[Characters] Rats

[Zazaq]

Please post your application and your character sheet here, don't care the format as long as the info is there.

[Rylus]

Bayushi Matsuo

 

1. What Clan does your character belong to? Ring Increase: +1 Air Skill Increase: +1 Skulduggery Status: 35Scorpion

2. What Family does your character belong to? Ring Increase: +1 Air or +1 Fire Skill Increases: +1 Courtesy, +1 Design Glory: 44The Bayushi Family

3. What is your character’s school, and what roles does that school fall into? Rings: +1 Air, +1 Fire Starting Skills (choose five): +1 Courtesy, +1 Fitness, +1 Games, +1 Martial Arts [Melee], +1 Martial Arts [Unarmed], +1 Performance, +1 Skulduggery Honor: 30 Techniques Available: Kata (), Rituals (), Shūji () Starting Techniques: Ninjutsu: = Deadly Sting, Shūji (choose one): Whispers of Court, Sensational Distraction The Path of Shadows (School Ability): While performing an Attack action against a target who is Compromised, Incapacitated, Unconscious, or unaware of your presence, treat the damage and deadliness of your weapon as being increased by your school rank. Starting Outfit: Ceremonial clothes, common clothes, traveling clothes, daishō (katana and wakizashi), knife, yumi (bow), quiver of arrows, traveling pack.Shosuro Infiltrator School; [Shinobi, Courtier]

4. How does your character stand out within their school? +1 Earth Ringpatience, and calm. Matsuo demonstrates an unnerving calm in the face of adversity and a patience beyond his years.

5. Who is your lord and what is your character’s duty to them? Could use some help with this one, i dont know who an appropriate lord would be.

6. What does your character long for, and how might this impede their duty? Matsuo has only one real longing and that is to marry and have an heir but his role in the world as a killer and his place in the scorpion clan has foiled his attempts several times.

7. What is your character’s relationship with their clan? In gain +5 glory based on their reputation as an upstanding member of their communityspite of the stigma of his clan Matsuo has always held its tenets in high regard, after all if the other clans start infighting who would protect the empire and its people?

8. What does your character think of Bushidō? Like those who lead his clan Matsuo is a gain 1 rank in one of the following skills to reflect past behavior that was unbefitting of a samurai or deeply defied the norm: Commerce, Labor, Medicine, Seafaring, Skulduggery, or Survivallot more fluid with the code than others would like

9. What is your character’s greatest accomplishment so far? Ambidexterity (Air); When Matsuo was a child and accident left him without the use of his right hand for a few months, not wanting to be left behind in his studies he quickly learned how to do everything with his left hand as good as if he was using his right. This skill carried over even after he regained the use of his right hand and he started applying it to combat which earned him the nickname steel wind by the classmates he spared against.

10. What holds your character back the most in life? (Scorn of The Yogo Family) One of his first orders was to eliminate one of the Yogo family, an up and coming young man who's ambitions drove him to speak out against the clan when his family was not around. Matsuo eliminated the man without any witnesses but was betrayed by a rival in the school who told the Yogo who had killed the man but not why.

11. What activity most makes your character feel at peace? Generosity; Matsuo has always had a knack for picking out just the right gift to either get himself out of trouble or for meeting someone new for the first time.

12. What concern, fear, or foible troubles your character the most? Intolerance Bandits; Matsuo hates one type of person over any other and this transcends clans and territory, that group of people are bandits. Taking from everyone they can and giving nothing back, greed has over taken them and they are no better than shadowland creatures.

13. Who has your character learned the most from during their life? Subtle Observer; Matsuo has learned a great deal from his uncle when it come to the ways of the scorpion clan, most importantly he taught him how to find the subtle little things that escape most peoples notice.

14. What do people notice first upon encountering your character? The first thing people notice about Matsuo are the twin engraved scabbards at his sides, bright blue and inlaid with gold. They hold most warriors eyes for at least a moment or two.

15. How does your character react to stressful situations? He keeps anger out of every interaction but the one emotion that does get through more often then not is when dealing with those of less fortune than himself and that's pity.

16. choose one item of rarity 7 or lower that your character received as a gift from one such group, took in battle fighting against them, or that otherwise relates to or symbolizes the character’s past and ongoing relationship with them. Add this item to your starting outfit.What are your character’s preexisting relationships with other clans, families, organizations, and traditions? After he learned that the Yogo family knew of what he had done he quickly found out that some of its members were ok with sending there own assassins after him for it even thought he was ordered to kill the man. The first assassin sent carried a set of twin engraved scabbards that Matsuo carries to this day as a reminder to himself that the Yogo have never forgotten.

Additionally, gain one rank of one skill in which your character has 0 ranks, and determine whether your character’s parents approve of this extracurricular interest or see it as a regrettable deviation, and why.17. How would your character’s parents describe them? He was told his parents died in battle not long after he was born, he was raised by his uncle who is very proud of the man Matsuo is becoming. His aunt not so much, she hates Matsuo and sees him as the reason her own son is not held in high regard within the clan.

18. Who was your character named to honor? your lost family heirloom, which exists somewhere in the world. You choose one quality and the GM chooses one quality; these are applied to the item. You do not know where the heirloom is, but you could later reclaim it during the campaign.Glorious Sacrifice; Matsuo was named after his grandfather who was a great warrior who died protecting the head of the clan, while his body and weapons were recovered his armor was taken by one of the attackers. Matsuo takes pride in his name and wants to regain the slight loss of honor his family suffered when the armor was not recovered by finding the armor and returning it to his bloodline.

19. What is your character’s personal name? Matsuo didn't change his name as he has been told over the years that he looks like his grandfather did at his age and he takes pride in that.

20. How should your character die? Defending his clan and/or Lord as his family has done numerous times over the years.

Why, of all the samurai your master had, did he choose to give you up? This is probably not a good thing about your character, though it need not be a flaw necessarily. Matsuo was chosen when his uncle lost control after finding out who had killed his brother, Matsuo's father. Instead of dealing with it through honorable means he attacked when the man was alone but he failed to kill him. When the man got away and reported to his lord the accusation was levied against his uncle. In order to protect his uncle from having to commit seppuku Matsuo offered up himself in the place of one of the lords other loyal samurai for the decree.

As samurai can't exactly be gifted or traded under the law, not without still owing ultimate loyalty to your previous daimyo, you were all technically stripped of your name and your duty for some period of time. Was that period exactly as long as it took you to travel to your new master? Or did you do anything with this brief time as a free ronin? Because of the way that this all happened Matsuo went quickly to his new lord's side.

