country between the Western edge of the Shinomen Forest, and the Spine of the World Mountains, a backwater area populated by a mixture of Crab and Unicorn vassal families. Their first destination is Rinchiru, seat of the Danaino family, where they are seeking information about the sightings....
Rinchiru
Lord: Danaino Ichiro
Fealty: Unicorn vassal
The magistrates find a domain which is being badly managed by an inexperienced young lord who seems to have lost faith in bushido. While there have been no odd events on his land, he reports the presence of a troublesome giant on the lands of his neighbour, Naha Bantaro, and has heard of a winged beast that is terrorising the lands of the Akutagawa family further south. At his mother’s prompting, Lord Ichiro agrees to guide them around the neighbouring lands - she seems to hope that the experience of accompanying the Imperial magistrates will teach him how to behave.
Shiro Shojo
Lord: Shojo Eiichi
Fealty: Crab vassal
Eiichi keeps his daughters as effective captives. Any man who wishes to marry one of them must defeat the elderly Eiichi’s champion, a mysterious and skilful bushi in full mask and armour. (Lord Ichiro is one of those who failed.) The magistrates realise that the unknown warrior is in fact Lady Fumie, Eiichi’s second wife, a disgraced Crane duellist who became a ronin. They keep this knowledge to themselves and do not intervene.
Etsuji
Lord: Abbot Hojo
Fealty: Order of Shinsei
Also visiting the monastery, under Crab protection, is the Dragon emissary Mirumoto Daini, who was involved in the Jade Council that appointed the rash of new magistrates. He reveals little about his mission. The magistrates, wishing to speak to the “prophesying monk” Shuo, attempt the test of the mystical caverns beneath the monastery. Like everyone else, they fail, but suffer no injury in doing so. This also is something that Lord Ichiro attempted and failed. Shuo makes a couple of cryptic statements which mean little to the magistrates.
Tenohirotani
Lord: Naha Bantaro
Fealty: Unicorn Vassal
A troublesome giant, the last of a group of three which were previously of little bother, is holed up by a mountain lake and lobbing rocks into the domain of Lord Bantaro. The childless Bantaro has offered to adopt the samurai who rids him of the beast - amongst those who tried and failed was the magistrates' companion, Lord Ichiro. Isawa Kyasuta’s magic comes in extremely useful as the magistrates manage to corner the creature and, having realised (with help from one of Shuo’s previously incomprehensible utterances) that it is shackled to the corpse of its brother by a magical chain, free it. It agrees to return to the deep mountains and cause no more trouble. It also releases three missing bushi who had attempted to win Bantaro’s boon.
The magistrates discover that the problem was partly caused by a monster hunting party led by the Emerald Champion’s son, Doji Kuwanan, who needlessly killed the mother giant.
It is unseemly for the grateful Bantaro to adopt the Imperial Magistrates, but their yoriki, the Wasp archer Yumi, gets him to agree that he will adopt her if she can arrange a suitable marriage within two years.
Masaki
Lord(s): The sons of Nekosetsu Katsura (no official succession has been announced)
Fealty: Crab vassals
This is a very isolated mountain domain, potentially productive but in a poor way suggestive of long-term mismanagement. The magistrates arrive to find that other visitors are already present. Asahina Rie, the widow of a close friend of the late Nekosetsu Katsura, has arrived following the death of her husband, with her two daughters to honour a pledge that one of them would marry one of Katura’s sons. But the six brothers are a rough lot, bawdy and drunken, who show little respect for the women or the magistrates, though the youngest brother, Katsuo, seems more reasonable. The brutal and mysterious death of one brother leads the magistrates to discover a story of murder, betrayal, adultery and sabotage which has blighted the family for two generations and has led to the raising of a powerful vengeful spirit. As the killings escalate they manage to defeat the ghost just in time to save two of the brothers (not entirely coincidentally, these are the two that they now know not to have been fathered by Lord Katsura, and are also the least boorish).
The eldest remaining brother, Nekosetsu Katsuhige, is officially installed as the lord of the domain. The attractive Yumi does not discourage Katsuo, the other survivor, from showing an interest in her - he appears to be sensible and a competent administrator - and negotiations result in the agreement that both the surviving bothers will shortly marry; Katsuhige to Asahina Rinako, Katsuo to Yumi (once she has completed her duties on this magisterial circuit). This is good business for Yumi - as a minor vassal, Katsuo is not too discouraged by her low social status, but he is a satisfactory marriage for the purposes of her arrangement with Lord Bantaro.
Keisui
Lord: Akutagawa Ryonosuke
Fealty: Crab vassal
Keisui is a gloomy place, beset by troubles. A year ago, the lord’s heir, Hiro, was betrothed to the lovely Abe Haketako, the daughter of another Crab vassal family nearby, and a famous beauty. But then she vanished whilst collecting herbs on the borders of the Shinomen. On hearing the news, Hiro and his most trusted retainer, Edano, rode out to search for her and were not seen again. Ryunosuke went into a decline, and is now gravely ill. Meanwhile, his realm is troubled by the so-called Red Beast (or, Feathered Beast), which emerges from the Shinomen Forest at irregular intervals to kill livestock and commit random mayhem. It is said to be giant bird, and to come from the forest close to the site of the Hebi no Chakuden (Serpent Hall), a mysterious ruin just within the forest. When the monks at Etsuji were consulted, they thought that if a samurai of pure heart were able to spend a night within Serpent Hall, the visitation might be dispelled. Those who have tried have either fled in incoherent fear (as did Lord Ichiro when he tried), or have vanished.
During their first supper at Keisui, the magistrates discover that Mirumoto Daini is also present, having visited to enquire about the same matter as themselves. He admits to a strong interest in the Shinomen Forest. They are unable to get any information from the semi-comatose Akutagawa Ryunosuke. But then Koron, the blind travelling biwa player who is providing the entertainment, suddenly starts an unfamiliar song, which tells a story about Hiro and Haketake. This suggests that Hiro, having consulted the hermit monk Soto, entered into a magical bargain with the kenku guardian of a magical grove in the Shinomen Forest. The recent troubles stem from his accidental breaking of the vow he took there to ensure the favour of Abe Hakotake. Afterwards Koron doesn’t even remember singing the song.
The magistrates seek out Soto, who tells them the location of the magic grove - none other than Hebi no Chakuden - and the magistrates, along with Mirumoto Daini, set off to investigate. Attempting to overnight at Serpent Hall, a peculiar ruin whose name is explained by the constant snake motif in its decoration, they are assailed by an escalating series of visions, including an attack by spectral beasts, half-man, half-snake, which deals real damage. They are only saved from fleeing in terror after the third such incident, when Mirumoto Daini expends some sort of nemuranai (magic item).
The next morning, they find themselves in a subtly changed Serpent Hall - slightly less ruined, and with a thick bower at its heart in which a beautiful woman is trapped, softly singing a nonsense song over and over, a massive thorn poised menacingly over her heart. All attempts to penetrate the bower are failures, including a magical intervention by Isawa Kyasuta which is aggressively reflected at him. They then encounter the kenku, a tall crow-man with a mocking tone, who tells them that if they are to release Abe Hakotake from the bower, and find Akutagawa Hiro, they must “follow the path, once and again”, defeating its challenges and not straying. And indeed, as the kenku flies off, they find a distinct track leading away from Hebi no Chakuden...
Part III to follow.