Ritual Elements for Shugenja/preists

Ema: a wooden tablet or plaque found at shrines and temples. The front contains a picture or blessing. On the back a person writes a prayer or wish. Next, the Ema is hung on a rack with dozens or hundreds of similar tablets. If the petitioner is lucky, a kami or bosatsu (shinsei spirit) answers the desire written on the tablet. If unlucky, a kansen answers the desire….
Gohei: A Shinto wand. When a priest of the Kami chants the Kami’s names and shakes the wand, it is believed that the person becomes purified of any evil or corruption. The want is made of sacred hinoki cypress and is tipped with many tassels of specially folded white silk paper.
Magatama: comma shaped beads. Long used in Shinto worship, magatama are believed to symbolize the primal essence of the world. Commonly made of Jade, but obsidian is not unheard of. One of the Three Imperial Regalia is in fact an egg-shaped variation of the magatama.
Mayoke: a palm sized talisman or amulet, believed to dispel evil spirits or any misfortunes that accompany them. They often come in a cloth satchel with a prayer within.
O-mikoshi: a portable shrine, where a kami resides when it manifests in the world. O-mikoshi are carried in a litter-like fashion during matsuri festivals by 10-100 men in happi coats and loin-cloths. The purpose of this to encourage the kami to inhabit the shrine based on the spirit of the load bearers put into the effort. O-mikoshi tend to vary from being very basic to quite ornate, depending on the local. Often the tend towards the later; a single shrine about the size a large cart can cost thousands of koku, laced with soft silk scriptures and adornments.
Shiemenawa: A thick hemp twine rope with folded white silk paper tassels at intervals used to demarcate a sacred spot or the gate way to one. In the ancient Rokugani past, this represented a white serpent, which was sacred. Of course, after the problems with the Chuda, Imperial priests have modified this somewhat to quietly ignore the serpent aspects while still maintaining the use of the object, so as not to offend the Kami.

Shinseist Ritual Elements
Bonsho: One of the most recognized Shinseist artifacts, this is a copper temple bell, usually 4-6 feet tall. The bell has no internal clapper, but is rung when a monk swings a wood log suspended on two chains at the bell. Often run during Festivals, this bell is rung During the New Year Joya no Kane Ritual, in which each temple rings the bell 108 times, representing the 108 sins of mankind.
Gofu: a wooden plank wrapped in a slip of paper or a rectangle of paper stuck to any surface of a building or shrine. Planks typically have long prayers written on them, while papers have likenesses of a deity or creature upon them. Said to be more powerful than mayoke at keeping evil or bad luck at bay.
Hamaya and Hamayumi: Arrow and Bow. Yamabushi often use these specially prepared weapons in performing an exorcism. Many festivals in Rokugan also use such weapons in annual purification and exorcism of sacred spots. They are also very useful in harming Shadowlands creatures and Bloodspeakers, to they are painfully aware of…
Juzu: Shinseist prayer beads. Resembling a rosary with a tassel on the end, juzu are often made of bodhi woof or bodhi seeds, but jade (often by Crab monks) and other materials are not unheard of. Juzu keep track of the number of times a sutra has been chanted.
Kyoten: Sutra books. Folded accordion style like most Rokugani books. The contain the wisdom of Shinsei, allegories, commentary. And teachings.
Markers: These take many forms and are considered very bad luck to desecrate.
Gorinto: Wooden planks bearing the shinseist posthumous name of a deceased. Often found lining the walls of a Shinseist temple or in family shrines, butsudan, in homes. They are broken, burned, erased upon the thirty-fifth, fiftieth, or hundredth anniversary of a persons death by and ordained Shinseist priest. To do so at any other time is to cause the spirit to lose their way and become a lost soul or worse.
Dosojin: Stone Obelisks or humanoid statues that mark the grounds of ancestral kami sacred to local inhabitants.
Mokkan: Wooden tablets in the Shinto tradition of naming various kami.
Senko: Incense. Prepared in many different ways (the Dragon being the most varied), senko is made with spices and herbs mixed with flammable salt peter. Used in Shinseist rituals to help focus the mind. Special types of incense are used at prayer markers of the deceased to pray for them.
Shaku-Jo: Five ringed staff. The definitive symbol of travelling monks and senior monks, the rings help monks focus the mind and symbolize the Five Realms of the Cosmos. The Sixth Realm is represented by the staff which ritually strikes the earth, our realm. It does well as a staff weapon in a pinch.
Tepatsu: Shinseist Alms Bowl. Many monks are expected to forsake all earthly goods, as they represent earthly attachment, thus desire. Typically this will be the only possession of a monk aside from the Robes on their back.
 
