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Yoshi is just so smooth scanning documents as he talks a little about appreciating noodles!

Most hungry ronin can be distracted by the promise of noodles, I suspect.

I've never seen 'nikutai' get used as an honorific like - sama or - dono , but there's no reason in theory it couldn't; - sensei certainly does. I'd probably expect to see it used instead of a name; the whole 'respect to position, not the person' means that using 'Nikutai-san/-sama' would be an appropriate alternative to needing to know someone's name.

It's not an especially earth-shaking rank, anyway. Anyone with a rank of tactics would consider the table of ranks pretty much TN0:

• Hohei - "line infantryman"
• Nikutai - "Corporal" - commanding a squad of up to a dozen samurai or a larger force of ashigaru, and might be samurai or ashigaru themselves. Militarily, if not socially, Doji Shingen and Fei are technically the same rank. It's highly unlikely in the socially-stratified Crane that one of Shingen's Iron Crane Samurai would ever be put in a situation where Fei was giving them orders, but it could theoretically happen, and in clans who maintain permanent, professional ashigaru formations like the Lion or Crab, it does occur.
• Gunso - "Sergeant" - commanding a platoon-sized force, called a Guntai, of either 20-40 samurai or up to 200-odd ashigaru. The highest rank an ashigaru is ever likely to reach, and if they do it's usually because they are seriously grizzled veterans. It's not uncommon for a Ronin to be hired by a clan to act as gunso in ashigaru battalions to do "dull, dirty and dangerous" whilst formations of clan samurai get the glory.
• Chui - "Captain" - commanding about 5,000 soldiers. A rank which only really exists within the Great Clans and Imperial Legions, as any minor clan which managed to field 5,000 soldiers would almost certainly have the clan champion or a direct representative in command and wouldn't need an intermediate rank for it.
• Taisa - "Colonel" - commands a 'legion' - usually a noble-born (as in relative-of-Daimyo) samurai, of 5 Chui or 25,000 soldiers. The largest permenant, formally organised formation.
• Shireikan - "General" - commands an army or military district. Size varies by the size of clan forces but generally in the order of 125,000 soldiers to justify the title. Command is often regional or political, such as "the northern border".
• Rikugunshokan - "Marshal" - essentially the Daimyo's military proxy if not commanding forces themselves, so not every clan has one and not at all times. Commands the clan's entire military.

Kenshin - You don't need to write the full letter - unless you want to, obviously - but just let me know any key bits of information or requests you want to include. You can assume Iwata will convey it pretty much directly back, but it'll still take some time for the courier to arrive.

Aruzhan - Whilst a courtesy check may be involved in the resolution, I'm afraid " wind your neck in ", however politely phrased, isn't going to make this go away....

Everyone - Kenshin included - but Aruzhan primarily since you're the one speaking - Scrutinize (Air)/Sentiment at TN2 to try to get a sense of what Shingen's angle is. Hekasu can use Subtle Observer if needed.

Sentiment 0, Air 3:

Page 298 suggests that when a player fails a check, one opp can be used to provide assistance to the next character to attempt the check. Will that work? I'm untrained, so it'd be a ring die, and I'm willing to accept 1 strife from the roll.

rolled a success, success+strife and blank. Rerolled the blank to get another success and strife.

I have air 3, 0 in sentiment

7 hours ago, Hida Jitenno said:

Page 298 suggests that when a player fails a check, one opp can be used to provide assistance to the next character to attempt the check. Will that work? I'm untrained, so it'd be a ring die, and I'm willing to accept 1 strife from the roll. 

That was an option in the generic uses in the beta which seems to have been removed in the core rulebook (spending to assist is still there) - cross-ring opportunities have been moved to an optional use, and the mass battle specific are just gone.

I'd probably allow it given that it's still called out in the 'using in play' chapter, though. From now on, assume that's an option. I'm not sure narratively how it would work in this case, though. See suggestion above.

More importantly, it turned out not to be needed in this particular case; the next character is Kenshin, who passed - just - with his initial roll.

I'm not sure why Kenshin is rerolling dice since he doesn't have any applicable advantage I can see so the blank should stand.

