Nation Building The Feudal East - Information

[DemetrioMachete]

The Land of Hoken-Chi​

Hoken-Chi is a small continent, consisting mostly of valleys and mountains, with the terrain getting flatter the closer one is to shore. What little flat ground there is has been readily and eagerly settled; leaving many coastal towns and villages dotted about. Many people make their living off of fishing, should they reside at the shore, while those further inland receive food from farming, and hunting.

Hoken-Chi is run by a Feudal government. This means several land owning Nobles make and enforce the law for their respective terrirories. Despite this, most of Hoken-Chi holds high anti-capitalist views, shaming those who dare choose to be merchants and invest in private businesses.

 

[DemetrioMachete]

Social Caste

The Emperor/Empress​

The Emperor was once the ruler of a unified Hoken-Chi, who wielded absolute power and could shape his Empire on a whim. As the 1st Emperor began to age, however, he realized he had many children and close friends, and could not decide who would be worthy of inheriting his Empire. His solution was to break up the land in between them, and remove his own authority, choosing instead to live through charities from the new Feudal lords, who were indeed grateful for the Emperor's donation of power.

Today, the Emperor position holds no real authority over Hoken-Chi. It is a figurehead position, designated for the most charismatic and wise of the Nobles. The Emperor's army is small in comparison to a lord's, and usually only reside at the palace to protect the Emperor. Betrayal of the Emperor is considered a treasonous offence to all of Hoken-Chi, and those who know of this act will spare no expense ensuring the traitor's death

Shogun/Daimyo​

The Shogun and Daimyo are land owners in Hoken-Chi. The key difference between them is that Shogun are warlords, specifically known for having a skilled or large army, while Daimyo are more known for wealth and the land they possess, able to purchase private armies instead of raising their own, like the Shogun. A Shogun can come into being if a Samurai is chosen by his Lord to succeed him, or if the Shogun declares their children worthy of their succession. Likewise, new Daimyo only come into being when the previous Daimyo gives away their land, or dies and is succeeded.

Samurai​

The Samurai are soldiers who serve their respective Shogun or Daimyo. Whether they were once slaves who were chosen to be trained, peasants who were drafted, or the children of their leader, Samurai not only defend their Lord but also enforce their law. They wield the power to arrest peasants and dole out justice on the spot. If another Samurai is suspected of committing a crime, the Samurai must consult their Lord or a Samurai of higher rank, first.


Samurai training involves a great deal of meditation, as thoughts of their past life must be emptied away, so that they may turn themselves into weapons. They then learn the chivalrous code of Bushido, and only then are they taught combat and given their iconic armor with a set of weapons.

Samurai have a sort of rank-based caste within themselves. Across most lords, Samurai have a 12 rank system. Rank 1 is the lowest, the soldiers here are referred to as "ashigaru", and they are the foot soldiers often sent first to die so the higher ranked men may assess a foe. Samurai with ranks all the way up to 6 are those chosen to act on the field, with the number often determining their skill. Rank 7 and above are reserved for Officers and Commanders, those who possess keen military instincts regarding leading an army. Samurai are taught Sorcery at Rank 6.

Ronin​

The Ronin were once Samurai, but cannot be called so anymore. There are a few ways a Ronin can be made. If a Samurai disgraced themselves, their Lord will not allow them to serve, and they will become a Ronin. If a Samurai willingly leaves their Lord's service, they are branded a Ronin. If a Lord dies, every Samurai who is not adopted by a new Lord within a week becomes a Ronin.

While their shame and disgrace would place them lower on the caste, they are not stripped of their weapons or magical knowledge, thus leaving them in somewhat a position of higher strength.

Ninja​

Ninja are those who choose to leave their old lives behind, or are abducted from birth, and live under a clan of Ninja. By way of ruthless training, every service ready ninja is trained to kill, to blend in, and to be deathly quiet. All ninja who complete their training are also able to learn the secrets of their Clan' s magic, called Ninjutsu or Ninpo, by the Clans.

