Rainy Days are here again - Another L5R 4e Campaign?

[Rain Yupa]

LuvDragon

Raganui Minamoto

Plainsfox

Paidi tou Selini

So, as promised here, overtime at work has ended.

While I'll be taking a few days to be getting my bearings before I worry about anything else, I'll still fulfill my word and try to start the minor campaign idea I had mentioned. For the sake of any others wandering in...

Rain Yupa

4e, basically around 1250 (50 years ahead of the current meta), either late in the reign of Iweko II or early Iweko III, not sure yet. The actual year would be unimportant, but all the players are part of a brand new minor clan that the players will help design. They will effectively be the "second generation", so your parents will still come from assorted other clans, giving an illusion of a mixed-party group. It's basically you coming to age with the responsibility of making a name and gaining renown for your clan so it's less of a joke to all the Great Clans.

Most minor clans are, until they get the respect of a Great Clan, or until the Mantis absorbs them.

Rain Yupa

Definitely the "family" bonus from your parents (who joined the minor clan, rather than were born into it as either most or all of you would be), but I've yet to decide on school. There would NOT be a formal school of that minor clan yet, because it hasn't been around enough yet to be fully developed. It may be any of the following:

• Rank 1 in your parents' school, but unable to progress to Rank 2 without tutelage from that Great Clan;
  
• Treat it as Ronin schools;
  
• I'll develop the school itself, which depends entirely on who the Minor Clan founder was (ex, Hare was founded by a Ronin, Ox by a former Unicorn, Sparrow by a Crane, Badger by a Crab, etc), which will be determined by all players before game starts.

It may end up being one, two, or all three of these as options. Maybe a fourth option if there's something in one of the 4e books.

* * * * *

So, eventually you guys WILL be making standard Legend of the Five Rings 4e starting Rank 1 samurai (40 cp), you won't be making any right out of the gate. Rather, anyone interested in joining this game will be working jointly on your Minor Clan creation first. Once that gets ironed out, then I'll post campaign-specific character generation rules and you'll go from there.

I'll be limiting this to 4 players. This doesn't necessarily restrict it to the 4 people quoted at the top of those post, however. I simply quoted them to snag their attention.

Even if you aren't going to play, you can still contribute in the clan generation part if you'd like! Likewise, you can try to skirt around this part if you can't be bothered by it, because if someone comes in after it's pretty much done I can't hold them accountable for finding out about this too late; however, if there are more wanting players than seats, players who helped with Clan generation will be given priority. I'll make a formal recruit thread from scratch once this part is complete, and that's when you can throw character sheets at me.

Okay, now for the nitty gritty:

Either before you were born, or when you were an infant, a person did something during the reign of Iweko I that caused the Divine Empress to bestow that individual with their own Minor Clan. Your parents have since joined the Minor Clan, and you are part of the Clan's second generation.

Before we can proceed, who was your Clan's founder? What did they do to earn such prestige?

When you all have agreed upon it unanimously, I will throw out additional questions.

Note, that I have some restrictions/veto rights. The restriction I'm mostly worried about, is that you cannot use either a pre-existing character in Legend of the Five Ring's metaplot, and you cannot use a character you've played in any of my previous (short-lived) games. For veto rights, I'm mainly concerned with making sure what you guys choose is worthy of minor clan status. Nothing silly or obscene. Make it glorious! Make it heroic!  

[Plainsfox]

*Hrrm....*
*Paces around a bit*
*Throws noodles against the wall*

These are just a couple of thoughts rolling around in my head right now. ><

#1) Matsu Kagura
A Lion warrior who tracked down and killed several Chuda maho-tsukai who remained in the empire and were participants in a conspiracy to remove Iweko.

#2) Kitsuki Himura
A duelist and yojimbo who had a penchant for silly haikus. When Iweko was much younger, Himura performed a duel that saved her life and her career.  

[Raganui Minamoto]

Hmmm hmmm hmmm... I'd be silly and suggest Kuni Raicho-sama but we're going to let her rest where she was.

