May Entry: Tanaka's Challenge

[Gamerprinter]

Since I missed out last month (even though I'm still too busy), I decided to try and squeeze a chase adventure, specifically designed for the CWBP Kaidan seting (as opposed to my intended published version.) I plan to do 3 to 5 tiles (maybe more) at 24 x 36 inches, 1 inch = 100 ppi, thus 20 pix/foot scale.

Since 12rounds (Kimmo) was so kind as to create Lord Izo Tanaka http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...naka#post53005 I decided to make him the main antagonist of this adventure chase!

Tanaka's Challenge: adventure for 3 - 4 PCs levels 2 - 4, as oriental adventurers in the setting of Kaidan.

The Daimyo of Hamato Province in southern Kaidan, is the inscrutable Lord Izo Tanaka (vampire of ravens). Having learned that the PC party has been adventuring in his realm and performing acts of subterfuge and espionage, he became very curious.

Tanaka is secretly the master of the Hidden in Hamato province. The Hidden is the known name of the five ninja clans of Kaidan, the Muto clan is located in Hamato, near Uesumi, northwest of his castle. Perhaps he could entice the party to visit his castle, so he could create a challenge to test their skills.

Lord Tanaka has learned one of the PCs has been courting the daughter of a local silk dyer, so he sent a troop of Raven Samurai to fetch her, with a message to her father, "Tell her lover to sneak into my castle and take her back, if he succeeds, I will set her free."

The PCs have disguised themselves as merchants, unarmored and only lightly armed, bearing gifts for his lordship. Members must include at least one ninja, from a family outside Hamato province, and one Monk, though may include up to four, none of Samurai Caste, however, preferrable all of Heimen (Commoner) Caste.

Once in the Daimyo's Court hall (chamber in top left of map), while the party is in audience with Lord Tanaka, the girl betrothed to the PC member is brought in. Tanaka decrees, "I will count to 100, you have that much time, before I sound the alarm, if you can escape my men, my castle and my town, I will set you all free as innocents. 1, 2, 3..."

Map Tile 1: Tanaka's Castle, Oten-jo, Hamato Province, Empire of Kaidan
(Rooms are not labeled, just described in text below, for better use in VT)

Starting Chamber (top left of map tile 1), the Raven Court: sitting on the raised platform to the north of this room is Lord Izo Tanaka. Room also contains one minister (presumeably a spellcaster), and at least twice as many fully armored samurai as PC party members.

The party and the girl must exit into the hall to the south. Looking west, a troop of 24 armored samurai are marching away from the PCs, but are closest should the alarm be set off. Looking east, the Lord's Seer, a dark necromancer (onmyoji sorcerer) and a band of acolytes are crossing the arcane bridge which ends up as the hallway from the west. A maid pops from the door just east of the entrance of the courtroom. The PCs may actually bump into this girl as she simultaneously comes out the door with an armload of cleaned kimonos, knocking them to the floor. (Of course this is the best avenue of escape, as the PCs don't know the layout of this caste.)

Into the stone hallway going north. The first chamber to the west contains a dozen samurai and ashigaru involved in a high stakes game of dice. If the PCs pop in here, 12 assailants will be following them out. The second chamber further down is the kimono laundry room with two female workers within. Just as they reach the door of the laundry chamber, the Castle alarm rings out.

A balcony opening to the west has a full view down the cliffside to the town below (320' down). However just beneath the balcony about 8 feet beneath is a curved gable a bit less than 3 feet wide, though precarious, one could slip down towards its southern eave and with only a five foot leap could reach the roof of the wall parapet to the east. Crawl to the southern side and drop to the parapet wall below. As they run past the front edge of the fortress, a dozen guards are seen running towards the stairs going up to the parapet. Also archers are firing at the PCs from the balcony they came from.

If they reach the parapet tower on the south end, ashigaru guards begin charging up the spiral stairs towards the PCs. They will be forced to leap off the walls and into the murky moat below... so ends Map Tile One...

Haven't decided how many tiles to create, I'm just winging this adventure!

Edit: I have to take the doors out, they would be placed by the GM, not me...

GP

[Gamerprinter]

Here's the next map in the chase. Once the PCs jump into the moat, they have to swim and avoid being shot by bowman on the wall parapet, though nobody will jump in after them.

The small tower north of the moat is the Sorcerer's tower and arcane missles will soon be launched. Samurai archers on the south rampart, the other side of the moat, will be firing on PCs swimming in the moat. Eventually sorcerers will be appear at the bottom of the tower in closer proximity.

Before the PCs make it to the opposite side, they will notice a half dozen boats in the moat coming from the north each with samurai archers and ashigaru spear men, poling their way towards the PCs position.

The only escape is through the drainage tunnel on the opposite wall to escape into the next map tile...

Enjoy!

GP

[RPMiller]

Oh... my... freaking... A... I know one entrant that is getting a vote for sure! Repped!

This just hits every giddy bone in my body. I will definitely be swiping this when you are done and may just run a Sengoku game, whether our group wants to play or not, just to use it.

[Map Vandal]

That water is nasty!

[RPMiller]

That's what happens when you channel all the human and animal waste to a stagnate source. What better way to prevent someone from crossing the moat than to make it look like that?

And yea, it is freakin' nasty looking.

[Gamerprinter]

Next tile is crossing the small mountain creek that represents the outer moat on the west side of the castle. Though an archer or two may be atop the outer bailley, above the drainage tunnel exit, the real threat is coming from the other side of the tunnel, as the samurai and ashigaru on boats are entering the tunnel themselves.

At least a jump into this four foot shallow creek allows the party to wash off the filth of crossing the moat, previously. The depth and current would prevent a heavily armored person from crossing safely, however, the lighter armored ashigaru spearmen will cross easily.

Though the party doesn't realize it, they are entering the back-end of a temple garden, which is in the next tile.

A monk is standing at the base of those rough hewn stone steps and may present an obstacle for PCs to try to negotiate before Tanaka's troops show up through the drainage tunnel. This monk is loyal to Lord Tanaka.

Oh, that's a stone lantern at the foot of the stairs.

Enjoy!

GP

[waldronate]

Very pretty. The grain in the stones in the river aren't in scale with the flagstones on land, though. Makes it look like 2" gravel with a 20x magnification.

[Gamerprinter]

Very pretty. The grain in the stones in the river aren't in scale with the flagstones on land, though. Makes it look like 2" gravel with a 20x magnification.

That's a fair enough assessment, since its actually true. So I switched it up, removed the gravel altogether. Instead using that brown rock texture, I created a water carved channel with two levels beneath the water's surface and threw in some water plants to help show the current and direction of the flow, simulate a greater depth - and altogether improve the look of the river.

Good catch, Waldronate!

GP

[waldronate]

Much prettier. The scale isn't jarring now. A few foamy bits and it'll be perfect! (Or am I just being overly picky?)

[Gamerprinter]

Map Tile 4: the Temple Garden...

Once the party crosses the mountain stream and rises up the hillside, they are entering a Sohei temple grounds surrounding Tanaka's castle. Though lovely there are a half dozen monks practicing martial arts on the paved courtyard behind the main temple. By the time the party is north of the small pond, the ashigaru are coming through the rear gate. At which point the monks will join in the chase.

Exit north into the samurai residential district, map tile five to the north.

Enjoy!

GP

PS: I was thinking that if one didn't use these tiles for a chase scenario, using them in reverse order could be a means of sneaking into the castle for an infiltration/ninja type mission.