The Crab

[Vutall]

Champion: Hida Kisada (m)


Hida Daimyo: Hida Kisada (m)


Hiruma Daimyo: Hiruma Yoshino (f)


Kaiu Daimyo: Kaiu Shihobu (f)


Kuni Daimyo: Kuni Yori (m)


Yasuki Daimyo: Yasuki Taka (m)

[Vutall]

“Courage. Duty. Sacrifice.”
The Crab Clan
The southwest of Rokugan is an eternal battlefield, soaked in the blood of the Crab Clan. Since the descent of the Kami Hida to the Mortal Realm, his descendants and followers have been waging war against enemies beyond the Empire and within. Maps of their territory are marked with scars—swaths of land amputated or left half-dead, all stitched together by the mighty Carpenter Wall. Everyone within their borders has adapted to continuous violence. Noble and commoner alike wake each morning wondering if this day will be their last, unsure if their end will come by demonic claws or the swift strike of a honed blade.

Victories are often the products of several calculated defeats. Sacrifice ensured the Crab’s continued existence, but it also shrank their borders and left one of their noble families homeless. In the eighth century, the oni lord known as the Maw led a massive Shadowlands army against the Crab. It overtook the lands of the Hiruma, and to this day they have not been reclaimed. The Hiruma’s patience wanes with each year as they long for their revenge.

Centuries later, the Crab suffered another tragedy at the hands of a mysterious oni that appeared under the clan’s very feet. Dōkutsu no Majo twisted earth kami into burrowing kansen and targeted the Kuni lands to tap into the family’s strong spiritual energy. The resulting tunnels allowed Shadowlands invaders to flood beneath the Crab, leading to subterranean battles through the haunted, twisting chasms. After the blow from a Kaiu’s ōtsuchi smeared Dōkutsu no Majo’s head against a cave wall, the battle was won—but the war was far from over. Efforts to purge the vast network of tunnels and the kansen within left these Kuni lands spiritually desolate, and it is whispered that wicked shadows still cling to the darkest corners. On the surface, this wracked land is now known as the Kuni Wastelands.

The Crab’s southeastern border is in constant flux. When the Yasuki family broke from the Crane to join the Crab Clan, they brought not only their mercantile prowess but also their enmity for the Crane. Disputes with the Crane over property rights and forged deeds and proclamations, as well as outright violence, cause Crab villages to shift ownership far too often. Any time the Yasuki reap success from their ventures, the Crane find some way to call their methods into question.

The Guest House
Every Crab town, no matter how small or impoverished, has a small house or hut set aside for guests. Visitors often remark on them, especially to note that they rarely seem to be in use—the Crab instead usually bring visitors into their own homes. Most visitors simply assume the empty dwellings are another odd feature of this odd clan and forget the matter upon returning to their own lands. The truth is much more disturbing and pragmatic, like many Crab customs.

One feature of all of these houses, no matter their location, is that they have a sliding beam to lock the door, but it is placed on the outside. Most of these dwellings are also of a sturdier construction than normal.

These houses are specifically designed for those who arrive unexpectedly, and especially so at night. No Crab would ever turn an unfortunate traveler away, but hospitality has to be tempered with suspicion. The Tainted might return, unaware of or refusing to admit their terrible nature, and could emerge as zombies or worse in the morning. Every Crab has heard a dozen variants of a tale in which a family welcomed back a group of cousins they had not seen for years. The next day, all that was left were gnawed bones and a thick trail of blood leading into a nearby forest.

Thus, the tradition evolved to put up travelers in guest houses (at least for the first night). A visitor might find it odd or perhaps discourteous, but the Crab are perfectly fine to exchange this for safety and containment of the Shadowlands.

Defend The Wall!
What most would take as a simple game for Hida children actually acts as a powerful training tool for the family. It is quite simple: on the top of a hill, a line of children waits with linked arms as their friends attempt to scale the slope and break through them. If the line breaks, the invading children are chased until caught and driven back down the hill. Defenders must act quickly to catch them, though, before other invaders exploit the gaps in the line.

There is no strict victory condition for either side. Games generally continue until everyone collapses with exhaustion or is too injured to continue, for even in their youth, the Hida believe in playing hard. Some games last all day, crowds of parents and other onlookers cheering the children on and wagering on the outcome. Seeing the chil-dren displaying strength is especially reward-ing for veterans, who know that when they fall in battle, there will be a new generation of Hida to replace them.


Families Of The Crab
The Crab Clan is a well-oiled machine, each family serving as an irreplaceable component. The Kaiu serve as the clan’s foundation with their ingenuity and foresight. The Hiruma are the Crab’s eyes, relaying critical information, while the Kuni are a hungry repository of knowledge. The clan’s lifeblood—the food and funds necessary for the war effort—is provided by the mercantile Yasuki. And finally, guiding it all is the Crab Clan’s heart, the courageous Hida. Together, their bond is as impenetrable as the Carpenter Wall.

Above all, the Crab embody courage. Shadowlands beasts and rivals alike dread confrontations with its samurai, albeit for different reasons. The same courage that allows the Crab to dominate a battlefield allows them to storm through social constructs. When courtesy or tradition hinders efficiency, the Crab boldly oppose convention. Members of the Crab are sure of themselves and their one mission: to protect Rokugan by any means necessary.

Hida
The Kami Hida was the strongest of his kin, but for years, he put little stock in wisdom when the strength of his arm could serve him. In the series of tests to determine who would rule the Empire, Hida was defeated by his sibling’s wits. The Kami felt weak for the first time in his existence. As he bemoaned his failure, a passing monk remarked that identifying one’s weakness is a form of strength. Hida took the stranger’s words to heart and spent the following years mastering strategy. His descendants continue Hida’s legacy in their pursuit of tactical prowess. Success, whether it’s in battle or personal growth, is often hidden behind painful defeats. Facing these sacrifices requires courage, and the Hida have no shortage of that.

If they could, it is said, Hida bushi would deal with goblins and courtiers in a similar fashion: with swift brutality. All Crab live to carry out the Kami Hida’s war against the Shadowlands. Any other task is an imposition, and the Hida are not afraid to say as much. The pampered nobles of other clans find Hida manners almost as shocking as a tetsubō to the back of the skull. Aghast allies and enemies alike have reflexively challenged Hida members to duels, only to be dismissed as yet another waste of time. The Hida are therefore considered impolite brutes.

Understanding the Hida requires one to join them on the Kaiu Wall. In brief, nearly unnoticeable moments, boisterous Hida bushi fall silent, their eyes focused on a dark memory. Born and raised warriors to combat the foulest creatures in existence, the Hida are still not immune to grief. They manage their pain through black humor, drunken wrestling, and a frank acceptance of the world’s horrors. Honesty allows the Hida to face their enemies. Courage allows the Hida to destroy them. But no amount of desensitization can prepare anyone for the inhuman brutality of the Shadowlands.

Loved ones in the Shadowlands don’t just die; instead, their corpses claw back toward the Wall, disfigured by the Taint. There is a constant fear of penanggalan and other monstrosities impersonating comrades. The sky above the Shadowlands is never welcome, either grim charcoal or burning red but never soft blue. Darkness and cold rain often accompany the Hida during their endless patrols. To be a Hida is to live without comfort. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that their tempers flare when the very people they live to protect fail to show any gratitude.

Hida Rumors
The opium won’t be coming this month—someone raided the smuggler’s caravan. The Fortress of the Forgotten is sure to explode, and soon.

A stranger in green and yellow is gathering warriors for a raid beyond the Wall, but won’t say why—only that it’s vital to the Empire. They could be Imperial, but why the secretive manner?

The Skull of the Maw is dripping with blood. Fresh blood. Each night there is more, regardless of how often it’s cleaned

Culture And Traditions
A Yasuki merchant or Kaiu engineer may say that a warrior is as only as good as their weapon, but a Hida would argue that a true warrior is still deadly unarmed and stumbling drunk. Those born Hida must prove they have honed their body before they earn a weapon. Children are often taught the forms of Kobo Ichi-Kai Jiujutsu, a type of hand-to-hand combat that focuses on disabling foes at the joints, controlling their momentum, and constantly delivering damage. Prospective bushi engage in brutal kobo matches against impossible odds. Winning is not the goal. Hida students are conditioned to accept small defeats in order to secure larger victories.

The Hida hone more than their bodies. A tactical mind shaped by theory and experience is more dangerous than the sharpest blade. Young Hida practice tactics through sessions of Go and Sōogi, and many of their childhood games operate like military drills. At their various dōjō, Hida spend as much time reading military theory as they do physically training. Tests are frequently performed in mock war rooms where everyone crouches around a map covered in miniature armies. Given its grim task, the Hida family cannot afford to cast aside anyone, and it teaches that all must serve according to their own strengths. For example, Daimyō Kisada’s physically weak son, Hida Sukune, has earned great renown as a tactician and strategist. However, the ideal Hida is a paragon of both physical and mental excellence.

Like all families in Rokugan, the Hida have a great many traditions; some of these date from the founding of the Emerald Empire, or so the Hida claim. Unlike other families, though, the Hida rarely make their traditions into obsessions. Festivals are pleasant distractions, but nothing more. Heirloom weapons that can no longer function as well as newer creations are set aside for more effective innovations. Bushi cannot risk turning their attention from the Shadowlands, so they keep their rituals short and on a flexible schedule. Every garrison has its own songs and routines, and garrisons regularly engage in friendly competitions. The Hida live in the now. They do not waste time pining for lost heroes like their counterparts in the Lion Clan.

