Roleplaying game

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Chapter 9: A Ronin’s Path
Table 9–1: Strategic Objective by Turn
Round 
Number
Hida’s Strategic Objective
Kazanagan no Oni’s Strategic Objective
1
Draw Them In
Description: Get the opponent to commit to attacking a 
particular position and then hold firm against them.
Requirement: This strategic objective is fulfilled after an 
enemy leader performs an Assault action that inflicts 5 or 
fewer casualties against the cohort occupying the chosen 
position.
Completion: When a leader completes this strategic objective, 
the enemy army suffers 5 panic and the leader’s army removes 
5 panic.
Capture a Position
Description: The commander calls for the leaders to uproot the enemy 
from a specific position this round, so that the army can occupy it. This 
position must be a fortification or piece of terrain occupied by the enemy.
Requirement: This strategic objective is fulfilled after the army’s leaders 
perform Assault actions targeting the cohort occupying the chosen 
position that inflict a total of 8 or more casualties on the enemy army. 
Alternatively, it can be fulfilled if the enemy army vacates the position 
and a friendly leader successfully performs the Reinforce action there.
Completion: When a leader completes this strategic objective, the 
enemy cohort occupying the fortification is driven out and no longer 
counts as occupying it. The leader who completed this objective may 
choose to have their cohort occupy the fortification immediately.
2
Grind Them Down
Description: Inflict a certain number of casualties.
Requirement: This strategic objective is fulfilled after the 
army’s leaders have inflicted a total of 10 or more total 
casualties on the enemy army during this round.
Completion: When a leader completes this strategic objective, 
the enemy army suffers 5 panic and the leaders’s army 
removes 5 panic.
Cut Off the Head (targeting a living leader)
Description: Kill a particular leader.
Requirement: This strategic objective is fulfilled when the chosen 
enemy leader or commander is slain by a member of your army.
Completion: When a leader completes this strategic objective against 
an enemy leader, the enemy army suffers 10 panic. When a leader 
completes this objective against the enemy commander, the enemy army 
suffers 20 panic instead.
3
Cut Off the Head (targeting a living leader)
Description: Kill a particular leader.
Requirement: This strategic objective is fulfilled when the chosen 
enemy leader or commander is slain by a member of your army.
Completion: When a leader completes this strategic objective 
against an enemy leader, the enemy army suffers 10 panic. 
When a leader completes this objective against the enemy 
commander, the enemy army suffers 20 panic instead. 
Grind Them Down
Description: Inflict a certain number of casualties.
Requirement: This strategic objective is fulfilled after the army’s leaders 
have inflicted a total of 10 or more total casualties on the enemy army 
during this round.
Completion: When a leader completes this strategic objective, the 
enemy army suffers 5 panic and the leader’s army removes 5 panic.
Third Tower Command
Hardy veterans of decades of war, the Third Tower Command serve 
Hida Tomonatsu with admirable dedication, even against long odds.
Strength: 25 
 
Discipline: 30
Hardened Veterans (Army Ability): When this army removes 1 or 
more panic, it removes that amount plus additional panic equal to 
the glory rank of its commander.
Elite Training (Army Ability): Each cohort in this army may pos-
sess one of the following abilities, depending on the setup leading 
to the mass battle:
•  Siege: The leader of this cohort reduces the TN of their Sup-
port actions by 1.
•  Infantry: The leader of this cohort reduces the TN of their 
Attack actions by 1.
•  Archery: Increase the TN of checks targeting this cohort by 1.
•  Shugenja: After you perform a Support action, if you succeed, 
heal 3 points of panic or attrition from the army.
The Horde of Kazanagan no Oni
A band of wretched creatures, abominations, and horrors 
risen from the depths of the Shadowlands, Kazanagan no Oni’s 
Horde lacks in organization but possesses ferocity and hatred 
in abundance.
Strength: 35   Discipline: 80 (while Kazanagan no 
Oni lives) / 20 (if Kazanagan no Oni is slain)
Relentless (Army Ability): The creatures of the Shadowlands live 
for battle, and their rage does not gutter out so easily as that of hu-
man soldiers. This army does not suffer the effects of battle fatigue 
(see Battle Fatigue, on page 175).
Monstrous Enemies: At the end of each round, the enemy army 
suffers 3 panic.
Wake of the Shadowlands (Army Ability): After a Mass Battle 
against this army, each participating opposing leader must succeed 
on a TN 1 Fitness or Meditation check using a ring of their choice 
or suffer the Afflicted condition for the ring they used. After a 
Mass Battle against this army, the battlefield becomes Defiled ter-
rain (see page 167).

