Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Shadow" data-source="post: 8345336" data-attributes="member: 16760">Anyone who's read my previous games knows that when I reach a certain critical mass of creativity, I come up with vast amounts of information about NPCs and their plot hooks.  This game is no exception, but I'm going to avoid posting almost all of what I have and let it come out naturally... With one exception.Due to the twists and turns the game has taken, the following character is unlikely to appear, but he is mentioned obliquely in several places, which this summary will help make sense of.  Also, as will be seen, he provides the title of the whole campaign!As mentioned in the previous post, Pete is a former Knight of St. Michael.  (Well, technically, he was in formation as a Squire, he hadn't been knighted yet.)  They're a centuries-old Catholic group opposing the Shadow.  After leaving the Knights, he travelled the world to find himself and to explore the magical traditions of other cultures.  In Japan, he met:Ichiro Asaki:  An elderly Buddhist roshi who cheerfully claims to be 450 years old.  Pete met him during his travels in Japan under mysterious circumstances...  Pete was visiting various shrines (looking for magical auras) when Ichiro suddenly came up to him and announced that he was supposed to teach him - he never did explain why.  Pete learned a lot about meditation and martial arts from him, as well as Asian magical and Shadow lore.  (Though Ichiro would say lore about the 'oni'.)  Sensei Asaki comes from a Buddhist school of thought that magic is simply manipulation of the illusion of the world, for purposes of waking people out of it and enlightening them.While Pete couldn't accept the philosophy (and to do him justice, Ichiro never tried to push it) he learned much that expanded his understanding of magic, and has enabled him to create unusual spells that would fascinate Fr. Leo and others back home.  Pete has dutifully tried to record these insights in Latin, for the benefit of future generations of the Order.  Ichiro never seemed to need Gestures or Incantations, by the way - he just did things.  He claimed such crutches could be outgrown, after a couple centuries of practice!After a year of teaching to the day, Ichiro vanished.  No, literally, vanished into thin air right in front of Pete's eyes!  (With no trace of magic involved that Pete could sense, I might add.)  Pete has no idea what that was all about, but is quite sure the man is alive.  If that means anything to a potential bodhisattva...Ichiro is... odd.  If you ask a question he doesn't want to answer, he just doesn't answer it, period.  Pete got used to long silent evenings with the guy!  (As well as lots of hewing wood and drawing water during the day. A student must work for his keep.)  He didn't teach in any sort of linear way... it all just came out in odds and ends, a bit here, a bit there.  For example, he would just talk at length about the weather, and then sort of mention something about angry oni of the winds and storms.  It sounds crazy, but it was oddly effective.Then there were the riddles and koans, often given in response to seemingly totally-unrelated questions.  One of the last things Ichiro said to him was a koan:"Master Sung said that each man walks balanced on a thread between the Shadow and the Light.  His student Akio asked him as they walked together, 'How then if he should fall?  For the Light will scorch him, and the Shadow is fell.'  Master Sung replied, 'You stupid boy!' and shoved him so that he stumbled and fell to the ground.  Akio was then Enlightened."Pete is convinced that Ichiro meant this as his parting word... but suffice to say, he's not Enlightened yet.Ichiro is your typical Wise Old Master - elderly with a wispy white beard.  He dresses in a very natty saffron-colored robe.</blockquote>

Verification