Welcome back from Holiday
A little something for everyone:
Carrying the katana or wakizashi (short sword) requires proper proof that you belong to a House or some order that traditionally confers the sacred blades. The ninja, swordsage, and shugenja would all have these scrolls to start with. However, if you want your identity to remain secret, it is best not to flaunt the weapons: this will only draw scrutiny to you. Eventually, true masters are known be their reputation alone, and would never be asked to see the scrolls of ancestry.
The Char Sheets should also reflect your Conviction and the status of your Death Flag (which starts down, as in safe from death).
I got a couple of installments written for the prologue over the holiday, I’ll allow some time between them to give you guys a chance to add to it. I hope to get the campaign running on Friday, when we get real internet access at home (so I don’t have to go to the library just to get updates).
[sblock=Amazing]The guild that you refer to in your Code is the Black Hand guild. It is really a loose group of Kor thieves who work together occasionally, share information, and try to stay out of each other’s way. There are some who stay in towns as contact points and fences, like Lao-ping (who is about to show up in the Prologue). They are sort of the ‘head men’ of the guild, offering out jobs to senior members and coordinating the junior members.
Most Kor have a small rune tattooed on the back side of their left thumb, usually the symbol of some ideal. The Black Hands have the symbol for ‘Work,’ as some korobokuru are inclined to do. However, there is subtly imbedded in it the symbol for ‘Hand’, which distinguishes them as members of this guild.
As your Code specifies, the guild tries to avoid bloodshed, which means that they are tolerated almost everywhere. However, the men in Hiruma Watch who were killed were fellow Black Hands. You’re now forced to steer clear of the town for a while, trying to expand your personal network to other towns. The Hands hold a major grudge against House Hiruma, and retaliation may be imminent.
For an extra language, you could have a sort of Guild Cant that includes sign language, code words, guild symbols, etc.[/sblock][sblock=OnlytheStrong]First: your short sword is a type of wakizashi known as a ninja-to. The scabbard acts as a blowgun and can be used as a breathing tube should you be forced underwater.
You had a mentor in Kaiu Pass, and once you returned from a particularly bloody retaliation against House Shiba, you noticed that you were being followed, so you avoided you mentor’s house for a while. When you slipped in that night, he had already been poisoned by Shiba assassins. Before he died, he tried to teach you one final lesson, and taught you your father’s motto. The lesson was that while you must know how to strike with a blade, it is more important to learn to bend others to your will. It is better to convince someone else to kill for you (and to convince them that it is their idea). He told you to lay low, and go into Katsuki lands, and to try and convice that House to strike the Shiba. In that way, they become the tool that you use to strike them. There will be times for you to kill for yourself, but to use another House’s resources for your own revenge is the height of the art of your fathers.
He taught you your father’s motto, which is the code that you listed above:
I am the darkness.
I am the light.
I am a demon.
I am an angel.
I am the balance.
I’ll work on a more formalized oath based on it in the next few days.
For the prologue, I’ll put you in as a shadow behind them once they get out on Ten-min Falls. That should be coming in the next few days.[/sblock][sblock=bento]Your shugenja has a set of scrolls called ofudas which serve as his Divine Focus for casting spells. It carries his Spells Known on them, but they are non-magical. Also, he needs a formal Code.[/sblock][sblock=Lorthanoth]I think Master Chen is done! Since the chopsticks don’t have a listing, I’d suggest 1d3 damage, crit x2, and a range of 20 feet, which makes them decent enough for ranged combat. Also, he needs one of those giant round oriental hats to wear![/sblock][sblock=NMF]What is your armor? I assumed it was a chain shirt from the +4 armor bonus. If so, that is fine.
He should have a wakizashi. It is possible that he lost it in the flight from the east, which should make getting a new one a top priority if he plans on hiring out to a new master.
Lastly, he needs to formalize his Code.[/sblock][sblock=DrZ]You should change his homeland from Xendrik to Monastery of the Singing Phoenix (there are finely crafted bells with Phoenix symbols on them that give the place its name). You need to choose your other language. The extra feat can be used for precise strike. Also, work out his specific vows, which can serve as his Code.[/sblock]That is everybody except Ancient History, who hadn’t posted a character last I checked. If he gets one in I’ll still consider it, but if not he’s stuck as an alt, I guess.
