MonCalamariAgainstDrunkDriving
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Posts posted by MonCalamariAgainstDrunkDriving
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Khenbish had a strong admiration, almost envy, for the Miya and the way they served the Empire. Being a cartographer, or even a herald, would have suited his nature perfectly. He studied the maps closely, in awe of the history.
Scrutinize (Air)/Composition at TN2 with skilled Assistance from Katsu
Roll: Ring:
/
; Skill: 
Keep: Ring:/; Skill:
Resolve Explosion: Ring:
Resolve Opportunity: I'm not sure there's anything better to do here than just negate the strife.
Resolve Strife: None, after negation, so I'm still at 5.
Resolve Successes: Two successes! Just barely succeeds.Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
Khenbish lets out a small chuckle at the Scorpions' ridiculous reaction to his mon. "I appreciate your candor and good humor, Bayushi-san. And please, in your position as my advisor, I encourage you to always speak freely to me; it can only do me good." The Unicorn turns to his newly assigned yojimbo, "That goes for you as well, Yasuki-san. I am in no position to turn away free advice."
Addressing Katsu again, "It has been made clear that the position of castellan was one others found undesirous. No doubt there are political machinations I'm not yet privy to. If you have further insights, please share. Why would the Scorpion rather a Dragon or Phoenix not be castellan? And perhaps more curiously, why would the Phoenix and Dragon themselves not wish for the position?"
Khenbish nods appreciatively at the attendant and accepts the sheaf of scrolls for his review. He gives Katsu and Keigonin opportunities to speak before reviewing the orders.
Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
"Bayushi-san, I want to thank you for supporting my bid for castellan. I'm sure my new yojimbo would like to thank you for supporting him as well. Though honored, I'm perhaps a little confused. I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting before. To what do I owe your support? If your motivation was simply to block someone else from the appointment, please feel free to speak freely. I wouldn't hold it against you."
Sorry about the forgotten check! And sorry about the slow posting rate in general. Between the holidays and switching work projects, I know I haven't been as present recently. And realistically, my posting rate might continue to be a little slow the rest of the month, but I'm sure I'll pick up the pace again in January.
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Khenbish's list of things he wants to do includes:
- Checking out The Room Of Law
- Talking to Bayushi Katsu
- Talking to Tsume no Doji Ron about his military history and how things will be different
- Talking to his Yasuki Keigonin
If I can only accomplish two of these things, I think I should focus on the first two. The Room of Law seems like a must, and Katsu should be able to give me some basic information about Keigonin.
Glory should be 57 now (44+10+3). Strife is 5.Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
Khenbish tries to set aside the customs of Khanbulak, which come to him so naturally, and instead follows the norms of the rest of the Rokugan, as best he remembers them. He accepts the sode and chop seal as graciously as he knows how. He speaks humbly and thanks the Emerald Champion on behalf of everyone assigned to the castle for the opportunity to serve the Emperor. He also drops a comment about how the strength of the Imperial Legion is that the different clans set aside their differences and combine their individual strengths to become something greater than the sum of their parts. It's meant to be equal parts inspirational, aspirational, and subtly pleading of the other samurai.
Is it possible the status bonus is actually supposed to be a minimum? Something seems a little strange with the title status modifiers. For example, the highest status I can have is 10 points lower than the lowest status my yojimbo can have.
These sode are awesome!
Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
Khenbish tries to appear calm and confident, but he feels the weight of the room's attention. So much has happened, and he's still sorting through the emotions. He's cautiously hopeful and proud, but also wary of the many mysteries still surrounding the outpost. He internally resolves himself to be equal to whatever challenges the posting presents as he steps forward.
Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
There's so little to tie-up, and it looks like players probably won't be involved in it. I'm okay with wrapping up the scene however you want to.
Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
So sorry! I somehow missed this last post. I'm following this topic, so I'm not sure how that happened, but my apologies. I think maybe I thought the email I got was regarding the previous post? I feel bad for slowing things down. I'm super into this game.
