Twilight Tales

Originally released in Japan as もののけこやけ/Mononoke Koyake

Golden Sky Stories Supplement
By Ryo Kamiya

Japanese Version Credits

Original Japanese Version © 2007 by Ryo Kamiya & Tsugihagi Honpo
Planning: Ryo Kamiya, Emetaro Aiko
Game Design: Ryo Kamiya
Authors: Ryo Kamiya, Emetaro Aiko
Comic: Myaa
Mononoke Illustrations: Ike
Scenario Illustrations: hira
Silhouettes/Borders: ‘emeth

English Version Credits

English Translation © 2016 by Ewen Cluney
Editing: Mike Stevens
Layout & Comic Lettering: Clay Gardner
Additional Scenarios 3 & 4: T.S Luikart
Additional Scenarios 3 & 4 Illustrations: Honoel Ibardolaza

This book was set in Fairfield and Capucine using Adobe InDesign CC.

Starline Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9899043-3-9
Picture Story 1
Mononoke 10
Michinoke 12
Oni 18
Kappa 24
Ghosts 30
Visitors 36
Onbu & Friends 42
Stories 46
Otashidama’s Adventure 46
A Ghost’s Errand 50
Present Thunder 54
Big Dog’s Day 60
Epilogue 66
 Mononoke

“Mononoke” (pronounced as four distinct It is a wonderful thing when people

syllables, “moe no no kay”) are another and mononoke can become friends, but
kind of mysterious resident of the town, it’s not so easy for them as it is with
different from henge. Where henge are henge. Unlike with henge, you will nev-
animals with a mysterious ability to er see a mononoke’s true form in a book
change, mononoke are mysterious by of animals. Just seeing a mononoke’s
nature. Their very existence is strange true form is enough to Surprise people.
even when they don’t do anything. Mononoke must take human form and
Mononoke are everywhere, quietly lead quiet lives, carefully seeking out
watching how people live. Spirits, mon- people who will accept them.
sters, ghosts, aliens. Mysterious things Still, there are the shrine maiden at
are everywhere, and people are always the Shinto shrine, and the priest of the
surrounded by the mysterious. The Buddhist temple, the old folks who’ve
mononoke are those with mysterious lived in the town for a long time, and the
names and shapes. more curious children. These are some
Mononoke are so diverse that it’s hard of the people in town who know of the
to divide them up into different types, mononoke and are likely a good start for
but we’ve split them up into five differ- a monoke’s friends.
ent kinds:
• Michinoke, who appear on roads. Before Making Mononoke
• Oni, who possess the savage Narrators, please take care.
strength of nature. Mononoke are creatures of mystery
• Kappa, who live in the water. and wonder. This alone expands the
• Ghosts, people’s emotions and feel- kinds of stories you can tell, but it can
ings given form. also make things more difficult for the
• Visitors, who come from outside participants. Participants themselves
the town. might not be sure what they should do.
All of them are quite different from If you want to use mononoke, we rec-
the henge. They do not live as animals ommend you play with the six kinds of
or people do, because their true forms henge in Golden Sky Stories for a few
are those of monsters. If you read this games to start with. If you aren’t bring-
book, you will be able to participate in ing in the mononoke because you’ve
stories as a mononoke. used up a lot of the possibilities with
There are those in the town who know your henge and the town they live in,
there are mononoke. There are those in adding this new element to a beginner
town who know where the mononoke game could cause all kinds of confusion.
can be found. But, there are those who Please, only let players participate

10
don’t know. And those who are afraid. as mononoke after they’ve become
experienced with the game. Until then, A person who sees a mononoke’s true
try bringing the mononoke into stories form or powers is affected by Surprise
as narrator characters, so that you your- with a rating equal to the mononoke’s
self can understand them better. Henge attribute, plus 1.
See pp. 62-63 of Golden Sky Stories
How to Create Mononoke for the rules on Surprise.
If you’re going to participate in stories by
choosing a mononoke as your other self, Transforming
needless to say you need to make your What mononoke can look like when
own mononoke. You create a mononoke they take human form depends on their
basically the same way as a henge, but type. They’re often totally different from
you’ll need to really sit down and think henge, so please read the explanations
about your mononoke’s true form. included with each type of mononoke.
This is because even if two mono-
noke are of the same type, they can Speaking
look very different. Where picking an Mononoke can’t converse with animals
animal type gets you a henge’s base ap- unless they use certain special powers.
pearance, things are not so simple for However, all mononoke can take human
mononoke. So much so, in fact, that it’s form. Mononoke can talk just fine, as
rare for their forms to be that easy to long as it’s in human speech.
understand. Also, mononoke who were originally
When you create a mononoke, you animals, who are no different from
have some freedom to decide what henge, can converse with animals of the
he or she looks like. However, please same type. For example, a bear henge
be sure to get the narrator’s approval. made using the oni rules can talk to nor-
Mononoke should surprise people, but mal bears.
they shouldn’t be scary or disgusting.
Read each mononoke’s description care- Powers
fully before you decide. If you’re stuck, Powers like a dog henge’s “Howl” that
look at the section on “A Typical…” and can affect henge also have the same ef-
go with that. fect on mononoke. Any time a power’s
If all else fails, please sit down and description says it affects henge, it also
talk to the narrator about what your affects mononoke in the same way.
character should look like.
Finally, each of the five types of mono- Moving On…
noke has different kinds of names. Starting on the next page are explana-
Choose your name carefully if you’d like tions of each type of mononoke. The in-
to follow the standard naming of that type. troductions are just like in Golden Sky
Stories. A representative of each type
Mononoke Rules gives a self introduction, then there are
Mononoke also work a bit differently six basic powers, six weaknesses, and six
from henge, as described below. additional powers.
After that, there are sections that
True Form aren’t in the henge introductions in
You’d be pretty surprised if a monster Golden Sky Stories, which explain each
showed up right in front of you, right? kind of mononoke in more detail. If
If a mononoke shows his or her true your game is going to deal with mono-
form, or uses special powers, in front of noke, the narrator and participants alike

11
someone, that person will be Surprised. should read these carefully.
Um, Onbu is a Michinoke
a kind of monster. U-Uh, my real name is “The Onbu
,

Obake of Mt. Kaminaga,” but that’s long, so everyone

calls me Onbu. Oh, uh, also, like, I’ve been on the
mountain for a long, long time, but I’ve always been
this small. Even though I’m a monster, I’m timid…
so I’m always sneaking around, and I startle people.
Umm… I’m alone, but I really want to make friends.

You want to know what a michinoke is?

I don’t really know. Um, but, I know not all are like
me. There are lots of different kinds. “Michinoke”
means “road monster”! Eheheh. Monsters that come
out on roads and paths are all michinoke. So when
I head into town, I have lots of friends, I guess? We
startle people on roads, and follow them and stuff. I
guess everyone gets scared when I follow them?

Um, animals I get along with? You mean

like henge? Well, I like everyone. Oh, b-but, I like
dogs and bunnies and raccoon dogs, because they
let me squeeze them. Most of the others won’t.
They say it’s embarrassing. I want to hug every-
one more. Is it really embarrassing? I just want to
hold everyone.

How are we born? I don’t know. I can’t

remember how long I’ve been on the mountain.
Ehehe. That’s kinda weird.

So, you know, roads connect to all kinds of

different places. So, sometimes we take them
to different places. So, they call me “The Onbu
Obake of Mt. Kaminaga”, but I do sometimes
go other places. Sorry about that. Wh-When I
go other places stuff I do gets blamed on oth-
ers, so… I’m really sorry.
 A lot of times I meet people on the road at night.
So, um, well, at night in Hitotsuna Town, there’s not
much light, so it’s dark out, so it’s important to make
light and sound, and to touch. I have soft fur, so if I
touch you, you’ll know it’s me.

Local gods are nice to us.

Kaminagahime-sama, the spider god-
dess, likes to hug me too. Ehehe. She
says, “Will you not stop getting lost?”
I don’t really understand, but I like all
the local gods.

Have you ever heard footsteps on a road

at night? That’s probably a monster like me.
If no one’s there, please don’t be scared. But
if someone is there… it might be scary, huh?

People always get scared. I want to find people

who will let me ride on their backs. Not just me,
we all wish for people who will hold us.

A god of the roads? You mean like the

Jizou at the crossroads? None of us become lo-
cal gods. Roads connect this way and that way,
which is why they’re roads. We can’t protect
one place. When I’m spacing out, I start follow-
ing people I meet, and wind up scaring them. I
can’t protect things, but I always want to make
new friends.
 A Typical Michinoke appear as strange, massive men, but
As Onbu said, a michinoke is a mono- they’re not violent. There might actually
noke that appears on roads and paths. be a good reason why they don’t want
However, although they’re all called you to go into an old house with a fence.
michinoke, they can have vastly differ-
ent appearances. So, what is a “typical” Yamabiko (Echo): Yamabiko look like
michinoke like? an animal that’s somewhere in between
A michinoke is a mononoke that a rabbit and a dog, and they like to echo
comes out in the evening or at night and back things people say. Sometimes when
scares people. If there is any generaliza- you hear your voice echo it’s happening
tion to be made about how they look, it naturally, but other times it’s this michi-
is that their looks frighten people. Not noke’s doing.
all michinoke startle people simply by
their looks, but the majority do. Miage Nyuudou: This michinoke
If something is sufficiently scary- looks like the shadow of a very tall per-
looking to frighten people, that’s good son, or a bald-headed Buddhist monk
enough for a michinoke. Of course, (nyuudou). When someone looks up at
they shouldn’t be too horrifying, right? A one, it quickly grows bigger. Supposedly
michinoke should startle people at first, you can make one disappear by calmly
but be memorable and endearing after- saying, “I saw that Miage Nyuudou com-
wards. A michinoke that’s just terrifying ing.” Because these michinoke love to
can’t really be a part of the town. scare people, if you look up at once with-
By the way, michinoke have a out being scared, the Miage Nyuudou
deep connection with raccoon dogs. might be the one that’s startled.
Especially in a town with raccoon dogs
that like to play tricks, people will blame Rokurokubi: These michinoke look
the things a michinoke does on the rac- like young girls, but they can shock
coon dogs. That means that often times people by stretching their necks like a
raccoon dogs and michinoke will either snake. Also, because they can extend
be at odds, or join together to play tricks. their necks to a high place and laugh,
people sometimes call them geragera
Other Kinds of Michinoke on’na (laughing women).
There are all kinds of other types of
michinoke besides Onbu, and if you Nopperabou (Faceless Ghost):
look around town you’ll see many dif- Nopperabou look like normal people at
ferent kinds. first glance, but they don’t have faces.
Here is a quick look at some examples They pretend to be normal people, get
of different kinds of michinoke. close to someone, and suddenly surprise
them with their lack of a face. They find
Betobeto-san (Mr. Sticky): On a road it fun to keep showing up in front of the
a night, you hear only a sound of foot- same person over and over, so people
steps. A voice says, “Betobeto-san, you tend to be very scared of nopperabou.
go ahead” and the footsteps outpace you
and disappear. Like Onbu, these michi- Sodehiki Kozou (Sleeve-Pulling Boy):
noke tend to be lonely. This michinoke looks like a small child,
and likes to pull on the sleeves of peo-
Uwan: This creature lurks behind the ple who are walking. There’s also a very
fences of abandoned houses, and sud- similar kind of michinoke called an ushi-

14
denly spring out, crying “Uwan!” They rogami that pulls on people’s hair from
behind. They might also tell people that Michinoke Names
something bad will happen if they go Michinoke have names that directly re-
any further. flect their true nature. Onbu’s proper
name is “The Onbu Obake of Mt.
Hitotsume Kozou (One-Eyed Boy): Kaminaga.” In other words, she’s the
This michinoke looks like a kid with one “Onbu Obake” that appears on Mt.
big eye in the middle of his face. They Kaminaga. This kind of michinoke
like to abruptly reveal their faces to name is a combination of the name of
scare people. They also have close cous- the place where the michinoke appears
ins called Mitsume Kozou (Three-Eyed and a name given to them by the people
Boys). They often team up with raccoon of the town. Naturally, if the result is a
dogs and karakasa obake to startle people. name that’s too long, it’ll be shortened,
to something line “Onbu Obake” or just
Karakasa Obake (Umbrella Monster): “Onbu.” If you can’t think of a good
This is an old, worn-out umbrella with one place name, you can just use the town’s
leg that it uses to hop around. Kara­kasa name. For example, Onbu could’ve eas-
obake are a cheerful type of michinoke ily been called “The Onbu Obake of
that enjoys startling people, so they often Hitotsuna Town.”
become friends with people and henge. If you’re having trouble coming up
with the mononoke part of the name,
Sunekosuri: These michinoke look like you can simply take the name of one of
round cats. A sunekosuri finds someone the types of michinoke described to the
walking late at night and walks around left and add a place name. Of course, if
their feet, making it hard for them to you can come up with a good michinoke
walk. They spend a lot of time around name on your own and if the narrator
people, so they tend to get along with doesn’t mind, please go ahead. Try mak-
rabbit and dog henge. ing your own michinoke.
There are also michinoke called
mononga that look more like flying squir-
rels, and like to perch on people’s heads.

15
道怪
Transforming
Since michinoke can look very different from one another, we can’t just
say they have ears or tails showing when they transform. That’s why
when michinoke take human form, we use the following special rules.
Unlike with animal henge, check the table below when changing form.
Michinoke don’t conveniently fit the same scheme we use for animals.
Even if they change into something close to human form, they still look
a bit strange. Basically, if a michinoke doesn’t take a completely human
form, they can’t go in front of most people.

A combination of the michinoke’s normal shape and a

Cost +0
human body. Could look human from a distance.

A basically human appearance, but something about

Cost +2
the michinoke’s face, body, clothes, etc. is off.

Cost +4 Completely human.

MICHINOKE POWERS
Darkness (4) Bump Into (6) Footsteps (6)

The lights of the moon, the You can appear next to some- This power lets you follow be-
stars, the town, streetlights, one who is walking on a road. hind someone with a sound of
and so on all go dark, plunging So long as there is someone footsteps being the only sign
the area into a deep darkness. who is walking on a road or that you’re there. When you use
Everyone’s Henge attribute goes path of some kind, you can this power, they can’t actually
down by 2 points until the end take part in a scene even if you see you. However, you cannot
of the scene. You can only use weren’t before. When you use touch or overtake them either.
this power at night. this power to appear, the people Anyone you follow this way has
and/or henge there must make a their Adult attribute drop to
Surprise check. zero. This effect lasts until the
end of the scene.