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Chapter 9: A Ronin’s Path
Chapter 9: A Ronin’s Path
At the Start of the Battle
A number of preparations the PCs have taken might affect the outcome 
of the battle, as follows:
If the main gates are opened:
The massive oaken gates of the watchtower creak as they are 
opened, and dust falls from the rafters. The ranks of the Hida sol-
diers march through in unison, sashimono fluttering in the wind 
as they deploy beyond the Wall. Grim determination is painted 
on their faces as they march to meet their adversary head-on. The 
few samurai remaining on the Wall offer a silent prayer to the For-
tunes—these samurai will be the Crab Clan’s last line of defense.
Mechanical effect: The TN of Assault actions are reduced by 1 and the 
TN of Reinforce actions are increased by 1 for the whole battle. Addition-
ally, the Hida cohort does not count as occupying a Fortified Position at 
the start of the battle (and cannot take up such a position without aban-
doning their post).
If the gates remain closed:
The Hida troops take up positions along the battlements, climbing 
the steps of the many stairways leading to the top. Frustration mars 
their brows as they clutch their weapons and wait for the enemy to 
draw closer, but the strength of the Wall and the siege weapons at 
their backs are reassuring.
Mechanical effect: The TN of Reinforce actions are reduced by 1 and 
the TN of Assault actions are increased by 1 for the whole battle.
If the Hiruma are deployed as light melee troops:
Bows stowed on their backs, the Hiruma samurai grab polearms 
and swords and take their place next to their Hida kin. Although 
the lightly armed scouts can’t compare to their more heavily 
armed fellow Crab, the steel in their eyes indicates they are just 
as dangerous.
Mechanical effect: The Hiruma cohort loses the Archery ability, and it 
does not count as occupying a Fortified Position at the start of the battle 
if the gates of the watchtower are open. The cohort gains the Fearless 
Army Ability: At the end of each round, your army removes 6 panic.
During the First Round of Battle
If the tunnels were left open for the Nezumi to strike:
A grinning goblin leads dozens of its kind through the opening of a 
tunnel, eager to exploit the apparent weakness it’s just found. They 
never emerge on the other side. Instead, a chaotic force of Nezumi 
erupts from the entrances, some running on all fours, and they 
strike with an unexpected fury. Cheers burst from the Crab army, 
and they fight with renewed vigor.
Mechanical effect: The Nezumi automatically inflict 5 casualties on 
the Shadowlands army, and the Crab army gains the initiative on the 
next round.
During the Second Round of Battle
If Kaiu Masae was able to prepare her trap on the Wall:
Ladders made of bone, leather, and other materials you’d rather not 
think about cling to the Wall like flies, and despite the best efforts 
of the defenders, creatures start climbing up the ramparts, slowly 
gaining a foothold. With a nod of gratitude to you, Masae gives the 
order, and two of her subordinates push an oversized lever. The por-
tion of the Wall the monsters are on slides away, like a sand castle 
before the sea, and crashes a hundred feet farther down, amid the 
screams of the Shadowlands creatures.
Mechanical effect: The Kaiu cohort does not count as occupying a For-
tified Position. However, they automatically inflict 10 casualties on Horde 
of Kazanagan no Oni, and the Crab army increases its discipline by 5.
If the Hiruma are deployed as archery troops but do 
not know that they are short on arrows:
The archery fire from the Hiruma slows to a trickle, then fully stops. 
The samurai clutch at empty quivers, shouting for a resupply, but it 
doesn’t come. As goblins start climbing the Wall, the Hiruma draw 
their swords, prepared to sell their lives dearly.
Mechanical effect: The Hiruma cohort loses the Archery ability and 
gains the Infantry ability, and the Crab army suffers 5 panic.
If the Kuni shugenja were held back to prepare the ritual:
Screams of panic come from a portion of the Wall where the soldiers 
appear to be fighting against the wind itself. Wispy white silhou-
ettes appear in their midst, cutting them to pieces with ethereal 
claws, their faces open in a perpetual howl of rage. “Where are the 
shugenja?” one of the bushi screams as a ghost lifts a samurai and 
drops them to their death. The soldiers take out jade powder, apply 
it to their weapons with oil, and start pushing the ghosts back, but 
at a heavy price.
Mechanical effect: The Crab army suffers 5 panic and 3 casualties.

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