For reasons amounting to "I'm stubborn like that, okay," I didn't let myself post any of the outlier schools until I finished working through the Great Clans. And sure, I could space them out -- but why bother? Here are four of the remaining five schools!

OTOMO COURTIER

I more or less kept their first three techs, but chucked the top two.

Skills: Calligraphy, Etiquette (Composure), Influence (Manipulation), Investigation, Politics, Sincerity, any one High skill

Rank One - expanded the intimidation exception to "You do not lose Honor for Low use of Social skills, so long as you believe it to be in the service of the Empire." The contested roll is now Influence (Manipulation) / Awareness against their Etiquette (Composure) / Willpower.

Rank Two - the roll is now Politics (Gossip) / Intelligence. You can only use that technique once per session, but no Void Point cost. If you have the Spy Network Advantage {1}, you may gain information regarding that region twice per session.

Rank Three - the roll is now Influence (Intimidation) / Willpower against the target’s Etiquette (Composure) / Willpower

Rank Four - In the eyes of the Otomo, only authority is real; all other social factors are trivial is fleeting. By publicly snubbing someone and spending a Void Point, you may deny your target the ability to add their Glory to their social rolls for the remainder of the scene.

Rank Five - Masters of the Otomo school can change a samurai’s life with a few words. Once per month, you may designate one samurai and declare that they are now elevated in the ranks of Rokugani society. This requires a Politics (Bureaucracy) / Awareness roll at TN 30; if successful, you bestow one Status Rank upon the target. For every three Raises you call on your roll, you may bestow an additional Status Rank. This technique cannot elevate anyone above Status Rank 6.0, nor can it specify what position the target receives; that is left to the discretion of the target’s clan. If you fail your roll, it reflects badly upon Imperial authority: you lose one point of Glory for every Status Rank the character would have possessed had the roll been successful.

{1} I don't think anybody should be able to buy the Otomo R2 for 8 XP, so in my version you pay a scaled cost depending on whether your network covers a city/province/Great Clan's lands. The only way to cover the whole Empire at once is to be an Otomo, or to pay something like 100 XP for multiple iterations of the Advantage.

MIYA HERALD

Again, kept the first three ranks mostly intact. But I didn't like the way that R4 was basically "we copy the Otomo" and the R5 amounted to "+5k0 when talking to any samurai in the Empire," so I replaced those completely.

Skills: Defense, Etiquette (Courtesy), Horsemanship, Lore: Heraldry, Perform: Rhetoric, Sincerity, any one High or Bugei skill

Rank One - no change

Rank Two - You may add your Honor Rank to all Etiquette (Composure) and Etiquette (Courtesy) rolls. This effect can stack with the Honor’s Grace aji.

Rank Three - no change

Rank Four - While the Otomo dedicate themselves to sowing discord among the Great Clans, the Miya serve the cause of peace, on an individual level as well as a political one. If you have the opportunity to speak with another samurai and ask questions of those who know him, you may roll Investigation (Interrogation) / Awareness to detect the following Disadvantages: Bitter Betrothal, Black Sheep, Brash, Cast Out, Hatred{2}, Jealousy, or Sworn Enemy, or the Heart of Vengeance Advantage. The TN of this roll is 35 minus 2x the point value of the Disadvantage or Advantage. Success means you learn not only the name of the effect, but what individual or group is involved.

Rank Five - The most experienced Miya Heralds can bring at least temporary reconciliation to bitter enemies. If you know someone possesses one of the Disadvantages listed in the Rank Four technique (either through using that technique, or simple roleplay), you may attempt to suppress the Disadvantage for a short period of time. This requires at least ten minutes of conversation and a contested roll of your Perform: Rhetoric / Awareness against their Etiquette (Composure) / Willpower. The target gains a bonus to their roll equal to the point value of their Disadvantage. Success negates the mechanical effects of the Disadvantage for one scene, and persuades the target to behave with appropriate courtesy toward any individual or group included in that Disadvantage. Calling two Raises on this roll increases the duration of the effect to a full day, with an additional day for each Raise beyond that. This technique cannot permanently remove a Disadvantage, but may create situations in which true reconciliation becomes possible.

{2} While working on the Daigotsu Courtiers, I decided there should be a Disadvantage that describes the other side of being somebody's Sworn Enemy or Bad Fortune: Unknown Enemy or whatever. I haven't settled the cost yet, but it will scale depending on whether your Hatred is for one person, a family/Minor Clan, or an entire Great Clan. You have to roll Willpower to interact peaceably with them, and also spend a VP if you want to actually help them.

