I've recently gotten a hold of the 4e L5R book and fallen in love with the setting and system. I'm planning on running a game this month, but I'm getting stuck trying to set up the game. I figure that rather than coming up with a plot first I'll have my players build their characters and write a plot around them instead.
We're currently hashing out ideas but so far we have a crane bushi of the daidoji clan, a bushi from the dragon clan, and the uncle of the dragon samurai. We're all new to the setting, and we're having some trouble coming up with interesting and deep characters that really fit in with the setting.
Can we have a story thread where we talk about our favorite L5R characters and compare notes?
>>47555063
>the 4e L5R book
That book was for 3E, you retard.
If you're learning 4e try running Legacy of Darkness, it's a decent introduction for the rules and setting. Plus it's free.
>>47555063
If you're having trouble with a plot you could always listen to Yoshida Brothers and read things off of the L5R wiki. Always works for me
>>47556346
Do you mean legacy of disaster? Google's not bringing anything up for legacy of darkness.
>>47555063
>no love for the crab
Also, that Shiba looks like a moron.
>>47555063
Unfortunately, i happen to be in the same boat. Currently setting up a game for a group of l5r novices, save one. We are going to do a game about a group of Mantis samurai (and affilates) and their boat, doing business and having adventures across the empire.
two things we focused on during the (first steps of) character creation were:
1.) give every character a connection to the rest off the group,
2.) give every characcter a reason for going along with a Mantis trading ship, something not really seen by most samurai as a worthy pursuit.
I also got a question for the great /tg/ overmind. One of the players want's to do a ronin. I have both the core rulebook and enemies of the empire, so i have enough stuff on them to make it useful. However, the books seem to have an odd stance on how available techniques should be for ronin. I get that "ronin are shit" is very justified in setting, but that does not make for a fun game. So, should i just give him the opportunity to pick up a new technique of choice when he levels up, like the others, or should i make it more complicated then that?
>>47561155
>So, should i just give him the opportunity to pick up a new technique of choice when he levels up, like the others
Most characters don't have much choice when they go up in rank, since alternate Ranks are associated with special pseudo-schools (Or even just specific dojo) that don't hand out invitations to any shmuck with relevant skills.
>>47561377
Sorry, i meant more in the way that clan samurai just learn the next technique when they level up insight, rather then have to seek out someone else, join their little social group, earn their trust, and then start learning their technique like the rulebook suggests ronin do.
>>47561842
If it's not going to be a focus, just handwave it and leave Techniques as just a thing that happens after you get enough practice.
Kitsuki Investigators are cool
>>47561155
Check out the ronin basic school in Secrets of the Empire. It's a full 5 rank school, but won't be overshadowing any clan samurai.
>>47555063
>Can we have a story thread where we talk about our favorite L5R characters and compare notes?
I'm hoping I'm reading the purpose of the thread correctly.
Matsu Katsumi was probably the longest-played L5R character I had. Here's her backstory (plus an addendum from the end of her first campaign; I didn't update the document after her second or third). Is this the sort of thing you were looking for?
>>47555063
>I've recently gotten a hold of the 4e L5R book
Get rid of it, buy 1e or 3e instead. Those are the only even passable editions. 1e's honestly the best, but 3e at least has interesting mechanics to keep the people who are sexually obsessed with NUMBERS happy.
>>47565231
That's an unusually edition warring post for L5R.
>>47565325
But he is mostly right. Though the goodness level of the various editions is pretty high with the exception of 2e, which I think was made intentionally shitty to increase interest in Oriental Adventures, aka d20 L5R.
>>47565325
Well, he's not *entirely* wrong. Insofar as 2nd edition was pretty mechanically terrible (Ring+Skill keeping *skill*, IIRC), and 1e had really, really in-depth and fluff hitherto-unspoiled by the card game metaplot. And 3e and 3eR really are much more mechanically complex than the previous editions, even if the underlying math was really bad and even the Line Dev (Shaun Carmen) admitted that they didn't really care about the numbers and just threw in "what felt about right." It was 3e that included magic that allowed you to teleport an opponent "Ringx100 feet" in any direction you chose as an instant-cast Mastery 2 spell, with no way to avoid the effect, and the devs outright admitted they never even *considered* that somebody would use a travel spell to teleport an enemy straight up and let them drop.
The d20 edition doesn't bear speaking of.
I can't speak for 4e though, since I haven't played it. And I'll also admit that the tone is unusually hostile for an L5R thread that isn't talking about roleplaying-related table differences or Ronin mechanics. But yeah, there are some pretty major edition differentials in L5R, and some of them produced pretty darn superior products, depending on what you want out of the game.
>>47565436
2e was Roll Skill/Keep Trait, so if you had a Kenjutsu of 5 and an Agility of 3, you'd be rolling 5k3. TNs were not adjusted downwards to reflect the lesser dice pools so it was more whiffy than Derp Hurresy.
>>47565436
I like 4th because it's pretty well balanced and the only things that are really, completely out of whack are high end Void shenanigans. Yeah, ronin suck compared to clan schools (And minor clans suck compared to great clans), but it's pretty consistent about telling you that straight out of the gate.
>>47565498
>2e was Roll Skill/Keep Trait,
RIIIIIIGHT...sorry, it's been a *really* long time since I touched any 2e mechanics. Thanks for the reminder.
But, yes, IMO the core point that it wasn't very good mechanically is still sound.
honorbump
>>47565436
>t was 3e that included magic that allowed you to teleport an opponent "Ringx100 feet" in any direction you chose as an instant-cast Mastery 2 spell, with no way to avoid the effect, and the devs outright admitted they never even *considered* that somebody would use a travel spell to teleport an enemy straight up and let them drop.
WAT
>>47565436
> It was 3e that included magic that allowed you to teleport an opponent "Ringx100 feet" in any direction you chose as an instant-cast Mastery 2 spell, with no way to avoid the effect, and the devs outright admitted they never even *considered* that somebody would use a travel spell to teleport an enemy straight up and let them drop.
But, due to the way magic works in the setting, it'd be easy for the GM to make that either not work at all or require extra effort to convince the kami (Who are actually generating the effect) to actually perform a teleportation that is directly harmful to someone. Remember that the prayer being used is supposed to be beneficial and is imploring them to move someone as a benefit, so using it for a more violent, harmful purpose could be seen as directly lying to the kami.
>>47567437
Sure, you can do that. But it's way outside the actual rules, and a player would be right to be upset at you if you sprung that on them with no advance notice that, "not using the spell as intended might upset the kami and make it fail".
It was just a terribly written spell. Masters of Magic and Masters of War both were chock-full of that sort of thing.
>>47568235
You don't have to spring it on them. A shugenja is supposed to be a religious authority (Particularly when it comes to the elemental kami). You can just straight up tell them that the kami don't appreciate asking for one thing and then actually doing something anathema to that, because their character should 100% understand that it works that way.
l5r is love....
>>47561377
One way to do that is that the Ronin goes up in insight ranks but just doesn't get any new techniques. That's basically what happens for any ronin that can't find a sensei willing to teach them. [spoilers]Why yes Ronin are fed endless bags of dicks why do you ask?[/spoilers]
The more kind option is something like this:
http://pixel-breath.com/imperial-registry-index-of-all-schools-in-l5r-4e/
Or you can work with the player to try and come up with some tech of their own. Probably best to leave that one be till you've both got some experience with the game.
Anyway as for your main points, they could all just be money grubbing bastards. It's not like there's a lack of materialistic samurai in the empire. Alternatively it could be some weird scenario where they've been attached to the Mantis because of politics. Be it some plan for gains, honouring a deal or even a punishment for the character or someone they are affiliated with.
