Just a Quick Day Trip Into Hell

 I could never really get into Legend of the Five Rings; it was a game that put a lot of things under a single tent, usually to its detriment. Its origins as a collectible card game meant that player character groups usually didn't have a reason to work together unless they were the setting's equivalent of the FBI, Emerald Magistrates, and even then, there was going to be tension between groups. (There were other party types, but that was the most popular.) 

There was also the problem that the more that you knew about Asian history and culture, particularly Japan's societal codes, the more you were able to navigate the complexities of the setting - which can be annoying when one of your players assures you that you're playing a particular aspect of Rokugan wrong. You also had the clomping foot of the card game influencing events in the RPG, which created some truly bizarre events, like the normally steadfast Lion being corrupted by the Shadowlands taint because that particular deck archetype won a tournament.

One of my favorite supplements of all time, The Second Books of the Shadowlands: Bearers of Jade was written for Legend of the Five Rings, and it was a masterpiece - a collection of fragments coming together to form a greater whole, the irradiated and blasted world beyond the safety of Rokugan, Fantasy Fucking Vietnam before that phrase became popular. Somebody described it as turning L5R into Call of Cthulhu, but for my money, that's a good thing. Doomslayers: Into the Labyrinth for Wraith: The Oblivion tread on similar ground, small parties of adventurers wandering into extremely hostile environment for special forces missions.

The below is my attempt to write an adventure where the characters pursue the heir to a clan into the Shadowlands. Another project that I got into and then half-finished, mostly because other life events claimed my attention, but it's got some nice scenes. I like the idea of slitting open a monster's belly to reveal a zombified samurai, the Hiruma samurai left waiting for relief that never comes, and the goblins directing a blinded, mammoth monster. There's some good stuff in there.

I did run a Shadowlands adventure that used some of this material; it climaxed with the characters encountering Fu Leng as an old fisherman that they drifted past. I don't think that the moment landed with the appropriate force, mostly because they were new to L5R, but I liked the idea of Fu Leng just hanging out in his blighted wasteland, fishing in a dead river.

I like the idea of a blighted land; it would probably translate pretty well to an OSR game, with its higher levels of lethality and more of an acceptance of the fragility of PCs.

JUST A QUICK DAY TRIP INTO HELL

 

Summary: After an Otomo heir goes into the Shadowlands, the samurai are dispatched to retrieve him from the hideous parody of the Rokugani court that he's been dragged into.

 

GM Notes: This adventure takes place approximately sixty years before the Scorpion Clan Coup. The Taint still acts like a radioactive taint for anybody who's near it, Fu Leng is still making his plans in the wastes and the Spider Clan doesn't exist. 

 

It's also strongly suggested that the GM of this adventure purchase the sterling Bearers of Jade: The Second Book of the Shadowlands, both because it's the best supplement written about the Shadowlands and because this adventure goes with the assumptions contained in that book: That samurai are essentially walking into hell with their balls out when they enter into the Shadowlands. (In fact, you can consider this adventure Bearers of Jade fanfic, it's that heavily influenced.)

 

BACKGROUND:

 

Six months before the adventure began, the Crab made an error in Otosan Uchi's court. In response to a Crane goad about the strength of Crab arms, the Crab delegate made a declaration: under Crab protection, it would be possible to have a picnic in the Shadowlands and remain perfectly safe. To the surprise of the Crab, the Crane challenged him to prove it. Why would he not walk into hell and eat a fine meal there? And the Crab responded: Of course. If you come with me. 

 

Of course, there's more going on. The Crab can brag of their scars and boast about how dangerous the Shadowlands are, but their exaggeration - plus a Scorpion whispering campaign - has damaged their credibility. The average courtier believes that the Shadowlands are dangerous, but no more so than any dangerous environment, survivable with the right precautions.

 

The Crab intends to walk the Crane through the Shadowlands, traumatize him with a few well-timed scares from known sources of danger, and bring him back to tell stories of just how dangerous the Shadowlands are - thereby justifying the Crab's subsequent war of expansion against the Scorpion. The Crane are trapped by their own diplomatic mistake, but they don't trust the Crab. They're going to send in their own team of Daidoji scouts to protect their courtier. And the Otomo going along as a supervisor has plans of his own.

 

(What if the Scorpion and the Crane taunt each other into a Shadowlands lunch?)

That this is going to be a disaster goes without saying. It's up to the PCs to decide just how much of a disaster.

 

PLAYER INTRODUCTION

 

The characters, considered promising samurai, have been invited to accompany a young Otomo who's following the Crab/Crane delegation to the Wall in order to supervise what's clearly a matter of the court. As the characters aren't expected to travel into the Shadowlands, their job should be considered, of course, largely a minor formality. Be sure to wink broadly when you say this.

