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In general, it will not be necessary to “convert” characters to the 3rd Edition Revised rules, since almost all the changes do not directly impact a character’s stats or abilities. Players who feel that the 3rd Edition Revised has had a severe/fatal impact on their character should e-mail the Campaign Admin to discuss it.
The following specific rulings will apply to the rules changes in 3rd Edition Revised in the Heroes of Rokugan campaign:
For purposes of the HoR campaign, the Iaijutsu skill is NOT considered a Weapon skill. This is partly due to the Campaign Admin’s personal view that it should not be one, and partly due to the fact that the 3e Revised rulebook does not list it as such – staying in conformity with what is in print is generally easier on new players than forcing them to refer to on-line errata/rulings.
The three Iaijutsu Emphases (Assessment, Focus, Strike) which are listed in the Iaijutsu Dueling rules of 3rd Edition Revised DO exist in the HoR campaign, and players may purchase these emphases normally. The Strike emphases does NOT apply to attacks outside of an Iaijutsu duel except for bushi trained in the Kakita Bushi school.
The spell “Wind-Born Slumbers” has been modified as follows, in order to let it continue to be a useful spell for characters (and NPCs) who already have it: the caster may Raise once to increase the TN of the resistance roll by 5, and may Raise twice to increase the TN penalty which the spell inflicts by 5.
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Summary of Rules Changes
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The following is a summary of major rules changes found in 3rd Edition Revised, for the use of players who only have access to an original 3rd Edition rulebook, or who are unwilling to purchase a Revised rulebook due to the copious editing errors it contains.
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Re-Rolls *- page 85
Some effects allow a roll to be re-rolled. Unless an effect specifically says otherwise, a re-roll may not be re-rolled a second time.
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Doubling *- page 85
Any effect that doubles a number just adds that number again. For example, if two effects double a value of 4, the end result would be 12 (the original, 4, doubled with a +4 to 8, and doubled with +4 again to 12), not 16.
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Target Numbers *- page 86
Target Numbers come in two types – known or blind. Sometimes a TN is known, such as the TN for casting a spell. Other times, the TN is unknown, or blind, such as the TN to jump across a chasm. A known TN is announced by the GM before the roll is made, while a blind TN is not. Even after the roll’s success or failure, he character might not learn the TN. A GM is free to decide when a TN is known or blind, but TNs like spell casting are difficult to turn into blind TNs and should be avoided.
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Target Number Table *- page 86
TN Difficulty Physical Mental
None Mundane Getting out of bed Remembering details of your sword
5 Very Easy Striking an immobile target Recognizing a friend
10 Easy Carrying half your weight Finding a misplaced item
15 Average Lifting your weight over your head Recognizing someone in disguis
20 Moderate Scaling a cliff without a rope Finding a well-hidden object
25 Difficult Diving safely from a waterfall Remembering someone’s exact words
35 Heroic Out-wrestling an ogre Outwitting a Fortune
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Adjusting Rings & Traits *- page 87
Some effects can raise or lower a character’s Traits or Rings. When a Trait is changed, the Ring’s value is recalculated based on the new lowest Trait in that Ring. If a Ring is changed, only the Ring’s value itself changes and the Traits remain the same. Effects cannot raise a character’s Traits or Rings above 9 unless they explicitly state otherwise.
If an effect lowers a Ring to 0 (either by reducing the lowest Trait to 0 or the Ring itself) there are serious consequences for the character. The character automatically fails all rolls involving that Trait even if other effects give the character more kept dice or other bonuses to the roll.
A character with an Air of 0 is slow in body and mind and has a TN to be Hit of 5. No other modifiers generated from the character himself can increase this and neither does Armor. When the character is confronted with a command, the GM rolls a single die and on a 6 or higher, the character will follow that command. On a 1, the character will violently refuse to obey any commands for a number of rounds equal to his Willpower.
A character with an Earth of 0 in on the verge of death. They have only a single Wound in the Out Wound level, and suffers the same penalties as the Out Wound level, but this is not considered a Wound Penalty.
A character with a Fire of 0 cannot make deliberate movements due to his utter lack of coordination and purpose. Each round the GM rolls a single die. On a 6 or more the character moves up to his full movement in a random path. On a 1, the character flails about wildly, but otherwise doesn’t move. The character also loses access to all abilities other than Skills that use a Physical Trait.
A character with a Water of 0 is unable to move and suffers the same penalties as the Down Wound level, but this is not considered a Wound Penalty.
A character with a Void of 0 automatically fails all non-Raw Trait rolls the character makes.
It is implied by the rules for Void Release (ML4 Void Spell) that Wounds are directly applied, and increases or decreases in the Earth Ring do not effect how many Wounds have been done to the character.
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True Ronin Family Bonus *- page 88
Step Two: Choose a Family
True Ronin may have no Family Name. Characters without a Family Name bonus gain 8 additional character points.
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Skill Stacking *- page 89
Step Three: Choose a School
Characters may not use one of these Skills to increase an existing Skill. These Skills must be separate from all other starting School Skills.
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Miscellaneous Character Creation *- page 89
- Miscellaneous – Kata, Kiho, Shadowlands Powers and other such character traits may be purchased with Character Points at character creation for their normal Experience Point Costs. All prerequisites for these traits must be met in order to be purchased at character creation.
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Experience Points at Character Creation *- page 89
- Experience Points – Characters need not spend all their Character Points at character creation. Any unspent Character Points are converted into Experience Points and may be later spend as Experience Points.
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Group Skill Rolls *- page 93
Cooperative Skill Rolls
When making a Cooperative Skill Roll, one individual participating in the roll is designated the leader. The leader makes a single Skill roll for the entire group, and uses the average of the Trait and Skill Ranks (all rounded down) of the participants instead of his own. If the average Skill of the group is 0 or if half or more characters involved in the Skill Roll are Unskilled, the Skill Roll is performed Unskilled.
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Extra Skill Ranks *- page 95
Some effects cause a character’s Skill Rank to be treated as higher than it actually is. These extra Ranks never count toward Insight for any reason, never grant access to additional Mastery Abilities, and cannot increase your Skill Rank above 10. If you have no actual Rank in the skill, these extra Ranks allow you to make Skill Rolls as though you were skilled, and add extra dice as normal Skill Ranks. These ranks allow you to make more Raises, increase the effectiveness of Emphasis bonuses, and allow you to meet the Skill Rank requirements for certain actions.
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Skill Substitution *- page 95
Any time that a character uses one kill in place of another, usually as the result of a Technique that allows such things, it is considered a Skill substitution. When substituting one Skill for another, several rules apply:
- The Trait of the original roll is the same for the substituted roll unless the substitution also changes the type or amount of the Trait such as Cooperative Skill Rolls.
- Any effects that specify “when using” the original Skill may be used on this roll.
- Any effects that specify “when using” the substituted Skill may not be used on this roll.
