L5R interest check

I don't mind doing a traditional L5R game myself, since both of the ideas I proposed kind of close off a lot of options for people who don't want to fight for their lives against overwhelming odds all the time. Plus, since we've got a lot of newcomers, it might be best if I did the game as a primer to L5R of sorts.


What do you think?
 
I'm happy either way- I'm a more experienced player, myself- and... I've been playing a Clan Wars game my entire L5R Career. And.... the manual, suggests not to get too attached to Characters.


Almost no one in our group is good at that- because we put life, in to our characters- we love, our characters. It's awesome to fight against overwhelming odds- but PC death is never enjoyable, except when it achieved something awesome, for most people.


That said, I'm quite game for Kanuzuchi.
 
I would prefer a more vanilla game to the Kanuzuchi game, introductions are good, and having time to learn the world is good.


Despite this, I've grown strangely fond of my Crane duelist for the Wall idea, and think I would actually prefer that. That doesn't mean I'm not all over the other games too, though :)


For an open free-for-all game, I'd probably go with the Unicorn I pitched for griever's game that never was.
 
SLS, the universal game is pitched for newcomers like yourself, if you

solyrflair said:
I was really interested in trying this out, but there are a few things I don't understand. What are 'ponies'? And what does a 40k-inspired mean. Are you just going to kill us and have us roll new characters after each massacre?
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See above, "pony" is the Crab term for non-Crab samurai sent to the Wall to serve with them, since they tend to bleat, run around and die horribly. Their main purpose is cannon fodder.


Also, I won't kill you, I won't be that nice.


:D

I would like to try out this game, but know nothing about the world or system. My characters won't be optimal, and may even be flawed. Is this game going to require knowledge of the system of a more advanced nature?
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Wallgame works much better if people already know how Rokugan works so I can subvert their expectations horribly with the Wall.


Kanazuchi works better if people know how Rokugan society works because you will be rubbing noses with high society,


So I had an idea for a third game, more suitable for newcomers, where you play newly-minted samurai at the Topaz Championship, a gathering of the Empire's best and brightest for a week of mingling, tests of skill and so on.

[QUOTE="Shining Lotus Sage]I know basically nothing about the system, though, and less about the setting unless it has something to do with Musashi. You probably shouldn't count me in.

[/QUOTE]
If you want to learn, the slot is there.


So now we have...


SephirothSage


Esbilon


solyrflair


Thorn Elemental


HairyDM


hellrazoromega?
 
Another thing is that any of these games will be set in the 10th to 11th centuries. This generally corresponds to the L5R 1e timeline and means:


- Before the Clan War/Second Day of Thunder


- Hantei still ruling


- Mantis are still a Minor Clan


- NO SPIDER CLAN


- No Lying Darkness either


- Other stuff that may not have occurred to me
 
SephirothSage said:
Why you do this! Why you do this! Why no spider clan Fun time evil!
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Because NO. YOU HEAR ME? NO. YOU GO TO JIGOKU. YOU GO TO JIDOKU AND YOU DIE.


More seriously:

  • Spider Clan overlap way too much with the Scorpions.
  • The new Taint is a flaming pile of horse garbage.
  • Having mortals become gods (in L5R, where the Celestial Order is totally a Thing) is a flaming pile of horse garbage.
  • Pretty much everything after the Second Day of Thunder is a flaming pile of horse garbage.
  • Hell, most of the events of the 2DoT were flaming piles of horse garbage too.
 
I politely disagree and love the Monkey Clan.


Also, the Mortals becoming Gods is not at all Bullshit- because Spirit Worship. It implies that their spirits where that strong, and that they where that worthy- perfectly possible within the lore, mythos, and belief system.


That said, your the DM, your word goes.
 
SephirothSage said:
I politely disagree and love the Monkey Clan.
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That's another thing, Clan inflation. The first and original Minor Clan was the Fox Clan - and they had the excuse of specific dispensation by Hantei himself and they were the direct descendants of a Kami (the Mantis were the children of a Kami's son, Kaimetsu-Uo). Yes yes, Fortune favors the mortal man and all that Shinseism and I will point out that every single Minor Clan since has been created on the whim of a Hantei descendant who was amused by something he saw.


But I don't actually care about that, because for the most part, the Minor Clans have their own interesting niches and actually work better without being absorbed into families within the Great Clan. It's still nothing like the "lel we are officially evil peoples who are more evil than the original evil peoples, also Taint" vibe that the Spider Clan gives me.

