Behind The Empty Throne

By Manchu, in L5R LCG: Lore Discussion

Well spotted in the prophecy @Magnus Grendel

Otosan Uchi must be destroyed for the real threat to be revealed.

Some conspirators are all over Otosan Uchi. Would they be kolat, shadowlands or Maho Tsukai or whatever, Togashi is ready to let Otosan Uchi being laid bare to confront it.

I kinda wonder if Shoju will do a Ned Stark?

46 minutes ago, Nitenman said:

Well spotted in the prophecy @Magnus Grendel

Otosan Uchi must be destroyed for the real threat to be revealed.

Some conspirators are all over Otosan Uchi. Would they be kolat, shadowlands or Maho Tsukai or whatever, Togashi is ready to let Otosan Uchi being laid bare to confront it.

I kinda wonder if Shoju will do a Ned Stark?

What if the "Army of the Rising Wave" is the "great wave, rising" in Yokuni's prophecy, and he misinterpreted it?

2 minutes ago, Ishi Tonu said:

What if the "Army of the Rising Wave" is the "great wave, rising" in Yokuni's prophecy, and he misinterpreted it?

Look we already had one Scorpion Clan Coup that was predicated on Yokuni f-ed up by being mysterious and only giving people half the story, I want new screw ups by Yokuni.

In my dream scenario Yokuni as the kami Togashi is the vessel that Fu Leng will possess at the Second Day of Thunder as while the various black scrolls are opened the corrupting influence on the surviving scrolls begins to weaken them until the last scroll contained in Yokuni's body just bursts from the waves of corruption its trying to control and Fu Leng rises to be confronted by the new Thunders who have been prepared for him.

11 minutes ago, Schmoozies said:

Look we already had one Scorpion Clan Coup that was predicated on Yokuni f-ed up by being mysterious and only giving people half the story, I want new screw ups by Yokuni.

In my dream scenario Yokuni as the kami Togashi is the vessel that Fu Leng will possess at the Second Day of Thunder as while the various black scrolls are opened the corrupting influence on the surviving scrolls begins to weaken them until the last scroll contained in Yokuni's body just bursts from the waves of corruption its trying to control and Fu Leng rises to be confronted by the new Thunders who have been prepared for him.

What if Yokuni already is the vessel for Fu-Leng, or is the current vessel for both Fu-Leng and Togashi and has been fighting some sort of spiritual war inside himself for a long time, trying to save the Togashi Kami to pass on to someone else and eliminate the Fu-Leng Kami?

And on the list of **** to do for Shoju you add up taking a side as rejent in a Crane civil war. And am I the only one hearing some Pirate of the Caribbien soundtrack ? I feel like a clan war is kind of the best time to show the mainlanders that you should be a great clan. If you all see where I am going ?


Meanwhile at the wall, Crab : CAN YOU STOP FOOLING AROUND AND HELP US STOP THE APOCALYPSE ?!?!?!??

Edited by ChuiSaoul
Grammar
15 minutes ago, ChuiSaoul said:

And on the list of **** to do for Shoju you add up taking a side as rejent in a Crane civil war. And am I the only one hearing some Pirate of the Caribbien soundtrack ? I feel like a clan was is kind of the best time to show the mainlanders that you should be a great clan. If you all see where I am going ?


Meanwhile at the wall, Crab : CAN YOU STOP FOOLING AROUND AND HELP US STOP THE APOCALYPSE ?!?!?!??

To give even more credit to Shoju, his first act as Regent is to do just that - "Here have these jade mines in our territory."

1 minute ago, Tonbo Karasu said:

To give even more credit to Shoju, his first act as Regent is to do just that - "Here have these jade mines in our territory."

Yup, but my fear is that Kachiko is going to Toshi Rambo. So it's one thing to say you gonna help it's another thing having the scorpion clan doing what you want.

I can see a Scorpion Clan division between Shoju Regent in Otosan Uchi, and a Kachiko/Aramoro bloc in Toshi Ranbo. It's already a city where the castes rub thin, it can easily become a hotbed for ambitious Scorpions, especially if Miya Satoshi (totally wanted to write Sotorii there to invert my typo from earlier) thinks about trying to lure Kachiko to the Kolat.

I think Shoju is still underestimating Kachiko. I fully expect her to have him murdered or start a Scorpion civil war instead of just quietly accepting being banished from power.

Kachiko is prime kolat recruitment material.

