Okay, given that I’ll be running a Legend of the Five Rings campaign in a few weeks (as soon as my book arrives from Amazon, and I get to read it.) I’ve started considering what kind of campaign to run. So far the idea of a Single-Clan game is good, as it gives the players time to truly acquaint themselves with the setting. My current crop of players are all familiar with Rokugan in broad strokes, but the nuances of the individual Clans are something that they’ve not yet had time to read up on in depth.
That said, I was considering sticking to the more traditional clans, and have narrowed my choices to the following Clans for my game:
- Crane – Master diplomats, duelists and artisans, the Crane Clan claim to be descended from the Kami that brought civilization the empire. Serving as the Emperor’s left hand in many aspects The Crane operate through gifts and favors, and enjoy a healthy prosperity and popularity among many courts.
- Lion – The honorable and staunchly traditional Lion Clan are by far the largest military force of the empire. The clan is home to peerless tacticians, savage combatants, sagely historians and a unique niche of Shugenja who can commune with the spirits of the Ancestors. While not completely adverse to innovation, the Lion value the lessons of the past and rely upon their historians and the Ancestors to guide them to victory.
- Phoenix – Unparalleled masters in the Rokugani mystic arts, the Phoenix Clan is regarded with fear and respect. While they may prefer a life of pacifism, to fight the Phoenix is an experience akin to fighting the very elements themselves. Unlike the other Clans, the Phoenix consist of nearly all Shugenja families, with only one family dedicated to the martial arts and the skills necessary to protect their Shugenja Bretheren.
- Scorpion - No one trusts a Scorpion, but the Scorpion can be your most loyal of friends. Secretive and dangerous, the Scorpion Clan are the self-styled villains of Rokugan. As spies, manipulators and assassins, they dedicate themselves to doing the deeds that put their lives and honor at stake to do what must be done for the good of the Empire.
Each of these clans have a ton of detail associated with them, and all four are well suited to telling different tales. It certainly helps that each of the clans has its own internal politics as a clan consists of four or more families with their own respective heads and agendas.
What won’t change, however, is the fact that any game I run will involve a whole range of different tasks and challenges, from politics, combat and of course internal conflict brought about by personal circumstances. I tend to be character-centric in my approach to running games, so I don’t doubt that there will be space for personal stories as well.
One idea that is germinating in my head at the moment is the possibility of running a campaign with the option to go generational. After each major story arc, I can do a time-skip and the players can opt to play the descendants of their prior characters. It’s idle fancy honestly, and I’m certain that I have at least ONE player who won’t like to part with his hard-earned experience points banked into his character. Still, it’s a neat idea.
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Throughout the week I’ll be working on campaign ideas and pitches centered on each of the four clans I’ve mentioned here, to help give my players an idea of what you can pull off in each, as well as for them to vote for which clan interests them the most.
Looking forward to reading your pitches. Should be a good week.
Thanks seaofstarsrpg!
I find myself feverishly reviewing the “Way of…” books now to get a firm handle on each of these clans.
Heck. I’d be willing to play ‘The Kid’, so that I’d meet those descendants.
Investment now, is awesomeness later.
Pre-Skip:
“…Woah…”
Post-Skip:
“You’ve a long way to go before you surpass your father.
I should know. I’ve met him. And this is how he does it.”
Time skips are something I’ve been considering using more of in my own games. I’m planning on talking about an urge I’ve been having over the last few weeks for my next game I run over at http://www.realityrefracted.com tomorrow.
The idea of being the kid and doing that in a generational gap is absolutely awesome by the way.
Out of the clans, I’d probably recommend the Crane. Especially for a more indepth view of Rokugan. They have a presence in all three major aspects of Samurai life (Court, War(Daidoji), and Magic) and can work well in a number of situations.
It pains me recommending that being a huge Lion/Scorpion fan, but if people are new to the setting (or even newish) Lion may be too restrictive feeling, and Scorpion is hard to pull off.
I also echo others sentiments here in support of your efforts and eagerness to see your pitches and future game.
That said my suggestion for the ideal clan to play for a single campaign would be Crane, followed by Lion and Scorpion.
Crane would be the best since they have a good balanced mix of everything players might want to find niches for their PC backgrounds. While Lion maybe too restrictive they are the 2nd clan that offers the most versatility in options to your players. Scorpion would have been great and I would have recommended them to be your 2nd choice, but as much as everyone likes the Scorpion’s flavor, I would only recommend them if you have a group of players who are not only experienced roleplayers but also very familiar with the setting and mechanics of the L5R RPG. So Scorpion are 3rd best for not being too newbie-friendly.
Phoenix have a lot of options but having 3 shugenja families and one bushi family, you run the risk of many of your players looking and feeling the same. Though they would be a great treat to roleplay next to other clans mentioned.