L5R interest check

[QUOTE="Silent Wayfarer]So how do you measure honor ICly? Iaijutsu duels? It should also be noted that the Otomo are a courtier family, and their niche is pretty similar to the Scorpion in that they are willing to take unsavory measures to serve the Emperor. The Scorpion use the full gamut of treachery and skullduggery while the Otomo generally limit themselves to making the Clans fight among each other so they can't gang up on the Emperor like in the days of the Gozoku. And even then, none of this is overt; it's just accepted wisdom not to mess with the Emperor's own puppetmasters or the Clan of Secrets. So even if said daughter were to be "dishonorable"... well, nobody would really care. They're still serving the Emperor.
It might be better to phrase the daughter's posting to the Scorpion Clan as a concession of sorts. Maybe the Scorpions made a deal for political pressure against some Cranes and the price was letting an Otomo daughter learn their techniques. Or the Otomo want to steal Scorpion secrets and they're arranging for a castle or two to go to the Scorpions to secure her place there. Either way, the Bayushi-ryu has nothing to prove. She will also never be fully trusted by the Scorpion because she is not of the blood, although she might win the personal loyalty of a few Scorpions. Of course, the Otomo might think their daughter has been compromised, or not fully educated (after all, the Scorpions keep the best stuff for themselves).


You decide.

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Good points. You know the system and the world much better than I. I was looking at using the appointment as a concession of sorts, but one where nothing is gained. Otomo loses a bet but does not have to bring a Scorpion into their School, but they do have to give up a daughter to the Bushi school. Although the more I read and comprehend, maybe Shukenja. Not sure yet. But the Scorpions don't gain anything except a potential spy in their midst. That way she doesn't have a benefit except for her name in the Imperial courts.


I would also assume that the Otomo have a few Bushi. Not everyone would be born as strict courtiers. Some would just not be suitable and make very good Bushi or even Shukenja, but need to be trained in another school. Probably a disappointment, but better than floundering in court. And I am not set on any specific formality of the bet between the Otomo and the Bayushi just that neither really wins. It could have been a game of Go in which each game ends in a draw.


I am still playing with the idea. We have a lot of Bushi, so part of me says to stick with something simple like combat rather than branch out into various other areas. My only problem is that I don't like straight-up fighting types. I need some sort of twist to make it interesting.
 
Yeah it's not like your name and your school have to match. For instance, a Hida courtier would be strange as all get out but not impossible, EVERY family has black sheep. The only thing that I see as an potential issue, and I say this as a player and fan of the history not as the GM of course, is that the Scorpion are so secretive they make the Illuminati look like gossiping old hens who never shut up. I could see them honoring such a deal, but their honor is unique to say the least. A potential spy in their midst would be an opportunity to them, which means they would feed you false information to see if it came back to them through their spy network and teach you a false style--"Oh yeah this is the Bayushi school don't you worry one bit". It would look just like the Bayushi school in almost every way so that only a master could tell something was off, but it would have fatal flaws they could exploit so they defeat you or anyone you passed it on two should you betray them. At least they is the kind of thinking I attribute to Scorpion in my games, I love the treacherous little devils.


Anyway just my two cents, which with gas, tips, and tolls puts the account 12 bucks in the hole :tongue:
 
Sorry I haven't posted, came down with a nasty case of the ick...so, what I've gotten from my tl;dr scanning is vanilla around 1st ed timeline?
 
[QUOTE="Silent Wayfarer]Pretty much, yes. Enough to stick to the various Clan stereotypes.

[/QUOTE]
Now I have to ask--do you see stereotypes as the law of the land or actually what they are, stereotypes-- with some general truths but not hard set fact. I have to ask because some GM's see them as facts and think that all characters should be carbon copies of the stereotypes and IMO that sucks.
 
...you just want to make Tetsubo Crane, don't you? ;)


Stereotypes are what they are for a reason: the various clans are shaped by their environments and their niches and their founders, and so they all generally turn out the way they do. However, not all people grow up in the same places or even respond the same way to the same stimuli, so exceptions exist.


Tl;dr make it fun/funny and I won't care.
 
Oh I agree, like I said SOME truth--not THE only truth. Some people seem to think that becasue of the stereotypes that you can't have a well mannered Crab or a Crane with no social graces. If those sorts of things held true all the examples of awesome rulers throughout history who had children who followed them who were piss poor rulers would not have happened. Just because you are born into and trained by a family does not mean it's gonna take. Just wanted to make sure things would not be like that--sounds like all is well.
 
hellrazoromega said:
Oh I agree, like I said SOME truth--not THE only truth. Some people seem to think that becasue of the stereotypes that you can't have a well mannered Crab or a Crane with no social graces. If those sorts of things held true all the examples of awesome rulers throughout history who had children who followed them who were piss poor rulers would not have happened. Just because you are born into and trained by a family does not mean it's gonna take. Just wanted to make sure things would not be like that--sounds like all is well.
Click to expand...
Basically you can do stuff, but there will be consequences. A Scorpion junshin*, for instance, is going to have a pretty hard time operating under the standard Scorpion MO of backstabbing, betrayal, etc, and the lone Hida Courtier is going to be addressed as ojou-chan from time to time. But as long as he's useful to the Clan, he'll be allowed to stick around.


* Junshin are basically the rare Scorpions who believe in Bushido over Loyalty. Since all Scorpions run off the principle of loyalty to their family and the Emperor, they don't lose Honor for taking traditionally dishonorable actions as long as they serve the Clan/Emperor. Junshin don't get that privilege, which severely cramps their style and counts as a lesser form of Black Sheep, because their friends and sensei don't trust them. ("You mean you wouldn't do anything for your brother? Shame on you!")


It is, however, pretty fun to play the "only honest Scorpion" from time to time. And the more normal Scorpions like having them around to make others trust them more.
 
Oh that is fully expected, I have never meet or heard of a black sheep that did not get crap on one level or another. And in Rokugan being different is way worse that in just about any other setting.

[QUOTE="Silent Wayfarer]
It is, however, pretty fun to play the "only honest Scorpion" from time to time. And the more normal Scorpions like having them around to make others trust them more.

[/QUOTE]
Indeed like I said I love the treacherous (but clever) little devils the only reason I am not playing a Shorsuo is because I have played them so many times and wanted to do something different.
 
Also, part of the samurai mindset is being prepared to die at any time. They believe in reincarnation and that anyone who dies well will come back in a more spiritually enlightened form (samurai are the most enlightened, naturally). It's almost as though they were aware that they were playing in an RPG where they get to make new characters when they get bumped off.


And OOCly, there is a rule called Karma where a player whose character dies doing something awesome gets extra XP to make a new character with.


One more thing to consider is your family - Rokugan is a feudal culture held together by oaths of allegiance and blood ties. Your relatives are a big deal and blood really is thicker than water. How do you treat your family, and how do they treat you?
 
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