emerald and jade - game log

8/3/2019 Emerald and Jade - Game Log

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Legend of the Five RingsGame about honour, glory and tragedy

GMOskar

PlayersAl

AlexeiNickDaveElvis

PeterAlda

ConradRobert

October 2010 - July 2011http://emeraldsamurai.com/


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Contents

Introduction 4

Tanks 5Sources 5

Chapter I: Adventure Diaries 6

Dead Crab in Cranes Nest 6Beast o Hotei 8Te Smell o Rat 8ree o Lie 10Te Report 11Winter Court 1: Te Hunt 12Winter Court 2: Love and Death 13Winter Court 2.5: Contest Rolls 16Winter Court 3: O Swords and

Honour 17Winter Court 4: Bad Fortune 18Winter Court 5: Courtly Disaster 20

Chapter II: Characters 25

Hida Banzo 25Kitsuki Raidou 27Bayushi Kojiro 28esshu 28Kakita ateno 29Kitsuki Kurui 30Asako Raizen 30Bayushi Chii 30

Kitsuki Oda 30Chapter III: NPCs 32

Crab Clan 32Hida Maruki 32

Hida airou 33Hida Yuudai 33Hiruma Akane 34

Crane Clan 34Asahina omoe 34Daidoji Aiko 34Doji Motome 34Doji Yutaka 35Kakita Kanbei 35Kakita Osamu 35

Dragon Clan 35Kitsuki Ryujin 35Mirumoto Hideki 35

Lion Clan 36Akodo Yurou 36Ikoma Kohaku 36Matsu Akemi 36

Mantis Clan 37suruchi Naomi 37Yoritomo Mato 37Yoritomo Yatsuki 37


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Phoenix Clan 37Isawa Midori 37

Scorpion Clan 38Bayushi akahiro 38

Unicorn Clan 38Ide Mao 38Moto Yao-Han 38

Bat Clan 39

Komori Rei 39Sparrow Clan 39

Suzume Natsumi 39Suzume Shin 39

Imperial Families 40Iweko Inoe 40Iweko Kichirou 40Miya Hotaru-no-hime 40Miya Ota 40Otomo Ishida 40

Otomo Manami 41Otomo Ren 41Otomo Ryuunosuke 41

the Others 41

Ema 41Genma 42Katsurou 42Poko the dog 43Ryoden 43Te Urashimas 43Yumi 43

Minor NPCs 44

Chapter IV: GMs Notes 46Yumis Mother 46schtsch 47Poisoning Raidou 47Te Ogre 48Who was Ryoden? 48Te Shadow Magistrates 48Hida Yuudais Agenda 48Kuruis Madness 48Te Spider Clan 49

Genma 49Kashimas ragedy 49Epilogue 49


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Early in October 2010, I started recruitingonline or a game using the 4th edition o the Leg-end o the Five Rings role-playing game. It didnt takelong until I had enough interested players to get the

game started. wo weeks aer I began recruiting, Imet up with the our players who were going to createlegendary samurai to ght against the evil orces thatthreatened the Empire.

I had certain ideas what sort o characters theplayers had to make. Tey could play any sort o char-acter, but they were all Emerald or Jade Magistrates.Tis gave them some extra inuence, but made it easyor me to introduce new characters i needed.

We managed to nish the characters and theollowing week we started our rst adventure. Aerthat, however, real lie got in the way and we didnthave another session until January. By that time, oneplayer had already dropped out due to lack o time,but we got two new players instead. A little later, welost another player or the same reasons as the onebeore, but the rest o us carried on.

Over time, some players ound it dicult tond time or every session, and or a whole monthwe couldnt use the unction room that we had beenusing since the start.

On Tursday evening, 14th o July 2011, wehad our last session. Despite not enjoying as manysessions as we might have wanted, we enjoyed everysession we did have. I would have wanted to make the

game last much longer, but due to work that is not tobe.

I must say that I dont think I have ever hadas good a group o players as I had or this cam-paign. Tey partook in the story and the setting, andthey made this game as enjoyable or me as I hope Imade it or them. Even the most dicult player wasthe most engaging and entertaining.Banzo will beremembered as the character who tried his best butcaused the greatest trouble. He will be missed.

Raidou was perhaps not the greatest ghterbut without him I dont think I could have includedhal the conspiracy I did. He will be missed.

Kojiro may have been the pretty boy and aair duelist, but the best part about him was how heinduced paranoia into the other players. He will bemissed as well.

Other characters also took part in bringingthis story to its conclusion, and none o them was anyworse than the three mentioned. Every single oneshould be included on a wall o ame. You will all be

Introduction


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made it to a single session. I hope we showed him agood time.

Richard: Never a player, but his presence dur-ing one o our sessions was very... interesting. Shouldbe included or colour.

Dragons on the Hill: Great gaming club in

London. Tanks to their orums and club, I could re-cruit the players to join my game. AEG ocial orums: I would like to thankeveryone at the AEG orums or all the help they o-ered. Much o it came to good use and all o it wasappreciated.

My ance: It may sound a little clich, butshe actually did make the website that housed almostall o the inormation ound in this pd beore it was

compiled. It was very helpul to have all the campaignino or the players to look at online.

SourcesL5R 4E: Naturally, Legend o the Five Ring is

the major source or this game. Tis game used 4thedition, namely the core book and the Enemies o theEmpire.

In creating this pd le, I used some ontsound online. Tey can be ound at the ollowingwebsites:

http://www.typenow.net/

http://www.dailyreeonts.com/

I also used the Clan and Imperial logoes romthe a website that can be located here:

Mons

Finally, I used a texture of the internet to cre-ate the borders in this pd le.

Rice Paper exture

missed.Like I said, I believe this group is the best one

Ive had the pleasure o GMing to date. Te act thatthey gave me a bokken is only a part o the reason. Iwish our game could have continued on.

-Oskar, GM

ThanksCertain people deserve thanks or their par-ticipation in this campaign, either directly or indi-rectly:

Al: Banzos player. One o the original playersand made it to every session. Always a delight to messwith. Even during his nal rolls, he couldnt remem-ber how many dice to keep. Always un.

Alda: Kuruis player. Another original player,but couldnt nd time to nish the campaign with us.It was still a pleasure, and I had great plans or Kurui.

Alexei: Raidous player. Yet another o theoriginal players and the only other one who made itto every session. When this is written, he still doesntknow i it was really poison or medicine.

Conrad: Chiis player. Last o the original cast,but couldnt nd the time aer the holidays to con-tinue. It was a pleasure.

Dave: atenos player. Unexpectedly, heshowed up during the second hald o our rst ad-venture, and his character was a great balance to Alscrude Crab.

Elvis: esshus player. Also showed up unex-pectedly on the same night as Dave did, and still re-mains the best named player o the lot.

Jo: We needed a shugenja and we got Raizen.Unortunately, he was only around or a single ses-sion, but his presence was ar rom being boring.

Nick: We needed a shugenja, we got Kojiro in-stead. Nick brought a much needed social skills, anddevious plotting to the game. And paranoia, cant or-get that.

Peter: Te second player to take on the man-tle o Kitsune Oda, an extra character I made just orsuch an occasion. Without him, the nale might nothave ended as well.

Robert: Te rst player to play Oda, but only
http://www.londonroleplayingclub.co.uk/http://www.alderac.com/forum/http://www.typenow.net/http://www.dailyfreefonts.com/http://store.alderac.com/l5r-clan-shops-c-21.htmlhttp://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=rice+paper+texture#/d22hi7fhttp://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=rice+paper+texture#/d22hi7fhttp://store.alderac.com/l5r-clan-shops-c-21.htmlhttp://www.dailyfreefonts.com/http://www.typenow.net/http://www.alderac.com/forum/http://www.londonroleplayingclub.co.uk/


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Tis rst chapter includes the Adventure

Diaries. Tey are average detailed (at some times, Iwrote them days aer the sessions, and memory othe sessions sometimes got a little oggy).

Each section also includes a list o the NPCs

that appeared in that adventure. On the website, the

list linked to each NPC. Here, however, I decidedto use a more easier method. Each NPC has a listedpage number, where you can nd inormation aboutthe NPC.

Aer determining that an old woman in asmall village was just a little crazy, and not in acta maho-tsukai, three Emerald and one Jade Magis-trates receive a request rom Doji Motome to assistin the investigation o the murder o Hida Azura. Teour Magistrates, Hida Banzo, Kitsuki Raidou, Kit-suki Kurui, and Bayushi Chii, make their way to thetown o Nishicho, where the murder took place, butby the time they reach town, the corpse has already

Chapter I:Adventure Diaries

been burnt, and the room in which he was ound hasbeen cleaned.

In order to be a good host, Doji Motome as-signs her avoured servant girl, Yumi, to assist theMagistrates however they require. Tey quickly in-terrogate her and nd out that she knows who themurderer is, but she wont tell them out o ear orher lie. Te Magistrates search the room and nd apiece o torn cloth in the corner o the room, under-

Dead Crab in Cranes Nest


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neath a table. Using magic, Chii communicates withthe spirit o the cloth, and asks it three questions: Wasthe person who wore you a man or a woman? Didthe person who wore you murder the victim? Was theperson who wore you hurt in the process? Te an-swers were rather short: I dont know; the personwho wore me did end a lie; and the person whowore me did scream.

Te Magistrates also decided to explore otherpossibilities in this case. Aer asking around, theyound out that a group o Scorpion samurai had vis-ited the town almost a week ago, but they had le thenext day. Tis, they believed, required some more in-vestigation.

Meanwhile, Banzo spoke with the Crab sam-urai who had accompanied Hida Azura to Nishicho.Te victims brother, Hida Maruki, appeared unrea-sonable. He believed the Cranes had murdered his

brother, and he demanded that the household wouldpay or their crimes. I the Magistrates would not doanything, he would attack the manor himsel. Hiscompanion and Azuras third in command, HirumaAkane, was much more reasonable. She told Banzo,in private, aer making him swear that he would nottell anyone about this, that Hida Azura was not ex-actly a kind man, and that he would drink and lust a-ter women. Ocially, though, the Crabs would neveradmit to it.

