ELECTR IC KATANAELECTRIC KATANAOne hundred years ago the Emperor of Lightning ascended to the Imperial Throne and taught the secrets of making kashira ― beings of metal and lightning which could battle the enemies of the Land of the Rising Sun where samurai of flesh and blood could not. In this new world, the kashira would be his new samurai. By his decree, the kashira and their puppeteers must wander the country and defend the edges of the land from dark and wicked forces. The kashira rightly see their tayu as fathers, but will their puppeteers be willing to sacrifice their creations for the good of the Imperial Throne?

Glossary:• Kashira: A mechanical samurai• Tayu: A human samurai who

commands a kashira

In Electric Katana, each player takes on the roll of both a robotic kashira and its human creator. This game is not only a struggle between the kashira and terrible monsters, but also between the kashira and its tayu, between the creation’s love for its maker and the mask of indifference that the creator must maintain.

Kashira have three attributes: Strike for hitting, Swift for avoiding being hit, and Spirit for interacting socially with humans or animals. The player receives 10 points to divide between these attributes as shown on the chart below.

Kashira attributes

Min Max. Strike 3 6 Swift 3 6 Spirit 1 4

Kashira also have a measure of Love between themselves and their creators. This begins at 1 and increases each time its tayu withdraws it from a fight early. This love allows it to fight longer, but hinders the tayu’s ability to order his kashira to push itself past its limits.

Tayu have three attributes as well: Strike, Swift and Command. The first two are identical to the kashira's attributes; Command is used to spur his kashira on. Tayu do not need to make checks to interact socially with other living things. Tayu receive 6 points to divide between these attributes.

Tayu attributes

Min Max. Strike 1 3 Swift 1 3 Command 2 4

A 24-hour RPG for 2-5 people

Kashira

Strike

Swift

Spirit

NameAppearance

Tayu

Strike

Swift

Command

NameAppearance

Honor

Lovecurrent

total

current

total

HP

HPcurrent

total

Kashira have a measure of Love between themselves and their creators; this starts at 1 and goes up by 1 each time the tayu withdraws his kashira from a fight before the enemy is totally defeated.

Tayu have a Command attribute that is used to press the kashira to rise after falling in battle. Tayu do not need to make checks to interact socially with other living things.

Tayu also have a measure of Honor. This starts at 3 and goes up every time he wins three battles in a row. It goes down every time the tayu withdraws his kashira from a fight. When a tayu’s Honor reaches 0, he is cast out of the Emperor's sight and his kashira is destroyed.

Hit PointsAll characters have Hit Points; HP are determined by adding the character's Swift and Spirit, then adding one. Characters without Spirit use their Swift plus one.

When a kashira’s Strike or Swift reaches 0, it is broken beyond repair. A kashira can be repaired after a battle, restoring its HP to the normal maximum. When another character's HP reaches 0, it is killed.

A tayu may roll his Command to order his kashira to rise if it falls in battle; the GM rolls a number of d10s equal to the kashira's current negative HP (1d10 if the kashira is at -1 HP, 5d10 if the kashira is at -5 HP, etc.) and uses the highest die rolled as the number required to command the kashira to rise. The GM always rolls at least one die, even if the kashira is at 0 HP.

However, this requires the kashira to sacrifice a die from either its Strike or Swift each time it rises. This loss is permanent unless the kashira beats its tayu’s highest Command die by rolling its Spirit. In either case, the loss persists for the duration of the battle. When the kashira rises its HP remains at 0 or negative; further damage is cumulative.

If the kashira cannot rise (by failing its Spirit roll) the tayu does not lose honor, nor does the kashira gain love.

Game Mechanics

ConflictThe kashira and tayu both use a d8 pool for all checks. The defender rolls its Swift, and the highest single die rolled is what the attacker has to roll to hit it.

GM monsters and villains use d10 pools for their Strike. Average GM characters use d8 pools for Swift, but important characters (powerful monsters, etc.) use d10 pools for Swift.

The attacker rolls his Strike, and every die that meets or exceeds the defender’s highest Swift die reduces the kashira's HP by one. A kashira may temporarily sacrifice a point of Love to negate the entire Strike; this loss persists for the duration of the battle and does not affect its tayu’s Command.

Initiative is determined by all characters rolling their Swift; the character(s) with the highest single die roll may act first, or wait and act at any point during the round. Multiple characters may act at the same time. Tayu do not roll for initiative unless they are actively participating in the battle.

if the same character is attacked more than once per round each defensive Swift roll after the first is penalized by one die. These dice refresh every round. Initiative is rerolled each round.

resurrection

• The Emperor of Lightning has ruled for more than a hundred years. How is this possible?

• What happens to a kashira's spirit when it is destroyed?

• Has a ronin ever fled with his kashira rather than see it destroyed?

• Why did the coup of the Emperor of Lightning coincide with the appearance of the monsters?

• Is there a village of escaped kashira with a graveyard of their beloved tayu?

rumors

This has been a 24-hour RPG created with the randomly-assigned themes of "Creation", "Electricity" and "Samurai".

2011 Viral Games

The GM is encouraged to present one typical monster for every 1-2 players near the beginning of the game, and vary their attributes as befitting the scene. Most monsters do not have a Spirit attribute; those that do have added HP.

One character pursuing another rolls Swift instead of Strike; the mechanics are otherwise identical to normal combat.

• A typical monster has a Strike of 4, a Swift of 4 and 5 HP. • A strong monster has a Strike of 5, a Swift of 6 and 7 HP. • A terrible monster has a Strike of 5, a Swift of 7 and 8 HP,

and heals 1 HP per round.

Monsters