#Chapter 3 - Screaming Hell (叫喚)

Contents

Those submerged in a lake of boiling water. Molten iron, steam, screams. Beneath them lies the past of your domain.

The turning point of the whole campaign. After this chapter, the players realize they did not "fall." They were "dragged in."

Core References

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

- Reference: Enmadoji Seal · Yoma Bestiary · Underwater Zones

References in This Supplement

- Full picture: Premise Spoiler Section

- Engines: Barrier System · Core Economy

- NPCs: Young Lord · Onmyoji

- Previous chapter: Chapter 2 Black Rope

- Next chapter: Chapter 4 Scorching Heat

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#One-Line Summary

The domain did not "fall." It was "dragged in." The proof lies in the fishing village at the lakebed.

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#Chapter Meta Card

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#The Chapter's Final Question

"How will you accept the past sin of the domain?"

Ask this question to the characters, not the players. Their attitude after the discovery sets the tone for all of Chapter 4 and Chapter 5. The GM should watch closely how young Lord Akihisa answers this question, and move the alignment of his Heart(心) according to player choices.

#3 Acceptance Patterns (Observed Player Choices)

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#4-Act Structure Summary

[Act 1] Preparing to sail - repair the domain ship, organize the sea expedition, open the water gate beyond the Barrier
 └─ 1 session (session 9)

[Act 2] Sailing the boiling lake - ghost ship of the old fishing village, Screaming Hell surface eruption, sea encounters
 └─ 1 session (session 10)

[Act 3] Exploring underwater wreckage - fishing-village ruins, discovery of sealing-stone records (proof of what the domain sealed 100 years ago)
 └─ 1 session (session 11) - ★ core narrative

[Act 4] Huge being at the lakebed - face Kyoukan Daiou(the submerged being)
 └─ 1 session (session 12) - battle, dialogue, or sealing: a 3-choice structure

For each act's details, see 12-01 · 12-02 · 12-03 · 12-04.

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#Three Tone Phrases for the Chapter

1. "Your own scream, impossible to escape." Screaming Hell is not an external punishment. It is a place where your own pain returns as an echo. A yoma's scream is, in truth, the act of hearing your own scream.
2. "The sea remembers longer than salt." What happened 100 years ago is still boiling below the surface. The past is alive in the Spirit Realm.
3. "The chapter where you learn what your ancestors covered up." The domain's pride, "a peaceful land that never fought even one war," is revealed to have been a land that sank something and forgot it.

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#The Physics of Screaming Hell

#Environmental Rules (New)

※ New Rule - Screaming Hell Environment

Boiling surface: the lake's base water temperature is 100 degrees or higher. Exposed skin burns immediately. Heatproof light armor is required. Without heatproof light armor, lose [Energy] -1 per round.

Steam toxicity: within 3m above the surface, dense steam hangs in the air. Without a steam veil(耐氣巾), take a -1 modifier on every check. A steam veil can be made in the domain seal office for core 1/2 per 1 sheet(each 1 sheet remains valid for 3 hours).

Entering underwater: characters can descend below the surface only when they have a Spirit Realm resident's sealing talisman + the onmyoji's "water-gate talisman." Time limit: 1 hour/1 talisman.

Echo of screams: the surface of Screaming Hell stores every scream within 5km in all directions. If a PC shouts here, after d10 rounds that sound returns amplified (confusion state).

#New Conditions in This Chapter

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#Opening Conditions for This Chapter

Morning after the Chapter 2 climax. Domain meeting hall.

• Review the "suspicious nautical chart(海圖)" gained in the forest of Black Rope - it marks place names from the old domain coast (the players should first wonder, "the domain never had a coast")
• Dream guidance from the onmyoji Hoshino Gensho: "Boiling water asks me: do you know what happened that night?" - opening monologue
• It is reported that at the northern end of the domain, a water gate(水門) has suddenly opened outside the Barrier. Beyond the water gate is a coast no one has seen before. The Barrier has temporarily bulged in that direction.
• Lord Akihisa declares: "Launch the boat."

