Description
Kitsunemori is a self-contained setting that describes a specific area the Yonhosu Valley of an otherwise unspecified world. You can insert Kitsunemori into a larger, pre-existing world, expand the setting, or simply limit travel to the four lands detailed within Kitsunemori.
The kitsune themselves were obviously the main inspiration for this book. They are intriguing creatures featured in many Japanese folktales as well as in actual history, and they have been reinterpreted in various ways in modern popular media. Kitsune are bringers of mischief and misery, and so many people are quick to classify them as demons.
But kitsune are also messengers of the god Inari, patron of rice, life, and fertility, and are thus also benevolent beings. In both conceptions, kitsune are described as playful, cunning, charming, and utterly dangerous.
Other staples of Japanese myth included in Kitsunemori are the tanuki, tengu, and kappa, as well as the evil oni and the ambiguous bakemono. In many instances,monster descriptions deviate from those found in traditional folklore; these monsters are presented as fantasy races and as creatures inspired by Japanese folklore rather than strict re-creations. Shinto mingles with Buddhism to create a cosmological backdrop for the setting, but a thorough knowledge of either is not necessary.
Another inspiration for Kitsunemori was the chambara genre as represented in comics and animation, which features heroic samurai and masterless ronin bravely crossing swords for the sake of honor.
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