Musha Shugyo - help me find challenges

[Cwymbran-San]

Hey there fellow playgrounders. I need help finding proper challenges for one of my players.

As of now she is a Ranger 2/Swordsage 2 valenar elf (yes, we are playing on Eberron). Her warlord has sent her away to hone her skills as a warrior, so she is now embarking on a "warriors pilgrimage" (hence the title of this thread).

I am planning on running her and her two companions ( a Kalashtar Kineticist 3 and a human Favored Soul 1/Artificer 2) through a series of encounters around Khorvaire (and perhaps Xendrik) in search of glory, skills and teachers to perfect her art.

The first set of encounters will lead her to a mountain top, pitting the small group against an ogre (which will rise as a zombie ogre upon defeat), a large monstrous scorpion and a celestial Lion (the teacher of the first lesson "ferocity wins an unexspected battle").

Now i am looking for ideas and "themes" for the next encounter-sets.

What would you teach a young swordsage-in-training?

[ArendK]

Hey there fellow playgrounders. I need help finding proper challenges for one of my players.

As of now she is a Ranger 2/Swordsage 2 valenar elf (yes, we are playing on Eberron). Her warlord has sent her away to hone her skills as a warrior, so she is now embarking on a "warriors pilgrimage" (hence the title of this thread).

I am planning on running her and her two companions ( a Kalashtar Kineticist 3 and a human Favored Soul 1/Artificer 2) through a series of encounters around Khorvaire (and perhaps Xendrik) in search of glory, skills and teachers to perfect her art.

The first set of encounters will lead her to a mountain top, pitting the small group against an ogre (which will rise as a zombie ogre upon defeat), a large monstrous scorpion and a celestial Lion (the teacher of the first lesson "ferocity wins an unexspected battle").

Now i am looking for ideas and "themes" for the next encounter-sets.

What would you teach a young swordsage-in-training?

Is this a solo-adventure for the player? The level disparity and focus seems to be that way, and that does change things abit. You don't want a campaign about 1 player unless there is only one player.

That being said, theme's for a Valenar warrior;

There's lots of different codes and such for warriors across the world to work a paradigm with if you wanted to reference them. Samurai, Vikings, Knights, Tribal Combatants, the Mongolians, etc. etc. all have varying codes of honor and philosophy you could reference to teach lessons.

Personally, for a Valenar, I would use a Samurai refluffed. Get your hands on a copy of the Hagakure and the Book of 5 Rings (Tsunetomo Yamamoto and Miyamoto Musashi respectively).
The Hagakure espouses the Samurai ideal; servitude to ones master, loyalty, wisdom, and works in many ways like a guidebook to Samurai.
The Book of 5 Rings was literally a swordsmanship manual by Musashi with philosophical undertones in each of the 'scrolls' synced to various elements as he relates them to combat (Fire is offensive strikes, Earth is focused on stances, Wind is mobility and footwork, Water is defensive parries and resiliency, and Void is the mentality of it).

For me, I would mix in other forms of challenges as well for the Valenar- social or moral challenges to test his 'worthiness' or at least make him as a player think. Much of the warrior codes are not just about combat, but how to conduct yourself outside of combat (Samurai's honor, Knight Chivalry, and all the way up to the Warrior Ethos for American Soldiers today). That's just me though. I'd make them things that his lackeys can't solve for him.

[BowStreetRunner]

You should really read Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. It's only 984 pages so I'll wait while you quick read it then come back to read the rest of my post.

Read it? Great! Loved that book. One of the things that really stood out for me was that Musashi really did have a rival. Sasaki Kojirō (Ganryū) was possibly Miyamoto Musashi's greatest rival in history and featured prominently in the novelization of Musashi's life. I think it would be a great idea to introduce another similar character to that of the PC, but one who uses a different build emphasizing different disciplines and maneuvers. Set before both of them some opportunities where not only does the PC need to overcome the challenge but needs to do so before the rival accomplishes it first. All this will eventually lead to a direct battle between the two but in the meantime there will be times when the rival beats the hero to the objective and times when the hero is first.

One of the Tome of Battle monsters looks to be a good challenge for the PC as well. The Reth Dekala has a base CR of 4 and would make a great guard for an important person. Put the PC in a situation where they are called upon to enter into Forceful Negotiations - in other words defeat the important person's bodyguard, putting the important person in a position where they would have to agree to something. The details don't matter much but the Reth Dekala would be a nice ToB challenge.

Another idea I like is to take a look at all of the potential maneuvers the player may have to choose from the next time they gain a level. Then arrange during the campaign for the player to get copies of all of these in the form of single-use martial scripts so they can try each one out before they decide which they want to learn. This could be accomplished by having some of their quests be assigned by the masters of various dojos they encounter along the way.

[Cwymbran-San]

First off: this is not a solo campaign. The other two players agreed to let the "warrior princess" have her time in the spotlight first. After that part of the campaign, we will travel to Adar and see the Kalashtar through his part of the journey, finishing with the artificer and his quest - i could tell you about the other storylines if you are interested.

As for the challenges: yes, i am familiar with Musashis work and the samurai code of bushido. Honor and Sincerety are the most interesting parts. I will try and find some social encounters for this context.

