Campaign Setting - Ninja and the Kumo Clan

[jemmus]

Moving some other things already posted to here, to tidy things up a little and help us find things easily.

[jemmus]

Previously posted, no notable revisions.
OOC Background of the Game
-The game starts in and around Kai province, which we already know.
-Start on the day of the tragic lightning strike end of the last party. But as far away hidden mountain fortress ninja.
-PCs start at 1st level, with no pre-training. (We'll start with simpler and easier jobs and learn how to run ninja. After that, players can expect exponentially more challenging missions-- for themselves and their PCs-- along the way).
-This will tactical and problem-solving game. Not so much problem solving as in dungeon clues from a DM. But being assigned specific mission objectives, and using your PCs' abilities (skill scores and die rolls) to try to achieve them.
-The PCs are members of the Kumo ninja clan.The Kumo clan specializes in scaling castle walls and jumping (karumijutsu) and swimming (suiei). +5 to initial bugei scores, and there will be training bonuses for those bugei. The clan has never favored use of edged weapons such as swords, knives and arrows, although they appreciate their value. -3 to initial bugei score for those, but no training minuses for them.
-The clan will provide downtime training, upon the completion of a mission. The clan values ninja who manage to return, and are eager and diligent students. Such is the lifeblood of the clan. The elders of the clan discuss among themselves and approve, according to the needs of the clan at the moment.

[jemmus]

Significant additional information on mission types have been added after the initial post. The changes are just and expanded set of missions that clan members have been trained on to expect. But worth checking out, I think. Bushido's life is a hard, fraughtful, and action-packed life, it seems...

Kumo Clan Mission Types
All members of the clan always expect these types of missions:
a) Deliver the message and bring back the reply -- Mostly for young, energetic trainees. Except for when the messages are between daimyo of provinces. And there's a third unknown daimyo client involveds.
b) Map the magnate's compound. For the use of future teams or your own future use. Mostly just stupid ronin guards, barking dogs and such.
c) Map the general's or daimyo's castle. Here is where the karimijutsu climbing and jumping and suiei moat-swimming skills named above might prove useful.
d) Penetrating, listening, reporting back in.
e) Planting incriminating evidence.
f) Infiltrating an important household or office as a worker or servant. A long-term to very long-term mission requiring great cunning, acting (henjutsu) skill, and infinite patience. (Not likely a mission for PCs, unless somebody likes that kind of thing. Maybe for a second character. Posting rate maybe every couple of weeks... Could be fun for an RP/writing/story-oriented player though).
g) Gaining an important personage's trust and confidence as a mistress or lover. (Also probably only for NPCs).
h) Scouting an army's location, observing its numbers and forces, escaping detection and rapidly reporting back.
i) Sabotage, planting rumors and disinformation, sowing discord and discontent.
j) Arson. But the Kumo clan rarely does that, because fire suddenly traps and kills indiscriminately. Neighboring wife, grandpa, child, horse, bat, spider, all alike. And fires are extensively investigated after the great losses. As such, if accepted, the mission is usually to pay yakuza thugs to carry out the misdeed. And eliminate them and leave them a prominent message if they take the money and don't.
k) By whatever ninja means you might know, eliminate a supernatural/o-bake problem for the samurai clan client. Usually one that is too hidden or remote for a samurai unit to spend time on, one that a ronin band won't likely find, and one one that a mixed group of wandering adventurers would be more likely to defeat. When they eventually got to them, at the speed of the slowest quester moving along local mountain trails. Too slow, but effective as backup, to the samurai mind.
k) Counter-intelligence. Detecting rival/enemy ninja and eliminating them. For the client, or for the clan.
l) Assassination of important persons. Said important person may be a daimyo, a samurai captain, a rival merchant, or an enemy yakuza o-ya-bun. It could even be the hated lover of a jealous husband or wife. And evading capture/death and reporting back-- if you can manage that as well.
m) Any kind of other thing that someone wants done, but doesn't want anyone to know who did it. Or wants someone to think someone else did it. The ninja does things people do not expect. And undertakes to do things that he does not expect. That is ninjutsu.

