#Entertainer (藝人, Entertainer)
Flower of the battlefield. Heals wounds and raises morale through song and dance.
- Role: recovery, buffs, morale management, narrative catalyst, requiem
- Core Attributes: Presence (美), Fate (運)
- Core Zone Entry: forced Breakthrough
- Base Class: shirabyoshi (白拍子), biwa hoshi, kabuki clown, yujo (遊女) — a person of art and spirit.
- Three Ways and Six Hearts: Compassion or Truth. Sees the world through song.
- Skills Eligible for Master: Bearing, Negotiation, Agitation, Medicine, Fortune, Disguise
- Starting Automatic Skills: Bearing Trained, Negotiation Novice, Agitation Novice, Disguise Novice
#Scent — The Battlefield Needs Song
Entertainers do not carry blades. They pluck the biwa, sing, dance, and clean the wounds of the injured. In the middle of battle, what entertainers do is keep people alive. While other classes kill enemies, entertainers keep allies from dying. And for the dead, they sing a requiem. Entertainers sing the last song of death that no one else will hear.
On a collapsing Front Zone, when ashigaru fear death, the entertainer's song rings out and trembling hands take up spears again. When a wounded warrior collapses bleeding, the entertainer's hand covers the wound and the warrior returns from death's threshold. One piece (曲) by an entertainer saves one unit. What the song says is something even enemies cannot understand. An entertainer's song is not lyrics, but the vibration of will.
Entertainers have no combat power. Their Defense is low, and their Wounds are few. But without an entertainer, the battlefield has only despair. The entertainer is the battlefield's heart. Song flows where blades have stopped, and when the song stops, blades are lifted again. Between those two moments, the human heart survives. The entertainer is the guardian of that heart. It is said that the song of a 9th-dan master entertainer guides the soul of the dying into the next life. Whether that is superstition or truth, one who hears that song rises again.
Outside combat, entertainers are beings who connect people to people. A performance in a village raises reputation; singing in an enemy camp opens the door to negotiation; when conflict arises within the party, one word from the entertainer leads to reconciliation. But the entertainer's deepest sorrow is having no song for themselves. Every song is for someone else. The only moment an entertainer sings for themselves is the final piece just before death. That is why the death of a true master entertainer becomes the most beautiful performance. Those who hear that song never forget it.
- Recommended Weapons: none (noncombat specialist). Self-defense kaiken (concealed dagger), hankyu (short bow, rear-line shooting), the biwa/drum/flute itself (symbol).
- Recommended Schools: none. Entertainers belong to art schools, not martial schools. Separate fields such as biwa hoshi style and shirabyoshi style.
- Recommended Faction Traits: Sakai Guild (merchant guild + entertainment), Kagura Domain (court entertainer), Muhyeon Band (mystery of tengu entertainers)
#Law — Trait List
#1st Dan: Battlefield Flower (戰場の花) [upkeep]
[upkeep] Battlefield Flower
Timing: Lull step | Limit: 1/lull
Effect: recover 1 Wound for 1 ally, or recover 1 Cohesion for 1 squad.
No Energy cost (lull only)."The first thing to die on the battlefield is hope. The entertainer protects that hope."
