Chapter 1 

Basics 
This game is about the battle between evil gods and superhumans.​ T ​ he 
players take on the role of supernatural God Hunters who wield divine 
power to defeat the dark gods called Aramitam​a. Kamigakari: God Hunters 
takes place in the present day, where heroes with magic and other 
supernatural powers, granted by special bloodlines or training, resolve 
unnatural problems. 
When playing for the first time, the GM should focus on these points 
instead of trying to explain everything in detail.​ This game's setting is 
complex, but you don't need to know all of it. (Of course, knowing it 
certainly helps.) Let beginners know that they don't need to worry too much 
about learning and remembering everything; just explain the fundamentals 
to them to get started. 

Shards 
There are objects in this world that do not exist in our own. These are the 
Shards, also known as Relics in some countries. 
Shards look like metallic fragments that glow with all the colors of the 
rainbow, and little is known about their true nature. Ancient legends passed 
down through the generations hold that they were divine relics and rarefied 
substances that the gods wielded in ancient times. These include Takeru 
Yamato's legendary Kusanagi no Tsurugi sword from Japanese lore, the 
treasures of the gods in Buddhist myths, Zeus' thunderbolts from the Greek 
myths, and other fabled objects of power. 
These fragments contain the power and memories of the world, and hold 
the power to absorb and control the numen energy that drives the engine of 
creation. 
Numen 
In the world of Kamigakari, there is an energy not present in our world. This 
is called “numen.” It has many names. In feng shui they call it longmai, and 
it's the magical energy that sorcerers control, the ki that transcendent 
warriors wield, and the miasma of evil spirits. Those with Shards or keen 
spiritual senses perceive numen being focused or unleashed as a 
bluish-white radiance or flame. 
Numen is the source and master of all creation. All things in this world 
contain numen, and with the passage of time they can acquire a soul.  
A soul is a concentration of numen. Once a vessel has acquired a soul, it 
begins to absorb numen from everything around it, adding to the soul so it 
can act and persist. The old and infirm have more numen than their 
physical bodies can handle. When the numen exceeds what the body can 
hold, the soul leaves, like a pond overflowing its banks, making not only the 
body but the being's very existence begin to rot. 
Then, when all activity has ceased, when the rot is complete, the soul 
returns to the world to become part of a refreshed numen. 

Awakened 
Spontaneous generation, temporal patterns, the use of magic, the Evil Eye, 
ancient rites, mental compulsion... 
When one who has both a soul and control of numen takes hold of a Shard 
they become Awakened. They are gods, yōkai, monsters, warriors of 
transcendent ability, superheroes, secretive sorcerers, and people with 
strange powers. The Awakened can use the numen that circulates, shines, 
and vibrates within them to wield incredible martial arts, sorcery, and 
supernatural powers. 
The most basic of these powers is telepathic communication. People who 
don't share the same language can use their numen to communicate 
without words. Cunning Awakened can use Magical Suggestion and similar 
abilities to read others and perfectly blend into mundane society. These 
Talents thus prevent one from discerning whether someone is Awakened. 
When someone becomes Awakened, their body glows with a prismatic 
radiance, and they experience a burning pain. Afterward, they gain the 
power that resides within their Shard (and God Hunters have a variety of 
different supernatural powers depending on their lineage, gaining a Style), 
and the ability to control numen, and absorb other souls and Shards to 
become stronger. 
There are three types of Awakened: Aramitama, God Hunters, and 
Mononoke. 

Aramitama 
Since time immemorial, there have been those of evil will who became 
demons or vengeful spirits. 
The single greatest threat in the world of Kamigakari are the false gods 
known as “Aramitama.” That is the Japanese name, derived from “ara” 
meaning “violent” or “wild,” and “mitama” meaning “a spirit of the dead,” 
and in other countries the Awakened call them things like “dís” (derived 
from Norse mythology; the plural is “dísir”) and “Fallen.” However, these are 
just labels that humanity attached to these creatures, and the true gods 
(see p. XX) are something else. 
This type of Awakened is born when a soul comes to inhabit a Shard itself, 
where it continues absorbing evil intent and curses from the world around 
it. These entities consist only of Shards, and do not have physical bodies. 
Instead, they normally inhabit temporary bodies made of numen, which can 
have any shape. GMs should feel free to devise the details of such 
themselves. 
Among the Awakened, Aramitama are the most dangerous, and because 
they can control numen to create physical bodies, normal weapons are 
completely useless against them. 
They may also make a Soul Pact with a victim, which can allow them to 
possess a physical body and thereby gain even more power. Though 
Aramitama lack physical bodies of their own they can possess the bodies 
of others and even make use of their numen. Aramitama can also exist as 
“spirit forms,” ghosts without bodies, made only of numen and dependent 
on possessing those with bodies for numen. 
When they possess someone, they also gain the ability to control vast 
amounts of numen and warp the laws of nature. The possessed can rip 
through steel with their bare hands, leap over skyscrapers, and catch 
bullets with their bare hands.  
In combat they can create incredibly durable exoskeletons, scales, horns, 
claws, fur, feathered wings, or even clothing by materializing numen to 
cover their bodies. In other words, they can transform a possessed body to 
be more suitable for combat. The dangerous and bestial features of ghosts, 
monsters, and demons of legend can likely be attributed to this 
phenomenon. 
The Aramitama have been hunted, killed, and sealed away for as long as 
they've existed, but despite this they have persisted. Worse, since an 
incident known as the Scouring, their numbers have risen dramatically. 

Soul Pacts 
A Soul Pact is a deal with the devil that can grant your wish, for a cost. 
Aramitama have the special power to create Soul Pacts, which they can put 
into action when they make contact with a victim with a powerful desire. 
Aramitama target a variety of victims, but most are humans ages 13 to 20 
who have young bodies and souls that have suffered some kind of damage, 
or Mononoke with tough bodies or special powers. 
Once a victim makes the pact, they receive potent supernatural powers but 
are not Awakened, and if they use those powers to gather souls to match 
the potency of their desire, the Aramitama will grant their wish. However, 
Aramitama grant wishes in a twisted fashion, leaving the victim and those 
around them to suffer.  
When an Awakened dies, their entire body is wreathed in a bluish white light 
or flame, burning their body to a black coal tar that crumbles, and 
eventually disappears. When someone possessed by an Aramitama is 
defeated, one of the following will happen: Humans possessed and 
defeated often survive the experience. Awakened organizations usually 
take these people in and determine their fates. Mononoke and God Hunters 
make out less well due to the greater influence of the Aramitama's evil will 
and dark power over them, they are destroyed utterly and only the Shard is 
left behind. 
Soul Pacts have tragic consequences more often than not. However, there 
are always those desperate enough to make such a pact to realize their 
desires. If a victim's wish is fulfilled, the Soul Pact lets the Aramitama claim 
their soul and possess their body. 
Having such a body lets them linger in the world and seek out new victims 
to make Soul Pacts with. 

