Here's 5 little scenarii in the Challenge/Focus/Strike format, created by Daidoji Kyorou, of the French R2K team.

CHALLENGE

Many inhabitants of the Imperial City have been wildly murdered. The "modus operandi" is always the same and no link can be found between the victims. On the crime scenes, the inscription "The Vengeance of Kobayashi" is always written with a piece of coal.

The murderer seems to be an professionnal killer and leave no proof that would identify him. The PCs will have a lot of difficulties in discovering "Kobayahshi's" identity.

FOCUS

Some research about the name "Kobayashi" will reveal that the Kobayashi were a vassal family of the Scorpion Clan, 1000 years ago, particulary linked to the Shosuro. But, the Kobayashi were destroyed for unknown reasons by a coalition of samurai of various clans, and their castle was burned so thoroughly that only burning coals remained. All the victims are the descendants of these samurai.

But, the purging of the Kobayashi house was total. So, who remains to avenge them ?

STRIKE

The murderer is a Kitsu sodan-senzo was visited by the vengeful spirit of the last Kobayashi daimyo. Now, the spirit possesses him and force him to avenge his family.

The best way to stop the killer is to wait with one of the two last potential victims (the PCs can discover their identities with some research.)

The sodan-senzo is strong and the spirit who possess him is a Shosuro assassin rank 3, so this won't be easy (especially if the party doesn't want to harm the innocent sodan-senzo). I recommend a good old roof pursuit for the end of this encounter.

Once the murderer is caught, what to do with him ? Deliver the sodan-sanzo to the justice (and ruin his career) or deliver him to the Kitsu family ?

CHALLENGE

Dojicorp has a great problem : a clever hacker has stolen the plans of their last high-tech processor. This processor is revolutionary and the hacker has destroyed all the computers of the research dept. with an unknown virus, but the dojicorp expert have a bad feeling about this one ... Some of the computers have traces of... the Shadowlands Taint? But how ? But, this seems to be the truth, any experts in the party can confirm this.

This affair won't be easy : the Crane, who want to be sure to retrieve the thief have asked to their own security service to track the thief (a group of very skilled Kakita programmers), and have hired a group of ronin, too.

Between the Kakita experts who always put their noses in the PCs affairs and the ronin who hound the witnesses, the PCs lead their investigations.

FOCUS

The culprit is a common Dojicorp employee who did return to work since the theft. His terminal hard disk has been formated and his colleagues found him strange, since a few days.

At his home, the PCs can retrieve a copy of the stolen files (the Crane will by happy), and a commercial guide of Otosan Uchi. The name of a restaurant is highlighted.

At this very moment, the Kakita team will arrive, a strange look in the eyes, and try to murder the PCs. An examination will reveal that they seem to be hypnotized. Their terminals at Dojicorp have all been hacked and a strange program has been run on each of them.

STRIKE

The final encounter will take place in the restaurant. The owner is in fact a maho-tsukai who has discovered the way to link a kansen to a computer program, and who wants to become the Master of the Network (he's so maniacal, you can practically hear the capital letters when he speaks).

This guy awaits his enemies at home, surrounded by his hypnotized bushi guards. They won't propose any agreement to the PCs, so the fight will be deadly.

CHALLENGE

The PCs are asked to protect a famous singer/comedian of the Akodo family, who pretends to have received a lot of menacing letters. He pretends to have denounced the acts of well-placed people in his songs, who now want his death.

He already has many bodygards but, frightened by the letters, he wants to be protected by the police during his Tour around the Empire.

FOCUS

You can organize many stressing moments : stalked by some fans, wild orgies, some fights with the ex-conquests of the singer, visits of diverse public places...

And, from time to time, more menacing events : sniper, poison, why not sulfuric acid in the bathtub?

STRIKE

During an important concert, in front of many fans, a ill-intentionned guy try to launch a rocket on the stage; the musicians, the groupies and the first rank are pulverized, but the star is only lightly wounded. He dove into the crowd just before the shot, because he has noticed a laser sight aiming in his direction.

The singer is the real culprit; he has hired a team of killers to simulate the murder attempts, to do his own advertising.

How do the characters deal with a star who would do anything to become popular?

(Author's note : this idea come from somewhere, but don't remember where...

CHALLENGE

Some Ide family gangsters are murdered in a dark alley. The following day, a dive owned by a Yasuki gang burns to the ground. Both these two gangs seems to want to gain territory on the other's one.

The hired men of the two gangs fire in the street, regardless of innocent lives in the crossfire. The bomb attacks increase in number and the gangs are, more and more, under pressure.

Both gang refuse to speak to the police and are even threatening them, each side believing that the cops have been bought off by the other.

FOCUS

The PCs are called by two young teenagers (a boy and a girl from either gang) who want to "shut down this stupid war". The two teenagers suggest them to organize the peace negotiations between the gangs.

In an empty warehouse in neutral territory, the two oyabuns, each followed by his own escort, meet one another.

STRIKE

In this case, the responsible party is the Scorpion Clan : the right-hand men of the two oyabuns are in fact Shosuro actors who have prepared the negotiations.

Assassination attempts and veiled insults will follow one another, while the PCs, helped by the teenagers, will try to mellow the situation and to unmask the traitors.

If the war become unavoidable, the two teenagers will kill themselves with poison. Sometimes, the failure can have some dramatic consequences.

CHALLENGE

A businessman known for the quality of his production is found strangled in his garden. His wife and his children claim not to have heard heard anything, despite the fact that the murderer would have had to pass through the entire house to go to the garden.

The brother of the victim, arrived hurriedly, ask the investigators to give him the identity of the murderer. He wants to avenge his brother.

FOCUS

If the employees of the victims are asked, they'll say that their boss was the target of a powerful gangster who had proposed him to protect him, in exchange of a "little reward". The victim have always refused, his business was created by his great-grandfather, and his ancestors would never forgive him for his cowardice.

STRIKE

In fact, the victim was killed by his brother. He wanted to sell his business and settle down somewhere else, because he was fed up with the gangsters' pressure. Because his brother could not put aside his honor accept the extortion, he murdered his own brother.

The wife and children know what happened, but are lying to avoid the shame that will follow if these facts are known by the public.

This scenario should be easy to solve, but the outcome will come with a lot of tear drops, confessions and repurcussions.