Esoteric or Fallen Shiniest Ritual Elements
These items are rarely seen out of some of the more Esoteric sects of Shinseism influenced by the Ivory Kingdoms, twisted Shinseist sects that follow broken paths of enlightenment, or the corrupted followers of the Shadowlands and Fu-Leng.
It is thought that the items date from a time from before the Fall of the Kami when bloody practice was far more common among the tribes of Rokugan, both terrifying and intriguing to behold. Some Sects state that Shinsei taught them how to purify the remains of a fallen brother to allow them to consult their spirits to assist on the paths to enlightenment (there have been instances of older masters speaking through aspirants during meditation when using the items. At least that what it seems to be....)
Most of the implements are crafted from human remains. On one level, the represents the impermanence of the mortal shell in the endless cycle of rebirth. On a level more mystical, the remains imbue certain Shinseist rituals with more power. Not to mention Shadowlands rituals. Typically a Gaki or Yorei of a particularly vengeful spirit is bound into the Shadowlands implements.
Dojre: Vajra (Daimond Thunderbolt): This ritual object represents complete stability and order and is always paired with a ritual dojre singing bell representing Ying and Yang Energies. The Dojre is the double ended “thunderbolt of Enlightenment” causing sudden and irrevocable changes in perception, leading to sudden awareness of the true nature of reality, often experienced only by saints and mystics. This is often referred to a as the “Great Death” by Shinseist preists, and the “Great Awakening” by followers of the Shadowlands.
Kangling: Femur Trumpet: made from a human thigh bone, this item is used by the faithful to drive away wraithful spirits and by the fallen to summon them. Regardless of the use of the item, even regular Shinsei praciticioners are circumspect in the usage of the kangling as the unenlightened would tend to think (incorrectly, but reasonably) the priest perhaps is a Shadowlands practicioner. The Kangling can be used as ritual element to summon Gaki, Oni, and Yorei. The Kangling is played using the left hand while pounding a damaru (a hourglass shapped drum made of two human skulls) in the right hand.
Kapala: Skull Alms Bowl: It is rather uncertain exactly where this tradition started among the Shinseists, but it has raised more than one eyebrow among the Rokugani that do know, in spite of no Taint ever being found in the ritual itself by the few shugenja who have observed the highly secretive rituals (often under threat of bodily harm if the practicioners had known about it). Highly ornate Kapala have gold and silver inlays with the dome carved with important ritual symbols, used often to aid in Prophecy and Clairvoyance. Fallen monks use it for the passing of blood and other body fluids. Sealed by ritual, the bowl has the good and evil karma of the dead owner. The karma is easily transferred to any handling the bowl, often with ill results for the untrained.
 
