Welcome to the Thursday night where this week I want to jump ahead to the closure of the month, where the party are escaping from Toshio lands and moving towards more friendlier looking territory.
Toshio Lands
226ThToLa
The ice and snow had been waning for some time now and the thinning trees gave way to fields of grass poking between the small drifts of snow. It was as if someone had cast a spell to create a wall of wind that buffered and pushed the snow away from the fields but people of the land would claim it was the twin mountains that stood in front of them, acting as two funnels that pushed wind through this particular crossing between Toshio and the wilds on the way to Harimasu territory.
Despite the stream that finished a few miles back towards the snow ridden mountains and valleys there wasn’t much water moving forward but the promise of a stream could be seen in the distance from the elevation of the pass as a flock of deer moved in a slow grazing herd towards a line of trees that wound its way across the pains.
However, the lands void of trees and strong winds gave it a barren and sparse appearance that didn’t lend itself to people on the run, or those being actively hunted as was the case. As the creature came down from the the hill it could see its quarry making their way on weary horses moving further away from the trees which provided great opportunity for ambushes. There wasn’t much time and the hunger in its stomach was only growing.
A quick little map whipped up in Inkarnate for you all tonight some things I will go and change includes the layers on the snow drifts and the opacity to make them more transparent and less abrasive, but I will change it over the weekend when I have a bit more time.. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow night for more content, especially fight night! and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to the Wednesday where tonight I wanted to partake in one of my favourite past times, separating my human mind and imagine what it would be like to think, act and move like something else, in this case a beast,.
Thrill of the Hunt
226WeTotH
The trail before her glowed with a purple light, the footprints glowing in her minds eye as she feed dug through the frozen crust of the earth and into the ground underneath granting her faster speed and control as she tore off through the night. She would be faster if it wasn’t for the foul corpse that rode stride her back – but she who summoned her had declared that this was her will and despite her cravings for flesh there was something about the newly risen dead that churned her stomach.
Taking a sharp left around a patch of tall trees she came across a small patch of grass that looks like it was disturbed by hooves and boots, inhaling the pungent aroma or horse she snorted out and snuffled around for the other scents in the area, the zombie on her back breathed in wheezily – a muscle reflex she was sure but still the sooner she could be rid of the zombie the better. A faint sweet smell lead her to a tree – the human that walked around the horses, the only set of boot prints that moved in the area seemed to be almost expertly concealing his presence and movements, if it wasn’t for the musk of the horses and the speed at which they were moving she would not have been able to track them this far. Following the sweet smell she could tell that there was seven in total, seven humans on six horses. it wasn’t long until she picked up the trail again and in ecstasy she reared up and screeched into the sky before tearing off after the footprints.
As her clawed hooves tore into the ground as she weaved behind and around the spruces she took particular delight in the branches that crashed into the body who rode atop her causing more than once a sickening thud to resonate through the legs that gripped her chest. As she chased through the snow glazed trees she could almost see the thick musk of the hoof prints that the horses left glow in the indents in the snow. After an hour of pursuing the trail the hoofprints came to a stop by a stream and it looked like they had stayed here for quite some time. Smelling around she found the cooling left overs of a deer near by which she inhaled greedily before approaching the camp fire, the embers still giving off some warmth. They were close, chasing the sweet smell was difficult here as there were several trails of human smell; where they stalked the deer, sat, relieved themselves and ferreted for food for the horses.
The horse trials led to the stream but the humans appeared to have mounted the beasts again before entering the frigid water. Crossing the stream the train completely stopped, looking around for signs of magic, hoof prints or anything she couldn’t see anything except her own frantic prints as she hunted for her quarry. Screaming into the sky in frustration she walked back to the camp, adamant that she must have missed something she nearly buried her snout in the snow as she approached the stream. It just by chance that she looked up and saw the tiniest trace of horse hair caught on a rock as the water washed across it the stream and she grinned revealing two rows of razor sharp teeth. Clever, clever, clever she thought to herself as she looked up and down stream from where the horse hair was. Walking in the stream would mask their smell until they got out – but how far that would be, and if the prints would disappear before she got there was another question. So Northward or southward was the question and the correct answer would lead her to her prey.
Turning her snout towards the moon as it descended and the sun began to take his dominance again the Onikage made a decision and raced off north, hoping that she finds her prey soon, or has enough time to turn around and pursue them southward.
A bit of a shorter one tonight but a nice relaxing fun writeup for me which I hope painted a bit of a picture of this weeks additional content and what we expect in the end of month writeup this weekend, or what spills over into the next months adventure – who knows. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow night for more content, and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to the Tuesday where yesterday we explored a brief glimpse of the party and Kyoko travelling outside the walls tonight I want to shift perspective to perhaps seven hours earlier, the previous evening as everyone had just been graced by the frost queens presence.
Parting Gift
226TuPaGi
As the hulking man cut down another guard, despite the fact his innards were spilling out a gash below his ribs Siu turned to the other Shadow Cursed, standing there with swords, knives and daggers as they cut, stabbed and based the last of the guards in front of the door. Siu rushed forward his serpentine body flickering with a dull light as he glided through the air and heaved the door open with the help of Choi and another of the Cursed, Saem.