>>47568607
>One way to do that is that the Ronin goes up in insight ranks but just doesn't get any new techniques
That's actually one of the reasons why Ronin eat shit. If you get to Insight Rank 3 without having found a rank 2 Technique, you can NOT fill that "slot" later. You've completely skipped over rank 2 Techs and have to hope you can find a Rank 3 Technique before you hit Rank 4 and lose that opportunity as well.
>>47565231
This man seems to have dunked himself in the Dead Sea.
Each of the editions has it's problems. For examples 3e spills free raises like most of us spill pasta, 4e has some classes that are just broken as hell, 2e is jank and 1e I dunno, it's old?.
Personally my group runs 4e and has a great time with it and on the occasions where we want to play a school that got broken we just sub in the 3e rules for that school and it works out fine.
Whether it's balanced, I dunno, but the group is all friends who're there to explore stories about our characters so it works out.
>>47568681
No sane DM would force that on a player.
That's the sort of thing you bring up at character creation and discuss to figure out how to run.
But yes poor ronin.
Shit why are there s's on those spoilers. HERPADERP
If you have a ronin who is working with the Mantis, he could also go Mantis Brawler, since that's one of the very few schools that still uses the old Master-Apprentice style of teaching and is one of the only Clan Schools that is entirely unregulated. If you can find a Brawler who is willing, you can openly be taught the Techniques of the Brawlers. You just have to have the willingness to degrade yourself by living like a dirty, barfighting pirate. The Crab would be all over it if they didn't already have similar Techniques (Kobo Ichi-kai) with slightly more credibility.
>>47568437
Shut up, Kachiko. You were only not the worst Thunder because Hitomi went on to become the worst.
>>47568437
See I can't help but look at that image and comment and think:
"Gee that's a nice looking Yogo honey trap."
This is what I get for playing a Yogo courtier/assassin.
>>47560887
Probably an Isawa then.
Non-Shugenja Isawa ARE morons.
>>47555545
>>47565231
>>47555063
So, that's pretty hostile and useless advice.
Truth is, 4E does a lot of stuff well, but I'm not a big fan of the changes to schools.
I have run a couple years-long L5R campaigns, and am running two different groups through campaigns at the moment and I run 4E for the system, and 3E for the schools.
Not a perfect fix, but it's what works.
OP.
When I was trying to set up my groups, I had to do a bit of shilling to find players, but they settled in, and love it.
Remember that a lot of the strengths of L5R is the ability to create a setting that has depth to it, with specific ways to engage with it.
Strong for first-timers as well as grognards.
Gift-giving is a great example.
It's a big important thing IC, so you have to tell your players about it, and ask them some basic questions. When they come up short, you have an in to explain some of the basic options they have (Make up a quick poem, or an illustration, never give something useful).
But once they come to grips with that, they start making interesting choices based around what they want out of it, when and how to give insult. How to curry favor.
So it's one of those settings that has good 'granularity'. It's got enough detail for most levels of specificity. You can have someone say "I give a gift and roll courtier" right alongside someone who crafts a poem that specifically shames the listener in a way that they can't be reprimanded for, all in fluff.
what a shitty art
>>47569484
Me again.
As to what story seeds you should go with, L5R has some really strong setting material around 'perception-versus-reality'.
Everyone knows that not EVERY Isawa is secretly a maho tsukai.
But, equally, everyone knows that the Isawa are all maho-tsukai, and if that wasn't the case, how come the rain of blood happened?
So there are these perceptions that pervade the whole universe, and everyone is aware of them, no matter how in-theme or off-message your character is, whenever other Samurai meet them, they are making those comparisons in their head.
Because of this, inter-clan groups can be a lot of fun, especially if you play up these tensions, and then help resolve them. A good way to build that into the above is to have something happen to all of them.
In the campaign I'm writing, I took the film Seven Samurai as my starting hook.
There's a crane lord. He's been a bastard to each of my Players. They get an opportunity to assassinate him, which brings them to the attention of an inquisitor who needs catspaws to investigate the Kolat.
From there, most of my campaign writes itself according to what my group does after we start, according to what I build into the Kolat, and how the Kolat responds.
Look to samurai drama for ways to bring together disparate groups. Play up their differences, but encourage them to solidify their identity together, and then it will start driving itself.
>>47568698
>4e has some classes that are just broken as hell
Every edition does.
3e had some crazy shit, like the ronin duellist that would study an opponent for hours before finally attacking, or the henshin dbz-style monk that would get rings to 10 as their first few combat actions.
>>47569565
I don't mean crazy shit like that or the Shiba infinite Void generator.
I mean "This is broke as hell and does not work. Tell me the warranty is still good." broken.
Things like a Daidoji using Guard to give his courtier +30 TN and then standing behind him.
>>47568773
Might say Kachiko, but we all know that is a ninja distraction.
>>47569590
3e had that, too. Mantis Whirling Dervish comes to mind.
>>47561155
It's a big fixture of setting that Five Ranks of school tech only come from Great Clan resources and Centuries of Honing (tm)
That's a fluff conceit.
It's certainly true that some schools pack more punch than others, and so you can feel confident putting five ranks of tech to a ronin school name, so long as you make it reflect their focus. Because of the realities of ronin life, that focus should be in different areas than a clan samurai, and from the perspective of a clan samurai, be weaker because it's focus is in areas "beneath" a samurai.
So, look at mantis schools. Build some powerful tricks that people might side-eye you for. Reliable ways to generate or manipulate money. Foraging tech, etc.
It's always possible for both the Ronin and the Great Clan Samurai to be satisfied with the Ronin's tech, remember that. You don't have to choose someone to leave unhappy.
>>47569565
Now Henshin are (only) crazy for their 10k7 base unarmed damage.....
>>47569642
>It's always possible for both the Ronin and the Great Clan Samurai to be satisfied with the Ronin's tech
Best way, still (imo), is not to start the ronin as a destitute, unlearned, poorly trained schmoe. Talk with the player, and encourage becoming ronin in-game.
>>47561155
RIght, so i'm just going to have him learn the techniques he wants. I'll probably have some old ronin sensei walk into the plot shortly after he gains insight or something. All he really wants are the hidden blade and sword of yotsu techniques, so i doubt he's going to break anything.
>>47569642
>It's a big fixture of setting that Five Ranks of school tech only come from Great Clan resources and Centuries of Honing (tm)
>That's a fluff conceit.
It's also poorly upheld in mechanics, which makes it more of an unsubstantiated claim of the clans.
>>47569900
Yeah. Maybe I should have said kappa instead of (tm)
>>47569900
well, kind of. The minor clans also manage to make 5-rank schools, but all of them are supposed to be weaker then great clan schools (save for the monkey, but that's because "monkeys are best").
However, i don't reallly see the difference in power in the crunch, and a good collection of 5 ronin techniques could also be an eaqual to a great clan school. Which is great for game balance of course, which was probably the reason for the current system, but the whole "great clans are the best" idea is kind of sinking this edition.
>>47564270
That is actually exactly what I was looking for, thanks.
But yeah, I've been talking characters with my players. So far the only one we have solidified is the dragon clan bushi. Basically his deal is that he was the third son of his family, and as such was never expected to lead or have any major role in the family's affairs. As such he was never groomed and trained as thorougly as his siblings. Instead he pursued art, poetry, and philosophy rather than military tactics and history. This was all well and good until a war with another clan broke out and all of his elder siblings perished, leaving him the heir. Now this free-spirited wandering artist has the entire responsibility of his house thrust on him, and he has to struggle to be the leader and preserve his family's legacy. I have no basis for what a strong l5r character would be like, but this seems pretty solid to me.
