TEXT: Lords of Gossamer & Shadow 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  by Matt Banach
  
   
   
   
  Rite Publishing Presents: 
   
  Gossamer Worlds:
  Gossamer Worlds:
  Gossamer Worlds:
  Gossamer Worlds:    
  Tetsujin Shogunate
  Tetsujin Shogunate
  Tetsujin Shogunate
  Tetsujin Shogunate 
   
      
  Explorer
  Explorer
  Explorer
  Explorer (Author): Matt Banach 
  Seeker
  Seeker
  Seeker
  Seeker    (Editor): Steven D. Russell 
  Searcher
  Searcher
  Searcher
  Searcher (Cover Artist): Trung Ta Ha 
  Trailbl
  Trailbl
  Trailbl
  Trailblaaaazzzzer
  er
  er
  erssss    (Interior Artists): Ryan Rhodes, Trung Ta Ha, 
  Felipe Pesantez, Michael Richards, Vincent Ptitvinc, 
  Pioneer
  Pioneer
  Pioneer
  Pioneer (Trade Dress): James “Devin Knight” Hazelett  
  Lost Boy
  Lost Boy
  Lost Boy
  Lost Boy (Layout and Publisher): Steven D. Russell 
   
   
  Special Thanks to Jason Durall for his help in developing this.  
   
   
  Based on Lords of Gossamer & Shadow by Jason Durall 
   
   
   
  Gossamer Worlds: Tetsujin Shogunate Copyright © 2014 Steven D. Russell All rights reserved. Lords of Gossamer and Shadow Copyright © 2012-2013 Steven D. Russell All 
  rights reserved. Erick Wujcik’s Diceless Role-Playing and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Diceless by Design Publishing, LLC, and are used under license.  
  See http://Rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=1447 for more information on Erick Wujcik’s Diceless Role-Playing. The Images by  Michael Richards on 
  page 5 are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ The Images by Trung Ta Ha on the cover and page 2  are 
  licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ The images on page 3,4, and 8 by Filipe Pesantez  and 
  page 6  by Vincent Ptitvinc are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ 
  
  1 
  Tetsujin Shogunate
  Tetsujin Shogunate
  Tetsujin Shogunate
  Tetsujin Shogunate 
   
  “The Door seemed plain, unadorned, 
  painted a simple white and set into the 
  wall of the concrete stairwell without a 
  single mark or sign to portend the 
  nature of the world beyond it. The scene 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  completely 
  uninteresting, I suppose, if not for the 
  blood-flecked katana laid reverently 
  before the threshold, and the large, 
  scaled, brimstone-stinking hand beside 
  it.” - Yaeger's Travelogue 
   
   
  Description
  Description
  Description
  Description    
   
  The Tetsujin Shogunate used to be a 
  normal-ish version of Earth... before little 
  green men crash-landed in feudal Japan 
  and started building giant robots. That, 
  as you might expect, shook things up a 
  bit. 
   
  The 
  backstory 
  goes 
  like 
  this: 
  Somewhere out amongst the stars in that 
  particular 
  gossamer 
  reality, 
  two 
  advanced spacefaring alien races – the 
  monstrous oni and the ingenious kappa 
  – were at war. During a mission into 
  local space (which the aliens considered a 
  remote backwater of the quadrant) an oni 
  battle 
  cruiser 
  intercepted 
  a 
  kappa 
  scouting vessel. The ensuing dogfight 
  sent both ships plummeting into Earth's 
  atmosphere in a catastrophic event now 
  referred to as “the Rain of Falling Stars.” 
  Engine sections of the oni ship broke 
  apart and impacted Africa, Europe, and  
   
   
  Kappa 
   
  North America with the force of 
  meteors, with smaller inhabited sections 
  touching 
  down 
  slightly-less-
  cataclysmically in central Asia. Dust 
  clouds, radiation, and alien plagues 
  decimated 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  planet's 
  population in the ensuing years, leaving 
  eastern Asia and the Pacific islands as the 
  only habitable refuges for humanity. 
   
  The kappa ship and its jettisoned life-
  pods made landfall up and down the 
  island of Japan. Injured and stranded, 
  the kappa were hunted and many killed 
  or captured in witch-hunts led by 
  frightened, superstitious humans. Facing 
  undignified extinction at the hands of 
  hairless apes, the kappa eventually 
  rallied and struck a deal with the ruling 
  Tokugawa 
  clan, 
  bartering 
  their 
  technology to the human shogunate in 
  exchange for physical protection and  
  
  2 
   
   
  Hachiman 
   
  mutual support against the oni. The 
  rampaging oni had already begun to 
  conquer Mongolia, China and the Korean 
  peninsula, and the Tokugawa recognized 
  that the demons at their doorstep would 
  require titanic weaponry. So the kappa 
  built them titans. 
   
