Koto: Legends Arise

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Time in Koto

Time in koto is measured similar to our world. Seconds, days, months and years all remain as their real life counterparts. However, years are counted from the election of the new Tenno, after the civil war. That year was designated year 1 Seireki or 1 S.

The time before the new Tenno is referred to as Mae Seireki, or M.S.

The current year is 84 S.

Playable Races

Koto is a setting that comes with a decent variety of races, but still requires the players to pick from the options that are present within the world.

These include:

• Aasimar (Protector, Scourge, Fallen)
• Dragonborn (Metallic, Chromatic, Gem)
• Dwarves (Mountain, Hill)
• Elves (Half, High, Wood, Drow)
• Goliaths
• Goblins
• Halflings (Stout, Lightfoot)
• Hobgoblins
• Humans
• Tabaxi
• Tieflings (all subraces)

Playable Classes

While Koto allows for a lot of freedom and many things can be done to make a suitable character for any player, there is a base list of avaivable classes.

These classes include:

• Barbarian
• Bard
• Cleric
• Druid
• Fighter
• Monk
• Paladin
• Ranger
• Rogue
• Samurai
• Sorcerer (limited)
• Warlock (limited)
• Wizard (limited)

Note: While all classes listed above are avaivable to play, not all subclass options from all sourcebooks might be allowed. Due to that, please ask the according questions during character creations to make sure the intended build is possible.

Magic in Koto

While Koto itself is a very mystical and spiritual world, magic is still incredibly rare. The arcane, the spiritual, the supernatural are widely feared and real mages are most uncommon. While there might be a few connected to the spiritual world in the temples, having dedicated their entire life to this connection, these connections are small and flimsy and those that manage to draw from them are viewed as transcended beings, often high in their respectives orders ranks. Shamans might be found performing rituals, but more often than not, those are for religious purposes rather than achieving any direct magical effect.

That said, there are a few mages scattered across the world. Most of them however live on the capital island, making use of their arcane gift to gain fame and infamy alike.

Due to this, a party playing in Koto is unlikely to have a great number of spell casting classes. While players are encouraged to embrace all aspects of the world, including magic, more than 1-2 spellcasters would exceed the realistic quota for the setting. Furthermore, players looking to create a magically inclined character will have to put in great effort to work out how their character might have obtained their gift and how they fit into the world. In addition, a player creating such a character must be aware of the social and political consequences their abilities may cause for them and their party.

World Info

Faith

Gods

Greater Gods

• Musubi: Also known as the Blind Goddess. Goddess of creation and mother of all.

• Yomi: Also known as the Devourer or the Sleeping God. The god of death and hunger.

• Izayoi: Also known as the Wanderer. The goddess of the moon, darkness, exiles and evil doers.

• Hirume: Also known as Lady Sun. The goddess of the sun, duty, honor and fire.

• Arakushi: Also known as the Storm Maiden. The goddess of the sea, storms and freedom.

• Saruhiko: Great Earthly God of the Material Realm.

• Kakusu: Great Earthly God of the Spirit World.

Lesser Gods

• Hachihata: Goddess of honorable war. Patron god of humans.

• Yagokoro: God of knowledge and pursuit of perfection.

• Oinari: God of foxes, trickery, crafting and protector of the weak.

• Karsumi: Godess of trickery, forbidden knowledge and lies.

• Gakki: God of dishonorable war, unclean death and the undead.

• Yama: God of judgement, death and keeper of the gates of the Shattered Realm.

• Bakufu: Goddess of civilization, agriculture and wealth.

• Kazan: God of rage, stone, fire and volcanos.

• Sugoroku: Goddess of gambling, luck and games.

• Kamen: God of thieves, disguises and acting. Writer of stories, half truths and legends.

• Bakushou: God of laughter, sake, drunkenness and luck.

• Tobira: God of doors and pathways.

Religious Myths

Mythos of Creation

In the beginning there was Musubi, the Hitorigami or lone goddess. She existed before the Planes, when there was only darkness in the multiverse. Musubi wandered the darkness for an innumerable amount of time, until in her loneliness she gathered parts of the darkness together and created a companion; Yomi.

Finally, being with company, Musubi continued to create, and crafted the Material Plane from her right eye. On it she created, vegetation and animals. She then crafted the races of the world, each endowed with strengths and weaknesses so that they would strive and fall as they saw fit.

She was proud of her creation and tied to share her joy with Yomi. Alas, Yomi was made from darkness, and like the void that created him, he only knew how to consume. He preyed on the inhabitants of the Material Plane, growing fat from their life sources, until many races were driven to extinction.

Horrified by Yomi's gluttony, Musubi tore Yomi into shreds and scattered his body into the darkness. Then, to try to amend for the lost life she created the Spirit World (Feywild) from her left eye and the spirits of the fallen creatures took refuge there, where their descendants still remain. The scattered parts of Yomi soon gathered to create a similar plane, the Shattered Realm (Shadowfell) which continues to draw on the life force of the Material Plane to this day.

And so the denizens of the Spirit Realm are longer lived than those from the Material Plane, as they experience less influence from the Shattered Realm... or so they say.

Mythos of Sun and Moon

After Musubi had finished crying for her lost companion, she turned down to earth and saw its inhabitants were cold and scared. To keep them warm and protected, Musubi crafted the goddess Izayoi from the brightest stones of the Spirit World, and tasked her with watching over the Material World.

However, Izayoi was a vain goddess, and instead of keeping constant watch, she created a palace for herself above the Material Plane he called Takamagahara (Mount Celestia) and hid away.

Angered by Izayoi's action Musubi crafted the goddess Hirume out of the warm heart of the Material Plane. Hirume drove Izayoi out of Takamagahara into the darkness, and let her glory spread to light up the Material Plane. However, when she sleeps, Izayoi attempts to return to Takamagahara, wandering across the sky to find it.