[jemmus]

The Kumo Clan
The PCs are members of the Kumo clan. The spoken word kumo can mean either "cloud" or "spider." Which is the meaning of the clan's name has never been known for sure. One theory is that the name means "cloud." For the silent, distant but always-seeing, untouchable and unreachable nature of a white cloud. And the randomness and inalterable power of a dark one.

Another theory is it means "spider," because of a spider's nature as a hunter that patiently lies in wait, unmoving. Waiting in the web that it planned and riskily placed, hoping for a best-possible placement. A trap in the path of prey, but not in the area of predator wasps or bumbling larger creatures. The spiral trap that it meticulously built with much, climbing, lowering, jumping from strand to strand. It waits there for hours and hours, completely unmoving, as if not alive. But when an unwitting prey sends the first vibration through the web, it closes on the prey in the blink of an eye. It strikes with its weapons and venom, and does not hesitate to destroy its web to wrap wrap its stunned prey in its strands.

A third theory is that the clan ancestors deliberately left the name vague. Spider, cloud. Either, or both.

The Three Villages
The clan has three villages in the area of the province of Kai. They are located in hidden but strategic locations in the mountains around the province. The largest-- Kumoyama ("Cloud Mountain") is centrally located, only six ri (as the crow flies, ignoring the large vertical distances involved) east northeast of the capital of Kofu. A dangerous location, because of the risk of discovery in the most populated part of the province. But the risk is balanced by the difficulty of reaching the village. It is located on the far side of a mountain, and distant from any arable valleys. And protected by a narrow but swift and unfordable river tumbling down the mountain. A roundabout route to the village leads to a rolled up rope bridge, concealed in rocks and vegetation. It is cleverly designed to be able to be drawn up and extended, from either bank. To avoid wearing down a path to the bridge, no member of the clan may take the same footsteps to the bridge twice in a year. To do so is an offense punishable by expulsion, or death.

The Cloud Mountain village receives commissions from the Takeda samurai clan's leadership in Kofu. It serves as the communications hub for the clan.

Next in size is Ishiyama ("Boulders Mountain") village, at Kai's southern border. It is at the northern edge of the rugged Izu peninsula, which is notorious for being the home of the biggest and most powerful ninja clans. The Iga clan group (group C) and Kaga clan group (group F) are in Izu. (See p. 39 of Book 1 about clan groups). (We'll roll to see what the Kumo clan's relations are with these groups). The village's location is perhaps not as inaccessible as Kumoyama/Cloud Mountain. It is only five ri (again, as the crow flies) south of the west-to-east Tokaido highway. But it again is on a mountainside, remote from any arable mountain valley.

Third and last is the more remote Hebiyama ("Snake Mountain") village. It is small, but well situated for accessing the Nakasendo central highway, which connects to Shinano and toward the capital.

The 12 Precepts of the Kumo Clan
1. The shinobi's foremost thought is of the perpetuation of the clan.
2. The shinobi knows that the whole world always wants to erase the clan from the earth. The shinobi has no trusted friends outside of the clan, even among the allied ninja clans.
3. Every member of the clan understands that they are expendable. The way a lizard drops its tail to escape, so the clan sacrifices a member, so that body may. This is how it carries on through the years, and the way of ninjutsu.
4. The wounded shinobi or shinobi escaping from trouble chooses to die on the spot, over fleeing toward home. They never risk leading enemies to the hidden location of the clan. To do so is punishable by expulsion from the clan, or death.
5. When in doubt about the outcome, the shinobi waits. If it requires drawing 10,000 breathes or waiting 10,000 days, the shinobi waits. The nature of the ninjutsu is to endure discomfort and pain, persevere, and wait.
6. The shinobi knows it is certain that every human suffering torture will reveal what he knows. The shinobi facing imminent capture does not remain alive, so that he does not reveal such things. If captured and questioned about the locations of the clan's villages, the shinobi bites the tongue and endures the interrogation. This ensures not only death by bleeding, but the inability to reveal information by speech.
7. The shinobi avoids combat whenever possible. Fights loud, and are often with opponents who are better-armed and armored and more numerous. A bushi is a professional fighter. A shinobi is a professional at observing and accomplishing while remaining undetected. The shinobi leaves no more trace of their passage than a spider that has crossed a dry leaf.
8. The shinobi's most powerful skill is hensujutsu. When using hensujutsu, the shinobi chooses a guise that is suitable to their own natural nature and temperament. Otherwise, they will try too hard, and hardly convince anyone.
9. When eliminating a target, the shinobi uses the method that leaves the least obvious wound on the body. Poison is better drowning, drowning is better than a fall from a high place, and a fall from a high place is better than a wound from a weapon.
10. The shinobi imagines the outcome of the mission, then imagines how they will act during each step, if things are successful or if they go wrong. The shinobi is therefore never caught unprepared, and is never indecisive. This is the skill called Stategy.
11. When making a plan for a mission, the shinobi does not only consider how to accomplish the task. He also thinks of how to make the result appear to have happened other than through the work of a ninja, naturally, or through the actions of another party.
12. The Way of the Ninja is the way of patience and enduring.

