The Persona

Persona
By
Dace

While I feel the Shosuro Actor is a good school, as with anything in life, there are some area’s that I feel it could be improved upon. Or things I would have done differently. Nothing major mind you just some personal taste that I think makes more sense to me.

First things first, breaking the persona. Now I’m of the opinion that doing such should be a hard task. It is after all a technique here that we’re talking about, not a mere use of the Acting skill. Thus I do agree with the side bar on Dealing With Shosuro Actors in a Game, with one minor exception.

In my opinion the strength of a Shosuro Actor isn’t so much in his acting as is it’s his knowledge of the clan in question. For me no amount of acting is going to help you preserve your persona if you simply don’t know what you’re talking about. The book calls for two rolls in certain situations for covering up a mistake. The first roll is for when you say something wrong and you are attempting to ally fears, thus a Sincerity (Deceit)/ Awareness roll vs Investigation (Interrogation)/ Perception works. And if you’re displaying skills or attempting to “fake” it Acting/Awareness vs Investigation (Notice)/ Perception is called for.

But sometimes the character clearly doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Or simply forgets to do something that anyone from that clan would otherwise know to do. In these situations I recommend a Lore (Appropriate Clan)/ Intelligence roll vs Investigation (Notice)/ Perception. The reason for this is that ultimately you have to know something about the clan you’re attempting to infiltrate.

On the flipside, if you don’t really feel like adding more rolls but feel as I do that you can’t fake your way through something you have no clue about I would recommend limiting the number of dice added from the skill by the characters rank in that particular clans lore. So if you’re pretending to be an Akodo Bushi and you need to cover up for not knowing something about the Hall of Ancestors or faking a ritual you just now learned about you would roll either Sincerity or Acting and limit the dice from those two skills by the Lore skill in question.

Another concern comes in the form of the Persona skills themselves. Now during PT I tested it with the idea that the Persona skills never raised or that you weren’t using the higher of the two (your skills or the persona). In some regards it makes sense. You haven’t really learned all those skills. And of course you don’t want a character who uses his persona’s to become a jack of all trades with free skills.

But it also presents an interesting problem in that Ide Tang obviously was a skilled diplomat and his skills were likely higher than just the basic beginner. So here are a few options.

The first and easiest method is to merely allow the character to use the higher of his persona vs non persona skill. Thus if the persona has a Courtier of 1 and the Actor actually has Courtier 3 then use 3. Another method that one might consider is persona stacking. So instead of gaining a new persona at IR 3 and 5 you stack them onto your current persona and thus raise your phantom skills.

But the method I prefer to use is to simply reduce the TN adjustment for the use of skills that both you and your persona knows. Thus if your persona is a Doji Courtier and you want to use Courtier and your normal roll has it at 4 then I would have them roll and require +5 raise in the TN.

The reason for this is that at the end of the day you kinda have to balance the phantom skills against spending real xp on real skills. I think it would be less difficult to “break character” to do something both you and your persona can do than it is to “break character” to do something only you know how to do. But as I mentioned initially the balance between providing PC's with a jack of all trades character with phantom skills that are better than his real skills vs what the character truly knows is a though one to strike. With this method you maintain that it is in fact hard to "break character" even for something you already know and still encourage the character to learn real skills instead of always relying on phantom skills.

Naked Steel # 4

Naked Steel #4 is up. In this update Shawn talks more about Imperial Histories, dropping a note about some extra web content that we'll see :)

Also more on the Book of Air

Naked Steel #3

The third issue of Naked Steel is up. It gives you another sneak peek at Great Clans (which should be availbe soon), Imperial Histories and Book of Air.

Link

Great Clans Preview: Kakita Artisan

by
Dace

You know there are plenty of reasons to hate the Crane. They have good duelist. They have good courtiers. Their bushi are fairly decent as well. So, yeah I can understand why people would hate the Crane. I suppose the Kakita Artisan will just be one more reason to hate on the Crane.

The Yang to the Shosuro Actor's Yin, the Kakita Artisan makes a strong addition to most parties. They will sign extremely well when backed with a Kakita Bushi or a Doji Courtier. But in general for a school whose primary focus isn't politics but art it's got some very good political teeth. Having a Kakita Artisan can make some aspects of an adventuring party easier (gift giving for the win).

