#Samurai (侍)
Ruler of the Front Zone. The battle line hardens just because a samurai stands there.
- Role: Front Zone guardian, Domination anchor, squad commander
- Core Attributes: Courage (勇), Physique (體)
- Core Zone Entry: forced Breakthrough
- Base Class: orthodox warrior. The prototype of all warrior classes.
- Three Ways and Six Hearts: Loyalty or Hegemony (orthodox Way of Rites). In conflict, branches toward Compassion/Truth.
- Skills Eligible for Master: Swordsmanship, Fighting Spirit, Horsemanship, Military Science, Intimidation, Bearing
- Starting Automatic Skills: Swordsmanship Trained, Fighting Spirit Novice, Military Science Novice, Intimidation Novice
#Scent — The Warrior's Path
The samurai is the pillar of the battlefield. When he stands in the Front Zone under his lord's command, his very presence becomes a wall. Retainers feel safe behind his back, and enemies are pressed by his force. The saying that one warrior rules one zone is not a metaphor, but a rules sentence.
When five ashigaru say, "We are too afraid to go," the samurai takes the first step. That alone makes the five follow. As long as the pillar of the Front Zone stands, the battle line does not collapse — though if the pillar falls, everything collapses. So the samurai's first virtue is "not falling." Not a dazzling strike, but immovable resolve that does not yield a single step.
Samurai combat is not flashy. Use the right technique at the right range from the right position. While he declares Immovable Formation (不動の陣) and does not move, enemies cannot enter and allies shoot from behind him. Then, at the decisive moment — Katori Shinto-ryu's Heaven-Earth-Man (天地人), three cuts from high (heaven), middle (earth), and low (man), all in one breath. That one breath decides not the fate of one enemy, but of one unit.
Bushido (武士道) is beautiful, but cruel. When the lord's order is "burn that village," the samurai's true battle begins between the reason to draw the sword and the reason he cannot. The samurai of Kagura Domain follows military law; the samurai who faces Shuten Mountain follows humanity. Where the two paths meet, a true warrior stands.
- Recommended Weapons: uchigatana (all-purpose), tachi (mounted), zanbato (large-target specialist), nodachi (one-hit kill)
- Recommended Schools: Katori Shinto-ryu (Heaven-Earth-Man — essence of the samurai), Jigen-ryu (first-strike focus), Yagyu Shinkage-ryu (Muto — nonlethal option)
- Recommended Faction Traits: Kagura Domain (regular military law), Ikko-ikki (path of the peasant samurai), Enryokan (warrior monk samurai)
#Law — Trait List
#1st Dan: Immovable Formation (不動の陣) [stance]
[stance] Immovable Formation (不動の陣)
Energy: 2 (on declaration) | Maintain: until released | Simultaneous stances: 1
Effect: allied Domination in this zone +3 (+4 in the Front Zone). Enemy Breakthrough Target Number +2. Cannot move.
Zone: maximum effect in the Front Zone.
Release: free action 0 Energy (release stance). Automatically releases on movement.#3rd-Dan Class Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Declare Duel (一騎討ち) | [Kata] | 2 | 1/round | designate 1 enemy Commander/Elite in the same zone. Until the next round, both sides can attack only that target. Both sides' attack techniques +2. |
| Resolve of Junshi (殉死の覚悟) | [aptitude] | — | — | while at Wounds 1 or less, all attack techniques +3. |
| Vassal Command (家臣統率) | [aptitude] | — | — | squad order Energy -1 in the same zone (minimum 1). |
#5th-Dan Class Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ironwall Defense (鐵壁守備) | [aptitude] | — | — | while maintaining Immovable Formation, Defense +2. Immune to Defenseless. |
| Kiai (氣合) | [Kata] | 1 | 1/round | all allied squads, including adjacent zones, gain Cohesion +1. |
| Guarding Stance (護衛態勢) | [stance] | 2 (declare) | maintain | occupies 1 stance slot. While maintained, when an ally in the same zone is hit, the samurai can automatically take the hit instead (1/round, triggers as 0 Energy ([Kata])). Cannot be used together with Immovable Formation — limited to 1 stance slot. |
#7th-Dan Advanced Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muso (無双) | [Kata] | 3 | 1/round | make the current weapon Attack A check against all enemies in the same zone. |
