Summoned by the Shrine
A letter bearing a vermilion seal requests capable aid at a mountain shrine where sacred wards are weakening and pilgrims have vanished.
Campaign Overview
Campaign Premise
In a high-fantasy world inspired by Japanese mythology, the border between the mortal realm and the spirit world has begun to thin. Sacred groves whisper with kami voices, fox-masks appear in abandoned shrines, and rivers run with a strange jade glow. The party begins in a province ruled by tradition, honor, and uneasy omens, where local protectors fear an ancient seal is failing.
Tone
- Mythic and reverent, with moments of eerie wonder
- Honor, duty, ancestry, and the burden of vows
- Spirit-haunted forests, mountain shrines, moonlit roads, and courtly intrigue
Core Themes
- The balance between humans and spirits
- Sacred places tainted by greed or fear
- Cleverness, restraint, and courage over brute force
- The cost of breaking old pacts
Act I Focus
Act I opens with a village and shrine district afflicted by unnatural omens. The party investigates disturbances tied to a forgotten seal beneath an ancient torii gate, confronts the first servants of the hidden threat, and learns that the region’s spiritual balance is being deliberately unraveled.
Player Handout
Welcome to the Provinces of the Jade Torii
You are travelers, guardians, pilgrims, or outsiders drawn to a land where ancestors are honored, shrines are never entered lightly, and the forest is never truly empty. In recent weeks, omens have grown severe: lantern flames burn blue, fox tracks appear on temple steps, and villagers hear singing in the rain.
A local shrine has sent word for aid. Something has disturbed the old protections that keep the mortal world and the spirit world in balance. The people fear a cursed presence in the hills, but the oldest priests whisper of something worse: a human hand behind the failing wards.
You begin your journey at the edge of the shrine province, beneath cedar boughs and a moon that seems too bright.
Free Act I Preview
Whispers Beneath the Jade Torii
Act I is a local mystery and spiritual pressure-cooker. The party arrives in a rural shrine province where crops sour, lanterns flicker blue, and pilgrims report foxfire in the hills. A central villain, Priestess Kurogiri, is secretly siphoning sacred power from an old torii seal to awaken a bound spirit beneath the mountain. The act should feel investigative first, then escalate to shrine defense and a short delve into tainted grounds. Keep encounters mobile and atmospheric; the enemy is not yet fully revealed, but her influence is everywhere.
Adventure Hooks
Omen of Foxfire
Each character has seen strange foxfire, heard drums in empty rain, or received a dream of a broken torii gate glowing jade under moonlight.
Act Structure
Act I: The Broken Ward of the Jade Torii
Recommended level: 1-3The first act introduces the shrine province, the spiritual imbalance affecting the land, and the hidden human hand behind the omens. The party investigates missing offerings, haunted fields, and a sacred grove before confronting the ritual at the mountain torii. Act I should establish the campaign’s mythic tone and reveal that a greater bound force lies beneath the region.
Objectives
- Investigate local omens and missing offerings
- Protect the shrine village from spirit-tainted threats
- Expose the source of the ward’s corruption
- Interrupt the ritual at the old torii gate
Lanterns at the Village Shrine
Lanterns flicker in the dusk as villagers bow to the roadside shrine. Someone has tied fresh paper charms to every post, yet the wind still carries a faint smell of rain and incense gone sour.
Open with atmosphere and social pressure. Let the party hear three concerns: missing offerings, foxfire in the fields, and pilgrims avoiding the mountain road. This is a clue-rich introduction, not a combat scene.
Checks
- Wisdom (Insight) DC 10 to read the village fear
- Intelligence (Religion) DC 12 to notice the shrine ward has been tampered with
- Charisma (Persuasion) DC 11 to calm a worried witness
Clues
- Offerings have been stolen rather than lost
- The trouble centers on the mountain route
- Someone with shrine knowledge is involved
Transitions
- Leads to the rice fields encounter
- Leads to the cedar grove investigation
The Cedar Grove Investigation
The cedar trunks rise like temple pillars, and prayer strips hang motionless despite the breeze. Beneath the roots, someone has dug carefully and hidden the earth with ash.
This scene should feel like a desecrated sanctuary. The party can find signs of secret rites, footprints, and cut prayer cords before the ambush or before moving on to the torii.
Checks
- Wisdom (Perception) DC 12 to notice hidden tracks
- Intelligence (Investigation) DC 12 to identify ritual ash and incense residue
- Dexterity (Stealth) DC 11 to approach unseen
Clues
- The ritual used stolen shrine materials
- The culprit knows how to work around protections
- A map fragment points toward the mountain gate
Transitions
- Leads to the cedar grove ambush
- Leads to the mountain torii
Moonlit Rite at the Torii
The old gate stands cracked but defiant, its paint faded to black by time and weather. Yet below it, jade light pulses from the stone like a second heartbeat beneath the earth.
This is the act’s climax. Give the party a chance to interrupt the rite before it completes. If they act cleverly, allow disabling the focus or turning the area’s sacred symbols against the villain.
Checks
- Strength (Athletics) DC 12 to destroy a ritual support stone
- Intelligence (Arcana) DC 12 to understand the ward’s structure
- Charisma (Religion) DC 13 to call on local sacred tradition and weaken the rite
Clues
- The villain is channeling power from beneath the mountain
- The seal is older than the current shrine order
- Act I’s threat is only the surface of a deeper spirit conflict
Transitions
- Leads to the final encounter
- Ends Act I with the ward weakened or restored
Milestone: The party advances to level 3 after stopping the rite at the mountain torii and learning the true scale of the spiritual threat.
