#Schools (流派)
Contents
Even the same blade becomes a different sword by school. A school replaces maneuvers and binds the character to the bond of apprenticeship.
Related Items: Maneuver System · Skill System · Progression
This document defines the rules for learning schools and their shared structure. Individual school data follows this standard.
#1. What Is a School?
#Scent
Sengoku martial arts include countless schools. Even when wielding the same katana, the sword of Katori Shinto-ryu seizes the enemy's initiative, while the sword of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu takes the enemy's blade away. Spearmanship has schools, Unarmed Combat has schools, and even Sorcery has schools.
Joining a school is not simply "learning stronger techniques." You form a master-disciple bond, become bound by obligations to fellow disciples, and carry the school's honor. In exchange, you gain techniques that ordinary warriors cannot reach.
#Law
A school replaces the relevant skill's Licensed (3 points) maneuver and secret art (4 points, Master-stage replacement maneuver). Use the school's stronger unique maneuvers instead of the basic maneuvers.
#2. Rules for Learning Schools
#Learning Conditions
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Cost | spend 1 trait slot (instead of a class/general/background trait) |
| Timing | at character creation or on advancement (odd dan) |
| Limit | only 1 school for any one skill. Different schools for different skills are allowed. |
| Prerequisite | relevant skill Trained (2 points) or higher |
| Effect | Licensed maneuver → replaced with school Licensed maneuver. Master maneuver → replaced with school secret art. |
#School Types and Added Benefits
When you learn a school, you gain 1 added benefit in addition to maneuver replacement.
| School Type | Trait Name | Added Benefit | Restriction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Famous School (有名門派) | "Disciple of the ○○-ryu" | Negotiation +2 with dojos/fellow disciples in various regions. Lodging/information/repair support. Reputation +1 (when using the relevant skill). | If you damage the school's honor, you face expulsion (loss of school maneuvers). You share the master's enemies. |
| Secret Transmission (秘人秘伝) | "Inheritor of ○○" | A connection to 1 master NPC. In a crisis, receive advice (the GM provides a hint). Access to a secret manual. | You must carry out the master's secret mission (campaign hook). If the master dies, the transmission remains incomplete. |
| Self-Taught Style (自己流) | "Nameless ○○" | Against the first duel opponent, you are impossible to read — the opponent takes a -2 penalty to choosing defense techniques. | The benefit applies only in the first engagement. Afterward, you are studied. No fellow disciples/dojos (alone). |
#Expulsion Rules (Famous Schools)
When you belong to a Famous School, the following actions trigger an expulsion check:
- attacking a fellow disciple
- teaching the school's maneuvers to an enemy (including yoma)
- publicly damaging the school's honor
On expulsion: lose school Licensed/secret art maneuvers. Return to the basic maneuvers. The trait slot is not returned.
#3. School Maneuver Structure
#Replacement Rules
| Skill Stage | No School | With School |
|---|---|---|
| Novice (1 point) | untrained penalty removed | same |
| Trained (2 points) | +1 bonus | same (+ school added benefit) |
| Licensed (3 points) | +2 + skill-specific maneuver | +2 + replace with school Licensed maneuver |
| Secret Art (4 points, Master stage) | +3 + skill-specific maneuver | +3 + replace with school secret art |
| Saint (5 points) | automatic success | automatic success (school additional benefits apply only when an individual document states them) |
Core Point: A school replaces the skill's Licensed maneuver and secret art (Master-stage maneuver). Example: the Swordsmanship Licensed maneuver "reservation cost -1 for Swordsmanship weapon defense techniques" is replaced by Katori's "Stance of Initiative." The check bonus (+2/+3) is always retained.
Weapon techniques are separate: Licensed techniques from weapon slots (uchigatana One Flash, zanbato One Stroke, etc.) remain usable regardless of schools. Schools are about technique, not how to use a weapon.
#Notation Format
【School】 Katori Shinto-ryu (香取神道流) — Swordsmanship
Type: Famous School
Added: fellow-disciple network (Negotiation +2, lodging/information)
Restriction: must preserve the school's honor
[Licensed Replacement] Stance of Initiative (先の態度)
Type: stance | Energy: 2 | maintain
Effect: An opening-attack stance. While maintaining this stance, gain +3 on the first attack.
When the stance ends, **Defense -2** (1 breath, debuff). An offense-defense tradeoff.
[Secret Art Replacement] Heaven-Earth-Man (天地人)
Type: Kata | Energy: 4 | Limit: 1/round
Effect: 3-strike chain. Consecutive checks from high (heaven) → middle (earth) → low (man).
If all 3 hits land, deal 2 additional Wounds. "Three heights in one breath."#4. School Slots by Skill
The number and direction of schools to be designed for each skill. (Individual data will be written later.)
| Skill | Number of Schools | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Swordsmanship | 4 | Katori (initiative), Yagyu (martial way/disarm), Nito (two-sword style), Jigen (single blow) |
| Spearmanship | 2 | Hozoin (exorcist spear), Kan-ryu (extreme range) |
| Archery | 2 | Ogasawara (ritual/seiza), Gassen (intuition/Fate-based) |
| Unarmed Combat | 1 | Takenouchi (joints/nonlethal) |
| Ninjutsu | 2 | Iga (poison/stealth), Koga (traps/machines) |
| Sorcery | 2 | Abe (shikigami), Tsuchimikado (curses/astronomy) |
| Exorcism | 2 | Shugendo (mountains/Holy Fire), Shingon (vibration/vajra) |
| Gunnery (skill: Archery) | 2 | Inatomi (rapid fire/frontal), Nanban (long range/cannon) |
| Medicine | 1 | Manase (acupuncture/battlefield surgery) |
#5. Schools and Three Ways and Six Hearts
Schools connect to the Three Ways and Six Hearts. Some schools fit particular hearts and create narrative conflict.
| School | Natural Heart | Conflict Situation |
|---|---|---|
| Katori (initiative-focused) | Loyalty/Hegemony | "Is striking first justice?" |
| Yagyu (martial way/nonlethal) | Compassion/Truth | "What it means to win without a blade." |
| Jigen (single-blow focus) | Hegemony/Loyalty | "Once is enough — the price of that arrogance." |
| Nito (two-sword style) | No Heart/Demon | "The loneliness of one for whom winning is everything." |
| Hozoin (exorcist spear) | Loyalty | "The will of gods and buddhas in a warrior monk's spear." |
| Iga (stealth) | Demon/No Heart | "The ethics of battle without honor." |
| Koga (mechanical ninjutsu) | No Heart | "The limits of relying on tools." |
| Shugendo (mountain exorcism) | Truth | "Fighting alongside the mountain kami." |
| Shingon (vibration exorcism) | Loyalty/Compassion | "The price of surrendering the body to sound." |
| Inatomi (frontal shooting) | Hegemony/Loyalty | "Is efficiency honorable or cowardly?" |
| Nanban (foreign firearms) | No Heart/Hegemony | "One who borrowed power from beyond the sea." |
| Manase (Medicine) | Compassion | "When you must treat an enemy." |
#6. Ripple Effects
| Area | Required Changes |
|---|---|
| Skill List | mark each skill as "schools available" + school-specific Licensed/secret art replacement maneuvers |
| Weapon Files | relabel basic Licensed techniques as "basic when no school is present" |
| Character Creation | add a "choose school (optional)" step |
| Character Sheet | add a field for school |
| NPCs/Enemies | set enemies with schools (fellow disciples, rivals) |
| Scenarios | school-related plot hooks (destroyed dojo, rescuing the master, stealing a secret manual) |
Even the same blade becomes a different sword by school. Which path's sword will you take?