TEXT: Henjinmura Village
  Vol. 01
  Issue 00
  
  Copyright 2017, Thunderegg Productions
  Shogun of all Editors: Jeffrey Meyer
  Artists
  Ross McConnell
  Gary Dupuis
  Brett Neufeld
  Ryan Rhodes
  Ross McConnell's map is released under a CC BY-NC 4.0 License thanks to his Patrons. Check him out on Patreon as 2-Minute
  Tabletop.
  Introduction
  The Village
  New Ryu: Wild Flesh
  OGL
  3
  4
  7
  9
  
  Introduction
  Throughout the world of Kaigaku, powerful stones fall from the heavens, leaving behind the great gems known as kiseki. Ascetics
  and others harvest them to unlock their potential and either enhance their own power or craft wondrous items. The meteor
  showers when this happens are called seirakka, or starfalls. Humans are not the only beings who desire kiseki.
  Animals are invariably drawn to the site of a seirakka, and the presence of these stones cause the beasts to mutate in
  unpredictable ways. This often manifests in changes in size, from snails the size of houses to grown turtles shrunk to the size of a
  man’s fingertip. Some beings gain exotic colorings, new abilities, and even wisdom equal to that of a human.
  Most seirakka mutants become more aggressive, especially carnivores, but some are peaceful and become allies of humanity.
  Generally, a clan or the Emperor dispatches warriors and ascetics to the site of a seirakkato dispatch any mutants that they find.
  Legends tell of a ruined kingdom of Tian, which fell due to rampaging hordes of beasts, and this legend leads most samurai to
  indiscriminately kill any mutants they find out of paranoia.
  Many thanks for picking up this free "issue 0" of the Kaigaku Chronicle. I hope you enjoy the trip to the fun little village. The
  game stats here are compatible with The Black Hack and broadly with most other OSR systems. Be sure to check out our 7-day
  Challenge Kickstarter campaign for the adventure Kaigaku: The Ruined Kindgom, from March 10, 2017, to March 17, 2017!
  Thanks again,
  Jacob DC Ross
  
  The Village
  Somewhere within the Empire (it’s for you, the GM, to say
  where) lies the peaceful village of Henjinmura. It was
  founded several generations ago by a group of peasants
  and ronin displaced by a fire, famine, or a plague
  outbreak. They brought their case to the local daimyo
  and pledged loyalty and self-sufficiency, and were given a
  plot of land to found their settlement.
  In truth, the entire village is made up of a special breed of
  mutant. So long as they wear a special kiseki stone or
  remain within their village grounds, these mutants
  appear to be human, but they have an animal nature.
  Every inhabitant is a special “superior” type of their
  original beast, with most having the ability to stand on
  two legs, use tools, speak Kaigaku, and form a functional
  society.
  Denizens of Henjinmura, or Henjin, tend to remain in the
  local area because they’re fearful of outsiders discovering
  their true identity and being exterminated out of fear. A
  kiseki beacon on the small island near the village
  provides a radius of protection that maintains the
  illusion of human forms. If they need or want to venture
  farther, the Henjin must wear special necklaces. Henjin
  have the ability to remain in their true form even when
  inside the beacon’s radius or wearing their necklaces, and
  most choose to do so whenever the village is free of
  outsiders.
  Notable Locations
  There are several points of interest in Henjinmura,
  several of which lead to various points of adventure.
  Beacon Island
  This island sits just off of the bank of Birdsong Lake and
  houses a small building where the Henjin maintain a
  kiseki-based device that helps them to maintain their
  “human” form. It covers a radius of about 2 kilometers
  (1.25 miles). Any Henjin who steps out of the protection
  and is not wearing a special pendant immediately reverts
  to their anthropomorphic animal form. This location is
  also where the village stores the protective pendants. It
  features a clockwork design. Despite their best efforts,
  
