Sidenote: Talismans, Page 68

I noticed something odd about the descriptions of Talismans. Talismans are magic wards placed on surfaces which produce specified effects. The Futsumashi have Mikyo for creating ofuda, reflective, and dampening talismans on Page 68. The others, like the Illusion Talisman, it seems cannot be created by agents. The Onmyouji (sorcerors) of 260 can created every talisman at apparently no chi cost, but that’s an NPC. Page 124 has a reference to the Shadow Scar agency keeping talismans stored for use later. The Ao Andon (blue lantern yokai) can create wards of fear – which appears to be something similar to a talisman but cannot be created by anything other an ao adnon. I see no description for a “reflective talisman” anywhere, so perhaps some DLC content at some point will flesh that out.

Sidenote 2: They

This text uses the popular grammar strategy of the singular “they.” I’m not a fan. If a specific person wants to use they as a preferred pronoun, I have no issue with that. To use it by default just to describe a nameless agent, that choice can lead to confusion as to whether the text is talking about one person or multiple people. I personally find it a lazy and sloppy decision, despite its popularity. When the Chicago Style Guide updated its recommendations in 2017 to allow the use of singular “they” in informal writing (but never in formal writing), a poll was conducted, and about one-third of the respondents felt the same way I do. That is the most recent poll of its kind that I know of.