  Taller than castles, mightier than 
  armies, the tetsujin were to be the 
  ultimate weapon against the marauding 
  oni, 
  powered 
  by 
  ingenious 
  kappa 
  technology but dependent upon human 
  supply chains for their construction, fuel, 
  and maintenance. While the kappa might 
  have otherwise chosen a different form 
  for their war machines, the human 
  shogunate insisted (with hand upon 
  sword) that the tetsujin require a human 
  pilot – a stipulation borne of human 
  distrust for the kappa, and perhaps not 
  unwise. What began as extravagant suits 
  of power-armor soon became enormous 
  samurai-shaped 
  robots, 
  crafted 
  in 
  proportion to the largest monster-elders 
  of the oni. Tokugawa Akira became the 
  first Iron Shogun, piloting Hachiman, 
  the first true tetsujin, a four-armed 
  mechanical warrior clad in shining silver 
  armor and equipped with twin star-metal 
  blades capable of felling mountains. 
  Engaging the enemy on a string of 
  islands just barely off the coast of the 
  vulnerable homeland, Hachiman single-
  handedly laid waste to three armies of 
  oni-blooded berserkers, drove off a dozen 
  
  3 
  true oni, and lasted ten whole minutes 
  against the Dragon King before its 
  reactor exploded, clearing the battlefield 
  and changing the nature of warfare 
  forever. 
   
   
  Typical Denizens
  Typical Denizens
  Typical Denizens
  Typical Denizens    
   
  Human civilization in the Tetsujin 
  Shogunate clings to life by the barest of 
  threads, 
  defiantly 
  dedicating 
  every 
  fraction of their being towards survival 
  and the war effort. Simple farmers toil in 
  the fields and rice paddies, cultivating 
  food for the nation and looking scanning 
  the horizon for glimpses of their gigantic 
  heroes. Miners, smiths, and craftsmen 
  labor ceaselessly, forging common ores 
  and stranger metals into enormous 
  components to be assembled in kappa-
  supervised factories. Every able-bodied 
  male not already essential to production 
  is a member of the shogunate's vast 
  samurai-led army. Decades of punishing 
  attrition have reduced the adult male 
  population to such a degree that even the 
  most chauvinistic patriarchs concede the 
  necessity of arming the fairer sex, 
  producing a recent generation of women-
  warriors proud and eager to join the 
  fight. 
   
  Humanity does not end past the 
  shores of Japan, however. Elsewhere in 
  the 
  world, 
  sickened 
  and 
  mutated 
  survivors 
  shamble 
  through 
  the 
  wastelands created by the impacts of the 
  oni ships and the ensuing radioactive 
  fallout. In eastern Asia, the oni have  
   
   
  Monster-Elder of the Oni 
   
  enslaved and organized the remaining 
  human population, corrupting minds 
  with their will-sapping alien pheromones 
  and creating a caste of mutated berserker 
  warriors. 
  Disgusting 
  experiments 
  in 
  creating human-oni hybrids are thus far 
  only rumor, spurred by sightings of the 
  most twisted of the oni-blooded, but the 
  fear of a self-reproducing demonic sub-
  race keeps many daimyos up at night.  
  Those humans living in oni territory who 
  are not overtly controlled submit out of 
  fear 
  and 
  despondent 
  pragmatism, 
  resigned to the fact that Hell has come to 
  Earth and their demonic masters now 
  rule the world. 
   
  The oni number in the hundreds, 
  though their pervasive influence and  
  
  4 
   
   
  Dragon King 
   
  staggering destructive power make it 
  seem like they are legion. Some oni are 
  snarling beasts prone to bloodlust and 
  mayhem, while the smarter ones rule 
  over armies of corrupted human slaves as 
  warlords and demon-kings. Might makes 
  right amongst the oni, as any any formal 
  hierarchy they possessed disintegrated 
  with their ship, but they remain united in 
  their racial desire to to eradicate the 
  kappa 
  and 
  plunder 
  any 
  extant 
  technology which would allow them to 
  leave Earth, or at least dominate it 
  unchallenged. 
  The 
  present 
  alpha-
  monster of the oni is the Dragon King, a 
  radioactive fire-breathing reptile capable 
  of 
  converting 
  calories 
  directly 
  into 
  biomass and increasing its size to 
  gargantuan proportions. 
   
