Character Creation Basics

Basic Concept:

Katsuyama is set near the coast and is a river town with a small mountain on which rests the castle of the daimyo, Morioka. It blends the real locations Miyajima, Iwakuni, and Tsuwano as to geography, resources, and prominent landmarks. The campaign itself will be a blend of ancient China and feudal Japan, very heavy on the mystical elements and mythologies of both.  If you're a fan of anime, think of 3x3 Eyes, Spirited Away, Devil Hunter Yokho, Ninja Scroll, Naruto, Ninja Hattori-Kun, and similar works. From the samurai perspective, much more like Kurosawa's Ran or Seven Samurai or the Zatoichi series.

Races:

The races permitted are taken from the Oriental Adventures book as updated by Dragon issue 318. They are:

-   Human
-   Hengeyokai (+1 LA)
-   Korobokuru
-   Nezumi
-   Spirit Folk
-   Vanara

Classes:

All classes are Oriental in nature. Here are the allowable classes and the source book for them:

-   Barbarian (Player's Handbook)
-   Bushi/Fighter (Player's Handbook)
-   Lurk (Complete Psionic)
-   Monk (Player's Handbook)
-   Ninja (Complete Adventurer)
-   Psion (Expanded Psionics Handbook)
-   Ranger (Player's Handbook)
-   Rogue (Player's Handbook)
-   Samurai (Complete Warrior)
-   Shaman (Oriental Adventures)
-   Shugenja (Complete Divine)
-   Sohei (Oriental Adventures)
-   Sorcerer (Player's Handbook)
-   Soul Knife (Expanded Psionics Handbook)
-   Wu Jen (Complete Arcane)

Honor:

Certain characters have a strong concept of honor. They basically revolve around not bringing shame upon the individual, the group or clan, and the family. Even evil characters have some sense of honor. I have seen rules attempts at portraying honor. Almost none of them work. Those that do work barely do so. Therefore, honor in the campaign is going to be more of a DM call than a game mechanic.

To look at it from a European point-of-view, most Orientals (at least Japanese and Chinese) look at the group, whether it be clan, or family, as more important than the individual, unless the individual happens to be the head of the clan or family. The sense of honor is like with the mafia, only more so. Doing something which brings shame upon the individual reflects upon the whole family. Think about the 2006 Cincinnati Bengals and how their reputations were affected by the actions of players like Chris Henry.

The classes which must deal with honor are:

-   Monk (Player's Handbook)
-   Ninja (Complete Adventurer)
-   Psion (Expanded Psionics Handbook)
-   Ranger (Player's Handbook)
-   Samurai (Complete Warrior)
-   Shugenja (Complete Divine)
-   Sohei (Oriental Adventures)

The others don’t have to, but the personal honor of a particular individual is often a determining factor in how the community treats an individual. Therefore, other individuals often act out along honorable lines, at least in public, if for no other reason than self-interest.

Current Character List

• Clipsco - Tetsuo, Human Samurai (LG)
• AbbyNormal - Hina, River Spirit Folk Shaman (TN)
• Kr4ster - Kyuzo, Human Ninja (TN)
• Michael - Xang, Human Rogue/Fighter (TN)
• Digitalair - Mako, Human Sorcerer (CN) - AWOL
• Travis - Li Yu, Human Psion (LN)

Recap:

The party returned to Katsuyama Town. As Tetsuo the samurai reported
to his superiors, one of Tetsuo's trainees approached Hina the Shaman.
Spouting gibberish about angering the spirits, the samurai then fell
to the ground. Erupting from the fallen samurai were tentacles which
attacked Hina. As Kyuzo the Ninja ran back to assist, the tentacles
struck and sickened Hina. Kyuzo leveled a mighty sword blow against
the fallen samurai but its head turned and a sharp sound echoed forth
shattering Kyuzo's eardrums and dropping him in agony. Li Yu the
priest (a psion) ran back into the fray, only to be struck by the same
attack which leveled Kyuzo. Staggered, Yu gathered his senses and
focuses his mind into a vicious mental attack, crushing the evil
entity once and for all.

Tetsuo came out of the house, following shortly by one of the elders.
Tetsuo was given the command to find the source of the threat to the
samurai house within two days. The group immediately retired to
Kenji's sake house. There they found one of the priests from the
Temple of a Thousand Deaths drinking his trouble aways. After Hina
warded off numerous propositions for the night, she was able to talk
to the priest. Learning a bit more of what the priests saw but still
very much uncertain of what to do next, Kenji himself approached the
group about some divination work. Turns out Kenji was a well-practiced
wu jen of some skill.

The next morning, Kenji reported the source of evil coming from the
Temple of the Opal Moon, home temple for Hina and Li Yu. The group
immediately traveled to the temple to get some answers. They found
very little other than Kenji had served as wu jen for the Reiko ninja
clan, rival clan to Kyuzo's. The Reiko clan was opposed by all the
other ninja clans in the region because they practiced necromancy
jutsu and consorted and bound demons. The high priest for the Temple
of the Opal Moon also revealed a bit of the Temple of a Thousand
Deaths' history, including how it came about its name.

Disgusted, the party returned to town, not sure who to trust. Again
they were met by Kenji who guessed at everything they were told by the
high priest of the Opal Moon temple. He pressed his trustworthiness,
saying he no longer served the Reiko clan. Kyuzo learned similar
information about the Reiko clan from Meishi, one of his clanmates.
Uncertain, the party traveled back to the Temple of a Thousand Deaths
to try and get more answers.

The group was able to meet the remaining priests. They learned that
the temple was suspected to be near a magical node and especially
potent as a site for spirit activity. The node's proximity weakened
the barrier between the realm of the living and the Shadowlands,
allowing for frequent crossovers between the two realms.

As the party was conversing with the priests, Hina stepped outside and
looked around for spirits. A large toad spirit the size of a small boy
was sitting on the roof. Hina tried to communicate with it but with no
success. The toad spirit entered the room with the rest of the party
and the priests, diving into the bodies of one of the priests. Hina
tried to point this out, but since no one else could see the spirit,
she was met with disbelief.

The party then left to return to town. The priest with the toad spirit
accompanied them. Once in the town, he entered a hostel for a night's
lodging. Suspicious, Hina also obtained lodging. Li Yu and Kyuzo
headed for Kenji's Sake House. Tetsuo headed back to the House's
headquarters.

As to the whereabouts of Mako the Wu Jen, no one is sure where he is.
Xang the priest (actually a confidence man masquerading as one) headed
off before the first attack to find him and bring him back. Thus,
without arcane support and the precision archery of Xang, the group
faces a spirit-filled future of malevolence.