OK, I have now had enough time to give a fairly detailed review of the new L5R 4th Edition. I will be doing this by section, mostly to organize my own thoughts
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I was not there for the L5R LARP you and Caitlin ran, but the costuming in this LARP is pretty amazing. Everyone has fulls costumes, no bathrobes or anything, and the accessories are pretty great. Most people are wearing kimonos/hakama/other costuming make specifically for this LARP, and even the lower end of costuming involves at minimum kimonos from Ragstock.
1) do all the bushi characters have both a katana and wakizashi, or can I get away with just a katana? 2) how are they running the tensai? I noticed that one of the PCs has the tensai school, but it is no longer a school, so how are they running it?
1) The STs are not clear on how that is working. Most of the shugenja are walking around without even wakizashi, so I don't think anyone will care. That bit is kind of fungible, so it won't be a gigantic faux pas if you don't have one or something
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wow, 2 ishken already? No I had decided to chose a character that wouldn't step on too many toes. I haven't actually talked to the STs yet, but given what I have read of other characters on the wiki I want to play a phoenix shugenja (not tensai) specializing in Air. out of curiosity how fighty are the phoenix shugenja currently in game?
One random thing I managed to pull out of this...I was also bothered by the lack of ronin schools, for exactly the reason you suggested. I approve of them allowing for ronin to not take family's, and just more CP, but the complete elimination of generic schools was a mistake I feel. I think they wrote at some point that they might put some in a supplement. Also, would it be too hard to make some up, based on the standardization of everything else?
Also...man...I want to join that larp...so badly...>.
I haven't been in it yet, but like what Claudia said it sounds like the costume level is "Shiny". While it may change depending on what happens to my character, I'm planning on using my blue Chinese robe for at least the first couple of sessions.
I haven't talked much to the STs (I asked a bunch of questions, but they haven't gotten back to me) but I am hoping to create a phoenix air shugenja. I am going to try to play an elemental warrior type shugenja and when I started picturing him I had a mental image of a duel held on a windswept plain. Then i realized that the air ring in fact did help quite a lot in Iaijutsu duels. So I am basically attempting to play a Shugenja Iaijutsu duelist. I'm thinking of having a mother from the crane trained by the kakita to explain the character's interest.
All that being said, I have a couple of back up characters in case they won't allow it for some reason.
I was at a talk with Rob Hobart and spoke with him at length about the idea behind narrowing down schools in 4th ed. Here were his thoughts and the reasons why he and the design team went the way they did
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Now the idea in 3/3R was that the ronin "schools" weren't actually schools so much as instinctive ways of fighting or self-created techniques. It's a nice idea, but I never liked the idea that everyone's self-created techniques were the same.* The problem is, there's already a mechanic to do that in l5r: don't take a school at all. Just invest in your skills and traits. Isn't that what being self-taught would really do?
The Monkey generally number just a few dozen samurai at any given time. I have no idea how they can afford a bushi school** but they certainly can't afford a bushi school and a shugenja school and a courtier school. What happens if a Monkey wants to be a shugenja? You go out of clan to receive your training: Proud but sad father: My daughter, your mother and I care for you greatly but you walk a path we have never followed, one we can never follow. You must journey to our allies among the Scorpion. Their lady, Bayushi Miyako, was once of the Toku. Give this letter to her and she will take you to the Soshi who
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I agree with all your points about why and how a school is formed, but my argument was more centered around the game mechanics angle. Yes, the game is about the history of rokugan, but it is also about playability. And I agree that many minor clans will send shugenja or courtiers to other clans when they need to be trained. My problem was actually the fact that some minor clans ONLY have shugenja schools. I find it hard to believe that there are no Dragonfly bushi at all, or that all of them have no school ranks.
The clans that don't have bushi schools no doubt still have a few bushi* but I can absolutely believe that most don't have school ranks. The clans simply don't have the resources to support a school
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2) how are they running the tensai? I noticed that one of the PCs has the tensai school, but it is no longer a school, so how are they running it?
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Also...man...I want to join that larp...so badly...>.
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All that being said, I have a couple of back up characters in case they won't allow it for some reason.
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The Monkey generally number just a few dozen samurai at any given time. I have no idea how they can afford a bushi school** but they certainly can't afford a bushi school and a shugenja school and a courtier school. What happens if a Monkey wants to be a shugenja? You go out of clan to receive your training:
Proud but sad father: My daughter, your mother and I care for you greatly but you walk a path we have never followed, one we can never follow. You must journey to our allies among the Scorpion. Their lady, Bayushi Miyako, was once of the Toku. Give this letter to her and she will take you to the Soshi who ( ... )
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