#Episode 6: Weight of Gold
#Scent -- Harbor Scales
Sakai Harbor woke with the rising tide. When water pushed over the tidal flats, ships came in with it. Small fishing boats first, then cargo boats, and then a large trade ship that had crossed the distant sea dropped anchor at the far end of the harbor. Salt had soaked into the wooden planks of the pier, and morning sunlight scattered gold across the water. Morning in Sakai always smelled of money -- the sharp smell of metal seeping between salt, fish, and rice bales.
Koharu stood at the end of the pier and looked down over the harbor. She folded her fan and rested it on her shoulder, then touched her purse with her left hand. Twenty-six gold coins. Enough money for three people to reach the next town comfortably, but nowhere near enough to secure a supply boat.
"Master Sosui, what are ship prices like in Sakai?"
Sosui drew a folded paper from inside his robe and opened it. Dense brush writing filled the page. Prices across different regions, merchant names, routes, and danger levels were organized there. "For a small supply boat, forty to sixty gold coins. Because it is spring and demand is high, you should expect at least fifty."
Koharu shook her purse. A clinking sound. Twenty-six. "Not even half."
Renge walked quietly behind the two of them. With prayer beads wrapped around her left hand, she watched the harbor. Between the boats, people carried cargo, shouted, and haggled.
"What cannot be bought with money?"
Koharu looked back at Renge. Renge's face was calm. "Many things. But what we need today is something money can buy."
Torakichi of the ship brokerage was a man with a round, oily face and narrow eyes. A broker skilled at knowing both sides' circumstances and taking his own share.
"One small supply boat. Able to travel inland waterways." Koharu said.
"As it happens, Master Nagase has one boat left. Fifty-five gold coins."
"Is Master Nagase selling it directly, or is there a price added by the broker?" Koharu asked, opening her fan. Opening a fan was the gesture that announced the start of negotiation in Sakai. Torakichi's smile stiffened for a moment.
Koharu brought the fan under her chin. If the brokerage fee was removed from fifty-five, Nagase's actual price would be somewhere between forty-five and fifty. "May I meet Master Nagase directly? I only want to confirm the boat's condition."
"Fine. Tomorrow morning, Pier Three."
The three sat together at the lodging. Under the lamp, Sosui counted gold coins and placed them on the table.
"Current amount, twenty-six. Lowest market price, forty-five. Minimum shortfall, nineteen." Sosui wrote the numbers down.
Koharu counted the methods. First, haggle. Second, earn it -- that would take time. Third, borrow it -- interest is a chain.
"There is a fourth." Renge said. "Trust. Money buys one transaction, but trust continues transactions."
Sosui searched through a bundle of papers. "Nagase Dobee. Mid-tier shipowner. He operated six boats, but lost two to pirate attacks last winter. Currently four boats. There is a high possibility that his finances are poor."
Koharu's eyes changed. Not the eyes of a merchant seeing an opponent's weakness, but the eyes of a person trying to understand someone's circumstances. "When I meet Master Nagase tomorrow -- I will not haggle. I will change the form of the trade instead."
The next morning. Pier Three. Nagase Dobee was a man with sun-darkened skin and graying hair. His hands were rough from rope and salt. The hands of a man long at sea.
The boat was a small supply boat -- one mast and six oars. The deck was worn, but the hull was solid.
"It is a good boat." Koharu said. It was not empty flattery.
"I built her from wood I chose myself." Pride came with the words -- and the feeling that he did not want to sell.
Koharu did not open her fan. Instead, she looked straight at Nagase. "Master Nagase. I did not come to haggle. Twenty-six coins is all I have."
"You bring less than half the price and expect to do what?"
"Not buy the boat. Use it together." Sosui unfolded a route map. A route from Sakai through inland waterways to Omi and Mino. Prices and local specialties at each stop.
"We add inland price information to twenty-six gold coins and share the boat's usage rights. We travel the waterways and trade, then return part of the profits to you. Master Nagase keeps ownership and still earns income."
Nagase fell silent. Koharu waited. In trade, the one who endures silence wins.
"Pirates cost me two boats. People too. I do not want to hand my boat to someone who does not know her."
"That is why you are not handing it over. You are entrusting it."
Renge stepped forward. "Master Nagase. I am a Pure Land monk. I place my name on this promise."
Nagase looked at Renge. Eyes that did not know money. Instead, eyes that did not know falsehood.
"Fine."
