tsr 9164 - oa1 - swords of the daimyo

8/12/2019 TSR 9164 - OA1 - Swords of the Daimyo

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Official Game Adventure

Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Adventure 1: Over the Waves We Will Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Adventure 2: Riders of the Black Temple. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Adventure 3: Lord of the Black Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Timeline of Kozakura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16New Creatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Player Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Maps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Kozakuran Provinces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Shoen Map of Miyama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Tamanokuni Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Mura Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Monastery/Temple Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Shoen Residence of a Jito or Zussho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Small Town House of a Samurai/Commoners Houses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

CREDITS

Adventures: Zeb Cook and Kelley FooteEditing: Mike Breault

with Anne Gray McCreadyand Karen Martin

Interior Art: Jeff EasleyCartography: David C. Sutherland III

Dennis KauthMarsha Kauth

Typography: Linda BakkKeylining: Colleen OMalley

Distributed to the book trade in the United States

by Random House Inc. and in Canada by Random

House of Canada Ltd. Distributed to the toy and

hobby trade by regional distributors. Distributed in

the United Kingdom by TSR UK Ltd.

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D,

PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION, and the

TSR logo are trademarks of TSR Inc.

This adventure is protected under the copyright

laws of the United States of America. Any repro-

duction or other unauthorized use of the materialor artwork contained herein is prohibited without

the express written permission of TSR Inc.

1986 TSR Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

TSR Inc. TSR UK Ltd.POB 756 The Mill, Rathmore RoadLake Geneva, Cambridge, CB1 4ADWI 53147 United Kingdom

Printed in U.S.A.ISBN 0-88038-273-29164


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his book contains three adventures forse with the AD&D

Oriental Adventures

les. Each adventure is set in the Koza-uran province of Miyama, described ine accompanying Province Book. Alsocluded is a color map of Miyama Prov-ce. On the inside of the adventure coverthe Ocean Voyage Map for use with

dventure 1. The remaining maps andbles for the adventures are found in theack of this book.The adventures given here are

esigned for use with a complete Oriental

dventures campaign. With the exceptionAdventure 1 (Over the Waves We Willo), they are meant to be played in theder listed. Characters are expected to

se in level as they play. The level ranger each adventure is listed at its start.dventures of your own design (or otherSR adventures) can be used betweene different adventures listed in this book-

let. The adventures given here do notneed to be played uninterrupted, but theyshould be played in the order listed. By thetime you have finished with these adven-tures, most player characters in your cam-paign should have from five to sevenlevels of experience.

Before playing these adventures, youshould read the Province Book up to theGazetteer section. You may also read theGazetteer if you wish, but it is not neces-sary at this time.. You are now ready toread the first adventure. While reading it,

you should also read any Gazetteerdescriptions of locations mentioned in theadventure. Once you have read every-thing thoroughly, you are ready to play theadventure. At the end of this book (onpage 20) are some beginning charactersfor use in an Oriental campaign. Theseinclude character statistics, physicaldescriptions, personalities, backgrounds,

ancestries, and families.Adventure 1 (Over the Waves We Will

Go) is a special adventure that enablesyou to introduce gajin characters to theOriental world. Play it first if you wish totake non-Oriental AD&D characters fromyour campaign into the world of OrientalAdventures.

There is more to Swords of the Daimyothan the adventures it contains. A numberof the maps at the end of this booklet arenot used in the adventures. Some of thesemaps are keyed to one or more places on

the Province Map. You can use these andthe other maps for your own adventures.Furthermore, the Gazetteer section of theProvince Book describes many locationsthat are ideal for mystery and adventure.These should provide you with campaignactivities for a long time to come.

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This adventure should be used only if youare introducing characters from a normalAD&D

campaign into an AD&D Oriental

Adventures campaign. No pregeneratedcharacters are supplied for this adventure.The characters either come from your ownAD&D campaign, or they are created forthis adventure. Since nearly all of thisadventure occurs at sea, it is strongly rec-ommended that player characters be atleast 6th level, although characters of 10thlevel or greater may not find the adventurechallenging.

It is essential to this adventure that theplayer characters be enticed to undertakethe dangerous sea journey to Kozakura. Itis more fun if the player characters do nothave a clear idea of where they are going.If you are using this adventure in your owncampaign, decide on the most appropriateway to introduce the information. Listedbelow are several suggestions.

* The player characters find the scrapsof an old map. In scrawled notes arevague statements about what direction tosail, about how long it will take, the dan-gers encountered, and the riches availa-

ble. Of course, about half of thisinformation is dead wrong or greatly exag-gerated. You can make a map on a tornscrap of paper.

* The player characters meet a crazedseaman. He may be young or old, but he isdefinitely not in his right mind. He babblesout the information about the voyagehow wonderful and terrible it was. He isobviously poor and wretched, but showsthe player characters a marvelous trea-sure (a giant pearl) he swears is from thatforeign shore.

* There is a fabulous stranger frequent-ing the inns and taverns on the waterfront.He is different from all others in appear-ance, dress, speech, and behavior. Noone has ever seen anyone quite like him.He claims to come from across the ocean(clearly impossible!) and tells wild storiesabout his homeland. The stranger caneither be rich or poor. If he is rich, he isattempting to hire a ship to return him tohis native lands. If he is poor, he offers hisservices as a navigator, promising richesand wonders from across the ocean.

* Rumors abound of a fabulous treasure

armada. It arrived in a nearby port, whereit is said to have unloaded its cargo of silk,spices, gold, silver, exotic art objects, anda few powerful magic items. Supposedlythis armada makes a single voyage everyyear to some place far across the ocean.The captain and the navigator keep theirdestination a close secret. For years noone knew where they sailed. Now, how-ever, a rival captain claims to know theirport of call.

* There are rumors of a fabulous trea-sure galleon that sails somewhere out in

the ocean. Several captains claim to havesighted it (although their testimony ishardly reliable) and one says he capturedits cargo, only to lose it later to pirates. Thecrew is said to be human but of some dif-ferent and far distant land. The PCs musttalk to the captains to gain the informationbelow.

Other methods of intriguing the PCs canbe devised as appropriate for your cam-paign. All of the preceding methods yieldthe following information:

1. The journey is long, taking at leastone month with good weather and longer if

the winds are bad.2. Sail west! Follow the setting sun toreach the lands of the East.

3. Be prepared for dangersstorms,sea monsters, and terrible terrors.

4. The land you sail to is different. Yourwelcome may not be what you expect. It isa deadly land for the unwise.

If the player characters have a ship oftheir own, allow them to use it. If they alsohave a loyal and hand-picked crew, youcan ignore this section.

Upon investigating the port, the player

characters find they have three choicesfor captains who will either sail for hire ortake the player characters on as seamenor passengers. Looking at their ships tellsthe player characters nothing. All seem tobe in good repair and seaworthy. Thecharacters can meet the captains, if theywant to.

Alonso de Bartuella (Fighter, 12th level;hp 68; AC 4; MV 12; #AT 3/2; THAC0 9;Damage 1d8 + 2; AL N; magical +1 long

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sword+ 1 chainmail): Alonso is a portly,middle-aged man. A bristling mustacheand beard hides most of his drink-flushedface. He dresses in shabby clothes andswears continuously while he talks.

Alonso meets the characters over ameal, where he displays outrageous tablemannersslurping, belching, spitting,throwing scraps on the floor, and wipinggreasy fingers through his hair. Hedemands the most exorbitant price possi-ble for his ship or passage (whichever isdesired). Furthermore, he tells the charac-

ters they will have the pleasure of diningwith him on the trip. Alonso is, however, agood captain and navigator. His crew isdependable and competent. He beginswith a Mutiny Rating of 10.

Iyawaei of Konghani (Barbarian, 8thlevel; hp 38; AC 5; MV 12; #AT 3/2;THAC0 14; Damage 1d8 + 1; SA see Bar-barian in Oriental Adventures book; AL N):Iyawaei is a wiry, black man of unknownage. His face is weather-lined and crackedbut when he smiles, which is often, itbreaks into a happy, youthful glow. Hespeech is thickly accented, almost incom-prehensible at first. Sprinkled liberally

throughout his conversation are foreignwords and phrases that he never explains.In addition to the sword carried at his

side, he has a dirk strapped to his left fore-arm. His clothes are a hodge-podge ofstyles and tastes, none of which match.Although good humored, he has a veryquick temper and rules his ship with a sav-age, occasionally cruel, discipline. Flog-gings and irons are not unknown to hiscrew, and he has ordered the hanging ofat least two mutineers in the past. His crewfears and respects him. He begins thegame with a Mutiny Rating of 12.

Rupert Brock (Fighter, 9th level; hp 52;AC 7; MV 12; #AT 3/2; THAC0 9; Dam-age 1d8 + 3; AL N; magical + 2 longsword; potion of extra-healing): Brock is ahealthy warrior in his early thirties. He isneat in appearance. His clothes are sim-ple and clean. His hair and beard, whilelong, are clean and groomed. He is gener-ally well-mannered, although he is notabove using highly colorful language orflailing away in a bar-room brawl.

For all his easy outward appearance, heis a savage taskmaster. Once at sea, he is


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eldom seen without a crop in his hand topur his sailors on. He is only a fair naviga-r. He cares little for the needs of his crew,eldom stocking adequate or nourishingupplies for them. Disease is commonelow decks. Good sailors seldom sign onth him, and his crews often consist of cut-roats and hard-luck men. He begins theame with a Mutiny Rating of 20.If the PCs need to gather a crew, deter-ine the crews Mutiny Rating as follows.the characters do not need a captain or

avigator, but still need a crew, roll 1d10nd add eight. Add four to the die roll if theayer characters openly announce theiroal. Add two to the die roll if the playerharacters do not announce any destina-on. Subtract two from the die roll if theayer characters announce they are pick-

g the best sailors. Subtract two if gooday is given or a bonus is promised. Sub-act one for every day spent gathering aew. The final result is the Mutiny Ratingr the crew.If the player characters screen everyewmember taken on (through spells orher powers), and only select the abso-tely trustworthy sailors, the crew has autiny Rating of 4. The player characters

annot charm crew members, as suchailors are sluggish and lack the initiativeeeded for sailing. The player charactersave no difficulty raising a crew, eventhin a single day.

