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LibraryOgre
2011-02-21, 08:05 PM
"We always run the games we want to play in." -Me


Ok, so we have a player who's a bit of an L5R nut. Unfortunately, that means she seldom gets to play because, if you're going to play L5R, chances are she's the one who's DMing. To be nice, I've been kicking around some L5R games of the type I want to run. However, I want some help refining the idea.

The basic concept is that, about two years ago, the old Emperor died, leaving one youngish (post-gempukku, but before he turns 20) son as the new Hantei. Coinciding with the death of the old emperor, there was a wave of assassinations across the empire, leaving many samurai ronin. The players will be these ronin, of whatever background they like, during a "Twenty Goblin Winter"... an event declared by the Champion of the Crab Clan, where anyone coming with 20 Goblin heads is adopted into the Crab Clan.

Simple idea. Get players not really used to L5R into the system and the stereotypes. But I want to mess with it. A lot.

See, I figure that something important has happened in the Empire. The new Hantei has announced that Hantei I came to him in a dream, and told him to seek a wife outside the Crane clan. This throws EVERYTHING into chaos, as you can imagine... the Crane have taken a heavy blow, and pretty much every other clan is now grooming potential future Empresses. I'm also considering having the Emperor disappear from Otosan Uichi and wind up on the border, a nameless samurai fighting the goblins during the 20 Goblin Winter... in a perfect place for the PCs to stumble on him, not knowing who he is.

What I would like from y'all is help with character concepts (either that I can put into pre-gens or use as background characters) and additional complications I can throw into this.

Some ones I've already played with:
3 Cranes. One a young woman, who was kicked out of the Crane clan for a made-up offense, when the 20 Goblin winter was announced, in the hopes that she would become Crab, thus allowing the Crane to throw their weight behind her (since she wouldn't technically be a Crane anymore). With her are one or two other Cranes... her father (or other elder relative) who followed her into exile. He is complicit in her being "dishonored", and is hoping to make sure she gets the 20 heads necessary to be a Crab. The other is her admirer, who followed her into exile because he could not leave her side. Wonderful, tragic, Crane story.

A Yasuki, maybe former Crab, maybe former Crane, who was too cowardly for seppuku (the fault was his own; he'd be a ronin for reasons other than the assassination), but now is desperate to get back into a clan.

A Gaijin, washed up on Rokugani shores a few years ago. His pronunciation is barbaric, his ways are strange and foreign, and no one decent will talk to this meat-eating, fork-using swine. But he can use a sword, and so he wants to be Crab.

An eta, perhaps some trade like butcher or whatever, who wishes to raise himself above his station.

Any ideas, either character or story, would be welcome.

The Big Dice
2011-02-21, 10:37 PM
If the Emperor has decided he doesn't want to marry a Doji girl, there's probably someone whispering in his ear to make the Cranes look bad. After all, arranged marriage is the norm, even for Emperors. So how about a classic NPC.

The Emperor has a Scorpion 'drinking buddy' who is that guy you can tell anything to in absolute confidence. He knows all the best geisha houses and has introduced the young Emperor to the girl of his dreams. The one the Hantei knows he can't marry, but he loves anyway. And meanwhile, this Scorpion is putting good words in with the Enperor, suggesting people for sensitive and important positions in the court. And by people, I mean Scorpions.

For a PC idea, it's worth mining great movies. And in particular, characters played by Toshiro Mifune.

That gives us a few to work with.

First, the angry ronin warrior. Or that's what he tells everyone he is. Really, he's a farmer who ganked a samurai and took the swords up for himself. He could have had a good reason to stick a shiv in this samurai, butinside he's just terrified that people will find out he's a fraud. And he knows what the punishments are like for people who get caught pretending to be samurai.

Second, the wandering duellist. He doesn't talk about his past, even going as far as to name himself after his age and a nearby field full of crops. But he has a cunning political mind, is skilled with a sword and comes across as a natural leader.

