Building a School

Building a School

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One of the fundamental aspects of a character is the school in which they train. “School” does not necessarily refer to a specific dōjō or guidance from a particular sensei, but it may act more broadly as set of beliefs and stylistic choices that characterize any who follow it. The schools found on pages 48–59 represent archetypal paths an outsider might walk in Rokugan, but these are only a few of the myriad paths available. A character born as a rōnin or a peasant very likely has never set foot in a proper dōjō, let alone trained in one. What distinguishes these characters from others is that they each follow a set of guiding principles that shape how they approach the world.

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to develop unique, interesting schools. A GM can use this to create schools tailored for their specific campaign that are available in addition to, or instead of, the default schools, or to create a school based on a concept that a player has proposed. Alternatively, if a player has a strong idea in mind, they can work with the GM to create a school using these guidelines. As always, the GM is the final arbiter of whether custom-created schools are an option for their individual campaign. Beyond rōnin and peasant schools, these rules can also be used to create new Great Clan, Minor Clan, vassal family, and gaijin schools.

A detailed example is interspersed throughout to show how school development can look with a player and GM collaborating.

Table 2–3: Role Breakdown

ROLE | DESCRIPTION

Artisan | Creators, advisors, engineers, and scholars of art

Bushi | Warriors, guards, and instructors

Courtier | Politicians, emissaries, and civil servants

Monk | Political influencers, traveling historians, pinnacles of monastic life and (supposedly) above earthly concerns

Sage | Those who wield supernatural powers differently from or beyond how a shugenja might wield them in Rokugan

Shinobi | Assassins and spies

Shugenja | Priests of the samurai caste or others who have a special bond with the kami or can control them

step 1: determine school role

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As the first building block in bringing a school concept to life, one or more roles need to be selected to help hone the rest of development. There are seven roles available here (see Table 2–3: Role Breakdown, on this page). When selecting roles for a school, it is recommend that only one or two roles be selected, though to create a more complex school, up to three roles can be chosen (as with the Soshi Illusionist School, on page 80 of the core rulebook). After the name of the school, its roles should be listed in order of importance, with the primary role listed first, followed by the secondary (and then the third, if present). The chosen roles will inform the rest of the design, so choosing roles is one of the most critical parts of creating a school! Write these in brackets after the school’s name.

step 1: morgan builds a school

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Morgan decides to work with her GM to build a special school for her Qamarist character. She starts with choosing her school role––she wants this school to embody the artistry and mathematical fastidiousness revered in the Qamarist Caliphate, so she chooses Artisan as her only role.

step 2: choose school affiliations and summarize school

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A school is typically associated with a Great Clan, as most official schools in Rokugan represent the tried-andtrue methods crafted by Rokugani masters over generations. However, there are myriad styles and possible avenues for individuality when creating new schools. For this step, the player needs to determine if their school will be specific to a particular clan or gaijin faction, or if it is a more niche type of school that a peasant might use (keep in mind the last two options are not ones that would be easily accepted by the Great Clans). An affiliation determines which characters have access to that school by default (e.g. Crane Clan characters can attend a Crane school). If selecting a Great Clan affiliation, choose a family that this school originates from, though any member of the clan will be able to choose this school.

After choosing affiliations, it’s time to come up with a three- to five-sentence summary describing what makes the school exciting and what it’s about. This should present the selling point for the school––what about this school would pique someone’s interest enough to play it?

step 2: morgan builds a school

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Morgan is planning on building a Qamarist school, so she chooses a Qamarist affiliation. She then comes up with the following summary for her new school:

The Qamarist Caliphate is known for its mathematical precision in its art, requiring keen minds and careful hands to produce the meticulous and awe-inspiring designs. The personal artisans of the caliph are masters of symmetry and mechanical marvels.

Morgan works with her GM to come up with details about the Qamarist Caliphate to help flesh out her school and will continue to work to come up with other background information throughout the character-creation process.

step 3: school ability

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Developing a school ability is perhaps the most critical element of a school’s design. A school ability needs to feel balanced and fun, while also embodying the flavor of the school. A key component of a school ability is that it must scale with school rank. This means that the ability must take into account a character’s school rank and improve in effectiveness as the character advances.

Templates for generic school abilities can be found in Table 2–4: Generic School Ability Templates on page 78. A school ability can be based on a template or on an entirely new idea, though starting with a template is certainly easier.

Additionally, each school ability needs a name, which should be decided after creating the ability. A good name should evoke the flavor of the ability, helping everyone to understand how the character’s experience in the story translates into the ability’s mechanical bonuses.

