#Factions

Contents

Summary. Entry to the ex3 Chapter 03 folder.

#Opening Vignette — The Seat of Honor at the Bathhouse

A stranger of advanced years sat in the inner seat of the bathhouse. The proprietor, the other patrons, the boy who scrubbed backs — all said that this man had always occupied that seat. Yet his name appeared in no ledger, nor in the roster of the shogunate's inspectors. Only the men who carried black tags stepped back when they saw him.

"Who is that person?" the inspector asked in a low voice.

The proprietor wrung his towel. "What do you mean, who. He has always been in that seat."

"Since when?"

"Since before I inherited this establishment."

The old man smiled. "Only half right. I was here before your father inherited it, too."

The errand runner from the pleasure quarter bowed. The temple informant stopped moving behind the steam. The man with the black tag clenched his teeth.

"Nurarihyon." The inspector spoke the name.

The old man rested his arm on the edge of the tub. "Did they teach you that knowing a name means you can handle the thing? The shogunate collects documents, your kind collect talismans, those men collect debts. I merely collect the fear people shed in bathhouses."

"Please withdraw from tonight's business at the ferry crossing."

"That is not mine to decide." The old man stood. Not a ripple stirred, yet everyone took one step back. "Let us leave it here for tonight."

Edo's factions do not line up on a battlefield. They sit in the same room feigning ignorance of one another, and decide which rumor to keep alive and which record to kill. This chapter names the ones seated in that room.

#Scent — Overlapping Shadows

In Edo at night, the shogunate's lantern, the Hundred-Tale Society's rumors, and the human conspiracies' ledgers each cast shadows in different directions. PCs stand at the point where those shadows overlap.

#Law — Running Factions

For each scenario, distinguish the central faction from the obstructing faction.
Factions are a source not only of adversaries but also of information, concealment, deals, and blowback.
In long campaigns, let the same faction appear repeatedly in different guises to build a sense of accumulation.

#Detailed Documents

The Faction Triangle — Basic faction layout and Edo echoes of main-game factions.
Shogunate Secret Exorcist System — The unofficial network.
Kagura Domain in the Edo Period — Constrained exorcism military force.
Nurarihyon and the Hundred-Tale Society — The 3rd yoma faction of the city.
The 3 Human Conspiracies — Black-Tag Office, Hidden Hannya, and Black-Tag Gang.
Black-Tag Office — Record manipulation and censorship.
Hidden Hannya — Reversed seals and forbidden experiments.
Black-Tag Gang — Yoma artifact black market and black tags.
Temple and Shrine Sealing Network — Funerals, purification, sacred precincts, sealing.
The Edo Dojo World — Dojos, licenses, vendettas, student politics.
Merchant Companies and Ferry Logistics — Merchant companies, highways, warehouses, smuggling.
Yoshiwara and Theater Rumor Network — Pleasure quarters, theater, performers, Kaidan circulation.

"Factions are not background. They are the hands that move events."