To Rokugan! (L5R 4th Edition)

[Fatebreaker]

Howdy, Playgrounders! I just picked up the 4th Edition of Legend of the Five Rings, and -- as a first-time traveler to the world of Rokugan -- I've gotta say I'm very impressed. And, being impressed, I'm looking to run a game for some other new-time L5R players in my group.

So! What I want to know is this:

What kind of things should I be aware of before I begin? What do you wish you'd known before you started your L5R careers? What first-time pitfalls await the new player?

And, on a related note, what worked well for y'all? What cool campaigns have you run/played in? What stories seemed to fit the system and the world, and what stories did not?

[GunMage]

First off, welcome to Rokugan! L5r is one of the most enjoyable and immersive rpgs I've ever come across, so much so that I play one game each week and Dm another.

As far as stuff to be aware of the first time around, just read the culture section. Then read it again. Then read it a third time. Then make sure your players have read it, you get the picture. The world has a great deal more social customs than other game settings, especially dnd, and that's probably the biggest thing that people stumble over when they start playing for the first time. For instance, we had a new player in my group a few weeks ago, who started bad mouthing one of her clan's courtiers in public just to make idle conversation. All of the more setting savvy players looked on in horror as she took a pretty heavy glory and status hit after a "talk" with one of her superiors.

The actual system is remarkably simple. Just roll a number of dice equal to your stat plus skill, keep . There aren't a whole lot of straight up number modifiers in 4th edition, if I'm remembering correctly, so it's real important to have high stats in the things you want to do, rather than high skills. 7k3 still only keeps three, and if you don't explode any ten's that number will most likely be average.

On the subject of exploding tens, keep in mind that in combat, a good damage roll can outright kill a character, especially so if that roll has ten's in it. I have seen a damage roll explode something like 5 times to outright kill someone. Combat in L5r is pretty deadly besides that, since you take penalties to everything you do when you're wounded, so even weak attacks will wear characters down to the point of impotence. Plus 15 to all of your Tn's hurts a lot.

I can't think of any trap options during character creation, although minor clans and ronin stick out a bit. Most minor clans are looked down upon by the great clans, and ronin are outright despised by pretty much every samurai, so people who want to play those better think long and hard about it. Basically the things to remember when you start are that there are a lot of big fish in this setting, and that there are a lot of social customs that you need to be aware of. going around challenging people to duels, for instance, will end badly no matter how badass your kakita duelist is. In a game I was running recently, we had a kakita crane challenge a scorpion samurai to a duel after a perceived insult. The scorpion used some of his political acumen (being a scorpion) to outmaneuver the crane in court, and the duel ended up being held with bows rather than swords. Needless to say that didn't go so well for the crane.

Similarly, being a shugenja, especially a fire shugenja, is pretty awesome. You get to light ever damn thing on fire, it's great. Except that Rokugani structures are made of paper and wood, so a musplace fires from within could send an entire city up in flames. Generally, the more subtle route is the best in Rokugan.

I my experience, plots in L5r tend to go one of two ways. You can base the game around significant historical events in Rokugan, and let the Pc's be some of the big heroes who changed the fate of the empire, or you can set the game on a much more personal level, and have the game focus on the more interesting events of daily life in Rokugan, samurai duels, tragic love stories, political manuevering, the occasional bloodspeaker plot, whatever. There's a number of ways you can go with it. I would look into some of the published modules from past editions, a few of them are quite good. When you're starting out, the adventure in the back of the book is fairly solid, and the adventure seeds they have are good for some episodic games.

Hope that helps. L5r is a lot of fun, I wish more games were written the way it is.

[jbr712]

On the subject of exploding tens, keep in mind that in combat, a good damage roll can outright kill a character, especially so if that roll has ten's in it. I have seen a damage roll explode something like 5 times to outright kill someone.

This is one of the things my group can forget on occasion. Outside of court, we see some beastly rolls since we're all currently rank 5 characters, but we don't often consider what a few exploded dice could do. Last night was one of the best rolls for "Fist of Osano-Wo" I've ever heard of. 5k5 on the damage roll, I got a total of 65 - an average of 13 on each die for the stat junkies. With a raise to increase the radius to 30' and two raises to cast it in one round I managed to level some huts an encounter simply because I panicked IC and rolled well. There's more of a story there, but we'll get to that when I have the time to write a proper adventure log.

On that note: don't spook shugenja who you know to have powerful fire spells, they might end up destroying a city block and/or important characters. You probably shouldn't spook earth shugenja either, they tend to throw rocks. As a general rule, don't spook samurai I guess would be the lesson. It's a good DM's tool, but as a player you don't want to surprise another samurai caste individual - you will likely get hurt.

