RULES 

CHARACTERS 
PLAY: P​ layers describe what their characters  ►​ ​Choose your character’s specialty. 
do. The GM advises when their action is 
ASSASSIN​: Skilled in C
​ limbing​ (d8), S
​ tealth 
impossible, requires extra steps, demands a 
cost, or presents a risk. Players only roll to  (d8). Take ​climbing gear. 
avoid risks.  BODYGUARD:​ Skilled in ​Intimidation​ (d8) and 
Protecting (​ d8). Take an ​special vest​ (can break 
ROLLING: ​Roll a d6 s​ kill die​—higher with a 
relevant skill, or d4 if h​ indered​ by injury or  twice before it needs repair). 
circumstances. If ​helped​ by circumstances, roll  COURTIER:​ Skilled in R ​ eading People​ (d8), 
an extra d6; if helped by an ally, they roll their  Deception​ (d8). Take a​ n extensive disguise 
skill die and share the risk. Take the highest die.  wardrobe​. 
1–2 Disaster.​ Suffer the full risk. GM   MONK:​ Skilled in ​Medicine​ (d8) and 
decides if you succeed at all. If risking   Hand-to-hand​ (d8). Take an a​ cupuncturist kit. 
death, you die. 
WARRIOR:​ Skilled in ​Melee Weapons​ (d8) and 
3–4 Setback.​ A lesser consequence or   Warfare​ (d8). Take an ​extra weapon. 
partial success. If risking death, you’re  
maimed.  ► Choose 2 different Rings Masteries (​ abilities or 
techniques you developed, as magical as you 
5+ Success.​ The higher the roll, the better.  want, restricted to that use)​. 
If success can’t get you what you want ​(you  AIR:​ Invent a trait related to speed and 
make the shot, but it’s bulletproof!)​, you’ll at  movement (can be broken to pass through 
least get useful info or set up an advantage.  enemies unharmed). ​Ex: kick air, dash 
LOAD:​ Carry as much as makes sense, but more  EARTH:​ Invent a defensive trait (can be ‘broken’ 
than one b​ ulky​ item may ​hinder​ you at times.  twice).​Ex: ki armor, stone skin 
ADVANCEMENT:​ After a job, increase a skill  FIRE:​ Invent an offensive trait (can be broken to 
(none​ ➤ ​d8 ➤
​ ​d10 ​➤ ​d12)​, gain d6 ​credits​ (₡).  increase a skill in an attack) ​Ex: fire fist, heated 
DEFENSE:​ Say how one of your items or traits  blade​. 
breaks​ to turn a hit into a brief h​ indrance​.  WATER:​ Invent a trait related to adaptation (can 
Broken​ gear is useless until repaired.  be broken to create short duration objects) 
Broken​ trait is erratic or useless until long rest.  Ex: flexible joints, , icy master key​,  
HARM: I​ f killed, make a new character to be  VOID:​ Invent a trait related to illusions (can be 
introduced ASAP. Favor inclusion over realism.  broken to mislead) E​ x: afte-images, hypnosis 
RUNNING THE GAME: L​ ead the group in setting  ► Choose Weapon (1 Bulky OR 2 Regular OR 3 
lines not to cross in play. Fast-forward, pause,  Small OR 1 Regular e 1 Small). These are 
or rewind/redo scenes for pacing and safety,  blessed and can harm spirits. Name your main 
and invite players to do likewise. Present  weapon (adjective+noun). 
dilemmas and problems you don’t know how to 
solve. Move the spotlight to give everyone time  Small ​(break 2 to negate a hit)​:​ shuriken, 
to shine. Offer rulings to cover gaps in rules;  needles, poison, concealed knives, caltrop, 
revise unsatisfying rulings as a group.  claws, garrote, smoke bomb. 

BAD LUCK​: Test periodically for bad luck (e.g.,  Regular:​ katana, wakizashi (“short katana”), 
run out of ammo, or into guards, next magic  chain-sickle, flail, pair of sai, nunchaku, tonfa, 
acts wildly) — roll d6 to check for (1–2) trouble  bow and arrows. 
now or (3–4) signs of trouble  Bulky:​ spear, glaive, staff, wooden warhammer, 
Names here are crude translation and simplification of the  war-oar, spiked club, odachi (“long katana”). 
japanese weapons. This was done with the sole purpose of   
speed up gameplay and not as disregard of the rich and   incredible japanese history and culture  
 EQUIPMENT  DETAILS 
► Take ₡2 (₡ is equivalent to a handful of Yens).  ►​ I​ nvent, pick or roll for personal details. 
