The Day of Thunder

[Togashi Satsuki]

Well, this is the end of the ride, so nothing more to hide. Here is the full character sheet.

Togashi Satsuki
Clan: Dragon
Family: Togashi (+1 Reflexes)
School: Dutiful Disciple (+1 Int)/Togashi Tattooed Monk/Nadare's Insight
Insight: 150 Rings + 20 Skills = 178
XP: 5

Honor: 4.0
Status: 4.0
Glory: 3.0

RINGS (86 - 3 from Elemental Blessing = 83)
EARTH 3 (24)
- Willpower 3
- Stamina 3

WATER 2
- Perception 2
- Strength 2

FIRE 4 (44 - 3 from Elemental Blessing = 41)
- Intelligence 4 (+1 School)
- Agility 4

AIR 3 (12)
- Awareness 3
- Reflexes 3 (+1 Togashi Family)

VOID 3 (18)

SKILLS (15) * = school
*Athletics 1
*Calligraphy 1
*Defense 2 (2)
*Lore: Elemental Dragons 1
*Lore: Theology 1
*Meditation 3 (5)
*Spellcraft 5 (14)
Artisan: Poetry 1 (1)
Artisan: Tattooing 1 (1)
Battle 1 (1)
Courtier 1 (1)
Etiquette 1 (1)
Investigation 3 (6)
Jiujutsu 1 (1)
Kenjutsu 1 (1)
Kyujutsu 1 (1)
Lore: Spirit Realms 2 (3)
Sincerity 1 (1)

Mastery Abilities

• Investigation 3: A second attempt to use the Search Emphasis may be made without an increase in the original TN.
• Meditation 3: : A successful Meditation Skill Roll restores up to 2 Void Points.
• Spellcraft 5: +1k0 to all Spellcasting rolls.

ADVANTAGES (42)
Clear Thinker [Mental] (2 for Dragon)
- You possess a natural ability to see through deception. Whenever you make a Contested Roll against someone who is attempting to confuse or manipulate you in any way, you gain a bonus of +1k0 to the total of your roll.

Elemental Blessing: Fire [Spiritual] (4)
- You are much beloved by the fire kami, blessed by your connections to the Heavens and the Dragons. As a result, the cost of increasing the Traits associated with your Fire Ring is decreased by 1.

Great Destiny [Spiritual] (5)
- You are touched by destiny. Once per session, when you suffer enough Wounds that would kill you, you are instead reduced to 1 Wound remaining.

Inner Gift: Foresight [Spiritual] (7)
- You carry some of Togashi’s power to glimpse the future and its possibilities. You are difficult to surprise, and gain a bonus of +1k0 to the total of Initiative rolls.

Kharmic Tie: Togashi Hoshi [Spiritual] (1)
- You have a strong connection to your twin brother. Once per session you gain a bonus of +1k1 to the total of all attack rolls made when fighting for or protecting Togashi Hoshi.

Kharmic Tie: Doji Hikaru [Spiritual] (1)
- You have a strong connection to the love of your life. Once per session you gain a bonus of +1k1 to the total of all attack rolls made when fighting for or protecting Doji Hikaru.

Sensation [Mental] (3)
- Togashi Saruko's talents have carried on to you. Whenever you would be required to make a skill Roll using a Perform Skill you do not possess, you are considered to have 1 rank in that skill.

Seven Fortunes’ Blessing: Benten [Spiritual] (4)
- Benten showers you with blessing of beauty and love as a child born of love. Whenever you use Courtier, Etiquette, or Sincerity to persuade someone, you gain +0k1 to your roll.

Social Position [Social] (FREE]
- You are considered a possible heir to Togashi. Gain 3 ranks of Status.

Touched by the Spirit Realms: Tengoku [Spiritual] (4 for shugenja)
- The power of Tengoku fills your soul. You gain +2k0 on all rolls to resist the Shadowlands Taint.


