Heian Twilight Campaign

[Sciencezam]

As some people in the GURPS discord channel are aware, I'm woring on a fantasy action/intrigue game set in a mythical Heian-Era Japan. This thread is going to cover some writings and work on it, for people who want to read up on it all in one consolidated place.

Today, I'm starting off with Monster Classes. The game will have some elements of Dungeon Fantasy, but I've decided to rework the various monster classes to more appropriately convey the tone and vibe of the setting. There are also Know Thy Enemy skills ala Monster Hunters, though they are reworked to reflect that horrible monsters are known to exist by most of the public (and sometimes suspected even when problems have mundane sources). It should be noted that while RAW Buddhism uses Philosophy and not Theology, at this point in Japanese history the distinction is almost non-existent due to the prevalence of esoteric schools of thought. I've used the japanese terms for some monster classes where it 'feels right', though the definitions of such things are quite fuzzy in the real world; obake, bakemono, mononoke, yokai, etc, all have significant overlap in their actual usage. People working on their own Know Thy Enemy equivalents for Dungeon Fantasy may find this useful for some ideas.

Undead-skeletons, zombies, etc. Corporeal undead. Knowledge is covered by Philosophy (Buddhist), Occultism(Undead). Have difficulty entering sanctified areas (Buddhist or Shinto).

Yurei & Onryo (幽霊 & 怨霊)-Ghosts, essentially. Non-corporeal undead; Onryo are ‘Grudges’, those with a serious bone to pick. Vulnerable to Exorcism (Buddhist). Knowledge is covered by Philosophy(Buddhist), Occultism (Yurei). Have difficulty entering sanctified areas (Buddhist or Shinto). Sometimes subject to Influence skills.

Yokai (妖怪)-Oni, Kitsune, Kamaitachi, Kappa, etc. Monsters, usually corporeal. Theology(Shinto), Occultism (Yokai) cover knowledge of their lifestyle and habits. Often subject to Influence skills (Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, etc). A very broad class.

Kami (神)-Spirits of nature, not people. Usually corporeal. Vulnerable to Exorcism (Shinto), when outside their natural habitat. Knowledge is covered in Theology(Shinto), Occultism (Kami). When sentient, often capable of diplomacy. Particularly spiritually powerful animals, plants, and oozes get 'elevated' to this class.

Animals-wolves (dire or otherwise), tigers, deer, etc. Naturalist, Animal Handling, or Survival specialties of their environment.

Ooze-Fugi, molds, jellies, slimes, and certain varieties of slugs. Naturalist or Survival specialities of their environment will work. Never capable of diplomacy; if they were smart enough for that, they'd count as Animals or Kami.

Plants-Naturalist or environment-specific Survival specialties. Pharmacy & Herb Lore can provide information on toxic and medicinal plants, of both the normal and aggressive varieties. Also not capable of diplomacy.

Marebito (稀人)-’unique ones’, creatures without precedence or similarity to anything else which exists. Knowledge is covered by Hidden Lore (Marebito). No defining type characteristics, but often Foreigners as well (see below). Roughly equivalent to Elder Things.

Demons (Akuma/ 悪魔)-Spirits of hell, etc. Corporeal. Knowledge is given by Philosophy(Buddhist), Occultism (Akuma). Have difficulty entering sanctified areas (Buddhist or Shinto).

Angels(Tennin/ 天人)-Spirits of the heavens. Corporeal. Knowledge is given by Philosophy(Buddhist), Occultism(Tennin). This also encompasses the Lunarians of Kaguya-hime's legend.

Other:
Mononoke (物の怪) is used variously to refer to incorporeal Yokai that are inimical to mankind as well as curses. Ayakashi (あやかし) covers Yokai and Onryo inimical to mankind that live in bodies of water. Noroi (呪い) refers to curses, not creatures;they are identified with Esoteric Medicine, Occultism (Noroi), and Thaumatology.

There is also one Subtype so far, which monsters gain or lose during their life:
Foreigner-creatures not native to this time or worldline. Affected by Banish-like effects. Creatures gain or lose this subtype as they move between worldlines. For instance, an ISWAT team showing up would have this applied.

