I think the best progression of storylines would probably be

Clan War

Skip Hidden Emperor

Four Winds

Skip Every Arc After That

1 hour ago, WHW said:

How would you utilize the chance to do the story reset? In what positions would you put the clans, and what kind of themes and story seeds would you plant?

I would do a hard-reset:

- General State of the Empire: In the past few hundred years, tradition eroded and progression took over. The old ways and the ancestral rules mean less and less with each passing year, and as of now, they barely hold into the quickly changing world. Under the wise and competent leadership of the last Emperors, the Emerald Empire prospered like never before, and major advancements on all levels of life started significant shifts in society. In this new world, many samurai started to look for an alternative for the (supposedly) outdated Bushido, and flocked to a daring new philosophy: Shourido, the Way of Victory.

- The Crab Clan: Fighting with the Shadowlands is getting boring. This was not always the case, and most Crab can't point out how the situation has changed, but as of now, even major attacks are repelled with ease, and the various dark hordes became little more than annoyances rather than actual threats. In this time of repose, the Crab turned their attention to the north, towards the Empire. The unrest there is growing noticeable, and the Crab is presented with two options: either wipe out the Shadowlands for good, or save the Empire from itself. However, Hida Kisada, the Crab Clan Champion and stout supporter of the latter is a lot more complicated person than his fellow Crab, and plans to use the content of the Crab for pushing his own ambitious plans: to take over the throne and become Emperor.

- The Crane Clan: The Empire is racing past the Crane Clan, and they are completely oblivious to it. The Crane's assets are dwindling, and the animosity around the clan is growing as they stand alone as an oak of traditional values in a storm of progression. Their art and beauty are still unrivaled though, so even as more and more people are unhappy with the state of the clan, nobody is really angry at them for how the Crane conduct themselves. So far, this saved the clan from disaster, but it foreshadows an even dangerous thing to come: the Crane Clan is becoming irrelevant, and unless their leadership do something, the clan will slowly but surely fade away.

- The Dragon Clan: Change swept through the Dragon Clan, and the became only stronger because of it. As a clan that always valued individuality, progression came as a somewhat perplexing but overall highly beneficial blessing. All those new ways and new technologies presented a new path to master, a new expertise for growing and understanding. The Dragon Clan have grown immensely strong and powerful, their proficiency with all that is new being second to none. However, the enigmatic and isolationist nature of the clan so far remained unchanging, but as it now stands, it will not be for long: voices in the clan are increasingly louder about turning their power into influence, and taking an active role in shaping the fate of the Empire. Led by Agasha Tamori and openly supported by Mirumoto Hitomi - the young sister of the Clan Champion - this "worldly faction" is gaining momentum, and it is surely only a matter of time until they get their way... or embroil the clan in conflict.

- The Lion Clan: As a surprising turn of events, the Lion Clan did not reject progression - they embraced it wholly. Previous Clan Champions realized that they couldn't stop progression, and they applied Akodo's original course of action for such case: study, adapt, overcome. Where the Crane remained the sturdy oak, the Lion became the supple bamboo. They let the storm blow over them, and they bend with it, testing its force and direction, then adapting and becoming stronger and better in the end. Meanwhile, they kept the core of the clan intact, their traditions - while changed on the surface - maintained in the soul. But it surely came at a cost: what was once hot and thus vulnerable to be picked apart by the winds, turned into a cold shell to weather the gale - what was once pride and fury, turned into emotionless and methodical execution. The Lion Clan is aware of the unrest in the Empire, and they are more than willing to apply their new way of thinking to restore order... by any means necessary.

- The Phoenix Clan: The Phoenix Clan was hit the hardest by progression. The traditional Isawa resisted, but the Shiba took the opposite way, and fully embraced change. The Isawa grew weak. The Shiba became stronger than any time in the clan's history. It did not take long for the differences to surface, and it definitely took less for the Shiba to take over and sweep aside the Isawa. There was infighting, of course, but it only prompted the Shiba to take their Kami's original vows a step further, and effectively imprison the Isawa in Gisei Toshi, for their own good. This might have been a fairly unwise idea though: the Shiba's newly found mastery with technology serves them well at keeping the Isawa at bay and improving the Phoenix Clan as a whole, but time will only tell if the Isawa accepts their captivity or even surrender to progress, or they decide to rise up and take back control from the Shiba.

