THE STORY
Story & Missions
Big Game Story
RONIN — THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR
Japan — 1603
The great Shogun has fallen.
With his death the empire broke apart. Once-mighty clans wage war for supremacy, while masterless samurai – the Ronin – roam the land.
But together with the Shogun, Japan’s most powerful weapon vanished as well.
Kagekiri — “The Shadow Cutter”
Legend holds that this blade can only be wielded by a worthy leader.
Loyal retainers of the Shogun hid it deep inside a shrine on a remote hill.
For centuries the Ronin have guarded this place.
Not to possess the blade…
but to make sure it never falls into the wrong hands.
Today two clans stand against each other.
Each believes itself worthy.
But only one will open the shrine.
Big Game Factions
Clan Akai (Red)
A clan steeped in tradition, laying rightful claim to the blade.
Clan Aoi (Blue)
A rising clan seeking to unite the empire under its own leadership.
The Ronin
The third faction.
They belong to no one.
They fight by their own code.
They step in whenever they believe one of the clans is growing too powerful.
Big Game Side Missions
The Banners of the Provinces
(permanent side mission)
Story: Five banners are spread across the entire playing field. They mark the borders of the old provinces.
Objective:
- Throughout the whole weekend, both clans can capture these banners at any time
Points:
- Every controlled flag scores points
This makes it worthwhile at any point to send small squads out to capture the banners.
The Wrath of the Daimyō
Story: Not every battle is decided with the blade. The clans have moved their siege weapons into position. Now what counts is skill, accuracy and teamwork.
Objective:
- Using a rubber catapult, balloons filled with paint are fired at a target
- Red fires red paint grenades
- Blue fires blue paint grenades
Operation:
- The catapult can be operated alone or by up to 3 players
Points:
- Every hit on the target = one point for the respective clan
Hit. Leave your colour. Score the point.
Big Game Missions
DAY 1 – “The Way of the Warrior”
Mission 1 – The Call of the Shogun
Story: The Shogun’s death has shaken the empire. Before word reached every province, the last conscription scrolls were sent out to loyal samurai. Now it falls to each clan to gather its warriors and unite them under the banner of its general.
Only a fully assembled clan is worthy of walking the way of the warrior.
Objective:
- Both generals start the mission in their HQ (starting point)
- Spread across the playing field are 30 conscription scrolls for Clan Akai and 30 conscription scrolls for Clan Aoi
- Each player may only carry one scroll at a time
- The scroll must be brought to your own general and handed over to him in person (the general is now out on the field)
Points:
- For every scroll delivered and lying in the crate
Mission 2 – The Trial of the Ancestors
Story: Before a clan may set out for the shrine, it must pass the first trial. Four trial stones of the ancestors have been raised throughout the valley. Each carries a part of the wisdom of Bushidō.
Only those who visit every trial stone and complete its task are considered worthy.
Objective:
- There are four trial stones (railway sleepers) on the playing field
- Each trial stone sets the clan a different challenge
- Only once all four trials have been passed does the general receive the first Bushidō Seal
Points:
- For every trial solved / passed
Mission 3 – The Relics of the Bushidō
Story: The scrolls tell of eight sacred relics that once belonged to the Shogun’s generals. Only those who recover these relics will understand the next step on the way to the blade.
Objective:
- Find 8 relics, secure them and bring them to the crate in front of your own HQ
Points:
- Every relic that is in the crate at the end of the mission scores points
Mission 4 – The Judgement of the Ronin
Story: Both clans have faced the trials of the ancestors and recovered the first relics. But the Ronin trust no clan. Before they reveal the way to the shrine, they demand proof of unity and resolve.
Objective:
- Four Ronin Masters are positioned at various points on the playing field
- Each Ronin carries a Bushidō Seal
- The clan must seek out all four Ronin and complete their task
Points:
- For every task mastered
DAY 2 – “The Way to the Blade”
Mission 5 – The Lost Wakizashi
Story: Legend has it that Kagekiri was never alone. Together with a Wakizashi it formed the Daishō – the symbol of a true samurai. The Ronin separated the two weapons so that no one could abuse their power.
Only those who find the Wakizashi may enter the shrine.
Objective:
- Find the Wakizashi — it lies in an unknown place
Rules:
- The carrier may not sprint
- The carrier may only carry the Wakizashi
- If he is hit: the Wakizashi is dropped
Points:
- Wakizashi successfully brought to the general in your own HQ
Mission 6 – The Last Guardian
Story: The oldest monk of the shrine has been taken prisoner by the Ronin. He knows the final secret to opening the shrine. But his trust must be earned first.
Objective:
- Find the monk
- Escort the monk
- The monk must reach the general in your own HQ
Caution: Along the way, the Ronin will intervene again and again.
Points:
- Monk successfully escorted and brought to your own HQ
Mission 7 – The Legacy of the Ancestors
Story: The trials have been passed and the secrets of the ancestors have been gathered piece by piece. Scrolls, seals and clues, however, are still scattered in the hands of the warriors and at the clans’ bases.
The Ronin have named one final place where the legacy must be brought together.