I think another player wanted to be the dude's uncle who is tasked with guiding the youth but in reality just wants to manipulate him for political gain.
Crab Clan Best Clan.
>>47570931
Sounds pretty legit.
Dragon can be fun for individualist stories, but it's nice to see people not going overboard.
If I have to play alongside another kungfu fighting, table-wielding tattoo-monk I will cut gut.
>>47570330
>a good collection of 5 ronin techniques could also be an eaqual to a great clan school
Ronin techniques are really good at what they were designed for. NPCs that aren't quite as good as PCs. Any book word otherwise should be reigned in by the core chapter of water - everything contained within is (extra warning given) optional and to be used at the behest of the GM. It's the same chapter that gives Spider schools, after all.
If talking about PCs, then their sensei should dictate their starting school. No sensei? Then there *is* a five rank ronin school to default to. Secrets of the Empire.
>>47555063
My favorite character that I played was Shosuro Soba, a courtier with an urchin as a ward (dependent flaw), one-eye (missing limb), a pet shitsu, a grandfather who was an asshole and kept using my money to support his opium habit (played by another player), and a mission to kill a Yakuza bosses eldest son so the youngest son could come into power when he dies.
Problem is, the elder son was so likable that no one took the mission seriously. To the point that he was alone in a room with the ninja, in a room with weapons on the wall. The elder son was grieving and praying about the loss of his wife...and the ninja walks out the room to let him have his moment.
At this point, I personally visited the magistrate, and bribe him enough that he'll agree to round him up and kill him if I can guarantee a public "attempt" on his life so that he has cause for murdering someone who was, at this point, very supportive and popular with peasants and nobles alike. I promise him results on the second night from then.
Anyway, Soba gets captured as he was caught snooping around trying to find evidence to have the local magistrate capture and kill him. So, cue a torture scene where they threaten to impale his other eye making him blind. The DM made this scene awesome as he played out the peasant apologizing for his actions as he slowly heats up the needle and approaches before cutting away to the party.
Rest of the party can't find me...and I know that I'm not tough enough to resist torture forever. so when it cuts back to me...I agree to talk. They unbind my mouth and I tell the table...
"My life for the Scorpion" then pass a will roll with like 120 over the TN and bite my own tongue out. Now, I am a useless courtier, but I defended my bros.
I barely survive. But the mission looks like it will fail. But I did not forget my promise.
>>47572616
I ambush the nearest member of the elder son's gang and steal his clothes, then steal a horse from the stables managing to fend of the monk (DM allowed one player to play a greedy monk so everyone had different schools). I ride past the magistrates guards. Ride my horse INTO his inn, killling it as I ride into a pile of running grills, roll in front of the magistrate and critically wound the servant next to him then using my acting skill convingly strike at while whiffing against the magistrate.
Magistrate stares at me and recognizes me. Remembers my promise and says, "I will never doubt the word of the scorpion," then cuts me down.
The campaign ended that night, as the GM claps his hands and declares me the best scorpion he's ever seen.
MFW I'll never get to play as Enpitsu, the urchin who now has no father figure and was resented by the grandfather for taking "his" money.
>>47572653
The DM asked us to make our own scorpion masks out of cloth or construction paper, and my mask was an eye patch that I cut and drew with my non-skill.
I'm actually getting ready to run an L5R game in a couple of months (using Savage Worlds instead of the base system, though). The characters are all going to be young samurai attending the Test of the Topaz Champion and competing to become the best and brightest up-and-comer in the Empire. Naturally, politics and the supernatural become a major impediment to their efforts. So far, it's looking like the group is two Scorpions, two Dragons, a Lion, and a Phoenix. It's going to be interesting, to say the least.
>>47572826
I'm currently playing through the Topaz Championship as a Kitsuki Investigator, it's going pretty well so far.
>>47572299
There's already a 5 rank ronin/generic school that is pretty balanced IMO.
>>47572826
Why would you drop the system? Its pretty straightforward and balanced.
>>47572956
If you let them sub out the rank 2 and 4 for other ronin paths it is.
>>47572956
Yes. Said that.
Any fa/tg/uys played FRO/planning to join the new one?
>>47569642
They say that, but then Tsuruchi and his best friends built a 5 rank bushi school in less than one generation. It is a mish mash, and I just kind of ignore it if it gets in the way of fun for the players.
>>47568825
piss off, Asami
go make babies w your husbando or something
oh wait,
that FAILED!!!
LOLlolololololllllooooooool!
>>47571025
That is the fakest looking crab I've ever seen. That tetsubo probably weighs more than she does. How is she going to smash an oni's head in with such thin arms? Shameful display.
>>47572616
>>47572653
>>47572765
>>47574767
Thanks Anon. I was tempted on writing out the story of Doji Sabu, the villain who got away with it, or how my brother started a war by not realizing explosives could be heard by the guards on the city wall.
>>47574567
That's because the story team had to shove all of their story into the lifespans of named characters due to the way event rewards worked. If they had actually waited the requisite centuries, the specific characters would be dead and not at all useful for the next CCG set.
That's why there are more important historical events within the 100 year period starting from the clan war than there are in the millennia before that.
>>47576913
Yeah, shit's stupid. I still have someone play a Tsuruchi Archer every time I form a game. Its one of those things we kind of have a tacit agreement to not speak of because it is an old scab.
I find it kinda odd that there aren't many bastards in the fluff, considering how common affairs are and how proving parentage works (If a dude says that it's not his kid, it's legally not his kid, end of story). I mean yeah, many ronin are bastards (Which is why they're ronin and not members of their parent's clan), but prominent ronin in the fluff are almost always ex-clan members whose parents were married or the children of two ronin who were probably married.
>>47577848
Because important people can't be fatherless dogs, anon.
>>47577848
oh, there probably are a lot, they just aren't important.
>>47570330
Back in 1e all the Minor Clan Schools were 3 Rank Schools except for the Mantis who recently got their 4th Rank invented by Yoritomo.
RPG players have a giant throbbing erection for the Minor Clans so they all got 5 Rank schools in 3e onwards.
>>47580590
A lot of those minor clans are old enough for it.
The great clans universally started with 3 ranks at the founding of their Schools and it took them just a few hundred years on average to get to their 5th.
>>47580766
>A lot of those minor clans are old enough for it.
By fluff it's not just a matter of age - the clan samurai have leisure & study time to create new techniques, plus constant conflict to test them against worthy opponents.
Minor clans live(d - not sure if this changed at some point) more or less hand to mouth, as they didn't have the numbers to support full time clerks and bushi.
>>47572653
>Enpitsu
You want to name your character Pencil?
>>47581065
Better than Seppun Baka. Or Otaku [any personal name].
>>47581091
IIRC there was also a scorpion named "eat."
This is why you don't try to use a real world foreign language when your only knowledge of the language comes from looking up random words in a dictionary.
>>47581091
Not really, at least most of those words at least have other meanings because Japanese is full of homonyms (otaku is not just anime geek, it's also the very formal way of saying "house").
"Enpitsu" isn't even Japanese in origin, it's a katakana-iztion of a completely foreign word.
>>47581135
I mean. Have you seen western fantasy? Every fucking character is named GIBBERISH ADJECTIVENOUN.
>>47581055
Some of them are, some are comfortable enough but just small. I'm a fan of the five rank universal school progression myself, but I get why that would be an appealing idea to represent MC.
>>47581582
Good point. Doesn't make the practice right, but you've still got a point.
