Rising Sun Eternal

Campaign Overview

This is the campaign Wiki for adventures in a Classical Japan setting, run on a fork of the Cthulhu Eternal SRD.

I've been a huge fan of the Cthulhu Eternal project since its inception. I've enjoyed Apocthulhu enormously, and I completely endorse the principle of a Cthulhu Mythos SRD based on the huge legacy of material developed since the first editions of Call of Cthulhu in the 1980s. In my opinion, it comprises one of the simplest and most elegant rulesets in the d100/BRP tradition, as well as one with a huge corpus of applicable material. I've worked on developing this for various other time periods and settings, including Dark Ages, and now, feudal Japan.

A Word on the Title

I'm not a devout Shintoist, but I do remember and love the original edition of Lee Gold's Land of the Rising Sun. This setting is not intended to be anything like as dense and crunchy as that volume, but I still find it a tremendous inspiration.

Helpful Resources

These are the pages for creating characters, following the campaign, and generally working out specifics in the rules.

• Creating Characters for Rising Sun Eternal
• The magic system for Rising Sun Eternal
• In Character Thread
• Out of Character Thread
• Recruitment Thread
• Cthulhu Eternal Victorian Era SRD
• Apocthulhu SRD
• Wiki template for Cthulhu Eternal Victorian Age characters

Combat

The basic mechanics of combat do not vary much between different localizations of Cthulhu Eternal, but each has its own tables of weapons and armor as well as elaborations which cover unique forms of conflict or weapons technology.

Attack Skills

For games in Dark Age settings, the following skills are used for combat attacks:

• Use Missile Weapons for a primitive firearm if these exist in your setting;

• Use Missile Weapons for other aimed weapons (e.g., bow or crossbow);

• Use Athletics for a thrown weapon;

• Use Melee Weapons for a hand-to-hand weapon;

• Use Unarmed Combat for a punch or kick.

Table of Example Weapons

The tables below summarize some representative weapons and vehicles that characters might have access to. Note that while the concept of LETHAL DAMAGE still exists, it is primarily applied to explosives, poisons, or siege engines (like catapults or mangonels).

Also, this setting does not have a specific skill for Ranged Weapons – characters who are firing crossbows etc .should use the Missile Weapons skill to aim such weapons, while thrown weapons use Athletics as a combat skill.

>> Melee Weapons
Sample Weapons	Damage
Bare hands and feet	1D4–1*
Kick from heavy boot	1D4*
Tanto, hatchet, jo, sai	1D4*
Wakazashi, kama, hand axe	1D6*
Katana, yari, bo	1D8*
Tachi, ono	1D10*
Nodachi, tetsubo, naginata	2D6*

• Damage bonus is added for this weapon

>> Ranged Weapons
Sample Weapons	Skill	Damage	Base Range
Daikyu	Missile Weapons	2D6	200 yards
Hankyu	Missile Weapons	1D8	100 yards
Shuriken	Athletics	1D3*	20 yards
Thrown Spear	Athletics	1D8*	STR×5 yards

• Damage bonus is added for this weapon

>> Explosives
Sample Weapons	Placement Skill	Damage	Base Range
Incendiary catapult shot	Military Training	Lethality 20%	2 yards

Armor for Japan settings

Armor	Armor Rating
Heavy Robes or Leather Jerkin	1
Do-Maru Armor	3
Wall or thick door	5
Full suit of Yoroi Armor	5
Thick wall, rubble, or moderate rock; siege shield	10
Reinforced wall, big rock, or earth embankment	15

Healing in Dark Age settings

A doctor can attempt a Medicine test once per week. If treatment succeeds, the patient recovers 1D4 HP. This is doubled with a critical, while a fumble inflicts 1D4 HP damage. At the Game Moderator’s discretion, having worn-out tools or poor quality medicines may incur a penalty.

Poisons and Diseases

The rules governing the damage inflicted by poisons and diseases don’t vary between localizations, but the specific list of available toxins and infections is guided by the technology and knowledge prevalent in the setting. The table below gives some examples to augment the basic list of common, naturally-occurring poisons.