Only what reaches this place may be used in the final trial.
Objective:
- Each clan must transport the items it has won during the event to a designated handover point on the playing field
These include, for example:
- Scrolls
- Bushidō Seals
- Clues of the ancestors
- Relics won in play
- Further pieces of the final puzzle
Rules:
- The items must be transported to the handover point one at a time
- One warrior = one item
- If the carrier is marked, he must drop the item on the spot
Points:
- Every item in the crate at the end of the mission scores points
Mission 8 – The Trial of the Kagekiri
Story: Only now is the chest opened again. And only the two generals may use the materials won in play.
Objective: Now they must work out:
- Which scroll belongs to which seal?
- Which symbols belong together?
- Which order is the right one?
- Which information is decisive for the shrine?
Only now may the generals put the information they have collected to use and attempt to open the shrine.
Points:
- For every correctly solved / matching piece of the puzzle
MagFed Story
SBG #36 — RONIN
The House of Kageyama
More than 150 years ago, the House of Kageyama fell.
What began as a political power struggle ended in betrayal. Allies changed sides, old oaths were broken, and within a few days one of the last influential houses of its time vanished from the history books. Officially, little more than a footnote remained.
But not everything was lost.
Some of its closest retainers survived the fall. They were able to save parts of the legacy and swore never to let the story of their house disappear completely. The oath was passed on – from generation to generation, from family to family, until the original names had long since lost all meaning.
What remained was a duty.
Today the traces of the House of Kageyama exist only scattered: in old archives, private collections, forgotten records and objects whose true meaning no one recognised for decades. Only new clues have shown that the history of the house may have unfolded very differently from the way it was handed down.
And so a race begins.
The Heir Hunters
On one side stand the Heir Hunters. To them, the legacy of Kageyama is a discovery that could change everything. They search for evidence, for lost relics and for the truth behind the fall of the house. What was hidden for decades is to be found, recovered and brought to light.
The Keepers
Facing them stand the Keepers.
They do not regard what was left behind as a lost treasure, but as something entrusted to them. What is in their possession today is to remain there. Archives, collections and pieces secured over generations must not fall into the hands of those who have only now recognised their significance.
The Ghosts
But both sides have reckoned without those who have lived in the shadow of this story for generations.
They are called the Ghosts.
They belong to neither camp. They do not fight for property, money or recognition. Their ancestors were the men and women who stayed loyal to the House of Kageyama after its fall. Some come from those families, others were later taken into the old oath.
To them the legacy is not a collection.
It is a promise.
As long as the old testimonies rest where they were hidden, the Ghosts hold back. But the moment someone begins to tear the past out of its hiding place, something awakens that has waited generations for exactly this.
Then observers become hunters.
The Race
The deeper the Heir Hunters and the Keepers penetrate the history of the house, the clearer it becomes that the fall of Kageyama is not a closed chapter. Old traces lead to new questions. Documents contradict the known history. And somewhere between truth, betrayal and an oath preserved across generations lies something that was never meant to be found.
In the end it will not be decisive who understands the past first.
But who holds it in their hands.
RONIN
A fallen house. A broken oath. A legacy that was never forgotten.
MagFed Factions
- The Heir Hunters
- The Keepers
- The Ghosts
MagFed SBG Missions
The following mission descriptions offer only a rough insight into the course of the event. The complete mission orders, objectives, rules and tactical information will not be released until the respective game start.
Over the course of the Scenario Big Game, the story of RONIN unfolds across five missions that build on one another.
Each mission brings new insights into the fate of the House of Kageyama and changes the starting position for the rest of the game day. Which specific tasks await the factions, which locations play a role and which decisions have to be made remains hidden until the respective mission begins.
The content presented here is therefore only a rough preview. The complete missions will not be announced until the start of the respective game phase.
MISSION I – The First Trace
First indications of the true fate of the House of Kageyama come to light.
Both sides try to find out what really happened and what significance the newly discovered traces hold. Yet it becomes apparent early on that the past of the house has by no means been left unguarded.
MISSION II – The Safety Net
The first findings lead deeper into a web of old legacies and modern protective measures.
Whoever has preserved the legacy of the house across generations has made sure that the path to the truth does not simply lie open.
The struggle for information increasingly turns into a struggle for control.
MISSION III – The Depot of the Heirs
The search takes on a new dimension.
What has so far consisted of individual clues and traces appears to be only a small part of a considerably larger legacy.
Now it is no longer only about understanding the story. Increasingly, it is being decided who gains access to the legacy of the house.
MISSION IV – The Two Keys
The findings so far begin to come together into an overall picture.
Two new traces could together open the way to something whose existence remained hidden across generations.
Which possibilities arise from this for the final phase depends on what the factions make of these findings.
MISSION V – The Sanctuary of the Keepers
All traces ultimately lead to a place that holds a special significance in the legacy of the House of Kageyama.
Here the search for the truth, the claim to the legacy and the centuries-old oath of the Keepers meet.
What was truly hidden there and what awaits the factions, they will only find out once the final mission begins.
