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Doji Meshou

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Posts posted by Doji Meshou

  1. Posted

    Good morning! We have just opened one slot in this game. Please read the original post for information about the game. 

    Two updates:

    • We are currently looking for a character to play a Doji Diplomat. The player in question will need to be motivated and politically savvy. 
    • Since the original post, the Imperial Examination has been proposed and will be implemented soon. The new player's character will need, as either their Ninjo or Giri, to have some version of "Sit the Imperial Examination and achieve a posting in the Imperial Bureaucracy."

    If you're interested, please PM me. Thanks!

  3. Posted

    3 hours ago, FFG Max Brooke said:
    Greetings L5R Open Beta testers!

    Howdy, and happy holidays!

    Quote
    • Any purchase outside of your current school rank now contributes half of its experience value to your current school rank.
    • Rings are no longer included in school curriculums.
    • Experience to complete school ranks is going to be increased significantly.
    • Recommended experience rewards will be dropped to one per hour of play, with two per hour and/or discretionary bonuses for milestones offered as an option for GMs.

    Huge fan of all of this, especially the XP reduction; right now it feels like every session is an XP pinata.

    Quote
    As such, the following is our concept for Ninjō and Giri moving forward:
     
    “Once per game session, a player may call for a Pivotal Scene involving their character to occur...

    I like this concept a lot. Three notes:

    • I don't think it'll get a lot of use in games with players who are already strong self-advocates. It WILL probably see a lot of use in games with strong GMs and players who aren't very good at self-advocating. Having an explicit mechanism whereby players can say, "Hey, I'm the star of the show now!" is a great idea.
    • Once per session is probably too often. Assuming five players in a game, four hours per session, and half an hour per "scene," you could be looking at more than half the session getting chewed up by Pivotal Scenes. 
    • The Void Point cost doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Why not just make it free and assume that players and GMs will self-police on the time-cost involved?
    Quote

    Now that you’ve read over these options, head over to the survey here and give us your feedback...

    I'm going off-book here to talk about the last question on the survey: "which of the following types of supplement would you be most likely to want to purchase?"

    I think the thing we need most* are timeline supplements to keep pace with the LCG.

    I suggested this on my survey, but I want to post it publicly because I think it's important enough:

    • Mini-supplements that collect timeline info, "state of Rokugan" info, and new mechanics from the last X amount of time in the LCG.
    • You could put them out quarterly, or after each Clan Pack and cycle is released, or anything like that.
    • You don't even need to print them -- just release them as PDFs. I'd happily fork over $5 for a black and white PDF telling me what I need to know from Imperial Cycle.

    Take Imperial Cycle, for example. The kinds of things I'd want to know are:

    • Timeline: what major events happened when in the year?
    • Broader Clan perspectives: e.g. we know what's up with Hotaru and Yoshi, but what is the Crane Clan in general doing? What do the Scorpion actually know (versus what Shoju and Kachiko know?)
    • Specific mechanics: something is going wrong with Phoenix magic -- how am I supposed to model that as a GM?
    • NPC Stats: we've just introduced a bunch of characters; how do you stat a mythic-class bushi like Hida Kisada? How does he compare Doji Kuwanan? Or a more everyday samurai like Shinjo Altansarnai's son who raided that village?

    Thanks much for listening. I know it's out of left field, but I would be a happy and permanent player if the only supplements you ever published were those mini-updates.

     

     

    * Other than a finished corebook with expanded setting information -- which I know is coming and I'm not joggling anybody's elbow about!

    llamaman88, Magnus Grendel, shosuko and 1 other reacted to this

  4. Posted

    Hi folks,

    I haven't had a chance to update this yet for v4.0. I plan to make time later this week or early next week; we had a very busy GMing weekend, and the week before Christmas is crazy at my work. Thanks for your patience!

  8. Posted · Edited by Doji Meshou
    update

    Howdy!

    I run an online, chat-based, persistent L5R game using the L5R Open Beta (5E) system. 

    We currently have one (1) opening for a player. If you might be interested in playing, please read on.

    What's the elevator pitch? This game is:

    • Text-based. Gameplay takes place on a dedicated website and resembles a scrolling text-based game (e.g. a MUSH) with added bells and whistles like character portraits. 
    • Primarily player-driven. Most gameplay occurs between players without GM involvement. Players are expected to engage each other as the subjects and objects of desires, intrigues, and ambitions. While characters will have some external motivations (e.g. from their Clans and other organization), this game is fundamentally about the player characters (PCs).
    • Court-based. Not all characters are expected to be courtiers, but all characters are expected to participate in court. Characters who are more adventure-oriented will have opportunities to participate in combat, but those opportunities will be the exception, not the rule.
    • GMed with a light touch. The ratio of players to GMs is approximately 10:1, which both ensures that the game is player-driven and limits the scope of what GMs can accomplish. 
    • Active play, not play by post. Scenes begin and end at discrete times (i.e. scenes are not open-ended across multiple days) and involve players who are actively participating. Each day that passes in the real world is also a day that passes in Rokugan, and scenes may not occur except on the present day (i.e. scenes may not be played during the past or future).
    • Players are expected to play roughly 4 hours per week, but may choose to play less or more as their schedules allow.

