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Samurai Taka [L5R]

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[X] You find yourself falling through the air towards a snow-dusted mountain top. It is surrounded by a sparse savannah through which enormous and alien wildlife frolics.
 
[X] You find yourself falling through the air towards a snow-dusted mountain top. It borders a great sea and wild, lush lands. You can see cities, far in the distance.
 
[X] You find yourself falling through the air towards a snow-dusted mountain top. It is atop a small island, which itself is part of a large archipelago. The archipelago has an abundance of snow-dusted mountain tops.
 
[X] You find yourself falling through the air towards a snow-dusted mountain top. It borders a great sea and wild, lush lands. You can see cities, far in the distance.
 
Scify said:
[X ] You find yourself falling through the air towards a snow-dusted mountain top. It borders a great sea and wild, lush lands. You can see cities, far in the distance.

Other than the fact that I think this is modeled after Samurai Jack, I have no idea what's going on. It sounds interesting, though.
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The Dark Lord Daigotsu, Master of Jigoku, came back to the Realm of Mortals after his son tore through Rokugan. Everyone who opposed him has fallen, leaving him the undisputed ruler of the Emerald Empire and the Heavens under which they serve. He is ruthless and incredibly powerful, with complete control over the Realm of Evil as he uses its energies to warp Ningen-do around him to suit his terrible desires.

He's also a pretty snappy dresser, truth be told.



And now it's Taka's job to prevent this awful future from ever occurring! This will probably entail killing Daigotsu before he rises as master of Jigoku and thus has the power to take over Rokugan. I'm sure nothing could possibly go wrong!
 
Winged Knight said:
words
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Sure, sure...
Adhoc vote count started by Havocfett on May 22, 2017 at 4:20 PM, finished with 30 posts and 23 votes.
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Fair cop, I don't actually remember starting this quest. Which is impressive, as I was entirely sober during the writing. I've checked the relevant discord logs and am pretty sure as to what I'm doing, so I'm gonna close the vote in an hour or two and start on the update. Check the Vote Tally if strategic voting is your thing.

Also I apologize to @Scify because I accidentally put the Vote Tally in this post instead of mine.
Adhoc vote count started by Havocfett on May 22, 2017 at 4:23 PM, finished with 31 posts and 23 votes.
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[X] You find yourself through the air towards a snow-dusted mountain top. It is surrounded by great flows of black rock and vents of steam reminiscent of the very pits of Jigoku.
 
Winged Knight said:
And now it's Taka's job to prevent this awful future from ever occurring! This will probably entail killing Daigotsu before he rises as master of Jigoku and thus has the power to take over Rokugan. I'm sure nothing could possibly go wrong!
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Everyone stop. We need to kill the prince of the empire before he becomes corrupted and dies before coming back to life to conquer the empire.
Time may or may not be of the essence.
 
Honestly? The easiest way to stop Daigotsu from coming into existence is to stop the Emperor's Wife from going North into a evil cult ambush.
 
gman391 said:
Honestly? The easiest way to stop Daigotsu from coming into existence is to stop the Emperor's Wife from going North into a evil cult ambush.
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Sounds actually harder than it seems, as we don't know exactly where we are right now. :V

[x] You find yourself falling through the air towards a snow-dusted mountain top. It is atop a small island, which itself is part of a large archipelago. The archipelago has an abundance of snow-dusted mountain tops.

Samurai jack and L5R? Tasty.
 
[X] You find yourself falling through the air towards a snow-dusted mountain top. It borders a great sea and wild, lush lands. You can see cities, far in the distance.
 
[X] You find yourself falling through the air towards a snow-dusted mountain top. It borders a great sea and wild, lush lands. You can see cities, far in the distance.
 
[X] You find yourself falling through the air towards a snow-dusted mountain top. It borders a great sea and wild, lush lands. You can see cities, far in the distance.
 
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I Part 1.
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    • I​

    You fall.

    The air tears at your face, your clothes. It is cold enough that the air will kill you if the plummet doesn't. In the distance the horizon curves away from you, the ground a beauteous collage of blues and greens and browns. You can't feel your wounds, perhaps you are numb, perhaps you will not feel yourself break upon the rocks when you hit the mountain. It is a cold consolation, but it is what you have.

    The mountain's summit grows closer, larger, until it swallows your vision.

    Impact.

    You bounce, body thrown into the air in a shower of rock and gravel and snow. It hurts, your armor is torn, you think, and you may have broken an arm, but you are alive. Perhaps, if you land in a snow bank, perhaps, if you bled enough speed-

    Your head hits a rock. Everything goes black.
    ​
    *
    ​
    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."

    You are one of the last scions of the Dragon Clan. The inheritor of Mirumoto's techniques. You came to Otosan Uchi not because you thought you could win, but because you knew you had lost, and it was your duty and your destiny to witness the end of all things. And witness you did, fighting all the while, fighting after Togashi himself bent the knee. And as Daigotsu stepped upon the backs of the Gods and proclaimed his victory you saw one last opportunity to prove the strength of your line.

    Honor: 5.5. You are a worthy inheritor to the Mirumoto tradition, as honorable as the Daimyos of the clan, and more so than Togashi, who dared bend the knee while his descendants fought on.

    Techniques:
    Way of the Dragon [Student/Earth]: You are a swordsmaster of the Mirumoto. You may spend Void to gain a great, temporary burst of superhuman physical power, temporarily giving you a Water Ring of Teacher for a short time. In addition, you ignore all but the most extreme weather conditions, your skin serves as armor, and your fists are potent weapons.

