L5R Storytime thread: There are stones, and there are walls, but there is only one stonewall edition

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kazenoshiro.com/fictions/1000-years-of-darkness/
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>Touka wasn't content just with tea ceremony though.
>While his advisors all spoke and argued over what they should do in response to the Scorpion ambush, he sat there and painted
>Like a damn Crane
>I looked around the room
>This wasn't the first time I'd been sorely outrakned by everyone present
>Hiruma Goemon, the second in command of the army and overall commadnder of the Hiruma forces in this army
>Kaiu Raiko, newly risen to command the Kaiu engeineers
>Kuni Matemon
>Kaiu Kazuya, the Kaiu battlemaster
>Yasuki Kenshiro, the quarter master
>Each of them had several attendants as well, to help keep track of all the small details that fell under their individual purview
>Goemon was speaking to Raiko
>Those assasins were just waiting around for a chance to strike, it's a good bet the Scorpion have found most of the traps.
>We need to redo them, shift their position around
>It's doable, Goemon-san, but it would divert manpower from the castle...
>Kazuya shook his head.
>No, we've already started on the castle. Best to finish the work as quickly as possible there before moving on.
>Kenshiro nodded in agreement
>Leaving the construction materials lying around is a bad idea when we've got Scorpion to deal with.
>It was then that Matemon adressed me
>Ishigaki-san, you were with the bodygaurd of Otomo-jun for a time.
>What can you tell us about the Scorpion's deployment?
>uh.
>Shit.
>Everyone looked at me expectantly
>I was supposed to be a nuetral observer when the Scorpion spoke up in front of me.
>Was it really okay for me to tell what I had seen and heard while I was NOT part of the Crab army?
>Touka, glanced up from his painting and, seeing my strained expression, spoke
>Jun let slip that you think there are Scorpion Samurai disguised as Ashigaru, so really, she's already told us much.
>I don't think it's a concern for you to speak up at this point, Ishigaki-san.
>That...sounded a little too convenient to me

>Kenshiro
>the quarter master

The hell?

Crane-san got this one right.
The Bayushi Elite Gaurd path allows a guy to pick X Clan. They get attack as simple against X Clan and can spend a void point to negate all the school techniques of a person from X Clan for two rounds

So it's easy to miss when a guy I'm already struggling to hit goes defense stance AND all my TN's go up because my armor is hindering me for the first time in my life. Plus no attack as a simple, and 13 points of reduction just up and vanished. Scorpions man, pretty savage shit.

Not every guy named Kenshiro pokes people so hard their heads explode man. It just translates to Sword Castle or something like that.

I know, I'm just a rabid fanboy.

>However.
>Naomi was recovering in this very camp
>Even if this wasn't exactly the honorable thing to do, I had to keep her safe
>So I accepted Touka's reasoning
>The Scorpion general claimed he only brought half as many Samurai as you did, but ten thousand ashigaru.
>they admitted flat out that they knew what forces you'd be bringing before they decided on what they would bring.
>Several disgusted grunts accompanied that revelation.
>Kazuya shook his head
>So you think that they disguised real samurai as ashigaru to make us look weak?
>I nodded.
>Goemon asked me if I knew where their main camp was
>No, I was only present at their staging area.
>Matemon leaned over to Raiko to explain to her
>Goemon's scouts have found no less then four large camps, but we aren't sure yet which one the Scorpion are using for their headquarters
>Goemon mumbled, chin in hand
>Wouldn't surprise me if the sneaky bastards were moving between them all, or at least divided up among them, to keep us from striking the head off all at once.
>Kazuya looked at the map
>So, we now know the Scorpion have guessed our strategy and fully intend to attack it directly.
>The real question is: HOW they will do this.
>Ishigaki-san's conjecture is one possibility.
>But the truth is, I just don't see how it could work.
>Matemon stroked his chin.
>Yes, you're right there Kazuya-san.
>Samurai or Ashigaru, with less than three to one they still wouldn't be able to dislodge us from this place with the castle up.
>Kenshiro spoke up
>So, then the Scorpion must have a different trick in mind?
>Kazyua responded
>Scorpion tricks do not always work.
>It's why the Scorpion army sometimes loose battles they should win.
>On the other hand, when the Scorpion tricks DO work, it makes them seem unbeatable.
>Touka added one more line to his painting
>The only thing you can be sure of when dealing with a Scorpion is that you can never be sure of anything.

