Daidoji School is already referred to as Iron Warrior School.

Yeah, current Daidoji bushi covers Iron Warrior.

I wonder, will this book will deal with maho and shadowlands-related threats within the Empire? In which case we could see a a lot of themes covered, while Shadowlands proper covers a much narrower scope.

5 hours ago, Hida Jitenno said:

In previous editions, the Daidoji had the Iron Warriors, who were founded in memory of Daidoji Masashige, who died at the Battle of the Tidal Landbridge sallying out to fight alongside the Crab.

I'd be surprised if that isn't the Crane school added.

The Daidoji Iron Warriors are the front-line spearmen of the Crane Clan standing army. There were a group of Crane Heavy Regulars that trained along side the Crab on the wall, that the Crab called the Iron Cranes. They were a blocking force that used tetsubo and dai tsuchi instead of the Yari favoured by other Daidoji.

They're not exactly an iconic Crane force, I don't think they ever made it out of the RPG and into the card game, but they are the Crane with the strongest connection to the Crab, other than perhaps the Daidoji Trading Council and the Yasuki.

3 hours ago, Crawell said:

They're not exactly an iconic Crane force, I don't think they ever made it out of the RPG and into the card game, but they are the Crane with the strongest connection to the Crab, other than perhaps the Daidoji Trading Council and the Yasuki.

Who generally loathe each other on principle.

But yeah, for my part, I'm intrigued. I love the Minor Clans getting some love, so seeing the Falcon school is pretty neat.

Kuroiban and Inquisitors I think are a pretty safe bet.

I do think that the Witchunters are well covered by the Purifiers. So maybe the Damned? Although that might be better covered by a title.

The Agasha used to have ties to the Kuni although no specific school or path which was shadowlands oriented.

The Lion did have a vassal family of the Kitsu, the Noroko that was anti-Shadowlands, but in the Old Lore they were created after the current timeline.

The Moto Avengers are an interesting reset of the old pre-return of Shinjo White Guard recasting them as shugenja, so we may very well see completely new things.

3 hours ago, Suzume Chikahisa said:

The  Moto Avengers are an interesting reset of th  e      old pre-return of Shinjo White Guard recasting them  as shugen  ja, so we may very well see completely new thin  g  s.  

Indeed, if they’re Shugenja they’d be more reminiscent of the Moto Death Priests...

47 minutes ago, Franwax said:

Indeed, if they’re Shugenja they’d be more reminiscent of the Moto Death Priests...

And their 'hate immortal undead' makes me think of the Doomseekers.

Basically it sounds like FFG is synthesizing a lot of Moto bits and bobs from the last like 20 years of canon to make a new and interesting school which plays to the Shadowlands themes while still giving the school a distinct separation from what the Iuchi are supposed to be doing.

18 hours ago, Crawell said:

The Daidoji Iron Warriors are the front-line spearmen of the Crane Clan standing army. There were a group of Crane Heavy Regulars that trained along side the Crab on the wall, that the Crab called the Iron Cranes. They were a blocking force that used tetsubo and dai tsuchi instead of the Yari favoured by other Daidoji.

They're not exactly an iconic Crane force, I don't think they ever made it out of the RPG and into the card game, but they are the Crane with the strongest connection to the Crab, other than perhaps the Daidoji Trading Council and the Yasuki.

Thank you, my mistake.

How I could have gotten Daidoji Iron Warrior and Daidoji who were called Iron Cranes confused is beyond me... lol.

And while I agree that they may not be 'iconic,' the Battle of the Tidal Landbridge has already been specifically acknowledged by FFG in, I think, Emerald Empire. That and Moto Avengers aren't iconic either, given that they're brand new, so I could certainly see it happening for the Iron Crane.

1 minute ago, Hida Jitenno said:

the  B  attle of the Tidal Landbridge has already bee  n spe  cifically acknowledged by FFG in, I think, Emerald  Em  pir  e. 

Correct. And the fact that these Cranes are the only ones who get close to being respected by the Crab is enough of an achievement to deserve a place in that book

On 2/21/2019 at 10:14 PM, Franwax said:

Correct. And the fact that these Cranes are the only ones who get close to being respected by the Crab is enough of an achievement to deserve a place in that book

Agreed 100%.

So guesses are:

Crab: Witch-Hunter, maybe? Assuming it's distinct enough from Kuni Purifier.

Crane: Daidoji Heavies or whatever they're called.

Dragon: ??? Maybe something Kitsuki? Or something Mirumoto, based on the family founder being a Thunder?

Lion: Shimizu! Wait... I do hope it'll be a Bushi-type school

Phoenix: Asako Inquisitors. Monk? Or Shugenja? Might be interesting to see a school that specializes in anti-taint Kiho.

