#Chapter 3 Act 1 - Preparing to Sail

Contents

An inland domain launches a boat. Beyond the water gate that suddenly appeared at the northern end of the Barrier, toward the boiling sea.

Core References

- Required: Squad Operations · Non-Combat Checks

- Reference: Artisan Facilities

In This Supplement

- Connections: Barrier · Squad Limitations · Young Lord

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#Act Meta Card

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#Goals of Act 1

Gather everything needed to sail.

• Decode the nautical chart
• Repair the boat · reinforce the hull
• Organize the expedition (within squad limits)
• Have the onmyoji create the water-gate talismans
• Reorganize the domain defense system (Barrier maintenance during the voyage)
• Persuade the residents · hold the rite(departure festival)

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#Act 1 Scene Order

#Scene 1 - Dawn Council (20~30 minutes)

Location: domain meeting hall. An old nautical chart lies spread on the table.

Participating NPCs: Lord Akihisa, onmyoji Gensho, and 2~3 retainers if needed

Situation:

The nautical chart was obtained in the forest of Black Rope, and it shows the terrain at the northern end of the domain as completely different. The northern end, now mountains, is marked on the chart as a bay(灣), and the fishing-village name "Mizuura(水浦)" is recorded there. At the bottom of the chart is an oddly familiar red seal - the Kamijo family's sect mark(宗門).

#Player Handout #1 (Chart Copy)

"Why is the lord's seal on a fishing village? Keicho 7 (1602), celebration of the completion of the northern-end reclamation project - that year's records say only that the domain 'upkept' the northern end. Perhaps it was not reclamation, but burial."

The onmyoji's line (must be inserted):

"If this chart is correct, the domain once covered a coastline in the past. But... even my master's master never spoke of it."

Lord Akihisa's decision:

"We must launch a boat. Whatever lies below the water, confirming it is our duty. This is the place my father left to me."

GM Note: At this point, Akihisa may volunteer to accompany them. The onmyoji must stop him - reason: "the lord's seat cannot be empty in the domain." Akihisa obeys, but shows dissatisfaction.

#Check: Decoding the Nautical Chart (2d10+Wisdom+Geography)

• Target Number 9 (beginner) / Target Number 11 (skilled)
• On success: confirm the exact date of the red seal on the chart(Keicho 7). Identify the fishing village's position as roughly 200 paces beneath the northern end of the domain.
• On failure: fail to determine the date. In the Act 2 ghost-ship encounter, the realization of "why this ship feels familiar" is delayed.

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#Scene 2 - Shipyard (30~45 minutes)

Location: the old shipyard at the eastern edge of the domain. It was abandoned after river trade ended 10 years ago. 3 derelict boats, materials at about 1/3 of the needed level.

Participating NPC: crew chief Tamura Rokujiro(田村六次郎, age 52) - former shipwright. Retired. His woodworking skill is the best in the domain.

Situation:

When Tamura first heard the request, he shook his head.

"My lord, a boat is something built over 3 years and ridden for 30. A boat that must sail within a month is no different from building a grave."

Even so, he insists he will work only if they perform a boat-oath rite(船約式) - a traditional rite in which boat and passengers become one body.

#Check: Boat-Oath Rite (2d10+Presence+Bearing)

• Target Number 9
• All players participate. Each must declare what they offer to the boat.
• On success: decide the boat's name - recommended "Tokinami(時波, Ripple of Time)". Players may choose whether to use this name or choose another.
• Partial success (1~2 failures): the boat is built, but insert one "ominous creak" event during the voyage.
• If everyone fails: Chief Tamura declares he will not join the departure. The players need an additional scene to persuade him.

#Things That Can Be Offered in the Boat-Oath Rite (Player Declaration)

Each PC can offer only one thing. No duplicates.

#Check: Shipbuilding (2d10+Finesse+Disable, group)

• Target Number 11
• Spend domain wood and iron stock (wood 20 bundles, nails for 100, sailcloth 3 sheets)
• On success: Tokinami-go(時波号) completed. Hull Wounds 4 / movement 3 / capacity 6 (PC 4 + NPC 2)
• Partial success: completed with hull Wounds 3.
• On failure: delayed by 1 session (additional Barrier Wounds -1)

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#Scene 3 - Organizing the Expedition (20~30 minutes)

Location: return to the meeting hall.

