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synodiporia_ooc2016-03-09 09:43 pm
powersthatbe) wrote in synodiporia_ooc2016-03-09 09:43 pm
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CODE OF DISHONOR: A ninja/wuxia Jaunt.
The True-Named Empire is vast and complex, unifying many clans, many cultures. To keep its unruly backcountry regions in check, political exiles are sent to live in the provinces of their most ancient and implacable enemies. Thus is rebellion prevented, and balance maintained.
The Bando Peninsula is home to three provinces seeded with dissidents, rules by the Bando Shogun. Splinter sects of religious groups, former revolutionary armies, and those contaminated by foreign notions via trade are all shut behind the same frontier wall in a dry, mountainous coastal region.
While these microcultures struggle, forced to compete for imperial favor to survive, the Empire prepares to invade a kingdom across the sea. For that, it will need elite marines to be the first and most disposable shock troops off their vessels, and so the three Bando provinces are turned to. One province will supply the troops, at the Bando Shogun’s discretion. And those troops will return home with one fifth of all the treasure taken in the war. Despise the mainland as they might, no one here can risk their rivals gaining that kind of advantage over them… and so, before long, more blood than snow will be shed on the slopes of these unhappy mountains...
World Info
Koroshima: the central province of the Bando Peninsula, consisting mainly of mountain villages, the paranoid natives of Koroshima are known for their separatist politics, illusionary and deceptive powers and combat styles, and the foreign trade conducted from pirate ports at the peninsula’s tip. Their two primary militant factions are the Akuryu or ‘darkblade’ assassins, and the mountain-ranger, commoner-trained Suzuki riflemen. Koroshima natives come closest to the traditional depiction of ninja as black-clad acrobatic killers. Investigators in Koroshima will appear as foreign pirates from the secret ports.
Nakamiyo: the southern province of the Bando Peninsula, the Nakamiyo people are hidebound traditionalists with strict inner hierarchies and traditions of ancestor worship. previous rebellions lead to the Nakamiyo being forbidden swords and firearms, which lead to them developing a wide variety of subtle, easily disguisable weapons or empty-handed martial arts techniques. Hard martial artists, Nakamiyo natives are similar to the aristocratic clan families in modern ninja anime, with colorful magics, and historically bear some resemblance to the Okinawans under Japanese rule or the Koreans under Chinese rule. Their mercenary force of free warriors is the Mibugumi. Investigators in Nakamiyo will be presumed to be peasant conscripts, likely seeking training under the Mibugumi.
All three provinces answer to the Bando Shogun, and while all are vaguely answerable to the mainland and its Imperial Bureaucracy, they’re deliberately a backwater under martial rule to keep separatist elements under control, and all must compete with one another for favored status with regard to taxation, military privilege, and chance to enter the bureaucracy. This means they oscillate between tight-knit outcasts shunning the mainland, and fiercely combative rivals currying the favor they need for safe, prosperous lives.
Bonus points to anyone who gets the dumb puns made in this.
For those who served on the Panlong in The Labyrinthine Shoal...'True-Named Empire' is one possible translation of En Zhenming. Geography and causality preclude any overlap in infiltrators, they are likely in the same world.
Casting Call
Openhanded Nakamiyo: Heir to a family of martial artists with secret, open-handed techniques, this ingenue is naive and charming, honorable and formidable in a fair fight. The ingenue’s family, less gifted but more canny, keeping their champion loyal and directed, are available for PC play. EXCLUSIVE SKILL: Open Hand Mastery. Punch through brick, throw enemies twenty feet, slap weapons aside bare handed, and achieve one-handed joint locks and immobilizations.
Mibugumi Captain: Head of the meritocratic Ronin used as a defense force for the country, this warrior is stern, disciplined, mentoring, and as coldly realistic as they are dutiful. Their inner Cadre of elite warriors is available for PC play, and investigators who prove their mettle may be invited to join as well. EXCLUSIVE SKILL: Three Weapon Fighting. Draw, sheathe, and exchange weapons quickly enough to effectively wield three light weapons simultaneously. Usually a short sword or dagger, a sai or sword breaker, and a nunchuck, tonfa, or battle fan/tessen.
Nakamatou Swordsmith: this ascetic blacksmith and spiritualist forges truly superb blades, Imbuing the power of the wielder’s bloodline into the steel. Their skills and serenity make them a target: for commission of new blades or sale of old, for recruitment to a cause, or for assassination. EXCLUSIVE SKILL: Forge Blade. Craft a superb bladed weapon that permits connection to its bearer’s ancestral or clan legacy. Usable every seven to ten days.
Sun Guard Tattooist: this artist is a young prodigy with unanticipated skill in inking magic patterns onto skin, and is loath to unlock the potential in someone for the purpose of warfare. Their passion could easily become outrage if the blood of their found family in the Monastery is shed, however. Said loved ones are available for infiltrators. EXCLUSIVE SKILL: Enchanted Tattoo. Give someone else a magical ability or increased skill or prowess by using ink to redirect their chi. Every advantage gained via tattoo, however, has a corresponding weakness, as the flow of chi to another region is redirected.
