Session 14 (77 XP)

The party got a message from Kimiko (formerly Yogo Kimiko) and crossed the mountains to pale oak castle. They hired a guide and were able to avoid an upcoming ambush.

Kimiko met them at the Temple of Jurojin. She is the last void practitionier assocaited with the school of Isawa (Dave's character gained void magic from the trial of void). She wants help sneaking into the castle to obtain hidden scrolls that can continue void practice.

Ricky fired arrows to take out the patrolmen and lower the drawbridge. James led a riot of pesants and Ronin to draw out most of the Tiger Forces, while Bayushi, Shinobi, Kimiko, and Chikafusa went inside. They got to the library and found it destroyed, all the scrolls gone. A tiger captain met them and announced that this is the end of void magic- all scrolls were destroyed. He commanded some troops to destroy the party. Then Oroko Yoshi, who Bayushi had met before, came in, he said the tiger clan is following a false emperor, and dueled the captain. He won, killed the captain, and took command of the troops, removing the tiger from the city.

Chikafusa channeled James' grandfather, who was also the grandfather of Kimiko, Bayushi and Shinobi, and they summoned all the fallen spirits of the previous Isawa, back to the tribe of Isawa- before the fall of the kami. Together they cast Rise from the Ashes, and the thousands of casters allowed them to rewind time 2 months and recover the lost archives. The spirits adpoted Kimiko as Isawa Kimiko, and leader of the Isawa Family. 

The phoenix celebrated the victory, playing the Song of Hope. The shrine of Jurojin opened up its magicite for the PCs renewing a tradition that had lasted thousands of years, honoring longevity.

Dave and Kimiko perforemed a void ritual with the party that shattered all seven magicite, sending the fortunes back up to heaven. The fortunes blessed the party, giving them all the blessings of fortunes advantages. 

They met up with Otomo Toju and Hana, who had gained the alliance of the Unicorn and Dragon, and Kimiko brought the Phoenix. They marched on the imperial city, where the imperial families and the Scorpion stood against them with the Tiger.

The tiger daimyo, Oroko Saki, brought forth the false emperor, who commanded the Dragon and Unicorn to stand down. They were about to, but then his vessel was destroyed (presumably the Brass Monkey killed the Emperor's cousin who was the focus for the illusion) and he took his true form as a tiger demon. He went back to the castle and the army charged.

The party went into the castle, guided by Otomo Hana in back ways through the city to avoid fighting. The Sahir who channeled the Raksasha was able to cast spells into orbs that blasted powerful black energy at the party. Meiko jumped in the way of James, and would have died, but Kimiko used the void magic to sustain her. 

The Raksasha used negative energy and fear to disable the party, but James could act because of the act of love his sister did by jumping in front of him. He used his flute to play the Song of Hope and counter the negative emotions. 

Shinobi snuck around the outside of the room to sneak up behind the Sahir, while Ricky fired down the magic orbs to prevent them from blasting dark magic at the party. The Raksasha continued to inflcit powerful magic, so Kimiko linked Bayushi's mind to it- creating a psychic duel on the Raksasha's home plane, preventing it from interfering with the battle. 

They held off the Sahir long enough for Shinobi to backstab it with the brass claw. The raksasha was banished from the Realm of Mortals, and the Sahir destroyed. The Scorpion and Imperials, freed of its control, stopped fighting. 

Eventually the Emperor came to reclaim his throne. He made Paul the Brass Champion and put him in charge of the Brass Magistrates. Ricky was an Imperial Bounty Hunter, set to hunt down gaijin magic users in the empire. Jamie as Imperial Spy, set to assassinate dangerous actors outside of Rokugan, and Mark as Imperial Gaijin Diplomat, to journey to foreign lands and keep information tabs on the goings on outside of the Kingdom.

The Destroyers decimated the Crab. With the death of Fu Leng and the Shadowlands allies, they were able to use gaijin powder to blow a hole in the carpenter wall and get into Rokugan. The Golem legion and Seppun Izu's air magic were able to keep the weather cold and beat back the destroyers, but the Crab lands were ransacked. They were beaten back, but the shadowlands was not defeated, and with Kali-Ma inside it still remains a threat.

