Campaign of the Month: February 2022
Dresden Files Accelerated: Emerald City: Requiem
Hiroko Noshimuri
Description:
ASPECTS:
HIGH CONCEPT: HONORABLE WIELDER OF ZANPAKUTO
- INVOKE: Hiroko wields the black steel katana, Zanpakuto, and has trained in swordsmanship since she was a little girl. The blade imbues her with powers beyond normal humans and she uses these abilities to protect those who cannot defend themselves against the supernatural
- COMPEL: The Blade and Hiroko’s training have instilled a strong sense of honor, similar to the Bushido code of the ancient Japanese Samurai. She will not endanger innocents to save herself, nor suffer evil to continue to plague those who cannot defend themselves against it, and she will rarely flee from a fight once combat has begun
TROUBLE: DARKNESS STALKS ME LIKE A LOVER
- INVOKE: Hiroko does not fear the darkness she fights as much as she should, which can make her reckless in regards to her own safety when dealing with such threats
- COMPEL: Because of who and what she is, Hiroko tends to be a magnet for supernatural mishappenings.
ASPECT: OYABUN’S FAVORITE DAUGHTER
- INVOKE: Born to a Yakuza Oyabun, Hiroko was born into the underworld, and this has not changed regardless of where she is or what she is doing now. Her name alone will usually open doors in the Underworld, at least in places that fear or respect the Yakuza.
- COMPEL: She is still a member of the Noshimuri Clan, and therefore, this can bring responsibilities, or unwanted ‘guests’ – ranging from officers of the law to underworld elements, down upon her head.
ASPECT: THE MIND AND BODY ARE ONE
- INVOKE: Hiroko has been trained by Masters of the Eastern arts of fighting. Spend a chip in situations requiring intense concentration
- COMPEL: Hiroko’s training has been so focused that she sometimes forgets others do not deal with situations as one of her training might. This can make her come across as distracted at times in social situations.
ASPECT: BRASH, UNPROVEN SWORDMISTRESS
- INVOKE: Hiroko has spent almost her entire life training in wielding a sword, specifically a katana. She easily rivals any mortal (and some immortal) swords-person
- COMPEL: Hiroko still struggles with when and where to bring her blade properly in a situation. She is quite likely to pull the blade in situations where such an action is unwarranted
APPROACHES 16/16
SUPERB+5: Haste
GREAT+4: Focus, Guile
Good +3:
Fair +2: Intellect
Average +1: Force
Mediocre +0: Flair
MANTLE
SHINIGAMI KENSEI (Supernatural Scale)
UNIQUE CONDITIONS
Shinigami Kensei: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Mark one of the condition’s five boxes to access your mantle’s power, as detailed in your stunts. Recover one box at the conclusion of any scene in which you do not mark a box. Recover two boxes at the start of a new session. Spend a scene in meditation, without interruption, to regain all boxes of Shinigami Kensei.
Blood of the Innocent: [ ]
The blade is to be wielded Supernatural threats only. Should a Muramasa Blade draw blood from a Pure Mortal, mark this condition and the Blade will be rendered inert to its wielder until appropriate penance (as per the GM) is done. The Shinigami loses access to all powers and abilities in this mantle until then.
CORE STUNTS:
Shen Sight:
All Shinigami are exceedingly difficult to surprise, dominate or intimidate, due to the blessings of the Kami. In the course of a game, Shen Sight can be used to perceive the presence of Supernatural beings, and to forewarn the character about attacks and ambushes. Mark a box of Shinigami to gain one of the following:
- Gain a +2 with Focus to resist social or even supernatural forms of mental domination or coercion for a scene.
- Gain a bonus of +2 to detect the supernatural nature of a subject for an exchange. This will not tell them what kind of supernatural the subject is. Only that they are touched by forces outside the normal course of nature.
- Gain a bonus of +2 for a scene to detect ambushes or any intention to harm the character.
Right Place, Right Time:
Once per session, you may announce your presence in the perfect place to help someone in need, ignoring usual limits of time, distance, or plausibility. If the GM elects to grant you a boost and subsequently take advantage of the situation, the stunt does not count as the once-per-session application.
Muramasa Blade:
You have been entrusted with an instrument of power against Evil: Zanpakuto, Ama-no-Habakiri, Bushikatagi, Kazeshini, or Balisarda – one of five Black Iron Katanas, made from the metal of a falling star and cooled in the blood of a Tennin, by the great sword smith, Muramasa. The blade is made to fight the Oni, and other supernatural threats.
Mark a box of Shinigami Kensei and declare that that the blade nullifies the effect of scale (page 182) from a declared supernatural opponent for the current scene. To use the power against a different opponent during the same scene requires an additional box of Shinigami Kensei. At the GM’s discretion, this stunt can also nullify other effects of supernatural powers, such as avoiding a soulgaze or seeing through a Glamour.