Hekasu's assistance via would allow him to roll and keep an extra ring die, though, thanks to him the net result would be the same - passing with one bonus , at a cost of gaining , one of which can be passed to Hekasu as noted above. You don't get to use Hekasu's subtle observer advantage because it doesn't really narratively 'transfer' and he's already used it in the scene immediately before.

So...

Yeah. What you're picking up on is that this is basically a (very courteous) shakedown. You can't see the edges of it clearly, but you are certain that the subtext behind Shingen's somewhat schitzophrenic mix of open helpfulness - almost "rushing everyone through" - and obscure criticism is some sort of trap for Aruzhan, Hekasu and Yoshi (and you, now you're travelling together) and that saying or doing the wrong thing could cause a real headache.

It's clear Shingen knows bloody well that they were kazama's horses and knows that the trio know, and that they know he knows too. He's not pushing the matter - yet - but essentially pointing out that he could do.

He's almost certainly - ultimately - angling for a bribe ...sorry, 'gift'. What's not clear is how .

With shingen going inside you can - discretely - warn the others.

@Black_Rabbit_Inle and @Void Crane still might want to make the sentiment check as an air might let you pick up on useful details (like advantages or disadvantages).

The follow-on checks are for Aruzhan, Yoshi and Hekasu only, since Kenshin hasn't really heard the details of what happened and hasn't met Ito Sora.

TN1 Government/Recall (earth) or TN2 Government/Theorize (fire) to determine the likely status of the people involved

TN2 Government/Analyze (Air) to determine exactly what shingen's threatening you with.

Results from the Recall check:

Okay....there are four people involved (aside from the four of you):

• Ito Sora (or his predecessor in the post), administrator of Flint Quay Village
• the Chui Daidoji Reiha, their overall captain, who sent Sora soldiers to help.
• the Nikutai Daidoji Shingen, who was part of the Iron Crane Guntai that drove off Kazama's ronin and is now in charge of the border post.
• his as-yet-unnamed Gunso, who commanded the Daidoji detachment sent to Flint Quay Village

• Sora is a vassal family samurai, who normally have a status in the high 20s. He's hardly an 'average' vassal family samurai, though, as administrator of Flint Quay Village and the surrounding lands. That's probably on a par with a low-ranking clan magistrate, making his status somewhere in the low 40s.
• Daidoji Reiha is a captain commanding several thousand Iron Crane soldiers. That puts her close to the level of a local city governor or Sora's vassal family daimyo, Ito Hashimata, probably in the low 50s. There's no question she's the highest ranking person involved.
• Daidoji Shingen is essentially an average great clan family samurai, with a status somewhere in the 30s. He's outranked by everyone else in this situation, but he does definitely socially outrank you and they're not here.
• Shingen's Gunso, depending on the size and prestige of the Guntai, could be seen as anywhere from essentially another average great clan family samurai up to one of Reiha's senior lieutenants and a 'revered sensei' to the soldiers in the Guntai , meaning anywhere between high 30s and high 40s in status and hence could be of higher, lower, or equal status to Sora. Given your impression of Korishu and the other soldiers as hardened veterans and the fact that Shingen's gunso was trusted to command an independent detachment suggests the higher end of possible status.

Some thoughts.