DISADVANTAGES (11, 10 points gained)
Bad Fortune: Unknown Enemy [Spiritual] (3)
- Someone somewhere hates you, and wishes to see you dead. You have no idea who they are or why they hate you, but you will very soon.

Contrary [Mental] (3)
- In any tense situation, you must succeed at a Willpower Trait Roll to avoid taking action, whether to resolve a conflict physically or simply to interject into an argument. The TN is 20.

Lord Moon’s Curse [Spiritual] (5)
- You gain an additional Void Point at sunset on any night of the full moon. If you do not use this Void Point, it is lost with the sunrise. However, when the full moon rises, you must make a Willpower Trait Roll against TN 20. If you fail the roll, you lose control of your character for the evening. You awaken the next morning with no idea what atrocious acts you might have committed…

TECHNIQUES
Soul of Study: When casting your beginning spells (the ones taught to you by your mentor), you roll an additional +1k0 on Spell Casting Rolls.

Blood of the Kami: You gain two Tattoos at this Rank.
Crane: When you activate this tattoo, you gain a number of bonus dice equal to your School Rank plus your Air Ring. These dice may be spent on any Social Skill Rolls. Each die contributes a bonus of +1k0. If these bonus dice are not used within an hour, they are lost.
You may not add more bonus dice to a single roll than your Void Ring. This tattoo is considered active the entire hour, and if another tattoo is activated, any unspent dice from this tattoo are lost.
Dragon: As a Complex Action, you may breathe fire in a cone equal to 10ft + your School Rank in length and 5ft wide at the end. Fire deals damage to all in the area (DR Fire Ring). You take damage equal to your Fire Ring upon each use.

In the Blood: Upon taking this path, if you already possess ranks in a Shugenja school, you gain the standard benefits for choosing your first [Shugenja] path: +1 to Shugenja Rank and one additional spell. You gain +1k0 to Spellcraft rolls, spellcasting rolls, attack rolls involving spells, and spell damage rolls.

SPELLS
Affinity: Fire
Deficiency: Water

Universal
Commune
Sense
Summon

Air (1)
By The Light of the Moon (ML1)

Earth (2)
Earth’s Touch (ML1, Defense)
Jade Strike (ML1, Jade, Thunder)

Fire (3)
Fires From Within (ML2)
Fire Kami’s Blessing (ML1) [Book of Fire]
Fires of Purity (ML1, Defense)

Water (1)
Path to Inner Peace (ML1)

KIHO (1)
Buoyed by the Kami
Ring/Mastery: Water 3
Type: Mystical
A monk whose Water chi is ascendant can resist the siren call of the depths. While this Kiho is active, you may move across the surface of water as if it were basic terrain. This effect only continues as long as you are taking Simple Move Actions each round, and lasts for a maximum of five minutes, at which time you may reactivate this Kiho if necessary.

To The Last Breath
Ring/Mastery: Void 3
Type: Kharmic
With a simple exhalation, a monk can expend his energy into the universe around him, allowing others to partake of it as they wish. Any one selected individual within twenty feet when this Kiho is activated gains a Void Point on their next Turn. No target may benefi t from this Kiho more than twice per day.

[Otomo Akutou]

Anything you wish you'd been able to do with the character that you weren't able to get to?

[Saru Ranmaru]

The Little Dragon...

Well, here's a question for you: did you imagine that, in your head canon, that Satsuki would end up being the heir? Or is it still a nebulous decision?

[Doji Hikaru]

Well! That was quite the journey! I'm very glad these characters got to finish what they started back in Dawn 3, at least as far as their romance goes. I really liked how we made it play out! I will always think very fondly of these two.

What were some other options for the three riddles?
Did you have some different ideas for how Hikaru might answer the three riddles?
How has Satsuki changed over the course of these games, from the beginning of Dawn 3 to the end of Dawn 4?

[Jiyo Sora]

FORM QUESTIONS INBOUND!