Sun Guard Master Medium: teacher of all spirit summoners in the north, this aged sage spends as much time among the dead as the living, and sees little distinction between the two, unhesitatingly slaying others but possessing no fear of losing brothers to bloodshed. Their apprentices are available for infiltrators. EXCLUSIVE SKILL: No Distinction. Gather information from the recently deceased immediately, or the generations dead via ritual.
Rogue Akuryu: this lone wolf abandoned village and clan to become a fugitive, a hated deserter, forced now to use assassin's gifts in self defense against the kinsmen hunting them. A potentially priceless recruit for other nations, their reasons for going rogue are unknown, and their motive now is simple survival. Those who were once close to the rogue, and now hunt them, are available for infiltration. EXCLUSIVE SKILL: Mirrored Motion. Match another fighter's movements perfectly, making an unbeatable defense in single combat unless on bad terrain, but vulnerable to other attackers and unable to attack while using. Can also be used to hide from a single observer, regardless of terrain.
Akuryu Elder: head of the darkblades, this vicious, cold-blooded sovereign of slaughter is the ultimate mercenary, collector of secrets, and taker of heads. They will stop at nothing to achieve victory. All Akuryu answer to the elder, so CR is automatic. EXCLUSIVE SKILL: Perceive Weakness. Through fighting and eye contact, know the desires, fears, or flaws of any opponent.
Incognito Ashigaru: a young Suzuki rifle, this anonymous marksman is secretly a close relative to a plot important role from another faction, and may teach restricted skills to close friends. EXCLUSIVE SKILL: Classified Information. We'd tell you what this skill is, but then we'd have to kill you.
Suzuki Captain: this peerless mountain ranger and sniper commands the small elite force, trading with pirates for necessary materials, moving through the woods with incredible swiftness, and horrified by how peaceful and simple they find it to kill. Still, duty to clan and village come before all. EXCLUSIVE SKILL: Flawless Stride. Move at a sprint without regard to difficult terrain, and travel up to eighty miles per day on foot.
Sign up for these roles here. Roles will be cast no later than 11:59 PM CST March 11th.
You do not need mod permission to be part of one of the cadres of close CR to the plot roles mentioned above, but you should clear it with the players attemping to get those parts.
Caledar (tentative)
March 23: Raids and Assassinations.
March 30: Internal Strife.
April 10: The Tribute Convoys.
April 16: Audience with the Bando Shogun.
April 22: Return to Liminal Space/Shogun’s decision.
Map
Skills
Marksmanship: Sniper-style rifle skills. Usually a Koroshima Suzuki skill.
Ninja Weaponry: In Koroshima, use of shuriken, throwing daggers, darts, smoke bombs, caltrops, chains and chain weapons, tripwires, garrotes, and grappling hooks in combat. In Nakamiyo, use of tonfa, kama, nunchucks, weighted ropes and chains, staves and shortspears, bucklers, fans, scarves, knuckledusters, hoes, and oars in combat
Swordsmanship: In Nakumatou, swordsmanship similar to kendo or tai chi style swordplay. In Koroshima, use of short sword and sheathe as club, sword, and blowgun. In Nakamiyo, skill with sais, sickles, and swordbreakers.
Unarmed Combat Style: In Nakumatou, Shaolin kung fu and tai chi styles. In Koroshima, hapkido and praying mantis kung fu styles. In Nakamiyo, Okinawan karate and aikido.
Superlative Stealth: The ability to use concealment, cover, tumbling, climbing, freezing, breath control, and psychological and anatomical understanding to hide and move silently even under slightly improbable circumstances. Usually a Koroshima skill.
Summoning: The ability to channel ancestral spirits, usually to access their wisdom, martial skills, or athletic abilities. May be used after the jaunt to call upon the mundane skills of idled, dropped, or presently deceased Travelers. Only taught in Nakumatou.
Tattoo Magic: A Nakumatou art used to augment one single physical ability at the cost of another, or use one single illusory or elemental technique at reduced power and increased effort. Specific techniques may require mod approval.
Survivalism: The ability to traverse, navigate, track, hunt, find shelter, food, natural medicine, and water in cold, mountain, or forest terrain. Primarily a Koroshima skill.
Illusionary Magic: The power to bend shadows, project mirror images, summon mist, use ventriloquism, perform short range single target hypnosis, change the color of fabric or other materials, and blur or alter facial features. Primarily a Koroshima Akuryu skill.
Elementalism: The ability to summon, direct, or control one element - fire, wind, water, metal, or wood - in amounts up to 200 pounds, speeds up to 75 mph, and distances up to 100 feet, but always originating beside the user if summoned (and dissipating when concentration is broken). In the case of fire, limited to two cubic meters and 500 degrees Fahrenheit. As exhausting as a heavy workout. Usually used in Nakamiyo to augment unarmed strikes, immobilize foes, or levitate weaponry. In Koroshima, double the distance it can be used at, but reduce the material involved to one quarter. In Nakumatou, double the amount of material, but reduce range and speed to one quarter Nakamiyo values.
Infiltrator Directory
(once the plot begins, a directory will go up)
Glossary
Player Resources
a more comprehensive Japanese name list than Behind the Name's
render non-Japanese names into katakana