Mountain Witch Singlepage

RETURN OF THE
MOUNTAIN WITCH
A Tabletop RPG About Betrayal And Redemption

Created for the Kickstarter Community.
Written By: Christopher Grey
Edited by: Brian Taulbee, Colin Knipe
Art By: Paul Jones
All text in Return of the Mountain Witch is marked
with CC0 1.0 Universal. To view a copy of
this li-cense, visit http://creativecommons.org/pub-
licdo-main/zero/1.0
All Artwork Copyright © 2022 by Paul Jones,
all rights reserved
“I would rather betray the world than have the world
betray me.”
--Cao Cao
The mountain stood behind a curtain of snow like a
rising ocean of stone and ice. The dim torchlight of
the rogues failed to penetrate the curtains of winter.
Atop the mountain was the domain of the Mountain
Witch.
The village mustered every coin to buy their safety
from these wanderers. Their salvation rested in their
dishonored hands.
Once samurai, once proud, once travelers of the
way, now rejected, disavowed, and scorned.
It was said the Mountain Witch was the snow wom-
an incarnate—the yuki-onna who would bring an
endless winter to the realm, just as she did during
the years of their ancestors.
The winter only ended when the yuki-onna was slain.
The victors of that ancient battle rose to heroism and
then to legend.
But the people do not have the heroes of a time long
past. They have only the rōnin. The dishonored war-
riors stripped of their service to their daimyō. They,
the forbidden, the lost, the wandering. They, the en-
emies of the law—it is they who must save the village
beneath the witch’s mountain.
It is they that must take the journey and stop the
endless winter. It is they that must slay the Mountain
Witch.
It is they that must find their way to honor once
more.
CONTENTS
About the Game 13

Characters 17
Choose an Archetype 18
Choose Your Qualities 19
Choose Your Stats 19
Virtue 21
Dishonor 21
Memory 22
Describe Your Rōnin 22
The Blade 24
The Friend 26
The Unknown 28
The Untested 30
The War-Weary 32
Playing the Game 35
Your Journey 36
Playing Rōnin 36
Basic Game Play 36
Trials 37
Memories 39
Dice Results 44
Distrust 52
Betraying a Rōnin 53
The Final Trial 55
Final Encounter 56
Facilitating the Game 59
Agenda and Principles 60
The Trials 63
Introducing Conflicts 65
Facilitating Memories 66
Yuki-onna 67
Before Dawn 68
The First Trial: Their Judgment 69
The Second Trial: Their Fear 72
The Third Trial: Their Hate 75
The Fourth Trial: Their Scorn 78
The Fifth Trial: Their Duty 83
The Final Trial: Their Fate 86
The Final Scene 87
Character Sheets 90
I
ABOUT THE GAME

The Return of the Mountain Witch
WHAT IS THIS GAME?

Return of the Mountain Witch is a collaborative
storytelling game wherein all players, including the
Guide (who facilitates and arbitrates the game), de-
termine the course of the characters’ journey. To-
gether through decisions, improvisation, and a bit of
chance, they create a compelling experience.
Your characters are reviled by the very society that
employed them. They must keep each other’s trust or
fall to their trials. This is not a story about raiding a
mountain and slaying a witch—this is a story about
reconciliation, trust, and betrayal.
Will your characters find honor and trust or will they
fall into the traps of distrust, fear, and treachery? The
Mountain Witch waits to declare their fate.
Setup
There is no preparation for Return of the Moun-
tain Witch. All of the players, including the Guide,
come to the table with only the intention of creating
a memorable story about trust, honor and betrayal.
Finding Drama
Return of the Mountain Witch is not an action game,
nor is it an adventure game. It is about rising above
our fears so that we can take action to fix our world
in spite of how the world has treated us. Leave hack
and slash at the door and embrace an internal jour-
ney of finding one’s self and overcoming personal
challenges.
14
What is this Game?
You Will Need

Pencils and markers, index card and two six-sided
dice per person.
Themes
Return of the Mountain Witch is about overcoming
dishonor to find virtue.
Confronting Trials
The rōnin were hired because the village had no
choice. And the rōnin accepted their impossible fate
because they also have no choice.
Finding Honor
The journey up the mountain is also a journey of the
rōnin’s personal struggle to come back to the way
of the samurai. This is a journey that will not only
prove their worth to the others, but to themselves.
Some rōnin will not make it past the witch’s thresh-
old on the summit. Those that do will regain their
honor and be heroes of the realm.
X Card
Situations will come up that you did not anticipate.
Draw an X on an index card and put it in the center
of the table. If the story or content brings up any
content that makes players uncomfortable, triggers
them, ruins their fun, or breaks the desired tone of
the game, they simply tap the card and it is struck
from the fiction. The X Card was created by John
Stavropoulos. You can find information on the
X-Card here: http://tinyurl.com/x-card-rpg.
15
II
CHARACTERS
CREATE YOUR RŌNIN

The next step is to figure out each rōnin’s archetype,
which will define each character’s purpose in the
journey.
Each archetype is unique, so no group should have
more than one of the same archetype in a game.
Rōnin Players should openly discuss and decide
which archetype they each want to play. The open
discussion can even touch on how the characters are
connected, and ultimately the overall vision for the
character based on the archetypes in play.
Complete these six steps using the following sections
or the archetype sheets to create rōnin:
1. Archetype 4. Virtue
2. Qualities 5. Dishonor
3. Stats 6. Memory
Choose an Archetype
The Archetypes are:
• The Blade: The Rōnin of Duty
• The Friend: The Rōnin of Mercy
• The Unknown: The Rōnin of Integrity
• The Untested: The Rōnin of Courage
• The War-Weary: The Rōnin of Wisdom
18
Characters
Choose Your Qualities

Rōnin Players will find a list of potential qualities for
their archetype.
• Age: State your age. Unless inferred by the ar-
chetype, it is assumed you are in your prime.
• Mannerism: Describe a mannerism unique to
your character.
• Appearance: You wear the traditional kimo-
no and armor, what else do you wear that is
unique to your character?
• Pronouns: Rōnin can be any gender, fluid, or
none at all.
Choose Your Stats
Your character’s stats are related to the basic virtues
of a warrior. They modify the total of a six sided-die
roll and are used to confront conflicts in the fiction.
The dice determine whether or not you are able to
resolve the conflict.
After the Rōnin Player determines what conflict to
confront, the Guide informs the Rōnin Player which
stat to use. Stats are actions the rōnin can take to
determine an outcome. They also represent the meat
of your part in creating the story.
Use the stat as a prompt to describe what your char-
acter is doing and why. Use visual language so the
rest of the players can see it cinematically. Stats rep-
resent the core experience of the game.
19
Wisdom
Know and understand the best path. Roll when you
must make the right decision.
• I want to see where the creature is hiding.
• I want to know the strategy behind their attack.
• I want to find the best way out.
Courage
Be fearless in the face of adversity. Roll when you
must be unafraid.
• I want to jump from tree to tree.
• I want to charge into battle.
• I want to balance across the rushing river.
Mercy
Be compassionate to all living creatures. Roll when
you must protect or heal someone.
• I want to patch up the wound.
• I want to take that blow for them.
• I want to calm them down.
Integrity
Live well so that others will trust you. Roll when you
must be believed.
• I want to convince them to fight with us.
20
Characters
• I want them to believe I have changed.