#3rd-Dan Class Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| War Song (軍歌) | [Kata] | 2 | 1/round | all allies in the same zone + adjacent zones: next attack technique +1. Song sharpens blades. |
| Emergency Treatment (應急治療) | [Kata] | 2 | 1/round | 1 ally in the same zone recovers 1 Wound. (One of the only recovery methods during combat.) |
| Miko Dance (巫女の舞) | [aptitude] | — | — | increase the target count of "Battlefield Flower" in the lull step to 2 targets (1 target→2 targets). |
#5th-Dan Class Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Requiem (鎭魂歌) | [Kata] | 2 | 1/round | yoma only. All yoma in adjacent zones have attack techniques -2 (1 round). "Soothe yoma with song." |
| Song of Energy (活力の歌) | [Kata] | 3 | 1/round | immediately add 3 points to 1 ally's current Energy. "Rhythm leads breath." Count rises. |
| Natural Presence (天生の美) | [aptitude] | — | — | Presence (美) aura effect extends to adjacent zones. Presence reaches the Front Zone. |
#7th-Dan Advanced Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battlefield Diva (戰場の歌姬) | [aptitude] | — | — | "Battlefield Flower" recovery amount in the lull step becomes 2 (Wounds or Cohesion). Target 2 characters. |
| Song of Undeath (不死の歌) | [Kata] | 3 | 1/combat | when 1 ally would next become incapacitated, that ally instead survives at Wounds 1. "Until this song ends, do not fall." |
| Yoma Fascination (妖魔魅惑) | [Kata] | 3 | 1/round | against 1 Elite yoma, 2d10+Presence >= target Defense. On success, cannot act for 1 round. Charmed by song. |
#9th-Dan Advanced Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Performance (大公演) | [Kata] | 5 | 1/combat | all allies recover 2 Wounds + recover all Cohesion + Energy +3. "The battlefield becomes a stage." |
| Song of the Soul (魂の歌) | [Kata] | 5 | 1/combat | immediately revive 1 incapacitated ally (half Wounds). "Call that name." |
| First Under Heaven (天下第一) | [aptitude] | — | — | treated as Presence +3. Domination aura applies to the entire battlefield. Mere existence changes the battlefield. |
#Typical Entertainer Breath Patterns
Entertainers do not attack directly. They focus on buffs/recovery/disruption.
| Breath | Maneuver Combination | Energy | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| War Song+Move | War Song(2)+walk(2) | 4 | ally +1 attack + position adjustment |
| Emergency+Reserve | Emergency Treatment(2)+kaiken emergency evasion reservation(1) | 3 | recover 1 Wound + self-defense |
| Energy Song | Song of Energy(3)+reservation(1) | 4 | ally +3 Energy (decisive) |
| Grand Performance | Grand Performance(5) | 5 | all allies recover (ultimate) |
#Zone Bonuses
| Zone | Effect |
|---|---|
| Rear Zone | safe. Upkeep Energy -1 (Rear bonus). Basic entertainer position. |
| Front Zone | dangerous, but War Song range widens. An "entertainer singing on the Front Zone" is narratively intense. |
| Core Zone | never enter. |
#Three Ways and Six Hearts
| Natural Heart | Conflict |
|---|---|
| Compassion (Way of Emptiness) | "I want to soothe everyone's pain." The entertainer's natural direction. |
| Conflict: toward Void | "No matter how much I sing, people die. Does this song have meaning?" A moment of despair. |
| Conflict: toward Truth | "Song is part of nature. Like wind blowing, like rain falling." The state of art. |
The entertainer's Three Ways and Six Hearts question: "Can song stop war?" No one yet knows the answer.
The battlefield needs song. And the entertainer is there.
#Squad Tactics Traits (Entertainer)
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.
Entertainer squad tactics take the unique form of raising morale through song and dance. They strengthen squads through spirit, not combat power.
| Trait | Type | Learned Dan | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battlefield Song (戰場歌) | [Tactic:Kata] | 3rd dan | squad order cost | 1/round | sing a war song. All squad members in the same zone gain next attack +1 + Cohesion +1. "Song sharpens blades." |
| Requiem Dance (鎭魂舞) | [Tactic:Kata] | 5th dan | squad order cost+1 | 1/combat | return 1 incapacitated squad to the battlefield at Cohesion 2. Members are half (round normally). "They carry the will of the dead and rise again." |
Three Ways and Six Hearts (Squad Tactics): Battlefield Song is Compassion (raising morale is compassion). Requiem Dance moves from Compassion toward Truth — "song comforts souls and raises the living."
"Song cannot stop a blade. But after the blade stops, people can live only through song."
#Example Character
→ Hanabi — Sample Sheet (1st/5th/10th dan + step-by-step backstory)