Alt-Onin - The Situation Post-Kamigoryo (February 1467)

Success! You managed to alter the course of history by slaying Lord Hatakeyama Yoshinari in his enclosure at the Battle of Kamigoryo Shrine. The death of Lord Yoshinari, the acting head of his powerful clan, throws the city of Kyoto into political chaos. You probably need Politics-12+ to follow what is going on with any certainty. 

The situation behind the Hatakeyama Clan was far more convoluted than any of you could possibly have known. Whoever is the head of that clan is the Shogun's Deputy, a position of great power and influence in Kyoto. Events are quickly spiraling out of control, and war between the two great clans of Yamana and Hosokawa is almost inevitable now. The looming conflict over who will be the next Shogun looms in the background, but even this is about the fight between the two great powers of the day. What matters now is what is happening in the present. 

At the center of the political chaos is the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa. The Shogun is a fickle, indecisive man with little taste for governing Japan. For almost twenty years, he has been manipulated by the heads of the Yamana and Hosokawa clans, (Yamana Sozen the "Red Monk" and Hosokawa Katsumoto), constantly changing his mind. In fact, the position of the clan head of the Hatakeyama has been changed almost at a whim between cousins (not brothers, sorry) Yoshinari (who you killed), and Masanaga (who you helped) six times in the last two decades. Even the Yamana and the Hosokawa have backed one or the other candidates for clan head, switching whenever there was an advantage, and occasionally backing the same one despite being bitter rivals (and In-Laws!). When the Yamana and the Hosokawa flip-flop, they do it for political advantage. When the Shogun flip-flops, he does it because he is inconstant as the wind. 

The hot-tempered Yamana Sozen, once a favorite of the Shogun, has recently fallen out of favor due to his antagonism toward the Mongols. His lands are primarily in the west, near Kyushu, and the Mongols are close by. He supported the slain Lord Yoshinari to maintain a voice in the Shogunal court. He is quite angry about losing so much political influence and a valuable ally against the Hosokawa. Hosokawa Katsumoto, who controls lands near Kyoto, had replaced Sozen as the Shogun's confidant due to his more conciliatory approach to the Mongols. Unfortunately, his covert support of Lord Masanaga has strained that relationship for the time being. He is currently trying to smooth things over and secure Lord Masanaga's position. He gains the Hatakeyama as allies against the Yamana if he manages this. 

What does all this mean for the handful of Goto's Company that survived the Battle of Kamigoryo Shrine? Dangerous ambiguity is what it means. 

• Shogun Yoshimasa is irritated at you all, as you represent Hosokawa Katsumoto disregarding shogunal instructions to stay out of the dispute. Fortunately, he is easily distracted and has other more pressing concerns. 

• Lord Hatakeyama Masanaga is hugely grateful for your services and would like to reward you appropriately. Unfortunately, too many people within the clan hate you for slaying Lord Yoshinari, so there will be no official position within the Hatakeyama. He definitely owes you a great deal and intends to make good on that debt, assuming he can secure his position in his clan. 

• Lord Hosokawa Katsumoto is vaguely grateful for your sacrifice, but ultimately all of you are disposable pawns in his greater schemes. Hell, even Lord Masanaga is just an asset, valuable only when useful to him. You cannot rely on support from the Hosokawa, though you can probably ask a favor if you don't wait too long. 

• Lord Yamana Sozen is pissed enough to want you dead, mostly as an afterthought; also, he's always angry; that's why they call him "the Red Monk." You guys are effectively nobodies who got lucky as he sees it, so your deaths would produce little more than a moment of grim satisfaction. He's way too busy to hunt you, but your lives could get exciting. On the other hand, if you hate the Mongols or the scheming Prince Michinaga (Jason's family enemy), this is the guy to be friends with. 

Whatever else happens, you are now notorious - even those of you who try to conceal your role in the battle find it effectively useless, though you can of course disguise yourself. You live in a city, and not even the Buddha can stop the grapevine. Apply the following package to your character sheets. It is effectively a 0pt feature related to your new street rep and other consequences. This is separate from any specific rewards or punishments doled out by any of the powerful NPC's listed above. 

• +2 Reputation (5pts) - "Spears of Kamigoryo", badass warriors (Everyone in Kyoto not an enemy, recognize you on a roll of 10-)

• Enemies (-5pts) - Resentful Hatakeyama and Asakura warriors constantly challenge you or even attack you. (One person equal to you, or a small group of lesser fighters, appear on a roll of 6-)