Editing Hiruma Yasuji

NAME: Hiruma Yasuji
CLAN: Crab
SCHOOL: Hida Bushi RANK: 3
Age: 20 Sex: Male Height: 5'5"
Physical Description: Solid-boned, young
face, about 4% body fat, no left ear, small burn
pockmarks on arm, clean-shaven.
FIRE 2 AIR 2
Intelligence 2 Awareness 2
Agility 3 Reflexes 3
EARTH 4 WATER 3
Willpower 4 Perception 3
Stamina 4 Strength 4
VOID 3
GLORY 4.1
HONOR 1.3
INSIGHT 180
TN TO BE HIT: 15 (25 in armor)
Wounds Dice Penalty
____(0-8) -0
____(9-16) -1
____(17-24) -2
____(25-32) -3
____(33-40) -4
____(41-48) Down
____(49-56) Out
____(57-64) Dead
SCHOOL TECHNIQUES
Way of the Crab
Mountain Does Not Move
Two Pincers, One Mind
KOBO JIUJITSU TECHNIQUES
(pp. 138-144, Bearers of Jade)
Break the Bones
Slam the Gates
Drunk Bushi
Hida's Lesson
Tear-Giving
ADVANTAGES
Quick, Ancestor: Hiruma,
True Friend: Ide Masafumi
DISADVANTAGES
Scarred, A Home in Ashes
Lost Love
When you see the Dark One,
tell him his mistake was touching this family.
—Hiruma Katsuhito
SKILLS
Archery 2 Kenjutsu 2
Athletics 3 Lore: Maho-Tsukai 2
Battle 3 Lore: Shadowlands 3
Courtier 1 Meditation 1
Defense 3 Navigation 1
Engineering 1 Sincerity 1
Etiquette 1 Stealth 2
Hunting 2 Tetsubo 4
Investigation 1 Traps 2
Jiujitsu (Kobo-ichi-kai) 4
EQUIPMENT
Tetsubo, katana, wakizashi, yumi and 30 ya,
heavy armor and helm, a kimono under there
somewhere, traveling pack, black body paint,
finger of jade, mortar and pestle, weapon oil
and cleaning powder.
HISTORY
Your Family
Well, now, there's a sore subject.
You were bottom kid. Three older brothers
and one sister, and they all used to pick on
you. Not that you didn't fight back—but that's
usually when they left. Maybe that's why you
spent so much time with your father. He told
you how the Shadowlands had taken the
Hiruma holdings, destroyed the Hiruma Bushi
School, and scattered your people to the
winds. He told you your family had become
scouts who knew the Shadowlands better than
the fallen Moto, and could navigate a way
through the whirlpool of the mouth of Hell.
You realized early that this was nonsense.
Hiding and scouting would not help regain
your conquered lands. You decided to train
with the Hida, and at your gempukku went into
the Shadowlands to prove your worth on the
corpse of a monster.
Lucky you, you ran into a pack of marsh
trolls...and ran...and ran. You strung them out
until there was just one to face, but he walked
into the katana without feeling it and reached
for you with a clawed hand. You clawed back,
and you're not sure what happened next, but
you were standing, your hands hurt, and it was
dead. And you felt a presence—another
young, reckless bushi who felt proud of you.
Even if you did bend the katana a little.
While you were in school, Hiruma Kage
attempted his ill-fated retaking of Shiro
Hiruma. When you saw the defeated men
trudging back to the Wall, the simple solutions
you had believed in disappeared. There would
be no retaking of Hiruma Castle, not now.
Your Companions
To your disappointment, Father's katana,
Nisshoku, went to your brother. You had to
make do with the bent one. And for that stupid
reason, even after you killed a troll barehanded,
you were sent to some pacifist
Phoenix instead of serving on the Wall with
real bushi.
But it didn't turn out too bad. Isawa Ryoji
taught you more than you wanted about the
Shadowlands, and after a while you even got
used to the arrogant chatterbox.
And all the court-folk were so grateful when
you took out minor oni. Especially Ide
Masafumi. The poor guy's family was on the
line after some Akodo diplomat got struck with
a curse. (It was kinda funny, see, there was
this Unicorn's horse and some livestock,
and...never mind.)
Anyway, Ryoji found that it was actually one
of Mas's ex-lovers, Shinjo O-Niro, who was
working with the maho-tsukai to get back at
him. (You don't know what she was so upset
about. Masafumi said he'd write...) And the
Lion committed seppuku once the "your
dishonor, my dishonor" talk started so
Masafumi was riding the guilt wagon hard.
So Ryoji asked the Unicorn to show their
gratitude by giving him someone to handle
court folk, and Masafumi came onto the team.
