Tournament of the Emperor's Chosen (3rd Edition) - Kaze no Shiro

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The Mantis have ever been hardy folk, and inthe decades since the Clan War have striven to emulatethe man responsible for their ascension, the warriorYoritomo, perhaps the greatest combatant that hasever walked the Empire. Even before that, however, theMantis believed in carving one’s destiny with one’s ownhands, and personal combat was the means by whichmany imagined such things would be achieved. For themost part, their former contest took the same format asthe current Monkey Clan contest, although it allowedfor virtually any melee weapon, to be chosen by individualcontestants. It also pitted two contestants againstone another rather than against judges. Victors received5 points, while those who demonstrated adequate skillwhile failing to emerge victorious received 2 points.The Final TestMuch like other prominent tournaments, the initialtests in the Tournament of the Emperor’s Favored serveprimarily to arrange the contestants by score in orderto determine the order in which they will participatein the final test. This is a common practice, used mostfamously at the Topaz Championship, the most renownedgempukku ceremony in the Empire. Some involved withthe tournament and familiar with its history quietlypropose that the Tournament of the Emperor’s Favor wasthe first tournament to adopt such a practice, and thatother Clans have merely mimicked their successful innovations.Such beliefs are generally kept private, however,as even after centuries of hard work, the tournamentcould be completely destroyed by little more than the illwill of a Great Clan.The Master of Ceremonies at the tournament,usually a Fox Clan samurai but occasionally a Miyain attendance at the organizers’ behest, addresses theassembled contestants after the rounds of individualClan tests have been completed. The contestant orcontestants with the highest point totals are groupedtogether, and in subsequent groups according to totals.The group with the highest point is admitted to the finaltest first, followed by another group every five minutesuntil all contestants are involved in the process. In yearswhere the lead contestants have been particularly skilledand the point spread sufficiently wide, it is not completelyunheard of for the first contestants to return from thetest before all contestants have begun. Considering thatthe test is ended when the first contestant emerges fromthe Kitsune Mori, this is an odd occurrence, but still notout of the question. As for the objective, the followingis an example of the address the master of ceremoniesmight offer the assembled contestants:“Noble guests, your attendance at our tournamenthonors us, and your performance a greater honor still.Now that you have passed the tests presented to you bythe Minor Clans, the descendants of those most favoredof the Emperor’s servants, granted the right to create alasting tradition in their own name and Clan, the timehas come to determine who among you shall recognizedthis day as the victor. Perhaps such a samurai, one ofvalor and prowess, might one day stand among us asthe creator of your own Clan. Such would be our hope, tohave personages of your caliber stand among our number.“Behold the Kitsune Mori. The legends surroundingit are innumerable, although they have largely beenovershadowed by the inestimable Shinomen far to thesouthwest. Still, one could rightly say that no more mysterious,enigmatic place exists throughout the Empire.The spirits within are ever eager to play their mischievoustricks upon all who enter. Deep within it, there isa shrine, constructed by the founders of the Fox Clanto honor both Lady Shinjo and the kistune that helpedthem survive. Upon the altar of this shrine there are tokens,each carved with the image of a single Minor Clan.Reach the shrine and return with one of these tokens.The first to arrive shall be declared the victor. May theFortunes confer their blessing upon you.”At first glance, the final task may not seem overlydifficult, particularly if a contestant possesses soundwoodland skills, or is simply exceptionally athletic. Thisis hardly the case. As the master of ceremonies indicates,the forest is full of mischievous animal spirits and tricksterspirits, most of whom are not interested in killinganyone, but who have a poor understanding of howdangerous their games actually are. What’s more, theshrine is located a full five miles within the boundary ofthe forest, and requires considerable stamina and agility,not to mention navigational skill, to reach it successfullyand return. There have never been any confirmed casualtiesas a direct result of participation in this tournament,but there have been a number of temporary disappearancesover the years, typically among the less physicallyinclined contestants who refused to participate inthe final test by proxy.Resolving the final test requires the charactersinvolved to make successful Intelligence/Hunting(Wilderness Lore) Skill Rolls in order to navigate theirway through the woods to find the shrine, and thensuccessfully return, without getting hopelessly lost. Inorder to successfully complete the outbound leg of thetest efficiently enough to preserve a chance of winningthe test, you must make 5 consecutive successfulIntelligence/Hunting (Wilderness Lore) Skill Rolls againsta TN of 20, 1 for each mile of distance from the edge ofthe Kitsune Mori to the shrine. Failing any one of theserolls means that you have lost your way badly enoughto preclude any realistic chance of winning the test. Atthe GM’s discretion, spectacular failure can mean any ofthe following possibilities: You have lost your way badlyenough to force you to turn back; you have encountereda spirit of the forest who will try to hinder you; or youhave encountered a spirit of the forest who will try tohelp you get back into the running! At every step, theL5R: Tournament of the Emperor’s Favored14
