by Rich Wulf

Welcome to the most recent chapter of player interaction for Legend of the Five Rings. In the interest of those of you who are reading your first Herald and aren’t already familiar with the Imperial Histories, we’ll review the rules here.

In each Imperial Herald we plan to feature a new Imperial History extended adventure hook. These will be written in classic Challenge Focus Strike format, but will also contain a few pointers for how to flesh the hook out into a full adventure. Each will also include some new mechanical tidbit for both systems, a feat, Advantage, magic item, spell, or some other cool option. Each of these hooks will also feature a character or location from the L5R canon fiction. The specifications will be left for the individual GM to flesh out to suit his campaign (remember, doing so in a clever and unique manner is an important part of 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 players have come to the village to investigate the truth underlying the ningyo legends for themselves, or perhaps Koto has contacted a renowned Unicorn player character asking for aid in investigating his brother’s disappearance. 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).

Upon successful completion of the adventure, the GM should write up a short report including the names of his players and their characters, his own name, how he altered the Adventure Hook, and how the game turned out. Special attention should be put on clever or resourceful actions by the players as well as how the game resolves itself. These reports should be no longer than 3000 words and then emailed directly to Rich Wulf at rwulf@alderac.com with the subject “Imperial Histories Report“ as the subject line.

The L5R writers will evaluate these submissions and select the one that stands out as the most interesting or extraordinary (and will probably choose a runner up for humor value as well). This adventure will be retold as short fiction in the subsequent Imperial Herald. All of these stories will be considered canon though the story team reserves the right to edit for space and content. (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 plus 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 eternity duly included among the greatest of Rokugan’s heroes.

One thing to note about this Imperial History in particular – it will be the very first article of this sort to present its new mechanics entirely in the classic d10 system.

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

In the heart of Unicorn territory lies a majestic body of water known by all as White Shore Lake. As it represents the largest lake in the Empire, many nearby settlements depend upon it as their primary source for both fish and fresh water. The city offers as well a particularly valuable treasure – freshwater pearls, the most beautiful of their kind to be found anywhere in the Empire. Of course these pearls are gathered at great cost, and many divers perish every year while exploring the depths of the lake.

But as wondrous as these treasures are, the lake holds within mysteries even more profound. At the depths of the White Shore Lake lies a sunken city, inhabited by the mysterious ningyo. Upon discovering the city, a clever diver named Bakoto from the settlement of Mizu Mura began leaving a selection of his finest pearls just within sight of the city, where the ningyo would be sure to find them.

Within months of initiating this offering, the village’s fortunes turned dramatically. The quantity of fish harvested by the village’s fishermen increased threefold. Over the next few months, four divers that would have otherwise drowned, entangled fatally in the thick plant life at the bottom of the lake, were rescued by ningyo and deposited safely on the shore. Though the creatures never made any other efforts to communicate with the villagers, it was clear that they appreciated the gifts Bakoto had given them. It became tradition to leave one out of three pearls for the ningyo, and since that time the village has prospered.

Curious shugenja who have visited Mizu Mura seeking to discover whether ningyo truly dwell within the depths of the lake are quietly rebuffed by the local population. The peasants intend no disrespect toward their samurai masters, but simply recognize the shyness of the ningyo and the debt they owe them. Many superstitions claim that devouring the flesh of a ningyo can grant immortality. The idea that the lake would become flooded with such murderous opportunists was a fate that the villagers did not wish to endure. Not only had the ningyo become their friends but without the fish the ningyo help provide, the village would be unable to properly supply the Unicorn armies.

During the Clan Wars, when the Naga awakened from their slumber, many Chameleon scouts undertook a pilgrimage to Mizu Mura. When they arrived, the ningyo flocked to the shores of the lake, eager to meet their long-dormant cousins. The Naga learned of the services the humans had provided for the ningyo over the centuries, and were impressed. As a reward, they taught several of the village elders the ningyo language. The Naga also helped the villagers maintain the illusion that the lake was uninhabited, as they too wished to protect the safety of the mysterious ningyo.

In the decades since this meeting, the bond between the ningyo and the villagers has only strengthened, and production has increased. Khan Moto Chagatai easily counts Mizu Mura among the most valuable of his clan’s holdings. The Khan has heard rumors of the ningyo that dwell beneath the lake, and finds them amusing. In a sense, the ningyo have already granted him immortality, for with a well-supplied army the greatness of his clan’s deeds will surely echo throughout all of history.

