Followers

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Legend of the Five Rings, Sengoku Japan!

So, I also play Legend of the Five Rings, it's a game based off Asian culture in general, set in Not-Japan, where you're Samurai for various clans which are based off of all manner of Asian stereotypes. It avoids that whole "Japan is superior!" you usually see when Samurai are involved, and a lot of it is based around actual Japanese culture and conventions. Usually, it is a game of honor and duty.

My group is playing it during the Sengoku era of Japan, because the GM knows more about that then L5R's Not-Japan, and we're uniting the clans against Nobunaga. We've already got Hojo, and Takeda on the side of our force, as well as some other clans and factions. We're from the Gifu Alliance, headed by Nagamasa Azai, who hates Nobunaga's violent methods and has united a bunch of smaller clans to oppose his brother-in-law. We each represented a member of the clans in the alliance, one from the Shimazu(Pirates that did not want Nobunaga to succeed or else he would wipe them out), the Minotomi(A nobody clan that leads the Alliance because "Well, we don't hate that guy), the Iga(Not really a clan, but a province known for ninjas. He posed as Hojo originally because he did not want to anounce Hanzo Hattori's involvement.), and the Matsumae(My character. A clan of brutish warriors from Hokkaido, who wield heavy weapons and fight demons and Ainu barbarians all day long.)

Well, recently, we hit a block with Kenshin Uesugi, because she was being attacked by Date Masamune and said she would ONLY join us if we got Masamune to join us as well. We tried to lower the conditions to simply have Masamune go blunder off somewhere else. Kenshin wouldn't budge on her position. Even our Diplomancer couldn't get her to reconsider! So, that's when I stepped forth, the barbarian with a giant metal bat, who never removes his armor, and has little speaking skills. I used my Perform(Story Teller) skill to try and convince Kenshin through the story of my people. And I boosted it with my Void stat, so I got two extra dice to keep and to roll. I rolled a twenty one, which ranked as "A fantastic story, but what does it have to do with the event at hand?" I told the following story...

[2011-02-04 23:02:54] * Hitodenashi_Kedamono looks up, and can't stand to let this plan fail because Masamune's a dick. He tries to think, but... Wait! There was THAT tale! Surely, THAT tale would solve the problems of this situation, atleast help Lord Kenshin see that she's needed against the Oda! "Lord Kenshin, there's a story among my people..."
[2011-02-04 23:06:10] <Hitodenashi_Kedamono> "It takes place long before the present day, before Lord Matsumae ruled the clan, before we were even a clan, infact! Back in the old days when it was Japanese versus the Ainu/Ursine Alliance versus Oni."
[2011-02-04 23:10:21] <Hitodenashi_Kedamono> "The world was still young, and the primordial rulers, the bears, still maintained territory in much of the world. Within Japan, they faced great resistance, for we Japanese are far too proud to live under the yoke of the bears! And in Japan, they were left to their last stronghold, their fortress in Hokkaido! Desperate, they allied themselves with the Ainu barbarians, hoping to have enough numbers to drive off their mutual enemies."
[2011-02-04 23:16:05] <Hitodenashi_Kedamono> "The Ainu were to attack the Oni fortress, leading them into the Japanese army, routing them, and exterminating much Ainu and Japanese in the process! It would have worked, but a hero stepped forward, the first Matsumae! Using the first recorded instance of the tetsubo, he bashed through Oni and Ainu alike, until both forces allied against him! Still they failed, for no being could stand up to his Mountain Shattering Strike!"
[2011-02-04 23:19:31] <Hitodenashi_Kedamono> "He fought onward, sustaining many blows! The bears watched using their magical crystal viewcubes, fearful that he would reach them! He smashed the Ainu, he bashed the Oni, and he kept moving! The bears used their powerful magic, but it only slowed him down! The man was unstoppable, it seemed. Until he reached their fortress door. The bears found his strength lay in his blood, and were enacting great magic to weaken him forever!"
[2011-02-04 23:22:52] <Hitodenashi_Kedamono> "He was smashing through their fortress door, when combined with their great sorcery, the destructive act created a rift in reality! The first Matsumae's blood spread through all the Japanese on Hokkaido, weakening him greatly. He died shortly after. However, their magic had two effects. All the Japanese on Hokkaido had his great strength and courage, allowing them to storm the fortress, and conquer the bears! The other effect, being that bears all over the world lost their great intelligence, turning into savage beasts tameable only by the Ainu! Every so often, a smart bear is born, like the Bear King, but his smartness isn't able to be passed on to off spring. And so, the bears were defeated, and the world freed. By the Matsumae."
The player characters were like, "Ahhh, yes, the Great Bear War." Kenshin was dumbstruck, but agreed to consider joining us if Masamune did leave her alone. The players and the GM were both impressed by the story. So much so, that I was given an extra point of experience, and let me tell you, one experience is a big deal in Legend of the Five Rings.
I just thought you guys should see this.

4 comments:

  1. Oh wow. That's a very insightful way to describe it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very interesting. I'll have to look into that game! followed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. definitely googling it right now!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Seems like a interesting game man. Need to check it out!

    ReplyDelete