>>47581757
>some are comfortable enough but just small
Even the comfortable ones don't have anywhere near the free time great clans have. The ratio of land to samurai, even with a small parcel of land, skews one way for greats and the other way for minors.
Anyone know of the good scans for the 4th edition books? The few I've found through google have been shitty scans I can barely make out at times.
>>47582086
Except the Monkey, the Monkey have all the fucking time and resources in the world.
Fuck the Monkey.
>>47582197
The Monkey are a Kolat front.
>>47582197
I blame that on the ccg love for a 0/1 spud named Toku.
>>47580590
When we played a few years ago the whole group was minor clan. We played in the 1st ed time period with a Hare bushi, Fox shugenja, Tsuruchi bushi, Mantis courtier, and a wandering monk.
>>47582197
And Ox. They have a military enough they could probably actually fight a smaller GC if they wanted.
>>47582587
Another Kolat front. See the common theme.
>>47582613
And the Mantis before they became a GC? That's the last MC I can think of who has a history of a large military.
>>47582668
The boar had a large one. Still do kinda.
Best nemuranai are the real ones.
bumpo
Is it possible to make a badass crane? It seems like every crane I've seen is a waifish effeminate bishonen.
>>47587221
"What are the Daidoji?" for 500.
>>47587221
Doji Kuwanan
>>47587221
That's not true
Some of them are actual women. It's difficult to tell them apart, I know.
>>47587221
>>47587493
>hurr durr Crane r wimmenz
>>47587294
Proud samurai of the Wall that secretly wish they were in the Cool Club Crab Clan.
>>47583072
The Boar are extinct as far as i know. You may be thinking of the Badger clan, who do have pretty decent army. After all, their purpose is to guard a group of mountain passes, so being a rather militant clan is to be expected.
>>47587221
Keep in mind the political position of the Crane is mostly maintained by the Kakita cutting bitches up if they whine about it.
Without being Yoritomo, how would one maximise Intimidation? I want to play an honourless bully but there seem to be no ads for it.
>>47589140
IIRC the Yoritomo courtier is the only one that get's actual bonuses on intimidation rolls. However, the Bayushi bushi is specialised in finding out the dirty secrets of others, giving you a lot of blackmail material to support your intimidation, the kind that most GM's would give you a situational bonus for.
Alternatively, be a Kakita and max out your iaijutsu. It doesn't matter how much of an asshole you are to most people, as long as you can beat them in a duel. Just keep in mind that "most people" does not include your direct superiors, close family members, imperial figures or people with scorpion friends.
>>47588976
The book of Earth has them surviving in a secluded valley.
>>47589200
>It doesn't matter how much of an asshole you are to most people, as long as you can beat them in a duel.
There's a limit to how far you can go with that, before someone important (or less tied to tradition) decides your inability to resolve a situation without offence and violence needs a solution.
Can I choose for my courtier to carry her katana openly? Or do they simply not have one because they aren't in their starting package?
I was under the impression that every samurai, even shugenja got given their grandfather's katana.
>>47589698
Well, you'd have to be ready to duel. Because that's what carrying a katana means in court.
>>47589743
I am well aware of the social implications, but was hoping for a mention if it in the rules.
>>47589758
As small as it is just talk to your GM.
>>47589698
>>47589758
You can carry your katana if you wish, that was rules used to say, just as >>47589743 notes, you must be ready to fight a duel if demanded, you would not have the right to claim a champion while carryng a katana.
The Book of Void for example, mentions that warriors are supposed to have some points in some courtesan habs to not make them useless in the Court, but also, that courtesans should spent some exp. in kenjutsu or bojutsu.
>>47589140
Yasuki can be pushy and intimidating.
>>47589698
Every samurai except for the poorest of Ronin and some hardline Wasps has a full daisho.
Courtiers and shugenja just leave their katana at home most of the time.
Also, only the eldest actually gets their grandfather's katana, because grandpa doesn't have enough katana to hand them out to all the good little boys and girls. Everyone else gets family spares or get new ones commissioned.
>>47591241
>Also, only the eldest actually gets their grandfather's katana, because grandpa doesn't have enough katana to hand them out to all the good little boys and girls
That's not always the case. Especially with anyone whose grandfather lived long enough to know they have grandchildren and isn't a completely unknown provincial bumpkin, having a number of gifted/commemorative/status-related/commissioned blades wouldn't be unheard of.
>>47591378
You have to be careful with gifted katanas. It's considered a massive insult to basically everyone up the recipient's chain of command unless there's a relevance/historical reason for the gift (IE, "I'm giving you this katana because it was used by your ancestor who died honorably and my ancestor recovered it" is good. "I'm giving you this katana because I thought you might need a katana" is bad). It implies that your lord can't actually provide you with one of the most basic necessities of your station and could also be construed as a threat, since you're saying that they might need a weapon right about now.
>>47591427
*their lord can't actually provide them*. The person receiving the gift is being insulted, obviously.
>>47591427
The assumption you're starting with is that the blade is being gifted from an external benefactor, rather than from the samurai's chain(s) of superiors.
>>47591523
Those aren't gifts though. A commemorative or badge-of-office katana isn't a gift. It's a reward and/or symbol of status.
>>47591553
>gifted/commemorative/status-related/commissioned
I didn't solely say 'gifted', and I would strongly differ on whether a lord or superior may gift a blade to his own samurai or subordinates.
>>47591583
>I didn't solely say 'gifted'
And I didn't say that commemorative/status-related/commissioned katanas were insults.
>and I would strongly differ on whether a lord or superior may gift a blade to his own samurai or subordinates.
I would still say that's insulting, just in a different way. Remember that gifts are supposed to be relevant (But not super useful, most of the time), and so a lord saying that a katana is relevant is implying that the current katana isn't up to scratch. This can be somewhat insulting to the smith who made the current katana (Unless he also made the new one) and possibly to whoever that blade was sourced from (Like, say, an honorable ancestor, such as a grandfather). It's also somewhat wasteful to just hand them out for no reason and might even be seen as mildly heretical in some families.
>>47591636
Is it good to present a gift you made yourself? The ideal samurai takes up a form of art as a hobby when he's not training or fighting, and I wonder if a painting or a wood carving would make a good gift.
Inb4 "Dream of the Fisherman's Wife"
>>47591636
>I would still say that's insulting, just in a different way
I wouldn't, and if at the same table, I would question whether you're using the setting or just adding head canon. Not that HC is a problem when everyone agrees and accepts it, but it does make conversation on the setting thorny.
They're still your superior, and thus within a loophole of the 'ignoring an insult to your clan' honour ding.
Further, setting info holds that the kind of samurai who take umbrage at every possible insult are either exceptionally good at doing so non-disruptively, or the next samurai to find themselves assigned to extremely uneventful duties. (Guardian of the Emperor's Peacocks is apparently a writer's favourite)
>>47591755
Yes, it is, because "I made it for you" is an extra layer of "I seem to give a shit about this". If that gift happens to be something that the recipient would find very useful (And therefore could be construed as an insult to their lord), maybe emphasize the aesthetic qualities alongside the "I made this for you" factor. Make the gift about the art on the object, not the object itself Downplay the usefulness of it and maybe off-offhandedly complement their current one.
>>47591755
Well, in part it depends on how good you are at your skill, obviously. But even in the lower skill levels, the fact you took the time and energy to craft something yourself rather then just buy something reflects positively on you.
Bonus points if you have a deeper meaning or personal story to go along with the gift, like say, a calligrapher transcribing the life story of one of the lords noble ancestors or something.
>>47591755
>Is it good to present a gift you made yourself?