“We need to get Kyoko out of here.” Choi cried over the racked of the fight as he plunged a carving knife between helm and breastplate on one of the House guards. “The fallen are rising as undead,” he said as he pointed towards the hulking man – his wounds no longer bleeding profusely and his gate and janky movements indicative of the curse of the dead, “they will be up on shortly and we wont be able to out run them” he said as a battle cry rang out – the last of Kyoko’s guards running forward to make room, and buy some time for his princess, commander and the heroes he had been in awe of since joining their mission to these forsaken halls.
The young man cut down a few of his opponents, most of them undead, before a spear run him through but not before he summoned the last of his strength and courage and separated head from body of the attacker. Siu cursed, a waft of smoke sizzling from his nostrils as he looked across the room to assess the situation. Realising the last ploy, the last scheme he had up his sleeve he cursed that it wasn’t to save his own hide but the thought of seeing his cousin, Siuten – Kyoko’s grandfather, in their ancestral halls with her dying due to his cowardice was a worse fate than death.
Flying above the ground he grabbed Kyoko and Kuang by their backs and heaved them backwards, his bestial form having substantially more strength than his human self he had no issues pulling them through the door before noticing the mute, Sasha he had heard he been called before but he knew her to be Hana – a family member. Bowing deeply towards Hana he rumbled a mournful request “look after our family from here on our dear cousin…” and with that he rushed into the fray, separating limbs from bodies and disembowelling a walking corpse before dodging back from a lucky swing from one of the few living guards – his eyes glazed over from the affect of the charm of the Yuki-onna. As he moved back to join Choi and two, yes one two, glancing around he saw the bodies of two of the shadow cursed at the feet of the undead brute – Lucian.
“That one can see us Siu” Choi said.
“Call me Jung, in the end I think its fitting that I die again being known by my own name” he said glancing at the sailor who held a pilfered axe and short sword in his hand – the man nodded and clasped the scaled beast on the shoulder. Turning around to ensure nothing got past him and the dwindling supporters of the Harimasu family he saw that the party had joined Kyoko. “Choi, help me with this door.” he said as he pushed a straggler through the door with a not-quite-gentle nuzzle. “I am sorry my friends” he whispered as he saw their eyes connect with his as the door was closed, shutting him off from his friends and remaining family. “We can not help them now but buy them time” he said looking at Saem and Choi. “They are in good hands but they will be pursued until the frost queen has her will done. Let’s at least dwindle her forces whilst we have this gift. This Curse will be the minions of The Shadows undoing ” he said as he looked forward, the living having stopped advancing as they glanced around for the source of magic or wind that has closed and barred the door from the inside.
“For Kyoko!” called Choi as he charged the front ranks, his axe and sword separating man from life as he pushed forward through the guards. Saem and Tam followed suit, shouting loudly as they crashed into the guards, a spear by chance found Tams stomach as he pushed past the first rank but using his momentum he pushed onward, using his pain and adrenaline to fuel his fight.
Jung sensed it before the sword struck, rolling through the air and coiling his body around him like a snake as the sword connected with a fallen corpse instead of his head. “Right, the dead,” Jung said as he brought himself up tall using his tail and long limbs to batter the lesser zombies into the ranked behind them as he roared into the roof above them – a sound of unbridled anger, commitment and wrath. “For the Harimasu!” he called as he dashed forward roaring, embers sparking either side of his open maw.
The next few minutes were a constant dance of attacking and retreating and try as he may he couldn’t get past the Zombie-Lucians defences, he just wasn’t up to the standard of the heroes that he had travelled with. As his bites connected with the other dead creatures that were grabbing at his tail or limbs they caught aflame and began to burn as if dried tinder, the smell of burning flesh and blood quickly filled the dining hall.
“Jung!” called Choi as he pushed through a few more zombies and revealed several large wounds on his torso. “The queen she is coming!” roared as another guard swung directly at him. It looked like time was up and their ability to stay undetected was being overruled by the queens power over her puppets.
Hearing heavy footsteps he turned his head just in time for his reactions to catch the arms of the Lucian zombie, the sword he was bringing down at Jung’s head mere moments from sending him to his master and ancestral halls, if he would be welcome back.
A cry of pain signalled Saem taking a sword through the chest, and a moment later a roar of anger ended with the clatter of steel on stone -and the room was quiet other than the strain between the undead hulking man and the dragonoid.
Cold immediately began to seep through his scales and he knew it was too late, turning his head he went to exhale, hoping the embers were a predecessor of dragon fire and he was greeted by the eyes of Yukri she she grabbed his snout and held if firmly, the chill was immediate and he felt the Lucian zombie apply more pressure keeping Jungs’ focus on the sword a few inches from his neck. As the Yuki-onna looked at him with curiosity she leaned forward. “I doubt your little ploy here was worth it, you will join that Harimasu princess soon enough in the shadowlands as his darkness spreads through the lands and a new era is brought upon Ryokughan.” She said as she brought her head intimately close “It really is a pity, you have such beautiful scales but, I guess I can always cut them from your dead corpse” and with that she kissed him.
A spike of cold shot through his scales from the point of where her lips touched him and raced towards his heart and all at once his strength failed him, the point of Lucians sword plunged into his neck and his heart beat its last as his blood turned to ice.
