#Dan 2 — People Who Have Been Through It Once

Contents

Dan 2 Use Standard. In co-04-02, Dan 2 is the stage that has gone through only Dan 1 creation + the first even-numbered dan (attribute +1 / skill +2 points) 1 time. Dual build (Dan 3+) and masterworks are not present yet. At Dan 2 the shared Licensed-or-higher count is 2 (and Master is possible from Dan 2), though these standard NPCs spend their points on breadth rather than a license. The five standard NPCs are all single-class characters, and the sixth is a Commoner.

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#Scent — Past One Field Job

If Dan 1 is people who first took something in hand, Dan 2 is people who have used it once. Someone who has fought their first real battle, passed through their first field job, and solved one small incident in their work on their own. Not a hero yet — but no longer a novice.

The six appear as faces that have each been through something once. A shadow who finished one intelligence job, an itinerant monk who has chased one yoma, an engineer who has raised one palisade, an entertainer who carries one village's rumors, an outsider who pulled the trigger once with a borrowed gun, and a horse-driver who has carried road freight for ten years.

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#Law — Character Distribution in This Chapter

The five standard NPCs were drawn one each from five role groups (mobility / assassination, Core Zone / grappling, control / terrain, support / healing, ranged / bombardment) — filling role groups that Dan 1 did not fill. Their origins were chosen from five different entries among the ten regions of fc09 (notation follows the standard in the regional cross-reference table).

The roles, purposes, role groups, and regions of the five standard NPCs do not overlap. The Commoner slot (No. 6) is a separate axis (ex1-99-06). By mixing two of the basic 6 classes (shinobi, esoteric monk) with three expanded classes (artisan, entertainer, gaijin), all 8 classes appear across Dan 1 and Dan 2 when combined with the four basic classes in the Dan 1 chapter.

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#1. Kurosuke (黒助) — Dan 2 Shinobi

Large missions are not his yet — but once, he has crossed someone's wall.

The youngest of the zappa (雜波) based in the mountains of Kii. He lost his parents on a battlefield, was taken in, and learned espionage. He has only recently returned from his first mission — copying the ledger of a certain merchant house. Frontal fighting is still frightening. But when it comes to crossing walls and entering shadows, he is already worth one person's share.

Kurosuke (黒助) — Dan 2 shinobi · informant(youngest of a mountain zappa)
Secondary Class: none (dual build is declared at Dan 3 or higher — co-04-02)
Wounds 3, Defense 12(dark light armor), Energy 13. Finesse+3, Courage+1, Fate+1, Physique 0, Wisdom 0, Presence-1.
Background: battlefield orphan | Path/Heart: No Heart (無心)
Skills: Ninjutsu Trained · Infiltration Trained · Lightness Skill/Disguise Novice (automatic +2nd dan) / Fighting Spirit/Hardiness Novice (background) / Perception/Deceit/Scouting Novice (free+growth)
Talents: Shadow Crossing [aptitude] (automatic) / Survivor's Instinct [aptitude] (background) / Sense Danger [aptitude] (general)
Equipment: ninjato · kaiken · a few shuriken · disguise tools(disguised as peddler baggage) · grappling rope · dark light armor. 2 gold.
Source: co canon — no source badge needed.

• Operation. Outside Zone↔anywhere infiltration for 0 Energy (Shadow Crossing, free Core Zone entry is the Dan 1 automatic feature of shinobi). Scouting, infiltration, disguise, rumor gathering. Weakness: weak in frontal combat (Wounds 3), tied to an employer.
• Backstory. As the youngest of the zappa, he is not given large jobs. "Kurosuke" ("black helper") is only a common name; even he does not really know his birth name.
• Relationship Hook. He scouts the PC party on a job, or runs into them while pursuing the same target (informant). Once he earns trust, he brings back what lies beyond the wall.
• PC Conversion. Shinobi Dan 1→Dan 2. First even-dan priority: Finesse +1 (→3) / raise Infiltration to Trained. A license is allowed from Dan 1 (count 1 at Dan 1, 2 at Dan 2); raising Infiltration to Licensed is an alternative spend.

