#Location and Battlefield Tools

Contents

Scene Tool. GM tool for converting Edo locations into investigation and combat scenes.

#Scent — The Location Speaks First

Locations in Edo are not mere backdrop. An alley hides witnesses; a dojo demands face; a pleasure quarter sells rumors; a temple announces through its bell that a ward has wavered. When the location speaks first, both combat and investigation naturally take shape.

#Law — Location Tools

For each location, fix one each: zone layout, restrictions, witnesses, and a lull event.
The same foe in a different location means different movement costs, concealment methods, and fallout.
Location tools are scene conditions attached to existing zone combat and investigation scenes, not new rules.

#Scene Commentary — Locations Are Not Neutral

Location tools are not tables for drawing maps. Locations take sides in a scene. A dojo demands dueling and face; a pleasure quarter spreads rumors fast; a temple provides the language of seals and funerals. The same foe must act differently in a different place.

When attaching zone combat to a location, rename zones with social meaning. The Core Zone is not merely "the back"—it becomes the archive, the inner chamber, backstage, the seal stone. The Outer Zone is the escape route and the place where witnesses disappear. A lull event is proof that this location is alive.

Location design order:

Decide what action is forbidden in this location.
Decide where the witnesses are.
Decide how the location reacts during the lull phase.

#Session Use — Prepare the Location's Response

First scene: fix the location's forbidden action first. In a dojo, a dishonorable attack; in a pleasure quarter, a loud scene; in a temple, blood may be the taboo.
Complication: the location reacts at each lull phase. The audience moves, the bell rings, the boat is about to depart.
Final question: does this location hide the PCs, expose them, or trap them?

#Location List

Nagaya alley.
Dojo yard.
Inner room of the pleasure quarter.
Backstage of the kabuki theater.
Bathhouse.
Ferry-landing warehouse.
Bridge and checkpoint.
Temple stairs and shrine forest.

#Location Battlefield Tools

Location	Zone Layout	Gimmick	Suggested Foes
Nagaya Alley	Alley / Interior / Rooftop / Outer Zone	Witnesses, narrow passage, fire risk	Nopperabo, Yakuza Enforcers
Dojo	Yard / Practice floor / Armory / Viewing stand	Duel rules, student rush	Disciple squad, assistant instructor
Pleasure Quarter	Entrance / Corridor / Inner room / Back exit	Disguise, escape route, rumor spread	Jorogumo, kept ronin
Theater	Stage / Audience / Backstage / Rooftop	Audience, disguise, Kaidan amplification	Oiwa-type onryo, Hundred-Tale Society yoma
Bathhouse	Changing room / Tub room / Boiler room / Back alley	Weapon restriction, rumor gathering	Nurarihyon, Akaname variant
Ferry-Landing Warehouse	Dock / Warehouse / Boat / Riverbank	Contraband, waterway escape	Black-Tag Gang, merchant escort
Bridge	Near bank / Bridge deck / Far bank / River below	Blockade, fall, checkpoint	Mikoshi-nyudo, doshin squad
Temple Stairs	Gate / Stairs / Main hall / Forest	Ward, funeral rites, grudge	Esoteric-sect foes, onryo

#Location Operating Principles

Locations create choices, not backdrop. A bridge becomes a battlefield when there is reason to cross it; a theater becomes dangerous when it is full of witnesses; a bathhouse generates tension because it restricts weapons.

The GM decides three things for each location:

What is in the Core Zone?
Who are the witnesses?
What remains as rumor after the fight?

#Lull Event Examples

Location	Lull Event
Alley	A neighbor opens a door and looks out
Dojo	A student rushes in without the master's order
Pleasure Quarter	A guest flees and spreads rumors
Theater	The audience mistakes the incident for part of the performance
Ferry Landing	The boat is about to cast off
Temple	The bell rings and the ward wavers

"Fix the location and you fix the incident's voice."