[jemmus]

Kumo Clan Group
[1d6]=5
Group E. Allied with Group F. Hostile toward Groups A and B. Neutral to C and D. C and D are not allied with each other and they're neutral to everyone.
IC details about the groups will be posted in this thread.

[jemmus]

The Kumo clan's primary base is a hamlet on an isolated mountainside outside of Kofu, Kai Province. For generations it has been known only as "The Village" (Mura). Perhaps the ancestors felt that leaving the hamlet unnamed provides an extra layer of security-- if clan members were heard speaking of it, it could be any unspecified peasant village or hamlet in Nippon. As the crow flies, The Village is located around 4 ri 9 miles from Kofu Castle, the heart of Kofu. But ninja do not have crow's wings, and the winding and up and down trek from the hamlet to Kofu is around 8 ri through the Yanagisawa ("Willow Swamp") pass, or 4 and half ri directly over the mountain ridge.



The Mountain Way is 4.4 ri (11 miles). The terrain is Mountainous until the last ri which is Major Road upon entering Kofu and its flat-bottomed valley. The Mountain Fisherman Way is 6.8 ri (17 miles). The terrain is Minor Road, but again becomes Major road for the last ri upon entering Kofu.

The wilderness mountain route is more discrete for travel. But it has the risk of gales in the springtime and sudden snowstorms in the winter. It is generally tranquil in the autumn, and is the mainly preferred route then. But in these wilds there is always the risk of encounters with fell creatures and any kind of o-bake, year round.

The route along the river and pass is longer and generally safer. But it carries the risk of repeated notice by the rather isolated hamlets and farmsteads along the river valley. As well as the attention of a few jizamurai-- independent gentleman farmer-samurai owning and operating estates in their own right.

The woodcutter's hut station is always manned by two or at least one clan agent. Generally it's the same two older people. The Takeda samurai clan of Kai (in exchange for paid services) have given the clan the right to cut and sell wood from the mountain and have a presence near the capital in the guise of woodcutters. Agents traveling by road or mountain can take shelter at the hut, for rest or refuge. The station also serves as a relay station for getting active agents (Pony Express style) to and from Mura and Kofu. The station also has a nearby stash of useful items: weapons, bandages, food stores, valuable wares for a "merchant" to present to gain entrance to the castle or elsewhere, etc. The PCs can request that the cache be stocked with particular items that may be of use in general or for a specific mission.

These maps may or may not be important along the way. They're mostly just for informational purposes, to give you an idea of where you are compared to everywhere else. But the PCs always remember this clan directive: 4. The wounded shinobi or shinobi escaping from trouble chooses to die on the spot, over fleeing toward home. They never risk leading enemies to the hidden location of the clan. To do so is punishable by expulsion from the clan, or death.

[jemmus]

The young ninja recall a special lecture by aged Hari ("Needle")-sensei to the children. A bushi soldier's work is to fight and kill the enemy. The bushi captain's work is to get more bushi into the combat, so to flood over the enemies and kill them.

