What I plan for a game in Rokugan [Archive] - Wizards Community

What I plan for a game in Rokugan [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
RoyalBlueEyes
01-24-08, 08:06 PM Hey y'all, I've thought of intertwining my Rokugan with a little Onimusha and yoroiden samurai troopers (Ronin Warriors) ala XXX-burst swords with the Hell-fire template from DMG2 and the like.
I know nemuranai (magic ancestral items) are rare and all, but I really think it will add flavor to a world where Oni walk amongst the plains, terrorizing villages, and where the Shadowlands are an unquenchable reservoir of blood and death always looming over Rokugan.
I've also decided on incorporating the iaijutsu focus skill.
The world beyond rokugan houses many things from DnD and l5r universes.
KLGChaos
01-25-08, 09:27 AM I'm mixing mine with things from the Jade Empire video game, so it has both a Japanese and Chinese flavor. The Celestial Bureaucracy from the game is very similar to the Celestial Hierarchy of Rokugan-- just with more paperwork. :D

I've decided to create a new realm similar to Jigoku, except it contains the animal-hyrbid demons from Jade Empire (which I'm calling Genma-- a name I stole blatantly from Onimusha) instead of the regular Rokugani Oni (who are also around).

Add in a bit of ToB wuxia/anime flavor and there you go.
narukagami
01-25-08, 11:57 AM I've actually replaced the Lying Darkness with Genma in my OA game that used to be heavily based on Rokugan.

I'm slowly phasing out the Rokugan crap, though, but instead of just retconning the whole world I'm doing it through actual story. :P
RoyalBlueEyes
01-25-08, 08:10 PM Well, I find the Rokugan history to actually be interesting. It romanticizes the samurai in the best possible ways, allowing for many interesting and epic tales, provided you can bring your characters out of the very difficult and detailed history of Rokugan.

I'm actually having trouble working on the campaign in that I am trying to write the beginning of it. The problem involved is challenging the characters while still conveying the reality that they are in a world where they are going to face humans as well as demons. But there will be more of the problem with adapting it as the Oni are mostly contained beyond the Kaiu Wall, but I do want the Oni/Genma posing a very imminent threat.

So here is what I was thinking, but allow me to say I do not entirely follow Dawn of Dreams...it is confusing.
But this is what I'm thinking:

Dual Gods; Light and Darkness (Yin and Yang): Amaterasu and Onnotangu.
Onimusha Oni/Ogre Clan
Genma Clan

I can't exactly find a way to directly link both of them perfectly in the Rokugan history, but I'm sure it's not really the long detailed history the players will care for.
The cosmology allows me to work in the Dark/Phantom Realm quite simply, but again, it's not so easy to work in the Oni and Genma, unless I can fit in the Keepers of the Celestial Heavens being the Oni and the Genma being the complete outward manifestation of the realm of Jigoku.

This allows me to turn the Oni Lords into Genma, and create even fiercer enemies to be the unique Genma such as Jujudormah and Fortinbras.

But then that leaves the question of how to make the Genma seem like they are strong enough to take Rokugan by force, if given the chance. I've had the city of Zakyo Toshi governed by a Daimyo figurehead and a group of Yakuza leading the show; the leader of the Yakuza being a Mamono in human disguise.

Any thoughts or ideas?
narukagami
01-25-08, 08:53 PM Well, I find the Rokugan history to actually be interesting. It romanticizes the samurai in the best possible ways, allowing for many interesting and epic tales, provided you can bring your characters out of the very difficult and detailed history of Rokugan. Its not bad if you don't think about it too much, IMHO, and it stops making any logical sense at all after the Clan War. The writer's can't seem to think of any way to move the metaplot forward without killing an Emperor. And the fact the history is shaped by CCG tournament winners just mucks everything up even further, creating a string of completely random and unrelated events.
But at least its not like Warhammer 40k, where the metaplot never changes and story tournaments have no impact on the metaplot what-so-ever. But I digress.

My advice is to pick a point in the timeline to start branching off with your own events, that also makes it easy to incorporate new stuff.

I'm actually having trouble working on the campaign in that I am trying to write the beginning of it. The problem involved is challenging the characters while still conveying the reality that they are in a world where they are going to face humans as well as demons. But there will be more of the problem with adapting it as the Oni are mostly contained beyond the Kaiu Wall, but I do want the Oni/Genma posing a very imminent threat.

