5 minutes ago, Gamedog said:

The Mongol Empire would like to have a word with you.

*clears throat*

We are the Mongol Empire.

1 hour ago, Wintersong said:

Er... no? Utaku steeds are sacred. Sacred enough to buy an Emperor's good will. They are warhorses, size and all, born from a horse and a unicorn. In theory only battle maidens can ride them (the herd in Imperial stables not being ever ride). Altough exceptions may exist if we consider Kamoko in old L5R gifting one to Daidoji Rekai for saving her life during Hidden Emperor, which already raised many eyebrows.

Still, the other Unicorn families use the gaijin horse that certainly is better than rokugani pony (funny the Unicorn fans are called ponies, right?) and that wouldn't be that big of an issue to trade. Like to make peace with the Lion in addition to marry Altansarnai to the Ikoma family. XD

Altough from a realistic point of view, it would make sense that someone could adquire a Utaku steed, or a gaijiin horse, by simply killing the rider in an ambush or in a battlefield after the battle ends? In case of Utaku steed though, better not visit Unicorn lands ever or cross paths with someone who knows and cares.

Wasn't it traditional to gift a singular Utaku steed to the Emperor for their coronation? Goes to show how rare it would be to get one, I don't think they were ever used as trading goods.

1 hour ago, Kuni Katsuyoshi said:

The Crane cavalry is called Doji's Fan....in case anyone didn't know

I hope that story is kept in the new continuity. I have a soft spot for the unit as a result of an RPG character getting involved with it.

1 minute ago, Doji Tori said:

I hope that story is kept in the new continuity. I have a soft spot for the unit as a result of an RPG character getting involved with it.

I think they will keep it. It's a great story and there's no reason to alter it.

11 minutes ago, Doji Tori said:

Wasn't it traditional to gift a singular Utaku steed to the Emperor for their coronation? Goes to show how rare it would be to get one, I don't think they were ever used as trading goods.

I believe it was a pair of them. Solitary horses don't tend to do very well.

1 minute ago, Kuni Katsuyoshi said:

I think they will keep it. It's a great story and there's no reason to alter it.

The introductory article for the fiction did mention an ancient treaty with the Crane being honored, so I guess it's pretty likely that they kept it the way it was.

However they could change it to favor more Crane-Unicorn conflict. Not that it would be necessary, considering the quality of the courtiers we apparently send them .

6 minutes ago, Kuni Katsuyoshi said:

I believe it was a pair of them. Solitary horses don't tend to do very well.

Could be, I don't remember it well honestly. But I thought the idea was to cross them with the horses they already had to get better horses, not getting purebreds

3 minutes ago, Doji Tori said:

The introductory article for the fiction did mention an ancient treaty with the Crane being honored, so I guess it's pretty likely that they kept it the way it was.

However they could change it to favor more Crane-Unicorn conflict. Not that it would be necessary, considering the quality of the courtiers we apparently send them .

*like*

Too bad we won't know for sure until new RPG material hits

Here's a couple options for an Aggressive Moto proxy (since the only 'official' image is very low quality).

26 minutes ago, RandomJC said:

*clears throat*

We are the Mongol Empire.

Why else do you think I've sworn to Unicorn? Now if only we could get some awesome Eagle Hunters.

2 minutes ago, Doji Tori said:

Could be, I don't remember it well honestly. But I thought the idea was to cross them with the horses they already had to get better horses, not getting purebreds

They still can be, but I think the gift to emperor is supposed to be symbolic of the Unicorns most prized possessions, and not for 'practical ' purposes.

I am trying to remember where to look in 2 feet of RPG materials, but I am nearly positive it's a 'breeding pair of Utaku steeds'

7 minutes ago, Togashi Gao Shan said:

Here's a couple options for an Aggressive Moto proxy (since the only 'official' image is very low quality).

BWAHAHA!!!??

That first quote is fantastic!

33 minutes ago, Doji Tori said:

Wasn't it traditional to gift a singular Utaku steed to the Emperor for their coronation? Goes to show how rare it would be to get one, I don't think they were ever used as trading goods.

2 minutes ago, Kuni Katsuyoshi said:

They still can be, but I think the gift to emperor is supposed to be symbolic of the Unicorns most prized possessions, and not for 'practical ' purposes.

I am trying to remember where to look in 2 feet of RPG materials, but I am nearly positive it's a 'breeding pair of Utaku steeds'

I think it was a breeding pair, yeah. But those steeds were never used*, they were just kept in their pastures.

