Roleplaying game

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Chapter 9: A Ronin’s Path
Hounding the Troops
The characters can investigate, asking after for the missing soldiers with 
a TN 3 Courtesy (Earth 2, Fire 4) check or simply looking around the 
place with a TN 2 Survival (Fire 1, Air 4) check. It shouldn’t take more 
than thirty minutes to find the samurai, but the PCs can reduce the time 
needed by ten minutes for each bonus success. If the PCs reduce the 
search time down to zero or ten minutes, this can give them enough time 
to talk to an additional officer, or for one character to join another if they 
have split. If they fail the check, they still find the soldiers, but it takes 
enough time that they lose a chance to speak with another officer. Even-
tually, they find the soldiers hiding in a small stable, sleeping off a night 
of heavy drinking.
The characters can wake the soldiers up and lead them back to 
Tsukiko, but they should be careful not to admonish the soldiers: not 
only are they still slightly inebriated, they also drank themselves to a stu-
por after two days of nonstop fighting against terrible creatures that took 
the lives of many of their friends. While their method of grieving wasn’t 
particularly honorable, many samurai stationed at the Wall turn to such 
diversions to briefly escape the horrors of life. If provoked, the soldiers 
don’t hesitate to start a fistfight with the PCs, regardless of their status. 
The GM should run this as a skirmish.
When the PCs return, Tsukiko orders the troops back to their posts 
and finally turns her attention to the PCs. She is once again blunt and 
straight to the point: she wants Tomonatsu to open the gates for her 
troops to charge through, straight at the enemy. While she has complete 
respect for the traditional defensive fighting strategy of the Crab, she 
believes the enemy is too numerous for them to survive a war of attrition. 
Her troops are, one to one, superior to the masses of the Shadowlands; 
she thinks she can lead an assault that will destroy the enemy leadership, 
after which their army will collapse into smaller groups. She is ready to 
die trying if necessary and understands this is a significant risk, but she 
thinks it is the best course of action.
Hiruma Yukito, Scout Leader
The leader of the scouts is harder to find, as he is still outside the Wall, 
coordinating the last scouting efforts and making sure all his samurai 
get back to the Wall before the battle starts. The player characters need 
to request that a Crab samurai take them outside the Wall. This samurai 
first gives them each a small piece of carved jade (a “finger,” in Crab jar-
gon: see page 148) to protect them from the corrupting influence of the 
Shadowlands. Although they will barely go beyond the Wall, the samurai 
warns them to remain vigilant and to carry the jade on their persons at 
all times. He takes them through the tunnels below the Wall, warning 
them not to try to enter them without the guidance of a local samurai. He 
points them in the direction of Hiruma Yukito, telling them that if they 
don’t find Yukito, Yukito will find them.
Read the following passage as the PCs emerge on the other side of 
the Wall:
As you make your way into the Shadowlands, you are struck by 
the apparent stillness of the place. There are no signs of life: only 
emptiness between the rocky plain under your feet and the overcast 
sky above your heads. Yet only a few steps away from the Wall, you 
notice odd details, such as the desiccated corpse of a tree whose 
branches move the wrong way in the wind, or how your voices don’t 
carry as far as they should, as though the air is denser somehow. 
The reassuring presence of jade feels like the only protection against 
the foul nature of this place.
As predicted by the Crab samurai, Yukito finds the PCs first—he has 
scouts across the area who are adept at hiding behind the smallest rocks 
and blending with the environment, and they report the PCs’ approach 
to him. He is a small, lithe man who wears light armor and a bow, and 
his hair has gone gray prematurely (if needed, use the profile for a Vet-
eran Bushi, on page 197, with the Crafty template, page 194, and the 
Ambitious demeanor, page 192). He seems gloomy and exhausted as he 
approaches the PCs, but he is willing to cooperate. He has seen the enemy 
army and confirms that it outnumbers the Crab three to one at least. It 
comprises a variety of Shadowlands creatures: goblins, zombies, skel-
etons, and stranger creatures still. He plans to make sure all his soldiers 
retreat behind the Wall and form an archery unit, as they are too few to 
efficiently harass the opposing forces.
Unexpected Allies
Hiruma Yukito is hiding something, however. It is obvious to the PCs 
(and the GM should tell them this) that he is nervous about something 
other than the approaching army. To find out more, the PCs can do one 
or more of the following:
•  A TN 2 Sentiment (Air 1, Fire 4) check reveals that Yukito knows 
something that he isn’t sharing, but that pressing him directly could 
get him to open up.
•  Investigating with a TN 3 Design (Water) check or a TN 2 Smithing 
(Water) check can be used to spot a strange item in his quiver: a stick 
decorated with teeth and ribbons of rough fibers, with bite marks all 
along its length. It is certainly not made by the Crab, and Crab charac-
ters automatically recognize it as something made by the nonhuman 
sentient species known as the Nezumi.
•  Finally, the GM can have any characters who are stumped make a TN 
3 Theology (Earth) check (TN 2 for members of the Crab Clan). Suc-
cess means that they remember stories of a strange race of rat people 
who hate the creatures of the Shadowlands and have provided unex-
pected aid to the Crab in the past.
Regardless of whether the PCs press Yukito regarding the informa-
tion he’s withholding, point out the strange stick he’s carrying, or simply 
broach the topic of the Ratlings with him, Yukito sighs and begins to 
discuss the issue. He has established an alliance with a small tribe of 
Ratlings—who he calls Nezumi—hidden in the tunnels beneath the Wall, 
and he believes they could be of great assistance. He knows Rokugan 
thinks of Nezumi as little more than vermin, however, and he asks the 
PCs to keep his involvement a secret if they desire the Nezumi’s help. The 
Crab are unlikely to think badly of it, as such alliances are common, but 
Yukito’s younger brother is betrothed to a samurai of the Crane Clan, 
and he doesn’t wish to shame his brother through his association with 
the Nezumi. If the PCs agree, he can guarantee the Nezumi will strike the 
enemy by surprise at the most opportune moment.
Optional Scene: Goblin Scouts
If the group of player characters is particularly martially focused, 
or if the group has enough time to add another scene (or the PCs 
are simply anxious to unsheathe their katana), the GM may add an 
optional skirmish against a group of six Shadowlands Goblins (see 
page 204).
The goblins have been sent by Teeth-Taker and are tasked with 
finding cracks in the Crab’s defenses along the Wall. The goblins 
are skittish, and will avoid directly confronting a large group of PCs 
if they can avoid it, instead using their goblin-sized bows to harass 
smaller groups of PCs from afar. If threatened, they will attempt to 
flee back to the rest of the horde, fighting to the death only if they 
become trapped.

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