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#2. Soun (宗運) — Dan 2 Esoteric Monk

He visits village after village to drive out yoma — one, he has already chased.

A young itinerant monk raised in a mountain temple on the Ou border. He travels through villages, chasing yoma and seeing the sick. After tying up his first exorcism — one small strange thing lodged in a storehouse — people began to call for him. He owns only one staff and prayer beads, but he knows how to enter the Core Zone and face yoma.

Soun (宗運) — Dan 2 esoteric monk · helper(wandering itinerant monk)
Secondary Class: none (dual build is declared at Dan 3 or higher — co-04-02)
Wounds 5, Defense 10(monk robes), Energy 10. Courage+2, Physique+2, Wisdom+1, Finesse 0, Presence 0, Fate-1.
Background: temple-born | Path/Heart: Way of Void / Compassion (Inscribed Heart)
Skills: Unarmed Combat Trained · Fighting Spirit/Hardiness Trained · Exorcism Trained · Medicine/Survival/Perception Novice (automatic+background+growth)
Talents: Asura Mudra [aptitude] (automatic) / Power of Scripture [aptitude] (background) / Tough [aptitude] (general)
Equipment: rokushakubo(six-foot staff) · tanto · monk robes · prayer beads, vajra bell, incense · talisman bundle. 1 gold.
Source: co canon — no source badge needed.

• Operation. Within the Core Zone, melee technique Energy -1 (Asura Mudra, free Core Zone entry is the Dan 1 automatic feature of esoteric monk). Close-range exorcism, fear resistance before yoma (Power of Scripture). Non-combat: exorcism prayer, healing (Medicine), mountain survival. Weakness: low Defense (monk robes 10), poverty (1 gold).
• Backstory. He left the mountain temple and walks the villages. The vajra is not yet his (advanced arms come after Dan 5).
• Relationship Hook. He joins the PCs where rumors of yoma circulate and helps with exorcism (helper). He does not stay in any village for long.
• PC Conversion. Esoteric monk Dan 1→Dan 2. Priority: Physique +1 (→2, Wounds↑) / raise Fighting Spirit and Hardiness to Trained. Core Zone freedom is automatic at Dan 1.

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#3. Kinzo (金蔵) — Dan 2 Artisan

One palisade he raised has stopped the enemy once.

A hand raised in a village blacksmith and carpenter family in eastern Kanto. Taken along as a campaign engineer, he builds bridges and palisades. In his first fight, the palisade he raised overnight stopped the enemy's first charge — and that once made him "a useful pair of hands." His dream is to open his own workshop.

Kinzo (金蔵) — Dan 2 artisan · client(campaign engineer)
Secondary Class: none (dual build is declared at Dan 3 or higher — co-04-02)
Wounds 5, Defense 12(work leather light armor), Energy 11. Physique+2, Wisdom+2, Finesse+1, Courage 0, Presence 0, Fate-1.
Background: farmer | Path/Heart: Way of Mystery / Truth (Inscribed Heart)
Skills: Disable Trained · Geography/Perception/Herbalism Trained · Survival Novice · Hardiness Trained (automatic+background+free+growth)
Talents: Karakuri Fieldworks [Kata] (automatic) / Child of the Earth [aptitude] (background) / Tough [aptitude] (general)
Equipment: suyari(also for Front Zone defense) · modified hammer · work leather light armor · crafting tool set(hammer, tongs, chisel, nails) · rope and planks. 3 gold.
Source: co canon — no source badge needed.

• Operation. Barricade installation (Karakuri Fieldworks, Energy 3, Durability 3), traps, repair, fortification support. Non-combat: crafting, repair, route reading (Geography). Weakness: weak in direct combat, afraid of losing his workshop.
• Backstory. A skilled hand from an eastern village. Castle-fortification construction is Dan 7 work, and he is still a person of palisades and bridges.
• Relationship Hook. He asks the PCs to "protect the village palisade" (client), or the wall he built becomes that day's battlefield stage.
• PC Conversion. Artisan Dan 1→Dan 2. Priority: Wisdom +1 (→2) / raise Geography, Perception, and Herbalism to Trained.