 

Bayushi Matsuo Scorpion Clan - Shinobi, Courtier-
Earth	Air	Fire	Void	Water
2	3	3	1	1
Honor	Glory	Status	Ninjō	Giri
35	54	35	0	0
Endurance	Composure	Focus	Vigilance	Void Points
10	6	6	2	0
Skulduggery	Courtesy	Design	Fitness	Martial Arts [Melee]	Martial Arts [Unarmed]	Medicine	Commerce
+2	+2	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1
Kata	Kiho	Invocations	Rituals	Shuji	Maho	Ninjutsu
-	-	-	Whispers of Court	-	Deadly Sting
Advantages/Disadvantages	Description
Ambidexterity (Air)	*As you have no dominant hand, you can compensate if your right hand is injured or lost.	*When making a check for which your equal skill with both hands is a benefit (such as a Martial Arts [Melee] [Air] check to strike an unexpected blow with a weapon in your left hand or a Skulduggery [Air] check to stealthily pick someone’s pocket), you may reroll up to two dice.
Scorn of Yogo Family (Water)	*You have earned the ire of a particular group, which has seriously damaged your ability to work with its members or enlist their help. You have been barred from entering their facilities, and they refuse to meet or communicate with you directly. Confer with the GM to select a campaign-appropriate group when choosing this disadvantage.	*When performing a check to interact with the chosen group that relies on your rapport with its members (such as a Courtesy [Water] check to persuade them to do something or a Performance [Water] check to impress a group of them), you must choose and reroll two dice containing  or . After resolving the check, if you failed, you gain 1 Void point.
Generosity (Water)	*You can always identify a proper gift for a particular person that does not risk giving offense or slighting them publicly.	*After performing a check to acquire or give a gift (such as a Design [Water] check to select an item that complements someone’s wardrobe or a Commerce [Water] check to find and select a gift at a market), you remove 3 strife.
Intolerance Bandits (Water)	*A particular hate festers within you for a group of people (or even supernatural beings), and it overwhelms your better judgment when you are faced with members or representatives of this group. Choose one group of people or supernatural beings to be your hated enemies. When you are in the presence of these beings (and even when they are mentioned), your enmity is evident to all who observe you.	*After performing a check to interact with a member of the chosen group (such as a Commerce [Water] check to bargain with someone from a family that once wronged your own or a Composition [Water] check to translate from the language of a group of foreigners you dislike due to a battle you fought against their people), you receive 3 strife. If this is the first time this has occurred this scene, gain 1 Void point.
Subtle Observer (Air)	*You can understand the cues that people give off while speaking, and you can read people’s lips and facial expressions to understand what they are saying, even if you cannot hear them.	*When performing a check for which you need to spot or use small details of other people nearby (such as a Courtesy [Air] check to reveal an unpleasant truth pleasantly or a Sentiment [Air] check to detect someone else’s weaknesses), you may reroll up to two dice.
Glorious Sacrifice	One of your ancestors perished nobly in battle, and one of their signature items vanished with them or was lost in the subsequent years. A set of Armor.

Items: Ceremonial clothes, common clothes, traveling clothes, daishō (katana and wakizashi), knife, yumi (bow), quiver of arrows, traveling pack, katana

[MaximumUnicorn]

Application Utaku Sakura, Shiotome   The Game of Twenty Questions 1. What Clan does your character belong to? Unicorn 2. What Family does your character belong to? Utaku 3. What is your character’s school, and what roles does that school fall into? Utaku Battle Maiden; Bushi 4. How does your character stand out within their school? Burning passion (Fire ring). Sakura wanted to be a Battle Maiden her entire childhood, and is now living her life's dream. 5. Who is your lord and what is your character’s duty to them? Utaku Xieng Chi, Daimyo of the Utaku family. During her time at the Shiro Utaku Shojo Dojo, Sakura's drive and passion for the arts of combat caught the attention of Xieng Chi, who by tradiation was also the dojo's head sensai. Once she was of age, Sakura was given the proud position of being a member of the damiyo's honor guard, charged with protecting her both in battle and at court along with delivering edicts in her name whenever Xieng Chi could not. 6. What does your character long for, and how might this impede their duty? Sakura has had two lifelong desires; to be a member of the Utaku Battle Maidens, and to be a proud mother of many glorious and honorable daughters. Ironically, fulfilling the first one has made the second one harder, as she is somehow still single...and according to some of her Shiotome sisters, she's starting to get desperate... 7. What is your character’s relationship with their clan? (Glory Increase) Sakura has always upheld the proud traditions and principles of the Unicorn, taking pride in the fact that both her parent's families are of the clan. Even with the recent events that have lead to her "reassignment", she has been held in high esteem by her family and clan. 8. What does your character think of Bushidō? (Honor Increase) Ever the textbook samurai, Sakura upholds the tenants of Bushido to the best of her ability. In fact, it was her stalwart adherence to Bushido that lead her to this new chapter in her life with the Rat Clan. 9. What is your character’s greatest accomplishment so far? (Famously Successful) The Battle of Gold Carp Village. Sent by her lord to the small village to deliver a message to the local magistrate, Sakura found the village being assailed by a group of bandits. With the aid of only her proud steed, she slaughtered them all, save the leader who was dragged behind her all the way back to present to her lord for trial. 10. What holds your character back the most in life? (Bluntness) Sakura is the daughter of a Utaku mother and a Moto father, and sometimes it shows in her speech. Many of her early dealings with members of other Clans were mared by her seeming inability to use elequent phrasing, prefering to be direct...almost too direct. She never got better, rather she just talks less now. 11. . What activity most makes your character feel at peace? (Tea) One of Sakura's few "extraneous" activities is the art of the tea ceremony. There is just something special about it, and she always enjoys finding new blends and mixes to try. 12. What concern, fear, or foible troubles your character the most? (Irrepressible Flirtation) The one thing that Sakura fears most of all is dying before she is wed. As each passing day goes by, that fear comes closer to reality. So she has adopted the practice of "expanding her chances", openly flirting with any eligible bachelor she comes across that meet her standards. 13. Who has your character learned the most from during their life? (Paragon of Duty and Loyalty) Surprisingly, Sakura would say that the person she has learned the most from in her life is her father, Utaku Rugo, nee Moto. It was from him that she was taught the tenants of bushido and how to properly wield a scimitar, and he stands as her proudest example of putting duty before personal gain. 14. What do people notice first upon encountering your character? One of the most obvious things that people notice when first seeing Sakura is the large and ornately gaijin-inspred sheath for her scimitar that hangs from her waist by a length of chain fashioned as a belt. Once they've gotten past that though, they may notice her piercing black eyes that almost seem to stare right into your soul. 15. How does your character react to stressful situations? While she tries to stay calm and poised in most situations, Sakura's usual reaction to stress is to tense her jaw and start loudly grinding her teeth. 16. What are your character’s preexisting relationships with other clans, families, organizations, and traditions? Sakura is connected to the Moto family through blood, her father formerly being of the Moto family before leaving to fulfill his duty in the arranged marriage to her mother. She has little real-world experience with the other clans, aside from the time she accidentally almost started a war by flirting with a man betrothed to the daughter of the Ikoma family daimyo (in her defense, the betrothal wasn't public knowledge until later that evening anyway). 17. How would your character’s parents describe them? Sakura's parents are both proud of their daughter, as she has followed her lifes dream and proudly follows the tenants of Bushido. That being said, her mother is upset that her eldest daughter is being torn from their family in the name of duty and honor. 18. Who was your character named to honor? (Unusual Name Origin) Leave it to the Unicorn to move traditions in their own way. Sakura's birth name was Utaku Yinghua, named after a warrior known for both her combat prowess and her unfathomable beauty who had bested several of the clan's strongest back during their wandering days. 19. What is your character’s personal name? The first thing Sakura did after her gempakku was change her name to one more friendly to the Rokugani tongue. While Sakura may seem a large jump from Yinghua, the two words actually share the same meaning according to her mother. 20. How should your character die? In glorious battle, leading a cavalry charge against the enemies of her lord, taking down ten for every blow given to her. So, how did she end up here anyway? One day Utaku Himura, younger brother of Utaku Sakura, was seen riding naked and bareback on a Utaku war steed down the streets of Mizu Mura, drunkenly shouting obscenities about the Crane Clan daimyo and equally lewd things about his wife. Now, a male Utaku riding one of their cherished steeds was enough to warrant Himura's ousting from the clan, but the sheer level of what had happend brought a stain of dishonor over the whole family. Falling on the proverbial sword, Sakura volunteered for the position created by the Imperial decree, hoping to use this as a way to restore the honor her now exiled brother had lost.

