Zai is a Crab Clan samurai from the Hiruma family.  He graduated from the Hiruma Scouting School as a bushi, and is tasked with patrolling the outer regions of the Crab lands near the Shadowlands border to report any monster activities.

His parents were murdered before his eyes when he was a child, and his face and body was burned and scarred by the killers during this ordeal.  While he doesn't admit it (yet), he is beginning to be consumed by an overwhelming anger to get revenge on the killers.

Due to his maimed visage, he is shunned by other scouts and he usually patrols the wilderness alone.  He has some acquaintances in the Kuni shugenja however, and they provide him with additional supplies from time to time in exchange for news.

MAIN STATS:




DERIVED ATTRIBUTES:
ENDURANCE (Earth+Fire) x 2 = 8
COMPOSURE (Earth+Water) x 2 = 12
FOCUS (Air+Fire) = 3
VIGILANCE (Air+Water) / 2 = 3

SKILLS:
Fitness [Martial] +2
Martial Arts (Melee) [Martial] +1
Martial Arts (Ranged) [Martial] +3
Tactics [Martial] +1
Medicine [Scholar] +1
Sentiment [Scholar] +1
Skulduggery [Trade] +1
Survival [Trade] +2



PERSONALITIES, HABITS, and QUIRKS:
When he loses Composure, he giggles uncontrollably until he can recover himself.

MENTOR ADVANTAGE/DISADVANTAGE:
All of his mentors have died of horrible causes.
Martial Arts (Ranged) +1 
Whispers of Doom (Adversity) - Zai is shunned by his peers because of rumors that anyone associated with him meets a horrible end.  He must reroll two Success dice during interactions of preconceptions, forming associations, and trying to convince the other party to take his advice. (On a fail, gain 1 Void point.)

SCHOOL ABILITIES and TECHNIQUES:
(Hiruma Scouting School.  RANK 1.)
a) School Ability: Flickering Flame Skirmisher.  After performing an Attack action, Zai may change his Stance.  If he does, this increases the TN of Attack checks made against him by creatures of Silhouette greater than 2 by his School Rank until the start of his next turn.
b) Kata: Pelting Hail Style.  Spend Opportunity from a Martial Arts (Ranged) check to cause a number of characters to receive Strife equal to the weapon's base damage.
c) Kata: Striking as Water.  Spend Opportunity from a Martial Arts check to treat the target's Physical Resistance as 1 lower per Opportunity spent.

EQUIPMENT:
Traveling clothes, Ashigaru armor, Daisho (Katana & Wakizashi), Yumi (bow) and quiver of arrows, knife, finger of jade, traveling pack, Medicine kit.  3 Koku.