| Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four |
By The Hitokage Production Committee
I am far from home, far from the support of my people and it seems to me that these Gai-Jin know too much. There is too much knowledge hidden in their cold, calculating eyes, too much information that lurks behind their divergent exteriors. Deep down I know that this is not true, but there are times when I worry about the Western World, I worry if their so called Masquerade has not broken down completely.
Everywhere I turn there are casually concealed guns, weapons ready to taste blood again and again and again. Anger bubbles and boils like a witch's brew and the Ningenti-ki are looking for someone to blame for their miserable lives, a scapegoat to weigh down with their sins. And we Hitokage stand ready to accept all the iniquity and immorality that they can heap upon us. Because of the sins of our most distant ancestors we can never stand proud and deny anything that we are accused of.
Generations of Hitokage Samurai have defended these short lived Ningenti-ki, these Mortals from the Kagemusha, entire Generations have willingly given up their lives in this fight. And all we have in return are superstitious tales and fear. And yet we can never turn our back on the fight for that is not the way of the Samurai.
It is strange that even after all this time, I can still feel anger growing within me as I think of the Ningenti-ki and their hatred of anything that they do not understand. I know that we are better than they, that I am better than they are, but still I cannot crush the bitter resentment that dwells deep within me. I have never told anyone of this; I never shall and I shall never, never let it show. But it lives within me, lives and broods and grows. How easy it would be to strike out, to abandon the path that I follow. How easy it would be to take what I want, what I deserve and leave these Mortals to their own devices.
But we were warned of this. My Daimyo told me that I might fall victim to these thoughts. She said that every true Samurai was beset by doubts, but what made him stronger than those around him, what made him a true Warrior was his ability to rise above them.
She never said that it would be this difficult.
I have been in the city that they call Chicago for many months now and in all that time I have seen nothing more than vague hints of the one that I follow. But I know that she is here, I can feel her guidance of the Ningenti-ki, I can sense the way that she is dabbling in the affairs of the Kindred.
Through harsh necessity I have to hide myself from both Vampire and Mortal; I have to live my life in the Shadows. I stand back and watch the petty squabbling that goes on amongst the Clans of this City, I smile as I view the way that Kindred come and go, fighting their own dying mortality more than anything else. Why do they not see that it is their own inability to accept what they are that causes the monster within them to rise to the surface? If they could only look within, if they could channel and direct their savage lusts instead of trying to repress them.
But this will never happen. The Gai-Jin will never be able to master themselves while they follow the petty and pretty baubles that the commercial world can offer them. It is sad to see a Vampire, an immortal creature of true power lust after something as truly worthless as money.
I can hear a siren wailing from somewhere close by and somehow I know that my foe is to blame for this. I have hunted her through an eternity and I can sense when she is at work. I can almost hear her laughter drifting up to me through the thick, polluted air of this evil and soulless land. She knows that I follow her; she drops titbits to keep my interest. And yet she fears me! If she did not fear me she would come out and face me directly, blade to blade, Warrior to Warrior.
There have been attempts on my life, attempts without Honour. That, more than anything else she could do, proves to me that this Kagemusha has gone far beyond the point of redemption. I will follow her, I will find here and when I do, I will give her the chance to stand against me on the field of Honour.
And when she does, she will die.
But what becomes of me after this, what shall I do, where shall I go? Is it possible for me to return to my beloved home after all this time, or have I become tainted by the being that I hunt?
Am I still worthy of being called a SwordMaster, a Samurai? Or will I simply fade away, my life-work done? These thoughts that are not worthy of a Samurai. My foe, my beloved enemy has much to answer for.
This is the first version of the Hitokage bloodline; it may not be the last. This is being released on the net so other players can give us their opinions. If everything goes well, we plan to release other related books dealing with numerous other beings such as the Priestesses, Jugenti-ki, Mahou-tsukai. Plans are already on the drawing board for a new type of Hunter which, again, will use and expand the settings in this book.
Any ideas that you have concerning this or any other of the planned releases are welcomed. We have no idea whether anyone else will like these rules but they did fill a niche in the World of Darkness and, hell, I enjoyed writing them down anyway.
For the time being we can be found at the address below. Bye!
ENJOY : )
Hitokage Production Committee, 1996-97.