- Any Mastery Abilities that say “when using this Skill” must come from the substituted Skill being used instead of the original. Mastery Abilities of the original Skill that do not mention “when using this Skill” can be used normally. If the substitution simply changes the value of the original Skill, all of that Skill’s Mastery Abilities may still be used.
- Emphases and Emphasis Abilities from the original Skill may not be used to aid the substituted Skill.
- The maximum number of Raises is based on the character’s Rank in the substituted Skill.
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Acting (Mimicry) *- page 97
You may use Acting to mimic and disguise your voice. This is done as a Contested Awareness/Acting (Mimicry) roll vs. the listener’s Perception/Investigation (Notice). Failure on your part indicates that the listener can tell that it is your voice.
This is not an Emphasis Ability. The Emphasis Ability is still in the book as well, but appears to be a non-deleted block of text.
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Calligraphy (Cipher) *- page 97
Emphasis Abilities
Cipher: You may now craft and decode ciphers. You make an Intelligence/Calligraphy (Cipher) roll to set the TN to decode the Cipher. To break a Cipher, a character rolls Intelligence/Calligraphy (Cipher) against the TN set by the Cipher creator’s Intelligence/Calligraphy (Cipher) roll. A Cipher may be learned as a Language.
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Courtier (Gossip) *- page 98
Emphasis Abilities
Gossip: If you possess the Gossip Emphasis, you may conceal the fact that you are hunting or spreading rumors. To do this, you roll your Awareness/Courtier (Gossip). The TN for this roll is equal to the Awareness/Courtier (Political Maneuvering) Roll of anyone investigating rumors.
Emphasis Ability appears as well as the old text in the body of the Skill.
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Etiquette Mastery Abilities *- page 98
Rank 3: You add +5 to your Contested Social Skill Rolls.
Rank 7: You add an additional +5 (+10 total) to your Contested Social Skill Rolls.
Rank 10: You add an additional +10 (+20 total) to your Contested Social Skill Rolls.
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Spellcraft Mastery Abilities *- page 100
Rank 5: You gain a Free Raise when casting spells.
Rank 7: You may now apply any appropriate Elemental or Maho Emphasis to your casting roll. Maho spells may benefit from either the Maho Emphasis or appropriate Elemental Emphasis.
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Animal Handling *- page 101
You are knowledgeable in the care and breeding of animals. You may teach an animal a number of tricks. Taming an animal counts as one trick. You may teach any given animal so that its total number of tricks is equal or less than your Rank in this Skill. The TN to teach an animal a trick is 10 plus 5 times the number of tricks it will have. At first, you may only teach tricks to already tamed animals. The animal responds to one command per trick. You may make Raises to increase the sophistication of the command.
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Battle *- page 102
You may spend three Complex Actions to scout an area for advantages and make a Perception/Battle vs. TN 20 to gain a Free Raise that can be spent on any Bugei or Stealth Skill Roll during a skirmish at that location. This affect can target an area up to 100′ in size. This are can be increased by 25′ per Raise. This base size of the location for a Mass Battle is a mile radius and the base time to scout it becomes 3 hours. The time is reduced to ninety minutes if the character uses a horse or other fast mode of travel to scout. This area can be increased by a quarter of a mile per Raise. You may not have more than one such location scouted at one time.
Battle is also used to spot ambushes. If you are ambushed, you may make a Contested Perception/Battle roll vs. the opponent’s Agility/Stealth (Ambush). Success prevents you from suffering the effects of surprise. The Skirmish and Mass Combat Emphases apply to all Battle rolls in their appropriate situations.
- Emphasis Abilities
Battle Lore: You may use this Skill as a Lore Skill as it applies to Rokugan’s history of mass combat, including famous wars, battles, and generals, and their tactics. You may use Battle as a Lore Skill as it pertains to the battles.
Mastery Abilities
Rank 5: Once per battle, you may make a Reflexes/Battle roll vs. TN 20 after you or a comrade strikes an enemy successfully. If you succeed, roll one die and add it to your Initiative.
Rank 7: Scouting terrain now only requires one Complex Action or one hour. The Free Raise you gain may be passed onto an ally who studied the terrain with you.
Rank 10: You gain three Free Raises when reading terrain for advantages.
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Heavy Weapons Mastery Abilities *- page 103
Rank 5: Your target’s Armor is decreased by 2 versus your Heavy Weapon attacks. An opponent with Carapace has it reduced by 1 versus your Heavy Weapon.
Rank 7: Reduce armor by 2, Carapace by 1.
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Kyujutsu Mastery Abilities/Emphasis Abilities *- page 103
Rank 3: Reduce Range penalties by 5
Rank 5: Reduce Range penalties by 5
Rank 7: Reduce Range penalties by 5
Rank 10: Reduce Range penalties by 10
- Emphasis Abilities
Horse Archery: You may ignore the +10 penalty to TN from firing from horseback.
Yomanri: This style of archery is practiced by the Unicorn. You may use Agility instead of Reflexes while using Kyujutsu.
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Peasant Weapon Mastery Abilities/Emphasis Ability * – page 103
Rank 5: You inflict an additional 1k0 damage with all peasant weapons.
Rank 7: You inflict an additional 0k1 damage with all peasant weapons.
- Emphasis Ability
Kama: You do not suffer the penalty for wielding two weapons while using paired kama.
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Polearms Emphasis/Mastery Abilities *- page 103
Sang Kauw is no longer listed as a Polearm Emphasis.
Mastery Abilities
Rank 3: You inflict an additional 1k0 damage against mounted or large opponents.
Rank 5: You add +1k0 damage when using a polearm.
Rank 7: You gain a Free Raise on contested rolls to resist being disarmed while using a polearm.
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Spears Mastery Abilities *- page 103-104
Rank 3: You inflict an additional 1k0 damage against mounted or large opponents.
Rank 5: Yo add +3 to your Initiative while wielding a spear.
Rank 7: You gain a Free Raise when making the Guard maneuever while using a spear.
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War Fans Mastery Abilities *- page 104
Rank 5: You ignore the penalties for wielding two weapons while wielding a war fan.
Rank 7: You may now add your War Fans Skill Rank to your TN to be Hit while wielding a war fan.
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Defense *- page 104
Emphases: Unarmored, Armored
A critical Skill for all those who engage in combat. You add twice your Defense Skill to your TNtbH at all times (except against opponents whose presence you are unaware of or while in the Full Attack Posture). While in the Full Defense Posture, ou may make an Agility/Defense roll and may use the result instead of your Reflexes times 5. Anyone can use the Defense Skill unskilled without penalty.
- Mastery Abilities
Rank 3: At the beginning of the first round of a skirmish and after all Initiative changes have occurred, you may declare the Full Defense Posture. This is your Posture Declaration for your turn.
Rank 7: You may now add twice your Defense Skill to your TNtbH even in the Full Attack Posture.
Rank 10: You may now take one Complex Action when in the Full Defense Posture. You may not attack or cast a spell, however.
