Hey guys, I need help hammering out a background for a Kolat Saboteur Conspirator!
Keep in mind, I only learned what ‘Rokugan’ or ‘L5R’ even was about a month ago. So thanks for your patience and feel free to correct any misconceptions I may have!
Also, I’m treating the PLS as the front-end / “store-front” to the Kolat, while the Kolat themselves are the back-end guys who restock the shelves at night (don't ask where the product comes from!). Basically the “store-front” is the "safe" way to gauge someone’s interest in the Kolat, without drawing attention to yourself (unless you’re in Phoenix lands)!
This is a bit of a read, so thanks in advance if you manage to get through it! Alternatively, you can skip the backstory, and just try answering my questions below.
Edit: Okay, even though my questions are outside of the spoiler brackets, they're still inside the entire 'spoiler backstory.' No, I haven't been a serious poster on FFG since we switched over to the new forum system years ago! So just find the underlined/bolded section in the spoiler for my questions. Thanks!
So basically our character Fuyuko (having been born in the winter and with rare blue eyes), is the sole daughter of a burakumin couple. Other burakumin think the couple are selfish and a bit crazy for bringing a child into this caste because they are dooming her to a life of ostracism, discrimination, and hopelessness, but ultimately it matters little because they die when she is only 6 years old (potential questions regarding addendums to the burakumin caste coming later).
So at the tender age of 6, Fuyuko’s father runs afoul of an ill-tempered, one-handed, Lion samurai. The samurai is traveling with a group of friends when the father, chasing a loose chicken through the fields, bumps straight into the samurai and bowls him over. What ensues a classic test of tameshigiri, since the samurai has yet to have used his new sword in combat and his honor demands action. The father is found a day later cut in half on the road by village peasants and the family is informed. Within months the mother, who was always of frail health, falls terribly ill from the stress and overwork, and passes away.
Fuyuko flees into the night, hoping to meet her own ill-fated demise. However, the survival instinct in her is stronger than she realizes. She wanders the road eating moss, bugs, and drinking from streams for some days before she passes out on a pilgrim road in the mountains. She is discovered by Odayaka, a traveling priest, who unbeknownst to her is part of the Perfect Land Sect and is brought to his small temple. There, the priest decides to adopt her (not knowing she is hinin and presuming she is the sole survivor of a bandit attack— though finds out later and doesn’t care). He begins to teach her the ways of the PLS and how to tend the temple. Being born burakumin and having been visited by the injustice of status, Fuyuko latches onto the teachings of the PLS with fervency.
When she is 7, she is introduced to Katsuyama-sama (also Kolat), once the Karō to a vassal daimyo of the Yogo family but is now an instructor to a young samurai. It comes to light that Fuyuko is a dead-ringer for a slightly younger Yogo Mariko (his student) and that the PLS want to take Mariko out of the picture and plant Fuyuko as a PLS/KSC agent instead. Once the swap is made, Katsuyama will continue her training to help her become the perfect Kolat soldier.
Fuyuko is apprehensive and scared of pretending to be someone she isn’t, but after Katsuyama asks if she wants justice not only for herself, but all the other heinin who aren’t even treated as human-beings, she discovers a fire within that she didn’t know existed. The priest is given two years to “make her ready.”
2 years pass quickly and Fuyuko is ready. During a visit to a nearby shrine for the blessings of Jurō jin for their ailing grandfather, the Yogo family (with Katsuyama undercover) is beset by “bandits” (Kolat agents) and slain. Fuyuko watches from the shadows and when a Yogo samurai crawls towards her, yelling for her to flee, she is surprised to realize that she feels nothing as she watches him die. “Mariko the Kolat” and Katsuyama are the only survivors of this “tragedy.”
Fuyuko (henceforth ‘Mariko’) begins her life as a Kolat plant of the “Lotus” cell. She finds the luxuries and status afforded to her mind-blowing, and barely manages to keep her cover intact with Katsuyama’s aid. However, she quickly grows into her role and after some years, no one is the wiser.