Table 2–4: Generic School Abilities

ROLE | ABILITY TEMPLATE

Any

Choose one skill group when you create this school ability. When you perform a check using a skill from that group, you may treat your ranks in the skill as being equal to your school rank. If your ranks in that skill are equal to or higher than your school rank, or if you have 5 ranks in the skill, you may add one kept set to an result instead.

Any

Choose one skill when you create this school ability. Once per scene, when you make a check using this skill, you may add a number of kept set to results equal to your school rank.

Artisan

Choose one Artisan skill when you create this school ability. Before you make a check using that skill, you may receive strife up to your school rank to reduce the TN by that amount.

Bushi

Choose one weapon type or unarmed when you create this school ability. When you make a skill check using this weapon type, if you succeed, you may receive fatigue up to your school rank to add that many bonus successes.

Courtier | Choose one Scholar or Social skill when you create this school ability. When you make a check using that skill, you may negate a number of symbols up to your school rank.

Monk

Choose an action type (Attack, Movement, Scheme, or Support) when you create this school ability. When you make a check to perform an action of this type, before rolling, you may exchange a number of up to your school rank for . When you provide assistance on an action of this type, the character you assist may exchange one for an .

Sage

Choose one Artisan or Scholar skill when you create this school ability. You may use this skill for invocations, and you cannot channel invocations (see pages 189–190 of the core rulebook). Once per scene, when you succeed on a check to use an invocation technique, you may receive a number of strife up to your school rank to add that many bonus successes.

Shinobi

Choose one Social or Trade skill when you create this school ability. Once per scene when you make a check using that skill, you may choose a number of dropped dice up to your school rank and reserve them. Until the end of the scene, when you make a check using a different skill, you may add one of the reserved dice to the check as a kept die, set to the result it had when it was reserved. This expends that reserved die.

Shugenja

Choose an effect keyword (Augment, Bind, Curse, Mend, Purify, Scry, Smite, Summon, etc.; see pages 192 and 225 of the core rulebook) when you create this school ability. When you make a check for an action that uses that keyword, you may choose a number of your rolled dice up to your school rank containing symbols and reroll them.

step 3: morgan builds a school

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Morgan wants to make her school ability reflect her school’s aptitude for creating intricate, geometric designs and mechanical pieces with moving parts. She works with her GM to adjust a template from the provided table to flavor one of those abilities to something closer to her school’s theme:

Skill of the Caliphate (School Ability): Before you make a Smithing check, you may receive strife up to your school rank to reduce the TN of the check by that amount.

step 4: ring bonuses

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This step is fairly simple; with the flavor of the school in mind, appropriate ring bonuses can now be chosen.

When choosing two ring increases for a school, keep in mind what traits the practitioners of the school value. When making a school for a Great Clan, it’s also important to keep in mind the family bonuses and make sure they don’t overlap too much. If a player decides their character is from the family associated with the school, keeping the ring values different helps make a more balanced character and avoids going over the 3-point maximum for each ring during character creation (see page 31).

Typically, the first ring increase is based on the primary role of the school, as shown on Table 2–5: Suggested First Ring Bonus, and the second ring increase is drawn from what the school is known for, as shown in Table 2–6: Suggested Second Ring Bonus. That said, it’s prudent to keep in mind that players and GMs don’t need to follow this list if they’re making something that breaks the mold—and many schools do!

step 4: morgan builds a school

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Morgan wants her school to be focused on invention and creativity, while still echoing the traditional values and patient might of the Qamarist Caliphate. She chooses to add +1 Fire and +1 Earth to represent this.

step 5: choosing skills

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Once you’ve chosen two rings to give bonuses to, it’s time to select a group of skills from which a player will choose the skills their character starts with. The number of skills a school can give its adherents access to during character creation (listed in the “Skills Available” column), depends on the roles that were selected. The number of skills a character can choose from that group (listed in the “Skill Picks” column) also depends on the school’s roles. The skills in the “Common Skills Available” column for each role are skills that are frequently used by characters with that role. If a school has multiple roles, select the category for the primary (first) role of the school. See table 2–7: Skill Choices on page 80.

