Spider sits alone
Nobody loves him because
He's a tainted freak.

Funyun bag empty
Self-loathing and Hot Pockets
Thank God for 4chan

Million blades of grass
Crushed beneath hooves, homeward bound
Is a light left on?

>>10164898

Rokugan has no hot pockets.

Hippopotamus
Anti-hippopotamus
Annihilation

Look out the window
Brilliant colors, pretty sounds
What a lovely lie

L5R sucks ass,
Only weeaboos play it.
What the fuck, you guys.

Flow My Tears
The Policeman Said
Phillip K. Dick

>>10164918

INVADING CRANE LANDS
THEY DON'T POSE ANY CHALLENGE
HA HA HA HA HA

bridge over river
in the middle of city
has the best sunset.

>>10164946
War without reason
Only leads to pain and death
What fool would want that?

>>10164923

Is it weeaboo?
Don't see any spiky hair
Or moeblobs uguu~

>>10164946
what relation does this have to the post you linked?

Do Androids
Dream Of Electric
Sleep? - Phil Dick

>>10164918

You're going outside
If I have to carry you
So help me, I will

>>10164973

WHOOPS, MEANT TO LINK TO OP. I GUESS I'M SO USED TO SHOUTING AT PHOENIX THAT I DO IT ALL THE TIME.

His Master's
Voice - Stanislaus Lem
Sixty-Eight

>>10164982

That was 3/5/3 and you got the book name wrong. Double fail.

Masturbating fast
Semen explodes on my face
Atomic anger

Contact - By
Carl Sagan - Filmed By
Zemeckis

>>10164923

weaboo does not
equate everything Japan
just the white obsessed.

>>10165022
Hardcore Haiku artists go 3-5-3

five seven five scheme.
will not be properly brief
for haiku, faggots.

Roll the dice so well
Natural twenty and crit
DM starts crying

>>10165008
>>10165037

Five, seven, five see?
Your syllable count was off
but it is okay

taking massive dump
Abhorrent pain in my gut
See blood in my stool

Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's:
Card games on motorcycles,
Ample summary.

>>10165052

Don't they just include a seasonal reference and a random-ass Japanese syllable?

Saturn spins with me
I lack rings, he gives me some
The cosmic hoola hoops

>>10164989
I'm too busy, though!
There's too many scrolls to read.
Must learn EVERYTHING.

Back to L5R
Do Ashigaru make up
Most Great Clan armies?

>>10164825
Only English here
Does not a haiku make, you queer
Wrong language faggot

So, we need to turn this thread into a sonnet thread!

Please keep on topic
This is an L5R thread
Not just for haiku

>>10165105
Fill in the name field
With an L5R-type name
Voila, on topic

>>10165116
>Does not a haiku make, you queer

8 syllables, YOU ARE DISHONORED.

>>10165091

Get out of your nest
Of paper and of parchment
The sun misses you!

Look at that Phoenix
Reading another Black Scroll
There goes the Empire

I'd prefere the shadowlands to your Paneki.

>>10165122

Doesn't have to be all haiku.

>>10165095

I do not think so
The rank of Gunso tells me
Bushi form the ranks

So, I am REASONABLY certain that the rank-and-file are samurai, just low-level ones.

>Gentle waving grass
>The sun burns round and crimson
>Sake gleaming bright

Is the Sake crimson?

>>10165150

Not cool, dude, Paneki is a bro.

Amaterasu sets
I am hungry for cake
Strike like wind

Am I doing it right?

Stop this now.
Haiku doesn't work in English you fools.
Language barriers.

>>10165169

It's supposed to be suggestive of the enjoyment found in sitting out with sake on a summer evening, watching the fields, but this is precisely why I'm not a Courtier, no talent at all for poetry.

>>10165147
I would never, though
Well, okay, maybe sometimes.
Never cast them, though!

>>10165142
The sun can go hang!
Sunburn and bug bites are both
Not worth the outdoors.

>>10165205

Argh! The first two lines were completely off!

>>10165205
Stop this now! Haiku
Doesn't work in english, fools
Language barriers

>>10165147

Arrogance casts shade
Across the brightest of minds
And repaints them black

Spider Clan here
Glory to the Ninth Kami
I troll you all

>>10165232

Haters are gonna
hate. Screw your shit sir, we are
having fun. Problem?

>>10165252
...
>>10164854
:V

>>10165232

Haikus can work fine
In English or Japanese
This thread gives us proof

>>10165212

You need exercise
I might just bring an army
If it gets you out.

>>10165270
Haters gonna hate
Screw your shit, we're having fun.
Problem, failurefag?

>>10165252

First and third lines are missing a syllable.

>>10165288
Armies are too loud
And they can't enter my room:
Elemental wards.

Showing off my tits
Who is androgynous now?
Not the fucking Crane.

Haiku's are fun.
But sometimes they don't make sense.
Refrigerator.

>>10165314

I will launch a siege
And cut off your supply lines
You'll have to come out!

So, what's your favorite Clan, and why?

>>10165303
Did I do it right at >>10165192?

>>10165206

It's one of the better Haiku I've read here. It's at least trying and actually using seasonal metaphor...but an additional part of the technical aspects of a haiku is the use of hinge-words that connect the second and the third stanza.
Basically the last word in the second stanza should be the first one in third but both sentences are still supposed to remain meaningful without it. Reading that last word into the last stanza just sligthly modifies the meaning if you read through it into the third stanza.

Think of it as a door between two rooms - it belongs to both and to neither and the house is unusable without it.

>>10165359
Family and friends -
Well okay family - would
Look poorly on that!

>>10165352
You beat me to it.
I was going to say that.
But you were faster.

>>10165192

Sadly, no.

>>10165400

Ah, so it makes it "crimson sake", instead of just sake? My apologies if I'm getting it wrong, do you have a few examples?

What the fuck is this
Qin is way cooler than
Five Rings and shit

>>10165330
The beautiful Crane
The Bushi and Courtiers
All have breasts, some dongs.

This is Saru-kun
He is my small yojimbo
With his little spear

He does not ride dogs
But he wears little outfits
And a tiny mask

Trees of beauty nude
When the cherry blossoms fall
All is vanity

Syntactic Structures
Foremost Text On Linguistics
By Noam Chomsky

Say, Matsu is listed as both a male and female name in the book, and it's also a family name. Could I play as an androgynous samurai named Matsu Matsu?

Floating asteroid...
Got to buy some school supplies...
You're soaking in it.

>>10165526

Beauty fades with age
But even the oldest trees
Drop a thousand seeds

I have never played Legend of Five Rings
Though I hear tales of great honour and fun
Samurai, Ronin, and warrior things
To fight, to run, to die, to live to run
The Crane, I hear, is all about the art
The Crab is rough so it can guard the wall
The Lion is with bravery at heart
The Scorpion traps make many men fall
The Mantis, I think make a good pirate
The Dragon, aloof, far and secluded
The Unicorn customs make many irate
The Phoenix magic is not deluded
I know this is not your proper haiku
But I draw from Europe you weeaboo

Lovely flower's bud
Covered in dew, reflecting
the brilliant sun's light.

Flashing sword cuts foe
blood spurting, falling upon
beautiful flowers.

>>10165609
You could. Nothing says you should, but you could.

>>10165673
>The Phoenix magic is not deluded
>Phoenix
>not deluded

AHAHA

>>10165673
does anyone have that picture of the guy clapping? The one in black and white, where the guy has the stern look on his face? Because I can't find it, and this dude deserves it.

>>10165609
How to tell Matsu:
all are huge, muscular, but
Women ride on top

>>10165400

"crimson sake" could be some reference to, say, the fact that the Scorpion Clan is built on spilling blood?

>>10165609
>androgynous
>Matsu

No. Matsu women are very obviously women, Matsu men are very obviously men.

>>10165699
Heh, like I at least implied, I know nothing of L5R, that's just from wikipedia

>>10165742

Phoenix are "DERP DERP I KNOW THAT EVERY OTHER SPELLCASTER WHO HAS TRIED TO USE THIS MONSTROUS AND EVIL BLOOD MAGIC HAS FAILED, BUT SURELY MY INEFFABLE GENIUS WILL PROTECT ME!"

>>10165773
That's /tg/-canon more than L5R-canon.

>>10165414

But I am allowed
Benefits of betrothal
So get out of there!

>>10165794

It's pretty clearly L5R canon too. I mean, look up most NPCs with a Chuda in their name, you'll find they're almost all ex-Isawa.

>>10165624
Smell the burning flesh
taste the tangy sulfur air
Volcano season

>>10165818
Close. The Phoenix exterminated the Snake Clan, which were the Chuda family. The few survivors infiltrated the Asako. This is canon in the RPG and CCG (many Asako shugenja also have the Bloodspeaker trait.)

>>10165818
The only times I played (Time of the Void and end of Diamond Edition) this was true...the last stronghold I played was City of Blood...and phoenix...

Isawa himself used a non-tainted form of blood magic, so it makes sense.

