Roleplaying game

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Chapter 2: Creating a Character
Chapter 2: Creating a Character
Phoenix Clan Families
The Asako Family
Ring Increase: +1 Air
Skill Increases: +1 Culture, +1 Theology
The Asako are a quiet family, viewed as being content to follow their 
scholarly and philosophical pursuits while the Isawa drive the goals of the 
Phoenix. The Asako prize knowledge, but they prize wisdom even more, 
and they use their studies to advance their spiritual evolution as well as 
their political agendas. The Asako serve as courtiers for the Phoenix, and 
they are much in demand as court scholars and tutors across the Empire.
Glory: 40
The Isawa Family
Ring Increase: +1 Fire
Skill Increases: +1 Meditation, +1 Theology
The Elemental Masters who sit on the Council of Five are the true rul-
ers of the Phoenix, and these masters are almost always drawn from the 
Isawa. As one of the oldest shugenja families in the Empire, they have 
had centuries to learn to commune with the spirits and the most effective 
ways to request their blessings. Some might confuse authority with arro-
gance, but at heart, they are a pious and dutiful family that is devoted to 
ensuring harmony and balance.
Glory: 44
The Shiba Family
Ring Increase: +1 Water
Skill Increases: +1 Courtesy, +1 Tactics
The Shiba family descends from a Kami and provides the Phoenix with 
a champion, but they bent the knee to the Isawa family early in their 
history and have dutifully served them ever since. The Shiba focus on 
keeping the Phoenix Clan safe and rely first and foremost on diplomacy 
before resorting to force. The Shiba are expected to be learned in schol-
arly ways as well as in the warrior arts, and they understand the shugenja 
they serve better than most bushi families.
Glory: 40
Scorpion Clan Families
The Bayushi Family
Ring Increase: +1 Fire
Skill Increases: +1 Design, +1 Courtesy
The motto of the Scorpion Clan’s primary lineage, “I can swim,” comes 
from a cautionary tale about their treacherous nature. Charming, ruth-
less, deceitful, and vicious, the Bayushi appear as the villains they claim 
to be. They are the sinister side of power, using the arts of blackmail, poi-
son, and seduction to control the enemies of the Empire, all while danc-
ing a fine line to avoid falling to true villainy themselves. For the Bayushi, 
the means are justified by the ends: a stable and prosperous Empire.
Glory: 44
The Shosuro Family
Ring Increase: +1 Air
Skill Increases: +1 Performance, +1 Courtesy
When the Shosuro family is known to outsiders, it is for their act-
ing talent and theatrical skills. Little does the Empire realize how fully 
the Shosuro embrace their roles; many of the finest Scorpion spies are 
Shosuro living as other people among the clans. While they are master 
entertainers, they are often asked to turn their skills in acrobatics, acting, 
and other arts to darker and bloodier ends for their clan.
Glory: 40
The Soshi Family
Ring Increase: +1 Air
Skill Increases: +1 Design, +1 Theology
The Soshi are often overlooked, and that is how they prefer things to be. 
They are most effective when unseen, offering up prayers in silence for 
the Scorpion. The Soshi live for subtlety: the gentle nudge, the whispered 
word that sets everything into motion. Sometimes this comes at a price, 
however, for their preference for acting at the perfect moment often 
makes them exceedingly cautious and prone to excessive planning and 
information gathering.
Glory: 40
The Yogo Family
Ring Increase: +1 Earth
Skill Increases: +1 Composition, +1 Theology
The Yogo family is the most unfortunate family in the Empire: each scion 
of their line is cursed to betray the one they love the most. They try to ig-
nore the curse by burying themselves in their work and devotion to duty 
above all. To try to lift this curse, they have relentlessly studied prayers 
of protection and especially wards, through which they have mastered 
many techniques to identify and fight evil magic. The Yogo are the most 
diligent and unappreciated servants of the Scorpion.
Glory: 39
Unicorn Clan Families
The Ide Family
Ring Increase: +1 Water
Skill Increases: +1 Commerce, +1 Courtesy
The Ide are the only Unicorn many people in the Empire have ever met, 
as they tirelessly serve as diplomats, couriers and, yes, even merchants 
across Rokugan. While they are Unicorn through and through, the Ide 
have learned to blend their foreign customs with the traditions of the 
Empire to prove to the other Great Clans that the Unicorn are one of 
them. The Ide work to radiate calm and competence, seeking to build 
alliances and friendships with others across—and occasionally beyond—
the Empire.
Glory: 40