Gifts with personal meaning are always good. Food and sweets are among the best, as they are inherently gifts that cannot be regifted. Art that you make yourself with the receiver in mind are also good choices. Less personal gifts are usually carried by courtiers in numbers, just so they're never caught without something.
>>47591810
Katana are considered sacred. They're basically the symbol of a divine mandate to lord over the rest of the world. Along with that, the social rules about gifts makes gifting a sword without other relevancy a very, very poor idea. It's not something you can just hand out willy nilly and not expect there to be consequences.
Now, if a lord was making up flimsy reasons to "reward" someone with an extra katana, that'd be just fine, because everyone involved can easily justify it to themselves and each other.
>>47591817
Yeah, that fancy Katana isn't about the fact you can kill people with it. It's the lovely inlay showing a crane and a dragon in flight together, symbolizing the wonderful marriage that will be happening soon.
Or such.
>>47591896
Gifting always carries reasons. It's inherent to the formal process of giving and receiving.
>>47591924
It's still better for everyone if a lord makes it a commemorative thing rather than a gift thing.
Appearance is everything, and appearing to commemorate an event or long, honorable service is much better than just giving out katanas for shits and giggles.
>>47591966
Now I just think you're just splitting hairs and using absurd reductions (shits & giggles) in order to continue to disagree.
Very well, clearly you are right and I was wrong.
>>47591876
>Food and sweets are among the best, as they are inherently gifts that cannot be regifted.
Now I'm just imagining some samurai with a side job as a celebrity chef. And getting into cooking duels against similarly inclined samurai.
>>47592010
You haven't given any other reason for a lord to just gift a katana to someone below them.
If they're doing it as a reward for something, it's not a gift, and that's the big distinction.
>>47589862
>>47589758
>>47589743
>>47589698
There was that time when Spoony played L5R for the first time and rolled up a shugenja with a katana and some ranks in Kenjutsu. The player playing a Kakita took immediate offense, challenged him to a duel, and cut him into five equal pieces in the first round. And that is why you don't play against type in L5R.
>>47592026
It can happen. Being a chef is not dishonorable in any way and having a really good chef is something lords like. Chef battles are actually in the setting when lords pit their chefs against each other in contests. Usually it's just an excuse to have a big party with lots of really good food.
Also, chefs are the first, and often last, line of defense against poison, so that's honorable, even if nobody wants to talk about it.
>>47592071
But he could have just used his Wakizashi with kenjutsu.
>>47592071
This is how you get Kenshinken'd. Do you want to get Kenshinken'd? No? Then don't make the clan look bad by starting fights over something that is literally not dishonorable or insulting and doubly so don't go to The Death Fucknugget.
>>47592071
Kakita player sounds like he doesn't understand the setting at all. "Taking offense" to a samurai carrying a katana is really dumb, and challenging them to a duel to the death over it is even dumber.
A single non-lethal duel to see who is the better duelist (The kakita, obviously) is as far as that should have gone.
>>47592029
It's a big distinction to you. Formal gift giving with it's three offers (with reasons) and two denials (with reasons) narrows the difference you're picking at considerably.
To me, you still sound like you're exaggerating Rokugan.
>>47592092
It also means they get blamed the instant anything bad happens. They're a pretty convenient scapegoat when someone's been poisoned, there's a fire, or someone's snuck a knife into a restricted area.
>>47592071
The Kakita was looking for an excuse to get into a duel; it's telling that even after Spoony's character was already dead, the Kakita's player just kept rolling damage and reveling in it. The rest of the players were retarded too; they think you have to refuse TEA twice before accepting on the third offer, when really that's a ritual only reserved for formal gift-giving and tea is just a common courtesy to guests.
They also explained none of the etiquette to Spoony, who was a newbie at the time, until after he'd unwittingly breached it.
Also, aren't you supposed to get your daimyo's permission before you fight someone to the death? Lest the dead samurai's lord get angry about losing one of his servants and potentially spark a war.
>>47592136
And that's why good chefs rule their kitchen with an iron fist. It's like Gordon Ramsay, with swords.
Hey, gents. If im looking to make a ronin, what are some hands down required skills and feats, etc?
>>47592071
Air Shugenja make pretty damn good duelists, all in all. Every Shugenja wants high void and an Air Shugenja are likely better stat-wise for duelling than most non-autist duelists.
I had a Moshi Shugenja once who openly wore her katana because she was proud of her ability to stand side by side with her fellow sailors. Didn't help that she ended the campaign with Iajutsu 5.
>>47592128
The Kakita clearly didn't. Shugenja have been written to be rare enough that a lord is likely to refuse their request to sudoku, and that enemy commanders will hold them for ransom rather than kill them during war.
The amount of shit other clans (& the Brotherhood!) could fling at the Kakita over it ...
>>47592169
You're also supposed to get the other guy's daimyo's permission. Technically you're supposed to get permission from both daimyos before ANY duel, but that requirement is handwaved away in-setting for non-lethal duels.
That's why illegal duels happen so often. Nobody really wants to send out letters asking for permission and then wait for replies just to have a friendly little skill test duel or minor disagreement resolution duel and everyone knows it.
>>47592218
It's also why you see a lot of 'Sparring' go rather hard with Samurai. Don't need permission for practice.
>>47592191
Being a ronin is kind of an uphill battle because you don't get any school techniques. It should be done for roleplaying purposes only because you just can't powergame one.
>>47592218
>>47592243
If you're just testing skills, then use wooden swords. That way you can beat the crap out of each other and it'll be less likely to end in a fatality.
It'll still hurt like hell, 'cus getting smacked with a solid piece of wood is never not going to be painful, but it's preferable to going with live steel.
>>47592191
Hunting, Knives, and Jiujutsu are usually pretty solid investments. You can't always rely on civilization when you're a dirt poor wanderer and you won't always have a "real" weapon to hand when you need one. Etiquette is good for everyone and can prevent you getting in trouble for being a vagrant. If you're a bushi (You almost certainly are), you want Iaijutsu and kenjutsu for sure.
>>47592289
Unless you come across the Bokken Ronin. For then you have met death.
The Bokken Ronin is a meme with players I know after a single Ronin with a Bokken killed two characters with >50 damage rolls.
Exploding Dice!
So is taking the other guy's sword after an unofficial duel inna woods that nobody else knew about a good idea? Are swords distinctive enough that people will know you're carrying around the missing dude's piece?
>>47592191
What kind of ronin do you want to create?
>>47592358
Yes and no. Swords will by default have fittings with a the owner's clan mon, and may also include more specific markings. Those things can be removed pretty easily with a little skill, though.
Even so, actually doing it would be massively dishonorable.
>>47592358
It might not be the best idea if you plan to keep it, because swords are pretty distinctive. Changing the guard and hilt (Tsuba and all that jazz) will only work as long as you don't draw the thing. People who were close to the guy could still potentially recognize the blade pattern.
If nobody else knew about it, that was an illegal duel where a man died, which is a legal shitstorm waiting to happen. If you are going to return his swords to his family, then it's alright. Just say that you happened to find them somewhere.
>>47592410
>If you are going to return his swords to his family
Haha. Hahahahahaaaa!
>>47592358
Many are. At the very least the hilts tend to be done up in clan colors and probably have their mon on the butt of it. And of course people will know if your opponent is still alive or they find his body.
>>47592430
Dishonorabru dog!
>>47592314
One of these days, I'm going to play a character that goes hardcore on using bokken. May not be able to stop myself from using a carved oar / improvised weapon, though.
>>47592358
>>47592403
The blade itself will bear maker marks that reputable sword polishers will recognise and take note of. Filing them off will be an obvious sign of theft when you next take it to be polished.
