The Touch of Meido (Asahina Hoshiko Q&A)

[Asahina Hoshiko]

I guess it's this time again.

Thanks to the GMs for a ton of work and long days/night. I appreciate you welcoming my 'how do I make this 5th edition concept work in 4e' character. The letter from the Master of Water and thus meeting Shintaro were a delight.

Thanks to the folks I did get to interact with on my somewhat painful workday posting schedule. Particular thanks for those participating in the Past Lives Picnic (sorry I couldn't circulate in the observation thread as I'd have liked) and the ritual.

I really enjoyed the Crane crew. I appreciated Sae reaching out for a connection when needing a betrothal to attach to an advantage, which offered at least one built in connection and a way to think about House alliances.

[Shiba Ryusei]

One of two Crane Ryusei talked to, and the only one he did any business with!

1. Stoked to have seen her patron Fortune in action?

2. Sounds like a hell of a kitbash (5E isn't for me, so I'd probably need it explained to me XD). Care to walk us through it?

[Kuni Shiori]

Thank you for the scene together! That marketplace stroll scene was pretty neat and I'm glad that Shiori and Hoshiko managed to bond over some fictional work. It was unfortunate that they couldn't get around to doing some shopping or potentially forming that book club! However, it was neat they were able to meet over the gaki business and work together there. The ending wasn't exactly how Shiori would have hoped but it seemed appropriate that Hoshiko got to be the devil chaser.

I have to say that I'm a bit curious about her concept from creation. A Meido-favoured Asahina is not something I would traditionally imagine of the Family. Now I'm also curious as to how this was a 5e concept to begin with. I'm not entirely familiar with the archetypes of that edition, if it existed there.

[Asahina Hoshiko]

One of two Crane Ryusei talked to, and the only one he did any business with!

1. Stoked to have seen her patron Fortune in action?

2. Sounds like a hell of a kitbash (5E isn't for me, so I'd probably need it explained to me XD). Care to walk us through it?

1. Very much so. That was a surprise. And has made her even more superstitious about the death-touched hand, which will be sporting a glove from now on to avoid accidentally touching things that could be somehow affected.

2. At some point when there was more interest in 5e, Spooky (Robert Denton) put out a homebrew school for a priest of Emma-O who basically sends and receives messages from the court of Meido. That school has an ability that summons one of the sort of mundane spirits of Meido to carry messages. I liked the idea of seeing what a priest connected to death but in this utterly bureaucratic way ended up like. With a court game, there's already a build focus on social stats, which fit the bureaucrat element. Add in the Bureaucracy emphasis for Etiquette and some Lore: Law, Theology is also important there if you're talking to people about their dead loved ones and their likely karmic debts, as well as counseling the living to keep those cleaned up. Lore: Spirit Realms to have some idea what you're doing wandering around. Some Oratory to sermonize.

OK, but 5e doesn't have anything in the way of spirits you can casually summon to carry messages. You can burn them to send them to Meido, but those go to the slush pile for someone to get to eventually. Probably. But 4e does have the Medium advantage that allows one to wander into other realms, including Meido. So build that in with the idea that she's spent enough time there interacting to have learned some things. Maybe befriended a clerk or two (hmm..should have asked if I could use Ally on that). Add Touch of Meido (which was never used), and Haunted as a great something grandmother realizes you can see dead people. More because it's on theme than really part of the build.

Part of the idea was building a lot of connections this way. Both through that counseling and the "I can send on a brief to the clerks on behalf of your loved one." No guarantees, but having some of the paperwork done by someone who cares and isn't just spirit clerk #1078 might offer some advantage when they stand to be judged. I'd initially meant to save some points for Spy Network to reflect that growing correspondence net and secrets offered as part of those briefs to Meido. It would be unethical to share those secrets, but aiming a favor in a way that utilizes that knowledge might be appropriate in some cases. But I forgot to buy it. XD Maybe later if she reprises.

Thank you for the scene together! That marketplace stroll scene was pretty neat and I'm glad that Shiori and Hoshiko managed to bond over some fictional work. It was unfortunate that they couldn't get around to doing some shopping or potentially forming that book club! However, it was neat they were able to meet over the gaki business and work together there. The ending wasn't exactly how Shiori would have hoped but it seemed appropriate that Hoshiko got to be the devil chaser.

I have to say that I'm a bit curious about her concept from creation. A Meido-favoured Asahina is not something I would traditionally imagine of the Family. Now I'm also curious as to how this was a 5e concept to begin with. I'm not entirely familiar with the archetypes of that edition, if it existed there.