L5R: Tournament of the Emperor’s Favored15GM should keep a tally of the margin by which charactershave succeeded in their Hunting (Wilderness Lore)Skill Rolls. To reflect the test’s staggered start, subtract15 from the total for each group that starts before thatcontestant’s group. In other words, a contestant suffers a-15 penalty if he belongs to the second group to set out, a-30 penalty if he belongs to the third group, a -45 penaltyif he belongs to the fourth group, etc. The contestant withthe highest cumulative margin after the staggered startpenalty is applied is the first to reach the shrine.Successfully returning from the shrine alsorequires making 5 consecutive successful Intelligence/Hunting (Wilderness Lore) Skill Rolls, as the forest isdense and treacherous enough so that finding yourway back is not as easy as it may seem. For the returnleg, however, the TN for the rolls is only 15. As on theoutbound leg, the GM should keep a tally of the marginby which characters have succeeded in their Hunting(Wilderness Lore) Skill Rolls, again applying the staggeredstart penalty as required by the contestants’ startingpositions. The contestant with the highest cumulativemargin for both legs of the test combined wins thetest.The Awards CeremonyThe final test typically ends in the late afternoon,and the awards ceremony is almost always held a fewshort hours later, right around dusk. The ceremony is asimple affair, with the tournament’s victor recognized forhis valor and skill, and awarded multiple prizes from thevarious Minor Clans conducting the tournament. Unlikemany other tournaments, however, in this instance individualMinor Clans also have the option of recognizingother contestants as well if they feel that such individualsperformed admirably and represented the spiritof the Clan conducting the test well. This is only doneafter the champion is presented with his gifts and giventhe accolades he is due, so as to not undermine hisachievements.So What Does the WinnerpqqqsGet?If, as is so often the case, a player character emergesvictorious at the Tournament of the Emperor’sFavored, then the player in question will doubtlesswonder what he or she will receive. The prize varieseach year, and depends upon which Clans areconducting the tournament. Generally speaking,each Minor Clan grants a gift of some sort to thevictor, and usually at least one other gift of a similarnature to one other participant in the tournament.In this way they hope to accrue more alliesto their banner, and anyone receiving a prize fromthe tournament would qualify for purchasing anyAdvantages relating to Minor Clans, such as Alliesor something similar.The gifts offered by the Clans might include onethe following:Badger: A heavy weapon bearing the Badger mon,and unlimited access to training with the Ichirosensei in all Badger dojo.Bat: A private session with Komori sensei to speak tothe winner’s ancestors.Boar: Fine quality armor.Centipede: An elaborate kimono created with thewinner’s Clan and Family mon, and a satchel ofscrolls for shugenja contestants.Dragonfly: A private reading with shugenja sensei todivine the winner’s future.Falcon: An assortment of ward ribbons used toprotectthe bearer from malicious spirits, an exquisitefalcon-themed helmet, and an actual trainedhunting falcon.Firefly: An elaborate jitte with the Firefly monengraved into the hilt.Fox: An advanced herbalism kit that provides 2 FreeRaises to Medicine (Herbalism) skill Rolls andlasts twice as long as the normal item, and a scrollsatchel of spells for shugenja winners.Hare: A scribe to record the tale of the winner’sexploits in an epic play or book. When complete,the winner gains a number of Glory Points equal tothe scribe’s Storytelling Skill.Mantis: A sizeable sum of koku, and papers allowingfree passage throughout the seas of Rokugan onany Mantis vessel.Monkey: A fine quality katana with the Monkey monengraved into the hilt.Oriole: A Tsi blade or other crafted weapon.Ox: An Ox steed, and various cavalry weapons includinga daikyu or no-dachi.Snake: A tanto with jade inlays.Sparrow: An exquisitely rendered copy of the Tao.Tortoise: A number of legal gaijin trinkets, a smallkobune, tortoise-shell armor (value equals 3 xnormal price of armor).Wasp: A Tsuruchi longbow.
Page 8 and 9: six competitors simultaneously. The
Page 10: The Sparrow Clan: IaijutsuFormat: D
Page 13: L5R: Tournament of the Emperor’s

Tournament of the Emperor's Chosen (3rd Edition) - Kaze no Shiro

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?