Ninja Wars.pdf - Dorks and Dragons!

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you last saw this figure, he was heading in the oppositedirection to you, not with you...and had beenmoving with such determination that he bumpedalmost rudely into Toshikazu...This figure is a minor yakuza member who todayhas received the major honor of concluding a contracton Toshikazu Wada. The man’s name is Haku.The PCs are free to respond in any way to Haku. Ifthey make any overt motions towards him, he immediatelyflees, trying to lose himself in the crowd. He’smuch more familiar with the town than are the PCs,or even Toshikazu’s samurai, so he definitely has theadvantage. If cornered, he’ll fight to the death (sincethis is what he’s been ordered to do). If capture seemsinevitable, he’ll try to take his own life; since he isn’tequipped with a poison capsule, however, he might beunsuccessful. (Note that, although his orders includeavoiding capture, his sense of duty isn’t as strong aswas the ninjas’. Thus a charm person spell orcorrectly-worded suggestion should prevent himfrom “taking the honorable step.”)Sudden DeathAt a dramatically correct time, read the following:Out of the corner of your eye you see Toshikazugrimace with displeasure, and suck the blood froma minor nick on the back of his hand—probably theresult of an unintended collision. But then theyoung man’s grimace turns into something else: arictus of agony. Clutching his throat, he collapses ina heap on the ground. He convulses once, then liesstill. . .Toshikazu is the victim of a highly toxic and fastactingpoison, introduced into his body by a needlewielded by Haku. The time course from first symptomto death is incredibly rapid: 6 segments. Any PCwishing to cast a spell to save Toshikazu must completethe spell in this time. The procedure is as follows:Each PC attempting to cast an appropriate spellmust roll 1d6 representing initiative, and add the resultto the casting time of the spell (in segments). If thetotal is greater than 6, then the spell is too late andToshikazu is already dead. (Thus, the PCs have a 5 outof 6 chance to succeed in casting slow poison on Toshikazu,while neutralize poison— with a casting time of7 segments—will automatically fail.)If the PCs haven’t already spotted Haku, any PCscrutinizing the crowd receives another 5d6 AbilityCheck against Intelligence, with success yielding thesame result as before.The PCs must respond immediately, however: Hakustays around only long enough to confirm that thepoison has taken effect— 1 round at the most—thentries to melt into the crowd and make his escape. Unlesshe knows he’s been spotted, all his movementswill be slow and casual, to avoid drawing attention tohimself.It’s remotely possible that the PCs might save Toshikazu’slife, and then question him about the informanthe was going to see. When they follow up on the information,however, the PCs will find that the address hewas given for the meeting doesn’t actually exist.HakuThe assassin is a young man, perhaps 25 years old,wearing simple and unobtrusive clothing. His wholeappearance, in fact, is absolutely nondescript.His orders are simply to scratch Toshikazu Wadawith a poisoned needle that he was issued. He is a lowlevelmember of the local yakuza, and, as such, knowsonly his immediate superior and a few colleagues. Theperson who gave him the order, however, wasn’t anyonehe knew or recognized . . . although the personknew all the appropriate recognition symbols, ofcourse. Should the PCs manage to keep Haku alive,the only description he can give of this person is of the“mid-height, dark hair, dark eyes” type.Haku (4th level yakuza, male human): AC 10; MV12; hp 15; #AT 1; Dmg 2-5 (chain) or 1-3 (knife) or 1(needle); THAC0 19; Str 11, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 15, Wis9, Cha 16; AL LN.Special Abilities: HS 25%; MS 33%; OL 37%; PP45%; HN 15%.Proficiencies: chain, knife, needle, gaming.Honor: 29.Haku is armed with a chain (wrapped around hiswaist under his sash) and a knife (concealed in hissleeve). He still holds in his hand the needle withwhich he tried to kill Toshikazu. There is no poisonleft on the needle, but Haku doesn’t know that . . . andneither do the PCs. If capture seems inevitable, he willtry to kill himself by scratching the back of one handwith the needle. (This won’t work, of course.)ConsequencesBenju and Yuji are both very fond of Toshikazu, andwill be greatly saddened by his passing. Neither willblame the PCs for his death, however. If the PCs canprovide any proof that the assassin was a yakuza,then the daimyo will order a crack-down on yakuzaoperations of unprecedented magnitude.Probable OutcomeIf the PCs don’t come along, then none of Toshikazu’sescort will notice Haku when he strikes with thepoison needle, or afterwards when their commandercollapses and dies. Without capturing Haku, it’s impossibleto discover that the assassination was organizedby the yakuza. Instead, everyone will assumethat it was perpetrated by the same group that organizedthe attack on the castle.36
