Character Creation
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2020 9:09 am
Dragon, 1122
-We will only be using the Legend of the Five Rings Core Rulebook, Enemies of the Empire, Emerald Empire, and The Great Clans. There are reference materials on this forum that contain rules printed in other books, but they will not be used by players at this time. (A future vote will be held to determine what additional books will be allowed for Part 2 onward)
-Characters are between the age of 13 and 15, as the average age of Gempukku is 14-16.
-No EXPY characters, meaning do not make a carbon copy of an existing character in literature, TV, movies, anime, etc. You can draw inspiration from them, but they should be noticeably different
-Characters will be created with 1 in all traits.
-Characters will be from a family from the Approved Family list. They gain the family trait +1 bonus.
--Note: Yogo characters must select the Bad Fortune: Yogo Curse disadvantage. They do not gain any bonus XP for this disadvantage.
-Characters will select a school from the approved school list (The schools for the most part are all found in the L5R 4th ed books, but have some changes. There are also a few new schools that I have created using 5th edition L5R as inspiration) NOTE: You do NOT get your School trait bonus
-Characters do NOT gain their Rank 1 technique.
-Shugenja do NOT gain their affinity/deficiency
-Shugenja start only with Sense, Commune, and Summon spells
-Characters will select 4 of their 7 school skills to start the game with at Rank 1. They do not get any emphasis.
-Characters will start with Status 0.5, Glory 0.5, and their school's Starting Honor
--Note: Imperial family members start at Status 1.
-Characters do not get their schools Outfit, instead they get the following items: Student Clothing, Sandals, Traveling Pack, 3 bu.
-Because most players will only be Earth 1, and earth 1 is incredibly squishy, players will have an extra wounds added to their Out wound box. Once you reach Earth 2, this bonus is lost. This means at Earth 1, your wounds are as follows:
0-5: Healthy
6-7: +3
8-9: +5
10-11: +10
12-13: +15
14-15: +20
16-17 Down
18-38: Out
39: Dead
Once reaching earth 2:
0-10: Healthy
11-14: +3
15-18 +5
18-22: +10
23-26: +15
27-30 +20
31-34: Down
35-38: Out
39: Dead.
-Ancestors and Heritage Tables are not being used.
-Characters will gain 25 experience to purchase the following:
--Any skills that are not part of your school, to a maximum of rank 2
--any emphasis that are not part of your school
--Increase any of the 4 starting school skills to a maximum of 2
--Increase Void to a maximum of 2
--Increase any trait to a maximum of 2.
--Any Advantage from Core Rulebook, Enemies of the Empire, Emerald Empire, and The Great Clans that is not on thebanned advantage list.
--Any Disadvantage from Core Rulebook, Enemies of the Empire, Emerald Empire, and The Great Clans that is not on the banned disadvantage list. Characters may gain +5 addition XP to spend from disadvantages. If you go over the 5 additional xp, that overage will be granted during part 2. (So if you say have 7 points: you would get 5 for part 1 and in part 2, you would get 2 more)
NOTE: If you select the Kitsune Impersonator Tradition, you start the game with your school technique, but your human form follows the same character creation rules as above, so your traits are all at 1, you only have 4 school skills, no emphasis, no affinity or deficiency, and the only spells you know are Sense, Commune, and Summon.
Once we finish with part one, you will all return to your original dojo and finish up the last 6 months of your training. This means you will get +1 to the 3 school skills you did not select in part one, any emphasis you did not get in part one, your schools listed outfit, your schools rank 1 technique, and your schools trait bonus. Shugenja will gain all of their spells as well as their affinity/deficiency. You will gain 1.0 glory, and 0.5 status. After I see how folks do in part one, I will make a determination on how much XP you will gain going in to part two as well, which you can then use to buy any advantages without restrictions. During Part two, characters may gain another +5 XP from disadvantages without restrictions. If you do not choose any disadvantages in part one, during part two you can gain the normal +10 XP from disadvantages.
((The following is borrowed from the Hollow Throne campaign setting, courtesy of Mindshred))
Background Considerations
If you wish to form connections to another PC before the game begins, please keep in mind that real life events might force either yourself or the other person to drop. It is perfectly fine to make a character that has exchanged letters to another or who has encountered another character before, but please do not set up things in such a way that if your partner drops, your character will lose their motivation (and visa versa).