Apply the squad limitation rules - Squad Limitations — The Personnel Reality Of This Domain

Selectable NPCs (1 sailing slot / 1 domain defense slot):

#Sailing Candidate NPCs

#Defense Candidate NPCs (Remain in Domain)

• Lord Akihisa (must handle defense)
• Retainers Nagao Tenshun(長尾天俊) (Swordsmanship) · Yasukawa Enshi(安川延士) (Spearmanship)
• Onmyoji Gensho (dedicated to Barrier maintenance · only opens/closes the water gate immediately before departure)

Recommended sailing composition: 4 PCs + Watanabe + Gakuten (or Hatsube). Capacity 6.

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#Scene 4 - Creating the Water-Gate Talismans (15~20 minutes)

Location: shrine. Night. Onmyoji Gensho has lit 12 candles and is writing talismans.

Situation:

Gensho must write 3 water-gate talismans + 6 underwater breathing talismans. Each talisman costs core 1/2 - total cost 5 cores.

During the work, Gensho's hands begin to tremble. Prompt a [sympathy] check from any PC who sees it.

#Check: Talisman Assistance (2d10+Wisdom+Sorcery)

• Target Number 9 (a PC can assist even without the basic knowledge required to write talismans)
• On success: 2 talismans are upgraded to high-grade(superior) (underwater residence time 2 hours/sheet)
• On failure: 1 talisman is defective (revealed by chance in Act 2, emergency situation underwater)
• If assistance is refused: Gensho weakening +1 occurs immediately

#Gensho's Monologue (Immediately Before Scene End)

"...I do not know the records of this water. But the call from below remained in the journal of my master's master. That person wrote only, 'cover' that water. They did not write why it had to be covered. You will learn it. What I did not know."

It is recommended to give this line to the players in writing as Handout #2.

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#Scene 5 - Persuading the Residents · Departure Festival (20~30 minutes)

Location: central plaza of the domain. Late night. Dozens of lanterns.

Situation:

News of the departure spreads throughout the domain. Some residents object. Reasons:

1. "A water gate at the northern end of the Barrier? It cannot be anything but a trap." - fear
2. "What happens to the domain if the expedition does not return?" - reality
3. "We have never heard of an old fishing village." - historical confusion

#Check: Resident Persuasion Assembly (1 PC representative, 2d10+Presence+Negotiation)

• Target Number 11
• Lord Akihisa's support speech modifier +1
• On success: resident morale +1, voluntary donation of departure supplies (food 5 additional days)
• On failure: resident morale -1, departure mood turns grim, Act 2 opening tone worsens

#Alternative: Departure-Festival Rite (2d10+Presence+Bearing)

• Target Number 9
• If a PC serves as miko, modifier +2
• On success: resident morale +2, the boat gains "ritual protection" - automatically avoids 1 first storm encounter in Act 2
• 1 successful checker offers a "departure song" before departure in a read-aloud scene (player improvised poem)

#Departure Song (Sample Read-Aloud - GM or PC May Recite)

"We launch the boat into the night wind."

"Return, return, before it is too late."

"If something lies covered, go and lift it away."

"But what must be abandoned, leave it here."

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#Scene 6 - Northern Water Gate (15~20 minutes)

Location: northern end of the domain, where forest should be. Now it is a coastline.

Situation:

The Barrier has thinned northward into a half-sphere(半球) shape. Beyond it, the boiling sea is visible. The wind is hot and thick with salt. The boat Tokinami-go has already been moved to the shore.

Gensho steps forward three paces and attaches the water-gate talisman to the Barrier. When he chants, the Barrier opens thinly like snow. Exactly wide enough for one boat to pass through.

#Check: Moment of Departure (2d10+Wisdom+Navigation)

• Target Number 9 (safe passage while the Barrier is open)
• On success: passage succeeds. The Barrier closes immediately.
• On failure: the Barrier grazes the boat's tail - hull Wounds -1. Tokinami-go sails with a wound.

Lord Akihisa's last words (immediately before departure):

"Return. Whatever lies below the water, you must return. That is the only order I can give you today."

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#Act 1 End Conditions

• Tokinami-go construction complete
• Water-gate talismans · breathing talismans obtained
• Expedition organized
• Barrier passage succeeds

If all are satisfied, move to Act 2 Sailing the Boiling Lake.