One word. The deal was made. Gold coins clinked on the wooden table. Nagase did not count them. Instead, he looked at Koharu's face one more time.
"The boat's name is Mamei. Endure, and sea. It means 'endures the sea.'" As he turned away, he added one more thing. "The Kairyu Band pirates are targeting these waters. Be careful."
The three stood on the deck of the Mamei. Wind brushed the sail.
"Do you know anything about the Kairyu Band?" Koharu asked.
"A pirate group of the Inland Sea. Their leader is Genkai. Over the last two years, they have plundered seven boats near Sakai." Sosui answered.
"Can pirates be stopped with money?" Renge asked.
"Not stopped. Avoided, or bought." Koharu touched her empty purse. "The problem is that we have no money."
"There are paths where money is not the answer."
Koharu laughed. Not a merchant's laugh, but the laugh of someone a little tired. "I am a merchant. I am not good at finding answers other than money."
"Being bad at something is not the same as being unable to do it."
A bell rang in the harbor. Sakai's day was turning. Gold moved, people moved, ships moved. The weight of all of it rested on Koharu's shoulders. It was not light. But it was not too heavy to carry.
#Law -- Session Actual Play
Kuro (GM) / Hana (Koharu) / Mei (Renge)
Kuro: Episode 6. A full noncombat scenario. Negotiation, gold economy, reputation, travel rules. Hana takes Koharu, Mei takes Renge. Sosui is an NPC. Sheet check.
[PC]
Koharu (merchant 1st dan): Presence +2, Wisdom +1, Physique +0, Fate +1. Energy 10, Wounds 3.
Golden Leverage: gold-coin bonus during negotiation. 1~3 gold coins +1, 4~6 +2, 7+ +3.
Fan(negotiation tool): +1 during Sakai-custom negotiation. Funds 26 gold coins.
Renge (Pure Land Monk 1st dan): Presence +2, Wisdom +1, Physique +0, Fate +0. Energy 10, Wounds 3.
Pure Land Teaching: when assisting negotiation, Faith Guarantee +2(1 time per 1 day).
[NPC]
Sosui (scholar 1st dan): Wisdom +3, Presence +1, Physique -1. Energy 8, Wounds 3.
Erudition: information checks +3. Automatic success at difficulty 12 or lower.
Frail: combat checks -1. Base Energy -2.Kuro: Negotiation rules summary.
[Fiction-Only] The resistance values below are for staging this scene. Official noncombat Target Numbers follow Canon(
co-03-09-non-combat.md): favorable 7 / neutral 11 / wary 14 / hostile 17+.
[Negotiation Check]
- Baseline: 2d10 + Presence + Negotiation(+1) >= resistance value.
- Resistance value: favorable 10 / neutral 11 / wary 13 / hostile 16.
- Modifiers: Golden Leverage / custom bonus / information provided(GM discretion) / Faith Guarantee.
- Great success(total 20+): favorability rises + additional condition.
- Fumble(double+failure): relationship worsens. Resistance value +2.
[Negotiation Assist — Faith Guarantee]
- Pure Land Monk accompanies. Negotiation content must not be false.
- Effect: +2. 1 time per 1 day. If the guarantee is broken, reputation -3.Hana: What about gold economy rules?
Kuro:
[Fiction-Only] The gold economy numbers and living-price table below are scene-staging abstractions. Canon gold operation(wallet, combat carry limit, tiers) follows
co-08-05-balance.md§6. If you want to split living prices into finer units, use the optional economy ruleco-08-07-detailed-economy.md.
[Gold Economy]
- 1 gold coin = 3 days of a laborer's wages. Ordinary monthly income is about 10 gold coins.
- Prices: meal 0.3 / lodging 0.5~1 / weapon repair 2~5 / small vessel 40~60.
- Income sources: contract rewards, negotiation profit, trade margin, plunder(Three Ways and Six Hearts 魔).
- Bankruptcy: if funds are 0 or lower, cannot buy meals/lodging. Travel checks -2.Mei: Reputation system?
Kuro: A rule appearing for the first time in Episode 6.
[Reputation System]
- By region. Initial 0. Range -5 ~ +10.
- Gain: negotiation great success +1, contract completion +1~3, regional contribution +1~2.
- Loss: broken promise -3, crime discovered -2~5, negotiation Fumble -1.
- Effects: +3 resistance value -1 / +5 credit trade, resistance value -2 / +7 access to influential figures.