Villain Character Sheets
Priestess Kurogiri
Completed
Priestess Kurogiri is the kind of villain who does not need to raise her voice because she has already arranged the room, the ritual, and t…
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Priestess Kurogiri Character Sheet
Motivation
Kurogiri believes the old boundary between mortal life and the spirit world is unjustly rigid. By draining shrine wards and awakening a bound mountain spirit, she intends to remake the province under a new spiritual order she can control.
Personality
Soft-spoken, patient, and terrifyingly calm. She speaks as if she is correcting a mistake, not committing a crime. Her anger is quiet, ceremonial, and absolute.
Resources
- A hidden cell of shrine defectors and frightened acolytes
- Corrupted rites linked to stolen offerings and prayer charms
- Knowledge of local ward-stones and old shrine paths
- A partial bond with the spirit sealed beneath the mountain
Battle Plan
Kurogiri avoids direct confrontation until the ritual is nearly complete. She uses minions to delay intruders, then attacks from cover with protective magic and spiritual pressure. If the battle turns against her, she tries to destroy the ward focus and escape into hidden shrine tunnels.
Defeat or Redemption
If defeated, her records and rites reveal the larger campaign threat beneath the mountain. If confronted with evidence of the spirit’s suffering and the cost of her plan, she may hesitate, allowing the party a brief chance to redeem her or force a reluctant retreat.
Running Notes
Recommended party: 3-5 characters
Session Zero
Discuss tone first: this campaign draws from Japanese mythology and shrine culture, so treat sacred symbols, spirits, and customs with respect. Ask players what elements they want emphasized—mystery, samurai honor, yokai folklore, court intrigue, or monster hunting. Set boundaries for horror, spirit possession, religious imagery, and harm to innocents. Encourage players to create reasons to respect local traditions even if their characters are outsiders.
Scaling Guidance
For smaller or less combat-focused groups, reduce each encounter by one minion and allow clues to replace some combat resolution. For stronger groups, increase enemy numbers slightly or add environmental complications such as collapsing steps, deeper water, or ritual hazards. Keep the villain mobile in Act I; her goal is to delay, not die here.
DM Advice
Use strong visual contrasts: clean white paper charms, dark cedar forests, red torii gates, blue foxfire, and moonlit rain. Keep clues visible and repeat important names or symbols. Let combat feel like a spiritual disturbance, not just a dungeon crawl. The best Act I scenes mix investigation, atmosphere, and one decisive confrontation.
Secrets & Clues
- The ward is being drained through stolen offerings.
- The shrine culprit understands the old seals better than most priests.
- The mountain spirit below the torii is bound, not freed.
- Foxfire marks places where the veil between worlds is thin.
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Encounters
Foxfire in the Rice Fields
Encounter Builder
Moderate
Suggested Level: 1-2
At dusk, pale lights drift between flooded paddies as small spirit-things and predators stalk the road. The party must protect a terrified farmer while learning the first signs of corruption.
Creatures
Terrain Features
- Flooded rice paddies count as difficult terrain in shallow sections
- Raised dikes provide narrow movement lanes
- Lantern posts can be used as half cover
Treasure
A charm pouch with 15 gp worth of shrine offerings and a handwritten clue about stolen incense.
DM Notes
Use the wolves as hungry beasts drawn by fear and tainted scent, not as mindless killers. If the party is weak, remove one wolf. If strong, add a fourth wolf.
Cedar Grove Ambush
Encounter Builder
High
Suggested Level: 2-3
Masked cult attendants and warped shrine guardians attempt to drive the party away from a sacred grove where someone is performing secret rites beneath the trees.
Creatures
Cult Fanatic
SRD
· CR 2
· Humanoid
Cultist
Count 2
SRD
· CR 1/8
· Humanoid
Skeleton
Count 2
SRD
· CR 1/4
· Undead
Terrain Features
- Dense cedar trunks create plentiful half cover
- Hanging prayer strips can be cut to create distractions
- A small stone stream forces careful movement
Treasure
A jade prayer bead, 25 gp, and a torn map fragment showing a hidden stair near the mountain torii.
DM Notes
This is the first clear sign of organized human involvement. Reduce difficulty by removing one skeleton or cultist. Increase it by giving the Cult Fanatic a defensive position behind cover.
The Torii Under Moonlight
Encounter Builder
High
Suggested Level: 2-3
Beneath the ancient gate, the party confronts a corrupt rite already in progress as spirit energy surges through cracked stone and the seal begins to fail.
Creatures
Terrain Features
- The torii foundation is split by glowing jade fissures
- Bright moonlight creates stark shadow patches for concealment
- Broken steps and fallen stones make climbing and retreat hazardous
Treasure
A sanctified talisman, a rolled scroll describing the old seal, and a small coffer of 50 gp in mixed coin and shrine plates.
DM Notes
This encounter should feel like a crisis scene, not a room-clearing fight. If the party arrives late or is struggling, the rite can be interrupted after two rounds by destroying a focus stone.
Magic Items
Foxfire Lantern
Completed
Foxfire Lantern
Uncommon
This paper-and-brass lantern sheds pale blue light and reveals invisible or spirit-touched tracks within its glow. It often hangs in roadside shrines used by travelers at night.
Location
Act I: Shrine district and village market
Attunement
False
Talisman of Steady Prayer
Completed
Talisman of Steady Prayer
Common
A woven cord charm that steadies the bearer’s resolve. While carried, it helps its owner resist fear, doubt, and spiritual interference at sacred sites.
Location
Act I: Reward from High Priestess Ayanami
Attunement
False
Blade of the Quiet Grove
Completed
Blade of the Quiet Grove
Uncommon
A finely balanced short sword with a cedar hilt and etched prayer script. It hums softly near undead or corrupted spirit energy, guiding its wielder through danger.
Location
Act I: Hidden shrine cache beneath the cedar grove
Attunement
True; attunement by a creature proficient with martial or simple weapons
Player Characters
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