Roleplaying game

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Chapter 9: A Ronin’s Path
Chapter 9: A Ronin’s Path
After the duel and the debriefing, if they have one, and before they can 
depart, the PCs are summoned by the commander of the garrison, who 
wishes to speak with them. Proceed to Report, Soldier!, below.
Debriefing
If Keinosuke is still alive, the PCs can ask him about what happened, but 
only after the duel has taken place. If he lost, he explains his story with-
out the PCs’ needing to make any checks. If he won, a TN 2 Courtesy 
(Earth 1, Air 4) check can be used to persuade him to talk to the PCs 
despite being under no obligation to do so. If the check isn’t successful, 
Keinosuke remains silent on the matter. If the check is successful, he tells 
them the following:
“I thought she was just a rich merchant. She certainly paid like one. 
She was drinking with the man, and when I heard a cry, I thought 
she was in danger, so I rushed to her aid. They were screaming at 
each other, the Crab holding her by the wrists. I told him to let her 
go, but he didn’t listen. He didn’t even turn to face me. I struck him 
in anger, and it was only when his body hit the floor that I saw the 
bloody knife in her hand. She spoke words I couldn’t understand, 
and her face twisted into something monstrous, so I ran. Fortunes 
forgive me, I ran.
“Perhaps she had been planning to kill the man all along and use 
his blood in an unholy ritual, but he must have been stronger than 
she thought... So, I came here and joined the Crab Clan. I cannot 
repair the damage I’ve caused, yet I can at least try to die serving 
the same clan he did.”
Report, Soldier!
Once the PCs have debriefed Keinosuke (or failed to do so), a messen-
ger arrives and informs them that the commander of the local garrison 
would like to speak to them immediately.
The leader of the Crab army in the area, Hida Tomonatsu, receives the 
PCs in a stark room at the top of the watchtower. She is in full armor and 
giving orders to various subordinates as they arrive. She dismisses them 
all except for an old monk, who remains standing at her side.
Tomonatsu greets the PCs and briefly discusses the outcome of the 
duel with Keinosuke. She won’t linger on the issue, however, and quickly 
explains that she has bigger concerns. The forces of the Shadowlands 
have led repeated assaults on her section of the Wall, each time with 
greater intensity, in what she knows were attempts to probe the defenses. 
Her scouts have now spotted a much larger force, which will be here in a 
matter of hours. She requests the help of the PCs in defending the Wall.
Some characters might be hesitant to agree to help her, particularly 
if Keinosuke is alive and they wish to get back to Seppun Hirohide. The 
GM should remind them, however, that as they are deputies of an Emer-
ald Magistrate, the defense of the Empire against external forces is also 
part of their duty. More pragmatic characters might also realize that if 
the Wall is breached, they will have monsters at their back as they travel 
north. However, most of all, they should recognize that their honor and 
duty demands they help the Crab.
Once the PCs agree to help her, Tomonatsu briefly conveys how to 
handle Keinosuke—either keep him under watch if he’s alive and suspect-
ed, or allow him to fight alongside the Crab if he has won his duel—and 
explains what she needs of them (read the following aloud):
“The battles of the last few days have all been won, but at an ever-
increasing cost. My senior officers are all in the field preparing for 
the final assault, but I need to know what they think should be 
done. As you are impartial arbiters, I need you to go see them and 
come back to meet me once you have all the information you need. 
Then, we can plan a strategy together to protect the Empire.”
She can give the PCs any detail they require, but insists they only have 
a few hours before the battle. She offers basic information on the five of-
ficers she’d like to hear from:
•  Hida Tsukiko is the officer in charge of the Hida troops, which com-
pose the bulk of the army. They are mostly heavily armored melee 
troops. See page 210.
•  Hiruma Yukito leads the scouts of the armies, who also serve as ar-
chery units in battle. He’s the one who spotted the approaching army. 
See page 211.
•  Kaiu Masae is responsible for a small squadron of engineers who both 
repair the Wall and crew the siege weapons. She is currently oversee-
ing repairs of the recent damage to the Wall. See page 212.
•  Kuni Terumi is the lead shugenja, and she has a small cadre of fellow 
priests who perform religious duties and invocations. Her family’s 
knowledge of the Shadowlands is unparalleled. See page 212.
•  Yasuki Hatsu is not a warrior but a quartermaster, and together with 
other members of his family, he performs mundane but essential tasks 
to ensure supplies are maintained. See page 213.
Tomonatsu leaves it up to the PCs to choose whom they want to speak 
with first, as she believes every officer will have relevant insight. Unbe-
knownst to the players, they only have time to speak to three out of the 
five before the forces of the Shadowlands attack the Wall. The GM is free 
to hint at this through descriptions during the following scenes, whether 
of dark clouds gathering on the horizon, or samurai looking more and 
more pressed for time as they get ready as quickly as possible. If the PCs 
succeeded on their check to track Keinosuke to the Wall, they can speak 
to one more officer before the alarm bell tolls. If there are five characters 
or more, they can split up and speak to all of the officers before the battle, 
but they might be at a disadvantage should some of the PCs not have the 
required skills to get the information they need.
If the PCs inquire about the monk (whether they speak to him directly 
or ask Tomonatsu), they learn his name is Gakuto. He is a retired samurai 
who belonged to the Crab Clan. He remains silent through their interac-
tion with Tomonatsu, but she can confirm that he is one of her closest 
advisors, even though he is not a samurai anymore.
The sections below detail the scenes with the individual officers, but 
as discussed above, they can happen in any order, and the players should 
only be allowed to meet three of the officers unless they split up.
Hida Tsukiko, Infantry Officer
Read the following passage aloud:
At the foot of the watchtower, Hida Tsukiko yells orders at her 
troops. She’s among the tallest of the burly Crab warriors here, 
which is saying something, and an impressive collection of scars 
bedecks her hardened face. Her samurai wear scarred armor and 
weary expressions. Some are in the midst of polishing or repairing 
their weapons, but none have fully removed their armor or racked 
their blades.
When the PCs approach her, Hida Tsukiko bluntly tells them that she 
cannot give her report yet (if needed, use the profile for a Veteran Bushi, 
on page 197, with the Perceptive template, page 194, and the Shrewd 
demeanor, page 192). A number of her soldiers (equal to the total num-
ber of PCs) have been missing since last night’s skirmish, and given the 
chaos of the battle, she can’t be sure that they weren’t killed or injured. 
She asks the PCs to find them before they can discuss strategy with her, 
as she needs a full assessment of her troops first.

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