 

Utaku Sakura Unicorn Clan -Bushi-
Earth	Air	Fire	Void	Water
3	2	3	1	1
Honor	Glory	Status	Ninjō	Giri
60	46	30	0	0
Endurance	Composure	Focus	Vigilance	Void Points	Strife
12	8	5	1	0	3
Survival	Tactics	Command	Fitness	Martial Arts [Melee]	Government	Courtesy
+3	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1
Kata	Kiho	Invocations	Rituals	Shuji	Maho	Ninjutsu
Cresent Moon Style, Warriors Resolve	-	-	-	-	-
School Ability	Description
Heroic Charge	When you succeed at an Attack action check, add bonus successes equal to the number of range bands you have moved this round, to a maximum of your school rank.	During a duel or mass battle, if you are mounted on your steed, you always count as having moved a number of range bands equal to your school rank this turn
Advantages/Disadvantages	Description
Famously Successful (Fire)	*Other people have heard of you for your ability to get results at any cost, and they believe it by default unless given evidence to the contrary	*When performing a check for which you need to leverage your reputation for efficiency (such as a Courtesy [Fire] check to convince your lord to give you a position or a Tactics [Fire] check to get enemy troops to withdraw in the face of a show of force), you may reroll up to two dice.
Bluntness (Air)	*You have difficulty expressing things indirectly, and you overlook insinuations and implications in the statements of others unless they are pointed out to you directly	*When you make a check to create or interpret subtext (such as a Design [Air] check to select a wardrobe that conveys the proper subtle message to your intended recipient or a Sentiment [Air] check to read someone’s unstated feelings), you must choose and reroll two dice containing [Success] or [Explosive Success] . After resolving the check, if you failed, you gain 1 Void point.
Tea (Void)	*You can identify regional variations in tea, and you know a great deal about the process of preparing and drying leaves. In the wilderness, you can acquire the natural ingredients required to make rustic teas of various sorts with relative ease.	*After performing a check to interact with tea (such as a Medicine [Void] check to brew a tea with ingredients that help the body recover from illness or a Performance [Void] check to perform a tea ceremony that helps the recipients contemplate their state in life), you remove 3 strife.
Irrepressible Flirtation (Earth)	*You find it difficult to pass up the chance to flirt with people you find attractive, and when someone you find attractive flirts with you, you cannot help but return their advances with your own flirtation. Your interest is obvious to all onlookers.	*After performing a check to interact with (or ignore) someone you are interested in without exceeding propriety (such as a Courtesy [Earth] check to make appropriate small talk or a Sentiment [Earth] check to know how to tread cautiously in a social scene), you receive 3 strife. If this is the first time this has occurred this scene, gain 1 Void point.
Paragon of a Bushido Tenant (Duty and Loyalty (Earth))	*You believe utterly in the chosen Bushidō tenet, and others instinctively discern that your actions are genuine when you act in accordance with it.	*When performing a check for which you need to convince others of, or leverage your faith in, the Bushidō tenet (such as a Performance check to recount a tale that impresses its importance upon others or a Martial Arts [Melee] check to take up arms for this cause), you may reroll up to two dice.
Relationships
Utaku Rujo, nee Moto	Father	Close
Utaku Mirohima	Mother	Close
Himura, nee Utaku	Brother	Estranged
Ryota	Horse	Very Close
Samurai Heritage
Unusual Name Origin	*Decrease your glory by 3.	*Choose two of your character’s rings; you may reduce the value of one of these rings by 1 to increase the value of the other by 1 (this still cannot raise a ring above 3) [Water -1, Earth +1] . If you do not do so, choose one item of rarity 6 or lower and assign it to your starting outfit.

Outfit Lacquered Armor, Ceremonial Clothes, Daisho (Scimitar w/ custom sheath & Wakizashi), Yari (spear), Yumi (bow), quiver of arrows, knife, traveling pack, Utaku steed

[Imveros]

Asahina Ren
"Our art defines us. It tells us who we are in a way that even the great histories of the empire cannot."