Ninpo is two things. To non-ninja, Ninja must make people believe they are magical stealth masters by way of trickery and pragmatic tactics, such as blinding powder, dressing like peasants to avoid enemy detection, and the training of animals to do their bidding, all while spreading the rumor that ninja can indeed cast magic. Within the Ninja clan, however, they actually can and do use magic to serve their own ends. Many do not realize that the Nobles they live aloof from can also do this, and many believe that they must never let the Lords discover magic, lest they become too powerful and rob them of their freedom.

Ninja clans often find work from the Nobles, who use them as undercover agents to act against another house. Among their tasks, they may be asked for things like assassination, kidnappings, rescues, or even just spooking a rival.

Farmers/Peasants​

Those who live off the land to feed themselves and provide food for nobles are all considered peasants. Many Nobles and their Samurai tend to ignore the peasantry unless they have a reason not to ignore them (such as the rumored presence of a ninja.) All peasants are required to learn some life skill, such as fishing or farming, as the alternatives are slavery or starvation.

Slaves​

Those who choose not to farm, cannot farm or fish, or under many other circumstances, a person of Hoken-Chi becomes a slave. Slaves are only paid what their master pays them, and are considered more as property than a person. Essentially all non-noble weaponsmiths and armorsmiths of Hoken-Chi are slaves to their Lord's or to the Emperor himself, forging weapons for their army until their hands begin to bleed.

Merchants​

A reviled position due to anti-capitalist propaganda. Merchants may have money, but they are seen as evil and lowly even by peasants. This is due to many lording nobles and their fear of a wealthy merchant purchasing their land, or the idea of a non-noble raising a private army.

Those who come from the West are also grouped in with Merchants on the Caste, due to their mistrust of the new people.

 

[DemetrioMachete]

The Nature of Magic

Magic came into being some time around the reign of the First Emperor, having been bestowed upon him by a mysterious woman wearing the mask of a Fox. He shared the secrets with his children and close friends, and so it was that the Noble Lords passed down their secret arts, which they called "Sorcery".

Some time after their conception, Ninja managed to steal the secrets to magic as well, creating their own scrolls for it, which they call "Ninpo".

Even the mysterious intruders from the West wield magic in some way, having labelled it "Witchcraft.

Little do they know, Magic as a whole is a Demon creation, given to humans for dubious reasons only Demonkind seem to understand.

 

[DemetrioMachete]

Demons

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The Demons, referred in Hoken-Chi as "Yokai" or "Youkai", are supernatural beings that reside in the underworld. Once a year, on October 31st, a small group of demons usually consisting of 10 or less, escape the Underworld through the weakness of the dimensional barrier during the Witching Hour.

By their very nature, most Demons are evil and most Demons are irredeemable. The extent of their evil varies. Some are content to commit petty evil, such as getting people lost, or vandalizing their homes. Others will go all the way through, rampaging through villages, destroying everything in their wake and devouring everything that survived.

There are 2 other types of Youkai, which exist beside the malevolent breeds. In Hoken-Chi, they are known as "Benign" Youkai, and "Benevolent" Youkai. Benign Youkai are either too unintelligent or too weak to pose a threat to humans, and so they exist as an animal does, sometimes proving useful.

Benevolent Youkai are the most human-like in appearance, often sharing good spirit with humans, offering them companionship and magic education.

The ultimate goal of the Demons is to trick a gullible human into finding a way to rip open the dimensional barriers between the material world and the Underworld, so that Demonkind may immigrate to the material world and wage total war on the humans, razing their world into ashes for no reason beyond the fact that they simply can. A demon who desires this outcome is the most dangerous of all.

The extent to which a creature appears demonic depends vastly on the amount of evil they intend to commit. Fox Spirits, like the Kitsune, appear largely human, but often hide their fox tails under large, flowing robes, or a third, vertical eye on their face is hidden with a mask. Fox Spirits tend to do little more than get individuals lost on their travels and trick them into abandoning their lives to instead live with them, should they live a life of wickedness. Other fox spirits live in human villages, hiding as commoners, priests, or even making attempts to court a mate. Vile spirits, such as the Oni, are immensely evil and it shows. Oni in particular are gigantic, with gnarled tusks and wild flowing hair and horns, with their favored hobbies being human predation and destruction.