Get Lost (10) Hidden Village (12) Safe Path (12)

This power makes someone The land of the mononoke, This power lets you use lights
traveling at night become lost. the Hidden Village, lies in the and sounds to show someone a
You can make more than one depths of the mountains or for- path that will take them safely
person become lost at the same ests, and this power lets you pay where they need to go. You can
time, but you must spend as a visit. You can bring someone guide as many people you have
many points of Wonder as there else along, so long as you have connections with as you wish.
are people. When this power a connection to them. You don’t Using this power you can create
makes someone become lost, need to use this power again to a path that transcends distance,
they’ll never reach their destina- exit the Hidden Village. Henge and can take you anywhere.
tion, even if they walk straight and mononoke are free to enter However, if you use this power
ahead. This effect lasts until the Hidden Village, but people to leave the town, you’ll have to
you end it or the scene ends. must have a mononoke escort. use it again to get back.
WEAKNESS ADDITIONAL POWER

Magic Words Swell Up (8)

There is a combination of a phrase or action You can make your body become massive to
that will seal away your powers. Consult with Surprise people. People (and even henge) who
the narrator to figure out what this will be. haven’t seen this power in use before can be
You cannot interfere with someone using this Surprised by it. If this is the case, you get a bo-
against you. If someone does this, until the nus of +2 to your Henge attributes for Surprise
end of the scene you can’t use any powers, checks.
and any powers you’re already using stop.

Lonely Hearing Things (8)

You spend so much time alone that when You create a loud sound like something ris-
you come across someone you just have to ing up, or let out a loud cry. You can Surprise
talk to them or play tricks on them. When someone with double your Henge attribute
you’re by yourself and you meet someone, (not including any Feelings you spend). Beings
you must talk to them or play a trick. (And with a Henge attribute of zero cannot hear this
no, you can’t stay hidden.) sound.

Giggle Empty Place (6)

Even if you’re hiding, when you see a mis- You can make someone wander into a place
take or mischief nearby, you can’t help but with nothing in it. It’s useful when someone
reveal yourself by laughing. You can’t hide is trying to run away or get past you. If your
when you succeed at Surprising someone or Henge attribute exceeds their Animal attribute,
manage to play a prank on someone. you’ll transport them to the empty place, and
they will not be able to leave the scene. Also,
this power cannot hurt anyone.

Sneaky Cling (8)

You have a hard time dealing with being no- You suddenly cling to someone’s back,
ticed by people, and you can’t go anywhere Surprising them. Your Henge attribute goes up
with many people you don’t know. You cannot by 2 for this Surprise. Once you’re on some-
appear in a scene if there are two or more one’s back, you can also change into a rock, a
people with whom you don’t have connec- log, an old tool, etc. if you wish.
tions present. However, henge, other mono-
noke, and local gods aren’t a problem for you.

Shy Tug (4)

You’re shy to the point where you have a hard You tug on someone’s sleeve or leg to draw their
time saying what you’re thinking. You have to attention. Use this when someone is making a
spend 2 points of Feelings in order to speak check; the distraction reduces their attribute
to a certain someone. However, once you by 2 for that one check.
do you’ll be able to keep talking to them as
much as you want for the rest of the scene.

Timid Not Scary (0)

You’re very timid, and easily Surprised when Unlike many michinoke, you look like a normal
those around you do or say unexpected child or animal rather than something scary.
things. When such things happen, you are Your clothes or something else about you will
Surprised with the Surprising person’s Child still be a bit odd, so you’ll draw attention if you
attribute, plus 2. walk around town during the day. However,
your mere appearance will not Surprise people.
 Huh? Me? I’m an oni and my name is Towa
Doji-sama. What’s your problem? You’re making fun
of me ‘cuz I’m short, aren’t you?! I may look like a 10
year old kid, but I’m way older than you! I’m over a
hundred! What? Even though I’m older I’m contrary,
violent, and I bluster a lot? Shaddup! Don’t treat me
like a kid!

What’s an oni? Guys like me. Duh. Enough ex-

planations. What? What else is there? Oh, come
on! Shut up already! An oni is cool and strong and
awesome like me. We have horns, and we can do all
kinds of amazing stuff. We’ve lived around here way
longer than you humans. Got it? Now shut up and
listen to what I have to say!

What animals do we get along with?

There aren’t any! Foxes are arrogant, dogs and rab-
bits get so depressing, raccoon dogs are dorks, and
birds just don’t understand a damn thing. Oh…
Well, yeah, that cat’s name is Kuromu, I think.
I don’t really hate her. Wh-What?! I said I don’t
hate her! I—I like how she doesn’t hang around
all the time! That’s all! Got it?! *runs away*

Horns are how you know someone is an oni! If

you don’t got horns, you’re just faking it. I only
have one, but some have two or three.

Oni have carried metal clubs since ancient times,

you know? If I’ve got my club, I can take on a bear.
Around here my strength is nothing to sneeze at. Not
that I go picking fight with bears much.
 Fighting? I love it. That doesn’t mean I like get-
ting into a brawl with someone when we hate each
other. But sometimes you get ticked off, and some-
times you can’t fix stuff with just words, so what’s
wrong with letting it out in a fight? It’s kinda like
sports. Oh, and I do like regular sports too.

The word oni can mean all kinds of things.

Scary, strong, important, amazing, terrible,
mysterious, monster, even ghost. Hmph.
People just keep adding stuff on their own.
An oni is an oni, and that’s all there is to it.

Oni are always the villains in folk tales. But we

don’t really do anything bad. Wh-What?! I’m not
sulking! You shut the hell up! And stop messing
with my hair!

What? I’m childish?! You’re just

judging me by my looks! Wh-What the
hell do you mean, I act childish too?!

Oni gods? Yeah, I know all about them.

That’s when an oni becomes a local god. They
got old and settled down and stuff. They’re
nothing like a young oni like me. If you take
away an oni’s horns, what’s left is just another
old man. The whole point of being an oni is
that you can run around and do what you want.
 A Typical Oni Yamanba (Mountain Hag): This is an
Towa Doji’s explanation may have been a oni that takes the form of an old woman
little difficult to follow, but oni are brutal who lives in the mountains. Their true
creatures who mainly dwell in the moun- faces are very scary, and they have great
tains. They have one or two small horns power. They often become local gods
sprouting from the tops of their heads or of the mountains, where they’ve been
their foreheads, and their skin is red or known to at turns scare people away and
blue. Many oni are very big and strong, save people who are about to fall off cliffs.
but there are also smaller ones like Towa
Doji. They tend to be violent, but many Satori: Also known as amanojaku, sa-
are kind to people. They also love par- tori are oni with the power to read peo-
ties and festivals, making them one of ple’s minds. In the mountains they will
the merriest varieties of mononoke. suddenly spring out at people, and try to
Oni eat and sleep like people. Apart use their power to read minds to scare
from their horns, odd skin colors, and them. Their personalities make it a bit
special powers, they’re basically human. hard for them to make friends, and they
When an oni takes residence on a moun- hate it when people disturb the serenity
tain or plain, any people living nearby of the mountains.
will know full well about it. People fear
oni, but certain old people have become Hannya: These oni have particularly
friends with them, and know the oni well. scary faces. They normally look like
Everyone has heard stories about oni, pretty women, but they will suddenly
even if they’ve never met one. Still, if an switch to a terrifying face in order to
oni were to walk into town without trans- frighten people. They’ve been known to
forming, it would shock a lot of people. become good friends with michinoke,
The word “oni” was originally a term and work together to frighten people.
for all mononoke. Kappa were “water Once in a while a hannya will take hu-
oni,” and ghosts were another kind of man form and fall in love with a human.
“oni.” People once read the Chinese
character for “oni” as “mono,” the same Ippon Datara: This rather curious oni
as in “mononoke.” However, that mean- has one big eye, one arm, and one leg.
ing is a bit too broad for our purposes, It hops around the mountains, frighten-
so in this book “oni” always refers to the ing the people it comes across. They sel-
strong monsters that live mainly in the dom have much interest in people or the
mountains. town, and don’t really talk to the local
gods, henge, or other mononoke.
Other Kinds of Oni
There are many other sorts of oni be- Bear: When a bear becomes a henge and
yond the typical kind. Here are some gains the ability to take human form, he
examples of other kinds of oni: also gains the same powers as an oni.
Bear henge possess not only their impres-
Thunder God: This is an oni that spe- sive original strength, but also the power
cializes in calling down thunder. They’re to wield the ferocious strength of nature
basically the same as normal oni, except to protect the mountains. Bear henge of-
they have a ring of taiko drums on their ten become local gods. Also, some boars
backs that they can use to call the thun- become henge in much the same way.
der. Most thunder gods lived atop tall
mountains, but they sometimes come to Hihi: Monkeys that have grown old

20
town to grant the requests of humans. and large can become hihi, a kind of
oni. Monkeys that reach this state can when they have no ill will at all, they can
no longer properly be called animals, cause trouble through their curiosity.
and are essentially mononoke. Hihi are
feared by people for their tendency to Names
half jokingly chase unwitting victims into Oni place a surprisingly high value on
the mountains to get them lost. However, social rules. As with Towa Doji, they
they might have a reason for doing that. tend to have important-sounding names.
Their names typically come from where
Yaku Oni: This is an oni that has be- they live, their special powers, or dis-
come a local god or a shrine god. Unlike tinctive things about them, all exagger-
typical oni, they tend to have serious, ated to sound grand.
diligent personalities, and dress as a Here are some things you can use to
Shinto or Buddhist priest. Yaku oni put together a name for your oni:
faithfully and diligently serve a god. • Family Name: Place name, animal,
plant, Kaminari (thunder), an action
Yagyou-san (Night Traveler): In a or habit such as drinking (Sakenomi),
given town there may be one yagyou- watching the moon (Tsukimi), walk-
san, or none at all. When night falls, he ing around at night (Yakou), court
will walk around the town calling to the dance and music (Bugaku), etc.
henge and mononoke, leading them in a • Male Given Name: Douji (boy,
procession. When there is a yagyou-san kid), Ou (king), Maru (round),
in a town, even adults don’t go out at Taro, Taisho (general), Nushi (mas-
night. Anyone who does go out what find ter), Kami (god), Bou (person)
themselves surrounded by mononoke, • Female Given Name: Gozen (your
and perhaps scolded by the yagyou-san. ladyship), Hime (princess), Koushu
(princess), Tayuu (courtesan)
Niou-sama (Two Kings): The Niou Naturally, there are oni with other
are statues that guard a temple gate. names, and with simpler ones. Think of
Niou who get tired of guarding the gate an appropriate name, and consult with
all the time will sometimes take human the narrator.
form and come into town to play. Even

21
鬼 Transforming
Oni also have faces and skin colors that are completely different from
humans. Furthermore, most oni have horns on their heads somewhere.
On the other hand, compared to henge and other mononoke, oni are
much closer to humans. When oni take human form, the only real prob-
lem is their horns. However, if you create bear or bore henge using the
oni rules, they transform just like typical henge.

Cost +0

Cost +2

Cost +4
Horns are completely visible.

Horns are only a little bit visible on the oni’s head.

Completely human.

ONI POWERS
Strong (0) Thunder (8) Iron Club (8)

You have considerable physical You call a great clap of thunder This power creates an oni’s big,
strength. When making checks from a cloud in the sky. The heavy iron club in your hand.
for lifting heavy things, arm thunder cannot knock people The club lasts until the end of the
wrestling, etc. your Animal at- down and such, but the sound scene, and you can use it to your
tribute (but not the amount of and the flash of light are very heart’s content to smash through
Feelings you spend) is doubled. intense. Everyone in the scene rocks and walls. Of course, un-
who is not an oni needs an thinking destruction may lower
Adult check result of four or your connection to the town. If
higher or they will let out a cry you take human form, this iron
club can become a bat, wooden
and flee.
sword, cane, haraegushi (Shinto
purification wand), or other ob-
ject of a similar shape.

Oni Copy (10) Hidden Village (12) Midnight Parade (30)

This power lets you imitate pow- The land of the mononoke, You call the henge and mono-
ers that other henge, mononoke, the Hidden Village, lies in the noke of the town together, into
or similar have used. By paying depths of the mountains or for- a great procession. This proces-
the cost of this power, you can ests, and this power lets you pay sion lasts until the end of the
create an effect identical to a visit. You can bring someone scene, and anyone who partici-
that of a power that a henge, else along, so long as you have pates can use their powers at
mononoke, local god, etc. has a connection to them. You don’t half the usual cost. Also, you
just used. However, if there is a need to use this power again to can only use this power at night.
check involved with that power exit the Hidden Village. Henge
you will have to make your own and mononoke are free to enter
check for it. the Hidden Village, but people
must have a mononoke escort.
WEAKNESS ADDITIONAL POWER
Contrary Peek Into Hearts (6)
You unconsciously take up an attitude that’s You can read the heart of another. This mainly
the opposite of what you’re actually thinking. lets you hear what someone is saying in their
Unless you have a connection of Strength 3 or head, not what they’re feeling or what’s true.
higher to someone, your connection doesn’t Still, it lets you find out what someone’s real in-
provide them with any Feelings between tentions are from their heart rather than their
scenes. They’ll get Feelings from all of their mouth.
other connections like usual, but not yours.

Dried Beans Fierce God (20)

You have a weakness when it comes to beans. You become a massive oni, more than 15 feet tall. In
You can eat them normally when they’re in this form, your Animal and Henge attributes are multi-
food, but being hit with dried beans (includ- plied by 10, and you can easily pick up and throw those
ing peanuts) subjects you to a Surprise of smaller than you. This power lasts until either you de-
8. You can’t use any powers to prevent this. cide to return to normal or the scene ends. However,
every time you use this power your connection from
the town (or an appropriate friend) goes down by 1.

Braggart Composure (0)

You’re always claiming you can do more Whatever happens, you can at least pretend it
than you can actually do. When you make a doesn’t bother you. When you use this power,
check, you have to spend an extra 2 points you can stay calm against any kind of Surprise.
of Feelings in order to have any further
Feelings have any effect.

Violent Brawling Buddies (0)

You’re violent, and you’re always using your You have a knack for forming friendships through
fists more than your head. When you need scuffles. You can fight (see Golden Sky Stories p. 63)
to make a check for persuading or asking in place of a normal Impression Check to create a
something, you’ll fight instead. Naturally, connection. When you do this and use your Animal
you’re no good at persuading or making attribute, spending 1 point of Feelings gives you a
requests. Strength 1 connection, and spending 3 points of
Feelings gives you a Strength 2 connection. The con-
nection’s Contents will be Trust or Rivalry. However,
when you do this, you mustn’t hurt them emotionally.

Gullible Oni’s Tears (20)

You just can’t figure out when you’re being Your tears touch people’s hearts and make
tricked, even when you’re in the middle of them worry. You can only use this power if
tricking someone yourself. You never suspect you’re already crying. Everyone in the scene
you’re being lied to, and even if you as the who already has a connection to you has that
player fully understand that a lie has been connection’s strength go up by 1.
told, your oni will have to believe it.