>> Manufactured Poisons
Poison	Entry Route	Speed	Lethality	Symptoms	Antidote?
Antimony	Contact	1D6 hours	10%	Pain, diarrhea, cramping	No
Prussic Acid (Hydrogen cyanide)	Inhalation or Ingestion	1D6 turns	20%	Asphyxiation	No, but some treatments
Strychnine	Inhalation, Ingestion, Contact	10+1D10 minutes	10%	Convulsions, paralysis, asphyxiation	No

>> Sample Diseases
Disease	Route	Speed	CON Test Penalty	Damage	Symptoms	Cure
Bacterial meningitis	Airborne	1D6 days	–40	1D4	Stiff neck, nausea, confusion	No; treatment includes lumbar puncture and induced vomiting.
Bacterial pneumonia	Inhalation	1D6 days	None	1D6	Cough, fever, chills	No
Cholera	Ingestion, especially unclean water	2+1D3 days	None	1D6	Watery diarrhea, cramps, vomiting.	No; treated through rehydration
Gangrene	Dirty wounds	1D6 days	–20	1D4	Discoloration, oozing, numbness	Bromine injections, excision, or amputation
Plague	Flea bite (bubonic plague), inhalation (pneumonic plague)	1D6 days	None	1D6	Fever, chills, lymph node swelling, coughing (if pneumonic), shock	No
Smallpox	Exposure to infected person	2D6 days	–40	1D6	Fever, vomiting, ulcers, rashes, scabs	No

Optional Spot Rules for Weapons

There’s a staggering variety of personal Melee and Missile Weapons and weaponry. Their usefulness in adventures may be limited, of course, depending on who or what the Protagonists face.

The primary game statistics relating to different types of weapons may be found on the Example Weapons Table. The availability of any class of weapon will be dictated by resources available in the locality, local traditions, etc.

The many lists of weapon types, damages, etc., created for other d100 or other RPGs can easily be tapped for this setting – there are many options and most are easily rejigged, if not already compatible.

What follows are some spot rules for Protagonists who have access to common Japan era weapons.

Concealing Weapons

Knives and coshes can be concealed under ordinary clothing. Someone deliberately looking for a concealed weapon can attempt an Alertness test to spot it. A Ninja folding bow or especially big knife means a +20% Alertness bonus.

If a Protagonist is wearing a heavy cape, he or she can attempt to conceal a hankyu bow, or a larger hand weapon (e.g., a hatchet or katana) and incur no Alertness bonus.

There’s no way to conceal a spear or other large melee weapon.

Hand-to-Hand Weapons

Unarmed attacks, like punching, kicking, and strangling, use the Unarmed Combat skill. All melee weapons use the Melee Weapons skill.

Ranged Weapons and Reloading

Ranged weapons that are aimed and loosed (e.g., bows) use the Missile Weapons skill. All such weapons require some kind of ammunition (arrows) and are useless if the supply is exhausted. Ranged weapons that are thrown (e.g., spears) use Athletics skill.

The Protagonists may have easy access to a range of different Missile Weapons. These require reloading, but times differ according to the type of weapon. For a simple bow, it would take one turn to ready a new shot after firing; the readied arrow would be fired in the next turn.

Weapon Specialization

Any Protagonist who already has a weapons skill can sacrifice points from that skill, or any other skill, to specialize exclusively in a particular weapon. They automatically gain a +1 damage bonus in that weapon, plus access to any special capabilities that weapon has. Some examples of such weapons are as follows.

Weapon	Skill	Damage	Special capability
Tessen	Melee Weapons	1D3	Defend: all parries and defensive moves get +20%
Kusari-fundo	Melee Weapons	1D4	Entangle: with success, instead of damage, do STR vs STR to immobilize
Kusarigama	Melee Weapons	1D6	Entangle: with success, instead of damage, do STR vs STR to trip
Sodegarami	Melee Weapons	1D8	Entangle: with success, instead of damage, do STR vs STR to immobilize
Thrown Spear	Melee Weapons	1D8*	STR×5 yards

Without

Equipment and Resources

Protagonists’ efforts to scrounge for scarce supplies or items, or attempt to solve problems by combining items with jury-rigging, use the following. The primary mechanical differences lie in the specific skills used.

For Protagonists in Japan games:

• Attempts to scrounge gear/supplies from likely locations in the environment – tests against the Scavenge skill.