At the same time, Raidou spoke with Doji

Motome. He ound out that Motome was (and still is)married to Doji Yutaka, a general who was away oncourtly business. It was Motomes duty to take care oNishicho and the manor, and so she was well respect-ed. She dyed the hair o her avoured servants white,as to mark them as her avourite. She also suggestedthat Hida Azura was a drunk and not very likable.She insisted that she had nothing to do with his mur-der, however, and said that only a Crab would stoopso low.

Te Magistrates rested or the night and thenext morning they ound out that Chii had le to investigate the Scorpion samurai urther, but had notreturned. Te Magistrates were joined by two otherEmerald Magistrates, the ogashi monk esshu, andthe duellist Kakita ateno. Tey were sent by the Em-erald Champion to assist in this delicate matter, sinceit could turn into a war between the two clans i nothandled correctly. Te addition o a Crane samuraiwould act as a balance against the Crab samurai al-

ready working with the Magistrates.Aer ollowing in Chiis ootsteps and inves-

tigate the Scorpion samurai that had le the town al-most a week ago, they came to the conclusion that theScorpions really did leave town, and that Chii musthave gone aer them. Tey havent seen Bayushi Chiisince.

With the addition o esshu, the Magistrates

managed to get somewhere in their investigation. Inact, they managed to get a conession. Yumi con-essed to murdering Hida Azura, but did so in de-ence to escape his lust. Hearing this, the Magistrateswere aced with a dilemma. Attacking a samurai ispunishable by death, but they still elt sorry or thegirl. But i they would just let her go, the Crabs wouldlikely not accept it. Teir other option was to executethe poor girl, but aer they ound out that she is thebastard child o Doji Yutaka, even that could lead to

war. While discussing options, more pressure wasadded when Hida Maruki decided to attack the man-or with what little orce he had. But with Doji Yu-taka out o town with most o the Nishichos militaryorce, the Crabs and the Cranes were evenly matched.ateno devised a plan. He quickly abricated a storywhere it was an evil spirit that killed Azura, and uponwitnessing the act, Yumi had gone slightly mad andbelieved she had killed him, thus conessing wronglyto the murder.

Te Cranes were all too happy to have thismatter concluded, but the Crabs were not very happyabout this. Someone had to pay or this murder, butthey returned to the Crab lands beore taking anyrash actions. Luckily, Maruki never even got throughthe gates, and so no harm was done in his attack.

esshu, who had sworn an oath never to lie,was simply lied to and made to believe the story a-teno made up. Banzo was certainly not happy at all,and wrote a letter in which he explained everything.He gave that letter to Hiruma Akane and told her togive it to someone in power in the Crab clan.

With the murder solved, the Imperial Mag-istrates were to return to oshi Ranbo, the imperialcity, and give a report o what had happened. Teyle a note or Bayushi Chii, in case he would return.Without anything to keep them in town, the Magis-trates le Nishicho and headed east, where they in-tended to get a boat ride north.


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NPCsDoji Motome Page 34Hida Maruki Page 32Hiruma Akane Page 34Kakita Kanbei Page 35Yumi Page 43

Beast of Hotei

Te Emerald Magistrates arrived at a smallvillage, called Hotei, and noticed that something waswrong. Upon inspection and interviewing the vil-lage chie, Urashima Keitaro, the Magistrates ound

out that a monster, more precisely an Ogre, had kid-napped the chie s daughter. Te chie had previ-ously hired mercenaries to save his daughter but theywerent doing their job.

When the Magistrates arrived at the beastslair, they ound the mercenaries camped outside. Temercenaries didnt want to take orders rom someonewho wasnt paying them, and aer couple o near-battle-to-the-death instances the mercenaries weresent packing. Te Magistrates bravely entered the lair

along with Urashima, who got killed when he ran to-

wards his daughter and got ambushed by the OgreAer not very long battle with the beast, the Magis-trates were victorious.

Te daughter was brought back to the village

and Urashimas swords brought to his son, KashimaTe Magistrates rested in this village or a ew daysmending their wounds and overseeing the destruc-tion o the beasts lair. With the help o esshu, Banzoeven got a tattoo retelling the story. And so ends thestory o how the Magistrates killed the Beast o Hotei

NPCsTe Urashimas Page 43Katsurou Page 42

The Smell of Rat

Aer leaving Hotei, the Magistrates were reu-nited with Kurui as they made their way to the har-

bour town called Minatomachi. Te town is dividedin two: the outer district and the merchant district.Te merchant district is closed of by a wall, and isunocially controlled by a member o the Mantisclan called Yoritomo Yatsuki, even though the townitsel belongs to the Crane clan. o get a ship to takethem north, the Magistrates needed to make a dealwith Yatsuki, as his ship was the next one scheduledto leave the harbour. Tey ound him at his very owngeisha house, which was a ront or gambling during

the night.Yatsuki was more than happy to help, in re-

turn or a avour. Apparently, there was an assassinin town who Yatsuki believed was aer his lie. Heeven knew who the assassin was; a man by the nameo Genma, who, according to rumours, had a team o13 samurai travelling with him. Yatsuki wanted theMagistrates to nd Genma and make sure that hewould not come aer him. In return, Yatsuki wouldlend them his ship, as well as provide accommoda-tions or them while they stayed in town.

While the others spoke with Yatsuki, esshu


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decided he wanted to visit the local monastery. Onthe way, esshu witnessed a Nezumi (ratling) beingattacked and subdued in the merchant district, butseeing as it were the district guards who were doingthe subduing, he did not try to help the creature. Atthe monastery he was greeted by the monks and al-lowed to meditate with them, but he was later inter-rupted by Banzo who told him that they needed to

work.Genma had attacked once already, and killed

one o the district guards in Yatsukis service. TeMagistrates decided to investigate the scene, eventhough it was getting dark, and were accompaniedby another guard. While looking at the spot wherethe guard had been killed, the guard who was withthem got shot by an arrow. Te Magistrates saw thecriminal who released the arrow, and recognisedhim as one o Katsurous mercenaries. While Raidou

stayed with the injured guard, the others ollowed thearched into town. When they nally caught up withhim, they were ambushed by a ew o Katsurous mer-cenaries. Banzo, ateno, and Kurui easily deeated thecrooks, and esshu had captured the archer or inter-rogation. Te archer only smiled, and said that thiswas not trap meant or them.

While the others were ghting mercenaries,Raidou ound himsel surrounded by the rest o Kat-surous men, and Katsurou himsel. Raidou honour-ably drew his sword in order to deend himsel and

the injured guard, and goaded Katsurou to ght himhimsel instead o sending orth his goons. It did littlegood, however, as Katsurou struck Raidou down intwo hits with his bisento. But beore he could exe-cute Raidou, the other Magistrates burst orth. Whilethe Banzo, ateno and Kurui ought the mercenar-ies, esshu ran to Raidou and administered rst aid.When the mercenaries were all dead, the Magistratessaw Katsurous back as he rode hastily away.

Raidou was brought to the geisha housewhere he would rest. esshu did not want to stay atsuch a sinul place where women were not respect-ed, so he returned to the monastery. At some point,Raidou woke up and ound one o the geishas in hisroom. She asked him to take a special medicine, butsuspecting that it was poisonous, Raidou declined.

Banzo and ateno ound a lead to Genmas

whereabouts, although they were starting to suspectthat Genma was in act Katsurou. Te two o themsaw one o Genmas supposed allies and ollowed himto a warehouse. Tey burst in, only to nd more oGenmas allies and man standing there who answeredto Genmas name. Genma had an ornamental daisho(katana & wakizashi pair) that revealed that he wasMirumoto Genma, a man who had betrayed his mas-

ter and become a ronin. He told the two Magistratesthat Yoritomo Yatsuki was a criminal, smuggler oweapons, and a slaver, and that Genma only wantedto bring swi and bloody justice.

Meanwhile, esshu ound that the monas-tery was in act Genmas hideout, and that some ohis men were there. Luckily or him, they were civilenough not to spill blood within the monastery, andgave the same explanation or their actions as Gen-ma did. Tey were lacking any proo though. Genma

had agreed to go with the Magistrates to Yatsuki, andesshu convinced some o the ronin at the monasteryto accompany him to the geisha house.

When they arrived, the guards did not believethis was a riendly visit, and prepared to attack. Whiledeending Genma, Banzo killed one o the guards. Inot or that, Genma would have believed the Mag-istrates had lead him to a trap. Hearing Genmas ac-cusations, Yatsuki ofered the ship to the Magistratesas his gi (bribe). Tey accepted and decided todeal with this matter with a simple duel to the rst

blood. ateno would act on Yatsukis behal, and ghtGenma. ateno was victorious, and as punishment,Genma would serve as the Magistrates yojimbo untilthey would nd a more tting punishment.

When the Magistrates returned to Raidousroom, who had managed to get out and express hisconcern o poison, they ound only the geishas cloth-ing and an open window. Raidou took with him theremains o the so called medicine so that he couldexamine it better. Te Magistrates got their ship andsailed north.

NPCsYoritomo Yatsuki Page 37Genma Page 42Katsurou Page 42


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Tree of Life

Aer sailing or about a week, the Magistratesreached shore at a harbour town not ar rom oshiRanbo. Tey were greeted by two parties o samurai;one requested that Kakita ateno come with them

and the other was relaying an ofer made by Miya Otaor the Magistrates to rest at his estate beore givingtheir report to the Empress. Te Magistrates accept-ed, but ateno and Katsuki Kurui went with the otherparty, who were apparently Crane samurai.

Miya Ota ofered the Magistrates his hospi-tality, and was a man who indulged his guests. Heintroduced them properly to his daughter, MiyaHotaru-no-hime, who was the samurai they met atthe harbour. Aer listening to the Magistrates sto-

ries and Banzos boast, and ofering sake to his guests,Miya Ota explained his real reason or ofering hishospitality to the Magistrates. People had been disap-pearing rom the town Miyado-cho, which Ota wasgoverning, and it reected poorly upon his abilities.He asked the Magistrates to investigate the matter,but told them there was no real rush and they couldstart in the morning.

Aer resting or the night, the Magistratesprepared to go into town. Ota told them that a wom-an in town called Ema could help them much better

than he himsel could, because she was a woman omedicine who knew almost everyone in town, includ-ing the people who had disappeared. She lived next tothe shrine on top o the hill in the middle o town. Ontop o that hill was a huge tree, apparently what theshrine was dedicated to. Ema had a wakizashi, andthe Magistrates believed her to be a samurai or thatreason.

