>Batch of Edition Files
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/vx477quhxz4vt/Regend5Ling#btf4cvsidtj6ff
>Enjoy your Mantis? Want to know more on Japanese Naval Warfare?
https://mega.nz/#!5h5kmQLa!wuvbk18Ior_FII_hjDHASZMpJTHNnUuWqhFh5kV9iRw
What are your favorite aspects of your clan of choice, /l5r/?
First for Phoenix. Best clan. Has done nothing wrong ever. Prove me wrong.
>>47750060
Watch out for that first step down from hubris, Phoenix-san. When you thrust your head that high into the clouds, it's a doozy.
>>47750131
Don't worry. He'll land in a nice soft pile of Black Scrolls.
>>47750514
Much as I find this funny, it's not entirely accurate according to the wiki.
>Moved by [Shosuro's] death, Bayushi demanded the right to guard the Twelve Scrolls, and was granted it by Hantei.
>In 1122 the Scorpion had only seven of the scrolls; the Phoenix, three and the other two had been lost.
>Following the failed Scorpion Coup in 1123, the dis-illusioned Yogo Junzo began opening the Black Scrolls.
>In 1127, the Council of Five decided to open the (four) Black Scrolls in their possession to better understand the threat posed by the Shadowlands.
That's a fuck ton of scrolls opened by one guy. Shame he died under a horse's hooves like a bitch.
>>47750666
7 Scrolls opened by a guy under the influence of a Bloodsword and 4 scrolls opened by people who are supposed to be moral, magical authorities who absolutely should know better.
But these are the same people who handed over their own names and souls to an oni for basic intel, so stupid is as stupid does.
>>47749219
>Best clan
Tie between Crab, Dragon, Lion, Mantis, Pheonix, Scorpion, Spider, and Unicorn
>Worst clan
Crane
>>47750888
>4 scrolls opened by people who are supposed to be moral, magical authorities who absolutely should know better
They did know better. They knew the empire knew fuck all about what they were facing with seven scrolls open.
> basic Intel
Don't downplay shit. Just makes you look like you're trying too hard.
>>47750666
Also the fact the Scorpion lost their scrolls because a Yogo curse fired off and he sold them for funds is hilarious.
If you didn't know that, now you do! He's the Traitor which the Traitor's Grove is named after, if you're curious what happened to him.
>>47751131
Don't make it sound better than it was. The council was corrupted and summoned an oni because they were corrupted. The only reason they didn't completely succumb to it was that one Shiba who actually had the right idea barged in and killed their pet oni and called them all a bunch of retards.
>>47751395
Sure. Anyway, l5r pictures.
>>47751627
There's only one good L5R picture
>>47751662
>spider
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
>>47751662
what's up with the unicorn girl's bellybutton? in fact, what the fuck is up with her whole lower body in general.
>>47751662
>tfw Mantis is the cutest.
>>47751662
Off course, Opinions-kun.
>>47751810
What, you've never played with a girl's Taint?
>>47751827
Filthy gaijin genes combined with the consequences of a war maiden's special relationship with her horse have left her lower torso completely ruined.
>>47751810
There will never be a frog clan.
>>47751922
I don't think the Kaeru would be caught dead REEEEEEing, and the machi-kanshisha are too subtle for it.
>>47751899
Where's that one pic of the Scorpion and her horse while two Unicorn girls whisper to each other?
>>47752219
>>47752260
what is that mon? A literal unicorn with a scorp tail?
I seriously wonder if the Spider existing has spared the Mantis from being the hated executive favorite. They were on the fast track to getting everything they ever wanted and more, and Yoritomo in particular was written as sickeningly great. He personally convinced a ton of people to metaphorically suck his dick and could have easily been made the emperor by Shinjo because he was "the strongest leader in Rokugan" during the Hidden Emperor crisis.
basically just fuck all the bug clans.
>>47752413
They still got to pokéclan and overshadow some of the best minor clans, and the Yoritomo family grew multiple full blown schools and advanced schools in just a few generations where everyone else in the Empire had to work for centuries to get even a single one.
>>47751662
Crane-san always makes me lose it. That stuck-up haircut, modest dress and innocent look with blue eyes nnnggggg
>>47752426
Bitch best not be dissing muh Wasp and Bee clans.
>>47752549
1) Wasp are a bunch of pussies who can't even handle a fucking sword. Worthless in any real battle as they rely on their gimmick war doctrine.
2) Bee is lame. Fight me.
>>47752474
I honestly never had too much issue with the Yoritomo having multiple Bushi schools due to their nature of a compilation of Ronin. They got to refine various techniques various ronin had learned into finished schools.
That and Yoritomo schools are barely more than a Ronin school that the Mantis like. It's 'How people fight on ships, except now a clan likes it well enough to call it a true school'. They had a lot to work with.
What I DID have issue with is how the Yoritomo flavor basically overshadows the Moshi. The Yoritomo and Moshi founded the Mantis together yet you rarely see a Moshi shugenja actually going with their 'Sky' and 'Sun' themes beyond Lightning. The Kitsune at least get a good showing AS Kitsune Shugenja.
>>47752622
Mind, the Yoritomo also have their own Shugenja school. That puts them at three basic shugenja schools. That's more than the Phoenix have.
>>47752912
Fuck the Phoenix.
>>47752924
Oh no, he stole a crate full of apples, however will the poor Phoenix Henshin eat now? Oh wait, they don't need to eat because they're immortal. Suck on that honorless pirates.
>>47749219
>What are your favorite aspects of your clan of choice, /l5r/?
Two swords, nigga. TWO SWORDS.
TWO
S
W
O
R
D
S
>>47752946
>trying to compensate for the dishonor of being defeated by "honorless pirates."
>>47752972
One man, one move, one sword.
>>47749219
What's with the seeming hate for Mantis? I'm new to this franchise, and I really like them. The nautical aspect added to the whole "fresh under-dog who doesn't obey all the societal rules," is something that appeals to me. I also like that whole Crab/Unicorn/Mantis thing of being "ALMOST an outcast, and as such we're all brothers."
>>47752912
That was part of my complaint, yeah.
The Yoritomo overshadow the Moshi even in Shugenjas.
>>47753014
It's because they were created by destroying things people liked. People liked the Mantis, Centipede, Wasp, and Kitsune as minor clans. Then suddenly the Mantis absorbs them and basically erase their former identities from existence. Then the story team pushed how cool the mantis were relentlessly, making them get near mary-sue levels of bullshit underdog stuff.
TL;DR: you just had to have been there.
>>47753038
>Mantis, Centipede, Wasp, and Kitsune
Well, what were their things before the Mantis became a Great Clan? Now I'm curious. The only Minor I know about is the Sparrow, and they seem really fun.
>>47753013
Two is more than one, QED.
>>47753014
It's not really the Mantis people have an issue with.
It's the Yoritomo. No other family so very heavily dominates the fluff about it's clan and thus has Bushi, Shugenja AND Courtier schools.