Current Concerns
The Shadowlands are rising. Frequent assaults against the Carpenter Wall have left the Crab starved for resources. With the Imperial Court ignoring their requests for aid, the Crab have limited options. The Crane Clan’s ill will toward the Yasuki is threatening to divert staff and resources from the front line. Some Crab Clan leaders see an alliance with the Crane- hating Scorpion as a tempting option, but this would alienate one of the Crab’s closest allies, the Phoenix. The ambitious Kuni Yori strenuously objects to this proposed alliance, greatly preferring access to the spiritual rites and secrets of the Phoenix’s Asako family to those of the Scorpion’s Yogo family. But the fact remains that the Yasuki cannot handle the Crane by themselves and something must be done.

Tensions between the Lion and all of their neighbors threaten to involve the Crab. The Lion may call on their assistance to fight the Unicorn, or the Crab may need to choose sides if the Lion assault the Phoenix. Hida Kisada has tasked his people with the following objectives: discover new ways to kill the monsters of the Shadowlands, reclaim the lost knowledge of the Hiruma, establish new trade routes, design more effective weapons, avoid conflict with other clans, and find out what is causing the surge of activity within the Shadowlands.

The Lands Of The Hida
The rolling farmlands of the Kaiu family stretch into the horizon, nestling along the protective Carpenter Wall until they gradually grow more rocky and dry. Once the rice paddies grow rare and the ground becomes marred with the crushing footfalls of repeated marches, one has entered Hida lands. The harsh landscape reflects the attitude of its ruling family. Outsiders—even, and perhaps especially, those representing the other Great Clans—are regarded with suspicion and met with varying degrees of hostility. Visitors are seen as a needless disruption unless they have come to commit their swords to the cause (in which case, even gaijin mercenaries are welcome). Even the commoners lack respect for travelers from other parts of the Empire—and seem even to revere the Hida family more than the Emperor himself.

Whether samurai or commoner, almost everyone in the region has a nightmarish story of a hungry monster in the night, a bloody mist that stole away dozens of villagers, or another horror more unspeakable still. Some of these stories draw to a close tragically, but many end with the arrival of Hida samurai who drive back the night once again—ensuring people live to tell their harrowing tale, and their faith in their protectors stronger than ever. As disparate as the Crab’s five families are, they unanimously trust the Hida’s tried and tested leadership. As the saying goes, there are few places along the Carpenter Wall as safe as standing behind a Hida.

Hida Palace
Kyūden Hida is easily the most fortified castle in Rokugan. Its thick stone walls tower over 180 feet high, their rough surfaces lined the latest Kaiu defensive war machines. Giant gates partition the outer walls into a series of kill zones intended to corral invaders. Pulsing through the air are the beats of taiko drums directing the marches of practicing troops. Nearly everyone wears heavy armor, looking not unlike literal crabs as they move across the dark stone ramparts. The most striking feature of this palace is mounted above its main entrance—the skull of the Maw. It grins threateningly out at the Shadowlands with rows of razor-sharp teeth. The interior of the palace is austere, its only decorations being the banners of the Crab families. Within these halls, adventurers can seek permission from Hida Kisada to enter the Shadowlands. However, visitors should beware: the Hida are notoriously uncooperative and hate glory seekers.

Fortress Of The Forgotten
The Crab appear to thrive amid violence, but they are only human. Death and grief eventually chip away at anyone’s resolve, and when some Crab find their limit, they suddenly snap and become erratically destructive. It is said that the only way to stop such a warrior’s wrath once it has been roused is to decapitate them, yet stories are told of headless warriors getting in a few hits before tumbling to the ground. To achieve this berserker state deliberately, some Crab warriors spend months in meditation, slowly numbing their base instinct for survival, often with the aid of alcohol and opium. Some seek it so that they can achieve greater heights of power; others in an effort to quell the burns that war has seared onto their soul. Still others find this state without seeking it, born to battle rage or kindling it as life on the Wall heaps horror after horror upon them.

The Fortress of the Forgotten houses an ascetic order. But unlike monks, who seek peace and enlightenment, the berserkers who reside within seek the solace that can only come from the destruction of their enemies. These warriors arrive for a variety of reasons—some because they have been broken by war, some because they seek power to wreak vengeance, and some because they are too dangerous to their comrades to serve in a conventional unit when the fury takes them. Within the halls of the fortress, there is little conversation, just silent focus on becoming an emotionless weapon. Many inhabitants are Hiruma who have journeyed so long in the Shadowlands that even when they leave it, it never truly leaves them. Others are Hida, Kaiu, Kuni, or even rōnin who seek solace in shedding the blood of foes after horrific experiences while fighting to defend Rokugan.

The Hida And The Wall
The Hida are ever-present on the Carpenter Wall, and many of the family's major landmarks can be found along the Wall's length. As such, nearly anyone traveling Hida lands will come into contact with the structure at least once. Stretches supported by fortresses like Hida Palace are infrequently targeted, no matter the state of other battles elsewhere. However, isolated regions between strongholds are in constant danger, and passing travelers may find themselves pulled into a battle.

Hiruma
When the Kami Hida claimed the western mountains, he challenged his followers to prove that they were strong enough to stand beside him. Three stepped forward. The very first was Hiruma, the hunter. Together, the trio embarked on a quest to slay Hajimeno Tatakai no Oni. Hiruma was instrumental in its demise, not only tracking and baiting the beast, but also delivering the killing blow. Since then, the Hiruma have been the right hand of the Hida. They serve as scouts, messengers, and spies. Without them, the Crab would be without its senses.

Hiruma Rumors
A merchant notes that many items said to have come from Daylight Castle have been offered at the market recently, as though someone has successfully looted our ancestral home!

The Crane are somehow behind the efforts to keep us from launching a full assault and regaining our lost lands.

Some other families are refusing to undergo proper inspection and cleansing procedures when returning from the Shadowlands. Why?

Reputation And Values
The Hiruma are not well-known outside of the Crab lands. Visitors may note differences from the Hida; for instance, their lithe frames and light armor. Otherwise, Hiruma are too quiet and quick for travelers to get a prolonged impression. Besides those who join the Fortress of the Forgotten, Hiruma rarely linger in one place. Wherever they stay, they are passing guests.

The Hiruma live in silent shame. While the Hida wear their emotions on their sleeves, the Hiruma are cold and brooding. Both families are known to have volatile tempers, but the Hiruma snap so viciously that it often catches people by surprise.

Much of a Hiruma’s life is spent in waiting—waiting days in purifying meditation, waiting weeks for their bodies to recover from venturing into the Shadowlands, and waiting generations for their lands to be reclaimed. Eventually, most exhaust their patience. It is little surprise that many Hiruma choose to leave the Mortal Realm by launching themselves into hopeless battle after hopeless battle.

Culture And Traditions
Until the legacy of the Hiruma is recovered, they cannot start anew. They live in an empty space between their past and future where there is no glory—just a duty to persist until they are made whole again. Those born to the Hiruma stand to inherit no farmlands, no castles, no scrolls of ancient knowledge, no artifacts of mythic provenance, for all of these were lost along with their lands.

Without a formal dōjō, Hiruma learn from their immediate family. Hiruma children are trained to hunt as soon as they can walk. Most become skilled hunters before adolescence and are allowed to spend days alone in the wild honing their survival skills. Many confused peasants have mistakenly tried to help someone they thought was a lost child, only to end up groveling before nobility. A Hiruma’s training focuses on survival, stealth, and speed. After trapping a Shadowlands beast for their gempuku, a Hiruma may serve behind enemy lines as a raider and scout, or beyond the Wall as a messenger.

Hiruma work closely with Kuni Wardens, who monitor them for the Taint. Preparing to traverse the Shadowlands is a lengthy process. Before crossing the border, wards must be painted on a scout’s skin. After returning, the scout spends as much as four weeks undertaking strenuous purifying rites at one of the shrines of cleansing scattered throughout Kuni lands.

Current Concerns
The Hiruma need to restore their name through the reconquest of their ancestral lands. Until that glorious day, they can find some satisfaction in the recovery of artifacts. Antiquarians sometimes come into possession of Hiruma scrolls and weapons, but more often than not, these objects are forgeries. The Hiruma’s greatest hope for recovering their history is sealed in their homeland.

There are rumors that the Candle Temple in Daylight Castle has resisted the befouling infection of the Shadowlands. If true, there is little doubt that it contains preserved relics. However, the castle is crawling with Shadowlands creatures. Even if a person were to enter the temple sanctum, they would need to conduct a search undetected and risk the destruction of recovered objects during their return. Hida Kisada has yet to see a proposed mission into Candle Temple that he finds tactically sound. The Hiruma argue that the activity at the border might mean Candle Temple is now sparsely defended, but Kisada believes it is the Hiruma who are at risk of being spread too thin by vainglorious efforts. There has been talk within the family about defying their Clan Champion’s orders and embarking on a mission anyway—for victory would be too grand a success even for the stoic Hida Kisada to deny, and failure would spell certain death.

The Landless
Beyond the Wall, in the foothills of the Twilight Mountains, Daylight Castle waits. Shadowlands beasts crawl through its halls, defiling the majestic fortress. Claw marks scar the stone. Bones litter the floor. All is dark and putrid. According to the tales, though, within is Candle Temple, radiating with a divine light. It is a shining beacon calling out to the family it honors. Under its guardianship, the last surviving remnants of Hiruma history wait to be reclaimed.

