[UPDATED] One Last Exclusive Look At MISTS OF AKUMA: Samurai & Haitoku

The D&D 5E Eastern-themed game setting Mists of Akuma is apparently due to launch its Kickstarter later today. Let's take one last look at it before it does! Designer Mike Myler sent along the following preview of "Haitoku" (a kind of corruption or falling from grace) and the Samurai. Described as "Eastern Fantasy Noir Steampunk", I've shared a couple of other previews over recent weeks, including Imperial Dragons and a range of feats. I'll update when the Kickstarter launches!

UPDATE: This Kickstarter has now launched!

 

[Mike Myler]

Im totally cool with that. I use the class to help build the character, my characters are not their class.

I'm with you on that with the occasional exception (one of my favorite characters is ROGUE DOOR who, as you might suspect, is largely defined by his rogue levels ). All of the pregenerated characters (! which we are halfway to unlocking!) have vested backstories that inform who and what they are, but don't dictate it.

 

[Mike Myler]

Thanks for the update!
We are 25% funded and still have a good chunk of the first day left!

 

[Mike Myler]

Stop by the Kickstarter page to get FOUR FREE PDFs (Mists of Akuma: Primer, Imperial Dragons, Martial Arts Stances, and Tsukumogami) to see what the eastern fantasy noir steampunk campaign setting has to offer (including new classes, backgrounds, races, creatures, feats, and more)!

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The project updates are coming along too -- check them out to see the Ancestral Weapons feat and two new augmetics!

Throughout the Kickstarter campaign we're releasing short stories as well, giving you a deeper look into the world of Soburin!

Kanden and the Innocuous Kanzashi
Situated a few miles from the walls of Sanbaoshi, Masama Nipyurēta’s home was like estates of any of the Masuto Imperial family’s prized bengoshi officials: a sprawling fortress, practically a miniature city unto itself. Tightening the fittings on his augmetics and waiting for the nearby guard to turn her attention elsewhere, Kanden made a crouching dash for the wall and dived into its moat after a rapid sprint just as she began walking away. Ignoring most of the virulent toxins within the water the undead ninja approached the far shore, fitting nekode onto his natural (albeit fleshless) hand before sliding the metal digits of his augmetic into the bamboo bulwark. Ascending in a bound and using a few punctuated strikes, Kanden crossed over the top of the wall—wincing in pain at the electrified razorwire on its outside edge but easily enduring a shock that would kill a human—and into Masama Nipyurēta’s estate before the sentry turned back around.
______Leaping onto an adjacent rooftop and crouching against the inside of the wall, Kanden assessed the security of the estate. More samurai (many with augmetics replacing their eyes or ears) wandered about the grounds and with so many enhanced warriors at his disposal, the necroji ninja thought, the masters were sure to garner valuable information from Nipyurēta. Mentally recalling the maps he’d been given and orienting himself with the front gate of the manor, Kanden silently jumped across buildings, keen to avoid detection and carefully watching the perimeter wall for any signs of sentries. Listening for the hiss of escaping pressure from one of their augmetics he carefully circled the second floor of the main house, working towards the northeastern corner and the Masuto bengoshi’s private study. Carefully unlocking a window and sliding it to the side, he slipped into the building and approached a table holding a tray of combs, ointments, and salves.
______Kanden reached into his pocket and produced the item the masters had spent thousands of imperial pieces crafting: a simple kanzashi. A casual observer would never notice it, but behind the comb’s sheen of lacquered wood were antennae and receivers, able to record sounds and transmit them across great distances. Most importantly the item looked absolutely identical to one of Bengoshi Nipyurēta’s personal items, something sure to be near many private discussions of import. Taking the original kanzashi and breaking it between the mechanical fingers of his hand augmetic, Kanden depressed a small imperfection on its replacement, activating the device before slipping back out the window.
______Dropping back to the ground to avoid the wall sentries and running along the perimeter of the fortress, Kanden spotted an opening forming between the guards stalking atop the bulwark. Bounding up on piston-powered steam augmetics, the necroji landed deftly atop a building, exposed for only a moment. Crouching low and judging how far of a leap would be needed to pass entirely over the wall, the modulated voice of a samurai bellowed out and caused the ninja to stumble, falling forward and back to the estate’s grounds, “HALT!”

