5. What is your character’s past and how does it Affect them?
Texto
Selecting One’s Past Properly
A past is a story, one that can deeply impact a person. Because rōnin have lost their place in samurai society their stories tend to be tragic, ones of circumstances that have kept them from fulfilling their promise or destiny. While Table 2–1: Sample Pasts provides a wide range of different pasts, players should feel free to develop their own rather than roll if they desire. The pasts presented here can be used as inspiration to help tell unique, personal stories that offer fun narrative moments!
A past should be a force that propels the character forward, similar to giri, or duty. A past is usually some sort of personal obligation, antagonizing entity, or choice that the character or someone else made that haunts the character even now.
their ninjō, getting them into trouble, or even threatening their life. There might be hard decisions or tough fights ahead for the character when their past rears its head, and selecting a past that strikes a chord with a player is important in having fun! Characters will struggle, and that struggle should remain fun for players as they watch their character grow.
When selecting a past, it’s important to keep in mind that this is not something that a character will be able to avoid! Players should choose a past that has the potential to cause problems that the player finds interesting, because the GM will be using these pasts to present challenges, interesting narrative scenes, and discord. When a character’s past comes up in a session, it will likely make a character’s day unpleasant, conflicting with
Table 2–1: Sample Pasts
ROLL | PAST | DESCRIPTION
01–06 | Spiritual Troubles
Because you desecrated a shrine, ignored an oath, or crossed the Fortunes (or other spirits) in some other way, these forces hound you at every turn. You face curses; misfortune; subtle distrust from those around you, even if they do not know what you did; or direct attacks by spirits.
07–14 | Bad Family History | Your family may or may not have been falsely accused, but sometimes the accusation is enough. Too many people know and judge you for it.
15–22 | Bad Reputation
Due to an actual or imagined wrongdoing, your name is a burden to you. You, or a close relation associated with you, may have:
• Been accused of murder • Authored an inappropriate work (a pillow book, a heretical tract, or a satire about the Emperor) • Had a messy affair and perhaps produced a child • Engaged in thievery • Voluntarily left your liege
23–30 | Debts to Pay
You owe a vast sum of money to some individual or family, and you must pay back a percentage of it on a regular basis. If you fail to make a payment, you may find yourself the target of a bounty.
31–38 | Desertion
Whether due to cowardice or for admirable reasons, you left your post. Your commander, liege, or peers intend to bring you back to answer for your crime.
39–46 | Duty
You still adhere to an ideal, whether it comes from a clan, your monastic vows, a governmental post, your family, or other outsiders. Without this ideal, you would fall apart. If you choose this past, you may optionally use the rules for giri in the core rulebook, with your GM’s approval (pages 88–90).
47–54 | Fallen Family Legacy
Your family once had a name, land, and title. You still have the name, but nothing else. Your name, however, does not protect you from bitter heimin or ruthless bandits, and other samurai treat you worse than dirt.
55–62 | Family in Need
Your family needs money, medicine, care, attention, rescue from a rival clan or mysterious captors, or some other thing from you. Without it, they will perish.
63–70 | Forsaken Vows
Perhaps you still keep your head shaved, but you were expelled from a monastery or left for personal reasons. You cannot return until you resolve those issues.
71–78 | Long Path of Waves
After your gempuku, you set out to explore the world. You have not returned to your home, and your family seeks to take you back.
79–86 | Lifelong Enemy | An individual or a family has competed against you for the same love, position, power, wealth, or fame all your life. They block you at every turn.
87–93 | Unearned Heroism
94–100 Witness
You won a duel or contest against a master by accident or via nefarious means. The master or their subordinate seeks you out, and the pressures of your reputation follow you.
You know too much, having observed a crime, spied on some evil magic, or seen nobility where they shouldn’t have been. You’ve kept your mouth shut, but the spied-upon party wants you silent permanently.
