2 hours ago, shosuko said:

This is my favorite Scorpion story: From Kakita Ryoku's famous novel, "Winter"

It was I who asked the question, and to this day I wish I had not. If I had my wits about me, I would have understood the consequences of my actions, but the sake in my belly made my thoughts giddy, and - I must admin - being surrounded by the most powerful men in Rokugan did not help the situation.

"So," I asked. "What is the most important virtue a samurai may possess?"

Of course, everyone turned to pay closer attention when I addressed the room. The first to answer me was Hida Junuro, the daimyo of the Crab. His huge arms always made my head swim.

"Strength!" he cried. "For a weak man is not a man at all."

Many in the room quietly nodded, but Akodo Kyuinjin was next.

"Courage," he said quite calmly. "For even if a man is strong, should he be a coward, his strength will serve nothing but his flight."

Many more nodded at the wisdom of the Akodo, but when the Unicorn spoke up, there was naught but silence.

"Resourcefulness, I think." said the young Shinjo Yuni. "Strength and courage are good and well, but if a man cannot think, he cannot make use of any of his virtues."

And then suddenly, a quiet voice spoke from the crowd. I almost did not hear it as it softly said, "Loyalty." All turned to see Bayushi Ujiro standing in the corner, picking from the fresh sashimi on the table. "For if a man is not loyal, all of his virtues serve your enemy."

There was a moment of tension that had filled the room as each of the daimyos, one by one, nodded in agreement. The last to nod - of course - was the Crab.

"Pah!" he said through his thick beard. "What does a Scorpion know of loyalty?"

The laughter was a bit louder than I was comfortable with, for I remember my nanny teaching me that it was very bad luck to laugh at a Scorpion.

Ujiro smiled under his mask - a beautiful curling mask of smoke and fire that revealed only his eyes and his lips - and walked to face the Crab. "Would you like me to put that claim to the test?"

I must say that Hida Junuro made Ujiro look quite small, but the Scorpion did not back down.

The Crab looked down at the Scorpion and said, "A single Crab is worth a thousand Scorpions any day."

Ujiro nodded. "Perhaps in the shadowlands." He turned and took three steps away, then turned back to the Crab. "But not here. Here in our lovely hostess' winter court." He flashed one of those brilliant smiles at me, and I blushed with the thought of what lay under that mask.

"Very well, let us test our samurai, shall we?" Ujiro strode about the room, his scarlet robes swirling about him like the fiery smoke of his mask. "Who is willing to test their samurai against my own?"

"What will be the test?" asked Shinjo Yuni.

"Loyalty, of course," Ujiro replied. "Is that not the highest of all virtues?" Ujiro directed that question to Akodo Kyuinjin. A wise move, for he knew how the lion would answer.

"A Lion's loyalty is unconditional."

"So I hear," said Ujiro, his voice spiced with only a hint of sarcasm. "But are you willing to put it to the test?"

"I am," said the Crab.

"As am I," said the Unicorn.

But the Lion eyed Ujiro curiously, suspecting (I supposed) that something was amiss.

"Do not hesitate too much longer, Akodo-san. Lady Ryoko is watching, after all." He turned to me then, his devilish smile flashing in the candlelight. "And you will be writing all of his in your journal, will you not, Madame?"

I smiled. "Of course I will."

He glided past me then, returning to the other daimyo. "You heard it, my friends. We all know that the good Lady will be publishing her journal in the spring. We do not want the rest of Rokugan to view us as foolish..." he paused before Akodo Kyuinjin "... now do we?"

"My samurai have nothing to prove," Kyuinjin said.

Ujiro bowed to Kyuinjin. "Very well. I had only heard that a Lion lives by his actions ... and not his words."

Kyuinjin nodded. "Hai."

"Very well. Let us see if your yojimbo's actions live up to your words."

The Lion hesitated and, for a moment, I thought I saw his hand move toward his wakizashi. Then, he bowed slightly and said curtly, "Very well."

