Post/Author/DateTime	Post
UgtarBigStrongie 09-25-05, 01:39 AM	I am currently playing as a level 2 Samurai and was wondering if anyone had Bushido "Way of the Warrior" in a translated version so that I could follow its rules. Really need it for role playing aspects and I can't find it anywhere. Why does the samurai in CW use two weapons? The second sword was for decoration... http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/cw_ag/75398.jpg
Tharien 09-25-05, 08:10 AM	I don't have the code of Bushido, but the second sword was not for decoration, but for commiting seppuku, or ritual suicide. I'm pretty sure that the second sword was the tanto, not the wakizashi
UgtarBigStrongie 09-25-05, 12:13 PM	I thought they did that with that Tanto...The small dagger like one then their buddy slashed off their head.
Sluagh 09-25-05, 01:46 PM	Longsword - Katana Short sword - Wakizashi (not decorative, but for use when a short sword was appropriate) Tanto - dagger All were functional weapons and had their appropriate places. The tanto was used generally for seppuku, not the wakizashi. You're also right that it was quite unusual for a samurai to wield two weapons at once, especially with the katana, which was usually wielded 2-handed. As for getting a copy of Bushido, Nitobe's book is readily available at most book stores and certainly on sites like Amazon and the other chain store websites. It's not an expensive book, maybe about $10 and worth owning.
UgtarBigStrongie 09-25-05, 04:34 PM	Cool thanks for the clarification. I will look into that book you mentioned.
Sluagh 09-25-05, 06:07 PM	To make it quick and easy: Author: Inazo Nitobe Title: Bushido ISBN: 0-8048-3628-0 $12.95 USD cover price It's pretty much the classic book on the topic, though it's gone through several printings and I'm sure you can find it with other ISBNs for the other printings. It's also readily available on eBay for varying costs and in its various printings (I almost nabbed a 1912 edition a while back).
Tharien 09-26-05, 09:16 AM	What I meant whas that I thought they carried the Tanto with them at all times.
Fithero 09-26-05, 09:50 AM	If you want to know the basics of Bushido, there is a pretty decent run down of it on page 188 of Unearthed Arcana. It gives the 7 virtues that samurai should follow. Its actually a pretty interesting read. Hope it helps. Later
+4_vorpal 10-04-05, 03:32 PM	A Katana is a bastard sword not a longsword it states that in the DMG and somewhere in the PHB but a ninja-to is a long sword.
Pagan Saint 10-04-05, 04:10 PM	The code of bushido literally means "warrior way." It was devoloped in Japan, with great influence from Zen Buddhism, Confucianism and Shinotism. Over the centuries, this warrior code became the heart and soul of the samurai. Because of the Zen Buddhist influence, samurai tended to have rather stoic outlooks. Because of this stoicism, samurai respected and revered both life and death. Both were inevitable, and many samurai would have believed in reincarnation. So your samurai character probably wouldn't be afraid to die, because it is inevitable, and all things must die. Bushido, like many Buddhist religions, is centered on self-purification. A samurai would seek honor through battle, and also battle his fears within his soul, and thus he would reach perfection. Your samurai may take an asthetic view of this, viewing meditation and reflection as the best way of reaching perfection. Or he may seek honor and purification in battle. Either way would be accurate. The Shintoism that helped inspire bushido caused samurai to have a great deal of piety and loyalty to one's homeland. They had a strong sense of belonging in their culture, and this gave samurai a great sense of patriotism. If your character is a wanderer, perhaps he views other lands as inferior or imperfect, or maybe he crusades to bring glory and renown to his homeland and lord. It was Confucianism that gave samurai their great loyalty to their lord. Confucianism had a strong sense of morality, and often focused on relationships, especially between family. A D&D samurai would likely be extremely loyal to both his lord and his fellow adventurers. He probably wouldn't betray them, no matter what the cost. When bushido was designed, it was created to bring order, discipline and stability to an entire culture. Even though one might argue now that it was sexist and class-based, it suceeded for the most part, in stabilizing Japan. The honor part of the code requires that your character be courteous and polite, and to treat his foes with respect (no shouting profanities at the orcs or bullying merchants). The samurai also spoke up against what they considered an injustice. In D&D, this would probably mean a chaotic alignment, but remember that they did this to bring stability and order to their society, so the lawful only alignment requirement makes sense. Make sure your character's behavior matches his honorable nature, his desire for a stable society and his hatred of injustice (though a lawful good samurai probably has a different sense of justice that a lawful evil one). Lastly, samurai would not hesitate to use violence to defend their honor. This does not mean that your character goes around hacking up people who stepped on his foot; he would fight only when someone had offended him (ie spitting on him, insulting his mother). And then he certainly wouldn't wait for them to turn around and them punch them, he'd challenge them to duel. And he'd fight fair, as no samurai would cheat or gamble. In conclusion, a samurai is a dignified and honorable character; make sure you roleplay this. But make sure not to take it too far, and that everyone has fun. If you refuse to let the rogue steal or sneak attack, it won't be very fun for him/her.