To speak of the Hiruma holdings is a grave insult. For centuries, the Hiruma have been without a home, their territories having become part of the Shadowlands.

Hiruma often stalk the battlements along the Wall, gazing to the south at the lands that were once theirs. Anger and longing fill their souls, and each knows what the others feel without the need for words. One day, they silently whisper. One day.

Kaiu
The second to accept Kami Hida’s challenge, it is said, was the blacksmith Kaiu. As his companions prepared to face Hajimeno Tatakai no Oni, Kaiu set to work crafting the weapon that would bring bout the oni’s demise— Chikara. Kaiu’s forge is in operation to this very day, acting as the heart of Kaiu Castle. Kaiu’s spirit has continued throughout the generations, giving rise not only to master smiths, but also to inventors and engineers. The Kaiu strike down the legions of Jigoku without invoking the kami or ancient knowledge. They embody the potential of Rokugan—as they call it, the future.

Kaiu Rumors
There is a huge stockpile of captured gaijin weapons to the north in some village called Slow Tide Harbor. The Emperor refuses to allow us to inspect them. Why are we being kept from ways to improve our defenses?

Someone is stealing the jade we must have for experiments to forge new weapons. I think it’s Yasuki out to make some fast koku.

There exists a special hammer that imbues jade into anything it forges. It got lost in the Shadow-lands, but if only we could find it.

Reputation And Values
The Crab Clan has many detractors, but few criticisms are hurled at the Kaiu. At worst, bitter outsiders believe that the talented Kaiu are wasted making war machines—that their time would be better spent constructing music boxes and tiny dancing automatons, or at least noble and refined weapons, like bows and swords. But like all Crab, the Kaiu are unwavering in their dedication to keeping Rokugan safe.

Before the Yasuki became the clan’s ambassadors, the Kaiu handled diplomacy. They were not trained courtiers knowledgeable in the intricacies of polite society, but their gifts were the stuff of legend, and their courtiers were at least trained to be personable. Even now, Kaiu tend to be soft-spoken and even tempered. Through rational words, they can soothe even the most irate of Hida. Their stability forms the foundation of the entire Crab Clan. Without their selfless support, the clan would fall. But behind these calm demeanors is a group of minds bursting with creative energy and invention. Rare Kaiu individuals resent being limited to war-related pursuits. Luckily for them, the Kaiu generally consider any technical tinkering an opportunity for discovery. Their schools are dedicated to fostering creativity and invention. When students indulge in music boxes and toys, the complex internal mechanisms frequently lead to new and useful innovations. Too much frivolity is eventually discouraged, but the Kaiu are open-minded.

As the Hiruma search for their past and the Hida confront the present, the Kaiu have their eyes on the future. Foresight is a key trait of any skillful Kaiu. When planning traps and fortifications, they must first envision every possible angle of assault. They must stay several steps ahead of ally and enemy alike. There is a saying among the Crab that if a Kaiu must quit the battlefield, defeat is on the way. The Kaiu’s talent for calculating outcomes is almost prophetic.

Culture And Traditions
Creativity cannot be contained. The Kaiu, therefore, provide many avenues by which inventive minds may grow. If the traditional route of smithing is too limiting, one can design traps or ballistae. A young Kaiu who is more interested in the foundational components of metallurgy may specialize in geology or alchemy. Those who don’t want to tinker in a workshop can create grand structures as architects or fight on the front line as combat engineers. There is no other family within the Crab that allows such diversity. Each field of study has its masters and students, as well as sequential tests one must pass to progress. Talent is celebrated, and the underperforming are seen as buds that have not yet fully bloomed.

Throughout the year, the Kaiu organize events that encourage the intermingling of diverse skill sets. These meetings result in much successful collaboration among Kaiu masters and even members of other clans. Despite Hida Kisada’s notoriously low opinion of the Dragon Clan, the Kaiu regularly correspond with Agasha alchemists, and their combined knowledge of metallurgy has improved the ancient techniques of both families. The Kaiu’s modest curiosity tends to endear them to intellectuals from most clans. Even Kakita swordsmiths have a pleasant (and useful) time conversing with the Kaiu when the opportunity arises.

The most common Kaiu specialization is that of the combat engineer. These samurai are not only talented bushi, but also architects, strategists, and resource managers. Combat engineers shape battlefields before conflict even arises. They dig trenches, sap walls, construct battlements, build bridges, and demolish abandoned Kaiu devices so they do not fall into enemy hands. It was combat engineers who defeated the subterranean invasion of Dōkutsu no Majo. They shaped the land through ingenuity and were able to crush, drown, and smoke out the oni’s army. Most of Jigoku’s agents have historically been thwarted by powerful shugenja, but the Kaiu proved that human ingenuity can be equally effective.

Current Concerns
Jade supplies are dwindling. The Kuni are attempting to diminish the negative effects of obsidian but have yet to find a solution. If the situation does not improve, the Kaiu will need to find a new way to pierce the armored hides of Shadowlands beasts. As a last resort, they may need to build up the Wall even higher. If this weren’t enough, the Kaiu often find themselves playing the role of unwilling mediators. The Hida and Hiruma bicker about the reclamation of Hiruma artifacts in the Shadowlands, and Kuni Yori fears that the Crab’s friendship with the Phoenix’s Asako family is threatened by the Yasuki who seek aid from the Scorpion. Further, the Lion insist that the Crab join them in combating the Unicorn. The Crab have had no love of the Unicorn since their tumultuous return to Rokugan several centuries ago, but neither do they wish to start another war on a new front, wasting valuable lives against merely human enemies.

The Lands Of The Kaiu
Before the Yasuki joined the Crab Clan’s ranks, the Kaiu were considered the most hospitable family of the Crab. Their provinces are pastoral and calm. Commoners farm safely behind the Kaiu’s meticulously maintained sections of the Carpenter Wall. The only interruption of the peaceful ambiance comes with the occasional, if noisy, testing of new war engines. Even then, the Kaiu’s citizens find comfort in hearing the family’s siege engines smashing hills into bits.

Most visitors to the Kaiu lands are either traders avoiding Shinomen Forest on their way to various mountain passes or warriors in search of masterwork Kaiu weapons. More than any other smiths in Rokugan, the Kaiu excel at inlaying jade. Their creations are the bane of monsters. Without jade, even the greatest samurai of the current era could not challenge the most dreadful of the Shadowlands’ inhabitants.

Carpenter Castle
Life along the Carpenter Wall is dangerous, but the Kaiu consider it a valuable learning opportunity. Shiro Kaiu, known as the Carpenter Castle, predates and adjoins the Wall. Within its seamless stone facade, master smiths and engineers build the Crab Clan’s future.

The interior of Carpenter Castle is almost entirely mechanized. It has platforms that rise and lower via groups of clever pulleys and counterweights, gear-propelled conveyor belts made of reed mats, a complex alarm system, lever-operated gates. In the entrance hall stands a famous music box boasting a wide selection of twinkling songs.

All of this wonder seems taken for granted by the bustling engineering students, whose pockets overflow with scales, templates, and rolls of schematic-covered parchment. Their quiet discussions fill the wide rooms with a soft hum, creating a contemplative atmosphere.

Outside, everything is much louder. Prototype war engines line the Carpenter Wall and unleash destruction on the Twilight Mountains beyond. There are nooks along the walkway where teachers and their pupils can duck in case of a machine’s failure. In the last few centuries, this section of the Wall has taken more damage from faulty student designs than from ravening beasts or twisted armies. Not even the most dim-witted of goblins would venture close to Carpenter Castle of its own accord.

Within the castle’s large courtyard, the legendary forge of the original Kaiu is still in operation. It is frequented by the family daimyō, Kaiu Shihobu, who helps students with a contagious enthusiasm. The bellows are pumped along to cheerful songs and the heavy clangs of the hammers.

Golden Carp Marketplace
The Golden Carp Marketplace lies at the base of Higashino shiro no kao, the Kaiu family’s Face of the East Castle. There, the Unicorn and Crab mingle despite their history of conflict. The Kaiu are careful to extinguish any outbreaks of hostility. While many Hida incite confrontations, Kuni intrusively snoop, and Hiruma skulk about, the forward-thinking Kaiu are vividly aware that the Crab cannot afford another war along their borders. They play the part of flustered mediators, which is well outside of their comfort zone.

Amid this tension, criminals conduct their business unnoticed, or even encouraged when it results in access to critical supplies that would otherwise be unavailable. The constant flow of merchants allows illegal items to slip through the Golden Carp Marketplace with ease. A handful of mahō-sniffing Kuni Witch Hunters are regular visitors, but mere smuggling hardly concerns them when the fate of the realm is at stake. Smugglers employ looters to pick over Crab battlefields like buzzards, recovering and selling Kaiu masterpieces and family heirlooms as if they were common trinkets. A samurai looking to outfit themself with Kaiu weapons can either purchase them at this market or seek them via even less legitimate means. Obtaining rare artifacts could provide travelers with a number of advantages depending on the origins of the items.

The Golden Carp Marketplace is loud, crowded, and chaotic. Few permanent structures exist, and they are all old and ill managed. Tents and Unicorn yurts make up the majority of merchants’ places of business, and outside them, displays of easily toppled goods make up a maze. Criminals hide dug-out pits beneath rugs and chests to conceal illegal goods.

Overheard At The Golden Carp...
“...someone has an old Hiruma scroll for sale. Could be something from Daylight Castle, or a new map.”

“...I heard there’s a Uni-corn, new in town, who says he has word of an ancient Kaiu katana.”