Act 14—Smoke and Moonlight*This act can be used whenever the DM sees fit afterthe (attempted) assassination of Toshikazu. This act introducestwo of the three highly-powerful ninjasworking with the wu jen Daisake Mayazato. Althoughit’s unlikely that the PCs will do more than spot theninjas for the first time, this act is important becauseit’s the stimulus that makes the local yakuza clanchange their policy of adding to the chaos. For thefirst time, the yakuza leaders decide that events havegone too far, and that they must do something to bringthem back under control. This leads indirectly to theconclusion of the adventure.Set-upThis act can occur whenever the PCs are abroad inthe town (for example, immediately after the assassinationof Toshikazu). Read the following:A screaming woman pelts down the street towardsyou. At first her cries seem like completelyuncontrolled sounds of terror. But then you makeout some of the words: “Foes! Fire! Help me, gods,they’re killing them, they’re killing the pilgrims!”The woman is too terrified to answer any questionsin an articulate manner. If questioned, however, shewill point in the direction of the commotion: somewherein the neighborhood in which the transient pilgrimsstay.Assuming that the PCs decide to investigate, readthe following:It’s easy enough to choose the right direction,you realize: simply go against the flow of panickedhumanity. Everyone seems to want to get out of thepilgrim quarter—pilgrims and non-pilgrims alike.Ahead you hear screams, and smoke climbs againstthe sky.Wrecking CrewWhen the PCs reach the center of the pilgrim quarter,they find a number of buildings on fire. Read thefollowing:The heat is intense, and you feel the skin of yourface tighten. You squint against the brightness . . .and you see figures! Two humanoid figures movingin the midst of the inferno.Immediately, the figures see you. Obviously discerningthat you’re different from the fleeingmasses, they step out of the flames and start towalk slowly towards you.Yes, they’re human in figure, except their eyesflare with a brilliant, unnatural light. And brightsparks—almost miniature lightning bolts—flickerand lick around them . . .These two frightening figures are the two “superninjas,”Smoke and Moonlight (see Chapter VII forstats). Each carries a pearl of fire protection, and hascast on himself the spells fiery eyes and the “custom”spell ghost lightning (again, see Chapter VII). Theyhave been ordered into town to disrupt the pilgrimquarter, and they’ve decided on this as the most efficientway of doing so. Although their main goal isn’t tokill people, the fire has claimed a handful of lives.The ninjas won’t attack the PCs; instead, they’llstand motionless, observing them. If the PCs don’t doanything within one round, the ninjas both cast dimensiondoor —which has enough range to take themoutside the city walls—and then return to their homebase. If the PCs attack them, they fight, using theirconsiderable abilities to their best effect.Once engaged in combat, the ninjas continue tofight until one or the other of them is reduced to 75%of his normal hit points. At this point, they use theirabilities to withdraw—perhaps by using the leap specialmartial arts maneuver-then cast dimension doorto make their escape.At no time do the ninjas speak, but they consistentlytreat the PCs with respect and honor.As soon as the ninjas have gone, the residents of theneighborhood scurry back to fight the fire.Whether or not the PCs fight the ninjas, rumors willinstantly spread around the town about the “spiritmonsters” that were setting fires in the pilgrim quarter.Although these magical creatures didn’t havewings—at least, not visible ones—it’s “obvious” thatthey’re somehow related to the tiger-bird spirit that’sbeen bedeviling the town.RUMORSBy this time, the rumors are building to a crescendo,and the town is taking on a siege mentality. Few peoplego out at night, and sales of good luck charms and“anti-spirit potions” are at an all-time high (of coursenone of these gimmicks does any good whatsoever).Benju is well aware of the town’s near-hysteria, andrecognizes the threat that it represents to him. Wordreaches the PCs through any appropriate channelthat the daimyo wishes them to step up their investigationsimmediately.Probable OutcomeIf the PCs don’t go to investigate the commotion,they’ll learn about the fires and the deaths, but allthey’ll hear about the ninjas are distorted rumors of“spirit monsters” and creatures with glowing eyes.37
Page 3 and 4: Ninja WarsBy Nigel FindleyTable of
Page 6 and 7: Chapter II: History Of AruOriginsEv
Page 9 and 10: 2. Temple Gate. The gate is flanked
Page 11 and 12: Benju’s Donjon
Page 13 and 14: quelling the disorder himself—tha
Page 15 and 16: Chapter V: The Main EventsIntroduct
Page 17 and 18: The PCs must treat Benju with the p
Page 19 and 20: shakes her head apologetically and
Page 21 and 22: in the shrine, wishing to lead the
Page 23 and 24: This gathering has suddenly become
Page 25 and 26: Act 6—Fire!*This act can be used
Page 27 and 28: katanas and wakizashis. The four sa
Page 29 and 30: Act 8—The Monk’s Revenge*Avenge
Page 31 and 32: Fusae’s minka is area 14 on the c
Page 33 and 34: As before, the samurai will not all
Page 35 and 36: Act 12—Guard DutySet-upThis act f
Page 37: captive—the ninja will bite down
Page 41 and 42: managed to capture a live ninja—w
Page 44 and 45: AmbushThe DM must determine the rou
Page 46 and 47: your mind. You think you’re headi
Page 48 and 49: Act 21—Gambit DeclinedThis act ca
Page 50 and 51: Tea PartyBenju, Yuji and Lady Satom
Page 52 and 53: Act 24—The Grand FinaleThis act t
Page 54: The three black-clad figures are th
Page 57 and 58: Notes: Horoko still enjoys his sake
Page 59 and 60: popular rumors would relate that th
Page 61 and 62: Chapter VII: Nonplayer CharactersTh
Page 63 and 64: Fusae3rd level bushiLG, human femal
Page 65 and 66: ternal dissention, the three collea
Page 67 and 68: Yaemon8th level monkLn, human maleS
Page 69 and 70: Chapter VIII: Encounter GeneratorTh
Page 71 and 72: Table 6—Hated Race (1d8)Go to Tab
Page 73 and 74: Cachiko looks flustered. “No,”
Page 75 and 76: Perhaps the PCs will choose to foll
Page 77 and 78: the PCs were dealt out of this part
Page 79 and 80: A senior ninja can tell the PCs tha
Page 81 and 82: Kidnapped!This adventure should be
Page 83 and 84: If the PCs actually show Tetsu the
Page 85 and 86: In the center of the room stands a
Page 87 and 88: Aru, and not enough workers or anim
Page 89 and 90:
The hermit is totally unarmed, and
Page 91 and 92:
for immobilizing criminals. It’s
Page 93 and 94:
nish. The large “emerald” is ac
Page 95 and 96:
Tiger-Bird Spirit—The SequelThis
Page 97 and 98:
Guards Must Watch Both WaysThat nig
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