>>10165443

Not really, it's a detail that's usually completely lost in translation and I think my interpretation's not really an acceptable one either.

You might want to just look up the article on Kireji and come up with your own as there really is no direct equivalent in either our language, our writing system or in the way we use and enjoy poetry.

There he stood alone
A single arrow prepared
He was a true Wasp

>>10165874
>non-Tainted Maho

How is this possible?

>>10166051

I imagine there is a powerful legend buried in your simple haiku, Aoi-san, would you care to share with us?

An unflinching eye
Surveys in perfect stillness
The dark skies below

A ship in emerald
Fallen from the sky too soon
Slowly floats away

Across calm waters
Rests two faces of a stone
The night has emptied

Every joy unfurled
The boisterous dragon turns
Not knowing the way

The swaggering ox
Bravely fends off advances
From flittering dames

The swaying willow
Dances for the gathered crowd
While she is alone

Flickering lanterns
Mark a road for the lady
To the rooster's praise

Tempered by the day
Faces in an amber field
Turn towards the north

The lonely mountain
Mourns for his brothe's passing
Down in the village

Banished by the dawn
A shadow's tender caress
The sweet dream recedes

Tears of yestereve
Hoarded in the weaver's home
Dry beneath the lines

Perched in white blossoms
As the eager flock takes flight
One remains behind

Standing on one leg
A reed cannot be broken
The sage says to the stone

Petal in the wind
Slips between my outstretched hand
Like all the others

A final poem
I will plagiarize no more
After this last one

Playing an arrogant poet who liked to drop his work into conversations all the time doesn't mean I can spontaneously compose them like my character, so I cheated and wrote a bunch before sessions. I used that last one on the list as my death poem. It was a giant fuck you to the Scopion who got our party into so much trouble that seppuku was the only way I could save the rest of them. Junshin patron of poets my ass.

Cherish the blossom
For the coiled heart fears itself
And what it must do

I arranged that last one to be sent to her Crane husband. Goddamn Scorpion tart. Goddamn sneaky GM.

>>10165645
Fields of flora bloom
Rising sun illuminates
Immortality

>>10166244

Those are brilliant. Which Clan were you?

>>10166304
Mantis. Cheating, lying, gambling, two faced Mantis. I was out two faced.

>>10166101
Why not, Bayushi-san? For though the tale is brief, the values shown within hold great reward. A Tsuruchi, whose name is lost to the ravages of time, was chosen by his clan to hunt down a coward, one who had abandoned his duty to his clan and fled the field of battle. After hunting the man to a valley within the very edge of Crab lands, he discovered that the wretch had given into the taint and was preparing to tell all that he knew regarding his former clan to an Oni. The Tsuruchi knew that he was no match for the Oni, and despaired that he had failed his clan. It was then, however, that he spotted a disturbed pebble resting overhead. The Tsuruchi drew back a single arrow, and released it. In doing so, he caused an avalanche that buried not only the traitor and the Oni, but himself. A Crab patrol investigated the avalanche, and returned his body to our home after he had told them of the abomination with his last breath. Such is the way of the Wasp.

The first minstrel's notes
As the summer's night blossoms
come from cricket's song

>>10166406

A moving story, Aoi-san, will you take sake with us, and tell us how you came to these lands?

The gods are pissed off
Humanity said "Up yours"
RELEASE THE KRAKEN

I need Three
Words, than I need Five
Then Three more.

Vu is a poet
How else would impertinence
Find way to your lips?

>>10166672

5/7/5 not 3/5/3

Four Seasons, four loves
Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall
Only I remain

An ancient pond.
A frog jumps in.
The splash of water.

>>10166796

Watch the Hulk haiku
See kids counting their fingers
Laughter without end

>>10166796
The Mini Marvels Planet Hulk/World War Hulk parody was so great.

You can find it here if you want to read the full thing. I think there are more haikus.
>>>/rs/mini+marvels+ultimate+collection

Spoilers for Planet Hulk and World War Hulk, read those first if you're interested.

>>10166620

I am grateful for the invitation, and shall gladly join you Bayushi-san. I came by these lands in the pursuit of improving my own skills; in my most recent hunt, my bow was nearly broken due to my dismissal of a ronin as a possible threat that later turned on me. I decided that I needed to improve my skills, if I was so foolish as to let myself nearly fall into ruin due to overconfidence. As I wandered, I heard the callings of Haiku, and so am I here now.

>>10167320

Ah! Forgive my rudeness; a gift for my host.

Masks falling, drifting.
an orchestra of brilliance
once unrecognized

>>10166244
Reading this thread made me nostalgic about our group's old L5R games. I'm going to indulge in a bit of storytelling. Here's the tale behind those last three poems for anyone who cares.

We were on a sensitive mission to track down an imperial legion that appeared to have gone rogue on the empire's northern frontier. We found the legion and confirmed that its general and many others had done some extremely dishonorable things, colluding with the Yobanjin and researching ways to redirect the taint from maho to name a few, but had done so to prepare the empire for a massive Yobanjin invasion backed by the dark oracle of fire. (Strangely enough AEG would pretty much use this same plot years after we did this campaign).

We journeyed back to the capital to make our report, but we had been gone for years and most of the court didn't want anything to do with us. Our patron the previous emerald champion was dead, and we made very little headway in finding allies. We finally lucked out when I had a chance encounter in the gardens with a charming Scorpion lady. That itself should have been a giant red flag since you never "luck into" anything when it comes to the Scorpion, but I was the one who approached her so I fell for it anyway. Blah blah I too know the burden of an undeserved reputation in a place where appearance is everything, blah blah since I married my NOT SCORPION husband I've come to appreciate the art of poetry myself. Okay, you're hot and not wearing a mask, so I totally believe you! Besides, despite her clan's reputation as sneaky bastards we though they tended to do what was necessary when serious threats really endangered the empire, so when she started tirelessly defending us in public we were glad for the help.

>>10167905
We managed to divide the court. Most of them thought we had gone native and wanted to boot us off to somewhere far away again, although a few gave signs they might be willing to look into our report if we could convince a few others that it wasn't just based on the deluded ramblings of a power hungry warlord. Only until right before the emperor himself was about to hear our petition did we find out that many of the nasty rumours against us persisted so strongly because of our Scorpion friend. Because she had been so damn vocal in defending us in public, other courtiers thought I had corrupted her much vaunted virtue and was blackmailing her into helping us. And I didn't even get to actually seduce her. I guess I should give credit where credit is due, since the GM never once made her roll seduction, but goddamn she was twisted and my GM is twisted for thinking her up.

By the end we could think of no other way to get ourselves heard unless I took all the blame upon myself and very sincerely and painfully apologize for tainting the honest work of my colleagues and friends through association. It's only awesome to be able to substitute high poetry rolls for sincerity or seduction until that reputation comes back to bite you in the ass.

>>10167320
>>10167401

Ah, what a splendid tale, and an equally splendid poem to match. I myself am recently returned from a trip to Crane lands. Although as a swordsman, such things are not my forte, I have been temporarily given responsibility over certain villages on my family's lands.

A humming whisper
Feathers blossoming in throats
Unseen, stinging death.

so sell me on L5R again /tg/, long ago i played a game and liked the system, but hated the annoying players and railroading GM, with 4e coming i've tried to follow it again. What shenanigans should i expect?

>>10168019

You honor not only me, but my entire family Bayushi-san.

The burden of duty is heavy, but I have no doubt of your skill. I only regret that you were forced to deal with Crane hospitality; though I have little issue with them, it always feels as though I've tracked mud in no matter where I go.

Feathers glowing white,
hiding an iron shadow
words like steel are harsh

>>10168124
Annoying players and railroading GMs aren't a symptom of the setting. It might be a little more conductive to those behaviours for asshole players who already treat RPGs like scripted high theater, but the game works well enough to avoid feeling repetitive and consistently be a lot of fun with a good group.

I've always liked the fact L5R could cater to both hack and slash and more roleplaying heavy styles as long as everyone at the table knew what they were getting into. It also rewards players for plot progression more than winning battles alone, and doesn't need massive amounts of loot for high level play, although you could still do that if you felt like it.

tl;dr interesting setting, system works for more than one play style.

>>10168375
ah, i thought so, i think my problem was i played a bushi in a primarily courtier based game, how well do the three archetypes blend together in different situations? i know some bushi like the Kakita and Bayushi do reasonable in court is there any variation to the other two?

>>10168208

Well, there was a bit of that sense, but as a member of the Scorpion I am used to it.

Still...their own competitiveness helps. My Clan has a reputation for courtliness, and so the Crane seemed to want to impress. I was well-fed, well-received, and the people they had watching me were more-or-less subtle.

Sweet, ripe pink peaches
Wrapped in blue and white silk bows
Assuage many ills.

>>10168208

Incidentally, we are most honored to have a member of the Tsuruchi family here. I, personally, have great respect for the Mantis and their component families.

Has anyone ever had any luck with a tainted character mine die quickly ?