The Ocean Voyage Map (found on theside of the color cover) shows the coast-

ne of a continent where the charactersegin their voyage, as well as the coast-nes of Kara-Tur. Between the two are aumber of Encounter Areas. Ships sail fromne Encounter Area to any other adjacentncounter Area. Ships cannot move diag-nally from area to area (i.e., where onlye corners of two spaces touch).

The player characters begin their voy-ge at one of the three ports on the east-rn edge of the map. The only exit from theap is on the island of Kozakura (at Miy-ma Province). When the player charac-rs sail out of a port, they must announceeir direction of travel in one of eight com-ass directionsnorth, northeast, east,outheast, south, southwest, west, ororthwest. From the current position of thelayer characters, select the adjacent

encounter area that is closest to theirdesired direction. The characters sail inthat direction into the next EncounterArea. Once in an area, any encounters areresolved and then the players choose anew area to enter.

In most cases, the amount of timeneeded to travel from one Encounter Areato another is two days. Some areas, how-ever, have arrows indicating the directionof a major current. When a ship is sailingwith the current (in the direction of thearrow), the time is normal, as given above.When a ship is sailing against the current(in the opposite direction from the arrow),the sailing time is four days for every areaentered.

During the dangerous sea journey,there is a chance that the crew mutinieseach six-day period at sea. At the begin-ning of each period, the Mutiny Rating isadjusted as follows, and a check is madeto see if a mutiny occurs.

+ 2 if the period was spent entirely at sea+ 4 if the ship left a favorable island

(friendly natives, ample food, etc.)+ 4 for harsh treatment during period+ 2 if in doldrums+ 2 if passed through storm+ 1 for every point of hull damage+ 1 for every crew member lost to

monsters+ 2 for every officer lost to monsters+ 8 for every officer or PC slain in

previous mutiny+ 4 for inadequate rations during period

-2 for every mutineer slain in previousmutiny

-10 if previous mutiny failed-1 for good treatment during the period-6 if sailing east

Add all appropriate adjustments to theprevious periods Mutiny Rating to get thecurrent rating. A percentile dice roll ismade and the result is compared to the

adjusted Mutiny Rating. If the dice roll isequal to or less than the rating, a mutinyoccurs.

When a mutiny occurs, not all the crewrise up in arms. Naturally, the captain isnot among the mutineers. There is only a10% chance that any of the other officers

join the mutiny. Of the remaining crew,61% to 80% (1d20 + 60) take up armsagainst the captain. The mutineers do nothave weapons better than knives and cut-

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lasses. There is only a 5% chance of any-one in the group having a magical item.

The mutineers attack at the leastexpected moment, hoping to surprise theofficers. They fight at least until the situa-tion looks hopeless and, if assured of agruesome fate otherwise, fight until theyare slain. Captured mutineers can hope atbest to finish the voyage in irons (only ifthey are needed to crew the ship), and arefar more likely to be keelhauled, beaten todeath, or hanged.

The following statistics can be used forthe crew: AC 9; MV 12; 1st-3d level; #AT1; Damage by weapon type; AL various.

Doldrums: In the center of the map are

the doldrums, areas of extremely calmwaters. No winds or currents are presentto aid navigation. The effect of the dol-drums is built into the size of the areas.When these are entered, you can informyour players that the wind has died downand the ship sits on still quiet waters. It islike this day after day, with only a littleprogress made. If the ship is fitted withoars or magic is used to create a constantregular wind, the amount of time requiredto cross a doldrum area is halved.

Icebergs: The sea gradually becomeschoked with floating masses of ice and theweather becomes more and moreunpleasant. The ice becomes so thick andfrequent that forward movement becomesimpossible. The ship must turn back or betrapped in the ice and slowly crushed. Forevery two days spent in the area, there is a20% chance the ship runs aground on aniceberg. If this happens, 10-100% (1d10 x10) of the ships hull points are lost in thecollision.

Storms: When a ship enters. a stormEncounter Area, it has been caught in afierce, raging gale. True navigation isimpossible. The crew can barely keep theship from capsizing. Secretly roll 1d6 todetermine the number of areas the ship isblown off course. Then roll again to deter-

mine the direction: 1 = Northeast, 2 =East, 3 = Southeast, 4 = Southwest, 5 =West, 6 = Northwest. If no EncounterAreas exist in that direction, roll again.Unless the characters are able to magi-cally lessen the strength of the storm, theywill move in that direction for the numberof areas indicated by the first die roll. Anyencounters in the new areas entered areignored. Do not inform the players of theirnew location.


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While running before the storm, there isa 20% chance per eight-hour period thatthe ship suffers 1d6 points of damage to

its hull. Such damage may result in brokenrudders, fallen masts, or even stavedhulls. Any damage taken cannot berepaired until the storm is over.

A: Leaping through the waves at thebow of your ship is a school of dolphins.They splash playfully through the water.An old salt pauses to look over the rail andthen beams a wry grin at the PCs, Tis asign o good fortune tave the little darlingsdance for ye ship! With a wink he turnsand stomps away.

The dolphins are indeed a sign of for-

tune. The next leg of the voyage (until theship reaches a new Encounter Area) hasfavorable winds and requires half the nor-mal travel time. The crews moraleimproves, reducing their Mutiny Rating bytwo.

B: A barely sunken atoll presents a haz-ard to navigation. Roll 1d10. On a 1-5 theencounter occurs during the day. On a 6-10 the encounter occurs after dark. Duringthe day, the sea shows signs of a roilingsurf where there is no land. Anyone foolishenough to sail into this obvious dangerruns the ship aground. At night, the look-out hears the sound of crashing surf

somewhere. Unless specific efforts aremade to sail on with great caution, there isa 70% chance the ship strikes a reef. Ifprecautions are taken (more lookouts onduty, depth soundings, etc.), the chance ofrunning aground is reduced to 20%.

If the ship runs aground, it suffers 2d10points of hull damage. Furthermore, it isstranded on the reef. It takes all the crewand 1d4 days to tow the ship free.

C: A confluence of small currents hascreated a dangerous, spinning flow capa-ble of drawing even large ships into itsdepths. Even worse, the whirlpool comesand goes with the vagaries of the current.When the ship enters this Encounter Area,roll 1d10. On a result of 1-4, the vortexbegins to appear 10d10 yards from theship. It expands quickly, 10 yards perround, up to a maximum of 100 yardsacross. One check is made to escape thewhirlpool as soon as it appears. Roll per-centile dice and if the result is equal to orless than the distance (in yards) the whirl-pool appeared from the ship, the shipescapes and can sail away unharmed. Ifthe ship is captured by the whirlpool, it has

a 20% chance of sinking. Should it avoidthis fate, the ship suffers 2d6 points of hulldamage before escaping the vortex.

D: These Encounter Areas are filledwith tangled, floating masses of oceankelp. In areas of current, these seas areformed by eddies in the current. In otherareas, stagnant water allows the kelp tocollect. These seas are dangerous, for afoolish sea captain may become hope-lessly mired in the weeds. The PCs ship isable to cross these areas without becom-ing trapped. However, 2d3 days of effortare needed to cross. During this time,there is an additional + 2 applied to theMutiny Rating of the crew. (The DM mayalso create encounters with monsters andhumanoids living among the sargasso, ifdesired.)

E: Roll 1d10 to determine if theencounter occurs during the daytime (1-4)or night (5-10). During the day, the lookoutspots a ship on the horizon (a large mer-chant ship). It is flying tattered sails. Theplayer characters may attempt to outrunthe ship. This is successful if they are sail-ing in a faster vessel. At night, the shipappears 10d6 yards off the bow.

Next roll 1d6. On a 1-5, the ship is a der-elict vessel and nothing more. The crewmay have been slain by sahuagin or othermonsters or may simply have disap-peared. On a die roll of 6, the ship ismanned by fearsome undead. The captain

is a lich and the first mate is a spectre wholurks below decks by day with five ghoulofficers. Twenty skeletons serve as crew.

They try to board any ship they catchand slay all they find. In the hold of theirship is 2,000 sp, 3,000 ep, and 5,000 gp.The ghost ship is rotted and cannot betaken as a prize. Indeed, it has only threehull points and a fierce boarding actionmay cause enough damage to sink it.

Lich Captain AC 0; MV 6; HD 13; hp68; #AT 1; Damage 1d10; SA spells, para-lyzation, cause fear; SD + 1 weapon to hit,immune to charm, sleep, enfeeblement,

hold, cold, polymorph, electricity, insanity,and death; AL NE

Magic User Spells per level(select any desired spells)

Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9# of Spells 5 5 5 5 5 3 3 2 1

Spectre Mate AC 2; MV 15/30; HD7 + 3; hp 39; #AT 1; Damage 1d8; SA 2-level drain; SD + 1 weapons to hit,

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immune to sleep, charm, hold, and cold;AL LE

Ghoul OfficersAC 6;

MV 9; HD 2;#AT 3; Damage 1-3/1-3/1-6; SA Paralyza-tion; SD immune to sleep and charm; ALCE

Skeleton Crew AC 7; MV 12; HD 1;#AT 1; Damage 1d6; SD edged weaponsdo half damage, immune to sleep, charm,hold, and cold; AL N

F: The lookout sights land just a small,verdant island, but it appears to have togood harbor. As the ship comes closer, it isseen that the island offers fresh water andfruit trees. Indeed the island is just what itseems. It is uninhabited and is coveredwith lush growth.

