Hi everyone,

I need some advice. We started a L5R campaign and my 3 buddies are playing 3 of the starterset characters.

Lots of fun so far, but the Doji Ren (Crane courtier) player is getting a bit bored in combat. I awarded all in all 10 XP, and she invested in more social skills but not in combat related skills.

I searched the rulebook for katas or shujis to enhance Doji Ren, I searched the book for any advice but so far I came up blank.

Any ideas, all ideas are welcome!

I mean, to a degree, a Courtier shouldn't have as much to do in combat as a Bushi, and the Doji Courtiers are the Courtierest Courtiers.

Towards that end, I would recommend she focus on Opportunities (p 328); in particular, Fire (Opp): Target receives two strife, Air (Opp): Learn a Disadvantage of one of the targets.

Also, while there are Shuji that can assist in combat, they are mostly support-assistance rather than murder-assistance. They help either buff your allies, debuff your enemies, or force your enemies into disadvantageous decisions.

But yeah, by and large, a Doji Courtier that gets into a fight should be fighting-via-Daidoji yojimbo.

(Actually, that's another thought; maybe let them have an NPC yojimbo whom they control in the fight that is the *actual* fighter?)

There are shuji that are ok for combat. Fanning the Flame, Stonewall tactic, Feigned Opening, Prey on the Weak, Civility Foremost, Pillar of Calm, Lightning Raid, Rallying Cry etc etc... There are a lot!!!

But you could always take a Bow and increase martial arts ranged a bit and that is fine too if you want to "attack".

There is actually no big difference between a Bushi and a Courtier in combat provided that the latter spared some XP on Martial Skills. The only thing a Bushi has over a Courtier is a - often quite meager - School Ability, but a creative Courtier can use their School Ability in a skirmish too, so there is that.

The Doji Courtier can be a pretty darn terrifying fighter because they can gain +1k1 to their attack checks in Water Stance via their Attendant (they order their Attendant to Assist them as the bonus action then strike with Assistance as their normal action) and their School Ability does not specify check type so they might use it for physical attacks too (I mean, striking another with a sword is a kind of influencing/persuasion if you think about it). But they absolutely need Martial Skills for it.

Thanks folks, helps already.

Primary difference between a Courtier and Bushi is mostly starting spread and school focus. Unlike some other roles, both generally get full shuji and kata access.

Luckily, skills and tech are pretty cheap. I don't know much about the presets, but the Doji school should come with a bow so working as a ranged combatant can work, with a couple of of basic kata options. Avatar has listed a lot of shuji which work in combat scenes for various support, and at a higher school rank I'd recommend some of the ones that work well with Unarmed, like Open Hand or Coiling Serpent Styles. In the old lore I believe the Crane has a very graceful martial art which was all about grapples and throws.

Alternatively, you may just be doing too much martial combat.
Courtiers aren't bushi. They don't carry their katana for a reason. Their role in society is not to know how to kill, but to know how to politic. It's absolutely great that there are quite a few Shuji that contribute to physical confrontations, but a courtier that gets into the fray, or picks up a bow, is bucking trends pretty hard by doing so.

On 6/30/2019 at 7:56 AM, wastevens said:

But yeah, by and large, a Doji Courtier that gets into a fight should be fighting-via-Daidoji yojimbo.

(Actually, that's another thought; maybe let them have an NPC yojimbo whom they control in the fight that is the *actual* fighter?)

Considering you can give an Attendant a profile and make them a yojimbo, that makes perfect sense.

On 6/30/2019 at 12:51 PM, UnitOmega said:

Primary difference between a Courtier and Bushi is mostly starting spread and school focus. Unlike some other roles, both generally get full shuji and kata access.

Luckily, skills and tech are pretty cheap. I don't know much about the presets, but the Doji school should come with a bow so working as a ranged combatant can work, with a couple of of basic kata options. Avatar has listed a lot of shuji which work in combat scenes for various support, and at a higher school rank I'd recommend some of the ones that work well with Unarmed, like Open Hand or Coiling Serpent Styles. In the old lore I believe the Crane has a very graceful martial art which was all about grapples and throws.

