Unofficial Third Edition Guide

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Unofficial Third Edition Guide

Rokugan

The history of the world of Rokugan start for the samourais by the birth of the ninth kamis from Lady Amaterasu, the sun; and Lord Onnotangu, the moon during an eclipse. The ninth kamis was the mysterous Togashi, the twin Shiba and Bayushi, the swift Shinjo, the beautiful Doji, the great Akodo, the strong Hida, the shadowy Fu-leng and the shining Hantei. They was the pride of their mother, but their father grow jealous. He ates them, but Lady Sun given to him a cup of sake with each child. So, when it was Hantei’s turn, she remplaced the baby by a stone with diapers and Lord Moon ate it without noticing.

Amaterasu teached her remaining son how to fight his father, to save his brothers and his sisters. And years later, Hantei goes and defied his father. They fighted, and Hantei cut his father’s tummy. His siblings felt from it to the earth throught a hole in the Sky. The last to felt with Fu-leng, because Onnotangu grabbed him with his hand. Hantei striked and cut the hand and the bone, but Fu-leng didn’t felt alone: he grabbed Hantei’s leg and they both felt on the earth.

They have been take away of Tengoku, the celestial heavens, to Ningen-do, realms of mortals. By the curse of Ningen-do, they was banned to ever join again their former home expect by dying. They looked around and see a new race: humans, born of the blood of Lord Moon and the tears of Lady Sun for her lost childs.

They looked at them and they think they could help them and build an empire. They started what would be named the Kami’s test. They fighted each other to see who would rule, and who would swear fealty. Hantei win and became the first Emperor. A young lady appeared with her tribe and bowed to Hantei. They was the first followers of the Kamis, the tribe of Seppun.

The Kamis reunited all the willing humans tribes, some didn’t wanted to join and fled to the north, forming the Yobanjins tribes. The others started to form the clans. Akodo formed the Lion clan, Doji the Crane clan, Bayushi the Scorpion clan, Shiba the Phoenix clan, Hide the Crab Clan, Shinjo the Ki-rin clan and Togashi the Dragon clan. They was forming the empire Hantei ruled. But somebody wasn’t happy of that: Fu-leng, the one that must not be named, have felt far from his siblings. He felt in the south, and dig a hole in the earth. This hole opened a gate to the realm of evil, Jigoku. Fu-leng left the hole, newly named the Festering Pit, with the power of the darkness and the onis, the demons. He destroyed the Empire of the Nezumi, the humanoïds rats, before enslaving the trolls, the ogres and the goblins. He turned all the land south of Rokugan into a corrupted wasteland named now the Shadowlands

The shadowlands was filled with the raw power of Jigoku, creating the Shadowland taint. This taint was turning everything was infected by it into a creature of darkness. Only the jade was protecting from it. The armies of Fu-leng assaulted the forces of the clans and started to burn the Empire. The Kamis was loosing, but a monk came to them. He was named Shinsei. He told them he could defeat Fu-leng if seven mortals followed him into the shadowlands. The Kamis didn’t wanted to believe it, but he defeated many fighters bare-handed, and started to tell them about the wisdow of the world. Shiba written down what Shinsei told to Hantei, and it became the famous Tao of Shinsei.

Convinced by the Little Teacher’s words, the Kamis reunited seven fighters, the seven thunders: Shosuro of the Scorpion, Mirumoto of the Dragon, Otaku of the Ki-rin, Matsu of the Lion, Isawa from the Phoenix, Hida Atarasi from the Crabe and Doji Konnishiko from the Crane. They entered the Shadowland with Shinsei and his crow. The young bird’s feathers turned from white to black because of the corruption. The thunders fighted and defeated Fu-leng, but most of them never return. Shiba died in the Shadowland to bring Shosuro back. She was carrying something: the twelve black scrolls. This scrolls was the keys to Fu-leng’s prison. Shosuro dissapeared some time later.

The Empire was safe and started to build what would became the Emerald Empire.