Third is the general in exile. He was on his way to being a great leader of men. Fine strategic mind, a skilled warrior and able to inspire those under his command to go beyond what they thought they were capable of. The problem being, he was on the wrong side of a minor war. His daimyo was executed and the General found himself a ronin, cast on the waves to make do as best he could.

mabriss lethe
2011-02-22, 02:06 AM
You should probably have a shugenja of some sort so that the players can become a little more familiar with the magic system. (I'd also recommend going easy on the Taint accumulation rules for playing in the shadowlands for a bunch of first timers)

Kaun
2011-02-22, 06:06 AM
Ehh a couple of the old clasics that come to mind right of the bat are;

A shamed Phoenix Yojumbo that found out that the Shugenja under his gaurd was a Maho Tsukai and he unknowingly aided him in .... something ....and learn't the truth only after the Shugenja's escape. The Yojumbo went Ronin and has tracked the Maho-Tsukai south into the lands of the Crab.

Maybe a Mantis from a prominet sailing faimily who suffers from really bad sea sickness.

Or a an impatient Dragon who doubted the wisdom of his clan and headed out of the mountains to try and carve his own future rather then meditating on what was to come.

er... apart from that you could do the old honest Scorpion shtick or the cowardly lion trying to prove he is brave by facing down the worst of what the shadowlands has to offer.

LibraryOgre
2011-02-22, 12:19 PM
If the Emperor has decided he doesn't want to marry a Doji girl, there's probably someone whispering in his ear to make the Cranes look bad. After all, arranged marriage is the norm, even for Emperors. So how about a classic NPC.

You know, I honestly hadn't considered the possibility that it was anything other than a dream of Hantei I. :smallsmile: I'll have to play with that, look more at the motivations of other clans and courtiers.



The Emperor has a Scorpion 'drinking buddy' who is that guy you can tell anything to in absolute confidence.

I also kinda like the idea that the emperor has a Discreet (http://dragaera.wikia.com/wiki/Discreet) from the Scorpion... though Dragon would also be an interesting option.



First, the angry ronin warrior. Or that's what he tells everyone he is. Really, he's a farmer who ganked a samurai and took the swords up for himself. He could have had a good reason to stick a shiv in this samurai, butinside he's just terrified that people will find out he's a fraud. And he knows what the punishments are like for people who get caught pretending to be samurai.

So he seeks to become a samurai. Interesting idea.



Third is the general in exile. He was on his way to being a great leader of men. Fine strategic mind, a skilled warrior and able to inspire those under his command to go beyond what they thought they were capable of. The problem being, he was on the wrong side of a minor war. His daimyo was executed and the General found himself a ronin, cast on the waves to make do as best he could.

Probably will not do this one, simply because I want to keep people to the first couple of School Ranks... but, yeah, it would work as an NPC.


You should probably have a shugenja of some sort so that the players can become a little more familiar with the magic system. (I'd also recommend going easy on the Taint accumulation rules for playing in the shadowlands for a bunch of first timers)

Definitely. However, I'm a lot less clear on Shugenja becoming ronin. While they're samurai, I guess I have them mentally playing by different rules than bushi and courtiers.


A shamed Phoenix Yojumbo that found out that the Shugenja under his gaurd was a Maho Tsukai and he unknowingly aided him in .... something ....and learn't the truth only after the Shugenja's escape. The Yojumbo went Ronin and has tracked the Maho-Tsukai south into the lands of the Crab.

Oooh, I like this one!


Maybe a Mantis from a prominet sailing faimily who suffers from really bad sea sickness.

Have to include this one, simply because our L5R fanatic hates the Mantis clan.

The Big Dice
2011-02-22, 12:34 PM
So he seeks to become a samurai. Interesting idea.
That was based on Kikuchiyo, Toshiro Mifune's character in Seven Samurai. Also, Toku from the L5R canon was based on the same character.

Probably will not do this one, simply because I want to keep people to the first couple of School Ranks... but, yeah, it would work as an NPC.
The General doesn't have to literally be a general. All he eeds is to have been some kind of officer, even a Gunso (sergeant) for the core idea to work. And this was Toshiro Mifune in Hidden Fortress, for those who didn't catch the reference.

