A Kaidn Adventure for 3rd Level Characters

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The Tolling of Tears

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Kaidan Copyright 2011 Steven D. Russell and Michael Tumey.Open Gaming License Copyright 2007 Wizards of the Coast.

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Designer/Author: Jonathan McAnulty

Cover Artist:Cartographer: Michael K. Tumey

Illustrator: Page Layout: Michael K. Tumey

Publisher: Steven D. Russell

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Table of Contents

Kaidan Bathing Tradition Page 4Autumn Moon Bath House Page 6Gazetteer and Labeled Maps Page 7NPC Staff and Guest Page 13Kana, the Yurei no Kami Ghost Page 14Of Dread Encounters Page 15Full Scale Maps (sliced ready to print) Page 20Sam

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rightly considered by all in the surrounding communities to be a vital part of a good growing year. Though the Kinogasa-Taisha shrine was once the center of a failed rebellion against the Shogun and the Zaoist religion, its continued presence has been tolerated solely due to the importance of the Kinogasa festival. Nevertheless, by Imperial Decree, the shrine is tended by priests chosen by the Zaoist church, and, by further decree, the shrine and village must provide for the training and upkeep of a school of sohei.

The shrine itself is haunted by the ghost of Nakashima Ren, the Yokinto priest who

The Tollingof Tears

A Kaidan Adventure for 3rd Level Characters

Adventure BackgroundThe village of Kinogasa, a rice-farming community in Onari Province, on the Island of Anshu, is home to an annual late spring festival held in and around the local Yokinto shrine. This popular festival signals the beginning of the rice planting season and is

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initiated the failed rebellion, over 90 years previously. Through the years, Ren has manifested to the priests chosen by the Zaoist bureaucracy, judging their worthiness and instructing them in the proper care of the shrine should they prove true to the kami. The first two priests sent to Kinogasa were judged and found wanting. The first of these was chased off by the ghost. The second put up more of a fight but was eventually found dead near the shrine’s ancient bronze bell, his head crushed between the log striker and the massive metal bell. The Imperial officials investigating ruled the death a suicide. The villagers questioned this verdict, and though they were not allowed to bury him in the local cemetery, they interred his body in a nearby cave. The third priest chosen was a young man named Fujimoto Daiki, who, though loyal to the emperor, was well versed in the ways of the Yokinto faith. He managed to placate the ghost and served well the shrine, and the village, for forty years. Daiki, before his death, trained his own replacement, who likewise, after thirty years, trained the next assigned priest. In this way, conflict was avoided between Ren and the priests.

Unfortunately, the last priest, Mikigimi Takumi, died unexpectedly and did not have a chance to instruct anyone else in the proper methods of placating Nakashima Ren. The newest priest, a scholarly man

named Maeda Takashi, has been accepted by Ren but, for his part, Takashi, having seen the ghost, and, misunderstanding certain things written by his predecessors, has decided the ghost is an evil spirit that must be cleansed from the shrine.

Matters have further been complicated by the recent cursing of the shrine’s massive bell. Traditionally rung at dawn, for the past month the sound of the bell has induced tangible fear in all those who have heard it. This cursing is the work of an onmyoji wizard assigned to the sohei school. The wizard, Takinatsu Akine, who fell out of favor in the capital, resents his current station and cursed the bell in an effort to create a situation he could pretend to resolve. His plan was to “cleanse” the bell and thus prove his worthiness. Unfortunately, the wizard did not account for the presence of the ghost. Before the wizard's minion, Noko, could fully complete the spell upon the bell, the ghost attacked and chased him from the shrine. Following this, the angry Nakashima Ren has taken to guarding the bell ethereally, so that Akine and his shikigami familiar cannot complete their nefarious work. However, Maeda Takashi has decided that Ren is responsible for the bell's condition and has sent to his superiors for help in dealing with the ghost. As the bell is vital to the upcoming Kinogasa festival, he is confident that his request will be granted.

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The Adventure SummaryThe player characters, talented but inexperienced exorcists in the employ of the state, are sent to the village of Kinogasa to cleanse the shrine bell in preparation for the annual Kinogasa rice-planting festival. Upon arrival in the village, the characters meet with Maeda Takashi, the new priest at the shrine, and have the opportunity to investigate the shrine and its history. If they avail themselves of this option, they can learn of the rebellion Nakishima Ren instigated and that the bell was involved in the subsequent death of a priest. In their investigations, the PCs also meet Takinatsu Akine, the onmyoji wizard stationed with the sohei in the village.

At the shrine, the PCs confront and overcome the ghost of Nakishima Ren (though they lack the means to put him eternally to rest). While this does not remove the curse from the bell, it allows Akine to send his shikigami servants to finish the spell upon the bell. When the bell is rung in the morning, the effect is worse than ever, so that the characters should feel compelled to investigate the matter further. Two leads present themselves at this point. The first is the death of the priest near the bell eighty-nine years previously. In fact, Akine had intended all along to use this death as the cover story for the bell and had thus taken steps to bind a jikininki ghoul to the grave of the deceased priest. The other lead is an origami mask hidden inside the bell and a matching mask at the grave of the ghoul. Putting the clues together should lead the characters to Akine. The party,

once it suspects Akine, can trail him to a small hut he uses as a lab. Only by defeating the scheming wizard can they free the bell from its curse.

