2 minutes ago, RandomJC said:

And to get down in fun mathematical concepts, a line can just be a two dimensional object viewed from only a one dimension, so it can be any shape or curvature. But this is all fringe examples and fun concepts exploring relativism in shapes.

Brain...hurts...please...stop ??

10 minutes ago, RandomJC said:

Hate to point out but straight is not an absolute. Zoom in close enough to a curve and it'll appear straight. Relativism is apart of language, and geomatry.

But, considering this is the second fiction in a row that has made allusions of katana being the norm, and anything with a greater curvature being "curved" then it's a losing battle and all that will be accomplished now is yelling into the wind.

The Phoenix fiction pointed out that the Ancestral Sword , Ofushikai, was a curved sword, but lacked the drastic curve of a true katana. Was there another curved sword referenced?

4 minutes ago, Kitsuki Edogawa said:

The Phoenix fiction pointed out that the Ancestral Sword , Ofushikai, was a curved sword, but lacked the drastic curve of a true katana. Was there another curved sword referenced?

Ofushikai was not as curved as a "straight" katana, which has a "drastic curvature" but not as deep as as the scimitar of the Unicorn.

Ofushikai is obviously a falcata!

(Falcata for reference:)

10 minutes ago, Kitsuki Edogawa said:

The Phoenix fiction pointed out that the Ancestral Sword , Ofushikai, was a curved sword, but lacked the drastic curve of a true katana. Was there another curved sword referenced?

Thought it was the other way around.

Just for reference....

Quote

Resting on a cypress stand was a curved sword. The detailed feathers intricately carved into its sheath drew the light of the braziers, glowing crimson and burnished gold. Even from where she sat, Tsukune could see each pearl set into its manta-skin handle, the untouched ribbons of silk woven flawlessly around its pommel, and the curved bronze wings that were its tsuba handguard.

Ofushikai. The ancestral sword of the Phoenix, wielded by every Phoenix Clan Champion since the dawn of the Empire.

Quote

She bowed when the sword came. It was lighter than the sword of her mother, as if the sheath were empty. For fleeting moments, she watched the moonlight dance along the edges of the bronze handguard and the exquisite pearls inlaid on the sword’s hilt. The sheath was exquisitely carved from a single piece of wood, as if real feathers had simply petrified around the blade. She couldn’t find a single flaw. The ancient sword lacked the drastic curve of a true katana and the benefits of modern smithing, yet it looked and felt as though it had just been forged. This would be the only time she would ever hold this sword. She held her breath to make the moment last just a little longer.

She turned to Tetsu. The greatest honor will be passing Ofushikai to you, Tetsu-sama

.

I'm a little wary of the Lion-as-bullies plot being used yet again, but it's not surprising. We knew there was trouble brewing between Lion and Unicorn, and since we're getting the Unicorn POV, it's natural the Lion would look like bad guys. I just hope that whenever we get a Lion POV regarding this dispute, it'll help justify their actions.

More importantly though, did anyone else notice this? By Shinjo Altansarnai:

Quote

You are right. It is a choice. But it is not a choice between spirit and honor. It is a choice between the future and the past. Rokugan must be brought into the future, by whatever means necessary.

In the old setting, the Unicorn just wanted to practice their foreign customs in peace. But here, it sounds like they want to push their values onto the rest of Rokugan. This is a huge shift in philosophy for the Unicorn, and one that will likely lead to some serious interclan friction.

One other interesting thing, also by Altansarnai:

Quote

According to the Rokugani, her death means nothing.

She's not including herself, or presumably her clan, in the term "Rokugani". That strikes me as meaningful.

Bloody ****, can we stop talking about curved blades and start talking about "Curved Blades"?

1 minute ago, twinstarbmc said:

Bloody ****, can we stop talking about curved blades and start talking about "Curved Blades"?

Don't you dare take away my entertainment for the day, or you can go "straight" to Jikogu......however if the path you take to get there is slightly curved..........

