House Rules
Last Updated: 02/25/2005

"Stacking" Spells

"Stacking" of spells occurs whenever a shugenja casts a spell (with a duration longer than "instantaneous") on a target which is already being affected by one or more castings of the same spell. An obvious example of this would be casting "penalty" spells such as Wind-Born Slumbers on the same target multiple times.

Spirits do not like being used in this way. Any time a shugenja attempts to "stack" a spell, there is a cumulative penalty of two Raises. Thus, the second time the spell is cast, two Raises are required; the third time, four Raises; the fourth time, six Raises; and so forth.

The Mantis Family Name

The Mantis Clan has been granted the right to give the family name "Yoritomo" (+1 Strength) to its highest-ranking members. Any Mantis PC with Glory of 4.0 or better, or who attains that Glory in play, can take the Yoritomo name and associated stat bonus.

Buying Out-Of-Clan Ancestors

During character generation, PCs can choose to purchase ancestors from other Clans (representing a cross-Clan marriage in their family background). However, the Character Point cost for such ancestors is doubled.

The Status of the Crab Clan (ATTENTION: All Crab Players!)

The Crab Clan is now embroiled in a civil war. The largest faction, the "loyalists," is led by Clan Champion Hida Kisada, his son Hida Yakamo, and the Kuni family daimyo, Kuni Yori. The smaller "rebel" faction is led by Kisada's younger son, Hida Sukune, and is also supported by Hiruma Yoshi, the aging daimyo of the Hiruma family. The position of the Kaiu and Yasuki families is unknown -- they seem to be trying to remain neutral in the conflict.

Hida Sukune has sent letters throughout the Clan, accusing his father and Kuni Yori of conspiring to align themselves with the Shadowlands, and of sacrificing the Fifth Tower of the Kaiu Wall to the forces of Fu Leng. Hida Kisada has not answered these accusations directly, but Kuni Yori has publicly stated that everything he has done has been to strengthen the Crab Clan and to further Kisada-sama's goals.

If you are playing a Crab PC, you may choose to support the loyalist faction, the rebel faction, or to remain neutral. This decision will be important not only for your relations with your fellow Crab, but also your goals at the upcoming Origins interactive.

Using Bushi Techniques with Archery

Most of the Bushi School techniques are intended for use with melee combat, and are not applicable to ranged combat unless the specifically mention it. However, the following specific techniques can be used with archery:

* Any Technique that adds a value to the total of Attack and/or Damage rolls can be used with archery. Examples would include the Hida Rank One technique, the Akodo Rank Two technique, the Moto Rank One technique, and the Shiba Rank One technique.

* Multiple attack techniques do NOT apply to ranged attacks unless the specifically mention it. (E.g. only the Wasp get multiple attacks with ranged weapons.)

Secrets of the Dragon

Secrets of the Dragon is intended primarily for games running in the Gold era (roughly thirty years into the future), and as such, not all the material in it is applicable to the current period in the HR campaign. However, the following specific elements from the book have been declared legal for Heroes of Rokugan:

The various Gold-era books (Clan Secrets, Way of the Samurai, etc) are intended primarily for games running in the Gold era (roughly thirty years into the future), and as such, not all of their material is applicable to the current period in the HR campaign. The following specific elements from these books have been declared legal for Heroes of Rokugan. We have condensed this into a single sections for simplicity's sake.

As a result of the Second Battle of Toshi Ranbo (detailed in the Origins interactive “Chrysanthemum Festival”), the Akodo family has been dishonored. All Lion who are members of the Akodo family have three choices:

Equipment and Money
Due to the ongoing problem of players “pinching their pennies” and behaving in an un-samurai-like manner with their money and property, we have decided to make PC starting outfits “refresh” at the start of each adventure.

Money and equipment which a character acquires in the course of play (such as gifts, income from lands, and so forth) does not “refresh” – once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Glory Cap
As of this date, we have capped player-character Glory at 5.9 (rank 5, 9 points). No PC in the Living Rokugan campaign can have a Glory higher than 5.9 without the specific permission of the campaign administrator.

Kakita Blades and Kaiu Blades
Due to the proliferation of these special weapons (which are supposed to be rare, nearly unattainable), the campaign administrator has taken the reluctant decision to ban them. The specifics of this ruling are as follows:

Characters already in the campaign who have forbidden Kaiu or Kakita blades have two choices:

The Weakness Disadvantage
It has come to our attention that some players are abusing the “Weakness” disadvantage as a way of gaining quick, cheap boosts to their Rings and Insight. According to the rulebook, the only effect of “Weakness” is to reduce a Trait by one rank (to a minimum of one) in order to gain 5 CP. Henceforth, the official campaign interpretation of this will be as follows:

Characters with the “Weakness” disadvantage are considered to lose the disadvantage as soon as they raise the relevant Trait to 2 (two) using XP. The disadvantage then disappears – there is no need to “buy it off” with XP. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES does buying off the disadvantage award a free +1 to the Trait.

