Oh goodness yes, you and me both!  My reaction was more or less, well, shit happens, he's a jerk, but entirely not our problem.

I've got to ask, favorite clan?  And I must say, I'm quite interested in seeing how this new edition shakes out.

Haha right?  Our group just kinda ignored it and went on our merry way.  That's the L5R duty talking eh?
This message was last edited by the player at 13:02, Sun 05 Aug 2018.

Over the years, I've played almost every clan.  I'm partial to the Crab Clan myself, which matches my, "You guys are seriously going to fight over X... we have a crisis over here!" mentality.  My favorite character was a Hiruma Scout, which I played on Five Rings Online when that was a thing.

I'm also partial to the Scorpion, but super-elitist about how Scorpion should be played.  In my experience, a lot of newbies gravitate towards Scorpion because "LOL NINJAZ!!!1" and I'd rather just not interact with those people.

 I have heard good things about  Legend of the Five Rings, but never had the rules. I used to rp and run a game called "Bushido" back in the day. Yes, I am old. :P

 I would like to sink my teeth into a game set in a feudal Japanese background again.

 Bailain's reason for not acting are many, His mission is to get Relic and Priest back to the Duke, and anything that might get in the way of that mission is not to be done. They are not on the Duke's lands, the guy is a Knight and Bail but a squire. Etc,etc.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:35, Sun 05 Aug 2018.

I'm a shugenja man myself, which of course means Isawa.  I am in fact, rather partial to the Ishiken, so doubly so with the Isawa!  That said, the Kuni are my second favorite shugenja family, so I completely understand the appeal of the Crab.

Yeah... Don't get me started on Scorpion.  Or Shadowlords in WtA, as I think they're very much cut from the same cloth.  People just play them so bloody badly!

 Hmmm, GM delay.

Yes, a GM delay, based partly because I was a bit stuck in the scene.

This is one of the introductory adventures, meaning it is set up to be rather linear to show different aspects of the system.  However, in certain respects you guys have already derailed it, so letting the cat out of the bag isn't a big deal.

The outline is that, at some point, you are supposed to challenge Sir Eingar to battle due to him being a total @#$%.  I left this open in the first post, but you guys all took a very accepting view of his behavior being that he was on his own land (albeit essentially committing murder).  I tried to push the issue in the second post (in what seemed to me like a very heavy-handed way), but none of you fully took the bait to fight.

I feel like this is partly my fault, as I did not set up the situation and culture well, particularly with regards to the idea of "justice".  At the time, centuries after the fall of Rome, there were few written laws, and those that did exist were certainly not as extensive or wide-ranging as modern laws.  This led very often rule by force.  Local knights held "court" at which peasants could make accusations against other peasants, and the knight would decide the outcome (this is part of ruling a manor).  A question of justice between two knights could be solved by a duel (or joust or similar contest), with variable victory conditions (being unhorsed, three strikes, death, etc).  Another option for two knights would be a formal court hearing before a higher lord, who would decide the case.  It depends on the type and severity of the accusation or case, but between knights it might be 50/50 whether it is handled by duel or by court.

Arguments between a peasant and a knight would hardly ever get to court for a variety of reasons: knights could, in nearly all circumstances, physically dominate peasants (through military training and equipment), so the knight would almost certainly simply resort to force; also, peasants could not spare the time and expense of attending a formal court (particularly one not in their own town); peasants did not know the legal language and likely could not read or write (some knights probably don't either, but at least knights could get assistance from people who can); and the higher lord is likely to be more sympathetic to the knight anyway (being a knight himself) than the peasant.  All these factors led to the conditions that gave peasants very few "rights", and in some cases the written laws reflected this.

In this particular case, the idea that a knight or lord tortures and kills his peasants for such infractions would be almost universally condemned.  However, several factors lead to it continuing and not being stopped:  the peasants themselves cannot overpower Sir Eingar and his men-at-arms; Sir Eingar is generally loyal to his lord, so the lord has little reason to look into Sir Eingar's doings; being that they are in the forest and a bit off the regular path, it is unlikely anyone with the ability to change things would happen by.

HOWEVER, as Father Jerome pointed out, interceding would be considered part of the knightly duty (squires, but still).  There are plenty of stories of the knights errant fighting and overthrowing other knights on their own land.

I believe that I have come up with a solution (although ham-fisted it might be).  I was post that tomorrow.

Again, sorry for trying to set this up and sway you one way without adequate instruction.  Also, now that you all bring up some interesting points, maybe this isn't as good of a straightforward introductory adventure as might be hoped.