A ninja's work is the opposite. The ninja's work is to avoid noisy fighting. His work is to attain the goal and depart, without even a stealthy house mouse noticing. So it is somewhat rare that all members of a nakadan ("insiders team") should all be together at one time at the target location. Should they all have to operate together in the same spot at the same time-- it is a probably a botched operation, and time to disappear in every unlikely direction. (There are exceptions. Such as when the team must work together to lift a heavy weight, or fight a powerful foe. With almost everything in the way of the ninja, there are exceptions). You must always be alert and decide when to gather together, and when to separate. A flock of songbirds land one by one, but fly in all directions as soon as any of them sees something and to fly away. Not like foolish chickens in the yard. The old man flaps his elbows and moves his head looking around, in a ridiculous but surprisingly convincing imitation of a dimwitted chicken. The children in the dojo all laugh and clap their hands. The old grandpa laughs too.

Alright then. Who can name the creatures the New Year? The ones from China? Don't be shy. Little Tanbo ("Dragonfly")-chan and Haruban ("Spring Flower(s)")-chan hesitate, then chant together, rat, ox, tiger, rabbit.... The next is "dragon," but the kids hesitate and uncomfortably cast their eyes at little Kaida*. Kaida ("Little Dragon") looks around and thinks for a moment. But then firmly says, Dragon! The chant continues and the other young children take it up and call out, Snake! Horse! Goat! Monkey! Rooster! Dog! Boar!

The young ninja also recall years of further training. By tough, approaching middle-age female teacher Kawaishi ("River Stone")-sensei. And being called on as adolescent pupils to stand and recite the roles of each member of the small nakadan team of three or four.
"Ox. The physically strongest member of the team who carries the pack with the specific equipment for the mission, without being slowed and weighted down. Special responsibility: Identify and collect all physical evidence, whether for offensive or defensive purposes."
"Tiger. The best combat fighter of the group. Special responsibility: Commanding the group in pitched combat and deciding on positions and tactics."
"Horse. The fastest runner of the team. Special responsibility: Swiftly traveling, alone, when distance must be covered quickly."
"Rabbit. The best at silently watching and listening** and ninjutsu. Special responsibility: Silent offensive spying and listening. Drawing attention and fleeing to lead enemies away from the nakama."
"Monkey. Climber of walls, roofs trees and rocks. Swimmer of moats. Special responsibility: Securing and throwing down climbing ropes. Watching from above."
"Dragon. A Kumo clan shugenja. Special responsibility: Advising the nakadan on supernatural threats and commanding them countering them."
"Dog. Good at watching and listening and use of ranged weapons. Special responsibility: Scouting from the front en route to the mission. Guarding the rear and exit route while on the mission."
"Mouse. The best at watching and listening, ninjutsu, and writing. Special responsibility: Searching for traps and mapping locations.
"Boar. A Kumo clan gakusho. Special responsibility: Blessings and/or Augury for the nakadan before missions and healing of injured team members. Invoking the divine protection of the kami."
"Snake. The best at ninjutsu and killing silently. Special responsibility: Performs the final execution of the objective, after others have prepared a clear way."
"Rooster. Selected by the clan before each mission, randomly. Special responsibility: Rapidly and decisively deciding on the next course of action, when there is no time for the team to discuss together. Perhaps the hardest responsibility of all."

Kawaishi-sensei asks the students, May the nakadan assign more then on role to a a member? The students answer, Yes, sensei! She asks then, May the nakadan deviate from these rules for roles? The students answer, No, sensei! Kawaishi-sensei replies, Good. You may sit down. A good answer, for a group of children. But from this point you have graduated from being children to true students of ninjutsu. The correct answer from now on is "Yes, the nakadan may vary from the teachings when needed." The clan is not foolish or inexperienced. It knows that 10,000 unexpected things may arise from the chirp of a cricket's rubbing legs-- or its sudden silence. An intelligent nakadan knows that too. She realizes that teachers and deceased masters cannot be there with them, and that they must act on their own as the situation demands.