Lol. I love this gaming community

2 minutes ago, Ishi Tonu said:

Don't you dare take away my entertainment for the day, or you can go "straight" to Jikogu......however if the path you take to get there is slightly curved..........

Lol. I love this gaming community

Hey now, hey now, don't get all bent out of shape!

2 hours ago, Kuni Katsuyoshi said:

Hey now

We don't insult EVERYBODY, then kill them

......It's just that some folks deserve insulting.....and then being made dead.??

The insult was fair warning. I mean we could just hit them with the tetsubo without telling them we think they are crap first.

23 minutes ago, Fumi said:

In the old setting, the Unicorn just wanted to practice their foreign customs in peace. But here, it sounds like they want to push their values onto the rest of Rokugan. This is a huge shift in philosophy for the Unicorn, and one that will likely lead to some serious interclan friction.

From the L5R Roleplaying Game, 4th Edition (pp. 129): "The public face of the Unicorn, the Ide have worked tirelessly to combat the perception many have of the Clan as barbarians and near-gaijin. They flawlessly merge the traditions of their people with the customs of the Empire , and in doing so seek to earn the gradual respect and acceptance of other clans."

So...nah. Not a new philosophy whatsoever.

41 minutes ago, twinstarbmc said:

Bloody ****, can we stop talking about curved blades and start talking about "Curved Blades"?

To be honest, the words "curved", "blade", "katana", "scimitar" and "sword" hold no meaning to me anymore!

Another interesting thing I noticed about the fiction is that nobody seemed to care that Altansarnai had borne several children out of wedlock. I wonder if that's a Unicorn thing, or if it's another sign of a more progressive society in general.

20 minutes ago, Ide Yoshiya said:

From the L5R Roleplaying Game, 4th Edition (pp. 129): "The public face of the Unicorn, the Ide have worked tirelessly to combat the perception many have of the Clan as barbarians and near-gaijin. They flawlessly merge the traditions of their people with the customs of the Empire , and in doing so seek to earn the gradual respect and acceptance of other clans."

So...nah. Not a new philosophy whatsoever.

I interpret that passage as they merged Unicorn and native practices into a unique Ide tradition. Not that they're trying to change everyone else to their way of thinking.

1 minute ago, Mirumoto Saito said:

To be honest, the words "curved", "blade", "katana", "scimitar" and "sword" hold no meaning to me anymore!

We could go with Sharp Slicey Thing if you prefer ?

1 minute ago, Fumi said:

Another interesting thing I noticed about the fiction is that nobody seemed to care that Altansarnai had borne several children out of wedlock. I wonder if that's a Unicorn thing, or if it's another sign of a more progressive society in general.

Feels unicorn-y. Altansarnai is pretty cool.

4 minutes ago, Fumi said:

Another interesting thing I noticed about the fiction is that nobody seemed to care that Altansarnai had borne several children out of wedlock. I wonder if that's a Unicorn thing, or if it's another sign of a more progressive society in general.

I suppose "progressive" is in the eye of the beholder.

I would guess a clan that is used to adapting and seeing new things would more readily accept different social/family situations. That, and needing the bodies. The Dragon don't seem to be too picky about how they get more samurai.

3 minutes ago, Shu2jack said:

I suppose "progressive" is in the eye of the beholder.

I would guess a clan that is used to adapting and seeing new things would more readily accept different social/family situations. That, and needing the bodies. The Dragon don't seem to be too picky about how they get more samurai.

Should be careful, after what we just learned, the unicorn giving away widows could just be a secret plot to change the Dragon, or just have their ideology take over.

3 hours ago, BordOne said:

Is it just me or Lion are the bad guys of Rokugan?

Conflicts with Crane, Dragon, indirectly with Phoenix and now Unicorn too? And it looks like all of them are somehow Lion's fault

I didn't sign up for that :<

Hate to say it... but yes you did! The Lion have a long, long track record of (unfortunately) being the Stock Warmongering Jerks.

