Legend of Five Rings: Legendary Edition

[Valles]

This thread is for coordination, storage, and other matters pertaining to an instant-message Rokugan game running Fridays at 10pm EST.

At this time, the current roster is...

Stormgear: GM

Arachnos X: Kakita Ise (page 2)

Valles: Kakita Mikasa (page 1)

Ebony: Kakita Hayase (page 2)

Hexane: Mirumoto Kanawa (page 2)

OpMegs: Soshi Sachiko (page 4)
===========

===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."

[dark seraph]

cool, i'de be tempted to join but i think the diffrent time zones would cause to much hassel

[Niteflier]

What system are y'all using?

[Ebony]

Kakita "Hakuchouko" (Real Name forthcoming): Ebony

EDIT: When are we doing this?
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Valles]

System is 3rd Ed D10, time is Friday at 10, naming theme is 'IJN Warships', and here's my first draft of Mikasa's sheet.
ETA: Inspired by Ebony!
Name: Kakita Mikasa
Clan: Crane (by marriage, was Scorpion)
School: Bayushi Bushi
Rank: 2
Honor: 3.1
Insight: 188
Status: 1
Glory: 2.7
XP: 83+35
Earth: 3 (Stamina: 3, Willpower: 3)
Water: 3 (Strength: 3, Perception 3) (+24)
Fire: 3 (Agility: 3, Intelligence: 3)
Air: 3 (Reflexes: 3, Awareness: 3)
Void: 3
Skills:
Commerce: 2
Courtier (Political Maneuvering): 1
Defense: 5
Etiquette: 1
Iaijutsu: 2
Kenjutsu: 5
Kyujutsu: 1
Spears: 3
Performance (Music)*: 2
Athletics: 5 (+9)
Craft (Sailing): 3
Tea Ceremony: 1
Battle: 3
Horsemanship: 1
Lore (Nezumi): 1
Games (Mahjong): 2 (+2)
Advantages: (9)
Dangerous Beauty (1) - If Mikasa is less graceful and mysterious than the dark beauties her birth clan is known for, men don't seem to mind. +2k0 on Deceit rolls vs men.
Quick (2) - Mikasa naturally reacts more quickly than most. +1k0 initiative
Quick Healer (2) - A childhood of sea and spray seems to have agreed with Mikasa's constitution, and she recovers quickly. +2 Stamina for purposes of healing
Ally (Mantis)/2 (free) - Though her father captained his ship for the Scorpion, most of those he associated with were the Mantis he was born among, and Mikasa has kept in touch with one of her closer childhood friends.
Kharmic Tie/2 (free) - A passing kami was charmed enough by the couple's devotion to have tied their destinies together. Twice a session, Mikasa may roll an extra die on tasks done for Ise's sake, and she is always aware if he is Hurt.
Precise Memory (3) - A childhood spent learning navigation, and with shipping manifests as reading practice, has trained Mikasa's memory to easily store and retrieve information. She can recall anything she has seen with an intelligence roll vs TN10.
Absolute Direction (1) - As any sailor knows, one who can see and know the stars can never be truly lost, for they, unlike tortured land or troubled sea, are unchanging. Mikasa always knows which direction is north.
Disadvantages: (10)
Evil Eye (1) - Mikasa's right eye was cursed by a sea kami, and is the shade of a tropical ocean on a sunny day rather than the natural dark brown of her left eye.
Junshin (3) - Mikasa is convinced that most Scorpions are completely mistaken about the basic nature of the human soul; naturally, this does not endear her to them. -2k0 when dealing with Scorpions
Can't Lie (3) - Surviving the whims of the sea and air kami in a small wooden cockleshell leaves little room for illusions and misdirection, and Mikasa never learned to lie at all.
True Love (3) - Mikasa counts herself twice blessed, first for having found a man she can love passionately, and second for having married him and aligned their duties. Just don't tell him that, it'd swell his head.
Bayushi Bushi School
Way of the Scorpion - Scorpion bushi always seem to get the jump on opponents. Mikasa rolls additional dice equal to her School Rank on Initiative Rolls. Enemies cannot use the Combat Reflexes Advantage to trade Initiative with her. She gains a +5 bonus to her TN to Be Hit against any opponent with a lower Initiative.
Pincers and Tail - The Scorpion's feint has been the demise of many foolhardy foes. Mikasa can declare one or more Raises whenever making an attack roll. If the attack is successful, for each raise made, opponents attacking her before her next Turn must declare one additonal raise before delcaring any raises for Maneuver or effects - not including Free Raises increasing the total  roll. Additionally, if an opponent attacks Mikasa and misses, she gains a number of Free Raises equal to her Air Ring on attacks against that opponent that occur before their next Turn.
Kata: The Tail's Reach, Preparation 10 minutes, duration 120 minutes, +2k0 damage vs opponents with lower initiative, -5 TNtBH or -2 TNtBH for 1 Void point
Equipment:
Yari (2k2, 3k3 if mounted, 1k2 if thrown up to 30')
Katana (3k2)