- Emphasis Ability:
Armored: You may ignore the +5 TN penalty from wearing Heavy Armor or Riding Armor for the purposes of Agility/Defense rolls.
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Horsemanship *- page 104-5
Emphases: Pony, Horse, Warhorse
You may use this Skill in place of Athletics for running, jumping, and swimming while on horseback.
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Hunting *- page 105
Lore Skill
Emphases: Tracking, Trailblazing, Survival, Wilderness Lore
You are adept at surviving in the wild. You may hide tracks by making a Contested Intelligence/Hunting (Tracking) Roll, versus the opponent’s Intelligence/Hunting (Tracking) or Perception/Investigation (Search). You may find hidden tracks y making a Contested Intelligence/Hunting (Tracking) Roll, versus the opponent’s Intelligence/Hunting (Tracking) or Agility/Stealth (Sneaking). You also have general knowledge of flora and fauna. You know the behavior of wild creatures, what types of plants are poisonous, and when dangerous weather is approaching (the Wilderness Lore Emphasis applies to such knowledge).
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Jiujutsu *- page 105
Is now a Weapon skill.
Emphases: Atemi, Grapple, Strike
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Know the School *- page 105
Multiple Skills
Lore Skill
Pick any Clan (or group) that you have studied in some detail, whose Schools you have attended or faced repeatedly in combat. This skill describes a variety of skills, each for a different Clan or group. Major Clans count as one group each and Minor Clans count as one group. All non-Clan Schools count as the Miscellaneous group. You may use this skill to know about the history and Dojo’s of Schools from that group.
You may have a number of such Schools from that group studied equal to twice your Skill Rank. If you see a character from a School from a Clan for which you have studied use a School Skill of that School, you identify the School. Characters aware of your study, may avoid detecting by making a Contested Awareness/Acting (Disguise) Rool vs. your Intelligence/Know the School. If they are using a skill from a School for which you possess an Emphasis, that Emphasis applies.
Against characters with a School that you have studied, you may add your Rank in this skill to all Contested Social Skill Rolls, to attack rolls, and to TNtbH. This TNtbH applies even during the strike phase of duels. You may also add your Rank in this Skill to all Counterspell attempts and to the TN of spells cast upon you from shugenja of Schools you have studied.
- Emphasis Ability
If you are facing an opponent who has one or more specific Schools for which you possess an Emphasis, your bonuses from this Skill are doubled.
- Mastery Ability
Rank 5: You may identify Schools from Rank Techniques as well as their Skill use.
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Deceit *- page 106
Deceit is also used to seduce others. Seduction is the art of offering a reward for a task. Seduction does not always involve matters of the flesh, but is a matter of offering others what they desire in order to meet your own ends. To seduce someone you make a Contested Awareness/Deceit (Seduction) vs. the target’s Awareness/Etiquette (Sincerity). The target adds his Honor to each die when resisting Seduction. Success results in the listener believing thatyou can and will give them what you offered. While this does not compel them to peform this task, you get a single Free Raise that can be spent on a Social Skill Roll against that target. You may not gain this Raise more than once a week against the same target.
Deceit is also used to intimidate others through the use of threats. Intimidation is subtle coercion, threatening others with dangers not obviously apparent in an attempt to get them to do or not do a task. To intimidate someone, you make a Contested Willpower/Deceit (Intimidation) roll vs. the target’s choice of Willpower/Deceit (Intimidation) if they wish to counter with bravado or Perception/Investigation (Interrogation) if they do not believe your threats. [The Deathseeker Advantage aids in the roll to resist Intimidation.] Success results in the target believing you can and will make good on your threats. The Game Master can increase the TN of a single roll related to not follow the task by +10. You cannot give this penalty to the same target more than once per week.
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Balance *- page 109
You are blessed with an inherent sense of calm and tranquility. Efforts to taunt or antagonize you almost always fail. You gain a +5 modifier to the result of any Honor Rolls and against Intimidation and Seduction. Hida, Matsu, and Moto characters must pay 6 points for this Advantage.
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Bishamon’s Blessing *- page 109
You have been noticed by one of the Seven Fortunes. For every two Raises you declare amd make successfully on an attack roll, you gain the benefits of an additional Free Raise that can
only be used for damage. Crap and Loin characters may purchase this Advantage for 2 character points.
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Crab Hands *- page 109
You are particularly gifted with weapons. Your Rank in all Weapon Skills is considered to be one higher. Although this Advantage is most common among the Crab, hence its name, it is also possessed by skilled warriors in other Clans, most notably the Lion, Mantis, and Unicorn. Crab characters may purchase this Advantage for 6 points.
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Crafty *- page 109
You have always been particularly clever, and also curious about things inappropriate for one of your station. Your Rank in all Low Skills is considered one higher. This Advantage does not negate any Honor loss for the use of Low Skills. Mantis and Scorpion characters may purchase this Advantage for 4 points.
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Fleet *- page 110
Fleet (1-3 Points)
You are swift as the wind. You add an additional +5′ to your movement rate for every point you spend in this Advantage. This Advantage costs 1 fewer point for Hiruma and Miya characters (they still gain the full movement benefit). The cost of this Advantage cannot be reduced below 1.
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Hands of Stone *- page 111
“keep an extra die” instead of specified “0k2″.
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Large *- page 113
“You suffer a 5 point penalty to all Social Skill Rolls except Deceit (Intimidation) and rolls made to resist Investigation (Interrogation).”
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Leadership *- page 113
All Group Skills
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Luck *- page 113
“You may not use Luck to re-roll a re-roll.”
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Magic Resistance *- page 113
“This Advantage does not apply against elements for which you have the Wrath of the Kami Disadvantage.”
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Servant *- page 114
“Servants possess certain useful Skills. For 3 points, a servant has 3 Ranks in one Skill. These Ranks may be increased and a single Emphasis purchased for 3 points per additional Rank or Emphasis. Additional Skills at Rank 3 may be purchased for 1 point. These skills can be raised separately.”
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Wary*- page 115
“You do not suffer the -20 initiative penalty for being surprised in combat. You suffer a +5 TN penalty to all your Social Skill Rolls.”
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Antisocial *- page 115
“You roll one fewer die on Social Skill Rolls for 2 points, and also keep one fewer die if you have the 4 point version of this Disadvantage.”
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Cruel *- page 117
“Your Honor Rank is considered one less for Honor Rolls. If your true Honor Rank is 0, your Awareness is considered to be one less for the purposes of interacting socially.”
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Doubt *- page 117
“Whenever you attempt to use this Skill, or any Skill used as a substitute for this Skill, you must make a Raise to make the roll at all.”
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Epilepsy *- page 117
“When the epilepsy is triggered, you must make a Willpower roll at a TN of 15. If you fail, you suffer a seizure, which you must make a Willpower roll each minute at a TN of 10 to end.”
