2 minutes ago, Jedi samurai said:

the difference is this isn't the creator and "master" of a fantasy world fixing his creatation. Its a single artists who didn't know that a mounted warrior (espically one with Mongol influences) would use a short bow for many practial reasons and made a mistake.

Ok, so you've pointed out that the situations are not 100% identical. That doesn't really argue why we shouldn't do it, though. I still think it can be more enjoyable and fulfilling to try to think about possibilities and come up with explanations rather than just going, "it's a mistake" and dismissing it.

35 minutes ago, Tebbo said:

It's not real. It's an illustration.

Rule of cool. If the FFG art director for L5R had wanted it to be explicitly historically inspired they would have told that to the illustrator and had them correct it. They did not. L5R is not historical. There are numerous other instances of this across L5R, do you complain about all of them?

see this response I respect and can on side with a lot more then "well maybe she just picked it up and used it randomly while the Unicorn use the worst tactic they could think of.

You want an alternate explanation: She is a show-off and a trickster.

When an infantryman sees a rider with such a bow, he knows it'll not be used while mounted. It is probably only carried to be used later. Altarnasai is such a great archer she can use any sort of bow from horseback with relative ease and uses this to her advantage. Instead of taking precautions against her bow, most opponents will instead ready themselves with a spear, waiting for a charge. She then draws her bow and strike them down easily (being immobile targets).

It also serves as an intimidating tactic. If she is able to score easy kills with an obviously subpar weapon, she is therefore a dangerously deadly opponent.

5 minutes ago, Jedi samurai said:

see this response I respect and can on side with a lot more then "well maybe she just picked it up and used it randomly while the Unicorn use the worst tactic they could think of.

And if that's what you want to do, go for it. That doesn't make it wrong for others to want to come up with other explanations.

Also, in case it wasn't clear, likening a Unicorn rider to a modern military aircraft that serves a completely different role on a very different scale was meant more as a joke than a serious suggestion. This should have been especially obvious by the fact that she's firing to the right, when everyone knows that an AC-130's guns are on the left!

2 minutes ago, Tetsuhiko said:

You want an alternate explanation: She is a show-off and a trickster.

When an infantryman sees a rider with such a bow, he knows it'll not be used while mounted. It is probably only carried to be used later. Altarnasai is such a great archer she can use any sort of bow from horseback with relative ease and uses this to her advantage. Instead of taking precautions against her bow, most opponents will instead ready themselves with a spear, waiting for a charge. She then draws her bow and strike them down easily (being immobile targets).

It also serves as an intimidating tactic. If she is able to score easy kills with an obviously subpar weapon, she is therefore a dangerously deadly opponent.

As opposed to all those safely deadly opponents? XD

Though, I could see the possibility in the tactic mentioned. It takes time to form a decent spear wall, and time to spread out if the spear wall is abandoned. There would be a little time in between where the infantry would be easy pickings for archers...

Why could see be using a large bow? Probably artist interpretation of Yabusame or kyujutus. You can find numerous pictures of horse archers with rather large bows.

The best way to tell if AltTab is the same as Yokatsu is if everyone basically ignores her or forgets she exists for the entire arc. If they do, she's Yokatsu.

On 5/1/2017 at 0:13 PM, Tetsuhiko said:

You want an alternate explanation: She is a show-off and a trickster.

When an infantryman sees a rider with such a bow, he knows it'll not be used while mounted. It is probably only carried to be used later. Altarnasai is such a great archer she can use any sort of bow from horseback with relative ease and uses this to her advantage. Instead of taking precautions against her bow, most opponents will instead ready themselves with a spear, waiting for a charge. She then draws her bow and strike them down easily (being immobile targets).

It also serves as an intimidating tactic. If she is able to score easy kills with an obviously subpar weapon, she is therefore a dangerously deadly opponent.

lol - you completely miss reason why its not the right weapon for her to be using.

19 hours ago, Kubernes said:

Why could see be using a large bow? Probably artist interpretation of Yabusame or kyujutus. You can find numerous pictures of horse archers with rather large bows.

Yes, the samurai started as mounted archers and used larger bows on horse back. However they were nowhere near as effective as the Mongol mounted archers and the shorter ones. Thats the point - the short bow has been proven the best, most effective bow to use from horseback (doesn't mean it isn't POSSIBLE to use other ones). It only makes sense the clan who's greatest strength is their mounted combat, who spent years outside the Empire and thus is less "Japanese" then the other clans, and which has a Mongol influence (they have Kahn......) would use the Mongol Bow from a culture influence stand point and practical/effectiveness stand point.

14 minutes ago, Jedi samurai said:

and which has a Mongol influence (they have Kahn......)

We do not know if that is true currently.

7 minutes ago, Jedi samurai said:

*snip*

It only makes sense the clan who's greatest strength is their mounted combat, who spent years outside the Empire and thus is less "Japanese" then the other clans, and which has a Mongol influence (they have Kahn......) would use the Mongol Bow from a culture influence stand point and practical/effectiveness stand point.

Since we are still nit-picking and not just imagining the swift death that bow and magic horsey will bring Altansarnai's foes, the Unicorn don't get a Khan before (if) the Moto return and have spent the last 200 years trying to fit back in with the empire. She's the face of the clan and everybody is watching her actions.