The Three Imperial Regalia of Rokugan
With the Fall of the Kami and the establishment of the Hantei Dynasty, symbols of Imperial Power had to be forged in for recognition of the Hantei's right of rulership to be evident to all. There had been much contention over the attack on Lord Moon by the O-Kami, but Lady Sun could not truly blame Hantei for wanting to protect his brothers and sisters. In order to show her blessing upon the founding of the new Empire of Roguan, she had gifted Hantei a mirror made of a polished substance not unlike jade named Yata no Kagami (The Mirror of the Eight Handed Flower) from which her light could shine and that the Hantei could reflect upon the Wisdom of the Higher World's, as well as keep track of their family line.
The tale behind the Second Imperial Regalia known as Ame No Murakumo No Tsurugi (Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven) aslo called Kusuanagi No Tsurugi (GrassCutting Sword) is much darker tale as it is the former property of Susa-No-O , the Raging God of Thunder, given over to the Hantei after the thunder god lost a Wager against Hantei during the formation of the Empire, as Susa preferred the chaotic mess of the various tribes as opposed to the more organized Empire. While handing the blade over to Hantei, he silently prosribed a curse upon the weapon, that the Sword would indirectly doom the Hantei Emperor once every few generations, but other wise lend it's power when needed. There is some speculation as to what exactly happened in Heaven when Lord Moon found out about the Curse upon the blade, but a majority of Susa-No-O's portfolio was passed onto Osano-Wo when he came into being. The most popular answer Legend is that Lord Moon had Susa stripped of his titles and locked away in Toshigoku for his Treachery.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), the curse chose to manifest itself early on, due to the rather tempestuous nature of the curse. Sadly this caused the death of 4 of Hantei the Fourth's siblings and family, but given the rather unusual circumstances involved with their deaths, suspicions arose over the nature of the sword itself. While unable to unearth the curse itself, it was divined that the sword was restless much like it's previous owner and could possibly turn upon the Hantei if not given proper respect. After much debate as to what could be considered respect by the blade, it was decided to make it on of the Imperial Regalia to be viewed, but not actually wielded, during important ceremonies, and brought out only when absolutely needed. This policy appeared wise during the time that Kusanagi was in the Empires possession.
The Last of the Regalia is referred to as Yasakani no Magatama (The Necklace of Immortal Jade), also called the Gyoku. It is a rather large necklace composed of unique variants of Immortal Jade (red, black, white, yellow, and green) carved into the shapes of magatama beads. It was rarely missing from the various Hantei's side or proximity during their early reign up until the Advent of the much reviled Hantei the XVI, when they along with Kusanagi and the Mirror disappeared from the Imperial capitol, Otosan Uchi.
 
Yata no Kagami : The Mirror of the Eight Handed Flower is rather plain in appearance, but notable for it's high polish that never seems to go away, as dust and other filth seems to slide off it, with the back decorated with early Rokugani script and magatama
Ame No Murakumo No Tsurugi: There is much speculation as to how Kusanagi was forged, but the most popular legend has it being forged in the heavens by Shiba after catching a shooting star (his skills at forging weapons, or even paying attention long enough being open to question) as an attempt to forge a sword shortly after the concept had come into being. As a result the sword is not of the popular Katana form , but of a much earlier form referred to as a Jian, or straight sword. As a design, it is rather plain, but it is notable that it does not appear to have degraded over time, and it is of such a fine edge that few objects on the earthly plane could resist it's fine edge. The handle is forged of a mysterious dark jade that occasionally have flares of green script which while similar to Rokuganese, are as yet unidentifiable.
Yasakani no Magatama: As one might expect, The Necklace of Immortal Jade does have the properties of Immortal Jade and should be treated as such with the following modifiers.
The sight of necklace causes Fear 6 in all Tainted creatures, (Shadowlands, Shadow, or any other being with Control of other than Tengoku) as it represents the purity of Heaven. Failures to pass a fear test will cause the tainted to run in terror aware from the bearer of the necklace.
Secondly: the necklace causes purification of water of ALL impurities within 100 feet due it's nature
 
