Beast of Namgakksan – Setting teaser

This is the teaser that I’m going to use to advertise the game. This could certainly lead into a campaign, but I need to plan it for about a four hour session.

This is a dark time for Korea.

A century ago, during the reign of kings like Sejo and Sejong, it seemed as though Korea were the centre of the universe. This has changed. Mad kings, lazy kings, greedy kings, and a nobility only too similar have eroded what power and prestige Korea may once have had. And now the Japanese have come. Not the pirates that raided constantly, those dismissively referred to as waegu, but a full military invasion.

Korea’s army, what little there was of it, could not match Japanese soldiers hardened by decades of civil war. Its navy, though potent, could do little to aid those on land. And so, in less than a year, Korea collapsed. The Japanese are harried by the navy, but they control all save Cheolla province. Although the Japanese impose harsh order on those areas which they control, much of the Korean countryside is outside of any control. Banditry, always a problem, has become a plague. Whole villages have disappeared, either abandoned or destroyed.

Through this chaos, travel four figures. Armed and grim, their very appearance dissuades both bandits and Japanese patrols. It should. These are the Four Worthies of the army of General Kim Jong-mu. They bear an urn with the remains of that great General. They take it to the village of Namgakksan for internment.

Woe betide any who delay them.