*Marullus's PC.
**Perception of Hidden Things (Wit-based BCS).

[Marullus]

Kaida contemplates the lesson. They all assume her to be the Dragon, after all. But with her mother's touch, she can also aid as the Boar - few gakusho go forth on missions, after all, and she can mend the wounded even if dragons don't bring blessings. She thinks if she can be Mouse or Rabbit... none writes better than a gifted shugenja, a reader of the scrolls, and she is perceptive of mind and wit, but neither her training on silent feet or her sorcery allow her to be as unseen as her companions... not yet, anyway.

[ffilz]

Where did you get those maps from? That might be useful for Cold Iron Samurai Adventures.

[jemmus]

They came from https://en-gb.topographic-map.com/map-63nz4/Japan/ Very nice site, I thought. There are lots of options for how the topo maps are displayed.

[Rex]

Very cool site. Thanks.

[ffilz]

I was using Open Street Map, here's Kofu on it:

https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=11/3 ... 5&layers=C

[jemmus]

That's nice too. Not quite as busy and easier on the eyes than the one I used.

[jemmus]

The dice kami said that the Kumo clan is in Group E. That group is allied with Group F and are enemies of Groups A and B. Groups C and D are neutral to everyone.
A Ninja may seek assistance, training, or employment at any Home or Allied Clan base. He may purchase Gimmicks or other items at bases of Neutral Clans. Ninjao of Hostile clans will not aid each other, though they will not usually start a fight just because of their Clan's enmity. When they are opposed under contract, however, they will delight in destroying their opponents.

Note that allies, enemies, and neutrals are scattered around the central and eastern part of Nippon. Allied clans are not necessarily necessarily grouped, and the same for neutral and enemy clans. While moving from province to province, a ninja may pass through the areas of each type of clan. (I'll post a map if/when it comes up, or maybe sooner).

Minamoto and Taira affiliations, as shown on the chart: I don't know if I've mentioned it in the ninja game before, but a war between two great groups of samurai clans is underway. The Taira around the capital of Kyoto forced the Emperor to retire, and put a two-year-old grandson of the clan's leader on the throne. This enraged their rivals the Minamoto clans, who serve as the Emperor's governors, magistrates, sheriffs in the provinces. Battles and intrigue between the two groups can happen at any time, anywhere in Japan. The services of ninja are in high demand.

[jemmus]

Additional Ninja Gimmicks
Smoking Powder - The ninja selectively flings a handful or a finger's pinch of powder into the air. As it begins to descend, it combusts and leaves arching strands of acrid smoke in the air. Visibility is highly reduced, and all within the affected circle must make a Health saving throw or go into spasms of coughing. 12 Gimmicks Task Points per handful (covers a 6 yards radius circle).
This gimmick functions like the Smokes of Nai spell (Book 1, p 71), which affects Visibility (useful for escape, combat avoidance, and combat itself, and general reduction of an opponent's ability to successfull do things). Combined with the Blinding Powder ninja gimmick (Book 1, p. 79) (useful for disabling opponents for attacks). But Blinding Powder requires to 2 HLTH STs, one to stop coughing and one clearly see, but Smoking Powder requires only 1. Blinding Powder is very tactically effective, BTW. No Primary Action until the first ST is made. No clear vision and on Treacherous Ground until the second ST is made.*

Moon Behind Clouds Lantern - An oil lantern hanging from a slim, curved rod around one-yard long. It's composed of two thin steel cylinders painted matte black, one inside the other, with a reflective mirror behind the burning flame. The two cylinders have 85-degree open sections, so that the aperture between them can be opened up to 85 degrees, or closed until just a thread of light is projected forward. Cost: 10 Gimmicks Task Points

Concealing Scent - A simple mix of ginger root, gingko leaves, mushrooms, and vegetable seed oil. Commonly used by mountain hunters and trappers. Rubbed on the body, it conceals the scent of a human and leaves olfactorily keen predators and prey alert. But curious and unable to identify the source of the strange scent. Hunters say that curious deer won't bolt, but will fatally remain stationary and sniff the air. Effective for dogs too. Cost: 1 sp

* Courtesy of the the b&w ninja film "Saizo of the Mists 4" (Kirigakure Saizo 4). I probably have the whole series of movies on DVD somewhere. I have at least up to 10 on my bookshelf. I'd love share them with you guys on a closed group Youtube channel, if I knew of a fairly quick and simple way to do that. Really good stories, historically impeccable, and the ninja are clever good guy masters....