Peasant Items
Hachimaki: (Headband) Worn Across the forehead, typically emblazoned with a bold Kanji of a Desired quality such as “Persistence”, “Perfection”, “Stamina”, etc. Designed as a possible ward against evil spirits.
Mawari-Dohroh: (Revolving Paper Lantern): a item of the Lower Castes which has notably spread through out the Samurai, particularly in area's afflicted by unnatural spirits, as there have been too many instances of the lanterns revealing hidden threats to be ignored. It is thought that that the first of the lanterns was designed by one of the first practicioners of Onmyodo in the Crane lands who assisting the Crane in tracking particular vexing mujina and yorei for banishment.
Tohroh-Nagashi: (Paper Lantern Boat) During the Time of the Festival of the Dead, these small paper boats are said to carry the Visiting Spirits of the Dead back down stream to their homes in the spirit world. Some Clans have been known to place the ashes of loved ones within these boats for burial.
Wara-Ningyo: Straw Doll. Old wives tales state that if you take a lock of hair from an enemy and put it into a small straw doll made to look like that person, you can exact revenge. Four nights in a row, those seeking retribution pound nails into the Doll, pinning it to a Tori Arch or Shrine Gate. On the fourth night, something horrible is supposed to happen to the victim. While dismissed by most Samurai Caste as rubbish (as direct causation is hard to prove), it is seen as a declaration of a threat and most Bushi will respond accordingly
 
 

My version of L5R stories (much like feudal Japan) is chock full of LGBT characters. My first character ever was a gay Crane duelist hellbent on killing his Ikoma ex-lover. He was also married to a woman and had kids, because honour and life in Rokugan demands it.

I've always been under the impression that a samurai can be whatever sexuality they want and basically do whatever they want - as long as they don't disregard their duty of providing the empire with more samurai children and more acquisitions through marriage. Nothing a little Bitter Betrothal doesn't solve. Samurai don't marry for love anyway, even the straight ones. Everyone is equally unhappily and dutifully married to whomever their lord says - and also often pursuing secret affairs behind their spouses back (or in front of them, as the case may be.)

Marriage has always been an awesome source of samurai drama. I mean, you generally get force-arrange-married at 13 right after your gempukku, right? Some samurai aren't even finished puberty by the time they're married. Unless both parties are 100% honourable it's a setup for complete disaster - but no one is 100%, that's the whole thing. So it's a setup for great stories. 


Also, for the record, I've basically always treated the sexes as completely equal in L5R. It's more fun that way. I've had more than a little fun putting some of my 'MEN ARE STRONGER' players up against Matsu samurai under Empress Iweko. 
It's like "Homeboy that is a MATSU samurai. You'd better show her WAY more respect than you think necessary, because she WILL end the life of your character without thinking about twice if you step an inch off the path of bushido. Face to the ground, pal."
 

This is what made me initially check out of the beta. I really looked at it, read and re-read it, playtested it, applied some rule rewrites, repeat. It all came down to the only thing that matters:

Is this new thing -better- than the last thing?

I don't speak for everybody, obviously, but the answer is no.

 

I’m not very happy with the beta. That said, it *is* R&K, even with the special dice. It just doesn’t feel particularly L5R-like to me and mechanically it’s not better than 4th overal IMO. It does some things better but just as many not as well. The only real advantage is that it will be the “current” edition, but right now that doesn’t seem like it’ll be enough. I’d rather go back to 3rd with a few houserules than try to convince my groups of switching to 5th with a bunch of houserules (especially since one of my hangups with the beta is the blandness of schools, which isn’t as easily fixed as changing a general mechanic I don’t like or toning down a few overpowered rules).