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Gullible *- page 118
“Any attempt to lie to you or convince you of something (often with the Sincerity Skill) has its TN reduced by 10, to a minimum of 5.”
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Shadowlands Taint *- page 119
“You begin the game with 1 Rank of the Shadowlands Taint. How you gained the Taint and whether or not your condition is a matter of public knowledge is between you and the Game Master. Keep in mind that while bearing the Taint is not necessarily grounds for execution (though it is usually good enough for most samurai), harboring the Taint in secret is.”
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Small *- page 119
“Your movement is reduced by 10′ and you roll one less die on melee damage.”
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Hiruma Scout 1 *- page 124
“You are skilled at survival and can make all food, water, and jade rations last twice as long for a number of people equal to your Hunting Skill Rank.”
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Hiruma Scout 2 *- page 124
the ability no longer allows the opponent to remove the TN bonuses by spending a Void
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Kakita Bushi 2 *- page 125
“You may add your Fire Ring to all attack rolls.”
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Asahina Shugenja Technique *- page 126
“You may spend a Void Point to roll additional dice equal to your Honor Rank when casting a spell. If you do so, all non-damage effects of the spells that are determined by an Elemental Ring are adjusted as if that Ring were increased by your Honor. Against Tainted beings, you may apply this bonus to damaging effects as well.”
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Doji Courtier 1 *- page 126
“You may add twice your Honor Rank to all Courtier, Etiquette, Lore: Heraldry, and Storytelling (Oratory) rolls.”
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Mirumoto Bushi 4 *- page 129
“You may not make more than twice your normal number of attacks per round through the use of this Technique.”
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Tamori Shugenja Technique *- page 129
“This may be done at any time (but not immediately after an attack has been rolled).”
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Togashi Tattoos *- page 130
Activating a tattoo is a Simple Action. Tattoos no longer have effects based off Insight Rank; they are based off School Rank instead.
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Dragon Tattoo *- page 131
Activating this tattoo is an Attack Action.
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Full Moon Tattoo *- page 132
Activating this tattoo is a Complex Action.
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Akodo Bushi 1 *- page 132
Ignores the armor’s TN to be Hit bonus, not necessarily other effects of the armor.
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Matsu Bushi 1 *- page 135
“When you declare the Full Attack Posture on your turn, opponents do not gain the bonus Free Raises against you until after your first attack that turn.”
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Yoritomo Bushi 5 *- page 136
“When you roll for attack or damage, you may choose to re-roll any dice that roll below your Water Ring +1, but you must keep the new result.”
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Yoritomo Courtier 1 *- page 137
“You gain an additional Free Raise against characters whom you have seduced (per the Deceit Skill) and you may choose to either make the penalty for being intimidated (per the Deceit Skill) be doubled to +20 or have it apply to two rolls. You do not lose Honor for using Deceit (Intimidation).”
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Shiba Bushi 1 *- page 139
“You may spend more than one Void for Enhancements to Skill Rolls and Raw Trait Rolls and you may use more than one type of Enhancement.”
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Shiba Bushi 4 *- page 139
“Once per round or duel, whenever another character spends a Void Point withing 50′ of you, you may make a Contested Void roll against the character. This ability activates itself even if you are unaware of the source of the Void roll, but you do not learn anything regarding the source or nature of how the Void Point was originally spent.”
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Shiba Bushi 5 *- page 139
“When you spend Void for Enhancements to Skill Rolls and Raw Trait Rolls, the effects of each Void Point is doubled.”
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Isawa Shugenja Technique *- page 140
“You may spend more than one Void for Enhancements for spellcasting rolls and the effects of each of these Void Points is doubled for spells of your Isawa Shugenja School Affinity.”
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Asako Courtier 1 *- page 140
“The Experience Point cost for increasing any Lore Skill is reduced by your School Rank, to a minimum of one point.”
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Asako Courtier 2 *- page 140
“You gain a bonus to all Lore Skill Rolls equal to the number of Lore Skills you currently possesss up to a maximum bonus equal to your School Rank times 5.”
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Asako Courtier 3 *- page 140
“A number of times per day equal to your School Rank, you may re-roll a Lore Skill Roll.”
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Asako Henshin Riddles *- page 141
“Each Riddle may be used a number of times per day equal to your Ring in that particular element. You may spend a Void Point to use the Riddle an additional time each day.
To use a Riddle, you make an Intelligence/Lore: Elements (Specific Element) roll vs. TN 15.”
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Asako Henshin Mysteries *- page 142
“To use a Mystery, you perform a Complex Action and make an Intelligence/Lore: Elements (Specific Element) roll against a TN of 15.”
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Bayushi Bushi 2 *- page 143
“When you make an attack roll, you may declare one or more Raises. If your attack is successful, for each such Raise made, opponents attacking you before your next turn must declare one additional Raise before declaring any Raises for Maneuvers or effects (except Free Raises adding +5 to the roll).”
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Shosuro Shinobi 1 *- page 145
“The Full Defense Posture does not restrict your movement. At the beginning of the first round of a skirmish and after all Initiative changes have occurred, you may declare the Full Defense Posture. This is not your Posture Declaration for your first Turn and you may declare a different Posture at the beginning of your first Turn.”
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Shosuro Shinobi 2 *- page 145
“You gain two Free Raises on all Athletics and Low Skill Rolls for which you have Great Potential.”
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Moto Bushi 1 *- page 148
“You may wield any non-polearm two-handed melee weapon with one hand (you do not get the increased damage from heavy weapons) and roll an additional die when doing so.”
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Ide Courtier 1 *- page 149
“This does not apply against other members of the Ide Emissary School or for Free Raises your Disadvantages grant to your opponent.”
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Seppun Bushi 1 *- page 151
“You may spend a Void Point to re-roll any failed Honor Roll, and can do so repeatedly on the same roll so long as you have Void Points to spend.”
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Miya Herald *- page 152
is now tagged as a [Courtier]
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Tonbo Shugenja Technique *- page 155
This technique no longer creates crystal wings. The social enhancement effects still apply as before.
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Kasuga Courtier 3 *- page 155
“You gain Void Points equal to your School Rank beyond your normal maximum that may only be used to activate your School Techniques.”
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Ronin Warrior 2 *- page 157
“You may now spend a Void Point on damage with any weapon, not just swords.”
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Ronin Duelist 2 *- page 157
“As a Complex Action that may be performed in the Full Defense Posture, you may study an opponent and roll an additional die on all attack rolls against that opponent. You may study more than one character, but you may not gain more total dice this way than your School Rank. This bonus lasts until you reallocate your dice.”
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Ronin Duelist 3 *- page 158
“In a duel, when your opponent lowers his Focus Pool to gain +5 on a Focus Roll, you may lower your Focus Pool by one to negate the effects of that Free Raise.”
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Ronin Duelist 4 *- page 158
“Your bonus dice from your Rank 3 are now kept dice.”
