Kensei

A tabletop game produced by Zenit Miniatures set in Not-Japan, semi-historical although with optional fantasy elements. Not to be confused with the "totally not a samurai!" Fighter kit from Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

Setting

The map of Hymukai.

Kensei is set in a setting which is very similar to our world, although the fictionalization allows them to have greater freedom with factions, have their version of Japan, called Hymukai (also called Himukai or the "Wa Empire" by other peoples) which is off the coast of the Ashihara (not-Asia) continent, and be anachronistic by having groups from various points in real Japan's history at the same time.

History

The history of Hymukai begins when Hikari (AKA not-Amaterasu) gave birth to a woman named Jingu who became the first Tenno (AKA not-Emperor/Empress). Jingu and her descendants are considered Kami, or protector gods, who ascend to Hikari's realm rather than die.

Hikari gave Jingu four gifts to use to strengthen her kingdom; a Katana to use to counter threats, an O-Yoroi (samurai armor) to endure misfortune and maintain identity, a Joyel (AKA a jewel) to bring wealth, and a Mirror for introspection and purity. A later Tenno named Ayanami united Hymukai under her rule.

The Tennos made a trip around Hymukai every year with these objects to banish malicious spirits. When not on this pilgrimage, Tennos resided in the palace city of Hejian-Jo (also called Heian-Jo).

The descendants of Ayanami were the first nobles, and in Hymukai tradition only relatives of the Tennos can be nobles at all. As each family grew, their ties began to become distanced as one family became multiple clans of multiple families and servants ruled by a noble called a Daimyo. Those high nobles who dwelled in Heian-Jo and the nearby regions served the Tenno directly, and had authority over all others. They became known as the Kuge, and were represented by the holy O-Yoroi.

The noble families who ruled the further, more rural lands obeyed the will of the Kuge and were the first defense against threats. They became the warrior class, the bulk of the samurai, and developed the Bushido code. Samurai could become members of Kuge households or marry into a Kuge family, but the non-Kuge noble clans became known as Buke. The Buke are represented by the holy Katana.

The priesthood of Hymukai enjoy autonomy from the feudal system. They are loyal to the Kami themselves, and the Tenno as a result. Priests and nuns are not required to be chaste in most cases, and usually a temple is run by a single family who accepts any of dedication into their clan. Each temple controls lands and peasants to be independent of Kuge or Buke. The religious clans are called Sohei, and are represented by the holy Mirror.

The final group is made up of powerful families who run the towns and city infrastructure of Hymukai, as well as all trade. Technically the servants of the Buke, these families are considered low class and often barely better than peasants if even that as the Buke see little worth respect in their way of life. These families are commonly called Otokodate. They follow their own code called Kikotsu which is based on Bushido. The Otokodate consider the holy Joyel to be their proof of position in society.

Ninja clans and pirates also exist in Hymukai, dwelling in hidden lands.

For supposedly three thousand years, the Tenno Sujin supposedly ruled Hymukai. Although they had warred in the past with their neighbors the Seven Realms of the Celestial Empire (not-China), Terai (not-India), and Nishi (not-Korea), Hymukai remained isolated from the outside world barring rare and cautious trade with Gaijin (non-native) Nanban (foreign merchants) from other lands. Then one year, while on pilgrimage, Sujin vanished with the four holy objects. The Kuge immediately began to debate who would be his successor, unconcerned with his actual fate and equally unconcerned with the relics as they meant little to many Kuge save mark of office. Debate lead to conflict, as important families were found dead to the last heir and documents of lineage missing or destroyed. Heian-Jo burned as the families fled to distant cities, built like reflections of the holy capital. The holy city now sits abandoned for the most part, and whispers say Oni (powerful conquering demons) inhabit it preparing to make war on man.

The Kuge called the service of the Buke loyal to them to destroy their rivals for the throne, and though some did answer the call others were occupied by their own war. As stability had broken down, some Buke clans had attacked other Buke to expand their own territory while others declared themselves independent of Kuge rule. Some saw it as a chance to join the ranks of the Kuge, and the most ambitious of them conspired to do away with Kuge and control a complacent Tenno puppet using a Shogun (a Daimyo who executes the will of the Tenno, a position currently held by the entire Kuge caste).

