Some “lesser deities” are more popular than their greater counterparts in specific localities, but they cannot compare to the true power of the greater kami.
Bimbogami
Domains: Evil, Trickery.
Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Bimbogami, god of poverty, is described as a filthy old man that brings poverty and ill-fortune to all he encounters.
Ekibiogama
Domains: Evil, Death.
Alignment: Chaotic evil.
Ekibiogama is the god of pestilence and disease. He delights is blighting crops, spreading sickness, and Readers should note that while all of the
kami, Buddhas and bodhisattvas are based on actual gods many of whom are still wor-shipped in the modern world, the versions presented here are fictional. History, myth and folklore have been drawn upon to create a pantheon of gods for use in game-play in Kitsunemori. While the names and features of the deities presented here are those of real-world gods, they should in no way be viewed as representations of historical truth.
Aspects of real deities are blended with pure fabrication to create useful and interesting alternatives to the standard deities provided in the Core Rulebooks.
infecting the healthy. Corruption and contamination are the hallmarks of Ekibiogama.
Emma-O
Domains: Law, Death, Knowledge.
Alignment: Lawful neutral.
Emma-O is a Buddhist deity of the Underworld.
Sometimes he resides in Meifudo, and at other times in Yomi. He is considered to be the king of Hell by Buddhists, and an extremely important deity of Hell by Shintoists. Emma-O is the judge of the dead, and weighs the sins of souls sentenced to the Underworld.
He has no pity, yet always offers impartial judgment.
Emma-O is invoked as a bogey-man by mothers to scare their children into right behavior.
Fudo
Domains: Fire, Knowledge, Protection.
Alignment: Chaotic good.
Fudo is a fiery god who lives on a volcano and is tremendously knowledgeable and wise.
Futen Domain: Air
Alignment: Neutral.
The God of Wind stands atop mountains, long white beard whipping in the wind. Futen carries the several winds trapped in a bag, which he unleashes when the time is right.
Hachiman
Domains: War, Protection.
Alignment: Lawful neutral.
Hachiman is the principal god of war. Where Bishamon is the patron of warriors, Hachiman instead deals with every aspect of warfare and conflict.
Hoderi
Domains: Water, Travel.
Alignment: Lawful neutral.
Hoderi is a god of fishing and the great-grandson of Amaterasu. He is also brother to Hoori.
Hoori
Domains: Animal, Travel.
Alignment: Lawful neutral.
Brother to Hoderi and great-grandson of Amaterasu, Hoori is the god of hunting. He once tried to fish as a challenge to his brother Hoderi and ended up meeting and marrying Otohime, the dragon spirit daughter of the Dragon King Ryujin.
Inari
Domains: Plants, Travel, Protection.
Alignment: Neutral good.
Inari, the God of Rice, has expanded his areas of influence by also becoming a protector of humanity, providing not only nourishment but also security.
Long ago, Inari recruited the aid of kitsune to act as his agents and messengers. Inari is a good-natured deity with the best intentions in mind.
Jizo
Domains: Protection, Good, Healing.
Alignment: Neutral good.
Jizo is a venerable protector of mankind with the ability to bring souls back from Yomi with a snap of his fingers. He’s exceptionally fond of children, and shields them from harm in Yomi. In many places, Jizo is recognized as the God of Children.
Kagutsuchi Domains: Fire.
Alignment: Chaotic evil.
Kagutsuchi is the progeny of Izanagi and Izanami.
During his birth, Kagutsuchi’s flaming body ignited the body of his mother, Izanami. His mother was engulfed in flames and she died as a result. Crazed with grief, his father drew a sword and cut Kagutsuchi into eight
pieces. From the bits of Kagutsuchi’s corpse emerged eight yamatsumi (mountain kami). Kagutsuchi’s soul continues on in the underworld where his aimless anger produces wild firestorms.
Kojin
Domains: Plant, Healing, Protection.
Alignment: Lawful good.
A tree-deity, Kojin is the goddess of the kitchen and everything that happens there. She resides in an enoki tree, and it is custom to not throw away old dolls but to offer them to Kojin by placing them on the roots of an enoki tree.
Koshin
Domains: Luck, Travel.
Alignment: Neutral.
The god of roads is a kami to whom every traveler would be wise to pay homage. Travelers offer little straw horses to Koshin for a safe journey.
Marisha-Ten
Domains: War, Sun, Trickery Alignment: Chaotic neutral.
A goddess war and victory, Marisha-Ten is also a goddess of light, the sun and moon. In her desire to surpass her elders and superiors, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, Marisha-Ten seeks triumph in battle at almost any cost. Employing her eight blade wielding arms and army of ferocious boars, she makes use of deceitful tactics, particularly the arts of invisibility and stealth to gain victory over her enemies.
Monju-Bosatsu
Domains: Good, Knowledge, Protection.
Alignment: Lawful neutral.
A Buddha of education and enlightenment, he bears a sword to cut through all obstacles.
Okuninushi
Domains: Knowledge, Healing, Magic.
Alignment: Lawful neutral.
A patron of onmyouji as well as monks, he is a god of both healing and sorcery.
Raiden
Domains: Air, Fire.
Alignment: Chaotic neutral.
One of the most important god of lightning and thunder, Raiden still bows to Susano-o as the lord of storms. Raiden is master to Raiju (see below), who he rouses during thunderstorms to do the masters bidding.