The duellist idea was Mifune's character in Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Where he literally gives his name as Kuwabatake Sanjuro, meaning "Mulberry Field thirty-year-old.

If you're going for pregen characters, you could do worse than using the archetypes from Seven Samurai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Samurai#The_Seven_Samurai).

ShneekeyTheLost
2011-02-22, 01:18 PM
A variant on the Phoenix Yojumbo...

He figured out his partner was Maho Tsukai and slew him on the spot to prevent the further spread of corruption. But no one believed him, and they were convinced that he was simply making excuses for his failure to protect his charge.

Then toss in something like a bit of Taint, giving him nightmares about the situation, his best and dearest friend asking him soulfully why he could do such a thing, and offering a way to clear things up once and for all...

Or even without the taint, you still have a tragic figure... he's kicked out for doing his job, which was basically slaying his best and closest friend, which he's still feeling guilty over, and trying to prove to himself that he is still an honorable individual.

mabriss lethe
2011-02-22, 04:04 PM
Ronin Shugenja exist in a very strange spot in Rokugan. On one hand, they're blessed with the ability to speak with the Kami, They're priests just like any clan shugenja. They garner at least a modicum of respect for that. On the other hand, They're still clanless, and can expect just about the same welcome as a ronin bushi can. In fact they sometimes see worse treatment, because they're not only an aberration of the celestial order for being ronin. Other shugenja among the clans often see the existance of ronin shugenja as an open insult to the celestial order and the kami.

They are watched very carefully by everyone. Also, ronin shugenja are often suspected of having dealings with maho and other forbidden magics (another reason they're seen as an insult to the celestial order)" because how else could they have the power to coerce the kami into doing their bidding, it's not like the kami would ever willingly stoop to help an honorless ronin dog."

Kaun
2011-02-22, 04:14 PM
Have to include this one, simply because our L5R fanatic hates the Mantis clan.

Yeah its something about pirate samurais that rubs a lot of people the wrong way.

Some other options could be;

An eta beggar child raised by a hermit Samurai and taught the ways of bushido, after the death of his sensei he heads out into the world only to hear of the 20 goblin winter and finaly a chance to prove ....blah blah...

Or if a rogue Kolat sleeper, they were triggered improperly and early for some reason and once they learned some of what they were changed their name and fled south from Otosan Uichi in the hope of evading the attentions of his shadow masters.

Anyway,

Let me know if you want more.

The Big Dice
2011-02-22, 07:14 PM
A variant on the Phoenix Yojumbo...
More variants on the yojimbo theme:

The Yojimbo that Failed. For whatever reason, this yojimbo survived whenhis charge died under his protection. Rather than poke his belly while kneeling on a white mat, he went into exile as a ronin, hoping to redeem himself.

The Yojimbo that Succeeded. This poor samurai didn't realise that sometimes you win by losing. He got into a duel to defend the honour of hischarge and won. Unfortunately, that duel was against the son of an important courtier. The yojimbo's reputation was ruined and he had no choice but to take to the roads as a ronin, hoping he never gets recognised.

Yeah its something about pirate samurais that rubs a lot of people the wrong way.
I hate the Mantis because they aren't the underdog clan anymore. Instead, they are the Borg. They go round assimilating minor clans. Wasp, Centipede, Fox, when will it end?

They also don't have a portfolio that makes sense and they aren't descended from a Kami.

Anyway,another couple of character ideas:

The Coward. When it came time to stand up and be counted, this guy ran for the hills. It might have been a duel, or the night before a battle. All that really matters is, the guy knew he was going to have to put his life on the line. But instead of remembering that for there hero, there is no death, he found out that for the coward there is no life. He hates himself and sees a 20 Goblin Winter as a chance to make the right choice.

The Fake Ronin. This guy isn't a ronin at all. He's probably a Scorpion, but he could be a kolat agent, a Harrier or a Spymaster in a deep cover role. All that matters is that he keeps the appearance of being a masterless wave man at all costs. Not forgetting to report to his handler from time to time.

