Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
Doresh
Jan 7, 2015

Mors Rattus posted:

It should really be noted that one of the major differences seen in spear vs sword usage is class. The spear is, in most cultures, a peasant's weapon - they're cheap and plentiful, and to become competent (if not good) with using a basic spear is not especially difficult, particularly in massed groups. Swords are considerably more expensive and require considerably more training to use before competence is achieved. Thus, they are typically only found in the hands of professional soldiers and warriors, who would have the time and funding to actually get good with a sword. These professionals also typically form an upper class over the peasantry because of their skills - knights and samurai both count here. It's part of why the European sword achieved an image as a nobleman's weapon, and from there we moved to duels and then to sport fencing.

It also helped that feudal system had a tendency of prohibit the usage of swords for lower classes. Not that they could afford that much steel for a vanity killing instrument, but it's the thought that counts.

gradenko_2000 posted:

All this stuff about swords and combat is sort of why I have a soft-spot for OD&D's combat: if you hit, you deal 1d6 damage, full stop. No BS about 1d4 unarmed damage, or armor check penalties for wearing plate, or arguing whether a katana should have an 18-20 x3 crit multiplier and 1d12 damage dice.

B-b-but how am I gonna differentiat e between a glaive-guisarme and a guisarme-glaive?!

On a more serious note, the pseudo-retroclone Mazes & Minotaurs handles this the same, Okay, there are exceptions for staves, knives and unarmed attacks, but everything else is 1d6, or maybe 2d6 if you're a Barbarian wielding an oversized weapon. The main thing that keeps the other weapons apart is that every class has its favored weapon(s), and using those grants you the equivalent of an Advantage on your attack roll.

Desiden posted:

I've always found it kind of funny how a lot of dnd weapons lists (and some other fantasy games in a similar vein) seem to treat things like maces and warhammers as less damaging than swords, in a setting where getting very good armor seems to be relatively commonplace. If anything, it would seem like those types of bludgeoning weapons should be a lot more useful than swords in a place where shlub adventurer mercenaries are regularly facing badguys in plate.

Of course, you get the flipside, where some settings seem to treat warhammers as melee howitzers, with heads the size of a human torso. Which also seems to be drastically less useful in most situations than what actual warhammers were like.

Blunt weapons used to be worse because they were envisioned as Cleric weapons, which I think comes from pictures depicting crusaders with maces and hammers. Nevermind that this comes from those weapons being much better against armored foes than a sword on horseback.

And these "anvils on a stick", as I like to call them, are just silly. They don't even feature a nasty spike to punch through plate.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Comrade Gorbash
Jul 12, 2011

My paper soldiers form a wall, five paces thick and twice as tall.
The cleric's use of blunt weapons comes from the idea that Medieval clergy who served as knights preferred them, supposedly to avoid shedding blood. Odo of Bayeaux was particularly noted for this. The evidence for this is pretty shaky, but it's a popular notion in historical fiction and literature. Plus back when clerics first showed up in D&D, a lot of classicists would have just taught it as fact.

Davin Valkri
Apr 8, 2011

Maybe you're weighing the moral pros and cons but let me assure you that OH MY GOD
SHOOT ME IN THE GODDAMNED FACE
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!

Comrade Gorbash posted:

The cleric's use of blunt weapons comes from the idea that Medieval clergy who served as knights preferred them, supposedly to avoid shedding blood. Odo of Bayeaux was particularly noted for this. The evidence for this is pretty shaky, but it's a popular notion in historical fiction and literature. Plus back when clerics first showed up in D&D, a lot of classicists would have just taught it as fact.

Where did that idea come from, then? Anybody who has squished a tomato or (more grisly) seen the aftermath of a bad car accident knows that blunt impact sheds blood just fine.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

It's a technicality sort of thing if it ever happened. There's no blade, so THEREFORE...

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

I don't really like L5R much, but the Crab own.

They're a much better implementation of 'The Guy Who Doesn't Give As Much Of A gently caress About The System And Honor' than the Scorpion. They feel like you could play the sane guys having to deal with the fallout of all the dumbass doomed highborn manchildren stuff everyone else gets up to.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Night10194 posted:

I don't really like L5R much, but the Crab own.

They're a much better implementation of 'The Guy Who Doesn't Give As Much Of A gently caress About The System And Honor' than the Scorpion. They feel like you could play the sane guys having to deal with the fallout of all the dumbass doomed highborn manchildren stuff everyone else gets up to.

I dunno, I'm starting to wonder if anyone does give much of a gently caress about the system and honor. The Crab don't. The Unicorn don't. Apparently the Scorpion don't. The Dragon are up to all kinds of weird poo poo and their leader is an actual dragon.

Simian_Prime
Nov 6, 2011

When they passed out body parts in the comics today, I got Cathy's nose and Dick Tracy's private parts.

Davin Valkri posted:

Where did that idea come from, then? Anybody who has squished a tomato or (more grisly) seen the aftermath of a bad car accident knows that blunt impact sheds blood just fine.

But who's gonna look slicker in an open-casket funeral; Johnny Cleanslice, or Timmy Head-Loaf?

Have some thoughtfulness, clerics!

Kurieg
Jul 19, 2012

RIP Lutri: 5/19/20-4/2/20
:blizz::gamefreak:

Mors Rattus posted:

It's a technicality sort of thing if it ever happened. There's no blade, so THEREFORE...

Yeah, the mace isn't shedding the blood. Their impure flesh is sundered under their godly might and weeps the wage of their sins upon the ground.

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

Cythereal posted:

I dunno, I'm starting to wonder if anyone does give much of a gently caress about the system and honor. The Crab don't. The Unicorn don't. Apparently the Scorpion don't. The Dragon are up to all kinds of weird poo poo and their leader is an actual dragon.

Lion and Crane sure as hell do.

They're also both only *slightly* less insufferable than the Scorpion.

No-one can be more insufferable than the Scorpion, though.

Traveller
Jan 6, 2012

WHIM AND FOPPERY

Cythereal posted:

I dunno, I'm starting to wonder if anyone does give much of a gently caress about the system and honor. The Crab don't. The Unicorn don't. Apparently the Scorpion don't. The Dragon are up to all kinds of weird poo poo and their leader is an actual dragon.

I wouldn't say the Crab and Unicorn don't care about honor. The Crab are practical to a fault but they still have a whole family on a huge fatalist fugue over something the current generation had no way of affecting and that regularly take on suicidal jobs solely to satisfy the stain they feel (the Hiruma regularly stage operations to retake the ruins of their castle and they always get their asses kicked by the Shadowlands hordes that mass like clockwork when they do), and the Clan in general uses the code of bushido to keep themselves sane in the face of horror. The Unicorn don't let themselves get caught in dumb intrigue plots but they still have wildly different traditions and the need to stand up for them, even with their schtick of trying to make nice with others so that they are considered full members of the Empire. And while the Dragon are weirdos, the Mirumoto (the Clan's main public face) are a very traditional and rules-bound family, even with their philosophy and dual wielding.

Scorpions are dicks, agreed.

Comrade Gorbash
Jul 12, 2011

My paper soldiers form a wall, five paces thick and twice as tall.

Davin Valkri posted:

Where did that idea come from, then? Anybody who has squished a tomato or (more grisly) seen the aftermath of a bad car accident knows that blunt impact sheds blood just fine.
It's hard to trace precisely, it's more or less a Medieval urban legend. But the one piece of evidence that is typically pointed to is the Bayeaux Tapestry, which depicts Bishop Odo wielding a mace.