Challenge

While passing through the village of Mizu Mura, the player characters come upon a strange sight. A band of thugs have pursued a local peasant into an alley and have begun savagely beating him. If the player characters investigate, they will notice that the thugs are not simply assaulting the man, but attempting to bind him with rope and gag him. This is not a robbery or a murder, but a kidnapping.

Focus

If they choose to intervene, the peasant is extremely grateful. He is a local pearl diver by the name of Kota, hailing from one of the more respected families of divers in the village. If the player characters are courteous to the peasant (especially if they help tend his wounds) then he will glance cautiously about and ask the characters if he might entrust them with an important secret. Otherwise, the player characters might find out the following merely by interrogating Kota.

Kota and his family are one of the few families in the village that speak the ningyo language, as taught to them by the Naga. Kota’s brother, Hideyoshi, was renowned as one of the most talented and successful divers in the city. This was due to his deep secret love for a ningyo maiden named Shilasha. The ningyo often accompanied him on his deepest dives, transferring a lungful of air to him with a kiss when he grew weak. Hideyoshi kept his true love hidden from everyone except his brother.

Recently, however, Kota’s brother vanished. When Kota began investigating Hideyoshi’s disappearance, these strange thugs began to pursue him. Now it seems they wish to abduct him, though he does not know why. He begs the player characters for their aid.

Strike

If interrogated, the thugs reveal that they are in the employ of a local shugenja named Iuchi Matsuyo. Matsuyo sent them to retrieve Kota to aid him in his “research.” A bit of information gathering around the village will quickly reveal that Matsuyo is one of the more reviled figures in the village. He has made no secret of the fact that he intends to capture a live ningyo and test the truth of the rumor that their flesh grants immortality. This, of course, has gained him few allies amongst the villagers.

The player characters have only just begun to uncover a rather dark and twisted tale. Matsuyo had long suspected that Hideyoshi knew the truth about the ningyo in the lake. One day he followed Hideyoshi and Kota on their way to the lake, well hidden by his magic. He saw Hideyoshi call out to the water, and saw the ningyo maiden arrive to greet him. When the brothers returned later in the day, he followed Hideyoshi to his home. There, his thugs overpowered the young diver and brought him back to Matsuyo’s home.

Though Matsuyo questioned Hideyoshi at length, he refused to tell the shugenja any of the ningyo’s secrets. The Iuchi resorted to torture, but still Hideyoshi remained resolute. In the end, he died under the shugenja’s merciless ministrations. The diver’s death infuriated Matsuyo, but he knew that even this could only halt his investigation temporarily. The next day, even as he began to explore the areas of the lake where he knew Hideyoshi frequently dove for pearls, he dispatched his thugs to retrieve Hideyoshi’s brother.

Kota understands little that could truly aid Matsuyo, for the shugenja already knows all of the areas where Hideyoshi frequently dove. It is only a matter of time before Shilasha returns seeking her lost love. When she does, Matsuyo will be ready to capture her. If she dies in the Iuchi’s mad quest for immortality, not only will an innocent soul have perished but the friendship between Mizu Mura and the ningyo could be shattered forever.

Resolutions

If the player characters discover the truth, this becomes a delicate matter. Matsuyo is a high-ranking member of the Unicorn Clan, and by the strict interpretation of the law it was entirely within his right to kill Hideyoshi for his defiant behavior. If there are no members of the Unicorn among the party, any attempt to bring him to justice may be denounced by the Iuchi as an act of war. What seems to be a clear cut murder investigation may dissolve into a messy political situation. Matsuyo has many allies in the Khan’s court and will do what he can to turn this situation to his advantage if given the chance.

Of course if the truth of the matter is brought to the attention of the Khan (or another high-ranking Unicorn), that Matsuyo’s experiments threaten the productivity of the village, then the Iuchi’s punishment will be swift. Of course, such a tactic may result in the secret of the sunken city becoming exposed. Other ningyo-hunters will flock to Mizu Mura, eager to hunt the ningyo for their flesh.