 

ACT ONE:

 

The characters have been at the Kaiu Wall for two days when the scenario begins, enjoying the hospitality of the Crab - that is to say, drinking and listening to the Crab brag about their exploits and more drinking. Their charge, Otomo Garu, is a young man of sixteen, and is clearly unimpressed with the Crab. As he's only here to provide Imperial presence, and not to actually do anything, most of his time is spent in his quarters, writing elaborate poetry, to the quiet amusement of the Crab. 

 

It's obvious that the Crab are unnaturally tense. An impromptu wrestling match turns into a bloody fistfight before a Crab sergeant wades in and beats both fighters down with a bokken. A duel erupts between a pair of samurai, ending with a gruesome stab wound that requires the services of a shugenja to heal. A successful Awareness roll (TN 15) establishes that this isn't so much about honor so much as boredom. Stuck eternally in the moment before a battle, the Crab are beginning to turn in on themselves.  The Crab here know that the action is going to be against the Scorpion, and they're wishing themselves there rather than here.

 

Around the end of the first day, Otomo Garu finally emerges from his tent to attend dinner. On his way to dinner, his attention is drawn to a samurai-ko - Hida Samei - who's in the middle of an impromptu wrestling match with a fellow samurai. Garu stops dead to watch her as she evades, then pins her opponent. When she sees his obvious interest in her, she finishes her match and invites him to wrestle, clearly teasing the younger man. Garu, utterly unused to the crudity of the gesture, is left without anything to say. A successful Etiquette roll (TN 10) will salvage the situation with a polite refusal on Garu's behalf. Samei laughs, but relents. A Perception roll (TN 15) suggests that Garu just got his first crush.

 

The dinner is uneventful. Garu speaks with both the Crab and the Crane, but he seems distracted; his recitation of a well-known haiku designed to commemorate the occasion is halting, and he seems to forget a line. A quick Intelligence check (TN 20) or an Artisan: Haiku (TN 5) provides the opportunity to whisper the next line to him, saving Garu's face and granting a point of Honor for supporting an Imperial family member. The Crane courtier, Kakita Dotei rescues him if the player characters don't, and looks blandly smug for the remainder of the meal. 

The PCs will pick up the following from various drunken conversations:

 

- There's talk of a push to retake the Hiruma lands, which has been a goal of the Crab clan for a long time. Pick one PC; a successful TN 20 Perception attribute check has them overhear a drunken Crab talk about the plans for invading Scorpion lands before he "accidentally" catches an elbow to the throat from a senior sergeant, after which he spends some time throwing up sake.

 

- There's a lot of snickering - not all of it well-disguised - about how clever the Crab diplomat (Hida Semai) was to trap the Crane diplomat into going into the Shadowlands. It's not so much malicious as delight over one of the few diplomatic victories that the Crab have experienced.

 

When the dinner ends, the entertainment begins, as a pair of hefty Sumo wrestlers shove and slap at each other. Garu excuses himself with the pretext of making a visit to the water closet, but instead crosses the room to where Hida Samei sits. He gracelessly sits next to her and whispers something to her; Samei looks suddenly disgusted, then whirls and puts an elbow into his face. The court erupts as Garu crumples to the floor, bleeding from his nose. Samei rises to her feet and demands that Garu duel her to first blood to answer for his insult.

 

The PCs can do what they want; if they threaten Samei, however, they find themselves facing off against four or five high-ranking Crab, all with swords drawn and reinforcements at the ready. Hauling Garu to his feet and asking him what he said - privately - seems the best course of action with a successful Etiquette roll (TN 15).

 

Garu, with some prompting, reluctantly explains. He wanted to romance Samei, but his tongue wouldn't find the rights words, and what was meant as praise of her beauty - an opaque comparison to her body to a flower - came out as something that could easily be read as an obscene suggestion instead. Samei, taking it the wrong way, punched his lights out. Garu, as a member of the Imperial family, isn't somebody that you can strike, but openly admitting that he just whispered a sexual suggestion to a ranking samurai isn't going to fly either. A successful Etiquette roll (TN 20) smooths the situation over by suggesting that Samei simply misunderstood a polite request as to the location of the water closet.

 

If Garu duels Samei, his weak swordsmanship sees him almost instantly disarmed. Samei smirks, then steps forward and kisses Garu full on the lips, to the roar of the watching Crab; Garu's blush can be seen from low orbit. "That's the kind of flower I am," says Samei. "What sort are you?" She's clearly amused by the Otomo's first crush, her initial anger having dimmed. If the PCs duel her, she smirks or glowers at them depending on the outcome of the duel, but is otherwise satisfied. The duel over, the Crab return to the celebration.

