Ninja Wars

Ninja Wars (FROA1) is an adventure module by Nigel Findley for the Oriental Adventures campaign setting using the 2-edition Dungeons & Dragons ruleset, published in 1990 by TSR, Inc. Cover art is by Fred Fields and interior art is by Mark Nelson. It includes a poster map of Aru by John Knecht.

Coming soon after Ronin Challenge (OA6) and Test of the Samurai (OA7), both published in 1990, Ninja Wars appears intended to be the third in a series of adventures named for Oriental Adventures classes. But whereas the first two have a loosely connected storyline, Ninja Wars has no links to either of them, apart from also being set in Wa like OA7. It even recommends Blood of the Yakuza (OA4, published in 1987) for background on Wa. Moreover, it has a new module code, 'FROA'. While this hints at a planned stronger connection to the Forgotten Realms setting, Ninja Wars also contains no links to Faerûn. It is possible TSR's plans for this supposed trilogy were changed at a late stage. In any case, Ninja Wars was to be the final release in the original Oriental Adventures series for the Kara-Tur setting, until Oriental Adventures for 3 edition in 2001, which would use the new setting of Rokugan.

Set in the town of Aru in the nation of Wa in Kara-Tur, it presents a large variety of adventures, from a lengthy 24-act campaign to five smaller adventures to a number of mini-adventures and incidents. Several subplots and themes run through them, many involving conflicts with ninja factions, as the name suggests, as well as intrigue, politics, romance, monsters, and the mythical "tiger-bird spirit". In the main campaign, PCs are recruited by Benju Matsutomo, daimyo of Aru, to investigate various strange incidents in the lead-up to the important Ceremony of the Three Thousand Steps, eventually uncovering a conspiracy to sabotage it. Many events in the main campaign may proceed without PC involvement or are optional, allowing a DM to tailor or adapt the campaign to their own plans and to PC choices, so each play-through may take a very different form. Aru itself can appear as non-static setting where things happen independently of PCs.

"Behold The Shining Temple of Bishamon!

Located above the city of Aru on the island nation of Wa, this shrine is the focus of a great pilgrimage. Every year, thousands of people travel here to celebrate the Ceremony of the Three Thousand Steps. For townsfolk and travelers alike, it is a time of great celebrations and revelry.

For Benju Matsutomo, Daimyo of Aru, it is a time of worry and concern. Something is wrong this year. A political rival has hired a clan of ninja to disrupt the pilgrimage and disgrace Matsutomo. But the daimyo has his own ninja, and just to be safe, he decides to hire a party of adventurers to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Of course, it doesn't…"

Table of Contents

 * Chapter I: Introduction
 * Chapter II: History of Aru
 * Chapter III: Aru Town
 * Chapter IV: Politics
 * Chapter V: The Main Events
 * Chapter VI: Mini-Adventures
 * Chapter VII: Nonplayer Characters
 * Chapter VIII: Encounter Generator
 * Chapter IX: New Adventures

Characters

 * Achiko • Asahi • Atsuko • Cachiko • Ce-ishi • Fusae • Haku • Horoko • Karima • Kimie • Komatsu • Mifune • Moonlight • Mura • Nada • Naga • Naomi • Onoshi • the oyabun • Satomi • the Seer • Smoke • Snake • Sono • Tazumi • Tetsu • tigbanua buso (wu jen) • Tojo • Tsukku • Yaemon • Yamato • Yuka • Zukimoto Chikitada • Aki Marushima • Tojo Marushima • Hiro Matsu • Benju Matsutomo • Sumihiro Matsutomo • Daisake Mayazato • Hiroyasu Ohta • Buntaro Ostato • Takako Shimizu • Li Kit Su • Yuji Takaesu • Eichiro Tanaka • Toshikazu Wada • Takahashi Yamaguchi


 * Dosko • Eiko • Takahiro • Masanori • Zabato • Yang Chu • Koji Kubahachi • Seiji Kubahachi • Arata Matsutomo • Hisao Matsutomo • Koji Matsutomo • Masakito Matsutomo • Matasuuri Nagahide • Eiji Tanaka • Eiji Toda • Sousuke Toda • Takashi Yayazato • Yoshi Yoyogi • Zataki Yoyogi

Creatures

 * human • ikiryo • kuei • monkey hengeyokai • shen lung • tagamaling buso • tigbanua buso


 * chiang lung • gaki (jiki-ketsu-gaki • shikki-gaki) • kala • lion • tengu • tiger-bird spirit

Locations

 * Geography
 * Yama-san • Wa


 * Aru (river) • Ikuyu Mountains • Isle of Devils • Jasuga • Jasuga Province • Kozakura • Mount Matazan • Shou Lung • Uwaji


 * Provinces
 * Aru Province


 * Settlements
 * Aru • Anjiro


 * Buildings
 * Aki's • The Apple Tree Inn • Colored Bubble • Donjon (Aru) • Drowsy Blossoms • Grand Noh Theater • graveyard (Aru) • House of Heavenly Sand • Shining Temple of Bishamon • Shrine of the West Wind • The Tengu • Tojo's • The Waiting Stone • Whispering Breeze

Organizations

 * Families
 * Kubahachi • Matsutomo • Tanaka • Toda • Yayazato


 * Ninja clans
 * Amida Butsu • Kata • Ohara • Yamaguchi


 * Militaries
 * Home Guard

Miscellaneous

 * Faiths
 * Bishamon • Celestial Bureaucracy • Faith of the Nine Travelers • Komoku


 * Events
 * Ceremony of the Three Thousand Steps • pilgrimage


 * Foods
 * Apple • cha • tea


 * Items
 * brass • bronze • katana • kimono • The Lost Sword • minyan • Oil Seller


 * Martial Arts
 * Snake Dance • tae kwon do


 * Classes
 * monk • ninja • samurai • wu jen • yakuza


 * ronin


 * Terminology
 * daimyo • ebi • eta • karma • minka • ryokan • sankin kotai • shogun • yashiki

Naming Issues
The author or editor of Ninja Wars appears to have misunderstood the family-name given-name Japanese naming convention that was established for Wa and Kozakura in past Oriental Adventures sources, instead assuming a European given-name family-name convention. For example, Benju Matsutomo is Benju of the Matsutomo family. This is applied consistently throughout the module and, for the most part, all characters are unique to the module.

However, issues arise when it comes to the shoguns of Wa. Incorrectly assuming the already established shogun Matasuuri Nagahide is Matasuuri of a Nagahide family—when he's actually Nagahide of the Matasuuri family—it names past shoguns Eiko Nagahide, Takahiro Nagahide, and Masanori Nagahide. Assuming they should be Matasuuris causes contradictions, as the family was not in power while Eiko and Takahiro reigned. Thus this wiki adopts only the given names for these three shoguns. Meanwhile, for consistency, the names of all other NPCs are left as they are in Ninja Wars.