Scroll 1 - The Master Craftsman's Tea Vessel

[Marullus]

"We intend only to steal an object. One of value to the merchant and with which we can further his shame." Kaida offers frankly. "We are Kumo; if we are to aid each other, i would be clear on your answers as well."

[jemmus]

Ah, the Kumo of Kai province. It is a very quiet clan, like a cloud or a spider,* the woman said. I was of the Kuzuryu** clan of Shinano.*** They are neutral to the Kumo, neither allies or enemies. But I will confess that I am no longer a member of the clan. The young members of the nakama know that a member of ninja clan cannot just leave or be cast out. The clan's secrecy is too critical to allow anyone to depart-- the only way one leaves is through death. If the woman is telling the truth, she is probably being hunted by her clan and living in fear of her life.

Thank you for your frank reply, young shugenja-san. Sanae speaks of many treasures she has seen in the house. Perhaps you seek one of them. But there are three closets in the merchant's and his wife's bedroom that she has never seen opened. They're locked at all times. One is at the north end of the west wall, and one is at the north end of the east wall. The third is the southernmost closet of the east wall.

I will tell you one more thing before I leave. The merchant Tanaka Jiro is set to return to the mansion the day after tomorrow. The day after that-- the day before New Year's Eve-- he will host a grand party of his friends, family and business connections. He has even been so bold to invite a samurai, one Andoh no Kansuke. The Andoh are a cadet clan of the Takeda, but he is still samurai, and he would probably only attend a merchant's gathering if there is some strong prospect of personal gain for him. It will be in the early afternoon, and outdoors in the colonnaded pavilions. Sanae says that the merchant's wife will hire several temporary cooks and servants, probably from inns and teahouses. And there should be many delivery people going in and out of the grounds before the party starts.

I wish the best fortune and success in your mission. Do you have any questions for me, before I depart and no longer rudely disturb your evening?

*I mentioned earlier that kumo can mean either "cloud" or "spider."
**Nine-Headed Dragon
***A mountainous province bordering Kai to the north.

[Marullus]

Kaida looks to the others for their input.

[Grognardsw]

Which of the closets again did we not open, compared to what the Kuzuryu girl said?

“Does Sanae leave the compound, that we may speak to her?” asked Jinsei.

[jemmus]

The fish wife woman replies, Sanae can leave the house, but only with the mistress as her servant. Or with the cook Atsuko, for shopping or errands. It would probably not be easy to speak with her privately. She clever, but she is not a trained shinobi. Or even yet an oiran. A shinobi and an oiran share some of the same skills, you know. The ability to observe and strategize. The ability to conceal. The ability to deceive.

[Grognardsw]

Jinsei nodded sagely. The shinobi wondered if her comments about observing, strategizing, concealing and deceiving were somehow pointed at him. Perhaps he was deceiving himself that he could do all those skills?

The ninja needed a good night sleep and meditation to balance his zen after the failed efforts.

“If we could help you, how would that be?” Jinsei asked, perhaps more bluntly then his sensei would have favored. But sensei was not here.

there are three closets in the merchant's and his wife's bedroom that she has never seen opened. They're locked at all times. One is at the north end of the west wall, and one is at the north end of the east wall. The third is the southernmost closet of the east wall.

Which of these did we open?

[jemmus]

The woman seems surprised at Jinsei's question. She bows and says, I thank you for your kind thoughtfulness, kanchoh-san*. When you return to the Kumo clan, you could tell them that a former member of the Kuzuryu clan staying in Kofu tried to help you. They will not help me, and they probably will not employ me, for fear of angering a neighboring neutral clan. Although a person with shinobi skills and no ties to anyone or anything in this world could be useful for certain things. Perhaps then they will not... erase me.


*Kanchoh - agent, operative

Fuma and Jinsei opened the locked doors at the north of the bedroom. They didn't make it to the one at the southeast corner described.

[Marullus]

Kaida listens intently, letting her companions finish their inquiries. If they conclude, she is comfortable allowing the shinobi to depart alive.

[Grognardsw]

When you return to the Kumo clan, you could tell them that a former member of the Kuzuryu clan staying in Kofu tried to help you.

“We will do so,” said Jinsei.

[jemmus]

Fuma comments that security and alertness at the mansion will likely be at a higher level on the morrow. The nakama seem at an impasse as to what to do next. At last, the decision to abort the mission and return to The Village of the clan is made. Moving in the dark, the nakama moves through interstices of the grid of Takeda crossroads checkpoints. They return up the mountain slope to the north again find the woodcutters’ hut—the clan’s safe house above the border of the Takeda city of Kofu. They are again given shelter in the underground, centipede-infested nicknamed “the teahouse” and “the oiran house.” The nakama return the items they borrowed from the clan’s stocks there.

