The Dragon have four families, none of them are really diplomancers
The Mirumoto are general all purpose types but prefer to sword so hard they use two swords.
The Kitsuki are basically Samurai Sherlock Holmes types. No one likes them because they use evidence
The Agasha essentially are mad scientists with magic
And the Togashi are Kung Fu Monks with Magic Tattoos
Oh I know. Just saying what I prefer in general. Though it would be REALLY hard to choose between the Mirumoto, for Ninten/dueling shenanigans, or Togashi for magical kung fu bullshit, with the extra hilarity that is a follower of Togashi being the chosen of Amaterasu.
The Agasha I would vote for if we were a Twilight, so while have no problem learning some of their tricks, they don't really match our main abilities as a starting position, and the Kitsuki are kinda....eh for me honestly.
Now I want to play Kitsuki, but I've missed vote for Caste so no Twilight Holmes in fantasy Japan for me .
In this case...can we play some sort of Eisenhorn expy, if we go full Kuni? It would be fighty enough for Dawn and still do actually fun to read things instead of fighting fighting and you guessed it fighting.
No offense to Maugan, but Dawn Crab is just meh for me.
I like the idea of a Dawn Dragon though. It's kind of: Rokugan is tearing itself apart. All the clans are at each others throats. Not even the famed wisdom of the Dragon Clan can overcome the turmoil, for they lack the raw might to safely deliver said wisdom to those who need it the most. Into this, Lady Amateratsu gives her blessing. A Champion. The mountains shake, for The Dragon wakes. Rokugan will feel its warm embrace, or burn under its fiery wrath.
Take Heed Ye Mighty, and listen to the coucil of the wise. Or face Him on the field of battle and behold the folly of standing against The Dragon. Meh, kind of unhappy with that, but eh.
Dawn still won the Chargen Vote, and a Dawn Dragon is still social enough for Maugan Ra to enjoy writing it and not suffer a loss of motivation, unlike the Kuni Hunter.
Alright, I have decided to go with my previously considered option of defaulting to the second most-popular choice in the vote, namely a Dawn-Caste Dragon samurai, as a remedy for the narrative issues I expect I would run into with the Crab Clan option that actually won. Apologies to anyone who was really after a Crab character.
-/-
The Dragon Clan have always stood apart from the broader affairs of Rokugan. This was their charge; to watch and wait, to act only when necessary, to seek enlightenment and teach it to any who might ask. Like their neighbours in the Phoenix they are a highly spiritual people, and their mountain peaks and valleys of their home are covered in shrines and monasteries, but where the Phoenix develop and enforce orthodoxy on the Empire's faith the Dragon are far more individual. No two Dragon samurai are entirely alike, and many are so divergent that outsiders question if they truly come from the same Clan at all... but to the Dragon, such things matter not.
Are you male or female? This has no influence on your choice of archetypes, but may well influence how other characters in the Quest perceive and treat you.
[ ] Male
[ ] Female
Which family do you hail from? This has no explicit mechanical impact, but will most assuredly influence your character's personality and background.
[ ] Kitsuki - Although young by Rokugani standards, the Kitsuki family have already settled into a comfortable niche within the Dragon Clan. Their emphasis on logical deduction, careful observation and methodical reasoning makes them excellent magistrates, courtiers and scouts, and while the Kitsuki Method is not well respected in the rest of Rokugan, none who have seen it in action doubt the potency of its effects.
[ ] Mirumoto - Descended from a proud warrior who died fighting Fu Leng in personal combat, the Mirumoto are the closest thing the Dragon have to a 'traditional' family. Predominately students of the sword and responsible for the day-to-day running of the Clan, the Mirumoto none the less remain every bit as spiritual and eccentric as their cousins, favouring poetry, philosophy and the art of understatement.
[ ] Agasha - Founded by a highly spiritual pacifist, the Agasha family have long concerned themselves with how the different elements of the natural and spiritual worlds interact with one another, seeing each as one small note in the overall masterpiece of creation. This emphasis on bridging the divide between normally distinct areas of study has also lead them to be one of the more martial Shugenja families in the Empire, with many of their students studying the arts of spell and sword simultaneously.
[ ] Togashi - Not a family in the traditional sense, the Togashi are an order of samurai-monks who recruit exclusively through adoption, be it from other families of the Dragon or further afield. Most remain in their mountain fastness in search of enlightenment, but others travel throughout Rokugan, seeking out source of wisdom and those who might need their assistance.
What is your personal name? Dragon samurai tend to choose their own names upon reaching adulthood, and most strive for something symbolically appropriate, if only to themselves.
[ ] Write in
Feel free to suggest other elements of the background here. This will not be made into a formal vote, but I will bear it in mind when I come to formalising the character sheet and personality.
(You might be wondering if the Togashi family can be combined with any of the below archetypes. The answer is yes. The Dragon are a clan of oddities, so one more really won't surprise anyone.)
Vote Two - Archetypes IMPORTANT NOTE - This section of the vote is being done via ranked choice voting (the above is not). Rate the following from 1-5 in terms of your personal preference.