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#GM Handout at Chapter Opening (For Players)

Read the following aloud (within 200 characters):

"Morning. A salt wind pushes in from outside the Barrier. Where the northern forest should be, you see the sea. The water boils red, and steam rises like pillars. Onmyoji Gensho says, 'Below that water lies something older than our domain.' The lord asks, 'Can we launch a boat?' Instead of answering, he turns to you."

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#What Happens to the Domain in This Chapter

#Sailing Period (Whole Chapter ~10~14 days)

• Barrier HP - apply weekly natural decrease 2 times (-6)
• Core consumption - during the voyage, core supply for Barrier maintenance is impossible. At least 6 cores in stock before sailing is recommended.
• Onmyoji - additional weakening from maintaining the water-gate talisman. Weakening +1 (3→4 or 4→5)
• Resident morale - -1/week for as many days as the boat has not returned. When it returns, morale spikes by +2.
• Lord Akihisa - in this chapter, he does not accompany the sailing party. He takes charge of domain defense. If the PCs ask him to accompany them, the onmyoji stops him. The GM must preserve this setup - Akihisa's Heart must not be decided at the moment he learns the truth.

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#4-Session Operation Overview

#Session 9 - Act 1: Preparing to Sail

• Opening scene: before the water gate outside the Barrier. Share the nautical chart.
• Central tasks: repair the boat (shipbuilding check) + organize the sea expedition (squad limits)
• Event: translation of the old nautical chart; a "dream testimony" from one coastal resident (mentions the fishing village Mizuura)
• Boss-level encounter: none. Focus on building tension.
• Ending moment: departure. The sail rises, and the Barrier opens briefly.

#Session 10 - Act 2: Sailing the Boiling Lake

• Opening scene: sailing over boiling seawater.
• Central tasks: 2 sea encounters (1 ghost ship, 1 Screaming Hell surface eruption)
• Event: find the fishing-village ruins and drop anchor
• Boss-level encounter: ghost-ship captain Kasakura(笠倉) (negotiable)
• Ending moment: above the ruins. Prepare the water-gate talisman.

#Session 11 - Act 3: Exploring Underwater Wreckage ★ Core

• Opening scene: descend underwater. Wear steam veils and breathing talismans.
• Central tasks: underwater exploration of the fishing-village ruins (3 zones, each with a clue)
• Event: discover the sealing-stone records (Handout #3: document from 100 years ago)
• Boss-level encounter: a swarm of "sinking souls" (medium), and the "Melted Fisherman" chief of the ruined temple
• Ending moment: confirm the sealing stone's location. Head for the Daijingu site.

#Session 12 - Act 4: Huge Being at the Lakebed ★ Climax

• Opening scene: Daijingu site. The door of the sunken main hall.
• Central task: face Kyoukan Daiou - battle, dialogue, or sealing: a 3-choice structure
• Event: confirm the true nature of the seal from 100 years ago. The outcome connects directly to Chapter 4 and Chapter 5.
• Boss-level encounter: Kyoukan Daiou(叫喚大王) - chapter boss
• Ending moment: rise to the surface. Return to the domain. Report to Akihisa.

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#What Remains in the Domain After the Chapter

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#Next Devices Connected from This Chapter

#Bridge to Chapter 4 Scorching Heat

The sealing records found in this chapter are compared in Chapter 4 against the records of the "previous drifters" - raising the question, "were they also people who covered up the seal?" In Act 1 of 13-chapter-4-shonetsu, the 2nd decoding of the sealing records begins.

#Kyoukan-ryu Teaching Requirements

A PC who ends this chapter with the climax sealing choice gains eligibility to learn Kyoukan-ryu. Requirement: in dialogue with Kyoukan Daiou, the PC let him hear a "true-hearted scream" at least 1 time, and chose sealing or reconciliation at the end.

#Link to the Mega-Dungeon "Sunken Mandala"

Sunken Mandala is another area below this lake. This chapter describes only the entrance. Floors 1~2 become accessible as fallout from this chapter's climax. Full exploration begins after Chapter 4.

