Kitsunemori - A New Campaign Setting

[Cathix]

A New Campaign Setting Inspired By the Folklore of Ancient and Modern Japan

The sun dawns upon the thick canopy of tightly-knit treetops, giving the mist an otherworldly radiance as it wraps lazily around the trunks and underbrush. The only relief from the ocean of green is the road, maintained by the local authorities to ease travel, and the occasional pointed roof of a Shinto shrine. A few travelers are already making their way, trudging along muddy roads that have not yet been set with paving stones, checking to ensure their papers are in order for the border outposts that control traffic between the different feudal lands.

A lone wanderer wipes the morning dew off his thick traveling cloak and spots a small shrine on one side of the road. The man is not particularly religious, but he recognizes to whom the shrine is dedicated. Careful not to incite the wrath of the spirit of the shrine, the traveler stops to leave a small morsel as an offering at the paw of a stone statue of a fox. The man utters a short prayer before quickly walking away.

As soon as the traveler is out of view, the stone statue transforms into a real fox and eats the offering, twisting her four tails in the direction of the traveler to grant the man a small blessing as a way of thanks. The fox then scampers into the underbrush, planning her mischief for the day..

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[imagel]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/litlbeast/kitsunthumbnail.jpg[/imagel]
Kitsunemori is a self-contained setting that describes a specific area – the Yonhosu Valley – of an otherwise unspecified world. You can insert Kitsunemori into a larger, pre-existing world, expand the setting, or simply limit travel to the four lands detailed within Kitsunemori.

Kitsunemori is deeply rooted in the myths of both ancient and modern Japan. Many tales have inspired Kitsunemori, from those passed down for hundreds of years to those recently published. The folktales, legends, and imagery that inspired Kitsunemori come from popular media such as video games, movies, and Japanese manga and anime as much as they do from historical and mythological sources. Thus, Kitsunemori represents a mythic version of medieval Japan, not a historical or factual one.

[imager]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/litlbeast/kitsuimagemapflat.jpg[/imager]
The kitsune themselves were obviously the main inspiration for this book. They are intriguing creatures featured in many Japanese folktales as well as in actual history, and they have been reinterpreted in various ways in modern popular media. Kitsune are bringers of mischief and misery, and so many people are quick to classify them as demons. But kitsune are also messengers of the god Inari, patron of rice, life, and fertility, and are thus also benevolent beings. In both conceptions, kitsune are described as playful, cunning, charming, and utterly dangerous.

Other staples of Japanese myth included in Kitsunemori are the tanuki, tengu, and kappa, as well as the evil oni and the ambiguous bakemono. Shinto mingles with Buddhism to create a cosmological backdrop for the setting, but a thorough knowledge of either is not necessary.

Another inspiration for Kitsunemori was the chambara genre as represented in comics and animation, which features heroic samurai and masterless ronin bravely crossing swords for the sake of honor.

Fully bookmarked, with table of contents, glossary and index, Kitsunemori is an exciting 197-page resource for GM’s and players looking for something asian-inspired and different.


Chapter Previews!

Chapter I: Characters contains rules for creating a character in Kitsunemori, including details about the two standard races (human and kitsune) as well as background information to help you flesh out a character’s history.

Chapter II: Classes describes how to adapt the standard d20 fantasy classes for use in Kitsunemori. The chapter also introduces two kitsune classes (the myobu and the nogitsune) and a new socially oriented class (the courtier), as well as suggestions on how to multiclass in order to realize popular Japanese concepts such as the samurai, ninja, and Shinto priest.

Chapter III: Character Options presents the concept of prestige as well as a system to calculate how much experience kitsune receive for their trickery. This chapter also discusses the importance of shrines and contains new feats and kitsune racial vulnerabilities.

Chapter IV: Equipment consists of a collection of useful items with a Japanese flavor. Much of this equipment obeys the conventions of myth rather than the laws of physics, and some equipment options blur the boundary between masterwork and magical
equipment.

Chapter V: Magic presents geomancy, wards and charms for both humans and kitsune, as well as fox magic, a new system of racial powers that only kitsune can wield.

Chapter VI: Kitsunemori details the Yonhosu Valley, a small region covered by the haunted Fox Forest, where the kitsune lurk in hidden glens and from which they venture into human lands to wreak havoc and convey the favors of the gods. This chapter includes plot hooks for stories based in Kitsunemori and describes the main storyline, which revolves around protecting the whole valley (and possibly the world) from a rising threat. The chapter also includes stats and descriptions of prominent NPC’s in the Kitsunemori setting, as well as detailed information on the customs and traditions of the people of the Yonhosu Valley.

Chapters VII - VIII: give background, plot hooks and other information for GM's to run a game in Kitsunemori.