“...that’s her, the merchant with a stockpile of jade she’s selling for only twice the normal price.”

“...there’s a Witch Hunter going around the area looking for leads on someone called ‘Whisper.’”

Kuni
The third person to accept the Kami Hida’s challenge in the tale was a shugenja clad in somber robes. Kuni was an ambitious scholar dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. Through his invocations, Hajimeno Tatakai no Oni was ensnared in an elemental vortex, allowing Hiruma to land the killing blow. Kuni’s descendants continue his experimental investigations of the Shadowlands. They risk their minds and souls by probing into the evil forces of Jigoku.

Kuni Rumors
The Dragon are secretly hiding Tainted monks from us—that’s why they have so many secluded monasteries.

I heard that a presentation on Unicorn meishōdō was canceled at this year’s gathering. What are these gaijin equestrians trying to keep hidden from us?

This season’s harvest of jade petal leaves is very poor. Not everyone may get their tea, and we may need to provide a more permanent solution to their Tainted condition.

Secrets Of The Kuni
Schools in Rokugan jealously guard their secret techniques and share their lore only to those selected to attend. This ensures that only those chosen to learn their secrets do so, and thus also helps ensure the schools retain better control over their specialties.

This is not the way of the Kuni Purifier or Warden schools. Their members are open, often even eager, to pass on their learning, including scrolls of lore, mystical techniques, and special rituals that any other school would fight dearly to keep secure. In the view of the Kuni, the more who learn of the Shadowlands, the more who can fight against the monsters that crash against the Wall each day. Keeping useful information secret only weakens the Empire against its most horrific of foes. Both schools accept applicants from across Rokugan, provided that they have the aptitudes and fortitude required.

Sadly, it is almost unheard of for outsiders to accept this standing offer. Most Rokugani hold such knowledge as taboo, given that it involves the Taint and physical interactions with Shadowlands creatures. Students are expected to participate in studies of these beasts, including vivisections and dissections. Few students can escape the social stigma of association with such matters or overcome their personal repulsion toward such teachings. Even worse, it is no secret that such studies greatly increase the chances of contracting the Taint. The Kuni still strive desperately to gain more students. Within the Purifier and Warden traditions, the question of whether they might begin recruiting peasants who display the proper spiritual aptitude is an extremely contentious issue. Given the diffuse nature of the clan’s structure, some masters are said to have quietly done so—without the overt permission of their daimyō.

Reputation And Values
Beyond the Crab’s borders, the Kuni are feared and distrusted. Rumors abound of their corruption and shameful willingness to dissect the dead. Religious leaders of other clans claim that the Kuni irreverently manipulate kami, and that their experimentations involving the Taint are reckless. Most outsiders have only experienced the Kuni through encounters with Witch Hunters, an elite order within the family dedicated to the absolute extermination of mahō-tsukai and other practitioners of twisted sorcery. These agents of the Kuni collect like buzzards around the faintest rumor of mahō use within Rokugan’s borders. Their presence is viewed as an ill omen.

Although not all Kuni are inducted into this tradition, many find its reputation useful. Indeed, after the desolation of their lands, many Kuni have taken to the ancient Witch Hunter tradition of wearing imposing, theatrical face paint. While Witch Hunters generally do this to confuse and disorient demonic entities and evil spirits, other Kuni who wear the face paint frequently do so simply to instill awe and terror in outsiders. Fear gives them power, which they can put to use doing what the Crab do best: protecting Rokugan. As sinister as the Kuni appear and terrible as some of their methods may be, they do not aspire to villainy. Directly combating the dread inhabitants of the Shadowlands, the Kuni insist, requires them to get their hands dirty. They bear the dishonor of handling the dead and of being reviled, but their discoveries save hundreds of lives. Kuni shugenja bring hope when they join their clanmates upon the Wall. As the Kaiu look to the future, the Hida live in the present, and the Hiruma long for the past, the Kuni see everything and beyond.

Witch Hunters are generally the most fanatical among the Kuni. The Purifier and Warden schools teach their students how to destroy Shadowlands creatures and vanquish mahō users, but these are but two tasks among many. To any who become a Witch Hunter, it is a calling. Other Kuni are tend to be more cerebral, and some are even quite withdrawn, preferring the company of ancient scrolls and preserved specimens to other people. Many Kuni follow the example set by their current daimyō, Kuni Yori, who is terse, methodical, and bitingly sarcastic—as well as a bit socially inept. Kuni spend much of their lives in isolation along with only a handful of close family members. Exposure to other clans can result in alarming culture shock. Fortunately for the Kuni, most people find them too menacing or mystifying to identify the cause of their behavior.

Culture And Traditions
The Kuni are quick to learn from their mistakes. When the armies of Dōkutsu no Majo devoured their lands, their central library in Kuni Castle was almost lost. Had its contents not been evacuated, the Kuni could have gone the way of the Hiruma. Heeding this lesson, the Kuni divided the library between its branch families, ensuring that it could not be lost in a single strike. The Kuni are entirely decentralized, and they do not have a single school or shrine. This not only protects their research but quarantines any failed experiments. The Purifier and Warden schools are not academies so much as traditions taught by a diffuse network of masters. Each student is individually trained by experienced family members, and many small groups live in isolation within humble huts. Other teachers travel across Rokugan, taking in new students as they go and sending accomplished acolytes out to pursue rumors of new Shadowlands monstrosities, lost relics, or ancient secrets.

Dōkutsu no Majo’s invasion shaped the Kuni’s lifestyle forever when the attack poisoned their home with Taint. The family had no choice but to purge all spiritual energy from their land, leaving it desolate. To this day, a method of complete restoration has yet to be discovered, and still-unknown tunnels weave through the underground network left behind, providing havens in which shadowy creatures are said to lurk. A temporary solution has come in the form of hundreds of small shrines. These structures lure kami and direct them through Kuni lands like a form of spiritual irrigation.

Each Kuni residence contains a shrine, and many more dot the landscape. The Kuni Wastelands are still plagued by twisted beasts, and therefore, it is essential that a traveling shugenja has quick access to a shrine at all times.

The Kuni are frequently criticized for their attitude toward the supernatural. They view spirits as tools whose invocation is purely practical. Shrines are erected to harness power, not to act as a place of worship. Everything the Kuni study they approach with emotional detachment to prevent developing biases. There is a joke—that many Kuni themselves tell—that if one of the founding Kami approached a Kuni shugenja, instead of averting their eyes in reverence, they would fetch a parchment and start taking notes.

Accusations concerning Kuni recklessness are both true and misleading. The Kuni take great risks but work hard to mitigate them at every turn. Every day, they apply Kabuki-style paint to mask their faces from evil spirits. In the presence of living Shadowlands specimens, they use false names, and they obsessively cleanse themselves with purified water. Even seemingly simplistic Kuni huts are constructed according to astrological geometries and are covered in wards. Kuni are diligent in their preparations for dealing with the Taint, and they consider laziness in this regard a crime.

Current Concerns
Every Kuni is engaged in their own project. Some go in search of specimens, relics, ancient texts, and smuggled Unicorn talismans. They rarely concern themselves with politics, but recent deals with the Scorpion risk upsetting the Phoenix. Asako Inquisitors are among the few people in Rokugan who trust the Kuni’s methods. However, Inquisitors follow strict codes of ethics, while the Kuni believe that the ends justify the means. The Scorpion’s Black Watch usually shares this mindset, but that is where the similarities end. The goal of the Black Watch is to punish practitioners of mahō, and these Scorpions are more executioners than researchers.

Because Kuni mystics tend to operate with little oversight, some have forged personal connections with the Black Watch despite the warnings of Kuni Yori. This can make members of Black Watch unwelcome guests in the Crab lands, as can the Scorpion habit of snooping about without permission. Said encounters rarely result in violence—or at least, violence is rarely reported.

Of the four original Crab families, the Kuni have the hardest time interacting with the socially vibrant Yasuki. Now that the Yasuki are courting the Scorpion, the Kuni’s unease toward them has evolved into spite over the risk of losing a traditional alliance with the Phoenix.

The Lands Of The Kuni
Several hundred years ago, something began to grow and fester underneath the territories of the Kuni. Plants withered, water became foul, and shugenja lost contact with the kami. The Kuni began to evacuate and cleared out their invaluable libraries just before hordes of Shadowlands creatures clawed out of the ground. This subterranean army was tunneling into the heart of Rokugan, led by an oni named Dōkutsu no Majo. The oni’s defeat came due to the ingenuity of the Kaiu. Combat engineers diverted aquifers, collapsed tunnels, and invented brutal traps and machines. Once the last of Dōkutsu no Majo’s spawn was slain, the Kuni went to work purging the Taint from their lands.

As a result, they were left with a desolate region devoid of spiritual energy: the Kuni Wastelands. Beneath the area are countless tunnels, chasms, and crevasses; driving the minions of Fu Leng from this nest of horrors has proven an insurmountable task. The Kuni have reclaimed most of the tunnels near their castle, transforming them into useful passages, but many forgotten corners and hidden passages are said to contain horrors of bygone centuries.

Kuni Castle
Every Crab castle is a near-impenetrable fortress, and the comparatively small Kuni Castle is no exception. The squat building would be silent if its central location didn’t make it a perfect staging area for troops. Barracks filled with loud bushi surround the castle, but rarely, if ever, do they go in. The dark halls are nearly abandoned save for a few archivists. The castle appears to be completely empty, for the Kuni laboratories and library are hidden underground. Outsiders are not permitted to browse the Kuni’s research, with the exception of collaborating Asako Inquisitors and concerned magistrates.