In terms of first timer mistakes, don't undervalue investigation, it's a very valuable skill. Don't worry about abstract punishment for misbehavior. Fortunately for GM's, most reactions can be extrapolated from that handy culture section which GunMage pointed out. There are some supplements from various editions which expand upon the cultural bones set out in the core rulebook, look for Emerald Empire and Great Clans; they will help you greatly in that regard.

Another thing to consider: It's only too easy to have players from different clans and that can create conflict which can be great for development. However, don't let that get in the way of the metagame of "We're a group (even if he is a filthy crane)." I'll be posting something in worst player/dm in a bit regarding a player who I don't particularly care for because of this problem.

[GunMage]

On that note: don't spook shugenja who you know to have powerful fire spells, they might end up destroying a city block and/or important characters. You probably shouldn't spook earth shugenja either, they tend to throw rocks. As a general rule, don't spook samurai I guess would be the lesson. It's a good DM's tool, but as a player you don't want to surprise another samurai caste individual - you will likely get hurt.



This is what sparked (get it, fire, haha) the comment about fire shugenja in general. At one point my character who just retired, a rather powerful Centipede shugenja, attempted to cast a spell to get rid of a ninja we were having trouble with and ended up torching a good portion of Toshi-Ranbo, as well as almost killing himself and several other characters. The fire Kami is serious business.

Also yeah, investigation and etiquette are two skills you should never underestimate. Etiquette with the sincerity emphasis is pretty much the best way of keeping yourself and your friends out of trouble.

[Fatebreaker]

First, thank you GunMage & jbr712 for your help. Let me see if I have an accurate idea of what you're telling me:

1) The culture of the setting is a major aspect of both mechanics and play.

2) Combat is deadly.

3) Combining the first two points, it is important for players to understand and act within the culture, unless they want to face a never-ending wave of offended samurai eager to teach them manners with the edge of a sword. When all else fails, Etiquette & Sincerity can help keep players from stepping on too many toes.

4) The "roll x keep y" mechanics means that attributes should be high, and skills should be diverse, since past a certain point the major limiting factor to success is the "keep y" element of that equation.

5) Shugenja are awesome recipients of practical jokes and nothing can ever go wrong by feeding them false information.

I actually did acquire the Great Clans & Emerald Empire books (plus the core book and the Enemies of the Empire book). I'm still reading through them. After I'm done, I'll reread the culture bits, especially since I and many members of our group have either been to or extensively studied the various cultures and nations of the Far East, and we'd like to play in Rokugan, not Asia.

jbr712, I'd be curious to hear your story of the player who let Clan loyalties overcome party loyalties, and I'd be curious to hear both of your impressions on how to balance the two. Given that we tend to have fairly team-oriented players, I don't expect a problem, but I don't want Clan loyalty to just be a matter of what color armor you wear. So, what Clan/party tensions have been good? Which conflicts have been bad? What ways have you found to be effective in illustrating the competing loyalties of Clan and personal relationships?

In case it matters, I'll probably avoid the historical game, and instead work towards a campaign which focuses on the characters and their actions in a smaller setting, say a province or town, and then go from there.

Thanks again, guys, and if anyone else has anything to add, I'm happy to hear it!

[TheOOB]

Rokugan is indeed a great setting. I like the setting and the rule system quite a bit. I will also agree, fire shugenja are amazing, and fire is also the rarest type of shugenja(Agasha and Seppun are the only fire ones in the main book, the Moshi are fire half the time, and the Isawa can be fire). Honestly though, I think an Air shugenja can be far more dangerous. More damage can be caused in court than can be caused on the battlefield.

It is completely reasonable for your first campaign to rule that all characters must be a great clan samurai(or perhaps a Tattooed Monk, they are at least still part of the Dragon). Once you are your group understand the setting better you can play Ronin and Minor Clan samurai, but it helps to know where the box is before you work outside of it.

Also talk with your players about what sort of campaign you want to run. Unless your campaign is very highly court focused, or you have a large party that can afford specialists, players may want to avoid courtier characters to start. Courtier abilities are very powerful and interesting, but they also tend to be narrow and situational. The simple fact is a Bushi or Shungenja makes a much better social character than a Courtier makes a combat character. With no armor, combat techniques, spells, and often no good weapons Courtier characters often have little to do in a fight, and, as much as they may try to avoid it, you will get in fights. A Samurai's most sacred duty is to make war after all.

