1.5M ratings
277k ratings

See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t wanna
My character for 13th Age. We’re playing in a fantasy version of Sengoku period Japan.
Massive rambling and incomplete character background follows.
And yea, I’m aware that all my characters look like villains…
[[MORE]]“Holes close. Holes open. I am...

My character for 13th Age. We’re playing in a fantasy version of Sengoku period Japan.

Massive rambling and incomplete character background follows.

And yea, I’m aware that all my characters look like villains…

“Holes close. Holes open. I am an Opener.”

Nō already proved his heretical theories on kami and the afterlife a full century before the Emperor was ever born. To Nō, the afterlife was horror - a slow senile digestion of the soul where identity was lost and the individual dissolved into an amalgamate of ancestors called kami.

Thanks to his techniques, he’d found a way not only to escape that consumption, but to snatch dark wisdom from the clutches of the hidden world. He’d devoured the kami of his own household as well as those of his most devoted followers. With each death (for such a blasphemy required Nō’s demise) he would return, overtaking the physical form of one of his adepts.

Nō would ritually commit suicide, usually quite publicly. His disciples would wait a proscribed amount of time before beginning the Long Chant (a parody of the traditional sorei) that would act as a beacon for Nō. In that time Nō would steal, engulf, or destroy the kami associated with his recently deceased body.

The learned said it was a hoax, a case of mass hysteria where one individual would kill himself and another would cry out that they now were possessed by Nō. Many viewed him as a prophet and flocked to him as worshippers. Nō saw himself as as scholar. The knowledge he returned with allowed him to warp reality in subtle ways, to know things about the clans that none living remembered, magics that could unmake a person, crush others under the weight of their karma, or even ensure the successes of his devotees.

By now the young Emperor had begun to build on his forebears’ exploits in a grab for national unification. Nō saw his great ancestors and could only imagine the power that lived there.

Through followers in the Emperor’s household, No was inducted as a spiritual adviser. His knowledge was prodigious and his prophecies had a disturbing way of becoming true.

//why did the emperor allow Nō

The Emperor knew there was something more to the strange occultist, but did not fathom what was to come.

One dark night, the Openers(as his disciples called themselves) assembled outside the Emperor’s family shrine. No stepped through. The stars were right. Now he had access to the most powerful collection of souls in the Empire.

This was as struggle that No was not prepared for. Though mighty and fueled by dark secrets, he was not wise. The battle that followed leveled the family shrine. When the conflict looked lost, No made a foolish gambit and merged with sorei, certain that his will would dominate.

//The emperor assisted in the battle, defeating or binding No with the assistance of his ancestors - very dramatic

No returned to the physical plane as anticipated. But he was changed. His knowledge and dark will remained, his powers were augmented a hundred fold - reality itself changed beneath his gaze. But his desire to defeat death and escape the afterlife had failed, the Emperor’s ancestors had joined with him. No now sought to protect and propel the greatness of that family line. He’d become the physical incarnation of the Emperor’s ancestral guardian.

The Emperor uncovered all that transpired. Though dismayed at the kami’s destruction, he recognized the value of his family’s greatness made manifest. Unification came swiftly with No acting as a trusted tactician and general.

He was given land and title, a clan to support him. As his body aged, another would be provided for No’s will to step into. He sired children who would be caretakers for the clan. Hundreds of years would pass.

The Dark Ripples Outward remained, devoted to No and certain that their lord would overcome this temporary setback. The act as priests in his household or wandering monks, seeking means to return No to his proper state.

The death of the Emperor was a dire stroke to No. The assassination of his heirs quickly followed and in a single night a dynasty collapsed. The blow struck No as well. With non of the Emperor’s house remaining, his purpose as a guardian spirit was gone, and he began to weaken and fade.

Fifty years of spirally towards oblivion made him desperate. Complex family histories and records have lead No to the Hida clan. The last drop of the Emperor’s blood is here. Should Hida become the Emperor, No may be able to return to his former potency.

One Thing

Immortal body-jumping death cultist

Backgrounds

Occulted Historian (alternate histories, true history, metaphysics, potential outcomes) 3

Shogun’s Tactician (courtly knowledge and etiquette, battlefield tactics, reputation and prestige) 3

Oniwaban (espionage, interrogation, deceit, discerning lies) 2

Associates

The Openers - The remnants of No’s cult. Only the most devoted (or insane) remain. They actively seek a means of restoring No. Some use lesser techniques to prolong their lives, even possessing bodies to survive the ages so that a few are his original disciples from hundreds of years past.

Hisahide Matsunaga - Opposition general who held out against unification the longest. In a final act of defiance, he committed suicide as the Emperor’s forces entered his keep. No respected him for his determination, often quipping that in another time they would become great friends. So No altered events such that Hisahide joined the Emperor early in the campaign and remains one of No’s most trusted companions.

Shun No - Scion of No’s household, his eldest living son. While No sees to matters of state, Shun maintains the clan holdings. He’s used to a level of internal politicking within the family and is cunning in the way of hungry predators. He gives No his due respect, but fears him.

Adakichi - A former Geisha who served the Emperor, she is now in her early 70’s. Adakichi was a former lover of No’s who also assisted in getting him access to the royal court. Though his motives and form have changed, he continues to ensure her comfort as reward. Most now mistake her as his grandmother, which allows her to act as spying eyes and ears for No in unexpected places.

misterxart 13th age rpg character