Most items and upgrades cost ₡1 each. Ignore 
micro transactions like a knife or a meal.  FIRST NAME (​ 1-10 female, 11-20 male) 
1 Aiko   6 Keiko  11 Akemi  16 Ken 
ARMOR:​ ​Vest (torso,​break once for d​ efense​),  2 Chiharu  7​ ​Mayumi 12 Daisuke  17 Mamoru 
battle armor​ (₡2, torso, shoulder and thighs, 
3 Gin  8 Mei  13 Eiko  18 Takai 
bulky​, break up to 2×), f​ ull samurai armor (​ ₡3, 
bulky,​ break up to 3×).  4 Hideko  9 Tomiko 14 Fujita  19 Uta 
5 Inoue  10 Yuri  15 Jiro  20 Yukio 
TOOLS:​ ​Climbing gear, lantern (with oil and   
matches), loaded dice and marked cards, big  SURNAME 
canteen of sake, sling, buddhist amulet and  1 Abe  8 Matumoto  15 Suzuki 
praying bowl, ceremonial clothes, bandages and  2 Goto  9​ ​Saito  16 Takahasi 
medical herbs. 
3 Hayashi  10 Nakamura  17 Tanaka 
WEAPONS:​ 2 small​, 1 ​medium​ (2₡), 1​ bulky​ (3₡),  4 Ito  11 Saito  18 Watanabe 
pistol or rifle or bomb​ (4₡). Add 4₡ for a blessed  5 Kato  12 Sasaki  19 Yamada 
version of the weapon. A Priest can bless a 
6​ ​Kimura  13 Shiba  20 Yoshida 
weapon in a temple for a price or favor. 
7 Kobayashi  14 Shimizu 

MAGIC SEALS
 

  DEMEANOR 
1 Anxious  8 Curious  15 Innocent 
► Seals containing magic can be bought at  2 Appraising  9 Dramatic  16 Knowing 
temples or at black markets. One use only. Roll  3 Blunt  10 Dry  17 Pricky 
or pick one as a starter. GM: you can roll to see  4 Brooding  11 Dull  18 Reckless 
which are for sale. 
5 Calming  12 Dearnest  19 Terse 
All affect one target/small area for a short  6 Casual  13 Formal  20 Weary 
duration and are activated shortly after use.  7 Cold  14 Gentle 
Carrying many of those can be unstable.  
►Invent, pick or roll what have you lost to these 
1 Alarm  11 Good Luck  warring era by a cursed blade. 
2 Bad Luck  12 Heat  1 Best friend  11 Honor 
3 Barrier  13 Invisibility 
2 Boredom  12 Hope 
4 Binding  14 Key 
5 Bless  15 Memory  3 Brothers in Arms  13 Lands 
6 Clone  16 Mind  4 Brothers in Crime  14 Money 
7 Coil  17 Silence  5 Caution  15 Peace 
8 Darkness  18 Sleep  6 Childhood  16 Siblings 
9 Fear  19 Time  7 Children  17 Title 
10 Fog  20 Voice  8 Family  18 Village 
Upgrade: Add 2 ₡ for each improvement letter  9 Future  19 Wife/Husband 
you would like in a seal. The same can be  10 Glory  20 Will of living 
bought multiple times for increased benefit. 
❏ ​Mu​ ltiple targets ❏ ​Bi​ gger area  ►Roll on the cursed blade table and write down the 
names. ​If either matches the blade of the 
❏ ​Lo​ nger duration ❏ ​C​ommanded 
mission, at any time during that mission you 
activation 
can reveal it and say it’s the one who wounded 
EX: Invisibility ​L ​ has longer duration  you. Add an extra die against that blade until it’s 
broken. You broke it, scene out what you feel. 
