Part of me likes the idea of a low status Ronin scrounging and taking care of his armor and weapons. But the higher status skills as an attempt to improve status also look interesting.
It looks like Hawking also includes some "woodsey" knoweledge? That part might actually be interesting as well as having a trained hawk.
I wholeheartedly support this. The aspiring ronin really sets you apart from the "fallen ronin" trope. The "woodsey knowledge" may be more applicable (GMs call) but it is also meant to specifically impact the "going for a hunt with nobles" downtime action which has rules in Book II. (If you don't take Hawking and go that direction, I'll probably take it for the same reasons. )
We decided against using the option damage to armor rules, so Armoring might only be useful if you set up shop in town to make some money. But it could be fun for RP purposes.
Since I'm OCD about pseudo-realism in Nippon-- Hawking is a sport for people who have a fixed residence, because hawks require a lot of daily maintenance. And they need access to land (that they own or someone else owns). It was very much a high rank samurai sport. I think the "woodsey" part was meant to be ironic. In other words, the hawking guy generally lives in a comfortable home, and goes hawking to "rough it" a little with his other refined friends. So I don't think Hawking would provide much practical woods lore benefit. But it could be a fun skill to have, for when your PC gets promoted someday and starts hanging out with daimyo. Or to impress a high rank samurai who's a hawking otaku.
PCs
Dust to Dust (Stars Without Number) - Circuit Counsel Taavi Perttu Big Shiny Island (AD&D 1E) - Theo, low charisma ranger Samurai Adventures (Cold Iron) - Kiyoshi, ronin bushi
WW2 Supers d6 - Luther "Luke" Goodfox
jemmus wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:45 pm
We decided against using the option damage to armor rules, so Armoring might only be useful if you set up shop in town to make some money. But it could be fun for RP purposes.
Since I'm OCD about pseudo-realism in Nippon-- Hawking is a sport for people who have a fixed residence, because hawks require a lot of daily maintenance. And they need access to land (that they own or someone else owns). It was very much a high rank samurai sport. I think the "woodsey" part was meant to be ironic. In other words, the hawking guy generally lives in a comfortable home, and goes hawking to "rough it" a little with his other refined friends. So I don't think Hawking would provide much practical woods lore benefit. But it could be a fun skill to have, for when your PC gets promoted someday and starts hanging out with daimyo. Or to impress a high rank samurai who's a hawking otaku.
OK, then I don't think Hawking fits the character. It also sounds like Armoring is of minimal use. Will have to look over the options again...
The Bushi bonus skills are definitely really aimed more at Samurai and less so the wandering Ronin...
Indeed. That means no falcon-acting-like-a-wizard's-familiar, either. Then, Taisho has Herbalism, and as Shinto, neither Taisho nor Haruto can use Physician. But I noted that the Spell Schools can be chosen as Fine Arts, so I'll take the Shinten Theology and add Wood School as a third spell list.
Marullus wrote: ↑Fri Nov 26, 2021 11:34 pm
...capturing rolls.
A lesser son of the of the Kai Takeda, and a fragile and unhealthy one at that, Haruto was sent to the Fujiin Shrine to either learn, heal, or die. It was there that he came to the attention of the Gods and discovered facility with the forces of creation. He was told he was the Chosen One, a fulfillment of prophecy, and dedicated himself to learning the natural Arts to fulfill the destiny before him... Now the omens say the time is ready.
He has Rhetoric, Shinten Theology and the Water, Soil, and Wood Schools, being a Shugenja and a Pious Layman Shinto. (As described above, this gives him bonus with Gods.) A "Chosen One" mythology seems like it would be a fun angle. It adds to his Group Status role.
I need to work out his other equipment, but he has a riding horse and a pet dog, and carries a bo-staff.
Hmm, after looking things over, I'm choosing 2 of the following three:
Bowyer - can keep the group up in arrows better
Physician - not a bonus skill, but has a decent initial skill, can help increase healing rate
Tea Ceremony - can be used to help influence people we deal with, but not sure how easy it is to use in the field
Tea Ceremony ought to be of practical use along the way. It doesn't seem likely that Hiroshi would have a chance to actually do Tea Ceremony with samurai. But he might have a chance to show off his knowledge. "That is a very fine tea bowl," etc. He could probably use actual ceremonies to impress characters of the same or lower rank.
PCs
Dust to Dust (Stars Without Number) - Circuit Counsel Taavi Perttu Big Shiny Island (AD&D 1E) - Theo, low charisma ranger Samurai Adventures (Cold Iron) - Kiyoshi, ronin bushi
WW2 Supers d6 - Luther "Luke" Goodfox
I've settled on Bowyer and Physician for skills and starting to work on his gear. Is it possible to have a smaller (and cheaper) set of tools for making arrows? I'm honestly not sure... In any case, Hiroshi will have tools to repair arrows... But maybe repair includes carving new shafts and the tools allow manufacture of arrow heads.