ADDITIONAL STUNTS:
Kensei Healing:
By altering the flow of Essence through the body, the character can speed up healing and recovery abilities. Outside of conflict, mark one box of Kensei to clear a sticky condition, or two boxes to begin recovery from a lasting condition. These conditions must represent physical injury.
Cloak of Shadows:
You can see perfectly in the dark and are immune to any potential effect of normal or magical darkness. Additionally, once per session, you may declare that you automatically succeed at hiding from any non-magical attempt to spot you, provided you have a nearby shadow to hide in.
Ghostbane (requires Cloak of Shadows):
You ignore the incorporeality of insubstantial creatures (e.g., ghosts, specters) and affect them as though they were physical.
Master Martial Artist Riposte:
On a successful defense with style in melee combat, deal two shifts of harm to opponent who attacked instead of taking a boost. As a master martial artist you can use your opponent’s own attacks against them.
Kensei Armor:
Mark one box of Kensei to absorb two shifts from a physical attack.
CONDITIONS:
In Peril (sticky): [ 4 ]
You may mark the In Peril condition whenever you are hit by an attack. Negate up to four shifts of damage from the attack and then create an aspect that describes how the attack causes damage not easily shaken off (such as a Broken Leg or Shattered Reputation). Whoever inflicted the condition is awarded a free invoke on that aspect. Recover from In Peril when you act deliberately to resolve the peril: medical attention for an injury, a bribe to erase the slight on your reputation. This typically entails overcoming an obstacle against an opposition of Great (+4) or higher.
Doomed (lasting): [ 6 ]
You may mark the Doomed condition whenever you are hit by an attack. Negate up to six shifts of damage from the attack and then create an aspect that describes how the attack has rendered you almost helpless, such as Bleeding Out or Ready to Embrace the Dark Side. Whoever inflicted the condition is awarded a free invoke on that aspect. Recover from Doomed when you act deliberately to resolve the doom: emergency medical attention, the intervention of a White Council healer skilled in mental magic, or something similar. This typically entails overcoming an obstacle against an opposition of Great (+4) or higher. Clear out Doomed at the end of the next session after you’ve started recovery. If Doomed is checked and you are taken out (page 189), death is one of the possible outcomes.
Indebted to Honor of the Tengu of Toyland, (sticky): [ 1 ]
Hiroko owes Honor, a Tengu smith in Toyland, for information provided to her. She owes one favor, with the caveat that she will not be asked to harm a mortal, and has the right to refuse should it infringe her honor.
STRESS: [ 1 ] [ 1 ] [ 1 ] [ 1 ] [ 1 ] [ 1 ]
CURRENT REFRESH: 2
Spent Refresh: 5
Bio:
BACKGROUND
Hiroko was born in Tokyo, Japan, as was her father Yakazua Oyabun, Hiro Noshimuri, and her older brothers Michael (deceased) and Adam. Her family relocated to Hawaii when she was all of five and it was here that she was taken under wing by her father’s Dojo Master, the Kensei, Keiji Fusahiro. Apple of her father’s eye, she was doted on as a young girl, attending the best schools, and being given everything she might have wanted. However, all was not well, as upon her 13th Birthday, Hiroko began to see and hear those things around her normal beings could not.
Little did the young woman know she was being trained, not to walk the path her father intended for his precious daughter, but to be the wielder of Zanpakuto, a black blade Katana of the Shinigami Kensei. According to Master Fusahiro, this destiny was placed upon her with her birth, and this was why she was ‘blessed’ with Shen Sight. To this end, Master Fusahiro taught her in not only the arts of war and Bushido, but in the secrets of the Supernatural World – its movers and shakers, and of the oni (demons).
The path of Shinigami, and her emerging Shen Sight, brought Hiroko into conflict with many of her father’s allies, at least those of the supernatural bent. These conflicts brought more and more down upon the young woman’s head, and eventually upon her father’s as well. To protect his beloved daughter, Hiro ‘faked’ his daughters death and sent her to trusted family allies in New York City. To make the ‘death’ convincing, Hiro struck a bargain with a powerful Djinn. Shortly after this, rival Yakuza Clans banded together and slew Hiro in his own home. Keiji Fusahiro died at the side of his Oyabun, defending Hiro with his dying breaths. Her elder brother, Adam, ascended to the leadership of the Clan, and heir to the secret that his dear sister still lived.