  The kappa are a dying race on Earth, 
  reduced to less than a dozen living souls. 
  Cloistered away in heavily guarded 
  fortresses 
  atop 
  mountains 
  or 
  deep 
  underground, 
  these 
  cranky 
  little 
  inventors are paranoid and ill-tempered, 
  drawn from their reclusion only by the 
  knowledge that their survival depends on 
  actively equipping humanity to defeat the 
  marauding oni. Despite the fact that they 
  are presently engaged in the salvation of 
  the human race, the kappa's aid is 
  reluctant 
  and 
  entirely 
  self-serving. 
  Rumors persist of an intact section of the 
  kappa starship sunk off Japan's eastern 
  coast where the never-before-seen elder 
  of their crew secretly makes repairs, 
  intent on abandoning humanity to their 
  fate and leaving this accursed rock 
  behind. 
   
  
  5 
  Threats
  Threats
  Threats
  Threats    
   
   Samurai are the face and heart of this 
  •
  world, with legions of determined 
  fighters forming the prominent upper 
  echelons of the human resistance. The 
  samurai live to serve, steadfastly 
  supporting their daimyos and the 
  Iron Shogun as they battle oni-
  blooded minions in the shadows of 
  clashing titans. Most samurai fight 
  with traditional weapons and armor, 
  though the most elite warriors carry 
  kappa-blessed equipment such as 
  star-metal 
  swords, 
  respirator-
  helmets, and cybernetic power-armor. 
   
   Tetsujin are the gigantic champions 
  •
  which represent Earth's last hope for 
  victory and survival. Constructed of 
  materials refined by technology light-
  years beyond human science, these 
  war machines are incredibly strong 
  and durable, capable of withstanding 
  punishing 
  amounts 
  of 
  physical 
  impact, heat, pressure, and radiation. 
  Limited in their mobility and agility, 
  tetsujin tend to be a trifle clunky. Fuel 
  constraints render sustained flight a 
  near-impossibility, though thruster-
  assisted leaps and charges provide 
  dramatic bursts of speed. Their 
  weapons tend to be of the humongous 
  melee variety – swords, axes, shields, 
  and the like – and some have short-
  range 
  missiles, 
  but 
  energy-blast 
  weapons remain rare and dangerously 
  unstable. Tetsujin pilots are the best 
  of the best, worshipped like demigods 
  and showered with bittersweet praise  
   
   
  Oni-Blooded Berserker 
   
  for however long remains of their 
  perilous lives. 
   
   Kappa 
  are 
  puny, 
  amphibious 
  •
  tinkerers whose brilliant intellects 
  make up for their diminutive reptilian 
  bodies. They compensate for Earth's 
  oppressively strong gravity with the 
  aid 
  of 
  cybernetic 
  exo-shells, 
  submerging themselves in water the 
  rest of the time. Kappa technology 
  demonstrates 
  their 
  intuitive 
  connection to the Eidolon, and their 
  elders' psyches are strong enough for 
  telepathy and psychic combat. 
   
  
  6 
   Oni are aggressive, demonic-looking 
  •
  aliens with a strong affinity to the 
  Umbra. Evolved on a hostile home 
  world with a noxious atmosphere and 
  higher gravity, on Earth they can 
  breathe smoke, bask in radiation, and 
  enjoy superhuman strength. Most oni 
  have horns, colorful skin, and wild 
  hair, though the greatest among them 
  have 
  truly 
  monstrous 
  forms 
  resembling serpentine dragons or 
  titanic dinosaurs. 
   
   Oni-blooded are humans corrupted 
  •
  and controlled by rationed ingestion 
  of oni blood, which is both addictive 
  and highly mutagenic. Oni-blooded 
  berserkers have enhanced strength, 
  immunity to pain, and use their fangs, 
  claws, and horns as savagely as any 
  animal. Some oni-blooded wield more 
  subtle mutations such as acidic 
  spittle, 
  hypnotic 
  pheromones, 
  or 
  regeneration. 
   
   Ninjas. The Tetsujin Shogunate is 
  •
  practically infested with the stealthy, 
  deadly little bastards. While the ninja 
  clans once served the shogunate as 
  dependable mercenaries, since the 
  Rain of Falling Stars the ninja have 
  withdrawn 
  from 
  their 
  former 
  profession and now pursue only their 
  own inscrutable schemes. Ninja are 
  notorious thieves of alien technology, 
  outfitting 
  themselves 
  with stolen 
  kappa weapons, pilfering advanced 
  materials 
  from 
  poorly 
  guarded 
  tetsujin, and even experimenting on 
  themselves with oni mutagens. While 
  the shogunate's official position is  
   
   
  Tetsujin Ninja 
   
  that the ninja are selfish traitors to 
  humanity, I suspect there's more to it. 
  Perhaps the ninja are merely playing 
  the long game for even higher stakes. 
  Perhaps, in the end, it will be the 
  ninja who save this world from the 
  alien invaders, kappa and oni alike. 
   
