Winged Knight
Still just a crazy man with a wolf on his head
- Location
- Texas
It's an Advantage that grants an effective 1 rank in every Lore Skill that isn't Forbidden.
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In Thunder's Echo (Legend of the Five Rings Quest)
It's an Advantage that grants an effective 1 rank in every Lore Skill that isn't Forbidden.
- Location
- London, England
For a bit of IC knowledge, Rokugan tends to think of most things in terms of the elements, including battlefield tactics and courtly politics. As a result, there are five distinct schools of thought that courtiers tend to subscribe to in one form or another. In descending order of popularity, they are:
The Way of Air is based around the art of listening. Those who follow it seek to be constantly aware of what is going on around them, of the intent and motivation of their fellow courtiers, of what they value and fear. Masters of air are calm, composed and nearly impossible to surprise, for they have seen your intended action five steps ago and already adjusted their own plans to account for it.
The Way of Water is based around being adaptable. It is a reactive school, and one that holds as a solemn truth a single idea - 'everything changes'. Masters of water do not seek to be perfectly aware of all that is going on, but instead are prepared to adjust their tactics and arguments as appropriate to the ever-changing situation. It is almost impossible to press the advantage against such an individual, for they will adapt and counter your every move in short order.
The Way of Fire is focused and overwhelming. Those who follow this path pick an area to specialize in and then train and maneuver to make themselves utterly unquestioned within their speciality. Masters of Fire tend to stand quietly aside in many courtly situations, but the moment the scenario shifts to their focus they burst into action, rapidly overwhelming and gaining ground from their foes.
The Way of Earth is patient and unyielding. It teaches courtiers to adopt strong, dependable foundations for everything they do, and to make sure all of their arguments and strategies are based on that foundation. Master of Earth are defensive and unassailable, their methodical arguments slowly grinding away at and exhausting their opposition.
Finally, the Way of Void is broad and all-encompassing. It includes parts of all of the above strategies, and many others besides, for at its heart is the notion that everything is one, and thus every approach has value. A true Master of Void could be unstoppable in the courts, for he knows every path and tactic and can use them all as appropriate, but is instead usually the one who shapes the court as a whole and binds it all together rather than favoring one particular element or agenda.
Obviously there are variations and specialities within all of these, but just about every court-focused NPC you encounter in this Quest is going to follow one of those schools of thought. They are also the methods that are most likely to bring success, which is self-reinforcing to a certain degree - other methods might be possible, but will draw much less accepting responses from the courtiers, and so are less likely to be successful.
The Way of Air is based around the art of listening. Those who follow it seek to be constantly aware of what is going on around them, of the intent and motivation of their fellow courtiers, of what they value and fear. Masters of air are calm, composed and nearly impossible to surprise, for they have seen your intended action five steps ago and already adjusted their own plans to account for it.
The Way of Water is based around being adaptable. It is a reactive school, and one that holds as a solemn truth a single idea - 'everything changes'. Masters of water do not seek to be perfectly aware of all that is going on, but instead are prepared to adjust their tactics and arguments as appropriate to the ever-changing situation. It is almost impossible to press the advantage against such an individual, for they will adapt and counter your every move in short order.
The Way of Fire is focused and overwhelming. Those who follow this path pick an area to specialize in and then train and maneuver to make themselves utterly unquestioned within their speciality. Masters of Fire tend to stand quietly aside in many courtly situations, but the moment the scenario shifts to their focus they burst into action, rapidly overwhelming and gaining ground from their foes.
The Way of Earth is patient and unyielding. It teaches courtiers to adopt strong, dependable foundations for everything they do, and to make sure all of their arguments and strategies are based on that foundation. Master of Earth are defensive and unassailable, their methodical arguments slowly grinding away at and exhausting their opposition.
Finally, the Way of Void is broad and all-encompassing. It includes parts of all of the above strategies, and many others besides, for at its heart is the notion that everything is one, and thus every approach has value. A true Master of Void could be unstoppable in the courts, for he knows every path and tactic and can use them all as appropriate, but is instead usually the one who shapes the court as a whole and binds it all together rather than favoring one particular element or agenda.
