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Post by ericfromnj on May 31, 2015 20:14:48 GMT -8
Ok so a friend of mine is almost done with a campaign we have infrequently gathered for and needs a break from GMing.
I really want to run L5R.
I really want to do the multi clan magistrates type game so that people can have conflicting loyalties.
I really want them to have conflict with the tenets of bushido
I have no clue how to set this up
Please help
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Post by lowkeyoh on May 31, 2015 20:24:24 GMT -8
Are you going to allow people to pick ANY clan? Or are you going to limit it to a select few?
If you're going to give people complete freedom then you're going to have to wait until people pick characters to start working on a plot. If you can shoehorn people into one of two or even three clans you can have other clans present damning evidence in court that implicates the player's clans in some sort of misdeed. There is tension on how best to resolve the issue and who gets credit.
As for bushido, my understanding is don't try too hard. Eventually if you keep thinking of problems you're eventually going to conflict them. If you want to specifically cause problems, pick two and engineer a situation where being honest would cause disloyalty, or etc.
Best of luck. Tried pitching L5R to some new gamers but they got infatuated when I did the high level explanation of what Shadowrun is so I get to GM that twice a week instead of visiting Rokugan.
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Post by the0gekko0state on May 31, 2015 20:50:31 GMT -8
I wrote up a adventure that was sort of suited for multi clan magistrates. I can't remember how much I finished writing but if you are interested let me know and I'll send you what I have.
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Post by ericfromnj on Jun 1, 2015 7:18:32 GMT -8
Are you going to allow people to pick ANY clan? Or are you going to limit it to a select few? If you're going to give people complete freedom then you're going to have to wait until people pick characters to start working on a plot. If you can shoehorn people into one of two or even three clans you can have other clans present damning evidence in court that implicates the player's clans in some sort of misdeed. There is tension on how best to resolve the issue and who gets credit. As for bushido, my understanding is don't try too hard. Eventually if you keep thinking of problems you're eventually going to conflict them. If you want to specifically cause problems, pick two and engineer a situation where being honest would cause disloyalty, or etc. Best of luck. Tried pitching L5R to some new gamers but they got infatuated when I did the high level explanation of what Shadowrun is so I get to GM that twice a week instead of visiting Rokugan. After running a demo for another group that consisted of one clan I was considering just trying the whole "let them play whatever clan they want" sort of approach for this other group. I am interested to know why I can't plan anything until they pick clans because usually I get the basic plot hacked out and then adapt to what the characters pick for their background etc. Is this more like Traveler where I am relying on their choices to make any sort of scenario other than scenarios for "Imperial Magistrates?" If so that's part of what I can't wrap my head around with L5R. For bushido I was thinking of having themes where I just picked two and go from there. My demo single clan scenario had the conflict of wanting to bury a comrade within the proper time period versus going to retrieve his sword from bandits (which is the exact example they put in the book). I developed a lot of trust that I can GM with these players due to my experience GMing Superhero games and LARPs, so I am pretty sure I can convince them to try some samurai. It's just to me anyway a very different feel for how I GM normally and I want to "do it right" so to speak.
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Post by yojimbohawkins on Jun 1, 2015 13:04:28 GMT -8
Are they new to L5R? If so, it's worth having a session beforehand running through the Clans and their outlook on Bushido.
Some Clans are more popular than others; I've found that new groups almost always include a Scorpion Infiltrator and a Mirumoto Bushi! Being a Ninja and dual-wielding Dai-Sho just appeals! Giving the players an insight into each Clan gives them a more informed choice.
As first rank characters, I'd set the characters up as yoriki to an Emerald Magistrate. That way, you can let them pick any Clan, but they have a boss to keep them on task. Inter-party conflict is fine, but duels between characters can get out of hand really quickly!
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thegrimace
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Post by thegrimace on Jun 1, 2015 14:20:09 GMT -8
I think it's less that you "can't" just plan a generic Imperial Magistrates campaign, and more that if you don't know what clans will be represented (and in what force) so it's hard to say what they will care about.
Having the plot center around a dishonored Lion clan member might be super engaging when one of the characters is playing a relative of that Lion, but might be super boring if your players are all Crane/Dragon who are enemies of the Lion, so they're just fine with him being unjustly executed. In the second case, your players might not even be motivated to pick up the plot hook. Now, if your early plot development is generic enough: i.e. "Samurai of Clan X is dishonored, where Clan X is one of the PCs' clans..." then you might be ok.
Also, you run the "risk" of having a party heavily weighted one way or another. In my first L5R games we had 3 Dragon, 1 Lion, 1 Crane and 1 Crab I think, so one clan was "unfairly" represented. This isn't necessarily a problem, but can heavily influence things.
If you're doing something a little more clearly us vs them (i.e. shadowlands, or maybe gaijin threats) then it may not matter as much which clans are represented.
Another option (depending on the clan break-down and location) might be some disputed area which might fall under the jurisdiction of multiple clans. In my current campaign there is an area where the Crane, Lion and Scorpion clan lands meet which is now coming into contention, so representatives of those three clans have a clear stake in things, and even other clans might be asked to serve as neutral arbiters or some-such.
I definitely second the recommendation that they be yoriki, as not only does that allow for a boss to keep them on task, but also gives them someone to impress/curry favor with. If you don't go down this path, then I'd recommend having a similar figure in maybe a high-level Imperial who (if not in charge of them directly) is at least someone they want to impress.
I also agree with the introductory session comment. when introducing my group to the game we went through an intro session where I went over things like the different clans, major societal mores, rules etc... and then we were lucky enough to play a couple Heroes of Rokugan games as Gencon before I actually started my campaign, and even so the players aren't super comfortable when I say things like "a Mantis captain walks in the room."