[jbr712]

jbr712, I'd be curious to hear your story of the player who let Clan loyalties overcome party loyalties, and I'd be curious to hear both of your impressions on how to balance the two. Given that we tend to have fairly team-oriented players, I don't expect a problem, but I don't want Clan loyalty to just be a matter of what color armor you wear. So, what Clan/party tensions have been good? Which conflicts have been bad? What ways have you found to be effective in illustrating the competing loyalties of Clan and personal relationships?

To start with, our group make up is a little odd. We are in the Clan War period, where about half the Crab clan has allied itself with the Shadowlands to try and take the Emerald Throne; we have two "true crab" as they like to call themselves: Hiruma Izoma, a rank 5 kuni shugenja, and Hida... I can never remember his name... Anywho, he is a rank 5 Hida Bushi with berserker alternate path. My character is Yogo Genji, a rank 5 Yogo Wardmaster and Kuroiban agent; being a Yogo has problems of its own since the Scorpion clan was disbanded just before the Clan War. The fourth character is Daidoji Sukiko, our latest addition to the party/social group. Sukiko trained with the Hida and is Hida Bushi 3/Daidoji Iron Warrior 2.

The two Crabs and the Crab-Wanna-Be get along pretty well, and I get along with the two Crabs. The Crab-Wanna-Be and I do not get along. At all. We knew a little bit about the Crab-Wanna-Be's background, he joined us with some decent glory and Izoma and I have a few ranks in Lore: Heraldry (also a handy skill). What we did not know about him, is that he had a number of run-ins with Scorpion agents who were sent out to make mischief - since that's kinda what the Scorpion Clan does. Immediately distrusts my character when he finds out I'm a Scorpion.

That's fine, he has a reason and I figure I can work to develop a little trust as I did with Izoma and the Hida. Then comes the first encounter after meeting the new bushi: Ogres. We've fought ogres before, usually one maybe two if that was all in the encounter. This time we faced five of them, doesn't look like it'll be a fun battle. Then Izoma and I look at each other and remember that we're shugenja. We start slinging spells while the Hida and Sukiko take one down in melee. Sukiko got hit pretty hard by an ogre and since my initiative followed the ogres I roasted the one that hit him. After the battle Izoma sets about healing the Hida, I go to heal Sukiko and he tells me to stay away from him.

A quick medicine roll from Izoma and it's clear Sukiko is injured, Izoma heals him without complaint from Sukiko.I figure he still doesn't trust me and move on, I figure he won't do anything while the rest of the group is around. Well, I was right to a degree, he didn't attempt to harm me, he just stole my scrolls while he was on watch. You know, the scrolls I need to cast any of my spells (aside from Gift of the Wind).

I'm running a little low on time, so I'll cut to the chase. Party wakes up, I confront Sukiko and he tells me there is no way he's going to allow a Scorpion to have access to that sort of power if he could help it. I'm livid at this point, Izoma is trying to be reasonable, and Hida stays out of it - the player is largely asleep this session. Eventually I make a deal with him, if I can steal my scrolls back in broad daylight, I can keep them. Cast gift of the wind, stealth over and take scrolls. As soon as I touch the scroll satchel, Sukiko uses the action he'd apparently readied via note to DM to take a slash at me. Fortunately I'm invisible so he doesn't hit me. I dismiss the spell once I'm a good distance away and Hida is standing between the two of us.

I give him one last chance to avoid a full force confrontation, I pull out my jitte and tell him if he can hit me before I disarm him, I'll leave the group. Initiative is rolled, I win initiative and go for the disarm immediately. Disarmed him and waited to see what he did. He sulked a bit, but that was the end of it. At this point the others said in no uncertain terms that if anything comes up again one of us is going to end up dead.

I have the vaguest understanding as to why this all happened, but honestly it was really stupid. It shouldn't have happened, and as soon as it did someone should have done something definitive. The problem is that Izoma, the Hida and I came from the mentality of "I'll play my character, but I will try to work with the character to make it fit with the group" - had I been playing my character straight then Sukiko would have been roasting immediately after I got my scrolls back. Sukiko did not do that, he took his hatred of Scorpion to the extreme and that almost ended up with someone dead.

This is why we value the metagame.

[Saladman]

What kind of things should I be aware of before I begin? What do you wish you'd known before you started your L5R careers? What first-time pitfalls await the new player?

Dark Fate (a disadvantage) is ill-conceived to the point of being broken. Mechanically it duplicates a certain very good advantage, with a "drawback" that very few GMs are going to bring into play in a way that actually inconviences the character taking it. Ban it. (Merely discouraging it only restricts it to your worst min-maxers.)

More generally, take the book seriously when it suggests setting limits on advantages and disadvantages for your individual campaign. If a disad isn't ever going to come into play in your game it shouldn't be worth points. And by the same token, if an advantage isn't likely to come into play in your game go ahead and warn the player of that.