    Setting: the game's first arc focuses on an order from the Chancellery: to implement a civil service system in Rokugan to funnel more samurai into the Imperial Bureaucracy -- and to create an opportunity for exceptional heimin to be elevated into the buke. The game is set in Toshi Tenjikobutan, a small, wealthy city two days outside Otosan Uchi. The city is held by the Yanagi, an Otomo vassal family whose daimyo has been appointed Persimmon Minister: the person in charge of shaping the Imperial Examination. The Persimmon Minister has, in turn, elected to solicit input on this Examination from the Great Clans. And since the Great Clans are all suspicious of this idea, they've sent courtiers who are freshly off their gempukku or who are otherwise expendable to the Persimmon Minister's Winter Court: the player characters.

    Character Creation: as outlined in the L5R Open Beta corebook. All PCs start with 12 XP, plus 3 XP per week played since the game began in mid-November 2017. There are house rules for creating characters with Schools that are not yet published; as those Schools are published, they'll be overwritten by the official material.

    Experience Points: XP is awarded both during GMed scenes and automatically during independent play. Characters can expect to earn roughly 4 XP per week.

    ***

    Who are we looking for? This game is for mature, respectful, cooperative players who are interested in courtly intrigue and thoughtful role-playing. The game has a zero tolerance safe space policy, so players should expect to bring their most consider, empathetic selves. Players from marginalized groups, including women and LGTBQ+ folks, are encouraged to apply, and will find this game aggressively protects and promotes their interests. The player slot we're opening up to the beta community is the first slot open to someone without a direct personal relationship with one of the GMs or a founding player, so that player is likely to receive extra scrutiny at first to ensure they integrate well with the community.

    What Clans/Schools are open? See below.

    Interested? For more information or to apply, please send me a direct message through this site.

  9. Posted · Edited by Doji Meshou

    Hi folks,

    At our request and their instigation, one of our players put together this reference chart for the language of flowers (hanakotoba) in Rokugan.

    As with all things Rokugani, it makes no claim to historical or cultural accuracy. Its sources are cited at the bottom.

    We've also created a couple relevant house rules:

    ******

    Hanakotoba: characters with Aesthetics 1+ are familiar with hanakotoba, the symbolic language of flowers in Rokugani court life. Mechanically, characters with Aesthetics 1+ understand the meaning of each flower listed on the Language of Flowers page. Characters do not need to roll for this information, or to create basic arrangements of flowers that do not complicate their basic meaning. Creating more complex arrangements and meanings requires an Aesthetics (Fire) check, TN 2; correctly interpreting them requires an Aesthetics (Air or Void) check, TN 2. Creators may spend Opportunities (*) in the following ways:

    Fire *: Increase the TN (by 1) of checks to decode this complex arrangement of flowers.

    Fire *: Characters with Aesthetics 1+ do not need to roll to interpret this complex arrangement of flowers.

    ******

    The Language of Flowers: the following custom shuji may be purchased:

    1. Name: The Language of Flowers
    2. Description: The courtier is fluent in the language of flowers, allowing them to communicate wordlessly through ikebana, cut flower arrangements, or even a stray flower left in an unexpected place. 
    3. Prerequisites: School rank 1
    4. Activation: You may create an arrangement of flowers using Aesthetics (Air) instead of Aesthetics (Fire), TN 2. When making an Aesthetics check to create a basic or complex flower arrangement, you may spend Opportunities (*) in the following ways:

    Air *: Convey a secret message that alters the meaning of the arrangement for one character observing it who possesses this technique.

    Air **: Convey a secret message that alters the meaning of the arrangement for one character observing it who does not possess this technique.

    *****

    Please feel free to use any and all of this content in your own games!

    LuxVeritatis reacted to this

  10. Posted

    @Daeglan: Calming Breath got very slightly tweaked, but it's such a small edge case change that I don't think I need to reissue a new version of the flowchart. Nothing else in the flow chart changed, but the mechanics of damage changed significantly. (But that's outside the scope of the chart!)

  11. Posted

    1 minute ago, WHW said:

    It also allows you to call your opponents FOOLS becasue they activated your trap card.

    ...

    On a more serious note, TRAP option is some very interesting piece of design - while it's incredibly powerful, it also doesn't scale naturally at all, and you actively need to look for more and more powerful Techniques to make the most out of it, or the extra TN decreases will go to waste. I think it's very clever.

