#Chapter 3 Dedicated NPCs - Voices of the Boiling Lake

Contents

Most NPCs in this chapter are dead. And they know that they are dead. That awareness keeps them as people, not yoma.

Core references

- Required: NPC Operation · Negotiation

- Reference: Yoma Bestiary

Within this supplement

- Main acts: 12-02 · 12-03 · 12-04

- Romance: 24-03 Yoma Partners

- Yoma stats: 12-06

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#Chapter NPCs at a Glance

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#Kasakura Soroku (笠倉 宗六)

#Basic Information

#Background

Originally a navy captain belonging to the Kamijo family(上條家) in the core world. During a mission 100 years ago, he drifted into these waters and became a ghost without ever returning. He knows that these waters once belonged to Irizaki Domain. But he is careful about when and how to reveal what he knows.

#Personality · Attitude

• Ceremonial - he always shows courtesy at first meeting. "Captain Kasakura Soroku greets the outsiders upon the water."
• Curious - he shows interest in living humans he has met for the first time in 100 years. He is especially interested in the PCs' homeland and affiliation.
• Guarded - he is careful about his own past. If a PC asks directly, he delays it with, "That is a long matter to speak of."
• Compassionate - if any PC shows signs of being wounded by Screaming Hell, he quietly shows concern.

#Conversation Tree (Act 2)

#First Meeting - Coming Alongside the Ship

Kasakura's ghost ship quietly comes alongside the PCs' boat. Kasakura stands on deck and greets them. The PCs may choose one of the following:

• Return the greeting → Kasakura initial favor +1
• Take a guarded stance → initial favor 0. Kasakura says once more, "I have no intention of harming you." If they remain hostile a second time, he turns the ship away (this route ends).
• Declare an attack → the ghost ship dives beneath the surface. It resurfaces after 2 rounds, but the chance for Negotiation is permanently lost.

#Middle - Information Exchange

If the PCs respond, Kasakura invites them aboard. He serves tea(茶) on the ghost ship's deck (ghost tea - drinkable, but without substance, temporary Energy +1 effect).

Kasakura provides the following information in stages:

#End - The Negotiation Fork

If the PCs show goodwill to Kasakura (Negotiation 7 or higher, or spending Merit Heart) and show respect for his past, he promises:

"If you fall into danger in these waters, call my ship. Once. One rescue. That is all a sailor who has come back across 100 years can do."

Record this promise as 1 aid right. It can be used 1 time in Act 2, Act 3, or Act 4.

#Romance Branch (24-03 Link)

Kasakura is a yoma partner candidate. Conditions to gain Affinity 1:

• Complete Negotiation in Act 2 (state where 1 aid right has been gained)
• One PC explicitly says to Kasakura, "I would like to see you once more"
• A PC drinks tea at least 1 time on the ghost ship (connection act)

Affinity 2 or higher deepens through a separate side quest after Chapter 4.

#Combat Ability (Only If Needed)

• Wounds: 10 (ghost trait - Wounds lost to physical attacks are halved, minimum 1)
• Attack: "Captain's Chain" - 2d10+4, multi-hit against one target
• Special: "Ghost Ship" - every 3 rounds, summons 2 underwater spirits from the ghost ship (sinking souls)
• Weakness: talismans · inside a sanctuary. Takes 2 times damage when hit by a sealing talisman.

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#Saburo (三郎)

#Basic Information

#Background

A fisher from Irizaki Domain 100 years ago. He was a direct witness to the sealing rite. Out of guilt that "we covered what should never have been covered," he chose to remain in these waters. His paper lantern is the one he carried that night - it has not gone out for 100 years.

Important: Saburo is the only NPC who knows Kyoukan Daiou's name. The name needed to call him "Saburo" in Act 4 conversation Stage 1 can be obtained only from this NPC. (Name: Furuichi Tarobee)

#Personality · Attitude

• Silent - his default attitude is to look quietly at the PCs. He does not speak first.
• Guarded and testing - when PCs come near the sealing stone, he stops them. "Are you the ones who can open this again?"
• Resigned and hopeful - after 100 years here, he knew that someone would come someday.