-3 resistance value +2 / -5 hostile checks, official pursuit.Kuro: Scene 1. Torakichi. Neutral(11). It is an information-gathering negotiation, so resistance value -2 = 9.
Hana: 2d10 + Presence(+2) + Negotiation(+1) = +3. 2d10... 6, 3 = 9. +3 = 12. Success.
Kuro: Meeting arranged. Scene 2, the lodging meeting, is RP. Sosui's Erudition gives automatic success on Nagase information(difficulty 12). Scene 3 is the real game. Nagase's attitude is wary(13).
Hana: Strategy declaration. 26 gold coins(7+) = Golden Leverage +3. Fan +1. Provide market information. Propose an operation contract. Renge's Faith Guarantee +2.
Kuro: Summary.
[Nagase Negotiation — Modifiers]
Baseline: Presence(+2) + Negotiation(+1) = +3.
Golden Leverage: 26 gold coins(7+) = +3.
Fan(Sakai custom): +1.
Information provided + operation contract: +2 (GM discretion).
Renge Faith Guarantee: +2.
Total: 2d10 + 11 >= 13. Total 2 or higher = success.Mei: That is practically automatic success.
Kuro: The core of merchant play is "not relying on dice." As warriors sharpen swords, merchants lay negotiations.
Hana: 2d10... 8, 5 = 13. +11 = 24. Great success!
[Nagase Negotiation — Result]
- Great success(24 >= 13).
- Operation contract made: 26 gold coins + inland prices → usage rights to the Mamei.
- Nagase favorability: wary → neutral. Next resistance value 11.
- Additional(great success): Kairyu Band information, Nagase connection introduction.
- Reputation: Sakai 0 → +1.Kuro: Travel rules. They apply from next time because you secured the Mamei.
[Travel Rules]
- On foot: 1 day 40 ri. Unpaved -10 ri. Night -20 ri.
- Waterway: 1 day 80 ri. Half during headwind/upstream.
- Travel check: 2d10 + Fate >= difficulty(safe 8/normal 10/dangerous 13/extreme danger 16).
- Consumption: per 1 day, food 0.3 gold coins + lodging 0.5 gold coins. When camping, recovery -1.
- Ship maintenance: 5 gold coins per quarter.Kuro: Let's touch Three Ways and Six Hearts. Koharu had a branch this episode.
[Three Ways and Six Hearts — Episode 6 Branch Point]
眞: honest proposal. Operation contract. Mutual profit. → reputation +1, favorability rises.
魔: exploit weakness for a bargain purchase. → short-term profit, reputation -1, hostility.
→ Hana chose 眞.Hana: Seeing weakness is a merchant's eye, but how you use it is who you are.
Kuro: "Weight of Gold" is not the weight of money. It is the weight of the person who uses that money. Rule summary.
[Episode 6 Confirmed Rules]
1. Negotiation: 2d10 + Presence + Negotiation(+1) >= resistance value(favorable 10/neutral 11/wary 13/hostile 16).
2. Golden Leverage: gold-coin bonus. 1~3 +1, 4~6 +2, 7+ +3.
3. Negotiation assist(Faith Guarantee): +2. Pure Land Monk. 1 time per 1 day. Cannot be false.
4. Erudition: automatic success at difficulty 12 or lower. Scholar-specific.
5. Reputation: by region. Great success +1. Broken promise -3. +3 resistance value -1, +5 credit trade.
6. [Fiction-Only] Gold economy sense example: 1 gold coin = 3 days of a laborer's wages. Small vessel 40~60. Canon is 08-05 §6, and detailed option is 08-07.
7. Travel: on foot 40 ri/day, waterway 80 ri/day. 2d10+Fate>=difficulty.
8. Ship maintenance: 5 gold coins per quarter.
9. Noncombat checks: negotiation/information/assist/gold/erudition/search/persuasion/disguise/appraisal.
10. Fumble: on double+failure, relationship worsens, resistance value +2.
11. Three Ways and Six Hearts(noncombat): negotiation method branches into 眞/魔. Affects reputation/relations.Hana: When does Koharu appear next?
Kuro: Episode 11, Sakai Night Market. Reputation rises further, and urban yoma and negotiable yoma appear.
Mei: Renge?
Kuro: Episode 12, Prayer in the Graveyard. With Yamabushi and Kage. That's it for today.
"The hand counting gold coins stopped. The weight was the same -- whether twenty-six coins or fifty-five. What changed was the scale."