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Foreword

Foreword

This document is an unofficial sourcebook for the Legend of the Five Rings RPG, 3rd Edition. It describes a small Lion clan city for use in your campaigns. Some canon characters from the CCG have been used, but their background story is my own unofficial creation. The idea of Oshi no Koda came from Wind of Honor, the unofficial book about Toturi Tsudao. —Mathieu “Okuma” Brebouillet

Written by Okuma Proofread by Kakita Tsuyanoshi and Kakita Seigi Edited by Mikael Brodu and Wendell Katerenchuk Layout design, maps and character portraits* by Mikael “Otaku Mike” Brodu * except Matsu Fujiwe (©April Lee), Kuso (©Mike Raabe), and Tsuno Ketedore (©Malcolm McClinton)



Table of Contents

History.............................................................. 4 Map of the Region. ..................................... 5 The City.......................................................... 6 The Upper District............................................ 7 The Temple Quarter.......................................... 7 The Temple of the Fu Lions.............................. 7 The Temple of the Lotus................................... 8 The Shrine of Discussion................................. 9 The Yellow Blossom Quarter.......................... 10 The Red Vine Quarter..................................... 10 Inn of the Kind Lioness.................................. 10 Inn of the Tired Cat....................................... 10 The Purple Rose Quarter................................. 10 The Shrine of the Evening Star...................... 11 The Governor’s Residence.............................. 11 The Garrison................................................. 13 The Mikan Quarter.......................................... 14 The Armory................................................... 14 The Dojo of the Golden Claw......................... 15

The Lower District.......................................... 16 The Bottle Quarter........................................... 16 The Snake Pit................................................ 16 Happy Cricket Sake House............................ 17 The Eta Quarter............................................... 17 The Nazuna Quarter....................................... 17 The Shichimi Togarashi Quarter..................... 18 The Inn and Teahouse of the Retired Scorpion.. 19

Outside the City......................................... 20 The Standing Stones....................................... 20 The Forgotten Shrine...................................... 20 The Lake of Foul Tears................................... 21

The Region................................................... 22 The Kitsu Tombs............................................. 22 Shiro Matsu, the Castle of the Last Breath....22 Kyakuchu Mura, Footnote Village...............22

Table of Contents

Foreword.......................................................... 2

Map of Oshi no Koda............................. 23

Boxed Inserts The City’s Mechanics........................................... 6 Kitsu Sanako........................................................ 7 Kitsu Noroko Taikyo............................................ 8 Ashida.................................................................. 9 Matsu Metigaru . ............................................... 10 Kitsune Akinitsu................................................. 11 Kitsu Samatsu.................................................... 12 Kitsu Ise Torasu................................................ 12 Ikoma Renshi..................................................... 13 Matsu Fujiwe...................................................... 13 Ide Tanoshiko.................................................... 14

Toritaka Tokonishu............................................ 14 Akodo Takuni..................................................... 15 Rumaru............................................................... 15 Yellow Snake...................................................... 16 Kuso................................................................... 16 Yoritomo Hoji Yukihira...................................... 17 Bayushi Osaku................................................... 18 Hoshi Kokori...................................................... 18 Tsuno Ketedore.................................................. 21 Tsuno House Guard........................................... 21



History

History

The old Kitsu town of Oshi no Koda, the city of the blazing lion (after the mon of the Kitsu family), was founded more than a thousand years ago as a small village when the Kitsu Tombs (L19) were built a couple of days of travel to the south. It is a minor town on the Road of the Ancestral Castle that links Shiro Matsu (L18) and Kyakuchu Mura (L16), in the middle of the Matsu province of Yama.



At the dawn of the Empire, a small tribe of humans chose to settle here, south of the Heigen no Otaku, the Plains of Battle (EE), and near the Flowing Mane River, a small tributary to Kawa Mitsu Kishi, Three Sides River (X). It was a good place to create a new village because of the warm climate, fertile land, and the long distance from the growing empire of Hantei. The tribe settled here and quickly created a busy village. When the tribe of Matsu started to grow up and conquer the neighboring lands, the tribe of Oshi bowed to them instead of fighting. They were a peaceful lot, and already had too much to worry about with what they had discovered hidden in the nearby hills. Living in those hills was a group of great intelligent felines, later known as the Kitsu, that lived in buildings and showed great skill with magic. The Kitsu built a series of standing stones next to a road that goes west into the mountains, where they lived. The peasants of Oshi preferred to leave the felines alone as long as they did not interfere. The creatures did not care about humanity either. The two races lived near each other without contact. However, the empire of the Kami had grown and finally the inhabitants of Oshi no Koda found themselves integrated in the Lion clan’s growing territory. They and the Matsu tribe bowed to Akodo and some of them were selected to be samurai. Then, the war with the Kitsu started. Akodo-Kami believed the reclusive Kitsu to be dangerous creatures and tried to eradicate them all. However, Akodo

recognized his error before it was too late and made peace with the last Kitsu. The five remaining Kitsu turned into humans and married the daughters of the Lion champion. The Kitsu family was founded. The place where Amaterasu arranged the first meeting between Akodo and the newly-human Kitsu was chosen as the location of the the Kitsu Tombs (L19), built to hold the ashes of the transformed Kitsu. This is why the small village of Oshi no Koda is so important to the Kitsu family, even though it is in the Matsu family territory. The young Kitsu family obtained permission from the Matsu to keep control of this village, as it is very close to the Kitsu Tombs and provides a place for the shugenja to stop on their way to and from the secret site. Oshi no Koda slowly grew up from a small village to a small town. Centuries passed. The small town kept expanding, becoming the training place for the Kitsu that didn’t choose the path of the Sodan Senzo, and would later be sent to Last Breath Castle (Shiro Matsu). Due to the convenient location on the road of the ancestral castle, inns and sake houses catering to the travelers going to and from the ancestral house of the Matsu family started to appear. Thanks to constant Lion troop movement and exercises in the province, Oshi found a way to grow to the size of a prosperous small town. The town started to suffer when Kyakuchu Mura (Footnote Village) was created during the reign of Hantei XXXVIII to spy on movement within the Bayushi provinces, and later as a relay point for the Imperial Legions that were patrolling the empty Scorpion clan provinces during the destruction and exile of the clan. People no longer stopped in Oshi no Koda, but instead went to Kyakuchu. When Kitsu Okura, the first Jade Champion of the modern era (Kuni Tokiaji being the first Jade Champion ever), started his maho cult to Akuma no oni in an attempt to protect the Lion during the war against the Shadow, he quickly noticed Oshi no

until the rise of the Tsuno. Tsuno ravagers on their way to the Kitsu Tombs attacked Oshi no Koda and the town suffered great damage. The city is still rebuilding, but slowly, because most resources allocated to the area were diverted from Oshi no Koda to Kyakuchu Mura after the latter’s rise and fall. Footnote village has fallen out of use since the destruction of Beiden pass, though it began growing again when Toturi Tsudao installed a small command post for the Imperial legions and her fight against the Tsuno during the troubled period of the Four Winds. Nevertheless, in the end, Oshi no Koda is becoming more and more forgotten as just a minor stop on the road.