As the Buke and Kuge battled, higher and higher taxes were raised on the peasantry. Farmers were drawn into Ashigaru (militia, or man-at-arms forces) units without choice. They fled to the Sohei in droves, drawing the Sohei into the politics of the war. Temples nearby battlefields were raided for supplies, and the unimportant delay in recruiting a new Tenno to keep the forces of the Earth in balance offended the Sohei greatly. They began to preach an apocalyptic warning while lecturing on the fate of the soul. Some Kuge and many Buke removed themselves from the conflict either out of fear or shame, joining the Sohei and bringing with them wealth and a strong warrior base of Ashigaru and Samurai. Now the Sohei seek an end to the war, defending the common people and curbing the ambition of the two castes.

Meanwhile, the Otokodate have risen up against their arrogant samurai oppressors as the past humiliations have compiled with the other three castes expecting the merchants to bear the bulk of the sacrifice for the war efforts through donation or looting. Declaring themselves nobility and forming pacts and alliances, they have formed relations with the outside world to bring allies and weapons they can use to establish dominance. As time has gone on, the Otokodate have begun to resemble more and more the Buke, Kuge, and Sohei castes as they incorporate anything that works into their methods and plans.

Factions

Each faction is made up of the clans within one of four social positions. Each has reason to make war against themselves, and each has different tactics, army options, and philosophy so don't assume that simply because you choose to play one that you are forced into a cookie-cutter. No examples are given of paintjob or build beyond example models and contents of the army bundles, so a Kuge force of nobles sympathetic to a peasants rebellion or Sohei communists are both as viable.

Kuge

The upper nobility of Hymukai. Only the highest among the Kuge Daimyos ever actually saw the Tenno, with them ensuring his will was carried out.

All Kuge families are directly related to the Tenno line, and each sees themselves as the most legitimate ruler as family lines are extremely blurred as to who exactly the heir should actually be. None are actually interested in reclaiming the four holy treasures, as whoever brings them back would simply be the one doing the dirty work of the actual heir. Kuge have ample reason to dislike the other factions; internally, every Kuge clan is a rival to the throne, the Buke are made up of traitors who broke their oaths, the Sohei are peasants and sometimes heretics, and the Otokodate are Otokodate which is enough of a reason to hate them.

As the Kuge believe their honor is by default unquestionable since they possess divine blood in their veins they are quick to resort to underhanded tactics, giving orders to their still-loyal Buke commanders alongside Shinobi assassins to the great disdain of the former party. While all factions employ spies and hitmen, the Kuge are willing to field hordes of Ninjas to poison and trap the enemy. Kuge also use women in their armies, allowing anyone capable of using a weapon and showing their loyalty to march on their behalf. Kuge are also willing to field men with firearms from foreign lands, an abhorrent thing to the rest of society, but they are unwilling to allow the monotheistic preachers to remain in their lands as the faith of the One God does not allow them to claim their divine right to rule. For similar reasons, the Kuge mostly stick with the Shinto faith as it gives them the maximum authority.

Buke

The warrior castes of Hymukai. Although the Buke clans are also related to the Tenno line, they are bound by oaths and the distance of their territory from the capital not to attempt to claim the position. Instead many clans want to replace the Kuge class entirely with one giant Buke class (which is what happened in real life Japan). Buke are the most strict caste in terms of rank and behavior. Social position is well noted, duties are codified, and dishonor not tolerated by self or others.

In terms of the current war, Buke are split between those interested in increasing their own power and those disillusioned with the "supreme divine right" of the Kuge. While Kuge scheme and assassinate over who will rule, the Buke interest and method is more simple; envy your neighbor, march your army and take what is rightfully yours by virtue of your strength. The Sohei, those who should respect their betters, must be taught their place while the Otokodate are barely human as far as the Buke are concerned.

Buke absolutely refuse to use firearms, as foreigners and their sinful weapons have no place in Hymukai. Archers are more respected, but ultimately the only true art lies in martial combat. They are willing to use spies and some minor assassins although not to the extent of the other clans.

Sohei

Mostly made up of the priesthood and armed peasant rebellions that they support. Sohei are united in theory alone, as each temple is entirely independent of any other authority. In the past, temples have lost priceless relics and destroyed each other in small contained wars over the details in the life of important figures, or in which temple gets to host the local festivals that season.

