Tag: sapphire magistrates

GM: Travis Lindquist
Players: Eric, Omar, Alec, Steve, Sean, Chris and Tracy. Woops (see below)
System: Fine… L5R

We picked up Monday’s game right where we left off: Bayushi Hakuseki failing a seduction attempt on Miya Washichi… violence ensuing.

The game had some really beautiful symmetry in it, which I’m especially appreciative of because much of that involved my character.

Early on Matsu Rei was taking testimony regarding the killing of Hakuseki (or the creature of shadow that was impersonating her, read: Ninube) and later she was on trial for murder herself.

When looking for a reason to get people’s minds off the missing Emperor maho was suggested as a decoy, later it appears maho (or at least the shadow dragon’s influence) may be at work.

Alec mentioned early on that he wished there were rank 4 samurai helping out during his Topaz Championship, then later that evening his character was sabotaging one of the events, making completion nearly impossible. Is that irony?

Blow by blow

GM: Travis Lindquist
Players: Chris, Tracy, Omar, Alec, Steve and Sean
System: Magical Samurai [1]

This was the first actual game session of Act 2 and boy howdy was it fun times. Our mission to diffuse the growing concerns over the emperor’s whereabouts. The game started off about as expected. We had a lot of chatting about non-game stuff until we eventually eased into the game. The first few interactions were a bit stilted as we went over those awkward moments of meeting companions, both old and new. After that though, the game started rolling.

Act 2 – The Chrysanthemum Emblem

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

GM: Travis Lindquist
Players: Eric, Alec, Steve, Omar and Sean
System: L5R, 3rd Edition

We ended it. Act 1, the story of our characters as children coming into adulthood. Of the Six that started the Topaz Championship last February only two made it to the end of the first act and none with the names they took at gempuku, but that’s getting ahead of myself. Here is our triumphant conclusion.

Battle on Heroes!

GM: Travis Lindquist
Players: Eric, Erik, Alec, Omar, Steve, and Sean
System: L5R, 3rd Edition

We lost three pirates Monday night.

Sanada, the leader of the Serpents of Himself. He went down… actually kind of like a chump. He would have been all kinds of bad ass but the Kami locked him down and then blew him the hell up.

Doji Bugate, former Daimyo of Doji’s Last Breath. We had a pile of charges against him stacked up high enough to make Emma-Oh have to make room. He protested with all his might but he didn’t have a leg to stand on… so we made him crawl… in the fields… as he worked them… with the heimin… without tools.

Finally, the best pirate of them all… Yoritomo Miyazaki. Our Chui, our leader, our friend. Erik has moved out of the area and his character retired last night. The game, as when Doji Kazumichi left, was designed to focus around his character and decided his fate… The Red Fleet ambassador to the Kasuga, or a lowly sensei who watched his fame slip away.

The skinny

GM: Travis Lindquist
Players: Eric, Erik, Alec, Omar, Steve, and Sean
System: L5R, 3rd Edition

After overseeing the Topaz Championship (and hearing Tsi Zutaka’s extremely edited account of his son, the previous Topaz Champion’s life) the Sapphire Magistrates and their new Yoriki were assigned by their lord to investigate the Serpents of Senada, a band of pirates who Nadu heard were operating in a small town called Doji’s Last Breath.

We arrived in port and began our investigation immediately. The particular scenes have been very fun but what I’m really enjoying is the “advent calendar” mechanics Travis is using for this investigation.

Mechanics

We have a map of the town with 39 numbered areas. In most of these areas there are clues to be found. In some of the areas there are story hooks which apply only to a single character and can’t be accessed by other characters (if they show up, they are given a hint that another character should go there). Some of the areas are time sensitive (events only happening in morning, afternoon or night) and some areas are just scenery.

Each day we have three opportunities to work on the investigation. When we first enter an area that potentially has a clue there was some challenge (resolved by a single roll) to gain the favor of someone who could help. If we succeeded at that roll, an NPC would have a generally favorable attitude and offer some assistance in exchange for our help in some matter. The Guards need Horses and weapons, the Daimyo needs a peasant revolt put down, the Dragonfly needs an Akodo to stop harassing her, etc. Once this favor is completed (which takes at least one of our time slots, in some cases more), returning with a third time slot will yield a useful connection.

By the second day are characters quickly became embroiled in the town’s local issues, most of them at best are peripherally related to the pirates. Many of the people we visited made requests that were in direct opposition to each other. The Daimyo for instance is trouble by the heimin, who themselves say they are taxed unfairly and not provided for. The question quickly becomes how much do we just want to find the pirates and get our job done vs. helping this town out with its own domestic issues. I like the juxtaposition of our duties as Sapphire Magistrates against our sympathies for the locals. I image this is something that many law enforcement figures run into on a regular basis. There is a third element which has come up a little and that is personal gain. We definitely have the opportunity to profit either as individuals or as magistrates by taking advantage of our station. One example was a number of ronin who offered to work for us at the drop of a hat. We suddenly have 4 more workers, who were previously under the Daimyo’s employ. Having these varying motivations has made for some interesting scenes.

