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Looks good to me! Once you post I think I will move us on to Hotarugari and introduce you to some people. This time instead of listing a bunch of people you could meet I am gonna throw some of em at you first. 
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Jan 5, 2016 01:30
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Jan 6, 2016 01:49
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Those are great and you should all use them, by the way. And since I've been meaning to do this, here is a better writeup for some of the Minor Clans of the Emerald Stars. I've left off a few that haven't been mentioned in-game yet, so I'll add them later. If anyone wants me to add a specific kind of Clan or do a more detailed writeup for any of these, let me know. THE MINOR CLAN ALLIANCE See Imperial Histories 2 for more. By the fourth millennium there are dozens of Minor Clans in existence, so many that no samurai is surprised to meet someone who claims to be a member of a Clan they've never heard of. The large number of these Minor Clans is the only thing which allows the Alliance to have any weight relative to the Great Clans, who number in the tens of millions of samurai. Most Minor Clan holdings were gained after after an Imperial edict that no Clan could lay claim to an entire planet any more. Many Great Clans see sharing space with a Minor Clan as a better option than a rival Great Clan, so while the Minor Clans lack exclusive access to any single planet or system, they have plenty of small holdings on planets, moons, and stations all across the galaxy. While territories have been given to specific clans within the Alliance, their real strength is the network of influence and trade they have established between each other. The headquarters of the Alliance is the City of the Smiling Tortoise, an island city on the World of Dreams. (The area was gifted by the Scorpion by request of the Monkey, on the provision that the city always has a Monkey governor.) The Governor of the Alliance (chosen by the Champions of all the Minor Clans) lives there, acting on the Alliance’s behalf but able to make major decisions such as war only when backed by more than half of the individual clans. This participative leadership is an oddity even in the fourth millennium, and draws a certain amount of mockery from the Great Clans, but the Minor Clans seem happy enough with the arrangement. The Governor is usually a Tortoise, though the current Governor is Suzume Xian. BADGER Ichiro Family: +1 Strength Tashimi Family: +1 Awareness The Badger were one of the first Minor Clans to go to space. Many Badger joined the Imperial Exploration Corps, and the Crab brought them to share some of their systems after the Emperor's declaration. Besides guarding the tomb of Ryoshun on Rokugan, the Badger help guard monasteries and Crab worlds, work for the Exploration Corps, travel the Empire as mercenaries to improve their Clan's fortunes, and mine asteroids. The Badger invite the Brotherhood to settle their territories, and the two groups have become pretty close over the years. The Badger's capital is in the mountains where they came from, but the center of Badger activity in the Empire is the dwarf planet Gale on the outer edge of the Hiruma Prime system. BAT Komori Family: +1 Intelligence The Bat manage many forms of communication across the Empire. They also run the Yumeji News Network (found on the World of Dreams and in Minor Clan territory), operate the Empire's finest search engine, and help Alliance Clans with network security. As the samurai version of the people who work in the IT basement of a major corporation, they get little respect from the Great Clans, but have allies in the Scorpion (who watch YNN a lot, for some reason) and the Crab (who make heavy use of their communication magic). The headquarters of the Bat are still their ancestral home on the Island of Lost Wilderness, but most of their operations are run out of the World of Dreams. The Bat have secured at least one outpost in the territory of each Great Clan. BEAR Oguma Family: +1 Willpower The Bear are a relatively recent Minor Clan of beekeepers, created by the previous Emperor to settle a trade dispute that was threatening the Imperial Court's honey supplies. Their mission is to research bees and bee-breeding, make the best honey, and keep the Imperial Families supplied—they're one of the few Minor Clans with the protection of the Emperor. Most Great Clans have their own honey supplies, but the Bear's honey is so good that they do good business with everyone. Their first Champion was a Tsuruchi, and their biggest clients are the Mantis and Scorpion. The Bear recently moved their headquarters to Kitsuki's Eye, but they have holdings on trade stations and bee-friendly worlds across the Empire. Their biggest holding is the Honey Jar, a series of stations in an asteroid belt in a Phoenix system where they conduct experiments in zero-G beekeeping and bee robotics. BEE Mitsubachi Family: +1 Reflexes The Bee were created to honor a band of ronin who once wiped out a gang of criminals in an Imperial city with a strange new invention they called the sword bayonet. The Bee have refined and updated the style to become excellent infantry for the Emerald Stars era, and they've taken it upon themselves to find and preserve other obscure