| Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four |
By The Hitokage Production Committee
The experience system pertaining to the Hitokage Samurai works in the same way as described in Vampire: The Masquerade. The special rules for advancing the mastery of Ki are only slightly different and are covered in Chapter Four.
One of the major benefits of Ki is that it can aid healing. When the control of this energy has reached measure 3, it is said that the practitioner has gained a true mastery (mind, body and soul). When the user has this measure healing occurs the same way as described in Vampire: The Masquerade, but at twice the normal rate. A form of natural healing is also possible. This is detailed in the table below:
| Health Level | Time Required to Heal |
| Bruised | 4 Days (96 Hours) |
| Hurt | 12 Days (288 Hours) |
| Injured | 4 Weeks (672 Hours) |
| Wounded | 4 Months (2688 Hours) |
| Mauled | 1 Year (8760 Hours) |
| Crippled | Not Possible to heal Naturally |
The two factions of the Hitokage have a great many differences; combat is probably one of the most obvious. The Hitokage Samurai have a long tradition of combat and generally prefer to keep to their traditional methods. They will always choose to fight an opponent face to face ("If you have not the courage to face your foe, then you have not the courage to fight") usually with their preferred weapon -- their deadly version of the Katana. Firearms and other weapons are permitted although rarely used against anyone viewed as being a worthy opponent.
The Kagemusha however, will use any weapon they feel will get the job done. They, unlike the Hitokage Samurai, do not feel compelled to face an enemy and frequently use long range weapons such as a Sniper Rifle to dispose of an opponent. They do carry their own version of an ancient Ninja sword (the Ninja-to) but do not usually make use of it unless they are attempting to intimidate a foe.
As has been discovered by many a Storyteller in the past, the combat rules detailed in Vampire: The Masquerade are not too good for playing out detailed sword duels. When Hank Driskill and John Gavigan released their Highlander: The Gathering rules supplement, they created what, in my humble opinion, is the best set of sword fighting rules I have come across. The location of their site can be found in the Prologue: Related Material section of this document. As these rules do not belong to us we will not reproduce them in full here. So go download it, you will not be disappointed!!
The Hitokage Samurai will always attempt to destroy an opponent by removing her head; after all it is one of the most efficient ways of dispatching a vampire. In the lands of ancient Japan, the Samurai warriors would remove the heads of the warriors that they defeated in battle. These heads were then elaborately preserved and mounted carefully on boards so that they could be displayed to the Daimyo or Shogun. Each head had a small strip of paper attached to either the hair, which was now neatly combed and pulled back into a high pigtail, or if no hair was present, as was the case with the fighting monks, one of his ears would be pierced and the tag was thus attached. All defeated opponents were honoured in this fashion. Of course, this is no longer practical as the head of a vampire will disintegrate very quickly after removal but this traditional method of finishing an opponent is still very common.
"The blade will be yours for eternity if you treat it well. But remember to respect the killing power of what you hold. Never forget that it is a weapon that can turn on you just as easily as it can protect you. There is a life within a sword, an essence if you prefer, and this essence hungers for blood and pain, anyone's!"
As detailed in the Combat section, the Hitokage have their own version of the Katana. These weapons are forged by the master blacksmiths and Mahou-tsukai of the Jin'ei. Each Hitokage Samurai is given her own Katana when she is first initiated. The damage that these weapons can do in the hands of a skilled Hitokage Samurai is great -- greater than the Katanas of old could do, even when wielded by a skilled swordsman.
These weapons take about six months of constant work by the blacksmiths and rituals performed by the Mahou-tsukai; they can only be wielded effectively by one who is disciplined in Ki.
All edged weapons (swords, knives, etc) can be used to stake an opponent when wielded by any of the Hitokage. Only successfully aimed thrusting attacks can accomplish this and the additional difficulty is at the Storytellers discretion.
