4th Ed L5R character help

[Dayaz]

So I'm playing in a L5r Homebrew campaign, and need help making a backup character for if mine dies (which is very likely, tonight).

A lot of the families/clans are weakened or gone entirely due to a pre-game super-war. The GM has shown leniency on this by allowing many players to play a sort of "last of the school/bloodline" build.

In the group, we have a Shinjo who is trained as a Yoritomo Courtier/Yoritomo Shugenja, a Mirumoto Bushi, a Seppun Guardsmen, and me, a Gaijin Senpet Legionaire.

Note, that my character isn't really having problems being who he is. He's welcome in Rokugan due to the events of the pre-game war, and is treated largely as a ronin (though not of samurai caste). The only sketchy moment was when he mouthed off to a Lion Bushi and it ended when he threw said bushi through a wall, making the Lion Daimyo laugh in the process.

The problem comes from teh fact that My character is likely going to die tonight (we've somehow come to the conclusion that charging into a crypt full of Shadowland monsters is a good idea, and my guy has Overconfident so I'm pretty sure he's going to die when everyone else eventually turns tail and runs). I need help making a good solid, powerful character who can keep up with the 3 mentioned characters. Out of personal preference, I'd really rather not make a Tsuruchi, simply because in out setting the Tsuruchi left the Mantis to join the Crab, and we are in the service of a Yoritomo, so it might cause some issues.

we character gen with 80 points, if anyone has any good ideas.

[Faily]

I really don't know what sort of answer to give, but I'll try:

Finding ways to bring in a new character can often be difficult, since you will be the "odd one out" in many instances for not having the past with the group. However, I find that having a tie to one of the pre-existing characters can help smooth things over.

Maybe your new character is engaged to one of the party-members (an Agasha to keep the bloodlines of the Dragon families, a Crane with Imperial bloodline-ties, or any Unicorn-family. Even a Yoritomo to cement the Yoritomo-trained Shinjo's alliance to the Mantis). Or you could have had a vision of one of the party members; pick up Kharmic Tie to one of them.

As for build, as I keep telling lots of people about L5R: Don't stress the build! L5R is so vastly different from D&D and other crunchy-games, and it really varies from group to group on how important it is to have skill-sets of various kinds. If you're a Bushi it will always be important to have Earth, decent ranks in your main weapons. Shugenja need good Rings all around most of the time and Spellcraft + Lore: Theology. Courtiers (and every samurai, really) need Courtier, Etiquette, Sincerity.

[Dayaz]

Well, the main issue I'm having is that my character is basically incapable of being effective at anything atm. The other 2 Bushi just embarass him in both combat and most social intereactions (literally, my character has turned into a joke where he jsut does the talking for the group to people like Yakuza, since it's to 'dishonorable' for 'noble' samurai to request info form them.)

And in every other situation, he really can't do much. His social and racial station stop anyone from taking his words seriously, so Courtier duties are right out. The 2 bushi shame him so bad in combat I'm half tempted to just stand in the guard position next to the Shug, and his kind of impressive Theology rolls are only 1/3rd as effective simply because he follows the Ten Thousand Gods instead of the Rokugani belief system.

I liked the character just fine at first, but his ineffectiveness makes me feel like the most useful thing I provide for the group is my apartment to host the games. Unfortunately, there's no way to really progress the character into being effective at this moment, and while the GM has promised that the campaign will eventually leave Rokugan, it's still the most boring and painful wait I've experienced so far in any system.