So I'm just curious on everyone's thoughts on the way the Mantis Clan are being portrayed in the new Rokugan. It seems to me that they will have far more Gaijin influence and contact then in past settings. In addition in one spot in the Beta it talks about the Mantis Clan using Cutlasses instead of Kama's. What are your thoughts on these lore changes, and how do you think it will effect the long-term development of the Mantis?

This could be quite interesting, I could see it working well for the Mantis.

Hm, I'm kind of curious, as I didn't see much mention of Osano-Wo, which is one of the defining aspect of Mantis I feel? Grandchildren of Hida, children of Thunder, etc...

Instead, they seem to be defined as "ragtag bunch calling themselves Minor Clan" which is not bad, but different. So not sure.

34 minutes ago, Horvagab said:

Hm, I'm kind of curious, as I didn't see much mention of Osano-Wo, which is one of the defining aspect of Mantis I feel? Grandchildren of Hida, children of Thunder, etc...

Instead, they seem to be defined as "ragtag bunch calling themselves Minor Clan" which is not bad, but different. So not sure.

I think the move is to have the focus be on the Mantis as Wokou .

Also, if I understand right "Children of Thunder" was the result of a tournament prize that ended up getting crazy amounts of focus.

Oh, I didn't know that. I think it was a fun angle, but if they want to move into a different direction, that is okay.

I also like how there's no mention of how they became Minor Clan. I think there being some muddy history fits the setting?

1 hour ago, Ultimatecalibur said:

Also, if I understand right "Children of Thunder" was the result of a tournament prize that ended up getting crazy amounts of focus.

Children of Thunder is the birthright of the Mantis, Kaimetsu Uo was the son of Osano Wo. It's classic Mantis lore from the dawn of the empire.

I like this Mantis much, much more. If they continue along these lines I may be tempted to hop over.

Really the only thing I'm going to really miss about the old Mantis clan was the use of Kama's and Peasant weapons. To me that was a fun quirk that really set the Mantis Clan apart from the other clans. The use of cutlasses though will be interesting, and it definitely shows the Gaijin influence upon their culture at this point. I'm also a huge proponent of them moving more towards the mercenary side of things, and I'm curious how it will play out within the story and the development of the RPG and LCG going forward.

A lot of their art had cutlass looking swords, I'm for it, but does it really say they don't use kama anymore?

1 hour ago, llamaman88 said:

A lot of their art had cutlass looking swords, I'm for it, but does it really say they don't use kama anymore?

I thought those were Parangu ...

And with this new twist they will pair nicely with the Tortoise Minor Clan...

I hope their apparent care for the downtrodden, etc. leads to a Sparrow team up/Three Man Alliance team up. Not necessarily becoming a Great Clan like the old timeline, but rather staying with the Yoritomo's Alliance dynamic perhaps under the umbrella name of the Mantis.

1 hour ago, Nheko said:

And with this new twist they will pair nicely with the Tortoise Minor Clan...

I was thinking something very similar.

45 minutes ago, Suzume Suzaku said:

I hope their apparent care for the downtrodden, etc. leads to a Sparrow team up/Three Man Alliance team up. Not necessarily becoming a Great Clan like the old timeline, but rather staying with the Yoritomo's Alliance dynamic perhaps under the umbrella name of the Mantis.

I'm hoping for a minor clan alliance. I've used it several past games to help explain why samurai from different clans were working together.

I really hope that down the line, espicially with the mantis in mind, they will give special attention to naval combat. Its something AEG hit on but never really flushed out in previous editions and id love to see special terrain for fighting on a rocking shop deck or boarding another given attention later on.

On that note please bring us the yoritomo shugenja sooner than later. They are one of my favorite cultural and gameplay aspects of the mantis and id hate to see then left out until a later supplement.

The Mantis clan has always been linked to Osano-wo since its creation. People are mistaking tournaments results involving the Dragon of Thunder (which symbolises courage and was Osano-wo's mother), which joined the clan and granted them more powerful thunder magic. But thunder has been part of their theme since the beginning, and the kama came from the parallels with a Mantis' arms. So far I'm liking this version and their interesting solution to the family name bonus.