The Hitokage Samurai are fiercely traditional; this leads them to use traditional weapons. As mentioned above, each Hitokage Samurai is given her own Katana when she is initiated thus each will carry one until she is destroyed. The katana, however, is not the only traditional weapon carried by a Hitokage Samurai. The player can, if she wishes, choose to carry any of the weapons listed below. The set of weapons that a Hitokage Samurai will invariably govern how the player wishes to play her character, and how other Hitokage and members of the Jin'ei will react to them. Non traditional weapons, though permitted, do not carry any weight in the Hitokage Samurai society.
Two Handed Damage: Strength + 8
Difficulty: 5 (10 without Ki)
Description: This was the traditional weapon of the Samurai warrior in ancient Japan. The blade itself is about 1 meter long with a slight curve towards the end. The weapon is perfectly balanced for either single of two-handed use. The Katana can be used as part of a fighting pair combined with the Wakizashi (Short Sword).
Additional: Due to the Magic involved in its creation each Hitokage Samurai Katana will only function in the hands of the warrior it was designed for. All other individuals attempting to use it, including those disciplined in the use Ki, have their attack Difficulties raised to 10.
Two Handed Damage: Strength + 6
Difficulty: 6
Description: This is that non-magical version of the Hitokage Samurai Katana and therefore has no additional quirks.
Two Handed Damage: Strength + 7
Difficulty: 6
Description: This is the other type of daito (long sword). It is slightly longer than the Katana and is often worn on the back of the warrior.
Difficulty: 5
Description: The Wakizashi is rarely used as the primary weapon; most prefer to use it to complement the Katana in two-handed combat. This weapon is a short, non-curved sword. Frequently used in the act of Seppuku (ritual suicide).
Difficulty: 7
Description: This huge weapon was also carried by the Samurai warriors in ancient times. They look like very large versions of the Katana they often compliment. These swords are just under 2 meters in length and are generally used with both hands. They are a good deal slower that the Katana but highly effective in the right hands. This weapon can be seen in Japanese cinema, with the more notable example being in the excellent movie The Seven Samurai. The other example was the principal character in the animated tale Vampire Hunter D.
Difficulty: 7
Description: Another very large sword, this time measuring over 2 meters in length. They look very similar to the No-dachi described above. The main advantage to these weapons is their length. Using them correctly will keep the opponent at too great a distance for them to retaliate (add 1 to the difficulty of the opponents attack roll).
Two-Handed Damage: Strength + 6
Difficulty: 6
Description: This was the sword carried by the Ninja assassins in old Japan and is pretty much the same appearance as the Katana although there is less of a curve at the end.
Difficulty: 6
Description: This pole-arm was less favoured by the later Samurai of Japan but was frequently carried by the fighting monks. It consisted of a long shaft (approximately 1.5 meters) with a curved or straight blade at the tip taking the total length to just over 2 meters. This weapon is highly effective at both lethal and non-lethal attacks, the shaft provides an excellent parry against sword attacks.
As mentioned above, other weapons are permitted but they must be concealable. These are detailed in Vampire: The Masquerade and other White Wolf publications. The Kagemusha are permitted all weapons.
The sword play detailed below is intended for use against an opponent who is also fighting with a sword. If the sword is to be used against an opponent who is armed with some other weapon (fire arm, etc), normal combat procedures should be used along with these moves but the sword wielder automatically gets an extra dice for her initiative pool (aside from any bonuses gained from the use Ki). The Storyteller should keep in mind that a fire arm does not usually provide much protection against the blow of a sword. Driskill and Gavigan's rules for initiative should still be used however, even though this will invariably mean that if the character without the sword fails the first initiative roll she will be destroyed by the onslaught of sword blows from the other character.
It should be noted that continual reference is made to Driskill and Gavigan's rules and methods of controlling sword play -- if you do not have access to these rules then this section will not make much sense. We strongly suggest that if you wish to run accurate sword play in a chronicle that these rules are downloaded, now!