Scary Hannya (6)

You have a massive body, a scary face, or similar. This power makes your face become terrifying
When you make an Impression Check, the Strength to Surprise someone. You’ll cause Surprise to as
of the connection the other side gets to you is reduced many targets as you wish who are in the same
by 1. (In other words, you need a result of 8 to create scene with any attribute you want. When you
a Connection at all.) However, this only applies to cause Surprise with this power, those affected
those you’ve never met before. If you have a Thread cannot use Feelings to raise their attributes.
(see GSS p. 65) you can form a connection normally.
 Me? I’m a kappa . My name is Ryuuichi
of Goukou River. Hm? A normal name? Yeah, it is. We
kappa mostly have the same kinds of names as humans.
We use the name of the river or pond we live in as a
surname, but still. It’s been about 18 years since I was
born, so I have a pretty current name. I’m a perv, I get
carried away, and I’m always damp? Maybe you could
say I’m a sociable, cheerful, handsome young man. No?

Hm? Well, there are different kinds of kappa

too, you know? Frogs, fish, and turtles that become
henge are basically like us. You can pretty much call
any henge or mononoke that mainly lives in the water
a “kappa.” I’m not really sure what a “pure” kappa
would really be though. I guess that would be me.
There are a fair number of us in the swamps and the
ponds in the mountains around town.

What animals do we get along with?

Well, I like all the cute girls. Heheh. I don’t get
along that well with other boys. I don’t think
there are any animals that we kappa have bad re-
lations with. We get a lot of requests to retrieve
stuff from the bottoms of ponds and such. There
aren’t really any other henge or mononoke that
are as good in water as we are.

We pretty much live our lives in the water.

We can talk to fish and frogs, and we often be-
come local gods of ponds or rivers. People think
that not many kappa come to town, but most of
them just come by the water.

Did you know that there’s a Kappa Kingdom?

Every river and pond is connected to it, and it’s
where we kappa live our quiet lives. The only thing
is, it’s kind of a boring place to live. We mostly just
go back there once in a while when we’re tired.
 Oh, these hands of mine? Well, our bodies have
some extra flexibility, and both sides can shift around
like waves in a pool. That means that if I make one
side shorter, the other side gets twice as big, like this.
*uncomfortable laugh*

My shell looks heavy? It isn’t, really.

It’s a part of my body, like my hair and
my claws. And having a shell means
that I can lay around in the sun with-
out drying out. Plus, it’s handy be-
cause I can float or sink in the water.

Ahaha, you think it’s gross how damp I am?

Well, I’m always like this, so I can’t do much
about it. I kinda need to stay wet; I get weak
if I’m dried out. Fish are pretty wet too, right?

We have all different kinds of personalities.

I’m the way I am, but there are plenty of more seri-
ous kappa out there. Different strokes for different
folks, or for different kappa as it were.

Hmm… Water gods, huh? They’re basi-

cally just what happens when we kappa settle
down, so they’re not that impressive. *uncom-
fortable laugh* We visit whatever ponds and
rivers we like, but some find one particular
place they really like. Those kappa become lo-
cal gods, and they live in that one place where
they can help the younger kappa and others
that come by.
 A Typical Kappa Turtle: This is a great big turtle with
The typical kappa is the kappa of the power to take human form. They
Japanese folklore. They have green skin live in ponds or riverbeds, or on beaches
like a frog’s, a shell like a turtle, webbed near town, and most of them become
hands and feet, bobbed hair, and a sort local gods. They do things at their own
of pool or cup in the top of their heads. pace, and are very knowledgeable.
They don’t normally wear clothes, and
they’re usually wet from head to toe. Frog: These are large, old frogs, and
They’ve very good swimmers, and live in frogs born with strange powers. They’re
ponds or rivers. Most of them are frivo- similar to henge, but being as large as a
lous and have a penchant for mischief. person they’ll Surprise people they meet
They eat fish and fruit, and they espe- like a mononoke. Frogs don’t usually
cially like cucumbers. seem to be very interested in the town,
Kappa make their homes in the water, and they seldom have much contact
but young kappa are very curious, and with others apart from local gods and
often take human form to go into town. kappa.
Apart from not living on land, they’re ba-
sically the same as other animals. When Fish: These are large fish that live in
an aquatic animal becomes a henge, for ponds. As fish henge, they are big, and
the most part they’re basically kappa, can appear on land. Carp, catfish, eels,
and they tend to get along well with rac- and charr all often become henge.
coon dog and fox henge. However, for the most part they keep to
A lot of kappa look scary, but many themselves.
people like them all the same, and many
kappa become friends with old people. Otter: Otters often transform like
Everyone knows that kappa live most of raccoon dogs. Although they are full-
their lives where people can’t see. They fledged henge, otters mostly live in the
can rescue drowning children and re- water, and not everyone knows about
trieve things lost in the water when no them. Otters often take the form of chil-
one else can. dren to play tricks.
Older kappa often become local gods
of a pond or river. Umibouzu (Sea Monk): The umi-
bouzu is a jet-black monster with a
Other Kinds of Kappa smooth, round head. Their bodies are
“Kappa” basically include most henge blank except for their large eyes, and
and mononoke that live in the water. they like to sneak up on people. As their
Ryuuichi represents a typical kappa, but name suggests, they live in the ocean,
there are many others that live in the so you’re unlike to meet them except in
water. Let’s take a look at what some of a village near the sea. They rarely come
those are. on land.

Mermaid: The top of her body is a Seal: When a river is near enough to
woman, while the bottom is a fish. the ocean, seals, penguins, dolphins,
Mermaids usually live in the ocean, but and even whales can sometimes wander
one might swim to town along a river. close. They occupy a position similar to
Different mermaids have different per- visitors, but they’re largely limited to the
sonalities, but they don’t normally go on water. When they do come for a visit,
land, so they know little of the surface they might take human form and head

26
world. into town out of curiosity.
Nessie: This is a mysterious creature Names
that lives in a pond or lake. It’s a huge Kappa have a given name and a surname
thing with bumps on its back and a long like a person. Ryuuichi’s proper name is
neck. It originally came from a particu- “Ryuuichi Goukou.” Even if he were a
lar lake somewhere far away. No one frog or an otter, he could still have this
knows what it really looks like, but some name so long as he lived in Goukou
say it’s actually a surviving dinosaur. And River. Ask the narrator for the names
who knows, it might just decide to take of ponds and rivers in the town when
human form and come into town. you’re naming your kappa. Also, kappa
can simply be called “The Kappa of
Giant Octopus: Giant octopi also Goukou River” or “Ryuuichi of Goukou
sometimes come in from the sea. River” like a michinoke.
Octopus henge are very strong, and can
cause problems by doing whatever they
feel like. Whether in the sea or on land,
octopi are often arrogant and bossy.
They also sometimes take things they
find in the water as their own…

Kawahime (River Princess): This is a

type of kappa that looks like a beautiful
girl who appears in clear streams in the
mountains. She has scales and webbing
on her hands and feet, but otherwise
looks basically human. She likes to play
around by teasing human and henge
boys, but she could befriend someone
who helps her.

27
河童
Transforming
There isn’t any one kappa appearance, so when they take human form
they don’t leave ears or tails showing like henge. Instead, they show
other distinguishing features. For that reason, look at the table below to
see what happens when your kappa transforms. No matter what they do,
kappa always seem watery in some way.

Cost +0 Strong fishy smell, skin/hair damp with water or mucous.

Cost +2 Skin/hair damp with water or mucous.

Cost +4 Completely human.

KAPPA POWERS
Aquatic Dialect (0) Swim (2) Catch (4)

You can talk with animals that You can swim in the water with- Your arm or tongue can extend
live in the town’s rivers and out having to come up for air. to snatch someone or something
ponds. Also, if you don’t harm You can also carry something at a distance. When there’s
them they won’t harm you. up to twice your own size as you something in a place that’s too
However, this power does not swim. Furthermore, this dou- far away or too high, you can
work on fish and such that bles your attribute when making use this power to extend a part
might come from outside of a check for fleeing into the wa- of yourself to grab it.
the town. There are as many ter, searching for something un-
aquatic languages as there are derwater, or similar. This effect
rivers and oceans. lasts until the end of the scene.

Gills (8) Hidden Village (12) Water Ways (16)

This power lets you give people The land of the mononoke, You move from one place with
and friendly henge or mononoke the Hidden Village, lies in the water to another. You can in-
the ability to breathe underwa- depths of the mountains or for- stantly move between any two
ter. However, you can only use ests, and this power lets you pay places where there’s enough
this power on those you have a a visit. You can bring someone water for you to fully submerge
connection to. If they spend 2 else along, so long as you have yourself. You can also bring
points of Wonder or Feelings, a connection to them. You don’t along other people who have
they can use a kappa’s Swim need to use this power again to connections with you (as long
power too. exit the Hidden Village. Henge as they’re willing to come with
and mononoke are free to enter you).
the Hidden Village, but people
must have a mononoke escort.
WEAKNESS ADDITIONAL POWER
Moist Hide In Water (8)
You carry moisture in a dish in your head You blend into water to hide. Even if the water
or in your hair, and when it dries out you is perfectly clear, no one will be able to see you.
can’t move. If a scene takes place in an area It only takes a little bit of water to hide in. While
without water, you have to spend twice as you’re hiding, others will need to match or exceed
many points of Feelings to boost your attri- your Henge plus 3 with their Henge attribute to
butes for checks. However, if it’s cloudy, or if detect you. However, a local god can easily spot
there’s a water supply or an active irrigation you if you hide in a pod or river in their domain.
canal, you don’t suffer this penalty. This effect lasts until the end of the scene.

Cucumber Sumo (6)

You love cucumbers. When you see them, If you grab someone or something, you can slap
your transformation comes undone by one or throw them. You can even throw a boulder or a
step. In other words, depending on how car with this power, but if the local god of the area
you’ve transformed, you could be forced is around, you can’t toss anything natural without
back into your full kappa form. their permission. Also, you can’t move anything
firmly rooted to the ground like a tree or building.

Perv Reflecting Water (8)

You’re more than a little interested in your pre- You can view the current state of someone important
ferred sex. If you make a connection to a mem- to you in the surface of the water. You can use this
ber of your preferred sex, the contents of your power anywhere there’s a water surface bigger than
connection will always be “Ulterior Motive.” If your face. When you use it, the water will reflect
you have such a connection with someone, you what one person you have a connection with is doing.
can’t change the contents to something else until It will also show you anyone else who is with them
it reaches a Strength of 3 or higher. If you have at the time. If they don’t want you to see, they can
an Ulterior Motive connection with someone, you exceed your Henge attribute with theirs to make the
actually want to get romantically involved with reflection clear away.
them, or maybe just look cool around them.

Sensitive to Cold Sunbathing (0)

You’re very sensitive to the cold. If the story You can gain Wonder by basking in the sun.
takes place in the winter or you go to some- If the sun is out and you go through a whole
where particularly cold, or similar, you can’t scene without making a check, you’ll gain dou-
use anything that requires spending Wonder. ble the usual Wonder at the start of the next
However, even in the winter you can warm scene.
up by a fire, at a stove, with a blanket,
etc. and you’ll be able to use your abilities
normally.

Carried Away Dripping Wet (8)

You get easily carried away when people flat- You bring down about a bucket’s worth of water down
ter you. You have to attempt to make checks, on a spot of your choosing. Needless to say, if you
even if they’re difficult, and even if you know drop it on someone’s head they’ll be soaking wet. They
you’ll fail (for example, even if your partici- would have to exceed your Henge attribute with their
Animal attribute to avoid the water. This water doesn’t
pation isn’t necessary).
have any special properties, but the abruptness of it
will causes a Surprise of your Henge plus 3. Also, de-
pending on the season they might catch a cold.

Metal Chameleon (4)

You’re weak against metal, especially iron. If You change your body’s coloration to match the
you accidentally touch iron, you’ll be automati- scenery around you. Others must exceed your
cally subjected to a Surprise of 7. Animal attribute with theirs to detect you. This
lasts until you cancel it or the end of the scene.
 I am Sumire, the ghost . Yes, I am
ten years old. I’ve been 10 for a long time… be-
cause I am a ghost. How old am I as a ghost…?
*cocks head to one side* There isn’t any such
thing. I was always 10. My body is translucent
and faint, my clothes are a bit odd these days, and
I prefer the dark… I can’t help it. I am a ghost.

What is a ghost? A ghost is a ghost.

Someone who normally wouldn’t be around…
Someone who doesn’t grow older… Someone
who can’t leave their own house… Someone who
is always lost… Or someone like me, who’s for-
gotten the past and does not pay attention to the
world. Well… Someone odd, in any case.

What animals to do we get along with?

Rabbits are too easily scared. Foxes and birds are
kind, and always listen to me. I wish more would
stay with me without being afraid, but… that’s what
makes it hard to be a ghost. I like everyone who will
talk to me.

They say ghosts often reside around graves.

But you don’t often hear of the people buried
there becoming ghosts. I and other ghosts like
me do go visit graveyards, but we don’t thought-
lessly scare people there.

Some people say we’re afraid of scriptures,

but… that’s not quite right. I don’t like how peo-
ple say we can’t be around where scriptures are.
 Spirit photographs? I can make those…
when I want someone to know that I’m there.

Hitodama are like accessories.

They’re useful when I want someone
to come closer or go away.

Legs? *sigh* My normal form doesn’t

have those. I always float. But, some michi-
noke don’t have legs either, you know. Some
ghosts do though. Is that really so odd?

Sheet ghosts… are surprisingly common. That’s

what I am… It’s kind of a dumb look, so I’m kind
of embarrassed about it… Huh? Cute? R-Really…?
Heehee. Then may I come with you to your house?