>>47592430
Return the *blade*. Keep the fittings (specifically the tsuba) as your trophy. Tsuba are an art form of their own anyway. Plus they're easier to transport, and a string of tsubas around your neck from defeated opponents is a great way to make a "don't fuck with me" statement without pulling the "necklace of ears" trick and eating the resultant eleventy billion ranks of honor loss.
Shit, by returning the blade, you'd actually be seen as *magnanimous* in victory, and would increase your glory and possibly even your honor, if you did it right.
This way you get your trophy, the family gets their sword back, and nobody embarks on 100-year vendettas that fuck over the Empire and gets the Otomo involved. Win-win-win.
I want to run something tragicomic. Specifically I want to take an adventure from Paranoia and adapt it to L5R. Just replace Troubleshooters with Emerald Magistrates, the Computer with the Emperor, service branches with clans, Communists with Kolat, etc. How do I create that disconnect between the players being amused and their characters keeping a straight face and finding it all deathly serious? Have you ever encountered a legal or cultural catch-22 in an L5R game and found it funny instead of just frustrating?
>>47592402
I was thinking of doing a Bandit hunter. Dishonored when his ward was killed by bandits, now he acts as a caravan guard/vigilante who protects roads and villages for food and a place to sleep.
>>47592654
You can just make a normal Clan Samurai and then slap "Social Disadvantage: Ronin" on. That'd make a dishonored samurai who might not have been prepared for life as a vagrant, and give you at least one worthwhile Technique.
>>47592531
L5R already does a similar thing with tassels.
After a duel to the death, it's customary to return the loser's daisho to their family, though not required to do so personally - unless it was an illegal duel. Magistrates consider avoiding a tidy end to a potential blood feud a Very Bad Thing.
>>47592768
What's the etiquette on that? Is a defeated duelist supposed to offer their tassel to the victor, or does the victor ask for it if they want it, and if so, can the loser refuse? Is it only a duel-to-the-death thing?
>>47592714
This. People get hung up on playing the starving, vagrant, no-social-connections ronin, and then get surprised by how there's only one school and some paths of varying quality to represent it. Start with a clan. Even if your sensei is just some training manuals your kept. (RAW insight rules, PCs should probably have these anyway - easier than going home every rank)
>>47592807
It happens, but not so much codified how. If the duellist is really good, they cut the tassel off in the duel.
Otherwise I suppose they do so afterwards, or just request it. Hmm.
>>47592872
>RAW insight rules, PCs should probably have these anyway - easier than going home every rank
I think it's better to say that the characters already "know" the Techniques as part of their basic education, and they're part of their fighting style. They just don't get the mechanical effects until they master it (by going up in Rank). All Hiruma use Hummingbird Wings. It's one of the basic cornerstones of their entire fighting style. But not all Hiruma actually have the mechanical effects of Hummingbird Wings because they aren't that good yet.
>>47592768
Six tassels hanging:
More eloquent than Doji,
is Kakita's blade.
Hey so how flexible is the rokugan setting? I'm going to be running my first l5r game soon, and I'm leaning towards customizing the setting for my own game? Is rokugan kinda like the shadowrun setting where its fluff is vital to how everything operates and there's little room for homebrew, or is it more like dnd where you can customize it however you damn well please?
Cause I'm kind of interested in either running the sengoku period set in Rokugan, or just plain having the game take place in japan but with Rokugan's clans and magic.
>>47593085
"Rokugan your way" is the official motto now, so it's pretty flexible. The RPG system is really geared for the setting, so it's not a good idea to completely derail it, but you can fuck around with the details plenty.
>>47592972
Personal preference. I'd rather not say, "you're already doing it ... badly."
Then again, I also relegate much of the 'secret' parts of techniques to particular ways your sensei trains you; shaped your muscles just thus through exercise, broke and strengthened bones to withstand certain pressures, etc - things that could not be replicated simply by following the technique from a manual.
>>47592092
>>47592177
A Lord Kaga having a cook-off would be awesome. "Yomigaeru Iron Chef!"
>>47592092
Many chefs are also medical professionals when it comes to herbal remedies.
Need a stomach ache taken care of? Chef's got what you need. Have a headache? Chef knows how to brew a special tea that can help. Weird rash? Chef can whip up a paste to fix it.
>>47593334
Shame L5R nerfed traditional medicine in 4e.
>>47587221
Does it count if they used to be a waifish effeminate bishohen before they foolishly decided to volunteer on the wall and managed to catch the attention of an oni named Bron-do the Mutilator?
>>47593045
Kakita's swordplay
Is unmatched by anything
Except his ego.
>>47594446
It's no boast to say
six tassels warn silently
where Doji needs words.
>>47592654
Well, the easy way would probably be to start as a clan samurai that got cast out. However, fi you are more interested in the hard way, there are other options.
Firstly, the starting "school". Out of the starting ronin schools in the core book, there are 2 that are goood in a straight fight, the Tessen and the Forest killers. Only the forest killers are tough and brutal bandits and the Tessen are a group that effectively policed a almost-lawless town, and the honor rating of the schools match that, so you are best off going Tessen,
Secondly, follow-up techniques. For this, you will need the Enemies of the Empire book, which has the mayority of the ronin techniques in it. The only thing you really NEED is a rank 3 tech to let you make simple action attacks. For this i recommend the Hidden Blade technique, which fits really well with your character concept and may be the best one mechanically. Beyond that, you can add extra stuff to flesh the character out, if possible. The most important part is that you go talk with your DM and try to agree on how ronin can access new techniques. The book says that you can't unless you commit so several rough/ nigh-impossible roleplaying requirements. Most players will probably want to pick and mix at will. Wisdom lies somewhere in the middle.
Thirdly, take a good look at the advantagees and disadvantages you should take. Hero of the people is neccesary for Hidden Blade, and also very good for ronin that stay away from samurai politics and therefore deal mostly with commoners. Virtuous can be worth it, but only if you take more techniques that utilise your honour in their function. Strenght of the Earth is almmost mandatory for high-combat campaigns, as it reduces the chances of you getting effectively remved from the fight by wound penalties. Wealthy, oddly enough, can also be useful for ronin, as you will probalby have to pay for most things. just sink whatever spare points you have into it.
>>47594666
The joke is on you
You just dueled a Scorpion
Enjoy your poison
>>47594729
I think you're confused--
the haiku implies no duel:
tassels scare off foes.
>>47594710
of course, most clan samurai will still be better then you, even in your speciality, but that's a part of being ronin.
There are very few builds (which require a lot of flexibility on the DM's side) that let a ronin be better at something then any clan samurai, and those tend to be very specialised.
>>47594801
How foolish you are
To think samurai let fear
Override duty.
>>47594810
I think the problem a lot of people have is that they look at what they can make in chargen and wonder why they can't make a character like [insert badass ronin here] when [insert badass ronin here] is so far beyond chargen in terms of stats and skills that it's not even slightly feasible to start out on their level.
>>47594801
crafty scorpion
makes victory taste bitter
death wins in the end
>>47594836
The duty that says
deprive not your lord of men
by needless dueling?
>>47594917
Oh yes, people look way too much at chargen to judge a character, even tough any character should quickly grow beyond it. Chargen is explicitly meant for making a young, inexperiened samurai with only basic training (i.e. fresh out of gempukku).
Part of the problem is that the game does not have a fixed development path to the extent of most class based rpg's (read: D&D), and so can't just say "well, at level 20, my Hida bushi do this and that". Skills, traits and feats play much more of a role in making a character. So people look at chargen to decide "how good is concept (x)?".
>>47582159
Seconding this request.
