6 hours ago, Duciris said:

Rokugon has outside threats. The Shadowlands are an imediate threat to the south-southwest. However, there are threats from the Burning Sands and across the sea. That portion of the lore isn’t my bag though, so soneone else will have to address it.

In the real world, the Emporor’s military having too much power and the Emporor not acting to stop them fast enough led to Japan’s invasion of mainland China and spur its involvement in WWII. So your concern is warranted.

I view the Scorpion as the CIA. They opperate in the shadows to prevent coups and uprisings. They will use assassination, bribery, and other people to thwart enemies of the empire. That’s a dagger’s fine edge to walk though, and it can lead to coruption of purpose.

In one of the fictions (I really need to find it) there is a reference to the fact that the Lion clan army was the primary component that won wars against the Yobanjin, Ivory Kingdoms and others. The Ivory Kingdoms was just defending against invasions, but I'm pretty sure that the empire has expanded outwards into Yobanjin territory since it was founded.

Don't forget this is a Feudal system. This is exactly how it used t work as well in medieval Europe. Each local lord will have knights at his orders that he could summon if in need of a military action. Each knight will bring some of his people around and this would in the end constitute a whole army. Local territorial disputes ending in open battles were very common and it was part of the way of living. The Lord was a Dux Belorum, a warmaster that got the loyalty of his knight s by offering them valuable loot and lands. Those were acquired by battling the neighboring Lords or through treaties and alliances, like weddings. Despite all lords being servants of a higher rank noble himself serving the king, these internal struggles would take place from spring to autumn every year. This is what was defining the shifts in political powers and influence among the members of the court. The King was the king of the whole kingdom but his actual domain he owned himself was small, as he gave most of his lands a fiefdoms to the most powerful lords to ensure their loyalty.

Rokugan is a feudal system and despite the emperor being from divine ascendence, it makes little difference with the European kings , getting their powers from divine right. All out war between the biggest lords was clearly forbidden as such escalation could put a threat to the entire kingdom. In Rokugan you have the same as Great clans are not supposed to go in all out war between each others. The times in Rokugan history when this happened were times of great crisis worth storytelling and certainly not regular all day events. However balance is necessary as each clan will look for more influence and power. Something needs to keep them in check. Military is necessary in this context to resolve local dispute and to mark your dominance.

Finally, military forces and law enforcement forces were not distinct back in time or in Rokugan (magistates don't had actual armies to enforce the law). We would not imagine the army to take action against a ring of burglars or drug dealers, but back in time or in the Rokugan setting Knights/Samurais have the duty to ensure safety of the inhabitants, that not only covers enemy armies, but also bandits, sects, rebellions, beasts... The knight /samurai role was way more diverse than the strict definition we have for military forces today.

On 6/27/2018 at 9:07 PM, Shiba Gunichi said:

Phoenix.

Because no one punches us in the face as hard as we punch ourselves in the face!

A surprising amount of honest assessment coming from the 17-time world champions of the World Humblebrag Challenge!

But honestly, to answer the OP, it's sort of a complicated question.

See, first off, each clan definitely has distinct overall flavor, and indeed, flavor, for me, would be the starting point to the choice:

-The Crab are the stoic and hardy defenders of the wall, living, bleeding, and dying in a war that they get no, nor expect any, thanks for.

-The Crane are the pinnacle of high society, determining fashion, music, art, and all manner of culture, while maintaining vast influence over the courts and the imperial families.

-The Dragon are mysterious and monastic, living high in the mountains and contemplating the path to enlightenment, their true motivations often obscured and unintelligible.

-The Lion are the proud right hand of the Emperor, serving as his military, and seek nothing more than a life of military service and, if possible, glorious and honorable combat to honor their ancestors.

-The Phoenix are scholarly sages and wizards, choosing to study and perfect their knowledge of the elements and the spiritual world, all while making sure that Rokugan maintains spiritual purity.

-The Scorpion are the underhand of the empire, choosing, like the crab, a life of thankless service as they tirelessly protect the throne from the invisible, unseen threats of corruption, plotting, and rebellion that the other clans refuse to acknowledge even exist in an honorable society.

-The Unicorn are the outsiders, having left the empire centuries ago to assess outside threats, only to return completely foreign to the lands they once hailed from, and now trying to maintain a difficult balance of integrating into their old lifestyle while maintaining the unique traditions that they developed in their isolation.

That's.... the short version.

The long version is that each of those clans also has three-four very distinct families, which each have their own distinct identities within the clan.

