NPC Cast

[Aji]

Aji
Height: 5'3"
Build: Average, but athletic.
Marital Status: Nun, single.
Age: 32

Born of low born peasants, Aji is the head nun and has overseen the shrine for the last ten to twelve years. She loves her work and is always willing to aid the local peasants and speak as their advocate. She is very well liked and is said to have a talent for preparing healing poultices and other minor medicines. Especially for fixing vigor in men and women in the bedroom.

A slim woman of middle age, she stays in shape with a rigorous routine of exercise and martial arts and tends to dress in drab simple clothing from head to toe. She wears a kind smile and an open demeanor.

Hooks

• Aji loves to talk to strangers and always has an ear for folks from far off provinces or even clans.
• The nun can provide basic healing especially for ronin if they are in need and does not charge for her services.
• Interested in the local history especially of a mystical or spiritual nature, she can provide many tales.

[Daidoji Kio]

Daidoji Kio
Height: 4'7"
Build: Athletic child.
Marital Status: Underage child.
Age: 10

The niece and page of Daidoji Yushoko, Kio is barely ten years of age and is enjoying the adventure of seeing a new place. She is curious and likes to explore the locale. This gets Kio into trouble but thankfully she has her auntie to shield her from the worst of any problems.

A healthy young girl, she is active and likes to get her hands dirty. She is set to start bushi training soon when she returns from the trip and takes every opportunity to observe strong fighters.

Hooks

• Kio wants to be a strong fighter, can you be her senpai and guide her?
• Looking to make a good impression, Kio is dear to Yushoko who dotes on her.
• Kio's parents are the ruling family of the Daidoji family, so she is kind of important.

[Daidoji Yushoko]

Daidoji Yushoko
Height: 5'7"
Build: Average build.
Marital Status: Single, unmarried.
Age: 26

A kind and pleasant woman of Crane breeding, Yushoko is approaching the upper limits of what many would consider to be acceptable for an unmarried samurai from a good family. She was trained as an artisan, focusing on poetry and wordplay but sadly among her peers she is considered middling at best though for Crab she may be considered brilliant. This is her first time outside of the lands of the Crane and she does not have high expectations of the Crab.

Graceful Crane beauty, she is a product of good breeding and training. Yet she is terribly unambitious and shies away from the spotlight. She much prefers to dote on her niece and work on her poetry than do her courtly duties but she does not shirk her duties.

Hooks

• Poetry is a first love of Yushoko, do not be boring.
• If you prefer a quiet afternoon with tea and few words, she is your woman.
• She isn't boring, she is reserved.

[Doji Kintaro]

Doji Kintaro
Height: 5'10"
Build: Average, dad body.
Marital Status: Married with children.
Age: 41

Starting his courtier career as a yojimbo, Kintaro has established himself as a duelist of solid ability but his ability to work words and people is what got him promoted to the role of diplomat for the Crane. He is a pleasant man of culture and is always impeccably dressed and never flustered. He has a keen eye and knows how to move people and yet never forsake his Honor. Nearing forty years of age, he has fathered three children with his lovely wife and is contemplating if he should seek a posting closer to home to spend time with his family.

Handsome and well dressed, Kintaro believes that a samurai must look the part. He likes to be the first up and the last to sleep, and is diligent and hard working. He does not abide laziness or carelessness and is quick to correct those who fall short of his expectations with pointed, though in his mind helpful, criticism.

Hooks

• Kintaro is a duelist, not the best to ever draw thee blade but respected.
• Cultured and judgmental, it is known that Kintaro has a dislike of uncouth behavior.
• He hates the Unicorn, especially the Moto.

[Hida Fuboshi]

Hida Fuboshi
Height: 5'9"
Build: Stocky, muscular build.
Marital Status: Widowed, with children.
Age: 56

The Little Mountain is approaching fifty years of age and her body has endured fifty years of battle, having come of age during the War of the Last Hantei, all she has known is battle and enduring the worst. She rose up from being a wall sentry and soldier on the Wall to the Provincial daimyo of the Crab province where Fire Shrimp Village resides. Her husband died at her hands, tainted he opted for seppuku and she played his second, her last act of love for her dear husband.

Fuboshi is a hard woman with many scars and a dead left eye, she does not speak she only commands and her children are terrified of her. She has buried one child, and is now sending another off to the Crane for the good of the clan. This has not made her pleased especially since her daughter has yet to produce an heir. Her build is stocky and muscular even in her latter years.

Hooks

• Fuboshi is a warrior and commander, she runs her family like she runs her soldiers; with aggression and pain.
• In her latter years she has taken to drink more so than she would like to admit, she loves an excuse to drink.
• Fuboshi loves a good hunt, nothing like killing worthy prey.

[Bayushi Ijihime]

Bayushi Ijihime
Height: 5'2"
Build: Slim and petite, with curves.
Marital Status: Widowed mother.
Age: 21

A long time friend of Otomo Yusuke, Ijihime is a pillowbook writer of high talent and regard. Her scathing and salacious tales are always the talk of the Capitol. She survived her late husband who was cut down by a Lion duelist two years past, though there are rumors that the Lion only did so because he was in love with the Scorpion, still she mourned the appropriate time and has since rebuffed any offers of marriage.

She is a stylish woman with a gaze that draws people in and a sultry voice that holds the ear. Like many of the lost generation of Scorpion she often does not wear a mask, having been brought up in the lands of the Crane. Her figure has filled out after the birth of her daughter who is at home back in the Capitol.

Hooks

• Ijihime is always watching, there is always inspiration for a new character or story.
• Her daughter is dear to her, and she makes it a point to bring back gifts for her little one.
• Otomo Yusuke relies on Ijihime for many tasks, one can wonder how deep that relationship goes...