The social classes:

The emperor rule and own all rokugan. He makes the laws, give the title of fortunes (minor gods) to peoples, collect the money. He is a living god. The place of everybody in the world is the Celestial order.

Under him are the imperial families: the Seppun who are his guards, the Otomo who are his courtiers, and the Miya who are his heralds. They all have great powers.

Under them are the clans. The clans are divided in two great parts: the buke and the Kuge. The Kuge are the distants members of the great families of each clans, the buke are lessers samourais. They are called Ji-samourais and their families are vassals from the great families. Most of the samourais have a family name. That doesn’t means they are directly realted, but they all bows to the daimyo (leader) of the family. They are a truly extended family.

Under the 7 great clans are the minors clans. They are ji-samourais who have been given their own colors and mon (symbol). They have little power and influence.

All this is the samourai class. The samourais are divided by job: the bushis, who are the warriors; the shugenjas who are priests of the fortunes and the kamis (with a minor K, it’s the elemental spirits of the five elements who are part of the world: air, earth, fire, water and the void between them) and the others: courtiers, artisans and others things. The lowest part of the samourai class are the ronins, the wave-men. This is samourais who aren’t members of a clan. They are masterless men.

Under the samourai class are the monks. Most of the monks are retired samourais: at the age of 40 most samourais does the inkyo. They shave their head and join the monks. Some others are sons and daughters of monks, or childs of poor peasants who lacked of money and given them to some temples. The monks are under the samourais in the Celestial order, but still are worthy of respect. Like the shugenjas, the monks revere the fortunes, but they also revere the Tao, the writing of Shinsei.

Under the samourais and monk class are the heimins: it’s the paysants, the merchants, the ashigarus (paysants soldiers), the artisans … The heimins are the half-peoples, because they aren’t noble like the samourais or worthy of respect like the monks, but they are necessary. They feed the Empire, create clothes and fulfill all his needs.

Their is still jobs no one want to do, and it’s the hinin’s jobs. The hinin, or non-peoples, are nothing in the Celestial order. Their is among them the leatherworkers and the gravediggers: touching dead flesh is bad, and so such jobs are for the hinins. Geishas are also hinins. If somebody need a good reason to kill an heimin (even if sometimes it’s false reasons), everybody can kill a hinin: they have no place in the Celestial order.

The Gaijin, or foreigners, are banished by Imperial edict. They can be killed on sight.

The daily life:

A samourai’s duty is to serve his lord. So, every samourai serve the Emperor, is clan’s champion (the leader of the clan), is family daimyo and the daimyo of the shiro (castle) he lives in. He also must show respect to the religion of Rokugan, who is the fusion of three differents religions: the reverence to one’s ancestors, the prayers to the Fortunes (lessers gods, who have been for most once mortals) and the elementals spirits. He lives for the 7 virtues of the bushido, the code of the samourai: honesty, courage, compassion, courtesy, honnor, sincerity and duty.

Each samourai so need to act everyday for his clan and the empire, but also for his own goals. But those who forget that their own interests is second to the welfare of the empire and his clan are dishonnorable filfth and will have a bad karma that will make them get punished in the afterlife before they can be allowed to reincarnate.

The justice:

The emperor write the laws, all of his edicts is a decision from a god. To make sure his will is respected in the Empire, he had the Impérial legions and the Emerald Magistrates. Both groups are lead by the Emerald Champion: he has the power of the Emperor for everything concerning the justice and the armies. His job is too make sure the Emperor’s edict are followed.

The Imperials legions are the armies of the Empire. Lead by the Emerald Champion or the Shogun, they protect the Emperor and goes to help the clans fight some greater threats. The Emerald Magistrates are those here to investigate on things the clans’ magistrates can’t do, and to make sure the clans follows the laws. They are few, but have great powers.

The Empire’s justice is based on the Celestial order. Expect for a few clans (Dragon, Crab,minors clans, and a bit of Unicorn), the basic rules for the laws is the testimony. All samourais must be sincere, so if they say it’s not them, it shouldn’t be them. Everything is in the appearence, not the truth. To make some guilty, you must find three peoples who would testimony it’s him who did the crime. The clues can help you found peoples to give testimony, but without testimony you can’t comdamn somebody.