Before first light, the “woodcutter’s” “wife” serves them a welcome meal of hot tea, steaming rice, and roasted river trout. The make their way up and over the mountain, taking the longer circuitous route to avoid the place where they encountered the old oni. The arrive at The Village, and are immediately debriefed by their teacher and mentor Kawaishi-sensei. She says, Very well. You did not succeed in your aim. But you did not fail your mission either. Please wait and contemplate without speaking. Hari[*]-sensei will speak with you.[/dialog] She leaves and returns with the small old man.

He says, We say to operatives in your position, “You did not succeed in your aim, but you did not fail the mission.” By that it is meant, you did not have the ultimate failure. That is actions that cause the Kumo clan’s enemies to discover-- and likely erase-- The Village and its people. Or a secondary failure, such as the death of an agent. Or being detected as a shinobi present, though still managing to escape. You have arrived at none of these failures.

Further, you have made contact with a renegade ninja of a neutral to us clan of neighboring Shinano Province. The Kuzuru.* We have known of her presence in Kofu, but we hadn't yet found out her clan. We know that she scouted for the Takeda and other Minamoto clans before the Battle of Okitsu. She would have surely known that such was a trespass to the local ninja clan that is customarily retained by the Takeda. We had thought to erase her and present the proof of such to the Kuzuru, as a token of goodwill. So that perhaps they might provide one favor to our operatives needing to operate in their domain, of course. We will take her attempt to aid you into consideration as we decide on her possible usefulness, and on her future.

Well. You know that you were sent on an initial mission, one of self-training. It should be obvious to you that the obtaining the tea vessel was not a crucial objective of the clan. However, you also know that the Kumo clan does not send its members into the world and the public with light regard for the risks. The mission was of importance to the clan, and you did not succeed in achieving its goal. But you did succeed in not failing. And you learned valuable practical lessons in the use of your training. From what I have been told, you also learned to operate as a nakama, with each member taking advantage of their own particular skills. And with no commander or group leader to give orders and make decisions for the group. In the end, you made yourselves wiser, more skillful, and more valuable members of the clan.

So, the clan has decided to grant you three weeks to rest from assignments and to train intensively, in the technique or art of your choosing. After that, we have decided that this nakama will be karasu*. Your duty to the Kumo clan will be to range near and far in Nippon, as some of the eyes and ears of the clan. You will be free to join with any person or group you choose, and to retain any items you may obtain along the way. But in exchange for the teaching the clan has given you, you will every season-- spring, summer, autumn and winter-- report to the clan what you have seen and learned. You may do this by returning to The Village or by reporting to one of the Kumo villages in the area around Kai province. Do you each agree?

Thank you for your hard work, young members and operatives of the Kumo clan. The old man bows, as does young woman Kawaishi-sensei. The old man shuffles out looks back over his shoulder and waves a hand, and departs.

[jemmus]

Kawaishi-sensei smiles warmly and says, My returning students, you have come back. Jinsei-kun, Kaida-chan, Fuma-kun, Minoru-kun. You have survived your first mission, and have not dishonored yourselves with cowardice or foolish mistakes. Know that it is a great honor to have been selected to be karasu. It means that the clan trusts you to think on your own. To make decisions and take initiative on your own, without the guidance of superiors.

What Hari-sensei did not say is that we have information from other karasu around the part of Nippon. The blind swordsman you saw in the encounter with the yakuza-- he is of strong interest. A master swordsman. If any would wish to gain skill in kenjutsu, the man would be a master teacher. Probably of okuden* techniques he mastered on his own. The blind man lives in the dark-- as do ninja when on assignment. He calls himself Zatoichi, and like many blind persons, he is a masseur by occupation.

A karasu nakama has managed to find and sight a band of tengu in the mountains of Shinano, to the north. As you know, the crow-men are intelligent and what humans call "mischievous." It is believed that their "mischief" is simply because of the way their sharp crow-like minds think and see things. Like crows, they collect shiny and colorful objects: gold, ancient carved jewels-- and shards of broken dishes and sake cups. And they are masters of kenjutsu, as you know. One who could persuade a tengu to teach could become a swordsman with rare skills indeed.

Over the mountains to the west, in the capital city of Kyoto, a thief by the name of Goemon is vexing the authorities, but whom the townsmen admire. To the southeast in Suruga Province, there is an inn in a village along the Tokaido highway to the east. It's master, his wife, and the servant maid have all disappeared. The peasants avoid the darkened inn and its area. The karasu say that there is rumor of something having been going on between the master and the servant girl. And sightings of a "plum blossom lantern" in the night.