Table 2–5: Suggested First Ring Bonuses

ROLE | RING INCREASE

Artisan | Fire or Water

Bushi | Earth

Courtier or Shinobi | Air

Monk or Sage Void

Shugenja | The element the school is attuned to

Table 2–6: Suggested Second Ring Bonus

RING INCREASE TRAIT SCHOOL IS KNOWN FOR

Air | Precision, grace, or manners

Earth | Patience, tradition, or resilience

Fire | Inventiveness, ferocity, or speed

Void | Philosophy, selflessness, or insight

Water | Adaptability, flexibility, or awareness

Table 2–7: Skill Choices

SKILLS AVAILABLE

SKILL PICKS | COMMON SKILLS AVAILABLE

ROLE

Artisan | 7 | 5 | Aesthetics, Composition, Courtesy, Culture, Design, Martial Arts [Melee], Smithing

Bushi | 7 | 5 Command, Fitness, Government, Martial Arts [Melee], Martial Arts [Ranged], Martial Arts [Unarmed], Meditation, Tactics

Courtier | 7 | 5 | Composition, Courtesy, Culture, Government, Martial Arts [Ranged], Performance, Sentiment

Monk | 6 | 4 | Fitness, Martial Arts [Melee], Martial Arts [Unarmed], Meditation, Survival, Theology

Sage | 6 | 3 | Courtesy, Games, Labor, Meditation, Survival, Theology

Shinobi | 7 | 5 | Courtesy, Culture, Skulduggery, Martial Arts [Melee], Martial Arts [Ranged], Medicine, Performance

Shugenja | 6 | 3 | Composition, Courtesy, Culture, Games, Meditation, Theology

step 5: morgan builds a school

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Morgan now needs to select the starting skill choices for her Qamarist Artisan. Since Artisan is her school’s only role, she needs to choose seven starting skills, and players will be able to pick five of those during character creation. She selects Smithing (as it goes along with her school ability), Aesthetics, Design, Courtesy (to get into the good graces of strangers), Games (she can make toys, after all), Medicine (Qamarists are known for their alchemy), and finally, Theology (as religion plays a major role in life in the Caliphate).

step 6: technique access and starting techniques

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Next, you’ll need to choose what technique categories your school has open access to. Open access means that a member of the school can purchase any techniques from that category as long as they meet any prerequisites (see page 97 in the core rulebook for more information).

Most schools have a Techniques Available list that consists of rituals () and two other technique cate-gories of the common varieties: kata (), kihō (), invocations (), and shūji ().

As no reputable tradition would admit to teaching […] () is exceptionally rare and should only be given in unique cases. Some unusual, generally heretical school might lack rituals as a technique available to reflect its fundamental opposition to the Celestial Order.

Starting Techniques

Every school starts with a handful of techniques its members immediately know at rank 1 without having to spend any experience. These are called starting techniques. As with skills, the number of starting techniques that a school gives its members is based on the school’s primary role (see Table 2–8: Starting Techniques). This step is an opportunity to give starting characters from a particular school access to techniques that they might not otherwise get (such as giving them a rank 2 technique right away or giving a shinobi character some ninjutsu). Schools often also have choices, so someone making a character using this school might have a choice between two kata, then receive two invocations (with no choice), and then a ritual (with no choice).

Table 2–8: Starting Techniques

ROLE

NUMBER OF STARTING TECHNIQUES

Artisan | 3

Bushi | 2

Courtier | 2

Monk | 3

Sage | 4–5

Shinobi | 2

Shugenja | 4–5 (including the Commune with Spirits Ritual )

step 6: morgan builds a school

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As she starts to think about techniques, Morgan knows that she’ll want her school to have open access to shūji () in order to better fit in as she travels in Rokugan. She also automatically has rituals (), and decides to keep that. She wants her Qamarist Artisan school to be proficient in fighting to represent the prowess of the Qamarists as well as to round out the school and give her a means of defense, so she chooses kata () as her final open-access technique category.

step 7: curriculum and mastery ability

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Developing a curriculum can seem a little daunting at first, but if you break it down into its component parts, the process is actually fairly simple (for a refresher on how curriculums function, see pages 97–98 of the core rulebook).

Building a Curriculum

Ranks 1–5 of every curriculum table follow the same format, as shown in Table 2–9: Morgan’s Rank 1 Sample Curriculum. Each rank includes seven advances: one skill group, three skills, one technique group, and two techniques (one of which is usually presented earlier than it would normally be available). These are the advances that players can choose to receive full experience points toward increasing their school ranks. A school can deviate from this formula if it is appropriate (for instance, having one fewer technique and one more technique group at a given rank, or having one fewer skill and one extra technique), but this should generally be used sparingly for the sake of simplicity.