 

Twenty Questions 1) What clan does your character belong to? Crane [+1 Air, +1 Culture, Status:35] 2) What family does your character belong to? Asahina [+1 Water, +1 Aesthetics, +1 Theology, Glory: 40, Wealth: 6 Koku] 3) What is your character’s school, and what roles does that school fall into? Asahina Artificer School [Shugenja, Artisan] [+1 Air / +1 Fire, +1 Theology/Courtesy/Aesthetics, Honor: 50, Invocations/Rituals/Shuji, Inari's Blessing/Reflections of P'an Ku/Token of Memory, Commune with the Spirits/Cleansing Rite, Spiritual Artisan ] 4) How does your character stand out in their school? Thoroughness/Patience. "Practice makes a man perfect." Ren spent many a late night practicing his forms or nose deep in a pile of scrolls. "A sound foundation is the most crucial part of any building." His sensei was fond of repeating this as the candles burned low. Ren hated leaving a job unfinished and unpolished. [+1 Earth] 5) Who is your lord and what is your character's duty to them? Asahina Masako, daimyo of the Asahina clan, is well known for her love of art and culture as much as her stringent following of Asahina's quest for absolute pacifism. Her and her subordinates use the Artificer school's students to prepare and entertain guest during their many courts. Ren's spectral art delighted and amazed the Crane's guests. 6) What does your character long for and how might this impede their duty? Ren wishes to clear his name through his words and actions. The spotlight is a fickle thing, however. The rising Daimyo will need his retainers to elevate his name and family until their station is secure. Which will Ren choose when there is only spotlight for one? 7) What is your character's relationship with their clan? Ren loves the Crane, almost as much as they disdain him. Despite his fall from grace, he knows that the Crane Clan is the last bastion of culture and elegance in The Empire. He strives to transplant Crane ideals into the burgeoning Rat Clan. The Crane is The Emperor's most favored clan for a reason after all. [+5 Glory] 8) What does your character think of bushido? Soshi Saori, his brother's wife, showed in action, if not in word, that Bushido was a weight that stopped legitimate work from being done. The two spent many evenings in his youth pondering the meaning and intention behind each of the tenants and how each of them was both a hindrance and a help. "[B]Bushido is a game, and the winner is the one who knows the rules best.[B]" She whispered frequently into his naive adolescent ears. [+1 Skulduggery] 9) What is your greatest accomplishment so far? Children should be seen and not heard. Ren's father was a firm believer in the ancient mantra. As a boy, Ren spent a great deal of time sitting and observing those around him. A talent that was further refined during his time entertaining at seasonal courts. Saori would often praise him for his insights while adding her own, some accurate and others were misleading. It was a game they played. The boy had the rest of the evening to deduce which was which. Over the years Ren honed and practiced his craft, the wind itself joining in his game, floating whispered voices to his ears. [Subtle Observation] 10) What holds you back? Saori and Ren's relationship grew closer and closer as the boy matured, moving into forbidden territory. Secrets are living things, and they wish to make themselves known. When their affair came to light, the woman claimed the young man had forced himself upon her. The bruises and scratches Ren bared and Saori's higher social standing doomed the boy a deviant. His brother Kaiketsu went into a dark rage that his brother would do such a thing. Worsening as his brother added insult to injury by spreading an absurd story of a long-standing affair. When the Daimyo refused Ren's petition for seppuku, instead banishing him to the Rat Clan, Kaiketsu vowed his brother and his fellow rats would pay for the slight done his family. His beloved wife's honor could only be satisfied when the Rat lay in shambles, and Ren lay buried in the ground. [Sworn Enemy: Asahina Kaiketsu] 11) What makes you feel at peace? Ren has always been playful and open with those around him. During their limited downtime, he and his fellow Artisan's would joke and horseplay while their Sensei shook his head and mumbled about the folly of youth. Prim and propper are for courts and meetings. Ren had seen many great people crumble under the stress of continually maintaining a flawless face. A well-told joke or jibe was essential to longterm comradery and mental health. [Playfulness] 12) What troubles your character the most? With a powerful enemy at court and a shadowy sect with secrets to keep, Ren always watches his back. "It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you." If you slight the wrong man as a Crane, you have the strength of the clan and your family to shield you in a time of need. Ren enjoys no such protection in the halls of the Rat. Every flickering shadow and newly arrived courier is a potential agent of his brother or sister-in-law. [Paranoia] 13) Who have you learned from the most? Soshi Saori would smile and laugh as Ren practiced his forms. The flattery and platitudes offered to the kami to earn their favor as was the Asahina way. For weeks, the boy tried in frustration, for the wind to unlock the story his Sensei has whispered to the han- fan. "Saoria-san, the wind, it will not listen! How do you get the spirits to do as their told?" The woman laughed and ran her hand up the boy's arm to his shoulder. "Why you lie to them Ren-bo. Courtesy and flattery have their place, but the spirits are too trusting, use that to your gain." Ren used this valuable lesson to mix approaches and earn his Sensei's favor. [+1 Theology / Blackmail: *insert Scorpion adversary here* as Saori has passed her and Ren's secret relationship on to her superiors.] 14) What do people notice first upon encountering you? Ren's hair is naturally white, yet he dyes it black, bucking Crane tradition. He frequently allows the dye to fade to highlight this minor slight to the Crane that abandoned him. In casual conversation, he uses an engraved ivory comb to draw attention to his white roots. Outside of formal situations, his peers comment on his casual attire. His clothes are never dirty or wrinkled, yet buttons and tassels and connected haphazardly in the spirit of organized chaos. [Engraved Ivory Comb] 15) How do you react to stressful situations? Personal insults to Ren or his friend's cause the samurai to boil behind his Crane forged mask. As the pressure builds, the man will fidget with toggles, buttons or tassels on his clothing. The act of adjusting his clothing helping to distract from the external stimuli. Lies and deception do not phase the man. His previous clan would posture and condemn the lier, but Ren was numb. Modest attempts do not register when you've been burned by the best. 16) What is your relationship with other clans?   Spending significant time at court, Ren has witnessed each of the clans at their best and worst. His personal experience often at odds with his father's closeminded words as a child. “It’s clearly untrue that Unicorn samurai learn their manners from their horses. No horse has ever tried to shake hands with someone.” The Unicorn dignitaries were elegant and noble, their novel garb and names doing nothing to hide their love for the Empire and the Emperor. Ren knows well what it means for no one to know or care about your true self. "Lady Shiriko claimed today that the Crab are no different than the ogres they fight. I must disagree no one has ever heard of an ogre using chopsticks." The Crab worked hard, often for very little recognition. As a boy, he snuck into a tea house full of rowdy Crab to see the mountainous men. One of the men saw him, pulled him in, and offered him his first sip of strong drink. When he responded with a string of jokes instead of indignities or protests, their leader gifted the boy a long thin chunk of Jade to protect his sense of humor from the nearly supernatural wet blankets known as the Crane. “Lion samurai are brought up to be staid, dependable, hardworking, loyal, and obedient. I had a pony like that once.” The Lion are passionate and fierce, just as the animal their clan personifies. While he had lost friends and family due to recent hostilities with the Lion, he has met Lion equally as dissatisfied in their clan's aggressive nature. Dragon and Phoenix's reputation for serenity and learning proceed them. Their distance from Crane lands and their relatively small size limited his exposure to their diplomats. His father had little to say on them, and Ren had yet to form his own opinions of them. The Scorpion deserves their reputation, but Ren cannot bring himself to hate them. You can question their methods, but never their effectiveness. He wanted to hate them for Saori's actions, but he couldn't hate her any more than he could hate any force of nature. The farmer doesn't hate the clouds for the flood or hate fire for the devastation it causes. "Every day of his life a man has only one judge, and that judge is himself.” [Finger of Jade] 17) How would your parents describe you? Asahina Horii has only one son, and mention of Ren draws him into a sorrowful silence. His mother long since passed due to illness never witnessed her youngest son's fall. There was a time when the two were close. Ren the apple of his father's eye, the two spent much time together when he was small. A courtier of no modest reputation, Horii traveled the length and breadth of the Crane lands. The boy soaked up the beauty of the Crane and their culture. His father wept when Ren was banished.[+1 Culture] 18) Who were you named to honor? Asahina Renga Asahina Renga, Ren's maternal great-grandfather, was a talented man with a fiery passion for the spirits. From an early age, the spirits of Air flocked to the boy. As he grew so did his power, until he found himself under the order of the Clan Champion herself. His control of the spirits brought the Crane many victories on the battlefield, shielding their ships from the designs of both beast and pirate as they moved along the Crane coast. He lived to old age and retired to a life of advising the Champion on matters of the spirit realm.[Will roll boon and adjust story if selected] 19) What is your personal name? Asahina Ren draws a connection to the last powerful shugenja in his mother's line. A portrait of him in the family temple looked the spitting image of the growing boy. Ren took the name to honor both his late mother and the ancestor he bears such a resemblance to. 20) How should your character die? Ren hopes to die as his namesake did. In his bed, at a ripe age, with a sterling reputation. None of which will be his without a lifetime of hard work and a complete reversal of his fortunes. 21) Why, of all the samurai your master had, did he choose to give you up? Asahina Masako had selected a lower functionary to pay The Emperor's levy to the Rat Clan. It was not until Ren's plea for seppuku and his father's secret plea for mercy that she knew the path forward. She spared a life, ended a scandal, and could claim she'd sent the Rat a priority asset. Should the Rat fail or succeed, the Crane would prosper from the arrangement. Victories such as that were rare in life. 22) Was that period exactly as long as it took you to travel to your new master? Or did you do anything with this brief time as a free ronin? Ren, equally enraged and saddened by the hand fate had dealt him, took his pony and moved with guarded speed to his new lord. Dying a Crane would have brought honor and closure to his family. While dying a clanless ronin would only add insult to injury. While members of minor clans were inferior, they were nevertheless nobles and could die in service of the Emperor. His new Lord's success was his only path to redemption. He only hoped that he could see what it was The Emperor had seen in the man upon elevating him.