• I want to give them an inspirational speech.
Duty
Do your duty. Roll when you must fight.
• I want to attack the beast with my sword.
• I want to slay the evil king.
• I want to throw them off the cliff.
The value of the stats are determined by your arche-
type. Simply fill the scores in on your sheet.
Virtue
Each archetype provides three virtues to choose
from, select the one that embodies your character’s
ideal.
You can use this virtue once per game to automati-
cally resolve a conflict and to clear any distrust as-
signed to you by other rōnin.
Dishonor
You must also choose a dishonor from three options
in your archetype. This is something your character
will do when pushed to the brink.
You can use a dishonor once per trial to reroll your
dice.
Every time you do all other rōnin mark distrust
against you.
21
Memory
Finally you must choose a memory from your arche-
type. This will be the prompt you must answer when
your memory comes up at the start of a trial.
You don’t need to know the answer to the prompt
right away, but when it comes up you will need to
describe what brought your character to dishonor
with their daimyō, how they were stripped of their
honors as a samurai, and if it was mandated by their
sworn oath, why they did not commit seppuku (rit-
ual suicide).
This memory will become a conflict in the trial that
you or the other rōnin must resolve before the story
can move on.
Describe Your Rōnin
There is no process for this discussion beyond just
figuring out your character with help from the ta-
ble. At the end of the discussion, you should have a
character in your mind, their overall appearance and
qualities, and their name.
Take this time to create a mental picture of your
character so that you can describe them to the other
players.
This your opportunity to create truths about your
character that the table will take and intertwine into
their own personal stories.
22
Characters
23
THE BLADE
The Rōnin of Duty
The Blade was once a renowned fighter, revered for
their skill with the sword and their cold demeanor.
Stats Mercy: -2
Wisdom: +2 Integrity: -1
Courage: +1 Duty: +3
Virtue Dishonor
Choose a virtue that your Choose a dishonor that
character will demon- your character will do
strate once during a time when brought to the
of great need and danger. brink.
• Compassion • Ruthlessness
• Sincerity • Cruelty
• Graciousness • Spitefulness
Memory
Choose a prompt that you will use to explain why
your character was dishonored.
• Why did you murder your daimyō?
• Why did you refuse to go into battle?
• Why did you harm an innocent?
24
Characters
25
THE FRIEND
The Rōnin of Mercy
The Friend improves everyone’s morale, revered for
their wit of the tongue and their amiable demeanor.
Stats Mercy: +3
Wisdom: -2 Integrity: -1
Courage: -2 Duty: +1
Virtue Dishonor
• Selflessness • Cowardice
• Bravery • Selfishness
• Genius • Pettiness
Memory
• How did you humiliate your daimyō?
• Why did you desert your post?
• Why did you commit treason?
26
Characters
27
THE UNKNOWN
The Rōnin of Integrity
The Unknown is mysterious, revered for their tacti-
cal knowledge and their shadowy demeanor.
Stats Mercy: -1
Wisdom: +2 Integrity: +3
Virtue Dishonor
• Insightful • Untruthful
• Persuasive • Sabotaging
• Intelligent • Uncaring
Memory
• Why did you deceive your daimyō?
• Why did the other warriors distrust you?
• How did you lose your honor and get cast out?
28
Characters
29
THE UNTESTED
The Rōnin of Courage
The Untested has never been in battle, revered for
their youthful vigor and their innocent demeanor.
Stats Mercy: +2
Wisdom: -2 Integrity: +1
Courage: +3 Duty: -1
Virtue Dishonor
• Adaptability • Cowardice
• Humor • Weakness
• Endurance • Foolhardiness
Memory
• Why did you flee from your daimyō?
• How did you escape an important battle?
• What did you fail to do that led to getting cast
out?
30
Characters
31
THE WAR-WEARY
The Rōnin of Wisdom
The battleworn leader, revered for their strategic
knowledge and their commanding demeanor.
Stats Mercy: -2
Wisdom: +3 Integrity: +1
Virtue Dishonor
• Brilliance • Hurtful
• Inspiration • Myopic
• Respect • Exhausted
Memory
• Why did you form a mutiny against your
daimyō?
• How did you lose an important battle?
• What did you try to hide?
32
Characters
33
III
PLAYING THE GAME

YOUR JOURNEY
Return of the Mountain Witch is a conversation be-
tween the players. The Guide is a player that controls
the setting and all of the conflicts. The other players
(Rōnin Players) focus only on their particular rōnin.
Together, the players will collaboratively play out
the story from beginning to end. While the Guide’s
role is different from the rest of the players, all play-
ers contribute.
Playing Rōnin
Rōnin Players play the story’s main characters from
their character’s viewpoint. This does not necessarily
mean players must act like their characters, although
they certainly can! What it really means is putting
oneself in the character’s shoes. Thinking and behav-
ing like the character.
Players should remember that this game is not a
competition. You play out both the successes and
the failures. It is also important to note that no rōnin
dies until the final trial, so your character will be
in play for the entire game. They will certainly be
harmed and there will be conflict, but even attacks
by other rōnin will never be narratively lethal until
the last trial.
Basic Game Play
You will find that gameplay is somewhat “pre-
scribed”—in other words, things happen in a par-
ticular order and with predetermined conditions for
reaching different points in the story.
36
Playing the Game
This is by design. The game is meant to be a one-shot

about a journey to an adversary and the personal
issues they confront along the way. While the game
may play structurally the same way each time, the
characters and their personal stories will differ.
That said, you will not find a sandbox, open-world,
epic fantasy adventure here. It is a particular story. A
particular moment in time. A particular experience.
The game is split up into scenes called “trials.” Each
scene corresponds with one of the stats until the last
trial where the rōnin meet their final fate with the
witch.
The Guide will first describe the setting of the trial—
each taking place at a different spot along the rōnin’s
ascent up the mountain. Then, if a rōnin has a mem-
ory for this trial, the Guide will ask the question and
then play that out. Following that, the Guide will
introduce a series of conflicts until the rōnin resolve
the conditions of the trial. Conflicts are handled nar-
ratively, with outcomes determined by dice. Once re-
solved, they move onto the next trial until the Final
Trial where they confront the witch and their fate is
determined.
Trials
Before Dawn
A short scene where the Rōnin Players have narrative
control. They introduce their characters and provide
a visual descriptor of their rōnin as they approach
the mountain.
37
The First Trial: Their Judgment

The War-Weary Rōnin has their memory. To pass
the trial, the rōnin must resolve the final conflict
with the Wisdom stat.
The Second Trial: Their Fear
The Untested Rōnin has their memory. To pass the
trial, the rōnin must resolve the final conflict with
the Courage stat.
The Third Trial: Their Hate
The Friend Rōnin has their memory. To pass the tri-
al, the rōnin must resolve the final conflict with the
Mercy stat.
The Fourth Trial: Their Scorn
The Unknown Rōnin has their memory. To pass the
trial, the rōnin must resolve the final conflict with
the Integrity stat.
The Fifth Trial: Their Duty
The Blade Rōnin has their memory. To pass the tri-
al, the rōnin must resolve the final conflict with the
Duty stat.
The Final Trial: Their Fate
To pass the trial, the rōnin must resolve all conflicts
with each other.
The Final Trial is detailed in the Guide section and
has special rules and circumstances.
38
Playing the Game
Memories
Every rōnin has a memory, which is a prompt the
player chooses when creating their character. While
they don’t need to know the answer to that prompt
during character creation, they will need to by the
time their scene comes.
Only one rōnin presents their memory in each trial,
but the others will witness it. Smaller groups may go
through a trial without a memory, if the appropriate
rōnin isn’t in play.
When a memory comes into play, the events that
transpired in that rōnin’s life play out for real on the
mountain. The other characters are present and see
the memory as if it is happening right then on the
mountain. They are able to interact with the memory
as if it were real and change the course of what hap-
pened. This is the Mountain Witch’s magic, which is
used to see how they would redeem themselves, or if
they can.
The player answering the prompt will have complete
narrative control about describing the situation.
They will explain how the mountain changes to re-
flect the scene in the memory, who is present, what
is happening, and what their rōnin is doing and what
the conflict is—or the answer to the prompt.
The Guide writes the conflict down on an index card
and takes back narrative control, playing the charac-
ters in the memory. The rōnin and the other players
confront the conflict to try and resolve it through the
narrative.
39
Guide: You enter a snowy glade. The white

birch forest has canopies of red leaves that
are falling on the snow, causing a brilliant
and beautiful contrast. The Blade, what is
your memory?
The Blade: We are standing on a rocky ridge,
behind us is our army, ten thousand strong.
Below the ridge in the valley is the enemy,
but there are only two thousand. They feared
our numbers and laid down their swords and
bows. Our daimyō has commanded us to
charge anyway.
The Guide writes “Slaughter” on an index
card.
The Guide: What do you do?
The memory conflict is confronted like other conflicts
(which is detailed on pages 40-41). But in short, the
rōnin describe what they do about the situation and
the Guide tells them what stat to roll to determine
the outcome. The player then rolls two six-sided dice
(2d6) and adds or subtract the stat value. Depending
on the depth of the situation, the Guide may intro-
duce other conflicts within the memory that also can
be confronted. It is ultimately going to come down
to the initial conflict presented, however.
No matter the outcome once the conflict is confront-
ed, the memory is over. The Guide removes the con-
flict they wrote for the memory and the rōnin return
to the setting on the mountain in the particular trial
where the Guide begins the scene.
40
Playing the Game
The Blade: I tell the daimyō that we shouldn’t

slaughter defenseless people, even if they are
warriors.
The Guide: The daimyō angrily stares you
down, “Are you refusing my command?”
The War-Weary: I come up to him and say
“Good daimyō, no one would stoop to re-
fuse you. We have undying fealty. But we call
upon your mercy to show the enemy your
greatness.”
The Guide: You are confronting Slaughter
with the stat “Integrity” because you are try-
ing to sway the daimyō.
The War-Weary rolls a 4, adding Integrity.
The Guide: “You both are stripped of your
honor. Cast your swords on the earth and
open your stomachs to spill your disgrace
upon your blades.”
Everyone marks a distrust for both The Blade
and The War-Weary.
The Guide: Now the memory fades and you
are once again standing in the snow drifts
of the red-leafed birch forest. The sound of
crunching snow is heard in the distance.
In the example above, things went poorly. Now the
player who plays The Blade will have a harder time
in the final trial with the Mountain Witch. But had
it gone differently, they both would have been more
trusted.
41
Trial Scenes and Conflicts

