|
Post by tayleron on Jul 27, 2017 4:47:21 GMT -8
How do you have samurai from multiple families working together? I'm running a mantis game and the players all come from different major families, a kitsune, a yoritomo, and a tsuruchi. My plan right now is that they've each been chosen by the mantis daimyo to support a young daimyo who, after the death of his father, must run an important region.
Any thoughts? My only exposure to an L5R game has been Stu's game. I want to stay fairly true to how the lore and family systems work, but I'm not super familiar with it.
Any advice would be welcome.
|
|
SirGuido
Supporter
Drizztmas Santa
Ask me about the Drizztmas Exchange!
Posts: 2,127
Preferred Game Systems: L5R, Traveller, Fate Accelerated, Masks
Currently Playing: Nothing.
Currently Running: Nothing.
Favorite Species of Monkey: Anything in a Cage.
|
Post by SirGuido on Jul 27, 2017 16:18:25 GMT -8
Different families from the same clan working together is incredibly common. The Mantis Clan daimyo likely wouldn't send this new young leader handpicked helpers, but people that knew his father might send some people to help him out. Like I dunno, a Kitsune diplomat who often went to Winter Court with the young daimyo's father, sending his child to help out the child of his old friend, etc.
|
|
|
Post by tayleron on Jul 27, 2017 17:00:34 GMT -8
That's a much more interesting way for them to get involved. That helps so much and solves a problem I have having with his involvement.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2017 21:25:06 GMT -8
Marriage is a real common tie to ones neighbors. No one wants to attack someone who essentially has their family members hostage. While marriage isn't quite the same, it accomplishes much of the same effect. A young lord without much power might entice retainers in via such pairings with his siblings. Alternately, they might be sent by another lord who wants to curry favor in this lord's court (maybe his land has a resource they want).
Finally, not everyone who lives in Yoritomo lands is a Yoritomo. Especially in regions that share borders, it is common to find samurai of more than one family in a city. Do remember that not every Daimyo is a family daimyo. There are lots of branch families and local daimyo's who haven't earned the right to their own branch family. When you get onto this smaller local level, you take what you can get.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2017 0:48:08 GMT -8
I find that getting different families from the same clan to work together is relatively easy, as Steven mentions not everybody in a particular families lands is from that family and there is going to be a wide network of relations between families within a clan. So just because they're from a different family doesn't mean they've forgotten that their father/mother/uncle/aunt/cousin was from a different family at some point.
The other thing to think about is that for a young daimyo with jurisdiction over a small territory is the role of the local courts. People might grant favours to provide him assistance knowing that they'll be able to ask for something later in return. So your Kitsune character might be 'loaned' to him with the understanding that he'll give them a bigger allocation of the local trade (rice, wood, ore etc). Bringing those complications in can really enhance an L5R game as suddenly characters can find their familial obligations clashing with the duties assigned to them by their new lord.
|
|
tomes
Supporter
Hello madness
Posts: 1,438
Currently Running: Dungeon World, hippie games, Fallout Shelter RPG hack
|
Post by tomes on Jul 28, 2017 11:17:05 GMT -8
I think the above are all great suggestions. Even if the families are not too related, you just need to create a common cause. Maybe they're all part of a larger or secretive group that supersedes the families (think of the Order of the White Lotus in Avatar the Last Airbender). Obviously this could be an easy means to use as a source for plot hooks and cross-nation and cross-boundary missions. Another option for common cause is being under instructions from the emperor, or banding together against a common enemy (which means you can leave a lot of that inter-family tension in their).
|
|
|
Post by tayleron on Jul 31, 2017 9:35:33 GMT -8
These are all fantastic thoughts. I've been going over your suggestions and I think I have a much better understanding of how this can all come together. I'm running the first session tomorrow and I'm feeling confidant!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 12:54:20 GMT -8
Let us know how it goes.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2017 16:52:14 GMT -8
All great suggestions. Inner clan families are pretty easy to work in, either as was suggested as payment for a favor owed or to benefit the Clan first and foremost.
Also keep in mind, not every servant in a lord's court is nessecarily from his family or even clan. The first edition's fiction had a squad of Scorpion magistrates in the service of Shiba Ujimitsu, the Phoenix champion. Again, probably as a trade - the Phoenix would get magistrates with a certain set of skills, while the Scorpion would also be planting intelligence gathering into another clan.
|
|
|
Post by tayleron on Aug 3, 2017 5:42:50 GMT -8
The session went well! I learned that I need to immerse myself in the culture more though. I had a lot of trouble role playing as a samurai. We had a good laugh with the gift giving, I just couldn't remember to refuse and they grilled me for it.
I threw the PCs in a fight against 5 ninjas (stats from Steel and Blood generic stat blocks.) They were terrified of them because I rolled a 40 on their initiative and their first shot, a shuriken, did 18 damage to the young daimyo who they were trying to protect. One of the PCs is a Kitsune shugenja who threw down some pretty sick heals though, and they managed the rest of the fight.
The game took longer than I thought it would, but I rushed and ended the session with the cliffhanger I intended.
Thanks for your input guys, and I'm probably going to check back here from time to time. 1 month til next session!
|
|
|
Post by The Northman on Aug 4, 2017 16:57:19 GMT -8
Glad it sounds like everyone had fun. It's a really unique system and setting.
|
|