                                  SHOGUN II

                        A Scenario for WARLORDS ][

                              by Paul Fields


DISCLAIMER. This scenario is a work of fiction. All characters (heroes, 

monsters, or otherwise) depicted in this scenario are purely fictional 

or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any person, living or deceased, 

is purely coincidental. 

                               INTRODUCTION

               Japan - From 300 B.C. to the 20th Century

Around 300-400 B.C., missionaries from Korea and China converged upon

Japan to bring civilization to the islands through the light of the

Lord Buddha. They found a people who were, essentially, tribal, or

clannish, by nature and little interested in the types of centralized

governments both China and Korea had perfected.  Thus, Japan's culture 

is relatively new by Asian standards. It's only 2,000 years old. Yet, 

its history holds many similarities with European civilization.


Where as European culture springs from the wealth of art and learning

so abundant in Ancient Greece and Rome; Japan's new culture was 

initially a blending of Chinese and Korean cultures.


As the Japanese became more "civilized", they like any other colonial

peoples developed a sense of nationalism and a desire for freedom. So,

they ran the Chinese and Koreans out of their island. And, again, like

many other newly independent countries, soon after this event, inter-

necine warfare erupted. The result was a "dark ages" period.


Around 700 A.D., Japan started a slow march to its own Renaissance.

Efforts to unify the islands under one sovereign were frequent and

varied in nature. And, as in Europe, most of these efforts were

led by one powerful family against another.


Japanese feudal politics reached their zenith between 1490 and 1600.

This was known as the Age of the Country At War. Powerful "daimyo"

families controlled the Emperor and controlled the office of Shogun,

military dictator of Japan. As the 17th century was ushered in, Japan

was more unified under one power than ever in its past.


In spite of the unity Japan enjoyed at this time, there were often

as many as three or four daimyo claiming the title of Shogun. But,

in actuality the true Shogun was the one who controlled the most

real estate and troops, the Shogun who wielded the most power.


This was also the time when Europeans started arriving in Japan. Early 

on, their strange ways and customs were seldom incorporated into

Japanese society, but they certainly were not ignored.


By the mid-1800s, such Western concepts as democracy, equality and

social contracts were beginning to effect Japanese thinking. In 1868,

the first Japanese legislature was formed, land reform redistributed

huge daimyo estates amongst the people who worked the land, and

the ruling class, the samurai, took a step down.


The feudal era of Japan was coming to a close. And, by the 1920s,

shortly after Japan helped the Allies in World War I, the samurai

class was officially "un-recognized" by the Japanese government.


              Scenario Time Frame (700 to 1868 A.D.)


While most of the weaponry and unit types are grounded in the glory 

days of the Samurai and powerful, unifying Shoguns (1490-1600), it

actually spans the entire feudal era. It includes daimyo families 

from the earliest days of Shogunate rule as well as cities with 

important roles throughout the entire feudal period.


OBJECT. To conquer the other five daimyo families and declare your-

self (or your heirs) as the uncontested SHOGUN - military dictator

of all of Japan and its most powerful ruler.



THE PLAYERS. Each player represents a powerful daimyo family. 

The earliest family, with any real power throughout most of the empire,

the Yamato family, is represented by the Light Blue army. The 

Tokugawa family finally brought unity to the Japanese islands around

1600 and is represented by the White army in the scenario.


MONSTERS. 


Ronin. In feudal Japan, a warrior or chieftain could become disgraced

through many types of deeds. It was easier for a samurai to lose face

and become disgraced than it is for most kids to get suspended from

school in modern times.  For those who did not commit ritual suicide,

"seppuku", life was hard and tough. Loss of privilege and status also

led to a loss of a disgraced Samurai's livelihood, the practice of

arms in the service of his master. Such samurai were called, "ronin"

(roe-neen). They were a common part of the samurai tapestry. They

were the "flip side" of the peculiarly Japanese philosophy of "bushido",

the way of the warrior. Ronin were the un-success stories of bushido.

Some ronin were hired on as mercenaries by less-than-honorable daimyo.

But, most were forced into a life of banditry and other criminal activity

to "earn" a livelihood.  



Ninja. Their "commoner" counterparts were the stealthy, criminal warriors, 

the "ninja". Although 20th-century Western film has glorified and even

exonerated the ninja, the fact remains that the ranks of the ninja were

full of outcast criminals from the basest element of Japanese society.

Vicious, unrelenting, and devoid of compassion, the ninja had only two

commendable traits. They would never reveal the identity of anyone associ-

ated with their "business" activities. Too, they accepted defeat only as a

last resort because doing so meant mandatory suicide.



Other monsters include corrupt princes, traitors in one's own camp and the

like.