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (additional carrots for emphasis)

  12. Posted

    Just now, WHW said:

    Yeah, this is probably first implementation of Miurmoto bushi that makes me happy about focusing on "two swords" PHILOSOPHY instead of literally fighting with two swords.

    One hundred percent agreed. On top of which, it's easy to explain, easy to understand, and easy to use, which dual wielding almost never is. It might be my favorite bushi School implementation to date.

  13. Posted

    1 minute ago, FFG Max Brooke said:

    If you mean the mechanics and theme, I'd be very curious to hear you expand on why, and the problems you're having with it. If you mean the name, your feedback has already been noted, and will certainly be taken into account as part of the discussion during which school names are finalized!

    Thanks for your quick and thoughtful response! It makes me feel incredibly good to know you folks are taking feedback like this into account among the other, more important mechanical feedback.

    I'm talking exclusively about the name. I think it's a let-down for all the reasons I outlined before.

    I love the mechanics. You knocked it out of the park.

  18. Posted · Edited by Doji Meshou

    The suggested experience curve is high. Characters definitely advance faster than they did in 4E.

    I don't know whether it's TOO high. I think I need more time with a longer campaign to assess that.

    I WILL say that my players' general reaction to unexpected impending conflicts has been, "I need to do X and I don't have any points in that Skill? No problem, I'll buy it at 2 at the end of this session." That doesn't feel right to me.

  20. Posted · Edited by Doji Meshou

    1 hour ago, RodentJoe said:

    I voted Yasuki merchant. Really hoping they get in, but the system is missing an important detail that is needed for their existance to work... Might want to consider including the koku, bu, and zeni conversion rates. Currently im assuming its 4e conversions (5bu=1koku, 10 zeni=1bu), but if im not mistaken- i'm fairly certain previous editions had a more mertic conversion rate (10bu=1koku, 10 zeni=1bu). I dont care what the conversion is. It could be something completely new, with a fourth currency, or broken into equivalent rice for the year, month, and day. But there does need to be a conversion.

    Agree that having a monetary exchange rate is useful. Disagree that it's a priority, or necessary for the Yasuki.

    L5R has never been an economic simulation, and IMO, the Yasuki function work fine dealing in money as abstract - a function of useful goods or relative Clan/family/province capacity. 

    BitRunr and sushicaddy reacted to this

  24. Posted

    38 minutes ago, FFG Max Brooke said:

    Greeting L5R Open Beta Testers,

    Howdy!

    Quote

    Preview Vote

    Additionally, after you give us your feedback on conflicts in this week's survey, please take the time to weigh in on which of seven classic schools you’d like to see previewed in next week’s update!

    I'm a huge supporter of L5R 5E. I think a lot of the changes from 4E are great, and that the ones that aren't great are either (1) getting there or (2) there for people who play differently than I do. I'm enthusiastically running a 22-person court game that my players are really enjoying. I can't wait to buy a copy of the core. (And I can't wait to buy a copy of this week's Dynasty Pack for the LCG.)

    I say all of that because I want you to understand that what I'm about to say comes from a place of genuine support and a general, democratic spirit of thoughtful critique.

    The name "Mirumoto Two-Swords School" is really bad.

    I understand: you aren't calling anything the "[Family] [Role] School anymore." I've loved all the renames so far. Doji Diplomat, Kakita Duelist? Great. Bayushi Manipulator, Isawa Elementalist? Bring it on. Even the Iuchi Meishodo Master sounds right, if a little clunky.

    Mirumoto Two-Swords School is way beyond clunky. It hits like a chainsaw on a rusty guard rail: all teeth and shrieking. I'm not even a Dragon fan. I bleed Kakita; I hate the Mirumoto. 

    Please change it. Pick a name. You could:

    • Go with what's there: Mirumoto Niten School.
    • Play with its mystical orientation: Mirumoto Adept School.
    • Play with its wandering-swordsperson aspect: Mirumoto Wanderer School.
    • Emphasize its relationship with the Kakita: Mirumoto Duelist School.

    Literally anything else. I'm begging you.

    Thank you for your time.

    Daeglan, jmoschner, WHW and 4 others reacted to this

  25. Posted

    1 hour ago, rcuhljr said:

    Yeah, I just don't like forcing people out of sections of systems if they're not themselves skilled at something.  The character is the one who's good at the task, punishing duelists who don't like guessing games seems punitive. At least for me the engagement was always the fact that my characters reputation, honor, and often life were on the line. I've never once had a problem of not being engaged in a duel.

    To each their own. My beef is ultimately that I don't think conflicts are very interesting when they're (1) primarily determined by character stats or (2) primarily determined by dice rolls. It's why I don't and won't use the Intrigue rules, for example. :)

    KillingGoblinBabiesIsDishonorable reacted to this
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