Dai-Lan and the Black Markets of Sanbaoshi
The sharp smell of solder filled the air, insufficiently masked by a musky incense that filled the small, dark room. Dai-Lan stood surrounded by shelves stuffed with inconsequential toys and bits—though some might even have value, they were just a front for the store’s real purpose.
______Lan’s pack lay heavy against his belly, both literally and figuratively. He was eager to sell it; there was no telling when the Imperial Guard would make their next pass through the district. He drummed his fingers over the package once again until the shop’s owner—a mousy man who wore clothing far too large for him—finally appeared.
______“I’ve got some new product.” Lan proposed, skipping over the formal greeting on account of the bad feeling he had. They would have minutes, at best. “But I am in a hurry, so...” he trailed off as he dumped out the cloth onto the table, the metal clanking heavily.
______Nothing was particularly fragile, but the shopkeeper picked up each piece like it might fall apart at any second, examining them carefully from every angle: a small, powerful air compressor; a clockwork hand with a concealed, spring-mounted blade inside; a mouthpiece that enabled you to speak in a half-dozen different voices. None of it was particularly dangerous or even valuable—but all of it was just on the other side of Sanbaoshi law.
______“I have some other pieces you might be interested in,” the shopkeeper drawled, producing a tiny yet complex sphere from within the folds of one of his sleeves, “This doodad, for example, can walk and even carry out simple instructions.”
______Dai-Lan lacked the humor for this tired routine.“I have no need for toys. I am interested in gold.” The fact that every time he claimed to be in a rush, the shopkeeper would offer him a toy frustrated him greatly.
______“I have a shirt made of golden chain,” the man offered. “It would go well with your complexion.”
______“Coin. Imperial stamp. No more playing.” Lan frowned, causing his lips to purse and his ears to stick out unusually far from the sides of his head (even when he was in human form).
______“Fine, fine,” the old man replied, looking at him wryly. “How does one hundred and fifty sound?”
______It sounded like highway robbery but it compared favorably to getting thrown into prison—they don’t treat hengeyokai very well on the inside, even in the Imperial Prefecture. “Good enough. Quickly, I was not joking when I said I was in a hurry.”
______The man behind the counter raised his eyebrows in half surprise, not expecting such a deal to have been accepted, and opened a concealed panel in one wall to reveal what must have been thousands of coins.
______But Lan didn’t have a chance to count, or even collect. The door to the shop slammed open—all the more worryingly because Lan had locked it behind him—and he heard the sound of heavy footprints on the bamboo floor. A guard wearing imperial mountain armor, no doubt.
______“Sorry, too late.” Lan muttered quietly, sweeping everything on the counter into the pack slung across his chest. Not wasting a motion, he leapt up over the tabletop—but Dai-Lan the man didn’t land on the other side. Instead there was a small monkey with slate-gray hair and golden eyes darting out the back of the shop.
______“It isn’t what it looks like...” Lan heard the man exclaim to one of the guards who wasn’t attempting to follow him. At least the man didn’t know Lan’s name—and neither did he know the name of the shopkeeper. Anonymity was the best protection in the black market. So long as he could outrun the heavily armed fellow that was already falling behind, he’d be home free...

 

[Mike Myler]

The project is 45% funded and less than 30 pledges away from the next backer goal!