"Hitokage: A Japanese Bloodline" is copyright of Derek Taylor and Iain Noblett. You may download and print ONE copy of these rules for use in your own games only. You may not redistribute these rules without the express permission of its authors - this means that you may not make extra copies of these rules, whether as an electronic file, hard copy or any other format, to pass on to anyone else, without the permission of the authors. Doing so is a breach of copyright. If you do wish to repost these rules, create a mirror of this web site or utilise these rules in an online game (this includes, but is not restricted to MUSHes and MUDs) you must request permission of the authors.
To do otherwise is a breach of copyright and is against the law.
Any and all copies of these rules you do download, store, print out or repost, must remain in their original state, with this copyright declaration included.
The use of the quotes throughout the Chapters has been done without the knowledge of the persons involved. The use of Hank Driskill and John Gavigans rules for sword combat (exculding the attack methods) have been reproduced in this document with their kind permission, and copyright of these rules remains with Driskill and Gavigan.
The Storyteller and World of Darkness settings have been used without the knowledge of White Wolf Games, and are the copyright there of, as are the concepts, names and rules mentioned in the above (and related) publications. Vampire: The Masquerade and The Vampire Players Guide are the copyright of White Wolf Games.
Commercial redistribution and use of these rules, characters and system is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN without the express written permission of its authors.
The Hibakusha Clans
Shutendoji Vampire Clan
Japanese - English Dictionary
The Shadows were a terrible race of creatures that existed many thousands of years ago. They lived in the night and fed upon the life energies of the Ningenti-ki. For many years they were greatly feared by the mortals who worshipped with them with ceremonies and sacrifices, but they were never seen.
In truth, they had no name. The mortals referred to them in hushed whispers by many names. Some called them the Anei, while others used the term In'ei. The names that the mortals gave them always referred to their form; shadow, shading, gloom, shade, etc. The most any victim ever saw of these creatures was an out-of-place shadow, but none ever survived to talk of the experience.
Eventually, as with all things, the mortals forgot about the Shadows. The sacrifices were no longer left and the Shadows quickly slipped into legend, mere stories that parents would use to frighten unruly children. This angered the Shadows greatly, and their retribution was swift and terrible, but they kept their true identity from the mortals.
The true knowledge of these creatures remained with only a few mortals. Mortals who had pursued them through the ages, fought many battles with them but always lost. Finally these mortals thought that they had gained enough numbers to assault the fortress of the Shadows.
The battle that night was one of the greatest that old Japan had ever seen. Many souls fought and died, but the losses incurred on the side of the Shadows were, for once, greater.
The remaining Shadows took flight but were hunted down and slaughtered, all except the Kyuubutsu -- the oldest member of their clan. She was far too strong for the hunters to destroy, and quickly escaped leaving her kin to cover her flight.
Weak, and on the verge of Final Death, she came upon a small village and quickly worked her way through the local population, creating Shadows out of those who would serve and destroying those who would not.
Then they slept, the long sleep of the damned.
For over a thousand years nothing was heard from the Shadows. The Hunters thought that they had finally crushed them and the land was safe from their evil blight and they rejoiced.
They were wrong.
In the year 796 AD, they rose again. Those that had survived the slumber were the Kyuubutsu and the most powerful of her new order, and once again the Shadows reined terror on the towns and villages that surrounded their new home. Keeping their identity from those who could harm them, they became strong and mindful of the disrespect that the humans had paid them before their slumber, killed all who crossed their path.
One such unfortunate was a Hunter by the name of Noriyoshi Koeda. He had been instructed to investigate unexplained disappearances in the area. The Shadows had heard word of this, and the Kyuubutsu arranged to meet him on the promise of further information.
When Koeda met the Kyuubutsu her powers could no longer hide her true self from him. He fought bravely and with great honour but was not strong enough to defeat the Kyuubutsu and she quickly incapacitated him. She then took him back to her haven and initiated him, but he resisted. Enraged by this, the Kyuubutsu took him to the outskirts of the village and left him to die, but he did not.
Koeda's life force was strong and, although on the verge of death, resisted the hunger that burned within. When the sunlight came, he took shelter in a nearby cave. The following night he made his way back to his home.
