Making a Spirit Weapon

[Paul B]

So our next BW game is gonna be a Blossoms thing (I can post a blow-by-blow if anyone can stand to read this stuff after The Dark Forest). Group decided to start with the basic "Perilous Adventures" setup. Well...that means Oni! And they're gonna want to deal with this thing eventually.

Is there a particular skill one would use to make a Spirit Weapon in-game?

Is the blessing some high-Ob application of Joubutsu (?) or a different skill?

Would you simply go out and buy a Mino/Named Tachi?

Could you set the intent of a Kantei roll to something like "this sword is a spirit weapon"? Under Kantei I see you can detect "enchantment" but I don't see a way of actually enchanting in-game.

p.

[zabieru]

Trait vote it? I don't know, I'm just adding to your list of guesses here. A trait vote would presumably be one way to go, but there may be others.

[luke]

Swordsmith, Ob 5: Mino Tachi.

[Paul B]

Okay, excellent! That's easy. Can I unpack this for a bit?

Swordsmith has a built-in Ob to make a Mino Tachi. We know the Mino Tachi is a "spirit weapon." Is being a spirit weapon an enchantment? If so, do all swordsmiths by definition know this enchantment, so to speak? That is, I'm just clarifying that there need not be aaaaany sort of religious/cultic input of any kind from the local temple/yamabushi/shrine mother when such a thing is forged.

It sounds a little like the ability to strike a spirit is an expression of craft rather than of mysticism or magic or what-have-you. IE "this tachi is so fucking sharp it'll even cut a ghost!"

Can weapons other than the katana -- oopsie I mean Tachi -- be forged into "spirit weapons"? Surely, say, a golden naginata (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomoe_Gozen) could be forged such that it, too, could strike down ghosts and oni. If so, can we assume similar Obs for Weaponsmith? The skill itself is silent on the matter.

EDIT: What goes into (presumably) nominating an item to gain a Trait, i.e. "Named"?

Also...what is it about the Mino Tachi, anyway? Is it a designation of where it was made? Or the period? Or is Mino a description of a method of manufacture that arose in Mino? I'm learning medieval Japan history by leaps and bounds as I work through the setup of our first game, but obviously there are still lots of holes. :D

p.

[Verrain]

Well the description in the book describes the Mino Tachi as: "blessed by a Shinto priest, a Buddhist monk and prayed for by a master craftsman as they were forged." So it seems there must be outside prayers. However, the Master trait lets the craftsman's skill count as enchanting if he is as skilled in Chinkonto and Butsudo as he is at weaponsmithing. That implies the craftsman could sort of function as all three since he has the Shinto, Buddhist and smithing knowledge.

[Paul B]

Ahh...okay, interesting. The Master trait says this:

The proficiency of this artist is such that he can call upon his ancestors to revel in and empower his work. If the character has the Chinkonto and Butsudo skills at an exponent equal to a craftsman or artisan skill, that craftsman or artisan skill counts as Enchanting.

So if the swordmaker has Chinkonto and Butsudo skills, then he for sure is actually enchanting the weapon. And since Master specifies only "artist" and not "swordmaker," then I suppose that's how you extend this to weaponmakers of all kinds (as well as any other craftsman or artisan).

That's gonna be one hell of a Circles roll. Sweet! Anyone have any ideas about master weaponsmiths who feel enmity toward those who would seek their talents? Because I suspect it's gonna come up sooner rather than later.

p.

[Verrain]

How about the traditional quest to gather dangerous materials? People he likes just have to play. People he hates pay in sweat and blood. :)

[stormsweeper]

The master's blades have been used to kill some very prminent oni, and their friends aren't too happy about it.

[Clyde Rhoer]

Well... if the sword is the soul of the Samurai, that kind of makes the swordsmith a religious figure doesn't it? He is making souls.

[chillydawg]

Is there anyway to side step the need for the sword master to have a high spirit skill. For example can you have a shinto priest performing the prayers? Sounds kind of like a cheat to me but you don't know if you don't ask. We have a swordsmith we have a shrine mother and they are brother/sister what we don't have is a spiritual swordmaker.

[Paul B]

Is there anyway to side step the need for the sword master to have a high spirit skill. For example can you have a shinto priest performing the prayers? Sounds kind of like a cheat to me but you don't know if you don't ask. We have a swordsmith we have a shrine mother and they are brother/sister what we don't have is a spiritual swordmaker.

1) The Mino Tachi writeup is very explicit that it's a spirit weapon because it's been prayed over by a Buddhist Priest and a Shinto Priest.

2) Worst case scenario, you may in fact need to Circle up some priests to assist in the creation of the weapon.

3) Read the writeup on the NPC in our game more closely and you'll see I've addressed this issue. ;-)

p.

[chillydawg]

Excellent I will have to take a better look at my sword smithing brother than. He hasn't made an appearance but sounds like he may help pay the bills. What happens when I hork this circles roll I get attacked by and angry shinto priest :)

[Jazzuar]

Bushi sherriff in:
Does all this talk about spirit weapons mean we need something special to harm the Oni?
How would this work for missle weapons? Enchanted Daikyu or lots of enchanted arrow heads?

[Paul B]

Bushi sherriff in:
Does all this talk about spirit weapons mean we need something special to harm the Oni?
How would this work for missle weapons? Enchanted Daikyu or lots of enchanted arrow heads?

Those questions are really best suited for within the game. Go find an expert on oni and find out what's involved!

p.