#Black-Tag Office

Contents

Canon. Of the 3 human conspiratorial factions, the one that controls records and censorship.

#Opening Scene — The Criminal Who Did Not Die

The execution ground was empty. But the execution record already bore a name. The charges: concealing yoma goods, leaking shogunate secrets, forging temple registries. Ichibei, the witness the PCs had been searching for, was still alive — drinking water with trembling hands at the tea house right next door.

"I stole nothing," Ichibei said. "I only looked at the ledger. A dead man's name was attached to a living man's registry, and a living man's name had been moved to the temple death roll."

Two officials entered from outside, carrying document boxes bound with black cord. They did not look at the PCs. They spoke to the tea house owner.

"There was no one here."

The tea house owner bowed. "Yes. No one came."

Ichibei's hand began to disappear. It was not his body fading — it was the right of others to recognize him that was being erased. A nameless person's shout is not a disturbance. A nameless person's death is not an incident.

Then an old man holding a black brush stepped onto the threshold.

"Don't worry," the old man said. "You haven't died. Only the record that you ever lived will cease to exist."

#Law — Using Black-Tag Office

Black-Tag Office rewrites the name and evidence of an incident before combat begins.
Their attacks come first as documents, titles, charges, censorship, and registry erasure.
If Black-Tag Office is the adversary, securing the original records after a combat victory is required before the incident is truly resolved.

#Faction Card

Item	Detail
Surface	Shogunate archive clerks, temple registrars, censors, domain report handlers
Hidden	A conspiratorial faction that manipulates records to erase incidents and people
Leadership	The Black Brush of the Archive, censorship deputies, temple registrars, domain record-keepers
Field	Officials, scribes, sealed-document couriers, false witnesses
Strengths	Official records, issuing charges, evidence suppression, eliminating enemies
Weaknesses	Original documents, surviving witnesses, Hundred-Tale Society rumors, weak in direct combat

Black-Tag Office is less a secret society than it is the corruption of documentary power. Not every member needs to know the organization's name. One person is paid to alter a single line; another burns documents believing it is a superior's order. Only the leadership weaves these small manipulations into a single power.

#Leadership and Structure

Tier	Key Figure	Role	How to Run
Leader	The Black Brush of the Archive	Drafts forbidden ledgers and frames charges	Has him issue orders that look legal rather than commit direct evil
Censorship officer	Matsudaira Seigan	Bans publications, performances, Kaidan	Turns the truth the PCs want to reveal into "a disturbance"
Temple registrar	Ryosen	Manipulates deaths, funerals, and registries	Blurs the line between the dead and the living
Field officials	Black Seal Unit	Recover documents, burn evidence	Stall for time and destroy evidence rather than fight
False witnesses	Hired merchants, okappiki	Fabricated testimony	Use them as pressure in negotiation scenes rather than combat

The Black Brush does not charge in swinging a sword. He is the man who reads out "what has already been decided." When PCs confront him, make them face seals, wax, transcripts, and witnesses before the blade.

#Faction Trait

[Aptitude] Black Registration (黒登載)
Black-Tag Office records first and then makes reality follow. Once a name enters the black ledger, people begin to see that name as a criminal.
Effect: +1 to Wisdom or Presence checks that apply pressure to human targets using charges, status, passage rights, censorship, registry, or temple records as grounds. Increases to +2 if an official document or forged seal can be presented. Does not apply against yoma.
If a PC acquires this: 1/session, +3 to a check involving identity, passage, document forgery, or record erasure. After use, traces of forgery remain; the GM may attach a cost where an innocent person's records are damaged alongside.
Applies to: Minion through Elite units and companion squads belonging to Black-Tag Office treat this as an innate trait. Lord-grade NPCs such as the Black Brush of the Archive hold it in 1 General Trait slot.

#Companion Squads

All squads below apply Faction Trait [Aptitude] Black Registration.

#Black-Tag Office Official Corps — Minion

Scent: Low-ranking officials who come and go without a sound, carrying document boxes bound with black cord. They reach for the ledger before the blade, and rather than cutting a person down they erase the name.

Wounds 1, Defense 11. Domination +2 (squad of 5).

Techniques:

Document Recovery [Kata] — When commanded. Recover or conceal one document, ledger, or marker in the same zone.
Official-Name Pressure [Stance] — Sustained. Human NPCs in the same zone find it difficult to give public testimony to the PCs.

#Black Seal Unit — Veteran

Scent: Seasoned scribes who carry sealing wax and seals, read charges aloud, and burn the evidence. After they have passed through, a dead man becomes a criminal and the original turns to ash and vanishes.

Wounds 2, Defense 12. Domination +3 (squad of 4).

Techniques:

Charge Recital [Kata] — When commanded. 2d10 + Presence(+2) vs target 2d10+Courage. A failing human target suffers -1 to the next attack or negotiation check.
Evidence Burning [Upkeep] — During the lull phase, remove one piece of scene evidence. If a PC tries to stop this, they must immediately make a Finesse or Wisdom check, Target Number 13.

#Leadership NPC: The Black Brush of the Archive — Lord

Scent: The aged master of the brush who weaves Black-Tag Office's small manipulations into a single power. Rather than dirtying his own hands, he is the voice that reads out "what has already been decided," and he decides which names the official corps and seal unit will erase.

The Black Brush of the Archive (黒筆) — Lord
Wounds 5, Defense 13, Energy 12
Courage+0, Finesse+2, Physique+2, Wisdom+4, Presence+3, Fate+2
Domination +4.5

Technique	Type	Energy	Check	Effect	Limit
Existence Erasure	[Kata]	4	2d10+Wisdom vs target 2d10+Fate	Failing target is excluded from ally support for 1 round	1/round
Charge Branding	[Kata]	3	2d10+Presence vs target 2d10+Courage	Failing human squad recognizes the PCs as criminals	1/round
Seal Defense	[Technique]	Reservation 2/Improvised 3	2d10+Wisdom >= enemy attack	Negates hit. On success, attacker leaves an unfavorable record in the next negotiation scene	—

Special:

Master of Records: If Black-Tag Office documents are placed on the scene before combat, deploy one additional human Minion or Veteran squad.
Faction Trait: The Black Brush holds [Aptitude] Black Registration in 1 General Trait slot.

#Light and Shadow

Light	Shadow
Can prevent panic from spreading when yoma incidents occur	Erases people and incidents from the record
Controls dangerous forbidden texts	Monopolizes forbidden texts as instruments of power
Moves shogunate administration quickly	Administration itself becomes violence
Cuts off false rumors	Censors the truth as well

#As PC Affiliation

A PC belonging to Black-Tag Office is best framed as "someone who writes dirty documents to prevent a greater catastrophe." This affiliation suits conspiracy dramas, villain campaigns, and whistleblower campaigns more than heroic ones. Every scenario, present both a path that can be resolved through forgery and a path where forgery causes an innocent person to be sacrificed.

#As Primary Adversary

Black-Tag Office attacks the PCs' identity and evidence before fighting. Show them the arrest warrant, fabricated testimony, vanished registry, and burning originals first — then send in the official corps. The objective of the final confrontation should be not just depleting the Black Brush's Wounds 5, but also protecting the original documents and witnesses.

"Black-Tag Office need not kill anyone. Writing that someone is dead is sufficient."