Let's Play Ronin (Mork Borg)! Part 2: Perilous Roads
Ok, let’s try this!
I’m going to have Zen waking up in a small village around this part of the map:
Besides the oracles from Tales of the Masterless (TotM), I’ll be using the Juice Oracle. I’ve been wanting to try it for a while now, and this is the perfect opportunity.
I think Zen needs a goal or motivation to start. Let’s drink the Juice!
There are several tables on it. The tool packs a punch for a foldable double pager, I’ll tell you that. I think I’ll go with a couple of abstract images for a short-term objective and see what I come up with.
d10+d6: 4, 2 = a pyramid with a sun behind
d10+d6: 10, 4 = a shield
There are a ton of possible interpretations here, but I’ll go with the obvious one. Pyramids can represent stability, and shields defense. The sun behind could mean the eclipse, so Zen’s goal for now is to simply protect people from the horrors the Endless Eclipse brings forth, and protect the stability of this small village.
Juice has a nice little name generator made of syllables, similar to Mythic’s, so I’ll roll on that a few times for the village name.
d20: 5 = (s)u
15 = zab
Uzabe sounds ok, doesn’t it?
The instability angle gives me ideas for a constant source of trouble for the place, like a group harassing them in some way. There’s a cool generator for naming cults and clans in TotM. Rolling 3d12, I get Temple of the Sacred Forest. Not bad! Let’s Juice it up.
What is the problem afflicting Uzabe Village?
Meaning tables: Transform + Failure
Alright, I’m getting the vibe of some kind of purification or offering ritual gone wrong. Maybe the Temple used to be a simple place of worship for Uzabe, where people prayed/meditated for absolution and offered small tokens in gratitude or for protection, like food and personal objects.
However, the Eclipse corrupted the Temple’s osho (head monk, let’s say) and he started communing with yokai, offering monks as sacrifice, then villagers, believing it would revive the sun. This mad devotion turned the sacrifices into demons, and the osho himself into a dark entity.
I think it’s good enough for a start!
Let’s flesh out Uzabe Village a little. TotM has some fun tables for that.
d4 Buildings/Sructures (Material, Size, and Form): 1, 2, 3 = Stone, Large, Cubic
Crowd sizes (d20+12 for villages): 13. Natural 1 hahah. Tiny place, which is ok, it’s what I had in mind.
d20 Geographical features: 10, Volcanic peak. Nice! We can put the Temple near the volcano.
Who asked for my help?
d66 Disposition + d66 Profession: 55 + 11 = Sinister/Ominous + Herbalist/Apothecary
I’ll name her Masako. She’s a herbalist and also the village merchant. Not all items from the equipment table are available, of course, but I can stock up on rations and some common items if necessary.
So Masako tells Zen the osho story, and how the villagers are being kidnapped as sacrifices. I feel like I should follow up on that sinister/ominous roll. Time to use the Juice oracle for the first time.
Is Masako hiding something?
Oracle: Yes, but…
She’s hiding something, but… it’s not what I think. It’s nothing evil, but maybe something personal? I’ll leave it at that for now.
I’ll buy some rope from her, as it could be useful, and some bandages (Spirit+4 uses = 4, heal d4 HP). Total cost is 25 Ryo, leaving me with 55.
That’s enough setup. Let’s go to the Temple of the Sacred Forest to help Masako and Uzabe Village. The Temple has to be nearby, right, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense for the plot. I’ll rule that it’s 2 days away.
Day 1 (Destination 0/2)
The very first thing to do when starting a new day is rolling for a Woe on The Black Calendar.
When 7 Woes activate, the world ends, freeing everyone from torment, or maybe sending them to new ones.
The Black Calendar has one of my favorite spreads in the book:
It’s a beauty, isn’t it? It makes for a great table mat.
Anyway, TotM recommends a Usage Die for the checks, starting with a d20, then decreasing with each activation. I thought the opposite could be a fun experiment: start with a d4 to activate a few in the beginning, then increase the die. A sort of reverse Usage Die, I guess.
Let’s do it.
d4 Woe Activation: 2, safe
No Woes for now. Let’s roll for the weather:
d10 Weather: 6, still air
The air hung still as Zen Battosai departed Uzabe Village toward the Temple of the Sacred Forest. Trees on the way stood motionless and quiet as if in a painting, and the dirt under his sandals crunched loudly on the empty road. High above the sky, the Eclipse stared down in mockery.
TotM has a nice checklist for traveling. We can either move along or spend the day hunting/gathering/fishing. Since this is the first day and we have supplies, we go on, and roll on the table ‘Along the trail.’
d6 Along the trail: 1, Samurai Path - A barely visible path, once tread by wandering samurai, now reclaimed by nature.