The following is a brief version of Driskill and Gavigan's rules for sword combat and has been reproduced here with their kind permission. As can be seen from this summary, sword combat is a lot more complex than regular combat. Vampire: The Masquerade is not really a combat game; its strongest points are in the darkness and foreboding that the game can offer so there should not be too many instances of this type of combat. However, these rules are recommended for detail and to enrich the role-playing experience. When these rules are used with Driskill and Gavigan's characters they are usually the climax of the story, the oriental sword combat moves will cause a great deal more damage than the moves listed in Highlander: The Gathering and so the combat sequence should not last as long. Oriental sword combat will generally be over in three to four bouts.
Stage One: Initiative
A sword combat round differs from the normal combat round in that it is only the time taken for one character to attack another. This system splits sword combat up into a series of bouts. A bout is a series of rounds, during which there is no pause in combat. At the start of a round, both players roll for Initiative. They then announce what their actions are going to be. As sword combat is reactive (i.e.. you don't know what you are going to do until your opponent has done something) the player with the higher Initiative must announce what he intends to do first.
Normally, the player with the higher initiative will decide to attack and, if so, her opponent must Block or Dodge. Alternatively, the character who has won the Initiative may decide to perform some other kind of action, such as leaping onto a table, or he may decide to wait and see what his opponent is going to do. In either of these cases, combat is stopped and they must begin another bout.
A bout begins usually with both opponents facing each other with swords drawn. One player will then announce that she is going to attack. Both players then make a standard Initiative roll (Wits + Alertness), against a target of 4. However, instead of deciding who acts first (as this has already been declared), the difference between the two combatants number of successes achieved is added to the dice pool of the player with the higher initiative.
Example: The Hitokage Samurai, Chang, is approached by the Kagemusha Assassin, Umi. They draw their swords and face each other silently. Chang makes the first attack and makes an Initiative roll getting 5 successes. Umi rolls Initiative and gets 4 successes. Thus, Chang gets an extra dice to add to his attack roll.
After this initial round, Initiative is rolled as normal, but its role during the bout is slightly different that the one in normal combat. The character with the higher Initiative gets to act first, presumably attacking, and the other character must defend. Both players make their respective attack and defence rolls and that combat round then ends, and the combatants roll their Initiative for the next round where the following modifiers apply:
The Attacking Moves are broken down into the name of the move, a brief description of what the move will actually do, the skill(s) required to hit the target or Attacking Roll, the target for the Attacking Roll or Difficulty, and the Image for fleshing out the combat narrative. The Blocking/Defence moves are listed in much the same way with the addition of Follow Through. This gives a list of possible moves that could be executed if the defending player gains the initiative in the following round.
Description: This attack will attempt to deliver a blow from the end of the sword against the center of the opponents head.
Attacking Roll: Melee.
Difficulty: Weapon Difficulty.
Image: You raise your sword above your head and bring it down squarely on your opponents head.
Tenchin-uchi (Earth and Heaven Cut)
Description: This attack will attempt to move the sword from low station and slice the opponent using the full length of the blade across the abdomen, chest and Neck.
Attacking Roll: Melee.
Difficulty: Weapon Difficulty + 1.
Image: With great speed you move your sword upwards from the ground cutting a long, jagged diagonal line rising up from her abdomen to her chest, ending with a cut to the side of her neck.
Soto yokomen-uchi (Outside Strike)
Description: This attack will deliver a horizontal sweep across the abdomen of the opponent.
Attacking Roll: Melee.
Difficulty: Weapon Difficulty + 1.
Image: You bring your blade across your opponent's abdomen.
Uchi-chudan-uchi (Mid-level Inside Slash)
Description: This blow is useful if the opponent has just been blocked and is standing side-on with her weapon out of range. Other than that it is much the same as the soto yokomen-uchi except that the cut is delivered to the side of the opponent.
Attacking Roll: Melee.