As he fell to the ground his eyes fell upon Choi, his friends frozen eyes and the frostbite on his lips evidence that he too fell to the Yuki-onnas touch. As his vision darkened Jung wished that Kyoko was far away by now, that they had brought enough time for his family to escape, that he may be able to one day look Siuten in his eyes and seek forgiveness for the wrongs he had done and then all was silent except for the shuffle of undead and the opening of a door.
A world away, a great golden dragon lowered his head to the crystal orb held in his claws and as his great snout and whiskers touched the smooth surface so to did the tears he wept for the loss of Siu, no he could not be given that name any more as his repentance was over, Jung, for in the end he had proven his worth to his family and had finally realised what it meant to be a part of something bigger than himself.
Thanks for following me through tonight’s write-up and sharing what I hope was a fitting end for the remorseful creature that Jung had turned into and the growth he had undertaken since meeting the party on the streets of Daye. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow night for more content and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to the whatever Monday where tonight I look to add bits to the story to enrich the players experience in their Ryokughan adventure.
This week I’ll look at following on from last weeks end of June finale and what to means for our party.
Eastbound Retreat
226MoEaR
After riding for the good majority of the night, the fleeing dinner guests finally slowed their stolen mounts down to a trot as they came across a stream that was fighting back against the encroaching cold from the surrounding lands.
Kuang quickly moved around the area searching for tracks, the moonlight and his cursed vision enabling him to search for signs of spirits and other foul creatures that could have been sent by the Yuki-onna. The party watched him for a few moments before setting up camp near the stream, tying up the horses to a nearby tree securely so that they didn’t have to worry about them running off when the party was resting. “I found some tracks” Kuang said as he walked back through the thin snow, the sound of crunching snow underfoot the only sound that the seasoned veteran made. “looks like one to two days ahead of us, maybe, it all depends on how much or little snow has fallen as it could have been mere hours if we are behind a flurry of snow.” he said as he sat down and produced a flint and steel that he used to light a small fire to push back some of the darkness encroaching past the trees. “Regardless this area is safe for now, good to eat, get some water from the stream and feed the horses before we continue.”
Kyoko was sitting down the girl form the palace as she wrote in the thin snow with a twig in the flickering ember-light. As time went on it she revealed her name to be Hana Harimasu, and to Kyoko’s surprise it finally dawned on her that she was sitting with both her saviour and her baby cousin. As they communicated the party hunted some game, a young deer nearby and gathered what they thought was edible herbs and vegetables from under the snow nearby. As they washed the vegetables and fed some to the horses and ate the others the strips of venison to cook over the fire and once cooked the party began to eat the freshly cooked meat. Kyoko looked up form the flames and looked back towards the way they came.
“That horse, it was an Onikage. A creature that aligns itself with the Shadow but born to the shadowlands to the far north. A horse that dies whilst cursed by the shadowlands taint will likely rise as one but for that to be true then it was intentionally given to us as one and its transformation occurred as we travelled to the Toshio’s fort.” Kyoko explained with some observations interjected by Kuang where she got portions of it wrong. As she stoked the fire a familiar hissing screech came from the way they came sending shivers down their spines.
“They say that the Onikage are inhumanly cunning and will serve a master where they recognise the benefit to their partnership. I doubt that we have seen the last of it and we may find some benefit in travelling either up or down stream for a bit to have it loose our trail if it does follow us.” Kuang mused as he stood abruptly and began to start packing up their hastily made camp. “If we don’t want to be hunted all night I suggest we get moving, the sooner the better.”
The last week of the month where the next month is linked in, content is clarified or added too and I have a short break from the schedule I have placed upon myself gives me time to reflect and look over my notes created at the start of the month. For those who have joined me since the start, where I documented my process (post-its or sticky notes and mapping out adventures with the five key aspects of an adventure), I still follow this process but don’t document it as the month, three or four weeks of content, is normally spun up over the course of the weekend before the month begins. Going over my notes I remembered last week what the purpose of the horse was again and this week we will explore a bit more behind it, the machinations, symbolism and ties to the dark. So don’t forget to come back tomorrow for closure on Kyoko’s defenders and Wednesday for a change in perspective as we move away from June and look towards the collision of two forces months in the making, and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to the end of a rather short week in retrospect where we looked at the aftermath of dinner after a hard week travelling through snow someone must have left a window open because the temperature is dropping in the dining hall and the Party could be next on the menu. Ok, enough with the bad puns and let’s write this up.
Food to die for
Following the stragglers down the carpeted hallways towards the dinner hall the party became ever so faintly aware of a few of the Shadow Curses refugees, Sailors and even Siu who floated through the halls whilst people moved around them oblivious to the presence of those afflicted.
Entering the dinner hall was a grand affair, people were announced as they entered the room with their weapons (obvious ones at least) taken and placed to the side of the room in a storage rack after which the party were eventually shown to their seats. Looking around the Large room with a crescent cut into the roof above them which revealed a second floor that was connected to the dining room by mirrored winding stairs that ended just at the end of the table, where an empty large throne-like seat sat next to a smaller but equally grand seat.
Judging by their previous scouting and the layout of the room their backs were to the kitchens and they sat opposite Kyoko and Kuang who looks worried but smiled when they realised that people were looking at them. A few moments later and Teng Toshio entered the room descending from stairways that were built in such a way that you could only see him when he was twenty feet from the dinner table, flanked by Lucian and Ruben who wore ceremonial armour and weapons that were polished but still looked functional.
