Legend of the 5 Rings- 1 Year of Rokugan- Campaign Journal

[Pauly]

Sounds like a great session with everybody in good form.

I’m happy to hear the cards worked well because I will be stealing the idea.

The Scorpion player keeping the armor but not being truthful to lady Ao is the only part that seemed off to me. Then again that probably has more to do with my views/expectations regarding obligations in Japanese culture. It appears that the scorpion player is trying to have his cake and eat it too by keeping the armor and keeping his loyalty to his clan. If he had a devious and devilish GM it could spell trouble in the future, but I’m sure a sweet kind GM like you wouldn’t dream of anything like that.

[Easy e]

Yeah, I have not really figured out what if any fall-out I want to have for that. It might be a situation for the next L5R season (if we come back to it)

As a side note, I picked up the 5th edition book. We will not switch over, but if we revisit the setting we might try those rules.

[Resileaf]

The fallout need not be immediate. If you do end up playing more of this campaign after winter, then it will be a good time to bring up that armor deal, once the player has been lulled in a false sense of security. And if you don't, you can keep it as something of an end of campaign cliffhanger, to make the player wonder if he's really gotten away with it at the very end.

[Pauly]

I think it’s a situation where in one setting (D&D) it’s clever play by the PC but in a different setting (L5R) it’s something that the setting demands fallout.

The reason I say the setting demands fallout is that L5R is built around honor and obligation as a brake on PCs going murder hobo/loot rat.

The fallout can take many forms including
- Scorpion clan thinking that the PC has betrayed them because he has acquired the armor which is obviously a reward for something they don’t know about.
- Scorpion clan getting upset with the PC because his clumsy muddling has interfered with their subtle and carefully crafted plans.
- Scorpion clan demanding the armor be passed up along the chain as a test of loyalty because they see it as a gift to the representative scorpion clam not to the PC personally.
- Lady Ao revealing the PC has taken payment but did not deliver the service the payment was for. This will lead to loss of Honor for the PC and his clan.
- Lady Ao’s family sending their heavies to the PC with a threat that he delivers the service he has been paid for ‘or else’.

The balancing act is trying to get the fallout to match the deed. Too light and the player will think he got away with a slap on the wrist and it was totally worth it. Too heavy and the player will feel resented.

One important consideration is that the whole sub plot of the heavy armor was clearly signposted to the player as being a significant issue.

[Easy e]

Good question about the signposting. Based on the situation, I am not sure it was sign posted that well. I am unsure they realize the significance and they also totally forgot that there even WAS a catch for getting the armor.

[Pauly]

Good question about the signposting. Based on the situation, I am not sure it was sign posted that well. I am unsure they realize the significance and they also totally forgot that there even WAS a catch for getting the armor.

If they’ve forgotten the catch then an ominous foreboding about the catch may help.
That can be a Scorpion mentor type saying “what’s going on, why are you defecting?” or Ao’s family threatening the ‘or else’ if the PC doesn’t come through. Possibly both f you really want to give the player the yips.

Edit to add:
Re: Signposting. 2 factors to think about
- are you the GM much more au fait with the setting than the player? Something that seems obvious to someone with a deep understanding of the setting may be less obvious to someone without the same understanding
- people generally see the benefits of something while wishing away the downsides, which is why pay day lending is a thing.

If you run with ominous foreboding, I”d suggest tying the foreboding directly to the blacksmith. e.g. Scorpion clam saying ‘we thought you suspected the blacksmith of secretly supplying the ronin because you wouldn’t embarrass us by hassling a village blacksmith for armor” and Lady Ao’s family saying “We gave you the armor to protect our investment in the valley which requires the village to have a blacksmith”.

[Easy e]

Session 10

Last time on L5R- The Valley of the Emerald Stairway campaign, the PCs were summoned to winter court with the Doji Family head in order to settle the ownership claims of the Valley of the Emerald Stairway. The PCs were the retainers of Lady Ao, a Doji and Crane. The PCs were from a variety of clans and families, but were all "second sons" at best.