Chapter VII: Forest Denizens offers statistics and descriptions for the many creatures who inhabit the Kitsunemori.. This chapter presents several monsters based on Japanese mythology, from the playful tanuki to several kinds of terrifying demons.

Play Kitsunemori and See Your Game On ENWorld!

Tell us about your Kitsunemori campaign. The five best will be published as official Kitsunemori Adventures in 2007. Plus, you can post your Story Hours here! Email us at fetch@dogsoul.net for more info.

 

[Jdvn1]

Wow, that looks really cool. I want!

 

[Dog Moon]

Hmmm, interesting. So do the Kitsune become more powerful the more tails they have? I assume this is detailed in the two classes, correct?

As a side comment: yes, Jdvn1, for some reason, I do read that. I think I just assume that eventually, you'll change it, but you never do...

 

[Cathix]

Hmmm, interesting. So do the Kitsune become more powerful the more tails they have? I assume this is detailed in the two classes, correct?

As a side comment: yes, Jdvn1, for some reason, I do read that. I think I just assume that eventually, you'll change it, but you never do...

Yes, the addition of tails is indicative of power, but most importantly of Prestige.

Humans use word-of-mouth and personal bearing to properly convey Prestige, but kitsune have a physical and very visible way to demonstrate just how important they are: their tails. Kitsune grow additional tails according to their rank and Prestige, with the maximum known number of tails being nine (although it’s rumored that certain enlightened kitsune can surpass this number). A kitsune grows her second tail when she turns a century old. At this point, she becomes sentient and gains the first of the kitsune racial powers. From that point on, she gains the rest of her tails through effort. The kitsune’s tails aren’t merely cosmetic or useful for social occasions. The number of a kitsune’s tails are also a measure of her magical power. All of the powers listed as fox magic depend on the number of tails the kitsune has, and most powers are unavailable for foxes with few tails.

A kitsune gains a new tail when she reaches a particular Prestige score (or through advancing in one of the two kitsune racial classes); she doesn’t lose the tails she has gained in this manner even if her Prestige drops below the level at which she gained a tail (but she also can’t gain a new tail by rising again to a Prestige score that has already awarded her a tail).

This is detailed most in the Character Options chapter, actually. We take you deeper into the potential of the kitsune in the next chapter, where the two kitsune classes Myobu and Nogitsune are discussed.

Also, for anyone interested in a print version of this - P.O.D. from rpgnow and a full color print version from our website will be available mid to late September. Hurricanes depending.

 

[Jdvn1]

Will I be able to order this through my FLGS?

As a side comment: yes, Jdvn1, for some reason, I do read that. I think I just assume that eventually, you'll change it, but you never do...

I've changed it twice before. Though, now that I know the answer is "yes" it'll probably happen more often. The other too.

 

[Cathix]

Will I be able to order this through my FLGS?
I've changed it twice before. Though, now that I know the answer is "yes" it'll probably happen more often. The other too.

The print version? In early 2007, yes. Before that, through our website.

 

[kensanata]

It would be good to see an example of how this works out as a character progresses (since a GM will need to know a bit about it to make believable NPCs). For example, I need an NPC that knows how to Craft Shrine Realm. This requires a chain of four feats and seven tails, eg. a level 4 Kitsune with prestige 22 (2 +1 at level 4 +4 more tails due to prestige). Based on the NPCs I see in chapter 6, I'd say such a high prestige would be more appropriate for a level 15 character. But then again with a high CHA score, the Kitsune would already start with a Prestige of 14. Let me try and make a table with estimated prestige scores per number of tricks. Assuming she gets a +1 for all her tricks (victim looses half or more of the challenges), on average, I would expect the following progression:

1 14.55 11 20.87
2 15.11 12 21.59
3 15.69 13 22.33
4 16.28 14 23.09
5 16.89 15 23.86
6 17.51 16 24.66
7 18.15 17 25.48
8 18.80 18 26.31
9 19.47 19 27.17
10 20.16 20 28.05

Thus, a prestige of 24 should be possible after 13 tricks -- on average. That doesn't sound too difficult, and quite plausible for a level 4 NPC. Since the NPCs in the book don't have prestige ratings over 30, I'm wondering whether I got the formula right...

Instead of using a formula, I tried the same thing with a simulation. This is again based on an initial prestige score of 14 and based on 100 repetitions per number of tricks. I guess this shows that the formula I used above is faulty. The d20 system introduces some interesting effects due to rounding.

