I would like to first welcome everyone to this game that I hope will provide everyone with some good memories and fun times.  My hope is that my idea for the Legend of the Five Rings universe will be pleasing to others and can provide some humorous and entertaining diversion for others.  There will of course be rules, in particular the 4th edition rule set of Legend of the Five Rings, and conflict.  In addition there will be much asked of the players as we are treading on unwritten territory in this moment.  The new book, Imperial Histories, has inspired me to start the game I have always wanted to run.  A game where the players write the time line and not simply the publishers.<br/><br/>The setting of this game will start before the Kami fall to the mortal realm.  During this time the land is not even titled Rokugan, but is instead an unknown territory.  Tribes of people live, fight, and die on this landscape trying to scratch out some happiness.  The little culture that exists originates from trade and from the few tribes strong enough to gain a permanent foothold, such as the Isawa.  Rokugan culture has not been developed by the illustrious Lady Doji and the organized military might of the Empire is not even a twinkle in Akodo’s eye.  Instead this is a place where wayward heroes might walk the world to face dangers still unfound and secure a place for not only themselves but their people.<br/><br/>That being said, each player is responsible for the creation of their character and of a tribe for their character to represent.  Note a character does not have to be from that tribe, but they must possess a vested interest in that tribe’s survival and success.  Whether they were adopted by the people, married into the tribe or simply stuck around long enough to be considered part of the tribe makes little difference to me.  The character must, in some way, be a champion of that tribe.  The player character might be the greatest military mind the tribe has developed, their best scholar, most prized leader or in some way important to the people of that tribe.  The final requirement is that the characters of each player must be able to work together for a mutual goal.  This does not mean the tribes get along or even the characters, but there must be cooperation capable and happening between characters.<br/><br/>Remember when I said there would be a lot of creativity from the players and demands on them, this is what I meant.  Each tribe is the player’s to create and begin to mold.  The notion of mechanics has come up to regulate the tribes, but in these early stages I would like to see the characters focus on designing the different aspects of their tribes.  From the leadership structure to their cultural beliefs and so on.  Items such as attributes, school techniques and such can also be handled later and the ground work laid at this time.  Currently the tribes are in and out of existence so often that a true blood line may be hard to craft.<br/><br/><strong>Character Creation Rules</strong><br/><br/>The setting of this game starts before the Kami fell to the mortal world.  Rokugan is not even the twinkle of an eye yet as tribes of men and women fight for survival.  Across the land the supernatural races still roam and the spirits care nothing for the race of man.  There is chaos with little hope of change in the near future.  So the characters and tribes being constructed here are limited in their variation and ability, but also have a wild amount of creativity that can be applied to their creation.<br/><br/>Characters will be built using the setup of a true ronin from the 4th edition.  85 experience points total will be given over to the process of constructing the samurai.  Advantages and Disadvantages will need to be discussed with me before the character can be approved.   In all honesty I would recommend first building the background of the character, discussing options with me and then allowing the points to settle into place as we discuss options.  Once more I make emphasis that this game will require quite a bit of creativity and discussion.<br/><br/>When developing the character keep in mind their relationship with their tribe and family.  Descendants and relatives will be very important in this game’s future.  This is not a game for the lone hero, but one of samurai lineages that will rise and fall with their great heroes.<br/><br/>A more in depth tribe sheet will be posted soon for people to flesh them out.  Feel free to discuss ideas amongst yourselves in this thread or with me in private.<br/>