4th edition homebrew schools:

Path: Ujina Knife-fighter

The ronin who created the Ujina family was an enigmatic man named Tokimasa, a highly
skilled warrior whose past before meeting Usagi Ozuki was never revealed to anyone
within the hare Clan. All that could be known for certain was that he possessed an
uncanny talent for stealth, and his ability to wield a knife was unique. While Tokimasa
did not excel as a sensei, he did manage to pass on his style of knife-fighting, which is
now followed by some within the family he founded.

Technique Rank: 4
Replaces: Usagi Bushi 4
Requires: Knives 4
Technique: Master of the Quick Blade – No family in the Empire is as skilled with a
simple knife as the Ujina, and they are rightly acknowledged as its masters. You require
one less raise when making any manoeuvre using a weapon governed by the Knives skill
(to a minimum of one raise). You gain a +1k0 bonus to all damage rolls made with
weapons governed by the Knives skill.

Toturi Bushi School (By Akodo Hayato)

Benefit: +1 Perception

Honor: 5.5

Skills: Battle (Skirmish), Defense, Kenjutsu, War Fans, Polearms (I think that is the skill for a naginata), Lore Bushido, and any one
High or Bugei skill

Outfit: Daisho, Nagi-nata, any 1 weapon, Light or Heavy armor, steed, traveling pack: 10 Koku

Techniques
Rank 1: Moon on the Water

Before any conflict, the Toturi bushi sizes up his opponent, looking for weaknesses in his technique, his character, his armor as if
studying the reflection of the moon on the water. In the first round of any skirmish, after initiative is rolled but before any actions are
resolved, you may choose one opponent within 30', if you do you may add half your kenjutsu skill to your armor TN and you gain a
free raise to maneuvers made against him.

Rank 2: The Fan of Command

You add your War Fans skill to the total of all Battle rolls. Additionally, you may make a Battle (Skirmish) roll against TN 15
as a simple action to add half your Battle skill to the initiative of an ally up to 10’ x your school rank. You may raise at this roll
to double the value added to your ally’s initiative, or you may raise twice to give the initiative bonus to one additional ally.

Rank 3: Sword of Water

A Toturi bushi attacks with power and precision by thoroughly sizing up the opponent. Attacks made with weapons that have the
Samurai Keyword can now be made as simple actions.

Rank 4: The Fan of Protection

A war fan can be used for many things such as signaling subordinates, rallying troops, and fending off attacks in close quarters. The
war fan is an indispensable weapon in a generals army, and can give you an advantage, once per round you may spend 1 Void to
make a Defense/Reflex roll when attacked by an opponent, if you are successful (ie. you beat his/her attack roll) you knock
their blade away and you take no damage (will not work with anyone using a weapon with the heavy keyword or is classified as
a large weapon).

Rank 5: The Supreme Warrior

Toturi Was one of the greatest warrior's and leaders of all time, and he imparts his wisdom down through the generations. If you attack
twice in the same turn while wielding a war-fan in your off hand, you may make one additional attack with your off hand as a Free
Action. Before an attack roll, you may spend a VP to make your 8, 9 and 10s explode on the attack.

Magpie Clan

Kaneyama - +1 Willpower

Kaneyama Bushi [Magpie Clan]

While the Magpie clan has a longer history than other of the more recent Minor
clans, like their neighbours the Cougar, they took much longer to develop a school of
their own, one of the reasons being their that their close and mostly agreeable – or at least
tolerated – relation to the Lion and Scorpion means that many among the Kaneyama
studied in those clans’ schools. They now, however, boast their own Bushi school,
developed from a strange mix of the techniques their Bayushi, Akodo and Matsu-trained
samurai exhibited and some added elements of their own.

Benefit: + Agility
Skills:.Courtier (Manipulation), Etiquette, Defense, Kenjutsu, Battle, Any Craft or Bugei
Skill, Any High or Bugei Skill.
Honor: 4,5
Outfit: Katana, wakizashi, bow and 20 arrows (any type), any 1 weapon, light armor,
kimono and sandals, traveling pack; 5 koku.

Techniques

Rank 1: The Seduction of Gold

Whenever attacking an opponent with an armour bonus to his Armour TN, the opponent’s
Armour bonus to TN is reduced by twice the Kaneyama Bushi’s School Rank against the
Kaneyama Bushi’s attacks. Whenever a Kaneyama samurai uses the feint maneuver, he
gains a bonus to his attack roll equal to his School Rank.

Rank 2: Flying overhead

The Kaneyama Bushi learns to make use of quick footwork to enhance his defensive
capabilities, going around his enemies’ attacks at unexpected moments. Whenever
spending a Void Point to increase his Armour TN for the round, the Kaneyama Bushi’s
Armour TN is increased by 15 instead of the normal 10.

Rank 3: The teasing bird

The Kaneyama Bushi’s feints instead of simply focusing on openings for his own attacks
also make use of deceptive movements, feet shifting and even provoking stances and
words to not only take their enemies off-guard, but also interfere with their focus on the
battle. When the character uses the feint maneuver successfully, he can choose to
exchange part of the bonus to damage for penalties to the opponent’s rolls. For each point
reduced from the damage bonus, the Kaneyama Bushi may give the opponent a -1 penalty
on all skill and spellcasting rolls he makes until the Reactions Phase of the next round.
Additionally, the Kaneyama Bushi may reduce 5 points from the damage bonus to
increase the duration of penalties given through the use of this technique by an additional
round.

Rank 4: Swirling Avalanche

The power of the Akodo and Matsu-trained forefathers of the Kaneyama Bushi School
comes to bear as the Magpie samurai learns to strengthen his body and spirit against those
who would endanger the small clan’s lands, and he now attacks and weaves through battle
quickly and relentlessly. The character may now make attacks with a Katana or when
using the Feint maneuver as simple actions.

Rank 5: Swindling eagles

The Kaneyama Bushi’s final lesson is that to best those stronger than himself, he needs to
avoid standing directly in their way. He masters the Magpie’s style of feinting and
taunting, allowing him to avoid being attacked altogether by those who can’t get over his
teasing. When the character uses the Feint maneuver successfully, he can choose to
exchange part of the bonus to damage for the chance to negate his opponent’s actions.
The Kaneyama Bushi may reduce 5 points from the bonus to damage to try to make his
opponent lose one simple action on his next turn, or she may reduce 10 points from the
bonus to try to make his opponent lose one complex action (or two simple actions) on his
next turn. After deciding on the desired effect but before rolling for the attack’s damage,
the Kaneyama Bushi must spend 1 Void Point and make a contested Willpower Roll
against the opponent; if the Kaneyama Bushi succeeds, the opponent loses the appropriate
actions on his next turn; if the opponent succeeds, nothing happens. The Kaneyama Bushi
may choose to reduce an additional amount from the bonus to damage from the Feint
Maneuver to add the same value as a bonus to his Willpower roll for the use of this
technique. Additionally, he may further reduce the bonus to damage gained to use effects
from the Rank 3 Technique, The Teasing Bird.
This technique may be used a number of times per skirmish equal to your School Rank,
but cannot be used against the same opponent on consecutive turns.

