#Kekka (血花)
When the blood dries, the dance stops. So you must make more bloom, red flowers.
- Role: ally buffs, morale enhancement, melee assassination
- Core Attributes: Presence (美), Courage (勇)
- Core Zone Entry: forced Breakthrough
- Base Class: entertainer × ronin
- Three Ways and Six Hearts: Hegemony/Demon fixed (cannot change)
- Skills Eligible for Master: Bearing, Intimidation, Unarmed Combat, Negotiation, Agitation, Disguise
- Starting Automatic Skills: Bearing Trained, Intimidation Novice, Negotiation Novice, Disguise Novice
Common to Fiend Classes: GM permission required. Designed as an NPC villain, but if a player wants, it can be played as a "path of corruption." See Villain Play Guide.
#Scent — The Bewitching Flower of the Battlefield
When she dances, people die. When people die, her dance becomes more beautiful. The first to witness this were the yoko shrine women of Biu Mountain. They said, "There is a human this beautiful?"
Kekka was an entertainer. A woman who danced in Kyoto's pleasure quarter. Her name is forgotten, by herself and by anyone who might have known it. One day, ronin burst into the quarter and started cutting people down. Blood soaked the floor. Unlike the other entertainers frozen in terror, she began to dance. On the blood-red floor, holding a bloodstained fan, using the groans of the dying as accompaniment. One ronin who saw it dropped his sword. He said, "Beautiful." That was the beginning.
Kekka's dance makes the battlefield its stage. Each time she cuts down an enemy with a tanto and incapacitates them, she gains a "Blood Dance stack." For each stack, all allies gain attack and Cohesion +1. Spattered blood is the dance's decoration, enemy screams are music, and the battlefield is her stage. Allies are captivated by the dance and their morale surges; enemies are terrified. When Biu Mountain's yoko called her "the most beautiful human," it was not praise but warning. A being human yet more yoma-like than yoma is uncomfortable even to yoma. The problem is that when blood dries, the dance stops. Blood Dance stacks decrease each lull, and if she cannot see blood, her checks take penalties. Thirst for blood is addiction, and addiction makes her most dangerous outside the battlefield.
- Recommended Weapons: tanto (Blood Dance only), fan (dance and weapon), dagger (throwing)
- Recommended Schools: Blood Dance Style (independent school), Flower-Flow Blade (pleasure-quarter sword art)
- Recommended Faction Traits: independent force (mercenary) or Hannyakai (combat clown)
#Law — Trait List
#1st Dan: Blood Dance (血舞) [aptitude]
[aptitude] Blood Dance (血舞)
Effect: Each time you incapacitate an enemy unit, **Blood Dance stacks** +1.
For each 1 Blood Dance stack: all allies in your zone + adjacent zones gain attack +1 and Cohesion +1.
Blood Dance stacks maximum 5. Each stack consumes a tanto: Energy -1.
Each lull, stacks -1 (the blood dries).
If current stacks are 0 while in combat: all checks -2 (withdrawal symptoms).
Zone: stack effect applies to your zone + adjacent zones.#3rd-Dan Class Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh-Blood Fan (鮮血扇) | [Kata] | 2 | 1/round | Wet a fan with blood and make a fan technique attack. Range reaches adjacent zones. Attack with a Presence check (2d10+Presence vs enemy 2d10+Courage). On hit, Wounds -2 + separate damage unrelated to Blood Dance stacks. |
| Dance of Enchantment (魅惑の舞) | [Kata] | 3 | 2/combat | All enemies in your zone make opposed Presence checks (2d10+Presence vs enemy 2d10+Wisdom). On failure, the enemy cannot attack Kekka for 1 round (enchanted). If Blood Dance stacks are 2 or higher, check +2. |
| Baptism of Blood (血の洗禮) | [aptitude] | — | — | Automatically activates when Blood Dance stacks reach 3 or higher. All allies in your zone recover 2 Wounds. 1/session. Kekka herself cannot recover from this. |
#5th-Dan Class Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twin-Blade Dance (雙刀亂舞) | [Kata] | 4 | 1/round | Attack 2 enemies simultaneously in the same zone with two tantos. Roll each as 2d10+Courage. If both 2 targets are incapacitated, Blood Dance stacks +2 (a +2 bonus, not ordinary +1+1). |
| Battlefield Flower (戰場の花) | [aptitude] | — | — | The effect range of Blood Dance stacks expands to all zones. Allies receive Blood Dance effects wherever they are on the battlefield. Stack decrease is the same (-1 per lull). |
| Blood Rhapsody (血の狂詩曲) | [Kata] | 5 | 1/combat | For 3 rounds, perform a frenzied dance. Each round, automatically attack 1 enemy in your zone (2d10+Presence). Each hit gives Blood Dance stacks +1 (cannot exceed maximum 5). During frenzy, your Defense -3. |