Obviously there are variations and specialities within all of these, but just about every court-focused NPC you encounter in this Quest is going to follow one of those schools of thought. They are also the methods that are most likely to bring success, which is self-reinforcing to a certain degree - other methods might be possible, but will draw much less accepting responses from the courtiers, and so are less likely to be successful.
[X] Male
[X] Naoto
- [X] Soshi. The first of the Scorpion Shugenja families, the Soshi family specialize in providing magical and spiritual assistance to their lords. They are calm and quiet, the very best at accomplishing their goals without giving the slightest hint that they have done anything at all.
- [X] The Bayushi Bushi. All samurai are warriors, and the court is a battlefield like any other. The Scorpion recognize this, and as such train their Bushi to serve here as well as in the field. They are duelists and Yojimbo, able to comport themselves in a civilized fashion while serving as the murderous instruments of their lords.
[X] Naoto
- [X] Soshi. The first of the Scorpion Shugenja families, the Soshi family specialize in providing magical and spiritual assistance to their lords. They are calm and quiet, the very best at accomplishing their goals without giving the slightest hint that they have done anything at all.
- [X] The Bayushi Bushi. All samurai are warriors, and the court is a battlefield like any other. The Scorpion recognize this, and as such train their Bushi to serve here as well as in the field. They are duelists and Yojimbo, able to comport themselves in a civilized fashion while serving as the murderous instruments of their lords.
al103
Grumpy Russian Bear (SV edition)
- Location
- Russia, Krasnoyarsk
- [X] Soshi. The first of the Scorpion Shugenja families, the Soshi family specialize in providing magical and spiritual assistance to their lords. They are calm and quiet, the very best at accomplishing their goals without giving the slightest hint that they have done anything at all.
- [X] The Bayushi Bushi. All samurai are warriors, and the court is a battlefield like any other. The Scorpion recognize this, and as such train their Bushi to serve here as well as in the field. They are duelists and Yojimbo, able to comport themselves in a civilized fashion while serving as the murderous instruments of their lords.
- [X] The Bayushi Bushi. All samurai are warriors, and the court is a battlefield like any other. The Scorpion recognize this, and as such train their Bushi to serve here as well as in the field. They are duelists and Yojimbo, able to comport themselves in a civilized fashion while serving as the murderous instruments of their lords.
A Nation's Virtue
南國山河南帝居
[X] Rook
[x] Female
[x] Shosuro
[x] Bayushi Courtier
[x] Shosuro
[x] Bayushi Courtier
Joyful_Overkill
satisfaction in knowing your enemy won't survive.
[X] Rook
[X] Male
[X] Naoto
[X] Shosuro. Descended from the first of Bayushi's servants, the Shosuro embody all that is subtle and covert about the Scorpion. They train their children to move without notice, be it in the wilderness or the courts, and to carry out the commands of their lords with quiet efficiency and murderous precision.
[X] The Soshi Shugenja. The Soshi understand as few others do that the Kami are, above all else, fundamentally inhuman. They can and will do almost anything if properly entreated. The Shugenja of this school focus on Air magic, specializing in illusions and deceptions, and can invoke the Kami without any giving any indication that they are casting spells at all.
[X] Naoto
[X] Shosuro. Descended from the first of Bayushi's servants, the Shosuro embody all that is subtle and covert about the Scorpion. They train their children to move without notice, be it in the wilderness or the courts, and to carry out the commands of their lords with quiet efficiency and murderous precision.
[X] The Soshi Shugenja. The Soshi understand as few others do that the Kami are, above all else, fundamentally inhuman. They can and will do almost anything if properly entreated. The Shugenja of this school focus on Air magic, specializing in illusions and deceptions, and can invoke the Kami without any giving any indication that they are casting spells at all.
- Location
- London, England
Hmm. Interesting. The vote so far seems to be inclined towards a Soshi Bushi, which is not what I expected, but dealing with unexpected results is half the fun of running a Quest.
I'll leave the vote open until morning (it's currently 10:50pm where I am), then start on actually putting together the character sheet. I've decided to adopt a balanced approach to handling advancement in the game itself - you can increase your skills and traits by finding an IC mentor or similar, without needing to buy them, but you will also get XP to spend on things you decide as a collective. Yes, this gives you mechanical incentive to form close bonds with people who have things you want and need - this is absolutely intentional.