fighting styles across the Empire. They used to take mercenary jobs to fill their coffers, but unfortunately most of their last generation was lost when the Crane Clan used them to win dangerous battles. They've spent the last couple decades rebuilding. The Bee's headquarters are on Kitsuki's Eye. Their last Champion sold a couple other holdings to get by, and these days the Bee are so small that people consistently confuse them for the Bear Clan. The Bee do not appreciate this. CARP Kohaku Family: +1 Awareness The Carp are fortunists who are mostly known for their unique tradition: after gempukku, each Carp samurai must travel abroad and make a name for themselves with only marginal clan assistance. Many never stop exploring, while those who return often get involved in the Imperial bureucracy or the Exploration Corps. Though they're traditional fortunists and their role is often politically conservative, Carp samurai tend to be less reserved, more plain-spoken and more fashionable than most samurai. See Alien Rope Burn's post (old OOC thread) for the full clan. CROW Marumaru Family: +1 Reflexes For centuries, the Crow Clan have worked to uphold the tradition of bushido as the path of the individual swordsman. The Crow spend much of their time wandering the Empire, traveling by their own means and taking on any problems they come across. Many Crow find work as magistrates. The Crow also study bushido heavily, and have perhaps the most extensive collection of writings about bushido in the galaxy. Most Great Clans see the Crow as jumped-up ronin, but the Crow rarely give anyone a reason to move against them. Most Crow holdings are in Crane, Lion or Crab space. Their most important is the Yamashoko, a library, dojo, and temple carved out of an asteroid at the World of Dream's L4 point. See Gorbash's post for the full clan. DOG Inu Family: +1 Reflexes The Dog mostly work as guards and yoriki for other Clans. Besides acting as yojimbo for Minor Clans who don't have their own, they have a reputation for doing the work other Clans avoid, whether it's boring or distasteful or just kind of weird. They get little respect—even some other Minor Clans sneer at them—but the Dog don't seem to mind. The average Dog bushi is patient and silent, waiting in the background for a chance to shine that may never come. The Dog have been given some small holdings at the edge of a few systems, but spend a lot of their time on ships or in other Minor Clan territory. The Dog's "headquarters" are on the Hachiko, an Atakebune-class cruiser that spends most of its time lurking in the Trojan asteroids of other Clans' worlds and goes where it's needed. DRAGONFLY Tonbo Family: +1 Awareness The Dragonfly's purpose remains the same: the official emissaries of the Dragon Clan. To deal with other Clans the Dragon built Kitsuki's Hand, an orbital station in a mostly uninteresting system that is easily accessible to most of the Clans, and the Dragonfly are charged with running it. They also have holdings in every other Dragon system, partly as a show of good faith, partly to satisfy the Emperor's edicts, and partly to watch for intruders. The Mantis Clan bear a grudge against the Dragonfly for some decades-old reason, and Dragonfly who stray too far from Dragon protection risk being attacked by "pirates". The Dragonfly's biggest terrestrial holding is an island on Kitsuki's Eye, the inhabitable but mostly dull planet Kitsuki's Hand orbits. To improve their ties with the Minor Clan Alliance, the Dragonfly have received permission to share the land (and Dragon protection) with some of their allies: the Bear, Bee, Octopus, and Otter. FIREFLY Kato Family: +1 Intelligence Hotaru Family: +1 Willpower The Firefly are dedicated to spaceship and space habitat construction. Firefly artisans study everything about them, from engineering and propulsion to layout and aesthetics. They train as pilots to understand how experts will use them. The Firefly are fairly sociable, as they understand you can't run a ship alone, but tend to bypass political maneuvering in favour of the kind of honest, direct approach that saves lives in the engine room. Their Hotaru shugenja family studies the art of space transportation, and researches ways to make it simpler and easier. Though the Firefly are excellent pilots and commanders, their knowledge of personal combat is basic, and both families rely on the Dog Clan for protection. The Firefly's home is on the Hotarugari 1, a massive colony ship with hills, rivers and seas under a spaceworthy dome. This ship was a collaborative effort between the Firefly, Unicorn and Crab, and was designed as a potential means of crossing the Empire's empty western border. For now, the three Clans use it for ship repairs and construction. HARE Usagi Family: +1 Awareness Ujina Family: +1 Agility The age of space makes it easier for maho-tsukai to do their business: it's a lot easier to hide when you can fly to another planet nobody's using. The Hare's task is to search the Empire, figure out where they're hiding, and take them out. The Hare have nearly been destroyed by their allies many times over the centuries, so behind the scenes some Hare work to make sure their knowledge and techniques will be preserved even if the Hare die. Hare samurai encountered by other Clans are usually a mission, working as magistrates, or scouting out new places to hide away their