The game has its fair share of schools that allow for more artistic pursuits. The Shiba Artisan, Tsi Smith, Shosuro Actor all let you be artistic for your clan. But in the realm of art the Kakita is king. At least to me anyway :).

The Kakita Artisan also gets some very nice support in the form of Paths and Advanced Schools. Overall I expect Crane fans to be very pleased with what is offered.

Kakita Artisan (Artisan)

Unlike their occasional rivals among the Shiba, the Kakita Artisans do not confine themselves merely to the creation of physical art such as paintings or books of poetry. The Artisan Academy devotes itself to the study of every sort of art, whether it is performance-based or creation-based, and studies not only the ways of art but also the ways in which such art may be turned to the service of the Crane Clan.

Rank Four: Undying Name
Your art is now so magnificent that you can make and break the reputations of others by depicting or referencing them in your work. You may create a piece of art referring to another person by rolling [chosen art]/Awareness at a TN equal to 20 plus 5x their Glory Rank. With a success,
you may either increase (if your art is complimentary) or decrease (if it is critical) their Glory by up to 5 points, plus an additional 5 points for every Raise you make on the roll. You may call two additional Raises to inflict a gain of Infamy on the target instead of a Glory change.

You may not target the same person with this technique more than once every six months. Furthermore, persons of high station cannot have their reputations damaged by artists lacking in prestige – the target’s Status Rank cannot exceed your Glory or Status Rank (whichever is higher).

Sample NPC

Kakita Naomi – Crane Storyteller

Kakita Naomi is said to be one of the best storytellers alive. The wit and humor in her poems and stories are the stuff of legends. Her tales have even moved the Crab Champion to tears, though many do not remind the Champion of this.

Naomi is a favorite in the courts of Rokugan, being sought after each winter to entertain and enthrall the host guest. She even has a standing invitation to the Emperors imperial court each winter. She even holds the position of honored guest when visiting the Imperial City.

Her rivalry with the Scorpion playwright Shosuro Sakuya is notorious. While the source of their animosity is unknown it is rumored that in their youth the pair were lovers until Naomi was bethrowed to another.

Naomi does not like her husband. She feels he is barely above being a barbarian. His only saving grace was that he came from the Ide family and not the Moto. She spends as much time as possible away from her husband, touring the empire and giving stirring performances to honor the Crane and its allies.

Naomi’s favorite stories and poems focus around the conflict between love and duty. She has also captivated many a court with gripping tales of honor in the face of great adversity. Naomi is sharp witted and equally sharp tongued. When not entertaining a court she can often be found deeply involved in a conversation of some nature.

Kakita Naomi
School/Rank Kakita Artisan 5
Air: 5
Earth 2
Fire 3
Intelligence 4
Water 3
Void: 4
Glory 4
Honor: 5.0
Status: 4

Skills: Calligraphy 4, Courtier 4, Games: Sadane 6, Etiquette (Conversation, Courtesy) 4, Sincerity (Honesty) 4, Artisan: Poetry 6, Perform: Oratory 6, Perform: Storytelling 6, Perform: Song 4 Tea Ceremony 5, Lore: Heraldry 4, Lore: History 3, Lore: Crane Clan 4

Advantages: Fame (3) Kharmic Tie (3 Shosuro Sakuya) Voice (3)
Disadvantages: Contrary (3) Sworn Enemy (5 Shosuro Sakuya) True Love (3 Shosuro Sakuya)
Techniques: Soul of the Artisan, The Souls Dreams, Free the Spirit, Undying Name, A Gift Beyond Price

Great Clans Preview: Shosuro Actor

by
Dace

The Shosuro Actor was one of my favorite 1st Edition schools. But it always had one large baffling problem that made the school unfun for me. You couldn't disguise yourself in a new persona till IR 3. This made no sense. After all they're actors right? Undercover agents. They should be able to assume that new persona when they are done training.

Luckily for 4th Edition this logical inconsistency I faced was removed. Starting out a Shosuro Actor gains a persona at IR 1. Oh happy day :)

Now for those who are new to 4th Edition the Shosuro Actor is part of the ninja team. Working as deep cover agents they go in and assume the identity of another clan member and collect information for the Scorpion. They also make fine assassins. Some even rise to prominent positions within their infiltrated clans, such as Ide Tang the daimyo of the Ide family.

