Year 36 of Hantei 38th, summer:
After the disaster that was the previous attempt at a wedding, the ceremony
was held secretly.
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Matsu Haramono becomes Daimyo.
After Jitae's death, his daughter Shien should have become daimyo. However,
her uncle Haramono claimed the title. The elderly Kitsu shugenja was asked
to arbitrate the dispute. He apparently summoned Matsu Jitae's spirit,
and Jitae chose Haramono as daimyo. The strain was too great for the Kitsu,
who died. In actually, the Bloodspeakers engineered the whole thing, using
illusion-magic.
Year 36 of Hantei 38th, autumn: An Oni and an army of undead attack
Ryoko Owari during the bon festival.
I ran the not-entirely-bad Night of 1000 screams adventure.
It was an interesting change of pace. The finale had the Priestess of Lady
Sun call back the spirits of the animated zombies. The spirits repossessed
their old bodies, making it a very interesting bon festival. Fai Suk began
infiltrating the Bloodspeaker cult.
Kakita Pukabishi arrives.
With Fai Suk running around doing heroic adventurer-type stuff in
the Shadowlands, the Emerald Magistrates sent another Magistrate - Kakita
Pukabishi, the "Staring Crane". A strict and honourable Magistrate, Pukabishi
was a masterful duellist. He also had a very very big nose.
Daidoji Omatao falls ill.
Crane Daimyo no.2...
Year 37 of Hantei 38th, spring
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Daidoji Henshu holds a tournament for the ronin. The tournament
is interrupted by the attacks of several oni. Investigations reveal that
the oni have been summoned to distract the attention of the Crane from
their northern border.
With the defeat of Yajinden on the Island on the Edge of the World,
the Bloodspeaker cult founded by the possessed Henshu was growing desperate.
They had uncovered the location of a Black Scroll thanks to Yogo Gotoki.
They decided to steal the scroll and use its power to free Iuchiban. The
Bloodspeakers had a hidden fortress in the northern Crane lands.
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An assassin wounds Omatao. The daimyo slays the assassin, but
later succumbs to his wounds.
The "assassin" was a Ninja Shapeshifter. There was a fight inside Omatao's
bedroom. When the guards entered, they found Omatao's corpse on the floor-
and Omatao collapsed on the bed, bloody sword in hand. One was the Shapeshifter,
the other the real Omatao...
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The armies of Yogo Mekumu attack the Crane, besieging the fort
of Daidoji Okaido.
By now, Gotoki had overthrown Mekumu and taken the Yogo armies.
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The Crane clash with Mekumu's armies. The Scorpion unleash a horde
of undead and oni to slow the Crane advance.
Scorpion=bloodspeakers in this case.
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Yogo Junzo leads an army against his kin.
The PCs sent word to Yogo Junzo, daimyo of the Yogo. He sent his army
to destroy the traitors.
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Daidoji Uji leads ten thousand Crane north to aid Omatao.
Go Uji!!! I must confess, I love epic battles....
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By command of Matsu Haramoro, the Lion attack Bayushi Suko, seizing
two forts and pushing the Scorpion back to the gates of Shiro No Suko.
Shinjo Yoshioko circles Ryoko Owari and strikes at the Scorpion from the
south.
Fear and confusion, confusion and fear. There are the daisho of the
GM. The Lion/Unicorn armies swept the Scorpion before them.
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Magistrate Mirumoto Fai Suk vanishes from Ryoko Owari.
The characters had worked out that the Bloodspeakers were behind it
all. While Shinzui and Henshu gathered the Crane forces, Fai Suk went off
to the Bloodspeaker fortress. He'd gained the confidence of some 'speaker
agents in Ryoko Owari, and used those contacts to get into the Fortress,
which was in a small and defensible valley.
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The siege of the northern Crane fort is lifted. The Sparrow family
of Suzume Idatego reveal themselves to be Scorpions.
"My lord Junzo, we've sort of lost our scroll. We think the bloodspeakers
stole it. Any chance of borrowing your army and killing them in order to
get it back?"
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Junzo's army besieges Shiro No Mekumu.
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The Lion army besieges Shiro No Suko.
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Assassins kill Matsu Haramono, Shinjo Yoshioko, and their generals.
This is why you don't go to war with the Scorpion...
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An arrow slays Bayushi Suko. His son, Sugai, becomes daimyo of the house.
I have no idea why I killed Suko off. I liked him....but I suddenly
found myself describing his death. His brother, Hotai, became suddenly
cool. On seeing his brother's death, he took a naginata and turned a whole
load of Lion into sushi.
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Shiro no Mekumu is destroyed.
A combination of magic and fire.
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A small Crane army locates and attacks the Temple of Blood, the final
stronghold of the Bloodspeaker cult. The temple is destroyed.
As the armies approached the Temple, Yogo Gotoki and Asahina Tomai were
trying to open the Black Scroll. To gain time, they made Fai Suk put on
the mask of the Oni, a mask created by Yajinden. The mask made the wearer
unkillable. Fai Suk held the entire Crane army off single-handedly. Meanwhile,
an elite group of Crane, including Henshu and Shinzui, crept into the Temple.
They were attacked by Oni. Yogo Junzo teleported in, and between Junzo
and the PCs, the Bloodspeakers were wiped out.
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The Vision of the Final Emperor is seen.
However, the seal of the Black Scroll was cracked open. Junzo, the characters,
and Bayushi Shoju saw a vision, a prophecy - that the Hantei would bring
forth the doom of Rokugan.
Year 38 of Hantei 38th, Summer: The Lion depart the Lands of
Ryoko Owari. They abandon their fortress, and burn and salt the farmlands.
