#NPC Index by Role, Region, and Purpose

Contents

Summary. If 99-01 is an "index for finding by build," this document is an "index for finding by scene." The authority source for the data is always the 02-series cards, and this index is a pointer to those cards.

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#Scent — Before Calling a Name

The players suddenly talk to an unknown village headman; they need information, but there is no informant; an enemy dies too quickly, leaving the next adversary slot empty. This index fills that gap — open it by whichever axis comes to mind first, and every entrance into the same sixty people reaches the same card.

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#Law 1 — Three Axes and Search Path

• Role axis (what this NPC is to the PCs) — the 7 terms of card §Role: ally / adversary / client / informant / mentor / rival / local figure. (One character can have a different role next session — multiple roles allowed.)
• Region axis (which land they are rooted in) — the 10 regions of fc09. Notation follows the regional cross-reference standard.
• Purpose axis (why they are brought to the table) — scene function, mapped to the 6 uses of card §Operation (combat, Negotiation, investigation, Infiltration, domain, travel).

If the land is fixed, start with §Law 3 (region); if the role is urgent, start with §Law 2 (role); if you only have a scene function, start with §Law 4 (purpose).

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#Law 2 — Index by Role

Distribution check: all 7 roles have at least 4 people (rival 5, local figure 13 [including Commoners]). No role is empty. The same person can be used in another role as well (for example, informant Jinsuke can become a client).

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#Law 3 — Index by Region (fc09 10-Region Cross)

NPCs in each land are listed by dan and name. The region-color note is a one-line quotation from the impressions in fc09 (for details, see fc09 — fc09 is Fiction-Only scent).

The core table that joins fc09 (space axis) to fc11 (people axis). Every one of the 10 regions has at least 5 people — no regional skew. If "this session's stage is Omi," look at the 6 people in that cell immediately.

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#Law 4 — Index by Purpose (Scene Function → Operation Mapping)

The main entrances for the 10 Commoners are "mood and local color" and "domain operation." GMs not using ex1 can still use the line in each Commoner card, "without ex1 — unranked non-combat NPC."

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#Law 5 — Role × Region Quick Matrix

Narrow two axes at once, as in "an adversary for Kanto" (cards are in §Law 2 and 3). If a cell is empty, that combination has no character — blanks are normal, but if one role is empty across all regions or one region is empty across all roles, check another dan.

This matrix gives only 1-3 representatives — see §Law 2 and 3 for the full set. Quick dan/role answers are in the quick reference.

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"The space was laid by Shokoku Kenbunroku, and this table places people on it."