by Rich Wulf

Welcome to the latest chapter of player interaction for Legend of the Five Rings. For those of you who are just now encountering the Herald and who aren’t familiar with the Imperial Histories, we’ll go over the rules.

In each Herald we will feature a new Imperial History extended adventure hook. These will be written in classic Challenge Focus Strike format, but will also contain pointers for how to flesh the hook out into a full-scale adventure. Each will also include some new mechanical tidbit for both systems, a feat, Advantage, magic item, spell, or some other cool, new option. All of these hooks will also feature some character or place from the L5R canon fiction. The specific details will be left for the individual GM to flesh out to suit his campaign (and in fact doing so in a clever and unique manner is essential to the contest).

GM’s are encouraged to take these adventure hooks, use them as inspiration, and expand upon them. For example, the GM may decide when running the following adventure hook that the murderer is a relative of a player character, or perhaps Kyoso has possessed a player character and they are the unwitting murderer. In this way, both players and GM’s will have a chance to influence events (and players with a subscription to the Herald who take a look at this article won’t necessarily know what’s going on when they play the adventure).

When the adventure is done, the GM should write up a short report listing the names of his players and their characters, his own name, how he altered the Adventure Hook from its original format, and how the game turned out. Special attention should be put on any particularly clever or resourceful actions by the players as well as the resolution of the game. These reports should be no longer than 3000 words and emailed directly to Rich Wulf at rwulf@alderac.com with the subject “Imperial Histories Report” as the subject line.

The L5R writers will look over these submissions and select one that stands out as the most interesting or extraordinary (and probably a runner up to satisfy a humor coefficient). This adventure will be retold in the form of a short fiction in the next Imperial Herald. All of these stories will be considered canon; however, the story team does reserve the right to edit given specific space and content concerns. (For example if your character is the reincarnation of the Fortune of Stone destined to return to his place in the Celestial Heavens, that’s fine for your campaign, but we probably won’t mention it in the fiction.) The names of the GM and all players will also be listed in that issue of the Imperial Herald, so that your names may be recorded in the Imperial Histories for all time among the greatest of Rokugan’s heroes.

And with that said, it’s time to get down to business with the first Adventure Hook. Good luck everyone and, most importantly, have fun.

Background

All things in Rokugan follow a certain hierarchy. Even in the deepest pits of Jigoku, things are no different. The sinister oni have a rank and file of their own, and at the top of their ranks stand the incomparably evil entities known as the Oni Lords. There are seven of these Oni Lords, each of whom clawed their way to a place of power along a different path of corruption, betrayal, and murder.

Like all oni, an Oni Lord first gains true power when it gains a name. This name must be taken from a mortal, either given voluntarily, given by one to whom the possessor of the name owes his life, or given when the subject voluntarily accepting a part of the oni’s essence (usually in the form of an eye, hand, or tooth that carries part of the oni’s power).

Taking a name is a delicate balance, for an oni draws its own power from the strength of its host. Should the host be weak-willed and cowardly the resulting oni will likewise be undistinguished. Should the host be too strong-willed, he will resist the temptation the oni offers and the demon’s growth will ultimately be limited. The finest hosts are those with great strength of character marred by some terrible flaw. Only seven times in history have such extraordinary individuals seen their destinies intertwined with oni, and seven times an Oni Lord has risen to power.

The tale of Kyoso no Oni is perhaps the most tragic of all the Oni Lords. Agasha Kyoso was a brilliant and beautiful young shugenja, deeply in love with Asahina Anzai. When her rival, Kakita Ryo, shamed Kyoso and exiled her to the outer provinces, Anzai was forced to make the classic choice between love and duty. A marriage to a shamed, outcast shugenja would not benefit his clan, so he chose Ryo. Angered and humiliated, Kyoso succumbed to the dark voices that whispered in her dreams. She summoned forth the demon that spoke to her, not merely giving it her name but her physical body as well.

To its surprise the oni found it did not have the strength to overcome Kyoso. Instead, Kyoso controlled the demon and they dissolved a single being. The resulting creature was no less powerful for being subject to a human mind, and no less evil. Kyoso murdered all those who had wronged her and fled into the Shadowlands.