 

[DemetrioMachete]

Noble Houses

House Shibata

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The Esteemed House of Shibata, lead by Daimyo Ruka Shibata, are easily recognized by their usage of deep blue colors, which symbolize their values of Virtue and Charity. The white sun symbolizes their fearlessness, as theyll go charging into the dark, creating their own light. Their army is rather small, for they do not draft peasants as others do, but rather, they accept volunteers to be forged into Samurai, and limit how many volunteers they accept to 100 per month. With less soldiers to train, Shibata warriors are exceptionally skilled and disciplined, able to take on any foe with utter disregard for fear. In particular, they are unmatched combatants while on horseback, and prefer Calvary tactics.

House Acoma

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The Acoma house holds a dreaded reputation throughout Hoken-Chi. Their red and black decorum speaks for the blood they will spill, and the damnation they promise to their foes. Acoma is lead by a descendant of the first Emperor, who has vowed to keep the spirit of war high and well nourished. Their military conquests have absorbed the land of many aspiring Daimyo and lesser Shogun, and they now wield a formidable size of Northern and Western territories within Hoken-Chi. Their army is massive, and their tactics ever adaptable.

House Meiyo Aru

"Honor. Fairness. Power. Above all: Dignity."


The Meiyo Aru is a very prideful and fair house. They uphold the codes of honor, only breaking them in order to gain more honor later. In this manner they are well respected, and their prestige goes well beyond their territory. Their army is large, and mostly focused on cavalry and archery (Their mounted archers are quite the elites). They never harm civilians intentionally however, and do not have blood lust that causes other to run in terror. Rather, Meiyo Aru is a balance between strength and fairness in this world of extremes.

House Toda
The lands of the Toda have always provided.
A big province residing in the south lands of Hoken-Chi.
What the Toda lacks in individual combat skill, they make up with sheer numbers, in the forms of thousands of spears and bows, of which none in Hoken-Chi could surppass in numbers.
The ashigaru are the foundation of the Toda army. Farmers and peasants who wish to defend their homes or seek glory take up arms and serve their clan proudly. Those who escape war, escape the cruelty of their masters, those who escaped death, are allowed a secound chance to stand under the banner of Toda! No matter what you were, farmer, peasant, slave, you'll stand equal under the House of Toda, and you will have a place to call home...but you must prove your loyalty, prove it with spear or bow in hand.
It is such thinking that makes the Toda army large, filled with men seeking to redeem themselves.
Though it should be noted, despite their armies size, these are common men, with fears of their own and could easily break if they perceive things are not going in their favor.
But, the armies of the Toda are compently lead, not just by warriors, but by leaders. The samurai of House Toda hold great responsibility in the army. At the beginning, many samurai were families of the Toda, but today, the samurai corp has grown along with the army. Thanks to Tomokota's policy changes, ronin were allowed to be inducted into the ranks of Toda under a new master, welcomed by their comrades overburdened with responsibilities. But these men are too expected more then to just warriors, they are expected to be an example, a leader, of the ashigaru. As they pledge their allegiance to their daimyo, they are schooled in the such fields as art, literature, and war. Each small group of samurai is given command of hundreds of spears, instilling into them not just a sense of loyalty to their lord but also a sense of loyalty to their men, as both samurai and asiguru must sleep on equal grounds. The samurai are officers, sprinkled throughout units of ashigura, leading, directing, and coordinating the unit as a whole. However, as a direct result of this, there are virtually no true units who are purely consistent on samurai. It is this reason that House Toda has a lack of cavalry.
What they make up for this, however, are formations of Sohai and bandit/wakou gangs. Sohai serves primarily as elite shock troops, as their will are as strong as steel, sent into the fray where the enemy line is the weakest. Sohai also serve as demon hunters throughout the Toda land, often the first on the scene when word of demons are uttered.
The bandit/wakou gangs, once allowed to run rampant in the war torn lands, now brought under the control of the House Toda. Lead often by samurai who bear the title ronin voluntarily, the bandits/wakou of Toda are known for attacking the enemies supply line and harassing their reinforcements, raiding and pillaging their lands in order to keep them from advancing onto the Toda's. It should also be noted that the wakous of Toda are also known for raiding at sea, though Toda's navel might is yet to become as legendary as their army counter part.
Gunpowder has also been introduced, and is starting to become more common amongst the Tado army. One of the provinces that the Toda captured was a port city. THe previous daimyo had sour relations with the Spanish and Portuguese, but had fostered a lucrative trade agreement with the Dutch, who seemed more intreasted in turning a profit rather than in conversions. With said province added to their territory, Daimyo Tamokota continued the deal with the Dutch, one of which is to import firearms, of which the smiths of House Toda are examining, attempting to find a way to replicate the craftsmanship.
Metsuke’s has also been establish as samurai responsible for civilian policing duties, as well as more...inquesitive. Not only rooting out enemy agents, but primarily organizing demon hunting parties and investigating possible sources of demon incursion.
For now, the Toda remains in peace, it's shrewd daimyo keeping his neighbors at bay with diplomacy.
Long have the people of Toda sought for peace, but if war come wandering to their foot steps, they hesitate not to rally to arms and defend their home.

