Hyperspace: No, sod off. Full stop.

[Hyperspace: No, sod off. Full stop.]

  The problem is, this new Hyperspace "Season" might promote creativity for some, but it doesn't do so for all.

  I tell people to look at what this format did to the CIS, but I don't feel like people have really done that, when the responses I get back are "You just got 3 new ships!" and "That type of thinking staunches creativity". Seriously, look at the CIS. Yes, we just got 3 new ships, but only one of those new ships may possibly bring a new playstyle or two to the faction (Or really revitalize old playstyles that have fallen out of favor).   Only the HMP is really good for creativity, as it seems like it could work in so many different lists, but many of those lists are no longer possible with the removal of other pieces.

  In addition, I can no longer experiment with force powers and my only "option" to get a force point on my ships is Dooku Crew. Meanwhile, boring old Vulture Droid swarms, which have been in the meta as long as the CIS, are just getting better.

  Will the CIS have new lists?  Sure.  Will they be creative lists? No.  The firespray will bring a temporary uptick in "Gang+ Leader" style lists and "Hammer and Anvil" style lists, before it finally goes the way of the Sith Infiltrator.  The Tri-fighter is going to replace the Nantex for mini-swarm purposes.  You'll see (very slightly) fewer Hyena Swarms, but more Vulture Swarms.  All in all, it's the same old junk with a new name.

  Had Darth Maul been left in the format, we might have a seen a "Big ships" list do well in the format.. but he isn't, so we won't.  Had targeting computer been left in, we might have seen a list with Gorgol supporting HMP's.. but alas, No.  It's as if FFG saw where creativity might have had room to develop, and decided to kill it off before it got too frisky.

[Hyperspace: No, sod off. Full stop.]

5 hours ago, dezzmont said:

..

This new HS seems to be an attempt to really play with the assumptions of what is good in a faction. Imp aces are a very dominant Imp list due to pretty much every imp ace being the 'platonic' ace. Individual aces in other factions may be really strong, but Imp aces sorta defines aces. So what is Empire like now without aces? We will see.

The reason its so interesting that rebels didn't change is because rebels are like an unflavored pudding like mush of nothing really as a faction. They don't HAVE good lists. Their best HS list over the entire year was 5X, and it was a pretty cruddy one that stopped getting experimented with pretty quickly, because 'X wings are good jousters' isn't... true...

   I would argue that FO Aces defines "Aces", and that's still workable.  I think Imp Aces got removed because "Aces" is not meant to be Empire's bread and butter (as it is for FO).  The reason rebels didn't get hit is because they weren't misbehaving.   I think it has less to do with "does this seem good" and more to do with "Is this the way we want this faction to be played?".

  For example, look at the Seps.  Vulture and Hyena swarms have always been part of the meta, certainly some players see them as "good", but they didn't get hit because they're doing what seps are supposed to be doing.  As soon as that playstyle starts to get overshadowed in the faction, whatever is overshadowing goes away.  Can we really say that 2x Sith Infiltrator lists or Grievous and gang lists were better than droid swarms?  I don't think so.  Can we say that they overshadowed droid swarms in the droid swarm faction?  Yes. So they got a time out.  Now those lists are back (to varying degrees) and the list that was most recently over-shadowing the droid swarms got removed.

3 hours ago, RStan said:

Yeah I was thinking, why is it wrong for those numbers for generic centric or predominant lists to be this way? Why is it that likely playing against those generic centric lists 2/6 games of swiss is too much? I don't understand the problem here...

  I don't get it either.  Do people understand that not all factions are meant to be playing "Aces" all the time?  Apart from "Aces" lists, there are also meant to be "Swarm" lists, but most lists should have some mixture of Uniques and Generics, probably skewing toward the generic side. So a 4, 5, or 6 ship list is likely to have a unique or 2 and be filled out with generics.  I don't see that as problematic.

  I would also point out that, just because a list might have spent most of it's points on generics, doesn't really mean the list is "Generic-centric" in the way that it's played.  If a CIS list has a 72pt. General Grievous and 6 vultures (for 120 pts.) Grievous is still the key player.

[Slightly Early Take on the New CIS Ships]

  Just a quick thought, have you tried switching Jango/Zam?

  Taking Zam pilot, Jango crew is the same cost (right?), Zam has the same init as the tri-fighters.  You get the better version of Zam's ability and Jango's ability is based on you having a lock instead of you limiting your manuevering options.

[Hyperspace: No, sod off. Full stop.]