The tapestry goes out of its way to explain that Odo - Bishop of Bayeaux and half-brother of William the Conqueror - didn't shed any blood at Hastings. That would have been unseemly at the time for a cleric, especially against other Christians. This got interpreted in some sources as him fighting but preferring a mace for the reasons discussed above. But the more likely explanation is that the mace is a symbol of leadership. The tapestry shows William with a similar one, and depictions of other warrior-clerics include both maces and swords. The description of Odo not shedding blood is probably intended to mean he didn't fight at all, just supported moral or issued commands to others.

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
Gygax read some stories about an Bishop Odo of Deuil who went around wielding a mace during the Second Crusade based on the "those who live by the sword die by the sword" saying, taking it to mean Jesus didn't like swords. Also, there was this whole prohibition against priest shedding blood. So maces were okay!

And if that seems like a shady technicality to justify swinging a mace around, bear in mind the only things medieval Christians loved as much as God were shady technicalities.

Ed: outscholared above.

Hostile V
May 31, 2013

Solving all of life's problems through enhanced casting of Occam's Razor. Reward yourself with an imaginary chalice.

Simian_Prime posted:

But who's gonna look slicker in an open-casket funeral; Johnny Cleanslice, or Timmy Head-Loaf?

Have some thoughtfulness, clerics!
Gentle Repose. :colbert:

Chernobyl Peace Prize
May 7, 2007

Or later, later's fine.
But now would be good.

Hostile V posted:

Gentle Repose. :colbert:
Just because it keeps the orange fresh doesn't mean it's not gonna look like it already got juiced.

PantsOptional
Dec 27, 2012

All I wanna do is make you bounce

Simian_Prime posted:

But who's gonna look slicker in an open-casket funeral; Johnny Cleanslice, or Timmy Head-Loaf?

Have some thoughtfulness, clerics!

Some people have really selfish ideas of how to die from melee combat.

Doresh
Jan 7, 2015

Comrade Gorbash posted:

It's hard to trace precisely, it's more or less a Medieval urban legend. But the one piece of evidence that is typically pointed to is the Bayeaux Tapestry, which depicts Bishop Odo wielding a mace.

The tapestry goes out of its way to explain that Odo - Bishop of Bayeaux and half-brother of William the Conqueror - didn't shed any blood at Hastings. That would have been unseemly at the time for a cleric, especially against other Christians. This got interpreted in some sources as him fighting but preferring a mace for the reasons discussed above. But the more likely explanation is that the mace is a symbol of leadership. The tapestry shows William with a similar one, and depictions of other warrior-clerics include both maces and swords. The description of Odo not shedding blood is probably intended to mean he didn't fight at all, just supported moral or issued commands to others.

"Symbol of leadership" seems to make sense considering scepters are essentially maces with way too much bling.

Tendales
Mar 9, 2012
It wasn't just Gygax incorporating the mace=no bloodshed thing into their works. Off the top of my head, it pops up in Clifford Simak's Fellowship of the Talisman in 1978, which I think is a little late to be a direct influence on the cleric, but probably taps into the same source material.

Traveller
Jan 6, 2012

WHIM AND FOPPERY

Legend of the Five Rings First Edition

Way of the Crab: The Family of Stronk


The stronkest boss.

The section on important NPCs follows. Hida Kisada, the Great Bear, is the Clan daimyo. When he was five years old, he went on a trip with his father to the Imperial City. On the way there, he saw three Lion children that beat up a peasant kid, who could not fight back because they were samurai. He caught them doing it to another kid and stood up against them, only to get beat up himself. After excusing himself with his father (still roughed up) he went back to the Lion kids and called them all the names he could think of, then ran away. The bullies pursued only to fall into a pit trap of his own devising, and Kisada left them there with broken bones and no one to save them. On the way back, the pit still had their rotting corpses. Kisada is known as one of the mightiest samurai and generals in Rokugan. Akodo Toturi might be his strategic match, but none compare to the Bear's sheer combat prowess. There are many poems and odes about the monsters he has defeated; ironically, only the Shadowlands denizens are worthy of his respect, and he is dismissive and condescending with all non-Crabs. At six feet and six inches tall he is easily the tallest man in Rokugan, and he wears his heavy armor at all times. He is proud of his two eldest children, Yakamo and O-Ushi, but the physical frailty of his youngest son concerns him. It is widely held that no one, man or Oni, has injured him and lived to tell about it. Hida Bushi 5, with a Earth of 9 that puts him into oni levels of toughness. Basically, the guy is a human-shaped tank. He also makes his Insight total handily, which makes the second print run's sidebar of "You MIGHT need to give Hida Kisada Horsemanship at 4..." hilarious.


"You think I'm funny HOW?"

Hida Yakamo has been groomed from an early age to be Kisada's successor. He resembles him so much already: tall, strong, brash, frank, a fearsome warrior. He brought a thirty-feet long oni carcass back as his gempukku test, and the troops of the Great Wall regard him as a de facto general. He has also distinguished himself in several duels, including one fought against Mirumoto Satsu in which he won using a tetsubo: a flagrant disregard of duelist protocol and also a demonstration of his amazing skills, using such an unwieldy weapon in a duel without getting cut up to shreds. He has never given the duel another thought. His outbursts of temper are legendary and he is half-embarrassed at them in private and half-proud of his righteous anger. But he is learning, slowly, to time his outbursts to cause the maximum effect on his audience and keep them off-balance. He values honesty above all things and won't hesitate to let people know that he does not enjoy their company, feelings be damned, but the few friends he has outside the Crab understand the value of his friendship. He is also wise enough to understand his place in the world, and defers to age and rank when the situation requires it. Hida Bushi 4 with an Earth of 7, so still tough as all hell. He also has Mirumoto Hitomi as a nemesis, hoho.


:swoon:

Hida O-Ushi is Kisada's sole daughter. He didn't know what to do with her at first, but he also knew he couldn't stand the thought of marrying her off and having her bow and scrape in the Emperor's courts, so he had her trained just like his boys were and no one went against the Great Bear's wishes. For her, war is a game, and she finds disemboweled corpses as funny as an Imperial acrobat and treats them both with the same lack of reverence. She takes her duties (that now include watching the Crab's northern border) with glee. She waits for her opponents to strike first, taunting them or offering a ripe target, then whaling on them with irresistible force. But while Kisada and Yakamo are known for their individual accomplishments, O-Ushi is recognized as a leader of soldiers. She stands at the vanguard of her troops and invariably moves en masse in the battlefield. She has the same temper as his brother but instead of allowing her anger to get the better of her she has refined it into a sharp, biting wit. Off the battlefield, she is just as prickly and forthright. She has pointedly refused to take the samurai-ko's vow of celibacy and openly boasts of the pleasures of the "beast with two backs" :pervert:, relishing the shock that such statements cause. Last man that called her a "harlot" is no longer able to eat solid foods. She is also protective of her little brother, Sukune, who she feels has been dealt a harsh lot in life. O-Ushi would be considered pretty if she ever left the barracks and armor. As it is, she's never without her trusty warhammer. Hida Bushi 3, with a Bad Reputation of (Bully), but honestly O-Ushi kicks rear end.


"Your plans are great, Sukune, now stop coughing blood over the map."