 The best way I can think to describe how Bailain was feeling about the matter was as follows. Yes, what he saw the knight do, turned his stomach, and he would have liked nothing more than to pound the offending Knight into mush, or better yet, put him between those two logs. But the Squires sense of duty to his Duke outweighed all over considerations. They had a mission, and engaging in any conflict not directly related to said mission, could jeopardize its success.

 I hope I am not beating a dead horse.

These things happen, don't worry!

You know what they say, no plan survives first contact with the enemy!  Errr... players.

Honestly, I think the squires were willing to get involved, just not outright in the pound your face in kind of way, especially since they're a) not knights yet, and b) outside of their own domain.  Also, Walter isn't a fighter, so naturally his way for a bit more subtle, and it seems like the others had similar thoughts, gifted with strength of arms though they might be.

And sounds good mate.  Looking forward to it!

 What I like about this game is that it is different. I have played Pendragon a few times over the years, but it was always in England with Arthur. We are Franks, and this is Gaul or France.

Vive la difference! :)

The solution would have been much more apparent to me if we were knights. The idea that a squire could challenge a knight never really crossed my mind.

Again, I go to samurai. In L5R, if a random Bushi challenges a Shireikan, they get brushed off... A general's rank is so high, he isn't obliged to fight every mook who offers a challenge.

My mistake for conflating worlds.

I wish you guys would stop talking about Samurai and stuff Feudal Japan wise. I really am in the mood to do a game set in such a world again. It has been years... Sigh

Gontran, I don't think you're wrong though.  Again, we're squires, not knights.  Much like you, the thought never struck me.

Still, it will be interesting to see how this goes.

Sorry, Bailain... I'll stop!  Promise!

It's ok, I am just whining. :P  But seriously, if anyone here hears of a game set in  a Feudal Japan like setting, do me a favor and let me know. Thanks.

Sorry for the delay.  I promise I have not forgotten about you.  I will update tonight.

These things happen mate, no worries!

Sigh

I know you're waiting on my post.  I apologize.  I PM'd the Bard for clarification on a matter, and I'm waiting to hear back.

No worries, I just hope he comes back.

So, I glanced through Winter Phase... let me see if I've got this right:

1.) Solo adventure... we're probably not doing this.
2.) Aging... we advance one year; no roll required.
3.) Economic... we're not in control of our fiefdom, so skip this?
4.) Survival... I haven't properly built a huge family tree, but I suppose Gontran could roll for his parents?  Anyone else?
5.) Marriage... presumably too young?
6a.) Personal event... I guess we roll on the chart?
6b.) Childbirth... presumably not until we are knights?
6c.) Family events... seems reasonable: roll here?
7.) Experience... Roll on one skill and success means we increase?  I think we each got a check for a single weapon as well, but nothing else.
8.) Training... one free increase?
9.) Glory... compute new score.
10.) Glory Bonus... not thinking we hit 1000, so nothing here.

Anything else?

I should reply to questions a few of you have asked.

1. Solo adventures are not yet.
2. Aging rolls don't start until later (but your age does tick up one).
3. You are on a fixed stipend until you inherit your own land.
4. Survival... you can roll for your parents.  They might die, or age out soon anyway.  But for story purposes it would work to stagger the dates of things around a little.
5. Marriage is interesting.  The game is set up to induce players to roleplay different interactions with potential partners, as this was often a large part of the medieval stories.  In my games, I like to run it where it is possible to get a generic wife, with mediocre traits and income etc. if a player does not want to go heavily into the RP side.  Another option is an "arranged marriage" (as historically many would fall somewhere in the middle of the range of "freely chosen" to "rigidly arranged from birth"), in which you get a generic wife but are free to still RP other love interests.  However, if a player wishes to put time and RP effort into scenes to win over a spouse, they generally have greater mechanical benefits from that.
After all that... you are still probably too young to get married.  Especially since (like today) it is more common for males to marry slightly younger females.
6.  You can just roll for a family event.
7.  Experience rolls are the bulk of this particular winter phase (maybe consider it a ramping up before all the other parts kick in).
8.  You gain the training bonus of your choice.
9.  Compute your new Glory score as normal.
10.  I don't think anyone got up to the 1,000 Glory threshold, so maybe next time.

Alrighty, Walter is good to go!

I will aim to roll this up tonight after work. I'll post when I'm done.

I don't have the rules, so I will need some assistance, if you please.

If you have access to Pendragon, I do believe they're rather similar.

If I may, with training, at this level, the 1d6+1 and adding to any skill under 15 tends to be the best choice.  But hey, to each their own!

That said, standard upkeep will cost us £6 yeah?  So we should be left with £1.

But again, I don't have Paladin yes, so I'm relying on Pendragon here.

Also, poor Walter, his younger brother just died.  Well played family events, well played.