New Killer: The Namahage + New Chapter: Koshōgatsu Karnage

WraithMaster07b_e2

The Namahage

Backstory: It was 1592 in the Akita Prefecture of the Tōhoku Region of Japan during the Sengoku Period and the Azuchi-Momoyama Period. Being the right-hand man of his lord, Daiki Ryūnosuke & the most powerful general in his army was never enough for Kennjirō Miyazaki. He wanted to surpass his lord just like he surpassed his father and his reputation and end what he saw as the falling of the Wakimoto-Satake empire as the Date-Gamō empire started to take over most of the Akita Prefecture in Japan. His wife, Akari, and his lord as well as some of the strongest men in his army tried to turn Kennjirō’s attention to more noble pursuits, but Kennjirō refused to heed their advice, and taking his katana as well as a wakizashi & a big teoke pail, he went on a dark, and bloody pilgrimage to prove his worth as well as his might and power, ridding Japan of those who threaten to destroy the Wakimoto-Satake Empire as well as Japan itself on the day of the Koshōgatsu festival. Ignoring the code of Bushido that he was taught, he killed not just samurai and warriors of the Date-Gamō Empire, but villagers and those who dared to get in his way in the hills and the valleys of the Akita Prefecture of the Tōhoku Region of Japan as well as the mountains, beaches & woodlands. The killings were brutal, gory, horrific, morbid, cruel and terrifying to see. He mutilated both farmers and warriors alike, slicing their necks and wrists with his wakizashi before stabbing them through an opening in their armour, impaling their guts with his katana, filling his teoke with the bloody guts and sometimes heads of those he has slain. Many monks and arhats as well as villagers believed he was possessed by something dark and otherworldly and cursed him while a noble lord began to call him 'Namahage-Miyazaki,' the bloodlust Samurai, an insult both to Kennjirō and his family.

 

Now determined to redeem his family name, Kennjirō butchered those who dared to call him Namahage-Miyazaki. The insult confused and infuriated him. He had defeated the best and purified all of Japan of the Date-Gamō Empire, allowing the Wakimoto-Satake Empire to successfully take over the entirety of the Tōhoku Region of Japan. How dare anyone refer to him as a mino-clad ogre and live?! Had it been because he had marched onto a battlefield to cut down the fiercest warriors. Had it been because he had taken a Deba Bōchō knife a and dashed the hundreds of trillions of skulls of villagers and warriors in the villages in the Akita prefecture if the Tōhoku Region of Japan, especially in the Oga Area, underneath the guise of a namahage costume consisting of a crimson red Oni mask to conceal his face & a traditional mino cape underneath his armour? Or had it been because of his need to use his teoke as a 'trophy' from his victims. It didn't matter. Being called an ogre was more than he could bear and an ominous voice in his head urged him to strike down the lord who had desecrated his name.

 

As the Namahage-guised samurai made for the castle the lord resides in, he suddenly found himself face to face with the lord’s shogun standing on the dirt road, blocking his way. Kennjirō readied his Deba knife. Without even a single word, the shogun attacked, quickly achieving the upper hand, only to end up hesitating. With a devastating stab, piercing the shogun’s armor and impaling his heart, Kennjirō reigned victorious against the shogun, now laying dead and bleeding out quickly. However, as he approached the fallen shogun, something caused him to stagger back to his haunches. He saw the face of his long lost father’s. In his father’s dying moments, his father stared at Kennjirō with shame and regret as he let out his dying breath beneath his death rattle. Kennjirō closed his eyes tightly, holding back tears, and screamed out in pain and agony until his voice gave out. When he opened up his eyes again.... His father was gone. Not only had he killed his own father, he allowed thieves to steal the armour from his father’s now deceased body.

 

Bitter, lost, and now disillusioned, Kennjirō roamed the land aimlessly with his father’s voice rattling in his head, constantly taunting and berating him of his failures, sending him into fits of unbridled and uncontrollable fury and rage. One day, when walking in the Oga Peninsula, Kennjirō happened upon a Namahage Statue. He stopped and stood motionless for a long moment. The weathered and overgrown statue seemed to be ridiculing him, accusing him of being the impostor samurai he had so desperately sought to kill and destroy and that he was much worse than the naughty children that it would scare. Kennjirō shook the taunting, laughing voice out of his head and half-remembered the lord who called him ‘Namahage-Miyazaki’.