   
  Notable Locations
  Notable Locations
  Notable Locations
  Notable Locations    
   
  Edo Castle is the capital of the 
  Tetsujin 
  Shogunate 
  – 
  a 
  sprawling 
  fortress located on the central eastern 
  coast of Japan, right where the great city 
  of Tokyo might have one day existed if 
  things had turned out differently. The 
  castle occupies dozens of square miles, 
  
  7 
  divided into multiple citadels, each with 
  its own walls, keeps, towers, moats, 
  gates, and courtyards. Still primarily 
  medieval in its construction, the castle 
  defenses 
  are 
  augmented 
  at 
  critical 
  junctures by kappa force-fields, sensor 
  arrays, and weapons systems. The Iron 
  Shogun and his closest daimyos reside 
  there, guarded by several thousand of the 
  shogunate's most elite samurai and the 
  twin tetsujin, Brother Golden Sun and 
  Sister Silver Moon. Edo Castle is also the 
  home of at least one kappa, hidden deep 
  below the foundations in an immense 
  cavern dedicated to tetsujin research and 
  development. 
   
  The Pit of Demons is a gathering-
  point of oni forces, squatting in a miles-
  wide crater in the midst of the northern 
  Korean Peninsula. It is the sleeping-place 
  of the Dragon King, whose seismic 
  snoring shakes the region with the force 
  of earthquakes, adding to the constant 
  din of howling oni warlords and their 
  slavering oni-blooded armies. It is from 
  this hellish pit the oni launch most of 
  their attacks, sending their great beasts 
  and marshaled forces down to the shore 
  to cross the Sea of Japan in search of 
  blood. 
   
  Hachiman's Gate is a string of small 
  island fortifications just off the western 
  coast of the isle of Japan, forming an 
  essential lookout and first line of defense 
  for the Tetsujin Shogunate. One or more 
  tetsujin are always standing at the ready, 
  on guard against the inevitability of the 
  next oni invasion. Hachiman's Gate has 
  been the site of dozens of battles, and the 
  Big
  Big
  Big
  Big    TTTTrouble
  rouble
  rouble
  rouble    
   
  Each tetsujin possesses its own unique 
  assortment of weapons, armor, and 
  special tricks, but even the most basic 
  tetsujin has the following qualities: 
   
  Immense Vitality  
   
  [4 points]  
  Double Speed  
   
  [2 points]  
  Paragon Stamina  
   
  [2 points]  
  Combat Reflexes  
   
  [2 points]  
  Double Damage  
   
  [2 points]  
  Resistant to Firearms  
  [2 points]   
  Total  
   
             [14 points] 
   
  Spending points to own a tetsujin would 
  seem necessary only if a character wishes 
  to use it outside of the world of the 
  Tetsujin Shogunate – but that would 
  require getting the immense contraption 
  through a Door, and good luck with that. 
   
   
  irradiated waters around the islands are 
  full of eerie “reefs” comprised of the 
  gigantic remains of rotting monsters and 
  shattered heroes. The Door to this world 
  opens through the pilot hatch in the side 
  of a severed tetsujin head which lays 
  rusting on the beach. 
   
   
  Final Thoughts
  Final Thoughts
  Final Thoughts
  Final Thoughts    
   
  Epic alien monsters battling titanic 
  robots for the fate of humanity – what 
  more could you ask for?  
   
  In all seriousness, I hope they survive. 
   
  ~ Yaeger Zane 
   
  
  8 
      
  Tetsujin Shogunate
  Tetsujin Shogunate
  Tetsujin Shogunate
  Tetsujin Shogunate    Domain Table
  Domain Table
  Domain Table
  Domain Table 
  Technology Level:  
  Medieval / Other (advanced alien robotics) 
  Magic Level: 
  Unknown 
  Security: 
  None 
  Type: 
  Personal Domain [1 Point]  
  (presently unclaimed by any Gossamer Lord) 
  Control: 
  None 
  Influence on the Powers: 
  Eidolon – Average  
  Umbra – Average  
  Wrighting – Average 
  Special: 
  N/A 
   
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Amber/Lords Of Gossamer And Shadow/Gossamer Worlds/Tetsujin Shogunate.pdf