I would like to note that the Shosoru Actor is a somewhat difficult thing to play. Not too many non Scorpion's are going to be understanding of you wandering off to “be someone else” ;). It's one of those schools that will require a fair amount of work from the GM and player. But one that I think is worth it.

The Shosuro Actor (Ninja)
The Shosuro Butei (Acting) Academy is a famous acting school, rivaling the actors of the Kakita Artisan Academy, but its students are also taught methods of infiltration and impersonation. The most promising students receive instruction in poison, stealth, and assassination, and are
given contacts within the Scorpion spy network to help them to build up the false personas which they use in their later espionage careers. For the vast majority of its students, of course, the Butei Academy is simply a school of the arts—the Scorpion students are aware the school is more than it seems, but are content to ignore such unpleasantness and focus on pursuing their craft.

The skilled infiltrators who emerge from the Butei Academy are a matter of rumor and supposition to the rest of the Empire. There are fanciful tales of Scorpion infiltrators so skilled they could convince a doting mother to place an entire family’s welfare into their hands. These are exaggerations, but the Shosuro Actors are certainly quite skilled and they take their clan’s sacred duty to protect the Empire extremely seriously. In their view, whatever deceptions they must perpetrate are more than justified, and they are as ready to die for the clan as any other Scorpion.

Rank Five: The Third Face
The Shosuro Actor is now a true master of deception, infiltration, and murder. You gain a third persona. In addition, if you attack a foe who is unaware or does not expect danger from you, your Raises are not limited by your Void.

Sample NPC

Shosuro Sakuya – Scorpion Playwright

Shosuro Sakuya is one of the empires best playwrights. His troupe, the Laughing Frogs, has performed in various courts throughout Rokugan; including the Emperor's court. Sakuya has a standing invitation to attend the Imperial winter court. It is an honor that Sakuya enjoys taking as often as he can, when clan duties permit him to attend.

Sakuya's plays are well known for their political satire. The Crane often serve as the antangonist for his plays and many delight in watching Sakuya's hero's (often Lion, Scorpion or Phoenix) getting the upper hand against them. Sakuya's critics speculate that the rivalry between Sakuya and Kakita Naomi is the cause for his depictions against the Crane. Whatever the reason though, Sakuya is not always welcome in Crane lands.

The Shinning Blossom is Sakuya's playhouse in Ryoko Owari and serves as his training grounds for many agents with in the Scorpion. The Laughing Frogs are composed mostly of other bueti and infiltrators. While the bueti entertain a cities nobles the infiltrators sneak in and find information useful to the clan, plant incriminating evidence and other nefarious activities. It is rare that Sakuya undertakes assassination missions. While many in his employ are more than capable of taking out a target, the attention it would draw would undermine future performances.

Shosuro Sakuya
School/Rank
Air: 4
Awareness: 5
Earth 3
Fire 4
Water 3
Void: 4
Glory 5
Honor: 2.5
Status: 4

Skills: Acting (Crane, Phoenix, Lion) 6, Calligraphy (Scorpion Cipher) 3, Etiquette 4, Lore: Crane 3, Lore: Lion 3, Lore Phoenix 3, Lore: Heraldry 3, Knives 5, Meditation 4, Sincerity (Deceit) 6, Stealth 6

Advantages: Fame (3) Great Potential Acting (5), Kharmic Tie: Kakita Naomi (3)
Disadvantages: Dependant (Niece 4), Sworn Enemy Kakita Naomi (5), True Love Kakita Naomi (3)

Techniques: The First Face, The Subtle Sting, The Second Face, The Vipers Kiss, The Third Face

Great Clans Preview: Tsuruchi Bounty Hunter

written by Kakita Seigi

Even in the early days of the Tsuruchi family before the family joined the Mantis Clan, the small family was legendary throughout the Empire for its tenacious bounty hunters. These bounty hunters are a peculiar breed of law enforcement in Rokugan. Most duties are handled by magistrates, but an enduring contract made between the Tsuruchi family and the Emerald Champion authorizes the Tsuruchi family to hunt down known fugitives on the run. They are mercenaries for hire and magistrates, often busy with other important duties, will employ a Tsuruchi for a fee. So welcome to the world of Rokugan's bounty hunter.