Once the trial begins, the Guide will narrate the sit-
uation, introducing conflicts as they do so. Conflicts
can be very general, such as “it is snowing” or very
specific, “the samurai is leaping at The Untested.”
When a conflict is introduced in the narrative, the
Guide will write it on an index card. There can be
many during a scene—even as much as ten, but will
usually settle at around four or five.
The purpose of conflicts is to visually represent what
the rōnin are up against in the story. They help guide
the fiction. You will need to choose what conflict you
are confronting and how, so that the Guide can tell
you what stat you are rolling.
Note that you can only roll for a stat if you are con-
fronting a conflict. If there is no appropriate conflict
for what you want to do, you need to restate what
you want to do so that there is. This game is hyper-
focused on the trial and the narrative created from
the trial, so there is little room for unfocused play.
Each trial has a specific conflict that must be over-
come with a specific stat. Once it is resolved the
rōnin can move onto the next trial.
The Guide: As you move forward through the
forest of white trees and red leaves, you hear
a rustling high in the tree tops.
The Guide writes “You Are Being Watched”
on an index card and sets it on the table.
42
Playing the Game
To Confront a Conflict
• The Rōnin Player chooses a narratively appro-
priate conflict to confront.
• The Guide asks the Rōnin Player to state their
rōnin’s intent. The Guide then picks an appro-
priate stat the Rōnin Player must roll.
• The Rōnin Player rolls two six-sided dice.
• They add or deduct the stat’s number from the
dice sum to get their dice result.
• The Guide and/or Rōnin Players narrate the
outcome depending on the result.
The Untested: I want to try and climb the tree,
to see if I can get a better viewpoint.
The Guide: Why are you risking yourself by
taking initiative and doing something that
could humiliate you, or put you in danger?
The Untested: I want to show that I’m cou-
rageous.
The Guide: Roll against “You Are Being
Watched,” using courage.
The Untested rolls a 9 and adds +3 from the
courage stat. The Guide removes the “You
Are Being Watched” card and writes down
“Several samurai are in the trees” on a new
card. All of the other players remove a dis-
trust of The Untested.
43
Narrating the Outcome

Result of 7-9
• The conflict is resolved and it is removed from
the table.
• The Guide narrates the outcome and has full
Narrative Control
• When against another rōnin, lower distrust for
them if they concede to what you want in the
fiction, if they refuse to concede, add a distrust.
Result of 10+
• Apply the 7-9 result outcomes
• All of the other rōnin remove a distrust for the
rōnin who succeeded.
• The Rōnin Player narrates the outcome and has
full Narrative Control, with the ability to con-
trol the setting or Setting Characters.
Result of 6 or Less
• All of the other rōnin mark a distrust for the
rōnin who failed.
• If rolling against another rōnin they will mark
an additional distrust if they choose to go
against what they wanted in the fiction, or clear
one trust if they choose to allow it.
• If a memory, the conflict is removed even though
it wasn’t resolved.
44
Playing the Game
Game Flow
If a Rōnin Player rolls a 10 or higher on a move, they
automatically have Narrative Control. The player
can narrate the outcome and anything else about the
story except for other rōnin or other conflicts that
are still in play. They can introduce elements into
the story that are true and that the Guide must then
integrate into the overall narrative.
The Guide: You’ve resolved the conflict that
you are being watched and now find there are
several samurai in the trees. Tell me how you
discover that.
The Untested: I easily climb the tree, demon-
strating agility the others haven’t seen in me
yet. I then see the samurai waiting in four dif-
ferent trees around the area, apparently plan-
ning to ambush us. But they see now they’ve
been caught. I shout down to warn the others.
The Guide writes a new conflict on a card
that says, “War-Weary is Attacked” and an-
other “Untested is attacked.”
The Guide: One samurai jumps down from
the tree, as if made of feathers, breaks his fall
in a shoulder roll and jumps upward driving
his blade toward the War-Weary. At the same
time, one of the samurai in an adjacent tree
leaps over to the Untested’s tree and attempts
kick him off.
The War-Weary: I repel his blade.
45
The Guide: Are you entering combat, or are

you just trying to repel his attack?
The War-Weary: Oh no, I want to enter com-
bat and take him down ultimately.
The Guide: Okay, roll duty against the con-
flict War-Weary is Attacked.
The War-Weary rolls a 5 plus duty is 7.
If a Rōnin Player rolls a 7-9, the Guide automatically
has Narrative Control. The Guide can narrate the
outcome or consequences of the roll. They can intro-
duce elements into the story that are true.
The Guide: You block the blade, but are now
stuck in a rapid sword fight as you both each
skillfully exchange blows.
The Guide removes the War-Weary is attacked
conflict and adds, “Locked in Combat”
The Untested: I’ll try to pivot the attack and
knock the samurai off the tree.
The Guide: Why this tactic instead of stab-
bing him, or stopping his attack?
The Untested: I want to use his power against
him.
The Guide: This is integrity, because the tac-
tic is saying he is not honorable. Roll against
“Untested is Attacked.”
The Untested rolls a 3 plus integrity results
in 4.
46
Playing the Game
If a Rōnin Player rolls a 6 or less, the conflict esca-

lates and the situation gets worse. While rōnin can
be harmed narratively, they can never be removed
from the story or incapacitated. Failure to resolve
the conflict, simply means the conflict gets worse and
the situation gets more complicated.
The Guide adds “Hanging” to the “Untested
is Attacked” card.
The Guide: You pivot to divert the attack-
er’s energy, but pivot too hard and spin off
the tree where you are now hanging 20 feet
above the ground. The samurai stands over
you on the branch.
The Guide then adds a card that says “Cheap
Shot.”
The Guide: As that happens, The Blade sees
another samurai jump down to ambush The
War-Weary from behind while he is engaged.
The Blade: I’m going to stab him in the back!
The War-Weary: No! You can’t stop a dis-
honorable action with another dishonorable
action. I want to stop The Blade from doing
that, even though I’m still fighting this other
guy.
The Guide drops a card that says, “Two
Wrongs Make a Wrong.”
The Guide: Okay, you are rolling integrity
against this conflict with The Blade.
47
The War-Weary rolls a 10 plus integrity, 11.

The Guide: Okay tell us how you try and stop
The Blade without controlling them and also
without controlling any of the other conflicts.
The War-Weary: I give them a look. A very
strong, very clear look. I’ve given them this
look before and it means, “Dont.”
If your conflict is with another rōnin, which will
most certainly come up, the rōnin initiating the con-
flict rolls the appropriate stat. If they succeed the op-
posing rōnin can “concede,” or in other words allow
the outcome that the other player wanted. If they do
so, then distrust is lowered for the winning rōnin.
The Guide removes “Two Wrongs Make a
Right.”
The Guide: Everyone lowers their distrust for
the War-Weary by one. Also, Blade. If you
stop what you’re doing the War-Weary will
lower their distrust for you by one as well. If
you don’t, the War-Weary will add a distrust.
The Blade: No, I don’t think I will, I attack
the one backstabbing him.
The Guide: Why?
The Blade: Because ambushing the War-Wea-
ry was below the belt since he’s obviously en-
gaged and that makes me angry.
The Guide: Okay, that’s integrity against the
conflict “Cheap Shot.”
48
Playing the Game
The Blade rolls a 2, with integrity results in 1.