At first Koeda's wife refused to believe that he had fallen prey to the Shadows. Her ancestors were among those who had supposedly destroyed them forever; how could they possibly have returned? By the end of the following night she had no such reservations. Koeda had now lapsed into a deep coma and she judged that he would die very soon. She knew that the only thing that would save her husband was blood. She could not allow her husband to die so she opened a vein into a bowl and fed him. She repeated this for three days, her husband growing stronger each time -- but she grew weaker. On the fourth day she collapsed from the loss of blood and never regained consciousness.
When Koeda awoke he found his wife lying dead beside him; he grieved greatly and vowed revenge on the new order of Shadows. Realising that he could not accomplish this greater task alone, he formed the Jin'ei. He trained mortals to become great warriors and welcomed all who volunteered, but always kept the secrecy the he felt was required. A number of the mortals within the Jin'ei had knowledge of what Koeda was and insisted that they could better serve in the battle that lay ahead if they were on an equal power with the Shadows.
Koeda had inherited much from his diabolic sire, all except the lust for killing -- the strength of his life energy had prevented that. Despite this, it was with great trepidation that he initiated the first Jin'ei. There were three of these initiates, two of which seemed to have a greater understanding of the life energy and so became the first Priestesses, the third was a skilled warrior and trained under Koeda. This new bloodline grew very slowly. Koeda ordered that only the Priestesses may perform the initiations and all who were to be initiated must undergo a period of training that would last ten years. These rules have never been broken, even unto this day.
The first of the great battles occurred 1143 AD. It was thought that they had gained sufficient strength by then to assault the powerbase of the Shadows. They were wrong and this mistake cost them dearly. Only two remained; Koeda and the female warrior whom he had trained. They had lost everything, even the element of secrecy from the Shadows. They pursued Koeda and the warrior, eventually driving them to ground in the outskirts of Edo. The battle was fierce but, knowing that the fight was lost, Koeda ordered the warrior to flee while he covered her retreat -- someone had to survive and he had a duty of vengeance against these Shadows. That night Koeda was destroyed, but he did not go easily or alone. The fight to destroy Koeda took long enough for the female warrior to escape to safety, but she was alone and hunted.
It was this warrior who founded the new order of Jin'ei. She moved cautiously and slowly, always remembering what her old master had taught her. The first of the new order were the Priestesses and these, in accordance with her old masters instructions, were responsible for the initiations that followed. When the core structure was complete, the Bushi were recruited and once this was accomplished, the great war began again.
In the Heian Period (around the 12th century AD), the word Samurai first entered the Japanese language. Although the term was used to describe the social elite of warriors, they were known for their sense of duty to their masters. Until this point in time, the Shadows within the Jin'ei had remained nameless -- refusing to carry the same name as the diabolical fiends they fought against.
The name Samurai was first used to describe the Bushi by the younger initiates, but before long it was being used by everyone in the ranks and the Bushi started referring to the female warrior leader as Shogun. The structure of the Jin'ei was fairly similar to that of the mortal worlds warrior families.
The warrior woman became concerned that the Bushi would forget where they came from and, worse still, become them once again. In order to prevent this, and to remind the Jin'ei Shadows of what they had come from, the Shogun ordered that they should refer to themselves as the Hitokage Samuari.
The Jin'ei took little interest in the mortal world, or the others in the World of Darkness. They only acted to protect the Ningenti-ki and their destiny. The wars that raged between the various mortal Samurai clans had little effect on them. Only the destruction of the Shadows mattered.
Silently, secretly, this war has raged from that time and will continue until the Shadows have been destroyed.
In the mid 15th century, the first travellers arrived in Japan from across the seas. They brought with them new ideals and tales of lands far away that were full of riches. The Shadows were quick to seize on this opportunity, using all their skills and power they moved quickly across Asia establishing power-bases at each major city they conquered.
The Shadows were well established everywhere from England to Edo (Tokyo). The information gathering network of the Jin'ei had failed, drastically. It was not until 100 years later that the Jin'ei learned of the dramatic expansion of the Shadows. All seemed lost. The Hitokage Samurai were now even more hopelessly outnumbered than before, but they had to act immediately and in doing this were forced to spread their forces so thinly that almost every battle was lost.
Fighting the Shadows openly had failed, and failed very badly at that. With their new found numbers it seemed that nothing could stop their goal of total domination.