I'm currently mulling over whether to roll on the Heritage tables for you as well, to generate a bit of additional background. If anyone has thoughts on the matter I encourage you to share. Likewise, any thoughts on your character's personality would be welcomed. I quite liked Sirrocco's suggestion about a character who deliberately targets those who abuse their lessers, for example, because it provides a good framework for me to base characterization off of when I start writing properly.
I'll leave the vote open until morning (it's currently 10:50pm where I am), then start on actually putting together the character sheet. I've decided to adopt a balanced approach to handling advancement in the game itself - you can increase your skills and traits by finding an IC mentor or similar, without needing to buy them, but you will also get XP to spend on things you decide as a collective. Yes, this gives you mechanical incentive to form close bonds with people who have things you want and need - this is absolutely intentional.
I'm currently mulling over whether to roll on the Heritage tables for you as well, to generate a bit of additional background. If anyone has thoughts on the matter I encourage you to share. Likewise, any thoughts on your character's personality would be welcomed. I quite liked Sirrocco's suggestion about a character who deliberately targets those who abuse their lessers, for example, because it provides a good framework for me to base characterization off of when I start writing properly.
Sirrocco
Pedantic
so for current votes...
[4] Shosuro/Soshi shugenja
[7] Soshi/Bayushi Bushi
[1] Yogo/Soshi Shugenja
[2] Shosuro/Bayushi Courtier
I would like to take this time to argue against the front-runner, for a variety of reasons.
- It's a Bushi, of a non-duelling school. Our school bonuses are pretty much only applicable in battle. It's right after Day of Thunder, which means that there's not a while lot of fighting to be done near the courts. We certainly aren't going to be repeatedly jumped by the tainted while attending a play or walking down the street.
- As a Bushi, and therefore a yojimbo, we'd be expected to answer any duels for those we are escorting. With the areas of focus we have, we aren't going to be all that good at duels - which is likely to get us killed.
- There are two other options that let us start with 4 awareness and directly social-applicable school benefits in a social-focused campaign. The Soshi Bushi looks like all it has going for it is the 4 intelligence (which can be exploited to a degree, but isn't all *that* useful) and some playing against type.
- Glory of the Emerald Empire is already doing an excellent job of running "Bushi who provides courtier support". Perhaps we could do something else?
[4] Shosuro/Soshi shugenja
[7] Soshi/Bayushi Bushi
[1] Yogo/Soshi Shugenja
[2] Shosuro/Bayushi Courtier
I would like to take this time to argue against the front-runner, for a variety of reasons.
- It's a Bushi, of a non-duelling school. Our school bonuses are pretty much only applicable in battle. It's right after Day of Thunder, which means that there's not a while lot of fighting to be done near the courts. We certainly aren't going to be repeatedly jumped by the tainted while attending a play or walking down the street.
- As a Bushi, and therefore a yojimbo, we'd be expected to answer any duels for those we are escorting. With the areas of focus we have, we aren't going to be all that good at duels - which is likely to get us killed.
- There are two other options that let us start with 4 awareness and directly social-applicable school benefits in a social-focused campaign. The Soshi Bushi looks like all it has going for it is the 4 intelligence (which can be exploited to a degree, but isn't all *that* useful) and some playing against type.
- Glory of the Emerald Empire is already doing an excellent job of running "Bushi who provides courtier support". Perhaps we could do something else?
mothematics
How wide is the concept of "you"?
- Location
- the bottom of a coffee cup
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I don't actually mind either way what wins but because people seem to like the idea I'll lay out my thoughts in response as I see things, after I tackle things one-by-one; I just want my reasoning to be made clear, as it were, so that there's no confusion even if we don't all agree.
Incoming spaghetti!
e-herpderp forgot the whole thought bit, gimmie a few to write up
e2-Okay, so.
I like the idea of IntelliBushi for a lot of reasons. But I suppose the core of it isn't something I've elaborated upon very well and I do apologize for that.
To me, at least, the Bayushi Bushi is to be equally competent with sword as with word, as I phrased it earlier. What this means is that they can function with savvy like a courtier and, if you invest in it, as well as one. But with the upside of being a Bushi.
The Intelligence 4 vote to me means that we are one of the smartest motherfuckers around, as far as low-ranking samurai go. And it means that we'll see opportunity. We would be perhaps not the best at kenjutsu, decent at iaijutsu, and socially we would be fairly competent. On the face of things, these characteristics do not stand out on its own.