The Yoritomo overshadow all the others and thus makes the Mantis feel one note, when it's supposed to be a loose collection of allied people.
>>47753050
Honestly, the Wasp and Kitsune didn't lose much. The Kitsune have always been Rokugan Druids and still are. The Wasp went from Bounty Hunter Archers to Bounty Hunter Archers...on ships. They mostly kept their identity.
The Centipede are the big losers. The Moshi family is a family known for dignity, intelligence, religious fervor and a blisteringly explosive temper. They set the sky aflame in anger and rode the wind on wings of fire to be closer to Lady Sun.
These days they mostly overlap in fluff pieces with the Yoritomo Shugenja, working with Storms and acting as navigators.
>>47753038
>>47753078
How would you guys suggest fixing them? I'm genuinely curious now.
>>47753104
personally i dont like them at all, but i'm the kind of guy who wants rokugan to be magically isolated from the rest of the setting's world because i don't give a single fuck about anything but rokugan. other gaijin threats aren't neccessary, the shadowlands and internal conflict are all that's needed.
so im the wrong guy to ask
>>47753104
I'm assuming something along the lines of allowing the clans that initially made up Mantis to keep their identities and having the Mantis Court be more like an actual conglomerate of allied clans. They hold council and make suggestions; but as the technical Great Clan, the Yoritomo make the ultimate decisions.
These decisions that concern the overall Great Clan (and not just the Yoritomo) may be cancelled out by a large enough vote from the Minior representatives, but this is rarely done. This entire set-up makes them seem EXTREMELY odd to those in the Imperial Court, something that also adds to their "merchant prince," nature.
Still have them be absolute best buddies with the Crab and Unicorn though. That's really neat.
>>47753126
How does that make you not like the Mantis then, if they're charged by the Emerald Court to keep gaijin influence away from Rokugan and act as a military buffer from foreign invasion?
>>47753150
>magically isolated
>>47749219
Does anyone have good historical pictures of Japan that I can use in-campaign? Honestly, I'm looking for things like cities, towns, ships, alternate clothes (pic related), ashigaru, bandits, and peasants or merchants at this point. My folder is overblown with samurai and shinobi right now.
>>47753078
Wait, what was the Yoritomo's thing before the Great Mantis?
>>47753104
I'd find them a theme that collects them all, rather than having them work with the theme of the Yoritomo.
Yoritomo: Waves and Storm
Moshi: Sun and Sky
Kitsune: Forest and Animal
Wasp: Justice
I'd go with a general theme of 'Nature's Justice'. They speak not for the raw elements like the Phoenix but for the interplay of them that makes up life and nature. Where Pirates spill merchant blood upon the waves, Yoritomo ships ride with them to hunt them down. When a forest is blighted by dark spirits, the Kitsune come and calm them down or drive them out. When Phoenix experiments blacken the land, the Moshi speak to them about the harm that they are doing to the lands that feed them and when people flee from making right what they have defiled they meet a Wasp arrow.
You'd still be able to keep the very strong naval focus (As that's a major part of nature) without it eclipsing all the other parts.
>>47753177
Storms, Being Impertinent Sods and Rebellion.
>>47753104
That's a dumb question. If the problem was the writers basically killed everything in the minor clans that made them what they were after being absorbed by the Mantis, then logically just letting the absorbed minor clans keep their identities and everything that made people like them instead of just becoming "Yoritomo but with X" fixes the issue.
>>47753177
they were silk and spice traders because their lands were not-so-remote islands. also the mantis founder was a child of osano-wo, so their ancestral heritage was of storms.
>>47752972
Married to Lion
Matsu girl is tsundere
Angry Snu Snu Love
>>47753241
HONOUR ON THE STREETS
DUTY IN THE SHEETS
New l5r player here. Kusarigama look really fucking cool, but I can't seem to find a mechanical reason to use one. Like, in dnd most weapons will have a small bonus like, "You can make trip attacks with this weapon" or "you get a bonus to disarm attempts with this". But as far as I can see, L5r doesn't seem to have anything like this. Like, there are six different types of polearms presented, but the only major difference seems to be their damage pool. Is there anything special mechanics-wise that kusarigama can do that a katana can't?
>>47753730
RAW there is no reason to use anything other than a katana, yumi or nodachi or tetsubo, given how shit the rest of the weapons and/or their skill's masteries are. Some schools and paths specialise and make other weapons somewhat usable, but in general you'll stick to those unless you houserule things.
>>47753782
>>47753730
I should add that there are two alternate paths in Book of Water that both focus the kusarigama, one for Mantis and one for Scorpion.
>>47753730
If you're using 4e, look at the skill list for the mastery abilities.
But basically, >>47753782 is right, with the caveat that any weapon that does Xk2 is usable, if not minmaxed.
If you want to use a kusarigama as a clan that doesn't have any Technique for using it as a SAA, ask your GM if you can add it to your rank 3 or 4 "may attack as a simple action" Technique. It's not a mechanical advantage, so most GMs should be fine with that.
>>47753806
And if your GM doesn't want to add it to that Technique, see if they'll let you replace it with a Technique that lets you SAA with the weapon category you want. Fluff it as the technique of your clan's weird little chain dojo that gets no glory but really actually exists, we swear.
>GM houserules that feint bonus damage is no longer capped
I feel like this is a bad decision. Just imagine some Scorpion cleaving anyone in twain.
>>47753782
Oh duh. I totally forgot about skill masteries. Okay yeah, all the stuff I thought was missing was just tackled in another section, thanks.
>>47753170
But that's WRONG. Rokugan isn't Japan.
>>47754836
That's not what "Rokugan isn't Japan" is supposed to mean and you should know better.
>>47753170
This nigga took hundreds of photos around the turn of the last century:
http://www.t-enami.org/
A few of them were even stereographs, which have been helpfully giffed here:
http://pinktentacle.com/2009/10/animated-stereoviews-of-old-japan/
>>47755419
The last one is a stereograph depicting geisha looking at stereographs. That photographer was a real meta sort of guy.
How accessable are Shugenja temples to commoners? Will the peasants particularly care about a nearby temple of the Water Dragon, or do they all just worship the ancestors/fortunes?
>>47757272
Shugenja specific temples might not be too accessible to peasants, but most peasants don't specifically worship the elemental kami anyway (And really, really don't worship ancestors, since that's entirely a samurai thing) and would be more concerned with shrines to fortunes than anything dedicated to elemental kami or samurai ancestors.
>>47757272
Local shugenja are involved in peasant life to at least some extent, even if it's only to bless the fields every season. But they might also attend to weddings and births, important festivals, that kind of thing... and they're going to talk about their particular religious stuff when they do that. So if the local shugenja are invoking the Water Dragon when they pray for just the right amount of rain, peasants will notice that, and the more the shugenja involve themselves, the more that will be reinforced. Chanesa re good peasant labor will get tapped for temple upkeep and maintenance every so often. So if your local shugenja are active in the community, chances are good the peasants will incorporate those influences into their standard worship.