The Player CharactersEight pregenerated PCs are included with this scenario. While it is not strictly necessary to use these characters, you are encouraged to do so, as they reflect character options available to Kaidanese PCs. It is assumed that the characters are a team, chosen by the Imperial Bureaucracy to serve as exorcists and ghost hunters.

Scoring the AdventureIf you are using this adventure as a one-shot scenario, the acquisition of XP by the PCs is not a viable reward for success. Though the adventure itself offers the thrill of solving a mystery and fighting supernatural forces, if you wish to offer your players a further reward, consider keeping a score of how well each character does in a variety of areas. At the end of the game, the player with the highest score is deemed the “winner.” This is an especially useful thing if you are playing at a convention in which one person can gain prizes by “winning” the game.

Award points as follows:Surviving the adventure(any PC) +3 pointsEngaged in in-characterbanter (any PC) +1 pointGhost Warrior Award (1 PC) +2 pointsDie Hard PC (1 PC) +2 pointsCritical Award (1 PC) +1 pointSherlock Award (1 PC) +1 point

The Ghost Warrior award goes to the Character who most injures any undead, including the spirit of Ren and the ghoul. The Die-Hard award is given to the character who takes the most amount of damage in the adventure without actually dying. The Critical award is given to the character who achieves the most critical hits during the game.

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Onari province, of southwestern Anshu Island, lies east of the Inland Kaidan Sea and south of Itaro Province (home of the Imperial Capital, Fukuhara-kyo). Cultivated rice fields, set among rolling hills, abound in Onari. Only lightly forested, the province is one of the more populous, rural provinces, containing no less than four major towns of note. Major highways cross the whole of Onari, allowing the rice grown to be easily carted to Itaro.

Onari Province

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So that keeping score does not detract from the actual game experience, a score sheet has been provided at the end of this module in GM Aids.

Running the AdventureThe Tolling of Tears is an investigative adventure and, like all investigative adventures, it hinges somewhat on the ability of the players to make the proper deductions in order to move along the action. While the clues, such as they are, are neither devious nor hard to find, there is always the danger in such a situation that clues will be missed and that the plot will be brought to a grinding halt. Such an adventure calls for some careful handling and a discerning Game Master. If the players seem more interested in combat than in asking questions, you should feel comfortable in being more upfront about the significance of any given clue to avoid frustration on the part of the players. On the other hand, if they are enjoying the mystery and trying to solve it in a cheerful manner, don't give too much away. Likewise, if a red herring proves too distracting, it may be necessary to herd the characters away from the false trail and back onto the right track.

The scenario, as written, begins with the arrival of the characters in Kinogasa, a brief encapsulation of their assignment, as given to them by their superiors, and a meeting with the young priest Maeda Takashi. Takashi naturally desires the characters to go straight to the bell, draw out the ghost and defeat it. If the characters do this, allow the ensuing combat with the ghost to run its natural course. However, either before or after the confrontation with Nakishima Ren, the characters are going to need to investigate the bell and the circumstances surrounding it. Following the defeat of Ren, the bell curse grows worse and when it does, Takashi naturally insists on the PCs solving the problem. If, at this point, the

PCs already have enough information to pursue a different lead, good, if not, they need to be directed towards the grave of Wahishimi Gorum, a priest killed upon the bell, where they confront the bound jikininki. Clues at both the grave and the bell should then lead the characters to Takinatsu Akine. A possible outline of the events of the scenario, and the order in which they might occur are as follows.

I. ArrivalII. First Investigation (possibly)III. Confrontation with Nakishima RenIV. The bell’s curse grows worseV. InvestigationVI. Confrontation with jikininkiVII. Confrontation with Takinatsu Akine

Players being what they are, any number of things can happen to derail the plot, as outlined above. The confrontations themselves are straightforward events, but the actual investigation, and how it is conducted, is entirely subject to the choices of the PCs. Nevertheless, you, as GM, should insure four things happen during the course of the investigation. First, make sure that Akine shares the history of the shrine and the bell. As an enthusiast of history, he should be quite eager to do so. Secondly, the characters should also learn of Wahishimi Gorum, and his hillside tomb. Thirdly, the characters should have the opportunity to meet with Takinatsu Akine, preferably in his role as an Imperial Official. Finally, the burnt remains of paper spells should be discovered near both the bell and the tomb of Gorum, pointing to the workings of an onmyoji wizard, of which Akine is the only one in the village.

Following the opening scene, the presentation of the adventure is very open and loose, allowing you the freedom to use it as necessary, without being constricted by a rigid script.

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