Gastronomie
2016-02-05, 06:48 AM
Since it's getting too big.
BTW, all of my homebrew is for D&D 5th edition.
Normal Homebrew
Homebrew Boss Monsters
CR 5 Boss Monster: Elite Black Dragon Wyrmling (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?494768-CR-5-Boss-Monster-Elite-Black-Dragon-Wyrmling-Boss-Monster-with-10-Attack-Methods!)
CR 5 Boss Monster: Dark Enchanter
CR 5 Boss Monster: Death Cleric (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?494181-CR-5-Caster-Monsters-Dark-Enchanter-and-Death-Cleric-PEACH)
CR 5 Boss Monster: Elite Drow Warrior (Variant) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?498258-CR-5-Solo-Boss-Monster-Variant-Elite-Drow-Warrior-Created-for-OotA-PEACH)
CR 8 Boss Monster: Disciple of Bigby (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?477616-CR8-Boss-Monster-Disciple-of-Bigby-PEACH)
CR 10 Boss Monster: Skilled Warlock of Juiblex (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?475441-CR-10-Boss-Monster-Skilled-Warlock-of-Juiblex-PEACH)
CR 10 Boss Monster: Skilled Warlock of Zuggtmoy (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?475354-CR-10-Boss-NPC-Skilled-Warlock-of-Zuggtmoy-PEACH)
CR 10 Boss Monster: The Glacier Witch (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?481408-CR-10-Boss-Monster-The-Glacier-Witch-PEACH)
CR 11 Boss Monster: Horned Devil (Variant) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?488534-5e-Solo-Encounter-Variant-Horned-Devil)
CR 12 Boss Monster: High Pyromancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?475696-CR-12-Boss-Monster-High-Pyromancer-PEACH)
CR 12 Boss Monster: The Locust Witch (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?479951-CR12-Boss-Monster-The-Locust-Witch-PEACH)
CR 12 Boss Monster: The Oathbreaker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?478267-CR-12-Boss-Monster-The-Oathbreaker-PEACH)
CR 14 Boss Monster: Necromancer of Vile Darkness (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?477475-CR-14-Boss-Monster-Necromancer-of-Vile-Darkness-PEACH)
Homebrew Minion Monsters
CR 4 Supporter Monster: The Soul Leecher (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?503357-CR-4-Tactical-Monster-The-Soul-Leecher-PEACH)
CR 5 Skirmisher Monster: The Mage Slayer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?503280-CR-5-Monster-The-Mage-Slayer-PEACH)
Homebrew Eldritch Invocations for Warlocks
Pact of the Blade support (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?481923-New-Eldritch-Invocations-for-Warlock-quot-Pact-of-the-Blade-quot)
Homebrew Spells
6 Spells from the Book of Vile Darkness, converted into 5e (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?477473-6-spells-from-the-Book-of-Vile-Darkness-PEACH)
Homebrew Magical Items
Drow Item: The Anesthetizer Blade
Drow Item: The Spidersilk Whip (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?498254-Rare-Drow-Items-The-Anesthetizer-Blade-amp-Spidersilk-Whip-Created-for-OotA-PEACH)
Sword of Wild Magic
Staff of Eldritch Mastery (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?475344-Two-new-magical-items-quot-Sword-of-Wild-Magic-quot-and-quot-Staff-of-Eldritch-Mastery)
Axe of the Spellslayer
Sword of the Lightning Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?475893-Two-new-magic-weapons-Axe-of-the-Spellslayer-and-Sword-of-the-Lightning-Lord-PEACH)
Animated Chains (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?495679-D-amp-D-5e-Very-Rare-Item-Animated-Chains-PEACH)
Homebrew Non-Magical Unique Items
Flamberge
Swordbreaker
Trident Dagger
Horse-Cutter
Stiletto (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?480434-Unique-Weapons-Flamberge-Swordbreaker-Trident-Dagger-Horse-Cutter-and-Stiletto)
Oriental Adventures
Homebrew Monsters (Yokai, Oriental Setting)
CR 1/4: Gaki
CR 1: Gaki Kakushin
CR 1: Gaki Shinkou