She told them who the missing townsolkwere and where they lived, so the Magistrates wentto investigate. Tey ound that each o the missing

townspeople had been injured or ill and receivedcure rom Ema. Tey also ound out that everyone intown, or nearly so, like and respected Ema. It did notshield her rom the Magistrates suspicion, however

and they decided to keep an eye out or a travellingmerchant who had been injured in town and receivedremedies rom the well-liked lady on the hill.

During the night, the merchant began limp-ing towards the hill. Te Magistrates ollowed andsaw the merchant moving towards the tree. Beore hecould get to it, though, the Magistrates knocked himover. At that time, Ema appeared and called orth twozombies who jumped up rom under the tree. WhileBanzo and esshu ought the zombies, Raidou and

Genma struck down Ema. Aer deeating the zom-bies, Banzo and esshu burned down the tree usingBanzos bottle o sake and esshus ability to breathere.

Instead o executing Ema, the Magistratesbrought her to Miya Ota or ormal accusation. Teybrought with them evidence they ound near theshrine, that proved she was a maho-tsukai. She was,however, incredibly respected member o Miyado-cho, and convinced Ota o her innocence. Furiousby Otas decision o declaring Ema innocent, Banzo

caused a scene that nearly ended in a ght. Aer in-sulting their host, the Magistrates le Otas estate, de-termined to nd someone in oshi Ranbo who wouldlisten to reason.

NPCsEma Page 41Miya Ota Page 40Miya Hotaru-no-hime Page 40Genma Page 42


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The Report

Te Magistrates nally reached oshi Ranboaer a ew more adventures than they expected andweeks o travel. Once there, they were spoken to bythe Empresss personal herald and daughter, Iweko

Inoe. She asked them to make themselves comort-able beore giving their reports in the morning. Shealso apologized that the Empress would not be takingthe report hersel due to an important matter that re-quired her attention. Instead, Inoe would be accept-ing their report.

While they most certainly could simply rest,they all decided to nd some way to pass the time.Raidou went to the library, Banzo visited the bath-house, and esshu visited the temple. At the library,

Raidou met a Scorpion clan magistrate by the nameo Bayushi akahiro. akahiro expressed his admira-tion o the Kitsuki method o investigation, and alsoexpressed his disappointment with the Empires legalsystem. Raidou agreed, and they spoke much aboutthe matter. Eventually, akahiro said that he had beeninvited to attend Winter Court at Matsukawa-jo cas-tle, and that he would be honoured i Raidou wouldaccompany him. Raidou accepted.

Aer taking a good bath and practicing hisskill at poetry, Banzo met Hida Yuudai, the Hida am-

ily Daimyo. Yuudai was accompanied by an unknownman, and he expressed how Banzos loyalty to his clanwas admirable. Banzo immediately knew that Yuudaiwas talking about the letter in which Banzo explainedwhat really had happened at Nishicho weeks beore,when Hida Azura was murdered. Yuudai rewardedBanzo by ofering him a position as a Chui in the Crab

army, and by arranging his marriage with HirumaAkane. Banzo was glad to accept the daimyos gis.Furthermore, Yuudai invited Banzo to accompanyhim to Winter Court at Matsukawa-jo castle, which

Banzo also accepted.At the temple, esshu ound a sleeping, old

monk. esshu believed he had nally ound a worthyteacher, and aer waking the monk, they discussed alot o philosophy, which will not be repeated. At last,the monk agreed to teach esshu, but not there andthen. esshu would accompany the monk to Matsu-kawa-jo, where they would attend Winter Court.

Te next morning, the Magistrates were reu-nited with ateno and Kurui. Tey gave their report

to Iweko Inoe, but not beore giving gis. Raidougave Inoe some sweets, which he convincingly toldher was the exact same sweets that Kitsuki himselhad been sucking on when he was inspired to createthe renowned Kitsuki method o investigation. Eventhough it was a lie, Raidou could easily ool anyonewho heard it.

Aer giving their reports, the Magistrateswere rewarded or their service. Now they only hadto wait or the Winter Court to begin.

NPCsBayushi akahiro Page 38Hida Yuudai Page 33Ryoden Page 43Iweko Inoe Page 40Genma Page 42


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Winter Court 1:The Hunt

Te Magistrates nally make their way tothe Otomo Winter Court, held by Otomo Ishida, an

adviser to the Empress. Aer being shown aroundthe Matsukawa Castle, Ishida wishes to greet all theguests who have already arrived. He welcomes themall to his humble home, and explains that he intendsto hold a competition to pass the time. Te competi-tion is split into 7 trials, which will span most o theWinter Court. Ishida only says what the rst trial is, acontest o poetry. He also presents the top 3 prizes:1st place: the mask o Bayushi Kantako, one o theScorpion Clans most successul diplomat and seduc-tress.2nd place: Ikoma Iuchimarus wakizashi, which givesa aint hum while it is drawn that sounds like a wom-an singing.3rd place: Hida Fuutakas ono, a giant axe made outo jade.

Aer Ishidas speech, it is time or gi giving.Banzo gives the host his straw hat, and tells him aboutthe adventures which the hat has seen. ruly a goodgi. Raidou makes tries the same trick again, and tellsa lie about the sweets he is giving as a gi, only to be

ound out and exposed in ront o all the guests. Heasks or orgiveness, and Ishida orgives him so thathe will appear more benevolent to his guests. Raizengives the gi o divination, but sees troubling times inthe near uture or Otomo Ishida. He tells Ishida onlythat he will need Raizens services.

Aer the gi giving, the servant o the JadeChampion approaches the Magistrates and tells themthat the Champion has requested their audience. TeJade Champion tells them that they were right aboutMiyado-cho, that there was a maho-tsukai, named

Ema, operating there, and that said maho-tsukai es-caped their grasps and was heading or MatsukawaCastle. Te Jade Champion orders the Magistratesto go out and intercept her. Ema, the maho-tsukai,should not be allowed to reach Matsukawa, lest shewould bring disturbance to the Winter Court.

Te Magistrates take Genma with them, andsoon reach a monastery which is on the way. TeMagistrates already know that Ema might be stayingthere as well, but when they get closer they see that

the Monastery has been burnt and the monks havebeen killed. Tey learn the monks were killed with

blades, and that someone set the Monastery on reon purpose. Raizen speaks with a tree-spirit near theMonastery, but does not get any new inormationBanzo searches inside o the Monastery, and ndsa hole under the oor which has been torn openesshu ound a trail leading away rom the Monas-tery, but its aint.

Te Magistrates ollow the trail, which disap-pears not too ar rom the Monastery. Tere they hearthe voices o three bandits, which they knock out andinterrogate. One o them is drunk and scared, andtells them that someone else had killed the monksbut they only gured they wouldnt need some otheir possessions anymore. In return or being al-lowed to keep his lie, he tells the Magistrates about acave not ar away. Te Magistrates tie up the banditsand enter the cave.

Inside, they nd Ema and two o her zombiesEma casts a spell as early as she can, creating an areao darkness which covers her and her zombies. Banzocharges in, only to nd out that his ability to see also

afects his ability to strike things with his sword. Rai-zen casts a spell on esshu, covering his body in rethat does not harm him. esshu then charges into thedarkness, but nds out that even re does not light hisway through this oul magic, and he trips over a rockand alls. Banzo hears someone swinging a swordat him, and he swings the sword in return, cuttingsomething that gives of a eminine scream. esshujumps on his eet and strikes in the direction o thescream, knocking something, or someone, over. Tezombies make their way out o the darkness, ollowed

shortly by Banzo who cuts the head clean of one othem. Te other is attacked by magic, and then hasits head cut of by Genma. When the darkness nallydissipates, esshu is seen in a grapple with the alreadydead Ema. Aer searching the cave, the Magistratesalso nd a chest that might have been what was takenrom the Monastery.

(Te details that ollow are subject to changesince at this point, the session had already ended.)

Te Magistrates use the bandits to help


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them bring the corpse to Matsukawa. Emas corpseis handed over to the crematorium. Te Magistratesare thanked or their deed and courage, earning someGlory or their actions.

NPCsOtomo Ishida Page 40

Isawa Midori, Jade Champion Page 37Bayushi akahiro Page 38Hida Yuudai Page 33Ema Page 41Komori Rei Page 39Genma Page 42

Winter Court 2:Love and Death

Aer bringing back the corpse o Ema andhaving two o the three bandits arrested (one o thebandits was allowed to leave), the Magistrates settlein or some sake in the evening. esshu is draggedaway by his new teacher, so that they can do sometraining, while the Jade Champion asked or Raizensassistance in trying to open that chest that the Magis-trates ound with Ema.

In one corner o the room where most o theguests have gathered sits a young Scorpion, BayushiKojiro, and an Emerald Magistrate. He is approached

by Ikoma Kohaku, a amous playwright. Tey speak,and Kohaku tells Kojiro some gossip, all the while headmires the Scorpions... physique.

Te other Magistrates are approached by a a-miliar ace. Urashima Kashima is attending the Win-ter Court as a servant o Kakita Osamu. He asks theMagistrates or help in convincing Osamu to let himcompete in Otomo Ishidas competition, so that hecan impress the Daidoji daimyo and (specically) hisdaughter.

ateno joins Kojiro and Kohakus discussion,

becoming admired by the playwright as well. Teyhear about how Yoritomo Yatsuki, member o theMantis clan, took over the town o Minatomachi byorce. Since the town belongs to the Crane Clan, thishas created some tension between the two Clans, butthe Mantis Clan have demanded that the Empressacknowledges them as the new rulers o the town.Whats more, the Crab Clan supports those claims,increasing the tension. A civil war is on the horizon.

Banzo is approached by Suzume Natsumi,

who wishes to perorm a divination or him. Banzosays that he will come to her room, but sends Raidouinstead. Natsumi is not happy about it but perorms adivination or him anyway, telling him that troublingtimes are coming.

ateno hears rom Kohaku that some o theguests meet up almost every night to gamble, andhe heads out there or the night. ateno meets thegamblers at the geisha house: A Crab, a Unicorn, aDragon, the Empresss youngest son, Iweko Kichirou,and a samurai o an unknown minor clan. He gam-

bles with them, playing Fortunes & Wind, and winssome money. Ten all go to sleep.

