Mythic Nippon Welcome to Mythic Nippon. It is a place of mystery and wonder; inspired by the legends of Feudal Japan, Imperial China, and other places in the Far East. It is a world of stoic samurai and treacherous ninja; sorcery wielding wu-jen and brutal warlords; where dragons soar the skies and immortals walk the earth; Where demons and oni scheme among men and danger lurks in every shadow; Where legendary heroes and masters of ki search for honor, glory, and adventure!
It is the Kamakura era; year 1297.
Sixteen years ago, the great Mongol warrior Kublai Khan, led a massive invasion of Nippon for the Chinese. His forces carried with them a new weapon; one that would rival the powers of sorcery itself – the secret of gunpowder. His campaign was a brutal success and Nippon was quickly subjugated under Chinese rule.
Kublai Khan left Nippon shortly after the Chinese Shogunate took power – though legend has it that he never made it home. His fleet of mercenary warriors was caught in a terrible typhoon and sunk to the bottom of the sea; a ‘Divine Wind’ sent to avenge Nippon’s lost honor.
The Islands Geographically, Nippon consists of four main islands and over a thousand minor ones.
..- Honshu - The principle island in the chain is Honshu, on which the great cities of Kyoto and Edo stand, and where the Emperor and Shogun have ruled throughout history.
- Hokkaido, north of Honshu, is a land of mystery, covered with icy mists and largely unexplored. It is inhabited by the Ebisu, or Northern Barbarians, who have a tribal culture and are ruled by shamans mixing totemic magic and cult religion in large doses.
- Kyushu is an island of highly independent Samurai clans. It has traditionally been a thorn in the side of whatever central government rules on Honshu.
- Shikoku is a small and barren Island, a place of smallholdings in the main. It is usually dominated by Honshu politics.
.The Islands are places of equal harshness and beauty. Almost 25% of the land area consists of inaccessible mountains peaks; many of them are active volcanoes that can erupt without warning in a fury of fire and death. Barely 10% of the land can be cultivated easily, leading to the development of highly advanced agricultural techniques, designed to wrest the most from every inch of available farmland. Nippon is also shaken by hundreds of earthquakes each year. While most are minor tremors, a significant fraction are man-killing explosions of nature’s anger. In the aftermath of these great shocks, coastal dwellers flee for the hills, knowing that great tsunami’s will soon thunder in from the sea.
Social Hierarchy Under Chinese Rule Mythic Nippon has four social castes in descending order: Samurai, Noble, Commoner, and Non-Person. One must always be respectful to those of higher rank or risk swift and sometimes deadly redress. It is customary to bow to those in your own caste and kneel to those above you. Note that their caste, not their gender, determines a person’s rank in society and females can be Samurai (known as a Samurai-ko) or anything else for that matter.
The Samurai Caste OOO Chinese Shogun (Taiko T’ien Shinhan)
OOO Shogun’s Magistrates
OOO Daimyos
OOO Daimyo’s Magistrates
OOO Samurai
Samurai have the following privileges:
- They may challenge other Samurai and Nobles to duels, though lethal duels must be sanctioned by the Daimyo.
- They must be respectful to Shinto Priests, Wu-Jen, and Ninja Masters. Only the Daimyo may punish these, though Ninja Masters are considered criminals and must be captured for the Daimyo if discovered.
- They may be openly rude and insulting to Fair Folk, Artisans, Master Craftsmen, Ronin, and Free Monks.
- They may bully and beat Peasants, Merchants, Soldiers, Apprentice Monks, and Geisha, though these have the right to fight back.
- They may bully and beat Nezumi, Ninja, Yakuza, and Untouchable Ones (handlers of the dead), who may not fight back (unless they want to be considered criminals).
- They may kill Criminals on sight unless restricted by higher directive.
.The Noble Caste OOO Noble Houses
OOO Divine Shinto Masters
OOO Shinto Priests, Wu-Jen, Ninja Masters
The Commoner Caste OOO Fair Folk, Artisans, Master Craftsmen, Ronin, Free Monks
OOO Peasants, Merchants, Soldiers, Apprentice Monks, Geisha
The Non-Person Caste OOO Nezumi, Ninja, Yakuza, Untouchable Ones (handlers of the dead)
OOO Criminals
The Chinese Shogun At the center of power is the Chinese Shogun, Taiko T’ien Shinhan. He creates all the laws, owns all the land, and is considered the preeminent spiritual leader of the people. He has a bureau of administrators, known as Magistrates, who handle the daily affairs of state and mete out the Shogun’s justice when necessary.
The Shogunate Members of the Shogunate are direct members of the Shogun’s family. They are the aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, and sons and daughters, of the shogun, and though they have no political power, they do have direct access to his ear.
The Shogun’s Magistrates The Shogun’s Magistrates are appointed to mete out the justice of the Shogun and to enforce his law. To question the Shogun’s Magistrate is to question the Shogun, a crime punishable by death.
The Daimyos While the Shogun owns all the land, he has given regency to the Daimyo’s, or ‘Great Lords of the People’, and allows them to tax the Commoners, taking a portion for himself. Because the Daimyo’s have great resources available to them, they can form armies, which can sometimes threaten the power of the Shogun. To ensure loyalty, the Shogun holds the families of all Daimyos ‘hostage’ in Edo Castle, and requires that the Daimyo’s themselves live at Edo half of the time as well. For the most part, this effectively prevents the cohesion necessary between Commoner and Daimyo for organized revolt against the Shogun.
The Daimyo’s Magistrates Every Daimyo has a group of advisors called Magistrates. Like the Shogun’s Magistrates, the Daimyo’s Magistrates are representatives of their lord and to question them is to question the Daimyo.