#Conversation Tree (Act 3)

#First Meeting - Center of the Fishing Village Ruins

When the PCs approach the sealing-stone remains, Saburo appears smoothly. The light of his paper lantern glows faintly underwater.

"Stop. Before you touch that, I must know who you are."

#Stage 1 - Identity Confirmation

Saburo asks:

• "What is the name of your domain?" → if a PC answers "Kagamiyama," he nods. "It has been a long time since I heard that name."
• "How did you learn of this sea?" → after listening to the PC's answer, Saburo proceeds to Stage 2.

#Stage 2 - Test

Saburo asks the PCs three questions. All PCs must answer.

1. "What have you come to cover, or what have you come to see?" (question of intent)
2. "Which of you has ever lied?" (each PC reveals one piece of their own past - roleplay assessment)
3. "Can you call this land's sin your own?" (question of acceptance)

If the answer to each question is truthful(roleplay assessment + Perception check 2d10 ≥ 12), Saburo's favor +1.

At cumulative favor 3 or higher, proceed to Stage 3.

#Stage 3 - Passing On the Name

Saburo takes out the lantern. (This is the first time in 100 years that this lantern goes out.)

"His name is Furuichi Tarobee. He was my friend. I could not stop him from going to the sea that night. If you meet him, call my name once as well. - Saburo. Just call me Saburo."

The PCs thereby obtain Kyoukan Daiou's name (see 12-04).

#Saburo's Release

The moment he passes on the name, Saburo slowly scatters. His paper lantern rises to the surface, flares brightly one last time, and goes out.

"The 100 years are finally ending now. Thank you. Please."

PCs gain Merit Heart +2, Target Number for Mental Saves -1 (within that session).

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#Yukino (雪乃)

#Basic Information

#Background

Saburo's granddaughter. On the day of the sealing rite, she went out to sea to look for her grandfather and sank with him. Even now, she searches around the fishing village - for her grandfather, her younger sibling, and her house.

#Function

• Guide through the fishing village interior: when the PCs must quickly understand the village structure in Act 3, Negotiating with Yukino provides 1 map (marks 5 key areas inside the fishing village).
• Accelerate meeting Saburo: if the PCs approach Saburo after gaining Yukino's favor, Saburo's initial guardedness eases by -1.
• Calm the sinking souls: when Yukino passes by, a swarm of sinking souls delays combat for 1 round.

#Conversation Point

Yukino speaks sadly. She knows she is dead. But she cannot accept that fact.

"Grandfather... have you seen Grandfather? Where did the house go? My house should be here."

If a PC tells her "let's search together," favor +1. She guides them through the fishing village.

If a PC tells her "you are already dead," favor -2. She bursts into tears, and every spirit in the fishing village becomes agitated (1 additional wave of sinking souls appears).

#Romance Possibility

Low - she does not see the living as romantic partners. However, a relationship of friendship can form (may be mentioned in the Chapter 5 ending).

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#Silent Monk(默僧)

#Basic Information

#Background

One of the monks who led the sealing rite. Because he knew the truth of the rite, he sewed his own mouth shut. A self-punishment for having no right to speak. His torn sutra contains half of the sealing rite.

#Function

• Sealing rite document: if the PCs secure the Silent Monk's sutra, check difficulty -1 when choosing resealing in Act 4.
• Aid in decoding the sealing-stone records: the phrases in the sutra correspond to the sealing-stone records. Comparing the two makes full-text decoding possible (Stage 1~2 clue → Stage 1 clue).

#Approach Method

The Silent Monk does not give it on his own. He hands over the sutra if a PC does one of the following:

• One PC performs a vow of silence (do not speak for at least 1 hour · roleplay required)
• After Saburo passes on the name, go before the Silent Monk; he hands over the sutra (Saburo's final request is conveyed)
• A PC writes, "I respect your silence" → he quietly nods and hands over the sutra

#The Silent Monk's Release

The Silent Monk does not disappear after handing over the sutra. He still sits before the sealing-stone remains. But the black thread that sewed his mouth shut comes loose. He still does not speak, but now he can speak. This is the silence he chose.