What I'll likely do when I run it again is lower the advantage limit to 12 points for non-social advantages. That lets people have Prodigy if they want, but without stacking anything with it, or 3 points of Luck for the majority of their points. But then give social advantages their own separate cap (or even un-cap them entirely, I haven't decided), so you don't have the odd effect of having to choose between being famous (or having contacts, or whatever) and being good. Disads probably all need to stay under one 10 point cap though.

It pays to do character creation as a group, and to encourage players to have connections to each other. Those can be purely roleplaying, such as being cousins or in-laws, or mechanical, as with reciprocal Kharmic Ties. But its helpful to have some of that done up front when the players start to realize there are some rivalries built into the setting.

I found I wasn't prepping enough for combat when I first started running it. I switched to copying out both common, generic enemies and named opponents on index cards so I'd have them handy when I needed them. L5R occupies a weird space where it can play out quicker than you'd think looking at the crunch, but I needed it laid out in front of me to pull that off. Flipping through the monster book didn't cut it for me. In general, expect to have to prep more in the beginning, but keep an eye out for things you can prep once and re-use.

Be aware that you can have wide power differences between characters when a school technique comes into play or a player invests in a specialty. And that's okay! It balances out in the long run if you use all the skills in the book. It can be tempting to let a perception check or a courtier roll slide for "story purposes," but that's a real blow to anyone invested in those skills. It's better to work on adventures that can't be broken by a single failed (or successful) roll, but still provide negatives for failure and rewards for success.

On the same theme, break up the type of combats you run. Start with some simple ones with not too many enemies. But over time, throw in some archery-range combats, some against many weaker enemies, some where stealth is easy to achieve and others where its not possible, some in treacherous terrain, etc. That allows different characters to shine in combat.


And, on a related note, what worked well for y'all? What cool campaigns have you run/played in? What stories seemed to fit the system and the world, and what stories did not?

Just about anything except a standard dungeon crawl or fetch quest is appropriate. Repelling Shadowlands incursions, hunting bandits, uncovering traitors or blood mages are all fitting adventures. Complications can take the form of competing political interests (a great clan or a powerful Imperial courtier might be secretly pleased by trouble in a certain province for instance), a need to balance the martial duties of a samurai with maintaining his station in more refined or artistic pursuits, or dealing with a highly placed traitor without the burden and scandal of accusing him publicly (so perhaps arrange a duel on some other pretext entirely, or even eliminate his supporters but leave him alone).

Conflicting loyalties or duties are a major theme of the setting. It's possible to overdo it if you're continually throwing true no win situations at your players. But in moderation they add a lot. I try to remain open to letting a player resolve those, but I've also seen a player run pick a side and run with it when it fits their character.

The intro adventure at the back of the book is actually decent. Investigation adventures can be tricky, but it has the advantage of highlighting the setting pretty well. ("Face" matters, culture matters, etc.)

[Fatebreaker]

Again, thanks y'all for the advice and aid. I'm really looking forward to L5R.

Given jbr712's situation, I'd be interested to hear stories of good clan rivalries, especially since I imagine my players will find the diverse cast of clans enticing. And even if they don't, I certainly intend to introduce characters from multiple clans, and watching half the party turn into frothing berserkers at the mere mention of a Lion Clansman might start to lose its charm the eighth or ninth time it happens.

Saladman, thanks for the mechanics/setup advice. I'll try to keep those in mind, especially the bit about separating social and non-social advantages if I set a cap on non-social ones. That seems like a fine plan.

And now, campaign ideas!

I'm tempted to run the adventure out of the back of the core book as a "let's all learn the rules" prequel game, after which players can adjust their characters if their mechanical choices didn't match their initial concepts. It also seems like a good way to introduce characters who aren't otherwise connected. I don't imagine that my players will have a problem coming up with reasons to be in a party together, but, y'know, just in case.

However, once the campaign gets underway, I'm thinking of the following as the initial plot arc (call it two or three months of gaming). It involves a minor family of [Clan to be determined once the players decide their Clan(s)] attempting to recover and restore their ancestral home. Any player who is a member of the family is assigned this task by the daimyo; any player who is a member of a different family, but the same clan, is assigned this task by their daimyo as a favor to the minor family; any player who is from a different family altogether will have connections to the players who have the assignment, and naturally are given leave by their own lords to help garner political favors or somesuch. So, without further ado, Challenge, Focus, Strike!

• Challenge: The party is tasked by their lord, Kyrudan Hinjo, with restoring the family's ancient seat of power, which was abandoned several generations ago during the Clan War. They must do so prior to the next Winter Court, which the daimyo hopes to host at his new (old) palace in Hiyagara.

