TEXT: What Is This Game About?
  In classical Japan, mythological shape-shifting animals help 
  reattach the red string of fate between people who were 
  meant to be together.
  Red String Of Fate
  In Japanese folklore, it is believed that the gods tie a red 
  string to the pinky fingers of people who are meant to be 
  together. The red string may get entangled, contracted or 
  stretched, but the lovers will always find each other. In rare 
  cases, however, the obstacles are of such unsurmountable 
  magnitude that the string may get cut.
  Wishing Upon A Full Moon
  As the game starts, two people are forlornly contemplating 
  the full moon. They feel broken hearted, but don’t know why. 
  Unbeknownst to them, their red string of fate was recently 
  cut. Feeling a deep sorrow, they ask a favor of Tsukuyomi, 
  the good of the Moon. They beg of the god that he may fix 
  whatever it is that gnaws at their heart, that he helps them 
  find what is meant to fill the emptiness they have recently 
  started feeling so acutely.
  Tsukuyomi listens to their prayers. The god gathers a group 
  of henge, shape-shifting animals, and gives them a mission 
  to help those people find each other, thus reattaching the 
  red string of fate.
  Player Characters
  The players take on the role of the henge, mythical 
  creatures meant to carry on the mission from Tsukuyomi.
  There are five types of henge to choose from: cat (neko), 
  badger (mujina), fox (kitsune), racoon dog (tanuki), and rat 
  (nezumi).
  Once Upon 
  a Full Moon
  Henge Powers And Borders
  All henge have an animal form and can shape-shift into 
  humans. Many stories also tell of the henge possessing a 
  variety of powers that go beyond shape-shifting, given the 
  right conditions.
  The henge are themselves liminal creatures. They are 
  neither animal nor man; neither flesh nor kami - they 
  are in between all of those, occupying the border of the 
  mundane and the spiritual world. As such, their powers 
  draw potency from liminality, from situations, locations 
  and times at the borders of one another. Those who 
  encounter henge, usually report the event taking place 
  at dusk or dawn, in the border between day and night, 
  for example, or as an echo or vision in smoke that is in 
  between being there and not there.
  Life In Heian Japan
  This game takes place in 10th century Japan, during the so-
  called Heian Period. During this time, the capital of Japan 
  is Heian-kyo (literally “tranquillity and peace capital”), 
  later known as Kyoto. This is a time before the military 
  rule of the Shogun and their daimyo vassals. There are 
  samurai, but they are mainly mounted archers who only 
  use a sword as a last resort, and regard honor and loyalty 
  as more of a suggestion rather than the ironclad principles 
  of later centuries.
  Rice lands are nationalised, in principle, and allotted to 
  families. The once-strong central army has been disbanded. 
  Aristocrats collect taxes from peasants and keep some 
  of those before handing over the bulk to the Emperor. 
  They often hire bands of strong men to do the actual tax 
  collecting, so they don’t have to leave the capital and get 
  their hands dirty. As long as the taxes keep coming and 
  there is no challenge to the Emperor’s power, the imperial 
  court does not much care what happens in the countryside.
  
  The Status Of Women
  Unlike most other periods of Japanese history, women 
  have a high degree of control over their lives and can own 
  property. Female children are prized, as only a female child 
  can advance her family’s position in society by becoming 
  a concubine to high rank aristocrats or marrying into a 
  rich family, thereby winning titles or wealth for her family.  
  A man, on the other hand, can only expect to ever become 
  as high-ranking as his father. 
  Marriages are easily formed and broken. Polygamy is 
  common. No property changes hands at marriage. Married 
  couples usually live at the wife’s family residence, or 
  sometimes they live separately.
  Education for the upper class women is a priority, 
  and they are supposed to know 1000 poems by heart.  
  A woman’s elegance is determined by her ability to quote 
  the perfect verse for any occasion. A well-turned pun is 
  the height of sophistication.
  High Culture And Social Rank
  This is a golden age of Japanese culture, bolstered by the 
  patronage of an imperial court at the height of its power. 
  Aristocrats consider the arts to be the most important of 
  human accomplishments, with poetry being the greatest of 
  art forms. It is at this time that many of the greatest works 
  of Japanese literature were written, mainly by women. 
  Moon viewing parties, where poetry is recited under the 
  full moon, are important social events.
  One clear visual distinction between those of high class and 
  commoners is that the rich blacken their teeth by applying a 
  sticky black dye. A white smile is considered most distasteful 
  among the rich and powerful.
  What You Need To Play
  To play this game you will need:
  • A number of six-sided dice, at least ten of those
  • A stack of index cards, or pieces of paper of similar size
  • A standard deck of playing cards
  • Red yarn, about 50 cm long (20 inches)
  • Pencils or pens
  • A computer or smartphone with internet (although 
  you can prepare the cards with poems in advance)
  You will also need a few friends. The group size should be 
  between three and five people in total.
  Character Creation
  Step 1. Choose henge type
  Each player chooses what type of henge they want to play as. 
  There should be only one henge of each type in the group.
  Players may read the descriptions of all types (next page) 
  and pick the type they want. Alternatively, you could write 
  the henge types on the top of the index cards and hand 
  them randomly to players.
  The exact details about how the powers work, their scope 
  and limitations, is left for players to decide. Don’t get hung 
  up on the minutiae - just go with whatever is fun and feels 
  right for the story.
  Step 2. Choose henge powers
  Each player has a number of points to distribute among the 
  henge’s four powers. The number of points indicates how 
  many dice the player rolls when using that power.
  3 players: 9 points
  4 players: 7 points
  5 players: 6 points
  Points may be assigned in any way the player wants. Powers 
  with zero points assigned cannot be used.
  Step 3. Choose your name
  Henge names are simply an adjective pointing at their 
  strongest personality trait. Each player picks a name from 
  the list provided.
  Type:: Fox
  Name: Bright
  Powers:
    Alluring  2
    Send Dream Vision  1
    Speak To Local Gods  3
    Deception  3
  