The presence of the cursed and occasional flicker of Siu, who had all but disappeared since entering the walled fort could be felt from the back of the room, where the party had entered but the party caught Kyokos eyes wandering the faces at the table and along the walls as if searching for someone. When the Party caught her eye she smiled and whispered across the 5ft table. “I was hoping my cousin would be here by now, I haven’t seen her in quite some time and we get along well. She was a lot younger last time I saw her so I might just be misremembering her face and looking for a younger woman when she has blossomed into something more.” She said with a nervous smile.
After personally greeting his guests Tend eventually moved to stand between the two large seats “Lords, Ladies, Men and women and guests,” Teng said as he reached his seat after personally greeting his many guests, “It’s not often we get visitors let alone the Daughter of Harimasu family and it gladdens me that we are given this opportunity to give them our hospitality.” A few cheers and scattered claps came forth from the crowd of proud Toshio family servants and soldiers. “But, there is a arrow of sorrow in my side as my wife has been away from the family halls for a few weeks now as she extends the hand of aid and friendship to nearby towns. Let us rejoice now as my wife has returned and will be joining us tonight!” With this the room cheered loudly, but the party noticed that several servants and soldiers looked uneasy if they did or didn’t celebrate the lords wife returning.
A figure moved through the crowd, her head tipped forward as she carried a glass of water and a small scrap of parchment as she presented it to Kyoko before retreating to the back of the room, near where the party entered.
Kyoko sipped from her water as she looked confused and uneasy at the reaction and the party and her guardian, Kuang, felt it too. As the noise died down the click-clack of shoes on the stone steps from the second floor leading into the dining hall could be heard. Kyoko looked down from the stairs to the parchment the lay in front of her, unfurling it and reading it for a moment she was slow to mask her expression of alarm as she looked up at the party before whispering to Kuang who nodded and moved to the back of the room, excusing himself as moved through some guests and servants who stood transfixed as they looked towards the stairway as a glistening white pair of shoes and a robe appeared as Tengs’ wife descended the steps into the dining hall.
Siu looked towards Choi and the other three of the cursed that had made it to the hall as each of them glanced between Kyoko, the Party and the girl who stood behind them against the wall. The girl moved like one of them, invisible but present, undetectable but wanting to be seen and she could see them and them her.
As Siu turned around to wards the girl she made a symbol of respect, something that the Harimasu family would do towards his kind and it the copper piece dropped. Who ever was walking down those steps wasn’t Kyoko’s cousin and judging by the smell of fear and apprehension in the room she wasn’t a being that you wanted to be on the wrong side of.
click-click-clack
As the footsteps came closer an eerie silence filled the room, Kuang stood and moved towards the back of the room but a quick nod from the man, Lucian, “Choi” confirmed for Siu as both watchers of Kyoko noticed the man signal his men to intercept the captain who smiled and gestured that he was after something near the kitchens – the guards did not budge but commanded him to return to his seat – which he did begrudgingly.
The uneasy feeling quickly rose in Siu as the first pure white shoe and portions of a robe could be seen at the top of the stairs and sensing the tension in the air he involuntarily let out a low growl-like hum which the companions who he had travelled with for quite some time heard and jumped at the noise.
Kuang had asked the cursed to come with them to the hall, something about a chance to gain perspective and perhaps prove that they are more than just cursed. Siu didn’t understand but looking at the nod that Choi gave him as he moved off and started to pickpocket weapons, daggers, swords and the like from the guards standing close to Kyoko, Kuang and the party he thought that it made sense.
Without being able to be spotted, with people magically unable to recognise or detect them due to The Shadows curse they made the perfect people to keep Kyoko and those who can make a difference safe. Nodding towards the other cursed members he grabbed a few of the smaller weapons of the party members and some that they may be able to use, daggers, short swords and the like and moved over to place them next to the party out of sight. On the way back he noticed a few guards coming to surround the party of adventurers and intercepted them using his sharp claws to cut belts, draw strings to purses and the like and as they scrambled to stop their weapons and items falling to the ground the party was alerted to their movements.
Siu had his head turned towards the back of the door, working on the lock that had locked when he heard the footsteps stop, the steady clicking that was signalling time passing had finished and an audible gasp could be heard from the room.
Turning around his head and vision seemed to move in slow motion as his vision fell upon a woman in complete white at the bottom of the stairs that made his blood freeze like ice.
As the woman descended the stairs the room dropped in temperature so suddenly that the collective held breath fogged the air over the table when the guests exhaled. The woman was just over five feet in height and appeared to almost float across the ground despite her white slippers that stood on the slowly frosting carpets and rugs that covered the wooden flooring.
“Ah, my queen, you have finally arrived” Teng said, reaching out and helping her towards the larger of the two seats before sitting down in the less impressive of the two. “How was the village?”
A few moments passed as the woman sat, her hair and blindingly white robe seemed to float above her skin as she sat in her throne. Her shoulder length pitch black hair a sharp contrast with the pale blue-white skin that was revealed from underneath the robes. “They did not take the blessings we presented them Lord Teng so I showed them the mercy that we do bring them. Eventually they came around and I believe their leader will come pay homage within a few days to swear fealty” The woman’s drifted over the room, pausing to look directly at Siu as well as at Kyoko and the Party. “I see you have guests, foreigners even. I had thought that they were lost to a warband of Nats, or so I had been led to believe” the woman’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Kyoko. “Why do they sit at my table?”