"Excellent!" Ujiro quickly cleared the courtiers to either side of the room and lined the diamyo up against the wall facing the door. "Then here is our contest. We will each call our yojimbo into the room. Then, we will give him a command."

"What command will that be?" I asked, delighted to see such a game in my court.

Ujiro smiled. "I will demonstrated with my own yojimbo, Shunsen. Then, each of you will follow suit. The yojimbo who hesitates or questions his lord's command will be disqualified. Are we in agreement?"

The other daimyo nodded, but Kyuinjin nodded last.

"Very well. Let the game begin!" He turned to me. "My Lady," he said in a delicate, sweet voice, "would you be so kind as to call Shunsen into the room?"

I nodded and walked to the door of the parlor. Just outside, the yojimbo of each of the daimyo knelt upon a sitting pillow eating warm rice.

"Shunsen," I said, and the Scorpion set down his rice, ran to me feed and bowed low. "Your lord requires your presence."

Shunsen bowed quickly to me and ran into the room kneeling at the feet of his daimyo.

The time between the moment that Shunsen fell to his knees to the moment that Ujiro gave the command was only a breath, but in that single breath, a slow realization came upon me. I looked at the other daimyo and saw the pure contempt in their eyes. I felt my heart racing with the excitement of the game. I felt the cool, winter air in my nose and against my teeth. Then, I looked at Ujiro.

The Scorpion was not looking at his yojimbo. His eyes were fixed on me. I saw those eyes, and suddenly, I could hear his voice as if he were standing next to me.

Remember this, my Lady. Remember this.

I suddenly realized what was about to occur.

It was like a nightmare. My voice caught in my throat, and the world slowed down. I couldn't move. All I could do was watch Ujiro give his command as his eyes remained fixed on my own.

"Shunsen," he said

"My lord?"

"Kill me."

The Scorpion did not pause. "Yes, my lord."

His katana was out of his saya and through Ujiro before anyone could even think of moving. The Scorpion's body fell to the floor, his blood splattered over the other daimyo. Then, again without pause, Shunsen fell to his knees, dropped his katana to the floor with a clatter, drew his wakizashi and fell on it.

Moments after the yojimbo had stopped twitching, the screams began.

The other daimyo stood still, their eyes on the still-=bleeding corpse of the Scorpion.

And as my wits slowly came back to me, I could think of only two things.

The first was Ujiro's voice, telling me to remember.

And the second was that my questions was the cause of his death.

I have heard this story before, but never in its entirety. Beautiful story. I only wish I knew more about why that scorpion wanted to prove.

28 minutes ago, Mirith said:

I am going to call you on your BS. How are the Scorpion NOT political? Scorpion don't use the policy of "cutting through the crap" to achieve their goals. They do the opposite, they use political obfuscation and misdirection to achieve their goals, as well as just flat out coercion. What you describe is more the Crab or Unicorn philosophy on politics.

Crane attempt to use the inherent good in people to achieve their goals. "Doing this is the most honorable path, therefore you should do it for me!". Scorpion use the inherent flaws of people to achieve their goals. "Well, if you don't want the evidence of you doing something wrong to come to light, you'll do this for me." Both of these are abuse of politics.

Why is this box disagreeing with me and must live on the bottom of my post?

The Scorpion aren't political because they want to be. They are political because the Lion, Crane, Phoenix, and other clans created the political court. They made the battle ground, the Scorpion just use it. They also use dueling, but aren't duelists. They fight wars, but aren't the best generals.

Scorpion clan are very much a "jack of all trades, master of none" type clan... except they make up for being "master of none" with words and blades both equally poisonous.

5 minutes ago, profparm said:

Clan loyalists brag about the weirdest things.

The Battle of the Broken Daisho: Your interpretation of it is directly relevant to your views on the Phoenix.