The Blade: You know what… I’m going to
use my virtue, humor.
Rōnin Players can bypass rolling altogether and sim-
ply use their virtue to automatically resolve a con-
flict. Ths only works on conflicts that do not end a
trial (those conflicts require that you roll and suc-
ceed with a particular stat).
To do this, simply narrate how your value allows
you to resolve the conflict in the story. You have
complete narrative control over this, except for oth-
er conflicts in play or other rōnin.
After you are done narrating you succeed as if it
were a 10+, and therefore all other rōnin lower their
distrust with you by one.
You can only do this once per game.
The Blade: So as he’s about to stab the
War-Weary I’m going to press my blade
against his neck and say, “Not sure, but I
think you’re facing the wrong way.”
The Guide: Awesome, that means “cheap
shot” is resolved, and everyone clears their
distrust with you. Tell me what happens.
The Blade: The samurai sees he’s caught and
so then attacks angrily, but I quickly and eas-
ily defeat him, just one parry and then I drive
my sword through his gut. He looks up, sur-
prised, and then dies on my blade.
49
The Guide: So, Untested, you are still hanging

there and the samurai is about to stomp on
your fingers.
The Untested: What’s with these guys? Why
are they fighting dirty?
The Blade: I’ll take him down with my cross-
bow.
The Untested: No! He’s mine. Let me swing
back up!
The Blade: Too late.
The Guide: Why do you want to shoot at this
enemy when the Untested wants to fight him.
The Blade: I think the Untested will lose and I
have a clear shot.
The Guide: Okay so you are rolling against
“hanging” using mercy, since you are trying
to protect the Untested.
The Blade rolls 3, plus mercy makes it -1.
However if the rōnin who rolled fails, they add dis-
trust with the rolling rōnin if they don’t concede, or
lower it if they do.
Ultimately it is up to that player.You can never force
another player to do something with their character.
The Untested: I’ll let the Blade shoot the at-
tacker, even though my character will com-
plain about it.
50
Playing the Game
The Guide: “Hanging” is resolved, you are

able to safely jump down after the Blade’s
bolt strikes the samurai. Now two more sa-
murai drop down they charge you.
The Guide adds a conflict “More Attack.”
The War-Weary: I’m going to try and finish
off this one I’m in combat with.
The Guide: Why?
The War-Weary: I need to go and fight these
others.
The Guide: So roll duty against “Locked in
Combat.”
The War-Weary rolls 2, plus duty makes 4.
The War-Weary: I’m going to use my dishon-
or to reroll, because I’m exhausted. I think
I’m just going to sort of lose patience with
form and lash out with a headbutt just to get
this attack off me. Really dirty hit and not at
all honorable. And crass.
You can use your dishonor to reroll dice once per
trial. Simply narrate how your dishonor played into
the conflict and then reroll.
You must use your dishonor in a visible way so that
the other rōnin can see it. You also must accept
whatever roll you get on the reroll.
Whenever you use your dishonor, all other rōnin
mark a distrust against you.
51
The Guide: Okay, everyone add a distrust

with the War-Weary. And go ahead and re-
roll.
The Wear-Weary gets an 8 this time.
The Guide: So you headbut him and knock
him out, but everyone sees it and you are ex-
posed as being not as “polished.”
As a final note: a rōnin can never physically attack
or intentionally harm another rōnin unless they have
three distrust with that rōnin and can therefore be-
tray them.
Distrust
We’ve discussed distrust in several capacities thus
far and it is an extremely integral part of the game.
Every Rōnin Player has a Distrust Track with every
other rōnin.
At the start of the game, everyone’s track is 0. How-
ever, it will fluctuate based on what happens in the
game.
Earning Your Trust
• Clear all distrust for a rōnin when they use
their Virtue.
• Clear one distrust for a rōnin If you successfully
roll against them with a 7-9 and they concede
to what you want.
• Clear one distrust for any rōnin that succeeds
confronting a conflict with a 10+
52
Playing the Game
• Clear one distrust for any rōnin who rolls a 6

or less when confronting a conflict with you
and allows concedes the result to you.
Causing Distrust in Others
• Increase distrust with a rōnin whenever they
use Dishonor.
• Increase distrust with a rōnin if you successful-
ly roll against them with a 7-9, but they do not
concede to what you want.
• Increase a distrust with a rōnin who rolls 6 or
less when confronting a conflict.
• Increase an additional distrust with a rōnin
who rolls 6 or less when confronting a conflict
with you and goes against what you want.
Betraying a Rōnin
When you’ve reached three distrust with any rōnin,
you may choose to betray them.
Confront Them
Create a conflict over the source of the distrust and
attempt to resolve it with one of your stats. For ex-
ample, if you marked distrust because they failed to
fight a threat, you could create the conflict “The Un-
known is a coward” and then confront it like you
would any other conflict.
If you are unable to lower distrust, you can’t betray
them again until the next trial.
53
Duel
You challenge the rōnin to a duel. Instead of con-
fronting a conflict, each rōnin chooses the stat they
are using for the duel and describe why that stat is
relevant (remember the stat will represent the reason
the rōnin is dueling). Whomever rolls highest nar-
rates the outcome according to the stat they used.
In the event of a tie, each player narrates how they
were unable to defeat each other and they can no
longer gain or lose trust with each other. No matter
the outcome, they cannot kill each other until the
final trial.
If it appears that will happen, the Mountain Witch
will appear as a spirit and stop the killing blow, be-
fore whispering away like a gentle breeze of snow
and ice.
• Wisdom: Disarms or otherwise renders attacks
impotent, you may choose to clear distrust with
them.
• Courage: Snatches victory just as it appeared
they were going to be defeated. They may
choose to clear distrust with you.
• Mercy: Defeats, but does not harm. Both may
choose to clear trust with each other.
• Integrity: Chooses to resolve the dispute with-
out weapons. Both may choose to clear trust
with each other.
• Duty: Defeats the opponent with skill and pre-
cision. Both may reduce distrust by one.
54
Playing the Game
Distrust Them
Do nothing about the betrayal status until the Fi-
nal Trial, but you can no longer gain or lose distrust
with this rōnin.
The Final Trial
When the rōnin reach the final trial, they arrive at
the summit of the mountain to confront the witch.
To confront the witch, the rōnin must pass through a
threshold, but they can only do so if they complete-
ly trust one another. In other words, the only rōnin
who will survive the game must have a clear distrust
track.
• If a Rōnin Player has a rōnin in “betrayed” sta-
tus, they must have a final duel.
• If a Rōnin Player has any distrust for another
rōnin, but are not betrayed, they must have a
final confrontation.
This is done until all that remain have clear distrust
tracks, then they can confront the witch—the final
narration of the story provided by the Guide.
Final Duels
Duels are handled first. Every Rōnin Player that has
a rōnin in betrayed status creates a conflict with
them by writing both rōnin names on an index card.
There will be conflicting duels and it can be assumed
that all of the rōnin take action all at once.
55
Each player should declare their intent (it may even

be, “wait and see”) and then the Guide will tell ev-
eryone what stats to roll. Dishonor and Virtues can
be used if they haven’t been yet.
The Guide and/or the Rōnin Players all describe
their outcomes according to the die rolls as normal,
but with one caveat. Those that roll six or less lose
the duel and are killed. The Rōnin Player that loses
narrates their rōnin’s death.
Final Confrontations
Of the rōnin that remain, if they have clear distrust
tracks they may proceed to the final scene. If not,
they must confront each other. Each Rōnin Player
with distrust must create a conflict that explains why
they distrust the other rōnin.
There will be a lot of crossover, so each rōnin that
created a conflict state their intentions and then roll
as normal.
If distrust remains following the final confrontation,
they immediately go into betrayal status and must do
a final duel.
All that remains will have clear distrust tracks and
can proceed.
Final Encounter with the Witch of the Mountain
The final scene is narrated by the Guide. Afterwards,
each Rōnin Player can do a montage and epilogue
about their rōnin. At that point the game ends. The
details of this are elaborated for the Guide in the
next section.
56
What is this Game?
57
IV
FACILITATING THE GAME

THE GUIDE
The game experience is facilitated and shepherded
by The Guide, a player whose role is to guide the
story’s narrative as well as to arbitrate the rules and
determine when dice need to be rolled.
The Guide is in charge of the story, though Rōnin
Players can contribute. Their purpose is to describe
the setting, present conflicts, adjudicate outcomes,
and guide the others through the game’s structure.
Agenda
As the game’s Guide, your purpose is to foster, fuel,
and facilitate.
The Guide should keep the rōnin on track, and keep
the journey in focus. While the Guide adjudicates the
rules, they are less a judge and more of an advisor.
They present options to the Rōnin Players, provide
possibilities, and keep the story on track.
Foster an Experience
Create an environment where moments feel epic,
cinematic, and memorable.
Fuel Suspense
Draw out character emotions by feeding distrust,
and seeding mystery and danger.
Facilitate the Story
Apply structure to the story so the journey will lead
to the narrative climax.
60
Facilitating the Game
Principles
Principles are the Guide’s tools for making the ses-
sion feel like Return of the Mountain Witch. Review
your principles whenever you sense that the story
has stalled, the Rōnin Players don’t know what to
do next, or that content has repeated itself.
Compel Change
Rōnin must be dynamic and should never be com-
fortable. Look for ways to disrupt their comfort, cre-
ate conflicts that will create fear and distrust, or offer
avenues that will change their situation.
Create Suspicion
Conflicts drive the journey forward by creating ob-
stacles rōnin must overcome, but the conflicts should
be around trust and suspicion. Use conflicts to breed
uncertainty among the group, to question their mo-
tives, or their true intentions.
Ask What the Rōnin Wants
Find out why the rōnin is doing what they are do-
ing—it’s not enough to want to strike a monster be-
cause it is attacking them. It’s the why. Everything
must be tied to their stats.
Steer Toward the Next Trial
It is the Guide’s job to make sure the Rōnin Play-
ers experience the entire Journey. It is easy to get
wrapped up in a single scene and not progress.
61
At each path’s start, declare the trial’s purpose.