There are more reports from karasu that I may share. But first, you must eat well, sleep, and plan for your time of training.

*Hari – “needle”
*Kuzuru - "Nine-Headed Dragon"
*Karasu – “crow(s)”
*Okuden - "hidden techniques" They're covered by the Bushido rules.
Please update your sheets for the clan items the PCs returned. Some cash funds were borrowed, and maybe some poison?

Fuma, Jinsei, Kaida and Minoru go to Level 2. Or if ffilz decides to a chardev a new character, he/she would start at Level 2. All get 3 weeks of downtime training. We’ll explain how that works later. Basically, it's about selecting how to spend time to significantly improve scores in skills.

[Grognardsw]

“You honor us.”

Jinsei bowed to Kawaishi-sensei. The ninja had to admit that he found it difficult to believe there was no dishonor in their failed mission. But if wise sensei said otherwise, then he supposed that was the case.

The karusa position was intriguing. Or were they sending a clan problem abroad, where his incompetence could hurt no one but himself? Jinsei struggled to push such doubts aside. He must meditate and pray against these insecurities, before they undermined the ninja’s tama.

Jinsei looked forward to the training. Perhaps the old blind master swordsman could teach him further secrets of kenjutsu.

Are the various going-ons mentioned adventure hooks for us to pursue?

[jemmus]

Yes, they're all absolutely unsubtle adventure hooks.

To start with, Fuma, Jinsei, Kaida and Minoru can update their character sheets from Level 1 to Level 2. The sheet should automatically update with the new BCS scores. If the skill is a bonus skill for the character, the level is added. So if the PC has kyujutsu at 55, their BCS is 55 / 5 = 11. At level 2, +2 is added for BCS 13.

Training to increase skills in martial arts (bugei) or peaceful arts is more complicated. The PC's Learning Rate is taken into account, and that's determined by the average Wit and Will scores. If you guys will post your averages, I'll check a chart and let you know the Learning Rate. (The rates differ by the character's profession).
Or if you want to do your own calculation, the chart is at 1043.7a.

Another factor is the level of the teacher. Teachers with a higher level than the student grant more points in the skill earned per week. In The Village there are teachers of superior level in all of the arts the PCs know. For magical schools, yoga, and kenjutsu, the highest level teacher is level 3. Good enough for the bonus this time, but not next time. For karumijutsu (climbing and jumping), there's a 6th level master teacher.

(Again, we're almost starting a new game here. If anyone doesn't want to or can't join it, we completely understand. Just let us know so we don't wait around for your post).

[Marullus]

Kaida thanks the masters for the opportunity to learn and their grace and understanding.

Once released, she returns to her hut and is greeted by Adzuki, who thumps his tail in excitement at her return. Alone and safe, she buries her face in the large dog's fur. Her uselessness to her nakama grieves her. She looks over her collected scrolls and books - she acquired no more in the city. Her meager collection can hardly aid her. Perhaps as a Raven flying wider from the Village, she will fare better. At least she will be able to travel as a Shugenja, and bring Adzuki with her. Curled in his fur she dries her tears and sleeps.

She steels herself the next day and goes to the waterfalls and the small shrine. She centers herself and opens her eyes to the kakuri-yo. They know her here, and know her as her mother's child, eager to learn, eager to grow.

We established before that she is being taught by the spirits, so I figure that's where we start? I am hoping for private instruction in Way of Water and Way of Fire to add some capabilities before we go out again. Is that possible? Let me know the attributes of the water, fire, or dragon spirit who is teaching their ways?

[jemmus]

Chiding herself, Kaida moves to exit the bounds of The Village. Toward one of the many small waterfalls surrounding The Village. Or to the shrine outside the The Village, perched among the pines on it's silent mountain side. Jinsei watches his nakama mate and classmate depart on her journey. He feels that he should do similar penance. And so he does. But within the confines of The Village. The young shinobi sleeps, and arises uncertain, but ready for the coming day.

I'll quote somebody I know. "Always roll in Bushido!" From the percentile dice chart of Level of Place (A through F) and Teacher Level). A bonus for Dragon will apply.
Water - Teacher (not Superior)
Fire - Teacher (not Superior)
Dragon - Teacher (6th level) (No bonuses were applied or needed. A 00 and a 2 = 02).
(I rolled on analog dice, as I usually do in this game, when the roll is about a behind the GM screen environmental thing. (I just like the old days polyhedron solids and the true randomness and luck(?) element of them). We go by the US dice roller when things get rougher and tougher, and hard decision have to be made. For Water and Fire, the rolls were 56 and 36-- Teacher, not Superior.