A Priestess’ Mystery at Yomokita
Hibike Natsuko and the snake spirit Hiba (her ever-present kami guide) cautiously made their way into the village of Yomokita. Despite being the most productive mining village in the region, the streets were largely empty and quiet, with only a few lights in the windows.
_____“I don’t like this,” Natsu muttered.
_____Try this. You’ll like it even less. For an instant Hiba allowed her to briefly see as he could and she was suddenly aware that while the swamp was physically at the other end of the village, spiritually speaking it had almost engulfed the entire settlement. Before she could ask about the anomaly the familiar sound of chanting drifted to her ears—someone was trying to appease the kami. A young girl in apprentice’s robes sat near the edge of the swamp at a small, obviously hastily erected shrine. Not even the most devout could find fault with the fervency of the girl’s chanting, however. Her voice was hoarse, but she clutched the ceremonial gohei wand tightly with her trembling fingers.
_____Natsu approached slowly, stopping a few feet from the shrine. Clearing her throat startled the girl, causing the amateur devotee to nearly knock over the small shrine and its offering of fuki stalks. Hiba chose this inopportune moment to enter the corporeal world and the girl flailed still more before throwing herself on her face in a bow. “Are you the great snake of the swamp?” the young miko maiden asked quietly, peering through her fingers at the two. Natsu had to concentrate to not snort in laughter as Hiba arched his body vainly.
_____“No, child. My name is Natsuko. I’m a priestess, and this is my kami guide, Hiba-sama. We heard about the swamp and came to investigate.” The girl looked up at this, her eyes brimming with tears.
_____“You can’t!” She lunged forward and took ahold of Natsu’s ankle. “It’ll eat you just like it ate Kuzo-sensei!”
_____Natsu frowned. She hadn’t heard that the swamp was deadly to humans yet—it must be more advanced than they had initially thought. She knelt down and smoothed back the child’s hair. “Tell me what’s wrong, little one. Start from the beginning.”
_____The story spilled out of the girl in a torrent of sobbing explanations tinged with the guilt of personal failure. The swamp had come up from seemingly nowhere some weeks ago and had grown to impressive size within a few days as the village’s herd of goats disappeared. Then a few of the children went missing. Kuzo, the settlement’s priest, had attempted to first communicate with then console whatever kami had brought the swamp in its wake, but after it took the children the village pushed him to act directly. Three days ago after a night spent in prayer and preparation he had ventured into the swamp, leaving his apprentice—the young Uruzami—to tend the shrine in his absence. He had not returned.
_____“It’s all right, Uru-chan,” Natsuko said, gently detaching the child from her leg. “Hiba and I will find the bottom of this.”
_____“And by ‘this’,” Hiba hissed in her ear, “I hope you don’t mean that creature’s stomach.” View attachment 76648View attachment 76649

 

[Saeviomagy]

Find steed as a bonus paladin spell is a little yuck... once you've cast it, you're not very likely to ever need to cast it again unless your DM really, really likes killing mounts first in ambushes.

Dashing strike is a bit awkward - it requires you to rewind time because you must move a set distance after your strike in order to not provoke. If something stops you, then you did provoke after all! Not only that, the damage you just did with your attack has to be reduced back to a non critical hit! I'd just change it to be "As your action you may move your speed and make a melee attack against one foe. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity from that foe this turn. If you moved 10' before the attack, the attack is a critical hit if successful". This stops people from getting multiple criticals in a round from having a high speed (such as being mounted would give you) and stops the need to rewind.

First round of combat against a samurai is going to be incredibly lethal. A 7th level samurai with a longsword starts fights with a 14d8+2+str attack. That seems a bit over the top.

Unyielding will is a bit odd: paladins and anyone within 10ft of them cannot be frightened at 10th level as long as they are conscious: so this only protects you if you are worried about being frightened while you are unconscious.

Immunity to exhaustion seems like it's violating something fundamental: exhaustion is (strangely) supposed to be a hard cap on certain things from how I understand the existing rules. I'd suggest changing this to reducing the side effects of exhaustion (treat your exhaustion as if it were 3 steps less than it is, for instance?). But then again: level 20 ability so it mostly doesn't matter.