5 minutes ago, Devin-the-Poet said:

I have heard this story before, but never in its entirety. Beautiful story. I only wish I knew more about why that scorpion wanted to prove.

I like to imagine that he was either dishonored or otherwise incompetent, and thus served best in death, or was elderly or sickly and ready to pass on command of the clan to his successor, but wanted to create a powerful point of leverage before he went.

Unfortunately nothing else is known of this era, or these characters. I just assume such a thing would happen because Ujiro was already as good as dead though no other person knew.

Just now, shosuko said:

The Scorpion aren't political because they want to be. They are political because the Lion, Crane, Phoenix, and other clans created the political court. They made the battle ground, the Scorpion just use it. They also use dueling, but aren't duelists. They fight wars, but aren't the best generals.

Scorpion clan are very much a "jack of all trades, master of none" type clan... except they make up for being "master of none" with words and blades both equally poisonous.

I'm not saying the Scorpion "want" to be political. I am saying that they are. So are you. However, if they really didn't "want" to be political, they could have done something different. See the Dragon, Unicorn, and Crab Clans. That is "Not wanting to be political".

If they didn't "want" to be political, they wouldn't be "The current political powerhouse" as described in the current fiction.

The story Winter, to me was powerful, because he makes the other daimyo in the room compete in a contest, i.e. he subtly calls their honor into question if they yojimbo can not do what his can do. If the other daimyo are honorable, they will say the same thing. and they will die. or the yojimbo will disobey and kill themselves. either way it will be documented and most of them will lose a lot of status due to their actions or inactions.

A scorpion trades his life and his yojimbos for the lives of multiple daimyos, or their honor, and their best guards. it is a tragic win.

At least that is how i have always interpreted it.

Winter is indeed a very powerful story. It was the one I was looking for in the story thread. If I had to choose a story to explain the L5R setting/vibe to someone this would be a top contender. Even what's supposed to be a nice night out for the upper class can suddenly turn into a very deadly game. I also like the detail that the Akodo, quickly realising his honour is on the line, is the most hesitant to particpate. Unfortunatly for him Bayushi Ujiro pushes all the right buttons and he no longer has a choice.

It's indeed a tragic win but Ujiro knows the story will spread, and everyone who has heard the story will think twice before starting an argument with the Scorpion.

I don't see much support of the Unicorn clan. Is compassion perhaps too boring of a trait to compete with stories of epic warfare and political struggles?

I'm new to this, just wondering.

There's things I love about the Unicorn, especially in this period. They're a case study in cultural assimilation and cultural adaption, as they slowly lose their Burning Sands ways and become more Rokuganised. Institutions like the Moto White Guard and the Ide Courtiers are a fascinating hybrid of samurai and non-samurai culture. It's very interesting. You can tell a lot of stories with it.

On a more individual level, the Unicorn embody a sense of restlessness and wanderlust that I identify with greatly. Every hill makes you wonder what lies beyond it. It's a natural freedom which feels worlds away from the stifling conformity of Rokugani society.

18 minutes ago, Virtigo said:

I don't see much support of the Unicorn clan. Is compassion perhaps too boring of a trait to compete with stories of epic warfare and political struggles?

I'm new to this, just wondering.

I'm not surprised. In my time playing L5R only 1 person ever stood out as a Unicorn clan player. Everyone else favored Crane, Lion, Crab, or Dragon. I think the Unicorn are great for their pragmatism, similar to the Crab, but without a wall to defend. They are more mobile than any other clan, and just as ruthless.

Problems people have faced playing Unicorn before typically involve how over-priced their units are and how useful / useless cavalry is at any point in the game.

New reason. In the new fiction apparently, Dragon Clan has evil mind control powers. I am pretty excited for that now.

3 hours ago, Virtigo said:

I don't see much support of the Unicorn clan. Is compassion perhaps too boring of a trait to compete with stories of epic warfare and political struggles?

I'm new to this, just wondering.