  Henge Types, Powers and Names
  Cat (Neko) 
  Human Form: slender and extremely agile men and women, 
  with their animal coloring carrying through 
  to their physical appearance
  Names: Slender, Agile, Quick-Witted, Perceptive, 
  Adventurous, Impulsive
  Powers: 1. Travel Through Shadows
   
   
  2. Bestow Curse/Luck
   
   
  3. Cat Burglary
   
   
  4. Acrobatics
  Badger (Mujina)
  Human Form: a monk or priest, or temple maiden
  Names: Shy, Lazy, Crafty, Cunning, Surly, Keen
  Powers: 1. Impersonate
   
   
  2. Mesmerising Singing
   
   
  3. Cause Panic
   
   
  4. Shift Earth
  Fox (Kitsune)
  Human Form: a beautiful woman or man
  Names: Pretty, Sly, Bright, Devious, Charming, Exuberant
  Powers: 1. Alluring
   
   
  2. Send Dream Vision
   
   
  3. Speak To Local Gods
   
   
  4. Deception
  Racoon-Dog (Tanuki)
  Human Form: low-life drunkard or thief
  Names: Mischievous, Lucky, Friendly, Fearless, Sneaky, Unruly
  Powers: 1. Monstrous Form
   
   
  2. Change Into Any Shape
   
   
  3. Become Massive
   
   
  4. Create Illusion
  Rat (nezumi)
  Human Form: small and wiry in stature, and stoop when 
  they move
  Names: Vicious, Spiteful, Slouchy, Loner, Proud, Risk-Taker
  Powers: 1. Acute Senses
   
   
  2. Call Rat Friends
   
   
  3. Know A Secret
   
   
  4. Find A Way In
  Game Setup
  Broken Hearts
  The “Broken Hearts” are the two people whose red string of 
  fate the group will try to reattach during the game.
  Use two index cards. Write a name on top of each card, along 
  with occupation and a personality trait.
  Surnames are the prerogative of the aristocracy. Commoners 
  do not bear surnames. When used, family names are written 
  first, with given names last. 
  Common Male Given Names:  
  Kazuki, Kenta, Naoki, Riku, Ryuu, Shouta, Takahiro, 
  Takumi, Tatsuya, Yuuta
  Common Female Given Names:  
  Ai, Asuka, Chihiro, Kana, Mai, Misaki, Natsuki, Riko, 
  Sakura, Shizuka
  Family Names Of The Aristocracy:  
  Fujiwara, Isonokami, Minamoto, Tachibana, Taira 
  Male occupations (roll a D6 or choose one):  
  Aristocrat, Artisan, Merchant, Monk, Peasant, Samurai
  Female occupations (roll a D6 or choose one):  
  Aristocrat, Concubine, Entertainer, House Servant, 
  Peasant, Shrine maiden
  Roll two dice and add them together:  
  2: Risk-taker; 3: Quick-witted; 4: Romantic; 5: Altruistic;  
  6: Observant; 7: Logical; 8: Charming; 9: Short-Tempered; 
  10: Brave; 11: Resourceful; 12: Honorable
   
  A completed “Broken Heart” card looks like this:
  Name: Kana
  Occupation: Entertainer
  Personality: Brave
  