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#4. Umewaka (梅若) — Dan 2 Entertainer

He leaves songs in each village, and carries rumors away.

A wandering sarugaku performer who travels Saikai (Kyushu). He carries songs and rumors from village to village. He abandoned his real name long ago. He does not take up the blade, but after he sings one piece, the shoulders of a tired squad lift — and he has proven that small miracle once on the battlefield.

Umewaka (梅若) — Dan 2 entertainer · local figure(wandering performer)
Secondary Class: none (dual build is declared at Dan 3 or higher — co-04-02)
Wounds 3, Defense 10(no armor), Energy 11. Presence+3, Fate+1, Finesse+1, Wisdom 0, Physique 0, Courage-1.
Background: wanderer | Path/Heart: Way of Void / Compassion (Inscribed Heart)
Skills: Bearing Trained · Negotiation/Agitation Trained · Disguise Novice · Fortune/Survival/Medicine/Perception Novice (automatic+background+free+growth)
Talents: Battlefield Flower [upkeep] (automatic) / Wanderer's Intuition [aptitude] (background) / Lucky One [aptitude] (general)
Equipment: hankyu(short bow, Rear Zone self-defense) · kaiken · biwa and small drum · stage costume and wig · a few medicine bottles. 3 gold.
Source: co canon — no source badge needed.

• Operation. Lull recovery (Battlefield Flower — recover 1 Wound for 1 ally or 1 Cohesion for a squad), requiem and morale. Non-combat: rumor carriage (wandering entertainers carry village news), negotiation, disguise. Weakness: no direct attack, hard to earn trust as a wanderer. Never enters the Core Zone (forced Breakthrough, Rear Zone specialist).
• Backstory. He kept only the stage name "Umewaka" and abandoned his secular name.
• Relationship Hook. He is already present in every village the PCs reach (local figure) — selling rumors and requiems. Some rumors cost dearly.
• PC Conversion. Entertainer Dan 1→Dan 2. Priority: Presence +1 (→3) / raise Negotiation and Agitation to Trained.

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#5. Manoel "Teppo Genpachi" (鉄砲源八) — Dan 2 Gaijin

Whichever side pays, he lends the gun to that side.

A young shooter who arrived in Kinai (Sakai) with a Nanban merchant ship. Unable to pay back the price of a borrowed matchlock, he pulls the trigger anywhere for whichever side pays. The villagers call him "Teppo Genpachi." In this fight, he stands on the opposite side from the PCs. But that place was set by debt, not conviction.

Manoel "Teppo Genpachi" (鉄砲源八) — Dan 2 gaijin · adversary(indebted matchlock shooter)
Secondary Class: none (dual build is declared at Dan 3 or higher — co-04-02)
Wounds 3, Defense 13(nanban armor, [Pierce] resistance +1), Energy 13. Finesse+3, Courage+1, Wisdom+1, Physique 0, Presence 0, Fate-1.
Background: merchant's child | Path/Heart: Way of Mystery / Truth (in conversion)
Skills: Archery Trained · Navigation/Survival Trained · Perception Trained · Negotiation/Deceit/Geography Novice (automatic+background+free+growth)
Talents: Foreign Gunpowder [aptitude] (automatic) · Foreigner's Affinity [aptitude] (gaijin unique) / Funding [aptitude] (background) / Swift [aptitude] (general)
Equipment: tanegashima(borrowed matchlock — merchant-house property) · catolana(dagger) · nanban armor · gunpowder and bullets(base 6 shots) · cross and prayer book. 8 gold (base 5 + Funding 3).
Source: co canon — no source badge needed. ("Archery" includes matchlocks; there is no separate gun skill.)

