Usagi Yojimbo: Grey Shadows- The Courtesan

One of the things I didn't get around to, is the later part of the book where Usagi becomes involved with a courtesan. Now low wage bar wench, this is a high class professional who even lords see. There are some similarities in western European, but I cannot think of the name of the infamous madame now. Nontheless, it's still a profession today that can have its own 'clout' if you will, but only for the very best who service the highest paid as United States senators and other politicians can attest to.

1. Foreshadowing: Lady Maple, the courtesan in question, is mentioned prior to this in terms of her beauty. This is a good way to showcase an aspect of an upcoming event or character. If speaking of some monsters, have the character meet survivors of the last raid of those attacks. Let them learn second hand what they will be prepared to deal with.

2. Self-Character Involvement: Usagi, as always, is sticking his nose into other people's troubles. Because of his good nature, Usagi doesn't immediately go for the financial or the other rewards that might come from defending a high end courtesan. Know your players. If that angle won't work for them, perhaps those in the higher ends will still have use for such a character and can be paid out in the standard methods of adventurerers or as Skull from PvP would say, "Ales and Whores."

3. Character Motivations and Secrets: I was reading an old issue of Dragon during the 3.5 reign that featured Vecna in his new status of godhood. One of the things it mentions is his desire for secrets. The courtesan here has a hell of a secret. The players could be working for such a lady as body guards but not know her secret. Her motivation, keep the secret and keep what that secret is, proteced. Due to her kind nature and apperance, those around her have motivation to serve and protect her. Give a moment to thinking about the character's around the player's and what their motivations are.

This motivation goes in the opposite direction as well. Those seeking to end the life of Maple's son, aren't doing it because they are random baby killers. They are doing it for political motivation, for the right to be free from what they fear will happen should the child grow into his own ends and power. These motivations are at ends. Usagi in and of himself is just someone in the way, despite the fact they want him dead for interferring.

4. No World Wide Web Yet: Depending on the setting and access to magic use and the size of the location the players are at, they may become involved in huge events that have massive ramifications, such as the murder of a noble or a lord. Yet not everyone has a camera on their phone in these RPGs we favor. There are no eye in the sky close up shots. There may not even be a pony express! This can be vital for keeping the characters viable for player in a setting if things go wrong in one corner of the setting. Mind you Usagi has some help of his own through the inspector, but the point of non-instant identification should resonnate with those playing in lower magic, lower end sword and sorcery style settings.

Remember the limitations of the setting and run with them. The players will get theirs one way or another sooner or latter if that's the end goal.

Usagi Yojimbo: Grey Shadows

Usagi Yojimbo Grey Shadows is the thirteenth volume in the Stan Sakai collection of Usagi Yojimbo's adventurers. The book starts almost immediately after the previous one leaves off and does so with a bit of a twist.

You see, in the last volume, Usagi and the demon spear man Jei had another epic confrontation and although Usagi won, both he and his friend Gen, were injured. And that weapon of Jei's doesn't just pierce the flesh, it drains the soul.

This gets me to something that's hard to pull off in 'balanced' roleplaying games. The injuries that last. In my experience with GURPS, if I'm recalling correctly, you can get points for a handicapping injury when you first make the character, but anything after that is a GM freebie. Hero isn't quite like that depending on the GM. Previous editions of D&D weren't quite like that either in that if you lost a hand, very difficult to do outside of GM fiat or certain traps, it was a quest to restore it, until you hit X level and then it was pretty much asking the cleric to heal you.

You can bring the spirit of such elements to the game though with reinforcement of what the wound is supposed to represent. In Gen's case, it's almost a meloncoly mood of depression and despair. The seriousness isn't carried too far, but Gen's wound does have repurcussions down the line.

Another element Stan uses here is the friend of a friend when he introduces the readers to inspector Ishida. The law of Usagi's time have a distinctive weapon, the jitte, it's almost like a sai and serves as their symbol. Here though, Usagi is told of the inspector by his priest ally Shanshobo. This helps move Usagi along the way and proides him with a new encounter and one that is potentially an ally off the bat since this is coming from a friend.

While it can seem heavy handed if done too often, networking is something that happens every day. If you know someone who has skill with something you need done, and you have friends who know someone, you'd ask right? If your friends need someone that they trust, they might ask you if you know someone. Once the initial meeting is made though, then the characters have to move on their own and interact as their natures dictate.

In introducing the inspector, Stan pulls a little trick that's often seen in comics and anime. He showcases Ishida fighting two samurai and casually besting them to illustrate that the inspector is no soft politician or fool. In anime and comics, it's often done to showcase what a menace that the heroes are up against. If done in a game, you want to just make it a quick illustration of the NPC's abilities because you're not there to hog up the game with demonstrations of NPC power.

While Stan manages to hit some of the historical notes of his period piece, he also continues to sprinkle language through the series.

Copper Zeni: Small coin
Hour of the Ox: 2-4 Am
Obake: Haunts
Torihada: Goosebumbs
Hanya: Female Demon

This list goes on for quite a bit and there's numerous bits and pieces that make sense in the context of the story they're told in. It makes for some diversity that's often lacking in most standard fantasy unless it tries to go the way of the Planescape setting and make up a lot of its own dialect.