Kaun
2011-02-22, 07:21 PM
Anyway,another couple of character ideas:

The Coward. When it came time to stand up and be counted, this guy ran for the hills. It might have been a duel, or the night before a battle. All that really matters is, the guy knew he was going to have to put his life on the line. But instead of remembering that for there hero, there is no death, he found out that for the coward there is no life. He hates himself and sees a 20 Goblin Winter as a chance to make the right choice.


Yeah this is basicly what i ment by the cawrdly lion shtick, seen it in an actual game. The player made it interesting.

BarroomBard
2011-02-22, 10:34 PM
Maybe a high ranking Crane who discovers that the Emperor is masquerading as a nameless samurai. He figures that if the emperor suffers an "accident", then his heir will still be Crane, and so will the new Empress.

Perhaps have the PCs trapped in a mountain pass due to a winter storm. While there, they take refuge in a small hunting community. As they fight off the cold and starvation, and maybe bandits, they learn some shocking secret about their saviors...

They learn that one of the NPC ronin competing to become a Crab has planned a trap to kill a large number of goblins... using the population of a small village as bait.

Bruendor_Cavescout
2011-03-17, 04:10 PM
Remember, Rokugan has an extremely rigid caste system, and the samurai tend to take a dim view on people that try to become upwardly mobile. The eta could try to pass himself off as a samurai, especially if he was a servant to a samurai - probably a Kitsuki, since they often investigate murders and need someone to move the body around. How he got his master's swords is a question that needs to be answered - most likely, his master's dead, and he's masquerading as a ronin. The problem is if anyone finds out he's not a samurai, he's as good as dead. Most samurai will simply execute him and send his unclean soul to Emma-O for judgment. A Scorpion might not, and use this tasty bit of blackmail to make him dance to whatever tune he chooses - in which case, the eta probably wishes a Lion found out.

Done well, this could be an awesome character.

The Rose Dragon
2011-03-17, 04:14 PM
Emma-O

How do you spell that, anyway?

The Big Dice
2011-03-17, 04:45 PM
How do you spell that, anyway?

That? T-H-A-T.

Oh, Emma-O? You spell that Emma-O. And it's a guy too.

Gralamin
2011-03-17, 08:01 PM
"We always run the games we want to play in." -Me.
While The rest of the thread is very interesting, as an eternally DMing machine, I'd like to steal that for my Sig.

LibraryOgre
2011-03-18, 11:44 AM
While The rest of the thread is very interesting, as an eternally DMing machine, I'd like to steal that for my Sig.

Feel free. I say it a lot, because I game with a bunch of people. Most of us are GMs with our favorite systems, and none of those systems match.

Doc Roc
2011-03-18, 12:48 PM
That? T-H-A-T.

Oh, Emma-O? You spell that Emma-O. And it's a guy too.

A guy in the loosest sense of the word, admittedly, but a guy.

Mark, if you end up running this, can you please keep a campaign journal? Or force a player to do so?

LibraryOgre
2011-03-18, 03:58 PM
I'll try. The folks who love L5R just got the new edition,s o I'll have to look at it before I get started.

Doc Roc
2011-03-18, 04:00 PM
I'll try. The folks who love L5R just got the new edition,s o I'll have to look at it before I get started.

I'm not above bribery, you know.

The Rose Dragon
2011-03-18, 04:05 PM
That? T-H-A-T.

Oh, Emma-O? You spell that Emma-O. And it's a guy too.

Well, I was specifically referring to the hiragana of Emma.

You can spell it えんま, but that would be spelled Enma, just pronounced Emma.

LibraryOgre
2011-03-18, 05:06 PM
I'm not above bribery, you know.

Hey, you wanna bribe me with a new book, I'll PM you my address. ;-)

Doc Roc
2011-03-18, 05:42 PM
Hey, you wanna bribe me with a new book, I'll PM you my address. ;-)

Ask me next month, might be willing.