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They spoke no words The visitor, the host And the white chrysanthemum -Oshima Ryota Kikumasamune (菊正宗) A bow constructed completely of small sheets of white paper folded into slender, arching, petals. Its namesake, the chrysanthemum, is a favored flower to gift others, especially among nobillity. The flower symbolizes longevity, devotion, and lasting bonds. This artifact is rumored to originate somewhere within the shinobi continents. Ages ago, it was gifted to the Fú family by their Xiāo liege for their enduring loyalty. It was since kept as a Fú family relic, stashed away in the mystic house's coffers in its formless state. As record of Kikumasamune's attributes became lost to memory, it waited dormant until the exile of nobles from Dragon Country. Taking whatever riches in hand, the persecuted mystics returned Kikumasamune to its home continent with the intention of selling it. The bow itself is an exemplary example of time-lost craftsmanship. Each of the thousand-plus sheets of paper are inscribed with runes of invisible ink. They operate in harmony at the command of their wielder, taking on the form of a lithe bow as well as its piercing arrows. A peculiarity of the bow is its innate rhythm- like the fall-blooming chrysanthemum, every fourth arrow scatters in a brilliant flurry of pointed paper petals. Weapon Type: Bow Size: Large Level: 10 [$280] Attributes: -Chakra Blade: Attacks made with this weapon cost chakra instead of stamina. [$50] -Hidden: This item may not be the target of abilities until it's used in battle. [$50] -Inlaid Element [Paper]: This weapon's damage is now considered to be of X Element. This ability may only be applied once per weapon. Restrictions: X element may not be greater than a tier 1 Combinatorial Element. May not be taken with any elements that have requirements aside the Subtle Elements skills without explicit Staff Approval. [$100] Special: -Devotion: This weapon takes up only 1 item slot as a thick pad of blank paper. This weapon is created when drawn for the first time in the Setup Phase. The wielder's non-hybrid Paper ninjutsu are seal-less while Kikumasamune is equipped.[$190] -Autumn Bloom: Damage from every fourth basic weapon attack with Kikumasamune is dealt as an AOE that does not target allies. [$250] Cost: $950

A Fú's Luck|福家福 This is a given name, for the Fú family lacked a name for their peculiar talents. Rather, this sobriquet started as a common saying in jest or jealousy regarding anyone's exceptional luck (good or bad), immortalized over millennia by Dragon Country scholars and historians. These enigmatic mystics are able to quite literally push their luck, attaining incredible feats no matter the odds. Luck however, does seem to balance out for these wily nobles as after a streak of defying fate, they appear to succumb to a period of general malaise before returning to their lucky selves. Effect: Character gains an additional tank stat called 'Luck.' Luck is gained at a rate of 10 luck per character level. If the character's Luck reaches 0, set the character's Chakra and Stamina to 0 until Luck regenerates. Luck does not regenerate until between threads, or per GM discretion. For every thread the character spends their luck, at the end of the thread (or at any other point in the thread per GM discretion), the character makes a Bad Luck Roll: Roll a 1d20 and add their remaining luck percentage (100(remaining luck/total luck)). This skill cannot be taken if the character has hindering skills that grant roll penalties or increase fail chance. Requirements: Fú Family [Hereditary] Cost: -1 Super Luck | 強運 Even when staring down the head-cleaving ax of their executioners, historical records note some Fú earn a stay of execution after everything else goes wrong. Maybe the court ran out of pikes to display fresh heads, the undertaker experienced an unshakable bout of extreme food poisoning, or the weather's just so horrible that the assembled crowd isn't deemed impressive enough for their noble blood to spill. Regardless, circumstance allows these Fú to see the light of at least another day. Effect: As a free action in the phase the roll is made, the user may spend 10(100/x) Luck to increase or decrease the result of that dice roll by 1. x is equal to the number of sides the dice has. A dice roll can only be manipulated by up to 5/(100/x) integers, rounded