  Stages of Fate and Obstacles
  The Japanese of the Heian period believed in love at first sight, 
  and that the proper way to win someone’s heart is through 
  poetry. The instructions and game mechanics described in 
  this chapter aim to bring these elements to the game table.
  Stages of Fate
  Separate one suit out of the deck of playing cards; all of the 
  thirteen cards. The suit of Hearts would be most fitting for this 
  game. Put the rest of the card deck away.
  Lay down the thirteen cards face down on the table in four 
  lines of three cards each, and the final card at the bottom 
  below the middle card of the fourth line. Each of the five 
  rows of cards represents a “Stages of Fate” (or “stage” for 
  simplicity) that must be completed.
  The five Stages of Fate
  First stage (top row of cards): Distance
  Second stage (second row of cards): First Sight
  Third stage (third row of cards): Meeting and Talking
  Fourth stage (fourth row of cards): Poem Writing
  Fifth stage (bottom row with one card): Winning Their Heart
  Assigning Obstacle Poems
  Poems of the traditional style of Heian Japan, known as 
  waka, are used to generate the obstacles for each of the 
  Stages of Fate.
  Steps to generate obstacles:
  1. Pick five random classical poems from the 100 found 
  online here: http://jti.lib.virginia.edu/japanese/hyakunin/
  hyakub.html
  (You can type “random number between 1 and 100” into 
  Google to get a random number)
  2. Copy each of the five poems, one on each index card.
  3. Shuffle the index cards with the poems, then lay them 
  down, one by one, by the side of each row of playing cards.
  Establishing Obstacles
  Starting with the top row of cards, the one representing 
  “Distance”, players read the poem and discuss what obstacle 
  could be established from the poem, within the context of 
  this Stage of Fate. Underline the words on the poem that 
  relate directly to the obstacle.
  Repeat this step with the remaining four Stages of Fate.
  Broken Heart Cards And Yarn
  Put the “Broken Heart Card” describing the person the 
  player characters are helping at the top, above the first row 
  of playing cards. Put the tip of the red yarn on top of that 
  card - this represents the red string of fate.
  The second “Broken Heart Card” goes below the card at the 
  bottom row of playing cards.
  Obstacle Examples
  First Stage of Fate (top row): Distance
  In the early dawn
  When the mists on Uji River
  Slowly lift and clear,
  From the shallows to the deep,
  The stakes of fishing nets appear.
  From the poem above, the players decide that the “Distance” 
  obstacle is “Uji River” - the river is what is keeping the two 
  people physically separated.
  Second Stage of Fate (second row): First Sight
  At the break of day,
  Just as though the morning moon
  Lightened the dim scene,
  Yoshino’s village lay
  In a haze of falling snow.
  The players decide that “Yoshino’s village” and “falling 
  snow” define the obstacle for the First Sight stage. This 
  means the two people will never meet unless the player 
  characters can somehow get them to spot each other amid 
  the busy streets of the village and through the falling snow.
  Third Stage of Fate (third row): Meeting and Talking
  Though I know indeed
  That the night will come again
  After day has dawned,
  Still, in truth, I hate the sight
  Of the morning’s coming light.
  By this stage, the two people would have caught each 
  other’s eye, but have not spoken yet. The players establish 
  that the best chance for the two people to meet is during 
  a religious festival taking place at night, but unless the 
  player characters can do something, the light of dawn will 
  come and people will go away, and the two will miss the 
  chance to talk and get to know one another.
  