So ends the Story of the War of the Raksasha. Next campaign will take place with the same characters 25 years later. 

Season 13 (8 XP)

The party headed north to pass out of Lion Lands, but the Drowned Merchant River was in their way. They went to the road to cross at a border checkpoint and submitted their paperwork. The Dragon there were unsure of the autheticity of the paperwork, but they dueled Miromoto Jo and won, so he stamped the paperwork, logging it as official.

They met up with Otomo Toju, Otomo Hana, Yodo, Yo, and Taki who had come from phoenix lands. Yodo had accomplished the Diakoku shrine, and Otomo Toju had gained the Unicorn's military support for the coming conflict against the capitol.

Otomo Hana married James, making him Otomo James, on the understanding that there would not be a romantic involvement, and that he must acknowledge any child of hers as being his child, and could not acknowledge any child of his as being his. This fit with James' plans.

They broke off at Shiro Miromoto, where the others sought Dragon aid. The party when to Shiro Morito to seek the blessing of Fukorokujin.

They found Toku Erie who was praying for a way to find Kijuro Tabito innocent of murder. In investigating the crime they found that Toku Erie was the Brass Monkey, and that she murdered Morito Hisako, who was working with the Tiger Clan. They learned she helped undercut the Isawa family, helped develop the formula for the tainted wheat, and was hiding the emperor's young cousin.

The party learned that the Emperor's cousin had peformed a ritual with a gaijin spellcaster that summoned the Raksasha to Rokugan, eliminating everyone between her and the throne (except the emperor himself who escaped). They also learned that she is the focus of the Raksasha's illusion magic- killing her would break the spell on the emperor.

They learned where she was being hidden by Kijuro Tabito, freed him from prison, and turned in Toku Erie as the true murderer (though gave her time to escape), thus solving the crime and proving the innocence of Tabito- gaining the Fukorokujin Magicite.

They then went to one of the four temples, where Isawa Kisho (who had been communicating with the guro Mohatma Suresh) and Kitsune Chikafusa were waiting for them. They advised that the kitsu were all dead, and in order to astrally travel to Yomi- the ancestor realm, they needed an ancestor sprit to help channel them there.

James' grandfather was reticent to help, but James engaged him in a fierce debate duel, finally striking him down verbally and showing him that he has accomplished more, shown more bravery, and is capable of leading the family. The grandfather helped them channel to Yomi where they met the Kitsu and took the tests of Void.

Session 12 (6XP)

The party got into Kyuden Hida where they found Seppun Izu and Chan were preparing defenses against the Destroyers. They had use the golem scrolls to craft golems to use as defense, and had a small force of golems waiting outside the wall. Seppun Izu was planning to create cold weather spells, and Rin and Giovanni Braesco were going to paint the golems with Green Jade Paste and use arrows coated with White Jade Paste to fight against the shadowlands threats.

Chan made them Brass Magistrates- a new status 4 position, and gave them official emperor travel papers, but warned them that use will draw tiger attention, and might cause them to be revoked by the false emperor. He also advised him of a Kitsune Shujenja who lives in Dragon Lands who might help them commune with the spirits of the deceased Kitsu.

The party took a barge to Shutai, which was taken over by the Wolf Pack. They insisted that the Scorpion have abandoend the lands, taken to savagry and debauchery and are not fit to rule. The party went to Shiro Yogo and found that the leadership was turned into vampires.

James (now ronin) convinced his brother to dissolve the Yogo family and seek contentment outside the social heirarchy of Rokugan. His brother's sacrifice moved Hotei to break the vampire curse, and they got the Magicite.

They went through the mountains to lion lands and were attacked by a werewolf. After they defeated it a hunting party led by Matsu Nasuko who said that the lions who used essence of Ningyo became werewolves. She told them the Bishamon shrine was destroyed, but advised them of some underground tunnels they could take through abandoned mines to get there.

In the mines they found that the Zokujin were being attacked by a Tiger Shugenja with goblin warmongers. They defeated them and saved the Zokujin. Their battle in front of the destroyed Bishamon's shrine gained Bishamon's magicite, and they Zokujin gave them the tests of Earth.