It is rather ill advised to start messing with XP and progression this late in the game without proper time to really test it. Not saying XP and advancement don't need work, but they are not going to get properly tested and you will have issues down the road.
You still are making the same core mistake you always make: adding needless complexity for marginal to no gain.
Right now the rings only counting for half has the following consequences you have not accounted for:
It throws off the numbers for determining power of NPCs. There are now even wider power swings within a school rank Power scale and balance is now off with characters all over the place* Air stance now bounces between useless and op Rings will be perceived as a tax, as to actually use many techniques you need a high ring players will feel like they have to buy more stuff they won't use to advance devalues high level play as can front load characters increases the likelihood of high level characters with multiple rings and skills at 5 school abilities that really only pay off at higher school ranks will see less use *On average you're looking at around 42xp to get to ring 5 and around 14xp to get to skill 5 (assuming skill at 3). Now only 21 of the xp spent on the ring counts toward school rank. "Experience to complete school ranks is going to be increased significantly." so even if it is just 10 extra per rank, you could (and will) end up with characters at rank 2 with ring 5, skill 5, and they will only be at most 1 rank behind the characters that went all in on school advancement. IF you double the XP needed to get to rank 2 from 16 to 32, then you will have rank one characters with ring 5 skill 5.
Since most school abilities are "meh" and higher level techniques basically require maxed out ring and skill, there is still little incentive to focus on school stuff early on for a lot of builds. As characters will have to up rings and skills eventually, those that front load into a high ring/skill will catch up in school rank, likely by rank 3. This basically undermines the only counting rings as half, expect to add complexity and slow the progress, which is now being slowed in other ways as well. So the half ring xp is really just needless mechanics that were poorly thought through.
As WHW noted, every school needs to have some techniques that are early access under the new XP scheme.
School techniques need to be made more interesting and useful as there was already little reason for many characters to focus on raising school rank; this only exacerbates the issue.
There really should be a slow, normal, and fast progression options for XP. Let GMs decide how fast they want the group to advance. Tying XP to time playing is not a good idea. XP needs to be tied to what the characters are doing, not how long the players are seated at a table.
 
Honor, Glory, Ninjō, and Giri all need overhauls.
The mechanics as they stand do not achieve any of these. The proposed changes do not really fix Ninjō/Giri and only add more problems.
The core issue here, beyond always adding needless complexity, is that the dev team seems to have a lack of understanding of what creates tension and drama, then trying to force their ill-conceived notions of drama through poorly constructed mechanics. The system should provide the players and GM the tools to create conflict, and from that conflict and the choices  made in dealing with it comes the drama.
Where you've made the mistakes design wise is in putting strife on the dice and making it fairly random instead of making it primarily a consequence of opposing Ninjō/Giri. You have a system that puts strife in everyone's face every roll, but where you can basically ignore honor for entire game sessions. Honor and Glory should be ingrained more into the rest of the system instead of tacked on. More things should scale with honor or glory than with school. More things should require a certain honor or glory as a prerequisite (mostly non-school related techniques). I would even go ahead and decouple the advantages/disadvantages from honor and glory. Let the loss/gain of honor, glory, and status have real impacts. Instead of gumming up the system with strife, you should have been greasing the gears with honor and glory.
You really need to work on streamlining the system so it gets out of the way and lets the people at the table tell a compelling story instead of constantly trying to force drama and thus derailing the drama already unfolding.
IF you really want better storytelling and drama, then spend time in the book explaining how to craft and tell engaging samurai adventures. Spend time on things like story structure, the nature of conflict in samurai drama, and how to explore character motivations. Give examples of how the GM can work characters from PC backstories into the adventure and other tips for giving the story more weight for the players.

Especially since it's also socially awkward to answer honestly if you know or suspect the answer will upset the listener. Hence the important courtier's skill even today, of being able to speak openly, entirely honestly, and convincingly, without actually saying anything, without the listener noticing the fact.

The face everyone at my table makes when someone tries to game the system like that.

I think like, this for sure isn't for me. Every time I think I'm getting closer to understanding how this is a roleplaying game, I find out that I was wrong and the answer is "Just cheat more, only it isn't cheating because it's how you're supposed to do it."

The face everyone at my table makes when someone tries to game the system like that.

I think like, this for sure isn't for me. Every time I think I'm getting closer to understanding how this is a roleplaying game, I find out that I was wrong and the answer is "Just cheat more, only it isn't cheating because it's how you're supposed to do it."

The face everyone at my table makes when someone tries to game the system like that.

I think like, this for sure isn't for me. Every time I think I'm getting closer to understanding how this is a roleplaying game, I find out that I was wrong and the answer is "Just cheat more, only it isn't cheating because it's how you're supposed to do it."

