Tsuko doesn't know the meaning of duty or justice. She does not respect or obey her champion, she seeks out petty revenge for death caused in battle, she lets her heart rule her head when she should be thinking about what is best for her Clan. Let the Crane use her for more target practice if she isn't clever enough to seek out who is manipulating her in such an obvious ploy.

The Crab know only duty and not even in death does duty end. Duty is not to throw away the lives of your subordinates but to seek out those that would subvert and corrupt your Clan's security. If you are too stubborn or stupid to realise that Tsuko perhaps the Emperor should remove the burden of leadership from you and task all your Family holdings and provisions to the Hida so that we may protect you from yourself. Indulge your grief, wallow in your self pity, seek luxury in revenge. We shall be on The Wall, we shall be ever vigilant. We that have no time for grief, no opportunity for pity, we that have no luxury least of all for revenge. So go flutter your banners, cry to the Heavens, seek your false justice; adults acting as petulant children. While you play soldier, our children stand guard as proud, dutiful men and women so that you may indulge petty squabbles and wounded pride.

Get your house in order Matsu-san, find out who holds your leash and is manipulating your path. Pray it leads you to wisdom and clarity. We shall be on our Wall, protecting you, our purpose clear and unfailing. What is your purpose?

#vote1crab

2 hours ago, DarkHorse said:

*Melodramatic monologue*

#vote1crab

I don't think that was one of the options.

#justice I'd like the clans to steer away from martial strife for as long as possible and for the kami's sake.

As someone who loathes the Crane...

Sending him home to confront his sister is the more damaging choice. If Tsuko truly hates them, it's the choice that will inflict the most meaningful damage. As Arasou's death makes plain, killing even a highly ranked samurai does little but galvanize their clan to attain revenge. But having Kuwanan wondering why his sister isn't pursuiing their father's murders with more vigor? And asking about it?

That's the only real choice.

2 hours ago, DarkHorse said:

not even in death does duty end.

#mahotsukai

14 minutes ago, Kakita Shiro said:

#mahotsukai

Nah, Grimdark Yomi.

Decided to give the Learn to Play rulebook's story a reread, and I noticed Ikoma Eiji specifically asks about Kuwanan and if he was serving on the frontline guarding Shirei . He asks this immediately before his servant enters with the "urgent letter" informing him that "honorless ronin" have slaughtered the Crane forces at Shirei Mura. This seems too perfectly timed to merely be coincidence. Tsuko seems convinced Kitsu Motso and Toturi aren't responsible for hiring the ronin, however her thoughts never turn to the Ikoma negotiating with the Crane. I wouldn't be surprised of Eiji is the one responsible for the ronin attack.

*cough* Kage *cough*

I'm going to go completely meta here. I want the future of the story to be very different. It seems like the best way to manage that would be to kill off a major character earlier than intended. (the last time I ran City of Lies, the received a letter mentioning the death of Yakamo in a duel with a Mirumoto).

£duty

12 hours ago, DarkHorse said:

Tsuko doesn't know the meaning of duty or justice. She does not respect or obey her champion, she seeks out petty revenge for death caused in battle, she lets her heart rule her head when she should be thinking about what is best for her Clan. Let the Crane use her for more target practice if she isn't clever enough to seek out who is manipulating her in such an obvious ploy.

The Crab know only duty and not even in death does duty end. Duty is not to throw away the lives of your subordinates but to seek out those that would subvert and corrupt your Clan's security. If you are too stubborn or stupid to realise that Tsuko perhaps the Emperor should remove the burden of leadership from you and task all your Family holdings and provisions to the Hida so that we may protect you from yourself. Indulge your grief, wallow in your self pity, seek luxury in revenge. We shall be on The Wall, we shall be ever vigilant. We that have no time for grief, no opportunity for pity, we that have no luxury least of all for revenge. So go flutter your banners, cry to the Heavens, seek your false justice; adults acting as petulant children. While you play soldier, our children stand guard as proud, dutiful men and women so that you may indulge petty squabbles and wounded pride.

Get your house in order Matsu-san, find out who holds your leash and is manipulating your path. Pray it leads you to wisdom and clarity. We shall be on our Wall, protecting you, our purpose clear and unfailing. What is your purpose?

#vote1crab

Let's see what fate awaits the Crab along the road then, holier than thou shelled brutes. Are you gonna strike a deal with Jigoku again? Sell your first born to an oni and skin the second one again?

Rest of rokugan will wait beyond your narrow wall of a world. And lion will be at the vanguard to repel you from your inevitable fall.