If the island is bypassed without land-ing, add six to the crews Mutiny Rating. Ifthe ships lands, the crews Mutiny Ratingimmediately drops by two. However, afterthe first week spent on an island, theMutiny Rating of the crew is increased byone point every week. Some of the menbegin to grumble about returning home,while others grumble at the thought ofleaving the island.

G: This island appears fair and lush,covered with green plants and ample freshwater. But this island is populated by hos-tile natives. If the ship bypasses the

island, the Mutiny Rating of the crew isincreased by four. If the ship lands, thenatives hide in the jungle until the crew isashore. Then they try to attack with sur-prise. They keep attacking until at least200 natives are killed or the ship leaves.The Mutiny Rating of the crew is increasedby one for every crew member killed.

Tribesmen AC 7; MV 12; HD 1; #AT 1;Damage 1d6. The tribesmen attack inwaves of 70 men. The following leaderscan be seen in the background, urgingtheir men on:

1 5th-level fighter, 34 hp2 4th-level fighters, 33 & 23 hp7 3d-level fighters, 14 hp each1 6th-level druid, 20 hp

The remaining Encounter Areas are allareas of possible encounters with crea-tures The information for each is pre-sented on the following table.


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Creature No.Hai nu 2 2Wako 130 12

Ningyo 6Giant Octopus 1Giant Sea Snake 3Pteranodon 6Vampiric Ixitxachitl 1Sahuagin War Party 5 0

EncounterArea

HI

JKLMNO

AC MV HD #AT Dam7 6//15 1d4 1 1d6* 1 1 by wpn

7 //18 4 1 1d67 3//12 8 7 1d4x6/2d65 12 8 2 1d6/3d67 3/15 3+ 3 1 2d46 1 2 1+1 1 3d45 12//24 2+2 1 1d6

able Notes

ai nu: immune to water-based attackswant to trade with ship

Wako:65 men with hara-ate-gawa & sword13 men with sword & bow

20 men with do-maru & sword13 men with kote & spear6 men with kote, domaru, sword, & bow13 men with haramaki, sword, spear,

& bow

Wako leaders: 10th-level samurai captain, AC 3,hp 55, katana + 1 halberd + 1+ 1, + 2 vs. larger than man-sized,

potion of growth2 7th-level barbarians, AC 6, hp 47 & 362 6th-level bushi, AC 3, hp 33 & 24,

+ 1 splint armor, + 1 tetsubo4 5th-level bushi, AC 3, hp 29 each,potion of super-heroism,

philter of love

The magical items are divided betweene leaders of the same level.

ngyo: Spells as 4th-level shukenja andwu jen

iant Octopus: Constriction attack,pinning, ink

teranodon: Lands on deck, tired andhungry

ampiric Ixitxachitl: Spells as 3d-levelcleric, energy drain, regeneration

ahuagin: Led by 4+4 HD chieftain and

four 3+3 HD aides

When the ship reaches the island ofozakura, select from two possible end-gs provided with this scenario (or youay create your own). The first ending,

Shipwreck!, can be used if you wish toegin an Oriental Adventures campaignsing the material provided here. This waye player characters are trapped in Koza-

kura and have no choice but to take part inOriental-setting adventures. However, thisending has drawbacks.

The Shipwreck! ending requires thatthe player characters lose their ship andare beached on a strange shore. Little canbe done to prevent this result. They may

also lose a large number of their posses-sions and treasure in the process. Someplayers might become angry and upsetwith this treatment. This is not an unrea-sonable feeling on their part. You shouldconsider your friends (the players) care-fully before using this ending; be sure thatthey are not likely to remain unhappy for-ever. The second ending, Port of Call,can be used if you do not want to strandthe player characters in Kozakura or if youdo not want to anger your players with theShipwreck! ending. This ending is bestused if you wish to introduce the worlds ofKozakura into your own campaign. Sinceit leaves the player characters with a shipand the knowledge that there is a portacross the ocean, they can travel backand forth between the two worlds whenthey desire.

For several days the crew have beenseeing signs of land. Flocks of shorebirdspass overhead. Branches with greenleaves, fruits, and flowers are occasionallypulled from the sea. The crew is eager tosee land. They have even been bathingand washing their clothes!

Now, however, it is night. All day the sky

has been gray and looming. The captainhas passed word to his officers to be alertfor anything. The weather could change atany time.

Around ten oclock at night, the windbegins to rise. The swells of the oceanslam against the ship. Water washesacross the deck. A light rain slashesthrough the rigging. Everything is soaked.By midnight, a full-strength gale hasarisen. Every hand is called to deck and

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still the storm increases. By the light ofmorning, the player characters find them-selves in the rending coils of a majortyphoon.

If nothing is done to escape the storm,the ship is suddenly heaved up on a greatwave. It rises ten, twenty, thirty, then forty

feet out of the water, which suddenly under-goes a transformation. The cascadingwater becomes the shimmering scales,and the froth the hoary whiskers, of a greatdragon-like serpent. With a hiss, it bellowsin a foreign language, Defilers of mysacred home! I, Lord of the Sea, curseyou!

Suddenly the wave, only secondsbefore stretched 50 feet above the sea,collapses! It almost seems the great shipcould sail through the sky. And then thewild waves leap upward. Planking andbeams scream as they twist and split. Jag-ged splinters, smashed casks, andscreaming men wash astern on a ram offoam. The bow disintegrates against thesea as if dropped on a giants anvil. A fistof water smashes through the lowerdecks, gutting the hull. And above all thescreams of the men and shrieks of wood isthe throaty laughter from under the waves.

The wreck of the ship is a violent anddangerous event. All characters standingon deck have one round in which to actbefore the ship hits the water and disinte-grates. When the ship hits, all charactersmust make a saving throw vs. death with a-4 adjustment to the roll. No magicalbonuses apply. For characters on deck, ifthe saving throw is failed, they are

slammed into a convenient beam andknocked unconscious. They also suffer2d10 points of damage. Characters whomake the saving throw slam into a beamand suffer 2d6 points of damage, but theydo not fall unconscious. Characters whoare below decks automatically suffer 3d10points of damage. If the saving throw isfailed, they too are knocked unconscious.Two rounds after this, what remains of theship sinks.


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Unless weighed down with heavy armoror equipment, both conscious and uncon-scious characters float to the surface of

the ocean. There is ample wreckage tocling to. Quick-thinking characters canalso save those who otherwise would sink.After a few rounds of drifting at sea, agroup of ningyo surface around the char-acters, signaling their friendly intentions.They fix ropes to the characters and begintowing the characters to shore. After 12grueling hours, the characters land on awhite sand beach. All but the most hardyare utterly exhausted. (If the players arguewith this, point out the immense physicalstrain all of this entails.) The ningyo alsorescue unconscious characters (theyregain consciousness midway through the

journey to shore).

Should the characters either survive thestorm or not suffer its effects at all, theyeventually arrive at Kozakura. Sightingfirst the mountains, then the long coast-line, the characters do not know whetherthey have found an island or a major conti-nent. As they sail closer, they can begininspecting the coast for a suitable landingpoint. Choose a hex on the southerncoastline of the Miyama Province Map andfollow the coast from there in the direction

the characters sail. Use the Province Mapto describe what they see. Many towns onthe coast can provide the ship with suffic-ient shelter to drop anchor.

Upon arriving in port, the ship is greetedby a fleet of fishing boats. The boats,sailed and rowed by peasants, are filledwith curious fishermen and wary warriors.If the town has a resident jito or zussho, heis present along with the samurai andbushi he commands. Speaking Koza-kuran, he demands that his men beallowed on board and that all weapons beseized. Any attempts to resist are met withviolence, although an attempt is made totake a few prisoners for questioning.

If the characters cooperate, they areallowed ashore, but only under constantguard. Everyone is questioned, if at allpossiblewhere do they come from, whodo they serve, what kind of ship is this,why are they here, etc. Characters wholook like commoners or who foolishly statethat they have no lord are stripped of allweapons and locked up under heavyguard. Characters who look wealthy ornoble or who claim to serve a powerful for-eign lord are given quarters in the house of

the jito or zussho. They remain under awatchful guard. Any attempt to escape isstopped with whatever force is necessary.

Once the characters are in the hands ofan official (not the peasantry), they arecarefully secluded and questioned. Theirpresence is not revealed to anyone but theofficials lord. He in turn keeps this infor-mation secret until he has determinedwhat threat or usefulness the characterspresent. During this time, the characterseither languish in prison or are graduallyintroduced to Kozakuran culture.

If it is ultimately determined the charac-ters pose no threat, they are allowedgreater freedom of movement. However,the player characters, unless they escape,are never free of their escorts. They are

always watched and supervised. Theybecome the responsibility of the lord, whotreats them as oddities, greater than peas-ants but less than samurai. It is likely thathe will find some use for the characters,given their different abilities and unusualnatures. High-level player characters mayeventually reach a level of acceptancesimilar to that of a samurai.

As the player characters adventure inKotakura, it is likely that one or more willbe permanently slain. When this occurs,you should allow the player to generate anew character. This character should be aKozakuran, from the classes given in theOriental Adventures rule book. The newcharacter may be one of the guardsaccompanying the other player charac-ters, a samurai who has become intriguedwith the foreigners, or even a wu jen whohopes to learn something new from thestrangers. Gradually, more and morewestern player characters will be replacedby Kozakurans. Eventually you will haveintroduced your players to the rules andworld of Oriental Adventures.