knowledge. Hare holdings are intentionally hidden, mobile, or placed close to heavily-defended Imperial worlds for protection. Their largest (known) holding is Sudaro's Hand, a station in a Lion Clan system that serves as their court. IBIS Toki Family: +1 Awareness The Ibis Clan represents the cultural strength of the Alliance. They believe that true power comes from winning hearts and minds, and their artisans are pop idols, dancers, and soap opera stars. Toki have earned a lot of fans and political currency through their broadcasts, and this has shielded them well from the machinations of the Great Clans. They're one of the few Minor Clans who can expect to be known and recognised wherever they go. Most Ibis holdings are broadcasting stations or recruitment agencies in places offered to them by the Great Clans. Their largest holding is Ko-no-hama's Bloom, an ocean city (with a station in geostationary orbit above it) on the Unicorn world of Suitengu's Grasp with a spectacular view of a nearby nebula. (The Unicorn gave them the territory to ensure they'd get all Ibis broadcasts.) MONKEY Toku Family: +1 Stamina Fuzake Family: +1 Perception The Monkey's role hasn't changed much: they're a symbol of hope and virtue in the Empire. The Monkey took to spacecraft well, and these days "heroic Toku starship captain" is a common vid show stereotype. They're not as well-off compared to other Minor Clans as they used to be, but they're relatively large with a lot of political capital. The Scorpion still see the Monkey as their naïve younger brother, and the Monkey have profited greatly from the relationship. The Monkey don't have many holdings, but the ones they do are large and prosperous. Besides governing the City of the Smiling Tortoise on behalf of the Alliance, their largest holding is the orbital station Toku's Duty in the Bayushi's Eye system. OCTOPUS Tako Family: +1 Perception The Octopus Clan were founded centuries ago to record and study the Empire's prophecies. Most Clans believe this is a pointless task, but the Octopus take it extremely seriously. They also work on predictive modeling and analytics, and plenty of Minor Clan Alliance settlements around the Empire use Octopus scientists as advisors. The Octopus rarely study the gift of prophecy itself—it's extremely rare, and prophets willing to join a Minor Clan even rarer, so the Octopus focus instead on gaining shugenja. Still, the Octopus get a prophet once every generation or two, and they are guaranteed high positions within the Clan. The Octopus prefer to make their homes in orbital stations, coastal areas, and underwater. Their headquarters and primary servers are found in Shiro Tako on Kitsuki's Eye. ORIOLE Tsi Family: +1 Strength Murakumo Family: +1 Willpower The Oriole Clan kept their position as some of the best smiths in the Empire, but they've had to adapt to the times. In the fourth millennium, when even an average samurai carries a blade encased in an aura of radiant energy, higher-ranking samurai wield monomolecular blades, blades forged from metals taken from the heart of collapsed stars, and other advanced weapons. The Tsi can work with radiant energy, but they've created the Murakumo shugenja family to help them make the other things. They're one of the richer Clans of the Alliance, and one of the few with the honor of sharing a system with Imperial families: their largest holdings are the moons around Xing Guo's Anvil, a gas giant in a Seppun system. OTTER Kawaso Family: +1 Perception By the fourth millennium, there are a lot of lesser Fortunes. Some were forgotten, died or even or found some other way to lose their station, which doesn't help matters. The Otter are tasked with recording and remembering them, as well as making sure that shrines to them remain open and accessible throughout the galaxy. Their founder was a Phoenix samurai named Shiba Kawaso, and the Phoenix are still their closest Great Clan ally. The Otter regularly send young samurai to travel the galaxy and teach others about the Fortunes, and most retire to join the Temples of the Thousand Fortunes. The Otter's headquarters are on Kitsuki's Eye, and their other holdings are libraries and shrines. These holdings are used as resting places for their traveling samurai, but the Otter have a standing offer that any ronin who does not make trouble will be given hospitality for three weeks. SPARROW Suzume Family: +1 Awareness The humble Suzume are the glue that holds the Minor Clan Alliance together. All major Minor Clan holdings have a Suzume somewhere, usually performing underappreciated bureaucratic roles or serving as a link to the greater Alliance. When the Alliance gets a presence in the courts, they're often accompanied by a Suzume artisan. They are of little importance to the greater Empire, but to the Alliance, they're vital. The Sparrow were first brought into space by the Crane Clan, who gave them mostly barren locations and simple space stations that only technically fulfilled the Emperor's decree. It was a pretty bad joke, and the Crane stopped the practice when they accidentally gave the Sparrow huge swathes of territory on the gas giant Jikoju's Breath right before the Phoenix invented kobune-class stations that could float in its skies like giant balloons. Jikoju's Breath is now a beautiful city. The Crane are still mad but nobody cares. TORTOISE Kasuga Family: +1 Perception