The Scorpion Elite Guard only prevents "active" School Techniques the character must 'use' and does not cancel out "passive" School Techniques that give a constant benefit. Against a Hida Bushi, the Elite Guard can only shut down the Rank 4 and 5 Techniques. Everything else remains in place and works normally because the Hida Bushi never has to use them to gain their benefits.

Shutting down, say, the Rank 1 Hida Bushi Technique would be quite ridiculous, don't you think?

>>Raiko, get the castle built as fast as you can.
>We know the Scorpion would not be so foolish as to chase after skirmishers into a battlefield of our choosing, so we must force them to come to us by other means.
>Goemon, for the time being I want you to divert more forces to guarding the caravans coming up from the south.
>That is now our greatest weak point.
>A chourus of Hai's accompanied Touka's decision
>I did not sleep in the tents with the other troops
>Every second I was not gaurding Touka I spent at Naomi's side
>I slept in my armor, sitting by the head of futon and out of the way of the Kuni running the hospital.
>I had little doubt they would throw me out after the first real battle though.
>This place would get very full very quickly.
>However, befroe the first real battle of the war, a bit of drama occurred
>Jun came back with the others in tow
>She stopped and stared, astonished that the Kaiu engineers had indeed finished a castle in such a short time
>It was, admittedly, made of bamboo and not stone, and only three stories, but still.
>Then she saw me, and exploded at Touka
>WHAT is this man doing here?
>Touka shrugged.
>He is a Crab, and a skilled veteran.
>As he was released from his duties to the Jade Magistrate, I took him to replace some of my lost soldiers.
>Is there a problem with that, Otomo-san?
>She glared back and forth between me and Touka
>Ugh. No.
>But there is a problem with using MAHO!
>Touka blinked
>I'm sorry, what?
>The Zombies you sent at the Scorpion clan's headquarters!
>I shot a look over to Toshiro, who gave a helpless shrug
>They wore Crab armor!
>Jun-san, while this is serious I had nothing to do with it.
>In the first place, I don't even know where the Scoprion's main camp is.
>But you're scouts have been sniffing around...
>And they have found FOUR camps. Or were you unaware the Scorpion were doing their best to hide their main camp from us?
>Jun said nothing to that.

It might, if there wasn't already precedent for just that sort of thing with the Mirumoto duelist school. Some school techniques just get weird to the point where you can't fathom how to describe them in character.

>if there wasn't already precedent for just that sort of thing with the Mirumoto duelist school

How so?

Only if Insight and Control are forgotten.

Many fools believe that Strength is the only virtue of Shourido.

So, Overthinking and Painful Need To Always Be In Charge.

You really don't practice Insight even in healthy doses if you assume that you're the only one who is in the know.

Please do not confuse the Virtues with being Consumed by the Virtues.

Insight is understanding and Control is having the ability to influence the situation in ways you want. Being Consumed by Insight is Overthinking while being Consumed by Control is "Overwhelming Need To Always Be In Charge."

You can represent Consumed by Bushido with:

Compassion - Soft-Hearted
Courage - Overconfident
Courtesy - Compulsion (Offer everyone tea) or (Give everyone a gift)
Duty - Obligation
Honesty - Can't Lie
Honor - Idealistic
Sincerity - Brash

Don't try to sugarcoat it, Consumed is not taking the Shourido tenet somewhere it doesn't take itself as it is, even "moderate" versions of following that tenet is what I described earlier.

Need I remind you that Shourido was specifically developed to cause discord and weaken the Empire? It is a destructive ideology by design. Meaning, the original point - Shourido is better for Rokugan than Bushido - is false.

>Shourido was specifically developed to cause discord and weaken the Empire
Not him but Shourido was meant to do that by being a good system. It was designed by the Spider for the spider, as a system that was superior to Bushido.
Think about it. If Shourido was purposely inferior to Bushido, why would the Spider practice it?

>Need I remind you that Shourido was specifically developed to cause discord and weaken the Empire? It is a destructive ideology by design. Meaning, the original point - Shourido is better for Rokugan than Bushido - is false.

Need I remind you that the Obsidian Dragon found worth in the path?

