Well then, since we are months away from actual release, maybe this will satiate your appetite for now. If this is an interesting topic for you, give it a shot.
What would your own Clan creation look like?
Clan name?
Clan preference during conflicts (political, military, both,?)?
Clan weaknesses and strengths?
Clan mon? (assuming you can find one online and post it)
Clan stronghold? (stats preferable)
Clan play style with respect to the other Clans?
The Sandpiper Clan
Equally excels at Military and Political Conflicts
Strengths: loyalty, martial prowess, discipline, and ancient wisdom, mastery of Air Magic
Weaknesses: work too hard, perfectionists
Province Strength: 10, Gold Production: 5, Starting Honor: 6
Clan play style: dominance over the other clans in both conflict arenas
I am pretty certain I am doing this wrong, but... okay... how I would do the three clans I think should eventually be added to the LCG.
What would your own Clan creation look like?
The underground alliance of tainted individuals and cultists of Fu Leng seeking to corrupt the empire while remaining hidden in the shadows. The members come from all different clans, but gather together in the name of the dark lord to coordinate and support their sinister agendas. They are a insidious threat and dress mostly in black and white with hints of violet, crimson and serpent green.
Clan name?
The Spider Clan
Clan preference during conflicts (political, military, both,?)?
Very strong on military, good with political (particularly on defense)
Clan weaknesses and strengths?
The clan uses very strong personality cards that come with the "Tainted" property. The personalities come in dishonored. The conflict cards generally cause a loss of 1 honor when use, but have powerful effects-- particularly in military conflicts where your summoned oni can really cause destruction. Furthermore your bloodspeakers can drain fate from opponents and put it on your own personalities. You can also taint and take control of the opponent's personalities.
However, certain conflict cards can utterly destroy your tainted characters and as your every move causes honor loss, you are going to want to preserve your honor or gain honor as much as possible. You are highly susceptible to those who are trying to defeat you through dishonor.
Clan mon?
The classic Spider Clan mon.
Clan stronghold?
The Hidden Temple of Fu Leng
Good defense, low starting honor, standard fate production, low influence
Clan play style with respect to the other Clans?
They will be a very powerful threat, particularly during military conflicts, and can really screw up one's stable strategies through their manipulation of fate. You'll want to have the anti-shadowlands (or at least anti-dishonor) meta cards or be able to push them past the brink of dishonor with some magistrates or courtiers.
What would your own Clan creation look like?
The oldest and largest minor clan with a naval easily rivaling anything the major clans have as well as other minor clans they have recently absorbed. They dress in sea-green, black and gold, are usually seen on ships and commonly use kamas and bows. Yoritomo, Tsuruichi, Moshi and Watanabe are the clan families.
Clan name?
The Mantis Clan
Clan preference during conflicts (political, military, both,?)?
Good in both military and political, but primarily defensive and maneuvering instead of directly offensive.
Clan weaknesses and strengths?
They specialize in mobility and elimination, using their boats, their wealth and their superior bow skills to both surprisingly move into conflicts and remove others from conflicts whether it be by a pinning shot or by a well-placed bribe. They don't care much for honor and they struggle in any direct conflict-- if one can prevent them from escaping the conflict or keep your own personalities in it, then you will be able to defeat them.
Clan mon?
The classic Mantis Clan mon, though the new clan color would be a bluer shade of green.
Clan stronghold?
The Palace of Gusai
Decent defense, low starting honor, slightly higher fate production, low honor
Clan play style with respect to the other Clans?
The Mantis will need to heavily rely on their fate cards as their personalities just won't match up in terms of pure power. However, their powerful fate cards will use their keywords to cause powerful effects, usually moving more personalities into a conflict or bowing or sending the opponents back out of one. Generally they will need to play the long game in order to win as the longer the game goes on, the more their slight fate advantage should add up.
What would your own Clan creation look like?
The former rulers of Rokugan for 1000 years now forced to rely on the monks and dirty ronin to support their cause. The fallen "Imperials" now find themselves squeezed out of their old finery, but their knowledge of the law and how to use it to their advantage is unmatched and they have the favor of the people of the imperium as the name Hantei still carries with it a lot of weight. Seppun, Otomo, Miya and Kasuga are the clan families.
Clan name?
The Owl Clan
Clan preference during conflicts (political, military, both,?)?
They are good defensively in both political and military conflicts, but lack offensive power in either. They are more focused on the honor/dishonor game.
Clan weaknesses and strengths?