But when you give all these tools to a young, incredibly smart young Scorpion what you get is someone poised to make their mark in the world, someone whose limitations are only effort and ambition (and how much your Lord wants you to advance in life).
Given the nature of this quest, and of this board, I think such an approach is entirely workable and would be highly interesting to watch unfold; hence the vote.
I hope that explains things better
e3!- @Maugan Ra if my vote wins I'll lay down the very, very bare bones of what my impression of this person would be!
Incoming spaghetti!
Certainly, it makes us a warrior in a game of intrigue; this is a relative disadvantage compared to an actual courtier, or a Soshi shugenja. I freely admit this - but the crux of, I think, this idea is that we will be exploiting opportunities that we have the incisive brain and wit to make. We have what we need to go far, though we may be bushi. Being a warrior does not preclude us from being competent at courtly matters, not at all.
Raise Reflexes and Awareness. Social, moderate duel, and the wonderful tool of FULL ATTACK IN LIEU OF AGILITY 3
This is also very true! However, I feel like you're underselling the whole idea that we have a starter arc to begin our ambitious climb and cultivate our skills to get us to where we can socialize as well as we'd need to.
The two would be so vastly different in tone and game, personality, story and every conceivable aspect--and role, really, as one is going far heavier socially--I am hard pressed to see how this is anything more than pedantry.
e-herpderp forgot the whole thought bit, gimmie a few to write up
e2-Okay, so.
I like the idea of IntelliBushi for a lot of reasons. But I suppose the core of it isn't something I've elaborated upon very well and I do apologize for that.
To me, at least, the Bayushi Bushi is to be equally competent with sword as with word, as I phrased it earlier. What this means is that they can function with savvy like a courtier and, if you invest in it, as well as one. But with the upside of being a Bushi.
The Intelligence 4 vote to me means that we are one of the smartest motherfuckers around, as far as low-ranking samurai go. And it means that we'll see opportunity. We would be perhaps not the best at kenjutsu, decent at iaijutsu, and socially we would be fairly competent. On the face of things, these characteristics do not stand out on its own.
But when you give all these tools to a young, incredibly smart young Scorpion what you get is someone poised to make their mark in the world, someone whose limitations are only effort and ambition (and how much your Lord wants you to advance in life).
Given the nature of this quest, and of this board, I think such an approach is entirely workable and would be highly interesting to watch unfold; hence the vote.
I hope that explains things better
e3!- @Maugan Ra if my vote wins I'll lay down the very, very bare bones of what my impression of this person would be!
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- Location
- nz
[x] Female
[x] Shosuro
[x] Bayushi Courtier
[x] Shosuro
[x] Bayushi Courtier
mothematics
How wide is the concept of "you"?
- Location
- the bottom of a coffee cup
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Edited with rationale!
- Location
- London, England
I feel that I should... not create a counter-point, exactly, but clarify a few things about my intentions for this game and hopefully address some concerns. To that end...
Being a Bushi can actually be an advantage in a social game, depending on the situation. For one thing, there are vastly more Bushi than Courtiers, even in the courts themselves (a prominent courtier will have more than one Bushi assigned to their retinue), and they are much more likely to speak freely and identify with a fellow warrior than a dedicated courtier. A lot of Clan Champions and other powerful people are graduates of a Bushi school.
And hey, you know who the last person was to follow the path of 'Intelligence-focused warrior who isn't as good at direct sword fighting'? The Emperor. Believe me, behaving in a way that can be described as following the example of Toturi I is not going to be a mark against you.
Not all duels are to the death. Beyond that... yes, the Kakita are going to be better than you at Iaijutsu. The Kakita are better than everyone at Iaijutsu. Despite their wishes, however, not every duel takes that format. The Lion in particular are less fond it and prefer to focus on Kenjutsu, and you could probably talk a Dragon into doing likewise. The Crab are terrible at Iaijutsu, with a rare few exceptions. In anything other than the case of a mortal insult, you could probably even talk the Kakita into making the duel one of playing Go or producing competing art pieces or something (they're always keen to demonstrate their love of art).
