Ibuki · Nippon Expedition

Identity

Rank: Legendary Hero
Role: Champion: a swordsman with a human form and a yokai form
Recruited from: The Expedition Companions panel (Summon)
Unlocked by: His quest chain. Lead a lord or hero into Goshinmori to start the Prologue, "Turmoil at the Sacred Tree"; winning the Last Stand before the Village unlocks his summon, and summoning him from the panel is the objective of Chapter I, "Oath of the Dawn"
Limit: Unique
Cost / upkeep: Summoning is free but takes one companion slot; upkeep 250, the same in either form

Background

Ibuki is a hanyo, a wanderer with the blood of the oni in his veins, who roams Nippon with Nameless Odachi in his hands. In an age ravaged by civil war and by invaders, he appears wherever the danger is greatest; time and again he has cut down marauding soldiers and fell beasts, and sheltered the common folk driven from their homes. The men and yokai he has saved, and who have come to believe in his cause, now follow him, and are known as the Akatsuki-shu (The Dawnbreakers). At their head Ibuki walks the length of the isles, sworn to cut through the ancient blood-feud a road by which men and yokai may live side by side.

Stats

	Human form	Yokai form
Armour	40	110
Melee attack	65	77
Melee defence	55	45
Weapon strength (base / AP)	150／320	180／400
Charge bonus	55	55
Health	6262	7262
Leadership	85	100
Speed	58	58

Magical attacks and causes fear and terror in both forms. Yokai Form turns him into his yokai form, which steadily burns his health; Human Form turns him back, but only after 120 seconds.

Weapons

Nameless Odachi · 150 / 320 (yokai form 180 / 400) · magical
The same huge odachi in both forms, and his signature item. The yokai form strengthens only his body, so the blade simply strikes harder in his hands. Most of its damage is armour-piercing, with no bonus against any particular kind of foe

Unit traits

Armour-Piercing
Most of his weapon damage ignores armour
Melee Expert
A master of close combat, with high melee attack
Causes Terror
In both forms
Very Fast
Light on his feet, with high speed

Abilities

Searing AuraPassive · yokai form only
Constantly burns nearby enemies: 8 damage per second within 35 m, to at most 4 entities per enemy unit at a time
Boiling Oni BloodPassive · yokai form only
The price of the yokai form: he loses 18 health per second, about 2160 over 120 seconds or nearly a third of his yokai-form health. It stops when he takes human form again
Perfect VigourPassive
Immune to fatigue, so his attributes never wear down in a long fight; innate
Will of the DawnbreakersPassive
While above Wavering: melee attack +5, weapon strength +5%, speed ×1.1 (shared with the Akatsuki-shu)
Yokai SurgePassive
While in melee: melee attack +10, melee defence +8, physical resistance +10% (shared with Yokai units)
Heroic Killing BlowPassive
A chance to slay a single-entity target outright in melee (standard vanilla passive)
Yokai FormActive · from human form
After a 3-second wind-up he takes his yokai form (see the stats table). The change itself bursts out around him, scattering the enemy and dealing 40 magical damage (24 of it armour-piercing) within 25 m. Cooldown 120 seconds; the yokai form never ends on its own
Human FormActive · from yokai form
Returns to human form and stops the health loss. Unavailable for 120 seconds after Yokai Form, then usable at any time; cooldown 120 seconds
Oni Might UnleashedActive · skill tree, rank 10
A burst of oni fury around him: 20 magical damage (12 armour-piercing) to enemies within 15 m, cooldown 90 seconds. Level 2 swaps in the upgraded version: 20 m, 30 damage (18 armour-piercing), cooldown 68 seconds
Dread of the OniActive · skill tree, rank 10
Enemies within 55 m: melee attack −24, melee defence −24, leadership −8 for 20 seconds; cooldown 90 seconds. Level 2 swaps in the upgraded version: −30 / −30 / −12 within 70 m for 25 seconds

Unit attributes

Causes Fear and Terror
In both forms; enemies who face him in melee may rout
Encourage
In both forms; leadership aura

Traits

Comes with the character from the start, under Traits on the character panel; it costs no skill points.

Wanderer of the Dawn
- Melee attack: +5 when attacking (Hero's army)
- Leadership: +8 for Yokai units (Hero's army)
The Wanderer cares nothing for empty titles; he lets the odachi in his hands lead the way. Of those who march behind him, man or yokai, not one blade hesitates.

Skill tree

Only this mod's own skill lines are listed; the vanilla combat and campaign-action lines are left out.

His Own Path

Down from the Mountains opens at rank 8. The next four can be taken in any order; Cleave the Long Night needs all four.