• Attempts to jury-rig a contraption – tests against Craft skill specializations or Mechanics (at the GM's discretion).

Vehicles

The table below provides some examples of the types of vehicles common to Japan.

Speed

Vehicles in Japan all fall into the category of Surface Vehicles, regardless of whether they travel on land on water.

When comparing Surface Vehicles, however, there is a range of different vehicle speeds. A vehicle with a ‘Fast’ rating grants a +20% bonus to any Drive or Pilot test to pursue or escape. A ‘Slow’ vehicle incurs a −20% penalty instead, while a ‘Very Slow’ vehicle attracts a -40% penalty. An ‘Average’ rating confers no modifier.

A vehicle that’s notorious for poor handling or that’s in bad shape might counts as ‘heavily worn’ or ‘junk’ (see above) at the GM’s discretion.

Some Example Vehicles

>> Example Vehicles
Vehicle Type	Description	Hit Points	Armor	Speed
Coach	Two-wheeled, drawn by 2+ horses harnessed as a team	20—25	2	Average
Wagon, Horse-Drawn	Four-wheeled vehicle for cargo; drawn by a team	20—25	1	Slow
Water Vehicles
Barge	Long boat hauled along rivers by horses	30	4	V. Slow
Wherry	Ferry rowed by oarsmen, c.5 passengers	20	1	Average

=

Characters

The player-characters on the Starkweather-Moore Expedition

Player	Character	HP	WP	SAN	BP	Resources
Some Clever Name	Margaret Hollingshead	11	14	70	56	13: 6/6/1, [][][]
Archer	[1]	10	11	55/54	44	6: 6/0/0, []
Roger	Doctor Reuben Bell	11	13	65	52	16: 6/6/4, [][][]
brahnamin	"Mama" Nguyen	10	17	85	68	4: 4/0/0, []
Regular Guy	Emilie Garilound	12	11	55/54	44	9: 6/3/0, [][]

Important Information and Materials

This is one of the best, broadest sources on the Victorian era:

http://victorian-era.org/

For those with Google Earth, this is Google Earth's interactive map of Victorian London:

https://www.victorianlondon.org/googleearth.htm

Important People

Below are a few of the key figures, as well as others who'll be added as they appear in the course of the campaign.

• Count Weldon, your mysterious benefactor, a suave and polished man of affairs in early middle age, with a slight suggestion of foreign ancestry.
• Puck, the mysterious little mudlark acquaintance of Mama Nguyen who may or may not be an actual fairy.
• Katie Moppet, the little preteen girl who may or may not be the King of the Rattown Sewers.
• Bill, Dan's brother - and fellow thief?

Important Groups and Places

• The Vegliantino, the Paladin Society's barge and floating headquarters.
• The Illustrated Police News, a weekly sensationalist tabloid newspaper, always ready to pounce on the wildest, most scandalous stories.
• The Bethlem Royal Hospital, otherwise known as Bedlam Asylum; a haven for the troubled soul - or a hell-on-earth of mental torture?
• The Forty Elephants, London's most notorious gang of all-female criminals.

House Rules and Quirks

Spending Willpower to Make Rolls Succeed

You can spend your Willpower Points on a 1-to-5 basis to improve most skill rolls (but not SAN rolls or damage rolls, or POW tests, or to change normally successful rolls into crits etc.): 1 WP = up to 5%. This represents making that extra effort of will to achieve a success. But in doing so, you're running down your Willpower Points, which can be dangerous. Also, you have to take the full 1-to-5 conversion - no fractions. If your roll has failed by 6%, you have to spend 2 WP for the full 10%.

Remember that you can also spend Willpower to project SAN loss onto Bonds, or to repress insanity. This is different to the above use - and a reminder how important it is to hang on to your WP. Fumbles can cost you WP; resisting interrogation definitely does. WP are needed to fuel rituals and objects, and are sometimes targeted by offensive rituals. They're also very important for survival in hostile environments.

Remember that you suffer an emotional breakdown when your WP hit 2 or below, and total collapse when you hit 0 WP. You regain 1d6 WP after a full, proper night's sleep. Exhaustion and sleeplessness cut into that.