I played unicorn for a while. They are probably my second favorite of the clans. They have always been awesome, but underrepresented.

8 hours ago, Devin-the-Poet said:

I have heard this story before, but never in its entirety. Beautiful story. I only wish I knew more about why that scorpion wanted to prove.

They had literally nothing to prove.

I mean, the sequence of events are fairly simple:

1. The Lady of the Court asks a question.
2. Everybody gives an answer.
3. The Scorpion gets called out on their answer.
4. The Scorpion defend their answer in the flashiest way possible.

As far as the narrator admits, the Scorpion didn't even instigate the whole Q&A. True to form, they simply found an opening and exploited it.

9 hours ago, Mirith said:

I'm not saying the Scorpion "want" to be political. I am saying that they are. So are you. However, if they really didn't "want" to be political, they could have done something different. See the Dragon, Unicorn, and Crab Clans. That is "Not wanting to be political".

If they didn't "want" to be political, they wouldn't be "The current political powerhouse" as described in the current fiction.

The Scorpion are political in the sense that "everything is politics," but they don't learn the intricacies of court just so they can be on top (as the Crane do). They are constantly described as a "dark mirror" of the Crane, but that's just not who the Scorpion are.
The Scorpion are manipulators who use secrets, lies, and blackmail as tools to get the job done - whether it's misleading your blade, causing you to leave yourself open to a killing strike, or spreading your illicit affair around court to bring you shame and knock your status down (even if you never had said affair...)

What they don't do (and what they've unfortunately been stereotyped into over the years) is placing all their chips on courtly-styled politicking.
In truth, this is a clan where every politician knows how to kill and every soldier knows how to politically maneuver.

**********

As for the Unicorn, there's a bunch of stuff to really like about the clan, but I think there's a few glaring issues that keep a lot of people from picking them up as "favorite:"
•Shinjo be crazy. (Over the years, Shinjo-kami has done some... questionable things that has made the clan look bad.)
•They're the "non-Rokugani" outsiders. In a setting where you're really pushed to cheer for all things Rokugani, the Unicorn have too many foreign elements working against them (this being especially true in Old5R where the Moto, a Burning Sands faction, is placed in direct leadership and hogs 90% of the Unicorn story time).

With the Shinjo "returning" to leadership and the Moto going back to a sideshow of the clan, I think it'll be easier for people to get into the Ponies (and easier for non-Moto parts of the clan to be showcased in the limelight now and then).

7 minutes ago, Bayushi Tsubaki said:

The Scorpion are political in the sense that "everything is politics," but they don't learn the intricacies of court just so they can be on top (as the Crane do). They are constantly described as a "dark mirror" of the Crane, but that's just not who the Scorpion are.
The Scorpion are manipulators who use secrets, lies, and blackmail as tools to get the job done - whether it's misleading your blade, causing you to leave yourself open to a killing strike, or spreading your illicit affair around court to bring you shame and knock your status down (even if you never had said affair...)

What they don't do (and what they've unfortunately been stereotyped into over the years) is placing all their chips on courtly-styled politicking.
In truth, this is a clan where every politician knows how to kill and every soldier knows how to politically maneuver.

**********

As for the Unicorn, there's a bunch of stuff to really like about the clan, but I think there's a few glaring issues that keep a lot of people from picking them up as "favorite:"
•Shinjo be crazy. (Over the years, Shinjo-kami has done some... questionable things that has made the clan look bad.)
•They're the "non-Rokugani" outsiders. In a setting where you're really pushed to cheer for all things Rokugani, the Unicorn have too many foreign elements working against them (this being especially true in Old5R where the Moto, a Burning Sands faction, is placed in direct leadership and hogs 90% of the Unicorn story time).

With the Shinjo "returning" to leadership and the Moto going back to a sideshow of the clan, I think it'll be easier for people to get into the Ponies (and easier for non-Moto parts of the clan to be showcased in the limelight now and then).

Well said.

