Onyx Empire: Game 5, 6, 7, 8, & 9

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KakitaKaori
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Onyx Empire: Game 5, 6, 7, 8, & 9

Postby KakitaKaori » Wed Jan 27, 2016 8:45 am

Background and Characters and game 1: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=813
Games 2, 3, and 4: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=817

i can combine threads if you want, Admin-samas. Just feels like a way to break things up and so people can find the latest faster.

The effect of the prayer banners at the Scorpion shrine lasted the night, and the PC's were allowed to sleep undisturbed. Shasimasu was visited by his Scorpion ninja fiancee again briefly, and given a map to a place of shelter.

Daidoji Shourai awakened with the insight (granted by her ancestor) that a severe storm was coming down from the mountains within just a few hours. The group chose to heed her warning and sought out shelter immediately, finding it eventually in an abandoned priest's home overgrown with moss. By the time they had found it, the storm was fierce and dangerous, but they had made it before they took harm. Kitsu Chiyori hung the prayer banners again and prayed through the day, hoping their enchantment would ward off the allies of the Moto Death Priests, while the Dragon meditated (again). Shourai braved the storm enough to dig up some abandoned vegetables from the building's small garden and gather some wood for the journey, then focus on repairing her wet armor. Shasimasu was mocking, saying that he was surprised at Shourai...that surely a follower of Bushido who had any courage would be compelled to face in battle the giant Oni that had revealed itself to them, but Shourai would not rise to take the bait and told him that he knew nothing. When he continued, starting to tell stories about the foolishness of Bushido and the strength of Shurido, Shourai told him, ever so politely, that she may have owed him, but he should silence hmself.

I suspect this might end up a running thing. Oh well!

When the rain let up the group began travelling on the road, with Shasimasu not speaking except to say 'this way to safety'. I don't think Shourai would have gone with him, but he was leading them in the direction they had already determined they would go the day before, so she did, though she spent time with Chiyori trying to figure out how to find out if her brother and Chiyori's family was still alive.

In any event, after a few days travel in the elements, they reached a cliff-side kuyden, and that's where the game ended.


It was short. The GM has created an environmental conflict system but realized in playtesting the first part of the storm that his original design would have wiped the party out, so he held off so he could recalibrate. :) Not very exciting perhaps, but maybe next time.

Jeanne
Last edited by KakitaKaori on Tue Apr 12, 2016 8:31 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: Onyx Empire: Game 5

Postby Doji Pheelyp » Thu Jan 28, 2016 5:16 pm

I like how Shourai braved the elements to dig up food. That sense of needing something to eat was a welcome touch of realism. :)
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Onyx Empire: Game 6

Postby KakitaKaori » Mon Feb 08, 2016 6:30 pm

The group reached the Kuyden and hesitated outside the gates. It was clear that the place was empty...little more than walls remaining, the gates broken down. Within we could see an empty courtyard with a well at the center. The shugenja, Chiyori, could smell death and decay, but touched with the smell of hot sun on dust and jasmine flowers. The group wavered, including Shashimasu, at the feelings of dread. Finally Shourai turned to Shasimasu and said, "You want us to go in there?" He nodded. "That is where I was told we must go." Impatient, Shourai answered, "Fine," and walked forward into the courtyard, but nothing happened. The rest soon followed.

The Dragon could sense more magic, and Kitsuki Gaman told the others that he could hear the sound of the chanting of holy prayers coming from straight ahead. Togashi Nao agreed, and the two of them strode boldly further into the courtyard. Between one step and another they disappeared from sight. Shashimasu shrugged and followed them, also disappearing.

Daidoji Shourai turned to Kitsu Chiyori. "Well. We could leave now." Chiyori shook her head. "I did not warn them sufficiently of the danger. It will be my fault if they came to harm." She stepped after them, so Shourai followed.

Where once was an empty courtyard, they found an area teaming with zombies. A column of brilliant sunlight around the well surrounded a young man, ji-samurai by his appearance, who sat on the well and chanted as if his life depended on it. Though the party tried some to battle the hoarde, it was clear there was no way they would be able to slay them all. As each zombie fell, it slowly reformed from the tendrils of black vapor that poured from a shrine on one side of the court yard. They were able, barely to make it into circle of sunlight without getting killed. Shashimasu and Gomon tried to keep the tendrils away from the sunlight to buy the chanting young man some respite, while Togashi Nao offered him healing via her arrowroot tattoo. Shourai tried sending a flaming arrow into the shrine, but that effort was particularly useless. But, no other hope seeming available and with the chanting man tiring fast, Chiyori risked the insanity of the kami to call upon her scrolls to cast a jade strike at the shrine.

The jade strike worked. The shrine collapsed upon itself, and the shadows cleared.

Just in time. The young man introduced himself, with very great deference to the samurai of the great clans, as Matsumoto Natsuo. His family had lived in southern Unicorn Lands, but he said he had been directed to this place in search of an artifact, an item belonging to his grandmother, that had been lost here. He was a bushi, but clearly his family had some knowledge of the esoteric arts practiced by monks and shugenja. Togashi Nao entered the shrine and emerged with the saya for a straight blade (a ken),. Natsuo offered to lead them to some caves nearby, outside the kuyden, where he had set up camp before seeking entry. The party was able to return to the caves without trouble.