CR 2: Gaki Rasetsu (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?478541-Oriental-Low-Level-Monsters-The-Gaki-and-its-variants-(1-CR-1-4-2-CR-1s-and-1-CR2))
CR 2: Zashiki Warashi
CR 2: Otoroshi (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?480362-Oriental-Low-Level-Monsters-The-Zashiki-Warashi-and-the-Otoroshi-(CR2))
CR 3: Ushi Oni
CR 8: Jin-Rin-Ki (Empowered Ushi Oni) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?478006-Japanese-Setting-Yokai-Monster-The-Ushi-Oni-CR-3-and-8-PEACH)
CR 12: Gasha Dokuro (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?478307-CR-12-Oriental-Theme-Monster-The-Gasha-Dokuro-(Colossal-Skeleton)-PEACH)
Notes on Oriental Adventures: Classes
Some ideas on how to get the twelve main classes into an oriental campaign:
Barbarians and Druids. Well, technically there were some natives of the Touhoku (translates to "north-western") and Hokkaido (big island you see on top of the Japanese map) regions called "Ainu". Calling them barbarians would be terribly racist, but they certainly did worship bears. At least it would make sense for there to be Ainu druids if it were oriental fantasy. The problem is that generally, people of the Ainu never came over to the mainlands of Japan. Well, if you've ever watched Princess Mononoke, roughly imagine the tribe Ashi-taka originally belonged to. Or, speaking of Princess Mononoke, you could make it so that the Barbarians in an oriental setting are people raised by gods of the forests or mountains, much like the heroine San.
Bards. There's technically people called the Biwa Houshi, which are blind priests holding biwa (an Asian cord instrument), which could act sorta like bards. Or if you don't want your character to be blind, there were some travelling entertainers in the Edo period.
Clerics and Druids. Japanese Mythology (Shinto) has a way of thinking called the “Yaoyorozu No Kamigami”, roughly translated to “Eight Million Gods”. This means almost everything could become a god, from a mountain to a big tree to even a big rock. Also note the concept of old animals gradually turning into gods – sorta like the giant wolf in Princess Mononoke, or the famous Kyubi No Kitsune (NARUTO!! Though it’s originally a concept from India or China). Apart from this, of course there are a lot of “higher gods” - the gods of creation Izanagi and Izanami (the latter later becoming the queen of the underworld), the sun god Amateras and the moon god Tsukuyomi, the god of heroes Susanoh, and so on. In later times, Buddhism becomes a major aspect of Japanese culture. A cleric could be a Shinto priest or a Buddhism priest, depending on what you want your character to be like. Mikos belong in the former group. In a campaign set in ancient times, a Shinto priest could more resemble a Druid than a Cleric.
Fighters. Obviously, samurai. However, keep in mind that there were no, or very little, Samurai before the Heian period.
Monks. Monks can be…well…monks.
Paladins. I dunno, I HONESTLY don’t know. You could say Samurai could be Paladins in the sense that they have a code of honor, but to be precise that's only in the Edo period. Of course you could ignore actual Japanese history and let the samurai in the sengoku era say stuff about Bushido, but anyways.
Rangers. Rangers can be simple hunters, or they could be Matagi, a special group of hunters in the Tohoku and Hokkaido regions who have special philosophies involving the importance of preserving life and use lances or poison arrows (guns from the Sengoku period and then on) to hunt. The preserving-life bit may make them unsuited for adventurers, though.
Rogues. Rogues can be ninja, of course, but please, PLEASE don’t forget that there’s also normal criminals in almost any given setting. Thieves. Or perhaps pirates (Japanese pirates were a major problem in medieval Asia, to the point where China once prohibited ships from going out to sea. KAIZOKU OU NI OREWA NARU!!).