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Chapter 2: Creating a Character
The Iuchi Family
Ring Increase: +1 Air
Skill Increases: +1 Fitness, +1 Theology
The Iuchi are a priestly family providing the majority of the shugenja in 
the Unicorn lands. Many of their practices stretch back to the time the 
Unicorn were beyond the borders of the Empire. They are used to serv-
ing beside the warriors of the Unicorn and often ride to war alongside 
them. Iuchi shugenja practice sorcery known as meishōdō, the art of 
using talismans and names to manipulate the spirits, which is unknown 
outside of their family. Their history makes them more open to exploring 
different mystical paths than are those bound by centuries of tradition.
Glory: 40
The Moto Family
Ring Increase: +1 Fire
Skill Increases: +1 Command, +1 Fitness
The Moto are considered to be the least civilized of the Unicorn families 
by the standards of the Empire. From their stocky builds and the heavy 
beards of their men, to their style of dress and equipment, the Moto seem 
foreign and strange. Indeed, the Moto have no use for the soft trappings 
of what some call civilization; they are nomadic warriors seeking the next 
battle, and they embrace that harsh life. While their heritage and culture 
are often questioned, especially by the more traditionally minded, their 
bravery and warrior ethic are not.
Glory: 40
The Shinjo Family
Ring Increase:  +1 Water
Skill Increases: +1 Fitness, +1 Government
The Shinjo are the core of the Unicorn, the explorers who followed their 
Kami into the dangerous world beyond the Empire. This love of discov-
ery has not left the Shinjo, and they travel widely when they can. They 
administrate and lead the Unicorn, working to keep all of the parts of the 
clan yoked together for the Emperor. Master equestrians and scouts, the 
Shinjo pursue peace with all, but never flinch from the prospect of war.
Glory: 44
The Utaku Family
Ring Increase: +1 Earth
Skill Increases: +1 Fitness, +1 Tactics
No other Unicorn family has so deeply and spiritually embraced Bushidō 
as the Utaku, who embody it in their elite battle maidens, the shiotome. 
Not even the Lion question the honor of these warriors. The matriarchal 
Utaku allow only their women to ride to war; the Utaku men serve afoot 
as infantry and in the stables and households, making them unusual 
among their own clan. There is no finer heavy cavalry in the Empire than 
the battle maidens, and no finer equerries than Utaku men.
Glory: 44
Part II: Role and School
A character’s rings represent their potential, but their school and skills 
represent their learned expertise.
If a school grants you a technique as part of its Starting Techniques 
section, you ignore any other prerequisites listed for that technique in 
Chapter 4: Techniques.
3. What is your character’s role and school?
In Rokugan, duty is central to every samurai’s life—performing one’s so-
cietal role is the paramount responsibility of a samurai, and most serve in 
one of the following roles. Bushi are warriors by trade, courtiers are poli-
ticians and civil servants, and shugenja (by far the rarest of these three 
classifications) are priests of the samurai caste who share a special bond 
with the kami that lets them invoke miraculous powers that more com-
mon religious leaders cannot.
Monks nominally stand aside from society, but many samurai enter 
monastic life—most commonly toward the end of their lives, but some 
much earlier. As a result, at various points in history, monks have been 
known to wield considerable political influence, even if they are sup-
posed to be above such earthly concerns.
Finally, some samurai serve their lords as ninja—though none admit 
to such openly, for the work of these assassins and spies is incompatible 
with adherence to the code of Bushidō. Ninja are often deniable assets, 
and many were never samurai, but some members of the samurai caste 
are trained in these arts, especially among the Scorpion Clan. While ninja 
are quite rare, their influence over the course of history has been as sub-
stantial as it has been impossible to prove.
Each school fits into one or more of these role categories. A school’s 
role has no direct mechanical effect, but it is descriptive of the prepara-
tion and duties that will affect your character’s mind-set and options 
during the campaign. For instance, if you want to play a character who 
wields supernatural powers, you should select a shugenja or monk 
school. If you are more interested in social exploration than combat, you 
should choose a courtier instead of a bushi (or vice versa). If you want 
stealth and deception to be an important part of your character’s story, 
you might choose a ninja.
In most cases, a samurai is limited to the schools within their clan. If 
you wish for your character to study at another school, ask your GM’s 
permission and work out a set of circumstances that have allowed for 
your character to study at another school.
Crab Schools
The Crab Clan is stalwart and practical in a way most other clans are not. 
Crab samurai cannot afford frivolity or distractions to nearly the same de-
gree that most others can, for a single gap in the Kaiu Wall can spell death 
to hundreds, and a single missed shipment of goods can doom valiant de-
fenders. Despite their grim circumstances, the Crab are not without hope. 
Heroes arise every generation to strike down the monsters that threaten 
the realm, great engineers invent new solutions to combat the armies of 
the Shadowlands, and scholars uncover new secrets that might turn the 
tides of battle. The Crab Clan schools must prepare their students for the 
worst, and so, they seek to draw out the best in their charges so that they 
can vanquish the dreadful challenges they will inevitably face.
Where Is My Favorite School?
The schools featured in the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying 
Game Beta are not representative of the full list of schools that will be 
available in the core rulebook. The schools featured in the beta were 
chosen to include a mixture of iconic and interesting school options, 
as well as to test a variety of different school types and techniques.

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