Rise of the Overlord - using Legend of the Five Rings

Background
It is now mid-summer in Rokugan. In late-spring, a storm of unbelievable magnitude struck the
coast of Tortoise Clan lands, flooding almost all of their of arable land and threatened to flow
into the streets of Otosan Uchi itself. Luckily that did not happen, but the water had nowhere to
go after an already wetter than normal spring and the plains have turned into swampland.
Emperor Toturi III generously opens his reserve food stores to keep the Tortoises peasants
from starving, but even after several weeks, the water has still not fully receded. A supernatural
origin for the storm and the resultant flooding has been bandied about, but none of the
Emperors advisors have discovered any plots or machinations aimed at the Empire or the
Tortoise. At a loss about what to do, the Emperors advisors have recommended a wait and
see approach, hoping for the best. The situation may get better soon, but the Tortoise face
disaster if the flood waters linger much longer.
In the meantime, pirates from the islands near the coast have taken advantage of the situation
to step up their raids, the deep water allowing them to penetrate further inland than ever before.
The peasants have taken to calling these raiders the Swamp Pirates of the Peninsula.
History
Unbeknownst to the Empire, the storm was indeed a magical phenomena. Many years ago, as
Iuchiban began his rise to power, the sorcerer designed a contingency plan in case of his
defeat. Sacrificing one of his top Oni lieutenants, Iuchiban created the Doomsday Clock, a
mechanical device with the power to open a portal to Toshigoku, the Realm of Slaughter, and
powered it with the demon's soul. He then raised a small land mass in the ocean, dubbed it the
Island of Lost Souls, and placed the Clock there. Iuchiban also buried a number of stone
warriors, in suspended animation, on the island as protection. Through the use of a massive
amount of spell energy, Iuchiban then sank the island to keep his creation safe.
Finally, the sorcerer created a ritual, leaving it with his followers, containing instructions about
the Doomsday Clock, its function, and how to use it. If the inconceivable happened and he were
killed, Iuchiban's agents would simply need to conduct a sacrifice of sufficient size to gather
enough energy to raise the island, then follow the procedures he laid out to start the Clock. The
Clock would then draw incorporeal undead (ghosts, banshees, wights, etc.) from around
Rokugan to it, and begin siphoning their energy. Once enough power is collected in this
manner, the portal to Toshigoku will open, allowing a resurrected Iuchiban to reenter the mortal
world.
The Plan Comes Together
Years later, when the stars aligned appropriately (called the astrological convergence), a new
cult of Bloodspeakers put their dead master's plan into action. Using a large number of human
sacrifices from a Phoenix Clan village, the cultists summoned a storm of such immense

magnitude that it raised the Island of Lost Souls, while at the same time flooding much of the
coast.
With the island now visible, the cult just needed a curious soul, free of taint, to start the Clock by
pulling its activation lever. As befitting a device of pure evil, the poor innocents energy would be
consumed by the Clock once the lever was pulled, providing the initial charge needed to get the
Clocks hands to start moving. This step was accomplished by the pirates, sending a signal to
Jama Suru II, the Bloodspeaker cult leader, that it was time to move to the next phase in
Iuchibans resurrection.
Finally, the Bloodspeakers required sacrifices for a second ritual that would summon the Oni
Lord XXXX, Iuchibans former lieutenant, whose power is intricately tied to the Doomsday Clock.
Using the souls of the bandits captured in the rice paddy, the Bloodspeakers managed to
summon the Oni, granting the Clock enough power to begin drawing undead to the Island of
Lost Souls. The Clock is now gaining in power hourly, and it wont be long before midnight
strikes in the Emerald Empire.
The Adventure Begins
The heroes can be samurai working for the Tortoise or ronin who have been hired to protect the
villages. Either way, they are in Tortoise Clan lands protecting the villages by fighting bandits.
Unfortunately, they were on patrol in a nearby village when word of another attack gets to them.
An out of breathe runner can lead the heroes to the assaulted village via a shortcut. He says
that the pirates were still in town when he left, so if the heroes get there fast enough, they may
still be able to catch them. Reaching the affected village, the heroes find they are definitely too
late to stop the main attack, but there are still a few pirates lingering around town harassing the
villagers and collecting whatever booty they can. The main force of pirates left a while ago, but
these remnants are bold enough to put up a fight.
Defeating these mooks isn't too difficult, and tracks leading through the marshy soil indicate the
direction the main body of pirates took when they left town. With the amount of loot they stole
from the villagers, the pirates have to be weighed down and moving slowly. There is still a
sense of urgency, though, as the heroes have to reach the pirates before they can reach their
ship offshore and load the goods.
The heroes follow the trail for about half a day before they come to the site of a battle in an
abandoned rice paddy. Churned mud and spilled blood color the soil. Broken weapons and
armor lay strewn across the ground, along with a few broken carts and the discarded remains of
the pirate's loot. Surprisingly, there are no bodies to be seen. There are two trails here, one that
leads to the pirates landing craft and another which leads deeper into the swamp. The latter
path has a trail of blood leading through the marsh, so its obvious thats the way the pirates
bodies were taken. Following the bloody trail, the heroes soon come upon a ruined, abandoned
castle -- the trail leads directly into the ruins.
The Bloodseekers

