#Chapter 2 NPC Catalog

Contents

"One who gains a name is not forgotten. One who is not forgotten can loosen the chains."

Core Reference

- Required: Yoma Bestiary Template · Non-Combat Checks · Three Ways and Six Hearts

- In this supplement: 11-00 · 11-01 · 11-02 · 11-03 · 11-04 · Spirit Realm Intelligences · 11-06 Yoma

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#NPC Composition Overview for This Chapter

Chapter 2 is a chapter where conversation matters more than combat. The NPCs' depth determines whether the chapter works. This catalog contains 4 central NPCs and a number of supporting NPCs.

#Central NPCs (4)

#Supporting NPCs

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#1. Grip Mother — Major NPC

#Basic Information

#Appearance

She is of average human height. Pale skin, long black hair. There is no trace of age on her face, but her eyes are deep. Hundreds of thin strands of iron chain wrap around her body, yet the chains do not bind her. They fall like a dress. Her walk is quiet and slow.

#Personality

• Gentleness: She almost never shows anger. Yet deep sadness often rests in her eyes.
• Passivity: She does not decide for herself. She waits. She has postponed a decision for 100 years.
• Motherhood: She calls the souls wrapped in Black Rope "children." That affection is real.
• Ambivalence: She wants to release them, and she also wants to keep them bound. She does not know which is right.

#Hidden Background (GM Private)

200 years ago, in a village on the Kii Peninsula, she loved the young man Haruhiko. That love became obsession, and her obsession drove Haruhiko to death (he actually recovered, but she does not know that). She died in guilt, came to Black Rope, and wrapped herself in chains. 100 years ago, she heard a voice from the seal at the heart of the forest and became "Mother."

Truth: The sealed Kokujo Daimo is her own obsession given physical form. The two beings are one and separate.

#Attributes (Negotiation Type)

#Negotiation Table

#Gifts (If Friendly)

• Chain-child flower — a small flower of Black Rope. Stabilizes the Domain Barrier for 1 week.
• Thread of contract — automatically given during the Act 3 contract.
• Kokujo-ryu instruction — conditional in the later campaign.

#Dialogue Samples

Common tone: low and soft. She does not hurry her words. She often answers after a silence.

• "So it was you. The children who came this time."
• "Do you think releasing them is right? ... Some children do not ask to be released."
• "I was once wrapped too. I know how it feels to remain bound."
• "You decide. For 100 years, I could not."

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#2. Naga of Black Rope(Dragon King) — Forest's Master (Lord-grade Yoma)

#Basic Information

#Appearance

She has exactly the same face as Grip Mother. But she is more than twice as large. Her black hair is longer, her skin paler. The chains covering her whole body are as thick as a waist. The chains pin her to the bottom of the pit as if nailing her there. She cannot stand. But her gaze sees everything above the pit.

#Personality

• Certainty: The opposite of Grip Mother's passivity. She knows her place.
• Intelligence: The depth granted by 100 years of stillness. Each phrase carries 10 meanings.
• Sadness: She is outwardly cold, but behind her eyes lies unbearable sadness.
• Capacity to yield: If persuaded, she can yield her place. This is the core of the Truth·Compassion route.

#Understanding Her Essence (GM Private)

She is the "personality of obsession." A piece of Grip Mother cut away in the process by which love became obsession, and obsession became binding. More than anything, she wants to be understood. But she is also afraid — if she is understood, her reason to exist may disappear.

#Attributes (Lord-grade, Route Split)

#Combat Mode

#Negotiation Mode

#Negotiation Table (Truth·Compassion Route)

For details, see the "Truth·Compassion route" section of 11-04. Summary:

#Gifts (On Success)

• Black Rope tear bead — 1 high-purity core. A medium for 3rd-dan Kokujo-ryu instruction.
• Daimo's name — she tells the PCs the true name she had forgotten. This becomes a key in the later campaign.
• 1 Spirit Realm intelligence ally — add to 8 Spirit Realm Intelligences — Negotiable Others.

#Dialogue Samples

Common tone: low and cold. Emotion rarely shows, but it appears when she is stirred.

• "I waited long. If not you, then someone else."
• "You are her emissary. She sent you to see me."
• "100 years have passed. The memory of binding is now larger in me than the memory of love."
• "You are strong. But strength is not an answer."

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#3. Sakai Taro — Atoning Old Heroic Spirit

#Basic Information

#Appearance

A middle-aged man. Disordered hair, gaunt face. Yet his expression is calm. Remnants of armor remain on his body — the scar in his side is a memory of an old battle. Dozens of thin iron chains coil around his whole body, and several of them connect to the bones of the lattice.

#Personality

• Atonement: He is resting here. This rest is not comfortable, but it is just.
• Warrior's courtesy: His speech is respectful. He uses polite forms even with strangers.
• Firmness: He refuses to be released. His choice is solid.

