The Spider Clan for New L5R

By TheHobgoblyn, in Legend of the Five Rings: The Roleplaying Game

This homebrew is going to be super controversial compared to the vassal families and minor clans, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Spider Clan is exactly what destroyed AEG's L5R. And yet there are all these wonderful ideas for evil samurai families and it is a shame to just throw them all away because things turned out badly. And, even if one agrees with that, I am sure there are plenty who would vehemently disagree with my interpretations of them here. I tried a balance between being as faithful to their original concept as I could while also trying to get them to fit into this new concept of them being a secret evil clan that lies out there in the middle of the Shadowlands so that whenever you defeat the villains, they can all run away to some central location beyond the reach of players where they can collaborate and plot revenge together. I suppose I also opened up the door here for doing an evil campaign.

I should also admit that I did consider making their mechanics so that each of them would be an evil reflection of one of the most iconic families from each of the Great Clans. So I took the families that were already established and gave them just a bit of a twist if I could see how to make them a dark reflection of one of the Great Clans. I suppose that means that this "clan" doesn't really have any good over-arching central theme to it. Also, the fluff here very much eludes to a ton of stuff that I didn't write how to interpret mechanically-- again, its primarily meant to be a source for villains and so simply saying that they don't need to eat or drink or can just come back to life if you don't burn their body and instead leave it in the middle of the Shadowlands and such... obviously "overpowered" if they were meant to be a party member along with regular characters, but exists so that GMs can utilize it for their campaign villains.

So if you hate my interpretations... sorry, I really did try. I mulled this over in my head a good month and a half at least before writing it up.

T HE S PIDER C LAN
Ring Increase: +1 Void
Skill Increase: +1 Sentiment
Status: 0
The Shadowlands are a dark and mysterious place where evil saturates the very ground. Wandering in the Shadowlands is to allow oneself to be infected with a sickness that drains one’s life, withering away one’s mind and body until they become a husk and die. But the Crab Clan in particularly know something beyond this—that sometimes those who get lost in the Shadowlands do not simply die, but come back as something not quite human. Often stronger, fiercer and more vicious than they were before, possessed of a mixture of sanity and heartless rational, often with little motives beyond destroying Rokugan and seizing personal power. The Spider Clan is an organization of such individuals—either those who got lost in the Shadowlands on a mission or enemies of the empire who sought refuge there after selling their souls to Jigoku itself.

Not all of the lost identify themselves with the Spider symbol, but enough of them do and consider the others to be part of their organization merely by collectively being servants of Fu Leng. They model themselves after the clans in Rokugan, occupying the lost city of Volturnum, built in lost ages by the Trolls, a location that seems to be able to shift on its own or is protected by magics so that only the lost themselves may find its location. They treat the bakamono and oni as their peasants and ashigaru. They may squabble in their courts, often over quite trivial matters, as if playing out a mocking reflection of the courts of Rokugan and they march armies across the barren landscape or oversee mining and smithing operations to arm their troops for raids against the Kaiu wall. Every interaction in their lands is laden with lies, sarcasm and ridicule for Rokugani society as they fashion themselves after it as “Children of Fu Leng” and the more one can fully understand the game and play along, the more they will find themselves at home. It is believed that this whole behavior dates back to the very dawn of the Empire as Fu Leng felt jealous that his siblings all got their own little human tribes and since the first humans came to him, beseeching protection from his siblings, he has been having them act out this elaborate ruse even though it has little clear rhyme nor reason as rarely have they even attempted a concentrated assault against Rokugan in the thousand-year history. Even those who assume the position of “Champion of the Spider Clan” to give them some leadership and direction tend to last less than a decade before being assassinated and replaced by the next to wield the Sword of Fu Leng.

The Spider Clan lives by their own twisted reflection of Bushido called Shourido. Although laid out with its own 7 virtues, it can be boiled down very much to a simple philosophy that might makes right. There is no crime among the Spider Clan—but simply because nothing they do to one another or others is justified by their ability to have performed the act. And yet they still have debates and hearings of misdeeds, if only to celebrate the villainy of a particular individual.