 



 

 

   

  

History

Koda, and turned it into an important place for his cult. His cult recruited first among the shugenja of the Kitsu Tombs, with the help of the bloodspeaker Kitsu Gongsun, but soon needed to hire bushi. As a result, warriors like Ikoma Ryozo and Matsu Daoqan started to flock to Oshi no Koda, the place nearest to the Kitsu Tombs where legions of bushi could gather. The small town’s growth resumed with this influx of corrupted Lion soldiers. After the Battle of the Valley of Storms (a small valley southeast of Oshi no Koda) where the corrupted legions of Kitsu Okura summoned oni to defeat the Otaku battle maidens’ army, Oshi no Koda lost its status as the dark Lions’ meeting place and dwindled again. The town went back to being a footnote among the Lions’ holdings for many years,



 



   

 

 



The City

The City This small city is rebuilding, having been severely damaged by small packs of wandering Tsuno on their way to the Kitsu Tombs. Lacking resources, Oshi no Koda still shows the scars of the battles. Like many other cities in the Lion lands, Oshi no Koda is enclosed within a thick wall. The land immediately outside the walls is scorched, but slowly recovering. Many of the buildings constructed in the area surrounding the city during the time of Kitsu Okura, to host his followers, were destroyed during the Tsunos’ attack. The ruins of these settlements have now been mostly cleared and nature is reasserting its right over them. The city itself is shaped like a long oval, centered upon the ancestral castle road, which cuts Oshi no Koda in two: the upper and the lower districts. The lower district is west of the road, closer to the river. It’s where all the cheapest places are and the lower castes live. The upper district is on the other side of the road, built around the governor’s house and the temples. The southern entrance to the city is the Maw of the Lion, a large gate that has been modeled after the mon of the Ikoma family, a gift of Ikoma Komori, son of Ikoma the first daimyo of the family. He built this gate to honor the legends of the Kitsu race. It is quite an impressive sight as sometimes the wind blowing through gives the impression that the door is roaring like a lion through its stone fangs. Damaged by the Tsuno attacks, the gate has since been restored. The northern gate is called the Doorway to Two Worlds. The panels of the gate’s double door are

horizontally cut in two in the middle and adorned with carvings. A carved arch spans over the four panels on both sides, acting as a frame for two different scenes. On the side visible from within the city, the lower pair of panels shows a road starting from the bottom of the arch going to the top. There it continues on the upper pair of panels, where it disappears in the distance among grey plains. On the other side, visible to visitors coming to Oshi no Koda, the lower half of the door shows a battlefield covered with hundreds of broken weapons and sets of armor, and the upper half depicts a distant city in the background, showered by light rays from a rising sun placed at the top of the arch. These carvings are the living symbols of the Spirit realms. The primary resources of the city are the harvests from the surrounding rice and barley fields. South of the town, there are some small iron mining operations and a small wood that provide just enough for the needs of the community. The secondmost important sources of income for the city are the inns and the teahouses. Even though Kyakuchu Mura (Footnote village) has attracted most of the travelers of the region for a long time, since its fall they have begun to visit Oshi no Koda in steady numbers, increasing the modest resources of the town’s governor. All this allows the town to get by, but the lack of funds normally allocated by the Yama province’s governor to the town considerably slows down the reconstruction effort.

The City's Mechanics Oshi no Koda (Small town, 20 points) Location: Accessible Location, Simple Terrain (3 points) Waterway: Normal (3 points) Craft Holdings: Average Mine (2 points); Average Sake Works (2 points) Military Holdings: None Spiritual Holdings: Sacred Site: the Standing Stones (5 points), Temple: Temple of the Fu Lions (4 points)



The upper district is where samurai live and prosper. It is located on the higher ground of the town, away from the river. Water here is provided mostly by numerous wells. The upper district is divided into many smaller quarters, all packed with places of interest.

The Temple Quarter As befits a town controlled by the Kitsu, the temple quarter is one of the most important and beautiful quarters of Oshi no Koda. Only the shugenja and the monks are permitted to live in the few dwellings nestled between the three main temples. The Temple of the Fu Lions The first, and oldest, temple is the Temple of the Fu Lions, a large temple built on a small hill. Visitors can access it by climbing up a flight of stairs flanked by two big Fu lion statues that symbolize the temple’s spirit guardians. It’s a simple temple, made of stone, darkened by the years. All the exterior walls are decorated with depictions of acts of courage by the Lion families’ founders: Akodo’s death in the Seikitsu Pass, Matsu’s departure to the Shadowlands, Ikoma’s brawl with a group of bandits, and Kitsu leading his four brothers in a ritual to transform themselves into humans under the light of Lady Sun. The temple is surrounded by

a small garden with tall trees that are nearly all centuries old, blocking the sunlight and making the place even shadier. The main entrance of the temple is a small room with five doors, four each adorned with the mon of a different Lion family, and the fifth with the symbol of Okura no oni. Each door with a family mon leads to a small family shrine filled with incense and candle smoke, with a small altar where visitors can pray to their ancestors. Monks can access each shrine through a small inconspicuous door at the back of each room that leads to their accommodations. These are small, plain cells, accommodating only six monks and the elder shugenja leading them. The door with Okura no oni’s symbol remains closed at all times, as it leads to the extinct Shimizu family’s shrine, a dishonored family the mention of which is forbidden. There are three other shrines on the temple grounds. One is an altar dedicated to the spirits of the Lion clan, and another to the families following the spirit of Akodo-kami. Unassumingly nestled in the roots of the garden’s oldest tree is a small altar dedicated to Okura no oni, the keeper of Tengoku’s gates. The altar is a simple block of pristine white stone engraved with the oni’s name. Monks of the Order of Heroes tend to the temple. This order is a small splinter group of the Order of Bishamon, recently founded when Matsu Goemon became the Fortune of Heroes. Until Goemon’s

The Upper District

The Upper District

Kitsu Sanako, Headmistress of the Temple of the Fu Lions Kitsu Sodan-Senzo 4 / Master Keeper 2 Kitsu Sanako was once the apprentice of Kitsu Osuji, the sodan-senzo tending to the imperial family’s shrines (Unexpected Allies, p. 66), and she quickly made use of her sensei’s reputation and influence to move up in the Lion courts and build her own web of influence. She rapidly became a talented courtier, using rumors and smiles to obtain what she wanted. She also quickly learned to use her ability to talk with ancestors to discover the weaknesses of her opponents. After the death of her sensei during the Scorpion Clan coup, she secured her place in the Lion courts, where she stayed until she eventually grew too old and lost her edge. She is now a retired old woman; the dangerous beauty of her red hair and painted face are long gone and now turned into the mask of a mannered but bitter old woman. Shunning the temple cells’ austerity, she resides in a small but comfortable house nearby. She lives in the memories of her past glory at the courts, and keeps pestering the poor monks and the members of the Kitsu family sent to the temple to assist her. She was sent here by Kitsu Juri because he thought she had outlived her usefulness to the Lion clan, and had become likely to be an embarrassment at court.



The Temple Quarter

ascension, this temple was devoted to Bishamon. It was rededicated to Matsu Goemon, with Bishamon’s blessing, to honor the former Clan Wars hero. The leader of the temple is always a Kitsu shugenja, currently elderly Kitsu Sanako.