Kharma and Multiple Schools
Under normal circumstances, the Heroes of Rokugan campaign does not allow the use of the Kharma rule (page 158 of the GM's Guide) or the purchase of the Multiple Schools advantage. However, if both a player and GM agree that the use of one of these rules is justified, write up a story explaining the reasons and submit it to the campaign administrator for consideration.

Second Edition Conversion
As of January 2002, the campaign completed its conversion to the 2nd Edition L5R rules, as described in the L5R Player’s Guide (except as amended below under "House Rules"). All games will now use 2nd Edition mechanics, including spell-casting, Insight, skill rolls, wound penalites, and initiative. Updated character sheets are available under templates.

Running Older Scenarios Under 2nd Edition Rules
Scenarios released prior to January 2002 were written in 1st Edition rules. Although a 100% conversion to 2nd Edition is impossible, the following guidelines should allow judges to run these events with a minimum of change:

Way of Shinsei/Way of the Naga
Both "Way of Shinsei" and "Way of the Naga", with all their accompanying rules, are currently prohibited in the Heroes of Rokugan campaign. The Naga have not yet awakened, and we felt that the Kihos from "Way of Shinsei" had too much potential for unbalancing things if they were allowed into the campaign unrestricted. Instead, Kihos will be certed abilities acquired during play.

The Heritage Tables
Please remember that the Heritage Tables cannot be used to bypass the campaign prohibitions. If you roll something on the Heritage Tables which is not allowed under the campaign rules (such as Insight above 149, a non-certed magical item, or a maho spell), you forfeit the result. You cannot re-roll - this is a risk you accept by rolling on the table.

Communing with the Elements
In Heroes of Rokugan, when shugenja cast the "Commune" spell to ask questions of the elements, the spirits of Air, Earth, and Fire will only offer verbal answers (varying in nature according to the spirit). Water spirits always answer with soundless visual images.

The Medicine Skill
The Medicine skill may be used, in conjunction with a First Aid Kit, to heal wounds equal to the skill Rank which the PC has in Medicine. Each successful Raise will heal the same amount again.

This may be done once each time a character is injured. The skill roll is Medicine/Intelligence, with a TN of 5 x (current number of Wound Ranks the character is down). Characters cannot treat themselves with Medicine.

A fine or excellent quality medical kit can grant one or two Free Raises on the roll, healing a corresponding greater number of Wounds.

Maho
Until further notice, Maho spells in Heroes of Rokugan will continue to use the 1st Edition mechanics. To cast a Maho spell, the caster must spill blood in Wounds equal to the spell’s Mastery Level, then rolls Earth+Taint Rank, keeping Earth. The caster gains Taint equal to twice the spell’s Mastery Level. It is recommended that Maho spells be described at the end of each module in which they appear, since not all GMs will have access to all the Maho spell descriptions.

Maps of the Empire
The Heroes of Rokugan campaign considers both the 1st Edition and the 2nd Edition maps of Rokugan to be valid, and scenario authors are free to use materials from both when developing scenarios. Inconsistencies between the maps should be ignored, as with any embarrassing spectacle in Rokugan.

Meditating for Spell Slots
The Meditation skill may be used by shugenja to recover spell slots (in addition to recovering Void points). An hour of successful meditation restores one spell slot in each Ring. A shugenja cannot do this more than twice a day.

Path to Inner Peace
In the Heroes of Rokugan campaign, the spell "Path to Inner Peace" functions as it did in 1st Edition. That is, although it heals the penalties (game effects) for wounds, the physical injuries themselves remain until they heal naturally. What this means is that broken bones, severed limbs, etc., do not repair themselves when treated with this spell, although the game stat "wounds" and Wound Penalties for the injury are gone (erased off the character sheet). The spell "Regrow the Wound", on the other hand, does heal broken bones and similar problems.
An excellent description of this effect may be found in one of the stories in Way of Shadow, in which Isawa Ujina heals himself with the spell.

Using 1st Edition Spells
Many of our favorite spells from 1st Edition did not carry over into 2nd Edition, or were heavily changed. We have come up with the following list of Mastery Levels for the "lost" 1st Edition spells, for the benefit of those players who own a 1st Edition rulebook.