Sorcerers, Warlocks, Wizards. Sorcerers could be half-Yōkai, much like the famous Onmyouji Abe no Seimei, rumored to have a powerful fox Yōkai as his mother. Warlocks and Wizards could be both Onmyouji as well. ...Well, the only real “spellcaster” in Japanese history is Abe no Seimei, so there's honestly not enough information about oriental casters in Japan. Maybe take a look at Mikkyou (a type of Buddhism that uses rituals and cool stuff) - there's a legend of the Japanese priest called Ku-Kai (his name literally meaning "The Sky and the Sea", which is pretty darn badass), the guy who first brought Mikkyou to Japan (from China), and who is said to have created lakes, made elderly people restore youth, and such awesome stuff. On second thought, that sounds like a Cleric, though.Notes on Oriental Adventures: Eras of History
If you’re gonna create a Japanese setting and you wanna make it realistic, you should know the eras of Japanese history, so that you can better illustrate the setting:
Jomon, Yayoi, Asuka periods-“Ancient Japan”: More “natural spirits” than “Yōkai”. No Buddhism or Samurai or Ninja or Onmyouji yet. A majority of Japan is covered by dense forests that were said to contain spiritual power. Imagine Princess Mononoke.
Nara and Heian periods-“The Dark Ages”: More “Yōkai” than “natural spirits”. The Japanese version of the dark ages, a majority of the Japanese population suffered from poverty, ruled by the Fujiwara family, which is basically Japanese Habsburg. The aristocrats back then vastly feared the Yōkai, as well as spirits of the dead seeking vengeance, which they imagined caused famine, fire and other natural disasters. The famous Onmyouji Abe no Seimei is actually said to be some weird sort of mental counselor, relieving the aristocrats back then by explaining them “why things happen” in his own special way. It’s also in this era that Samurai start to appear, as mercenaries and bodyguards of the aristocrats. Since normal villages are constantly suffering, it’s a good time for adventurers. Or you could work for the aristocrats and go kill some Yōkai.
The age of the Heike-“Dark Ages, with Samurai”: This age is too short to be called an period or era, but it’s definitely damn important in Japanese history. This is the very first age of the samurai, the age when the Heike, or Heishi clan, took over the Imperial Court. However, not many believe it was a peaceful age – a majority of the people was heavily oppressed, and many rebellions took place across Japan. While Kiyomori (the charismatic leader of the Heike) was alive, the Heike reigned supreme, but once he died, the clan was incinerated at once by the Genji clan, their bitter rival. This is an age of chaos and bloody wars, of oppression. The Heike’s rule was perhaps powerful, but also fragile in some ways as can be seen by their immediate downfall, and in a way, if the PCs chose, they could destroy or maintain their rule. Throw in some plotting entities and ambitious organizations, and you can create a Medieval Japanese version of Neverwinter.
Kamakura and Muromachi-“Medieval Japan”: This age isn’t too fun. Nothing special or worthy of noting IMO.
Sengoku period-“Japanese Battle Age”: NOW we’re talking. Samurai!! Ninja!! Feudal Lords!! You name it. An age when dozens of warlords (called the Sengoku Daimyo) fought each other for supremacy, this is possibly the ideal age for adventuring, encompassing both law and chaos, interesting cities and tons of space for adventure. You could travel from dominion to dominion, slaying evil and exploring along the way, or alternatively, work for a particular warlord and help him in gaining control over all of Japan.
Edo period – “The Age of Peace”: This age is certainly a fun age to live in, but probably not a good age to adventure in. The Tokugawa shogunate did an absolutely fantastic job with ruling Japan – in fact, they probably did it too well, because the people back then generally weren’t in need of much help. Japanese culture bloomed, and Edo was the world’s largest city back then, home to one million people (four to five times that of London). Two and a half centuries of complete peace caused the samurai to basically forget how to fight on the actual battlefields. So…I wouldn’t choose here for an action TRPG.
Bakumatsu – “Last Samurai”: This age starts when America suddenly fires a cannon into the gulf of Edo. They threatened Japan into concluding an unequal treaty, and thus began an age of chaos and bloodshed within Japan. While the Shogunate tried – HARD – to keep its wavering rule intact, a samurai group of loyalists (who are also nationalist) argued that the Shogunate wasn’t strong enough to ward off the European imperialists, and attempted to overthrow the Shogunate as well as build a new government with the Japanese Emperor as its absolute ruler. Now, if we were to use this just as it was, it wouldn’t seem like high fantasy. But what if you change the American navy into, say, something like an empire of imperialist Dragonborn Sorcerers? NOW we’re talking.
Meiji and then on – “Early Modern”: Basically Eberron if you were to make it. You could throw in both Samurai/Ninja/Onmyouji AND the ideas from normal D&D. The “Japanese-ish” people would be learning “European technology” in the form of D&D magic. Looks interesting, maybe?