1. Ito Sora is not an idiot, and wouldn't have sent you out with stuff to sell in Crab lands that he expected to see seized at the border.
   • He is also probably not going to be happy with official scrutiny from higher-ranking samurai being drawn to anything to do with "border crossings" in conjunction with "Flint Quay Village", for reasons that are pretty obvious.
2. He might have guessed if asked that the Daidoji guards at the border were from the Guntai of Iron Crane Daidoji Reiha sent, but there's no reason for him to have known that for definite, and he certainly didn't know it was Shingen specifically or someone as polite as he seems to be would certainly have referred to them in person in his letter.
3. If Reiha had demanded the loot from the battle, which wouldn't have been totally unfair given that her troops won it, that would have been that; she's the highest status person involved and frankly, she has an army and Sora has a dozen armed peasants you beat the crud out of with sticks.
   • There's no indication she was ever at Flint Quay Village or specifically consulted, though, so any agreement would be between Shingen's Gunso and Sora, who are probably of equal status. If anything Sora probably has a slight social advantage based on the fact that he's a village administrator ruling on matters on his own lands, but the order of precedence is fuzzy at best.
4. If there had been an official ruling either way; that the loot was Ito Sora's or that it was Daidoji Reiha's, Shingen probably wouldn't be pressing the matter. He would know what the ruling was - because he was there - and either would have been involved in seizing it then or know not to press the matter now .
5. There may, however, not have been a formal decision made.
   • The village was a mess, half the ashigaru and the former administrator were dead, and Ito Sora had been severely wounded by Kazama, so it may well never have been 'officially' discussed before the Guntai was redeployed elsewhere
   • Even if it was, it may have been a personal agreement between Shingen's Gunso and Sora (or maybe even just Koharu if Sora was still incapacitated), that was never formally written down somewhere.
6. If the matter hasn't been made 'official' before, then obviously the threat boils down to making the decision on what to do with the horses a matter of official record.
   • At absolute best this would mean going to Ito Sora for confirmation that there had been an agreement that just hadn't been written down.
   • If Daidoji Iwata were to ride for Flint Quay Village, though, that's still - based on your journey here - something like a day there and a day back.
   • Two days will probably not make you miss the festival markets in their entirety, but it probably would make you miss first couple of days - meaning the tournaments, Yasuki Onodera's wedding celebrations, and the period attended by the higher-ranking samurai - most importantly Ide Arban, potentially making the journey pointless.

The Air check (I might allow Skulduggery instead of government at a slightly higher TN of 3 if people prefer) might help people figure out exactly what his game is right now, and why he's otherwise being very helpful.

I'm not trained in Gov't, so I'll just not roll. It's practically impossible for me to hit that TN.

3 hours ago, Hida Jitenno said:

I'm not trained in Gov't, so I'll just not roll. It's practically impossible for me to hit that TN. 

results could be used to assist someone else, and/or you could try the skulduggery check if you have that. Hoping for then isn't great odds on an untrained check, but it does exist.

2 hours ago, Black_Rabbit_Inle said:

On the sentiment air roll I Would have gotten one opportunity and would have tried to find Shingen’s advantages.

"Notice an interesting detail about a character in the scene, such as an advantage or disadvantage" is a option, I'm afraid. Doing it for is when you're finding out about other party members during a long downtime scene or as an initiative check in a conflict.

Since you failed, you could spend to assist someone; adding your observations on Shingen's character to assist someone's air government/skulduggery check to determine his 'plan', which Yoshi hasn't attempted yet.

2 hours ago, Black_Rabbit_Inle said:

 On a government / earth roll I got two successes and one opportunity. Can I activate the ancestry unearthed opportunity on Shingen, or is he not considered a target? If not I guess i’d Use the opp to minimize the dangers of the action.. or something.

He's included within the group of targets, so I guess so. I can make something up if you want, but I can tell you for free Shingen's family history won't be anything relevant to the current situation; he is a full samurai but not one of dramatically impressive lineage (which is why he's a squad leader and not an officer).

You could use it on Daidoji Reiha instead, since you (currently) don't know much about her, but to be fair, ancestry unearthed still doesn't tell you anything about her, just an ancestor of hers.

One possible alternate use for the is removing some of Hekasu's strife before he loses his temper.

Alternatively (which I might recommend), you could try and think of a source of help; " Remember a place where you can research or study the topic you were attempting to recall ."

2 hours ago, Black_Rabbit_Inle said:

Finally a air/ skullduggery roll provides 1 opportunity and 1 success, but I only keep the opportunity, which i think I can use to learn shingen’s Demeanor and current strife

Shingen currently has no strife, and has the demeanour Jobsworth (Increased TN for Earth, Reduced TN for Air).

can i make a check to discern something from what is being talked about? Or should i just sit here and wait XD i can use... maybe water survey approach? I think something like that is under water or void. [\spoiler]

You could alway just ask . Shingen's gone inside.