It should be pointed out that the Scorpion are surrounded by the 3 largest military machines in the empire.

Politics is as much a survival skill as a power aggregator for the Scorpion.

2 hours ago, Bayushi Tsubaki said:

The Scorpion are political in the sense that "everything is politics," but they don't learn the intricacies of court just so they can be on top (as the Crane do). They are constantly described as a "dark mirror" of the Crane, but that's just not who the Scorpion are.
The Scorpion are manipulators who use secrets, lies, and blackmail as tools to get the job done - whether it's misleading your blade, causing you to leave yourself open to a killing strike, or spreading your illicit affair around court to bring you shame and knock your status down (even if you never had said affair...)

What they don't do (and what they've unfortunately been stereotyped into over the years) is placing all their chips on courtly-styled politicking.
In truth, this is a clan where every politician knows how to kill and every soldier knows how to politically maneuver.

From my understanding of past lore, if the Scorpion ever deemed it appropriate to be preeminent politicians, then that's exactly what they would be. The Scorpion Clan would leverage almost any advantage to achieve their ends. More often than not, those ends included either information for their clan/emperor or keeping the clans pitted against each other/off balance. This was to ultimately preserve the emperor's maintenance of his empire. If the Crane became too strong politically, the Scorpion would be there to contest them. If the Lion became too strong militarily, the Scorpion would attempt to weaken their armies by murdering generals, blocking supply lines, having other clans attack them and so on... All to help the emperor maintain control over his empire.

Now given that objective, it's easier to understand that they would use politics, spies, assassins, blackmail, warfare and anything else they deemed fit in order to achieve those ends. If that meant taking over the courts to press that advantage elsewhere, then that's what happens. If it meant blackmailing a general to the point of his/her seppuku., then that's what happens. The Scorpion's comparative advantage is that they will do this and more, while other clans will only go so far. That is the Scorpion's strength.

So are they political? Absolutely. They have to be otherwise the Crane would go unchecked. Are they as politically adept as the Crane? Enough to compete and sometimes unseat them. I think that easily places them in the realm of being one of the more politically focused clans in Rokugan.

2 minutes ago, Anemura said:

So are they political? Absolutely. They have to be otherwise the Crane would go unchecked. Are they as politically adept as the Crane? Enough to compete and sometimes unseat them. I think that easily places them in the realm of being one of the more politically focused clans in Rokugan.

Sure, but that is using the very broad definition of "political" as I state above.
The Scorpion are very heavily political in the sense that all interaction with others is politics and the Scorpion are very proficient in interacting with others.

I simply mean to state that, where the Crane place specific emphasis on the courts and what can be achieved in said courts, and where the Lion place specific emphasis on warfare and what can be achieved on the battlefield, the Scorpion don't favor one avenue over another that way.

8 hours ago, Devin-the-Poet said:

New reason. In the new fiction apparently, Dragon Clan has evil mind control powers. I am pretty excited for that now.

One person is mentioned to have that power (Togashi Kazue), and it clearly disturbs Masashige that's he's decided it's the best / only way to "peacefully" stop the Perfect Land Sect.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I suspect Kazue could be the new version of Kokujin, and maybe she's already used her powers on those peasants...to make them fervent Perfect Land adherents.

47 minutes ago, Bayushi Tsubaki said:

Sure, but that is using the very broad definition of "political" as I state above.
The Scorpion are very heavily political in the sense that all interaction with others is politics and the Scorpion are very proficient in interacting with others.

I simply mean to state that, where the Crane place specific emphasis on the courts and what can be achieved in said courts, and where the Lion place specific emphasis on warfare and what can be achieved on the battlefield, the Scorpion don't favor one avenue over another that way.

They don't have to favour politics or warfare to be recognized as being more effective in politics than warfare...

The Scorpion have generally been recognized as being close to the Crane in terms of utilizing politics in court. It's because they do "learn the intricacies of court" and employ those teachings. That's the effect of what they do. Whether or not they favour being that close or better is a matter for debate, but more important than that is the information that they are in fact close. They can compete with the Crane in that arena. Perhaps better than other clans could.