Daigotsu, who the hell allowed you to post here?

The average Spider follower of Shourido were not my favorite characters.

My favorite characters were actually those followers in the other clans.

>Shourido was specifically developed to cause discord and weaken the Empire

And Bushido was designed to create an efficient, no-nonsense warrior elite that will not fold like a house of cards just because they don't like X (that's Rokugan's history in a nutshell right there).

So your point is...?

>If Shourido was purposely inferior to Bushido, why would the Spider practice it?

Because they are edgelord contrarians. It's in Shourido's concept that is it built as an atithesis to Bushido. It's not a self-sufficient morale system, it's a parasite on an existing concept. Without something to parasitise on it has no substance.

>Need I remind you that the Obsidian Dragon found worth in the path?

Well gee, the creature that exemplifies vice, lowliness and vilenessfinds something worthwhile, it surely must be good.

>So your point is...?

Read my posts, nigga. Thanks for supporting my point BTW.

>Well gee, the creature that exemplifies vice, lowliness and vilenessfinds something worthwhile, it surely must be good.

Good? No. Useful for maintaining the balance of the universe? Yes.

Only from a strict outsiders perspective. Its founders and followers are not interested in "balance". They're interested in completely tipping the scales and then going further. Jigoku wouldn't stop if it managed to take exactly half of all reality, because it is a contrarian spirit realm. Because good says that spirit realms should mind their own businesses, evil wants to spread and control all of everything.
Maintaining balance means stamping on Jigoku and its servants as hard as possible, because the amount they push back is constant.

Setting aside the fact how the concept of such balance is crap, this, again, proves a certain point. Shourido can't exist on it's own, and can't be used as a basis for anything worthwhile.

...You have a stupidly western view of the setting and miss that the whole fact that the only reason Jigoku can mess with Ningen-do was actually caused by Tengoku messing with it first.

Nope. Jigoku can mess with Ningen-do because of an accident.
It also messes with Gaki-do, Toshigoku, Yomi, Yume-do, Meido, and Tengoku. And they all have active countermeasures, because Jigoku will not stop. It has never stopped. It was never provoked by the other spirit realms, it just decided that it wants to control them all.

>he says, while espousing a morality system that is as stereotypically western as it gets
Pull yourself up by your shourido flavored bootstraps and willpower your way through your problems all by yourself. Stamp all over everyone who gets in your way and climb the social ladder!

Which is balancing a heavily western misinterpretation of an eastern philosophy.

No it isn't. It's not trying to balance, it's trying to take over entirely.
"Balance" is not considered a positive idea on the cosmic scale. Everything is where it is for a reason. Jigoku is not entitled to overpower the other dozen or so spirit realms just because it throws a temper tantrum at the idea of things existing beyond its direct control.

Actually it is.

The actions of the Oracles are what allowed Jigoku to create their Dark Oracle counter parts.

If Jigoku pulls away Tengoku must as well. If Tengoku interferes Jigoku is allowed to do the same.

>it's all Tengoku's fault
Look who was right again...

Nope. The Dark Oracles were an asspull. The Oracles had been around and active for much longer. If they were only possible as a counter, they would have been made earlier.

Also, Jigoku is always the aggressor. It is not a force of balance. When it wins, it does not stop at "balanced", because that is not its goal and not what it is there for.

>implying the kolat are ever right
They couldn't even kill the one supernatural entity they were perfectly equipped to fight without getting everyone else to do it for them.

All this arguing is pointless. We all should just drop the act and accept the gaijiin way of life.

You should have never returned to the Empire after you stopped being Ki-rin.

>ripping words out of context to fit it to your agenda

Kolatfags are the worst. If you are an accurate representation of Kolat then it's good it got BTFOd as hard as it did.

>Look who was right again...
Right idea, wrong method. They were trying the destroy the Celestial Order rather than finding ways to balance the disturbances.

>Nope. The Dark Oracles were an asspull. The Oracles had been around and active for much longer. If they were only possible as a counter, they would have been made earlier.

The Oracles were mostly following the rules before the 12th century. If you read between the lines you can learn when the Dark Oracles of Air, Water and Fire were originally created.

>Also, Jigoku is always the aggressor. It is not a force of balance. When it wins, it does not stop at "balanced", because that is not its goal and not what it is there for.