The families of the Spider Clan are not easily broken into main families and vassal families. Although the Spider Clan started with the Noriaki tribe during the dawn of the empire, the various tribes that have joined them are all considered more or less equal to the extent that they can seize power and influence and contribute to the clan. And so there are many families who found themselves exiled from Rokugani society over the centuries with the most recent notable addition being the Kuramoto—those of the Moto tribe who returned with the Unicorn Clan and thought they could destroy the Shadowlands on their own only to be turned into servants of Fu Leng after charging too deeply into it.

Although the members of the Spider Clan are generally understood to lose their ability to breed once corrupted by Jigoku’s magic, those who become Spider Clan can live far beyond the lifespan of a regular human, often with eternal youth. Also, if their bodies are not entirely destroyed, it is possible for them to come back from death so long as their body is left within the Shadowlands, with grievous mortal injuries becoming merely features of their bodies. And generally, all of the families of the Shadowlands are open for any Rokugani of any caste to join at any time, although some require members undergo rituals or acquire particular skills in order to make them a proper member. Thus, despite requiring considerably more work to expand their population compared to any clan in Rokugan, the Spider still manage to have the numbers to pose a significant threat should they ever focus and organize enough to do so.

Every now and again a member of the Spider Clan is able to infiltrate Rokugan. Although it is not easy for them to fit in, particularly those who have become accustomed to the way of the Spider, they have better success at murdering someone and assuming their identity and working their way into positions of influence than Oni would. But others cannot control their violent impulses and, if they can make it past the Kaiu wall, they merely raid and pillage any villages they can find—not to obtain the resources, for they do not need them, but merely to weaken Rokugan and strengthen Jigoku’s hold in the world. However, these events always happen south or west of the Shinomen forest, meaning that most of Rokugan discounts these tales of the “Spider Clan” as merely the common bandits they are more used to dealing with if not complete fabrications.

The Chuda Family
Ring Increases: +1 Earth or +1 Fire
Skill Increases: +1 Meditation, +1 Theology
Glory: 24 Starting Wealth: 5 Koku
The Chuda claim to be descended from a long lost and infamous minor clan in Rokugan known as the Snake Clan. The Snake Clan was created by the Emperor to hunt down mahotsukai within Rokugan, led by Isawa Chuda who had foiled an assassination attempt by such bloodspeakers. However, as they accumulated and studied maho artifacts, it is commonly believed that they became corrupted by them or that they saw what power blood magic offered and began to utilize the very magic of the bloodspeakers as weapons against them. When the Phoenix Clan discovered their use of maho, the clan was slaughtered off with only the most crafty and clever escaping. Although this commonly understood story might not be the most accurate account, it is nonetheless the one the Spider Clan Chuda family tends to believe is true. In the centuries since this minor clan’s destruction, various bloodspeaker cult leaders declared themselves to be the last living heir of Chuda, only to later be chased from the empire into the Shadowlands and find that they have hundreds of cousins who once made the same claim. Overall, the Chuda tend to be secretive, callous and very good at stealth and deception. They typically specialize in Earth magic, in addition to Maho, and ironically enough specialize in magic that can be used to trap or destroy those with Shadowlands taint or other sorts of dark natures. Although such magics are naturally weaker in the hands of corrupted, it is nonetheless the most potent weapon to utilize against their rivals and makes them a group that the other families do not wish to cross.

The Goju Family
Ring Increases: +1 Air or +1 Void
Skill Increases: +1 Performance, +1 Skulduggery
Glory: 20 Starting Wealth: 6 Koku
The Goju date back to the very dawn of the Empire, they were an organization that studied the dark arts of the shadows even before the fall of the Kami. When the Kami did fall, and they soon saw their power, the Goju fled in terror of this new foe from the heavens and into the Shadowlands. They remained in hiding for some time, though after the original Day of Thunder they became the second family to join “the Spider Clan”. The Goju’s unique abilities to utilize shadows allows them to operate within Rokugan far more freely than any of their associated families. The techniques they practice bear far more than a passing resemblance to those practiced by the Shosuro, if not the rumored abilities of the original Shosuro herself. Those of the Shosuro who have even become aware of the existence of the Goju have various thoughts as to what this connection may be, but they dare not speak them aloud lest they find themselves in Traitors Grove. The Goju are one of the more feared families within the Spider Clan, as they could be lurking within any shadow, but the Goju do not seem to seek any power over the other families. In fact, many of the Goju are so humble that they seem to have a tradition of abandoning personal names, or adopting new ones situationally as needed, allowing little glory or achievement to be attached to any individual. Rather many familiar with them simply find that treating them all as a single individual by the name of “Goju” is the most efficient way of dealing with them.