I did use assistance from Umeko, so I guess we're done for the round.
I went into this not expecting us to get everything we wanted and knowing that there would be secret motivations and objectives we couldn't control for. I won't be surprised if we later find out why some appointments are better or worse than we knew. But based on the knowledge we had, I think we did pretty well. We got the appointments that we wanted for ourselves. Most of the other appointments seem okay (if these last two shake out how they look like they're going to). The only real tragedy is poor Matsu Tomuko. I feel a little better knowing I did what I could, even switching back to Fire Stance at the risk of becoming compromised, trying to get more successes.
Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
"I applaud our senior gunso-to-be on his taste. I too have been impressed by Matsu Tomuko-san. If she is the warrior you have heard her to be, then as commander of the army, I must request she be appointed as my yojimbo. But I am eager to hear from the Lion contingent on their thoughts on the matter. They have perhaps better insight than any of us as to where Tomuko's gifts might best serve the Emperor."
Fire/Courtesy targeting Seppun Hirohide (Objective: Matsu Tomuko as yojimbo to the castellan)
Would be TN4, but reduced to TN3 because I'm lower status that the target and using Courtesy.
Roll: Ring:/, , , /; Skill: , blank
Keep: Ring:/, , , /
Resolve Opportunity: One opportunity. I'll reduce the TN by 1 for the next person working towards this objective (assumed to be the Lion).
Resolve Strife: Two strife puts me at 9 (out of 10).
Resolve Successes: 3 successes is success at the action. Two strife means two bonus successes, which should be 2/5 momentum for the objective.Not as good as I was hoping for, but 2 momentum and lowering the TN puts Tomuko halfway there. We just need them to go next!
Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
@Magnus Grendel, just checking, but I'm not getting an Assist from anyone else, am I? The Lion are rolling for themselves?
Edit: Actually, is there any way Paragon of Compassion could come into play? Since I'm doing this to avoid the cruelty to Matsu Tomuko?Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
If I go for the objective of making Matsu Tomuko my yojimbo, would I have an Assist from Umeko? Or anyone else?
Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
This is amazing. There is so much going on.
Katsu should be able to finish off getting the advisor position on his own, and I feel like my obligation is satisfied. I don't feel strongly that there is an especially good or bad choice here, and with a finite amount of resources that we can invest, I think we might have better battles to fight. Edit: Looks like this is accomplished. Nice.
Midori as Ambassador doesn't seem as important anymore, since the Priest position is secured. Maybe this is another one we can afford to just let play out?
Tomuko as Rin's yojimbo feels pretty messed up. This is definitely where I want to invest my energy this turn. I think I make a bid for Tomuko to be my yojimbo? The idea being, if she's all that, she should be protecting the castellan. This works with my goals to build trust between the Unicorn and Lion. I think I would even switch back to Fire Stance, though it risks me getting Compromised. Would either of you Assist/try the same? If we team up with the Lion, I think we can get that 5 momentum pretty quickly (and it would have to be quick, since the objective to be Rin's yojimbo is already at 4/5).
If Sayaka is cool with a jisamurai as her yojimbo, that seems pretty solid. Probably the next best thing we could have hoped for with Yokoi.
Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
In contrast to his impassioned speech seeking the castellan position, Khenbish is now more humbly accepting the gracious generosity of the Scorpion. He publicly thanks Katsu for the support and says he hopes the re-establishment of Shiro Damebare can be the beginning of many new friendships.
Water(Charm)/Courtesy to Persuade Seppun Hirohide that Bayushi Katsu should be my Advisor (with Skilled Advantage from Katsu)
TN 4 becomes TN 3 since I'm targeting someone with higher status than myself
Roll: Ring:, /, /; Skill: , /, blank
Keep: Ring:, /; Skill: , /
Resolve Opportunity: One opportunity, which I'll use to reduce my strife by 2, putting me at 6.