However, once a year at the winter solstice, the castle hosts the Kuni Symposium. Witch Hunters return from their country-wide trek to join their family and a few select guests from other clans, and other mystics who have emerged from their lairs. The event is filled with displays of anatomical charts, preserved body parts, translations of texts from faraway lands or ancient ruins, crystals, amulets, and revised systems of wards. The macabre display is shocking to outsiders, but for the Kuni this event doubles as a joyous family reunion. Most Kuni spend their year conducting research in isolation. This is their annual chance to socialize, and they eagerly do so. Between presentations, the Kuni unfurl their signature wit and fill the dark halls with darker laughter. For most guests, this only makes the symposium more disturbing.

Visitors who are allowed to explore the castle’s depths enter a nightmarish realm. Half-dead monsters lie drugged in cages, sometimes already partially dissected. Jade, tinged black with Taint, dangles from the ceiling like insect cocoons, and sitting in carved shelves within the rough rock walls are hundreds of scrolls. There is no clear system of organization. Kuni archivists, pale from years spent away from sunlight, must be consulted if one wishes to find anything, for only they know the library’s full contents.

The Barracks Of The Damned
The Kuni are rarely described as compassionate, but they are some of the few people in Rokugan to take pity on victims of the Taint. Anyone can contract the sinister infection: the rich or poor, young or old, wise or foolish, samurai or heimin. The Kuni’s own founder fell to the sickness. Exposure to the befouling touch of Fu Leng is a near inevitability in the Crab lands, and the Kuni are dedicated to finding a cure. That being said, any contagion must be quarantined, and not every patient enjoys being locked away. It is for this purpose that the Kuni Wardens maintain the Barracks of the Damned.

The Barracks of the Damned is part barracks, as its name states, but also a hospital, a research facility, and a prison. The deeper one descends into this place, the more the ruinous work of Fu Leng is evident. While many Crab samurai contract the Taint and continue to serve, the corruption inevitably grows over time, and at a certain point, continuing to live in common society becomes impossible. The infected might suffer terrible mutations, bouts of unpredictable behavior, or the evil dreams of Fu Leng pervading their minds. Patients who become sufficiently Tainted are quarantined for their own protection and that of those around them.

Quarantined patients are sometimes allowed to fight for the Crab to the end of their service, but that opportunity is far from guaranteed—for the Kuni are loath to relinquish such valuable subjects, let alone allow them to venture into the Shadowlands, where the lure of Fu Leng can be irresistible. They are more likely to spend their remaining days in meditation and in the laboratories of Kuni who hope to use their foul fate to serve a greater good. Those who are part of promising research are not allowed to commit seppuku lest potential knowledge about treating or containing the Taint be lost. The Kuni treat their patients with a cautious detachment; they wish to help their charges live as humans to their end, but the keepers of this grim edifice see too many pass through their walls to become attached. Bedside manner is rarely their forte.

Yasuki
The core curriculums of the Crab schools created by Hida, Hiruma, Kuni, and Kaiu lack one crucial trait— charm—and any clan that fails to appeal at the Imperial Court is at a distinct disadvantage. Political minutiae, posturing, and gossip offend the honest Crab. However, they are more willing than other clans to admit that money is important. Long ago, having few valuable exports or political favors owed to them, the Crab needed to acquire members with financial expertise. The Yasuki came to their rescue. After defecting from the Crane, the Yasuki gifted the Crab with their mercantile savvy. Without their aid, constant assault by the horrors that dwell in the Shadowlands would surely deplete the Crab’s resources until their bellies became as empty as their quivers.

Yasuki Rumors
Vandals are disgracing the shrines dedicated to Yasuki Kiringu, the daimyō who joined us to the Crab. The Crane are surely behind this, so why do we wait to get revenge?

A new group is trying to offload goods at Friendly Traveler Village, but no one knows who is backing them. Some of their items appear foreign—the Unicorn could be behind this, but why?

Yasuki Taka, our daimyō, sometimes dresses as a humble traveler to inspect our markets and listen in. If you’re planning on keeping a deal a secret, make sure abso

Reputation And Values
The Crane would have everyone believe the Yasuki are a collection of dishonorable criminals. They accuse the Yasuki of greed, duplicity, and blatant support of pirates and smugglers. Few people accept these exaggerations unquestioningly, but popular opinion characterizes the Yasuki as typical Crane with an added layer of dishonesty.

The Yasuki mesh well with the Crab due to their grounded realism. Gold runs the Empire, and to pretend it does not is delusional at best, dishonest at worst. The Yasuki expertly play the game of politics while remaining keenly pragmatic. Like master Go players, they secure trade deals, orchestrate contracts, and siphon business from the Crane into the Crab’s pockets.

The Yasuki engage in social niceties but drop the act when it no longer suits them. This may appear manipulative, but the Yasuki would argue that their motives are more transparent than those of the pretentious Crane. Business associates appreciate the Yasuki’s frank and casual manner. The family’s support of ill-reputed merchants is often charitable in nature, giving criminals a second chance to become lawful citizens. A Yasuki saying states that loyalty is second only to gold in value. In sowing good faith, even among those blacklisted by society, they are growing a network of allies.

Culture And Traditions
To say that the Crab Clan is not preoccupied with art is perhaps an understatement, but the Yasuki make up for this deficit to a near-excessive degree. The courtiers from the Yasuki’s academies are some of the most cultured, multitalented individuals to grace the high courts. They carry an edgy mystique due to their rebellious history, which is enhanced by the Crane’s condemnation. The Yasuki invite artists, famous musicians, brewers, and theatrical companies, to settle within their luxurious ocean-side towns. Through the creation of entertainment monopolies, the Yasuki guarantee that fans will patronize their establishments. All are welcome in the lands of the Yasuki. Except, of course, members of the Crane Clan.

Not all wars are fought with armies. The Yasuki and the Daidoji Crane are locked in silent conflict, and their weapons are sabotage and subterfuge. The Yasuki call upon the Hida for support when their plans go awry, but more than any other Crab family, the Yasuki strive to be self-sufficient. They believe they owe the Crab a great favor for accepting them and fear becoming a burden. The Crane, though, are unwilling to let the Yasuki go their way. It was once a rite of passage for Yasuki youths to pick fights with their former clan, but now all of the pestering is perpetrated by the Crane.

Yasuki merchants are some of the finest in Rokugan, and their daimyō, Yasuki Taka, is known to many by his epithet, the Merchant King. The Yasuki rarely deal in inferior products and carefully screen their merchandise for forgeries. Trust is the backbone of their every deal. When not trading, the Yasuki engage in smuggling. The Lion Clan is always in the market for weapons; however, supplying this demand risks angering the targets of their aggression. Too overtly supporting the Lion could lead to flareups with the Unicorn or cause the Phoenix to sever their alliance.

Current Concerns
The Yasuki do everything in their power not to burden the Crab. So far, they have managed their rivalry with the Crane on their own, but in doing so, they have employed rōnin and other disreputable associates. Many of these outsiders have grown comfortable in Yasuki lands, benefiting from mutually profitable arrangements with the ruling family and helping them acquire key supplies. Unfortunately, tolerance for a certain amount of crime has led criminal organizations to become bold within their lands.

The Yasuki are struggling to reestablish control over trade within their lands while maintaining their footing against the Crane. Recently, furtive representatives of the Bayushi family have approached, offering their aid. In exchange, they want access to the Yasuki’s mercantile network and the smuggling routes they still control. This may cause the opium trade to flood into the Crab lands. Battle-worn Crab soldiers already rely heavily on alcohol to ease their scarred minds and could become easy targets for such an addictive substance. Furthermore, forging an alliance with the Scorpion might endanger relations with the Phoenix, and Kuni Yori is outspoken in his resistance to this plan. The Yasuki dread defying such a frightening core family, but they cannot sufficiently serve the Crab with the Crane’s disruptions.

The Lands Of The Yasuki
The Crab are the first to admit that hospitality is sorely lacking within their borders, but the Yasuki do their best to reverse such impressions. They have transformed the sleepy fishing villages of Earthquake Fish Bay into exuberant centers of entertainment and commerce. It is their mission to fund the Crab’s war against the Shadowlands, and they work to accomplish this goal by any means necessary. Unfortunately for the Yasuki, they have judgmental neighbors. Four hundred years after the fall of Fu Leng, the Yasuki violently fractured from the Crane Clan and were warmly accepted by the diplomatically disinclined Crab. The bad blood between the two clans boils to this day, and the Yasuki are desperate not to let the Crane distract from the front.

The Yasuki have employed rōnin, pirates, and other rough individuals to handle their former clan. These dealings have left the Yasuki with dangerous debts—debts they are willing to settle with violence, if they must.

Friendly Traveler Village
It isn’t difficult to spot a criminal in Friendly Traveler Village, but not for the reasons one might expect. They are smug and rich, and they believe that their dishonest work has finally paid off. The Yasuki owe them a life of luxury, they think, and they are living it. Every time a paid-off crook drunkenly brags about their exploits, the Crane somehow catch wind, and magistrates arrive to hound Yasuki bureaucrats and traders. The Yasuki detest that this vulnerability has grown under their nose, and they are striving to clean house before it becomes a liability to the Crab Clan Champion, Hida Kisada, and his goals.