I think most of that is covered under fortunism anyway, and which other fortunes you pray to along with the big seven will vary by region, and by what temples are nearby.
>>47757509
>Local shugenja are involved in peasant life to at least some extent
That's more often monks, due to the difference in numbers. Shugenja bless the fields, but their day-to-day existence relates to samurai, not heimin.
>>47758697
Some shugenja deal with peasants on a wide scale, like blessing an entire village at once, or praying for healing (Without actually using kamispeak/spells, since some shuggies consider it mildly blasphemous to waste a kami's time on a peasant) en masse.
The main functional difference from a peasant's point of view is that a monk is approachable and can help you individually, while a shugenja only comes around on their own schedule and helps the whole area in one go.
>>47755419
Thanks a lot. This will help a ton.
>>47757460
>>47757509
I'm asking because the PCs need to reduce growing unrest among the peasant populations, and I was wondering if helping the local temple would make them more respected in the eyes of the commoners.
>>47759066
If it's a Brotherhood of Shinsei temple, it could be helpful. Monks are really good at keeping the peasants content and/or riling them up, because they're the most direct moral and religious link to the peasants. Getting on their good side can really help when that's your goal.
>>47759136
How much sectarian conflict is there between Sintao and Fortunist temples? They're ostensibly compatible halves of the same religious whole, but I always wonder how well that holds up against human nature.
>>47759203
Anywhere from "They are also correct because everyone finds their own path" to "We don't talk about them because if we did someone would get punched. Ideally one of them.", depending on the individual monk, what Temple they're associated with (Some of them don't even really see the split, while others nearly reject the other side of the philosophy), and whether there's anything more important to deal with currently. Most of the time, an outsider wouldn't see any serious disagreements and even insiders wouldn't see anything worse than light arguments.
So, my character died recently in a duel at the end of the 1199 summer court, and I've been considering new characters, but haven't quite made the choice yet.
On the one hand, I've rolled up a Badger recently turned ronin due to failing his duty to his lord (yojimbo/executioner that refused to kill his brother on charges of treason, which, incidentally, were true). He enjoys the company of the peasantry, telling the children of villages he visits stories, and does his best to side with the peasants rather than samurai due to his strong compassion, but also contrary nature. Physically stronger than most, he wields a tetsubo with great strength. Also looking at Zhang Fei for inspiration into character
On the other hand is an older, disgraced Matsu turned monk of Kaimetsu-uo that's essentially Iroh from Avatar : quite a few of the mental advantages with the fitting disadvantages to account for his dead son. Funnily enough, no fire kihos since i went for a more support/off-tank style with him, and was considering to play him as someone who could teach a thing or two to the young. firey monk already on the team.
Finally, a sparrow who's a fanboy to the party because they're the new big heroes and he really, really wants to hang out with them and write down/tell their stories
If anybody's interested in storytime as to why and how my Kakita died, feel free to ask
>>47762413
>essentially Iroh from Avatar
Obligatory.
>Kakita
Now I'm interested. How on earth did you lose a duel as a Kakita?
>>47762413
A Kakita dieing in a duel? He probably deserved it. But tell us anyway. We don't have many legit L5R stories.
>>47762504
thanks, that could actually describe either the badger or the monk, but more the latter, of course
>>47762514
Essentially, being new at the game, we all start with the Topaz Championship, me, the Kakita from a family of magistrates, a Daidoji, and a Togashi-trained Doji. During the championship, I met a Hare, who I befriended, and an Otome, who I insulted by referring to his Short disadvantage. Eventually, I lose the final duel to a Spider (the ST's dice seem to enjoy watching me fail at crucial points), and the PCs are put together to solve a mystery revolving a new drug that puts peasants and samurai alike under a neverending sleep, called Sweet Dreams. Long story short, we discover who's behind disctribution in Toshi Ranbo, destroy the supply, a tea-shop owner gives me a small jade statuette of Ebisu, and follow the trail to the Second City
Once there, after some investigation, the trail leads us into the jungle, and the Explorer who's going to guide us is the Spider who took the Topaz Championship. We also meet up with the new addition to the party, a Tsuruchi in training for the Ivory Magistrate. Stuff happens, the monk both wrestles a tiger and one-punch kills a Tsuno adolescent (we ran into a gempukku-like ceremony), we arrive at the production site for Sweet Dreams, and kill a Maho-Tsukai. I almost died there already, surviving at 3 wound left after essentially taking a blood-shotgun blast to the face (reminder never to cut open a desperate Maho-Tsukai), and avoided being tainted due to mini-Ebisu in my pocket. We finally finish up and return to Toshi Ranbo, where I got the great gift of a song on the biwa played by Kakita Ikura himself. We all get sent to training at the Emerald Magistrate, the Imperial Navy, and the Jade Magistrate respectively, then time skip happens.
>>47762785
Actually, just before the time skip, I received word that my betrothed, coming from a lowly branch of the Isawa, was captured by bandits, but with no ransom request. I had known she'd been captured just before the Topaz Championship as part of my backstory, but now I was offered to lead the charge against the bandits. After an intense battle, I fight against an honorless ronin that ends up using some weird amulet, probably in combination with the aforementioned Sweet Dreams, to put my betrothed and the other captives asleep. Angered by this, my honorful, yet brash Kakita beheaded him immediately upon his surrender. The captives are taken care of, due to not being able to wake up, and we do the time skip during our training, until suddenly, we receive invitations to the Summer Court, as heroes of the Empire.
At the grand event, some stuff happens, I've become friends with the Spider previously mentioned and am invited to his wedding, to be held the day after the end of the Summer Court. Both naturally and strangely, I end up being the only one with a decent amount of points spent in social skills, so I get into some political court shenanigans. Unfortunately, one of my "adversaries" is the Otome from the Topaz Championship, still holding a grudge against me. He manages to ensure I don't interfere with Otome business at the Court during the first day, so I instead interfere against the Lion defending the Spider. Second day, I win the haiku competition, of course, so lots of good fortune unto me. Third day, the Otome wants to talk some more, but this time I end up subtly insulting his entire family by implying the Crane being the shears in the garden of the Empire, even against sickened bushes close to the Emperor. He's rather unhappy, so points in my favor there again. Some other stuff happens involving the other PCs of course, but I don't think they're reading the thread, so I won't go into that. Except for what happens on the morning of the fourth day.
>>47763010
All of the PCs have received invites in letters marked with the Otomo seal to private conversations in different parts of the Palace grounds. The Daidoji goes to the garden, where he immediately feels a poison dart to the neck, and he fails to resist it, but is saved by the guards. The Tsuruchi asks the Mantis ambassador what to do, and a lookalike is sent to the meeting spot. That lookalike dies to the poison. The monk goes to the private audience chambers, where he is ambushed by men masquerading as guards, gets wounded, but subdues one of his attackers. Then, it's my turn.
