Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Character creation and critique => Topic started by: Imveros on <11-15-14/0337:38>
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Was reading up on the ways and messing around with Chummer and this guy just kind of appeared on my screen. What do you guys think of him?
== Info ==
Street Name: Jack
Name: Masahiro Yamashita
Movement: 14/28
Karma: 0
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: 0
Public Awareness: 0
Human Male Age 28
Height 5'8" Weight 165
Composure: 6
Judge Intentions: 8
Lift/Carry: 8 (75 kg/50 kg)
Memory: 6
Nuyen: 160
== Priorities ==
Metatype: D - Human
Attributes: A - 24 Attributes
Special: B - Adept, Magician, or Technomancer
Skills: C - 28 Skills/2 Skill Groups
Resources: E - 6,000¥
== Attributes ==
BOD: 3
AGI: 6 (7)
REA: 4 (7)
STR: 5
CHA: 3
INT: 5
LOG: 3
WIL: 3
EDG: 5
MAG: 6
== Derived Attributes ==
Essence: 6
Initiative: 12 + 4d6
Rigger Initiative: 12 + 4d6
Astral Initiative: 10 + 2d6
Matrix AR Initiative: 12 + 4d6
Matrix Cold Initiative: 5 + DP + 3d6
Matrix Hot Initiative: 5 + DP + 4d6
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Damage Track: 10
== Limits ==
Physical: 7
Mental: 5
Social: 5
Astral: 5
== Active Skills ==
Animal Handling : 0 Pool: 2
Archery : 0 Pool: 6
Armorer : 0 Pool: 2
Assensing : 6 [Aura Reading] Pool: 12 (14)
Automatics : 0 Pool: 6
Blades : 6 [Swords] Pool: 14 (16)
Clubs : 0 Pool: 6
Computer : 0 Pool: 2
Con : 0 Pool: 2
Cybercombat : 0 Pool: 2
Demolitions : 0 Pool: 2
Disguise : 2 Pool: 7
Diving : 0 Pool: 2
Escape Artist : 0 Pool: 6
Etiquette : 3 [Street] Pool: 6 ( 8 )
First Aid : 0 Pool: 2
Forgery : 0 Pool: 2
Free-Fall : 0 Pool: 2
Gunnery : 0 Pool: 6
Gymnastics : 1 Pool: 8
Hacking : 0 Pool: 2
Heavy Weapons : 0 Pool: 6
Impersonation : 0 Pool: 2
Instruction : 0 Pool: 2
Intimidation : 0 Pool: 2
Leadership : 1 Pool: 6
Longarms : 0 Pool: 6
Navigation : 0 Pool: 4
Negotiation : 0 Pool: 2
Palming : 2 Pool: 9
Perception : 6 [Visual] Pool: 12 (14)
Performance : 0 Pool: 2
Pilot Ground Craft : 0 Pool: 6
Pilot Watercraft : 0 Pool: 6
Pistols : 6 [Semi-Automatics] Pool: 13 (15)
Running : 1 Pool: 6
Sneaking : 2 Pool: 9
Survival : 0 Pool: 2
Swimming : 1 Pool: 6
Throwing Weapons : 0 Pool: 6
Tracking : 0 Pool: 4
Unarmed Combat : 1 Pool: 8
== Knowledge Skills ==
Area Knowledge: Seattle : 2 Pool: 7
Art : 1 [Asia - Pacific] Pool: 4 (6)
English : 3 [Speak] Pool: 8 (10)
Gangs : 1 [Seattle] Pool: 6 ( 8 )
Japanese : N Pool: 0
Music : 1 Pool: 6
Shadow Community : 1 [Rumours] Pool: 6 ( 8 )
Yakuza : 2 [Politics] Pool: 7 (9)
== Contacts ==
Mr Talismonger (3, 1)
Mr. Fixer (4, 2)
== Qualities ==
Adept
Agile Defender
Allergy (Common, Mild) (Seafood)
Code of Honor (Bushido)
Mentor Spirit (Wise Warrior)
The Spiritual Way
== Powers ==
Astral Perception
Combat Sense Rating: 1
Critical Strike (Blades)
Enhanced Perception Rating: 1
Improved Ability (skill) (Blades) Rating: 1
Improved Physical Attribute (AGI) Rating: 1
Improved Reflexes 3
Kinesics Rating: 1
Linguistics
== Lifestyles ==
Low, extra secure 1 months
== Armor ==
Armor Jacket 12
+Nonconductivity 6
Helmet 2
Vashon Island: Ace of Swords 7
+Nonconductivity 6
+Holster
== Weapons ==
Colt Agent Special
+Concealed Quick-Draw Holster
+Laser Sight
+Personalized Grip
Pool: 13 (15) Accuracy: 7 DV: 8P AP: - RC: 2
Combat Knife
+Personalized Grip
