Review of Mishima Source Book

Blurb from the publisher: 'Death before dishonour.

From the underground cities of Mercury to the sprawling plains of Mars, the Mishima corporation is united by a code of duty and honour. In the boardroom and on the battlefield, the proud samurai of the management caste lead the way. Beneath them toil countless work units of commoners, among whom hide secret societies didicated to the martial arts, organised crime and, sometimes, the Dark Apostles…

The People: What makes Mishima society tick? Discover the cultures of the corporation's many keiratsu and the samurai, guildsmen and workers within them – and those who fall outside.

The Lands: Uncover the secrets and dangers of Mercury, the Mushima homeworld, and the corporation's holdings on Mars, Venus and Luna.

The Powers That Be: Learn about the inner workings of Mishima, from the Overlord and his squabbling Lord Heirs to the meka and spacecraft of the military, to the hidden agendas of the Triads and Shadow Walkers.

The Power of Ki: Master the secrets of ki channeling, the mystical technique that gives Mishima warriors superhuman abilities.

Character Creation: expanded rules for the backgrounds and powers unique to the Mishima corporation.'

What you get: Your EUR 21,99 buys you the full-colour 116-page Mishima Source Book for Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition Roleplaying game in both softcover and pdf format. Those preferring the pdf version only can obtain it for EUR 10,99.

Contents: The Mishima Source Book is the second that covers one of the seven main factions of Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition, namely the one that takes Japan, and in some cases Asia, as its main source of inspiration.

The book is broken into thirteen chapters. Already the introduction makes abundantly clear how different Mishima is to the others. The megacorp has nothing to do with individuality or profit per se. It has to do with loyalty, legacy and common prosperity. Its corporate structure is techno-feudalism based on keiretsu, sets of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. They present a united front outwards, yet internally they are constantly competing. The system is overseen by the Overlord, the Lord Heirs, and the families of the samurai who have powers of life and death over the commoners they command. As it stands, Mishima is on the brink of civil war, with the Lord Heirs hating each other and the Overlord having been reduced to a secondary role.

In line with the other Source Books dealing with the corporations, the 25-page Creating A Character chapter is the longest, and perhaps the most interesting for those that will play a Mishiman or for GMs that want to have numerous Mishiman NPCs in their game. Starting from decision three of the lifepath as described in the basic rulebook, choices diverge. There are four classes in the rigid Mishiman society: the faceless, the workers, the guildsmen and the samurai. Be loyal, or be persecuted. The Social Status Equipment Table is totally different, while the Environment Table provides more depth. Commoners and samurai have have ten options each on education and what they can actually do in their lives. Needless, to say, they are extremely different to one another. A commoner will not receive management experience, while a Samurai would never be a part of a teenage draft. The Adolescent Event Table is very different than the one in the rulebook, and is addressed exclusively to Mishimans. This is expressed through both obvious changes (the event has nothing to do with the one in the rulebook) or with additional details for the event to fit this particular megacorporation. The Career Event Table is markedly different to the rulebook’s, both as events as well as effects. The Corporate Samurai, Triad Enforcer and Shadow Walker iconic careers that were contained in the basic rulebook are now accompanied by ten additional ones. Mishimans can aspire to become, amongst others, Demon Hunters, Ronins (the dregs of the Samurai caste), Hatamotos (answering to the highest authorities only), Model Workers (not the framed-picture-in-the-wall type, more like celebrity superstars) and Martial Artists. As it can be readily observed, few of them are linked to the martial unit types of Mutant Chronicles Warzone Resurrection, the miniature game iteration of the franchise.

Chapter three, The Way Of The Seven Sages, is a philosophy that explains both how a citizen should live under Mishima, as well as how Mishima works. There are four founding principles: honour, loyalty, obedience and tradition. Ki practically harnesses the Art, and even though The Brotherhood might not formally accept it, it has come to a rough accommodation with Mishima to supervise. Ki powers can be obtained in character creation through seven different schools of martial arts, which themselves relate to the social background of a character. Ki power are either abilities (passive) or techniques (active). I count fifteen of the former, like Cleanse Poison or Catsight, and eighteen of the latter, like Death-Blow and Ki Self-Healing.