26 minutes ago, Manchu said:

Kachiko is prime kolat recruitment material.

I don't know, she's proven to be a little too into her own interest and overly ambitious which may prove counter to the Kolat's secretive nature.

I'd kind of like to think that the Scorpion getting control of Toshi Ranbo was the best case scenario for the long term stability of the Empire.

Shoju can mostly rely upon the Scorpion and because he has jade to offer he can mostly rely upon the Crab. So that 2 out of 7 Clans backing him.

The Lion and Unicorn are mostly keeping each other busy. The Crane aren't really in a position to do anything. The Phoenix aren't really in a position to do anything even if they've hidden that better. And the Dragon are unlikely to do anything large scale and Shoju has a working relationship with them small scale.

Ideally that would lead to a bit of a stalemate long enough for a sense of political normalcy to set in and people could get back to business as usual.

9 hours ago, Tonbo Karasu said:

To give even more credit to Shoju, his first act as Regent is to do just that - "Here have these jade mines in our territory."

Technically they're imperial mines being governed on the emperor's behalf by the scorpion....but since he's currently speaking for both the Throne and the Scorpion Clan that's kind of a nit-pick.

9 hours ago, ChuiSaoul said:

Yup, but my fear is that Kachiko is going to Toshi Rambo.

True. Although the one person Shoju can probably trust there is Bayushi Yojiro.

8 hours ago, Manchu said:

Kachiko is prime kolat recruitment material.

Indeed. We know she's already had doubts about the whole celestial order - or at least the then emperor, which amounts to the same thing.

9 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

We know she's already had doubts about the whole celestial order - or at least the then emperor, which amounts to the same thing.

Exactly, she is indeed the only character who we directly KNOW has such abominable thoughts, as opposed to assuming a character has this opinion because they are already kolat.

Just to be clear, Kachiko hasn't ever expressed doubt about the Celestial Order. She wondered if the Heavens had withdrawn their favor from Hantei XXXVIII. That could still be considered blasphemous thinking, sure (and, as I recall, Shoju said that very thing to her). And I'm by no means saying she's not potentially open to the Kolat philosophy. But she hasn't really come out and said that the Heavens should not be in charge--just that they didn't seem too keen on the latest Emperor.

15 minutes ago, DGLaderoute said:

Just to be clear, Kachiko hasn't ever expressed doubt about the Celestial Order. She wondered if the Heavens had withdrawn their favor from Hantei XXXVIII. That could still be considered blasphemous thinking, sure (and, as I recall, Shoju said that very thing to her). And I'm by no means saying she's not potentially open to the Kolat philosophy. But she hasn't really come out and said that the Heavens should not be in charge--just that they didn't seem too keen on the latest Emperor.

We all know Yoshi, Satoshi, Ujiaki and Kachiko (or Hametsu) are Kolat. Do not try to fool us :D

Kage and Taka too!

4 minutes ago, Ishi Tonu said:

Kage and Taka too!

and Sumiko too!

but I do not think Taka is kolat in this new5r, because Yoshi is a Kolat (I think) and they did not agree in their meeting. (unless they both don't know that they both are kolat, which is possible but doubtful)

Edited by Avatar111
40 minutes ago, DGLaderoute said:

Just to be clear, Kachiko hasn't ever expressed doubt about the Celestial Order.

Unfortunately, I no longer have access to the story Blind Ambition.

>>> quick aside: can you PLEASE lobby your FFG contacts to post the dynasty pack fiction after a certain amount of time has passed since the product came out?

Anyhow, Kachiko has some pretty dire internal monologue in that story and then seems to imply heavily that Shoju could maybe, possibly be Emperor. Unless you are saying, Kachiko is just having doubts about Hantei supremacy ... ? (Although as a Lion, for me Hantei supremacy and Celestial Order must go together.)

24 minutes ago, Avatar111 said:

We all know Yoshi, Satoshi, Ujiaki and Kachiko (or Hametsu) are Kolat.

Yoshi: definitely not

Satoshi: definitely yes

Ujiaki: maybe

20 minutes ago, Ishi Tonu said:

Kage and Taka too!

Kage: maybe but that would be boring

Taka: almost certainly, or eventually will be

17 minutes ago, Avatar111 said:

and Sumiko too!

LOL might as well throw in Toturi if you suspect Sumiko.

Edited by Manchu
2 minutes ago, Manchu said:

Unfortunately, I no longer have access to the story Blind Ambition.

