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Post by ericfromnj on Jan 3, 2017 7:36:59 GMT -8
OK, so what do I need to communicate for Session 0?
The tenets of Bushido - Probably the most important aspect of it IMO.
the setup for the game - Deputies for an Emerald Magistrate in an Imperial City with 3 clan factions in the city.
Combat is deadly as fuck.
Religion
Group Character Creation - though some of this has been happening before this session, because I want them to be mostly strangers to one another, gathered by an Emerald Magistrate to deal with a city that needs more than one Emerald Magistrate.
THEMES - Conflict of Bushido. Disparate people coming together for the common good.
What else should I get into if I have the time?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2017 8:07:25 GMT -8
Alongside the tenets of Bushido I'd also cover the role of honour and the fact that doing the Right Thing can often end up as being dishonourable. I'd also stress that while samurai are all expected to be honourable individuals many are not, either through personal weaknesses or because they just don't care. So players can act dishonourably if they wish but society will judge them for doing so.
The other thing I would put forward to the group is the balance of social situations to combat. I personally think most L5R games need both but they can easily skew either way. What are the group after in this case (you'll probably get a good idea during character creation)?
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G.I. Joe
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Post by G.I. Joe on Jan 3, 2017 9:39:14 GMT -8
Remember that even though there is a mechanical way to increase/decrease honor, it is your own personal view of how honorable you are. The main issue with this is if you have min-maxers; as honor has a mechanical benefit. Also, it's not THAT deadly. Certainly more so than D&D; but not quite to GURPS levels. While getting hit REALLY sucks, as your TN to hit them goes up, you should be able to take a few hits, assuming there are not too many 'splodies. So not quite deadly as fuck. More like, deadly as foreplay.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2017 10:39:28 GMT -8
I've always read the honour as being how society perceives your actions, hence why scorpion are generally low honour even when they're doing something for the good of Rokugan. Part of the basis for the clan is that they are willing to sacrifice their personal honour for the greater good.
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G.I. Joe
Journeyman Douchebag
Posts: 147
Preferred Game Systems: L5R, FATE, GURPS
Currently Playing: Isawa Miriko: Split soul made whole again... with memory issues. Homura (Formerly Isawa Kiyoi) - wandering fire Priestess; Girart - a GURPS low-tech combat monkey w/19ST
Currently Running: Fushigina Ronin (L5R 4th ed)
Favorite Species of Monkey: Winston
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Post by G.I. Joe on Jan 3, 2017 11:10:06 GMT -8
Right, L5R assumes that they know what they are doing is dishonorable. But I can easily see why it does make sense that it is other's view of the actions, but even if no one knows you did an action, you still loose honor. Lying, regardless of whether anyone knows about it or not, causes an honor loss (unless it is at court or on the battlefield). Likewise, Blasphemy, will always cause you to loose honor, even if the only time you blasphemize is alone in the shower. If it was external, you would never loose honor for what happened behind closed doors.
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Session 0
Jan 3, 2017 15:23:03 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by ericfromnj on Jan 3, 2017 15:23:03 GMT -8
Ok. So honor too
I am also so using the phrase "deadly as foreplay"
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Post by the0gekko0state on Jan 4, 2017 8:43:22 GMT -8
Also that the PCs actions not only reflect on themselves but who they serve and their clan as well.
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Post by yojimbohawkins on Jan 4, 2017 14:23:53 GMT -8
Honour is actually a bit of both.
As mentioned above, everyone expects the Scorpion to be dishonourable and they gladly act dishonourably; as Bayushi himself said to Hantei, "I will be your villain". There is an expectation of each Clan, and there is a great bit at the end of each clan description at the front of the core rulebook, explaining how each clan sees the others. Honour plays a part in that with the starting Honour for each school. However, everyone in Rokugan knows that their ancestors are watching them from the afterlife (just ask the Lion!), and they behave (or misbehave) accordingly, which is why you can gain or lose Honour for both public and private actions.