- The Scorpion Clan: Progress can bring both good and bad things, and the Scorpion Clan is seemingly an example for the latter. Where the other clans tried their best to deal with the changes, the Scorpion just let it happen, and paid little attention to its actual effects, only enjoying its benefits without giving it a second thought. The clan became decadent and corrupt as a result, its thinly-veiled villainous nature spreading onto the surface until it covered everything. The clan prospers, yes, but it does so among an unprecedented moral decay. A new generation of Scorpion is emerging from this dark world: they only care about their own amusement, and what else could provide greater thrill than watching the Empire burn and then dance on the ashes?

- The Unicorn Clan: All these changes in the Empire had little effect on the Unicorn Clan, for the better or worse. They had been well past this during their adventure in the Burning Sands, so there were no surprises when they experienced it again in the Empire. Really, their biggest problem was that everyone was becoming special, making the special Unicorn flavor... well, not-so-special. Their exotic and unique nature is getting less interesting and relevant, thus their relations with the other clans and even the empire as a whole is shifting: so far, the Unicorn thought that friendship and cooperation could solve any problem, and if someone thought otherwise, they could eat the tip of their lances - but there are now more and more people who are not afraid of the tip because they have something equally special, and this situation proves a challenge many Unicorn are quite uncomfortable to face.

- The Minor Clans: Because of the advancements, the Minor Clans are stronger than ever. Despite the advancements, the Great Clans are reeling and growing vulnerable. This is a chance a few Minor Clan Champion would let pass. Fortune favors the mortal man, as the saying goes, and the Minor Clans are now more than ready to make their own fortune: if this means war, then so be it.

Overall, this would come down like this:

- Crab: Military powerhouse (durability focused). Go north and "save" the Empire or go south and destroy the Shadowlands?

- Crane: Political rushers (basic rules focused). The clock is ticking, so win quickly or pull some crazy shenanigans to buy precious time for your clan!

- Dragon: Generalist powerhouse (build-up focused). You are good at everything and then some, but your clan is divided so be happy if your cards only lack synergy and not straight-out work against each other.

- Lion: Military subversives (methodical, unit specialists). Study. Adapt. Overcome.

- Phoenix Clan: Generalist subversives (opposed tech/magic focus). You have nasty tricks in abundance, but your best tricks are locked behind a seemingly unavoidable Shiba/Isawa enmity barrier.

- Scorpion Clan: Political subversives (stealth focus). Control the playing field, and if everyone asks, you were in another city during that whole time.

- Unicorn Clan: Military rushers (cavalry/speed focus). You have a big starting advantage, but your enemies have better growth potential. Crush them before they outrun you!

- Minor Clans: Generalist rushers (lethal joke focus). Fortune favors the mortal man, but lack can only do so much!

I think the best story progression would be "do our own thing, without looking at the original timeline, unless we have a fun idea for a little nod", honestly. Sure, there are certain story tropes and archetypes that could be revisited ("Empire lacks a clear heir, claimants gather political support and fight it out" for example, which doesn't necessarily have to mean Four Winds, etc), but I don't think that flat out reanimating storylines is going to be good for anyone.

A story arc I wanted to pursue but never happened was having democratic/socialist revolutionaries as the arc 'villains'. I mean, the clash between feudal and 'modern' government is pretty much classic samurai, and it's always interesting to have a charismatic, idealistic antagonist whose goals, while noble to modern western audiences, are considered pretty horrible by Rokugan.

They are pulling a Disney with Star Wars, so they will likely do same as Disney : keep a few good ideas (like Thrawn) and don't bother with anything else.

9 hours ago, WHW said:

How would you utilize the chance to do the story reset? In what positions would you put the clans, and what kind of themes and story seeds would you plant?