So here is what I was thinking, but allow me to say I do not entirely follow Dawn of Dreams...it is confusing.
But this is what I'm thinking:

Dual Gods; Light and Darkness (Yin and Yang): Amaterasu and Onnotangu.
Onimusha Oni/Ogre Clan
Genma Clan

I can't exactly find a way to directly link both of them perfectly in the Rokugan history, but I'm sure it's not really the long detailed history the players will care for.
The cosmology allows me to work in the Dark/Phantom Realm quite simply, but again, it's not so easy to work in the Oni and Genma, unless I can fit in the Keepers of the Celestial Heavens being the Oni and the Genma being the complete outward manifestation of the realm of Jigoku.

This allows me to turn the Oni Lords into Genma, and create even fiercer enemies to be the unique Genma such as Jujudormah and Fortinbras.

But then that leaves the question of how to make the Genma seem like they are strong enough to take Rokugan by force, if given the chance. I've had the city of Zakyo Toshi governed by a Daimyo figurehead and a group of Yakuza leading the show; the leader of the Yakuza being a Mamono in human disguise.

Any thoughts or ideas? Seems like you're on the right track.
And like I said before, picking a point in Rokugan's history to "stop" and branch off on your own might help bring it all together. For example: Scrap the Lying Darkness, and say there was a war against the Genma instead. The war ended with the Genma threat being suppressed for awhile, so unfortunately the threat of their return is always looming over the Empire's head.

The campaign, depending on what kind of scale you're shooting for, could then potentially begin with omens of the Genma's return.
RoyalBlueEyes
02-01-08, 04:20 PM Many thanks. ^_^
But the writer's block still kills me...
Gah...how do I make a non-linear campaign out of linear ideas?
How do I write and format it?
And why is it I can't think of a suitable beginning without saying, "Hey, guys, you're all of THIS clan. You wanna be of THAT clan? Well, too bad!"

But thank you for your assistance, as always.
tsuyoshikentsu
02-11-08, 11:54 PM I think you should include Tome of Battle. ;)