On rolling 1-3, Test Sprit DR10 or end up Off The Beaten Path (not considered a Move, so just 1d20 instead of 2).
d20 Spirit check (DR10): 19, success!
Ok, Zen keeps following the beaten path without getting lost.
d20 Events on the trail: 10, Mysterious Traveller - A lone traveller crosses paths with you, offering cryptic advice or a riddle.
d66 Disposition: 62, Exiled/Forsaken
Interesting! A traveler who’s running away or was banished from somewhere appears on the road. We have a few options here with the Juice oracle. There are tables for NPC conversation and information, discovering meaning, random events, plot points, immersion, and more. For a truly cryptic advice, I’ll go once again with the abstract icons.
Abstract icons table: Apple + Ghost
Yeah, that’s cryptic, alright.
An exhausted traveler crossed Zen’s path on the faint samurai trail. His eyes were weary, his shoulders sagged. He stopped a few feet away, and so did Zen, hand on his katana.
“Going to the Temple by the crater, ronin?” the traveler asked.
Zen saw no reason to be hostile, but he also wouldn’t share too much. “Yes, I am. I suppose there aren’t many places to visit around here.”
“Maybe not.” He looked back at the volcano in the distance. “Beware the dead, ronin. Even they aren’t immune to temptation.”
Before Zen could reply, he went on his way, leaving a faint scent of rotten fruit in the still air.
I interpreted the apple as temptation.
You might wonder whether all those leads will end up tying neatly at some point. Well, I have no idea. Remember, we’re not writing books when playing solo, so don’t be afraid to open new threads. It’s okay if they turn out to be duds.
We follow the story where it goes and make connections the best we can, but sometimes it doesn’t happen. Don’t let it discourage you from trying things.
Alright, the day is all but over, and now we make camp, choosing between a short or long rest. Long rests recover more HP and replenish our Virtues. Since both are full, I’ll choose short. It has a DR10 instead of the 12 from the long rest.
2d20 Spirit check (DR10): 13, 18, strong hit!
A strong hit during rest means a nice sleep without events. We spend 1 food and 1 water (3 of each now), and begin a new day. As we didn’t get lost during the travel, we tick one day off of our destination goal.
Cool loop, right?
Day 2 (Destination 1/2)
d4 Woe Activation: 2, safe
d10 Weather: 5, moonless sky
Getting lucky with those Woe checks! I’ll consider moonless sky as overcast weather, darker than usual.
d6 Along the trail: 4, Travelers’ Route - A well-trodden path, marked by signs of frequent use and the passage of many feet.
d20 Events on the trail: 5, Encounter. Roll Encounter (core Frontpapers).
Ok, our first encounter! TotM tells which table to go for, which is nice.
d20 Encounter: 1 = An old man sits by the roadside. He asks you for help in finding his lost spectacles. If you succeed in helping him, he will reward you with a powerful talisman.
d66 Disposition: 61, Fearful/Cowardly
The old man is cowering by the road, fearful of the approaching moonless night. The road is dark and empty, and he mumbles to himself. Zen approaches, and the man asks him to find his curse-warding spectacles. Zen thinks the man lost his mind, but he couldn’t just abandon the elder.
“I’ll help you, ojiisan,” Zen said, using a polite term to show his respect. Kage no Shima was falling apart, but that was no reason to throw away manners.
“Gratitude, son. I’ll give you something in return. That’s a promise.”
His clouded eyes glinted with seriousness, then he cowered again into a fetal position.
Since this is a darker night than usual, I’ll use a torch (4 now), and pick a difficult check for this. There’s a convenient table for searching items in TotM, but it’s probably for something more generic.
DR14 is more appropriate here. We can use Virtues to reduce the difficulty of any test by 4, so I’ll do that (Virtues 2/3). The check should be for Spirit, in my view.
Zen walks around, torch held high, searching for the spectacles.
2d20 Spirit check (DR10): 2, 10, weak hit (success with consequence)
I’ll make a few rolls to decide what happens.
2d10 Immersion table: 4, 6, Growling sound
A creature! Is it aggressive?
Oracle (Likely): Yes, and…
Zen drifted toward the bushes by the roadside until something caught the torchlight. The spectacles! When he crouched to pick them up, a low, feral growl came from the darkness. The shrubbery rustled, and Zen stepped back. A large shape leaped toward him, roaring in fury.
2d20+1 Swiftness check (DR12+2 from medium armor): 2, 6, fail!
d6 damage - d4 defense: 3, 1 = 2 damage (HP 8/10)
d20+2 Resilience check (DR12): 20, success!