Wakizashi (2k2)
Tanto (1k1)
Yumi (3, 300')
Armor Piercing Arrows (10)
Flesh Cutter Arrows (10)
Light Armor (TNtBH +5, +5 to Stealth and Athletics TNs)
Kimono and Sandals
Traveling Pack (traveling cloak, dice and cup, flute, blanket, change of clothes, personal seal, mask, small tent, week's rations; chopsticks, coin purse, straw hat, flint and steel, tatami mat, sake cup, fishing kit, small knife, shovel)
Ivory Mask with an optical illusion of a design, in purple, that might be a face, two arguing faces, a vase, a butterfly, or something entirely different.
3 Koku, 5 Bu, 12 Zeni
Physical Description
Mikasa is of average height - perhaps 5' 4" - and possesses the lean, conditioned build expected of a female bushi. Her features, when she removes her mask, are lovely and a little predatory, both as expected from the clan of her birth, with her suntanned complexion and mismatched, unnatural eyes rendering the impression more striking than beautiful. Her hair, black and silken, which her mother taught her never to suffer to be cut, is kept in a braid for traveling, then bound up in a bun for battle and only let loose to brush the ground during her rare court appearances.
Her admirers, however, generally prefer to wax rhapsodic about great mountain peaks.
Her dress is - mostly - as expected of a dutiful wife of the Crane clan: white and powder blue and of good but not ostentatious quality, though her kimono are cut more for comfort and ease of movement than fashion and her armor is light and suited for a style of battle that involves much movement. The exception to that rule is her continued habit of wearing a Scorpion's mask - in her case, a plain oval of red-enameled steel that covers the entire face save for a narrow slit across her eyes - and carrying the red-and-black marked blades she was given at her genpukku
Personality
Mikasa is a poor fit for the usual mode of samurai society; she and her mother and father were the only samurai aboard the ship she spent most of her childhood on, and the mode of speech and action she finds most comfortable owes much more to the heimin sailors who were forever dodging around the curious child underfoot than it does to the elegance and decorum of the courts. Though her studies in the dojo of the Scorpion have taught her some measure of restraint, that is merely a thin veneer over a soul that favors forthrightness over eloquence and simple pleasures over refinement.
And if some perfumed fool who thinks that fancy rhetoric and face will change wind or tide or divert a pirate's blade has a problem with that, then he's quite free to seek more congenial company.
Background
Several years before Mikasa's birth, the Scorpion clan arranged a marriage between Bayushi Miyuki, who was lovely and possessed a knack for inspiring friendship but lacked the emotional discipline to be useful at court, and Yoritomo Hatsuharu, a skilled captain whose childhood rivals among the Mantis had ascended to positions of power and influence. The intention was that Miyuki would be able to use Hatsuharu's contacts among the Mantis to gather useful blackmail material and insight into the hidden parts of the Mantis's coastal trade.
Unfortunately for Miyuki, there weren't any, at least among Hatsuharu's circle. Loyally, she reported that fact, and, philosophically incapable of accepting her report as accurate, the Scorpion gave up on an obvious incompetent and exiled her to a quiet purgatory of travel, fresh sea air, and her husband's tender mercies.
All three parties consider that to have been the best thing that could have come out of the situation.
Mikasa is the eldest of four sisters, and Momi and Kiku seem likely to follow in their elder sister's footsteps, good only for the battlefield or marriage fodder, but Aoi, the youngest, seems to possess sufficient grace and charm to be a useful tool at court... if only she can be broken of her terrible habits of genuine sincerity and compassion. With the example of three siblings, all willful to a fault, the sensei of the Bayushi Courtier School are not hopeful.
At first, Mikasa was uncertain how to feel about the marriage her grandparents had arranged, but her husband's ill ease with refined samurai ways and gambling habits are, to her, familiar and homelike rather than being grating flaws, making it easier to see through to the strong and honorable man beneath. Her straightforward and heartfelt thanks to those of her family and his who arranged what was expected to be an unhappy and ill-starred match were quite amusingly nonplussing, and she finds that even the stuffy Crane are a better fit for her soul than the cynical Scorpion, and is happy to find herself as a loyal bushi, however low-status.
One-third of the above is a lie.
===========