Society And Culture are further explained in chapter four. We read about seppuku, what family means, how the bushido works, duels (just like Bauhaus), and even clothing. The Keiretsu As Culture gets its own subchapter, with notable keiretsu in different worlds. There are also overviews of the media and model workers we discussed before, food, retail (mostly, if not exclusively of Mishiman products), architecture and transport. Mishima does cars, if you didn’t guess, and they do them well. They also do mekas when nobody else can. When it comes to business strategies, expect industrial espionage and mass-produced knock-offs. Consumers buy the best that price can buy, this however does not eliminate other issues like Mishiman goods being more expensive to repair than to manufacture. This works great for consumer goods, but can be quite disastrous when it comes to military gear.

Chapter six deals with Outsiders. Mishima is based on order and accountability, yet the so-called Shadow Corporations are anything but orderly and accountable. This makes them ideal for the more seedy endeavours and enterprises out there. The Shadow Walker Cult might or might not exist, and if it does, it might be anything from an ancient religion to an arm of the corporation answering to the Overlord only. Secret societies abound, like triads and cults of ancient religions, while Ronin have to adapt in order to survive.

The External Relations chapter is a staple in all corporation source books. The most prominent antithesis comes out of its relationship with Bauhaus. Mishima has a great relationship with the Homebuilders, but not vice versa. It might have something to do with the scale of industrial espionage. Mishima And The Darkness is about the Dark Legion, on the hands of which Mishima has admittedly suffered the least. For all the Demon Hunters out there, there are traitors who would spread the Dark Soul plague for personal power and riches.

Police And Military is the chapter covering the corporation’s security forces. As expected, old-style banner men still exist, on the side of Mekas, battle suits and experimental sonic weapons like the Deathshrieker. Mishima is unique in that it hosts heirloom weapons, each with one to three special properties. From Ki focus (one additional die when manifesting powers) to Bonebreaker (armour piercing weaponry), Mishima has quite a few ways of liquefying its opponents. Fleets, bionics and cybernetics are also covered; Mishima appears to be the prime consumer of Cybertronic enhancement technology.

The book’s final chapters describe Mercury, Venus, Mars and Luna, or at least the Mishiman holdings in them. Mercury is of particular interest, seeing how almost everything is subterranean, and has not been described in other source books up to now, probably because no other megacorp is established there. There is only one exception: Imperial controls Fukido, for 99 years. What happens when the leases run out is anybody’s guess.

The source book closes with a rich, one-page index.

The strong points: Mishima is by far the most oppressive of the four traditional megacorps, and it is not easy to successfully write a book about such an organisation. Yet, the book is ultimately successful, by focusing not only on the characters but also on the places. No other rulebook devotes as many pages to locations; they are a revelation, to say the least, not only Mishima-wise, but within the whole context of Mutant Chronicles. There might not be a chapter on gamemastering or a sample adventure, but there are obvious and less obvious adventure hooks, conspiracies upon conspiracies, and so and so forth. It is no coincidence that a Bauhaus official calls the whole of Mishima ‘a conspiracy’. It is, even more so than the competing clans of Imperial. If left alone without outside enemies, Mishima would be certain to either fundamentally change or implode under the weight of its constituents mercilessly competing against one another.

There is a good number of allusions to real Earth, many of them playing with clichéd depictions of Japan, be it feudal, industrial or post-industrial. Knock-off products that work great until they break down, keiretsu, samurais, fascination with swords and hand to hand combat, mekas, gadget-mania (if Cybertronic’s enhancements count as ‘gadgets’), industrial espionage (which could also refer to China nowadays)... I feel there must be many more surprises and Easter eggs with the names, be them locations or products. Too bad I do not understand Japanese for me to grok them better.

There is once again a good balance between crunch and fluff. I enjoy how each faction alters in a small yet meaningful way the character creation process. If you only purchased the main rulebook, you are missing out. If you can't afford all of them, I definitely recommend procuring the one(s) for the faction(s) of your choice.

The book’s writing is neutral towards the corporation it depicts. It might be grandiose and leaning towards propaganda at times, but it does not shy away from describing the persisting problems in Mishima society. Understanding the inhospitable environment of Mercury is key to understanding how such an oppressive society can exist in the first place without the commoners revolting. Chapter after chapter the whole logic behind Mishima’s structure fell into place. I wouldn’t like to be one of these poor souls, yet playing one from the higher echelons is intriguing.

