Years ago when I only played with my friends old cards and we started rolling up characters. I remember reading a couple stories from the rpg books. But I only remember Satsu's duel, and a Kitsuki who spent all his time chasing faceless.
What are the best stories to start with the other clans?
Where can I find more about how the families of the great clans were started?
Most of the first edition "The Way of the (X clan)" rpg books had good - sometimes great - stories explaining how the families were started. I'm not usually one for pirating, but given they've been out of print for many years, I don't feel too horrible saying they can be found on some 'sharing' sites, if you can't get ahold of them any other way at a reasonable cost.
The best written overall are probably The Scorpion, Crab, and Dragon. Lion and Crane have some very good bits. Unicorn and Phoenix are worth a read, though they aren't as consistently well crafted as the others.
I still think "Bearers of Jade" is the best supplement ever. ?
Bah!, City of Lies is best.
4 hours ago, jcharpjr71 said:I still think "Bearers of Jade" is the best supplement ever. ?
30 minutes ago, Kuni Katsuyoshi said:
Bah!, City of Lies is best.
Bearers of Jade is a wonderful book, but City of Lies is the best RPG supplement. I've run it three times with different groups over the years, and many characters hate the way the plot turns out while the players have great fun.
Opium War isn't bad,but I prefer to run my own stuff. CoL has 'atmosphere' that has yet to be topped.
I'm intensely curious to see if FFG will revisit Ryoko Owari.
I admit I don't have BoJ so I cant really compare them,
I entirely support Gao-shan's opinion regarding the 'Way of' books. Yet another idea I hope FFG will revisit
Most of these are easy to find on Kaze no Shiro and can be read in a hurry.
For the Crane (boooo! Crane need to burn!), "Private Lessons." Accept no substitutes.
For the Lion, "A Lion's Honor."
For the Phoenix, I recommend, "The War of Dark Fire, Part 6," "Judgment" (both parts), and, "Phoenix Clan Letter 16" (alas, the best Phoenix stuff tends to be blandly titled).
For the Scorpion... "A Moment's Hesitation."
1 hour ago, Shiba Gunichi said:Most of these are easy to find on Kaze no Shiro and can be read in a hurry.
For the Crane (boooo! Crane need to burn!), "Private Lessons." Accept no substitutes.
For the Lion, "A Lion's Honor."
For the Phoenix, I recommend, "The War of Dark Fire, Part 6," "Judgment" (both parts), and, "Phoenix Clan Letter 16" (alas, the best Phoenix stuff tends to be blandly titled).
For the Scorpion... "A Moment's Hesitation."
good crab fictions
"A Good Little Wife'
'And to All Things an End'
The 1st is good, the second imo was one of the absolute best.
Edited by Kuni Katsuyoshi5 hours ago, Kuni Katsuyoshi said:
Bah!, City of Lies is best.
My friend went on and on about city of lies. I only know it by reputation. 
4 hours ago, Kuni Katsuyoshi said:good crab fictions
"A Good Little Wife'
'And to All Things an End'
The 1st is good, the second imo was one of the absolute best.
I just read Good Little Wife. That was fantastic. I can't wait to start the next story.
19 minutes ago, Devin-the-Poet said:My friend went on and on about city of lies. I only know it by reputation.
I think part of what makes it so great, was that it was the 1st 'Slice of Life' we really got.
What the heck do samurai actually DO all day? , was a common question back then.
Add an intrcate web of NPC's and plots with plenty of IC material for flavoring, and u get a classic RPG product.
5 hours ago, Shiba Gunichi said:Most of these are easy to find on Kaze no Shiro and can be read in a hurry.
For the Crane (boooo! Crane need to burn!), "Private Lessons." Accept no substitutes.
For the Lion, "A Lion's Honor."
For the Phoenix, I recommend, "The War of Dark Fire, Part 6," "Judgment" (both parts), and, "Phoenix Clan Letter 16" (alas, the best Phoenix stuff tends to be blandly titled).
For the Scorpion... "A Moment's Hesitation."
I will try to finish these in the morning. Thanks!
not 'clan fiction' per se,but Scenes from the Empire 18 (the Matsu Kasei story). is one of the best ever.
read this soonest
Fun Dragon fiction One Path Many Truths
One of the best Crane Fictions imho is http://www.kazenoshiro.com/2009/02/12/the-flowers-the-snow/
A semi-follow up to the previous one: http://www.kazenoshiro.com/2009/03/10/sacrifices/
Edited by Mig el Pig
If you have them, I will echo the notion that the first edition "Way of ..." books are great for getting the core flavor of the Clans. This is especially true if, as seems to be the case, it is exactly this early RPG setting that FFG is aiming to recapture the flavor of. A first edition core book is good for the very basics of things like what are the families, what are their core purposes, how did they come into being, etc.