 

The celeberation doesn't last long, though. A Crab bursts into the room, walks to the highest ranking Crab (Hida Burei) and whispers something into his ear; Burei stands up and informs the court that a Shadowlands horde has been sighted and is moving towards the Wall, with an estimated arrival time of tomorrow morning. The Crane's excursion into the Shadowlands is going to have to wait until the current situation has been dealt with. In the meantime, the visitors fo the Wall need to be removed to a position of safety.

 

Characters may volunteer to serve on the Wall, but the Crab suggest an alternative: Stay in the second rank to protect the Otomo and the other courtiers. They don't want to insult the PC's bravery, but the characters will get in the way without meaning to because of their unfamiliarity with Crab battle drills. The Crab will be gentle to begin with, but will not hesitate to flatly deny characters permission to the upper levels of the Wall, where the battle will take place. This is serious business, and the Crab aren't here to flatter the character's ego. When the battle begins, the characters are encouraged to dip their swords in jade powder in the event that something breaks through.

 

During the battle, there's nothing that the characters can do. Peasants hustle buckets full of jade powder back and forth, horribly wounded Crab are brought down from the wall, strange and unearthly cries echo over the sound of Crabs screaming battle or death cries. The upper torso of a Crab samurai is hurled from one of the top ramparts of the wall, bounces a few times, and then lands near the characters. The noise of bows firing is so constant that it sounds like the constant chirp of insects at night. A squad of Crab battle-brothers, each with a plume of feathers attached to his helmet, rushes past with their tetsubos at the ready. Five minutes later, a single survivor wanders through the camp, blood seeping from a Taint-riddled empty shoulder socket. Something manages to pull itself over the wall, but it's so swiftly surrounded and beaten to death that the characters only see its remains drooling down the Wall like a wad of spit, leaving a trail of Taint in its path. The gates to the Wall open and close as squads of Hida berserkers sally forth to attack weak points in the Shadowlands horde. (Maybe work in a Bog Hag somehow?)

 

At one terrifying moment, something like a giant centipede makes it over the Wall and into where the characters are.

 

INSERT STATS FOR GIANT CENTIPEDE-LOOKING THING

 

The Oni Mukade isn't just there to fight - Shadowlands creatures use it as a sort of breaching ladder to climb up the wall before the Crab can sever the legs that keep it attached to the wall. Don't feel it necessary to force the characters to kill it; there's Crab all along its length banging away on it with tetsubo and jade-covered swords, so it's not long for this world no matter what the characters do. However, during the fight, Otomo Garu makes a decision. He's going into the Shadowlands to prove his bravery; he is no flower of the court. He takes his horse and rides out when the last few squads of Hida berserkers are coming back from their final sally, and as he's wearing an Imperial crest, they see no need to interrupt his flight. 

 

Unless the characters specifically think to look for him after the Oni Mukade's death, his disappearance isn't noticed until two hours after the battle is over. The realization is greeted with horror. Any member of a clan might die in the Shadowlands unremarked upon, but somebody with Imperial blood being lost in the Shadowlands will make everybody look bad, including the player characters. The Crab immediately organize a search party, but they're still busy smashing down the remainder of the Shadowlands horde to make a full effort. Kakita Dotei suggests the formation of two search parties, with the characters in one party and the courtiers in the other. A Hiruma scout will accompany each party in order to act as a guide. The characters will be provided with enough jade to keep them safe for a week and two pots of jade powder each, but are encouraged strongly not to fight unless they have to. The Otomo's retrieval takes precedence.

 

With that, it's off to the Shadowlands, and the second part of this adventure.

 

PART TWO: OUCH, OUCH OUCH OUCH

 

The characters start their search for Otomo through the remains of the defeated Shadowlands horde. The sickly scent of burning flesh is everywhere, as specially trained peasants throw barrels of pitch and torches at the remains of larger Shadowlands creatures, or bear the remains of Crab dead from the battle. Some of them use a long saw in order to cut through the hide of an Oni the size of a small hut; when its guts spill open, so does the zombie of one of the Crab slain in battle, which is quickly hacked down. Another Crab berserker whirls his tetsubo at a squad of his own men, driven insane by Taint and combat. They keep their distance and deflect his maddened blows, but do nothing more, until a Kuni witch hunter has him shot down by a squad of archers. 

 

The Hiruma scout, Hiruma Harito, will volunteer to track the Otomo down unless any character has a better Shadowlands Lore or Track skills than he does (6k3 and 5k3, respectively). He's clearly unnerved to be wandering into the Shadowlands so soon after a major battle. The Shadowlands, he explains, are more lively after the passage of a Shadowlands horde, and he's concerned that they'll run into its stragglers if they're not careful. Harito would like to avoid this. In fact, Harito's plan to avoid this is to fortify himself with liquid void - opium-infused water - which he drinks out of a water bottle suspended around his neck. His obvious intoxication only shows up long after it's too late to turn back and get somebody who isn't an opium addict. If confronted, Harito admits that he's an addict, but points out that it helps keep him calm and focused at his job of guiding them through hell on earth. (He's right; subtract 2k0 from his Track skill if he's not on the dope.) He'll fight with fists to keep ahold of his liquid void if they try to take it away from him, but eventually relent if given a stern lecture about his responsibility from a higher-ranking samurai. 

