13 hours ago, wastevens said:

The Bonds also add a special action, like the School and Title Abilities (as well as just getting more cool as you invest more xp into them)

Nice. Anything which can temporarily boost your composure for a scene is definitely something worth considering, especially for someone like low-composure characters facing a duel.

4 hours ago, Alisair Longreach said:

More spoilers, please?

Names of new Techniques and Distinctions. A short overview of the main chapter.

These are not my spoilers, but I'll repeat them for the sake of the thread, about the new techs:

Ninjutsu:

Artful Alibi (Rank 3)- Air or Water opp spend on Skullduggery checks to count as having made a successful Composition or Design downtime check to refine or adapt an item.

Cunning Distraction (Rank 2) - during duel or clashes you can cheat to swap initiative order

Deceitful Strike (Rank 1) - during a duel or clash you can make it look like a lethal attack wasn't intended to be so.

Like a Ghost (Rank 2) - Ninja movement tech

Slicing Wind Kick (Rank 3) - When using a polearm you can kick people to Disorient them.

Silent Elimination (Rank 3) - Immobilize and Silence a target and pull them to Range 0 of you. Opp spends can knock minions unconscious or inflict fatigue and strife.

Stillness of Death (Rank 5) - spend opps on Ninjutsu technique checks to increase the TN of the next check to resist a critical strike from you

To Float or Sink (Rank 2) - spend Water or Earth opps to remove or prevent a check from giving you Prone or Disoriented.

What is Yours is Mine (Rank 2) - Attack and if they are dazed steal an item from them. Opps can inflict Dazed, let you move and/or steal more items.

New Katas are:

>Pole-Vault (Rank 3): Use a Polearm to Dragoon Jump
>Trip the Leg (Rank 1): Use Polearm to knock targets prone

New Rituals are:
>Formal Tea Ceremony (Rank 5): Tea Ceremony ritual but harder and much better.
>Treaty Signing (Rank 2): Create agreements that make participants stake honor.
>The Ties that bind (Rank 4): Divine fortuitous matches for targets that make creating bonds easier.

New Shuji are:

Air:
>Assess Strength (Rank 1): Games check to learn ranks in targets Games, Tactics or one Martial Art skill. Opp spends can reveal mental advantages and disadvantages
>Hidden in Smoke (Rank 4): Make others believe your goals are different than what they really are. Also gains momentum in intrigues.

Earth:
>Unyielding Terms (Rank 2): Allows you to select either the method of battle or the stakes of victory in a duel after making a Culture check

Fire:
>All Shall Fear Me (Rank 3): Perform or Command check to make targets take 2 strife each time they target you with a Social check
>Cackling Laughter (Rank 3): Perform check to inflict strife on a target and make them make a TN 5 Mediation check and then take strife equal to the shortfall
>Offend the Sensibilities (Rank 2): Can spend opps on Artisan checks to make a target take strife when they first see the art piece. If they end up Compromised they end up Dazed, Enraged or Silenced (your choice)
>Spiteful Loss (Rank 1): Spend an Opp to fail Games checks to lose 1 glory to inflict Strife on all participants

Water:
>Beware the Smallest Mouse (Rank 1): Water opps on Social checks to reduce the target's vigilance in exchange for making their social checks easier on you.
>Fun and Games (Rank 1): Water opps on Games checks can be spent to remove strife on participants and observers

Void:
>Foreseen Need (Rank 4): Artisan check to have crafted items you need right now.

Kenshinzen title have some interesting ideas.

Thanks UnitOmega! Glad to see more variety brought to Ninjutsu and Rituals

1 hour ago, Avatar111 said:

Well... they fixed the Kakita Duelist with ONE title.

Kenshinzen can crit with Iaijutsu kata and bypass earth stance.

thanks for listening to Avatar111 @FFG

You see 😉

1 minute ago, Nheko said:

You see 😉

yup, now Kakita is amazing (once he get that title that is). I like that it plays of Void too.
It makes him an absolute monster in duels to first blood if he goes Void/Fire/Air

well played well played.

Now how soon can he get it? Rank 3?

6 minutes ago, Nheko said:

Now how soon can he get it? Rank 3?

he needs 65 honor.
otherwise it depends on when your GM allows you to take it... it is a title, so.. yeah, it doesn't make Kakita the best duelist at the beginning of the game (far from it, as we know Kakita is average early on), but..... his potential is exponential more than any other schools I think, if he takes Kenshinzen.
So, if the campaign goes up to at least rank 2 + a title. Kakita will be very fun.

edit: but your GM shouldn't be a d**k, and if a player chose a kakita because he wants to be amazing at duels... the GM should definitely plug the opportunity to take the title in the campaing!

