Porting Pathfinder's Jade Regent materials into FFG's L5R RPG games

By neilcell, in Your Stories

A while back I started putting together stats for Jade Regent characters using the examples in the products released up to Shadowlands. Not wanting to piddle around anymore, I have decided to share my unfinished attempt. Hopefully some of you can pick up some of what I have done and incorporate it into your adventures. Note that as of now there is NO balancing of the character stats so the difficulty may fluctuate wildly. One of the difficulties of converting game formats.

First and foremost, Ameiko Kaijitsu and Amaya Kaijistu should be Otomo Ameiko and Otomo Amaya as the children of the emperor who do not ascend to the throne join that family (think Otomo Jama aka Iuchiban). In this regard, she would be both the Seppun and Otomo's "insurance policy". Namely, they whisked away the unnamed daughter of Hantei Genji or the son of Genji's brother Otomo Yamato to a safe location away from the courts to ensure that there was a legitimate heir to the throne. Genealogical records of this hidden lineage would be scrupulously kept and well hidden in the Miya family archives. To ensure that this line maintains its legitamacy, the Otomo and Seppun would ensure that another child of the emperor would periodically marry into the hidden royal family. In the aftermath of the Battle of White Stag, a branch of the hidden royal family was surreptitiously moved across the Sea of Amaterasu. There, the Tortoise clan took primary responsibility for their safety in conjunction with the Seppuns. The Kolat would love nothing more than to extinguish this family by killing the last heirs.

Now, the two easiest adventure paths to convert were Forrest of Spirits and Tide of Honor. Below is the major characters.


Forest of Spirits/House of Withered Blossoms

The House of Wither Blossoms can easily be place in either the Shinomen Forest or in the Shadowlands. Prince Batsaikhar and his five feasts and their associated challenges can occur at almost any Unicorn holding. For those that do not have the maps, House of Withered Blossoms is a 9 level pagoda. Under it is effectively a 4 level dungeon crawl.

Toritaka Munasukaru was a talented Shugenja with a particular skill at making Shikigami. Supurned by a potential spouse due to being infertal, Munasukaru turned to Maho eventually summoning an Oni in a misguided attempt to reproduce. Her story mirrors Agasha Kyoso.

Getting the players involved: It is easy for the Asako Inquisitors, Kuni Witch Hunters, Seppun Astrologers, Kitsuki Investigators, or Yogo Wardens to direct the players to the House of Withered Blossoms to put down the threat posed by Munasukaru no Oni. Otherwise The Unicorn Prince could invite the players to his shiro for the five feasts then send them south into the Shinomen Forest. In either case, the impetus is that concern that an Oni indistinguishable from an untainted human is cause for alarm leading to this particularly fecund Oni could be the source(hinting at Daigotsu's existace, but being something of a red herring).

NPCs:
Prince Batsaikhar- Provencial Daimyo with Unicorn allegiance (Core, p315)
Chua, Royal advisor- Seasoned Courtier (Core, p313)
Miyaro, Kitsune Guide-Ha Iwa, Kitsune Spirit (EE, p211)
Shunkichi, Waymaker Kami-Earth Shikigami (Shadowlands, p115)
Yu, Ye, and Feng, Stone Giant brothers- Forest Troll (Core p321, or EE p221)
Tiequng, Albino Tiger- Hunting Cat (Core, p327)
Noburo, Torii Kami- Manifest Earth Kami(Core, p323)
Akumi, Bonsai Tree Kami-Shikigami(Shadowlan, p115)
Mohrgs- Bushi Skeleton (Core, p318)
Araneas- Scholarly Shugenja but with Otherworldly silhouette of 2 (Core, p314)
Sapphire Spiders- Use Boar (Core, p325)
Akinosa, Aranea Lord- Deadly Bloodspeaker stats but is not tainted And does not have the hidden heart ability (Core, p317)
Withered Blossom Warrior (hobgoblin)- Loyal Bushi with a taint value and Bakemono subtype(Core, p312)
Generic Hobgoblin- Trained Ashigaru with a taint value and Bakemono subtype (Core, p314)
Hill Giant- Shadowlands Ogre (Shadowlands, p17)
Snow Leopards- Hunting Cat (Core, p327)
Buto Futotsu, Swine Shogun- Crab Gaki (Shadowlands p32)
Tonkatsu- Boar (Core, p325)
Greater Water Elementals- Manifest Water Kami (Core, p324)
Sisters of the Broken Path- Warrior Monk with a taint value and Bakemono subtype(Starter Rulebook p42)
Ichirou, Jirou and Saburo, Spawn of Munasukaru- Skillful Ronin with a taint vaule and Bakemono subtype (COre, p316)
Fujai, Chosen of Munasukaru- Savage Brute Oni (Shadowlands, p 135)
Ryosanjin, Munasukaru's Chosen- Savage Brute Oni (SHadowlands, p135)
Mei and Yasu, Daughters of Munasukaru- Hellish Socerer (Shadowlands, p135)
Munasukaru no Oni- Monsterous Warrior (Shadowlands, p136)