Asahina Ren
Crane Clan				Asahina Artificer School [Shugenja, Artisan] 1
	Attributes Air 3 Endurance 8 Earth 2 Composure 10 Fire 2 Focus 7 Water 2 Vigilance 3 Void 1 Void Points 1/1 Honor 50 Glory 45 Sheet	Artisan Aesthetics 2 Composition 0 Design 0 Smithing 0	Martial Fitness 0 Martial_Arts_[Melee] 0 Martial_Arts_[Ranged] 0 Martial_Arts_[Unarmed] 0 Meditation 0 Tactics 0	Scholar Culture 1 Government 0 Medicine 0 Sentiment 0 Theology 3	Social Command 1 Courtesy 1 Games 0 Performance 0	Trade Commerce 0 Labor 0 Seafaring 0 Skulduggery 1 Survival 0	Equipment 6 Koku Sanctified robes Wakizashi (short sword) Knife Yumi (bow) Quiver of arrows Scroll satchel Finger of Jade Engraved Ivory Comb Omamori (Boon of Bishamon) Calligraphy Set Umbrella Traveling pack (Blanket, bowl, chopsticks, four days of travel rations, flint and tinder) Rituals Known Commune with the Spirits (P212) Cleansing Rite (P212) Inari's Blessing Activation: As a Support action, you may make a TN 2 Theology (Water) check targeting one position at range 1. Effects: If you succeed, you summon a meal at the target position that can feed a number of people up to your Water Ring plus your bonus successes. New Opportunities See page 209 Reflections of P'an Ku Activation: As a Scheme action, you may make a TN 2 Theology (Water) check targeting one item at range 0–1. Effects: If you succeed, you scry to uncover all properties an item possesses, including its name, maker, mundane qualities, magical properties, curses, and sealed techniques (see Nemuranai on page 307). New Opportunities See page 209 Token of Memory Activation: As a Scheme action, you may make a TN 2 Theology(Air) check targeting one position range 0–1. Effects: If you succeed, you summon an illusion of one inanimate object at the target position. The illusory object’s size is a silhouette of up to your bonus successes (beginning at 0, or a small handheld object). The item appears real, but it does not actually exist, and it cannot be used. Any character confronted with one of these illusions must resist with a TN 4 Artisan, Smithing, or Design check (Earth 5, Fire 2) using a Scholar skill approach to discern its illusory nature. The object persists until the end of the scene. New Opportunities See page 195 Notes Spiritual Artisan (School Ability): When making a check to mystically summon an illusion or to summon, augment, or awaken an object, you may add a number of kept black die set to * results equal to your school rank.

[PopCultureBard]

Vital Statistics Kuni Jun'ya

 

