#Shrine Keeper (神主·巫女, Shrine Keeper) [Variant]
Opt-in / GM approval recommended. This class is a Variant of
co-99-01. As a variation on the 6 base classes and an expansion class that fills a niche role (preemptive warding), per the canonical expansion class convention it has a strong concept, so GM approval is recommended. Attributes, skills, checks, proficiency, the Three Ways and Six Hearts, Energy, and Wounds all follow canon.
One who shuts the door before the blade reaches. Before a curse falls, they cast a blessing; before harm arrives, they raise a Barrier; before danger comes, they see it.
- Role: support/protection (primary support/recovery / secondary control/terrain) · concept tag Preemptive Warder (先結防護者)
- Core Attributes: Wits (智), Grace (美)
- Core Zone Entry: forced Breakthrough
- Base Professions: shrine priest (神主, Wits — Barrier, rite, norito) / miko (巫女, Grace — kagura, oracle, requiem). Two faces of one profession.
- Three Ways and Six Hearts: the Truth (眞) of the Way of Mystery (玄道). They see the world through the order of the kami.
- Master-capable skills: Barrier, Exorcism, Prophecy, Sorcery, Medicine, Bearing
- Starting automatic skills: Barrier Trained · Exorcism Novice · Prophecy Novice · Sorcery Novice (the miko type may swap Sorcery Novice↔Bearing Novice)
#Scent — Block It Before It Comes
While other professions cut down the enemy, the Shrine Keeper has already finished the work before the enemy comes. That is the whole of this profession.
The onmyoji releases shikigami to fight; the Pure Land Monk raises the fallen back to their feet. The Shrine Keeper does neither — instead, in the single moment of lull before the fight begins, they lay a blessing on an ally's shoulder, scatter salt at the four corners of the zone, and read the coming beat in advance. So a battle in which the Shrine Keeper has done their work fully is — flat. A curse that should have fallen does not fall, a Front Zone that should have been pierced holds, an ambush that should have struck swings at nothing. That battle, which looks as though nothing happened, is the Shrine Keeper's masterpiece.
The miko's face dances the kagura. Shaking bells and chanting norito, they call the kami and soothe the spirits. The shrine priest's face binds Barriers. Stretching a shimenawa and carving seals, they block what lies beyond. The two say the same words with different hands — "Not here. Do not cross over tonight."
The deepest conflict lies here. No matter how much one blocks, a night that cannot be blocked comes at last. When a blessing goes unrewarded and a Barrier is severed — some shrine clerics collapse into the Void (虚), and some lean toward the Fanaticism (覇) of "we must purify more strongly." The shrine priest who burns the village to protect it is born this way.
- Recommended weapons: almost none (non-combat focus). onusa·gohei (ritual implements), kagura suzu (bells), azusayumi (bow for divination/summoning), self-defense kaiken — use the weapon values from
co-07as is. - Recommended school: not a martial arts school. Belongs to shrine tradition (Barrier lineages, kagura lineages).
- Recommended faction trait: Kagura Domain (court shrine clerics), provincial village shrine (鄉社), a shrine enshrining an arahitogami.
#Rule — Art List
#1-dan: Advance Blessing (事前祝) [upkeep]
[upkeep] Advance Blessing
Timing: Lull Phase | Limit: 1 per lull
Effect: Cast a blessing on 1 ally in advance. Nullify the next 1
curse/status ailment that ally receives. (Preemptive block. Held until the next lull)
No Energy cost (lull-only)."If you know what is coming, blocking it is not hard."