 

With his fury and rage renewed, Kennjirō journeyed to Akita City where the lord resided. A dozen samurai and the lord’s best warriors met Kennjirō at the town’s gates. A dozen samurai and the lord’s best warriors fell to his Deba knife. His speed and strength unparalleled and unmatched, and his rage incomprehensible. His whole body, especially his mino and mask, covered in blood, guts and gore, his teoke filled will organs and blood. The Namahage-guised samurai battled through Akita City and finally found the villa that the lord was residing in. Kennjirō mercilessly dragged him out of a cabinet where the lord was hiding, sliced his tendons and ankles off with his katana, slit the lord’s wrists with his wakizashi and then brandished his Deba knife as he watched the lord who once ridiculed him now weep, beg and plead for mercy as he squirmed like a dog bleeding out. Without hesitation, he cleaved the lord’s jaw in two and then forcefully ripped out his tongue that desecrated the Namahage samurai and threw it into his teoke before stabbing the lord through his skull with the Deba knife.

 

Now satisfied, the Namahage Samurai exited the villa only to find himself surrounded by the strongest of the lord’s men backed up by the dozens of farmers and villagers wielding their rusted scythes, sharp pitchforks, heavy Kanabo clubs and their knives. Although he managed to survive and slay the assaults of the villagers and badly harm the strongest warrior that led the farmers and villagers, the warrior gained the advantage and within moments. Kennjirō was laying on the ground, staring at the cold, indifferent and darkening sky as the warrior cut into Kennjirō’s skin, carving the Kanji symbol for ‘Namahage’ as some of the farmers and villagers, who managed to survive the rampage of the ‘Namahage’ who had butchered their beloved lord and most of his men and the village, took turns torturing and stabbing at Kennjirō. The remaining villagers and the lord’s strongest warrior dragged Kennjirō into a small stone mill to continue their torture on the ‘Namahage’ that massacred most of Akira City as well as the Akira Prefecture of the Tōhoku Region of Japan during Koshōgatsu and this day before finally leaving him to rot and die a slow, painful, agonizing death. However, upon their return, the mill was under a veil of strange black fog and the body of Kennjirō, his katana, his wakizashi, his teoke & his Deba knife were nowhere to be seen nor found. It was truly the beginning of a dark legend about a murderous, raging, bloodthirsty Namahage haunting the Akita Prefecture of Japan, especially during Koshōgatsu, the new year and the day that the Namahage were at it’s prime. And rumors claim that he strikes those who mock him on the nights during the Namahage Sedo Festival.

Weapon & Ability:

Each killer has their own unique weapon and ability. The Namahage’s primary weapons are his katana, the Miyazaki Blade, his wakizashi & last, but not least, his deba bōchō knife, the Koshōdeba knife. His ability is Koshōgatsuken Frenzy. With this ability/power, he can rush down at great speed and deal deep, deadly strikes with his deba knife. With this ability active, The Namahage is immune to stuns caused by survivors popping out of lockers and throwing down pallets. He can also destroy pallets and breakable walls as well as damage generators with his deba knife while this ability is active.

Killer Perks:

Hidako Gijutsu: Unlocking the potential in one’s aura-reading ability, you’re mentally alert and aware of key points and challengers in the battlefield. The Auras of Pallets, Breakable Walls, & Vaults as well as Survivors within a range of 24 metres. When a Survivor is damaged, Hidako Gijutsu becomes inactive for 40/30/25 seconds.

 

Bloody Fury: The pain, suffering & agony of one is inflicted onto others. When hooking a Survivor, other Survivors that have been injured are affected with both the Exposed status for 45 seconds and the Haemorrhage status until they are healed. Bloody Fury can only be triggered once every 60/45/30 seconds. If Koshōgatsuken Frenzy is active, the nearest injured survivor will be effected with the Exhausted status effect for 30/45/60 seconds.

 

Dark Retribution: You seek revenge on those who have wronged you. A Survivor who blinds you, stuns you with a pallet or a locker, or performs a decisive strike when being carried becomes your obsession. Anytime a new Survivor becomes the Obsession, they are affected with the Exposed status effect within 32 or more metres from you for 50/60/80 seconds and their aura is revealed to you for as long as they are Exposed. You can only be obsessed with one survivor at a time.

Map: The Namahage lurks inside the abandoned, yet ancient, Ryūnosuke Palace where his lord, Daichi Ryūnosuke and his ancestors ruled before Daichi's assassination.