#Background

100 years ago, he failed to protect the lord he served during the wars. His lord died, and Taro survived. He could not forgive himself for failing to live in his lord's place. When he died and came to Black Rope, he wrapped himself in chains. It meant, "I sit again in the place I left empty."

#Negotiation Guidance

#Gifts (If Respected)

• Fragment of the broken way — a small bamboo shard. Symbol of his warrior's way. It provides a support effect for the bronze mirror in Act 4.
• His lord's name — Taro tells the PCs the name of the lord he carried all his life. This name may exist in domain records (GM linkage).

#Dialogue Samples

• "You have come this far as well. How much time has passed?"
• "My name is Sakai Taro. In the wars, I failed to protect my lord."
• "You need not release me. I like it here. More precisely — this place is fitting."
• "May your journey be safe. And may you find your own 'here.'"

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#4. Haruhiko — Liminal Old Heroic Spirit

#Basic Information

#Appearance

A man who looks in his 40s. Moderate height, ordinary face. But his smile is deep. Chains are not wrapped around him. Instead, he uses the chains like a chair. His gesture when drinking tea is relaxed.

#Personality

• Ease: He enjoys Black Rope's stillness, but has not wrapped himself.
• Contemplation: He watches what happens in this forest. He does not judge.
• Deep affection for Grip Mother: 150 years ago, he loved her, and he still loves her. But he does not demand that love.

#Background

150 years ago, he was a young man from the Kii Peninsula. He and Haruka(Grip Mother) were lovers. When her obsession deepened, he once left her side and then returned. He returned alive, but Haruka believed he was dead and died in self-reproach. He followed her into Black Rope — but was not wrapped. He simply chose to remain beside her.

#Hidden Role

He is Black Rope's living witness. The only one who knows Grip Mother's past. He also knows the essence of Kokujo Daimo. But he does not say this first. The PCs must ask.

#Negotiation Guidance

#Gifts (If Friendly)

• Iron Heart(鐵心) crystal — 1-use item that interrupts Kokujo Daimo's attack for 1 round in Act 4.
• Bronze mirror fragment — given during the Act 3 room for betrayal step (if friendly). Core item for Act 4.
• Old story of Grip Mother — verbal information. Her true name, past, and the origin of her obsession.

#Dialogue Samples

• "You finally came. I've been waiting. Sit down. There is tea."
• "You can tell this is a fairly good place, can't you?"
• "She has postponed her decision for 100 years. You should not decide in her place. You have to share the decision."
• "Because I loved her, I know her weakness."

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#5. Mizuki — Confused Bound Heroic Spirit (Supporting NPC)

#Basic Information

#Appearance

A woman in her early 20s. Pale, thin face. Her eyes are large and sad. Chains are wound tightly around her body, and one strand covers her mouth. When the mouth-chain is loosened, she speaks desperately.

#Personality

• Confusion: She wants to be released, then the next moment wants to be bound again. This has repeated for 10 years.
• Sorrow: She does not remember the reason exactly. But there is deep sorrow.
• Dependence: If released, she clings to the PCs. She asks to accompany them to the domain.

#Background

10 years ago, after a family tragedy, she died from deep sorrow. She came to Black Rope and wrapped herself in chains by her own choice, but for 10 years she has moved back and forth many times between "release me" and "leave me as I am." Grip Mother respected her choice, but did not force her.

#Negotiation Guidance

For details, see 11-02. Summary:

• On Perception 14+ success, truth revealed: her confusion itself is the truth.
• If released, she can accompany the party to the domain (but domain morale -1, weakening +0.5).
• If respected and not released, Grip Mother Affinity +1.

#Moral Weight

She is the most ambiguous character in this chapter. Releasing her is not the answer, and leaving her is not the answer. Whatever the PCs choose, that choice is not complete. The GM should make this clear through presentation.

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#6. Goemon — Monk-Type Bound Heroic Spirit (Optional)

#Basic Information

#Appearance

An old monk. Shaved head. White beard. Wrapped in chains, seated in half lotus. He holds a sutra in his hands.

#Background

During a sermon, he witnessed one of his disciples bring down a pagoda. That scene made him realize the powerlessness of sermons. He left the temple, came to Black Rope, and wrapped himself. He sought to learn "the place words cannot reach."

#Negotiation Guidance

• In conversation, he answers only in sutra passages. Understanding requires Perception 14+.
• If the PCs listen for 3 or more rounds to the sutra, Spirit recovery +1.
• Gift (if heard): "torn sutra passage" — if shown to Kokujo Daimo in Act 4, her attack power -1.

#Dialogue Samples (Sutra-Passage Style)

• "They call it immovable, yet affairs move. Within that movement, immovability exists."
• "To be released means one has been bound. One who has never been bound has nothing from which to be released."
• "Not answering your question is the answer."