The official role of the Tortoise remains the same: grubby merchants who keep the Imperial Capital clean and watch over the borders of Imperial systems. Unofficially, they're still smugglers who spy on criminal and gaijin groups for threats to the Empire, they're just watching aliens too. When the Empire interacts with those aliens openly, such as the Hanajin, the Tortoise are caretakers of the stations where most of this interaction takes place. The Tortoise are the main voice of the Minor Clan Alliance in the courts, and one of the few Clans that actually keeps track of how many Minor Clans there are and where they live. Since nobody wants to share worlds with the Tortoise, they mostly purchase station rights in out-of-the-way places like Trojan asteroids, the outer rims of systems, and uninhabitable dwarf planets. Their biggest holding is the Shell, a space station bazaar orbiting a dead star where all Rokugani (and aliens) can meet, trade and increase the Tortoise's wealth. Like the Scorpion and their World of Dreams, most Clans spend so much time being disgusted (or fascinated) by the Shell that they don't really pay attention to the Tortoise's other holdings. TROUT Shouko Family: +1 Reflexes The Trout Clan clean space debris from the orbits of Empire worlds, to protect the satellites, space stations, and spacecraft of other Clans from collisions. They also clean up after major space battles, retrieving as many dead as they can for burial. Most of their money comes from salvaging; many samurai have petitioned them to find a treasured item lost on a derelict, or accused them of keeping salvaged resources and equipment. Overall the Trout Clan are seen as a necessity that can be safely ignored unless you need them. The Trout have offices in all major space stations (usually somewhere small and in the back); their only major holding is the Benten's Biwa station in Unicorn space, where the Trout take their salvage for sorting and trade. Ettin fucked around with this message at 06:36 on Jan 7, 2016 |
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Jan 7, 2016 05:46
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There's always the Tiger. My writeup was a little rough, looking back at it, but I still like the notion, at least. (Eyes of the Tiger? I really have no shame, sometimes.)
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Jan 7, 2016 06:10
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I wouldn't mind an updated Tiger/Carp for this OOC thread, if you have time! 
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Jan 7, 2016 06:11
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So our mission now is a) try to soothe out stuff with this idiot engineer, and now also b) try to keep Kozue away from this obviously gonna kill her duel? Kei-chan's got her work cut out for her!
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Jan 7, 2016 07:32
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ProfessorCirno posted:So our mission now is a) try to soothe out stuff with this idiot engineer, and now also b) try to keep Kozue away from this obviously gonna kill her duel? If we can arrange for Hononori to get smacked around a bit without it causing political complications that would be ideal. Oh, and Kaihime may need to consult with Kei on a question of policy at some point.
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Jan 7, 2016 07:37
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Risuta was IGNORED I hope they lose ALL THE HONOUR!
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Jan 7, 2016 16:43
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Oh whoops, I forgot to add that. Sorry! I'll edit in something before my next post. They already said Komatsu issued the challenge so I'll mention where the Kakita are.
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Jan 8, 2016 02:03
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For the record: Kei and Misuko are getting a sec to meet some cyberdorks, which gives Kaihime/Kozue/Risuta time to try something new, try more things with their current targets (Komatsu is fine with discussing the deal/what's going on more), or meet up and plan. Either way I'll try and move things on asap
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Jan 20, 2016 15:08
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I love the visual of what just happened, especially with Kei sitting calmly sipping her tea in the middle of the other magistrates hurrying off to prevent everything from exploding in our faces. It may be the weirdest analogy for a game about space samurai, but it makes me think of a scene from The West Wing.
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Mar 4, 2016 17:28
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Well, someone has to pretend everything is normal! 
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Mar 4, 2016 22:07
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Aw, Misuko is doing something too. 
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Mar 5, 2016 00:59
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TurninTrix posted:Aw, Misuko is doing something too. My bad, I misread and thought she left with Kozue and Risuta. The visual is still good though! edit: It'd be even more like West Wing if one of Kei or Misuko also gets pulled out of the dinner in a little bit.
