Empire of the River God OOC

[Ghostknight]

Paxus- just be warned that if the family is viewed in such a manner they would be skirting very close to being exiled - the dishonor of a single family can affect the standing of the entire clan, so if they are continuously being caught out, they will eventually override their tactical usefuleness by being strategically bad in the battle for standing (a battle played in politics and subtelty, rather than with any actual weapons.) A faked sepuku would probably result in a branch of the family being wiped out if it were ever revealed, so even a less than honourable family would NEVER stoop so low.

You want to go this route- fine by me, but it could have in game consequences (bth known and unknown).

Bro- Agreed. Even in the book of five rings it is emphasised how stealth and revealing ones true position is important in battle, so possessing the actual skills is not in itself dishonourable - using them in some manners though would be (so hiding, jumping out and stabbing an enemy Samurai in the back is out - doing it to a few peasants is just fine - they aren't creatures of honor anyway!)

As for your parts about alignment - like many others I have seen on this board most people are not strognly aligned enough to really radiate a specific alignment (clerics/Sohei/Shukenja would differ). Others is on a case by case basis. Also, in my interpretation of alibnment for OA it is going to be very different to the western ideal on the good/evil axis. Good is according tot he greatest benefit fot the greatest number - the ideal society is one in harmony with itself, towards this end much can be forgiven. On the other hand selfish, self serving goals are the anatheamia of society and create disharmony and thus sit in the "evil" camp.

As fr the Samurai's ancestral weapon ability - DM fiat on this- it is CLASS level - it makes zero sense for it to be by character level (I meanthen a level 1 Samurai with 19 levels of Wu Jen ends up with boosting his ancestral weapon the same as a 20th level Smaurai - just doesn't feel right to me.)

 

[Paxus Asclepius]

I might be overstating the degree of dishonor somewhat. It's certainly nothing like that surrounding modern mob families, where everyone knows they're involved in bad things even though they've never been proven; it's more of a nagging suspicion, that Tamejiro people are more often than not around when things happen that, were a samurai to do them, would dishonor that samurai. I understand that no direct links could be allowed to occur.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Bro- Agreed. Even in the book of five rings it is emphasised how stealth and revealing ones true position is important in battle, so possessing the actual skills is not in itself dishonourable.

Great I will proceed that way then.

Also, in my interpretation of alibnment for OA it is going to be very different to the western ideal on the good/evil axis. Good is according tot he greatest benefit fot the greatest number - the ideal society is one in harmony with itself, towards this end much can be forgiven.

Well my character isn't much for self-severing goals but I at the same time he is a thorn in the side of his family as his thoughts differ... Using your example above the peasants don't really deserve that fate, they are living breathing humans and I guess you could say he sees them as having honor too.

Of course thoughts like that would be boat rocking so I have him down as neutral good, though he ends up biting his tongue most of the time, but does anyone else want to venture an opinion on his alignment?

As fr the Samurai's ancestral weapon ability - DM fiat on this- it is CLASS level.

Good, I couldn't agree more, but you might want to go over PrC, that does affect this as a class level, with Isida if she goes that route.

 

[Ghostknight]

In terms of Samurai class level with weapons - ones where it will stack are things like weapon master/kishi charger/blade dancer/iaijutsu master/hida defender/mirumoto niten master/akodo champion/shiba protector/bayushi deceiver/moto avenger. WIth other PrCs it is going to need a VERY good reason.

In terms of your characters thinking - that is VERY radical. Peasants are so much meat for the grindstone- most of the code of bushido when thought about by Samurai is applied to nobility or holy people - many Samurai do not ever bother with learning the names of the "little" people around them.

This is also influenced by the view of the karmic wheel- if you have come back from the dead as a peasant- you must have done something to deserve that fate!

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

In terms of your characters thinking - that is VERY radical.

Yeah pretty much... Not to many people know of his thoughts on the subject, he keeps them to himself, but what would key members, mother and father, in the family do about this type of thoughts?

Would tell kill him?

Pretend it didn't exist and hope to educate him differently?

Pretend it didn't exist and ignore this fact?

Pretend it didn't exist and send him off to war?

Disown him?

Something else?

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Good bye

Ghostknight, I hate to be the barer of bad news but I just got off of AIM with Goddess FallenAngel and she’s having a change of heart on the integrated character history and to be honest that’s while I decided to join the game after all. As I said in a previous post monks, ninjas, samurais… Hell the whole culture is lost on me to be honest.

So I think I’m going to take my leave of this game but my decision has nothing to do with anything you’ve ruled on or anything not mentioned above. You’ve done a wonderful job of answering my questions but I think it’s just the best thing if someone played who enjoyed and understood the culture.

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

Right, blame me.

The intergrated history thing didn't work because of our differing character concepts. What I was thinking wasn't what B.S. would have been happy playing.

I will still be in the game, I will just need to revise my character.

 

[rangerjohn]

Well, now it sounds like we need a commoner. There are things that need to be done, that the code of bushido doesn't allow. Such as touching a dead body, and how do you determine if it is dead without touching it? There are other examples I am sure.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Right, blame me.

I really wasn't try to blame anyone... If anyones to blame it's me to be honest...

The intergrated history thing didn't work because of our differing character concepts.

He still wouldn't have had the hit points to survive on his own but I think most of the issues where based in the cultural... :\

Anyhow sorry to waste everyone's time. :\

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

You could be a Shamen or something rangerjohn. Because they are kind of like clerics, I would think that they end up doing resurrections and whatnot, which requires touching dead bodies. And the extra healing wouldn't hurt.