The Gyushi Family
Ring Increases: +1 Earth or +1 Water
Skill Increases: +1 Fitness, +1 Smithing
Glory: 20 Starting Wealth: 5 Koku
No one is entirely certain what the origins of the Gyushi family are. There are some speculations that it was a Noriaki smith or a branch of the Chuda, but it seems that the origin of most of the family are Kaiu who spent far too long in the Shadowlands working on certain projects until their minds and souls were claimed by Jigoku. The Gyushi are the primary smiths of the Spider Clan and also take charge of most of their mining operations. The Gyushi are experts at crafting both armor and weapons from obsidian, which is said to have formed from the blood of Lord Moon when Hantei cut him and has effectively the exact opposite effect on individuals as jade does. Although the Gyushi family is not particularly feared among the other families of the Spider Clan, their essential skills mean that the other families tend not to target them with any plots since they will want their favors in the future. However, this doesn’t mean that the Gyushi are particularly respected as much as merely treated by everyone else as useful resources.

The Kokujin Family
Ring Increases: +1 Earth or +1 Fire
Skill Increases: +1 Fitness, +1 Meditation
Glory: 25 Starting Wealth: 3 Koku
The name Kokujin is a very infamous one among those of the Togashi order, even if it is completely unknown beyond the order. The tale of Kokujin is a cautionary tale, one about seeking personal glory or attempting to grasp enlightenment beyond one’s abilities. He was once a well respected and renowned member of the order, but one who was dissatisfied with his position. He was not satisfied with simply mastering the tattoos he had been gifted, but instead sought to learn how to create his own tattoos so that he could have ever more. He served as an assistant to the master and studied the techniques closely. Once satisfied that he could replicate the abilities, he attempted to craft new ones upon his own body, copying those that others within the order had that seemed to him the most useful towards his goals. With signs of early success, he became obsessed and created ever more. However, his tattoos were flawed, his method of creating his inks was not done properly, and the tatoos began corrupting his mind and soul. He became violent and, after murdering the master tattoo artist, he fled from the order and eventually from Rokugan entirely. He found his way to the shadowlands and created his own temple, finding souls both willing and not to practice his art upon in hopes of perfecting his techniques. Eventually his temple was discovered by the Spider Clan and he willingly joined them in exchange for the resources they could provide him to create his inks and provide him with people to practice on. Those who carry the Kokujin name are the followers of this mad monk, easily identified by their sinister and powerfully corrupt tattoos. Although their tatoos are certain to one day fail in some horrific manner, until that day they grant them power. The Kokujin family walks the path of madness towards their dark enlightenment.

The Kuramoto Family
Ring Increases: +1 Fire or +1 Water
Skill Increases: +1 Command, +1 Survival
Glory: 20 Starting Wealth: 6 Koku
When the Unicorn Clan returned to Rokugan, they did so through the Shadowlands themselves. Upon meeting the Crab Clan and hearing about the dark enemies in the center of the Shadowlands, many of the Moto scoffed at the cowardly Crab hiding behind their walls and decided to prove their strength and worth to the empire by charging down and destroying this ancient enemy once and for all. The venture naturally did not turn out well for them and only a fraction of the Moto slunk back to Rokugan cowed and humbled by their experience. While many others died, there were some portion of them that became something different. The Kuramoto, dark Moto, are those who surrendered their minds and souls to Fu Leng in order to continue to cling to life. Both them and their mighty steeds still live, after a manner and in perhaps a more horrific and decayed form than even many of the other families of the Spider Clan. Nonetheless, the Kuramoto are a powerful and relentless weapon against Rokugan. While their very existence brings shame to their kin who still struggle to fit into Rokugani society, the Kuramoto are more than at home among the Spider who respect them for their strength, straightforwardness and confidence. Most of their foreign customs are entirely accepted, although they have entirely abandoned the worship of their old gods. While there are no shortage of those within the Spider who take every opportunity to manipulate the Kuramoto, they are plenty strong enough that the other families are wary of angering them too much and they give as good as they take.