The Temple of the Lotus The second-most important temple of the city is the Temple of the Lotus, built by Kitsu Agunori, a famous shugenja who taught Ikoma Tsanuri during her youth. He was a powerful sodan-senzo with some skills in divination. Agunori ordered the construction of the temple not long before his death, which was nearly ten years before the Scorpion Clan coup. The small structure was built a short distance from the Temple of the Fu Lions, and was originally devoted to Hamanri, fortune of regency and stability. It was quickly extended, and the temple now consists of two buildings, each of them nearly as big as the Temple of the Fu Lions, encircled by a wall. A stone path leads visitors to a circular gate in the temple’s wall. Placed just beyond the gate, the older building is the temple itself. The exterior walls

show nearly no decorations, just sample kanji and representation of Hamanri, with the recent addition of a lotus. The entrance leads to a small room with double doors and a stand where visitors can take mantras, candles and incense sticks. The doors lead into the main room of the temple, an immense dark room where the only lights are those of the numerous candles and the lamp that stands just over the statue of Hamanri. The statue once held a chrysanthemum, but now holds a lotus. The walls are covered with extracts from the True and the New Tao, along with quotes from the Elemental Keepers. Behind the temple, the second building houses the monks of the Order of the Thousand Fortunes (formerly the Order of the Seven Fortunes) and the Kitsu shugenja who serve at the temple. Before the death of Rosoku, the temple was a place to pray for the stability of the Empire. However, after the end of Shinsei’s line, Kitsu Noroko Taikyo decided to change the temple’s dogma in an attempt to understand the new enlightenment the Empire was forced to follow with the emergence of the Keepers. Despite the lack of respect the Lion clan generally has for most of the Keepers, due to their ties with the Crane clan, Taikyo really hopes the Empire of Toturi

Kitsu Noroko Taikyo, Headmaster of the Temple of the Lotus Kitsu Shugenja 4 Since the fall of Kitsu Okura, the Noroko vassal family has maintained a presence in Oshi no Koda. This vassal family’s duty is to hunt down the corruption that could grow in the houses of the Kitsu, and since Oshi no Koda was once used by the forces of the Dark Lions, the Noroko always had one of their own assigned here. Taikyo was sent here with his parents to investigate any possibility that Okura’s cult had survived. His parents died during the Tsuno attack, never having found any trace of maho activity, and Taikyo made their duty his own. When the previous head of the temple died, with still nothing to show for his investigations, Taikyo decided that moving in and leading the temple would be a better use of his time. He dutifully prayed for Hamanri’s protection over the new imperial line all his life, until Rosoku’s death. At this time, the old shugenja started to wonder. How could the Empire survive the end of Shinsei’s line? Then the Elemental Keepers appeared in the Empire, and Taikyo had a vision in which he saw Honzo and a possible new way to enlightenment. Spurred into action by this vision, he rededicated the temple to the search for a new path to enlightenment. He thinks the Keepers are here to be the beacons on the way to this new path, and that a new Shinsei will rise up — for Asahina Sekawa cannot be the new Shinsei. Taikyo shows his old age. He is nearly bald, with only wisps of white hair on the sides of his head, and the smiling face of a grandfather. He has brown eyes, and his body is old, thin and always trembling. He can barely walk, using a cane to help him. He wears a yellow kimono showing lotus motifs.

The Shrine of Discussion “The fortunes are divine and the Tao worldly. Together, the two speak perfectly to every soul.” This quote from Hantei Genji is engraved on the torii arch placed at the entrance of the temple grounds. This small shrine is the city’s second-oldest temple, located in a remote part of the temple quarter. The Shrine of Discussion was built a short time after the Temple of the Fu Lions, a couple of years after the end of the first war against the Shadowlands, to honor the second Emperor’s decree that merged the Tao and the cult of the Fortunes into the one and only religion of the Empire. The temple itself is very simple. Under a wooden roof bleached white by the years, the red walls of the single room are only adorned with the kanji for “discussion.” Inside, copies of the True and the New Tao are placed on a stand, between representations

of the seven Fortunes. This shrine is a place for offerings and quiet meditation; that is why the monks wait until nobody is praying to clean it and maintain its sanctity. The monks do their exercises behind the shrine, in a small Zen sand garden bordered by old cedars. Half of the monks officiating at the Shrine of Discussion are from the Order of the Thousand Fortunes, and the other half are from the Four Temples. They dwell in small houses nearby.

Ashida, Abbot of the Temple of the Lotus

The Temple Quarter

III can rediscover the wisdom of the Little Teacher. He has sent monks to keep track of the deeds of the Elemental Keepers. The new dedication to the Lotus has rapidly increased the influence of the temple. It has been quickly extended to accommodate the new monks and shugenja who have come in search of a new way.

Brotherhood Wayfinder 1 / Monk of the Thousand Fortunes 3 Ashida is a former Kitsu shugenja who retired upon reaching forty. He has never been much of a warrior and his soul called for understanding of the intricate enigmas of the Tao. During the numerous wars the Lion clan waged, he was ready to help his clan even though he was retired. Ashida has always been devoted to his clan, and will remain so until his death. Ashida is an old man now; he is nearly sixty and has seen much pain and sorrow. His face is covered with the scars of age and sadness, the marks of the tears he wept for all those he knew who died on the battlefield. Ashida knows he is soon going to die, and he is preparing his successor as abbot of the rechristened Temple of the Lotus, a middle-aged monk named Akho. Ashida knows it’s a difficult time for the people of Rokugan, a people mourning the death of the last descendant of Shinsei and the loss of his wisdom. He knows that on Taikyo and himself, and their successors, weights a heavy duty: to give hope to the population of the Empire. This is why he’s looking so hard for an answer in the writings of the True and New Tao, following the footsteps of Taikyo. The Empire needs a new hope, as it did during the first war against the Shadowlands. A new Little Teacher needs to rise, and until this happens, it’s the brotherhood of Shinsei’s duty to foster hope in the people’s hearts. Ashida is still a muscular monk despite his age. He’s entirely shaven and wears only the minimal attire, showing off the mantras tattooed on his body.



The Yellow Blossom Quarter The Yellow Blossom quarter is the part of Oshi no Koda where most of the ruling class lives, and thus mostly consists of average samurai dwellings. The vast majority of the residents are samurai of the Lion clan, and nearly all from the Matsu family. Aside from the rare illegal duel, this place is usually very quiet, as it is heavily patrolled. At night drunken samurai can occasionally be seen returning from the Red Vine quarter.

The Yellow Blossom Quarter

The Red Vine Quarter This quarter runs along the main road, thus facing the lower district. It is where most of the town’s inns, sake houses and tea houses are, and where travelers usually stay. It doesn’t look very different from a pleasure district, although it doesn’t harbor that many illegal or dishonorable establishments. This is where samurai come to relax and take a break from their difficult lives. Geisha are uncommon, but those available are skilled in massage, poetry, music and discussion, and they will never stoop to more carnal activities. The magistrates of the town patrol the quarter frequently to deter drunkard fights. The heimin installed here often have a samurai patron, and all dutifully pay their taxes to the governor. The Inn of the Kind Lioness The Inn of the Kind Lioness is one of the town’s most famous inns. It belongs to the Ikoma family. Kano, the innkeeper, named it after a local

beastmaster’s lioness that protected a child during a bandit attack. It’s a warm place, decorated with paintings of its namesake lioness, where Matsu samurai and travelers can usually be found drinking and listening to tales told by Kano’s wife, Miko. The beds and drinks are of good quality at good prices. The Inn of the Tired Cat This inn of good quality belongs to an old ashigaru officer who was lucky enough to retire from the Lion armies after many years of valiant service. He lives here with his second wife and the eight children of his two marriages. The inn is small, and so are the bedrooms, but it’s comfortable and, because it’s less crowded than the Inn of the Kind Lioness, more relaxing. The drivers of the nobles’ wagons have a habit of stopping here for short breaks; a driver will light some incense on a small altar dedicated to Koshin, the Fortune of roads, chat with other drivers exchanging news, and leave when his incense stick is completely burned down.