Down from the Mountains
Unlocks at rank 8
- Battle healing cap: +25%
- Passive ability: "Frenzy"
He once believed the odachi in his hands need guard no more than one small corner of the countryside. Now an age of great strife lies before him, and at last that heavy blade leaves its scabbard for more than the defence of his own.
Iron-Cutter
Requires Down from the Mountains
- Armour-piercing weapon damage: +50
Both hands set firm upon the long hilt, and all the strength of an oni sinks into the spine of the blade.
Comrades in Arms
Requires Down from the Mountains
- Melee attack: +6 for Yokai units (Hero's army)
- Melee defence: +6 for Yokai units (Hero's army)
- Recruit rank: +2 for Yokai units (Hero's army)
- Reload time reduction: +15% for Yokai units (Hero's army)
The blood-feud between the two has been centuries in the making. But once they have stopped a few stray arrows for one another beneath the same banner, and shared out their rations a time or two, no one troubles any longer over whether it is a man or a yokai standing at his shoulder.
Mountain-Bred
Requires Down from the Mountains
- Missile block chance: +20%
- Attribute: Strider
He has spent half his life crossing ridge after ridge of deep mountain forest, and to him sheer peaks and sucking marsh are no more than the common road. When the battle lines close and the arrows come down like rain, he has only to raise his heavy scabbard and it serves him as a great shield.
Blood of the Oni
Requires Down from the Mountains
- Wound recovery time: -2 turns
- Passive ability: "Blood of the Oni" (restores 0.1% health per second)
- Casualty replenishment rate: +20% for this Hero
- Casualty replenishment rate: +20% for Yokai units (Hero's army)
The blood of the oni runs unceasing through his sinew and bone; a sword-cut that lays the flesh open has healed after a single night's sleep.
Cleave the Long Night4 of 4
Requires Iron-Cutter, Comrades in Arms, Mountain-Bred, Blood of the Oni
- Splash attack power: +80%
- Melee attack: +8
- Weapon strength: +20%
- Weapon strength: +10% (Hero's army)
The odachi is given its head at last, and every stroke comes round with the force of a great tree trunk swung through the ranks.

Oni Rites

Two battlefield abilities, one to strike and one to cow, not linked to each other. Both open at rank 10 and have two levels; the second swaps in an upgraded version. Usable in either form.

Oni Might Unleashed
Unlocks at rank 10
Level 1
- Unlocks "Oni Might Unleashed"
Level 2
- Unlocks the upgraded "Oni Might Unleashed"
With a stamp of his foot or a blade driven into the earth, the oni fury he has stored up bursts out along the veins of the ground, hurling whole ranks of the close-packed enemy into the air and tearing them apart.
Dread of the Oni
Unlocks at rank 10
Level 1
- Unlocks "Dread of the Oni"
Level 2
- Unlocks the upgraded "Dread of the Oni"
He was born with a presence that bears down like the weight of a mountain. Meeting those red-gold eyes, even the most seasoned soldier finds his hands and feet gone cold and the hilt slipping in his grip.

General

Standalone nodes with no prerequisites.

Beyond the Summit
Unlocks at rank 36
Level 1
- Hit points: +1%
… level 100
- Hit points: +100%
Their art has reached its peak; any further training can only harden the body. A sink for surplus skill points.

Companion bond

I
Dawnwalker (Bound)
He walks openly with horns bared and odachi in hand at the vanguard; his towering oni frame is enough to scatter the faint-hearted before blow is even struck.
- Unlocks Akatsuki-shu (Katana)
- Unlocks the Dawnbreakers' Quarters fleet building
- Grants a unique magical talisman and trait
II
Dawnwalker (Trusted)
His steadfast sincerity slowly thaws mortal prejudice, giving frightened wanderers a haven of peace while his presence kindles fierce courage across the fleet.
- Akatsuki-shu (Katana) capacity +3 (1 can be recruited directly)
- Unlocks Akatsuki-shu (Bow)
- Dawnwalker advances to Trusted
III
Dawnwalker (Sworn)
Warriors sharing his conviction flock to the banner of the Akatsuki-shu; mortals and hanyo set aside ancient feuds to stand together, quelling turmoil across the province.
- Akatsuki-shu (Katana) capacity +2
- Akatsuki-shu (Bow) capacity +4 (1 can be recruited directly)
- Unlocks Kunikuzushi Oni
- Dawnwalker advances to Sworn
IV
Dawnwalker (Devoted)
With old blood feuds laid to rest, his nameless odachi is pledged to your cause; the hanyo wanderer vows to lead your host through the long night and usher in the dawn.
- Akatsuki-shu (Katana) capacity +2
- Akatsuki-shu (Bow) capacity +3
- Kunikuzushi Oni capacity +3 (1 can be recruited directly)
- Dawnwalker advances to Devoted

Companion trait · Dawnwalker

Control in his province: +2 / +4 / +6 / +8 by tier
Causes Fear for his whole army: At every tier

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