Usagi Yojimbo continues to showcase adventure seeds that don't necessarily have to take place in the dungeon.

Usagi Yojimbo: Grasscutter

Usagi Yojimbo continues its trail of one rabbit samurai wandering the countryside as a ronin who keeps a circle of friends close while the world about him continues to come together in ways that are not always seen by the main character, but that the audience sees as ties that bind.

Below I'll be discussing some of the bits from Grasscutter, previewed here, the twelfth volume graphic novel collection of Usagi Yojimbo published by Dark Horse comics. Spoilers will follow so beware!

Mythology: Either Stan does a fantastic job of researching the history of Japan and presenting it to the reader or he does it in such a way that it's fun to read and doesn't negatively impact the story. In many cultures, there are magical weapons but too often the origin or founding point of these weapons are left to the readers imagination. There's nothing wrong with that. Was the infamous sword Blackrazor better before it gained excessive background or worse? Readers will be divided on that issue. Here, we are introduced to Grasscutter through both myth and historical events as to how it was lost to Usagi's Japan.

Nemesis: Ah, the dreaded tale of the nemesis. I've hit on this several times but well, here it hits again. Jei, the demonic warrior that Usagi has 'killed' several times prior to this returns in this novel. He showcases his powers against several entities that may have even been kin in their own way to him, but the path Jei walks is one that he walks unopposed. This can be an important thing to showcase with the villains in your setting.

In some setting such as the Forgotten Realms, there are so many high level villain and heroic organizations that it's often difficult to imagine the setting not resembling Gamma World more than a pseudo fantasy setting but those organizations dont' tend to ally with each other and even with 'good', may have their own ideas on how certain things, like artifacts and knowledge, should be shared, putting them at odds with one another. Have the party stumble upon a group of dead orcs and hobgoblins to showcase that just because they all hate the players, doesn't mean they love each other.

The Villain's Weakness: Most of the time when Jei and Usagi fight, Usagi doesn't do to well and generally is saved either by circumstance or luck. This volume is no different but it showcases a different side of Jei in that he leaves himselve open protecting 'his innocent'. This is essentially a follower of Jei who doesn't understand or care about what Jei is, only that he protected her at a dark period in her life and looks out for her. Usagi doesn't deliberately use her against him, but events conspire to put her in danger and Jei can choose to either end Usagi or save the 'innocent'. He saves the innocent.

Foreshadowing: Stan does this with a saint's patience. While probably not as noticeable in the individual issues that make up the series, the graphic novels allow the reader to see Stan setting up events so that they fall like domino's. Could you guess the events that will happen? Possibly. Do they make sense in the context of the story and keep the story moving forward?

Yes. In this instance, Inazuma, introduced only last volume, is hunted by Gen for the large bounty on her head. the two fight, Gen barely escapes with his life but ironically, due to an accident, it's Inazuma that's badly injured and passes out in front of Jei who at the bidding of his follower, leaves Inazuma, suffering from delusions and hallucinations, at a temple to heal. When Jei is 'killed', his spirit finds a new host in Inazuma, whose storyline will come back into play way down the line in volume 24.

Grasscutter: Grasscutter exhibits some interesting bits to it but doesn't shine through as something like Excalibur or Strombringer in terms of raw sword power. Rather, it's something that is a unique cultural artifact that could upset the political power of Japan and send the whole of it into further warfare. The thing is, Usagi is generally a 'good' individual and has no desire for political power. Don't put the gun in the room unless you're ready for the players to use it. I can easily envision a scenario where the players are supposed to pass an object to another individual but hey, when is this opportunity going to come along again? Always be ready for the players to take the path not offered and be ready for the consequences of it.

In my opinion, if you don't want to deal with the players potentially getting their hands on such an object and using it as players instead of as story element, it's better to not put it into the game rather than having some highly unlikely series of events conspire to steal the item from the players.

Order Update 2!

The Mongoose order has arrived.

Conan 2nd edition, Cimmeria,  Lankhmar Unleashed, Magic of the Young Kingdoms, Dream Realms and Secrets of Tragic Europe are in my grubby paws. Now to brood of a crossover where those of Melnibone use the Dream Realms to explore Lankhmar and then the caves there to voyage to Cimmeria and wind up lost in Traig Europe...

Follow Up On Sale

Just an FYI, but my paints and other goods from Miniature Market have already arrived. Great price, great service.

Old School Sales at Mongoose and Paints at Miniature Market

It's rare that I mention actual gaming books, but I happened to notice that Mongoose still has on sale several Conan 2nd edition books, various Hawkmoon Runequest books, Elric/Stormbring Runequest book, and the Nehwon setting book via Lankhmar Unleashed. It don't get much more old school than the twain there. Dragon Warriors and other bits are also on sale.

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/rpg/series.php?qsSeries=67

In addition, I paint miniatures. Over at Miniature Market, they've got a deal on the Panzer Aces set of 48 vallejo paints for $62. Hell of a deal considering those are usually over $3 each.