Fast-forward 7 years, Mariko is growing into a shinobi of some renown, having been trained at the “Shosuro Infil traitor ” school (couldn’t help myself, sorry!). Although on the surface she is the perfect Scorpion, ultimately, she has been tasked with climbing the ladder of status and getting into a position of power so the Kolat can continue to grow (which aligns with what the Scorpion want of her anyway). The upcoming Topaz Championship is the perfect opportunity for this, and although winning the title would be a plus, she’s really there to find others she can convert to the PLS beliefs (the PC playing Togashi Yoshi may be perfect for this) and dishonor other clans if opportunity allows (even her own clan, if the perfect, untraceable opportunity presents itself— say the loss of face the Scorpion might endure if Bayushi Sugai does something that explodes in his face and everyone finds out his plan). But priority #1 is really keeping her Mariko cover intact, graduating from her gempuku, and keeping the Kolat “the ghost in the room that everyone swears exists, but no one can really confirm or deny it.”
Katsuyama personally oversees her training in the KSC school. There are
rumors
of other Kolat cells, but they have
absolutely no contact with them
. Katsuyama says that as far as she is concerned, the Lotus cell is the only cell in all of Rokugan and she must need act in such a way.
The Lotus cell’s interests are Katsuyama’s own nihilistic views of samurai which match perfectly with Fuyuko’s, and Odayaka’s pious wishes to spread the PLS beliefs far and wide.
Traits:
Distinction:
Mariko’s small stature (as a malnourished burakumin) works in her favor, as everyone underestimates until it is too late to do anything about it (
Affect of Harmlessness
).
Adversity:
Naturally she’s burakumin, so (
Adopted Peasant
) is a no-brainer, but might be a disadvantage that doesn’t work often enough because only two people know of her true past (well, three, actually)?
Although a distant memory now, Mariko is intent on hunting down the one-handed, Lion samurai that murdered her father in cold-blood (
Sworn Enemy [‘Nameless Lion’]
). Provided she can ever find an excuse to travel away from Scorpion lands.
Passion:
The fact that she’s convinced all of these self-important samurai that she’s not burakumin, but actually the daughter of a noble family, gives her an endless source of amusement (
Secrets
). She also has (
Web of Lies
) as she has to keep track of whose interest in the PLS / Kolat she’s already gauged, who could potentially reveal her as a Kolat agent, and who (if anyone) might still question her as the True Mariko.
Anxieties:
Even though she’s fit well into her role as Mariko, she knows she can never let her guard down on two counts: being Mariko the imposter and also belonging to the Kolat Conspiracy (
False Identity
).
Mariko, even after years of training, has difficulty discarding her naturally meek demeanor that was ingrained into her from a young age (
Meekness
).
Outburst:
When things are at their worst, she unmasks by being unable to control fits of giggling and her eyes and smile grow unnaturally large; as if she’s laughing at a joke that no one knows (and she is)!
Questions & Concerns:
Burakumin, the ‘Never-Ending’ Despair:
So this backstory made me realize something. The life of the hinin are pretty freaking bleak. There’s no hope, no end in sight (short of waiting for reincarnation). And if heaven forbid, they form a family, it’s the never-ending curse for anyone born into that family (short of them all dying through famine, disaster, or samurai’s NFG attitude).
So what if, (for ‘My Rokugan’) becoming hinin was basically a form of punishment? The person in question was forced to become hinin for the rest of their lives (or for 60-80 years?). If they died, but had children, the children had to work off the rest of their sentence. But there was no reduction for multiple children. Once they’ve worked it off, they go through a unique 3-day purification ceremony in order to return to ‘heimin’ status.
Okay. So what are the potential ramifications of this and is this at all plausible?
Using the PLS as a “Store-Front” for the Kolat: This seems to make sense, but I can’t tell if it’s exactly canon. I’m wondering if I’m missing anything that might make this idea clash?