34 minutes ago, Avatar111 said:

he needs 65 honor.
otherwise it depends on when your GM allows you to take it... it is a title, so.. yeah, it doesn't make Kakita the best duelist at the beginning of the game (far from it, as we know Kakita is average early on), but..... his potential is exponential more than any other schools I think, if he takes Kenshinzen.
So, if the campaign goes up to at least rank 2 + a title. Kakita will be very fun.

edit: but your GM shouldn't be a d**k, and if a player chose a kakita because he wants to be amazing at duels... the GM should definitely plug the opportunity to take the title in the campaing!

I wholeheartedly agree with you. I’m just happy that they got fixed! 🥳🥳🥳

1 hour ago, Nheko said:

I wholeheartedly agree with you. I’m just happy that they got fixed! 🥳🥳🥳

You just need to beat a kenshinzen in a duel to get the title.

But, hey, with a little bit of GM's help... Or just give the title's ability as part of the training to become a kenshinzen. Anyway, no matter how you do it, thing is, there is a rule to fix duels to first blood. The kenshinzen school ability. Could almost make it part of iaijutsu cut rising blade kata. Not that it is an auto win at low ranks anyway, whos got that much void ring, skill and severity early on. It just gives the option to actually do it the crane/iaijutsu way which was non-existent before.

One other thing is that there are expanded rules for traditional Crane style Duels. There are new rules to prevent pretty much every complained about strategy.

12 minutes ago, Ultimatecalibur said:

One other thing is that there are expanded rules for traditional Crane style Duels. There are new rules to prevent pretty much every complained about strategy.

Aside earth stance and iai kata that can't crit.

Are the Daidoji Spymasters the new Harrier School? Or they’re another different one?

My understanding is they're Courtier, Shinobi. They're more a consigliere school, the Daidoji guy will solve all your problems and gather intel on specific targets or groups, but they are not meant to be a military option.

Makes sense

2 hours ago, Avatar111 said:

Aside earth stance and iai kata that can't crit.

The new rules even cover those problems. Earth Stance doesn't do much when a single successful Crossing Cut will win you the duel if your opponent doesn't draw first blood on their attack.

13 minutes ago, Ultimatecalibur said:

The new rules even cover those problems. Earth Stance doesn't do much when a single successful Crossing Cut will win you the duel if your opponent doesn't draw first blood on their attack.

.... ?

I think you are imagining things.

edit: unless you are talking about the Kenshinzen title ?

Doji Bureaucrat seems... redundant. What's their schtick?

24 minutes ago, Suzume Chikahisa said:

Doji Bureaucrat seems... redundant. What's their schtick?

less diplomat, more of an aggressive/tank courtier (like a court warrior? meant to inflict strife and/or defend themselves and others during intrigues) but it seems very gimmicky.
their school ability is dependant on causing strife with social approaches, but they have no fire ring.
also no kata, only ritual and shuji.
sure the school ability is good but since NOTHING aside Fire Opportunity causes strife on an opponent using a social approach (that I can think of), it feels off to me. but I haven't fully studied it. I guess you just take whatever their school curriculum is but kind of HAVE to also raise your fire ring despite their school curriculum and starting rings not really supporting fire techniques.

a "hard" school to play I think, for experienced players who want to try playing an ultra edgy/focused courtier.

(take all this as a very preliminary observation as I only quickly checked it)

edit: they are also closer to the imperials and have a trinket that identify them as a "person with decidedly moderate authority".

Cackling Laughter (Rank 3): Perform check to inflict strife on a target and make them make a TN 5 Mediation check and then take strife equal to the shortfall

This is the Joker Laugh.

12 hours ago, Avatar111 said:

Well... they fixed the Kakita Duelist with ONE title.

Kenshinzen can crit with Iaijutsu kata and bypass earth stance.

To be fair, even in the Core book, Strike with No Thought sort of does as well, but asking a duellist character to wait till rank 6 for a useful technique is kind of ridiculous.

Someone said 65 Honour? A Kakita duellist can start with Honour 50 (School) +10 (Staunch Devotee of Bushido) +5 (Glorious Sacrifice Ancestry) and be eligible straight off the bat, so in a Veteran Samurai campaign, you can potentially take Kenshinzen as your starting title.

I don't mind a 0 XP Gempukku graduate not being up to much (because 'professional duellist who's not good enough to win duels yet' is basically what your character is) but the idea that a campaign showing a 'competent veteran' has a way to start with the potential to win duels to first blood 'properly' is very reassuring.

11 hours ago, Avatar111 said:

yup, now Kakita is amazing (once he get that title that is). I like that it plays of Void too.
It makes him an absolute monster in duels to first blood if he goes Void/Fire/Air

well played well played.

