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Plots/plot seeds for samurai/bushi adventures in Fantasy Nippon?

Started by Matt, March 23, 2016, 04:31:57 PM

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Matt

#15
March 24, 2016, 12:48:52 AM
Quote from: Bren;887055I see what you did there.

Might as well steal Yojimbo while you are at it. It's a Noir Detective novel with a faded Mon painted over it. Which newer coats of paint then turned into a Spaghetti Western, a Military Sci Fi novel, and a Bruce Willis movie. It features two rival factions vying for control of a town and the hero(es) in the middle alternately pitting one side against the other to bring both of them down.


Yeah, that was Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett. One of the Continental Op stories. So borrowed from him and then passed around quite a lot.

Opaopajr

#16
March 24, 2016, 10:16:54 PM Last Edit: March 24, 2016, 10:19:15 PM by Opaopajr
Quote from: Bren;886991Why would anyone think that sounded odd?

Some people don't like Wick's and company's writing. And some don't like the L5R pseudo-pan-Asia pastiche, especially of later L5R . (It was trying to get away from its Not-Japan stigma by trying to mix in more East Asian cultures on the periphery.) And then there's the poor grasp of clan, instead converted into a singular archetype/stereotype. And then there's the perpetually apocalyptic and soap opera-esque metaplot baggage over the years...

But I found the 1e Clan Books very well done in terms of very gameable bits and pieces along the edges. If this is a more faithful rendition to feudal Japan, plus fantasy, some would say such pastiche of garbled translations and baggage would be a poor source to start. However I am not so purist to say there are no good seeds from such a pile.

I think there is plenty of discrete material worth sifting and porting, without worry of "cross-contamination." And more of the periphery seed material.comes with plenty of colorful description to help make it more convertable to elsewhere.
Just make your fuckin\' guy and roll the dice, you pricks. Focus on what\'s interesting, not what gives you the biggest randomly generated virtual penis.  -- J Arcane
 
You know, people keep comparing non-TSR D&D to deck-building in Magic: the Gathering. But maybe it\'s more like Katamari Damacy. You keep sticking shit on your characters until they are big enough to be a star.
-- talysman

Rincewind1

#17
March 25, 2016, 05:10:50 AM
The important question in any setting where interaction with rigid social structure will obviously occur, is to ask yourself who'll be the PCs - are they part of the structure, or as supposed in classic fantasy RPG campaigns, outsiders?

I'll post a few that came to my mind, though most apply to the latter:

  • An insane peasant inventor is testing out his new transportation device, that is supposed to circumvent the ban on wheels issued by the Shogun. For obvious reasons, this earns the ire of both local lords loyal to the shogun, as well as samurai in general. The peasants however, are strongly counting on this device to improve their lot., and hire the party to protect the inventor from harm.

  • A highly sought noble maiden has fallen in love with a ninja who has accidentally saved her life. She asks the group to find him so that she may profess her love. The time's however running out, as her father's organising a great competition, the prize - being the groom. If the ninja's found, he will perform excellently, but various samurai will attempt to prove falsity of his noble birth (which is actually legitimate) and underhand him, going as far as to try to assassinate him. Of course, the party can help out the ninja, or compete as well.

  • A noble lord has been formally accused by his rival of falsifying his heritage coming from unclean family - his great-great-great-grandfather was a tanner. Wishing to avoid a costly war in defence of his honour, he enlists heroes to find proof of his noble heritage - they travel to the village from which the great-great-great-grandfather. There, however, they find a much darker secret, a bloodied past of dealings with oni still alive in the village, haunted by ghosts sacrificed on altar of ambition.

  • A string of mysterious murders hits the village, each victim having a symbol painted on their forehead in blood - a Kanji sign for Forest. They have started after a lone ronin arrived into the village. He has aptly demonstrated his skills in murder as he was attacked just outside the village by two drunken robbers (whom nobody misses). The village's innkeeper hires the party as protectors, as for some reason he believes he'll be next - he is obviously terrified. The first night after the party is hired, the inn is attacked by a horrendous force of spirits, and the ronin comes to the party's aid, revealing himself as a ghost hunter, not a ronin. It turns out there's something truly repulsing in village's history, something that now takes revenge on it's inhabitants. The party must find out the details of the curse, and undo it, or else everyone will die, one by one.

  • While travelling through a forest, the group suddenly starts to notice the forest is looking a bit too familiar...as they do so, they notice a friendly looking old man preparing tea on the sideroad, who smiles as they approach. And so begins an odd travel through one of the games of oni.

  • As war between two Daimyo rages, one of them hires the heroes to find for him a weapon with which he feels he'll be able to topple the scales of the war- Heavenly Cleaver of Musazhi Hanzo, the legendary sword of the founder of School of Four Strokes, a sword fabled to be able to cut through mountains themselves. There's of course a problem - the Katana was supposedly interred along his corpse, in a tomb that has been well hidden by his followers, as they were outlaws in those days, for their school was considered too dangerous for the Shogunate. Of course, finding the location of the tomb is only the first step on the dangerous road through a maze of traps, illusions and monsters, prepared to test the resolve of any that wishes to claim the famed blade.
Furthermore, I consider that  This is Why We Don\'t Like You thread should be closed

Dave 2

#18
March 25, 2016, 05:39:06 AM
If you get a chance, check out the trilogy starting with Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn.  It's kind of Japan plus magic and ninjas, but very well done.