The Aramitama's Goals 

An Aramitama seeks to steal souls in service of their ultimate goal: the 
destruction of the world. 
They hold an evil will, a hatred that comes from being gods of pure 
negativity. They are born from a distillation of emotion, and embody the 
extremes of the emotion that came to birth them. They hate and rage 
because they are hate and rage. They hunger for vengeance for their own 
birth and consequently, make as many Soul Pacts as possible, to provide 
nourishment to grow so they might consume more and more. 
When two Aramitama come in contact, the stronger of the two will usually 
consume the Shard and souls of the weaker. All of them ultimately seek to 
become the one and only Avatar of Ruin. Because of this, they will refuse to 
conspire with one another, and act on their own instead. 
The final goal of an Aramitama is to collect an enormous quantity of souls 
and become an Avatar of Ruin, a king of false gods capable of controlling 
numen on a global scale to bring about the end of the world, the greatest 
disaster anyone has ever seen. 
Avatar of Ruin 
When an Aramitama collects many souls, it forms a cocoon of numen 
around itself. If allowed to complete its incubation, it would emerge as an 
Avatar of Ruin, an ultimate false god with the power to destroy the world. 
An Avatar of Ruin would be an embodiment of man's desire for destruction 
and a being capable of bringing about the end. It would resemble a human, 
with a sublime beauty like one of the gods of legend. Its power would far 
surpass that of the Awakened, able to control the whole of creation with 
but a word, able to annihilate its foes with a glare, able to induce madness 
in Innocents with a glance. 
The only way to stop an Avatar of Ruin is to strike while it's in its cocoon or 
while it's hatching. Even then, however, the battle will cost many lives. 
Since ancient times when the birth of such a being has come near God 
Hunters have banded together and sacrificed their lives to stop it. However, 
even its stirrings leave their mark upon the world. They create natural 
disasters, provoke civil war, international conflict, and other strife. 
The Awakened believe that no Avatar of Ruin currently exists, but should 
one come about, the world will be ravaged by unimaginable disasters and 
war, slowly but surely putting us on a path to destruction.  
Today, with Aramitama appearing in such great numbers, the risk of an 
Avatar of Ruin being born is unimaginably high. 
All said, it's worth mentioning that “Avatar of Ruin” is a name devised by 
humanity and the being's Divine Name (p. XX) is something else. 

God Hunters 
When a human gains a Shard within their soul, they become a type of 
Awakened known as a God Hunter. The Japanese term is “Kamigakari.” 
Other Japanese terms include Ryuumuaku-tsukai (“Longmai Users”) and 
Kakuseisha (“Awakened Ones”). While God Hunters is a common term 
worldwide, other terms include Divine Takers, Dragon's Meridian, and 
Arisen. Typically only one in 100,000 people are capable of handling a 
Shard, but rumor has it since the Scouring the ability has become more 
common. 
People gain the Shard compatibility either through inherent talent or putting 
in great effort. Those with the potential gain abilities far beyond those of 
normal people, granting them incredible stamina or intelligence, speed and 
agility greater than any leopard, lightning-fast healing, the might to smash 
through walls, martial techniques or sorcery beyond human understanding, 
or outright unnatural powers. 
However, to be compatible with a Shard, a person's soul must become 
dozens of times greater in quality, making them that much more tempting a 
target to Aramitama. Thus, whenever someone awakens as a God Hunter, 
they will inexorably be drawn into battles with Aramitama. 

God Hunters' Objectives 

The God Hunters' main goal is to defeat Aramitama. 
Their ultimate goal is to reach the Transcendent Promise. 
The Transcendent Promise is a legendary magic that can grant any wish. 
Many God Hunters wish to acquire this magic so they can use it to 
annihilate every last Aramitama, bringing their unceasing battles to an end 
at long last. 
God Hunters are all too aware of the threat that Aramitama represent, and 
view risking their lives to defeat these creatures as a sacred duty. Also, 
many Awakened organizations, including each of the organizations 
presented in this book for player characters to be a part of, share the goal 
of defeating Aramitama, and they can overcome their ideological 
differences and come together to deal with an Aramitama threat. 

Working Together 
God Hunters split the Shards from enemies they defeat together. This is 
one of the few things the many quarrelling groups have managed to agree 
on, and they will use their true strength to ensure it is handled equitably.  
There are also political reasons. In the past the Church, which acquired the 
most Shards, used that power to crush the various groups of mages, and 
the other organizations are wary of repeating that history. 
(Note ends here in Noelle's version) 
Even God Hunters who are students in the Facades they show the 
Innocents must still use their supernatural powers to fight Aramitama, still 
hold the memories of the world in their Shards, and still seek the 
Transcendent Promise. God Hunters are hunters of false gods and seekers 
of the Transcendent Promise, using their Shards and numen to act as 
secret watchmen. 

