#Retired Onmyoji — Hoshino Gensho (星野 玄承)

Contents

A 10th-dan Tatsujin. Guardian of the Barrier. A living time bomb. The campaign's 2nd central NPC.

Core References

- Required: onmyoji · 10th-dan Renown Title

- Reference: sorcery school data · Abe-ryu

- In this supplement: Barrier System · Core Economy

[New Rule] Onmyoji Weakening (weakening)

The core 10th-dan Renown Title is defined as a campaign-ending device. Gensho is already 10th dan, but he is using that state to maintain the Barrier with his Renown Title unselected. This rule's weakening value (0~10) quantifies the expenditure of his life. weakening 10 = death. weakening 8+ = unconscious and unable to perform emergency maintenance.

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#Scent — The Person Called Gensho

#Appearance — Starting Point

Seventy-three. His silver hair still retains a little black, a half-white (半白) shade. He is not tall. His shoulders are slightly bent, but his posture has not collapsed. The wrinkles in his face are deep, but his eyes are clear. They have the kind of clarity that makes one afraid to meet them.

A white long robe and indigo hakama. Always prayer beads in his right hand, a folded fan in his left. He does not open the fan. Only three people have seen what is written inside it when opened.

#Speech

Slow. It takes two or three pauses for him to finish a sentence. Like Akihisa, he speaks briefly, but Akihisa is brief because his thoughts are fast, while Gensho is brief because his breath is short.

Polite speech. To children. To yoma.

#Symbolic Props

• 108 prayer beads: carved by his own hand from maple wood. A sorcery pattern is carved into every bead.
• Sealed fan: when opened, it reveals the core phrase (眞言) that maintains the Barrier. Usually folded.
• Tea kettle: an old kettle similar to Akihisa's. Gensho gave it to Akihisa's mother. The two kettles are a pair.
• White fox statue: under the shrine steps. His shikigami in the past. Now it is sealed and cannot move.

#Past

Originally from a large Onmyoryo (陰陽寮) in Kyoto. In his 50-something years, he left Kyoto after an incident and retired to this frontier. The details of that incident are not revealed (hidden background — GM free setting). He was close to Akihisa's grandfather. He watched over Akihisa's mother's deathbed. Even at the moment Akihisa was born, he was praying inside the shrine. In practice, he is Akihisa's 2nd father.

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#Law — Basic Stats

#Starting Point (Campaign Start)

Hoshino Gensho (10th dan, onmyoji)
 Courage +0 / Finesse +2 / Physique +1 / Wisdom +3 / Presence +2 / Fate +0
 Energy 12 (10 + Finesse 2)
 Wounds 5 (3 + Physique 1 + Tough 1)
 Defense 10 (clothing — core unarmored base)
 weakening 0 / 10
 Three Ways and Six Hearts: Truth (truth — strict neutrality)

The 10th-dan Tatsujin's Renown Title is unselected — selecting a Renown Title would interrupt Barrier maintenance, so he is intentionally delaying it. (See core Renown Title.)

Traits (including core Abe-ryu secret arts):

• Great Shikigami Art [Abe Licensed] — enhanced shikigami summoning (currently sealed)
• Hyakki Summoning [Abe secret art] — 5 shikigami at once (currently unusable)
• Barrier [core onmyoji technique]
• Domain Barrier [new ritual] — sole caster of the Barrier HP System
• Energy Transfer [scholar cross-learning]

Skills (1st-dan 9 points[class 5+background 2+free 2] + even-dan growth +10 points = 19 points. At 10th dan, up to 3 Masters and 1 Saint are possible):

(No Livelihood)

• Sorcery Master (4 points)
• Barrier Master (4 points)
• Exorcism Master (4 points)
• Stratagem Trained (2 points, sutras/classics/astronomy)
• Negotiation Novice (1 point)
• Medicine Novice (1 point, folk medicine experience)
• Prophecy Novice (1 point, divination and astronomy)
• Hardiness Novice (1 point, the will to burn life for the barrier)
• Fortune Novice (1 point, a master's intuition)

10th-dan Renown Title: unselected. Because he has not selected it, he can dedicate himself to Barrier maintenance. If selected, the Renown Title effect activates, but Barrier maintenance immediately stops.

#Renown Title Selection Condition — Special

Gensho choosing a Renown Title is a campaign-ending device. It is possible only at the Chapter 5 Act 4 climax with the consent of the lord and all PCs. On selection:

• Barrier collapse count begins (Barrier HP -10/week from the next week)
• Gensho can defeat 1~2 major threats through the Renown Title effect
• Gensho dies afterward (price of the Renown Title)

This option exists as a last resort.

