Ninja Wars.pdf - Dorks and Dragons!

The PCs must treat Benju with the politeness and respectdue to a daimyo; if they don’t this interview willgo no further, and the PCs will be forcibly expelledfrom the castle. In this and every other audience withthe daimyo, the DM may use the Etiquette nonweaponproficiency to adjudicate whether or not thePCs are behaving acceptably. The dice roll shouldnever overrule role-playing, of course.After greeting the PCs curtly but not impolitely,Benju beckons to Sono. Sono taps on the rear shoji,which slides back to admit two other serving girls. Together,the three girls serve cha (tea) to all present. Asthe tea is served and drunk, Benju asks the PCs howthey came to this area, and what their purposes are.This conversation is really an opportunity for thePCs to get themselves in trouble by offending the daimyo,and then being forced to extricate themselves. . . somehow. This is a perfect chance to impress onceagain upon the PCs exactly how strongly authorityand politeness must constrain their behavior.Assuming the PCs don’t seriously offend Benju, thedaimyo finally explains to them the service that theycan do for him:“I’m sure you’re aware of the importance to Aru ofthe pilgrims who visit the Shining Temple of Bishamon,"the daimyo says at last, setting down his fineporcelain cup. “Temple and pilgrims are, really, thesole reason for the existence of this town. Nothingcan be allowed to interfere with their visitation.“Unfortunately, there have been several—shallwe say— occurrences that make me believe that thepilgrims might be somehow threatened. The Ceremonyof the Three Thousand Steps will take placein seven days. Before that time, I wish you to investigatethese occurrences, find out who or what isbehind them, and put a stop to them. Success willbe greatly rewarded.”Although the question is the height of bad manners,many PCs will ask exactly what “greatly” amounts toin monetary terms. If a PC actually is so impolite, readthe following:You hear Yuji’s breath hiss through his teeth, andin your peripheral vision you see his right handflash to where the hilt of his katana would be werehe armed.The daimyo’s face darkens in a scowl. When hespeaks, his voice is as cold as the sea. “I will put it interms a merchant would understand. Each will receiveseventy-five koku. Assuming you succeed.But then, how could merchants succeed in this?And why would I need merchants?”The DM should make sure that the PCs realize thatmerchants as a class are generally scorned in Wa. ThePCs should realize that they have to apologize fortheir impropriety in asking about the reward. If theydo so, then Benju will make no further derogatorycomments, and will continue as though the questionhadn’t been asked at all. If the PCs don’t apologize,then Benju will have them expelled from the castle,and their involvement with him is at an end.If the PCs didn’t ask an insulting question, or oncethey’re back on reasonable terms with Benju, the daimyoassures them that helping him out in this will reflectwell on them, and they will gain in honor. (Hedoesn’t explicitly state the converse—that refusinghim will lead to a loss of honor—but that is the implication.)If the PCs agree to aid Benju, each PC gains onepoint of honor; if they refuse without good reason—and the only acceptable reason would be a direct orderto the contrary from one of the PCs’ masters(which the DM should definitely avoid)—each losestwo points of honor.Assuming that the PCs agree to aid Benju, read thefollowing:The daimyo nods. “Good. You will follow my orders,of course, but you will also follow the ordersof Yuji Takaesu here as though they were mine. Doyou understand? Good. Yuji-San?” And he makes adismissing gesture with his fingers.Yuji Takaesu bows deeply, watching you from thecorner of his eye to make sure you do the same.The interview with the daimyo is ended, and Yujileads them out of the castle into the courtyard. Theiroriginal samurai escort, led by Tsukku, is once morewith them.Yuji Takaesu produces a scroll from within thevoluminous sleeve of his kimono and hands it to theleader of your party.“This scroll identifies you as vassals of the LordBenjui," he explains, “and gives you the authorityover the no (farmers and fishermen), ko (artisansand craftsmen), sho (merchants) and eta (“outcasts”)of Aru Province. You will note that this authoritydoes not extend to the shi— the nobleclass—and definitely not to the lords who maydwell here. This is to assist you in your investigation.I trust you will not abuse this honor.“One of my lieutenants will show you the sites ofthe, er, incidents. You will meet him outside thegates of the castle one hour after sunrise tomorrow.Good evening to you.”With that, he turns on his heel and vanishes backwithin the castle.The samurai escort the PCs out of the castlegrounds and close the gate behind them.Should suspicious PCs try to confirm that the scrollgives them the authority Yuji said it would, they’ll findthat everyone who is not samurai will treat them asthough they were samurai in the service of Benju. Evensamurai will treat them with grudging respect uponreading the scroll . . . although they’ll stop just short oftreating PCs who aren’t truly samurai as equals.15