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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2013 14:01:07 GMT -8
I'm reading through the core book in prep for SirGuido's game and have come up with a few questions that I'd appreciate any advice / further info on.
First off how common are vassal families? Are each of the main families in a clan comprised of many vassal families who owe loyalty to the central family?
When it comes to character gen what sort of balance is normal with regards putting points into attributes vs skills vs advantages? I can't see any sample characters in the book (or I'm being blind) to use as a guide.
Finally (for now) - Could anybody clarify the mastery rank 3 ability for the polearm skill for me. The text states that
'During the first round of a skirmish, a character wielding a polearm gains a bonus of +5 to his initiative score. This lasts for only the first round.'
So my questions here is basically when does this apply? If my character is carrying an un-readied polearm do they get use of the ability? Or is it only when they start a skirmish with the polearm already readied?
On a related not what exactly do they mean by readying when it comes to a weapon like a polearm, is the blade sheathed like a sword in some way? Not being that knowledgeable with weapons I always imagined a polearm being carried with the blade visible and thus ready.
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SirGuido
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Post by SirGuido on Jan 18, 2013 15:28:40 GMT -8
First off how common are vassal families? Are each of the main families in a clan comprised of many vassal families who owe loyalty to the central family? There are fairly few(in relativity) straight up "Akodo" in the Lion clan(and other clans, this is an example... back off). Most of the people who go around calling themselves "Akodo" are more than likely Ichime, Katai, or Shimizu members, all of whom owe fealty to the Akodo and hence call themselves Akodo when not in Lion lands. But since this rarely comes up, there honestly is no reason to worry about it unless you want to. This is personal preference, but I tend to make two rings a 3 on a starting character, buy 10 points of disadvantages(because they're FUN!), and then use the remaining points on advantages and skills. This is definitely a problem with L5R as they are not always clear and they make a ton of assumptions. In this case it is meant that when you are wielding a polearm, and only when you are wielding it. It means when it is out and proud and not strapped to your back or some such other weirdness.
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Post by Stu Venable on Jan 18, 2013 15:37:13 GMT -8
Hey SirGuido, are you going to do your Google Hangout On-Air? (On-Air streams the game live and saves it as a youtube video).
I'd like to see it to see how a multi-clan game goes.
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SirGuido
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Post by SirGuido on Jan 18, 2013 15:45:03 GMT -8
Uhm sure? I'll have to look at that. I am interested in recording it and if you are interested in slapping it onto the feed I'm cool with that if everyone else is.
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Post by inflatus on Jan 18, 2013 16:04:17 GMT -8
Hey SirGuido, are you going to do your Google Hangout On-Air? (On-Air streams the game live and saves it as a youtube video). I'd like to see it to see how a multi-clan game goes. Have you posted the YouTube video yet?
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Post by inflatus on Jan 18, 2013 16:19:23 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2013 6:20:15 GMT -8
First off how common are vassal families? Are each of the main families in a clan comprised of many vassal families who owe loyalty to the central family? There are fairly few(in relativity) straight up "Akodo" in the Lion clan(and other clans, this is an example... back off). Most of the people who go around calling themselves "Akodo" are more than likely Ichime, Katai, or Shimizu members, all of whom owe fealty to the Akodo and hence call themselves Akodo when not in Lion lands. But since this rarely comes up, there honestly is no reason to worry about it unless you want to. Well I've been looking through the advantages / disadvantages, in particular the combination of: Different school Bad fortune (Lingering misfortune) Black sheep From a background point I was thinking of putting it together as follows: The lingering misfortune is something that has been passed down the family line for generations. A grandparent of Okimoto (my character) failed something serious enough that he was not only required to commit seppuku but the family (a vassal family) name was disbanded and Okimoto's mother or father reluctantly adopted into another family of the clan. While honour had been served my character grew up treated as an unwelcome member of the family (hence black sheep) due to the lingering misfortune associated with his ancestry. In order to get him away from the family lands he was gifted with the opportunity to train at the school of another clan. Growing up knowing of the loss of his ancestral name Okimoto seeks to be recognised as successful enough to restore the reputation of his lineage and erase the lingering misfortune that plagues it. Obviously I need to flesh it out a bit more with a couple more advantages / disadvantages as well as deciding upon a clan and a school but as a starting point is the above feasible as a concept?
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SirGuido
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Post by SirGuido on Jan 19, 2013 7:17:26 GMT -8
Obviously I need to flesh it out a bit more with a couple more advantages / disadvantages as well as deciding upon a clan and a school but as a starting point is the above feasible as a concept? I think it works as is, but I think there is a disadvantage called Hostage in there somewhere that might make it a bit better. Toss that in and say that your grandparent lost a great battle or botched a trade deal etc and you were taken as a hostage as part of the payment.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2013 15:05:40 GMT -8
Ooh I like that, Hostage works better for the idea than Black Sheep, that way I can have it that the character effectively grew up being heavily influenced by the second clan and is now conflicted as to how he should approach bushido.
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kevinr
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Post by kevinr on Jan 23, 2013 19:14:38 GMT -8
My wife has a hard time translating what she wants to say in our l5r game into "proper" Rokugan verbiage. She keeps asking for an app where she can input what she wants to say and it comes out in the proper flowery Rokuganiese.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2013 3:46:12 GMT -8
Ok, got a couple more questions that are mostly me checking I'm reading the rules right.
First calculation of the defence TN, this is (Reflexes x 5) + 5 + armour bonus right? So weapon skill makes no difference whatsoever or have I missed something? Given the rest of the system it seems out of place that it is just as easy to hit an unarmed opponent as it is somebody wielding a melee weapon.
Second is Kenjutsu + Katana as overpowered compared to the other melee weapons as it seems from reading the rules? The combination of the mastery abilities and special void ability of the katana seem to give it quite a bit of an edge over other melee weapons.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2013 4:48:20 GMT -8
First calculation of the defence TN, this is (Reflexes x 5) + 5 + armour bonus right? So weapon skill makes no difference whatsoever or have I missed something? Given the rest of the system it seems out of place that it is just as easy to hit an unarmed opponent as it is somebody wielding a melee weapon. Yes, weapon choise doesn't affect armor TN, thematically it makes some sense since parries don't happen, you don't want to break your ancestral katana. Still I give -5 ATN for melee to unarmed fighters. Second is Kenjutsu + Katana as overpowered compared to the other melee weapons as it seems from reading the rules? The combination of the mastery abilities and special void ability of the katana seem to give it quite a bit of an edge over other melee weapons. It is perhaps the best when it comes to duels (1 on 1 fights), when you are fighting outnumbered against weaker opponents wasting 1-2 void for damage is overkill, you'd rather use that to boost your TN or soak damage. Besides, the tetsubo, ono or the nodachi* beat the katana when it comes to damage in almost every situation. *You can tell a munchkin by the first time they pick up the book and go "I'm gonna have a no-dachi!".
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2013 5:42:35 GMT -8
Cheers for those clarifications, I must have missed the bit about no parries in the fighting style. That would presumably also explain why there's nothing about the advantage of reach when it comes to polearms / spears given one of their big features is the ability to prevent enemies with swords being able to get close enough to strike.
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Post by ayslyn on Jan 27, 2013 9:54:21 GMT -8
*You can tell a munchkin by the first time they pick up the book and go "I'm gonna have a no-dachi!". Or a Crab player. ^.^
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Post by The Northman on Feb 5, 2013 11:51:13 GMT -8
No true Crab will choose a primary weapon without an appropriately satisfying crunching sound on impact.
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