Desert Winds (L5R 4th Edition Campaign) Full

[Kowsauni]

Player: Kowsauni
Name: Utaku Daisuke
Clan: Unicorn
School: Utaku Mounted Infantry
Rank: 1
Insight: ???
Experience: 0/40
Glory: 1.0
Honor: 5.5
Status: 1.0
Taint: 0.0
Heritage:


EARTH: 3

• Stamina: 3
  
• Willpower: 3
  

WATER: 2

• Strength: 3
  
• Perception: 2
  

FIRE: 2

• Agility: 3
  
• Intelligence: 2
  

AIR: 2

• Reflexes: 2
  
• Awareness: 2
  

VOID: 2

• Void:
  
• Current Void Points: 2/2
  

SKILLS
Kenjutsu (Agility) - [No-Dachi] - 3
Athletics (Strength) - 1
Battle (Perception) - 1
Defense (Reflexes) - 2
Polearms (Agility) - 1
Spears (Agility) - 1
Courtier (Awareness) - 2
Sincerity (Awareness) - 2
Horsemanship (Agility) - 1
Perform (Various) - 1


MASTERY ABILITIES
Kenjutsu: Rank 3: Damage + 1k0


ADVANTAGES
Large - You are significantly larger than the average Rokugani, ranging in height from 6'0" to 6'3" in height. You gain a bonus of +1k0 to the total of all Damage Rolls for any Large melee weapon.

Strength of the Earth - In your soul can be found the spirit of the mountains and the strength of stone. You can overcome injuries that would cripple other men. The TN penalties you suffer from Wound Ranks are reduced by 3.



DISADVANTAGES
Gullible - Your trust is given easily and you place tremendous faith in those whom you trust, unfortunately making it very simple for others to take advantage of your naive nature. Opponents attempting to use Sincerity (Deceit) against you gain a bonus of +1k1 to the total of their rolls.

Soft-Hearted - Human life is precious to you, so much so that you have difficulty executing the basic duty of the samurai caste: to kill. When faced with the opportunity to kill another human being, you must succeed at a Willpower Trait Roll (TN 20), or you are unable to do so. If you kill another, the TNs of all your rolls are increased by +10 for one day as you are wracked with guilt. This penalty is not cumulative with multiple deaths. This Disadvantage could potentially also apply to killing nonhuman creatures or even Shadowlands monsters, even though the Experience Point value should be increased in such cases.



TECHNIQUES, SPELLS, KATA, KIHO, SHADOWLANDS POWERS
Rank 1: Choose Your Weapon (Kenjutsu)- The Utaku infantry are trained to fight with sword, spear, and polearm, but each student of the School is expected to choose one such weapon on which to focus his training. You may choose either the Kenjutsu Skill, the Polearms Skill, or the Spears Skill you gain a free Emphasis of your choice in that skill. You are trained to use that weapon for both attack and defense. You add a +1k0 bonus when attacking with that Skill. If your chosen Skill is Spears or Polearms, when you are in the Defense or Full Defense stance while wielding a weapon using that Skill, you may add your Skill Ranks to your Armor TN. If your chosen Skill is Kenjutsu, you add half your Skill Rank (rounded down) instead.


EQUIPMENT/CURRENCY
Normal clothing
Light armor
Unicorn riding horse
Traveling pack
No-Dachi
Traveling Pack
-Blanket,Daisho Stand, Lantern, paper, Personal Seal/Chop ,Rope, 50', Small Folding Stool, Small Statue of Benten, Small Tent, Spare Kimono & Sandals, Week's Rations
Backpack
Basket
Bottle of Water
Bucket
Chopsticks
Coin Purse
Flint & Steel
Furoshiki Sack
Lantern Oil, flask, 2 hours
Sake Cup
Small Knife, non-combat
Wicker Umbrella
Wide-brimmed straw hat
Aiguchi knife
2 koku, 2 bu, 28 zeni


COMBAT
Weapons
No-Dachi - 7k3 - 8k3 - Large

Armor
Armor TN = 20
Other Modifiers = none

Initiative
3k2

Wounds
HEALTHY (+0): 0/15
NICKED (+0): 0/6
GRAZED (+2): 0/6
HURT (+7): 0/6
INJURED (+12): 0/6
CRIPPLED (+17): 0/6
DOWN (+37): 0/6
OUT (+N/A): 0/6


DESCRIPTION
Daisuke towers over most of his kin at a massive 6 feet, 3 inches tall--and outweighs them, too, with a weight of over 200 pounds. He has tan skin with black hair and eyes and he grows a patchy beard. Despite his intimidating presence, Daisuke is very soft-spoken and kind. He would much prefer to solve conflicts with words than with the massive sword he carries on his back, but will do whatever is necessary to protect the people he cares about and their honor.

