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Bushido is an oriental fantasy tabletop miniature battle game for two players. Each player commands a force of no more than a handful of individuals, represented by 32mm metal miniatures. These forces meet on the battlefield and the players try to outwit, outfight and outlive the opposing force and fulfil their battle objectives while denying the enemy theirs. If you have played tabletop miniature games before, Bushido falls into the ‘skirmish game’ category: all miniatures represent individuals and your force consists of a small group of unique characters rather than a large faceless army. A game of Bushido is fast-moving, flexible and filled with strategizing, counter-strategizing and counter-counter-strategizing. Your tactical acumen is important, but as dice add an element of randomness, so too is your ability to think on your feet. A typical game of Bushido takes between one and two hours to play – more if you are new to the game, less if you are a seasoned veteran. In the world of Bushido, there are many factions fighting for supremacy. Some of these forces are committed to keeping the delicate balance of the Ki forces permeating the universe, whereas other forces wish to upset and even destroy the Ki balance of the universe in order to achieve their own nefarious purposes. Whilst others bide their time, waiting for the opportunity to strike. In any given battle, a Bushido player takes on the part of one of these factions. Below you will find descriptions of those factions, but we recomment our 2-players starter set as an entry point. This starter contains all you need for you and a friend to try the game out, including an unabridged rulebook:
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In the shadows and dark corners of the world, the worshippers of Yurei are gathering force. The many members of this Cult may not even be aware that they are serving the same dark masters, but serve them they do – the Yurei Bargain, which in its various forms allows control over life and death, has proven a temptation to many different people who would otherwise have nothing in common. In the Cult of Yurei, you may think yourself the master of your own Fate but you are always advancing the unfathomable goals of dark unseen masters. Even a puppet master has someone pulling his strings...
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The Ito have long been the laughing stock of the ruling clans. Never quite able to understand that it is their own flaws which hold their greater ambitions back. Being untrustworthy is synonymous with the Ito in the Jwar Isles; their support of the Shiho’s rise to power followed by their treacherous role in the Dragon Wars against the very same clan, highlights their fickle nature. Now though the Ito on the island of Izu have gone through a transformation, their alliance with an age old and powerful Kami has imbued them with a new found strength. If it was the Kami that caused the snake like changes or whether it has simply exaggerated the Ito’s natural affinity is unknown. What is sure is that the Ito finally have the power to rise against the other clans and avenge the mockery and mistreatment they have suffered. |
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When years passed without word of the Jung, they were considered lost, their return under the mon of the giant squid surprised everyone. They have reaped what they need from the traders on the seas of the Jwar Isles, forcing the Shiho, the leaders of the Prefecture at that time, to label them pirates. Their fleets are faster and their knowledge of the Isles’ waters unparalleled by all but perhaps the Carp clan, allowing them to evade the larger, less experienced junks of the Prefecture. Long years away from the courts of the Jwar Isles have left the Jung rough around the edges but they have not forgotten their ancestry.
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The Minimoto clan are as stoic and unweilding as the Iron Mountains they call home. Unparalleled masters of metal craft and the arts of metallurgy and mining. The great mountain not only provides the clan's wealth but also its protection. This great clan, whose loyalty was once unquestioned by the Takashis, has grown distant of late. Rumours spread of the Old Bear rousing from too many long winters, slumbering in his mountain halls, and he is hungry. So long on the fringes of the 'civiised' world have left the Bear clan without the need or taste for the frivolities of the court, 'The Bear does not dance', but he does fight, and there are few that can oppose its fury. |
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They take the form of evil creatures of myth and folklore. From where they come or why, no-one knows, but one thing is for certain, the wave crushes everything in its path. The Oni and Bakemono demon-creatures that make up the bulk of the Savage Wave appear bent on the destruction of humankind and all that is holy, but they are not mindless – as many opponents have found out at great pain, the Savage Wave is cunning and organized, and it operates according to its own weird and unknowable logic. Some mad hermits and outcast scholars whisper that this is not the first Savage Wave...
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The once proud and dominant Shiho had ruled the Isles since the time of the eighth Emperor, before the Takashi led an uprising against them. Led by Shiho Hiroto, 'The Black Eagle', their affiliation is to no one and his return has now rallied the fading remnants of the Shiho, like fresh wood on the dying embers of a fire. The Prefecture may play down the strength and resources of the Shiho, it certainly had clipped the Eagle's wings during the Dragon Wars, but any within the Takashi clan that take solace from this have surely never seen an eagle fight beak and claw on the ground. One thing is for sure, the storm is brewing and the Black Eagle will be at its crest. |
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The thriving port of Jima is the beating heart of the Silvermoon Trade Syndicate’s operations. For generations the merchants of the syndicate have been the trade life blood of the Jwar isles. From the great gambling halls, where fortunes are won or lost, on the roll of a single dice or the draw of a card. Their power lies not the in military might of the Ito, Takashi or Minimoto but in the stranglehold they have on trade. And not only the trade of goods, but of the secrets and whispers of even the most pious. Some would liken the Silvermoon to the flip of a coin. Pay your debts and you come up in the sun with the fortunes smiling, cross or try to cheat them and you’ll be in the dark and covered in dirt. |
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The serene martial artist masters of the Ro-Kan have long viewed themselves as above all mortal and mundane conflicts. Now, following the Han civil war, the rise of the Cult of Yurei, and the incursion of the Savage Wave, the monks of Ro-Kan are being dragged into the clandestine wars of universal balance – a war in which they will reluctantly turn out to be key players. The monks follow an age-old path and know the secrets of Ki better than any others, but they are few and divided – will they be able to unite and join forces before it is too late? |
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For countless cycles the elders of the mountain have watched and waited, their quiet vigil in the high places of the world unbroken. Silently they have overseen the rise and fall of innumerable clans, the petty squabbles of mortals bare no relevance to their goal. Gifted with generations of knowledge passed down through the written teachings of the Koroko Shisai and oral histories of the Karasu Shugenja they hold the secrets of the world in their lofty homes. Now stirred into action, one can only imagine the danger that looms that has rustled the Tengu to war.
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