The haitoku stuff seems pretty cool, and I like the opposing stat idea a lot.

The two haitoku feats both seem incredibly good, mainly where they deviate from normal rules. First up - rolling a check to set a DC is probably not the way to do things. The standard is to have a fixed DC of 8+profiency+stat modifier, which avoids unattainable DCs.

Second - am I right in thinking most creatures won't have proficiency in dignity saves? That amps up the power of these significantly.

Finally - why does instinctual killer have a per-creature limit and not a per short rest limit? It's a much more powerful ability than shameless combatant, but you get to use it way, way more often.

 

[Mike Myler]

Find steed as a bonus paladin spell is a little yuck... once you've cast it, you're not very likely to ever need to cast it again unless your DM really, really likes killing mounts first in ambushes.

There are several better choices for spells that a paladin could get for the samurai sacred oath, but being an OGL product limits that significantly (in my house games for instance, they get compelled duel instead of expeditious retreat). When there is a spells chapter (chapter 16!) we'll tighten up their spell list considerably -- to get a workable bit of content for the PDF though, there are some placeholders.
Samurai were known for being badasses on horseback, thus the inspiration for giving them find steed (and being able to summon it is pretty excellent too, even with a 10 minute wait).

Dashing strike is a bit awkward - it requires you to rewind time because you must move a set distance after your strike in order to not provoke. If something stops you, then you did provoke after all! Not only that, the damage you just did with your attack has to be reduced back to a non critical hit! I'd just change it to be "As your action you may move your speed and make a melee attack against one foe. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity from that foe this turn. If you moved 10' before the attack, the attack is a critical hit if successful". This stops people from getting multiple criticals in a round from having a high speed (such as being mounted would give you) and stops the need to rewind.

Dashing Strike is a tricky bit of rules but the intent is to emulate all the anime/samurai flicks where you see someone dash past their opponent, seeming to no effect, only for their attack to cause a huge spray of blood because it was so lethally precise (like so). You're right -- if something stops you, then you provoke. If you don't move afterward it's not a critical hit (although because the critical hit effect does not occur until after you move again before the end of your turn there would not be any recalculation, only a damage roll you don't get to make). Moving after the attack (and the critical hit coming at the end of your turn) are really part of a bigger mechanic in tune with the Swordmaster feat (from the first ENWorld preview!) to chain together minion kills. Having a high speed would not allow for multiple criticals though because Dashing Strike clearly says "make a single melee weapon attack" (were you to make more than one melee weapon attack, Dashing Strike is no longer in effect) and as it is, the current values eat up the entirety of a Small samurai's minimum movement (25 feet).
In actual practice this is ultimately less advantageous than extra attack, but they have that killer opening strike ability, smites, and are mostly about getting one incredibly showy assault in before becoming captain hit-me.
It's a tough one and the ability is getting continually refined -- I expect to see another cleaner iteration once the backers have had a good run on the Playtest document (but I have added this whole comment as a note in the working document as food for thought).

First round of combat against a samurai is going to be incredibly lethal. A 7th level samurai with a longsword starts fights with a 14d8+2+str attack. That seems a bit over the top.

Samurai are indeed totally lethal on round one: 2d6 from a two-handed katana*, 3d8 from Iaijitsu, and then another 3d8 from a cooked off spell (so 4d6+12d8+2+Str, or 14d8+2+Dex if your thing is finesse). That blows out one of their second level spells and their single use of Iaijitsu before requiring another short rest, but so far in playtest that's remained manageable (and does an enormously good job of saying "HEY I AM THE TANK COME GET ME"). We might see their smite go down a bit (because of how Ancestral Weapon works -- it's in one of the project updates) but so far I've been pleased with it in play.
*I know what the DMG says and ultimately decided that I wanted my eastern weapons to feel distinctly different from the regular kind, so things like kunai, kusarigama, katanas -- they're all getting statistics of their own.

