So I posted this on the L5R Facebook group but thought I'd expand it a little and share it here as well.
One interesting way I once thought of to describe the clans was as high school cliques, so:
Lion – The big man on campus. The Quarter Back of the Football team, Prom king, everyone likes them and they always seems to have the biggest entourage. Can be a real arrogant twit sometimes tough.
Crane – Student Council President. Lots of friends and popular with everyone. Has good grades and was the lead in the school musical. They’re rich and can be a little spoiled. Tend to look down on those they see as beneath them.
Phoenix – The Science kids. Valedictorian and the smartest kids in school. Hangs out in the science lab after school and always seems to be working on some weird concoction there. Sometimes they end up creating the coolest stuff, sometimes they end up burning the lab down around them. Always a fun time when they start to tinker.
Crab – The Jocks. They are the defensive line on the football team. They love to party and as long as you treat them nice they will be your greatest friends. Just watch out if they start to get too many drinks as they can get rambunctious and aren’t afraid to throw their weight around. They have a real rivalry with the kids from South O'Wall High.
Unicorn – The Exchange Student. They’re that odd kid who is doing his best to fit in and everyone tries to get along with, but every once in a while they say or do something weird that reminds everyone just how different the culture they grew up in is.
Dragon – The Dreamers. Always seem to have their heads in the clouds, distracted and not really aware of what’s going on around them. But then they open their mouth and you realize they see everything as it seems to really be and aren’t afraid to call others on it.
Scorpion – The Queen Bee. They are just so much cooler than everyone else and are a step ahead of you. They are really into the theatre and music and go to all the best clubs. They know all the gossip and aren’t afraid to destroy you if it will serve their ends.
Mantis – The Delinquents. They always seem to be out back smoking or into something shady. Folks wonder how they managed to even get into the school. They always seem to be on the verge of getting kicked out but when the mean kids from the school next door show up to start something they are the first once to get into the fight and defend their school.
Spider – The Emo kids. Black is cool and why should we listen to that modern pop crap when we have The Cure. They go to the weirdest clubs and are into all this weird witch craft and Lovecraftian horror stuff. Most of them are transferred from South O'Wall High after redistricting moved the school boundary.
And for the Clans that weren’t supported when the game got dropped
Naga – Weird Foreigner. The thought the Unicorn Exchange student was weird this kid must be just off the boat. He always seems a little lost and has no idea what’s going on, but when he gets with the other kids from his country they just go off on their own and do their own thing. Their school obviously didn’t follow your curriculum cause they have no idea of some of the most basic things but then they drop some next level physics on you that even the teacher can’t seem to understand.
Monk – The librarians. They get mixed up for the phoenix and the dragon all the time since they seem to have a lot of the same tastes. These kids are all about the book smarts though. They are happiest with a good book in a quiet corner learning something new and contemplating how it affects their world view.
Ninja – The Ghost. They never seem to show up to class but they always seem to have the best grades. They know everything about everyone and no one knows anything about them. They flit from group to group and always seem to blend in with everyone.
Toturi’s Army – The tarnished hero. They used to be one of the cool kids than they got on everyone’s bad side and got banished from the cool table. Now they sit with the burnouts and have started to make new friends and are learning that the kids they used to make fun of are actually kind of cool.
Spirit – The Victory Lap. They graduated a decade ago but keep showing up at all the parties raving about how much cooler things were in their time.
Ratlings – The weird poor kid. They’re a little dirty and have weird taste. They have no problem picking through the garbage you discarded to find that useful scrap of something that they can use. They didn’t used to be like that but their dad got laid off and money is tight but they still cling to the memory of when they were on top of the world. Maybe someday they’ll get their again.
The Minor Clans - The faceless mob. You're always there in the background. You have some cool stories but no one seems to care enough to listen as soon as one of the popular kids shows up. Anyone who starts to stand out invariably gets poached by one of the other cliques.