During the trial, ask questions that guide rōnin to-
ward confronting fears that will move the journey
along.
Move the Spotlight
Every rōnin is a critical contributor to the journey.
Give every rōnin the spotlight time they deserve. The
Guide needs to be conscious of how long a story has
rested with a single character, or a group, and how
many still need to show their story.
Make Conflicts Scary
Conflicts should feed off the individual fears and
suspicions of the rōnin, their memory and dishonor.
They should not only threaten their livelihood with
violence, but also threaten their sense of self, their
very notions of the world they live in. They should
challenge the rōnin’s entire being.
The threats in the trials feed on fear, not on flesh.
They want the rōnin to fall into self-doubt, despair,
and suspicion. They want the rōnin’s sense of self to
dismantle and to fall into oblivion.
Explore the Details
This is not a fast-paced Blockbuster film—your jour-
ney is one of heart, human decisions, fear, and uncer-
tainty. Slow down and explore the details of what is
happening right now, who is there, what they look
like. Express what people want through behavior.
Explain their tone and tenor.
62
The Trials
The yuki-onna is not the evil menace she is charac-
terized to be, nor is she a witch. She is a divine entity
of sorts who’s entire motive is to find worthy pro-
tectors of the realm. When she came to the realm in
another time, she cast an endless winter until heroes
would rise up and present themselves. When worthy
heroes ascended the mountain she named them as
protectors, ended the winter, and ascended.
Those heroes are long gone, so now she must find
the new protectors of the realm. The journey that
the rōnin make up the mountain is really a series of
trials to prove their worth. The yuki-onna must find
warriors true to their code that completely trust one
another. If they pass the trials, she will name them
protectors and leave the realm, taking the winter
with her.
As a Guide it is important that you understand her
motivation and the purpose of the trials. The rōnin
must demonstrate all of the qualities of a samurai,
even though they are rōnin. They must come togeth-
er in trust, or purge those of their ranks that cannot.
Those that remain will be the legends of tomorrow.
So the trials they confront have little to do with
whether or not they fight well, or can withstand
what happens. It has everything to do with their mo-
tivations behind what they do. That is why the dice
are rolled on a rōnin’s intent not their action. Strik-
ing a foe with a sword can be done with integrity,
duty, wisdom—any of the stats. The game must re-
veal why they are doing things to determine the rolls.
63
This makes navigating the game as a guide very dif-

ferent from what you may be used to. Your purpose
is to uncover, usually by asking leading questions of
the player, why the rōnin is doing something in re-
sponse to a conflict and then telling them what stat
that represents.
This is especially important during moments of ac-
tion, where players are used to rolling to see whether
or not they hit or harm a foe. The conflict is not
about that, it is about what is going on in the rōnin’s
mind to propel the action.
Take for example, a warrior leaping from the forest
to attack the rōnin. You write the conflict “warrior
attacks” on an index card and place it on the table.
You say something to the effect of “The red leaves
above jostle as a figure suddenly leaps down from
a branch, sword in hand, trying to bring the blade
down through your body. What do you do?”
The player may respond instinctively with something
like,”I try to block the blow.”
Blocking the blow will not resolve the conflict, the
player has defaulted to normal action-based game-
play. So your job at this point is to get out of them
why they are doing what they are doing.
So in this case you may say, “What do you want
to happen? Are you trying to stop this attack from
hurting you, are you trying to disarm them? Are you
trying to protect the others? Are you showing off
your fighting skills?”
64
The player might respond, “I’m trying to protect us

from the attack.”
Now you’re getting somewhere, next you’d ask,
“Why?”
The player may now respond with, “I don’t want
them to get hurt.”
So that means they are rolling Mercy and the out-
come has a different meaning and context then if it
were something else.
It means something different in the narrative and
demonstrates what the rōnin is thinking and why
they are doing what they are doing.
The stats are ambiguous and that is by design. It may
take a few rounds of questions to get to the core of
the stat they are using. That conversation is the en-
tire purpose of the game.
These questions and how they are answered is how
we work through understanding the characters in
the context of the story.
This game works to understand what is going on in
the character’s head. So take your time with these
discussions—they represent the meat of game play.
Introducing Conflicts
Each of the trials will outline the conflicts that ap-
pear in that scene. They are meant to be revealed
as you see fit when the story unfolds. The conflicts
should ultimately guide the rōnin to using the right
stat, but not at first.
65
Conflicts at the beginning of the trial should put the

rōnin on the defensive so that they need to make
quick and brash decisions. As the trial unfolds how-
ever they will need to be more thoughtful and delib-
erate about making decisions in the story.
To move into the next trial a rōnin must resolve a
conflict using the trial’s stat. You don’t necessarily
want this to happen right away, so choose conflicts
or describe them in the narrative in a way that would
compel them to use other stats. This is all subjective
of course. Simply use your best judgment and ask
lots of questions to pull the story of the rōnin’s intent
out of the players. Remember, this is a conversation.
You are working together to weave a story.
If a conflict is resolved, remove it from the table and
introduce another one--or two--or whatever is ap-
propriate for the situation. If the roll is 6 or less, then
escalate the conflict in the way the trial describes.
Conflicts are the primary way you communicate
with the players about what you think is important
to the story. Don’t be afraid to go off script from the
trial, introduce things not listed, or escalate based on
what is happening. This is your chance to navigate
the story in the best way you see fit.
Facilitating Memories
If a Rōnin Player has a memory for a particular trial,
then it is time for their Memory scene. After describ-
ing the setting of the trial, ask them their memory
prompt.
66
The Rōnin Player sets the scene based on their

prompt. While they have narrative control on setting
the memory up, you can help them by asking leading
questions. “Who all is there? What are they doing?
Where are you and the other rōnin?”
The player may not be certain about how to do this.
So directed questions help them to create the setting
without taking away their agency. The more ques-
tions you ask about the set-up, the easier it will be to
facilitate the situation.
The idea is that the memory is manifested as real in
this location and the rōnin must now deal with it in
the real world. So the rōnin will see the events of the
memory as if they were happening in the setting of
the mountain.
Ask for the Rōnin Player to write the memory’s con-
flict on a card and now you’ll take over the narra-
tion. Once the conflict is on the table, ask the players
what they do and then handle it like you would any
other conflict. If it is resolved, the card leaves the ta-
ble. If it is not resolved (6 or less), the memory stays
with the Rōnin Player and must add distrust for all
the other Rōnin Players.
After the confrontation, the memory fades and the
rōnin see only the mountain setting.
Yuki-onna
You need not wait until the end to reveal the Moun-
tain Witch. Yuki-onna is extremely interested in these
rōnin and is hoping that they are worthy enough to
be the realm’s protectors. She would be watching ev-
67
ery step of the way, sizing them up, and making sure
the trials are all laid out correctly.
Her true form would likely still remain on the sum-
mit past the threshold, but she would bring her spirit
or essence down to the trials to observe.
Yuki-onna appears as a tall and beautiful young
woman with long black hair, blue-white skin, and
blue lips and dressed in a white kimono. She is so
pale she may appear white as the snow around her.
She glides across the landscape, leaving no footprints
in the snow.
When observing, she may be quite visible to the
rōnin, but someway inaccessible. Perhaps she is
perched high on a tree top, or staring down from
above the landscape on a large pillar of stone. She
looks ghostly, inhuman, and unreal, positioning her-
self in places no person could possibly reach.
She will also not interact with the rōnin. She is ob-
serving and that is all. If the rōnin do make it to her,
or try to engage with her in some way, she will leave
the trial in a frosty mist without saying a word.
Before Dawn
The first scene introduces us to all the rōnin. There
are no conflicts in this scene and the Rōnin Players
have narrative control. Before Dawn should be an
establishing scene where each player gets to describe
their characters so that we all have a mental picture
of who they are.
68
Begin the scene by describing the setting. The rōnin