The Cougar Clan

Although the actual creation of the Cougar Clan is recent, rumours and legends of
the people who now make up the fledging clan have existed for long, and some go as far
back as the times of the Dawn of the Empire. The earliest of these stories tell of the times
of the Lion Clan’s war with the Kitsu and other ancient infighting. According to some,
not all of those within the newborn Clan followed Akodo to the end as he pressed on his
fight against these creatures, and thus some left and roamed about as Ronin, wandering
about the Lion Clan’s plains for some time until they had to leave for less conspicuous
and important locations. The stories say these loners scattered throughout different parts
of the Empire, sometimes taking a number of peasants with them. A number of them may
have found shelter under other clans, while others probably ended up dead. Some stories,
however, say that a number of these leaving the battlefields would have moved to the
mountainside and climbed the Seikitsu mountains, looking for isolation as they tried to
survive in the harsh environment of the mountain range.
As the Empire’s history progressed and further conflicts arose, similar stories
appeared of samurai posed with a conflict between duty and that they saw as honourable
or right, a number of which relate to lower-ranking officers casting a shadow on their
family’s name by leaving in face of peasant abuse by higher-ranking officials, especially
during wartime. Many of these stories are still told among Peasants in Lion, Scorpion and
Unicorn lands in hushed voices, which tell of some samurai which would leave to seek a
different path, sometimes taking with them some of the peasants to avoid further abuse,
even though risking their and their family’s honour. Some periods in the Empire’s history
are especially rich in these stories: other than the war with the Kitsu, the return of the
Unicorn, inside incidents in Lion lands such as the one with the Shimizu family and the
corruption that followed the Tsuno invasions and even the disbanding of the Akodo
family are supposed to have been episodes which led to some wayward samurai and
desperate peasants leaving their former world and retiring to the hard environment of the
Seikitsu, although most of the legends and stories which mentioned such ronin and
peasants do not point to the ultimate fate of those who chose a life in the unforgiving
mountains – so most usually assumed these people either retired to the Seven Thunders
Monastery to follow a life as monks or ultimately met their demise in the harsh
environment, as deserved for their behaviour, which would in most cases be considered
cowardly or at least misguided by most Rokugani standards.
It is likely that most of those retiring to the mountains did not resist the trials of
life in that environment and either had to give up and simply assume a life as a ronin
elsewhere or perished. But that was not the fate of all of those who went to the mountains
for seclusion from the outside world. Some did indeed join the Brotherhood as members
of the Order of the Seven Thunders, which has its main temple within the mountains.
Others, however, seem to have learned from the monks, from each other and from the
environment itself, and developed ways to endure and survive in the Seikitsu, creating
tiny communities here and there among the snowy, rocky cliffs. These few groups,
including both ronin and peasants, lived off what little food they could gather in the
mountains or grow or trade in sparse plots of land right on the mountainside. Both ronin
and peasants went through very similar probations, and through the training to withstand
the challenging conditions these groups started developing techniques which were
somehow similar to those of the monks who shared the mountain with them and at the
same time very different, since they focused mainly on understanding oneself as part of
one’s surroundings and thus on heightening one’s link to one’s environment and to one’s
own instinctive natural abilities. The groups, and specifically those within the groups who
devoted themselves to this training, became known by the few who knew about their
existence as “Senshin” – Spirits of the mountain.
The history of the actual creation of the Cougar Clan, however, dates to the recent
waves of Peasant uprisings incited by the mad monk Kokujin. These had a great effect on
the Lion Clan, partly due to the Clan’s usually poor treatment of peasants, and also helped
by the ongoing hostilities between Lion and Unicorn at the time. The growing violence
and harshness against peasants by Lion officials was no surprise given the Clan’s ways,
the strain for resources to power their fight against the Unicorn and the increasing Peasant
activity. The excesses of one particular platoon leader, however, did bother one lower-
station officer called Ikoma Taisan.
Similarly to what, according to legends, happened also in other times, Taisan
eventually had too much of the platoon leader’s excesses and rebels against his abuses of
peasants, leaving his unit as a ronin. Perhaps due to the platoon leader’s behaviour,
perhaps due to the current situation, with a number of rebellions bursting all around, he is
not the only one to leave, however, and at least a half dozen companions leave with him,
as well as a number of the peasants in the unit – to the platoon leader’s fury. They
managed to escape, however, and travelled to the feet of the Seikitsu. As they try to settle
down with what they have, they meet with a group of Senshin, and decide to stick
together with those in the group to learn and for mutual protection during the troubled
times. Not long after, however, news reach the group, brought from peasant contacts of
the Senshin group, of Peasant rebellions bursting out in various locations in the
surroundings. The rumours also say that someone might be inciting the peasants to
rebellion, and with that knowledge Taisan decides to gather those around him and the
Senshin who wished to help and start travelling around in search for the rumoured inciter.
For a long time, they go from area to area, village to village, coming across many groups
of angry, distressed peasants and working hard to calm down or appease them, but finding
no single clue leading to one who might be inciting the rebellions.
Some of the rebelled peasants they meet end up asking to join the group of
travellers, and some indeed did so, although most simply calmed down and went back to
work after the incidents. The group’s example is important, however, in setting a tone
which many in the Lion, Unicorn and Scorpion lands used to avoid or control the
rebellions.
Finally, after months of searching, Taisan and the travellers with him encounter
yet another group of revolted peasants in a village in the Southern Lion lands, and there
they meet a tattooed man whom the peasants call Kokujin Akurai. After some time, the
man admits to having incited rebellions in the area, and sets out to fight Taisan and his
followers. After a tough fight, however, the inciter is defeated, which together with the
examples set fort by the group in various localities, help to greatly reduce the number of
ongoing peasant rebellions throughout Lion lands and in other areas close to the Seikitsu.
For these actions, Taisan is recognised by Empress Kaede, and – as one of her few
actions during her short reign – she concedes hi, the right to create a Minor clan, whose
lands are none other than parts of the Seikitsu Mountains themselves, in the
southwesternmost part of the Lion Lands.
Taisan gathers the Senshin and makes them part of the newborn Cougar clan,
named in honour both of his former clan and of the Clan’s Mountain Homeland. The
inclusion of the Senshin in the clan sets it as unprecedented in its Samurai-Heimin
relationship, close to the situation in Sparrow lands, but with the added element that a
high number of both Samurai and Heimin train as Senshin, closer to monks in their
outlook and abilities than Bushi or proper peasants. More “usual” peasants do exist in the
clan, of course, as do some Bushi and Shugenja trained in schools of other clans, and
among the Senshin those of the Samurai caste carry wakizashi or daisho and are schooled
in their use, at times even practicing the art of the duel, in an effort to integrate the
traditions of the Senshin with usual Rokugani custom to integrate the fledging clan with
the greatest backdrop of the Empire.