Hida Sukune is the runt of the daimyo's family. He was born two months early, sickly and of poor health, and his mother died months later. He still blames himself for her death. He had to rely on his mind rather than body to sustain him, but he was enthralled with the intricacies of battle and strategy. He studied the writings of Rokugan's greatest generals and applied them to his training, which served him to graduate as a proper bushi with his other classmates. He serves as a strategist and advisor in his father's fortress, and though he has seen his share of combat his poor health keeps him on the back lines. Officially, he is the Crab army's battle standard bearer. The Crab's warlords expect great things of him, and have every confidence in his abilities - if he can stay alive. He always takes Kisada's side in an argument; he'll do whatever it takes to make his father proud of him. In battle, he wears an ornate, crustacean-looking set of armor that he finds disorients his opponents and gives him time to seize them up. Hida Bushi 2, but he is missing a lot of points to make that Insight. Also has Weakness but all of his Rings are at 2, for some reason.


Warning: not actually a secret softie.

Hida Amoro is all the negative stereotypes of the Clan rolled into one. A nephew to Kisada, he is a berserker, but unlike any other. He was an angry, uncontrollable child that delighted on tormenting others his age, inflicting savage beatings on anyone that defied him, even killing one of his sensei at the age of twelve. He never received any acknowledgement from the Hida school and doesn't give one whit about it. In the battlefield, he jumps with maddening glee, using his inhuman strength and brutality in lack of formal training. Unlike dead-eye berserkers that reach that state through self-discipline and meditation, his rage is purely natural. Kisada has him permanently posted at the Kaiu Wall, and he has personally destroyed several Oni of power and repute. Other Crab commanders keep quiet, because of his effectiveness and the belief that his luck has to run out sooner or later. Social skills are obviously not his forte, and he is banned on pretty much all Rokugani courts: no one goes to talk to him unless absolutely necessary. Berserker 3 with Honor 0, and many Rings at 1 so lol Insight. Still hits like a loving truck, though.


He doesn't have enough face to contain his GRIZZLED.

Hida Tsuru is Kisada's younger brother and cavalry master of the Clan. His units are used as a mobile reserve force, mounted in ponies that aren't a match for Unicorn warhorses. He knew from an early age that he would never be a match for Kisada's physical abilities and so sought his own niche where he would not be constantly compared with the Great Bear, which he found with the cavalry. His forces are chosen for stamina, endurance and willpower, as well as the hardy ponies they ride, and since Tsuru pushes himself right along with his men their loyalty to him borders on the fanatical. The few times the Kaiu Wall has been breached, the Shadowlands monsters that pour through always find his troops, and never get past them. He is infamous for his ruthlessness with the other Clans; it was Tsuru who cruelly killed the Unicorn horses in that one skirmish that Shinjo Hanari has sworn to avenge. In Tsuru's mind, he acted in a proper manner: against a foe such as Fu Leng, he has no illusions about what needs to be done, and why should he change his tactics along with the enemy? He does not tolerate failure, but at the same time he rides himself endlessly for any mistake he has made. Hida Bushi 4, nothing out of the ordinary there.


Look at this loving hipster.

Kuni Yori is the most feared man in Rokugan. Shugenja of other Clans claim his soul has been stolen by the Shadowlands, but no one knows as much of them as he does. He is the final authority on all things dark and dangerous. He used to be an unremarkable second son of the previous Kuni daimyo and thought of spending his life in quiet research, until a mysterious accident took the life of his father and eldest brother. The exact details of the accident are unclear, but whatever it was Hida Kisada decided to leave well enough alone and installed Yori as the new family head. He balances his family duties with his personal research, and is known to have punished or demoted family members that haven't made progress in their studies, and his habit of showing up unannounced in other Kuni dwellings unsettles his brethren. Still, in his short tenure the family has made great discoveries. His own research is dark and grisly, and while he claims it is done in the name of the Crab there are dark rumors about his seeming obsession with the Shadowlands. Still, he enjoys Kisada's full confidence, and the Great Bear cuts short any accusation by saying that Yori has done and sacrificed more to fend off the darkness than any would-be critic. His very presence is disturbing, and he has gone through no less than five apprentices, none of which will discuss their training. Kuni Shugenja 5, short of Insight, and with Knives 5 and Torture 4 as skills :ohdear: :gonk: No Shadowlands Taint or anything though, folks!


That's some tough Hiruma poo poo you just got yourself into.

Hiruma Kage is the current leader of the Hiruma. All Hiruma daimyo vow to retake their lands, and all have failed, and Kage is not the exception. Right after gempukku he led an expedition to liberate the ruins of his family castle, where he and his forces found a group of oni engaged in blasphemous rites to Fu Leng. The oni were slaughtered, but the Hiruma had to retreat under the attack of heavier Shadowlands forces; Kage himself had to be dragged out of the castle by his lieutenants. Despite this irredeemable blemish in his eyes, he has managed to focus on more practical family matters. He took over daimyo duties five years ago, with his retired father in an advisory position. Hiruma Yoshi has managed to temper his son's obsession with an awareness of his responsibilities to the Clan. Kage now lives along the Kaiu Wall, organizing Hiruma efforts and directing the family's scouts and berserker units where they can do the most good. Secretly, however, he cannot forget what he saw at the Hiruma palace, and he seeks release in a honorable, glorious death - but he has not forgotten his duty, and his deathwish combined with this duty have turned him into a formidable killing machine. He is the opposite of Amoro: both berserkers, but Kage's rage comes from harsh discipline and the disgrace of his family, cold and calculating. He is an unimposing man, but with great stamina and strength, and usually goes into battle lightly or with no armor: he explains that most of his foes can tear heavy armor like paper anyway. Berserker 4, with Driven and 1 point of Haunted.


Taka is making lots of koku! Wanna help? :v:

Yasuki Taka is a tiny, wizened old man, and leader of one of Rokugan's most powerful merchant families. The palace is taken care of by proxies and magistrates: Taka is on the road, working as a common peddler on the roads. Most people in Rokugan know him by now and all are happy to see him on the road. He always seems to have exactly what you need, engages and haggles in a friendly manner, and no one seems to care that he always comes up on top of a deal. As a young man he eschewed the family's diplomacy and high-stakes maneuvering for simple trade and salesmanship, honing his craft and observing everything that he saw. When the time came to assume his position he refused to relinquish his ways, and while he goes back to the family palace for important events he's normally doing what he's done for the last 30 years. He moves across villages and towns and always stops at the Yasuki-owned business, talking with his followers and providing guidance. This "micromanagement" has led the family to an unheralded era of fortune and prosperity. Some people note just how much distance he covers so quickly, and whisper that he has much greater powers than his humble exterior suggests. As for Taka, he just enjoys the art of the deal: he likes giving people what they want, or think they want, and sees nothing wrong with wanting to make money out of it. He never sells people more than they can afford, though, and can be particularly kind to the poor and unfortunate. The rich deserve no mercy and the Crane are his favorite target: he is banned on their provinces and yet he is always engaged in heavy trading there. Yasuki 5, but his Insight barely covers the second Rank. Also he has "Blackmail (you don't want to know how many)" :v:


FIRE FOR EFFECT

Kaiu Utsu is a cheerful man with a quiet joy in life, not what you expect from the Crab's Siege Master. As a boy he was fascinated with origami, even staging mock battles with his paper models and oh dear god he's a wargamer. He was born with an eye for structure, and applied his natural abilities to the Kaiu school and the art of war. His bushi skills were adequate at school but his strategic prowess second to none. He has a post studying the Crab army and its defenses, continuously analyzing the Crab outposts and advising the Hida on how to hold on to them. He also analyzes Rokugan's other great fortresses, studying how they can be brought low. He realizes the implications of this research, but justifies it to himself saying that it's better that the Crab know before the enemies of the Empire. In battle, he can be found among the artillery units, relishing the havoc the catapults and firebreathers cause on the Shadowlands monsters. He is tall, with warm eyes, a wide grin and a scar that he got when a battlement fell on top of him, giving him a "Crab-like" face. He still loves origami and always keeps some paper in his armor to fold around during idle moments. :3:

