Courts of the Crane Clan

I will make this post on a few forums as I am trying to drum up responses to my question.

I want to take advantage of the fact that you guys get to ask me questions to turn it around and ask one of my own. This is quite abstract and I expect varying answers, but try to stay on topic.

What interests you most about the story?
- Do you like seeing big, sweeping meta plots that carry the characters into giant events and changes?
- Do you prefer to see smaller stories, more intimate tales?

Also, if given the choice would you rather see a wide array of characters from your faction given story time (say 10-15) or would you like to narrow down the big stories to a smaller group (3-5)?

I was thinking about what got me into this game and how I learned about the story back in the day. One of the more enjoyable tales that drew me in was the romantic conflict between Doji Hoturi and Bayushi (then Shosuro) Kachiko. You see, that tale was spread out over weekly fictions, flavor text, blurbs in the rulebooks, RPG books (specifically the first Winter Court book), and other places. But no matter what, it always stuck to the narrative. It did not include a wide array of other characters. I think for the Crane it touched on Kakita Toshimoko, Doji Satsume, Doji Kuwanan, and Doji SHizue. For the Scorpion, it connected to Bayushi Shoju, Bayushi Aramoro, Bayushi Dairu, and a few others. Yoritomo was even in there for a while.

But it was a story ABOUT the tragic romance between Doji Hoturi and Bayushi Kachiko.

So, that's what draws me in. What about you?

I would prefer big, sweeping stories. Random samurai drama has never interested me. I would prefer a smaller number of characters IF that number includes the characters who actually matter, like our family daimyos. An example of my feelings would be Spooky's magistrate series from Emperor Edition. It was beautiful writing, but I hated every minute of it because Kakita Ichigiku was no one of consequence to me and because the plot didn't lead to anything relevant.

I know I would rather develop a more intimate attachment to several characters than having dozens of people who get name-dropped for no effect.

But I don't see a reason why the entire story team would have to focus on one or the other.

I like the more intimate stories myself, in particular the example you cite. It's what drew me to the setting in the first place. However, one should not underestimate how effectively these small-scale stories inform our understanding of the setting as a whole. In a sense, I learned all I needed to know about the courts, for instance, through the eyes of a wide-eyed Unicorn youth and the explanations of his blind mentor. I learned what it means to play "The Game" from the story cycle you mentioned. Private Lessons taught me that you better respect a Crane sensei, and it's a lesson that stuck with me even though it since got contradicted more often than proven correct. These were all small scale, but very important to establish a theme.

I wonder what a new generation of fans learns about my clan from the new fictions.

Private Lessons is a good example of an intimate story done properly. It was a small reprieve from a major plot arc and featured two of our clan's most beloved characters. The problem with intimate stories in the last five or six years is that they've been written while nothing else of note was happening either.

A good example of my concern is the show The Walking Dead. At its best, it has small, meaningful moments between characters set among scenes of intense action and horror. At its worst its a half-dozen filthy people talking for an hour without any zombies.

I think the issue here is that (for me) I have two types of stories that I want:
* intimate stories about a small number of characters (not per se important ones) are the stories I prefer reading for my personal enjoyment and for the "feeling" of Rokugan.
* big impact stories about bigger number of (more important) characters I enjoy less, but they are nonetheless absolutely necessary for me as an RPG player, because they are what advances the background the most, as well as the History and story of this universe.

So I am kind of torn between wanting to read great stories without so much impact (Denton has been masterful at this, imho) and larger stories which shape or reshape this world (even if their quality is not as awesome, but I care less in this case).

Some mix of both is preferable, I think, for the reasons already given - small-scale stories are how we learn about the nuances of the setting, large-scale stories are how the setting moves along (and how we see the setting moving along, rather than just having changes dropped on us without explanation).

Regarding the number of characters - a small number of characters, tightly focused on, is the best way to go IMO. If the character's not around long enough for me to get to know and care about them, what's the point of having them? I do think it's important, though, to make sure that those characters are all very distinct - no character is going to be universally beloved, and everyone likes different kinds of character, but hopefully everyone should have at least one character that they like. If the whole lineup is courtiers, and what really gets someone going is Asahina shugenja and duelists, then they're going to be sad.

I do, but universally beloved would imply that all other L5R fans love him too, which seems unlikely