I go to the silent rooms, private one-on-one areas for privacy, and who do I meet but the same Otomo who's been trying to push my buttons throughout the entirety of the Summer Court. He goes to the lowest of the lows, and insults me personally in order to provoke my misstep. Fortunately, I gallantly clear the Willpower check from my Brash disadvantage, and offer a subtle counter-insult as my only reaction, wishing for the best of the Empire no matter by who's hand. Leaving, guards come to escort me back to the Doji embassy. There, the ambassador tells me of the attacks, and seeing that my character has slowly been going Knight Templar over the course of the campaign, I ignore the command to stay at the embassy, rushing ahead of the guards assigned to me, so I can personally go ask Suikihime to lead the investigation of these attacks. I am allowed to assist the Ivory magistrates in the investigation, which is how I find out that the Otomo seals on the letters are very accurate forgeries.
The following morning, in the main hall of the palace, in front of everybody, a short, furious man storms up to me. The Otomo who's been on my ass the entire event is beside himself, accusing the Crane and myself of being honorless scum that set up the attacks and that the Otomo would take the blame, triggering my Brashness. This is where my dice started to fail me.
>>47763257
For those that might have forgotten, Brash means on any personal insult, I have to roll a Willpower + Honor rank against a TN of 25, or immediately draw steel. With a roll of 3k3+8, and already having succeeded a few days prior with the same situation, I thought I had no worries.
Then I rolled a 7.
Seeing as, during the Summer Court, no weapons would be allowed inside the main hall, I couldn't draw steel, so I did the next best thing.
Bitch slapped the Otomo in the face.
Needless to say, Suikihime was none too pleased with this turn of events. She declared that the personal insults thrown at each other (calling me a coward vs bitchslapping a higher-ranking samurai in public) would be resolved in a duel at midnight, marking the end of the event. Myself and the Otomo left the main hall to return to our respective embassies, so we can make the necessary arrangements. Despite the fabled Kakita Twins being present, I decided to personally enter the duel, my first mistake. Then, because even I, the player, wanted that Otomo dead, decided it should be until death. My second mistake.
Eventually, midnight arrives. I am prepared. And the Otomo, being a courtier, and short, chose a champion: a rather large and intimidating Seppun.
I apologize to the Seppun for being about to kill him, seeing as my quarrel is not with him, but the man he is championing. Of course, the duel starts with an initiative roll.
I'm roughly 8 points behind in that roll.
The rolls end up in a kharmic strike for the first strike with no hits, but being unto death, it evolves quickly into a skirmish. Then, even though i do manage to wound the Seppun, he first wounds me so that i'm Hurt, then uses a feint in full attack stance to finish me off. And that was the end of last session.
If you got any questions, feel free to ask.
>weebshit
>>47763428
Moral of the story is, never EVER take the Brash disadvantage. Even if you're playing a brash character, don't do it.
>>47763435
L5R is Nippon: the game... and you'll STILL find more weebshit in pathfinder than here.
>>47763526
Honestly, I thought it gave my character both good development, and a fitting death.
He was slowly but surely turning into essentially lawful evil, with a very generous helping of "muh honor", almost considering every breach of the law tantamount to treason and thus summary execution without a trial. Had he finished his training as Emerald Magistrate, he would've probably ended up with failure of bushido: compassion the way he was ending up.
On the one hand, it would've been nice to see how far i could've taken this character, on the other, I'm glad he was stopped before he became a BBEG.
Fortunately, I gave him a younger brother that the ST will allow me to play in the next campaign, in case I don't want to continue with whoever i'm rolling up right now
>>47763428
Shouldn't a karmic strike have judges immediately intervening to end the duel? That stuff is the will of the Heavens made manifest.
>>47763428
See, the first mistake made was allowing the Spider Clan.
Actually no, the spider mentioned was, IMO, the best handled spider I've seen.
Real mistake was continuing the duel after the kharmic strike.
I'm pretty sure a duel to the death doesn't care about Kharmic Strikes.
>>47753188
Good post.
Helps me resolve the problem of this favourite of my players that I hate.
>>47764739
Kakita and Hojatsu beg to differ.
>>47762413
I'm always disappointed when Badger aren't quite as Badger as WotMC Badger.
>>47766879
I don't think they do, actually.
>>47762504
That haiku is wonky as fuck though, 7-7-8, with no seasonal themes? Shamefur dispray
>>47762504
I cannot get over how Hida Iroh player keeps saying "Diyamo" instead of Daimyo.
>>47749219
Who here /seven samurai/?
>>47767261
The whole thing was wonky AF. The Crab was incapable of not putting out regular jabs, and thought that was polite.
Then to sit down, covered in blood, and continue like it was nothing? Unclean AF.
>>47766997
the entire basis for the ongoing feud between Mirumoto School and Kakita School is that although Kakita 'won', the duel he was A) Fighting Hojatsu, rather than the M-Daddy himself, and B) that it was a kharmic strike- but Kakita happened to survive long enough to have to finish Hojatsu's strike himself.
So maybe dodge the thrust of my argument, because sure they can't differe, because they are dead, but their example still stands.
tl;dr
Kakita family can never be confirmed as 'best duellists' because their highest master was equal to Mirumoto's second highest master. Because of a kharmic strike.
>>47767992
also, I'm going to use this as a call-out to my favourite abandoned piece of lore in L5R.
The blood-Kakita (those descended from the progenitor of the name) have never- ever- produced a shugenja.
Not one.What the fuck did he do?
Source is Secrets of the Crane, 1e.
>>47768038
It's obvious that he pissed the elemental kami off somehow. My guess is that the only reason they're not actively cursed by the kami is that Doji herself intervened on Kakita's behalf.
>>47767992
>so maybe dodge the thrust of my argument
I'd have to be the one arguing with you, first.
>>47768038
>Source is Secrets of the Crane, 1e.
Secrets is 2e. Way of is 1e.
>>47768171
Did you take Social Disadvantage: Contrary?
>>47767992
That doesn't really tell us if a duel to the death accounts for a kharmic strike where the duelists survive, as in that instance Hojatsu got killed -by- a kharmic strike.
>>47768224
and it still -didn't resolve the dispute-.
The goal of a duel is to showcase the will of the gods, not the skill of the combatants.
>>47768224
>Hojatsu got killed -by- a kharmic strike
And Kakita was lingering with fatal wounds.
>>47762504
>Diyamo
>Not proudly displaying your Family mon at the table of a fucking Clan Champion
>Returning to a daimyo's table with a bleeding wound
>Diyamo
>Pssh nothing personnel kid ending
>Diyamo
Of all the fanfiction bullshit stories I've read on /tg/ this is up there with the best.
>>47769267
Might not be fanfiction bullshit, might be shit GM that doesn't have a proper grasp of the setting.
>>47767390
I didn't really think that movie was all that. I can understand how game-changing it was and the impact it must have had back then, but Yojimbo is a much more enjoyable experience.
>>47769392
I can understand Yojimbo being a more enjoyable film, but our tastes must disagree there.