Taisan family (Cougar family): +1 Willpower

The Taisan family actually includes all those originally from the Samurai caste in the
recently created Cougar Clan, and as such does not comprise a single bloodine, but rather
a mix of very different individuals. If legends are true, the first ronin which would
originate the Senshin left the Lion, Scorpion and to a lesser degree other clans for the
Seikitsu not long after the time of the Dawn of the Empire, and the family thus includes
characteristics common to all the surrounding families, as well as some oddities probably
coming from more distant bloodlines.

Taisan Spirit of the Mountain (Monk)

The Senshin, or “Spirits of the Mountain”, descend from the first individuals who chose
to face the dangers and harshness of the mountains in the Spine of the World to retire
from a world where they felt they no longer belonged. The recent events that led to the
creation of the Cougar Clan meant both some exposed to the world of those following
these long secluded traditions and a necessary re-inclusion of the Senshin in the world
their ancestors left behind. The group’s traditions mean that the training as a Spirit of the
Mountain can be received both by Samurai and Peasants, which leads to great confusion
and suspicion by outsiders, for whom the distinction between Samurai and Peasant in
Cougar lands is often difficult, and sometimes all but non-existent. To have it any other
way, however, would go against the spirit which ultimately led to the Clan’s creation and
to the Cougar would mean disrespecting the Clan’s own traditions.

A Spirit of the Mountain learns to get in touch with his own innate ferocity, adapting to
become strong and agile as one of the mountain’s predators or resistant as the mountains
themselves. All those who train as Senshin learn some basic techniques, but most of the
school’s teaching is different, drawing on the student’s own instincts and improving them.
The Soul of the Mountain chooses to learn some Lessons among a pool of possibilities,
somewhat like the Tattoos of the Dragon Tattooed monks.

There are five Lines of Lessons, each of which includes 4 lessons of increasing Level. A
Soul of the Mountain may never learn a Lesson of Level higher than his current School
Rank.

Benefit: +1 Stamina
Honour: 3.0
Skills: Meditation (Fasting), Athletics, Jiujutsu, Hunting, Any Craft Skill, Any 2 Skills.
Outfit: Wakizashi (unless not samurai), any one weapon, kimono and sandals, travelling
pack, 1 koku.

Techniques:
Rank 1: Wild Instincts
The first step in the training of a Taisan monk is to attune him to his own instincts to
harmonise them with the environment around himself. You learn 3 Lessons, whose Level
may not be higher than your School Rank.

Rank 2: The way of the Cougar

A Spirit of the Mountain must not only learn to attune his soul with the surroundings, but
also his feet. As such, they learn to use their surroundings to their advantage, and negate
other’s advantages in turn. You learn 1 Lesson, whose Level may not be higher than your
School Rank. Additionally, opponents do not gain attack bonuses against you for fighting
in higher ground or while mounted.

Rank 3: Soul of Rock and Water

The Taisan monks’ link to the mountains of their homeland grows deeper and deeper as
their training progresses. You learn 3 Lessons, whose Level may not be higher than your
School Rank.

Rank 4: Jumping Mountain

An experienced Taisan monk is not only as powerful as the mountain, but also as fierce as
the most powerful predators living within it. You may now make attacks unarmed or with
improvised weapons as a simple action.

Rank 5: Triumphant Ferocity

As their training progresses, the Spirits of the Mountain become one with their
environment, and all the more powerful for it. You learn 3 Lessons, whose Level may not
be higher than your School Rank.

Soul of the Mountain Lessons:

Line: The Cougar’s Claws

Level 1) Striking
The monk’s hands strike like the paws of a Cougar. You gain +1k0 in all attack rolls
while fighting unarmed.

Level 2) Tearing
The monk’s hands become more dangerous as his training progresses. You gain +1k0 in
all damage rolls while fighting unarmed.

Level 3) Ripping
The monk’s hands are now almost as dangerous as claws. You gain an extra +0k1 in all
damage rolls while fighting unarmed (for a total of +1k1).

Level 4) Thrashing
This Senshin’s hands are now truly as powerful as a Cougar’s claws. When fighting
unarmed, any result of “1” in attack or damage rolls explodes. If you have an Emphasis
appropriate for an attack, you may re-roll results of “2”.

Line: The Swift Cougar

Level 1) Outburst
This monk’s training allows him to react in a burst of sudden movement. You may add
+1k0 to Initiative rolls and tests involving sheer reaction speed.

Level 2) Speed
The monk gains some of the speed of the Cougar. Your Water Ring is now considered 1
higher for purposes of how far you can move with Move Actions.

Level 3) Motion
This monk moves not only fast, but also fluidly. You may add your Water Ring to your
Armour TN.

Level 4) Celerity
A monk who learned this lesson is as fast and deadly as a wild cougar. You gain one Free
Raise towards the Extra Attack manoeuvre whenever fighting unarmed. Additionally, you
may declare use of the Extra Attack manoeuvre regardless of your Void Ring.

Line: The Hunting Cougar

Level 1) Hunt
A monk learning the ways of hunting must first learn the basic movements and instincts
needed for the hunt. You roll +1k0 in all movement-related Athletics rolls, in Hunting
(Tracking) rolls and in Stealth (Sneaking) rolls made in wilderness environments.
Level 2) Stalk
The Spirit of the Mountain learns at this point a predator’s ability to stalk his prey to
prepare for the kill. When assuming the Centre stance, you may declare a target. If you do
so and on the following turn move towards the designated target, your Water Ring is
considered 2 higher to determine how far you can move with Move actions.

Level 3) Pounce
The monk now learns a cougar’s powerful pounce. An attack is considered a Pounce if
done a) against a character declared as a target while assuming the Centre stance in the
previous round; b) against a target unaware of the monk’s presence. When pouncing a
target, you may roll +1k0 for attack rolls and damage rolls.

Level 4) Kill
The Spirit of the Mountain is now as powerful and deadly a hunter as a cougar. When
pouncing, once per die per roll, 9s explode as well as 10s on attack and damage rolls.
Additionally, when pouncing, you may spend a Void Point to add +1k1 to the result of the
damage roll.

Line: The Hardness of the Seikitsu

Level 1: Solidness
A monk following the path of hardness endures harsh physical training. You gain
additional Wounds at each Wound Rank equal to your School Rank/ 2 (Round up).

