Maybe I missed a sidebar or paragraph, but is there any indication of the rarity rating of a Rokugani pony ?

Unicorn warhorses would probably be 8+ and very unlikely to be found outside the clan (and Utaku steeds out of reach of anyone outside the family altogether), but how hard would it be to procure a regular mount via “mercantile” means ?

I'm not sure the Commerce check mechanic with the TN adjustments really works for Rokugani ponies (or any of the NPC types you might want to hire/conscript, or for other animals). I mean, TN 1 seems ok for an average city (so rarity 1) if you're not looking to buy dozens of them, but your chances of finding one for sale in a small farming village (let alone an impoverished mountain town) should be really, really small - TN 3 (or 4) feels too low by far. This might be handled better on a case by case basis.

Actually, I was thinking about it in the context of character creation, when you can pick an item of rarity 7 or lower, or 6 or lower. Asking for a pony might not be unreasonable, but I could not find any rarity for those...

Then there is the matter of Koku cost. And for that, we’re just as dead in the water

2 minutes ago, Franwax said:

Actually, I was thinking about it in the context of character creation, when you can pick an item of rarity 7 or lower, or 6 or lower. Asking for a pony might not be unreasonable, but I could not find any rarity for those...

Then there is the matter of Koku cost. And for that, we’re just as dead in the water

For character creation I'd definitely allow it - if it matters enough for the character they should have been able to arrange for a mount at some point.

Price: in 4th it's 25 koku for a pony, 75 for a gaijin horse (which should be rarer than an Utaku steed to find, unless the campaign allows for them) and 250 minimum for an Utaku warhorse. Works for me.

I'm just happy we got stats in the core book. There have been editions where Unicorn players had to wait a long time for horse stats... 😛

Just going by common sense I can't think a Rokugan pony would be either higher cost or rarer than lacquered armor. I also agree as a GM I'd let someone take that during creation.