#Chapter 2 - Black Rope (黑繩)

Contents

"In a refuge for those who gave up escaping, what will you unbind, and what will you bind?"

Core References

- Required: Non-Combat Rules · Combat Flow · Three Ways and Six Hearts

- Negotiation: Yoma Bestiary Template · Negotiation Rules

- In This Supplement: Chapter 1 · Black Rope Hell Guide · Barrier System · Onmyoji NPC

- Connection: Kokujo-ryu Hell School

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#Scent - Texture of Black Rope

When the iron stink of Reviving Hell begins to fade, the air changes. First comes the sound. Whenever the wind touches something, a low metallic clink answers. Chains shifting in the wind. Yet the sound never grows closer - it comes from every direction at the same distance.

Then comes the light. You cannot tell whether there is a sun, but everything is washed in a thin ink-black hue. Ahead, you see a forest of black pillars. Hundreds, thousands of pillars. But when you draw close, they are not pillars. They are chains grown from the ground. Thick iron chains rise toward the sky like rice stalks, and something is calmly wound around each one - some are yoma, some are human-shaped, some are beasts.

The bound ones do not look as if they are suffering. Their eyes are closed. They do not try to escape. If you approach one and speak to him, he looks at you, smiles quietly, and says - "You worked hard to get this far. This side is not bad either."

Black Rope is not punishment. Black Rope is a choice. It is a place where those who gave up escaping find stillness inside chains they wound around themselves. And you step into that forest without yet knowing how sweet that stillness can be.

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#Law - Chapter 2 Game Data

#Chapter Meta Card

#Chapter 2 Standalone Storyline

Chapter 2 is the chapter of negotiation, contract, and betrayal. If Chapter 1 was "facing the fact that you fell into the Spirit Realm and facing your own wounds," Chapter 2 is "facing another voice that does not want to escape."

Final question: "In the forest of Black Rope, what will you unbind, and what will you bind?"

At the end of the chapter, each PC must answer this question in their own way. The answer is not graded as good or evil. It is simply recorded as the PC's own story.

#Core Narrative Axes

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#Encounters - Chapter Structure (4 Acts)

#Act 1 - Entering Black Rope: Entrance to the Forest of Restraint

Session length: 1 session (3~4 hours)

• Stage: Flank Zone of Black Rope Hell. Entrance to the forest of chains. The wind is low and still.
• Event: The PCs cross the iron-colored plain of Reviving Hell and reach the Black Rope boundary. They first encounter the growing chains. Then they meet Grip Mother for the first time as she walks out from deeper in the forest.
• Goal: Learn the Black Rope landscape, and meet the first negotiable yoma.
• Progression: Act 1 — Entering Black Rope

#Act 2 - Exploring the Restraint Maze: Lattice of Chains

Session length: 1 session

• Stage: inside Black Rope. A maze zone where chains are woven into a lattice. The structure makes the light seem to fall from above.
• Event: During maze exploration, the PCs find lost drifters (souls who fell into Black Rope before). Some want to be freed, and some have already settled into stillness.
• Goal: Moral dilemma - whom do you unbind, and whom do you leave?
• Progression: Act 2 — The Restraint Maze

#Act 3 - Contract or Betrayal: Grip Mother's Request

Session length: 1 session

• Stage: Grip Mother's shrine. A quiet clearing at the heart of the forest.
• Event: Grip Mother asks the PCs for a favor - "Deep in the forest, awaken the sealed one. I cannot go." The PCs choose whether to make a contract, make a false contract and then betray her, or refuse.
• Goal: Introduce the contract rules. The PCs' choice determines how Act 4 unfolds.
• Progression: Act 3 — Contract or Betrayal

#Act 4 (Climax) - Parley with the Master of the Forest: Kokujo Daimo

Session length: 1 session

• Stage: the center of Black Rope. Beneath the pillars made from the thickest and blackest chains.
• Event: When the seal is released, Kokujo Daimo awakens. She is Grip Mother's true body and the will of the entire forest. This is a threefold choice of parley, battle, or sacrifice.
• Goal: Chapter climax. Each PC's answer.
• Progression: Act 4 (Climax) — Parley with the Forest's Master

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#Step-by-Step Progression Guide

#Chapter-Wide Check-Pacing Principles

1. Combat 30% / negotiation 30% / exploration and RP 40% - combat is not the main focus of this chapter.
2. Negotiation checks should take time - do not resolve them in one roll. Each negotiation should pass through 2~3 rounds of RP, then a 2d10 + Wisdom + Perception check.
3. Watch weakening accumulation - if onmyoji weakening exceeds 3 before the end of Chapter 2, Chapter 3's balance breaks.

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#Success/Failure Branches

#Chapter-Wide Success Conditions

If 2 or more of the following are achieved, use a "success" ending.

