Kuni Daigo's page

Kuni Daigo is a man that looks much older than he is. His body language and the weathering of his skin make it clear that he is someone that have been traveling long and probably through strange experience. Still, his most notable feature is that under his sugegasa, he has two different color eyes. His left is light brown and seems to match those of his family. His right, however, has a milky white iris. Always having been a source of strange whispers and called an ill omen, Kuni Daigo has long since given up even the attempt at hiding it. In fact, his customary face paint makes note of it, the black markings in a sea of white being those on the right side of his face.

He typically dresses casually in a comfortable kimono with his Daisho slipped comfortable into his waist wrap. When combat is expected however he dons a suit of relatively new light armor, something that he has clearly acquired later in life.

To See Darkness: Witch-Hunters are taught both to sense the power of Jigoku and to crush those who carry its dreadful mark. You may attempt to detect the Taint in another person by holding your jade pendant (or another piece of jade) and staring intently at them. This is a Complex Action and requires you to make a Contested Roll of your Investigation (Interrogation) / Awareness against the target’s Sincerity (Deceit) / Willpower. You gain a +1k0 bonus to this roll for every full Rank of Taint the target possesses. If you succeed in the roll and the target is Tainted (has at least 1 Rank of Taint), you are able to sense the presence of the Taint and its approximate strength. If you fail the roll or the target is not Tainted, you gain no information. In addition, you gain +1k1 to your rolls to resist the Shadowlands Taint and to your attack rolls when attacking a foe who is a Shadowlands creature or who you know to be Tainted.

To Ride The Darkness: Any time you are confronted by a Shadowlands creature, you may take a Free Action to roll Lore: Shadowlands/ Intelligence at TN 20 to recall either one specifi c strength (such as Invulnerability) or one specifi c weakness (such as jade) for that creature. You choose whether you recall a strength or a weakness, but the GM chooses the exact information. You may Raise on this roll to learn additional pieces of information—one strength or weakness per Raise.

To Strike The Darkness: You may make melee attacks as a Simple Action when your opponent is a Shadowlands creature or when you know your opponent to be Tainted.

School Skills
Investigation (Interrogation) [Perception]: 5
Kenjutsu [Agility]: 5
Hunting (Tracking) [Perception]: 3
Lore (Maho) [Intelligence]: 3
Lore (Shadowlands) [Intelligence]: 3
Meditation [Void]: 1
Jiujitsu [Agility]: 1

High Skills
Divination [Intelligence]: 1
Medicine [Intelligence]: 1

Bugei Skills
Defense [Reflexes]: 1

Low Skills
Stealth [Agility]: 1

Mastery Abilities

Investigation
3: A second attempt to use the Search Emphasis may be made without an increase in the original TN.
5: The character gains a bonus of +5 to the total of any Contested Roll made using Investiation.

Kenjutsu
3: The total of all damage rolls made with a sword is increased by 1k0.
5: A sword may be readied as a Free Action instead of a Simple Action.

Koku: 3

Armor
Light Armor:
Bonus to Armor TN: +5
Reduction: 3
Special Rules: Increase TN of all Athletics and Stealth rolls by 5.

Daisho

Madness Breaks
Katana
Keywords: Medium, Samurai
DR: 3k2
Special Rules: A character may spend one Void Point to increase a damage roll made using a katana by 1k1 [Void Points cannot normally be spent to enhance damage rolls). Only one Void Point may be spent in this manner, even if the character has an ability that would allow him to spend more than one Void Point per round.
History: This was Kuni Daigo's mother's katana and he carries it now in reverence for his mother and his sensei. It was originally crafted nearly two centuries prior however. It acquired its name as it was a gift brought to Kuni Daigo's ancestor while the man, Kuni Gorou, was locked in an iron cage and suffering from madness. The story goes that Kuni Gorou was so taken by the weapon's craftsmanship and strength that he immediately realized that he was not in a trap without end and was able to return to his post on the Wall.

The End
Wakizashi
Keywords: Medium, Samurai
DR: 2k2
Special Rules: A Wakizashi may be thrown up to 20' as a ranged weapon.
History: Even older than his katana, this wakizashi has only ever been used for seppuku, never in battle. It has been named and utilized as such to remind the bearer that there is always an end; that no trap can truly be without end.