Resolve Strife: And then I'll gain 2 strife, putting me back at 8.
Resolve Successes: 3 successes means I succeed but only get 1 momentum. We should be at 4/5.I'm also going to take a Calming Breath, so my strife should end the round at 7.
Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
I just want to say I'm really enjoying this scene. Magnus, I think you've set this up really well, leaning into one of L5R's strength. I don't know of another RPG where political conflict can be this interesting/fun.
Getting Umeko as Priest is our priority for the round, yeah? If Sayaka makes the roll, she probably has an Assist from Chinatsu and Umeko. That's good, but probably not enough to finish the objective this round. I think I'm both socially and mechanically obligated to help Katsu (which I'm okay with). Maybe we get lucky and the appointment is still available next round, but if we really want to secure it, I think we might need to get some help. Since Umeko is a Dragon, they seem like the obvious choice. I don't think the Lion really owe us anymore. If anything, we should be trying to help them, I think.
Speaking of which, if Umeko gets the Priest appointment, personally I'd like to spend round 3 helping the Lion. If the Lion propose Tomuko or Yokoi for anything, I'd back it. If we're proposing something, maybe Matsu Tomuko as my yojimbo? Obviously I want the best yojimbo I can get, but I don't think we know enough to know who that is. Tomuko seems as likely as anyone to be a competent bushi, it shows my trust in the Lion which I think is good for future relations, it returns the favor, and it avoids us having to support Harumori for anything.
Alternatively, I could try to get a Shiba yojimbo, figuring they're most likely to be the best. No Phoenix seems likely to get an appointment yet, and that would be a natural fit. In which case we try to get Tomuko (or I guess Yokoi) to be someone else's yojimbo?
Regarding my Complication, I think Khenbish is okay for now, but if the Lion propose Harumori as Ambassador (or as Khenbish's yojimbo, which I think seems less likely), that would change things. For this round, at least, I think he can still pursue all interests in good faith.
Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
Congrats on your new appointment, sis!
Khenbish is at 8 strife, including the 2 he was gifted. He gets so much more accomplished in Fire Stance, but I think I need to switch to Water for this next roll (and take a Calming Breath). Composure is 10, so he's definitely sweating.
I agree that Khenbish should champion Katsu as his advisor. It follows the arrangement, and if we're going to work together, I want to be supportive. I don't think anyone else should feel like they have to support him, though. Khenbish is the only one obligated to make a concession.
I like the idea of a pacifist as our Ambassador.
Khenbish's understanding is that Harumori is a medic (so bushi).
Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
For my part, I feel like all my interests are satisfied. You get a role you want. We elevate an ally. We put someone competent in power. If you're happy with it, I say go for it.
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These are super cool! I love the Minor Clans, so I have a tendency to bring them into my games. I am probably looking right past it, but...
Are there Minor Clan bonuses listed somewhere? Or major family bonuses, like for the Usagi?
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My priorities, in order, are:
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Making sure other players get positions they want
- Maybe starting with Sayaka, just because it looks like the senior gunso position window will close soon
- Getting other competent people in power. Most people we don't know well enough, but Yokoi as junior gunso seems good
- Getting our allies in power. Matsu Tomuko & Chinatsu?
- Blocking Harumori from getting a position
Working with the Lion to secure the two gunso positions seems promising. Should we try that?
Ultimately, I'll support anything the other two players agree to.
Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
Making sure other players get positions they want
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Just checking in with where we're at. Are we waiting for @Zantosa to make a roll, with Assistance from Umeko?
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I appreciate that no metaphor is perfect, but since this is the one we're running with...
The "electric ukulele & vuvuzela funk tune" class that this culinary institute offers doesn't consider the course any more an elective than any other course they offer. In fact, it's part of your fastest route to learning more advanced cooking techniques. I think that's part of why it seems strange that it isn't offered to master chefs when almost every other course is.