2nd Edition Conversions (copyright 2001 Alderac Entertainment)

Ise Zumi (Dragon Clan)

The TN for "shutting off" a tattoo has been reduced from 15 to 10.

Bamboo Tattoo - While using the power of this tattoo, the ise zumi's Stamina is increased by an amount equal to his School Rank, and Stamina-related skill rolls roll and keep extra dice equal to his School Rank. This lasts a number of rounds equal to the Ise Zumi's School Rank. The cost of using this tattoo is unchanged.

Bat Tattoo - While using the power of this tattoo, the ise zumi's Reflexes are increased by an amount equal to his School Rank, and Reflexes-related skill rolls roll and keep extra dice equal to his School Rank. This lasts a number of rounds equal to the Ise Zumi's School Rank. The tattoo still does not affect TN to be Hit. The cost of using this tattoo is unchanged.

Bellflower Tattoo - The Ise Zumi may substitute his Void for any Trait or Skill for a number of Rounds equal to his Rank. He may not substitute his Void for skills in which he is unskilled.

Butterfly Tattoo - While using the power of this tattoo, the ise zumi's Awareness is increased by an amount equal to his School Rank, and Awareness-related skill rolls roll and keep extra dice equal to his School Rank. This lasts a number of rounds equal to the Ise Zumi's School Rank. (The duration of this tattoo is, in fact, much shorter now due to the increased effect of Awareness on combat.) The cost of using this tattoo is unchanged.

Centipede Tattoo - This tattoo increases the ise zumi's movement from Water X 5 to Water X 100 for up to twenty four hours. While moving in such a manner, the Ise Zumi's TN to be hit is increased by his Reflexes + his School Rank. Once it is deactivated, the ise zumi is effectively Out (the Pine tattoo cannot negate this), and must rest for the amount of time he ran, multiplied by (6 minus his School Rank).

Crab Tattoo - The benefit of this tattoo remains the same. The cost, however has changed. While using this tattoo, the ise zumi receives a +5 TN penalty to all skill rolls involving Reflexes.

Crow Tattoo - The benefit of this tattoo is the same, but the cost is different. Any Shadowlands creature making a Perception check against the ise zumi gains a bonus to his roll equal to the ise zumi's Rank X 5.

Lion Tattoo - The ise zumi may roll extra dice equal to his Rank on all Bugei Skills. This does not affect whether or not he is considered unskilled with a particular Bugei Skill.

Monkey Tattoo - The ise zumi may roll extra dice equal to his Rank on Stealth, Sleight of Hand, and other skills requiring subtlety. When making any climbing or leaping actions, he also gains this bonus. The cost for this tattoo is unchanged.

Mountain Tattoo - The benefits of this tattoo are unchanged, but the ise zumi may also roll additional dice equal to his School Rank on all Stamina and Willpower skill rolls. The cost of this tattoo is unchanged.

Pine Tattoo - The tattoo now cancels penalties due to Wounds as follow:
School Rank 1 - Ignore up to +5
School Rank 2 - Ignore up to +10
School Rank 3 - Ignore up to +15
School Rank 4 - Ignore up to +20
School Rank 5 - Ignore Down and Out
The cost of this tattoo is unchanged.

Scorpion Tattoo - When other make a roll against the ise zumi (whether with an attack roll or a social skill) they cannot keep more dice than their lowest Trait. The cost effectively Raises the TN for any social skill performed by the ise zumi by 10, 40 if he is actively trying to convince someone else that he is telling the truth.

Tortoise Tattoo - The ise zumi may substitute his School Rank X 2 for any Skill a number of times per day equal to his School Rank. This benefit lasts for an hour per Rank of the ise zumi. The cost of this tattoo is unchanged.

White Mask Tattoo - This tattoo instills a penalty of +40 on all attempts to read the ise zumi's emotions or thoughts, whether by courtly skills or magic. The ise zumi may never keep more than one die on any social rolls involving Awareness.

Matsu Bushi School

Rank 3 - The Matsu Bushi may now add his/her Honor X 2 to all Initiative rolls.

Kuni Witch Hunter School

Rank One: Unchanged
Rank Two: TN to detect Shadowlands creatures is reduced to 10, 15 if they are adept at hiding their nature.
Rank 3: The Witch Hunter gains a bonus to his attack roll equal to his opponent’s Shadowlands Taint X 5. Against native Shadowlands creatures, they gain the following bonuses:

Rank 4: The TN to make another person resistant to maho for one round is reduced to 20.
Rank 5: Unchanged

Kuni Witch Hunters (only) may opt to purchase the "Multiple Schools" advantage and attend the Kuni shugenja school.

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