15 hours ago, Schmoozies said:

In fairness in the old game at launch the Crab/Shadowlands alliance was just a fact of life and was played up as the Crab having grown tired of seeing the clans bicker among themselves while ignoring the real threat to the south having said enough was enough and that they would use every tool at their disposal (including tainted troops) to beat the rest of the clans into submission and unite the empire under one banner to finally organize an effort to beat Fu Leng back to Jigoku where he belonged.

The origianl flavor for the Crab deck set it out "For Generations the Crab have held back the horrors of the Shadowlands, but times have changed. Now they have embraced that which they have fought against for so long, turning their mastery of warfare against the Empire they swore to protect.

“You are always blind to your truest enemy, for he is behind your eyes.”

They were in a redemption arc from the start and as the war progressed they fell further and further from their intention until they hit a do or die point and had to turn back from the edge.

and I didn't like it then. It rang false for me and I know I'm not alone. There's gotta be a better way to pull that off if they want to revisit that story line. It's a weird bump at the beginning of the Crab's history in the old lore that needs smoothing. I'm honestly nervous about how that handle that going forward because if done incorrectly it would greatly diminish my enthusiasm for the Crab Clan and probably the whole new story continuity.

Its a more nuanced concern than not wanting the Crab to be portrayed as antagonists. I don't mind them being antagonists. I expect it. Kisada should be angry at the other clans to the point of military action and potentially regicide. Yori should be corrupted by the Shadowlands because that's what Yori does. It's a matter of how it was executed and what it means for the clan's identity.

6 hours ago, Mangod said:

I know it's a long shot, but I sort of want to see FFG go with my totally unfounded idea that the Thunders this time will be the characters on the covers of the Clan Packs, just to see how they'll manage it with turning Aramoro, Chagatai and Uji into the heroes of the story, and Aramoro into a semi-decent human being while they're at it.

More seriously, if the Mantis manage to become a Great Clan, I would really like to see the internal conflicts and strife be made more prominent; the Crane, Unicorn or Lion might seem monolithic, but that's because those families have been together for centuries, so cultural assimilation makes a bit of sense - if the Mantis became a Great Clan along with the Wasp, Sparrow and whoever else migt hypothetically join, I'd expect there to be a lot of cultural tensions. The Mantis absorbing the others I could somewhat understand, just not at the pace it happened.

Chags I can easily see being a Thunder this time around. Aramoro I really don't expect, but it's possible...they don't even have to make him a semi-decent person, he could be imprisoned or ronin'd following whatever happens with Toturi, or otherwise sidelined, only to be brought back to act as the Scorpion Thunder in some suicide mission...like Rokugan's own Suicide Squad, party of one.

I think there's decent odds the Wasp will join the Mantis if/when they gain Great Clan status, the RPG books already hint that they are or soon will be allies. I hope they don't absorb the Sparrow or Centipede because those don't really make sense to join with them...it's possible Yoritomo marries a courtier and they become the courtier family founder, maybe. At a stretch, he could marry into a minor clan to absorb them, but I have a feeling he's more interested in a Great Clan bride to bolster his status.

9 hours ago, Mangod said:

I know it's a long shot, but I sort of want to see FFG go with my totally unfounded idea that the Thunders this time will be the characters on the covers of the Clan Packs, just to see how they'll manage it with turning Aramoro, Chagatai and Uji into the heroes of the story, and Aramoro into a semi-decent human being while they're at it.

To be honest the only decent person among the First Thunders was Doji Konishiko and she was just a kind of "Half Thunder" because she had to jump in for her brother. Aramoro would fit just nicely with Matsu who was so insufferable her only true lover willingly turned to Fu Leng or Isawa who almost offed the entire world over a streak of hubris.

Yeah, Thunders have been heroes, but they haven't been nice.

The first batch:
Matsu- Violent aggressive lunatic
Isawa- Extremely hubristic paragon of arrogance.
Shosuro- Proto-ninja.
Doji Konishiko- The Replacement Thunder.
Hida Atarasi- Not really his fault how he ended up, but even before that he was just a rude crude Crab dude.
Mirumoto- Obsessed with killing.
Otaku- ... Well, famously silent. Didn;t really seem to be a whole person.

AEG's Second batch:
Hida Yakamo- Started as a villain, had a lengthy face turn arc.
Bayushi Kachiko- Really not that different from her current incarnation.
Otaku Kamoko- Aside from providing an excuse to retire the (hilarious) Otaku family name and replace it with Utaku, she was... mostly notable for saving a bunch of horses.
Mirumoto Hitomi- Not a very nice person. Ever.
Isawa Tadaka- Had an oni named after him! Voluntarily! Did a lot of good, ushered in a lot of personal ruin, misery, and heartache. What a guy!
Doji Hoturi- Well. Honestly. My meta-hatred for the Crane aside, he wasn't a bad sort. Bit of a lech, but hey.
Toturi- Likewise.

On 4/13/2019 at 11:28 PM, Shiba Gunichi said:

Otaku Kamoko- Aside from providing an excuse to retire the (hilarious) Otaku family name and replace it with Utaku, she was... mostly notable for saving a bunch of horses.

Her adventures with Kyoso no Oni were, in my opinion, one of the most original and enjoyable stories the AEG timeline produced.

My own take on a new set of Thunders if they happen go that way.

Crab: O-Ushi or even sickly Sukune.

Crane: They haven't rally produced a character I'm invested in, so Hotaru by default. I think the Crane are in need of some more development this time around.

Dragon: I actually want to see what they intend to do with Hitomi this time around, she was a passive cipher the first time around.

Lion: Matsu Tsuko.

Phoenix: Kaede, to shake things up a bit.

Scorpion: I've mentioned Dairu before, but, failing that, having Hametsu be the Scorpion Thunder instead of Kachiko would be hilarious.

Unicorn: Eh, much like Hitomo and Tsuko, Kamoko was too overshadowed by Kachiko the first time around, so I wouldn't mind see her more developed this time around.

On 4/5/2019 at 8:40 AM, Victarion13 said:

Just forgot to write what I want to change.

Akodo Totsuri to never be a ronin. A new emperor, maybe, it's not a big problem for me. But be a ronin and create an army of ronin... ehm, no thanks. I really didn't like too much that part.

Also with the new story and how much Akodo is honorable see him be a ronin would be a shame, and also something we saw so many times that I am so tired of it. Better see him die for my point of view.

I'm of the opposite persuasion. I don't really want to see Emperor Toturi again, but I'm fine with having Toturi the Black.

I actually want to see where they go with Daisetsu which is interesting considering how much I feel Daigotsu's continued presence in the old lore hurt the setting.

It would be cool if we got a completely different set of Thunders this time around. Tadaka feels like he's already on that trajectory. I'd kinda like if Kosori took his spot though. She'd be a cool pick for a Thunder. I guess I'm saying I like revisiting the old characters but seeing new people getting introduced and focused on like Kosori sort of gets me more jazzed. I'm also a big fan of Shosuro Miyako. I like Yojiro and his novella was fun to read, but I would have liked a whole novella about Miyako and Hiroue more I think. Maybe we'll get more about Kakita Kaezin considering that was the last Shogun's request at Worlds. I agree that it feels like the Crane story has mostly been centered on Hotaru and her family.