Other Weapons
Tanto
Keywords: Small
DR: 1k1

Clothing: Rugged Clothing, Jade Pendant
Traveler's Pack: Blanket, Bottle of Water, Chopsticks, Fishing Pole, Flint and Tinder, Miniature Go set, Rope (50'), Sake cup, Small knife (non-combat), Whetstone

Kuni Daigo was born of somewhat unusual circumstances. His father, Kuni Souta, married into the Kuni family name. Kuni Shouta was a beneficiary of the Twenty Goblin Winter. A ronin formerly of Clan Hare, he waded into the Shadowlands to seek either a new home or an honorable death against the enemies of the Empire. He was successful however, slaying many goblins and even returning with the head of an ogre before petitioning to join the Crab Clan, a petition that was accepted. The Fortunes did not favor him entirely however as during his final fight with the orge, he was grievously wounded and his arm damaged beyond usefulness. Still, his exceptional skill at arms was clear and the Crab were loathe to turn down someone that had fought so hard in a time of great need. Then Moshibaru Souta was thus accepted as per the terms of the Twenty Goblin Winter but began his career as a forcibly retired bushi-turned-low level courtier.

It was this somewhat tragic state, combined with the fame of his deeds, that drew Souta into a marriage with Kuni Ayame, a Witch-Hunter of some regard. The Kuni family felt that having a courtier that was known to have fought with great effect in the Shadowlands would help the family name and for Ayame's part, she relished the idea of marrying someone of lower station that would allow her to retain her honor while still traveling as a witch-hunter and leaving her spouse behind to rear their children. Souta was quite pleased at the chance to increase his station, and the two were quickly married. The two have only had a single child however, Kuni Daigo. When he was born, his right eye discolored, rumor spread that this poor omen was the result of Kuni Souta's time crippling in the Shadowlands and that something unclean passed through their family. No one would dare openly question Kuni Ayame, but Kuni Daigo's parents resolved not to have further offspring just to be certain.

Kuni Daigo's adolescence, aside from the apparent ill omen determined simply by looking at his face, was quite normal for a Kuni. He grew up in the barren and dead Kuni lands, an ever-present reminder of the Taint and an upbringing that necessitated stoicism and hardiness. As he showed little talent for the kami and due to his mother's profession, it was determined early on that Kuni Daigo would become a Witch-Hunter rather than a shugenja. He was pleased by this turn of events and, by the time he was eighteen, had begun to apprentice under his mother as they traveled through Rokugan. As as result of his and his mother's profession, Kuni Daigo has spent the vast majority of his adult life outside of Crab lands. His mother introduced him to the Nezumi, telling him that their short memories made them excellent at focusing on reporting the most immediate changes and threats from the Shadowlands. She took him through Phoenix lands and explained to him that pacifism did not stop the Taint. She taught him among the Scorpion that deception only fed the Taint and that weakness was at its core.

Sadly, it was inside of Lion territory that everything changed. Five years ago, after traveling together for nearly a decade, the pair were told of rumors of the risen dead in a small village in the southern portion of the Lion lands. Seeking out the rumors, they found them to be true and Kuni Ayame and Kuni Daigo set about dispatching the risen dead that wandered the village. They were unprepared, however, for the attack of the maho-tsukai that had created the undead. The battle was bitter and it was only the knowledge of the tainted creatures that allow Kuni Daigo to stand today. Still, the maho-tsukai brought Kuni Ayame low before he fell and Kuni Daigo watched the death of his mother and his teacher. He returned her body to Kuni holdings for burial and took her katana for his own.

When he returned, Kuni Daigo found that his father had arranged a marriage for him. Yasuki Kotone is a minor courtier of the Yasuki family and a woman with mercantile ties. Hoping to provide a greater influx of food to the Kuni lands, the marriage seems to have improved the bargaining power Kuni Souta has had in courts. For his part, Kuni Daigo is as pleased as can be expected. He finds Kotone to be a pleasant and attractive woman and one with a disposition well suited to child rearing. Their first child, Kuni Naiko, was born two years ago and, thankfully, seems to be free of the ill fortune that her father bears. Kotone has been content to keep the home while Kuni Daigo travels as is his work, but both have been relieved that the orders recalling Kuni Daigo to Kyuden Hida have given them the opportunity to spend some time together prior to Daigo's attendance at the Winter Court.