Unyielding will is a bit odd: paladins and anyone within 10ft of them cannot be frightened at 10th level as long as they are conscious: so this only protects you if you are worried about being frightened while you are unconscious.

I entirely forgot about Aura of Courage! Aaaaaugh!
A note has been made to drop that bit of wording -- thank you for noticing that!
(*grabs a switch and heads for his editor*)

Immunity to exhaustion seems like it's violating something fundamental: exhaustion is (strangely) supposed to be a hard cap on certain things from how I understand the existing rules. I'd suggest changing this to reducing the side effects of exhaustion (treat your exhaustion as if it were 3 steps less than it is, for instance?). But then again: level 20 ability so it mostly doesn't matter.

It is indeed powerful but aye - by then your allies will be using wish or able to shapechange into a dragon and so on, so I don't expect exhaustion to play a critical role by that point (and the cool factor of being able to sprint endlessly/wade through a sea of soldiers after your target is definitely win).

The haitoku stuff seems pretty cool, and I like the opposing stat idea a lot.

The two haitoku feats both seem incredibly good, mainly where they deviate from normal rules. First up - rolling a check to set a DC is probably not the way to do things. The standard is to have a fixed DC of 8+profiency+stat modifier, which avoids unattainable DCs.

Gracias! Haitoku does a fantastic job of defining the setting's thematics and thus far has been a boon in-game (both for players' saving their butts AND to be mindful of their conduct).

As for the DCs -- the reason they are opposed checks has to do with the inversal nature of Haitoku/Dignity. If your Dignity is high -- which is super hard to maintain -- you need to be getting something substantial out of it because most of the content in Mists of Akuma is about having Haitoku, not its goody-two-shoes sibling (see the Martial Arts Stances and you'll notice Haitoku popping up often).
In the case of Shameless Combatant and Instinctual Killer, having unattainable DCs ("Osore Prefecture's most honored samurai is above your petty attempts to provoke or cow him" or "the overwhelming darkness of your soul pierces the petty defenses of your enemy's mind") is very much intended. The high Haitoku score the game actively encourages you to have is a dangerous road to walk though, so anybody making too good use out of it might not get to do so for very long (with the exception of maybe the faded warrior barbarian archetype or blight druid).

Second - am I right in thinking most creatures won't have proficiency in dignity saves? That amps up the power of these significantly.

Yup. Moreover, creatures heavily effected by the Mists of Akuma (with...six or more levels of the misted condition, so a Haitoku of 22) are at disadvantage. Again however, I'm comfortable with that thematically -- the faint of heart and pragmatic are more susceptible to be influenced by the darkness they are already so ensconced by. Good thinking on your part though, and added as a note for the rest of the core team to chew on.

Finally - why does instinctual killer have a per-creature limit and not a per short rest limit? It's a much more powerful ability than shameless combatant, but you get to use it way, way more often.

I'm not necessarily sold on Instinctual Killer being much better than Shameless Combatant. Forcing an enemy to provoke a creature away from its intended target is more damaging than being frightened -- in most scenarios getting more control over movement on the battlefield will trump disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls (not counting in the possibility of forcing said opponent to provoke an attack of opportunity or all the entrenched mechanics to get around frightened, none of which exist for the provoking ability of Shameless Combatant).

This is all awesome feedback! Thank you for giving it a look! If you haven't checked out the other PDFs, please do so and let me know what you think! If you'd like to get in on the full playtest, all backers at $20 or above get their hands on it after the funding period ends -- more of the changes you suggested may well get implemented depending on how folks respond!

 

[Mike Myler]

We are 19 pledges away from the next backer goal (unlocking 5 MORE pregenerated PCs *immediately*!), there's a new Actual Play episode of Mists of Akuma with the RPG Academy Podcast, and if you stop by the RPGNet Chatroom tomorrow night at 9PM-11PM EST, I'm doing a live Q&A session about the Kickstarter!

Read all about it in the latest Kickstarter update!

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