  Fourth Stage of Fate (fourth row): Poem Writing
  In the mountain depths,
  Treading through the crimson leaves,
  The wandering stag calls.
  When I hear the lonely cry,
  Sad--how sad!--the autumn is.
  The reason the person is having problems coming up 
  with a love poem, the players decide, is because they 
  have been forced to take on work hunting deer (“stag”) 
  in the mountains (“mountain depths”) and have no time 
  for poetry. The player characters must help them finding 
  time and inspiration for the poem, and make sure it gets 
  delivered to the right person.
  Fifth Stage of Fate (bottom row with single card):  
  Winning Their Heart
  Even when the gods
  Held sway in the ancient days,
  I have never heard
  That water gleamed with autumn red
  As it does in Tatta’s stream
  From the poem above, the players conclude that the perfect 
  setting for the two people to declare their love to each other, 
  thus reattaching their red string of fate, is at a local stream 
  (“Tatta’s stream”), by its clear waters (“water gleamed with 
  autumn red”). Can they arrange for the two to meet at the 
  stream? Even better if they can make the tree leaves turn a 
  shade of autumn red!
  At the start of the game, 
  the play area looks like this:
  Playing The Game
  Summary Of Play
  Players take on the Stages of Fate, one at a time, and their 
  associated obstacles. As they succeed and forge a path 
  between the broken hearts, a red yarn is stretched over the 
  cards, marking a path and symbolizing the red string of fate 
  that the player characters are working to reattach.
  Resolving a Stage of Fate
  Starting with the first Stage of Fate, players read again the 
  obstacle and remind themselves of what this stage is about.
  1. Establish the number of border elements
  The powers of the henge player characters are limited by 
  the number of border or liminal elements around them.
  Working together, the group must establish which border 
  elements are present during the current Stage of Fate. The 
  narrative of the scene must match those elements. Example: 
  If “dawn” and “lip of a volcanic crater” have been chosen as the 
  border elements, the scene must occur at that time and place, 
  and not during a formal dinner at the imperial palace.
  The total number of border elements will act as a cap to the 
  number of dice counted during resolution.
  There is no hard limit to this number, but the situation must 
  be accepted by everyone as credible.
  Examples of border elements:
  • Dawn or dusk - in between day or night
  • The threshold of a house - neither inside or outside
  • Crossroads - not completely part of either road
  • Echoes - voices from someone who is in between 
  being there and not there
  • Vision through smoke or on flames - an image 
  in between being there or just being someone’s 
  imagination
  • Torii gate - marks the border between the profane and 
  the sacred
  • The point where the sea touches the shore
  2. Play scenes
  Players play out a scene or series of scenes, roleplaying as 
  their characters, acting to resolve the obstacle by means of 
  using their powers. Any character who is present in a scene 
  but who is not controlled by a player (usually called a “Non-
  Player Character, or NPC”) can be roleplayed by a player 
  who is not using any of their powers in this scene.
  (Distance)
  (yarn)
  (Broken Heart #1)
  (Broken Heart #2)
  (First Sight)
  (Meeting and Talking)
  (Poem Writing)
  (Winning Their Heart)
  
  Each stage may be resolved as one scene, or a series of 
  scenes. Any number of players may participate and use 
  their powers in any scene, but only one power per player 
  can be used per stage.
  When a player character uses one of their four powers, they 
  cross out that power from the character card. Each power 
  can only be used once per game.
  The number of points assigned to each power during 
  character creation indicates the number of dice rolled.
  EXAMPLE: The group decides that the best way to 
  get the broken hearted person to cross the Uji river 
  (the obstacle of this stage) is to have him hired as a 
  guard to a travelling merchant. Two of the player 
  characters have powers that help with persuasion, 
  so they go talk to the merchant, hoping to get him to 
  hire the man they are helping. In this scene, another 
  player, other than those two, plays the merchant, all 
  talking in-character. In a second scene, still as part 
  of this same Stage of Fate, another player takes on 
  the job of stealing money from the man, as a way to 
  motivate him to seek a paying job and so take on the 
  guard position with the merchant. That way, three 
  powers have been used in this stage.
  “I do this” vs. 1st person
  If players are more comfortable with describing 
  their actions in third person rather than roleplay-
  ing in first person, that is absolutely fine. Establish 
  and play scenes in whatever way everyone feels 
  most comfortable with.
  Why low value cards under the 
  yarn modify the value of cards?
  Musubi-no-Kami, the god of love and matchmak-
  ing, will only allow the red string of fate to be re-
  attached when the person has proven themselves 
  worthy by overcoming truly challenging obsta-
  cles. That is why overcoming weak obstacles (low 
  card values) on the path to reattach the string will 
  make future obstacles harder. (This also introduc-
  es an interesting tactical element when choosing a 
  card to play against)
  Resolution
  Once the scene or scenes that are part of a Stage of Fate have 
  been played out, it’s time to find out if those efforts were 
  successful. The group will choose one of the three cards in 
  that stage, and play against it using their powers.
  Stage of Fate resolution steps:
  1. Reveal card or play blind
  Players choose whether they want to reveal one of the three 
  cards in the current stage/row. 
  Reveal cost for a card on the first stage/row: one power point
  Reveal cost for remaining stages/rows: one power point, plus 
  one more point for each card under the yarn that is lower or 
  equal to the stage/row number. Example: In stage four, these 
  cards add to the reveal cost: ace, two, three, and four.
  Power points are paid by subtracting points from any 
  unused power belonging to any character. Multiple players 
  can contribute points to single reveal. Once spent, power 
  points are gone. Example: A player uses 1 power point from 
  a power rated at 3 points to reveal a card. That power is now 
  rated at 2.
  Players may choose to reveal none, one, two, or all three 
  cards in a stage/row, paying the reveal cost for each of them.
  2. Pick one of the cards
  The group chooses which of the three cards in the current 
  stage they will play against. It may be a card facing down, or 
  facing up (if they chose to pay to reveal it in the previous step).
  The one requirement is that the card be directly below, or 
  diagonally below, the card resolved in the last stage. In the 
  first stage players are free to pick any of the three cards.
  3. Roll dice
  Each player who is using a power in this stage rolls a number 
  of dice equal to the rating of that power.
  Once a power is used, cross if off your character card.  
  It cannot be used again in this game.
  The players now add together the numbers on all the dice 
  rolled, choosing only a number of dice up to the number of 
  border elements in this stage.
  Example: Two players are using powers in this stage, one has 
  power rating of two, and the other power rating of one. They 
  roll 6, 4 and 3. There are only two border elements in this stage 
  (dusk, speaking through echoes), and so they can only count 
  two of the dice. The result is thus 10 (6+4).
  