The Purple Rose Quarter The largest quarter of the upper district, the Purple Rose quarter is also one of the oldest. It’s where the most important inhabitants of the town live, in the oldest and most beautiful samurai houses, which naturally include the residence of Kitsu Samatsu, Oshi no Koda’s governor. It is a very pleasant quarter to live in, with many gardens and trees. Its paved streets are heavily patrolled by the city’s Matsu guards and intruders of any kind are swiftly dealt with.

Matsu Metigaru, Chief Magistrate of Oshi no Koda Matsu Berserker 3 Matsu Metigaru’s job is not difficult. He is the chief magistrate of a quiet little town, with little criminal activity. The few drunkards’ brawls are quickly dealt with by a good jitte and a firm show of authority. He keeps the town clean and he is proud of it. But Metigaru is not satisfied with that. He is yearning for something else. He wants to experience the thrill of battle—the blood, the white veil that covers the sight of the warrior lost in the fight. He is tired of this nice town where nothing happens. He has shoulder-long bleached blonde hair, and always wears the martial outfit of a warrior. His light armor displays the Matsu family mon and his Shiro Matsu dojo mon. He has a pair of jitte conspicuously tucked next to his daisho, and his eyes burn with intensity every time he sees an occasion to fight.



“I stand here looking, At this star in the evening, My duty is done.” The sword is a tachi made of poor quality steel, as this sword predates the Agasha’s katana forging techniques and the Tsi’s two steels technique. The

monk Tetsu, a retired expert weapon smith, is in charge of the sword’s maintenance. Every time Tetsu removes it from the shrine, a shugenja blesses it and renews the protective spells placed on the old sword before returning it to its place. The Governor’s Residence Without question the town’s largest building, the long house of the governor functions as both the residence of the assigned governor, Kitsu Samatsu, and the court where she carries out her official duties. On the ground floor are the accommodations for the governor’s guards and advisors, the scribes’ offices where the secretarial work is done, the archives where taxes and harvest results are

Kitsune Akinitsu, Troubled Soul Woodland Tracker 1 (Special: Maho Tsukai 2) Kitsune Akinitsu is a young bushi who came to Oshi no Koda on his way to the Seikitsu Sano Yama no Oi (the Spine of the World Mountains) while retracing Kitsune Ryosei’s footsteps. Kitsune Ryukan, daimyo of the Fox and cousin of Ryosei, had sent Akinitsu on a mission to confirm Ryosei’s death. Fresh from his gempukku, the impatient Akinitsu had been hoping for a much more prestigious and challenging task. Grudgingly, he eventually determined Ryosei had left to the Shadowlands and never came back, and sent a message to inform his daimyo of his findings. His clan barely acknowledged the message, only further increasing his bitterness. It’s at this time that the Rain of Blood fell on the Empire. Caught unprepared in the wilderness, Akinitsu was corrupted by the Rain as he was consumed by bitterness and anger. However, in a strange blessing of the fortunes, he didn’t completely become a bloodspeaker. Instead, Akinitsu developed a double personality. Unaware of his condition, Akinitsu continues to live in a small house in the quarter of the Red Vine, when he isn’t busy studying the wildlife of the Seikitsu mountains in the name of the Fox clan. He hopes that one day he will be called back. He has headaches and nightmares, but he just thinks it’s because he misses the woods and the soothing effects of Kitsune Mori. But sometimes, the bloodspeaker in him takes control. Stranded in this remote place that offers little of interest to the other bloodspeaker cells, Akinitsu’s dark side is left to its own devices. He has taken upon himself to learn the secrets of Okura’s fallen bloodspeaker cult to increase his own power and one day take revenge against the Fox clan that has abandoned him. Sometimes, a traveler disappears in the wilderness, a victim of Akinitsu’s experiments. Maybe one day his corrupted shadow will render the poor Fox too insane to hide his “problem.” Kitsune Akinitsu walks around in a brown and green kimono, good clothes for trekking in the wilderness. He has short brown hair and the famous strange green eyes of the Fox clan, but this is the only indication of his origins as he doesn’t wear any mon. He can often be seen playing his small flute, which has been covered with mother-of-pearl in the traditional fashion of the Kitsune family.

The Purple Rose Quarter

The Shrine of the Evening Star This small shrine is located in the most important garden of the Purple Rose quarter, under some apple trees. It’s a simple shrine: a stone altar placed in front of a lion statue holding the ancient sword of a fallen hero in its maw. The hero in question was a Lion clan samurai who died protecting the young Kitsu family at the dawn of the Empire. He wrote a final haiku before his death, and the shrine’s name is a direct reference to this haiku.



recorded, and, largest of all, the governor’s court room itself. In an adjacent small building are located the kitchens, cellars, and small rooms for the governor’s servants. On the upper level are the governor’s apartments. They aren’t small and spartan in the fashion most Akodo and Matsu bushi usually favor. The governor’s quarters are actually

comfortable by Lion standards and provide enough rooms for a family of six. Kitsu Samatsu resides there with her husband, Kitsu Torasu, and their two sons, Tagehiro and Unanoki. Unanoki, the elder, lives with his wife Wachigai and their child Yabu. The remaining apartments have been given to Samatsu’s karo, Ikoma Renshi and his wife Ikoma Kaori. The court is simple. The room’s walls are decorated with ink drawings on rice paper. Most

The Purple Rose Quarter

Kitsu Samatsu, Governor of Oshi no Koda Kitsu Shugenja 4/ Master Keeper 1 Samatsu has always striven for excellence in everything she did, possibly a result of the Kitsu blood running in her veins, and in many ways she has reached her goal. She began with such outstanding results at the Topaz Championship, where she passed her gempukku, that despite her young age she secured herself a prestigious assignment in the Temple of the Western Wind (Way of the Daimyo, p. 75), at the Lion-Unicorn border. She successfully trained many young shugenja who in turn made their sensei proud with their aptitudes. When the War of the Rich Frog began, she had much to do, but once again she carried out her duty without flinching, organizing efficient supply lines and tending to the many wounded soldiers who were sent to her. Many samurai families are in her debt for a parent or a sibling she saved from death. In recognition of her efforts and growing fame, she was given the position of governor of Oshi no Koda. Samatsu reluctantly gave up her duties in the temple and passed them on to her best student, Jimaru, as she was apprehensive to be put in charge of a whole town. However, as she had always done before, she tackled her new responsibilities and made things work. She is now proud of her accomplishment in Oshi no Koda, to be in a position where she can provide her people with what they need, even if much still remains to be done with the modest resources. Eventually, she will retire and return to a temple, a place where she still thinks she belongs. Samatsu is a short woman, with long raven hair interwoven with white silk threads. She is always smiling, warm and kind with everybody, whatever their station.