You'll notice several skills cover a lot of territory. Traditionally in japan Buddhism handles funerals, and its introduction of heavens and hells is why it covers undead and spirit beings. Shinto lacks a morality component to its afterlife, or much care for the afterlife at all, so it has been given most of the information on living spiritual creatures.

[Humabout]

If you are basing these off of DFf monster classes at all, you might find this breakdown of some use. It is based on a combination of observations and an email conversation with Kromm.

How these interact with the various Know Thy Enemy skills is pretty much up to you, of course, but Hidden Lore generally seems to have one specialty per class. I like how you have Philosophy and Theology apply to different types of monsters. I think for my games, I would penalize such roles so that Hidden Lore retained its teeth. In effect, a use of those skills would count as a specialized Occultism role for how that skill approaches that creature class. It may or may not be accurate, but, like Occultism, its what people believe.

[Astromancer]

Some Yurei become Kami. Partly this is change of status when a story has been around a long time but there are narratives where the transformation is mentioned in passing. You could have an interesting adventure in convincing a yurei to move over and become a Kami.

By the way, may I suggest that all players be told to read the Kwaidan and watch the film of the same name. They're the wrong time periods but the atmosphere and mood are useful.

[Sciencezam]

A custom monster for today.

Hari-onago (針女子)

ST: 10         HP:  10        Speed: 5.5
DX: 12         Will: 13       Move: 5
IQ: 10         Per: 12        AP: 10
HT: 10         FP: 0           SM: +0
Dodge: 9       Parry: 12      DR: 0

Hair Grab (16): On a hit, roll the victim's ST or HT vs. the Harionago's effective ST; inflict crushing damage equal to the margin of victory. Each extra tendril committed to the attack gives +2 to hit and to ST. Reach C-3.
Barbed Hair (16): 1d-2 piercing. A hit on a grappled a foe lets the Harionago worry; it can roll hair damage each turn as a free action. Requires at least one cluster of hair free to perform. Reach C-3.
Traits: Injury Tolerance (Unliving), Extra Arm 4 (Extra-Flexible, Long), No Nuisance Roll (AP recovery)*, Combat Reflexes, Fragile (Unnatural), Unkillable 3 (takes a year and a day to fully restore self if 'killed'), Very Beautiful (but only from behind), Night Vision 3, Injury Tolerance (No Blood, No Vitals), Immunity to Metabolic Hazards, Peripheral Vision
Skills: Brawling-16, Sex Appeal-14 (9 in good light)
Class: Undead. Vulnerable to exorcism (Buddhist), which attempts to exorcise the corpse. Put to rest naturally when either it slays the object of its hatred, or when all living blood relatives of said are slain by any cause.

Improvement
A more dangerous Harinago has various options for improvement. Consider the following:
Targeted Attack Technique. Using Barbed Hair, any of the following hit locations: Vitals, Eye, Ear, Nose, Limb Vascular, Neck Vascular, Groin, Heart, Armor Chinks (Torso), Armor Chinks (Non-Torso).
Using Hair Grab, any of these: Neck, Hand, Foot, Arm/Leg Joint, Hand/Foot Joint.
Increasing Skill: Higher skill will boost its hair-based parry (the creature's best defence), allow for deceptive attacks, and easier targeting of special hit locations.
Extra Arms: The default version above comes with 4 'arms' of hair to use for attacking. Higher numbers here allow for splitting up attacks among multiple targets simultaneously, or leaving some arms in reserve for defending. Unless a player really deserves it, you shouldn't go with more than 4 or so arms targeting a single player all at once-rolling vs ST 18 in a grapple is bad enough!
Follow-Up Damage: The Harionago's barbs thirst for blood, and can cause additional Toxic damage as a follow up to the barbed hair attack. Poisons are also possible, but very mean. Follow-up Pi or Cut damage can represent individual strands of hair worming their way through a victim's bloodstream.
Enchantment: A Harionago is primarily an ambush predator. Abilities to let it blend into crowds, attract targets that see its hair, skills to seduce a target and the like can help it get off that all important first-attack.
AP Regeneration: The 'base' version listed above doesn't regenerate AP, but always gains back 1 AP when taking a recover action. More dangerous versions should recover some or all of their AP in a turn, to better defend themselves and fight adventurers.
Higher Stats: Of course, increasing stats will make it stronger. To keep from getting too far away from the idea of the Harionago, it should remain (physically) somewhat fragile, and rely on its barbs for most of its damage. Crushing a foe's ribcage isn't appropriate.