Kenshin doesn’t feel as if he should ask directly, as he feels like he is intruding. He respects the group having their own secrets i guess. Plus he is worried hekasu will lash put if he does ask too [\spoiler]

Maybe? You're not going to know any more of the history than's been said, but there's no reason you couldn't try an educated guess at Shingen's con. A Fire/Skulduggery check at TN3 - I know it's not easy but you're kind of looking at this problem from the outside.

It would qualify for your passion for Secrets , so you can recover 3 strife after the check

Edited to add: I know OOC that Kenshin is not eavesdropping. Don't take it as I think you're doing something wrong. That is fully IC how Hekasu is his present state-of-mind is taking it.

Okay, I'll give it a go on Skulduggery. You had said it was a higher than TN3, so I'm hoping that just means 4.

*rolls dice, grimmaces*

Skulduggery 2/Air 3: , , , (black), . Well, I have to keep minimum 1, so I'll compromise regardless. I need more successes than I can keep with a 3 ring, so I have to keep the explosion and two successes.

Resolve explosion: . In for a penny, in for pound, I guess. .

Resolve strife: 12/8.

Resolve success: 5 against TN4+.

dang. Rolled bbb2w, got 1 opportunity, rest r blanks[\spoiler]

Since you were compromised in the act of succeeding in a very hard check, it's probably your own anger which gave you the clue.

Some inner monologue about " that officious, rules-lawyering, self-righteous little....hang on... "

Your thoughts probably follow something of the following sequence.

1. Shingen is trying to pressure the three of you (and/or Kenshin - 'real' crane or not if he's getting letters from the Trading Council there's a chance he's better off financially) for money.
2. He's probably not bothered who actually gets the horses.
   • If he was going to seize them he'd have done it
   • the three of you are outnumbered 2-1 and half your potential opponents have full armour and polearms, and that's ignoring Shingen himself - and Kenshin and Iwata, who for all you know would join in on the other side too if it came to a fight - so it's not like you could have stopped him.
3. As per Aruzhan's deductions - and his little monologue earlier - he's fixated on 'the rules'.
   • He wants to put you in a situation where both your giri (get the horses and swords to Uimi Mura in time to turn them over to Ide Arban, who has the skills, contacts and status to do a good job selling them for Sora) and ninjo (get to Uimi Mura in time for the public celebrations and/or tournaments) are both pushing you to pay him off to make him go away.
   • Critically, he wants to do so in a way that doesn't involve him breaking the rules, so he's 'covered' in case there's any trouble later.
4. If he's trying to set you up, then presumably everything he's doing is a step to that end.
   • Stamping your papers is therefore a step towards boxing you in that corner.
   • Currently, you've arrived in the area, prayed at the shrine, and eaten with him.
   • You haven't yet tried to cross the border post.
   • You suddenly realise you're not yet within his 'area of authority'. That's why he wants to stamp your papers - even if you would have to go wandering the Crab side of the border looking for his Yasuki counterpart - because until he does so, you've not officially started 'crossing the border' and he doesn't have the authority - yet - to impound the horses and start 'deliberating' with one hand pointedly holding an open coin purse...
5. It sounds like he's found his chop and is on his way back, so if you can figure out a loophole - or talk to someone else and try and find one - you'd best do it fast.
6. Either way, you'd best explain it to your allies before one of them does something you'll all regret.
7. Figuring out exactly what Daidoji Shingen's exact orders and delegated authority is probably going to be important. Ideally without him personally finding out you're doing it.

One good bit of news;

On 7/7/2019 at 4:45 PM, Magnus Grendel said:

It would qualify for your passion for Secrets , so you can recover 3 strife after the check

I believe you have a passion for Secrets too? If so, realising what the Daidoji is up to is probably acting like a cold shower and letting you stop - for now - fixating on Kenshin; you can recover 3 strife, which would bring you - just - back to your composure and leave you no longer compromised.

Also, have a void point.

