Tengoku Isles: The Way of the Name

THE WAY OF THE NAME 

Upon the land lay three heavy burdens hard to bear. In the eyes of the demons, these burdens undo the “evils” of Good Xi.

The first act of Zaro was to cull the land of excess and plenty, leaving only WANT. Basic tools required for work were taken and melted into the thrones each lieutenant sits upon. For this reason, the land’s production is limited. To survive, physical feats and martial techniques were developed by MONKS and spread to bypass the need for basic equipment.

To replace peace with fear, the dead and certain fearful demons HAUNT the once serene isles. Mysteries, taboos, and superstitions abound and darkness is anathema. To travel at night is to risk much. The day is only a bit safer. The wisdom of SAGES is often called upon to resolve the strange goings on via ritual or talisman.

Lastly, the presence of the capricious demons themselves weighs heavy on the isles. Their MISRULE is directed seemingly at random. This may take the form of taxation, travel restrictions, forced labor, pogroms, or acts of humiliation. It is SWORDSMEN whose blades attempt to balance the tally of atrocities in kind. 

CLASS - MONK

To rely on externalities is weakness. Pursuing the NAMES OF GOD, relying on INNER POWER, and unlocking the HIDDEN STYLES is the highest path.

Knowing a NAME OF GOD traps it in your mind and grants you great power. To learn a name, it must be spoken to you by a master monk or extracted from a skull which contains it. Walking on this path awakens the power of the inner self and grants great physical feats.

The INNER POWER is your chi and is spent to power the abilities learned from the Names of God. 1d6 chi is placed in your inventory when you meditate instead of resting and chi is expended to power your style. To replace a chi with an item is painful and causes 1 damage.

The inner power is channeled into HIDDEN  STYLES. These styles are learned from training with a master. In your training, you have gained providence (Templates A and B) and a syllable (Template C) from one of the below styles. To learn the Name (Template D) you must defeat the master who holds it.

Wind on Plains Style

A) Spend a Chi to sprint as fast as a falcon in flight for a round.

B) Determine the next day's weather and always react quickly when necessary.

C) Signature Move: Diving Claws Gain Speed. When attacking while sprinting, you may add the rounds spent sprinting to your attack and damage rolls

D) Divine Sign: Summon a mighty gale at will. It lasts for several hours and continues in the same direction. Cannot summon a gale when one is present. 

Location of the School: The island of Phon, which is entirely made up of low, flat beaches and a great central plain. There, the palm trees wave and the waves splash on pearly-white beaches. The waves often wash far inland, threatening the nomads of the isle - the locals have had to learn from the wind, to move with speed and agility. The school itself drifts on the winds, held aloft by … by the East Wind and cables anchored beneath the plains.

Master of the Style: It is said the East Wind itself is the master of the Wind on Plains style, but this is not true. High above the plains in the great kite school, Master Kaze places his ear to the conch shell to hear whispers from each of the great winds in turn. It is from their plots and their cooperations with one another that Master Kaze and the master’s before him have learned the secret of this style.

Broad Oxen Style

A) Spend a Chi to ram through terrain, doors, a crowd, a person etc.

B) When performing manual labor, you count as [template] workers.

C) Signature Move: Cleaving Hoof - stomp the ground, opening a fissure the size of [1 chi - dog size, 2 chi - man size, 3 chi - cow size, 4 chi - hut size]

D) Place your feet and flex your glutes. Neither foot moves relative to your body or to the object it is placed on for as long as you stay put 

Location: By the strength of the ox, the isle of Tawa has been heaped upon itself to form a magnificent tower. Great bones of the earth are excavated and erected. Marble slabs stand vertically, drawing contemplation on the power of humanity Emperor Zaro, should we all work together obey unquestioningly. In the great Square Cuts the students of the Broad Oxen Style practice their craft.

Master: Ushi, master of the Broad Oxen style has not been seen in years. It is said that he has left Tawa as the monument built by his students cannot be improved upon, but this is not true. Only a handful know that he uses the sacred art to anchor the Sky Chain. 

Obscuring Wave Style

A) Spend a Chi to walk on water. You cannot drown, but will instead awaken floating in the water after falling unconscious.

B) You can always find a fish or other inhabitant of a body of water. 

C) Signature Move: Meld with a body of water and become formless. You can step out of a connected body of water later.

D) For 1 **chi** or 4, summon either a fishing barrel, or the galleon sized war vessel *Fortune of the Seas*.

Location: Deepsea fishermen speak tales of blue clad ninja appearing out the the mist, swimming from beyond the reach of sight to climb aboard unweary vessels. When victim vessels are found, usually no one is left alive. All have been killed with barrels, nets, oars or the like.

Master: Sailor and fishermen alike refuse to speak more of the ninja than to scare tea house regulars with tales of the dead.

Billowing Flame Style

A) Otherwise, you breathe fine in smoke and are adept at concealing within it.

B) Warming Hands - place your hands on something living and heal 1 damage per chi spent. 

C) for 1 chi you may start a fire with a snap. 1 additional chi increases its size from (hand -> campfire -> bonfire -> house fire)

D) You can speak the language of fire. The larger they are, the greedier. 

Location: Among the acid clouds and sizzling vents of Mt Chichioya walk singed monks, oblivious to the toxic gas and heat. Their presence is known by the demons, but even they are repelled by the maisma.

Master: An ancient skeleton rests where the heat threatens to kill, her dessicated form now immune. Master Yogan spends her days in communion with the great fire beneath the mountain.

River of Heaven Style

A) While gazing intently in someone's eyes and they into yours, you may spend a chi to charm them. 2 in 6 chance to be charmed in return.

B) Once per night you may read the stars for omens and portents. Ask a single question and read the stars for an answer.

C) Eyes of the Gods - when you win a staring contest, you gain plus [templates] to hit them and armor against them if you fight shortly afterwards.

D) Spend a chi to learn the immediate outcome of a course of action. 

Location: A hanging ziggurat in the sky is home to Emperor Zaro’s tengu secret agents. Birds black of their feather and dead in their eyes. The Name central to the style long since captured by Zaro and used to spy on his subjects.

Master: The giant crow, Karasu, traps the Name behind its beady eyes. Folk tale tells of this bird providing prophecies for those who offer a favor.

Turtle on Rock Style

A) Plant your feet and squat low. You have a 2 in 6 chance of taking no damage from the next non superlative source. Improved by [templates] and by adding chi.

B) You have a remarkable ability to arrive somewhere before anyone thinks you should have been able to get there. If the timing is high stakes, spend a chi.

C) Withdrawal - spend a chi to withdraw from your current situation. Awkward conversations and dangerous fights are equally subject to this ability, although it is hard to withdraw when a spear is flying toward your face. Reappear once the situation has changed.

D) You learn the language of things which speak too slowly to be typically understood: giant tortoise, trees, some stones may even grant you audience. It takes a week to have a conversation with such an entity.

Location: The Vast Shell, Sheru, has remained afloat for as long as anyone can remember. In fact some of the fishermen that make their home on her back have lived there for generations. Sheru swims the warm currents eating the detritus kicked up by the Earth Shaker Oonamazu.

Master: Practitioners of the Turtle on Rock Style seek out the largest predators on the islands, some daring to tempt the great Rocs which survey the open ocean. Being attacked by a fearsome predator and surviving is an honor and a blessing from the mighty beast. Some say Sheru is the master of the Turtle on Rock Style, and it is true.