I thought it was fun to try out the idea of school curricula, if only because it's fun to explore new mechanics, but for what it's worth @MB -Fr-, I agree with you that they don't totally make sense. I think there might be some limited instances where there's a logical shift in theme. Something like, "We want all of our students to be soldiers, but the ones that excel, we train to be generals." But I'm skeptical that that kind of thinking motivates four shifts in each school's curriculum.
I'll use Shinjo Outrider as an example, just because it's what I'm playing now. I think in design they thought, "We want this class to be passionate socially and also emphasize mobility, so we'll give them all fire shuji, water-based kata, and some moderate water shuji access." When you look at what the class offers over the course of 5 or 6 ranks, it makes sense. But when you have to justify the shift between each rank, it starts to fall apart. In practice, the experience is a little like, "We want all of our students to have exposure to earth shuji (and specifically earth shuji) before giving them access to training in most basic kata, but once they're ready to start learning kata, we'll never teach them earth shuji again." I think you'd be hard-pressed to justify most shifts in curriculum at each rank.
If you reach enough, you can probably find some justification for any mechanical limitation, but I think the tail ends up wagging the dog. Instead of telling whatever story you want to tell and having mechanics that support it, you're bending the narrative a bit to justify the mechanics you're stuck with. My experience so far is that this doesn't support the player experience, even when they're playing to type (like a Sun Sentinel wanting more fire invocations).
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I'll probably pick up at least one more rank in a social skill. Courtesy is currently my highest social skill, and it's in my rank 2 curriculum, so there's some temptation to lean into that. Command isn't, but it probably makes more sense for a castellan, especially if we might see Mass Battle. Maybe I do both? I wasn't planning to pick up any more shuji (except maybe for Mass Battle) until rank 3, when they're in curriculum again.
What if we propose this: Shiba Rie as another advisor, Sayaka as gunso, Yokoi as junior gunso, Umeko as head priest, and... the Yasuki as negotiator? I would expect Tomuko to support this, since it pushes back against Tsume Ron as being a superior officer and gives Yokoi an appropriate appointment. It concedes something to the Phoenix without giving them too much power. It gives players the positions they want. I'm especially flexible about the negotiator position, but since they probably need to negotiate with Dragon and Phoenix the most, a Yasuki seemed like someone more likely to be impartial.
Also, trying to think a little outside of the box here, I'm not opposed to marrying the right person, if that helps us politically.
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Oh man. I want Sayaka to get the gunso position, and I also specifically don't want Tsume Rin to get it. I want us to treat the Yobanjin with compassion, and Rin's record with the Goseki isn't great. Maybe we can ask for help from Matsu Tomuko? Tomuko is probably more motivated than I am to stop Rin. Possibly Yokoi too? Maybe we ask Chinatsu to help? It seems like whatever favors we can call in, now might be the time to do it.
That said, since I got the position I wanted, I want to defer to other players with how we use whatever remaining resources we have to put them in the positions they want.
Also, I might have mixed something up in my notes. Is it Rin or Ron?
Magnus Grendel reacted to this -
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Alright, team, what do we think? Advisor isn't a position either of you were interested in, so we could afford to share it. We don't know anything about Katsu and you should never trust a Scorpion, but we don't know much about anyone else either, and I'm not sure I trust anyone else here other than maybe the Lion anyway. It looks like the window to get castellan is probably going to close if one more Crane or Phoenix gets a chance to speak, so if you don't think we should let Katsu be advisor, I would appreciate someone else helping me get those last couple of momentum points right away. Thoughts?
Magnus Grendel reacted to this
Looking to join a PbP game
in Your Stories
Posted
In-character post coming later, once I've gotten some work done, but two quick thoughts:
1. This map conundrum is very cool.
2. I just saw the alert about FFG boards closing. Do we want to move this game to Myth-Weavers or something?