Well guys, it's happened. My group has gotten back together, sat down, thought it out, and decided. We're going to give L5R a shot. Our ever-possible 4th player is likely going to join the group later, so he and I will have to chat about the sort of character that he's bringing to the game. For right now, since this is our first play through, I asked the players what type of character they had in mind, and then did the actual character creation myself. This helps to keep things balanced, because L5R is so very different from the D&D settings that we're used to. Particularly, this allowed me to set up characters who would work well with their player, and keep their player out of trouble.
Setting:
This is somewhat important to anyone who has ever played L5R. Like most GMs I've met, I'm injecting Rokugan with a little bit more historical specificity, bringing it somewhat more inline with Japan than it already is in some areas (namely, the Gender neutrality of Rokugan politics is right out).
One of the biggest changes to my setting is that it is almost entirely non-magical. Magic exists but it is extremely rare, and while the Shadowlands is present, it is a threat rather than something which the players are likely to encounter altogether. Otherwise, the campaign is following the Four Winds campaign from 3e with the notable exception that the Crab/Crane conflict will be modified somewhat to have both parties being manipulated heavily by the Scorpion, and the Shadowlands and their assorted "big-bads" will be replaced with the (out of timeline, I know) foundation of the Spider Clan. So yeah - it's not quite the Four Winds, but it's based on the Four Winds and lets the party work together. The party itself is funtioning similarly the magistrates, although they are working for Toturi's Army instead of the Emperor.
The Player-Characters:
For this part, I'm just giving an abbreviated character sheet (players get the full version, obviously) and then the player's "meet your PC" packet. This packet also includes information about the setting and so forth, which you have gotten from me already.
Tsi Masamori - Tsi Smithing School
Insight: 129 - Honor: 4.5
Air: 2/2
Earth: 2/2
Fire: 3/3
Water: 3/3
Void: 2
Skills: Artisan (Sculpture), Commerce, [3] Weaponsmithing (Katana), Defense, [2]Kenjutsu, Meditation
Disadvantages: Compulsion (Sake, 4pt), Antisocial, Soft Hearted
Advantages: Great Potential (Weaponsmithing), Sacred Weapon (Kaiu Blade*)
*Given to the player to represent a similarly impressive blade of Oriole Clan craftsmanship.
The Tsi family of the minor Oriole Clan, form the craftsman arm of the Rokugani, and Masanori is no exception. His great-great grandfather was a peerless blacksmith, and ever since Masanori inherited his sword at a young age, he wanted to live up to his grandsire's name. Following this path, Masanori forged several high-quality blades. However, Masanori feels awkward and pensive in the presence of others, preferring the simplicity and seclusion of his forge. This marked Masanori out for exclusion and derision, and while his smithing skill remained valuable to the clan, Masanori himself saw his status slipping away around him. Masanori turned to drinking, and as such things always do, one problem compounded the next. Often too intoxicated to perform his duties at the forge, Masanori gained a reputation as a tragically failed artist at best, and a total failure to his Clan at worst. Gathering his equipment, Masanori set out for the wider world - eager to get out from the overbearing shadow the Crab and their Wall...
Masanori is a skilled craftsman, and swordsman in his own right. His swordplay is made even more deadly by his grandfather's sacred blade. However, Masanori cannot stomach death, and avoids conflict where possible. When forced to fight, he attempts with all his heart to merely disable or at most, maim, his opponents rather than kill them outright.
Kakita Morinaga (aka Doji Yatsuko) – Kakita Bushi
Insight: 132 – Honor: 6.5
Air: 3/4
Earth: 2/2
Fire: 2/2
Water: 2/2
Void: 3
Skills: [2]Etiquette, [2]Iaijutsu (Focus), [2]Kenjutsu, Kyujutsu, Sincerity, Tea Ceremony, [2]Courtier
Disadvantages: Dark Secret, Driven, Lost Love
Advantages: Heart of Vengeance (Lion Clan)
The Bushi known as Kakita Morinaga is a myth - a result of tragedy which befell a young Doji woman many years ago. Doji Yatsuko was one of the few Rokugani fortunate enough to find true love. Her beloved was a member of the Kakita family, and a student of the Kakita Duelling school. During a winter court in Lion lands however, he answered a challenge to defend his honor, and was cut down by a Lion swordsman during what was intended to be a non-lethal duel. When word of his demise reached Yatsuko, she swore revenge on the murderer. This would prove difficult in practice, as women - even female Bushi - are not allowed to travel abroad carrying swords, or to engage in duels and battles. Yatsuko left her family, and adopted a new persona as Kakita Morinaga. With the help of her lost lover's mother, she entered into the Kakita school herself, and began to train in the skills which would allow her to one day confront, and kill, the Lion samurai.