>>47594965
When duels have need
Tassels won't deter your foe
If necessary.
>>47596055
Tell me, Scorpion
If I pulled off your clan mask
Would you die, big guy?
>>47596314
Know that it would be
extraordinarily
painful. Yet, for you
>>47596366
Was getting captured
All part of your master plan?
Congratulations!
Your haiku battles
are shitting up the whole thread.
I'm bad at this
Man, just the other day I was complaining that it was just Crab-san and me, and now how many haiku people are there?
>>47591212
Both the Yasuki Enforcer and Yasuki Taskmaster paths are fucking undermining as hell. The former is written that you have to basically have to get the drop on someone you've threatened before, or use the first turn of a skirmish to threaten them and gain a bonus to an attack that you have to make during the first round of a skirmish??
The latter has no real applications, it just affects the Battle table???
I mean the fluff is nice for them but these just seem like NPC paths at absolute best. So frustrating that there are several options that fit your concept and they're just utter dogshit in practice.
>>47598287
Regular old Yasuki Courtiers are pushy and intimidating. And aside from that, Techniques aren't everything.
>>47592071
Actually, see >>47592169
They intentionally set spoony up to fail just to mess with him.
They were the quintessential example of the kind of players that turn so many people off to L5R.
>>47598485
I guess, it would be nice for some useful options that actually made you stand out from other characters though, especially when time and effort have been given to actually creating those options.
>>47598692
Who the fuck is spoony.
>>47599341
A decent guy with very bad influences and now under control mental health problems.
>>47599341
Some youtuber.
What matters here is he did a video about how he hates L5R because he got trolled by a bunch of That Guys who not only didn't tell him about the social rules and gleefully punished him for not adhering to them, but also got said rules and consequences for breaking them completely fucking wrong.
This experience isn't uncommon among new L5R players (or at least wasn't uncommon pre-4e), and is responsible for a lot of people's distaste for the game.
GM's would you allow this: a Ronin who takes the Kolat advantage and disadvantage just to get hidden temple for the rank 4.
>>47599869
>just to get hidden temple for the rank 4.
No. Not because of Hidden Temple rank 4, but because you say they're doing it JUST to get it.
I'd allow it if they made damn fucking sure they play to the advantages, disadvantages, and being a ronin.
>>47599341
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2zTrMf4eH4
The video in question.
>>47599906
Rephrase that, there's an entire backatory and everything with the concept. But the character would have to somehow wander over to the hidden temple to train the rank.
>>47599869
I'd allow it because I fucking love the Kolat.
>>47599937
Put that way yeah, I'd allow it.
>>47555063
Where's the media fire link?
>>47598692
I don't much like Spoony but that is kind of ultra dick behavior. I've never met a player that kind of shitty before and I hope I never do.
So, /tg,/ what house would you think Akiyama-san would end up serving?
>>47600951
I think we can all agree that regardless of how one feels about Spoony, he got dicked over by assholes and was given an unfair and completely impression of the game because of it.
>>47593703
I see Crane's having an entire division of un-prettied soldiers. A regiment forced to wear porcelain masks as they charge towards the frontlines to serve as cannon fodder. "In death, may you find the beauty that eluded you in life" or some shit.
>>47605217
Yes, and the Crab maintain an elite barazoku regiment for use against other clans.
>>47598287
Is it just me, or do those paths both fit better for the Yoritomo anyway? Intimidation in social combat is much more their schtick.
Altough Yasuki taskmaster does fit well for a Hida that has to lead large battles. Rolling the new battle ability of willpower, and bonuses against fear? yes please.
Does anyone know of any good LPs of L5R? Youtube VOD or audio-only are both fine. I've been reading some threads on suptg and am interested in more vicariousness. (Or is my best bet the official novels?)
>>47605448
>is my best bet the official novels?
Never had been, from what I've heard.
>>47605448
I've seen a few L5R actual plays but none that I would consider "good." Most of them are either cringy or horribly amateurish to the point of being unwatchable/unlistenable.
The novels are 90% trash. I think maybe two of them might be a passable read, the rest are just eye rollingly bad. I've read better fan fiction than those fucking novels. Try to find an archive of the web fictions instead. While not great, they're leagues better than the fucking novels.
>>47605217
>>47605258
So, what other special regiments are there among the clan?
I'm pretty sure the Mantis have a an warrior cult of those Yoritomo that get seasick easily. Which, ironically, also is the best Mantis unit for land warfare, since they have much more opportunity to train with stuff like spears and polearms.
>>47606225
>Which, ironically, also is the best Mantis unit for land warfare, since they have much more opportunity to train with stuff like spears and polearms.
There already is a Spear-focused Mantis group. They are the Moshi Bushi. Who for some reason never got a full school, despite being a clan and existing before they joined up with the Mantis.
>>47589382
It describes them as they were while they were living in the secluded valley.
In the current timeline, however, they are destroyed (with just one sorta survivor left).
>>47605832
>>47606121
Thanks to both. That's disappointing to hear, but honestly not surprising. I'll hold out hope an established group will get bored of D&D/Pathfinder and try out L5R, I guess. At least there will be good production values and on-air etiquette.
If you have any web fiction sources, I'm all ears.
>>47605832
There was going to be one, until the Fantasy Flight buyout happened. That kinda spelled the end for that.
>>47606288
Oh, there have been official novels about the four winds and others, but they're shit.
>>47606261
Do you know where to find it? i miighht try to expand it and put it in the next campaign.
I always wondered why the "shugenja"minor clans did not have at least part of a bushi school in 4e, or even a technique. Sure, it's really not a focus for the clan, but still a large number of them become bushi, surely those can at lest match the work of some random group of ronin out in the wilderness?
>>47606380
Great Clans, page 170.
It's...not great. It suffers from 'This literally does nothing if you are not defending a moshi location'.
It could be expanded into something that fits it thematically though. A highly defensive spear/bow school.
There isn't really many schools that mix melee and ranged.
>>47606487
>>47606380
One quick idea for a very defensive spear based school
Rank 1: TN is not reduced during guard actions. When wielding a spear, your TN in increased by 5.
Rank 2: Reduce target’s TN until your next turn on a successful attack
Rank 3: can make attacks with a spear from the defence stance
Rank 4: you can attack with a spear as a simple action
Rank 5: you can make an attack as a complex action to prevent an opponent from moving on his next turn
How do free raises work in contested rolls?
Can you used them to reduce the opponents roll by 5?
>>47607120
Could be cool. Though I do worry it might be a bit weak. Spears are a MUCH weaker weapon than a Katana and you can find schools that add +skill to TN all the time, which will outclass the static +5 before long.
I'd make it either Spear + Samurai Weapons for the Rank 4 or Spear + Bow (As they are one of the few samurai schools that just flat starts with a bow). Rank 4 SAA should be better than rank 3 SAA to make up for being much slower.
>>47607120
>>47607299
It looks like something designed for a minor clan school rather than something that competes with the Yoritomo bushi.Still, that rank 4 needs an upgrade, probably including samurai weapons, and that rank 5 is rather meh. I get that the class is more meant to support the other bushi around it, but it just needs a little more.
>>47607587
Might as well come up with names. Shrike was tossed around a bit, as was Stag Beetle
>>47607699
Doesn't it already have a name? Moshi Guardian of the Sun.
>>47607724
Well i designed it as a kind of development of the Moshi guardian of the sun school. Still, some of the critiques here make sense.
>>47607299
>>47607587
I agree, the rank 4 can include samurai weapons. Other then that, the rank 1 can have it's bonus based on the spears skill rather then a static bonus, since it's based on keeping your opponent away with a spear anyway. Or maybe inside rank plus the skill?
all that leaves is a better rank 5 tech, but i'm out of ideas.