Ancestors! Hida is there, of course. Hida was convinced that his son would be the only Thunder to return, but instead that was Shosuro, the Scorpion. He never really got over that, even after Osano-Wo was born. One day, he took his weapons and went into the Shadowlands to get his boy; he was never seen again. For 10 points the character gets a Void Point for every Crab that stands with them, and all of those Crab get an extra Void Point, but the character also takes a Wound every time one of the clansmen is injured. Kuni is Kuni, and for 4 points a character makes a second roll when determining if they gain Shadowlands Points and use the highest one. Neat. Yasuki Fumoki was a notorious pirate that preyed on Crane ships and disappeared in a huge thunderstorm; survivors of his crew claim they were jumped by a sea monster and the last they saw of Fumoki was him ramming his sword down the monster's gullet. For 3 points, characters can predict the weather with near perfect accuracy for the next 24 hours, and they get a free raise to non-combat Agility rolls. Kaiu is Kaiu, and characters get their Void in Free Raises when using a Craft skill for 5 points. Hida Tadaka was the Crab hero that saved his Clan from Lion invasion by fighting along with the doomed Lion Champion. 4 points, characters may lend Wounds to other Crab characters by touching them, reducing their own Wounds to give them to others. They may also do so to non-Crab but this costs a Void Points. Hiruma, the man, the myth, has tales that border between inhuman bravery and foolhardy bravado. For 5 points characters may reroll any roll by spending a Void Point, up to their Void in times per day. This owns. Kaiu Gineza was the builder of the Tomb of Iuchiban. 1 Point, characters may sacrifice Wounds (up to their Earth) to deal that many extra damage points to the enemy on a successful hit. These extra damage points get past Invulnerability. Kuni Osaku might have just saved the whole Empire with her valiant sacrifice. 6 points, characters get their School Rank in Free Raises when casting a spell by spending a Void Point. Hida Banuken was the daimyo at the time the Kaiu Wall was constructed. 2 points, when the character fights side by side with another, they may strike simultaneously with their ally and vice versa regardless of their initiative rolls. The ally must be chosen before initiative is rolled.

Finally, sample characters!


Leave it to the Crab to be the most anime.

The Hida Berserker loves bushido. His classmates at school saw it as just a tool that they could pick up and leave when they wanted, but for him it was more than that. It was strength, light, wild love! As he grew older his formal training was cast aside for something greater, and he becomes euphoric AKIN TO A GOD when he lets it wash over him. Others call him kichigai, Berserker, and he supposes the name fits! But it's not always easy: sometimes he has to control his emotions, and it pains him that his comrades don't adhere to bushido as closely as the Lion or Dragon, or that not all battles can be won, or that sometimes they have to retreat for the greater good. But bushido forbids venting anger against his comrades! His sheet bumps up Earth to 3, Stamina to 4 and Strength to 4, but Perception is 1 so his Water Ring is 1. Good luck to him in mass battle! Especially since his Battle skill (and all of his other skills) are the minimum of 1 and his total Insight is 109. :ohdear:


He's so smug because he's already got ten of his buddies surrounding you.

The Hiruma Scout laughs at the legends of the ninja. He tries to be as swift and silent as the legends every day after all. He grew up along the Kaiu wall, watching friends and comrades go out and face the Shadowlands. Not the tallest or strongest, but fast, he was sent to study with the Unicorn and learned to run like their horses. He also learned of his family's terrible loss and their struggle to maintain honor in its wake. When he returned, he now had something to win back. He has served as a scout since gempukku and far prefers the lone duty of observer to relaying messages as a runner. He slips through the darkness, marks enemy forces, leave them in the dust when they notice and is there when his more armored comrades come by for some payback. It's like a game of his childhood to him, only the stakes are greater. Ordinary character sheet, much better Insight that boy anime up there though. He also has a Ratling Ally, squeak-squeak.


Looks badass, is very un-badass.

The Kaiu Battle Master loves seeing a plan coming together. He is an assistant to a great Hida general, and has a great ability to understand the flow and ebb of the battlefield. The Clan understands the value of these skills and has put him in the best position to make use of them, but he has a dark secret: he has never seen actual combat. His reputation is built on abstract philosophy and long range observation rather than direct action. In fact, he doesn't want to - he can barely stomach farm animals being slaughtered, and pales at the thought of disemboweling a man. His katana rests inside its saya, untouched by blood, and he has never been called to combat. He prays that it remains that way! A Kaiu engineer with 5 Perception and neat skills, but no combat ability and both Dark Secret and Soft-Hearted to make sure battle sucks royal rear end for him. :stare:


If everything else fails, whack them with the fan.

The Kuni Investigator wanted to be the very best Witch Hunter, like no one ever was! And she went to the annual Kuni conclave every year to wait for a hunter sensei that would call her. No one ever came, and she had to graduate as a shugenja. She cried herself to sleep that night, but did not give up. She learned all that she could and decided to become a witch hunter in deed if not work, traveling through the Empire seeking out stories of ghosts, maho and hauntings. Sometimes they were false; a few terrifying times not. Her spells and heart made up for her lack of witch hunter training, and those who she saved were too grateful to worry about credentials. Now she doesn't care that she is not a 'real' hunter: the battles she has fought so far are all that she imagined.All Rings at 2, which is eh for a shugenja that needs full Rings to cast rather than pumping individual stats. She fights using a tessen war fan, though, which might not be the mechanically best choice but is hella cool.


'sup.

The Yasuki Smuggler grew up in port cities following his parents. He watched in amazement how they brokered deals, and helped with quick getaways when the heat was on them. When he grew up, he inherited the family's boat, and he worked legit jobs. The pay was good, the people were honest and happy, and he grew mightily bored. So he started taking on more interesting cargo: weapons, chemicals, contraband, whatever. As long as the price was right, it didn't matter what he was carrying. That's when the heat came back, with governors and bushi and Imperial magistrates after him. By now he must be wanted by half the magistrates in Rokugan, but he is too clever to get caught, and there's always a Yasuki house around where he can lay low for a while. He loves it. Decent starting stats, but he only has the Defense ability keeping him alive.

Next: Peace is won at the end of the tetsubo.

Traveller fucked around with this message at 04:41 on Aug 26, 2016

MonsieurChoc
Oct 12, 2013

Every species can smell its own extinction.

Traveller posted:

I wouldn't say the Crab and Unicorn don't care about honor. The Crab are practical to a fault but they still have a whole family on a huge fatalist fugue over something the current generation had no way of affecting and that regularly take on suicidal jobs solely to satisfy the stain they feel (the Hiruma regularly stage operations to retake the ruins of their castle and they always get their asses kicked by the Shadowlands hordes that mass like clockwork when they do), and the Clan in general uses the code of bushido to keep themselves sane in the face of horror. The Unicorn don't let themselves get caught in dumb intrigue plots but they still have wildly different traditions and the need to stand up for them, even with their schtick of trying to make nice with others so that they are considered full members of the Empire. And while the Dragon are weirdos, the Mirumoto (the Clan's main public face) are a very traditional and rules-bound family, even with their philosophy and dual wielding.

Scorpions are dicks, agreed.

In 4E, they had every clan put emphasis on different tenets of Bushido. Unicorns got Compassion.

MonsieurChoc
Oct 12, 2013

Every species can smell its own extinction.