Could we say the same in terms of warfare? Are they generally considered on par with the Lion, Crab and Unicorn in terms of warfare? I would say not. Perhaps Dragon, but even that is debatable.

I think that's ultimately why the Scorpion are seen to be more a court-focused clan in the fiction (and often the CCG). Their relative strength in the courts is greater than their relative strength on the field.

3 minutes ago, Anemura said:

They don't have to favour politics or warfare to be recognized as being more effective in politics than warfare...

The Scorpion have generally been recognized as being close to the Crane in terms of utilizing politics in court. That's the effect of what they do. Whether or not they favour being that close or better is a matter for debate, but more important than that is the information that they are in fact close. They can compete with the Crane in that arena. Perhaps better than other clans could.

Could we say the same in terms of warfare? Are they generally considered on par with the Lion, Crab and Unicorn in terms of warfare? I would say not. Perhaps Dragon, but even that is debatable.

I think that's ultimately why the Scorpion are seen to be more a court-focused clan in the fiction (and often the CCG). Their relative strength in the courts is greater than their relative strength on the field.

If memory serves, the Scorpion enjoyed a period of military ascendance right before the return of the Unicorn -- and that was considered an unusual and noteworthy thing. Then the Clan Champion commanded one of his generals to throw a major battle with the Unicorn, which had the effect of making the Lion stop eyeing the Scorpion as Enemy #1 and turn their attention to the newcomers, allowing the Scorpion to quietly step back into the shadows, where they preferred to be.

So yeah: I'd agree that politics is their main flavor. Underhanded politics, sure, and they're not without resources on other fronts -- but when I think "who can play the courts to match the Crane," I think Scorpion before Crab, Dragon, Lion, Phoenix, or Unicorn.

21 minutes ago, Kinzen said:

If memory serves, the Scorpion enjoyed a period of military ascendance right before the return of the Unicorn -- and that was considered an unusual and noteworthy thing. Then the Clan Champion commanded one of his generals to throw a major battle with the Unicorn, which had the effect of making the Lion stop eyeing the Scorpion as Enemy #1 and turn their attention to the newcomers, allowing the Scorpion to quietly step back into the shadows, where they preferred to be.

So yeah: I'd agree that politics is their main flavor. Underhanded politics, sure, and they're not without resources on other fronts -- but when I think "who can play the courts to match the Crane," I think Scorpion before Crab, Dragon, Lion, Phoenix, or Unicorn.

The Battle of White Shore Plain. A battle intentionally thrown to get Scorpion off of everyone's radar, and to have the returning Unicorn completely misjudge them. Good bit of writing there.

In terms of politics yes, I too think Scorpion would contest the Crane better than any other clan. Phoenix would be the next best clan (Gozoku).

2 minutes ago, Anemura said:

In terms of politics yes, I too think Scorpion would contest the Crane better than any other clan. Phoenix would be the next best clan (Gozoku).

You must have missed the last few years of AEG's Phoenix stories...

Realistically, when it comes to overall courtly acumen, i put the Crane and Scorpion on top as Yin and Yang. Crab mostly on the bottom (because they don't care), and everyone else as roughly equally capable and invested.

I can accept the Scorpion being more savvy in court than the likes of the Crab, Dragon, (Mantis), and Phoenix, if for no other reason than they end up spending more time there.
I have a hard time accepting that they are more savvy than the Ide and Ikoma, however. Hear me out:

The Ide have had to master politics to a level that allows them to make friends and calm enemies in an untold number of situations, Rokugani or otherwise, and as such will have a political arsenal under their belt that should outdo even the Doji (though Doji plot armor ensures that it never does, lol).
The Ikoma I'd place somewhat on par, if not a lil superior to the Bayushi, simply because most of the warfare between the Lion and Crane happens in the courts... because the Crane make it that way by playing their game. With the Lion/Crane enmity being the hottest in the empire (it always is), that means the Ikoma end up facing down Doji constantly, which makes for tons of experience .