Ryujin
Domains: Animal, Magic, Water.
Alignment: Lawful neutral.
The Dragon King is the lord of the seas and its creatures (although he stays clear of Susano-o), but also commands the lesser dragons of rivers and lakes.
He is not quite popular in the landlocked Yonhosu Valley, but the river dragons do serve him, and thus many people send offerings to him down the rivers’
currents.
The Seven Lucky Gods
These seven kami are jovial and easygoing, spreading good fortune in their respective fields of interest.
• Benten
Domains: Luck and Good.
Alignment: Neutral good.
Benten is the goddess of love, eloquence, wisdom and the fine arts. She is the spiritual patron of artists and performers.
• Bishamon
Domains: Luck and War.
Alignment: Neutral good.
Bishamon is the patron of the warriors.
He is depicted in full armor with a spear in hand.
• Daikoku
Domains: Luck, Animal, Plant.
Alignment: Neutral good.
A fat god of wealth and patron of farmers, he carries a sack of rice and is followed by a rat companion.
• Ebisu
Domains: Luck, Animal, Water.
Alignment: Neutral good.
Daikoku’s son, Ebisu, is the patron of fishermen.
• Fukurokuju
Domains: Luck, Knowledge, Protection.
Alignment: Neutral good.
The god of wisdom and longevity, he appears as an old man with a very high forehead.
• Hotei
Domains: Luck and Good.
Alignment: Neutral good.
Hotei is another god of wealth, but also the god of laughter and the happiness found in contentment.
• Jurojin
Domains: Luck, Good, Law.
Alignment: Lawful good.
A god of the happiness found in the old ways.
Shoko-o
Domains: Death.
Alignment: Chaotic neutral.
One of the ten kings of Hell, though not actually a demon, Shoko-o is among the rulers of the Underworld.
Unlike Emma-O, his sphere of influence includes only a small part of the Underworld. Shoko-o seeks to extend his authority, and so allies himself with demons to tip the balance of power in the Underworld in his favor.
Uzume
Domains: Good, Plant, Healing.
Alignment: Neutral good.
A goddess of fertility, merriment, dance and the arts, she is famous for performing a dance for Amaterasu to lure her back into the world. In an age before man, Amaterasu fled from the world despondent over her endless conflict with her sibling Susano-o. As Amaterasu, the incarnation of the sun, sealed herself in a cave, the world was plunged into darkness. Kami from all corners of existence attempted to reason with Amaterasu and coax her out of her hiding place, but she categorically refused. Fearful that the sun might never rise again, the other kami asked Uzume to help.
Uzume hung a huge bronze mirror from a tree outside the cave in which Amaterasu was hiding. Then clad in flowers and leaves, Uzume overturned a washtub and began to dance on top of it, drumming with her feet. Amaterasu was unmoved, and so Uzume finally cast off the leaves and flowers to dance naked. The kami howled with laughter and delight, and aroused Amaterasu’s curiosity. As Amaterasu peeked from her dark hiding place, rays of light escaped the cave and were reflected in the large bronze mirror. The Sun Goddess was dazzled by her own reflection, and kami took advantage of the moment by seizing and dragging Amaterasu from the cave. The joy and mer-riment inspired by Uzume’s dance lifted Amaterasu’s spirits and her depression lifted. Agreeing to restore her light to the world, Amaterasu returned to the sky and Uzume was forever after acknowledged as the
Bringer of the Dawn. Uzume is the patron of dancers and entertainers, and is honored as the originator of dancing.
Spirits
These divine beings are not quite deities, but their power and origin are comparable. Some are individu-als, while others are a species. They may have shrines devoted to them but they do not offer special favor to anyone worshipping them.
Hotoke: These are the spirits of dead Buddhas, and spirits of important figures. Every hotoke is a distinct individual.
Koki-Teno: Koki-Teno is a female kitsune whose origins are shrouded in mystery. She is revered by the foxes after Inari, with the nogitsune being her most devout followers. Little is known about Koki-Teno, and her intentions are unclear, but she is admired by kitsune, myobu and nogitsune alike. She is a symbol of the divine possibilities inherent in the spirit foxes, and ambitious kitsune look to her example.
Otohime: The daughter of Ryujin, she is a dragon that regularly assumes the form of an extremely beautiful young woman. She is also wife to Hoori, kami of hunters.
Raiju: A thunder beast that belongs to Raiden. Raiju can take many forms, but travels the sky as a ball of fire and lightning. His thunderous roar rumbles through the clouds during storms. Usually calm and at rest, Raiju becomes agitated during thunderstorms and leaps about the sky, striking out at trees, fields and even buildings. Buildings struck by lightning are believed to have been raked by Raiju’s claws. Legends speak of Raiju and his many odd behaviors, the strangest of which is probably his habit of sleeping in human navels. If Raiju is provoked by a storm while resting on a person’s stomach, they can be severely harmed, and so superstitions dictate that people sleep on their stomachs during bad weather to deny Raiju their navel.
Sennin: Wise mountain hermits that have acquired tremendous supernatural powers and insight. They have attained such power that they are no longer completely human, and are sometimes referred to as
“the Undying”. Sennin possess the secrets of immor-tality, and so are sought by the avaricious, desperate and fearful to answer questions on the mysteries of life and death.