>>47607807
Maybe let them spend a void point to make an attack on someone nearby who attacks an ally of theirs? If the attack they make hits, negate the attack on the ally.
It's a rank 5, it should be impressive and 'Nope, you can't hurt my allies and you ate a spear for trying' is pretty impressive.
>>47555063
Be Yogo Urahai, Be courtier with a healthy amount of Bushi skills.
Have best friend who is an Agasha Isawa Trained shugenga, Go on many rad adventures (bunch of other assholes are innvolved, but they aren't my bros)
Agasha-Bro has bitter betrothal. Bitch wife is good friends with my nemesis.
We get back after a solid 5 months of being imperial scouts, sit down to tea with Agasha-bro's Bitch wife, Make investigation test, Bitch looks pregnant...
Make a medicine roll, Bitch is 4 monthes pregnant, at most.
Manipulate conversation in a manner that she reveals inconsistencies to me and not agasha-bro.
Confirmed. Spend next month of game time setting up and planning.
Give that bitch a huge dose of aborticant, her families chosen physician is inconveniently "sick". My Yogo steps in to help. Both her and baby die, wiping away the possible dishonour and hiding my guilt.
Agasha-bro buys off Bitter Betrothal.
>>47607839
not the original, but maybe looking something like this?
Rank 1: When wielding a spear increase your TN by your School rank + your skill rank in spears.Additionally, your TN is not reduced during guard actions.
Rank 2: On a successful attack, reduce your opponents TN by 5 + your skill rank in spears. This effect lasts until your next turn.
Rank 3: You can make attacks with spears while in the defense stance.
Rank 4: You may make attacks with Spears and Bows as a simple action.
Rank 5: Once per encounter, when an enemy makes an attack against an ally you may spend a void point to interrupt that attack with an attack of your own. On a success the opponent may not continue their attack.
>>47592538
So how would clones work?
>>47608472
That looks a lot more terrifying, though I'm not sure you need the '1/encounter' limitation.
Then again, RAW you can do it with bows too, which makes it a terrifying bow school (If not as offensive as most).
I like it. Some of the wording could be tinkered with but it's very cool.
>>47608566
I think just for balance it needs to stay spear only. I'm hesitant to allow it more than once per fight, but you're already spending void to do it so I don't see it happening very often as it is.
>>47608610
I dunno, I say 'Spear only' OR '1/encounter'. Many rank 5s are silly powerful. I mean, one of the worse ones in the game is 'Spend any amount of void, get +1k1 per void on a damage roll' to just allow you to delete one guy in a battle.
>>47605448
I enjoyed Happy Jack's Saga of the Inukai, and One Shot did an okay l5r podcast.
>>47592272
> Being a ronin is kind of an uphill battle because you will be looked down upon by 99% of samurai and will have to find your own teachers to get new techniques.
FTFY
Also have a list of 4e's ronin school options:
– Ronin Rank 1[Bushi] (Disciples of Sun Tao, Forest Killers, Hawk Purist, Koga Ninja, People's Legionnaire, Tawagoto's Army, Tengoku's Justice, The Tessen)
– Ronin Rank 2[Bushi] (Claws of the Wolf, East Wind, Eyes of Nanashi, Fireman Gang Lord, Ghost of the Forest, Hateru Ninja, Kaze-do Fighter, Master of Games, Moonless Riders, Silent Blades, The Guards' Wrath, The Thousand)
– Ronin Rank 3[Bushi] (Broken Guard, Hidden Sword, Machi-Kanshisha, Scales of the Carp, Serpents of Sanada, Silken Promises Geisha, Snow Riders, Tsume Pikeman, Unbroken)
– Ronin Rank 4[Bushi] (Guardian of the Hidden Temple, Kenburo's Way, Seven Waves Mercenaries, Sword of Yotsu, Weavers)
– Ronin Rank 5[Bushi] (Iron Gauntlet Brotherhood, Shadowed Steel, Taoist ArchersBoA, Wolf Legion)
– Mantis Brawler
– Dutiful Disciple Shugenja (Alternate3: Order of Isashi, Alternate4: Order of the Five Weapons)
– Ronin Order Shugenja (Alternate3: Order of Isashi, Alternate4: Order of the Five Weapons)
– Self-Taught Shugenja (Alternate3: Order of Isashi, Alternate4: Order of the Five Weapons)
– Void Mystic (Alternate3: Order of Isashi, Alternate4: Order of the Five Weapons)
– Advanced: Disciple of Sun Tao
– Advanced: Legion of Two Thousand
>>47608645
>>47608472
Moshi Guardian of the Sun
Benefit: +1 Reflexes
Honor: 6.5
Skills:Athletics, Defense, Kyujutsu, Kenjutsu, Lore: Theology, Spears, any one High or Bugei Skill
Outfit: Ashigaru or Light Armor, Sturdy Clothing, Daisho, Bow or Knife, Traveling Pack, 5 koku
Rank 1: The Moshi Guardian is the guard of the heaven's themselves. Their surety of purpose makes them inviolate to those who would seek to harm this divine guardian.
You may add your ranks in Lore: Theology to your armour TN. Additionally, your armour TN is not reduced during guard actions and you add an additional 1k1 to the armour TN of the person or object you are guarding.
Rank 2: The wrath of heaven is sure and swift, each gleaming blade and arrowhead divine justice that hobbles and blinds the target of this judgement.
On a successful attack, reduce your opponents armour TN by an amount equal to your skill rank in Lore: Theology. This effect lasts until the start of your next turn.
Rank 3: A single well timed blow is better than a dozen in haste. The Moshi know when it is best to strike like lightning or to be as difficult to catch as the sun herself.
You can make an attack with a spear or bow as a complex action while in the defense stance.
>>47608833
Rank 4: The storm is a symbol of the power of the Moshi and the Guardians of the Sun can invoke it just as well as that of the Shugenja of the family. Many a foe has been cut down by piercing blows come as fast as rays of sunlight.
You may make attacks with Spears and Bows as a simple action.
Rank 5: It is the honor of each Guardian to give his life for his charge, to die with a smile on his lips and his duty done. The Moshi, however, have never been a family for death without purpose and the most talented of the Guardians have proven such. A deadly blow is quickly interposed not by a noble sacrifice of life but with a skillful parry of a weapon.
Once per encounter, when an enemy makes an attack against an ally within reach of your weapon you may spend a void point to interrupt that attack with an attack of your own. On a successful attack the opponent's attack is wasted and automatically misses.
I played with the wording a bit and the power level of some things. I made the skill giving a bonus to your armour TN not also your main combat skill (But one that's very fluffwise tied to them) and toned down the TN bonuses a tad as defensive +5+spears was getting a bit high. It's still going to be huge this way.
That and I added fluff. Not fantastic fluff but fluff.
>>47602894
> No Kimono
> No daisho
> Gaijin sword
> Gaijin bow
> Covered in blood
Someone please jadestrike this tainted gaijin lover.
>>47605217
> un-prettied soldiers
That's the daidoji though.
The "get a unique wrist tattoo so that after you've fought so hard and long defending your idiot courtier that your head is beyond identifying" daidoji.
>>47608833
Why do they not start with a spear?
>>47609814
...whoops. That should be fixed, yes.
>>47609898
Make it bow OR spear
>>47605358
The Yasuki literally run a yakuza style criminal organization. Intimidation is far more their thing. Yoritomo just beat you over the head with opulence.
>>47609906
Yeah, sounds like a good idea.
>>47610117
Mantis, for every problem, just throw money at it.