1 hour ago, 5050Saint said:

Three new ships in the faction, and the best you got is "droid swarm, I guess"? Mate, this is the exact mentality that eschews creativity.

What were you working with on the Zam/Maul front? Surely lacking Maul doesn't write off the Firespray entirely. Perhaps we can expand from there and find a list that still has Zam.

  It's not about Zam. She's good and will almost certainly make her way into lists.  I just recently got the Sith Infiltrator and was working on lists to use Darth Maul or Count Dooku in when I saw the Firespray spoilers.  Zam has the same intitiative as Darth Maul, making them easier for a newb like me to control, and the fact that they both have (possible) extra attacks might have helped to counteract some of the problem of playing expensive pilots against swarms. I also figured it would be my opportunity to play a 2 or 3 ship list myself. So what I'm really annoyed with is losing the ability to play around with force points/powers and losing the ability to make a 2 or 3 ship list that might actually be decent.

1 hour ago, SabineKey said:

And that was always the danger with Hyperspace. A rotation system means there can be seasons where you don’t like the options available. That’s just the nature of the format. Maybe next season will be more to your liking, as this one might be more to another player’s liking.

   The thing that really disappoints me about this "rotation system" though, is that I had seen it as a way for factions with fewer ships to "catch-up".  By this I mean that, if the point was to change the meta, it seems better to me to bring some of the older content back in to hyperspace, rather than removing current content from the format.  "Rotating" generally means some stuff out, some stuff in, but we got a whole heck of a lot more rotated out than rotated in.

[Hyperspace: No, sod off. Full stop.]

Personally I find these hyperspace changes to be truly disgusting.

  They literally put the kibosh on all of my lists, including the Darth Maul/ Zam Wessel list I was looking forward to.  Also, from a CIS perspective, there's really nothing here that "promotes creativity".  I was starting to think that CIS is really getting into a good place where it actually has a couple of playstyle options.  this hyperspace change just undid all of that. More droid swarms I guess.

[Vulture Droid, Nantex, and Infiltrator]

I think you're right.

So you're basically adding 28 to the value of your ship in order to be able to sometimes get +1 attack die and give opponent -1 defense die against a ship that's already in range 1.  and of course you have the possibility of moving most enemies if you choose to.  I still think the extravagant cost of ensnare along with the tractor nerf is ridiculous.

I also just think it's a bad idea to have a 73 point ship which can easily be taken out in one attack.

[Vulture Droid, Nantex, and Infiltrator]

Unfortunately, I don't have alot of actual play experience..  with that said, If you'd only had one nantex, one vulture and one infiltrator, I'd say just keep it boxed up.

  I've tried using Infiltrator + Nantex a few times in Fly Casual and it never really works out the way I want it to.  (My RL play experience is pretty much using Nantex swarm v.  variations of Rebel beef in several matches)

  IMO, Nantex have been hit with the nerf bat way too hard. (and consider that they were never a dominant list to begin with) Sun Fac and Chertek need to tractor (or at least put a token on..) their opponents in order for their abilities to work, but if they do so, their enemies get to rotate so they can get your Nantex into their firing arc.  Since the Nantex has only 4 hull and no shields, any attack against the Nantex can potentially kill it.  So you set up a situation in which you either one-shot your target, or you risk Sun Fac getting one-shotted himself..  and your Sun Fac with ensnare is worth 73 points.  How likely is Sun Fac to iKill anything that's worth as much as he is?

  I've also tried using Gorgol with the Sith, figuring that he should be useful alongside a pretty beefy ship.. really though, I was still only able to use his ability once in..  I think 3 matches. (simulated)  The upside here is that Gorgol is cheaper than other Nantex, and also lower init makes him a better blocker.

  Honestly, if you're going to playing some droids, you might want to try Berwer Kret instead of Sun Fac

 

  You could try something like:

  (36) Berwer Kret (nantex)

 (5) Gravitic Deflection

Points: 41

 

(65) Darth Maul (Sith Infiltrator)

(3)  General Grievous

(9) Hate

(5)  K2-B4

  Points: 82

 

(26)DFS-081 (vulture)

(1) Struts

Points: 27

 

(23) DFS-311 (vulture)

(1) struts

Points: 24

 

(23) Precise Hunter (vulture)

(1) struts

Points: 24

[Nantex Battle Reports]

hmm.. Marksmanship wouldn't help me against rebel beef because I can't get past their shields.