Friendly Traveler Village is rightly called the sake capital of Rokugan. Nearly every building is a brewery, each with its own special brews and promotions. The local theaters appeal to a low-culture crowd, performing crude comedies and music that is easy to sing along to. Giggling geisha charm visitors into emptying their pockets, somehow able to stay chipper in the haze of fermented breath. At night, the village is lit with hundreds of paper lanterns, leading drunks to their beds or at least to a comfortable patch of grass. It is not inconceivable that a person might stumble into the sea or drink themself to death. The Yasuki insist all of their establishments are safe, but they can hardly protect people from themselves. Accidents happen at Friendly Traveler Village—frequently.

Yasuki Estates
The cliffside estates of the Yasuki are masterpieces of architecture. Also known as the Black Crane Estates, they elegantly nestle into the rock face like nesting seabirds, safe and comfortable above the gently lapping seas overlooking Earthquake Fish Bay. Below, long grids of docks harbor a fleet of merchant ships. Visitors disembarking their vessels traverse the pale maple planks to a winding road. Rickshaws and kago litters await honored guests to transport them to the estates. Everyone else must walk and cross multiple, impressively polite checkpoints. There are rarely any arrests, but those suspected of concealing their Crane affiliation may be quietly escorted to a secret location.

Merchants flock to the Yasuki Estates, as do treasure seekers. Many rare items pass through Yasuki hands, after all. The Yasuki also deal in information; if they do not have what someone wants, they likely know someone who does. They are more than willing to give discounts to friends of the Crab. A visitor carrying a friendly endorsement from a Hida is a rare surprise, and the Yasuki are always quick to welcome such individuals with the greatest generosity. To someone without this advantage, however, the Yasuki are cunning, thrifty hagglers. Their deals are rarely fair, and even wise traders are often played for fools by the Yasuki.

[Vutall]

The Wall
The Kaiu Kabe, also known as the Carpenter Wall—or, more commonly, just the Wall—extends from the Sea of the Sun Goddess in the east to the Plains above Evil, near the southern margin of the Shinomen Forest in the west. It is by far the Empire’s largest edifice, its vast walls, massive battlements, and soaring watchtowers girding Rokugan’s southern border, the first and final line of defense against the depredations of the Shadowlands. Its story is more than a thousand years in the telling, chapter after grim chapter of courage, duty, and sacrifice. It is for good reason that its stones are said to be mortared in place with the blood of fallen Crab.

The Wave Wall
Few know that there is another wall defending the Empire from the Shadowlands and other threats, one that is located in Yasuki lands. Located at the Crab port of Clear Water Village at the mouth of the River of Gold, the Kaiu Wave Wall stands firm against threats from the sea.

Or at least that is the official reason for this wall. All within Yasuki lands know that it is there primarily to defend against the Crane, who seek to recapture the heavily fortified trading port. Losing this location would devastate the Crab Clan, which relies on it for many of its imports from the north and from the Mantis.

The First Wall
The original “Wall” was not really a wall at all. Rather, after the Day of Thunder in the year 42, the first Emperor, Hantei I, commanded that a defensive bulwark be built between the young Empire and the Shadowlands to the south. The forces of the Dark Kami, Fu Leng, had already attacked the Empire many times and had come close to overrunning it more than once. After Fu Leng’s defeat on the Day of Thunder, the malign will driving the Shadowlands hordes faltered, at last giving the Empire an opportunity to see to its ongoing defense. Hantei I gave the task of constructing a great defensive work to his brother, the Kami Hida.

Hida, together with his followers in the Crab Clan, built a defensive line along the southern margin of what were, at the time, the lands of the Hiruma. It consisted of a series of palisades, bulwarks, and fortresses, the largest of which was Shiro Hiruma, or Daylight Castle, the linchpin of this new defensive line. It wasn’t, however, a contiguous structure, but rather individual strongpoints arranged such that each one could be seen by two (or more, in some cases) others. Each was garrisoned and well provisioned with supplies, the strategy being that if one was surrounded and besieged by Shadowlands forces, it could hold out while Crab armies elsewhere were marshaled and deployed to counterattack. It was, therefore, a fluid type of defense, relying on maneuver and layers of defensive works to slow, contain, and ultimately destroy its attackers.

For over six hundred years, this sufficed to protect the Empire from the sporadic and uncoordinated attacks out of the Shadowlands. In 716, however, a powerful oni lord now known only as the Maw assembled a massive army and led it in a cataclysmic assault against the Crab defenses. They quickly began to crumble, threatening to leave the Empire open to a tide of corruption.

The Kaiu Kabe
One by one, the Shadowlands army overwhelmed the fortifications guarding the Hiruma lands. This was no mindless horde winning only through sheer numbers and ferocity. Under the Maw’s sinister leadership, the evil forces struck here, fell back there, and feinted somewhere else, keeping the Crab forces off-balance and unable to mount a concerted defense. A siege enveloped Shiro Hiruma itself, eventually causing the fall of even that great fortress. The Shadowlands army pressed forward, driving the Crab back, until all of the Hiruma lands were lost to the vile invasion.

From The Journals Of Kaiu Shuichi
I have just spoken with a delegation of Lion who are viewing the Kaiu Kabe near the Watchtower of Deadly Claws. They marvel at the complexity of the Wall, at its many components and complex organization. Their leader, an Akodo, admits that he had always believed the Wall to be just that: a wall, nothing more. Would that more Rokugani could understand this, that the Crab do not simply stand as brutes, shoulder to shoulder upon a long line of inert stone, waiting to beat back the Shadowlands. They do not credit us with subtlety or cleverness or cunning works. Perhaps if all samurai spent time upon the Wall, they would understand this truth.

From Desperation, Hope
With the fall of the Hiruma lands, only a miracle, it seemed, could save the Empire.

And a miracle there was. As the Crab desperately formed a final defensive line along the Seigo River, a shugenja named Kuni Osaku importuned the water kami to raise the river in a massive flood. So great was the torrent that the Maw’s army was halted, unable to proceed any farther. Seizing the opportunity, the Crab Champion, Hida Banuken, ordered the Crab to begin construction of durable defensive work along the river’s eastern bank. For seventy-three days the Crab labored feverishly, while Osaku maintained her invocation. On the seventy-fourth day, Osaku’s strength finally failed, and she died. As the flood receded, the Maw drove its army forward, only to slam headlong into a mighty wall—the Wall, or at least the core of what would become the vast Kaiu Kabe. The Crab immediately counterattacked the stalled and confused horde. The clash, which came to be known as the Battle of the Cresting Wave, saw the Maw slain and consigned back to the underworld, its great army routed and scattered.

A New Wall
A palpable sense of relief swept across the Empire as the Maw’s offensive was broken. Among the Crab, however, relief was tempered by deep concern. Since the Maw’s attack was a complete surprise, there were likely other such creatures lurking in the Shadowlands, preparing to launch other offensives. So, while the Empire rejoiced, the Crab went to work.

Over the coming months and years, the Kaiu Kabe was extended along the Seigo River, now known as the River of the Last Stand. A series of stone watchtowers were constructed; these were then connected by curtain walls, which were reinforced in turn by more towers and strongpoints. Barely twenty years after the Battle of the Cresting Wave, the Kaiu Kabe became much as it is today: a contiguous, fortified belt extending along most of the Empire’s southern border. Sporadic incursions sometimes breach the Wall, but only briefly before being driven back. Otherwise, for the past four centuries, the Carpenter Wall has withstood every attempt the Shadowlands has made to defeat it, keeping the Empire defended against the evil minions of Fu Leng.

The Architecture Of The Wall
In the broadest sense, the Wall is just that: a continuous wall of stone many days’ travel from end to end, that forms a physical barrier against incursion into the Empire from the south. If it was merely that, however, it would be a fragile defense, far too long to defend effectively and vulnerable to local, catastrophic failure that would allow Shadowlands forces to rampage through. Instead, the Wall is really a complex and cunning array of defenses, incorporating powerful strongpoints, redundant means of protection, and sophisticated systems for command, control, and communications.

The Kaiu Towers
Foremost among the strongpoints are the twelve Kaiu Towers. The southeasternmost of these is designated the First Tower; they are then successively numbered to the Twelfth Tower, which overlooks the Plains above Evil to the far northwest. The Kaiu Towers are powerful fortifications in their own right, each similar to a shiro, or castle, that might stand over an entire town elsewhere in the Empire.

Each tower is laid out in essentially the same way, with a stout outer stone wall, enclosing number of courtyards, connected by strong gates. An enemy that breaches the outer stone maru is contained in a courtyard and subject to attack from the surrounding ones, making each of these into a killing zone. The innermost maru contains the tenshukaku, or keep, which is the last line of defense for a tower. The keep is itself a formidable fortress, well provisioned in order to withstand a lengthy siege. Smaller yagura provide additional strongpoints. Massive gates allow large forces to exit a tower to charge enemies as well.

All of the Kaiu Towers are well equipped with powerful siege engines such as ballistae and catapults, as well as multitudes of daikyū (long bows) above the Wall and hankyū (short bows) lower on the Wall or behind murder holes. Complex systems of gears, winches, and ropes move supplies and ammunition vertically and horizontally to ensure each area stays fully equipped.

Each of the Kaiu Towers houses a powerful garrison that defends not only the tower itself, but also the adjacent sections of the Kaiu Kabe. Each Kaiu Tower is considered equivalent to a legion of troops, irrespective of the actual strength of its garrison, and is commanded by a taisa, or captain.

