#Quick Reference

Contents

Summary. Reference document to open quickly during play preparation.

#Scent — A Small Table at the End of the Ledger

The quick reference looks like a cold table. But in Edo even a table is a ledger, and a ledger moves incidents. It is the small lantern that decides which faction, which occupation, which foe to reach for at the moment of need.

#Law — Fast Use

During a session, choose factions, occupation faces, foes, and frames from this document first.
Check individual source documents and co for detailed numbers and rolls.
The tables are tools for narrowing choices, not a list that limits campaign possibilities.

#Scene Commentary — The Quick Reference Also Makes Scenes

The quick reference is a simple list, but used well it builds the session's first scene on the spot. Pick one faction, one foe, one location and you already have the skeleton of an incident. For example: Hundred-Tale Society + Nopperabo + bathhouse immediately yields "all the customers remember a different owner."

This document is also useful mid-session. When players move in an unexpected direction, the GM can quickly pick a fallout faction or foe type from the table and keep the scene moving. Just don't get trapped in the table. It is a ledger that aids memory, not a law code that restricts Edo's nights.

Instant-combination example:

Pick one faction.
Pick one foe type.
Attach one location or campaign frame.

#Session Use — Instant Combination Method

First scene: pick one faction, one foe, and one location from the tables.
Complication: make the chosen faction and foe not be on the same side. Black-Tag Gang may be selling a Hundred-Tale Society yoma.
Final question: which chapter does this combination expand into? For faction conflict, return to Chapter 03; for combat, Chapter 05; for data, Chapter 06.

#Faction Overview

Faction	Goal
Shogunate Secret Exorcist System	Elimination and concealment
Kagura Domain Detachment	Armed response and securing seal sites
Hundred-Tale Society	Urban yoma's right to survive
Black-Tag Office	Record manipulation
Hidden Hannya	Secret-art experiments
Black-Tag Gang	Yoma black market
Temple-Shrine Seal Network	Funeral rites, purification, sacred grounds
Edo Dojo World	Dueling, students, vengeance
Merchant and Ferry Logistics Network	Supply, transport, goods tracking
Yoshiwara-Theater Rumor Network	Rumors, infiltration, Kaidan distribution

#Edo Period in 30 Seconds

Question	Short Answer
What is the Edo period?	The long peace when the Tokugawa shogunate ruled Japan, 1603–1868
What is this volume's default setting?	Mid-to-late Edo before the end-of-period upheaval, while the shogunate's concealment system still functions
Why do incidents occur despite the peace?	Violence did not disappear; it moved beneath law, status, records, and checkpoints
What does the shogunate want?	To eliminate or seal yoma while keeping the word "yoma" out of official language
What is the Hundred-Tale Society?	Nurarihyon's underworld that gathers urban Kaidan and fear to carve out a place for yoma
What are the human conspiratorial factions?	Human organizations that seek to turn yoma into records, experiments, or commodities
What do PCs do?	Fight using the same `co` rules, but decide under what name and authority you move in Edo society

#18 Occupations — Edo Faces

Occupation	Face
Samurai	Hatamoto, domain retainer, inspector's aide
Ronin	Dojo kept ronin, hired swordsman
Shinobi	Fuma remnant, secret informant
Onmyoji	Spirit-world archivist behind the document vault
Esoteric monk	Temple ward keeper
Pure Land monk	Funeral rites and grudge resolution
Shugenja	Mountain spirit-gate guide
Geomancer	Urban ill-omen and mansion investigator
Scholar	Bureaucrat, Dutch scholar, record decoder
Merchant	Logistics and black-market tracker
Artisan	Swordsmith, karakuri, sealing devices
Entertainer	Kaidan and rumor distributor
Outsider	Dejima witness
Wildlander	Guide for areas outside law enforcement
Hanyo	Borderland figure outside the registry
Living deity	Living center of local faith
Autonomous machinist	Legacy of karakuri and spirit-world technology
Puppeteer	Puppet theater and combat puppets

#Quick Foe Selection

Need	Foe
Urban yoma leader	Nurarihyon
Kaidan onryo	Oiwa-type onryo, Okiku-type onryo
Dojo combat	Disciple squad, assistant instructor
Primary foe for sword action	Swordmaster turned killing demon
Domain political incident	Daimyo possessed by a yoma
Underworld violence	Yakuza Enforcers, kept ronin
Record manipulation	Black-Tag Office chief
Secret-art experiments	Hidden Hannya chief
Black market	Black-Tag Gang boss

#Campaign Frames

Frame	Starting Point
Inspection tour	Corruption incident at a post town or provincial domain
Urban type	Nagaya, bathhouse, pleasure quarter, theater Kaidan
Dojo type	Dojo challenge, license succession, missing famous sword
Inspector type	Vanished record, falsified family register
Domain Secret type	Possessed daimyo, severed seal
Nagasaki Ibun type	Outside witness and a forbidden report

#Existing Volume References

Need	Reference
Rules and combat	`co`
Long campaign structure	`ex1`
Schools and tournaments	`ex2`
Shrines and sacred objects	`fc01`
Climate and land description	`fc02`
Swordmaster and duel	`fc03`
Period adaptation format	`fc04`
Famous swords and swordsmiths	`fc05`

"The quick table shortens the road, but which night to enter is decided by the group at the table."