Moving through the ruins, the heroes are confronted by evil cultists, a new iteration of Iuchiban's
Bloodseekers. Along with the cultists, the heroes also have to face the cult's "stone warriors",
undead abominations (dressed in samurai armor) with skin the color and density of obsidian -inferior weapons sometimes break on their tough hides. As the heroes defeat Jama Suru II and
he lay dying, he laughs ominously and says,"Killing me won't change anything. It's too late for
Rokugan -- the Doomsday Clock has already started, ha ha ha!!!"
If the heroes are having trouble, a group of Phoenix clan shugenja show up at the ruins and
help them out. The Phoenix were investigating the destruction of a remote village and the ritual
sacrifice of its residents, and rumors of a new Bloodseeker cult led them out here. The heroes
just happened to arrive at the ruins ahead of them. The shugenja offer an alliance against the
cult and proceed with their mission regardless of the heroes' response -- they simply offer as a
courtesy. If the heroes are not having problems, they run into the shugenja after they're done
fighting but are still within the ruins. As the heroes mop up any lingering resistance, they (along
with the Phoenix) come upon the sacrificed remains of the bandit raiding party. If the heroes (or
the shugenja) have any appropriate knowledge, they will know that this type of ritual is used to
summon Oni lords.
Among the bandit crew's discarded belongings, the heroes locate a map showing the location of
the pirate's hidden base. Though it doesnt appear to be much of a lead, it's still more than the
heroes had before. At this point, the shugenja recommend the heroes head to the pirate hideout
to see if they can find out more about the Oni that was summoned, while they head back to
Phoenix lands to research the "Doomsday Clock".
The Stone Warriors
Long buried in the basement of this ruined fortress, which used to be a Bloodseeker stronghold
before it was destroyed during Iuchibans most recent invasion, the stone warriors are a gift
from Iuchiban. The ritual to awaken them has been handed down over the ages from one cult
leader to another, but the creatures couldn't be roused until the time was right (the astrological
convergence).
The creatures are actually indestructible, their parts slowly regenerating over time. Though
tough to defeat because of their high damage resistance, once they do fall, the stone warriors
take a while to get back up - long enough for the heroes to have moved on. Perhaps the heroes
will fight a particularly large stone warrior in the ruins and will only be able to defeat it through
trickery or guile. The only way to permanently destroy the stone warriors is to destroy the
Doomsday Clock, as the energy that animates them is drawn from the same source as that of
the Clock, Oni Lord XXXX.
To the Pirate Base
To reach the pirates, the heroes can either purchase a canoe from a nearby village or backtrack
to the rice paddy battle site and follow the second path (the one made by the pirates initial trek
into the area) through the marsh to the pirates landing crafts. Oddly, the heroes notice that

there is no larger ship that the landing craft would have launched from. Either way, its a smooth
ride to the pirate hideout, which is located in a sea cave not too far off the coast.
When the heroes arrive, they find the remainder of the pirates under attack by stone warriors,
who are being lead by their general, Kozu. The pirates are being slaughtered to a man, and the
intervention of the heroes only manages to save Captain Soto and his first mate, No-Eyed Pete
(who wears double eye patches).
The Island of Lost Souls
Captain Soto knows when hes been beaten, and willingly cooperates with the heroes. He tells
them that he feels this attack was precipitated by the pirates discovery and exploration of an
odd landmass out in the ocean. While avoiding particularly tenacious Tortoise Clan marine
patrols, the pirates had ventured further asea than they normally traveled. In their flight, they
stumbled upon an uncharted island where no island had been in the past. Curious, the pirates
decided to explore the island to look for treasure.
Instead of loot though, the pirates found the slumbering stone warriors and an odd-looking gold
clock sitting atop a hill. One
of the pirates pulled a lever at
the base of the clock
(disintegrating the hapless
pirate into a pile of ash, and
providing enough fuel for the
Doomsday Clock to start),
which caused its hands to
begin moving. The
movement of the Clock also
awoke the islands
slumbering stone warriors,
who burst from their shallow
graves and immediately
moved to protect the Clock
by driving the intruders away from their masters creation.
Retreating to their ships, the pirates were horrified to see that the stone warriors were not
satisfied with the pirates simply leaving the island -- they were out for blood. General Kozu
pushed his soldiers forward into the water, where they toppled a few of the pirates landing craft,
sending their occupants to a watery death. Captain Soto managed to reach his ship and set off,
but some of the landing craft took off in a separate direction with the stone warriors in hot
pursuit (using ships they capsized earlier -- these craft are the ones that the heroes can find in
the marsh.) and eventually came ashore in Tortoise Clan lands. Seeing no way to reach those
men at the time, Captain Soto returned to the pirate hideout to lick his wounds.
The Pirates Fate