Kyoso often ventured forth into the Empire, sometimes pretending to be a minor Fortune, a patron of love and justice. She was particularly fond of women with broken hearts, striking down their former lovers with vicious, merciless efficiency. Kyoso was heartless, unpredictable, and calculating, a master of vengeance. Even the other Oni Lords feared her, uncertain when her savage whims may turn her against them.

When Daigotsu rose to power in the Shadowlands, he demanded that all denizens of the Shadowlands bow to his rule or be considered an enemy. Kyoso no Oni openly defied him, but underestimated Daigotsu’s Onisu. Wielding the power of Kyofu, Onisu of Fear, Daigotsu slew Kyoso and sent her screaming back to Jigoku.

Since that time, Kyoso has been trapped in the Realm of Evil. Most banished Oni Lords cannot return to the mortal realm until such time as a mortal summons them, but Kyoso is a special case. In places where many souls are torn with feelings of frustration, anger, and resentment, Kyoso can have some limited influence in the mortal world. If she finds a heart as consumed with vengeance as hers once was, she can visit that person in dreams, seduce them with promises of revenge, and consume them as she was once consumed. If the process is not halted, the unfortunate soul will become the new Kyoso no Oni, and start along the path of murder and destruction that will not cease until she reaches the City of the Lost and faces Daigotsu again.

The city of Beiden is just such a place. Once, Beiden was a thriving center of trade for the Empire. Built near the mouth of the pass that shared its name, all major land caravans were required to pass through Beiden at some point or other during their business ventures. It was a place where many powerful merchants built their personal empires. Beiden was the heart of trade, the pulsing heart of Rokugan’s economy.

At the end of the War of Spirits, the forces of Hantei XVI and Toturi I faced one another in Beiden. Toturi’s forces fell back, allowing the Steel Chrysanthemum to take the pass. In what seemed the Hantei’s greatest moment of victory, Toturi’s shugenja unleashed an unprecedented spell, crumbling Beiden Pass upon their enemies. The war was won, the Chrysanthemum’s armies crippled, at great cost. Rokugan’s primary trade route was now gone.

In time, many of the more powerful merchant houses found other routes. The Seikitsu Pass and the prowess of Mantis sailors allowed northern and southern Rokugan to trade again… but this meant little to Beiden. Many of the poorer merchants were unable to relocate. Peasants who once survived by selling their wares to tourists now fell victim to poverty and starvation. Beiden was a pale shadow of itself, a ghost town. A new trade began to thrive here — smuggling. The city of Beiden is now a haven for those seeking a quiet, out of the way area to unload stolen or illegal goods. Such a well developed city so far from Imperial patrol routes is a rare thing, and Rokugan’s underworld has taken advantage of the situation.

It is to the city of Beiden that Kyoso no Oni has come, seeking a gateway back into Rokugan.

Challenge

The party arrives in the city of Beiden. If they are magistrates, perhaps they have been dispatched here to investigate one of the many smuggling rings currently operating out of the city. If they are less honorable sorts of characters, perhaps they are smugglers in town to trade cargo. If neither applies, then they may be in town to visit a friend who lives in the area (a few honourable samurai still call Beiden home) or are merely passing through when harsh weather conditions require that they find lodging for the evening.

The characters find shelter in a small inn on the outskirts of the city. The inn is owned by Yogo Tamaki who lives here with her daughter Mana and several servants to tend to the day-to-day work of the inn. Tamaki is generally beloved in Beiden (as beloved as one can be in such a grim place, at any rate) because she chose to maintain her inn and support the city even after many others had moved on. She is a pillar of the community, such as it is, and though she is quietly disappointed at the current state of Beiden she does not plan to abandon Beiden any time soon.

In the middle of the night, a sudden clamor echoes through the inn. It seems a priest at the temple next door has been murdered and crudely dismembered. Bloody footsteps lead away from the temple, in the direction of the inn. A handful of other such grisly murders have occurred in the city recently, and the victims have unilaterally been shugenja. This is the first time such an obvious clue has pointed to the culprit. Though no magistrates are yet investigating (assuming the player characters are not magistrates) an angry mob of local citizens has gathered outside the inn and is prepared to search the establishment if not stopped. In a town as rough as Beiden, such an action could break out into a large scale riot whether or not a culprit is found, unless quickly stopped.

As samurai, of course, the player characters have the sort of political power and physical intimidation to quell the mob if they act swiftly and decisively. Whether they are agents of justice or here for their own nefarious purposes it would behoove them to restore order (or at least get out of the way, which the mob won’t let them do if they’re grouped among the suspects).