Traveller posted:

Legend of the Five Rings First Edition

Way of the Crab: The Family of Stronk


The stronkest boss.

The section on important NPCs follows. Hida Kisada, the Great Bear, is the Clan daimyo. When he was five years old, he went on a trip with his father to the Imperial City. On the way there, he saw three Lion children that beat up a peasant kid, who could not fight back because they were samurai. He caught them doing it to another kid and stood up against them, only to get beat up himself. After excusing himself with his father (still roughed up) he went back to the Lion kids and called them all the names he could think of, then ran away. The bullies pursued only to fall into a pit trap of his own devising, and Kisada left them there with broken bones and no one to save them. On the way back, the pit still had their rotting corpses. Kisada is known as one of the mightiest samurai and generals in Rokugan. Akodo Toturi might be his strategic match, but none compare to the Bear's sheer combat prowess. There are many poems and odes about the monsters he has defeated; ironically, only the Shadowlands denizens are worthy of his respect, and he is dismissive and condescending with all non-Crabs. At six feet and six inches tall he is easily the tallest man in Rokugan, and he wears his heavy armor at all times. He is proud of his two eldest children, Yakamo and O-Ushi, but the physical frailty of his youngest son concerns him. It is widely held that no one, man or Oni, has injured him and lived to tell about it. Hida Bushi 5, with a Earth of 9 that puts him into oni levels of toughness. Basically, the guy is a human-shaped tank. He also makes his Insight total handily, which makes the second print run's sidebar of "You MIGHT need to give Hida Kisada Horsemanship at 4..." hilarious.

Kisada also has the Shintao rating necessary to have a RIng higher than 5. He's got a scholarly side!

Traveller posted:


Looks badass, is very un-badass.

The Kaiu Battle Master loves seeing a plan coming together. He is an assistant to a great Hida general, and has a great ability to understand the flow and ebb of the battlefield. The Clan understands the value of these skills and has put him in the best position to make use of them, but he has a dark secret: he has never seen actual combat. His reputation is built on abstract philosophy and long range observation rather than direct action. In fact, he doesn't want to - he can barely stomach farm animals being slaughtered, and pales at the thought of disemboweling a man. His katana rests inside its saya, untouched by blood, and he has never been called to combat. He prays that it remains that way! A Kaiu engineer with 5 Perception and neat skills, but no combat ability and both Dark Secret and Soft-Hearted to make sure battle sucks royal rear end for him. :stare:

Also an illegal character, considering the hard cap of 4 for all traits and skills at character creation.

Simian_Prime
Nov 6, 2011

When they passed out body parts in the comics today, I got Cathy's nose and Dick Tracy's private parts.
The blunt weapon restrictions for clerics were also an example of early niche protection for the classes of OD&D. Intelligent magic swords - not the trivial swords +1, but the ones that could cast spells and the like - were a big enough deal that the ability of fighters to wield them was virtually a major Class Feature. Early Clerics were basically "fighters with healing magic", so restricting them from sword use was a way of protecting the fighters' role.

later D&D editions raised the overall damage and utility of the sword because Gary wanted to encourage players to emulate the Knights of his favorite fiction, and was disappointed that his players went for the more practical, but less glamorous, weapons in dungeon crawls,'like spears and crossbows.

The Lone Badger
Sep 24, 2007

PantsOptional posted:

Something very similar to this in a game I was in back in the day. One the PCs was a big fuckoff Crab bruiser with Hands of Stone and very little in the way of social etiquette, and he got himself into trouble with a Crane duelist. In the ensuing Iaijutsu duel, the Crane either missed or failed to do any real damage to the absurdly beefy Crab PC, who then announced his counter-attack: "I kick him square in the nuts."

Thanks to the triple threat of beefy stats, an insanely good roll, and exploding dice, the Crane took somewhere in the neighborhood of 42 damage and died on the spot.

"I never even saw his sword move!"
"Striking and sheathing in a single movement - astounding!"

And so a rather confused Crab bushi gained a reputation as an iajutsu master.

hectorgrey
Oct 14, 2011

gradenko_2000 posted:

That's why you need to use the to-hit adjustments based on weapon vs armor class chart:

Yeah, bugger that for a lark. I'll just go ahead and play RuneQuest instead ;).

Traveller
Jan 6, 2012

WHIM AND FOPPERY

Legend of the Five Rings First Edition

Way of the Crab: Ten Foot Poles Not Statted, This Blows

Incidentally, there's sidebars a bunch of AUTHENTIC CRAB CURSES in Japanese Rokuganese for Crab PCs to use. They make characters sound like mooks in a Takeshi Kitano flick. :v:

Crab battle philosophy is all about exhausting the enemy with delayment, harassment, and leading them into the Crab forces. Hiruma guerrillas hit and run leaving evidence pointing at the direction where they want the enemy to go, disturb them at night, lay traps on the way and at a time and place of their choosing the main army attacks in a swift and brutal manner. When they go against the Shadowlands they take even these 'kid' gloves off: the traps become nastier and deadlier, divisive tactics become essential, and they bring physical and magical arsenals to bring down oni. Kaiu weapons, Hida tactics and the Wall let the Crab beat Shadowlands forces three times their size. Their army is one of the largest standing forces on Rokugan with 300,000 bushi, almost all posted at the Wall. Rokugani navies in general are limited to fast troop transport actions and in this the Crab are not the exception: few see the point on mounting missile weapons on ships or engaging in ship to ship combat. All Crab samurai have an army rank to smooth the transition when regiments combine or support each other.


Okay, let's take a swing at the motherfuckers.

The Crab lands comprise some of the rockiest and least hospitable territory in the Empire. There is only one viable strip of farmland, that the Crab value dearly: almost all of its produce goes to feed the Wall and the Clan is usually still short, so they have to import food from elsewhere. However, the Yasuki shores have some of the best fishing areas in Rokugan, the mountains have good land for tea plantations (the Kaiu are fond of chewing tea leaves) as well as a wealth of iron mines. Most Kaiu-produced weapons go to the Crab army but there is enough of a surplus for exporting; Crab weapons are highly prized in the rest of Rokugan. The Yasuki business savvy keeps the Crab supplied and without worry on that front. Crab peasants are a dour, no-nonsense lot, with some understanding of the Shadowlands threat and very humble and subservient to magistrates and samurai. The higher classes demand proper respect but also keep the peasantry free from banditry and crime.