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is is the first adventure you should run ifur players are all using Oriental charac-rs. (If your players are using charactersm the other AD&D

rule books, first play

Over the Waves We Will Go, whichngs them to Kozakura and introduces

em to the Oriental world.) Player charac-s in this adventure should be first level.This adventure presents a raid on a

mall mura (not far from the village ofsa) by the sohei of the evil Black Temple.everal weeks ago, couriers from theack Temple arrived in the mura with aessage. The message demanded a por-

n of the coming harvest as rent paymentthe Black Temple. The myoshu of theura, knowing nothing of this temple,fused to make the payment. His village,e pointed out, already paid rent to theoper shoen officials. The messengert, threatening retribution.The myoshu sent a message to the jitothis shoen (located at Tosa), but the jito

as done nothing. Now a force of soheiave appeared, intent upon destroying thelage and all within it in revenge. If theegenerated player characters are used,ey have gathered in this town for theirrious purposes. It is their first stop on

eir journeys into Miyama. If non-Orientalayer characters are used, they just hap-n to be passing through this mura when

e attack occurs. If Oriental characters ofe players own design are used, findme method of gathering the players allone place.For this adventure, you will need theura Map (on page 29 of this book). Thescriptions below are used with the map.

ura Descriptions

Most of the buildings are minka, homesthe families of the community. While

ach is different in detail, the general con-ruction of each minka is the same. Theof is made of a thick layer of rice strawatch. The walls are wood lattice or, inome cases, rough-hewn planks. Theain area of the floor is bare earth with an

pen hearth in the center. Around this areae wooden-floored platforms. The minkarves as a home, a workshop, and occa-

onally a barn for the familys livestock.In this mura, each minka contains 1d62 peasants of all ages (to a maximum of

79 people in the village). However, thereare only eight men capable of fighting(bushi, 1st level). They are unarmored andarmed with spears. They do not fight as aunit, each attacking individually and with-out plan. However, if brought under thecommand of a strong leader (by scoring85% or greater on an encounter reactioncheck) they will follow simple commandsissued by him. However, this leader mustremain with them at all times and must beat the front of any fight. Any sign of weak-ness from their leader and they will breakand run.

Choose one minka to be the myushoshouse. Although slightly larger than all theothers, it is similar in appearance and con-struction. It is the minka of Gobo (AC 10;MV 12; HD 1-1; hp 4; #AT 1; Damage 1d6;AL LG), the myusho or leader of the mura.To outsiders of wealth or power he is obse-quious and fawning, to all others he isstern and inhospitable. Since the murahas no inn, he offers the use of his home topersons of rank while he sleeps in the sta-ble. If the important person is a stranger,Gobo does not offer any more than this. Ifthe person is a local official or greater,Gobo produces his finest foods (which are

not much) and sees that the traveler hasrice to eat every day. If the stay is a shortone, he puts up with this expense. How-ever, if the visit is protracted, he begins togrumble and secretly complain. Hebecomes less cooperative, hiding food-stuffs while protesting poverty. He is bynature stingy and manipulative.

The buildings shaded on the map arethe godown (storehouses) of the wealthierpeasants. Each has a stone foundationand plaster walls. Normal godown haveonly thatched roofs, but these have tiledroofs. These buildings are actually stouterand more fire-proof than the minka since

they hold all the treasures of each family.Each godown is partially filled with balesof rice straw, bags of rice and millet, jars ofbeer and sake, lumber, and other farmgoods. The godown are sturdy buildings.Holes can be knocked in the walls forarrow slits and other improvisations cantransform these into reasonable defensivepoints.

8

The Player Characters Arrive: Havethe player characters come into the muraby whatever means you prefer. They mayenter as a single group, arrive in smallgroups, or saunter in alone. If the pregen-erated characters are used, it is likely thatEtsu-no-kami-Makoto and Saisho enter asone group, Annen and Akirakeiko asanother, Kanari Taro and Penri as thethird, with Roben and Kani each enteringalone. Samurai player characters (andthose pretending to be samurai) who act in

the appropriate lordly manner are housedin Gobos house at no charge. All othersmust find sleeping space with the otherfamilies in the village, paying only a fewfen.

The Warning: Allow the player charac-ters to get settled in the village. Charac-ters can introduce themselves to eachother (if they entered separately),although they do not have to. If any char-acter inquires about local affairs, tell theplayer about the demands of the BlackTemple messengers. Do not offer any indi-cation that the mura may be attacked.

After this minor business is done, apeasant boy, about 15 years old, runs intothe village. He does not say anything, butis obviously upset. He runs to the minka ofhis father, tugs at the mans sleeve andpoints excitedly across the fields. Theplayer characters are too far away to hearwhat is said and may not notice this sceneat all. The father in turn runs to the myushoand repeats the scene. If the myusho iswith any of the player characters, thefather draws him to the side and whispersin his ear. A look of distress comes acrosshis face. He leaves hastily, runs to the cen-ter of the village and begins pounding thealarm block (a piece of wood he hammerswith a large mallet). Heads pop out of win-dows and doors slide wide. Screamingand crying, the villagers rush into thestreets, whirling about in panic, finallyclustering at the dusty base of the alarmmound. Many of their faces tear-streaked,they shout and scream at the myoshu.Over their voices, the myoshu bellows,Family! Riders are coming! They arebandits!


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These words only increase the utterpanic of the villagers. A chorus of screamserupts from the older women and severalof the weaker-willed men fall to their

knees, sobbing. The outer fringes of thecrowd begin to run away. Some take shel-ter in their homes, others hastily prepareto leave the mura. Only a few run for theirspears, determined to fight. The womenclaw at and cling to these, pleading withthem not to die foolishly.

There is very little time before the attackcomes. The myoshu knows no more thanhe has said. If the player characters canquickly find the boy (by demanding that hebe brought to them), they can learn more.The riders were armed and armored.There were about 20 or more of them.They were coming from the east. They

were very close by and were riding fast.The player characters can also attempt toorganize a defense with the eight bushi ofthe village, if they act quickly. They have

just enough time to gather these men andget them into simple positions.

The Attack: Suddenly, 26 mountedsohei sweep down the main road. Theirforms are barely visible in the dusk, out-lined by the fading sun and the torchesthey carry. Galloping into the mura, theymercilessly cut down any who foolishly getin their way. Shouting and screaming; theyorder the peasants into the center of the

mura. All who resist are attacked. Onerider, wearing better armor than the oth-ers, demands to see the myusho andknow which is his house. He is quickly dis-covered, since the others in the muramake no attempt to protect him.

The leader of the sohei makes a quickspeech. You ungrateful curs haverefused to pay rent to the Black Temple!For this, your rent is doubled! And this willbe your punishment, should you refuseagain! With these words, he orders hismen to burn the myoshus house and exe-cute Gobo. This is done without hesita-tion. After this, the riders pillage theremaining houses and godown, and col-lect the rent, which leaves the villagersbarely enough to survive on.

Leader of the Black Riders: 4th-levelsohei (AC 5; MV 12/18 mtd.; hp 23; #AT1; THAC0 16; Damage 1d8 + 2)

He is wearing do-maru, kote, and sune-

ate (-1 to Dexterity) and is armed with a +1trident. He also has a pearl of protectionfrom fire in an earring. He rides a mediumwarhorse. He carries 2d10 yuan.

15 Black Riders: 1st-level sohei (AC 7;MV 12/24 mtd.; hp 5; #AT 1; THAC0 19;Damage 1d6 + 1)

Each rider is armed with a spear and iswearing hara-ate and haidate. None ofthem have magical items. Each carries1d10 fen. All are riding light warhorses.

The Player Characters: Exactly whatthe player characters do during this

engagement is entirely up to them. Theyare in no way required to stay and fight.Indeed, you may want to encourage themto flee at a convenient moment. The BlackRiders are tired from their day of travel andhave no desire to pursue what they con-sider to be fleeing peasants. If the playercharacters choose to stand and fight, theirbest chance is to retreat to one of thegodown (with a tile roof) and make a stand.If several sohei are slain without hurtingthe player characters, the riders surroundthe godown while they collect taxes fromthe rest of the mura. They will then leave.They do not wish to be drawn into a pro-

tracted battle.The Aftermath: Once the riders have

left, the player characters have severaloptions. They can ignore the plight of thevillagers and leave. The raid did not con-cern them and is not their problem. Theycan take the noble course and seek toavenge the villagers. The villagers canhire the player characters (although formeager wages).

The adventure can continue as follows:The morning after the raid, a group of 10

soldiers enter the mura, led by a mountedsamurai (Sato Masako, 8th level). He care-fully surveys the damage and hears thecomplaints of the villagers. Hearing of theactions of the player characters, hedemands their presence. He questionsthem closely. If the characters fought todefend the mura, he respects them, realiz-ing they are more intelligent and percep-tive than the villagers. At the end of thequestioning, he makes the following offerto the PCs.

9

The Black Riders are new to me, butthey have no rights to this shoen. It isowned by the Niwa family whom I serve. Imust go and present a report of this to my

lord, but he will task me for my inactivity. Imust show him that I am doing something.You can do me a great service and I will beunder obligation to you. Defend this vil-lage and learn what you can of these BlackRiders. In several weeks I will return.Report to me at the village of Tosa then.

He acts as if the player characters areexpected to automatically accept thisoffer. If they protest, use whatever persua-sive arguments seem appropriatepayment, honor, his friendship, or threatsof dire consequences.

If the player characters showed coward-ice during the recent attack, he still

instructs them to learn what has hap-pened. As coercion, he threatens themwith punishment and exposure of theirshameful behavior to the shugo-matadaiof the region.