===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."

[firvulag]

Got room for one more?

--

Campbell's Law: Nature abhors a vacuous experimenter.

[Valles]

I see no reason why not. Storm?
===========

===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."

[Ankhani]

You would likely be closer to Storm's Timezone than ours, DS. I don't think that would be much of a problem in itself. Probably the only (unavoidable)
trick is coordinating a large group of people.

I'd be willing to join up if you want more, it looks interesting, but I have absolutely -no- experience whatsoever with the Rokugan rules; so I don't
want to be a hassle.
---

The Master said: "It is all in vain! I have never yet seen a man who can perceive his own faults and bring the charge home against himself."

>Analects: Book V, Chaper XXVI

[dark seraph]

i'm unavalibe every second Friday, aslo, i haven't done pen and paper RPG in years.... i can't even remeber where i left my dice

[ECSNorway]

Have to admit, I'm tempted. Might run a Crane type... or Dragon. Have to see. And check out the 3rd edition rules.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Norgarth]

Hey Seraph? this might be of use to you:

http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20040517a

An online dice roller
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

[Baseload]

you can also try out this dice roller

http://invisiblecastle.com/

It's used alot on the M&M forum's PBP games

[Ebony]

Storm, how do you want characters? I can email it to you or post it here, as you prefer.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Valles]

Per conversation with Storm in CoH at 3:30am, chara sheets and backgrounds should go in this thread.
===========

===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."

[Ebony]

(10/9/09: Added experience)
(2/19/10: Added experience)
(4/30/10: Added experience)

Name:  Kakita "Hakuchouko" Hayase
Clan:  Crane
School:  Kakita Bushi
Rank:  2
Insight: 150
Glory:  1.5
Honor:  3.8
Status:  1
Experience Earned: 50
Experience Spent: 50

Earth:  3 (Stamina:  3, Willpower:  3)
Water:  2 (Strength:  3, Perception:  3)
Fire:  2 (Agility:  3, Intelligence:  2)
Air:  2 (Reflexes:  3, Awareness:  2)
Void:  2

Skills
Etiquette: 2
Iaijutsu: 3 (Hayase gets a free Focus on duels.)

Kenjutsu: 1 (Katana)
Kyujutsu: 1
Meditation: 1
Lore (History): 3
Spears: 4
Artisan (Ikebana): 1
Calligraphy: 1
Battle: 3
Athletics: 2
Defense: 3
Craft (Weaponsmithing): 1
Games: 1
Lore (Shadowlands): 1
Investigation: 1

Advantages
Inheritance (+8) – Hayase has inherited her grandmother's yari. She gains 1k0 when using it with her Polearms skill and a free raise for non-combat situations involving spears.
Large (+3) – Hayase shows her Crab blood in her stature. At 6'2", she stands eye-level with the larger Crabs and towers over most Crane. Her target numbers for social situations increase by 5. She gains +1k0 for melee attacks.

Disadvantages
Doubt: Etiquette (-4) – Hayase suffers in social situations, due to an adolescence filled with gawkiness and many taunts at her size. She must make two raises to succeed at this skill. (1 Experience Point spent towards removing this Disadvantage)
Driven (-3): Hayase is driven to prove herself to be a "proper" Crane, despite her size and supposed clumsiness.

Heritage
Distinguished Ancestor: Battle Veteran: Battle of the Sleeping River - +1 Rank in Lore (Shadowlands)

Kakita Bushi School
Way of the Crane: Add twice Iaijutsu rank to all Initiative rolls. May use Iaijutsu in place of Kenjutsu when using a Katana. May Focus an additional time during iaijutsu duel.

Equipment
Light Armor (+5 TN to be hit, +5 to Athletics and Stealth TNs)
Helmet
Katana (3k2)
Wakizashi (2k2)
Yumi (Strength: 3, 300' range)
            10 Willow Leaf Arrows (2k2)
            5 Flesh Cutter Arrows (2k3)
            3 Armor Piercer Arrows (1k2)
            2 Humming Bulb (0k1)
Grandmother's Yari (2k2; 1k2 if thrown; 3k3 if wielder is mounted)
Tanto
Kimono and Sandals
Traveling Pack (Chopsticks, Sake Cup, Miniature Shogi Set, Week's Supply of Rations, Whetstone, Fan, Tatami, Blanket, Spare kimono and sandals, Hairpins)
Flint and steel
Bottle of Fine Sake
Spare Sake Cup
4 Candles
Copy of Kakita's The Sword
Daisho Stand
Hakama, Two Pair
1 koku, 4 bu, 9 zeni

Physical Description
Kakita Hayase stands 6', 2", having inherited the size of her grandmother's family, the Hida. Likewise, she is agile and full of grace (although she does not see it), having inherited the litheness of her grandfather's family, the Kakita. Her hair is dark and straight, tied back in a samurai-ko's topknot when she is in battle, and pinned up in a style that she mastered only through careful and regular practice and which is nowhere near the intricate and elegant artistry of which other Crane women are capable (or so she thinks). Her complexion is similar to that of the Daidoji, darkened slightly from drilling long and hard in the dojo and outdoors, but not as tanned as the Mantis or Crab, and nowhere near as pale and beautiful as Doji and Kakita women (or so she thinks).  Crabs may be reminded of Hida O-Ushi when they see her.

Hayase's armor is lightweight and lacquered the traditional sky blue and white of her clan. She wears a kabuto when in battle, but does not wear a mempo. The only piece of her kit that is not the colors of the crane is the finely made yari that she carries. Its shaft is dark grey, both with long use and the natural color of the wood. While made in the Daidoji style, there is a small maker's mark on the tang of the head that shows it to have been made by a Kaiu weaponsmith. Hayase has tied a streamer of blue silk to the haft, just below the head.

Personality
Hayase is a woman that has been raised to think she is clumsy and ugly. Compared to the delicate features of Doji women and the agility of her Kakita cousins, a tall woman like her could easily be seen as less graceful, especially during the confusing and rapidly changing period of adolescent growth spurts. In fact, she possesses an strength and grace born of her ancestry and the potential for exotic beauty for which many legendary samurai-ko are known. Not that Hayase is aware of it, or that she will believe without much proof.

