TL;DR-This game will be played with a system I wrote for playing in visual novels. It is ADULT! neither of these terms is negotiable.

Kagemusha Province is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu on the Satsuma Peninsula and Ōsumi Peninsula. the region also includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest of Kyushu for a few hundred kilometers. It has a bay called Kagemusha Bay which is sandwiched by two peninsulas. Its position makes it a 'gateway' to Japan.

The prefecture boasts a chain of active and dormant volcanoes, including the great Sakurajima, which towers out of the bay opposite the modest city of Kagemusha. A steady trickle of smoke and ash emerges from the caldera, punctuated by louder mini-eruptions on an almost daily basis. On active days an umbrella is advisable to ward off the ash. Sakurajima is one of Japan's most active volcanoes. Volcanic materials in the soil make Sakurajima a source for record daikon radishes, roughly the size of a globe shaped paper lantern. Many beaches around the Kagoshima Bay are littered with well-worn pumice stones.

Most of the economic sector is focused in Kagemusha City and the surrounding area, corresponding to the extent of the former Satsuma Province. The eastern part of the prefecture is mostly rural and shows a general population decline. The prefecture has strong agricultural roots, which are reflected in its most well-known exports: green tea, sweet potato, radish, Pongee rice, Satsuma ware and "kurobuta" pork. In addition it produces Japan's largest volume of unagi eels.

The local shrine is popular among Asobi--migrant prostitutes who wished to pray for protection from sexually transmitted infections. It is also said the shrine offers divine protections for business prosperity, and for the clan's prosperity; and for easy delivery, marriage, and married-couple harmony. Increasingly more conservative attitudes in the surrounding area, brought on by The Sankoku Edict of 1635's banning of western religion among other things, is leading to pressure for Kagemusha to tighten restrictions on sexual industry. In addition strange events have been occuring, centered around sexual activities.

The goal with the Sankoku Edict was to attempt to cull the rise in Yokai sightings of late. To make matters worse, Mt. Sakurajima seems to have exploded. Due to its nearly constant activity acting as a preventative for pressure buildup, this should have been impossible.

For the time being, a few of you have egressed to the local tavern. When the town regroups, it will be time to find out what caused that mountain to explode, and maybe what's causing the upsurge in Yokai.

Interesting setting for a game, I’d be interested in hearing more about it.

Well, in several VN style games I've ran or tried to run in the past the town of Kagemusha is present in some manifestation appropriate to the technological or other aspects of the setting. You can blame it on Michael Myers and Chris Farley. Recently I found out that an old school map I made actually matched a real Japanese region called the Kagoshima province/prefecture (depending on era?)...

The Kagemusha Province uses Ryō coins which I can't describe due to the description being adult oriented. The setting itself kind of takes on the personality of people playing the game though. One player makes this kind of character who would likely hang out in that kind of place, that place is now on the map. Or well... in the game's threads anyway. I do have a map, but I want to wait until the idea picks up about 6-8 players interest before I make the game.

If you have specific questions, comments, concerns, or ideas, I'd be glad to think 'em over.
This message was last edited by the user at 15:55, Thu 01 Nov 2018.

This sounds interesting.  What posting rate and other expectations might you have for your prospective players?  Set in which period again?  (Goes and looks...)  Hmm... somewhere during or after the reign of the Empress Meishou (1629 - 1643) so early to middle Edo Period?

I'm curious about the rules system, too, but willing to learn.

That sounds like an fairly interesting game, I really enjoy historical fiction and would definitely enjoy, what would be the main focus of the game in your opinion? Investigation or forms of Social intrigue, maybe even physical conflicts?

I might be interested

No preference from players, but don't expect anything from me at a rate faster than about twice a week. Sometimes I might have more, sometimes I might have less. Cancer sort of does that to ya.


Sure, yeah. After the noted Edict, but probably not much after it. Maybe a year?


Ok cool. If you already have experience with games that run on the same engine as Apocalypse World the learning curve isn't that significant. If you have no experience with the expectations of most Visual Novels, some of the moves might seem flat out absurd. Some players in the past can't get over the fact that the Parley equivalent is called "Turn Someone On" because I allow it to be used in non-arousal based contexts.

Also he game is tailored so that it can play a range of types of games. So like for example, with a typical PBtA game, you have attack/combat based moves, but because sport martial arts are a thing in Japan, they also have non-hostile uses.


If you're looking for accuracy, you won't. If you're ok with a feel that may include magic if one or more players want it, then sure.

Depends whether the players "get it". I've seen too many "investigation games" force feeding it. Me, if I put out clues, and the players get them, great! If not, I move on. Maybe a different clue or maybe a different subject. That's highly contextual.