In their rush to counter the Shadows the Hitokage Samurai encountered many other creatures. Most of these beings were too caught up their their own foolish power struggles, but some were viewed as a serious threat. In the year 1647 AD, the Daimyo of a small temple in southern Italy was approached by a representative from a clan who called themselves Tremere. The messenger sought help with a group of creatures who were preying on villagers in their domain. The Daimyo knew that these creatures were the Shadows, but kept this information and the details of his own clan from the Tremere messenger.
Once the Bushi had located the Shadow group, they moved quickly and decisively. The element of surprise had worked, but at a heavy cost. The attack had left the temple with insufficient protection. The Tremere had observed the skill and unusual powers that these newcomers seemed to possess. Power. They wanted this for themselves. When the Tremere returned to the Daimyo, they were welcomed as brothers in the fight against the darkness. That night, the Tremere prince Diabolised the remaining Hitokage Samurai in an attempt to gain this power for himself. Thankfully, he failed. Furious at his failure, he massacred the non-vampire Jin'ei for not revealing the truth, then raized the temple to the ground. When the Shogun heard of this she was enraged and ordered that the offending Tremere be hunted down and destroyed.
When this was done, the Shogun embarked on a period of research and in doing this found the true nature of the Tremere to be evil and manipulative. From that point onwards, the Tremere clan have been viewed with utter contempt, to betray the trust of another to the extent that they did could never be forgiven and, indeed, never has.
The research that the Shogun accomplished gave the Hitokage Samurai a vast library of knowledge on every other being in the world of darkness. This knowledge was shared with all members of the Jin'ei. Knowledge is power, and in this war they needed every advantage they could get.
Although the knowledge of every other clan and being is available to the Hitokage Samurai, they do not always judge others on the basis of this data. It is important to the Hitokage Samurai that others be judged on their actions rather than who their master was. Nevertheless, the Tremere are hated.
And so the war has continued. It cannot be lost, for if it is the world will see darkness the like of which has not occurred since the beginning of time.
At some point in fairly recent history, the Shadows decided to adopt a new name for themselves -- the Kagemusha, which means "Shadow Warrior". It is not known how this came about and they only seem to use it amongst themselves; to the Hitokage Samurai they will always be the Hitokage (Shadow or Soul).
The darkness of the fateful night does nothing to muffle the stifled cries of pain and sobs of despair that echo around the well-tended gardens. Trees and plants that have been carefully nurtured for many Mortal generations have been crushed underfoot by the two warring factions and the perfectly balanced soil may never recover from the second-hand blood that has been spilled into it.
Blades of incalculable value lie shattered and broken, armour that is hundreds of years out of date surrounds piles of smouldering ashes and charred bones and above all there is a stench of decay and death. And slowly, very slowly, a silence descends over the field of battle. A silence that covers everywhere apart from one small corner of the garden, a corner where blood is still waiting to be offered to the greedy Gods of War. A casual observer would hear the sound of sword clashing against sword, possibly hear the whisper of silk rubbing against armour. If this observer was to pay more attention, he may just note there is no sound of Warriors gasping for breath, none of the normal panting and wheezing that accompanies even the fittest of Warriors.
Two figures, two Warriors stand back to back in a corner of the desecrated garden. One male and one female and both Warriors of the most noble kind. Their robes and armour are torn and blood-stained but they show no signs of weakness, no signs of panic even though they have seen all of their companions cut down. There is a calmness in their faces, an acceptance of what must be.
And surrounding these warriors are perhaps a dozen armed figures, many of them smiling.
Overhead, the sliver of moon is covered by clouds and the Shadows that fill the garden hold many ominous secrets.
"I should have killed you when we last met, Koeda," whispers one of the many as they all take a few steps back from their foes. "Now is the time to rectify that mistake."
"I do not fear death, Kyuubutsu," answers the male of the few. "All I regret is that I could not take more of you with me when I die. Face me, Kyuubutsu, face me alone, with whatever shreds of honour you have left!" Kyuubutsu's soft chuckling seems to reach out to fill the silence of the garden. "I think not," she smiles, her eyes cold and calculating. "No, I think not. Take them!"
In the fraction of a second between the woman's command and her followers' obedience, something passes between the two Warriors, an understanding, a communication that no Ningenti-ki, that no Mortal could ever hope to comprehend. Both Warriors know that they can't allow the Kagemusha to win, but what can they do to prevent it?
With a heart-freezing cry of rage and sorrow, Koeda springs forward, his sword flashing in the dim light. Faster than thought, he lashes out and the nearest of the Shadows falls, his head separated from his body.