Level 2: Hard-headedness
The monk of the Hard way trains his body and mind to be equally resistant. You may add
your Earth to the total of all rolls using Willpower or Stamina. You may also add your
Earth to the total of any Honour rolls.

Level 3: Perseverance
A monk of the Hardness Path learns not to give up even under the direst situations. A
number of times per day equal to your School Rank, you may spend a Void Point during
the Reactions Phase of a round to reduce your Wound Penalties by a number equal to
your Earth Ring. This effect lasts for a number of turns equal to your Earth Ring.

Level 4: The mountain within

The Seikitsu, where the monk has trained to hard mind and body, now also reside inside
his own being. When spending a Void Point to negate wounds, you may make an Earth
Ring Roll. You negate an additional number of Wounds equal to ½ the result of the roll.

Line: The Spirit of the Seikitsu

Level 1: The Ground

The monk who follows the path of the mountain’s spirit first learns to attune himself to
the soil that is the foundation of all the mountain’s greatness. You learn 1 Earth Kiho of
Mastery Level up to your Earth Ring + School Rank. This Kiho does not count against the
maximum number of Kiho you may learn.

Level 2: The Fountain

Students of the Mountain’s spirit see not only the mountain itself, but also all of its
milieu, and attune themselves to all of its complexity. You learn 1 Water Kiho of Mastery
Level up to your Water Ring + School Rank. This Kiho does not count against the
maximum number of Kiho you may learn.

Level 3: The Valley

The monk goes deeper in his understanding of the Mountain’s complexity. You learn 1
Earth or Water Kiho of Mastery Level up to your relevant Ring + School Rank. This Kiho
does not count against the maximum number of Kiho you may learn.

Level 4: The Summit

This Senshin’s mind is now completely linked to the spirit of the Seikitsu, from its very
base to its summit. You learn 1 Kiho of any Element of Mastery Level up to your relevant
Ring + School Rank. This Kiho does not count against the maximum number of Kiho you
may learn. Additionally, you gain 1 extra Void Point beyond your normal maximum.

The Firefly Clan

In 1136, a young imperial magistrate called Shinjo Jainu was assigned to post guarding
the seacoast in a decrepit tower between Otosan Uchi and the Phoenix lands. Jainu kept
the post for many years, and in time he grew worried about the large portion of coast
which couldn’t be regularly patrolled. He then issued calls for ronin, and selected a
number of them as his yoriki, providing for them with part of his own allowance so that
they could help patrol other parts of the coast. In 1152, Jainu and his men intercepted a
small force of Yobanjin, who had arrived in a ship which became stranded after a storm.
After the Seppun arrived and defeated the gaijin, the Emperor recognized Jainu’s efforts
and conceded him the right to create his own clan, named Firefly as a reference to the
bonfires Jainu and his men kept alight along the coast. Jainu christened the family for his
new clan the Hotaru, in homage to his former fther.
With a narrow strip of coast as their lands, the recently-renamed Hotaru Jainu
knew arable land would be few and far between for the clan. For that reason, he sought
fishers who were willing to move their families to the villages which would maintain the
clan’s guard towers. With the sea easily accessible and fish waters close by, this task
proved easier than expected, and in few weeks Jainu had gathered some dozens of
families from unaligned lands which were willing to join the fledging clan.
Jainu promptly wed one of his lieutenants, despite his advanced age, so as to
establish a succession line for the new family. Most of his former yoriki, which had
served with him for years, swore fealty to the new clan, thus granting the Firefly two
dozens or so Hotaru samurai. It was a simple beginning, but one that showed promise.
Jainu and his new followers were lucky in at least one thing: they already lived in
the area granted to the new clan for many years, and had a series of small guard towers
and support facilities left him by the Emerald Champion in the past. The towers were
considerably expanded after the clan’s emergence to allow permanent occupation, and the
support facilities were expanded to shelter fishers and farmers around each tower. The
central tower was the last to be rebuilt, and underwent the greatest number of
improvements. Using every single koku they could gather, the Hotaru thus converted this
simple tower in the Firefly clan’s Keep, Hotaru Torid-e.
Hotaru Jainu, worried that some time would pass before he could gather the
necessary resources to keep the newborn clan, looked for allies among his neighbours to
the North and South. The Agasha were willing to share part of their harvest if the Firefly
would extend their patrols further north to the Agasha coastland; the Tortoise, to the
south, likewise offered aid in exchange for the knowledge about any suspicious activity in
the coast, especially near Otosan Uchi.
After a period of considerable growth of the clan, which now easily surpasses 300
samurai, Jainu received a proposal from the Tonbo, to provide them with some Bushi and
training for the Dragonfly’s own warriors, cementing an alliance between the clans which
considerably improved the Firefly’s relations with the Dragon, but which on the other
hand somewhat hindered their relations with the Lion.

Hotaru (Firefly family): +1 Perception

Hotaru Bushi

The Hotaru family was created by magistrates and yojimbo. Their former training thus
encompassed defence and investigation, themes which greatly influenced the Firefly
clan’s fighting style.

Benefit: +1 Reflexes
Honour: 5.0
Skills: Defence, Horsemanship, Hunting, Investigation, Kenjutsu, Kyujutsu, any High or
Bugei skill.
Outfit: Daisho, any 1 weapon, light armour, kimono and sandals, steed (Rokugani pony),
travelling pack, 2 koku.

Techniques:

Rank 1: The Firefly’s light

A Hotaru samurai is gifted in quickly assessing a foe, discovering their strengths and
guarding against them. At the beginning of a skirmish, before Initiative is rolled, you may
choose an opponent and make a Contested Roll using your Awareness/Investigation
versus your opponent’s relevant weapon skill and its associated trait. If successful, you
add your Air Ring plus your School Rank to your Armour TN against that opponent. At
the reactions phase of each round, you may try to apply this technique against another
opponent (or try to use it against the same opponent if you have failed to do so
previously).

Rank 2: Firefly in Flight

Every opponent’s style is different, and by carefully observing his opponents, a Firefly
samurai may easily avoid their blows. When on the Full Defence or Defence stances, he
may add half his investigation skill rank (rounded down) to his Armour TN.

Rank 3: Prepared for the Night

The Firefly Clan was founded by both magistrates and warriors, and the two traditions
have blended perfectly in their style of combat. You gain a number of Free Raises per day
equal to your School Rank. These Free Raises may be spent on any roll using one of your
School Skills, although only one of these Free Raises may be used for any single roll.
These Free Raises are consumed once they are used, and refresh each sunrise.

Rank 4: The Strength of Duty

A Firefly’s attack is made stronger with the certainty of acting as duty dictates. You may
make an attack with a weapon with the Samurai keyword as a single action.