Seven Samurai had a degree of scale--it worked on both the larger sense (the fate of an entire village) and personal sense (lots of individual stories intertwining)--and stage-play-like melodrama that I felt just wasn't there with Yojimbo. And while not everyone likes that aspect, I found it quite charming.
I'm looking forward to the sequel of Yojimbo, though. I've heard that Sanjuro is quite good.
>>47769433
I'm not saying it's bad at all, just that it seems to have aged a little worse than Yojimbo and Sanjuro.
The latter is indeed as good as the former, it has one of the coolest iaijutsu scenes in cinema.
>>47769451
I'll have to keep an eye out for that.
And I wasn't implying you said it was bad, though I can see how that would be assumed. I suppose I'm just stating that while I understand how it hasn't aged as well, I just don't agree. If that makes sense. I can academically see how it might distance itself from modern audiences, but I like it still for some of the charm, it's feeling of stage-play-like melodrama, and its attempt at telling a personal story in a grand scale.
I sound way older than I am. I just really like the film. Throne of Blood also really jived with me.
So we've seen how that guy would play Iroh in l5r. How would you do it?
>>47769451
Sanjuro's iaijutsu duel was ace. I think I've seen that same move done not only in the Lone Wolf and Cub books but also in Usagi Yojimbo, so it must have struck plenty of others as well.
I wonder if anyone's done ol' Ogami's Suio-ryu school in L5R.
>>47769705
Less sass, more mentoring. Some whoa hoaaaaaaaaaaa.
>>47769705
Lots of jasmine tea
Metaphors, similes, and allegory galore
Be everybody's favorite uncle at the table
>>47768249
Right. If the duelists are personally aggrieved enough a kharmic strike won't end their animosity, but it demonstrates the will of the gods that they should stop trying to kill each other. In the heat of the moment neither duelist might care, but onlookers, especially official judges, certainly would.
>>47769712
>usagi yojimbo
Isn't that the one with the rabbit? I've heard good things about it. Does anyone here have it?
I need a decent reason for my Bayushi Courtier to be ronin.
>>47769984
He was "publicly disgraced" by some "breach of conduct" in front of his superiors, and has been "cast out" in order for him to be ideally placed to execute his part in some larger Scorpion plot while being dissociated from the Scorpions themselves.
>>47770054
Shouldn't you be writing 7th Sea, Mr Wick?
>>47770066
No man, that stuff writes itself. Swash-buckle boat intrigue intrigue? Duel boat masquerade duel! Castle intrigue navy swash-buckle mortal wound; conspiracy duel boat boat disgraced nobleman. It's easy as pie.
>>47770112
>>47769840
Yep, that's the one with the rabbit, and it's great. Sadly, I've only got a couple of the trade paperbacks left since I sold most of them years back.
How many Crabs does it take to change a light bulb? Three: a Yasuki to source a new one, a Kaiu to perform the switch, and a Hida to make sure they aren't interrupted by oni.
How many Phoenixes does it take to change a light bulb? Six: The Elemental Council to decide that they should use maho for lighting, and a Shiba to mop actually change it while they're arguing in the dark.
>>47771175
How many Unicorns does it take to change a lightbulb? The whole clan, and they're going to a store in the Burning Sands for the new one.
>>47753057
I was going to say 'that is not Mirumoto's response', but then I saw your filthy gaijin picture.
I would not expect you to understand.
>>47767261
Scorpion sama?
Is that you who I see here
In this crowded thread?
>>47769301
Can't really blame 'em: Rokugan IS a setting where its easy to miss setting details/nuances.
>>47753214
Honestly, while some of the problem is due to the story team having a short attention span, most of the problem is just the 3E team being too fucking lazy when writing up schools and just making all the Mantis schools Yoritomo.
If they'd put in just a little more effort, the clan might actually work.
Then again, 'if they'd put in just a little more effort' is 3E's epitaph.
>>47771363
No that wasn't me. It seems like more haiku folk have showed up of late.
>>47771423
Can't complain 'bout that.
Haikus are much more fun than
"best-clan" shitposting
>>47769267
Remind me never to play at your table, Mister Wick.
>>47771352
Tiny Asian physique, Tiny Asian brain. No wonder you can't math.
>>47771363
No insect in sight
Instead, summer winds carried
This Dragon's flight
>be me
>new to Tabletop RPGs
>started when 5th edition Dungheons and Dragons came out.
>it'sok.jpg
>friend got me into pathfinder
>it'sbetterbutharder.jpg
So...what is this game? You don't roll d20s for skills or attacks?
How do you play it and could a newb play it well?
>>47767261
>>47771705
The seasonal theme isn't a strict requirement of the form, it's more of a common practice that became traditional. It's a hugely helpful tool in such a constrained poetic structure because a season packs in a lot of scenery and emotion by implication, without taking up precious syllables. I'm not saying don't do it, but don't feel obliged.
If you're interested in haiku, I strongly recommend looking at works by Basho or Issa. Basho is haiku Shakespeare, and his stuff is generally very contemplative and evocative of place and time. He's all about strong images, and he works with the seasonal theme a lot.
Issa is more interested in human experience, and his haiku is a lot more cutting. He writes a lot about his own poverty in very wry terms.
The other big name is Buson, who is like a slightly less raw, slightly more refined Basho. I don't like him as much as the other two, but he's still pretty damn good.
>>47751627
Is this some BDSM action going on? Is this game just fetish-bait or is it actually good?
>>47771705
They say the Oni
lies with every word spoken.
So their boasts are false!
>>47771802
You roll a certain number of d10s, and keep a certain number of them that rolled the highest.
As an example, lets say I had an intelligence of 3 and a lore skill of 4.
If I was testing lore, I would roll 7d10 (4 + 3 = 7), and I would keep the 3 that rolled the highest (since I have 3 intelligence)
Dice that roll a 10 "explode," meaning they're rolled agian, and the new value is added to 10. So if I roll a 10, and then it's rerolled into a 6, that dice is actually a 16. Dice can explode multiple times, so rolling a 10 into a 10 into a 4 would be a 24 from a single d10.
>>47771861
*lie, not lies
>>47771802
You roll some number of d10s and keep some number of them, plus or minus any extra modifiers, and compare against a target number. It's basically the same conflict resolution mechanic as DND (roll dice, plus or minus some numbers, compare against another number), just different dice.
I can't wait to see your head explode when you run into a roll over/under system, or Fate, or a success counter/dicepool system.
>>47771802
If I were you, I'd try getting into one of the 40K rpgs like Dark Heresy first. They were the RPGs that broke me out of the "only D20" bubble.
>>47771827
Blood is considered spiritually unclean in l5r, and any couple engaging in BDSM is going to be doing it bloodlessly.
What the picture actually depicts is almost certainly a maho-tsukai, a blood sorcerer, bleeding a captive to power an evil spell. The act of using blood in spells like that is fundamentally damaging to your soul and your body, inflicting the metaphysical condition known as Taint, which drives you crazy and/or turns you into a mutant. It also poisons the land and turns benevolent spirits into malevolent ones.