After years of being called "ugly," "clumsy," and other, even crueller, nicknames, Hayase has a low self-esteem. She knows she is a good warrior, but she doubts her ability outside of immediate combat. If she must talk to more than two or three people, her voice drops in volume, she stammers and pauses, her face reddens, and her eyes drop to a space about three inches in front of her. Ironically, if she is ordered to report or make an opinion based on tactical information, she will speak directly. It is only in court or when trying to perform casual conversation that she loses all confidence.

Because of all this, and because of the disappointment that her mother and the other women of her family have expressed concerning her, Hayase has sworn before her ancestors that she will become a "proper" Crane, no matter what it takes. In her mind, this equates to the ideal image of the Kakita or Doji samurai, although if she is shown the truth about herself, she may remember that the Daidoji are also "proper" Crane, and that even the greatest Kakita duellists are not always the ideal paragons of virtue.

Background
Hayase is the second daughter of Kakita Zuikaku and Kakita Tomoe. Ziekaku's mother was of the Hida family, and her strength of body and will made him and his siblings broader than many of their fellow Kakita, but no larger. Hayase was not so lucky; although she was born at an unremarkable size, she began to grow at an early age. By the time she was 10, she was as tall as her father, and by the time she reached her gempekku, she was taller than any other samurai that passed with her. During early adolescence, she was constantly outgrowing her clothes, causing her mother and aunts to work frantically to adjust her clothing. On more than one occasion, she would wear one of her brothers' kimonos to class, simply because it was the only thing that would fit. In addition, her rapid increase in size and strength made her clumsy and unsure of her self in class.

At the same time, her older sister, Haruko, had been establishing herself as a graduate of the Doji Courtier School. Her sister inherited more of their mother's looks (although she demonstrated a surprising strength of grip for a demure Crane woman), and many members of the family and clan felt that Haruko was destined to further the goals of the clan for many years. When compared to this, Hayase's clumsiness and size were judged a disappointment.

Hayase's mother never said anything to her about this, and her father never felt it was an issue, but many of the girls her age and Haruko's friends made it quite clear in their treatment of her. It was one of  Haruko's classmates who coined the nickname "Gachouko" ("Goose Girl") for Hayase, comparing her to the awkward, noisy birds that Crane peasants raised. Hayase was crushed by the clever words of the courtiers-in-training, and Haruko found her later, weeping in the grass near the drill fields of the Kakita Academy. Hoping to cheer her, Haruko told Hayase that the other girl got the nickname wrong, that she meant to say "Hakuchouko" ("Swan Girl"), because swans were as ungainly on land as they were graceful in the water. Since Hayase's strength made her a good swimmer, the nickname fit her better, and Haruko made sure that it was what the other girls called Hayase. They never knew that Hayase also understood that swans were fierce fighters. She took the nickname to heart in training, using her strength to her advantage in combat.

When she passed her gempekku, it was a close thing. The Crane put much stock in etiquette, and many years of clumsiness and insults had made her unsure of herself when in court. However, she had learned to use her fan to hide many faux pas, and her skill at arms made up for her dubious skills at etiquette. Her knowledge of history and her love of the quiet art of ikebana also helped. As a gift, Zuikaku gave her the yari that his mother had carried. A Crab weapon, it had been made in the style of the Daidoji's favorite weapons, and his mother had used it for many years in her service as a samurai of the Crane clan. None of Zuikaku's generation had had much luck with it, since it was proportioned for a larger Crab, but Hayase was tall enough to wield it without difficulty. It is her most prized possession, even if it isn't a "proper" weapon for a Kakita. (No one has told her this, and if someone did so, she would gladly meet them in a duel for the honor of her grandmother.)
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[firvulag]