And so the Sun rises during the day when Hirume is awake and vigilant, and when she falls a sleep, the Moon creeps across the heavens as Izayoi attempts to return to her lost home... or so they say.

History

The Great Civil War

No heir next in line
The daimyo break into war
Peace nowhere in sight

In the year 47 M.S., the tenno of that time passed away. That left Koto with a great issue. There was no heir to the throne, no new tenno to be crowned. And so it came that each of the 17 daimyo claimed that it would be their right to rule.

When no solution could be found, the daimyo decided to settle matters by force. A war broke out, each daimyo being their own faction, fighting to take over their comptetitors for the rank of the tenno.

The war raged for a long time, with many casualties in its early phases. Of the 17 daimyo that entered the comptetition, soon only 8 remained, but found themselves at a stalemate. Still, none of them would allow themselves to settle for peace, as they each believed in their right to inherit the throne and rule over all of Koto. This left the people of the land in misery from constant fighting, trading embargos and food shortages for years to come.

The New Era

They stand together
A child given by the gods
A new era calls

With the civil war between the daimyo raging for decades, the question of a ruler remained unclear, until what can only be described as a miracle was brought to the monastaries of Koto. Spirituals of all regions alike had the same vision of a child descendet of the divine blood, sent by the gods to unite Koto once more and rule it. And indeed, the Kagoro temple had found the child of their visions.

The daimyo counciled, discussing the matters that had transpired and all came to agree that they were not to interfere with the will of the gods. A sign had been given, that none of them would be fit to rule Koto. Together, they instated the new Tenno, a young boy of only 12. They swore to assist him as he grew up, to be advisors at his side and guide Koto into a new era of peace.

With this reformation, Koto finally left its perilous state of war behind and the regions as they are now were formed with set borders. Each daimyo was granted his own region to rule, though they would all be subject to the tenno.

The year of the new tenno marks a turning point in Koto's history and is therefore the focus of its time measurement, being referred to as Year 1 S.

Hisoka Temple Massacre

A ghost white as snow
There was no chance to escape
Leaves behind blood

The tragedy known today as the Hisoka Temple Massacre is a story known across the entirety of Koto.

Shortly after the reunion of the daimyo, in the year 24 S., stories leaked out of Hisoka about frequent interferences of the supernatural. Hisoka, being known as the region most connected the the spirit realm, was home to the greatest temple that Koto had. But as the reports racked up in numbers, peope became tense. Voices grew loud about the spirits being upset, about the ghosts of those that died in the civil war seeking revenge against the living.

These rumors culminated when the monks and guards of Hisoka temple were found fleeing towards the nearby towns. Only a couple made it there, those that arrived covered in blood. They reported about a the ghost of a woman in a white yukata manifesting in the temple, then slaying anything in her way, slaughtering any that did not flee the temple.

When the daimyo's forces were sent to investigate, they found a bloodbath. Countless corpses, massacred within the temple walls and in its gardens. The snow around the templegrounds was stained red in the blood that had leaked out.

This was the final straw, leading the the abandonment of the entire Hisoka region, labeling it as cursed. In 35 S., the great wall was finished.

To this day, the occurances in the Hisoka region instill fear among the people of Koto and reminds them, that the spirits shall never be angered.

The Bandit Plague

With icecold steel
The bandits are forced to flee
For the greater good

The civil war left Koto shaken and in great peril. Even after the new tenno had been found, many citizens struggled to survive, their livelyhood destroyed by the horrors of war. Facing famine and homelessness, many turned to crime, robbing and stealing what they could get to survive the harsh period of recuperation.

Entire clans of bandits formed, keeping villages in their greedy grasp with the threat of death and destruction. For the simple folk, the scourge of war had been replaced by a new one just as grim. A vicious cycle, as this hopeless situation forced even more people to crime. Especially the rural regions of Fyushin, Kesseki and Osawagi were suffering under this never ending plague.

It was in the year 47 S. that the daimyo of Osawagi by the name of Jin Sakari took the extermination of the bandits into his hands. In what he called a fight for the greater good, he declared war on the bandit clans. Mercilessly, Lord Sakari and his troops sought out the clans, raiding them with brutal efficency. Those that were not killed were forced into hiding.

While many were shocked by the cruelty that the daimyo acted with, the lifted scourge gave the people a chance to breathe freely for the first time in what felt like forever.

Today, bandits still exist, but are individual cells without greater organisation.

The Legendary Duel

The cold gazes meet
Two worthy opponents bow
A flash of bright steel

After the extermination of the bandit clans, Lord Sakari was held in high regards by many people. At the same time, his ruthless and cruel efficency had put fear in the hearts of many.

The daimyo continued his rule with an iron fist, yet was respected for his efforts to help many regions. However, as time went on, rumors surfaced. It was claimed that Lord Sakari had not only killed bandits, but even allowed his soldiers to raid villages within the regions that were not his own, claiming them to be collaborators.

These rumors caused an uproar in the public, however, the recently formed peace seemed too fragile to disturb with open accusations.

In the year 68 S., the daimyo of the Shihon region on behalf of the tenno challenged Sakari to a duel for his honor. Should he win, he would be free of any accusations. Should he lose, he would take the truth to the grave with him. But should he decline, he would admit to the rumors and be imprisoned.

And so came to be the legendary duel between Hamaro Isakage and Jin Sakari. It is said that the two samurai fought with strokes so quick, only the flashes that their blades caused could be seen. In the end, Hamaro prevailed. The reign of Jin Sakari ended, but in death, he kept his honor and was remembered as the savior from the bandit plague.