A thing that keeps popping up is that source books are not shy of providing answers. The Shadow Walker Cult is a good example: the book provides a number of theories that are widely believed, and then reveals flat out what is really going on. This happens numerous times around, in this source book in a similar vein that it did in Imperial. Cybertronic gets the turbo boost treatment, with dozens of secrets revealed. I thoroughly enjoy this approach. Giving many options but not settling in one is kind of cowardly, as if the authors themselves aren’t sure where they want to go next. It also prohibits them from providing additional info, meaning that the GM will have to make up for it. As it stands with Mishima, the GM gets tons of information on what the Shadow Walker Cult is, yet nothing prohibits him from throwing it all out of the window if he doesn’t like it and prefers to adopt one of the other suggestions or create a beast of his own.

All that having been said, it is clear that this source book is a must not only for the RPG players but also for those enjoying Warzone Resurrection, the miniatures iteration of the franchise. It will add nothing to the rules. When it comes however to fluff and the feel of the Mishima megacorp, you are in for a treat.

Physically speaking, the book is as pretty as soft-covers get, full of colour and gloss. Even though the art does not come from the same artist or in a single style only, it is both fitting and convincing. There is certain goofiness at times, this is however inherent of the game line, not a result of poor artistry. As in the main rulebook, the fonts are rather small and the amount of text in the book substantially more than you would have expected. The margins are small, much smaller than the competition; the price to content ratio is once again very high, seeing how there is no wasted space. There are no blocks of text. The chapters and subchapters give a nice, smooth flow to the whole thing.

The pdf is again an exercise in perfection, and in line with Modiphius’ releases in the main rulebook as well as other RPGs like Dust Adventures. Everything is right where you expect it to be, including bookmarks for every single chapter and sub-chapter. The art is kind of brighter; I presume the excellent quality of the printed version’s gloss paper has something to do with it.

The weak points: Mishima is probably the worst offender when it comes to lack of crunch in desperately needed places. No population is given for any of the Mishiman centres. Practical information is sorely missing. When was the 99 year leases of Fukido signed? When do they expire? What is the average day of a Mishiman like, and what diversions has this oppressive regime set up in order to better control its citizens? The Tournament of the Skies, a fighting competition for warriors, doesn’t cut it alone, nor do the reality shows as presented. As easy as I found it to understand the mentality of a Bauhauser, an Imperial or a Capitolian, Mishimans partially elude me. And that is not because I cannot fathom what present day clichés of Japan are about, but because information is missing. Oh well.

I enjoy the fact that each book is written differently and sheds a light on what each corporation holds dear. I am wondering however whether GMs' lives would have been made easier if certain things were constant, like having both an adventure as well as advice on how to gamemaster that particular corporation. Mishima gets neither. Add this to having blank spots on the faction’s society inner workings, and one might have trouble setting up an exclusively or predominantly Mishiman campaign. This is quite self-defeating, I am afraid.

Even worse, this doesn’t happen due to lack of space. Like the Imperial and Capitol sourcebooks, the Mishima one does not reach the 130 pages of content of the Bauhaus sourcebook, weighing in at some 10% less. I really wish it did; there are many more things that could have been explored here, definitely more important than in the other source books. In addition to the missing adventure, there is only one NPC described. Admittedly, he is one of the coolest NPCs in any of the rulebooks, being the exception of an exception (a gaijin/foreigner/outsider that became a hatamoto of Lord Heir Maru). Still, however, he is only one, in a faction that would have benefited from a dozen. The pdf version costs cheaper, true, yet on this sourcebook I don’t feel that the right balance has been stricken.

There are a few typos here and there, but all in all, nothing serious. Also, due to a printer mix-up in the first printing of the sourcebook, the cover is matte while it should have been glossy; it will be corrected in subsequent printings. I don’t give a rat’s ass, personally speaking. If you do however, take a closer look on your FLGS’ bookshelves. They might carry both types at the same time.

Just like the main rulebook, there is no colour coding in the margins to find things more easily. The title number and mention at the bottom of each page is unfortunately not enough, even though the book is smallish. After a couple of source books, it is now evident that this impractical format is followed throughout the game line.

Conclusion: The Mishima Source Book is a solid addition to the Mutant Chronicle 3rd Edition line... with one exception: it does not have an introductory adventure or concentrated adventure hooks for those wishing to explore the corporation from the inside. A pity; a setting as oppressive as this one would have definitely benefited from an adventure anchored in its lore. I can’t give it a 4/3,5 which would have been more accurate; a 4/4 it (still) is.

For more info on the Mishima Source Book and the Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition Techno Fantasy Roleplaying Game visit the Modiphius Entertainment website at http://www.modiphius.com.

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