I had been using the "named after the place" structure before. Just making the note that S you change the name from "Matsumoto" to "Ogasawara from Matsumoto" it retcons all the previous roleplay and character background.
That's okay, I just need to make the note so I keep it straight.
Looking at the link, this can provide cool color. The first one to use Ogasawara as a surname and found the clan was Ogasawara Nagakiyo, and in the year of our game timeline he is a young bushi of only 17 years old. So IRL it wasn't called that clan name yet (he didn't adopt it for another five years, in 1184.) Encountering the young Nagakiyo sounds like fun story.
"His eldest brother, Mitsutomo, served the Taira clan and Kiso Yoshinaka, but Nagakiyo served Minamoto no Yoritomo and founded the Ogasawara clan."
The family of young Nagakiyo (what we're calling Matsumoto) has divided loyalties in the current fight, which is a juicy angle to add to the current storyline. Two brothers, playing both sides?
I chose Matsumoto since it was the largest city near Togakushi mountain and its famous shrine. It is the current site of Matsumoto Castle but that wasn't built until 1504. Before that it was a "minor border outpost" - the fact that I placed it as the center from which the absentee landlords now charged with Togakushi mountain might mean it is a bigger city at this time in our fiction that it was in reality at that time. here was the original designation.
I know nothing about Japanese geography that I didn't learn in this game. However, I see that Matsumoto Castle was previously known as Fukashi Castle, and that "Broadly, there are two genealogical lines of the Ogasawara, the Matsuo and the Fukashi, each of which identify places in Shinano." So, it seems feasible that you could stitch that together and have it make sense...
You like knitting your fictional and historical information, so I'll just let that there for you to play with.
Cool, thanks! I'd never heard of Nagakiyo. Around 600 years later another Shinano clan (the Sanada) sent sons to both sides of a big final showdown battle. The dad wanted hedge the family's bets and make sure that at least son was on the winning side. It worked, and the son on the winning side became the winner's (the new Shogun's) son in law. The other continued fighting against the Shogun for some years, until he was killed in battle. Maybe that's what happened with Nagakiyo and Mitsutomo-- dad didn't want to put all of his eggs in one basket by fully siding with either the Minamoto or the Taira.
By the way, the Minamoto no Yoritomo mentioned in your quote is the Minamoto general defeated at the Battle of Ishibashi-yama in this game. We'll likely be hearing more about Yoritomo as we go along.
PCs
Dust to Dust (Stars Without Number) - Circuit Counsel Taavi Perttu Big Shiny Island (AD&D 1E) - Theo, low charisma ranger Samurai Adventures (Cold Iron) - Kiyoshi, ronin bushi
WW2 Supers d6 - Luther "Luke" Goodfox
Just a reminder since it is now relevant: remember to copy / paste special / values the initial skill points on the spreadsheet before you apply adjustments to your attributes for raised attribute points.
Skill values are derived from initial attributes and don't go up when the attributes do (which would otherwise be really Circular, because the raising of skills is what raises the attributes!)
Marullus wrote: ↑Wed Feb 23, 2022 1:24 amJust a reminder since it is now relevant: remember to copy / paste special / values the initial skill points on the spreadsheet before you apply adjustments to your attributes for raised attribute points.
Skill values are derived from initial attributes and don't go up when the attributes do (which would otherwise be really Circular, because the raising of skills is what raises the attributes!)
Yea, for my sheets I added columns so the original attributes are preserved.
If I get really motivated, I might make a more intelligent sheet using the experience from setting up the Cold Iron sheet.
I also want to come up with a better way to track money...
INITIAL SKILLS: Atemi-waza; Jujutsu; choice of 1 Bugei; choice of
1 Bonus Skill; choice of 1 Practical Art
INITIAL GOODS: a weapon for each Bugei.*
Shurikenjutsu allows the character 1D6 shuriken
NOTES: Buke choosing this Profession lose half of their Initial On.
STR +5
DFT + 10
SPD + 10
HLH +10
WT +0
WL +0
HD: 1d10
Bonus Skills:
Atemi-waza
Jujutsu
Karumijutsu
Nunchaku-te
Shuriken-jutusu
Jojutsu
Kamajutsu
Kusari-jutsu
Sai-te
Tonfa-te
Backstory: Buruusu was a farmer on Minimoto lands when the Taira came. He learned at the feet of his father, who taught the need to resist when the mistreatment comes, passing down the farmer-fighting methods from his own father. He had a wife. He had two young children, both sons. He tended rice and ran the mill along the river. When the Taira came, they didn't just name themselves the new owners of the peasants... such things matter little. They committed attrocity. Buruusu's wife and sons were slain in the struggle that followed and Buruusu was forced to flee... a man full of sorrow now without a home.
