Nariyo

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> *"You tried to forget, but the dolls never did. Now, I will return to you everything you tried to cast away."*
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## History

The *katashiro*, whose name means "form substitution," is a tool of shamanism. The principle is simple: a doll, usually made of paper, serves as a ceremonial replacement for a person. If you cast your sins off onto a doll, then throw it into a river, you're relieved of the burden. If you suffer under a curse, it can be redirected to the doll - which then is buried or cast aside, freeing you of it.

What others left behind, the Ashigara peasant girl named Nariyo could never forget. Up from the riverbeds, from out of the earth, and the muddy corner of forests, she could hear it: the voices of the dolls. The silent screams of the objects which had been made vessels from mortal misery and then abandoned. At first she ignored them, eking out a miserable life as their cries haunted her. Eventually, however, she listened. And in her listening, the katashiro told her how to answer their prayers.

Nariyo proved to be a quick study, with a natural sense for ironic punishment. What once was the bane of her life has become her raison d'etre: she is the voice of dolls, a vicious avenger who brings her judgement to bear on all who cross her charges.

## Character Description

**Image:** Nariyo is a slight woman with dark hair down to her waist, her high cheekbones and long fingernails making her look a bit more gaunt than she actually is. She dresses in simple robes; when traveling she carries a large pack containing both the supplies she needs for her journey and a variety of esoteric equipment: shamanic implements, magitech tools, and dolls of all kinds - from paper vessels for simple shikigami to complex marionettes and even devices used for building machines. In a gesture of solidarity with her favored allies, she writes her name with the characters for katashiro.

**Roleplaying Hints:** You detest most other living things, humans most of all - like children, they refuse to take responsibility for their actions and leave others to shoulder the burden. Whether someone is trying to erase their guilt for unpunished sins or simply an innocent trying to rid themselves of a foul curse makes no difference to you: both are making a doll the scapegoat for their crimes. Both will be judged.

While "on the clock," you act the persona of a grandiose avenger, full of drama and flourish. In the rare moments when you interact with someone else while not judging them, you're somewhat socially awkward - unused to dealing with their ilk. Your true nature, one that's surprisingly kind in spite of the deep bitterness within you, only shines forth among your dolls.

## Mechanical Considerations

Nariyo's primary class is Pact Master, her Casting Tradition centering around communing with and animating dolls: she finds dolls who have become vessels of mortal sin and curses and forms a covenant with them, using her magitech and witchcraft to create a combat-capable body for them to inhabit and assisting them in meting out whatever vengeance she sees fit. Some of these dolls fall into peaceful inanimacy once their desires are resolved, others remain as helpers to her and their fellow dolls.

While those who know of Nariyo - relatively few, given her disdain for leaving survivors when she metes out a "judgement" - generally detest her, intelligent constructs, androids, and the like may accompany her as companions into a dangerous situation. These allies generally are fiercely loyal to her, owing to the fact that when they were subjugated, Nariyo fought with all possible ferocity for them.

While Nariyo is suitable as a low to mid-level antagonist, if she reappears at a higher level she's likely to have changed since her first encounter with the player characters: given time and the ability to grow, Nariyo will become much more proficient in magitech, fully integrating it with her doll-based shamanism, and will likely have synthesized her body with it to become a doll in her own right. At this stage, she's less likely to deal with individual dolls and more likely to be an agent of a more powerful doll kami - or some being even more dire.

As Nariyo deals with creatures of fierce emotion and such vessels, effects such as the psychometry skill unlock, *Read Object*, and *Detect Psychic Significance* will provide insight into her true nature, even if she has taken an unassuming guise.

## Plot Hooks

**As an antagonist**, Nariyo applies an uncompromising view of justice: even something as simple as attempting to escape a curse by using a katashiro is punishable by death at the hands of one of her summoned dolls. She represents both a visceral threat and a social one - she conjures haunted vessels to bedevil her victims, but in doing so she also brings the sins and curses that were discarded back to roost. Those threatened by Nariyo are confronted with shameful secrets and old grudges given physical form; they may conceal vital information or ask for help too late in a vain attempt to hide this, or a community that's drawn her ire may fall to internal conflict as all the skeletons in their closet are revealed.

The Pact Master is unlikely to act directly until she believes she has secured her advantage - or if she's in a fit of rage. She prefers to enter a settlement posing as a simple dollmaker, using some form of alias or disguise. From there, she creates her dolls and unleashes them, creating a climate of fear as she gradually escalates her campaign - until eventually she has gathered enough strength and curses to unleash all manner of foul constructs, sweeping through and destroying all those she has judged deserving while leaving only those who have not drawn the ire of the dolls.

Nariyo is evil, owing to her destructive tendencies and callous disregard for others, but she's also lawful - she applies a strict code, but a consistent one. As long as the doll spirits are satisfied, she is. As such, if the player characters find a way to peacefully exorcise the dolls' curses and relieve their suffering, Nariyo will go elsewhere - she will also flee or surrender if defeated, rather than fight to the death. The exception is if she's dealing with those who have actively destroyed or victimized dolls - she will never forgive or retreat from these foes, giving no quarter and asking for none.

**As an ally**, Nariyo will join forces or provide support in situations where she believes the dolls are being abused. Unethical shamans spreading curses, corrupt aristocrats and criminals trying to hide their deeds - all are subject to her punishment. Nariyo is a student of magitech, but something of a novice, knowing only what the dolls have taught her. She's willing to offer help in exchange for further tutelage, or teach what she does know in exchange for aiding dolls. She's a staunch ally of constructs and machines, and if she has reason to believe that their is a soul or spirit being shackled in the usage of magitech - or if golems, automata, or androids, all of which she considers a form of doll, are being victimized or subjugated - she will join her viciousness with anyone seeking freedom for the

She's not a very pleasant ally, owing to her reflexive distrust of non-dolls (her own condition as a human notwithstanding). She holds living creatures to an impossibly high standard, and will point out every little flaw or misstep - and even with constructs and "dolls," she's somewhat patronizing, reflexively assuming their problems are always the result of human victimization.

Redeeming Nariyo would be an impossible task for most people - but if a doll kami or another such spirit were brought on board to encouraging her to follow a more moderate path, persuasion would be possible. At the same time, the doll kami are generally appreciative of having their own vicious dog to turn against those who hurt their interests, so these spirits themselves would be the first ones who need to be convinced there's another way.