Courts of the Crane Clan

They can have the Moto and the Crab.

For those interested in Bushido and Shourido as portrayed in the world of Rokugan, I found this interesting article from several years ago that was written in relation to the RPG. I am simply going to post the link to the article because it is quite long and I don't want to suck up a bunch of forum space. I believe it is relevant to the discussion at hand regarding the current paths for several clans.

http://l5rrpg.blogspot.com/2011/06/phil ... urido.html

An excellent read.

Didn't expect something on a Saturday, but you can always expect the unexpected when ninja are involved.

http://www.l5r.com/2015/05/09/path-secrets/

I'm guessing we would be presented an option to cozy up to the darkness to maintain our power in court.

On the Scorpion path choices:

The first, Opportunities Amid Chaos -- while the basic gist of this choice does feel very Scorpion (sidling up to the enemy in preparation to stab it in the back further down the line), if the Scorpion are willing to make such a gamble, I admit to feeling disgruntled over it. More precisely I am disgruntled over how this path is near-entirely framed around a political angle, which -- if one wished to entertain the possibility of we Crane going over to darkness, truly or falsely -- would seem to pluck our own political theme clear out of our hands. Even the deck type is said to become more political for Scorpion.

I am not certain that AEG would more or less repeat a path across two Clans in such a specific manner; I hope that we will have at least one political option to consider, despite this path being handed to the Scorpion and despite not particularly desiring to go to the darkness myself. I suppose I am trying to say that I like it as a Scorpion option, but as a Crane player still waiting, having spent quite some time now on the subject of waning Crane political actions and influence, I cannot help but sigh and wince just a little.


The second, Own The Shadows -- ninja and sabotage and subterfuge and murder from the shadows; if the Scorpion wanted at any point to reclaim their shinobi reputation from the minions of the Lying Darkness, this looks like it would be the choice to make. Add to that the very real presence of the Second Pit (and perhaps a few lingering stings over past Scorpion troubles such Yogo Junzo and said Lying Darkness) and I could very well see this being a choice the Clan may make. The alliance with the Crab may make this choice more likely, but it is hard to guess for certain. Still, this is also a very Scorpion choice, I feel.


The third, Vengeance Is Eternal -- another path wherein the greater danger may be ignored (or partially ignored) in order to light a fire under another Clan's collective feet. And yet, with recent events ... well, I have seen the Kolat suggested for this choice on the AEG boards (despite the Kolat not being a Clan), but it would seem to me that the entire choice is crafted as a mandate to be read "there are the Mantis -- go get 'em, and make good use of your reclaimed Grove". Which might be very appealing to the Clan of Secrets at the moment.

I just hope that they don't chose us as a target. Because we don't need this kind of crap. This said, I like all three choices for the Scorpion: they all make perfect sense for their Clan and are all appealing. I'd dare say that it bodes quite well for our own choices, since we have obvious common points with our darker foes.

As for our reaction to their choices, I'd say it can be all kind of cool stuff for us/ Should they chose to claim the dark court for themselves (1), we can try to undermine them in all other courts. Should they try to strike from the shadows at the enemy (2), we could chose to continue the current circumstantial alliance we have with them to support their operations. Should their target for 3 align with our interests, well, that's cool.

I too hope that they do not choose us as their target. Does the Left Hand have a representative or two at their court who could relay such sentiments?

Honestly, given the general sentiment I've seen over on Dojo of Lies, I'm not sure what good that would do - but I also don't see any reason to think they'd go after us. All of the #3-related suggestions I've seen are either Kolat or Mantis. I think they don't consider us relevant enough to go after.

(Well, let's be clear: I don't think the Scorpion consider any other clan to be relevant, except maybe the Crab. Their self-image is inextricably bound up with being The Only Ones Strong Enough To Do What Must Be Done.)