Also, the Mortals becoming Gods is not at all Bullshit- because Spirit Worship. It implies that their spirits where that strong, and that they where that worthy- perfectly possible within the lore, mythos, and belief system.
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Yakamo became Lord Sun by chopping Amaterasu's head off. Hitomi became Lady Moon by stabbing Onnotangu in his face. Daigotsu became God of Evil by... killing some gaijin evil deity who wanted to hostile takeover Hell? Kali Ma! Kali Ma! (sorry, too much Temple of Doom on the mind) So worthiness in Rokugan is determined the Necromonger way, you keep what you kill? It just flies completely in the face of everything Rokugan has been for the past 1100 years of its history, and that's not even the silliest thing ever.


And I'll point out that Yakamo was the one who CHOPPED OFF HIS HAND AND STUCK AN ONI CLAW ONTO IT (and gave his name to an Oni) while Hitomi stuck the Obsidian Hand on herself to become corrupted by Lord Moon's madness before going on to kill him as well. And something something Lying Darkness but at that point she was serving three different masters at the same time. Yay soul juggling.


So seriously, that does not fly.

That said, your the DM, your word goes.
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I come from a simpler, more traditional era, so I really don't like the events of the Clan War/Scorpion Clan Coup (and all their fallout) and I don't want to accommodate them. Sorry if it's a turn-off.
 
He went from a peasant samurai to greatest Imperial General(?) ever while still being a nice guy. That beats being a god any time in my book.
 
[QUOTE="Silent Wayfarer]
Spider Clan overlap way too much with the Scorpions.

[/QUOTE]
As a huge fan of the Scorpion I resemble--er, resent that remark. The Spiders lack---restraint. O:) The evil of the Scorpion is evil for the glory of the Empire. As much as I hated the Scorpion getting booted out of the empire in the history it did show their dedication.
 
So does this mean we are playing 1e, or do we just play 4e in the 1e world, or .... I am unsure. I know that if we roll back time and we can't play certain clans or families, I'll need those outlined. I am not good enough to know if anything is in or out based on world history.
 
hellrazoromega said:
As a huge fan of the Scorpion I resemble--er, resent that remark. The Spiders lack---restraint. O:) The evil of the Scorpion is evil for the glory of the Empire. As much as I hated the Scorpion getting booted out of the empire in the history it did show their dedication.
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I hated it less than a lot of things during that period, but I mean, killing the Emperor to save the Empire? There's a certain poetic irony to it because the Hantei ordered Shoju to take any steps necessary to save the Empire, but the Scorpion's entire schtick is loyalty. So having them betray the Emperor was dumb no matter how you sliced it.


And let's not talk about the Crab embracing the Taint or the Akodo falling in with Fu Leng in Hantei form.

solyrflair said:
So does this mean we are playing 1e, or do we just play 4e in the 1e world, or .... I am unsure. I know that if we roll back time and we can't play certain clans or families, I'll need those outlined. I am not good enough to know if anything is in or out based on world history.
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I can use 1e, 3e or 4e. You guys decide. 4e in the 1e world seems best, though.


And the simplest way is to ask me if you can play it and I'll return a decision.
 
Well, I only have a 4e core rule book. I had an idea for a Tsuruchi School Archer. Not sure if that would be allowed, or maybe just a minor clan. Not sure.
 
Yes, they're still a Minor Clan. Mechanically, they're unchanged unless someone brigns up a reason why they should be.
 
Oh, and I just read that the Tsuruchi family are still Clan Wasp? Not entirely sure. Not sure they would even have a school.
 
The Gusai family can be standard Yoritomo. The Wasp/Tsuruchi family are a Minor Clan still, and yes, they have their own school, the Tsuruchi Archer school.
 
So. 11-11th century Rokugan, where there are no gigantic terrible disasters looming over the Emerald Empire. The Unicorn have proven themselves to be children of Shinjo, and are largely assimilated into Rokugan now, although some look askance at their strange ways. Outwardly, the Empire is at peace, which is the perfect time for a bunch of bright young gentle(wo)men to enter the Tournament of the Topaz Champion, where they will compete for the honor of being recognized as the best and brightest of their year.


Even if they don't win, they'll have accrued significant accolades to their families just by showing up and not embarrassing themselves. After all, the Emperor will be in attendance...
 
Does the Topaz Championship (as hinted in the book) wildly favor Iaijutsu specaialists, ie the Kakita family?
 
Sort of, since the entire thing is hosted by the Cranes and everyone plays by their rules while they're there. It's basically a form of spring court designed to show off the skills of the youth of the Empire and obviously the Cranes are going to stack the deck in their favor.


That said, it's designed to test all the skills of a properly finished samurai, so while being good at iaijutsu helps, being well-rounded will also be helpful.
 
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