Modified Advantages and Disadvantages

Allies
You may purchase allies at Influence 3 (not just 1, 2, and 4).

Blissful Betrothal [Social] (2 points)
Your connection with your spouse transcends human understanding. Once per session, when helping or defending your spouse, you may add +1k1 to the relevant roll. However, this advantage cannot be applied to Damage rolls.

Contrary
The TN of the Willpower roll is always 20.

Dangerous Beauty
The bonus to Temptation provided by the Dangerous Beauty advantage applies regardless of gender or sexual preference.

Different School
Because of political alliances between the Clans, characters may be able to purchase this advantage for four points, depending upon the Clan with whom they choose to train.

Phoenix Clan: Discount for choosing Unicorn schools.
Unicorn Clan: Discount for choosing Phoenix schools.
Hare Clan: Discount for choosing Kuni schools.
Firefly Clan: Discount for choosing Crab schools.
Fox Clan: Discount for choosing Lion schools.
Shark Clan: Discount for choosing Mantis schools.

Forbidden Knowledge
There is a subject about which you possess considerable knowledge and insight. The problem is that this subject is forbidden, and considered grossly socially inappropriate if not outright illegal. Anyone who discovers your expertise in this area might rightly wonder how you came upon it. The benefits of the Advantage vary depending upon the nature of the information, and players should discuss with their GM how this Advantage will work. The most common examples of Forbidden Knowledge include:

Kolat: You are intimately familiar with the nature and operations of the blasphemous Kolat order, and may be a member of that organization. You gain one rank in Lore: Kolat and gain a bonus of +1k1 on Social Skill rolls with known members of the Kolat.

Lying Darkness: You are familiar with the entity known as the Lying Darkness, its methods, and its minions. You may have come into conflict with it in the past, and perhaps it hunts you still. You gain one rank of Lore: Lying Darkness, and you may observe an individual and make a Lore: Lying Darkness / Perception Roll (TN 30) to determine if he has been corrupted by the Lying Darkness.

Maho: You are familiar with the forbidden and blasphemous magic known as maho, and may in fact be a practicing maho-tsukai (black sorcerer) yourself. You gain 1 rank in Lore: Maho and, at the GM’s discretion, might begin play knowing a maho spell.

Mushin: You are familiar with the alien Mushin and may have in fact fought them on Hida Secundus. You gain one rank of Lore: Mushin, and you may observe an individual and make a Lore: Mushin/ Perception Roll (TN 30) to determine if he has been infected by the Mushin.

Prophecies of Agaha: You are familiar with the convoluted prophecies of Agaha and are aware of their significance. You gain one rank in Divination, and a Free Raise on all Divination checks. This advantage costs 1 point less for Dragon characters.

Karushan: You are one of the few individuals allowed to study the records of Ide that include interviews with the crew that spent considerable time with the alien culture. You are knowledgeable of most basic principles of Karushan culture and manners. You gain +1k0 on all opposed Social rolls with a Karushan should you ever meet one. This advantage costs 1 point less for Ide characters.

Forced Retirement
This disadvantage forces you to become an unaligned monk. That means you do not gain a technique for belonging to a specific sect of the Brotherhood (though you still gain kiho as normal).

Inheritance
If you take Inheritance (Iaijutsu), the bonus only applies to Iaijutsu rolls made during the Assessment and Focus phases, and not the Strike phase.

Sage
The Sage advantage does not provide ranks in Lore skills that are gained through the Forbidden Lore advantages, such as Kolat and Maho.

Servant (5 Points)
A servant has been assigned to assist you by your family, or possibly one whose help you purchased with your own resources in order to make life a little bit easier. You may have a maximum number of servants equal to twice your Status Rank. Different kinds of servants have different useful abilities and can more easily be supplied by different Clans. Typically, a servant has all Traits at rank 2 and a single Skill at rank 3. You may add additional Skill Ranks or Emphases to a servant at the time the Advantage is purchased by paying 3 additional points per Skill Rank or Emphasis. Consult the following table for sample servants and their costs:

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Seven Fortunes' Blessing (Benten)
This advantage only applies to Courtier, Etiquette, and Sincerity Skill Rolls.

Touch of the Void:
If you are spending a Void Point to enhance a roll of any type, you make the check to see whether or not you are Dazed before you make the enhanced roll. The character is considered dazed before rolling the augmented skill roll if they fail the Willpower roll.


New Advantages

Alien Languages [Mental] (3 or 5 Points)
While the Empire has several local dialects, every samurai can speak and understand common Rokugani as well as High-Rokugani. The Celestial Empire, however, has encountered a wide variety alien cultures, each with their own language. For each instance of this Advantage, you may learn one alien language from any encountered races including but not limited to: the Alakhai, Silith, Demien, Karusha, Merfolk of Hekikai, etc. Due to the nature of the alien language this confers only an ability to roughly interpret aline scriptures. If five point version is chosen, character is also able to express very basic concepts verbally. This Advantage costs one less point for Spider, Unicorn and Phoenix characters.