Name: Mirumoto Kanawa
Clan: Dragon
Schoo: Mirumoto bushi
Rank: 2
Insight: 179
Glory: 1.5
Honour: 1.8
Status: 1
Taint: 0
Experience Earned: 118
Experience Spent: 117
Earth: 3 (Stamina 3, Willpower 3)
Water: 2 (Strength 2, Perception 3)
Fire: 3 (Reflexes 3, Intelligence 3)
Air: 3 (Agility 3, Awareness 3)
Void: 4
Skills
Battle 2
Defense 2
Kenjutsu 6 (Katana)
Kyujutsu 3 (Yumi) (+3)
Lore (Shugenja) 2
Meditation 2
Theology 1
Ettiquete 3 (Sincerity) (+3)
Calligraphy 1
Games 1
Music 1
Nazodo 2
Jiujutsu 2
Lore (Nezumi) 1
Advantages
Ambidextrous (+3) Years of training in the Mirumoto school plus a natural talent allow Kanawa to use his off hand with no penalty.
Balance (+5)  Kanawa is almost always calm and centered, nearly impossible to taunt or goad into action.  He tends to appear arrogant and somewhat distant to other people. +5 to rolls made for Tests of Honour.
Disadvantages
Overconfident (-2)  Kanawa has rarely met a challenge that he has not overcome.  This has led him to believe he will overcome all future challenges with similar ease.
Sworn Enemy (-2) Kanawa's successes during training did not always earn him friends.  One of the other bushi in his year took an almost instant dislike to him, making condescending comments about Kanawa's family, how his father had become an Ise zumi rather than marry his mother. Things were not helped by the fact that Kanawa tended to win their practice bouts.  The dislike deepened into a one sided rivalry and then to hatred by the time of Kanawa's gempekku.  Kanawa feels his inability to mend what is wrong between them is his greatest failure. He also considers his enemy to be a prime example of an Angry Enemy as described in Mirumoto's Niten.
Heritage
Mixed Blessing:  Kanawa's father is an Ise zumi.  He has inherited some of Togashi's blood and a single tattoo at the cost of 1 rank of honour. (WotD pg 49)
Mirumoto Bushi School
Daisho Technique:  When using both Katana and Wakizashi adds 5 + School Rank to TN to be hit.  May add Fire ring to rolls to hit when using his daisho. May use Kenjutsu in place of Iajutsu at any time.
Strong and Swift:  You may make an additional attack per round and add your Earth ring to your TN to be hit.
Ise zumi Tattoo
Wasp:  May take one extra action.  Effect lasts for 1 round and may be used up to School Rank times per day.  May not spend void points while under this effect. (WotD pg 48)
Equipment
Light Armour (+5 TN to be hit, +5 to Athletics and Stealth TNs)
Katana (3k2)
Wakizashi (2k2)
Yumi
Quiver

• 10 Willow Leaf arrows (2k2)
• 6 Armour Piercer arrows (1k2)
• 4 Humming Bulb arrows (0k1)

Tanto
Kimono & Sandals
1 Koku 1 bu
Traveling Pack

• Sake cup
• Weeks rations
• Bottle of water
• Flint and Steel
• Kiseru (pipe)
• Personal seal
• Chopsticks
• Finger of jade (1 days protection, counts as 3 items)
• Flute
• Simple go set
• sumi-e set
• small blank scroll
  

Physical description
Mirumoto Kanawa is of average height, and tends towards lean muscularity.  He moves with the surety and confidence of a well trained swordsman, and has taken Mirumoto's admonishment to make his everyday stance the stance he fights from.  He wears his dark hair in the traditional topknot, and has a thin, well trimmed mustache.  There is an air of amusement about Kanawa, his mouth is almost always turned up in a small smile, and though his eyes are usually calm, there is a spark of something laughing in them.
Kanawa prefers to wear a kimono of dark green with a pattern of gold plum blossoms on it.  The mon of the Mirumoto is on his left sleeve.
His armour is light weight and simple, done in deep greens and golds so dark as to be almost brown.
Personality
Kanawa is to most appearances a fairly typical Dragon, quiet and distant.  He tends to answer questions with questions, and is fond of riddles and koans when he must speak.  His demeanour is always polite, but people tend to get the sense that he is laughing at some great joke that no one else can understand.  Kanawa has some trouble making friends, a combination of his (self determined) great failure at his dojo and his detachment.
However, there is a sliver of doubt within him.  During his training he was often found, sitting in meditation facing the mountains.  He is a man torn between two paths, service to his clan and mother or climbing the mountains and learning what it was that called his father away.  Unable to come to a decision he has taken to volunteering for assignments and tasks that will take him out of the Dragon's lands and across Rokugan hoping that distance will allow him to gain some perspective.
Background
Kanawa's father was once Kitsuki Osousou but less than a year after his wedding to Mirumoto Haien he vanished, heading towards the mountains.  Ten years later he returned as a Togashi, to find a wife who had been mostly ostracised for his actions.  She was not happy to see him, but managed to convince him through long argument to fulfill at least some of the duties he had forsaken.  He left shortly after and has not returned since. After he left his wife cut her hair and went into formal mourning.  Kanawa was born roughly nine months after his father's return.
Growing up was not easy for Kanawa.  His mother had managed to overcome most of her bitterness towards his father, and was able to keep from projecting it onto him.  However, many of the courtiers among whom he grew up did not stop whispering rumours about his mother, her wedding and his parentage.  He learned to allow the gossip and rumours to wash over him with out affecting him, after all he knows his own honour, as do his ancestors.
His calm detachment served him well in his training, allowing him to read his opponents well and let their impatience goad them into making mistakes.  As difficult as it is for someone else to goad him into action, once Kanawa has decided something, or been challenged, he will rarely back down secure in the knowledge that he will succeed.
Still, he wonders about his father, and the Togashi blood within him.  Is the tattoo he bears a sign of the path he is meant to walk or an aid to his service to the Mirumoto daimyo.
Edit N: xp spent.

[Ebony]

Firvulag, did you use Third Edition for your character? I don't remember the Ise Zumi tattoo being something you could get off the heritage chart. Also,
Sincerity is a emphasis of Courtier, and would cost extra.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[firvulag]

The character was originally made with 2nd, but I managed to grab a copy of 3rd and correct him, although I appear to have missed at least one thing
(sincerity). The Heritage was rolled on the tables from Way of the Dragon, that's also where the wasp tattoo and Nazodo skill come from.