The Hida lands are located in the valley between the Twilight Mountains and the Wall Over the Ocean range. The Hida palace itself is spartan and functional: no superfluous gardens and no paintings in the staterooms. It serves as the Clan headquarters, from which the daimyo coordinates the Crab's efforts. Generals and noblemen crowd around thing, offering suggestion and advice: the Hida welcome such additions, but once they make up their mind the decision is final. The Hida bushi school is also located here. The doors are kept open, but there is always a ready bushi force to close them on an emergency, and above them sits the purified, thick skull of the Maw. The message is clear: the Crab have faced greater enemies than you, and they do not fear you. The Kuni Wastes were once lush and green, before the Maw invaded and corrupted the land. Most of the family and peasants escaped the catastrophe, but they had little to return to. The land has yet to recover from the damage of the Shadowlands capture, Crab counterattack and Kuni ritual. Some Shadowlands creatures still live here, but they are a skittish lot that move at night and has learned the hard way not to gently caress with the Kuni. The shugenja themselves live in tiny huts that dot the barren landscape, and they do their best to restore what few ruins survived the onslaught. Spellcasting rolls for non-Kuni in the Wastes are made at +10 unless the spell is cast at a Kuni dwelling, incidentally. The Yasuki lands are a stark contrast to the rest of the Crab lands, with refined dwellings and elegant landmarks. Villages and towns are well connected by roads, and they do a brisk trade with other Clans using the River of Gold. Fishing is a staple, and most local dishes have some form of fish in them. They're also a hotbed of illicit activity, with illegal business openly advertising - and duly paying their taxes to the local magistrate. Actual crime is still dealt with harshly by Hida patrols. They also keep a palace on the western end of the Crab territory, a scenic location where Yasuki diplomats and envoys from other Clans come to do business. The Tidal Landbridge that comes and go with the waves connects Crab and Crane lands at the entrance to Earthquake Bay: both Clans claim ownership of it but the most practical of each side know it's a moot point. They both keep garrisons at each end and watch over for pirates or (Yasuki) smugglers. The Kaiu Road is a great work of engineering that allows the Crab to move forces quickly through the Twilight Mountains, but it's better known as Peddler's Row due to the army of peddlers, shopkeepers and others that set up shop net to the road. They all pay their dues to the Yasuki, of course. Wise samurai quickly learn to ignore the peddlers when on the march lest they end up without one coin on their purse. There's a small table of things to offer to PCs, from useless "cure-all" tea and guaranteed anti-Shadowlands jade charms (50% odds that they work) to scrolls with risque pictures, military mess kits, healing salves (that actually work, healing 1 die of Wounds) and shrines to Shinsei for a quick prayer after a small donation. The GM is encouraged to fleece the PCs for all that they are worth :getin:


AUTHENTIC GOBLIN EARS, GET ONE FOR THE KIDS

The Kaiu Wall is the second great wall the Crab have built: the first one was overwhelmed when the oni conquered the Hiruma lands. Built in sixty days during the Battle of the Cresting Wave, it is also known as the Kaiu Miracle. One hundred and fifty thousand samurai are posted to the Wall in a permanent state of war. The walls are over one hundred feet tall and the top is thirty feet wide, allowing two companies of horsemen to pass each other. The insides of the wall are riddled with planning rooms, and storehouses, and the north side of the wall also houses barracks, smithies, even geisha houses. Strongpoints at every fifty yards house siege engines and their crews, and a regiment of bushi are posted between each strongpoint. Hiruma runners keep them in contact with each other and with the central command. The river itself has been modified by the Kaiu engineers, making it deeper and more dangerous to cross, dotting the river bottom with traps. The catacombs beneath the Wall are equally impressive: there are many hundred secret openings in the Wall to give the Crab scouts an easy way into the Shadowlands, and they are riddled with traps, false paths, bottlenecks and obstacles to deter oni infiltrators. A sidebar suggests running honest oldschool dungeon crawls in the wall: samurai from other Clans that wish to prove themselves but are wary of the Shadowlands can be sent in to reclaim part of the forgotten passages for the Crab. Still, the Kaiu don't want outsiders to look at their defenses too closely, and adventurers will be kept under watch unless accompanied by a Crab.

Crab philosophy is as practical as can be expected. No Crab fears death, but death has to mean something. Where a Lion or Unicorn would stand and get torn limb by limb, a Crab first thinks on whether their death will have any meaning, and if there truly is no more value in their continued survival. If death keeps the Crab's companions safe or delays the opposition to give the Wall enough warning, they will embrace it without a thought. The Crab believe that the strong have a divine right to rule over the weak. Nobility is for those who can take and defend it. It's not just "might makes right" (administrators, diplomats and even peasants have strength in their own areas) but true leadership comes from both mental and physical prowess. A ruler must have a certain degree of ruthlessness and willpower to do what needs to be done, even if that involves the sacrifice of the few for the good of the many. However, the ruler-ruled relationship goes two ways: it is the strong's responsibility to watch over and protect the weak. If a village a samurai rules is attacked by samurai, shame falls on the samurai instead of the peasants. This sense of responsibility is why the Crab believe the weak or incompetent have no right to rule - they're putting the lives of others at risk. They are not particularly introspective: they study the Tao of Shinsei but in a practical, "how does this affect me NOW" manner. They go and seek enlightenment rather than wait for it, and don't see the point in squandering life trying to grasp the ungraspable. Crab rarely retire, serving well into old age. When they do retire, they become sensei and advisors, and if they take up monkish life they'd rather become wandering monks and teachers than seclude themselves in a monastery.


Doggone goes my arm.

The Crab know better about the Nezumi that other Rokugani. They'd love to know what makes the ratlings resistant to the Taint: secretly, unscrupulous Kuni shugenja have captured Nezumi for experimentation, well away from the Clan's eyes. :ohdear: Hiruma scouts make use of Nezumi tribes as eyes and ears, offering food, low-grade weapons or even cheap jewelry in compensation. The ratlings are happy to help, but they will not willingly endanger themselves for the silly quests. of humans. Rarely a ratling pack will betray humans to the Shadowlands: Crab retribution is swift and merciless. Sometimes tribes want human help in their rare conflicts between each other: the Hiruma try their best to stay above the squabbling, but sometimes packs turn their backs on humans due to overzealous scouts.

Relations with the other Clans! The Crane are all that the Crab hates. Weak, elusive, relying on commerce and politics to offset their "spineless cowardice." They have no military might and yet they own more land than any other Clan. As far as the Crab is concerned, the Crane are a waste of space. Beyond irreconcilable philosophical differences, they also share common borders and thus squabble incessantly over land and resources. The sole exception to the Crab's animosity is the Crane's Daidoji family. They have a long military tradition and carry themselves as bushi are expected to, and are willing to meet steel by steel. At the Battle of the Cresting Wave, a Daidoji force crossed the tidal landbridge connecting the Crane to the Crab to assist, knowing full well that their retreat would be cut when the tide came back. They stood with the Crab, and the Crab has not forgotten. Therefore, the Crane have left all dealings with the Crab to the Daidoji, and all Crane lands on their borders belong to the family. The Crane themselves are happy leaving the Crab alone, and are also aware of their position between them and the Shadowlands. The sole exception are the Yasuki, an affront to Crane honor and their biggest rivals for economic dominance.

The Crab doesn't get the Dragon, just like most of Rokugan. What really pisses the Crab off about the Togashi is their steadfast isolation - what is so important to spend centuries locked up in the mountains? As far as the Crab is concerned, the Togashi are cowards. The Mirumoto receive more respect for their military skills, the Kitsuki are honored for their dealings with the rest of the Empire, and most importantly the Agasha enjoy a thriving working relationship with the Kuni. The Dragon's feelings in return are unknown. Who can tell what Dragons think? The Lion have the grudging respect of the Crab, emphasis in grudging. The power and tactical skill of the Lion armies must be acknowledged, and they are the right arm of the Emperor, but their boasts of honor and defense of the Emperor ring hollow in Crab ears. They just don't think their achievements are important enough to boast of them that way, least of all because the Lion doesn't face an enemy like the Crab's ancient foes. Their rigid adherence to abstract honor leads to what the Crab see as arrogant posturing, unbecoming of the greatest military force in Rokugan. Lion feelings are similar: they respect the Crab's military and fighting skills, but their boorishness and quick dismissal of Lion deeds does not sit well with them. Ultimately, both Clans have better things to do that actually come to blows, though.


Who said Crab can't be well dressed?

