Alt- Onin: Home Again, But Not As We Left It

Having slain the Oni called "Black Mushroom" and many of his goblin minions, the heroes exercised discretion and escaped from the demon castle through a hidden tunnel in the floor of the treasure room.

Speaking of treasure...

• 3 $1000 gold ingots
• 45 $100 silver coins
• 1200 $1 copper coins
• Chinese apothecary kit
• 2 unmarked flasks of oily fluid, smell like lemon and copper
• 1 unmarked flask of oily fluid, smells like fresh blood
• 1 small wood and gold-leaf Buddha statue, expensive
• 1 signature stamp kit, expensive
• 1 silver jar, expensive, filled with eerily white rice
• 1 cookie-sized baked clay tablet; Chinese characters say a demon is sealed inside, break for one service
• 1 flask of sake, very expensive
• 1 silk bag full of shark teeth

Santo no Kai volunteered to stay behind and close the tunnel behind them, as he knew his powers of stealth and climbing would allow him an easy escape outside the castle. The heroes lowered themselves one by one down the rope, finding themselves in a small chamber with a hidden door. Unlucky Ko found the latch behind an enchanted statue of a centipede. Unfortunately, the statue was cursed, and Unlucky Ko's left hand attempted to choke him to death. Eventually, this was resolved. 

Exiting the chamber, the heroes found themselves in the "Forest of Pillars" beneath the castle. It took a very long time to escape, during which the PC's were attacked by a pack of flesh-eating Gaki. The PC's easily dispatched these ghouls, and eventually made their way to the outside. Once there, they saw a battle between Goblins and Oni rival factions, as apparently word of the demon lord's death had already reached the town. The town, Oni-Mura, was itself in flames as mobs roamed the streets, fighting and looting, and burning. They opted to escape down the colossal iron chains anchoring the floating mountain. In the process, Kingoro fell, fortunately landing in the polluted lake below the mountain. Yukichi saved the life of the captive Yayoi woman when she slipped as well, the second or third time this happened. Eventually, despite language limitations, they learned her name is "Khenbish".

The heroes were able to make their way out of the town, being far more terrifying than the solitary Ogre that tried unsuccessfully to block their path. After a long wait, the PC's took the goblin boat back to the island, and returned to the material world. They discovered from the bored fisherman that they'd only been gone a couple of hours, despite passing possible months in the spirit world. Triumphantly they marched back to Prince Akihiro's estate in Tada. 

Once there, the PC's presented both the giant "Dragon Pearl" and the head of the demon lord "Black Mushroom", pleasing the Prince greatly. As payment, he granted the PC's title to his three manors in Uwajima, a coastal region in southwestern Shikoku. "Yours", he said, "if you can take it and hold it in my name".  More significantly, he offered them a dose of the "Dragon Pearl Elixer", brewed by Chinese apothecary and sage, Xiao Guanding. As the old scholar explained in stilted Chinese...

“If you drink, there is no turning back. Some, of weak spirit, do not survive the painful transition; flaws and impurities are burned out of you. For the rest of your existence, you must consume a pearl each month on the new moon, consecrated by a priest of high virtue. Only this will maintain the vitality of this elixir. Failure might kill you. 

But if you do these things, death has no grip upon you. You have nothing to fear from serpent’s fang, or illness, or the sea. Even the blade holds little danger for you. Only three things can truly kill you - If your head and neck part ways, if you are consumed in fire, or if you are smashed to bits by a catapult stone. Only those things can end you. You will still feel the pain of death from mortal wounds, but like the starfish, your wounds will knit themselves. You will rise again as you were. 

If you accept these terms, drink deeply.”  

Unfortunately there is no word of Santo no Kai, who is either dead or remains lost in the spirit world. 

Dragon Pearl Elixer 

PC is given a pearlescent potion that must be swallowed. The substance will then lodge itself near the heart in an extremely painful way, doing 2d6 damage in the process and hopefully not killing the swallower. The drinker then becomes permanently very difficult to kill, except by fire, acid, decapitation, or annihilation of the body.

Undead: +2 to Toughness and Spirit rolls to recover from Shaken, ignore additional damage from Called Shots except to the head, ignore 1 point of Wound penalties, doesn’t breathe, immune to disease and poison, doesn’t Bleed Out, and is only permanently slain by destroying the brain. If Incapacitated, roll Vigor as normal.

Death: Decapitation, fire, and acid, of course, do not count. Similarly, being killed by a Heavy Weapon in one hit results in the physical destruction of the body. If they “die” from anything other than those things, they’re only put down for 1d6 days, after which they wake up with three Wounds. A Spirit roll is required to avoid a Minor Phobia (Major on a crit fail) related to their trauma.

Regeneration: The being heals damage quickly once they return to life. She may make a natural healing roll once daily  (rather than once weekly). Permanent wounds begin healing as soon as all others are mended and are treated as a Wound. Decapitation, fire, and acid, of course, do not count. Similarly, being killed by a Heavy Weapon in one hit results in the physical destruction of the body.

Dependency: Each month, the PC must ingest a pearl worth $250 or more, consecrated by a Shinto priest within one day, to maintain their power. Each month without, they acquire an additional level of permanent fatigue. Once incapacitated, they lose all powers and are -1 die to Spirit as the magic dissipates painfully.

Blood Will Tell: The downside to the immortality potion is that the imbiber’s blood is now faintly pearlescent. Furthermore, they are no longer entirely human and are now part spirit. 

• Spirit roll before interacting with people to avoid a -1 penalty to social skills due to reacting to nearby minor yokai. These omnipresent pests are now visible, and you must avoid acting twitchy. 
• -1 to Stealth to hide in absolute darkness, and the character glows near a Dragon or on consecrated ground.

Secrets and Enemies: Immortality is a major secret. If it is discovered, Mongol agents, Lord Michinaga, and Dragons will all seek out the PC’s to take their blood to extract the potion for their own uses. This will, of course, be fatal.