• [ ] Clearly decide the relationship with Grip Mother, whether hostile or friendly.
• [ ] Free at least 1 lost soul, or consciously leave that soul bound.
• [ ] In the parley with Kokujo Daimo, at least 1 PC states their own answer.
• [ ] Barrier HP remains 45 or higher at chapter end.

#Chapter-Wide Failure Conditions

If any of the following occur, use a "crisis" ending (Chapter 3 becomes harder).

• [ ] Onmyoji weakening 4 or higher.
• [ ] Barrier HP 30 or lower.
• [ ] At least 1 PC permanently dies or "settles" into Black Rope (self-binding).
• [ ] Hostile to both Grip Mother and Kokujo Daimo.

#Middle Branches

• Contract fulfilled: keep the promise with Grip Mother → gain an ally in Act 4, combat difficulty -1.
• Contract betrayed: deceive Grip Mother → two-front battle in Act 4, difficulty +1, reward gained alone.
• Contract refused: refuse from the start → hostility in Act 4, but PC Perception +1 permanently.

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#GM Control

#Tone Management - "Not Cruel, but Precise"

Black Rope is not a hell of torture. Black Rope is a hell of rest. The bound ones have found repose. The GM's descriptions should keep the following three principles.

1. Do not exaggerate pain - those wound in chains are not suffering. They are peaceful. That peace is what makes the PCs uneasy.
2. Do not hide the temptation - chains grow toward the PCs as well. A voice says, "You may rest too." The GM should let this voice be heard explicitly.
3. Keep the reactions of the freed cold - when the PCs "free" someone, the freed one is not always grateful. Some become angry. Some try to be bound again.

#Barrier HP Management (Whole Chapter)

Each time the onmyoji attempts to repair the Barrier in the domain, weakening accumulates by +0.5 ~ +1.

#Running Negotiable Yoma

This chapter is the first chapter where the negotiation rules from the core Yoma Bestiary become central. Negotiable yoma have the following three traits.

1. They have intent - a yoma is not merely an enemy, but a being with desire, sorrow, and resignation.
2. They can converse - PC Perception and Negotiation rating checks can draw information out of them.
3. They can betray - both sides can lie. Promises have different binding force.

For detailed rules, see Act 3 — Contract or Betrayal.

#Connecting Each Three Ways and Six Hearts Axis

Each PC's Three Ways tendency can move by 1 point at chapter end. Specifically:

• Freeing path: Humaneness and Duty +1, Chivalric Love -1 (action instead of promise)
• Binding path: Chivalric Love +1, Humaneness and Duty -1 (recognizing the state, giving up interference)
• Successful parley: Way of Goodness +1 (the path of one who made a judgment)
• Betrayal: specific axis -2 (any axis can drop sharply at once)

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#Connections to Chapter 1

#Dependence on Chapter 1 Ending State

#Carrying Forward Previous Chapter Gimmicks

• Trace of Reviving Hell's Cadence of Revival: if a PC experienced the Cadence of Revival in Chapter 1, that memory gives +2 resistance against the temptation of Black Rope's chains.
• Memory of wounds: the "wound" each PC faced in Chapter 1 is mentioned by the Grip Mother of Black Rope.

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#Thematic Core of Chapter 2 - Three Ways and Six Hearts Mirror

Black Rope is the hell of "being bound by oneself." While playing this chapter, the GM should keep asking the PCs this question.

"What are you bound to? Who made that binding? Was it you?"

Each PC's answer is different. One PC is bound to duty, another to a wound, another to love. Black Rope is a mirror that shows that binding.

At chapter end, each PC becomes aware of their own binding through their experience in Black Rope. Awareness is not release - afterward comes the choice to live while recognizing the binding, to undo it, or to admit, "this binding is me."

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#Domain State After Chapter End

See Chapter 2 Rewards, Domain Changes, and Next-Chapter Connection. Main items only:

• Domain morale: changes by ±2 depending on the Act 4 choice.
• Barrier HP: roughly 50 ± 10 (entry value for Chapter 3).
• Onmyoji weakening: 2 ~ 3 accumulated.
• Cores obtainable: 3~5 Kokujo-ryu cores.
• Unlocked NPC: Grip Mother (can visit the domain if she survives), or the curse of the betrayed Grip Mother.
• Unlocked school: Kokujo-ryu (if the parley succeeds, Grip Mother can teach it).

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#4-Session Preparation Checklist (GM)

#Session 5 Preparation

• [ ] Read all of Act 1 — Entering Black Rope.
• [ ] Check Chapter 1 ending-state records (Barrier HP, weakening, PC dan, each PC's Three Ways).
• [ ] Prepare the Grip Mother NPC sheet (Chapter 2 NPC Catalog).
• [ ] Prepare yoma cards for "growing chains" and "bound souls" (Chapter 2 Yoma Bestiary — Faces of Black Rope).

#Session 6 Preparation

• [ ] Read all of Act 2 — The Restraint Maze.
• [ ] Prepare 3~4 lost-drifter NPC sheets.
• [ ] Sketch a map of the restraint maze.