>>10168582

That WAS being lucky.

>>10168487
>>10168506

I am proud to represent both Wasp and Mantis. I am glad that you were treated well, Bayushi-san. My own treatment was likely due to the nature of my business in Crane lands.

When Crane discourse fails,
a deterrent is sent for
nothing stops a Wasp.

>>10168582
from what i can tell having taint is akin to immediate BADEND

>>10168697

Indeed, far worse could happen once the taint is present.

>>10168463
Shugenja, especially at higher levels, tend to have enough spells to pull all kinds of crazy shenanigans dice related or otherwise in any situation. Some bushi can do reasonably well in combat, and some courtiers can muddle their way through a fight. I found having the right skills often counts as much as the right techniques.

If you're in a court heavy game, it pays to invest in social skills. You might not be able to win a lot of debates against dedicated courtiers, but that's what friends are for. As long as you're not so incompitent as to be forced into gutting yourself at the slightest provication, the game can work just fine. The reverse also holds. If you're tough enough to not be dropped to down on the first hit all the time, your fellow army scouts will be really thankful you're around for those rare occasions when life or death hinges on bluffing your way past an enemy patrol or getting the right intel from the locals.

In our group everybody tended to take at least a few ranks in defense, etiquette, and above all investigation regardless of their specialization just because of how useful those skills tend to be. It also never hurts to ask the GM on what kind of game they intend to run so you're not totally blindsided when the dice start rolling. Having run a few games myself I've found a lot also depends on the GM being willing to come up with the right kinds of plots as to include everyone and give them situations when they can all contribute.

>>10168582
At best: you continue to serve the Empire as a member of the Damned.

Million Oni skulls
How many will I crush today?
The life of a Crab.

>>10168831
I always just played as a Void Shugenja and got into some really nasty shenanigans that way. Void is USELESS in combat, but hilarious for every other purpose.

>>10168831
Some bushi can do reasonably well in court, I mean. For laughs I've played bushi couldn't go three rounds of combat without a catastrophic mishap, but that's not how they usually work.

>>10168715

I see. So, the sort of negotiations that require a swift arrow and a steely mind? I would be most fascinated to hear the details.

A song of arrows
Silences another song
And red flowers bloom?

>>10168906
Void is useless in combat? Extra dice is never useless, anywhere. I also can't count the number of times subtracting 10 wounds from a hit has saved my bacon. In fact I've played in a race against time style campaign where for much of it abusing the stealth and meditation rules between fights and shunting void between players during them were pretty much the only thing that kept us going.

>>10168831

What about playing a BATTLE SHUGENJA? I want to play a Kitsu spellslinger, but Water really isn't conducive to hurling around hurt-spells. Does Water just suck?

>>10168831
I think my problem was that i had i different idea of what the game was supposed to be than the GM, so i ended up with an Akodo in a group of scorpions.

Also i like nearly all the bushi/scout schools, but like very few of the courtier/shugenja ones. could i get an example of play how some of the various ones would play?

>>10169087
Water is actually the best element for Shugenja. It's got a bit of everything.

>>10169178

What does it have for damage?

It would seem as if
My charge has blown up a town
Dammit, Isawa

>>10169087

I haven't played for some time and don't have the books with me, so unfortunately I can't give a lot of specific advice. Strength is an underpowered stat in 3e, doubly so for most shugenja, and water isn't exactly blast heavy. However if combat is a semi-regular occurence in your games your group will simply love you for the healing. Being able to heal all wounds with a single spell (regrow the wound), recharge your expended spells (rejuvenating vapors), share self targetting only spells (sympathetic energies I think), trigger spells at a moment's notice (silent waters?) and letting the group avoid fatigue for days on end (I forget what this one's is called) are all very useful abilities. I also remember water having some very powerful damage reduction spells that made my GM cringe. Reflective pool often isn't as useful as Whispers of Pan Ku out of combat but you'd be surprised how often the GM never planned for the party to not find out about something you can spot with that spell. Depending on how rules heavy your GM runs combat abusing fleet with high water and movement spells can also be a barrel of laughs.

>>10169330
Most of it seems to be subjective, like making a water bo staff or battlefield control like walls of water or sheets of ice. However an intelligent player can use this to their advantage. a 500 pound block of ice will kill you as much as a sword will.

>>10169409
poor shiba, that's i keep my handy forbidden scroll on a stick.

>>10169409
I did not mean to!
There was a dragon in town.
He amplified it.

>>10169409

Another oni
Rampaging across the land
Isawa AGAIN!?

>>10169631

A...dragon, you say? I find that highly unusual, along with your name.

The loss of a friend
Flickering flames before me
Gentle warmth comforts

>>10169508
>Strength underpowered

So, being a Matsu in the Matsu Bushi school is a waste twice over, huh? Since their trait bonuses are both +Strength

>>10169122

Again I don't have the rulebooks with me so here's just what I remember.

As a Bayushi courtier, if you're any good you'll know more than enough of people's wants, fears, and dirty secrets to be able to take advantage of even a fraction of them. Plenty of people will also just assume you can dig up dirt on them or manufacture it, if you haven't done so already, so gaining a position of strength with vague implied threats is easy. Rumours are your best friend. The Scorpion courtier school is also effective as much due to their frightening reputation as to their techniques, and because of their reputation Scorpion tend to stick togehter, so even if you screw up occasioually you can usually count on your fellow Scorpion to engineer your minor fumbles into what appear to be vicious strategems of sublime genius.

The Asako courtier as an insight engine is so mechanically broken it's not even funny. But even if you're not going to be an annoying twink about it, having both the reputation and the ability to be able to pull some obscure but relevant fact for any situation is still very useful. "I'm sure Ikoma san is acting with the most honorable of intentions, but have you considered that by reassigning the borders here you would be forcing your own peasants to draw water for their fields from three spings river, redirecting the waters south and throwing the elemental harmony of this entire area out of balance? My Isawa brethren have conferred with the water kami and they are most concerned."

Ikoma courtier/Kitsu shugenja can wield the authority of history and tradition like a katana. The word of spirits might not be admissable as testimony, but no other clan can claim as much authority when speaking on behalf of the honored dead as you. Omoidasu are also the only ones who can get away with showing emotion at court, which can be very hard to react well against for a GM even if the NPCs being portrayed have the game stats to do so.

>>10170243
Kitsu courtiers notice everything. I think their rank 3 technique is an automatic "you can't lie to me" ability that works against anything but the most dedicated liar. Even if not outright lied to, you're also hard to confuse or mislead, which a standard tactic of all courtier schools, even the honorable ones.

The favor tables of the Doji courtiers is not an excuse to deck out your fellow players in the swankiest gear, but it is an excuse to collect favors like the a Bayushi collects secrets. Your clan's network of influence is also so wide that you can often arrange to call in favors set up by a different courtier when the situation calls for it. Having the right connections means always getting the needed travelling papers, the right gift, or the convenience to see who you need to see when you need to. Breezing through social obstacles that calls for arm twisting with any other clan is nothing to sneeze at.

The Yoritomo and Yasuki courtier schools are both favorites of mine. Mechanically they're not the greatest, but lore wise their already shady reputations lets you get away with more on that special rustic charm than your more cultured courtiers. Playing as a smarmy car salesman or mafioso can make for a nice change of pace from any other courtier school.

>>10165095
Yes.

HAIKU SUCKS AND IS FOR THE LOW CLASS. ROKUGANI WOULD PROBABLY DO WAKA INSTEAD OF HAIKIU.

5-7-5-7-7, BEGIN.

>>10170243
>>10170257
thanks man, i too like the yoritomo and yasuki schools for their merchantman habits. What about the Kuni witch hunters? they seem cool.

Little known fact about Haiku is that the 5-7-5 structure is not actually a hard and fast rule. Many of the most famous haiku in Japan don't follow the 5-7-5 structure.

>>10170243
Point for point strength is underpowered compared the agility, since the former gives you +1k0 for damage but the latter gives you +1k1 to hit and a raise for damage only requires +5 TN.

The key to victory in combat not only requires you to do more damage, but to do it first while being able to take and/or avoid the damage in return. The Matsu school is all about the damage, which can translate to getting hurt a lot yourself. You're not super tough (crab), super fast (scorpion/crane), very accurate (crane/akodo), hard to hit (scorpion/crab), decked out with bonuses left, right and centre (dragon/phoenix), or specialized in some fight ending way few others can handle (tsuruchi/shiba in super sayan void mode). That doesn't mean you can't kick ass as a Matsu. The right advantages, kata, and gear can compensate for your shortfalls. It just means playing an effective Matsu is more of a challenge. No matter how many ranks of earth they have, getting hit for 100 wounds still really hurts. It's pulling that off that's the hard part.

>>10170372
Steadfast, loyal youth
His fool lord's honor preserved
Bright promise now ash
Blood a priceless coin ill spent
Only the shades halt my wrath

>>10170526
So where do the Mantis fit in, combat-wise?

