Samurai Taka [L5R]

You watch as the ships flee Otosan Uchi. The evacuation started too late, too close to the assault on the city, but time was bought for them nonetheless. Purchased in charges and last stands and rivers of blood, in the death of Hantei himself. They flee to a world Rokugan has not interacted with in long ages. A savage, barbaric land, told of only in tales. You know better of it than most, than everyone aboard those ships, enough to pity them their fate.

You, after all, will merely die.


You awake to hissing. The world is vague shadows above you, backlit by harsh, harsh light. Things move, dart towards you, and are fended off by something...something that must be sitting upon your chest. You try to move, but everything is agony. Your muscles scream, your throat is raw, there's a weight on your chest, and you're coughing blood.

The darting has stopped. There are...two figures now. No, three. Conversation. Words you don't understand.

Something licks your leg. Raspy, but not unpleasant. Like an overly friendly dog. Your vision remains blurry, but you can see the thing sitting atop you. A large, brown snake with a raised ridge of scales going down its back, coiled up atop your chest. It is...talking, saying something to one of the other figures. You try to raise a hand, do anything. They seem to take notice, and as black hands take hold of your broken form, you fade away once more.


The palace courtyard has been converted into a macabre arena. At its center is a great iron spike, upon which the Emperor Iweko II lies impaled. Around it, the butchered forms most of the Gods: Hida, Hantei, Akodo, Doji, and Shinjo have been propped against the pole. The rest lie on the sidelines, wounded, broken, ashamed.

Daigotsu stands at the far end. His armies, prisoners arrayed as spectators. You watch as he grandstands, as he speaks of the inevitable, final victory of Jigoku. How nothing can contest the glory won on this day, the eternal, perfect Rokugan that he has created. He throws a daisho, a paired katana and wakizashi of exceptional make to the ground in front of him, and declares that if any dare defy him they should do so now, or abandon their blades and admit themselves cowed.

There is a long moment of silence, as he stares at the prostrate gods, at his army of prisoners, at the besieged towers and burning palaces around him. The surviving defenders quail in the face of Daigotsu, the mighty lord of Jigoku, the man who felled the greatest empire in the world. Several throw themselves to their knees, others fling away their blades, or prepare to commit seppuku.

You step forwards.

It is the hardest thing in the world. You can feel him, his monstrous will, bearing down on you. You know that this battle is already decided, that you cannot win. You can feel the aura of terror radiating off of every one of the monsters that follow him, and you feel the gaze of shackled gods as you do what they refused to.

You step into the arena, and Daigotsu turns towards you. An eyebrow rises in recognition, and he says,

[ ] "Tamori Taka."


[ ] "Kakita Taka."



[ ] "Akodo Taka."


[ ] "Daigotsu Taka."


[ ] "Taka."

I'm going to be using a modified version of the system used by Omicron in Now You Feel Like Number None. Here's him to explain it.

Omicron said:

Although this Quest is narratively driven (no dice-rolling or exact stat calculation), we will be using a system of "ranks" to assess the respective powers of characters, measure your growth and comparative abilities. These ranks are bought with xp and the entire thing is more or less ripped off from We Stand in Awe, so sue me. To earn XP, you can finish narrative arcs, perform impressive in-character deeds, undergo training montages in "downtime," and things of that caliber.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Your stats are based around the Five Rings, the Five Elements that made up reality itself. They are:


Air: Air is associated with intuition, empathy and reflexes. In combat it affects the speed at which you react, your ability to avoid harm, and your skill with Rokugani Archery. Out of combat it affects your persuasiveness and how well you understand the motivations of those around you. A High Air character can dance through a flurry of arrows, shoot the wing off of a bird, and compose poetry that would make men weep.

Fire: Fire is associated with athleticism, intelligence, and skill. In combat it affects your skill in melee and intelligence on the field of battle. Out of combat it affects your athleticism, pre-existing knowledge, and ability to absorb and comprehend new information. A High Fire character is a savant both on the battlefield and off, slicing their foes to pieces, putting together pieces of ancient and forgotten lore, and learning as fast as new information is presented.

Water: Water is associated with physicality, perception, and speed. In combat it affects your raw physicality, your strength, your speed, how dangerous you are in a grapple. Out of combat it affects your perceptiveness, efficacy as a tracker, and your ability to see through deception. A High Water character can break an Ox in a single blow, see through the most clever of lies, and run down a galloping horse.

Earth: Earth is associated with endurance and willpower. In combat it affects your ability to withstand punishment and stamina. Out of combat it affects your physical endurance and ability to stay calm under pressure, resist temptation, and remain in control of situations. A High Earth character can withstand wounds that would kill a normal human, see through the temptations of the wicked, and cow lesser people with merely their gaze.

Void: Void is associated with meditation, religion, and flow. In addition, it may be used to enhance another Ring, the use of a technique, or a write-in. You have a pool of points equal to your void ring per Episode. A character with High Void is one with the world around them, capable of incredible bursts of skill and in touch with the divine.

Honor: Not strictly a stat, Honor is a measure of how you perceive yourself. How closely you hew to the ideals of Honor you were raised with. It does not track morality, indeed often the correct thing and moral thing to do is not the honorable thing to do,

Glory: Like Honor, Glory is not a true stat. It is a measure of your fame and reputation in the area you are in. It begins at 0.0 and is slowly lowers if you do not continue to win glory for yourself and is, to a degree, regionally locked.

The Five Rings and Techniques that you acquire are ranked by the following chart. A technique cannot have a higher rank than the Ring it is based on.

• Incapable - Not technically a level as such, this will only show up on a character sheet in the rare event that some circumstance makes it utterly impossible for you to learn or use a particular skill.
• Untrained - This represents the baseline, the adult human norm for a ring or the first steps onto the path for a technique.
• Student (100xp) - You have received some significant training in this ring, or are a prodigy in the field. A Samurai may begin their career at this level in the rings their family or school prize particularly highly.
• Adept (300xp) - You have tempered training and skill with hard-won experience, becoming worthy of note in the field. Most Samurai do not progress beyond this level even in their area of specialization.
• Teacher (900xp) - You excel in this field, clearly setting yourself apart from your peers. In Rokugan someone with a Ring at this level would be widely renowned, invited to join prestigious dojos and learn advanced techniques to better show the glory of their clan.
• Paragon (3200xp) - Your skill is awe-inspiring, singular among your clan and perhaps an entire country. In Rokugan someone with a Ring at this level would likely be famous and offered a prestigious position in recognition of their merit. You may only have two rings at or above this level.
• Divine (4000xp) - You have reached the absolute pinnacle of what is possible for this ring. The only people who may compete with you in this area of specialization are Gods or similarly powerful creatures. You may only have one ring at this level.