Prestigious Line [Social] (4 Points)
You can trace your bloodline back to the first kuge of your family. The social connections and wealth established by your forebears allow to purchase the following Advantages for two points less each (to a minimum of 1 point): Gentry, Allies (within your clan only), Social Position, and Wealth.

Ocular Fleshcraft [Material] (7 points)
The character has mechanica eye-implant(s). You may roll one extra die on all Perception-based Skill Rolls. A character with the Bad Eyesight disadvantage may not purchase this advantage during character creation, but may purchase it afterwards; at which point they lose the Bad Eyesight disadvantage. Crab and Spider characters may purchase this advantage for 6 points.

Limb Fleshcraft [Material] (5 points)
Your character has a mechanical arm or leg, granting them a +1k0 bonus on all Athletics rolls made using the limb in question. The character also gains Reduction 1 for each Fleshcraft limb they possess. A character with the Lame or Missing Limb disadvantage may not purchase this advantage during character creation, but may purchase it afterwards (at which point they lose the Lame or Missing Limb disadvantage). Crab and Spider characters may purchase this advantage for 4 points.

Gunfighter [Physical] (5 points)
The character is a proficient user of sidearms and is accustomed to close-quarters fighting. Characters with this advantage suffer no penalties for using sidearms in melee. Attacks performed with sidearm within 5’ of the opponent count as melee attacks for all purposes. The penalties for using ranged weapons in close combat still apply to other ranged weapons. Mantis and Dragon characters may purchase this advantage for 4 points.

Advanced Equipment [Material] (varies)
Each clan's research has made new discoveries over the centuries, carefully guarded from other clans. While most samurai still prefer their rusty rifles, sidearms, and blades, others are more eager to acquire new technologies made available to them. Difficult to manufacture or acquire, these items are still relatively rare among the buke, but some have earned the right to use these modern wonders.

Crab - Silksteel Armor [Sanran Kouken Yoroi] (6 points)
Kaiu-crafted from durable and flexible artificial spider-silk fibers woven into a cloth, Silksteel Armour is widely regarded as some of the finest armor made. Silksteel armors are lighter and more durable than conventional armor and highly prized. Silksteel Armor is a Light Armor that does not give its user any penalties and that has its Reduction increased by two (total of five).

Crane - Personal Holofield [Shikijou] (7 points)
A small belt mounted device that disturbs the air kami around the wearer, effectively breaking the wearer's outline, making them harder to see. Originally developed by the Asahina for Kakita actors and dancers, this device quickly found use among Daidoji scouts, who employ it to further obfuscate their form.

In game terms, the item grants its wearer +1k0 to Stealth skill rolls as well as +3 to their TN to be Hit against ranged attacks. The effects of this item count as an Illusion spell for purposes of spells and techniques. Many of the Crane's talented dancers also wear this device to add an ephemeral touch to their art. To represent this, the device also grants a free raise on any Perform: Dance rolls as long as the character has at least 3 ranks in dancing. Activating this device is a simple action.

Dragon - Tamori Stave [Tamori no Jo] (3 Points)
A six inch long, beautifully crafted, radiant-steel cylinder charged with dormant Earth kami. When the activator signs are pressed in the correct order, the spirits with the device waken and shoot out from the both ends of the cylinder, solidifying into hardened steel, thus turning the small cylinder into a stave. Easy to carry and conceal the Tamori Stave is favoured by both the Tamori the Togashi wandering around the galaxy. The Tamori Stave is a 2k2 unbreakable Jo that counts as ‘small’ weapon for the purposes of concealing it.

Lion - Shimmershield [Meijou] (6 points)
A small netsuke shaped device that contains spirits of Earth. When activated, the apparatus projects brightly shimmering force field around its wearer, slowing down the blows and shots entering its space of influence. The peculiar, Kitsu-devised netsuke powers this protective field by tapping into the very honor of its bearer to bolster and strengthen the protective kami. The Shimmershield grants the character Reduction equal to his or her honour -3. Hiding while surrounded by the Shimmershield force field is nigh impossible, and the character suffers -2k0 penalty to all of their Stealth rolls.

Scorpion - Soshi’s Gift [Soshi no Gohoubi] (6 points)
A drug-dispensing fleshcraft concealed within the wearer's chest-cavity, bound with spirits of water and connected to his or her circulatory system. Charged with the most potent combat drugs the Shosuro have created, the wearer can activate the device by muttering a specific code-phrase (simple action), releasing the performance-enhancing chemicals into his or her body. After the drugs wear off, the user is left in an enfeebled and dulled state. Needless to say, the device is only employed by the Scorpion and its existence is denied in public. The Shosuro combat-drug increases the character's Reflexes and Strength by one for ten rounds. After this, the effects wear off and for the next hour, the characters Intelligence and Agility are reduced by one.