Skill Groups and Skills

When selecting a skill group and three skills for ranks 1–5, there is only one real restriction: skills selected should not be from the skill group selected for that rank (so after giving a school Martial Skills as the skill group for rank 1, do not give any of the Martial Arts skills, Fitness, Meditation, or Tactics as the individual skills for that rank). A player can give the same skill group and skills across multiple ranks, though some variation should be included that both matches the flavor of the school and gives players an opportunity to build a more balanced character if they so choose. Remember, the options given in the curriculum do not keep players from selecting other options; they just provide guidance and a bit of an extra boost during play.

Technique Groups and Techniques

When choosing a technique group for ranks 1–5, you have an opportunity to give a school access to techniques to which its members otherwise would not have access (remember selecting technique access in Step 6). For example, if you give a school rituals (), invo-cations (), and shūji () as open access techniques (meaning they can purchase any techniques from those categories if they meet the prerequisites), you could give the school a few kata () techniques in the curriculum as choices or include a limited number of ranks of kata (as they cannot normally purchase kata). For example, you could say that at school rank 2, members of your school gain access to rank 1–3 kata, but they never gain kata anywhere else in the curriculum. By doing this, you give the school early access to rank 3 kata, but you also limit access overall. Techniques in a curriculum are also an opportunity to give school members early or unique access to certain techniques. Commonly, a curriculum might give access to a technique one rank early, or it might give access to special techniques like ninjutsu.

Rank 6: Mastery Ability

Rank 6 is different from the first five school ranks in that all it contains is a mastery ability for the school. A mastery ability should be powerful and awe-inspiring, giving members of the school something to aspire to. A player should feel cool when using it! This ability should be particularly efficient, potent, splashy, or exciting in a narrative context.

Some mastery abilities are purely narrative in their effects: revealing that the enemy’s sword was replaced with an illusion while it was sitting on a rack, slaying numerous enemies in a flurry of shuriken and silent strikes, or calling one’s loyal steed across any distance are simply not effects for which one can provide a template. For such a mastery ability, it is generally advisable to limit the effect to one time per game session, have it tied to a check with a TN of between 3 and 6, or both. It’s okay for a mastery ability to generally be able to solve one sort of problem reliably, but if the mastery ability can solve every problem, it’s probably too open-ended and needs a narrower use case, or more limitations, such as costs or setup, to use.

For more mechanically oriented mastery abilities, however, Table 2–10 presents a number of templates that the designer of a school can use (or use as inspiration for developing a new ability of a similar potency). See Table 2–10: Generic Mastery Ability Templates, on page 83 for some example starting points.

Finally, remember that each mastery ability needs a name. Mastery ability names should reflect their near-mythical nature, so feel free to make the name a little bit over the top.

Table 2–9: Morgan’s Rank 1 Sample Curriculum

ADVANCE | TYPE

RANK 1

Artisan Skills | Skl. Grp.

Courtesy | Skill

Theology | Skill

Martial Arts [Melee] | Skill

Rank 1 Shūji | Tech. Grp.

Civility Foremost | Technique

Snapping Branch Style | Technique

Table 2–10: Generic Mastery Abilities

ROLE | ABILITY TEMPLATE

Any | Increase your endurance by your ranks in Fitness.

Any | Increase your composure by your ranks in Meditation.

Any

Choose one technique category the school does not already have available (kata, kihō, invocations, shūji, etc.) when you gain this mastery ability. That technique type becomes available to you.

Any | If your school ability can be used a limited number of times per scene, you may spend 1 Void point to use it one additional time per scene.

Any

If your school ability requires you to choose something from a list (a skill, a skill group, a technique category, etc.), choose one additional entry from that list when you create this mastery ability. Your school ability applies to both chosen entries.

Any

Choose one skill when you create this mastery ability. Once per game session when you make a check using that skill, you may reroll all of your dice. If you do not succeed after rerolling, gain 1 Void point.

Monk, Sage, Shugenja

When you defend against damage, you may treat your physical resistance and supernatural resistance as equal to your ranks in Theology.

Monk, Sage, Shugenja

Choose one ring when you create this mastery ability. You may train that ring to rank 6 (paying 18 XP).

Artisan, Bushi, Courtier, Shinobi

Choose one skill group when you choose this mastery ability. You may train skills in that group to rank 6 (paying 12 XP per skill raised from rank 5 to rank 6 this way).

Artisan, Bushi, Courtier, Shinobi

Choose one technique on the curriculum that requires a check to activate when you create this mastery ability. You treat the TN of this check as reduced by your ranks in the skill to activate it (to a minimum of TN 1).