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#7. Osushi (Illusion) — Lure Hallucination (Appendix)

#Basic Information

#Appearance

A young girl. She is crying. She is wrapped in chains. She cries out, "Release me."

#Truth

She is an illusion. A lure created by Black Rope to test the PCs' compassion. The real Osushi died naturally long ago.

#Negotiation Guidance

• On Perception 15+ success, she is revealed as an illusion.
• A PC who "releases" the illusion takes Three Ways: Way of Goodness -1 (failure of judgment).
• A PC who sees through the illusion gains Three Ways: Way of Goodness +1.

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#8. Nameless One — Extreme Bound Heroic Spirit (Appendix)

#Basic Information

#Appearance

Chains cover the face. If pulled away, there is no face — the face has melted into the chains.

#Personality

• Wordless: cannot speak.
• Presence: instead, the strongest presence. Stronger than the other heroic spirits.

#Meaning

A being that makes the PCs ask again what "release itself" means. Can they release someone with no name, no face, and no past?

#Check

All PCs make Mental Save, Target Number 13. On failure, they are "wordless" for 1 round. On success, Three Ways: Way of Goodness +1.

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#9. Daisuke — Former Kokujin Old Heroic Spirit (Appendix, Domain Ties)

#Basic Information

#Appearance

A middle-aged warrior. Wrapped in chains, but his head is free. His eyes are sharp.

#Background

He is of the old residents' bloodline of the domain. If any PC has a family tie, he recognizes them. He knows that the domain has fallen into the Spirit Realm.

#Crucial Information (Perception 12+)

"Kokujo Daimo is not Grip Mother's 'other face.' She is a separate being. Two souls sharing the same body."

This information is decisive in the Act 4 parley. It supports the "integration/coexistence" choice of the Truth·Compassion route.

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#Appendix A — Chapter-Wide NPC Relationship Diagram

      [Haruhiko]
        |
     (past lover)
        |
     [Grip Mother] ----- (contract) ----- [PC party]
        |               |
     (separated self)         (facing)
        |               |
     [Kokujo Daimo]           |
        |               |
     (while sealed)           |
        V               V
     (Act 4 choice: integration/separation/defeat/sacrifice)

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#Appendix B — NPC Entry Scene Summary

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#Appendix C — Negotiable Spirit Realm Intelligence Format (Core Expansion)

The basic structure for the "negotiable yoma" format introduced for the first time in this chapter.

#C.1 Whether a Yoma Can Negotiate

#C.2 3-Step Negotiation (Truth·Compassion Route Standard)

1. Listening — hear the other party's story. Spirit/Perception check.
2. Empathy — acknowledge the other party's emotions. Negotiation/Mental Save.
3. Proposal — propose a shared answer. Negotiation/Perception check.

#C.3 Betrayal Possibility

For details, see the core Negotiation Rules and the "Contract" section of this chapter's 11-03.

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#Appendix D — GM Operation Notes

#D.1 When Playing Grip Mother

1. Describe the eyes first. Her eyes are deep and sad. Always describe her eyes before dialogue.
2. Do not fear silence. She does not answer questions immediately. Answer after at least 3 seconds of silence.
3. Make the chains alive. Whenever she speaks, one or two strands of chain move on their own.

#D.2 When Playing Kokujo Daimo

1. Low voice. One octave lower than Grip Mother.
2. Several meanings in every phrase. Her words carry surface and depth at the same time.
3. Spend emotion sparingly. Her emotion appears only at the final moment.

#D.3 When Playing the Old Heroic Spirits

1. Respect each separate story. Distinguish the speech of Sakai, Mizuki, and Haruhiko.
2. Maintain stillness. They are not noisy.
3. Do not force checks. Conversation is possible without checks.

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#Chapter NPC End Checklist

Update each session.

• [ ] Grip Mother Affinity (-5 ~ +5).
• [ ] Kokujo Daimo relationship (only after facing her).
• [ ] Whether Sakai Taro was respected.
• [ ] Mizuki's state (bound/released/accompanying).
• [ ] Whether Haruhiko's gifts were obtained (Iron Heart, bronze mirror).
• [ ] Whether appendix NPCs were contacted.

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#Next Step

• Yoma Bestiary: Chapter 2 Yoma Bestiary — Faces of Black Rope
• Reward Summary: Chapter 2 Rewards, Domain Changes, and Next-Chapter Connection
• Spirit Realm Intelligence Allies: 8 Spirit Realm Intelligences — Negotiable Others
• Kokujo-ryu Instruction: Kokujo-ryu (黒縄流)

Final GM Note: The NPCs in this chapter are beings with depth of personhood. Do not treat them as simple quest givers. Each NPC is living their own life, and the PCs only briefly intervene in that life.

The Three NPC Principles:

1. "Every NPC is there for their own reason."

2. "Only the one who asks the reason receives an answer."

3. "Chains grow like trees. Names bind like people."