The Ninube Family
Ring Increases: +1 Void or +1 Water
Skill Increases: +1 Theology, +1 Skulduggery
Glory: 20 Starting Wealth: 6 Koku
It is said that the original Ninube was a woman, a member of the Crane or perhaps Phoenix, whose beauty surpassed even that of the sun herself. All men would fall for her with but a look and there was not a woman who did not feel envy. How ironic it is then that the Ninube are most commonly known as being faceless. They practice dark, shadowy magics and the more the practice, the more their forms seems to become ever mistier and the more it seems impossible for anyone to remember what they look like the moment they look away, often remembering them as having voids where their faces should be. To combat this, most of the Ninube take to wearing masks. The Ninube are almost always working with, if not for, the Goju, as it seems their power is derived from the same source. They keep their motives a secret and often speak very little at all, generally serving as a very unnerving presence. It is said that when they do speak, they can be incredibly eloquent—and yet people seem to forget what they said and what they even sounded like very quickly. It seems like the mind grasping onto any elements about a member of the Ninube is like a hand trying to grasp ahold of a river. Other families of the Spider Clan rarely try to take any actions against them, if only because everyone seems to constantly forget that they even exist.

The Noriaki Family
Ring Increases: +1 Air or +1 Earth
Skill Increases: +1 Government, +1 Theology
Glory: 25 Starting Wealth: 6 Koku
Although Rokugani history records that it was the tribe of Lady Seppun that first encountered the Kami after they fell from the heavens, it is only because history chooses not to record the actual first tribe that encountered them. It was actually the enemy tribe, led by a man named Noriaki, who first encountered the Kami. Immediately deciding that the fallen Kami were a threat, the tribe immediately attacked the Kami—only to be defeated quite convincingly. Their utter humiliation at the hands of the Kami shot out as a warning across the lands of the dangers of these beings fallen from the heavens. Noriaki’s tribe fled from the Kami, falling back until they found themselves in what was soon becoming the Shadowlands. Noriaki pledged allegiance to Fu Leng for protection against his siblings, and their tribe became the first of The Lost, or the Spider Clan. They fought for Fu Leng until his defeat at the Day of Thunder, and even chronicles within Rokugan that speak of Noriaki said that he and his tribe were entirely exterminated that day. While Noriaki did indeed lay dead, there were those of The Lost who carried on his memory, and as others became lost, they took on the name of Noriaki—first mortal enemy of Rokugan and first mortal servant of Fu Leng. The Noriaki family is thus the foundational family of The Spider Clan, soon joined by the Goju and then others. Although they have not always commanded this allegiance of lost, they have never been too far from the position of power—if not the Champion, then a Noriaki would be the spouse of the Champion or the advisor to the Champion. While the most ambitious among them do seek to lead, plenty of others are willing to control things from the shadow and serve as the glue that holds the other families together. As fragile as an alliance between so many self-serving organizations with their own goals and ambitious naturally is, the Noriaki have managed to provide a center for them to rally around for 1000 years.

The Shimizu Family
Ring Increases: +1 Air or +1 Water
Skill Increases: +1 Command, +1 Tactics
Glory: 24 Starting Wealth: 5 Koku
The Shimizu family was originally a vassal family of the Akodo, created when Akodo Shimizu managed to unmask and slay a bloodspeaker who had murdered and then assumed the identity of the Emperor’s betrothed. For this act of heroism, Shimizu was granted modest holdings and had his family name carried forward. However, his descendants were hardly satisfied with these meager holdings and sought to control more. They took to attacking neighboring lands, including holdings of other families of the Lion, in an attempt to expand their territory and resources. This failed disastrously as they simply did not have the strength nor resources to mount an effective, sustained offense. Thus, the Shimizu took to using blood magic to enhance the power of their own troops. With this power they found far more success, but were ultimately drawn into a protracted, decade-long war with another member of the Lion Clan. It was after summoning an Oni to fight on their side and the betrayal of the Champion’s own son that their true darkness was revealed to their clan. Although the Ikoma histories record that the family was wiped out by a plague, in reality it was one of their own that led the might of the rest of the Lion upon them, slaughtering them all and burning their holdings to the ground. Naturally, a handful of the corrupted troops escaped and in the few centuries since, those Lion who became lost or corrupted tended to take up the Shimizu name upon fleeing from Rokugan. The Shimizu name is held in high regard within the Spider Clan and considered their finest military minds. Now most of those who use the Shimizu name can be found marching mobs of bakamono and ogres back and forth across the wastes near Volturnum in mock military drills. To what extent this training ever matters when those creatures throw themselves against the Kaiu wall is unclear, but given that the wall still stands it is fair to say they have not found significant victory yet.