Watchtowers
Interspersed along the Wall between the Kaiu Towers are a multitude of smaller watchtowers. Each of these is garrisoned by a company led by a taisa; lesser watchtowers contain squads commanded by a gunsō (sergeant). A group of three to five watchtowers, often called a Great Watch, has one of these commanders (normally a senior taisa) as its overall commander, who reports to the nearest Kaiu Tower.

Each watchtower is a formidable strongpoint, usually equipped with siege engines and other weaponry, somewhat like a scaled-down tower. As their name implies, however, their primary purpose is surveillance and warning. Accordingly, they are equipped with a variety of signaling equipment. They are neither designed nor provisioned to withstand a protracted siege, being expected to hold for only a few days at most.

Watchtowers are officially designated based on the Tower to their south and east. For example, the first watchtower west and north of the Fourth Kaiu Tower is the First of the Fourth Watchtower; the next along is the Second of the Fourth Watchtower, and so on. Few use these names, though, as most watchtowers also have more poetic names, given them by bushi who grew attached to the fortifications they were ordered to defend with their lives.

From The Journals Of Kaiu Shuichi
I find myself at the Watchtower of Thunderous Blows...or what was once that strongpoint but is now just a ruin. Whatever abomination attacked this place was a dire thing, able, it seems, to consume the very stone with highly corrosive emanations of some sort. Once the bodies are removed by the Mudcrows, we will set about rebuilding it. This is another truth the Empire does not understand. The Wall is not “finished.” It will never be “finished.” It is a living thing, devoted to preserving its clan and Empire, so it deserves the respect owed to any loyal servant of Rokugan.

Today, as I inspected the Watchtower of Eternal Stone, drums signaling an attack sounded along the Wall against the Fifth Tower, just visible on a distant ridge. I only just visited there yesterday, drinking some very passable shōchū with the gunsō in command, a stout young Hida with an unusually quick wit. As I watched, a brief flurry of dazzling signals flashed from the distant tower, from an experimental sun-mirror the gunsō had been proud to show me. They abruptly halted, though, leading me to believe that such mirrors are—as I observed during my visit—simply too fragile for this sort of use. Now, the Fifth of the Sixth fires signal flares to describe the course of the battle. So far, they claim to be holding their own, and I am encouraged. I must admit that I dread the blue flare declaring that the watchtower is being overrun, as I have been hoping to share more shōchū with the young Hida on my return journey.

Curtain Walls
The curtain walls that connect the watchtowers and the Kaiu Towers are what most Rokugani envision when they think of “the Wall.” These are, indeed, imposing structures—from fifty to one hundred feet tall, up to twenty feet thick and extending deep into the bedrock. Rokugani generally imagine these massive walls being constantly lined with Crab troops; they likewise believe that, should a curtain wall ever be breached, the Empire would be in imminent peril of being overrun.

This is not true, however. While the Crab do, indeed, make a determined effort to hold threatened sections of the curtain wall, they know that a single, linear defense is simply too fragile to be reliable. Accordingly, the main purpose of the curtain wall is to delay attackers, giving the Crab time to marshal and maneuver forces behind the Wall, in order to block and destroy incursions when they do occur.

Tunnels
The weakest point in any defensive work is a passage through it, such as a gate. Each of the Kaiu Towers incorporates a massive and heavily defended gate; there are rumored to be other, smaller gates surreptitiously located in strategic locations, but the Crab carefully avoid confirming or denying this. However, the deployment of large forces into the Shadowlands, which would require access through such gates, is rare. To allow for the much more frequent access by smaller forces, such as patrols and scouting parties, elaborate systems of tunnels are constructed to allow passage under the Wall’s defenses.

Some of these tunnels are dug for specific purposes and collapsed when they are no longer needed. Other, more permanent tunnel complexes are protected by cunning and deadly traps, small parties of dedicated defenders, or even just their twisting, labyrinthine nature. The nezumi, who are prodigious diggers and commonly allied with the Crab, are instrumental in assisting in the construction and maintenance of these vital underground passages.

Garrisons
The sheer size of the Wall means garrisoning at full strength along its length is impossible, so large cadres are maintained at the Kaiu Towers, with smaller forces stationed at intervening watchtowers. Unless an attack is imminent or underway, most sections of the curtain wall are only patrolled at irregular and unpredictable intervals. The bulk of Crab forces are stationed behind the Wall, encamped at places such as Carpenter Castle, the Fortress of the Forgotten, Shiro Kuni, or Kyūden Hida. This allows them to quickly deploy to reinforce sections of the Wall or block and destroy incursions that breach it. Additionally, a small portion of the Wall’s garrison operates on the Shadowlands side.

Early warning of impending attacks is vital, so the Hiruma in particular conduct regular scouting missions in the Shadowlands, braving the horrors of that cursed place to detect gathering and approaching hordes, giving their comrades precious time to prepare for attacks.

The implication, of course, is that the Crab maintain a military stance unlike that of any other clan. Inside the Empire, armies are normally marshaled for relatively predictable campaigns conducted during the late spring, summer, and early fall, and they stand down in other times. The Crab have no such luxury. Their enemy is wholly given to waging war at any time, regardless of weather or season. As a result, the Crab maintain a permanently mustered fighting force.

There are two other important facts about the Wall’s garrison. First, the Crab maintain a much higher proportion of samurai relative to ashigaru—heimin peasant levies—in their armies, compared to other clans. While ashigaru make up the bulk of armies fielded by the Great Clans for battle with one another, they are largely unsuited for combat against the horrific opponents attacking from the Shadowlands; they simply lack the training and motivation for such dire combat. Second, and conversely, the Crab deploy far greater numbers of hinin “untouchables” in their forces. Commonly known as the “Mudcrows,” these hinin levies labor not only after battles, but also during them, to remove the wounded and the dead. This is to ensure that fallen Crab warriors do not rise as new undead foes, attacking their fellow warriors while the battle still rages. Although provided with light ashigaru armor to protect them, losses among the Mudcrows are usually severe. Many of those who survive end up becoming Tainted from handling Shadowlands fallen, leading to the unfortunate but necessary reality that more must be executed after the battle is over.

Communications Along The Wall
Implicit in the above is the role of efficient and effective communications. Sophisticated systems of warning and communications are maintained along the Wall, and between the Wall and the forces stationed behind it. These include fleet-footed messengers; acoustic methods like signal arrows, drums, and horns; and visual methods such as signal fires and smoke arrows. Using encoded signals, even complex messages can be passed quickly across long distances.

Life On The Wall
Life on the Wall, or in the armies stationed behind it, is difficult, stressful, and dangerous in a way that most Rokugani really can’t appreciate without experiencing it themselves. Their enemies never relent, so the Crab forces must live in a state of constant readiness, forever poised to launch themselves against foes that personify mind-blasting horror.

Accordingly, while Crab are on Wall duty, discipline among them is enforced to a degree most would consider ruthless. There is simply no time or opportunity to do anything other than remain forever vigilant and instantly ready to repel the next attack.

For at least one week out of every four, however—and perhaps two, in times of particular quiet in the Shadowlands—the defenders are rotated. They are either moved into a “depth” position behind the Wall or, very infrequently, briefly paused from their duty. It is on these rare occasions that the Crab amply demonstrate a desire to just live for the moment, in a way most Rokugani samurai would find unseemly. They get drunk; play games such as Fortunes and Winds (a popular dice game), moksha patam (a board game imported from the Ivory Kingdoms), and draw-lot plays (a social game of portraying adopted characters); and often engage in a particularly popular Crab pastime: brawling amongst themselves.

This isn’t to say that life among those who don’t serve on the front lines of this war—people who support those deployed on the Wall but are not deployed there themselves—is less important. Those stationed in depth positions have essential work to do as well. They are constantly involved in drills and training, both to keep their own skills honed and to help improve and refine the skills of their comrades-in-arms, whether fellow samurai or ashigaru. They maintain weapons, armor, and equipment, and they oversee repairs and improvements to the Wall itself. Those on the Wall require daily deliveries of food, munitions, and other supplies, for the Wall is only as strong as those who defend it. Supporting these needs, as well as tending to the wounded and providing security behind the Wall against devious infiltrations and other threats from within, are as vital as duties on the battlements.

A Crab samurai’s most important task, of course, is to remain constantly ready to be deployed to support the Wall’s defense or to block and destroy incursions that manage to break through the Wall. Defense on the Wall relies on depth, and the Crab stationed behind it swarm to repel any breaches before they spread. Samurai from other clans are often surprised by how quickly a group of Crab samurai stationed behind the Kaiu Kabe can go from raucous gaming and brawling to cold, deadly purpose when the alarms sound, announcing an attack from the Shadowlands.

Combat On The Wall
No two attacks from the Shadowlands are the same. One may consist of a ravenous swarm of goblins that fling themselves at the defenses with wild abandon. The next may be a horde of undead shambling forward in eerie silence, and the next an incursion by shapeshifting oni seeking to infiltrate the defenses and attack them from within. Ultimately, the nature of the Shadowlands is such that attacks are predictable only in their unpredictability, and in the immutable fact that they threaten not just the lives of the Crab defenders, but also their sanity and the very purity of their souls.

To deal with these myriad horrors, the Crab have, over the centuries, developed a sophisticated and flexible system of defending against attacks of virtually any size or type. Each attack is met according to its particular nature, meaning that the Crab approach to defense must be adaptable.

Weaponry
The Crab have always seemed to favor heavy, durable weapons, and many believe it could be due to the constant battles they face. Katana and other keen-edged blades are quite deadly but are easily damaged or broken. A blunt tetsubō, on the other hand, can withstand constant impacts and still fell an ogre with its next blow. Most samurai on the Wall employ tetsubō and similar weapons, along with polearms such as naginata and yari that keep foes from getting too close. Bowfire is also a common tactic; approaching enemies usually see the sky darkened with masses of arrows.