That's not how I interpreted the Scorpion clan's material in 1E, 2E, nor 3E. It's too unsubtle an approach to match the clan.
They teach Bushido as a lever upon which to hoist the others. But, to move in the circles where this is needed, one must also hold onto some of those virtues as well, for failure to do so is notable to others, and counterproductive to good order, as well. 
A scorpion lies when it is useful, not for the sake of lying. (Unless he's gone to the Kolat.)
A scorpion holds courtesy in esteem, for by virtue of it, both ways, the mark is made incautious.
A scorpion holds sincerity in esteem, for it is more than just appearing to believe what you say, but also saying what will get the job done.
A scorpion holds courage in esteem, for facing foes alone when one is potentially outnumbered is of use.
A scorpion holds compassion as useful. In others, it allows playing them. In oneself, in moderation, it allows others to be less scared of you, at least until it's too late.
A scorpion holds the truth as a weapon - a scorpion's duty requires honesty - mostly within the clan. But honesty outside the clan? useful. And if you betray it out of duty, well, the mask was their warning. Why does the scorpion lie? Because it's part of his duty, too. 
A scorpion likewise upholds Righteousness every day... because he can. It's not a harm to him, unless it conflicts with his duty, And when it does... no issue. A scorpion who goes about lying for personal gain is not serving his duty well, for he's taking his lord's time as his own.
Likewise, if one lies all the time, no one believes them. So, it's in one's best interests to keep the lies manageable and used carefully. The mask is a warning... "You can never let your guard down, for I may be telling the truth"
None of the virtues are anathema to the Scorpion. Some are just more important than others. All are levers upon which to move the others. And each other.
And one need not accept a code whilst still following it. Most atheists follow 7 of YHVY's commandments daily, for example. Most faithful of the Abrahamic religions follow 5 or 6 of the virtues of Bushidō daily, too... and if they are the "Fine, how 'bout you?" type even while sick, one can make that 7.

Welcome in 5R5  .

And your 4 Raise action was never guaranteed to do what you wanted either. The GM in any previous edition could have the exact same "target get's mad and attacks you" result to your stunt in any previous edition.
Also the Unmasking is a roleplaying result. Rage, Fleeing in Panic, Surrendering, Shutting Down, refusing to unmask, etc. are all viable reactions to your stunt if it compromised them.
What you desire only happens if you have the right type of GM.
Rules as written in 4E you either fail to hit the target's Armor TN +20 and flat out miss and nothing happens or it succeed and the GM decides if what you wanted to do happens. It is a binary yes/no without the possibility of partial success. There are no "you hit but it doesn't do what you planned" or "you missed but still managed to make them react" results when a roll in binary.
In this edition the results of your attempt can have a fair bit of granularity.
You make a Martial Arts (Melee) Fire roll in an attempt to do what you want and you keep the following: 
one or no successes, no opportunities: You miss. one or no successes, 1+ opportunities: You miss, but you spend opportunities to inflict 2+ Strife on the target with the general Fire opportunity. You narrate it as your miss freaks them out a little or a lot based on the number of opportunities you spent. 2+ successes, no opportunities: You succeed in hitting inflicting some fatigue. You narrate it as the wearing them down but not impressing. 2+ successes, 1 opportunity: You succeed in hitting, inflicting some fatigue and spend the opportunity to inflict 2 strife. You narrate it as the attack forcing them to defend and worrying them a little. 2+ successes, 2+ opportunity: You succeed in hitting inflicting some fatigue and  spend the opportunities to inflict 4+ strife instead of on a crit. You narrate it as cutting their clan headband and making them realize that that blow could have been a critical strike stressing them. From there the GM checks to see if they are now compromised or incapacitated and goes forward from there.
Same number or possibly even fewer rolls happen to get what you want in 5e as it would in other editions. Heck if I was your GM I would have made you roll an opposed Intimidate check if you succeeded on your 4 Raise Attack to see if they freak out.
You actually get far more results from one roll of the custom dice than you do from a roll in the old R&K.

Most kata are activated by opportunity.

Being randomly allowed to use tactics after you roll sucks.

Sorry that's not helpful or diplomatic. I guess I feel super weird about rolling the dice to see what my character does rather than choosing an action then rolling to see if my character succeeds at it.

Most kata are activated by opportunity.