Meanwhile, the fleeing pirates, thinking they had finally escaped their pursuers, moved inland to
grab some loot from nearby villages before tracking down their compatriots. Little did they know
the stone warriors were still on their trail and would soon catch up. Meeting up with the
Bloodspeakers at the rice paddy, the cultists and stone warriors joined forces and laid an
ambush for the pirates, who they knew would be laden with stolen goods when they returned
through the area. The captured pirates were then used as fuel in the Bloodpeakers ritual, and
General Kozu took the majority of his troops back to the Island of Lost Souls.
After hearing Sotos tale, the heroes can search through the pirate base, finding log books and
maps detailing the pirates travels, including the coordinates of the new landmass. The heroes
also have control of the pirates vessel, the Black Bounty, filled with copious amounts of stolen
trade goods and other loot the pirates have stolen over the years. The honorable heroes should
take this opportunity to sail the ship back to Tortoise Clan lands, where they can return the
pirate booty to the authorities and leave Captain Soto and No-Eyed Pete in the hands of
Imperial magistrates to receive judgment.
Court Date
Assuming they do as they should, the heroes are rewarded by the Tortoise Clan Champion,
Kasuga Taigen, with samurai rank and the Kasuga family name (if they dont have one already).
If they are not part of the Tortoise Clan, they are required to swear fealty to the Emperor (the
Tortoise Clans daimyo) and the Clan before they are granted their name. Presuming they
accept this great honor, the heroes are told the true mission of the Tortoise, one nobody outside
the clan knows.
While the heroes are at court, they are met by the Phoenix shugenja who seem deeply
concerned. Their research has shown that the Doomsday Clock was a device created (and
hidden) by Iuchiban as a failsafe in case he were ever killed. The shugenja relay the information
located in the History section to the heroes.
With the information provided by the heroes, the shugenja tell the heroes to get to the island as
soon as possible to try to destroy the Doomsday Clock before it reaches midnight. By their
calculations, midnight should happen in a few days, when the moons align in such a way that
the barriers between the mortal realm and the celestial realms will be particularly weak. For their
part, the shugenja will rally Imperial soldiers from nearby Otosan Uchi and sail to the island to
confront the stone warriors. While the heroes stealthily battle their way to the Clock, the Imperial
army will occupy the bulk of the evil forces that swarm the ground on the Island of Lost Souls
(which now included many different types of undead, including the stone warriors).
Return to The Island of Lost Souls
Ultimately, the heroes will need to confront the Oni Lord at the base of the clock. Since his soul
is tied to the functioning of the Clock, his death will cause it to collapse and force the semi-open
portal closed. This part of the adventure should be timed, as if the heroes dont actually kill the
Oni in time, the Clock will chime and Iuchiban will begin to emerge, drawing energy and power
from his loyal minion (who willingly sacrifices himself for his lord). It should not be a given that

the heroes succeed in this battle -- it may be even more dramatic if the heroes fail and then
have to deal with the consequences of that failure.
If the Clock strikes midnight, the heroes will have a much tougher battle on their hands. Even
though Iuchiban wont be fully formed yet, there will be enough of him to put up a good fight.
Iuchiban could arrive in the form of a bone dragon, a lich, or a death knight. With the death of
the Oni Lord (or Iuchiban if the heroes dont stop the Clock in time) the flood waters affecting the
Tortoise lands finally recede and are completely gone in a couple of days.
Afterward, the heroes are presented to the Emperor, where they receive their reward for a job
well done one of them is named daimyo and granted permission to create a new vassal family
within the Tortoise Clan. An interesting side effect of the flood is that it deposited quite a bit of
fertile soil on Tortoise farmland, leading to bountiful harvests over the next few years and putting
quite a bit of wealth into the pockets of the Tortoise Clans newest family.
A Possible Twist
If one of the heroes has a family secret, perhaps they could be a long-lost scion of the Chuda
family (Snake Clan). While much of the rest of the family has been Tainted and is working for
the Dark Lord Daigotsu, the hero has remained pure. If the hero acquits himself well, perhaps
he will be granted leave to reform the Snake Clan with the mission of eliminating the Tainted
remnants of his family.
Possible Part II The Destroyer War