Assuming a reset to "blank paper"- no Coup, no Clan War, no Day of Thunder, and none of the stuff that followed?

The Emperor is generally seen as a distant sort, reigning but not really ruling- the Emperormay dictate what is fashionable at Court, and may play favorites, but actual legally binding action is quite rare. The Otomo family handles most of the actual heavy lifting of Imperial authority, and it pretty much works for everybody...

The Crab - They guard their wall, watching ceaselessly.... but the Shadowlands have been quiet for over a generation. Crab samurai are having trouble finding beasts to kill to pass their gempukku. The younger generation have not only not had to fight tidal waves of oni- many of them have never seen anything scarier than a goblin. The Crab grow restless- they're a clan formed for an eternal war, which seems to be on hold.Worst of all, the older generation has started to worry- if the younger generation has no real experience fighting the beasts of the Shadowlands, how will they manage if the monsters return? Not helping matters is the accession of new Champion- young, energetic, fiery- and untested. The new Champion goes looking for a fight, some way to prove their mettle, although they aren't such stupid hotheads as to ignore the counsel of their elders- the Wall is still manned, regardless of where their restless leadership takes them in terms of conflict. And then the Crane throw a party which the Crab are delighted to crash...

The Crane - For ages, the Crane have been the masters of the courts, able to, "hide beyond legalisms and appeals to imperial authority," as the Lion would put it. But no more. This new Hantei is less inclined to favor them, finding their words vapid an uninteresting, and their appeals meaningless. And thus the Crane face the aggressive Lion with little hope of having the war ended without some measurable victories under their belt. The problem is, the Lion are pretty good at this "war" thing, and the Crane are less than thrilled by the prospect of seeing their castles burn and having their lands seized by the newly emboldened Lion clan. But if the Emperor won't listen, others might- the Crane reach out to the Unicorn, whose return they helped cement, and whose left-behind kin would only escape the abuse of the Lion by becoming the Fox Clan. They make a few friends, orchestrate a few incidents, and soon enough, the Lion are fighting on two fronts- while they've got a handle on how to fight the Crane, the Unicorn are both more militarily inclined and they employ unorthodox tactics. The Cane start actually being able to push back.

The Dragon - Despite trying to keep their distance, the new Emperor's enthusiastic piety has made the Dragon far more prominent in the courts. They have fairly good relations with the Phoenix- to whom they are only too happy to cede courtly dominance,since it allows them to stay focused on their own pursuits. Still, the mystical Dragon are very much a fixture- with problems of their own. The inter-clan war to their south troubles the Dragon-not least because with the Lion, Crane, Crab and Unicorn all embroiled in war, the Scorpion are Up To Things. While not outright hostile, the Dragon are doing their best to keep a close eye on the Scorpion-leading to more than a little tension, the odd impromptu death duel, and few "tragic accidents." Their bad relations with the Scorpion have led to a generation of Dragon samurai who are getting VERY good at the Kitsuki Method, not for the use of legal recourse- but so they know exactly who to take action against.

The Lion - Good thing the Lion love to fight, 'cause they sure have their hands full! Whatwas supposed to be a golden opportunity to finally put the wretched Crane in their place has devolved into a miserable quagmire, fighting to keep the mobile, unpredictable Unicorn from ravaging their western provinces while dealing with unusually aggressive action from the Crane. Despite the skill of the Akodo, the fury of the Matsu, and all their usual standbys, the Lion find themselves genuinely out of their depth... and then, with true strategic wisdom and flexibility, the Akodo try something new... they invite the Crab into the fray. And the Crab, restless, bored,and eager for a baptism of fire, accept. While ill-suited to open field confrontations with the mobile Unicorn forces, the Crab are excellently suited to seizing and holding positions. They attack the Unicorn from the south, turning a two on one battle into a more even struggle. For their part, the Lion still find themselves shifting to keep their balance,and expending a lot of their courtly power keeping the Phoenix and Dragon busy with fine details to prevent their open support of the Crane and Unicorn.