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Ronin Duelist 5 *- page 158
“As a duel you are in begins, you may spend a Void Point to prevent anyone involved in the duel (including yourself) from using the effects of any Techniques or Kata.”
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Ronin Yojimbo 1 *- page 158
“When rolling your Full Defense roll, you may split the result any way between yourself and an ally within 10′ of you. This bonus can only be applied to either of you a number of times equal to the normal limits on Full Defense plus one for each of your School Ranks.”
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Ronin Yojimbo 2 *- page 158
“When acting to protect another individual or when acting in self-defense (ie, you do not provoke or initiate combat), you reduce the wound penalty on any action by a number equal to three times your School Rank. Once per round, when an ally within 10′ of you takes Wounds, you may spend a Void Point to reduce the Wounds by 10 and then take Wounds yourself equal to the Wounds you prevented.
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Ronin Yojimbo 3 *- page 158
still applies if in Full Defense on boosted round
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Ronin Yojimbo 5 *- page 158
“By spending a Void Point at the beginning of a combat round, you may take the Full Defense Posture and still make attacks as normal. You lose the benefit of the Full Defense Posture until your next Turn while attacking in this way (but your ally from your Rank 1 Technique does not unless they also attack).
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Encouragement *- page 167
The rules specifically say this cannot be done in iaijutsu duels.
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Persistence *- page 167
“You may spend a Void Point at the start of an action or Skill Roll to ignore all Wound Penalties during that action or Skill Roll, except those from the Final Strike.”
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Combat Resolution *- page 168
The Combat Round
Skirmishes are divided into rounds of combat, each lasting about six seconds of game time. During each round, each participant takes a turn to act. When all surviving participants have acted, the battle either ends or continues into another round.
Step 0: Roll for Surprise.
Step 1: Roll for Initiative (first round for a combatant only)
Step 2: Initiative Changes
Step 3: Full Defense Mastery Declaration (first round for a combatant only)
Step 4: Turns
Step 5: Tides of Battle
- Step Zero: Roll for Surprise
Under certain circumstances, when one character wants to attack another, a surprise roll may be required. If the two characters can see each other and the attacker is openly hostile, obviously no roll for surprise is made. If one character wants to suddenly attack another character and his intentions are unknown either because he is hiding or trying to conceal his intentions, a Surprise roll is made. The attacker makes an Agility/Stealth (Ambush) roll (if he is hiding) or an Awareness/Deceit (Lying) roll (if he is concealing his intentions) to set the TN of the Surprise Roll. Everyone present rolls either a Perception/Investigation (Notice) or Perception/Battle (Skirmish) roll vs. a TN set by the Surprise Roll in order to detect the ambush. Characters that fail this roll suffer a -20 penalty to their Initiative roll.
- Step One: Roll Initiative
When a skirmish begins, all characters present roll Reflexes/Insight Rank for Initiative. A character makes only one Initiative roll during a given skirmish, and the result of that roll is used throughout the entire combat. This result is referred to as the character’s Initiative Score, and may change over the course of the skirmish. Characters later joining an ongoing skirmish make Surprise Roll and resolve it before rolling their Initiative for the first time.
- Step Two: Initiative Changes
Before combat continues each round, any Initiative-changing effects may be used. The character with the highest Initiative Score has the first opportunity to use an Initiative-changing effct, or to pass. After each use of an Initiative-changing effect, the process repeats starting with the player with the highest Initiative Score. A character’s Initiative Score cannot go below zero.
Once all characters have passed, Step Two ends. Thus, if a character wishes to use an Initiative-changing effect but waits to see what everyone else might do and he passes, it everyone else also passes, the character loses his chance to use his effect.
- Step Three: Full Defense Mastery
Once Initiative has been determined, characters have the opportunity to use the Defense 5 Mastery Ability or other abilities that let them start combat in Full Defense (such as the Rank 1 Shosuro Shinobi Technique). Unless a character uses one of these effects, the character is placed in the Attack Posture. Any character can be wary and declare to the Game Master that he wishes to start combat in the Full Defense Posture. If there is a Surprise Roll, the character must have detected the ambush. If this is the case, the character begins combat in Full Defense but before Initiative was rolled. Doing this also fulfills the character’s Posture Declaration for the first turn.
- Step Four: Turns
Each round progresses starting with the highest Initiative Score and proceeds toward the lowest. As each character’s Initiative Score comes up in the round, that character gets a Turn. In the case of two characters having their Turns come up at the same time, the characters act simultaneously, but the Game Master may decide an appropriate means of having the players announce their characters’ actions. A character’s Turn begins when his Initiative Score first comes up in a round and lasts until his Initiative Score first comes up in the next Round. Effects that last for your “Turn” will last until your Turn starts in the next Round.
When a character’s Turn begins, he must declare his Posture for the Turn. If the character was in Full Defense and wishes to maintain it, he must make his Agility/Defense roll again. After a character has taken his Posture for the Turn, the character may activate and deactivate any kata he has prepared. Once this is done, the character (or possibly other characters) can perform his actions.
During a character’s Turn, he normally gets one Action. Some effects grant a character additional Actions. A character may delay any or all of his Actions until his next Turn starts in the next round, but he may not delay his Posture declaration or other non-action parts of his Turn. Delaying an action does not affect a character’s Initiative Score. Once during his Turn, a character may spend 2 Void to gain an extra non-Attack Action at any time. He may only take actions after another action has resolved (either by the character or by another character). The character with the highest Initiative Score has the first opportunity to take an action after another action has resolved. He may attempt to perform an action on another character’s Turn before they declare their first action by winning a Contested Perception/Battle (Skirmish or Specific Enemy) roll. He may only perform an Extra Attack Action if he has not already performed an Attack Action that Turn or if an effect says otherwise. (such as the Rank 3 Usagi Bushi Technique). Once the round gets to Initiative Score zero, all characters with Initiaives of zero take their Turns in the order determined by the Game Master. Actions not taken by this point are lost unless an ability specifically allows an action to be delayed unitl a following Turn.
- Step Five: Tides of Battle
Once all characters have had a Turn and resolved or passed their opportunities to perform any action that round, the round ends and Tides of Battle is rolled. After the Tides of Battle roll, the next round begins.
- Attack and Defense
Attacking another opponent requires a special sort of Skill Roll. As the attacker, you make a Skill Roll determined by the sort of attack you are using. For example, attacking with a katana
requires an Agility/Kenjutsu roll. (All Weapon Skills tell you which Trait to use undre their individual descriptions.) This roll has a base TN equal to the target’s Reflexes x 5. Other modifiers may inrease this TN, the most common of which is armor. If you equal or exceed your opponent’s TN to be Hit, then your attack is successful.
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Down *- page 170
You are effectively incapacitated. Movement is reduced to 5′ and Simple Actions may not be used for movement.