In all truth, I'd almost say that we should go with a Unicorn Horseman (or Horsemaiden) who inspired and lead a charge of cavalry to defeat a great monster that had been ravaging the lands near the Shadowlands.  

[Rain Yupa]

Raganui Minamoto

Hmmm hmmm hmmm... I'd be silly and suggest Kuni Raicho-sama but we're going to let her rest where she was.

In all truth, I'd almost say that we should go with a Unicorn Horseman (or Horsemaiden) who inspired and lead a charge of cavalry to defeat a great monster that had been ravaging the lands near the Shadowlands.

By my estimate, Raicho would be about 120, give or take some. I think anyone from Jade Legacy, PC or NPC, would be too old to be founding a minor clan at this point (probably between 5-20 years prior to the start of the game, leaning towards 20). It's something like 90-100 years after that.  

[Plainsfox]

Maor noodles to the wall.

Bayushi NObushige, who led an expedition to the ruined kingdoms and found medicines that assisted in the treatment of an illness that one of Iweko's sons had.  

[Rain Yupa]

I believe Ms. Selini will be afk for a few days; I was hoping to catch her before she left for her hiatus, but I apparently missed the mark.

Remember, everyone should be trying to pitch ideas to each other and work to agree on a singular one, before you bother pitching it at me. The game may be just the two of you (which I would still run for), so don't wait on other people! Until someone else contributes, act like it's JUST you! If they don't jump in until, say, the second or third set of questions, so be it!  

[PupSage]

Rain Yupa

For the record, I know very little about L5R, but it sounds interesting. Here is my pitch.

The serpent clan. Founded by a former Crane clan member who wished to go a bit more illegitimate. The leader would be a female who runs gambling dens, opium dens, smuggling rings, and kabuki houses that double as brothels. With the second generation coming in a new head has taken over that wishes to shift them into the entertainment business in a fashion that is more presentable and not so underhanded, lest their reputation become like that of the Scorpion clan.  

[Rain Yupa]

PupSage

Rain Yupa

For the record, I know very little about L5R, but it sounds interesting. Here is my pitch.

The serpent clan. Founded by a former Crane clan member who wished to go a bit more illegitimate. The leader would be a female who runs gambling dens, opium dens, smuggling rings, and kabuki houses that double as brothels. With the second generation coming in a new head has taken over that wishes to shift them into the entertainment business in a fashion that is more presentable and not so underhanded, lest their reputation become like that of the Scorpion clan.

Well, if you have questions about the setting, feel free to ask! biggrin

(Also, there was a 'Snake Clan' once, but it was all maho-tsukai (sorcerers skilled in the powerful but forbidden art of blood sorcery, which basically taints your soul evil just by using it) after 3 generations and wiped out by the Phoenix Clan about, what, 600+ years ago?)

(Also, the status of 'Minor Clan' is only rewarded by the Emperor/Empress upon great service to the throne above and beyond the call of duty. The only 'Minor Clan' that got around that was the Spider Clan, started in the later 1/3 of the last century, by basically the high priest of Jigoku/Hell, Daigotsu. They called themselves a minor clan, though they had no official recognition from the Imperial Family and were effectively just ronin under a solitary banner. That changed, however, as a result of their part in ending the path of destruction caused by Kali-Ma the Destroyer from the Ivory Kingdoms who threatened to raze the entire empire of Rokugan with her army, and they actually negotiated the status of Great Clan over the initially agreed-upon Minor Clan status, much to the chagrin of... well, pretty much everyone!)

So while your idea has merit 'later down the road', it wouldn't be something the minor clan would do right off the bat. Vis a vis, the Tortoise Clan, which are basically filthy pirates. The name of the Clan is something you guys will decide later - after who figure out who founded it, which is the current step 3nodding  

[Plainsfox]

Maybe it'd be helpful to describe what kind of clan I want to play in.

On an honor scale of 1 (with 1 representing Spider Clan, 2 representing Scorpion, 3 representing Dragon, and 4 representing Lion) I feel like playing in a Clan that's between 2 and 3 right now. As a note, even in a high honor clan, there are still low honor people who do the dirty things. Also, in low honor clans, there are still people who take honor seriously.