 

The Man on the Hill

 

The characters hear the man before they see him. For some reason, screams carry very well in the Shadowlands. 

 

Finding the source of the screams isn't difficult. It's coming from a low hill in the distance, maybe fifty feet at its highest point, a bump covered in scraggly tree roots with a single, gnarled tree growing at its top. Tied to the tree is a man dressed in Hiruma armor, his hands behind his back. He's screaming, over and over again, "BACK! STAY BACK!" 

 

Of course, it's a trap., and not a particularly subtle one. If the characters approach, the roots rip themselves out of the ground and race to the apex of the hill, where they knot themselves around the dessicated body of the Hiruma samurai. The Oni Fushikuredatta Ki - "gnarled tree demon" - strides towards the PCs with the intent to kill. 

 

ONI FUSHIKUEDATTA KI

 

STATS HERE

 

• The PCS discover a small group of battered, grizzled samurai who have been horribly mutated by the Taint; some of them look ancient. When they're asked how long they've been there, they admit that they've only been here for about six weeks. They think.
• Their orders were apparently to hold this position in the Shadowlands to act as a guard for some supplies for an upcoming raid that the Crab are going to make into the Shadowlands, but the supplies have long since spoiled or gone rotten except for a nemuranai that was supposed to go to a shugenja - and even that's been corrupted, subtly, by the taint of the Shadowlands.  
• How do they break it to the samurai that they died for nothing? Do they bring them along? What happens when the Taint overcomes them and they go nuts? 
• If they remember to get the samurai's orders, it's revealed that whoever sent them to that spot fucked up - that means that if they can bring back proof, the guy who wrote the bad orders will be executed. Good thing to know.

  

• The PCs find a road in the Shadowlands that isn't black, sticky mud that makes walking difficult. It's a road built of broken katanas and shattered armor. As the characters continue to walk it, they find corpses that haven't been fully stomped down into the muck yet. At the end, still alive, are one of the samurai from another expedition. (Maybe he's still alive, and they can save him.)

 

• The characters see an old man on the other side of a river; if they watch, he pulls zombies out of the river using a hooked net. All of the zombies caught are wearing clothing that's exactly the same as the PCs.

• Strange lights in the sky. 

• The character find themselves dead, posted as scarecrows in their path - as they get closer, it's just corpses dressed in armor very similar to the PCs. But how they did they get here? And the creatures inside of the armor aren't human corpses; they're curiously eel-like, and have been clearly stitched together out of different kind of eel creature.

 

•  The characters find the remains of a junk stranded in the Shadowlands, far too far away from any water. Maybe they find a diary of the captain in the hull? Maybe there's a sudden flood and they have to make their way to the boat to survive.

 

• The players find the remnants of an enormous Shadowlands creature that's dead or dying - apparently it attacked the wall, because it's got ballista bolts and Crab tetsubo and katana still sticking out of the thing's head. As it crawls along, the goblins clinging to its back point out the samurai - if they don't hide well enough - and the dying creature comes after them. Cue massive combat, including the goblins acting as the creature's eyes.

 

•  The characters discover another one of the samurai groups sent into the Shadowlands, all of them facing each other. All of them have committed seppuku, but there's one missing. They find him later tied to the banner of a Shadowlands patrol, screaming for somebody to kill him. Can they rescue him, even though there's a substantial number of creatures present? (Goblins and ogres?)

 

•  The Otomo heir has become the parodied daimyo of his own little Shadowlands fiefdom, in an effort to destroy his mind and make him into a slave of the Shadowlands. The PCs have to sneak into the court and somehow get him out - but I don't want to have to draw up a huge map...
• Maybe they can use Courtier skills to navigate the parody of Rokugan's life? Or is it too quiet an ending?

 

•  The focus is on corruption and radiation - just by being here, the players are getting fucked up. And the traditional bonds that keep Rokugani society together fray until they break in the Shadowlands.

  

• The sky rains ash, sometimes so deep that it's almost impossible to move.

 

• The samurai find an ancient outpost that was there before the Hiruma clan lands fell. 

• One player has to bring back the sword, but not the Otomo heir - the heir is apparently standing in the way of hiding some crimes from the chosen player's clan, and he can't come back. Bring the sword back, and the crimes are wiped away.

• Another player has to bring back the Otomo heir at all costs, because he can be used as leverage against another clan.