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#Kyoukan Daiou (叫喚大王) / Furuichi Tarobee

#Basic Information

#Background Details

The last fisher of Irizaki Domain 100 years ago, Furuichi Tarobee. He voluntarily came forward as the offering for the sealing rite. All of Irizaki Domain used him as the medium of the seal and "covered" him. He half-knew what he was being used for. He neither fully consented nor fully refused. That ambiguous willingness made him the Daiou of Screaming Hell.

He does not resent himself. But he does not forgive being forgotten. What he wants from your domain(Kagamiyama), the descendants of Irizaki, is not revenge but memory.

#For conversation details, see 12-04 Act 4 5-Stage Conversation

#Romance Unavailable

Kyoukan Daiou is not a romance target. He is not an individual, but a condensation of tragedy. Even if a PC expresses romantic feelings toward him, he does not accept them. ("What you can love is only one person inside me. That person died a century ago.")

#Conditions for Release

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#Mine (峰)

#Basic Information

#Background - GM Only (Not for Players)

Mine is a descendant of the final survivor of Irizaki Domain. Her great-grandmother fled by boat on the day of the sealing rite and drifted into another domain. Mine knows of these waters through a family secret. If she came to these waters, it was no accident - she came to seek the place of her ancestors.

Important: do not reveal this fact to players immediately. In Act 3 or Act 4, the players must discover that the inscription on the stele contains her family name.

#Surface Function

• Navigation acceleration: shorten the Act 2 voyage by 1 day
• Underwater guidance: save 1 breathing talisman in Act 3
• Relic sensing: provide an initial hint for the sealing-stone location

#Personality

• Blunt - only says what is necessary. Does not perform intimacy.
• Careful - blocks questions about her own past with "it is not something that needs to be said."
• Responsible - once she accepts guidance, she carries it through to the end.

#3 Stages of Revealing the Truth

The GM reveals Mine's identity when players secure all of the following three clues:

1. Mine's family name in the stele inscription (hints that the Mine surname itself comes from the Irizaki waters)
2. When entering the water in Act 3, Mine familiarly heads toward a specific building (she knows these waters)
3. In Act 4, Mine stays outside the main hall because she does not want to hear any conversation (she fears Kyoukan Daiou will recognize her ancestors)

After all three clues are secured, if a PC asks Mine directly, she lowers her head and admits it:

"Yes. These waters are the place of my ancestors. I still do not know what I should do here. I only wanted to see this place with you."

Afterward, her Heart state is decided. If a PC tells her come with us, she settles in the domain as a gaijin. If not, she remains in the waters and becomes a new water-guide.

#Romance Possibility

Possible - classified under the "gaijin line" in 24-02 Human Partners. Affinity up to 1 can be secured within this chapter. Condition: after her truth is revealed, a PC says, "I know the weight you carry."

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#NPC Operation - Core GM Guidelines

#1. Give the dead rhythm too

Kasakura, Saburo, Yukino, and the Silent Monk are all dead, but each has a different emotional rhythm.

• Kasakura: the formality of a captain. Slow and clear.
• Saburo: the weight of a grandfather. Short words, long pauses.
• Yukino: the instability of a young woman. Speaks quickly, then suddenly stops.
• Silent Monk: silence itself. Only expression and gesture.

#2. Do not leak Mine's secret too early

Mine's identity should become a player discovery in Acts 3~4. If the GM states it directly, the joy of discovery disappears.

#3. Play Kyoukan Daiou as one person

Even with the horror of hundreds of mouths, when he speaks, play him with the voice of one person(Tarobee). The tragedy works only if players feel him as a "person."

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"I have no name by which to call you. Nor is there now any name by which you may call me. But we met here once. That was enough." — Saburo, just before release

"My name is Mine. Mine, as in mountain peak. A name that fell from the mountain peak into the sea." — Mine, self-introduction (first meeting)

"The dead and the living sitting at one table is already a miracle in itself." — onmyoji Hoshino Gensho, after seeing tea served with Kasakura