The beast attacked, and a sharp bite stung his arm, making him drop the torch. Zen shook it off and prepared to fight. Over the dancing torchlight on the ground, a twisted monkey face leered at him, baring fangs and growling. A snake tail hissed and swayed, mouth still smeared with Zen’s blood. Its tanuki body tensed as the Nue got ready for another pounce.
Combat is simple. We roll a d6 for initiative at the start of every round (enemies go first on rolls 1-3), then we roll for both attack (Vigor check) and defense (Swiftness check) against DR12. There are no Moves, just 1d20. Natural 20s and 1s are criticals/fumbles.
Once per combat, we can try to Parry instead of defending (Resilience check DR14). If successful, we block the attack and cause damage at the same time.
I found the Nue a little weird. Its attacks are snake bite or poisonous claws, but it doesn’t seem to poison us. It “can cause infection”, but I don’t know what that means, and the core book doesn’t explain it. What are the odds? Should we roll a Resilience test after every attack?
I decided that poison fits its theme better, so I switched. A Resilience check after its attacks resists the poison.
Round 1
d6 Malevolent Gaze: 6, safe
d6 Initiative: 6, mine
d20+3 Vigor check (DR12): 9, miss
d20+1 Swiftness check (DR12+2 from medium armor): 12, hit
d6 damage - d4 defense: 2 damage (HP 6/10)
d20+2 Resilience check (DR12): 16, success!
Round 2
d6 Malevolent Gaze: 3, safe
d6 Initiative: 4, mine
I’ll use Zen’s Feature, Iai Slash (full damage, once per combat).
d20+3 Vigor check (DR12): 5, miss
Damn it! I’ll use a Virtue (1/3) to reroll: 21, hit!
Full 10 damage. The Nue has 8 HP and d2 defense, so it’s dead no matter what!
Zen put his sheath in position, bent his knees, and his hand caressed the katana hilt. As the Nue jumped, he exhaled. His prosthetic arm nudged the scabbard forward as he drew the blade in a lightning-fast movement. Steel rang sharply, then he put the sword back home. The Nue’s halves collapsed to either side of him.
That thing is nasty! I’m gonna rule that I can harvest some of its meat for food. There is nothing indicating a maximum of food and water, so let’s say it’s 7, a week’s worth. Harvesting the Nue yields d4 food: 2! 5 total now.
I pick up the spectacles and return them to the old man. He puts them on, and his whole demeanor changes. He rises from the ground with a hardened expression, impeccable posture, and confident stride. Thanking Zen, he gives him an amulet that hums with an unknown power, then goes on his way.
I’ll equip it and hope for the best. Maybe someone somewhere can identify it for me?
Should I go for a level up here? I’m thinking not right now, but helping an apparently defenseless elder by the road at night nets me an Honor point, right? 11 Honor now.
Time to break for camp! I’ll go for a long rest, since I need my Virtues and HP.
2d20 Spirit check (DR12): 8, 13, weak hit. Introduce a reason for a restless night or roll Campsite Events.
d12 Campsite Events: 4, Calm Night = The night passes without incident, a moment of rare tranquillity.
Good enough for me! Weak hit, though, so I only recover 1 Virtue and d4 HP: 2 (8/10). -1 food and water (4 and 2).
And as we’ve passed 2300 words, I’ll cut the session here. I wanna do a little dungeon crawling in the Temple, so it’s best to leave it for the next one.
Notes
Tales of the Masterless is a good solo module, but could be better with an extra page with thematic random words for prompts and interpretation. A d66 table would fit well with the core book and Mörk Borg in general. Two tables, one for verbs/adjectives and another for nouns, would be even better.
There’s a tiny section about Milestones, saying that completing them gives us a Chance to Improve (level up, essentially). I wish it were expanded with more guidance. How am I supposed to use them? When is a Milestone achieved? After an in-game day? A week? After a quest, a combat, a dungeon crawl? Whenever I feel like it?
Other than that, I really like the booklet. It’s a fine solo companion for Ronin, and I’m enjoying the game! Looking forward to continuing.
The session turned out long because I like explaining everything the first time I interact with a mechanic. Next ones should be quicker, as I won’t detail all rolls so much, especially not combat. There’s no need, right?
And I’m also keeping things simple. I could have done a lot of things differently. What if the old man actually lost his spectacles at the Temple, and we have him tag along with us? What if he’s somehow related to the osho?
Make your playthrough as intricate as you want, and take your story where you find it fun.
Ronin and Tales of the Masterless are available on the SRG website and DriveThruRPG.
The barebones edition is free! It’s an art-lite version of the full rulebook.