Social is intended. That sort of thing happens in visual novels. Intrigue I'm not so sure about, but that's more that I don't aim to be particularly deceptive or highly detailed in my portrayal of how noble courts work. But dialogue does matter to a point.


Yeah, physical conflicts. Heh... heh. I will point out that Non-con is not permitted here, but I expect at some point the party will be facing monsters usually associated with Non-con. Physical conflicts are definitely a go. Context of those physical conflicts may vary but will be in accordance with RPoL rules on the subject.

In reply to steelsmiter (msg # 7):

Everything you wrote sounds yummy. By my count you’ve interested players in a day or so, so things are on track


As a Gamemaster (title?) is there anything you DON’T want to see in the characters and setting, beyond site rules.

Oh I definitely prefer some respectable level of grammar, elaboration, and syntactic variety. I've never really been asked that question outside a game itself. But since you did I prefer things like 3rd person past, not confusing the wrong homonyms, and not referring to oneself as "she" 40 times per post.

I don't really know if that's the kind of answer you're looking for, but that's what comes to my mind.

That works, I also wondered about either tropes you feel are over used, character issues you don’t want to touch and your least favorite color :)

I dunno what's overused and what isn't but TVtropes was a significant help in creating the game as far as what archetypes I included. A design philosophy involved in the project is that in visual novels, one typically gets replay value by way of striving to collect all the CGs, and what kills a visual novel's replay value for me is if there are any characters whose CG I don't think are worth collecting in light of their personalities

• If the player doesn't indicate the character is interested in senpai in some way (which doesn't have to be their immediate reactions, or their apparent reactions. For example tsundere are obviously interested in senpai even if their actions don't reflect it) I don't want that player.
• I don't want anyone who wants to play a completely asexual character in a sexual game. To engage them could constitute non consent and I'm not opening that can of worms.
• A Miko should not have western ideals of purity because the Sankoku Edict bans them. No, playing one who has those ideals in secret is not great characterization, it just looks like you're missing the point of the game, and are picking at an old trauma on my part in any case.
• I don't do M/M particularly well, so while creating a male is possible, it's only gonna be fulfilling if the player is willing to have a female Senpai.

None of that requires smut as such. I wrote the rules such that the level of smut escalates from a zero point assumed at the start of the game based on how many relationship points they have built up (and to be clear, two kinds of players earn points: Those whose failures make senpai feel bad, and those who make me feel like senpai would be interested in them)

And my least favorite color is somewhere in the range of #a6bd01, but let's be real, I'm using it as the color of a role on my discord, so I can't hate it too badly.

Speaking of which, does anyone have a problem with going through discord to download my books?
This message was last edited by the user at 03:49, Fri 02 Nov 2018.

Again, all that makes sense.

Quick thing... Sempai? Isn’t that a more modern trope then Edo Period Japan. Not nitpicking, just trying to figure out how things work.

YES! Having access to the book would be great and probably answer lots of questions.

I can keep up with that posting rate, and I like the idea of this game.  Please count me as interested in playing.

They tell me I'm an adult (I'm over sixty), but I refuse to take them too seriously...

I'm a nocturnal creature so a lot of my posts will be in the wee hours of the morning when I get home from work.

It's a conceptual condensation identifying the notion of admiration between an inferior and a superior. But no, it's a more or less constant fixture of japanese culture. The words aren't always senpai and kohai (upper and lower classmen) but sometimes the Japanese equivalent of master and student, lover and beloved, and so on. It also happens to be a Game Term™ What's more modern is the viralization of "Notice Me Senpai" by Andrew Bowser/Onyx the Fortuitous, Slayer of the Brightrealm. Also if you listen to the audio, senpai gets used in a lot of VNs outside the context of classrooms or even students. I theorize this is because they recognize it's shorthand for Americans.


Just so long as they don't lock your access because of inconsistent birthday information or whatever. Anywho, that looks like 2-3, so I want to see if I can get some more before I start.
This message was last edited by the user at 01:43, Sat 03 Nov 2018.

I might be old, but I can still remember my birth date. ;^)

Looking forward to this game.

Sounds interesting!

Before I start the game up, I do need some confirmation on the general stance re: joining my discord to get the book or if I need to make it available separately.

In reply to steelsmiter (msg # 17):

I've never used discord for any purpose.  I see doing some light reading that it is a chat service/VoIP/something or other for gamers.  How would I sign up?

Hey, that's pretty cool.  Thanks!

Whatever works to get things off the ground

That's the spirit!  Hajime!

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was a bump, at 18:20, Tue 06 Nov 2018.

I got the game up: link to another game