The clans:

-  The Crab clan:

The Crab clan is the clan founded by Hida. They lives in the south, on the great carpenter wall. This wall, built by the Kaiu is the frontier between the Empire and the Shadowlands. Their job is too protect the Empire of the forces of Fu-leng.

The Hida Family: they are among the strongests warriors in the Empire. Half of the Crab clan are Hida members, trained in the use of the heavy armor.

The Kaiu Family: their are the enginneers who build the war machines and the Wall.

The Kuni Family: this is the shugenjas of the Crab Clan, they hunt the maho-tsukais (evil wizard using the blood magic) and study the taint, the evil corruption.

The Hiruma Family: the scouts. They have lost their home to the shadowlands.

The Yasuki Family: a former Crane family, they are the courtiers and the merchants.

-  The Unicorn clan:

The former Ki-rin clan founded by Shinjo have left the Empire after the war with Fu-leng to look for potiental treaths to the Empire. They came back less than 4 centuries ago and their name changed from Ki-rin to Unicorn because of Shinjo’s dissapearence. They came back with big steeds and some gaijin’s habits. They are unwelcome in most courts.

The Shinjo family: the ruling family. This is great horse-riders and scouts.

The Otaku family: the battle maidens. They ride the biggest horses knows in Rokugan and are fierce warriors. It’s a matriarcal family, and the males are forbidden to learn to ride the famous otaku’s horse. Most of them only care of the stables.

The Ide family: the courtiers and diplomats. They are very polite and courteous.

The Moto family: once ago, Moto Tsume and half of the family ride to the shadowlands to help the Crab. When they came back, they was the Dark Moto, undead horse-riders. Since this time the inhabitants of the Empire think the surviving Moto are cursed and doomed to join the dark Moto. The remaining Moto want to kill their undead brethren.

The Iuchi family: using some strange magics of foreign lands, the Iuchi are shugenjas.

-  The Dragon clan:

Founded by the strange Kami Togashi, the Dragon clan is enigmatic. Barely no one understands his paths, following the enigams and the riddles of the Tao. They rarely left their mountains homes.

The Togashi family: this family is even more enigmatic than the rest of the clan. Rare are those who can say they have seen one in their life. They lives likes monks, and have magical tatooes that give them great powers.

The Mirumoto family: they are half of the clan, their are great bushis who fight with two swords. They are great warriors and duellists.

The Agasha family: the shugenjas of the dragon clan are knows for their alchimists skills.

The Kitsuki family: the magistrates and the courtiers of the Dragon. They believe in clues and about finding the truth.

-  The Scorpion clan:

Sons of Bayushi, the Scorpions are the keepers of the secrets. They are the Emperor’s underhand, and have a big job watching the shadows and threatening and blackmailing all the others clans.

The Bayushi family: they are called sometimes ninjas, they use bad ways to wins.

The Soshi family: masters of illusions, this is the Scorpion shugenjas.

The Shosuro family: they are actors and sometimes more.

The Yogo family: they are the guardians of the 12 black scrolls. Their founder was Asako Yogo, husband of Asako. He left her to join the scorpion after he get cursed by Fu-leng. All Yogo are forced to betray what they love most.

-  The Crane clan:

Founded by Lady Doji, they are the rulers of the court. They make the mode, they live for excellence. They believe they are those all others clans need to copy.

The Doji family: courtiers and duellists are among them. The Emperor’s wife have always been a Crane and most often a Doji.

The Kakita family: their are artisans, courtiers and own the Kakita duelling academy, one of the greatest duelling school in the Empire.

The Asahina family: the peacefulls shugenjas of the Crane hate to fight.

The Daidoji family: the soldiers of the Crane are able of everything to fight for their clan.

-  The Lion clan:

The mighty Akodo was the first Lion. He was a great fighter and tactician, and his clan is like him. They are the greatest and more strong army of the clan, devoted to the Emperor.