The Phoenix - On the surface, things are quite rosy for the Phoenix. Under the current emperor, piety is the highest fashion, and the Phoenix find themselves the most favored clan at Court.They enjoy unrivaled access, no one quite dares openly move against them, life is GREAT! Except they look at their friends among the Dragon and wonder if they didn't have a better idea by hanging back from becoming the new Court fixture- because the more the Phoenix come to embrace their role as political animals, the more they lose sight of their actual spirituality. The more they live in the world, the less able they are to rise above it. This tension exacerbates their old internal schisms, with the Asako growing increasingly resentful of the Isawa horning in on the courtly duties that they had executed for most of the clan's history. When priests go to court, what does that leave the courtiers to do? The Asako's Henshin order of monks,of course, do not go unrepresented, but the Isawa have had a taste of Imperial political power, and many of them really like it. After all, their intentions are for the best! Now Rokugan will focus its priorities correctly! Just as soon as these pesky Lion cease their warmongering...oh, the Crane brought in the Unicorn?Huh, that's... and now the Crab? Where the Phoenix appeals to peace have always been emphatic, they're now hopelessly muddied,not least because you cannot get the Crab, Crane, Lion, and Unicorn to sit down for collective talks! The Emperor has charged you with overseeing the royal ikebana competition, and he will insist...

The Scorpion - While everybody else is busy, the Scorpion are having a ball. The Crab are at war, and their impulsive young Champion is easily led. The Crane are neck-deep in their conflict with the Lion. The Lion are not just busy, they've had the good sense to invite the Crab into the fray! How wonderful! The Phoenix are apparently drunk off of their unparalleled favor in Court, and easily distracted. The Unicorn are, like the Lion, fighting on two fronts.Only the Dragon really seem to be keeping an annoying eye on Scorpion inroads- because their long experience has left the Scorpion well aware that there are many minor posts in court that have great influence,and they're only too happy to take up these minor duties to spare the Phoenix the bother. But with the Dragon nosing about, they can't quite pull of what they'd like... well, the Scorpion know better than anyone that there's more than one way to wage a war. They may never meet the Dragon on the field of battle, but when all's said and done, they intend to strike a blow.

The Unicorn - All they wanted was to help their good friends in the Crane Clan teach those miserable Lion a lesson. Now they're fighting the Crab as well, and worst of all, their efforts to get more accepted in Rokugani society after their recent return have run hard up against entrenched opposition- the Lion because they're enemies for the time being, the Crab for similar reasons, the Phoenix because the Unicorn's foreign religious practices don't jive with Phoenix theology, the Scorpion because they're, "just jerks!"... they'd hoped that the Crane's courtly support would have been enough, but with the Crane out of favor with the new Emperor, with Crane fashions and styles being derided as "last week's news," the Unicorn find themselves frustratingly isolated. They reach out to the Dragon Clan for acceptance,and find a little- but the little courtly influence the Dragon have bothered to cultivate means that they're too busy with the Scorpion to really support the Unicorn.

Simmer these conflicts (including the Phoenix internal one, which I would mostly have play out in the form of an Asako saying one thing, an Isawa saying another, gradually making it plain that their courtly dominance is a house of cards and that they're really not on the same page), then, when everybody is busy slapping the crud out of everybody else, entrar the Shadowlands- No coup, no Crab marching beside them, just an army of Nasty that has bided its time until Rokugan is too disunited and unfocused to stand against them. Use the resulting war with Jigoku's forces to shake up the existing structure, and let the Clans react to the consequences of their own selfish or myopic actions in the aftermath- and let them actually grow. After this growth's path is plotted, pick where to take the story next...

On 4/19/2017 at 2:49 PM, Mirith said:

We should still call them the Otaku. It is traditional.

Actually, that name was shamed during the Kolat incident. So much godkiller urges among the old Unicorn...

Also, I seriously doubt that the Scorpion are going to Coup... not when they are in a position to cuckold the Emperor of his power. Most likely, they plan to manipulate the Emperor into marrying one of Kachiko's minions. If they do it, I hope it's to plunge Rokugan into a Sengoku Jidai.