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Post by the0gekko0state on Jun 1, 2015 17:12:19 GMT -8
www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=67425Check these out too. They are challenge focus strike plot hooks like the core book. Some of them are gold mines. I agree with the Yoriki thing. Also if you don't have Emerald Empire yet I would pick it up. It has the charter of Emerald Magistrates in a law and order chapter. It also describes what a Yoriki is and other magistrate duties.
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Post by ericfromnj on Jun 3, 2015 13:18:35 GMT -8
Thank you I will try to pick up emerald empire.
I guess my next thing will be to read the police procedural segment in emerald empire.
Seriously thank you all so far.
How do you set up court conflicts so that courtiers can have their time in the spotlight?
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fredrix
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Post by fredrix on Jun 3, 2015 13:46:03 GMT -8
Yeah but run the intro scenario in the back of the main rule-book first. It would be a great example of the game to your players, and could set up the Yoriki campaign you are planning. (Also, monkeys make great magistrates)
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Post by the0gekko0state on Jun 3, 2015 16:59:08 GMT -8
Fredrix raises a good point, run them through it to get them introduced to the world and how it's different.
The intro adventure will show you how to get courtiers the spotlight. There is also sword and fan which half the book is courtier stuff and court, and there is a section in the imperial archives on playing one. But you have to remember that people need to be talked to and there is etiquette that has to be up held. Courtier are masters of it. Local Daimyo needs to be talked to, courtier sets up a appointment and then they enter court combat. I say that but it's more like witty banter, sliding in little remarks in, you giving info and getting info in return. Also when people need to be questioned it needs to be tactful. So it's the courtier's job in that regard. I'm not saying a samurai can't do it but it means more when a courtier talks too you. If courtier needs a samurai to do their duels then a samurai needs a courtier to do the talking. You'll find that court events happen all the time. Important people need to be talked to and the only one who won't make a fool of them selves (hopefully) are the courtier. Merchants, important samurai, daimyos, and higher uppers than that all have the things need to form good court scenes. Tea needs to be served, pleasantries need to be exchanged, info needs to be discreetly exchanged as well.
I hope this helps and I haven't just been rambling.
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Post by ericfromnj on Jun 4, 2015 4:54:14 GMT -8
OK, so run the scenario in the back of the book. I like it for the contests and the murder mystery so that should be fun.
I am guessing that any questions I have about Yoriki can be answered by the Emerald Empire book. Though I am impatient enough to ask if they stay in one general area or do they wander around a bit?
I am also guessing that if I were to get one book it should be Emerald Empire. The mechanics of the game I am comfortable enough with it's more the world itself and how the players fit in I am having the problem with, so thank all of you for your input into this.
On a side note I do plan to do one thing Stu did and that's start out with it being relatively free of supernatural things to start with and work them in slowly. Their first encounter with a zombie should be terrifying as they realize it doesn't take wound modifiers and just keeps on coming at them. Unless I steal gekko's plots hooks off the back of a truck, no questions asked.
And I understand now why I would have to wait for characters to be created. Thank you for that enlightment.
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Post by the0gekko0state on Jun 4, 2015 8:03:22 GMT -8
Yes Yoriki will. It all depends on the magistrate though. If the magistrate is stationed some where and needs them to do things where he is stationed. But it could also lead to travelling around the area where the magistrate is stationed. Also if the magistrate is going from place to place the Yoriki will have to follow. So it all depends on what you have planned for the magistrate. Think of the Yoriki as assistants and low level detectives. They go out and find info, people, or things that the magistrate can't or doesn't have time to do.
Yeah the Emerald empire will be exactly what you're looking for! Other than the core book, the three "core books" are Emerald empire kind of a setting guide, the great clans which is a guide to the clans, and enemies of the empire which is your monster manual. The enemies of the empire also have rules for kolat agents a conspiracy of sort, blood speakers cult which use maho (blood magic), and ronin. Also has some oni, shadowlands creatures, spirit creature, mundane animals and other things. It's a good read. But yes Emerald empire will help with customs, money which is not your average commerce, law and order, religion, and a number of other subjects. I found it enormously helpful. If you like PDFs they are available on drivethrurpg. If not they just did a reprint and are available on AEG's online store (or were when I last checked).
I would do like you said. Work in the supernatural slowly. It is a part of rokugan but not everyone sees it all the time. The only exception is the crab clan. They see it a lot.
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D.T. Pints
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Post by D.T. Pints on Jun 5, 2015 6:37:56 GMT -8
Yeah the fact that you're all new to L5R will make "any" aspects you can manage to incorporate cool, new and interesting. Don't try to hard to make it all Rokugan Perfect! There's such a vast amount of canon and people trying to tell you how all the fiddly bits fit together...just remember most of those weird fiddly bits are the result of a collectible card game being bung holed into an RPG. Very cool results just sometimes the car feels like its got seven wheels (or however many clans are out there...). The Topaz Championship was a fun adventure SirGuido ran a bunch of us Jackers through it many moons ago. I think there's even an actual play recording somewhere on these forums. But don't listen to us for help we were a bunch of cat herd assholes. Man I miss that character...
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Post by ericfromnj on Jun 21, 2015 13:42:20 GMT -8
Well my wife got me Emerald Empire and Enemies of the Empire for Father's Day.
Time to start reading.
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Post by the0gekko0state on Jun 21, 2015 17:15:55 GMT -8
Well my wife got me Emerald Empire and Enemies of the Empire for Father's Day. Time to start reading. Great reads they are! I'd like to know what you think when you're done.
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