In particular here are some of the highlights:

Tso-Lou’s first step off the boat landed him in the gardens where his brother Kan and a Crane Yasuki were having a private discussion. Dumb luck that he happened on the right place at the right time. Getting the drop on them (the scenes roll was a Perception + Investigation: Notice), Tso-Lou snuck up on them and descended down from a hedge with a bare fisted strike that shattered the lady’s spine, killing her instantly. With some help from Isawa Yoshi’s aid of the earth Kami he was then swiftly able to capture his brother (by means of unconsciousness).

Later Isawa Yoshi met Eriko in the Shrine to Lady Doji and fornicated all over it, corrupting the shrine such that the statue of Lady Doji crumbled and decayed over night.

Miyazaki has an almost comical experience with some ronin warehouse workers (mentioned above) who went into our employ at the drop of a hat.

We have some good time at sake, geisha and tea houses. Most of these “good times” involved swords being drawn and in some cases heads being removed.

A number of duels were fought… a total of three. In that we got to find out some interesting rules about dueling in the town. The Daimyo’s personal interests have shaped nearly every aspect of the town itself.

I liked the Yoriki magistrate. She’s an infesting character who is more concerned with the truth (and most likely a personal grudge) than her standing.

What rocked

As mentioned before the core investigation mechanic is fun to engage it. We don’t know what we’ll find in each area.

I had a great time in a fight with three of the pirates, though I realize now I probably should have just removed the legs from the leader instead of the head.

The Nezumi we met was a hoot. He didn’t have nearly the skills in speaking Rokugani that Number 2 did so we did a lot of work translating what he said. He looks like he’ll be fun.

I’ve enjoyed playing the Yoriki. I specifically made my character to be relatively level headed (at least for a Matsu). I wanted to play against type to show a character who has the potential to be more than just a warrior, but also someone who could use her talents to serve the Sapphire Magistrates and in doing so gain their favor.

What could have been improved

My scene with the Unicorn didn’t have quite the tension I was looking for. My character really hates the Unicorn (she’s been fighting at the City of the Rich Frog since the war) but I was trying to put her in a position where she had to interact peacefully with them. I succeeded but I think overall the scene didn’t mean anything to the other players. Over time as they become more familiar with Rei, I’m sure that will change. The case of Tso-Lou and his brother for instance is a good example of the players knowing how much Kan means to the player and really rooting for him when he took him down.

I’d like to see more small group (2-4) scenes. The current system rewards us the most for splitting up but I think the dynamics between the Sapphire Magistrates is golden. I’m not sure what the best fix for this is but my plan will be to accompany the Magistrates when I can.

GM: Travis Lindquist
Players: Sean, Eric, Erik, Alec, Steve, and Omar
System: L5R, 3rd Edition

Death

Last night was a great game. We started with a recap of the previous game. So much has been happening each week (especially last week when we finished Winter Court) that we couldn’t recall all of it, but the one thing that stuck in all our heads was the disgrace our lord did us by using our false testimony and stolen wares to gain a personal victory over another clan.

That was an important point because Travis gave us all and option of how our characters could protest this dishonor. Commit seppuku and denounce your lord in your death poem. Cool! It made me think of the death curses from the Dresden Files. I sat for about ten minutes thinking is this something worth dying for? I had been an active participant in the deception which betrayed my clan of birth. More importantly my honor got used as a tool for his own dishonorable act. It would be one thing if we were serving the Emperor, Rokugan or even the Sapphire Magistrates but this was pure selfish advancement. Finally I decided that I’d rather stand for what my character believes then have him live on in shame. Seppuku it would be.

The scenes leading up to and including the ritual were cool, if a bit focus on a single player. Yoritomo Miyazaki, our Chui, the next champion to be, tried to dissuade Hojatsu (Al-Saleen’s name after marriage) and for that effort earned the thanks of being my second. Yay. I also had audience with my Father-in-Law, who beamed with pride and Nadu who was relatively unconcerned with the affair. He was worried that Hojatsu knew about his peasant family, find out that he was only objecting actions with the Kitsuke did not faze him much. He was losing a magistrate but truth be told Hojatsu/Al-Saleen was never a particularly good one. I didn’t have a poem prepared for the Seppuku but a rolled a high enough storyteller roll to make a passable one. The Seppuku itself was a challenge I wasn’t prepared for (mechanically speaking). Stamina + Etiquette, TN 40. I makes a lot of sense, you’ve got to disembowel yourself. No easy act. I got a LOT of help on this one. First I spent all my remaining XP to raise my Etiquette from 1 to 3 and took and Etiquette Emphasis in Seppuku. As I walked in Isawa Yoshi gave me a blessing of the Kami, raising my Stamina, finally I invoked “no thought” and used a void. With all that it was still going to be a very hard roll. And somehow my dice were just kind enough to get me over the TN. I died with a 42. Here was Tsi Hojatsu’s death poem:

I’ve known Shourido
Now I cleanse her from my soul
My lord walks with her.

