Casual day in Acernos

Now that we have gotten all the serious stuff out of the way (at least for a while), we are going to tell more about the gameplay. Most of the time we are going to use short stories from our campaigns and scenarios as examples for gameplay mechanics and situations.

The story of why you don’t anger the Lady of Mist

In our campaign we had a short war between Agura, god of water and alliance of Lumia, goddess of moon and Morte, god of death. Our player characters are powerful shinigamis who serve the god of death. This scenario takes place during a victory celebration held in Lumia’s capital Umbra. Player characters were invited, because they managed to kill few of Agura’s lords* during the war, however they also made one of Lumia’s ladies* their enemy. One of Lumia’s ex-ladies, Kiku Lady of Mist, is a friend of the player characters and is currently accompanying them. At this point Kaguya, Lady of Moonlight, attacks the player characters with her signature ritual.

Massive white wave of energy discharges across the ballroom and devours dozens of bystanders. The energy wave disintegrates multiple thick stone walls of the gothic castle and rips twenty meters wide and hundreds of meters long crater to floor of the building. One of the player characters manages to avoid the attack, but other one is too slow to react. As Kiku notices one of her friends is going to get hit she uses her own body to shield the player character.

The ritual which would reduce any normal human to ash, only slightly injures the hand which Kiku used to absorb the damage. Then Kiku conjures her katana from the void and proceeds to subdue Kaguya. During next ten seconds of combat Lady of Mist one-sidedly beats Kaguya through a thick stone wall and slashes her half a dozen times with her sword and cuts her right arm cleanly off. Any of these slashes would have been enough to cut a normal human in half or to send a powerful demigod flying.

Gameplay wise this battle took us about half an hour to complete and the combat consisted of three combat rounds with four combatants. Design wise point of this battle was to test combat between one of the most powerful characters in our lore (Lady of Mist) and an average lady (Lady of Moonlight). Even though an average lord is able to single handedly destroy Tentaika’s capital, Rozushito, Kaguya was still easily manhandled by Kiku. This battle also shows how much collateral damage a single attack from a powerful character can cause.

See you next Sunday!

*Lords and ladies are extremely powerful demigods who serve directly under the minor gods. Each minor god has three lords/ladies which means there are a total of nine lords/ladies under a prime god. Morte is an exception as his minor gods have no lords or ladies.

Saiki

Saiki Prefecture

Saiki Prefecture

Saiki is the largest prefecture in Tentaika as it covers the entire Black Sea island belt. An evergreen jungle masks high hills and volcanic mountains which rise from the Mediterranean isles. The islands are loosely populated and most of the prefecture’s population is centered to inner coasts. Boat traffic between isles consists mostly of fisherman, traders and samurai.

Ten'noshima is the largest island in Saiki prefecture. The mountain range of Tenyama spans across the island and it is known amongst the religious minds as home of Kyuubi Ryusaki Ume. The islands capital, Akegata is considered as the religions center in the prefecture. Akegata also has close ties to Genkaisha.

Because of the enormous size of the prefecture, it is impossible to properly enforce law on all the small islands. Because of this, the prefecture has always attracted outlaws, strange cults, demon worshippers and other outcasts. Also on the northern shores of the prefecture lies a shack town of Wasure no wan, which serves as a safe haven for local pirates and other outlaws.

Shimazu Clan

Shimazu clan rules the single largest prefecture in Tentaika. The large size of the prefecture makes it hard to govern from a single location. This has led to increased authority for the vassal clans. Shimazu upholds the old traditions of bushido and they often refrain from meddling with other clans’ affairs. Shimazu clan is well known for its large navy and the unique methods for naval warfare.

Ritualism has changed the nature of naval warfare. This can be clearly seen in the way Shimazu’s special forces operate. Fast and maneuverable strike boats are favored amongst Shimazu’s naval forces. From these boats ritualists can either sink ships from hundreds of meters away or infantry can be brought into a running distance from the enemy ships. From there the infantry can run on top of the water to board the ships.

