Please comment and
critique
. I would like to make these as favorable to the playerbase as possible. If you feel any of these should have gotten different bonuses or if my description is too lacking, I am happy to change the details. Feedback on this will also obviously be taken into account when I work on the future clans. Also, if you have created a vassal family for the crab of your own that you would like to add to this project, I would be happy to add it to the list.
The purpose of this project is to add additional lore-friendly families to every Great Clan. These are all vassal families that serve the main families of the Great Clans. The family these families serve is includes as often within Rokugan, they are referred to by their lord's family name followed by their own name, for example "Endo Ujimasa" would be called "Hiruma no Endo Ujimasa", sometimes even just calling him "Hiruma Ujimasa". However, if you want to play in a Rokugan that has a bit more diversity then you may drop the first part and simply refer to such a character as "Endo Ujimasa" under all circumstances.
The distinction here between "branch family" and "servant family" is not an official designation, but indicates whether the family came from outside the family they serve (usually entirely outside the clan, and often from ronin or peasant backgrounds) and were adopted by the family as permanent servants, which I have referred to as "Servant Family" or where a family designated some of its own members to focus on specializing in a certain task, which I have called "Branch Family". While these have never been used as terms within Rokugan canon, there is every indication that those from Branch Families get treated better than those from Servant Families.
Mechanically all of these families are a bit worse than the 4 to 5 you will find in the main RPG book. This is because these families are canonically of lower status within the clan. In fact, these characters should start off with 5 less status than regular member of their clan in addition to the lower glory and usually lower wealth found here. If GMs find that these few points of honor, glory and wealth are too great of a detriment for players to consider even playing these families, then they are encouraged to bump the glory here by 5 points, the wealth by an extra koku and not implementing the status loss for being from a branch family. The ultimate goal here is to increase the options for both PCs and NPCs-- obviously a balance between realism and enjoyment should be struck.
The Imperial Families
The Anou Family
Miya Servant Family
Ring Increases:
+1 Earth or +1 Fire
Skill Increases:
+1 Labor, +1 Smithing
Glory:
37
Starting Wealth:
5 Koku
Dating back to the 4
th
century, the Anou family started when Kaiu Anou agreed to help construct a temple in Otosan Uchi ordered by the Emperor. The work was so well done that the Miya family then had the family construct Kyuden Miya and the surrounding fortifications, including a large exterior wall. They oversea the logging camps and rock quarries of the Miya lands and are often called upon to construct both Imperial buildings and Brotherhood of Shinsei temples and monasteries. They are found mostly within the Miya lands, however may be found anywhere in the empire where construction on Imperial buildings or temples is taking place.
The Hanako Family
Seppun Branch Family
Ring Increases:
+1 Earth or +1 Water
Skill Increases:
+1 Command, +1 Government
Glory:
39
Starting Wealth:
5 Koku
Seppun Hanako was a young courtier who remained loyal to Hantei XVI after his multiple atrocities caused the rest of the Imperial Families to turn on him and execute him for his crimes. However, it was found that such loyalty was rooted in faithfulness to the throne rather than agreeing with the bloodlust of the fallen Emperor. Under Hantei XVII she became Imperial Chancellor and wrote the Articles of Heaven, the basis for much of Rokugani law ever since. Members of this family are known as the law keepers of the empire, often working as magistrates and judges. They can be found anywhere in Rokugan executing the law.
The Reju Family
Otomo Branch Family
Ring Increases:
+1 Earth or +1 Water
Skill Increases:
+1 Command, +1 Theology
Glory:
35
Starting Wealth:
3 Koku
The Reju family are perhaps the most dedicated of all samurai families to the Tao of Shinsei. They are dedicated to reading and memorizing the Tao and teaching and discussing it with anyone from the grandest of daimyo to the lowliest of hemin. Ironically this almost monk-like family has an inglorious beginning as its founder Otomo Reju worked with the Gozoku conspiracy in order to create this family and the schools throughout the empire to teach the Tao, believing that greater good could be done by working with the conspiracy to enlighten the people of Rokugan than working hopelessly against it. When a schism between the Gozoku and the Brotherhood appeared, Reju took the side of the Brotherhood and the Gozoku conspiracy soon unraveled. While Reju himself spent the remainder of his days exiled to the edge of the empire, the family that carries his name continues his work.
The Satoshi Family
Miya Branch Family
Ring Increases:
+1 Fire or +1 Water
Skill Increases:
+1 Fitness, +1 Survival
Glory:
36
Starting Wealth:
4 Koku
While most of the Miya family is strictly pacifist, doing their best to stay out of conflicts—even when it seems clear which side are the enemies of the empire lest they accidentally offend one of the Great Clans, the Satoshi take a considerably different approach. Descended from a Miya family member that was trained in the Matsu school, the Satoshi family proactively protects villages in the imperial lands, fighting off bandits and other enemies of the empire. Because of their good works, they are seen as heroes in the eyes of many peasants.