+Vintage
Pool: 14 Accuracy: 7 DV: 8P AP: -3 RC: 2
Grenade: Thermal Smoke
Pool: 6 Accuracy: 7 DV: (10m Radius) AP: - RC: 2
Katana
+Personalized Grip
+Vintage
Pool: 14 (16) Accuracy: 8 DV: 9P AP: -3 RC: 2
Sword
+Personalized Grip
+Vintage
Pool: 14 (16) Accuracy: 7 DV: 9P AP: -2 RC: 2
Unarmed Attack
Pool: 8 Accuracy: 7 DV: 5S AP: - RC: 2
Yamaha Pulsar
+Concealed Quick-Draw Holster
+Laser Sight
+Personalized Grip
Pool: 13 Accuracy: 7 DV: 7S(e) AP: -5 RC: 2
== Martial Arts ==
Kenjutsu
+Iaijutsu
== Commlink ==
Hermes Ikon (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 5, FWL: 5)
+Sim Module
+AR Gloves
+Trodes
Meta Link (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 1, FWL: 1) x3
== Gear ==
Ammo: APDS (Light Pistols) x30
Ammo: Taser Dart (Tasers) x20
Fake SIN Rating 3
+Fake License (Adept License) Rating 3
+Fake License (Concealed Carry Permit) Rating 3
+Fake License (Large Blades License) Rating 3
+Fake License (Pistol License) Rating 3
Grenade: Thermal Smoke x3
Subvocal Mic
BTW i picked the vintage melee weapons to represent an old school daishō and i did pay double for the hand grips because of it. Beyond that I am just worried his damage wont be up to par. He is my first non troll melee build ~_~
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I like him, BUT- correct me if im wrong here, but aint the bushido code SUPER strict about stealth and deception and trickery and how you can't use any of that kinda stuff? It's kinda between you and the GM, but I feel like that needs some reconciling. I also don't know how cool bushido would be with a concealable holster. The gun, yeah! I can't imagine a samurai NOT carrying a gun were one available, but I can't imagine him concealing it either. Can you imagine how odd he'd look hiding his katana?
Apart from that minor, and easily reconciled whatnot, I think he's cool. The sword adept is fun.
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f you re worried about your damage output then take one level of strength boost.Yes it takes a simple action to activate and frontline combatants shouldnt waste much time with buffs because they need to act fast BUT
a) your initiative is high
b) you can always take rapid draw.It is useful and iconic for a samurai
Noob question:where are the rules for personalized grips?
PS:just saw you got iaijutsu so scratch that part about rapid draw.Eventhough if I was an adept I'd prefer rapid draw, its more expensive but its better
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If you re worried about your damage output then take one level of strength boost.
Ah yes, this is a rule I keep forgetting, and now I get to remind someone else. Str boost only affects dice pools. Dmg, being a static rating and not a dice pool, is not affected.
sucks.
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If you re worried about your damage output then take one level of strength boost.
Ah yes, this is a rule I keep forgetting, and now I get to remind someone else. Str boost only affects dice pools. Dmg, being a static rating and not a dice pool, is not affected.
sucks.
indeed?
I remember it not improving your limits but I'll take your word for it
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If you re worried about your damage output then take one level of strength boost.