Good old Mizu-Do! Where you can hit your enemy with the largest weapon there is: The ground itself.

While you won't see a lot of courtiers getting into old-style chopsockies in court, where even the mention of violence is controlled by much ritual and the ever-important matter of face, it can happen. When it does, it never hurts to remember that there are many ways to deal with overt violence and weapons, sometimes without ever drawing a weapon yourself. A respected courtier might get somebody else's sword back into its sheath with a mere disapproving look (and appropriate underlying use of skills and techniques). If tempers have gotten too hot for looks or words to stop the troublemaker, get creative. A jug of hot, spiced sake can ruin a bushi's martial prowess for some time to come if it's dashed onto his sword hand. Ink thrown into someone's eyes can have a similar effect. Dishonorable tactics, sure, but drawing an aiguchi or a katana in court is even more so, especially if the would-be warrior did it first. And if things get completely crazy, remember that many courts also have armed and armored bushi within easy shouting distance...

First, it might be worth it to remind the players that this is a game of heroes. You are playing characters who are big dang heroes who pro-actively do heroic things like argue a lost cause at court, get their hands dirty in a murder investigation, and yes, fight some baddies. I think it was Matthew Coleville ( https://www.youtube.com/user/mcolville/videos ) who said that RPG player characters should not be like Harry Potter, waiting under the stairs for an invitation to adventure. They should be Conan the Barbarian who sees what needs to be done and tries to do it. There is only so much you can do as a GM to provide story hooks, set the scene, and instigate conflict. If a player is still unwilling to engage, whether it's with a courtier in a battle or a bushi in an intrigue scene, that might just be on them.

Second, starting characters aren't that different or specialized yet. Doji Ren, while a courtier, is well rounded enough. He starts with an Air Ring score of 3 and Martial Arts [Ranged] score of 1. Akodo Masako, the supposed bushi of the group, has 3s in Earth and Water and a Martial Arts [Melee] score of 2. So Ren could roll four dice in combat while Masako rolls five, which is close. Doji Ren would be fine as an archer in Air Stance firing off sniper accurate arrows while the more rough-and-ready characters fight with sticks and swords.

There is room for the player to be creative with opportunities too and rolling four dice per shot should give Doji Ren some to use. Perhaps encourage the player to add some elements to the scene like a rope to swing on, a table to get behind, or a row of easily thrown lit paper lanterns. Or, use the opportunities to have the character do something really cool other than just "I fire off another arrow". Some of the suggested uses of Air opportunities are:

• *+: During a Movement action check, 1 range band of any distance you move per * spent may be vertical . (How cool is that?)
• *+: You are very subtle. Additional * spent this way increases the subtlety of your method.
• *: Add a kept Ring Die set to a * result to your next Martial check.

Social skills can also be useful in combat. A good Performance roll could scare off or at least intimidate the adversary. Command could be used to get others involved. Sentiment might tell you whether the baddies are angry, frightened, nervous, protective, etc.

Low rank Kata that would help an archer character include:

• Hawk's Precision (rank 1). Spend opportunities to increase the range of a ranged weapon.
• Pelting Hail Style (rank 2). Spend opportunities to inflict strife on targets equal to the base damage of the player character's weapon.
• Striking as Air (rank 1). Reserve unused dice and use them on the next roll.
• Striking as Water (rank 1). Spend opportunities to reduce a target's physical resistance until the end of the character's next turn.

Low rank Shuji that would help in combat include:

• Feigned Opening (rank 2). Make it easier for everyone in the party to hit some target character(s) for a turn.
• Honest Assessment (rank 1). Let one of your allies ignore one of their disadvantages for the rest of the scene.
• Sensational Distraction (rank 1). Get the target(s) attention on you so your allies can sneak around.
• Stirring the Embers (rank 1). Make an allies' advantage even more advantageous.
• Courtier's Resolve (rank 1). Spend a Void Point to remove some of your strife.
• Lady Doji's Decree (rank 2). Target's can't attack you.

Just remember that if you use Lady Doji's Decree, the targets can't attack you, but you can't attack them either.