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Killing with Silence (L5R/Exalted)

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[X] Impudent Apostle Style
[X] Doji. The leading light of the Crane, the Doji are trend setters and rule makers across Rokugan, ardent adherents of beauty in all its forms… even death. They are the most willing of the three to offer you advice and guidance, and the most 'human' in thought and desire, but their price is likely to be highly specific and esoteric.
 
[X] Impudent Apostle Style. The dead are proud and often obsessive, a fact that artfully humble peasants have used since time immemorial to steer them into favourable action through rumours, implied challenges and carefully chosen lies.

[X] Bayushi. The rulers of the Scorpion are masters of deceptive warfare, and revel in their own sinister reputation. A pact with their ancestors generally requires only a modest price and offers an unmatched breadth of options, at the cost of reduced control. The Scorpion have always considered the spirit of the rule to trump the letter, and are prone to excessive dramatics besides.
 
[X] Reverent Descendent Style. Taught by a disgraced monk with a fondness for rice wine, this bastardised form of traditional Rokugani ancestor worship emphasises legacy, honour and the bonds of duty between living and the dead.
[X] Matsu. Famed for their berserk fighting style and ironclad code of honour, the Matsu are the greatest shock infantry in the Empire. Forging a pact with them offers unparalleled martial prowess and unwavering obedience, but failing to uphold your end of the bargain will lead to the dead turning on you immediately.
 
[X] Reverent Descendent Style. Taught by a disgraced monk with a fondness for rice wine, this bastardised form of traditional Rokugani ancestor worship emphasises legacy, honour and the bonds of duty between living and the dead.

[X] Doji. The leading light of the Crane, the Doji are trend setters and rule makers across Rokugan, ardent adherents of beauty in all its forms… even death. They are the most willing of the three to offer you advice and guidance, and the most 'human' in thought and desire, but their price is likely to be highly specific and esoteric.
 
[X] Reverent Descendent Style. Taught by a disgraced monk with a fondness for rice wine, this bastardised form of traditional Rokugani ancestor worship emphasises legacy, honour and the bonds of duty between living and the dead.

[X] Bayushi. The rulers of the Scorpion are masters of deceptive warfare, and revel in their own sinister reputation. A pact with their ancestors generally requires only a modest price and offers an unmatched breadth of options, at the cost of reduced control. The Scorpion have always considered the spirit of the rule to trump the letter, and are prone to excessive dramatics besides.

The Scorpion clan was the one that caught up to Yasu eventually, so clearly they have to have something going for them others don't - even if it's just luck covered up with artful bluffing.
 
I'm torn.

Reverend Descendant could lead to some good scenes where we appeal to the dead's sense of duty to punish their very... ah... descendants for their transgressions, but, hm, I think it could be a bit boring moment-to-moment.

Impudent Apostle is obviously fun.

Ecstatic Devotee probably means possession and possibility of body horror as we take on the traits of the dead (then again, as a Lunar we probably already have potential for body horror). Plus, literally becoming a vessel of vengeance and/or indulgence for ghosts is fun.

Matsu are Lions, and Lions are cool because they're the closest to actual samurai. Like, the thing about L5R is that it had to make the splats thematically different, which means it often reached for other archetypes than samurai themselves. So, Scorpions are samurai, but also kinda ninjas (except not as cool), Dragons are samurai, but also weird mountain mystics, Unicorns are samurai, but also semi-foreigners with their strange semi-foreign ways and exotic techniques like "Actually Aim Your Damn Bow" (it sounds better in Japanese). And so on.

Lions, on the other hand, are a lot closer to archetypal samurai. Their virtues are that of samurai: honor, courage, loyalty. Their vices, likewise: cruelty, arrogance, short temper.

Basically, they're the best clan if you want to engage with the concept of samurai.

That said, in our case they probably work better as enemies than allies.

Bayushi are, eh. They're Scorpion and tend to not be half as clever as they're supposed to be without failing to be twice as smug. I believe the author could do better job with them than the canon material, but still, fuck Scorpions.

Doji are fine. They're closer to courtiers than warriors, usually, but they do embody the ruling caste and what the empire stands for, so engaging with that could be interesting. Plus, them being more human than most ghosts should provide more opportunities for character interactions, positive or otherwise.

With all that said,

[X] Ecstatic Devotee Style. In the underworld, one cannot rely on honour or humility to placate the hungry dead, and so must resort to giving them what they want instead - the sensation of being alive.