--

"OK, so it's not really thermite. It uses Mg++ instead of Al+++. I suppose they
figured that having the entire box disappear in a lake of molten iron wouldn't
make it easy to eat."
-- Shalom Septimus on a self-heating meal

[Ebony]

Firvulag wrote:

---

The character was originally made with 2nd, but I managed to grab a copy of 3rd and correct him, although I appear to have missed at least one thing
(sincerity). The Heritage was rolled on the tables from Way of the Dragon, that's also where the wasp tattoo and Nazodo skill come from.

I forgot that, unlike other games with multiple editions, L5R actually encourages the use of stuff from old supplements.

EDIT: You didn't need to drop Sincerity, if you didn't want to. It's just been incorporated into the Courtier skill.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[firvulag]

I don't really see Kanawa as having the broader courtier skill. He ended up with athletics and sincerity because I had 2 points left over after remaking
him in 3rd so it's not a great pain to drop them.

--

If a nut positively has to be loosened, the bolt will shear. And it'll
be a hard-to-obtain size.
-- Malcolm Ray in ASR

[ArachnosX]

Name: Kakita Ise/Yukikaze
Clan:
Crane
School: Kakita Bushi/Shapeshifter
Rank: 1/1
Insight:
152
Glory: 1
Honor: 3.5
Status: 1
Taint: 0
EXP: 0
Air
3 (Awareness 3, Reflexes 3)
Earth 2 (Stamina 2, Willpower 3)
Fire
3 (Agility 3, Intelligence 3)
Water 2 (Perception 2, Strength
2)
Void 2


Skills

Etiquette 2
Iaijutsu 6
Kenjutsu
(Katana) 1
Kyujutsu 1
Games 1
Defense 4
Battle
2
Athletics 1
Meditation 1
Storytelling 1
Lore:
Chikushudo 2
Lore: Crane Clan 1
Lore: Fox Clan 1
Lore:
Ghosts 1
Lore: Kami 1
Lore: Monkey Clan 1
Lore: Superstition
1

Lore: Bushido 2
Spellcraft 1
Know
The School: Kakita Bushi 1

Racial Abilities:
Kitsune gain a Free Raise on all Willpower rolls.
Kitsune gain a Free Raise on all Stealth and Hunting skill rolls, or two Free Raises in the Wilderness.
Shapeshifters gain a Free Raise to resist any spells that attempt to control or influence the mind, except those cast by other spirits.
Shapeshifters can detect any passages to their home Realm within one mile.
Shapeshifters cannot spend Void Points.
Shapeshifters may swap between their human and natural forms as a full-round action; a shapeshifter may change forms once a day with no effort, but every subsequent effort requires an Earth vs. a TN of (5+10/Shapeshifting Since Sunrise). Three failures locks the shapeshifter in his current form for the next day.
Advantages:
Absolute
Direction [1 point]: Ise is never, ever lost outside the Shadowlands
- he always just sort of knows where to go.
Benten's Blessing [2
points]: Like most Cranes, Ise is pretty darn good-looking. [+0k1
when persuading someone.]
Combat Reflexes [6 points]: Ise is
pretty darn quick on his feet, too, and tends to react faster than
people might otherwise give him credit for. [Move up or down in the
established order.]
Dangerous Beauty [2 points]: Like most Cranes,
again, Ise is pretty darn good-looking. Of course, his mongel blood
helps, too. [+2k0 Deceit vs. opposite sex]
Fleet [6 points]: Ise
is incredibly fast. Unbelievably so, in fact - he can cross vast
stretches [80' move!] in no time. [+60' Move]
Irreproachable 1 [2
points]: Ise is an incredibly devoted person. He's not easily tempted
by anything. [+5 TN required to seduce]
Kharmic Tie [Rank 2,
Free]: A passing kami was charmed enough by the couple's devotion to
have tied their destinies together. Twice a session, Ise may roll an
extra die on tasks done for Mikasa's sake, and he is always aware if
she is Hurt.
Quick [3 points]: Ise is fast. Really, really fast.
It's one of the only things he has to be proud of that isn't his
wife. [+1k0 Initiative]
Disadvantages:
Doubt [4
Points]: Ise is really, really bad at being a crane. It's not really
"doubt" so much as he's just not very Etiquette-capable at
all. [Requires 2 Raises to even use Etiquette]
Phobia: Purple
Kimonos [1 point]: Just...just don't ask. You're better off not
knowing.
True Love [3 points]: Ise is incredibly devoted to his
wife Mikasa, and is enormously vocal about it - above and beyond the
call of the duty that set them together. It's actually kind of
touching, if it wasn't Rokugan. [Spend a Void Point to choose duty
over love if a situation requires it]
Kakita Bushi
School:
Way of the Crane: Add twice Iaijutsu rank to all
Initiative rolls. May use Iaijutsu in place of Kenjutsu when using a
Katana. May Focus an additional time during iaijutsu duel.