Shimazu clan values skill in ritualism and channeling and the clan has many training centers scattered around the prefecture. These training centers specialize in teaching Agura’s and Luca’s rituals and self-channeling and only the best young samurai are accepted as students. The clan has a tradition to reward the best ritualists and channelers during graduation every year. These champions receive honor and respect among the clan. This has been proven as a successful way to encourage young samurai to push their limits during their training.

 

See you next Sunday!

Tenshu

Tenshu Prefecture

Tenshu Prefecture

Tenshu prefecture’s Mediterranean climate has spawned great evergreen forests around Aira Yama. Most of the landscape of Tenshu prefecture is dominated by lush forests and hills. Forests are relatively easy to travel due to almost nonexistent underbrush. Forests climb up the volcanic Aira Yama range and many hidden temples and villages reside in Aira Yama’s steep coves. Kenzan Wetlands are part of Tenshu prefecture. The wetlands are scarcely populated and most people living in the wetlands are outlaws or members of secret organizations and cults.

The city of Tenshu is located on the shores of Uchijiro gulf and it is built in between the sharp seashore cliffs. To save precious building space most of the buildings in the city are high pagodas. These high-rising buildings have built-in walkways between towering structures. Tenshu is known for its beautiful architecture and high standard of living. The prefecture is rich in ores and gems as well as rare Aira Silk which is harvested from gigantic spiders living in the mountains.

Kido Clan

The Kido clan is among the smallest of the seven warrior clans. Even though Kido is a relatively small clan they are very wealthy because of their silk, ore and gem trade. The clan itself is very similar to Kawachi clan. Both clans prefer lightly armored infantry and they prefer swords over other weapons. The clan is also known for their high standard of training and in channeling and ritualism arts they are second only to Genkaisha. Unlike their neighbor Okano, Kido is rather lax when it comes to bushido. This mentality is due to the fact that Chōhō Butai works directly under Kido clan.

Chōhō Butai is an old organization of shinobi who work under Kido clan. Originally Chōhō Butai was founded by the Shogun to act as an intelligence and assassination corps for his own use. Time has changed the organization which is now directly under Kido control. Chōhō Butai indirectly accepts contracts from other warrior clans. These contracts are usually information gathering or assassinations. However Chōhō Butai rarely accepts contracts against the ruling shogun clan.

 

See you next Sunday!

Daisen

Daisen Prefecture

Daisen Prefecture

Open plains reach from the eastern Uchijiro gulf shores all the way to the Raiden Yama which bottlenecks the plains before the border city of Hyūga. The plains are heavily farmed on both sides of Raiden Yama and the soil around Hyūga is fertile on both sides of the Shokotsu River and many villages reside in that area. Hyūga is a castle city which has grown from a mere border watch village into a lively city and it is located in the far eastern Tentaika. The city has grown somewhat isolated from rest of the country.

City of Daisen is rich and large city which thrives as a major trade hub for the western Tentaikan merchants. Daisen is built on eroded cluster of cliffs by the coast. This natural defense has somewhat reduced the growth of the city which has expanded on other cliffs near its original location. This has given Daisen a unique form which no other city in Tentaika has.

Okano Clan

Virtues of bushido guide the hands of Okano clan and none of the other warrior clans dedicate their life to bushido as Okano does. The clan is also the closest supporter of current ruling Shogun clan. Samurai of Okano are very proud of their old traditions and they often despise samurai from other clans as they are more slack and forgiving when it comes to seven dogmas of bushido.

Whereas other warrior clans are giving up the idea of cavalry and heavy ō-yoroi wearing samurai, the Okano clan has kept up the tradition. The large open fields of Daisen prefecture are the main reason for use of cavalry and the fact that almost all of Daisen prefecture’s samurai use full ō-yoroi is due to the Okano clan’s habit of always being ready for open war.

Okano’s neighbor clans are Kawachi and Kido. Okano has sworn rivalry against Kawachi, which they believe to have gained too much responsibility and power from the Shogun. Samurai of Okano remind Kawachi clan about this with constant duel requests and sometimes the clans have small scale conflicts on their border regions. Okano’s southern neighbor Kido clan is a mundane clan in eyes of regular samurai, but feared in the eyes of Okano clan’s leaders.

 

See you next Sunday!