#Romance Opportunities

• Kasakura(ghost-ship captain) - yoma partner candidate. Can gain Affinity 1 (24-03)
• Among domain NPCs, Kirihime(water-carrying girl) can have a courtship event during this chapter's sailing preparations (24-02)

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#Long-Term Effects of the Climax Choice

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#GM Narrative Checklist

• [ ] Act 1: departure must feel like tension. Describe the anxiety of those left behind in the domain.
• [ ] Act 2: the ghost-ship encounter should imply your own future soon. Make Kasakura's "regret" a mirror for the PCs.
• [ ] Act 3: give the density of finding the sealing records. Reveal it in three stages - hint → fragment → full picture.
• [ ] Act 4: let Kyoukan Daiou's scream sound like one PC's voice. Shake that PC's Heart.
• [ ] Ending: when the report reaches Akihisa, describe his first reaction precisely. One question he returns to them.

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#Recovery on Failure

If the PCs are wiped out in the Act 4 climax, or fail to secure the sealing records:

1. Partial information route: ghost-ship captain Kasakura hands over 2~3 fragments of a "story he heard" (low reliability)
2. Alternative re-entry: in Chapter 4 Act 2 or Act 3, reinsert a chance to secure the records through another route
3. Ending effect: one requirement for the return ending is missed → in Chapter 5, force the "3 alternative clues" route

However, even if this chapter completely fails, the campaign continues. Adventure Path principle: each chapter can recover independently.

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#Actual Interpretive Reference

#Doctrinal Background of Screaming Hell

Among Buddhism's 8 great hells, the 4th hell(Screaming Hell) is Raurava, where those who indulged in alcohol in addition to lying and stealing fall. The domain's past sin in this chapter does not directly correspond to "indulging in alcohol," but it symbolically overlaps with this hell through the sin of lying: "covering up the truth."

Adjust how directly the GM reveals this symbolism to fit the table. Avoid excessive doctrinal explanation - let the players place their own interpretation on top.

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#Cautions When Running the Chapter

#Pace Management

If 4 sessions feel insufficient, expand Act 3's underwater exploration into 2 sessions. Act 3 is the core of this chapter, so do not rush it. Compressing Act 1 and Act 2 to 3/4 hour each is the next-best option.

#Order of Information Release

Do not introduce the term sealing stone until the middle of Act 3. First reveal "sunken fishing village" → "100-year-old stone monument" → "pattern carved into ritual vessels" → "name of the seal." The pleasure of this chapter is letting players assemble it themselves.

#Conversation with the Onmyoji

Onmyoji Gensho should show, toward every clue in this chapter, the attitude that he already dimly knew. But as fear, not confirmation. "Could it have been that?" This monologue hints at the weight of the truth for the players.

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#Scent(香) · Law(法) · Guide · Branches - Chapter Summary

#Scent - Texture of Screaming Hell (Read-Aloud)

The steam of the boiling sea is not sweet. Iron, fish-stink, and the sickly sweetness of rancid oil mix together, making saliva gather deep in the nose. On the tongue, it tastes more like ash than salt. On the skin, it stings first - and then, one beat later, heat seeps in. That "one beat" is the rhythm of Screaming Hell. Punishment does not come first. What comes first is memory.

The surface is black-red. Beneath a red oil film is black water, and beneath that, no one knows. Sometimes the surface bulges upward and bursts; from the steam pillar, one shard of a human voice flies out. "Hey." "Come back." "I'm sorry." - not anyone's voice, and yet, for each listener, the voice of their own mother, father, or teacher. This auditory hallucination is the scent of this chapter.

#Law - Rules of Screaming Hell (GM Handoff)

This chapter's 3 major new rules are as follows:

1. Sea Navigation check - common to Acts 1 and 2. Piloting + Judgment 2d10. On failure, route delayed by +1 day, core -1.
2. Underwater zone rules - common to Acts 3 and 4. Borrow core 05-05. Firearms unavailable, Unarmed Combat +2, Energy consumption 2 times, sight radius halved.
3. Scream infection - throughout Screaming Hell. After d10 rounds, your own scream returns as an echo (condition: Heart wavering +1).

#Guide - Recommended GM Operation

• Act 1 departure should be described like a rite(儀式). Boat-oath rite, naming of the boat, onmyoji's seal-imprint.
• Act 2 voyage is about isolation. The farther they drift from the Barrier, the darker the night becomes.
• Act 3 underwater is a session of discovery. Design it so each piece of information carries an emotion.
• Act 4 confrontation is tragedy, not an enemy. Stage Kyoukan Daiou's attacks as "pleas," not "attacks."

