Naked Steel

Speaking of we’ll see, let’s see what’s in the bag of toys for this week. By this time the Book of Water is available on shelves everywhere, and should be available for a digital purchase before too long. I hope that what you’ve seen here, our discussions about the product and its contents, have helped you decide if it’s a product you want to see or not. And I certainly hope it is!

Sword & Fan

This is probably the final preview of Sword & Fan. By next month I should be able to give you a street date, unless it’s already out by then. Honestly I’m out of touch with that part of the pipeline so I’m honestly not sure. Two columns ago we looked at the samurai vs. courtier paradigm, and last time we looked at another samurai option, so I thought we’d finish it off with a nice juicy court preview.

Asako Mediator
Few among the Phoenix champion the cause of pacifism as devoutly as the specially-trained Mediators, a near-monastic order dedicated to the cause of peace above all. They believe that few if any conflicts are beyond peaceful resolution, and seek to bring opposing parties to a harmonious accord whenever possible.

Technique Rank: 2
Replaces: Asako Loremaster 2, Shiba Bushi 2, Isawa Shugenja 2
Requirements: Sincerity 3
Special: Members of the Mediators must swear an oath never to initiate violence against their fellow Rokugani. Violating this oath should entail a major loss of both Glory and Honor (roughly equivalent to a Blasphemous Breach of Etiquette) and will also result in expulsion from the Mediators organization. Technique: Stand Down -- Any time you are in a situation where samurai are preparing to enter into formal hostilities (examples would include a challenge to a duel, a declaration of Blood Feud, or even a declaration of war), you may approach either or both parties and attempt to persuade them not to follow through. This is a Contested Roll of your Sincerity (Honesty) / Awareness against their Etiquette (Courtesy) / Willpower. With a success, that party in the conflict will agree to back down, and your mediation prevents them from suffering any loss of Glory.

[Begin Sidebar: Special GM Considerations for the Mediator Technique] If the parties in a conflict are deeply or honorably committed to their quarrel, the GM may require the Mediator to call Raises on the roll (anywhere from 1 to 5 Raises, depending on the depths of their anger or the strength of their honor). Note that this may result in the Mediator being unable to impose a solution due to being unable to call enough Raises – quite likely when trying to mediate the highly honorable and easily-angered Lion, for example.

However, if the Mediator is able to propose an honorable and reasonable solution to the quarrel, he can also gain a bonus to the roll, ranging from +1k0 to +5k0, depending on the GM's judgment of how appealing the solution may seem to the parties involved.

In some cases, the scope or severity of a quarrel will be such that it is not possible for a Mediator to actually prevent the conflict. In this case, a successful roll will merely delay the onset of hostilities by a reasonable amount of time, determined by the GM. In general, the larger the scale of the conflict, the longer the delay -- thus a duel might only be delayed for a day or two, while a war might be delayed as much as a month. [End Sidebar]

The Book of the Void

I haven’t doubled down on a book in quite some time, and I am disturbed by how completely out of practice I was. As I mentioned last time, I was very fortunate to be teamed up with Max and Chris, and I enjoyed the work enormously. I suspect it was much more frustrating for them, given the fits and starts manner in which I work! Regardless, it was a very interesting exercise, writing about a place so completely weird and different as Nazo Mori. I submitted my text a while back, and I don’t know how edited it will be, but I did come up with a ronin group that I thought would be an interesting addition to the region. They are admittedly of limited use in other campaigns, probably, but for Nazo Mori they may find a use.

The Ghosts of the Forest
Occasionally, the local villagers make mention of “the ghosts of the forest,” which visitors might find strange since they are so often reluctant to mention the forest in any way. This is a simple semantic misunderstanding, however; the villagers are not referring to actual spirits within the forest itself, but rather to a small band of ronin who are dedicated to preventing misuse of the forest by anyone who might wish to do so.

The ronin band known as the Ghosts of the Forest is an exceptionally old group, having been in existence for many centuries. It is also an extremely small group, rarely ever numbering more than a dozen members, most of whom are part of a long line of wave men who have worked alongside their kin to protect the locals and the forest itself for generations. They are well known by the local villagers, and many in Laughing Plains are happy to give them some of their extra food in hopes that the wave men may be able to prevent any terrifying incidents similar to what has happened over the years from ever occurring again. Other villages offer different support as they are able, and the end result is that the Ghosts are able to eke out a meager existence without too much difficulty. They are fed and clothed and do not suffer the excesses of nature, but they are not wealthy men and women by any means. For the most part, they are completely comfortable with this.

The Ghosts are a remarkably insular group, rarely choosing to have contact with any samurai outside of their own ranks. There is a rumor among the current roster that they allowed an outsider into their ranks prior to the Clan War and that this individual went on to work with and pattern the famous Twelve Ronin, the personal vanguard of Toturi the Black Lion, after the Ghosts. Some have gone so far as to suggest that it was Toturi himself, the man who later became Emperor Toturi I, who rode with the Ghosts, but this is generally disregarded as hyperbole and wishful thinking. Regardless, the comparison between the two groups is often made to favor the Ghosts, who are admittedly superior fighters on their home terrain, but lack the breadth and depth of experience and sheer innate talent that the great Twelve Ronin possessed.

New Mechanics

New Path: Ghost of the Forest [Ronin]
The Ghosts of the Forest are a small band of ronin with a legacy that is generations long. The Ghosts tend to recruit from family lines, and there are some members who are the sixth or seventh generation to take up the banner of defending Nazo Mori.
Technique Rank: 2
Requirements: Way of the Land (Nazo Mori) Advantage, Lore: Spirits 2
Technique: Walk Among the Trees – The enigmas of the forest at Nazo Mori are more familiar to you than perhaps anyone else in the Empire, which has made the greater forest domain your home. Whenever you are within a woodland area, you gain a Free Raise on any non-combat Bugei Skill Roll. If you are within sight of Nazo Mori, you also gain a bonus of +1k0 on any roll involving a Mental Trait.