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his adventure is for a party of 4-8 charac-rs of 3d to 5th levels. It continues theory of the Black Temple begun in the sec-nd adventure. It is assumed that someme has passed between that adventurend this, allowing the player characters toeach the proper levels. During this time,e player characters may have other

dventures of your own creation or maymply have spent the time searching forues and information about the Blackemple.Information the player characters can

ain in the course of the adventurecludes the following:

The name of the sohei commander whotacked the muraThe names of other mura that have

een forced to pay the Black TempleA history of the practices of the templeThe general location of the temple

Armed with one or all of these bits offormation, the player characters shouldventually be led to the mura of Myudo.his rests in one of the secluded valleysat reaches up into the Kurisammyaku.s referee, you should decide the exact

ex location.

All morning, the trail you have been fol-lowing has been winding through athick grove. The weather has beenpleasantly cool and the flowers of thewood have added soothing bursts ofcolor to the dark green background.Several times you have seen signs ofprevious travelerschurned earth,droppings, broken branches, and dis-carded bits of gear. They are a fairlylarge group and do not seem to be mak-

ing any effort to hide their movement. Itis unlikely they are bandits or malevo-lent creatures.

Following the trail along a youngstand of bamboo, the situationchanges. Broken bamboo lays acrossthe trail, the stalks spattered with bloodand slashed by sword cuts. An openingof crushed and cut plants plunges intothe dark grove. In the shadows at theend is an unmoving form, standing with

his back to you.Hung up in the broken stalks of bam-

boo is a dead swordsman. He ispitched forward into the bamboo, hissleeves tangled in the sharp stalks. Hisshoulders sag and his legs are limpunder him. Thick blood soaks the backof his slashed shirt.

The swordsman is quite dead andobviously has been robbed. Investigat-ing the area shows many signs of asmall battleslashed bamboo, blood,and another dead body, also picked

clean of anything valuable. The bodiesare still slightly warm, so the attackcould not have occurred too long ago.The trail leads out through the bambooand disappears across a patch of rockyground.

Pressing on a little farther, you see atraveler on the road ahead of you. He isheaded in your direction. He is about40 yards away, and you can tell by hisdress he is wealthy. As the travelerapproaches, it is obvious that he hasbeen in a recent battle. He is woundedand weak.

If the characters attack he begs formercy, unwilling to put up any resistance.

He introduces himself as a trader, Kudano Nito. But it is his sorrow to report thathe was set upon and robbed by bandits.They took all his goods and slew his twoassistants. It is only by great fortune thathe escaped. But unfortunately, all hisgoods were stolen. He was carrying a loadof weapons and suspects that the peas-ants of one of the nearby mura may havearranged the raid.

He then asks the characters if theywould recover his goods. If they seem hes-

itant, he offers them a reward of 10 chien.If the characters take him up on his offer,he tells them where the mura (Myudo) isand warns them that the peasants mightbe well-armed now. After all, he points out,they did steal weapons from him.

Nito: AC 10; MV 12; 0th level; hp 4; #AT1; Damage 1d8; carrying 100 tael

When they arrive at the mura, the play-

ers notice that it is a poor and backwardvillage. The minka are in sad repair andthe villagers are particularly thin andhungry-looking. Several of the buildingsare nothing but burned-out shells. A fewanimals are nosing around the corners ofbuildings. It is getting dark.

Myudo is a mura of 98 inhabitants of allages. There are 38 large minka or similarbuildings; ten of these on the outskirts of

the mura have been burned or crushed.There are only 12 effective warriors in themura (all 1st-level bushi). The myoshu ofthe mura is Ochio, a middle-aged andquite worn-down man. His responsibilitiesare great, and this does not sit well withhim, since he is by nature indecisive. Hislot is made even worse by his shrewishand nagging wife. Although she is out-wardly meek and obedient, in privatemoments she is loud and domineering.

Not all of Ochios problems stem fromhis personality or his family, however.Myudo is currently under a woeful oppres-sion that is taxing the resources of all in

the mura.As the player characters enter the mura,they are the objects of suspicious stares.There seem to be no friendly faces here.Suddenly the muras alarm gong sounds,ringing through the village. The peasantsrun from their huts toward the west end ofthe village.

A poorly dressed old man strides fromthe minka nearest the characters. Withbarely a nod in their directions he shouts,Hurry, you must flee before the dai-onisees you, hurry! He then turns and runsafter the other villagers. If the player char-acters chase, follow, or talk to this peasant

or any others, run The Ritual encounter.If the characters leave the village or hidesomewhere nearby, go to the Dai-Oniencounter.

Quickly you follow the small stream ofvillagers. In small clumps and knotsthey gather at a circle of packed dirt. Inthe center is a large stone slab topped

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with a huge drum. An old man, perhapsthe village elder, climbs up to the drumand begins beating it with slow, rhyth-

mic strokes. Between each beat hechants praises to the dai-oni (greatoni). The villagers slowly begin to shuf-fle in and out, ignoring you while theyperform their ritual dance. With eachverse of his chant, they give a shout,punctuating the ritual. Finally, on anoutward turn of the dance, a prettypeasant maiden turns to you with herhead bowed and says, Please, honor-able strangers, leave so our village willbe spared.

The first two peasants the charactersattempt to question refuse to say anythinguseful. The first is evasive, trying to avoidsaying anything. The second refuses out-right to talk to the player characters. Ifpressed, he becomes hysterical, demand-ing they leave and claiming that this is alltheir fault. If the characters find the oldman they saw in the village, he is willing totalk, but also quite fearful of something.He tells the player characters to meet himin his hut later that night.

As the villagers perform their ritual,there suddenly comes a loud voicebooming over the heads of the crowd.Instantly the villagers fall silent. The oldand the cowardly drop to their knees,shivering. Kneel! cries the echoingvoice. Looking upward, you see a hugecommon oni standing on the hill over-looking the west side of the village.

After the dai-oni speaks, three menin armor and two in robes come downthe hill toward the stone slab. As themen approach, the dai-oni againspeaks. Now, insects, what tribute

have you brought for the Black Tem-ple? Approach and present it! Threeof the village women approach the altarwith wicker backpacks. At the stoneslab, they empty their backpacks,unloading an assortment of weapons.

Player characters recognize the weap-ons from the merchant Nitos descriptions.

If the player characters are among thecrowd and do not kneel, one of the menwithout armor brusquely orders them tokneel. If the player characters refuse or

are slow to react, he imperiously stridesover and knocks them into the dirt. Seeingthem close up, he realizes they are not

from this village. If the player charactersdo not resist, he orders his men to take theplayer characters and bind them.

If the player characters attack the menor resist them, a melee erupts. The vil-lagers flee in panic, some screamingcurses at the player characters. As soonas a fight starts, the dai-oni turns andstrides away over the hill, disappearingfrom sight. If the player characters man-age to reach the dai-oni before it disap-pears, they discover it is only a costume.Inside is a puppeteer on short stilts. He is awu jen/ninja.

Two rounds after the dai-oni disappears,

the wu jen/ninja appears at the top of thehill to help in the fight. He attacks the char-acters from a safe distance. If things lookbad he drinks a potion of invisibility andmakes his escape, reporting what hastranspired to the Black Temple. If heescapes, the PCs meet him again in theTengu Discovered encounter.

The five men fight until either theirleader (the kensai, see NPC statistics fol-lowing) falls or they lose three men.Should either of these events occur, themen attempt to flee, crossing the hill anddisappearing into the woods.

If the player characters kneel with thevillagers, it may appear as if they are goingto escape safely. The men come down tothe slab and admire the weapons, loadingthem into baskets. At this point, a scruffypeasant not far from the player charactersstarts toward the men. His actions andintentions are obvious to any watchfulplayer character (i.e., anyone who is spe-cifically watching the entire crowd, not justthe men). Unless restrained by subtlearguments, such as the gentle pressure ofa knife in his back, the peasant runs for-ward to the men and flings himself at theirfeet. Pleading mercy for himself, his fam-

ily, and his village, he turns the playercharacters in. The men then attempt tocapture the player characters asdescribed above.

If the player characters manage to avoiddetection, the men gather the weaponsand go back up the hill. The dai-oni roarsout, This time you have pleased me! Myblessing and my protection is over you. Onthe next moon I will return. With that, theentire group turns and strides away.

Darkness prevents any immediateattempts to track the group. In the morn-ing, however, it is easy to find the trail. The

11

footprints of the dai-oni go a short distanceinto the woods on the other side of the trailand then disappear. However, the tracks of

the men remain and are easy to follow.Wu Jen/Ninja: AC 7; MV 12, 4th/2dlevel; hp 14; #AT 1; Damage 1d8 + 1; S15; I 16; W 12; D 17; C 16; Ch 15; AL LE

SpellsKnow HistoryAccuracyElemental BurstEnchanted BladeApparition

Magical Items: + 1 short sword, potion ofinvisibility

Kensai Leader: AC 6; MV 12; 4th level;

hp 36; #AT 3/2; Damage 1d6 + 2; S 17; I 9;W 16; D 17; C 15; Ch 10; AL LE; chosenweapon is a three-piece rod

Equipment: quality jitte

Armored Bushi (x3): AC 5; MV 12; 3dlevel; hp 27, 16, 21; #AT 3/2; Damage1d10 + 3; AL NE; all have double speciali-zation with katana. Each wears do-maru,haidate, kote, and sune-ate.

Yakuza: AC 6; MV 12; 3d level; hp 12;#AT 1; Damage 1d8 + 1; S 16; I 15; W 10;D 16; C 12; Ch 17; AL LE

This encounter occurs if the player char-

acters meet the old man at the pre-arranged midnight meeting. His house isclean and modest in size. Standing in theshadows inside the doorway, he greets theplayer characters with a motion to be silent.Ushering them inside, he takes them to themain room, shooing out his aged wife and ayoung woman. A man, possibly his son,remains in the room with him.