#3-dan Class Arts (choose 1)
| Art | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sealing Barrier (封印結界) | [upkeep] | 2 | 1 per round | Set a Barrier in 1 same/adjacent zone. For a yoma to enter, a 2d10+Wits >= 11 success is required (linked to the Barrier skill Sealing Barrier). |
| Ward-Off (厄除け) | [Kata] | 2 | 1 per round | Grant all allies in the same zone -2 to the next 1 instance of harm in advance (applied before harm occurs). |
| Purification (祓い) | [Kata] | 2 | 1 per round | Immediately disable 1 curse/defilement/status ailment of 1 ally in the same zone. (rare after-the-fact response) |
#5-dan Class Arts (choose 1)
| Art | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Barrier (大結界) | [upkeep] | 3 | 1 per battle | Turn one zone into a sanctuary: allies in that zone gain Defense +2, yoma entry target number +2 (linked to Guardian role). |
| Foresight Evasion (豫知回避) | [aptitude] | — | 1 per battle | Linked to Prophecy. At battle start, grant 1 ally "a future already seen" — the next 1 attack they receive automatically misses. |
| Requiem Blessing (鎭魂加護) | [Kata] | 3 | 1 per round | All yoma in adjacent zones take -1 to attack technique + 1 ally in the same zone recovers 1 Wounds. |
#7-dan Advanced Arts (choose 1)
| Art | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immovable Barrier (不動結界) | [aptitude] | — | — | Strengthens "Advance Blessing"·"Great Barrier": blessing targets 2 allies, Barrier Defense modifier +1 additional. |
| Oracle (神託) | [Kata] | 3 | 1 per battle | Linked to Prophecy. Nullify the next 1 action of 1 enemy commander (a higher staging of Deja Vu). |
| Banish Evil (滅邪) | [Kata] | 3 | 1 per round | 1 yoma commander: 2d10+Wits >= Defense. On success, cannot act for 1 round + seal advances 1 stage. |
#9-dan Advanced Arts (choose 1)
| Art | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heaven-Earth Barrier (天地結界) | [Kata] | 5 | 1 per battle | Preemptive bulwark for the whole battlefield: all allies take -2 to the next 1 instance of harm (minimum 0) + curse immunity for 1 round. |
| Living God's Majesty (現人神威) | [aptitude] | — | — | Treat Barrier·Exorcism·Prophecy checks as automatic success (Saint-level staging), apply a Faith aura to the battlefield. 1 per session, 1 time. |
| Prayer of Rebirth (還生祈) | [Kata] | 5 | 1 per battle | Immediately revive 1 incapacitated ally (half of max Wounds, rounded). "It is not yet your time." |
#Typical Breath Patterns
The Shrine Keeper finishes half the work in the Lull Phase. Once battle begins, they maintain Barriers and fill the gaps.
| Breath | Maneuver Combination | Energy | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lull Preemption | Advance Blessing(0)+Sealing Barrier(2) | 2 | 1 curse nullified + 1 zone blocked |
| Ward Maintenance | Ward-Off(2)+reservation(1) | 3 | Front Zone harm -2 pre-applied + self-defense |
| Requiem | Requiem Blessing(3) | 3 | yoma weakened + ally recovered |
| Finisher | Heaven-Earth Barrier(5) | 5 | preemptive bulwark for all on the battlefield (ultimate) |
#Zone Bonuses
| Zone | Effect |
|---|---|
| Rear Zone | Safe. The base position for Barriers·blessings. Good for reading omens and declaring lull upkeep. |
| Front Zone | Dangerous, but the Barrier's range reaches the battlefront. "A shrine priest binding a shimenawa in the Front Zone" is narratively intense. |
| Core Zone | The place where a Barrier is most urgently needed and most dangerous. The central seat of a sealing scenario. |
#Three Ways and Six Hearts
| Natural Heart | Conflict |
|---|---|
| Truth (眞, Way of Mystery) | "The order of the kami is older and broader than the order of humans. Block, but do not hate." |
| Conflict: toward Supremacy (覇) | "We must purify more strongly." The guilt of failing to block becomes Fanaticism. They burn the village to protect it. |
| Conflict: toward the Void (虚) | "No matter how much I block, it is severed at last. Is there meaning in this Barrier?" The emptiness of when a blessing goes unrewarded. |
The Shrine Keeper's Three Ways and Six Hearts question: "On the night I could not block, what do I become?"
#Squad Tactics Options
Slot rule: A Squad Tactics art is included in the Class Art options of that dan (same as canon). It may be chosen instead of a 3-dan/5-dan Class Art.
The Shrine Keeper's Squad Tactics take the form of wrapping the squad in a Barrier. By binding one zone into a sanctuary, they block the loss of squad Cohesion within it (preemptive warding), or raise the squad's morale in advance with kagura. The detailed values follow the canonical Squad Tactics art slot rule.
#Note — A Short Guide for the GM
1. How it differs from the Pure Land Monk. The Pure Land Monk raises the fallen (after-the-fact recovery), and the Shrine Keeper blocks before the fall (preemptive warding). With both in one party, "block in advance — and clean up what still got through" is complete. They share Barrier·Sorcery skills with the onmyoji but have no shikigami (the weight of attack·Scouting is low). If the niches overlap, the GM can consolidate to one of the two.
2. Balance caution. Preemptive effects ("nullify 1 time/-2/auto-evade") are powerful. So they are all bound by limits of 1 per lull·1 per round·1 per battle·1 per session, and the Barrier follows the canonical Barrier skill rule (2d10+Wits check) as is. When loosening an effect, check the limit first.
3. Running "in advance." The appeal of this profession lives when the GM foreshadows a threat. Drop hints of the next scene's ambush, a curse's omen, a Barrier coming undone — and the Shrine Keeper PC acts "before that." It pairs poorly with a GM who hides information. It shines with a GM who gives omens.
4. Spirit Realm hook. Hang a clock over the village in which defilement (穢れ) accumulates. If the Shrine Keeper does not re-bind the Barrier each week, one night the shimenawa is severed. The miko-type build can put kagura on stage with the performance·requiem rules of zn01.
#Scent — One Sentence
"The Shrine Keeper's greatest victory is a night on which nothing happened."