On a balance between fighting and court, I feel like court a little more right now.

On a balance between fighting and magic, I feel like magic a little more right now.

I feel I would enjoy myself more if the clan were mandated to fill some great purpose, although if a funny origin really makes me laugh, I'd be down for that. (Emperors can create minor clans at their whim.)

Anyrate, just putting this out there. I hope it's helpful.  

[Raganui Minamoto]

Hmmm... Could always just be a minor clan the Emperor/ess put together for a specific reason (such as countering x or because of some sort of tea leaves prophecy).  

[Rain Yupa]

Well, if there is a "purpose", it's generally delegated to a Great Clan anyways. I can't think of an instance where a minor clan was created around a purpose, THEN just had regular guys throw in with them. Generally, the right to create your own family is the highest reward one could be bestowed by the Emperor/Empress, and it stems from there.

Or punishment, as was the case with the Sparrow.

I think all Minor Clans are generally given a specific duty, and/or have a singular purpose in mind. Almost always, that's always when someone does something so spectacular that the Emperor/Empress realizes that it's something an actual duty needs to be created for, and bestows it to the person who just proved that they were up to the task.

Mind you, things do change. You guys could really really push for the duty-first, clan-leader-is-just-some-shmuck aspect if you really wanted. If everyone wants something badly enough, that works.

As for fulfilling a certain thing like "I want to be a primarily Bushi minor clan", or "I want to have medium honor with this clan" or whatever, what you really need to do is figure out your Parent clan. Odds are, your starting honor will be determined by the starting honor of the kind of individual that founded it, based on what is standard honor for that school. With a variation, of course, on the characteristics of the person themselves.

The guidelines aren't exactly loose, but they aren't strict either.

A samurai will ask permission from their lord to go serve a different lord, even that of a minor clan; else, most of the minor clan's ranks will be ronin that will be recruited by the lord and given a sense of purpose. If your parents will be proper samurai, what kind of person would inspire them so much that they would seek to change the subject of their servitude? Keep that in mind. You aren't just figuring out who earned the Minor Clan status, but who inspired people to follow them. (A trickier when a clan would be created without inspiration; would YOU volunteer to give up your cushy job to simply loiter around in Shinomen Mori for decades?)

Otherwise, keep the ideas coming smile  

[I Drink Blue Moon]

Mayhaps make a competition of sorts to get this done faster. Poll all those that have posted.

Crab or Crane
Dragon or Lion
Mantis or Phoenix
Scorpion or Unicorn
And I guess spider ....  

[Rain Yupa]

Things I thought of this morning:

Rather than one-or-two liner pitches, you guys should probably do one-or-two paragraph pitches. REALLY describe your clan champion in his or her early days smile

Also, one thing you guys can do (completely optional) is delegate who does what part of this. Say, for the person, one person decides clan and family, one person decides personality, one person decides what they did, etc.

If you guys even wanted to just make a list of 'candidates' and roll to see which one gets chosen, you can do that too.

Lots of options.

*scuttles off back to work before he gets caught*  

[PupSage]

After some research. I vote Mantis clan.

Also, i am confused about th l5r and 4e mix.

Is this for l5r lore in a 4e d&d ruleset?

Clan founder was a master Shugenja. The empire received a threat from (enemy) who had several ships lined up at the coastline. The enemy threatened to strike at dawn and while the other clans were organising and preparing, (clan leader) went out to sea in a rowboat. Using his advanced magic he began to conjure a storm, ships began to knock into eachother and sink one another, while lightning struck those that remained and electrified the bodies of the escaping soldiers. The enemies second in command was the only survivor. He was allowed to escape in a small dingey and return to his home. The next morning the lion and crab clan armies showed up to see the villagers celebrating this man, not only for saving their town, but for bringing water in a time of drought.  

[Raganui Minamoto]

Legend of the Five Rings system, 4th Edition ruleset.