com/sccrane)
Miguel Otomo Urami
The Yogo Wardmaster School
The school founded by Yogo is known for an unusual style of magic that focuses on special protective charms known as wards.
These are similar to the exorcism wards used by the Toritaka, but are significantly more flexible in their use and application. The
Yogo guard their methods carefully and seldom allow others to study in their dojo; even their shugenja cousins in the Soshi family
know little about the secrets of ward magic.
Yogo Wardmaster [Shugenja]
Benefit: +1 Intelligence
Skills: Calligraphy (Cipher), Etiquette, Investigation, Lore: Theology, Spellcraft, Stealth, any 1 High or Low Skill
Honor: 1.5
Outfit: Robes, Wakizashi, Knife, Scroll Satchel, Traveling Pack, pack of twenty paper wards, 3 koku
Affinity / Deficiency: Yogo Shugenja do not have an elemental Affinity or Deficiency. Instead, they hae an Affinity for all nonVoid spells with the Wards keyword, and a Deficiency for all spells with the Travel or Craft keywords. They may treat certain
spells as having the Wards keyword - see below.
Spells: Commune, Summon, 3 Ward Spells, 3 other spells (may not be Void Spells)
Technique: Way of the Wardmaster - The Yogo are masters at creating wards for later use. When you cast any spell with the
Wards keyword, you may Raise a number of times equal to the spell's Mastery Level to instead place the spell into a paper ward.
Once this is done, the paper ward will hold the spell "latent" until you activate it (as a Simple Action) by placing it on a target.
Only you may activate your wards. The ward sticks to the target and immediately discharge the spell, whose duration is measured
normally from that moment. If an area-effect spell is discharged onto a living target, it will only affect that target.
Placing a paper ward on an unwilling target requires an unarmed melee attack using a roll of Spellcraft / Agility. An active ward
may be physically torn/destroyed, which instantly ends any ongoing spell effects; this requires a Simple Action.
The following spells are treated as having the Wards keyword for purposes of spell selection and use of their technique:
Air - To Seek the Truth, By the Light of the Moon, Benten's Touch, Summon Fog
Earth - Armor of the Earth, Courage of the 7 Thunders, Force of Will, Wholeness of the World
Fire - Extinguish, Fires of Purity, Disrupt the Aura, Haze of Battle, Globe of Everlasting Sun
Water - Reversal of Fortunes, Rejuvenating Vapors, Wisdom and Clarity, Near to Ice
Honor: 5.5
Outfit: Traditional Clothing, Wakizashi, Knife, Calligraphy Set, Traveling Pack, 5 koku
Techniques
Rank 1: Kitsuki's Method
The Kitsuki are masters of investigation and perception, noticing the most minute and telling details with merely a glance. You
gain a Free Raise on all your Investigation Skill Rolls. However, while the Kitsuki are trained for investigation and diplomacy,
unlike other courtiers they do not wholly neglect the ways of the warrior. In a skirmish, you add your Perception Trait Rank to
your Armor TN.
Rank 2: Wisdom the Wind Brings
The Kitsuki skill at noticing small details makes it very difficult to deceive them. Anyone making a Social Skill Roll for the
purpose of lying to you or otherwise deceiving you, or making a Feint or Disarm Maneuver against you in a skirmish, must add +5
to their TN for each of your Kitsuki Investigator School Ranks.
Rank 3: Know the Rhythm of the Heart
The Kitsuki study a secret methodology known as Ichi Miru, or "first look," which allows them to size up another person in
almost a single glance. After speaking with someone for a few moments, you can roll Investigation (Notice) / Perception against a
TN of their Intelligence x 5. A success grants you a true and accurate, if simple, picture of their personality and motivations. For
example, you might perceive that a boisterous ronin is actually a calculating man who is trying to put on the picture of being a
rude, simple fellow.