[X] Doji. The leading light of the Crane, the Doji are trend setters and rule makers across Rokugan, ardent adherents of beauty in all its forms… even death. They are the most willing of the three to offer you advice and guidance, and the most 'human' in thought and desire, but their price is likely to be highly specific and esoteric.
 
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It's worth remembering that these armies are all comprised of samurai who have been dead for hundreds of years (well also a bunch of peasants but those mostly moved on, since they weren't really personally motivated or committed to the fight).

The Dead Doji, for example, are going to be hauntingly beautiful spectres that may or may not cultivate forests full of beautifully flowering trees that used to be their enemies, and they're the most human of the three.

The Dead Bayushi wear death masks that have nothing behind them save for the hungry void and are basically every ghost story ever told about 'don't blink and don't touch the shadows', while the Dead Matsu are damn near bestial monsters still bound by iron-hard rules of honour and etiquette.
 
[X] Ecstatic Devotee Style. In the underworld, one cannot rely on honour or humility to placate the hungry dead, and so must resort to giving them what they want instead - the sensation of being alive.

[X] Doji. The leading light of the Crane, the Doji are trend setters and rule makers across Rokugan, ardent adherents of beauty in all its forms… even death. They are the most willing of the three to offer you advice and guidance, and the most 'human' in thought and desire, but their price is likely to be highly specific and esoteric.
 
Maugan Ra said:
It's worth remembering that these armies are all comprised of samurai who have been dead for hundreds of years (well also a bunch of peasants but those mostly moved on, since they weren't really personally motivated or committed to the fight).

The Dead Doji, for example, are going to be hauntingly beautiful spectres that may or may not cultivate forests full of beautifully flowering trees that used to be their enemies, and they're the most human of the three.

The Dead Bayushi wear death masks that have nothing behind them save for the hungry void and are basically every ghost story ever told about 'don't blink and don't touch the shadows', while the Dead Matsu are damn near bestial monsters still bound by iron-hard rules of honour and etiquette.
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Huh. I'm more OK with Bayushi winning in this case (especially if we get to turn them against still-living Scorpions), but less enthusiastic about Matsu.

Doji are still cool, though. Every respectable Exalted should have a garden of limbs.
 
[X] Bayushi. The rulers of the Scorpion are masters of deceptive warfare, and revel in their own sinister reputation. A pact with their ancestors generally requires only a modest price and offers an unmatched breadth of options, at the cost of reduced control. The Scorpion have always considered the spirit of the rule to trump the letter, and are prone to excessive dramatics besides.

[X] Ecstatic Devotee Style. In the underworld, one cannot rely on honour or humility to placate the hungry dead, and so must resort to giving them what they want instead - the sensation of being alive.

Lies for the living; truth for the dead.
 
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[X] Bayushi. The rulers of the Scorpion are masters of deceptive warfare, and revel in their own sinister reputation. A pact with their ancestors generally requires only a modest price and offers an unmatched breadth of options, at the cost of reduced control. The Scorpion have always considered the spirit of the rule to trump the letter, and are prone to excessive dramatics besides.

[X] Ecstatic Devotee Style. In the underworld, one cannot rely on honour or humility to placate the hungry dead, and so must resort to giving them what they want instead - the sensation of being alive.

You know what I've just realized?

 
[X] Ecstatic Devotee Style. In the underworld, one cannot rely on honour or humility to placate the hungry dead, and so must resort to giving them what they want instead - the sensation of being alive.
[X] Doji. The leading light of the Crane, the Doji are trend setters and rule makers across Rokugan, ardent adherents of beauty in all its forms… even death. They are the most willing of the three to offer you advice and guidance, and the most 'human' in thought and desire, but their price is likely to be highly specific and esoteric.
illhousen said:
So, Scorpions are samurai, but also kinda ninjas (except not as cool)
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So you're saying the Scorpions are chuunibyou.
 
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[X] Impudent Apostle Style. The dead are proud and often obsessive, a fact that artfully humble peasants have used since time immemorial to steer them into favourable action through rumours, implied challenges and carefully chosen lies.

[X] Matsu. Famed for their berserk fighting style and ironclad code of honour, the Matsu are the greatest shock infantry in the Empire. Forging a pact with them offers unparalleled martial prowess and unwavering obedience, but failing to uphold your end of the bargain will lead to the dead turning on you immediately.
 
[X] Ecstatic Devotee Style. In the underworld, one cannot rely on honour or humility to placate the hungry dead, and so must resort to giving them what they want instead - the sensation of being alive.

