Yaranaika
Yaranaika (Japanese: やらないか, yaranaika, 'Won't you do it?') is a campaign set in the world of Mythical East at the late 1500s. All the supernatural creatures, monsters, and magic of the Orient actually exist in this world. Some martial artists and ninjas also actually have supernatural powers. Ki (called "Focus Points" in SRD) is a very real thing. The world is somewhat manga- and anime-themed. So, player characters could be even magical girls, fallen celestials, spirits, constructs resembling humans, yōkai (supernatural entities and spirits), battle maids and butlers, faeries, and so on. In the background the history of Japan unfolds in the civil wars of the Sengoku period, with famous figures such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro.
やらないか
| If the cuckoo does not sing, kill it 鳴かぬなら、殺してしまえほととぎす |
| If the cuckoo does not sing, coax it 鳴かぬなら、鳴かして見せようほととぎす |
| If the cuckoo does not sing, wait for it 鳴かぬなら、鳴くまで待とうほととぎす |
The campaign starts at Mythical Japan, where the characters may get involved in the power struggle...
The three senryū refer to the three most important people of that period: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Character Creation
Classes
Subclasses
Shaman (Barbarian Subclass)
Jujutsuka (Monk Subclass)
Osumōsan (Monk Subclass)
Moribushi (Druid Subclass)
Ninja (Rogue Subclass)
Bards, Druids, Paladins and Warlocks are rare but possible. I will create custom subclasses/pacts for them, at least one for each class.
Character Origins
Backgrounds
Homelands: China, Hokkaidō, Kansai region, Kantō region, North Honshu, South Honshu, Shikoku, ; Korea, Okinawa and Ryukyu Islands, Gaijin (most from Portugal, some from Spain and Netherlands, rarely English or others). Ainu, Chinese and Koreans are not really considered gaijins.
Examples of professions:
actor: Nō (能),
artist (painter, sculptor)
butcher*
carpenter
ceramicist†
chef
construction worker
farmer
fireworks maker
fisherman
fortune teller
funazushi maker
gatherer
grave digger*
jeweler
konnyaku maker
lacquer
labourer
leatherworker
miner
monk/nun
paper maker
priest/priestess
puppeteer
rakugoka¹
sake brewer
sarugaku²
scribe
seamstress
shaman
soy sauce maker
street food cook
swordsmith†
sword polisher†
tatami maker
tofu maker
weaver
¹term rakugo is modern, used for clarity[1]
²performer of popular entertainment including acrobatics, juggling, and pantomime
†Highly prestigious professions.
*Traditionally only burakumin or foreigners work in these professions.
Species (humanoid)
Species (yōkai)
Languages
SRD languages are available, but most of the inhabitants - including Yōkai - speak the local language (Japanese, Chinese, Korean) as their native language.
Other languages: Ainu, Okinawan, English, French, Indian languages (Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Urdu, Kannada, Odia, Malayam, Punjabi and over 400 others), Mongolian, Latin, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, and so on.
Feats
Equipment
Bundles of 100 copper coins are the official currency. There are also silver and gold coins, and locally minted coins. For easiness, all coins normally have the same value as standard Coins. There's also koku, an unit of dry volume, about 180 litres, which was considered an amount of rice to feed one person for one year. Koku measured the magnitude of a feudal domain. A lord was considered a daimyō when his domain amounted to at least 10000 koku.
Magic Items
Many items are inspired by real items.[2]
Artifacts
This page is unfinished!
Campaign-Specific Notes
Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting ... Somewhat
Nearly everyone has some Martial Arts training, from little girls to old shopkeepers.
BUT, martial artists do not normally fly through the air or deflect thousands of arrows with their scarf. (Well, maybe at epic levels, they do.)
Think more of Miyamoto Musashi, Jackie Chan, IP Man, and Bruce Lee, rather than the superhero-level kung fu flicks. Larger than life, with a bit toned down Rule of Cool[3].
New paths and subclasses are designed for this kind of game.
References
Media
- Novels: Yoshikawa, Eiji: Musashi (1935), Jason Clawell: Shōgun (1975)
- Manga: Lone Wolf and Cub (1970-1976)
- Movies: Shichinin no samurai (1954), Yôjinbô (1961), Tsubaki Sanjûrô (1962), The Way of the Dragon (1972), Enter the Dragon (1973)
- Anime: Jûbei ninpûchô (Ninja Scroll) (1993), Lodoss to senki (Record of Lodoss War) (1990), Sureiyâzu (Slayers) (1995), Dragon Half (1993), and many others.
- History: Azuchi-Momoyama period of Japan; Miyamoto Musashi; Oda Nobunaga - Toyotomi Hideyoshi - Tokugawa Ieyasu
- TV: Xena: Warrior Princess (1995)