Intelligence is actually a really useful trait to have in a court game. Sure, the basic rhetorical skills rely on Awareness, but you need a lot more than that to be a decent courtier. Fundamentally, the ability to know what you're talking about and come up with clever ideas is incredibly useful in Rokugan. Lore skills are always useful for a courtier. More than that, Intelligence is the stat for games like Go (many a diplomatic triumph has been arranged over a friendly game of Go), and it is paired with Agility which is useful for most performance skills as well.
It's also worth noting that while Awareness is the default social trait for, say, Courtier, you can totally justify using something like Intelligence with it as well if you approach the situation in the right way. Carefully planning out your intended speech in advance, while also practicing for how to address likely counter-arguments, would totally allow you to make a Courtier/Intelligence roll.
I assure you, this will have a very different feel regardless. If nothing else, the current plan might well see a Courtier playing support to you - the Scorpion are nothing if not pragmatic, after all.
Being a Bushi can actually be an advantage in a social game, depending on the situation. For one thing, there are vastly more Bushi than Courtiers, even in the courts themselves (a prominent courtier will have more than one Bushi assigned to their retinue), and they are much more likely to speak freely and identify with a fellow warrior than a dedicated courtier. A lot of Clan Champions and other powerful people are graduates of a Bushi school.
And hey, you know who the last person was to follow the path of 'Intelligence-focused warrior who isn't as good at direct sword fighting'? The Emperor. Believe me, behaving in a way that can be described as following the example of Toturi I is not going to be a mark against you.
Not all duels are to the death. Beyond that... yes, the Kakita are going to be better than you at Iaijutsu. The Kakita are better than everyone at Iaijutsu. Despite their wishes, however, not every duel takes that format. The Lion in particular are less fond it and prefer to focus on Kenjutsu, and you could probably talk a Dragon into doing likewise. The Crab are terrible at Iaijutsu, with a rare few exceptions. In anything other than the case of a mortal insult, you could probably even talk the Kakita into making the duel one of playing Go or producing competing art pieces or something (they're always keen to demonstrate their love of art).
Intelligence is actually a really useful trait to have in a court game. Sure, the basic rhetorical skills rely on Awareness, but you need a lot more than that to be a decent courtier. Fundamentally, the ability to know what you're talking about and come up with clever ideas is incredibly useful in Rokugan. Lore skills are always useful for a courtier. More than that, Intelligence is the stat for games like Go (many a diplomatic triumph has been arranged over a friendly game of Go), and it is paired with Agility which is useful for most performance skills as well.
It's also worth noting that while Awareness is the default social trait for, say, Courtier, you can totally justify using something like Intelligence with it as well if you approach the situation in the right way. Carefully planning out your intended speech in advance, while also practicing for how to address likely counter-arguments, would totally allow you to make a Courtier/Intelligence roll.
I assure you, this will have a very different feel regardless. If nothing else, the current plan might well see a Courtier playing support to you - the Scorpion are nothing if not pragmatic, after all.
cokerpilot
Here comes the rain.
[X] Seventeen
EtchedSteel
*mumble mumble*
- Location
- Lima. Peru
[x] Rook
Winged Knight
Still just a crazy man with a wolf on his head
- Location
- Texas
So I thought about possibly selling the idea of a Soshi Family/Shosuro Actor Build, which might be pretty cool. It would basically be all about having different personas and relationships between all those personalities... And then I figured that even in a text format that might be way too much bookkeeping to keep track of, and that would probably be remarkably less fun for everyone.
That being the case, I think I'll vote for Rook's idea. An Intelligence based Samurai in a court setting seems interesting and perfectly workable so long as we keep track of our strengths and weaknesses.
[x] Rook
That being the case, I think I'll vote for Rook's idea. An Intelligence based Samurai in a court setting seems interesting and perfectly workable so long as we keep track of our strengths and weaknesses.
[x] Rook
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[x] Female
[x] Shosuro
[x] Bayushi Courtier
[x] Shosuro
[x] Bayushi Courtier
- Location
- London, England
And... vote called. Your character is Soshi Naoto, a highly intelligent warrior trained in the Bayushi Bushi school. I am currently putting together a character sheet, which I will edit into the first post once I am done.
Now we come to the most immediately complicated part of setting up the Quest - actual character generation. We have our basics, but everything else is going to be determined by expending XP in different amounts to buy abilities, raise traits and detail advantages and disadvantages. Needless to say, this is going to be awkward to handle through votes, but I don't want to strip out all of your input into building the character.