  the village’s ascetics can’t eliminate the “gap” in
  coverage that causes it to fail for an entire day every 30
  days.
  Adventure Seed: Gida, the caretaker of the beacon,
  notices that the kiseki powering the device were
  disrupted, and a couple of the stones are missing. This
  doesn’t immediately cause it to fail completely, but it
  does interfere with operation. Instead of a constant
  feature, the beacon is now an Item with a Usage Die that
  starts at d10. Roll this die each day, and on a result of a 1
  or a 2, step the die down, reduce the beacon’s radius by
  half, and cause 1d4 random Henjin to get stuck in animal
  form unless they wear a pendant, and there are only six
  Henjin in the village.
  Hunter’s Lodge
  The predators among the Henjin find ways to sate their
  need for meat by hunting regular prey in the woods.
  Since Henjinmura can’t have real samurai spending too
  much time in the village, most of their defense comes
  from hunters trained in guerilla tactics, so the lodge
  serves as a covert arsenal and barracks.
  Adventure Seed: A monstrous star-changed mutant is
  causing trouble in the woods.It’s a large wolf with black-
  and-red fur. Set its HD equal to 5 plus the number of
  adventurers among the PCs. The wolf is ferocious enough
  to tear through trees and buildings, and has a canine’s
  nose to be able to smell prey through walls. It can attack
  after moving to Long distance each turn.
  Sake House
  For a fun night after a hard day’s work, all are welcome at
  Kentaro’s. It serves all manner of liquor, from sake to
  shochu and gaijin beer. Kentaro the Tanuki runs a
  competition the evening of every Gold Day, which isnight
  the sixth day of the week, where village musicians
  compete for audience acclaim. The winners eat free. An
  act can only perform once every three weeks, or four
  weeks if they won their last appearance, which keeps
  things fresh. As each family in Henjinmura practices
  multiple instruments on a regular basis, this allows
  everyone to get a turn and keeps one act from
  dominating every rotation.
  Adventure Seed: This location is a hub for all social
  activity. Eachevening, you can roll a d4. On a result of a 4,
  a human traveller is passing through the village. They’ll
  stay in a room in the back of Kentaro’s. The PCs get asked
  to make sure that the visitor doesn’t poke around too
  deeply or get into trouble.
  Notable Inhabitants
  Maiko, Usagi Archer
  Maiko is somewhat of an anomaly in the community
  because, as a rabbit, she is an herbivore who follows the
  path of a predator. Her competitive spirit, combined with
  a distaste for boats and rice paddies, led her to become
  one of the most prominent hunters in Henjinmura. This
  eager young warrior is always the first on the battlefield
  when bandits or other dangers attack.
  Maiko doesn’t have many friends in the village since the
  carnivorous hunters feel uncomfortable telling their
  favorite jokes in her presence and most of the plant
  eaters find her outlook too far removed from their own
  to let their guard down around her. Maiko is eager to
  make new acquaintances, and she is among the most
  likely Henjin to admit outsiders into their society.
  