Hahaha. But it's nice to see you're putting a lot of thought into the game.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
RoyalBlueEyes 01-24-08, 08:06 PM	Hey y'all, I've thought of intertwining my Rokugan with a little Onimusha and yoroiden samurai troopers (Ronin Warriors) ala XXX-burst swords with the Hell-fire template from DMG2 and the like. I know nemuranai (magic ancestral items) are rare and all, but I really think it will add flavor to a world where Oni walk amongst the plains, terrorizing villages, and where the Shadowlands are an unquenchable reservoir of blood and death always looming over Rokugan. I've also decided on incorporating the iaijutsu focus skill. The world beyond rokugan houses many things from DnD and l5r universes.
KLGChaos 01-25-08, 09:27 AM	I'm mixing mine with things from the Jade Empire video game, so it has both a Japanese and Chinese flavor. The Celestial Bureaucracy from the game is very similar to the Celestial Hierarchy of Rokugan-- just with more paperwork. :D I've decided to create a new realm similar to Jigoku, except it contains the animal-hyrbid demons from Jade Empire (which I'm calling Genma-- a name I stole blatantly from Onimusha) instead of the regular Rokugani Oni (who are also around). Add in a bit of ToB wuxia/anime flavor and there you go.
narukagami 01-25-08, 11:57 AM	I've actually replaced the Lying Darkness with Genma in my OA game that used to be heavily based on Rokugan. I'm slowly phasing out the Rokugan crap, though, but instead of just retconning the whole world I'm doing it through actual story. :P
RoyalBlueEyes 01-25-08, 08:10 PM	Well, I find the Rokugan history to actually be interesting. It romanticizes the samurai in the best possible ways, allowing for many interesting and epic tales, provided you can bring your characters out of the very difficult and detailed history of Rokugan. I'm actually having trouble working on the campaign in that I am trying to write the beginning of it. The problem involved is challenging the characters while still conveying the reality that they are in a world where they are going to face humans as well as demons. But there will be more of the problem with adapting it as the Oni are mostly contained beyond the Kaiu Wall, but I do want the Oni/Genma posing a very imminent threat. So here is what I was thinking, but allow me to say I do not entirely follow Dawn of Dreams...it is confusing. But this is what I'm thinking: Dual Gods; Light and Darkness (Yin and Yang): Amaterasu and Onnotangu. Onimusha Oni/Ogre Clan Genma Clan I can't exactly find a way to directly link both of them perfectly in the Rokugan history, but I'm sure it's not really the long detailed history the players will care for. The cosmology allows me to work in the Dark/Phantom Realm quite simply, but again, it's not so easy to work in the Oni and Genma, unless I can fit in the Keepers of the Celestial Heavens being the Oni and the Genma being the complete outward manifestation of the realm of Jigoku. This allows me to turn the Oni Lords into Genma, and create even fiercer enemies to be the unique Genma such as Jujudormah and Fortinbras. But then that leaves the question of how to make the Genma seem like they are strong enough to take Rokugan by force, if given the chance. I've had the city of Zakyo Toshi governed by a Daimyo figurehead and a group of Yakuza leading the show; the leader of the Yakuza being a Mamono in human disguise. Any thoughts or ideas?
narukagami 01-25-08, 08:53 PM	Well, I find the Rokugan history to actually be interesting. It romanticizes the samurai in the best possible ways, allowing for many interesting and epic tales, provided you can bring your characters out of the very difficult and detailed history of Rokugan. Its not bad if you don't think about it too much, IMHO, and it stops making any logical sense at all after the Clan War. The writer's can't seem to think of any way to move the metaplot forward without killing an Emperor. And the fact the history is shaped by CCG tournament winners just mucks everything up even further, creating a string of completely random and unrelated events. But at least its not like Warhammer 40k, where the metaplot never changes and story tournaments have no impact on the metaplot what-so-ever. But I digress. My advice is to pick a point in the timeline to start branching off with your own events, that also makes it easy to incorporate new stuff. I'm actually having trouble working on the campaign in that I am trying to write the beginning of it. The problem involved is challenging the characters while still conveying the reality that they are in a world where they are going to face humans as well as demons. But there will be more of the problem with adapting it as the Oni are mostly contained beyond the Kaiu Wall, but I do want the Oni/Genma posing a very imminent threat. So here is what I was thinking, but allow me to say I do not entirely follow Dawn of Dreams...it is confusing. But this is what I'm thinking: Dual Gods; Light and Darkness (Yin and Yang): Amaterasu and Onnotangu. Onimusha Oni/Ogre Clan Genma Clan I can't exactly find a way to directly link both of them perfectly in the Rokugan history, but I'm sure it's not really the long detailed history the players will care for. The cosmology allows me to work in the Dark/Phantom Realm quite simply, but again, it's not so easy to work in the Oni and Genma, unless I can fit in the Keepers of the Celestial Heavens being the Oni and the Genma being the complete outward manifestation of the realm of Jigoku. This allows me to turn the Oni Lords into Genma, and create even fiercer enemies to be the unique Genma such as Jujudormah and Fortinbras. But then that leaves the question of how to make the Genma seem like they are strong enough to take Rokugan by force, if given the chance. I've had the city of Zakyo Toshi governed by a Daimyo figurehead and a group of Yakuza leading the show; the leader of the Yakuza being a Mamono in human disguise. Any thoughts or ideas? Seems like you're on the right track. And like I said before, picking a point in Rokugan's history to "stop" and branch off on your own might help bring it all together. For example: Scrap the Lying Darkness, and say there was a war against the Genma instead. The war ended with the Genma threat being suppressed for awhile, so unfortunately the threat of their return is always looming over the Empire's head. The campaign, depending on what kind of scale you're shooting for, could then potentially begin with omens of the Genma's return.
RoyalBlueEyes 02-01-08, 04:20 PM	Many thanks. ^_^ But the writer's block still kills me... Gah...how do I make a non-linear campaign out of linear ideas? How do I write and format it? And why is it I can't think of a suitable beginning without saying, "Hey, guys, you're all of THIS clan. You wanna be of THAT clan? Well, too bad!" But thank you for your assistance, as always.
tsuyoshikentsu 02-11-08, 11:54 PM	I think you should include Tome of Battle. ;) Hahaha. But it's nice to see you're putting a lot of thought into the game.