RISING CONFLICT
In New York, Hiroko attended NYU, earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Law and went on to attend NYU’s prestigious law school. She also took on an internship at NYC’s DA Office, passing the Bar Exam upon graduation. At the same time, Hiroko continued her training, on her own. During this time, she became romantically involved with Hana Sahng, a Korean/American Vampire slayer, and the two became allies as well as lovers. Through Hana, Hiroko was able to enhance her training at Hapkido Master (and also Hana’s Watcher) Chong Min Lee’s Academy in New Jersey.
Unfortunately, during The Formor’s attempt to get a foothold in New York City, Hiroko’s past would come to haunt her once again. A member of the Jade Vampire Yakuza Shioma Clan, working with Fomor agents, recognized Hiroko, and with the assistance of his supernatural allies, attempted to kill Hiroko and Hana. Hiroko emerged from the carnage of that battle, victorious, the lone survivor.
Mourning the loss of her girlfriend, and knowing that she needed to relocate before word got back to the Shioma’s and endangered her brother and the rest of her family, Hiroko put New York behind her and chose to relocate to Seattle, where she has taken up residence in the International District. Her blade still answers the call of those who need her assistance. Her feet still tread upon the path of the Shinigami, laid out for her so long ago. Her honor remains her own.
THE STORY
STORY TITLE: TOUCH OF DEATH
GUEST STARRING: Jack Youngblood
Hiroko, only in Seattle a few months, finally settling in to her new apartment in the I-District, while getting a feel for her new home and her new job working at The Seattle Dojo (where Reverend Charlie got her a job teaching Japanese, Kendo, and Hapkido (which she learned in NYC)) discovers that her Destiny will not let her ever live a normal life.
Word on the street in her neighborhood reaches her of the disappearance of several young women, each one found several days later, their heads missing, and their bodies affected by some unidentifiable wasting disease. At first, Hiroko thought of Vampires, but the Modus Operandi did not fit either Black or Jade Court, and the Red court was gone by this point. So, she began an investigation of her own.
She sought out more information first, reaching out to Hyung-Su-Kim, having been aware of his true nature almost since meeting him in passing. He and his clan were able to provide the Shinigami with some leads, and Hiroko began investigating them. After several dead ends, another woman disappeared. Thankfully, Reverend Charley, who had befriended Hiroko almost immediately upon her arrival in I-Town, while having little information in regards to her quest, did point her in the direction of Seattle’s Warden, Jack Youngblood.
Younger than she expected, and far too casual and irreverent for her tastes, the young Warden did prove to be quite capable and helpful. With an impressive display of magic, the impudent young wizard helped her track down the killer – A Penanggalan, a nocturnal vampiric entity originally from Malaysia. With his assistance, Hiroko fought the flying vampiric head until it was dead and destroyed. She then helped the young woman, Nora Quinn, who herself had been hunting the creature when it ambushed her and dragged her to it’s lair. As a result of his help, a bond based on mutual respect developed between Hiroko and Jack.
GUEST STAR
STORY TITLE: A Sheltered Jailbreak
STARRING: Kerouac
On the trail of an Inugami that had been praying on people’s pets (as well as the local ‘wildlife’ of Seattle), Hiroko tracked the Oni to the Seattle Animal Shelter, and easily spotted it masquerading as a night guard – the things appetite was voracious and she observed it devouring animals from the shelter. She stealthily slipped inside, easily seeing in the dark as she drew Zanpakuto, and snuck up on the creature, only to have it turn on her with inhuman speed. A battle ensued – Hiroko’s skill with a blade and natural grace, against the Oni’s strength and stench…and his abilities to make allies. The thing howled, and one of the dogs in the shelter broke free and leaped at Hiroko’s back. Hiroko watched as the dog attacked an exact replica of her, and the Inugami did the same. Quickly, she took advantage of the distraction, her blade snapping out to cut deeply into the Inugami’s face, even as her right foot snapped out in a spin kick to send the dog flying into a wall, where it slumped to the ground, whimpering. Before she could stop it, the Inugami fled into the night. Looking around for who helped her, Hiroko met Kerouac, who had glamoured the fake her. She recognized the pooka for what he was thanks to her shen sight, but when he spoke, she indulged him and acted surprised. Eventually, a deal between the two was struck, and Hiroko released the ‘cat’ from his cage.
GUEST STAR REDUX
STORY TITLE: Cousins
STARRING: Fergus Mac Cormaic
In NYC, Hiroko learned of A Fomor attempt on several immigrants from Ireland that The Fomor wanted really badly. Hiroko, with the aid of her then girlfriend, the vampire slayer Hana Sahng intercepted the Fomor, letting the fugitives get away. Unfortunately, this conflict cost Hiroko dearly. Not only was she recognized by Michelle Shioma, a Yakuza assassin (and Jade Court Vampire) working with the Fomor, but Hana was slain. Hiroko left for Seattle shortly after, covering her tracks as best as she could.