Not quite. The 1000 years of Darkness would have been caused due to the fact that Jigoku and Tengoku were connected through Fu Leng. On a Celestial scale both Tengoku and Jigoku were acting equally. It was not until Fu Leng was expelled from Jigoku that balance could be restored.

After the Destroyer War, Ningen-do was mostly neutral and Tengoku was pulling away due to the lack of interference from Jigoku.

No, right idea, right mehtod, wrong side-effect. The stated goal was the complete, balanced removal of all supernatural influence from Ningen-Do. The destruction of the celestial order was a natural side effect of the Path of Man becoming known to all humans.

You do realize that Fu Leng was disowned by the heavens and Tengoku completely pulled out in the thousand years of darkness, right?

Was Fu Leng still the Master of Jigoku during the Thousand years of Darkness, or had it changed to Daigotsu/Kanpeki yet?

The thousand years of darkness is a what if setting where the second day of thunder failed. Fu Leng continues to possess the last Hantei and rules with an iron fist.

So, no Daigotsu yet.

>No, right idea, right mehtod, wrong side-effect.

It was the wrong method because balance was to be achieved by removal of all external influences rather than properly balancing external influences.

Thousand Years of Darkness was a dream world based on a "what if" Fu Leng had won the Second Day of Thunder.

The problem with "properly balancing" against jigoku is that it's incapable of being content. If you conceded a balanced amount of reality to it, all you would functionally do would be to lose half of reality and still have to fight tooth and nail at all times to not be overrun.

Which is kinda why it needed a Master instead of a Champion.

Yes, and the plan was "proper balance:" none for both.

It replaces masters that don't get results. Fu Leng stuck around until someone more capable of getting results came along. Then it dropped him like a red headed step child.

The master has more control over Jigoku than you might think. and IIRC, Fu Leng willingly gave up mastery over Jigoku, or something like that; he didn't lose mastery because he "wasn't getting results"

He was replaced by Kali Ma because she was getting results. She was replaced by Daigotsu because he was getting results. That whole "stop involuntary spread of taint" thing was a complete lie. It just stopped being detectable, because Daigotsu is a Mary Sue with ludicrous amounts of power.

There was some good stuff in the middle bit but I gotta say I'm looking forward to the reboot so we can put all of the Daigotsu stuff in a sack and dump it in the river.

>That whole "stop involuntary spread of taint" thing was a complete lie.
That was a retcon because the Crab Clan player in charge of AEG wanted to go back to Shadowlands vs the Empire storyline for the 20th anniversary rather than go with the Samurai drama that they were previously building up to.

>blaming a crab player conspiracy when it is known that the marketing department thought all spider all the time was the best way to get sales
Kanpeki taking over and tainting everything was a blatant attempt to pander to Spider players, most of whom didn't even like the way they were taking it.

Not a player conspiracy, an AEG staff conspiracy.

Less than half the playerbase wanted to go full Jigoku when the votes went up and Kanpeki going rebel and full taint was decided months before WC4 started. Making a Progressive win there (which it almost was despite GM's trying to fix the results) meaningless.

Brand wasn't pandering to the Spider they were blowing them and the Mantis up.

Don't forget to pack Bayushi/Shosuro Kachiko with him.

And here I thought nobody cannot be worse than Shoji. Comparing to that bitch, Shoji is a caring father and paragon of patience and modesty.

The difference is that Jun might be bribed by/coerced by/secretly a Scorpion(s) or a Mahotsukai herself. Whereas at this point we KNOW that Shoji is just an absolute massive prick and requires no external influence to make him the worst.

And maybe she is innocent, but arrogant little bitch.

She's an Otomo so that is likely true.

Considering she spent her entire life locked up in castles and told how much better she is than anyone outside of the castle, you bet this is it.

>Courtesy - Compulsion (be outwardly nice to everyone)

>So, no Daigotsu yet.
Daigotsu was kidnapped in 1111. He very much exists in the KYD setting.

kazenoshiro.com/fictions/1000-years-of-darkness/
kazenoshiro.com/2007/01/05/the-last-lesson/

He exists, but never comes to power

Dark Master Of Void, Leader of the Dark Council of Masters sounds like power to me.

