L5R

On the topic of irrelevant factions, what sort of magic do you feel Thrane/Merenae might have?

I'm feeling a sort of puritan/salem witch vibe from Thrane.

They game died when AEG gave up on it.
The FFG version is just a living corpse.

Fu-Leng won in the end.

Archive this bitch now.

>build bridges
Psssh..nothing personal...barbarus

There's still plenty of awesome crunchy lore to use. Rokugan is such an awesome setting. I was introduced to it in the early 2000s when I read through the Clan War novels.

There is a lot of conflicting images, but like L5R in general, its all just imagery with no actual connection to the real world examples it copies. I can't image how painful it would be for an actual Japanese history/mythology buff to try and wrap their head around the fluff, but reading the wiki about Yodotai culture is... special.

What doesn't make sense is that the Yodotai are a mix of late Republic Romans, Byzantines and 11thC Crusaders... While the Thrane and the Merenae are full on 17thC Western Europe. Am I missing something? Are they separated by a few centuries in the timeline?

Rokugan is relatively isolated from the rest of the world.

But for the most part, Rokugani tech and fashion is roughly 16th-17thC Japanese, which fits with the Thrane and Merenae.

Then you have the Yodotai, who are based on a culture at least 1600 years behind the other three.

Technological development is likely skewed by magic in the setting.

Yodotai and Merene are mentioned as having battles, and it can be presumed their continents are relatively close to each other.

Yodotai's thing is about brutally asserting the supriority of its language, methods, and culture. Its entirely possible that they would look down on the Thrane's reliance on gunpowder as much as the Rokugani do, favoring their legionairy formations and such. Their own magic might even incline them to support it.

Lest we forget the Burning Sands 1001 arabian nights magic as well, each culture might have its own gods and magic.

In fact as we've seen Rokugani magic is more than capable of defeating the gunpowder armed ships of the Thrane in the battle of White Stag. This is completely 360 to similar instances IRL.

I would not be surprised if Rokugan never actually experiences either the domination of western powers like China did or the adoption of Western Technology like Japan did, but instead just became even more powerful on its own right that by the time the Thrane reach the 18th century Rokugani is still capable of fending for itself with even better magic.

Still not what I am getting at... Its just weird aesthetically.

NOT! Late Imperial Japan, Late Persian Empire, and Age of Sail Europe: All vaguely 17thC.... And then you got ancient Romans.

Oh. Well, I can see what you mean.

I gather the intent was to simply find the most contrasting cultures historically to China/Japan, and traditionally those have been the generalized "West". Whether its Ancient Rome and Han Dynasty China, or Spain/Portugal/British and medieval Japan. They just decided to put those two in to be as alien and foreign as possible (which they were even IRL).

However, obviously, the time frame of those other two are very far apart.

Incoming Spoiler!

1 cost event
Water Spell.
Action: During a conflict, choose a character you control - until the end of that conflict, opponent's card effects cannot bow that character and it does not bow as a result of conflict resolution during political conflicts.

1 cost event
Void Spell
Action: choose a non unique character with 1 or more fate on it, move each fate from that character to a non unique character with no fate on it controlled by the same player

+0 Str
Holding Shrine
Reaction: After the conflict phase begins, chose a ring – Treat that ring as if it were in your claimed ring pool

How do the other empires magic work?
Don't they all lack minor kami?

The focus of the game is Rokugan, ergo all other factions are intentionally not specified. Burning Sands has its own thing too.

It seems to be left ambigious as to whether other pantheons and gods are real or not, so its whatever you want to believe. However it is a fact that there is gaijin magic because certain advantages and skills specifically mention they aren't effective against gaijin magic.

Its likely there are other gods and magic though imo, because we have Burning Sands as evidence to it being such.

Well, the Yodotai flat out don't have magic, at all, period. What they do have, is the spirits of their ancestors who sometimes help them in one of two ways: They can take corporeal form, and fight in the front rank as immortal legionaries, or they can show up as spirits creating an anti-magic field.

Unfortunately, there is no control over what they will choose to do, and they don't always choose whats needed. Furthermore, the antimagic field can be broken with strong enough magic.

desu I'd hardly consider that as not having magic. That just feels more like spirit magic with a focus on negating other peoples magic. Call it splitting hairs or what have you, but true no-magic/anti-magic ought to be just that, no ghosts and shit.