Overall, discretion remains crucial. If the characters are not cautious, the fragile harmony of the village may be destroyed even if the murderous Matsuyo is brought to justice. Ironically a party that resorts to dishonorable tactics, such as killing the Iuchi and dumping his body in the lake before he can contact his allies, may well result in the most efficient resolution.

To make matters more complicated, the above assumes that the player characters will not see reason in the Iuchi’s twisted plans. What if the legends are correct and a ningyo’s flesh truly can grant immortality? Will they aid the Iuchi in his goals so that they, too, might live forever? Will they sacrifice the peace and productivity of Mizu Mura simply for their own selfish gains?

For a party that wishes to indulge in such activities, the GM is encouraged to study the Curse of the Ningyo section that follows. Also, remember that the ningyo are not without protection. A powerful orochi (see Fortunes and Winds) dwells within the ningyo city. For centuries the orochi has been content, happy that the villagers have made its job easier by insuring the well-being of its charges. Should hunters begin to murder the ningyo, this sea serpent will rise from the depths and unleash its horrible vengeance upon Mizu Mura.

The Curse of the Ningyo

Superstition holds that a mortal who devours the flesh of a ningyo will gain immortality.

The legends are true.

Many centuries ago, the ningyo were a sophisticated race. They possessed an extraordinary talent enabling them to call upon the spirits of Water to perform their bidding. A magical catastrophe destroyed their civilization, causing them to flee to the seas. The backlash of magic damaged the souls of many ningyo, causing them to revert to a near-feral state. This also resulted in infusing the ningyo with a mysterious and enduring magic that prevented them from aging in any noticeable manner.

Some time after this tragedy, the ningyo made a deal with the orochi, a race of powerful sea serpents from the Realm of Trickery, Sakkaku. The humorless orochi had grown tired of the endless pranks and nonsense of their brethren, and wished for safe haven in the mortal realm. The ningyo agreed to let the orochi share their cities, and in return the orochi promised to always protect the ningyo from harm.

Ryujin, the king of the orochi, soon recognized the power that ningyo flesh held. Being already quite immortal himself, Ryujin had no wish to devour his peaceful allies, but he realized that many others would not share this opinion. If other races were appraised of the power that resonated within ningyo flesh, not even he could protect them for long.

So Ryujin placed a powerful curse upon the ningyo race. For all time, any who dared to eat ningyo flesh would receive the immortality they sought, but at a horrible price. Those few who have dared investigate whether the superstitions are true invariably face a horrible fate. To make matters even more difficult for those so accursed, any orochi can see the marks of the curse on a mortal as clear as day. Such an accursed immortal is well advised to avoid large bodies of water, for the orochi will never stop hunting anyone who performs the heinous act of killing a ningyo simply to selfishly preserve themselves.

Any individual who eats ningyo flesh becomes immune to all diseases and need no longer eat, drink or breathe. In addition, they cease aging entirely. However, they also must roll on the following table to determine the effects of Ryujin’s curse.

D10 roll Curse

1-2 The Curse of Air – Any time you attempt to speak, you can say nothing except to announce the hideous crime you have committed by wronging the ningyo so. Any time another being speaks to you, the only words you hear are a wailing lament from the soul of the dead ningyo.

3-4 Curse of Earth – Your immortality takes a savagely ironic turn. Your body becomes a tree, rooted in the soil where you stand. You will endure forever, like a mighty oak, forever aware of your surroundings.

5-6 Curse of Fire – Your immortality comes at a cost. You do not gain the usual freedom from needing to eat or drink, but can no longer eat normal food. You are filled with a burning hunger and must feed on a particular substance (chosen by the GM) at least once a day to maintain your immortality. If you do not feed on this substance once a day, you immediately die. You know what this substance is as soon as the curse sets in, and you can sense its presence anywhere within one hundred feet.

7-8 Curse of Water – You become a ningyo. Unlike other immortals, you still need to breathe, but can only breathe water. You will immediately begin to suffocate unless you enter a body of water. Such an inmortal will have a difficult time avoiding vengeful orochi.

9-10 Curse of the Void – Though you become immortal, you also become a hideous, mindless monster. The GM should select any creature from the Game Master’s Guide, Fortunes and Winds, or another source. Your normal statistics are immediately replaced with those of this creature, and you become an NPC under the GM’s control.www.l5r.com