I am therefore going to adopt what I hope will be a balanced approach, which will involve presenting different 'heritage packages' to you to select from, which will bundle together different skills and advantages and maybe give you a discount on some of them. Each of these packages will have a points cost attached, and you can have several of them. However, you do not have to spend all of your points on listed packages, and the spare XP you have out of your budget can then be spent on what you want.
As an example of how this will work...
You have a budget of 40xp. I offer you five different background packages, A-E, which cost 12, 7, 15, 21 and 13xp respectively. You cast your vote for packages C and D, which together would cost a total of 36xp. You then also cast a vote for how you want to spend your remaining 4xp. So your vote might look like so:
If you don't like any of the packages I offer, that's completely fine. I would suggest creating your own miniature bundles and voting for them - that way other players can see what you suggest and can call out specific ideas that they really like without needing to agree to all of your proposed expenditure.
Hopefully this isn't too confusing, but please ask if you have any questions. I will post options for you to consider shortly.
Now we come to the most immediately complicated part of setting up the Quest - actual character generation. We have our basics, but everything else is going to be determined by expending XP in different amounts to buy abilities, raise traits and detail advantages and disadvantages. Needless to say, this is going to be awkward to handle through votes, but I don't want to strip out all of your input into building the character.
I am therefore going to adopt what I hope will be a balanced approach, which will involve presenting different 'heritage packages' to you to select from, which will bundle together different skills and advantages and maybe give you a discount on some of them. Each of these packages will have a points cost attached, and you can have several of them. However, you do not have to spend all of your points on listed packages, and the spare XP you have out of your budget can then be spent on what you want.
As an example of how this will work...
You have a budget of 40xp. I offer you five different background packages, A-E, which cost 12, 7, 15, 21 and 13xp respectively. You cast your vote for packages C and D, which together would cost a total of 36xp. You then also cast a vote for how you want to spend your remaining 4xp. So your vote might look like so:
An Example vote said:
If you don't like any of the packages I offer, that's completely fine. I would suggest creating your own miniature bundles and voting for them - that way other players can see what you suggest and can call out specific ideas that they really like without needing to agree to all of your proposed expenditure.
Hopefully this isn't too confusing, but please ask if you have any questions. I will post options for you to consider shortly.
Background packages
- Location
- London, England
These are the first of the packages I have come up with. If you can think of your own that you'd like to suggest, please do so.
For the purposes of spending leftover XP or designing your own background packages, the following costs are involved. You have a budget of 40xp.
Raising a trait costs (4x new rating)XP.
Buying a skill costs (new rating)XP
Advantages and disadvantages have their own unique costs, though disadvantages give you XP.
Raising Void costs (6x new rating)XP.
Court Training - 18xp
Your school training already focused on making sure you could comport yourself reasonably well in a courtly setting, but you have chosen to expand your knowledge.
- Raise Courtier to 2
- Raise Etiquette to 2
- Gain Lore: Heraldry at 1
- Gain Lore: Bushido at 1
- Raise Awareness to 3
Bushi Training - 7xp
You are a warrior first and foremost, and you need to be able to handle yourself in a fight if you are not to fail in your duty.
- Raise Defense to 2
- Raise Kenjutsu to 2
- Gain Kyujutsu at 1
- Gain Knives at 1
- Gain Battle at 1
Duelist Training - 17xp
The art of the duel is one of Rokugan's most ancient and respected traditions, and you must be able to represent your lord correctly in one.
- Raise Iaijutsu to 3
- Gain a mastery ability allowing you to draw a katana as a free action.
- Raise Reflexes to 3
Theology training - 21xp
You are a spiritual sort, and have spent a lot of time with the monks and the Shugenja studying the secrets of the cosmos.
- Gain Meditation at 1
- Gain Tea Ceremony at 1
- Gain Lore: Theology at 1
- Raise Void to 3
Sword in one hand, Scroll in another - 18xp
Akodo-no-Kami was the first to describe a true Samurai as being both warrior and scholar. You have taken this to heart, and dedicated yourself to learning about many different fields and many different weapons.
- Raise Agility to 3
- Gain 'Sage' advantage, allowing you to count as having a minimum of one rank in every Lore skill.