Rank 5: The Twilight Strike

Despite a largely defensive style of combat, the Firefly teach their students to pounce on
any opening an opponent offers, exploiting it ruthlessly and ensuring that the opponent
suffers for his negligence. Once per round, you may make an attack while in the Defence
stance.

Hound Clan

Ryogo and Misato were the children of a Ronin with a Matsu Samurai-ko. Their
father was never accepted into the Matsu, and neither did he wish to; instead, he hoped
their mother would leave the Lion for a life wandering the empire with him. In spite of the
difficulties such a life would mean for her, the samurai-ko Matsu Michiko loved the
Ronin Hoji, and ended up in a dilemma not entirely unlike those affecting most who
suffer from the mixed blessing of love in the Emerald Empire. The result of the
relationship was also not unlike other love stories; Hoji was banished from Lion Lands
when other Matsu suspected what had happened, and Michiko was left behind to hide her
dishonourable deeds.
About a year after the birth of the twins, Hoji returned to Lion Lands in search of
Michiko, which on meeting the wayward Ronin left her duties and disappeared with him
for all of a week. When Michiko returned, her young children were the ones who had
disappeared… and a group of Matsu magistrates – including Michiko herself, against all
her wishes – were sent to hunt and kill Hoji. Less than a year before, the group fulfilled
its duty, and the Ronin died by the own hands of his beloved. As soon as her children
were returned to her care, however, Michiko left Lion lands again, and left the twins to
the care of a group of Ronin she had met through Hoji before returning and committing
Seppuku.
During their childhood and young age, Misato and Ryogo had little in the way of
comfort, and grew to depend on nobody’s protection or company but one another’s while
travelling throughout the Empire and getting used to the life of a Ronin. That rough life
notwithstanding, Misato flourished into a gorgeous woman, and ended up attracting the
attention of a young Crane of a somewhat important family.
It was thus that, despite Ryogo’s protests and brotherly jealousy, the beautiful
Misato ended up engaged to one Doji Kimura, the son of a Crane Politician of increasing
importance. Ryogo’s jealousy, however, soon subsumed, and was gradually substituted
by a great feeling of gratitude for her luck in finding a match and a possibility to be
reinserted in samurai society. As he had to leave his dear sister behind to return to a life as
a wanderer, he dreamed of finding himself a suitable partner and perhaps a lord and a
family to whom he could pledge himself.
Nothing could have prepared him for the news which reached him after some
months, when he visited Crane lands in an attempt to see his sister again before the
marriage.
“Ronin, we are sorry to inform you that Misato-san suffered an unfortunate
accident while riding to the village with young master Kimura-sama. We tried to save her
however we could, but unfortunately couldn’t”, said a heimin outside the walls of the
castle where Ryogo’s sister lived.
The castle’s guards helped the ronin control his anger and anguish, and allowed
him a quick audience with Kimura’s father, to whom he asked that the accident be
investigated. The old Crane promised that he would do so, and delegated some Crane
Magistrates to handle the case.
Almost two months of investigation later, however, the magistrates declared there
was nothing to indicate anything different from a normal accident. But Ryogo knew his
sister’s mastery of riding, and knew it couldn’t be the truth. He had managed to see his
sister’s body before the funeral, and behind the mist of the tears in his eyes he noticed
something odd – Misato’s lips looked strangely bluish, and a number of strange spots
were noticeable in parts of her skin. He thought, then that something was amiss, but kept
his silence. After the magistrate’s verdict, though, he set out in search of the truth.
The results of his investigation filled Ryogo with a hate and disgust he had never
before known in life. Although Misato seemed to have grown fond of Kimura, it seemed
like the marriage had been planned by the Crane’s family as a way to improve the family
branch’s standing with the Matsu through the “rediscovery of a lost child”. After
Kimura’s father discovered details of Misato’s history, he seemed to think the plan might
not be as good as originally thought, and managed to set plans to arrange for Kimura’s
engagement to an Otomo. The old Crane then planned Misato’s “accident”, and poisoned
her prior to the horse ride to the village. To top it off, during his investigations the ronin
found some correspondence which seemed to indicate the old man’s link to a conspiracy
involving some Crane and others in different clans – the ill-famed Gozoku.
Ryogo spent the next months gathering proof and people who would accept to
give testimony regarding his discoveries. When he came to present all he had gathered to
Crane magistrates, he was turned away, had part of the documents he had assembled
burned, narrowly escaped being killed on the spot, and had a prize put on his head
throughout Crane lands. Completely disheartened, he fled from the Crane provinces,
assuming the name Inu in protest – a “worthless dog” was what he felt like – and started
again in his search for evidence or something else which could change his fate and clear
the story of his sister’s death.
A long time passed before his wish came true, as with the unexpected help of Doji
Kimura himself, his sister’s former fiancé, he managed to get hold of the Crane’s father
and bring him before a court of Imperial magistrates, reporting the situation which had
occurred in the Crane provinces. Justice then finally came to the degenerate old Crane,
and Inu received the unexpected offer of becoming a magistrate himself. His recent
misgivings with the law made him turn down the offer – but the call for justice was strong
in his heart after finally bringing the story of his sister’s murder to light, and the ronin
dedicated the next years to revealing abuses, treason, corruption and lies wherever he
could. He travelled the Empire for a number of years, exposing plots involving Gozoku,
Kolat and a large number of samurai who forsook honour for their own gains. He
sometimes brought the facts he collected to justice, sometimes left them behind with the
culprits’ trail, to be discovered by magistrates receiving “anonymous” letters.
In time, other Ronin heard of Inu’s exploits and searched him to join him in his
“duty” – including, against all odds, Kimura, who refused the new engagement proposed
for him in shame for the plot his father had involved him in earlier. Kimura was initially
greatly disliked by Inu, who still could not forgive him for his sister’s demise. However,
it was with Kimura’s friend that helped gain the group gain Minor Clan status after a long
series of investigative works revealing an intricate Gozoku plot involving members of the
Great Clans and the Imperial families, and he also saved another member of the Group,
Mieko, who would come to be Inu’s wife.
After the Hound’s rise as a Minor Clan and acquisition of the right to bear a
family name, Inu decided to adopt back his original name, declaring his time as a “stray
dog” was over. The emperor Toturi III thus named the family Koinu, and the newly
renamed Koinu Ryogo became their first Daimyo. The clan is still dedicated to
investigative and magistratorial activities, and the members of the clan generally assume
one of three roles: acting in isolated groups or even alone as investigators, selling their
work as investigators to other families and groups or assuming a role as a clan or imperial
magistrate – a position for which many in the family have been appointed, despite its
minor clan status.