Fuck you story-team
If the Mantis get no love
We will just take it

>>10170844
It's cool, at least you haven't been sitting on a mountain doing nothing for years...

>>10170407

Witchhunters hunt witches and other tainted things. They're really good at what they do, and lore wise creepy facepaint covered blood magic experts are fun antiheros to play. They can come in handy in games that are not immediately obvious as taint and maho related, which is how most such games start off. Having to touch dead flesh all the time as an occupational hazard is also convenient when it comes to investigating dead bodies. You'll still get dinged honor, but if you're willing to live with it (as a witchhunter must), then it's just one more tool to get the plot moving.

>>10170879
So we'll get you down
As long as you will help us
Barbecue Phoenix

>>10170900
would the crab hands and bishamon's blessing be good to get as advantages? also what would be good skills to take?

Fuck haiku, tanka (5-7-5-7-7) are where it's at:

月やあらぬ
春や昔の
春ならぬ
わが身ひとつは
まとの身にして

>>10170786
Yoritomo bushi are good at hitting the crap out of things with their school weapons. Pared kama hurt as much as a naginata and many other peasant weapons have bonuses unique to themselves. The Yoritomo are pretty much the only great clan samurai who can get away with using them. I seem to recall they were like a mix between the raw damage of the Matsu school and the bonus filled slice and dice Mirumoto. They can also do a lot of damage throwing things, which is a nice bit of utility in combat compared to those who focus on either melee or ranged attacks. Did you see the trailer for Machete? My friend played a Yoritomo decked out with parangu like that.

>>10171078
Why am I looking forward to that movie so much?

>>10171071
And what does this mean once you translate the moonrunes?

L5R quest is on over in >>10170158, come join if you want.

>>10171078

Seriously? Aren't the only Peasant Weapons some kind of climbing rake, the awesome Kama, and the shitty Parangu?

Also, how good is the actual Yoritomo Bushi school?

So, I hear 4th is gonna have "Stances", will those be like Full Attack and Full Defense in 3rd?

>>10171233
it certainly isn't bad, it's a power school though so it has trouble with some of the fast schools.

>>10171233
It is in the Power leg of the L5R 3E's Defense > Speed > Power > Defense triangle. The big thing is surviving long enough to land the killer blow. Speed Schools like Kakita and Bayushi will either kill you outright or put you into severe wound penalties negating your effectiveness. A Yoritomo Bushi can trash a defensive type pretty well, but has a bit of trouble hitting the real defense masters like Hida or Mirumoto, but if he hits the target will likely be dead.

>>10171248
i think so but more applicable, a matsu on full-offense is likely going to get a huge bonus, as is a hida on defense

>>10171005

Tea Ceremony. Trust me. Also, Defense, War Fans, whatever you use as a primary weapon if it's a one-handed weapon like a katana.

>>10171005
Crab hands is kind of overpriced for the bonus it grants. I think there are certain builds than can take advantage of Bishamon's blessing like the Matsu, but I don't remember it as a stellar advantage in play. You're usually better off going for Strength of the Earth, Luck, Great Destiny, Quick, and if your GM hasn't homebrewed it to the Mantis Isles and back, Combat Reflexes.

Good standby skills that never hurt to have are Investigation, Defense, Etiquette (think of it as defense for social situations), and Lore: Shadowlands. I find some skills like Athletics, Lore: History, Horsemanship and Battle also tend to crop up more often for players regardless of specialization as compared to other skills. Personally I like to round out my character with some esoteric artisan or lore skill for fun. While I was GM a player took Lore: tropical fish, and it became a running joke to see how many times I could work that into games.

>>10171417

Don't Matsu suck for it, or do FREE Raises still count for Bishamon's Blessing?

I heard Matsu are flat-out terrible, but also that they're god-tier, which is true?

Hippopotamus
Anti-hippopotamus
Annhilation

>>10171417
Speaking of Tea Ceremony. Add that and Meditation to the super useful list. Tea Ceremony may be less practical for a campaign mostly spent on the road, but for court games it's awesome. Herbalism is also a good skill to have if your party is short on healing magic.

Oh hi there just letting you know how much more awesome Europe is than this Japanese shit.

>>10171464
Core alone they are not so hot. But with the Dojo from Emerald Empire and one of the Kata they can go on full attack with NO penalties, which makes them pretty damn good.

>>10171464
I think it's been hit with an errata or clarification saying no.

>>10171452
Matsu are situationally god tier, but outerwise somewhere between doesn't smell right and really crap. This is true for many classes but especially so for the Matsu.

>>10171492
Space ships and plasma swords are cooler than bare chested hairy men with spears. But if you're having more fun with bare chested hairy men and their spears, who are we to judge?

>Investigation, Defense, Etiquette, Athletics, Tea Ceremony,
ok cool, how potentially devastating would it be if i took the Brash disadvantage. Or the six point point version of the cast-out flaw, i see some holy man vs. witch hunter fights ahead.

>>10171543
>the Dojo from Emerald Empire and one of the Kata they can go on full attack with NO penalties,

Which?

>>10171608
>Space ships and plasma swords
>L5R thread

Are we reading the same thread?

>>10171671
Brash is nice because it means your personally doesn't change as much after you become a horribly tainted monster. Cast Out is basically free points if your GM doesn't normally try to take advantage of that sort of thing, and a colossal pain in the ass if they do.

>>10171543
>>10171573

I suppose Bayushi Bushi are in a similar boat, correct?

Fortunately, 4th is doing some serious rebalancing, I heard.

Anyone have a list of which advantages to totally avoid, or aren't nearly worth their price, and which disadvantages are essentially free points?

>>10171771
fascination and driven seem almost like benefits and does some of the random rolls of bad luck. A duelist with fascination (swordplay) is going to actually benefit, and a character with fascination (Koi Carp) likely isn't going to have much trouble either.

>>10171833

You are now imagining a daring MIDNIGHT ROBBERY to steal koi carp from some Crane's garden pool.

>>10171854
Shit, i don't care what my character was doing previously, or even what game i was in, that sounds like an awesome side arc.

>>10171833
>a character with fascination (Koi Carp) likely isn't going to have much trouble either.

Really? That's good news for me.

>>10171671
Cast Out, like Lechery or Dependant, is one of those disadvantages that can either hound you to no end or barely come up at all during game. One GM might forget about it as soon as the game starts, while another could take it up as a personal mission to make you work for every character point you gain, which itself could be a good thing if you want the challenge. Brash is an easy disadvantage to work into a character concept. As to how dangerous it is, a lot of things can get you killed or do worse in game. Brash is one of the relatively less likely ones to do so very often.

>>10171875

Look at this fucking Koi. This is worth stealing and adding to your collection.

>Koi Carp

That's as retarded as saying "ATM Machine."

>>10171916
Awww Yeah, I would totally risk ritual-suicide and clan dishonor for a fish that majestic.
>>10171890
i want this man making all of my foreign affairs

and for some reason, i have all these Yasuki's showing up at my house.

The noble koi fish
Embodying poetry
With every movement

What about Fascination (Gaijin Culture)? How taboo would it be for a non-unicorn/mantis to be interested in the outside world?

>>10171976

For someone who was beaten in the first few episodes by a teenage boy, Zhao was shockingly awesome. Especially his facial hair.

>>10171967
Hey man, i've seen far more ridiculous things like Kimonos (terrible with the spoiled disadvantage, we had a crane stealing and scamming to get as many as she could) and Hot springs to which we never saw one in our campaign.

>>10171769
What? You never played Rokugan 3000? Tell me you've heard of Togashi, the living wave motion cannon.

>>10171714
Bayushi are really fast and usually hard to hit. It's generally much harder to make a Bayushi not nearly as fast than it is to make a Matsu not deal nearly as much damage.

>>10171709
Bishamon Seido is the Dojo and Tsuko's Storm (with two Void is the kata). You also have to be a rank 3 Matsu Bushi to qualify for the kata.

>>10172019
I mean linguistically. You're essentially just saying "Carp carp." Like "ATM Machine" is saying "Automatic Teller Machine Machine."

Being obsessed with Kimono isn't that bad at all, I think its perfectly reasonable and logical disadvantage to take, especially for a Crane.

>>10171916

you are now contemplating introducing a breeding population of colorful koi into the nearest lake

Weeaboos in here
Doth protest far too much, yes?
It's just a word, folks

>>10172019
>Kimonos (terrible with the spoiled disadvantage, we had a crane stealing and scamming to get as many as she could)

She sounds absolutely awesome. Why is it always Courtiers who have interesting social disadvantages, though? I want to see a prettygirl Kakita who flounces and "HMPH!"'s and steals kimonos and duels.

>>10172107

One that remains inaccurate.

>>10172080
oh i meant to differentiate between Koi, the colorful subspecies, and the common carp, which are brown.

>>10172084

Indeed I am.

Incidentally...look into its eyes. You are already fascinated.

