Character Generation - Kumo Clan

[jemmus]

So I will roll on the 1 to 5 as above.

Caste [1d5]=1

Well there we go, How does a book merchant sound? Honkai-shi, I think?

Nice High rank merchant. Book (scroll) merchant sounds good. From a family of successful merchants with connections. In the province of Kai and neighboring provinces. Maybe some weaker ones in Heian-Kyo (Kyoto) and Edo (Tokyo) as well.

[ateno]

Great, I am having some trouble crunching numbers and I might have some questions, but I ran out of time today.

I will work on it tomorrow.

Eric

[Marullus]

More random thoughts:

As a merchant Bushi, he can use a wakizashi but never a katana (for swords / kenjutsu). Other weapons are cool. He gets Ashigaru style armor rather than Samurai armor.

If you are going strength-focused, bows are suuuuper deadly. Sumai unarmed combat is flavorful, IMHO, for a strong non-lethal merchant guard and is also strength based.

There are really hard trade offs in this system particularly between going first, getting more actions, having hp to survive getting hit, or hitting hard enough. our ninjas our very fast and fragile compared to average bushi. Starting at level 2 with the rest of the group should help a little as you get the same three study weeks that we did.

Merchants were fairly universally despised. On the one hand, the
practice of commerce on a large scale was looked down on.
Scrambling after profit openly was considered ill-bred, though many
a Daimyo was just as greedy, if he could disguise his activity in the
commercial arena under the appearance of some more acceptable
pursuit. Merchants often acted as fronts for noblemen in this
manner. Another, quite understandable reason for the Merchants'
bad reputation was their position as moneylenders. Throughout
history, no one has ever loved a moneylender. Daimyo could run up
colossal debts to the local Merchants in their thoughtless spending
on war and its weapons, it would be a matter of the deepest shame to
renege on such debts, and the upshot was that Merchants were
unpopular with the free-spending Buke. Other Heimin, suffering
under grinding taxes, often had to borrow from the Merchants just to
stay alive Again, such debts do not do much for the popularity of the
lender.
Artisans and Merchants in large cities usually organized into large
guilds (Za). These often filled the same position as the clan did in
Peasant society. Cities were also organized into wards, or
neighborhoods, each with its own militia/police, fire department,
sanitation workers, etc. In times of strife, wards could become armed
sanctuaries for their inhabitants against the depredations of bandits,
unscrupulous Ronin, or even the looting ranks of the local Buke.

...though, still higher status than the Eta you are travellers with. But we disguise and masquerade as higher classes with the Ninja skill.

The choice of a male or female character is interesting (see pages 48-49) as women have their own specialized weapons like the nagata (polearm). It looks like a Heimin woman would not get any of that, though, and encouraged to be a budoka martial artist or a yakuza?

[jemmus]

I think we'll have Ateno's PC start out as level 1. The other PCs leveled up and got three of training because of the experience of the teacup mission. And besides, having to work with a level 1 characters limitations can be an interesting challenge, I think. But the PC can go to level 2 fairly quickly after his first adventure/misadventure/ordeal. By the way, we don't follow the RAW written getting XP and On (honor). Leveling up would take forever in PBP. We do milestone-based leveling.

That essay is my understanding of how merchants were viewed also. Around 1580 the Shogun divided Japan's society into these ranks.
Nobles
Samurai
Peasants
Artisans
Merchants
Eta
In the West you see it written that the peasants were over the artisans and others because the were "the honest soul of Japan," "the honored growers of the nations food," etc. But in Japan they say that it was just because there were so many of them(!). Like, maybe 90% of the population. The samurai couldn't afford to make them any unhappier than they already were and risk having uprisings. (The poor peasants typically paid 60%+ of their crops to their samurai landlord in taxes).

[ateno]

Im done with numbers, I am buying equipment.

[jemmus]

Nice!

[ateno]

So I am waiting for Jemmus to approve before I post the character sheet, buy in the meanwhile, here is a character background I am working on, any questions?

Character Background: Ishikawa Shōzō
Age: 21
Family Background: High-caste book merchant family
Profession: Former soldier with martial training; aspiring book merchant and scholar

Early Life
Born into the esteemed Ishikawa family, known throughout the region for their exquisite books and rare manuscripts, Shōzō was expected to continue the family legacy. His youth was spent surrounded by scholars and merchants, learning the art of commerce, the nuances of classical literature, and the delicate sounds of the samisen. Despite his refined upbringing, Shōzō felt a pull towards a more adventurous life.

Military Experience
At 16, driven by a mix of youthful defiance and a desire for real-world experience, Shōzō left home to train as a soldier. He distinguished himself with quick wits and dexterity, mastering the sword, bow, stealth, and the elusive art of quickdraw. His ability to blend martial skill with his merchant acumen made him an invaluable scout and courier, trusted with sensitive information and delicate negotiations.

Connection to Kaida
Shōzō met Kaida during his military service, when she was sent by the Kumo clan to aid in covert operations. Initially, he believed her to be an unassuming, shy teenage shugenja from a poor village, but her natural talent with literature and her hunger for knowledge intrigued him. They bonded over their love of books—Shōzō secretly supplied her with scrolls and scribed works, believing he was helping a poor, talented outcast gain access to the written word.

Over time, Shōzō noticed Kaida’s perfect literacy and penmanship, unusual for someone from her supposed background. Yet he did not pry—her presence was a rare comfort, a shared escape from the brutality of war and duty. He suspects there is more to her story but trusts her enough not to press.