Koinu (Hound family): +1 Perception

Koinu Investigator (Bushi)

Koinu investigators are acclaimed as among the best in the Empire, maybe only less
accomplished than the Kitsuki and the best of the Doji, Soshi and other Great Clan
magistrates. The small Hound clan often serves as “detectives”, acting either as agents of
the Empire’s law as imperial or minor clan magistrates or sometimes even as independent
investigators for those in need who contact them. The clan will accept calls from anyone,
including lower castes, if they have the resources to make the investigation – but they will
never agree to hide the results of an investigation, no matter what they are.
The school specialises in investigation, but also includes training to find and detain those
who are identified as culprits or as involved in the crimes, plots and scandals they
investigate. In order to bring their marks to justice alive, the school also includes
techniques allowing them greater control of the damage they deal with their attacks.
Benefit: +1 Intelligence
Honour: 6.0
Skills: Etiquette (Bureaucracy), Investigation (Search), Defense, Lore: Law, Kenjutsu,
Hunting (Tracking), Any skill
Outfit: Katana, wakizashi, Any one weapon, Ashigaru or Light Armour, journal, kimono
and sandals, travelling pack; 3 koku.

Techniques:

Rank 1: The way of the hound

A hound’s training is devoted to investigating diverse types of crimes and suspicious

occurrences, finding out these involved and, if necessary, bringing them to justice – alive,
if necessary. You roll +1k0 on all Investigation and Hunting (Tracking) rolls. When
declaring one attack, you may decide to add +2k0 to your damage roll if the attack
succeeds. If you do so, you may not keep the highest die rolled; if using a slashing or
piercing weapon, you need to declare one raise to use this ability.

Rank 2: Catching the Tracks

The Hound learns to read the signs on a person’s face when they lie, and to greatly reduce
the confidence of those who lie to him simply through an intent gaze. The TN of all
Sincerity (Deceit) rolls made against you is increased by 5. Additionally, you gain +1k0
on all contested social rolls against a character who you know to have lied to you. This
bonus lasts for a number of days equal to your SR.

Rank 3: Bloodhound Scent

The Koinu Investigator acquires a near-supernatural intuition which helps him locate
those he is after. You may declare any one character who you know to have committed a
crime as your “mark”. A number of times per day equal to your School Rank, you may
make a raw Perception roll against TN 15 to instinctively know the approximate direction
and distance you are from your “mark”, no matter where in the Empire he is.
Alternatively, you may spend one use of this ability to gain a Free Raise in an
Investigation roll (you may only spend 1 use of this ability in any single roll).

Rank 4: Growling Hound

The Hound’s training makes him a serious menace to those he hunts. You may make
attacks against your declared Mark or against opponents with a lower Honour than you as
a Simple Action.

Rank 5: No Escape

A seasoned Hound Investigator has perfected his techniques to such degree that he knows
exactly the best way to end a hunt when the time comes. You may declare one raise on an
attack. If you do so and the attack succeeds, you may add a number of additional rolled
dice to your damage lower than or equal to your School Rank +1k0; if you do so, you
may not keep the X highest dice rolled, where X is equal to half the number of bonus
damage dice you rolled due to this technique (rounded up). If attacking your declared
Mark or using any ability that limits the damage dice you can keep for an attack, 9s also
explode on your attack roll once per die per roll.

Stone Wolves (Bushi) – Ronin Path

The Stone wolves are a group of ronin who walk in small groups around the mountainous
regions in the Unicorn part of the Seikitsu. The group places great value on brute strength
and physical resistance, and are easily recognizable by their typical fighting style, which
uses heavy weapons on both hands, as a form of showing off their great strength. Their
technique is taught to any who prove their worth to the group in the Test of the Stone
Wolf. In the test, the candidate must leave all her belongings with the group and travel to
a wild mountainous region (typically in the Seikitsu) taking only their clothes, a pair of
heavy weapons and rations for seven days. If the candidate returns after seven days,
bringing the pelts and/or heads of animals and creatures in sufficient number to prove his
courage and worth, he proceeds to the second part of the test, in which he must fight two
members of the band simultaneously. The combat continues until the candidate gives up,
is defeated or defeats both members of the group. She must not necessarily beat both
members to be accepted – the fight is actually a way for the group members to weigh the
abilities and capacity of the candidate – although this is never known to the aspirant prior
to the combat.
The Stone Wolves only teach their technique to Ronin, turning away all Clan-affiliated
samurai who might want to undergo the test.

Technique Rank: 2
Requirements: Strength 3, Heavy Weapons 3
Technique: Stone fangs – You may wield two-handed Heavy Weapons as one-handed
weapons, although your Strength is considered one less when rolling for damage with the
weapon. You suffer no off-hand or dual-wielding penalties when wielding a Heavy
Weapon on each hand. When wielding a Heavy Weapon on each hand, you may add your
Insight Rank to the total of all damage rolls.

Pack of Thunder (Bushi) – Ronin Path

The Pack of Thunder is the group of the most powerful of the Stone Wolves, and it is
from this select group that the group’s leaders are chosen. The few in the Pack dominate
the group’s technique of dual-wielding large, powerful weapons, and their technique is
passed down only to those who prove themselves worthy through strength and ferocity. A
candidate to learning this technique must fight a member of the Pack of Thunder to prove
his worth. As with the test for entering the Stone Wolves, the aspirant does not
necessarily have to best his opponent, but he must fight bravely and prove his power,
mettle and persistence.

Technique Rank: 5
Requirements: Strength 4, Heavy Weapons 4+, Stamina 3, the Stone Wolves path
Technique: Thundering Strength – This is the most advanced technique developed by the
Stone Wolves, and is taught only to those who prove themselves particularly strong and
skillful. If wielding one Heavy Weapon in each hand, you may use the Extra Attack
maneuver declaring only 3 Raises. If you do so and succeed, the second attack must use
the weapon in your off-hand (or in your main hand if your first attack used your off-
hand). Alternatively, you may choose to make only one attack with both weapons as a
complex action. If you do so, your attack will have a DR equal to one of the weapons
you’re wielding (your choice) plus 2k2, and you may add your Strength to the total of the
damage done by the attack.

“New” family of unspoiled Chuda -> Seija. Future clan: Coral clan.

