Musashibō Benkei
Wielder of 999 Weapons
Devoted Follower Musashibō Benkei (a.k.a. 武蔵坊 弁慶)
Summary:
A powerful wandering monk and master of combat from ancient times. Musashibō Benkei became Minamoto no Yoshitsune's servant after losing to the hero in a momentous battle upon a famous bridge. For the past several hundred years, however, the two have been separated by a curse, and were only recently reunited by the hand of the Hashinara Clan. As such, Benkei has, with her master, chosen to remain with the clan for the current time. Through some accident of her birth, mastery over Ki, or simple, unmitigated vigor, Benkei is incredibly hard to kill. She possesses stamina leagues above other warriors in her position, and can shrug off blows that would kill a normal human instantly. Seeking a way to use this quality from an early age, she first became a monk, then a collector of weapons. Her now-expansive collection of 999 weapons is now incorporated into her fighting style, and she is capable of bringing a frightful number of them to bear on the battlefield simultaneously. In contrast to her master, Benkei is largely informal in demeanor, though she does still have a rather archaic way of speaking. She is open and friendly with those around her, and always willing to talk, especially about her areas of expertise. In battle, however, her personality undergoes a subtle shift, and all premises of kindness or mercy are discarded in favor of a simple, burning devotion to win at any cost. Her hobbies are the same as they were hundreds of years ago. She still seeks powerful warriors and legendary weapons to win in combat and finish her collection. This seems to be a never-ending task, however, as the moment she collects a new instrument, another of her arsenal mysteriously vanishes.Unique Abilities:
Unending Devotion: Musashibo Benkei's incredible stamina and devotion to her master allows her to keep fighting long after her body should have given out under its wounds. The number of life points she can survive below zero is doubled. With Eternal Blood, this allows her to stay alive and conscious until she has reached a negative total LP equal to 40 times her CON value. In addition, the penalties she takes for operating in such a condition are halved. That is, she takes a penalty to all actions equal to half the amount of LP she is below zero, rather than the full amount. While she has positive LP, Benkei is treated as having Regeneration 16, but this drops to Regeneration Zero when brought to negative life points.Mental characteristics
Personal history
Benkei was mentioned by several individuals under the name Oniwakamaru, said to be the backbone of Wakayama’s resistance against the Chōsokabe. She was generally assumed to be a man, and was credited with killing at least 50 of the enemy clan’s soldiers, saving the lives of countless refugees.
Ryūzaki Sanosuke encountered Benkei during his invasion of Wakayama in aid of Tsuchimi Takasuke. She was difficult to see through the mass of at least a hundred Chōsokabe samurai and ashigaru, all of whom she was fighting singlehandedly and without apparent effort.
Some significant time later, Benkei was lured to Yamato Province by the promise of a tournament hosted by Katsusada Shishauezaemon. Hoping to reunite with her master, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, she entered as a participant.
For her first fight, she faced off against Chōsokabe Kanetsugu, formerly of the Chōsokabe Clan and, despite a spirited showing by her opponent, won without sustaining a single wound.
In her second round, Benkei fought against the Tianchaoren magician, Huolian. Her opponent began by flying quickly into the air, but Benkei, having seen her previous match, had prepared for fighting an aerial opponent and bore a huge longbow and buckler into the arena. Despite Huolian’s rapidly increasing distance, Benkei continued to fire an arrow each second, each one striking the magician’s shield and weakening it. Houlian herself launched a pair of fireballs, the first glancing off Benkei’s buckler, and the second exploding around it, singing the monk but not harming her in any significant way.
Eventually, Huolian’s shield failed, and one of Benkei’s arrows struck the fragile magician, killing her instantly. Benkei herself kicked off the ground and flew up to her falling opponent under the power of her own ki, and slowed the body’s descent. Upon discovering Huolian was dead, she gravely took out a string of beads and recited a prayer over the corpse.
Katsusada Shishauezaemon then ordered that Huolian’s body be sent back to China.
Accomplishments & Achievements
- Vanquisher of Azai Nagamasa
- Vanquisher of Chōsokabe Kanetsugu
- Vanquisher of Ippondatara
- Vanquisher of Ryūzaki Sanosuke
- Slayer of Date⚔Masamune
- Slayer of Huolian
Failures & Embarrassments
- Defeated by Minamoto no Yoshitsune
- Defeated by Miyamoto Musashi
General Rank
S
General Type
Kensei
Aura
Flaring Blue
Blood Type
O
S
General Type
Kensei
Aura
Flaring Blue
Blood Type
O
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Year of Birth
1155
404 Years old
Children
Current Residence
Wakigami Castle
Gender
Female
Eyes
Citrine
Hair
Long, wild, straw-colored
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Tanned
Height
5'8
Weight
155 lbs
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Related Plots
Related Reports
Character Prototype
Comments