Koshi

Koshi Prefecture

Koshi Prefecture

City of Koshi rises in the tip of the Uchijiro gulf. The city was built before the war of Daisen Teikei roughly thousand years ago. Koshi was originally built as a castle to protect the western Tentaika against attacks from the east. The strategic location of Koshi has always made it a centerpiece of wars in Tentaika. Koshi is also the largest trade hub between eastern and western Tentaika as well as with neighbor state Aleria. Trade alone makes Koshi a thriving city which competes with Rozushito in wealth and size. Koshi is also known for its many gardens. In fact, Koshi is also called the “City of Cherry Blossoms”.

Small border castle of Hokuto was built next to Shirokami mountain range after the first war between Aleria and Tentaika. Hokuto protects a river which runs through Shirokami Mountains. This river has later become an active trade route between Tentaika and Aleria. City of Nemuro stands on Shokotsu River bank which marks the eastern border of Koshi prefecture. During winter Koshi prefecture is covered in snow. Usually snowfall starts during late winter and lasts until early spring. Winter is by no means as stark as in northern Aleria. Only Hokuto area suffers from dense snow and weather under minus twenty Celsius.

Kawachi Clan

Kawachi Clan is well known for its Kōken’nin-Tai organization. Kōken’nin-Tai is a special police organization which deals with assassination attempts, specializes to counter-espionage and hunts outlaws who are beyond ability of a standard samurai force. Kōken’nin-Tai training is harsh, and only a handful of samurai are chosen to serve in Kōken’nin-Tai each year. Kōken’nin-Tai has authorization from the Shogun to operate in other prefectures and they have authority over standard samurai caste. Kawachi Clan also accepts candidates to Kōken’nin-Tai from other clans.

Kawachi Clan is pretty tolerant about bushido and the clan does not force the virtues down their samurai’s throats. However clan values loyalty and self-improvement. Kawachi Clan has long history of conflicts with Okano Clan. Each year, few small skirmishes occur with Okano clan near Nemuro and Shokotsu River area.

Samurai of Kawachi clan rarely rely in horseback fighting or archery and most of their samurai prefer swords over staff weapons. Number of ritualists and channeling capable samurai in Kawachi clan is among highest of warrior clans.

 

See you next Sunday!

Hohiro

Hohiro Prefecture

Hohiro Prefecture

Flat light broadleaf forests and small lakes span across Hohiro prefecture. Farming, hunting and fishing around large Saiko Lake produces enough food to be exported to trade. Hohiro prefecture also produces the bulk of cotton and wheat in Tentaika. City of Hohiro is built on river mouth on Saiko Lake’s south shore. City’s spacious grid plan expands on both riverbanks. Each house has plenty of room for a small garden and a backyard. Hohiro is almost as large as the entire capital city of Rozushito, but its total population is far from the largest cities in Tentaika.

Hohiro prefecture is well known for its dark and mystic forest which expands on prefectures northern border. Kuro no Mori has been throughout ages the origin of horror stories and scapegoat for blights in northern Tentaika. Kuro no Mori is an ancient forest which grows large and thick compared to any other forest in the known world. Its trees are massive and they create labyrinthine canopy which blocks daylight almost completely. Thick underbrush and clusters of rocky cliffs makes traveling dangerous and slow. The forest is an asylum for demons which rage across the northern borders of Tentaika.

Shinrinki Clan

Hohiro prefecture has long and harsh history, as relatively small prefecture ruled by Shinrinki Clan. Shinrinki Clan gained its status as a warrior clan and the ruler of Hohiro prefecture for their prowess in war against demon hordes over thousand years ago. Shinrinki Clan actively patrols the Kuro no Mori border in order to keep demon incursions to minimum in northern Tentaika. Shinrinki the suffers highest death rate for samurai from all seven warrior clans. This has led the clan to accept more recruits from lower castes to take on the life of a samurai in their border ranger units.

Many clans despise the fact that a common peasant is able to enlist in Shinrinki’s ranger corps. Virtues of bushido indeed weight little in the ranger corps were each mission into Kuro no Mori or even standard border watch duty might prove fatal. Ranger corps still maintains strict discipline during its initial training which is known to be harsh. Shinrinki Clan also employs large number of ronin as demon hunters which fill the ever thin ranks of ranger corps.