The Susumu Family
Ring Increases: +1 Air or +1 Fire
Skill Increases: +1 Courtesy, +1 Commerce
Glory: 24 Starting Wealth: 8 Koku
The Susumu are another family with unclear origins. Some say they started off as an offshoot of the Noriaki who decided to embrace the art of using pleasantries and charm instead of intimidation to manipulate the other families, while others claim that they were members of the Crane or Mantis who were blown dramatically off course in an attempted voyage to the Ivory Kingdoms. Either way, it is common for corrupted courtiers to take on the Susumu name. The Susumu family is the least visibly corrupted of all the families within the Spider Clan, the one that has the easiest time passing as a typical member of the Rokugan’s kuge caste. However whatever corruption they may have avoided appearing on the outside seems to have manifested itself in the form of madness. While all of the Spider Clan engages in the playacting of their mock version of Rokugani society, perhaps none of them engage in it quite so deeply or sincerely as the Susumu. They fill the courts of Volturnum having political debates and arguments with one another, trying to outmaneuver each other with emotional appeals—even though they are all well aware that their hearts are all dead. They bicker over where and when their bakamono peasants should plant crops in the soil they know can produce no crop and then over how they use that nonexistent crop. They talk about income generated by nonexistent trade routes and how they should utilize the taxes that are never collected for there is no one to collect taxes from. All but the newest members seem entirely in agreement in playing along with this improvisation and will become either violently hostile or entirely incredulous should anyone challenge any part of their shared fantasy.

The Tsuno Family
Ring Increases: +1 Fire or +1 Water
Skill Increases: +1 Fitness, +1 Tactics
Glory: 20 Starting Wealth: 4 Koku
While hardly anyone would disagree that the Spider Clan are monsters, when it comes to the Tsuno—they are actually, actually monsters. This family started with some members of the Kitsu members who were using their ability to walk the spiritual planes and when they returned to their bodies, they brought something else back with them. The foreign, monstrous spirit resided within them and ever so slowly assumed control of their body before extinguishing the original soul. It did not take too long for other members of the Kitsu to realize something was wrong and destroy some of them, for while the Tsuno may have the memories of the owners of the original bodies, they find it quite difficult to act particularly human. Creating new members of the Tsuno family require teaching the current owner of the host body quite difficult mystical techniques and then having them perform dark rituals, hiding from them the fate that will befall them for doing so. Because of this, the family has a difficult time expanding its numbers. However, those that do exist are an incredible asset to the Spider Clan. Although trapped within fragile human shells, they nonetheless manage to push their bodies beyond the breaking point of most mortals to perform superhuman feats of strength and endurance. The Tsuno do attempt to avoid death, for it means that their spirit will be sucked back to imprisonment within Toshigoku, they also do not fear it as many mortals who aren’t certain what lays for them beyond death do.

Honestly, nothing stops people from using these families as just good inspiration for villainous samurai without ever mentioning the word "Spider". And even if someone decides to have a Spider Clan, they can only mention a few of the families listed, while silently ignoring or retconning the others. Every GM has their own personal Rokugan after all. The more ideas, the merrier!

The only thing that bugs me is that the Spiders are pigeonholed as inherently anti-Haneti and anti-Rokugani, when you could imagine at least a few Tainted individuals who is willing to follow the "two masters" idea preached by the AEG Susumu, that one can both serve Fu Leng and Rokugan (probably by plotting against foreigners). But then again, instead of complaining, I could quietly add that personal detail to the Susumu family, and probably even play up how delusional they are in thinking that they could serve two Masters without suffering any repercussions.