They empower unaligned cards, giving them a bonus +1 to their military and political power, making those subpar ronin and monks quite usable as well as, naturally, allowing them to better use those old Imperial cards printed before this faction-- in fact, they would be given special new cards that trigger off the Imperial trait on unaligned cards. In addition, they specialize in magistrates and the law, able to dishonor characters and punish them for being dishonorable.
That being said, even with the boost their character cards are going to still be subpar it seems and limited to primarily neutral conflict cards will mean they will be lacking anything particular spectacular. They are going to have to use their influence to carefully choose tactics from other clans.
Clan mon?
It would presumably be the mon of an owl.
Clan stronghold?
High honor, low defense, average fate production, very high influence (mostly to allow them to use tactics normally reserved for other clans since their pool will be small or nonexistent)
Clan play style with respect to the other Clans?
For the most part, their job will be to prevent others from taking their provinces. They will have a way to steal the Imperial Favor so long as they can hold onto their provinces, even if they can't take any. While trying to sat alive, they will focus on dishonoring the opponent while gaining honor themselves through their use of courtiers.
I always wanted to create a minor clan: The Bug Clan
The clan would consist out of predominantly shugenja which use their magic to transform themselves.
The Clan Champion would be Kafuka Fuura, which is head of the only family as it is typical for minor clans.
I always imagined that more as an RPG option the a playable LCG faction.
But I would like to see a minor clan alliance faction in the game.
Well, I kinda have a thing for whipping up Minor Clans... my version of the Sandpiper were Shiba/Moshi derived coastal defense types, the Moth were sinister wardens of the Shinomen Mori, the Yak were scuzzy sorts who kept tabs on the Yobanjin, the Eel were a bunch of censors of dangerous knowledge...
I even have mons for those four- (Sandpiper, Yak, and Moth courtesy of Robert Denton, who does good work at reasonable rates, the Eel... to my shame be it, I forget, it was years ago)
Now, if I were gonna cook up a great clan...
Clan name? The Sandpiper are nearest and dearest to my heart, so we'll give them the nod.
Clan preference during conflicts (political, military, both,?)? Balanced, with a slight edge toward military with a teeny bit of mysticism from the original Minor Clan version's Shiba and Moshi heritage.
Clan weaknesses and strengths? Low stats on cards, but decent printed abilities. They're not straight-up fighters like the Lion or the Crab, but they know a few fine tricks to give themselves an edge.
Clan mon? (assuming you can find one online and post it) Here it is again, in all of its glory!
Clan stronghold? (stats preferable) Some coastal holding- in the new continuity, the island my Minor Clan Sandpiper got doesn't exist, so I'd stick them as a political wedge on the coast between the Crane and the Phoenix. Some sort of perk on military defense, perhaps in the form of producing cheap token personalities with garbage stats during a battle to reflect the rough and ready anti-piracy line they take.
Clan play style with respect to the other Clans? Build specialist teams to take the fight to provinces while maintaining a solid defense based upon a small number of specialist units. As a Phoenix player, multiple moving parts don't scare- or irritate- me nearly as much as they ought to.
Clan name?
Shrimp Clan (Minor Clan to Crab Clan)
Clan preference during conflicts (political, military, both,?)?
Military (attack, not defense)
Clan weaknesses and strengths?
Very strong attackers with scouting being important. Weak in political and defense. They are very powerful fighters, but their arrogance and brashness leads them to be quick to enter a battle against an opponent attacking or insulting them. They are also good, but not great duelers. They take thier perception of honor very seriously, but outside clans see them more in the light of the Crab in regards to honor.
Clan mon? (assuming you can find one online and post it)
Like this, but more like the Mantis Shrimp and in Crab Blue
Clan stronghold? (stats preferable)
A moderate outpost inside the Crab Lands, but between the Crab and other clans. Give boost to military or duels when you are the attacker. Have holdings and provinces give boosts to card draws or military strength on attack when not broken. Low strengths on provinces (easier to break)
Clan play style with respect to the other Clans?
Attack quick and hard to break enemy provinces before they break yours. Have cards to boost them when they are on the attack, or hurt them when on the defense. Have not many political capable characters. Also have moderate amount or honor focused cards. Have them work best when part of a Crab Clan deck as the allied clan (influence). Crab clan do what they do best, defense, and the Shrimp Clan would best the attacking power, and help defend deck against dishonor decks.
Additional notes:
They all would be shorter than the normal samurai. For the purposes of the RPG they all would get the small disadvantage.
Edited by HidaYama