Like all warrior clans, Shinrinki has number of vassal samurai clans under them. Castle Fujô and Uguisu are homes of two of the most influential samurai clans in Hohiro prefecture. Fujô castle is located on western tip of Saiko Lake, Fujô is home of Kamata Clan. Uguisu castle is located in north from Hohiro and it is the home of Akamiya Clan. Most important samurai positions in Shinrinki clan are usually filled from “true” samurai as other clans like to call their own. While Shinrinki clan respects their ranger corps, their influential samurai who are responsible for political decision making are mostly from respected samurai families or clans.

See you next Sunday!

Mikan

Mikan Prefecture

Mikan Prefecture

Mikan prefecture is governed by Onishi Clan. Southern parts of prefecture produce a lot of rice, fruits and meat from its fertile slopes and valleys. Prefecture is also known for its excessive mining. Shirokō and Genkaisha steel are plenty in mountains. Mountains are also the home of widely spread Yukisaru monkeys and many creatures such as Inugami and Baku.

The prefecture is divided to southern temperate broadleaf forest region, mountain region which spans from the center towards western border and northern swamplands region. Kurokawa River runs across the Mikan prefecture border and its banks are filled with farms and villages. City of Mikan, which is built next to Kurokawa River, is home of Onishi Clan.

Another two large cities are Shibushi and Dorodani. City of Shibushi was founded by Onishi Clan as an outpost in northern mountains to protect Mikan prefecture from dangers of Kuro no Mori. Shibushi was originally only a fortress with small community of farmers but after discovery of large gold and Genkaisha steel deposit from the nearby mountains, the small town started to grow. Castle city of Dorodani was built in wake of demon incursions from Kuro no Mori few hundred years ago. Along with Mikan, Shibushi and Ōyodo they form strong line of castles which ward the densely populated south.

Onishi Clan

Onishi Clan has long history as former society of warrior monks. Onishi Clan honors their past and standard Onishi Clan garb resembles the warrior monk outfit. Clan has great knowledge of channeling arts and martial arts and they are very secretive about their teachings. Great punishment falls to those bushi who are caught to teach their clan’s secrets to outsiders.

Onishi Clan is obliged to defend the Northwest side of Kuro no Mori against demons and outlaws which terrorize the north. Onishi Clan has little obligations outside their guard duty in north. The clans Pursuits towards human mental and physical perfection are cornerstones of Onishi philosophy. Martial arts and meditation are important expertise among Onishi Clan. Clan samurai constantly test their strength in duels. Independence and vigor are virtues among the Onishi. Clan has always had mixed loyalty towards Shogun. Onishi values their own tradition and autonomy over the ruling Clan.

See you next year!

Genkaisha

Genkaisha Prefecture

Genkaisha Prefecture

Genkaisha prefecture is the smallest prefecture in Tentaika and unlike any other prefecture it is not ruled by a samurai clan. Genkaisha prefecture is instead ruled by a five member council. Outside its governmental system Genkaisha prefecture is best known for its mining that produces large amounts of Genkaisha steel and black Genkaisha stone. 

Genkaisha Prefecture is located on rocky peninsula on eastern edge of Black Sea. Prefecture’s capital is well known across the Tentaika. The city is the biggest and most important spiritual and religious hub in entire Tentaika. Genkaisha’s priests and priestesses are known for their vast knowledge of channeling and ritualism and thus many wealthy samurai families send their children to train in Genkaisha. The city is also favored by rich artist and they produce a large quantity of first-class art. The city also offers the services of its demon hunting warrior priestesses for other prefectures.

Genkaisha High Council

Unlike other prefectures Genkaisha prefecture is not ruled by a warrior clan. Genkaisha prefecture is instead ruled by the Genkaisha High Council. Under normal circumstances the High Council has five members, the head of the warrior priestesses, the treasurer, the politician, the religious head and the mundane head. The five bodies of Genkaisha are led by these five members.

 

The five bodies of Genkaisha are official governmental organizations of the Genkaisha prefecture. These organizations handle different aspects of Genkaisha prefecture’s main functions just like in any other prefecture. When in other prefectures all of the official governmental organizations work either directly or indirectly under one person, namely the daimyo of the prefecture’s ruling warrior clan, in Genkaisha each body works under one High Council member and these members have almost daimyo-like power over their body.

