OOC Pregame Thread

[Kaiu Taura]

A little . . . messier than I would envision.

[Kakita Ahiru]

And . . . submitted. Anyone have any good art for a young, hard-working Kaiu woman?

https://i.imgur.com/iZQ3GP8.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/m18stzr.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/2tVuVIp.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/tQRxL9e.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/YeawX4C.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/9ZtlzF7.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/rcFwigJ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/QvDDL0j.jpg

[Kakita Yuji]

And . . . submitted. Anyone have any good art for a young, hard-working Kaiu woman?

https://i.imgur.com/iZQ3GP8.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/m18stzr.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/2tVuVIp.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/tQRxL9e.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/YeawX4C.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/9ZtlzF7.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/rcFwigJ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/QvDDL0j.jpg

If only she had known she was standing in front of the floodgates.....

[Kakita Ahiru]

This is but a fraction of my power.

[Kakita Yuji]

This is but a fraction of my power.

We are unworthy of seeing your final form

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Poor Kasumi.

"Oh, this Lion's cool, everything's going well..."

"Wait, what do you mean people aren't always happy to see you?"

"... Okay, so, uh, we're resource reallocation specialists..."

[Kuni Mitsuko]

Nice. Just crop it and say she was, um, experimenting with berries?

[Kaeru Kaori]

The Crab just doubled their number!

[Seppun Urusai]

[Akodo Michi]

Poor Kasumi.

"Oh, this Lion's cool, everything's going well..."

"Wait, what do you mean people aren't always happy to see you?"

"... Okay, so, uh, we're resource reallocation specialists..."

One must have faith, little Mantis.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Kasumi: Sure, I can show you how we fight!

Kasumi's player: Actually, Mantis bushi out of the box in 5E aren't really all that good at melee.

Kasumi: But... but... paired whirling blades of death?

Kasumi's player: You have a ranged combat kata and a technique that applies to Trade skills. Oh, and a shuji.

Kasumi: ... Crud.

[Seppun Urusai]

XD

[Shiba Jiro]

Kasumi: Sure, I can show you how we fight!

Kasumi's player: Actually, Mantis bushi out of the box in 5E aren't really all that good at melee.

Kasumi: But... but... paired whirling blades of death?

Kasumi's player: You have a ranged combat kata and a technique that applies to Trade skills. Oh, and a shuji.

Kasumi: ... Crud.

It's okay, I don't get any fighting skills either.

[Shiba Haru]

Maybe the Mantis should all hire yojimbo. Lots of Ronin looking for work.

[Funegao no Hirame]

But we've got ENTHUSIASM!

[Shosuro Kaoru]

Kasumi: Sure, I can show you how we fight!

Kasumi's player: Actually, Mantis bushi out of the box in 5E aren't really all that good at melee.

Kasumi: But... but... paired whirling blades of death?

Kasumi's player: You have a ranged combat kata and a technique that applies to Trade skills. Oh, and a shuji.

Kasumi: ... Crud.

"So, we have this cool kata (Spinning Blades Style) for two-hands fighting..."
"Give it to the Matsu."
"I mean, it's more of a Mirumoto or Yoritomo..."
"MATSU!"
"But why?"
"If it's cool thing, Lion must have it. That's how 5ed works."

[Kaeru Kaori]

How else will the Berserker dual-wield nodachi? THINK!

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"If it's cool thing, Lion must have it. That's how 5ed works."

Pretty much.

Like, I kinda get the logic of Pelting Hail style for the Mantis- ship to ship combat tends to be shooty- but... it fits none of the "I dramatically swing paired kama in all of my artwork" vibe the Mantis have, and they're never noted (in FFG-era fiction!) as particularly archery-prone.

In terms of actual bushi-ing, 5E plays absurd favorites (how long did it take the Scorpion to even get a bushi school?)

[Shiba Jiro]

Well, until the Tsuruchi. They're pretty handy with bows. And definitely need more melee love all around, but it does make sense for the Lion to be the strongest fighters. Being "the" militant clan is their schtick. Others are fighty, but usually something else first like defendy for the crab and ridey for the unicorn.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Thing is, the Lion aren't historically supposed to be that much better at fighting- they're better at using their fighter-types effectively.

I mean, the whole schtick is, the Lion win wars but get Crane-dueled in the face.

For individual killyness, the Mirumoto are supposed to be insanely deadly one on one fighters in a skirmish environment, the Kakita are supposed to be the dueling specialists.

The Matsu typically get to be the unsympathetic bully berserkers who get shown up by story protagonists in typically hamfisted narrative fashion.

(And far as the Mantis ranged focus goes, in FFG L5R, the Tsuruchi don't even exist. There's no Tsuruchi family, no Wasp Clan, the Mantis are purely the seagoing kama-swingers)