Katsuyama— Kolat, Vassal Samurai, Cell Leader(?):
Katsuyama in my opinion, can’t be part of the Yogo family, because I doubt anyone would put the desires of the Kolat into action against their own family (since he orders the execution of Mariko’s parents and guards). Hopefully him being merely a vassal to the Yogo is enough status to get him drafted to become True Mariko’s trainer? Additionally, as it stands, Katsuyama the Kar
ō
is the leader of the Kolat Lotus Cell (a very small cell, as you can see). I’m not sure he has enough leverage to do much with the Kolat, being only a Karō
(or maybe that’s the point? Short of becoming the Katsuyama’s next daimyō
vassal, his Kolat dreams are stuck. Maybe Mariko is his way of having the cell “advance”)? Or should there be one more addition to the cell, one with more clout?
Why is this particular samurai a Kolat? I’m not sure yet. Let alone why any samurai would become Kolat when they know they’re going to lose their status eventually— short of having a samurai paragon with dreams of equality?
Odayaka, Kolat Priest: So the Kolat work against the kami, because they want to be free from their influence. But Odayaka can still offer empty platitudes to the kami of his shrine, to keep newcomers and pilgrims flowing, right? Otherwise, how else can he spread the teachings of the Perfect Land Sect?
Fuyuko / Mariko acting against the Scorpion Clan (ie, ‘Dishonor for Everyone!’ Tactics): So the character is now primarily a Kolat (and a nihilistic one at that), so she would love to see the downfall of the samurai (especially Lions). But how realistic is it for her to throw dishonor on her own clan? Would it really hurt her advances if her own clan takes a bit of heat? Remember, she only does it when she’s near certain she can get away with it and it won’t be traced back to her— that’s a can of worms no one in the Lotus cell wants!
Kolat, the Honorless Scum: A big hurdle is that a KSC starts with a dismal 20 Honor. After character creation, that goes down to 15 because Fuyuko naturally doesn’t believe in Bushidō ! Are there any problems I need to be aware of with a character having such an abysmal Honor score? Scorpions aren’t particularly worried about Honor, but getting a THIRD disadvantage could prove troublesome for her.
Beginner’s Game: Hitoshi’s Secret & Bayushi Sugai (Small Spoiler):
So in the sidebar, it says that Hitoshi is the pawn in a conflict between the Scorpion and the Crane Clan. The character knows that this is the case but also knows they shouldn’t put the Scorpion Clan’s desires before Katsuyama's.
However, I’m trying to set up an irresistible opportunity to present itself where they can get Toshimoko to accidentally kill Hitoshi or even vice versa (by getting Hitoshi worked up enough during The Feast and having them use real [previously poisoned] swords instead of bokken, maybe?). Afterwards, they’ll be given the chance to kill Sugai (in place of him being incapacitated— then plant the evidence that the Scorpion clan knew the truth all along and they set Hitoshi up to be there). Therein the blame lies upon Bayushi Sugai and has nothing to do with her.
But. Big but here. This seems like… a lot of work… for one PC. And I may just scratch this idea altogether. But it does fit into their whole ‘Dishonor for Everyone’ desires. Alternatively, maybe they could reveal the truth to Hitoshi in the middle of the night, saying they “found this paper in Sugai’s room and felt they had a right to know.” Maybe sending Hitoshi storming into Toshimoko’s residence to confront him then and there. Afterwards when they meet, maybe this is where the fight takes place instead? But dying from poison, either father or son realizes just what they’ve done?
All in all, I think the character and story seem interesting to explore! We've already acknowledged that Mariko is destined to meet a tragic end. Interestingly though she is a Yogo (in name only) so the curse doesn’t apply and hopes to work that in to roleplaying one day (if they live that long). I’m sure if that ever came to light, the Yogo Wardmaster’s would be particularly interested in that!
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