Ah yes, this is a rule I keep forgetting, and now I get to remind someone else. Str boost only affects dice pools. Dmg, being a static rating and not a dice pool, is not affected.
sucks.
indeed?
I remember it not improving your limits but I'll take your word for it
It also does not improve your limits.
Personally, I houserule it and say that it does affect dmg, but as far as RAW, nope.
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Yeah, it's rather dumb. Attribute Boost is useless except for Agility under RAW.
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I like him, BUT- correct me if im wrong here, but aint the bushido code SUPER strict about stealth and deception and trickery and how you can't use any of that kinda stuff? It's kinda between you and the GM, but I feel like that needs some reconciling. I also don't know how cool bushido would be with a concealable holster. The gun, yeah! I can't imagine a samurai NOT carrying a gun were one available, but I can't imagine him concealing it either. Can you imagine how odd he'd look hiding his katana?
Apart from that minor, and easily reconciled whatnot, I think he's cool. The sword adept is fun.
yeah i just hit up my L5R rule book and it says the following
Stealth
DESCRIPTION: Although generally a dishonorable practice,
stealth has its uses in such situations as hunting or while
scouting during a military engagement. For most samurai,
however, these are necessary evils, and under any other
circumstances, no honorable souls will ever dare disgrace
themselves by sneaking about in the shadows like common
criminals, or failing to face their opponents like true samurai
would.
So as long as a i don't attack from the shadows I should be fine? There really is no way to reconcile the concealed holsters though. That is 100% Ninjutsu right there. Do you guys think a quick draw holster is ok? Or is open carry allowed in Seattle? (only picked that as a default) I think i will stick with the light pistol regardless in the hopes it will be less threatening when people notice it
Personalized grips are from sail away sweet sister p31 (SASS for short) They give you +1 accuracy when attached to any weapon with a grip/handle. They are quite the bargain at 100 each. There was a thread last week i believe discussing them. That's what got them on my radar.
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As far as I know, open carry is perfectly allowable, with the right licenses, of course. You would be suicidal to walk through the barrens and be unarmed. So, you can open carry, as far as I know, just double check with your GM.
If you really want to stick with the whole "no stealth" thing, then quick-draw holsters are fine. It's not really any different from a scabbard, except it hold a gun instead of a sword. Although, even quick-draw holsters are put under clothing most of the time.
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As far as I know, open carry is perfectly allowable, with the right licenses, of course. You would be suicidal to walk through the barrens and be unarmed. So, you can open carry, as far as I know, just double check with your GM.
If you really want to stick with the whole "no stealth" thing, then quick-draw holsters are fine. It's not really any different from a scabbard, except it hold a gun instead of a sword. Although, even quick-draw holsters are put under clothing most of the time.
yeah i was thinking of making the quick draw more like a military officers gun belt. I think that would also be fitting with the WW2 style armor chose. I will change the holsters over now and switch concealed carry over to open carry license.
Any one have other tips or suggestions?
Edit: On second thought i think i will drop the stealth group all together. Samurai have no need for palming and disguise, and i fear my code will allow for very limited mileage from sneaking. What do you guys think refund the 5 karma i spent on athletics and put them there or put them into outdoors group? Or maybe switch them, 2 points athletics and 1 point of outdoors?
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Edit: On second thought i think i will drop the stealth group all together. Samurai have no need for palming and disguise, and i fear my code will allow for very limited mileage from sneaking. What do you guys think refund the 5 karma i spent on athletics and put them there or put them into outdoors group?
outdoors.
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I would take that line from L5R with a grain of salt if I were you. After all, in the same setting Akodo himself said that everything in battle is honorable.
Also, why would such a Code of Honor preclude concealable holsters? It's not dishonorable to always carry a weapon, it's just tactful to not wave the fact around in everyone's face. It's not like you can walk up to someone and shoot them with the gun still hidden or anything like that.
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Also, why would such a Code of Honor preclude concealable holsters?
Because its deceptive.
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Also, why would such a Code of Honor preclude concealable holsters?
Because its deceptive.