12 minutes ago, Daigotsu Naraku said:

Also, I seriously doubt that the Scorpion are going to Coup... not when they are in a position to cuckold the Emperor of his power. Most likely, they plan to manipulate the Emperor into marrying one of Kachiko's minions. If they do it, I hope it's to plunge Rokugan into a Sengoku Jidai.

I think we may see a coup just not for the same reasons as the last one. I'm thinking it will be Kachiko "recognizing" that the Emperor has lost the favor of the heavens pushing for a new Emperor, likely the older Prince whom she feels she can control. End with the death of the Emperor and the clans split between the two heirs and watch the showdown begin.

15 minutes ago, Daigotsu Naraku said:

Also, I seriously doubt that the Scorpion are going to Coup... not when they are in a position to cuckold the Emperor of his power. Most likely, they plan to manipulate the Emperor into marrying one of Kachiko's minions. If they do it, I hope it's to plunge Rokugan into a Sengoku Jidai.

I dunno... ignoring for a moment that we don't know (I think) if the Empress Consort is still alive, the Emperor already has two heirs. Getting Sotorii or Daisetsu married to a Scorpion girl, rather than the traditional Crane, would probably be a safer bet.

Of course, that also carries with it certain issues...

6 minutes ago, Schmoozies said:

I think we may see a coup just not for the same reasons as the last one. I'm thinking it will be Kachiko "recognizing" that the Emperor has lost the favor of the heavens pushing for a new Emperor, likely the older Prince whom she feels she can control. End with the death of the Emperor and the clans split between the two heirs and watch the showdown begin.

I'm with you on expecting a coup - but I think the big 'twist' is going to be a different clan setting it off.

Breaking it down... Why a coup? First off, it's dramatic. The Imperial arc helped set the stage, but in Act 2 it's time to tip the stage over. They'll establish that the situation is dynamic, and allow for meaningful inter-clan conflict. Of course, the fact that it calls back to the original story will also please long-time fans, and the original story was good (with flaws, but still a very good story) and not something to throw out casually.

Why have another clan stage the coup? Again, the drama. They will show that they're not just retelling the original story - it has echoes, but doesn't repeat. It can throw up surprises for the old and new players. The leading candidates right now? Phoenix, in order to right the imbalance in the spirit world. Crane, if they discover Imperial involvement in Satsume's death. Finally, maybe Crab, in order to secure the resources to defend against the Shadowlands from an uncaring and thus unworthy Emperor. Anyway, those would be my current lead 3 candidates.

1 minute ago, agarrett said:

Why have another clan stage the coup? Again, the drama. They will show that they're not just retelling the original story - it has echoes, but doesn't repeat. It can throw up surprises for the old and new players. The leading candidates right now? Phoenix, in order to right the imbalance in the spirit world. Crane, if they discover Imperial involvement in Satsume's death. Finally, maybe Crab, in order to secure the resources to defend against the Shadowlands from an uncaring and thus unworthy Emperor. Anyway, those would be my current lead 3 candidates.

I'm with you on liking the idea of another clan starting the coup but the issue is none of the other clans (with the exception of the Crab who lack the resources to do anything once they start the ball rolling) have anything to really gain from it. The other option is inter-clan civil war with pro and anti imperial factions.

Main issue with both these options is we are being baited with Kachiko is manipulating things and setting up for her clan to do something big. We see a rift forming between her and Shoju that I can easily see being her pushing the pieces around to secure her position as the puppet master controlling the new Emperor, and it all blowing up in her face.

Doesn't need to be the Scorpion trying to overtly take over the courts but could be them over stepping aside and Shoju (taking the hint that the Scorpion are most effective when working from the shadows) deciding to let them appear to have fallen so that others can rise (possibly owing favors for their new fortune).

Crab Clan Coup. They seem to be the ones with the most motivation right now. Especially if they get any inclination that the Emperor will be compromised by Shadowlands at some point in the future.