Kitsune Joben ‘the Beast of Beniten Village’ – Yoritomo Bushi
Insight: 129 -- Infamy: 3.5
Air: 2/3
Earth: 2/2
Fire: 3/2
Water: 3/3
Void: 2
Skills: Commerce, Defense, [2]Jiujutsu (improvised weapons), [2]Kenjutsu, Knives (Kama), Sailing, Etiquette
Disadvantages: Lord Moon’s Curse(5pt), Infamous, Cursed by the Realm (Toshigoku)
Advantages: Wary, Large, Crab Hands, Strength of the Earth
The Kitsune family of the Mantis clan live in seclusion, and in harmony with nature. For Kitsune Joben, these close ties with the animal realm may have proven disastrous. Depsite a small and sickly chilhood, Joben grew into a hulking giant of a man. He is touched with madness however, manifesting in beastial outbursts of violence, and all encompassing fits of lunacy during nights of the full moon. Combined with his sheer size, his bloodthirsty and animal-like nature, with an almost super human resistance to pain, Joben is a horrific opponent if things come to violence. Unfortunately, things came to violence one night in the remote village of Beniten. Overcome by a fit of madness in the night, Joben descended on the village like a creature of nightmare - murdering a family and then rending apart two guards with little more than his bare hands and whatever blunt implements he could grasp. Joben awoke the next morning in a cage, sentenced to death. When a monk intervened and pointed out that Joben had no recollection of the events, and moreover that the Bushi lost control and wept openly for the destruction he had wrought, he was allowed to live under the condition that any night spent in Mantis lands would be spent in chains. Even though he was admonished of guilt for his crime, the stigma of what he did in the village of Beniten will haunt Joben for the rest of his life.
Kitsuki Udo – Kitsuki Investigator School
Insight: 123 – Honor: 5.5
Air: 3/4
Earth: 2/2
Fire: 2/2
Water: 2/3
Void: 2
Skills: [3]Courtier, [2]Etiquette (Courtesy), [3]Investigation (Interrogation), Kenjutsu, Meditation, Sincerity, Lore Heraldry, Defense
Disadvantages: Missing Limb, Obtuse, Disbeliever, Bad Eyesight
Advantages: Gaijin Gear (eyeglasses), Read Lips, Bland, Clear Thinker
Kitsuki Udo is a strange man, even amongst the monastic, withdrawn Dragon Clan. The one-armed investigator is a slight man, and his poor vision is corrected only by a pair of wiry glasses from the lands beyond Rokugan. He is simple, preferring that which is plain and unadorned, and places no stock in the vagaries of faith. Nonetheless, he is an expert at getting to the bottom of mysteries, and either absolving others of guilt, or determining exactly where the blame should lie. Although not a Bushi, Udo still knows his way around a blade, and is capable of defending himself in a skirmish or battle.
Setting:
This is somewhat important to anyone who has ever played L5R. Like most GMs I've met, I'm injecting Rokugan with a little bit more historical specificity, bringing it somewhat more inline with Japan than it already is in some areas (namely, the Gender neutrality of Rokugan politics is right out).
One of the biggest changes to my setting is that it is almost entirely non-magical. Magic exists but it is extremely rare, and while the Shadowlands is present, it is a threat rather than something which the players are likely to encounter altogether. Otherwise, the campaign is following the Four Winds campaign from 3e with the notable exception that the Crab/Crane conflict will be modified somewhat to have both parties being manipulated heavily by the Scorpion, and the Shadowlands and their assorted "big-bads" will be replaced with the (out of timeline, I know) foundation of the Spider Clan. So yeah - it's not quite the Four Winds, but it's based on the Four Winds and lets the party work together. The party itself is funtioning similarly the magistrates, although they are working for Toturi's Army instead of the Emperor.
The Player-Characters:
For this part, I'm just giving an abbreviated character sheet (players get the full version, obviously) and then the player's "meet your PC" packet. This packet also includes information about the setting and so forth, which you have gotten from me already.
Tsi Masamori - Tsi Smithing School
Insight: 129 - Honor: 4.5
Air: 2/2
Earth: 2/2
Fire: 3/3
Water: 3/3
Void: 2
Skills: Artisan (Sculpture), Commerce, [3] Weaponsmithing (Katana), Defense, [2]Kenjutsu, Meditation
Disadvantages: Compulsion (Sake, 4pt), Antisocial, Soft Hearted
Advantages: Great Potential (Weaponsmithing), Sacred Weapon (Kaiu Blade*)
*Given to the player to represent a similarly impressive blade of Oriole Clan craftsmanship.
The Tsi family of the minor Oriole Clan, form the craftsman arm of the Rokugani, and Masanori is no exception. His great-great grandfather was a peerless blacksmith, and ever since Masanori inherited his sword at a young age, he wanted to live up to his grandsire's name. Following this path, Masanori forged several high-quality blades. However, Masanori feels awkward and pensive in the presence of others, preferring the simplicity and seclusion of his forge. This marked Masanori out for exclusion and derision, and while his smithing skill remained valuable to the clan, Masanori himself saw his status slipping away around him. Masanori turned to drinking, and as such things always do, one problem compounded the next. Often too intoxicated to perform his duties at the forge, Masanori gained a reputation as a tragically failed artist at best, and a total failure to his Clan at worst. Gathering his equipment, Masanori set out for the wider world - eager to get out from the overbearing shadow the Crab and their Wall...