By L5R standards, that is no magic.

The Yodotai did not use magic; instead the spirits of their fallen fight on the battlefield led by the spirit of Conquest, the Deity of War. If they appeared in corporeal form they fight in the front lines, killing their enemies, and when they appeared in spirtual form they blocked the effects of spells. They only appeared if their descendants believed in the spiritual eternal life, and their corporeal apparition was affected by the faith and honor of the Yodotai soldiers. The appearation of the spirits could not be controlled, and sometimes they appeared in form the Yodotai did not need in the battle, risking the defeat. If the spells were too powerful, the ancestor did not protect the Yodotai warriors, as it happened during the Shattering of the Jewel.

Is Legends of the Burning Sands just not that popular of an RPG? There is a book and everything, but not even a wikia for it.

I have the book, and while it's an interesting read... There's honestly not much to DO in the Burning Sands. It felt very static.

Really?

How can you go wrong with 1001 arabians nights aesthetic? There should be loads of potential adventures.

The Lion pretty much took care of the Yodotai threat I thought.

Who are these guys? Looks like Crab armor, but I'm not sure. Witch Hunters?

btw I mean, how could the writers fuck things up so bad. if the setting is interesting, its a shame that the RP doesn't leave a lot of room for fun.

I'd honestly be more worried about the Lion. Who the fuck wants to face a bunch of Deathseekers?

Chags handled the Yodotai mercs/scouts hilariously. He put them on boring ass guard duty on the Khol Wall and arranged for them to die in construction accidents.

I've always thought it would be an interesting idea if each of the different major civilizations had their own Spirit Realm problems.
Rokugan obviously has it worse with the Festering Pit and Jigoku but others suffer as well.

Like... the Senpet have a weird spiritual problem stemming from Yume-do (somehow), the Ivory Kingdoms problem comes from powerful animal-headed monsters from Chikushudo and so on for all the others.

What I want to know is why do the Crane get all the nice stuff?

Our party has a a bit of dragon in it.

We have:

A scorpion Bushi/Gardener

A Isawa Shugenja.

A Dragon shugenja (they were adopted by a mirumoto bushi who never had time for romance and started getting sentimental in his old age, then he found out his boy had the gift)

A kitsuki investigator.

A Kotagama Bushi. The Kitsuki's cousin. (They share a Kitsuki great grandmother. His mother insisted they visit despite mom and grandma having a strained relationship so He has a stronger connection relationship his dragon extended family then you would expect)

the party works for an Emerald magistrate (and the first Otomo I've ever heard of in a game who I don't hate) who had decided to use inspecting the Kitsuki's tithes an excuse to sit in on some kind of big meeting the are hosting featuring representatives from the Mantis, Phoenix, Scorpion, and Unicorn. The magistrate seems to think whatever is going on may lead to a summer war.

I have learned that bitter betrothal can take on many forms.

Because they're the Jews of the setting.

Because you can fight them.
I mean sure, they're terrifyingly effective warriors and the chance is slim that you can win.
But even if you don't, you will understand why it is that you lost and died.

The Isawa don't offer that sort of understanding or familiarity. They just command the kami to turn the enemy into flowers and move on.

>Otomo I don't hate
Give it time.
Otomo are almost as bad as the Scorpion in my opinion.

If any clan Shugenja could rival that of the Phoenix, the Dragon Clan, equally as frightening. Yes?

Not in power, but possibly better skilled in battle due to the weirdness the Dragon permit - allowing them to study with the Mirumoto for instance.

Another thing the Tamori have going for them is that they get along well with the Mirumoto and are equals all things considered.
The Isawa are a very.... well abrasive group. They tend to rub people the wrong way, even their sworn defenders simply because they believe they know best.

No, that's the Mantis.
Well ok, they're Sea Jews, but it's the same difference.

Crane are the food jews. Rokugani currency is based on the price of food as well.

I always wanted to RP as a magistrate, I like how each school has its own unique flavor...could never decide on which clan I'd like to use though.

