Shiro Hiruma fanfic contest

[Daigotsu Usharo]

Hello there, Crab peeps!

We've got a pbp forum game starting up in a few weeks (which I'll no doubt post an advertisement for when we get a bit closer), and we've decided to hold a bit of a contest in the two and a half weeks between now and open registration.

The rules of the contest are pretty simple: just write up a story that has taken place anywhere in the 'Hollow Throne' campaign setting within the past year and sent it in to us by March 25th. You can use whatever characters you like, including your own characters or even our NPCs. You can send submissions to Mindshred at Hotmail.com.

We'll pick the ones we like to become actual canon happenings in the campaign world, and the story we like the most will receive an item passed down from their family to accompany the author's character in a future game. In other words, if you win, you can take the item with you to Shiro Hiruma, or you can hold onto the option for another game. The item will take the form of a free Inheritence advantage for your character, with the actual item and skill in question taking whatever form you wish.

For those of you unfamiliar with our "Hollow Throne" campaign setting, it takes place in the years after the second rise of Iuchiban, as deals with the chaos that the Bloodspeaker War left in its wake. In the past year, the Lion have waged a one-sided war against the Phoenix for attempting to negotiate peace with Iuchiban, the Crab have attacked the Lion's Scorpion allies to support the Phoenix and claim some of their much-needed farmland, and the Crane have gathered power to themselves as the shadow of a new Gozoku slowly spreads through the Empire. At the last Winter Court, the Emperor learned of a plot by the Seppun to assassinate him and fled into the wilderness, eventually finding his way to the lands of the Dragon, who have vowed to root out the conspiracy at the heart of the Empire. And the Unicorn are presumed to have perished in foreign lands so many years ago...

You can see the full write-ups of the Clans, their daimyo, and the recent timeline by following this link to Shiro Hiruma's Almanac page.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them here!

[Iagosan]

Can I assume this will be using 4th ed rules?

ALSO, I don't know if I'll play as I will need to re-learn the mechanics; BUT if you have a campaign setting up and running, do you have any website to public posts or previously posted fictions or settings that I could read in case I want to get some immersion going in preparation for a possible character?

[Rixy]

Since I've played at both Hollow Throne games...

1. Yes. 4E. What schools/families are allowed is clearly indicated in the character creation section of the forum that the Almanac link goes to.

2. There've been two other Hollow Throne games, both finished, that you can find here and here. Both of those are guest viewable (at least, mostly).

[Daigotsu Usharo]

Pretty much as Rixy noted.


The Timeline post in the Almanac is a pretty good place to start, and the one at Shiro Hiruma is up to date. The Almanacs at Black Scroll and Topaz are both accurate up to the start point of those games, but don't include the events that took place afterwards (many of them player-influenced).

[Iagosan]

Thanks Rixi, this will be lots of help.

Next question: will be starting as level 1 characters (I usually prefer at least a mid level 2 for sake of getting things accomplished, but might be willing to try a level 1)? This may be in the two links Rixi put, but every game may be different in design.

[Daigotsu Usharo]

This is the link to the Shiro Hiruma main page. We've got an entire sub-section devoted to character creation, which notes how much xp each character gets (120 total), as well as notes on a few other adjustments. For instance, the Allies advantage gives players some different benefits, because the Allies themselves are unlikely to have much influence deep in the Shadowlands. So you may not ever hear from your Lion ally, but the thought of their heroic nature still grants you a bonus on your rolls to resist fear.

We're also changing how jade works for this game to make it both easier to use (so that we're not having to make fifty earth roles every day, and every time an oni thwacks someone) and easier to track (so that characters always know exactly how much jade they have left, instead of relying upon vague guestimations). We've also got new rules for mass combat (which makes it playable by breaking things down into smaller battles that take place in the framework of the larger conflict), walking about in the Shadowlands, and so on. Those rules can all be found in the Rules forum, right below the Character Creation forum. I know that it seems like alot of new stuff, but most of the are just revealing the mechanics the GMs intend to use for the game; knowing how to repair the walls of Shiro Hiruma isn't that important unless you're a Kaiu, for instance, but if you are, you'll know how that works and can adjust your character as appropriate.

We've even got rules for Damned Berserkers and Nameless Ones, since this is one of the few games where it would actually be appropriate to find them running about.



And now that I've typed that, I guess I should probably say a word on the game premise so that it makes sense, neh?

Hiruma Isamu, the daimyo of the Hiruma family, has gathered what resources he could and called in a number of political favors to form yet another force tasked with reclaiming Shiro Hiruma from the clutches of the Shadowlands. Because the majority of the Crab forces are busy waging war upon the Scorpion, many of those answering Isamu's call to arms are members of other Clans, some of them eager to assist their Crab allies, and others simply tasked with an unpleasant duty by their indebted lords.

The members of the Empire Forces will travel through the Shadowlands to Shiro Hiruma, where they will find themselves set upon by the dark creatures that inhabit that wretched realm. Should the Empire forces succeed in holding the majority castle at the end of the game, they will reclaim it for the Crab, giving the Clan a bastion against the darkness and redeeming the Hiruma Family of their fourty years of shame. A total success - achieved by holding the entire castle at the end of the game - will also result in the Crab pushing back against the Shadowlands and reclaiming the entirety of Hiruma lands from the monsters that currently claim it.

If the Shadowlands Horde holds the majority of the castle at the end of the game, however, the Shadowlands will retain control of Shiro Hiruma for generations to come. Furthermore, should the Horde ever control the entire castle, the entirety of the Empire Forces will be wiped out and the castle will become the bastion of a new Dark Lord, who will launch a fearsome attack upon the unprepared Crab Clan.

Will the forces of the Empire prevail over the minions of darkness and claim Shiro Hiruma for their own, or will the forces of Fu Leng prove to be too much for a scattered handful of samurai pulled from the bickering Clans of the Empire? Only time will tell!

The game will basically revolve around the Empire's attempts to reclaim Shiro Hiruma, and the difficulties involved in doing so. If the Empire succeeds, then the Crab will redeem the name of the Hiruma only forty years after the Maw's invasion, and may even take the fight to the Shadowlands! If they fail, the castle will remain in the hands of the Horde, and it may even become a bastion of evil...

[barswanian]

Oh lord, do I dare try this campaign?

[Rixy]

You know you want to, Bars...it's got Hiruma in the name...

[barswanian]

You know you want to, Bars...it's got Hiruma in the name...

oh lord, trying to take back Shiro Hiruma.

It's like a dream. A glorious, glorious dream.

And Usharo is running it?

It's like a dream a glorious, glorious dream. With peacocks.

[Rixy]

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