Alt-Onin: Conversion from GURPS to SWADE

 As of this post, we will officially convert the Alt-Onin campaign from GURPS to Savage Worlds (SWADE). This has advantages and disadvantages, but the biggest one is speed and simplicity. Core to this process is the following document:

Savage Samurai

Alt-Onin - Journey to the West, Part 2 - Oni-Mura and the Demon Fort

As the PC’s journeyed toward the mountains, the sun set, becoming pitch black and stormy…. Yet sight is easy and rain never actually falls. Eventually, they reached "Oni-Mura", the Goblin Town. The settlement is a rude mixture of lean-tos, tents, buildings of all sorts, a few ship hulks, and other random things that the universe has dumped on this realm or dragged here by the residents. It sprawls up both sides of a valley, with Kurokinoku’s demon fort floating above the valley's center.  The locals are a violent mix of bakemono, dangerous animals, yokai, and humans from around the region. Surprisingly enough, both merchants and craftsmen live here, protected by Kurokinoku’s “laws” and hired goons. Other residents live by few rules - the economy is barter or theft. The only law is what Kurokinoku says it is. The PC’s were able to walk around in Oni-Mura without attracting too much attention as long as they looked ragged and mean. 

Alt-Onin - Journey to the West, Part 1 - Arrival

A powerful Oni named Kurokinoko (Black Mushroom) caused great discomfort to Akihiro’s mysterious wife and needed to be slain. The PC’s were charged with finding this Oni and killing him. They must return his head and a mysterious "Dragon Pearl" (allegedly owned by Akihiro's wife) to the material world and hand them both to Prince Akihiro.

Alt-Onin: The Battle of Shirataki

Upon arriving at Ozu, the PC's were surprised to discover that Prince Takatsukasa Akihiro was there paying a visit to a resident Chinese scholar of some sort. His cart was at the samurai mansion that he had appropriated from some unhappy Utsunomiya vassal. The group road out to his neighboring estate at Tada, a mile north of Ozu on the Hiji River. A famous Chinese scholar, Xiao Guanding, apparently a sorcerer and diviner, resides in a small but richly decorated home in the hills above the river, looking down upon Tada. He has a small number of servants and guards in residence and has little interaction with his Japanese neighbors. Prince Akihiro acted surprised to see the PC’s, but it seemed insincere to the perceptive. He is there to consult the scholar on some arcane matter which he will not discuss with the PC's. 

Alt-Onin: From Haishi to Ozu

 A priest from Koseki-Ji was in attendance when one of the Kono councilors (Lord Kono Akemasu) suggested capturing the PC’s and delivering them to Yamana Sozen as a way to get into his good graces. He warned Brother Hofuku, who was able to gently slide out the side door and evacuate. They have taken passage on a boat bound for Ozu, the next stop for the PC’s, fortunately outside Kono lands. The PC’s signed management of the estate over to the Koseki-Ji, and the monks helped the PC’s escape through the backcountry. Hopefully, the accountant, porters, and other ronin will be waiting for the PC's. 

Alt-Onin Master NPC List

The list of all the significant NPC's you interact with is below. It is continually updated as necessary. 

Alt-Onin Master NPC List

Alt-Onin: Upper Haishi River Estate Briefing

The Estate on the Upper Haishi River is a small village, nothing notable - The prince’s estate is the mile or so south of the Atago Shrine (kami of fire) near the bridge, both of which remain intact. Much of the valley was largely wiped out by flooding last year, and the fields sit fallow. Less than a dozen families live on the estate, the rest having died, moved away, or taken up banditry. Large piles of rubble block the valley roads, bridges are washed out and replaced with ad-hoc bridges of felled trees, the village is reduced to the signs of homes buried beneath mudslides; only a few lonely houses remain on the hillside. Since the go-kenin (Murakami Gyoto) and family are missing along with the village charters, the estate can effectively be claimed with little effort by anyone willing to press their claim forcefully. One of the surviving villagers remembers that a younger Murakami brother went off to fight the Mongols or something (he is unclear); maybe he went to Uwajima, a city in the south where the Prince also has some estates in jeopardy.

Alt-Onin: Welcome to Matsuyama

The PC's have accepted the task of traveling to Iyo Province on Shikoku to secure Prince Akihiro's claims to a dozen different estates that are faltering in their rent, taxes, or tribute payment in the last year. This would typically be the job of the local authorities, but they seem preoccupied with other matters of more significant concern to them. Brother Hofuku, the appointed clerical accountant, has copies of the deeds and agreements to the various mansions, so the PC's can prove their legitimacy. 

As a first stop, the PC's went to the capital, Matsuyama, and traveled to a small village on the Haishi River to see why there had been no payment for months. There are less than forty families listed in Brother Hofuku's records, growing the usual sorts of mundane crops - rice, millet, straw, that sort of thing. The steward/headman role for the estate belongs to a samurai family named "Murakami," which has held the position for generations - just a smallholding independent samurai family of no reputation. 

Alt-Onin - NPC's for the Trip (Updated as needed)

You aren't a scruffy pack of ronin anymore, fellows. Now you are an expedition to Shikoku, dispatched to punish those who would deny rightful taxes due to an Imperial Prince. You are legitimate now, bona fide, and that means you have a baggage train. 

