#Edo Adversary Data Design Principles

Contents

Canon. Design principles and hub for the Edo-specific adversary data added in ex3.

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#Scent — Edo's Adversaries Stand Among the People

Edo's enemies are not only monsters that descend from the mountains. Dojo disciples, a possessed daimyo, a merchant with a black ledger, a yoma sitting like the master of someone else's house — all become adversaries. Numbers are the weight of a blade's edge; a character's role in an incident is the reason that blade was drawn.

#Law — Data Scope

• Do not create new data when existing co adversaries are sufficient.
• New data is limited to those that recur in Edo-era incidents and whose role cannot be filled by existing data alone.
• Each adversary must carry not only tier, stats, and techniques, but also incident use and post-resolution criteria.

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#Scene Commentary — Questions for Choosing an Adversary

Looking at the adversary catalog and choosing by Wounds value first flattens the scene. In Edo, "who is strongest" matters less than "who keeps the incident from ending." A squad of dojo disciples is weak, but it turns a duel into collective politics; an inspector can suppress public knowledge of an incident even without being an enemy.

Adversary selection therefore starts from scene role. Distinguish the enemy to fight and defeat, the enemy who must be negotiated with, the enemy who must not be killed, and the enemy whose organization survives their defeat. Even at the same Elite tier, an onryo and a kept ronin leave entirely different aftermaths.

Adversary selection order:

• Identify the role that is holding this incident in place.
• Choose the tier and data type that fits that role.
• Note one problem that will remain even after the adversary is incapacitated.

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#Session Use — Choosing Adversaries by Role

• Opening scene: first establish who is "the one holding this incident in place."
• Complication: an adversary who cannot be killed, or whose defeat still leaves a problem, runs the scene longer than the strongest adversary.
• Final question: does removing this adversary end the incident, or does it reveal the incident's true architect?

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#Inclusion Criteria

• Famous Edo yoma not in the core.
• Variants with distinct tactical functions for Edo Kaidan use, even if the base entry exists in the core.
• Human adversaries needed repeatedly in Edo campaigns.
• Faction leaders and campaign antagonists.

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#Documents

• ex3-06-01-edo-yoma.md
• ex3-06-02-human-adversaries.md
• ex3-06-03-faction-bosses.md

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#Tier Guidelines

The Edo adversary catalog provides more than combat numbers. Each adversary must come with guidance on "which kind of incident to use it in." Even adversaries with the same Wounds value — dojo disciples and Hundred-Tale Society yoma — play different roles in a scenario.

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#Deduplication

Yoma already in the existing co are used as-is. Onryo, fox spirit, rokurokubi, bakeneko, tsukumogami, nurikabe, kappa, and umibozu default to their core data. ex3 creates variants or named adversaries only when a distinct Edo Kaidan function is required.

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"Edo's adversaries are dangerous not because they are strong, but because they stand at the center of the incident."