Artisan, Bushi, Courtier, Shinobi

Choose one technique on the curriculum that requires spending one or more to activate when you create this mastery ability. When you spend at least the minimum amount of to activate that technique, you count as spending that amount of plus instead.

step 7: morgan builds a school

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Morgan begins building her curriculum table on this page, starting with rank 1. She selects Artisan skills as an obvious choice for her Artisan role, then chooses Courtesy to help the school do better in a foreign land, Theology to represent the Qamarists, and Martial Arts (Melee) to drive home the martial prowess of the Qamarists and give the school more versatility.

Next, she chooses to have rank 1 shūji as the technique group, as her school is proficient in communication. She chooses to give her school Civility Foremost, a rank 2 Earth shūji, a rank early to suggest that her school is not prone to violence if it isn’t necessary. Then, Morgan selects the Snapping Branch Strike kata to tie in the Martial Arts [Melee] aspect of her character and to illustrate the adaptability and might of the school (this technique lets its user shove opponents away in some cases).

As the last part of developing her curriculum, Morgan finds herself a bit stumped on creating a cool mastery ability. She asks her GM for help, and they suggest using one of the options listed in Table 2–10: Generic Mastery Abilities. Morgan uses the following for her ability:

Legendary Craftsmanship (Mastery

Ability): You may train Artisan skills to rank 6 (paying 12 XP per skill raised from rank 5 to rank 6 this way). Additionally, your mechanical creations now appear lifelike and can produce realistic noises. A character who is more than 1 range band away from the creation must make a TN 5 Sentiment (Water) or Survival (Water) check to realize it is fake.

step 8: starting outfit

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This step is about flair and narrative touches. See Table

2–11: Suggested Starting Outfits, on this page, for a standard list of starting equipment. If a character is not a Rokugani samurai, they should replace the wakizashi with an appropriate substitute (such as a bō [staff] or other weapon of rarity 5 or lower).

Table 2–11: Suggested Starting Outfits

ROLE | CLOTHING AND ARMOR | WEAPONS | OTHER GEAR

Artisan | Traveling clothes, ceremonial clothes, and ashigaru armor | Wakizashi (short sword) and yumi (bow) with a quiver of arrows | Traveling pack, scroll satchel, calligraphy set or musical instrument, journal

Bushi | Traveling clothes, choice of ashigaru armor or lacquered armor | Daishō (katana and wakizashi); choice of yari (spear), yumi (bow) and a quiver of arrows, or naginata (polearm) | Traveling pack

Courtier | Traveling clothes, ceremonial clothes | Daishō (katana and wakizashi) and yumi (bow) with a quiver of arrows | Traveling pack, calligraphy set, scroll satchel

Monk | Traveling clothes | Daishō (katana and wakizashi) and 1 weapon of rarity 6 or lower | Traveling pack, journel

Sage | Traveling clothes, choice of sanctified robes or concealed armor | Wakizashi (short sword) and 1 weapon of rarity 5 or lower | Traveling pack, scroll satchel, calligraphy set, various vials and components

Shinobi | Traveling clothes, concealed armor, and mundane clothes | Daishō (katana and wakizashi) and 1 weapon of rarity 7 or lower | Traveling pack, two knives, makeup kit, one vial of poison

Shugenja | Traveling clothes and sanctified robes | Wakizashi (short sword); choice of yumi (bow) with a quiver of arrows or a bō (staff) | Traveling pack, scroll satchel, calligraphy set, knife, gifts for the kami

steps 8 and 9: morgan builds a school

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equipment, she includes a traveling pack, calligraphy set, journal, and a smithing kit, as well as a Unicorn warhorse to represent the steed she’s using from the Qamarist Caliphate.

Morgan works with her GM to come up with the starting outfit for her school. She includes traveling clothes, but requests that the standard ceremonial clothes and ashigaru armor be replaced with concealed armor with the Durable quality. Next, she decides to give members of her school a naginata (polearm) to couple with the Martial Arts [Melee] skill choices as well as a choice of any one weapon of rarity 6 or lower. For her additional

Lastly, Morgan chooses a name for her school–– she decides to go with Qamarist Tinkerer. And that’s it! Morgan fills out the Build Your Own School Worksheet (available at FantasyFlightGames.com) and shows the school design to her GM for approval.

step 9: name

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Lastly, it’s time to choose a cool name for your school! You might have already thought of one, but we put this part last so you can look over everything you’ve created so far and use it as inspiration for creating a unique and interesting name. For recommendations on names, see suggestions starting on page 219.