Twenty Questions 1) What clan does your character belong to? Crab clan, born and raised in the shadow of the Kaiu Wall. [+1 Earth, +1 Fitness, Status: 30] 2) What family does your character belong to? Kuni family, 3rd born of his siblings. [+1 Void, +1 Medicine, Glory: 40, Koku: 4] 3) What is your character’s school, and what roles does that school fall into? Kaiu Engineer [+1 Earth/Fire, +1 Command/Labor/MA Ranged/Medicine/Smithing, Honor 40, Kata/Rituals/Shuji, Tactical Assessment, Stonewall Tactics] 4) How does your character stand out in their school? Adaptability. Life has thrown Jun'ya many curves over his 50 years and he bears the physical and emotional scars of each. Despite the weight of these burdens, he looks forward to new opportunities and the dawn of a new day. He takes insults and setbacks in stride while always seeking ways to overcome them. [+1 Water] 5) Who is your lord and what is your character's duty to them? Hiruma Shinsaku, daimyo of Laku Agista and all lands within its shadow. When Jun'ya was injured and others deemed him incapable of fulfilling his duties, Shinsaku offered him a position as smith, physician and tutor. He trained others in the way of metal to compensate for his own flagging stamina, tended injuries of war and accident, and was even allowed to instruct the daimyo's son in basic swordsmanship and leadership. 6) What does your character long for and how might this impede their duty? To prove himself a capable warrior despite age and injuries. It was a struggle in his youth to prove himself with the blade when his family urged him toward the artisan crafts. He learned medicine at his mother's feet when he was young and often too sick to engage in physical activity. Later, he fought alongside Hiruma and Hida at the Kaiu Wall while crafting weapons and armor for the clan, training among them in the blade. His injury crushed his spirit as he found himself incapable of the lengthy exertions required for prolonged combat and extensive smithing, limiting his usefulness on the front, but he still harbors the spirit of a bushi and seeks opportunity to prove his worth to himself. 7) What is your character's relationship with their clan? Jun'ya has always served the interests of the Crab, even against his own wishes. His family's insistence that he train at the Kaiu Engineering Academy rather than join his brother in war, the unstated but deeply insinuated insistence of his superiors that he retire from active duty at the wall after his injury. He has taken these things in stride because they tend to the needs of the clan despite the sting of his pride. [+5 Glory] 8) What does your character think of bushido? Working beyond the Wall gives anyone cause to question the tenets and Jun'ya is no exception. He has seen the noble and the wicked die in equal horror, each given to their own fears and doubts. There is a practicality to his outlook and he has been known to engage in behavior unbecoming one of his station when the need arises. [+1 Skulduggery] 9) What is your greatest accomplishment so far? There isn't a single accomplishment so much as the breadth of them. He has aided the slaying of an ogre by tending the oyumi needed to bring it down. He stitched the wounds that would have pushed a Hida commander to the afterlife. It was his tutelage that gave skill to young Kaiu Otori, the engineer responsible for the eastern ballista line on the Wall. He has seen many accomplishments rise in glory and fade into history. [Seasoned Distinction] 10) What holds you back? The injury he received at the wall, the impaling wound that damaged his lungs beyond return to full function, has deeply impaired him. Not only physically, though that is significant, but also emotionally as the inability to perform tasks that were once trivial to him sullies his self worth. It is like he is a child again, too sick to climb and run and play with the others. [Damaged Organ (Lungs) Adversity] 11) What makes you feel at peace? The art of creation is still close to Jun'ya's heart. While he cannot labor over the forge for hours unending like he could in his youth, he can still put the edge on a blade and assemble the sections of lacquered armor. His experience with such things is extensive, second only to his knowledge of mending the human form, and he takes pride in spreading his knowledge of such things to others. [Armament Passion] 12) What troubles your character the most? Death and suffering. He has seen so much of each. He has played a part in it with the weapons he made. He had failed to save lives and he has killed to avoid greater costs. After leaving his position at the Wall to serve as tutor and instructor, he believed such things behind him but pain follows even in the safest of places. His son's maiming during a training yard scuffle and the deterioration of his relationship with his daimyo are just fresh reminders of this. It is his desire to alleviate that suffering, to limit people's exposure to pain. [Softheartedness Anxiety] 13) Who have you learned from the most? His first commander on the Kaiu Wall, Hida Yotori, was a man of great wisdom and a willingness to share it. While Jun'ya learned to mend bodies at home and walls at the Engineering Academy, it was Yotori who taught him to lead. To command respect and to show it in return. Yotori allowed him time to practice swordsmanship and nurtured his desire to be better. And, most importantly, Yotori blessed Jun'yo's union with his daughter Haruna when requested. A marriage of love, not politics, that has been the beacon of hope in his life. [Blissful Betrothal Distinction] 14) What do people notice first upon encountering you? His stature draws attention in his homeland, being decidedly slight for one of his clan. Other folks tend to focus first on the oyumi, a weapon of odd design and specific purpose. While he carries the daisho that marks him a bushi the crossbow indicates his experience on the Wall where such a weapon is most commonly found. His hair is also cut uncommonly close to scalp and peppered with gray. 15) How do you react to stressful situations? When under pressure, Jun'ya turns his stress inward and becomes increasingly dissatisfied with his own efforts. Initially this manifests as grumbling and repetition of simple tasks but it can become increasingly involved and leave him trapped in a cycle of self-doubt and distress at perceived imperfections. Conversely, temper has never been an issue for him and he rarely ever speaks or acts out of anger, trusting in his composure to allow him to make sensible decisions. 16) What is your relationship with other clans? Having interacted with members of other clans who came to examine or serve at the wall, Jun'ya has developed little prejudice toward them. He has met Crane bushi with less self-restraint than his own people are attributed and Lion without the skill to fend off a child. This has led him to be open to individuals regardless of their mon, though he has not been able to shake the common unease in the presence of Scorpion samurai. Tales of their deceptions may be exaggerated stories but it only takes letting your guard down once to learn the truth of them. He is well respected among the Kuai and Hiruma and returns that respect in kind. [Add one Biwa to gear] 17) How would your parents describe you? Too adventurous for his own good, his mother regards his desire to serve on the front lines of any combat as folly. She still views him as the sick child she held close and his injury only served to reinforce her views. She is advanced in years now and unable to make the journey to visit him with any frequency, but he makes the effort to return home when possible to see her and pray at his father's shrine. [Martial Arts Melee] 18) Who were you named to honor? Kuni Jun'se, great-great-grandmother to his father and a powerful Kuni sujenga who is best remembered for her seduction of a Dragon bushi and the adoption of an uncommon technique useful for those bearing two weapons. [Stolen Knowledge, -5 Honor, Free Kata (Soaring Strike)] 19) What is your personal name? Kuni Jun'ya, modified to indicate that he carries the spirit of Jun'se. 20) How should your character die? Like any true Crab, Jun'ya should find death in the face of an overwhelming Shadowlands threat with a weapon in his hand and tainted blood on the blade. 21) Why, of all the samurai your master had, did he choose to give you up? Things have been strained between Jun'ya and Shinsaku recently, stemming from an incident during training with the daimyo's son and his own. Jun'ya had turned away for a minute to get water and when he returned Shinsaku's son was bleeding from a facial wound and his own lay on the courtyard missing his left leg at the knee. The facts of the dispute will likely never come to light, as neither boy would blame the other, but the fathers each harbor resentment at their child's disfigurement. It was best, then, that Jun'ya take his family and attend to the much needed construction and tutelage in the newly appointed province. 22) Was that period exactly as long as it took you to travel to your new master? Or did you do anything with this brief time as a free ronin? Jun'ya did take the time to visit with his family on the way north, a week taken to rebuild the short wall around his mother's gardens and reconnect with his sister. He had hoped the time would allow his son to shake off the sullen nature that had befallen him since his injury but the boy remains distant and angry despite it. Having experienced a similar difficulty in his time, he has tried to lend the boy his wisdom but words from a father are often hard for a son to hear.