At court, they met and interacted with a wide variety of NPCs. So many NPCs that I used color coded cards with images of the various samurai on them. When they interacted or spoke with them I held up the card to help keep them straight. It was a useful tool.

There were three other claims on the Valley coming from The Lion Clan, The Scorpion Clan, and the Yazuki Family of the Crane clan. In addition, the Crane Shugenja who was looking for their missing sister discovered that she was with the Scorpion clan! The Lion Duelist returned the Daisho of the Lions killed at the Fumiko Pass Massacre to the Lion representatives in a tense scene. The Scorpion finally got their heavy armor and located the evidence that the Scorpions were using for their claim and destroyed it. The session wrapped when the Lion ambassador was found murdered in the streets of the city!

Session 10- In the Court of the Crane
The Dragon Monk player was absent, so he got stuck baby-sitting Lady Ao.

The session started with the players deciding to investigate the Lion ambassador's death. They started by paying a visit with the remaining Lion clan entourage to see what they knew. The Lions beseeched their fellow Lion to avenge their comrades death, as they had been order confined to quarters for fear of what they would do in the city. The PCs agreed to help.

They then went and investigated the body. There was a great deal of confusion at this point, as they wanted to search the body. Of course, in Rokugan it is very bad form for a Samurai to touch dead flesh. The Lion and the Scorpion almost got in an altercation over it. However, with the help of the officials at the morgue they determined that the Lion had been killed by a precise, single blow to the back. He had been summoned by a secretive note offering aid in their claim.

Finally, they went to the Saki House where the Lion had been killed. There the PCs surprisingly showed kindness and generosity to the Peasant owners, and they were eager to help. The peasants had expected to be killed as scapegoats. Here our Hiruma scouts easy-going and peasant focused ways paved the way to information. The peasants saw Lord Akodo meet a large, wide cloaked figure who he went with into the alley. They thought the cloaked man had a Daisho.

From there, they returned to the Castle. The Scout had been courting the Scorpion Maid, who was also the sister of the Crane Shugenja, so they made plans to meet after dinner. The PC Scorpion also met with the Scorpion reps to get a read on if they were involved in the killings. They had a nice meal together, but the PC was convinced they were not involved.

Sadly, having a meal with the Scorpions led to the PC being gravely poisoned, and almost dying. Only the intervention of the Dragon Monk and the Lion Duelist kept him alive. They suspected an act of betrayal against them, but when they went to confront the Scorpions, they were all dead from poison. Only the Maid/Sister survived, in a coma thanks to healing magic.

All this poisoning put the players on edge. They then came up with two brilliant plans. First, they made an alliance with the remaining Lions to help them find the killers and negotiated their release from house-arrest. The collateral was the PCs lives for the Lion's good behavior. Second, the Crane Shugenja took on the identity of the Scorpion that was her sister to fool everyone into thinking that the Scorpion's were not all killed.

The rest of the party then went and met with and started eliminating suspects who may of matched the description of the large, wide samurai Akodo had been seen with. At this point, they were suspecting their "old friend" Kitsuki Takoe and the Crane Shugenja's future husband. However, after some meetings with a Crab Kuni and then Kitsuki Takoe they felt that the only one who could have done it was Aritomo Yazuki from the rival Crane family.

With fears of Double Dealing high, the Crane Hatamoto invited the PCs and Lady Ao to a banquet with the Yazuki. That was a tense meeting, with lots of veiled threats, and passive aggressive barbs. The players considered challenging Aritomo right then and there, but his reputation as a bad ass kept them at bay.