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Full Defense *- page 170
You have turned every effort toward self-preservation, moving slowly and watching all enemies for any sign of attack. When you declare this Posture and each Turn you maintain it, you make an Agility/Defense roll and use this roll instead of your Reflexes times 5 for determining your TN to be Hit. You may only apply this bonus against a number of opponents per Turn equal to your Insight Rank. You may allocate these uses as you are attacked, but you may not allocate these uses versus attackers for which you are unaware.
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Dueling Stance *- page 170
Dueling takes an enormous amount of focus. Characters in an iaijutsu duel must have this Posture. While in this Posture, your TN to be Hit from attacks (not Focus rolls) is 5 + armor. Bonuses to your TN to be Hit do not apply unless the bonus specifically mentions that it can be used in a duel.
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Melee Attack *- page 170
You may make a single melee attack. If you are in Attack Posture, you may move up to half of your movement before or after the attack, but not both. You may instead move your full movement by declaring a Raise for this purpose on the attack roll. You do not need to make the Raise if you are in Full Attack Posture. Characters using two weapons do not gain an additional attack. Instead, they may better take advantage of the Extra Attack Maneuver.
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Move *- page 171
A character can move his Water x 10′ in a single round. Actions that allow you to move count against your total movement for your turn. If you are in the Full Defense Posture, you cannot make such rapid movement, though you can move half this distance as a Simple Action.
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Ranged Attacks *- page 171
You may attack once per round with a ranged weapon. Due to the precision inherent in ranged attacks, such attacks may not be made in the Full Attack Posture. You may load a bow while performing this action without having to use any Simple Actions.
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Run *- page 171
You may move up to three times your normal movement. You may not perform this action if you have performed any other actions this Turn and you may not perform any actions after this one during this Turn.
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Stand Up *- page 171
If you are knocked to the ground, rising to your feet again takes your action for the round. You may stand up and still perform one Attack Action If you make 2 Raises on the attack. You may not move during the Attack Action.
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Disarm *- page 171
(3 Raises)
To disarm an opponent, you must first make a successful attack against them. This attack deals no damage, and ignores all armor bonuses to your opponent’s TN to be Hit. If your attack is successful, you must make a Contested Roll against your opponent using the Trait/Skill you used for the attack. Your opponent uses Strength/Weapon Skill if being disarmed of a weapon, or
Strength/Jiujutsu if being disarmed of any other sort of object. If you win the Contested Roll, your opponent has dropped the object in question. This maneuver may not be attempted with a ranged attack.
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Extra Attack *- page 171
(4 Raises)
This maneuver requires a standard attack against your opponent using his normal TN to be Hit (plus the four Raises). If successful, you may immediately make a second attack roll against your opponent, again making four Raises. This second attack roll should use whatever Skill applies to the weapon with which you are making the second attack. If the second attack roll is successful, you may make appropriate damage rolls for each attack. If the second attack misses, then both attacks are considered misses. You may make additional Raises for other effects on one or both of these rolls. Both attacks must be made against the same target unless you are using weapons held in different hands, in which case they may be made against adjacent targets within range. You may only use this maneuver once per round.
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Feint *- page 171
(1 Raise)
You can make a quick, non-damaging attack to throw your opponent off-guard. If your attack roll is successful, you inflict no damage. For every Raise made on this attack roll, you gain two Free Raises on your next attack against that same opponent, as long as that attack is not a Feint and is made before the end of your next Turn following your Feint.
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Increased Damage *- page 172
(1 or more Raises)
You may declare a Raise on an attack roll to increase your damage on that attack. A single Raise increases your damage by 1k0. Two Raises increases your damage by 1k1. You may make any number of Raises to increase your damage by +1k0 and +1k1 increments up to your normal maximum number of Raises. Regardless of the total number of Raises made, they count as one pool for the purposes of effects that reduce the cost of Raises for damage.
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Knockdown *- page 172
(3 Raises)
If this attack hits, make a Contested Strength + Insight Rank roll versus your opponent’s Earth + Insight Rank. If you win this roll, the opponent is knocked prone and then the damage of the attack, if any, is applied. Each Raise beyond those required for this maneuver gives you a Free Raise on the Contested Roll. If you are fighting unarmed, you may instead Throw the target a number of feet equal to twice your Jiujutsu Skill Rank. You may perform this Maneuver as a Takedown that ignores the target’s armor and does no damage.
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Grapple *- page 172
(0 or more Raises)
This attack ignores the target’s armor and does no damage. If this attack hits, you start a grapple with your opponent. Each Raise made on this maneuver grants you an additional die on the initiatl Contested Roll. If you are unarmed while performing this Maneuver, your opponent’s TN to be Hit is increased by the Weapon Skill of any one weapon he is wielding.
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Poisons *- page 174, sidebar
Many poisons have the result of dramatically lowering the Traits of a target. A Trait temporarily lowered by poison does not reduce the target’s Ring, but there are serious ramifications for having a lowered Trait, particularly if it is reduced to zero. A target with a zero Trait suffers the following condition:
- Stamina – Death
- Willpower – Schizophrenic dementia
- Agility – Paralysis
- Intelligence – Comatose
- Strength – Physical Helplessness
- Perception – Blindness/Deafness
- Reflexes – Inability to move under own power
- Awareness – Speech dysfunction
- Void – Total disassociation from one’s surroundings
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Unknown Attacker *- page 179
If you cannot perceive your attacker, your Reflexes is considered 1 for purposes of your TN to be Hit and you may not apply the bonus from the Full Defense Poture or the Defense Skill’s Mastery Abilities to your TN to be Hit. Bonuses to your TN to be Hit from School Techniques, Kata, and other sources apply.
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Grappling *- page 179
Grappling is the term applied to a form of unarmed combat wherein two or more combatants attempt to physically overpower one another while locked together in a crushing embrace.
1. Initiating a grapple is normally a Maneuver performed as part of an attack. Other effects may allow a character to initiate a grapple at other times.
2. Immediately after the grapple is initiated, make a Contested Strength/Jiujutsu (Grappling) roll to gain control of the grapple.
3. Each Turn, as an Attack Action, the character in control of the Grapple may automatically inflict their normal unarmed (plus 1 FR for controlling the Grapple), or hold the target still, or terminate the Grapple. In situations where there are multiple grapplers, the Cumulative Skill Rolls rules apply. Characters in a grapple but not in control cannot perform actions.
4. A new Contested Strength/Jiujutsu (Grappling) roll is made after each of the controlling character’s actions each round. If you were in control when your Turn started, you get a Free Raise on the roll.
5. Characters using weapons to grapply may use Strength/Weapon Skill (Typ) instead of Strength/Jiujutsu (Grapple) when making control checks and may inflict the weapon’s damage instead of Strength damage when in control of a grapple with that weapon.
