Embedded Files
Introduction
Introduction
Congratulations, you've accessed the player wiki for the special Gen Con edition of West Coast MegaGames’ Sengoku rule-set!
Sengoku is a megagame that focuses on the power and politics in 1550s feudal Japan. Before we dive in, we must pay tribute to the Megagame Makers, especially Jim Wallman. Without their imagination, advice, and experience, we would not be seeing megagames as they appear today. Throughout our design process, the Megagame Makers’ insight and willingness to share and collaborate has been invaluable.
We must also make note and apologize for certain cultural discrepancies, especially to those of you who are familiar with Japanese history. Much of the complexity of history has been sacrificed in the interest of clarity and simplicity. The era of the samurai is unfamiliar to many, and to accurately represent the time period in so few pages would only make a mockery of Japanese culture. We have attempted to include as much flavor as our space allows. Those who wish to immerse themselves in the period in anticipation of our game are encouraged to do so.
Lastly, thank you for taking an interest in Sengoku and West Coast MegaGames! We hope you enjoy playing this edition of Sengoku, and wish you the best of luck during the game.
Time Period
Time Period
The Sengoku-jidai (the age of warring states) was a seminal period of strife and internecine warfare that consumed the islands of Japan from 1467 to 1615. This was an age of land-grabbing lords, incessant conflict, political power-play, and betrayal. Entire clans could evaporate overnight, and peasants could raise themselves up to command thousands. The icons of the age conjure vivid imagery: massive samurai armies dueling for honor and supremacy on blood-slick battlefields, warrior monks practicing ancient martial arts atop mountain fortresses, and the shadowy ninja climbing castle walls in the dead of night.
Prior to this tumultuous era, Japan had been ruled by two persons: the Emperor, divine head of state, and the Shogun, military dictator of Japan. The Emperor ruled through the Shogun, and the Shogun ruled through the Bakufu, the Shogunate’s civil service. Regional control of Japan’s provinces fell to the Daimyo, autonomous lords who owed their allegiance to the Shogun and the Emperor.
The Sengoku period began with the Onin War, a conflict in 1467 between the Yamana and Hosokawa clans that quickly spiraled into all-out civil war. Chaos consumed the country, as well as any semblance of authority that the deteriorating Shogunate once held.
At the onset of the game, the year is 1551. The current Shogun, 16-year-old Ashikaga Yoshiteru, is an inexperienced child with no real authority. As a result, the Bakufu are effectively leaderless and without an heir apparent. To make matters worse, Emperor Go-Nara, having withdrawn into his palace, ignores most political and military matters and serves more as a figurehead than a leader.
He who becomes Shogun controls Japan in its entirety, and the position is effectively open to any Daimyo with the power to oust the incompetent and inexperienced Ashikaga and also gain the Emperor’s favor. The current climate is tense: Sengoku Japan is a country where adherence to social structure and honorable behavior is everything, but also where duplicity and double-crossing is part of the political norm. It is at this time, when the future is anything but certain, that we begin our game.
Next Steps
Next Steps
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