2nd Scroll - Bamboo and Butterfly

[jemmus]

Here's a map of the provinces. The PCs are in Suruga and are trying to get to Kai. The red blotch is the Okitsu battlefield. The blue one is Kofu. The purple line is the approximate long route. The orange one is of course the shorter route through Satta pass.


Your PCs know that the advantage of the pass is it's quick and you'd soon be back in friendly territory. The disadvantage is your little group of refugees (your PC and a few bushi or support unit NPCs) could face a lot of Taira (the number of them randomly determined). If any at all (also randomly determined).

Your PCs think the advantage of the long route is that the Taira wouldn't expect refugees to take it. The disadvantages are you have to travel through Suruga (Taira lands) before reaching southern Shinano (Matsumoto lands). And then there are the normal hazards of road travel (bandits, creatures, etc.) And of sleeping in the rough at night.

[Marullus]

Kentaro is serious about trying to find and save the Minamoto general(s)... it is his main hope of reclaiming his mountain. After all, his homespun mountain tracker background supplies an advantage over the Taira Samurai, who probably have never tracked a wily opponent in the brush.
Tracking [1d20]=12
...but perhaps that's more than he bargained for.

Otherwise, or afterwards, he looks for Hiroshi and then encourages the long route through Shinano. That's closer to home and he doesn't fear the mountain trails as a spoiled noble would.

[ffilz]

Kentaro is serious about trying to find and save the Minamoto general(s)... it is his main hope of reclaiming his mountain. After all, his homespun mountain tracker background supplies an advantage over the Taira Samurai, who probably have never tracked a wily opponent in the brush.
Tracking [1d20]=12
...but perhaps that's more than he bargained for.

Otherwise, or afterwards, he looks for Hiroshi and then encourages the long route through Shinano. That's closer to home and he doesn't fear the mountain trails as a spoiled noble would.

Assuming Hiroshi and Kentaro hook up, Hiroshi would be just fine with the longer trail.With Hiroshi's daring escape, it's likely he's already up in the brush off the main roads and trails.

[jemmus]

For Kentaro to find Hiroshi, he'll need a Perception of Hidden Things roll at BCS +1. (He know Hiroshi pretty well now, so can better guess where he'd go). That's assuming Kentaro isn't making inquiries with peasants, travelers, etc. in Suruga. If he does that, the +2. But the chances of an encounter with Taira could go up by a lot.

If Hiroshi looks for Kentaro, the same applies. That would mean coming out of the mountains and looking in flatter places where a horseman can go.

For Kentaro to find Yoritomo, he'll need a PoHT roll at -1 BCS. Yoritomo definitely does not want to be found in Suruga by anyone that he doesn't know.

[ffilz]

For Kentaro to find Hiroshi, he'll need a Perception of Hidden Things roll at BCS +1. (He know Hiroshi pretty well now, so can better guess where he'd go). That's assuming Kentaro isn't making inquiries with peasants, travelers, etc. in Suruga. If he does that, the +2. But the chances of an encounter with Taira could go up by a lot.

If Hiroshi looks for Kentaro, the same applies. That would mean coming out of the mountains and looking in flatter places where a horseman can go.

For Kentaro to find Yoritomo, he'll need a PoHT roll at -1 BCS. Yoritomo definitely does not want to be found in Suruga by anyone that he doesn't know.

I don't think Hiroshi is going to come out of the mountains... As a ronin, he's probably well used to taking the road less traveled away from battle...

[Marullus]

Perception [1d20]=11

You can decide what that means.

(From my POV, I would rather find him so we can continue the adventure together OOC, if you can contrive a different failure result.)

[ffilz]

Perception [1d20]=11

You can decide what that means.

(From my POV, I would rather find him so we can continue the adventure together OOC, if you can contrive a different failure result.)

For what it's worth, if Kentaro comes looking for Hiroshi, he IS looking to see if there are other refugees in the mountains, but cautious of approaching anyone he doesn't recognize.



Maybe he spots Kentaro looking for him.

