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Unique Customs of the Great Clans . . 47

The Crab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

The Crane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

The Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

The Lion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

The Mantis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

The Phoenix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

The Scorpion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

The Unicorn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Shadowlands & the Spider . . . . . . 58

Pastimes and Entertainments . . . . . . 59

Games of Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

The Game of Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

The Bonge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

New Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Chapter Three:

Social Structure . . . . . . . . . .66

The Celestial Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

The Mandate of Heaven . . . . . . . . 68

The Emperor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

The Kuge,

Servants of the Emperor . . . . . . 70

The Buke, Servants of the Kuge . . 72

Ronin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Budoka and Ashigaru . . . . . . . . . . 74

The Clergy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

The Bonge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

The Hinin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

The Gaijin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

The Shadowlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

New Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Chapter Four: Politics . . . . . . 82

The Goings-On in Court . . . . . . . . . . . 84

The Imperial Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

The Courts

of the Clan Champions . . . . . . . . 87

Family Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

The Courts of the Minor Clans . . . 89

Provincial Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Positions of Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

The Emperor’s Chosen . . . . . . . . . . .91

The Imperial Advisor . . . . . . . . 91The Imperial Chancellor . . . . 91The Imperial Herald . . . . . . . .92The Imperial Treasurer . . . . .92The Shogun of the Empire . . .93The Voice of the Emperor . . . 95

The Jeweled Champions . . . . . . . . . 95

The Emerald Champion . . . . . 95The Jade Champion . . . . . . . . .97The Amethyst Champion . . . .97

Tableof Contents

The Turquoise Champion . . . .98The Ruby Champion . . . . . . . .99The Topaz Champion . . . . . . . .99Related Positions . . . . . . . . . . .99

The Life of a Courtier . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

The Art of the Insult . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Courts of the Empire:

What to Expect &

How to Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

The Crab Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 100The Crane Clan . . . . . . . . . . . 101The Dragon Clan . . . . . . . . . . 102The Lion Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 102The Mantis Clan . . . . . . . . . . 102The Phoenix Clan . . . . . . . . . 103The Scorpion Clan . . . . . . . . . 104The Unicorn Clan . . . . . . . . . 105The Minor Clans . . . . . . . . . . 105Courts of the Ronin . . . . . . . 106The Imperial Families . . . . . 107The Spider Clan . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Play Aid:

Random Events at Court . . . . . . . 108

New Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Chapter Five: The Arts . . . . .112

The Role of the Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

Ikebana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

Landscape Gardening . . . . . . . . . . .116

Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

Poetry (Waka) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

Prose Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118

Sculpture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118

Storytelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

Tattooing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

Tea Ceremony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Prominent Artisan Traditions . . . . . .121

The Kakita Artisans . . . . . . . . . . . .121

The Shiba Artisans . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

The Ikoma Bards . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

New Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Chapter Six:

Money and Commerce . . . .126

Money in Rokugan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Money and the Bonge: Merchants 128

Money and the Bonge: Peasants . .129

Money and the Clergy . . . . . . . . . . .129

Trade Routes: Overland . . . . . . . . 130

Trade Routes: Rivers . . . . . . . . . . 132

Trade Routes: Seagoing Trade . . . 133

Rokugani Ships . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Agriculture, Mining, and Craft . . 135

A Vital Commodity: Paper . . 136Regional Supply and Demand . . . . . 136

The Crab Lands . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Chapter One: Geography . . . . .14

Environment and Terrain . . . . . . . . . . 16

Forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Plains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Coastline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Flora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Fauna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

The Unaligned Lands . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Hazards of the

Unprotected Lands . . . . . . . . . . 29

Risks and Rewards . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Ruins and Forgotten Places . . . . . . 30

New Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Chapter Two: Customs . . . . . .34

Ritual and Routine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

The Samurai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Monks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

The Bonge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Way Stations of a Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Birth and Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

The Gempukku Ceremony . . . . . . . . 40

Weddings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Gift-Giving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Guests and Hosting . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Food in Rokugan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Dining Customs By Clan . . . . . . . . .44

The Crab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44The Crane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44The Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45The Lion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45The Mantis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45The Phoenix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45The Scorpion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45The Unicorn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46The Shadowlands . . . . . . . . . . .46

Chopsticks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

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The Crane Lands . . . . . . . . . . 137The Dragon Lands . . . . . . . . . 137The Lion Lands . . . . . . . . . . . . 137The Mantis Lands . . . . . . . . . 138The Phoenix Lands . . . . . . . . 139The Scorpion Lands . . . . . . . . 139The Unicorn Lands . . . . . . . . 140Imperial and Minor