Difficulty: Weapon Difficulty.
Image: As your opponent is momentarily unprotected, you bring your weapon across the side of her body.
Omote-uchi (Descending Slash)
Description: This move will deliver a downward slash to the opponent's neck. The opponent can be decapitated depending on the force of the blow. If the player decides to add force to her blow (by using the figures listed in brackets below) and achieves enough Damage successes to drive her opponent to Mauled or below on her Health chart then the opponent is decapitated. The extended damage (the figures in brackets) cannot be Soaked by anything other than Neck Guard armour.
Attacking Roll: Melee (+ Strength).
Difficulty: Weapon Difficulty (+2).
Image: Your opponent leaves herself open and you deliver a hard strike to her neck. (Decapitating her with a single blow.)
Age-uchi (Rising Slash)
Description: The move will deliver a blow to either of the opponent's arms. The extended damage (if successful) will amputate the target arm and follow the same rules as above.
Attacking Roll: Melee (+ Strength).
Difficulty: Weapon Difficulty (+2).
Image: As your opponent turns to the side you deliver a blow to her arm. (Amputating it).
Kasumi-uchi (Up-From-Under Strike)
Description: This move will deliver a blow to the neck of the opponent. All rolls and effects are the same as those described in Omote-uchi including those for Decapitation.
Otoshi-uke (Dropping Block)
Description: This block will attempt to parry any blow that originates from the opponent raising her sword above her head such as men-uchi.
Defending Roll: Melee + Dodge (+ Strength).
Difficulty: Weapon Difficulty (+1).
Image: As your opponent raises her sword above her head, you quickly side-step and raise your own weapon and block the blow gently guiding your opponents sword to the ground.
Follow Through: While the attackers sword is blocked, tenchin-uchi should then be executed if the next initiative is gained. The amount of time that the opponent's sword spends in the downward position will depend on the force of this block. It is up to the player to decide how much force to use in the block; if this block is used with strength then the Defending Roll and the Difficulty should use the figures listed including those in brackets. For general use the bracketed figures should be ignored.
If the player chooses to use her characters Strength to add force to the block and gains 3 more successes in the Defending Roll (and then goes on to win the initiative in the next bout)then two Damage rolls should be made as the character gets a free hit.
Barai-uchi (Slide Block)
Description: This block is again useful for blocking blows that originate from the opponent raising her weapon above her head such as men-uchi. It will block the attack and the attackers sword will slide down your blade ending up at your waist.
Defending Roll: Melee + Dodge.
Difficulty: Weapon Difficulty.
Image: As your opponent's weapon begins to fall, you raise the hilt of your sword to head height with the blade facing down over your shoulder. The attackers blade slides gently down your own to waist height.
Follow Through: If the initiative is gained in the next bout, a men-uchi should be executed.
Nagashi-uke (Sweeping Block)
Description: This block will sweep your opponent's sword out to the side leaving her side exposed. Useful against mid-level strikes.
Defending Roll: Melee + Dodge
Difficulty: Weapon Difficulty.
Image: As your opponent sweeps her weapon around, you step back sweeping your own weapon round and moving her out of the way.
Follow Through: As your opponents weapon is now to the side a uchichudan-uchi could now be executed.
Ukenagashi: (Warding Off Block)
Description: This block involves the defender dropping to one knee and raising the sword above her head, catching the descending blow from the attacker.
Defending Roll: Melee + Dodge
Difficulty: Weapon Difficulty.
Image: As your opponents sword begins to fall your drop to one knee, raising your sword to block the blow.
Follow Through: Tenchin-uchi would be a suitable follow up if Initiative is gained in the next bout.
Each of these moves contains a number of combinations, hence the Damage factor, and it should be noted that blocking all of the attacks is much more difficult than normal and occasionally impossible.
If the opponent also has two swords then the Difficulty (of both Attack and Defence rolls) that player makes should be raised by 1. If, however, the opponent has only one sword then the Difficulties should be raised by 3. Each of these moves takes only one bout, regardless of the number of attacks that they seem to contain.