For example. I described the Dragon as 'mysterious and monastic'. That being said, the 'face' of the Dragon are the Mirumoto family, who, for all intents and purposes are a very traditional samurai family, who adhere to bushido and study the arts of war.

While the Phoenix are scholarly sages and wizards, one of the most fundamental parts of their history involves the Shiba family who, like the Mirumoto, are a traditional samurai family. And that's not counting the Asako, a family of monks who seek enlightenment through a mixture of harsh physical pursuits and concentrated study of the elements. As if that didn't complicate things enough, the main family of the Phoenix, the Isawa (the aforementioned scholars) and the Asako... well, to put it bluntly, do not get along, and have actually feuded for years.

That isn't to say that in being a traditional samurai family that the Mirumoto or Shiba are anything like the Lion who see themselves as 'typical' samurai. The average Mirumoto is likely to be heavily philosophical, contemplative, and able to engage in an intense conversation regarding spirituality and the nature of the universe, while the average Shiba is expected to be cultured, well-read, and have a deep understanding of the elements and kami.

Tl;dr: Each clan has a distinct identity, but also has numerous distinct identities within those identities. I'd look a little more into the families of the great clans to get a better feel for the overall clan. ****, if you'd like, I could post a (very) long post that sort of gives a little more insight into each family. The clans themselves are great, but I think that the families give them even more flavor and give the average player even more appreciation for the nuance and thought put into an extremely deep overall story.

6 minutes ago, Ikoma Sencha said:

A surprising amount of honest assessment coming from the 17-time world champions of the World Humblebrag Challenge!

But it's also accurate the Phoenix are their own worst enemy, just dangle a little Maho in front of them and their players are jumping all over them selves to start using it.

7 minutes ago, Schmoozies said:

But it's also accurate the Phoenix are their own worst enemy, just dangle a little Maho in front of them and their players are jumping all over them selves to start using it.

To be fair, have you seen that maho card? So strong. Don't plan to use it myself, however.

16 minutes ago, Schmoozies said:

But it's also accurate the Phoenix are their own worst enemy, just dangle a little Maho in front of them and their players are jumping all over them selves to start using it.

That goes hand in hand with my original post about how each clan is far more complex than the description given in the rulebook.

The Phoenix only ever have the best of intentions, but, without a frame of reference (like, I dunno, allowing Tadaka to study with the Kuni for a bit), they have no way of understanding their own limits. It's why their 'virtue' is sincerity, or having justice and the rightness of intentions at the forefront of their actions. That doesn't mean they're right, only that they truly believe themselves to be.

To me, that's one of the things that makes the story interesting.

23 minutes ago, Schmoozies said:

But it's also accurate the Phoenix are their own worst enemy, just dangle a little Maho in front of them and their players are jumping all over them selves to start using it.

Speak for yourself. The reason I stopped O5R was when the only strongholds to play were the Maho one or the Creatures one.

28 minutes ago, Kaito Kikaze said:

To be fair, have you seen that maho card? So strong. Don't plan to use it myself, however.

mmmm delicious Mahō. The best thing to happen to Crab and Phoenix, then Phoenix again and then Phoenix. LOL

On 7/4/2018 at 11:42 AM, Schmoozies said:

But it's also accurate the Phoenix are their own worst enemy, just dangle a little Maho in front of them and their players are jumping all over them selves to start using it.

Actually, it’s more fair to say that regardless of what direction is chosen, at least half of the Phoenix fanbase will violently loathe it for whatever reason.

As someone who is virulently anti-Maho, I’ve been enjoying the fact that it hasn’t been a major factor in the story thus far- and that Tadaka’s first steps toward it have been presented as something that horrifies those Phoenix who know about it.

Here’s hoping our pack of maho-heads have to shift their flags to use the lazy narrative crutch they’re so fond of.

50 minutes ago, Shiba Gunichi said:

Actually, it’s more fair to say that regardless of what direction is chosen, at least half of the Phoenix fanbase will violently loathe it for whatever reason.

As someone who is virulently anti-Maho, I’ve been enjoying the fact that it hasn’t been a major factor in the story thus far- and that Tadaka’s first steps toward it have been presented as something that horrifies those Phoenix who know about it.

Here’s hoping our pack of major-heads have to shift their flags to use the lazy narrative crutch they’re so fond of.

I agree, although I'd think it's only fair to say that the story lead and authors are a completely different set from the ones who did the Phoenix yo-yo.