Honour and Steel (Legend of the Five Rings)

You are Moto, born of the Burning Sands that lie beyond Rokugan's western border. The blood of the Ujik-Hai flows in your veins, making your skin darker and your eyes brighter than the lineages of your more sedentary cousins would allow. Your build is stocky, your arms and shoulders well muscled, and you disdain the traditional katana for the scimitar. There are those who would call you barbarian for these facts, name you outsider and foreigner, but you know these are fools. You carry the sword of your ancestors and honour the oaths they made to one of the Eight Kami; what does that make you, if not a samurai?

Of course, you are not just any Moto. Your family numbers in hosts beyond counting, akin to the grain of the desert sands from whence you hail, and you ride at their fore. Your mother is Rurame of the Red Banners, your uncle Ogodei Khan, and with such blood in your veins you stand perhaps three paces from leadership of the entire family. It was no surprise when you were sent to study at the traditional school of your family, to be trained as one of the famed Moto Conquerors. Yours is the style of the lightning war, striking like the thunderbolt and retreating like the swirling desert wind, and it is one that the staid, traditional forms of Rokugan's samurai have little answer to.

Article:

What is your gender?

[ ] Male
[ ] Female

Among the Moto, both sexes are considered equal, and any discrimination happens along familial or cultural lines. In the wider Empire, it varies significantly, with each Clan and Family having its own attitude towards the proper place and role of men and women.

What is your personal name?

[ ] Write in

The naming traditions of the Moto are eclectic, and not entirely in line with the traditions of wider Rokugan. For real world inspirations, you can look at Hindi, Korean and Arabic names.

You attended the dojo anonymously, at the insistence of your parents; a common enough decision among the ranks of the kuge, for it establishes common ground with the samurai that you will one day command and, more critically, prevents the sensei from favoring or demeaning you by virtue of your blood alone. You have yet to officially graduate, of course, but your teachers have spoken well of your skills and you have passed all of the preliminary examinations with flying colours.

Not that mere sufficiency is cause for celebration, of course. One cannot simply be satisfied with mediocrity, with meeting the expectations of others and reaching no further. No, they must strive to excel, to go beyond, to stand out from the crowd in some critical and unmistakable fashion. Such are the lessons of your youth and the examples set down by the heroes who came before, and in this matter at least you can hold your head up proud, for the reports that your sensei have made speak well of you as both a student and a person.

Article:

How did you stand out at the dojo?

[ ] Passion. Your energy and enthusiasm were second to none, and your relentless drive to succeed inspired the minds and bodies of your classmates to push on to greater heights than any of you could have reached alone.

[ ] Grace. It is the way of the Moto to be as the wind that sweeps across the desert, and you exemplified this trait above all others. You were eloquent and poised, ever reading the truth of the situation and turning it effortlessly to your advantage.

[ ] Adaptability. The sensei were fond of throwing strange problems at you, presenting unique challenges that demanded unconventional solutions, and you made your name by overcoming each in turn. You can roll with the punches in a way that others can only dream of.

[ ] Tenacity. Above all else, you were reliable, a voice of calm and a pillar of strength that your fellow studies came to count on in times of great stress or pressure. Your sensei appointed you as an assistant instructor more than once, knowing they could rely on your judgement.

[ ] Insight. The study of the blade is the study of the world, and vice versa. You demonstrated an understanding of such truths far beyond that of most students, and your sensei took note of your almost-mystical insights into a wide variety of skills and studies.

Of course, there are always risks of sending one's child to study in anonymity. Fear of parental disapproval and the spectre of judgement by one's broader family is one of the key ways that the sensei and senior samurai of all stripes strive to keep their juniors in line. Without specific knowledge of your heritage, your teachers were restricted to speaking in more general terms, citing old legends of the Moto and fragments of history to guide you back onto the beaten track whenever you happened to stray away from it, and such methods are not quite so reliable as some would otherwise prefer.

It was not freedom, not precisely, for the regimented life of the dojo was still quite sufficient to curtail all but the most reckless opportunities for 'acting out'. Still, the experience brought you closer to such things that you had ever been before, opened up new possibilities that you had never previously even thought to consider.