Being randomly allowed to use tactics after you roll sucks.

Sorry that's not helpful or diplomatic. I guess I feel super weird about rolling the dice to see what my character does rather than choosing an action then rolling to see if my character succeeds at it.

It definitely takes some using too, and the game isn't  very good about explaining what is so awesome about using its method of resolving rolls, which is a shame because I think its a quite fun experience. Wish there was a section talking about it in the book, as otherwise many people will go in with their habits from previous games kicking in and creating an unfun dissonance between expectations and execution, leading to frustration of "I cant do what I wanted to do". This is one of these scenarios where a page dedicated solely to show-offing a play example of the roll resolution with colorful description highlighting what it does best would really, really help the game.

I think it emulates the idea of seizing the unique opportunities that come and go in a space of a heartbeat during the fight, representing your ability to make split-second decisions that are often only possible right here, right now - let doubt slow you down by even a second, and they are gone. I find it super cool, as its way more dynamic than preprogramming actions and then just resolving them; but I like involved resolutions with a lot of decisions on top. My group also seems to like "broad declaration first, roll represents the tides of battle and possibilities that you need to work with, work with the hand the fate has given you to hammer it into your desired future" instead of putting all the decision points pre-roll; they never really liked Raises to begin with. Mid-roll opportunities are all about precise skill and control, which feels much more samurailike than making gambles and pre-locking your choices without ability to adapt, IMHO. Mushin no shin all the way!

Well if you're a Shosuro specifically, (a member of a ninja school that most people don't even know exists, last time I checked) then you're not really an upstanding honourable samurai as much as you are a weapon wielded by the Scorpion daimyos.
It's not like "I'm a cool playable Ninja Class character! Shurikens everywhere!" It's like "I'll abandon the clan to take a position as a wet nurse nanny and raise this strangers child for 30 years. I will be a loving support for the man that the child becomes. Also, when I get the secret message from the clan I left behind, I will kill that man in his sleep and perform sepukku next to his bed before the sun rises again without question or explanation, Because I am Scorpion."
You don't really take an honour loss for stuff like that (or sort of anything else) because it's all trivial compared to the bigger picture.

As a matter of record, I don't let new players play Scorpion in my games despite the fact that new players ONLY EVER want to play Scorpion. They're too hard to understand and play properly without context, mainly because A) honour works so differently for them, and B) if you play a Scorpion right your character dies poorly, alone and shamed for a reason that no one in game will ever understand - and most players hate that. It's not rewarding. Neither is being a Scorpion.
Even the 'samurai drama' created by narrative dice is screwed for Scorpion. You'd better believe that Scorpion don't EVER give in to ninjo when there's giri to be done.

Don't forget the setting : in Rokugan, killing a guard (samurai or heimin) be a major way to get yourself into trouble even outside the village. 
Random kills are not welcome in Rokugan : they might mess up the general karmic flow of the place (yorei and gakis galore) or will end up with the local Daimyo asking your lord for your seppuku (or for some other thing that will put your party in trouble). 
I generaly make sure that my players never try things "the easy way" by making them pay dearly whenever they do.
 

You'd still be expected to go through a cleansing rite of some sort after the battle, though. But yeah, it's less of a taboo on the battlefield, especially since blood tends to splatter back when you cut someone from collarbone to hip

Note that, traditionally, the no-touching-the-dead didn't apply to the battlefield...
... in part because all warriors are (theoretically) prepared to be dead themselves before the day is over. 
... and in part, because proof of competence is a stronger honor than touching an honorably defeated foe. (Even if the foe is not honorable.)

One of the things I love most in L5R is that you can actually say this stuff in game. 

Lord - "You must do something horrible in order to do what I've said."
Samurai - "Lord-sama, my honourable samurai heart will not all me to commit such discompassionate acts, however, I have a sworn duty to follow your orders. I tell you in honesty that I am conflicted, my Lord."

Then, it's up to your samurai to decide which tenet of bushido wins the day to preserve honour, and deal with the consequences of the tenet he failed. Boom, samurai drama with no gimmickdice rolled.