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Mar 5, 2016 01:59
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Alright, now that this adventure is winding up, I got a couple things to sort out for next time. . . . Winter Court So, Winter Court is coming. The Emperor's flagship is coming to dock around a Scorpion world and all the Great Clans are coming with to hang out in the Minor Clan Alliance's biggest city. Its influence is felt across the galaxy, but where are you going to be feeling it? At The Court: Governor Bakami can set you up with passes to the Winter Court. The conflict will mostly take place in the City of the Smiling Tortoise, so expect a lot of close-quarters urban combat with other samurai, a few diplomatic scenes with high-ranking samurai, and maybe some ninjas. In Orbit: The Court can only fit so many people, so Winter Court usually comes with a comet tail of samurai who are important enough to go to big meetups but can't get into the main event. This means conflict in orbital stations, spaceship/spacewalk stuff, and diplomacy with lesser samurai. Off World: A lot of samurai at the Court need errands run outside it, and you could make some serious bank. This is basically what you're doing now—going to new worlds and getting into dumb fights. If you want to try one of these and then another, that's fine. Winter Court is a few months long and there are probably shugenja who can warp between the Court and Elsewhere. . . . Aliens Full disclosure: I've been playing with the empire creation tool in Stellaris too much. The setting outlined in Imperial Histories II doesn't have much about aliens, and what it does have is stuff I ignored. There's room to put aliens in there though, and we already have the Hanajin. If there are others they'd be at Winter Court, so we should figure out how we do that now. Let me know which of these sound nice: Rokugan On Top: Most aliens are restricted to single planets, were wiped out already, or otherwise notle really important. The Hanajin are a unique accident and only have like 1-3 planets at most anyway; they're mostly still around because the Rokugani like them. Basically, don't change anything. Others Out There: There are a few other species like the Hanajin that have either integrated into Rokugani society or have something going for them (like size, or the Emperor's blessing) that keeps the Clans from wiping them out (yet). Hostile Jerks: There's at least one other species out there, but they're jerks. You may have to help avert or win a war. If you have any suggestions for aliens let me know! I may tweak details to fit what I'm doing  . . . Other than that, I'd like to hear how the game is going (besides the slow updates) and if there's anything you want me to add/bring back!
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May 17, 2016 14:36
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I'd like to start At the Court, and maybe do some In Orbit stuff later on. In regards to Aliens, I like sort of a combination of Others Out There and Hostile Jerks. That is to say, that there are a couple minor players like the Hanajin who are under Rokugani control in some way or another, and one big dangerous threat lurking out there.
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May 18, 2016 02:27
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I would assume Misuko would be At The Court unless her concert gig requires her to be elsewhere. She could be in an orbiting space station that's broadcasting planet-wide! :o I'm with Gorbash regarding aliens.
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May 18, 2016 07:12
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Risuta is at home anywhere, whether it's courtly intrigue or more remote goings on. So I'm fine with any of the situation ones really. Regarding the aliens, I also agree with Gorbash's choices.
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May 18, 2016 08:49
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I'm down with whatever for the first option! As for aliens, traditionally, Rokugani want nothing to do with gaijin. They're technically not even supposed to exist, which makes the whole thing embarrassing. Of course, Rokugani still want their poo poo. I think they could be one or two subservient to the Rokugani, maybe a few who have been adopted into families, and then various threats or "we don't talk about them" out in greater space. Totally not just because it's traditionally my clan that deals with such matters 
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May 18, 2016 15:14
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Kozue wants to be At the Court so bad that any other situation will likely result in her sulking it up. Some side mission wouldn't be completely out of order but bear in mind this is a time to play with a bunch of narrative toys you normally can't, so things should revolve around the court, whatever's going on. I can't help but think of aliens being like minor clans, but even less politically involved. Kind of like the Naga but without even the military threat they presented during their metaplot prime. I think they'd fall into two categories: those the Rokugani could isolate or push around, or those who the Rokugani couldn't, and are avoided or shunned. There's probably some threat out there, but I think it'd be interesting if it was more like a rival (twisted or otherwise) than a monstrous threat. Kind of like the Tsuno almost were, but perhaps less meaninglessly villainous. Purposefully villainous, possibly. Or maybe a race that's just spiritually dead by Rokugani standards. Wait, wouldn't those be... well, it'd have more meaning than in Star Wars, anyway. There's a lot you can do. Of course, playing with spiritual realms and having alien races colored by those would be interesting, or at least races with different but not incompatible takes on the spiritual makeup of things. Maybe aliens have a completely different set of realms which qualify as "jealous", or might have different roles in regards to them, and so on. I think in general is to remember with Five Rings aliens is that they're also likely fantasy races at heart, and can be up to all the sorts of metaphysical nonsense as a result.