There, he continued his story. When he reached the kuyden, he'd searched the empty village and found curved and polished fragments of human bone. When he went to the well to get the water, he saw shadows pour out from the shrine and close the area off from the outside world. He poured out a ring of salt and set up the defensive position at the well. He'd been there almost two days before we had arrived. Nao offered him the saya. We may investigate the kuyden further, but we were too wounded for now. It would have to wait for another day.
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Re: Onyx Empire: Game 5 & 6

Postby Doji Pheelyp » Wed Feb 10, 2016 6:01 am

Exciting!

Good thing the jade strike worked. :O

So the shrine had a sort of sentient malevolence that was trying to prepare an evil hoard under cover of invisibility? Reminds me of Dol Guldur and Gandalf banishing the spell of invisibility the hid the orcs massing there. :O
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Re: Onyx Empire: Game 5 & 6

Postby Asahina Dreamspoiler » Wed Feb 10, 2016 11:07 am

And you have just spoiled that movie for me! :o

(Joking! What kind if nerd would I be if I had not watched Harry Potter & the Empire Strike Back into Darkness.)

Seriously, I am working on starting a L5R campaign set in at the end of Evil Portents and moving forward, so I like seeing what others are envisioning for that setting.
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Re: Onyx Empire: Game 5 & 6

Postby Doji Pheelyp » Thu Feb 11, 2016 9:28 am

Whilst I would be eager to read and comment on that. :)
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Re: Onyx Empire: Game 5 & 6

Postby KakitaKaori » Mon Feb 22, 2016 10:47 am

No update this week. Half the players have ugly colds and we all decided to skip the week until we feel better. Hopefully soon.

Kaori
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Re: Onyx Empire: Game 5 & 6

Postby Doji Pheelyp » Tue Feb 23, 2016 9:13 am

I pray for your swift and uneventful recovery, sama.
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Re: Onyx Empire: Game 7

Postby KakitaKaori » Tue Mar 15, 2016 7:24 pm

Sorry for the very, very long delay since my last game update. We had some illnesses and cancellations that stopped us from playing for more than a month. Writing up session by session goes slower than writing up the old Clan War game, because I can roll up many sessions and add more context. Oh well.


The party was sleeping in a cave in the mountain, looking down on the Kuyden below. The cave was fairly comfortable...obviously a place of shelter for villagers at one time should the kuyden itself fall under attack. During the second watch, the two Dragon saw a group of people carrying torches climb the road up to the village that lay within the Kuyden's boundaries. The lights multiplied as the houses themselves had lamps lit within.

The party didn't know who had arrived, so Sashimasu and Daidoji Shourai went out to scout. They went in different directions. Shourai was able to sneak into the village, but was almost caught several times. Finally she was able to settle beneath a house and listen to the leader of the village. Sashimasu was caught very quickly, but, continuing his 'mysterious Spider Monk' aspect, simply walked into the middle of town and sat lotus style. The villagers brought him a Bento box. Both Shourai and Sashimasu, in their different ways, learned that the group was a group of ronin led by Nobo the Wolf. Shourai tried to break into Nobo's house, but failed miserably and had to bolt. She returned to the others in the cave to share the information. She learned from Matsumoto Natsuo that Nobo has a reputation of being a decent sort in the area...ronin, but one who stayed bought when bought.

Nobo asked Sashimasu if he was there to tend to the local shrines, which Sashimasu assented to. He spent the following day doing so, or at least pretending to do so while the ronin sent to assist him did most of the actuall work. Meanwhile those in the cave waited and made plans to depart. When Sashimasu came to a neglected Scorpion shrine and did it homage, he heard once more the sound of a flute. He followed the sound, leaving behind those who were with him. Kitsu Chiroku heard it too, and immediately left the cave to pursue it. Shourai, somewhat reluctantly, followed. Shugenja! <roll eyes>. The others soon followed. Kitsu Chiroku encountered Sashimasu, and, unseen by Sashimasu, a Shoshi ancestor who took the opportunity to berate his grandchild (Shashimasu) for not seeking help where it is offered. Clearly outed anyway as the ronin assistants cought up with Shashimasu, they decided to return to the village together.

---
I suspect this was one of those games where the players were a little more paranoid then they should have been and the GM had to yank pretty hard to get us back on track. That happens. Oh well.
Last edited by KakitaKaori on Wed Mar 16, 2016 3:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Onyx Empire: Game 5 & 6

Postby Doji Pheelyp » Wed Mar 16, 2016 12:26 pm

I like how sassy Sashimasu was to so brazenly walk in, and then have a Bento box offered to him for his effort.

Does tending to a shrine involve cleaning it up? I think I remember an official fiction set in Sparrow lands infiltrated by the dirty Spider, where a Mantis shugenja "cleans up" a shrine and making the chi flow better or something.

Oh, and when Shourai miserably failed to break into Nobo's house and had to bolt, did he make a lot of noise/alert the others to his presence/attempt?

:)
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