Application Process
Once the character is finished, send the completed character sheet and background to liarastavlo@gmail.com. Then, register an account on this site under your character's name. All character sheets should follow the format listed below; those that do not will be returned unread and unapproved.
Once we've looked over your character, we'll activate your account and send you an email. We won't be starting the game for some time (Mid June 2020 approximately), but OOC boards will be open for discussion.
Your private forum is yours to use as you see fit. It is the easiest way to contact and hold discussions with the GMs, but it can also be used to make notes about the game in general.
Posting Colors
We would ask that when you speak in character, you do so in quotation marks, without using colored text.
The one exception to this is when your character is speaking in a non-Rokugani language, such as Yobanjin or Nezumi, in which case we would ask that you use colored text to differentiate between the two languages. Placing a note in your signature to note what colors you will be using for non-Rokugani languages would also be appreciated.
Signatures
Your signatures should include your Status, Glory, and current Honor Rank (ie, Untrustworthy, Exceptional, etc), as well as your schools tags (Artisan, Courtier, etc) Additionally, please include your Dojo points.
You should also include any obvious advantages or disadvantages that would be readily noticeable by other characters, such as Lame or Missing Arm, though you are free to include non-noticeable advantages or disadvantages at your discretion. Flavor traits are also perfectly acceptable.
Finally, please include a list of items that your character carries around with them in your signature, so that we might easily determine which items your character may or may not have on their person at any given time. This will be important if you're ambushed by a Grue.
Note that nearly all samurai (including courtiers and shugenja) carry their wakizashi with them wherever they go, as it is symbolic of their honor as members of the samurai caste. Whereas the katana is removed upon entering a home, the wakizashi almost never leaves the side of a samurai and is one of the few weapons that can be worn in court or in the presence of the Emperor. However, as you are students who have not yet undergone gempukku, you do not have a wakizashi to carry.
If your character dies, please do not delete your signature. It makes things confusing for people who read through threads after the game is over. Adding a note about the day you died is perfectly acceptable, and it has become common practice to grayscale a dead character's avatar.
Creation:The Ruby Champion, Agasha Sumiko, had received permission to conduct an interesting experiment. Students from all families and walks of life in the empire were invited to attend a special study at the dojo in Hirosaka, an imperial town a days march north of Otosan Uchi. The experiment was for the students to learn what Sumiko felt like were things all samurai should know, before being returned to their own dojos to complete their schools training. They would then be invited to the Topaz Championship in 1123, to test to their skills against the rest of the Empire who did not have the special training that they did, in order to truly see if the clans were teaching what is needed to be a proper samurai...
-We will only be using the Legend of the Five Rings Core Rulebook, Enemies of the Empire, Emerald Empire, and The Great Clans. There are reference materials on this forum that contain rules printed in other books, but they will not be used by players at this time. (A future vote will be held to determine what additional books will be allowed for Part 2 onward)
-Characters are between the age of 13 and 15, as the average age of Gempukku is 14-16.
-No EXPY characters, meaning do not make a carbon copy of an existing character in literature, TV, movies, anime, etc. You can draw inspiration from them, but they should be noticeably different
-Characters will be created with 1 in all traits.
-Characters will be from a family from the Approved Family list. They gain the family trait +1 bonus.
--Note: Yogo characters must select the Bad Fortune: Yogo Curse disadvantage. They do not gain any bonus XP for this disadvantage.
-Characters will select a school from the approved school list (The schools for the most part are all found in the L5R 4th ed books, but have some changes. There are also a few new schools that I have created using 5th edition L5R as inspiration) NOTE: You do NOT get your School trait bonus
-Characters do NOT gain their Rank 1 technique.
-Shugenja do NOT gain their affinity/deficiency
-Shugenja start only with Sense, Commune, and Summon spells
-Characters will select 4 of their 7 school skills to start the game with at Rank 1. They do not get any emphasis.
-Characters will start with Status 0.5, Glory 0.5, and their school's Starting Honor
--Note: Imperial family members start at Status 1.
-Characters do not get their schools Outfit, instead they get the following items: Student Clothing, Sandals, Traveling Pack, 3 bu.
-Because most players will only be Earth 1, and earth 1 is incredibly squishy, players will have an extra wounds added to their Out wound box. Once you reach Earth 2, this bonus is lost. This means at Earth 1, your wounds are as follows:
0-5: Healthy
6-7: +3
8-9: +5
10-11: +10
12-13: +15
14-15: +20
16-17 Down
18-38: Out
39: Dead
Once reaching earth 2:
0-10: Healthy
11-14: +3
15-18 +5
18-22: +10
23-26: +15
27-30 +20
31-34: Down
35-38: Out
39: Dead.