Patron gods are when the ghosts of kings

or very strong people are worshiped as gods.
Hitotsuna Town’s Hitotsuna Nushi is like that.
But they become like a part of the air around
the town, and they can’t create a form to ap-
pear to people they way I can. It’s hard to be
famous… I’ll stay like this until everyone for-
gets about me.
 A Typical Ghost don’t usually have many memories of
The typical ghost… is a little hard to their prior lives.
explain. That’s because most ghosts are
essentially people’s feelings given form. Returning Person: These ghosts are
In other words, there are as many kinds faint and translucent, but otherwise
of ghosts as there are kinds of feelings. look like normal people. They’ve re-
You’ll find a brief look at some of the turned from somewhere far, far away to
different kinds of ghosts below, but let’s deliver a message. They no longer have
start off with a general summary. a place to belong, so once they’ve deliv-
Ghosts are made up solely of con- ered their message they will fade away
sciousness, so they can fade from sight, and return from whence they came.
but they do not eat or sleep. They of-
ten make themselves visible to say Left Behind: These ghosts are much
something, or out of loneliness. When like the Returning People in terms of
encountering a ghost, normal people looking like a translucent person, but
usually either instinctively freeze up or they don’t understand what’s happened
thoughtlessly flee. Some ghosts like to to them. Left behind ghosts may disap-
make mischief, but many came back pear when they realize that they’ve be-
to town because they have something come ghosts, or they could find a reason
they want to do. It’s best not to inter- to stay in town.
fere with them, but the poor things are
too often misunderstood. Ghosts often Zashiki-Warashi (Hearth Spirit):
become lonely, so they always want to A zashiki-warashi is a spirit that lives
make friends. somewhere in an old house to protect it,
Each ghost was once a resident of the and looks like a child. They watch over
town just like us, so in some ways they’re a house and help out in various ways.
closer to regular people than other There are also other ghosts that live
henge and mononoke. Even if they don’t in houses, like the makura-gaeshi that
have a message to deliver, many ghosts moves pillows around while people sleep
come back to watch over their families. and the tenjou-sagari that hangs from
Though you might not realize it, there the ceiling.
are ghosts all around you. There might
even be one reading this book with you. Hitodama (Soul): This is a type of
ghost is a human soul that looks like a
Other Kinds of Ghosts floating blue-white ball of fire. People
A ghost is usually a dead person, but also call them things like onibi (demon
there are many different kinds of ghosts. flame), bakebi (monster flame), or will-
They can be a human consciousness, or o-the-wisps. Sometimes you can see the
they can be other monsters of uncertain image of a person’s face or form in the
forms. Let’s look at some of the different flames. They float close to people, and
kinds of ghosts. sometimes try to shine to guide them.
When that happens, they might have
Old Sheet Ghost: These ghosts looks something to tell you.
like they’re covered with old, white
sheets, and take up residence in grave- Skeleton: This ghost looks like a hu-
yards or abandoned houses. They look man skeleton wearing tattered old
vaguely cute, and like to play around clothes and lives in an abandoned well
by startling children who come close. or hole. At night they come out and walk

32
Sumire is such a ghost, but her kind around the town. Skeletons know they
look scary, so they try not to interact so afraid they often have to spend their
with people without taking human form lives hiding or traveling. Vampires who
first, though they do talk to local gods lead such secretive lives are lonely, and
and other ghosts. surely want to find friends.

Doll: Sometimes a doll that someone Buruburu: This is a ghost that makes
treasured will take on a life of its own, people they meet on the road start to
and even transform into a little girl. tremble. They look like other ghosts, but
People are often afraid of such dolls, but they’re like michinoke in a lot of ways,
they will never stop protecting whoever so they sometimes work together to play
it was that so treasured them. tricks on people. They’re much more
cheerful than they might appear, and
Toilet Monster: This is a monster they’ll often be willing to talk to henge.
that inhabits toilets at night, especially
in places where people rarely come. Names
This monster has nothing to do with Ghosts can have all different kinds of
dead people, and is more like a god names, so there are no particular limits
that protects a toilet. Legends of “Toilet on what you can choose. Sumire has a
Hanako-san” who replies in empty bath- simple name, not unlike a henge, but
rooms and Ganbari Nyuudo who guards ghosts that remember when they were
a bathroom, are well-known. alive can use their former names. Also,
buruburu and toilet monsters can have
Vampire: The odd person who lives in names like michinoke instead.
a western-style house in the mountains, There are many different kinds of
or the person who suddenly moved into ghosts, with totally different histories,
town, just might be a vampire. Vampires and they can have different names ac-
are beautiful people who are weak cordingly. So, think about what kind of
against sunlight, but do not age. They ghost you’re creating and talk to the nar-
do not drink so much of a person’s blood rator about what kind of name you want
as to kill them, but because people are them to have.

33
幽霊
Transforming
Since ghosts don’t have ears, tails, or wings, they transform a bit dif-
ferently from henge. Their peculiar nature shows through to varying
degrees when they take human form, as follows:

Your body is translucent, your eyes or hair glow faintly,

Cost +0
there’s an aura of cold around you, or similar.

Your body is translucent, or your eyes or hair glow

Cost +2
faintly.

Cost +4 Completely human.

GHOST POWERS
Float (4) Poltergeist (4) Walk Through Walls (4)

You can float through the sky at This power lets you make ob- You can enter places where
a leisurely pace. You can move jects move around and float there’s no way in at all. When
through the air at about the without touching them. You there’s a a closed door, a dead
speed a person can walk, and can move around several ob- end, or similar, you can slip
getting up that high gives you a jects that your Animal attribute through and appear on the
+2 bonus to checks for search- would let you lift. People who other side.
ing for things. The effect lasts see this happening for the first
until the end of the scene. time are subject to a Surprise of
4. However, for whatever rea-
son this power can only affect
things made by human hands,
so it won’t work on things like
trees, leaves, or people.

Blind Spot (6) Thread of Feelings (6) Manifestation (8)

No one can see you unless you You can appear wherever some- You appear in a photograph, on
want them to. You can make it one special to you is, no mat- a television, etc. This lets you
so that until the scene changes, ter where they are. Even if you unnaturally show up in a photo,
only those who you have con- wouldn’t normally be in a scene, on someone’s TV, on a video re-
nections with can see or touch you can show up as long as you cording, etc. Your image won’t
you. However, you still have a have a connection to someone move in a photograph, but in
faint presence, and those who there. on a TV or video recording you
can get a Henge attribute result can move around all you want.
higher than yours will realize Also, if you spend twice as many
that there’s a ghost present. points, you can call someone
even if you don’t have a phone.
WEAKNESS ADDITIONAL POWER

Faint Immortal (0)

Your existence is very faint, so you can’t ac- Some mysterious power protects you from
tually pick things up. Even if you take hu- things that would hurt a normal person. You
man form, you can’t touch anything that you can fall from a great height, stay underwater as
didn’t originally have with you. (Though you long as you want, and other things that would
can still indirectly touch things with pow- be very reckless for others.
ers and such.) Unless you concentrate, you
won’t register to automatic doors or cameras.

Child of the Night Fox Fire (6)

You have a hard time doing stuff when it’s This calls up a ball of fire that floats in the air.
light out. During the day it costs you an ex- However, you can only use this power in the evening
tra 4 points to transform, and your powers or at night. For the rest of the scene you can use it
all cost an extra 4 points of Wonder. to make people who see it flee in fear or draw closer
out of curiosity. If they can make an Adult check that
beats your Henge attribute they can react however
they like, but if you win, you can make them run
away or draw closer as you please.

Strange Oracle (6)

You speak and dress in a way that’s out of You can make someone sleeping nearby have what-
touch with the times, or just looks conspicu- ever kind of dream you like, and they’ll think it was
their own dream. If your Henge attribute is higher
ous and flamboyant. Because you stand out than the person’s Adult attribute, you can make them
so much you can’t really hide, and if you try hold back on doing something they were planning,
to walk around town in human form you’ll or go ahead with something they were holding back
draw everyone’s attention. on. However, to use this power you must precisely
explain the contents of the dream to the narrator. If
the narrator finds the dream problematic or contra-
dictory, he can ignore its intended effect.

Chains Haunted House (0)

Rather than having a connection to the You have considerable power within the house that
town, you have a connection to a particular you protect. At the start of the story you and the
house. For each scene, you have to spend as house each have a Strength 2 connection to each
many points of Feelings as there are other other. After a scene that takes place in that house
participants in the game (including the nar- or that includes people who live there, you gain
rator) in order to leave this house. double the usual amount of Wonder and Feelings.

Otherworldly Paralysis (8)

When you take human form, there’s still This power makes someone suddenly become
something creepy about you. You can’t make unable to move. If their Henge attribute doesn’t
Impression Checks on people (but you can exceed yours, they won’t be able to do anything
with henge, animals, etc.). You can only form physical except talk until the end of the scene.
connections with people by spending Dreams.

Village Ghost Guardian Deity (0)

You are bound to a human settlement, and thus You have protected the town for a long time.
you’re weakened while in contact with nature. Everyone in town knows you, and you can form
When you’re in the mountains, forest, plains, a Strength 2 connection with people (not ani-
or other places not created by people, you have mals, henge, etc.) you meet who were raised in
to spend double the usual amount of Wonder the town, regardless of your Impression Check
to use your powers. However, you can take hu- result.
man form at the usual cost.
 I am a visitor . I am designated
Repushi. I am visiting this town from very far away,
but I am capable of speaking your Earth language.
Worrying stuff becomes no problem. In this town’s
time I have lived for 148920 hours. I am a very Weak
body, my form presents Always the Same, and I often
do the Lost Thing. I am proactively using discretion
to become more accustomed to this town.

A visitor is someone who is not living in town,

comes from far away, as in many notable rumors. We
come to see and observe the town, but a commotion
results often. When I went here too I resulted in a
large incident that drew the ears of everyone of the
town. I return home one day, but for now I will post-
pone and exist with everyone here.

The animals we get along with

are birds and rabbits. I am always grateful to
those who will speak gently so as not to startle
me. Dogs unfortunately dislike me, and I was
not without troubling experiences with them.

My home is far, far above the sky. But

I understand visitors have many different
homes. Some even had their homes de-
stroyed, or did not possess homes.

The reason I came is because I have a

trip alone on summer vacation. I have already
reached 148920 hours of life, so I have reached
a state where there are not problems to be
found with traveling alone.
 I have recently realized that the impression
I deposit is strong. As I meet in the town and
pass time, I am an existence that stands out for
beings from outside. Perhaps I feel as though
floating in the town’s air.

The world extends outside of town

naturally. Beyond the sky, below the
earth, yesterday and tomorrow, the world
is without end. Although I have come to
this town, as a consequence if people
wish to go somewhere, I believe I think
they will be able to go anywhere.

There are as many mysterious things

in the world as it needs. I conclude that
the extent of the mysterious in this town
is a natural result of the mysterious in the
world.

A UFO is regrettable. I am a safe driver

and confirm all directions and leave none
unconfirmed.

In a broad meaning, a visitor is all who

come to town from outside. Migratory birds,
circuses, the jolly one known as Santa Claus
are all called visitors. I came from far, far above
the sky, but some come from other eras, some
come depending on the season. But I am not
yet blessed to meet another visitor.
 A Typical Visitor Big Alien: Repushi is a little alien,
…Is tricky at best. There really isn’t any but there are also bigger ones around.
such thing as a “typical” visitor. Anyone would be surprised to run
A visitor is someone who has come to into an alien that’s 10 feet tall, right?
town and will leave before long. Broadly Sometimes that big of a body is actu-
speaking, a migratory bird or a fish visit- ally a kind of suit that they wear to look
ing via the river could be a visitor. something like a person…
Among the many types of visitors, a
little alien like Repushi is probably the Yuki Onna (Snow Maiden): This is
easiest to understand. He has a small, a snow spirit that looks like a beautiful
pure white body, large eyes, and weak woman and only comes to town when
limbs. He gets around in a flying saucer there’s a lot of snow piled up. During
that’s smaller than a person. Aliens are the winter she’ll act like a normal per-
perhaps the visitors most likely to come son, but when spring comes she’ll have
to the town. to go to somewhere cold, maybe high in
Regardless of what they look like, the mountains. There are also Yukinko
most visitors have a home of their own (Snow Children) who look like cute
somewhere. They also need to eat and kids.
sleep. However, their concepts of “food”
and “sleep” may be different from ours. Wind Spirit: Wind spirits are personi-
The fun thing about visitors, and the fications of the North Wind, the South
most important thing you can gain from Wind, and sometimes of a typhoon.
them, is that they point to a wider world, They come in many shapes and sizes, in-
full of all kinds of people, animals, and cluding boys, girls, large men, and birds.
mononoke. The true “typical visitor” is a They come to town just before a strong
guest from somewhere outside of what wind, and leave when the wind does.
you know. Ghosts who visit for the Obon
Festival, and even gods, can be among Fairy (Yousei): These are little people
the ranks of visitors. who live in the lands of Faerie. They’re
In that respect, visitors are the most small enough to fit in the palm of your
difficult of the five types of mononoke hand, and they have gossamer wings
to understand. When you want to inject on their backs, or horns like an oni.
something new into your Golden Sky Depending on the area, some people call
Stories game, something from outside them koropokkuru or jimunaa.
the usual setting, you can bring in a visi-
tor. You’ll need them when you have an Time Traveler: This is someone who’s
idea for something that couldn’t be eas- come to the present era from the past or
ily found in and around the town. future. Time travelers usually look like
normal people, but they can do strange
Other Kinds of Visitors things depending on when they’re from.
Visitors are mysterious guests who have Although they may stick around for a
come from outside of the town. Repushi while, time travelers must ultimately re-
is an alien, but visitors come in many turn to their own time.
shapes and temperaments. These visitors
will surely cause a commotion just by ar- Santa Claus: This is an old man who
riving in town. The sudden arrival of a only comes once a year, on Christmas
visitor will surely change a normal day Eve. On that night he visits every town
in town into an extraordinary one. Let’s in the world, bringing presents and joy

38
look at some possible kinds of visitors: to eager children all over the world. Of
course, you might well have a chance to Genie: A genie appears as a large man,
meet him before Christmas or even in a a goddess, or a monster imprisoned in a
different time of year entirely. lamp. The lamp may have been passed
around the world from a distant country,
Shishi (Dancing Lion): This is a with the genie trapped in it the whole
mysterious animal with a red face and time. A genie freed from a lamp may try
a green body that shows up during New to help the person who released them, or
Year’s and festivals. They move with a they might just do whatever they want.
swaying dance while clacking their teeth
together, and go on their way. People see Names
them as a good omen, bringing happi- Visitors are so varied that there’s no one
ness to the town. way to name them. Some have the same
kinds of names as ordinary people, while
Magician: Someone who wanders others have strange-sounding names,
around might well be a magician. Just foreign names, numbers, or nicknames.
as there are many kinds of people, there Think about what kind of name will be
are also many kinds of magicians. They appropriate for the particular visitor
won’t reveal what they are at first, but you’re creating. If you feel you need it,
sooner or later they’ll slip up and do ask the narrator for help coming up with
something magical. a name appropriate to the setting and
your particular visitor.
Robot: A robot is a machine puppet
that someone made. It may have come
from the distant future, or it could have
been made by someone somewhere. A
robot may have some kind of mission, or
it might have some problem of its own,
leading it to come to the town. A robot
should have some important reason to
why it’s in town.

39
 Transforming

マレ
When visitors who don’t have a single fixed form decide to take human
form, they don’t have ears or tails sticking out as signs of what they are.
Visitors that don’t start with a human form will have something dis-
tinctive emerge when the take human form.
When such a visitor takes human form, use the table below rather
than the usual rules for henge. Unlike animals, visitors cannot easily
blend in with people. Even if their base appearance is close to human,
there will be something odd about them. A visitor cannot show them-
selves in front of a large group of people with taking a fully human form.