#7th-Dan Advanced Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Bloom (滿開) | [Kata] | 6 | 1/session | Immediately charge Blood Dance stacks to 5 (no enemy incapacitation required). For 3 rounds, stacks do not decrease. During Full Bloom, Kekka's appearance changes: allies Cohesion +3, enemies make Mental Saves. |
| Death-Blood Dance (死血舞) | [Kata] | 5 | 1/combat | Use the blood of incapacitated allied units. For each 1 incapacitated ally in the same zone, Blood Dance stacks +1. The target cannot be revived (all blood consumed). |
| Bewitching Blade (妖艷刃) | [aptitude] | — | — | When attacking with a tanto, you can use Presence for the attack check instead of Courage. When a Presence-based attack hits, additional effect: target's next round Defense -2. |
#9th-Dan Advanced Traits (choose 1)
| Trait | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blood Flowers in Full Profusion (血花滿發) | [aptitude] | — | — | Blood Dance stack cap expands to 7. At stack 6 or higher, all allies Defense +2 and all enemies attack -2. When stack 7 is reached, all enemies in your zone suffer automatic fear (no check required). |
| Final Stage (最後の舞台) | [Kata] | all Energy | 1/session | Spend all remaining Energy for the final dance. All enemies in the same zone suffer Wounds -(spent Energy / 2, round up). All allies recover 3 Wounds + Cohesion +5. Kekka herself is incapacitated. |
#Extreme Strengths
- Simultaneously strengthens all allies with Blood Dance stacks. At maximum stacks, allied attack +5, Cohesion +5.
- Presence (美)-based combat: connects the entertainer's attribute directly to combat.
- Dance of Enchantment neutralizes enemy attacks. More effective with higher Presence.
- Battlefield Flower (5th dan) applies stack effects to the entire battlefield. Rear allies also benefit.
- Full Bloom (7th dan) is an emergency option that raises stacks to maximum without conditions.
#Extreme Weaknesses
- Stack decrease: -1 each lull. To maintain them, she must constantly kill enemies.
- Blood addiction: while stacks are 0 in combat, all checks -2. Without seeing blood, withdrawal symptoms begin.
- Three Ways fixed to Hegemony/Demon: Three Ways and Six Hearts cannot change. It can never move toward Compassion/Void.
- Weak Defense: during frenzied dance, Defense -3. The entertainer base also has low Defense.
- No self-healing: Baptism of Blood recovers only allies. Kekka herself is excluded from recovery.
- Unstable outside combat: outside combat, thirst for blood gives Negotiation checks -1. Long peace requires Mental Saves.
#Typical Breath Pattern (5th Dan)
Count 11 — First breath:
movement (Front Zone) + tanto attack(2) = 2
→ enemy Minion incapacitated → Blood Dance stack 1 (Energy -1)
Count 8 — Second breath:
Twin-Blade Dance(4) → attack 2 enemies simultaneously
→ if 2 targets are incapacitated, stacks +2 → total stacks 3 (Energy -2)
→ all allies: attack +3, Cohesion +3
Count 4 — Third breath:
Dance of Enchantment(3) → enemies in zone enchanted
→ remaining Energy: 11 - 2 - 4 - 3 - 3(stacks) = -1
→ Energy shortage! Must choose between maintaining stacks and taking actions.#Zone Bonuses
| Zone | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Front Zone | Home ground. Heavy enemy contact makes it best for building stacks. Hit risk is also highest. |
| Rear Zone | Stack effects reach adjacent zones, but direct combat is impossible. Stack maintenance is impossible. |
| Core Zone | Cut down the enemy commander directly and secure high-grade stacks. On success, morale across the battlefield reverses. |
| Castle Interior/City Streets | Frenzied dance is maximized in narrow spaces. Enemies who cannot flee equal infinite stack opportunities. |
#Three Ways and Six Hearts Conflict
Kekka's Three Ways and Six Hearts are fixed to Hegemony/Demon. She destroys for beauty, and the conflict lives inside that.
- "Presence demands sacrifice. Is that art, or murder?" Kekka's fundamental question. No answer comes while she is dancing.
- "When blood dries, the dance stops. If the dance stops, I am nothing." Identity depends on violence. Peace is terror.
- "The yoko of Biu Mountain called me beautiful. Is being recognized by yoma a source of pride?" On the boundary between humanity and yoma-ness.
- NPC Opposition: entertainer circles oppose her as "desecration of art." Ronin revere her as "strong," but keep their distance. Biu Mountain's yoko try to draw her in as "one of us."
- PC Corruption Route: If an entertainer or ronin PC awakens to "the pleasure of killing" during combat, the GM may offer "class change to Kekka." After changing class, all Three Ways other than Hegemony/Demon are permanently closed.
"Do not cry. Before your blood dries, I will show you the most beautiful moment."
#Example Character
→ Integrated Sample for 12 Fiend Classes (1/5/10 Dan + Corruption Path Story)