Optional Rule: Subskills
Texto
Legend of the Five Rings means many different things to many different people, and not every possible campaign should use the exact same skill list. The skills used in a particular group’s game should be ones that will actually be important to the story—skills that reflect the atmosphere, mood, and challenges that the PCs will face!
Even two campaigns run for the same group might have different skill and subskill needs. For example, if your campaign is going to be a tale of adventure and intrigue culminating in a journey into the depths of an ancient sorcerer’s tomb, having fully fleshed-out subskills for both Ikebana (flower arrangement) and Rock Gardening is likely superfluous. Both reflect an understanding of aesthetics, nature, and minimalism, and thus both can be covered by the provided Aesthetics skill. In contrast, in a courtly drama in which swords are rarely drawn and knowledge of forbidden supernatural secrets is all but irrelevant (to say nothing of uncouth), there is little reason to have both Martial Arts [Staves] and Martial Arts [Swords] as subskills—but the difference between the Ikebana and Rock Gardening subskills might be crucial to distinguishing the skill sets of two different characters.
The skills listed in this chapter are intended to be a solid starting selection for many Legend of the Five Rings campaigns, and they cover the bases without taxing characters of any specific archetype excessively if they want to achieve competency in their field. We have generally condensed skills from past editions that were unlikely to be used frequently, with the goal of producing a smooth system.
However, as the GM, you should feel free to tailor this skill list to the type of game you want to run. Think about the focus of your game—is a skill that you think players should roll on often missing? Feel free to add it in as a subskill. You should even allow players to suggest new subskills, though you might advise them not to get overly specific and narrow, lest they never have a chance to roll dice from the 12 experience points they dutifully invested into Games [Shōgi] or Culture [The Ivory
Kingdoms]—such knowledge can simply be part of the character’s backstory if they studied something they’d never mechanically use during the campaign. Still, the player’s desire tells you something useful about what they might want to do in the campaign, and you can capitalize on that information by working it into your plans. If a player wants a skill that specific, you could consider adding a shōgi tournament or an important envoy from the Ivory Kingdoms to your story!
To develop a subskill, choose the skill that already covers that activity (or is the closest to doing so), and add the new subskill to its skill group. It should function in much the same way as the skill from which it was divided, and it should count as a member of the same skill group. The skill from which it was divided no longer covers the activity of the subskill. When a listed check calls for the main skill (such as in a technique, or when a character is resisting an effect), the character may choose to use the main skill or any subskill that you deem could logically apply. It’s a very good idea to alert your players about any planned subskills before they build their characters. Any time the main skill appears in a character’s school curriculum (see page 57) or title curriculum (see page 305), the GM should decide whether to replace it with a subskill or simply add the subskill, allowing both to contribute. Adding subskills in the midst of an ongoing campaign is generally not recommended. GMs who do so should discuss it with their players first so that nobody feels their experience expenditures were undermined, or let players reassign spent XP based on the changes to the skill list.
In each skill entry, this chapter offers a number of specific ways you might want to break certain subskills off from their main skill, along with conveying what this added granularity signals about the campaign’s focus and story.
If a subskill is particularly narrow and not a Martial subskill, the GM might want to consider changing the price to invest in it. We recommend half the price of a standard skill (XP equal to the rank the character is purchasing).
Texto do livro
Core Rulebook · Chapter 3: Skills › Choosing Skill Group, Skill, and Approach › Using Approaches from Other Skill Groups · p. 142 p. 143
Mostrar o texto como impresso
Legend of the Five Rings means many different things to many different people, and not every possible campaign should use the exact same skill list. The skills used in a particular group’s game should be ones that will actually be important to the story—skills that reflect the atmosphere, mood, and challenges that the PCs will face!
Even two campaigns run for the same group might have different skill and subskill needs. For example, if your campaign is going to be a tale of adventure and intrigue culminating in a journey into the depths of an ancient sorcerer’s tomb, having fully fleshed-out subskills for both Ikebana (flower arrangement) and Rock Gardening is likely superfluous. Both reflect an understanding of aesthetics, nature, and minimalism, and thus both can be covered by the provided Aesthetics skill. In contrast, in a courtly drama in which swords are rarely drawn and knowledge of forbidden supernatural secrets is all but irrelevant (to say nothing of uncouth), there is little reason to have both Martial Arts [Staves] and Martial Arts [Swords] as subskills—but the difference between the Ikebana and Rock Gardening subskills might be crucial to distinguishing the skill sets of two different characters.
The skills listed in this chapter are intended to be a solid starting selection for many Legend of the Five Rings campaigns, and they cover the bases without taxing characters of any specific archetype excessively if they want to achieve competency in their field. We have generally condensed skills from past editions that were unlikely to be used frequently, with the goal of producing a smooth system.
However, as the GM, you should feel free to tailor this skill list to the type of game you want to run. Think about the focus of your game—is a skill that you think players should roll on often missing? Feel free to add it in as a subskill. You should even allow players to suggest new subskills, though you might advise them not to get overly specific and narrow, lest they never have a chance to roll dice from the 12 experience points they dutifully invested into Games [Shōgi] or Culture [The Ivory
Kingdoms]—such knowledge can simply be part of the character’s backstory if they studied something they’d never mechanically use during the campaign. Still, the player’s desire tells you something useful about what they might want to do in the campaign, and you can capitalize on that information by working it into your plans. If a player wants a skill that specific, you could consider adding a shōgi tournament or an important envoy from the Ivory Kingdoms to your story!
To develop a subskill, choose the skill that already covers that activity (or is the closest to doing so), and add the new subskill to its skill group. It should function in much the same way as the skill from which it was divided, and it should count as a member of the same skill group. The skill from which it was divided no longer covers the activity of the subskill. When a listed check calls for the main skill (such as in a technique, or when a character is resisting an effect), the character may choose to use the main skill or any subskill that you deem could logically apply. It’s a very good idea to alert your players about any planned subskills before they build their characters. Any time the main skill appears in a character’s school curriculum (see page 57) or title curriculum (see page 305), the GM should decide whether to replace it with a subskill or simply add the subskill, allowing both to contribute. Adding subskills in the midst of an ongoing campaign is generally not recommended. GMs who do so should discuss it with their players first so that nobody feels their experience expenditures were undermined, or let players reassign spent XP based on the changes to the skill list.
In each skill entry, this chapter offers a number of specific ways you might want to break certain subskills off from their main skill, along with conveying what this added granularity signals about the campaign’s focus and story.
If a subskill is particularly narrow and not a Martial subskill, the GM might want to consider changing the price to invest in it. We recommend half the price of a standard skill (XP equal to the rank the character is purchasing).