Well, I sure do hope the Kaito get a school in the 5E RPG. They certainly seem like they would be fun to play.

2 hours ago, Swordbreaker said:

Well, I sure do hope the Kaito get a school in the 5E RPG. They certainly seem like they would be fun to play.

This ^^^

2 hours ago, Swordbreaker said:

Well, I sure do hope the Kaito get a school in the 5E RPG. They certainly seem like they would be fun to play.

So much this. Would play in a heartbeat. If that wasn't already obvious.

So my LGS did get the novella in after all. Picked it up about 4 hours ago. I'm finished already. So, sooo good. I'm seriously hyped up from reading it now. Definitely recommend for all to read at some point. If I had to draw comparisons, I'd say it's Lovecraft meets Rokugan. And super satisfying read for Phoenix clan, IMO.

15 minutes ago, Kaito Kikaze said:

If I had to draw comparisons, I'd say it's Lovecraft meets Rokugan.

That’s Spooky for you. Gotta love the guy. Super happy to have him writing the Phoenix fiction.

I ordered mine through CoolStuff, so I have to wait until next Friday to get my copy. Can't wait!

For the people who've read it, is there anyone else I need to add to the Census? (Being UK, it's not here yet...)

23 minutes ago, Tonbo Karasu said:

For the people who've read it, is there anyone else I need to add to the Census? (Being UK, it's not here yet...)

I can never remember how to do the spoiler tag. Help me out here and I'll tell you.

On 6/2/2018 at 3:56 AM, Tabris2k said:

That’s Spooky for you. Gotta love the guy. Super happy to have him writing the Phoenix fiction.

Just picked up my copy, decided I should reread Tsukune's original champion piece (I think I enjoyed that the most of the first batch). Jazzed to realize it's the same author as the book!

On 5/31/2018 at 9:09 PM, Swordbreaker said:

Well, I sure do hope the Kaito get a school in the 5E RPG. They certainly seem like they would be fun to play.

I would expect to see this in a supplement on "Mystics and Spirits!" schools and techniques, probably released two years down the line. Very unlikely in the main book.

For me, I have always loved how well Spooky captures the idea of a Rokugan with a diverse concept of supernatural forces. Spooky writes a VERY good L5R Ghost Story, and if you have not read them and liked this novel? I highly recommend reading this story:

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/10/31/better-to-be-certain/

Also, if you can find a copy of Spooky's other Halloween fiction, they are quite good.

I bought the ebook of this from amazon, but there was no nice Kaito lore dump at the end - from reading this thread, I gather there was a bit more background on Kaito history and a description of the mon and so on there. It has the Phoenix clan information at the beginning but this seems to about how the Isawas, the Asako family and the Shiba line all fit together. Is there anywhere I can get the Kaito lore as well? I am a bit miffed that amazon cut it from the end!

4 minutes ago, Miwt said:

I bought the ebook of this from amazon, but there was no nice Kaito lore dump at the end - from reading this thread, I gather there was a bit more background on Kaito history and a description of the mon and so on there. It has the Phoenix clan information at the beginning but this seems to about how the Isawas, the Asako family and the Shiba line all fit together. Is there anywhere I can get the Kaito lore as well? I am a bit miffed that amazon cut it from the end!

Sorry, the ebook versions only have the novels themselves. The clan-specific inserts for each are available only in the print editions.

9 minutes ago, Miwt said:

I bought the ebook of this from amazon, but there was no nice Kaito lore dump at the end - from reading this thread, I gather there was a bit more background on Kaito history and a description of the mon and so on there. It has the Phoenix clan information at the beginning but this seems to about how the Isawas, the Asako family and the Shiba line all fit together. Is there anywhere I can get the Kaito lore as well? I am a bit miffed that amazon cut it from the end!

This isn't Amazon's fault. This is how FFG/Asmodee chose to release the content on Amazon.

I guess I'll let amazon off this time then, if it wasn't their fault.

I can't buy the book a second time just for a few paragraphs of lore especially not in ye olde paper book form.

Really wish they had made the Kaito information available with the ebook version as I have a Kaito player who is jealous of all the other players because they have all the lore available from past editions to draw on when they are fleshing out their characters, but the Kaito player only has a couple of paragraphs in the 5th edition core book and this novel to look at probably until the Phoenix RPG splatbook.

Can anyone summarise it?