Any ideas for combat challenges around CR 5? Possibly following a "theme" (like cavalry, all shields must be sundered and such).

The reth dekala might do the trick for the next chain of encounters, but i am not so sure about the "rivals" idea. The swordsage already has the spotlight, no need to stroke her ego any further by force-feeding her a recurring villain. Maybe i will do something like this for the Kalashtar with a rival Inspired...


Another idea I like is to take a look at all of the potential maneuvers the player may have to choose from the next time they gain a level. Then arrange during the campaign for the player to get copies of all of these in the form of single-use martial scripts so they can try each one out before they decide which they want to learn. This could be accomplished by having some of their quests be assigned by the masters of various dojos they encounter along the way.

Now THAT is intriguing. As she has a ton of options every level, the scripts could be the rewards for every challenge...

[frost890]

Have you ever watched Samurai Jack, Afro Samurai, Rurouni Kenshin or Samurai Champloo? There are a number of other examples But I wont waste the space writing them all. If you look up the synopsis of the episodes it can give you a couple of ideas. The idea by BowStreetRunner to have a 'Rival" to push the characters is a good one. Think Samurai Champloo or Rurouni Kenshin. If the Samurai looses to their rival they may have to take a long journey to redeem themselves and collect fighting styles. This can be the reason to go with the others on their journey.

[Theodred theOld]

I enjoy tempting the players into deep, pitch-black caves inhabited by creeping things that can see in the dark. Then I have one or two of the cave dwellers follow the players around the cave for a bit. Perhaps they hear scuttling and scraping sometimes and I make sure to provide plenty of clues that the watchers have intellect and some form of social organization. Any light given off by intruders in the cave is met by immediate attack from hungry predators that lurk in the blackness. Lesson: "See the unseen".

[BowStreetRunner]

...i am not so sure about the "rivals" idea. The swordsage already has the spotlight, no need to stroke her ego any further by force-feeding her a recurring villain. Maybe i will do something like this for the Kalashtar with a rival Inspired....
I generally provide a rival for each of the PCs at some point during each game. No need to single anybody out. They all get equal treatment. But it might indeed work better to provide a rival for one of the other companions now and wait to introduce the swordsage's rival until the focus of the campaign shifts to someone else.

[Cwymbran-San]

How do you like these encounters as the next chain:

1. Maug (with Locking Fingers graft) - goal: disarm him without killing him - reward: martial script: Mountain Hammer

2. Ogre - Goal: kill him and his Revival as an ogre Zombie - reward: martial script: Hatchlings Flame

3. 8 Orcs in formation with longspears and tower shields - Goal: kill them all! - reward: ???

That way, she would have an encounter suited to the maneuver on the script (damage enhancer and AoE-damage, respectively).

Thoughts?

P.S.: She already has a script to assist with disarming, so that base is covered as well. We use disciplines from Tome of Battle and Path of War.

[Theodred theOld]

Seens like you already used the ogre/zombie-ogre in the first encounter. Perhaps the keeper of the flame should be something that uses fire. I'm fond of the flame brother salamander and fire elementite swarms if the goal is "kill" but if the goal is non-combat related that opens up alot of possibilities.

[Cwymbran-San]

Hmm...seems you are right. How about a changeling bard at a campfire, spinning a tale about the adventures of Reshar, daring her to come up with a more heroic story.

If she succeeds, he will present her with the script and sends her towards a small village plagued by orcs (encounter 3), i she fails he will change form into a medium fire elemental (only visually, without the powers) and dare her to fight him. If she admits she will not be able to win such a battle, she will be given the script as her prize for admitting - lesson: know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em and know when to walk away.

[Urpriest]

You might want to do something a bit more setting-related. In Samurai works, one often encounters ancient supernatural beings, handing down wisdom and tests. An Ogre that rises as a zombie would make sense in that sort of world, a test left behind for an aspiring samurai.

It doesn't make as much sense in Valenar, though. The Valenar elves don't have thousands of years of history in their region, nor do they have relationships with the spirits of the land. They're new, and they brought their ancestors with them (if not quite in the same way the elves of Aerenal would have). While they probably want to have the same sorts of traditions, they have to adapt them to a new and alien land, and they'd probably channel them to the task of colonization and forging their new nation.

Some ideas:

The warrior must travel north, and challenge the champion of a tribe of Talenta halflings that have been celebrated in battle. Trouble is, the halflings don't actually have a champion: they focus on teamwork, not on personal glory. The warrior must find some common ground between the two cultures to complete the challenge.

The warrior must receive a blessing from a sage from Aerenal known for his knowledge of the history of warfare. The sage is unsure that the practices of Valenar are true to the ancient traditions, and in particular must be convinced of the value of Valenar's warrior culture. Perhaps he is under threat from enemy agents, and saving his life will show him the value of martial prowess.

A particularly cunning (advanced) deinonychus has wandered its way out of Qbarra, and now stalks villages on Valenar's outskirts. It must be put down, but the beast is stealthy and uses the environment to its advantage. Only by understanding the land as well as the creature does can it be defeated.