1. Biggest curveball Satsuki threw you?
2. Biggest curveball the game threw you?
3. Favorite moment?
4. Biggest missed opportunity?
5. Any secrets Satsukihas that never came up?

[Hiruma Naraku]

Loved my fellow scroll translator, although let's face it you did all the work.

Now we are to be cousins-in-law

[Togashi Satsuki]

Anything you wish you'd been able to do with the character that you weren't able to get to?

Would have liked to be able to investigate the mystery of the village further, but the mystery and danger was gone when the story seemed to change. Satsuki is naturally curious and is very into mysteries - so when there was no mystery or danger anymore, there wasn't much left to do except all the work with the ritual and scrolls.

[Togashi Satsuki]

The Little Dragon...

Well, here's a question for you: did you imagine that, in your head canon, that Satsuki would end up being the heir? Or is it still a nebulous decision?

It's a hard one to answer. Togashi was hanging around for a long time ruling, the mantle wasn't even passed to Hoshi until after Second Day of Thunder in canon, so in my mind, I like the idea of Togashi hanging around for a long time.

As for whether or not Satsuki will be the heir, we'll see. I liked to have it be an unknown thing in the games though, since Togashi is a mysterious bastard who doesn't share such things lightly. And in a way it keeps them safe?

[Togashi Satsuki]

Well! That was quite the journey! I'm very glad these characters got to finish what they started back in Dawn 3, at least as far as their romance goes. I really liked how we made it play out! I will always think very fondly of these two.

What were some other options for the three riddles?
Did you have some different ideas for how Hikaru might answer the three riddles?
How has Satsuki changed over the course of these games, from the beginning of Dawn 3 to the end of Dawn 4?

Hikaru and Satsuki's romance has been a highlight of the Dawn-series for me. Thank you for making that happen!

Other options for the riddles?
There were no other options, actually! The first one I thought of was the first riddle, about holding stars in your hand, but I wasn't sure where to go from there. Then I asked Yumi's player and Otaku's player for ideas, since they're some pretty smart ladies with good ideas for storytelling, and it helped me a lot to put more into the perspective of what the challenges should embody!

A gift.
A wisdom.
A declaration.

So, the first one could be a riddle that leads him to the answer of a type of gift for her.

Another perhaps a wisdom satsuki holds that she wants to see if he would hold as well.

Then the third a clever way of asking him to make some kind of declaration about her.

With that in mind, I also decided that the point of the challenges should be for Hikaru to show more of himself. As Satsuki said to Anjing, there really is no way for Hikaru to fail the tests since she already loved him, but it was a way for him to show what else there was to him and how he would think when faced with a vague challenge.

Different ideas for how Hikaru might answer the three riddles?
I had some ideas, especially from looking at Hikaru's threads leading up to it (like getting shiny rocks from Tai). I thought he would make a painting of a starry sky, and maybe glue the rocks to it - which would've been kinda cute in a child's-macaroni-portrait kind of way. xD

How has Satsuki changed over the course of these games, from the beginning of Dawn 3 to the end of Dawn 4?
I felt she has changed a lot in that she is less uncertain of herself! In Dawn 3, she was a lot more hesitant on some things because she was new to interacting with strangers outside of her clan, and overall felt politics and appearances ruined everything (like why they couldn't just Jade Strike Hadananzi in the garden one day, instead of just... waiting around for Bad Things to happen).
So here in Dawn 4, she was more cautious, but also sure of herself when she made decisions. As much as she wanted to burn this town down when she had a bad feeling about it after repeated drugging and shady things going on, the weird shift in story made things seem so off OOC, I felt I didn't have much to go with there except for her keeping herself grounded and focused.

[Anjing]

Ah Satsuki, the favoured niece, and one very accomodating to unsolicited advice!

Really enjoyed our scenes and seeing her relationship with Hikaru as well as her stepping up on the scrolls. Shes come a long way.