From a mechanical perspective, Design was strongly interested in developing a new Mantis Clan bushi school that focused on law enforcement, but one that was unique. Like other magistrate schools though, the requirements needed for an effective magistrate require a different set of techniques than the regular bushi. And the Tsuruchi Bounty Hunter is an interesting half-way marriage between the normal magistrate and an investigator. There is the usual set of magistrate schools, such as the Doji and Soshi Magistrates, that focus on more martial techniques to disable opponents. And while this works well for standard magistrates, the trail is often already "cold" by the time a Bounty Hunter is hired. So very much like a Kitsuki Investigator, an effective Bounty Hunter needs to specialize in tracking down his prey, sometimes with very little information to initially utilize.

To represent both of these aspects, the Tsuruchi Bounty Hunter specializes in two major themes: tracking down fugitives and disabling opponents guilty of a crime. The first two techniques of the school actually solely focus on the hunt and its not until later that the school begins to focus on disabling the Tsuruchi's target. This means often that the more inexperienced bounty hunters will be sent on missions, in which the bounty hunter is asked to execute the target. After all it's usually much easier to just outrightly kill a criminal, than to be bothered with capturing him.

In Tsuruchi fashion, the favored weapon of the school is unsurprisingly the yumi. However unlike their cousins in the Tsuruchi Archer school, the modern day Tsuruchi Bounty Hunter also trains with other weapons, such as a katana and knives, as often the Bounty Hunter may find himself in a social situation where it is unacceptable for the Bounty Hunter to carry his beloved yumi with him.

Now I mentioned earlier that the school focuses on two themes. As a consequence that the Bounty Hunter often must devote a significant amount of his training to learn how to hunt down convicted criminals. This leaves a Bounty Hunter with much less time to fully master the martial arts like regular bushi. A Bounty Hunter is pretty much focused on fighting criminals declared guilty of a crime by an Imperial or a higher Mantis authority. Many of the Tsuruchi's more martial techniques reflect this more focused martial training

Thus, a Tsuruchi Bounty Hunter is aptly comparable to the Lion's Shadow with respect to their combat competency. While very much skilled in the ways of the warrior, a Bounty Hunter is not nearly as a skilled combatant as a seasoned bushi. But what the Bounty Hunter lacks in the martial pursuit is made up in the extra focus of tracking down criminals. For gamers that enjoy magistrate games, the Tsuruchi Bounty Hunter promises to be an excellent and exciting school that complements the party's other bushi.

Tsuruchi Bounty Hunter [Bushi]
During the early days of the Tsuruchi family when they were known simply as the Wasp Clan, the vassals of Tsuruchi were well known for two things: their incredible skill at archery and their unwavering tenacity as bounty hunters. The clan was authorized by the Emerald Champion to hunt down fugitives from justice for a fee, and for many
years the Wasp survived largely on the income generated by this practice. Although many samurai condemned this mercenary practice, no one could deny Tsuruchi prowess
and few clan magistrates refused to employ them.

Since the Tsuruchi family joined the Mantis clan, its two iconic pursuits have separated somewhat, becoming distinct schools which young Tsuruchi may choose between depending on their aptitudes and preferences. The majority choose to pursue a career as soldiers and archers within the Mantis military (the Tsuruchi Archer School), but a select few continue the family’s original tradition by becoming members
of the small but famed Tsuruchi Bounty Hunter School.

Members of the Tsuruchi Bounty Hunters are usually treated as clan magistrates within the Tsuruchi provinces and often within the Mantis Clan’s territory as a whole. The contract between Tsuruchi and the Emerald Champion still exists and thus the family can impart authority to a select number of students that is roughly equivalent to an Emerald Magistrate, at least insofar as the ability to apprehend known criminals. The Tsuruchi are extremely cautious in whom they trust such authority, however, since they are keenly aware the contract could be nullified if it is abused or misused.

Tsuruchi Bounty Hunters traverse the Empire in search of fugitives, those accused of crimes by superior authorities who have escaped the justice they deserve. Although they can technically only hunt those decried by an Imperial authority, the Tsuruchi also accept individual bounties from clans or families who wish their assistance. Bounties are usually a number of koku equal to the Insight Rank of the target. This fee is doubled if the target is a violent criminal or a shugenja, and may increase even further if special or unusual circumstances apply.