• Focus: The party has a series of challenges ahead of them to fulfill the wishes of their lord, including dispersing bandits, removing yakuza opium-smugglers posing as Scorpions, appeasing unquiet spirits, and dealing with roaming samurai, amongst others. On top of this, they must oversee the honorable restoration of the old palace, without appearing to take too great an interest in the dishonorable aspects of the project (such as the financing).

• Strike: Upon the arrival of the Kyrudan family at Hiyagara, the Winter Court opens with the unexpected near-murder of Kyrudan Hinjo and theft of the daimyo's daisho. With their lord poisoned, tensions running high, and the honor of the family at stake, the party must find and expose the assassin before rival factions at court each other (and the Kyrudan famly) apart.

My plan involves setting Hiyagara in one of those unclaimed provinces on the map (which one depending on what clan the players decide to focus on), which will give them some time to be the big fish in a distant pond. With only a few other samurai (I have a fun plan for a Phoenix shugenja/Scorpion bushi tag-team) in the area, the players will be the biggest movers and shakers for the first few games. This will let them feel out their characters and interact with peasants, merchants, bandits, yakuza, and ronin without any real fear of doing something stupid and looking bad in front of a social superior. As the game goes on, however, more influential folks start to filter in, some related to their lord, allowing players to ease in to ever-tightening social/cultural requirements, until they finally have to save their lord while still maintaining honor in front of all his guests.

If the players want to continue past that, maybe they stay in Hiyagara (if they like the place), or maybe they are sent elsewhere. Maybe lords in neighboring provinces aren't too thrilled at the idea of even a minor family of a Great Clan setting up shop in their backyard, and the players have to deal with the fallout or stave off diplomatic disasters. Maybe border skirmishes escalate into open war!

Anyhow, I've got a lot written up for it, but I wanted to hit the highlights and get some feedback. Thoughts so far? Any ideas for neat NPCs, potential complications, or ways to vary up challenges so every character "class" has a chance to shine?

In particular, I need to learn more about Rokugani ghosts, spirits, undead, and all that. I like the idea of restless spirits haunting the old palace, but I also want it to be a distinctly L5R experience, so any advice on that front is especially appreciated.

[Otomodachi]

Put in some time with your players and figure out if they even like a samurai setting. If that's out of the way, get their input on what they like about the setting/culture. You'll want to figure out how you're going to need to balance the politics with the horror with the combat.

If the courtly stuff is attractive to your players, make sure to get the interested players to really catch themselves up on things like:

Sincerity (stating a literal truth is always the goal in public, even if it means you are technically lying; questioning a guy's word is a duel-able offense. Winner was right)

gift-giving (offer three times; receiver should reject it twice; there's lots of shades of insult to be had here)

the way the chains of loyalty work (a lot of the time when a samurai has to kill himself, it's because two people he owes loyalty to are in disagreement and he isn't free to act in any other way)

the judicial system (testimony is the only admissible evidence in most of the empire, dragons excluded, crabs sometimes excluded)

dueling proxies (if one of your players hates this political bull puckey, remind him he is free to loom and quietly menace and be there to duel in the stead of the more politically minded characters; iaijutsu duels are STANDARD, but the aggreived party chooses the form so straight-up
combat is feasible, too)

give free knowledge skills (consider it. The players who like politics will usually just roll with you and not need to make culture knowledge skill checks. the guy who's patiently waiting for the stuff he enjoys should be given a chance to roll some dice, not punished for not caring about a part of the setting.)

If they like the horror, remember-

Most of the empire doesn't really think about the shadowlands (the crab are 99% effective in keeping the shadowlands AWAY from the empire, but also the majority of the empire prefers to WILLFULLY REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE the existence of the shadowlands, and the threat it poses, because it seems like it'd be rude to the ruling nobility to do otherwise)

once you're tainted, there is NO going back. (you WILL eventually either die tainted or become a twisted caricature of everything you ever believed in. The only way you should EVER let a character become untainted is if you see that special, desperate look on the PLAYERS face that let's them know their little guy has just been ruined forever in their eyes. In THIS case, you can let them quest to find a way to die and have it removed in the process.)

being tainted, or talking about the shadowlands, is the equivalent of doing bad things to yourself in public, socially (You do not talk about it. You do not remind people of it. YOU DO NOT accuse anyone of it. If you do, someone is going to die. Period. A lot of the tension can come from the way the Rokugani society will refuse to acknowledge or actively work against the taint. Their heads are buried. Crab excluded, there are other exceptions.)

most of the 'lore' is superstition (Lie to your players. Peasants especially will say anything to a samurai if they think it's what they want to hear. Yes, the oni can fly. Yes, it IS the size of 10 men! Yes, it breathes fire, too. If the info isn't coming from a specialist, it's probably mostly wrong.)