What’s next for her? With Hikaru coming in do you see any Crane influences being imported? Do you think that age will see her fire burn hotter than ever?

[Togashi Satsuki]

FORM QUESTIONS INBOUND!


1. Biggest curveball Satsuki threw you?
2. Biggest curveball the game threw you?
3. Favorite moment?
4. Biggest missed opportunity?
5. Any secrets Satsukihas that never came up?

1. None really. Satsuki as a character had solidified pretty easily in my mind since Dawn 3, and I felt I could get into her headspace well this game too.

2. The change in the story midway. It kind of made all the investigations moot so I didn't have much to focus on anymore.

3. Hikaru showing Satsuki his answers to the riddles she gave him + their wedding ceremony.

4. Not getting to burn this entire village to the ground.

5. Only secret that never came up was Bad Fortune: Unknown Enemy. Didn't show up in Dawn 3 or 4.

[Jiyo Sora]

5. Only secret that never came up was Bad Fortune: Unknown Enemy. Didn't show up in Dawn 3 or 4.

IT WAS MEEEEEEEEEEE!

Yeah, no, saw that on the sheet reveal and was like, "huh, don't know that it ever came up...

[Togashi Satsuki]

Loved my fellow scroll translator, although let's face it you did all the work.

Now we are to be cousins-in-law

Naraku helped a lot, because Satsuki would've gotten lost in the woods looking for that cave after 2 minutes. She's used to mountains! They don't have all these... things ... in the way!

*burns down the trees to see clearly*

Satsuki will be very happy to have Naraku as part of the extended family, and is glad she met him to learn more of the Hiruma and other Crab that aren't her family.

I also liked how it seemed Naraku grew to like Satsuki over the span of the time it took for them to find the Dreamstone Cave and scrolls. xD

[Saru Shang]

Satsuki! We had a conversation (and a bit of sadane) in the beginning only but it was a good one! I have some small questions. Having missed the earlier games, has her LMC manifested before, in what ways and how would it have manifested here in this game if you failed the roll?

Finally, I know there was no time to regard the Unknown Enemy but it makes me wonder what sort of even threat-level enemy would potentially scare off against Satsuki! A mysterious twin? An evil Dragon from the future? Or maybe this was something in your background previously? More known or more unknown?

If not, could you please conjure/improv an unknown enemy for Satsuki...go!

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki! We had a conversation (and a bit of sadane) in the beginning only but it was a good one! I have some small questions. Having missed the earlier games, has her LMC manifested before, in what ways and how would it have manifested here in this game if you failed the roll?

Finally, I know there was no time to regard the Unknown Enemy but it makes me wonder what sort of even threat-level enemy would potentially scare off against Satsuki! A mysterious twin? An evil Dragon from the future? Or maybe this was something in your background previously? More known or more unknown?

If not, could you please conjure/improv an unknown enemy for Satsuki...go!

I did very much enjoy their little banter in that scene, with a twist of sadane and actual brainstorming for ideas from Satsuki's side at least.

It did manifest in the previous game! Then, and in her background, it's Lord Moon himself who has been acting out and being an absolute menace to people around her. Here is where it happened. I was tempted to fail on purpose this go around since the GMs said they had ideas, but it would've been very much against Satsuki's nature too since she is trying to overcome that failing of hers. On the effigy, she did write Loss as her fear, and while it is also about losing loved ones, she's scared of losing herself and losing control of herself. She cares deeply about people and don't want to hurt them.

Hikaru, Ko, and her mother Saruko, are all people who are scared of or cursed by fire, so they are extra important to her in not wanting to hurt them with her innate fire gifts.

As for Unknown Enemy... hmmmm! I think if I was in the driver's seat, I would have done something like a tainted assassin, or sneaky oni, who'd try to kill her, similarly to how Doji Yasuragi was assassinated in canon to take away a Thunder? Or someone anti-Kami who just wanted to hurt Togashi by going through his kids to get to him?

Lots of possibilities unexplored!