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#Weakening — Tracking Life Expenditure

Weakening is a permanently accumulated value. It cannot recover (except through specific rare rituals).

#Causes of Weakening Increase

#Condition by Weakening

#Weakening Reduction (Rare)

• Dedicated ritual "Sealing of the Core Essence": 1-use. weakening -3. Conditions: complete the side quest Broken Covenant + spend 3 stable cores.
• Elixir "black ginseng": weakening -1. Condition: trade with a Spirit Realm merchant after Chapter 4.
• No natural recovery: weakening does not decrease with time.

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#Gensho's Session-by-Session Routine

#Normal Time (weakening 0~3)

• Every morning, Barrier maintenance prayer at the domain shrine (4 hours)
• Afternoon advising Akihisa (1 hour)
• Evening resident consultations (medical/sorcery consultations, 1~2 hours)
• At night, he brews tea alone. Occasional PC visits are welcome.

#Fatigue Phase (weakening 4~5)

• Morning prayer extends to 6 hours
• Afternoon advice shortened to 30 minutes
• Evening consultations only for emergencies
• Waits at the shrine even at night (cannot return to his room)

#Crisis Phase (weakening 6~7)

• Morning prayer 8 hours
• Only minimal advice to Akihisa
• Resident consultations completely stopped
• Maintains prayer even at night — cannot even eat properly

#Limit Phase (weakening 8~9)

• In prayer posture all day
• Often loses consciousness
• Someone must stay beside him (disciple role)
• Conversation with Akihisa is limited to 3~5 lines

#Deathbed Phase (when weakening reaches 10)

Barrier maintenance begins a 7-day count. When Gensho dies, the Barrier only maintains natural reduction — meaning only -3 per week (emergency maintenance impossible). During these 7 days:

• time to fix the ending branch
• Akihisa attempts to take over the Barrier directly (80% chance of failure)
• a shugenja or onmyoji PC can be designated as successor (create successor with reset weakening)

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#Gensho RP Guidelines

#Sample Lines

Normal Time:

"Did you see where today's wind came from? From the north. The northern hell has awakened, I think."

After Barrier Infusion:

"One Minion-grade core... bought us a little over seven days. Please find another in that time."

When PCs worry:

"Aging is one way of living long. The Barrier still breathes. That is enough."

At weakening 6+, when Akihisa asks him to rest:

"Young lord... the only place this old man rests is the shrine floor. If I lie somewhere else, would the Barrier not tremble?"

Immediately after emergency maintenance:

(catching his breath) "Ah, ah, I am quite well. As the next world draws closer, the sounds of this one become clearer. It is nothing."

At weakening 9, just before the limit:

"Young lord... will you make me one promise? When this old man is gone, Akihisa-dono... do not decide alone. These people are beside you. Beside you."

#RP to Avoid

• Excess tragic beauty: Gensho is not melodramatic. He is calm.
• Giving every answer as a source of wisdom: he honestly says there is much he does not know.
• Preachiness: explanations are short. He uses metaphors, but not too much.
• Exaggerated grief: his grief is quiet, like dry leaves.

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#Gensho and Akihisa

Their relationship is the emotional spine of the campaign.

#Basic Relationship

• Gensho → Akihisa: "young lord (bochan)" — 2nd son
• Akihisa → Gensho: "onmyoji-sama(陰陽師様)" — formal honorific. Very rarely, alone at night, "grandfather (ojiisama)."

#Scene Examples

Before the morning meeting begins:

Gensho: (coming out of the prayer room) "Young lord."
Akihisa: "Have you eaten?"
Gensho: "Not yet."
Akihisa: (to an attendant) "... Another breakfast tray."

The day Gensho first fainted:

Akihisa sat beside Gensho all night. He did not hold Gensho's hand. He only lightly placed his own hand over Gensho's so the prayer beads would not fall to the floor.
When Gensho opened his eyes in the morning:
Gensho: "... Young lord."
Akihisa: "Yes, onmyoji-sama."
Gensho: "My beads will fall."
Akihisa: "... Yes."
(Akihisa wrote in his diary that the night was "the longest prayer.")