>>10172120
Guaranteed replies
When you say that word in here
Trolls are fed quickly

I once made a Crane duelist NPC who was obsessed with blood splatter. As in the patterns blood makes when it hits shit.

He thought it was the ultimate artform, as it would literally require the sacrifice of life in order to create beauty instead of just figuratively.

Met her at the bar
Then we went home and had sex
My ass is bleeding

>>10171769
Bayushi Bushi are firmly in the Speed leg with a decent side of Defense. My last Bayushi Bushi had a TNtbH comparable to our group's Mirumoto and punished the hell out anyone that dared attack him and miss. He hit like a 12 year old Crane girl when compared to the mean machine that was the Matsu, there was one time the Matsu broke 75 damage in a single hit, she was hardcore.

>>10172162
Weaboobooboo
oobooboobooboobooboo
ooboobooboo boob

>>10172159

So smooth and aesthetically pleasing, you just want to fill up a whole pool with them, and feed their adorable, piggy faces.

>>10172084
>>10172159

This may have been a mistake, at least i didn't choose my other option, Fascination (Bug Fighting) and a gambling compulsion.

Behold the gentle swirl of color. You cannot resist. This is beauty in its most natural, living form. This is art. This...is koi.

>>10172202
Meaningless, the word

that causes so much anger

e-bushido, harmed

>>10171999
Inside the clan the Dragon and to some degree the Phoenix and Scorpion wouldn't care a great deal. The Crane and Lion frown on that kind of thing. But even as a Unicorn or Mantis flaunting your Gaijin obsession in public is still bad form.

>>10172259

>>10172244

It's too late. You are already fascinated.

If we're using video games as a comparison, between casual gamers, hard core gamers, and sock poopers, Fascination: Vidya would be at the sock pooping level. My players know that disadvantage is not an excuse for free character points just because they pick an obscure topic they think will never come up.

Behold, the true face of aesthetic perfection, bred by generations upon generations of artists from across several Clans.

>>10171999
It depends very, very, very much on just which aspects they're fascinated with, which batch of gaijin they came from, why they care about it, and whether or not they think that anything gaijin produce is superior to its Rokugani equivalent.

Crane, Phoenix and Dragon are probably the best-placed; Crane because they do the merchant stuff that the Mantis don't, Phoenix because they're always looking for new ways for their shugenja to horribly kill people when they snap and go crazy, and Dragon because nobody knows what they do anyway.

>>10172376

It's a one-point disadvantage, I'm fairly sure that's more at the "annoying nerd" level.

>>10172376
I'm not really saying it's something that would never come up, i just don't think it's something that is necessarily a disadvantage, it's more like a character quirk than flaw.

In my long-running L5R game 5 years ago, the group had to go to court.

The ronin and the terminally shy mirumoto duelist started writing each other haiku back and forth because their characters were excluded and their players were bored. They produced about fifty of them. I still use them as bookmarks. (Hi Zach! Hi Carrie!)

>>10172391

Mantis deal with Ivory Kingdoms too. Anyway times have changed. The Empire has embassies in Ivory Kingdoms and Medinaat-al-Salaam iirc.

Also what would the legality be if the Samurai took Musha Shugyo and travelled outside Rokugan? Would he be killed if he came back? I think one of the Unicorn characters have done it.

>>10172320
>>10172381
fuck it, if i ever find a group to get back into L5R, expect to hear tales of the Koi-napping Kuni

Witness the patterns.

>>10172259
>TASTE THE RAINBOW
ALWAYS
I WANT TO BE WITH YOU
AND MAKE BELIEVE WITH YOU
AND LIVE IN HARMONY HARMONY
OH KOI

I absolutely love Suki, and love this idea.

>>10172457

You beat me to it.

>>10172481
Koi are pretty and all but they are basically carp and carp are destructive bottom feeders that threaten more nobler fish.

Sometimes I wonder
So many beautiful Crane
But where are the men?

>>10172539
HOW DARE YOU, YOU DISHONOR THE VERY SPIRITS WITH SUCH SLANDER! A DUEL IS NEEDED, LOWLIFE WRETCH!

drinking my morning coffee
outside, a warm shining sun
illumination

>>10172406
A lot of disadvantages like driven and even dark fate aren't necessarily hindering the character all the time, just like some advantages don't tend to do a hell of a lot (I'm looking at you, Great Potential). They still round out a character concept just the same. I think that's often more useful when roleplaying than any strictly mechanical application they might entail.

Shawn Carman is such a faggot and he can't write.

4th Edition is going to suck as badly as 2nd and 3rd edition.

Also, I laughed my head off when they released as "revised edition" to fix errors that should have been fixed in the 2nd printing of 3E. My money and L5R will never meet again.

>>10172539
If your idea of noble fish are what get threatened by bottom feeders, then you have no sense of honor to begin with.

>>10172645

Bring back Ree Soesbee

>>10172645
L5R totally sucks, except for the people who thinks it doesn't.

Opinions are like assholes. Shawn Carmen has been inside all of them. Even yours.

>>10172678
Is that sarcasm?

I hope to god that's sarcasm.

>>10172678

Fuck yeah, Ree. I should detest her for having an in-game Mary Sue... but I love her stories. So whimiscal and romantic.

Heard she's bisexual, too. :3

>>10172518 here, meant to link to >>10172457

>>10172845

Which stories? Also, she has a Mary Sue? Details, man!

>>10172845

LOL Doji Shizue. Wtf happened to the Lion Ninja (another mary sue) she had a romance with?

>>10172620
Which is the disadvantage that fucks you forever by preventing you from ever using Void?

In the L5R timeline, Clan War and everything that happened before it is god tier. Four Winds was so-so, and Khan's Defiance had potential but got fucked up by shitty writing. Everything else is shit.

Especially this new bullshit with the fire people invasion and yet another zombie war.

I want another Clan War to happen. I get its supposed to be a fantasy game but it seems as if the clans never actually fight EACH OTHER anymore.

>>10172876

Doji Shizue. She can't find a husband because she has clubfoot even though her brother is lord of the Crane clan. ;_;

And she's soooo pretty and talented at singing and storytelling.

>>10172877

Matsu Hiroru. He committed sepukku around the same time as Toturi I.

>>10172896

There is still hope Toturi will wake up and realise everything was a bad dream.

>>10172896

The thing is that they're so afraid to offend the clan fanboys that they have to keep relying on external enemies and even when the clans do fight the wars always come to draws.

>>10172917

Was that before or after Shizue was killed by the shadow?

>>10172899
She also hid inside a cabinet during the Scorpion Clan Coup and nearly starved to death because she didn't come out for weeks and no one knew she was in there.

>>10172918
And then Daigotsu will wake up and wonder why he was dreaming of Toturi I.

>>10172877

Only just got into L5R, what the fuck are you on about?

>>10172882
momuku, or however you spell that.

>>10172882
Momoku?

>>10172948

The old fogeys are reminiscing about the old days. Go read about your Spider clan and army of burning people attacking Rokugan, skippy.

>>10172645
This guy has it right. Ree was okay-ish, but after the second Day of Thunder, the only stuff that could be called good came from when Rich Wulf headed the story team.

>>10172948
>Only just got into L5R

Well the onus is on you to look it up then.

>>10172934

I think Shizue made it to Oblivion's Gate, so that would be before, around the weirdness that was Morikage castle.

>>10172969
>>10172978

Thought so. IIRC, that disadvantage is one that you only take if you want to piss off that Admiral from the Burning Sands. You know, Akbar.

>>10172932
The writers need to man up and tell the fanboys to suck it up because it makes the story more interesting and not completely shit.

Its not like I'm asking for a clan to get wiped out completely, I just want to see wars like in the historical lore.

>>10172845
>In addition to her literary work, Ree designs and develops online games, reads Ayn Rand as well as Anne McCaffrey, and travels.

Seeing as she reads Ayn Rand, which is all five of the top five things I hate the most, I think my initial skepcitism is well founded.

>>10172645

Also, 4E can't be as bad as 2E, for the same reasons that 3E wasn't. Did you even read the second edition? Everything roll Skill k Trait, and if you didn't have the skill, you just ate shit.

K let me get this straight, Shizue gets kidnapped by Kage and imprisoned and raeped by his Kolat buddies (maybe). Shizue later dies saving Kage from Shadows minions. Kage repents and uses secret channels available to him to give the Kolats supply of Crystal weaponry to the armies headed to Volturnum? Doesn't Hiroru get her body and go through the portal? Aargh info on Shadow War is so vague, I don't even know if Doji Kuwanan died or not.

>>10173022

Eh. Lion and Unicorn can't seem to stop fighting for more than 5 seconds.

I'm not sure what's wrong with the writing, but I think it might just be that the writers don't have a specific story to tell.

>>10172997

Since its inception, /tg/ has mostly existed for the benefit of people too stupid to use google or read the game books and want rules and fluff spoonfed to them.

>>10172896

I call it Dragonlance syndrome. Don't have a huge timejump or write about something besides war or delve into an alternate timeline: just pull a new villain out of your ass and write another story about saving the world.