He was pretty broken up at first, but you
reminded him it was because his girl was so
clumsy with her trail that you tracked down a
maho-tsukai who'd caused trouble all over
Rokugan. He lightened up after that.
Between you and Daidoji Kame, Ryoji's
bodyguard, you managed to keep the ponies
alive. Actually, you had more trouble with ronin
and small-town magistrates than oni. It was a
ronin who took your ear off. She was all,
"nyah, nyah, I drew first blood," which was
dumb, since evidently she thought you'd stop
at first blood.
Going Home
You and Masafumi became friends and when
you headed home for training, he came with
you as an emissary to the Crab. He even
married Kaiu Michiko, a friend of yours who
was attractive, available, and could see
through Masafumi's womanizing in an Otosan
minute.
He was also the one who sat by your side as
the messenger told you scouts had gone
missing near Shiro Kuni, where your family
were stationed. He kept you from charging
after them when you heard your brother was
one of them, and would not let you fall on your
sword when you heard of the poisonings that
preceded Moto Sada's attack. You received a
list of thirty survivors. Your family was not
among them.
You always wanted to carry Nisshoku.
Now you do.
Your Assignment
You're stationed at the castle now, with a
bunch of crass Wall Crabs, but you spend
most of your time with Masafumi anyway. That
got you appointed to court duty this winter,
and Hida Yoshige took over your job at the
Wall.
It's a little intimidating to be at the party
where Hiruma Kage, the daimyo of the whole
dang family, is getting married. Not that you're
afraid, but the big silk guys of Rokugan live in
a strange world, and it puts you on edge to be
part of it. But the rest of your magistrate
friends are coming, too, and it'll be good to
see the old crowd again.
Lastly, if you can do it without goofing, it's hit
you that you should be getting married. You're
of an age, and...well, your parents would
probably have started the arranging this winter
were they alive.
WHAT YOU THINK OF THE OTHERS
Ide Masafumi: Your best friend. Since you
met, he's grown from an irresponsible
layabout to an earnest magistrate and
husband. Without his council, you wouldn't
have survived the news of your family's
massacre. He keeps you on track when you
get carried away, and you only hope you can
do as much for him.
Daidoji Kame: She started out as an Iron
Crane and ruined it by training with a bunch of
pacifists. She says she wants to perfect the
Technique of No Thought. Does this sound
intelligent to you?
Bushi are bushi. If you wanted to quote
Shintao, you'd find a monk. She's a crow
trying to learn to swim. Okay, so she's a good
crow, but the only reason you don't pick on her
is because you don't believe teasing helps.
And the only reason she wins while sparring
is 'cause of that spear.
Isawa Ryoji: All the power of a Kuni without
the dissections. Funny how someone from a
traditionalist wussy clan can be just as lost at
court as you. (I mean, you ain't too cultured,
but even you knew who Otaku Kamoko was.
Duh.) But he's right most of the time, he's got
guts, and he knows about maho. You wouldn't
be alive, or as successful, without him.
Kitsu Kikuzo: Watch out for the quiet guys.
He's opened up as you've gotten to know
him—he's got shame or somethin', like every
Lion at the Wall. He's good to spar with. He
doesn't let you get away with anything, and
he's got great control.
Yogo Sumiko: When a Scorpion cares this
much about you and your friends, something's
gotta be wrong. Whatever her secrets are, she
hides them, but you can't imagine much you'd
condemn her for. I mean, she knows The
Ward, so for all you care, she could smoke a
warehouse of opium a day and she'd still be a
goddess.
OTHERS YOU KNOW AT COURT
Ide (Kaiu) Michiko: Masafumi's wife. She's a
teacher at the Kaiu school, but now she's
retired to start their family.
Hiruma Ryoichi: The only other person from
your town, Kowara, to survive. He runs
messages for Hiruma Kage and his father.
Yasuki Kurako: A friend of Masafumi's who
handles public relations for the Crab. A bit
high-strung.
Hida Sachiko: One samurai-ko who even
the Wall doesn't scare. 'Course, neither does
the thought of her own seppuku every time
she insults another lord or gets caught with a
cute heimin and a bottle of shochu.
YOUR DAISHO
Your katana Nisshoku ("Eclipse") has been
in your family for twelve generations, since
your ancestor Ushidoshi was elevated to
samurai status during the Battle of the
Landbridge. It's made with more hard steel
than soft, and is difficult to sharpen. Only the
Kaiu swordsmiths really get it right.
Its companion wakizashi was lost long ago.
The one you have is sharp enough to cut, and
that's all you need.