-Ancestors and Heritage Tables are not being used.
-Characters will gain 25 experience to purchase the following:
--Any skills that are not part of your school, to a maximum of rank 2
--any emphasis that are not part of your school
--Increase any of the 4 starting school skills to a maximum of 2
--Increase Void to a maximum of 2
--Increase any trait to a maximum of 2.
--Any Advantage from Core Rulebook, Enemies of the Empire, Emerald Empire, and The Great Clans that is not on thebanned advantage list.
--Any Disadvantage from Core Rulebook, Enemies of the Empire, Emerald Empire, and The Great Clans that is not on the banned disadvantage list. Characters may gain +5 addition XP to spend from disadvantages. If you go over the 5 additional xp, that overage will be granted during part 2. (So if you say have 7 points: you would get 5 for part 1 and in part 2, you would get 2 more)
NOTE: If you select the Kitsune Impersonator Tradition, you start the game with your school technique, but your human form follows the same character creation rules as above, so your traits are all at 1, you only have 4 school skills, no emphasis, no affinity or deficiency, and the only spells you know are Sense, Commune, and Summon.
Once we finish with part one, you will all return to your original dojo and finish up the last 6 months of your training. This means you will get +1 to the 3 school skills you did not select in part one, any emphasis you did not get in part one, your schools listed outfit, your schools rank 1 technique, and your schools trait bonus. Shugenja will gain all of their spells as well as their affinity/deficiency. You will gain 1.0 glory, and 0.5 status. After I see how folks do in part one, I will make a determination on how much XP you will gain going in to part two as well, which you can then use to buy any advantages without restrictions. During Part two, characters may gain another +5 XP from disadvantages without restrictions. If you do not choose any disadvantages in part one, during part two you can gain the normal +10 XP from disadvantages.
((The following is borrowed from the Hollow Throne campaign setting, courtesy of Mindshred))
Background Considerations
If you wish to form connections to another PC before the game begins, please keep in mind that real life events might force either yourself or the other person to drop. It is perfectly fine to make a character that has exchanged letters to another or who has encountered another character before, but please do not set up things in such a way that if your partner drops, your character will lose their motivation (and visa versa).
Application Process
Once the character is finished, send the completed character sheet and background to liarastavlo@gmail.com. Then, register an account on this site under your character's name. All character sheets should follow the format listed below; those that do not will be returned unread and unapproved.
Once we've looked over your character, we'll activate your account and send you an email. We won't be starting the game for some time (Mid June 2020 approximately), but OOC boards will be open for discussion.
Your private forum is yours to use as you see fit. It is the easiest way to contact and hold discussions with the GMs, but it can also be used to make notes about the game in general.
Posting Colors
We would ask that when you speak in character, you do so in quotation marks, without using colored text.
The one exception to this is when your character is speaking in a non-Rokugani language, such as Yobanjin or Nezumi, in which case we would ask that you use colored text to differentiate between the two languages. Placing a note in your signature to note what colors you will be using for non-Rokugani languages would also be appreciated.
Signatures
Your signatures should include your Status, Glory, and current Honor Rank (ie, Untrustworthy, Exceptional, etc), as well as your schools tags (Artisan, Courtier, etc) Additionally, please include your Dojo points.
You should also include any obvious advantages or disadvantages that would be readily noticeable by other characters, such as Lame or Missing Arm, though you are free to include non-noticeable advantages or disadvantages at your discretion. Flavor traits are also perfectly acceptable.
Finally, please include a list of items that your character carries around with them in your signature, so that we might easily determine which items your character may or may not have on their person at any given time. This will be important if you're ambushed by a Grue.
Note that nearly all samurai (including courtiers and shugenja) carry their wakizashi with them wherever they go, as it is symbolic of their honor as members of the samurai caste. Whereas the katana is removed upon entering a home, the wakizashi almost never leaves the side of a samurai and is one of the few weapons that can be worn in court or in the presence of the Emperor. However, as you are students who have not yet undergone gempukku, you do not have a wakizashi to carry.
If your character dies, please do not delete your signature. It makes things confusing for people who read through threads after the game is over. Adding a note about the day you died is perfectly acceptable, and it has become common practice to grayscale a dead character's avatar.