16 minutes ago, Hida Jitenno said:

Toturi then resurfaces in a fighting pit in a Unicorn city on the edge of the Sands. Using his fighting skill and natural charisma, he quickly makes an ally out of an old Ide Trader, who provisions him up into quality armor.

Eventually as Sotorii tries to distract the Empire from questions about his ascension, he declares an enormous festival, complete with a melee tournament. Toturi and his Ide master come, where Toturi is able to reconnect with some of his Legion friends, and eventually, after Sotorii realizes who he his, Sotorii comes into the melee for a 1v1 duel against Toturi...

Wait a second.

See you missed an important story beats as the Ide Trader needs to die just before the final showdown to charge Toturi up.

Thoughts - more from a "which feels right to me" than trying to draw out specific family characters:

• Unicorn
  • Utaku, 2nd choice Iuchi. The village was (as best we can tell) previously Utaku territory, given the former defender we meet, and whilst they lost to the lion, the former commander fought honourably. The riverside, wooded territory also suits an infantry force defending it, and the bulk of the clan's non-mounted forces are Utaku. Making it a centre of trade when it's at the front line of a probably-escalating war is no real benefit, and the Iuchi are all well and good - and probably key to giving the Lion a nasty surprise they cannot prepare for - but should probably be held in reserve; if you're trying to avoid raking over the 'Meishodo is dangerous black magic' argument that (at the moment) they're winning, using it in a large-scale, obvious way sounds like a bad plan; it's a balancing act of effectiveness vs political fallout.
• Lion
  • Akodo, 2nd choice Kitsu. Right now, the Ikoma and Matsu are the ones busy pushing the 'lion legal claims' which has caused no small amount of bloodshed in the northern empire. Which, as long as the lion is winning, no big deal, I guess, but this is command of the Imperial legions, which like the Emerald Magistrature, is supposed to remain neutral in clan rivalries. The Kitsu would depend largely on what recently-departed dead they were listening to (The former Emerald Champion, for example?).
• Dragon
  • Agasha, 2nd choice Mirumoto. Whatever is coming, protecting Otosan Uchi is important - however (whether the Dragon know about it or not) the biggest hanging thread is the vision from the festival which kicked off the Meishodo argument. Yes, it might be just that, but it was implied to be something more; there's a good chance something unnatural is part of the threat. More swords to protect the throne are good, but whatever happens it's not just swords you're going to need.
• Crane
  • Asahina, 2nd choice Kakita. The goal is to find out what's causing the elemental imbalance - potentially another route into finding out the same issue the Phoenix are attacking from another angle. Sending one of the crane's best shujenga to help the Fox do this makes sense. Failing that, Doji Kuzunobu is a high enough ranking courtier that he shouldn't need 'help' - so just make sure he's safe and let him do his job.
• Phoenix
  • Asako, 2nd choice Kaito. Yes, the elemental council, yes, the fundamental forces of creation itself, blah, blah, blah. Ultimately, regardless of why you're going, you're going into another clan's holdings and should start by consulting them. Without knowing whether he's consulting the kami whilst travelling, or interacting with peasants, a method of looking for him independent of his actions is probably sensible.
• Crab
  • Hiruma, 2nd choice Yasuki. The Ishigaki watchtower has gone silent. Does it mean it's corrupted? destroyed? conquered? The door's stuck? Your first priority is finding out what the problem is, then picking the right people to fix it. Giving the crab a chance to actually get someone else working with them would be nice.
• Scorpion
  • Soshi, 2nd choice Shosuro. The problem isn't sacrificing what's needed, or striking with swift and terrible power, it's identifying who needs to be stepped on in the first place. Spies whose presence is ignored is better than those who are unknown; again, it's not about breaking into places and stealing things but finding out people's feelings, which is best achieved with a false face they can interact with, rather than a shinobi dangling from the ceiling above them whilst they sleep.

On 10/31/2018 at 2:58 PM, Shiba Gunichi said:

Yogo are always interesting.

And I love the letter:

"Hello everyone. As Bayushi-Kami is my witness, if you endanger our clan by seeking prizes amidst chaos, I will kill you and everyone you have ever loved. HAPPY CAMPING!"

I am somewhat surprised that the Scorpion letter bores the piss out of me even more than the most of the Crane fiction.

There is no there there. Your three sentence summary is spot on and a far more enjoyable read.

I want to like Shoju (If nothing else, because he's not Kachiko). But this did nothing to advance the plot.

Make it the Yogo. That should get us one step closer to having real villains, the Spider.

On 11/1/2018 at 6:23 AM, sndwurks said:

Are you not entertained?

(Wouldn't be the first time Rokugan ripped off something Greek / Roman...)

QFT

1 hour ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Sending one of the crane's best shujenga to help the Fox do this makes sense. Failing that, Doji Kuzunobu is a high enough ranking courtier that he shouldn't need 'help' - so just make sure he's safe and let him do his job.

I would love for them to show up in Kyuden Kitsune, only to find that Yoritomo is already there, drinking tea.

Sadly, I don't think Kuzunobu is long for this world. Even if he isn't a fox'wife' like Doji Ameiko , the fact that he hasn't gotten a certain person knocked up yet seems like a death flag to me. I wouldn't be surprised if John Wick's Mary Sue Kachiko orders his death.

Choices were made, some good some bad, and some that I'm convinced were because someone doesn't give a whit about the story and just liked a card.