BACKGROUND
Though quickly approaching his 25th birthday, Daisuke still remains unwed and has refused or resisted all arranged marriages that have been put before him so far, much to his familie's chagrin. He clings to the idea of true love but might be quickly running out of time to find his bride if his family has its way.

Joining the Utaku mounted infantry was a difficult decision for Daisuke. Though he likes training his body, he abhors violence and values human life above all else. Yet at the same time, he is possessed with a strong desire to protect and defend those he cares for. Since his family lacks a daughter, he has also had much encouragement from them to serve as well and bring honor to the family. It would be a waste of his natural talent if he didn't.

Still, once he began to serve, it became clear to his superiors that despite his size and physical prowess, Daisuke bore an incredible weakness. Hurting others bothered him mentally and he seemed to go out of his way to avoid inflicting fatal blows on his opponents, something seen as a liability on the battlefield. However Daisuke was a hard worker and well liked by the other men, often entertaining them with his lute around the campfire. In an attempt to help Daisuke save face and eliminate a potential risk on the battlefield, Daisuke was mostly relegated to guard duty where his intimidating presence could prove quite useful.

That was until a request came out from Utaku Ryoko, a close friend of his family, who he now intends to support in her quest to bring honor to his family.  

[Rain Yupa]

The offer to go shopping on your behalf is still open, Kowsauni. If you'd really rather, I can try PMing you a typed up item list, but it's... a big list sweatdrop  

[Kowsauni]

Rain Yupa

The offer to go shopping on your behalf is still open, Kowsauni. If you'd really rather, I can try PMing you a typed up item list, but it's... a big list sweatdrop

Sorry, I forgot about that. Please go shopping on my behalf. You will know what is needed much better than I will.  

[Rain Yupa]

Kowsauni

Rain Yupa

The offer to go shopping on your behalf is still open, Kowsauni. If you'd really rather, I can try PMing you a typed up item list, but it's... a big list sweatdrop

Sorry, I forgot about that. Please go shopping on my behalf. You will know what is needed much better than I will.

Well, the school says 5 koku, and Plainsfox told me not to deduct 2 for your no-dachi. But here's what I recommend:

Based on your school allotment:
Normal clothing
Daisho
Any one spear or polearm No-Dachi
Light armor
Steed (Unicorn riding horse) {you can copy/paste the stats off my character sheet if you want it in yours}
Traveling pack
5 koku

Your Traveling Pack is a list of 10 items that you get 'for free'. The list is a cross-section of the entire inventory listing, so not everything's available, but generally I take as many 'expensive' items in the Traveling Pack, and pay out of pocket for the rest.

Traveling Pack
Daisho Stand (1 koku) {To display your katana/wakizashi}
Lantern, paper (1 bu) {There's a more expensive metal lantern for 4 bu, but I suspect you'd have to pay for that so shift things around if you want it.}
Musical Instrument (1-5 bu)
Personal Seal/Chop (4 bu)
Rope, 50' (5 koku)
Small Folding Stool (3 bu)
Small Statue of Fortune/Ancestor (1 koku) {See 'Seven Fortunes' here. Unicorn like Ebisu best. Also, can be an ancestor just as easily. Meant for luck/sentimentality.}
Small Tent (1 koku)
Spare Kimono & Sandals (~1.2 koku)
Week's Rations (2 koku)


The Rest
Backpack (3 zeni)
Basket (2 zeni)
Blanket (1 bu)
Bottle of Water (1 zeni, water is free)
Bucket (1 zeni)
Chopsticks (1 zeni)
Coin Purse (3 zeni)
Flint & Steel (1 zeni)
Furoshiki Sack (1 zeni) {Note: Carries stuff. Just a sack.}
Lantern Oil, flask, 2 hours (3 zeni)
Sake Cup (1 bu)
Small Knife, non-combat (5 zeni)
Wicker Umbrella (2 bu)
Wide-brimmed straw hat (1 zeni)

= 22 zeni + 4 bu spent.
The conversion rate is 10 zeni = 1 bu, 5 bu = 1 koku.

So out of the 5 koku you started with, you'll have 3 koku, 1 bu, 28 zeni left.

You can throw in an aiguchi knife or tanto knife for 1 koku as well. The difference is that an aiguchi has a hilt guard, otherwise they are identical. 1k1 damage. Sometimes you just need to knife your problems, y'know?

You can take stuff off the list too, feel free to move things around (anything under 'Traveling Pack' is free, but note that it's capped at 10 items). I tried to have it both parts useful and personalized.

If there's anything else you think you want (whether it's in the book or not), mention it and I'll see what I can do smile  

[Kowsauni]

Thanks, I have added it. Now I just have to come up with the fluff.  

[Plainsfox]

In L5R, your family name is the name of the great family your character belongs to, so in this case, Utaku Daisuke....unless the Kinoshita thing belongs to some background bit I may not see yet.  