BTW, all of my homebrew is for D&D 5th edition.
Normal Homebrew
Homebrew Boss Monsters
CR 5 Boss Monster: Elite Black Dragon Wyrmling (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?494768-CR-5-Boss-Monster-Elite-Black-Dragon-Wyrmling-Boss-Monster-with-10-Attack-Methods!)
CR 5 Boss Monster: Dark Enchanter
CR 5 Boss Monster: Death Cleric (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?494181-CR-5-Caster-Monsters-Dark-Enchanter-and-Death-Cleric-PEACH)
CR 5 Boss Monster: Elite Drow Warrior (Variant) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?498258-CR-5-Solo-Boss-Monster-Variant-Elite-Drow-Warrior-Created-for-OotA-PEACH)
CR 8 Boss Monster: Disciple of Bigby (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?477616-CR8-Boss-Monster-Disciple-of-Bigby-PEACH)
CR 10 Boss Monster: Skilled Warlock of Juiblex (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?475441-CR-10-Boss-Monster-Skilled-Warlock-of-Juiblex-PEACH)
CR 10 Boss Monster: Skilled Warlock of Zuggtmoy (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?475354-CR-10-Boss-NPC-Skilled-Warlock-of-Zuggtmoy-PEACH)
CR 10 Boss Monster: The Glacier Witch (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?481408-CR-10-Boss-Monster-The-Glacier-Witch-PEACH)
CR 11 Boss Monster: Horned Devil (Variant) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?488534-5e-Solo-Encounter-Variant-Horned-Devil)
CR 12 Boss Monster: High Pyromancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?475696-CR-12-Boss-Monster-High-Pyromancer-PEACH)
CR 12 Boss Monster: The Locust Witch (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?479951-CR12-Boss-Monster-The-Locust-Witch-PEACH)
CR 12 Boss Monster: The Oathbreaker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?478267-CR-12-Boss-Monster-The-Oathbreaker-PEACH)
CR 14 Boss Monster: Necromancer of Vile Darkness (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?477475-CR-14-Boss-Monster-Necromancer-of-Vile-Darkness-PEACH)
Homebrew Minion Monsters
CR 4 Supporter Monster: The Soul Leecher (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?503357-CR-4-Tactical-Monster-The-Soul-Leecher-PEACH)
CR 5 Skirmisher Monster: The Mage Slayer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?503280-CR-5-Monster-The-Mage-Slayer-PEACH)
Homebrew Eldritch Invocations for Warlocks
Pact of the Blade support (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?481923-New-Eldritch-Invocations-for-Warlock-quot-Pact-of-the-Blade-quot)
Homebrew Spells
6 Spells from the Book of Vile Darkness, converted into 5e (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?477473-6-spells-from-the-Book-of-Vile-Darkness-PEACH)
Homebrew Magical Items
Drow Item: The Anesthetizer Blade
Drow Item: The Spidersilk Whip (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?498254-Rare-Drow-Items-The-Anesthetizer-Blade-amp-Spidersilk-Whip-Created-for-OotA-PEACH)
Sword of Wild Magic
Staff of Eldritch Mastery (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?475344-Two-new-magical-items-quot-Sword-of-Wild-Magic-quot-and-quot-Staff-of-Eldritch-Mastery)
Axe of the Spellslayer
Sword of the Lightning Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?475893-Two-new-magic-weapons-Axe-of-the-Spellslayer-and-Sword-of-the-Lightning-Lord-PEACH)
Animated Chains (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?495679-D-amp-D-5e-Very-Rare-Item-Animated-Chains-PEACH)
Homebrew Non-Magical Unique Items
Flamberge
Swordbreaker
Trident Dagger
Horse-Cutter
Stiletto (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?480434-Unique-Weapons-Flamberge-Swordbreaker-Trident-Dagger-Horse-Cutter-and-Stiletto)
Oriental Adventures
Homebrew Monsters (Yokai, Oriental Setting)
CR 1/4: Gaki
CR 1: Gaki Kakushin
CR 1: Gaki Shinkou
CR 2: Gaki Rasetsu (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?478541-Oriental-Low-Level-Monsters-The-Gaki-and-its-variants-(1-CR-1-4-2-CR-1s-and-1-CR2))
CR 2: Zashiki Warashi
CR 2: Otoroshi (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?480362-Oriental-Low-Level-Monsters-The-Zashiki-Warashi-and-the-Otoroshi-(CR2))
CR 3: Ushi Oni
CR 8: Jin-Rin-Ki (Empowered Ushi Oni) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?478006-Japanese-Setting-Yokai-Monster-The-Ushi-Oni-CR-3-and-8-PEACH)
CR 12: Gasha Dokuro (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?478307-CR-12-Oriental-Theme-Monster-The-Gasha-Dokuro-(Colossal-Skeleton)-PEACH)
Notes on Oriental Adventures: Classes