[jemmus]

The afternoon sky is grayish white, and the air smells like snow. The sun is setting on the field of the battle outside of the village called Okitsu. On the side of a steep mountain, Hiroshi crouches on earth, brown leaves, and sleety snow. He scans the narrow valley below. There is a flat, stone-bottomed stream running south, toward the ocean. And a road leading and out of Suruga. Toward Shinano, and out of Taira lands. And the food and warmth of the inn in Kofu. But the bushi quickly brushes thoughts of such things from his mind. Dreaming about comforts only is no good, it only causes more discomfort. He glances at his wounds. Cuts through skin and some muscle, and dried blood. The o-yoroi's cords are stained forever, though. "That might be bad in some situations, and good in others," the young ronin thinks. "I escaped on my own from Okitsu when it fell apart. Took many enemy heads, was surrounded, and manage to escape. That's worth something. If I survive."

Kentaro and six other horsemen of the ronin horse corps road east from the battlefield, as fast as they and their horses were able. The Taira horsemen stopped and went this way and that, greedily chasing groups of scattering foot bushi. Ahead, at the entrance the pass, there's a mill, a rush, and a throng. Kentaro didn't wait. The big ronin bushi turned north, and two fellow ronin horsemen thought a minute and turned their horse's heads and followed.

On the mountainside, moving 100 yards by 100 yards, Hiroshi saw this on the backs of mounted bushi patrols:

He guesses its the kamon emblem of the local Imagawa of Suruga. He also notes that there were no similar banners at Okitsu. "Maybe they showed up late?"

[Marullus]

Not clear which things Kentaro sees? Is he in the scene with Hiroshi and the Imagawa?

[ffilz]

Does Hiroshi know how the Imagawa leans, Taira or Minamoto?

[jemmus]

Yes, both PCs know that the Imagawa are a Taira clan. They're very wealthy and closely related to kuge families. They're the lords of three provinces, including Suruga, where the PCs are now.
I'll post again about Kentaro's and Hiroshi's current situations.

[jemmus]

Hiroshi rested a moment in foliage at foot of a steep mountain. He saw three horseman approaching at a lope. All were wounded, two with arrows still projecting from their o-yoroi. Their horses were tired and snorting fog from their nostrils. They must be refugees from the Minamoto side. Wounded victors would be in camp, not here. Not riding away from the battle, north-- the long way to Kai, around the end of the mountains.

As the riders drew closer, he thought that the bigger one looked familiar. The color of his o-yoroi's looked like Kentaro's. And the color of his horse confirmed it. He stepped out from his place of concealment and hailed his friend.

Hiroshi barely made his PoHT BCS roll. TBC soon.

[Marullus]

What is the final Budo and On total gained from the battle? (I recorded the 10 On lost for being practical, per the other thread, but don't know what his positive award was.)

[jemmus]

Kentaro got 9 from the battle. So net -1, but his decision might have been a good one after all. All choices among trade offs, right? Here's our daily tracking chart: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/z12tse06 ... o1qhruk8s1

[Marullus]

I received 0 Budo for the battle according to the tracker? I thought I at least got Budo for the encounter, right? If nothing else?

[jemmus]

I reviewed the battle and see that Kentaro won one encounter with Rabble, so he gets 1 budo. Same for Hiroshi. Correct?

Edit: I see a missed updating the Total Budo/Shugendo figures. Corrected.

[Marullus]

Edit: I see a missed updating the Total Budo/Shugendo figures. Corrected.

Yep. Thanks!

Kentaro got 9 from the battle. So net -1, but his decision might have been a good one after all. All choices among trade offs, right? Here's our daily tracking chart: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/z12tse06 ... o1qhruk8s1

So that would be from 41 to 40. Your tracker shows going from 41 to 49.

[jemmus]

Thanks for spotting that. Typo fixed. I appreciate you guys double-checking things.

[jemmus]

Hiroshi has escorted the kuge to Kofu, fought in a battle, crossed a mountain range, and made it back to Kofu. He levels up to Level 2.

[ffilz]

Hiroshi has escorted the kuge to Kofu, fought in a battle, crossed a mountain range, and made it back to Kofu. He levels up to Level 2.

OK, level and HP updated, need to check if anything else to update.

Also, it looks like I did Taisho's HP wrong... he gets HEALTH + 2d3...

Oh, I did do that back here: https://www.unseenservant.com/index.php ... 61&macid=0

I just didn't fix up one of the several HP locations on the character sheet...