The Forest's Shadows
[a single leaf]
They walk unseen among us, hidden in the crowd or covered by veils which mystify the senses. They are masters of illusion, lords of disguise. They are bound by fate and oath, they live dual life. They are shadows among shadows, bringing confusion and paranoia wherever they go. They hold mystical knowledge in their hands, holding capabilities beyond the ones of any mortal man. You never notice them before it's too late- and then, the screen goes down and the tale is told. No, those are not the faeries- although the changeling are all of that and more. For that reason, if one were to hunt those elusive beings, they have to be as good as them- or better than them- at the art of espionage, sabotage and infiltration.
No, those are not changelings.
Those are ninjas.
The shinobi of the Forest track their origin back to the Sengoku age in Japan, from the Iga province. According to their stories, their origin comes a pact between and ancient clan and a group of powerful yokai, according to which they would serve as their eyes and hands among the lands of men while in return they would no longer steal their sons and daughters to make them as their playthings. While at first the pact was seen as a form of servitude, it has since turned into a form of pride- the contract between them and the yokai has became a sacred thing, giving them purpose, and in exchange all they had to do was to bring back their lords what was stolen from them- souls which escaped their masters, breaking the pact which once bound them to the realms of the gods.
While it was not the first time (or last) time the lords of the yokai has made such pact among mortals, it was undoubtedly one of the most successful. The Mori Kage (as they called themselves) were trained shinobi even before the pact, and thanks to the supernatural gifts of their masters they have became even became even better at their work. While they did knew their ups and downs (such as the unification of the shogunate), they never fell, lingering further and further like the shadows they wished to be- even during Edo's height, the spies of the Oniwaban served their masters, and the Mori Kage walked among them. Their pact with their masters stood by their side in their need, and they they were always willing to lend their services in espionage and assassination for those who were willing to pay the price.
In modernity, the Forest Shadows operate much the same as they always were- they work a delicate network of spies, meant to find rumors about mysterious disappearances, doppelgangers, drastic changes in behavior or anything else which could hint about an escape of a yokai's slave. Those rumors are quickly investigated, and those which are found as relevant are treated by sending a squad to capture the yosei and return it to one of their masters' messengers, if and when their targets are vulnerable enough. After all, the changelings are paranoid beings (and for good reason), and many of them take a number of means for their protection. Thankfully, most of those methods are meant to ward against the yokai- and those story-weaved barriers means nothing for the regular mortals.
While most of their missions come from the conspiracy's own system, sometimes some more... personal missions are given. Instead of searching for a returned yosei in general, any yokai (or one of their messengers) may come for the conspiracy's doorsteps and ask for information, help or even go and hunt a specific changeling for them. As part of the ancient pact between them and the Forest, the Mori Kage are happy to help- but as the pact dictates, the yokai in question has to pay for such services. The payment is divided between both the conspiracy and the hunters which take the contract upon themselves. The conspiracy takes its part in advance, usually in the form of more material wealth- but if the hunter manages to complete the contract, she may gain personal payment from the yokai, which could take anything in the power of the yokai in question (such details are usually finalized before the hunt begins). For that reason, there is a strong competition among the conspiracy over such "personal contracts"- and it ends up with the highest of the conspiracy choosing the ones most suited for the mission. There is, of course, a catch- for if the hunter were to fail the mission, the yokai is able to take its price (all of it) from the hunter in question. The terms for both success and lose are detailed in the contract, leaving it for the hunters themselves to decide whether or not to take the contract. The more difficult the mission is, the greater the prize- and more dangerous is the lose. The conspiracy does not involve in such cases- it is the hunter's own responsibility to not go over their head, after all.
