So - after a somewhat boring morning of control-x and control-v, salient bits of this thread are now here:
https://rpggeek.com/thread/2564161/5th-edition-campaign-notes
updates will be on rpggeek from now on, in advance of the forum shutdown. I'll probably ping the discord when it gets updated so people know - we usually manage one session a week, but sometimes I don't finish getting it typed up till the following week.
Thanks to everyone for the interest, advice and commentary! It's been very, very welcome and please continue.

That at least is now the case over on the Discord, too... The community is a bit more lively, with both good and bad - but generally pretty good.
And we got more answers from the game devs there than I ever saw here.

That at least is now the case over on the Discord, too... The community is a bit more lively, with both good and bad - but generally pretty good.
And we got more answers from the game devs there than I ever saw here.

That at least is now the case over on the Discord, too... The community is a bit more lively, with both good and bad - but generally pretty good.
And we got more answers from the game devs there than I ever saw here.

Please let us know where your campaign log goes, because it was very entertaining to read!

Otherwise, yeah, it stinks to see the content lost again. But at least the L5R discord https://discord.gg/mSYN2jPZkb is pretty active and has space for both games and places to store content that is likely to stick around for a while longer...

Please let us know where your campaign log goes, because it was very entertaining to read!

Otherwise, yeah, it stinks to see the content lost again. But at least the L5R discord https://discord.gg/mSYN2jPZkb is pretty active and has space for both games and places to store content that is likely to stick around for a while longer...

Please let us know where your campaign log goes, because it was very entertaining to read!

Otherwise, yeah, it stinks to see the content lost again. But at least the L5R discord https://discord.gg/mSYN2jPZkb is pretty active and has space for both games and places to store content that is likely to stick around for a while longer...

Right, but specific overrides general, and stances are called out as having benefits in Intrigues and Skirmishes and not so for Duels and Mass Battles. So again, if you're trying to read the book in the nitpicky style, the lack of consistent templating breaks the game horribly. Go with what's intended and the stances totally work, as does Air stance.
Earth Stance will still prevent you from being Immobilized for example, because again: Things target your leader, and affect your cohort, as "For the purposes of identification, targeting, and effects, each cohort is defined by its leader."
Water stance is still the weakest in Mass Battles, yes.
And sure, if Bonus Successes matter at all, Fire stance is always very very strong, and Void in general is strong - this is not very specific to Mass Battles, although it's exacerbated there, due to the amount of things scaling off of bonus successes. FYI: if you cap Fire stance at a maximum of +2, it's still useful, but not as broken, particularly in Intrigues.

Honestly, they should've taken the idea they clearly had during the Intrigue section and made stance bonuses change depending on the type of conflict. (Intrigues call the stance bonuses out as the "default effect". Clearly, there can be alternative benefits, then. Except... there aren't any in any of the books...)

Well that's a kick in the teeth for....well....everything.
Need to store our campaign log somewhere locally, and not sure what'll happen with the PBP games.
Kind of wierd given the 40k RPG boards were supported for what feels like half a decade after the company lost the GW license.

The opening round was 'too quiet', as Goriate put it.  Kazumi's army deployed along most of the southern an eastern sides of the castle, but aside from rallying to support the vanguard, didn't actually launch any assaults. The peasants formed the southwestern end of the line, putting them closest to Suiren's ambush - probably for the best as the heimin would be most likely to break and run. Ume (and Uiri) aimed to rally the troops, providing assistance to Goriate. Goriate - who'd not been given any official authority by the Reju - had nonetheless made himself defacto commander around the main gate as the ronin, at least, were prepared to be pragmatic: when there is a wall needing defending you listen to the Hida. One reinforce action later, and the area around gate was as secure as he could make it. Suiren and Nakama launched a series of hit and run attacks, inflicting a fair amount if panic and fatigue on the desperate villagers. Suiren lacks both command and tactics, but does have air rank 4, and had skilled assistance from Nakama, so was doing pretty well. Horonigai stayed in the court, trying to be ready if things kicked off, and wondering where Nobu was. Out of paranoia, she did augment an arrow with Howl of Isora in case a skirmish kicked off locally. The second round started with one of Kazumi's cohort commanders launching an assault on the castle gates - which swung open as the Otomo approached. "I'm sorry, you said what?!?!" - Goriate's player. Fortunately, with the assisted reinforce action from last round, Goriate has managed to up the TN enough that the assault just failed, and fighting broke out across the line of the gate as both sides tried to pour reinforcements in. An attempted assault by the villagers to drive Suiren and Nakama's forces off also failed thanks to the TN increases from air stance and obscuring terrain. Suiren in turn took the opportunity to slip through the chaos of the fight and kill Natsumi (we used a challenge action modified to use the Skulduggery skill to trigger the clash). Goriate launched a counter-attack with the reserves - less the squad of ronin who should have been in the gatehouse and unsurprisingly had either defected or deserted after their actions. With a solid success, the ronin started to push the Otomo back. The fight tipped even further when Ume and the Reju bushi joined the fight. Uiri took the opportunity to issue a challenge action, and brought down the Loyal Bushi commanding the Otomo vanguard. Battered and leaderless, Kazumi's first assault fell back and the gates were secured. At this point - unaware that the gates had held - Nobu launched his coup attempt, with Nobu, To Toshio and a group of ronin bursting into Reju Jikai's court. Many of the ronin already in the court turned coat and attacked their neighbours, and ultimately Horonigai, Reju Jinzaburo and Seppun Azusa were the Daimyo's only  effective line of defence. Goriate guessed - correctly - that having blown her nasty surprise, Otomo Kazumi would launch a follow up attack elsewhere, hoping to break in before reserves could be shifted - most likely at the ruined tower. Goriate moved over to reinforce the tower, and once again was able to raise the TN such that Kazumi's surviving cohort commander failed to make any impression. Suiren and Nakama launched a final all-out attack on the village peasants, panicking them into flight, and garuanteeing local legends that Closed Shell was guarded by 'daemon wolves' would be springing up within a generation. Ume and Uiri were an route to the ruined tower to assist Goriate when Uiri heard the unmistakable sound of a magically induced temporary indoor hurricane. He and Ume rushed to investigate, and found Horonigai and Jinzaburo holding off several ronin trying to reach Jikai.  Horonigai had put one down with her daikyu but the fight was now up close and personal, and however good a brawler the shrine keeper was she wasn't going to stop an opponent with a sword. Jinzaburo- with Azusa's assistance - was holding off two other ronin, and Ume engaged a third, leaving Uiri to sprint across the court to save the Kaito. He took some fatigue from tremors caused by Toshio, but managed to incapacitate the ronin  attacking Horonigai before the ronin could in turn attack the incapacitated Phoenix. Horonigai followed this up with an impressive daikyu shot - rolling enough opportunities with void 4/ranged 3 to ignore incapacitated herself and land enough fatigue to incapacitate Reju Toshio. One of the loyalist ronin put him down swiftly after. Otomo Nobu, seeing his 'coup' falling apart in front of him - and receiving word that Otomo Kazumi had failed to take the gates - turned tail and fled into the castle keep, with Uiri in hot pursuit.