10 hours ago, Shiba Gunichi said:

As someone who loathes the Crane...

Sending him home to confront his sister is the more damaging choice. If Tsuko truly hates them, it's the choice that will inflict the most meaningful damage. As Arasou's death makes plain, killing even a highly ranked samurai does little but galvanize their clan to attain revenge. But having Kuwanan wondering why his sister isn't pursuiing their father's murders with more vigor? And asking about it?

That's the only real choice.

I really want to see the Crane/Lion hostilities continue because I like when the clans are fighting each other. That said I agree that if Tsuko was smart then she'd recognize that sending Kuwanan to the capital to confront his sister about her failure and "help" her with her investigation would be way more damaging to Hotaru's honor (as well as weakening the stability of the Crane clan leadership). Killing Kuwanan in battle would just solidify Hotaru's leadership in the clan and strengthen their resolve against the Lion. Also Tsuko clearly knows she's being manipulated. To ignore that seems incredibly foolish.

Tsuko comes off pretty poorly in the first Lion fiction, but you can chalk much of that up to Tsuko having strong feelings for Arasou and is certainly not thinking clearly after his death. If she makes a level headed decision here it will go a long way toward making the character seem like a competent leader and not just a warmonger.

To play Tsuko's advocate, a lot of people seem to act like she KNOWS that there is clear manipulation at foot... that isn't really a case.

Any thought that there is real manipulation is a suspicion at best to her and letting a war prisoner go on just a hunch, without even researching the hunch, is a pretty terrible move on her part. That is not "Doing her duty", this would be her sending a dart at the Crane's leadership, hoping it will stick.

She would be letting an HEIR to the crane clan, the clan she is at war with and desires revenge against, free for a hunch. She should REALLY be investigating the "boar" ronin herself, getting to the bottom of it or at least delegating someone to tracking that down and reporting on it later, she has a war to win. OR, she does the even more correct thing, report this to the Daimyo of the Ikoma and Toturi, telling them that SOMEONE is paying ronin to slaughter villages dishonorably and let them actually take care of it. The hiring of the ronin was a lion matter, the crane seem to have nothing to do with it, acting as if letting Hotaru's brother badger her about their father's death doesn't pull out the culprit of the ronin hiring, that's a HUGE leap of logic to justify that.

As a result, she has no obligation to let him go back to Hotaru, if this is chosen its more of a failure of her duty and respect for command structures, this is simple Lion at this point.

However, the entire PREMISE of her character is that she doesn't want to give Toturi anything and is showing her reluctance to even consider him, so this choice is possible and fits her arrogance and rebellious nature. She is bucking the command structure so acting without Toturi's knowledge is a way to show her own independence and leadership. Choosing Justice is choosing for her to assert her own authority, pushing the schism closer to a breaking point.

The other choice, sending him to die on the front lines to the Lion, that actually doesn't have anything inherently wrong . Its sending him out to die in proper honorable combat, a worthy action in of itself. Considering Tsuko believes killing him to be dishonorable without a fight, this is very much the "Correct" choice if you are in a Lion's shoes, since to them honor is far more important than anything else and vengeance for her beloved is best served as she kills a beloved heir of the Crane. As Totori lost a brother, and Tsuko her beloved, so too shall Hotaru lose family.

Choosing "Justice" is NOT the obvious choice, its not the most Lion choice, but its a possible choice. I personally want Justice, because the drama is funny and Tsuko is going to destroy the Crane country side anyway, might as well allow us the chance to see Hotaru cry more and bemoan her tragic backstory again. But to argue that the justice choice has actual basis is sort of wrong, its simply a matter someone in Tsuko's position shouldn't need to worry about.

I just want to point something. Nowhere it is stated that Kuwanan will die if sent on the battlefield. The wording is so vague, in fact, I would be tempted to believe someone else, possibly Tsuko herself would be the one bitting the dust if that story choice is selected.

11 hours ago, Nitenman said:

Let's see what fate awaits the Crab along the road then, holier than thou shelled brutes. Are you gonna strike a deal with Jigoku again? Sell your first born to an oni and skin the second one again?

Rest of rokugan will wait beyond your narrow wall of a world. And lion will be at the vanguard to repel you from your inevitable fall.

"Again" you say! In what mad world could that ever happen? The Crab have *never* fallen, *never* faltered. With stalwart, noble, loyal, brave, virtuous, infallible leaders like Hida Kisada and Kuni Yori, we shall never shirk our duty and nothing bad will ever happen. La la la can't hear you.

