22 minutes ago, Tonbo Karasu said:

You choose to omit the Imperial line of Hantei itself?

He is already mentioned in the game's description so...

17 minutes ago, Iuchi Toshimo said:

-Moto - They were lost in the Shadowlands when ponies returned. Moto Gaheris hasn't brought people back from the desert atm

+Ide (We have courtiers, dammit.)

and the Horiuchi "family" is literally one person.

There are Moto in Rokugan. They just keep a low profile because of that shameful Moto Tsume incident.

And Horiuchi Shoan is her strongest 20. And to be fair, later in the AEG storyline, had more members.

4 minutes ago, Wintersong said:

And Horiuchi Shoan is her strongest 20. And to be fair, later in the AEG storyline, had more members.

And then there were none.

The Horiuchi family, for those of you just joining us, actually exist purely because of a typo.

3 minutes ago, Wintersong said:

And to be fair, later in the AEG storyline, had more members.

And then, the Empress decided they had to go. So poof, no Horiuchi anymore.

For the dragon, I know it's not the favorite part of the storyline for a lot of dragons, but there were also the Hitomi and Hoshi families for a time.

4 minutes ago, Shiba Gunichi said:

And then there were none.

The Horiuchi family, for those of you just joining us, actually exist purely because of a typo.

Ancestral Typo of Imperial.

About Horiuchi family going poof... mono no aware .

3 hours ago, Shiba Gunichi said:

The Horiuchi family, for those of you just joining us, actually exist purely because of a typo.

Could you explain the background on this typo?

Just now, Ultimatecalibur said:

Could you explain the background on this typo?

Not much to it. Horiuchi Shoan was just supposed to be Iuchi Shoan, but Mistakes Were Made.

Just now, Shiba Gunichi said:

Not much to it. Horiuchi Shoan was just supposed to be Iuchi Shoan, but Mistakes Were Made.

I understood that but want to know how the H, o and r got there.

5 minutes ago, Ultimatecalibur said:

I understood that but want to know how the H, o and r got there.

Probably because Horiuchi is a much more common Japanese name.

This is all helpful and cool stuff. I hope they do something for Rokugan like the Worlds of Android book they did for Netrunner. Seems like a no brainer to me.

Quote

The Worlds of Android is your definitive guide to Android setting and its unique vision of the future. A beautiful, 272-page hardbound setting guide and art book, The Worlds of Android features full-color art, stunning gatefolds, and a polyphony of narrative voices that convey the immense diversity of human experience in the rich, fictional universe made famous by Android: Netrunner and the Android board game.

They're still selling books from the L5R RPG over at http://www.drivethrurpg.com .

Most of those have excellent setting details.

I've updated the OP with all the terms that have been mentioned in the thread so far (I think). Please have a skim and let me know if you see anything wrong or think of some others while you read it. Thanks for all the help.

This one just came up in another thread:

Gozoku - A conspiracy of Crane, Phoenix and Scorpion courtiers that, back in the past, worked together to puppet the Emperor (a bit Cao Cao, really)

Corrections:

The Crab should have the Yasuki Family.

Under Minor Clans the Bat, Monkey, and Ox should be in parenthesis since they weren't founded until after the start date of the new timeline.

And to clarify: Tengoku is called the Celestial Heavens, but it's not really heaven in the western sense. The Sun and Moon hold their divine court there, but the souls of mortals don't go there unless the reigning Emperor deifies them by naming them a Fortune of some aspect of reality.

Upon death most mortal souls go to Medio, Realm of the Dead, to await reincarnation. Those who've fulfilled their destinies go to Yomi, Realm of the Blessed Ancestors, to live in bliss. Those who die in circumstances of extreme violence or gluttony go to Toshigoku, Realm of Slaughter, or Gaki-do, Realm of the Hungry, respectively to suffer and cleanse their kharma before proceeding to Medio.

The other Spirit Realms are Sakkaku, Realm of Mischief, which is full of trickster spirits, Yume-do, Realm of Dreams, and Chikushudo, Realm of Animals.

Other terms:

Koku is the standard unit of currency.

A tetsubo is a metal war club favored by the Crab. They're usually spiked or studded and occasionally the spikes/studs are made of jade to be more effective against Tainted enemies.