“My Lady, they come to request aid and return horses that my cousin, Lady Toshio, provided them when they were in need. However I believe that they had lost some along the way – which surprised me to see them present themselves before me and asked for aid despite them being now in debt to our family” Teng said with a knowing smirk, the ploy and plots revealing themselves.
Gritting her teeth Kyoko leant over the table to the party and whispered “I hope you found some evidence” before she stood up to speak. The lady in white floated upwards to also stand, her feet leaving the ground so that her head was above everyone else’s in the room as waves of cold washed across everyone present at the table shaking any remanence of doubt from the minds of those present that she wasn’t a spirit.
“You Lordship, I come before..” Kyoko began before Teng scowled and stood up angrily.
“You will address My queen!” Teng roared, visibility shaking with anger of cold one could not tell.
The spirit smiled cruelly as she taped her finger on her arm while she stared down Kyoko.
NPCs
Kyoko Harimasu
Kyoko, despite her best tries to prevent confrontation may as well be laying siege to a castle as the Toshio’s walls and machinations are too well constructed.
Realising it is a fight and a plea that can’t be met she retreats from the engagement, defending herself with the blade that was given to her by Siu, or Choi, as she makes her swift escape.
Captain Kuang Ping
Quick to jump to his wards defence he is nearly impossible to provoke into reckless action. Kuang never leaves Kyoko’s side during the confrontation but in doing so leaves most of the fighting to the party as he helps Kyoko retreat from the room.
Lord ‘Teng’ Toshio
Teng is completely devoted to Yukri, whether by magical charm or by honest adoration one will never know.
Having a small mercenary force under his control Teng doesn’t shy from conflict but hates to get involved himself preferring to stand behind his queen whilst her magic whittles down who ever gets in their way.
Lucian
Lucians natural blood lust and hatred of the Harimasu family already makes him a prime candidate for Yukri’s charming effects but he is devoted to the queen second only to her husband.
Throwing himself into his duty to impress and prove himself to his Lord and Lady he is an expert in martial weapons and a brutal killing machine when his orders match his fury.
Sasha (Hana Toshio-Harimasu)
Helping the party escape, primarily focused on saving her cousin she delivers a note to Kyoko warning her of Danger whilst retrieving any items that she thinks the party may need in their escape.
Having had Yukri enchant the court to forget Hana’s marriage to Lord Toshio she quickly became forgotten and treated like a mute servant, her voice taken by the spirit (original I know) so that no one could be warned or told of what was happening within the forts walls.
Yukri Toshimo
Once a fair and sought after daughter to a lord she was tricked and turned into a Yuki-onna, spirit who controls the cold – a frost maiden. Setting her sights on an alliance with the Toshio Family at the command of The Shadow she commands the many of the ground troops and even has been given authority over some of the lesser Oni clans.
Discovering that the Kyoko heiress is in her halls she doesn’t hold back in commanding her husbands, Teng Toshio’s, family guard and elite mercenaries to try and kill Kyoko and her companions as she will not tolerate another princess with a claim to power.
Siu and Choi
Realising what was happening both Siu and Choi quickly moved to secure weaponry for the party members, proving their weapons where they could, and looked to secure an exit. Moving quickly to dispatch the guards that were blocking the exit before the final push to keep them from getting through the door and to their companions.
The other Shadow Cursed rallied behind Siu and Choi and fought as best as they could, being unnoticeable had its benefit however, the Yuki-onnas magic was too great and when the fallen rose again as rime covered undead their luck quickly started to run out. Doing the only thing they could think of to buy time for Kyoko and the party they sealed themselves in with the guard and undead and stared to fight not for their lives – but for Kyoko and the party.
Environment and running the adventure
Fighting
To find out what causes the fight we will have to wait for the weekend, but conflict is inevitable. As we had a few weeks ago the aim of this conflict isn’t to best the big bad but its to survive and escape the dinner hall.
The guards form a wall between the party and their Lord and queen (and blocking off the escape behind them – see below) while Lucian charges into the party outraged at the accusations, true or otherwise. The moment Lucian gets below half HP, Yukri (who is fond of her most loyal warrior), will order them to seize Kyoko and the party for treason and assault on a vassal of the Toshio family. And with a room filled with dinner guests who are more terrified of Yukri than the party witnesses to the Toshio’s side of the story will be in high supply.
The guards will try and keep the party at a distance, using longer ranged spears and forming two walls. There should be dozens of them to stress the dire-ness of the situation.
Once either Lucian falls, or a handful (6~10) of Guards start to crumble then Teng and Yukri will retreat up stairs to avoid the fallout and the guards will press forward to complete their orders.
End of the encounter
Kyoko shouts in surprise as she is grabbed and thrown backwards out an open door, several slain guards lay at the door as the Shadow Cursed and Siu took them out. Kuang beckons the party to retreat and as he does so Lucian stumbles to his feat, a thick coating of frost and ice starting to form on his body as his dead eyes flutter open and he begins to push his way through the guards.
