So, There's been a lot posted about the mechanics of how the Roles will effect the different Clans, but is there a story impact to the roles that are selected? Or am I reading too much into that first paragraph:

Quote

The Five Rings comprise the underpinnings of reality, but they also represent different philosophies of being. As they constantly strive against each other, the samurai of the Great Clans embody different aspects of these Rings—the cunning of Air, the endurance of Earth, the ferocity of Fire, the adaptability of Water, or the introspection of Void—and aim to either protect or unravel the mysteries associated with them. With each turn of the seasons, the relative perspectives of the clans shift and evolve according to the counsel of their daimyō and the winds of fate. Those clans who build up their defenses, cement their alliances, and cleave to tradition serve as Keepers of their worldview. Meanwhile, those clans determined to forge ahead, launching gambits and searching for new possibilities, can be said to be Seekers.

So if you want Hida Kasada to reach out to allies and build the Crab defences to endure the shadowland onslaught, you need to pick Keeper of Earth, but if you want him to launch a daring raid into the heart of the shadowlands you need Seeker of Fire.

If you want Doji Hotaru to unleash the Harriers it's more likely to happen under the ethos of Air, while Void could lead her to refocus the Crane on rebuilding their lost farm lands and reclaiming their power in Court.

Is this the implied effect of the roles? and if so, which role would you like your Champion/Clan to embody - mechanics aside?

It's worth noting that in-universe (by which I mean the 4th Edition Roleplaying Game), the concept of warfare at once embodies all and none of these five Rings. For example, the Ring of Fire represents ferocity and destruction, but it also represents speed and quick-thinking. As Keepers of Fire, the Unicorn could work to better navigate the political arena of Rokugan going forward, learning the customs and traditions of other clans, so as to avoid facing a repeat blunder mirroring the current breaking of our Champion's marriage. We would also have a way to conceivably benefit from taking defensive measures, where otherwise we don't necessarily care about the lands we were raised in and are far more invested in pounding our foes' lands into dust.

I'm the last l5rlive video, Horvath says that roles are one of the ways that will impact the story but not the only way.

From what I've picked up from the various podcasts and articles it seems each level of tournament will have impact on the story at a different level. The first level lets you send representatives of different clans to Kota tournaments. What roll they use will result in a vague direction for the clan and possibly inspire events. Con events seem to be for imperial level decisions as if I remember correctly gencon will pick the emerald champion. I feel as long as the community gets to set up just the framework for the story while ffg douse the bulk of important beats based on our actions we will get a better narrative then the vague stories of horror that I,hear from the old timers.

As I don't know the ring meanings well I will go with the fire ring example above. If crab clan were to select seeker of fire this could mean that we gain a focus on berserkers while if we take keeper of fire then we could get Himura scouts.