https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/9/11/a-masterful-technique/

Also confirming the previous mention of 'ninjutsu' as a category of techniques.

I'm super interested in how the various additional tags work for the Invocations. I'm going to guess the Kitsu have some sort of bonus with Ancestor-tagged spells, and the Agasha with Alchemy ones.

I am curious about that too. I wonder if instead of like in 4th ed where it says "pick x number of spells from these rings" you instead get to pick techniques associated with the type, and then different schools have different types tied to them.

I have to say I'm liking these techniques. ? One of the criticism I have for 4th is that bushi have very little options for actions. It's basically attacking all the time and you barely have a couple of school techniques.

It seems in this new edition you're gonna have a lot more options with katas and other techniques which looks great.

12 minutes ago, Shosur0 said:

I have to say I'm liking these techniques. ? One of the criticism I have for 4th is that bushi have very little options for actions. It's basically attacking all the time and you barely have a couple of school techniques.

It seems in this new edition you're gonna have a lot more options with katas and other techniques which looks great.

Yeah, as much as I loved kata in 4th, I don't think it contributed any way to your Insight Rank. So while everyone else is working toward their next School technique, I'm burning experience to get a cute little thing to do, that I have to dedicate time beforehand to 'get in the mindset' to use later.

And then, what you get out of it is a slight, forgettable, uninteresting numerical bump.

Possibly, when you get access to Invocations, it will tell you your method. Then, you only get to select from a subset of invocations. It would be a way of distinguishing between meishodo, traditionalists, Kitsu and Agasha without having to create multiple technique types.

The meter-long curved blade of the katana is iconic for samurai across Rokugan.

Curved blades - canon confirmed.

Honestly, I am liking the Opportunity use for Techniques, because it gives you a reason, strategically, to choose an Opportunity over a Success.

I'm really liking the feel of the invocations.

My guess is each school has a tag - Ancestral, Alchemy, etc... - and then they can only choose spells that is present in the given philosophy, I guess.

10 minutes ago, Horvagab said:

My guess is each school has a tag - Ancestral, Alchemy, etc... - and then they can only choose spells that is present in the given philosophy, I guess.

Well, the only two we've seen are in all three; they could just be variant names (every psychic power in Black Crusade had about three alternate names) - but, yes, it wouldn't surprise me to see 'Rank 2 Alchemy Invocations' in a school rank table rather than 'Rank 2 Fire Invocations' as it might have been in the beta.

Also:

Quote

On successful attacks, the owner may spend opportunity results to increase the deadliness of the weapon for a surer strike—but a successful hit that is reduced to zero damage (such as through armor or parrying) causes the weapon to become damaged!

Implies that parrying now reduces damage inflicted, rather than (or as well as) critical severity. Since parrying causes the sword you parry with to become damaged, if you manage a zero-damage-inflicted parry, it would make a certain amount of sense that the weapon you parried would become damaged too.

10 hours ago, shosuko said:

Curved blades - canon confirmed.

That fiction bothered me immensely. Like, I get it, a scimitar has more of a curve than a katana, but to categorize "Unicorn have curved swords, unlike everyone else" was ridiculous to me.

Dumb question: Do shugenja still have a spell limit on how much they can cast per day still? Or are invocations like other techniques and you can use it as much as you want?

25 minutes ago, Mirith said:

Dumb question: Do shugenja still have a spell limit on how much they can cast per day still? Or are invocations like other techniques and you can use it as much as you want?

If it’s like the beta, then there’s no per-day limit. They can be tricky to pull out in a hurry, though, and certain circumstances can leave you cut off for a time - emotional backlash, for instance, or annoying the kami with Kuni Hellos.

7 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Implies that parrying now reduces damage inflicted, rather than (or as well as) critical severity. Since parrying causes the sword you parry with to become damaged, if you manage a zero-damage-inflicted parry, it would make a certain amount of sense that the weapon you parried would become damaged too.

When I train in blade work, our training blades get chewed up even doing flat side parries - you NEVER do blade side, as it could ruin your weapon. Better to parry than be hit, but better to not be there at all. Which is why footwork is key above all.

18 minutes ago, Lindhrive said:

If it’s like the beta, then there’s no per-day limit. They can be tricky to pull out in a hurry, though, and certain circumstances can leave you cut off for a time - emotional backlash, for instance, or annoying the kami with Kuni Hellos.

I hope it stays that way. I really was never in love with Vancian prayers.

7 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Well, the only two we've seen are in all three; they could just be variant names (every psychic power in Black Crusade had about three alternate names) - but, yes, it wouldn't surprise me to see 'Rank 2 Alchemy Invocations' in a school rank table rather than 'Rank 2 Fire Invocations' as it might have been in the beta.

Not quite: one is Alchemy, Ancestral, Fortunist the other is Alchemy, Elemental, Fortunist. Which implies that Mediums don't get to do Bind the Shadow as easily, whereas Elementalists can't Call upon the Wind so much.

8 minutes ago, Tonbo Karasu said:

whereas Elementalists can't Call upon the Wind so much.

Which sounds strange to me, so my guess is these are alternate names.

1 hour ago, deraforia said:

Which sounds strange to me, so my guess is these are alternate names.

I do like the idea of different names for the same invocation based on flavor, but worry about the execution.

Shugie: "I Invoke Judgment of the Ten Thousand." Goes to rulebook, Invocations, under 'J.' "Umm.. wait, what's its real name again?"

And then if you're writing down the real name along with the flavor name, it also kinda defeats the purpose. But of course, I'm just speculating based on two individual mentions presented completely distinct from any rules that apply, there's that.

I highly recommend printing out some sort of technique cards, or even dedicating a sheet of paper for shorthands of your techniques. It speeds up play immensely.

Note that the character sheet in the beta does just that; prompting you space for a short paragraph of text plus a page reference, instead of just the technique name.

19 hours ago, WHW said:

I highly recommend printing out some sort of technique cards, or even dedicating a sheet of paper for shorthands of your techniques. It speeds up play immensely.

It's almost like there is going to be a... market for preprinted, full-text Technique cards.

1 hour ago, sndwurks said:

It's almost like there is going to be a... market for preprinted, full-text Technique cards.

Say it ain't so, @sndwurks, say it ain't so!

(I'm new to FFG; that's a thing, I'm assuming?)

14 minutes ago, Hida Jitenno said:

(I'm new to FFG; that's a thing, I'm assuming?)

Oh.