Indeed. I'll be interested to see exactly what the title does (I'm happy to wait - that's not a request for spoilers) but I'm just happy they are addressing problems.

1 hour ago, Alisair Longreach said:

Cackling Laughter (Rank 3): Perform check to inflict strife on a target and make them make a TN 5 Mediation check and then take strife equal to the shortfall

This is the Joker Laugh.

I....But....I can't even....

One of my characters has a slightly deranged Kuni witchhunter as a relative.

I'm picturing iconic Kuni Kabuki mask face-paint, a purple kimono (which fits a crab) with a jade chrysanthemum broach.

I think this NPC needs to show up more.

What's that line from Emerald Empire:

"[Kuni] 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 during the process, but it’s best not to tell her that."

Does that Kumi relative dye her hair green?

5 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

To be fair, even in the Core book, Strike with No Thought sort of does as well, but asking a duellist character to wait till rank 6 for a useful technique is kind of ridiculous.

Someone said 65 Honour? A Kakita duellist can start with Honour 50 (School) +10 (Staunch Devotee of Bushido) +5 (Glorious Sacrifice Ancestry) and be eligible straight off the bat, so in a Veteran Samurai campaign, you can potentially take Kenshinzen as your starting title.

I don't mind a 0 XP Gempukku graduate not being up to much (because 'professional duellist who's not good enough to win duels yet' is basically what your character is) but the idea that a campaign showing a 'competent veteran' has a way to start with the potential to win duels to first blood 'properly' is very reassuring.

Indeed. I'll be interested to see exactly what the title does (I'm happy to wait - that's not a request for spoilers) but I'm just happy they are addressing problems.

I....But....I can't even....

One of my characters has a slightly deranged Kuni witchhunter as a relative.

I'm picturing iconic Kuni Kabuki mask face-paint, a purple kimono (which fits a crab) with a jade chrysanthemum broach.

I think this NPC needs to show up more.

What's that line from Emerald Empire:

"[Kuni] 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 during the process, but it’s best not to tell her that."

Void 2opp: when making a melee attack with a sheated weapon, the target cannot defend against the damage.

(Something along those lines).

Strong even outside of duels. But requires the void stance. At early ranks it isn't that good but around rank3, when HPS also become a thing, I also feel it doesn't outshine it.

Imo, this ability could almost be baseline included in the Rising Blade Kata and I think it would be fairplay. It isn't like any character will be able to do that much with it at rank1.

Anyway, it seem to fix duels to first blood, cinematically. I'm still a bit bummed out that the original duel design intent of predict/center/iaijutsu kata/battle in the mind kata was a total design fart. But this is a good designed title for duelists who wants that gameplay.

A couple of people are ignoring a major requirement of the kenshinzen title. You have to defeat a kenshinzen in battle in front of another kenshinzen in order to gain the title. That’s a big deal. You might have the honor requirement at rank one, but I’m highly doubtful that you could defeat Kakita Toshimoko in battle. And yes, there would be less powerful people with the title, but any kenshinzen would still be the best of the best.

2 hours ago, Mikesmithsm said:

A couple of people are ignoring a major requirement of the kenshinzen title. You have to defeat a kenshinzen in battle in front of another kenshinzen in order to gain the title. That’s a big deal. You might have the honor requirement at rank one, but I’m highly doubtful that you could defeat Kakita Toshimoko in battle. And yes, there would be less powerful people with the title, but any kenshinzen would still be the best of the best.

nothing got ignored. I said "with the help of the GM".

but... I'm actually thinking of putting their ability directly into Iai Cut Rising Blade kata. Even for all rings. As an houserule.
the vigilance TN number of Rising Blade, and the fact that "not defending" doesn't mean your armor doesn't apply and that Rising Blade doesn't do a lot of damage to start with (also cannot scale in damage)...

it fix Duels for me... without really making Iai Cut rising blade that strong outside of duels anyway. It gives the option of drawing blood in one strike without "gimmicks". But at the start of a duel, with probably a TN3, or more, and the need for 2opps, and an initial severity of only one handed katana... tempting. VERY tempting.
It allows to bypass earth stance on ONLY the very first strike in a duel, without having the scalable potential of Crossing Cut. I like. It makes Rising Blade the Iai Kata for people who want first blood, and Crossing Cut kata stays as the Iai Kata for people who want no critical strikes but more damage. Seems like an elegant and balanced fix... I think?

edit: the Kenshinzen ability still stay relevent because it also applies to Crossing Cut, which makes it incredibly good, also, sheath a weapon after iai Kata = swag.