Clan Holdings . . . . . . . . . . 141Price, Availability and the Curse of

Interesting Times . . . . . . . . . . .142

Optional GM Tool:

Availability of Goods . . . . . . . . . . .142

New Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143

Chapter Seven:

Law and Order . . . . . . . . . .148

A History of Law Enforcement in

Rokugan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Early Legal Developments . . . . . .151

The Era of

Saibankan and Hatsuo . . . . . . 152

Officials and Organizations . . . . . . . 152

Peasant Enforcers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Yoriki (Deputies) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Clan Magistrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154

Emerald Magistrates . . . . . . . . . .154

The Charter of the

Emerald Magistrates . . . . . . . . . . .155

Jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155

Duties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157

Rights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Crimes and the Punishment Thereof 160

Dishonorable Conduct . . . . . . . . . . 160

Corruption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

Violence Against Persons . . . . . . . 162

Organized Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Treason . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164

Criminals of the Empire: Bandits . . 166

Criminals of the Empire: Gangs . . . 167

Criminals of the Empire: Pirates . . 167

GM’s Toolbox:

Who Are These Outlaws? . . . . . . .169

New Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Chapter Eight: Religion . . . .174

The Religions

of Rokugan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Worship of the Kami . . . . . . . . . . . 176

The Rulers of Tengoku . . . . . . . . . .177

The Seven Fortunes . . . . . . . 178The Lesser Fortunes . . . . . . . 179

The Celestial Dragons . . . . . . . . . . 186

Shintao . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

The Tao and the Early Brotherhood . . . . . . 188

Shintaoist Philosophy and Influences . . . . . . . . . . 190

Practices and Temples of the Brotherhood . . . . . 190

Brotherhood Disciplines . . . . 193Fortunism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194

Shugenja and Fortunism . . . 197Shrines, Temples,

and Monasteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

Shrines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

Temples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199

Monasteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199

Shinden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199

The Birth and Death of Gods . . . . . 200

Religious Festivals of the Empire . . 202

New Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Chapter Nine: Education . . .210

Education in Rokugan . . . . . . . . . . . 212

The Apprentice System

and the Dojo System . . . . . . . . 212

Common Methods

of Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Academic Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Educational Institutions . . . . . . . . . . 215

The Typical Dojo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

The Typical Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

The Typical Court School . . . . . . . 217

The Typical Artisan Academy . . . 218

Graduation:

The Gempukku Ceremony . . . . . . . 218

The Wandering Year . . . . . . . . . . . .219

Ongoing Education . . . . . . . . . . . . .219

GM’s Toolbox:

Students in Training . . . . . . . . . . 220

Dojo Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

New Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Chapter Ten: War . . . . . . . . . .224

A Bushi’s Role in Rokugan . . . . . . . 226

Bushi Duty Posts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Military Traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Crab Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227Crane Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228Dragon Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228Lion Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229Mantis Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229Phoenix Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . .229Scorpion Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . .229Unicorn Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231The Shadowlands . . . . . . . . . 231

Military Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Traditional System of Ranks . . . . 231

Traditional Unit Structure . . . . . . 232

Command &

Specialized Forces . . . . . . . . . . 233

Crab Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233Crane Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233Dragon Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234Lion Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234Mantis Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235Phoenix Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Scorpion Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235Unicorn Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . .236Shadowlands Armies . . . . . .236The Imperial Legions . . . . . . 237

Waging War in Rokugan . . . . . . . . . . 239

Logistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Maneuver and Battle . . . . . . . . . . 240

Sieges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Martial Arts in Rokugan . . . . . . . .244

Heroic Opportunities

for Siege Battles . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

New Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Chapter Eleven:

The World Beyond . . . . . . 250

The Xenophobia

of Rokugan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

The Known Gaijin Nations . . . . . . 254

The Ivory Kingdoms . . . . . . . . . . 254

The Kingdom of Merenae . . . . . . 255

The Senpet Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

The Kingdom of the Thrane . . . . . 256

The Yobanjin Tribes . . . . . . . . . . . 257

The Yodotai Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

The Caliphate of

Medinaat al-Salaam . . . . . . . . 259

Appendix One: Glossary . . . 262

Appendix Two:

The Way of the Daimyo . . 276

Playing at Higher Stakes . . . . . . . . . 276

Samurai Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Ambassador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277Governor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277Keeper of the Temple . . . . . 277Master Sensei . . . . . . . . . . . . 277Merchant Patron . . . . . . . . . 277Warlord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Duty Points:

An Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Changes to Existing Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Ambassador Options

and Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Governor Options and Features . . . . 282

Keeper of the Temple

Options and Features . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Master Sensei

Options and Features . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Merchant Patron

Options and Features . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Warlord Options and Features . . . . . 290

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .296

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