If they like the combat-

Well, this has been covered by everyone else. It's deadly. If you have some people in your group who are good at op, watch out for how good they can get their damage rolls, that's your metric. Anyone who can consistently one-shot random dudes with 2 earth is a legendary man-slayer.

Initiative is king, more so than any other game I've personally played.

Don't overlook that there is mechanics and a practice of acceding in a duel after standing posed against an opponent for a moment. Sometimes it's good to make that skill roll to figure out your opponents stats, and back down. It's a little shameful, but dying is worse. Your players should understand this.

Magic is quite powerful in the same way it is in most games.

Generally, watch out for that guy who hears about the Scorpion clan and wants to be a tricky jerk. Make it painfully clear that LOYALTY is 50% of the Scorpion shtick, it's that everyone KNOWS a Scorpion is loyal (you might not know to whom) even if they won't admit it. Don't let the Scorpion clan be used as an excuse to antagonize party members.

Watch out for some dude wanting to be a Unicorn and have a billion 'western' (foreign) implements and weapons. Unicorn are still samurai, treat that stuff like a spice, not a staple.

Don't let your players make caricatures. The Clans are cool and have tons of personality, but it can't be your ENTIRE CHARACTER.

Have fun. :)

EDIT: Man, inter-clan CAN be hard. The trick in my experience is to make sure there's always something bigger than them, but not too big, they need to be united against. A monster, a spider behind a web of politics, a madman tainting a water supply, anything, but unless their honour is 0 they have some loyalty to the emperor, don't let them forget that.

Don't let your players have honour 0. :P

[Fatebreaker]

-cultural tidbits-

In general, these should prove to be a big hit, since I (and a hefty chunk of my players) have visited/lived-in/extensively studied the various Oriental cultures, especially Japan. My big concern is making sure that we roleplay in Rokugan, not Japan.

That said, I actually don't intend to make the Shadowlands a big deal, unless one of my players really wants to be a Crab. The Wall is a thing, the Shadowlands is a thing, Taint is a thing, but at least at first, those are going to be far away things.

I also want to strive to find a decent balance of combat and social challenges, and then mix those up with conflicting personal desires and clan loyalties. So I'd rather focus on inter-Clan or intra-Clan conflicts than Shadowlands conflicts, because of course you stab the oni. It's a no-brainer. If Shadowlands conflicts come into play, I intend to use them to up the stakes of inter/intra-Clan difficulties. If you learn that the closest friend and ally of your daimyo is secretly a servant of the Shadowlands, well... that story can go in a lot of interesting directions.


Generally, watch out for that guy who hears about the Scorpion clan and wants to be a tricky jerk. Make it painfully clear that LOYALTY is 50% of the Scorpion shtick, it's that everyone KNOWS a Scorpion is loyal (you might not know to whom) even if they won't admit it. Don't let the Scorpion clan be used as an excuse to antagonize party members

Hehehe... fortunately, that won't be a problem since I love the Scorpion clan, and not because they're "ZOMG 4 teh evilz lulz!" I really enjoy their whole loyalty vibe. I love the masks they wear ("we're just honest about lying"). I love the logic train that, if a superior really is worth serving, then it's selfish to preserve your own honor at his expense, so of course an inferior can do dishonorable things to benefit a superior. I love that they're heroes of a different stripe. They're just such a fascinating clan, and I'll have no truck with a Chaotic Stupid character, unless the player has a really fascinating justification. If someone wants to be a villain, I'm okay with that, but they at least need to be a smart villain to avoid being cut down in the first session.

It doesn't hurt that I'm a huge fan of the various "Scorpion & [animal] cross a river" stories. Bayushi was a wise man.

Anyhow, I dunno if you saw my initial plot arc (see my last post), but if you have any ideas or suggestions on it, I'm more than eager to hear 'em! I also have more information written up, but I figured I'd go with the highlights for now. Maybe I'll start a campaign journal.

Sidenote: Where does one write up campaign journals in the forum?

[Otomodachi]

I read your second most recent post again, more closely, Fatebreaker, and what I came up with follows-

Does the core book adventure still concern the PCs Gempukku? I haven't looked at adventure material since I dunno maybe 2nd ed, but I recall a quick-and-dirty little adventure that took place during a high-profile coming of age ceremony the PCs were presumed to have been admitted to. I remember having some success with that, and it might be worth making your own version to get the PCs through chargen. For one thing, it makes people think about skills like poetry and flower arranging. :P

In your details of your upcoming campaign, one thing that stuck out was a mention of the characters having to avoid seeming mercantile- oh yeah, buddy, big time! That is a very insightful avenue to take, I'd play it up a bit. It's shameful to have to even THINK about money. You'd pay someone else to do it for you, but then you'd have to actually PAY someone MONEY. Heavens!