The Transcendent Promise 

The Transcendent Promise is a hidden magic that can grant any wish. 
“Transcendent Promise” is a translation of the Japanese term, “Shinka no 
Seiyaku.” In other countries they call it names like Ars Magna, Beltaine, the 
Final Rune, the Tree of Life, Shenxian Chongdu (Immortal Worm), and other 
names grounded in mystical traditions. 
The Transcendent Promise is a powerful magic that can totally transform 
the fundamental principles of reality, granting the user any wish. Its origins 
are unknown, but the story has been passed down through Awakened 
organizations the world over since time immemorial. There are ancient 
texts from all over the world that tell of the gods using this secret art that 
can grant any wish. 
There are Aramitama who know of it, but they have no interest. That's 
because they know that using Soul Pacts to devour souls and become an 
Avatar of Ruin is far easier for them than attaining the Transcendent 
Promise. Also, for reasons not currently known, even a Soul Pact cannot 
reveal how to attain it. 
Furthermore, all the texts agree that one of the requirements for gaining it 
is to be an Awakened who has gathered much of the world's power and 
memories. However, they don't record how to attain it, and there are none 
today who have succeeded at doing so. Furthermore, the surviving texts 
make it clear that using the Transcendent Promise requires 10 or 11 
Awakened with a special power.  
The texts agree on many points, and through detailed investigations of 
these over many years, the various organizations have come to believe it is 
real. Many God Hunters have thrown themselves into the search for the 
Transcendent Promise because of its potential to be humanity's salvation 
from the Aramitama. 
Whatever the case, if someone with the Transcendent Promise wished for 
the world to be at peace, the God Hunters' battle would come to an end. 
Spirit Burn 
Spirit Burn is a supernatural power unique to God Hunters. A God Hunter 
can use a variety of emotions and sentiments, from sorrow to rage, to 
channel a vast amount of numen through their soul, making a portion of it 
burn, yielding a massive amount of spiritual energy. 
Using the energy from this process lets God Hunters momentarily subvert 
the laws of nature. God Hunters call this incredible power “Spirit Burn.” See 
p. XX for more detailed information about Spirit Burn. 

Forged Regalia 
Though Awakened can control numen, they largely don't exhibit special 
powers in how they wield normal weapons. Thus, in fights between 
Awakened, the ability to bring one's numen to bear against the opponent's 
is vital. In order to better cut through opponents' numen, there are 
specialized “growing, god-killing arms.” These “god-killing arms” are called 
Forged Regalia. 
Forged Regalia are made from a mysterious process that combines a small 
Shard (too small to gain Experience Points or Gold) and Ley Gold. Imbuing 
a Shard into a weapon requires it having a Divine Name and a soul so that it 
can control numen. In other words, Forged Regalia are living weapons with 
the same properties as gods. By absorbing Ley Gold and Materials, a 
Forged Regalia can grow as a weapon. 
Only Awakened can wield such weapons, and depending on the user they 
can easily surpass any modern arms. When an Awakened uses a Forged 
Regalia that takes the form of a longsword, the numen manifests as a 
powerful light from the blade, and a thunderous roaring sound like a great 
beast. An attack infused with numen can cut through an opponent's numen 
and even their very existence.  
This makes the numen under the wielder's control harmonize perfectly, 
allowing them to focus on hitting, and bringing forth destructive power 
sufficient to cleave body and soul alike.  
Forged Regalia are based on the Divine Regalia of the gods of antiquity, but 
born from human hands with science, alchemy, or sorcery.  
Each Awakened organization has its own advanced magical facilities for 
creating Regalia, and these consume great quantities of Ley Gold. The 
various organizations closely guard the secrets of the technology required 
to operate these magical facilities. That makes it very difficult to have 
large-scale magical facilities. Consequently, the manufacture of Forged 
Regalia is mainly the role of organizations, and God Hunters who violate 
this unwritten law will be punished by being barred from buying them. 
Additionally, it's possible to create one's own Regalia using Ley Gold and 
Materials taken from Mononoke. 
Of course, Regalia aren't available in just any shop, and you need the 
permission of an Awakened organization or the owner to purchase one. 

Mononoke 
When an animal, a plant, or an object that has acquired a soul with the 
passage of time has a Shard, it becomes a type of Awakened called a 
Mononoke. “Mononoke” is the preferred Japanese term. They're also 
known as Yōkai or Seiryō, and overseas they use terms like Critters, 
Monsters, or Enemies. 
Mononoke are animals, plants, and objects that have achieved an 
apotheosis. They have existed all over the world since ancient times. 
People revered them as local gods, spun tales of them as spirits and fairies, 
and feared them as monsters. 
They are the oldest of the Awakened, and they come in many varieties (at 
least when compared to Aramitama and God Hunters). Some are 
intelligent, and some are not. They have many different forms. Those 
without intelligence tend to be closer to how they originated, while those 
with intelligence adopt more human-like shapes. 
Unintelligent Mononoke are essentially animals and will relentlessly attack 
those who enter their domains. Intelligent Mononoke may wish to coexist 
with or at least live apart from humans, but some see humans as food or 
simply hold them in contempt, and some resent those who steal their 
sources of numen. Though they are not as much a threat as Aramitama, 
Mononoke can have bodies and supernatural abilities that go beyond 
human knowledge, making them a danger to humanity. 
That makes Aramitama covet their powerful bodies, and target Mononoke 
for Soul Pacts to gain that power. God Hunters also sometimes target 
Mononoke for the supernaturally powerful Materials they can yield. 
“Materials” are body parts and mechanical components that carry powerful 
numen, which Awakened can use to make miraculous medicines and 
powerful artifacts. Each God Hunter receives a share of Ley Gold gained 
from the Materials sold to the Awakened organizations. 

The Abodes of Mononoke 

Most Mononoke live in groups. The leaders of those groups control 
leylines, rare pieces of land with high concentrations of numen (see p. XX). 
They will create a Spirit Barrier on a leyline, birthing a pocket dimension, 
and then use a special supernatural power called “sanctification” to build a 
lair, their preferred natural environment, a shrine, a mansion, etc. inside of 
it. (The GM decides the details.) Sanctification makes the interior of a Spirit 
Barrier become an environment where they can live comfortably. 
Many Mononoke fear the light of the sun. Sunlight can extinguish their very 
souls in some cases, and Mononoke that are not humanoid, mechanical, or 
mythical beasts will combust in a white flame that horribly burns their 
bodies when exposed to the light of the sun. 
Additionally, they need the numen inside the barrier to maintain both their 
flesh and souls. Sudden exposure to strong sunlight or failure to collect 
enough numen over a long period of time can destroy their capacity for 
reason, making them go berserk, or in extreme cases destroy them utterly, 
leaving only black coal tar. For those reasons, they use Spirit Barriers to 
avoid the sunlight, spend their time hoarding numen, and if they need to go 
outside they do so at night. 
They've kept a certain amount of distance from humanity since ancient 
times, leading quiet lives. However, as mankind flourished, people invaded 
their domains, so that the line between the lands of man and Mononoke 
was not so clear. 
A lot has happened in modern times. There has been discord, and humanity 
has come to know their anger. On such occasions, mankind has reacted 
with terror, reverence, placation, or simple avoidance.  
When people hold a place sacred and the Mononoke's numen and will 
intertwine with that belief, it can unconsciously create a boundary between 
human and Mononoke territory. In folklore, these become taboo places: the 
forest of no return, the cursed lands, the lair of demons. 
However, with the passing of the ages, we've arrived in these modern times 
when people have forgotten about the Mononoke, and are now again 
crossing the old borders. In Japan, during the postwar economic boom and 
the bubble economy of the 1980s, land development and such were regular 
occurrences. 
Mononoke are powerful, but unlike Aramitama, they aren't invincible 
against human beings. With modern weapons or a large sacrifice of human 
life, even Mundanes can potentially take them down. Intelligent Mononoke 
have some understanding of this, but they can't afford to lose their leylines, 
resulting in many clashes with humans. 

