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EVIL MIND / EVIL SWORD


The sword is the soul. Study the soul to know the sword. Evil mind, evil sword.

The United States forced the Shogun to sign the Kanagawa Convention in 1854, opening Japan to trade with the Western powers. This humiliation inflamed the ambitions of pro-Imperial factions determined to overthrow the Tokugawa government and expel “the barbarians.” In response, the Bakufu recruited rōnin from the sword schools of Edo to protect the Shogun’s interests. This ruthless death squad was called the Shinsengumi.

1864 – Kyoto is seething with anti-Tokugawa sentiment provoked by agents of the rebellious daimyo of Chōshū. Shimada (Senior Rōnin) is one such; he has organized a network of smugglers to intercept Western goods shipped into the Old Capital from Edo. Shimada is a pragmatic but basically honorable man. The rabble he commands, however, is composed of mere scoundrels. Any Bandit figure that loots a corpse (ally or enemy) and survives the game earns the rebel Buntai VPs equal to the rank of the looted figure. Bandit figures may voluntarily flee from the play area. If they do so, they do not count as casualties for the purpose of calculating VPs. Bandit figures forced to flee count as casualties but still earn VPs for the rebel Buntai if they successfully looted before fleeing.

The Shinsengumi by contrast are reluctant to dirty their blades with the blood of peasant outlaws. Their blank-eyed leader Nakadai (Shugyosha) harbors no such reservations. Nakadai is a terrifying swordsman – and totally amoral. He embodies everything Shimada hates about the Bakufu. The rebel Buntai earns an additional 2 VPs if Shimada kills Nakadai. Conversely, every Peasant figure Nakadai kills counts as 1 VP (rather than the usual 0.5 VP) for the shogunate Buntai. As opposed to normal, the shogunate Buntai takes the usual amount of VP for killing enemy figures - but see Dishonor Points below.

Rebel Buntai - 93 points

Senior Ronin (Sword for Hire 4) - Katana, Wakizashi, Intuition, Powerful, Tough
Gashira (Bandit 2) - Katana, Yumi, Light Armour, Commander, Tough
Bandit (Bandit 1) - Katana, Teppo, Light Armour
Peasant x5 (Bandit 0) - Improvised Weapons

Shogunate Buntai - 94 points

Shugyosha (Sword for Hire 5) - Katana, Wakizashi, Fast, Fearless, Inexorable, Tough
Samurai (Bushi 3) - Katana, Wakizashi, Commander, Powerful
Ashigaru x3 (Bushi 1) - Katana

Set Up

- 3' x 3' play area
- heavily wooded
- a camp in the center of the board
- game ends when either side is wiped out/concedes

The rebel player places all terrain. The shogunate player deploys first, picking any edge and placing all figures other than Nakadai up to 6" from that same edge. The rebel player then places all figures up to 6" from the adjacent edges. Then the shogunate player places Nakadai up to 6" from either his starting edge or the opposite edge.

Swirling Mists - players must immediately roll a D6 after declaring a ranged attack; on 4+ LOS is reduced to 12" - if the target is more than 12" away, the shot automatically misses

Dishonor Points - VPs count as Dishonor Points if they are earned by:

- Bandit figures escaping the battle with loot
- Bushi figures killing lower ranked enemy figures

If Nakadai survives, the shogunate player counts Dishonor Points as VPs. If Nakadai dies, the shogunate player counts Dishonor Points against his total VPs.

If Shimada survives, the rebel player counts Dishonor Points against his total VPs. If Shimada dies, the rebel player counts Dishonor Points as VPs..

Shinsengumi? Yes please!

The 2 VPs are awarded if Shimada delivers the killing blow to Nakadai, correct?

The Ronin ruleset incorrectly portrays the Shinsengumi as pro-Emperor ... ah well! This scenario presents them as men caught between right and might.

Correct - Shimada need only deliver the final stroke. But inflicting a wound that does not kill Nakadai is not enough. Same thing applies to killing Peasant figures.

You should continue this with a When the Last Sword is Drawn scenario too.

Ran this twice this weekend, albeit on a 4'x4' rather than 3'x3'.

In the first game, the rebels deployed a ranged weapon and peasants from both sides. The Shinsengumi sent Ashigaru to deal with Shimada while Nakadai slaughtered peasants. Shimada handily cut through the shogunate ashigaru before heading to the center to confront Nakadai. The peasants really helped Shimada by increasing the combat pool for that fight, giving him lots of flexibility. In the end, Nakadai fell and the rebels won an honorable victory.

In the second game, Shimada separated from his peasant entourage for just long enough for Nakadai to safely cut them down. In return, Shimada gave him a light wound. Nakadai then scampered into the misty forest while everyone else clustered into a grand melee near the camp. With Nakadai safely lurking in the woods, the rebels needed a clean sweep - Shimada lost initiative and was cut down. Dead on his feet, however, he managed to grievously wound the enemy samurai and kill an ashigaru. Only the samurai and a couple of peasants survived the fight. Dishonorable victory for Shinsengumi.