@Void Crane - that's an interesting chain of thought to have in your head

Remember, the deviation off the road is....what....three to four metres? With wagons, it's not like you can do that without the border guards noticing....

...Koharu said something about the border. What was it, though?

TN1, Scrutinise (air)/Sentiment - to try to picture how a rules-obsessed jobsworth like Shingen would likely react to someone 'shortcutting' the rules of crossing the border post.

Even recovering 3 from

If you have a different read on how this should go down and want me to do something else, let me know. But I was at 12/8 strife before figuring out the secret.

If you're both okay with the idea, that's fine by me.

It's a valid way to unmask. And, to be fair, " there was a squabble, the ronin have gone round back to settle it " is an explanation a Clan Samurai would probably accept for why you've disappeared without a by-your-leave, and more importantly means Shingen and the Daidoji guards aren't going to intervene or go looking for you without being invited to.

Theoretically, it also means, if you wanted to talk to Iwata or Korishu without alerting Shingen, you could ask them to 'second' Kenshin - Yoshi and Aruzhan arrived with Hekasu, so are not exactly neutral parties (or could at least be argued to not be if it's convenient for the four of you).

At the very least, the four of you should take the opportunity to compare notes (probably not directly between Kenshin and Hekasu, though....)

Hekasu; this counts as unmasking, 'Honour's Challenge'. you may reset your strife to zero.

Kenshin; you can gain 1 honour. " Accepting a challenge from an enemy of unknown skill." counts as a trifling sacrifice for Honour , which still rounds up to an increase of 1 Honour even though you nominally halve it for Clan background.

When we were first discussing this, I had suggested - for the sake of simplicity - using one-roll duels:

On ‎4‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 8:19 AM, Magnus Grendel said:

Part of me is tempted to recommend the slightly simpler mechanics of the beginner game - although to be fair, the main element of that is one-roll-duels, which I do find resolves things much faster (with appropriate bonuses to TN for narrative clever plans) but which is also in the 'proper' core book.

Play by post is slower, and a Duel is the one bit where the game tends to 'zoom in' on one player for an extended period of time, which is more of a problem for a slow-moving group. 

Plus, one-roll duels means a challenge action in an intrigue or skirmish is actually going to produce a result.

If you've not read the one-roll duel box-out:

• Essentially this makes a duel a single Martial Arts (Melee) check using a ring of your choice.
• It's not a 'scene' per se so not using stances, techniques etc.
• By default it's TN1, though any particularly clever ideas or techniques may skew the difficulty (by increasing your opponent's TN), and I'd be pretty open-minded about applying advantages or disadvantages.
• It does make duels to first blood very dangerous; the winner of a one-roll duel to first blood essentially lands a finishing blow:

  • "In a duel using live weapons, such as a duel to the first blood or to the death, the victor inflicts a critical strike with severity equal to twice their weapon’s deadliness, plus their bonus successes upon their foe. The enemy can resist as usual"

• For a katana or wakizashi, even one-handed, that means severity 10+; assuming you don't reduce the severity with your fitness check (admittedly you should hopefully get at least one success on that; you both have at least one rank 3 ring, and the option of parrying), you're looking at a Maiming Blow critical. That's.....probably rather worse than you two were planning, though.
• On the other hand, Aruzhan does have the invocation Jurojin's Balm , which can remove Dying with - I'd potentially let her make a check to channel that invocation whilst you make the check for a one-roll duel and then perform it targeting the loser.

If you want to play the duel out 'long-hand', I've no objection. I wasn't expecting the first duel to be between two PCs! I'm assuming you'd rather aim for a Flesh Wound or Debilitating Gash level injury....which is more likely with a one-handed sword blow that's not a finishing blow.

If the two of you let me know which way you'd prefer to resolve it?

Also, the exact terms of the duel are still to be sorted; an iaijutsu duel is probably assumed, which would mean travelling clothes or ceremonial clothes (you're not going to be expected to change, but basically "not armour"), katana only, and sheathed weapons, but hasn't been specified.

It would nominally be Kenshin's choice as the challenged party, and it might be odd for the nominal 'crane', on crane lands, to be advocating anything else, though.