Divine Names 
Those who have Shards in their souls have true names fixed in the world, 
secret names, etc., collectively called Divine Names. 
The GM can determine the Divine Names of NPCs that appear in their 
scenarios. Also, there's a power called Identity (p. XX) that makes it 
possible to learn someone's Divine Name from their Spirit Crest. 
It's thus possible to discern an Awakened's Divine Name in the Spirit Crest 
that appears above their body. 
Aramitama often have Divine Names derived from demons, false gods, or 
strange monsters. 
God Hunters who are particularly skilled may find others using their Divine 
Name as a nickname or alias of sorts. If they keep achieving great deeds, 
fellow God Hunters are liable to start calling them by their Divine Name 
instead of their normal name. 
Mononoke are often known by names like “Yokai” or “ghost,” categories 
that humans have assigned them to. However, they do each have their own 
Divine Name. 

Relations Between Awakened 

Awakened come in several different varieties, with hostile relations and an 
ability to profit from harming one another. 
Aramitama constantly crave souls, so they forge Soul Pacts with 
Mononoke and Mundanes, and constantly target the high-quality souls of 
God Hunters. Mononoke fight others for a variety of reasons, and God 
Hunters fight both Mononoke and Aramitama to collect Shards to increase 
their own power in pursuit of the Transcendent Promise. 
The Aramitama seek to destroy the world, the Mononoke protect 
themselves and their own, and God Hunters seek to protect the world, and 
they're in a constant state of conflict. 
Note: About the Awakened 
Let's give a straightforward explanation of what the Awakened actually are. 
If the players ask for an explanation of what the various types of Awakened 
are like, the GM can read the following: 

Aramitama 
Aramitama are false gods born of evil will. They have appeared in history 
and legend as evil gods and terrible monsters. 

God Hunters 
God Hunters are legendary heroes and people with superhuman abilities. 
The heroes of legend achieved their great deeds through their ability to 
control numen. 

Mononoke 
Mononoke are the ghosts, monsters, nature spirits, and pagan gods of 
myths and legends. People that couldn't control their Shards and became 
monsters, and creatures of chaos that could be called descendants of 
Aramitama, are also classified as Mononoke. They are forces of nature that 
have gained their own will through the power of a Shard. 

The Scouring
It happened in the gray of morning on November 1st, sixteen years ago. 
A sound resonated through the skies all across Japan, and every shrine, 
temple, archaeological site, and burial mound was engulfed in a massive 
conflagration, a disaster that destroyed them utterly. They called this 
mysterious event the “Japanese Simultaneous Conflagration Disaster,” or 
more commonly, the Scouring. 
Investigations at the time recorded accounts of a sound like beasts roaring 
just before the disaster and ripples witnessed in the skies. This explosive 
conflagration phenomenon seemed capable of tearing Japanese society 
apart. 
And yet, the damage done was strangely limited, focused almost entirely on 
shrines and temples. Fortunately, this happened in the middle of the night, 
so very few visitors or tourists were harmed. However, everything within a 
certain radius of each shrine and temple was totally immolated, obliterating 
many homes so thoroughly that it wasn't even possible to recover the 
bodies. 
Today, people have rebuilt the burned shrines and temples and constructed 
new houses to replace those lost, so that there's scarcely any sign of the 
disaster. The Scouring is nonetheless a singularly ghastly event in the 
history of Japan and for that matter the world, and it left a deep impression 
on the memories of mankind. The government launched a thorough 
investigation at the time, but found no useful clues. The investigation thus 
continues to this day. 
There's an occasional mention in the papers or on TV, but people pay oddly 
little attention to it. However, the cause is unquestionably supernatural in 
nature. It may have been some kind of magical ritual or the birth of a 
powerful Awakened, and the various Awakened organizations each have 
any number of rumors about what it might be.  
Moreover, the Scouring represented a turning point. In Japan–and only in 
Japan–there was a dramatic increase in the numbers of Aramitama and 
Mononoke being born. 

Since Then 
Things have changed rapidly in Japan since the Scouring. Where the 
Awakened were once rather rare, they've become much more common, and 
thus supernatural phenomena have also been observed with much greater 
frequency.  
The Japanese Awakened have also been discovering bodies turned to coal 
tar, as well as scenes of slaughter that don't appear to be the work of 
anything human. The media initially went all-in covering these kinds of 
events, but they were so unnatural that the media has since quieted down, 
and doesn't report on them all that much anymore. 
With so much strangeness going on, Awakened from overseas have taken 
the opportunity to visit Japan and fight the Aramitama. To that end, a 
“Demon Slayer's Association” (Taimashi Kyoukai) was formed to contain 
things within Japan, and the various organizations fought each other more 
fiercely than ever. 
However, the Japanese organization known as the Ministry of the 
Environment Office of Special Countermeasures, responding to misgivings 
about this state of affairs, intervened to negotiate with several of these 
organizations–notably the Sorcerer's Society Alliance and the Knights 
Templar–to form a temporary truce, creating a fragile alliance. Currently, 
most of the Awakened organizations protecting humanity in Japan are 
working under the Special Countermeasures Office, sharing information, or 
at least carrying out their own independent investigations. 
Thanks in part to the Internet, eyewitness reports on supernatural 
phenomena and rumors of unexplained urban legends are popping up all 
over the place, with the gossip sometimes becoming strangely prevalent. 
People say things like, “I was attacked by a monster, but a henshin hero 
came and saved me!” 
“People caught in the middle of a fire, but a flying girl helped people get 
out.” 
“A high school age boy shot lightning out of hands and vanished.” 
“An alien came out of a flying saucer.” ...And so on. 
We can think of all of these as the work of “freelance” God Hunters. 
Currently, no one has found an Avatar of Ruin or the Transcendent Promise, 
but all of the Awakened organizations are remaining vigilant, seeking out 
every scrap of relevant information they can find as they fight the 
Aramitama. 

