Naked Steel
The Second City Boxed Set
This one came out at GenCon and, if I am not mistaken (which I may be), it goes into general release this very week. Meaning that by the time you read this on Wednesday, it may be winging its merry way from distributors to retailers. I hope you can find one very soon if you are so inclined as to purchase one! The box sold very well at GenCon and got rave reviews from everyone I’ve talked to or read about. We worked really hard on it for a very long time, and I think it represents us really upping our game. I hope you all find it as rewarding to enjoy at your table as it was for us to make.
And for those of you who have been asking, yes, the printed portions will be available for digital purchase in the not too distant future.
The Book of Earth
This one has been a little bit of a struggle for us to get into the pipeline. There were some delays in production that sprang up as a result of the convention season draining our man-hours, but as I speak we’re waiting on the last couple of chapters to come out of layout and into proofreading, and it should go to print within a few weeks.
One of the things that has really tied the Book of Earth to the Second City is the fact that the Crab Alternate Path we designed for the SC box was red flagged at the last minute for playtest concerns, and we ended up yanking it from the box rather than let it go through when we weren’t sure how it would impact overall balance. Luckily Rob Hobart, wizard of the written word, managed to reconfigure it into a suitable format, and now it appears in the Book of Earth. It’s also going live as a preview this week in our Imperial Herald, but for all you non-subscribers out there, I thought I would share it with you as well.
Yasuki Extortionist
Some among the Yasuki, mainly in the Crab but also sometimes in the Crane, eschew their family’s more conventional mercantile pursuits in favor of the practice of moneylending. Although this is considered an especially disreputable activity for a samurai, it can also be hugely profitable – there are always both commoners and samurai who need additional funds, and the concept of paying interest is so strange to them that they usually do not realize how badly the Yasuki are taking advantage of them.New Alternate Path: Yasuki Extortionist [Courtier]
Rank: 4
Replaces: Yasuki Courtier 4
Requirements: Willpower 4, Commerce 4, Intimidation 5
Technique: Do Me a Favor – The Extortionists specialize in rooting out the financial weaknesses of potential customers and then pressuring them into calling on Yasuki assistance. If you have supplied something your target needs, whether money or material goods (this could be achieved through role-play and/or by using the Yasuki Rank 1 and Rank 3 Techniques), you may make a Contested Social Roll of your Intimidation (Control) / Willpower against their Etiquette (Courtesy) / Willpower. With a success, they find the arrangement has left them deeply in debt to you. You may either inflict an Obligation on that person (if the GM judges they have the ability to pay you back) or a Blackmail on them (if the GM judges they cannot pay you back). The default point value of the Disadvantage in either case is 3, but the GM may modify this if circumstances make it appropriate.
The Imperial Histories, Volume 2
We’ve just finished writing on the second volume of the Imperial Histories, which you guys will see early next year, and I think this one may even surpass the first one in terms of sheer cool value. We do not yet have any mechanics, since we tailor those based on the text (and thus are just now getting underway with the mechanical design of the book), but I thought I would share with you the winners of the contest that we held to see what might be included in this particular installment.First off, from author Marie Brennan, we delve into one possibility raised in the first volume of Imperial Histories and explore what might have happened if a different Kami had won the Celestial Tournament at the dawn of the Empire, giving rise to the Togashi Dynasty. Not only does Marie paint an interesting depiction of how the Empire might develop differently due to the leadership of Togashi, but she also takes Hantei in some very interesting directions. What becomes of him when he is not the Emperor? The answer may surprise you!
Next up, Alexandre Simard presents a previously undeveloped period of history that takes place in the wake of several supernatural disasters. Alex’s interpretation of this is a fascinating look at an Empire where the citizens are exhausted, demoralized, and left wondering what has caused them to suffer so terribly. From this arises a charismatic monk who leads a philosophical movement proposing a dramatic reorganization of Rokugan to keep closer to the true Celestial Order, a reorganization that calls for something completely heretical to most in the samurai caste: an alteration to the number of Great Clans. I think you’ll be as fascinated as I was with the Heresy of the Five Rings.
Finally, Jason Shafer presents The Shadowed Throne, which presents a very simple alteration to Rokugan’s recent history: what if it had been Akodo Kaneka who sacrificed himself to save the Empire rather than his half-sister Toturi Tsudao? Tsudao returns from the Shadowlands to assume the mantle of Empress as Toturi II, but the future that unfolds is far from the idyllic setting most imagine when picturing the rule of the woman known as the Sword.
The Book of Fire
When we talk again, I want to discuss some of the ideas behind the Book of Fire and how we’re organizing it compared to the previous books in the series. I look forward to getting some feedback from you on the Ring series as a whole!Until next time!
Shawn