Some ideas on how to get the twelve main classes into an oriental campaign:
Barbarians and Druids. Well, technically there were some natives of the Touhoku (translates to "north-western") and Hokkaido (big island you see on top of the Japanese map) regions called "Ainu". Calling them barbarians would be terribly racist, but they certainly did worship bears. At least it would make sense for there to be Ainu druids if it were oriental fantasy. The problem is that generally, people of the Ainu never came over to the mainlands of Japan. Well, if you've ever watched Princess Mononoke, roughly imagine the tribe Ashi-taka originally belonged to. Or, speaking of Princess Mononoke, you could make it so that the Barbarians in an oriental setting are people raised by gods of the forests or mountains, much like the heroine San.
Bards. There's technically people called the Biwa Houshi, which are blind priests holding biwa (an Asian cord instrument), which could act sorta like bards. Or if you don't want your character to be blind, there were some travelling entertainers in the Edo period.
Clerics and Druids. Japanese Mythology (Shinto) has a way of thinking called the “Yaoyorozu No Kamigami”, roughly translated to “Eight Million Gods”. This means almost everything could become a god, from a mountain to a big tree to even a big rock. Also note the concept of old animals gradually turning into gods – sorta like the giant wolf in Princess Mononoke, or the famous Kyubi No Kitsune (NARUTO!! Though it’s originally a concept from India or China). Apart from this, of course there are a lot of “higher gods” - the gods of creation Izanagi and Izanami (the latter later becoming the queen of the underworld), the sun god Amateras and the moon god Tsukuyomi, the god of heroes Susanoh, and so on. In later times, Buddhism becomes a major aspect of Japanese culture. A cleric could be a Shinto priest or a Buddhism priest, depending on what you want your character to be like. Mikos belong in the former group. In a campaign set in ancient times, a Shinto priest could more resemble a Druid than a Cleric.
Fighters. Obviously, samurai. However, keep in mind that there were no, or very little, Samurai before the Heian period.
Monks. Monks can be…well…monks.
Paladins. I dunno, I HONESTLY don’t know. You could say Samurai could be Paladins in the sense that they have a code of honor, but to be precise that's only in the Edo period. Of course you could ignore actual Japanese history and let the samurai in the sengoku era say stuff about Bushido, but anyways.
Rangers. Rangers can be simple hunters, or they could be Matagi, a special group of hunters in the Tohoku and Hokkaido regions who have special philosophies involving the importance of preserving life and use lances or poison arrows (guns from the Sengoku period and then on) to hunt. The preserving-life bit may make them unsuited for adventurers, though.
Rogues. Rogues can be ninja, of course, but please, PLEASE don’t forget that there’s also normal criminals in almost any given setting. Thieves. Or perhaps pirates (Japanese pirates were a major problem in medieval Asia, to the point where China once prohibited ships from going out to sea. KAIZOKU OU NI OREWA NARU!!).
Sorcerers, Warlocks, Wizards. Sorcerers could be half-Yōkai, much like the famous Onmyouji Abe no Seimei, rumored to have a powerful fox Yōkai as his mother. Warlocks and Wizards could be both Onmyouji as well. ...Well, the only real “spellcaster” in Japanese history is Abe no Seimei, so there's honestly not enough information about oriental casters in Japan. Maybe take a look at Mikkyou (a type of Buddhism that uses rituals and cool stuff) - there's a legend of the Japanese priest called Ku-Kai (his name literally meaning "The Sky and the Sea", which is pretty darn badass), the guy who first brought Mikkyou to Japan (from China), and who is said to have created lakes, made elderly people restore youth, and such awesome stuff. On second thought, that sounds like a Cleric, though.Notes on Oriental Adventures: Eras of History
If you’re gonna create a Japanese setting and you wanna make it realistic, you should know the eras of Japanese history, so that you can better illustrate the setting:
Jomon, Yayoi, Asuka periods-“Ancient Japan”: More “natural spirits” than “Yōkai”. No Buddhism or Samurai or Ninja or Onmyouji yet. A majority of Japan is covered by dense forests that were said to contain spiritual power. Imagine Princess Mononoke.
