This sounds wonderful. Sly Flourish talked in detail about using the underlying concept of the Seven Samurai as a D&D adventure. It's a short read and one you might find useful. Even if you want to apply these motivations to your own adventure, you may find a benefit in the breakdown of the storytelling elements.
PCs could be members of the yakuza clan actually working to pull it off. I get the sense this might take things in the opposite direction than you intend, but it could work. Maybe the emperor is a bad guy. Or at the end, the PCs realize they’ve been on the wrong side and switch to stopping it (or not, it’s good to give them a choice like that).
PCs could be agents of the same god that’s powering the divine soul sorcerer.
PCs could be working for the emperor.
Or for a more classic spin, they live in a small town being raided by the oni/yakuza on point one. They fight to protect their home, and as they are doing so, uncover a larger plot is afoot. It’s a pretty standard campaign arc, but it’s classic for a reason.
The biggest problem I am having is considering a situation/reason to get the PC's involved in this issue. Thank you for anyone willing to help.
I can think of one very easy way to get the players invested in this. The blade the PC found is magical. Now the yakuza's child bloodhound can track it and therefore track the party. Now the yakuza is in conflict with the party because the party likes this sword and the yakuza wants to destroy it. The revenant hunting down the blade could be a former yakuza member who was killed by it. Or it could be a former samurai who was killed by the yakuza. Or by the Oni.
Or plot twist, the revenant hunting the blade could be honor-bound to recover the blade to complete a quest with it--perhaps by killing the yakuza leader or one of the Oni. The revenant tracks the party with the intent to take it by force, but when they finally all get together, the party realizes the noble quest of the revenant and joins forces. Or much darker plot twist, the revenant is honor-bound to recover the blade to complete the mission of killing this magic-tracking child. Now the party has a moral dilema with a few ways out:
Join forces with the revenant and kill the yakuza child. (Chaotic Evil) This would also be strategically difficult as there is a gang protecting the child.
Defeat the revenant and keep the blade for themselves. (Chaotic Good) Now it's a much more straightforward "party vs yakuza" subplot.
Rescue the child from the yakuza. (Lawful Good ) This almost definitely ends in a showdown with the revenant.
Super plot twist! Long ago the blade belonged to the strongest Oni. This entire operation ws orchestrated by the Oni to track down and recover the blade for some inscrutable purpose. If the party figures this out, they have to decide who deserves the blade and what the blade's ultimate fate and owner should be.
Is there anything that once oppressed the Yakuza to make them rise up and actually lead the land? In much of ancient Japan you had the samurai that owned the land and led the yakuza to become what they did. If there is some oppressive force that is a constant threat it helps to make the underground type of turf wars that the yakuza are known for even more important. Certainly don't have to go this direction, but it can change the dynamics significantly, especially if they are controlled by the Emperor and are the current land owners and the Yakuza are trying to overthrow them. A lot more tension in trying to accomplish things.
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Hello all. I am look for some help getting some ideas for an over arcing story in a Japan inspired land. Some points I hope to involve are:
- A clan of Oni, who have a working relationship with a local yakuza.
- A group of yakuza who are working towards removing all magic from their lands. (Part of the reason is to de-power the lands Emperor.)
- The yakuza clans leader being zealous in their goal, to the point that he himself desires to be a walking source of anti-magic.
- The leader using a powerful child divine soul sorcerer to super charge a bunch of Kuo-toa's ritual to create a god of anti-magic.
- The leader attempting to take a portion of the newly formed gods power into himself.
- A revenant who is hunting down one of the PC's for a blade they have.
The biggest problem I am having is considering a situation/reason to get the PC's involved in this issue. Thank you for anyone willing to help.
This sounds wonderful. Sly Flourish talked in detail about using the underlying concept of the Seven Samurai as a D&D adventure. It's a short read and one you might find useful. Even if you want to apply these motivations to your own adventure, you may find a benefit in the breakdown of the storytelling elements.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Shares a lot of themes with Princess Mononoke could be a good thing to draw from
PCs could be members of the yakuza clan actually working to pull it off. I get the sense this might take things in the opposite direction than you intend, but it could work. Maybe the emperor is a bad guy. Or at the end, the PCs realize they’ve been on the wrong side and switch to stopping it (or not, it’s good to give them a choice like that).
PCs could be agents of the same god that’s powering the divine soul sorcerer.
PCs could be working for the emperor.
Or for a more classic spin, they live in a small town being raided by the oni/yakuza on point one. They fight to protect their home, and as they are doing so, uncover a larger plot is afoot. It’s a pretty standard campaign arc, but it’s classic for a reason.
See if you can pick up Kara Tur adventures on the cheap. You'll have to do some adjusting to make it 5e but it's already Asian/Japan flavored.
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I can think of one very easy way to get the players invested in this. The blade the PC found is magical. Now the yakuza's child bloodhound can track it and therefore track the party. Now the yakuza is in conflict with the party because the party likes this sword and the yakuza wants to destroy it. The revenant hunting down the blade could be a former yakuza member who was killed by it. Or it could be a former samurai who was killed by the yakuza. Or by the Oni.
Or plot twist, the revenant hunting the blade could be honor-bound to recover the blade to complete a quest with it--perhaps by killing the yakuza leader or one of the Oni. The revenant tracks the party with the intent to take it by force, but when they finally all get together, the party realizes the noble quest of the revenant and joins forces. Or much darker plot twist, the revenant is honor-bound to recover the blade to complete the mission of killing this magic-tracking child. Now the party has a moral dilema with a few ways out:
"Not all those who wander are lost"
These are some helpful ideas, thank you a lot.
Is there anything that once oppressed the Yakuza to make them rise up and actually lead the land? In much of ancient Japan you had the samurai that owned the land and led the yakuza to become what they did. If there is some oppressive force that is a constant threat it helps to make the underground type of turf wars that the yakuza are known for even more important. Certainly don't have to go this direction, but it can change the dynamics significantly, especially if they are controlled by the Emperor and are the current land owners and the Yakuza are trying to overthrow them. A lot more tension in trying to accomplish things.