Toda Ashigaru

Toda Samurai Office Corp

Sōhei

Peasant Mob

Wako and Bandit Raiders
Spoiler: Video

Defense of Toda


House Takayama

The Takayama (高山) Clan started off long ago. They started out in the land they would soon rule, though the land was ruled by a different clan. However, that clan was small and old, and the daimyo didn’t have an heir. A Takayama Clan member who was a bureaucrat claimed the title. They got the favouring of the emperor and some other daimyos, so they became the legitimate rulers of the land.

The Takayama clan ruled as the daimyo with relative peace. Sometimes samurai had to be sent to other regions to fight in wars, but those wars were rather caused by allies than themselves. That doesn’t mean that they were a peaceful clan. They sought economic dominance. In their land, a large port was built to bring more trade to their lands.

This attracted many ships into the area, including some odd, foreign ones. Some of those foreign ships were from a land called Portugal, or at least their ports in India and Indonesia. They brought in some odd things, such as spices, ivory, and a new god. Some Portuguese stayed at their port, and even had a church built, so some of their culture started to spread through to the natives there as well. Some native Hoken-Chi people converted to their god, including some people from the Takayama Clan.

Now the lands of the Takayama Clan have some western influences. Despite the benefits of the trade with the west, some clan members have grown skeptical and distrusting of westerners, not wanting their port and lands to become a subject to the Portuguese. These members want to halt the growing influence of westerners, such as by halting conversions, and limiting residence of Portugese on the land. The current Daimyo is Takayama Tomoteru. He is not much in favour of westerners, but he is a middle-age man. His heir is a boy name Katashi. However, the second next in line is Katashi's brother Cyrus. Cyrus Takayama, known as Katsu to those that aren't converts, has often met with these westerners and is one of the clan members that have converting, changing his name to Cyrus after Cyrus the Great. This has caused great tension between those favouring and those against westerners.

Ninja Clans

Clan Kimura

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The Ninja Clan "Kimura" reside within the territory owned by House Shibata. Their chosen emblem is the Youkai Eye, for they, like a Demon, are always watching for their prey. They are, for the most part, indifferent to the Shibata House, but their decision to use volunteers instead of a draft leaves them in a positive opinion of Shibata, offering them discounts should the House make use of Kimura ninja.

Kimura ninja training often involves less weapon training than what would be expected, as the Kimura philosophy states: "To be dangerous without a weapon makes you more dangerous than if you ever had one at all." Kimura ninja kill with their bare hands, using extensive knowledge of martial arts, grapples, choke holds and neck snaps.

Alongside this is heavy magic practicion, specializing in "Shadow" Ninpo, used for concealment and stealth.

Clan Nanami

The Nanami clan is lead by Katashi Nanami. The head is incredibly ambitious, and also greedy. He lends his ninja to anyone that can pay a high price, whether its a shogun or a foreigner. The Nanami ninjas thrive on ranged combat. They are carefully trained in disguises and assassination, wearing ordinary clothing more often than their armor. Their weapons are usually small and subtle, modified to be secretive and deadly. The Nanami ninpo stems from the element of water, well suited for spying and distraction.​

 

[Best Trekkie.]

I'm getting an Age of Empires feel from this right now.

P.S. I'm interested!!