#Session 7 Preparation

• [ ] Read all of Act 3 — Contract or Betrayal.
• [ ] Review negotiable-yoma rules (core 08-02).
• [ ] Review contract rules (core 03-09).

#Session 8 Preparation

• [ ] Read all of Act 4 (Climax) — Parley with the Forest's Master.
• [ ] Prepare the Kokujo Daimo boss sheet (Chapter 2 Yoma Bestiary — Faces of Black Rope).
• [ ] Organize GM notes for the threefold choice.
• [ ] Organize connections to domain events after chapter end (11-07).

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#Standalone Ending Possibility

If the group chooses not to proceed to Chapter 3, or chooses to end the campaign here, Chapter 2 can have a standalone ending. In this case, the result of the parley with Kokujo Daimo is interpreted as "the path by which the domain dwells permanently in the Spirit Realm," and the domain harmonizes with the Black Rope boundary, continuing within the eternal stillness of binding. This is tragedy, and also peace. For details, see the "Standalone Ending" section of Chapter 2 Rewards, Domain Changes, and Next-Chapter Connection.

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#Chapter 2 Unique Rules Appendix

#Rule 1. Black Rope Temptation Check

When a PC stays still in the forest of Black Rope for 3 rounds or longer, the GM may call for the following check.

Use the core Mental Save rules as written. The check is 2d10 + Courage.

#Rule 2. Freeing and Binding

When a PC tries to free a bound soul:

1. Physically cut the chain (Physique check, Target Number 13) - the freed one is released with no room for choice.
2. Unbind the chain through negotiation (Negotiation check, Target Number 15) - the freed one is released by their own will.
3. Bind them again with another chain (Presence or Wisdom check about ritual etiquette, Target Number 11) - the state changes; only the kind of binding changes.

Each method affects the Three Ways differently. For details, see the "Ethics of Freeing" section of Act 2 — The Restraint Maze.

#Rule 3. Kokujo-ryu Instruction Conditions

Only if the final relationship with Grip Mother or Kokujo Daimo is friendly, an onmyoji or a PC with Three Ways Chivalric Love 3 or higher can request instruction in Kokujo-ryu.

Instruction conditions:

• Relationship at chapter end is "friendly" or "reverent."
• Among the PC's Three Ways, Chivalric Love ≥ 3.
• Return to the domain with at least 3 cores.

If instruction succeeds, the PC learns 1 Kokujo-ryu 1st-dan technique. For detailed techniques, see 22-02.

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#Design Notes - Background for the GM

This section is designer commentary that is not revealed to players.

#Why Is "Black Rope" Chapter 2?

Chapter 1, Reviving Hell, was a mirror for the PCs' "wounds." A wound is received from outside, and the PC is passive. Chapter 2, Black Rope, reflects the binding the PC chose for themselves after that wound. Now the PC is active.

Maintaining this structure is the core of the Chapter 2~5 connection. Chapter 3, Screaming Hell, is "the emotion after recognizing the binding"; Chapter 4, Scorching Heat, is "the impulse that burns emotion"; Chapter 5, Avici, is "the emptiness after everything has vanished." It is gradual and irreversible.

#Why Are "Negotiable Yoma" Here?

Because Black Rope's theme is choice. If a yoma is merely an enemy, the PCs' choices are only "kill it/run away." If the yoma has intent, the choices expand to "kill it/run away/talk/contract/betray." That expansion overlaps exactly with Black Rope's theme of "binding and freeing."

The reason the first appearance of negotiable yoma belongs in this chapter is clear - Black Rope itself is a "hell of negotiation."

#About Length

Chapter 2 targets 4 sessions, but if the play group focuses on negotiation and RP, it may stretch to 5 sessions. The GM should allow this. However, if it exceeds 5 sessions, the pace breaks, so shorten either Act 3 or Act 4.

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#Bonus - 5-Player Table Reflection Log

Sora: It was the least RPG-like chapter. That's why I liked it.

Hana: There really are souls who do not want to be freed.

Kuro: It makes you think about the world after freedom too.

Full conversation: 80-09 Milestone Reflection Log, After Chapter 2 - What Will You Unbind, and What Will You Bind?.

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#Next Step

• Prepare to enter Act 1: Act 1 — Entering Black Rope
• Check character sheets: each PC should be late 2nd dan. If not, insert a short training montage in Chapter 1 to supplement experience.
• Organize domain state: check core holdings in Yoma Core Economy.
• Read NPC sheets: Chapter 2 NPC Catalog.
• Read yoma sheets: Chapter 2 Yoma Bestiary — Faces of Black Rope.

The gate of Black Rope is open now. Whether you enter is up to you.

Final note (for the GM): throughout this chapter, the sentence players should hear most often comes in three forms.

1. "You may rest here."

2. "You did the same thing, didn't you?"

3. "You will keep the promise, won't you?"

These three sentences are the spell Black Rope casts on the PCs. The GM should let the players hear each at least once per session.