Nito-tasabaki-giri (Two-Sword Spinning Cut)
Description: This is a truly devastating attack using the paired weapon combination of the Katana and Wakizashi and is usually used if the character with only one weapon attempts to make a men-uchi. The shorter of the two weapons (the Wakizashi) is used to block an incoming blow, the character then turns slightly pushing the attacker blade away and uses the Katana to execute a slash to the opponents neck and finally spinning around and delivering another slice to the opponents neck with the Wakizashi. Whilst being a very damaging attack, decapitation can not occur.
Attacking Roll: Melee + Dexterity
Difficulty: Opponent's Dodge
Damage: Katana + Wakizashi
Image: With incredible speed your block your opponents blow and spin round delivering a slash to your opponents neck, first with the Katana and following with the Wakizashi.
Nito-juji-nagashi-uke (Two-Sword Cross Sweeping Block)
Description: Again, this is normally used if the opponent attempts a men-uchi or some other high level strike. The two swords are crossed and catch the opponents blow in the cross. The opponents sword is moved down to your side with the Katana and the Wakizashi then delivers a diagonal slash to her neck. Decapitation is not possible.
If the opponent has only one sword the slash from the Wakizashi cannot be blocked but it could be Dodged.
Attacking Roll: Melee + Dexterity
Difficulty: Opponent's Dodge
Damage: Wakizashi
Image: You catch your opponents blow with your crossed swords, directing her sword away you slice a jagged cut to the side of her neck.
Tsuki (Thrust)
Description: As above, this move is normally used if the opponent attempts a high level strike such as men-uchi. The opponents blow is blocked and before she can react further a thrusting attack is delivered from the Wakizashi.
Attacking Roll: Melee + Dexterity
Difficulty: Opponents Dodge
Damage: Wakizashi (Any armour is half as effective at blocking this blow)
Image: Deflecting your opponents blow you pierce her upper body with your Wakizashi.
These three examples of Two-Weapon combat are not the only ways in which a character can use paired weapons. With common sense and the Storytellers discretion, more combinations are possible.
The moves listed above are not intended to be absolute law, remember that there is only one rule in Vampire: The Masquerade. and that is that there are no rules. Neither do they propose to be a complete and total list of Oriental Sword Combat (as they are far from that). Players are encouraged to make further reading of the books listed in the Prologue section is they wish to add these moves.
As mentioned above, if an opponent attempts to block a sword blow with another type of weapon and succeeds, the weapon's Structural Damage Capacity or SDC (Health Level for a gun if you like!) is reduced. If this figure is reduced to 75% of its total the fire arm will not longer fire (in fact it will explode it firing is attempted), and if the SDC is reduced to 50% of its total then the weapon is destroyed. Weapons cannot soak damage. Below is a sample of weapon SDCs. This is not a complete list and more figures can be worked out quite easily by using these samples as guide-lines. These figures are based on the materials and construction techniques used with each weapon. Remember that no weapon below Medium size can be used to block a sword blow.