Mid-Tier Harionago

ST: 13         HP:  13        Speed: 6
DX: 14         Will: 17       Move: 6
IQ: 10         Per: 13        AP: 10
HT: 10         FP: 0         SM: +0
Dodge: 10       Parry: 14         DR: 1 (Tough Skin)

Hair Grab (16): Deceptive Attack, -2 to defend. On a hit, roll the victim's ST or HT vs. the Harionago's effective ST; inflict crusing damage equal to the margin of victory. Each extra tendril comitted to the attack gives +2 to hit and to ST.
Barbed Hair (16): Deceptive attack, -2 to defend. 1d pi damage. On a hit against a grappled foe, the Harionago can worry, dealing its damage for free each turn. Reach C-3. Follow-Up: 1 point Toxic
Traits: As base creature, plus the following:
Extra arm +3, replace Night Vision with Dark Vision, Vibration Sense, Discriminatory Hearing, AP Regeneration (4/sec), Enhanced Parry (Hair), Voice, Extra Attack.
Skills: Add Targeted Attack (Torso Armor Chinks/Barbed Hair) at the maximum value (total penalty -5)

Lore**
The Hari-onago is a vengeful ghoul created when a woman is murdered by her lover. From behind it appears quite beautiful, but up close its skin has a pallid color and is marred by the wounds that killed it. If it's unable to claim revenge, it will then seek out all members of the target's family until their bloodline is extinguished. The usual limit for this is all persons who share a grandfather with the target.

Reducing the creature to negative HP and causing it to fail a HT roll (or -5xHP) causes its body to stop moving: it can then be safely exorcised (resists with ST 0 and a -5 penalty to will). Prior to that, it will use every tool at its disposal to resist moving on.

Tactics
The Hari-Onago hunts at night, approaching targets on isolated roads. It uses Sex Appeal and Voice to try to draw them close, then uses its Hair Grab to isolate them and starts slicing them to pieces with its Barbed Hair. If ambushed by a group of PCs, it reserves 1-2 of its hair 'arms' for parrying, and uses the rest for attacking. Its regular hands and feet are never used to parry or attack. For movement, it tends to move 'deliberately'; it should rarely, if ever, take a Move action, preferring to step and use its immense reach on foes.

Usually solitary, the Hari-onago can sometimes be found in the employ of necromancers. It retains its slow, deliberate approach to movement, and focuses on distracting or harassing PCs engaging its allies with its great ability to control space.

Similar Creatures
The Kejōrō is a very similar creature, a member of the Yokai class. To adjust the statblocks, remove IT (No Blood, No Vitals), Fragile, Unkillable, vulnerability to exorcism, and Immunity to Metabolic Hazards. Change all Pi damage to Cut, give it FP equal to its HT score. Consider removing IT (Unliving) and boosting ground speed. Unlike the undead version, the live version has no qualms about chasing its prey, and will attempt to run a fleeing victim down. It can be negotiated with, but has a strong desire for the blood of young men. Its primary targets are those frequenting red-light districts at night. The Kejōrō hunts alone, but is quite popular with other Yokai and isn't averse to making friends with them.

To allow players to tell them apart, make sure the live version uses cutting and crushing attacks primarily, while the undead one uses Pi. The Kejōrō's targets should not be related by blood, a tip to help further differentiate the two creatures.

*This is not strictly rules-appropriate, but it works for a monster.
**Not entirely myth-accurate.