ビト
Basically close to human, but people close by will realize
Cost +0
they’re not human.

Pointed nose, a mechanical sound or appearance,

Cost +2
strange ears, odd clothes, or similar.

Cost +4 Completely human.

VISITOR POWERS
Memorable (0) I’m Back (6) Sky Paths (8)

You leave a very strong impres- You’ve been to this town once You can walk through the air
sion on people you meet. When before. You can declare that as though on a path that runs
making an Impression Check, you’ve met someone before if through the sky. You can’t go
you only need a result of 3 to they’ve been in this town for at any faster than you can by
make a Strength 1 connec- least 5 years. When you make an walking or running, but you
tion, or a result of 6 to make a Impression Check, the Strength can use this power to go at top
Strength 2 connection. of connection you form is one speed no matter what obstacles
higher than normal. Also, when there might be on the ground. If
you use this power you must re- you’re running away from some-
thing, this increases your attri-
late the details of how you met
bute by 3. This power can also
them to the narrator.
affect up to two people whose
hands you hold.

Far Far Away (8) Sorry (8) Farewell (24)

You instantly go to somewhere Everyone knows the town is This power erases any memories
far off, outside of the town. This a strange place for you, so for of you from everyone in the town,
power can instantly take you the most part if you apologize, making it as though you’d never
and others with whom you have you’ll be forgiven. If you use come. If the sum of someone’s
connections to another place. It this power, people will forgive Child attribute and the strength
will not take you to anywhere you for pretty much any non- of their connection to you is
inside of the town, however, fatal mistake as long as you lower than your Henge attribute,
unless it’s to return to the town apologize, but, your words and they’ll forget. Even local gods
from somewhere outside. attitude must be sincere and cannot avoid this effect. When
you use this power, everyone in
properly apologetic.
town gets 10 points of Dreams.
Also, you can only use this power
in the final scene of a story.
WEAKNESS ADDITIONAL POWER

Far From Home Homesick (0)

You are lost and far from home in the town. Everyone around you wants to help you get
You might not know much about the town back to your hometown, world, or era. Between
or even the world. You automatically fail scenes you gain extra points of Feelings equal to
checks relating to information about the the number of connections you have. For exam-
town, knowing your way around, or other ple, if you have four connections (including with
kinds of everyday knowledge. the town), you get an extra 4 points of Feelings.

Weak Small (2)

You are a particularly small and/or weak You can use your small size to effectively hide,
visitor. Your Animal attribute can’t exceed 1, run away, or slip into a narrow space. If you
and you automatically fail checks that re- use this when you would be making a check
quire physical strength, even if you spend for moving around or hiding, you automatically
Feelings. succeed.

Tired Beam (4)

Whether because of a weak body, or the You launch a strange beam of light out of your
town’s climate being a problem for you, it hand or a weird device to Surprise someone.
takes very little to tire you out. You have to This causes a Surprise of 8, and they can’t raise
spend an extra 2 points of Feelings in order their attribute with Feelings.
to spend more Feelings on a check.

Traveler Strange Person (0)

You keep traveling from town to town. When You’re a little odd in some way, but even if
this story ends, this character cannot appear you don’t transform, you still basically look
in any future stories. Even if all of the other human. You can walk around in your normal
henge and/or mononoke appear in a new form without causing Surprise. However, you’ll
story, you’ll have to create a new character. still attract notice, so you can’t really hide from
people.

Always the Same Hide (8)

You do not have the ability to change your You can make yourself invisible. People will
form. You can’t take human form, and you’re have to get an Animal check result equal to or
always in the same shape. greater than your Henge plus 3 to figure out
where you are. This only prevents people from
seeing you, so you’ll still make sounds and
smells like usual. This effect lasts until you
cancel it, or until the end of the scene.

Lost Something Blast Off (24)

When you visit a place during a scene, you You create a UFO wrapped in light, a gate through
will always leave behind a piece of a mysteri- space and time, a typhoon, a blizzard, or similar.
ous device, a metal fragment, an odd ring on Anyone who sees this and doesn’t have a connection
the ground, or similar. Henge, local gods, and with you is subject to a Surprise of 12 (and can’t
mononoke will always know that you’ve been spend Feelings to raise their attributes). Also, every-
there if they see this. one else besides you who sees this gets 10 points of
Dreams. When you use this power, you must leave
the story at the end of the current scene.
 Onbu &
Friends
Sunset Sunset on the Other Side
Boy: Oh, man! It’s gotten completely Kaminagahime: In a way, henge are
dark! already neighbors to humans… They
Girl: Yeah. The stars are already out. live near each other, but when those
We’ll at least be able to see a bit when who wish to exchange words cannot,
we go down the mountain. that feeling… will one day become a
Boy: Ahaha. You know, they say that if bond… Those are ones who become
you don’t get home before dark you’ll henge…
see a monster. Onbu: What?
Kaminagahime: However, for people
I want… mononoke are… from the other side…
beings of magic itself…
Boy: Did you say something? Onbu: Umm… That sounds… compli-
Girl: N-No. Did you? cated…
Kaminagahime: For example, to a hu-
I want a piggyback ride. man you are a michinoke… a creature
one encounters on the road…
Children: A monster! Onbu: Yup. The ones you meet on roads
Onbu: Um, hi. I want a piggyback ride. are called michinoke.
Children: Eek! Kaminagahime: For humans, roads
Onbu: Huh? What’s wrong? What? Oh are… neither a home nor destina-
no, oh no, oh no… tion… but merely a place to traverse.
From roads, they cannot see a place
Twilight Sunset where they belong…
Kaminagahime: Hmm… So, that Onbu: Yeah.
made the children faint, and you… Kaminagahime: Also, human eyes
brought them here. are… always looking into the dis-
Onbu: Yup. If they slept out there they tance, to their destination… That may
would’ve caught a cold. be… a home they must return to, or
Kaminagahime: You did well… but a place they need to reach… At such
they do not look well. times they won’t see who is right be-
Onbu: Yeah. I want to become friends side them…
with everyone, but it’s really hard and Onbu: So, they just won’t see us?
I get lonely. I wanna piggy back ride. Kaminagahime: …Yes. And when they
Kaminagahime: … do see you, the mystery will be enough
Onbu: The henge are really good at to startle them… It will not be easy to
becoming friends with people from reach them.

42
town, so why can’t I?
Connection Sunset
Onbu: So I can’t become friends with people
from town? That sounds lonely…
Kaminagahime: You… truly wish for contact
with humans?
Onbu: Yeah. I want to be friends with them
and get piggyback rides.
Kaminagahime: Then… you must treasure
your connections… Use the strong magic
within you to turn their sad stories… into
happy ones… Even if you cannot live in the
same place, if those feelings are true… you
should express them.
Onbu: So they can believe me even if they
don’t see me, or I frighten him?
Kaminagahime: … (nods)
Onbu: Got it. I’m going to do my best to be-
come friends with people from town.

Everyone’s Sunset
Towa Doji: What? Become friends with hu-
mans? Don’t be stupid! There just gonna run
away as soon as they see us!
Ryuuichi: Well, this isn’t from me, but from
that cute michinoke girl who seems so lone-
ly. Don’t you care?
Towa Doji: Pft! They’re all scared of oni like
me! And kappa don’t have friends or nothing
on dry land.
Sumire: A ghost like me is… no longer hu-
man. But I would be happy if someone
would talk with me.
Repushi: I am come from very far away, and
we visitors all deserve the town from a small
distance. I would be pleased at a kind wel-
come and thankful very much.
Towa Doji: Ugh! Look at you guys! Fine, just
this once I’ll help you out! (pouts)
 Golden Sunset Heeheehee.
Boy: Oh, crap! It’s gotten completely
dark! Friends Sunset
Girl: Yeah. The stars are already out. Towa Doji: Oh, come on! Don’t cry!
We won’t be able to see a thing when What the heck are you so afraid of
we go down the mountain. anyway?!
Boy: Ahaha. You know, they say that if Boy: Aah!
you don’t get home before dark you’ll Girl: Eek! You have horns?
see a monster… Wait, didn’t we have Ryuuichi: Hello, miss, there’s no rea-
this conversation before? son to be afraid. Actually, our pal
Onbu really wants to be your friend.
Um, could we be friends? And since Onbu thinks you’re good
friend material, I figured I should lend
Girl: Eek! Who’s there? a hand!
Onbu: Um, uh, I’m Onbu and I want to Girl: Heehee. He’s funny.
be friends. Ryuuichi: Come on, you’re embarrass-
Boy: A… monster? ing me. And where are my manners?
Onbu: Yeah, I’m the Onbu Monster of I’m a kappa. My name is…
Mt. Kaminaga. Hey, can I have a pig- Towa Doji: Hey! Don’t hit on her! Any-
gyback ride? way, what do you guys think of Onbu?
Girl: Uh, you won’t stick to the back of Boy: Hehe.
my head or anything, right? Girl: Heehee.
Onbu: Heehee. I just want to be your Onbu: Huh? What? What’s with you
friend, so I won’t stick or anything. guys?

44
Friendship Sunset Onbu: Your back is warm…
Repushi: I observe that everyone is Ms. Boy: You’re warm too, Onbu.
Onbu’s friend. Why is mysterious to Girl: Really? Then I get to carry her
me. next time!
Sumire: She is very different… so any-
one would be scared at first. But, if Because then we can spin happy stories
you can overcome your fear and talk together.
to someone, you can become friends
even if you are very different from
each other.
Kaminagahime: …Exactly. If someone
is afraid… of what is different from
themselves… they will have many rea-
sons to fear… what if they can come
to understand one another… they will
surely form a thread between them.
Repushi: Although I often cause a
commotion, I can create threads that
can withstand 100 or more friends.
Towa Doji: Come on, you guys! Try to
keep up!
Onbu: He promised to give me a pig-
gyback ride until he gets home.
Sumire: Heehee. Then I’ll come too.

Mononoke Sunset
Kaminagahime: …These children, and
the henge, and mononoke… if their
hearts are true… if they can stop as-
suming they will be hated, and move
ahead…
Goukouhime: Heehee. Yup. Reminds
me of a certain local god who said she
hated humans, yet married one for
life.
Kaminagahime: …That is a very old
memory. There are no walls one can-
not overcome. Not even the ones we
build our own hearts…
Elder Turtle: Hohoho. No one likes
to be frightened by people they like.
However, the connections you can
gain that way are the very strongest.
Hohoho. Look how happy Onbu is.

No matter how different we are, never

forget the desire to become friends.

45
 Story 1
Otoshidama’s
Adventure
Characters narrator will need to take some time to
Otoshidama (Visitor) explain about mononoke and Visitors.
Human Child You will also need to understand how
Shrine Maiden Golden Sky Stories is played, or things
will be very difficult. As such, this sto-
Play Time ry is recommended for people who’ve
2 Hours played Golden Sky Stories a few times
already.
Wonder and Feelings Also, to make this scenario a little
For this story the narrator can use 20 easier to read, we’ve written about
points of Wonder and 20 points of “the henge” to refer to the participants’
Feelings for each scene. henge and/or mononoke.

Story Summary Narrator Preparations

The third day of the new year has passed, The most important thing is to pre-
and it’s the morning of January 4th. pare Otoshidama herself. As narra-
Some henge and/or mononoke meet tor you should think about what her
a tiny Visitor named Otoshidama. In personality it like and how she talks.
Japanese culture an otoshidama is a gift Below are Otoshidama’s attributes and
of money in a small decorative envelope, weaknesses.
given to young children for New Year’s.
Someone sent such an otoshidama to Otoshidama
a child, but it got lost along the way. Henge: 3 Animal: 1
Otoshidama, a little spirit, needs to get Adult: 0 Child: 4
to her intended recipient by the end of Weaknesses: Far From Home, Weak,
the day to make it before the end of the Always the Same
New Year’s festivities. Note: Her “Homesick” power is the
Can the henge and mononoke get only one that will be relevant during
Otoshidama to where she belongs? this story.
Otoshidama is a “Year-End Gift
Introduction Spirit.” She is a Visitor that looks like
This story introduces a Visitor, a new a small child in a kimono, and she has
type of being introduced in Mononoke come to protect and deliver a New Year’s
Koyake. The narrator should read the gift from an adult to a child from the
rules and other information on Visitors town. After that she will leave and come
earlier in this book before starting this back next year. As she can only spend a
story. brief time there each year, Otoshidama

46
If you are going to play this story, the knows very little about the town.
Child a henge who already did hatsumode
Next, you will need to prepare the child might still be accompanying friends who
that dropped Otoshidama. This child are doing theirs a little late, and there
will only appear briefly at the end of the is the matter of what they might wish
story, so you don’t need to put too much for in the new year. Draw out a general
detail into his or her character. atmosphere, and get a look at how the
Also, since finding this child is the henge relate to one another.
core of what this story is about, he or As the henge are walking down a road
she shouldn’t be someone the henge near the shrine, there is a voice com-
know very well. A child they’ve only just ing from a drain. It’s a small voice that
met, or who they haven’t met at all is only an animal or mononoke could hear,
best for this particular story. and an Animal result of 3 or higher is
For a more detailed look at a child, required to hear it. The voice is saying,
refer to page 113 of Golden Sky Stories, “Help me!”
and choose a character you think you can If they look for the source of the
portray without too much difficulty. We voice, they will find a tiny visitor—
recommend the Princess or City Person. Otoshidama—cowering by the drain.
She seems very troubled, and keeps call-
Shrine Maiden ing out for help.
Finally, there’s the shrine maiden. She If a henge gets a Henge attribute re-
will only speak a little, and if the henge sult of 4 or higher, he or she will know
do manage to form connections with her about Otoshidama without receiving an
she will still only appear in once scene. explanation from her. The narrator can
Refer to page 118 of Golden Sky Stories, explain about her from what’s laid out
and the narrator should think about how under “Narrator’s Preparations.”
she will speak. If the henge have met a If there isn’t such a henge present,
shrine maiden before and have Threads Otoshidama earnestly explains the situ-
with her, you certainly can have her re- ation herself. This would be a good time
turn for this story. for Impression Checks too. Otoshidama
will use her Child attribute, so that the
First Scene henge get “Protection” as their connec-
Location: On a road near a shrine tion contents towards her. Once that’s
Time: Morning done, you can have her fully explain
The third day after the new year has what’s happened. She needs to convey
passed, and it is now January 4th. the following points, in her own voice:
The henge are on their way to a shrine
that, unlike most, doesn’t have people • An otoshidama envelope that was
doing their hatsumode (first shrine visit on its way to its recipient got
of the new year). They’re on their way to dropped in the road.
do their own hatsumode, and although • Otoshidama doesn’t know much
this visit is a little belated, the town is about the child that dropped it.
still very much in a New Year’s kind of • However, if she met the child
mood. With so few people around there she’d definitely know them when
is little need to worry about startling she sees them.
people with the sight of talking animals • If it cannot be delivered, the
or strange mononoke. sender’s Feelings will be wasted.
The narrator should ask the henge
how they’re spending New Year’s and Otoshidama has the little envelope with