The Phoenix are ironically the Clan for whom the Crab has the most respect. They have no reason to quarrel over land, being on opposite sides of the Empire. Their cries for peace are dismissed as childish whining, but at the same time the Crab appreciates their openness. The Phoenix speak their minds and have the courage to stand for their arguments, even if they are naive to the Crab. The Phoenix shugenja are never dismissed, though: their strength is unquestionable and the Crab families turn to the Isawa in matters of magic. The Scorpion are only a little less hated than the Crane, being all that the Crab despises: deceptive, tricky, using words instead of courage and arguments for honor. The Scorpion has earned a wary respect, however. The Crab know too well what damage their schemes may cause. Most Crab refuse to have anything to do with the Scorpion, fearing to fall in one of their plots, which the Scorpion take full advantage of by luring them into duels and other unwanted fates. The Scorpion are still wary of loving with the Crab too much: they're as likely to gut a Scorpion as look at them, and they take care to not let themselves be open to Crab challenges. Scorpions that do are dismissed as weaklings by their kinsmen - if they are so smart, how come a Crab got to call them out?

The Unicorn are seen as kindred spirits, with some condescension on the Crab's part. They are seen as outsiders and as warriors, just like the Crab. Their lands border the northern Shadowlands and Unicorn riders face more of Fu Leng's minions than any other Clan save the Crab themselves. For these and many other reasons, the Unicorns are considered brothers to the Clan. At the same time, the Crab feel it's their duty to protect the "newcomers" and guide them in their dealings with others, and some Unicorn resent the implication that they can't take care of themselves or that they need the Crab to explain to them the finer points of Rokugani culture and courts. Nevertheless, allies are allies. The Minor Clans are seen with a large degree of favor owing to their relative strength against their much larger neighbors. The Hare, Sparrow and Fox Clans are a buffer between the Crab and Scorpion, and their relative weakness keeps depredations on Crab lands to a minimum. Sometimes Crab have demanded border territories as "payment," but the Crab have enough problems without worrying about hostile border states. The Minor Clans know better than antagonizing the Crab, and they keep their larger cousins as an ace in the hole in their dealings with other Clans. Nothing backs a little Clan's position as much as a big, grouchy Clan behind them.

Crab magic! It's easy to learn and the Kuni don't make much of a secret of it. If a Crane wants to come and learn anti-Shadowlands magic, more power to them. The decentralized nature of Kuni teachings makes it much more likely to find a willing teacher as well. The spells have simple, utilitarian names - no Path to Inner Peace or anything like that for the Crab.

Earth
  • Armor: damage rolled against the target cannot reroll 10s. Lasts for (target's Earth + shugenja's School Rank) rounds, but requires Full concentration on the caster's part.
  • Binding: this spell immobilizes creatures with the Shadowlands Taint. It requires knowing the target's true name and inscribing it on manacles that must be placed on the creature. Plus, it must be cast successfully three times at a TN of 20 + Shadowlands Rank x 5. It's not even Ritual! There are two versions of this spell: Major, for oni and maho-tsukai, and Minor for everything else. Aside from the different permissible targets, they're the same.
  • Wall of Earth: it's a wall of earth, nuff said. Has (Earth x 10) Wounds.

Fire
  • Last Rites: completely cleanses the target's Taint, and then kills them. The target must willingly agree for the spell to be cast, otherwise it automatically fails.

Air
  • Fear: spooky air spirits scare the crap out of any targets within hearing distance. Contested Willpower roll vs the casting roll, those who fail flee in terror with their TN to be hit set to 5 for the shugenja's school rank in rounds. Success pins them in place, they can only use Full Defense for one round. Works fine against Shadowlands monsters, imagine that.


Getting some serious Brave New World vibes from this lady. Maybe she's a Bargainer or something.

Crab nemuranai are highly active. The Crab can't afford to keep these mighty items as wallhangers when facing the Shadowlands. The sole exception is the ancestral sword of the Hiruma, which no Hiruma will take until they retake their homeland. Chikara is the ancestral sword of the Crab, forged by the first Kaiu and wielded by the first Hiruma. It's traditionally carried by the firstborn heir to the daimyo, and as such it is now in the possession of Hida Yakamo. It detects Shadowlands creatures up to 100 feet, renders the user immune to the Shadowlands Taint, and gives the user their School Rank times 5 (!) in free raises when attacking a Shadowlands denizen. Yama is the wakizashi of Hida Tadaka, the Crab hero. It is a plain and unadorned sword, nothing gives the impression that it has magic powers. It is currently carried by Hida Tsuru. Anyone carrying Yama cannot be taken down, ever. They succeed at any roll to remain standing, and all Stamina rolls in combat have their TN reduced in 10. If the wielder is mounted, they can never be unhorsed. Ketsuen, the Armor of the Shadow Warrior, is the armor of the first Hida. It's said to have taken its pitch black color when sprayed by the blood of Fu Leng himself. It's made for large people and requires the user to be over six feet tall. Hida Kisada wears it almost at all times, and on the rare occasions where he has to doff it it will always be close. It adds +10 to the TN to be Hit and allow the user to ignore Wound Level penalties equal to (Hida school rank + 1). Also, any spells targeting the wielder have their TN increased in 5 x user's Earth. Even if they do go off, the armor cannot be harmed by magic. Yasuki Hohiro's Bag of Necessity is an oversized pouch that provides the user with as much money as they need. Note that this is as much as they need instead of as much as they want: a traveler may get enough money to pay for a night at the inn, but not enough money to buy the inn. It is thus more useful for someone on the road than for a clan daimyo or bushi with their needs covered by the local barracks. Yasuki Taka owns it and never lets anyone in on the secret. Kaiu's Forge is located deep in the Kaiu fortress and guarded at all times. It houses the first Kaiu's forge, that he used to create Chikara. Every year five blades are made by the Kaiu master smith and their apprentice: these Kaiu Blades are high quality weapons that never break or need to be sharpened. In fact, they can't be sharpened: only Kaiu's Forge itself can break a Kaiu Blade.

As in the other books, we get a bunch of CCG decks. One "bad guy" deck with Shadowland gribblies, one anti-Shadowlands deck (with cards to give mortal enemies Shadowlands traits :v:) and one big turtling deck for multiplayer that just sounds like a chore to run. 11 Rares, too.

Next: :sparkles:

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
Crab Clan PCs were always a bit of an issue for me. There was a tendency in every game I ran of L5R early on for somebody to want to play a butt-scratching tetsubo-with-a-man-attached, and they were often heavy derailers, and it let a lot like trying those players were trying to do an end-run around the game's society and culture. The real stars had Shadowlands Taint to boot. Also, geez, you think Scorpions are smug? Listen to a Crab tell you of how you don't know anything until you've been to Vietnam!... or the Shadowlands, I suppose. Mind, #notallcrabs, but it attracted a certain type of player.

On a different note, most early Crab decks were defensive military, but a friend of mine at the time played them a different way. Amoro is pretty much a direct representation of his card and represented a different way to play Crab. In a game where the average samurai had 2-3 force and 2-3 chi, he had 6 force and 1 chi. He was often paired with Hida Yakamo... no, not the guy from this book. The other Hida Yakamo, the one that's an oni. (The Crab Clan pictured here makes some very questionable deals in the near metaplot future.) Anyway, that Hida Yakamo was 4 force, 4 chi, and +1 to each for every Crab Clan personality you controlled. Why, yes, that does include himself... and every other copy of the same card. He would just snowball force and roll over the enemy with usually no resistance.

The old CCG also had the "Koku program" where each starter was worth 3 Koku and each booster was worth 1 Koku, and if you had 20 Koku and were a member of the fan club (the Imperial Assembly), you could mail in 20 Koku for one of a selection of rare cards listed in the newsletter. The reason I mention this is that Taka had the unique trait "Wily Trader", and the following flavor text:

Imperial Edition posted:

Wily Trader is worth 1 Koku.

