Tonbo Bushi School

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Tonbo Bushi School

by Qzujak49

Students of the Tonbo Bushi School have been fighting Lion Bushi since the founding of the clan and have adjusted their fighting style appropriately. The Lion always have and likely always will greatly outnumber the Dragonfly, so the Tonbo excel at picking off one opponent at a time from large groups. The Akodo Bushi School trains its bushi to hit very hard, so the Tonbo specialize in not being hit.

Benefit: +1 Reflexes

Honor: 2.0

Skills: Battle, Defense, Etiquette, Kenjutsu (Katana), Know the School (Akodo Bushi School), Kyujutsu,

Outfit: Katana, wakizashi, bow and 20 arrows (any type), light armor; kimono and sandals, traveling pack; 3 koku

Techniques

Rank 1: Flit Like a Dragonfly

The Tonbo’s initial training focuses on striking first and using superior speed as their weapon. Add your Air Ring times 2 to your initiative. For every opponent with a lower initiative than you, you get +5 to your TN to be hit by that opponent. Add your Fire Ring to your TN to be hit. You lose these bonuses if you take up the full attack posture.

Rank 2: Bide Your Time

No matter how well prepared a samurai may be, there will be times when he is clearly at a disadvantage. Where some schools train their bushi to stubbornly press on, the Tonbo instruct their students to keep their guard up and wait for an opening. Once per round, if you are in the Full Defense posture, you may spend a Void Point to reroll your Initiative, keeping the higher of the two rolls and acting on that Initiative in all following rounds. Add your School Rank times 5 to your TNtbH versus all opponents that you have not attacked so far this skirmish. You lose this bonus if you use a raise on an attack.

Rank 3: The Dragonfly’s Game

The dragonfly is a notoriously hard bug to swat, causing many an embarrassed samurai to fall into a pond just when they think they have the elusive bug. The Tonbo have learned to mimic the dragonfly’s evasive movements. For every raise that an opponent uses in an attack against you using a bugei skill, his TN to hit you is increased by an additional +5. You now add twice your Fire Ring to your TN to be hit, replacing the Rank 1 bonus.

Rank 4: Strike Like a Dragon

Tonbo bushi do not strike to kill their opponent, but rather to keep their opponent from striking them. For every full Wound Rank of damage that you inflict on your opponent, that opponent suffers an additional +5 TN penalty on all attack rolls. You gain an additional attack per round.

Rank 5: Strike Like a Dragonfly

Few citizens of Rokugan know that a dragonfly has no stinger and does not bite humans, so they needlessly flinch when a dragonfly touches them. The Tonbo bushi are not known for hitting hard, but they are known for throwning their opponents off balance when they hit. Each time you successfully strike an opponent, you may choose to force that opponent to reroll their Initiative, keeping the lower of the two Initiatives and forcing your opponent to act on that Initiative in all following rounds. You new add three times your Fire Ring to you TN to be hit, replacing the Rank 3 bonus.