Awakened and Society 

Knowledge of Awakened 
To Innocents, the Awakened are nothing more than myths and legends like 
the Aramitama known as Shutendoji the Oni General, the God Hunter 
known as Minamoto Raiko who defeated Shutendoji, the Mononoke known 
as Yokai and the Nue, and so forth. 
Perhaps it is because they hide their own existence. Only a few 
highly-placed officials in governments and law enforcement agencies 
around the world know the truth, and even then their knowledge is scant. 
Thus, incidents involving the Awakened–supernatural incidents–are more 
often than not marked as “cause unknown” and left unsolved. 
Furthermore, the various Awakened organizations make maintaining that 
secrecy a duty for their God Hunters. They don't want the world to know of 
Aramitama for fear that the allure of the Soul Pact would deliver more 
victims, and more souls, to the Aramitama. 
Some God Hunters present themselves as mediums or prominent 
members of religious groups. They act as specialists who undertake 
requests, allowing them to investigate such incidents. Posing as a medium 
lets them collect information more easily. This makes it easier to find and 
deal with Aramitama, but it does carry the risk of being discovered. For that 
reason, God Hunters or organizations will sometimes watch them closely. 
The secrecy surrounding Mononoke and God Hunters is similar. It's easy to 
imagine the revelation of the existence of such beings throwing society into 
chaos. That said, God Hunters don't exactly fear that Innocents would fear 
their power and launch witch hunts. Law and political power don't deter 
them either, and since they deal mainly in Ley Gold, they have little to fear 
from economic losses. 
Ultimately, it is first and foremost the need to keep Innocents from learning 
about Soul Pacts that motivates the Awakened to maintain their secrecy.  
Furthermore, to those enmeshed in the supernatural, the ordinary world can 
be a source of comfort. That's why most God Hunters obey the law and 
lead quiet lives as much as they can. Even so, there are those who use their 
powers for personal gain, pursue forbidden magic, or otherwise cause 
problems. 
Forbidden magic is that which the Awakened call “Destruction of Law,” 
which distorts the physical laws of the universe. Since Destruction of Law 
is nothing but evil techniques that strip people of their souls, the various 
Awakened organizations have forbidden them. As these things risk both 
the revelation of secrets and run against the rules of the organizations, 
those that practice Destruction of Law are tracked down and eliminated 
without exception. 

Collaborators 
There are some Innocents who know of the Awakened and aid the God 
Hunters. God Hunters call them “Collaborators.” Though they lack Shards, 
they're similar to God Hunters in that they secretly practice magic. Most are 
descendants of God Hunters, and they know of the threat that the 
Aramitama represent and want to help deal with it. 
Some have inherited abilities from the Styles of their ancestors, and a 
group of them together can potentially be enough to deal with a Mononoke. 
However, without Shards, they can't handle numen on a large scale, and 
thus can't hope to defeat an Aramitama. 
They thus devote themselves to supporting the God Hunters and helping 
maintain their secrets. Collaborators, too, fervently wish to use the 
Transcendent Promise to eliminate the Aramitama once and for all. 

Traces of Awakened 
When an Awakened causes an incident, they leave traces at the scene. 
These traces of the Awakened can take the following forms: 

Supernatural Phenomena 
Chance meetings with ghosts, strange physical damage, etc. are evidence 
of the the supernatural influence of numen on the world, and unmistakable 
signs of either Awakened or leylines. 

Pitch 
When a person loses their soul or an Awakened is destroyed, they lose the 
ability to maintain their physical form, changing to something that looks 
like black coal tar. The Awakened call this “pitch.” When an Awakened is 
slain, their soul is released, and if their soul can be returned before the body 
turns to pitch it may be possible to revive them. However, the window for 
this varies from one individual to the next, so it's not always possible to 
save them. 

The Mark of Offering 

Aramitama sometimes use numen to mark people and leylines they're 
pursuing. This is called the Mark of Offering. A Mark of Offering appears as 
an unreadable Spirit Crest, and lets an Aramitama know the victim's 
location until the Aramitama is slain. 

Spirit Pulse 
Those with a keen sixth sense can pick up the ripples of numen within a 
radius of around 500 meters. The Awakened call this unseen wave a “Spirit 
Pulse.” 

Disruptions to Electronic Recordings 

Supernatural activity can affect even mundane recording equipment and 
other electronics under the following conditions. 
 ● Cell Phone/Wi-Fi:​ These are usable, but they cannot connect to 
anything when within a Spirit Barrier or similar Talent's area of effect. 
● Recording Equipment:​ Cameras, TVs, and audio recording devices 
can't show clear images of the supernatural. There's noise and errors 
in the images and sounds from Mononoke and Aramitama, and also 
of God Hunters when they're using numen. Also, cameras can't 
capture anything inside of a Spirit Barrier, but sound recordings are 
possible. 
For Innocents these are all impossible phenomena, but Awakened 
understand what they mean. 
Innocents with stronger spiritual senses also can pick up on these traces. 
Such spiritual senses and powers once ran strong in several bloodlines, but 
today they've mostly been lost. Those who still have those senses can 
more easily pick up on and become caught up in the supernatural. 

Proof of the Awakened 

Spirit Crests 
An Awakened’s body has a special mark on it. Those who know their 
importance call these “Spirit Crests.” Spirit Crests appear to originate from 
the bearers' Shards, and are composed of several patterns, individual parts 
of which call to mind images of swords and shields, as well as some kind 
of script. Awakened can typically discern someone's Divine Name from 
their Spirit Crest. 
Spirit Crests aren't normally visible, but when an Awakened uses numen, it 
gives off a prismatic radiance that passes through clothes and armor and 
such.  
Acquiring souls or Shards as well as controlling leylines makes one's Spirit 
Crest become more complex or larger (though they do not gain additional 
Spirit Crests). Thus, the larger and more complex the Spirit Crest that 
appears on an Awakened's body, the more powerful they are. 
Furthermore, when an Awakened defeats another Awakened, they take a 
portion of their Spirit Crest, which is another way to restore one's own Spirit 
Crest. 