>>10173061

Yeah, I gave my players a second set of XP every adventure that could only be used on skills. In hindsight I should have just used 1E's skill system.

Erm, so skill system aside it was basically 1E with much better art, an amazingly helpful GM's guide, and more coherant introductory fluff. I've got some fond memories of 2E.

>>10173079

Shit, thought I posted a response to this. I can't remember this stuff very well, it's been a long time, and all of the information was muddled then. You'd have to hit the Miya Archives for real answers.

Doji Kuwanan wasn't reprinted after Soul of the Empire.

I think Matsu Hiroru was on the other side of Oblivion's Gate at the battle, and I think it was Ginawa that pulled Toturi through.

Shizue survived the battle, I think, but that was Ree's last hurrah, so no more is heard of her after that.

Regardless if you love or hate 3e, Emerald Empire was an amazing book.

>>10173148

Yeah. I bought and utilized the books, I just mostly continued on with 1st Edition's system.

>>10173299

I would like to get my hands on that, but can't seem to find it locally.

>>10173284

What she didn't even allow her character to be killed off? Sheesh.

Kuwanan is another thing. He supposedly got tainted so he stays in Volturnum to guard it. Yet in the Hidden Emperor book it says he died. *shrug*

So did Hiroru make it out as a spirit then? Can't be since he's not mentioned again.

>>10173090
They've done everything you said. War against the shadow? Seriously, what the fuck happened? Nobody even knows and suddenly it's years later and Iuchiban's back. KYD? Admittedly that was an awesome idea but way underdeveloped. And the villain ass pulling method certainly isn't doing any favours for the plot. I was trying to update a new player to some semblance of recent plot but gave up when I started sounding like "and then the dragon ate him, and then the other dragon ate that dragon, and then a tiger killed them with blood magic" and just went with a homebrew campaign that assumed no plot knowledge.

Honestly I think the plot might be weighed down by so much plot it would be impossible to make a fresh start for the new edition without a hard reset. There's plenty of chances to screw that up too, but I can't see them salvaging what's going on right now.

>Shizue was not a great beauty, but a lovely girl with bright grey eyes and long white hair. She was quick to smile and laugh, and her voice could convey a tremendous depth of emotion. Due to the crippled foot her steps are slow, but rhythmic, and thanks to some of the dancing she was taught by Teinko she moved quite gracefully.

Newfag here, I raged, thank Hida the metaplot is being divorced from mechanics.

>>10173361
>weighed down by so much plot

I meant plot weighed down by so much crap. Although right now it's often hard to tell between the two.

>>10173361

Mark my words, once AEG runs out of 'local' plot ideas, they will do the Yodatai invasion plot thats been hinted at for over a decade.

Rokugan should have a Meiji restoration type event.

It'd probably end up going steampunk after that.

>>10173464
Actually, no. This is an absolutely terrible idea.

Here, a way to explain how Spider Clan can even function despite being Tainted as fuck: the members they actually use as anything other than point-and-release weapons are Tainted in useful fashion. The mutations are on the inside, the batshit crazy is in ways they can be trained to hide to some degree, and overall they're the sort of thing you'd expect the Shadowlands to produce when it wants actual agents of corruption it can seed within the enemy.

The big thing that has to be ensured is that nobody who makes it past the outer layer of expendable idiots in the clan hierarchy has any illusions about what the Spider wants: Taint and death for all of reality, starting with Rokugan. Any who find this out and disagree either die immediately or are turned into mindless Tainted shock troops for later use.

>>10173485
Another way to think of it is that for every active Spider Clan member that you see, there's at least nine or ten corpses of potential Spider Clan members whose Taint manifested in an undesirable (read: too crazy/mutated to be an infiltrator) fashion.

>>10173351
I think Hiroru chose to stay on the other side of the gate. Oh! I think he went to Gaki-do, so was a gross bug thing.

>>10173361
KYD wasn't a storyline, it was a boutique set, like Heroes of Rokugan, Dawn of the Empire or the current one, Death at Koten. So it wasn't messed up by tournament results or being dragged on after it was finished.

KYD was fucking awesome. I still have my set.

>>10173434
Aren't they currently having the Ivory Kingdoms invade, more-or-less?

>>10173434
I'm actually kind of looking forward to that. The empire hasn't been hit with a credible threat for a long time. Hopefully the writers will be smart enough to man up and write out some permanent changes to the Empire. If the dark lord of the shadowlands can sack the imperial capital yet leave no permanent impact aside from an occasional reference to a city's name change, then the story team obviously isn't doing their job.

I think the problem with the metaplot is as follows.

The book tells you that you are one of many, many, many, many, many Clan samurai. You are a tiny cog in a vast machine, almost Dark Heresy style. You are an important tiny cog, a member of the samurai caste, but still a tiny insignificant little cog. You start with almost nothing, and there is a good chance you'll die very quickly. Your best bet is to either retire somewhat-wealthy and have lots of kids, or to die spectacularly.

Then the big metaplot NPCs show up, claim to be characters similar to yours...only they aren't. They always succeed, are always in the spotlight, and unlike you they aren't expendable. They can be related to Clan Daimyos, they can succeed at everything, and they aren't little cogs...they're big, big, big cogs from the getgo.

Am I making sense?

>>10173599

Er, whoops, NPCs there should be "PCs", or "DMPCs" in hindsight.

Plot-wise, all I want is an era of peace. Shadowlands being a constant threat, wars breaking out between the clans every so often, something sandboxy. More Forgotten Realms than Krynn (Forgotten Realms if someone took a pollax to the back of Elminster's head, at least)

>>10173599

Yes, you're making sense, but you're hammering your thumb, not hitting the nail.

The problems with the metaplot are chiefly the Dragonlance syndrome mentioned above, a little bit of one-upsmanship, a little bit of WTF tournament results and a general lack of writer discipline.

>>10173721

Dragonlance is a good comparison. The setting would be much improved if the plot would just take a breather for a while. Give players a chance to explore and do things. The urge to have more and more stuff happening chokes me a little.

>>10173721

One of the great successes of the Clan War/Scorpion Clan Coup era was that the story was straightforward, yet vague. It was easy to tell the main events, explain what was going on and what not, but the details on almost everything were very sketchy.

Ree tried to replicate that (I think) and failed by being too wishy-washy and vague. Writing about reality wiping enemies didn't help, either.

More recent L5R hasn't bothered to leave the same sorts of gaps and missing details that are so nice for a person to be able to fill in for themselves. There aren't as many creative spaces lying around.

Thread archived, but discussion is still going on, is there a way to "update" the archived thread or will it do that on its own?

Moon over the stars
A flash of steel, gust of wind
Cherry blossoms fall

..or something.

>Shizue was not only taught to be an artisan, but when she was old enough Satsume ordered Kakita Yoshi to train her as a spy. She would incorporate hidden messages in her stories to convey information to Yoshi, Satsume or Hoturi, and her access to the Imperial Court gave her a lot of critical information. She had a great capacity for memorizing manuscripts at a glance and deciphering hidden codes in writing as well as speeches. Yoshi himself spoke highly of her, and would frequently say she would make a fine addition to the Crane Ambassadors to the Imperial Court when she was older. To the other clans however she remained only a goodwill ambassador. Her sunny disposition could make any courtroom cheerful, and she would frequently travel to the Lion, Scorpion, Phoenix or Dragon lands.(Crane p. 84)

My rage is a flame that will burn the Crane.

>>10173775
I agree pretty strongly with you here--that's what I mean by one upsmanship. It's a common mistake in fantasy and science fiction writing that investment and scale are one in the same--that to tell an epic story, you need an epic scale. If the writing and story are engaging enough, we will follow. We don't need to be saving the whole entire Empire from hordes even bigger and more terrifying than the previous horde, which was bigger and more terrifying...

I think that trying to be bigger than the Day of Thunder was a mistake. I think the writers should look at that as near the top of the scale, and tell stories that are not less compelling, but perhaps less grand.

>>10173869
Hell, at this point a return to peace would itself provide possibilities for epic stories. After all, Rokugan hasn't known an extended period of peace for an entire lifetime now. I wonder how the present Clans and their nobility would react to a world where they have the time to focus on something other than immediate survival?

>>10173869

I'd like to hear about some average samurai. Not Shizue-style pinnacles of virtue and perfection who are omnicompetent and paragons of bushido. Let's hear about some Mantis pirates, who never involve themselves in anything metaplot-related, just run blockades and have an awesome time enraging the Phoenix and Crane. Or grimdark war stories about a Crab grunt on the Wall.

>>10173823
True story. The night of falling stars was voluntary Crane social outing organized in response to their mutual disgust for Shizue's Mary Sueness.

I think aberrant tournament results are usually handled pretty well, but there are always a few weird ones--the loss of Otosan-Uchi springs to mind.

