The Knotted Tails

The Knotted Tails

The Knotted Tails is a free downloable scenario that may be played within Mask of the Oni, an adventure for the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplying Game. The Knotted Tails takes place before the PCs reach Shiro Hiruma, but after the optional encounter “The Lost” on page 15 of that adventure. [1]

Sinopsis

As your band of samurai travels through the deadly, twisting landscape of the Shadowlands, they encounter a patrol of the strange, rat-like beings known as nezumi. The scouts of the Knotted Tails tribe describe a monster who hunts their tribe and they plead with you for help. The Knotted Tails are a tribe that prides itself on remembering the past. Their ancestors were once close allies of the Hiruma family, or at least, so they claim, and they remain protective of the ruins of Shiro Hiruma to this day. If you can piece together the Knotted Tails' version of the past, you may uncover clues about the history of the Hiruma and their fate. Now, you must make a difficult decision—do you aid the unfortunate creatures, or destroy the scouts and continue on your journey toward Shiro Hiruma?

Nezumi

Nezumi are long-term residents of the Shadowlands who seem to be miraculously immune to its Taint. Their flourishing civilization was destroyed, their home turned into a dangerous wasteland, and their people scattered. Many fled the Shadowlands, but there was no sanctuary for them beyond the Wall. In Rokugan, people called them monsters and killed them on sight. Forced to return to the realm of Fu Leng, they have managed to eke out an existence by hiding from the terrors that thrive in the corrupted land.

Contents

The Knotted Tails (page 2)

Part One: Storyline Background (page 2)

• The Knotted Tails
• What Stalks the Tribe

Part Two: Being Watched (page 4)

• Nezumi Language
• The Patrol
• Nezumi Honor

Part Three: Knotted Tails Village (page 8)

• Lucky Silver's Blade
• Nezumi as Hosts
• Items in the Shrine to Memory
• Nezumi and the Taint
• Nezumi Cuisine
• Transcendents
• The Realm of Dreams

Part Four: The Nezumi Graveyard (page 18)

• Lucky silver in the Graveyard
• Confrontation

Part Five: Resolution (page 21)

• What if the PCs just kill or ignore the Nezumi?
• Transcendent Advice

Credits (page 23)

• Expansion Design and Development: Alexis Dykema
• Writing and Additional Development: Lisa Farrell
• Editing: Megyn Johanson
• Proofreading: Dixie Cochran
• Managing RPG Producer: Sam Stewart
• Legend of the Five Ring Story Review: Tyler Parrot and Max Brooke
• Graphic Design Coordinator: Joseph D. Olson
• Graphic Design Manager: Cristopher Hosch
• Front Cover Art: Haibin Wu
• Back Cover Art: Daria Khlebnikova
• Interior Art: Eli Ring, Axel Sauerwald, YuDong Shen, Francesca Baerald, Ursula Murray
• Art Direction: Andrew Christensen and Preston Stone
• Managing Art Director: Tony Bradt
• Quality Assurance Director: Andrew Janeba and Zach Tewalthomas
• Visual Creative Director: Brian Schomburg
• Senior Project Manager: John Franz-Wichlacz
• Senior Manager of Project Development: Chris Gerber
• Executive Game Designer: Corey Konieczka
• Publisher: Andrew Navaro
• Playtesters: John Barden, Tucker Hammel, Evangelen Lee, Calli Oliverius, Amudha Venugopalan