are standing at the foot of the mountain just as dawn
is breaking behind them. Snow is falling. The moun-
tain’s foothills are covered with a red-leafed birch
forest, then the mountain rises into a steep incline
and rocky cliffs before disappearing into a blizzard
resting on the summit.
All of the rōnin are standing at the foot of the moun-
tain. Turn narration over to the players who intro-
duce their rōnin and add any additional story or set-
ting information as long as it does not define another
rōnin or the witch.
Players can and should use narrative control to es-
tablish all that they want about their rōnin. Since the
game is not interested in hit/miss kinds of mechanics,
they can have with them whatever gear they think
is appropriate, relevant clothing, or even a retinue
of people or servants they can command and have
narrative control over.
Anything they add can and will contribute to the
overall story without risking the game mechanics.
Once the players are done, move onto the next trial.
The First Trial: Their Judgment
The first trial takes place in the foothills of the moun-
tain. The terrain is rocky with steep hills and val-
leys and is completely covered by a birch forest. The
white-barked trees are dying from the winter and all
of their leaves have turned blood red. Many leaves
have fallen to the snow-covered ground.
69
There was once a village in these foothills. Even now

there are ruined structures scattered throughout,
made from birchwood in various states of rot and
disarray.
The air is cold, but there is no wind. Flurries of snow
fall down from the blizzard on the mountain.
Memory of the War-Weary
If a Rōnin Player is playing The War-Weary, then
they have their Memory scene. Whenever possible
steer the memory or your questions to be about is-
sues of moral judgment or ethics.
Yuki-onna’s Motive
The Mountain Witch built this trial around having
good judgment—about making swift and sound eth-
ical decisions. Yuki-onna chose rōnin because the
realm assumes protectors must be samurai in service
of a daimyō. This trial is meant to demonstrate that
the honor of the samurai is within the warrior not
the daimyō.
First Trial Conflicts
The conflicts for the first trial surround a situation
where a daimyō in service to the Mountain Witch is
commanding their samurai to defeat the rōnin. It will
naturally feed into a response where the rōnin will
fight to protect themselves. But once they realize that
the rōnin are the honorable ones in this situation,
even though the samurai are following the daimyō’s
orders, then Wisdom becomes the appropriate stat.
70
The Mountain Witch’s Samurai

• Motivation: Follow the word of their daimyō,
even if it is unethical or wrong.
• Starting Moves: formation, solidarity as they
advance, coordinated and skilled attacks.
• Escalated Moves: Unfair fighting, trickery in
combat, sucker-punches, ambushes, traps.
The Mountain Witch’s Daimyō
• Motivation: Survive at any cost.
• Starting Moves: Bravado, morale speeches, at-
tack commands.
• Escalated Moves: Commands to do unfair/dis-
honorable tactics, signs of cowardice, hiding/
running.
Additional Potential Conflicts
• The snow
• Yuki-onna observes from afar
• Innocent villagers caught in the fray
Resolve the First Trial
To pass this trial, a rōnin must resolve a conflict us-
ing the wisdom stat. Given the themes of the first
trial, this will most commonly mean getting the sa-
murai to see the folly of their ways. That they are not
being honorable by blindly taking commands from a
coward and corrupted daimyō in service of a witch.
71
However, the judgment can happen any number

of ways, including helping the daimyō to see their
wrong, demonstrating true heroism, etc.
When working toward resolution, guide the players
by continuing to escalate the atrocities of these sup-
posed honor-bound samurai. Their actions can be as
simple as having a samurai hide behind a tree and
trip a rōnin going past, or as elaborate as killing an
innocent to force the rōnin into surrender. It can also
be actions of cowardice, trickery, or any method that
would not be considered a fair fight (going for ankles
or knees, sucker punches, etc.)
As these happen, ask leading questions of the players
about how their rōnin feels about the samurai and
how they are fighting, or about their leader and how
they are commanding.
Once one of the rōnin resolves a conflict with wis-
dom, the samurai and daimyō immediately stop their
actions and do a formal synchronized bow of respect
to the rōnin. They are then allowed to proceed up
the mountain and will not continue to fight.
The Second Trial: Their Fear
The second trial takes place under the thick canopy
of the mountain forest that consume the slopes. The
forest consists of a mix of deciduous and evergreen
trees, but the growth is old, towering, and all-en-
compassing. The branches interweave high above
the forest floor, forming a tight canopy that keeps
the snow out. It is cold, but the snow can’t collect on
the dark leaf-matted frozen ground.
72
There is an old road that was once made of stone but

has fallen to ferns and undergrowth over the ages.
At the end of the road rests the ruins of a temple
almost entirely consumed by the forest. The growth
is so thick that there is nowhere to go but inside the
darkness of the ruins.
Memory of the Untested
If a Rōnin Player is playing The Untested, then they
have their Memory scene. Whenever possible steer
the memory or your questions to be about issues of
fear and courage.
The Mountain Witch built this trial around courage.
While courage can certainly mean not being afraid
of one’s fate, the trial is more about persisting in
spite of being afraid. The rōnin will confront the un-
dead onryō, vengeful spirits who wreak their wrath
by harming the living. This trial is to demonstrate
that fear alone is not dishonorable, but the path of
worthy is about moving forward even when afraid.
Second Trial Conflicts
The conflicts for the second trial surround the spir-
its of innocent villagers who were murdered by sa-
murai in another time. Their bodies were left in this
temple and they seek revenge on all warriors, both
rōnin and samurai. They appear in the dark ruins of
the temple, a place beneath the earth and with no
light. Their ghostly vestiges are invisible unless they
choose to be seen. When they do, they are dimly lit
with pale skin, white kimonos, and long black hair.
73
They draw out personal fears and manifest them,

make the living run and harm themselves in their
recklessness, or cause strong foreboding, removing
the will of warriors to continue.
The Onryō
• Motivation: Revenge for what was done to
them by warriors when living.
• Starting Moves: tricks of light and sound, sense
of foreboding, shadows and movement.
• Escalated Moves: terrifying forms, drawing out
life force, mutilating and causing harm.
• The darkness of the temple
• Labyrinth with traps and obstacles
Resolve the Second Trial
ing the courage stat.
Given the themes of the second trial, this will most
commonly mean that the rōnin must move past their
fear and make it through the labyrinth of the temple.
Courage can happen any number of ways, but ulti-
mately will mean that they are able to confront the
vengeful spirits with the intent of not falling prey to
their terror.
74

by continuing to escalate the suspense and horror
of the vengeful spirits, starting small and then esca-
lating their presence the farther they go. Whatever
clues you have received from the rōnin can be used
against them (such as prior memories or anecdotes
about what the characters fear). The onryō will do
all that they can to harm and stop the rōnin from
moving forward.
With this in mind, it is best to present them as a se-
ries of conflicts, rather than just a single onryō con-
flict. Focus perhaps on the individual fears they are
preying on, or on individual onryō who are present-
ing particular methods of vengeance.
As they persist and conflicts escalate, question the
players about what their rōnin is afraid of and how
they are getting past those fears. Once one of the
rōnin resolves a conflict with courage, the way out of
the temple is revealed and they can move on.
The Third Trial: Their Hate
The third trial takes place in a corpse-ridden, blood-
drenched meadow, a killing field outside the walls
and parapets protecting the upper reaches of the
mountain. No longer under the shelter of a forest,
the snow is piled high here and stronger winds are
coming from the storm on the summit. Countless
warriors lie dead throughout the killing field, and
throughout are blood-red leafless trees, the jubokko
trees, which feed on the blood of the slain.
75
The defensive wall is across the killing field and holds

an enormous gate that blocks the way to the rest of
the mountain. A large group of armed samurai are
on the parapets watching the fields from above.
Memory of The Friend
If a Rōnin Player is playing The Friend, then they
the memory or your questions to be about hating
enemies and foes.
The Mountain Witch built this trial around mercy.
While it is well enough to be friendly to your war-
riors in arms or family, the trial is about showing
mercy and empathy for your foes.
The rōnin will confront the vampire jubokko trees
who will feast on the blood of the slain and thirst for
the blood of the living. The trial is about finding oth-
er ways to nourish the tree than through the blood
of enemies.
Third Trial Conflicts
The conflicts for the third trial surround the samurai
attacking in the killing field and the vampire trees
feasting on all that go near them. As the rōnin ap-
proach, the samurai will attack and eventually flood
into the killing fields.
The challenge here is that while the jubokko trees
will devour the enemies as they pass (and certainly
attack the rōnin as well), the trial is about sparing
them the agony of that fate.
76
The Samurai
• Motivation: Defend the gate from the rōnin.
• Starting Moves: attack from the wall, send
small groups from the gate to attack, lure rōnin
to the trees.
• Escalated Moves: full charge from the gate, de-
light when the trees feed, throw bodies at the
trees to make them ravenous.
The Jubokko
• Motivation: Feed on the blood of the slain and
find fresh blood.
• Starting Moves: draw blood from the slain in
streams through the snow, reach branches out
to grab passing people.
• Escalated Moves: uproot and drag through the
ground to reach prey, reach branches far to
catch prey.
• Bodies of the killing fields
• Snow on the ground
Resolve the Third Trial
ing the Mercy stat.
77
Given the themes of the third trial, this will most