[jemmus]

A Typical Nippon Residential Compound

[jemmus]

Mansions and Villas in Nippon
This is a lot of text, but I think it's information that you need to know for operating as ninja in civilized settings.


Exterior Features
-Smooth plastered or wooden walls with tiled roofs around the compound. Quite difficult to scale, and at the end somehow clamber onto the overhanging roof.
-The walls usually have a wide gate at the front. It's used for It has heavy wooden doors that open inward. To the side is smaller, human-sized door, almost always at 90 degrees to the main gate. That's the servants' and hawkers' entrance. In this image (from Akira Kurosawa's very interesting movie "Dreams") the door is in room-like structure to the right.


-Inside the walls there is a courtyard ranging in size from just a few yards from the gate to the entrance to the main residence to surrounding the building on all sides. There are almost always one or more flowering trees and often there are attractive shrubs and rocks, arranged in a naturalistic landscaping way. A pathway of flagstones or crunchy (and noise) saves the residents and visitors from stepping in rainy Nippon's mud. Often there are stone lanterns on stone posts, which burn oil and illuminate the courtyard through the night.

-There are usually outbuildings for storage of firewood, oil, gardening tools and various things needed for daily life and maintenance. Often this is also the exterior grounds guard(s) station. Usually there is an outhouse in some distant corner of the estate for the servants' use. (The owners use chamber pots, which maids empty and cleanse immediately). In a country samurai villa, a falcon's coop is common.

-Often there is an exterior warehouse for storing treasures such as money, gems, artworks, bolts of silk, and other valuables not currently in use. The doors are invariably secured by a large, heavy padlock. They key to it could be literally anywhere that any individual owner might choose to keep it.

-Some residences have guard dogs outside-- and they can be quite observant and quite vicious-- but most don't. Some have ordinary pet dogs outside as well. But only the house of a highly eccentric person would have a dirty, smelling dog inside. Many residences have cats inside the walls, whether invited or not. They're welcomed, or at least tolerated, for control of rats feeding on and polluting rice stores. And rice is the primary source of life, health and wealth in Nippon.

[jemmus]

Interior Features
-Steps ascend from ground level to the building's floor level, which is at around shoulder height. The entire structure with its elevated floor stands on pillars. The area under the house is empty. It would be very exceptional for the structure to have a trapdoor or other portal allowing access that area.

-Beyond the veranda at the front entrance, there's a room for doffing dirty footwear before entering the living area. The villa mansion never has an upstairs level-- only the castles of daimyo have those. Everything in the villa is spaciously spread out inside the compound. To be like a mansion inside a garden park.

-A non-railed wooden veranda under the overhanging roof runs along at least one side of the building's rectangular structure.

-The walls are wooden panels with rectangular paper "windows" that allow light in. The rectangles are too small for all but a small child to fit through. The wall panels sit in grooved sills, so that they can be slid open or completely removed. This allows the residents to observe and enjoy the nature and fresh air outside on fine days, from inside the home. The rest of the time the panels locked together from inside by interior iron locks. Usually it is the senior servant of the house who has the key. Usually that is an older woman of long service. The stereotype is she, distrustful of the newer coming-and-going servants, carries it on her person at all times. But the ninja know people who survive by serving the wealthy and the powerful can be quite crafty indeed about not following stereotypes.

-Inside the residence, sleeping, sitting, and dining areas are covered with tatami "mats." (Actually they aren't mats. They're rectangular wooden frames, with matting of woven rice straw built into them. The dimensions of rooms are designed to allow a certain number of full, uncut tatami to fit inside). Passageways don't have tatami, the surfaces are polished hardwood. The kitchen floor is of flagstones or packed and hardened clay.
-Interior rooms are separated by shoji sliding doors of wood and paper. Like the exterior walls, they can be lifted out of their grooves in the floor to make two rooms into one bigger one.