Te Magistrates are called to Kichirous roomin the morning by their host. Tere they meet OtomoIshida, the chie attendant, the chie o guards, andKichirou. Tey nd out that when Kichirou wokeup this morning, he ound the corpse o his servanton the oor o his room. From what the Magistratescould gather, the servant brought a bottle o sake thatwas meant as a gi or Kichirou, but stole a drinkrom it and died rom poisoning. Kichirou came to

his room very late, couldnt see the servant because itwas dark, and went to sleep. Te Magistrates quicklygure that the bottle o sake was meant to kill Kichi-rou, and Ishida asks them to investigate this quicklyand quietly so that it will not disturb the other guests.

Banzo has his crone work with the chie at-tendant to nd out who the servant spoke to the nightbeore, and try and nd out rom who the bottle osake is. Tat is not very successul, as there are manyservants and Kichirous servant was riendly (or at


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least talkative) to most o them. Te list o servants islong, and it takes hours or longer to speak with all othem.

Banzo speaks with Ikoma Kohaku, who tellshim the rumours about how Kichirou had romanticrelationships with some women, including Ishidasoldest daughter, who is married to Otomo Ryuu-nosuke. Kohaku also tells Banzo about the story he

heard about ateno and the Hida daimyos son, leav-ing the geisha house together and spending the nighttogether. Banzo speaks with Hida Yuudai about thisrumour, and he is most unpleased. He agrees not todo anything without letting Banzo know rst, though.

When esshu returns rom his short trainingand meditation (interrupted by Otomo Ishida whoasked him to assist his ellow Magistrates), the oth-ers give him an update o what has happened. Banzodecides to go to Suzume Natsumi and ask her or

orgiveness about the night beore, and takes esshuwith him so there will be nothing dishonourabledone that night. Natsumi tells Banzo that his love liewill be troubled, but esshu tries to cheer him up byreminding him (in ront o Natsumi) that he does notbelieve in that jumble, much like Banzo told esshuearlier. Natsumi is insulted, and asks to be le alone.

Raidou goes to see Kohaku, and listens to hisgossip. He nds out that the daughter o the Daidojidaimyo is trying to impress Ishidas son, akeshi. Tiswould be the same daughter o the Daidoji daimyo

who Kashima is hoping to impress. Furthermore,Kohaku tells Raidou that Ryuunosuke married intothe Otomo amily rom the Mantis Clan, and thathis brother, Yoritomo Mato, is present at the WinterCourt. Mato is known to be the ather o the Yori-tomo Nine Sons, some well-known warriors o theMantis Clan. Apparently, one o them is said to havea head o iron. Kohaku also suspects the Scorpionsto have a spy in the Winter Court, someone namedShosuro.

ateno returns to the geisha house or moregambling, and Kojiro ollows to speak with the gei-shas. ateno nds out that Kichirou is also rumouredto be seeing Seppun Kimiko and Miya Hotaru-no-hime, both o which are present at the Winter Court.Kojiro nds out that Otomo Ren, Ishidas young-est daughter and the only daughter unmarried, hasshown signs o depression and sadness or manyyears, and Kojiro decides he wants to nd out why.

Te next morning, the Magistrates assembleor tea and discuss what they have ound out. Nearly

everything is shared. Tey are then summoned totake part in the poetry contest. Each is allowed toperorm three poems, but only the best one is judgedesshu is not taking part in the competition since hehas no interest in the reward (Glory as well as thephysical reward). Raidou wins the rst competitiongaining 41 points or the rst trial. ateno comes insecond and gets 35 points. Kojiro and Banzo share

third place with 31 points each.Te Magistrate manage to nd some hidden

meaning in some o the poems, and gure out thatthere is some tension between suruchi Naomi, aprovincial governess, and Akodo Daiki, the Akododaimyo. Tey also nd out that Akodo Daiki lost hiswie and older son on the battleeld against someMatsu insurgents, and that his younger son is a amedwar-hero. Kojiro also takes steps in earning Naomistrust, simply by starting a small-talk with her.

Otomo Ishida announces the next trial. It willbe a contest o Kyujutsu, in which the contestants wilbe given three arrows to hit a target and points aregiven or how well you hit the target.

A Unicorn samurai approaches Banzo aerthe poetry competition and intends to challenge Ban-zo to a duel. Tey agree to a ght with drawn swordsthree days rom now (day aer the kyujutsu con-test so that their injuries will not afect their peror-mance), but the Unicorn must bring a haiku or elseBanzo would not accept the challenge. Te Unicorn

is recognized as the worst poet who competed in thepoetry contest, and ateno also recognizes him as theUnicorn samurai rom the geisha house.

Te Magistrates gather again or anothermeeting, this time they have a plan. Tey suspectboth Ryuunosuke and Mato, and intend to trick theminto believing they are giving them the poisoned sakeI either o them inches, it will be a sign that theyknew about the poison and are guilty. o make thetrick more plausible, they will invite them or a drinko sake in Kichirous room, and they will hide in thenext room. It took some time or the Magistrates toexplain the plan or Kichirou, but he agreed to it.(Session 2)

Te Magistrates put their plan in motionesshu however decided not to take part o it, andstayed in his room. Aer the Magistrates and Kichi-rou have waited an hour or the two suspects, Raidouhears a sound coming rom the hallway and warnsthe others. Banzo jumps out o the room to nd thetwo guards stationed outside dead, and a shadowy


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gure dashing out o the hallway. Banzo runs aerthe gure, while they all call out or the guards. Banzois attacked by the assassin, who poisons Banzo. Feel-ing dizzy with pain rom the poison, Banzo still ghtsthe assassin and kills him.

People all over the castle gather around, andRaidou gives Banzo some medical attention. OtomoIshida summons the Magistrates to him, and explains

his disappointment in how the Magistrates did theirwork. He is very displeased that they had to make thisinto a public matter, something he had specicallyasked them not to do. Yoritomo Mato ofers Banzosake in his room, demanding to be Banzos host ratherthan guest. Banzo is accompanied by Kojiro, and theybring the bottle o sake that had the poison (but hadswitched out or actual sake). Mato reuses to drinkit, demanding that they will only drink sake rom theMantis islands. Tis only strengthens the Magistrates

suspicions.Te Magistrates then rest or the night. Tennext morning, Banzo is approached by Bayushiakahiro, who tells him some news about currentrumours. Firstly about how Raidou had visited Su-zume Natsumi late one evening and secondly abouthow Banzo had been seen leaving Ikoma Kohakusroom late at night as well. Whatever happened be-tween Banzo and Kohaku, the amous playwright isnow writing a play about a Crab at the Kaiju Wall.akahiro also speaks with Raidou, and tells him that

he knows about the Magistrates investigation. Healso suggests that the Magistrates have a closer lookat Kichirous servant.

Kojiro goes to the lake in the courtyard andnds Otomo Ren, Ishidas youngest daughter, sittingthere, looking rather depressed. He begins speak-ing with her, and aer a while, she tells him that shewants her brother dead. Tey spend some more time

together aer the act. ateno and Raidou search orOtomo Ryuunosuke, their other suspect. Aer sometaunting, and Ryuunosuke mentioning the rumourabout ateno and Hida Yuudais son (in ront o Yu-udai), ateno accuses Ryuunosuke o attempting tomurder the Empresss son, and challenges him to aduel. He accepts and asks Yuudai to be his champion,but Yuudai declines.

Te next morning, ateno stands beore Yori-tomo Mato, Ryuunosukes champion. Te duel is oneway, and ateno strikes Mato dead. Ryuunosuke ad-mits his crimes, that he had asked Mato or the serviceo his assassin to murder Iweko Kichirou. Kichirou ismost unpleased by this, and denies Ryuunosuke thehonour o taking his own lie. Instead, he rules thatRyuunosuke will be tortured until he stops scream-ing, and then executed. A most oul end.

NPCsOtomo Ishida Page 40Iweko Kichirou Page 40Suzume Natsumi Page 39Hida Yuudai Page 33Ikoma Kohaku Page 36Urashima Kashima Page 43Kitsuki Ryujin Page 35Kakita Osamu Page 35Inari Hana (chie attendant at

Matsukawa castle) Page 46Moto Yao-Han Page 38Atsuko (geisha specialized in music) Page 46suruchi Naomi Page 37Otomo Ren Page 41Otomo Ryuunosuke Page 41Yoritomo Mato Page 37Bayushi akahiro Page 38


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Winter Court 2.5:Contest Rolls

Tis is an in-between session where we didmost of the challenges in Otomo Ishidas Contest. Since

not everyone was present, I will avoid any details onthe nature of the contests until next week. Heres whathappened between challenges:

Aer the archery challenge, Banzo is sum-moned to his lord daimyo, Hida Yuudai, to talk aboutthe upcoming duel hell have against Moto Yao-Han.Yuudai tells Banzo that Yao-Han is the son o Yao-Xung, an inuential member o the Unicorn Clan.Since the Crabs are going to war against the Craneclan, the Crabs will need allies and Yuudai is in themiddle o delicate discussions about an alliance withthe Unicorns. Yuudai orders Banzo not to kill or crip-ple Yao-Han in the duel, but he doesnt care whetheror not Banzo wins or loses. Banzo akes a case o poi-soning, and reschedules the duel. Tey agree to duelduring spring, over a year later, underneath the cher-ry blossoms.

Te Magistrates also nd out that MirumotoHideki, Genmas lord who he supposedly betrayed, isattending Winter Court and is a horrible archer. A-

ter doing some digging, Raidou nds out the storybehind Genmas betrayal: According to the story,Hideki was a military general (and he still is) whowas ghting against some ronin bandits. Genma tooka squadron o men without Hidekis consent, andcharged the bandits. Everybody in the squadron was

killed, including Genma (or so people believe).Tey also nd out that Iweko Kichirou, the

Empresss son, is a horrible archer, and that suruchiNaomi is an excellent one.

Banzo also drags Kojiro (who has been hav-ing many noon-walks with Ishidas youngest daugh-ter) with him to see the amed playwright, Ikoma Ko-haku. Banzo asks him not to base the story o his playon Banzos exploits, and asks him to make sure thatthe audience will know that this is not a play aboutBanzo. He says that he will do his best to make theaudience realize the distinction.

