Jumping into L5r
Dec 29, 2013 1:49:16 GMT -8
Post by henryhankovitch on Dec 29, 2013 1:49:16 GMT -8
I'm GMing my first L5R game, and we just had our chargen session. I don't think I have any specific questions yet, but I'm certainly interested in brainstorming and feedback.
I had six players today. I'll be surprised if all six are "regulars"--one of them has work that keeps him from attending every week, and one other guy has been sketchy in attendance in the past. But the core group is pretty solid. I'm running them as a group of Emerald Magistrates. We did some background vignettes today, and should be starting the actual game plot next week.
The PCS:
A Crane bushi with courtier leanings; basically an arrogant fop with a nasty dueling streak. He took the "infamous" disad; and in chatting about it at the table we eventually settled on the idea that he had killed a prominent Lion noble's son in a duel to first blood. So while his character was technically without reproach, he's commonly thought to have deliberately struck to kill. He also spent 15 points on the Gentry advantage, making him the head of a large village. I might ask him to re-allocate these points, as his status as a Magistrate will probably keep his PC away from his fief, and may keep him from actually reaping any advantage from it.
We have a Crab bushi, a young samurai who has managed to pick up some Shadowland taint already (another disad).
I have TWO--count'em--Unicorn bushi. They ended up settling on being cousins, and have very similar mechanical builds despite some ribbing about the "retarded Mongol brothers." One guy took the Bitter Betrothal disad, which spun off into the longest and most fun vignette of the night. We ended up with a story of his engagement and marriage to a Crane woman (thus settling a border dispute), who has been completely unimpressed with her unkempt, uncivilized Unicorn husband. So they now have this completely frigid, childless marriage. In contrast, his cousin (the other PC) has a content marriage with a son, which I then pointed out would make him the likeliest heir to their uncle's holdings. This has set up a nice bit of tension between the two friendly PCs, and also potential political complications with the Crane. The PC with the bad marriage has even taken on a concubine, with whom he's intending to sire a son for adoption. THAT CAN'T POSSIBLY CAUSE PROBLEMS!
There's a Phoenix shugenja, who hasn't really been fleshed out yet; it was the last PC to be made. I also have a Scorpion ninja ("shosuro infiltrator") with a kleptomaniac bent. This can't possibly cause problems for the PCs either.
I've got a somewhat skeleton plot in mind for next week: this ship was attacked by pirates over there, and they made off with an artifact that was supposed to be in Imperial hands, so go find it--even if the daimyo of the province in question denies any pirate activity. I didn't want to get too involved with planning a campaign plot before I had any sense of the party's collective history.
I had six players today. I'll be surprised if all six are "regulars"--one of them has work that keeps him from attending every week, and one other guy has been sketchy in attendance in the past. But the core group is pretty solid. I'm running them as a group of Emerald Magistrates. We did some background vignettes today, and should be starting the actual game plot next week.
The PCS:
A Crane bushi with courtier leanings; basically an arrogant fop with a nasty dueling streak. He took the "infamous" disad; and in chatting about it at the table we eventually settled on the idea that he had killed a prominent Lion noble's son in a duel to first blood. So while his character was technically without reproach, he's commonly thought to have deliberately struck to kill. He also spent 15 points on the Gentry advantage, making him the head of a large village. I might ask him to re-allocate these points, as his status as a Magistrate will probably keep his PC away from his fief, and may keep him from actually reaping any advantage from it.
We have a Crab bushi, a young samurai who has managed to pick up some Shadowland taint already (another disad).
I have TWO--count'em--Unicorn bushi. They ended up settling on being cousins, and have very similar mechanical builds despite some ribbing about the "retarded Mongol brothers." One guy took the Bitter Betrothal disad, which spun off into the longest and most fun vignette of the night. We ended up with a story of his engagement and marriage to a Crane woman (thus settling a border dispute), who has been completely unimpressed with her unkempt, uncivilized Unicorn husband. So they now have this completely frigid, childless marriage. In contrast, his cousin (the other PC) has a content marriage with a son, which I then pointed out would make him the likeliest heir to their uncle's holdings. This has set up a nice bit of tension between the two friendly PCs, and also potential political complications with the Crane. The PC with the bad marriage has even taken on a concubine, with whom he's intending to sire a son for adoption. THAT CAN'T POSSIBLY CAUSE PROBLEMS!
There's a Phoenix shugenja, who hasn't really been fleshed out yet; it was the last PC to be made. I also have a Scorpion ninja ("shosuro infiltrator") with a kleptomaniac bent. This can't possibly cause problems for the PCs either.
I've got a somewhat skeleton plot in mind for next week: this ship was attacked by pirates over there, and they made off with an artifact that was supposed to be in Imperial hands, so go find it--even if the daimyo of the province in question denies any pirate activity. I didn't want to get too involved with planning a campaign plot before I had any sense of the party's collective history.