Spirit Barriers 
If Awakened fight all-out, the resulting carnage could level a large city 
overnight. Spirit Barriers are useful to God Hunters who want to protect 
humanity, to Mononoke who find them a good way to stake out their 
territory, and to Aramitama who want to conceal themselves from other 
Aramitama. 
To create a Spirit Barrier, an Awakened channels a massive amount of 
numen into creating a slight distortion in the world, a crack in time 
containing a mirror-image copy of the immediate area. Spirit Barriers have 
various names attached to them, like Mirrorland, Purgatory, Makyo (a Zen 
term for the “Devil's Cave”), and so forth. 
Time flows differently within a Spirit Barrier, making it possible to fight 
battles and resolve conflicts in the blink of an eye from the perspective of 
the outside world. It's also possible to link Spirit Barriers together, however 
this causes a sudden correction as time rushes in to correct the imbalance. 
To put it in simple terms, a Spirit Barrier is a technique or power that acts 
like a camera that captures an image of a place, allowing one to do things 
there for a certain amount of time. 
Awakened have most of their battles inside one another's Spirit Barriers. 
Since this involves drawing an opponent into an extradimensional space, 
once an Awakened uses it, they're no longer detectable from outside. That 
keeps prying eyes away from battles, and lets Awakened maintain normal 
lives in public. 
The ability to create a Spirit Barrier is common among Awakened, they can 
extend to an area of up to 500 meters. There's no limit on how long it can 
last, and an Awakened can use this power repeatedly as well. However, 
normal humans aren't accustomed to the influence of large amounts of 
numen, and long-term use can cause temporary aging. 
The interior of a Spirit Barrier is a swirl of great quantities of numen and 
time, and even God Hunters are sufficiently human to age decades from 
just an hour inside of one. Even if a Innocent doesn't age from being in a 
Spirit Barrier, they'll abruptly feel exhausted enough to fall unconscious, and 
their memories of what happened inside will be hazy. 
People who temporarily age from being inside of a Spirit Barrier will go 
back to normal with the light of the sun and a day of rest, but if a person 
ages beyond their natural lifespan, they'll be in trouble. (The GM decides 
what specifically happens.) 
All of that means that humans can't stay inside of a Spirit Barrier for more 
than 1 to 3 hours. 

Inside a Spirit Barrier 

The fragment of distorted time in a Spirit Barrier is quite small, and most 
Mundanes won't notice anything unusual. 
Unless a Mononoke has sanctified the barrier, the scenery inside is a mirror 
image of the outside world. There will no living things inside of a Spirit 
Barrier apart from Awakened and any others the Awakened have brought in, 
and the sky inside is simply a projection of what the creator imagines the 
sky should look like. 
An Aramitama's Spirit Barrier is disturbing enough to induce madness in 
those who look upon it. And Mononoke have the ability to sanctify their 
Spirit Barriers, which allows them to change the internal scenery and 
structure. 
The barrier between a Spirit Barrier and the real world takes the form of a 
large and brightly glowing image of the Awakened's Spirit Crest. 
Within a Spirit Barrier, no amount of destruction to a cityscape will affect 
the outside world. 
Even if the creator of the Spirit Barrier is gone, it will persist for around half 
an hour before returning those inside it to the real world. 
Also, for whatever reason every Spirit Barrier has a huge, glowing fissure in 
its sky, filling it with a beautiful light. 
It's rumored that these light fissures suddenly started appearing after the 
Scouring. 
Mundanes can't perceive Spirit Barriers, and simply vanish for a moment; if 
they're tethered by a rope or a chain, that binding will be left empty. 
Once a Spirit Barrier is released, everything snaps back to how it was, 
though of course that means that any corpses and pitch are left out in the 
world. 
Using a Spirit Barrier 
A Spirit Barrier is deployed from the creator's Spirit Crest, but they can have 
a variety of forms.  
When you create one to draw someone into, it takes a spherical shape 
centered around yourself unless you make an effort to create something 
else. 
It's also possible to create a small Spirit Barrier for everyday use, to store 
Ley Gold and other valuables. These have about enough space to hold one 
person. 
In order to retrieve weapons and such from one of these, the Awakened 
creates an elliptical aperture in front of them and either waves their hands 
or simply reaches in. This means that God Hunters virtually always have 
weapons and other useful items concealed on themselves. When they keep 
items in a small-scale Spirit Barrier even pulling them into another Spirit 
Barrier will not make it possible to take those items by force, as they can 
simply change the space and time within their barrier at will to hide them 
from intruders. 
This means that if an opponent has a large enough Spirit Barrier, an 
Awakened can use this to force their way in. 
Since it's difficult to alter the copy of normal spacetime that appears within 
a large-scale Spirit Barrier, it's only possible to force your way in by linking 
your own Spirit Barrier to it and correcting the cracks in time cause by the 
interaction. However, escaping requires that the controller to either 
collapse the Spirit Barrier intentionally, or to be rendered unable to fight.  
When Awakened create multiple large-scape Spirit Barriers simultaneously, 
the Spirit Barriers naturally link together, and the Awakened with the largest 
Shard will become the master of the resulting barrier. 
Specifically, the priority for barrier control based on Shard size is 
Aramitama, Mononoke, then God Hunters. If the one in control is defeated, 
the one with the next largest Shard takes control, and the landscape their 
predecessor's mind created will change (the GM can decide the details). 
If an Awakened is defeated and no one is present who can take control of 
their Spirit Barrier, the fissure in the sky will expand, destroying the whole 
landscape with a sound like shattering glass. 
After that, the light consumes the barrier, and anyone inside–living or 
dead–will find themselves back in the real world. 