  Hana, Kame Headman
  The turtle called Hana is a contradiction in terms. Her
  name means ‘flower’, but she’s known more for being a
  sage counselor than for being a radiant beauty. Hana is
  the oldest and most conservative person in the village
  when it comes to relations with humans. She is the only
  survivor of the first generation of Henjin, and the only
  one who knows for certain whether the Henjin are
  animals made intelligent or humans who became
  beastlike.
  Hana is willing to deal with outsiders if it serves the
  village’s purpose. Cautious human PCs might note that
  Henjinmura would be famous throughout the Empire if
  its existence were known, which means that Hana likely
  takes measures to prevent the secret from becoming
  public.
  Gida, Kitsune Artisan
  Gida is a wizened old fox who loves to spend his days
  tinkering with the kiseki. He began his life as a warrior
  but ended up losing his eyes in combat with a beast. The
  previous beacon master, a tsuru named Mei fashioned a
  pair of eyes for Gida. They allow him to see defined
  shapes but not colors. Impressed with this technology,
  and grateful that Mei used the village’s limited supply of
  kiseki to create something useful for him instead of a
  shifting pendant that the whole village could use, Gida
  became Mei’s apprentice and took over for her when she
  passed away.
  Gida wants more stones to make artifacts. His eyes allow
  him to see color only when he works with kiseki, which
  makes working with them the most beautiful part of his
  life. He wants to pay back his perceived debt to the
  village by discovering new effects to impart. Because of
  this, he’s open to working with outsiders since they’re
  more likely to be able to get around the Empire and bring
  back kiseki.
  Ogon, Koumori Ninja
  Ogon is a restless spirit. This bat spent his formative
  years searching the countryside by night, searching for a
  ninja tribe to join. He left without taking one of the
  shifter pendants, both because he was too loyal to steal
  from his village and because. as a nocturnal creature, he
  moved in the night anyway.
  Ogon is back in town after being away for many years.
  He’s probably the most well-known Henjin in the Empire,
  having practiced his trade in Harayama and other large
  cities. He used costumes and darkness to hide his true
  form, but there are reports of a mysterious night stalker
  that persist to this day. Most of the Henjin don’t know
  him personally because he prefers to spend time on the
  village outskirts, in both the forest and, rumor has it, on
  the occasional mission in human territory.
  
  New Ryu: Wild Flesh
  This ryu is different from most others because it’s a bit
  more modular. You can take it for your character
  regardless of class. The only requirement is that you be a
  henjin, an animal with human intelligence or a human
  with an animal nature. Your default form is an
  anthropomorphic animal. When a kiseki-based effect
  allows you to switch between human and animal
  form,such as the Henjinmura Beacon or one of their
  protective necklaces, you can do so by making a
  Constitution roll. Fish and other creatures can survive on
  land when in human form, and in water when in wild
  form.
  Class: Any
  Weapon of Choice: Variable
  Tier 1: Class Ability
  Take the first tier of your Class Ability tree related to
  your class.
  Tier 2: Wild Ability
  Take an ability from the list of Wild Abilities that are
  appropriate to your animal form.
  Tier 3: Class Ability
  Take the second tier of your Class Abilty tree related to
  your class.
  Tier 4: Wild Ability
  Take another ability from the list of Wild Abilities that
  are appropriate to your animal form.
  Tier 5: Class Ability
  Take the third tier of your Class Ability tree related to
  your class.
  Class Ability Trees
  These abilities plug into the tiers of the Wild Flesh Ryu.
  You choose the one based on your character’s class.
  They’re usable in both human and wild form unless
  otherwise stated.
  Bushi
  Tier 1: For My Pack
  Gain a Wild Ability appropriate to your animal form with
  the Attack tag.. You can use that ability in both forms at
  will.
  Tier 2: Brotherhood of Beasts
  Each ally who attacks an enemy that you attacked gains a
  +1 stat bonus to attack that enemy. This bonus grows by
  +1 for each ally who attacked that enemy following your
  attack, to a maximum equal to your ryu tier. This ability
  resets on your turn.
  Tier 3: Wounded Animal
  You step up the die you roll for damage to the next
  highest value when you have taken damage equal to at
  least one quarter of your maximum HP. You instead step
  it up twice if you’re at less than half of your total HP. For
  each step above d12 simply add +2 to the damage.
  Courtier
  Tier 1: Guile With Guile
  Whenever anyone asks you a question, respond with a
  question of your own and roll Wisdom to make yourself
  look so clever that anyone who asks you more questions
  on the same subject looks foolish. You can use this ability
  a number of times per encounter equal to your ryu Tier
  rank. Rolls against those with higher status than you
  require a variable number of Intensifications depending
  on the status of the other person.
  Tier 2: Revealing the Reasons
  Whenever someone asks you a question, you can make a
  Wisdom roll to determine what they hope to learn from
  your response.
  Tier 3: Wisest Counselor
  When someone comes to you for advice or initiates social
  “combat” with you, roll Wisdom. On a success, you give
  an ally a number of free Intensifications to any
  Intelligence or Wisdom roll within the next day equal to 1
  plus half the number of Intensifications you made. If you
  used this roll on an enemy, you gain a bonus to the first
  “damage” roll against them equal to twice the number of
  times you Intensified + 2. You can use this ability a
  number of times per day equal to your ryu Tier rank, and
  never more than once per day per person.
  
