Hello, everyone! I was out of town for the holidays last month when the call went out for columns. I hope that you had as wonderful a holiday season as I did, although I did miss our little internet conversations terribly. Let’s get back into the swing of things, shall we? There are two books currently in development that I’m sure you’d like to talk about, as well as one item that was old and is new again.

Sword & Fan

Sword & Fan, the gigantic book full of bushi and courtiers totally kicking major @$$ is in layout currently, and I think the information in there is going to totally blow your minds. Mechanics are often the kind of thing that we talk about here, and that’s to be expected given the nature of what we do with the column. However, I just want to go on record here and say that the fluff that Hobart and the team created for this book is just amazing. (Due to a number of scheduling conflicts I regret that I had to sit this one out.)

Let’s take a look at one of each, starting with a cult favorite that I personally have always enjoyed:

Yasuki Taskmaster
Technique Rank: 4
Replaces: Hida Bushi 4
Requires: Willpower 4, Intimidation 5
Technique: Fear is a Gift — The Taskmasters are specifically tasked with organizing and leading the Crab army's limited ashigaru forces, a difficult task given that these peasant soldiers must face the horrors of the Shadowlands. The Yasuki long ago concluded that the best method was to make the ashigaru more frightened of their officers than of their enemies. You may use Intimidation (Bullying) / Willpower in place of any Battle Skill roll, and may also use your Intimidation Rank in place of your Battle Rank when rolling to determine your place on the Mass Battle Table. Any soldiers (samurai, peasant, or otherwise) under your military command may add your Intimidation Skill Rank to the total of any rolls they make to resist Fear effects.

There were some tweaks made before it was all said and done, but I don’t have the final text available to me right now. Rest assured that the skilled teams of playtesters we have on hand had their way with it, and all mechanics, before they find their way to you. Okay, that’s good for the bushi. What about a little something-something for the courtiers, eh?

Imperial Influencer [Courtier]
Technique Rank: 3
Replaces: Otomo Courtier 3
Requires: Awareness 4, Etiquette 5, Sincerity 5
Special Requirement: You must have at least Status 4.0 to be admitted to this elite dojo.
Technique: Follow My Lead — At any courtly event you are hosting (such as a moon-viewing party, a musical performance, or a dinner party), you may roll Courtier (Manipulation) / Awareness at TN 30 to set the dominant tone of the event. This tone may be broadly positive or negative and can also have a specific flavor such as friendly, hostile, hedonistic, suspicious, conciliatory, competitive, or anything else which suits your needs. Anyone who makes a Social Skill Roll during this event while acting against the tone of the event must call two Raises to no effect -- if they fail the roll due to those Raises, they are considered to have committed a Minor Breach of Etiquette. Conversely, anyone who makes a Social Skill Roll while acting in concert with the flavor of the event (including yourself) gains a +2k0 bonus to their rolls. These effects last until the end of the event.

If you are not the host of the event, you may still attempt to set the tone, but your Courtier (Manipulation) rolls is now a Contested Roll against the host. Also, whether you are the host or not, other guests at the event may opt to oppose your setting of tone by making Contested Rolls of Courtier (Manipulation) -- however, you gain a +1k0 bonus to the roll for every ranks of Status you have over them, and if they fail the roll they have committed a Minor Breach of Etiquette.

The Book of the Void

So! The Book of the Void! We’ve only just gotten started in earnest with this one, with assignments having gone out since Christmas. I’m delighted that I am finally in a position to work on one of the chapters that have always been of greatest interest to me, the Campaign chapter! In this particular instance, I am doubly blessed because I’m getting to work with Max Lemaire and Chris Hand on the chapter, and I cannot wait to see what comes out of such a collaboration. I think very highly of these gentlemen and I’m excited to see what things we create bouncing ideas off one another.

I don’t want to give too much away about this book in general, but sufficed to say that the entire book is built around the theme of enigmas and mysteries. There will be a chapter for bushi, yes, and for courtiers, shugenja, and monks, but in every instance, in addition to the normal information we provide in the books in this series, we focus additional effort on the strange mysteries of the world of Rokugan. What things have happened on the battlefields of Rokugan that have never been explained? What about the courts? What about the temples? I’m super excited to examine it.

This weekend I have been compiling my notes for Max and Chris about where we’re going to go with the Campaign chapter. Next time I should have a lot more information for you, but let me just leave you with this: things are not always what they seem in the mysterious depths of Nazo Mori.

Unexpected Allies, 4th Edition

Hey! Remember this one? Well we sure haven’t talked about this in a while, eh? For anyone who might be relatively new, years and years ago (okay not really but it feels like it sometimes) we had a contest where fans could write up their favorite personalities from the CCG who never got any story development as characters for the RPG. I collected all that information and we have been planning to release a PDF-only sourcebook entitled Unexpected Allies, 4th Edition ever since. That… hasn’t really happened yet. But good news! We’ve made plans for the big RPG events of our summer conventions and it requires us to make sure this is done! So essentially I’ve given myself a deadline in order to make sure I actually get the work done. Fortunately I’ve had several people volunteer to help shepherd this puppy into actual production, including my good friend Daniel Briscoe, so I’m assembling an all star team to make sure we get this one in the can ASAP and can bring it to you later this year. Won’t that be lovely? I think it will be lovely.

Well, that’s all I have time for today, campers. I’ll catch you next month with more information on the enigmatic Nazo Mori!