Shapeshifter School:
Hunter's Bane (5 SP): Ise leaves neither footprint nor trail of any kind. Those who track Ise through a forest are slowed to one-half speed as the undergrowth intentionally bars their passage; once per day, Ise may create a trail of pale glowing lights to distract would-be hunters.
Unnatural Speed (4 SP): Ise can move twice as fast as normal in any form. When taking a Full Defense action, Ise's TN To Be Hit increases by 5.
Improved Animal Form (1 SP): In animal
form, Ise may speak, manipulate tools, and use spells or supernatural
abilities. Ise adds half his physical traits to his animal form's.
Spirit Vision (5 SP): Ise can see
invisible spirits and oni. He gains two Free Raises on all attempts
to pierce or resist magical illusions.
Eyes of the Night (2 SP): Ise can see in
total darkness, and rolls an extra die on all Perception checks
involving sight.
Extraordinary Healing (4 SP): Ise heals
his Earth in Wounds every hour.
 

Animal Form:
Air 3 (Awareness 3, Reflexes 6)
Earth
2 (Stamina 2, Willpower 3)
Fire 2 (Agility 2, Intelligence
3)
Water 2 (Perception 2, Strength 2)

Taboos:
1-Point: Ise cannot drink alcohol.
5-Point: Ise married a worthy woman, and treats her with great respect and love, but should she ever become unworthy, he must disappear forever into the wilds of Chikushudo.

