An "after-action report" style quest on the site Sufficient Velocity using a custom version of the"Crusader Kings" rules set in the Narutoverse by Baskinglobster.
The quest consists of council member Chiyome Sakakibara, a ninja from the Filler village Hoshigakure, trying to propel her village from irrelevance to at least surviving the shinobi wars.,,,not that is a very small task considering her village Hoshigakure is...the boonies compared to the big boys. it's not a good time to be a ninja either. But she'll be damned if she lets her village remain a backwater
Crusader Kages includes examples of:
—- open/close all folders
A-D
- A Commander Is You: Played with: Chiyome is a trained jounin, but she's never led anything beyond a small squad when she started—she is however the lead scientist of a nation. And while Chiyome can suggest items to be focused on, she's not the one in charge of the village's priority.
- Action Girl: Chiyome Sakakibara to a tee-she's an accomplished researcher, warrior, and scientist and has propelled the village hidden in the stars to near parity with the the big five villages.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The Narutoverse has this as a requirement: if you are not a badass you don't live long enough to become a leader. Every village places high importance on martial prowess over mental health, and most of the funding for scientific inquiry is focused on how it could be used for military purposes. Most ninjas die before they get to the 30's and of those who do, they are not to be trifled with .
- Anachronism Stew: Residents of the Naruto world live in a world with wireless radio headpieces, handheld video games, cars and movie theaters, and have electricity; but then they communicate via messenger birds and many people use horses to get around. It's justified, as most of the inventions one would expect in the modern era are rather new and very finicky for anything but static bases that are reliable enough that the convenience of their use is deemed not a security threat to have installed. Electrical wiring and Computers have only recently been invented, and gas masks are relatively unpopular.
- Armor Is Useless<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">: Flak jackets are designed specifically to stop...well... flak. That should also include slow sword swipes, shuriken, kunai, bits of rock, etc. It isn't at the beginning of the quest because of real-world problems, mainly due to problems related to creating non pierceable leather armor—it is however solved by adding in metal plates and plastics.
- Boring, but Practical: Hoshigakure may not be the greatest ninja village in the world, but they are a ninja village. Killing people with any form of sharp pointy things is a skill they excel at—as civilians are quick to figure out when they think they have an advantage just because of the thought process of "well if I've never heard of them, they must not be that good".
- Blood Magic:
- Summoning techniques require a tribute of blood to call forth a creature with which you have a contract; most shinobi bite their thumb to obtain it-Chiyome cuts her ear with a sterilized knife
- Dirty Business: Hoshigakure is a ninja village, no matter how nice they are: assassination, sabotage, mercenary work, and espionage are still actively done. As shown in The Village Hidden in the Mist Retrieval arc, no matter how much of you are getting anything done still requires the Cold Equation of considering whether or not allowing children to die will be better for the operation.
E-H
- Flight: The Kujaku ability allows Hoshi-Nin to form wings out of chakra which they can use to soar through the poison-infested canyon around the Land Of Bears.
- Glowing Eyesof Doom: The eyes of those undergoing Star Training glow blue whenever utilizing it, but they are in general good men and women who merely want to have their village be taken seriously.
I-M
N-R
- Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Hoshigakure is rapidly becoming this, as while Chiyome and the other advisors do their best to advance the strength and prestige of their homeland, it still is barely enough to stop the village from dissolving into irrelevancy compared to the Great Nations. Their weapons and medical development lags, and their jutsu and taijutsu had to be completely reinvented by Kirigakure Expats to match the current status of the world. This still allows them to be more well trained, better equipped, and all around better than most Ninja Villages of their political relevancy.
S-Z
- Small Name Big Efgo: Hoshigakure's founding principal: they want to gain enough power to be recognized on par with the Five Shinobi nations and have their Kage recognized as their equal. It is their collective dream to be acknowledged as a world power in their own right that allows multiple shinobi to disregard expats and the trampling of traditions to get stronger with minimal fuss. Everyone is devoted to that goal even though they are severely outgunned, outskilled, and underequipped. It's this determination that in part allows them to advance so quickly.
- Your Days Are Numbered: The damage done to those in the Meteor Wardens and those undergoing Star Training via the meteor was already severe before the quest, as Chiyome reveals that the Old Warriors are all universally bedridden and unable to fight anymore due to the toll inflicted by radiation. It's clear that the damage is already done—and that most in the old generation without the measures of the science department will die an early grave. It's mitigated somewhat with medicine and new seals, but there is still the stigma of being near the meteor meaning a slow and agonizing death. Not even Chiyome, the worlds second greatest doctor can save them.