Raidou is also approached by Bayushi aka-hiro, who ofers him to join the Shadow Magistratesthe secret police o the Empress, whose job is to bring justice and judgement when the honoured methodo I say, and then you say, and then I decide who isright ails. Raidou agrees, and akahiro says he willapproach Raidou at a later date with details o what todo next.

And now the Magistrates wait or the nalchallenge.

NPCsBayushi akahiro Page 38Moto Yao-Han Page 38Hida Yuudai Page 33


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Winter Court 3:Of Swords and Honour

Aer nishing up the other challenges oOtomo Ishidas competition, the Magistrates now

turn to the duelling contest. Each Magistrate is putinto separate groups o our duellists. Banzo mustduel Akodo Yurou, Doji Yutaka and Suzume Natsu-mi. Raidou must duel Hida Maruki, Otomo Manamiand Hida airou. ateno must duel Asahina Chou,Miya Hotaru-no-hime and Kakita Kanbei. Kojiromust duel Hiruma Akane, Matsu Akemi and KitsuneOda. (Oda is a Jade Magistrate, a pre-made Shu-genja played by Robert who joined in lastTursday.)

Each duellist only du-els once per day, and is giv-en time to rest and heal inbetween ghts. Te duel-list who wins receives5 points; the duellistwho loses also loses5 points. I there is adraw, neither duellistreceives or loses points.I neither duellists strike

successully, it counts as adraw. First blood wins.

Banzos rst duel isagainst Akodo Yurou, son oAkodo Daiki, the Akodo daimyo.Tey both start by taunting each other,and Banzo even challenges Yurou to a duelwith swords drawn until either submits, claimingthat is the true measure o prowess. Yurou accepts,but only aer all the duels have nished. In their cur-rent duel, both draw simultaneously, but Banzo miss-

es his target and Yurou strikes successully. Yurou isdeclared winner.

Oda must then duel Hiruma Akane, o whomhe has heard rumours that she is to be married soon.He is disturbed while praying and brought to theduel. He winks at Akane who looks away and blushesslightly. Oda strikes rst and successully, and is de-clared winner.

Raidou duels Otomo Manami, Ishidas seconddaughter. He recalls that she is married, but cannot

remember the name o her husband. Aer exchang-ing some pleasantries, the two duel. Raidou gets rst

strike, but misses. Manami strikes successully and isdeclared winner.

Kojiro duels Matsu Akemi, and uses hishandsome ace to trick her into revealing more abouthersel than intended. Kojiro gets rst strike and issuccessul. He is declared winner aerwards.

Aer the duels, Hida Yuudai ofers Banzo theservice o a Mantis Shugenja, Oda, to heal

his wounds. Aerwards, the our othem, as well as Banzos bride-

to-be, Hiruma Akane, attenda tea ceremony which Ko-

jiro is holding. Banzo no-tices that Akane is quietand distant, and guressomething must bewrong even though shedenies it. Te two othem take a walk, dur-ing which they talk but

Banzo does not nd out

what is bothering her.Aer going their sepa-

rate ways, Banzo is met bya samurai who says he serves

Mirumoto Hideki. Hideki hascaptured the Magistrates serv-

ant who tried to kill him. Banzo misunder-stands and thinks they are talking about his privateeta, Lugs, but is corrected. It appears that Genma isthe one who tried to assassinate Mirumoto Hideki,and Hideki wants the Magistrates to come to him.

Meanwhile, esshu is away or training and atenois nowhere to be ound (presumably gambling hismoney away).

Te Magistrates go to Mirumoto Hideki, whokeeps Genma as his prisoner. Hideki claims that theirservant has killed one o his guards in an attempt toget to him, and wants to know i anyone o them hadgiven the order. Te Magistrates protest and wish tospeak with Genma, who tells the Magistrates thathe was indeed trying to kill Hideki. Oda notices his


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shame and calls him out on it, but he only says thathis only shame was his ailure in the assassination.

Genma tells the Magistrates that Hideki washis commanding ocer, and that Hideki had sentGenma and his men against overwhelming odds sothat Hideki could attack the bandits later and be vic-torious. Genma is certain that Hideki knew this was asuicidal mission but kept it to himsel. At that point,

Kojiro is certain that Genma should take his own lie,or the ailure o dying in that battle, but Genma re-uses unless he is given chance to kill Hideki.

Hideki, however, does not recognize Genma,but does remember the name and his swords. He iscertain that he would recognize Genma i he werealive, but according to Hideki, Genma died in the bat-tle aer he betrayed his honour and took his men intobattle without consent o Hideki. It is revealed thatGenma is not who he says he is, but is actually one o

Genmas men who died in that battle. His real name isBakano Dagato, and he stole his masters identity andswords so that he could get revenge in his mastersname. Dagato really believed that it was Hideki whobetrayed Genma, but not the other way around. And

perhaps he is correct.However, the Magistrates ofer him to either

kill himsel or be executed. Dagato does not wish tosoil his masters blade with unworthy blood, so heaccepts execution instead. Aer the execution, theMagistrates try to convince Hideki to pass Genmasswords on to Genmas child, but he is reluctant to doso. However, they manage to convince him other-

wise, that Genmas child should not be punished byhis betrayal. Hideki agrees but also demands that theMagistrates will not tell Genmas child about his be-trayal, or else it might ll the childs mind with simi-lar ideas. Tey agree.

NPCsMirumoto Hideki Page 35Genma (aka Bakano Dagato) Page 42Otomo Manami Page 41

Akodo Yurou Page 36Matsu Akemi Page 36Hiruma Akane Page 34Hida Yuudai Page 33

Winter Court 4:Bad FortuneTe night beore the Magistrates second duel,

the host summons them (and all the other guests too)to the main hall. Tere he is happy to show of the girom his remaining son-in-law, Otomo Shitimata.It is a very prestigious vase, made rom the amouspotter, Isawa Fuurikan. It is otherwise unremarkable,and the Magistrates seek out their riends and allies.

Banzo speaks with his wie-to-be, and wishesto know why she doesnt look happy about their ar-ranged marriage. She simply tells him that it is nother place, or his, to reuse this marriage and leavesit at that. Kojiro seeks out his loyal attendant, andasks her what she knows about his next opponent. Hends out that it is Hiruma Akane, Banzos wie to be.She is skilled with a bow but not specically knownor her duelling skills. Raidou decides to take thingseasy and retires early.

Te next morning, Kojiro duels Akane. Teystare at each other, both standing absolutely still. Ko-jiro does not use his normal tactics o seduction be-ore the duel. Both o them strike at the same time,and neither leaves the other injured.

Raidou duels Hida airou that same morn-ing. airou arrives ully armoured and armed, but

removes his armour and puts his secondary weaponaway. Raidou tells him that i he had known thatairou needed time to prepare himsel, then Raidouwould have arrived later. airou replies that no matteri Raidou had shown up later, airou would still kilhim. Not very samurai-like, and Raidou replies thisthreat by skilully disarming his opponent. airou isangered by this, but his ather, the daimyo Hida Yuu-dai, holds his leash.

Banzo duels Doji Yutaka, a Crane warrior


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Yutaka begins with thanking Banzo or his help inNishicho and or keeping his amily sae. AlthoughBanzo tells him that he does not believe justice wasmet back then, Yutaka oreits the match and tellseveryone that Banzo is the better duellist. Banzo isnot particularly pleased, since he has been itching toght someone. A problem which Hida Maruki triesto resolve. He ofers Banzo to accompany him to a

hunt in the woods. Maruki asks that he does not bringanyone since he needs to speak with Banzo privatelyabout a delicate matter.

During the hunt, Maruki tells Banzo that heplans on killing Kakita ateno, that vile man who ab-ricated the story o a demon to save the skins o thecowardly Cranes. Although Banzo does not wish tohelp Maruki directly, he tells him that he wont standin his way. Banzo also tells him that ateno is a gam-bler and might present himsel unprotected during

that time. Maruki thanks Banzo or the support andpoints out a boar. Banzo throws a spear and Marukishoots it with his bow. While Banzo is raising theboar onto his horse, Maruki shoots his bow again,this time it hits Banzos shoulder. When Banzo askshim why he has done this, Marukis only reply is thathe will not allow Banzo to have her. Both draw theirswords and Banzo kills Maruki in a single blow. Aera moments thought, Banzo decides to take Marukiskatana. And his bottle o sake. And his coin purse.And his straw hat. He then returns to Matsukawa cas-

tle with the boar.While this takes place, Kojiro is taking a walk

with Otomo Ren. He asks her i she wants him to winthis tournament, and thus gain her athers avour.She says yes, and they stand there in thought.

Raidou seeks out Bayushi akahiro, and askshim more about the so called Shadow Magistrates.akahiro explains that the reason why they remainhidden is because the Empress cannot openly say thatshe is changing the laws o the Empire. She still needsthe support rom the Great Clans or else they mightattempt to overthrow her. akahiro also shares thathe does not know who belong to the inner circle othe operation, as he only knows who his direct super-visor is.

When Banzo returns, he gives the boar to Ko-jiro, who in turn gives it to the household in Banzosgood name. Banzo meets with his daimyo and tellshim what has happened. Yuudai is not pleased, butdoes not show it. Yuudai tells Banzo that Marukisdishonourable actions will not be orgotten and that

his amily shall sufer the prize. Banzo asks him notto involve the amily, but Yuudai ignores him. Banzoalso tells Yuudai that he suspects that Maruki hadbeen Akanes secret lover, and Yuudai allows Banzoto tell his wie-to-be however he likes.

Banzo goes to Akane and tells her that he haskilled Maruki aer he had attacked him, and showsher the arrow that is still in his shoulder. He sees that

the news saddens her, and although she says thatMaruki was only a riend, he still has his suspicions.Banzo then demands that she will remove the arrow,which she yanks out, causing him some pain. Shethen asks him to leave her be, and Banzo walks away.He donates the coin purse and hat to the local shrine,but drinks the sake by himsel. He spends the even-ing writing poetry, and possibly the better part o thenight as well.

Te next morning, the guests nd out that

Hida Maruki is dead, that he attacked Banzo andwas killed or it. Ishida, who makes the announce-ment, heard the news rom Hida Yuudai, who neverexplained why Maruki attacked, but rather said it wasunprovoked. Because Maruki was scheduled to duelRaidou, Raidou wins his last duel by deault.