I would get the Yasuki in on this; they're a Crab family that originated as a Crane mercantile family. They've got Crane genetics and the Crab attitude of pragmatism and it makes them awesome underworld merchants. Perhaps a Crab is pulling the strings behind the yakuza activities. There was, in the past, a sort of cold war between the Crane (especially Daidoji) and Yasuki family, economically; this can be a lot of fun, especially as the Scorpion are back on the scene after their centuries of hiding and presumably looking to get dealt some cards, as well.

Concerning the Shadowlands- don't forget, Witch Hunters exist for a reason. It's not just Oni and Undead, it's maho-using sorcerers, bog hags, ogres, mujina (technically not tainted), or even minor oni created from some poor peasant bastard selling his name. A good old-fashioned ghost story can carry some punch, too, a very old keep has probably had some emotionally charged deaths. If your instinct is not to overuse supernatural elements, it's a good one- they'll be more exciting, that way. HOARD your precious lore, as a DM. ;)

One real curve-ball you can throw is to have either a corrupt or false Witch Hunter accuse one of the PCs of being tainted. This is a little dirty, considering how socially damaging it is EVEN IF YOU PROVE YOURSELF INNOCENT, but it's a pretty cool political scenario that can't really be ignored. The PC or PCs *WILL* have to deal with this via correct protocol or basically admit their guilt. If *I* were going to assassinate a lord, I'd definitely try to frame up one or more of his most loyal retainers to look like the tainted culprit.

I would consider denying the PCs access to a NPC 'investigator' type character, at least for a while. If one of the PCs wants to be a detective, cool, but otherwise, force them to deal with peasants (to handle dead bodies) or dirty themselves touching the dead. Obviously, any hard evidence is meaningless compared to direct testimony, so social characters can help here, too.

[horngeek]

The Kitsuki Investigator School (oddly enough) are probably the best suited to a 'detective' type character. Especially if the game's in the Iweko dynasty, since Iweko was a Kitsuki Investigator herself.

[Saladman]

Honestly Fatebreaker it sounds like you've grasped the spirit of the setting already, so I expect you'll do well.

Enemies of the Empire has some ghosts in it that I remember liking, but its been a while and I don't actually have it in front of me. I had fun using the "drowned maiden," though I forget the proper name. Start by reading the flavor text on those. Or look at real world oriental ghost stories if those aren't doing anything for you. For me the trick is not to immediately jump into combat with them. Play up the "cover" if they have one, or else slaughter some villagers or peasant soldiers in a way that implies (correctly) it's going to be a tough fight if the PCs bring it to bear. And let the players choose whether to seek it out or suffer its depredations longer.

NPCs:

A wandering duelist, come "seeking a lesson" (that is, he's looking for a fight to prove his own school's superiority). Still, this need not be to the death at all provided everyone is civil. [And mechanically, keep in mind you can always choose which dice you keep, meaning friendly duels are mostly safe unless everything blows up.] If he's offended or provoked though, this can be a mortal test. Build him to be a fair match for the party's best duelist and see what happens.

Monks. Restoring a family stronghold, if the area's been neglected, could bring the monks and shugenja out of the woodwork, pressing the players for aid, financial and otherwise, to restore any number of abandoned shrines and temples. This can tie back into a ghost challenge occasionally, but it's partly just a roleplaying challenge, of how to honor propriety and possibly gain some allies, without giving away the store or being distracted from the main mission.

Ronin. Some are frankly bandits, with all the trouble that entails. Others hold to bushido as best they can without a steady income. They can be a source of quick swords for a daimyo desperate enough to hire them, but then they're consuming your limited resources for a warrior who may not be loyal, or worse still may embarrass you at court.

In smaller numbers, there's also the custom of clan samurai who've proved themselves and aren't immediately needed going on a wandering pilgrimage for a year. They stop using their family name and are effectively ronin for the duration, except they'll be welcomed back with honor when they return to service. The purpose is to achieve some small measure of enlightenment or education, but also to improve their own skills. So this can be a test of hospitality - do the players treat ronin well and gain a minor ally down the road, but at the risk of another clan knowing their business?