Accompanying Survivor: Dosei Kobayashi

Name: Dosei Kobayashi

Gender: Male

Role: Determined Kabuki Actor

Nationality & Ethnicity: Japanese

Difficulty: Intermediate

Playstyle: A Determined Kabuki Actor who will do what he can and will stop at nothing to get himself and his fellow Survivors out of dangerous and challenging situations.

 

Backstory: Being the grandson of a very famous kabuki actor does have its perks. Dosei was destined for greatness in the arts of Kabuki and Kabuki theatre. He has always wanted to get the lead role in the play ‘Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura’ just like his grandfather did when he was young, it was his most famous and well known role. For years he has gotten roles in various kabuki plays from playing Mashiba Hidetsugu in ‘Kinmon Gosan No Kiri’, to playing Minamoto Yorimoto in ‘Gosho Zakura Horikawa No Youchi’. He even had the Role of Sagojo in the Kabuki version of ‘Journey to the West.’ He was a popular boy on the streets of his hometown in Oga, Akita, Japan. He was also popular in the drama club in his school. His father was never much around and his mother died from a car accident that cost her her life, so his grandparents had to take care of him. But through and through, Dosei overcame obstacles with determination and a big smile on his face. Dosei learned all about the art of Kabuki from his grandfather, who was a famous actor and a kabuki theatre enthusiast. He learned fast about Kabuki and kabuki theatre. His acting skills were amazing. With his grandfather’s ‘good luck mino’ wrapped around his torso, he managed to get some parts in various kabuki plays. When it came time to apply for college, Dosei got an enrollment letter from an elite acting kabuki academy in Akita City, and he got in. Excited for their grandson, they had a wonderful celebration. And what made it better was that he finally got the lead role of Yoshitsune Minamoto in ‘Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura’, which was the last play that his school was performing for the end of the school year. He practiced all day and all night, perfecting the role with ease. On the day of the play, he did a marvelous acting job. He was given a standing ovation from his grandparents and his class.

 

When Dosei moves out and headed for the kabuki academy, he excelled in his classes, however money for tuition was kinda tight, meaning he needed to find a job to help pay for his tuition as well as student fees. However the only jobs he could get were low clerical work or minor jobs like a host. However his financial problems would change for the better as he found a high paying job as a kabuki actor. Each successful play he starred in got more money than he ever seen. He even got paid as much as every other actor and stage hand. He would later quit and form a kabuki theatre troupe of his own after graduating college. Along with a troupe alongside him however, Dosei realized that he had a stalker following him from the shadows. When Dosei realized that his lucky mino has been stolen from his apartment, she took his concerns to the police, only for them to laugh and dismiss him, saying that he might of lost it or that this ‘stalker’ was just an obsessive fan of his.

 

One evening, Dosei found the stalker following him on his way back to the apartment. The stalker hadn’t seen much of him, and he wasn’t quite sure of what he should do. But he was determined to get rid of this stalker, he demanded that the stalker leave now before he called the police. The stalker in reply to Dosei’s threat turned to him with a butterfly knife in his hand. The stalker lunged at Dosei, who dodged with a jump onto the dumpster for higher ground and the stalker hit the wall, dropping the knife. Without any hesitation, Dosei landed on the stalker’s back with a kabuki stomp and then put him in a submission hold. They rolled over the ground exchanging desperate blows. Dosei took a few painful blows, but he was determined to make this stalker wish he never ever stalked him. He overpowered the stalker, snagging the butterfly knife on the floor and jamming it in his stalker’s hand, preventing the stalker from escaping, thus pinning down the stalker.

 

As the police reached the alleyway where the scuffle between Dosei and his stalker took place, the stalker was arrested while Dosei was rushed to the hospital for some trauma and injuries. X-rays revealed that Dosei had twisted one of his ankles during the fight and broke a few bones in his right arm in several places and a few cuts in his left leg. It wasn’t long until his troupe and his many fans showed up one by one, and together, they helped him pay his medical bills. The doctors said that he wouldn’t be able to perform on stage again, but Dosei would not take no for an answer. Rehabilitation was a challenge, but through sheer determination and support from both his troupe and fans, he was back to performing on stage in Kabuki plays, beating the odds. After Dosei’s first performance of ‘Hime Komatsu Ne-no-Hi no Asobi’ after the attack, his troupe members presented him with a new Kabuki-patterned mino with their signatures and good luck messages from Dosei’s many fans, his grandparents, his troupe members and even his father written all over it. Dosei vowed to help people with the money they got for each ticket sale from every kabuki theatre-goer for every successful kabuki play and his influence. True to his word, Dosei’s kabuki troupe became known as the ‘Rainbow Hōō Kabuki Troupe’ and they wore minoes similar to Dosei’s in different colors, each color representing unity, support, hope, generosity, determination and faith for those needing help from illnesses, stalkers, abusers and other problems like diseases as well as helping those affected by war and natural disasters.