I think that Sanzo's horse, Musha, was a Otaku steed that he got when the original (allied) rider died in combat. I think that I read that in some PRG book.

http://imperialassembly.com/oracle/#cardid=5448

* as far as I remember

6 minutes ago, Wintersong said:

I think it was a breeding pair, yeah. But those steeds were never used*, they were just kept in their pastures.

I think that Sanzo's horse, Musha, was a Otaku steed that he got when the original (allied) rider died in combat. I think that I read that in some PRG book.

http://imperialassembly.com/oracle/#cardid=5448

* as far as I remember

*like*

outta likes again.

I'm thinking Way of the Ronin, since that's where Sanzo's original entry is, but it easily could be a 2nd edition book I don't have

Your memory regarding the horses matches mine?

16 minutes ago, Kuni Katsuyoshi said:

They still can be, but I think the gift to emperor is supposed to be symbolic of the Unicorns most prized possessions, and not for 'practical ' purposes.

I am trying to remember where to look in 2 feet of RPG materials, but I am nearly positive it's a 'breeding pair of Utaku steeds'

9 minutes ago, Wintersong said:

I think it was a breeding pair, yeah. But those steeds were never used*, they were just kept in their pastures.

I think that Sanzo's horse, Musha, was a Otaku steed that he got when the original (allied) rider died in combat. I think that I read that in some PRG book.

http://imperialassembly.com/oracle/#cardid=5448

* as far as I remember

You are both probably right. I've almost exclusively dealt with 4th edition, so my sources are limited, but I couldn't find anything suggesting it isn't a pair. I just made that assumption because the Unicorn are the only ones that have access to actual Utaku steeds as mounts.

Wintersong, the 4th edition corebook does say that it is rumoured that no one who has been gifted with an Utaku steed has used it as a mount

I can only assume that after 200 years the Emperor's paddocks are filled with the spoiled, overweight descendants of inbred Utaku gifts.

3 minutes ago, Doji Tori said:

Wintersong, the 4th edition corebook does say that it is rumoured that no one who has been gifted with an Utaku steed has used it as a mount

Rokugan, where honor, and tradition, prevent you from using superior horses.

Regarding the creation of the Doji's Fan unit a 3rd edition online supplement stated that it was the only time the Unicorn had given what could be considered "breeding stock" to someone other than the Imperial families. I interpreted this could mean they could have given them some Utaku steeds, but maybe they were just good regular horses (note: I can only assume what "breeding stock" means, I don't know the first thing about horses).

6 minutes ago, Laurence J Sinclair said:

I can only assume that after 200 years the Emperor's paddocks are filled with the spoiled, overweight descendants of inbred Utaku gifts.

Hopefully they'd be smart enough to get a Utaku horse master to go with the horses.??

Just now, Doji Tori said:

Regarding the creation of the Doji's Fan unit a 3rd edition online supplement stated that it was the only time the Unicorn had given what could be considered "breeding stock" to someone other than the Imperial families. I interpreted this could mean they could have given them some Utaku steeds, but maybe they were just good regular horses (note: I can only assume what "breeding stock" means, I don't know the first thing about horses).

Simply put there are three types of horses ?.

Rokugani pony

Utaku steed

Unicorn riding horse.

It would be the latter that would be given/traded

except for the emperor of course ?

7 minutes ago, Wintersong said:

Rokugan, where honor, and tradition, prevent you from using superior horses.

Maybe honour and tradition are not the only reason. After a lifetime of ponies one could be pretty intimidated if someone put them face to face with a warhorse, so maybe it's fear (A samurai doesn't fear anything, it's definitely honor and tradition) .

3 minutes ago, Doji Tori said:

Maybe honour and tradition are not the only reason. After a lifetime of ponies one could be pretty intimidated if someone put them face to face with a warhorse, so maybe it's fear (A samurai doesn't fear anything, it's definitely honor and tradition) .

.......you must be referring to 'other ' clans ???

*like*

2 minutes ago, Kuni Katsuyoshi said:

.......you must be referring to 'other ' clans ???

*like*

Stairs are a big problem with using horses.

14 minutes ago, Kuni Katsuyoshi said:

Hopefully they'd be smart enough to get a Utaku horse master to go with the horses.??

One would think the Emperors would give their official messengers the best horses they could. 4th edition gives Miya heralds ponies. So maybe not.

4 minutes ago, Kuni Katsuyoshi said:

.......you must be referring to 'other ' clans ???

*like*

But for the average Hida a horse looks like a pony, so there's no actual bravery involved .