The Samurai Each Magistrate has a number of Samurai working under him, called Yoriki, usually tasked with keeping the peace on a local level. In turn, these Samurais are allowed deputies called Doshin, drawn from the Commoner caste.
The Noble Families Under each Daimyo are the Noble Families of his clan. These are the Daimyo’s aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and all of their extended family. It is the Nobles who tax the Commoners and deliver the revenue to the Daimyo’s Magistrates. Because they deal more directly with the commoners, the Noble Families tend to be more sympathetic to the lower classes.
Shinto Priests The Shinto Religion deals with maintaining a balanced relationship between man, his ancestors, and the multitudes of spirits that make up Creation. Shinto Priest are sought when one seeks advice, would ask a favor of The Ancestors, or needs to exorcise a hostile spirit from his home. Because of their abilities, Shinto Priests are offered at least minimal respect from even those above them. Shinto Temples attract monks devoted to learning the secrets of Creation and pursuing spiritual enlightenment. The Path of Shintoism is one of the very few ways that a Commoner can ascend above his caste. Once he attains the rank of Shinto Priest, he becomes an Honorary Noble and is offered the respect and treatment of that caste. Of course a Noble who becomes a Shinto Priest is then doubly blessed.
Wu-jen The Wu-jen are powerful sorcerers, who can manipulate Creation itself, bending it to their will. It is an ability that few can master and is believed to be a gift bestowed on the worthy by The Ancestors themselves. Because of this belief, those demonstrating the powers of the Wu-jen are considered Nobility, regardless of birth. For if The Ancestors found the Wu-jen worthy, then who is man to judge diferently?
Ronin Ronin are Samurai without a lord. Most commonly, they are those who’s lord has been killed in battle or slain by the assassin’s blade. Because the Samurai were unable to give up their life for their lord, they are disgraced and become as Commoners.
Fair Folk Fair Folk are the children of foxes who became human (see below). They are indistinguishable from humans, except for their fox ears and short bushy tails. Like humans, they may be of any caste but are typically commoners.
Geisha Geisha are entertainers, trained in the arts of music, poetry, and conversation. All women are expected to master the art of Geisha, though only Commoners actually become Geisha.
Nezumi Nezumi are the children of rats who tried to become human, but were cursed, because they cheated one of the Five Gods in doing so (see below). They are short bipedal rat men who are barely tolerated among humans, mostly out of pity because they can no longer dwell among the animals.
Ninja The Ninja are paid assassins and spies, working for the highest bidder. Though outlaws, they are nonetheless available to any Daimyo (or the exceptionally wealthy) should he call on them, ready to serve for a price. Being experts in stealth and wielding dark magics, Ninja can make deadly foes.
Yakuza The Yakuza are organized crime gangs that hide among otherwise normal looking villages, towns, and cities. They typically run small criminal operations and lie low, trying not to attract too much attention, avoiding discovery through the liberal use of bribes, threats, and extortion. Because killing Yakuza outright can have serious repercussions throughout the populace, they must first be caught in a criminal act before being branded Criminals.
Crime and punishment The Samurai are official representatives of their Daimyo and the Daimyos are official representatives of the Shogun. The Shogun is the chief lawmaker in the land, and therefore, the Samurai and Daimyos are the keepers of that Justice (as knights were the keepers of the King’s justice in feudal Europe). However, having a drunken Samurai ‘dispensing justice’ can sometimes be as deadly as having a gang of criminals in your tavern house. Villagers will often adopt Commoner ‘police’ who inherit the position from their fathers, when Samurai aren’t around. Nippon has a very unforgiving justice system, but before anyone can be brought to justice, the perpetrator must make a confession, or the criminal must be caught red-handed. Torture is a common method of obtaining ‘confessions’.
Forgery and robbery are punishable by death, and the perpetrator’s wife and children are slain as well. Treason against the Shogun or Daimyo is also punishable by death. Samurai may escape execution (and loss of honor to their family) through seppuku. Sometimes, when the crime is particularly vile, Samurai are offered the chance to commit seppuku, but are given a wooden sword to complete the ritual. This shows that the Daimyo does not believe the Samurai has the courage to complete the act, and is only going through the motions to save Face. Seppuku can even be denied to a Samurai (a severe punishment), forcing him to live out the rest of his life in shame. Lesser crimes can be amended through public beatings, house arrest (for Samurai), fines, or cuffing (which involves the offender being handcuffed for extended periods of time).
Often, when a villager commits a crime, the Village Headman is punished. Likewise, when a Samurai’s son is found guilty, the father is expected to atone for the crime.
Murder is handled a bit differently. When a member of one’s family is slain, any other member may go to the killer’s Daimyo and ask for Blood Duel. It may seem that the Daimyos would reject such challenges, but that would show their lack of faith in their own Samurai, and could also be seen as a display of cowardice. The individual seeking a Blood Duel need not fight the duel themselves, if a volunteer can be found to do it for them. Some Ronin make a decent business settling other peoples’ Blood Duels for them.
Before any of this can take place however, the family of the victim must be certain of the killer’s identity and the killing must have been ‘public’, that is, there must have been witnesses to the killing. Once a challenge has been accepted, it is made publicly know and no one may interfere. Doing so is considered a capital crime.
Needless to say, once the challenger or challenged (or both) are killed, the Blood Duel is over. Death in a Blood Duel is a rightful death, and cannot be avenged – at least not within the confines of the Shogun’s law…
People of the Non-Person caste cannot make a Blood Duel challenge.