One shortcut for making NPCs interesting in L5R is to play up a difference from their clan stereotype. So, say a polite and civilized Crab, where'd that come from? Maybe his mother married in and instilled the proper courtesies generally, as well as a knowledge of the tea ceremony, and he's determined not to embarrass either her or his Clan as he travels Rokugan proper. Or a Crane who's boisterous and impulsive enough he lets the normal dignity of a Crane slip. It works best if you don't overdo it or it becomes predictable, but its a good tool to have.

[Otomodachi]

In smaller numbers, there's also the custom of clan samurai who've proved themselves and aren't immediately needed going on a wandering pilgrimage for a year. They stop using their family name and are effectively ronin for the duration, except they'll be welcomed back with honor when they return to service. The purpose is to achieve some small measure of enlightenment or education, but also to improve their own skills. So this can be a test of hospitality - do the players treat ronin well and gain a minor ally down the road, but at the risk of another clan knowing their business?




That is AWESOME and a FANTASTIC way to introduce your PCs to a high-level contact and maybe actually IMPRESS them a bit, kudos man.

[TheOOB]

EDIT: Man, inter-clan CAN be hard. The trick in my experience is to make sure there's always something bigger than them, but not too big, they need to be united against. A monster, a spider behind a web of politics, a madman tainting a water supply, anything, but unless their honour is 0 they have some loyalty to the emperor, don't let them forget that.

I'd pretty much agree. You need to discuss with the players before your campaign starts and find a reason why they are all working together. If they're all the same clan that's easy(they can all have the same lord), but if they are part of different clans they should have some reason to be working together. If you only have 1 or 2 people of different clans in a otherwise one clan group this can be easily explained by one person being another Yojimbo or something like that(acquired through political maneuvering, i can think of many reasons say a Kakita may be given to a Isawa as a bodyguard). Otherwise, having the the group all being part of one organization that superceeds their lords is another option. The Imperial Legion, Emerald or Jade Magistrates, or even just an Imperial Magistrate of an Imperially Controlled city.

In the campaign I'm planning I'm going to start with the adventure in the book, and after a couple sessions they will be asked to become magistrates of Otosan Uchi(Not the best assignment, but an Imperial Post is always honorable, especially for rank 1 samurai), eventually being promoted to Toshi Ranbo Magistrates, and then Emerald Magistrates. This means the whatever their clan agendas are, their primary orders all come from one source, and even a Scorpion wouldn't defy the will of the Emperor...well not usually.

[horngeek]

and even a Scorpion wouldn't defy the will of the Emperor...well not usually.

Remember, the Scorpion's schtick is Loyalty Above All Else. They're less likely to defy the will of the Emperor.

Unless, as shown in the Scorpion Clan Coup, they think it'd be better to kill the Emperor than let the Empire die.

[TheOOB]

Remember, the Scorpion's schtick is Loyalty Above All Else. They're less likely to defy the will of the Emperor.

Unless, as shown in the Scorpion Clan Coup, they think it'd be better to kill the Emperor than let the Empire die.

The clan coup was what I was referencing by the statement, though even then they were driven by loyalty to the empire, if not loyalty to the emperor.

[Fatebreaker]

Once again, thanks to all y'all who have offered advice. It has been very, very helpful.

In fact, y'all have almost been too helpful. Word has spread and I now have more potential players than originally anticipated.

Also of hilarious note, my group has decided that they want to roll a courtier game, unlike the bushi/shugenja party I had anticipated. Fortunately, most of my preparations were deliberately made to be modular; the town of Hiyagara will no longer be in a distant province, but instead will become a crossroads of significant note. The Kyrudan family of the [Clan] administer the town, but representatives from several other clans are present, including our party. Perhaps I shall dub them magistrates. Perhaps they are there to uncover shady dealings in the Kyrudan family court. Perhaps they are innocent bystanders, caught up in... terrible things. Hmm. We shall see.

I will post more when I have revised my plans.

The party, as is their duty, will almost certainly dash these as well.

[TheOOB]

Courtier games can be fun. If someone ends up playing a Kakita Bushi(or to a lesser extent Mirumoto Bushi), all the courtiers will lvoe them.

[Kblitz]

Fun read. I ha ebeen GMing a L5R campaign for two years now. Disparate group ( 2 dragons, 1 monk, 1 Crab and on Scorpion). For all intents and purposes, they became united over something creative, not threatening.

One samurai gifted a tea ceremony to the group after the sudden death of a party member. The player rolled way over his head, and the Scorpion ( previously disguised as a male) fell in love with him because of it.

You cannot make this stuff happen, or even make it up.

The two started a relationship that has lasted a year and kept it secret. The whole plot they engendered is so very Japanese and so doomed. This is why I like GMing, to see what PCs can create in the confines of an RPGs. Don't forget that the beautiful and rare events can be just as compelling as bad guys, evil mages and demons.

Regards