- Gain 'Crab Hands' advantage, allowing you to count as having a minimum of one rank in every weapon skill.
No honour in the shadows - 1xp
To survive after the Scorpion Coup, you and many of your immediate family were hidden away and protected by the Shosuro Infiltrators. The knowledge that you owe your survival to ninja while honourable samurai attempted to hunt you down has affected your perspective quite noticeably.
- Gain the 'Failure of Bushido: Honour' disadvantage
- Gain the 'Dark Secret' disadvantage.
- Gain Stealth at 2
- Gain Temptation at 1
- Gain Medicine at 1
- Gain Ninjitsu at 1
- Gain Intimidation at 1
- Gain Athletics at 1
The People's Scorpion - 2xp
Survival after the Clan Coup meant hiding out where no true samurai would go and dealing with the lower classes as equals and even occasionally superiors. The experience taught you that even the lowest ranks of society can hold people of great intelligence and virtue, which allows you to deal with them very easily but has shaken your view of the celestial order.
- Gain 'Disbeliever' disadvantage.
- Gain Ebisu's Blessing, giving you a +1k1 to all social rolls when dealing with people who are not members of the Samurai caste.
- Gain Commerce at 1
For the purposes of spending leftover XP or designing your own background packages, the following costs are involved. You have a budget of 40xp.
Raising a trait costs (4x new rating)XP.
Buying a skill costs (new rating)XP
Advantages and disadvantages have their own unique costs, though disadvantages give you XP.
Raising Void costs (6x new rating)XP.
Court Training - 18xp
Your school training already focused on making sure you could comport yourself reasonably well in a courtly setting, but you have chosen to expand your knowledge.
- Raise Courtier to 2
- Raise Etiquette to 2
- Gain Lore: Heraldry at 1
- Gain Lore: Bushido at 1
- Raise Awareness to 3
Bushi Training - 7xp
You are a warrior first and foremost, and you need to be able to handle yourself in a fight if you are not to fail in your duty.
- Raise Defense to 2
- Raise Kenjutsu to 2
- Gain Kyujutsu at 1
- Gain Knives at 1
- Gain Battle at 1
Duelist Training - 17xp
The art of the duel is one of Rokugan's most ancient and respected traditions, and you must be able to represent your lord correctly in one.
- Raise Iaijutsu to 3
- Gain a mastery ability allowing you to draw a katana as a free action.
- Raise Reflexes to 3
Theology training - 21xp
You are a spiritual sort, and have spent a lot of time with the monks and the Shugenja studying the secrets of the cosmos.
- Gain Meditation at 1
- Gain Tea Ceremony at 1
- Gain Lore: Theology at 1
- Raise Void to 3
Sword in one hand, Scroll in another - 18xp
Akodo-no-Kami was the first to describe a true Samurai as being both warrior and scholar. You have taken this to heart, and dedicated yourself to learning about many different fields and many different weapons.
- Raise Agility to 3
- Gain 'Sage' advantage, allowing you to count as having a minimum of one rank in every Lore skill.
- Gain 'Crab Hands' advantage, allowing you to count as having a minimum of one rank in every weapon skill.
No honour in the shadows - 1xp
To survive after the Scorpion Coup, you and many of your immediate family were hidden away and protected by the Shosuro Infiltrators. The knowledge that you owe your survival to ninja while honourable samurai attempted to hunt you down has affected your perspective quite noticeably.
- Gain the 'Failure of Bushido: Honour' disadvantage
- Gain the 'Dark Secret' disadvantage.
- Gain Stealth at 2
- Gain Temptation at 1
- Gain Medicine at 1
- Gain Ninjitsu at 1
- Gain Intimidation at 1
- Gain Athletics at 1
The People's Scorpion - 2xp
Survival after the Clan Coup meant hiding out where no true samurai would go and dealing with the lower classes as equals and even occasionally superiors. The experience taught you that even the lowest ranks of society can hold people of great intelligence and virtue, which allows you to deal with them very easily but has shaken your view of the celestial order.
- Gain 'Disbeliever' disadvantage.
- Gain Ebisu's Blessing, giving you a +1k1 to all social rolls when dealing with people who are not members of the Samurai caste.
- Gain Commerce at 1
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