Welcome most respected sirs. I amMyudo Ichiro. This is the husband of mydaughter. I am sorry you had to arrive at

such a bad time. We are being punishedfor evils of our other lives. All the sutras wechant cannot save us from our sins. Forwhat we may have done, the gods havesent a monster into our lands. Six moonsago, just before the harvest time, it arrivedand proclaimed itself the master of theBlack Temple. Rent was demanded of us.At first we refused. We are not foolish ortraitorouswe know who our true lord is.But the monster has troops and the shu-gos men have ignored our little village.

Once we refused, but only once. Weare not warriors. For our refusal, the hot-


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eaded sons of several families were slainnd their houses were fired. Those are theurnt-out hulks you see outside.Every moon his followers come and

ollect a monthly rent. Already we haveecome unable to pay in rice. Last moon,e were forced to pay with our best crafts-

men and daughters chosen by lot. For thisent, in desperation we set upon a mer-hant and took his goods. It was a shame-ul act, but otherwise we would have toraw lots for our daughters again.We are dustnothing. We have

hamed ourselves and our families. In aew days I will leave this village and go toamanokuni. There I will present myself toe court and plead mercy for my small vil-

age. They will kill me, I am sure. I will bexecuted for my village. Knowing this, I

will go and die. I beg you to destroy thelack Temple. Avenge the death of an old

man. Avenge me for what they have doneo my village. I am old and I am alreadyead. I am a presumptuous old fool whoffends his guests. I will die with somemall honor.

His face pale as aspen bark, he wipes aickle of tears from his cheek and bows

orward, exposing his neck to the touch ofhe swordblade. Aiieee! wails his son inorrow and agony. The cry is echoed byhe women in the room beyond, theiroices ending in choked and wrackingobs.

After following the trail of the dai-onismen for five hours, you arrive atanother small mura nestled at the baseof the mountains. The village is a well ofsorrow. The buildings are decrepit, thethatch rotting on some. Garbage is castaside in small piles near side doors.Small children throw stones at eachother and young men in rags lounge indoorways. Bony dogs sprawl undershady trees. Monkeys clamber throughthe branches above them. No one

seems happy or cheerful.

As the characters enter town, they arereeted by a little man who introducesimself as Hoseki. Bobbing obsequiously

o the characters, he tugs at their sleevesand tells them he has most pleasant andwonderful accommodations for travelers.f questioned about the dai-oni or his men,Hoseki feigns fear and caution. Pulling the

player characters into a shadowy corner,he says the men passed through the vil-lage this morning and went up into themountains. He attempts to learn what the

player characters are doing in his townand what they intend to do next.

If asked about the dai-oni, he goes into ahorrible tale of what has become of the vil-lage. This story is very much like that toldin the previous village. However, Hosekifreely embellishes the story with tales ofdire magical powers, huge bands of men,and terrible events. Any informationgained from him is generally overstated ormisleading. As an agent of the dai-oni, histask is to learn as much as possible whilerevealing as little as possible.

Once finished with his story, he againpresses the player characters to stay at

his house. If they accept, go to A Night atHosekis. If the characters refuse, he isgreatly disappointed. No other building inthe mura offers them shelter. Unless theyreturn to his house, they are forced tospend a night in the open air. In this case,run the Chill of the Night encounter.

That night the player characters aregiven rooms in Hosekis household. Hislarge minka is fairly barren. Gatheringhimself a simple comforter, he apologizesfor the disarray. He is a widower and haslittle talent for housekeeping. With no chil-

dren, he has a girl come in a few times aweek and see to his needs. Tonight hesleeps in the kura (storehouse) while thehonorable strangers use his house. After asimple dinner of a very small bowl of riceand pickled radishes, Hoseki lays outcomforters and headblocks for everyonein the party. As a finish to the dinner, hegoes outside and brings back a basket offruit and a jar of hot sake. He apologizesfor his meager fare. With this he saysgoodnight.

If the player characters have told Hosekiwhat they are doing, asked about theBlack Temple, inquired about other stran-

gers, or have shown an unnatural interestin temples of the area, the fruit and sakeare drugged. Wait about five minutes ofreal time and then require a saving throwversus poison for every character who ateor drank the drugged substances. If acharacter only had one drink or a fewbites, he is allowed a +2 on the savingthrow. For every additional drink or pieceof fruit, the saving throw is reduced by -4.If the character fails his save, he falls into

12

a deep sleep. Otherwise, aside from a mildcase of indigestion, the character does notnotice any effect.

If all of the characters succumb to the

drug they awake the next morning with ter-rible headaches. Not only that, but all theirpersonal possessions (including theirclothes) are gone. Indeed the only clothesin the minka are several womens robes! Asearch reveals that Hoseki is nowhere tobe found.

If some or all of the characters are notdrugged, but all are asleep, roll percentiledice. If there is an undrugged barbarian,ninja, or yakuza with the party, add 10 tothe die roll. If the result is 70 or less, thecharacters are robbed as describedabove. If the die roll is greater, one or moreof the undrugged player characters

awaken during the robbery. Randomlydetermine which and how many charac-ters awaken.

Robbing them are six men dressed inblack clothing and carrying weapons.When discovered, their first objective is tosilence those awake before they canspread the alarm. They do not care howthey accomplish this, as long as they aresilent. They are all ninjas and areequipped with a number of weapons anddevices. Secondly, they wish to finish thetask they came here to do. Finally, theynaturally wish to avoid unmasking. If theleader is unmasked, the player characters

discover the whereabouts of their genialhost, Hoseki.If the player characters keep a watch,

the ninja attempt to dispatch the guardsilently before commencing with the rob-bery. To accomplish this, Hoseki entersthe minka through the upper story. Movingsilently, he attempts to backstab the guardfrom behind with his drug-coated ninja-to.If successful, allow the player characters apercentile die roll as described above.This may result in one or more charactersawakening. Drugged characters neverawaken before dawn.

If the ninjas lose Hoseki or half of theirparty, the survivors attempt to run away by

jumping through the open windows andinto the darkness.

If any ninja is captured, he steadfastlyrefuses to answer any questions. Indeed,he goes to any extreme to avoid answer-ing questions. So long as the player char-acters hold the ninja prisoner, they are thetarget of further ninja ambushes. Theseambushes have the express purpose ofkilling the party members quickly. As suchthe attacks are sudden and deadly.


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Hoseki (sohei/ninja): AC 6; MV 12; 5th/3d level; hp 28; #AT 1; Damage 1d6 + 3; S17; I 15; W 15; D 16; C 15; Ch 11; AL LE

Equipment: +2 kusari-gama, ninja-to

coated with sleeping drug (save vs. poisonwith +2), three dust grenades, shukenjascroll of calm and cure critical wounds,haramaki-do

Bushi/Ninja (x5): AC 8; MV 12; 1st/1stlevel; hp 6,6,4,3,2; #AT 3/2; Damage 1d8+ 2; AL LE; all specialize in wakizashi

Equipment: wakizashi, dust grenade,leather armor

If the player characters spend the nightoutdoors, they do not have any combatencounters. However, if the guards arewatchful, they notice a figure moving inthe shadows. Player characters able tomove silently and hide in shadows are ableto follow this figure. Other player charac-ters are only able to tell that the figure isstealthily slipping out of the mura.

If the figure is successfully followed, heleads the characters a short way into thewoods. At a particularly large willow treehe takes a scroll from under his robes andtucks it in a large hole. With this he turnsand slips back into the village, returning tothe house of Hoseki.

Ten minutes after the message isdropped off, another figure appears at the

tree and disappears into the woods.Again, characters able to move silentlyand hide in shadows can attempt to follow.The figure darts quickly to an old, standingtrunk. Rummaging a large stick fromunder the leaves, he beats the trunk inrhythmic strokes. It echoes like a reverber-ating drum. After several seconds hepauses and waits, his head cocked. Thirtyseconds pass with no sound. He repeatsthe performance. This time a faint echoingthump floats through the forest. He tossesthe stick aside and returns to the edge ofthe village. There he hides himself care-fully.

Thirty minutes later, four men dressed inblack robes join him. After a few whis-pered words, one cups his hands to hismouth and imitates the hoot of the nightowl. Three times he hoots, then pausesand calls once more. In 10 minutes, thebushes rustle and a sixth figure joins thegroup. With a few abrupt hand signals, thegroup spreads out in a line and stealthilyenters the village.

The men are Hoseki and his bushi/ninja

companions. They are searching for theplayer characters, whom they intend toslay. They attempt to approach the playercharacters undetected. If this is not possi-

ble, they use their grenades to create con-fusion in the midst of the party and thenattack from what they think is the leastlikely direction. They fight until half ormore of the player characters are slain,half their number are fallen, or until Hosekifalls. Their statistics appear at the end ofthe previous encounter.

If the player characters were attackedand survived, they can attempt to followthe trail of their attackers (provided some-one has tracking skill). If successful, thistrail leads to the Tengu Discoveredencounter. If unsuccessful or if the charac-ters are unable to follow a trail, they haveto return to the mura for more clues.

Talking to the adult villagers gains theplayer characters nothing. It is painfullyclear that no one wants to talk to them,that they are not even wanted here. Thevillagers are terrified of the dai-oni and hismen and are fearful of retribution if theyassist the player characters at all.

However, the children of the mura arenot as oppressed as their elders. If any ofthe player characters has the presence ofmind to talk to them, the characters gaininformation. The children describe a horri-

ble monster who lives in the cleft of a cliffnot far from the village. Once they used toplay there secretly, but the monster cameand now they are afraid to go there. Theycan give the player characters precisedirections to the cleft.