A girl just can't get a break.

She also needs a nickname, IMO. The internet recommends "Altai." Thoughts?

19 hours ago, Tetsuro said:

The best way to tell if AltTab is the same as Yokatsu is if everyone basically ignores her or forgets she exists for the entire arc. If they do, she's Yokatsu.

"And... you know... the Unicorn thunder... Otaku whatsherface..." "The unicorn thunder was a guy, and Shinjo." "He was? Huh... thought it was a battle maiden."

38 minutes ago, Jedi samurai said:

lol - you completely miss reason why its not the right weapon for her to be using.

I know why and the fact she is not using the right bow for the job is acknowledged by the vast majority.

The real reason is artistic license, and that's fine. I just wanted to give an explanation that could be used as a story hook. It could be just as easily be swept under the rug but it's often these little things that create a richer story.

The Horiuchi and Kyoso no Oni are examples of mistakes that got corrected with an in-story explanation. There were others, but these are the first two that came to Mind.

48 minutes ago, Iuchi Toshimo said:

She also needs a nickname, IMO. The internet recommends "Altai." Thoughts?

Would not Altan make more sense?

Nicknames and trying to speed talk/write aside, to learn new long names, break them apart. Altan - sar - nai. Add some rhythm to trigger better memorization.

Just now, Wintersong said:

Would not Altan make more sense?

Nicknames and trying to speed talk/write aside, to learn new long names, break them apart. Altan - sar - nai. Add some rhythm to trigger better memorization.

What's wrong with AltTab?

9 minutes ago, Mirith said:

What's wrong with AltTab?

I do not need to switch between windows.

3 minutes ago, Wintersong said:

I do not need to switch between windows.

Think of it as leveraging the ring of Water! Your windows have Cavalry!

1 hour ago, Ultimatecalibur said:

We do not know if that is true currently.

Fair enough. Though until proven otherwise, I think its safe to assume things like that still exist (otherwise, we don't have the basis to even have a conversatino about)

3 hours ago, Jedi samurai said:

lol - you completely miss reason why its not the right weapon for her to be using.

Yes, the samurai started as mounted archers and used larger bows on horse back. However they were nowhere near as effective as the Mongol mounted archers and the shorter ones. Thats the point - the short bow has been proven the best, most effective bow to use from horseback (doesn't mean it isn't POSSIBLE to use other ones). It only makes sense the clan who's greatest strength is their mounted combat, who spent years outside the Empire and thus is less "Japanese" then the other clans, and which has a Mongol influence (they have Kahn......) would use the Mongol Bow from a culture influence stand point and practical/effectiveness stand point.

The point is that the samurai character is using a samurai derived bow and style, not a "mongol" one. Kyuba no michi (the way of the horse and bow) is the perfect expression of what a samurai was for part of its existence.

The question of whether or not it is more effective than kyujutsu is for another thread.

4 hours ago, Mirith said:

What's wrong with AltTab?

The problem is I keep looking at a different window!

Press AltTab to switch between ruling families

I like either Altar or Altari.

Arguments about the bow aside (we're here because we're geeks - geeks will never just "let it be." Gotta be a better answer than that ), I really hope she doesn't end up being the same for two reasons:

1) Yokatsu who? The guy who was basically forgotten by the story? Definitely don't want a repeat of that, lol.
and
2) I HAAAAAATE the way the Shinjo plot was handled before, and I'd give anything to see it not happen again. "Hi, I'm Shinjo-kami. I (unwittingly) directly allowed the kolat to infiltrate my clan. Years later, I'll get so mad about the kolat being in my clan that I'll kill off nearly my entire family and take none of the blame for myself."
...
Ugh!
/seppuku

16 hours ago, Jedi samurai said:

Fair enough. Though until proven otherwise, I think its safe to assume things like that still exist (otherwise, we don't have the basis to even have a conversatino about)

The title Khan was introduced later in the story. I don't think it is safe to assume that things that wheren't in the game from the beginning exist in this new version.

4 minutes ago, Oliveira said:

The title Khan was introduced later in the story. I don't think it is safe to assume that things that wheren't in the game from the beginning exist in this new version.

I'm desperately hoping this is true of the Kolat. As a pseudo-Yakuza they are fine, but some of the aspects of their story (sleeper agents, magic rock cellphones) are some of the dumbest things that existed in the history of L5R, and that's saying something.

4 minutes ago, Tetsuro said:

I'm desperately hoping this is true of the Kolat. As a pseudo-Yakuza they are fine, but some of the aspects of their story (sleeper agents, magic rock cellphones) are some of the dumbest things that existed in the history of L5R, and that's saying something.

This explains so much why when I ran L5R one of my players was begging very hard to be Kolat.

14 hours ago, Kubernes said:

The point is that the samurai character is using a samurai derived bow and style, not a "mongol" one. Kyuba no michi (the way of the horse and bow) is the perfect expression of what a samurai was for part of its existence.

The question of whether or not it is more effective than kyujutsu is for another thread.

but isn't that the point of the Unicorn? They have Mongol influences.