Satori 10-06-05, 03:09 PM	Several Points. 1. Pick up Hagakure, readily available at most stores. Most are translated for big businesses owners, but you can usually find an unaltered one if you look hard enough. 2. Pick up the Go Rin No Sho, Book of Five Rings by Musashi Miyamoto. His text has a solidity and concreteness that is surprisingly easy to read. 3. Pick up "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by D.T. Suzuki...then get some glasses and make a sandwitch. Its a good look into Zen Buddhism...but its written from a Buddhist point of view, so the simplicity can often confound us Westerners. 4. Go take a Kendo, Ninpo, or Aikido class (1st Class is usually free) and observe the attitude and atmosphere. This should give you a basic idea of what attitude to hold. This will make you a hardcore method roleplayer, and might actually begin to change your outlook on some things. Next, Samurai typically did NOT use their Daisho in a TWF sense. This style of fighting was developed in the Niten school by Musashi Miyamoto, and was considered rather outlandish at the time. A visit to your average Kendo school will show you the standard preference for swordplay (2 handed use on the shinai and an emphasis on feinting and deceptive blocking). The Wakizashi was usually used a back up weapon when disarmed, and the Tanto was used for dispatching downed enemies and while grappling. If you're looking for REAL Samurai mannerisms, focus on riding, poetry, writing, politics, spear/lance use, and archery. Swordplay was actually just one aspect of their entire regime, and some Samurai held the title but never actually fought in war...keeping themselves to court intrigue and such. Oh, make sure you collect heads. Collecting heads was a concrete way for a Samurai to prove he had shown skill and valor in battle. Since their belief system holds no value (or very little value, anyway) for the body of a deceased individual, it wasn't considered heresy to do so.
eagleye 10-07-05, 04:50 AM	If you want the official DND rules on this, pick up Oriental Adventures[/url] and [i]OA: Rokugan. I have them both and I think they're just what you need.
nihility 10-07-05, 07:04 AM	1. Pick up Hagakure, readily available at most stores. Most are translated for big businesses owners, but you can usually find an unaltered one if you look hard enough. This is good advice if you want a sort of modern notion of the samurai, but Yamamoto Tsunetomo's work was on the fringe of Japanese culture for a great many years. It attained its greatest popularity and influence in beginning of the 20th century, in contrast to its time of writing in the early 18th. Anyway, it's good to keep in mind that Hagakure represents a radical view and does not reflect the actual situation or beliefs of typical Japanese samurai during the feudal period. For more information, please consider the work of Eiko Ikegami (http://www.newschool.edu/gf/soc/faculty/ikegami/), among others. I can provide more detailed reading selections to anyone interested; please PM me if you are.
Sluagh 10-07-05, 09:03 AM	...some Samurai held the title but never actually fought in war...keeping themselves to court intrigue and such. I would be inclined to say most never fought in way; especially through the long "peace" of the Tokugawa. Samurai, while they started out as the Boshi, warriors, simply became a ruling societal class which maintained its martial background... one was born into being a Samurai (there were time frames where commoners could ascend to the class, eventually that was abolished), and society was clearly defined by class, much like the caste systems of India.
Satori 10-07-05, 10:13 AM	I would be inclined to say most never fought in way; especially through the long "peace" of the Tokugawa. Samurai, while they started out as the Boshi, warriors, simply became a ruling societal class which maintained its martial background... one was born into being a Samurai (there were time frames where commoners could ascend to the class, eventually that was abolished), and society was clearly defined by class, much like the caste systems of India. This is basically the point I'm trying to make. Some people latch onto certain concepts because they sound "cool", rather than how the concept realistically existed. The visual of the invincible, Toshiro Mifune -esque Samurai that cuts down enemies before they blink is COOL...but not always realistic. This is a game, of course, where realism is suspended and fantasy is entertained. As such, disappearing Ninja and honorable Samurai Swordmasters are very appropriate. I tend to like a bit more realism with my games, though (as much realism as you can swing, considering the existence of elves, undead, etc...), and many of the campaigns I've been in or run read almost like historical texts. A historical text with a lot of action, drama, and zombies...but hey, how would we exist without zombies??
nihility 10-07-05, 11:53 AM	The visual of the invincible, Toshiro Mifune -esque Samurai that cuts down enemies before they blink is COOL...but not always realistic. This is a game, of course, where realism is suspended and fantasy is entertained. As such, disappearing Ninja and honorable Samurai Swordmasters are very appropriate. I think this is probably the heart of the matter. If you want to play a historically accurate samurai, a person typical of that profession, then you're going to end up playing a small-time bureaucrat or official, or perhaps a middling officer during one of the periods of conflict. That's a rather dreary way to go, though, if your interest is high adventure and heroic fantasy, isn't it? So, drawing from the more fantastic or fringe notions of the samurai is sensible. Actually, if you really wanted to be accurate, skip the historical records entirely and go straight to the myths. There are plenty of Japanese myths of great and honorable swordsmen who go out to vanquish a monster or defeat a foe. Many of them are pseudo-historical, much like the myths of King Arthur or Robin Hood. For example, there's the popular story of Minamoto no Yoshi-tsune (the idiotic profanity filter won't let me spell his name without the hyphen). An actual historical figure, the folk stories about him tell of a man born a martial genius and trained in the arts of war by a tengu, a sort of winged goblin. The folk stories go on to relate his exploits as a young man, beating the strongest fighter in the land with a flute as a weapon and so on, then tell of his amazing exploits in war before closing with a tragic betrayal and death. So, yeah, stories probably trump history for this sort of thing. A historical text with a lot of action, drama, and zombies...but hey, how would we exist without zombies?? Zombies are indeed the key.