                        TRANSLATIONS OF UNIT TYPES


Chonin - Townspeople who ranked below peasants. (Japan's economy was

basically agrarian. Thus, farmers (peasants) were considered more

productive and more valuable.)


Ikki - Peasant warriors; primary mission: defending the immediate area.


Heimin - Lower class citizenry; often called to arms to defend their village


Ashigaru - Peasant warriors trained to fight, in formation, alongside

highly trained, skilled Samurai.


Sohei - Militant monks who usually defended their temple lands and

sometimes operated as bandits or mercenary guerrillas for a daimyo's army.


Yamabushi - Highly aggressive Sohei skilled in mountain fighting.


Jizamurai - Warriors with land but without the titles enjoyed by samurai


Samurai - Warriors born to titled families; while not the highest social

class; samurai were the ruling class in Japan for over 500 years.


Daimyo - A Japanese warlord; a noble, by birth or patronage, who heads a

clan of warrior/land owners and holds power over a system of lesser lords

and serfs within a region. Also, supreme commander over his private armies.


Hatamoto - Senior lieutenant in a daimyo's army and a trusted advisor. In

modern terms, he would equate to a "2 star" chief of staff.


The letter "I", followed by a period, "I.", signifies elite samurai whose

loyalties might be to one particular daimyo but who had also taken an

oath to the Emperor. Thus, the "I." stands for "Imperial". Since the

Emperor is not actually represented in the scenario, if more than one

side has Imperial troops in play, assume they belong to the true Emperor

and other pretenders to the throne. (Such was the case from time to time.)

                              GAME DESIGN NOTES

RUINS & ARTIFACTS. The "artifacts" you will find in the ruins of Shogun are

unlike most you'll find anywhere else.  Some are intangible: good fortune, 

Emperor's support, popularity among the peasants, etc. Others are more

tangible such as additional armies, weapons and the like.


GEOGRAPHY.  While using a map on the small scale of Warlords ][ 

(126 pixels by 155 pixels) makes minute detail a tough task, a lot of

effort was made to accurately portray actual locations of cities, 

towns, and villages.  All cities and towns are or have been real places. 

On the other hand, most ruins are fictional, but are styled after real

temples, shrines and the like.

PLACEMENT OF CITIES, TOWNS, VILLAGES. At the first of the game you will

see real estate "gobbled" up fairly fast. Don't let that bother you.

Remember, in real life, the struggle from the bottom to top involved a

minor daimyo taking over neighboring lands, winning the loyalty of

supporters in those lands and then restarting the process. He did so

as long as he was successful or until he lost a campaign.

FORTIFYING CITIES can be accomplished through production and use of

supply wagons.

HERO NAMES.  To add local flavor to the scenario, ethnic naming

conventions were used in the depiction of hero characters. "Westernizing"

spelling of Japanese names (or any north Asian names) is not always

easy. So, please excuse any misspellings of Spanish surnames. 

                             THE LAST WORD

I had a lot of fun researching and designing this scenario. For years

after reading James Clavell's novel "Shogun" (the mini-series was good

too), I have had a fascination with "bushido" and the Age of the Country

at War.  Warlords ][ provided me an opportunity to recreate this

colorful, exciting era.


This scenario is also a gift to my son, Joel. At age 12, Joel earned his 

junior black belt in a modern school of the ancient swordsman's art,

"kenjutsu". Now, at 14, he is an accomplished martial artist in Korean,

Chinese and Japanese forms. His response the first time he playtested it

made all the long hours worth it. It was a simple, "Awesome, Dad!"



Thanks for downloading this scenario. Please send any comments and/or 

suggestions via E-mail at   bedbug@inlink.com   ...or... visit our

web page at:  http://www.inlink.com/~bedbug/warlord/


                                 CREDITS


These works were used in my research:

- The Encarta Multimedia Encyclopedia, Copyright, 1993, by Microsoft 

- Time-Life Books' Great Ages of Man Series, "Early Japan" Volume

- "Sword of the Samurai", a game published by MicroProse in 1989

- James Clavell's "Shogun"

- Funk & Wagnall's Hammond World Atlas


Playtesting and valuable inputs were by James (Tripp) Donnelly,

Craig Goodman, David True, and Joel Fields.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul's interest in wargaming goes back to the early 1960s. A career

as a military officer for over 20 years afforded many opportunities

to travel and visit many of history's most notable battlefields.


Now he's self-employed and works as a consultant to small businesses

and municipalities on a variety of issues from applying new technology

to human resource management.  Lately, when he's not working to make

a living, he's working hard to research and try new ideas for

Warlords ][ scenarios.


His first, Rain Forest War, has been downloaded by numerous AOL and 

CompuServe members and was published on the Warlords II Deluxe CD ROM. 

Other scenarios are available on his web page.