And as for writer discipline, I guess what I mean is a willingness to bull through ideas that are unpopular or that bother one clan or the other in order to make sure your story gets told, and told well. I understand that cooperative storytelling is a really tricky business, but I feel like the story team has been focusing a lot more on the cooperative for a few years. Instead of having a really strong/compelling story to tell, it's more like they've just been trying to compile tournament results (along with the new tradition of stories about an adventuring party).

>>10173974
This. Oh god this. Tales about individual heroes saving what in the grand scheme of things would be nothing but a piddly little town from bandits can be a far more epic tale than a Empire-wide war against demigods.

Just look at how fucking epic Seven Samurai is. The events of the whole movie wouldn't even be remembered in history if they actually happened, but make for an EPIC tale.

>>10173977

What happened with that, again? I didn't really keep up.

>>10173974
Let's hear about the only Phoenix shugenja NOT to use maho, or two Agasha sub-families competing to see who can make the most spectacular fireworks, or a Lion who treats love as a battlefield.

For that matter, let's hear about what little Utaku girls wish for on their birthdays, since they know they'll be getting a pony eventually.

>>10174062
http://l5r.wikia.com/wiki/Night_of_Falling_Stars

Or, heck, some intrigue. Some stories about a minor Scorpion official cheerfully backstabbing, framing, and bribing his way towards what he hopes to be a comfortable retirement...

...actually, I'm picturing him almost like a Courtier version of Ciaphas Cain. Really, all he wants to do is settle down with a pretty wife and run a silkworm farm, but his Daimyo keeps sending him into tense and hostile negotiations.

>>10174094
>For that matter, let's hear about what little Utaku girls wish for on their birthdays, since they know they'll be getting a pony eventually.

I lol'd. I admit it. I lol'd heartily.

>>10174126
I presume that the Jurgen-equivalent would be from that one Scorpion family that's cursed to destroy whatever they love?

I dunno though. As much as I would love to see one of their "this is our adventuring party, here they go doing stuff" stories become the main storyline, I don't know if that would sustain the CCG player base. Which is basically what keeps L6R going.

Anyway, I'm hitting the hay. I'll post more if you're still here tomorrow, thread.

>>10174139

"A boyfriend, so those Matsu cunts will stop calling me a horsedyke"

>>10174171
Wasn't there a 6 part story with a newbie party investigating murders of returned spirits alongside Rezan? I though that was awesome.

HEY I ARCHIVED THIS ON SUPTG LIKE AN HOUR AGO, HOW DO I MAKE IT SHOW THE POSTS SINCE THEN?

>>10174302
Archive it again.

>>10174255
I believe this is what the Matsu call foreplay.

>>10174352

Getting a boyfriend?

>>10174412
I think she's fighting a Crane, so it's really a 50/50 shot.

>>10174412
Pulling the hair of Utaku girls.

>>10174450
Purple tells me that the Matsu is fighting a Unicorn. Specifically it is Utaku Kohana.

>>10174352

...No, I've lived through Matsu foreplay. Do you want to really know what it's like?

It was an hour or so before dawn, one cool, misty morning on a little port you've probably never heard of. My crew and I were unloading our vessel and hauling barrels of fine sake and other more...well...exotic goods, if you take my meaning. Everyone was a little nervous, but who isn't on one of these runs? Still, we were in harbor, hadn't seen hide nor hair of a customs official...when suddenly, I hear this scream of pure, pants-dripping terror.

I see this shape loom out of the blackness, and for a moment there I knew how it felt to be a Crab. She looked like she was eight feet tall, and her eyes seemed to glow beneath her helmet, her huge chest rising and falling as she breathed like a bellows, steam pouring from her mouth and nostrils like some Kami-cursed monster in the cool air. She had my first mate by the throat, and though he was the biggest man in the whole crew she was lifting him in one hand like a little girl lifts a doll. She saw me, and she LEERED. It was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen, the intensity of it was like taking a tetsubo to the chest.

>>10174528
I like where this is going. Somebody's gonna get a hurt real bad.

>>10174528
Why is it when I read this I'm picturing in my head an Elcor saying "Delighted: Human, a pleasure to meet you!"

The joke at my table was always because Matsu bitches are raised to be tough and strong and to never show weakness, then they inevitably become submissive sex kittens in bed. Like its a fetish for them to act that way.

Plus, its SO TSUNDERE.

>>10174528

I'm stumbling back, and my hands are going to my kamas, but something in the pit of my stomach is telling me I'm going to lose. It's the same way that a faun, no matter how it rears up and kicks at a tiger, is going to be casually disemboweled and eaten, that same damned feeling.

With one casual motion, she just hurls this big man she's lifting by the neck into the harbor, and, I swear, she just BOUNDS towards me like some kind of monster, all armor and maned helmet, bristling with six different weapons, and just slaps the kamas out of my hands. So, with Yoritomo's name on my lips...I run. Sometimes, I still hear her raucous laughter, like an actual physical pressure against me. She caught my foot and I swear, it was like being stuck in a riptide. You can move and kick and swim all you want, but it inexorably pulls you out to sea and devours you. She threw me over her shoulder and stomped off, trampling over my few surviving crewmates.

You ever copped a feel of some silk-robed beauty? I'm guessing most of you roughnecks have, but I'm equally sure you've never been the silky one being handled. She just...touched me, and grinned, and laughed, petting me like I wasn't even struggling. I don't remember much after that. I remember a warehouse, and a pile of straw, and this giant, sweat-slicked muscular body looming over me by the light of a cheap candle...I remember that it hurt, that I was bruised before she even started peeling the armor off me like a tangerine (and it was hours before she felt she needed to remove more than some specific bits, I'm saying I was bruised just from being groped by her). It was the most painful, agonizing, aching thing I've ever been through...but it was somehow also the best thing I've ever felt. Some of my men found me a week or so later, tied to a stake near that pile of straw with my hips fractured. They said most of the crew had survived, but everyone was injured...I spent some extra coin, and a Shugenja healed us all up, but there are some things you just can't heal away with magic. Sometimes, I still wake up with my heart pounding, thinking I heard something. I know she'll come for me again someday, she told me so herself, and when she does...I don't think any amount of Mantis guards can stop her.

>Only two years after her gempukku Shizue was asked to be present in the Emperors court. Her gift for storytelling was unmatched, and many thought she was the reborn spirit of Kakita's sister Kakita Kiyamori. She was skilled in other things such as song and calligraphy, and even Satsume could sometimes be heard to mumble faint praises about the girl. (Crane p. 84)

I WILL PUNCH A MOTHERFUCKER IN THE THROAT. GODDAMN I AM RAGING LIKE SHOUTING MATSU.

>>10174528
>>10174631
>>10174767

So, yeah, that's what it's like. What scares me the most is the thought that that week might just have been some extended courtship or foreplay of its own, and when she comes to get me again, it's gonna be for the main event. If that happens...I'm pretty sure I won't be coming home again, all I can ask is that the Kami give me strength and stamina.

We are still here.

>>10174629
Tough bitch on the outside, but a mewling sex kitten under that armor?

... fuck yeah.

Aren't they fascinating? There are many kinds of Koi. Big, noticeable fish that weave color through a decorative pond. So friendly, too.

>>10174952

In my group, our gigantic Hida Bushi is precisely that way.

...it's absolutely awesome.

>>10174906
Matsu get drunk too. It was just your bad luck to have caught the eye of the idiot sister.

Naizen-sama thinks it would be good for diplomacy, however. So, um, my condolences.

Doji Shizue confirmed for cat lady. Look at them, I bet she has six or seven of them, each with names.

>>10174982

...Idiot sister? Hell, I want one of those giant Matsu girls too. Lucky Mantis bastard.

>>10174979
It's always the ones who look like the sex kittens on the outside you have to watch out for.

>>10175050
No doubt in my mind that Scorpion and Crane bitches are total dominatrixes.

>>10175013
Actually, "Doji Shizue" is the name given to her by humans who don't realize that she's actually just a highly-advanced puppet controlled from inside by more cats.

She keeps cats around at all times so that there are always fresh cats to take over when the ones inside her need a rest.

>>10175073
Or just those types of manipulative cunts who lead you on forever making you think you might get some someday, but will never give it up.

You know what I'm talking about.

>>10175073

Nah. Scorpion women just want someone to be sweet to. If they ever find out you're willing to cuddle, or like them for their mind, suddenly they turn into a complete...what do you call it, again? Yamato nadeshiko? Only your enemies keep mysteriously ending up dead, and so do any girls you talk to.

>>10175079
If this were true it would make the character infinitely more interesting.

>>10175079

Are the cats the ones making her into a huge Mary Sue?

>>10175095
I change my mind, this sounds way more like what a Scorpion chick would be like.

What about Crane chicks?


This thread is now about what clan chicks are REALLY like in bed/relationships, not just their stereotypes.

>>10175101
>>10175105

http://l5r.wikia.com/wiki/Doji_Shizue/Meta

Her stats are shockingly unimpressive. Also note that here she is, again, snuggling a cat. Isn't excessive pet-having a sign of Mary Sue?