Here's another which might turn up due to the presence of Spider loyalists

Shourido - A twisted mirror of Bushido espoused by the Spider Clan

And for completeness sake (what? Nothing wrong with perfection) historical (possibly apocryphal) families that only ever showed up in the RPG (but some of which are quite cool)

Bee Clan - Hachi (Art Critics in Imperial court)

Crow Clan - Karasu

Firefly Clan - Hotaru

Salamander Clan - Hitokage (Nomadic Shugenja researchers on riverboats)

Shark Clan - Jurozame (Unacknowledged Imperial bastard and his bully-boys)

Tanuki Clan - Tanuki (Researchers into spirit realms - or a bunch of Tanuki just having a laugh)

Imperial Family - Nasu (A family of bureaucrats formed by the Gozoku)

Kaeru - A family of Ronin running a town in an important trading spot

Yotsu - A family of Ronin living in the Capital.

Bu - Silver coins, the middle denomination of Rokugani money.

Emerald Champion - One of the highest ranks of all, in charge of the justice system. In some time periods s/he can make empire-wide decisions if the Emperor isn't around to do it.

Ise Zumi - Tattooed monks of the Dragon clan. The term isn't used as often anymore, but it still crops up every once in a while.

Kaiu Wall - Occasionally called the "Carpenter Wall", despite being made of stone. It's the big wall the Crab built between the Empire and the Shadowlands.

Koku - Gold coins, the largest denomination of Rokuani money. Supposedly enough money to feed one man for a year on rice, but its worth was highly variable, usually a lot less than that.

Ningyo - Basically mermaids, but come in both genders.

Tejina - Shadow magic, practiced by the ninjiest of ninjas. Really, really bad for you.

Yogo Curse - A curse that forces you to, once in your life, betray someone you love. It's hereditary to the very unfortunate Yogo family.

Zeni - Copper coins, the smallest denomination of Rokugani money.

Zokujin - Also called "copper-goblins", they're little earth-aligned guys who live underground.

[EDIT: A few more terms:

Gempukku - The coming-of-age ceremony in Rokugan. Samurai choose their own name at their gempukku. (Before then they only have unofficial nicknames give by their families.)

Sodan-senzo - A type priest that specializes in ancestor worship. Unique to the Kitsu family of the Lion.

Yobanjin - Gaijin (foreigners) who live just north of the empire. Descended from Rokugani who refused to serve the (big-k) Kami and were expelled.

/edit]

Imperial Families

Other than the Imperial line itself, which varies per time period, there are three other families that serve the Emperor directly: the Seppun (bushi and shugenja, mainly palace guards), the Otomo (courtiers), and the Miya (heralds/messengers). They tend to be very active behind the scenes (especially the Otomo), but rarely end up in the spotlight.

15 hours ago, JJ48 said:

I guess "less honorable" could be relative within the caste (even a merchant is still far above a criminal, even if his customers think otherwise!)

Yep, that's exactly how it works. There are multiple tiers within the heimin, in theory going peasant>craftsman>merchant. Craftsmen and merchants tend to have more money, though, and money can sometimes buy respect.

15 hours ago, Wintersong said:

Do not shugenja only carry the wakizashi? I thought that a shugenja carrying also a katana was like a sign saying "I can defend myself".

Shugenja, courtiers, and the like would certainly own a katana, because that's part of being a samurai. But they'd normally leave it in storage somewhere rather than carry it with them, to signal that they're not warriors.

Box - means Stronghold to the truly old-school Ringers.

Not sure if someone else mentioned it, but you missed Yasuki under Major Crab families.

2 hours ago, NHIrishPunk said:

Not sure if someone else mentioned it, but you missed Yasuki under Major Crab families.

Call them what they are!

Treacherous former Crane family.

?

Pretty sure it was the rest of the Crane who were the traitors. Gozoku anyone?

Look, you can't blame the Yasuki for wanting out of the Crane.... knowing that your karma in a past life must have been so bad that even a stint as a snail was beyond you, so you had to be a Crane samurai? Some indignities are not to be borne.

You know, with all the talks of minor clans, does anyone know why a bear clan never got added?

1 hour ago, Isawa Kioshi said:

You know, with all the talks of minor clans, does anyone know why a bear clan never got added?

Probably because for a bunch of North Americans cadging bits and pieces of East Asian lore, the bear was too close to home. Or something. The Anchorage L5R group unofficially goes by"The Bear Clan"sometimes, they'd probably do cartwheels.

10 minutes ago, Shiba Gunichi said:

Probably because for a bunch of North Americans cadging bits and pieces of East Asian lore, the bear was too close to home. Or something. The Anchorage L5R group unofficially goes by"The Bear Clan"sometimes, they'd probably do cartwheels.

Maybe it should be the Panda Bear Clan then?

/ignore.

Sumai : Sumo Wresting in Rokugan

Kyuden : A Palace

Seido : A Shrine

Shinden : A Temple

Shiro : A Castle

Mura : A Village

Toshi : A City

Mori : A Forest