  Just noted.. I can make this list now:

  General Grievous (Bulbasaur-22)

  -Daredevil

 -angled deflectors

 - soulless one

   Ship total: 55 pts

4x PAA (Nantex)

  -Gravitic Deflection

 -Marksmanship

  Ship total 36 pts. each

  I don't get to play x-wing anymore though

[New squadrons packs ?]

On 8/3/2020 at 9:25 AM, svelok said:

but are the first order fugitives?

  I believe "collaborators" and "fugitives" applies to the First Order. I don't really put the emphasis on the First Order being founded by "War Criminals" though..  In point of fact, many of the officers who founded the first order were either not present for most of the fighting (Admiral Thrawn) or refused to commit warcrimes (Admiral Sloan).  As I understand it, the remnants of the empire were hunted, but after some time the republic and the First Order came to an agreement that allowed the First Order to exist outside of the republic.  The "Collaborators" and "Fugitives" part of the first order comes from the fact that they didn't simply sit out beyond the outer-rim and quietly die off.  Instead they infiltrated criminal organizations within the republic and turned those organizations to the needs of the First Order.  So while we tend to view the First Order as being a large and well organized military, the fact is most of their officers would have whet their blades as criminals within the republic and alongside people who didn't necessarily belong to the First Order, but worked with them for fun and profit.

[Legend of the Five Rings Play by Post]

the only other thing I can think to try right now would be to look for burnt splotches, like tracks from the burning substance that might have dripped or been brushed off of the horse.. and maybe see if there's any horse remains or piles of ash nearby. other than that I guess we can go back

  Aruzhan takes a quick look around as she prepares to head back to Uimi Mura.  "well..  This bandit seems rather intelligent and well equipped.  He was smoking, not exploding.. so we must be missing an element.. and he would have either had to wait for the rain, or called it himself.."

[Legend of the Five Rings Play by Post]

Ughh.. so simple. I don't know why I didn't think of them just using the shrine as a stable.

 

  Aruzhan ponders the situation..  "If there were a horse carrying a supply of this substance, perhaps it would need a roof over it's head in the rain.  Then maybe the bandit quickly washed out the shrine when they left."

[Legend of the Five Rings Play by Post]

Theorize (fire 2) survival (1) I roll 1 success w/strife and 1 opp on ring dice and 1 success on skill dice.  I net 2 successes and 1 strife.

[Legend of the Five Rings Play by Post]

"It seems like the sort of a thing a Dragon might do, but I doubt any of them would be involved in this."

[The Celestial Realms - New RPG Sourcebook]

1 hour ago, Tonbo Karasu said:

If the Minor Clan in the Dragon book isn't the Dragonfly, I'll be very surprised.

  I agree.. my problem is that I don't know what they Dragonfly do apart from telling people "the pass is closed".  I mean.. they are noted for their own shugenja school too, but they aren't in the "spirits" book.

[Index of Clans / Families / Schools / Titles]

On 2/5/2020 at 11:09 PM, sndwurks said:

@Nheko has one of the sources I would recommend. The L5R 2nd Edition supplement Way of the Daimyo also had an appendix about creating Minor Clans.

Honestly, if they ever make an L5R Foundry for the RPG, I would totally write up a supplement to make a "20 Questions to Create a Minor Clan" guided play module for campaigns who want to have founding a new Minor Clan as a central theme.

  The mechanics of minor clans have changed since 2nd edition though, most minor clans only had 3 techniques.  (and one family) The Mantis were special in that they had 4, Them getting their 5th technique was part of them becoming a great clan.

  Really though, creating minor clans should be fairly straight-forward these days.

All clans in this edition follow the same basic mechanics..  I think if you know the lore.. or the "20 questions" of your clan, then the mechanics will be obvious..  The most important thing is to know why your minor clan exists in the campaign, and why it exists in Rokugan.  For example, I ran a campaign based loosely on "the mouse that roared" in which "Mouse clan" declared war on Scorpion clan, largely because Scorpion clan was selling "knock-off"  Mouse clan brew.  So I know that mouse clan has to be expert in producing brew, they get +1 labor as their skill.  The ring is a little more difficult at first, but ultimately mouse clan is fighting a war for it's own survival, so even though Mouse clan appreciates and exemplifies traits of other rings (they are precise and subtle as air, efficient and charming as water..)  The main motivator for mouse clan is really earthy at this point.. plus Earth goes along with Labor in Production.. so mouse clan's ring is earth.  I can add in some of the traits from other rings by using those rings for the family and school bonuses.  Mostly because they'll be conflicting with the scorpion, water and air become the rings associated with the family.

