We are bad hands of society, tied to the same fate.
Once, we were blind. We heard the devils arrive, heard them ravage and plunder and eat their fill, but you'd be lucky to catch hair, club, or third eye of them. They're crafty beasts. They got a few eras' worth of experience behind 'em, and all logic says they've got the upper hand. You start panicking. It's natural.
Ever invited a demon into your home? Not voluntarily, at least. But they're persistent creatures; they have their awkward methods of socializing, and they do enjoy tea with their flesh. You need to take action, but the samurai wanderin' ain't so noble no more. So you call the Demon Queller, of course—you call Shoki. And Shoki takes his big ole boomin' voice, waves that sword round, and your demon infestation is naught more but cause for boys' festivals.
Shoki was special, see. He was also uglier than shit. He got evil on his side, turned it good. The yokai, as the demons were called, behaved themselves. They say the Demon Queller is reincarnated every hundred years or so, and our current savior just so happens to be a woman who, not knowing any better, gave her heart to a devil. A real troubled fellow. He heads the yakuza, just a bunch of men who get their kicks from racketeering, gambling, extortion, real gangster stuff. No big deal.
Once, we were blind, but you'd be hard pressed to miss the creatures of myth in this day. The yakuza? They got a whole lot of them in their ranks, became one family in the process. It's been about half a century of peace—nail-bitingly unstable peace, but peace no less. As stories go, however, things gotta change. And in this case, change can be a scary, violent thing.
WHOAKEY, confusing intro aside, I'm guess you're here for the umbrellas. Bad Hands is, essentially, a mythological mafia roleplay based primarily on Asian lore. Players would assume the role of either man or monster in the Takano Clan, working the mob life just as things are starting to go to hell. Races such as oni, tengu, and kappa would be available, as well as a host of others in the vast Japanese bestiary. I'm planning an open-world where writers would be welcome to engage in all sorts of shenanigans, with an arc-based story and missions available for various positions of the yakuza hierarchy. Yeah. Because this was in such high demand.
This is a large project, and because my first GM'ing experience was marred by the absence of a friend, I'd adore having someone to help plot and keep track of things. I apologize if this seems a bit vague; I've a wealth of information I'm setting up for people unfamiliar with the folklore, so consider this an abridged version of what to come. Comments, questions, send 'em all in. I'd be ecstatic to hear from at least one of you.
Happy holidays~ Hope you'd like to spend your new year with the losers.
