Greetings from the Sands, Evil-Smelling Brother-in-Law of a Camel!

I was rereading the Crab schools and wondering what replace the old Lore - Shadowlands skill.

It is not something common outside of the Crab clan, and it is definitely not a courtly issue.

Any insight ?

See you in the sands.

Survival subskill, although it can depend a bit on what exactly you’re trying to do. Also keep in mind that the skills in the beta document are “a solid starting selection”. It’s ok to add more. The intent seems to be to have very broadly applicable skills though, compared to previous editions. Maybe just keep it at Survival and play around with the TN depending on how likely it is for the character to know something useful.

• Surviving any given bit of terrain is generally 'survival'
• Knowing about Daemonic/Taint-mutated things (especially minor and major Oni) is probably Theology
• If relevant (because you want to specifically draw a line between "people who know the shadowlands" and "people who might be good in the wilds in 'normal rokugan'"), I'd suggest creating a sub-skill of one or both of the skills above.

The Crab Clan culture side bar is also a good barometer of things that simply don't require a roll in my opinion. So recognizing common shadowlands creatures and late stages of corruption are something I would just give to a crab clan player but players from other clans would need to make a roll along the lines of what Magnus has recommended. Some giant oni pops out and they've probly heard some story of how someone killed one. Is that a story that tells of an actual weakness to be exploited? that bit is up to the GM but there is a starting point.

If just giving free information out doesn't suit your GM style then I'd at least lower the difficulty.

Also, side note, this applies to all the Clan sidebars. They are a nice summation of the things our characters are apt to know that players aren't.

What need does a Samurai not if the Crab Clan have of such knowledge? Surely, one must consider ones own spirit before embarking on a quest for such knowledge.

In previous editions of L5R, Lore: Shadowlands, wasn't a skill you flaunted, and spouting off about the Shadowlands could likely put you on a particular watch list of a particular family who very much enjoys face painting tutorials on YouTube.

So, while I do agree it needs to be its own skill, I don't see anything wrong with how they've handled the "Lore" per se. If you're a Crab, you know some things. The rest of what said Crab or any other PC may come to understand should be handled through the game and not represented by a catch all skill.

44 minutes ago, LuxuriousRhino said:

What need does a Samurai not if the Crab Clan have of such knowledge? Surely, one must consider ones own spirit before embarking on a quest for such knowledge.

In previous editions of L5R, Lore: Shadowlands, wasn't a skill you flaunted, and spouting off about the Shadowlands could likely put you on a particular watch list of a particular family who very much enjoys face painting tutorials on YouTube.

So, while I do agree it needs to be its own skill, I don't see anything wrong with how they've handled the "Lore" per se. If you're a Crab, you know some things. The rest of what said Crab or any other PC may come to understand should be handled through the game and not represented by a catch all skill.

Eh. I’ve played through and GMed quite a few adventures (the official Shadowlands modules from 1st ed come to mind, and definitely Mirror, mirror ) that took the PCs - not all of them Crab - through the Shadowlands. If they were sensible they prepared for it, and even if they didn’t the trip itself (for those that came back) certainly was educational. That by itself could be knowledge handled through the game, but it’s also a plausible reason for those PCs to study up on the Shadowlands and have access to Crab resources to do so. It may not often be needed, but it’s a fair question to ask.

7 hours ago, nameless ronin said:

It may not often be needed, but it’s a fair question to ask.

I agree, it is a fair question. And I think it does need to be in the game, somewhere. I just don't think they intend to make it a skill in the sense that the rest of them are, for two reasons. 1) There are no other Lore Skills in the game. And 2) They seem to be going for a rules heavy, narrative style Rpg. So they are simultaneously putting the onus on the players and GM to distribute or recall the info that they may need, while giving you vague skills or concepts that may cover that. I.e Crab's Clan Knowledge write up, "Theology" the broadest **** skill ever. Etc.

So, yes, Shadowlands Knowledge should be in the game. It probably should be a skill, but that's likely not gonna happen here.

2 hours ago, LuxuriousRhino said:

So, yes, Shadowlands Knowledge should be in the game. It probably should be a skill, but that's likely not gonna happen here.

Or possibly covered by a Forbidden Lore (Shadowlands) Distinction that can easily be inverted or seized.

11 hours ago, LuxuriousRhino said:

What need does a Samurai not if the Crab Clan have of such knowledge? Surely, one must consider ones own spirit before embarking on a quest for such knowledge.

In previous editions of L5R, Lore: Shadowlands, wasn't a skill you flaunted, and spouting off about the Shadowlands could likely put you on a particular watch list of a particular family who very much enjoys face painting tutorials on YouTube.

So, while I do agree it needs to be its own skill, I don't see anything wrong with how they've handled the "Lore" per se. If you're a Crab, you know some things. The rest of what said Crab or any other PC may come to understand should be handled through the game and not represented by a catch all skill.

Carrying unworked fingers of jade, as well, can put you on that list.