Nara and Heian periods-“The Dark Ages”: More “Yōkai” than “natural spirits”. The Japanese version of the dark ages, a majority of the Japanese population suffered from poverty, ruled by the Fujiwara family, which is basically Japanese Habsburg. The aristocrats back then vastly feared the Yōkai, as well as spirits of the dead seeking vengeance, which they imagined caused famine, fire and other natural disasters. The famous Onmyouji Abe no Seimei is actually said to be some weird sort of mental counselor, relieving the aristocrats back then by explaining them “why things happen” in his own special way. It’s also in this era that Samurai start to appear, as mercenaries and bodyguards of the aristocrats. Since normal villages are constantly suffering, it’s a good time for adventurers. Or you could work for the aristocrats and go kill some Yōkai.
The age of the Heike-“Dark Ages, with Samurai”: This age is too short to be called an period or era, but it’s definitely damn important in Japanese history. This is the very first age of the samurai, the age when the Heike, or Heishi clan, took over the Imperial Court. However, not many believe it was a peaceful age – a majority of the people was heavily oppressed, and many rebellions took place across Japan. While Kiyomori (the charismatic leader of the Heike) was alive, the Heike reigned supreme, but once he died, the clan was incinerated at once by the Genji clan, their bitter rival. This is an age of chaos and bloody wars, of oppression. The Heike’s rule was perhaps powerful, but also fragile in some ways as can be seen by their immediate downfall, and in a way, if the PCs chose, they could destroy or maintain their rule. Throw in some plotting entities and ambitious organizations, and you can create a Medieval Japanese version of Neverwinter.
Kamakura and Muromachi-“Medieval Japan”: This age isn’t too fun. Nothing special or worthy of noting IMO.
Sengoku period-“Japanese Battle Age”: NOW we’re talking. Samurai!! Ninja!! Feudal Lords!! You name it. An age when dozens of warlords (called the Sengoku Daimyo) fought each other for supremacy, this is possibly the ideal age for adventuring, encompassing both law and chaos, interesting cities and tons of space for adventure. You could travel from dominion to dominion, slaying evil and exploring along the way, or alternatively, work for a particular warlord and help him in gaining control over all of Japan.
Edo period – “The Age of Peace”: This age is certainly a fun age to live in, but probably not a good age to adventure in. The Tokugawa shogunate did an absolutely fantastic job with ruling Japan – in fact, they probably did it too well, because the people back then generally weren’t in need of much help. Japanese culture bloomed, and Edo was the world’s largest city back then, home to one million people (four to five times that of London). Two and a half centuries of complete peace caused the samurai to basically forget how to fight on the actual battlefields. So…I wouldn’t choose here for an action TRPG.
Bakumatsu – “Last Samurai”: This age starts when America suddenly fires a cannon into the gulf of Edo. They threatened Japan into concluding an unequal treaty, and thus began an age of chaos and bloodshed within Japan. While the Shogunate tried – HARD – to keep its wavering rule intact, a samurai group of loyalists (who are also nationalist) argued that the Shogunate wasn’t strong enough to ward off the European imperialists, and attempted to overthrow the Shogunate as well as build a new government with the Japanese Emperor as its absolute ruler. Now, if we were to use this just as it was, it wouldn’t seem like high fantasy. But what if you change the American navy into, say, something like an empire of imperialist Dragonborn Sorcerers? NOW we’re talking.
Meiji and then on – “Early Modern”: Basically Eberron if you were to make it. You could throw in both Samurai/Ninja/Onmyouji AND the ideas from normal D&D. The “Japanese-ish” people would be learning “European technology” in the form of D&D magic. Looks interesting, maybe?