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Iaijutsu Duels *- page 179-80
Challenge
A duel begins when one character challenges another character to a duel. If the challenged is two or more Status Ranks above the challenger, the challenged can refuse the duel with no loss of face. The challenged party has the right to pick the time, place, and nature of the duel by stating a mutual condition to decide the winner. Traditionally the most common result is an iaijutsu duel to first blood, to be conducted immediately. If the challenged wants other terms, a Contested Social Skill Roll may be used to resolve the matter by other means. Because of the Rights of the Challenged, the challeneged character gains two Free Raises on this Contested Social Skill Roll.
If the challenger wins the Contested Social Skill Roll, the terms of the duel default to the traditional: an immediate iaijutsu duel to first blood. If the challenged character wins the Contested Roll, he may choose the terms of the duel. Once the parameters have been established, the challenged can refuse and suffer any appropriate loss of face. If the challenger backs out of such a challenge, he only loses half a Rank of Glory instead of the full Rank for a Defeat. The nature of the duel may still result in a loss of face for the challenged party if it is a particularly inappropriate method. Picking or accepting duels to the death without your lord’s permission causes an immediate loss of a rank of Honor. If the challenge is accepted and the challenger does not back out, the duel is pending. Until both characters meet at the time and place of the parameters, the process continues. If the duel’s parameters call for an iaijutsu duel, each duelist may move until they are within 5′ of each other. Otherwise, the duel is settled per the parameters of the duel. If the duel is an iaijutsu duel, once they both declare the Dueling Stance Posture, the iaijutsu duel begins.
Assessment
During an iaijutsu duel, each duelist first makes an Assessment Roll by rolling Awareness/Iaijutsu (Assessment) vs. TN 5. Success results in learning one fact about the opponent. Raises may be
made on this roll to learn more information or even to reduce the number of items the oppnent learns by one per Raise. At this stage either duelist can concede the duel and suffer the appropriate consequences of losing a duel.
The Duelists may learn:
- The opponent’s rating of the effect the character used for his skill part of this Assessment Roll, which is usually Iaijutsu.
- The opponent’s Awareness.
- The opponent’s Reflexes.
- The opponent’s Agility.
- The opponent’s Void.
- The opponent’s Insight Rank.
- The opponent’s number of remaining Void Points.
- The opponent’s current Wound Level (Healthy, Hurt, etc.)
If the duel continues, the characters now pick a Trait of the opponent to become the Choice Trait for the opponent during the duel. A character can pick from Agility, Reflexes, or Void for his opponent to use during the Focus stage of the duel.
Focus
Once the Assessment stage is over, the Focus stage begins. Each character takes turns Focusing until one must call Strike, at which time the duel moves to the Strike stage. The character who rolled the highest on the Assessment Roll decides who Focuses first. A character gains a point of Honor for letting the opponent go first. The character rolls Choice/Iaijutsu (Focus) vs. the current TN to be Hit of the opponent. Each duelist’s TN to be Hit begins at 5. Only effects that explicitly state that they apply in iaijutsu duels can increase this TN. If the character fails to make the Focus TN, he calls Strike and the duel moves to the Strike Phase. If the character’s roll makes the TN to be Hit of his opponent, both duelist’s TN to be Hit increases by 5 and it becomes the opponent’s turn to Focus.
A duelist has a Focus Pool that is equal to the Trait his opponent picked during the Assessment stage. Other effects (such as the Rank 3 Iaijutsu Skill Mastery Ability) can increase this number. When a character rolls his Focus Roll, his Focus Pool is reduced by 1. If a character’s turn to Focus comes and his Focus Pool is zero, he must call Strike or spend a Void Point to add one to his Focus Pool. A character may reduce his Focus Pool by one and only one to gain +5 on a Focus Roll. A character with a Focus Pool of zero can spend a Void Point to increase his Focus Pool in order to immediately lower it to gain the +5 bonus. Void Point enhancements to such rolls may still be used.
Strike
Once a character calls Strike, the dule moves to the Strike stage and one or more attacks are made. First, the opponent of the character who called Strike makes his attack rolling Reflexes/Iaijutsu (Strike) vs. his opponent’s Focus TN to be Hit + Armor. The attacker gains one Free Raise for each time he focused. The attacker cannot perform any Maneuvers on this attack roll other than Increased Damage and Called Shot. He may use Free Raises for +5 to hit as normal. If the attack hits, he rolls damage. A duel to first blood is won even if all the Wounds are prevented and minimum damage is expected.
If the opponent lives through this attack, he may attack in return against his opponent’s Focus TN to be Hit + Armor. In duels to the first blood this is considered very dishonorable. Each still conscious duelist who hit his opponent may now spend any amount of Void to do 1k1 damage to his opponent per Voi spent in this way. If both duelists die or meet the condition for victory at this point, the duel is a Kharmic Strike and both duelists lose and suffer any consequences of losing the duel. If neither opponent has met the condition, the duel becomes a skirmish until the duel is resolved and the condition for victory is met.
If a fuel takes place during a skirmish, the duel’s duration lasts from the beginning of the turn of the character with the lowest Initiative Count the next Round. At this time, both characters’ Postures become the Attack Posture, they re-roll Initiative and get a Turn the next round as if they had just joined an ongoing skirmish.
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Armor Piercing Arrows *- page 182
Special Rules: Ignore half (rounded up) of the target’s armor bonus to TN to be Hit.
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Kusari-gama, Kouketsu-shogi *- page 183
both contain: “This weapon maybe used to make a Grapple.”
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Dai Tsuchi *- page 183
Special Rules: Requires 3 Strength to wield; reduces TN bonus from armor by 5 and reduces Carapace by 1.
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Ono *- page 184
Special Rules: Requires a 4 Strength to wield effectively. Characters with 3 Strength cannot maneuver the ono as quickly and suffer a +5 penalty to TN to be Hit. Characers with 2 or lower Strength cannot wield the ono.
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Tetsubo *- page 184
Special Rules: Requires a 3 Strength to wield; reduces TN bonus from armor by 10 and reduces Carapace by 2.
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Kama *- page 185
Special Rules: If you possess the Kama Emphasis on your Peasant Weapons Skill, you do not suffer the penalty for fighting with two weapons if both of your weapons are kama. While wielding two kama, each kama does an additional +2k0 damage.
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Polearms and Spears *- page 186
loses the “-1k0 damage against man-sized or smaller targets”
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Bo *- page 188
Special Rules: If you have the Staves (Bo) Emphasis, you receive a +5 bonus to your TN to be Hit.
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Tonfa *- page 188
Special Rules: If you have the Tonfa Emphasis and your Staves Skill is 5 or more, you ignore the penalties for fighting with two weapons, but not the off hand penalty.
loses the TN bonus
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War Fan *- page 190
Special Rules: If you possess an Emphasis in the type of war fan you are currently wielding, you gain a +2 bonus to your TN to be Hit while wielding it in your off-hand. This counts as Armor. This bonus increases to +4 if your War Fan Skill is 7 or higher.
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Glory Table *- page 197
monks move to Glory 0
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Honor Rolls *- page 201
Honor Rolls may be re-rolled.