[X] Doji. The leading light of the Crane, the Doji are trend setters and rule makers across Rokugan, ardent adherents of beauty in all its forms… even death. They are the most willing of the three to offer you advice and guidance, and the most 'human' in thought and desire, but their price is likely to be highly specific and esoteric.
 
[X] Ecstatic Devotee Style. In the underworld, one cannot rely on honour or humility to placate the hungry dead, and so must resort to giving them what they want instead - the sensation of being alive.

[X] Doji. The leading light of the Crane, the Doji are trend setters and rule makers across Rokugan, ardent adherents of beauty in all its forms… even death. They are the most willing of the three to offer you advice and guidance, and the most 'human' in thought and desire, but their price is likely to be highly specific and esoteric.

Of the choices of Style I think the Ecstatic Devotee offers the most interesting contrast to how Rokugani norms of dealing with the dead run, and so is the most transgressive. Also where the other styles are focused on manipulating the dead to serve the living, this one seems like a more equal partnership deal.

And as far as the Clan of choice the Crane are most likely to be the easiest to deal with.
 
[X] Ecstatic Devotee Style. In the underworld, one cannot rely on honour or humility to placate the hungry dead, and so must resort to giving them what they want instead - the sensation of being alive.

[X] Matsu. Famed for their berserk fighting style and ironclad code of honour, the Matsu are the greatest shock infantry in the Empire. Forging a pact with them offers unparalleled martial prowess and unwavering obedience, but failing to uphold your end of the bargain will lead to the dead turning on you immediately.
 
[X] Doji. The leading light of the Crane, the Doji are trend setters and rule makers across Rokugan, ardent adherents of beauty in all its forms… even death. They are the most willing of the three to offer you advice and guidance, and the most 'human' in thought and desire, but their price is likely to be highly specific and esoteric.

[X] Reverent Descendent Style. Taught by a disgraced monk with a fondness for rice wine, this bastardised form of traditional Rokugani ancestor worship emphasises legacy, honour and the bonds of duty between living and the dead.
 
[X] Ecstatic Devotee Style. In the underworld, one cannot rely on honour or humility to placate the hungry dead, and so must resort to giving them what they want instead - the sensation of being alive.

[X] Bayushi. The rulers of the Scorpion are masters of deceptive warfare, and revel in their own sinister reputation. A pact with their ancestors generally requires only a modest price and offers an unmatched breadth of options, at the cost of reduced control. The Scorpion have always considered the spirit of the rule to trump the letter, and are prone to excessive dramatics besides.
 
[X] Reverent Descendent Style. Taught by a disgraced monk with a fondness for rice wine, this bastardised form of traditional Rokugani ancestor worship emphasises legacy, honour and the bonds of duty between living and the dead.

[X] Matsu. Famed for their berserk fighting style and ironclad code of honour, the Matsu are the greatest shock infantry in the Empire. Forging a pact with them offers unparalleled martial prowess and unwavering obedience, but failing to uphold your end of the bargain will lead to the dead turning on you immediately.
 
[X] Ecstatic Devotee Style. In the underworld, one cannot rely on honour or humility to placate the hungry dead, and so must resort to giving them what they want instead - the sensation of being alive.

[X] Doji. The leading light of the Crane, the Doji are trend setters and rule makers across Rokugan, ardent adherents of beauty in all its forms… even death. They are the most willing of the three to offer you advice and guidance, and the most 'human' in thought and desire, but their price is likely to be highly specific and esoteric.

RIP, DTF
 
I am getting into this quest but I would like to know more about L5R. Can anyone recommend good setting books to buy? In particular ones on the undead, the moon, and Samurai culture.
 
[X] Ecstatic Devotee Style. In the underworld, one cannot rely on honour or humility to placate the hungry dead, and so must resort to giving them what they want instead - the sensation of being alive.

[X] Doji. The leading light of the Crane, the Doji are trend setters and rule makers across Rokugan, ardent adherents of beauty in all its forms… even death. They are the most willing of the three to offer you advice and guidance, and the most 'human' in thought and desire, but their price is likely to be highly specific and esoteric.
 
Smartphone said:
I am getting into this quest but I would like to know more about L5R. Can anyone recommend good setting books to buy? In particular ones on the undead, the moon, and Samurai culture.
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I can't speak about the setting books but there is a lot of very interesting free Fiction available online and there are several other great Quests available on this site that can give a good introduction to the setting.

Here is a very useful link to the Canon fiction published by Fantasy Flight Games:

Fantasy Flight Games

community.fantasyflightgames.com community.fantasyflightgames.com
 
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