Session 11 (8 XP)

The PCs came upon a shrine in the shadowlands tended by an old monk. He tried to convince the party to visit the shrine and see Diagotsu's art, but the party refused. He turned into a skull cleaving oni and attacked but the defeated him.

The party wandered in the shadowlands until they were fond by Crab harriers and brought to Shinsei's Last Hope- a crab city in the shadowlands. They learned that the Isawa family was disbanded by the emperor and several high ranking shugenja were executed. This may be the end of void magic. They learned that the kitsu- who represented void are extinct, the last 3 (made mortal) were the precursers to the Lion's Kitsu clan, and that Zokujin (lion mining slaves) represent the element of earth.

They learned that the Spider Clan is coming with an army of oni summoned from the Oblivion's Gate, and they informed the crab that the destroyers were coming also. They learned that the snake caln were marching ogres and goblins to this city as well, so they left and approached the wall. They asked the crab to retrieve their brass weapons, and the crab said "after we deal with all these armies".

They got to the wall, but were unable to get the crab to let them pass. (They had no proper identification, they had not crossed the wall to enter the shadowlands, they were there illegally, and the borders were shut down so the families could not be verified). They were able to find the secret labrynth under the wall, and they went through the labrynth, bypassing the traps within, and found their way to the other side where they entered Rokugan proper.

Session 10 (3 XP)

The party took the trails of Fire at Amaratsu's Forge. When they were done, they found some crab who had come seeking Ignatious' expertise. They had experimented with a white jade paste on some ronin. 3 died, one survived. The paste made him more or less immune to the effects of taint, but he drew taint into himself, becoming some form of a grey harrier.

The crab were going to try to destroy the Oblivion gate at Volternum, the old troll capital, before the Spider could use it to summon armies of Oni from Jigoku.

Lost Library

Travelling on, the party found the Lost Library. They got in through a tunnel in the basement, and found it was full of cursed books that contained valuable knowledge, but made the readers obsessed with reading the books indefinitely.

At the top they met the Dark Scholar. He told them that Rokugan was doomed- that Kali-Ma would conquer Fu Leng on her way, and that all the Oni summoned by the Spider would turn against them, and together the Oni and Destroyers would march on Rokugan to a crab clan ill-prepared for them.

Meanwhile, the Lion are dying from Orochi's Curse, and the Scorpion are being possessed by the Raksasha, and Yogo James' mother is attacking scorpion allies in the cavern of the Oni's eye.

While they spoke with him, the Goju Blood Mage climbed the tower to talk with the Dark Scholar. The group let him, and asked him to speak with them when he was done. After a while, they saw he left without them. The Scholar said that he heard information that caused him to hurry.

They went on towards Rokugan.

Session 9 (6XP)

Seeking Brass

The party was able to find a brass Bagk-nakh. Most of the town was scavenged by someone, but the party was unable to track them. They located a map in town to show them the direction to the shadowlands, which would be through the Haunted Jungles and past Mowgli's Gorge.

Jungles

The party got lost in the jungles, but were eventually able to find their way out (12 days into a 5 day journey). They avoided falling into quicksand and fought their way past a giant flytrap that tried to eat them.

Gorge

The gorge was guarded by an Ogre. The ogre recognized them as Rokugani and questioned how they were able to get on the other side of the gorge without paying his toll (a living human to eat). They tricked him into thinking they crossed by mistake and he let them back over. They then crossed a pass into the shadowlands.

Dark Moto

They came upon Fallen Chrysanthemum Lake where the Thundering Tide Keep was. They approached and were met by Moto Notu who questioned them as to their purpose. They warned him that Kali-Ma was coming with an army of destroyers, with very thick carapace. They informed them the army was weak in cold climates. They also told them of the First Raksasha who was in Rokugan and warned them about fighting a war on two fronts. They let the party go, but stole the Black Katana, as it was ridiculously valuable, especially against the Destroyers.

Amaratsu's Forge

The party came upon a volcano where a Troll was hiding from a Goju Blood Mage and his undead. They fought the mage to a stalemate, where he agreed to leave them be if they would let him go. They agreed and he left. They spoke to Ignatious, the last true troll, who told them that this place was holy, blessed by the sun to be untainted in the Shadowlands. It's also the Shrine of Fire, so the party would be able to train with him (once healed up) and take the tests of Fire.