[Marullus]

Rules Discussion:

Including these house rules.

First thing: you might need to copy/paste special values-only on column B of the Skill section. This eliminates the formulas for initial Skill values. These are fixed after creation and we don't want it to recalculate as your attributes improve.

Second thing: apply each week of study to one Skill.
You have a base learning rate that depends on your class, which is 1-3. This is the initial points your Skill raises. The quality of your teacher can then raise it by +1

• If the teacher is higher level than you
• Another +1 if they are fully level 6
• If they are a Master (skill 100)
• If it is a one of your class's bonus skills.

These are the factors the GM is stating either when he rolls your mentor on the tables or when he is coloring NPCs. If you go to one of the masters he laid out (like the old blind swordsman) more of those automatically apply.
...then there is a whole additional process for Private Study, which the GM says applies for everyone here. You also gain skill equal to 1/10th of the difference between your skill and the mentor's skill. If they are a Master with 100, that's easy to figure. Otherwise he needs to decide what the teacher's skill is.

For Kaida... learning from the spiritual dragon rolled above. (A dragon is a water spirit that breathes fire - he confirmed both of those are kosher. Other schools determined at another time.)

Week 1: study Way of Fire!
Learning Rate 3 + 1 superior level + 1 6th level + 1 Master of Skill + 1 Bonus Skill = 7. Plus private instruction: 100 Skill - 25 Skill = 75/10=7.5, rounded= 8. 7+8 = 15. 25+15= 40.
House rule: one spell = Wings of Heaven

Week 2: study Way of Water!
Learning Rate 3 + 1 superior level + 1 6th level + 1 Master of Skill + 1 Bonus Skill = 7. Plus private instruction: 100 Skill - 25 Skill = 75/10=7.5, rounded= 8. 7+8 = 15. 25+15= 40.
House rule: one spell = Mists of Illusion

Week 3: study Way of Water!
Learning Rate 3 + 1 superior level + 1 6th level + 1 Master of Skill + 1 Bonus Skill = 7. Plus private instruction: 100 Skill - 40 Skill = 60/10= 6.. 7+6 = 13. 40+13= 53.
House rule: one spell = Mask of Deception

Third thing - raise attributes.
Total skill points =43. 43 / 20 = two attribute points.
We will raise Will from 23 to 25.

House rules:
...for all the martial types, every 10 points by which you raise a physical skill, you can add one point to an attribute. (Raising mental skills, like spell schools, is 20-to-1.)

Other leveling things...

• Change level to 2 on the development sheet (probably cell H5) - this will add the new level to BCS across the sheet.
• Use the die roller to roll a new hit die and add it to your hit points. [For Shugenja, 1d3. See page 40 for other classes.]
  Level 2 hit points [1d3]=1
• For Shugenja or Gakusho, roll 1d10+2 for second level and add it to your power score.
  Kaida Power [1d10+2]=7+2=9

• Kaida (Marullus)

(I will leave space for you to add RP for the dragon mentor. )

Chiding herself, Kaida moves to exit the bounds of The Village. Toward one of the many small waterfalls surrounding The Village. Or to the shrine outside the The Village, perched among the pines on it's silent mountain side.

Sitting cross-legged, she extends her awareness, her spirit opening its eyes in the kakuri-yo. She burns her offerings, allowing the smoke to rise and entice the spirits to her. She converses with the minor water spirits of the water, the fire spirits in the brazier, but she raises her appeal as daughter of the dragon, to plead for her kin to guide her. When the dragon appears to her, she quells her fears, presenting herself with humble confidence.

"I am Kaida, daughter of Sui Riu, the dragon of the rain. I have gone forth with my father's kin to prove myself, and come now before you and my mother. How shall I address you, dragon-san?"
"It has been difficult to find my place in this world, between worlds. My human family needs me to be capable in their stealthy ways, my spiritual self calls out for its own action. I go forth now as a raven - I will see and learn all the more. I would learn more of the ways of the dragon, that I may serve well."
Over the weeks that follow, she compensates for her self-percieved failings using the magic blossoming within her. She may not move silently as a shinobi, but she can become completely invisible. She may not run up walls or cling to ceilings, but by the dragon's way she can fly above them. She seeks to understand her true nature in all ways - to achieve moksha - and learns more of maya - the illusion that presents itself as reality. It is a heady lesson, that maya itself can obey her, that she can craft the illusions that others will see as real.