Yeah I'm with poindexter on this one. The whole point of a concealed holster is to hope people don't see your weapon on you so you can surprise someone with it at a later date. Why else would it give a conceal ability bonus?
I would take that line from L5R with a grain of salt if I were you. After all, in the same setting Akodo himself said that everything in battle is honorable.
Spoken like a true scorpion clansmen :P
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Also, why would such a Code of Honor preclude concealable holsters?
Because its deceptive.
Yeah I'm with poindexter on this one. The whole point of a concealed holster is to hope people don't see your weapon on you so you can surprise someone with it at a later date. Why else would it give a conceal ability bonus?
I would take that line from L5R with a grain of salt if I were you. After all, in the same setting Akodo himself said that everything in battle is honorable.
Spoken like a true scorpion clansmen :P
Bayushi Tangen was a Genius
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How viable would a build similar to this that uses archery instead of pistols be?
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I like him, BUT- correct me if im wrong here, but aint the bushido code SUPER strict about stealth and deception and trickery and how you can't use any of that kinda stuff? It's kinda between you and the GM, but I feel like that needs some reconciling. I also don't know how cool bushido would be with a concealable holster. The gun, yeah! I can't imagine a samurai NOT carrying a gun were one available, but I can't imagine him concealing it either. Can you imagine how odd he'd look hiding his katana?
Apart from that minor, and easily reconciled whatnot, I think he's cool. The sword adept is fun.
No nothing in Bushido say anything about not using deception. Deception is part of war fair. Bushido is mostly very piratical, breaking your word is a different thing.
But deception as it leads into winning a fight? No Problem.
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How viable would a build similar to this that uses archery instead of pistols be?
funny thing is that with his 5 str short range would be the same as a light pistol and farther ranges are drastically in the bow's favor. Fancy arrows will also make it a good option as well. My only fear is that it seems so out of place to go anywhere with a bow. Seems with the Japanese heritage and the right licenses people would be more accepting of the katana. I also like the utility of the pistols skill. Allowing me to use tazers and all kinds of pistols for various kinds of jobs. Sadly there are no burst fire or semi auto bows.
Though it would be fun to make his brother/partner who is a similar build but is a KYUJUTSU master. Seems like it would be a fun build for the right game!
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I like him, BUT- correct me if im wrong here, but aint the bushido code SUPER strict about stealth and deception and trickery and how you can't use any of that kinda stuff? It's kinda between you and the GM, but I feel like that needs some reconciling. I also don't know how cool bushido would be with a concealable holster. The gun, yeah! I can't imagine a samurai NOT carrying a gun were one available, but I can't imagine him concealing it either. Can you imagine how odd he'd look hiding his katana?
Apart from that minor, and easily reconciled whatnot, I think he's cool. The sword adept is fun.
No nothing in Bushido say anything about not using deception. Deception is part of war fair. Bushido is mostly very piratical, breaking your word is a different thing.
But deception as it leads into winning a fight? No Problem.
the 4th tenant of Bushido is Honesty which exactly says deception is bad, as does a lose interpretation of the 5th tenant Honor!
HONESTY (GI)
“Be acutely honest throughout your dealings with all
people. Believe in justice, not from other people, but from
yourself. To a true samurai, there are no shades of gray
in the question of honesty and justice. There is only right
and wrong.”
– AKODO’S LEADERSHIP.
HONOR (MEYO)
“A true samurai has only one judge of his honor, and that
is himself. Decisions you make and how those decisions
are carried out are a reflection of who you truly are. You
cannot hide from yourself.”
– AKODO’S LEADERSHIP.
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funny thing is that with his 5 str short range would be the same as a light pistol and farther ranges are drastically in the bow's favor. Fancy arrows will also make it a good option as well. My only fear is that it seems so out of place to go anywhere with a bow. Seems with the Japanese heritage and the right licenses people would be more accepting of the katana. I also like the utility of the pistols skill. Allowing me to use tazers and all kinds of pistols for various kinds of jobs. Sadly there are no burst fire or semi auto bows.