#Branches - 3 Major Choice Points in the Chapter

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#Independent Development Guide for the Chapter (Out-of-order Play)

If the GM wants to run this chapter in an order other than third in the campaign(for example, swap it with Chapter 2 or bring it forward):

#Using It Earlier as Chapter 2 (PCs 2~4th dan)

• Reduce Kyoukan Daiou's Wounds by 30%, attack checks -1
• Allow underwater residence time to be extended 2 times
• The sealing-stone records can only be half(半) decoded (recover the rest later)

#Moving It Later as Chapter 4 (PCs 6~8th dan)

• Add Kyoukan Daiou's Form 2 (giant god above the water)
• Increase the explosion radius of the Screaming Hell surface by 1.5 times
• Sealing-stone record decoding check difficulty +1

#Using It as a Standalone One-Shot

• Compress Act 1 (within 30 minutes): nautical chart + boat-oath rite only
• Combine Acts 2 and 3: perform voyage and dive in the same session
• Keep Act 4 in its original form

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#Information That Can Be Disclosed to Players (Chapter Opening)

Information the GM can give the players in the Session 1 opening:

• A sea has "appeared" at the northern end of the Barrier (geographic anomaly)
• The nautical chart was obtained at the end of Chapter 2 (state the source)
• The onmyoji dimly knows this sea area (reason comes later)
• The water-gate talisman is made at the cost of the onmyoji's weakening (state the cost)

Do not give them the following (this is the pleasure of discovery):

• The existence of the seal from 100 years ago
• Kyoukan Daiou's true identity (the last fisherman of the old domain)
• The truth that this domain was not "fallen," but "dragged in"
• The fact that the other two axes of the Enmadoji Seal exist in the core world

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#4 Clues Connecting to the Next Chapter (Chapter 4 Scorching Heat)

The players should carry away these 4 clues when this chapter ends:

1. Mention of the "second axis" in the sealing records - "There is another beyond this sea." → pursued in Chapter 4 Act 1.
2. Gensho's nightmare testimony - "Bones are ringing under the flames." → foreshadows the Chapter 4 theme(Scorching Heat).
3. Kasakura's warning (on successful Negotiation) - "Do not go south. That way is fire." → hints at Chapter 4's direction.
4. Kyoukan Daiou's last words/promise - different form depending on the option chosen. → axis of aid or curse in Chapter 4.

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"The screams did not come from outside. They came from below the surface, from the mouths we covered." — Hoshino Gensho, monologue at the end of Chapter 3 Act 3

"If your domain was 'peaceful,' that peace was built on someone's silence." — Kyoukan Daiou's first words, opening monologue when faced in Act 4

"The water does not boil from rage. Its memory simply has not cooled." — Kasakura (on successful Negotiation), words left behind as the boat turns back

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#Appendix - Time/Round Summary (Chapter Scale)

#Screaming Hell Round Table

#Whole-Chapter Check List

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#Bonus - 5-Player Table Reflection Log

Jun: The fact that it was "pulling," not "drifting," is huge.

Hana: It means the domain we have to protect was not just a victim.

Kuro: Chapter 3 is not only a chapter about seeing the Spirit Realm. It is also a chapter about seeing the domain again.

Full conversation: 80-09 Milestone Reflection Log, After Chapter 3 - If We Were Not Fallen, but Dragged In.

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"Screaming Hell is the hell of the sea. But this sea was the original land of our domain. We are not going to visit hell. We are going to visit the graveyard of our home." — Onmyoji Hoshino Gensho, final words of the Chapter 3 opening council

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#Linked Documents (Whole Chapter 3)

• 12-01 Act 1 - Preparing to Sail
• 12-02 Act 2 - Sea Expedition
• 12-03 Act 3 - Old Fishing-Village Wreckage and Sealing Records
• 12-04 Act 4 Climax - The Great King of Screaming Hell
• 12-05 Chapter 3 NPCs
• 12-06 Chapter 3 Unique Yoma Bestiary
• 12-07 Rewards, Domain Changes, and Next-Chapter Bridge