KASUGA SMUGGLER

Surprisingly, this required the least alteration of all thirteen basic schools!

Skills: Commerce, Etiquette, Investigation (Notice), Lore: Underworld, Sincerity (Deceit), Stealth, any one High or Merchant Skill

Rank One - added gaijin to the list of people you get a bonus with, because it made sense.

Rank Two - reduced the Honor loss to just your School Rank, because I didn't think this should be as good as the Miya tech. Additionally, when dealing with the underbelly of the Empire, being recognizable is not always advantageous: you may roll Sincerity (Deceit) / Awareness at TN 20 to gain the benefits of the Bland Advantage for the remainder of the scene.

Rank Three - no change, except wording to clarify that it works with all skills that have Low uses, since there are no more Low skills.

Rank Four - no change

Rank Five - With his training completed, the Tortoise smuggler can transcend his own limits in the pursuit of his clan’s devious goals, serving the Emperor without constraint. When making a skill roll with any of your six specified school skills, your maximum Raises are not limited by your Void. Once per month, you may roll Lore: Underworld / Awareness at TN 30, adding your Commerce ranks to the total, to obtain something that cannot be acquired through normal channels. This may be something illegal (such as opium or gaijin pepper), or it may be a gaijin item. At GM’s discretion, you may obtain a larger quantity by calling Raises on your roll. {because OH MY GOD what is the point of calling the school "smugglers" if they can't smuggle anything}

DAIGOTSU COURTIER

Skills: Craft: Disguise {3}, Etiquette, Influence (Manipulation), Meditation, Sincerity (Deceit), any one High skill

Rank One - the Free Raise is replaced by +1k1. I also added wording to the Kitsuki R1 to clarify that it only helps you see through the Perceived Honor Advantage, not fake Honor from other sources, e.g. this technique.

Rank Two - works against anybody you talk to, but not people who are just standing nearby.

Rank Three - no change

Rank Four - roll is now Influence (Manipulation) / Willpower against their Etiquette (Composure) / Willpower. I removed the bit where you can inflict more than one Disadvantage at a time.

Rank Five - roll is now Influence (Manipulation) / Awareness against their Etiquette (Composure) / Willpower. Target can add their Honor to the roll, but you get a Free Raise if they have Consumed by Shourido, including if you've inflicted it with your R4. With a success, you inflict the lowest level of the Hatred Disadvantage on them. By calling three Raises, you may increase this to the second level, and five Raises intensifies it to the highest level.

{3} I'm waffling on how best to handle this, but I'm determined to separate Perform: Acting from the "pretend to be somebody else in a realistic fashion" skill, and so far this seems the best way to do it.

Last one two! This first isn't technically done, since I need to sit down and figure out the appropriate balance between the R5 here and the Miya R3/Otomo R3. But I wanted to get this done before I start traveling for the holidays, so I decided to go ahead and post anyway.

HANTEI DIPLOMAT

Skills: Calligraphy, Divination, Etiquette (Courtesy), Meditation, any one nonhuman Lore, Sincerity, any one High Skill

Rank One - The basic technique of the Hantei Diplomat is to understand nonhuman ways, and to operate successfully among them. You suffer no penalty when using Social skills with any nonhuman group{1} for which you possess the relevant Lore. You also suffer no loss of Honor or Glory for performing actions which are considered socially acceptable among such a group, even if those actions would normally be distasteful by Rokugani standards. Furthermore, the many strange things the Hantei encounter in course of their duties leave them more unflappable than most. You gain +1k1 to your Etiquette (Composure) rolls.

Rank Two - The Hantei family enjoys a deeper connection to the Void than most, and the Diplomat school works to develop that strength in its students. A number of times per day equal to your School Rank, you may choose to roll Void in place of the mental or social Trait you would ordinarily use.

