Archive Posted January 30, 2003 Report Posted January 30, 2003 Wyvern00 Elder of Initiates Posts: 380 (2/1/02 6:23:06 pm) Reply Demon Century Japan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Right... I thought I'd just archive a brief description of my BESM ("Big Eyes Small Mouth", a great RPG for those who don't know it ) campaign. This goes out especially to my potential role players (Peredhil, Excedrin, Ozymandias, and Jechum) and anyone else who plays BESM, but all can feel free to skim over it. It's not very well written, and was just sort of squished together since I wanted to cover a number of points in a very small span of space... Never the less, I hope it gives you some sense of what my campaign is like... ----------------------------------------- The following is a brief overview of my campaign, and covers all the basic and most important points of the setting. For starters, here's an intro I usually like to give: "Ancient Japan. A place where honor is all important, and samurais bear the faces of the swords they carry and the skill they wield them with. Where love and violence have no boundaries, and those who disgrace their name and dignity are forced to live out an eternity of shame. Where silent killers mask their faces with shadows of death, and ruthless assassins stalk underneath the blanket of the night. Welcome to the Demon Century... a place where there is little peace, and nothing is as it seems..." Right... now then, onto the aspects of the campaign: 1) Historical Context: "Demon Century Japan" is set in the Edo period of Japan's ancient history, somewhere around 1590. I've incorporated a number of the traditional ancient Japanese cultural elements of the time period into the campaign in order to give it a more solid historical foundation. 2) Setting: "Demon Century Japan" takes place 10 years after the end of a great 7 year civil war, known infamously as 'The War of Seven Dragons". By the current time period (1590), a great deal of negotiation and reformation has taken place and Japan, collectively known as the Jade Dynasty, has been split into four separate empires: the Jiro empire, the Shion empire, the Kazuro empire, and the Serpent empire. A brief description of each of the empires is listed below: -Jiro Empire: occupies the North Western part of Japan and borders the Serpent Empire to the South and the Shion Empire to the East. The winters of the Jiro Empire are known to be particularly cold and fierce due to it’s far northern position (it’s the Empire farthest to the North). Due to this, there are often great famines in the winter and many starve or are forced to migrate to another Empire. The people of the Jiro Empire are also very well-known for their superb domestication of animals, and have managed to bend animals to their will better then any of the other empires. They use everything from falcons to elephants in their trades. The former leader of the Empire, Emperor Jiro, passed away three years ago from a fatal illness. Now leading the Empire is Prince Jiro who, though only 17 years old, already shows wisdom far beyond his age. -Shion Empire: occupies the North East of Japan, though it’s a bit further South then the Jiro Empire. The Shion Empire borders the Jiro Empire to the north-west, the Serpent Empire to the south-west, and the Kazuro Empire to the South. It is considered the largest and most powerful of the four Empires, and is also known for it’s merciless system of law enforcement and it’s many technological advancements (it is currently the only empire that has a flint-lock musket in development). The Empire is ruled by the absolute monarch Empress Shion, who is very adamant in her decision making and often drives fear into the hearts of the other emperors (who are reluctant to disagree with her due to her power). -Kazuro Empire: occupies the South East of Japan and borders the Shion Empire to the North and the Serpent Empire to the East. The most peaceful and traditional of the four Empires. During the War of Seven Dragons, the cities to the South East took a massive hit... Many central cities were utterly destroyed, and most plans concerning political and technological advancements were lost forever. Never the less, the Kazuro Empire is know as a very culturally rich society, and harbors a number of traditions forgotten by the other Empires after the wars. The leader of the Empire, Emperor Kazuro, is a timid and fragile man. He is also very religious, and often seeks guidance from the head Buddhist priest of the Empire. -Serpent Empire: occupies the South West of Japan, and borders the Jiro Empire to the North and the Kazuro Empire to the East. The Serpent Empire was previously known as the “Oshiru Empire”, until Emperor Oshiru was overthrown and murdered in cold blood. Rather then someone else stepping up and taking the position of the Emperor, however, nobody did. None were brave enough to do so. The ultimate result was that the Serpent Empire was (and still is) left completely ungoverned. There are no rules or laws. Instead, people fight for survival and the strong prevail. For this reason, many of the most hardened ronins (masterless samurai) and cold blooded killers come from this region. The chaos and disorder of the Serpent Empire is so abhorred in other Empires that the mere mentioning of it’s title is highly taboo. In the Shion Empire, you can be immediately arrested for so much as alluding to it. While there may be one or two cities in the Serpent Empire, it is mainly composed of camps of bandits and vagabonds clustered in various areas. 