House Rules and Simplifications

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House Rules and Simplification

Written by Jacobsen-san. Posted by RogueMoon

P. 92: Unskilled rolls do not exist. Ignore table.

P. 102: Weapon Masteries does not exist. Ignore table.

P. 153-155: Heritage tables are not used.

P 166: Wounds. The various water ring reductions for movement does not apply. Instead the TN penalties are deducted from your movement. So if you are Hurt (+10) you move 10 feet slower each round.

P 175: Polearms and Spears. There is no damage penalty for striking at man-sized targets with a polearm or spear.

P 188 – 190: Glory and Time. All limits to glory due to time restrains are ignored. In particular Idleness does not apply.

P 190: Situational Glory Modifiers. Does not apply. Ignore table.

P. 205: Mass Battle. These rules are not used.

Rulings & Interpretations

Starting Gear

If you buy a starting skill or emphasis not specifically mentioned by your school, you automatically get the gear needed to use the skill. So, if you take Tea Ceremony you get a tea set, if you take Polearms you get a polearm of your choice, if you take Horseman you get a horse etc.

Multiple Schools

You can always take Monk as a multiple school. It’s called retiring.

Strength of the Earth / Low Pain Threshold

You cannot have Strength of the Earth and Low Pain Threshold at the same time.

Wrath of the Kami disadvantage

You can take Wrath of the Kansen if you want. This gives Maho users a free raise against you.

If you have a Wrath of the Kami, you cannot have Magic Resistance.

Calligraphy Skill p 95

All Shugenja get their clan code as a Calligraphy Emphasis for free.

Instruct Skill p 97

You do not need Instruct emphases to teach other skills with this skill. If you have a skill and if you have Instruction you can teach the skill up to whatever is the lower of your skill and instruction.

You still need the School emphasis to teach techniques, kata and the like.

Yoritomo Bushi School p 132

Add to the Rank 1 technique: “You can use the Peasant Weapon Skill with all Chain Weapons, all Knives and all Staves. If you choose to do so, you only get the Mastery Abilities from Chains, Knives or Staves if you actually have these skills on a level that gives you the Mastery Abilities in question.”

Status

Status can be divided into several stats. You basic status is your Clan/ Family status. Should you gain an imperial position you would gain a separate status for that.

Also, should you gain rank in a secret society like the Bloodspeakers or the Kolat you would have a separate status there as well.

Taint

It is possible to be cleansed from taint. This is done in a ritual of purification (of which Rokugan has several) and the expenditure of XP. It is a Void + Theology cooperative skill roll between the priest or monk performing the ritual and the tainted one. The TN is the Taint rank x 10, and it removes 1 full rank of Taint per XP spend. If the roll fails, the XP is wasted and the Priest or monk and the monk or priest must roll a raw earth roll of TN 5 gain one die of Taint.

Social “Combat” notes

All rolls to figure something out about somebody can be contested rolls. That includes the p.192 detect honor roll. So if you don’t wish someone to find out something about you, you can declare that a roll contested.

You do not have to use finesse with underlings. You can use Willpower instead of Awareness to boss people with lower status than yourself around (see the Status house rule for differentiated status).

You can resist people who wish to persuade you with sheer stubbornness. Instead of rolling an opposed Awareness + Etiquette (or Deceit) you can roll a Raw Willpower roll.

(Reminder) You can try to resist an indecent proposal with a Social Test of Honor p 192. You set your honor at stake by substituted any skill or trait with your Honor stat (you could even add your Honor to the Raw Willpower roll mentioned above, still keeping only Willpower). If you do this you gain two Honor points if you succeed, but loses 10 honor points if you fail. This ability is different from a “normal” test of Honor in that you can take as many Social Tests of Honor in a Session as you wish.

(Reminder) Remember you can add your Glory in Social Contest to impress someone.

Clear Thinker, Heartless and Irreproachable ads their TN modifier to your own roll in opposed contests. So if you are a Clear Thinker, someone is trying to lie to you and you make an Awareness + Investigation roll of 23, you add 10 to this roll getting 33. Similarly disadvantages like Benten’s Curse and Gullible deduct from your roll.

This is so you keep track of your own modifiers, and apply them to your own roll