If the sorcerer is any good, she's also going to force her captive to suffer the Tainting consequences of the spell in her place, if she doesn't kill the captive outright.
So no, it isn't fetish-bait.
>>47771827
>>47772202
>BDSM
It's called shibari, you fucking savages. And proper shibari even forgoes the usage of knots, because it would be dishonaraburu to even think that your honaburu captive would need to be restrained by anything as crass as a knot.
>>47764245
Page 49 tells you that duels to the death only conclude when one or both duelists are dead.
Kharmic strike is only of importance during first blood.
>>47772274
Shibari is a particular collection of techniques for binding people. People use shibari techniques for fetish purposes all the time even if that isn't the only thing they can be used for. When those techniques are used for fetish purposes, that falls under the bondage part of BDSM, and to suggest that people in Rokugan can't be kinky in that particular way behind closed doors is ridiculous.
And even then, you'll notice that I want on to argue that even if people in Rokugan do get up to kinky stuff behind closed doors, the picture in question almost certainly features a captive and not a submissive partner-- and not an honorable captive either, since no one ever accused a maho-tsukai of being honorable about kidnapping people to sacrifice, or would ever consider an maho-tuskai's captive honour-bound to refrain from trying to escape.
So calm your tits.
>>47772335
Small correction, kharmic strike is taken into consideration for the judgment, but the due will not conclude until one or both are dead, which is again said on page 88.
>>47763428
>>47763778
back again, and looks like my ST is here as well in >>47772335
and>>47772847
We talked about it a bit, and after some research, we decided to interpret it like kharmic strike is taken into account in duels to the death, but the duel is finished by the death of one participant. Meaning if I had actually won the duel, I would face the Otomo, we would accept that the Fortunes decree our dispute dropped, and after that he would retire and commit seppuku.
>>47753177
Being Pinoy.
>>47764696
I consider the Spider Clan more as a failed opportunity and butchered concept.
Mind me, I could live without them, but since the "official" story runs with them, and my players asked me to use the current timeline,
I used the opportunity to do the whole 20 Festival arc with my spin, instead of that insulting conclusion the story team wrote,
because they couldn't write themselves out of the corner they got in.
>>47771630
>asian, bad at math
when did this become the stereotype?
did we switch universes when I wasn't looking?
>>47772018
Why couldn't he continue with L5R? The R&K system ain't hard.
Hell, compared to Deathwatch, I find L5R actually easier rules-wise.
>>47776107
Because its a lot easier to learn 40K lore than it is to learn L5R lore.
Huh. Never thought I'd call 40K lore "easy to learn."
>>47776181
I will agree with you on that point. No discussion about it.
>>47753150
Because that's what the Unicorn clan is for.
>>47776539
That doesn't really follow, though. The Unicorn does it from land, but had no navy or experience in naval warfare to do it from sea.
They needed someone to do that, because the land that this game is based on experienced gaijin from the sea, and thematically speaking the ocean is just as much a part of the Japanese (or pseudo-Japanese, for the "but muh Rokugan!" pedantics) identity as the fucking katana.
The Mantis allow for that. Realistically speaking, would you hate the Mantis as much if they were a proper blending of Minor Clans like >>47753188 suggests? At this point it feels good ol' fashioned 4chan contrarianism because the devs pushed the Mantis a bit too hard.
>>47771423
Shadowrun Hong Kong sparked some interest in haiku, I think.
>>47776686
The Tortoise have been doing exactly that for literally 600-700 years by the time the Mantis actually become a Great Clan.
>>47779002
The tortoise acted as smugglers and traders and were spying on the rest of the gaijin. The Mantis serve as the martial arm protecting the islands, and (if done better) introduce the idea of a sort of "merchant alliance." It's really not the same.
>>47779500
The Tortoise deflect gaijin attention and act as a forward warning system.
>>47779595
And they deflect attention by drip feeding Rokugani goods to the gaijin so they don't feel like they need to invade to get anything at all.
>>47779595
>>47779608
But if they DO invade, the Tortoise could do fuck all other than go "they're coming!" The Mantis are the guys who meet them out at sea and make getting past the islands itself a horror for the gaijin.
>>47779627
IF they invade. But that's not the Mantis' main job. Their gaijin activities are strictly off the books, while the Tortoise go out of their way to inform each and every emperor of their real job and get special permission to keep doing it after each emperor's coronation.
>>47779651
And how is that a bad thing? Don't you want your military arm and your spy arm at least apart to a degree so you have limited control over both?
It's the same theory behind the Scorpion and Lion. Just a bit smaller and on the Eastern islands.
Seriously, aside from the fact that people don't like how the Yoritomo completely dominated the Mantis fluff, what's wrong with the Mantis/Tortoise scenario?
>>47779687
...Except they're not the anti-gaijin military arm. They don't have permission from any Emperor or imperial authority to mess with gaijin. The laws that prohibit gaijin interaction on pain of death have NOT been waived for the Mantis. If they're caught fucking with gaijin, they're fucking dead once they come back to Rokugan. Their job is to patrol Rokugani waters and, in some eras, to stabilize otherwise uncontrolled lands. Not to screen for nonexistant gaijin sea invasions.
>>47779719
If the gaijin tried a naval invasion, are you really ignorant enough to think that it wouldn't be waived for them? Come on, guy. It's a rule that's more symbolic than anything, and if the Empire itself were threatened, they'd be encouraged to fight back.
>>47779687
There is no imperial control over the Mantis/gaijin interactions because they are doing it illegally. The Yoritomo would go the way of the Gusai if it ever got out that they've shunned imperial law that hard.
>>47779755
I'm not saying the Mantis is currently interacting with gaijin. I'm saying the moment they invade, the Mantis are the martial arm that will send them away--just as they're currently martial arm that try to keep the Eastern coasts in check.
>>47779753
The Mantis aren't mobilized to protect against gaijin invasions. They'd fight back incidentally as a naval force, but "guard against gaijin" is not part of their duty other than incidentally.
Rokugan didn't have a specific naval defense against gaijin for literally a thousand years and nothing happened to require a specific defense against it.
>>47779812
>Rokugan didn't have a specific naval defense against gaijin for literally a thousand years and nothing happened to require a specific defense against it
Okay? I mean, yeah, they may not have been literally PURPOSELY CREATED BY THE MANDATE OF HEAVEN to drive out the gaijin. They keep the coasts in check. But do you really think that if gaijin did attack by sea, the Emperor wouldn't immediately go "Mantis, help!"?
Just because you didn't intentionally build a hammer to crush a skull doesn't mean you won't try and use it for that if you have no other real option.
>>47779859
Doesn't change the fact that they're absolutely not charged by the Imperial court to protect against gaijin. Saying that they're the gaijin sea defense is like saying that the Lion are the gaijin land defense. Technically true, but it's not going to be taken into account by anyone in Rokugan until the gaijin are actually knocking on the doors.