You can even ask your samurai friends in the party! 
Samurai 1 - "My lord demands I kill the innocent to further his personal non-clan related ends."
Samurai 2 - "You cannot, such an act would violate bushido!"
Samurai 3 - "You cannot refuse, such an act would violate bushido!"
And everybody is right and now it's just personal interpretations of the code. WHICH I LIVE FOR IN THE FRIGGING GAMES.


(I also love that characters can say stuff in-game like "MY RANK 3 MATSU BERZERKER TECHNICQUE IS UNDEFEATABLE!" and the scream THE LIONS' CHAAAAARGE as you run at them. I can't tell you how bad I love a Crane standing on a bridge not allowing anyone to pass unless they can "defeat my One Strike Two Cuts technique.")
Also, when running a game or playing as a PC, there is no way that I'm going to consult 14 tables and start comparing integers after any action that might be morale-related. The tables are an interesting reference, but really I'm just going to try to justify a questionable action (or ask the PC to justify it) and award or deduct what we think is appropriate honour. All said and done if you did a thing that was kind of messed up, lose some honour unless you can make it right your code in your head or your actions.

One of the things I love most in L5R is that you can actually say this stuff in game. 

Lord - "You must do something horrible in order to do what I've said."
Samurai - "Lord-sama, my honourable samurai heart will not all me to commit such discompassionate acts, however, I have a sworn duty to follow your orders. I tell you in honesty that I am conflicted, my Lord."

Then, it's up to your samurai to decide which tenet of bushido wins the day to preserve honour, and deal with the consequences of the tenet he failed. Boom, samurai drama with no gimmickdice rolled.

You can even ask your samurai friends in the party! 
Samurai 1 - "My lord demands I kill the innocent to further his personal non-clan related ends."
Samurai 2 - "You cannot, such an act would violate bushido!"
Samurai 3 - "You cannot refuse, such an act would violate bushido!"
And everybody is right and now it's just personal interpretations of the code. WHICH I LIVE FOR IN THE FRIGGING GAMES.


(I also love that characters can say stuff in-game like "MY RANK 3 MATSU BERZERKER TECHNICQUE IS UNDEFEATABLE!" and the scream THE LIONS' CHAAAAARGE as you run at them. I can't tell you how bad I love a Crane standing on a bridge not allowing anyone to pass unless they can "defeat my One Strike Two Cuts technique.")
Also, when running a game or playing as a PC, there is no way that I'm going to consult 14 tables and start comparing integers after any action that might be morale-related. The tables are an interesting reference, but really I'm just going to try to justify a questionable action (or ask the PC to justify it) and award or deduct what we think is appropriate honour. All said and done if you did a thing that was kind of messed up, lose some honour unless you can make it right your code in your head or your actions.

What would make the beta more tester friendly would be to only have one pdf document with an increasing version number containing all updates and previews.

Wait, there's no way to roll so well that you straight up send someone's head flying with one roll?

In L5R?

In L5R there is no way to decapitate a mook with a single strike? 

I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

Unfortunately it also fails on a narrative level.
Being able to run 1000 kilometers (or miles it really doesn't matter) in 15 seconds as a normal human being without magic power is immersion breaking.
That is a speed of roughly 66 km/s. For comparision the speed of sound is 343 m/s. We are taking speeds close to mach 200!
That is just plain weird.
 
Think about it...
We a fighting on the Wall to defend Rokugan from the Shadowlands Horde. But we are loosing and it becomes clear that that without reinforcement the Wall will fall! Our Shugenja asks the fire kami to produce a giant beacon of fire which can be seen up to the horizon.
Across Rokugan the Champions see the beacon of fire. They know what to do! The wall is in danger and all 7 armies of the empire march towards the Wall to join the fight... where they arrive in under a minute.
 
This is not compelling story telling but this is exactly what the rules allow.
Bad simulation can cause bad narrative. Because the only way this isn't happing is a GM saying: "Let's ignore the rules", which is honestly not something I am willing to pay for.