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

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six competitors simultaneously. The test is conductedaway from the tournament grounds, and takes placealong an infrequently used path that skirts the edge ofthe Kitsune Mori. It involves sprinting, climbing, andjumping, and other portions that vary from year to year.The standard format is typically as follows: The initialportion is a lengthy sprint requiring two Skill rolls usingthe Running Emphasis (TN 10). This stretch ends at aditch, perhaps four feet deep, that must be leapt to crossit (TN 15). After crossing the ditch, there is a second runthat takes the contestants through a heavily wooded area,making it difficult to maintain any real speed (Running,TN 25). This terminates with a large rock pile that mustbe crossed using the Climbing Emphasis (TN 20), andfinally with a last sprint back to the starting point (TN20). To determine the overall winner of the race, total therolls of every competitor who succeeded at every SkillRoll. The one with the highest total is the winner. Thewinning contestant gains 5 points. Other contestantswho successfully complete the trial in a timely manner— as indicated by succeeding at every Skill Roll — gain2 points as well.The Monkey Clan: KenjutsuFormat: TrialLead Judge: Toku SatsukoPrimary Roll: Agility/KenjutsuThere is no Minor Clan so traditional, nor so belovedby the common folk of Rokugan, as the Monkey Clan.The family and followers of Toku, the man known tomany simply as the General, embody a legacy of heroismsuch as the Empire has never seen, and their love of thetraditional kenjutsu style practiced by samurai throughoutRokugan makes them ideal judges to oversee such acompetition. With the exception of perhaps the Sparrowand their iaijutsu tradition, there are no Minor Clans savethe Monkey who are universally respected by the GreatClans for their martial traditions. Were any other MinorClan to presume to test a Great Clan’s samurai on theirmastery of kenjutsu, it could conceivably be viewed asan insult, but the Monkey are so beloved that the GreatClans accept their right to do so.L5R: Tournament of the Emperor’s Favored
L5R: Tournament of the Emperor’s FavoredThe kenjutsu trial is a rather straightforward test.There are a number of young, talented Toku swordsmenon hand to face a contestant in battle with padded armorand bokken. The test is not about performance, or atleast not about victory over an opponent. The Monkeyjudges instead observe the confrontation to determinehow skillfully the contestant performs. In addition tousing Agility/Kenjutsu for the duel itself, the contestantmust also to make an Agility/School Rank Roll againsta TN of 10 to suitably impress the judges. Success indicatesthat the individual has represented their School’sstyle well. Failure means that the judges have found faultwith their presentation. Regardless, the judges typicallyaward a contestant between 2 and 5 points based ontheir overall performance. Only dishonorable individualswho completely embarrass their School and sensei aredenied any points whatsoever. Like the Sparrow Clan’siaijutsu test described below, the kenjutsu test allows forshugenja and courtiers to participate in this test by proxyif they so choose.The Oriole Clan: CraftsmanshipFormat: TrialLead Judge: Tsi ZutakaPrimary Roll: Agility/Craft (any)The newest and least established Minor Clan, theOriole, have readily entered into both the Minor Clanalliance and support for the Tournament of the Emperor’sFavored. The Oriole are led by the Tsi Family, previouslya ronin Family with a proud, centuries-old tradition ofsmithing and craftsmanship that is well known throughoutthe Empire. It is no surprise to many, therefore, thatthe Oriole have brought this particular emphasis of theirsto the tournament, although many are shocked to learnthat the Oriole Daimyo, Tsi Zutaka, chooses to overseethe tournament in person. Given that the Tsi havehistorically accepted the majority of their apprenticesfrom outside the Clan, it may be that Zutaka thinks thetournament may be an opportunity to recruit any ronincontestants that demonstrate a suitable level of skill. Itmay also be that Zutaka wishes to attempt to build morebridges between his line and the Great Clans. Or it mightbe that he simply loves his art and wishes to see it taughtto others, even if only in the most basic sense.Any true artisan is well aware that true masteryof craft cannot be demonstrated in the meager timeallowed for this particular test. Instead, this test isdesigned to look for those who possess the basic levels ofskill or even simply the aptitude to learn such skills. TheTsi provide a wide assortment of materials associatedwith crafting or general artisanship, and the contestantmerely has to select an item or items of their choosingand work with it for the allotted hour. At the end of anhour, Zutaka inspects their work and weighs it against thematerials with which the competitor began. Use a successfulSkill Roll in the Craft Skill of the contestant’s choiceagainst a TN of 15 as the standard by which Zutaka willjudge him. If the progress is considered excellent, thenthe contestant is awarded 5 points. Lesser rewards aregranted to those whose work is considered adequate orat least demonstrative of some degree of aptitude in thecrafting arts.The Ox Clan: HorsemanshipFormat: MatchLead Judge: Morito ShimaruPrimary Roll: Agility/HorsemanshipThe Ox are the wayward sons of the Unicorn Clan,the followers of the former Shinjo Morito and his fellowoutcasts. Many among the Clan were exiled from theUnicorn for errors of philosophy or action, many foroffenses relating to their treatment of their steeds. Somebelieve that the Ox do not share the Unicorn’s reverencefor their steeds, but this is not the case; the Ox do indeedcare for their horses almost as much as their Shinjo andUtaku cousins. They also realize, however, that sometimeseven that which one loves above all else mustbe sacrificed in the name of Family and Clan. That theUnicorn do not consider such self-sacrifice acceptableflies in the face of all that a samurai is supposed to be, inthe eyes of the Morito.The Ox oversee the only other test that regularlyinvolves more than two contestants, much in the sameway that the Hare Clan oversees the test of athletics.The Morito judges maintain a dozen well-fed and welltrainedhorses, and will use up to a half-dozen at a timeto test their competitors. This allows for two rotations,so that each group of horses has time to rest betweencontests for years when attendance is particularly high.The test itself is rather simple. It consists of arace, of sorts. The initial leg proceeds over smooth, evenground and covers roughly a quarter mile of open plain.This requires a Horsemanship Skill Roll against a TN of10 to manage. At the end of the first segment, there isa low rock wall that the horse must jump across. Thewall can be circumvented, but doing so adds nearly a fullminute to the race and essentially precludes any chanceat winning. The jump requires another Skill Roll, againsta TN of 20. The race concludes with a gallop back to thestarting point, which requires a third and final Skill Roll,against a TN of 15. To determine the winner of he race,add together the Skill Rolls for each contestant. Subtract30 from the total for each failed Skill Roll, and again if thecontestant chose to circumvent the wall in the second legof the race. Rank the contestants by their adjusted totals.The first place contestant receives 5 points, and eachcontestant following receives 1 point less. This meansthat the last place contestant receives no points.
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