down with a minimum of 1. The final die value cannot be below 1, or above the die’s maximum value. The skill effect must be announced in the dice roll ‘reason’ before the roll is made. This ability can be used once per rank in this skill. This skill cannot be combined with other roll-augmenting effects. Requirements: A Fú 's Luck Cost: -2 for rank 1; -1 for additional ranks Ranks: 8; gained once every 10 levels. Double or Nothing |走極端 Fortune seems to favor Fú caught in dire situations. Sometimes though, they can put too much on the line. It is in the most trying times that these mystics achieve their most odds-defying feats. Effect: The user may pay 150 Luck after making a dodge roll. Attempt the roll again, treating the incoming attack dealing double total damage and effects (round up, status effects can break max turn durations and battle limits through this skill) and cite this skill in the second roll's comments. The second roll must be used. This second roll cannot be augmented with Super Luck or any other roll-augmenting effects. Double or Nothing cannot be combined with any other effects that grant additional dodge rolls. Usable once per battle per rank. Pay 300 luck when using the second rank. Requirements: A Fú 's Luck Cost: -2 Ranks: 2 [Rank 1 available at level 25; Rank 2 available at level 75] Lucky Eight | 囍 The most auspicious number there is for the Fú. It looks like a stylized version of the character for happiness, and when spoken in their language, sounds like the word for 'wealth.' Seeing it anywhere can bring a rush of joy. Effect: Regenerate choice of 8x chakra or 8x stamina any time an 8 shows up in the character's final rolls. At 25% health or lower, the character may choose to regenerate 8x health instead of the above chakra or stamina. x= ninja rank. Requirements: Fú Family Cost: -1

The Fú Family (福家) "福无重至,祸不单行." -"Fortune never comes in twos; misfortune never comes alone." Origin: Lóng Xiāngcūn (龙乡村) (Dragon Country), an often uncharted far-east island country in the Eastern Ocean. Village: Villageless, but a majority of their exodus washed ashore on Mizu no Kuni due to the two island countries’ location in the Eastern Ocean. Others continued sailing in pursuit of their Xiao imperial masters that formed a pact with Hi no Kuni. Allegiance: The Xiāo Imperial Family (霄帝国遗迹). Since the downfall, the family has fragmented and separated from their traditional roles and obligations. Some households chose to reunite with their fated masters and continue interpreting the will of heaven for the Xiāo in exile. Other households chose to follow their own luck, staking out a living telling fortunes to laymen and teaching the family’s ancient arts to those worthy. Current Head: None, the most recent matriarch Fú Wúliàng (福无亮) was imprisoned by the new ruling body of Dragon Country. Whether she still lives is unknown. Age: Ancient. Records of the Fú have existed for thousands of years. Status: Revered when the Xiāo family was in power, now detested in their country of origin. The Fú are unknown within the shinobi nations. Population: Fú heritage can be hard to define. Centuries of lineages are readily found on records, but the question is what defines a Fú- how many generations removed is this person from the emperor's side? Countless descendants have married into all facets of Dragon Country's nobility. The number of houses still loyally gazing to the stars numbers few. Bloodline: None Emblem: Traditional Stylized Role and History: The Fú family served the Xiāo family since the dragon-born warriors began their heaven-mandated rule. Where the Xiāo enforced their cosmic decree, the Fú were at their sides interpreting it. Harbingers, the Fú are traditionally retained as court advisers for their divinations and readings. On a lesser note, many Fú become noteworthy poets, philosophers, and artists. The mystical family is intertwined with the longstanding culture and traditions of Dragon Country. It is considered that wedding a Fú woman brings imperial families good luck and many sons. Fú descendants have married in and out of the Xiāo line and other noble families over generations to maintain a high status in the imperial court. Superstitious and scrutinizing, the Fú determine fate and fortune from weather patterns, charts of celestial and planetary alignments, and even the dregs of withered tea leaves at the bottom of a drained