I was really glad for that scene early game to have something grounding the character before court, dealmaking, and managing event rolls took up most of my small posting window. It let me discover she apparently likes serial adventure pillowbooks and poetry. Hoshiko traded one of the books along to Noriko in return for an older copy of one of Sanae's books of poems. I do regret not getting to do more with book club or shopping, between posting schedule and the supernatural (or they were going to, that thread may have gotten eaten by the schedule).

The concept got explained above, but why Asahina? I initially tried wrangling a Kitsu with the concept and it wasn't gelling. That one was leaning harder into the Oratory/preacher territory. So then Asahina started feeling right. The pacifism gels nicely with a concern for the way killing and a variety of other kinds of violence can weigh down one's karma. As I went to look at the Asahina houses, one was less shugenja focused and one more, so I picked up the one with more, and then realized there was a single kid surviving out of 4, mom having also died, and that really fit well with the death-focused theme.

[Soshi Eiji]

Director's Cut Question: Think back on the game as a whole. If you could go back, and add just one more scene with our characters in it, what would it be? What are they doing/talking about?

[Agasha Yuna]

I loved your past lives event. One of my favorite moments of the game!

And I really enjoyed Asahina-san and Yuna connecting at the very end to talk spiritual stuff. I wish they'd started that conversation earlier in the game.

[Fukurokujin]

It was a pleasure to have you in the game!

[Daidoji Ryu]

Thank you for a lovely time, as usual, and a character connection that I didn't expect! Initially I thought that Ryu and Hoshiko would have too many differences to become close, but it turned out that those differences made a delightful mix, which was pretty obvious from their first solo scene on.

How will the events the night of D14 affect Hoshiko, going forward? Especially seeing her supernatural patron, so to speak.

[Asahina Hoshiko]

Director's Cut Question: Think back on the game as a whole. If you could go back, and add just one more scene with our characters in it, what would it be? What are they doing/talking about?

Hmm. I think actually having a chat in the Past Lives Picnic--where my schedule kept me from circulating and helping keep conversation moving as it was, alas. Despite meeting by Hamanri's icon, I didn't get the sense that Eiji was strongly spiritual, but dipping into those beliefs.

I loved your past lives event. One of my favorite moments of the game!

And I really enjoyed Asahina-san and Yuna connecting at the very end to talk spiritual stuff. I wish they'd started that conversation earlier in the game.

Same. She'd been working around some ideas regarding the imbalance of things from early on, but didn't really have a lot of folks (or time on my end) to bounce them into more cohesive shapes. So I do appreciate that bit at the end.

It was a pleasure to have you in the game!

Thank you for having me, and tossing a ghost my way.

Thank you for a lovely time, as usual, and a character connection that I didn't expect! Initially I thought that Ryu and Hoshiko would have too many differences to become close, but it turned out that those differences made a delightful mix, which was pretty obvious from their first solo scene on.

How will the events the night of D14 affect Hoshiko, going forward? Especially seeing her supernatural patron, so to speak.

I did appreciate the way their very different backgrounds gave them some mysteries to poke at with regards to one another.

D14 really firms some things up. She's more set in her devotions than ever, more superstitious about her 'death-marked' hand, and more willing to be a bit bold and *live* with whatever time she's allotted. Also drove home how very dangerous gaki can be.

[Doji Shinnosuke]

Hoshiko's was a very surprising concept, but it totally worked and was quite delightful to watch in action. I liked the way her fluency with the human and non-human bureaucratic and courtly realms clearly came across as much the same thing to her.

Is there more to tell about Great[^n] Grandma and Grandpa? Why hasn't Grandma moved on and what does Hoshiko think about that? She always seemed to be very polite and respectful when actually interacting with her ancestor, of course, but that's the nature and rules of the Disadvantage.

[Asahina Hoshiko]

Hoshiko's was a very surprising concept, but it totally worked and was quite delightful to watch in action. I liked the way her fluency with the human and non-human bureaucratic and courtly realms clearly came across as much the same thing to her.

Is there more to tell about Great[^n] Grandma and Grandpa? Why hasn't Grandma moved on and what does Hoshiko think about that? She always seemed to be very polite and respectful when actually interacting with her ancestor, of course, but that's the nature and rules of the Disadvantage.

Grandma was widowed and found that grandpa wasn't in Yomi as she'd expected, and she was a bit annoyed. After all she'd done to keep him on the right path! She probably poked at the occasional Kitsu over the years. But eventually discovered, her descendent poking into Yomi and latched on to try finding grandpa's spirit's reincarnation so she could whip him into shape to join her. And yes, as unlikely as that needle in a haystack search is, she still needs to be polite, and do her best to try finding him.