You are one of the finest swordsmen in all of Rokugan, a student of the dual-wielding niten style first developed by Mirumoto. Duelist, warrior, philosopher - you are all of these by turns, and those who have observed your skills in action have often compared the experience to an artistic performance. Your duels with the samurai of the Kakita family are legendary, and have involved everything from tests of iaijutsu to improvisational poetry competitions.
(Heavy Melee focus, with secondary emphasis on spiritual philosophy and warfare.)
A student of the famed Kitsuki's Method, you are one of your Clan's premier Magistrates, serving at home and abroad to uncover criminals and any other threats to the safety and stability of your Clan. This being Rokugan, you are most famous for your dueling skills, which are at least as fearsome as those of any Kakita. There have been several plays written about your career, most of which make you out to be far more fond of dramatic one-liners than is entirely accurate.
(Martial Arts focus, specifically Single Point/Iaijutsu, with secondary focuses on courtly etiquette and investigation.
You are one of the finest archers in the Emerald Empire, but outside your homeland your name is all but unknown; a fact which you refuse to let bother you as you patrol the mountains and valleys of your Clan's borderlands, watching out for threats and tracking down those few foolish criminals who believe they can hide from justice in the barren wilderness. Sometimes you recite philosophy and poetry to the nearest cluster of rocks. It was a bit of a shock when they started providing useful critique.
(Archery focus, with secondary emphasis on tracking your foes, surviving in the wilderness and making hawks feel vaguely inadequate about their vision)
You are a Shugenja, and through your skills and connection to the elements you have a way of dominating even the most savage of battlefields. With your spells and sword you are a fearsome adversary, and with your wisdom and insight you are capable of great works of magic and education that leave the other spell-casting families of the Empire struggling to keep up.
(Split focus on personal combat and martially-applicable spellcasting, side order of alchemy and other vaguely dangerous and heretical ideas)
You are that most emblematic of Dragon samurai - a half naked man/woman covered in magical tattoos, who spends much of their time wandering the Empire quoting vaguely appropriate koans and confusing everyone else with your uncanny insight and refusal to give a straight answer. Why Amaterasu chose one such as you to be her Champion is a question for the ages.
(Brawl focus, with a side order of spiritual enlightenment and confusing the shit out of everybody).
[X] Togashi - Not a family in the traditional sense, the Togashi are an order of samurai-monks who recruit exclusively through adoption, be it from other families of the Dragon or further afield. Most remain in their mountain fastness in search of enlightenment, but others travel throughout Rokugan, seeking out source of wisdom and those who might need their assistance.
[X] Kenshin
[1] [Archetype] Swordmaster
[3] [Archetype] Champion of Law
[5] [Archetype] Dragon's Flame
[4] [Archetype] Priest of the Kami
[2] [Archetype] Tattooed Monk
Kenshin Himura Togashi must live and save Rokugan!
@Maugan Ra Even if Swordmaster wins is that going to have enough social/political/spiritual focus for you to really enjoy writing it?
[X] Agasha - Founded by a highly spiritual pacifist, the Agasha family have long concerned themselves with how the different elements of the natural and spiritual worlds interact with one another, seeing each as one small note in the overall masterpiece of creation. This emphasis on bridging the divide between normally distinct areas of study has also lead them to be one of the more martial Shugenja families in the Empire, with many of their students studying the arts of spell and sword simultaneously.
Now I want to pull a One Piece Zoro, make a Three Sword School that only we can use because of Glorious Solar Bullshit, and then challenge the best of the Kakita/Ninten school's to duels so our Three Sword Superiority can be unquestioned by all of Heaven and Earth.
Do you want to do that classic movie thing where you run at the other guy, the screen goes red for a moment then one of you falls over in two pieces? Take Martial Arts (Single Point Style).
Do you want to punch a man so hard he flies clear across the battlefield and kills five other men on landing from the shockwave? Take Brawl.
[3] [Archetype] Swordmaster
[1] [Archetype] Champion of Law
[5] [Archetype] Dragon's Flame
[4] [Archetype] Priest of the Kami
[2] [Archetype] Tattooed Monk
[X] Kitsuki - Although young by Rokugani standards, the Kitsuki family have already settled into a comfortable niche within the Dragon Clan. Their emphasis on logical deduction, careful observation and methodical reasoning makes them excellent magistrates, courtiers and scouts, and while the Kitsuki Method is not well respected in the rest of Rokugan, none who have seen it in action doubt the potency of its effects.
[X] Female
[X] Kitsuki - Although young by Rokugani standards, the Kitsuki family have already settled into a comfortable niche within the Dragon Clan. Their emphasis on logical deduction, careful observation and methodical reasoning makes them excellent magistrates, courtiers and scouts, and while the Kitsuki Method is not well respected in the rest of Rokugan, none who have seen it in action doubt the potency of its effects.
[X] Budai
(Budai - Wikipedia), I don't know much of other wandering monks names.
[5] [Archetype] Swordmaster
[4] [Archetype] Champion of Law
[2] [Archetype] Dragon's Flame
[3] [Archetype] Priest of the Kami
[1] [Archetype] Tattooed Monk
Logical Monk! We will solve crime by enigmatically smiling at magistrates and giving them koans until they achieve understanding of the mystery.
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