Cursed Blades
A downloadable ttrpg
Over 500 years ago, the brave samurai Prince Kintaro defeated a group of malevolent spirits, followers of Shutendōji, the demon king, and sealed them within three magical swords. However, in the Meiji era, these blades have fallen into the wrong hands, leading them to possess their wielders, seeking to fulfill their original mission: overthrowing Prince Kintaro. Players take on the roles of these cursed
spirits trapped within the swords, each possessing their unique personalities, abilities, and motivations. Together, they must find a descendant of Prince Kintaro, who might hold the key to their liberation or revenge.
What You Need to Play:
- 4 players, one as the game master.
- 2 six-sided dice.
Download
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Development log
- Cursed Blades: Added a new table and made some micro corrections.Oct 29, 2023
- Table omitted in the textOct 19, 2023
Comments
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The Game mentions a table provided during the first paragraph of Game Flow then fails to provide a table. And I feel like some sample humans would be nice.
Hey there! You've really spotted a major omission, thanks a lot for pointing that out. When I was converting from plain text to formatting, I didn't realize the table got left behind. Things happen when you're working against the clock for a JAM, haha. Here's the table for you until I can update the file:
Each player chooses who their first possessed is. If they want to choose the same one, just change it to a group, like "a group of rebel samurai" or "a group of imperial officers", etc.
1- A Rebel samurai, who refuses the changes of the Meiji era.
2-A Mysterious foreigner, who's come to Japan in search of adventures or ancient secrets.
3-A young peasant, yearning to escape the oppression of the Meiji era.
4-A Ninja, dedicated to the arts of infiltration and stealth.
5-A Priest, with magical abilities and knowledge of Japanese mythology.
6-A Ronin, without a master, who has lost their lord and seeks purpose in life.
7-A Cunning merchant, who navigates the social and business circles of the Meiji era.
8-A Curious scholar, obsessed with Japanese history and mythology.
9- An Imperial officer, from the Meiji era, committed to modernizing the country.
10- An experienced thief, searching for riches and dangerous thrills.
Do they come with suggested stat spreads? (It was me it was one of my players from my one shot group who noticed it before we started) But as the person who intended to run it, I don't know what type of net total a person should have. (I can probably fake it but I should probably ask)
Sorry but not, as a game master you decide/improvise the character stats. In general, I'd suggest you start by thinking the possessed NPC strengths. For instance, a monk or a priest might have more spirit because of their practices, or a samurai could have a higher physical bonus due to their martial discipline. Once you've pinpointed that strength, give them a +2 bonus an the rest of it a +1 ,0 or even -1 , but, of course, talk with the players at the table if something doesn't quite fit with the character.
I'd also recommend asking questions or letting the players answer them, such as, "Why is this person here?" or ""What did this person lose when they were possessed?" an d once they're possessed, you can ask the players for more details about the possessed individual. Remember, they have access not only the body but to their mind and spirit to(And it could be a good opportunity for a Will stat check). Take note of the players' ideas and proposals and collectively decide what works best to enhance the fiction. I hope these tips help you run the game smoothly, and, of course, give me the scoop on how it all went!
Thanks for the quick reply the playtest probably won't be until the first since one of the normal members of the group is out of town. But I will be sure to get back to you once we do.
So we completed the game. I can hand you the full character sheets if you want either here or in DMs.
Impressions of the game:
Overall I like the structure it encouraged me to lean into and I think it accomplished the story it was trying to tell. Solid One shot option at least for the group I have. I try to run things as close to the intention as possible it seems like it wasn't trying to define much more then structure of cursed blades grappling with strength of redemption over revenge. Maybe I am totally off base on that though.
a minor editing note: It says they start with 6 Penitence and if you accumulate 4 more you "lose your desire for vengeance and embrace the light of Amaterasu, ascending to Yomi, the celestial realm." is that supposed to happen immediately? And the character sheet only has the 4 marks so the initial 6s significance seems meaningless unless I am missing something or they should detail that. (Yes I am once again asking for more detail then the game needs)
Brief Summary of the specific of our game if its useful for you from the GMs perspective:
We started with some a lot of failed rolls and that lead to them starting on some virtuous impressions that influenced later decisions. It also meant they spent most of their time in Chapter 1. As a sidenote I do not think I prompted them to give me enough backstory on their hosts because they started with clear impressions and intentions of what to do before those went sideways.
They all ended up going into chapter 2 as some form of low class criminal who still taught them some odd virtue, so when they arrived at the estate and found the family sick they were primed to be more worried about helping with that then getting revenge on hurt induvial, even if the redemption started as: "Its not a victory to strike down the sick" they collective decided they were close enough that the process of tending would have pushed them over to leaving revenge alone at least for the most part.
If you have questions feel free to ask.