Rank Three - Following in the footsteps of their founder, the Hantei see themselves as leaders within Togashi’s Empire, and their more experienced courtiers have learned to extend that leadership to nonhumans. If you succeed at a contested roll of the relevant nonhuman Lore with your Awareness Trait against the Etiquette (Composure) / Awareness of the most respected nonhuman individual in a scene, you may assert your Status across that divide. With two Raises on this roll, you elevate a human target of your choosing instead; elevating a non-human target requires five Raises. This does not give you the authority to command any nonhuman as if you were a high-ranking individual within their own society, but they will accord you the appropriate degree of respect. The effect of this technique lasts until the end of the scene. If more than one category of nonhuman is present (for example, both a Naga and a Nezumi), you must roll separately for each group you wish to affect. {2}

Rank Four - Hantei was trained by the Celestial Dragons, and the courtiers who follow in his footsteps have learned to apply that lesson to their political efforts. If you know in advance that you will be speaking with someone on a particular topic, you may meditate for one hour in preparation and roll Meditation / Void at TN 25. Success grants you a number of bonus unkept dice equal to the total of all five of your Rings, which you may spend to augment your social rolls during the conversation for which you have prepared. You may not spend more dice on one roll than your Insight Rank, and you may not use this technique against a human more than once per day.

Rank Five - Although most Rokugani remember Hantei for his strike against Lord Moon, the Owl have not forgotten the moment when their founding Kami stopped Akodo’s fatal blow with Amaterasu’s light. Masters of this school can similarly stop hostilities through their force of will. During combat or open verbal confrontation, you may spend five Void Points to declare a halt. If all the participants are nonhumans or Owl Clan samurai, you may activate this technique for three Void Points instead. {Specifics for effect, duration, cost, area of effect, and so forth are still a work in progress.}

{1} I've got a sidebar-equivalent section discussing optional penalties to social rolls when dealing with gaijin or nonhumans; those are what this tech negates.

{2} If anybody's wondering, I designed this on the assumption that the R3 would be the technique most often replaced by an alternate path, since it's the only one that is completely useless against humans.

With that, I should be done . . . but here's one more for giggles. :-)

HACHI CRITIC

(This would be the Bee Clan from Imperial Archives . Ergo, there are no official mechanics; this is 100% homebrew.)

Skills: Calligraphy, Etiquette (Courtesy), Influence, Sincerity, any two Artisan or Perform skills, any one High Skill

Rank One - Bee courtiers are conversant with the basics of every art, even if they do not practice the form themselves. Your Artisan, Perform, and High Craft rolls are never considered unskilled for the purposes of evaluating a piece of work (using the Intelligence Trait). You gain a +1k0 bonus to all Artisan, Perform, and High Craft skills in which you have ranks.

Rank Two - Given their role as critics, it is vital for the Hachi to learn how to present their judgment without giving grave insult. You gain +1k1 on Etiquette (Courtesy) and Etiquette (Composure) rolls to avoid offending other samurai. If you praise a work of art made with at least as many Raises as your School Rank, the artist gains additional Glory equal to your School Rank. If this praise is insincere, you lose Honor as if you had committed a major breach of etiquette.

Rank Three - The praise or censure of a Hachi Critic carries weight. You may roll a relevant Artisan, Perform, or High Craft Skill with the Intelligence Trait at TN 20 to either build up or tear down an artist whose work you are judging. If you succeed, the artist either gains or loses +1k0 to the roll for their next work. For each Raise you call with this technique, the effect increases by +1k0.

Rank Four - There is satisfaction and power in judging someone's work and finding it insufficient to your standards. When you critique someone's art, you may roll the relevant skill with Awareness against the target's skill / Willpower. If you succeed, they lose one Void Point, while you gain one Void Point. If your target has no Void Points at the time you use this technique, you instead gain one Free Raise you may use against them on a single social roll during the next twenty-four hours. You may not use this technique against the same target more than once per day.

Rank Five - For a dedicated artist, there is no gift more valuable than patronage. You may present another character’s work to a samurai of Status 5.0 or higher, rolling Sincerity / Awareness at TN 30. If you succeed on this roll, the recipient will offer patronage to the beneficiary of your praise. In return, the beneficiary gains a three-point Obligation to repay you for your kindness and generosity.

***

And with that, I am done! . . . ish! I'll probably come back after the New Year and tackle the advanced schools, but the paths I'm going to leave untouched unless there's a specific one you guys would like to see my take on. I went through and counted; there are nearly three dozen of them all told, which makes the magnitude of that task roughly on par with doing the original eight Great Clan schools -- except that I wouldn't bother keeping all of them, so who knows which ones I'd really end up redesigning. Regardless, though, I think I'm better off stepping away from courtiers for a bit . . .

. . . and turning my attention to shugenja. >_>