The Bayushi are powerful because they show up to a fistfight with a katana (blackmail, poison, secrets they're not supposed to know, etc.).

12 hours ago, Virtigo said:

I don't see much support of the Unicorn clan. Is compassion perhaps too boring of a trait to compete with stories of epic warfare and political struggles?

I'm new to this, just wondering.

Played Unicorn (among others) for a long time (about 10 years). I'll support them here:

I found the Unicorn intriguing because I saw them as being the broadest mix of historical influences packed into one clan. Parts of Japanese, Mongolian, Persian, Greek cultures could be seen here. They used gaijin weaponry, war horses, dai-kyu (bow used for horse archery), meishodo (amulet magic), and ties to the Burning Sands to set themselves apart. The clan seemed capable of doing anything. Each character also represented an amalgam of these different traits, though the common thread tended to be the use of cavalry.

Sadly, few characters of the Unicorn rose to prominence in the original story, save for Kamoko. That could be a reason why they are underrepresented here. In any event, my interest followed the theme of the clan more than it's individual characters. So to me, a Unicorn represented a swiss-army knife samurai, each one distinct from the next. Each one adopting different ideas from the cultures surrounding him/her. Funnily enough, I often joked with my playgroup asking why one of the more Unicorn-like characters in the CCG (to me), was almost never associated with the clan in any way? That character being Dairya (pic below). Jingasa, tetsubo, katana, horse, daikyu, tanto and more... this character was all over the map in terms ability and style. Even ventured to the Burning Sands from what I remember. He would have made a good template for random Unicorn characters, in my opinion.

Anyways, different aspects of the Unicorn I found interesting:

1. Moto White Guard - White painted shock troops with a cursed past. Some of their ancestors failed to fight the Shadowlands now comprise that region's best undead cavalry. Moto Tsume was a significant figure in this respect.

2. Kolat influences - A clandestine organization that infiltrated every level of the Unicorn. Their ultimate goal was to usurp the power of the kami. The champion, Shinjo Yokatsu, _may_ have had something to do with them. Maybe.

3. The Ujik-hai - Origins of the Moto and a major part of why the Unicorn are the Unicorn. They taught them the skills to survive outside of Rokugan.

4. Shi Tien Yen Wang - Gods of Death. Worshipped by the Ujik-Hai initally, and then adopted by the Unicorn eventually.

5. Mongol influences - Everything from some of their champion's given the title of "Khan", to most of the troops using war horses and archery. Unicorn also employ Yurts and eat meat.

6. Shiotome (Elite sisterhood within the Utaku) - Analogs, I think, to female Matsu. The Samurai-Ko of history. Female paragons that comprise one of the most elite mounted units in the game.

7. Characters I found interesting: Utaku Kojiro (Kamoko's father and Stable Master to the Clan), Shinjo Hanari (archery sensei and rival to Hida Tsuru) and Iuchi Karasu (Unicorn shugenja referred to as "Doomseeker").

8. Their wars with the Lion were always entertaining, especially when Chagatai was around.

9. Unicorn's involvement at Beiden Pass alongside Toturi's Army + Dragon Army was a good snapshot of what they could do.

10. More Iuchi Water/Death Priests please.

Out of all the clans, this is the one I hope the writers take the time to develop most this time around. There is so much there to draw from, and the slate is relatively clean based on O5R. They didn't do much until aligning with Toturi's Army at Beiden Pass, after all. This time, I'm hoping for more diversity in their characters and more of an impact made by them.

I am a Crane / Lion player, but I will give you here my favorite L5R story (and it's a very short one). And it's about the Crab.

http://www.kazenoshiro.com/kazenoshiro/1/hhorone.php

Enjoy :).