[Grognardsw]

MY COMMENTS IN ALL CAPS

To start with, Fuma, Jinsei, Kaida and Minoru can update their character sheets from Level 1 to Level 2. The sheet should automatically update with the new BCS scores. If the skill is a bonus skill for the character, the level is added. So if the PC has kyujutsu at 55, their BCS is 55 / 5 = 11. At level 2, +2 is added for BCS 13.

I INTEND ON UPDATING THE SHEET TO 2nd LEVEL AND HAVING IT DO THE UPDATES.

Training to increase skills in martial arts (bugei) or peaceful arts is more complicated. The PC's Learning Rate is taken into account, and that's determined by the average Wit and Will scores. If you guys will post your averages, I'll check a chart and let you know the Learning Rate. (The rates differ by the character's profession).
Or if you want to do your own calculation, the chart is at 1043.7a.

THANK YOU FOR LOOKING AT THE CHART TO LET ME KNOW LEARNING RATE.

Another factor is the level of the teacher. Teachers with a higher level than the student grant more points in the skill earned per week. In The Village there are teachers of superior level in all of the arts the PCs know.

JINSEI WILL SEEK A SWORD TEACHER AND A STEALTH TEACHER IN THE VILLAGE.

[jemmus]

Kaida's old shugenja sensei in The Village sits behind her and braids her hair. She says, Ara, you and the boys didn't bring back the little teacup. Maa, no nakama ever "succeeds" on its first mission. Except for coming back alive, and not betraying we family in The Village....

So, you've come to study as a shugenja. You probably know you can easily find an ordinary tatsu teacher in the kakuri-yo. But there are other, more powerful ones, there who may welcome you. Some to whom you may have some... relationship. You would have to search for them, though I do not think they would deliberately hide from you. I have seen a glimpse of a tatsu with a special torimono. It is meant for you, me, or another of the Kumo clan. It exists in the ancient past, the present, and the deep future. As you know, in the true nature of things, all things exist and happen at the same time.


tatsu - dragon
Kakuri-yo - literally, "the hidden world." The spiritual and supernatural dimension.
Torimono - A scroll of masterful art or literature. They can be used for solo study in lieu of study with a teacher. (Or sold, presumably for a good price to the right buyer).

Kaida's training calculations are good, but they need to be redone. She has to find her teacher or teachers in the Kakuri-yo. There are three levels of tatsu teachers in the kakuri-yo. Finding a 1st level teacher is automatic. Finding a 2nd level teacher requires a Wit saving throw. Finding a 3rd level teacher requires a Wit saving throw at -4. Unless the student has already studied under a 2nd level teacher. Then the ST is at -2. Each ST roll takes one of the three 10-day weeks. So a failed ST roll means no training for that week.

1st: Higher level than Kaida. Private instruction bonus - Not likely (20% - 45% chance). (No Wit ST needed).
2nd: Higher level. Level 6. Private instruction bonus - More likely (30% - 60% chance).
3rd: Higher level. Level 6. Master (skill 100). Private instruction bonus - ? But it seems to Kaida that it would be at least fairly likely. This kind of tatsu would seem to be pretty selective of its students. And feared by other travelers of the dimension as well.

[Marullus]

Kaida's training calculations are good, but they need to be redone. She has to find her teacher or teachers in the Kakuri-yo. There are three levels of tatsu teachers in the kakuri-yo. Finding a 1st level teacher is automatic. Finding a 2nd level teacher requires a Wit saving throw. Finding a 3rd level teacher requires a Wit saving throw at -4. Unless the student has already studied under a 2nd level teacher. Then the ST is at -2. Each ST roll takes one of the three 10-day weeks. So a failed ST roll means no training for that week.

1st: Higher level than Kaida. Private instruction bonus - Not likely (20% - 45% chance). (No Wit ST needed).
2nd: Higher level. Level 6. Private instruction bonus - More likely (30% - 60% chance).
3rd: Higher level. Level 6. Master (skill 100). Private instruction bonus - ? But it seems to Kaida that it would be at least fairly likely. This kind of tatsu would seem to be pretty selective of its students. And feared by other travelers of the dimension as well.[/ooc]

I am confused because you already rolled above and got 00 and 02, which is why I had her proceed with the level 3 dragon mentor. Obviously, I don't want to reroll those.

Please specifically say what rolls you want me to redo in the die roller and how you want them applied?

[jemmus]

Oh, sorry, my bad. No need to roll again. And not only that, I posted in this old thread, rather than in the current one ("Crows"). viewtopic.php?p=743675#p743675 Clearly I'm rusty at this game.