Striking off through the woods, the char-acters travel for 30 minutes and finally topa low rise. Ahead they can see a cleft in alow cliff. As they move out, the sounds ofbattle reach their ears.

At the base of the cliff just ahead is ahuge oni, fighting a group of four men. Ithas them cornered, and it seems fairly cer-tain to win the fight. Upon sighting theparty, the men begin to scream for helpwhile the oni bellows in rage.

If the characters attack, the oni con-tinues to attack the four men during thefirst two rounds of the fight. After this, itattacks whichever character seems topresent the greatest danger. If given achance the men try to flee.

The men are members of the gang thathas been terrorizing the neighboringmura. Through clever deceptions, theyhave convinced everyone that the gang is

led by a dangerous and fearsome oni. Thisis not the case. The oni intends to kill themen in revenge for their vile trickery. It isnot that the oni minds being viewed as aterror of the countryside, it is just that itdoes not want the blame for these things.Now men are hunting it because of evil ithas not done.

When the player characters arrive, themen begin to scream and shout that thedai-oni is attacking them. The dai-oni inturn also begins to shout its side of thestory. If the men escape (through the aid ofthe player characters), the oni stillattempts to make peace with the player

characters. If this is impossible, it flies intoa fury and attacks relentlessly, fighting tothe death.

If the oni makes peace with the playercharacters, it explains the complete situa-tion to them. Should the player charactersreveal they intend to destroy the dai-oniand his men, this oni volunteers to accom-pany them. It is bent on vengeance and iswilling to work with humans (and others) ifthat will help. It is quite rash, however, notgiven to subtlety. Upon reaching theenemy camp, its only desire is to attackthe false dai-oni. It becomes quite uncon-trollable at this point.

If the player characters slay the oni andthe men are still around, they look at eachother in a quick panic. Then the cleverestof the group suddenly falls to his knees infalse gratitude. O honorable and valiantwarriors, it is a great deed you have done!You have slain the dai-oni and freed theland from his evil grip! The others hastilyfollow suit, heaping praises upon theplayer characters. They do everythingthey can to convince the player charactersthat the mission has been accomplished.Surely now the onis evil followers will beforced to flee. They want to take theplayer characters back to the mura toannounce their great deed and honorthem.

If the player characters insist on push-ing forward into the cleft, the men ask ifthey can go along to help. If the charactersrefuse, the men leave the party and thentrail behind to join in the ambush intowhich the player characters are sure tostumble.

One of the men is a yakuza. He and theyakuza encountered in the first mura areboth members of the same kumi. Hidden

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to pin the characters in the gateway whilethe other sohei strike them from theflanks.

Main Temple Hall: If the player charac-ters attempt to pass through this hall, thetwo yakuza hear them coming and take uppositions behind the various statues in thehall. When the player characters reach thecenter of the room the yakuza attack. Oneof them carries a biwa of calm (proficiency15) and a spear + 1, + 2 vs. smaller thanman-sized. He is stationed behind a groupof statues toward the center of the room.As the characters approach, he attemptsto calm them with his music. Meanwhile,his partner, armed with a + 1 short bow ofdistance, takes advantage of their hesita-tion to rush out and gently disarm the char-acters. He has prepared for the music bystuffing wax in his ears. He is able to dis-arm up to two calmed characters perround. Once this is done, he and his part-her attack. Of course, if they are attackedfirst, they fight back.

If the player characters bypass the mainhall, the two yakuza happily take advan-tage of this to escape.

Meditation Hall: In this hall are theremaining charactersfive sohei and thetengu. The sohei fight with fanatical furywhile the tengu acts as described above.

Searching The Temple: Searching the

temple, the characters find nothing of

trick to play on the humans.One of the cells is particularly interest-

ing. It contains the costume of a giant hor-

rible creature (the dai-oni), a pair of stilts,three flashpowder grenades, three sets ofninja garb, and a ninja-to.

Also hidden in the floor of this room is aset of spell scrolls such as a wu jen woulduse. The book contains the followingspells know history, accuracy, elementalburst, hail of stone, enchanted blade,apparition, and rope trick.

The player characters find the weaponslost by the merchant on the bodies of thevarious sohei.

Humanoid Tengu: AC 4; MV 12/15;HD 7; hp 40; #AT 2; Damage 1d10 +2; SAknows karate with Feint, Circle Kick, andIron Fist; SD invisible at will

Spells: cure light wounds (x2), bless,deflection, aid, hold person, withdraw,castigate, dream vision

Yakuza (x2): AC 6; MV 12; 3d level; hp16, 15; #AT 1; Damage 1d8; AL LE

Magical Items: Biwa of calm; spear +1,+ 2 vs. smaller than man-sized; + 1 shortbow of distance

Sohei (x10): AC 6; MV 12; 2d level; hp

12 each; #AT 1; Damage 1d8; AL LE

value in the front half of the structure.However, scattered throughout themonks cells are many personal belong-

ings, obviously the property of the soheiand others who operated out of the tem-ple. Going through all these goods takessome time and the player characters canspend up to 10 hours searching beforethey find everything. Each hour spentsearchinggoing through chests, pullingup mats, etc.gains the PCs 500 fen and50 tael.

Imprisoned in a number of the monkscells are five men and eight women. Themen are burning for vengeance againsttheir oppressors. The women are horrifiedwith shame and want nothing more to dowith this world.

In addition to these items, there is abeautifully done sutra scroll in the libraryworth 500 tael to the Konjo Temple. How-ever, only characters with religion profi-ciency are able to identify the true value ofthis scroll. There are also two otherscrolls, one telling the history of this tem-ple and the other telling the activities andplans of the tengu. Reading this, itbecomes apparent that the tengu, under-took this scheme because he thought thewhole idea was some type of grand cos-mic joke. Apparently, he really had noburning desire to rulehe only thought

the whole thing was a cruelly humorous

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ere were several semi-mythical erasfore the written Timeline of Kozakuragan. The first of these eras, called thee of the Gods, begins with the creationShinkoku and the settlement of Koza-ra. Legend maintains that this erated over 10,000 years. Next came theign of the Earth Spirit Emperors. Thesemi-gods supposedly received their titlesm the Heavenly Deities. Many colorfulgends of Kozakura come from thisethe War of the Oni Kings, the Stone-aring Empress, and the deeds of NakaMoriya. The tales of this time combine

ion and fact, embellishing and exag-rating known events. Those of lateres call the rulers of this age emperors,an effort to legitimize their own imperiales. Only after these two ages did thee of the human emperors occur.n the following timeline, the names of

mperors and empresses are listed inpital letters next to the dates when theycended to the throne. The Kozakuranendar groups years into cycles rather

an centuries. Each cycle is 60 yearsg. The calender begins with the ascen-n of Mori, the first human emperor, to throne. The year in which an, event

curred is given in terms of the cycleeceding the slash), the year within the

cle (following the slash), and the cumu-ve number of years since Year 1 (inrentheses).

/1 (1): MORI/19 (79): ITONIN/34 (94): Prince Miki begins his cam-

paigns to subjugate the northernkorobokuru.

/45 (105): The northern korobokuruoverwhelm Todaijo, the stronghold

of Prince Miki. He and all his fol-lowers are slain. The korobokuruchieftain Inoyep begins to recoverlands lost to Prince Miki.

/47 (107): Emperor Itonin leads an armyagainst the northern korobokuru. Inthe midst of the campaign, Inoyep istreacherously assassinated byAkarweop, one of his sub-chiefs.Itonin accepts Akarweops peaceoffer. At the peace council, Akar-

Leadership of the northern korobo- empress. Prince Sagi, half-brotherkuru is destroyed. of Emperor Toakimi, was persuaded

2/52 (112): DAIGEN by the Nagato family to rebel when3/13 (133): Chiro no Maasate establishes the Honda family supported Prin-

a Kozakuran colony on Tenmei. cess Kodaiku after the death of her3/30 (150): TENSHO childless husband, Toakimi. The

4/5 (185): OKURI northern rebels name their own5/28 (288): KOSHU emperor and establish a separate6/13 (313): The last resistance of the capital at Senita. The northern court

northern korobokuru is overcome. survives for 68 years. During thisThe northern provinces are formally time three emperors are proclaimeddeclared part of the imperial lands. by the rebels: Sagi (11/54; 654),

6/22 (322): The first envoys from the Gosagi (12/46; 706), and Ouizu (12/Shou Lung court arrive at the impe- 59; 719).rial capital of Fukama. Shou Lung 12/41 (701): The Kanchai school of thehistories record this as the discov- Way of Enlightenment is founded.ery of Kozakura. 12/52 (712): Suffering from the political

7/10 (370): SENTAI and financial strain of the Zakura7/25 (385): The korobokuru hero, Poiy- Insurrection, Empress Kodaiku is

opepoen, leads the remainder of his compelled to name Honda nopeople in a great migration to Ten- Okumi as regent for her young son,mei. There they settle in the deep Bidamu. The Honda control of thewoods, hidden well away from the imperial court is now complete.small human settlements. 12/53 (713): BIDAMU

7/46 (406): Under the guidance of Prince 13/2 (722): The last stronghold of theSanetomo, the Prime Minister, Zakura Insurrection is captured.Emperor Sentai begins the Great The war is officially ended and theLand Reforms. Much property is rebel court is destroyed.

redistributed and the status of koro- 14/58 (838): SUREIbokuru and hengeyokai is formally 15/19 (859): The Konjo school is intro-defined as outside the Kozakuran duced to Kozakura.government. The action sparks 15/38 (878): Ichiro the Swordsman fightsmany fierce uprisings. The end his first duel at the age of ten. In theresult is the strengthening of Prince next 83 years, he becomes the fore-Sanetomos family, the Honda. most swordsman of Kozakura. Leg-

8/26 (446): SHOTOKEN end maintains he was the finest8/42 (462): The Way of Enlightenment is swordsman who ever lived or ever

introduced to Kozakura. will live. Living the life of a wastrel9/23 (503): JUMEI (Empress) and vagabond, he is never beaten in9/24 (504): Empress Jumei begins the a duel. Shortly before his death, it is

construction of a new capital at said he achieved his ultimate goal,Dojyu. making the perfect weapon, infus-

10/23 (563): SANOE ing it with the very essence of his

10/38 (578): The Black Castle is founded life. It is the Breath-Floating-Sword.by Aga (Miyama). The weapon has never been found.11/10 (610): The Black Castle is destroyed 16/16 (916): KOKAN

by Kinusake no Yori. 17/9 (969): SUKO11/23 (623): The village of Kuda is

founded as the provincial capital ofMiyama by Kinusake no Yorisgrandson.

