www.kazenoshiro.com/2016/11/04/onyx-edition-epilogue

Thanks for this. I had no idea they'd posted the compilation of Onyx stories, so this was a very pleasant surprise. Now I've got some reading ahead of me...

I'm digging this Princess Mikihime.

Wow, I'm now confused. Is Mikihime the (formerly) un-named sister of Ryokichi? But then why is he referring to him as one of her "bastard half-brothers"? What the hell is happening in the Iweko Dynasty? I would think Ayameko was a better wife for Seiken than this.

Wow, I'm now confused. Is Mikihime the (formerly) un-named sister of Ryokichi? But then why is he referring to him as one of her "bastard half-brothers"? What the hell is happening in the Iweko Dynasty? I would think Ayameko was a better wife for Seiken than this.

I don't think this is cannon, but rather, a direction the story-line could have taken, considering it contradicts a few things. Moreso, considering the Winter Court game currently going on is set in Rokugan, with no mention of the Emperor being in exile, but rather in Dragon Lands, I'd say most of the Onyx story was the original direction before L5R got new owners. The Winter Court page has a story-line that's radically different from this one, from what I can tell. Mind you, I despise the Iweko Dynasty's stories with a passion, so I've never devoted too much energy into following them.

Wow, I'm now confused. Is Mikihime the (formerly) un-named sister of Ryokichi? But then why is he referring to him as one of her "bastard half-brothers"? What the hell is happening in the Iweko Dynasty? I would think Ayameko was a better wife for Seiken than this.

I don't think this is cannon, but rather, a direction the story-line could have taken, considering it contradicts a few things. Moreso, considering the Winter Court game currently going on is set in Rokugan, with no mention of the Emperor being in exile, but rather in Dragon Lands, I'd say most of the Onyx story was the original direction before L5R got new owners. The Winter Court page has a story-line that's radically different from this one, from what I can tell. Mind you, I despise the Iweko Dynasty's stories with a passion, so I've never devoted too much energy into following them.

You're acting like the Winter Court that is currently being played is cannon. It's just fan driven. If anything, you would be safer saying something was cannon written by the lead writer for L5R than some fan run RPG...

Wow, I'm now confused. Is Mikihime the (formerly) un-named sister of Ryokichi? But then why is he referring to him as one of her "bastard half-brothers"? What the hell is happening in the Iweko Dynasty? I would think Ayameko was a better wife for Seiken than this.

I don't think this is cannon, but rather, a direction the story-line could have taken, considering it contradicts a few things. Moreso, considering the Winter Court game currently going on is set in Rokugan, with no mention of the Emperor being in exile, but rather in Dragon Lands, I'd say most of the Onyx story was the original direction before L5R got new owners. The Winter Court page has a story-line that's radically different from this one, from what I can tell. Mind you, I despise the Iweko Dynasty's stories with a passion, so I've never devoted too much energy into following them.

You're acting like the Winter Court that is currently being played is cannon. It's just fan driven. If anything, you would be safer saying something was cannon written by the lead writer for L5R than some fan run RPG...

Ah? I wouldn't know; like I said, I stopped caring about the cannon story. Ironic, considering I for one find the Winter Court snippets far more bearable than what we got from the lead writer. Meh, go figure, right?

You're stroking Sean Fisk's ego. He's purring now.

We, the Winter Court 5 Staff, look forward to entertaining you all in the months ahead.

We, the Winter Court 5 Staff, look forward to entertaining you all in the months ahead.

We who are about to die (the Winter Court 5 Players) salute you.

You're stroking Sean Fisk's ego. He's purring now.

We who are about to die (the Winter Court 5 Players) salute you.

Weren't you ever warned about touching a cat's murder button?

Weren't you ever warned about touching a cat's murder button?

I'm playing as a Shibatsu-loyal Spider. Death is pretty much insured.

Weren't you ever warned about touching a cat's murder button?

I'm playing as a Shibatsu-loyal Spider. Death is pretty much insured.

Death is only the beginning for a Spider my friend... don't worry, the Undeath that comes after is by far more interesting.

No allies.

No Tainty superpowers.

No badass dueling school.

Clearly, there's only one course of action open to us.

Attack.

No Tainty superpowers.

Wait whaaaat??

What kind of RPG is this that Spider doesn't have tainty superpowers?? Must be some anti-Spider GMs here or something?? That's like not allowing Crane to have any courtiers in the campaign! Seriously???