Texto do livro
Path of Waves – The Essential Guide to Rōnin · Chapter 2: Creating a Character › Part III: The Past and the Future · p. 60 p. 61
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Selecting One’s Past Properly
A past is a story, one that can deeply impact a person. Because rōnin have lost their place in samurai society their stories tend to be tragic, ones of circumstances that have kept them from fulfilling their promise or destiny. While Table 2–1: Sample Pasts provides a wide range of different pasts, players should feel free to develop their own rather than roll if they desire. The pasts presented here can be used as inspiration to help tell unique, personal stories that offer fun narrative moments!
A past should be a force that propels the character forward, similar to giri, or duty. A past is usually some sort of personal obligation, antagonizing entity, or choice that the character or someone else made that haunts the character even now.
their ninjō, getting them into trouble, or even threatening their life. There might be hard decisions or tough fights ahead for the character when their past rears its head, and selecting a past that strikes a chord with a player is important in having fun! Characters will struggle, and that struggle should remain fun for players as they watch their character grow.
When selecting a past, it’s important to keep in mind that this is not something that a character will be able to avoid! Players should choose a past that has the potential to cause problems that the player finds interesting, because the GM will be using these pasts to present challenges, interesting narrative scenes, and discord. When a character’s past comes up in a session, it will likely make a character’s day unpleasant, conflicting with
Table 2–1: Sample Pasts
ROLL | PAST | DESCRIPTION
01–06 | Spiritual Troubles
Because you desecrated a shrine, ignored an oath, or crossed the Fortunes (or other spirits) in some other way, these forces hound you at every turn. You face curses; misfortune; subtle distrust from those around you, even if they do not know what you did; or direct attacks by spirits.
07–14 | Bad Family History | Your family may or may not have been falsely accused, but sometimes the accusation is enough. Too many people know and judge you for it.
15–22 | Bad Reputation
Due to an actual or imagined wrongdoing, your name is a burden to you. You, or a close relation associated with you, may have:
• Been accused of murder • Authored an inappropriate work (a pillow book, a heretical tract, or a satire about the Emperor) • Had a messy affair and perhaps produced a child • Engaged in thievery • Voluntarily left your liege
23–30 | Debts to Pay
You owe a vast sum of money to some individual or family, and you must pay back a percentage of it on a regular basis. If you fail to make a payment, you may find yourself the target of a bounty.
31–38 | Desertion
Whether due to cowardice or for admirable reasons, you left your post. Your commander, liege, or peers intend to bring you back to answer for your crime.
39–46 | Duty
You still adhere to an ideal, whether it comes from a clan, your monastic vows, a governmental post, your family, or other outsiders. Without this ideal, you would fall apart. If you choose this past, you may optionally use the rules for giri in the core rulebook, with your GM’s approval (pages 88–90).
47–54 | Fallen Family Legacy
Your family once had a name, land, and title. You still have the name, but nothing else. Your name, however, does not protect you from bitter heimin or ruthless bandits, and other samurai treat you worse than dirt.
55–62 | Family in Need
Your family needs money, medicine, care, attention, rescue from a rival clan or mysterious captors, or some other thing from you. Without it, they will perish.
63–70 | Forsaken Vows
Perhaps you still keep your head shaved, but you were expelled from a monastery or left for personal reasons. You cannot return until you resolve those issues.
71–78 | Long Path of Waves
After your gempuku, you set out to explore the world. You have not returned to your home, and your family seeks to take you back.
79–86 | Lifelong Enemy | An individual or a family has competed against you for the same love, position, power, wealth, or fame all your life. They block you at every turn.
87–93 | Unearned Heroism
94–100 Witness
You won a duel or contest against a master by accident or via nefarious means. The master or their subordinate seeks you out, and the pressures of your reputation follow you.
You know too much, having observed a crime, spied on some evil magic, or seen nobility where they shouldn’t have been. You’ve kept your mouth shut, but the spied-upon party wants you silent permanently.