Even the official gaijin defense force is completely secret to everyone except for themselves and the Emperor (Not his subordinates, not the Emerald Champion, not the Chancellor, just the Emperor himself personally), and they specifically offer their own seppuku for their sins every time they tell him.
>>47779920
I'd ordinarily agree, but your Lion example is a bit too vague. In the sense that EVERY clan can contribute to fighting the gaijin on land. The Mantis are the only Great with the capacity to trouble them at sea. There's de jure, and there's de facto. While every Clan will be the de facto land defense force if shit goes bad, the Mantis are the only real de facto ocean defense.
Yeah, my point doesn't change the fact that they're not charged. But your point doesn't change the fact that they're the only real option.
>>47780007
The Crab and Crane both have substantial naval power in most eras and the Phoenix typically have an amount of naval power which can be used as a vessel for significant shugenja power.
>>47780034
>Crab
Didn't know that. I'm under the impression that they were a very land-locked power.
>Crane
I'm under the impression their naval military is decidedly shit. Far more merchants:fighters than even Mantis.
>Phoenix
The Mantis shugenja are just as formidable out at sea, so far as I'm aware. Phoenix would be used more as an auxiliary.
>>47780099
The Crab have a big navy full of extremely heavy ships because the shadowlands doesn't stop at the coast. In some eras, it gets budget cut because they need everything they can get at the wall.
The Crane have a big navy because they have a big coast. In some eras, it's cut down because there's no piracy or they're being extra un-military. In other eras, it's bulked way, waaaay up due to piracy or Mantis hostility.
The Phoenix navy is always small, but their shugenja are second to none in any environment.
If the gaijin showed up in an era without a powerful Mantis, those three clans would pull together to deal with it.
>>47780099
The Crab actually have armored ships that are reminiscent of those Korean covered turtleships. They're canonically more powerful individually than any other ship Rokugan has, but they're so slow that it's difficult for them to engage with things that aren't mindlessly aggressive towards them.
>>47780233
>turtle ships
Part of what made the turtle ships so badass was cannon. What does the Crab have that lets their turtle ships strike out?
>>47780279
Marines, ramming spikes, and whatever monstrosities of engineering the Kaiu feel like mounting on them.
>>47780293
So, ballistae and flamethrowers, most of the time.
>>47769712
>I wonder if anyone's done ol' Ogami's Suio-ryu school in L5R
What does the school do, anyway
Lion is pretty much the worst of the great clans right?
>>47781852
depends on what you value.
i personally hate the crane.
>>47781535
According to wikipedia, it's an iaijutsu focused school.
So unless it's one of the weird ones that constantly resheathes the sword, there are many schools that could be described similarly.
>>47781865
Well, it's a "comprehensive martial tradition with a focus on iai-techniques", so which Rokugani schools are similar depends on how far you want to take that "focus" part.
>>47781864
>depends on what you value
Being competent and interesting.
>>47781893
Can the Phoenix do NOTHING right?
>>47781902
They're pretty good at falling to maho and mislabeling harmless street performers as heretical sorcerers.
>>47781902
In what way is that doing rice wrong? If anything he just raised the bar for great rice eating.
>>47781915
NO, FUCK YOU. I KNOW FOR A FUCKING FACT THAT THE COIN SHOULD BE IN THE LEFT CUP. IT WASN'T THERE. THE "PREFORMER" WAS OBVIOUSLY SOME KIND OF EVIL, BE IT GAIJIN OR MAHO-TSUKAI.
>>47781864
Excelent taste, anon.
>>47781886
Well then the Phoenix is probably what you're looking for.
>>47782502
I knew I shouldn't have taken Cursed by the Realm: Sakkaku...
>>47782700
Elaborate, cruel, potentially public 'jokes' at least once a month, from the realm that brought 'death pranks'?
I'd rather get double momoku.
>>47782806
>double momoku
Does that just make it so none of your friends can use void points either? Or is it more like you get your void points back, but can only spend them to negate the inherent penalty you now take to all actions?
>>47782842
Double Momoku [Spiritual] (16 Points)
Just fuck my shit up, senpai.
>>47782842
I don't know. What does double nig do? It's just all round worse.
>>47781535
It's never defined fully in the comics, although a few things are shown: for one, the Suio-ryu seems to use a shorter sword than the average (everyone always goes on how Ogami uses a heavier and shorter battle sword). It seems to train naginata and/or spear techniques as well, seeing how good Ogami is with them. Then there are the classic techniques. One of them is the "wave-slicing stroke" like that in the pic attached: Ogami holds his sword sideways under water, so that the enemy has a harder time reacting to it (since they can't see the blade clearly and don't know where it exactly comes up from). Every swordsman in the series seems familiar with it, and Ogami kills a lot of people with it.
The second is the "zanbatou" or horse-cutting sword - again, Ogami holds the sword sideways and attacks diagonally upwards. Everyone seems to know this one as well, since when Daigoro did the move with a stick, it was instantly recognised.
>>47781865
The LW&C Suio-ryu isn't the real style - the manga writer chose the word because it sounded cool and didn't know there was a real Suio-ryu.
>>47782956
Sounds like something similar to the Bayushi bushi, with less focus on courtly manipulation, and more focus on knowing a wide range of weapons / how to kill efficiently.
>>47749219
bump
i hate genzoman's art so fucking much.
>>47783850
>>47783818
>bare shoulders
>waist sash has it's know on the back
It's like they can't decide whether they are sluts or not.
>>47783877
The woman in the center is also some kind of giant.
Does /tg/ have any experience with L5R PBP style games? I'm thinking about joining this massive one... wanted to know some opinions.
>>47784072
Which one is it?
>>47784072
You mean the next winter court? Be sure to have enough time for the period. It's fun, even though some of the STs have shown bias and lack of lore knowledge in the past.
>>47784072
Which one?
>>47783899
>mfw I partially release an ancient evil
>>47783877
>It's like they can't decide whether they are sluts or not.
Genzoman!
Also turns subtle shadow corrupted dragons into Godzilla with novelty teeth.
>>47784072
I played in WC4, it was my first and only experience thus far. You needed to be pretty dedicated to get the most out of it.
>>47784598
>the dragon has molars
wut?
>>47785372
Just Genzoman things, apparently.
>>47785372
Genzoman is probably the worst artist to do L5R art in the last 10ish years. There was actually a big enough backlash against his art among the community that AEG stopped commissioning him, apparently.
>>47785479
I wonder why...
>>47785479
He's not a bad artist, per se, he's just not an appropriate artist.
>>47784622
If you don't mind me asking, what did you play? Also, why is having such a degree of commitment necessary to enjoy WC? Are you excluded from major events or do you lose influence within your Clan delegation? I'm only a bit familiar with how a WC works, so I can't quite form a good picture of the whole proceedings
>>47785824
I was part of the Crab.
You need to be fairly dedicated because maintaining a decent presence requires making friends and roleplaying in character across several threads a day, on top of all the OOC stuff and plotting that happened in your Clan forums, as well as the daily court threads and other events that cropped up over the month or so. You could certainly enjoy the game with an hour or so a day, but to make the most out of it and to really push your Clan's agenda you needed more.