    Starting Rings:
    Air: Student
    Fire: Adept
    Water: Untrained
    Earth: Teacher
    Void: Adept

    [ ] "Kakita Taka."

    You came to Otosan Uchi because you were told to, and that is enough. You were never a particularly good Crane. An unsurpassed duelist, a composed courtier, an established calligrapher and poet, yes. But beneath the demeanor, the mannerisms, you did what was convenient. What seemed right, rather than what seemed Honorable. You upheld Rokugani culture, but you did it while standing upon feet of clay. Otosan Uchi changed that. The death, the failure, this was the end of the way of the sword, this was the end of Rokugani culture. And if that was to be so, let you be its last champion.

    Starting Honor: 4. You care less for Honor than a Crane should, but ultimately proved yourself worthy.

    Techniques:
    Way of the Crane [Student/Air]: You are a master of Iaijutsu, the art of the Quick Draw, and have access to powerful and secret techniques of the art developed by the Crane clan. Your style of combat is not a brutal melee, but the swift, precise work of an author, and you are capable of incredible precision in combat as a result. You may use your Air Ring (Reduced by one rank) instead of your Water Ring for the purpose of harming your enemies. In addition, you are a master of poetry and may spend a Void Point to immediately grasp the basics of local culture.

    Starting Rings:
    Air: Teacher
    Fire: Adept
    Water: Student
    Earth: Untrained
    Void: Adept


    [ ] "Akodo Taka."

    You came to Otosan Uchi because you were the only hope for victory. You took command of the battle, organized the evacuation, executed stratagem after stratagem, tactical masterpiece after tactical masterpiece. You traded ashigaru for oni, samurai for monsters never before seen. Under you, and you alone, they stood a chance. And yet, you lost. And in penance for that, when Daigotsu asked if any dared to stand against him, you stood. The last honorable man in Rokugan.

    Starting Honor: 7. You are expected to be the most honorable of Samurai, and as such you are.

    Techniques:
    Way of the Lion [Student/Fire]: To the Lion, Honor is both shield and weapon. As long as you remain honorable, and ideally more honorable than your foes, your blows are more lethal and your armor more hardy. You pick up on new military concepts with ease and your honor does not merely inspire your troops, it actively protects them from harm and augments their blows.

    Starting Rings:
    Air: Untrained
    Fire: Teacher
    Water: Adept
    Earth: Adept
    Void: Student

    [ ] "Daigotsu Taka."

    You did not come to Otosan Uchi as defender, but as conqueror. As Daigotsu's own son, the odd, untainted second son of the Spider Clan. As the battle progressed, as Samurai gave their lives in doomed stands, as the heavens themselves submitted to their new lord, you realized that the edifice you championed was hollow. You turned upon your brother, Daigotsu Kanpeki, in the burning palace of the Emperor, and at the end of all things you volunteered yourself as the champion of mortal man.

    Starting Honor: 1.1. An honorable man did not enter Otosan Uchi, but may well have exited it.

    Techniques:
    Way of the Spider [Student/Water]: To attack the Spider is folly, to resist, suicide. The terror of your presence is something most cannot deal with, their blows falter while yours become more powerful. By spending a Void you may also lend your strength to your allies around you, lending them a taste of your superhuman might. Your raw strength also allows you to ignore minor injuries, cow enemies with your presence, and enjoy bursts of superhuman strength.

    Starting Rings:
    Air: Student
    Fire: Adept
    Water: Teacher
    Earth: Adept
    Void: Untrained

    [ ] "Taka."

    You came to Otosan Uchi as no-one, with nothing. Merely devotion, and skill, and the will to do right. Another volunteer on the walls to fight and die for the Emperor. But you did not die, and then you continued not to die, and rather than taking opportunity after opportunity to flee, to abandon an empire that never treated you well, you continued to stand for the Empire's dispossessed, its vulnerable. Again, and again, and again, until you faced Daigotsu himself.

    Starting Honor: 8. Many deny your place in the world, none deny your honor.

    Techniques:
    Fortune Favors the Mortal Man [Student/Void]: You follow in the footsteps of Kihei, Toku, and Masatane. You excel in the face of difficult and impossible tasks, and against things beyond the ken of mortal man. While in situations of extreme danger and adversity you may spend a Void to become more skilled in every way. In addition, while wielding a blade, you use Void (Reduced by One Rank) instead of Fire to determine your skill with a blade. This only applies to swords.

    Air: Adept
    Fire: Untrained
    Water: Adept
    Earth: Student
    Void: Teacher
     
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    Mechanics
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    • Mechanics:​


    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.
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    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.
     
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    • [X] "Kakita Taka."

    Edit: omg, was I not supposed to vote yet? I am so sorry.
     
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    [X] "Daigotsu Taka."

    We have seen the darkest parts of humanity, and risen above. Not only because we acknowledge the strength of Bushido, for so many honorable foes perished as we marched toward the capital, but because we saw that those who would preach the power of Shourido have revealed themselves false. Virtue is achieved by success in one's own strength, one's own will! But our fellows... They have depended on the power of our father, on Jigoku, in order to triumph. And to what end? What purpose is there in this victory? None! There is only a pretty lie hiding the rot of weaklings both in body and soul.

    Few knew the name Daigotsu Taka. Our own father hardly acknowledged us, favoring our older brother Kanpeki. But when we are done with this journey, when we have returned to our home, everyone will know our name. Everyone will realize our strength, and with that strength we shall save the Empire. If we have to kill our father to do so, then so be it. Let the son he ignored be the instrument of his undoing.

    There is poetry in that.
     
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