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Striking as Earth *- page 205
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
This Kata draws on the inner reserves of Earth within the body. Just as Earth can shield from harm, so does it often fail to strike others.
Rank: Insight Rank 1
Cost: 2
Special: Must have an Earth Ring of 3 or higher.
Effect: Your TN to be Hit is increased by 5. You roll two less dice on attack rolls.
Void: None.
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Striking as Fire *- page 205
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
Schools that focus on accurate blows teach this Kata right away, improving the accuracy of the student’s strike at the cost of waiting for the right moment.
Rank: Insight Rank 1
Cost: 2
Special: Must have a Fire Ring of 3 or higher.
Effect: You roll two additional dice on attack rolls. Your Initiative is reduced by 5.
Void: None.
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Striking as Water *- page 205
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
Focusing on pure strength, this Kata brings the destructive powre of Water to bear, sacrificing defense for powerful, unprotected swings.
Rank: Insight Rank 1
Cost: 2
Special: Must have a Water Ring of 3 or higher.
Effect: You roll an additional two dice on damage rolls. Your TN to be Hit is reduced by 5.
Void: None.
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Striking as Wind *- page 205
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
This Kata teaches maneuverability at the cost of all else. Striking as Wind allows phenomenally quick movements at the cost of raw power.
Rank: Insight Rank 1
Cost: 2
Special: Must have an Air Ring of 3 or higher.
Effect: Your Initiative score is increased by 5. You roll two less dice on damage rolls. You may activate this Kata during the Initiative changing step of your first round in a skirmish, but if you do, you may not deactivate this Kata until next round.
Void: None.
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Striking as Void
*
Preparation Time: Special
Duration: 24 hours
This Kata is pure meditation that opens the mind to more possibilities.
Rank: Insight Rank 2.
Cost: 5
Special: You must know Striking as Earth, Striking as Fire, Striking as Water, and Striking as Wind to learn this kata.
Effect: This Kata allows you to prepare, and have prepared, two additional Kata all at once. When you prepare this Kata, you may select two other Kata other than Striking as Void. The total time to prepare all three Kata is equal to the longest Preparation Time of the other two Kata. Each of these other two Kata still has its own Duration. You may double this Preparation Time to extend the Durations of those Kata to 24 hours. During your Kata step of your Turn, you may activate or deactivate one or both of the two other Kata at once. Each of the two Kata has its duration begin when you first activate it after it is prepared.
Void: None.
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Shell of Stone *- page 207
Effect: When you use this kata, you may either double your effective Defense Skill or double the bonus gained from wearing heavy armor. You may not declare Full Attack, and you roll two fewer dice on attack rolls.
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Unyielding Fury *- page 208
Effect: Whenever you are successfully struck in combat, you may spend a Void Point to immediately gain a free attack against the opponent that attacked you. You cannot use this ability if you take no damage from the attack. If you use this ability against an attack that would bring you to the Down Wound Level or lower, it does not cost a Void Point and your damage total is doubled. You may not gain more than one extra attack per round from this kata. You may only perform one Attack Action per round while this Kata is active and may not perform the Extra Attack Maneuver.
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Kakita’s First Stance *- page 208
Effect: This kata may be activated upon entering an Iaijutsu Duel, before the Assessment Phase. You may use your Honor Rank instead of any Trait in the duel. You must decide which Trait to affect when this Kata activates. Your Focus Pool is reduced by 1.
Void: You may spend two Void Points to increase your effective Honor Rank by one during a duel (not just for this kata).
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Shugenja Rank *- page 236
Learning a Spell
If a shugenja wishes to cast a spell, he must first learn the spell’s intricacies. All spells are unique, each requiring a specific mindset. Merely reading a scroll out loud is insufficient, or everyone would be able to practice magic. Upon first encountering a new spell, a shugenja must first determine if he is capable of casting it. The total number of Ranks a character has of Shugenja Schools is the character’s Shugenja Rank. A shugenja can only cast spells with a Mastery Level equal to or less than their Shugenja Rank. If he can potentially learn the spell, he must spend a number of hours equal to the spell’s Mastery Level studying the spell scroll. At the end of this time he must make a roll as if he were casting the spell. If this roll is successful, he learns the spell. If it fails, he must begin the learning process anew.
All shugenja characters begin with a certain number of spell scrolls, granted by their School. You already know how to cast any spell scroll your character begins with. When your shugenja increases in Insight Rank, you may select any two spells that you could now potentially cast. You automatically learn how to cast these spells as a result of your spiritual development, a new insight into your magic. Copies of the appropriate spell scrolls can be obtained at your School.
New spells may be offered by one’s School as a reward for personal achievement, or merely discovered in the course of your adventures. Keep in mind that most spell scrolls are coded in a clan cipher, making them useless to members of other clans.
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Casting a Spell *- page 237
To cast a spell you must have learned the spell and must have the spell scroll in hand or possess the spell as an Innate Ability. Unless stated otherwise in the spell’s description, casting a spell takes a number of Complex Actions equal to its Mastery Level. If the spell instead has a specific listed casting time in its description, the spell takes a number of continuous Complex Actions until the casting time is met. If you suffer any Wounds at any time during the casting of a spell, eachtime you must roll your Ring/Shugenja Rank vs. a TN equal to the Wounds suffered or immediately fail at the casting and no longer need to perform Complex Actions. At the ends of the last Complex Action, you roll a number of dice equal to the spell’s corresponding Ring, plus your Shugenja Rank, and keep a number of dice equal to the Ring vs a TN of 10 + the spell’s Mastery Level x 5. Success results in casting the spell and producing the spell’s effects.
Each day, a shugenja can cast a number of spells equal to his corresponding Ring. These potential spells are referred to as spell slots. A shugenja with Fire 4, for example, has four spell slots per day that can be used for Fire spells. You may temporarily gain an additional spell slot by spending a Void Point. Additionally, any shugenja can use Void spell slots to cast spells of any element. If you attempt to cast a spell and fail, you still expend a spell slot.
All spell slots are recovered after a night of sleep. One spell slot of each Ring is regained from an hour of uninterrupted meditation and a Void/Meditation roll vs. TN 15.
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Raises *- page 238
Maximum spellcasting Raises = Void or Spellcraft Skill Ranks, whichever is higher
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Spell, “Wind-Born Slumbers” *- page 242
The target can resist the spell by making an Earth roll against a TN of caster’s Air x Shugenja Insight Rank. Inactive targets fall asleep; active targets suffer a +5 TN penalty on all Skill rolls. Any noise or touch instantly awakens sleeping targets.
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Spell, “Silent Waters” *- page 260
This spell can only be used to store a single spell of Rank 3 or less.
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Playing a Monk *- page 263
Monks do receive the Trait Bonus based upon their order (see the Book of Earth)
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Fear *- page 293
Willpower roll (adding Honor Rank to total of each die) at a TN = 5 + 5xFear Rating