Edited by igorhorst
12 hours ago, igorhorst said:

Honestly, nothing stops people from using these families as just good inspiration for villainous samurai without ever mentioning the word "Spider". And even if someone decides to have a Spider Clan, they can only mention a few of the families listed, while silently ignoring or retconning the others. Every GM has their own personal Rokugan after all. The more ideas, the merrier!

The only thing that bugs me is that the Spiders are pigeonholed as inherently anti-Haneti and anti-Rokugani, when you could imagine at least a few Tainted individuals who is willing to follow the "two masters" idea preached by the AEG Susumu, that one can both serve Fu Leng and Rokugan (probably by plotting against foreigners). But then again, instead of complaining, I could quietly add that personal detail to the Susumu family, and probably even play up how delusional they are in thinking that they could serve two Masters without suffering any repercussions.

Well, given that a number of these families are ones that either Rokugan turned on and attempted to destroy or decided the Kami were their enemies before Rokugan even became a thing, and that Rokugan is pretty much dedicated to the destruction of the Shadowlands and all that reside within it (well, at least the Crab Clan is and the rest of them contribute to that effort to one extent or another), I think it is pretty unavoidable.

Although I think what I wrote here about the Susumu could actually lead into them, with seeming absolute sincerity, acting like their clan is just as valid of a Great Clan as any of the rest of them and absolutely serves the Emperor. But, importantly, there is absolutely no expectation that any other clan would treat those claims, no matter how sincerely delivered, with any credence nor treat them differently from any other servant of Jigoku.

I look forward to seeing the schools.

7 hours ago, Shadow070mni said:

I look forward to seeing the schools.

Schools are something that is definitely considerably harder to tackle as it involves raw math.

I halted on my Owl Clan project 2 years ago because of the trouble I had designing schools.

But I can certainly put it on my list of things to maybe tackle eventually.

In my personal opinion, I think there are too many schools as it is in L5R.

But there are good IC reasons to think that the Spiders do not need to have new schools. I think that most people who become Spiders do so because they left Rokugani society (willingly or unwillingly) and were exposed to the Taint. They still retain their old school teachings, only now they use their talents to serve Jigoku. And because the Lost are immortal and cannot procreate, there isn't really much reason for them to build brand new schools. Who exactly are they going to teach anyway? The bakamono ?

I can see an argument for having a school dedicated towards maho-tsukai characters, but to be frank, I would rather reskin existing schools that can be good maho users already (like Akodo Commanders and Shiba Guardians).

Edited by igorhorst
7 hours ago, igorhorst said:

In my personal opinion, I think there are too many schools as it is in L5R.

Absolutely.

13 hours ago, igorhorst said:

In my personal opinion, I think there are too many schools as it is in L5R.

But there are good IC reasons to think that the Spiders do not need to have new schools. I think that most people who become Spiders do so because they left Rokugani society (willingly or unwillingly) and were exposed to the Taint. They still retain their old school teachings, only now they use their talents to serve Jigoku. And because the Lost are immortal and cannot procreate, there isn't really much reason for them to build brand new schools. Who exactly are they going to teach anyway? The bakamono ?

I can see an argument for having a school dedicated towards maho-tsukai characters, but to be frank, I would rather reskin existing schools that can be good maho users already (like Akodo Commanders and Shiba Guardians).

This might be a good way of thinking of things.

With what I wrote for the vassal families, minor clans and now spider clan, at least a good part was with the idea that you could maybe look outside their clan and adopt a school that is similar to what they are said to do. There were various families that branched from the Kaiu or Kuni or Isawa or were stated to ape the Moto or Miya, do they really need their own schools?

In this case a Gyusei is a Kaiu, but evil. A Shimizu is an Akodo, but evil. A Kuramoto is literally a Moto, but evil. A Goju is like a Shosuro, but evil.

Really, schools are probably only necessary to go beyond the npc level to make them pcs. I didn't really mean so much to empower a Spider Clan PC game so much as do a write up that provided ideas for someone to run them as villains.