The aim is to force the party out the doors, but as the guards and Lucian get close to the door they start to drop, blades and flashes of golden scales can be seen as Siu and his invisible defenders start to lash out to protect Kyoko and their friends. As the party leaves the doorway Siu and Choi flash into focus as they close the doors, the sound of a beam being pulled down to lock the door is heard before shouts of war and combat reverberate through the thick wood. Tugging on their sleeves indicates Sasha (Hana) is with them with any items that were left in the racks (they were gone if the party looked for them), and a few bags as she urges them to follow her as she runs towards the servants quarters. Once there she takes them through the servants entrance which leads them to a few quaint houses near the barracks.
Flight
From where the party leave the building they can see that the wagon is on fire, however there are a few guards horses not far from where they are standing next to the Barracks and the party are able to approach them with ease – The gates are also open but guarded so the party will need to deal with that (creativity is encouraged!).
As they leave they hear a terrible shriek and they turn around to see Yukri standing on a raised platform as the deformed, scaled horse (that died then came back to life the threw itself in the fire – yeah that one) walks up to her and nuzzles her hand before staring at the party.
Leaving the compound is easy as pursuit is slow (as there is still fighting in the building) and Kuang seems to the know the way as he leads the party east and away from the Toshio family.
Aftermath
The fight and following flight following Hana Harimasu through the halls, streets and then out the gate should lead us to tie the Shadow-mare (name pending) in with this weeks adventure and the plot of the Toshio family. This encounter, no fault of the Harimasu party will surely bring further conflict between the two families however there lies a bigger issue, escape to safe grounds and the warband that has a few days head start on them heading to the east.
This does mean that Choi, Siu and the other Shadow Cursed are gone – a long with any other guards that did survive the fight with the Nat’s from last week but I think defending their princess is a fitting end.
Well what a week. I had a bit of fun this week researching more into some folklore around the Yuki-onna as well as tying a few loose ends together to make this weeks adventure work. Don’t forget to come back this week as I will expand upon a few more things, tighten and tweak some items before getting ready to wrap up this month next weekend with the End of June write-up! Oh and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Hi all and thanks for dropping in for tonights writeup around saying goodbye to a character or NPC.
Now occasionally we will have a PC die and how we handle that generally is based on the circumstances around said perishing. But what about NPCs?
Now I’ve had some campaigns where a random NPC becomes a mascot or sorts and the party would’ve mourned thier passing under most circumstances but as a DM we have full control over when and how NPCs die.
This month, really its been rough for the NPCs, we have had a few NPCs die whether from the Nat attack or after that in defence of Kyoko. Deciding the right time to pull that level and watch the players reactions, who deal with death daily is something that is hard to come to a decision on and for me I am myself a few questions.
1. Is their death driving the plot forward? If the plot progresses and the chance for more adventures and growth for the players and their character then it could be a good time to move on.
2. Does the NPC growing and taking up more and more “screen time” then the players? If yes then its another indicator that it could be the right move.
3. Will the players continue down their adventuring path without this NPC, are they still relevant for future sessions? This one is tricky. If its a no then you can move on easily, but if its a yes then you may need to consider what else you can do to help drive the narrative as a side player. A magical journal that contains the knowledge of the NPC is a common crutch to fall on, or, bringing them back as a guide or spirit. It cheapens their existence and can also grate on some players nerves but if the answers to #1 and #2 were also yes then #3 is almost always a sign for the tigger to be pulled.
I’ve been looking at what can be my mid campaign shift and the migration from one arc to another for a while now and moving from having ” a guide with a plan” to being relatively blind is probably the next step for kyoko and the Party. It outs more emphasis on the party to do more but also fits well with the goals of thr NPCs so it doesn’t feel like a “rocks fall” moment – as much…
When deciding to remind an npc in full or partially from the scene as long as it benefits the story and players then normally it will end fine.
Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the last of the months Brazen Wolfe Tabletop content and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
Welcome one and all to a Brazen Wolfe fight night! Friday nights we generally explore the encounters for the week and tonight we have an interesting one – one where the main big bad doesn’t really attack but uses puppets to do her bidding.
For the Queen!
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Yukri Toshimo – the Yuki-onna
Yukri is the focus for this weeks encounter, however she will order her charmed subjects to do her bidding now that she has the opportunity to impress The Shadow. However, she would rather use her abilities and spells to control the battlefield and protect her Lord, Teng, who reminds her soo much of the Young man who she was denied when she was human.
Lucian
Lucian is fully devoted to Yukri and Teng but will deny Teng if it means pleasing Yukri. He fights savagely and takes particular delight in wearing down his opponents with relentless attacks and expert martial prowess.
Toshio Family Guards
Toshio family guards will rush forward to do their leaders bidding. While loyal to Teng Yukri still holds sway with her magical charm and her commands are just followed as if Lord Toshio had given them himself. Although not all that impressive there is a lot of them and they will throw themselves at the party.
The encounter
Fighting
To find out what causes the fight we will have to wait for the weekend, but conflict is inevitable. As we had a few weeks ago the aim of this conflict isn’t to best the big bad but its to survive and escape the dinner hall.
The guards form a wall between the party and their Lord and queen (and blocking off the escape behind them – see below) while Lucian charges into the party outraged at the accusations, true or otherwise. The moment Lucian gets below half HP, Yukri (who is fond of her most loyal warrior), will order them to seize Kyoko and the party for treason and assault on a vassal of the Toshio family. And with a room filled with dinner guests who are more terrified of Yukri than the party witnesses to the Toshio’s side of the story will be in high supply.