  4. Compare result with card
  In order to succeed, the result of the sum of the dice rolled 
  needs to be HIGHER than the card value. (Ace = 1, Jack = 
  11, Queen = 12, King = 13)
  If the card is still face down, it’s now time to turn it face up.
  Red yarn effect: for each card under the yarn in the rows 
  above that is of lower or equal value than the current stage/
  row, bump the value of the card by one. Example: The card 
  is a 6 in the third stage, and the yarn is over cards 2 and 10, 
  so that means the card value for this stage is bumped by one 
  to a value of 7.
  Results
  Success (dice rolled are higher than card value): Pull the 
  end of the yarn over this card, symbolizing the players 
  having managed to extend the red string of fate closer to 
  the broken heart at the bottom of the play area. The game 
  progresses on to the next Stage of Fate (next row below).
  Failure (dice rolled are less than or equal to card value): 
  The group’s plan did not work out as they intended. It is 
  time for a new plan. The group must use different powers 
  for a different effect, playing new scenes. Choose a directly 
  adjacent card in the same stage/row and play against it.
  Winning Or Losing The Game
  WINNING: The players win the game when they resolve 
  all obstacles in the five Stages of Fate, thus extending the 
  yarn all the way down to the last card in the fifth row and 
  beyond to the broken heart at the bottom of the play area. 
  They have managed to reattach the red string of fate and the 
  lovers have found each other.
  LOSING: The game is lost if the players have failed against 
  all cards that they can play against in the current Stage of 
  Fate (those directly and diagonally below the card defeated 
  in the last stage), or if they have run out of power points 
  before defeating all cards to take the red string of fate all 
  the way to the broken heart at the bottom of the play area. 
  The lovers won’t find each other, at least for now. Maybe 
  Tsukuyomi will try again some other time.
  Optional bonus activity:  
  compose a waka poem
  You may have noticed that waka poems have five lines. After 
  playing the game, if you are feeling inspired, you could try 
  to compose a new waka poem yourself with your friends. 
  Each line in the poem could reference each Stage of Fate in 
  the story you just created through play. The syllable count 
  of waka poems is: 5-7-5-7-7 (Look up “Waka (poetry)” in 
  Wikipedia for more info).
  Game Notes
  Inspirations
  Golden Sky Stories, by Ryo Kamiya - henge and the concept 
  of heart-warming roleplaying games
  Your Name (Kimi no Na wa) animated movie, by Makoto 
  Shinkai - red string of fate, Shinto cosmology, liminality
  Cosmology of Kyoto (PC game) - Heian Japan and Kyoto
  Useful References 
  Japanese Mythology A to Z, by Jeremy Roberts
  Understanding Japan: A Cultural History, by Mark J. Ravina
  Game Chef Theme and Ingredients
  Theme: Borders - Player characters must act in liminal and 
  border-like situations, where they have the most power.
  Ingredients:
  Yarn - The red string of fate that the player characters are 
  working to reattach is a direct reference. Also, an actual 
  length of red yarn is used as a physical component in the 
  game.
  Cut - The red string of fate between people that were meant 
  to be together was cut by the weight of the obstacles in their 
  path. This is the event that sets the game in motion. 
  Echo - Mentioned as a potential liminal element.
  Smoke - Mentioned as a potential liminal element.
  
  A Completed Game:
  Author
  Pedro Ziviani
  pedroziviani@gmail.com
  読んでくれてありがとう。
  (Thank you for reading!)
  Resources used in this document
  Playing card images from freedesignfile.com
  Torii gate image from Wikimedia Commons
  Title fonts from freejapanesefont.com
  Index card and fox mask images from Shutterstock
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Collections/Collaborative & Peer & Gm-less & Shifting GM/Once Upon A Full Moon.pdf