Kitsu Ise Torasu, Guardian of the Standing Stones Kitsu Shugenja 5 As a member of the Ise vassal family, whose duty is to protect the secrets of the Kitsu, Torasu knows perfectly why he is in Oshi no Koda. He is there to make sure no one tries to use the ancient Standing Stones. Those stones were created as an entrance to the Kitsu kingdom, a link to Yomi, and hold a lot of power. That’s why the Tsuno attacked here once before. When the previous Ise guardian died, the Kitsu needed someone powerful but discreet to replace him. Torasu’s talented wife was a suitable candidate to be the governor of this small Kitsu town far from the Kitsu province, so Torasu was a perfect choice for this assignment. Like his wife, Torasu misses the calm and quiet Temple of the Western Wind, but he knows his duty. He patrols the standing stones frequently but discreetly to detect any supernatural activity. He has discovered that something is wrong, but he doesn’t know yet what is it. Taller than his wife, Torasu looks more like a bushi than a shugenja. He dyes his hair black, but it would naturally be completely white and he is starting to go bald. He exercises every morning in the guards’ small dojo.

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depict tales of great Lion heroes, particularly Kitsu and Matsu samurai. The elite Matsu guard, led by Matsu Fujiwe, maintains a visible presence here at all times. Samatsu holds court two days per week, and listens to the heimin’s pleas on a third. When holding court, Samatsu keeps things simple, as nearly only members of the Lion clan attend it. Oshi no Koda is a small town, and official visitors from other clans are rare. When they come, they’re usually only on their way to another more important place.

The Garrison To the visitor’s eye, Oshi no Koda’s garrison may seem too large for such a minor city. However, the 100 ashigaru posted in the city’s barracks know their purpose is not only the city’s defense, but also be able to quickly move to defend the Kitsu Tombs, even if most are ignorant of their exact location. The city’s guarrison is maintained at top efficiency by Matsu Fujiwe, the Captain of the Guard. She keeps herself and her men always ready to mobilize and quickly protect one of her clan’s most precious relics.

Ikoma Courtier 3 / Hatamoto 1 Ikoma Renshi is a bitter man; he always thought the town would be his after the death of his uncle, Kitsu Rayumi, the previous governor. Everything was going as planned; he had many powerfully allies in the Kitsu family, including even Kitsu Juri. Then the daimyo changed his mind and appointed Samatsu. Renshi was horrified. He became the karo of the town, a post he has dutifully carried out since, but that doesn’t satisfy him. He doesn’t hate Samatsu, and will never do anything to threaten her life or her family, but he wishes to see her sent away. Renshi joined the Gozoku, providing information about the Lion in Shiro Matsu. He hopes to be able to remove Kitsu Samatsu politically and secure her position for himself. His wife, Ikoma Kaori, is unaware of his plots and allegiance. Renshi is a small man, often smiling, with dark brown eyes and heavy eyebrows. His hair is tied in a ponytail that he likes to swing from one side to the other as he recounts grand tales and legends. He is a good storyteller and often puts in a short story during his discussions with other courtiers.

The Purple Rose Quarter

Ikoma Renshi, Gozoku Informant

Matsu Fujiwe, Captain of the Guard Matsu Berserker 3 / Lion’s Pride 1 Matsu Fujiwe was sent directly from Shiro Matsu (Last Breath’s castle), in the wake of the Tsuno attacks, to lead the soldiers posted to Oshi no Koda. She is an accomplished chui from the Lion’s Pride, who has honed her skills on many battlefields. Her task in Oshi no Koda was to make sure the bushi and ashigaru of the city were ready in case of other assaults. She has since carried out this duty brilliantly and was instrumental in repelling the last Tsuno packs and the occasional bandit raids. Lately, she is troubled that the Tsuno she fought for years, even before her assignment to this city, are now nowhere to be seen. They vanished just as quickly and mysteriously as they appeared. Fujiwe is aware of Kitsu Torasu’s mission, which is why she is keeping an eye on him. She thinks he knows something about the Tsuno, and she wants to know too. Matsu Fujiwe is a woman in her mid-twenties, with long dark hair covering her shoulders. She usually wears a martial kimono when resting and light armor when patrolling, both brown and adorned with the Matsu family mon. She is stern and direct when speaking; she is an experienced officer used to shouting orders and having them followed without question.

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The Mikan Quarter This quarter, named after the Rokugani tangerine, consists in equal parts of middle-class samurai residences and merchant shops. It is a really vibrant and nice place to live, one of the best in Oshi no Koda, second only to the Purple Rose quarter. The quarter is less patrolled by the guards, so thieves are a bit more common here, but it is still a safe and quiet place. This quarter is also where some of the finest inns of the city are located. Though the Red Vine quarter has a far greater number of inns to choose from, retinues

of important visitors will typically reside at the inns of the Mikan quarter, in particular the Emerald Leaf. The Emerald Leaf currently accomodates a recently arrived Imperial Cartographer, Ide Tanoshiko, and her assistants. The Armory The city’s garrison is in the north of the Purple Rose quarter. The main armory is on the opposite side of the street, in the Mikan quarter. This building is not only the repository for most of the city’s unused weapons, it’s also where the master smith, Kitsu Kashiru, and his two apprentices reside. Whenever samurais need new blades, pieces of

The Mikan Quarter

Ide Tanoshiko, Imperial Cartographer Ide Courtier 3 The young Ide Tanoshiko is proud of her accomplishments. Five years ago, she obtained such a good score during the Topaz Championship that she was appointed as an assistant to an imperial cartographer. Now she is an imperial cartographer herself and has her own assistants. She has been sent to Oshi no Koda to update maps of the Seikitsu Mountains, which have changed quite a bit, and maybe discover some new passes to be used by the trade caravans. She arrived in town recently and is just starting to become acquainted with its inhabitants. Oshi no Koda is going to be her base of operations. She’s expecting the arrival of a group of young samurais who will assist her. What she doesn’t know is that one of them is a spy sent by the Scorpion, who are worried she could stumble upon some secret mountain paths they use. And in case she discovers new ones, the Scorpion will be able to move in quickly and claim them before anyone else. Tanoshiko is a charming young woman, with long chestnut-brown hair that she keeps in a braid. She is shy and doesn’t talk a lot, preferring to stay among her books.

Toritaka Tokonishu, Assistant Cartographer Hiruma Scout 3 Trained at Far Runner Dojo, at the feet of the new Shiro Moto, this young Toritaka has never seen much of the Crab lands, with the exception of Tani Hitokage. He has no experience of the Shadowlands, and doesn’t plan to have any. He was happy to be chosen as an assistant to an imperial cartographer, mostly because sending him to the Hiruma lands would be more likely to be a death sentence. He is a nice fellow, always quick to make a joke and to take the good side of any situation. He loves to drink and can often be found at the Happy Cricket Sake House. His hairstyle is probably his most distinctive feature: he uses sap to shape his black hair into two spread “wings”, one on each side of his head, making it look like a soaring falcon silhouette from a distance. He usually wears practical clothes made for traveling and hiking, in grey with falcon patterns.

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armor or equipment, or simply for maintenance of such items, they come to Kitsu Kashiru. The Dojo of the Golden Claw Akodo Takuni’s dojo is actually the mansion where he grew up, where he now lives with his wife,

Akodo Mirei, and a couple servants. He converted the residence to a dojo when he retired, and this gives the dojo an odd cosy feel that is in stark contrast with Takuni’s spartan training style.