--------------
For reals though, if they met in battle my money would be on Kuwanan not killing Tsuko in repayment for her not killing him but he would cut off a limb or shoot her in the shoulder or something. Tsuko becoming less like Red Hulk (arrogant, reckless, 2D rage monster) and more like She-Hulk (powerful, smart, strong, developed person) would be welcome to me.

Truth and # justice should ever prevail over blind commitment. Follow principles, not people.

Justice seems the more interesting and engaging story choice. That is if players want to read about a cool story unfold, unless they just get satisfaction of reading about Crane and Lion killing each other off while giggling eating popcorn. If I remember anything from the old AEG communities, the clan communities remember these storyline choices and will retaliate. An example would be if story choice A will mess over Dragon and B will ally your winning clan with Dragon, and a Crab clan winner chooses to screw over the Dragon, you can bet the next time the Dragon playerbase has an opportunity to repay that choice it will happen. That is of course if history repeats itself and the communities organize like they once did.

I definitely want justice to happen, since that seems like it'd lead to the more interesting story. But, like, this is a story choice involving the Lion and the Crane, why are all the other factions involved? What's going to happen if, say, a Dragon wins?:

Tsuko gazed solemnly down upon Kuwanan. "I have made my decision," she said.

She opened her mouth to speak to her guards, but before she could speak a massive green form shredded its way through the paper wall.

"GUYS PICK THE JUSTIIIIIIIIICE!!!" Togashi Yokuni bellowed.

"Ah...wha...okay?..." Tsuko stammered.

"GOOD JOB!" Yokuni shouted. Then he charged across the room, leveling his shoulder and ripping another hole through the opposite wall. He bounded across the ramparts, then leapt off the castle wall down into the fields below. "JUSTIIIIIIIIIICE!!!"

And together we can be justice.

I have to say the last sentence of Duty blows my mind.

These are two Samurai bushi entering into a duel (over the death of a clan champion) and one of them may survive, the only way I can see that happening is if Tsuko loses and that would be ultra lame.

In fact if the duel ends in anything but glorious death then the story will plunge into deep deep shame.

On 10/30/2017 at 11:56 AM, Wispur said:

Duty.

I want to watch these two clans fight it out.

Preferably with chainsaws. Or the Rokugan equivalent.

Let me tell you the good word of Fu Leng, I believe you would be interested.

This is a bit off-topic - BUT:

I really think FFG should run a side event that is an only Crane vs. Lion event:

You can still represent your clan through splash and have a more direct story impact for just one minor tournament session.

Just a thought.

#Duty

On 11/2/2017 at 11:48 PM, Mandalore525 said:

I definitely want justice to happen, since that seems like it'd lead to the more interesting story. But, like, this is a story choice involving the Lion and the Crane, why are all the other factions involved? What's going to happen if, say, a Dragon wins?:

Tsuko gazed solemnly down upon Kuwanan. "I have made my decision," she said.

She opened her mouth to speak to her guards, but before she could speak a massive green form shredded its way through the paper wall.

"GUYS PICK THE JUSTIIIIIIIIICE!!!" Togashi Yokuni bellowed.

"Ah...wha...okay?..." Tsuko stammered.

"GOOD JOB!" Yokuni shouted. Then he charged across the room, leveling his shoulder and ripping another hole through the opposite wall. He bounded across the ramparts, then leapt off the castle wall down into the fields below. "JUSTIIIIIIIIIICE!!!"

Just finished watching the semifinals! I'll update the story to more accurately represent the results:

Tsuko gazed solemnly down upon Kuwanan. "I have made my decision," she said.

She opened her mouth to speak to her guards, but before she could say anything there was a loud bang against the far wall, then a clatter as though a stack of metal plates had been dropped upon the floor. She frowned at the wall, then shrugged, and turned back to give her guards the orders.

In the other room, Togashi Yokuni laid upon the wooden floor, clutching his helmeted head. "Kami above!" he swore, glaring at the wooden wall. "I could've sworn that thing was paper!"

On 10/31/2017 at 0:37 AM, Zesu Shadaban said:

You sure you have the right mon with pincers? That's a rather backhanded way of saying the Shogun isn't going to be a Lion player.

Was not my intent, but I bow in acknowledgement of this perceived slight.

It's a quick bow though, more Oni coming.

The word in is that the Lion shogun has chosen Justice.

5 hours ago, DarkHorse said:

The word in is that the Lion shogun has chosen Justice.

He did choose Justice. Smart kitty!!!