[Hida Yoji]

Hida Yoji
Height: 6'2"
Build: Extreme muscular build.
Marital Status: Single, unmarried.
Age: 18

Hida Yoji is an intimidating specimen even among the Crab, large and powerful in frame he enjoys physical activity. He served on the Wall until recently when he found out he was being groomed for a wedding... the only catch is that he would leave the clan and become a Crane. He is still grappling with the idea of the huge change in his life with a strange woman he has never met.

He is rough but handsome if you like the type and is muscular in the extreme. He isn't much for courtly life but not out of aversion just ignorance. Yoji spends his free time with his dog, Bujaro, a large mutt that his sister gave him before he went to the Wall, two years ago. Yoji loves Bujaro, and the two are rarely parted even in court. Something his mother encourages because it annoys more proper courtiers a great deal.

Hooks

• Yoji loves his dog, so hopefully you like dogs too.
• Yoji has spent his last few months studying the Crane and how to act proper, maybe you can help him?
• Despite his brutish appearance, word is that Yoji is a bit of a hopeless romantic and not as experienced as many expect a Hida bushi to be with well love and romance...

[Hida Kitusuchi]

Hida Kitusuchi
Height: 5'8"
Build: Athletic and toned build.
Marital Status: Married, but no children.
Age: 28

Lord of Bronze Carp Castle, daughter and vassal of Hida Fuboshi, Kitusuchi is being groomed to become the next provincial daimyo when her mother dies, none think the old woman would retire willingly. Kitusuchi has a husband, a craven merchant patron named Yancho of the Yasuki but they don't seem to get along at all and Yancho is often seen at the Hole. Kitusuchi seems to not be bothered by her husband's antics and focuses on running the village and seeing to the lands her mother has charged her with. Trained as a scout, she has transitioned to a field commander and has proven herself a capable tactician and leader. It should be noted she is Yoji's elder sibling and someone he looks up to.

Kitusuchi is a beauty like her mother, and is a hard woman. Though lacking the keen edges of her mother, she is more blunt and to the point. Her mother's insistence that she give her an grandchild and an heir is grating on her though and it has sparked no few fiery arguments with her husband... some expect that if a divorce is not forthcoming someone is going to have an unfortunate hunting accident, and the Lord of Bronze Carp Castle is a skilled huntress.

Hooks

• Her favorite past time is to go hunting, something she enjoys doing with her mother.
• Kitusuchi is blunt and to the point and hates beating around the bush, get to the point.
• She is struggling with how to repair her marriage or if she should just face the shame of divorce, maybe you can help her decide?

[Otomo Yusuke]

Otomo Yusuke
Height: 5'5"
Build: Average granddad bod.
Marital Status: Widowed, with children.
Age: 52

Otomo Yusuke in his youth was a roguish cad, well liked for his many misadventures at court but also made a name for himself for charming many a maiden and young man with his silver tongue and fine features. In his late twenties he had to settle down and was a good husband for nearly twenty years before his wife died of consumption three winters back. Now an older and more mature man, whatever dalliance's he is enjoying he keeps far from the prying eyes of the court. He is now more famous for brokering this peace deal and arranging the marriage between these two families.

Handsome even in his older age, he is a striking figure in his fine clothing and impeccable bearing. His hair has gone silver but his eyes still pierce through you and shine with charm. His voice is deep and enticing and his nature is one of confidence and sincerity, truly a specimen of good breeding and training.

Hooks

• Some say he is the inspiration for the Moto Silvia pillowbook series.
• Charming and handsome, it is said he is never without a companion when the nights get cold.
• This union will happen and Yusuke will see it done, he does not know how to fail.

[Ikeda Ishi]

Ikeda Ishi
Height: 5'6"
Build: Athletic and muscular.
Marital Status: Single, unmarried.
Age: 19

Trained in the Ikeda swordsmanship style, Ishi is a prodigy even at the age of nineteen and well sought after as a wife but so far seems only focused on her duties to her Lord and the Imperial throne. A favored retainer of Oturi Toturi, she has come at the behest of Otomo Yusuke to provide a keen blade and honored presence for his dealings.

Ishi has a warrior's build and in armor and clothing that is of tighter fit reveals her more masculine build with slight bosom and brought shoulders but she has powerful legs and is strong of arm. She tends to eschew fancy kimono and dresses as a soldier unless her betters demand it. She is quiet and observant, and prefers to stay in the background.

Hooks

• Not really important.
• A skilled swordswoman and duelist, if that matters to you.
• In her downtime she likes to read.

[Yoritomo Xung-Ji]

Yoritomo Xung-Ji
Height: 5'10"
Build: Athletic.
Marital Status: Newly Single, ready to mingle.
Age: 22

Xung-ji is officially here on invitation by the family of the groom, unofficially she might be laying low after a rather successful series of raids along the Phoenix lands. Who knows? The Drunken Shark is docked at the village and for now her crew have some shore time, which means drunken Mantis storming the Hole and any number of hijinks.

To smooth things over Xyung-Ji has presented Hida Kitusuchi an offering of plunder... ahem, gifts from her campaign in the North. An offering to show that the Mantis value the friendship of the Crab and the lineage of Fuboshi in the particular. Xung-Ji though seems to be here for her own needs with the death of her husband at sea during one of her raids... ahem campaigns, she's in the market.

Hooks

• I am not a pirate, I am a privateer in service to the Mantis clan champion.
• The Drunken Shark is one of the fastest ships on the sea, the Phoenix fear her.
• Gambling, fighting, and smoking is all one needs.