Haki Shinpi

Haki Shinpi, a powerless Geist, is the darklord of Rokushima Táiyoo. Far from the influential and powerful man he was in life, Haki Shinpi can now do little to keep his sons from tearing his land apart in civil war.

History

In life, Haki Shinpi was a powerful samurai and clan leader whom forged a big and powerful empire. He felt pride in the fact that his clan and lands held together while others fell to discord, despair, and war, which he helped to instigate via manipulation and betrayal. Haki Shinpi somewhat lived by the code of Bushido but abused and exploited it to manipulate his nemeses, play them against each other, run their hopes into the ground. Shortly prior to Haki's death, he made it known that each of his six sons would inherit part of his conquered lands evenly. Yet after his death, his children turned to bickering and then all out war against each other. Two of his children met their doom, and their islands were leveled by earthquakes before Rokushima Taiyoo was brought into the Demiplane of Dread.

Noncanon information

Haki Shinpi was from a land where the Bushido code meant everything to a noble. To deliberately violate the code heaped dishonor on the noble and his family. Virtually all nobles preferred death to that fate. Not only would he be stripped of his title even his own family wouldn't give him any respect. He would be dead to them. The only way to regain his honor in such a case was to commit a ritual suicide. Shinpi was a minor lord of the land and he was in no shape to war with the other nobles. In fact, he was so low down on the totem pole that many nobles were condescending to him. His heart burned to avenge this insult. He would show them all by becoming the new emperor and ruling over them all. But how? His holdings were far too small to challenge any of his neighbors. An evil plan came to mind. He would call on the power of the oni and use its power against them. He had his loyal wizards summon an ogre mage. The ogre mage was named Toshiyuki who agreed in exchange for getting a big slice of the taxes and a large number of slaves. He showed Shinpi the ways to pit the other samurai against each other which would allow Shinpi to pick up the pieces. Soon he became a force to be reckoned with and eventually the emperor himself moved against him. The ogre mage's plan worked and with the other nobles were at each other's throats he prevailed against the emperor himself. He was getting older now and he had six sons. He felt that none of them earned his legacy. Yoku was to busy womanizing to take seriously while Atshushi was too lazy. Yake was great warrior but with little wisdom, while Yami was the opposite and became a wizard instead of a warrior like a true man should. Hideo was too decadent with his love of alcohol and gambling, while Yugami was a spendthrift. Toshiyuki was behind Shinpi's lack of faith in his sons as he hoped that the division in the new royal house. They did have these weaknesses but not to the degree the father felt they did. This is when Toshiyuki gave the idea that Shinpi would become a death knight on his death and have the wills of his sons bound to his. For the ritual to succeed he had to trick them into being willing participants he was able to do so with the help of Toshiyuki . He told him it was necessary to divide the land and treasure up fairly. All but Yami had no knowledge of magic and this was an unusual ritual he was able to be tricked as well. He drank a slow acting poison that would take a few hours and summoned his sons by his side as he needed them close for the ritual to work. The dark powers noticed this betrayal and gave him a domain but as a powerless geist instead of a death knight. The dark powers enraged the sons against each other and compelled them to return to their own castles to make war on each other. They also changed their domains to make their weaknesses even more tempting. They all became more depraved as they indulged their temptations. Two of the sons were killed within a month, Atshushi and Hideo. Shinpi knows there is only one way to break the curse and that is to have the four sons make peace with each other and remain in peace for at least a month. This, of course, will never happen. After the Grand Conjunction the dark powers gave Shinpi two powers

1) He can project any of three emotions at will: Fear, Rage and Sorrow where the targets get a will save against DC15

2) He can possess anyone who hasn't been in Rokushima Taiyoo more than a month where the targets get a will save against DC 15

He tried to use his processed subjects to talk peace with the four sons but found there is a further curse for him to project the emotions of Fear, Rage and Sorrow around his sons and his sons get no saves. This generally results in one of three things: Their fear is that the other brothers have sent assassins into his very palace which results in great bloodshed in the palace due to paranoia fueled witch hunts and the sending of more assassins in return. Rage at the other brothers resulting in assassination attempts against them and sorrow over what they lost in the wars which is quickly followed by anger.

When the sons die the grandsons take over the feud as all of them have been raised to despise the other brothers.

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		Ravenloft Campaign Setting
		Ravenloft Campaign Setting:Domains and Denizens - p801
		Secrets of the Dread Realms - p7 Ravenloft Campaign Setting:Domains and Denizens - pp39-40,81-82