Tide of Honor

The Ronin camp of Hirabash Jiro and Habesuta Hatsue can be anywhere in Rokugan though it should be a reasonable distance from Seinaru Heikiko. Seinaru Heikiko can be on the edge of any mountainous area such as either side of the Spine of the World or the Great Wall of the North. The only place it would not fit would be the Twilight Moutains as it would be either regularly manned by the Crab or overrun by the Shadowlands. Kiniro Kyomai Teahouse can be located at any trade city large enough to have a geisha house. Shuryo Onsen can be places almost anywhere. Seinaru Heikio can use just about any castle or fortress map. Castle of the Bright Dawn(Emerald Empire), Shiro Hiruma or Daylight Castle (Oni's Mask), or Closed Shell Castle (Sins of Regret) can easily be used to represent it. Shinju-no-le is a single level dungeon underneath a small estate. Seppun Tatako's Estate, Lost Monk Road Station, Mountain Stream Shrine, or Earth's Breath Monastery can be used to represent the above ground portions. Shuryo Onsen is also a private estate and so Seppun Tatako's Estate can be used to represent it.

Sikutsu Sennaka is a loyal vassal of Miya Satoshi. The Sennakas have been loyal servants of the Miya for generations. Sikutsu enjoys the privileges of his position and wields his power like a cudgel. Only Satoshi's word stays his hand. Hirabashi Jiro is the last member of a now defunct Seppun vassal family. His Daikyu was given to his ancestor by the Emperor personally. Hatsue is a child of either the Dragon or Phoenix Clan monks but was orphaned as a child and does not know that she is a heir to high ranking members of that clan. Yuguredas Shosaito is a pearl merchant that operates in both Crab and Crane ports. He plays a dangerous game operating with the Daidoji and Yasuki while hiding his dealings with the other clan as well as his maho practices.

Getting the PCs involved: Hirabash's Ronin band can be recruited to join a side in an inter-clan war if the characters can convince him and Hatsue that civilians will be kept out of the fighting and impact on the people is minimal. The player's lord can send them to Seianaru Heikiko to clear it out and possibly staff and manage the outpost, especially if it is located near a front between clans in conflict. The players could be sent to Shuryo Onsen to challenge Sikutsu Sennaka to honorable combat for either a wrong he did to the character's clan or as part of a military offensive.

Habesuta Hatsue- Warrior Monk (Starter Rulebook, p42)
Hirabashi Jiro- Skillful Ronin (Core, p316)
Kamuy Paro-Wicked Maho-Tsukai (Core, p318)
Tos Katun- Experienced Bandit (Core, p316)
Ilgamal and Gangasum- Skillful Ronin (Core, p316)
O-Kohaku and O-Sayumi- Seasoned Courtier with Artisan template (Core, p313)
O-Hakami-Humble Peasant with Artisan template (Core, p313)
Yugureda's Housekeepers- Penanggalan (Shadowlands p 17)
Yuguredas Shosaito- Deadly Bloodspeaker (Core, p317)
Sikutsu Samauri- Loyal Bushi (Core, p312)
Kazuothe Yojimbo- Savage Brute Oni (Shadowlands p135)
Sikutsu Sennaka- Provincial Daimyo (Core, p315)
Nigankona no Oni- Warlord of Jigoku (Shadowlands p136)
Nobunobu no Oni and Tokikokito no Oni- Monsterous Warrior (Core, p136)


Empty Throne

Renshii Meida is a daughter of the Snake Clan. She hides her affiliation under the guise of a Crane Shugenja. She works with either Kolat or Bloodspeakers to replace the Emperor with her own child she is carrying. If she pretends that it is the child of one of the crown princes, all the better.

Anamurumon on Oni- Warlord of Jigoku (Shadowlans p136)
Renshii Meida- Deadly Bloodspeaker but without the hidden heart ability (Core p317)

I have not played the adventure path, but looked over it a while ago. A problem with conversion is that the Pathfinder RPG has A LOT more fights than an L5R Campaign.
There is quite some dungeoncrawling involved, which is not really a thing in L5R. So I am doubtful if it is really suited for conversion.

3 hours ago, Harzerkatze said:

I have not played the adventure path, but looked over it a while ago. A problem with conversion is that the Pathfinder RPG has A LOT more fights than an L5R Campaign.
There is quite some dungeoncrawling involved, which is not really a thing in L5R. So I am doubtful if it is really suited for conversion.

True. Again Tide of Honor does not have as much dungeon crawling as a typical Pathfinder Adventure. There is a lot more social interaction in that one. If nothing else, the characters make for interesting NPCs to add to your campaign.

Brinewall Legacy and The Hungry Storms I really did not do anything with as there is not much in the way of material that would readily port into an L5R game. Maybe some of the Oni and items, but hardly worth spending a lot of time on.

Empty Throne and Night of the Frozen Shadows has more NPCs and characters, particularly as adversaries, but it is tricky to figure out how to import them. I am kind of at a loss as many of the critters would come across as Shadowlands villains and would be very high level threats. Except for late game, there is not much that could be of use to lower level characters.

Edited by neilcell