RPGObjects: Legend of the Samurai

[Ranger REG]

Personally, I don't think Ronin should have a class of its own. It's a status given to Samurai who are without a master (lord), and some of them are hoping to gain employment (of the permanent kind) with a daimyo in the future. If anything, Ronin should be explained under the "Ex-Samurai" heading of the Samurai's class description.

 

[TroyXavier]

That's fine. Just means I steal Monk from the Player's handbook.

 

[Vigilance]

Chuck,
I have been extremely happy with everything I have seen from you so far, so this will definitely make my must buy list.

Furthermore I can't tell you how thrilled I am that you didnt title it:

Blood & Samurai

Thanks!

And its all about branding... Blood and... means Modern/Future, Legends of... means fantasy

Chuck

 

[Vigilance]

Sounding better and better.

On the OGL issue, I suspect, but obviously have no numbers, that at least some conversion notes for AU would help sell to a ceretain market, especially if it came out at about the same time as... Arcana Evolved, due to hit shelves soon. (And of course Conan has that whole region nebulously detailed so more possible converts...)

Hmmm... true... I'll talk it over with the boss and see what he thinks.

Since it sounds like it'll work with standard D&D, I'm assuming that it'll be a breeze to combine elements of this with Legends of Excaliber.

Our goal is 100% compatibility between legends books... so yes on Excalibur

Do you see a seperate monster book for the setting or just an appendix in the main book? This is an area where Green Ronin's own eastern style monster book may come in handy as it hasn't been updated to 3.5 yet and could easily fit into such a setting (and update some of it to work within the system...)

Monsters will have their own section of the campaign guide but will be included in the main book. Like with Excalibur our goal is that you would need Samurai, a PHB and a DMG and you'd be all set.

In terms of the magic book, will that include the different magic items as well?

Probably in the campaign guide. Hard for me to predict at this point. That's a decision that could still go either way, either the magic chapter or the campaign guide.

Will any prominent NPC's of the timelines and periods be written up into game terms?

Definitely, although probably not as many PCs as we saw in Excalibur. At least specific historical persons. (See below...)

How much role playing advice will be included to help players understand the vast differences between a samurai-Japan style campaign and the more dungeon crawling efforts of standard D&D?

My goal for Excalibur (one of them) was to do all the leg work required to set up a campaign. I actually did enough work to allow the GM to run a few campaigns without a lot of effort.

Expect the same here. NPC tables for the new classes, low/medium/high level representative NPCs of the various clans and sample campaigns are the things you can expect here, along with advice on setting up a campaign and maintaining the feel.

Chuck

 

[Vigilance]

Personally, I don't think Ronin should have a class of its own. It's a status given to Samurai who are without a master (lord), and some of them are hoping to gain employment (of the permanent kind) with a daimyo in the future. If anything, Ronin should be explained under the "Ex-Samurai" heading of the Samurai's class description.

That's one way to look at it.

However, having done a couple hundred hours of research and counting, I came to a different conclusion based on a few major points:

1. Quick question. What do you get when a Ronin has kids? Or when a 14 year old Samurai in training finds out his father has died or been disenfranchised by the Shogun?

Does that young man give up his Daisho and become a merchant?

Heck no (at least in most cases heck no).

So he sure as heck fire doesnt want to be a peasant. But he's not a Samurai.

So this would lead to a case with someone being an "ex-Samurai" before first level or at 1st level.

This doesn't really sit well with me rules wise. By this logic you could make a Chaotic Neutral "ex-Monk" at 1st level with the proviso that at 2nd level you had to take a different class.

2. Ronin were men of distinctly different abilities than Samurai. In d20 I consider this a class.

Was a Ronin a great swordsman like a Samurai? He sure was.

But he also lived by his wits... was portrayed in tales as roguish, lying smoothly, disguising himself on occasion and so forth.

Ronin also lived in bands in the hills of Japan full time overlooking roads, to prey on merchants. This sort of skill set... living off the land, tracking, bluff, disguise... its just not possible to fit within the Samurai class.