>>> quick aside: can you PLEASE lobby your FFG contacts to post the dynasty pack fiction after a certain amount of time has passed since the product came out?

Anyhow, Kachiko has some pretty dire internal monologue in that story and then seems to imply heavily that Shoju could maybe, possibly be Emperor. Unless you are saying, Kachiko is just having doubts about Hantei supremacy ... ? (Although as a Lion, for me Hantei supremacy and Celestial Order must go together.)

Yoshi: definitely not

Satoshi: definitely yes

Ujiaki: maybe

Kage: maybe but that would be boring

Taka: almost certainly, or eventually will be

LOL might as well throw in Toturi if you suspect Sumiko.

Yoshi is doing everything to destroy the empire. In each fictions he is in.

Satoshi: yes, we know he is. it was made official.

Ujiaki: also take very dishonorable decisions in the RPG. And in the living story, he doesn't sound as someone that wants a stable empire.

PLUS, all three are "weirdly" all at the end of the last story. doign all kinds of "ewwww" gestures.
That is where I base my info on.

Taka: I think Yoshi is more kolat than him. Taka didn't do anything very Kolat-like so far.

Kage: Could very well be, but again, not enough clues.

and Sumiko...

muhahaha... She "because of honor" sweep the discovery of Satsume's murder under the rug. Weirdly enough, the murderer of Satsume is a Kolat Dragon Clan in the capital... And the last story portrays her as someone doing her job, but that also wants the information and control (to a certain extent).

wild card: she is kolat.

but maybe not...

11 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

True. Although the one person Shoju can probably trust there is Bayushi Yojiro.

Can he though? My impression was that Yojiro is already heading toward Kachiko's plaything, and I imagine Aramoro has a way of convincing people who are reluctant in that role. I could see a world where Kachiko thinks it's in her best interest to keep her head down right now, but I could also see one where a Crab caravan shows up at the Toshi Ranbo mines and she's waiting for them to say "Is that what Shoju said? Are you sure? We'll have to send a messenger to confirm it - and it could take months to gain an audience with the Regent." The Crab take this as an outrageous duplicity, and thus another enters the Clan War. Maybe this is the impetus for Kisada to decide "They won't play ball with us, after all this? Then we'll take over."

Yoshi is heavily invested in the status quo. He and Ujiaki (and Eiji) react poorly to the announcement of Shoju’s regency because well why wouldn’t they? Ujiaki and Eiji also make no attempt to hide their displeasure; they are probably still mad about Toshi Ranbo.

I say Ujiaki could be because we don’t know enough to say otherwise.

Sumiko wisely covered up Satsume’s murder because she believes in the reigning order and is extremely invested in it.

Taka is pragmatic to the point of cynicism about the formalities and rituals of the Empire and also has the eccentricity of pretending to be a heimin. Neither is he shocked by Yoritomo’s ambitions.

Edited by Manchu
8 minutes ago, Manchu said:

Yoshi is heavily invested in the status quo.

Hmmm, since the Kuwanan fiction, and remembering the interaction with Taka, and now his presence at the end of this story. If he is not Kolat, he clearly is missing a few bolts!

11 minutes ago, Ishi Tonu said:

Kage and Taka too!

Satoshi already means we've replaced at least some of the Clan War era Kolat masters so I wouldn't necessarily put a whole lot of faith in the old Masters still being masters. Kage plan in the last Crane fiction was almost to overt for the Kolat, which makes me think he was working as a Lion agent only.

If I were to put money on named characters being masters alongside Satoshi my money would be on
Ikoma Ujiaki (because he is a little to hinky and to many of his plots seem to be geared more towards general destabilization and aren't truly helping the Lion)
Ide Tadaji (which explains how the Unicorn/Lion marriage was so messed up, also gives new meaning to the Shogi game he played with Satoshi in his first meeting as that would be a perfect way to pass messages without attracting prying eyes)
Yasuki Taka (but only because I love me some master coin)
Togashi Tadakatsu (put that Heretic keyword to work)
Kakita Toshimoko (nice flip on Kage from last time and still gives us our mentor working to convert a future clan champion to the cause)
Shiba Tetsu (would be a good reason why the Phoenix sword passed on him as next champion and settled on Tsukune instead)
Yogo Hirouru (although that's just as much because no other scorpion really strikes me as a likely culprit since they are all for the most point shady as f)