The guards will try and keep the party at a distance, using longer ranged spears and forming two walls. There should be dozens of them to stress the dire-ness of the situation.
Once either Lucian falls, or a handful (6~10) of Guards start to crumble then Teng and Yukri will retreat up stairs to avoid the fallout and the guards will press forward to complete their orders.
End of the encounter
Kyoko shouts in surprise as she is grabbed and thrown backwards out an open door, several slain guards lay at the door as the Shadow Cursed and Siu took them out. Kuang beckons the party to retreat and as he does so Lucian stumbles to his feat, a thick coating of frost and ice starting to form on his body as his dead eyes flutter open and he begins to push his way through the guards.
The aim is to force the party out the doors, but as the guards and Lucian get close to the door they start to drop, blades and flashes of golden scales can be seen as Siu and his invisible defenders start to lash out to protect Kyoko and their friends. As the party leaves the doorway Siu and Choi flash into focus as they close the doors, the sound of a beam being pulled down to lock the door is heard before shouts of war and combat reverberate through the thick wood. Tugging on their sleeves indicates Sasha (Hana) is with them with any items that were left in the racks (they were gone if the party looked for them), and a few bags as she urges them to follow her as she runs towards the servants quarters. Once there she takes them through the servants entrance which leads them to a few quaint houses near the barracks.
Flight
From where the party leave the building they can see that the wagon is on fire, however there are a few guards horses not far from where they are standing next to the Barracks and the party are able to approach them with ease – The gates are also open but guarded so the party will need to deal with that (creativity is encouraged!).
As they leave they hear a terrible shriek and they turn around to see Yukri standing on a raised platform as the deformed, scaled horse (that died then came back to life the threw itself in the fire – yeah that one) walks up to her and nuzzles her hand before staring at the party.
Leaving the compound is easy as pursuit is slow (as there is still fighting in the building) and Kuang seems to the know the way as he leads the party east and away from the Toshio family.
Well there is the second last piece in the twist for the adventure – Kyoko and the party were set to start a family war in which they are a few steps behind which will create both opportunity to grow, explore and understand the continent they are now on. Thanks for sticking with me for this longer-than-normal month and I appreciate you all reading what I put up here. Don’t forget to come back this weekend for, maybe some Warhammer as well as our end of week writeup up, and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Hello and welcome to Thursday night where we look at those little bit extra things that help us weave the tapestry of an adventure for our players. Tonight I want to introduce the Yuki-Onna, and Yukri in particular who we have already met but not know. So let’s roll on to tonights content.
Yukri Toshimo
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She who brings the Frost.
Yukri was the most popular of lord Nushani’s daughters, of which he had seven, and was frequently receiving a propositions of marriage from the sons of other lords, however her father wanted more for his daughter and refused all offers of marriage that weren’t from the emperor’s own son.
Yukri only cared about one man though, much like herself he was the youngest of six brothers and came from a prestigious family but his parents were different and supported the sons pursuit in love.
When the young man finally worked up the courage to seek the hand of Yukri she was delighted and openly requested her father to accept it, however her pleas fell on deaf ears and he refused the man request based on his status and nativity. Yukri wept that night and asked the ancestral spirits for guidance and assistance. But it wasn’t the ancestors that were listening as a voice came back from the dark.
“your father will see your love and desire for this man, go to him he waits at his families shrine at the top of Mount Tapaku.” The honeyed voice replied from the dark corners of the room.
“but you must hurry before he finishes his prayers as his parents have found another suitable match ” the voice urged.
Donning a fine white robe and furred cloak she snuck from her families house and took a horse from the stables so she could reach the shrine in time. As she left the walls of the stables the first flakes of snow fell on her face and into her long black hair.
Reaching the peak of mount Tapaku and the shrine she searched hurriedly dismounted the horse and called for her man, looking around the clearing, shielding her frozen face with her hand and gloves as the snow was thicker wilder up here.
A slither of shadow crept along the ground and stabbed at the horses flank causing it to rear ane flee down the hill leaving Yukri alone and frozen at the shrine.
Hours passed and Yukri was cold, beyond cold, she had lost feeling to her limbs an hour ago but walked down the hill cursing men, her father and ancestors. As the last of her strength faded she landed in the snow and as the perfect white flakes landed on her back and began to bury her body she swore she would never let a man rule her thoughts again.
The Shadow watched and felt the last heart beats of Yukri and smiled. Moving in he poured his dark magic into the body and his first, and last, Yuki-Onna was born.
“I had died..” she mumbled as she stood upright, the cold not bothering her any more.
“yes, men killed you with their hatred for your potential. But I see what you have to offer and have given you a chance at a new life where you will have all you want if you walk by my side. But your father will try and stop you. You can’t let him stop your happiness again” the shadow cooed to her as it stroked her hair and marveled at her ice-white skin.
“no, he can not..” she said as she stood and began to drift down the mountain to visit her father for the last time..
Thanks for visiting me tonight and getting a bit of a glimpse at Yukri, the frost maidens origin. Don’t forget to come back the last few nights this week for more content and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Hello and welcome to Wednesday night where tonight we reveal the tip of the iceberg that is The Snow Queen, the Toshio bride and the one who brings frost.