The female Warrior turns and runs, not fleeing but escaping so that she may continue the fight at another time. She cuts down the Kagemusha that stands in her way, leaps over the high wall that surrounds the garden and is gone, lost in the darkness of the night.
"Kill him," screams Kyuubutsu, any veneer of civility lost in her fury. "Kill them both; kill them all!"
Spurred on by her rage, the Kagemusha close in on Koeda, their blades held at the ready and, despite all his skill, all his desperation, Koeda is cut down in a flurry of shining steel and flowing blood. As she runs through the night, the last surviving Warrior can sense the death of Koeda, she can feel the pain that he feels in that instant before a long denied Death claims him. And as she runs, she swears to all that she holds holy that Koeda's death will not be in vain, that he will be avenged. "Fear me, Kyuubutsu," she whispers, tears of blood streaming over her pale, perfect face. "I vow that I will destroy you and all of your evil brood. No matter how long it takes, no matter how many lifetimes I must live, I will destroy you and everything that you hold dear. Hear my words and fear the truth held within them!"
And in the garden, as Kyuubutsu is looking down at the ruined body of Koeda, a chill runs down her spine. Looking up at the darkened heavens she tries to banish this fear, tries and fails. `...destroy you and your evil brood...' rings in her thoughts and will remain there for all eternity.
The sole reason for the continued existence of the Samurai is revenge; they have made a vow to destroy the Kagemusha where ever they may hide. In making this vow the Samurai have battled with the Kagemusha through time right up to the present day. Some of the elders fear that this battle may never be won but do not view failure as an option.
The Samurai, when working in the field, appear, to all intents and purposes, to be human and are frequently confused as such. If their aura is viewed they will appear to have any of the following:
| Color | Emotion | Notes |
| Light Blue | Calm | Color for normal Hitokage Samurai |
| Grey | Depressed | They have been dishonoured |
| Crimson | Enraged | Master or Daimyo has been lost, a Ronin |
| Silver | Sad | Normally found in conjunction with Crimson |
| Yellow | Idealistic | Color for normal Saachaa |
| Gold | Spiritual | Color for normal Priestess |
Some things to note about the Aura of the Hitokage Samurai are:
Although Diablerie is not common amongst the Hitokage Samurai, it is permitted to take the blood of the Kagemusha. This does not show as the "Black Veins" described in Vampire: The Masquerade, but as glowing white veins in the background color.
Colors are never Pale in a Hitokage Samurai. Instead they are brighter than would be seen in a mortal.
Ki may, on the surface, appear to be a kind of magic, but it isn't. The bright "Myriad Sparkles" described in Vampire: The Masquerade are replaced by what appear to be small arcs of electricity, dancing over her body.
Nickname: Swordmasters (Amongst themselves, None to others)
Appearance: Appearance is not important to the Hitokage Samurai, but because of the long period of training that they receive before they are initiated they will all look in the peak of physical condition, if a little pale.
Haven: The Hitokage Samurai do not have a haven as such. When they are in the field they will rest where they can. When not currently engaged in operations, they will be in further training in one of the many temples across the world.
Backgrounds: The Hitokage Samurai choose their warriors with great care. Only those who demonstrate honour, integrity and strength of spirit will be invited to join. These individuals are come by from the many Martial Arts schools that the Jin'ei run. Backgrounds are covered in greater depth in Chapter Three: Character Creation.
Clan Disciplines: Kokuei, Celerity and Fortitude.
Clan Anomalies: Mastery of the Ki energy flow and its related disciplines. (Covered in Chapter Four). They do not fear that which would cause them Final Death, Rothscheck is not applicable to these characters although fire still causes the same amount of damage.
Weaknesses: The presence of evil or maliciousness can only just be tolerated. The goal of the Hitokage Samurai is to protect the Ningenti-ki and their destiny. Self-Control rolls of varying difficulty may be required at the Storytellers discretion.
Organisation: The Hitokage Samurai are organised into a rigid hierarchical structure known as the Jin'ei. This is covered in depth in Chapter Two: The Jin'ei.
Gaining Clan Prestige: Little store is set by the Generation of the warrior. However, a warrior who conducts herself with honour and integrity will gain the respect of others within the Jin'ei. The ability to control the flow of Ki energy is also greatly respected but only if it is used in a honourable manner.