Kojiro duels Kitsune Oda as his last oppo-nent. Oda is not a superior duellist, and Kojiro winsthe duel without breaking a sweat. Tey both thankeach other or the duel, and although Kojiro claimsthat Oda was a good opponent, Oda admits that Ko-

jiro was a better one.Banzos last duel is against Suzume Natsumi,

the young Sparrow who was embarrassed by Banzoearlier in the Winter Court. She appears to be ratherangry, so Banzo has prepared a poem to ask her ororgiveness. She does not want to read it beore theduel, however, and hands it over to her servant. Nat-sumi gets the rst strike, and nearly cuts Banzos learm of. Banzo tells her that she is an excellent duel-list, and i she had really wanted to she could havereally injured him. Natsumi takes this as an insult,because she really was trying to hurt him, and at-tacks again. Although she manages to cut him, Banzostrikes Natsumi a bit too well, and Natsumi alls deadto the ground. Only then does Banzo notice that theguards had already started moving in, but too late.Natsumis ather, Suzume Shin, a ellow EmeraldMagistrates, is shocked by the events, and runs withtears in his eyes to his dead daughter. Banzo can onlyquestion her moti, but Shin tells him that he will payor this.


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Banzo asks Otomo Ishida i the host will gra-ciously allow him to leave the Winter Court, becausehe has caused enough death. Ishida understands, butdoes not think it would be wise to leave the castleduring winter. He also tells him that he wont be ableto stop him i Banzo really wants to leave, but rec-ommends that Banzo speaks with his daimyo beoreleaving him without his service. Finally, Ishida won-

ders i Banzo is cursed, and declares that Natsumisdishonourable action is equal to a oreit, and Banzois the winner. Banzo then speaks with Akodo Yurou,and oreits their upcoming duel. Yurou accepts theoreit, and understands that this must have been di-cult or him. Yurou also tells Banzo that he hopesthey will meet again, and that nothing will stand inthe way o their duel then.

Feeling blue about the whole thing, Banzo de-cides to visit his lovely wie-to-be, only to nd that

she doesnt want to be disturbed. Aer ordering theservant out o the way and opening the door, Banzonds that Akane has hung hersel in her room sometime ago.

NPCsHiruma Akane Page 34

Hida Maruki Page 33Otomo Ishida Page 40Bayushi akahiro Page 38Suzume Natsumi Page 39Hida airou Page 33Doji Yutaka Page 35Hida Yuudai Page 33Suzume Shin Page 39Akodo Yurou Page 36Otomo Ren Page 41

Winter Court 5:Courtly Disaster

Aer the events that took place in Winter

Court 4: Bad Fortune, Banzo spoke with his daimyoand asked to be allowed to leave the Winter Courtbeore any more people would die. Seeing as how theCrab Clan was sufering socially aer the past events,Hida Yuudai thought it was not a good idea to sendanother Crab samurai away and thus demanded Ban-zo would stay.

During his duelling, ateno is approached byAsahina omoe, the Asahina daimyo. She tells himthat she is planning to marry her daughter of to theAkodo daimyos son, but the daimyo is planning to

marry his son to Otomo Ishidas daughter. I she wereto impress the Akodo daimyo in the duelling, it wouldsurely make a diference. So omoe asks ateno totake a dive, or else make sure that her daughter is notdisgraced in the ght. ateno is not keen on willinglylosing a duel, and instead disarms the Asahina samu-rai, thinking that it wont be too disgraceul.

ateno also duels Miya Hotaru-no-hime andKakita Kanbei. Although he won the duel against theMiya, his duel against a ellow Kakita proved to be

slightly more dicult, but only slightly. ateno still

won the duel against Kanbei, and thus won all his du-els.

Aer the duels, Ishida announces that he wiltake his leave and calculate who should be the win-ner, along with his remaining son-in-law. Kojiro vis-its Otomo Ren and they take another walk togetherTey speak about how the competition is going, andRen asks him i they were to be married i he wouldmake sure that her brother would never bother heragain. Tey come to the cherry blossom trees andnd ateno and Banzo having a talk. Banzo is very

drunk and throws his bottle at Kojiro, who catches itwithout much trouble. Banzo starts yelling and warn-ing Kojiro and Ren to stay away, because he is cursedRen asks to leave, and Kojiro walks her to her room.

Raidou is approached by Bayushi akahiroakahiro asks him how the investigation is goingWhen Raidou asks what investigation he is reerringto, he tells him about the murders that have been tak-ing place in the castle. Raidou knows nothing o thisand gets all the inormation he can rom akahiro


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When Raidou tells his ellow Magistrates about thesemurders, they agree to investigate them in secret,since the lord o the house did not ask or their help.

While Banzo goes to rest and sober up, theothers begin investigating. Kojiro starts by sendinghis attendant to nd out everything she can aboutthe victims, and then goes to speak with Banzos eta,which has been staying in the crematorium with the

castles eta. Tat discussion turns out to be... very in-teresting and not very helpul. However, Kojiro ndsout, through speaking with the eta, that one o thevictims, a blacksmith, had a wie who is a servant inthe castle.

Meanwhile, ateno and Raidou go to thesmithy and ask to speak with the blacksmith incharge. One o the blacksmiths tells them that he isnot available, and that he has been ordered by Ishidanot to speak to the Magistrates about where he is. Te

Magistrates nd this odd, but carry on.Kojiro arranges or the blacksmiths wie toserve him, ateno and Raidou some sake. While sheis serving them, they start talking about the investi-gation and convince her to tell them what she knows.Te murders have been going on or over a month,possibly longer, and almost thirty servants and guardshave been ound dead. Te Magistrates speculate thatit has something to do with the chest they broughtback aer killing Ema, or possibly there is somethingmore to Ishidas newly acquired vase than meets the

eye. Tey decide to nd Banzo and tell him whattheyve ound.

Aer resting and sobering somewhat up,Banzo wakes up with a bad hangover. He decides tovisit his daimyo, and speak with him about the mur-ders. Aer some discussion, Yuudai changes the sub-ject, and ofers Banzo a special assignment. Banzo iseager, until he nds out that it is an assassination as-signment. One o the Unicorn diplomats, Ide Mao, istrying to secure the Unicorns alliance with the op-posite side, which will mean bad things or the Crab.Yuudai wants her silenced and wants Banzo to securethat silence, but without the Unicorn nding out thatthe Crabs were involved. Banzo brings up some ideas,but all would include that people knew about his in-volvement. Yuudai disagrees, and when Banzo acci-dentally raises his voice against his daimyo, Yuudaipunishes him by ordering him to kneel and be silentwhile he goes and has a word with Ishida.

Shortly later, ateno nds Banzo and they talkabout how the investigation is going so ar. Te guard

occasionally coughs, and Banzo suspects the guard tobe giving ateno hints or inormation. When askedabout it, the guard was only trying to remind Banzothat their lord daimyo ordered him not to speak untilhe would say otherwise. When ateno has le, HidaYuudai returns and gives Banzo permission to standand speak again. Banzo asks what he spoke with Ishi-da about, but Yuudai dismisses him.

Shortly later, Banzo returns to his lord daimyoto ask orgiveness or speaking when he ordered himto be silent. Tis is the rst Yuudai hears o this andhe is angered by it. Yuudai tells Banzo that i he can-not ollow simple orders, then perhaps it is not timeor him to be giving any. For now, Banzos upcomingpromotion has been revoked.

During this time, Kitsune Oda (this timeplayed by Peter), is assisting Suzume Shin in investi-gating the murders. Aer speaking with the spirit o

the blacksmiths anvil, he nds out that the murdererhas long, black hair and dresses in green robes. Asiderom that, theres not much he nds out.

Shortly later, Banzo climbs up to Ide Maosroom aer sunset. He had been examining her ac-tivities and her room earlier that day, and now it wastime to act. Despite Yuudai having ordered Banzo notto act at all until he said otherwise (since Banzo haddisobeyed him), Banzo sneaks into the room throughthe window, nds Ide Mao where she sleeps, andthrusts his blade into her neck. Tis is enough or the

guard outside the room to come running in, but theguard only sees Banzo jump out o the window andinto the night.

Te other Magistrates enter aer hearing theguard call out aer Banzo. Tey are joined by Oda,and aer some investigating, they gure that whoeverkilled Ide Mao likely is the same person who killed theother victims. Raidou and Kojiro search or SuzumeShin to have him investigate, but nd him passed outbehind the sake storage house. Tey bring him to hisroom so that he can sober up and hopeully be morehelpul in the morning.

Shortly aer making a list o possible suspects(anyone who should have been in the guest house butwerent, who have long, black hair, and who normallydress in green), Banzo staggers into his room, drunkout o his wits. He promises to help in the morningwhile the others go over the list o suspects. Te listincludes Suzume Shin, who dresses in the emeraldrobes o the Emerald Magistrates, and Kitsuki Nobu-ro, the Kitsuki daimyos son. Raidou is certain that


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Noburo could not have done this, and Kojiro is cer-tain that Suzume Shin must have been too drunk tomurder Ide Mao.

Next morning, the Magistrates visit SuzumeShin, who is insulting and rude towards them. WhenBanzo joins them, Shin becomes enraged and almostattacks Banzo with the intent o killing him. Kojiro,Raidou and Oda manage to calm him down enough

to change this into a ormal duel to the death, but theduel is stopped by Hida Yuudai and Otomo Ishida.oo much blood has been spilt during this WinterCourt or Ishida to allow a duel to the death in hishome, but he has lost all aith in Shins ability to in-vestigate the murders and gives the authority to Oda.Oda decides to recruit Kojiro, Raidou and Banzo tohelp with the investigation.

Oda goes to the servant house to nd outmore about the murders that took place there, and

aer awakening and asking the spirit o the replace,he nds out that there was a dog-creature-thing run-ning around that night. Oda asks one o the servantsi there were any rats around (thinking that the rekami could not distinguish between a dog and a rat).Te servant hadnt thought much about it, but whenasked he tells Oda that he has not seen any rat or along while. He did see a dog though, who oen cameto the servant house but did act a little strange. Tedog stared, and oen at the emale servants. Whenasked, the servant tells Oda that the dog belongs to

Daidoji Aiko, the daughter o the Daidoji daimyo.Aer sharing this inormation with the other

Magistrates, they all go looking or Aiko and her dog,named Poko. As not to raise any alarm, Banzo dressesin his Emerald robes and borrows Kojiros mask. Tisworks ne or Kojiro, who seduces Aiko while theothers inspect Poko. Tey do notice that Poko growlsat the sight o Kojiro but is riendly to Banzo andOda. Tey suspect Poko might be possessed by some

kind o a spirit, but their attempts to speak with thespirit does not work well. At a closer inspection, theydo nd out that Poko is no ordinary dog.

