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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tzarevitch" data-source="post: 1768710" data-attributes="member: 1792">I'll warn you now, this is long. This is from my d20 Rokugan campaign and the PCs were Emerald Magistrates (sort of like federal marshals of the old west) in the service of the Emperor of Rokugan. The PCs were called to the far fringes of the Empire to help a daimyo with mysterious occurances that were afflicting his province. Earthquakes were becoming common in the region where few were encountered before. Strange lights were seen in the swamp and villagers and the lord's own retainers were disappearing and occasionally showing up skinned. By the time the PCs arrived (it took 2 months of overland travel), the population of the village had dropped from about 300 to about 20 and only one retainer remained to serve the old daimyo. Day 1 of the PCs investigation, the PCs awoke to hear the screams of the stable hands and found that their horses have all been slaughtered and their blood splattered across the wallk and the stable boy was nowhere to be seen after obvious signs of struggle. The PCs conducted an investigation and returned to the castle to find that the old daimyo has committed ritual suicide over the failue to protect the townspeople and his vassals. The last remaining vassal then charged the PCs to put an end to this once and for all before he too left the province. The PCs ventured into the swamp and found a hitherto unknown monastery that glowed with a vile black aura. Venturing inside, they found that the monks had all been transformed into gaki (restless dead, basically ghouls). In the back they found an entire room filled with rotting body parts of the villagers and vassals who hadn't fled in time. There also was a large closet with filled with skins that had neatly been folded and pressed like clothing. In the bowels of the monastery they found the source of the evil is a bog-hag sorceress (they can disguise themselves by taking the skins of those they slay). When they confronted her, she informed them that she had unleashed a mighty slumbering Oni (demon) that will complete its awakening within hours. Higashato the bog hag had the magic orb that was specifically created in antiquity to put the demon to sleep, but using the device irredeemably taints the user with evil and transforms him into a corrupt, slavering monster forever. Higashato then offered the PCs an ultimatum, one of them had to sacrifice himself so that she could have his skin. (She wanted the skin of a magistrate so she could add to her collection and gain access to higher societal circles in the Empire). If one of them would give her his skin, she would use the orb and cast the spell to put the demon back to sleep. If not, the demon would awaken and likely destroy much of the surrounding countryside (easily slaying thousands). To put the demon's power into perspective, it was functionally a demonic earth elemental about 3 miles high standing fully erect. It had destroyed armies sent against it in the past, and was only put to sleep in antiquity by a very epic level shugenja and his epic samuari bodyguard who sacrificed themselfes to use the orb. The PCs were about 12th level but obviously they didn't have any weapons capable of putting the demon down.  The PCs could either 1. sacrifice one of their number to a very grizzly yet honorable death that would save thousands. (Higashato would keep her word and put the demon to sleep if they did this). 2. Sacfice one of their number to the eternal corruption of evil by using the evil orb to put the demon to sleep themselves. 3. Save themselves by fleeing and let the demon rise and condemn many thousands who couldn't escape, to death. The PCs decided that the bog hag couldn't be trusted (in fact it would've kept its word) and attacked and killed her. They then had a hour long debate over what to do about the demon. They got themselves off the hook when they remembered that one of the monks had not fully gone over to team evil. They had knocked him out early when they attacked the monastery. Once he woke up from the bog hag's evil spell, he was wracked with remorse over the slaughter of his brethren and they convinced him that he could atone by using the evil artifact and  then committing seppuku. (In the setting, seppuku has the supernatural side effect of granting atonement for sins and ridding ones soul of impurities so they can pass on to the afterlife). I was kind of annoyed that the sole surviving NPC allowed the PCs to sidestep the moral quandry that the adventure placed them in, because I wanted to see if a PC would make the ultimate sacrifice. (There is no raise dead spell in the setting. Death is final although I would've allowed the player to start a fresh character at the same XP as he would've had if the old character has not died. Note also that they had not intentionally saved the monk, he has been reduced to -8 in the fight and luckily stabilized himself.) I was however delighted with how well the PCs thought their way out of the problem. They had very clearly paid attention to the adventure and the pseudo-Japanese culture the setting uses. Having the monk use the artifact then cleanse himself of ALL of his sins with ritual suicide effectively killed two birds with one stone. The empire was rid of the demon AND the monk's soul was absolved of the evil deeds that he committed so that it could reincarnate. I was pleased that in similar circumstances in a later adventure, a PC of samurai rank (not the samurai class) committed ritual suicide so that his soul could lead the trapped souls of his clansmen across to the afterlife. A shugenja of the PCs clan had gone over to team evil and was sparking fights between the PCs clan and another rival clan so that the shugenja could use the resulting ghosts as a weapon in his war. One of the trapped souls also was the PC's uncle and a great hero of the clan. Once they killed the shugenja and realized that the dead still couldn't leave because they didn't know where to go, he volunteered to commit seppuku so his virtuous soul could lead his dead clansmen into the afterlife. Tzarevitch</blockquote>

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