Let's see, I have it right here:

There's 16 pages:

Page 1: Charge art, plus very brief text (It looks like a 2 paragraph setup for the novel?)

Page 2: The Legend of the Kaito Family - a telling of the story that everyone else knows about the Kaito

Page 3: Sanpuku Seido, Cliffside Shrine - a description of the family's home, extends onto page 4.

Page 4: The Kaito Shrine-keeper Tradition - a brief description of what a shrine-keeper's for. The Kaito Mon - a description of that.

Page 5: The Training of a Shrine-keeper - what a shrine-keeper learns and does

Page 6: Shrine-keepers across Rokugan - How they are assigned (by the daimyo, based on requests), but some go and do the the 'Shoot an arrow from the mountaintop and go where it does' thing.

Page 7: The Kami Arrow - The martial art of archery and magic arrows, extends to pages 8 and 9. Mikazuki, the Crescent Moon Bow - a description of the ancestral bow of the Kaito.

Page 8 : Hearts of Ice - How the Kaito use Water for archery, where most use Air or Void. (Air + Water = Ice)

Page 10: Customs of the Kaito - extends to page 13, with subsections. The Kaito and the Kami - they're weird ( )

Page 11: Birth. The Village parable - a story explaining the difference between a dog trainer (Isawa) and and a dog lover (Kaito).

Page 12: Gempukku. Courtship and Marriage

Page 13: Funerals. Superstitions.

Page 14: Frozen Memories - the Secret Shame of the Kaito - the true story of the family founding, extends to page 16.

I may be able to answer one or two other questions, or maybe go into full detail on one section, but I don't think I can do much more.

The back material in the Phoenix book was the best I think. Mostly because it was all new stuff. I think the Kaito are a pretty cool new edition to the game.

18 hours ago, Tonbo Karasu said:

Let's see, I have it right here:

There's 16 pages:

...(kind summary)...

I may be able to answer one or two other questions, or maybe go into full detail on one section, but I don't think I can do much more.

Thanks Karasu-san!

That is really great. Maybe I can stretch to getting a paper copy as this is definitely more than a couple of paragraphs of lore! Looks really interesting,

If you could possibly go into detail about customs I would really appreciate it, that should let me set some adventure sessions in Kaito lands without ending up with too many contradictions when the lore gets published in a sourcebook.

Okay, here goes:

Kaito and the Kami - Kaito do not invoke the abilities of the kami in the traditional (Isawa) way. Instead of nurturing the gift of being able to speak with kami, and thus request actions on the shugenja's behalf, the Kaito train people in how to open themselves to temporary possession by a spirit, allowing its power to flow through them.

Birth - there are many superstitions around birth, since both parent and child are close to death. If possible, affinity with the kami is tested very early, and any child who may become a shugena is passed on to the Isawa. A grandparent may try to divine the child's future - get the child to grasp an arrow, then fire it at a target to the SW. How it lands tells many things. This is the life arrow, and is held in the family shrine until gempuku.

Children are considered to be genderless and children of the kami before coming of age.

Gempuku (or shufuku as the Kaito call it) - A test of the various skills required by an adult Kaito, then a plunge into a pool of water. After the new adult emerges, they are presented with their adult clothes, and a brush to write their adult name in the genealogy. They will afterwards be given a bow, often from a grandparent, and their life arrow.

Courtship and Marriage - Romantic love is something which is subtly accepted and seen as a gift of the kami. Since marriages for the retention of the Shugenja's gift are not required, marrying for love and by choice happen sometimes. Even then, many marriages are arranged. Kaito tend to marry in the family except for the daimyo and revered sensei.

Funeral - the deceased's family remain silent throughout the ceremony, and go without overcoats during it. Paper lanterns are released. Afterwards, a small bag with some of their ashes is attached to the life arrow, which is shot as far away as possible.

Thanks so much, Karasu-san. I really appreciate you taking the time to type out that summary. This info is all amazing - self-matchmaking in a Phoenix clan family, the unique approach to interacting with the kami (no wonder the Isawa wanted to absorb them), the life arrow belomancy, all really cool and flavourful.

The Kaito really are my favorite thing about the new continuity. The Phoenix (much as I love 'em) always felt like their three families were spread a little too thin across thematic niches (especially since the Isawa dominated the portrayal and only really did one thing, just a question of how they did it).