Rank 4: Finding the Path
The Kitsuki has learned the art of uncovering and tracking others' social connections and networks of alliances. By conversing
with someone for a few minutes, you can make a Contested Roll of your Investigation (Interrogation) / Intelligence against their
Etiquette (Courtesy) / Intelligence to identify one of their allies or enemies. Each successful Raise you make on this roll will
identify another of their allies or enemies (you choose whether you learn an ally or an enemy - the GM chooses which specific
person is revealed).
This technique can be used against each specific person once per day.
Rank 5: The Eyes Betray the Heart
Kitsuki's method allows its master practitioners to see through even the most practiced falsehoods and tricks. At this rank, any
knowing attempt to lie to you (as opposed to unwittingly passing on false information) will almost certainly fail. You
automatically make a Contested Roll of your Investigation (Interrogation) / Perception against the liar's Sincerity (Deceit) /
Willpower, whether or not you suspect them of lying. Further, if you already known someone is lying to you, you gain a bonus of
+5k0 on this Contested Roll, and my call Raises on the roll in an attempt to make them inadvertently give away more information
than they intended (GM's choice what information they reveal).
omission is a means of protecting the family's honor, as the first Ikoma was a ruthless, pragmatic individual who would gleefully
embrace dishonorable tactics as a necessary means of completing his duties.
The Ikoma Lion's Shadow are a small and extremely secretive group within the Ikoma family who remember exactly who and
what Ikoma was, and they celebrate his memory. They consider themselves extremely practical individuals who exist as a sort of
foil to the dire machinations exercised by the Scorpion and other unsavory individuals. Although they frequently are called upon
to sacrifice their honor for the sake of their clan, they do so willingly and without regret, and almost always with the greater Lion
Clan remaining completely ignorant of their activities.
Ikoma Lion's Shadow [Bushi]
Benefit: +1 Awareness
Skills: Courtier, Etiquette, Kenjutsu, Investigation (Notice), Sincerity, Stealth, any 1 High or Low Skill
Honor: 3.5
Outfit: Traditional Clothing, Daisho, any 1 weapon, Calligraphy Set, Traveling Pack, 5 Koku
Techniques
Rank 1: No Boundaries
Those who walk the path of Ikoma choose a life of self-sacrifice and questionalbe actions in order to serve the clan as their
founder did. You do not lose Honor for using Low Skills if they are used directly for the goals or glory of the Lion Clan (subject to
GM judgement). As a Free Action you may target a number of opponents equal to your School Rank; you gain a bonus of +1k0 to
the total of all attack rolls and Contested Rolls made against these opponents. This bonus may be activated a number of times per
day equal to your School Rank, and lasts until the end of the day.
Rank 2: The Lion Cannot Fail
The first true lesson of the great Ikoma is that surrender is never an option, and failure can be overcome regardless of
circumstances. You gain a bonus of +1k0 to all Skill Rolls using School Skills.
Rank 3: The Spirit of Ikoma
Although many among the Lion remember him differently, the followers of the Lion's Shadow know that Ikoma was a warrior
who cared for victory first, and the means of attaining that victory second. Once per Round, you may lose three points of Honor as
a Free Action to add +2k1 to your attack, damage, and Contested Social Skill Rolls until the end of the Round.
Rank 4: The Quiet Lion's Claws
Although their principle battleground is that of the court, those who bear the name Lion's Shadow are sons of Ikoma first and
foremost, and carry the ferocity of their ancestor within their veins. You may make melee weapon attacks as Simple Action instead
of a Complex Action.
Rank 5: Ferocious Determination
The wrath of a disciple of Ikoma is terrible to behold. You may spend a Void Point to take a Free Action to makea Contested Roll
of your Courtier / Awareness versus against an opponent's Etiquette (Courtesy) / Awareness. If you win the roll, you have shaken
his resolve by reminding him of his past failings. The opponent subtracts a penalty equal to your Awareness plus the opponent's
own Honor Rank from the total of his attack and Contested Social Skill Rolls against you for a number of hours equal to your
School Rank. This technique does not work against those who possess no Honor Rank (animals, oni, etc).