Kuni Jun'ya
Crab Clan				Kaiu Engineer School [Artisan, Bushi] 1
Attributes Air 1 Endurance 10/10 Earth 3 Composure 5/10 Fire 2 Focus 3 Water 2 Vigilance 1 Void 2 Void Points 2/2 Honor 35 Glory 45 Sheet	Artisan Aesthetics 0 Composition 0 Design 0 Smithing 1	Martial Fitness 1 Martial_Arts_[Melee] 1 Martial_Arts_[Ranged] 1 Martial_Arts_[Unarmed] 0 Meditation 0 Tactics 0	Scholar Culture 0 Government 0 Medicine 2 Sentiment 0 Theology 0	Social Command 1 Courtesy 0 Games 0 Performance 0	Trade Commerce 0 Labor 1 Seafaring 0 Skulduggery 1 Survival 0	Equipment 4 Koku Ashigaru Armor Daisho (Katana & Wakizashi) Club Oyumi (Crossbow) Quiver of bolts Traveling Clothes Ceremonial Clothes Traveling pack (Blanket, bowl, chopsticks, four days of travel rations, flint and tinder) Rituals Known None Currently Tactical Assessment Activation: When you make an Initiative check, you may spend opportunities in the following way: Air: Choose an enemy in the conflict. Learn one of their advantages (of their choice) and their physical or supernatural resistance (your choice). Earth: Choose a character in the conflict. They do not apply any of their disadvantages to their checks until the end of their first turn. Water: Choose a piece of terrain in the scene (see Terrain on page 267). Until the start of your first turn, it counts as having the Obscuring quality for Attack action checks targeting you and your allies. Fire: Choose a character in the conflict and one of their advantages you know. Until the end of their first turn, they apply that advantage to all of their checks. Soaring Slice Activation: As an Attack action using one readied weapon in a one-handed grip, you may make a TN 2 Martial Arts check with the appropriate skill for the weapon targeting one character at range 2–3. Effects: You hurl your weapon at the target. If you succeed, you deal physical damage to the target equal to the weapon’s base damage plus your bonus successes. The weapon lands at range in a direction of your choice from the target if they defend against the damage, or embeds in them if they suffer a critical strike. If you fail, the weapon travels a number of range bands equal to the maximum range of the technique in the direction of the target. New Opportunities 1+: Treat the maximum range of this technique as 1 higher per opportunity spent this way. 1: Reduce the TN of the next Attack action against the target before the end of your next turn by 1. Stonewall Tactics Activation: When making a Social skill (Earth) or Martial skill (Earth) check targeting a character, you may spend opportunities in the following way: Earth+: Increase the TN of any check the target makes that does not target you by 1 per opportunity spent this way. This effect persists until the beginning of your next turn. Notes Masterful Builder (School Ability): Once per scene, when making a check to use an item you personally crafted, you may add a number of kept ring dice set to opportunity results equal to your school rank.

[Aerandor]

Mirumoto Saru

 