+1 for the 1e L5R books.  There's a lot of ideas there.  And speaking of the Challenge-Focus-Strike format, I was going to point you to the Alderac forums for a couple of good threads, but I see THEY NUKED THE FORUMS so never mind.

Nihilistic Mind

#19
March 25, 2016, 01:53:18 PM
Quote from: Dave R;887290but I see THEY NUKED THE FORUMS so never mind.

Arg! WHAT?!?
Running:
Dungeon Crawl Classics (influences: Elric vs. Mythos, Darkest Dungeon, Castlevania).
DCC In Space!
Star Wars with homemade ruleset (Roll&Keep type system).

Dave 2

#20
March 25, 2016, 02:49:46 PM
Quote from: Nihilistic Mind;887371Arg! WHAT?!?

L5R's gone off Alderac's forum and nothing's up on Fantasy Flight's.  Google's got nothing.  I knew FF had bought the line, but I hadn't expected the forums to be orphaned this quickly.

Lynn

#21
March 25, 2016, 06:04:37 PM
I am sure you can find them someplace on the 'net, but the Mito Komon series, a chambara TV show, is great for the 'wandering into town and sticking one's nose into it' sort of plots.
Lynn Fredricks
Entrepreneurial Hat Collector

Opaopajr

#22
March 25, 2016, 07:25:31 PM
It's rather tragic keeping up with AEG's downward spiral of the past decade. But it seems they gave up the ghost years ago and have been coasting on rabid fan goodwill. Seems like they had about as much gas as WW, but with stronger CCGs to drag out the inevitable a bit longer.
Just make your fuckin\' guy and roll the dice, you pricks. Focus on what\'s interesting, not what gives you the biggest randomly generated virtual penis.  -- J Arcane
 
You know, people keep comparing non-TSR D&D to deck-building in Magic: the Gathering. But maybe it\'s more like Katamari Damacy. You keep sticking shit on your characters until they are big enough to be a star.
-- talysman

kosmos1214

#23
March 26, 2016, 08:04:36 PM
Quote from: Matt;886963Anybody know any good places to find plots/plot seeds for samurai/bushi adventures in Fantasy Nippon? System doesn't matter much as I can adapt (using either Bushido or RuneQuest) as needed; it's mainly the ideas I'm looking to mine.

Also, does anyone recall if Sengoku or Oriental Adventures had any plots/adventures in them? I have the books but they are not available for me to check at the moment.

Finally, anyone know any good samurai warrior adventure novels? I've read Musashi but don't know any other good ones.

try
Carried by the Wind: Tsukikage Ran

the show is a parody of period drama so there are whole episodes that can have the plots ripped out

Dave 2

#24
March 30, 2016, 07:50:16 PM
Quote from: Nihilistic Mind;886977As far as ideas, Challenge Focus Strike contests from the L5R (AEG) forum should give you plenty to look into.

CFS are usually short situation to resolve rather than entire scenarios etc.

Okay, here's something that's still up.

Opaopajr

#25
March 30, 2016, 08:49:19 PM
Quote from: Dave R;888513Okay, here's something that's still up.

Good find, thanks! At least the rabid fandom can keep some of the worthwhile creations in community circulation.
Just make your fuckin\' guy and roll the dice, you pricks. Focus on what\'s interesting, not what gives you the biggest randomly generated virtual penis.  -- J Arcane
 
You know, people keep comparing non-TSR D&D to deck-building in Magic: the Gathering. But maybe it\'s more like Katamari Damacy. You keep sticking shit on your characters until they are big enough to be a star.
-- talysman

kobayashi

#26
March 31, 2016, 03:44:25 AM
The Tomoe Gozen Trilogy by Jessica Amanda Salmonson :

  • Tomoe Gozen
  • The Golden Naginata
  • Thousand Shrine Warrior

There's really good stuff in there, definitely check them out if you can.

Nihilistic Mind

#27
March 31, 2016, 11:20:08 AM
Quote from: Dave R;888513Okay, here's something that's still up.

Dude, you rock!
Running:
Dungeon Crawl Classics (influences: Elric vs. Mythos, Darkest Dungeon, Castlevania).
DCC In Space!
Star Wars with homemade ruleset (Roll&Keep type system).

crkrueger

#28
April 01, 2016, 08:16:17 AM Last Edit: April 01, 2016, 08:19:53 AM by CRKrueger
Even the the "cutting edge" storygamers for all their talk of narrative, plot, and drama are fucking obsessed with the god damned rules they use. - Estar

Yes, Sean Connery\'s thumb does indeed do megadamage. - Spinachcat

Isuldur is a badass because he stopped Sauron with a broken sword, but Iluvatar is the badass because he stopped Sauron with a hobbit. -Malleus Arianorum

"Tangency Edition" D&D would have no classes or races, but 17 genders to choose from. -TristramEvans

Nihilistic Mind

#29
April 04, 2016, 11:56:08 AM
Quote from: CRKrueger;888846...there you go. :D

Awesome!
Running:
Dungeon Crawl Classics (influences: Elric vs. Mythos, Darkest Dungeon, Castlevania).
DCC In Space!
Star Wars with homemade ruleset (Roll&Keep type system).
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