It's no Dark Lord of the Shadowlands or Spider Clan Founder, but what meaning do those have in a corrupted empire? Master of Jigoku goes away, too, but it's an empire run by Fu Leng.

It sounds like power, but that part where the master of Jigoku has no meaning anymore also applies to the dark oracle's. Dark master of void just means he's Fu leng's top bitch. As a heavily tainted pseudo-oni with no hope of taking control, he's just a meat puppet, like any other Lost.

>Dark master of void just means he's Fu leng's top bitch
1. That's still power.
2. That's exactly what Daigotsu wanted.

It's not really. Without the actual autonomy of being the dark lord, Jigoku literally controls him from the mind out. And since Fu Leng controls Jigoku (sort of), he has no hope of enacting anything against Fu Leng until Fu Leng slips off his throne enough for Jigoku to have him replaced.

>It's not really.
Daigotsu was bound to an unnamed oni, then physically exiled into Jigoku. He was never not under Jigoku's control. He was intensely devoted to Fu Leng - to the point that of the Four Winds, Naseru needed to plant seeds of doubt in Fu Leng over his true allegiance, and even after that bitch slap Daigotsu was still truly loyal.

Exactly my point. Without the actual freedom to control himself, he's just a puppet. He gets that freedom in the Canon storyline. He doesn't get it in 1k darkness.

I continue to disagree with the relevancy of your point.

Can we get back to how the Otomo is a bitch?

I dunno. Can we?

Otomo being bitches is redundant, really. "Otomo bitch" is like "ATM machine".

Not all Otomo are bitches. But Jun certainly is.

well, its kind of their holy job to be bitches sooooo

>Then one of your subordinates must be the maho tsukai!
>Kuni Matemon answered her
>Otomo-sama, that is impossible.
>And how do you know that?!
>Because, if there were anything tainted nearby, or maho being cast than this...
>Matemon produced a crystal amulet from around his neck
>...would begin to glow
>The amulet began to glow
>...
>From the egde of the camp a shout arose
>I ran towards it.
>Several dozen figures in red and black armor were shambling about, scrambling at the wood and earth walls on the edge of camp.
>For a zombie attack, this was very half assed
>I turned back to the camp and made the "not all clear but no danger" signal with my hands
>As the Hida behind me methodically destroyed the zombies
>Once the last of the Zombies had stopped moving, the light in the crystal Matemon held died
>Touka looked pointedly at it
>There, Jun-sama.
>There is no taint to be found here.
>More likely this is some Scorpion plot to discredit us, since they cannot match our clan in the field.
>Jun glared at him.
>All I know for certain, Hida Touka-san, is that my life has been in constant jeopordy.
>it seems I can trust no one at all.
>Since you have built this fine palace for your army, you must have extra tents?
>I will need several.
>Toshiro's eyes shot open wide
>Kituski-san tried to speak with her
>Wait, Jun-sama!
>Your life IS in danger!
>That is why going of on your own is the worst thing you could do!
>Is it, Kitsuki-san?
>Neither the Crab nor Scoprion would dare lay hands on me directly, that is why they must resort to indirect methods such as they have
>And we have just seen that the maho-tuskai are not very skilled at controlling their assassins.
>I will trust Toshiro-san and the rest of you to keep me safe from their feeble attempts while you figure out which Clan is responsible.
>Toshiro shot me a pained look.
>Clearly, Jun had been making the other's lives miserable.

Plot twist: it's all Phoenix fault, and both crab and scorpion kind of innocent.

Double plot twist: Jun was the Tsukai all along.

Too obvious to be a twist.

Nah, it's kinda obvious.

hahaha, crab reaction to zombie is hilarious.
meh, whatever, ive seen waaaay worst than that.
piniata anyone?