47
what they’re talking about. For example, money inside. If the henge try to ask her
 for it, she will refuse to give it to anyone talking to, and forming connections
other than the child. Time passes as she with people.
explains how they might search for the
child, and concerns over being seen by Third Scene
people increase. Place: On a path into town
After that it’s time to move on to the Time: Afternoon
next scene. Now the henge begin inquiring around
town to find the child who lost the
Second Scene otoshidama. To do this they’re going to
Location: Shrine have to take human form, and find a
Time: Morning good way to hide Otoshidama.
Although things may have died down On the 4th of January there aren’t all
a lot, the shrine is not deserted on that many people running around town,
January 4th. People might come, in twos so there won’t be much of anyone to ask
and threes. The henge will have to hide on the roads. Time passes slowly.
themselves or take human form. If they’ve lived in the town for a while
If they ask Otoshidama where the both the henge and the shrine maiden
otoshidama was dropped, she will point should know, but before everyone reach-
them to the shrine’s grounds. If the es their destination there’s the problem
henge don’t ask and want to go into town, that Otoshidama won’t calm down until
Otoshidama should speak up and tell she gets where she needs to be. The nar-
them that the shrine is the place to start. rator should aim to have the henge try to
At the shrine are a few people do- calm her down. She might say something
ing hatsumode, and the shrine maiden. like, “Ah! Oh no! It’s already the after-
If the henge met a shrine maiden in a noon!” or “If I don’t make it in time…
previous story and still have Threads to Aaaah!” You can decide how she talks
her, they should meet the same shrine however you like, but she’s definitely dis-
maiden now. If they have not met be- tressed, and she could start crying.
fore, they can make Impression Checks. It will take an Adult or Child result of
The people of the town know nothing 5 or higher to calm her down once. Have
about the otoshidama, but the shrine the henge calm her down three times
maiden knows a little. A mother had during this scene. By the third time,
come to the shrine yesterday saying that it’ll be almost evening, but Otoshidama
her child had lost one. If the henge ask senses the proper house is nearby, and
her to talk about it in more detail, she points to it.
should be able to fill them in on who Now the scene ends.
exactly it was. However, the family is
probably in town visiting relatives, so Final Scene
the shrine maiden doesn’t know the Place: The home of the child
child’s name or where he or she lives. Time: Evening
The shrine maiden gives them a rough The henge and Otoshidama might be a
idea of where to start through, and we bit lost as to how to go about entering the
can end the scene there. house, but the child in question opens
Note: To make things easier, the nar- the door before long. If they decide to
rator should have the shrine maiden go in the front door, the child can be in
make it clear that the child is going to be the entrance hall1. (It takes an Animal
leaving town soon. Of course, you can check result of 4 or higher to notice that
still let the henge spend time meeting, someone is in the entrance hall.)

48 1
Japanese homes have a genkan or entrance hall through the front door where people can take
off and store their outdoor shoes and put on indoor slippers and such.
 The child is Surprised by the sud- all they want without her leaving.
den appearance of the henge outside After giving thanks, the child will ask
his or her house. Everyone will have to the henge to come by the house again
get a Child check result of 4 or high- some time to play.
er to avoid Surprising the child. Also, When the henge leave the child’s
Otoshidama will not show herself where house, they find Otoshidama on a fence
the child can see. Instead, she’ll hide be- a little ways away. It’s already night.
hind the henge. As Otoshidama fades away, she thanks
Once they get the child calmed down, them for all their help. Surely words of
they can make Impression Checks. Once thanks should be enough.
that’s done, the child explains why he She then uses her Far Far Away pow-
or she was going to go outside; the plan er to disappear, though they may meet
was to search for the lost otoshidama. again next New Year’s.
The whole time, Otoshidama says It’s night time, time for the henge to
nothing to the child. head home.
If the henge tell the child about And with that, the story comes to a
Otoshidama, or try to show her to the close. Thank everyone for joining in,
child, she’ll use her Small power to hide, and finish up the usual things for the
and leave behind the little envelope of end of a story.
money with the child’s name written
on it. The child knows nothing about Customization
Otoshidama, and doesn’t notice her. The narrator can make all kinds of
If the henge give the child the otoshi- changes to the details of this story, and
dama, he or she will thank them profuse- you can change it to be your own unique
ly. The henge can talk about Otoshidama tale.

49
 Story 2
A Ghost’s
Errand
Characters played Golden Sky Stories a few times
Ghost already.
The Old Lady from the Candy Store Also, to make this scenario a little
A Kitten (Not a Henge) easier to read, we’ve written about
“the henge” to refer to the participants’
Play Time henge and/or mononoke.
2 Hours
Narrator Preparation
Wonder and Feelings
For this story the narrator can use 20 Ghost
points of Wonder and 20 points of First, you need to create the ghost char-
Feelings for each scene. acter that will be so vital to this story.
The ghost needs to meet the following
Story Summary two requirements:
The henge have heard that a strange girl
no one’s seen before has been coming to • She must not have the “Faint”
the candy store. While they talk about it, weakness.
that very girl shows up. • She should be likable.
However the henge react to this un-
known girl’s presence, she silently buys Keep these two points in mind as you
some milk and then leaves. The henge create a ghost.
will likely follow her, but the girl goes Think about what kind of ghost would
to the haunted mansion and vanishes… be good. If you’re having trouble think-
ing of one yourself, you can use Sumire
Introduction from the character introductions.
This story introduces a Ghost, a new (Though you’ll need to remove her Faint
type of being introduced in Mononoke weakness.)
Koyake. The narrator should read the
rules and other information on Ghosts Lady from the Candy Store
earlier in this book before starting this Next is the lady from the candy store.
story. This candy store is a dagashiya, a kind of
If you are going to play this story, the small store that mainly sells very cheap
narrator will need to take some time to candy that children can buy with pocket
explain about mononoke and Ghosts. money (these days 20 to 100 yen), as
You will also need to understand how well as things like beverages, ice cream,
Golden Sky Stories is played, or things small toys, trading cards, fireworks, and
will be very difficult. As such, this sto- even beetles (for pets). It’s also tradi-

50
ry is recommended for people who’ve tionally a place where the children hang
out. For the lady who runs the store, At this point, if the henge try to talk to
you can use the Lady From the General the girl she looks troubled and doesn’t
Store (on p. 118 of Golden Sky Stories). respond. If there happens to be a cat
If you find it hard to talk like an old lady, henge who she can tell is a cat (from
you can change it to an old man if you having their ears or tail visible), she’ll
want. look like she’s about to say something
to them.
Kitten The girl will then leave the candy
Finally, you need to think up a kitten. store, but if the henge have at least tried
A kitten is a cat with an Animal attribute to talk to her they can make Impression
of 1. You can read about cats as animals Checks. The ghost girl will use her
on pages 22 and 106 of Golden Sky Henge attribute for Impression Checks.
Stories. This kitten is not a henge, and Once that’s done, the narrator should
it’s so young that it can only drink milk. try to steer the henge towards following
her. If they don’t seem to be catching
First Scene on, the old lady from the candy store
Location: The candy store might say something like, “You know, I
Time: Evening think she could use some friends.” She
One evening, while returning from doesn’t know the ghost, and is assum-
playing with some children, the henge ing she’s just some new kid who recently
take human form to go hang out at the moved into town.
candy store. The lady who runs the Once the henge start following the
store knows about henge, so they can girl, the scene ends. If they don’t make
get away with letting their ears and tails any effort to follow her, you can have
show. Still, tell henge who are animals them come across her outside when
that don’t normally show up around she’s troubled.
people (like foxes and raccoon dogs)
that they should probably take human Second Scene
form to avoid causing a fuss. Location: A road
At this point the narrator should tell Time: Evening
everyone about the old lady. Then she As the sun is setting, everyone follows
can welcome them, and everyone can do the girl. She’s taking her time, so it
Impression Checks. Let them chat for doesn’t take long to catch up with her.
a while, and the old lady will let them When she passes by homes, dogs will
have some candy. become scared and start howling. The
While they’re talking, a girl they’ve girl just keeps going, and heads out of
never seen before comes to the store. town.
There’s something odd about this girl, If the henge try to approach the girl
a faintness, as though she’s not quite all and talk to her, she’ll look troubled again
there physically. This is the ghost that and try to leave. Pursuing her only re-
the narrator has prepared (and it can be quires an Animal check result of 2, but
a boy if you want). she keeps trying to evade them. She also
The girl seems to avoid the henge as barely says anything at all.
she walks up to the counter. She whis- The entire time she clutches the bottle
pers, “Milk please” to the old lady, buys of milk to her chest, and hurries on her
a bottle of milk, and leaves. Also, the way out of town.
money she uses to pay for the milk is Henge who get a Child check result of
very old. (This is because she found it in 4 or higher will realize that she’s heading

51
the haunted mansion.) for the abandoned house just outside of
 town that they call the “haunted man- Fourth Scene
sion.” If you’re using Hitotsuna Town, Location: Haunted mansion
refer to pages 128 and 132 of Golden Time: Night
Sky Stories. Inside the mansion, they find a scene
She’s very careful of the milk bottle, much like the illustration on the oppo-
and she won’t say why, but she contin- site page. The girl has poured the milk
ues on to the haunted mansion. into a saucer, and the kitten his lapping
When the girl arrives at the mansion, it up.
she suddenly disappears. She’s actually The henge will have to get an Animal
using her Walk Through Walls power, check result of 6 or higher if they want
though it’ll take a Henge check result to avoid having the girl notice them.
of 6 or better to realize what’s hap- On the other hand if the henge try
pened. The scene ends with the girl to talk to the girl, she’ll be subject to a
disappearing. Surprise rating of 8.
Of course, if the henge cried out and
Third Scene made a big fuss in the mansion in the
Location: Haunted mansion previous scene, the girl and the kitten
Time: Night will both have hidden themselves. If that
So, the girl reached the mansion and happens they’ll both be hard to find,
disappeared. Also, the sun has gone though an Animal result of 4 or higher
down. will turn up a glimpse of the kitten’s tail
Henge who made the check at the end or the girl’s clothes.
of the last scene will no doubt have fig- In any case, when the henge find
ured out that the girl is actually a ghost. them, the girl and the kitten panic and
Even if they didn’t, it’s pretty clear upon try to protect each other. The girl des-
setting foot in the mansion that no one perately asks the kitten not to follow her.
has lived here for a long time. The front The kitten is the first friend the ghost
door is unlocked, but the interior is full girl has made in a very long time, and
of dust and cobwebs. the kitten really cares about the girl.
And there’s also a tiny kitten, so Even without being a cat, the henge can
young it can barely walk. Its mewing tell this with a Child check result of 3
voice echoes through the mansion. (If or higher.
any of the henge are too scared to enter Now the henge can finally talk to the
the mansion, hopefully the sound of the ghost girl. She’s afraid of people who
kitten will persuade them to overcome come to the mansion on nights like this
their fear.) (though they’re plenty scared of her
If there’s a cat henge present, they’ll too!).
understand that the kitten is saying She knows that she’s a ghost, and be-
“Welcome back.” coming friends with her and the kitten
Still, the dark mansion is particularly is the goal of this scene… or rather the
scary, and the henge will need to get whole story. This scene can go as long as
a Henge check result of 4or higher to it takes for the ghost girl and the henge
keep from crying out. to have a nice chat.
The scene ends either when someone Once the henge have become friends
cries out, or the henge proceed deeper with the ghost girl, this scene can come
into the mansion. to an end. When the scene ends, the
henge and ghost girl may want to change
their connection contents.

52
Final Scene talk to yourself too much.
Location: The haunted mansion’s gate The final scene ends in much the
Time: The next afternoon same way as the fourth.
It’s the next day, in the afternoon, and
the henge have come to the front door Customization
of the haunted mansion. The girl comes As the narrator, you can try any num-
out, cradling the kitten. This time they ber of things to customize this story.
can all go to the candy store to get milk For example, the ghost might need
together. The kitten might even want money to buy milk with, and thus end
something else to eat for the first time. up asking everyone to help with that. In
They can talk as they walk to the can- that case a fox henge with the “Shrine”
dy store. As they are buying what they Additional Power could provide some
need at the candy store, the story comes money, or the henge could end up hav-
to a close. ing to find a fox henge in town and ask
Thank everyone for playing, and take her or one of the town’s local gods.
care of the usual stuff you do at the end
of a story.
In the final scene the narrator will
have to handle three characters: the
ghost girl, the kitten, and the old lady
from the candy store. Try to concentrate
on having them talk to the henge rather

53
than each other, so you don’t have to
 Story
Story1 3
Present
Thunder
characters the mountains, rescue his daughter, and
Lord Fuiasu, Oni Chief of the Mountains hopefully punish bunch of the “offend-
Sonoko-hime, Fuiasu’s daughter ing” humans along the way.
Maedako the Mighty, Fuiasu’s Unbeknownst to Fuiasu, Sonoko
reasonable yojimbo wasn’t kidnapped; she ran away because
Toyokawa-sensei she was mad about the dismissive way
he treated her.
time needed The henge/mononoke will have to
3 to 4 hours brave Fuiasu’s wrath (gulp!) in hopes of
discovering the true cause of his anger,
wonder and feelings seek out Sonoko to hear her side of the
For this story, the Narrator can use 20 story, and hopefully set all to rights. But
points of Wonder and 20 points of Feel- reconciling two hot tempered oni will not
ings for each scene. be easy!

Story Summary Introduction

The rainy season normally ends in This story is very much about mono-
mid-July, leading to hot days with lots noke, specifically Oni, and if your play
of fun festivals, but not this year. This group hasn’t yet encountered (or doesn’t
year something is very wrong indeed; consist of) Twilight Folk, you may wish
it’s early August and the rain still hasn’t to hold off on running it. Oni like to
let up, with thunderstorms regularly fight, but they normally don’t want any-
sweeping down from the mountains to body to get hurt, not really. Well, not in
threaten the town. Worse, the local rice a permanent way. A “friendly” tap from
harvest begins in September, but if the an Oni can break a human’s bones if the
rain doesn’t stop, the paddies will all be oni isn’t careful. Carefully read the sec-
destroyed by the constant deluge. The tion on oni, taking careful note of their
old folks whisper that the one of the various weaknesses, as several of them
mountain kami must be very angry, but are key details in this story.
they can’t imagine why… It may also seem a bit grimmer than
The local Chief of the Mountains, many other Golden Sky Stories tales, but
the Oni Lord Fuiasu, is indeed furious, looks can be deceiving.
for he believes his daughter Sonoko has
been kidnapped by humans to harvest Narrator Preparation
her horns for some unspeakable purpose. The oni Chief of the Mountains can be
The rain is both a sign of his displeasure an intimidating mononoke, but he is
and preparation for the invasion force mainly worried about his daughter.