 

The Rainbow Hōō grew beyond the 24 members and many Kuroko stagehands and Dosei’s signature mino became synonymous with empowerment and determination. Before and After each kabuki play, people would line up in lines and droves to support him. When his grandfather passed away, he decided to dedicate the upcoming play of ‘Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura’ to his grandfather so he can honour his memory. Not only has he won a few awards for Best Kabuki Actor and other categories in the Japan Academy Film and Theatre Awards, his troupe tripled in numbers as well as his fan base. Unfortunately, everything would change upon opening night for the play. It was nearing the end of the fifth act of the play and Yoshitsune Minamoto, played by Dosei Kobayashi, was about to defeat Tadanbou, played by one of Dosei’s troupe members, when suddenly the lights went out and an unnatural fog that seemed to come out of nowhere surrounded the Noh theatre & when the fog vanished and the lights went back on, Dosei was nowhere to be seen. Now confused and baffled, he tried to figure out what happened. But it wasn’t very long that he soon realized that not only was the blackout and the fog not part of the play, but he wasn’t in Japan nor the Noh theatre he was performing in anymore.

 

Survivor Perks:

Sheer Determination: You’ve overcome your fair share of obstacles and injuries. It’s not just luck but determination. Sheer Determination activates when you’re in the Injured state. While Sheer Determination is active, you will not be put into the Dying State upon getting hit by the Killer for a total of 120/150/180 Seconds. Survivors you unhook or help will also receive this buff. Sheer Determination will become permanently deactivated for the remainder of the Trial once the total duration has elapsed.

 

Work Paid Off: Your skills in Kabuki theatrics keeps you from ever getting tired or slipping up. Every time you vault over a wall or a pallet, you gain the Haste status effect for 4/5/6 Seconds. Work Paid Off has a cooldown of 100/80/60 seconds.

 

Hope Rides Along: You are determined to save and protect your survivors from danger at all costs, even if it means putting yourself in danger. When within 8 metres of a carried or hooked Survivor, you move at an increased speed of 5/10/15%. The carried Survivor’s wiggle speed is increased by 25%. The hooked Survivor’s escape chances are raised by 50%.

New Map: Ryūnosuke Palace

 

Map:

Ryūnosuke Palace. An indoor/outdoor map with 7 floors, many rooms & stairways to access to the higher lower places of the area. The map is dimly lit, with multiple floors and balconies, and has an outdoor area. The Escape point/Exit gates are located by the sealed entrance of the Japanese Pagoda & outside the castle gardens.

 

Layout:

• Geographic:
• Square Tile: Ground/Stone/Wood/Carpet
• Does it have floors: Yes.
• How many sections?: 7 floors, 13 sections each
• Extra info
• Pallets: Many in regular spots, some in the hallways.
• Windows: None, but there are balconies to vault over.
• Stairs: Yes
• Breakable Walls: Yes. Some lead to secret sections and rooms while some are alternative entrances to rooms and stairways.
• Generators: Scattered around the map, however there is one generator that will always spawn in the throne room.
• Hooks: Normal. Scattered around the map.

Miscellaneous:

Lockers Amount & Location: Normal

Exit Gates Location: Normal

Special Feature?: Folding blinds & doors that lead outside and some rooms.

 

Lore:

The ancestors of Lord Daiki Ryūnosuke built this magnificent Japanese castle during the Heian Era on the grounds of Katagami in the Dewa Province, which would be the Akita Prefecture in the future, neighboring Oga & Akita. The palace had a great view of all of Ryūnosuke’s kingdom and the battlefield, as well as neighboring provinces Aomori & Iwate. However, it was also where Daichi Ryūnosuke, the current ruler of the palace, would meet his demise in the hands of his right hand man’s captors, being the strongest warrior of the lord who was residing in Akita City when he was murdered by ‘Namahage-Miyazaki’. Now, the palace is abandoned though it keeps its beauty and elegance & history, rumors say that the palace

is haunted by the ghost of Lord Ryūnosuke and it is one of the lurking grounds of ‘Namahage-Miyazaki’, who usually returns to this palace to pay his respects to his fallen lord.