Though it would be fun to make his brother/partner who is a similar build but is a KYUJUTSU master. Seems like it would be a fun build for the right game!
The bow was invented independently on every continent except for Australia. That includes Japan.
Also, the bow is completely street-legal (though some arrow aren't.) No restrictions in the SR5 core rulebook. Or in real life in Minnesota. MInd you, there are other problems to their use, like lack of concealability and the fact that there's an Adept Power interrupt that can ruin your shot...
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Of course if you ever get a smartlinked bow it will be Restricted because the Internal Smartlink is Restricted.
As for the code of honor: I can sort of imagine not concealing your weapons towards your enemy, but when you're walking down the street you're concealing them to not frighten people. So it's an iffy case.
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I like him, BUT- correct me if im wrong here, but aint the bushido code SUPER strict about stealth and deception and trickery and how you can't use any of that kinda stuff? It's kinda between you and the GM, but I feel like that needs some reconciling. I also don't know how cool bushido would be with a concealable holster. The gun, yeah! I can't imagine a samurai NOT carrying a gun were one available, but I can't imagine him concealing it either. Can you imagine how odd he'd look hiding his katana?
Apart from that minor, and easily reconciled whatnot, I think he's cool. The sword adept is fun.
No nothing in Bushido say anything about not using deception. Deception is part of war fair. Bushido is mostly very piratical, breaking your word is a different thing.
But deception as it leads into winning a fight? No Problem.
the 4th tenant of Bushido is Honesty which exactly says deception is bad, as does a lose interpretation of the 5th tenant Honor!
HONESTY (GI)
“Be acutely honest throughout your dealings with all
people. Believe in justice, not from other people, but from
yourself. To a true samurai, there are no shades of gray
in the question of honesty and justice. There is only right
and wrong.”
– AKODO’S LEADERSHIP.
HONOR (MEYO)
“A true samurai has only one judge of his honor, and that
is himself. Decisions you make and how those decisions
are carried out are a reflection of who you truly are. You
cannot hide from yourself.”
– AKODO’S LEADERSHIP.
Bushido is not the paladins code of SR. Nothing in ether of those quotes precludes or even suggest you should not use deception in warfare. Bushido is a warrior tradition, it's not really meant to be codified, it's a tradition that is examples to be followed. It's morality is not overly consistent with western sense of the word. Look at it in historical context, deception was just another weapon to.be used in both warfare and in politics. The reason it's attached so well to sr and similar concepts is that it motivated honorable behavior while still leaving room, for a lot of bloodie hijinks. The movie I recommend on it is ghost dog, don't look at it as tenet one tenet two etcetera, but as I follow this great heroes example, to increase my own honor and reputation.
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I'd look at real notions of bushido for Shadowrun long before I looked at L5R. L5R bushido is hyper contextual to a particular conservative fantasy culture and bears little similarity to the real world analogue. L5R bushido doesn't work too well outside of the societal context of Rokugan.
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...Samurai actually and actively used deception and misdirection in conflict. Read the Art of War. It covers such tactics in depth. Oda Nobunaga won one of his most iconic fights essentially by lying about where his army was and then sneak attackign the Imagawa while they were partying, thus killing an army ~10x the size of his very last force. He went on to briefly become Shogun before succeeding the position to an even more unscrupulous-but-utterly-brilliant person (and his childhood friend), Tokugawa Ieyasu.
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I'd look at real notions of bushido for Shadowrun long before I looked at L5R. L5R bushido is hyper contextual to a particular conservative fantasy culture and bears little similarity to the real world analogue. L5R bushido doesn't work too well outside of the societal context of Rokugan.
Yeah i have to admit all of knowledge on the subject comes from the almost year i played as Crane dualist. Hence the hyper honor i have been spouting. I will look for Ghost Dog on net flix! I have been suggested it before in the past, i just keep forgetting about it ~_~
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True. Rokugan bushido is a little different from real world bushido.
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Don't get me wrong, I love L5R. I played a Mirumoto bushi for two years. I just think that taking its philosophical ideals out of context isn't really appropriate to define behavior for honorable Japanese characters in Shadowrun. The cultural norms are very different between even peak Rokugan and peak bushido (which was really during WWII).