11/31 (631): TOAKIMI11/53 (653): KODAIKU (Empress)11/54 (654): The Zakura Insurrection

weop and his allied chiefs are slain. begins in the north against the

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17/24 (984): An invasion fleet from Wacommanded by Hidegari Iegusalands on the southwestern tip ofShinkoku, conquering several prov-

inces. The shogunate organizes acounterattack, but the effort is ham-pered by the defection of severalpowerful southern lords. After theinitial battles, both sides are unableto make further progress. Raidingalong the borders of the occupiedprovinces becomes a common prac-tice of the Kozakuran families in thearea.

17/35 (995): Hidegari Iegusa attempts tobreak the deadlock in the SouthernWar by invading the Dai plain fromthe sea. The regent, Honda no

Mototsune, launches a force ontothe Inland Sea. In the midst of afierce storm raised by Mototsunessorcerers, the two armies meet. Fortwo days a fierce hand-to-hand bat-tle rages across the decks of over300 ships. In the end, his shipablaze and most of his men dead,Iegusa refuses to surrender or leavehis ship. With Iegusa dead and hisarmy broken, Mototsune begins therecapture of the occupied southernprovinces.

17/36 (998): The Great Hunt begins in thesouthern provinces. As the survi-

vors of Iegusas naval expeditionreturn to their conquered territories,fell creatures and oppressed peas-ants exact a horrible revenge on thestragglers. Many villages overthrowtheir oppressors and proclaim theirfreedom. As Mototsunes armyarrives, many of these communitiesrefuse to give up their indepen-dence. Mototsune savagelydestroys these rebellious hyakusho,leaving a wake of devastationbehind him.

17/44 (1004): Honda Mototsune com-pletes the reconquest of the south-ern provinces.

18/1 (1021): Dorumiji Monastery built(Miyama).

18/4 (1024): Konjo Monastery built (Miy-ama).

18/38 (1056): KIMAYAKU

18/42 (1062): SOYOKU (Empress)18/48 (1068): MURAKAKU19/28 (1108): Prompted by the weakness

of the imperial court, the Hojo family

precipitates the Tennu War. Thecountry splits between supporters ofthe emperor, under the control of theHonda family, and the Hojo cause.

19/30 (1110): SAGO19/32 (1112): Hojo forces win the Battle of

Kurisammyaku, conquering Miy-ama. During the campaign in theprovince, a great fire sweeps Kuda.Niwa Ozuchi sacrifices his life tosave the family charters. Theemperor Sago is assassinated.

19/33 (1113): SHOWAJI19/39 (1119): Under the authority of the

puppet emperor Showaji, the Hojofamily assumes the title shogun.Although fighting continues off andon for many years, the Tennu War isconsidered to have ended. Thepower of the Honda family is broken.Most of its members are exiled orexecuted. The few that remain havetheir power carefully restricted.

19/40 (1120): The Bakufu is officiallydeclared at Gifu. Most of the lords ofKozakura come to present them-selves to the Hojo shogun. Thosewho do not come are consideredenemies of the shogunate.

19/56 (1136): GOTENSHO20/1 (1141): GOSOYOKU (Empress)20/3 (1143): With the arrival of its first

shugo, the provincial capital of Miy-ama is moved from Kuda to Tamano-kuni.

20/4 (1144): KAMEDAI20/15 (1155): GOSUKO20/18 (1158): Gizu Hanashi is appointed

shugo of Toyaki. All provinces arenow directly or indirectly under Hojocommand. The country is unifiedunder a shogun.

20/23 (1163): NIJO20/50 (1190): GOITONIN20/52 (1192): SHUJO20/56 (1196): KAMMU21/15 (1215): The wu jen Chu Tei Zao and

Goboro the Lame engage in a mur-derous duel of sorcery. So great aretheir powers that one stands atop

Mount Kaza and the other on theneighboring peak of Dagorayama.For an entire night the sky in the areais changed to a horrid violet-green.

The villages, fields, and forestbetween the two are burned to cin-ders. The 237-year-old feud appar-ently ends with the climacticexplosion of the peak of Mount Kaza.The site is now called Broken-Dish-Mountain for the shape of theremaining mount. No bodies arefound, so it is difficult to say if thefeud has ended or is postponed.

21/28 (1228): TOKURA21/42 (1242): IJO21/44 (1244): GODAIGEN21/49 (1249): GOMORI

22/7 (1267): The career of Ichi the High-wayman ends in his death.22/19 (1279): The mines at the Mountain

of Iron are closed (Miyama).22/25 (1285): ENCHIGO22/38 (1298): GOSAGO22/42 (1302): FUKAKUJI22/47 (1307): Dorumiji Monastery is

destroyed by hostile sohei (Miy-ama).

22/52 1312): GOFUKAKUJI22/59 1319): SUTOPEI23/23 1343): Takenaka family is founded.23/27 1347): GOIJO23/44 1364): GOKIMAYAKU (Empress)

23/52 1372): REIJO24/18 1398): The Hori family is founded.24/19 1399): GOBIDAMU24/21 (1401): Shrine of the River Dragon

is built in Miyama.24/26 1406): GOKAMMU24/35 1415): The Hojo War begins.24/41 (1421): The Battle of Norinoshima

ends the Hojo War with the defeat ofthe Hojo forces.

24/42 (1422): Hojo Kawakubo is namedshogun.

24/43 (1423): Niwa appointed shugo-daimyo of Miyama.

24/45 (1425): GONIJO; Village of Ananburned by troops of the shugo-daimyo (Miyama).

24/48 (1428): Construction begun onAtarashijo (Miyama).

24/50 (1430): The beginning of the PCscampaign.

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ollowing are a number of creatures thatre peculiar to the islands of Kozakura and

Wa. None of these monsters are featuredthe short adventures given in this book,

lowing you to introduce them when youant; for example, after your players thinkey have discovered all there is to know

bout Miyama and its dangers.

REQUENCY: RareO. APPEARING: 1d4RMOR CLASS: 8

OVE: 12IT DICE: 4 IN LAIR: Nil

REASURE TYPE: NilO. OF ATTACKS: 2AMAGE/ATTACK: 1d4/by weapon typePECIAL ATTACKS: ConstrictionPECIAL DEFENSES: NilAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

NTELLIGENCE: AverageLIGNMENT: Chaotic evilIZE: MSIONIC ABILITY: NilAttack/Defense Modes: Nil

EVEL/XP VALUE: III/85 + 4/hp

The rokuro-kubi are humanoid crea-res that are indistinguishable from

umans, under most circumstances. Theyan, however, can stretch their necks in anake-like manner to the prodigiousngth of 20 feet. In addition, their mouthse filled with sharp fangs, allowing thembite for 1d4 points of damage. In combatey fight adjacent opponents with theireapon, stretching their necks to attackose behind or to the side of them. In

ddition, instead of biting, they cantempt to constrict a victim. On a suc-

essful to hit roll, the snake-like neckaps around the victim and squeezes for

d6 points of damage per round. Whileonstricting, the rokuro-kubi can onlytack the constricted victim. The victim

an escape the constriction by making accessful bend bars/lift gates die roll or

y slaying the rokuro-kubi.Rokuro-kubi are sly and cunning by nat-e. To avoid suspicion, they seldom havefixed home, preferring to wander fromage to village. They delight in the suffer-g they cause and sometimes befriend a

group of travelers or a peasant family, onlyto slay them one at a time in secret. Acommon practice for them is to disguise

themselves as travelers and, upon meet-ing another traveler on the road, suddenlylengthen their necks and attack.

FREQUENCY: RareNO. APPEARING: 1d4ARMOR CLASS: 6MOVE: 3/18 (MC: B)HIT DICE: 3% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d4SPECIAL ATTACKS: PoisonSPECIAL DEFENSES: Surprised only

on a 1MAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: AnimalALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: SPSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: III/105 + 3/hp

The utoyasukata is a brightly coloredbird found in the coastal areas of temper-ate lands. Its flesh is greatly prized as adelicacy by nobles and wealthy mer-chants, who are willing to pay good sumsfor the bird. The bird is extremely difficultto catch as it is very wary and flees at theslightest sign of danger. Likewise its nestis virtually impossible to find. It is hiddenso well that the utoyasukata cannot

remember where it is and must call to itsyoung to find the nest. Alas, this leads toits undoing, for hunters have learned toimitate these calls, luring the utoyasukatawithin range of their nets and weapons.

Still, the hunting is dangerous since theblood of the bird is a deadly poison. Any-time a successful hit is scored with amelee weapon, the wielder must make asuccessful saving throw versus poison( + 2 on the die roll) or die. Once the bird is

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slain. care must still be taken in the han-dling of the carcass for the poison remainsdeadly

tsr 9164 - oa1 - swords of the daimyo

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