commonly mean that the rōnin find ways to save the
attacking samurai from the vampire Jubokko trees.
This will likely not be apparent at first, but the more
violent and ravenous the trees become it should be-
come apparent they are the larger threat.
by continuing to escalate the danger of the trees. At
first they’ll be feeding on the recently dead, and the
rivers of blood can be seen flowing to them. Then
they’ll reach out as the rōnin try to pass. By the time
the battle erupts they will be in a shark-like frenzy
grabbing anyone they can.
To regulate the pace, the focus can be on the threat
of the samurai who will be guarding the gate. Over
time and through several interactions it can be made
clear what the trees are doing.
As the conflicts continue, work toward creating sym-
pathy for the samurai as they are horribly consumed
by the vampire trees. Once one of the rōnin resolves
a conflict with Mercy, the samurai show gratitude
and allow the rōnin to pass through the gates.
The Fourth Trial: Their Scorn
The fourth trial takes place in the stronghold of the
Daimyō of the Mountain. If the daimyō was defeat-
ed or in some way killed in the First Trial, then he
reappears here as if nothing happened. The strong-
hold is built into the mountain beyond the wall and
gates they just passed through. There are samurai
guarding the grounds, but they do not react.
78
The stronghold is an ornate structure made from

birch and stone, with snow-covered shingle roof-
tops, beautifully carved reliefs in the woodwork, and
a giant gate that opens up into the firewarm interior.
Inside, the daimyō sits before a huge table bearing a
bountiful feast.
Dozens of samurai are joyfully feasting with the
daimyō and they all greet the rōnin with praise and
adoration. They invite them to the feast to honestly
celebrate their progress.
There are dozens of green-skinned, child-like mon-
sters with clawed feet, broken, stained and pointy
teeth, and worrisome eyes.
They are ignored, even by the servants, and will lick
scraps and waste from the floor with rancid yellow
tongues, or will lick spilled soup from the samurai’s
clothing and boots.
Memory of the Unknown
If a Rōnin Player is playing The Unknown, then they
the memory or your questions to be about having
scorn for those beneath your station.
The Mountain Witch built this trial around integrity.
The rōnin will need to understand that all creatures
deserve respect, even those that have no worth in
the eyes of others, especially those that have lost the
way.
79
Fourth Trial Conflicts

The conflicts for the fourth trial surround the treat-
ment of the akaname, the filth-lickers that collect all
waste in the hall, including messes, or anything in
the kitchen or bath. If they are not ignored by the
daimyō and the samurai, they are abhorred.
The creatures are not conflicts themselves, but rather
how they are treated. They are so far beneath the
samurai they are on the same level of the filth they
consume. The daimiyō perpetuates this disrespect.
The Samurai
• Motivation: Celebrate the achievements of the
rōnin.
• Starting Moves: create messes, ignore the
akaname even when they are very obvious,
apologize for them.
• Escalated Moves: insult the akaname, beat
them, make horrifying purposeful messes.
• Daimyō encouraging the behavior
• Yuki-onna observes from a balcony
• Presence and consumption of disgusting filth
Resolve the Fourth Trial
ing the Integrity stat.
80
Given the themes of the fourth trial, this will most

commonly mean that the rōnin elevate the station of
the akaname in some way. Like the other trials, this
won’t be immediately apparent.
The rōnin will understandably believe that this is
some sort of trap and will likely try to defend them-
selves against the samurai as if they were a threat.
by showing the samurai and daimyō are truly and
authentically celebrating their achievements.
No rōnin in recent memory has made it to this stage
and before they continue up the mountain, the yu-
ki-onna wants them refreshed and satiated.
As the feast continues and the rōnin become more
trustful of the situation the true weight of what is
going on should become more apparent. The treat-
ment of the akaname cannot ultimately be ignored
and when they begin to address it, the conflicts will
begin to escalate.
Ultimately the rōnin will need to find a way to ele-
vate the akaname in the eyes of the samurai, perhaps
by offering them some of the food, or a place at the
table. Conceivably they could fight the samurai or
daimyō for their honor.
Once this is done, the akaname take their true forms,
beautiful angels in ornate and colorful kimonos, the
tennin, who chastise the daimyō, humiliate the sa-
murai and send the rōnin through.
81
82
The Fifth Trial: Their Duty

The fifth trial takes place on a large series of switch-
back stone steps that traverse the mountain up to the
summit. The blizzard is strong here and the mountain
is covered with snow and persistent wind. The stone
stairs rise several hundred feet over five switchbacks
before becoming a large staircase that leads straight
up to the summit. There are sparse evergreens and
large boulders throughout. The remains of ancient
buildings and pillars are strewn throughout as well.
Hiding among the boulders and trees is an oni, a
hulking, hideous, red ogre that is tasked with pro-
tecting the path from intruders.
The oni won’t immediately reveal itself, but will lurk
and leer until the time is right to attack.
Memory of the Blade
If a Rōnin Player is playing The Blade, then they
the memory or your questions to be about doing
one’s duty in the face of adversity.
The Mountain Witch built this trial around duty. It
is simply a test to see if the rōnin are capable enough
to do their duty. Confronting a menace like an oni
is a near-impossible task for ordinary people and so
the yuki-onna is testing them to see if they are capa-
ble of handling it.
83
Fifth Trial Conflicts

The conflicts for the fifth trial surround the attack
of a monstrous oni who will attempt to deter them,
crush them, and ultimately overpower them. The
oni’s goal is to get them off the mountain. While it is
not necessarily a creature of malice it has the com-
mand of the Mountain Witch and its own sense of
self-preservation. The oni is ruthless, relentless, and
when enraged, completely out of control.
The oni becomes more enraged the more the rōnin
persist and so will resort to cruelty as needed to deter
or defeat them. The conflicts will then change as the
oni moves from tactics of determent into tactics of
complete reckless destruction.
The Oni
• Motivation: Deter or crush any creature that
dares to climb the stairs.
• Starting Moves: bellow and intimidate, throw
boulders, cause an avalanche.
• Escalated Moves: charge them, beat them with
fists, body slam them.
• The blizzard
• Snow-packed stairs
84
Resolve the Fifth Trial

ing the duty stat.
Given the themes of the sixth trial, this will most
commonly mean that the rōnin must defeat the oni
to move on. This defeat can happen any number of
ways, but must use the duty stat. That means they
must defeat the oni fairly, according to all of the
stats. This can certainly mean by combat, but can
mean other methods as well.
Because a single roll could potentially defeat the oni,
it will be important to phase the creature’s attacks
and create other smaller conflicts they must get past
first, such as “the oni is throwing boulders” or “av-
alanche” or other similarly phrased conflicts. Once
they resolve the oni conflict, they can move past the
trial.
This is the last trial before the summit, so should re-
veal some of the more heroic, cinematic qualities of
the rōnin. Do your best to really highlight the amaz-
ing moments. Show how angry the oni becomes as it
is continuously thwarted and the rōnin continue to
make their way up.
The trial should feel like the rōnin accomplished
something major, especially after the prior trial,
which took away so much of their agency. Really
play up the exciting theatrics of the scene and the
setting to give the Rōnin Players a climatic moment
before the final trial.
85
The Final Trial: Their Fate

The final trial takes place on the snowy summit of
the mountain as a major blizzard obscures all they
can see, apart from a large torii, an ornate and deco-
ratively carved Japanese arch that towers high above
the summit.
The yuki-onna stands beneath the arch. She is clearly
the epicenter of the storm and this is the first time the
rōnin see her physical form. She appears to be made
of ice and wind and snow blow from her, kicking up
her kimono and cape in a steady ripple.
As the rōnin approach she says, “None shall pass
unless all are bound by pure trust.”
The Mountain Witch wants to now cull the group
down to only the trustworthy. The best way to do
this is to allow the rōnin to work out their own prob-
lems amongst themselves. All who remain will trust
one another to the end and so therefore, considering
they passed all the other trials, will be perfect as the
protectors of the realm.
Final Trial Conflicts
As laid out in The Final Trial section of the game
(pages 53-54), all of the conflicts will be between the
rōnin. The yuki-onna is untouchable, a pure, raw el-
emental form. She may converse with them, but will
not interfere with their trial and will not allow them
to pass under the torii (though they can go around it,
climb it, rest on top of it, etc.)
86
If none of the rōnin have distrust or betrayal, then