I played a troll bow adept yakuza who basically followed the Bushido code in 4e. It mostly involved not killing unarmed enemies, minimizing civilian casualties, not targeting women and children (unless they were targeting me) and a degree of Buddhist spirituality.
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...Samurai actually and actively used deception and misdirection in conflict. Read the Art of War. It covers such tactics in depth. Oda Nobunaga won one of his most iconic fights essentially by lying about where his army was and then sneak attackign the Imagawa while they were partying, thus killing an army ~10x the size of his very last force. He went on to briefly become Shogun before succeeding the position to an even more unscrupulous-but-utterly-brilliant person (and his childhood friend), Tokugawa Ieyasu.
I would point out that warfare and personal combat would be very, very, VERY different things for a samurai. Yes, using deception in warfare is perfectly acceptable but bringing a hidden weapon to a personal fight would be completely out of bounds IMO.
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Define 'hidden'. If the samurai is engaging in a personal challenge, and going to fight with a weapon, he'll take it out. If he's going to walk into a corporate facility he's trying to infiltrate, of course he'll keep it hidden. If he's engaging in a personal challenge and he has no intention to fight with a weapon - the pistol in question, I believe - then he won't bother taking it out, because he's not going to fight with it.
However, I should note that samurai were more than willing to pull a knife that was worn behind their back (and thus 'hidden') in the middle of a fight, because the only true dishonor is to fail to obey one's honorable lord.
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All warfare is based on deception. - Sun Tzu
Yes, I know he is Chinese not Japanese, but you get my point.
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I found an interesting observation about bushido by a user named not-i on another forum called kendo-world. A user asked about bushido
and samurai so I figured I'd quote it here as it's a good explanation on bushido.
Hi Lnguyen,
You've posed an interesting question, and one that could be asked of any ethical system, be it Aristotelean, Christian, or Kant's categorical imperative. It concerns the gap between theory and practice. Inaza Nitobe wrote a book in 1905 called Bushido (Boston, Tuttle Publishing: 1969). It is an interesting read, although sometimes a bit strange, since Nitobe was a Christian and often seeks to draw analogies with Christianity that simply can't be sustained. In any case, he listed Justice, Courage, Benevolence, Politeness, Sincerity, Honor and Loyalty as the virtues of the bushi. (You may also know that the six pleats of the hakama supposedly symbolize harmony, compassion, trust, fidelity, love of parents and faithfulness.) Nitobe concluded his book by asking about the future of bushido and wrote, "Bushido as an independent code of ethics may vanish, but its power will not perish from the earth; its schools of martial prowess or civic honour may be demolished, but its light and its glory will long survive their ruins." This illustrates that the concept of Bushido was always, and always will be, an ideal, more or less approximated by mere mortals. In Japan, the ideal survives in values like punctuality, "being present," and respecting status, although this is changing rapidly with the influx of western "individualism." In any good dojo, the ideal also lives on, the question is whether we choose to try and just keep it there, or apply it in our daily lives.
As to the historical samurai, i think the question for them was much more urgent, as their status as samurai obligated them to act as such. Acting in a non-honorable way could get them banished or condemn them to suppuku. It is also important to note that the code of bushido developed over time, and was mainly refined during peacetime, after the sengoku-jidai, where there was much more time for education, the arts, and polite society. Also, bushido was heavily influenced by Confucian principles which, simply put, demand that you find your place in society and respect those above you and have mercy with those below you. Certainly samurai tried to follow the code, but the real question is how many of them did it out of conviction and commitment, or just because of their education and training, fear of punishment / losing face in front of their fellows, etc. As we know, many of them were so proud of their status, that they might cut down a "commoner" for what they perceived to be an insult (though this didn't happen much in a Tokukawa era). True ethical behavior requires action according to principles, rather than action based on habit, pride or fear.