>>47785862
Please tell me you weren't that broken crab duelist.
>>47785901
What was wrong with the duelist?
>>47785915
Some people got their hands on the character sheets and found out that the duelist was basically a bona fide munchkin duel monster. He only lost to the Spider due to dice exploding in the Spiders favor. Spider, Lion and iirc some dragon players called foul on the ST team to allow such a character. Caused a small dispute among the ST team apparently.
>>47785998
Since I was mainly interested in the Mantis ambassy, I couldn't care less, but I found the whole thing highly amusing.
>>47786018
>>47786034
>Shiba bushi was good at duelling
In other news, some Spider are Tainted.
>>47786054
Wait, the crab had the PHX bushi school? How the hell? Now I REALLY want to see those character sheets.
>>47786080
Different School has been in the game since forever.
>>47786106
>>47786080
>>47786018
For a little perspective there were at least 3 Clans with a Kakita trained duellist munchkin in their ranks.
>>47786018
What's so bad with having a minmaxed duelist? And more importantly, why were people raging about it OOC? If he's truly that minmaxed, he's probably sorely lacking in everything else, play to strengths and all that. Also, being of that skill level and swinging your duelling clout around like a ten-foot peen should have IC consequences, that shit doesn't fly, and the delegation head should have seriously reprimanded him as that makes the Clan look bad. If they didn't, everyone else should just be more reluctant to deal with them in any capacity, and any duels with the guy should resolved by acknowledging him as the clearly superior opponent, or worst case, declining it out of hand if everyone's fed up with his shit.
If he wasn't being overly trigger happy, and he simply butcheded everyone that challanged him, the butthurt from other delegationd attests to pretty poor roleplaying.
>>47786106
>>47786119
Maybe, but he was the only one that managed to boost one of his traits to 5. As I said, I really wish I could have gotten my hands on the sheets to make people that salty about a dead character.
>>47786135
That was actually another complain I heard. He was basically a dummy character that had near to zero interaction outside of duels. Makes me wonder what the player had in mind.
>>47786141
The team didn't let anyone have traits above 4 or skills above 5, there were at the very least a half-dozen duelling specc'd characters with Awareness 4, Void 4, Iaijutsu 5.
>>47786164
I played with him in several scenes and he was online a lot right up until he died, I dunno where you got that from.
>>47786185
Mostly whining from the Spider players, and some Dragon guys. As said before, I was mostly observing the Mantis embassy.
I had a blast seeing the salt flow, although I had pity for the Lion embassy, who completely gave up halfway.
>>47786185
The only thing I really tracked from the Crab clan was Yasuki Tono. Good stuff.
>>47786321
He totally smashed it, great player and a great guy too.
How would you implement the Spider Clan anons?
My ronin is soon to go up in insight rank, and goddamn, I do not want any of the techniques ronin gets (except first level) and with the character I've made, joining the Spider Clan would fit perfectly.
However, the way that they are implemented canonically in the story leave a sour taste in my mouth, anyone have any ideas?
I thought about asking the GM to change the story so the deal that Daigotsu made with the Empress only made the places inside Rokungan that was tainted as fuck non tainted. And forcing them to take make a clan for his kid and a few selected "samurais" that he cleansed of the taint. Ignoring the whole "Changed taint" and all that.
>>47786390
They're evil, cancer-ridden monsters, a mockery of everything Rokugan holds dear and their very existence is the greatest insult to the 7 Realms.
That's how they started and that's where they should have stayed.
>>47786135
>being of that skill level and swinging your duelling clout around like a ten-foot peen should have IC consequences, that shit doesn't fly
But how are people going to joke about the silly thing they duelled someone over, if we're all adhering to the setting and not just being magical samurai for s&g?
>>47786422
Put more emphasis on Shourido. Make more of the samurai in their ranks people from other clans/Ronin descendants in search for power and glory at ALL cost.
>>47786390
I'd make the Spider as antagonists, but not necesarily evil. Their methods and values are different from what the Samurai would consider good, but most of these are different rather than inherently evil.
Sure, there have more tainted than anyone else, but it should be entirely possible to play a good Spider.
>>47786446
I was thinking something like that. A clan that follows Shourido above Bushido, who hungers for power, but not (openly) enough to warrant getting exterminated.
>>47786462
Well I want to play one is the thing. Unless I misinterpret what you say to mean that they're very contrarian, and antagonistic in that way, which sorta is one of the reason why it would fit my character.
>>47786462
People tend to forget that being a ronin is not an easy life. When the Spider opened the doors to all of them with the deal of part part of a GREAT clan, many saw it as an escape from their personal hells. There will of course be some good guys with ALOT of bad luck among them.
>>47786390
The changed taint part is absolute asspull. If your ST has any respect for the setting, he will ignore that part and write something instead.
I can even give him what I wrote if he is interested.
>>47786554
I'd love to hear it
>>47786546
When I say antagonistic instead of evil, I just mean stuff like "they think Shourido is a valid concept" rather than "they torture kittens for fun."
I once played a ronin character who was basically Rokugani Robin Hood, and he ended up joining the spider because they didn't oppress the peasants (that much) and it gave him political power that he could use for good.
>>47786554
>The changed taint part is absolute asspull.
They never did. Daigotsue merely hid the effects of the taint. Like making jigoku give everyone the unholy beauty power.
>>47786622
See, I absolutely hated that asspull.
"Oh yeah, I only hid the taint, I didn't really make people immune to it".
I'm sorry, but that was such a cheap cop out, I just couldn't accept it.
>>47786572
I prefer not to post it here, since one of my players visits the thread too. Also, it needs a bit of explaining, which would make my post a bit too long. If you wish, I could give you details via mail, or a sort of communication. Preferably even something like skype or discord.
>>47786653
I hated the whole thing, but retcon was better than safe taint, if you're playing setting as written.
>>47787305
I liked safe taint, because i like my devil lawful if you excuse my d&d'ism. Making a pact with the devil should always come with the fact that the devil would still get you on a technicality, BUT at the same time still keeping his word.
Which is what they tried, but in a VERY bad way, due in part to how they were forced to write fictions at AEG.
A major reason of why I hope FFG will handle the story differently.
What can I say, I like my Satan old school.
>>47787569
Take the lying darkness if you want your devil. The shadowlands is for demons.
>>47787865
Maybe, but Daigotsu behaved more like a devil than a demon. At this point, we can say it's up to the persons taste I guess.
Does anyone here have any experience playing as a part of or playing with a yojimbo/charge pair? It is boring for the yojimbo? Is it just kind of broken as an outsider looking at it?
>>47786018
Haha, people were actually leaking sheets? Or was this only after it finished?
Either way, there were other super minmaxed duelists, some of them didn't get to see action thoough.
>>47786670
I'm not that guy, but I'm pretty interested in your take. If you've the time for it, shoot me an email on [email protected] (yes it's real, I swear)
>>47790689
Sure, can do.