Akodo Bushi 4 / Lion Kensai 2 Akodo Takuni is a Lion sensei renowned among all the Lion clan for his expert knowledge of many kata, his sword techniques and also his mastery of the “art of the sword” martial art (Way of the Open Hand, p. 71). He has become too old, at fifty-three, to go into battle, so he retired to Oshi no Koda, his hometown, and created there the town’s most famous dojo, the Dojo of the Golden Claw. He trains only a dozen of students per year, keeping his secrets for only those who catch his eye. He has known the banishment of the Akodo family by Hantei XXXIX and doesn’t trust most of the new Akodo that returned, so he doesn’t teach too many of them. Matsu bushi are rarely calm and focused enough to learn his secrets. For these reasons, the vast majority of his students come from the Ikoma family, mostly the Murame vassal family. He calmly waits for the Fortunes to call him to Yomi, but until that day he is going to do all he can to help his clan, teaching the Lion ancestral techniques to the new generations. Takuni admires the Shogun, who as Akodo Kaneka studied under Tanuki in Shiro Ken Hayai. He will readily go into a lengthy discussion about what the book of Sun Tao says about the Shogun’s function, or about the martial prowess and keen intellect of the Emperor’s half-brother. Akodo Takuni has white hair. His face and body are covered by the scars of age and battle. He usually wears a sleeveless short vest and a simple hakama (loose pants). His clothes sport the Akodo mon, the Shiro Ken Hayai dojo symbol and the mon of the Shogun (a glove breaking a sword). He usually carries only his wakizashi and a bokken; his sword rests with his armor in his dojo.

The Mikan Quarter

Akodo Takuni, Renowned Lion Sensei

Rumaru, Cast Out Duelist Gaze of Sun Tao 1 / Ronin Duelist 1 Rumaru is the son of Doji Sadako, a famous Crane duelist samurai-ko who apparently died at the Battle of Oblivion’s Gate. Raised by his father, a prominent courtier named Doji Tenkazu, Rumaru has always been a spoiled brat, never satisfied and always needing more. He wants to be more famous than his mother ever was, but his cocky attitude got him expelled from the Kakita Dueling Academy. To save his father’s face and to protect the Crane clan reputation from this reckless boy, his daimyo offered Rumaru the chance to go on a musha shugyo and live as a ronin. With no choice, he left, angry and bitter. On the roads, he learned a couple of techniques until he heard of sensei Akodo Takuni. He made his way to Oshi no Koda, and ever since he has tried to be accepted in the Golden Claw dojo. His attitude, of course, does nothing to ingratiate him with the master sensei, who keeps telling Rumaru that he doesn’t have what it takes to be his student and that he’s a disgrace to the samurai principles. That just makes Rumaru more bitter, and he can often be found drinking in an angry mood at the Snake Pit. He frequently plays the dojo breaker at the Dojo of the Golden Claw, brazenly challenging its students to duels to prove his worth.

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The Lower District The Lower District stands west of the road that cuts Oshi no Koda in two. It is the poorer part of the city, where the heimin and eta quarters are located. Most samurai prefer to avoid going there, and the town guards rarely show up in those streets. Unsurprisingly, most criminal activities take place there, but fortunately, as Oshi no Koda is a small town, there is not much going on anyway.

The Bottle Quarter This area takes its name from the many sake houses and poor quality inns that are located in this quarter. This is the most animated quarter of

the town. Drunks can be seen wandering the streets at nearly every hour of the day or night, and brawls are not uncommon. Many ronin and samurai of lesser houses dwell in the Bottle Quarter, or stop there to rest while on their way to others towns. The occasional guards coming here to patrol are usually quick to round up everyone on a scene and ask questions later. The Snake Pit The most infamous inn of the town, the Snake Pit has a small arena built in its center where, officially, dog and rooster fights take place, but more often than not, it’s a brawl fight that goes on. The owner, Yellow Snake, is also the bookmaker running the bets on this lucrative activity. The Snake Pit is always packed, and a large part of its regulars is made of

The Lower District

Yellow Snake, Owner of the Snake Pit Black Lotus Smuggler 1 / Ronin Warrior 2 Yellow Snake has been a smuggler as long as he can remember, joining early the Black Lotus organization. He’s known as a thug in one hundred different places, most of them Crane ports. He was very active around the Crane coasts, mostly around Mura Sabishii Toshi, until the Doji magistrates started to close in on him and the Daidoji port officers became too expensive to bribe. Before things got too heated, he chose to move on and came to Oshi no Koda. He bought the Snake Pit and, because Lion magistrates are more suspicious, he kept a low profile for nearly seven years before restarting a small smuggling operation. It’s only small scale trafficking, using a grotto near the town for storage and dealings. Yellow Snake is a tall man built like a Hida sumai-brawler, with scars all over his body. He is missing an eye and has a big yellow snake tattoo going from behind his left ear, under his dirty, short, brown hair, to his right shoulder. He speaks boorishly with a loud voice.

Kuso, Heartless Mercenary Ronin Warrior 1 / the Weavers 1 / Cutting the Weave 1 Kuso is a mercenary. Burning villages, killing innocents, assassinating samurai; all these are part of his everyday life. He is always on the run, putting some distance between his latest job and himself. He is the incarnation of all the worst aspects of the ronin; he knows that and he is proud of it. He has been trained by the Weavers, a ronin organization that serves as a curtain for kolat activities. The Ten Masters always prefer to use ronin instead of kolat agents for missions, whenever possible, to ensure the secretive sect’s safety. Kuso works for the Weavers whenever they need him, because the pay is good. The Snake Pit is one of the inns where he stops to rest because there is no warrant for his arrest in Lion lands, and the local magistrates don’t know him. Bald with a little moustache, missing teeth, lack of hygiene and dirty patched clothes, Kuso really is the evil ronin of the classic drama stories.

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The Happy Cricket Sake House The Happy Cricket Sake House is the town’s favorite gaming venue. It is always packed with heimin and ronin playing Fortunes and Winds. This establishment belongs to a Mantis samurai, Yoritomo Yukihira, and takes its name from the many crickets, sold as lucky charms, that are kept in small cages all around the main room. It is one of the cleanest sake houses of the bottle quarter, and usually a colorful place with a lot of patrons playing and drinking. The sake house is pretty simple, with tables to play Fortunes and Winds all around. Two anchors adorn the walls. They are from the ships Yukihira lost during a storm, and the reason he has been forced to settle on the mainland. Many pieces of the house’s furniture are made of bits saved from the shipwrecks. The sake sold here comes from the Islands of Silk and Spice, which greatly contributes to the popularity of this sake house. Troublemakers are not tolerated, and they are quickly thrown out by two burly heimin bouncers, sometimes with the help of hired ronin.

The Eta Quarter The eta quarter is a located at the extreme northwest of the city. Great wooden walls keep it out of the samurai’s sight. The eta live here in poor conditions, but they can’t complain too much. The quarter is much cleaner than many in the Empire and they aren’t too badly treated. The leader of the eta quarter is Banasu. The leatherworks and others bad-smelling jobs are done outside of the town.