Towers and watchtowers both feature huge siege weapons, devices powerful enough to topple even the largest oni. Many of these weapons are unique, either due to the many repairs and improvements made over time, or as the result of a Kaiu engineer’s brilliant but singular design. Some even feature embellishments drawn from gaijin mercenaries who recall similar weapons in their distant homelands.

Early Warning
Intelligence and early warning is vital to ensure an attack is not just spotted, but noticed in time to mount a prepared and effective defense. The Crab also recognize that, despite the courage and best efforts of their scouting patrols, attackers sometimes reach the Wall undetected. For this reason, a variety of additional early warning measures are incorporated along the Wall, including much more heavily armed patrols operating within sight of the Wall and lookouts posted upon it. The primary role of these patrols and lookouts is still to provide as much warning as possible about an attack. They won’t hesitate to fight if necessary, but in general, they avoid decisive engagement and withdraw to the Wall in order to bolster its defenses.

Initial Responses
As soon as the defenders on the Wall are made aware of an imminent attack, a warning is propagated along the Wall using the various signaling methods available. The commander of the watchtower nearest to the attack assesses the situation and directs an immediate response. This could be a defense using only immediately available troops and resources if this is deemed sufficient. If not, then the commander relays a call for reinforcements. The overriding principle is to meet each attack with the smallest force necessary to defeat it. Whatever initial force is committed by the Crab, it generally deals with each attack the same way:

-If scouts detected an imminent attack, they try to keep the approaching menace under observation, using courier parties shuttling back and forth between the scouts and the Wall to report information.

-If larger Crab forces are deployed nearby in the Shadowlands, they may seek to harass the attackers, delaying them and causing attrition.

-Once within sight of the Wall, the scouts withdraw. Larger forces may continue to engage, but they normally also withdraw rather than risk being caught between the attackers and the Wall.

-As the enemy nears, ranged weapons crews open fire. Catapults and other siege weapons are fired first, and survivors are targeted by archers. When the attackers reach the Wall, defenders drop rocks or pour boiling oil or molten lead on them. If shugenja are present, they may call upon the elemental kami for additional assistance.

-Any enemy that attempts to scale the Wall is met on the battlements by squads of Crab bushi, often reinforced by Kuni shugenja.

-In the meantime, Crab forces summoned from nearby watchtowers, the nearest Kaiu Towers, or reserves behind the Wall converge on the point of attack. The most senior commander present directs some of these troops to reinforce the watchtowers and the battlements on the curtain wall. The rest are maintained behind, but close to, the Wall either to provide additional reinforcements or to block and destroy any enemy that manages to penetrate.

-Should the attack be an especially large one, substantial forces may be deployed from the reserves and made ready to engage in a large battle, in case the Wall suffers a major breach.

Investigations On The Wall
Even given the highly disciplined nature of those who serve at the Wall, it should be no surprise that crime and corruption are as prevalent there as they are anywhere else in the Emerald Empire. What is worse is that the Wall’s proximity to the evil of Fu Leng makes each investigation even more important. A murder could be a simple if horrible event—or it could be part of a cult sacrifice, a way to cover up evidence of the Taint, or the work of a corrupted killer roaming the Wall. Each murder lessens the fighting effectiveness of the Wall’s defenders, something that threatens all of Rokugan, making each murder also a crime against the Empire.

Outside officials such as Emerald Magistrates often are assigned to such investigations, as their separation from the local units allows them a relatively unbiased view of the situation. Using external personnel also means that local commanders need not allocate any of their personnel to such duties; as important as investigations are, keeping the Wall in readiness is far more vital. Though they would likely not admit it, officers on the Wall know that some outside investigators have superior skills in such matters and might welcome their arrival.

Investigators must watch their step at the Wall. Those who serve there might not appreciate outsiders poking around, no matter how necessary. (An investigator who impresses the locals with their martial or medical skills can improve relations tremendously, though.) Further, more than once, a crime has been solved only when the criminal targeted the external investigators as victims.

Thefts and even murder at the Wall are sometimes committed in the name of what the perpetrator and many others view as the greater good. For instance, jade desperately needed by one garrison might be stolen from an overstocked garrison that is not releasing its excess. A troublesome or incompetent bushi who is a menace to fellow warriors might be permanently removed. Bringing such matters to an end that is in Rokugan’s best interests might require subtle tactics, blackmail, placing blame elsewhere, or even looking the other way altogether if it keeps the war against the Shadowlands from faltering.

The Shadowlands, of course, loom over all investigations. Supernatural causes can never be ruled out, and the Taint is an ever-present concern even on and behind the Wall. A mundane murder suspect could be a disguised Shadowlands creature, or a collection of scrolls might contain mahō rituals that can corrupt anyone who reads them into betraying their clan and Emperor. Some investigations may even require trips beyond the Wall, should a suspect’s trail lead to the south.

Ride Of The Unicorn
Perhaps the greatest failure in the history of the Carpenter Wall took place in the year 815, when a thundering horde of riders stormed across the Shadowlands and breached the Crab defenses. Though the Crab bushi stationed along the northern edge of the Wall were equipped with all manner of siege weaponry, they had never faced the speed and power of Unicorn warhorses or the destructive force of their meishōdō magic.

The Unicorn routed the Crab infantry, crossed near Razor of the Dawn Castle, and from there rapidly penetrated deeper into Rokugan. The Crab learned from the hum-bling defeat and strengthened their tactics against such foes. This would prove useful in coming years, as they would once again face dangerously skilled riders and mounts: the Dark Moto.

Perhaps even more importantly, the Crab also strengthened their patrol system. Should another attack come out of the Shadowlands, this time they will be ready

Last Words
Overheard below the Second Tower, near the Tunnel of Lost Dreams
“We leave shortly. Some of you are on your first patrol. You will follow my commands in all things. Do not question; do not ask. If you are looking for glory, look elsewhere. Where we go, there is no glory. There is only honor. "

“We do not seek battle today. We seek information. If we fight, we fight together. Attack as I direct, follow your training, and remember there are fates worse than dying. "

“Check your supplies once more. Where we go, there is nothing we can eat or drink, no matter how tempting it appears. Everyone hold up your fingers. Green. Good. Watch your jade; watch the jade of everyone else. "

“We leave now. We leave the Wall, but we take it with us. We are strong. We are Crab!”

Rumors On The Wall
A wild-eyed Hida deployed to a minor garrison to the far north insists they heard that the Lost have illusion magic now, granted to them by a Scorpion who snuck across the Wall.

The Kaiu will never admit it, but there are so many tunnels beneath the stretch between the Fifth and Sixth Towers that those portions of the Wall could collapse at any time.

Everyone knows the Watchtower of the Crashing Wave is an unlucky posting. It’s infested with gaki and other malign spirits who haunt anyone on night duty.

Don’t tell anyone, but there is a gambling den running to the rear of the Eleventh Tower in an old supply shack. Bring a jug of sake for admittance.

[Vutall]

Crab Superstitions

At the end of a pregnancy, for samurai or peasant, a shugenja comes to renew blessings on the home. A guardian given a blessed wand (called a gohei) keeps vigil until after the child is born.

When a child is born, it is given a "wish doll". The doll is missing one eye, and is placed somewhere in the child's room. When the child becomes an adult, the other eye is stitched on in thanks for acting as a sentinel against evil spirits and the doll is retained on the home shrine.

Crab funerals have a tradition of having someone close to the dead act as their "speaker" to channel their last words and sentiments and listen to the last sentiments of anyone at the funeral on the dead's behalf. Insulting the dead is an action beyond the pale, no matter what the fallen may have done in life.

It is unlucky to leave home without a small piece of jade, even outside of the Shadowlands. Most denizens of Crab territory consider this simple common sense.

Hanging a bowl of rice at the edge of a farmer's field keeps goblins away.

Stepping on a piece of obsidian with your bare foot is bad luck.

Lightening is a good omen. Those who have been hit by lightening and survive are blessed by Osano-Wo, and can see the future. This does not include magical lightning, only the natural wrath of the storm.

Ryujin, a great coral dragon, lives in Earthquake Fish Bay. Throwing scraps of coral in the sea at the beginning of an expedition will ensure calm weather during the journey.

Leaving the door open overnight will let ghosts into the house.

Whistling at night is bad luck, as a ghost may confuse you for another ghost.

[Vutall]

Corruption and the Crab
Many clans view becoming Tainted as a stain upon their honor and that of their family. For them, a samurai suffering from the Taint is to be pitied and erased from their history. Many Crab, however, view it as a proud symbol of their endless conflict against the Shadowlands. It marks them as a true samurai warrior, one who fought firsthand against the terrors in the South. Operating on the Wall, patrolling in the Shadowlands, and even studying the Taint all come with the risk of supernatural contamination, and for a Crab to shy away from the risk is to fail in their duty to clan and Emperor

Even though there is no recovery from the Taint, the Crab view it more as a grievous battle wound than a mark of shame. Unlike other clans, the Crab know full well what it means for those who are corrupted this way, and they would never waste a Tainted samurai with reclusion. Many Tainted Crab join the ranks of the Damned, seeking an honorable end in battle before they fully fall to their corruption and become a threat to the Empire. Even the Crab know that any who suffer from the Taint cannot be fully trusted, though, so they ensure Kuni Wardens watch over them at all times.