No Tainty superpowers.

Wait whaaaat??

What kind of RPG is this that Spider doesn't have tainty superpowers?? Must be some anti-Spider GMs here or something?? That's like not allowing Crane to have any courtiers in the campaign! Seriously???

Gunichi is going to be playing a Emerald/Loyalist Spider. The Onyx Spider have all the taint powers.

No Tainty superpowers.

Wait whaaaat??

What kind of RPG is this that Spider doesn't have tainty superpowers?? Must be some anti-Spider GMs here or something?? That's like not allowing Crane to have any courtiers in the campaign! Seriously???

Gunichi is going to be playing a Emerald/Loyalist Spider. The Onyx Spider have all the taint powers.

ahhh my bad.

So what you're saying is that the REAL spider have the tainty superpowers!

So what you're saying is that the REAL spider have the tainty superpowers!

What I'm saying is that the JV Spider who have to cling to daddy's pants leg just to stand up aren't going to be in my faction.

That was fun. I hadn't known the whole Onyx Dawn stuff had been posted, so I got to read those for the first time. I... kind of miss Onyx now.

OK, the bad part first. I felt like I was reading a comic book where the good guy turned bad, and suddenly he's so much stronger than everyone around him. Yes, evil Ant-Man can take on the whole Avengers. I realize this is needed for the story to work at all, but it was another reason why Spider was not a good choice to make a Great Clan. Still, that's well traveled ground at this point, and since they had to be able to overrun the combined clans for the story to work, I can overlook that.

The Dragon story was great. It's been a long time since I felt like the Dragon were, well, Dragon. This one did it well. They remain behind, in the now corrupted Empire, but still pure. I like it. Shikei was as confused as ever, and I don't know what happened with the clan leadership after he left, but it looks like the Dragon didn't either, so fine.

The Scorpion story felt confused; there were parts that went really well, like his scene with Tsukimi and of course his ending, but others that felt forced. Probably a result of not quite being finished. But it was a cool story overall and Nitoshi got the send off he deserved - so did Shoju.

Mantis story at the end, much the same. Still a little choppy, but some really great scenes there. Hiromi's end was a good one, and they really played up the fact that the Yoritomo may not seem it, but they do have a deep sense of loyalty and duty. The time jump at the end had me wondering if that was the original plan for Onyx - a short arc followed by a significant time jump, or if that's just something they added to give an end to the story. Either way, the fall of the Mantis with a promise of renewal was well done.

And, of course, the epilogue that actually started this thread was quite good. Mikihime seems like a very promising character, and a good center for a story, with my only worry being that an Imperial center to the story tends to push everyone else into the edges and it looks like the Onyx Empire would have plenty of room for other stories to be told.

Looking forward to seeing where FFG goes with the story, but this was definitely a good morsel to hold me over during the drought of L5R stories.

OK, the bad part first. I felt like I was reading a comic book where the good guy turned bad, and suddenly he's so much stronger than everyone around him.

Uhhhhh... You do realize that the taint does that, right? How is this surprising to anyone who's ever read an L5R fiction???

No Tainty superpowers.

Wait whaaaat??

What kind of RPG is this that Spider doesn't have tainty superpowers?? Must be some anti-Spider GMs here or something?? That's like not allowing Crane to have any courtiers in the campaign! Seriously???

Gunichi is going to be playing a Emerald/Loyalist Spider. The Onyx Spider have all the taint powers.

ahhh my bad.

So what you're saying is that the REAL spider have the tainty superpowers!

*Waves hand*

Oh! Oh that's me! I get to do all the tainty stuffs! I probably wont if not provoked... but man, if I ever need too..... mmmmmmh that dark power will be glorious!

I just want to thank Shawn and the story team for putting this together. Hopefully there will be a next opportunity.

I like it for the sense of scale and causality I can imagine behind events, even if I don't appreciate Onyx (or pre-Onyx) Rokugan nearly as much as Clan War Rokugan.

This was almost as bad as the story lines while WOC had the licence.

This whole thing seems like a "your taking my toy away so I'm going to brake it" Story.

If this is what Shawn Had in mind for the Story I'm glad FFG has it now.

I can only hope they drop this like a rock and create their own future.

Weird (and sad) that Iweko Seiken has become a grumpy drug-dependent invalid... almost a vessel weak enough to be possessed like Hantei Sotorii, or someone who could at any moment give in to madness or paranoia like Hantei XVI. I wonder if this will be made official or canon...