Making him a common actually worth collecting.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

I do think that if you want to play L5R, it's kind of dumb to actively try to end-run around the culture; this is mostly from later edition stuff, though, where the culture is made into something more interesting and...somewhat less stupid. Certainly less sexist.

But then, my favorite clan is Monkey, and Lion after that, because they are both loud and shouty motherfuckers.

(Clan Monkey is, however, a minor clan whose job is being shounen heroes, descended from Toku, a peasant who masqueraded as a ronin samurai to help Toturi and got exonerated for his crime and given a clan for being such ac ool dude.)

Kaza42
Oct 3, 2013

Blood and Souls and all that
Mantis and Monkey are the best clans, because they give 0 fucks. Mantis has my favorite origin story, where they basically keep out-ballsing everyone until they get official recognition (including holding the emperor at swordpoint and basically holding the fate of Rokugan ransom). Monkey are just shounen heroes, and it is never not fun to play Samurai Kamina

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

The Crab strike me as something that works best if you play a party of all crab or no crab.

potatocubed
Jul 26, 2012

*rathian noises*

Mors Rattus posted:

I do think that if you want to play L5R, it's kind of dumb to actively try to end-run around the culture; this is mostly from later edition stuff, though, where the culture is made into something more interesting and...somewhat less stupid. Certainly less sexist.

Yeah, I've been thinking about this myself recently (this writeup is striking samurai-shaped sparks in my brain) and in the end it just comes down to properly communicating what the game is about. If I ran L5R it would definitely be a game about individuals versus their own hosed up society, so an individual who doesn't interact with that society just isn't a suitable player character.

If you were running something more like the Seven Samurai, where a rag-tag group of samurai must put aside their differences to defend a village... well, I think rear end-scratching tetsubo-man would fit right in there. Would make a pretty good character, even, next to equally stereotypical samurai from the other clans.

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

I mean, the other way to do it is to have rear end Scratching Tetsubo Man be capable of character development and learn that he can get a lot more help with the goddamn ogre problem if he blends in a little and learns to give. Have him be the guy who starts out with 'This is all stupid and wasting time' and transition to 'Okay I need to know how to get things done here too or I'm going to risk everything I fought for because I couldn't sit through a tea ceremony and properly ask for more money and men for the wall.'

Basically, run them as someone who learns to engage rather than the derailer.

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
There was one guy who always wanted to have Ratling Ally as a wife, explaining it had been part of a negotiation with a ratling tribe. I don't think he intended it in a nasty way; it was mostly just a gag that got old very, very fast.

Comrade Gorbash
Jul 12, 2011

My paper soldiers form a wall, five paces thick and twice as tall.

Alien Rope Burn posted:

There was one guy who always wanted to have Ratling Ally as a wife, explaining it had been part of a negotiation with a ratling tribe. I don't think he intended it in a nasty way; it was mostly just a gag that got old very, very fast.
The concept is actually kind of neat, but if we're thinking of the same guy it was clear it was meant as a joke, and one that got driven into the ground pretty quick.

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!

Comrade Gorbash posted:

The concept is actually kind of neat, but if we're thinking of the same guy it was clear it was meant as a joke, and one that got driven into the ground pretty quick.

It's the kind of thing that could work for an all-Crab game played straight, but... yeah. I can't imagine that's come up twice in the world, but it's been so long I don't remember his name.

Traveller
Jan 6, 2012

WHIM AND FOPPERY

Alien Rope Burn posted:

Crab Clan PCs were always a bit of an issue for me. There was a tendency in every game I ran of L5R early on for somebody to want to play a butt-scratching tetsubo-with-a-man-attached, and they were often heavy derailers, and it let a lot like trying those players were trying to do an end-run around the game's society and culture. The real stars had Shadowlands Taint to boot. Also, geez, you think Scorpions are smug? Listen to a Crab tell you of how you don't know anything until you've been to Vietnam!... or the Shadowlands, I suppose. Mind, #notallcrabs, but it attracted a certain type of player.

This is true. It doesn't help that one piece of advice that always comes up when people want to approach L5R is "play a Crab PC, they don't give a poo poo about ~*honor*~ and ~*manners*~" and that draws that certain derailing kind of player that you mention. And yes, the bloviating about how YOU JUST DON'T loving KNOW, MAN, while making IC sense (there's a lot of 'hatred of home' style tropes in the Crab) gets really grating when people start taking it up the way morons want to push Warhammer 40K morality into everything. And I say this as someone who's never played any PC that isn't a Crab - I love the crusty bastards, but they are not immune to that kind of jerkoff attitude. Neither are other fan favorites like the Mantis or Monkey, for that matter.

EDIT: it also ignores that while Crab aren't big for niceties, they're heavily regimented and disciplined. Most of their armed forces are in constant active duty all the time, and there is a sidebar mentioning that while Crab leaders look the other way when their troops go out for drinks and geisha, they expect them to be always on top shape when the call comes. Those who don't are quickly punished, demoted or even forced into seppuku, because that poo poo doesn't fly.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

It's also important to remember that none of the clans - even the Monkey! - are objectively correct. The Crab running things would be an absolute disaster. They're great at fighting the Shadowlands, but their inability to maintain anything approaching quality of life means they are entirely reliant on everyone else for survival - food, for example. Their stereotypical lack of social niceties means that they often gently caress themselves over, as well. Sure, it's all well and good to laugh about how you insulted that pissant Crane jerkwad...

Until you remember that guy's in charge of making sure you and your friends eat next month, and your cousin the Yasuki is super mad at you for loving up that trade deal. Or that Lion is, in fact, a better fighter than you are when going up against other human beings and not giant beetle-oni monsters, and is more than willing to take you down to prove it - meaning you won't be on call when you need to be. And so on.

Basically - the Crab can get away with some rudeness which is just expected from them. But take it too far and...well, they aren't immune to society and they aren't able to stand on their own.

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
Yeah. That's not to say later L5R material doesn't handle the Crab more sensibly, but this the book that starts with "Twenty million drown in blood if I am weak." and doesn't get more nuanced from there.

AmiYumi
Oct 10, 2005

I FORGOT TO HAIL KING TORG
The Crab also fall into the same Lion trap of "sure you're stronger militarily than the other clans, but your social ineptness means that the Crane just had the Emperor himself call for your immediate retreat and seppuku and also a bunch of other concessions".

Is anyone going to address that totally-not-gross-and-sexist pic of Hida O-Ushi that was every L5R magazine ad I ever remember seeing? The one where her biggest "muscle" appears to be sideboob/underboob/overboob?

sexpig by night
Sep 8, 2011

by Azathoth
Yea as much as I unironically like L5R the fact that both Crab and Lion constantly get shafted with stories that end in 'we were winning/doing well until the Crane/Scorpion pulled strings and forced us to retreat' is boring as hell.

Like I get that the point is that's how those clans fight their own wars, but nearly every conflict where they're on opposite sides involves that while very few end in 'and we just fuckin murdered some Cranes on the battlefield, suck it you bird faced nerds'.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

In part this is because the Crane were Soesbee's special babies.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!

AmiYumi posted:

Is anyone going to address that totally-not-gross-and-sexist pic of Hida O-Ushi that was every L5R magazine ad I ever remember seeing? The one where her biggest "muscle" appears to be sideboob/underboob/overboob?

This is probably the one you're thinking of, her Experienced 2 version in the CCG. I don't think it was used in the RPG, though.



Usually she was depicted fully armored, though.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5