Here's his initial sheet, a budoka now homeless, skilled in the use of atemi-waza, tonfa, and kusari for when peasants need to resist. My intention is he can be sympathetic to Hiroshi and the fleeing bushi and encounter them in the mountains to join them. Perhaps he sees and gathers the horses when they encounter him. Or just him, after they or during their escape from pursuit.
As a Low Heimin Farmer, he's got very, very little money. But since the downtime training was so critical to the characters up to this point and we're starting at level 2, I would like to request to spend his initial cash on training so he's on the run while broke but with more skill.
I would like to represent that his father passed down the education as his instructor. I will assume he's in a Class E village and roll for the quality of his father's instruction in the Li style. Instruction [1d100]=62[1d100]=43
That says his father is a suitable teacher, is master of the skills (99), but is not 6th level or superior level (i.e. he's level 2).
Buruusu has a learning rate of 1, teacher of same level (no bonus, but avoids penalty), +1 for bonus skill, So, base 2 plus private instruction. He only has 1gp, 2sp, and 47cp, which we'll spend to justify duration (when he's studying and not working and burning up his savings). That's 2sp to his father per week of instruction, per previous rulings, its 5cp/week for lodging as a Heimin with no horse. So, he can burn up all his coin by studying seven weeks (14sp and 35cp) leaving him only 12cp and his furishiki with six days food when they find him in the mountains.
Week 1: Atemi-waza (99-52/2)+2 = 26 pts. New score 78.
Week 2: Kusari-jutsu (99-52/2)+2 = 26 pts. New score 78.
week 3: Tonta-fe (99-60/2)+2 = 22 pts. New score 82.
Week 4: Two-Tonfa Style (99-0/2) = 50 pts. New score 50.
Week 5: Two-Tonfa Style (99-50/2)+2 = 27 pts. New score 77.
Week 6: Tonta-fe (99-82/2)+2 (/2 for over 60) = 6 pts. New score 88.
Week 7: Atemi-waza (99-78)+2 (/2 for over 60) = 6 pts. New score 84.
Oh right! I had forgotten that! (Also need to remember to do a copy/paste-special on the Initial Scores before changing attributes so that the spreadsheet doesn't change skill values further... that's why I had held off on the attribute part and then forgotten about it.)
Modifications made. I am excited to try out a Tonfa-style. He's limited in that he has no ranged capability, but I am looking forward to the tactical play.
I need to do us up a new Bushido sheet with all that I learned about Excel/Sheets while putting together the Cold Iron sheet. We could have automatic bonus skill determination and initial skill based on lookups that would make chargen a lot easier.
I think you needed to mourn and grieve for Kentaro a little more before making a new char.
No problem about the pre-training before the PC enters the story.
Could you change the name to Ri instead of Li? Two reasons:
-Nobody in Nippon can pronounce an L. They could call him "Ri" anyway.
-I might subconsciously treat him as more Chinese than Nipponese with the Li.
Sorrow to be OCD like this.
PCs
Dust to Dust (Stars Without Number) - Circuit Counsel Taavi Perttu Big Shiny Island (AD&D 1E) - Theo, low charisma ranger Samurai Adventures (Cold Iron) - Kiyoshi, ronin bushi
WW2 Supers d6 - Luther "Luke" Goodfox
I looked at it pretty closely, but to be honest I'd have no idea how to optimize a budoka. (I can't even find in the rules how much damage a brawl attack does). I'd guess that a budoka strength would be ju-jutsu, for taking down opponents and applying distractions. I was going to say that jittejutsu for Disarm attacks would be nice, but I saw that only bushi get a bonus for that. Disarm attacks look pretty potent to me, by the way. Roll your BCS and the opponent's weapon flies 1d3 yards.
PCs
Dust to Dust (Stars Without Number) - Circuit Counsel Taavi Perttu Big Shiny Island (AD&D 1E) - Theo, low charisma ranger Samurai Adventures (Cold Iron) - Kiyoshi, ronin bushi
WW2 Supers d6 - Luther "Luke" Goodfox
)
Then, Taisho has Herbalism, and as Shinto, neither Taisho nor Haruto can use Physician. But I noted that the Spell Schools can be chosen as Fine Arts, so I'll take the Shinten Theology and add Wood School as a third spell list. 