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May 19, 2016 04:26
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Alien Rope Burn posted:I can't help but think of aliens being like minor clans, but even less politically involved. Not gonna lie, this is kinda why I want to flesh out aliens. They seem like the kind of folk Minor Clans might meet. There's definitely a lot we can do! The Hanajin are nice, but they're designed specifically to fit into Rokugan and be harmlessly avoided. They tend to subtly mimic the customs of the species they're interacting with to get favorable outcomes, like plants turning towards the sun; besides that they're human-like, their core philosophy's virtues can be rearranged to be bushido, they mostly interact with Clans who are open to aliens, and they don't really want anything except a chance to meet people and bask in the light of new stars. (I'll probably give them and the other aliens a proper writeup once we figure out the details.) We can probably push the envelope a little is what I'm saying. I'll post some ideas once I've got them more fleshed out, and if you guys have any I'd love to hear them! In the meantime I'm going to make a post about how the Winter Court works in this thread, because it might be useful later. It will definitely be useful for me!
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May 20, 2016 09:39
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 WINTER COURT IN THE EMERALD STARS This is an outline of how Winter Court in 3122 works. If you want to see a more complete writeup of the Winter Court, check Sword and Fan—I've left out most of the stuff that hasn't changed. This will be updated with more info as we go. Italic sections are specifically about the Minor Clans. Guests The total number of guests changes every year, but there's a hard cap somewhere in the hundreds to stop things getting out of hand. Some people are automatically invited: The Emperor, the Emperor's Chosen, the Jeweled Champions, the Clan Champions, and the family daimyo. (Not all attend; the Clan Champions and family daimyo usually have other business to attend to and send representatives.) The rest of the invites are handled by the Chancellor, who mostly just distributes them among the Clans to do what they like with. The host Clan and Imperial authorities can issue a few invites as well. The smaller Minor Clans usually rely on the Alliance to speak for them at Winter Court, but now that the Alliance is hosting they're trying to get as many of the Champions as they can. This might be the first Winter Court where most of them turn up. The Alliance will probably trade many of their bonus invitations for favours, but they'll probably give some to people who would otherwise never see a Court. This Winter Court is going to get weird. Orbit For some Clans, their first impression is when they enter the host planet's orbit. It's become something of a tradition for the major players to try and make a dramatic entrance in the fanciest ship they have. Not everyone cares—the Crab usually just bring a practical transport ship, for example, and for most samurai there's no shame in catching a shuttle or something as long as you show up on time—but a courtier who shows up in a dented piece of junk is going to look like a fool unless they can explain it away. Most guests dock their ship at an orbital station and take other transport to the surface. During winter, these orbital stations are filled with samurai who weren't invited to the Court but had to crew the ships. It's great for tourism! What happens on the station usually doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, but some samurai like to joke that there's an informal second court going on up there. Topics usually center around the kind liked by samurai who crew spaceships and don't get invited to parties: engineering, spaceship designs, new technology, etc. As for security, the host Clan is expected to have a fleet on hand to protect the Winter Court. Guests can bring their own security, but besides guarding their docked ships it's mostly ceremonial. The Minor Clan Alliance is bringing their only Katana-class battlecruiser, the Defiant. That should impress 'em. We're using the Monkey Toku's Duty station to dock everyone's ships. The Scorpion have volunteered a small fleet to help with security, which is win-win for everyone: we'd have trouble pulling together a suitable fleet on our own, and it's the Scorpion's system anyway, so if something happened they'd never hear the end of it.
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May 20, 2016 15:43
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Quick update!