Current Motivations
Now, at 21, Shōzō has returned home, looking to balance his family’s mercantile expectations with his desire for adventure and martial excellence. He wonders if he will be asked to operate his family's bookshop, specializing in rare texts and forbidden works, but secretly yearns for more. Kaida’s sudden arrival—seeking scrolls and knowledge—reawakens his longing for the road, and for answers about her true origins.

Kaida’s whispered hints about her lineage and her determination to prove herself hint at dangerous adventures ahead. Shōzō finds himself torn between the safety of his family legacy and the thrill of a journey with Kaida—who may need him more than she lets on.

[jemmus]

Interesting! With this background, Ishikawa Shōzō will need Commerce as a working skill. He may need a pretty good Wit score for that, as well as for literacy as a purveyor of books. That would of course come at a cost to his physical scores for his bushi role. But it could of course be well worth it for the character concept. Or there's the option of switch professions to Gakusho or Shugenja, which focus on Wit.

Marullus, if you have ideas on how Ishikawa Shōzō and Kaida came to know each other or want to elaborate further, please let us know. Does Shōzō know that she's a shugenja, as was mentioned? Does he know or suspect that she's from a ninja clan? (At some point this point going to come up for all of the PCs. If/when Fuma and Minoru use their ninja-related abilities, it will be obvious to the other PCs that they're trained shinobi spies-assassins. And officially outlaw under the samurai clans' laws (though the samurai don't mind secretly using their services when its convenient)).

Military Experience
At 16, driven by a mix of youthful defiance and a desire for real-world experience, Shōzō left home to train as a soldier. He distinguished himself with quick wits and dexterity, mastering the sword, bow, stealth, and the elusive art of quickdraw. His ability to blend martial skill with his merchant acumen made him an invaluable scout and courier, trusted with sensitive information and delicate negotiations.

Being from the Merchant (not Samurai or Ronin) caste, Shōzō would have received training as an ashigaru foot soldier and served as one. Most of those are Peasant caste. I haven't seen Shōzō's sheet yet, but I would guess he has fairly high literacy(?) That would make him quite an uncommon ashigaru. It would be more likely that the Takeda samurai clan of this province (Kai province) would use him as a kind of master sergeant of an ashigaru unit. Those are commanded by a middle or high rank samurai bushi. In that role, he would be a kind of liaison between the literate gentry officer and the illiterate commoner troops. And a quartermaster negotiating with and dealing with sellers of arms, armor, provisions, fodder and every other kind of item needed by an ashigaru unit. But as a merchant caste ashigaru, it's not likely that the Takeda clan army would assign Shōzō scout or courier jobs. Those are entrusted to honorable samurai professional warriors, not ashigaru, who are regarded as for-hire common soldiers who double as laborers, trench diggers, field fortifications erectors, and such. But Shōzō would be regarded as a highly exceptional ashigaru, with a never before seen combination of capabilities.

How does that sound? FYI, here's the setting background.
-Shōzō and the other PCs are from Kai province in east-central Nippon. It's a mountainous province, many days travel by the Emperor's highway to the capital. Kai's towns and villages are in rich flat-bottomed valleys with rice paddies filled by nutrients washed down from the mountainsides. The province is famous for breeding finest horses in Nippon.
-Shōzō grew up in Kofu, Kai's capital.
-Kai is governed in the Emperor's name by the Takeda samurai clan. They're famous for their cavalry, and regarded as one of Nippon's "samurai bushi of samurai bushi's" clans. They're highly personally disciplined and they're intolerance of any show of weakness, rebelliousness or insubordination. Shōzō served in their army and made personal connections within it.
-The Takeda are part of a wider family of clans who have fairly recently gone into open war with a distant cousin family of clans. Both clans are descended from the younger, non-heir sons of Emperors. (More information, maps, etc. is in the main Campaign Setting thread. viewtopic.php?p=541855#p541855

Feel free to post your sheet when you're ready. ffilz's PC might be about ready too. Has Fuma's sheet been updated for leveling and training? Kaida, any comments or additions?

[Marullus]

I am double-checking his sheet and formulas. I will add and calculate his group membership with Kaida military, with Kai Merchants, and Nippon Rare Booksellers.

He knows Kaida as a Eta Shugenja (which is a legitimate identity when not in disguises). Ninja clan membership is secret. She also confided her heritage as he is the source of her scrolls with knowledge on dragons. I love the connection.

[ffilz]

I think Taisho is ready unless he should also take some training (I figured he had received training in the previous campaign).

We need a suggestion on how to work him in. Does he know Kaida?

Or fun option, still staggering from the blast and somewhat brain addled, he wandered into the clan compound and was taken in?

[ateno]

I do have commerce, but yes, I moved my scores around, Not the best wit/will but I like to character conception.

I am good with not being a courier but a senior sergeant/warrant officer.

I will post the character for everyone to look at for critique.

Eric

[jemmus]

Taisho can take the 3 weeks training that his ninja PC would have taken.

[ffilz]

Taisho can take the 3 weeks training that his ninja PC would have taken.

OK, this will take me a bit of time to deal with. What sorts of individual training might be available to Taisho?

[jemmus]

Taisho's in Kofu, so any kind of training is available. And with good teachers.

Shōzō's an interesting character. I've never seen a player subtract from a base score (in this case a bushi's base Health score) and use the points for another score (here, Wit).