Here's the list of all the Magistrate Schools;

Crab Clan: Kuni Witch Hunter
Duty: Combat the taint

Crane Clan: Doji Magistrate
Duty: Police Crane Clan lands

Dragon Clan: Kitsuki Justicar
Duty: Investigate crime

Lion Clan: n/a

Mantis Clan: Tsuruchi Bounty Hunter
Duty: Hunt down and eliminate fugitives

Tsuruchi Magistrate
Duty: Investigation

Phoenix Clan: Asako Inquisitor
Duty: Combat the taint and maho-tsukai

Scorpion Clan: Kuroiban (Black Watch)
Duty: Combat maho-tsukai

Unicorn Clan: Shinjo Magistrate
Duty: Police Unicorn Clan lands

Imperial Positions: Jade Magistrate
Duty: Combat the taint and maho-tsukai

Emerald Magistrate
Duty: Police the Empire

Seppun Magistrate
Duty: Defend the Emperor and his holdings
Curiously enough, I was not able to find any information on Lion Clan Magistrates. Do they not exist?

Where can I find a TLDR on the mantis clan? They sound super cool

Everyone is over in the Genesys general.

They're pirates and the obligatory "Lolwesodifferent" clan

The Emerald Champion might think they're the biggest bad ass around, but I put my money on the Ivory Kingdom colonial counterpart.

Anything to do with the Unicorn Clan is pretty much awesome. I guess they're the setting equivalent of the Mongols.

Aesthetically, they're the best.

That... is a bit of bummer if they are lolsorandom

I always told myself that if I ever win the lottery, I'm making it my life's work to turn the L5R setting into the greatest MMORPG of all time.

I just imagine beautiful zones like in the picture.

The Mantis Clan is one of the Great Clans of Rokugan. Prior to the Second Day of Thunder, they could boast of being the oldest Minor Clan in the Empire, though they were not officially recognized as such. They occupied a unique position in Rokugani history, as a former Minor Clan that rose up on the Second Day of Thunder to become a Great Clan. Until recently, they were the only Great Clan without a divine representative. This changed, however, when the great Mantis hero Yoritomo ascended to Tengoku. Later, the Thunder Dragon gave up a portion of her divinity to allow Yoritomo to remain as the Mantis' official representative in the court of Tengoku. Specifically, their duties within the Emerald Empire are to guard and patrol all the lands of the Empire which do not belong to any other clan, including the seas of Rokugan. They protect the Empire against threats from the oceans, particulalrly any potential gaijin invaders. The clan's motto is "Only a fool stands in the path of a storm."

They absorbed many of the minor clans and earned their place as a Major Clan.

Plus Yoritomo is one of the most bad ass characters in the setting.

Thanks for the run down user.

This thread makes me happy. Need more discussion, hell, the lore and fluff of the setting alone should be reason enough.

Too much of this grimdark nonsense going around.

So...are the Lion Clan like the Ultramarines of this world?

L5R might not be 40k tier, but it is a pretty gritty setting.
>Being any type of peasant other than farmer is shit. Being a farmer is not very shitty.
>Being a samurai means constrained to all the things samurai are expected to do and be

Not really, that’s more the Crane. Lions place too much emphasis on impractical honour to be Ultras.

>WTS [Ancestral Sword of the Phoenix Clan] 20 koku or Trade for [Ancestral Sword of the Lion Clan]
>LFG need Crab tank.
>lol Shamefur Dispray lolololol

Being a peasant has only not been absolute shit for a fraction of human history on a fraction of the globe. That’s hardly grimdark.

So each clan is honor bound to serve whoever the Emperor is? And all the land in Rokugan belongs to the Emperor? How are all these clan wars justified then if they are supposed to be a united peoples under the banner of the Emperor?

Wouldn't the Emperor want everyone at peace with each other? Especially seeing how xenophobic the Rokugan people are as a whole.

Even IRL there were wars among the Japanese clans, all of whom swore allegiance to the Emperor. Wars are often instances where honor comes into question and honor is everything in Rokugan.

Its not unrealistic either. There were still wars within the HRE despite there being an Emperor, and wars within European states despite the Pope being the supreme religious figurehead whose church was supposed to be a proponent of peace. Rokugan is divided up among clans, and is very decentralized rather than having a single national administrative government.

>LFM [Shadowlands: Akuma no Oni], NEED 1 KUNI PURIFIER AND GTG!!

I always found it shitty how the Crab Clan were left to defend the wall against the Shadowlands while everyone else is like DILLY DILLY! Do any of the other clans send detachments to help them reinforce?

And what in the fuck is the picture I posted? Crab and Scorpion vs. Dragon and Shadowlands? Or is that the Spider?