13 minutes ago, GhedJnnar said:

Crab Clan Coup. They seem to be the ones with the most motivation right now. Especially if they get any inclination that the Emperor will be compromised by Shadowlands at some point in the future.

motivation is there the main issue is access. Crab have the lowest profile outside of their own territory and the most difficulty moving forces due to the need to maintain the wall. We could see a re-hash of the old story where a deal was struck with the Shadowlands freeing up resources to send into other pursuits, but that is again a re-hash of the original story where Crab were one of the primary antagonistic clans.

I think more interesting is if its a group looking to replace the weak Emperor and use him as a pawn. I could easily see a Lion/Scorpion/Phoenix alliance that views the rising instability around the empire and uses it as an excuse to enact a Shogunate type rule, only to have it backfire and the clans loose prestige.

In the original fluff Kisada and a Contingent of Crab marched north during the coup. The rest of the clan stayed to man the wall. The contingent that showed up despite its small numbers was a strong as the entirety of the rest of the others clans might combined. This is the reason that Shoju wanted Kisada on his side so bad. He was the only clan champion that knew how strong the crab really were. Crab kill goblins, oni, and ogres on a daily basis. Killing samurai is warmups for them.

If Kisada marched a contingent north to take the throne from Hantei, which in old fluff he thought about doing a lot, the rest of the clans would not be able to stop him; and he knows it.

19 minutes ago, GhedJnnar said:

In the original fluff Kisada and a Contingent of Crab marched north during the coup. The rest of the clan stayed to man the wall. The contingent that showed up despite its small numbers was a strong as the entirety of the rest of the others clans might combined. This is the reason that Shoju wanted Kisada on his side so bad. He was the only clan champion that knew how strong the crab really were. Crab kill goblins, oni, and ogres on a daily basis. Killing samurai is warmups for them.

If Kisada marched a contingent north to take the throne from Hantei, which in old fluff he thought about doing a lot, the rest of the clans would not be able to stop him; and he knows it.

Crab army was estimated to be around 300,000 bushi 3/4 of which were normally stationed on the wall, Lion on the other hand had a standing arm of 500,000. Unicorn are supposed to have a smaller army than the Lion likely more in line with Crab, but more mobile so able to offset lower numbers, they also saw a surge in forces when the Moto crossed into the Empire which grew their army significantly.

Wasp Clan Coup. Once they take the palace, no hostile army will be able to get within half a mile of the walls without being mowed down!

Higher Ground + Blackened Sky

1 hour ago, JJ48 said:

Wasp Clan Coup. Once they take the palace, no hostile army will be able to get within half a mile of the walls without being mowed down!

Higher Ground + Blackened Sky

Until I attach.


Than one guy gets through and its all over.

4 minutes ago, Schmoozies said:

Than one guy gets through and its all over.

Nah. That's why you always throw a couple Melee attachments in the deck!

4 minutes ago, JJ48 said:

Nah. That's why you always throw a couple Melee attachments in the deck!

I fear not your Melee 3, my Spear will get me above your total, I hope (checks to see if he can find some followers to attach for a Stand Against the Waves storm)

1 minute ago, Schmoozies said:

I fear not your Melee 3, my Spear will get me above your total, I hope (checks to see if he can find some followers to attach for a Stand Against the Waves storm)

If both are on the same unit, I can get them up to Melee 6. More with cards like Unholy Strike.

And of course, if the battle ever truly swings out of our favor, we'll just use:

...I miss my Tsuruchi Shenanigans deck.

43 minutes ago, JJ48 said:

If both are on the same unit, I can get them up to Melee 6. More with cards like Unholy Strike.

And of course, if the battle ever truly swings out of our favor, we'll just use:

...I miss my Tsuruchi Shenanigans deck.

Bah you young whipper snappers with your movement shenanigans. In my day if we wanted to snipe and run we had to make do with this guy, and we liked him just fine.

For some reason, I kind of ship uncorrupted Daisetsu and uncorrupted Shahai as the next Emperor and Empress.

I'm hoping Shahai manages to avoid turning evil this time around. As much as I like the image of Akio bashing her skull like an overripe melon I'd prefer it not happen if it doesn't have to.

Yeah, it kind of gets boring when everything bad that’s happening is because “Fu Leng made me do it”