• A samurai of the Moto Family rules in the style of their ancestors, bringing foreign traditions to the people of the village. 
• A samur  ai of the Kitsu Family commands with guidance from the  recently departed  . 
• A samurai of the Kitsuki Family investigat  es the intrigues of the Forbidden City  . 
• A samurai of the Kakita Family protects Doji Kuzunobu from t  hreats that lurk in the perilous Kitsune forest.   
• A samurai of the Asak  o Family seeks the leadership of the Crab Clan, that they might aid in convincing Tadaka to return to the Phoenix—and to help point to where he can b  e found.          
• A samurai of the Yasuki Family recruits aid from their neighboring allies to reinforce and defend the watchtower.
• A samurai  of the Yogo Family is willing to sacrifice everything and any  one to fulfill their duty. 

Kakita Kaezin in particular was chosen by the new Shogun.

So here is my take:

It's being reported that Eric Baalhuis, who won with a Scorpion style Crane deck, picked Kakita Kaezin . Let that sink in.

The Unicorn bring in more desert Gaijin to shore up their new Stronghold. Everyone is aghast, but they still go shop there because the prices are low. Plains fires coincidentally breakout.

The Lion tell everyone how their great-great-great-whatever did it far better than you ever could. They start fights with everyone they ever attacked in the last 500 years. One ******* tries to take out the Fox single-handedly. The war with the Unicorn slows down because not all of the ancestors remember there being a Unicorn Clan (thanks grandpa).

The Dragon find out about a prophecy, black scrolls under Kakita Yoshi's pillow, and that the First Imperial Accident (tm) likes playing with daddy's sword. They are currently waiting for permission to nuke the site from orbit. The only way to be sure.

The Crane send Kakita Kaezin with Kitsune Kuzunobu on his trip home to the Greatest Forest in Rokugan (tm) . That Lion ******* from earlier dies in a duel with Kaezin when they meet by accident on the road. The duel make them late for the Scorpion attack on Kyuden Kitsune. Lots of people die, the library is set on fire, Kuzunobu lives and decides to leave his cheating wife. The Fox are pissed (good job Kaezin).

The Phoenix representative goes to every Crab house, great and small, looking for help and giving help in turn. Tadaka never returns home (queue the Quantum Leap music).

The Crab, Listening to the advice of Yoritomo, help him assemble his Avengers Alliance. Their first mission is to plug that hole in the Wall. The movie does so well, everyone involved gets a three picture deal. Yasuki Taka sets himself up as their agent and makes more money than anyone else out of the deal. Tadaka is shown in the post credit scene in the Shadowlands.

Yogo Junzo finds a porcelain mask and some scrolls in the Scorpion vaults. The manic laughter takes up three pages. Since there is no one person in charge of fiction anymore, the story gets posted on the FFG front page as is.

So, given the choice of Kakita Kaezin, and the Imperial Favor story where Shizue tips off Shahai to Kakita Asami’s hostage situation, it looks like the Unicorn might be busting them out from the Lion. Though, if Kaezin is to be Kuzunobu’s yojimbo, does that mean Asami doesn’t make it?

1 hour ago, Doji Hyōkin said:

So, given the choice of Kakita Kaezin, and the Imperial Favor story where Shizue tips off Shahai to Kakita Asami’s hostage situation, it looks like the Unicorn might be busting them out from the Lion. Though, if Kaezin is to be Kuzunobu’s yojimbo, does that mean Asami doesn’t make it?

Well, they were hostages during the hostilities over and around Toshi Ranbo. Since the matter is nominally settled, I would assume they'd expect to be released?

If she doesn't, Doji Kunawan can be expected to go even more off-script than he's currently heading....

Interesting set of choices.

9 hours ago, Coyote Walks said:

• A samur  ai of the Kitsu Family commands with guidance from the  recently departed  . 

Akodo Arasou is back, I'm calling it. Thus we might finally have some shipping action for poor Tsuko, and I'm sure Arasou is not only back to merely guide his clan but to pull a full comeback Toturi I style.

9 hours ago, Coyote Walks said:

• A samurai  of the Yogo Family is willing to sacrifice everything and any  one to fulfill their duty. 

Shoju is screwed big time.

2 hours ago, AtoMaki said:

Akodo Arasou is back, I'm calling it. Thus we might finally have some shipping action for poor Tsuko, and I'm sure Arasou is not only back to merely guide his clan but to pull a full comeback Toturi I style.

Shoju is screwed big time.

Or maybe Matsu Mitsuko so she can continue to share her insights into Cavalry goodness for the clan.

2 hours ago, AtoMaki said:

Akodo Arasou is back, I'm calling it. Thus we might finally have some shipping action for poor Tsuko, and I'm sure Arasou is not only back to merely guide his clan but to pull a full comeback Toturi I style.

Shoju is screwed big time.

GAH!

i know people picked Yogo to try to get the spider clan back into the story but come on.

Yogo was literally the worst option out of the Scorpion list of options as it actively hurts the clan.

Well, we are stuck on this roller coaster now.

Let's see where it goes.....

13 hours ago, Coyote Walks said:

So here is my take:

It's being reported that Eric Baalhuis, who won with a Scorpion style Crane deck, picked Kakita Kaezin . Let that sink in.

Champion named Erik picks the character whose art looks exactly like former FFG employee and L5R Designer Erik (who is also a Crane player from old5R). I like it.