I will risk a tetsubo to the face and disagree with Bearers of Jade (or even City of Lies) being very useful for the purposes you're asking about. Neither will really give you much of a perspective on the flavor of the clans or how they came to be. And Bearers of Jade doesn't give you much information about the setting in general - it's an interesting read, but it's also a presentation of the Shadowlands that isn't particularly consistent with the setting (e.g., it's so over the top that Rokugan would have been wiped out long ago).
As for a Dragon fiction ... I want to throw out something like Enlightened Madness, but that is seven-part giant of a story, rather than some distilled essence of a Clan. Broken Tiger presents a particularly Dragon way of addressing a problematic situation.
21 minutes ago, Daramere said:I will risk a tetsubo to the face and disagree with Bearers of Jade (or even City of Lies) being very useful for the purposes you're asking about. Neither will really give you much of a perspective on the flavor of the clans or how they came to be. And Bearers of Jade doesn't give you much information about the setting in general - it's an interesting read, but it's also a presentation of the Shadowlands that isn't particularly consistent with the setting (e.g., it's so over the top that Rokugan would have been wiped out long ago).
But that is what made BOJ so awesome. Its stories are great for getting the feel of the shadowlands and the taint, even if it is not mechanically accurate. It's full of flavor (with maybe not much meat, I will give you that). I can picture mothers telling little samurai children those stories to impress on them the dangers and horrors of the taint.
As for the Way of books, "The Honest Scorpion" is my favorite story.
10 minutes ago, jcharpjr71 said:As for the Way of books, "The Honest Scorpion" is my favorite story.
Is that the one where several courtiers have a competition between their Yojimbo's?
If it is it's one of my favourite aswell.
3 minutes ago, Mig el Pig said:aIs that the one where several courtiers have a competition between their Yojimbo's?
If it is it's one of my favourite aswell.
The Courtship of Doji and Kakita from Way of the Crane is a fave of mine
Edited by Kuni Katsuyoshi3 minutes ago, Mig el Pig said:Is that the one where several courtiers have a competition between their Yojimbo's?
If it is it's one of my favourite aswell.
That one is in Bearers of Jade - "From Ide Tadahito's Novel, Meigumado"
The Honest Scorpion is about Bayushi Yorijo, taking out a Lion Samurai who accuses Kachiko in court.
Just now, jcharpjr71 said:That one is in Bearers of Jade - "From Ide Tadahito's Novel, Meigumado"
The Honest Scorpion is about Bayushi Yorijo, taking out a Lion Samurai who accuses Kachiko in court.
AHH you just liked the sexy picture at the endjk
2 minutes ago, Kuni Katsuyoshi said:AHH you just liked the sexy picture at the end
We all do.
1 minute ago, Ser Nakata said:We all do.
True enough.
13 hours ago, Daramere said:If you have them, I will echo the notion that the first edition "Way of ..." books are great for getting the core flavor of the Clans. This is especially true if, as seems to be the case, it is exactly this early RPG setting that FFG is aiming to recapture the flavor of. A first edition core book is good for the very basics of things like what are the families, what are their core purposes, how did they come into being, etc.
I will risk a tetsubo to the face and disagree with Bearers of Jade (or even City of Lies) being very useful for the purposes you're asking about. Neither will really give you much of a perspective on the flavor of the clans or how they came to be. And Bearers of Jade doesn't give you much information about the setting in general - it's an interesting read, but it's also a presentation of the Shadowlands that isn't particularly consistent with the setting (e.g., it's so over the top that Rokugan would have been wiped out long ago).
As for a Dragon fiction ... I want to throw out something like Enlightened Madness, but that is seven-part giant of a story, rather than some distilled essence of a Clan. Broken Tiger presents a particularly Dragon way of addressing a problematic situation.
3
So I have a friend that has them in storage somewhere. I will have to try and borrow a couple while I wait for more books and cards to get released. Broken Tiger was awesome. I also liked how it portrayed the Kolat too.
On 6/18/2017 at 1:34 PM, Togashi Gao Shan said:Most of the first edition "The Way of the (X clan)" rpg books had good - sometimes great - stories explaining how the families were started. I'm not usually one for pirating, but given they've been out of print for many years, I don't feel too horrible saying they can be found on some 'sharing' sites, if you can't get ahold of them any other way at a reasonable cost.
The best written overall are probably The Scorpion, Crab, and Dragon. Lion and Crane have some very good bits. Unicorn and Phoenix are worth a read, though they aren't as consistently well crafted as the others.
FFG is selling them digitally on DriveThruRPG for about $6 each.
For a good Kolat story I recommend Steel on Steel. And while 'A Good Little Wife' is the classic good Crab story I'll offer Kanshi as providing a good look at the Clan.