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#Act 1 Failure Branches

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#Act 1 Main Check Summary

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#Items Obtainable in Act 1

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#Tone and Atmosphere of Act 1

#Keywords

• Haste - Barrier Wounds keep decreasing. If departure is delayed by 1 session, make the burden tangible.
• Divided hearts - Akihisa wants to go. Gensho stops him. The residents object. Stage this conflict.
• First scent of an old secret - the seal on the chart, Gensho's vague words, the residents' "we have never heard of it." Scatter fragments.

#Avoid

• Premature information release - sealing stone, Enmadoji, and the truth from 100 years ago are absolutely not mentioned in this act. Only reveal that "there was a coastline."
• Allowing Akihisa to accompany them - he must remain in the domain throughout this chapter. Let him hear the shock of the truth as a report.

#Monologue Insertion Points

• Describe Gensho's trembling hands at least 1 time. Make sure the PCs notice.
• Once before departure, show Akihisa's youthful expression. The feeling that his voice cracks when he says, "Return."
• Immediately after departure, include the boat's creak 1 time. As if it were trying to say something.

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#Act 1 Ending Read-Aloud (For GM)

Read immediately before ending the session:

"The Barrier closes. When you look back, the domain grows smaller inside its blue half-sphere. One lantern sways beyond the Barrier. It belongs to the lord. The wind shifts, and salt stings your nose. Far ahead, steam rises from the surface like pillars. Somewhere beyond it, an old fishing village sleeps. The boat heads there. You head there."

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#GM Checklist - Act 1 Completion Conditions

• [ ] The fact of the "domain's northern coastline" on the chart was delivered to the players
• [ ] Gensho's weakening became visible (at least 1 time)
• [ ] The players understood why Akihisa remains in the domain
• [ ] The boat and expedition were completed
• [ ] Departure was described as tension (not a comfortable mood, X)
• [ ] 1 description of the "smell" of the boiling sea was given for the next session

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#Contributions of Gaijin NPCs (Placement Within the Session)

#Tamura Rokujiro (Gaijin · Old Shipwright)

• Role: key technician for boat repair. Officiates the boat-oath rite.
• Contribution structure (3 stages):

1. Early: evaluate the domain fishing boats ("Only one of the three is usable.")
2. Middle: if the PCs succeed on the shipbuilding check, provide assistance +2. On failure, "there is one more method" - spend 1 additional core.
3. End: on the night before departure, teach one selected PC an old ship blessing (1-use "boat's blessing" talisman, underwater-combat Energy +2).

• Narrative tone: taciturn. He does not first bring up stories of the boats he once rode. Only a piece at a time if PCs ask. If PCs ask 3 or more times, he admits, "I once built a boat that did not return, too."

#Kinugawa Eishi (Gaijin · Wandering Ascetic Monk)

• Role: assists in making water-gate talismans. Reduces onmyoji Gensho's weakening.
• Contribution: appears in the scene where PCs worry about Gensho's weakening. "I will bear half of it." Can replace 50% of the water-gate talisman creation cost(1 core) with his own Merit Heart expenditure.
• However, condition: goodwill triggers only if, during the session, a PC has given him at least 1 gassho greeting, or has participated in a prayer rite led by Kinugawa during Act 1.

#Gaijin Underwater Guide "Mine" - First Appearance

• Role: a strange woman who says she has known the Spirit Realm sea from before. She is already at the northern water gate of the domain.
• Identity: a gaijin of the "Spirit Realm water-guide" type from the core Underwater Zones. Details are specified in 12-05 NPC.
• Contribution: shortens the route by 1 day during the Act 2 voyage, and saves 1 breathing talisman underwater in Act 3.
• Price: she hides the fact that her name is carved on the stone monument. The players must discover it in Act 3 or Act 4.

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#Cautions for Running Gaijin NPCs

• Gaijin must not look as if they solve Act 1 for the PCs. They are assistants. The protagonists are the PCs.
• Fix gaijin contributions at the level of assistance check +2 or cost discount 1. Do not let them output too much.
• Gaijin do not accompany the Act 2 departure. Mine is the exception (she is the guide).

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#Act 1 Timeline (3 Days in Domain Time)

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#Act 1 Minor Resource Consumption Status

GM caution: 4 breathing talismans are designed to be insufficient in Act 4. Make them spend 2~3 in Act 3, so underwater residence in Act 4 becomes tense.

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"For an inland domain to launch a boat is much like building a grave." — Tamura Rokujiro, first words of the boat-oath rite

"If you do not return, I cannot protect this domain. But stopping you from going is not my responsibility either." — Young Lord Akihisa, farewell words (Day 3 dawn)