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/amazing_deals1

Good spending!

The Religion: Now Some GM Notes

Below I'll be pulling some quotes out of the Religion and talking about how they make me think about various bits in a campaign from the GM side of things. If you're looking to avoid spoilers, read no further.

Location:

"If Sicily as a whole was uncongenial to those of nonconformist temper, Messina, which through millennial had known conquerors by the dozen, was open to foreigners, rogues, and entrepreneurs of every stripe. It was an independent republic, as populous as Rome, and paid the latest- Spanish- invaders presently stripping the island to the bone as little mind as it had paid the Romans, the Arabs, the Normans, and all the rest. It was turbulent and rich, and with the sanctuary of Calabria only two miles across the straits, it harbored the lawless high and low in enormous numbers. The governor looted more for the Spanish Crown in a single year than the rest of the island yielded up in five. on the Church's part, the Holy Inquisition formed a veritable legion of kidnappers, killers, and thieves, and numbered in its ranks knights, barons, merchants, artisans, criminals of every kind, and it went without saying, the bulk of the civil police force. As a place for a man such as Tannhauser to make his fortune, it had no equal." (pg. 51)

Now Tim Willocks didn't have to go into this description. After all,most of the story here doesn't actualy take place on Messina, but rather, on Malta. But he does. The above description showcases the attitude, the nature, the essence of the location where Tannhauser starts.

By providing these quick insights into the nature of the setting, the players will get a taste for it. Now if the GM doesn't follow up on these descriptions with actual events or locations or personalities that fit it, or deliberately don't fit it, then it's a stroke. However, if you're with long term players and their characters are well seasoned, you can save a lot of time and description by telling them that their current location is like X. But if you say its like X and it turns out it's nothing like X? Yeah, the player trust in your ability to describe things honestly is going to suffer there.


Nemesis

Ludovico Ludovici is introduced fairly early in the book as a man who Tannhauser owes a personal grudge to. Ludovico's nature as an agent of the Church, an inquisitor for the church, provides him some social protection.

His ties to Carla, Tannhauser's patron, provide him with more links to Tannhauser. His relationship to Carl's son, provides still more links to Tannhauser.

While Tannhauser is on Malta, and he fights a huge number of foes, and prior to that even engages in combat with Ludovico's hirelings, there is a world of difference between an standard, generic, faceless foe man, and one that the player's character has some direct tie to.

In this case, the author manages to provide Ludovico with layers of protection through a few clever plot shields. The first is social. By being a high ranking member of an organization that wields much power, were Mattias to attack him in the open, even were he to be victorious, there would be consequences that might haunt him for the rest of his days.

The second shield is the henchmen. By having Ludovico have his own hired killers seeking out Tannhauser in the dark and trying to be clever and stealthy about it themselves, it opens the door for conflict with them, but not out in the open, and not against the foe that Mattias wishes to kill.

The third shield is timing. Ludovico arrives at Malta and quickly makes a name for himself and proves himself to the religious fanatics of the island with his own piousness and sword skill.

A good nemesis should have relation to the character through some manner. The nemesis should reflect something of the character either in exaggerated features of it or through being its opposite. For example, in Marvel Comics, Reed Richards is a brilliant scientists as is Dr. Doom. But Doom goes far beyond Reed in terms of his levels of mastery in various fields such as alchemy or sorcerery. Lex Luthor is merely a human, yet he is one of Superman's greatest foes.

Risk and Consequences

Sabato looked at Tannhauser. his eyes were haunted. "I've never lost everything before."

"The Oracle?" said Tannhauser. "They've but broken a chain around our ankle." (pg. 116)

I'm not the oldest player nor have I played the earliest editions of Dungeons and Dragons. However, playing since 1st edition and various basic (expert, companion, master, immortal!) sets and editions, in previous editions, there were many opportunities to gain castles and other property. Sometimes this could bog down a game. Sometimes the micromanagement of running these side businesses would take precedence over actual dungeon crawling. Madness!

For those games that focus on the crawl, that focus on exploration, that focus on the adventure aspect as opposed to the other potential bits in the game, it might prove necessary to move the party forward every now and again with some harsh prodding. the trick is to insure that there are boundless opportunities for whatever you're pushing them towards.

In this case, Tannhauser and his friends will have opportunity to make vast riches on the island selling various things ranging from Opium and foodstuffs, to engaging in the dark rituals of combat that Bors wanted to do in the first place. This doesn't count that Tannhauser is being hired by Carla to leave the Oracle in the first place and go to Malta.  Even better, as the following line illustrates;

"Most of our coin and credit is lodged in Venice. When we join it, we'll be well beyond the reach of the Spanish Crown."

So even though there has been a loss, the characters have not been so well and truly set back that they not only can't recover from it, but have immediate opportunities to do so.

In terms of mood and theme, Tim does a solid job of bringing another attitude to life. It's one where life is cheap and the reality of the situation is generally taken with a nod by those in it. It's nothing to kill a man and then eat a heaping dinner and burn your possessions to the ground on the road to the next adventure for these men. Keep the adventure high and keep the campaign moving forward.