In general, the Sohei are at war with any other faction at war. The Kuge bicker like children while the holy relics lay forgotten, the Buke have refused their sacred duties to the royal line, and the Otokodate have committed grave acts of heresy by allowing in foreigners, converting to other faiths, and thinking they can simply become part of the nobility without having any of the goddess Hikari's blood in their veins. All three sides put all the pressure on the poor to support their endeavors, allowing the children of farmers to starve in order to sell that food to buy weapons to arm the sons of men they left trampled in the mud over an acre of land that ultimately only belongs to the Tenno, whoever it may be. When armed samurai covered in blood come to the temple and demand the offerings to the spirits of the harvest to feed themselves because they are strong enough to take it, the response will not be pleasant.

The calls of the Sohei have come to all Hymukai, and many have abandoned their stake in the conflict to swear themselves over to the Sohei. Men desert their armies and civilians take up discarded weapons to protect the few places of peace there are left in the world.

While the Sohei are completely unwilling to convert to other faiths and have no means of trading with the outside world, any firearms that do come to the Sohei are not turned away. Foreigners find mercy and kindness when driven to the Sohei by the aggressive Buke or fair-weather friend Otokodate.

Otokodate

The merchant class as well as the middle-management. Otokodate are made up of any with enough power to rise up, as well as the ambition or outrage to make it worth betraying their superiors. All of their clans are newly formed, and very few if any are of actual nobility as Hymukai perceive it.

Otokodate are very diverse and fall into a range of roles; some Daimyo of Otokodate clans believe themselves to be the new Buke, surrounding themselves with Ronin (masterless, usually mercenary, warriors from a samurai background) and wearing expensive and ornate suits of O-Yoroi while intimidating those around them and looking for any excuse to show their power. Some are more humble like the Sohei and subscribe to the code of the Kykotsu which presents a more humane approach towards honor than Bushido, representing the craftsmen and undesirables of society as they attempt to forge a new caste that is free of the use and abuse they have suffered in the past. Still others are prideful and arrogant like the Kuge, believing control of the cash box and the act of finding the holy relics of the Tenno to be all they require to claim rulership of the land.

Regardless of their disposition and goals, the Otokodate have access to the strengths of the other clans. Their warriors wield far stronger firearms than the other castes have access to, are far more willing to employ large groups of assassins, and will even use corruption to bribe members of their foe's armies. They have their own samurai as well, and will even arm peasantry and train them in ways usually limited to those of noble blood or wealth which gives the Otokodate a far more diverse fighting force. Otokodate have even been willing to allow foreign settlements, even convert to the strange faiths, just to earn more advantage in their trade negotiations.

The Otokodate find enemies primarily in the Buke class, with whom they have the biggest grudge. Kuge are simply a more distant version of the Buke, and are little different in dealings. The Sohei and Otokodate have little real reason to come into conflict, since both represent an oppressed lower class although the spiritual weakness of the Otokodate doesn't earn them any favor in the priesthoods eyes, while the expectation that wealth and status be thrown away to serve distant spirits who may not even exist is laughable to the Otokodate.

Models

Special Characters

• Kensei

The titular characters available, Kensei are samurai who have attained a reputation across all of Hymukai. Swordsmen at the highest level of skill, masters of the tea ceremony (a MASSIVELY important custom that simply involves preparing and sharing nutritious and delicious tea, symbolizing mastery in all aspects of life from grave to wisdom as well as spiritual fulfillment), artists, poets, writers, sages, and merciful in conflict due to the fact they only fight to preserve their own honor rather than increase it. Kensei are the ideal of Hymukai society with anyone attaining the title being known across the land, and many respect a hostile Kensei more than the Daimyo they serve. Kensei can be found in all walks of life, as likely to be sweeping steps at a Sohei shrine as in the role of an adviser to a Buke warlord, as likely wandering an Otokodate trade road as being a regular in the court of the Kuge. To be able to boast a Kensei in your army both increases your honor and claim to respect as well as gives you access to an INCREDIBLY skilled warrior who can deflect or cut flying arrows with their sword and slice a man clean in half with only their katana.

tl;dr gentleman high-level murderhobos

Soudntrack

A composer named Jonay Armas is writing a soundtrack for use while painting or playing Kensei.

• Main Theme
• Ashigaru Theme

See Also

• An unboxing and review of a starter box.
• The lore website, currently out of date as Otokodate have not been added.
• The free rules download.
• Markers needed to play.
• The online store.
• Licensed terrain.