That night, a fire broke out in the guesthouses and spread towards Lady Ao's apartment. Several players ran out to fight the fire. However, the Scorpion, Unicorn, and Crab scout did not fall for it. They immediately noticed that Lady Ao was still in her room. There they found assassins using the cover of the fire to attack! Lady Ao had been paralyzed by a poison in her sleep, and the PCs had to use a combination of guard actions and other tricks to avoid the assassins hitting her and trying to fight them off while the fire slowly started to consume the house they were in. It was rather tense.

At the end of the session, the assassins had been dealt with, and the Scorpion revealed that one of them was from the Yazuki family. Lady Ao was very badly injured but to safety and the guesthouses eventually went up in flames.

That is where the session ended. There are about 20-30 minutes of loose ends to wrap up next session, but we planned on wrapping up and then doing Session 0 for our Avatar game next session.

Player Stuff
I think they finally came to terms with the nature of the L5R campaign and really leaned into the politics and double-dealing in the last few games. The Scorpion/Sister twist was a particular highlight as it tied into a few characters motivations and back-stories. Plus, the idea of the Scout trying to date the Crane's sister (who technically was engaged all ready) was a fun plot twist they enjoyed a lot.

They also worked on creating alliances, leaned into some of their Clan connections too. They also spent time enjoying the investigation. They had a good idea of who the baddies were, and enjoyed playing it out in the war of subtle insults at the Hatamoto's table.

My one disappointment was that I had laid out some side story hooks for the Unicorn and the Dragon Monk. The Dragon was absent and could not engage with them, even after starting too last game. The Unicorn intentionally avoided the plot hooks I laid in order to keep the focus on the main story. Admirable, but I was going to have some fun with them as they tied into the "hot button" issues of arranged marriages as it related to their own family. Plus, I could set-up the brother-in-law she hated as the potential bad guy.

The GM side
The players did express challenges over the sheer number of NPCs, Clans, and Names to keep track of. However, they said the cards really helped. From my perspective, they did a great job managing it all and the players had a good handle on who-was-who and the overall plot line. With some of the gaps in between sessions, I had expected it to get lost; but with only some small reminders from me they kept it pretty straight. I was impressed.

Despite having five players vs. 3 bad guys I think I kept the stakes of the "final battle" pretty high. I think I only had 1 enemy attack the PCs once, the rest of the time the PCs were too busy trying to keep Lady Ao from getting killed. They were on the horns of a dilemma between attacking the threat vs. defending her meanwhile, the fire was a "death clock" that they also had to beat. In addition, the PCs were split up with some fighting the fire and the others trying to stop the assassins.

The players surprised me with their "Fake Scorpion" gambit and the "Lion Allies" gambit. The Lion gambit was rewarded with fighting the fire. However, I do not think the "fake Scorpion" gambit paid off as well as I should have made it. Perhaps the assassins should have come after the "fake Scorpion" BUT I really wanted the PCs to deal with Lady Ao being directly in danger. However, the Scorpion/Sister/Love interest did survive the campaign so I will be interested to see how they Epilogue that.

Final Thoughts
This was the end of the Campaign and the final battle did get a bit rushed due to time. Next session will be only 20-30 minutes of wrap and epilogue. At the end, I feel like the PCs started to understand and lean into the campaign and setting much better. I am interested in seeing if they would want to do more in Rokugan. However, my goal was to force them away from some D&Disms and introduce them to a different style of RPG. I think it largely worked. I think playing L5R will make the transition into a PbtA system with Avatar a bit easier. We will see.

The campaign itself proceeded about as I envisioned it. I expected it to take about 12 sessions, and we finished in 10.5. I expected it to be wrapped up in early April, but travel, absences, and other details caused us to take 6(!) months to complete 10 sessions! Considering we try to meet weekly, that was slower than usual.

Next campaign I run, I think I might have each player make two characters. When the group is all together we run plotline A with the main character. If people are out, we will run Character B with Plotline B that will drive discoveries or impacts on Plotline A. That way, we can keep momentum even when folks are out. Sounds hard though.

I will return after our next session and fill you all in on the wrap-ups and epilogues. Until next time.