• Operation. Matchlock sniping — Foreign Gunpowder gives [Pierce] and fixed Target Number 11 (Courage does not apply). Foreigner's Affinity gives Exotic Sacred Object appraisal, interpretation, and harbor trade. Core Zone entry is forced Breakthrough, and matchlocks cannot be used in the Core Zone. Non-combat: interpretation, foreign affairs, bribery. Weakness: rain and underwater conditions nullify gunpowder, debt (matchlock price), distrust of foreigners.
• Backstory. The matchlock is not his but the merchant house's property — a borrowed weapon, a borrowed place.
• Relationship Hook. This time, he is a shooter hired by the enemy side (adversary, minor-boss grade). If the debt is paid for him, he can change sides — that is his weakness and the PCs' opening.
• PC Conversion. Gaijin Dan 1→Dan 2. Priority: Finesse +1 (→3) / raise Navigation and Survival to Trained. Matchlock reload acceleration is the Archery Licensed maneuver; raising Archery to Licensed (allowed from Dan 1) unlocks it.

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#6. Jinbei of Tawara (俵の甚兵衛) — Dan 2 Commoner · Livelihood:Animal Husbandry (Skilled)

Jinbei knows every face that passes the road.

A skilled horse-driver at a post station along the Tokai road. He handles two packhorses, carries people and loads, and has traveled the road for ten years. He knows who passes the road, whose load is heavy, and which pass is getting rain. A hand worth one person's share — but he knows nothing of swords.

Jinbei of Tawara (俵の甚兵衛) — Dan 2 Commoner · local figure(road horse-driver) [ex1-99-06]
Wounds 5, Defense 10(work clothes), Energy 12. Physique+2, Finesse+2, Wisdom+1, Courage 0, Presence 0, Fate-1.
Background: farmer | Path/Heart: Way of Mystery / Truth (Inscribed Heart)
Skills(Dan 1 9 points [free allocation 5 + background 2 + free 2] + even dan +2 = 11 points): Perception/Geography/Negotiation/Survival Trained · Hardiness, Fortune, Agitation Novice — Livelihood:Animal Husbandry Skilled [ex1-99-05] is separate
Talents: (no automatic talent — Commoner) Child of the Earth [aptitude] (background) / Skilled [aptitude] (general, within Commoner 10)
Equipment: two packhorses, pack saddles, reins · staff · work clothes · straw raincoat and reed hat · fodder and horseshoes. 2 gold.
Source: Commoner [ex1-99-06] · Livelihood:Animal Husbandry [ex1-99-05]. Without ex1 — replace with an undanned non-combat NPC.

• Operation. Non-combat — animal husbandry and horse-driving (Livelihood:Animal Husbandry Skilled, cannot make battlefield checks), reading roads and weather (Perception/Geography), horse management. Local Figure: a regular road horse-driver, so he knows the traffic. On the battlefield, untrained Commoner → treated as Rabble (Wounds 0; dies instantly if declaring an attack).
• Backstory. A packhorse keeper at a post station. Skilled (+1) is the stage of "one who eats by their own hands" — Artisan is still far away.
• Relationship Hook. He looks after the PCs' loads and horses, and tells them road rumors and shortcuts (local figure).
• PC Conversion. Commoners cannot be used as PCs. If you want to move him over, rebuild him as a Dan 2 core-book class such as wildlander (wilds) or ronin (wanderer).

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#Table Hooks — The Six in One Scene

• Around One Palisade. Manoel (gaijin adversary) targets the village palisade that Kinzo (artisan) built. Soun (esoteric monk) drifts in while chasing rumors of yoma lodged in that battlefield — the three gather before the same palisade on the same night.
• Three Mouths of the Road. Jinbei (horse-driver), Umewaka (entertainer), and Kurosuke (shinobi disguised as a peddler) all carry rumors on the road. If they meet at the same post station, the tension of the scene becomes who is truly selling what.
• The Scales of Debt. Who pays Manoel's debt first — the PCs or the enemy — decides which side he turns toward.

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#Scent — One Sentence

"A person who has been through it once knows the second time — so Dan 2 is those who first have a 'next.'"