[Rain Yupa]

Plainsfox

In L5R, your family name is the name of the great family your character belongs to, so in this case, Utaku Daisuke....unless the Kinoshita thing belongs to some background bit I may not see yet.

There ARE vassal families. Maybe you should go over the purpose and naming convention of them? It could probably work for him. Not like it's that big of an issue beyond how a character introduces themselves.  

[Kowsauni]

I'll change it to Utaku. Like I said I don't know the setting very well, I just asked my wife to pick a good Japanese name for me.  

[Plainsfox]

She chose very well. Daisuke means great love, IIRC.

TL: DR on Vassal Families:

Vassal families basically do specialized tasks for their parent families. EG the Ashidaka family makes special swords for their parent family, the Kakita.

As far as game effects, a member of the Ashidaka family would only be addressed differently perhaps in her own base family. IG amongst the Kakita, a member of the Ashidaka would be addressed as Ashidaka Sayuri no Kakita.  

[Rain Yupa]

sweatdrop

To apply it to this specific situation, you CAN be Kinoshita Daisuke, if the Kinoshita family is a vassal family to the Utaku. Mechanically, it's 100% identical, it's just a method of address for yourself.

So us Unicorn can call you Kinoshita Daisuke, but to non-Unicorn, you'd be Utaku Daisuke (because it would shame everyone if you put your vassal family above their ruling family.

Here's the snippet from the L5R wiki:

Quote:

Naming of Vassals Edit

The naming conventions of vassal families were somewhat complex, especially in relation to the simplicites of family names in the great families. Within their family, parent family, and clan, members of the vassal families were called by their vassal family name. In this way, their often unique means of service to their clans were easily recognized. [1]

To those outside of their clans, however, vassal family samurai were identified by their parent families' names. To use a vassal family's name to an outsider over that of the family which they served was an act of arrogance. In this manner, the individual would be implying that his lineage was more important and well-known than that of the family he served. [1]
An Example

For example, Naoko Sahijir was a member of the Naoko family, vassals of the Utaku family of the Unicorn Clan. To those within the Unicorn, she was known as Naoko Sahijir, as they were immediately aware of the relation of the Naoko and Utaku families. To those outside the Unicorn clan, Sahijir would be known most simply as Utaku Sahijir. If she wished to recognize her own family, particularly if she wished to be formal, she might introduce herself as "Utaku Sahijir of House Naoko" or as "Utaku Sahijir of Naoko." [1]

If an outsider was visiting the lands of the Unicorn, these protocol would remain the same, unless that visitor was within the holdings of the Naoko family. In such a case, Sahijir could refer to herself as "Naoko Sahijir," as it would be assumed that the visitor would know he was in the lands of the Utaku family and would already know of their relation with the Naoko. [1]

I can't speak for Plainsfox in this regard, but for any L5R games I GM, if someone wants to invent a vassal family, I'm usually 102% for it.  

[Plainsfox]

Brass tacks, the vassal family must do something *UNIQUE* like say grow certain flowers or have a certain style of horsemanship. Furthermore, I would require the character have a significant investment in this unique talent. Those are my rules for vassal families.


So, basically, I'm willing to allow a Kinoshita vassal family IF Kowasauni is willing to do the fluff and character building around it.  

[Kowsauni]

Its ok. I'll be from the Utaku family. I'm not really attached to the last name. I'm actually struggling with he background as I don't know the setting that well beyond its basis on feudal Japan.  

[Plainsfox]

I'm not a great character background maker myself, so don't worry too much about it. We'll help out as we can.  

[Rain Yupa]

Kowsauni

Its ok. I'll be from the Utaku family. I'm not really attached to the last name. I'm actually struggling with he background as I don't know the setting that well beyond its basis on feudal Japan.

Some things to consider:

Gempukku - the 'coming to age' ceremony where you complete a task/ordeal decided by your Clan and Sensei, and when you complete it, you officially become an adult, and generally choose a new name for yourself. When did this happen? What did you have to do? How difficult was it for you?

Military Service - How many battles have you served in? Are you untested, or have you fought before? Have you slain any foes? What are your normal duties that you do on behalf of your superiors?

Family - How many siblings do you have? How many have completed their gempukku? What do your parents do? Are you married, betrothed, or single? Do you have children?

Allies & Enemies - Is there anyone you've grown close to? Are they in your clan, or from another one? What about potential rivals?

Ambitions - What do you dream for, for your future? Do you want to achieve a position of power and responsibility? Do you want to live stoically, living by the sword and dying by the sword? Do you want to accumulate greats amount of wealth? Are you on a personal quest for enlightenment?

Those I think are things worth considering, and there really aren't any wrong answers. You can go into more or less detail as you see fit, but it should work as a launching point.  

[Mongooseh]

Shinjo Asura

Done mechanically.