As you can see, filling out the clan/family/school lore provides the basis for knowing what their mechanics will be.

[The Celestial Realms - New RPG Sourcebook]

 

On 6/4/2020 at 10:45 PM, neilcell said:

Slated for August, but I hope that they surprise us and get it out sooner than that.

 

  Didn't  FFG say they weren't going to release anything until sept. 1 due to covid? Or was that only for x-wing product?

Also, I think I finally figured out what the plan was.  The minor clans in each book are related, in some way, to the major clans in each book.  The Toritaka are strong allies of the crab that, in old lore at least, eventually fold into the crab clan.  The Shika are an off-shoot of the Crane, and the Centipede are an off-shoot of the Phoenix.  It's difficult to find a minor clan that has ties to the Lion, but I believe the "war" book will contain Lion and Badger clans.. since the Badger in this era act as mercenaries and, at least in old lore, were allied with Toturi.  I still strongly believe there's meant to be a book on crime/justice.  While all 3 remaining major clans are known for their magistrates, I think the key here is that the Wasp are the minor clan most involved with crime/justice (because they're bounty hunters) and the Wasp are an off-shoot of the scorpion (who can represent both the criminal and legal aspects of the book).

  The question then is, what minor clans are tied to the Unicorn and Dragon, and what aspects of Rokugan are those clans involved in. Personally, I've long had a feeling that there should be some kind of book on "nature" in Rokugan.  While writing stories, I often find myself googling what types of plants and animals exist in parts of asia.  When my characters go hunting they often catch a..  "uhmm..  something.." or they may be delighted by the smell of the beautiful.. "uhmm.. would they have roses?".  and I know other players have had similar experiences.. for example one person asked why the silhouette of a wolf is listed in one place as 0 and another place as 2.. Now this may just be an editing error, but it turns out there are two different types of wolves in Japan and they are very different in size.  So while "nature" may not seem like an inspiring topic in the way that "spirit realms" is, I feel like it's necessary.

  Okay, so both the Unicorn and Dragon have ties to nature..  To be honest, I first thought the Dragon would be a shoe-in for a book on nature because the founder of the Kitsuki was a naturalist and many Kitsuki continue to follow that path.  Meanwhile, I rarely view the Unicorn as being naturalists (I don't think they study nature, the way the dragon do)..  However, the Unicorn do have their strong ties to their horses and dogs and they are the best survivalists in the empire.  Furthermore, they are tied to Fox clan and Fox clan has almost druidic/ranger-esque ties to nature.  So I think there was intended to be a "nature/the land" book that was intended to have Unicorn and Fox clans.

  That leaves Dragon clan.. and what does Dragon clan represent?  Who are they tied too?  Well, it looks like Dragon clan has ties to a couple of minor clans that I don't really know much about..  what they represent could be pretty easy though, depending on scope.  The Dragon are known for their monks, they are also known for alchemy, naturalism, and deductive reasoning..  This led me to believe that a dragon clan book could be based on any of those things, again.. in this case it's a matter of scope.  The Dragon clan book could be "Philosophy and Science".. or even something as broad as "education".  I feel like, if we can figure out what minor clan has a tie to the dragon and excels in one of those areas, we could figure out what the dragon clan book was going to be. (sparrow clan seems very philosophical and educational, but I don't really think they have ties to the dragon, do they?)

Of course, since publishing is going to another company, it may all be a moot point now.

 

[Legend of the Five Rings Play by Post]

"Baka!" Aruzhan charges toward Hekasu with a wild look in her eyes as she tries desperately to swat his hand from his mouth before he can taste the water.  With too much ground to cover, she only manages to meet her target after the deed is done.. so she swats him again and growls..  "It's easier for the Kami to prevent a fool from getting poisoned than it is to cure the fool later!"  Seeing that Hekasu hasn't spontaneously combusted in front of her, the Shugenja sighs as she centers herself.  She mumbles a quiet invocation, using "Kiss Of The Pond Woman" targeting Hekasu.

the invocation should be earth ring (2) and Theology (3).  My ring dice are 1 blank and 1 opp.  My skill dice are 1 blank, 1 success, and 1 exploding success w/ strife.   At this point my assumption is that Aruzhan didn't get the invocation off before Hekasu might have to make his check, so the best option for me is to keep the opportunity and the exploding success w/ strife.  The exploding success gets me another exploding success w/ strife.. and that exploding success gets me an opportunity.  I ultimately get 2 successes, 2 opportunity, and 2 strife. If I use the 2 opportunities for Jurojin's balm's 3rd usage, I should be able to remove poisons and the dying condition, and suppress symptoms of disease.