  Ninja
  Tier 1: Speed of the Beast
  Gain a Wild Ability appropriate to your animal form with
  the Movement tag. You can use that ability while in
  either form.
  Tier 2: Disappear From Pursuit
  When you’re actively retreating from a situation, roll
  Dexterity. If you succeed, you disappear from sight and
  anyone seeking you can’t find you for at least a number
  of rounds equal to half your ryu Tier rank, rounded up.
  Tier 3: Flight of the Hidden
  Your movement speed in both modes is doubled.
  Ascetic
  Tier 1: More Beast Than Man
  Gain any Wild Ability appropriate to your animal form.
  You can use this ability in either form.
  Tier 2: Extended Form
  You can stay in your human form for a day without
  having a kiseki pendant by making a Constitution roll.
  You have to make a cumulative number of
  Intensifications for every day in a row that you use this
  ability.
  Tier 3: Magnificent Beast
  Gain any Wild Ability, regardless of whether or not it’s
  appropriate to your animal form. You can use this in any
  form but it will expose you as something not human.
  Wild Abilities
  When you choose the animal form for your character,
  you can determine which abilities below are appropriate
  for your species.
  Amphibious: You can survive in water and on land. Use
  this for amphibians, aquatic mammals, fish, and so on to
  negate penalties for being out of your environment
  indefinitely. Effects which allow you to use this ability in
  human form let your human form breathe underwater.
  Armored: Gain additionalAP equal to your ryu Tier rank.
  Camouflage/Color Change: You can become effectively
  invisible by rolling Dexterity. This doesn’t work when
  you move unless you’re blending in with a solid
  background such as turning blue and flying through a
  clear sky.
  Flight [Movement]: You can fly in one turn vertically up
  to Nearby distance, horizontally up to Long distance
  while attacking or up to Far Away without attacking.
  Natural Weapon [Attack]: You have claws, fangs, horns,
  or whatever else, which does +2 damage on all melee
  attacks. You are proficient with this weapon and it counts
  as the weapon of choice for your ryu.
  Poison [Attack]: Make a Constitution roll when you hit
  an opponent with an unarmed attack. This ability causes
  1d4 damage per turn for a number of turns equal to your
  ryu Tier rank. PCs can roll Constitution each turn to
  negate this effect.
  Sharp Sense: You can see detail twice as far as a human,
  see in nearly total darkness, use echolocation to “see” in
  total darkness, distinguish any voice in a crowd, follow a
  being by scent up to Long range, tell every ingredient in
  something by taste, including poison, or always be able to
  find your way back to a place that you’ve already been.
  Various animals might have multiple uses of this ability,
  but you can only get access to one of them each time you
  select this ability.
  Swift [Movement]: Your musculature, body shape, or
  multiple legs allow you to move twice as fast as a human.
  
  DESIGNATION OF PRODUCT IDENTITY
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  the OGL.
  OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
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  15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
  Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors
  Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary
  Gygax and Dave Arneson.
  COPYRIGHT NOTICE
  Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.;
  Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins,
  David Noonan,
  Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt,
  based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
  The Black Hack, Copyright 2016 Gold Piece Publications, Author: David Black
  Black Hack: Cyber Hacked!, Copyright 2016 DIY RPG Productions; Author Mike
  Evans
  Kaigaku RPG, Copyright 2016 Thunderegg Productions, Author: Jacob DC Ross
  Kaigaku Chronicle Issue 00, Copyright 2017 Thunderegg Productions, Author: Jacob DC Ross
  
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