#Shugenja (修驗者)
A practitioner who tempered the body through mountain austerities. By paying with their own blood and pain, they draw out power beyond human limits.
- Role: self-sacrificing burst damage/support. Cuts down Wounds through austerity to empower techniques.
- Core Attributes: Physique (體), Courage (勇)
- Core Zone Entry: free
- Base Class: yamabushi (山伏). Mountain practitioner. The mirror image of the esoteric monk.
- Three Ways and Six Hearts: Compassion or Truth. One who sees truth through pain.
- Skills Eligible for Master: Fighting Spirit, Hardiness, Exorcism, Unarmed Combat, Survival, Footwork
- Starting Automatic Skills: Hardiness Trained, Fighting Spirit Novice, Exorcism Novice, Survival Novice
#Scent — The Path of Austerity
Yamabushi (山伏). Those who train in the mountains. They chant sutras beneath waterfalls, walk barefoot over fire, and endure winter mountains naked, tempering body and spirit. One who has passed through this extreme training can use inhuman power in a human body. Training is not scholarship — it is carving truth into your own body. A hundred waterfalls teach more than a single book.
Shugenja use "pain" as battlefield fuel. They spill their own blood, crack their own bones, and suppress pain by will — and the force that erupts in exchange is sharper than a blade and hotter than sorcery. If other classes use breath (Energy) as their resource, shugenja use flesh (Wounds). They offer their own flesh as sacrifice and create one breath of explosion. That explosion erases one enemy unit. Then the shugenja returns to the waterfall at the next lull, for new flesh.
If the esoteric monk repels yoma with sutras, the shugenja repels them by offering their own body. The Pure Land monk leans on the Buddha's compassion, but the shugenja leans on their own pain. Two monks raised in the same mountain temple part ways one day — one to the path of esoteric Buddhism, one to the path of Shugendo. It is said that the two paths meet at the summit. At the moment of awakening. But the shugenja's path is faster, and more brutal. By the time they reach 9th dan, the shugenja's body is covered in scars. Each scar is one enemy, one breath of truth, one awakening.
There is no fear in the eyes of those who come down from the mountains. They have already fought and defeated the most frightening enemy: themselves. Yet the shugenja's deepest loneliness is that their body gradually exceeds the human. One day, the shugenja realizes their hand is no longer a human hand. Their foot is no longer a human foot. A shugenja who reaches 9th-dan [Sokushinbutsu] has become a Buddha while still alive. Is that a blessing, or death as a human being? The answer is for the shugenja alone to decide. In the mountains, alone.
- Recommended Weapons: katana (Front Zone), staff/vajra (exorcism), bare hands/Unarmed Combat, bow (for hunting). Shugenja train their own bodies more than their weapons.
- Recommended Schools: Shugendo-ryu (combined with austerity — natural calling), Takenouchi-ryu (Unarmed Combat), Shingon-ryu (Mahavairocana Mantra). Synergy with temple-origin backgrounds.
- Recommended Faction Traits: Muhyeon Band (tengu mountain training), Hiei League (path of warrior monks), Ikko-ikki (peasant shugenja)
#Core Resource: Austerity (苦行)
A shugenja-only mechanic. Voluntarily reduce Wounds to strengthen techniques.
Declare Austerity: on your breath, before executing techniques, declare "Austerity N." Immediately reduce your own Wounds by N. In exchange, every technique in that breath gains the bonus below:
| Austerity N | Wound Cost | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Austerity 1 | Wounds -1 | all checks that breath +2 |
| Austerity 2 | Wounds -2 | all checks that breath +4, technique damage +1 Wound |
| Austerity 3 | Wounds -3 | all checks that breath +6, technique damage +2 Wounds, [Pierce all] |
Limits:
- You cannot use Austerity below Wounds 1; only up to the edge of incapacitation.
- Wounds reduced by Austerity do not recover naturally at a lull. They can return only through treatment/recovery effects from other characters such as performers or Pure Land monks.
"For shugenja, pain is not an enemy. It is fuel."