Right at the moment, there aren't many other options anyway - the Imperial Advisor is missing (something Yoshi wouldn't hesitate to reveal if needed) and both Jewelled Champions have resigned their offices. Yoshi is basically the only Imperial official left standing (except Miya Satoshi), and - as far as we know - Shoju was the only clan champion in the capital.

More generally, the Chancellor would, by custom, ordinarily become the Regent. Of course, the Emperor may dictate otherwise, and that's what happened here--Hantei Jodan named Shoju as Daisetsu's Regent. In Shoju's absence, and lacking any other direction, the position defaults back to the Chancellor, Yoshi (which, if you think about it, gives every incentive for an ambitious Chancellor to do their level best to undermine a Regent and get them ejected from the position!)

In the adventure, they all are, because of the plot they thwarted. But that's not a thing that always happens, necessarily, and in that case the status boost come from that title, not the Topaz Championship.

Personally, I'd give +3 or so status. Enough to be slightly more senior than otherwise equal samurai, but not a full rank above them.

I decided to share the one who started it all this shenanigans, Daidoji Takumi, may his skill with the blade be match with his skill with the biwa.
Many thanks to @DSalazar
 

Personally, I'd give +3 or so status. Enough to be slightly more senior than otherwise equal samurai, but not a full rank above them.

Lol, okay, so another typical Rokugani case of kicked upstairs, then 😂

Equally, the PCs get that offer even if none of them become Topaz Champion.

In the adventure, they all are, because of the plot they thwarted. But that's not a thing that always happens, necessarily, and in that case the status boost come from that title, not the Topaz Championship.

In the adventure, they all are, because of the plot they thwarted. But that's not a thing that always happens, necessarily, and in that case the status boost come from that title, not the Topaz Championship.

Again without spoilers, I'll say... you're exactly right.
And once again Hera as a starfighter pilot is criminally underserved in this game.
I realize I'm probably in the minority but I absolutely wouldn't mind seeing her as the Rebel Anakin; an expensive I6 with a powerful ability in half the faction's ships (at least A-B-X-Y-maybe U in that order).

Personally, I'd give +3 or so status. Enough to be slightly more senior than otherwise equal samurai, but not a full rank above them.

Personally, I'd give +3 or so status. Enough to be slightly more senior than otherwise equal samurai, but not a full rank above them.

Getting further through the story, one thing that might be relevant is giving the family a rank of seafaring:
"Are you certain you can catch it?” Kitano looked as if he regretted the question, even as he asked it. Kasami grinned as she lashed the other end of the line to the flatboat’s mooring ring. “Do you know how many boats get lost in the marshes?” She tested the line, and nodded in satisfaction. It would hold. “No?” he said, doubtfully. “None. Because we know how to catch them. Keep us still.” She whirled the rope with a loose, slow spin, not wanting to overshoot the rail. There was an art to boarding a moving boat, and it was one she’d learned as a girl. Ideally, she’d have been attempting it without armor, but one couldn’t have everything.
This is a trained bushi, so not someone who's a professional sailor but merely someone who grew up in the marshes and knows the sort of stuff any Hiramichi can be expected to pick up.

Well, I am not sure there is much to take from that to add detail to what I already wrote above. But it is at least further evidence that vassal families are being actively empathized a lot more than they were under AEG making the efforts I put into this project worthwhile. Granted, it is also obvious at this point that the way they intend them to be used is to just use the stats of the main family and then make up your own name for the family, but... well, it just means I gave a bit more detail.
I am sure that some of the families I did write ups for will be ruled to be nonexistent, but since a handful of them have already appeared that means at least one of the writers working on the settings is interested in utilizing them to a great extent.