the trial is over. They can pass under the torii. Other-
wise, they must go through the steps outlined in The
Final Trial section.
When creating and resolving conflicts, do betrayal
duels first and then confrontations. Your role here
is largely around facilitating what happens and in
what order and ensuring everyone gets a satisfying
spotlight in the story.
This is the Rōnin Players’ final moment. They
should have lots of space to be cinematic, dramatic,
and amazing. Even their deaths should be spectac-
ular. Give as much narrative control as you can to
the players and allow them to play out their fate in
whatever way they think works best.
The Final Scene
After the conflicts are settled and those that remain
have clear distrust tracks, the yuki-onna will smile
and step aside, allowing them to cross through the
torii.
On the other side they will find a lush and green pas-
ture. The yuki-onna is in a human form, pleasant
and friendly.
She says, “You have proven yourselves to be worthy
and shall be known henceforth as the Protectors of
the Realm. I shall end this winter so that you may
return to your homes victorious and samurai of leg-
end.”
87
That should end the game, though you can answer

any questions they may have. If pursued, the yu-
ki-onna will say that the endless winter is created to
drive warriors to the summit so that she can anoint
new protectors in times of great need. They have re-
ceived the highest honor and are now samurai with
no earthly daimyō, in service to the realm itself, not
to a lord.
Epilogue
Each Rōnin Player will now get the opportunity to
provide a brief epilogue of their character with com-
plete narrative control. Whether they died on the
mountain or became a Protector of the Realm, they
can spend a few moments describing their characters
fate and close any loops that they want to complete
the story.
After everyone has a chance to do this, the game
ends.
Your Own Trials
The trials outlined in this book are really a starting
place. They are designed to give you a complete game
experience that you can run from start to finish and
also demonstrate how they should be structured.
However, as the Guide, you are not limited to these
scenarios. They are necessarily constrained and pre-
scriptive, so if you would like to alter them or create
your own trials, you are encouraged to do so. You
may want to do so in particular if you play or run
the game multiple times.
88
The key point of the trials is that they must tie to the
particular stats for the trial. Beyond that, the world
is your oyster. The trials should occur in dramatic
and cinematic locations, use conflicts that are diffi-
cult to get past and that relate to the relevant stats,
and also provide an opportunity to engage with the
conflict multiple times and in multiple ways.
The trials presented make liberal use of Japanese
mythology. That is nearly an endless pool to draw
from, with amazing legendary monsters and spirits.
However, the game need not only be limited to that
setting. It can be hacked and reskinned for any num-
ber of settings that tie into a particular code of honor
or way of life.
89
THE BLADE
Name: ____________Age ____ Pronouns _______
Mannerism: _______________________________
Appearance: _______________________________
Stats
Wisdom Courage Mercy Integrity Duty
+2 +1 -2 -1 +3
Distrust
The Friend c c c g _________________________________
The Unknown c c c g _________________________________
The Untested c c c g _________________________________
The War-Weary c c c g _________________________________
Virtue Dishonor
Choose one. Automatically Choose one. Reroll once per
succeed a conflict once per game. Trial.
F Compassion F Ruthlessness
F Sincerity F Cruelty
F Graciousness F Spitefulness
Memory
F Why did you murder your daimyō?
_______________________________________________________
F Why did you refuse to go into battle?
_______________________________________________________
F Why did you harm an innocent?
_______________________________________________________
THE FRIEND
Mannerism: _______________________________
Appearance: _______________________________
Stats
+2 -2 +3 -1 +1
Distrust
The Blade c c c g _________________________________
The Unknown c c c g _________________________________
Virtue Dishonor
F Selflessness F Cowardice
F Bravery F Selfishness
F Genius F Pettiness
Memory
F How did you humiliate your daimyō?
_______________________________________________________
F Why did you desert your post?
_______________________________________________________
F Why did you commit treason?
_______________________________________________________
THE UNKNOWN
Mannerism: _______________________________
Appearance: _______________________________
Stats
+2 -2 -1 +3 +1
Distrust
The Blade c c c g _________________________________
The Friend c c c g _________________________________
Virtue Dishonor
F Insightful F Untruthful
F Persuasive F Sabotaging
F Intelligent F Uncaring
Memory
F Why did you deceive your daimyō?
_______________________________________________________
F Why did the other warriors distrust you?
_______________________________________________________
F How did you lose your honor and get cast out?
_______________________________________________________
THE UNTESTED
Mannerism: _______________________________
Appearance: _______________________________
Stats
-2 +3 +2 +1 -1
Distrust
The Blade c c c g _________________________________
The Friend c c c g _________________________________
The Unknown c c c g _________________________________
Virtue Dishonor
F Adaptability F Cowardice
F Humor F Weakness
F Endurance F Foolhardiness
Memory
F Why did you flee from your daimyō?
_______________________________________________________
F How did you escape an important battle?
_______________________________________________________
F What did you fail to do that led to getting cast out?
_______________________________________________________
THE WAR-WEARY
Mannerism: _______________________________
Appearance: _______________________________
Stats
+3 -1 -2 +1 +2
Distrust
The Blade c c c g _________________________________
The Friend c c c g _________________________________
The Unknown c c c g _________________________________
Virtue Dishonor
F Brilliance F Hurtful
F Inspiration F Myopic
F Respect F Exhausted
Memory
F Why did you form a mutiny against your daimyō?
_______________________________________________________
F How did you lose an important battle?
_______________________________________________________
F What did you try to hide?
_______________________________________________________
REFERENCE
Result of 7-9
• The conflict is resolved and it is removed from the table.
• The Guide narrates the outcome and has full Narrative Control
• When against another rōnin, lower distrust for them if they concede to what you
want in the fiction, if they refuse to concede, add a distrust.
Result of 10+
• Apply the 7-9 result outcomes
• All of the other rōnin remove a distrust for the rōnin who succeeded.
• The Rōnin Player narrates the outcome and has full Narrative Control, with the
ability to control the setting or Setting Characters.
Result of 6 or Less
• All of the other rōnin mark a distrust for the rōnin who failed.
• If rolling against another rōnin they will mark an additional distrust if they choose to
go against what they wanted, or clear one trust if they choose to allow it.
• If a memory, the conflict is removed even though it wasn’t resolved.

Betraying a Rōnin (When you reach three Distrust)
Confront Them
Create a conflict over the source of the distrust and attempt to resolve it with one of your stats.
Duel
Each rōnin chooses the stat they are using for the duel and describe why that stat is relevant.
Whomever rolls highest narrates the outcome according to the stat they used.
• Wisdom: Disarms or otherwise renders attacks impotent, you may choose to clear
distrust with them.
• Courage: Snatches victory just as it appeared they were going to be defeated. They may
choose to clear distrust with you.
• Mercy: Defeats, but does not harm. Both may choose to clear trust with each other.
• Integrity: Chooses to resolve the dispute without weapons. Both may choose to clear
trust with each other.
• Duty: Defeats the opponent with skill and precision. Both may reduce distrust by one.
Distrust Them
Do nothing about the betrayal status until the Final Trial, but you can no longer gain or lose
distrust with this rōnin.

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RETURN OF THE

A Tabletop RPG About Betrayal And Redemption

About the Game 13

ABOUT THE GAME

WHAT IS THIS GAME?

You Will Need

CREATE YOUR RŌNIN

Choose Your Qualities

• I want them to believe I have changed.

PLAYING THE GAME

This is by design. The game is meant to be a one-shot

The First Trial: Their Judgment

Guide: You enter a snowy glade. The white

The Blade: I tell the daimyō that we shouldn’t

Trial Scenes and Conflicts

Narrating the Outcome

The Guide: Are you entering combat, or are

If a Rōnin Player rolls a 6 or less, the conflict esca-

The War-Weary rolls a 10 plus integrity, 11.

The Blade rolls a 2, with integrity results in 1.

The Guide: So, Untested, you are still hanging

The Guide: “Hanging” is resolved, you are

The Guide: Okay, everyone add a distrust

• Clear one distrust for any rōnin who rolls a 6

Each player should declare their intent (it may even

FACILITATING THE GAME

At each path’s start, declare the trial’s purpose.

This makes navigating the game as a guide very dif-

The player might respond, “I’m trying to protect us

Conflicts at the beginning of the trial should put the

The Rōnin Player sets the scene based on their

Begin the scene by describing the setting. The rōnin

There was once a village in these foothills. Even now

The Mountain Witch’s Samurai

However, the judgment can happen any number

There is an old road that was once made of stone but

They draw out personal fears and manifest them,

When working toward resolution, guide the players

The defensive wall is across the killing field and holds

Given the themes of the third trial, this will most

The stronghold is an ornate structure made from

Fourth Trial Conflicts

Given the themes of the fourth trial, this will most

The Fifth Trial: Their Duty

Fifth Trial Conflicts

Resolve the Fifth Trial

The Final Trial: Their Fate

If none of the rōnin have distrust or betrayal, then

That should end the game, though you can answer

• The conflict is resolved and it is removed from the table.

• Apply the 7-9 result outcomes

• If a memory, the conflict is removed even though it wasn’t resolved.

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