In order to capture a changeling, the Mori Kage usually use two popular methods. the first is pretty straightforward- a cell of hunters maintain close watch around the target, learning their behavior, strengths and weakness until they right time to strike come. Using their own skills and occult techniques, they barge into their target's hideout, capture her before she can even react and run with her into the night, until they get to one of the Forest's reaches and return her to the yokai. Another, more dangerous method includes infiltrating into the changeling's life circle, become his co-worker, his friend, his lover, his husband. Some such projects could last for years and years, in which the shinobi lives false life until the right time comes and she capture her target in a moment of weakness. It is not unheard of shinobi which committed suicide after preforming such betrayal, unable to live with themselves after the act- but the elders (the so called Kyoshin-ki, for their mastery over the ninjutsu gained from their yoaki sponsors) scorn that practice. When you joined the Forest, they say, you knew the requirements- and such death has no honor, and it breaks one's oath with one's gods.
The oath, in the eyes of the Mori Kage, is has to be the most sacred thing in the hunter's life. The oath to serve the Forest's masters has granted protection for not only the conspiracy's members, but also their families, their friends and their loved ones. As long as the oath stands strong, the pact protects the conspiracy from its yokai lords. However, were an hunter to break is oath (by breaking a contract, for example, or revealing the conspiracy or its masters' secrets, or working with changelings against the yokai), the conspiracy becomes vulnerable. Thanks to means unknown by anyone bu the Kyoshin-ki, the breaking of an oath is automatically discovered and their identity is immediately known. A contract is given upon their head, and their are banished from the conspiracy. There is no return from this moment- only the yokai can redeem one for breaking the oath, and most of them prefer to keep such renegade shinobi as playthings in their castles in the Forest.
While changelings are the main focus of the Mori Kage, the shinobi are aware of the other creatures who lurk in the darkness- usually, they don't care about them. Let the demons escape Yomi and let the vampires feast upon blood- as long as they stay out of the conspiracy's interests, they don't mind. However, the yosei of Japan are a cunning folk, making pacts and deals with all sorts of strange beings, sending dozen emissaries to serve their Princess (which has quit a bounty over her head, for those who could manage to get her married). Such connections means that willing or not, the Mori Kage would have to deal with such creatures. From the yosei's point of view, the Mori Kage are nothing more than a rumor- a story from the past about people who are willingly serving the greatest of monsters for personal gain. They whisper about them in back allies and scare newcomers with urban legends about ninjas who jump from the shadows and drag you screaming to the night. They laugh of them in the day- but they still keep one eye in the night, watching to see if the shadows move, only to scold themselves later for being foolish, acting paranoid even for a changeling.
Yes, they are acting foolishly.
After all, the Forest's Shadows move only when no one is watching.
Status:
0- you took the oath upon yourself and became a shinobi in the service of the Forest. You may spend merit dots on Kyoshin Endowment.
000- you have captured many targets for your masters and were repaid appropriately. You get Alternate Identity for 2 dots to help you with your hunt.
00000- you have proved yourself loyal to your oath even in the price of personal pain and suffering. You have been granted to sight to help[ you track down your enemies. You get Unseen Senses (Changelings) for free and can now see through the Mask for a Scene by expanding a Willpower point.
Endowment: Kyoshin (0-00000, special)
Not many know that, but there is a strange resonance working between the strings of fate. People's actions and deeds are being reflected and echoed through the world, creating the sum of connections of what one may call "destiny". The yosei and the yokai are known for weaving those echoes into life in the form of contracts and pledges, yet they what many don't know is that those strings by themselves resonate with gentle, much older melody. Echoes of the past sing through the weave of fate, creating shadows and reflections of what could have been, but isn't. The yokai use that primal resonance in order to weave those shadows into life, creating what changeling know as "Fetches"- but there are other ways to channel that empty fate into marvelous creations- and they taught some of those methods to their beloved Shadows.