3. You could say (I am sure someone will) "That sounds like a Samurai/Rogue multiclass!".

Sure you could say that. You could even DO that. However Ronin were a distinct archetype. Just like you could cobble a Ranger together with the right feat and skill selection or a Barbarian, so you could cobble a Ronin together.

However, in D&D major archetypes get their own class and the Ronin qualifies.

Now the knee-jerk might be to say "Ronin=ex-Samurai". That was my take as well.

However, there were characters in history and fiction who were Ronin for their entire careers.

When Tokugawa took power he designated a set number of Daimyo and Samurai. This disenfranchised literally thousands of warriors who spent their entire career as Ronin.

When they married and had children those children spent their entire LIVES as Ronin.

Kurasawa's Yojimbo films are about such a man. Living by his wits and his sword, penniless, wandering the land as neither fish nor fowl...

This doesn't sound like an "ex" anything to me. It sounds like something else.


So that was my take.

Its not the only take, but I hope you can see I put some thought into it

Chuck

 

[JoeGKushner]

How about...

Shaking the Heavens! Or in other words, epic samurai! I can see it now...

The Hells. Most Japanese material I've seen indicates a vastly different pantheon and religious underworld than most European style versions. Will we have any information or background on these regions?

Dragons: Will we get general information on the dragons on the era or just some background on a few of the types? Any unique critters running around?

Name Guide: One of the most useful features I've used over and over from Dragon magazine was an article, "What do you mean Jack the Samurai" with a ton of different names. Please help us come up with decent names.

 

[Vigilance]

How about...

Shaking the Heavens! Or in other words, epic samurai! I can see it now...

The Hells. Most Japanese material I've seen indicates a vastly different pantheon and religious underworld than most European style versions. Will we have any information or background on these regions?

Dragons: Will we get general information on the dragons on the era or just some background on a few of the types? Any unique critters running around?

Name Guide: One of the most useful features I've used over and over from Dragon magazine was an article, "What do you mean Jack the Samurai" with a ton of different names. Please help us come up with decent names.

Well I was planning to avoid ELH information this time around. The reaction to the inclusion of ELH material was... we'll call it mixed and leave it at that

I do plan on doing research on Japanese mythology and religions (which includes the monsters).

And a name guide sounds awesome, good idea

Chuck

 

[Dalamar]

How well, in your opinion, would the book lend itself to running something along the lines of Rurouni Kenshin manga/anime? And while you're at it (and presuming you have at least general knowledge of Kenshin), how would you stat him (in general, not choosing all his skill points)?

 

[Vigilance]

I have heard of Ruroni Kenshin but have yet to watch it... I will try to bump it up on my Netflix queue

Chuck

 

[Ranger REG]

1. Quick question. What do you get when a Ronin has kids? Or when a 14 year old Samurai in training finds out his father has died or been disenfranchised by the Shogun?

As harsh as this may sound, a child of a Ronin is a Ronin, until that child -- now an adult -- find a master to serve.

The Ronin himself may wish to ensure his child be taught the warrior way in the hope that if he failed or too old to be employed, his child can take the mantle and restore the honor of the family. Unlike the Western Way, a child's duty is to his family.

2. Ronin were men of distinctly different abilities than Samurai. In d20 I consider this a class.

Was a Ronin a great swordsman like a Samurai? He sure was.

I hope so. Miyamoto Musashi was a Ronin, wandering Japan to hone his swordfighting skill. After his famous duel with Sasaki Kojiro, he gained employment as a clan fighting instructor.

Now the knee-jerk might be to say "Ronin=ex-Samurai". That was my take as well.

However, there were characters in history and fiction who were Ronin for their entire careers.

When Tokugawa took power he designated a set number of Daimyo and Samurai. This disenfranchised literally thousands of warriors who spent their entire career as Ronin.

When they married and had children those children spent their entire LIVES as Ronin.

Kurasawa's Yojimbo films are about such a man. Living by his wits and his sword, penniless, wandering the land as neither fish nor fowl...

This doesn't sound like an "ex" anything to me. It sounds like something else.


So that was my take.

Its not the only take, but I hope you can see I put some thought into it

Chuck

So what happens if a Ronin gain employment and honorable status for him and his family into a clan? Does he become an Ex-Ronin?