3) Some Key Concepts: -Honor: Plays a crucial role in the campaign. Many would prefer to die rather then abandoning their honor and disgracing their family name. Honor is incorporated into all of the social and individualistic structures of the campaign... everything from the calm of family life to the heat of the battle field. It is so important, in fact, that all true samurais carry a Tanto (a dagger used to commit Seppuko, an honorary act of suicide, in case they disgrace their dignity). That is not to say, however, that some ronin samurai haven’t abandoned the ways of honor... -Ryus (Fighting Schools): Adventurers, whether they be samurai, assassin, or channeler (see later), usually are disciples of a certain ryu, or martial arts school. While there are certain established schools which have a name for themselves in the campaign (Suitsu, Atahashi, Yusuriko, and Eiben to name a few) I let the players themselves make up a school they come from, if any. People often have lots of fun thinking up a fighting style from the school that they represent, and I’d recommend planning one out. Of course, you don’t have to be from a particular ryu. Ronin master their own unique styles... -Zen Buddhism: The common religious beliefs of the time. I won’t go into too much detail on the subject of the religion, but it’s important to point out that one of the ultimate goals of Buddhism was to reach a state of emptiness, known as ‘mu’. Many samurai strive to achieve this state, as it is fabled to be a deadly weapon in combat. When a samurai feels emptiness towards his opponent rather then rage and battle lust, his actions can prove to be highly unpredictable. Very few samurai have achieved this state, and those that have make fearful opponents. 4) The Supernatural While up to this point only normal parts of the ancient society have been discussed, there are certain supernatural elements that are occasionally present as well. They don’t occur often, and a good 50% of my adventures don’t incorporate them at all. Still, it’s important to take note of them: -Spirits and the ‘Oni’: Vengeful spirits of those who have suffered an unjust or disgraceful death roam the spectral plains of the Jade Dynasty, hardened to hatred and loathing of all human kind. Occasionally, a spirit may decide to take over and inhabit a humans body out of spite. This results in corrupt power and total domination of the humans thoughts and actions by the spirit. The power brought to the individual can be any of a number of things... a few examples being immortality, telekinetic powers, a vast increase in strength or intelligence, or even physical changes. The range of possible powers is almost limitless, and for this reason the ‘Oni’ (also known by a range of other titles depending on the region, including ‘The Possessed’, ‘The Fallen’, ‘The Omnipotent’...) are the most feared beings of the Jade Dynasty. You could almost consider them the dragons of Demon Century Japan. Few are brave enough to hunt or face the Oni, and those that do have often spent the majority of their lives training to do so. -Beasties: While Demon Century Japan hosts no mythical beasts or diverse range of races, vengeful spirits can also inhabit things that are not human. For example, a tiger could become possessed by an Oni spirit and metamorphisize into a hideous and unnatural creature of some sort. Another example would be a katana possessed by an Oni spirit, which causes it’s owner to bend to it’s will. Just keep in mind that the Oni can take any shell, not only those of humans. -Channeling: To a very lesser extent, there are people who possess the ability to channel spiritual energy into various spells. The power of channeling is a rare gift, and cannot be taught but is rather genetically inherited at birth. Usually, channelers have little decision in what they do with their lives, since the various Emperors often like to incorporate them in their elite task forces. There are exceptions, of course... (a good example being a channeler conceived off a ‘one night fling’ and thus remaining unknown to the Emperor) While the knowledge of channeling is relatively limited, channelers still make awesome opponents. A single channeler could very well be enough to destroy an entire family of samurai... There are two different kinds of channeling present in Demon Century Japan, although at the present time of 1590 it’s become narrowed down to just one. Before the War of Seven Dragons, there were two types: Astral and Spectral channeling. After the war, however, the four Emperors collectively decided that Spectral channeling was far too powerful to be used, and decided to completely banish it. All documents on Spectral channeling were burned, and all that knew Spectral channeling were murdered in their sleep. In addition, the more powerful spells of Astral channeling were also permanently discarded. Never the less, certain renegade channelers strive to learn more about the lost secrets of their art, and illegally hunt for clues concerning channeling before the war... On a final note, while highly respected by the Emperors and elite samurai, channelers are feared by the common populace. Many consider them no better then the Oni... ---------------------- That's my campaign in a nutshell... I think I covered all the most important points. Anyway, I may want to try it on my potential RPers, just to warn y'all in advance...
Archive Posted January 30, 2003 Author Report Posted January 30, 2003 peredhil31 An Ancient Polite Bard Posts: 856 (2/1/02 7:45:23 pm) Reply ezSupporter Write up -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Excellent. Even a surface description shows a wealth of research was done. -P
Archive Posted January 30, 2003 Author Report Posted January 30, 2003 Gyrfalcon25 Bard Posts: 224 (2/1/02 8:26:52 pm) Reply Re: Write up -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Gyr applauds* I like the setting... though I'd probably have to play an amnesiac to cover up my lack of knowledge of that time period. *grin* Oh, and what about kitsune, Tengu, and all those spirits that were neither good nor evil?
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