1) What Clan does your character belong to?
Dragon [+1 Fire, +1 Meditation, Status: 30]
2) What family does your character belong to?
Mirumoto [+1 Water, +1 Fitness, +1 Tactics, Glory:44, Wealth:5 koku]
3) What is your character’s school, and what roles does that school fall into?
Mirumoto Two-Heavens Adept School [Bushi] [+1 Fire, +1 Earth, +1 Martial Arts[Melee]/Fitness/Meditation/Tactics/Theology, Honor: 50, Techniques: Kata/Rituals/Shuji, Starting Techniques: Kata (Striking as Earth) / Dazzling Performance, Way of the Dragon (School Ability)
4) How does your character stand out in their school?
Thoroughness, patience, or calm (+1 Earth Ring): Known for being independent thinkers, the Dragon have a common saying that a young Saru took to heart: "When you are content to simply be yourself without comparison, your honor will never tarnish." Despite the tragedies that he has weathered, Saru has molded his life to be like a granite stone surrounded by rapids. While others rush around him, driven by their passions and transient concerns, Saru exudes calm and methodical thought, displaying an uncanny wisdom much more suited for a man two or three times Saru's age.
5) Who is your lord and what is your character's duty to them?
Mirumoto Ken'ichi, daimyo of the Mirumoto clan, takes a more hands-on approach to ruling his land than many daimyo outside of the Dragon clan. As such, he expects his Samurai to aid the peasantry and guard travelers through his land from potential attacks by bandits or wild beasts. Saru dutifully met these expectations, finding a sense of satisfaction in uplifting those of lesser status than himself.
6) What does your character long for and how might this impede their duty?
Saru does not have any great ambitions beside seeing his daughter live a happy and long life. However, his concern for his daughter borders on overriding his duty to his daimyo, and it remains an open question were the two responsibilities to come into conflict which he would sacrifice for the other.
7) What is your character's relationship with their clan?
His clan balances the ideals of bushido with a sense of humility, and in that balance Saru sees a harmony the other clans lack. In turn, that harmony leads them to honor and happiness. They are a light held out for the other clans to see, and Saru finds great satisfaction in exemplifying his clan.[+5 Glory]
8) What does your character think of Bushido?
Bushido is life itself.[+10 Honor]
9) What is your greatest accomplishment so far?
Not long after being presented with his niten, Saru was tasked alongside other Mirumoto samurai with escorting a Crane courtier across his daimyo's land, a series of valleys that cut into the mountains of the Dragon Lands. During the journey, a stray mountain Oni ambushed the group in a steep pass that ran along the edge of a high cliff. While the other Samurai surrounded their charge defensively, Saru drew forth his niten and stepped forth to face the Oni alone, affording the others the chance to withdraw from the fight safely. Through determination, skill and a lucky strike, Saru managed to knock the Oni over the edge of the cliff, breaking the evil creature on the rocks below. Upon his victorious return to the court of his daimyo, he was granted the title of gokū, meaning "awakened to the void" for his unshakable commitment to bushido and mastery of his own emotions.[Indomitable Will]
10) What holds you back?
Saru was married for but a brief time before his wife died in childbirth, leaving him to raise his daughter Ayame alone. He cherishes her and fears for her life, as she has always suffered from poor health and a frail body. He would lay his life down for her that she might live. However, he is nearly incapable of communicating with children in an effective manner. Saru vacillates between his rather serious adult persona and practical jokes when interacting with children, unable to decide whether he should speak to them as an equal or try and appeal to their mischievous side. As such, despite his love for his daughter, the two have an awkward relationship, and Saru often relegates parental duties to Narumi, a heimin caretaker and former nursemaid that watches over Ayame while Saru is busy with his samurai obligations.[Kisshōten's Curse]
11) What makes you feel at peace?
Saru makes a habit of stopping at any shrines or temples he comes across, making sure to leave an offering and prayer for his daughter's health each time. He hopes that by entreating as many kami as possible, perhaps they will keep his daughter alive for one more day. Whether or not these efforts are effective, they serve to lift a bit of weight from his heart. He also runs his hands through his hair whenever he is deep in thought, a mannerism which does nothing to keep his hair from looking disheveled, but which serves to soothe him and keep his emotions from overriding logic.[Enlightenment]
12) What troubles your character the most?
Saru has always tried his best to uphold the tenets of Bushido, and in his view, deception in any form is antithesis to those tenets. As such, Saru feels uncomfortable with half-truths and misdirection, and approaches something close to quiet rage when he feels he has been directly lied to. As such, he tries his utmost to speak the truth at all times, though he still permits himself both silence and eloquent speech as methods of avoiding offending others, so long as the context does not force these to be considered as deceptions as well.[Painful Honesty]
13) Who have you learned from the most?
Mirumoto Asakira, Saru's father. As a child, Asakira would return to the family home after serving the daimyo and spend the evenings telling Saru stories of his journeys. Saru positively hung upon his father's every word, and from these early memories Saru formed his love and deep commitment to the tenets of Bushido which his father espoused. Asakira lived long enough to watch his son receive the niten, but not a year later, Asakira and other samurai fell in a border skirmish with the Lion Clan. Saru was present that day, exchanging final words with his father as Saru cradled him in his arms on the battlefield. Those last moments cemented Saru's commitment to Bushido, and especially the tenet of duty, which his father never veered from.[Paragon of a Bushido Tenet: Duty and Loyalty]
14) What do people notice first upon encountering you?
Hair that refuses to behave, a spirit that will not break, a mouth creased by laughter and eyes that hide deep sorrow. The accoutrement that Saru possesses is not generally visible, but significant nonetheless: a necklace with a pendant that he wears beneath his kimono. Within the pendant is a carefully rolled scroll with a poem written by his wife upon their engagement. It is one of the few material possessions that Saru shows any concern for.
15) How do you react to stressful situations?
In moments of conflict, Saru will always follow the code of Bushido to the letter. That said, barring a public display that would cause him to lose face, Saru prefers to adopt a conciliatory manner, hoping to reach a level of harmony with others. When his emotions do get the better of him, Saru tends to hide from his true feelings by seeking out honorable diversions and entertainment. He would much rather laugh or smile than sit and reflect on his troubles.
16) What is your relationship with other clans?
Though he would not display it openly, Saru holds a certain level of disdain for the Crane and even more for the Scorpion, due to their penchant for deception when it suits them. The other clans he is cordial with, though he is not always successful in masking the scar of his father's death when dealing with members of the Lion. Around them, Saru often adopts a stiff and direct demeanor, his tension often visible as he tries to interact as little as possible and look for opportunities to keep his distance.
17) How would your character's parents describe them?
Saru's mother, a Scorpion, finds him capable and a good father, but a bit naive in his commitment to bushido. She hopes that some day he can learn to get out of his own way. Saru's father, while he lived, saw his son as his greatest joy and achievement.[+1 Courtesy]
18) Who were you named to honor?
Mirumoto Satoru. When not regaling him with tales from his own journeys, Saru's father would tell of the great victory Saru's ancestor won against the Gozoku regime. Afterward, he had been awarded with a magnificent suit of armor, which has remained within the family for centuries. The suit has now been passed on to Saru since his father's death.[Famous Deed]
19) What is your personal name?
Saru. While a variation on the name of his famed ancestor, Saru also chose his name on account of his penchant for practical jokes as a child, a characteristic which earned him the nickname of "monkey," which is one possible meaning of the name Saru.
20) How will your character die?
Ideally, he will die at home surrounded by grandchildren, with his daughter by his side. But Saru knows the life of a bushi rarely ends in such a manner, it being entirely possible that he will die charging into battle or by an assassin's hand.
21) Why, of all the samurai your master had, did he choose to give you up?
Saru was not chosen to depart the dragon on account of a failing of his own. Rather, his daimyo was all too aware that most of the other clans would choose to pay the emperor's levy by offering up their miscreants. Having something of a history with helping to establish small clans within the empire, the Dragon wished this new clan all the best in finding their own place, and Saru's daimyo knew that a soul as pure and loyal as his would be a great benefit in bringing honor and glory to the clan.
22) Was that period exactly as long as it took you to travel to your new master? Or did you do anything with this brief time as a free ronin?
With a daughter and caretaker in tow, Saru did not have spare time for adventurers. He traveled quickly with his family to their new home, and spent any additional time he might have had ensuring that Ayame and Narumi would be comfortable and happy before Saru had to report to the new daimyo.

Mirumoto Saru
Dragon Clan				Mirumoto Two-Heavens Adept School [Bushi] 1
	Attributes Air 1 Endurance 12 Earth 3 Composure 10 Fire 3 Focus 4 Water 2 Vigilance 1 Void 1 Void Points 1/1 Honor 60 Glory 49 Sheet	Artisan Aesthetics 0 Composition 0 Design 0 Smithing 0	Martial Fitness 2 Martial_Arts_[Melee] 1 Martial_Arts_[Ranged] 0 Martial_Arts_[Unarmed] 0 Meditation 2 Tactics 2	Scholar Culture 0 Government 0 Medicine 0 Sentiment 0 Theology 1	Social Command 0 Courtesy 1 Games 0 Performance 0	Trade Commerce 0 Labor 0 Seafaring 0 Skulduggery 0 Survival 0	Equipment 5 Koku Traveling Clothes Ceremonial Clothes Daisho (Katana and Wakizashi) Ashigaru Armor (Wargear) Lacquered Family Armor (Ceremonial, Durable, Wargear) Traveling Pack (Blanket, bowl, chopsticks, four days of travel rations, flint and tinder Rituals Known None Currently Striking As Earth Activation: When you make a Martial Arts [Melee, Ranged, or Unarmed] (Earth) check, you may spend [opportunity] in the following way: Earth [opportunity]+: Treat your physical resistance as 1 higher per [opportunity] spent this way until the beginning of your next turn. Dazzling Performance Activation: When making an Artisan skill (Fire), Games (Fire), or Performance (Fire) check, you may spend [opportunity] in the following way: Fire [opportunity]+: The next time you receive a glory award this scene, increase the amount you receive by 1. If there is a character of higher status in the scene, increase it by 1 per [opportunity] spent this way instead. Notes Way of the Dragon (School Ability): Once per round during a duel or skirmish when you are targeted by an Attack check with a melee weapon, you may use one of your weapons readied in a one-handed grip (or one of your hands, if it is empty) to ward or trap. If you ward, the attacker must reroll dice containing [success] or [explosive success] up to your school rank. If you trap, reduce the TN of your next Attack check against the attacker this scene by your school rank (to a minimum of 1). You cannot choose this weapon for Attack actions until the end of your next turn.