On 10/25/2017 at 9:21 PM, Yoritomo Kazuto said:

So I'm just curious on everyone's thoughts on the way the Mantis Clan are being portrayed in the new Rokugan. It seems to me that they will have far more Gaijin influence and contact then in past settings. In addition in one spot in the Beta it talks about the Mantis Clan using Cutlasses instead of Kama's. What are your thoughts on these lore changes, and how do you think it will effect the long-term development of the Mantis?

I'd missed that scimitar bit, in part because the preview lacks the school. A naval cutlass and a mid-eastern scimitar are in fact closely related, and swords are far superior to kama/sickles for use on ship. Especially on rigged vessels. Thrusts are VERY useful.

I did notice that they now have extra-imperial contacts, but had to check to be sure that was a change. And, indeed, it is. It implies FFG is planning on expanding the world outward. Which feels a bit of a problem... but then, I did buy LBS when AEG released it...

15 hours ago, AK_Aramis said:

I'd missed that scimitar bit, in part because the preview lacks the school. A naval cutlass and a mid-eastern scimitar are in fact closely related, and swords are far superior to kama/sickles for use on ship. Especially on rigged vessels. Thrusts are VERY useful.

I did notice that they now have extra-imperial contacts, but had to check to be sure that was a change. And, indeed, it is. It implies FFG is planning on expanding the world outward. Which feels a bit of a problem... but then, I did buy LBS when AEG released it...

They have already listed a new langage and a new empire who didn't existed in AEG's l5r universe.

17 hours ago, AK_Aramis said:

I did notice that they now have extra-imperial contacts, but had to check to be sure that was a change. And, indeed, it is. It implies FFG is planning on expanding the world outward. Which feels a bit of a problem... but then, I did buy LBS when AEG released it...

1 hour ago, okuma said:

They have already listed a new langage and a new empire who didn't existed in AEG's l5r universe.

In the dev discussion video from Gencon, Katrina Ostrander said that FFG did not buy Legend of Burning Sands. As such, they will have to create some of the gaijin from whole cloth.

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In the dev discussion video from Gencon, Katrina Ostrander said that FFG did not buy Legend of Burning Sands. As such, they will have to create some of the gaijin from whole cloth.

Which may be best, since AEG consistently mess that up !

I am really interested in seeing who these new foreign nations (Gaikoku) will be. Will we have a repeat of the Battle of White Stag (I think that was it), or will we see the Mantis Clan importing firearms to claim Great Clan status. Do firearms even exist is another major question I suppose.

I'm just going to echo that I kind of miss the peasant weapons focus. It was the primary reason I wanted to play a Mantis bushi before. However, as long as their school supports it, I'm happy with them being more of a traditional weapon of the clan, while the cutlass sees wider use because it's more practical in more situations - someone who really specializes in the kama will be notable for their devotion to tradition.

I adore the naming scheme - it reminds me of the Quarians from Mass Effect. If the Mantis ever get the Yoritomo family name, I'll be keeping that as how they generally refer to themselves among themselves, with Yoritomo Kudaka only using that name in formal occasions - courts hosted by other clans.

On 2017. 10. 29. at 0:45 PM, DarkHorse said:

In the dev discussion video from Gencon, Katrina Ostrander said that FFG did not buy Legend of Burning Sands. As such, they will have to create some of the gaijin from whole cloth.

Boo

I love LBS.

Greetings from the Sands, Evil-Smelling Brother-in-Law of a Camel!

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I love LBS.

I loved my Mad Necromancer Khadi....

But take heart mortal one for the term "Burning Sands" appears in the beta. So with any luck they might even improved it a bit.

See you in the sands.

Would it be possible to copyright the phrase Burning Sands? Because they might be able to get away with calling it The Burning Sands, as long as they populate it with similar but legally distinct cultures.

Did the burning sands were mentioned first in L5R or LBS? If first, then it belongs to the L5R IP. Same goes for ivory kingdoms and their portrayal in L5R. Rules and specific mechanics may not be ffg's, but the flavor is.