For those unfamiliar with the idea, I highly recommend checking out Extra Credits’ video on Mechanics as Metaphor ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QwcI4iQt2Y is a good place to start, though https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP_qNm-96Dc is better and more in depth). It is very useful for game design in general, and one of the primary drivers behind this post.
At present, the systems in place for Ninjo and Giri, and how they interact with the systems for Honor, Glory, and Status are failing as a narrative.
Ninjo vs Giri is a central narrative to samurai drama, and the current version of L5R acknowledges this in theory, but not in practice. At present , the Ninjo vs Giri is treated as more a narrative aspect separate from the principal mechanics. The Discord Track provides a superfluous system to form a narrative, but has no narrative inherent to itself. The Pivotal Scene Mechanic is more of the same, and the Honor, Glory, and Status Systems only further this separation. This means the current systems subtracts from the narrative, rather than adds to it.
A good contrast to this is actually the custom dice and Strife. These are systems which very much serve as narrative tools, which inform the player to the game they are playing. By rolling the Narrative dic, the player is gambling on fate and circumstance to see what their character is capable of. The player must then CHOOSE what to keep, balancing success with opportunity and mental stress. This informs the player that A) success is not always the most important thing, B) success can be costly, and C) the direct path is not always the best path.
Compare this to how Ninjo and Giri interact with the game. If Ninjo and Giri are important to the narrative of L5R RPG, how do they inform the player of this? How do their systems serve as narrative? At present, they may be a source of Strife (a negative / punishment mechanic) if they are not followed, and potentially serve as a source of Honor / Glory loss or gain. By making Ninjo and Giri tied to a punishment mechanic, you are telling players to AVOID their Ninjo and Giri narratively. Unless they want to be punished by the system, they must obey their Ninjo or Giri if it comes up. As such, they are encouraged to avoid those situations by the system, which makes the Discord Track necessary to keep it in the character’s lives.
The Pivotal Scene mechanic does not fix this. It achieves the opposite, in fact. By requiring the spending of a Void point (a limited system resource that can be used to SAVE YOUR PC’S LIFE!), players are discouraged by the system to use the mechanic except as a source of Glory / Honor, which are themselves too separate from the rest of the game to matter. Furthermore, it is a system which encourages players to steal the narrative spotlight, and force the GM’s storytelling. It rewards a certain type of player (The Showboater), at the cost of other’s and their time at the table.
I actually have to pause here, and without a Save Draft option on this post, I am putting it forward at this point. I will have more to say in a bit.
Edited by sndwurks