[Between Duty and Honor] Main OOC Thread

A

Alkalannar

New Member
Here's a chance to talk about various and sundry things OOC. Will get characters up and running, and we'll be starting the adventure soon!
 
What exactly are the rules for Low Skills? Do I lose honor for having them, or just using them, or even less?
 
Esbilon said:
What exactly are the rules for Low Skills? Do I lose honor for having them, or just using them, or even less?
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You lose honor for showing knowledge of them in public. After all, if there's no public proof you know something dishonorable, then as far as anyone is concerned, you don't know it, and so you aren't penalized.


Note that in particular Lore: Shadowlands is not a Low Skill in Crab lands, since you're supposed to know your enemy.


And the less honorable you are, the less honor loss you take for displaying knowledge of such things.
 
I wish Kakita were as awesome as Kitsuki :P


His main ability is granting a reroll + 1k1 when spending a void point, and he leaves you if you ever lose a duel/flower-arranging contest. Meanwhile, Kitsuki lets you substitute Perception for Awareness in all social skill rolls and a partridge in a pear tree on top.
 
A few questions.


1) Does the benefit of Friend of the Elements apply to spellcasting rolls? (Even if not, it is still useful to me, since it will reduce the TN for Willpower rolls to cast Water spells to 20, which is slightly more manageable)


2) I have managed to get my hands on some earlier editions PDFs. How difficult will it be to convert spells from them to 4th edition?


3) Besides learning from other Shugenja, is there any other way to gain spells in-game? And in any case, what's involved in learning spells from other Shugenja (I assume it's not free)?


4) Besides not being able to cast Mastery Level 2 spells from the other elements, is there anything else that makes it a bad thing to be a Isawa Tensai? Am not too sure what the Deficiency of other elements mean other than that.


Definitely going for Elemental Guard if we ever get that far.
 
Basically, Isawa Tensai go from "Affinity with everything" to "2x Affinity with 1 thing, no Affinity with anything else."


And I don't think Friend of the Elements Applies; it's explicitly to Trait rolls, and spellcasting is usually School Rank + Trait.
 
Red Shadow Claws]A few questions. 1) Does the benefit of Friend of the Elements apply to spellcasting rolls? (Even if not said:
Linear Bushi, Quadratic Shugenja[/URL] either.


4) There are some advantages (and perhaps spells) that you cannot learn if you have a deficiency in that element. Also, only Tensai have a realistic chance of becoming an Elemental Master. (Perhaps a non-Tensai Ishi-ken could become Grand Master of the Elements a la Naka Kuro.)

[QUOTE="Silent Wayfarer]Basically, Isawa Tensai go from "Affinity with everything" to "2x Affinity with 1 thing, no Affinity with anything else."
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Not quite. It's "Add one affinity to every element you have an affinity for, and add one deficiency to every other element." That's because Isawa always have an affinity to one element, it's just that they don't start with any deficiencies.
 
It doesn't lower the TN of casting spells, but it gives me a free raise in Willpower (Earth trait), so when I cast a Water spell, and need to roll Willpower, I can use that free Raise to reduce the TN by 5.


Also, I decide to roll for Heritage. apparently one of my ancestors has lost a book containing the only copy of vital information, and my character is Driven to recover it.


[dice]5886[/dice]
 
Also, I think it's more likely that shuggies are going to outshine us footsloggers in raw power as we scale up in Insight Rank, though I commend you on noticing that trend and wanting to keep us... well, if not balanced, then equally entertained. I think it's more important that everyone is happy doing their own thing than it is for us to be doing the same thing; the latter tends to be much more boring. So yeah, go ahead, Isawa-tan can flip mountains and cleave valleys; just give the courtier the ability to isolate the baddies' psychological weaknesses and distract him for the bushi to cut him up. I mean, from the source material itself, Hiruma, Kuni and Kaiu were three guys sent to kill an oni, and they all worked together to do it.


...I really should do that more often. :(
 
I do not want to outshine everyone else, just to be able to do some unique things that few others can mimic. With the direction I'm taking this character she'll be focused, and I'll try not to step on others' toes. Not to mention that unlike them I'm limited in how many times I can exercise my powers, it's just that they can be a bit more flashy, especially if you flip a mountain... If she gets to be too much, you guys can always just chop her head off. I hear that tends to stop someone from spellcasting... :-)
 
Now now, don't say that. I think we all picked our character types for a reason, because we want certain things out of the game. Bushi gonna bush, shuggy gonna shug. As long as we get to do what we want to do, I think we'll be happy.


I mean, I like fighty types in all systems and I tend to make them even when spellcasters can technically outclass them. It's all well and good as long as the casters don't, say, instantly vanish the enemy and keep me unable to do fighty things. Same here; I mean, you want to be an earth shuggy, that's great! Just save us bushi some mooks to cut up and let Kachiko do her Sherlock thing.
 
ST, would it be possible to change my character's 'bad' school to Air instead of Water? or do you prefer me to keep it at Water?


Also, I assume we can spend our 'school' money to buy things?
 
Yes, you may change to Air instead of water. (Can also switch your unhappy spirits to air as well...makes you gruffer, less sociable, etc. But that's up to you.)


And yes, you have that amount of money to buy things. Or to upgrade your equipment to be better. Example: my first character decided to have an excellent-quality scrollcase. What made it excellent? Secret/hidden compartment. This allowed me to keep a copy of a ciphered scroll after the two Scorpions ganged up on me to demand the original.
 
Excellent katana? :D


Or hm, how about a really exquisite paper fan/shawl/etc? Or a hairpin... looks like I'll need to think more on tricksy things to do with money.
 
Or keep the money! Sometimes you need it to trade with those tactless Yasuki merchants! Or maybe we'll be going to the City of Journey's End (Ryoko Owari Toshi)! Or you need to commission a gift or artifact or what have you! Or go to a geisha house (they serve women, too).


But as samurai, worrying about money is supposed to be beneath you.
 
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