The organizational structure of a body is similar to any other official organization in Tentaika. The High Council member that leads the body has full authority over the body. Under the council member works a number of lower ranking officials that answer directly to her.  These officials are usually given power to make independent decisions on smaller things that fall under their specialization and only the most important decisions are made by the council member.

Official positions in a body are usually granted for life and they cannot be inherited. However it is common that certain official positions stay in a single family for multiple generations. This is because officials can give recommendations for their successor when they are retiring and usually high ranking officials train their heirs for the position they work in.

See you next Sunday!

Rozushito Prefecture

From this week onwards we will be talking about the different prefectures and their ruling clans in Tentaika. This day’s topic is the Rozushito prefecture, which is also the capital prefecture of Tentaika. In Tentaika every prefecture is named after its capital city. As a note all the maps and names of places may change in the future.

Rozushito Prefecture

Rozushito is the center of Tentaika. The Capital city has over five hundred thousand inhabitants. Rozushito is one of the few cities in Tentaika which are capable to handle such population. The city has an ancient water system which supplies it with fresh water. These ancient aqueducts bump life into the huge city which is filled with luxury amenities.

City of Rozushito is divided into five districts. Kogane district is the administrative district which houses residences for every samurai clan when they are making visit in Rozushito. Kogane district is also home district of Satake clan which is the current ruling Shogun clan of Tentaika. District also offers relaxation services for samurai.

Kaigan district houses large commercial docks. Most of the Rozushito’s traders live in the Kaigan district, and it is often referred as “merchant caste district”. Arata district is only real district outside the main city walls. Arata district was originally a suburb which was governed by samurai clan Kojima. Arata district is usually referred as “poor man’s district”. Illegal gambling and shady underground activities are common, and other clans of Rozushito often criticize the Kojima clan for being part of the illegal activities or just ignoring them. Momiji district is built around fortress which is located on the banks of Kurokawa River. Momiji district is governed by samurai clan Daishi. On other side of the river, lies Shinju district which is home of Sakagami clan.

Outside the capital’s walls, prefecture has idyllic mid-Tentaikan feel with hillsides and many small villages. Most of the Kurokawa River area is heavily populated by farmers and fishers. Population density in the prefecture is among highest of the entire Tentaika.

Satake Clan

Satake clan is the current ruling clan of Tentaika. Satake has reigned in peace for last three hundred years. Satake clan values tenets of bushido and samurai rule over ever growing power of merchant caste. Satake clan has weakened dramatically after Black Dragon Coup three hundred years ago. In fact, Satake clan has only retained its position as Shogun clan due to the high respect which they receive from all other warrior clans.

Satake clan takes cunning steps in everlasting dance of politics and game for power and ultimate rule for Tentaika. Unlike in neighbor country of Aleria where politics and the struggle for power is more aggressive, Tentaikan politics are formed around honor and respect towards other clans which is far more subtle than Alerian politics. Satake clan trusts to their good relations with other clans to retain their seat to power.

See you next Sunday!

Ritualism overview

Ritualism

Today’s topic is ritualism. In a nutshell ritualism is the skill of borrowing and manipulating the power of gods. Each of the ten prime gods is almost omnipotent, however each of them is specialized in certain elements and different broad concepts such as sun which covers light, heat, fire and so on. For ritualists it is much easier to draw powers from a god under whom the element falls under.

In Mundus RPG most of the rituals are short and can be used in combat. Soldiers usually call these rituals combat rituals and for common people they are simply known as spells. These “combat” rituals range from offensive to defensive and healing rituals and almost all of them can be cast in five seconds or less. Ritualists usually specialize in one or two gods and they are unable to cast rituals that fall under other gods. However some ritualists are able to cast rituals from all five gods from either Acernos or Ascendes.

There are also enchanting rituals which are used to permanently imbue the power of a god to a weapon or some other object. The enchanting process usually takes several hours to complete and the length and difficulty of this process is determined by the amount of power imbued to the item. Enchanting rituals are most commonly used to enhance weapons.

See you next Sunday!