Focus

The killer’s identity is not difficult to determine. Tamaki’s daughter, Mana, has bloodstained feet and has hidden a bloodstained kimono and dagger beneath the floor boards in her room. She seems dazed if questioned, as if in a dream. She does not recall killing the shugenja. The evidence that she did so is overwhelming, but Tamaki insists that is not enough to accuse her daughter. She refuses to believe Mana could be responsible. Some of the other villagers also become violently defensive. Tamaki is village hero — if she believes her daughter is not a killer then they are prepared to support her whether or not it is the truth.

Any character who is knowledgeable in Shadowlands Lore or skilled at communing with spirits can tell that something is seriously wrong with Mana upon examining her. The girl is pale, gaunt, and her hair is beginning to fall out in clumps. She shows symptoms of the Shadowlands Taint, though she is not actually Tainted and it is uncertain how she could become Tainted so far away from the Shadowlands.

Strike

Mana is the current host of Kyoso no Oni, the Oni Lord. Mana was deeply in love with a Lion bushi by the name of Akodo Yoshibaru, who was stationed in Beiden for many years. When Beiden Pass collapsed, Yoshibaru made every excuse possible to keep his families interests in Beiden, but eventually the smuggling and vice caused them to recall him to other duties. Mana believes that Yoshibaru left to marry another, and her dreams are filled with anger and vengeance. Kyoso has fed upon these, driving her to murder local shugenja.

The Oni Lord has convinced Mana that shugenja were responsible for destroying the pass, they are responsible for her current loss. (In truth Kyoso merely wants to eliminate as many local shugenja as possible so that there are fewer experts in the village who can recognize Mana’s possession). Kyoso can possess Mana’s body for brief periods of time while she sleeps, and has been surreptitiously murdering shugenja.

Kyoso no Oni is extremely close to consuming Mana’s soul and returning to the mortal realm with a vengeance. At this point she merely needs to cause the death of one more innocent for her possession of Mana’s body to be complete. This is, in fact, why she was so sloppy with her recent killing. If Mana is accused and executed, not only will Kyoso have slain the last innocent soul she needs, but she will no longer need to contend with Mana’s soul for dominance of her body.

Resolutions?

A number of conclusions can be drawn from this situation, with perhaps the most horrifying being the return of a banished Oni Lord to Rokugan. If the player characters can discover what is truly happening (by observing Mana until Kyoso possesses her again or by having an expert study her condition) they may be able to stop Kyoso. The easiest way to do so is for Mana to simply leave the village; so long as she is outside Beiden or any other area sown with deep feelings of bitterness and frustration, Mana is immune to Kyoso’s possession. This will require Mana to leave her beloved home, however, and only drive her more deeply into sorrow and grief (making her an easier target for the Oni should they cross paths again).

A more permanent method of resolving this would be to discover what became of Mana’s love. Yoshibaru is a low-ranking member of his clan; it is likely he remains unmarried even after all this time. Perhaps he still harbors feelings for Mana and wishes to be reunited with her. This option is left to the GM; if he decides Yoshibaru has remarried or never loved Mana it may make a bad situation worse and drive Mana to accept Kyoso’s domination.

An especially fiendish GM may wish to have Kyoso explore the possibility of possessing one of the player characters instead. Anyone with a great desire for vengeance, especially regarding a possible lost love, will be seen as a delicious prize for the vindictive Oni Lord.

Kyoso’s Possession

(d20 Version)

When directly possessed by Kyoso no Oni, Yogo Mana gains the following abilities:

Damage resistance 20/+5 (jade), +6 Str, +4 Dex, +4 Con, +10 natural armor bonus and a +6 insight bonus to all attack rolls. She also gains the hit dice of a samurai equal to the average player character level plus two. She is normally an average 1st level aristocrat.

(L5R 2E Version)

When directly possessed by Kyoso no Oni, Yogo Mana gains Invulnerability and all of her physical traits (Strength, Stamina, Reflexes, Agility) are increased to 4. Her TN to be hit becomes 30. She rolls 5k4 to hit and inflicts damage by whatever weapon she wields, taking her increased strength into account. She has ten Wounds on each Wound Level. She is normally an ordinary girl with no school techniques or significant advantages.