Aer some urther examinations, Oda realis-es that the dot is not possessed, but much more likelythe dog is a shape shier. Unortunately, the Mag-istrates are in no position to test the theory, and sothey return to their rooms (but not beore acting too

weird in ront o Aiko so she nearly runs away withher dog).

During the night, Banzo visits one o theguard posts and speaks casually with one o the guardHowever he managed to do it, Banzo convinces theguard to tell him about the secret passage that leadsrom the keeps basement and to the well next to thebathhouse. Very little else happens that night.

Te next morning, the Magistrates keep aneye open or Poko the dog. Aer a moment, they see

Poko entering the servants house, and they ollowTey make sure the door is shut so that the dog wontget out, and nd Poko where he is staring, and pant-ing, just inside an open door. When they try to catchthe dog, a scream distracts them. About that mo-ment, they notice that inside the room are some othe emale servants bathing. Tey tell them to remaincalm, but Poko manages to elude the Magistrates by jumping out o the window. Tey try to ollow, buPoko escapes. Kojiro asks one o the servants i sherecognizes the dog, and she tells him that the dog has

been coming into the servant house requently.Te Magistrates leave, and shortly later they

see someone they have never seen beore. It is oddsince they have been at the Winter Court or over twomonths and should recognize everybodys aces, inot names. Tey gure this must be the dog, and ap-proach. Te man hides and when the Magistrates tryto catch him, the dog jumps right out o their reachBanzo ollows and catches the dog, and brings Poko


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Banzo gets a aint sense that his riends needhim, so he leaves his post on the gate. He runs outonto the wall as the zombies are scaling it, and thencut the head of o one o them. On his way to wherethe bloodmage has summoned the oni, Banzo picksup the jade ono. As he arrives to the scene, the battlebegins.

Te battle is quick and gritty, and when the

things have slowed down, the Magistrates remainstanding. Kojiro cuts down the two revenants withhis blade. Oda casts a powerul Jade Strike on theoni, damaging it horribly. He also strikes Ema withan arrow, but it is Banzo who struck her down withhis massive ono. Raidou runs to etch the singingwakizashi o the Lion Clan, hoping that its magic candamage the oni. He returns just in time to see Banzostrike the onis torso with his axe and have its bloodspilled all over him. Te oni alls down and the castle

itsel shakes to its very oundation.Aerwards, the Magistrates make sure thatEma will not return rom the dead. Tey nd out thatthe zombies outside have been taken care o. Teygure out that only the castles eta could make surethat the bodies werent cremated, and he is arrested

and properly punished. Banzo is believed to havecontracted the taint aer killing the oni, but receivesgreat respect rom the Crab Clan. Banzo is given theono as reward or his deed. Kojiro is declared winnero the Winter Court competition, and Raidou hadsecond place. Te rest is detailed in the epilogue.

NPCsHida Yuudai Page 33Otomo Ren Page 41Kakita Kanbei Page 35Asahina omoe Page 34Itachi Mia (blacksmiths wie) Page 46Bayushi akahiro Page 38Suzume Shin Page 39Otomo Ishida Page 40Daidoji Aiko Page 34Poko the Dog Page 43

Isawa Midori (Jade Champion) Page 37Daidoji Aiko Page 34Komori Rei Page 39Ema Page 41


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Chapter II:Characters

Tis chapter is all about the players charac-ters. As was to be expected, the characters were as di-erent as the players. We had a brute Crab, a deviantScorpion, an insightul Dragon, and so on.

Although the players did use the typical pro-totypes o each Clan, each o them brought colours totheir characters. Te Crab had in his service an oldeta that he respected and loved like youd love yourgrandmother. Te Scorpion had a tragic path. Temonk couldnt lie, and the investigator had a subtleaddiction to sweets (not to mention the inability to beo much use in a ght).

What ollows is a short description o eachPC, rom my point o view. Te players may disa-gree, but this is how I experienced them. Followingeach characters description and backstories, I haveincluded a short description o what they did in eachadventure.

Hida BanzoBanzo is, in short, the ghter o

the group. Although he tried to remainhonourable throughout the game, hewas spontaneous and occasionally rude

without realizing it. Tis tted his character well, be-ing a member o the Crab Clan. His ather was a tacti-cal advisor who was killed by sickness, as did the resto Banzos amily. Banzo also sufered this sickness,

but he survived at the cost o sufering bad eyesightor the rest o his lie. He travelled with his servanteta, a senile old hag he called Lugs, and his goal wasto be rewarded with his own castle.

Player: AlXP total: 97

In Dead Crab in Cranes Nest, Banzo was theMagistrates contact with the Crab clan that werethreatening to attack the Crane manor unless theywere given the person who murdered Hida Azura.Tanks to Banzo, the attack was delayed long enoughor the Magistrates to come up with a non-violent so-lution. Banzo did not like the solution, however, andwrote a letter that would be delivered to any one othe Crab lords.

In Beast of Hotei, Banzo ought alongside a-teno and esshu against an ogre, and slew the beast.Although his initial idea was to carry the head o thebeast with him in order to boast, he settled with get-ting a tattoo that retold the event.


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In Te Smell of Rat, Banzo executed the archerwho, under Katsurous orders, tricked the Magistratesto leave Raidou behind while they gave chase to saidarcher. With joint efort, the Magistrates saved Raid-ou rom dire ate. Banzo and ateno ound Genma,the assassin who was aer Yoritomo Yatsukis head,and they convinced him to speak with Yatsuki in per-son and make a ormal accusation. Upon arriving to

the geisha house, the guards thought this was an at-tack and attacked Genma. Banzo protected Genmalong enough or Yatsuki to listen to the accusations.Banzo also tried to nd out i either one o the twohad attempted to poison injured Raidou, but neitherone o them had any idea about any poison.

In ree of Life, Banzo asked Miya Ota whatsort o person he was looking or to marry his daugh-ter, and tried to impress his host with tales o hisdeeds. Aer cutting down the zombies and bringing

Ema beore Ota to ace ormal accusation, Banzo wasnot at all happy with how Ota trusted Ema as blindlyas he did, and was the loudest voice that got themkicked out o Otas estate.

In Te Report, Banzo met Hida Yuudai, theHida amily daimyo. Yuudai was impressed by Banzosloyalty to his clan, and ofered him the title o Chuiin the Crab army. Yuudai also explained how Ban-zos ather had been a good riend, and that in returnYuudai had arranged to Banzos marriage to HirumaAkane. Furthermore, Banzos crone ound ngers o

jade or sale in oshi Ranbo, and he arranged or hiscrone to buy the ngers or himsel and esshu.

In Winter Court 1: the Hunt, Banzo gave Oto-mo Ishida his straw hat, and the stories o his recentexploits, as a gi. Banzo was also the one who ounda hole in the oor o the monastery, where somethinghad been hidden but then taken away. It was Banzowho attacked two drunken bandits and missed. Ban-zo also managed to strike Ema, and cut the head ofone o her zombies.

In Winter Court 2: Love and Death, Banzo gothis eta to work with the chie attendant at Matsukawato investigate the servants and who Iweko Kichirousservant had interacted with. It was Banzo who toldHida Yuudai, the Hida daimyo, about the rumoursabout his son, and it was Banzo who was challengedto a duel to submission by Moto Yao-Han. Banzo alsohunted down the assassin who tried to kill IwekoKichirou, and killed him.

In Winter Court 2.5: Contest Rolls, Banzo wassummoned to his lord shortly beore his duel with

Moto Yao-Han. Banzo was orbidden to kill or crip-ple Yao-Han, as doing so would result in the enmityo the Unicorn Clan. Banzo aked a case o poisoningand rescheduled the duel. Banzo also visited the play-wright and asked him not to base his play on Banzopersonally.

In Winter Court 3: O Swords and HonourBanzo lost a duel against Akodo Yurou and chal-

lenged him to a proper duel to submission. Teyscheduled a duel when the competition had endedAer the rst round o duels, Banzo was ofered theservice o a young, but promising shugenja namedKitsune Oda. Banzo then ofered Oda to accompa-ny him to a tea ceremony held by Kojiro. It is Banzowho was the rst one to learn about Genmas captureby Mirumoto Hideki, and it is Banzo who executedGenma by decapitation.

In Winter Court 4: Bad Fortune, Banzo won a

duel with Doji Yutaka, who oreited as his repaymento avour to Banzo. Banzo ound out that his wie-to-be, Hiruma Akane, had been having an afair withHida Maruki, Hida Azuras brother. Maruki attackedBanzo outside the castle, and Banzo killed him. Banzothen went to his daimyo to explain the situation, andthen went to Akane to explain that her lover is deadIn his duel against Suzume Naomi, Banzo acciden-tally taunted her enough or her to attack him withlethal orce, and Banzo killed her. Banzo also oundAkane in her room where she had hung hersel. Aer

all that, Banzo was believed to be cursed.In Winter Court 5: Courtly Disaster, Banzo

asked permission to leave the Winter Court, but wasdenied. Aer being branded cursed, Banzo start-ed drinking his sorrows away and ended up underthe cherry blossom. Tere he assaulted Kojiro andOtomo Ren by throwing a bottle o sake at themAer learning about the murders that had been tak-ing place, Banzo decided to rest and sober up beorehelping. Banzo was given a special assignment, to si-lence a pesky Unicorn who was trying to ally the Uni-corn Clan with the wrong side in the upcoming civiwar. Banzo angered his daimyo however, who thenordered Banzo not to act against the Unicorn until hehad decided what to do.

Despite that, Banzo sneaked into the Uni-corns room and assassinated her in her sleep. He gotaway but his daimyo was angered that he did not doas ordered. Banzo also disguised himsel when theMagistrates attempted to examine Poko the dog/shape shier, possibly the only witness to the mur-


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ders. Aer capturing the dog, Banzo used violentmeans to interrogate Poko. Banzo then spoke with hisdaimyo and told him about this dog that knew aw-ully lot about the Crane Clan, but ailed in deliveringthe dog.