 THE CURSED BLADES MUST BE COLLECTED:  You are a samurai who lost more than blood to a 
During a great warring period, bloodshed reigned.  cursed blade. Just few others know about a 
The shogun, wanting to bring close to an era,  secret reward for each ​MURAMASA r​ eturned 
publicly banned the M
​ URAMASA b​ lades, said to  broken. There are 20 left and you still haven't had 
be cursed. Many years later, strange rumors 
moved the current shogun to take precautions.   your vengeance. But beware, every blade has a 
Name and the one of a M ​ URAMASA ​will fight.  
►​ d​ 20 locations with a lead on a blade  ►​ d​ 20 secret twists 
1 Abandoned coal mine, said to be haunted  1 Another cursed blade involved 
2 Arsonists attacks at the slums of the city  2 Local lord want to accompany the party 
3 Buddhist temple, strange attacks overnight  3 Another party wants to use the blade 
4 Coast city, children found slayed at home  4 Spirits are angered by the blade 
5 European mansion, wealth sword collector  5 Problem is spreading fast, there's a time limit 
6 Feudal castle, anonym tip says the ruler has it  6 Another cursed blade is needed to break it 
7 Foreign army transporting secret cargo  7 Another team is investigating, they're terrible 
8 Forest, tribesmen attacking nearby villages  8 Someone is benefiting by the issue 
9 Geisha houses, women disappearing  9 There's an ambush waiting. Its a trap! 
10 Huge war site turned swamp, lots of bodies  10 Local ruler don't want the party involved 
11 Little town in the mountains, festival tonight  11 An allie is actually a villain 
12 Mountains, bandits sudden gathering  12 Someone presumed dead is in the opposition  
13 Peasant uprising organized by old ronin  13 The blade is not where it’s supposed to be 
14 Small island, avoided by fishermen  14 Make sure a noble family is unharmed 
15 Surrounding of lake, mass drowning  15 Assassins sent to silence the story 
16 Theatre, tour coincide with trail of bodies  16 Journey there is hard to say the least 
17 Urban outskirts, sudden gang dispute   17 A character past causes trouble 
18 Wandering ronin, fights with blade sheathed  18 It's actually all ghosts reliving their story. 
19 War cemetery, soldier buried with the sword  19 Illusions tries to deceive you it’s a false alarm 
20 Whole noble family disappeared  20 Curse is broken but not the blade (Keep it?) 
►​ d​ 20 Cursed Blades: [Type] 1d20, Name 2d20  ►​ d​ 20 Cursed Blade Avatars and/or Ability 
1 Pair of  1 Blinding  1 Abyss  1 1st Name part is the weapon, 2nd is the body 
daggers  2 Broken  2 Air  2 Animal spirit with blade at its core 
2 Chain sickle  3 Cold  3 Bird  3 Armored samurai wielding the blade 
3 Spear  4 Crimson  4 Bones  4 Army of small soldiers related to the name 
4 Glaive  5 Darkest  5 Dawn  5 Blade change its form to a magical one 
5 Short Katana  6 Evil  6 Devil  6 Blade levitates and acts on its own 
6 Short Katana  7 Hailing  7 Dragon  7 Blade's ability is highly abstract 
7 Long Katana  8 Thousand  8 Earth  8 Blades hides itself into a Name related place 
8 Long Katana  9 Pale  9 Fire  9 Demon offering very attracting deals 
9+ Katana  10 Piercing  10 Grass  10 Dominate every non-blessed weapon 
  11 Red  11 Hand  11 Each name part is a separate hostile spirit 
►Every time a  12 Screaming  12 Heaven  12 Ethereal location with problem to be solved 
cursed blade is  13 Seducing  13 Mirror  13 Ghosts of the blade's victims  
broken, cross  14 Severing  14 Moon  14 Important person of PC past is the wielder 
its name parts.  15 Silencing  15 Night  15 Master of the 5 Rings is the wielder 
If they are  16 Silver  16 Rain  16 Recreate great battle which the blade was in 
rolled again,  17 Slaying  17 Snake  17 Recreate moment that blade wounded PC life 
pick or roll  18 True  18 Tiger  18 Spirit possess closest NPC person to wield it 
again..  19 Twin  19 War  19 Spirit possess closest PC person to wield it 
20 Wretched  20 Water  20 Titanic embodiment of Name 
Version 1.0. By Diego Barreto (CC BY 4.0). Based on 24XX, by Jason Tocci.    Most Character names from Yokai Hunter Association by Punkpadour ​ (CC BY 4.0). 
​ EEPLE 
Art CC BY B