[Reclaiming Daylight Castle (Shiro Hiruma)]

On 6/26/2020 at 10:21 AM, Diogo Salazar said:

That seems like it was an epic campaign. In terms of in-game time, how long did this all take? (assuming you were keeping track of the passage of time).

  well.. the campaign is kind of "epic".. but in many ways it's unfulfilling. My original intention was to have the These PC's spend a little time in each clan's territory doing some adventuring as a way of getting my players familiar with the setting.  For that reason, there are some things which should probably be their own epic campaign, that my campaign has treated rather lightly.  I mostly used "Reclaiming Daylight Castle" as a way to introduce my players to the Naga, the Scorpion, and the plague. (since the powerful spirits they needed could be found in the Shinomen and their quickest path was through Scorpion lands)

 

  At this point my campaign is kind of stalled with Daylight Castle being on a promising, but incomplete path to reclamation. The issue is that I don't really know how this timeline is dealing with the scorpion clan coup and exile, the abolishment of the Akodo and will the Crab ever ally with the shadowlands..  stuff like that.  Also I'd rather not have to write my own adventures, but the printed adventures only last 2 or 3 sessions.

 

P.S.:  in terms of game time.. my PC's already had experience, connections, and could teleport vast distances.  So the time sync for my campaign really comes down to how long you think cleansing rituals should take, as clearing the Kansen out of a room basically involved walking through the room with the Naga pearl (or the artifact that keeps the shrine from being over-run in "Mask of the Oni" and then performing a cleansing ritual to keep the Kansen from coming back into the room while the transplanted kami do their work.  Cleansing the grounds outside the castle proper would probably be more difficult and may even take a completely different tactic.

[Reclaiming Daylight Castle (Shiro Hiruma)]

My players cleansed daylight castle.

 

  In my campaign, After the events of "Mask of the Oni" the players went to the Crab and asked about mustering an army to take back Hiruma Palace, but Kisada wouldn't allow it, as it would take too many soldiers off the wall. (and Considering Moto Tsume was about to make a major attack on the wall, it turned out Kisada was probably right.), However, the PC's had been on very good terms with the Ratling tribe from "Mask of the Oni", and in one side quest they had also met a Heroic Ratling chieftan who was running around the shadowlands saving other Ratlings from the growing shadowlands army.. That cheiftan ran a warren that was beginning to suffer greatly from over-crowding..  So they ended up helping the PC's take and Garrison Daylight Castle in order to have a more secure place for some of them to stay.  Also Hida Yakamo had showed up in the middle of the fight with "His personal bodyguard" in defiance of Kisada..  Yakamo assigned some low-ranking Kaiu to help rebuild Daylight Castle, but that still didn't solve the problem of cleansing the palace and the surrounding lands.  In order to achieve that goal, the PC's had to travel around the empire, finding powerful kami and convincing them to go to the shadowlands and chase away the Kansen.  It turned out they would also need to use a Naga Pearl (and fortunately for them, some of the Naga were just beginning to wake up), so the PC's had to exercise some diplomacy as they needed to get the Crab, Ratlings, and Naga to work together.

[Legend of the Five Rings Play by Post]

My earth (2)/ Theology (3) check comes up with 1 success w/ strife and 1 opp on the ring dice with 1 success, 1 opp, and 1 success with opp on the skill dice. I keep 1 success w/opp and 1 opp.  I failed the roll, but perhaps my opportunity will allow me to remember a place nearby that I could study the problem (scholar/earth uses)?  I guess I can use my other opportunity to reassure Hekasu with my presence, removing two strife.

  The shugenja turns her attention to the men as they open the well..  "Is there anything in there?  If it's been tampered with, perhaps the culprit is not as spiritual as I had guessed.  Is it drinkable?" Aruzhan puts some items back in her pack, not wanting to bother the spirits quite yet.  "Perhaps in the town I can see more of the local invocations, so I can get a better idea of who wrote these glyphs."  (and just to be sure, do these glyphs look like any of the prayers I might have seen in Aoi's estate?)

[New squadrons packs ?]