There was however another, less Confucian approach to bushido, which also developed during the long peace, namely a Buddhist one. Buddhism's virtues can be narrowed down to two: wisdom and compassion. These are symbolized by two Boddhisatvas, Manjushri, whose sword cuts off ignorance, and Kannon, whose many arms help people. Wisdom, gained for instance through meditative practice, automatically leads to compassion. Hence the talk of "no-sword," "a good sword remains in the saya," "no enemey, no self," etc. as seen in the works of Takuan (a Zen monk who wrote specifically to samurai) or Tesshu (a master swordsman and late-19th century Zen master). These are not ethical codes, but experiencial ways of life.
As to the Japanese soldiers in WWII: It's important to note that the samurai had been abolished during the Meiji era in the late 19th century. An extreme militant ideology sought to resurrect the "ancient" code of bushido during the war, but they focussed on loyalty, which they mainly read as obedience, to the detriment of all the other virtues, and many neo-Confucian thinkers and Buddhist priests went along for the ride. Every ethical principle was made subservient to serving the Emperor and Japan -- the end justified the means, as it were. A "pick-and-choose" attitute towards past values tied to a revisionist history is not uncommon among modern extreme nationalist movements, be they Serbian, Croatian, Basque, Irish, or what have you.
Also, what modern soldiers often mean by honor is obedience, whatever the costs, although in the armies of democracic countries soldiers are obligated to disobey orders that are clearly illegal, violate basic human rights, etc. But this is also a fine line (see Vietnam, Guantanamo Bay, etc.)
So, it looks like i've written another essay. My apologies to the more consise. I just enjoy writing. Thanks for the opportunity, Lnguyen.
not-I.
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Just a L5R sidenote, but Akodo's Leadership does allow for deception as long as it's performed in the service of your lord. The Lion don't really advertise this and generally speaking, anyone who realizes it doesn't have the chance to tell anyone else since they're about to get Matsu'd. As a GM, I like codes because they let me put characters in awkward, uncomfortable situations that really get at the root of a character's motivations and beliefs. Using them as a blunt tetsubo to punish the player isn't very appealing. It's the struggle to achieve the standard that's interesting.
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So it seems the consensus is Bushido varies greatly based on the ruling lord and ones definition of War Vs Personal Conflict. Though it seems like lord choice would greatly impact the other
Would it be reasonable to have the mentor spirit be the master? Seems like it would be easy enough to extrapolate what wise warrior wants out of his warriors. Or should he have some master back in Japan that sends him to Seattle for "REASONS tm" Do you guys have any suggestions on that front?
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So it seems the consensus is Bushido varies greatly based on the ruling lord and ones definition of War Vs Personal Conflict. Though it seems like lord choice would greatly impact the other
Would it be reasonable to have the mentor spirit be the master? Seems like it would be easy enough to extrapolate what wise warrior wants out of his warriors. Or should he have some master back in Japan that sends him to Seattle for "REASONS tm" Do you guys have any suggestions on that front?
As whenever it comes to codes of honor, you ask 12 people you get 14 answers. The warning to take away from this thread, make sure your GM and you have a clear understanding on what your Code of Honor represents.
Making a mentor spirit a character's lord for the purposes of Bushido could be doable, depending on how you both see things. But it's potentially dangerous as it give the mentor spirit far to much influence imo.
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Why do samurai in shadowrun have to follow a lord or master? Wouldn't the way of the samurai evolve to where they no longer
had to serve anyone except themselves? If samurai do continue to serve a master or lord though, wouldn't the lord or master be a
corporation or government body and not a single entity? I honestly like the idea that samurai no longer serve anyone thus providing
them a reason to run in the shadows to find a sense of self worth while following a strict code of honor. One could say that if the samurai
did something dishonorable, they'd still suffer consequences like having to redeem themselves to regain their honor.
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Why do samurai in shadowrun have to follow a lord or master? Wouldn't the way of the samurai evolve to where they no longer
had to serve anyone except themselves? If samurai do continue to serve a master or lord though, wouldn't the lord or master be a
corporation or government body and not a single entity? I honestly like the idea that samurai no longer serve anyone thus providing
them a reason to run in the shadows to find a sense of self worth while following a strict code of honor. One could say that if the samurai
did something dishonorable, they'd still suffer consequences like having to redeem themselves to regain their honor.
