Karma

Karma refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect where the intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect) in life and beyond. This is a theme within the world of Tokoro.

Mystical Calls and Effects

Some effect will be magical in nature, whether from being cast as a spell, or coming from a magical being. These effects will be preceded with the call “MYSTIC”. Characters cannot use mundane resistances against these effects.

The one exception is for spells, as all spells are mystical and so the “MYSTIC” part of the call is not required as part of the spell vocals. If a spell empowers a weapon to strike for X, then that weapon will strike for “MYSTIC X” as the effect is mystical in nature.

Some abilities or powers will allow characters to add “JADE” to a call. This counts as a mystical effect, and will have additional effects when striking targets with 3+ levels of permanent Penumbra Taint, deal an additional 4 damage to them. Powerful creatures or beings with large amounts of Taint may react differently.

Some extremely powerful abilities may have the call “IRRESISTIBLE”, and are so strong that characters cannot resist them. Characters may still call “IMMUNE” to the effect if they have an ability that allows them.

Kū (Void) Points

All characters have a pool of Kū points (VP), which represents how balanced their soul is, as well as their potential to draw upon that balance in times of need. A character’s Kū pool is automatically increased when the elements within their soul are balanced. 

For example, when a character has an advantage from each of the elements (including Kū, excluding Kage), they would gain a Kū point, and have a pool of 2 VP to use. The elements must be completely balanced, so it is entirely possible for some characters to never increase their Kū pool. 

Increases occur only once per level of balance. Kū points may also be gained via roleplay. 

Kū points may be spent or burned for one of the following effects:

• • Spent by a character to resist a mundane mental effect. They should call "RESIST" to make it clear that they resisted it.

  • Spent by a character to cast a spell or use a ‘per respite’ skill they know without expending a use of the ability. For example, a Shindōshi may cast a spell without expending a spell slot. You can’t spend a VP to use a per day or event skill.

  • Burned by a character to speak and shout whilst in their grace period.

Burned Kū points can never be recovered, permanently reducing the character’s Kū pool, but otherwise they refresh fully at dawn or with the use of other abilities.

If a character’s Kū pool is reduced below what is required to sustain an item binding, power, or tattoo, then that character can no longer use the item or ability until they increase their Kū pool again. This will also unbind the item from the character.

A character’s Kū pool starts at 1 and cannot go below 0.

Binding Items and Powers

In the world of Tokoro, objects can be awakened to have wills of their own. It is said that items created with too much power can gain an ego of their own, often featured in stories as legendary equipment or cursed nemuranai. An object with any power, whether mundane or mystical, will have a level of intelligence and should be respected. 

Characters cannot use an item’s power unless they are bound to it.

Binding and unbinding items after their creation will require the use of a ceremony or significant relevant roleplay. For example, if a character proves their worth to an ancestral weapon through honourable deeds, the ancestor within may bind itself to them without the need for a ceremony. 

A character may only be bound to an amount of power cards equal to the sum of their highest ring value, the largest number of advantages in the same element, and the maximum number of Kū (Void) points they have, known as their Kū pool.

Once a character reaches their power limit, they will be unable to bind any more power cards to themselves. There are ways to depower an item, such as through the Kū Purification spell, allowing the character to remove all the power from a single item. Performing this action on an item a character is bound to will free up a space for them to bind to another.

Wards

Wards are protective magic cast on a target to allow them to resist the next time they are targeted by a certain effect. These can range from the next poison, through the Ward of Water spell, to the next mental effect, through the fleeting Glory spending list. 

When granting a ward to another character, you should specify what this effect is.

A character may only be under the protection of one Ward at a time. If they are targeted by a second, they may choose to dispel the first and replace it with the new Ward. 

All Wards last until they are used, dispelled voluntarily, or until the next respite - whichever occurs first.

Penumbra Taint

Taint is the physical representation of being influenced by evil forces. Characters become tainted by being in contact with, and to a lesser degree in the presence of, items, creatures, or other influences from the Penumbra, or from spending time there. 

Taint is represented by black beads and cards in the same way as Honour, Glory, or Influence is. The beads representing a character’s lasting Taint should be considered visible only to characters with the skill Lore [Penumbra], or using the spell Detect Penumbra Taint, and should otherwise be ignored. 

Sometimes characters will gain levels of lasting Penumbra Taint after a particularly corrupting encounter. Lasting Taint cannot be removed by any standard ability and fills a character’s Taint track in the same manner as normal Taint. Fleeting Penumbra Taint can be removed through the skill Tea Ceremony when using a Jade Infusion.

Players may gain fleeting Taint on top of lasting Taint as they play the game. Characters can only hold a maximum of 10 lasting and fleeting Penumbra Taint combined. If they hit 10, they immediately lose any fleeting Taint they have and gain a point of lasting Taint. If a player hits 10 without having any fleeting Taint, then they will need to retire their character.

Characters manifest Taint both physically and in their behaviour, in the following ways:

As levels of lasting Penumbra Taint increase...

Physically carrying a piece of Jade protects characters from becoming tainted, as the Penumbra Taint is instead absorbed by the Jade, destroying it in the process. Since Jade has this power within the game it may only ever be possessed by a character if it is obtained in character as a resource.

Some character abilities will also let them resist levels of fleeting Penumbra Taint. This will reduce the levels of Taint received by the amount specified in the ability. For example, if a character held an Oni skull and would gain 5 fleeting Taint but have the Grounded Mindset and Bastion of Earth advantages (which both reduce incoming fleeting Taint), they could reduce the amount of fleeting Taint taken by 2, only taking 3 fleeting Taint.