>>10175105
Seeing as this is how squirrels puppet the Lady of Pain, I'd say yes.

>>10175160
I imagine Crane to be a lot like most every Asian girl I've ever dated. Prim and proper on the outside, but as soon as you're alone they become kinky sex fiends who just want to be tied up and play-raped.

>>10175163

I hope not. /tg/ seemed to like my idea of being a Scorpion Bushi who had trained a little monkey to drink tea, play a biwa, wear ashigaru armor with a tiny spear, and ride around on his shoulder being a little yojimbo. Is that Mary Sue?

>>10175188

...That's your experience too? Holy fuck, it actually kinda creeped me out when I found out.

>>10175190
No, that's just awesome and you should feel awesome for making it up.

>>10175105
Yes, but only because they want to make sure that they run the show on this side of the Wall.

They've been running Daigotsu for ages.

I mean, Shadowlands this, Fu Leng that, but the cats aren't willing to accept any circumstances that might permanently impair their favorite slave race.

>>10175163
>Storytelling 5
>good enough for the Emperor

Cranes, I am disappoint.

>>10175198
Little known (disturbing) fact about Japan:
All that crazy rape hentai/porn out there, that may or may not involve tentacles?

Market statistics show its not JUST for guys.

>>10175160
>Crane women

Well, for starters, half of them are actually men. They're kind of like inverse dorfs that way.

>>10175205

Thanks. Originally, I was doing it to troll the Crane, but then I realized that a Scorpion has better things to do than troll, some Crane are genuinely pretty cool, and that having a pet monkey that could do those things was just awesome on its own.

...do you think I should buy Servant to represent my monkey-yojimbo and just assign his skill points where appropriate? Most likely they'd just be in Biwa-playing and Tea Ceremony. In combat, I just use him as fluff for some of the disarming, distracting, and entangling techniques I hear Scorpion are getting in 4th.

...also, yes, he does have a tiny mask.

>>10175190
What is it with L5R and pet monkies? This has come up more than once in my game. I've seen a Crab once use his fellow PC's pet monkey as an imrovised weapon in a sake house, a scary Yogo who used her pet monkey, wearing a tiny kimono and mimicking her every move, as a ploy to annoy bureaucrats she didn't like, and a Mantis who tried to convince everyone he met that his pet monkey was a spirit animal. Turned out his first mate was a spirit monkey in disguise whose personal hobby was talking the captain's pet into doing outrageous things in front of important people. Finding that out was damn funny.

>>10175316

Because monkeys are awesome and an instant classic.

>>10175316
This:
>>10175352
Combined with the fact they're one of the choices for your free generic starting belongings package.

>>10175374
lol I forgot about the free starter picks. I had a player who once loaded his character up with crickets and tried to use them as barter items with Nezumi.

>>10175226
In 1E unless you were Togashi or Kisada 5 was as high as any skill went.

>>10175374

I know that's where I got the idea for mine. "Oh hey, what's this sidebar? Huh, stuff in my traveling pack? Oh, cool, pets? WAIT, I CAN HAVE A MONKEY?!"

Good times.

>>10175413

So all of those skills, including Manipulation and Investigation, at 4 and 5 are simply more evidence of her Sue-ness?

>>10175446
Yup.

>>10175446
Goddamnit yes. Even more so than the 26 levels she has in cat lady.

>>10175459

What makes me want to visit Crane lands and 'accidentally' trip her onto her own wakizashi isn't primarily that, it's this.

>Shizue was not a great beauty, but a lovely girl with bright grey eyes and long white hair. She was quick to smile and laugh, and her voice could convey a tremendous depth of emotion. Due to the crippled foot her steps are slow, but rhythmic, and thanks to some of the dancing she was taught by Teinko she moved quite gracefully. (Crane p. 84)

Not a great beauty, but described as lovely, wat? However, the absolute rage-inducing part is that, despite her grossly crippled leg, which is never ever shown or hinted at being any sort of problem besides "oh woe! I've fallen, help me samurai-san~" and an excuse for why she's a sad, sad snowflake with no husband...she's described as graceful and rhythmic, and is apparently an accomplished dancer. Essentially, she has utterly invalidated most of the disadvantages of being a cripple. She doesn't even need to use a cane to get around.

>Her difficulties only made her stronger, and if anyone followed the ideals of the Kakita Artisans the most it could arguably be Shizue. "Life is an art; do one thing well and you will do everything well." She would spend a lot of her time in the gardens of the Crane Clan telling stories and helping the Crane remember their history. She lead a peaceful life, and bore no remorse for the death of her parents. (Crane pp. 84-85)

Parents died tragically, but she isn't at all bothered by it? I'm noticing a distinct trend of all her "flaws" being excuses for drama, and never causing any actual downside to her. She also has Soft-Hearted and Small, but apparently suffers no disadvantage from THEM, either, despite Soft-Hearted being the social equivalent of a kick-me sign.

>>10175418
One of my players had a trained monkey who would do anything to please its master. This was up to and including stealing a pair of sacred jade daggers from a statue of Daidoji Uji in the middle of the party's negotiations with the Emerald Champion after the player saw them and offhandedly commented how wonderful it would be if she could get her hands something like them for herself one day. I loved the shenanigans creating potential of that little beast to bits.

>>10175539
Next session: breaking into the Emerald Champion's estate to secretly return his stuff.

>>10175535

As for the cat-lady bit. Well...it strikes me as more self-insert than anything else, but it's also "Oh I'm this delicate crippled peaceful woman who lives alone with her cats, OH HELLO EMPEROR, AND MY BROTHER THE CRANE DAIMYO, BOTH OF WHOM I TELL STORIES TO REGULARLY, YOU'RE HERE TO ESCORT ME TO COURT WHERE I WILL BE FETED AND SMOTHERED IN PRAISE AND ATTENTION?"

I confess, my friends, I raged most heartily. If my mother could see me, she would strike me the way Shinsei struck Bayushi...but in the face of this, there can be no emotion, perceived or real, except rage.

>>10175539
>>10175575

Awesome.

>>10175578

She even dies saving a legendary Kolat master who has been the sensei of dozens of famous heroes. Oh, and her death teaches him that honor has value, and it softens his heart.

I bet Shizue fucked like a tiger, too.

>>10175659

Of course, no way she would be allowed to ever be terrible at anything.

>>10175535
To be honest I'm actually totally shocked she isn't also an accomplished swordswoman who studied at the kenshinzen academy, so never needed a second for any challenge.

>>10175592
Even better, during the negotiations they kept butting heads with one of the champion's underlings. After they broke into the estate they thought they could frame her by planting the daggers in her room. Pretty stupid in retrospect, but my group was known for doing stupid things. I was setting her up as a cliffside battle in a thunderstorm type end game BBEG, but I thought the whole thing so hilarious I let them get a jump on the plot and while looking for a convenient hiding spot for the daggers, find her secret maho scrolls way before they suspected anything dire.

>>10175711

Me too, or I was at first. She only has 2 in Knives. Then I realized it's so she can be adorably helpless and cling to some big, strong men who are all also legendary heroes of Rokugan and master duelists that slay all of her foes for her. And she probably has a few Kenshinzen among her immediate family.

>>10175747
Yeah, this makes sense. The head sensei of the Kenshinzen academy is probably her close uncle or some shit.

Someone check Way of the Crane, he's probably in there, and it probably says so somewhere.

>>10175815

I don't have Way of the Crane, and I'm depressingly sure you're right.

Wow, and here I thought Doji Jorihime, the perfect, impeccable, unassailable genius queen of the first Winter Court PbP game was a giant Mary Sue.

Well, on the subject of warrior men in her life, her adopted brother was good enough to be Crane Thunder, her other adopted brother was a hardass who trained with the Akodo. Her BOYFRIEND was little brother of the Matsu Daimyo, and a super-strong swordsman at both Iaijutsu and kenjutsu.

>>10175897
Well, there you have it.

I vote we start calling her Doji Marizue

>>10175873

Details?

>>10175927
http://www.l5r.com/images/RPG/L5R-Winter%20Court%20Review.pdf

See for yourself. Count how many times her name comes up, it seems almost like not a goddamn thing happened during the entire game that wasn't revolved around her or resolved by her.

She even got to appear in the splat book Masters of the Court, where she is played up even more.

>>10175984
>shugenja-ko and Courtier

Stopped right there. You know, every time I meet a nice Crane in one of these threads, like that Daidoji girl who wanted relationship advice, or Amiki, or Reiji, it seems like it's immediately followed by someone like this. I'm very upset.


Also, the "major focus of romantic efforts" bit left a bad taste in my mouth.

>>10176024
Yeah, and when they say "several other court attendees" they mean every goddamn character there except one or two.

>>10176037

...Right. I think I will sleep soon, it's been a pleasant evening of poetry and discussion, and I'd rather be annoyed at this woman when I'm more awake. Good night, everyone.

>>10176048
Farewell, Bayushi with the Awesome Monkey.