Equipment:
Katana [3k2]
Katana [3k2]
Katana [3k2]
Wakizashi [2k2]
Light Armor
Helm
Kimono and sandals
Travelling Pack
10 Koku (To be spent soon, when I'm awake)
Physical Description
To say that Ise favors the Crane for his appearance is an understatement in the same way that saying Samurai should be honorable is an understatement. Strikingly beautiful, Ise is the very model of "prettyboy", to the point of (at least once) having been mistaken for a girl by a passing friend of his wife's. (Hilarity ensued.) His dyed-white hair usually hangs loose, though he's been known to pull it back in a ponytail for important things like duels; it tends to frame his slender face in a favorable manner even when in a ponytail. His eyes are a vibrant, bright Crane blue shining with the enthusiasm and pride of his Monkey heritage. Ise is very thin, appearing to be quite weak, though in reality he tends to wear the flowing blue and white clothes of the Crane to further emphasize this thin-ness and throw opponents off-guard with the ethereal manner he exudes.
This would lend one to suspect that he is significantly more dignified than he actually is.
Ise wears three katanas (two on the back, one at the hip) - one is utilized frequently; the other two are 'backups', as he puts it.
Personality:
Despite the heavy Crane of his appearance, Ise is and will always be a Monkey by personality. Enthusiastic, bright, and energetic, he practically bleeds good cheer about everything. Things that are important to him become locked in permanently, to be protected more than all the treasures of Rokugan. Things that upset him are to be kept close to his chest, shared only with his wife in private. Outgoing, friendly, garrulous - all are appropriate descriptions for Ise.
However, secretly, this shames him. He tries his hardest to be a proper, upright Crane - he attempts and pursues it with all that he is, but he inherently has no talent towards the finer things. In fact, he has less than no talent - Ise is constantly flustered and inherently clumsy at many fine arts and etiquettes. That he cannot attain his (perhaps-unachieavable) ideals is in fact a point of great sadness for him - he would rather be Crane than Monkey, even if Monkey is what swims in his blood.
But Monkey is what swims in his blood - no matter how hard he tries to polish it, no matter how beautiful his exterior or cultured he can act, the Monkey shines through in everything he does. Relaxed and easygoing, with a Devil-May-Care attitude about many things, Ise's infectious cheer leaks out through whatever facade he attempts to put up, and even depressed or saddened, Ise is still too energetic to relax it. With a strong sense of justice and honor tempered by his natural will and indirect, bounding personality, Ise could be a model Monkey...if only he weren't so hung-up about being a Crane.
Background:
This story, as so many often do, starts with love. Love in Rokugan is hard to find - harder still to keep. But some - a rare few - are willing to discard their duty, shame themselves, and besmirch their family for this treasure, forever tainting the blood of their descendants.
So it was that Kakita Masaaki pursued his love, Usagi Eriko of the Hare, who was set to be wed to Hida Katsumoto of the Crab in a key marriage for the Hare clan. Masaaki pursued Eriko for six days and six nights on foot as she rode the carriage from her home to Hida's in preparation for the wedding, the Crane's swift speed a hallmark of his family branch for generations to come. On the seventh day, Masaaki caught up to Eriko, and proposed to her himself. Eriko accepted, though in her heart she knew their families would never agree, and together they eloped into the Crane lands once more.
The Kakita were, understandably, furious. With the Hare and the Crab demanding vengeance for this enormous breach of protocol, the Cranes relegated Masaaki's branch of the family to the most minor they could to save face, privately deliberating whether or not to force him into seppukku. Fortunately for the Cranes, the decision was made for him when Katsumoto challenged him to a duel on the field of honor - the pair killed each other, Masaaki's speed a perfect match for Katsumoto's strength. Unfortunately for the Crane, Eriko was a Kakita in the eyes of their ancestors, and she was bearing a child. With Masaaki dead, the Cranes decided to look after the woman, perhaps out of duty, perhaps out of pity that she had been mixed up in this debacle. Kakita Shumei was born soon after.
Shumei lived his life quite ordinarily, attempting to save face despite his family's low status. His talent with a sword was mediocre at best, and he never saw the field of battle. His talents lay in the courtiers' arts. He was married off to Kitsune Haruko of the Fox, and the two of them eventually found understanding, if not love, giving birth to Kakita Yamato.
Kakita Yamato retained the speed and swordsmanship of the family, and quickly shone as a rising star in the Kakita clan. Some suspected he might even be able to throw off the years of shame Masaaki had thrown on the family; high hopes were pinned to his chest like laurels of praise as he skyrocketed through the masteries with the natural talent his blood had granted him. This was, unfortunately, not to be; a terrible accident during a duel with a ronin tore out his hamstrings, and he nearly lost himself in his shame if not for the support of the woman he was to wed - Toku Natsumi of the Monkey clan. Natsumi convinced him to resume his duties and not die in shame, that his ancestors did not want it so; Yamato agreed, and took up less focused arts. Becoming an expert Go player, Yamato is still contacted to this day for teaching games for noble children, at least some of his shame lifted. He and Natsumi wed shortly following his accident, and Natsumi gave birth to Kakita Ise.
Kakita Ise was born to Yamato and Natsumi under a happy star, a blessing on their house in their eyes. Even as a child, he exuded energy and good cheer, learning to walk, run, and talk at an abnormally young age. With swift feet and a bright personality, he quickly proved a handful for his parents to handle, but was nonetheless a welcome member of the home. Yamato struggled a great deal to teach Ise all of the various aspects of being a proper and upright Crane, enforcing that such was ideal behavior and cementing Ise's eventual ill ease at his own personality; Natsumi taught him all about honor and duty, the manners of the Monkey, and about his ancestors. Ise's favorite stories were stories of the Monkey hero Toku, of the foxes who lurked in the mysterious forest, and of the wonderful and mysterious things all around Rokugan. He grew up with a burning curiousity, with a bright heart, and with the idea of beauty and righteousness strong in his soul.
Unfortunately, he quickly proved to be inept at nearly every single undertaking he went. Besides running - guaranteeing a bright future as a messenger, perhaps, but not a particularly glorious one - he had no inherent talents a child might manifest, though he did excel at the running games the other children played. However, at age ten, Ise was enrolled in the Kakita Dueling Academy. It was there that he revealed his one and only talent - iaijutsu. Easily more capable than nearly everyone else in his age group, Ise caught the eye of his instructors almost immediately. The skill was more than simply excelling - it was raw genius with the blade above and beyond what a child should be capable of. He easily defeated most of those in his classes, earning extra attention from his teachers and the envy of his classmates. Still, his attitude and his inability to maintain 'proper' mannerisms prevented his rapid ascent in the Cranes. He graduated a bit early (around the age of 17), cultivating his skill with the katana and spending a great deal of time with his grandmother Haruko.
For two years, Ise continued to learn the Iaijutsu arts, unsuccessfully attempting to adapt better to the rigid and stuffy lifestyle of the Crane. It wasn't until age 19 that his life really and truly came together under the auspices of the Crane clan, when his grandfather announced that he had been selected to honorably marry one of the Scorpion clan, Bayushi Mikasa. At first skeptical, Ise was sent to a Crane port to meet his future bride. There, the kami of love proceeded to beat him violently around the head, smacking him with such strong attraction and appreciation that he couldn't help but sit up. He fell deeply head-over-heels for his arranged bride, the two of them marrying the next day as was arranged by their grandparents.
For the next year, Ise worked hard to be worthy of his wife - though a few spats and fights broke out over money, the young Crane finally set up a more proper budget and corrected some of his bigger faults with Mikasa's help, paving the way for future happiness. Now at twenty, Ise still seeks to be a proper, upright Crane...but he's relaxing a little bit more on that front, now. Only time will tell where they go from this point.

Updates:
May 25, 2010 - Added Shapechanger School and Shapechanger Abilities, removed Great Potential and redundant Inner Gift.

[Ebony]

Kakita Hayase, attending a formal event, wearing a kimono given to her by a non-Crane. She's not sure what the metal thing in front of her is; she's
just hoping not to trip over her hem and fall down the stairs. Poor thing doesn't realize how graceful she actually is....



(It's actually Kimura Yoshino, who was in "Sukiyaki Western Django" and did the Japanese voice of Tiger from "Kung Fu Panda.")
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Valles]

Reminder: Game Friday, July 10, 2009, at 8:00pm EDT.
===========

===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."

[Ebony]

Gotta cancel at the last minute. Sorry about this, folks, but Life has intruded.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Valles]

Unfortunate, but necessary, I guess. Don't worry about it.
===========

===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."