#Investigation, Kaidan, Cover-Up Cases
Contents
Scene Tool. Turning Edo Kaidan into a playable investigation structure.
#Scent — The Night Rumors Become Evidence
A Kaidan is not a lie. It is evidence not yet admissible in court, and a truth that witnesses have retold to protect their own lives. Edo investigation follows, before any blood-stained blade, the people who tell the same story in different ways.
#Law — Investigation Structure
- Divide investigation scenes into five axes: rumors, the scene, records, stakeholders, and spirit-realm traces.
- Turn failed rolls not into dead ends but into false records, delayed intervention, or a witness in danger.
- Let the resolution require choosing at least one of: eliminate, purify, negotiate, expose, or conceal.
#Scene Commentary — A Kaidan Is Not False Testimony
Running an Edo Kaidan investigation as a process of disproving rumors drains it of power. A Kaidan is not false testimony — it is a wrapping for truths people cannot speak directly. "A woman is crying at the well" might be a real onryo, the guilt of a family covering up a killing, or a name the Hundred-Tale Society has deliberately kept alive.
Investigation scenes come alive when the same story is told in multiple versions. Each witness saw something different; documents and rumors contradict each other; temple records deliberately leave blanks. A roll is not a button that delivers the answer — it is a tool for revealing why a given version exists.
The three layers needed for Kaidan investigation:
- The story people believe.
- The story the records tell.
- The story the spirit-realm traces left behind.
#Session Application — Prepare Three Testimonies
- First scene: the same incident is described differently by a witness, a record, and spirit-realm traces.
- Complication: the Kaidan that makes the least sense is actually closest to the core truth.
- Final question: do the PCs expose the Kaidan as fiction — or reveal why the Kaidan was necessary?
#Investigation Steps
- Hear the rumor.
- Find other versions of the same incident.
- Watch who is spreading the story.
- Decide whether to drive out the yoma, change its name, or resolve the grudge.
#Kaidan Are Ecology, Not Evidence
Edo Kaidan are not mere clues. A Kaidan is how yoma survive. People talk about the strange thing on the night road; storytellers refine it; theaters put it on stage; ukiyo-e give it a face. Through this process a yoma acquires a name, and the name collects fear.
The Hundred-Tale Society understands this flow. That is why they clash with the shogunate, which tries to erase Kaidan, and also with the Black-Tag Gang, which tries to treat Kaidan purely as merchandise.
#Investigation Structure
| Stage | Scene |
|---|---|
| Rumor | Hear the first story at a bathhouse, tavern, nagaya, or theater back room |
| Variation | Compare different versions of the same incident |
| Scene | Investigate a well, bridge, abandoned house, mansion, or warehouse |
| Name | Find the yoma's name or the owner of the grudge |
| Intervention | Determine which of the shogunate, Hundred-Tale Society, or conspiratorial faction moved first |
| Resolution | Choose from: eliminate, seal, resolve the grudge, cut off the rumor, or make a deal |
#Witnesses
In Kaidan investigation, a witness is both an information source and a danger. Intimidating a witness makes the rumor grow; the shogunate taking the witness away angers the Hundred-Tale Society; the Black-Tag Gang can sell the testimony.
Witnesses fall into these types.
| Witness | Use |
|---|---|
| Child | Sees the truth adults dismissed |
| Performer | Turns Kaidan into narratives |
| Okappiki | Scene information absent from official records |
| Merchant | Remembers the movement of goods and people |
| Hanyo | Reads traces from both the human side and the yoma side |
#Resolution Is Not Only Elimination
Edo Kaidan don't have to end with a sword. Some onryo want a proper burial; some urban yoma want a name; some Hundred-Tale Society envoys negotiate with PCs to stop a human conspiratorial faction.
Combat is an important option, but not the only one. When a fight breaks out, rumors have already grown large enough — or someone has drawn a sword to keep the incident buried.
"An Edo Kaidan is the truth that couldn't become evidence, returning every night under a new name."