One thing I especially like is that the mechanical and social consequences of both honourable & dishonourable actions are dependant on how honourable you are. A samurai with high honour will lose more honour that a samurai with low honour for dishonourable actions. I would spend some time explaining this to players new to the system, as it could be seen as unfair when the Lion loses more honour than, say, the Mantis or indeed gains less than other characters.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 1:37:00 GMT -8
The best way to explain combat is to do it. The same with dueling (be sure you have the errata for it, because the book is full of errors when it comes to dueling). I recommend you do a sample combat and duel before you generate characters. This way they can see what the skills, attributes, and rings do mechanically. Some people don't realize that kenjutsu and Iajutsu are different or that a duel uses 3 rolls with different stats (and is not just reflex based as noted next to the skill).
As far as honor, bushido, and clan are concerned... Be sure to make clear that there are expectations of them. Rokugan (magical Japan, if they had more balls to call it such), is all about hammering the tall nail. Scorpion that act honorably get hammered. Crane that act dishonorably get hammered. Your family, school, and clan all expect you to act a certain way.
You might want to go over some customs type stuff. Sword polishers (a polite way to ask you to leave your weapon outside when visiting friendly people), gift giving (has to be offered three times), ways to insult people (backhanded comments, touching them/their swords, etc), ways to threaten people (wear your sword instead of handing it over to the polishers, sitting down and placing it in the position where it can be drawn, the dueling stare down, etc). Really, you should just make them read the chapter (I think it is the first) about rokugani culture.
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fredrix
Master Douchebag
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Post by fredrix on Jan 5, 2017 2:15:20 GMT -8
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Post by yojimbohawkins on Jan 5, 2017 13:03:32 GMT -8
The best way to explain combat is to do it. The same with dueling (be sure you have the errata for it, because the book is full of errors when it comes to dueling). I recommend you do a sample combat and duel before you generate characters. This way they can see what the skills, attributes, and rings do mechanically. Some people don't realize that kenjutsu and Iajutsu are different or that a duel uses 3 rolls with different stats (and is not just reflex based as noted next to the skill). As far as honor, bushido, and clan are concerned... Be sure to make clear that there are expectations of them. Rokugan (magical Japan, if they had more balls to call it such), is all about hammering the tall nail. Scorpion that act honorably get hammered. Crane that act dishonorably get hammered. Your family, school, and clan all expect you to act a certain way. You might want to go over some customs type stuff. Sword polishers (a polite way to ask you to leave your weapon outside when visiting friendly people), gift giving (has to be offered three times), ways to insult people (backhanded comments, touching them/their swords, etc), ways to threaten people (wear your sword instead of handing it over to the polishers, sitting down and placing it in the position where it can be drawn, the dueling stare down, etc). Really, you should just make them read the chapter (I think it is the first) about rokugani culture. Don't forget that samurai will know basic customs. Obviously, some clans invest more effort than others, but the basic stuff is second nature in most cases. While it's cool to get the players immersed in the culture of Rokugan, you can gloss over some of it if it's getting in the way.
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Post by ericfromnj on Jan 5, 2017 19:55:17 GMT -8
OMG YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THESE CHARACTERS...
2 Crab Bushi 1 Phoenix Void Shugenja 1 Unicorn Shugenja 1 Tattooed Monk 1 Infiltrator - I was seriously tempted to nix this one, but I was in her wedding.I was her bridesdude. I couldn't. I was weak...
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Post by the0gekko0state on Jan 5, 2017 20:06:58 GMT -8
.......... ouch. Sounds like the town will burn. Best of luck!
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Post by ericfromnj on Jan 6, 2017 10:00:04 GMT -8
.......... ouch. Sounds like the town will burn. Best of luck! I know, right? At the same time, I will construct a campaign around these PCs, and I am not worried about that. There will be time to make them fish out of water, and one of the shugenjas is taking some coutier skills (Courtier, Etiquette, and Sincerity) so that they don't go into court completely unarmed if needed. The infiltrator is an old Shadowrun player. I blame that for her line of thinking when picking out a charatcer. The one crab is a strong, silent type the other tends to correct people when they are incorrect about something (or they lie). It's an interesting group, though not conventional to say the least. Like I said, I can roll with it though. 35 years GMing a bunch of different systems and LARPs, I can handle this. Though it cracks me up that for the one shot I did with different players my metalhead friends made a much more conventional group...
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Post by the0gekko0state on Jan 6, 2017 15:59:43 GMT -8
Hahaha that's funny, well I can't wait to hear how it goes.
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