Mysterious Objects 
Kushimitama 
Defeating an Awakened lets one acquire a Shard.By adding the world's 
memories and the raw power contained in a Shard to their Spirit Crest, a 
God Hunter can make their body and soul more powerful and attain more 
potent techniques, greater magic, and stronger supernatural powers. 
Since God Hunters have the smallest Shards of any Awakened(1 XP 
regardless of their level), there's no real point in trying to take the Shards of 
other God Hunters. That is why God Hunters only try to take Shards from 
other types of Awakened. 
Mononoke have several Shard fragments, equal to their level times the 
number of PCs. 
Defeating an Aramitama provides 50 Shards times the number of PCs. 
An Avatar of Ruin would be the same as other Aramitama. 
When someone absorbs the power from a Shard, it leaves a mysterious 
crystal behind. These crystals are called “Kushimitama.” Only the larger 
Shards from Aramitama become Kushimitama.Kushimitama look like 
jewels that give off a prismatic radiance, and by applying some numen, an 
Awakened can transform them into a valuable golden metal called “Ley 
Gold.” 
Also, since Kushimitama are supernatural crystals, it's possible to consume 
them to control numen to cure afflictions and even perform miracles that 
subvert the laws of nature on a small scale.  
However, miracles performed with a Kushimitama can't raise the dead or 
heal damage from Spirit Burn. 
It's not possible to simply keep Kushimitama on hand though, as they 
dissipate into numen after a while.Unless they're going to use a 
Kushimitama to perform a miracle, God Hunters will normally change them 
into Ley Gold. 
Ley Gold 
Ley Gold is a particularly pure kind of gold that God Hunters can acquire by 
refining Kushimitama or selling off things like Materials from Mononoke. 
When an Awakened applies numen to a Kushimitama, it generates a large 
amount of Ley Gold. 
It doesn't take the form of coins, but rather cylindrical ingots weighing 
about 100 grams each. 
The Awakened use Ley Gold as their main currency. 
Since Artificial Regalia and such are made from refining and processing 
Ley Gold, it's essential for buying and selling. 
Conversely, the paper money of the mundane world is of little value among 
Awakened, and you can't use it to buy things like Artificial Regalia. 
For that reason, the prices in this book are in Ley Gold (with a G as the 
currency symbol) rather than Japanese yen, and Ley Gold is what 
Awakened use to buy, sell, and upgrade Artificial Regalia. 
One of those 100g ingots has a value of 1G, and would be worth hundreds 
of thousands of yen. 
Since God Hunters use Ley Gold as their main currency, they have no real 
worries when it comes to paying for their mundane lifestyles, as they have 
more than enough to cover any everyday expenses. 

Leylines 
These are places where numen naturally concentrates. 
Haunted places, places of spiritual power, and so forth are all leylines. 
There are leylines in a variety of places and in different sizes, but Japan is 
among the parts of the world with a particularly high concentration of them. 
They tend to be in places abundant with nature, locations deep in natural 
caves, shrines, temples, ancient ruins, and even in modern abandoned 
buildings or beneath flourishing cities. 
In addition to being natural gathering places for numen, there are more 
supernatural phenomena and more Awakened being born, which in turn 
means that there are more supernatural incidents. 
When Mononoke control a leyline, they can become gods of the area–gods 
of nature or guardian deities–who rule over their families (Mononoke of the 
same time) as well as other Mononoke in the area. Mononoke who control 
a leyline command titles like Nushi or Nushi-sama. 
There are also humans who control leylines. 
Most are God Hunters who are sorcerers or come from family lineages. 
A family will maintain control over a leyline site to gain the benefits of it. 
The most important benefit is that using the leyline's properties lets them 
ensure that future generations inherit their power, producing new 
generations with similar Shards in their souls. 
God Hunters are normally quite rare, and few are born. 
For that reason, God Hunter clans will use the properties of leylines to 
guide the birth of new generations to ensure that their gifts are not lost. 
Also, since a leyline is a force of numen and good fortune, controlling one 
lets a clan bring good fortune to its members, such that most are quite 
successful in society. 
Controlling the numen of the land itself is a type of magic known as “Feng 
Shui.” Along with divination, Feng Shui is one of the few forms of magic 
that humanity affords some public recognition. However, few have 
awareness of its true power. 
Some clans took control of a leyline by slaying the local god that previously 
held it in order to gain the numen that they leyline affords. 
On the other hand, there are clans that have inherited a leyline from a local 
god whom they offered gifts and showed friendship toward. 
For all of those reasons, leylines are vitally important to the Awakened, and 
they can bring prosperity to an entire clan. 
However, when a leyline has no master, it can attract supernatural 
problems such as the Aramitama and Mononoke. 

Godforged Regalia 
Powerful weapons received from the gods in ancient times, mysterious 
artifacts, sacred relics, the weapons of mighty heroes, secret hidden 
treasure All of these are Godforged Regalia. 
Unlike Artificial Regalia, Godforged Regalia come from the gods, and thus 
are considerably more advanced than anything current, modern technology 
can create. 
These are things like the sacred swords and holy spears that mythic heroes 
received from the gods, but not the weapons of the gods themselves. 
They have such destructive power that a single swing can split the ground 
across an entire region, but can only be wielded by the worthy. 
There are also Godforged Regalia in the form of crystal skulls that can 
transform any area into a leyline, and golden flying machines that you can 
hold in your hand and use to fly. 
There is a holy chalice that accumulates numen and grants that 
supernatural power to the one who holds it. 
There are also Godforged Regalia that take the form of grimoires and other 
books containing lost arts, capable of causing all manner of supernatural 
phenomena. 
Each Godforged Regalia holds tremendous power, so much so that any 
Mundane can pick one up and use numen, allowing even normal people to 
cause dangerous supernatural incidents. Worse evil Awakened can attempt 
to use Godforged Regalia to pursue their own desires. 
However, there are also Godforged Regalia that clans have passed down 
through the generations, “Legacy Users” who make it their duty to protect 
such artifacts. Those who would use Godforged Regalia for evil purposes 
and those who would seal them away are in a constant state of bitter 
conflict. 

Numen and Science 

Normal science is powerless in the conflicts between Awakened. 
However, science is the essence of human intellect, so it's not without 
value. 
Among the various Awakened organizations are those who, through 
investigating Godforged Regalia, have attempted to combine numen and 
science. 
Those efforts have borne some incredible fruit. 
For example, they have managed to encode the chants and magic circles 
involved in sorcery into magic programs that can be stored on computers 
for quick casting. 
There aren't yet many of these “digital sorcerers” who use this fusion of 
science and numen, but even the great sorcerers of ancient lineages have 
acknowledged their accomplishments. 
Also, there are rumors that God Hunters and their Collaborators who 
control large companies have managed to analyze and form theories about 
Godforged Regalia. This has allowed them to create enhanced armor and 
surveillance drones that use numen instead of electricity, homing bullets, 
surgical techniques for grafting parts of Mononoke onto people, and even 
begin research into cyborgs with Spirit Crests. 