pre:Kohaku Kozue quote:Carp Clan Ancestor: Kohaku (5 points) Alien Rope Burn fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Mar 5, 2017 |
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May 22, 2016 02:57
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Family: Kohaku Clan: Carp School: Kohaku Bushi
Rank: 3 Experience: 140 Insight: 176
Honor: 7 Glory: 4.2 Status: 1.5
Initiative: 7k4 Armor TN: 25 (base 20 + armor 5)
Air 4 Awareness 4 (16 xp)
Reflexes 4 (16 xp)
Earth 2 Stamina 2
Willpower 2
Fire 3 Agility 3 (12 xp)
Intelligence 3 (12 xp)
Water 2 Perception 2
Strength 2
Void 4 4 Void Points (42 xp)
School Skills Rank Trait Emphasis Roll CP
Athletics 1 Agility - 4k3 -
Firearms 1 Reflexes - 5k4 -
Games: Sadane 1 Awareness - 4k3 -
Kenjutsu 2 Agility - 5k3 2
Meditation 3 Void - 7k4 5
Lore: Theology 1 Intelligence - 4k3 -
Sincerity 2 Awareness - 6k4 2
Other Skills Rank Trait Emphasis Roll CP
Artisan: Poetry 1 Awareness - 5k4 1
Courtier 3 Awareness - 7k4 6
Etiquette 1 Awareness - 5k4 1
Games: E-Letters 1 Awareness - 5k4 1
Iaijutsu 3 Reflexes - 7k4 6
Investigation 1 Perception - 3k2 1
Lore: Ghosts 1 Intelligence - 4k3 1
Perform: Storytelling 1 Awareness - 5k4 1
Advantages Benefit
Benten's Blessing (4 xp) +0k1 on Social rolls when trying to convince.
Ancestor: Kohaku (5 xp) +1k1 on Social and Bugei rolls when no samurai are watching.
Luck (9 xp) Reroll and keep the higher roll 3/session.
Disadvantages Drawback
Bad Fortune (1 xp) Fail one roll spectacularly at GM's discretion.
Gullible (4 xp) +1k1 on Sincerity (Deceit) rolls against her.
Overconfident (3 xp) Willpower TN 20 to back down from a challenge.
Kata Benefit
The World Is Empty Add VPk0 to Iaijutsu and Kenjutsu for VP rounds, then lose 1 VP.
Ally Influence Devotion Notes
Choumaru 1 2 Ronin playwright, medium
Hida Kaiya 1 2 Ghost
Kaiu Tachiko 2 1 AI expert, philosopher
Void Drifters 1 1 Cyberai
Techniques
Joy in Adversity (Carp Bushi Rank 1): The Carp learn to laugh off failure, confident that the rise
and fall of fate will ultimately fall in their favor. When you miss an attack or take damage, you
gain a free raise to be used on your next roll. If you have the Luck advantage and reroll a failed
roll, the raise must then be applied to that roll. Additionally, they gain +1k0 on rolls when
participating in a contest or duel, or +1k1 when a life is at stake.
Showing the Pattern (Carp Bushi Rank 2): Carp bushi have a flashy, distinctive swordsmanship
style that distracts and confuses foes. For each raise you make on an attack, you may raise your
Armor TN by 3 until your next action. This bonus does not stack if you make multiple attacks in a
turn; simply take the highest number instead.
Rank 3: The Fortunes' Favor (Carp Bushi Rank 3): One can wait for luck, or one can politely request
it. By meditating, you may gain any one Seven Fortunes' Blessing advantage until you rest, even if
you already have a Seven Fortunes' Blessing advantage (though one cannot double up on a given
blessing). You may only gain one additional Seven Fortunes' Blessing at a time in this fashion. The
GM may rule you cannot take a given advantage if your behavior has angered the fortune's will in
some way.
Weapons Attack Damage Keywords Special
Radiant Katana 5k3 5k2 medium, samurai May spend 1 VP to increase damage.
Radiant Wakazashi 5k3 4k2 medium, samurai May be thrown up to 20'.
"Yakamo" KI9 Pistol 5k4 3k3 medium, samurai Range 100'.
Jiujitsu 3k3 2k1 - -
Items: Light Radiant Armor, Carp Kimono, Radiant Daisho, KI9 Pistol, 10 Koku
Traveling Pack: Chopsticks, Kamiunicator, Lampstick, Pocket Kami Scribe, Scrolls, Sweets,
Writing Kit
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I tweaked the header design I used here for Molly's Idiot Prince game, so I updated the ones for Emerald Stars to match the improvements. I also took the opportunity to adjust the colors a bit, either to better match the known clan colors or to match the colors of the animal in each mon.      
Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 17:15 on May 24, 2016 |
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May 22, 2016 05:22
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Major sheet update! I also updated the Crow Clan background and so forth so they're more distinct from the Monkey and the Carp, and have a clearer role in the Empire. Also so it's a little tighter and makes more sense. Here's the sheet update.
Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 02:28 on May 23, 2016 |
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May 23, 2016 01:24
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16 XP Awareness 3->4 5 XP Sincerity 1->3 Kei is now Insight 3!