The Nazuna Quarter This large quarter takes its name from the Nazuna, a spring herb also known as Shepherd’s Purse. This heimin quarter occupies half of the lower district, and its streets are all named after herbs, cereals and vegetables (such as daikon, gogyo, hakobe, hotokenoza, seri, suzuna, etc.). Most of these plants are ingredients used for the traditional gruel made on the seventh day of the year, during the New Year’s celebrations. Always practical, the Lion founders reserved a small section of the Nazuna quarter for vegetable gardens. Located along the wall near the river, and irrigated via narrow canals passing

Yoritomo Hoji Yukihira, Owner of the Happy Cricket Yoritomo Courtier 2 / Yoritomo Emissary 1 Fourth son of Yoritomo Hoji Hartuisun-wo (Unexpected Allies, p. 116), the current daimyo of the dying Hoji vassal family, Yukihira never had a great future to hope for. His father put him in charge of a few ships, but they sank during a storm. Disheartened, the young courtier came to this small Lion town to set up a sake house. He didn’t choose the place, his father did. His father owned a piece of land there and said that it would be a good place to start business anew. Two years later, Yukihira’s father contacted him to explain that he wanted to use the sake house as a stopover place for his budding smuggling operations between the Scorpion and the northern Crane provinces. Hartuisun-wo built his fortune with smuggling, mostly from the Crane to the Crab provinces, but when he retired, he planned to expand his operations into Scorpion territory. He is now giving his son a chance to prove his worth. This smuggling route is run by a few members of the Rolling Wave Mantis vassal family, without knowledge of the Scorpion or the Mantis. It is a small operation—mostly transporting opium to the Crane provinces—but the Hoji daimyo is using it to test his son before relocating him to a better place, should he succeed. Yukihira has discovered that the Black Lotus is also operating in Oshi no Koda. Both operations are small and really discreet, so he hasn’t decided yet if starting a war between the two gangs is worth the trouble it could cause.

The Eta Quarter & the Nazuna Quarter

thugs and other seedy types. The inn offers many shadowy corners, perfect for discreet meetings.

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through small openings in the wall, these gardens are farmed by a few heimin families and are kept inside the city as a source of food in case of attack or siege. In practice, a large part of these gardens is used to grow the plants the artisans use in Oshi no Koda’s trademark seven-taste pepper, and one patch is even reserved to grow vegetables for the governor’s table. Aside from the gardens, which are only a small part of the Nazuna quarter, there are many small shops, cheap food street vendors, children playing, and activity in general. Flooding happens occasionally in some parts, as this quarter is the closest one to the river, but most

houses are built on short stilts, so it’s not really a problem.

The Shichimi Togarashi Quarter The shichimi togarashi (seven-taste pepper), a popular rokugani spice mix made of red pepper, brown pepper, poppy seeds, dried orange peel, rake seeds and nori (dried seaweed) ground together, aptly gives its name to this small quarter. Born at the crossroads of other quarters, this area is a strange mixture with a distinct flavor. Samurais from minor families or other clans, heimin, and even some foreigners live here, talk together and cross each other’s paths everyday. Small garden patches can be

The Shichimi Togarashi Quarter

Bayushi Osaku, Honorable Scorpion Bayushi Bushi 2 Bayushi Osaku smiles every time a magistrate shows up in his establishment, and it has been like that for 15 years. Everybody assumes that the old man, because he is a Scorpion in Lion territory, must be here with some hidden purpose, some dark mission for the Clan of Secrets. Nothing could be further from the truth. Osaku has been banished from the Bayushi provinces because he was a junshin and kept pestering his clansmates to change their ways. His clan didn’t know what to do with such a burden, so they just cast him out with some koku and let him fend for himself elsewhere. He retired and set up a perfectly legal small teahouse, where he does nothing against anyone and doesn’t break any law. Every time somebody investigates his place in vain, he just keeps smiling serenely like a true Scorpion. Osaku is an old man with long peppered hair and peaceful grey eyes. He is tall and thin, yet doesn’t look frail despite his age. He doesn’t wear a mask, which of course makes him even more suspicious to the townsfolk.

Hoshi Kokori, Haunted Monk Mirumoto Bushi 2 / Tattooed Monk of the Three Orders 1 Hoshi Kokori was once known as Mirumoto Kokori, a student in the first group that was sent to be trained by Mirumoto Narumi in her own technique. But Kokori failed to master the technique and went to Kyuden Togashi in an attempt to find his place in this world as a monk. Kokori was one of the three Hoshi monks to be granted tattoos last year, and his life has been going from bad to worse since. The tattoos triggered some strange kind of enlightened madness. He is reliving some of his past lives, especially their failures, during schizophrenic fits. At least that is what he thinks, as no one has been able to understand the visions haunting him, not even the Kitsu shugenja he came to see in Oshi no Koda for help. Among his multiple past lives, the personality of Matsu Teruzumi has been asserting itself more strongly since Kokori arrived in town. Teruzumi was a Lion bushi who committed seppuku to cleanse his shame in Oshi no Koda a long time ago. Guided by his bad kharma-induced visions, the monk tries to atone for the errors of his past lives, hoping to be eventually free of their burden.

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The Inn and Teahouse of the Retired Scorpion This charming teahouse doesn’t really fit in the lower district. With its beautiful gardens, its high

class geisha, the songbirds kept in the numerous suspended cages in the main room and excellent tea, it would be more likely located in the upper district. But both the owner, Bayushi Osaku, and the Lion clan prefer it this way. The teahouse’s owner is a Scorpion, so inevitably everyone in town suspects that he is hiding something. Nothing has ever been proven, but everybody believes it. The inn’s most talented geisha is Shinju (Pearl). Her body is always painted entirely in white. Her poetry is exquisite and she is a skilled biwa player.

The Shichimi Togarashi Quarter

found in some shops’ backyards, where the artisans grow selected rare pepper plants themselves. Oshi no Koda’s shichimi togarashi is renowned in all Lion territory and beyond, and the artisans take great care in the production of their valuable pepper mix. At one corner of this colorful quarter is located Oshi no Koda’s largest marketplace. Here, merchants and artisans meet with suppliers and buyers, and farmers from the surrounding villages come into town once a week to sell their produce.

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Outside the City

Outside of the City

The Standing Stones

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The Standing Stones are located half a day distance south of Oshi no Koda, right on the road to the Kitsu Tombs. They are unique structures unlike anything else in the Empire. The “stones” are actually six giant pillars, about 80’ tall, three on each side of the road. The base of each pillar is as big as a small square pagoda, and actually looks like one, with its curved roof. From the base rises a tall column that ends in a sharp point, with a structure shaped like a pagoda roof placed half way. On the tip of the needle, defying the laws of nature, is a relatively small spherical crystal on which rests another spindle-shaped stone structure, with two other pagoda roof elements vertically stacked in the middle. The upper half is just as big and tall as the lower half, with the crystal wedged right between the two. The pillars are clearly enchanted with some ancient magic to maintain this uncanny equilibrium, and when the sun rises or sets, the crystals shine like blazing beacons. These edifices predate the birth of the Rokugani humanity. They were created as a doorway to the Kitsus’ last retreat. Their shape and magical properties are enduring testimonies to the power and greatness of the ancient Kitsu civilization. The stones have a special affinity with shugenja who master ancestor magic, and all characters with the ancestral guidance technique or the Kitsu full or half bloodline advantages can see that the crystals are always glowing. A shugenja casting Sense can feel the energies that flow around here. In the past, these stones could open a portal to the spirit realms, Yomi in particular, but it seems the passage has been mostly closed. Some powerful Kitsu have been able to open passages to Yomi from here, but legends tell that this place may have had other uses or leads to yet unknown realms. Kitsu Ise Torasu can be seen looking around here frequently, making sure no one disturbs the

ancient magic of the Standing Stones. He noticed alarming evidence of tampering in his investigations and he suspects some intruders, possibly Tsuno, are still lurking around. His top priority is to find the intruders and stop them.