Frost Maiden
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As the woman descended the stairs the room dropped in temperature so suddenly that the collective held breath fogged the air over the table when the guests exhaled. The woman was just over five feet in height and appeared to almost float across the ground despite her white slippers that stood on the slowly frosting carpets and rugs that covered the wooden flooring.
“Ah, my queen, you have finally arrived” Teng said, reaching out and helping her towards the larger of the two seats before sitting down in the less impressive of the two. “How was the village?”
A few moments passed as the woman sat, her hair and blindingly white robe seemed to float above her skin as she sat in her throne. Her shoulder length pitch black hair a sharp contrast with the pale blue-white skin that was revealed from underneath the robes. “They did not take the blessings we presented them Lord Teng so I showed them the mercy that we do bring them. Eventually they came around and I believe their leader will come pay homage within a few days to swear fealty” The woman’s drifted over the room, pausing to look directly at Siu as well as at Kyoko and the Party. “I see you have guests, foreigners even. I had thought that they were lost to a warband of Nats, or so I had been led to believe” the woman’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Kyoko. “Why do they sit at my table?”
“My Lady, they come to request aid and return horses that my cousin, Lady Toshio, provided them when they were in need. However I believe that they had lost some along the way – which surprised me to see them present themselves before me and asked for aid despite them being now in debt to our family” Teng said with a knowing smirk, the ploy and plots revealing themselves.
Gritting her teeth Kyoko leant over the table to the party and whispered “I hope you found some evidence” before she stood up to speak. The lady in white floated upwards to also stand, her feet leaving the ground so that her head was above everyone else’s in the room as waves of cold washed across everyone present at the table shaking any remanence of doubt from the minds of those present that she wasn’t a spirit.
“You Lordship, I come before..” Kyoko began before Teng scowled and stood up angrily.
“You will address My queen!” Teng roared, visibility shaking with anger of cold one could not tell.
The spirit smiled cruelly as she taped her finger on her arm want stared down Kyoko.
A short and sweet update tonight as the next bit really is dependant on what the party managed to find, or plant, and how they navigate this political situation. Don’t worry though as more will be revealed in the coming days as we look into what happens during the confrontation over dinner, what happens after and as we move into the last few days of the month what this means for our party and Ryokughan. Don’t forget to come back for the last few days and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Hello and welcome to Tuesday night, where we look at the NPCs that are present in our weekly game. This week we are looking at those who are present in the dining hall who do not have a presence, those who watch and wait for their fate to be sealed as the ominous click-clack of hard souled shoes walk down the stairway at the end of the room.
Lady in White
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Siu looked towards Choi and the other three of the cursed that had made it to the hall as each of them glanced between Kyoko, the Party and the girl who stood behind them against the wall. The girl moved like one of them, invisible but present, undetectable but wanting to be seen and she could see them and them her.
As Siu turned around to wards the girl she made a symbol of respect, something that the Harimasu family would do towards his kind and it the copper piece dropped. Who ever was walking down those steps wasn’t Kyoko’s cousin and judging by the smell of fear and apprehension in the room she wasn’t a being that you wanted to be on the wrong side of.
click-click-clack
As the footsteps came closer an eerie silence filled the room, Kuang stood and moved towards the back of the room but a quick nod from the man, Lucian, “Choi” confirmed for Siu as both watchers of Kyoko noticed the man signal his men to intercept the captain who smiled and gestured that he was after something near the kitchens – the guards did not budge but commanded him to return to his seat – which he did begrudgingly.
The uneasy feeling quickly rose in Siu as the first pure white shoe and portions of a robe could be seen at the top of the stairs and sensing the tension in the air he involuntarily let out a low growl-like hum which the companions who he had travelled with for quite some time heard and jumped at the noise.
Kuang had asked the cursed to come with them to the hall, something about a chance to gain perspective and perhaps prove that they are more than just cursed. Siu didn’t understand but looking at the nod that Choi gave him as he moved off and started to pickpocket weapons, daggers, swords and the like from the guards standing close to Kyoko, Kuang and the party he thought that it made sense.
Without being able to be spotted, with people magically unable to recognise or detect them due to The Shadows curse they made the perfect people to keep Kyoko and those who can make a difference safe. Nodding towards the other cursed members he grabbed a few of the smaller weapons of the party members and some that they may be able to use, daggers, short swords and the like and moved over to place them next to the party out of sight. On the way back he noticed a few guards coming to surround the party of adventurers and intercepted them using his sharp claws to cut belts, draw strings to purses and the like and as they scrambled to stop their weapons and items falling to the ground the party was alerted to their movements.
Siu had his head turned towards the back of the door, working on the lock that had locked when he heard the footsteps stop, the steady clicking that was signalling time passing had finished and an audible gasp could be heard from the room.
Turning around his head and vision seemed to move in slow motion as his vision fell upon a woman in complete white at the bottom of the stairs that made his blood freeze like ice.
Thanks for joining me tonight for a small update as I have more to reveal tomorrow and as the week goes on. Don’t forget that as we wrap up this month we have effectively two weeks of writing to do before we get to the end of month writeup and I hope that you wont miss a day here with me and, as always don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Brazen Wolfe Tabletop 