Technique Rank: 1
Technique: A Hunter’s Sense: A Tsuruchi bounty hunter is well known as a fierce and terrible opponent of all who seek to evade justice, and even those who are without guilt find them intimidating. You gain a bonus of +1k1 to any Intimidation Skill Roll used against someone of lower caste who you believe can help you find your prey. When interacting with samurai, this bonus is reduced to +1k0 but applies to all Social Skill Rolls, not just Intimidation. Also, when you are hunting a particular target, you may roll additional unkept dice equal to your School Rank on any Hunting or Investigation Skill Rolls used to track the quarry down.

Sample NPC
Tsuruchi Kita – The People's Bounty Hunter!

Kita is a confident bounty hunter who makes her business other people's business. And she thinks that she has developed a revolutionary way of obtaining information. By treating the lower classes with respect and helping them in need, they are only so happy to return the favor when Kita has need of it.

She tirelessly works upon crafting a reputation as a "noble" hero of the lower classes, so that whenever her Tsuruchi lords have need of information she is the one there to provide. Her many successes were recently noticed by the Emerald Magistrate, Doji Gohei. The two became fast friends and Gohei has provided Kita with endless employment as a bounty hunter. After a few years of working for Gohei, the Crane magistrate confided to Kita about a personal investigation. A very close friend of the Doji had asked Gohei to help him find a certain stolen item with the utmost discretion. While Gohei was skeptical of finding it, Kita boasted that not only could she find it, but that she would find the item before the winter. The two made a sizable wager of koku and Kita set off to find the missing artifact.

Through her many contacts, Kita found that the missing artifact was actually Kaiu Armor and that two ronin were also searching for it in the North. After many months elapsed with no sign of either the armor or the ronin, she almost decided to give her search up. Two days before she was going to return home empty-handed, an eta in Nanashi Mura renewed the trail with some critical information. He had recently spotted a tattooed monk sporting a cart with magnificent armor.

Traveling north upon the Dragon Heart Plains, Kita happened upon the two ronin she had earlier heard about. Instead of directly approaching them, she painstakingly crept upon them. Overhearing their rowdy and crude conversations, she learned that they were Crab ronin attempting to retrieve the same artifact she was. She also learned a great many personal things about both the samurai, most of which Kita didn't particular care to hear.

During the night, Kita moved on and tracked down the monk after a few days. Kita attempted to ambush the monk, but the monk was too fast and strong. Instead of killing her, the monk restrained her and revealed himself as Togashi Kaiden. Kaiden offered her a hefty bounty by the Dragon Clan if she helped him dispose the armor in the Dragon furnaces. The Togashi asserted that a dark spirit had possessed the armor and that he was tasked with destroying it. Although she was undecided on whether this was true or not, Kita still agreed to help knowing the monk might kill her otherwise. However, while journeying with the monk, she left a trail that even an ignoramus could follow.

Days later, her salvation finally came. The two Crab ronin attacked, and Kita took her opportunity to dispose of the tattooed man. After a short bloody battle, the monk was dead and the armor rescued. Kita and the two Crab headed back to Crab lands. She was going to claim her prize no matter what. After all, the monk could not have been right?

Tsuruchi Kita
School/Rank: Rank 3
Air: 3 -Reflexes: 4
Earth: 2
Fire: 3
Water: 3 -Perception: 4
Void: 3

Glory: 3.2
Status: 1.5
Honor: 3.9

Skills: Athletics 3, Commerce 3, Hunting (Trailblazing, Tracking) 5, Etiquette 3, Intimidation 4, Investigation (Notice, Search) 5, Jiujutsu 3, Kenjutsu (Katana) 3, Kyujutsu (Yumi) 5, Lore: Heraldry 3, Lore: Underworld 4, Sincerity 2 (Honesty), Stealth 2

Techniques: A Hunter’s Sense, No Prey Escapes, Justice of the Wasp
Kata: Striking as Air, Striking as Fire

Advantages: Ally: Doji Gohei (Inf. 2, Dev. 1), Hero of the People, Seven Fortunes' Blessing (Ebisu), Spy Network
Disadvantages: Greedy, Overconfident

Naked Steel #2

Shawn's column Naked Steel went up last week.

http://www.rpg.net/columns/nakedsteel/nakedsteel2.phtml

Covered in this article is the Matsu Beastmaster for Great Clans. The Kitsuki Justicar from Imperial Histories and a first look at the Daidoji Trading Council and the Doji Innocents from the Book of Air.