Kyoshin is a group of 1-5 merits which allows the hunter to channel the resonance of fate in order to duplicate herself, creating Clones (or Bunshin). In order to create a Bunshin, the hunter must invest a certain resource of her soul, represented by the merit. Each Kyoshin uses one of the following- Willpower, Health or Integrity, although the ST may allow similar "resources" as focus. In order to make a Clone, the hunter must invest (meaning, temporary lower) her resource's rating. She may not lower her resource by more of her Kyoshin or 1, whatever is lower. The created Clone is identical to the hunter, except it has Health and Willpower scores equal to the number of invested resource, and lacks Integrity. The hunter may create numerous Clones using Kyoshin. In an addition, each Clones gains half of the invested resource (rounded down, minimum of 1) as bonus Attribute dots- Health Bunshin add them to Physical Attributes, Willpower to Mental and Integrity to Social. That bonus can go past 5 dots. The Bunshin can exist naturally for one hour per resource, when at the end of each hour it loses one Health/Willpower. In case it has an Attribute value above 5, that duration goes by 10 minutes instead (inhuman Clones are, after all, extremely sort lived). After the Clone's end of duration, the hunter regains the lost resources. The hunter has full control over the Bunshin, and can freely act through them.
Another, more interesting effect of Kyoshin is the hunter's ability to use certain techniques, called ninjutsu. Those abilities are represented through Dread Powers. The hunter gains new ninjutsu any time she rise one of her Kyoshin by 1. When she does so, she can decide to replace existing Dread Powers with new ones which has a total rating equal to her Endowment. Kyoshin stacks for the purpose of determining total ninjutsu rating. Activating ninjutsu can only be preformed through an active Bunshin, which pays with its own Willpower. A Clone which runs out of resources is vanished- the hunter then regains her appropriate resource, yet lose a number of Willpower equal to the one expanded by the Clone. Hunter who falls to 0 Willpower through that use falls to unconscious, yet active Bunshin can still act. The hunter would remain unconscious for a number of hours equal to the number of Willpower she is in "debt" (that is, bellow 0 Willpower), plus 6 hours. In case the Bunshin was destroyed, however, the hunter does not regain his invested resource immediately, but would regain one dot in the expanded resource per hour since the Clone's destruction. Hunters are aware of the Bunshin's current state, and may re-absrob them willingly without limitation of distance.
Each Clone may only be created using one resource, and may not increase its Willpower/Health above its initial rating through any way.
[a single leaf]
They walk unseen among us, hidden in the crowd or covered by veils which mystify the senses. They are masters of illusion, lords of disguise. They are bound by fate and oath, they live dual life. They are shadows among shadows, bringing confusion and paranoia wherever they go. They hold mystical knowledge in their hands, holding capabilities beyond the ones of any mortal man. You never notice them before it's too late- and then, the screen goes down and the tale is told. No, those are not the faeries- although the changeling are all of that and more. For that reason, if one were to hunt those elusive beings, they have to be as good as them- or better than them- at the art of espionage, sabotage and infiltration.
No, those are not changelings.
Those are ninjas.
The shinobi of the Forest track their origin back to the Sengoku age in Japan, from the Iga province. According to their stories, their origin comes a pact between and ancient clan and a group of powerful yokai, according to which they would serve as their eyes and hands among the lands of men while in return they would no longer steal their sons and daughters to make them as their playthings. While at first the pact was seen as a form of servitude, it has since turned into a form of pride- the contract between them and the yokai has became a sacred thing, giving them purpose, and in exchange all they had to do was to bring back their lords what was stolen from them- souls which escaped their masters, breaking the pact which once bound them to the realms of the gods.
While it was not the first time (or last) time the lords of the yokai has made such pact among mortals, it was undoubtedly one of the most successful. The Mori Kage (as they called themselves) were trained shinobi even before the pact, and thanks to the supernatural gifts of their masters they have became even became even better at their work. While they did knew their ups and downs (such as the unification of the shogunate), they never fell, lingering further and further like the shadows they wished to be- even during Edo's height, the spies of the Oniwaban served their masters, and the Mori Kage walked among them. Their pact with their masters stood by their side in their need, and they they were always willing to lend their services in espionage and assassination for those who were willing to pay the price.