Mantis - Electro-Ink Tattoo [Densen Irezumi] (7 points)
Known also as Osano-Wo's Raiment, the Electro-Ink tattoo consists of a small power source installed near the person's heart connected to special liquid-metal ink tattoos covering the characters lower arms in intricate patterns. Neural-grafting ensures that the wearer is able to activate the circuit at will, causing his or her arms to crackle with electrical power. Only installed to the devout worshipers of Osano-Wo, the electro-ink tattoos are practically unheard of outside the Mantis as most find the idea of such fleshcrafts distasteful and borderline blasphemous. Mechanically, the character's melee attacks performed with metal weapons or bare hands inflict +1k1 extra damage.

Phoenix - Revitalizer [Hoyakuki] (5 points)
A favorite of Phoenix doctors and field medics, the revitalizer is a silver bracelet linked to rings on two fingers, and covered with small beads full of spiritually charged water. The beads draw power from the wearers Water, charging slowly when not in use. In game terms the device can be used once per day to cast Path to Inner Peace without knowing the spell or expending a spell slot, with the casting roll equaling to the wearers Water x10.

Spider - Void-Forged Boarding Axe [Mukitaeta Kougekietsu] (6 points)
The Spider stole the secrets of Void-Forging from the Demien smith-priests, adopting this technology for the Spider armies. The black steel of these axes seems to swallow sunlight itself and they cut through armor and bone with ease. Within the dark metal lies an another secret, a specially designed spiritual network that imbalances the victim's inner Fire upon impact. This causes excruciating pain as a victim's nerves burn out through constant overstimulation. The Void-Forged Boarding axe counts as a Masakari that ignores an additional 2 points of reduction. Additionally, any sentient being wounded by the weapon has their wound penalties increased by 3 for the duration of the combat. The wound penalties do not stack from multiple hits.

Unicorn - Kuwagatan Husk Pendant [Kuwagata no Karayoraku] (5 points)
Known for its massive insects, the planet Kuwagata is also known for the blessed pools and fountains of the Aramizu rain forest. The water kami are particularly strong and active throughout the forest, and many of the creatures living there end up thoroughly infused with their blessings. The Unicorn gather the cast off husks of several varieties of water beetle. These translucent shells are enclosed in clear or amber resins, fastened in lockets, or even gilded with precious metals and worn by shugenja who make use of the husks' powerful connection to the water kami. The bearer of one of these pendants gains an additional Water Spell Slot. Only Shugenja may purchase this Advantage.

New Disadvantages

Traditionalist [Mental] (2 points)
Only shugenja may take this disadvantage. Modern shugenja have their prayers inscribed on holo-slates that can display the desired prayer with few finger swipes. Traditionalists who eschew such modern ways of storing the prayers will only use paper scrolls and do not prepare digital copies of their prayers, meaning that they can only hold a singular scroll in hand at a given time. (Shugenja using Holoslates can change the spell displayed as a Free Action, as long as they are holding nothing in their free hand.)

Banned Advantages

Gaijin Gear - no gaijin exist and any gear kept this long has become normal, or an archeological relic

Gaijin Name - see above, some names have been passed down through families, but no longer carry a stigma

Higher Purpose - this does not work well in PbP games

Modified Skills

Games
Add Fantasy Fight (Intelligence) sub-skill.
Emphases: Rice, Sword and Fan, Signs and Portents

Fantasy Fight is a reboot of a long-dead virtual card called 'Fortune's Fight', a game that found a surprising renaissance during the fall of 3123, eventually spreading to the Empire at large. Crane merchants have attempted to turn the trend to their advantage by acquiring rights to the game and publishing an expansion known as 'Sword and Fan' while the Phoenix have their own 'Signs and Portents' expansion that tones down the advantages the core version of the game allows to aggro decks. Most fans, however, reject such alterations to the elegant game and prefer to stick to what they call the ‘Rice’ version of the game. Fan-driven tournaments proliferate, with rare, unopened packs from the game's heyday becoming sought after prizes.

Fantasy Fight can either be played on a dedicated portable console or by an app run on a densai. The hardcore fans of the game generally insist on playing on the console, claiming that it user interface and sounds are superior. While original consoles are exceedingly rare, every clan is producing a bootleg version and so one is rather easy to find.

Add Oshidama (Agility) sub-skill.
Emphases: Beach Oshidama, Tag-Oshidama

Oshidama is basically what we know as the modern volley ball, though the Rokugani have developed a version called 'tag-oshidama' where the attacking team tries to hit one of the defending players (who have to stand within 3 meters of the net) as they attack, the game otherwise functioning as a strange team version of dodge ball.