>I nodded my understanding to him
>They would have to figure out how to keep her safe from her own idiocy and investigate the Scorpion.
>I would look into the Crab.
>Only 5000 or so Crabs about, as well as peasant workers.
>surrounded by the clan most paranoid about the taint
>which means if there were any here they would be really damn good at hiding their taint...
>...
>fuck me...
>Jun stormed off, dragging the others off with her
>I silently wished Toshiro and the rest luck
>Now, how in hell am I going to uncover a Maho-Tuskia, if there even is one, who can hide in the middle of the Crab Clan?
>After mulling it over for a bit I kept coming back to the same conclusion over and over.
>I was going to have to be loud and rude about my search, and hope my quarry made a move in response to my rustling.
>So I headed to the hospital
>I wanted to make damn sure the ones looking after my wife were all clean
>I walked up the a Kuni woman who was moistining Naomi's lips
>and without any preamble I poked her in the forehead with my finger of jade
>Hello to you to, Hida-sama
>Holy shit, I outranked her?
>She plucked the jade from my surprised fingers and jabbed me right back
>Are you just that concerned for your wife's well being, or does this have something to do with that commotion that occurred just now?
>Both...?
>She folded her hands and waited
>Though she didn't have on any face paint at the moment, her stare was still quite unsettling
>I heaved a sigh, only slightly exaggerated, to show I did not like what I was about to say.
>Despite Otomo-sama's...theatrics, we cannot dismiss the posiblity that the tsukai raising these corpses is wearing Crab colors.
>'We'?
>You still think of yourself as part of the Magistrate's entourage, don't you.
>I nodded.
>Furthermore, I am neither shugenja nor witch hunter...
>So this jade is all I have to check for taint.

If she is, why she would risk of blowing her cover just to summon a several shabby zombies?

I have a question to the setting experts.

A tthe end of the war with Lying Darkness, it was given a name Akodo, which, according to the books, turned it's minions into Akodo. The question is: was it literally eldritch abominations turning into samurai? Or am I forgetting something and LD had human minions?

>So...I was wondering if I could maybe get your help?
>She cocked her head
>What would you have me do?
>There are a bit to many Crabs about for me to start randomly tossing Jade Strikes about and hope to hit a random tsukai.
>I know, but you've been here longer.
>Could you keep an eye out?
>For suspicious behavior.
>She pondered for a moment
>That much I can do.
>Good, thank you.
>I leaned over Naomi, stroking her hair.
>I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before heading back out
>Perhaps this was my best bet then.
>to rally several other Crabs into being my eyes and ears.
>So that's what I did.
>I spent the whole night wandering the camp, picking crabs at random, jabbing them with jade, and explaining the situation to them.
>it...could have gone better, honestly.
>Some had no good way to check save their own jade
>Others laughed in my face, saying what I feared was impossible
>One took exception on behalf of Touka, but I avoided any kind of brawl.
>I only really got a few that could help.
>Better then nothing, I supposed, but only just.
>As the sky began to lighten into dawn, a horn sounded
>The Scorpion were launching their first attack against the Castle

Much of the LD's minnions were one human, just like the Lost of the Shadowlands. So all the people that had their identities and personalities eaten by the Lying Darkness became the new Akodo family

Yeah, and the obvious thing has never happened yet. So obviously the obvious thing is the twist.

... That's either brilliant or stupid.

It's minions weren't turned into Akodo. THey were normal humans before they lost their names, and when the lying darkness was named, all of its minions woke up remembering nothing except that they served the one named Akodo.

I just had a scary thought: what if there are TWO Tsukai here, one from either side, working indipendently or in concert?

>the superior officer is a complete twat who does not listen to their subordinates ever
Classic!

A quick question -
Say a courtier is challenged and picks a champion to fight, or one is assigned by his Daimyo, and the duel is to the death. Does the champion compelled to fight to the death, or can he concede if it is obvious he is outmatched?

On the other hand, say the opponent knocks the champion to unconcious, but not dead. In a duel to the death, are they meant to strike a killing blow to the unconcious guy, or does it just count as a loss, and the courtier dies, but champion allowed to live?

Not realising there's one on each side and a third independent who are all trying to kill the Otomo first.

Not realizing they're all part of THEM working together to both fuck up the Scorpion, the Crab, and kill the Otomo

Not realizing both the Crab and the Scorpion top leadership are maho-tsukai intending to use the war as a fuel for an enormous ritual.

1) The duelist may concede as per usual, but both the losing duelist and the courtier must commit seppuku

Now that's scary

why's storytime going for several weeks
Is it a campaign that was going for 20 years or some shit

MONKEYYYYYYYYY!

Nah, Monkey is more about bouts of surprise attacks of common sense type wisdom than convoluted.

>otomo a shit
Dubs confirm

I though tit was so obvious it didn't need that.