In modernity, the Forest Shadows operate much the same as they always were- they work a delicate network of spies, meant to find rumors about mysterious disappearances, doppelgangers, drastic changes in behavior or anything else which could hint about an escape of a yokai's slave. Those rumors are quickly investigated, and those which are found as relevant are treated by sending a squad to capture the yosei and return it to one of their masters' messengers, if and when their targets are vulnerable enough. After all, the changelings are paranoid beings (and for good reason), and many of them take a number of means for their protection. Thankfully, most of those methods are meant to ward against the yokai- and those story-weaved barriers means nothing for the regular mortals.
While most of their missions come from the conspiracy's own system, sometimes some more... personal missions are given. Instead of searching for a returned yosei in general, any yokai (or one of their messengers) may come for the conspiracy's doorsteps and ask for information, help or even go and hunt a specific changeling for them. As part of the ancient pact between them and the Forest, the Mori Kage are happy to help- but as the pact dictates, the yokai in question has to pay for such services. The payment is divided between both the conspiracy and the hunters which take the contract upon themselves. The conspiracy takes its part in advance, usually in the form of more material wealth- but if the hunter manages to complete the contract, she may gain personal payment from the yokai, which could take anything in the power of the yokai in question (such details are usually finalized before the hunt begins). For that reason, there is a strong competition among the conspiracy over such "personal contracts"- and it ends up with the highest of the conspiracy choosing the ones most suited for the mission. There is, of course, a catch- for if the hunter were to fail the mission, the yokai is able to take its price (all of it) from the hunter in question. The terms for both success and lose are detailed in the contract, leaving it for the hunters themselves to decide whether or not to take the contract. The more difficult the mission is, the greater the prize- and more dangerous is the lose. The conspiracy does not involve in such cases- it is the hunter's own responsibility to not go over their head, after all.
In order to capture a changeling, the Mori Kage usually use two popular methods. the first is pretty straightforward- a cell of hunters maintain close watch around the target, learning their behavior, strengths and weakness until they right time to strike come. Using their own skills and occult techniques, they barge into their target's hideout, capture her before she can even react and run with her into the night, until they get to one of the Forest's reaches and return her to the yokai. Another, more dangerous method includes infiltrating into the changeling's life circle, become his co-worker, his friend, his lover, his husband. Some such projects could last for years and years, in which the shinobi lives false life until the right time comes and she capture her target in a moment of weakness. It is not unheard of shinobi which committed suicide after preforming such betrayal, unable to live with themselves after the act- but the elders (the so called Kyoshin-ki, for their mastery over the ninjutsu gained from their yoaki sponsors) scorn that practice. When you joined the Forest, they say, you knew the requirements- and such death has no honor, and it breaks one's oath with one's gods.
The oath, in the eyes of the Mori Kage, is has to be the most sacred thing in the hunter's life. The oath to serve the Forest's masters has granted protection for not only the conspiracy's members, but also their families, their friends and their loved ones. As long as the oath stands strong, the pact protects the conspiracy from its yokai lords. However, were an hunter to break is oath (by breaking a contract, for example, or revealing the conspiracy or its masters' secrets, or working with changelings against the yokai), the conspiracy becomes vulnerable. Thanks to means unknown by anyone bu the Kyoshin-ki, the breaking of an oath is automatically discovered and their identity is immediately known. A contract is given upon their head, and their are banished from the conspiracy. There is no return from this moment- only the yokai can redeem one for breaking the oath, and most of them prefer to keep such renegade shinobi as playthings in their castles in the Forest.
While changelings are the main focus of the Mori Kage, the shinobi are aware of the other creatures who lurk in the darkness- usually, they don't care about them. Let the demons escape Yomi and let the vampires feast upon blood- as long as they stay out of the conspiracy's interests, they don't mind. However, the yosei of Japan are a cunning folk, making pacts and deals with all sorts of strange beings, sending dozen emissaries to serve their Princess (which has quit a bounty over her head, for those who could manage to get her married). Such connections means that willing or not, the Mori Kage would have to deal with such creatures. From the yosei's point of view, the Mori Kage are nothing more than a rumor- a story from the past about people who are willingly serving the greatest of monsters for personal gain. They whisper about them in back allies and scare newcomers with urban legends about ninjas who jump from the shadows and drag you screaming to the night. They laugh of them in the day- but they still keep one eye in the night, watching to see if the shadows move, only to scold themselves later for being foolish, acting paranoid even for a changeling.