The State of the World 

Awakened Organizations 
This section introduces the five Awakened Organizations (including 
Freelancers) included in this book. 
In the world there are also the “Alchemist Material” corporation (which buys 
and sells Ley Gold), Arkham University (which researches and manages 
magical tomes), the Apostles of Knowledge (a militant organization 
plotting the end of the world), the Black Dragons (Awakened assassins), 
the Church of the Dark God (which worships Aramitama and the Avatar of 
Ruin), the Rozenskull (a society of evil sorcerers), the Barrow Apothecaries 
(who experiment with mysterious arts and magical medicines in secret), 
Kyokuto Heavy Industries (which secretly manufactures mystical 
weapons), the Black Eagle Group (B.E.G.), and countless others. 
In the world there also exist a number of organizations related to the 
Awakened. The “Alchemist Material” corporation, who are buyers and 
sellers of Ley gold. Arkam University, who are researchers and managers of 
magical tomes. The Apostles of knowledge, a militant organization plotting 
the end of the world. The Black Dragons, a group of Awakened assassins. 
The Church of the Dark God, worshippers of the Aramitama and the Avatar 
of Ruin. The Rozenskull, a society of evil sorcerers. the Barrow 
Apothecaries, who secretly experiment with mysterious arts and magical 
medicines. Kyokuto Heavy Industries, who secretly manufacture mystical 
weapons. The Black Eagle Group (B.E.G.). And many others. 
The GM can feel free to use these organizations, and can of course devise 
entirely new organizations as well. 

Demon Slayers Association 

Leader:​ Shuu Hachibu 
This is the most influential Awakened organization in Japan. 
It's also known as the Association, and has its headquarters in Kyoto. 
It has existed in some form since the time of the gods, but it was formally 
organized during the Nara Period (710-794 C.E.). 
Since ancient times, followers of Shinto, Buddhism, and Onmyodo set aside 
their differences and joined together in this organization with the aim of 
secretly defeating and sealing away dangerous Awakened. 
There are eight houses that govern the Association. 
House Mitsurugi has turned out supernatural warriors of exceptional skill, 
and with the Tamaki, Kagamibe, Tsuchimikado, Ashiya, Hata, Kusakabe, 
Takenouchi they make up the “Eight Legions,” with the heads of each house 
serving on the Association's ruling council. 
However, of late the lesser branch families have begun rebelling against 
this system of government, such that there are persistent rumors of 
conflict within the houses. 

Knights Templar 
Leader:​ Gerhardt Sparda 
The Church is the world's oldest religious organization, and the Knights 
Templar are its international exorcist group. Among Awakened they are 
also known as simply the “Knights.” 
Their headquarters are in the Vatican. 
They seek to recover the Shards and Godforged Regalia that they view as 
sacred relics, and root out Aramitama, which they call “demons.” 
The Church has endured a long time, and has a long history of suppressing 
and antagonizing other organizations as heretics. However, with the 
increase in Aramitama activity since the Scouring, they've achieved a fragile 
peace with the other organizations, and in Japan in particular dealing with 
supernatural incidents comes first. 
Members of the Knights Templar are all inhumanly powerful warriors with 
supernatural powers, and the greatest among them receive the title of 
“Patron Saint.” 
Sorcerers Society Alliance 
Leader:​ The Three Philosophers 
The Sorcerers Society Alliance came about from heretic sorcerers aiding 
one another with research while needing to maintain secrecy from the 
world. 
It's also known as the Alliance, and has its headquarters in both England 
and Milan. The Alliance has numerous sorcerers in its ranks, and its leaders 
are the Three Philosophers: Simon Magnus, Apollonius, and Trismegistos. 
They seek for modern sorcerers to support one another, pursue the 
Transcendent Promise, and totally eradicate the Aramitama. 
The Alliance has been in vicious conflict with the Knights since ancient 
times, and that discord remains today. However, with the opportunity to 
obtain Shards from Aramitama, they've reluctantly joined forces. 

Ministry of the Environment Office of Special 

Countermeasures 
Leader:​ Masato Urabe 
The Office of Special Countermeasures in the Ministry of the Environment 
is the sole arm of the Japanese government dedicated to dealing with the 
supernatural. 
It's also known as the Office, and has its headquarters in Tokyo. 
To the public it's an obscure branch of the government that deals with 
environmental investigations, but in reality it's a public safety organization 
that specializes in the supernatural. Their goal is to investigate, resolve, and 
conceal supernatural incidents, and to negotiate with and arbitrate conflicts 
between the other Awakened organizations. 
The section chief of the Office is Masato Urabe, a man of exceptional 
intellect and calm judgment, who rose to the position after demonstrating 
his talents when controlling the aftermath of the Scouring sixteen years 
ago. 
Although it is technically a division of the Ministry of the Environment, the 
Office has exceptional information-gathering capabilities and extralegal 
powers. However, it is drastically short on God Hunter personnel, and thus 
has very limited ability to directly fight against Awakened threats. 
For that reason, the Office of Special Countermeasures mainly works with 
other Awakened organizations and Freelancers, providing them with 
information on supernatural incidents, concealing information from the 
Mundane world, providing legal assistance, and offering other services to 
help resolve supernatural problems. 

Freelancers 
Leader:​ None 
There are many God Hunters in the world who are Freelancers, owing 
allegiance to no particular organization. 
Among Awakened they are also known as simply the “Frees.” 
Freelancers have a variety of motives and goals. 
For example, some simply get caught up in conflicts. Others know of 
Aramitama, and have resolved to fight them. 
Some used to be part of an organization. 
They're often those who got tired of the organization's internal disputes. Or 
they may have simply been chafing under the rules. Some have been 
excommunicated. 
There are also those who came upon their knowledge of Shards and numen 
by chance, those who were born as Mundanes but awakened to the powers 
of a God Hunter, and those who are tagging along as a sidekick or disciple. 
Most who act as Freelancers lack an organization's protection, so many 
have a great deal of combat experience and considerable skill regardless of 
their age.