Masanori is a skilled craftsman, and swordsman in his own right. His swordplay is made even more deadly by his grandfather's sacred blade. However, Masanori cannot stomach death, and avoids conflict where possible. When forced to fight, he attempts with all his heart to merely disable or at most, maim, his opponents rather than kill them outright.
--------
Kakita Morinaga (aka Doji Yatsuko) – Kakita Bushi
Insight: 132 – Honor: 6.5
Air: 3/4
Earth: 2/2
Fire: 2/2
Water: 2/2
Void: 3
Skills: [2]Etiquette, [2]Iaijutsu (Focus), [2]Kenjutsu, Kyujutsu, Sincerity, Tea Ceremony, [2]Courtier
Disadvantages: Dark Secret, Driven, Lost Love
Advantages: Heart of Vengeance (Lion Clan)
The Bushi known as Kakita Morinaga is a myth - a result of tragedy which befell a young Doji woman many years ago. Doji Yatsuko was one of the few Rokugani fortunate enough to find true love. Her beloved was a member of the Kakita family, and a student of the Kakita Duelling school. During a winter court in Lion lands however, he answered a challenge to defend his honor, and was cut down by a Lion swordsman during what was intended to be a non-lethal duel. When word of his demise reached Yatsuko, she swore revenge on the murderer. This would prove difficult in practice, as women - even female Bushi - are not allowed to travel abroad carrying swords, or to engage in duels and battles. Yatsuko left her family, and adopted a new persona as Kakita Morinaga. With the help of her lost lover's mother, she entered into the Kakita school herself, and began to train in the skills which would allow her to one day confront, and kill, the Lion samurai.
---
Kitsune Joben ‘the Beast of Beniten Village’ – Yoritomo Bushi
Insight: 129 -- Infamy: 3.5
Air: 2/3
Earth: 2/2
Fire: 3/2
Water: 3/3
Void: 2
Skills: Commerce, Defense, [2]Jiujutsu (improvised weapons), [2]Kenjutsu, Knives (Kama), Sailing, Etiquette
Disadvantages: Lord Moon’s Curse(5pt), Infamous, Cursed by the Realm (Toshigoku)
Advantages: Wary, Large, Crab Hands, Strength of the Earth
The Kitsune family of the Mantis clan live in seclusion, and in harmony with nature. For Kitsune Joben, these close ties with the animal realm may have proven disastrous. Depsite a small and sickly chilhood, Joben grew into a hulking giant of a man. He is touched with madness however, manifesting in beastial outbursts of violence, and all encompassing fits of lunacy during nights of the full moon. Combined with his sheer size, his bloodthirsty and animal-like nature, with an almost super human resistance to pain, Joben is a horrific opponent if things come to violence. Unfortunately, things came to violence one night in the remote village of Beniten. Overcome by a fit of madness in the night, Joben descended on the village like a creature of nightmare - murdering a family and then rending apart two guards with little more than his bare hands and whatever blunt implements he could grasp. Joben awoke the next morning in a cage, sentenced to death. When a monk intervened and pointed out that Joben had no recollection of the events, and moreover that the Bushi lost control and wept openly for the destruction he had wrought, he was allowed to live under the condition that any night spent in Mantis lands would be spent in chains. Even though he was admonished of guilt for his crime, the stigma of what he did in the village of Beniten will haunt Joben for the rest of his life.
--
Kitsuki Udo – Kitsuki Investigator School
Insight: 123 – Honor: 5.5
Air: 3/4
Earth: 2/2
Fire: 2/2
Water: 2/3
Void: 2
Skills: [3]Courtier, [2]Etiquette (Courtesy), [3]Investigation (Interrogation), Kenjutsu, Meditation, Sincerity, Lore Heraldry, Defense
Disadvantages: Missing Limb, Obtuse, Disbeliever, Bad Eyesight
Advantages: Gaijin Gear (eyeglasses), Read Lips, Bland, Clear Thinker
Kitsuki Udo is a strange man, even amongst the monastic, withdrawn Dragon Clan. The one-armed investigator is a slight man, and his poor vision is corrected only by a pair of wiry glasses from the lands beyond Rokugan. He is simple, preferring that which is plain and unadorned, and places no stock in the vagaries of faith. Nonetheless, he is an expert at getting to the bottom of mysteries, and either absolving others of guilt, or determining exactly where the blame should lie. Although not a Bushi, Udo still knows his way around a blade, and is capable of defending himself in a skirmish or battle.