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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ivocaliban" data-source="post: 2052379" data-attributes="member: 17596">It should be noted that those who wielded Ambition previously apparently did so for their own petty reasons. One sought to invade the Lion lands (the reason behind the act isn't given, but it's safe to assume the whispers of the bloodsword had something to do with it) and the other killed her father to assume his position. While it could be argued that Bayushi Shoju was just as ambitious as those two individuals he believed he was doing his duty to the Empire (differentiating the Empire from the Emperor) by initiating the Coup. The Scorpion clan had every reason to believe the prophecies Shoju uncovered were true...that Fu Leng and the last Hantei were one and the same...and so to stand aside and do nothing might have been neglecting the Scorpion clan's duty to protect the Empire at the cost of their own honor.I'm not saying that Ambition had nothing to do with the Coup, because it obviously does. Bayushi Shoju heard the call of the blade like all the Scorpion daimyo before him, but he never acted upon it until the prophecy was revealed. Some might say that protecting the Empire was just a convenient excuse for him to unleash Ambition and try to take the throne for himself...but if you have read the Scorpion Clan novel you'll realize this is not the case. Not entirely. Bayushi Shoju truly believes in the prophecy and is concerned that the Empire may come under the control of Fu Leng. He sacrifices himself and his clan to try and keep that from occuring. Ultimately, he fails, but it's difficult to say what would have happened if the Scorpion hadn't acted and the Emperor/Fu Leng commanded an Empire where none knew the truth.Hantei Sotorii (the Last Hantei) is shown early on to be a brash, headstrong, spoiled little brat. Suddenly he's sixteen years of age, his father's been murdered, and he's in charge of the Empire. He's a sixteen year old boy with the power to do anything he wishes and he's prophecized to host Fu Leng in his very own skin. I'm likely to believe a teenager with absolute power possessed by a dark god might do just about anything. Besides, Toturi was off implanting his seed (Kaneka) in a geisha while he was supposed to be defending the throne. Again, the Clan War novels do a great job of pulling this stuff together.First off, you're taking a few things out of context here. First off, Yugo Junzo has a phobia of women (it's listed as one of his Disadvantages in Way of the Scorpion). In the same entry your quote was taken from it states that "Junzo had a great deal of respect for Shoju before Kachiko came along." The real problem here is that Junzo hates and fears women and Kachiko's nearness to Shoju taints him in Junzo's eyes. This is more of what I think of as "The Yoko Ono Effect" than a true hatred of Shoju on the part of Yogo Junzo. In fact, it seems like Yogo Junzo idolized and revered Shoju before Kachiko's influence grew. Secrets of the Scorpion has this to say about Junzo: "Few remember his decades of loyal service to Bayushi Shoju... Junzo's devotion to his duty and his lord was unwavering, even when Shoju fell under the influence of Ambition, one of Iuchiban's Bloodswords." Way of the Scorpion also states that "Junzo sees his upcoming duty as a responsibility to Rokugan rather than to the Scorpion Clan." Bayushi Shoju's Coup was obviously not a smart move for the Scorpion clan, but for Rokugan and the Empire it would have been great thing had it suceeded. Fu Leng wouldn't be Emperor, at least. Sure, you'd have to deal with Bayhushi Shoju who was slowly being consumed by Ambition...but it's not Fu Leng himself.Also, keep this in mind: Yogo Junzo's duty was to the Empire, but the Empire didn't see the sacrifice, only the "Ambition," behind Bayushi Shoju's acts. For that his clan and family was destroyed...and they weren't successful, they failed and were outcast. Sure, Junzo would be willing to let the Scorpion clan fall, but not at the decree of the very person (The Last Hantei aka Fu Leng) the Coup was engineered to stop.And, lest we forget, there is the Yogo curse. Every Yogo is destined to betray the one person or thing he values the most. Yogo Junzo's opening of the Black Scroll betrays the memory of his daimyo (as Shoju was trying to keep Fu Leng from becoming Emperor), his family and clan (as it's been the Scorpion clan's and, in particular, the Yogo family's duty to protect the Black Scrolls), and his Empire (by furthering Fu Leng's cause). Well, I couldn't disagree more. I've seen plenty of authors create fancy, flashy stories around the ideas floating about in their heads that weren't nearly as intriguing as some of the material that came out of the CCG tournaments. I've never played the CCG and I've never owned any of the cards, but the RPG grew out of the the CCG and I'm glad L5R respects its origin. I'm not saying I agree with or understand every plot twist and turn taken in Rokugan, but I feel the same way about Faerun in Forgotten Realms. I still feel that nothing has occurred in Rokugan that's more off the wall than The Time of Troubles...and that doesn't even have a CCG to blame. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></blockquote>

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