I was going to joke that the S&V pack (fugitives and collaborators), should be based around the Fang fighter, since that's about the only small-based S&V ship I see anymore.  However, the name "Fugitives and collaborators" makes it seem like the set would be more focused on criminals and separatists more than bounty hunters and mercenaries (and mandalorians or trade guilds)..  for that reason I suspect the set will be black sun themed.. and black sun means Starvipers are probable.  While I'd really like to see a squad with Pr. X and Guri, I don't think they would use two aces in their squad development. So maybe a squad based on Talonbane cobra and his Khiraxz with two starvipers in support?  Of course, there's always the possibility of a ship/pilot that hasn't been produced before.

[Finally started TRoS...]

  In regards to lightsabers and Jedi.. remember that there also exists within the jedi order a feeling that force-wielders shouldn't rely on the force alone.  While this is mostly a tenet of the sentinels, guardians and consulars are probably familiar with the idea as well..  and why not?  There are some valid points.   After all,  there are some beings that the force can't be used against, and other beings against which using the force can simply be dangerous.  Using the force requires concentration that one might simply not be able to muster at any given time, especially in combat.  So If Yoda is fighting a powerful force-user like Dooku or Palpatine, Yoda might choose to use a lightsaber as his primary weapon, so that he can keep himself alert and ready to respond to his opponent's attacks rather than trying to shape the force to his own will.

  In regards to Yoda, he was always meant to be a great warrior.  Remember that Yoda on Dagobah is meant to be after the Jedi order has basically lost the clone wars.  He's beaten and all of his friends are dead. Moreover, he's at least partially responsible for the Galaxy having been taken over by the dark-side..  I think it makes perfect sense that the Yoda we see on Dagobah might be a little more mellow and pensive than the Yoda who we essentially see leading the Jedi at the height of their power.   The fact is Obi-wan is very different in the OT compared to the prequals as well and those differences just make sense.  So I think the lightsaber fighting is perfectly in character for Young(er) Yoda.

  Also.. the fight kind of had to happen because Qui-gon and Phantom Menace Obi-wan weren't really good examples of Ataru, (In fact, using Ataru was meant to be Qui-gon's downfall) so we needed to see what an Ataru master actually looked like.

[Legend of the Five Rings Play by Post]

1 ring die comes up blank, 3 skill dice comes up with 2 opportunity and 1 success w/ strife, and the skilled assist die comes up one success with strife..  I guess I keep 2 success w/ strife.

  " I believe the barrier was placed on the shrine in order to imprison something, to make it easier to train or bargain with.  The shrine itself seems almost as if it's been washed, perhaps out of respect or regret, but this is not the way to properly cleanse a shrine. It's difficult to say why the it hasn't yet dried some after being washed.. perhaps the spirits would know." Aruzhan steps away from the shrine and begins retrieving the items she'll need in order to commune with the spirits.. she seems a little disappointed as she does so.

[Finally started TRoS...]

  The rise of skywalker was the best star wars movie..  if you cut out everything before the fight where Rey stabs Kylo (and that pretty much includes ignoring most of ep. 7 and 8 as well).  Everything after that scene is essentially the most epic wedding ever, as proven by the fact that Rey considers herself to be part of the skywalker family at the end, and Ben has literally given her his soul.  This is (probably) why Ben can't appear to her as a force ghost at the end, because his soul is still attached to hers. (Although she really should have claimed the Solo name instead of the Skywalker name.. then again, Han wasn't actually born with the Solo name so..)

  The biggest problem with ep.9 is that there's really no reason for anyone outside of the Palpatine and Skywalker families to be in the movie. While the other scenes may be "funny" or "cool" the main story is subtle enough and hard enough to understand on it's own, that all of the "filler" scenes draw too much attention away from the main story.

 

  I also would have liked to see Grand Admiral Sloane and other First Order "castaways" show up to fight palpatine at the end.

 

 

[Legend of the Five Rings Play by Post]

well..  My initial thought is that the culprit didn't just "disappear", but perhaps used a gateway to a spirit realm.. most likely chikushudo, the realm of animals.  Maybe the ritual was an attempt to make sure nothing dangerous escaped through that portal while the culprit did it's work. (so I'm thinking the barrier might have kept something in, rather than keeping something out.)  Also, would I be able to narrow down the markings to a particular style.. i.e. ancestral, foreign, alchemical, elemental, etc.  Even if I don't know the specific school on sight, perhaps Aruzhan would be able to make some educated guesses based on the situation, location, and style.  It's also possible that someone may have created a water horse which got here and then was dissipated, but that leaves the problem of where the culprit went afterward.  Essentially though, Aruzhan is expecting to see some evidence that a gateway is/was here, either for someone to escape, or to bring a spirit through (perhaps trapping it in the temple in order to force it to bargain)