These weapons are fully listed (except the SDCs) in the The Vampire Players Guide
| Weapon Name | Weapon Type | Size | SDC | |
| Revolvers | ||||
| Ruger Redhawk | Pistol | Medium | 14 | |
| Light Sub-Machine Guns | ||||
| Mini Uzi | Machine | Pistol | Medium | 16 |
| HK MP5 | Sub-Machine Gun | Medium | 17 | |
| TEC9 | Sub-Machine Gun | Medium | 17 | |
| Spectre | Sub-Machine Gun | Medium | 17 | |
| Calico 950 | Sub-Machine Gun | Medium | 18 | |
| Heavy Sub-Machine Guns | ||||
| Uzi | Sub-Machine Gun | Medium | 20 | |
| Thompson M1928 | Sub-Machine-Gun | Large | 23 | |
| Rifles | ||||
| Remington M700 | Hunting Rifle | Large | 29 | |
| Ruger 10/22 | Hunting Rifle | Large | 29 | |
| Browning BAR | Hunting Rifle | Large | 30 | |
| Remington M740 | Hunting Rifle | Large | 29 | |
| Weatherby Mk V | Hunting Rifle | Large | 29 | |
| Military Rifles | ||||
| Steyr AUG | Assault Rifle | Large | 31 | |
| M16 A2 | Assault Rifle | Large | 30 | |
| Famas | Assault Rifle | Large | 33 | |
| AK-47 | Assault Rifle | Large | 35 | |
| AK-74 | Assault Rifle | Large | 34 | |
| SA-80 | Assault Rifle | Large | 29 | |
| M-14 | Assault Rifle | Large | 32 | |
| HK G3 | Battle Rifle | Large | 29 | |
| FN FAL | Battle Rifle | Large | 33 | |
| Shotguns | ||||
| Ithaca | Military Shotgun | Large | 31 | |
| Remington 870 | Hunting Shotgun | Large | 25 | |
| Mossberg M500 | Hunting Shotgun | Large | 28 | |
| Fianchi Law 12 | Automatic Shotgun | Large | 28 | |
| Benelli M-3 Super 90 | Automatic Shotgun | Large | 29 | |
| SPAS-12 | Automatic Shotgun | Large | 25 | |
| Remington 1100 | Automatic Shotgun | Large | 30 | |
| USAS 12 | Automatic Shotgun | Large | 35 |
(Medium means that it can be concealed in a Trenchcoat and Large weapons cannot be concealed at all) Large weapons will Parry/Block a sword blow at Difficulty 6, Medium weapons will do the same at Difficulty 8.
Each armour piece is designed to protect a specific area of the body as in Oriental Sword Combat, specific areas of the opponents body. Some of these items do not actually function as armour but will enable the wearer to Block or Parry a weapon blow.
Armour Name: Kote (Sleeve Armour)
Protection Type: Armour/Parry/Block
Protection Area: Lower Arm, Hand (Excluding Fingers)
Description: The kote was originally designed as just another part of the Samurai's formidable suit but with modern materials it has become much more. It looks like a long, fingerless gloves, with large plate scales along the back. These scales are now made of Titanium alloy -- very light and incredibly strong. The kote will function first of all as armour for the specific location (Armour Rating: 4). Next it will function as a way to Parry (move) an opponent's blow (and hence the weapon) out of the way (Skill: Melee + Dexterity, Difficulty: 4) in which case it cannot be used to Soak if the Parry is failed. Finally it can be used to flat Block the blow (Skill: Strength + Dexterity, Difficulty: 5) and again cannot be used to Soak Damage if the Block fails.
Armour Name: Shikoro (Neck Guard)
Protection Type: Armour
Protection Area: Neck
Description: The original shikoro were attached to the helmets that the Samurai of old used. Since wearing such helmets would be conspicuous to say the least some other way of protecting the neck had to be found. The craftsmen of the Jin'ei eventually came up with a design that fitted on the shoulders of the wearer and it extends to the neck. It can be safely concealed under the collar of just about any coat. Wearing this piece armour will prevent decapitation from occurring; the damage is Soaked as normal.
Notes
The two items listed above are about the only semi-traditional pieces of armour left in use. Full traditional armour is, however, worn on ceremonial occasions and when the Hitokage Samurai is granted an audience with the Shogun.
This Hitokage Samurai also have their own versions of standard armour such as Flak Jackets and Ballistic Vests. These items only look slightly different from their Western counterparts and there Armour Rating is identical to those detailed in Vampire: The Masquerade but, as mentioned before, have no penalties attached to them. These special items of armour are only available to members of the Jin'ei and are not purchased. When creating the character, the Storyteller must decide whether or not to allow her to have these items.