#PC Intervention

There are several scenes where PCs must step between these two. In particular:

• when Gensho decides on emergency maintenance, PCs have a chance to dissuade him
• when Akihisa forces Gensho to rest, PCs choose a side
• deciding when Gensho dies — affects the ending branch

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#Gensho's Death — Possible Routes

#Route A — Natural Exhaustion (weakening reaches 10)

Natural progression at campaign pace. Reaching this in the middle of Chapter 5 is the normal pace.

• hearing Akihisa's will
• last conversation with the PCs
• Barrier 7-day count begins → pressure toward Chapter 5 Act 4 climax

#Route B — Sacrificial Choice (Ending Branch)

In Chapter 5 Act 4, Gensho chooses a 10th-dan Renown Title. Selection effect:

• Renown Title activates → defeat a Lord-grade enemy or complete sealing of the seal stone
• Gensho dies instantly (price of the Renown Title)
• tragic route of the return ending

#Route C — Salvation (Rare Route)

If the PCs accomplish the Sealing of the Core Essence ritual + complete the side quest [Broken Covenant], the weakening cap can temporarily extend to 12. However, death within the campaign is still fixed — it is only delayed.

#Route D — Akihisa Substitution (Worst)

At weakening 9, Akihisa declares, "I will do it instead" → Akihisa attempts to take over the Barrier. Failure chance 80%. On failure:

• Gensho dies (shock)
• Akihisa weakening +5
• ending accelerates (compressed to 10 sessions)

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#After Gensho's Death — Successor to the Barrier

When Gensho dies, the actor maintaining the Barrier disappears. Candidates:

#(a) Akihisa Takes Over

• Condition: Akihisa gains onmyoji skills (can be learned naturally during the campaign)
• Transfer the weakening system to Akihisa (starts at 0)
• Ending choices gain more weight

#(b) PC Onmyoji/Shugenja Takes Over

• when a suitable PC exists in the party
• that PC cannot gain a Renown Title (bound to the Barrier)
• naturally combines with the settlement ending

#(c) Recruit an External Onmyoji

• a yoma onmyoji met in the Spirit Realm after Chapter 4 (negotiable)
• price: cede part of the domain to them
• special branch of the settlement ending

#(d) Abandon the Barrier

• abandon the Barrier without a successor
• domain 7-day count → ending fixed
• when players choose it deliberately (accelerates return or transformation ending)

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#Sheet Format — For GM Tracking

[Onmyoji Status Sheet]
weakening: ___/10
condition: hale / fatigued / weakened / severe / critical / deathbed

Increase events this week:
 [ ] emergency maintenance (+2)
 [ ] Lord-grade intrusion defense (+1)
 [ ] stable core infusion (+0.5 x __)
 [ ] high-purity core infusion (+1 x __)
 [ ] tide high tide (+0.5)
 [ ] arc transition (+0.2)

Available actions:
 [ ] Barrier maintenance check
 [ ] core-infusion ritual
 [ ] emergency maintenance (weakening 7 or lower only)
 [ ] PC advice (weakening 7 or lower only)
 [ ] resident consultation (weakening 5 or lower only)

Last 24 hours:
 waking time: ___
 cumulative prayer: ___ hours
 meals: ___
 unconsciousness: __ times

notes: ___

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#GM Operation Tips

#How to Keep Gensho Alive

• Brief appearance every session: 1~3 lines of dialogue is enough. Do not let him disappear.
• Make weakening visible subtly: not dramatically. People around him notice first; Gensho himself denies it.
• Roll Barrier maintenance openly: the weekly check is a session-ending ritual. Success and failure are both dramatic moments.
• Save his conversations with PCs: a cup of tea at night should happen 3~5 times across the entire campaign. If it becomes common, it loses force.

#Easy Mistakes

• Handing the Barrier to PCs too early: if Gensho exits too soon, the time bomb disappears.
• Overusing emergency maintenance: 3~5 times during the campaign is the cap. Use it every session and weakening explodes.
• Expository dialogue: Gensho is a character who shows through action. Explanation is the scholar's role.
• Making death easy to avoid: Gensho naturally dies in the end. If you intervene too much to save him, the intended tragedy disappears.

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#Connected Documents

• Barrier System — Gensho's dedicated rules
• Core Economy — infusion caster
• Young Lord — 2nd-son relationship
• Side Quest "Broken Covenant" — only route to reduce weakening
• Chapter 5 — Gensho's end

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"The Barrier is my breath, and my breath is your breath. So long as we are one, we will not collapse." — Hoshino Gensho, during the morning prayer of the first week of the drift.