GM: Travis Lindquist
Players: Sean, Alec, Omar, Tracy, Steve, Chris and Eric
System: L5R-ish
Okay, so only one of us was reborn, the others stay around or were freshly created, but nevertheless, it sounded cool. Here was the skinny.
We had a few returning faces. Steve: Suzume Shimizu, Alec: Sodano Shiba Shiko, Fattig: Ikoma Tso-Lou and Sean: Matsu Rei.
We also had three new characters added to the mix. Omar: Kaiu Engineer, Tracy: Kuni Shugenja, and Chris: Miya Herald (given names unknown so professions used instead).
5 years of passage in our lives, a little bit less in Rokugan.
Travis really wanted to give our characters a chance to grow up some during the down time. We were all 15-16 year old kids fresh out of Gempuku when Act 1 started, and only a year passed during that act. However jumping the canon ahead five years would leave behind a TON of the canon. Thus, we made like Freddy and did the Time Warp. Our characters have five years of adventure but in the fiction only a year or so has passed. What did we do during that time.
Suzume Shimizu lived two lives. One as a faithful husband to his wife and junior sensei amongst the Kakita, the other doing Tsuruchi Nadu’s dirty work as a Sapphire Magistrate. His wife Junko bore twins, a son and daughter.
Ikoma Tso-Lou served as a diplomat in the Burning Sands. His brother, now Yoritomo Kan put a bounty on his head, which Rock sect kolat tried (thankfully unsuccessfully) to collect. A child was born to Ikoma Thandi just before he ventured out.
Shiba Shiko has been recognized again as “The” Sapphire Magistrate and is the chief sensei at Sapphires Honor Dojo, creating a new bushi path for prospective magistrates. Towards the end our our hiatus, after she passed her gempuku, Shiko married the young Isawa girl that took his fancy during their training years before.
Matsu Rei, seeking to overcome her fear of the Shadowlands, signed up to serve under Matsu Aoiko when she ventured south to serve with the clan. Her true leader, however, revealed himself on the battlefield, none other than Hida Kisada. Rei has sworn a personal oath of fealty to the Great Bear, and made a Tasai under his command. She is now bound by oath to the Sapphire Lord, the Matsu Legion and Kisada. During this time she also bore a son, who was given to the Legionnaire to raise as a Matsu archer. He is a bastard and ronin, but raised well. Someday he will claim his name.
Kuni Shinji established herself as a powerful weapon against bloodspeakers and has followed Setsuru into the Shinomen to root them out.
Miya is a provincial governor with strong ties to the Unicorn. He has also, unwittingly, aided the Silk sect of the Kolat. Despite this he is distinguished as a capable magistrate in dispensing the Emperor’s Gift.
Kaiu Ryu is both an accomplished weaponsmith and armorsmith of the crab armies.
Call to Tsuma for the Topaz Championship.
The magistrates all were called to Tsuma to attend to the Topaz championship but upon arriving were summoned immediately to Otomo Koreno’s barge, where they received orders that, for all intent and purpose, came from the Emporer.
Rei arrived with her personal attachment of legionaries, who were quickly commissioned to aid in the athletics competition, whilst she was given the Otomo’s invite by Seppun Kentone.
Shiko arrived on a Sapphire Magistrate War Junk with his wife in tow. Ketone found him as well and instructed him to the Otomo’s barge. Shiko’s wife made herself busy aiding the tournament with her ikebana skills.
Shimzu appeared sailing in on a small watanabe vessel at breakneck speed. Dressed as a ronin he leapt from the vessel to hand papers of to his contact in the Sapphire Order. Before he could resume his normal identity however, he was instructed to go to the Otomo barge at once.
Tso-Lou appeared dressed in animal hides, which not even the heimin would touch (eta were sent to burn them). He visited first his home and found his father ill and his sister Ikoma Tomoi now, acting as daimyo. He entered the sit “instructing” a young Matsu he found on the road but was quickly summoned to Otomo’s barge as well.
In a very large procession of Crab, both the Kaiu and the Kuni appeared and were summoned as well. All were grateful that the massive Kaiu did not require a heimin to carry him.
Finally the Miya arrived and was also greeted by Seppun Kentone, but as a professional acquaintance rather than a stranger. The made small talk and passed mildly inappropriate jokes as they traveled to the barge of Otomo Koreno.
Otomo’s Mission
Capable magistrates all, we were summoned to the Omoto’s barge because of the Emperor, or in this case, the lack there of. He had gone missing just before the Topaz championship and nobody has been able to find him. Since he customarily appears during the tournament it was tasked to the seven of us to ensure that nobody wondered overmuch at his absence. Fun times!
What rocked
Getting back into the core game. I’m really excited to play Rei again.
It looks like we have some good connections between the characters. I’m excited about it.
What could have been improved
MOAR DOTS. Translation = I want to play more!
Edit: Correct spelling of Miya
Mea = Miya. 🙂 Otherwise, cool!
Sweet. Got it.