After his death, which had the desired effect of making Nadu lose some face in eyes of honorable samurai and a nice side effect for him of making him gain credibility in the underworld, winter court ended and each samurai went their separate ways.

After Winter Court

Ikoma Tso-Lou returned to his father’s shiro and was welcomed by the family. His father teased him about being a pawn of the Crane (as he was now Daimyo of the Shiro Sapphire’s Honor) and told him of his brother’s further disgrace. He had abandoned his post amongst the death seekers. Undoubtedly to plot his revenge against Tso-Lou. He also saw Ikoma Li who still had it in her head to be a Matsu Bushi. Upon hearing that Hojatsu killed himself she struck even more, bullying those around her, and got a friendly (if somewhat punitive) visit from my now ancestor spirit.

Sodano Shiko went home to pray at sensei’s grave. When there, from the shadows he saw Kokujin who first berated him for leaving him to die and then introduced Chuda Sagoten. Greatly distressed Sodano told the Pheonix of this. While they insisted that he was seeing things and should drink a special tea so as to stop seeing images of Kokujin, they responded to the threat of Chuda Sagoten in earnest, starting with changing all of their defenses.

Sezume Shimizu (now a Sparrow) spent some time with his wife in a cottage just a step above a peasants before receiving an invite with his sister to stay at their shiro, where they have little luxuries, like say… floors. Benten visited his wife and told her they would have twins. He also visited the shrine to Hojatsu and Kakita.

Yortimo Miyazaki held the Sapphire Magistrates tournament (by himself) and recruited a handful of new Sapphire Magistrates. He also spent time setting things straight (as well as horizontal) with Mirimoto Akimoto, who Tsi Hojatsu handed over to his custody after his death.

Isawa Yoshi went to the dragon lands to face his challenge, a meditation contest under the melt from a glacier. Both contestants endured such pain as not thought possible by others. Togashi was protected by his stomach of fire, while Yoshi was warded by the kami. Even so the freezing water eventually broke down their defenses and Yoshi lost his concentration. In a fit of anger he call out the Fires of Osano Wo and melted a large of the glacier, losing both honor and glory.

After the Magistrates returned to their duty they attended the Topaz Championship. Seeing it this time as one of the staff rather than a participant. During the championship a stranger appeared and told one of Tso-Lou’s companions “It is time to wake” suddenly the “sleeper agent” woke and attacked Tso-Lou, along with the stranger’s allies. The fight was brutal, enough so that we played it twice to see how a tweak in the power of our opponents would work. My nebulous shade of a Matsu character was introduced, full of range about her aunt so-and-so and her grandfather Matsu run-away-chicken.

What rocked

If I didn’t say it clearly enough before, the Death scene and residual agency was awesome.

I loved some of the down time scenes, specifically Isawa’s meditation contest and Shiko’s encounter with Sagoten. Great stuff all around.

What could have been improved

I wasn’t prepared to die. I was happy that I did it but I didn’t have another character in mind. What this meant is I spent most of the night figuring out what kind of character I would play, settling on a Matsu Berserker but still looking fondly at the Akodo Bushi and Akodo Warmaster.

The skirmish was rocky. The first time around the NPCs predominantly had the initiative. The second time we rolled it, we were more staggered but the players got pretty lucky about attacking the folks who hadn’t already acted and therefore got a higher effective initiative. The sad result seemed to be that whoever wins initiative murders the other side. We threw out some ideas on how to make the battle a little more tactically interesting with more options that just kill the other guys as fast as you can but nothing stuck as the definitive fix. I’m sure we’ll keep looking at this. Some ideas I have:

Contests that work really well are duels based on rolls with escalating TNs. I think this helps eliminate the riff-raff and leaves only the serious contenders. Not sure if this could be applied at all to combat.

I’d like see the special maneuvers being at least as interesting (if not as effective) as taking raises for damage. The current character I made is a big hammer to smash things down on the anvil of the Lion’s honor. She’s not a great candidate for trying out feints or knockdowns, but if I do end up playing an Akodo Warmaster, they are specifically good at exactly that kind of stuff.

GM: Travis Lindquist
Players: Omar, Sean, Alec, Erik, Eric, and Steve
System: L5R, 3rd Edition

Nadu’s Summons – Week 3 – The Week Passing

GM: Travis Lindquist
Players: Steve, Omar, Sean, Alec, Erik, and Eric
System: L5R, 3rd Edition

This game was dense. We got through lots of scenes. Many of which I could spend a long time elaborating on. I find I’d rather give rich detail to the games that only have a few significant scenes rather that the ones with lots of short ones. So like the scenes themselves, this write up will be brief.

Our time at Winter Court (end of Week 1 through Week 2)

GM: Travis Lindquist
Player: Eric, Steve, Omar, Sean, and Alec
System: L5R, 3rd Edition

Mechanical Changes