The Tsi Family
Hantei Servant Family
Ring Increases:
+1 Void or +1 Water
Skill Increases:
+1 Design, +1 Smithing
Glory:
37
Starting Wealth:
6 Koku
This family was started by Tsi Wenfu, a gaijin swordsmith who caught the eye of Hantei Genji. A family for Tsi Wenji was started so that he could live in Rokugan from then on and teach his technique to others. They serve as the personal smiths of the Imperial Families, crafting both armor and swords for them. The swords of the Tsi are noted to be longer and heavier than the Kakita-style blades more commonly carried by samurai in Rokugan, not as good in Iajutsu contest but much better for defensive fighting. Tsi crafted swords and armor tend to be decorated with birds or butterflies. They are scarcely found outside of Otosan Uchi, but if you are in Imperial lands and seek armor or weapons, none are better than the Tsi.
The Yoshun Family
Seppun Branch Family
Ring Increases:
+1 Fire or +1 Void
Skill Increases:
+1 Meditation, +1 Performance
Glory:
38
Starting Wealth:
4 Koku
The Yoshun family started with a Seppun boy from a shungenja line who found himself lacking the attunement with the elements that was so strong within the rest of his family. He went off to a forest shrine to pray to the kami to allow him to follow in his parent’s footsteps. Instead, a tengu came to him and took him away for many years. He returned later for his gempukku ceremony, having mastered the sword techniques of the tengu. He became famous due to his skills during his lifetime, ultimately forming his own family in order to pass on the techniques he had learned. The Yoshun are known as the best duelists within the Imperial Families, but are probably better known for their sword exhibitions as their techniques are as entertaining as they are powerful. The Yoshun family generally stay within Imperial lands, but they might serve as a yojimbo on occasion.
The Yotsu Family
Seppun Servant Family
Ring Increases:
+1 Fire or +1 Water
Skill Increases:
+1 Sentiment, +1 Skulduggery
Glory:
33
Starting Wealth:
3 Koku
The Yotsu family is a fairly new one, starting with a simple mountain ronin who served Hantei XXXVIII by protecting his wife and infant son from an attack by bloodspeakers. The entire incident was kept secret, but Yotsu was granted vassal family status for his children and companions. He and his children continued to serve in the “Emperor’s wars”, carrying out actions in the shadows on behalf of the Imperials while allowing the rest of the family to deny knowledge of their actions. After a lifetime of collecting both scars and enemies on behalf of the Emperor, the founder recently retired to the mountains and passed the daimyo status to his son.
The Fukumachi Family
Otomo Servant Family
Ring Increases:
+1 Air or +1 Water
Skill Increases:
+1 Courtesy, +1 Skulduggery
Glory:
32
Starting Wealth:
3 Koku
Fukumachi is a relatively unknown village in Imperial lands that has a hidden purpose. The residents are primarily children, orphans, and the caretakers of those orphans. They are the children of ronin, ashigaru and others of low status who lost their parents in service to the Imperials. Those that graduate from the village enter Imperial service as shinobi. They do not use any sort of shadow magic, but instead hide in plain sight—appearing to be typical maids, cooks, gardeners and other common and mundane tasks. As such servants are all but invisible in the eyes of samurai, many samurai’s lips loosen around them and they keep their ears and eyes open for plots against the Imperials. On occasion, Otomo diplomats and officials may take members of this family with them as bodyguards that appear to be simple servants.
The Tortoise Clan
The Hyobe Family
Kasuga Branch Family
Ring Increases:
+1 Earth or +1 Fire
Skill Increases:
+1 Sentiment, +1 Survival
Glory:
33
Starting Wealth:
4 Koku
They Hyobe began with a Tortoise clan fleet commander who traveled north from Rokugan into yobanjin lands. His ships were caught in a storm, sunk and he was left on an island alone for months. When he returned to Rokugan, he had lost an eye and swore off ever stepping on a ship again. Eventually he became the general of the Tortoise Clan military forces which then took on his name. Members of this family are found all across the docks in Imperial lands, but primarily in the part designated as belonging to the Tortoise Clan. It is said that the Hyobe are trained with gaijin pepper weapons, but sworn to only use them should the Imperial lands ever come under siege.
The Someisa Family
Kasuga Servant Family
Ring Increases:
+1 Earth or +1 Void
Skill Increases:
+1 Composition, +1 Theology
Glory:
35
Starting Wealth:
4 Koku
The history of the Someisa family stretches back far before there was a Kasuga family or Tortoise Clan, all the way to the beginning of the empire. Someisa was a simple old peasant woman who met Shinsei as he was leaving the empire. Rather than asking for an answer, she asked him if he had any questions. Shinsei whispered his final riddle to her after making her promise to never tell another living soul. This knowledge made her immortal. While she repeated Shinsei’s riddle to the trees and to the rivers, she never told another person. Three hundred years later, the Emperor ordered Someisa to tell him—but instead she became a tortoise. The Emperor appointed some people to look after the tortoise and the grotto it lived in where the trees and flowers also became immortal. They became the Someisa. When the Kasuga family was formed, it was joined with the Someisa family, and it was for this eternal tortoise that the clan is called the Tortoise. In addition to being caretakers of the tortoise, the Someisa family has also been known to serve as imperial librarians and clerks. They are known for being gifted with long lives and deep wisdom.