Article:

Not every samurai lives their Clan's creed, and many diverge significantly on matters of politics, philosophy or more personal matters. Here, at the end of your training, answer me this; how close do you cleave to the orthodoxy of the Unicorn Clan? How traditional are you?

[ ] Firm Believer. You are a Unicorn to the bone, and a Moto as well. You have not strayed from the path of your ancestors, no matter the temptations set down before you, and your family has made its approval of your diligence well known.

[ ] Unorthodox. You have split from the traditional philosophy of the Unicorn and the Moto in some notable way, and have a reputation as a result of doing so. Your divergence does not threaten your standing, at least not yet, but it does create some distance between you and your more traditional peers.

Note: This choice will have a knock-on impact on later votes as well as an immediate stat-based effect.

And then, of course, there is Bushido. If the teachings of your school are the guidelines that all Moto should strive to follow, then the precepts of Bushido are the rules by which all samurai must abide. Such is the theory, anyway, but there are as many ways of interpreting and following the guidance of the kami Akodo as there are samurai in the Empire. Most do their best to adhere as closely as their duty and personal conscience allow to each of the seven tenets, with the notable exception of the Scorpion… but what of you?

Well, you were certainly taught the rules. Even those who have no intention of ever following such principles make a point of learning what they are, and some of the most black-hearted villains in history have hidden their villainy unchallenged behind a shield of false virtue. By this point you could recite them in your sleep, and have on occasion caught yourself doing just that…

The Code of Bushido said:

There are seven tenets that make up the Way of the Warrior, and it is in how closely they adhere to these tenets that your character will be most readily judged by their peers and superiors. Perfection is not expected, and indeed may be impossible to truly achieve, but a good-faith effort to adhere to as many of the principles at any one time as you can is expected.

The Unicorn Clan traditionally places more of an emphasis on the principle of Compassion, their nomadic past giving them strong inclinations towards the basic ideas of equal worth among all people. They tend not to emphasise Courtesy to the same degree, believing that the truth of a man's heart is a better guide to righteous action than the stifling constraints of formal etiquette.

Compassion - Through intense training, the samurai becomes quick and strong. They are not as other people. They develop a power that must be used for the good of all. They have compassion. They help their fellows at every opportunity. If an opportunity does not arise, they go out of their way to find one.

Courage - Rise up above the masses of people who are afraid to act. A samurai must have heroic courage. It is absolutely risky. It is dangerous. Only in acceptance of one's death may a samurai live their life completely, fully, wonderfully. Courage is not blind; it is intelligent and strong. Replace fear with respect and caution.

Courtesy - Samurai have no reason to be cruel. They do not need to prove their strength. A samurai is courteous even to their enemies. Without this outward show of respect, we are nothing more than animals. A samurai is not only respected for their strength in battle, but also for their dealings with others. The true inner strength of a samurai becomes apparent during difficult times.

Duty/Loyalty - For a samurai, having done something or said something, they know that they now own that thing. They are responsible for it and all the consequences that follow. A samurai is intensely loyal to those in their care. To those they are responsible for, they are fiercely true.

Honour - A true samurai has only one judge of their honour, and that is themself. Decisions you make and how those decisions are carried out are a reflection of who you truly are. You cannot hide from yourself.

Righteousness - Be acutely honest throughout your dealings with all people. Believe in justice, not from other people, but from yourself. A true samurai knows in their heart that there are no shades of grey in the question of honesty and justice. There is only right and wrong.

Sincerity - When a samurai has said they will perform an action, it is as good as done. Nothing will stop them from completing their deed. They do not have to 'give their word', nor do they have to 'promise'. The action of speaking alone has set the act in motion. Speaking and doing are the same thing.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Article:

How honourable are you?

[ ] True of Heart. Your belief, your drive to act at all times in an honorable way, is a source of personal strength and often garners you the respect and admiration of others.

[ ] Free of Spirit. Though you still think of yourself as honorable and true, it is fair to say that you disagree significantly with one of the seven precepts of Bushido, or at least with how it is commonly practiced.