54
he’s assembling to sweep down from
oni lord fuiasu beneath a nearby shrine’s eaves, a bus
henge: 4 animal: 7 stop, or some other promising dry spot.
adult: 2 child: 0 Inform them that the hard rain has been
weaknesses: Dried Beans, Scary all too common of late, and though the
rainy season should be near a month
Fuiasu is further described in the Sec- past now, it shows no sign of letting up.
ond Scene. Worse, there have been a high num-
ber of abnormally destructive thunder-
sonoko-hime storms.
henge: 2 animal: 3 Let the characters discuss the weath-
adult: 3 child: 1 er for a bit; characters with a Henge
weaknesses: Amanojaku, Dried Beans attribute of 4 or higher may even note
that one of the local mountain gods or
Sonoko-hime has a lively personality, the oni might be upset about something.
more “feisty” than “angry.” However, While they are talking, a big human ap-
due to her Amanojaku tendencies, she proaches their dry spot; anyone with an
frequently seems (at first glance) to be Animal result of 4 or higher hears him
gloomy and morose. In her human form coming and can react (change forms,
she appears to be a teenage girl, fifteen hide, etc.) before he arrives.
or sixteen at most. Her natural form re- The man is Toyokawa-sensei, a re-
sembles her human form, though her spected local inventor, meteorologist,
skin turns a brilliant sky blue, and a pair and farming expert. He’s wears a mas-
of slightly curving horns rear up from sive wide-brimmed floppy hat and a
her temples. large rain slicker filled with interesting
devices and doodads. As the henge look
maedako the mighty on, he occasionally pulls out one of his
henge: 2 animal: 5 various devices and aims it at either the
adult: 1 child: 1 clouds, the horizon, or the mountains. He
weaknesses: Braggart looks worried.
If the henge approach Toyokawa, or he
Maedako is fully described in the Sec- notices them, he clearly seems a bit dis-
ond Scene. tracted, but he smiles at them, whatever
their forms. He actually knows about the
toyokawa-sensei existence of the henge and “other beings”
Toyokawa-sensei uses the stats for a but at the moment, he is concerned about
Sensei (surprise!) from the core book. what to do to help the local farmers with
Choose a speaking style that works for their water-oversaturated rice paddies.
you, but “cheerful mad scientist that Now is a good time to make Impression
everybody loves” covers his character Checks.
nicely. Toyokawa-sensei will tell the charac-
ters all they could wish to hear about the
First Scene unseasonable weather and the extreme
location: a rainy field danger to the crops that it represents.
time: a very overcast morning (day) “The town is in real trouble if it doesn’t
let up soon.” He eventually lets the henge
The scene opens in early August with look through one of his devices, a detec-
a pelting downpour rapidly drenching tor of “unusual” energy patterns, many of
the henge / mononoke unless they run which seem to be playing over a specific

55
for protection from the rain, perhaps mountain. Characters that can get Henge
 attribute check result of 5 or more know even to untrained eyes, to be a martial
that the mountain holds the lair of the one. There are oni walking about with
local oni Chief of the Mountains, Lord long bladed spears, swords, and other,
Fuiasu, though they won’t know anything stranger, weapons. Many of them have
else about him. on pieces of armor. There are large and
If Toyokawa-sensei hits it off well with brightly colored tents throughout the
the henge, he may eventually shyly sug- camp, with a particularly huge one at the
gest that he wishes “somebody could do center of the site. The sound of a black-
something” about the extreme weather. smith’s hammer clanging against metal
The scene can draw to a close once regularly rings through the camp, as do
you’re certain that the henge are aware of the drunken shouts of oni. Every once in
three things: awhile a raucous blast of thunder shakes
1. The rain is destroying the town’s the camp. It’s VERY loud. The mood in
rice paddies and starting to affect the camp is an odd one. Anyone with a
a lot more besides. Henge of 3 or higher knows that the ma-
2. It’s clearly out of season and un- jority of oni would normally be excited by
natural. the prospect of an impending fight but
3. It is somehow connected to Lord many of these oni seem ill at ease.
Fuiasu’s mountain. If the henge are here to spy, but not
What scene occurs next depends on the really interact with the oni, they’ll find out
actions of the henge. If they decide to what they’re looking for with just a little
go to the mountains to learn more about snooping, as all the oni are talking about
what is going on, go to the Second Scene. it: Lord Fuiasu’s impending assault on the
If they instead decide (for whatever rea- human world in retaliation for the kidnap-
son) to stay near the town, you can go ping of his daughter. The unending rain
to the Third Scene, which you’ll have to and occasional thunderstorm are being
modify a bit to make sense. sent by the oni to punish their “enemies”
down below; however, many of the oni feel
Second Scene that they are unwise to just randomly as-
location: an oni encampment in the sault a human town without more proof of
mountains what happened, especially with how upset
time: evening (late afternoon) the princess has been of late. Such talk
is swiftly shushed, accompanied by a few
The scene starts with the henge ap- eyes cast towards Fuiasu’s tent.
proaching an oni encampment between A massive oni with crimson skin and
two of the lower mountain peaks above large white horns, shaped like a gazelle’s,
their town. The camp is quite a ways stands before Fuiasu’s big tent at the cen-
from the town, the henge had to catch ter of the camp, his hands gently camp. In
a ride on a tour bus to the base of the his hands, he gently grasps a ridiculously
mountains and make their way up (un- large tetsubo (iron club) thrust into the
less they had a better way to travel, such ground before him. This is Maedako the
as the Power Hidden Village—which Mighty, Lord Fuiasu’s trusted bodyguard
would lead to the “general” mononoke and right hand oni. Though Maedako is
village, not Fuiasu’s encampment.) a braggart, he is also far more reasonable
The henge can slip into camp unno- than his chief, and more importantly, he
ticed with an Animal check of 5 or higher. thinks Fuiasu’s theory that Sonoko was
Otherwise, they can choose to walk in as kidnapped by humans is completely ridic-
bold as they please. ulous, though he has been careful to not

56
The oni have set up a camp that looks, directly defy his boss in public.
 If the henge stroll into camp, or get he gets his daughter back, he’ll certainly
caught snooping about, they are promptly consider stopping the rain… in a month
brought before Maedako for judgment. or two.
Let them make Impression Checks, keep- At the end of the conversation (mean-
ing in mind that Maedako is secretly im- ing, when he decides it is over) Fuiasu
pressed that any henge or mononoke (oth- invokes his Hannya Power with his 7 Ani-
er than an oni, of course) had the courage mal Attribute, causing his face to distort
to come to an oni camp in the first place. into a ghastly demonic maw with a tongue
How this scene unfolds depends a lot of lightning. This will definitely Surprise
on what the henge choose to discuss. If the majority of henge to some extent and
asked, Maedako reveals that Lord Fuiasu’s send them packing. He has Maedako haul
fury towards Hitosuna Town is due to his anybody that didn’t run away out of his
belief that his daughter, Sonoko, was kid- tent and orders him to escort them away
napped by humans to harvest her horns. from camp. Maedako will quietly impart
He intends to march his troops into town what he knows about Sonoko’s favorite tea
to hunt down her “captors” and retrieve house to the characters before he shoos
her on the morrow. If the henge announce them away and the scene ends.
they’ve come to stop the rain, Maedako
will declare they’ll have to talk to his chief Third Scene
about that. location: the golden leaves tea house
If the henge decide to leave the camp time: in the morning (day)
after they talk to Maedako, he catches up
to them just before they leave the outer The Golden Leaves is a quaint little tea
perimeter to gruffly tell them that Sono- room resting along the bank of the river.
ko-hime’s favorite place in town is a small It is full of little glittering windows and
tea house on the edge of the river called normally bright with morning sunlight,
the Golden Leaves. With that, he stumps but the foreboding grey sky leaves the
away and the scene ends. main room somewhat dark and illumi-
If the henge get to meet him, they nated only by flickering glass lamps. The
discover that Lord Fuiasu is an oni’s oni: pleasant smells of fresh tea and break-
huge, loud, and unconsciously terrifying. fast sweets waft through the room.
He is also very worried about his daughter, Beside the unobtrusive wait staff, the
which makes his naturally surly behavior only folks present are a farmer reading a
even worse than usual. His ashen horns paper as he slowly sips at his coffee and a
resemble those of a colossal bull. His teenage girl who sits in the corner watch-
skin is a shocking electric blue, and small ing the river, a pastry in one hand, a cup
arcs of electricity regularly dance over the of tea in the other. This is Sonoko-hime,
plates of his armor as he gestures. The the oni princess, who has taken full hu-
henge can make Impression Checks now, man form.
but remember that Fuiasu has the Scary The henge can choose to approach her
oni weakness, which makes him some- however they wish, though a troupe of
what difficult to like. animals trotting into the tea house would
Lord Fuiasu is willing to talk to the certainly draw attention. Once they’ve
characters for a bit, but his mind is al- talked for a bit, have the henge make
ready made up about what happened to Impression Checks. Sonoko seems quiet
his daughter and nothing they say can and aloof. In fact, she’s actually eager to
sway him much. He will, more or less, an- converse with someone who knows what
nounce what he intends to do as he thinks she is; she hasn’t really felt that she could

57
there is no one that can stop him. Once talk about her problems with any humans.
 She declares that she obviously wasn’t he makes her so angry! However, this is
kidnapped. She left her father’s court be- incredibly difficult for her to express cor-
cause she is furious at his dismissive treat- rectly due to her Amanojaku oni weak-
ment of her. Several weeks ago, during a ness, which frequently causes her to
discussion on the succession to the title project an attitude opposite of what she
Chief of the Mountains, her father spoke is actually feeling. Lord Fuiasu is under
about his “lack of a suitable heir.” The lo- the impression this his daughter has been
cal oni tradition holds that only a male rather calm and blasé about the whole se-
oni can take on the role of Chief. Many cession thing.
oni think Sonoko would make a fantastic The oni princess is vaguely aware that
chief, but to do so goes against their tra- the rain was likely sent by her father, but
ditions, and they’re afraid of Lord Fuiasu completely oblivious of the implications
besides. or the danger the constant thunderstorms
Sonoko fumed over her conversation pose to the human town. If the henge ex-
with her father late into the night, then plain about the storms and/or what her fa-
left the mountains the next day and hasn’t ther intends to do, Sonoko looks delighted
returned since. Fuiasu’s pride is such that at the thought that her actions could lead
he can’t believe she would leave his side to the destruction of the town’s rice har-
willingly (especially since he ordered her vest and maybe even the town itself! (That
to stay!) and she didn’t seem mad, so the Amanojaku thing again; a Henge score of
humans must have kidnapped her. 4 or more will reveal that some rare oni
Sonoko has been thinking a lot about have a disconnect between how they act
what she should say to her father… but and what they actually feel. Sonoko feels

58
horrible about the threat to the town.) ing tightly clenched teeth. Let this scene
The henge can easily convince her to unfold with Sonoko making statements
confront her father, especially if they agree that, if not the exact opposite, are never
to help her so she can stay focused—to exactly what she means to say. After each
keep her Amanojaku weakness under con- time that she makes one or two “incor-
trol—and the scene draws to a close. rect” statements, she asks the henge to
“explain” to her father what she is trying
Final Scene to convey “correctly.”
location: at the foot of the mountains Lord Fuiasu seems confused at first,
time: day (just before noon) but as the conversation progresses, he
gets angry, yelling, “Well why didn’t she
Lord Fuiasu and his troop of oni are say that then?” But he does slowly, reluc-
storming down from the heights. They’ve tantly, listen. At the climax (and near the
just arrived at the foot of the mountains, end of) the conversation Sonoko brings up
near the edge of town, mustering at the the fact that she is completely qualified to
only spot where it isn’t raining for miles become the next Chief of the Mountains,
around, when the henge reach them - he’s been preparing her for the role all
with Sonoko in tow. her life. Fuiasu looks proud for a moment,
The oni troops are overjoyed to see then snarls “Who would accept a female
Sonoko-hime safe and sound. They im- Chief?”
mediately begin chanting her name, beat- Maedako the Mighty slowly raises
ing their weapons against their armor, and his tetsubo, followed by all the other oni
generally creating quite the ruckus. They raising their weapons (some of the males
part to allow her and her “escort” to ap- make require prompting from the female
proach Lord Fuiasu. oni next to them). Lord Fuiasu looks down
The Chief of the Mountains is delight- and begins shaking. What initially looks
ed that his daughter is in one piece and like an attack is actually the Chief’s laugh-
immediately begins thanking the henge in ter, which peals out of him like thunder.
his great booming voice for rescuing her. He stands, hugs his daughter swiftly,
That’s when Sonoko lays into her fa- then turns to the assembled oni and roars:
ther… sort of. “This is my daughter, Sonoko, next Oni
Generally in a role-playing game, hav- Chief of the Mountains. Let none, includ-
ing one NPC talk to another for an ex- ing me, say otherwise!”
tensive amount is difficult to do very well Lord Fuiasu immediately calls ends the
(especially if you are trying to be serious) rainstorm over the town while Sonoko-
and commonly boring for the players. hime thanks the characters for their help.
This conversation though, should be a With that, the adventure draws to a close.
lot of fun. Sonoko’s Amanojaku weakness
means she constantly defaults towards
saying and acting out the opposite of
what she means. She desperately needs
the henge to act as her “interpreters” as
she talks to her father about why she is so
upset and feels that his position is neither
fair, nor supported by the rest of the oni.
Sonoko looks happy to see her father,
immediately gushing about how happy she
is that he came down from the mountains

59
oh so very, very… happy, this through smil-
 Story
Story124
Big Dog’s
Day
characters scattered that he reverted to the playful
Miyamoto-sama, a komainu (Lion-Dog “puppy” he hasn’t been in, well, millen-
Shrine Guardian – A cross between an nia and now he’s tearing about the town
Oni Mononoke and a Dog Henge) having “fun.”
Itsuko, a Shrine Maiden (or Buddhist The henge and mononoke need to find
Priest) Miyamoto-sama, and keep him distracted
Taro, a concerned boy (Use the stats of from “playing” too rough until they can
a Diligent Boy) restore his memory!