cup. Matchmakers, the unions of noble houses are destined by heaven's hand. They attend all noble births, as the Fú are believed to predict the destiny of great future warriors and venerable emperors by the knots of the newborn’s umbilical cord. Likewise, the Fú also attend deaths among nobility, so that the deceased can continue to enjoy wealth, fortune, and exalted status in the afterlife. On the battlefield, traditional roles of the Fú mystics included offering rites to their warrior ancestors, blessing blades, and determining auspicious signs that dictate the passage of war. The Fú are supernaturally lucky. Fate seems to smile on them in uncanny ways. Perhaps it lends truth to the tale that the heavens gifted foresight onto this line of mystics, or they are merely harvesting the carefully-grown fruits of their superstitions. Regardless, there are many eyewitness records of a Fú dodging the grasp of death's door by nary a hair, a Fú turning a fortune over a night of loss-less gambling, or even a Fú stumbling into the bakery at closing time to find the last of their favorite pastries for sale. The traditional 'throne' for the Fú houses is the seat of High Diviner in the Xiāo Imperial Court. The title is a lifetime appointment for the mystic until death. The High Diviner serves the Emperor and his court, reading Dragon Country's future from the cues left by heaven's will. The High Diviner lives a enigmatic and cloistered existence, scarcely visible to the public eye as they exit the darkness of their temple only to study the stars from the palace pavilion. Narrow paths of marble laid out across the palace complex dictate the very steps the High Diviner can walk. After years of bloody civil war that left the imperial Xiāo family exiled across the seas to the west, the Fú remained in attempt to maintain their high positions in ruling courts. Common men succeeded in the power vacuum, and although they strived for democratic policies, they still looked to traditional oracles for advice. Ultimately, the Mandate of Heaven that answered the Fú’s divinations demanded the Dragon’s sons return to their righteous rule, and the false emperor deposed once more. This caused the new leaders of Dragon Country to shun the words of cosmic order as false, and countless Fú were slaughtered as heretics or imprisoned on charges of practicing witchcraft and stirring rebellion. In the end, what remained of the proud Fú households fled to their ships, scattering to westward waves as they landed on shores of unknown lands. Characteristics: The Fú are often thin and frail, especially compared to the full-bodied martial arts their Xiāo masters hone. Rather, members of the family favor scholarly pursuits and care not for dirtying their hands. Born into nobility, the Fú do not see themselves as the common man, believing the family continues to be blessed with guiding mankind according to cosmic decrees. However, the Fú also do not see themselves as fit to rule. Heaven mandated them as interpreters, not rulers. Historically, all Fú declined the throne if inheritance fell to them. After their exodus, the Fú readily live among the laypeople but observe them as curious subjects. They seek royalty and noble clans in their journey, hoping to continue serving ruling ‘kings’ and maintaining their high-born lineage. The Fú are often seen donning white ceremonial robes with gold embellishments. Descendants born with exceptional divination talent take on star-shaped pupils. It is said to symbolize the intersection of heaven and earth, that an earthly being is born with eyes already peering into the heavens. Much like their family name, the Fú are known to have uncannily good luck and enjoy both longevity and good health. However, their first names are meant to convey a sense of melancholy or emptiness. This is done according to the belief that since their family name carries great luck, they must balance their legacy with earthly burdens so that the heavens do not become envious of beings on earth. An example is that of their imprisoned matriarch- Fú Wúliàng (福无亮), whose first name roughly translates to mean "Lightless, or without shine." While all Fú can become talented diviners, council within the family falls mostly on matriarchal lines. The youth are expected to always defer to the wishes of their elders, and one’s parents are to be venerated above all… except maybe the righteous Xiāo emperor.

