Mists of War - DM Downrightamazed

Game Master downrightamazed

Three groups of gaijin approach the Son of the Heavens, ruler of the Empire of Mists, in his palace in far Lanzhu. A great war is underway in the west, this is known, but what could these strangers want?


House Rules:
Trapfinding: If you are actively searching for traps, the ratio is One Perception Check per 10 square feet OR Specific Item, e.g., a dresser, foot locker, door, etc. I find this dovetails nicely with the rogue trapfinding ability and suchlike. If the item you are searching is particularly large, multiple Perception checks will be necessary.
So, when you say you are looking for traps please also specify where, exactly, you are looking. If you don't then I will assume you are checking the 10' in front of you.

Critical Fumbles: If you roll a natural 1 on an attack roll, this can mean one of two things:
1. If the Fumble happens as one of a number of attacks in the same round, whether from TWF or iterative attacks, if one of the other attacks was a hit, the fumble merely cancels out one of the hits.
2. If the Fumble happens by itself, it means you miss so badly you have dropped your weapon. Roll 1d8 to determine the direction it went in, and it always lands in the nearest nonadjacent square, regardless of whether that square is occupied or not. If you are fighting with natural weapons, you instead fall down, gaining the Prone condition. If you are fighting with spells you instead forfeit all actions for one full round to recover from the mishap i.e., you lose a turn. You suffer no loss to your AC, you are not flat-footed or anything like that, you simply cannot move or act from arcane/divine dweomer backfire.

The Seven Great Houses of the Empire of Mists:
Clan Motomo - Merchants and tradesman, bourgeois, only recently come into land and arms.
Clan Oda - Artisans, geisha, poets, actors, a very peaceful and ancient house, beloved by all
Clan Endo - Warriors born, as ancient as Clan Oda. It is said they are the oldest Houses and represent the primal Yin and Yang of the Empire, and predate the Empire.
Clan Konoe - Another younger House, with no great scion coming up. It is possible a power grab by another merchant house may remove their land and title
Clan Hoshi - Clerics and librarians, wizards and scholars, similar to Clan Oda in their pacifist ways and popularity in the city
Clan Sera - ambitious, talented, rich, powerful, loved and loathed in equal measure throughout the city
Clan Shoto - Chief rival of Clan Sera, and similarly gifted in the arts, politics, war, etc.

The city of Lanzhu:
...is a circular city surrounded by a massive wall that is a tremendous asset in discouraging would-be conquerors. The palace and wealthier districts are located in the northwest, the university and suburbs are in the northeast, the southeast is a poorer area and has many shops and warehouses and such, the southwest has homes of farmers and horsemen, and is more bourgeois-suburban.

Notable NPCs:
Inspector Cho (deceased) - friend of San Pen, murdered by a vampire of some sort. Or was he? Either way, he claimed to know something about the scroll cases Tokine found and their relation to the Chan Dynasty and possibly the Plum Blossom syndicate and the man known only as the 'Scarecrow.'
Rhon Tai - wandering elven rogue scholar/mage, friend and mentor to Erudima
Earanthil - Pretty-boy half-elf sorcerer, associate of Rhon and Erudima
Princess Erudima del Fana del Solarian - Very young, inexperienced, and painfully naive scion of the immensely powerful noble elven House del Solarian of Mamban, controllers of trade and enterprise.
Ghar - Elven Rogue, associate of Erudima, hired Daveth to scout outside the city for a rather large sum of money.
Gilly - Dwarven cleric, associate of Rhon and Earanthil and Ghar and Erudima.
Naradil, Gwen, Fezza - three brutal and brutish gaijin warriors -- all Gorumites -- who helped defend Tokine's temple from a strange assault by rather unprepared thugs of some sort. Were supposedly looking for a friend.
Sera Zhongyi - elder scion of Clan Sera, a lethal warrior in the traditional sense, and generally feared throughout the city. Champion of inter-dojo competitions, champion duelist, brilliant strategist. Assumed she will oen day command the armies of Clan Sera, or possibly even be a military commander for the Emperor himself.
Sera Aki-Kirei - One of the greatest beauties in the empire, as talented in the arts of subtlety and intrigue as her older sister is in the arts of war.
Mists of the City - a barometer of the pulse of the city, the tempo of the people, the blood of the empire, among other things...
Xun Rui Bao - owner of a cartage and storing company, possibly the last person in the city of Lanzhu to have spoken with Bethany Erodal
Lu - lame manservant of Xun Rui Bao, caught by Azami Ito lurking in an alley as an Erinyes 'tested' Kyras.
Bethany Erodal - oddly well-connected sister of Kyras 'Dragonborn' Erodal, disappeared a while ago.
Vu - Drug-addicted fox spirit (Vulpinal Agathion from B2), Bethany's personal assistant.
"Wong Tsai" - affiliation unknown, erstwhile servant caught by San Pen planting plum blossom arrangements in a circle of power in the main receiving room of the palace. Chased by the Sifu and a couple guards but managed to escape.
Guard Capatain Takagami - captain of the palace guard, friend to Yohei and Azami.
Ryuu - The Emperor's gardner
Deinor Maren - Half-elven member of the Children of the Uniter, a group with strange ties to the first emperor Chan.
Professor Yeo Wu Xiay - Guardian naga, academic, ancient and powerful scholar that lives in the northeast area of the city, in the university district, far underground.