Hatakeyama Gift Bag

• 1 gold ryo to each warrior in Goto's Company, worth $4000 each
• Fine quality stylin' silk hitatare for everyone (formal kimono for samurai, look it up), good for +1 reaction when worn in formal situations
• One party in the Gion District, probably costing another gold Ryo, with top-notch entertainment talent and the finest food imaginable. 
• Invitation to service with the Hatakeyama should they ever desire stability, status, and income.
• Fine quality katanas for everyone not named below, +1 to damage, +1 to reactions from people impressed by nice-looking swords

For Kingoro, who struck the killing blows, 7 of the finest arrows crafted by human hands, +2 damage, Bodkin-tipped (AP 2), gold-leaf covered shafts

For Tatsuzo, who was there a few steps behind Kingoro, a fine-quality tachi from the Kamakura-era, +1 to skill due to balance, +2 to reaction from sword-obsessed types when brandished or shown off, suitable for wear in court situations. 

For Santo no Kai, who was seen doing battle with fists and feetses, super-dooper Buddhist ritual trappings taken from one of the most prestigious temples in Kyoto (incense, candles, etc) good for a +3 to rituals of the Path of Protection or Path of Spirit, three uses only before the stuff is used up.

For Kazu, who spoke so eloquently about the battle, "Shirohana" the warhorse formerly owned by Lord Yoshinari. It has a white nose, thus the name. 

For Unlucky Ko, slain in the battle only to rise again from the grave, an extra $1000 in silver coins and a letter to House Nitsui demanding the reinstatement of the brave Kokatsu. 

Alt-Onin - Prince Akihiro and His Wayward Estates (Intel Brief)

Prince Takatsukasa Akihiro is last in the line of the "Takatsukasa" Clan, a Kuge family offshoot of the Fujiwara, now fairly obscure. He is an infrequent visitor to court, perhaps once or twice a year, and said to be one of the few Kuge that deliberately travels outside of Kyoto... the Kuge generally regard this as madness. You don't have the connections for more detail than that. Prince Akihiro needs enforcers to go to his lands and estates in the Seto Inland Sea and on Shikoku to make sure they continue to pay the taxes that are due to him. Most of these lands are scattered across Iyo Province, though they add up to a considerable amount for a single Kuge in the 1460s. These holdings are subject to raids by both pirates and Mongols. In a few cases, they are actually run by pirates, though as long as taxes are paid, Prince Akihiro is unconcerned about this. In exchange for their assistance, he can grant the PC’s status, lands, and wealth.


Important Concept - "Shoen Estate" - In early Japanese history, an arrangement developed between the nobility and common peasants in order to avoid the ruinous taxes of the central government. Taxes were typically 70% or more of the crops a peasant could grow, so anything less than that was win-win. Peasants would "gift" their land to a powerful noble or even a Buddhist temple, and be allowed to remain on it and work the land. These temples and nobles did not have to pay taxes to the government because of their special status. They charged the peasants a "fee" to use the land that was much less than the going tax rates of the time. The actual protection and administration of a "Shoen estate" could be quite complicated, and was usually handled by local warriors in exchange for a share of the revenue. This whole arrangement is breaking down into chaos by the 1460's. 

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. 

Alt-Onin Session #8 - Night at Kamigoryo Shrine

The battle of Kamigoryo Shrine will take a long pause for the night, with periodic rushes and assaults to keep things spicy. Yoshinari’s forces are encamped mainly on the western side, and the woods to the east and south are on fire in places. Where they are not, there are small patrols of Yoshinari's warriors in the woods.  In assessing the situation, Captain Goto decides that he is unwilling to die for a lord that is not his own. He gathers his troops and resolves to cut his way out while it is still possible. Captain Goto suggests that they retreat to the nearby Shokoku-Ji. Once the central shrine falls, there will likely be a slaughter of the losing side to follow.

Such is war.

Alt-Onin Session #6 and 7 - The Battle of Kamigoryo Shrine

 

"On January 18, 1467, during the Muromachi Period, the struggle between deposed Kanrei (Shogun's Deputy) Masanaga HATAKEYAMA and Yoshinari HATAKEYAMA took place in the forest within this shrine. The Goryo skirmish led to the outbreak of the Onin War in the following year and this is considered the site where the Onin War began."

-Japanese Wiki Corpus

Alt-Onin Session #5 - Jobhunting on Sanjo

At the moment, the only job lead that the PC’s have is Lord Ashikaga Yorinori at the Sanjo-Bomon. Name-dropping the samurai Nomiya Hidenao as their introduction got them in the door. They made an appointment to see Lord Yorinori, and wound up getting a job as enforcers for House Ashikaga. 

Alt - Onin: Session #4 - Welcome to Kyoto

The PC’s escorted Terumasa the Merchant from Kiyosu to Kyoto, along with four porters and his assistant. They arrived in Kyoto across the Sanjo Ohashi over the Kamo River after weeks on the Tokaido, and they found Kyoto to be crowded and bustling, but also tense.

Alt: Onin Session 3: A Brother's Grave

Kingoro, Unlucky Ko, and Sato no Kai parted company with the Kozakana samurai to attend to a family matter in Hida Province.

Alt-Onin Session 2: The Haunted Shrine

 The PC's get robbed in a Scooby-Doo scenario in a haunted shrine. 

Alt-Onin Session 1: Odawara to Sunpu

The Alt-Onin campaign began with a vicious battle between the not-yet-acquainted PC's and a group of vicious brigands intent on killing Kingoro.

Hero Points - Cinematic Luck Point Rules for GURPS 4e

This is simple, but less prone to abuse than the simple "chip for a reroll" rules we have used in many of our games. Each player gets three chips and can earn additional chips by doing awesome things... a bit like Bennies in Savage Worlds. They are spent to modify the results of skill rolls and injuries, allowing the PC's to have some plot armor without being invincible.