Ancestral Familiar The Fú have maintained thousand-year relationships with their summoning familiars. From an early age, Fú summoners are taught to respect the longstanding celestial covenants they cultivate. There are centuries of rigorous statutes detailing misuse and mistreatment of the summoning pacts that every Fú commits to memory before learning summoning rites. As a result, the summoning call of a Fú family member is well-respected across summoning realms, and at times summons of great power respond to the call of a novice Fú. Effect: Add +5 to summoning rolls made by this character. The technique Kuchiyose no Jutsu may be purchased at gennin rank for 4JP. The character's first rank of Contract Manager pay be purchased at level 15 for -2SP. Character must meet normal rank/level requirements for additional ranks of Contract Manager. Restrictions: The skill taker may not have any hindering skills that negatively affect summoning rolls, chakra, stamina, or ninjutsu. Requires Fú family membership. SP: -2 - Advanced System: Invocation of the Four Degrees [占卜四度, Zhānbǔ Sìdù] Deactivating any Invocation degree requires a full setup phase. Deactivating a degree of Invocation deactivates all higher degrees of Invocation. Invocation degrees must be activated in ascending order. Each Invocation degree requires a full setup phase to activate. The summoner pays 5% chakra and stamina for activation, and then 5% chakra and stamina per turn afterwards as upkeep. Invocation: First Degree [Unity of Heaven and Earth] Within the Fú, heaven and earth speak as one. The energies of Fú summoners are able to resonate on the same mystical plane as their allied summons, granting their partners a fraction of their own essence. On the shinobi continent, the celestial plane regarded by the Fú is referred to as the sagely regions. Effect: On any turn that the user would regenerate chakra or stamina, they may instead divide that regeneration evenly between themselves and any summons they currently control. Chakra and stamina regeneration are calculated separately in this manner. This includes any advanced regeneration of the summoner. Requirements: Ancestral Familiar SP: -2 Invocation: Second Degree [Earthly Empowerment] The realm of men empowers their own. As the energy of summons is considered celestial, they receive no boon for existing on the earthly plane. The Fú summoners are able to alter that, using runes and incantations traditionally used to bolster the luck of men just as efficiently on their partnered species. Effect: A summon under the user’s control gains +4x to its accuracy and defense, where x = the user’s level. This may not raise a summon’s accuracy by more than 1.5 times its base stat. Each rank empowers one of the summoner's summons on the field. SP -3 Ranks: 3 Invocation: Third Degree [Heavenly Empowerment] The rule of heaven is borrowed. Kuchiyose roughly interpreted means ‘to draw in spirits so they may speak,’ and the Fú have mastered just that over the long centuries of their servitude. An aura is often observed around the summoner at this point in the Invocation, one with the color and characteristics of the summon family’s element. The summoner is able to draw in the elements of the summon into their own body, and wield it using a shared wisdom. Effect: The summoner gains the starting elements of the summons they have on the field. The summoner cannot apply Subtle Elements bonuses to tier 1 elements learned in this manner if the summoner does not possess the Subtle Elements skill. The summoner may purchase up to 10x JP (per rank in this skill) worth of techniques from summons on the field under their control, and those learned techniques must be publicly posted in a ledger at the end of the summoner’s post where this skill is activated. Summer must meet any requirements for techniques learned in this way. Techniques may be learned in this manner as a free action in any of the summoner’s phases. The techniques ledger is cleared at the end of the battle, or if Invocation: Third Degree is deactivated. SP: -2 for the first rank, -1 for additional ranks Ranks: 4, may be taken every 15 levels. Invocation: Fourth Degree [Cosmic Judgement] The rule of heaven moves the hand of man. The Fú summoner continues to serve as a medium for the summon’s celestial energies. Beyond just shared wisdom, the summoner begins to take on physical traits of the summon families they partner with. In this state, the Fú summoner can dictate the wisdom of the ages and receive the celestial decree directly from the mouth of heaven. Effect: The summoner may purchase up to 3 SP worth of skills from a summon in their control on the field, where x is the summoner’s rank in this skill.) The summoner must meet any requirements or restrictions for the summon’s skills. Skills learned in this manner must be publicly posted in a ledger at the end of the summoner’s post where this skill is activated. Skills may be purchased in this manner as a free action in any of the summoner’s phases. The skills gained using this skill are refunded and the ledger cleared at the end of the battle, or if Invocation: Fourth Degree is deactivated. No path skills may be learned in this manner. SP: -2 per rank Ranks: 3, may be taken every 30 levels.