During the assault on Matsukawa castle bythe undead horde and Ema, Banzo protected the gateagainst the zombies. It was Banzo who killed Ema and

her summoned oni using the Jade Ono (two-handedaxe). Banzo was rewarded with said axe aer his ght,but orever believed to be tainted aerwards.

Kitsuki RaidouRaidou was the investigator o

the Magistrates, in the truest sense othe word. Tis Kitsuki Investigator be-lieved in the Kitsuki method o inves-tigation, and seeing it ail him and his

work made him blame the legal system o the Empire.It became Raidous goal to change the Empire so thatthe Kitsuki method would become the centre o thelegal system, and being invited to join the secret po-lice made him eel like he would succeed. He also hada near addiction to sweets and was oen damn lucky(but also sufered rom horrible luck, as became evi-dent during the Winter Court).

Player: AlexeiXP total: 93

In Dead Crab in Cranes Nest, Raidou did theinitial interrogation o Doji Motome and ound outthat the Cranes believed that Hida Azura was a drunkand a lustul man. Raidou is also the man who ini-tially ound the torn cloth inside the room which themurder took place in.

In Beast of Hotei, it was Raidou who reedthe chie s daughter rom her bonds inside the Ogrescave, by cutting it asunder with his blade.

In Te Smell of Rat, Raidou stayed behind

while the others hunted down the archer. It was Raid-ou who protected the injured guard against Katsurouand his mercenaries. Raidou ought Katsurou, butwas badly injured in the process. When Raidou wokeup, he was being taken care o by a geisha, who triedto convince him to drink some medicine. Raidoureused, believing it was poison. Te geisha disap-peared, leaving only her clothing behind.

In ree of Life, Raidou ound the tree leaves inthe victims houses that tied them together and point-

ed to Ema. In the ght against Ema, Raidou aced thebloodmage. Despite their eforts, Ema convinced thegovernor that she was innocent.

In Te Report, Raidou met Bayushi akahiroand spoke with him about the Empires legal system,specically its aws. akahiro invited him to accom-pany him to the Winter Court at Matsukawa castle.Beore giving the report to Iweko Inoe, Raidou con-

vince Inoe that he had the very same sweets that Kit-suki himsel was enjoying when he was inspired tocreate the Kitsuki method o investigation, and thengave it to Inoe, earning great respect and admiration.

In Winter Court 1: the Hunt, Raidou was sentwith the other Magistrates to hunt down Ema andmake sure she would not get to Matsukawa castlealive and ruin the Winter Court. It was Raidou whodishonoured himsel by being caught telling a lie tothe host o the Winter Court, when he tried to ofer

him candy as a more grandeur gi than it actuallywas. He was dishonoured in ront o the whole court,and was orced to ask or orgiveness. It was Raidouwho ound out that the monks had been killed withlarge blades, most likely a sword. Raidou also triedto trick Ema into believing that the Magistrates hadbackup on their way, but esshu ruined the deceptionby blurting out that they were in act travelling alone.

In Winter Court 2: Love and Death, Raidouwas tricked by Banzo to go visit Suzume Natsumiinstead o Banzo going himsel. It was Raidou who

ound out that Otomo Ryuunosuke was a ormerMantis Clan samurai, and that his brother was at-tending the Winter Court as well. Despite his blunderwhen he was giving the gi to Ishida, Raidou wonthe poetry contest with a brilliant haiku, giving himthe lead in the competition. It was Raidou who heardnoise outside Kichirous room, thus noticing the as-sassins presence, and aer Banzo ought the assassin,Raidou gave him medical attention. Bayushi aka-hiro suggested to Raidou that looking into Kichirousservant might help with the investigation, but theMagistrates believe they have dealt with the conspira-tors.

In Winter Court 2.5: Contest Rolls, it wasRaidou who learned that Genmas ormer lord, Miru-moto Hideki, was at the Winter Court, and it wasRaidou who learned how Genma became a ronin a-ter betraying his lord. Raidou was also approached byBayushi akahiro about joining the extremely secretShadow Magistrates.

In Winter Court 3: Of Swords and Honour,


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Raidou lost his duel with Otomo Manami. Raidouagreed to deliver Genmas swords to his rightul heir.

In Winter Court 4: Bad Fortune, Raidou du-elled and deeated Hida airou, the Hida daimyosson. Raidou also learned more about the ShadowMagistrates rom Bayushi akahiro. Since Banzo hadalready killed Hida Maruki, Raidou won his last duelwithout a ght.

In Winter Court 5: Courtly Disaster, it wasRaidou who rst learned about the murders that hadbeen taking place in the castle. It was also Raidouwho learned that it is Suzume Shin who was leadingthe investigation, and was doing it both quietly andpoorly. It was also Raidou, along with ateno, whowent to the castles orge and tried to nd the black-smith in charge (a blacksmith was one o the victim),and nd out that the blacksmith in charge was dead.It was Raidou and Kojiro who ound Suzume Shin

passed out rom drinking, and they both stoppedShin rom trying to kill Banzo.It was Raidou who ound the secret passage

rom the keeps basement to the well, and in that pas-sage the Magistrates ound the body o Asako Raizen.When the zombie horde assaulted Matsukawa castle,Raidou etched the magical wakizashi in an attemptto ght the oni. Raidou was also the only one whosufered rom the Shadowlands aint aer their ghtwith the oni.

Bayushi KojiroKojiro was the ace o the

Magistrates and the groups primaryduellist in the end. He had allen inlove with a Crab woman, and aer heound out that his ather had arrangedor her death, he murdered his ather in cold blood.Only Kojiros sister knows the truth. Kojiro travelledwith a sword given to him by his lost love, which didmake Banzo a little paranoid. Kojiro was devious and

clever, and was able to soen the worst enemies andseduce the most virtuous women.

Player: NickXP otal: 75

In Winter Court 2: Love and Death, Kojiro isthe rst to nd out that Ikoma Kohaku is well-versedin the art o gossip. He is also the one who nds outthat Otomo Ishidas youngest daughter has beenknown or depression and sadness or years, long be-

ore Ishida announced that she were soon to be mar-ried, but nobody knows why. Aer the poetry contestKojiro works his way to earn suruchi Naomis trustIt was Kojiro who ound Otomo Ren, and ound outthat she wanted her brother dead.

In Winter Court 2.5: Contest Rolls, Kojiro ac-companied Banzo as the two o them visit the LionClans playwright.

In Winter Court 3: Of Swords and HonourKojiro deeated Matsu Akemi in a duel. Kojiro per-ormed a tea ceremony or his ellow Magistrates andadditional guests, Hiruma Akane and Kitsune OdaAer nding out that Genma ailed in his service tohis lord, it was Kojiro who suggested that he take hisown lie. It was also Kojiro who convinced Mirumo-to Hideki to allow Genmas swords to pass on to hischild.

In Winter Court 4: Bad Fortune, Kojiro won

his duel against Kitsune Oda, and his duel with Hiru-ma Akane resulted in a draw. Kojiro ound out thatOtomo Ren wanted him to win the tournament andwin her athers avour.

In Winter Court 5: Courtly Disaster, Kojiroound out the truth about Otomo Rens brother, anddecided that this villainy must be stopped (althoughquietly). Trough speaking with Banzos servant etaKojiro ound out that one o the victims was marriedIt was Kojiro who deviced a plan to speak with theblacksmiths wie. It was also Kojiro who convinced

her to share what she knew about the murders. Itwas also Kojiro who convinced Suzume Shin not toattack Banzo directly, but rather challenge him to aduel. Kojiro was also the one who successully inter-rogated Poko the dog, and when the undead rose toassault Matsukawa castle, Kojiro cut down Emas tworevenants.

Tesshuesshu was the monk o the

group and another member o theDragon Clan. A tattooed monk o theogashi order, esshu had sworn neverto lie. Even when his comrades lied,esshu had a dicult time remaining silent. Tis didcause some trouble or him and his riends. esshualso had a weak spot or helping women, since hecaused the disgrace o a Unicorn woman beore hejoined the monastery. He blamed it on a servant, whowas executed while esshu ran away. esshu tried his


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best to visit every single monastery, much to the an-noyance o his travelling partners. However, doing sooen gave them clues they would otherwise not haveound.

Player: ElvisXP total: 43

In Dead Crab in Cranes Nest, esshu arrived

on the second day with Kakita ateno. Te two othem were assigned to the case o the murdered Crabto balance the outcome. It was esshu who got a con-ession out o the servant girl, but due to his lack oability to lie, esshu was made to believe that a de-mon had killed the Crab and the servant had gonemad rom seeing the event.

In Beast of Hotei, esshu ought with Banzoand ateno against the Ogre in its cave.

In Te Smell of Rat, esshu ound Genmas

hiding place at the monastery o Minatomachi. esshuconvinced one o the ronin who were currently thereto ollow him to the geisha house in order to publiclyconront Yoritomo Yatsuki.

In ree of Life, esshu cut the head of oneo the zombies by kicking Banzos no-dachi throughits neck. esshu also used his ability to spit re, andBanzos bottle o sake, to burn down the tree that waseeding o the people o Miyado-cho.

In Te Report, esshu met an old monk ina temple in oshi Ranbo. Aer talking or a while

about philosophy, the monk agreed to teach esshu,but it would have to wait until the Winter Court atthe earliest.

In Winter Court 1: the Hunt, esshu was theone who ound the tracks leading away rom themonastery. It was esshu who delivered the nal blowto Ema, and killed the maho-tsukai, thanks to beingcovered in magical ame.

In Winter Court 2: Love and Death, esshuwas brought along Banzo to ask Suzume Natsumiorgiveness, but esshu revealed Banzos disrespector Natsumis practice o divination. esshu also per-ormed a tea-ceremony.

Kakita Tatenoateno was a Crane duellist

and a rival to Banzo. While Banzowould oen deal the most damage,it would oen be ateno who deliv-ered the nishing blow. ateno was

civil, almost a courtier rather than a swordsman, andknew that the work o the Emerald Magistrates wasnot about nding the truth, but making the truth bewhat was in the Empires best inter

emerald and jade - game log

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