The Hitokage Samurai have, what could be considered to be, an abnormally high Humanity for Kindred, which also causes confusion amongst those who have no knowledge of the Hitokage Samurai.
They deal with all forms of creatures; the more evil their motives the better they are thought of. They will initiate anybody they feel will further their cause. Their mission is simple, to create anarchy amongst the humans and other creatures so that they move themselves into positions of power. They will attempt to achieve this, whatever the costs. Unlike the Samurai, the Kagemusha radiate absolute evil; they will send shudders down the spines of mortals, trigger Danger Sense in some Kindred, etc. Those who have no knowledge of the Hitokage will inevitably put these feelings down to either the nature of the Kindred or some other premonition, but it will not be long before the Kagemusha reveal her true nature. When discovered, frequently during feeding, the Kagemusha will generally destroy these witness or flee if the odds are not one to one (they are not usually very courageous).
The Aura colors of these creatures are, again, slightly different. Although the basic color system is the same as described in Vampire: The Masquerade, the background or base color is always Black: - "A shade of black so deep that your eye just kinda slides right off it....". As these creatures are absolute evil it is not very likely that they have any of the nice Auras such as Compassionate (Pink) or Love (Blue).
The training is carried out by the Daimyo of the particular city when the human has agreed to her new destiny. The prospective initiates are generally chosen from martial arts schools (many of which are run by the various Daimyo) for their honour and skill and are usually in their late teens. She will generally have no living relatives.
Once she has agreed, her training is carried out in the temple under the strict supervision of the Daimyo and takes about ten years. When the Daimyo is satisfied that the individual has gained enough knowledge, she is asked if she still wishes to join the organisation. If she has changed her mind and no longer wishes to join the Samurai, the priestesses will erase the memories of the past ten years and supply false ones along with documentation and alibis to cover any questions. This is done to preserve the anonymity of the organisations and is not generally a problem as the Jin'ei own many companies throughout the world. If, on the other hand, she still wishes to join the Samurai, she is initiated by the priestesses and her training restarts in order to maximise her new abilities.
The whole training process is completed by a small mission. If she succeeds then she will become an operative within the organisation. Failure is not an option, she must succeed or die trying.
Despite the ferocity, timelessness and sheer scale of this battle, it has surprisingly evaded the rest of the World of Darkness. Both factions of the Hitokage are careful to keep their efforts secret. They believe that if the war was ever revealed to the world, it would create battles on other fronts -- something that both could do without.
The activities of the Kagemusha have, for the moment, been passed off as the careless activities of other lone groups of Kindred -- many of which have been unjustly punished.
Both factions of the Hitokage have their own agenda (as described above). To find these vampires in mixed groups is very rare, the Hitokage Samurai will join with other groups to perform specific tasks -- always keeping their true objectives a secret.
The Kagemusha, on the other hand, will freely mix with groups that they feel with further their objectives -- usually groups of evil creatures whose motives are the same as their own. When the objective is reached the Kagemusha will invariably kill, destroy or initiate the individuals involved, depending on how useful they are believed to have been.
These items are only applicable to the Samurai faction of the Hitokage as the Kagemusha have no Code and are distinctly dishonourable.
The Code is sometimes referred to as The way of the bow and the horse, which is the ancient code of the mortal Samurai of old Japan. The original code was un-written until it was converted into the Code of Bushido. The Hitokage Samurai still honour the original code with some minor modifications to take their new beings into account. Due to these modifications it can no longer be referred to as The way of the bow and the horse and is always referred to as The Code by the Samurai.
The term Honour is frequently misused in Western culture, often being associated with glorified acts of revenge. This is not the true case. The true meaning has its roots in many different terms, but as far as the Samurai were concerned it meant to be seen to and to and preserve honesty and integrity. The integrity of the character is the most important thing of all, to maintain good character is admired because of the difficulty in maintaining it. True strength and discipline can be measured by her character. True honour is never boasted about, neither is the skill of the individual. To boast of ones abilities will gain the disdain of others. It is really up to the Storyteller to define The Code so it will best fit in with her game plans, but what has been mentioned above must always be kept in mind. The Code must not be confused with the Rules of the Samurai.
Once again, these rules apply only to the Hitokage Samurai. On rare occasions the Kagemusha will prescribe a set of rules to cover a situation, and on even rarer occasions they may adhere to them!