#Law — Trait List
#1st Dan: Vow of Fudo Myoo (不動明王の誓い) [aptitude]
[aptitude] Vow of Fudo Myoo
Effect: can use Austerity. Free Core Zone entry/exit. While at Austerity 1+, attacks against yoma gain +1.#3rd-Dan Class Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire-Walking (火渡り) | [Kata] | 2 | 1/round | add the "Holy Fire (聖火)" environmental gimmick to your zone. Yoma take 1 Wound each lull. Harmless to humans. Requires Austerity 1. |
| Austerity Chain (苦行連鎖) | [aptitude] | — | — | when you cut Wounds through Austerity, gain Energy +2 for that breath. "Pain returns breath." |
| Mountain Breath (山の息吹) | [upkeep] | — | 1/lull | during the lull step, recover 1 of the Wounds spent on Austerity (normally cannot recover). "The mountain's qi fills the wound." |
#5th-Dan Class Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Retreat (不退轉) | [stance] | 2 | maintain | while maintained, convert Wound loss on hit into Austerity — Wounds still decrease, but Austerity bonus applies automatically to the next breath. "The more you are hit, the stronger you become." |
| End of Training (修行の果て) | [aptitude] | — | — | while at Wounds 2 or less, all techniques cost Energy -1 (minimum 1). "At the limit, the body becomes light." |
| Barrier Walking (結界步行) | [Kata] | 3 | 1/round | automatically install barriers along your movement route. Yoma take 1 Wound when entering. Requires Austerity 1. |
#7th-Dan Advanced Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human Offering (人身供養) | [Kata] | 1 | 1/combat | declare Austerity 3 (Wounds -3). For the rest of this round, all remaining attack techniques become automatic Critical Hits. 1/combat. Be ready to fall to Wounds 1 or less. |
| Yamabushi Authority (山伏の權能) | [aptitude] | — | — | Austerity bonuses are multiplied by 2. Austerity 1 = +4, Austerity 2 = +8. In exchange, after Austerity, your one-breath limit in the next round is 3. |
| Goma (護摩) | [Kata] | 4 | 1/combat | requires Austerity 2. Everyone in the target zone (enemies) takes 3 Wounds + "Holy Fire" environmental gimmick. Wide-area exorcism. |
#9th-Dan Advanced Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sokushinbutsu (卽身成佛) | [Kata] | 0 | 1/session | set Wounds to 0 (on the edge of voluntary incapacitation). Remaining effects this round: all checks automatically succeed. All attacks deal 3 Wounds. [Pierce all]. At round end, become incapacitated. "Offer your own body to the Buddha." |
| Return Alive (生還) | [aptitude] | — | — | Wounds reduced by Austerity recover fully at the lull. Austerity's only weakness disappears. |
| Living Mountain | [aptitude] | — | — | maximum Wounds +3 (additional, not Physique +3). Increases Austerity capacity. Total Wounds 8~10 possible. |
#Zone Bonuses
| Zone | Effect |
|---|---|
| Core Zone | Austerity bonus +1 additional (the Core Zone's chaos draws out training's extreme) |
| High Ground | recover additional Energy +1 when using Austerity (mountain training) |
| Underwater | Austerity 1 applies automatically (same as waterfall training) |
#Three Ways and Six Hearts
| Natural Heart | Conflict |
|---|---|
| Compassion (Way of Emptiness) | "Understand everything through pain." Compassion through self-sacrifice. |
| Truth (Way of Mystery) | "Train as one with the mountain." The path of kamuy. |
| Conflict: Loyalty→Hegemony | "Does this pain have meaning?" Austerity falls from purpose into means. |
#Recommended Weapons
| Weapon | Reason |
|---|---|
| Vajra (exorcism ritual implement) | 2 Wounds to yoma. Based on Exorcism checks. Shared by shugenja and esoteric monks. |
| Tanto (dagger) | Austerity + low-Energy flurry in the Core Zone. |
| Tetsubo (iron club) | Synergy between Austerity bonuses and crushing Defense destruction. |
#Typical Shugenja Breath Patterns
| Breath | Maneuver Combination | Energy | Wound Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austerity 1+Vajra | Austerity 1 (Wounds-1)+holy strike(2)+holy strike(2) | 4 | 1 | 2 hits (each check +2). 4 Wounds to yoma. |
| Austerity 2 All-In | Austerity 2 (Wounds-2)+holy strike(2)+defense(1) | 3 | 2 | 1 hit (check +4, damage +1)+defense. |
| Human Offering (7th dan) | Austerity 3 (Wounds-3)+Human Offering(1), then all attacks auto-Critical | 1 | 3 | all remaining breath attacks are automatic Critical Hits. |
| Sokushinbutsu (9th dan) | Wounds→0 + whole round automatic success | 0 | all | final bloom. Incapacitated at round end. |
"Austerity is a gamble. The more Wounds you cut away, the stronger you become, but you cannot undo it. That resolve is the shugenja's essence."
#Differences from Other Classes
| Compared Class | Shugenja Difference |
|---|---|
| esoteric monk | esoteric monks use sutras/mudra. For shugenja, their own body is the weapon. Esoteric monks do not have Austerity resource exchange. |
| Pure Land monk | Pure Land monks sustain others. Shugenja cut themselves down to help others or strike enemies. |
| wildlander | wildlanders specialize in bare hands. Shugenja can fight bare-handed, but Austerity + technique enhancement is the core. Can use tools such as vajra and ritual implements. |
| arahitogami | arahitogami use the external resource of "faith." Shugenja use the internal resource of their own Wounds. |
"This pain is — my strength."
#Squad Tactics Traits (Shugenja)
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.
Shugenja squad tactics are the fire of austerity. They cut down their own bodies to purify the squad and the zone.
| Trait | Type | Learned Dan | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flame of Austerity (苦行の炎) | [Tactic:Stance] | 3rd dan | squad order cost + your Wounds -1 | maintain | the shugenja must be in the same zone. Shugenja Wounds -1. Zone gains the Holy Fire (聖火) environment: yoma take 1 Wound each lull. The squad is unaffected. |
| Mountain Trek (山岳行軍) | [Tactic:Aptitude] | 5th dan | — | — | squads commanded by the shugenja have movement Energy -1 in mountain/forest/wetland zones (minimum 1). "Only one who knows mountains can fight in mountains." |
Three Ways and Six Hearts: Flame of Austerity is Truth (purification through self-sacrifice). Mountain Trek is Truth — "knowing the mountain path is how you respect the mountain."
#Example Character
→ Yamabushi — Sample Sheet (1st/5th/10th dan + step-by-step backstory)