54 minutes ago, Mirumoto Saito said:

Ofushikai was not as curved as a "straight" katana, which has a "drastic curvature" but not as deep as as the scimitar of the Unicorn.

Ofushikai is obviously a falcata!

I'm okay with that!

Banter aside.... while I like the face of the Unicorn we get to see, characterwise, this one was... probably my least favorite in terms of internal logic:

1. Well, so much for meishodo being a new thing due to a more recent return, a mistaken belief I've carried for a couple of months now. A couple of centuries and now the Kami are out of whack? *sigh* Silly Isawa. If other clans had been shown to have adopted meishodo and thereby spread its use, it might make more sense... but by the sounds that Crane makes, pretty much nobody likes it.

2. Similarly... in centuries , the Unicorn didn't figure out that the Ikoma marriage would have preconditions unless they altered the deal? Hrnh. Not ONE Unicorn married an Ikoma in all of that time?

3. The Lion trying to snake the leader of the Unicorn via "hah hah, those morons won't do their homework"? Seems like a **** of an assumption for a clan with tacticians involved in its core identity to make.

4. Unicorn apparently have pretty liberal views on marriage behavior- The Shinjo Daimyo and the Iuchi daimyo knock boots and produce children without marrying and there's literally no scandal? Shono is her heir, it seems, although he has no father in the legal Rokugani sense of the word? The Unicorn may be down with that, not sure the rest of the friggin' Empire will be.

5. Between Altansarnai's stonewalling, Kamoko's total disregard for Rokugani mores, and the sheer prevalence of scimitars among the non-Moto (no Moto named here, after all) described in the story, it seems that "Reintegrating into Imperial society has been a challenge" that the Unicorn have barely bothered to attempt over two hundred years. I was kinda hoping they'd be less like Mongols who sometimes carry daisho this time around...

Long and short, they don't act like people who've been in place for centuries. They feel like they've been back for fifty years, not two hundred.

So I wonder what the Crab/Unicorn relationship is like in the new setting. We've pretty much gotten glimpse of how all the other clans view the Unicorn between this story and the others released so far.

4 minutes ago, Fumi said:

Another interesting thing I noticed about the fiction is that nobody seemed to care that Altansarnai had borne several children out of wedlock. I wonder if that's a Unicorn thing, or if it's another sign of a more progressive society in general.

As the concept of concubines exists in Rokugan, I think it's more of 'in this instance ' type of thing. But I can see the Unicorn being 'more okay ' with the situation than another clan might be.

11 minutes ago, Mirumoto Saito said:

To be honest, the words "curved", "blade", "katana", "scimitar" and "sword" hold no meaning to me anymore!

Aha! So you admit the sword is straight!

Legitimacy is up to the parents of any child to acknowledge. There is a stigma to bastard children, but primarily because their existence suggests some impropriety from their parents. As long as there is a clear line of succession, however, it may not be much of a concern. It's better that there is an heir than not, as long as there isn't a challenge of legitimacy.

Ironically, for all the talk about curved swords, Al seems more interested in using her bow in the artwork. Typical Unicorn saying one thing then doing another.

14 minutes ago, Fumi said:

Another interesting thing I noticed about the fiction is that nobody seemed to care that Altansarnai had borne several children out of wedlock. I wonder if that's a Unicorn thing, or if it's another sign of a more progressive society in general.

Otaku had children (Ide Gokun and Otaku Shiko) with Ide just to preserve the bloodline. Not sure in the new (hi)story.

Also, a Hantei declared katanas to be straight blades. And we know what happens when a Hantei declares something.

1 hour ago, Ide Yoshiya said:

So after Googling that amd skimming the Elder Scrolls Wiki entry on Hammerfell, I don't have a guess as to why such a reference would be necessary. Care to elaborate?

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/curved-swords

not as well-known as "I took an arrow to the knee", but I thought reasonably well-known.