1 14.57 11 18.76 21 21.98
2 14.96 12 19.01 22 22.34
3 15.47 13 19.43 23 22.69
4 15.98 14 19.82 24 22.77
5 16.46 15 20.43 25 23.07
6 16.65 16 20.66 26 23.45
7 17.08 17 20.77 27 23.86
8 17.81 18 21.23 28 23.99
9 18.23 19 21.44 29 23.94
10 18.34 20 21.50 30 24.49

The table above is based on number of tricks with a +1 modifier – not based on level, obviously. If my level 4 Kitsune pulled off 21 tricks with a +1 modifier, a prestige score of 22 would be perfectly ok.

 

[matthewajg]

Hope this helps

Hey folks,

There seems to be some confusion surrounding how a kitsune can advance towards gaining a power like Craft Shrine Realm. First, when determining if a kitsune qualifies for a power, one should look always consider two factors: 1) number of tails needed, and 2) other fox magic prereqs. In this case: 7 tails and Ephemeral Illusion, which requires a string of Basic Illusion ad Advanced Illusion to qualify for. All kitsune start play with a Prestige score of 10 + Cha modifier, and two tails. Here are a few routes the kitsune can take, each of which would bring her to the eventual goal of having the Craft Shrine Realm ability:

1) If she does not take levels in Myobu or Nogitsune, but instead attains Craft Shrine Realm through Prestige and Feat selection alone, then she will need to advance to a Prestige score of 26 in order to achieve 7 tails, and will need to devote at least three feats (assuming she takes Basic Illusion as her free 1st level Fox Magic power....important to remember that every kistune starts at 1st level with a free power!) to Advanced Illusion, Ephemeral Illusion, and finally Craft Shrine Realm. She cannot however, gain all of these feats in an unbroken chain from first level, as the minimum tail requirements for each will prohibit her from advanced directly to Craft Shrine Realm (i.e. Advanced Illusion - 4 tails, Ephemeral - 5 tails, and finally Craft Shrine Realm - 7 tails). So, the most difficult part is determining how a kitsune's Prestige score grows as she advances in class levels. One can assume, if the kitsune is ambitious, she could perform one to two tricks per level. One trick per level is not at all difficult to set up, while two requires that a player really thnk through the tricks in order to achieve success and still be able to meet the needs of various adventure scenarios. Success in each of the tricks is not guaranteed, so it is doubly difficult to determine Prestige advancedment...but a smart player should succeed the majority of the time, and be able to avoid an utter failure that would result in a loss of Prestige. The range of possibility is this: a kitsune could advance at a rate of between -1 per level (one trick per level with failure) to +4 per level (two tricks per level each succeeded completely). Let's take a median of +1.5 per level, which would mean that the average kitsune starting play with a Prestige score of 10 (though it could be higher with a decent Cha modifier) could reach 7 tails by approximately 11th level. At that point, an 11th level kitsune would have to wait at least one more level for the next available feat at 12th level to take Craft Shrine Realm. However, a kitsune who isn't taking levels in either Myobu or Nogitsune, preferring standard character classes, will likely want or need to take other feats as they advance in level.
2) Myobu and Nogitsune can gain extra tails at 4th, 7th and 10th levels. This will quicken the rate at which she can qualify for certain powers. It is conceivable that either a Myobu or Nogitsune could gain Craft Shrine Realm before 12th level due to their extra tails class feature, and because they also gain additional fox magic powers as a class feature.

I would say that an NPC kitsune would be somewhere between 12th and 15th level (if non-Myobu or Nogitsune) or between 9th and 15th (if Myobu or Nogitsune) when they gain Craft Shrine Realm as a power.

I hope this lends some clarity to the issue. If anyone has additional questions, or still needs further explanation, just post and I will get back to you!

--Matthew A.J. Gregory
KITSUNEMORI

 

[kensanata]

Thanks for sharing, Matthew. Your post reminded me of a few things in the book. I've now gone back to that NPC myobu and moved him up to level 9.

Assuming a starting prestige of 13 + 9x1.5 = 26 or less. This would give him four tails beyond the initlal two, and level advancement will have given him an additional two tails for a grand total of eight tails!

Free first feat and further feats taken at level 3, 6, and 9: Basic Illusion, Advanced Illusion, Ephemeral Illusion, and Lasting Illusion. I didn't check whether this makes sense with the number of tail prerequisites, so there's a potential mismatch, here.

In addition to that, myobu gain fox magic from a smaller list as well at level 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8. I picked Amiable Mien, Forceful Action, Basic Disguise, Advanced Disguise, and Craft Shrine Realm.

Does that seem plausible?

This character is supposed to be a well known protector of pilgrims and travelers in the eastern mountains of Sairyuukoe province. I have about six pages of material done and planning for another page. First session starts in about three hours.

 

[Psion]

Quick tip, Deb: Don't post in white text. It doesn't show up well in stealth mode.