time needed Introduction

3 to 4 Hours This story actively involves a mononoke,
so you may not wish to run it until you
wonder and feelings have one or more mononoke in your
For this story the Narrator can use 20 play group, or your henge are aware of
points of Wonder and 20 points of Feel- the Twilight Folk.
ings for each scene. Komainu statues, frequently known
as “lion-dogs” in English, are the tradi-
Story Summary tional guardians of many Shinto shrines,
One late spring morning, the henge/ though they also appear in Buddhist tem-
mononoke meet a fretful shrine maiden ples and even private homes. They are
who needs their help. One of the town’s usually intricately carved from marble or
oldest komainu statues is missing from some other stone, or even cast in metal.
its pedestal near her shrine. The statue They almost always come in pairs which
weighs several tons, but there’s no sign of sit outside on either side of a shrine.
anyone moving it, so she suspects some- There are also inner shrine guardians,
thing “unusual” has occurred and hopes which tend to be far older statues.
to solve the mystery before anyone else
notices its absence. Narrator Preparation
The statue in question is the komainu If you intend to run this story as part of
Miyamoto, a deeply respected mono- an ongoing campaign, you should con-
noke. Miyamoto leapt from his post to sider introducing Miyamoto to the char-
save a young boy named Taro, who was acters well beforehand, which will make
running late for school and did not see encountering him during it that much
an oncoming truck. The noble komainu more of a surprise!
took the truck’s impact to his head - the
force would have killed the boy, and even miyamoto
sent the great henge sprawling. When henge: 4 animal: 7

60
he woke up, Miyamoto’s wits were so adult: 3 (0) child: 2 (4)
powers: Big Doggie (3), Shrine Guard- that seems like a good alternate choice
ian (0), Statue (3), Strong (0), Substitu- for this role, substitute them instead!
tion (8), Howl (10), Thunder (8)
First Scene
Big Doggie, Substitution, and Howl location: in a small park near a
work like the Dog Henge powers of the shinto shrine
same names; Strong and Thunder are time: mid-morning (day)
as the Oni powers. Shrine Guardian is
a special power that allows Miyamoto The henge are enjoying the warming sun
to know everything down to the minut- of a late spring morning. A quiet stream
est detail that happened or is happen- babbles nearby and a few butterflies
ing within a dozen paces of his shrine’s drift on the breeze. Have the henge de-
edges. Finally, Statue lets him revert in scribe what they are doing, perhaps even
appearance to a traditional stone kom- encourage them to discuss how they in-
ainu statue while standing anywhere tend to spend their day.
on a shrine or a temple’s grounds. The After you feel a playful atmosphere
numbers in parenthesis next to Miyamo- has been established, tell them a shrine
to’s attributes are what his scores will be maiden is approaching them. Regard-
until he recovers his wits. less of what forms they take, the shrine
Komainu mononoke are noble crea- maiden clearly knows what they are and
tures who traditionally ward off evil has a good idea where they are if they try
spirits. They are endlessly patient and to hide from her. Itsuko bows formally
generally kindly, though at times they and introduces herself, making this a
can be gruff with flighty younger henge. good time for Impression checks for
Miyamoto is a fairly traditional komainu those who haven’t met her previously. If
in outlook, but the blow to his head any of the henge do anything to Surprise
erased all his normal concerns. Miya- Itsuko, spend enough Feelings so that
moto’s normal appearance is a fierce she doesn’t show it.
looking lion-dog of legend. After using Itsuko explains that she has sought
his Big Doggie power, he looks like a them out because something very strange
Chow Chow the size of a VW Bug, with has occurred at her shrine, and she doesn’t
thick red fur. know what to do. She asks if the henge will
accompany her to shrine, which is fairly
For the shrine maiden Itsuko, you can close by. Since they are in a quiet part of
use the standard stats from the core book, town, she believes they can be discrete and
though if your characters are already no one will notice their passing.
friends with a shrine maiden or perhaps a Presuming the henge agree, they find
Buddhist priest, you can easily substitute Itsuko’s shrine is old but clearly well-
in the friend they have history with. kept. She leads the henge to the inner
Finally, the young boy, Taro, can use shrine, where they will immediately see
the stats of a Diligent Boy from the core that one of the komainu is gone from
book. Normally an excellent student, his pedestal. There is no sign of damage
Taro slipped out of class early because he on the base—it’s totally smooth, which
is so worried. He caught a glimpse of the should be impossible since the komainu
big dog that saved him and he has been statue would have weighed at least a few
anxious since, hoping the poor doggie thousand pounds!
isn’t hurt somewhere after knocking him If a henge gets a Henge attribute result
out of the way of a truck. If the henge of 5 or higher, they will have heard of the

61
are already friends with a young human komainu mononoke Miyamoto and real-
 ize that this may be the shrine he typically reaction down to “crying out” at worst. If
guards. The test automatically succeeds the henge ask what he is doing, Taro will
for anyone who has met Miyamoto before. explain that he was reading while walking
Itsuko hopes that the henge will offer to school in the morning (a bad habit, he
to help her search for the missing kom- admits sheepishly). He didn’t even real-
ainu statue, but she’s a little too shy to ize that he had stepped into the street or
ask for such a big favor directly. If one that a truck was coming straight at him!
of the henge brings it up, she will enthu- Before he could react, a big, furry shape
siastically agree, declaring that she will slammed into him and knocked him out of
keep the missing komainu secret for as the way of the oncoming truck. He heard
long as she can. If none of the henge a loud thump and was certain that the
mention it she will eventually grow sad, truck driver had hit the dog that had saved
thank them for coming to look at the him, but once he picked himself up off the
shrine, and then gently shoo them away sidewalk, there was no dog to be found,
so she can return to her duties. though there sure was a big dent in the
Presuming their hearts are in the front of the truck! Taro ran off to school,
right place, the henge are off to solve but spent all day thinking about the dog
a mystery and the scene ends. If they being hurt and slipped out of class to come
didn’t “take the bait” you can still run look for him. Your players will have a good
the next scene—the henge just weren’t idea what happened to Miyamoto at this
actively looking for Miyamoto when point, though some of the “slower on the
Taro walks by. uptake” characters may not have.
If for some reason the henge ignored
Second Scene Taro, or didn’t bother to ask what he was
location: a quiet street (perhaps doing or why, he will eventually leave
after a searching montage.) continuing the search on his own.
time: noon (day) If they make friends with him, Taro
will ask for the henge’s help in finding
The henge have been looking high and the “hurt dog” and the scene can end
low for a few hours, hoping to find a mis- with them all deciding where to con-
placed komainu statue, or possibly a miss- tinue their quest.
ing mononoke. An Animal attribute result
of 4 or higher means that one or more of Third Scene
the henge realize that they’ve seen/smelt location: a field
a young boy in several places who also time: early afternoon (day)
seems to be searching for something.
The young boy is Taro, who is look- After many hours of unsuccessful
ing for the “dog” that saved his life. He searching, the henge (and possibly
looks into bushes and beneath parked Taro) are all tired and thirsty. While
cars, softly calling, “Here doggy, doggy. they’re resting their feet, perhaps get-
Here boy!” as he travels about the town. ting some water, they hear a commotion
The henge can approach Taro and make in the distance. An Animal check of 4
Impression checks if they wish. Taro will or higher indicates they distinctly hear
look intensely at a dog henge in their voices shouting angrily, along with a gale
natural form for a moment before shak- or two of laughter as well.
ing his head. “Nice doggy, but you’re not At one of the big green fields along the
the one.” Time for Impression Checks. edge of town, a huge blanket-wrapped
If any of the henge transform in front shape is bounding about, chased by sev-

62
of Taro, spend enough Feelings to keep his eral shouting children. Some of the kids
are upset, while others are delighted. As (and sniff suspiciously at others).
the henge reach the field, several items If a dog henge tries to talk to Miyamoto
fall away, revealing a massive Chow by barking at him, Miyamoto seems as if
Chow wrapped in assorted sheets and he is pausing to think about a response,
blankets held by wooden laundry pins. then he barks back once. Miyamoto-sama
At a glance the characters can tell (like all komainu) speaks with the “Voice
that the Chow Chow is impossibly of Heaven” His bark is like thunder - the
large; Taro, if present, will immediately sound blows henge backwards off their
declare that this was the dog that saved feet, shatters windows for a hundred feet,
him. When the henge appear, Miyamoto rocks cars, etc.
shrugs off the blankets, which the chil- If a cat or rabbit henge in their natu-
dren that were following him gather, ral form “runs” away from Miyamoto for
and then runs straight over to plop him- any reason, he chases after them, but
self down in front of the characters. immediately stops if they do, assuming
The henge can now try to communi- they find the courage to do so!
cate with Miyamoto, but it’s very difficult. An appropriate Attribute check of 5
He doesn’t directly respond to attempts or better will spot trace amounts of dried
to speak to him, though he turns his head blood behind Miyamoto’s right ear, where
slightly to listen. Miyamoto’s confused he was hit by the truck that morning.
state of mind means he automatically re- At some point, a clue to what must
jects attempts at Impression Checks in be done to help him in the next scene
this scene; however, he is (fortunately!) should be inserted into this one: have
friendly to everybody, though he may some kids playing nearby yell “help” or
growl at cat henge in their natural forms have Taro thank the big dog for helping

63
 him. When Miyamoto hears the word ting closer and closer to his “home.”
“help” he immediately stops and tenses, Depending on the nature of the
a strange expression passing over his henge’s plan, there may be a tense mo-
face. For a moment, his eyes turn sharp ment or two where it looks like the ko-
and clear, looking about for trouble, but mainu may not remember himself, but
then he shudders once, shakes his head eventually, Miyamoto shakes his head
and his eyes turn vacant again. and his eyes clear. Taro cheers and the
Play out this scene for as long as it henge should be quite pleased with
seems fun. Eventually, Miyamoto gets themselves! Everybody can make Impres-
distracted by a passing bus and sets off sion Checks with Miyamoto-sama now.
after it at high speed, bowling several This scene draws to a close with the
henge over in the process. henge and Taro all talking excitedly with
the big komainu, who laughs with great
Fourth Scene booming “hrufs” as they fill in the fuzzy
location: varies–ends at shinto shrine details of what he has been doing all day.
time: twilight (evening)
Final Scene
Time to help bring Miyamoto-sama to location: shinto shrine
his senses. Let the characters discuss time: next morning (day)
what they think they should do. Taro can
chime in with helpful ideas if the henge The final scene varies with how the pre-
don’t know anyone else, such as a friendly vious one went. If Miyamoto or any of
local god or a wise Sensei, that they could the henge ended up damaging or dis-
ask. Komainu are well known as creatures turbing the shrine in any way, the next
of duty and honor. Bringing those traits day sees them cheerfully working to fix
out in Miyamoto is the key to helping him. it. Miyamoto will help them clean the
Miyamoto clearly responds to calls shrine in the form of a tall, powerfully
for “help,” so perhaps faking somebody built man, apparently in his forties, with
in trouble will cause him to charge to bushy hair and a bright red beard.
the rescue? If the shrine was undamaged, Miyamo-
The henge may be aware that he to lounges with the henge in the morning
loves chasing cats and rabbits; some- sun, behind the tamagaki (the fence that
body could volunteer to lead him on a surrounds the main hall of the shrine) in
merry chase back to the shrine. his natural form, a big lion-dog with very
A “fake attack” of some sort on his large teeth and brilliant red markings.
shrine, with Itsuko’s permission, will Miyamoto is very grateful for their
also bring him running, though that efforts on his behalf, specifically not-
could require some delicate timing and ing anyone that was particularly cou-
nerves of steel! Note that spray paint- rageous; parts of his memory returned
ing graffiti along the side of a wall would overnight. He notes that he believes it is
count as an “attack.” good that henge and mononoke can all
Any plan that the henge come up with be friends, for the world can be far too
which sounds like it will have a reason- dangerous without others looking out
able chance of getting Miyamoto back to for you, no matter how strong or tough
the shrine and/or calls upon his underly- you may think you are.
ing nature will succeed in snapping him After everyone has had a chance to
back to his senses. The henge may have interact for a while, Itsuko approaches
to search town for a bit to find him, but the henge to formally thank them for

64
as night approaches he finds himself get- their help and the scene draws to a close.
65
 Epilogue

Lonely Sunset Towa Doji: Y-You bastard! That’s em-

Towa Doji: What I want to know is, why barrassing! Quit screwing around!
is it we have to do all the work? Why’re
we the ones who have to go to the trou- Because they’re there, because there is
ble of changing into human form? so many things they won’t understand,
Ryuuichi: What you mean? if you just keep making your feelings
Towa Doji: We always have to stay known, surely they will come to under-
away from humans! And there’s stuff stand you, even if they don’t just yet.
they just won’t understand…
Ryuuichi: … Girl: Oh! It’s the oni!
Boy: Hello!
Our Sunset Too Ryuuichi: Looks, they’re waving.
Girl: Huh? Hey, want to go to the Towa Doji: Uh, hey there.
mountain again?
Boy: Uh… Yeah. You know, when we If you believe that people can meet you
first met Onbu, we were really scared. halfway, even mononoke can spin
Girl: Yeah. threads with others.
Boy: Didn’t she seem lonely?
Girl: …Yeah.
Boy: This time, let’s give her a piggyback
ride, even if she doesn’t transform.
Girl: Yeah!

Everyone’s Sunset
Ryuuichi: Hey, look. Those kids are
back again.
Towa Doji: …Yeah.
Ryuuichi: Sure, there are some things
they won’t understand, but I bet there
are plenty of things they will. And
when they do, they’ll be able to visit
us without being afraid.
Towa Doji: Yeah.
Ryuuichi: Well, love is all about be-
ing willing to attack your target’s
heart yourself without fear of being
dumped! Ahahaha! Why don’t we both

66
hit on her this time?
portrait Human Form : Name :
True :
Form
Age :
( Boy / Girl )

Powers

_______ ( ) _______ ( )
_______ ( ) _______ ( )
_______ ( ) _______ ( )
henge ( ) Mysterious Powers Weakness Additional Power
animal ( ) Run, Feel, Hide _______ _______ ( )
adult ( ) Use Machines, Knowledge,
Hide Feelings _______ _______ ( )
ch i l d ( ) Play, Wheedle, Get
Protected
_______ _______ ( )

DREAMS true form

contents CONNECTIONS contents partner

YOU ( ) (Acceptance) TOWN

YOU ( ) ( ) _______
YOU ( ) ( ) _______
YOU ( ) ( ) _______
YOU ( ) ( ) _______
YOU ( ) ( ) _______

WONDER FEELINGS

partner contents THREADS Memories :

_______ ( ) _______ ( )
_______ ( ) _______ ( ) n Cost
ormatio Human : 2
+4
Transf : +4 Ta il : +
Da y
_______ ( ) _______ ( )
ing : + 0
Ears & T
a il : +0
Even t : +2
_______ ( ) _______ ( ) Nigh tions
C o n n ec
eams
Raising ams* 4 : 8 Dr eams
Dre D r
5 : 12 on Check
1 : 5 Dreams* ith Impr
essi
2 : 5 Dreams * free w
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