Fuzake Shugenja

Fuzake Shugenja keep to the main focus of their creator, Fuzake Garou’s, magic, healing
and protection.
Benefit: +1 Perception
Honour: 5.5
Skills: Calligraphy, Medicine (Wound Treatment), Lore: Theology, Meditation, Tea
Ceremony, Any High Skill, Any Skill.
Outfit: Wakizashi, Scroll Satchel, Medicine Kit, Kimono and sandals, Imperial seal,
Travelling pack, 5 koku.
Affinity/Deficiency: Earth/Air

Technique: Lesson of dedication

Fuzake Shugenja inherit the great dedication of Fuzake Garou in tending to the sick and
wounded and protecting those in need. Whenever you spend a Void Point to improve a
casting roll for a spell with the Defense keyword, the Void Point grants a +2k1 bonus
(instead of the normal +1k1). Additionally, you gain a Free Raise on all spells with the
Healing keyword (Earth: Jurojin’s Balm; Water: Path to Inner Peace; Rejuvenating
Vapors; Regrow the Wound; Heart of the Water Dragon; Power of the Ocean; Peace of
the Kami; Void: Balance of Elements)
Spells: Sense, Commune, Summon, 3 Earth, 2 Water, 1 Fire.

Beast Trainer (Path)

Technique Rank: 2
Replaces: Any School (or Ronin Technique) 2
Requirements: Animal handling 3+
Technique: Voice of the Wild – A beast trainer learns all the secrets of dealing with the
various animals commonly used by the Rokugani, as well as some wilder beasts.
Whenever making an Animal Empathy skill roll, you roll an extra 1k0. Additionally, you
gain a number of “improvement points” equal to your IR. After spending a week training
an animal, you may dedicate one “improvement point” to give the animal one of the
following effects: Increase one Attribute by 1 (increasing all appropriate derived values);
increase the animal’s skill ranks in a skill it already possesses by 2; allow the animal’s
designated trainer (which may be yourself or another person) to order the animal to attack
as a Free Action instead of a Simple Action. You can dedicate “improvement points” as
you see fit among as many animals as you want, but the number of “improvement points”
dedicated to a single animal may not exceed your IR/2 (rounded down). Improvement
points dedicated to an animal become “fixed” and cannot be used on another animal
before being freed. You may make an animal “unlearn” an improvement (thus freeing an
“improvement point”) after spending one day training the animal. Also, if an animal is
kept away from the trainer who dedicated an improvement to it for more than 1 week, it
“forgets” these improvements, freeing the points.

Experienced Commoner (Path)

Technique Rank: 2 or higher

Requirements: Any three skills at 3+ among Acting, Artisan, Investigation, Lore,
Medicine, Perform, Hunting, Merchant or Low skills.
Technique: Lessons of Life – A commoner’s life is dedicated to his work, and his work is
in fact the only life he’s likely to know. Whenever making a skill roll using the skills you
used as requirements to enter this path, you roll an extra 1k0 and add the lower between
your IR or that skill’s Skill Rank to the total of the roll.

Experienced Ashigaru (Path)

Technique Rank: 2 or higher

Requirements: Any two Bugei skills at 3+ (except for Iaijutsu).
Technique: Peasant vengeance – Though they will vehemently deny it, most peasants
feel a strong sense of resentment of samurai, and although battle is by no means loved by
the common classes, those who are dragged to it cherish the chance to attack freely,
without regard to an enemy’s station. Whenever making a skill roll using the skills you
used as requirements to enter this path, you roll an extra 1k0 and add the lower between
your IR or that skill’s Skill rank to the total of the roll.

Master Budoka (Advanced School)

There are some samurai devote themselves to the study of martial techniques so whole-
heartedly they end up reaching a level of self-knowledge and skill which allows them to
develop their fighting techniques in ways that differ considerably from the main teachings
of each clan’s schools, but are still highly effective. Even more remarkable are the highly
devoted heimin ashigaru or budoka who through sheer determination master their body
and mind, reaching an effectiveness in fighting which is almost unparalleled outside the
samurai class. Master Budoka are taught throughout the empire, always by the few within
each clan who reached the skill necessary to master these techniques. Interestingly, some
of the Master Budoka Sensei in some clans’ lands are heimin who mastered this path and
now share its knowledge with other ashigaru and budoka under orders of their masters.

Requirements: One weapon skill or jujutsu at 3+, two weapon skills or jujutsu at 2+. At
least one of the weapon skills used as requirements must be jujutsu.
Techniques:

Rank 1: Our masters’ footprints

Those trained in the way of the war learn to fight any opponent, in spite of origins or
social class. You roll an extra +1k0 in all rolls with the skills used as requirements to
enter this school, and whenever attacking you may ignore a number of points from the
opponent’s Armour TN originating from Armour up to your Rank in this School + 2.

Rank 2: Treading one’s way

A Master Budoka learns that he must choose his own style in battle, much as he choose
his own way in life. When you gain this Technique, choose 1 of the Bugei skills used as
requirements to enter this school and 1 Manoeuvre which requires at least 1 Raise. The
number of Raises required to use that manoeuvre whenever attacking using that Skill is
reduced by 1.

Rank 3: Path of the Masters

The final lesson of a Master Budoka is that the only limit to his own abilities is those set
by himself. You may now attack as a simple action whenever making a melee attack with
one of the three Bugei skills used as requirements to enter this school. Additionally, you
gain 2 Extra Wounds on each of your Wound Ranks.

Staves ML5: Also: Wielding a Tonfa or Jo on your off-hand does not incur any penalties.
ML 7: S. Kauw – Crescent: Also add +1k0 to atk;
Shield: Also add +1 to Armour TN

Shapeshifters:

General Rules:
A PC creating a Shapeshifter character starts with a template which may include Trait
bonuses, skills, characteristics useable only while on their native form, advantages
available to them on all forms and also lists whether they get Skills and Trait bonuses
from the School they choose to represent and the number of additional XP to customize
starting characters of that species. The native form of a shapeshifter character is defined
by their “species”, and regardless of the Spirit powers they possess, they can always
assume a “humanoid” form. This humanoid form is markedly otherwordly, and while it
could pass for a normal human when seen from a distance or not directly observed, any
close inspection of the character in that form would reveal its unnatural nature. While in
this form, the character preserves all his characteristics and advantages, except those
which can be used only in their native form (generally natural attacks and/or movement
types). All Shapeshifter PCs who plan on intermingling in human society should take the
“Humanity” power. When using this power, the Shapeshifter assumes a “normal” human
form, which stands even close inspections, although the character should still have some
distinctive characteristics (such as odd-coloured eyes or hair or other quirks). While using
the “Humanity” power, the character has access to a Void Ring (starting with a value of
3) and can use Void Points and enter Centre stance as a normal human, as per the
description of the Power. Additionally, while using “Humanity”, the character loses the
“Spirit” characteristic, and as such takes normal damage from normal weapons and spells.
The character still counts as a Spirit for the purposes of effects which affect only Spirits,
however.
Changing between the Native and Humanoid shapes or activating or inactivating the
“Humanity” power requires a complex action. Alternatively, the character may attempt to
roll Ring k Ring against a TN of 20 to change forms or activate/inactivate Humanity as a
Simple Action, using the Ring appropriate for the character’s natural realm:
Yomi or Chikushudo: Air
Gaki-do or Meido – Earth
Sakkaku or Tengoku – Fire
Yume-do or Toshigoku – Water.
Finally, the character may choose to suffer 5 Wounds prior to making the test to attempt
to change forms or activate/inactivate humanity to do so as a Free Action. If the character
fails the test, the Wounds will be suffered, but the character will need a Complex Action
as normal.
Additionally, Shapeshifters (and other spirits) can generally sense Portals or Openings to
other Spirit Realms, and especially to their native realm, by making a Perception Test
with a TN appropriate to the Opening in question, and can cross these Portals or Openings
by making a Ring test using the Ring appropriate to the Realm in question.