[Pauly]

Sounds like a great session, and although it took a little time that the players finally leaned into the setting.

One of the biggest hurdles for a GM is getting a group to embrace a different play style than what they’re used to. The players resisted moving out of the hack’n’slash D&D rut they were in and moved to a more intrigue and alliance style. Kudos and well done.

[False God]

I'm a big fan of making fake MTG cards and a very visual person I can't believe I honestly never thought to create cards for NPCs. As someone who loves running political, intrigue and "lots of NPCs you will see again" type games, I'm absolutely going to start doing this.

[Pauly]

I had missed that the Scorpion player had destroyed the evidence of Scorpion clan’s claim to the valley to carry out his part of the deal for his heavy armor.

I think my favorite scene from the campaign was the massacre at Fumiko pass. I liked that the PCs had solid cogent reasons for doing what they did. I liked that their reasoning actually is pretty close to RL Japanese history rather than the mythologized “code of bushido” that Rokugan aspires to. I like that even though it threw you as a GM, the players knew there would be fallout and wove the fallout into the campaign on their own initiative. At first glance it seemed like a D&D murder hobo thing, but it was actually the players deeply engaging with the setting.

It will be interesting to hear the player’s feedback on the campaign. I’ve enjoyed reading this one and hope there will be a follow up year 2 in the future.

[Easy e]

Yeah, in retrospect they had a better feel for the setting and what they were doing than I did with that one.

It came full circle when the Lions started as enemies at the Winter Court, then the PCs handled it well by returning the Daisho, and eventually mended fences and got the Lion as allies after Akodo Kaizou was murdered. They went from probable enemies to allies in the course of 3 sessions due to deft handling of the situation. The Massacre became a key turning point in the campaign.

On the GM front, I enjoyed when the PCs commented about being bound up in the intricacies of Rokugan society, law, and Bushido while not being able to do what they wanted freely. I was then able to smile and respond; "Welcome to Rokugan." I do enjoy putting my players on the "horns of a dilemma" when I can.

[Pauly]

Yeah, in retrospect they had a better feel for the setting and what they were doing than I did with that one.

It came full circle when the Lions started as enemies at the Winter Court, then the PCs handled it well by returning the Daisho, and eventually mended fences and got the Lion as allies after Akodo Kaizou was murdered. They went from probable enemies to allies in the course of 3 sessions due to deft handling of the situation. The Massacre became a key turning point in the campaign.

On the GM front, I enjoyed when the PCs commented about being bound up in the intricacies of Rokugan society, law, and Bushido while not being able to do what they wanted freely. I was then able to smile and respond; "Welcome to Rokugan." I do enjoy putting my players on the "horns of a dilemma" when I can.

As a GM you were worried about the players going D&D murder hobo so your initial interpretation of the player’s actions was what you had primed yourself to believe. Even without that pre-expectation it is something that any GM running a more political intrigue themed game would be worried about.

I though they handled the fallout amazingly well. Lion clan is removed as a threat to claim the valley, at least in the short term, and the PCs actions have turned Lion’s attitude from outright hostility to at least working neutrality. The Yazuki/Crane threat has been exploded and it would cost Crane a lot of face to continue to press their claims now. The Scorpion claim has been delayed and disrupted, but there’s no causis belli for the Scorpions to take overt action.
Lady Ao and by extension her retainers have gained a lot of honor within the Hansei family.

Some musings about some possible future flow ons.
- Lady Ao is much more marriageable now, she’s proven to be smart, capable and brave and she has control of a valley.
- Scorpion clan is unhappy, but will probably want to keep things covert for at least the next year or two.
- Crane will be licking their wounds. Yazuki family may be a bit more hot headed in their response to the events if the Winter court.
- Lion clan probably aren’t going to ally with Lady Ao, but will be inclined to prevent other clans or families interfering with her. On the basis that Lady Ao is a better option for them than the other possible candidates.