Scorpion: Kuroiban seems to be a certainty, but... A third Scorpion shugenja school? When there's already so much crap being thrown at FFG for even giving them two, I'm skeptical. Maybe this could be a title for Scorpion Shugenja to earn?

Unicorn: Moto Avengers. Very excited to see these guys.

12 hours ago, Hida Jitenno said:

Scorpion: Kuroiban seems to be a certainty, but... A third Scorpion shugenja school? When there's already so much crap being thrown at FFG for even giving them two, I'm skeptical. Maybe this could be a title for Scorpion Shugenja to earn?

I don't think there's an issue with the Scorpion getting two (now possibly three) shugenja schools. It's more that they don't have a bushi school yet. That said, a first Scorpion bushi school that has something to do with the Shadowlands would be a bad idea so hopefully FFG will tackle that next time around.

I don't think all the new schools have to necessarily be shadowland related. Probably not as much as we think at least.

Just threw down my pre-order for the new books, and realized they don’t charge your card until fulfillment. So I came here for an educated guess on release timing. Glad to hear previews should generally mean it’s sooner than later.

I am gonna watch "The Great Wall" in anticipation of this book! I ve been playing L5R since the start of 4th edition, and this seems to be the closest thing I ll ever get to a shadowlands book that really services the whole japanese fantasy/oni/demons/samurai-mordor theme. I found 4th edition, especially with the advanced timeline, had sort of never delivered on the "big oni army charging the wall" fantasy, especially since the rules of 4th edition are far less capable of handling such fights dramatically and tactically anyway.

As a matter of discussion, the size and height of the great carpenter wall seems to vary wildly between sources. The current iteration in the 5th edition is going with 100 feet or so, right? Basically, implausibly tall and epic, but not quite GoT-levels Great Wall epic. Is that the height you work with? I have heard more reasonable figures like 30 feet thrown around, but that sounds like a bigger castle, not quite the epic great wall to me.

Also, there once was this adventure-module made by a third party called "Mirror, Mirror". Its an amazing achievement in horror storytelling at the great wall. Anyone ever run it successfully? I am contemplating using it for my new campaign (that launches when I get my grubby mitts on this shadowlands book!)

8 minutes ago, Kaiju said:

Also, there once was this adventure-module made by a third party called "Mirror, Mirror". Its an amazing achievement in horror storytelling at the great wall. Anyone ever run it successfully? I am contemplating using it for my new campaign (that launches when I get my grubby mitts on this shadowlands book!)

I have, a couple of times. It's a really great module. The GM's delivery is key though, I probably didn't do it justice the first time around.

I have seen "The Great Wall", there is lot of stuff to inspire a Crab campaigm, but watch out for a certain warrior type in the movie.

23 hours ago, Alisair Longreach said:

I have seen "The Great Wall", there is lot of stuff to inspire a Crab campaigm, but watch out for a certain warrior type in the movie.

Anyone trying bungee attacks in my campaigns deserves everything they get.

But yes, as a first starting point the film is quite interesting. Certainly it's visually very impressive.

35 minutes ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Anyone trying bungee attacks in my campaigns deserves everything they get.

But yes, as a first starting point the film is quite interesting. Certainly it's visually very impressive.

I seem to recall a significant number of them were eaten by oni aliens.

Kuroiban as a title seems like a better solution than as a school. Same with Inquisitor I feel.

The Dutch web shop I buy my L5R books from says the Shadowlands book will release March 15 and the Mask of the Oni will release March 19.

I received an email this morning from FFG that my pre-order is shipping soon. Time for darkness to sweep over the wall!

That should be the 14th in the states, FFG is usually on thursday. It does say shipping now though.

Time to wait a month for that PDF and stare at crappy phone pictures other people take of school curriculums!

11 hours ago, UnitOmega said:

Time to wait a month for that PDF and stare at crappy phone pictures other people take of school curriculums!

Indeed. Can't wait for the .PDF to pop up on Drivethru.

On 2/23/2019 at 11:46 PM, Hida Jitenno said:

Crab: Witch-Hunter, maybe? Assuming it's distinct enough from Kuni Purifier.

Emerald Empire has an NPC Kuni Witch-Hunter, who - despite a high Scholar skill class - doesn't get invocations, and with Martial 3, a Naginata, and a talent allowing her to translate opportunities into extra damage the first time she thumps someone with it, coming across more as a highly educated Bushi class.

"Throughout her time as a tsukai-sagasu, Haruna has seen horrors beyond most people’s darkest nightmares. Like many Crab, she confronts this trauma with a desensitized acceptance. In forcing reality upon people, Haruna believes that she is doing them a favor. Of course, Haruna does not need to cackle and snort during the process, but it’s best not to tell her that."

I honestly think that Tsukai-sagasu as a title might be better than as a school.