When not using humanity, Shapeshifters don’t have a Void Ring. As such, some
characteristics work differently for them:
- the maximum number of Raises they may make in any roll while not using
humanity is equal to their lowest Ring;
- They do not have Void Points and cannot spend Void Points for any effect while
not using Humanity;
- In the case of Shapeshifter Shugenja, they do not have access to Void Spell Slots
unless using the Humanity Power;
- Insight for Shapeshifters (regardless of whether or not they possess and/or are
using the Humanity power) is calculated by adding their Rings x 10 (not including
Void) and their Skills to their lowest Ring x 10.

If a shapeshifter character mingles in human society and wants to pass as members of a

Clan and train in a Clan School, they need to learn about the Clan they are trying to
emulate/ be a part of. This is represented by taking ranks in the Lore: Clan skills.
Therefore, in order to reach a given School Rank in a Clan School, a Shapeshifter
character is required to have a rank in the Lore: Clan skill appropriate to the clan in
question equal to the desired School Rank. For example, if a starting Shapeshifter
character wishes to pose as or represent a Rank 1 Shugenja from the Moshi Shugenja
School, she will need at least Lore: Mantis 1.
Shapeshifter Templates

Bakeneko (Cat)

Trait changes: None

Starting Skills: Defense 2, Jiujutsu 1, Kenjutsu 2
Characteristics: Claw (Complex, 0k2, +1k0 attack, only in Cat form), Reduction 5,
Spirit, Shapeshifter, 3 Powers (Minor or Major – 1 is usually Humanity)
Schools: Any School (include Trait bonus and starting Skills; skills stack with starting
skills above)
Starting XP: 25

Fushicho (Phoenix)

Trait changes: Awareness +1, Agility +1, Intelligence +1

Starting Skills: None
Characteristics: Beak (Complex, 3k3, +4k0 attack, only in Phoenix form), Reduction 3,
Spirit, Shapeshifter, 2 Powers (minor, normally includes humanity), Swift 2 (Only while
flying), The Phoenix Rises (Only while in Tengoku), Flight (Only in Phoenix form).
Schools: Any School (include starting skills, but not Trait bonus)
Starting XP: 10

Inu (Dog)

Trait changes: Reflexes +1, Agility +1, Perception +1, Strength -1

Starting Skills: Hunting (Tracking) 1
Characteristics: Bite (Complex, 1k1, only dog form), Reduction 2, Spirit, Shapeshifter,
Swift 2, Scent, 1 Power (minor – normally humanity).
Schools: Any School (include starting skills, but not Trait bonus; skills stack with starting
skill above; if receives “tracking” emphasis from another source, add 2 XP instead)
Starting XP: 25

Kitsune (Fox)

Trait changes: Reflexes +2, Perception +1, Strength -1

Starting Skills: None
Characteristics: Claws (Complex, 1k1, only fox form), Bite (Complex, 1k2, +1k0 attack,
only fox form), Reduction 3, Spirit, Swift 3, Shapeshifter, 4 Powers (Minor or Major,
normally includes humanity).
School: Any School (include starting skills, but not Trait bonus)
Starting XP: 10

Koumori (Bat)

Trait changes: Reflexes +1, Awareness +1, Agility +1, Perception +1

Starting Skills: Athletics 2, Kenjutsu 2, Defense 1, Stealth 2
Characteristics: Claws (Complex, 0k1, +2k0 attack, only in bat form), Bite (Complex,
0k1, only in bat form), Reduction 3, Spirit, Shapeshifter, Swift 3 (only when flying), 2
Powers (Minor or Major, normally includes Humanity), Flight (Only in bat form).
School: Any School (include starting skills, but not Trait bonus; Skills do NOT stack with
starting skills above, although emphasis can be added normally).
Starting XP: 10

Ryu (Dragon)

Trait Changes: 1 Air Ring Trait +1, 1 Fire Ring Trait +1, Perception +1
Starting Skills: None
Characteristics: Claws (Complex, becomes Simple on IR 3, 3k3, +4k0 attack, only in
Dragon form), Reduction 5, Spirit, Shapeshifter, Swift 4 (only when flying), Armour TN
+5, Soul of a Dragon (only when following orders of an Elemental Dragon), 3 Powers
(Minor or Major, normally includes Humanity), Flight (only in Dragon form).
Schools: Any School (includes skills, but not Trait bonus)
Starting XP: 10

Saru (Monkey)

Trait Changes: Reflexes +1, Agility +1, Strength +1

Starting Skills: Athletics (Climbing) 5
Characteristics: Bite (Complex, 0k1, only in monkey form), Reduction 2, Spirit,
Shapeshifter, Swift 2, 1 Power (Minor, normally Humanity).
Schools: Any School (includes skill, but not Trait bonus; skills do NOT stack with
starting skills above, although emphases can be added normally).
Starting XP: 25

Tanuki (Badger)

Trait changes: Agility +1

Starting Skills: None
Characteristics: Claws (Complex, becomes Simple on IR 3, 0k1, only in Badger form),
Bite (Complex, 0k2, only in Badger form), Reduction 2, Spirit, Shapeshifter, 1 Power
(minor, normally Humanity).
Schools: Any School (includes skills and Trait bonus).
Starting XP: 40

Tsuru (Crane)

Trait changes: Reflexes +2, Agility +1, Stamina -1, Strength -1

Starting skills: None
Characteristics: Beak (Complex, 1k1, only in Crane form), Reduction 2, Spirit,
Shapeshifter, 1 Power (Minor, normally Humanity), Swift 4 (only while flying), Flight
(only in Crane form).
Schools: Any School (includes skills, but not Trait bonus).
Starting XP: 40

Usagi (Hare)

Trait changes: Reflexes +2, Stamina -1, Strength -1

Starting Skills: Athletics 2
Characteristics: Slam (Complex, 0k1, only hare form), Reduction 2, Spirit, 2 Powers
(Minor, normally includes Humanity), Swift 3.
Schools: Any School (includes skills and Trait bonus; skills do not stack with Starting
Skills above, although emphases can be added).
Starting XP: 40

THE DIVER CLAN!!