This is not intended to be a complete set of rules. It is encouraged that the Storyteller add to these as she feels necessary. The five rules mentioned above, however, should not be modified or omitted.
The Kagemusha are powerful and vast and the Hitokage Samurai are most certainly the underdogs. This does not seem to deter the volunteers and, indeed, seems to provoke a certain feeling of pride to the fact that they are willing to make such a huge sacrifice. The battle will rage between these two groups until one (or both) are destroyed. The Hitokage Samurai believe that the victor must not be the Kagemusha, for it is thought that if they do claim the final victory, the world will be plunged into a war the like of which has not been seen since pre-biblical time. The Hitokage Samurai still believe themselves to be monsters that have no place in the world of the Ningenti-ki; they feed reluctantly and never kill when doing so.
As mentioned in Chapter One, the Hitokage are divided into two factions, the Kagemusha and the Hitokage Samurai. The following information applies only to the Hitokage Samurai faction, the reasons for this will become apparent on reading.
The Hitokage Samurai are organised into a very rigid structure; what makes this structure different from other Clans (especially the Western Clans) is the power that it has over the individuals contained within. This structure is known as the Jin'ei and, although relatively small when compared to other Clans, has considerable power and influence. The Jin'ei organisation is as secretive as the Hitokage Clan and, again, has remained secret from most of the other Clans.
What makes this organisation very different from others that could be considered similar is the fact that it is not just open to the Hitokage Samurai. Many different creatures make up the structure of the Jin'ei. The Hitokage Samurai automatically enter into the Jin'ei, the choices that they made on initiation include this; no Hitokage Samurai is ever created if they do not wish to enter the Jin'ei
The Daimyo will have Advisers and Priestesses similar to the ones that directly serve the shogun, but most of the orders will come directly from the Shogun.
The remaining individuals will elect to remain as Ronin and will wander from city to city seeking out those who destroyed their master. These Ronin are respected by the rest of the organisation for the choices they have made and are left to avenge their master. They are always welcome to return to the Jin'ei when they feel that they are ready.
The legend tells of a mystical item created by a powerful Mahou-tsukai the last time the two worlds (spirit and material) came into direct contact. Using the power that was available at this time and the vast knowledge he had accumulated in his extended life, he bound a huge quantity of energy to an artifact. Finally, he attempted to bind some of his own Ki measure to the already dangerously powerful item.
Unfortunately the resulting explosion drained the life energy from every living thing in a 10 kilometer radius (including his own 150 staff who also had fairly high measures of Ki). After the devastation the only thing that remained in the crater was a rather charred looking statue. The statue was taken to the local temple where it served as a ward (an artifact used to deter demons and other off-worldly creatures) until about 10 BC at which point it was lost. Records detail that there was indeed something in a small temple at Nara that could not be touched by any supernatural being, the records also list those Kindred who were destroyed when they attempted to remove it.
"We assaulted the temple shortly after nightfall, twenty three of our best warriors. The Jinlui guards posed no threat to us and we dispatched them quickly before they could raise the alarm. We entered the temple; the fools had left the statue in plain view. Two of the warriors moved towards the item and attempted to take hold of it. The first howled in pain as brilliant shafts of light burned through her body; the second disintegrated into a pile of ash almost instantaneously. Nobody else would place a hand on that thing, too afraid of the consequences. We finally managed to Dominate a Jinlui into obtaining it for us who we then sent into the wastelands of Tibet, never to be seen or heard from again."
This is not the only account of the mysterious artifact, for 176 years later a Hitokage Ronin sent a letter to the Shogun of that time. "Most Honoured Leader,
I bring you great news, that part of us that we mourn the loss of the most can be ours once again. I have found the lost statue of the Mahou-tsuki Osaru and the rumours are true.
Before I left your service you allowed me to read the journals of the other creatures that I was liable to meet not least the journals of Yakomo Watanabe. So it was with incredible trepidation that I reached out to the statue but at this point in time I felt that I had nothing to lose. I find it difficult to describe the sensations as my hands met the surface; warmth, light, even love cannot begin to describe what I was feeling. I remember a blinding light, then nothing. I awoke three days later, and I did not feel at ease. I was cold and I felt hungry, I touched my head and it felt warm. It took but moments for me to realise that my skin had not felt warm for over 150 years and the hunger was not for blood but for food. There was an old wound on my head, just a scratch I must have sustained when I fell but it had not healed. I could not believe what my senses were telling me. I could no longer see in the dim light, so I staggered out of the cave.