| General's Banner (大將旗) | [stance] | 2 | maintain | all allied attack techniques in the zone +1. Domination +2. Cannot move. Replaces Immovable Formation. |
| Samurai Pride (侍の矜持) | [aptitude] | — | — | immune to fear. Negate Fumble (treat as ordinary failure). |
#9th-Dan Advanced Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demon of the Battlefield (戰場の鬼) | [aptitude] | — | — | recover 2 Energy when you finish an enemy. Chain finishing is possible. |
| Invincible Under Heaven (天下無敵) | [aptitude] | — | — | Defense +3. The first enemy attack each round automatically fails. |
| Ten Thousand Cannot Stand Against One (萬夫不當) | [aptitude] | — | — | when alone in a zone, Domination +6. |
#Typical Breath Pattern (5th Dan)
Samurai: Energy 12 (10+Finesse 2), uchigatana
Count 12 — first breath: Immovable Formation(2) + uchigatana solid strike(2) + defense reservation(1) = 5 Count 7 — second breath: uchigatana solid strike(2) + Kiai(1) + defense reservation(1) = 4 → remaining Energy: 12 - 5 - 4 = 3 (Guarding Stance trigger/emergency action)
#Squad Tactics Traits (Samurai)
Slot Rule: Squad tactics traits are included in the class trait choices for that dan. When choosing 3rd/5th-dan class traits, you may choose a squad tactics trait instead of an ordinary class trait.
The samurai is a commander who stands at the head of the squad and fights with it. Unlike a scholar who only gives orders from the rear, many samurai squad tactics trigger only when the samurai himself acts in the same zone as the squad.
| Trait | Type | Learned Dan | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Charge (先鋒突擊) | [Tactic:Kata] | 3rd dan | squad order cost+1 | 1/round | samurai must be in the same zone. Samurai and squad move+attack at the same time. Squad attack check +1. The samurai's own next attack also +1. "The lord runs first." |
| Ironwall Formation (鐵壁陣形) | [Tactic:Stance] | 5th dan | squad order cost | maintain | as long as the samurai is in the same zone: squad Defense +2, cannot move. Can stack with Immovable Formation — Immovable Formation (zone Domination+4) + Ironwall Formation (squad Defense+2) = ironwall. |
Three Ways and Six Hearts: Vanguard Charge has both Loyalty (the lord leads from the front) and Hegemony (one leads so others follow). Ironwall Formation is Loyalty itself — "do not fall back."
#Zone Bonuses
| Zone | Bonus / Use |
|---|---|
| Front Zone | samurai home ground. Immovable Formation +4, synergy with yari/spear walls, squad protection. Here, the samurai is a mountain. |
| Core Zone | forced Breakthrough required. All stances invalid (Immovable Formation also releases). The samurai's weakness. Avoid entry when possible. |
| Rear Zone | does not go there. A samurai in the Rear Zone means the squad has scattered. |
| Flank Zone | only for Declare Duel or chasing an enemy commander. The samurai's flashy solo action. |
| High Ground | synergy with General's Banner stance. Whole-battlefield sight + allied morale. Deputy commander position. |
#Three Ways and Six Hearts Conflict
The samurai's core drama is the fracture between Loyalty (忠) and Benevolence (仁).
- Loyalty (Way of Rites): "serve the lord's command." The samurai default. The path Kagura Domain most often shows.
- Hegemony (Way of Rites): "I become the lord." The possibility of gekokujo. Samurai with the Fallen Noble background often fall into this.
- Conflict: toward Compassion — "when the lord gives a wrongful order, set down the sword." The true test of bushido. If you refuse the order, relationship with the lord -1, but your own heart gains +1.
- Conflict: toward Truth — "question bushido itself." After witnessing the clash between military law and humanity. A samurai who roams without serving a daimyo.
- Final Conflict: when the lord dies and the house is destroyed, only two choices remain for the samurai. Junshi (殉死) — the extreme of loyalty. Or turning ronin (浪人) — the beginning of a new path. Most samurai choose the former, but the real story begins with the latter.
"Immovable Formation. Do not fall back a single step. That is the first line of bushido, and the last."
#Example Character
→ Kagura Masamune — Sample Sheet (1st/5th/10th dan + step-by-step backstory)