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Message: <blockquote data-quote="WizarDru" data-source="post: 5397625" data-attributes="member: 151">There are plenty of ways to approach this material.  One thing that needs to be considered is whether there is any specific moral code associated with anything other than veneration.  In Shinto, there are many Kami of varying power and potency.  The local village headman may have been so loved that after his death a shrine is built and he becomes a local kami from their worship.But a local great tree is cut down by a greedy merchant...and now rises when angered as the Angry Stump God, threatening travelers along the western road.  Kami can be worshipped, battled or reasoned with....and their powers may increase or decrease.  Take the Water Spirit or No-Face from "Spirited Away".  Not what they first appear and very different in powers, tone and vulnerabilities.Many Shinto priests or priestesses follow rituals and codes that appease or derive power from multiple kami.  They may be dedicated to one shrine or many.  How this factors into an adventuring life is an exercise left to player and DM.When I ran a GURPS Japan game, my players did things like fight a giant toad that was a malicious local kami...and then had to escort a crotchety old Tea Master to perform a ceremony his hubris had forced him to accept with a local kami in the heart of a dangerous dark woods.  The 'Angry Stump God' I mentioned above was a challenge for the players that turned out to be a couple of thieves pretending to be a kami.  And so on.The real question is determining the behavior of the kami.  There's only two reasons to worship them, usually.  For their favor and protection...or to keep them away.  Maybe you're cutting trees down and offering veneration so that the Mountain Spirit doesn't eat you...or maybe you hope for good luck in the new year.  Figuring out that key question will guide a lot.  One would assume that kami and priests have no association with a simple moral code, but a complex system based around their interests.  The Orochi cares little about your petty wars...he merely demands you not pollute his river with your bloody corpses or offal.  The Peach Blossom Woman provides bounty to the members of the village...because she cares for them like a mother.  She would give herself up to save them.  The Orochi will KILL YOU ALL.</blockquote>

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