To my horror I found the sun high in the sky over my head, I took a deep breath and prepared for the worse, but I only felt the warm caress of the sunlight on my bare arms. I had become one of the Jinlui, my quest was over.
It is because of this I write to you personally rather than spread the word through the network of the Jin'ei. Though it pains me to write this, your quest is not yet over. You must defeat the terrible blight that is the Kagemusha and with this destiny I wish you good fortune, and hope that this is accomplished swiftly.
I enclose a map of the location to the cave and leave it to your own discretion as to whom you inform. As for me, I shall live out my new mortality teaching the values that I have learned whilst in you service."
It is supposed that the measure of Ki within the Hitokage Samurai allowed the power in the statue to transform the vampire back to human form but nobody is too sure of this point.
Shortly after the message arrived the Shogun mounted an expedition to recover the artifact, but when they arrived at the location given by the map they found the cave to be empty and desecrated with black arcane symbols. Since then the Saachaa have been endlessly searching the Earth for the statue, believing their destiny is to find it and restore the Hitokage to their human form.
This event is held in the main temple in Edo (Tokyo), and occurs when there is Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood or Sanguin Moon as it is sometimes called). The term Blood Moon must not be confused with the Western term of the same name as to the Hitokage Samurai it describes the color the moon turns when it is in eclipse.
The occasion is marked by a night of fasting for all members of the Jin'ei, not just the Hitokage Samurai. All members of the Jin'ei are required to attend although individuals on field assignments are forgiven for not attending but still must observe the fast.
The loyalty that a Bushi feels towards her Daimyo is great; after all she was responsible for the training and education of the warrior and was, in all probability, the first point of contact that the warrior had with the Jin'ei. If the Daimyo is destroyed by another (it is unimportant what type of creature perpetrated the crime), then all of the Bushi that were under her command are entitled to avenge her death. In fact, it goes way beyond entitlement, it is the warriors solemn duty.
As mentioned in the structure of the Jin'ei, when a Daimyo is destroyed, all of the Bushi that were under her command become Ronin. As this may be a considerable number of warriors, it would not be practical to have them all charging around attempting to avenge one death. So a petition is sent to the Daimyo of the nearest temple with a list of all the offended warriors. From this list, the Daimyo will select a number of warriors (the exact number depends on how much of a threat the perpetrator of the crime is thought to be) who will hunt down the destroyer of the other Daimyo. This hunt will last until the individual (or the group) is destroyed, however long it takes. The Shogun herself completed her hunt for the destroyers of the First One in the late fall of 1987, the battle between her and the final Kagemusha Assassin was, by all accounts, one hell of a fight. The Assassin was finally destroyed in Vancouver with the pursuit lasting an unprecedented 1024 years. As can be seen from this, vengeance is taken very seriously by the Hitokage Samurai.
As mentioned earlier, a character does not have to be a Hitokage Samurai to join the Jin'ei. The character does, however, have to have led a virtuous life (or unlife). This itself can rule out most vampires. As a rough rule-of-thumb, a vampire with a high humanity (at least 7) and a code of honour (1 point merit) and no other affiliation, could easily pledge themselves to the Jin'ei. The player must be told of the rules and the Kahou and must adhere to them. If they stray from this they will be punished and the Storyteller should not spare them from a grizzly end at the hands of other Jin'ei. Once the character has pledged himself to the Jin'ei, he is not permitted to involve himself with the doings of his old Clan. He is, however permitted to aid his old comrades if the Shogun or (more likely) the Daimyo believes that the cause is just, but he must keep his new role a secret.
It should be noted that the mastery of the Ki energy can only be taught to mortals and so characters who are already vampires cannot learn it. This topic is covered at greater length in Chapter Four.
A Jin'ei must never lie, as detailed in the rules of Chapter 1, but the must also keep the Hitokage bloodline and the Jin'ei organisation a close secret. This can be difficult to maintain, especially if questioned directly. The usual response to such questions is to refer to the Jin'ei as "Associates" and as the existence of the Hitokage is currently unknown other players are unlikely to ask any questions referring to that. The bottom line for anyone in the Jin'ei is the old quote "Say nothing, trust no one."