Tatami and shoji

-There is a bath, sometimes inside the house, and sometimes in a detached building connected by an elevated and roofed walkway. Bath time is after the evening meal and before bed. There are many stories of samurai lords being attacked, murdered or assassinated during their baths.

-The rooms of the residence have closets for storing bedding (which is folded in put away every morning), clothing, and other daily items. They are covered by sliding doors similar to shoji, but opaque and not translucent. Often they have artwork on them.

-Bedrooms have screens of folding wooden panels, for privacy when changing clothes or whenever else privacy is need. These are decorated with artwork. There is a legend of a ninja who stayed concealed in a bedroom for three days, moving between the screen and the closet to avoid the cleaning servants' detection. On the fourth day, the target returned, and that night the servants eventually laid out his futon bedding, and he lay down to sleep....

-There should be a tea room, whether one devoted to specifically to tea ceremony or the general dining room. Here is where the family displays its most impressive artworks and artifacts.

-Between the ceiling and the tile roof is an attic space. A part of it is a room dedicated to storage of valuables, antiquities, or things never to be used again but too valuable to throw away. Entrance to the attic storage room is via ladder and an trapdoor in the ceiling. Often the door is in one of the bedrooms, it is usually locked to prevent quiet pilfering by the help. It usually has four wood-plank walls, to prevent the mice, rats, stoats, feral cats, and other natural creatures that move into attic spaces from entering it. Sometimes there is a hinged wooden door in one wall, to allow egress to the rest of the area for maintenance.

[jemmus]

The Village
The Village
The Kumo clan village sits on the side of a mountain in Kai Province of central-eastern Japan, between the Kurokawa-san ("Mt. Black River") to the north and Diabosatsu-Rei ("Mt. Great Boddhisatva") to the south. It's houses follow the traditional Nipponese commoners' construction of wood and thatch. And it has a simple jinja Shinto shrine not far away, this one sitting beside a kami ("nature spirit; numina") rock outcropping. But it differs from a regular Nippon peasant farmers village in other ways.

It has no flat, flooded rice fields. Instead, it has only herb and vegetable gardens. Greens, and gardens for growing herbs with both healing and toxic properties.

It has larger dormitories for students of training age. One is for boys and girls age six to 11. One is for boys 12 and older, and one is for girls of the same age.
It has dojo, but one unlike anyone but a ninja clan member has ever seen. There is the usual open wide space of tatami mats for practicing bugei-- kenjutsu, archery, shurikenjutsu, ju-jutsu, etc. But there's also separate building outside. It's a model of city mansion or country villa, but smaller. The is a small garden with a gravel walkway surrounded walls and a gate. The interior of the building is complete with smaller versions a home's living and sleeping areas, kitchen, bath, closets and ceiling. There are locks to be picked. No one knows how the ancestors managed to build such a thing on the side of this remote mountain. It's said each clan member visiting a city discretely ported some needed component back to the village, piece by piece.

The village a storehouse with backup weapons and supplies. As well as a well-equipped workshop for manufacturing gimmicks.

And it has three flat-bottomed fishing boats, used both for fishing for sustenance and trade, and for transport down into the valley. A fourth boat is being constructed. Because the ninja trainees know that boats used for missions must sometimes be abandoned to the current-- preferably after holing them.

[jemmus]

Clan Trade Goods
The Kumo has these items available to sell in towns and cities.
Smoked ayu trout. A fairly rare delicacy.
Live or roasted unagi freshwater eels.
Fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms.
Live or cleaned pheasants (fairly rarely, 25% chance).
Edible mountain herbs.
Fresh matsutake mushrooms (rarely, 15% chance). A very rare and expensive delicacy. Found in bear country.
Edible bamboo shoots.
Special strong bamboo used to make shinai practice swords.
Bamboo for arrow shafts.
Firewood.