Session 8 (7 XP)

Stocking Up:

The party stopped at Kyuden Moshi to stock up for the trip to the Ivory Kingdoms. Here they found that Giovanni Braesco had made jars of Green Jade Paste which had no protective benefits, but when opened would be good for 1 hour, during which time a weapon coated can be treated as having the jade quality for damaging shadowlands creatures.

Ghost Ship

The party happened upon a ghost ship on the way, floating about the seas with an undead mantis crew. The ledger aboard detailed the mantis' illegal trading with the ivory kingdoms, and how a strange mist in the country was killing people and turning them into metal monsters. The captain and crew escaped, but were all killed by an insane Orochi.

The party obtained some trade treasure inside, as well as a special Crysteel Katana and an Ivory Box.

Insane Orochi

A few miles from shore an Orochi attacked the ship, driven mad with taint. The cannons and crew (and PCs) did manage to kill it, but the ship was destroyed, Captain Isabella was eaten, and they party was adrift on flotsam. They landed on the shores of the ivory kingdom.

The Ruined Kingdoms

The party climbed a nearby cliff to see their destination was in ruins, and in the distance an army of four armed metal men was camped. They got to the city and found it completely sacked- though they did find some food and jade statuettes. A small boy (Nirav) explained that the Cult of Ruhmal had sacrificed people to turn them into metal monsters. The boy directed them to a guru who lived alone atop a nearby mountain for more info.

The Mountain
Climbing the mountain the party saw a destroyer (metal man) on his way up to attack the guru. They bypassed it and got to the top of the mountain where they met Mahatma Suresh, a wise guru.

Suresh told them that Kali-ma was resurrected by the Cult, and using the magic of 5 Sankaha stones they are managing their army of destroyers. It is estimated that 90% of the ivory kingdoms population was killed to make the army of destroyers and free Kali-ma. The destroyers are very strong against weapons, but are vulnerable in cold climates where they lose all carapace.

He also knew of Raksasha. He said it sounds like they are up against the First Raksasha- almost a kami in his own right.

• They hate religion, and will seek to destroy it, because they felt betrayed by the other gods. As such, strong faith or blessings of gods may empower you against him.
• They eat rotten meat, and can possess people if they are drunk or otherwise debauched. They have strong control over anger and fear- love and optimism are unknown to them, and strong positive feelings can help break his magical controls or illusions.
• He is all but immune to magic, except for maho- which he is weak to due to his betrayal by Fu Leng. 
• He can regenerate all weapon damage, but a weapon of pure brass may be able to defeat him. As such, he has been destoying all sources of copper and zinc (the components of brass) to make the metal hard to come by. 
• His followers and those he kills (followers includes those he possesses) are removed from celestial order when they die and instead live in his Deadlights- a realm of horror and sickly green light where his spiritual form resides. 

He also warned of Kali-ma, whose troops would be marching through the shadowlands and upon Rokugan. Kali-ma is the dark form of Shiva, the one who threw the first Raksasha from heaven. They would have no love for each other, but Rokugan would likely be the battleground between the two forces. Kali-ma wants to become the champion of Jigoku, removing Fu Leng. It is unknown if the Oni in the shadowlands will stand with her, flee, or stand against her.

He mentioned that he has been in mental communication with Isawa Kisho- and the PCs should seek him out. 

The Party determined they need to hurry back to Rokugan to gain the blessings of the remaining gods, and to organize a defense against the destroyers and defeat the Raksasha. The quickest way back was through the shadowlands and into crab territory, as they have no ships. 

Sen decided to sacrifice herself to slow down the destroyer troops. Using her high level monk techniques she would go into the Temple of Ruhmal and steal a sankahra stone, then disappearing with it using her teleportation kiho. Eventually Kali-ma herself would come and retrieve the stone, killing Sen, but this should buy the party a few days head start. 

Dave was given a Rank 4 air scroll: Casting the spell will give the target an immediate willpower save against the Raksasha's illusion. For every raise he makes on the spell, they get a raise on their willpower check. It is implied feelings of love or optimisim can make the illusions easier to resist.