OOC Discussion

[Marullus]

Thanks for the votes of confidence, guys! I'll take a look through to get my bearings and then post-back.

[Marullus]

Already two podcasts in to learning the history of the Heian period. Perhaps I'll have this sorted by the weekend.

[Marullus]

I also must say that I'm finding Valley of the Mists frustrating to run as a sandbox, it's just so incomplete in that sense, and as the PCs go haring off on the rumor least supported by the text... (not your fault, for your PCs and player interests, it seemed like the best bet).

Now seeing your dilemma. It has several discrete, very linear, story hooks and the rumors didn't lead to them. I can resolve it, though. I'll try to have the next posts up within the week (if not the weekend). There's enough here for me to draw the sandbox, even if the group skips past the linear hooks.

These podcasts have been very helpful in helping me (as a poli-sci/strategist person) understand the underpinnings and structure of the Heian period.
EP14 Intro to Japanese History P5 - The Heian Period
EP15 Intro to Japanese History P6 - The Rise of the Warrior

EP16 Intro to Japanese History P7 - The Minamoto and Taira

If you have other podcasts that would be helpful, let me know! I'm new to Japanese culture so won't be able to offer the kind of immersive depth Jemmus does; I ask you all to help with that. I'm enjoying the opportunity to do historical study, though.

[jemmus]

That's some pro GMing!
The Samurai Archives History Forum is a great resource. There are no stupid questions there, everyone is happy to answer any question, or try to. Really a lot of content there. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/japanese_history/

But I can't find its parent website Samurai Archives anymore, which is sad. It had pages and pages of things about feudal Japan. A real encyclopedia. A search with those terms now leads to Samurai Archives History Podcast. I haven't checked it out yet. https://www.samuraipodcast.com/

[Marullus]

Yep!

This guy is speaking my language! Glad to have him play Rosetta Stone for some of this.
EP25 Military History Lesson: Strategy Vs Tactics, A Sengoku Example

In game updates, I started diagramming all the NPCs into a plot map and it is coming together as a sandbox. There's SO much in this module and none of it articulated well!

[Marullus]

Dates and Weather

I'm benchmarking to 2012 and using real weather for reference when it matters, since I don't know anything about the climate of Hida province.
https://www.worldweatheronline.com/taka ... fu/jp.aspx

It is several days after the new year celebrations, the 11th day (1st day of the 2nd week) of Mutsuki (the 1st month). The weather is clear.

Assuming we're using a Feb 1 lunar new year (and not Jan 1) that still has us with weather in the -16 to -9 celsius range. Spot-checking forward in time, we don't start seeing regular temps above freezing until April. If nobody objects, I'm going to move the calendar forward from Feb 11 to April 11 as our start point, so that you're coming out in spring after the thaws start (but it is still chilly).

When weather is relevant, just use the above link and drop in the IG date with a start-year of 2012 (I'll just be transparent and anyone can do it) and we'll use that day's climate/weather pattern. For example, at the start of thread [003], we will be on 4/11/2012.

Calendar
https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-glances ... endar.html
Since they had a 12 month calendar that started on the Lunar New Year (borrowed from China), and I need to map it to the Gregorian calendar above using 2012 weather, I'll use a Gregorian calendar with Japanese names so I don't go crazy.

Calendar.png (32.76 KiB) Viewed 714 times

[ffilz]

I'll be away from home for a few days. I will have my phone but it's hard to follow more complex things and respond to them via the phone.

Frank

[jemmus]

Updated my char sheet with Toshizo's personal status calculation from viewtopic.php?p=550049#p550049 . (Hint, hint, nudge, nudge. )

[Marullus]

Thanks Frank! If you don't have time right now I understand and will bump us forward either way. I do want to make sure we have an IC reply for Ha, though, as I expect that to be some good roleplay fodder.

[Marullus]

Just adding OOC factors to the conversation since these are new characters/systems...

Taka could create an area of mud to make it harder for them to approach. She also has some dart spells.

Just to clarify that these aren't straight-up magic missiles: Her darts sap their strength attribute (wood darts) or do subdual damage (water darts).

She also has the equivalent of Knock, Mirror Image, and Detect Invisibility, for planning purposes. Not for combat, but she can also Compel Truth.

Mechanically, the best ways I could contribute would be either to Prophecy, which lets us "roll back" events if they go badly for us, or to ask the GM for a hint on any question.

Since we're discussing Shugendo on the other thread, remember that entering a Trance for an impactful effect (such as Prophecy) and casting Blessings are important pre-battle actions for him. Healing he can then do after.

[Enoch]

Since we're discussing Shugendo on the other thread, remember that entering a Trance for an impactful effect (such as Prophecy) and casting Blessings are important pre-battle actions for him. Healing he can then do after.

Agreed. TBH, I'm not sure what a Buddhist Gakusho's role in combat would be, since the religion is pretty squarely set against violence.

[Marullus]

...hence no XP for combat success if you are a Gakusho. I assume you act in self-defense, heal companions, and fight spiritual foes.

[ffilz]

Just adding OOC factors to the conversation since these are new characters/systems...

Taka could create an area of mud to make it harder for them to approach. She also has some dart spells.

Just to clarify that these aren't straight-up magic missiles: Her darts sap their strength attribute (wood darts) or do subdual damage (water darts).

She also has the equivalent of Knock, Mirror Image, and Detect Invisibility, for planning purposes. Not for combat, but she can also Compel Truth.

Mechanically, the best ways I could contribute would be either to Prophecy, which lets us "roll back" events if they go badly for us, or to ask the GM for a hint on any question.

Since we're discussing Shugendo on the other thread, remember that entering a Trance for an impactful effect (such as Prophecy) and casting Blessings are important pre-battle actions for him. Healing he can then do after.

Yes, don't forget blessings, they can be "held" for the whole day, and then called on when needed (for just a short time at 1st level). I studied up on Blessing for the other campaign...

[Marullus]

Putting out a heads-up early. I'm taking a road trip vacation with my daughter across the US from 14-25 June. I will have my phone and may read things but don't expect to make any real updates until I return. I'll gladly respond to any updates for the next week before I go.

[jemmus]

How to get the diacritical marks over vowels for forum posts? For example, the bar over an o for a long o. I couldn't find anything useful in an internet search for "BB code."

[Marullus]

...I copy-paste every time. Using the text from Google translate or Wikipedia works fine. It is just in the keyboard character set and doesn't need BB code.

[jemmus]

Ah, thanks.

[Marullus]

Interesting National Geographic article about academic re-discovery of Japanese WWII maps of surrounding countries with annotations of what we could 'human terrain' (the details needed to plan military campaigns).

Secret Japanese Military Maps Could Open a New Window on Asia's Past

[jemmus]

Really interesting. Here's an interesting quote: “Japan wanted to be a power; they certainly didn’t want to be carved up,” Wigen says. “It looked like those were the two choices: Either you acquire a colony or you become a colony.” Their Imperial Navy was sometimes kind of amazingly good. But the Imperial Army's leadership was amazingly incompetent. Against the Americans, at least. Over and over, waves of failed infantry charges.

(The link led me to a "Subscribe Now" page. Internet search for the title was a workaround, but Disney Corp still made me give them my email address).

[Marullus]

LOL, my meta knowledge did me in. The bandits in the rules have a lot more HP than that. I was wondering why he dropped after taking just 5 HP damage....
Character sheet updated (-1 Ki)

Indeed.

The scripted NPCs are worthy foes. Book II then says if they are "rabble" replace it with 1d10hp and if they are "extras" give them 1hp. These guards were Bushi Rabble.