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May 23, 2016 09:25
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So, Winter Court! This isn't going to be all talking to courtiers, so I'd like to hear from you guys what you'd like to do at some point. Here are some options to start: Iaijutsu: There will absolutely be an iaijutsu contest at some point, maybe soon if you want. Those who aren't participating can still try to manipulate the event behind the scenes. Games: Go, Sadane, Kemari... we can turn any of these into a whole contest thing like iaijutsu! Bowman's Wager: Basically iaijutsu but the stakes are a little higher. I'm not sure anyone here uses bows but you can still try to get glory for your Clan by getting someone sponsored! This one will probably run early on either way. Courtiers: If you actually do want to talk to people there's plenty of opportunities to do that! I hope you like intrigue and dealmaking. Urban Adventures: Shady stuff going on in the town outside the palace, where everyone is staying. Choose this one to punch a criminal in the face. Feel free to suggest anything else you're hoping for. I'll try to fit as many in as I can.
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May 24, 2016 01:25
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Iaijutsu would be fun. I know for certain that Kaihime is going to lose all her money in bets on the Bowman's Wager and games.
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May 24, 2016 03:25
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Urban Adventure or Courtiers works best for Kei. SHe's at her best when she's bein' SNEAKY!
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May 24, 2016 06:15
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All of those ideas sound good! Though Risuta might have to try out his Zero-G Kemari skills at some point! Idly: Spending 5 XP to raise Stealth from 1 to 3 Spending 5 XP to raise Etiquette from 1 to 3 Spending 5 XP to raise Investigation from 1 to 3 Spending 2 XP to raise Games(Zero-g Kemari) from 1 to 2 Spending 1 XP to get my first rank in Courtier Spending 12 XP to raise Willpower from 2 to 3. That's all my XP spent! This should bring Risuta's insight up to rank 3!
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May 24, 2016 16:16
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Sorry to keep poking at these, but I rechecked some of the kanji choices and adjusted them to correct some errors. Mostly this affects Kozue: Also changed the NPC plates so they're more obviously NPCs:          
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May 24, 2016 17:21
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12XP: Raise Intelligence from 2 to 3. 2XP: Raise Tea Ceremony from 1 to 2. 9XP: Raise Acting from 3 to 5. 6XP: Raise Courtier from 5 to 6. 1XP: Add Lore (Heraldry) at 1. All XP spent, enough to go to Rank 3. If it's not obvious, I'll probably go and do Courtierventures.
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May 25, 2016 15:57
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Alright! I'm going with iaijutsu right now—the characters who can't swordfight should be able to influence things behind the scenes. There is probably a related urban thing outside the palace. I'm going to describe the gift-giving ceremony first (since the Monkey's gift was delivered on your first mission) then move on to that. And based on a cool suggestion from Infinite Oregano: Who wants to be the Minor Clan with a shugenja dojo called Mahoutokoro?
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Jun 2, 2016 15:29
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Sorry about the delay, folks. Welcome back!
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Jul 24, 2016 16:07
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Hey folks! I'm planning the next Winter Court thing and I'd like your input. Basically, it's gonna be an iaijutsu tournament: Every Clan (plus the Minor Clan Alliance and Imperial Families) gets to sponsor a few people and they spar to see who the Best At Swords is. Naturally you can enter if you want, but the true goal is to have at least one Minor Clan samurai in the top 3. Here's what I had in mind:
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Sep 9, 2016 13:19
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Kei is not going to do any acutal iaijutsu, of course, but she will likely a) try to influence the results, and more importantly, b) gamble on them ferociously.
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Sep 9, 2016 22:19
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Kaihime will definitely take part in the contest. I'm okay with either way to do the duels, whichever is easier. Kei why are you using the old less good header use the better one
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Sep 9, 2016 23:14
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Kozue will be participating. I don't think which means we decide on should impact her too heavily; that'd be my main concern, since some dueling benefits don't impact the die roll itself. Granted, I think she's the only one with anything that approaches that - the 2nd rank Carp Bushi technique has the dueling side-effect that it makes her harder to hit, but her ability to skyrocket her Iaijutsu roll into the 10+ dice range feels like it's probably enough.
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Sep 10, 2016 00:14
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I didn't even realize I was using a less good one hahaha
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Sep 10, 2016 03:05
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I think Misuko will be betting, but not influencing the tourney other than with endorsements. The Ibis probably has a celebrity swordswoman somewhere there.
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Sep 10, 2016 03:33
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