They are the eternal Anglo. The seek the blood of those who dwell on the continent.

t.manitis Anglo

did someone say buff kakita?

After the Destroyer War, Crab and Scorpion fighting side-by-side was a pretty common thing to see in Rokugan. In addition, that's when the Spider became a genuine clan.

I mean it happens in every setting. They just keep inserting a bunch of NOT!Cultures that were centuries if not thousands of years apart.

See Warhammer Fantasy.:
Empire: Early Renaissance HRE
Bretonnia: Medieval France
Lizardmen: 1000s Maiaztecs
Tomb Kings: whofuckingknows B.C Egypt
Norsca: Viking Invaders
Araby: 1300-1500s muslims

If a setting has magic, things like that can be somewhat explained. Also it's cool to see not!romans fighting not!japanese

The Scorpion Clan, widely considered to be villainous and untrustworthy by the rest of Rokugan, and often referred to as the Underhand of the Emperor. It was a family of spies, manipulators, and assassins who valued loyalty and duty and for whom the ends justified the means. The samurai of the Scorpion clan understood that by dirtying their hands, they ensured that no others need do so.

With a mask affixed firmly across your face, you begin to weave your web of lies...

I feel like Scorpion samurai get the most pussy out of any clan, they got that swagger.

It also has about the same level of common sense as 40k

So how much mask does a scorpion needs to wear? That lady only has a small piece of porcelain around one eye. Does blindfold-kun counts too?

Basically, they don't need to be masks at all. They can be anything from genuinely covering all of the face to facial ornaments that do nothing to conceal identity or any part of the face.

One guy just turns his collar up. It can really be anything.

Which clan is the best forgets/Crafters?

Are they going to go the progressive route?

Well they already gender swapped two champions and one of them is gay for Kachiko another one is unmarried with five kids from two different baby daddies. You tell me?

>le progressive boogeyman
Stop it, Redditor.

Dropped
I like Netrunner but the amount of progressive chaff is very off-putting.
Please, no retarded answers.

Does anyone know of a l5r 4e character generator?

I want one for use in a oneshot.

Did you also here about the part where they got rid of a 20 year old tradition at big tournaments because some Gook cried about imperial Japan?

Well I mean she's pissed off plenty of people. For instance she loudly chewed out an Ikoma lord when he tried to deny us hospitality at his castle while we were traveling though Lion lands after wiping out a gang of bandits that had been raiding Crane and Lion lands lead by a tainted bandit with superhuman strength and durability and a mahou tsukai.

Sigh, no.
History?

Your use of a racial slur really helps your argument that the man is being unreasonable about racial sensitivity.

I've never heard of a Kotagama. What are they?

Vassal family of the Doji.
They were originally founded to make spies and cops.

Back in the day at major story tournaments the organizer would lied the the players in a chant:

(Organizer)UTZ!

(Players)BANZAI!

This was good fun and got people psyched up. Well when FFG relaunched the game some seasian got mad on his blog about Japanese occupation and warcrimes and shit. FFG being in Minnesota can't help but be cucks so now they expect us to shout "for rokugon" instead. Its lame and if you go to any of the tournaments now its really low energy. Btw Banzai! Is still a card in the game we just can't yell it because that would be racist or something.

Lol look at this triggered faggot.

TRIGGERED
They could make people do Jazz hands instead of applause to not trigger anyone in tournaments.

Based on availability in the RPG as there's very little fluff on it...

Kaiu Engineer: (Crab Clan School), --Great Clans p39,

Kitsune Artisan: (Path, replaces Kitsune Shugenja 2) --Strongholds of the Empire p25

Shiba Armorsmiths: (Path, replaces Shiba Bushi 2) --Book of Earth p193

Tamori Weaponsmiths: (Path, replaces Tamori Shugenja 2) --Book of Earth p195

Tsi Smith: (Oriole Clan School) --L5R Core p222

Water Hammer Smith: (Path, replaces any Dragon School at Rank 2) --Strongholds of the Empire p108

Your not wrong. The tournament format kinda sucks as well. Needing to go x-1 to make the cut is complete dog shit.

Because without the clans warring with one another you get the Kolat.

God damn that's comprehensive. Did you just search in the pdfs or remember all that somehow? Also huge thanks

Did a little research and was able to find a forum post that already had them compiled from the source material. You're welcome, friend.

This thread fills me with a warm fuzzy feeling.