You know the rule that says if you pursue your ninjo during a downtime or narrative scene you remove all strife?

Doesn't it seem just, too, good?

Like, why have downtime passion checks, or tea ceremony etc, if you basically can pick a ninjo like "write the best book ever" and just do that all the time???

In comparison with somebody who took a ninjo about vengeance that will only be able to use the clean all strife ability every few session?

Something seems off. Looks like a tacked on rule to give a positive for roleplaying ninjo, but it rather come out very inconsistent between each players, depending on what they chose (can be too easy to trigger, or too hard, or just ok)

14 minutes ago, Avatar111 said:

Like, why have downtime passion checks, or tea ceremony etc, if you basically can pick a ninjo like "write the best book ever" and just do that all the time???

In this particular example I'd require a check. Without success, no proper pursuit of ninjo - you'll just feel like it was a waste of time. And for "the best book ever" it would not be an easy check.

No, it doesn't seem too good. If it does, then the GM needs to rethink what he's approving as a ninjō, because it's failing the "interesting to RP" if you are doing it in Downtime.

6 minutes ago, AK_Aramis said:

No, it doesn't seem too good. If it does, then the GM needs to rethink what he's approving as a ninjō, because it's failing the "interesting to RP" if you are doing it in Downtime.

wrong answer. but thanks for trying. there are actual example of ninjo like "create the most perfect work of art" in the corebook.

It is kinda 'meh'. You are in a new scene, so your Strife is already at Composure/2, and if the player wants the character to waste a downtime scene for getting rid of that (instead of, say, doing the Void Pump), then he can be my guest.

In my opinion, no. It is not "too good". Quite the opposite, it makes the whole Strife system better by its inclusion. Or, more accurately, it gives you a reason to have Ninjo you actually care about as a player.

Without a Ninjo that rewards you for pursuing it, why would you ever select a Ninjo which would conceivably come up during a game session, from a sheer "game" perspective? As in, ignore the RP / Fluff aspect of the game (which is always very subjective, mileage-wise), but look at the mechanics. Without the inclusion of some kind of carrot to the Ninjo vs Giri system, all a Ninjo gives you is punishment when it comes up. Either it restricts your RP, or you take Strife.

It was my biggest critique of the Beta, and its inclusion is one of the things that I have praised about the current game. Having your Ninjo be, effectively, the ultimate Strife sink means you want it to come up regularly, arguably more regularly than a Passion. Also, Passions are meant to be simple, easy, and not inherently dishonorable. No one is going to lose honor over making some Ikebana, or by tasting some hard to find Sake, or by reading a book on Military History. A Ninjo is bigger than a Passion, and by its nature, it is supposed to be selfish, in a societal sense.

"Create the most perfect work of art" is much larger than a simple Passion about Origami or Painting. Taking some time Painting would lose you some Strife if that is your Passion. Neglecting your morning appointments because you NEED to capture the exact way a specific crane takes flight from this garden just after the attendants clean the grounds? Now that is a Ninjo.

There are other ways to utilize Ninjo in a game as well.

Is writing a book too much of a strife sink for your style of play? Come at it from a different angle to increase the cost...

If a players is trying to write an immortal book on par with “Lies” or the “Sun Tao,” then as a GM you should also think about who the other contemporary writers of your campaign are AND see that the PC has a chance to compete against them...perhaps at the expense of other duties they could be pursuing. Yes they could have been hunting for clues during the adventure ... but they just have to show up Kakita Bob at the poetry competition held in Dōji Janes tea room....