I'd allow a corp or other body (the Shiawase kami is loaded with potential here), but not oneself. One of the main ideas behind many of the codes is that the character sublimates his/her own desires and gratifications to serve a cause outside of him/herself.
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Why do samurai in shadowrun have to follow a lord or master? Wouldn't the way of the samurai evolve to where they no longer
had to serve anyone except themselves? If samurai do continue to serve a master or lord though, wouldn't the lord or master be a
corporation or government body and not a single entity? I honestly like the idea that samurai no longer serve anyone thus providing
them a reason to run in the shadows to find a sense of self worth while following a strict code of honor. One could say that if the samurai
did something dishonorable, they'd still suffer consequences like having to redeem themselves to regain their honor.
I'd allow a corp or other body (the Shiawase kami is loaded with potential here), but not oneself. One of the main ideas behind many of the codes is that the character sublimates his/her own desires and gratifications to serve a cause outside of him/herself.
thats why i liked the mentor spirit idea as they are the embodiment of a cause. With wise warrior symbolizing Duty and Wisdom. Along the same lines as my code of Bushido, what would trigger Wise Warrior's disadvantage?
Core P324
Disadvantages
If you act dishonorably or without courtesy, whether
by choice or by accident, you take a –1 dice pool modifier
to all actions until you atone for your behavior.
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To me, in 2075 bushido can take 2 forms
1) red samurai who see their corporate masters as the feudal lords of old.This leads to a classic approach to bushido
2) street samurai who are better described as ronin.They change "masters" for money but they never betray their johnson unless the johnson proves to be dishonorable, and they never attack unaware/defenseless opponents.But they will utilize every technique/weapon availiable in order to win a fight.Didn't Musashi fight with a wooden sword in order to surprise his opponent after all?
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2) street samurai who are better described as ronin.They change "masters" for money but they never betray their johnson unless the johnson proves to be dishonorable, and they never attack unaware/defenseless opponents.But they will utilize every technique/weapon availiable in order to win a fight. Didn't Musashi fight with a wooden sword in order to surprise his opponent after all?
This is more or less what I was going for since street samurai are based off of feudal samurai except street samurai don't really
have "masters" but employers who act as temporary masters. Modern samurai could work under the same concept but act in the
same way as feudal samurai except instead of one master their master changes depending on the their job.
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2) street samurai who are better described as ronin.They change "masters" for money but they never betray their johnson unless the johnson proves to be dishonorable, and they never attack unaware/defenseless opponents.But they will utilize every technique/weapon availiable in order to win a fight. Didn't Musashi fight with a wooden sword in order to surprise his opponent after all?
This is more or less what I was going for since street samurai are based off of feudal samurai except street samurai don't really
have "masters" but employers who act as temporary masters. Modern samurai could work under the same concept but act in the
same way as feudal samurai except instead of one master their master changes depending on the their job.
Musashi did in fact use psychological warfare ruthlessly. In his famous duel with Sasaki Kojiro, known as "The Demon of the Western Provinces", Musashi arrived late, bearing a wooden sword that legend says he carved out of an oar. Sasaki took both as insults, and became enraged, which many feel was the intended effect, causing the man to fight imprecisely. A possible reason for the oar is that Sasaki often used a nodachi, a longer version of the standard samurai weapon, and that Musashi thus made a weapon even longer for the duel. Several versions of the duel have been handed down, in one Musashi is able to strike his opponent's skull while taking only a minor cut due to his long weapon, in another he maneuvers Sasaki into a position where he was blinded by the sun, an then struck the fatal blow. Overall however, it is clear that fair play has no real place in an actual fight. Distract, unnerve, or otherwise disturb your opponent, and then take every advantage possible in the duel. I think a character trying to follow bushido would not attack a non-combatant, but against another warrior it is kick then in the crotch and then drop a grenade in their shorts while they are hopping around.