39 of the Lion swear revenge on all Scorpions.
The Lion army had been nearly wiped out in their retreat from Shiro
no Suko. They were left without enough samurai to hold the land they had
taken from Tsuyite's grandfather - so they retreated. Matsu Shien took
responsibility for the loss, and became a Deathseeker. The 39 Lion Ronin...well,
it's my take on the 47 loyal retainers & Lord Asano, and it hasn't
happened yet.
Year 39 of Hantei 38th, Summer
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Kakita Pukabishi calls a meeting of the nobles of the city to
discuss the Opium trade.
Pukabishi was in the city to bring back the Law. No matter what.
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A horde of ratlings pass through the lands. They infest the small
section of fertile land once held by the Lion, now ruled by Ide Kanjin.
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The Crab break their isolation, and send a delegation to the meeting.
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Assassins disrupt the meeting, killing Pukabishi and wounding
Ide Kanjin.
The assassins were sent by Pukabishi, who faked his own death. He'd
realised that there was no legal way to reform the city, so he took a daring
choice...
Year 39 of Hantei 38th, Autumn
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As summer drags on, a Witch Hunter arrives in the city.
Kuni Abashita joined the campaign...
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Mysterious Kenku cultists begin to destroy the Opium industry.
This Kenku Cult was composed of Pukabishi and his retainers. They began
by raiding Opium dens.
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A celebration in Lady Hyobus house goes awry when an errant firework
burns down a wing of the Magistrates Mansion.
Fai Suk was unable to stop the cultists, so people got annoyed with
him...
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Daidoji Henshu is awarded the title King of Generosity. A jealous
Oni tries to disrupt the ceremony, but it is slain by Kuni Abashita.
The Day of Generosity, as described in the Ryoko Owari books. The Oni
was the Oni of Terrible Generosity.
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The Kenku cultists burn the opium fields, and destroy the opium
seeds. The industry is ruined. The leader of the Kenku cult is slain by
Shosuro Jocho.
The key to the Kenku plot was a silo of opium seeds
held in a tower by the Shosuro family. By burning the fields and destroying
the tower, they'd have wiped out 90% of the Scorpion opium crop - forever.
The finale of the session came with the Kenku
leader - Pukabishi - standing atop the silo. Jocho climbed the silo and
challenged Pukabishi to a duel. Tsujite grabbed a bow and shot Pukabishi
twice as the two were focussing. Pukabishi died, but Jocho failed to stop
the explosives planted by Pukabishi. The tower exploded...
Year 40 of Hantei 38th, Spring
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At the Emperors birthday celebrations, Gaijin invited by the Crane
and Mantis attack the Imperial Commander, Seppun Ishikawa. The Lion are
greatly angered by this.
The whole Gaijin thing was engineered by the Scorpion, to cause tension
between the Crane and Lion, and to kill Ishikawa (who survived).
Shoju had began to plot the Coup.
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Bayushi Tsuyite is stripped of his title by Bayushi Shoju.
Don't ask. Backstage political stuff.
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A Lion army musters at Humility's Lesson Castle.
Lion attack the Crane...
Year 40 of Hantei 38th, Summer
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Lion and Crane armies clash. The Crane are pushed back, but manage to
withdraw in an orderly fashion.
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Investigations discover tainted Opium seeds, which are destroyed by
Kuni Abashita.
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Tsuyite becomes Chancellor of the house of Sugai.
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Bayushi Hotai dies in a fire.
Just one of those accidents which happened after Tsuyite became his
rival's Chancellor.
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Thousands of ratlings move north, out of the shadowlands. Most are slain.
Just foreshadowing...
Year 40 of Hantei 39th, Autumn
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The Scorpion Clan launch a Coup, through the hidden pass they call the
Chrysanthemum Road..
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Hantei the 38th is slain.
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Bayushi Sugai is slain.
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Emishiko becomes the Oracle of Water, and saves the Imperial Heir.
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The Coup is foiled. The Scorpion and their Crab allies are driven back
to the southlands.
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The Kuni Witch Hunters are almost wiped out by an Oni.
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Kuni Yori is assassinated by Kuni Abashita.
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The Phoenix Watchtower is destroyed.
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Shinzui steals a Black Scroll from Yogo Junzo and flees.
Hoo boy. BIIIG session. Much stuff happened, too much to go into in
any detail. A whole load of people died, including Kuni Yori. The Coup
was a disaster for both sides. Otosan Uchi was sacked by the retreating
Scorpion. The Emperor was slain, but his heir survived. Emishiko split
into the Oracle of Water and her Shadow. Shinzui and Fai Suk stole the
Black Scroll Junzo had taken from the Idetego family and fled to the Phoenix
Lands.
The Phoenix shugenja in the watchtower had been plotting "negative
chi flows" from the Shadowlands - essentially drawing a map pinpointing
the rough locations of eleven of the twelve scrolls. Junzo and Yori both
stole copies from the tower before Yori nuked it. Yori later got killed
by Abashita in revenge for wiping out the rest of the Witchhunters. To
quote Yori - "I have made bargains with the ancestral enemies of our Clan,
but I shall be their master in the end. Join me or die."
Currently:
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Henshu is in Otosan Uchi.
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Tsuyite is back home in Ryoko Owari.
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Abashita is a ronin somewhere in the Crab lands, with Yori's head.
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Shinzui and Fai Suk have teleported somewhere within the Phoenix forests.
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Emishiko is wandering confused through the ruined imperial lands.
The Chrysanthemum Road. It's been fun so far.