Yes, they are acting foolishly.
After all, the Forest's Shadows move only when no one is watching.
Status:
0- you took the oath upon yourself and became a shinobi in the service of the Forest. You may spend merit dots on Kyoshin Endowment.
000- you have captured many targets for your masters and were repaid appropriately. You get Alternate Identity for 2 dots to help you with your hunt.
00000- you have proved yourself loyal to your oath even in the price of personal pain and suffering. You have been granted to sight to help[ you track down your enemies. You get Unseen Senses (Changelings) for free and can now see through the Mask for a Scene by expanding a Willpower point.
Endowment: Kyoshin (0-00000, special)
Not many know that, but there is a strange resonance working between the strings of fate. People's actions and deeds are being reflected and echoed through the world, creating the sum of connections of what one may call "destiny". The yosei and the yokai are known for weaving those echoes into life in the form of contracts and pledges, yet they what many don't know is that those strings by themselves resonate with gentle, much older melody. Echoes of the past sing through the weave of fate, creating shadows and reflections of what could have been, but isn't. The yokai use that primal resonance in order to weave those shadows into life, creating what changeling know as "Fetches"- but there are other ways to channel that empty fate into marvelous creations- and they taught some of those methods to their beloved Shadows.
Kyoshin is a group of 1-5 merits which allows the hunter to channel the resonance of fate in order to duplicate herself, creating Clones (or Bunshin). In order to create a Bunshin, the hunter must invest a certain resource of her soul, represented by the merit. Each Kyoshin uses one of the following- Willpower, Health or Integrity, although the ST may allow similar "resources" as focus. In order to make a Clone, the hunter must invest (meaning, temporary lower) her resource's rating. She may not lower her resource by more of her Kyoshin or 1, whatever is lower. The created Clone is identical to the hunter, except it has Health and Willpower scores equal to the number of invested resource, and lacks Integrity. The hunter may create numerous Clones using Kyoshin. In an addition, each Clones gains half of the invested resource (rounded down, minimum of 1) as bonus Attribute dots- Health Bunshin add them to Physical Attributes, Willpower to Mental and Integrity to Social. That bonus can go past 5 dots. The Bunshin can exist naturally for one hour per resource, when at the end of each hour it loses one Health/Willpower. In case it has an Attribute value above 5, that duration goes by 10 minutes instead (inhuman Clones are, after all, extremely sort lived). After the Clone's end of duration, the hunter regains the lost resources. The hunter has full control over the Bunshin, and can freely act through them.
Another, more interesting effect of Kyoshin is the hunter's ability to use certain techniques, called ninjutsu. Those abilities are represented through Dread Powers. The hunter gains new ninjutsu any time she rise one of her Kyoshin by 1. When she does so, she can decide to replace existing Dread Powers with new ones which has a total rating equal to her Endowment. Kyoshin stacks for the purpose of determining total ninjutsu rating. Activating ninjutsu can only be preformed through an active Bunshin, which pays with its own Willpower. A Clone which runs out of resources is vanished- the hunter then regains her appropriate resource, yet lose a number of Willpower equal to the one expanded by the Clone. Hunter who falls to 0 Willpower through that use falls to unconscious, yet active Bunshin can still act. The hunter would remain unconscious for a number of hours equal to the number of Willpower she is in "debt" (that is, bellow 0 Willpower), plus 6 hours. In case the Bunshin was destroyed, however, the hunter does not regain his invested resource immediately, but would regain one dot in the expanded resource per hour since the Clone's destruction. Hunters are aware of the Bunshin's current state, and may re-absrob them willingly without limitation of distance.
Each Clone may only be created using one resource, and may not increase its Willpower/Health above its initial rating through any way.
Comment