The Forgotten Shrine Some years ago, a man stole the idol of a small stone shrine dedicated to the Fortune of Stone, lost in the wilderness south of Oshi no Koda. Soon after this misdeed, the thief died during an earthquake that struck his village. In punishment for his crime, his soul was sent to Gaki-do, cursed to be a gaki bound to the shrine he robbed. After the death of the Fortune of Stone at Fu Leng’s hand, during the war in Tengoku, the shrine grew more sinister and the stone turned black. Very few peasants tended to the shrine before that, scared as they were by the gaki, but no one came back after it turned black. This gaki, who most of the time appears like a mundane beetle, is a Jiki-min-gaki (Fortunes and Winds, p. 41): he can consume nothing but the wigs of temple idols. Once he has fed enough, his spirit will be able to go back into the kharmic wheel. But since the shrine has been abandoned, he has run out of “food” and this is making him crazy, turning him into a Muzai-gaki

(Creatures of Rokugan Third Edition, p. 105), a gaki that attacks humans. If somebody were to take care of this shrine again, he would be able to complete his sentence and atone for his crime.

The Lake of Foul Tears This swampy lake, located to the southwest of Oshi no Koda, was once a pleasant fishing lake on the Flowing Mane River, but after a landslide diverted the river, it stopped receiving fresh water and turned into a fetid swamp that everybody avoids. It smells bad and harbors terrible diseases (water imbalance, boiled mind or air imbalance, see L5R 3rd Edition, p. 162-163) due to the toxic gas and the swarms of

insects found there. In this forsaken place lives a small group of Tsuno bushi: three average Tsuno (The Four Winds, p. 75) and two ravagers (Creatures of Rokugan 3rd Edition, p. 177-179) set a camp there under the command of Tsuno Ketedore, a dangerous and power-hungry old pack leader. This group of Tsuno was stranded there, in Ningen-do, after the death of their soultwister and the banishing of the remaining of their race to the spirit realms by the Nezumi. Unable to cross through the spirit realms without a soultwister, they are desperately searching for a possible way out, trying to use the Standing Stones to open a passage. They keep a low profile for now, trapped as they are in enemy territory, with few resources.

Tsuno Bushi 3 / Tsuno House Guard 1 Ketedore is an experienced ravager pack leader. He was assigned to a scout team during the attacks of the Kitsu Tombs. During his pack’s recon missions to keep an eye on the Lion troop movements from Shiro Matsu, he found the Standing Stones. When he reported his discovery to Tsuno Nintai, Nintai surprisingly ordered him to stay there with his pack. As a veteran of Nikushimi Shinden (Way of the Samurai, p. 88), he felt humiliated by his assignment. When the rest of his race was banished, he was left alone in Ningen-do. Ketedore is bitter and full of hatred. He wants to destroy all humanity, but his survival instincts restrain him. He knows he can’t slaughter all humans around because he no longer has a soultwister to resurrect the few soldiers he has left. So he makes sure one of his warriors is always spying on the shugenja that studies the Standing Stones, in hope they’ll find some way to use their magic, either to regroup with their race or take as many humans as they can with them in a final heroic sacrifice.

Outside of the City

Tsuno Ketedore, Stranded Tsuno Pack Leader

Tsuno House Guard (New Path) Technique Rank: 4 Path of Entry: Tsuno Bushi 3 Path of Egress: Tsuno Bushi 4

Technique: the Dark Scourge The Tsuno House Guard are the elite warriors of the ravagers, second in command to the pack leaders. They are ferocious bushi dedicated to breaking the lines and the morale of enemies, allowing the rest of the ravagers to slaughter the survivors. If a Tsuno House Guard, while in the Full Attack posture, kills his opponent, then all other Tsuno within X feet from him gain two Free Raises for their next attacks (X is the Tsuno House Guard’s Water). The bonus only remains in effect for a number of rounds equal to the Tsuno House Guard’s Insight Rank and doesn’t stack with itself or the bonus given by another Tsuno House Guard.

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The Region The three locations closest to Oshi no Koda are the Kitsu Tombs, Shiro Matsu and Footnote Village. Here’s a short description of their mutual influences.

The Region

The Kitsu Tombs The Kitsu Tombs are one of the Lion clan’s best kept secrets. Their existence is known by only few high-ranking samurai, and their exact location by even fewer. Revered by the entire Lion clan, and the Kitsu Sodan-Senzo in particular, the Tombs are the Kitsu family’s most sacred holding, as it is where the five last kitsu, the ones that swore fealty to Akodo, are interred. Even after death, their mortal remains still radiate power and maintain an open passage to some spirit realms. During the Jade Champion Kitsu Okura’s time in power, the Tombs suffered from the corruption his Maho cult fostered. But after his fall, they were quickly purified and restored as the sanctified place of worship they were before for the Kitsu family, and remain so today. Oshi no Koda is crucial to the Tombs’ operations, as it is where all their supplies are stored. The city’s governor knows Oshi no Koda is the Tombs’ first line of defense, and it’s the first place the keepers of the Tombs will go to ask for help if they are attacked.

Shiro Matsu

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Once the most important castle of the Lion clan, the Castle of the Last Breath (Secrets of the Lion, p. 69) slowly lost its usefulness when Beiden Pass was destroyed. It still retained some of its prestige as the home of Matsu Nimuro, but now that Ikoma Otemi is the Lion champion, the ancestral home of Lady Matsu is losing power. This situation has weakened the Yama province governor’s position and adversely influenced the resources directed to Oshi no Koda. The number of travelers passing through

Oshi no Koda hasn’t decreased much, because the Lion clan keeps the fortress fully manned and battleready as a show of respect for Matsu Nimuro’s son, Yoshino, but the resources allocated to Shiro Matsu have been cut down, consequently hindering the business it brought to Oshi no Koda. The two shrines of Shiro Matsu, dedicated to the bushido virtues Rei (courtesy) and Makoto (sincerity), are of more interest to the Kitsu lords and visitors of Oshi no Koda, so they keep an eye on it.

Kyakuchu Mura Once an important village, Footnote Village (Secrets of the Lion, p. 70) is nothing more than a footnote now. The governor of the village, Matsu Makuora, is planning to move some of the interests of his village to Oshi no Koda, in an attempt to annex it for the Matsu family.

To Kyakuchu Mura and Kenson Gakka Eta Workshops

Doorway to Two Worlds Gate

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Eta Gate

Mikan Quarter

9 8

Eta Quarter

11 1 12

Red Vine Quarter

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Garden

Bottle Quarter

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River Pier Gate

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ens

Gard

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iver

ane R

ing M

Flow

Shichimi Togarashi Quarter

Nazuna Quarter

Purple Rose Quarter

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Temple Quarter 2

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Yellow Blossom Quarter

Map of Oshi no Koda

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Maw of the Lion Gate To the Kitsu Tombs and Shiro Matsu

Map of Oshi no Koda 1 - Governor’s Residence 2 - Temple of the Fu Lions 3 - Temple of the Lotus 4 - Shrine of Discussion 5 - Inn of the Kind Lioness

6 - Inn of the Tired Cat 7 - Shrine of the Evening Star 8 - Garrison 9 - Armory 10 - Golden Claw Dojo

11 - Snake Pit 12 - Happy Cricket Sake House 13 - Inn and Teahouse of the Retired Scorpion 14 - Market Place

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