Intimidation
This skill is keyed to Willpower rather than Awareness. However it is still a Social skill.

Medicine
The Antidote emphasis is required to treat poisons.
The Disease emphasis is required to treat diseases.
The Surgery emphasis has been added. If you have access to an operating room, when you treat Wounds that an ally has suffered from damage, a successful Medicine (Surgery) / Intelligence roll (TN 20) will remove 2k2 of Wounds from the victim. Each successful Raise on this roll allows an additional die to be rolled. An injured individual may only benefit from a single Medicine Skill Roll per day.


Ninjutsu
The Ninja-to may be used with either the Ninjutsu skill or the Kenjutsu skill.

Engineering
The following emphasis is added: Fleshcrafting. This emphasis allows a character to construct and repair fleshcrafts. Bionic implants and prosthetics are used to replace lost limbs and sensory organs, the simplest being nothing but mechanical limbs hard-wired to the body via a mesh of advanced electronics, the more advanced employing kami as their motive force often looking deceptively like human skin. As fleshcrafts are based on technology the Spider stole from the Alakhai, they are taboo in the Empire and considered impure by the most civilized people. Currently, they are only widely employed by the Spider and the Crab, though the latter often attach Jade ornaments to their crafts to ward off the bad luck associated with them. This emphasis is considered a Low Skill.

Spellcraft
The following emphasis is added: Navigation. This Emphasis allows shugenja to determine their rough location both in space and on the surface of a planet in relation to the stars. The TN for the roll will vary according to conditions.

New Skills

Bugei Skills

Firearms/Hojutsu (Reflexes)
SUB-TYPES:
EMPHASES: Sidearm, Rifle, Assault Rifle, Marksman's Rifle, Heavy Assault Rifle

DESCRIPTION:
Firearms became a staple of Rokugani warfare during the Age of Expansion, which saw the Emerald Empire spread its influence beyond the Mountains of Exile. After gaijin pepper was legalized by Iweko IX, the ever adaptive Kaiu examined writings regarding the battle of White Stag. This work bore fruit half a decade later when Kaiu Matsuko presented Hida Kaoru with the first prototype of an arquebus. Powerful and relatively simple to use, the weapon's spread across the Empire was limited only by the cost of their production. The following century saw the Empire expand beyond the Mountains of Exile, leading to several lengthy wars against the Yobanjin. With their resources drawn thin, the clans had no choice but to expand their ashigaru forces. The arquebus, now cheaply manufactured in primitive factories, made an ideal weapon for the poorly trained commoners.

As time passed and the weapons became more efficient, Hojutsu, the skill of using firearms in combat, replaced kyujutsu in the training of bushi. Each of the great families developed their own styles of hojutsu, building on the esoteric works of Mirumoto Mugen, a famed 18th century pistol duelist. The Firearms Skill allows the character to operate most radiant ranged weaponry. Unlike bows, firearms require one to aim them precisely for best effect; thus keen eyes and steady hands are the most important assets of a good marksman.

A character making a ranged attack against someone within their melee range suffers a penalty of -10 to the total of his attack roll.

MASTERY ABILITIES:

RANK 3: Sidearm may be readied as free action.

RANK 5: Rifle may be readied as free action.

RANK 7: Damage of all firearms is increased by 1k0.

Merchant Skills

Use Computers (Intelligence)
SUB-TYPES:
EMPHASES: Programming, Hacking*, Visual Arts**, Music** (Emphases marked with a * are considered Low Skills. Emphases marked with a ** are considered Artisan Skills)

DESCRIPTION:
Most normal computer operations don’t require a Computer Use Roll. However, using an unfamiliar computer or accessing an unfamiliar network, writing or altering computer programs, and breaking through computer security are all relatively difficult and require Skill Rolls. The programming emphasis is used to create and alter existing programs the character has access to.

The music emphasis can be used to make and mix music on a computer. However this emphasis gives the character no competence to perform in public.

The hacking Emphasis can be used to access secure data and programs. If the Use Computer (Hacking) roll is failed by 5 or more, the security system immediately alerts its administrator that there has been an unauthorized entry. An alerted administrator may attempt to identify the character or cut off the character’s access to the system. Note that this is considered a crime in nearly all cases. Regardless of the system the character is hacking into, a separate roll must be made to cover their tracks and hide the records of unauthorized access. The TN of this second roll is usually higher than the first one.

To ‘hack’ a system/device, the character must be able to touch it and needs to spend at least 10 uninterrupted minutes at work for each attempt. This means that, for example, you cannot hack into someone’s communicator without actually getting your hands on it first.

MASTERY ABILITIES:

RANK 5: The character gains a bonus of +5 to the total of any Computer Use Skill Roll made as part of a Cooperative or Cumulative Skill Roll.

Driving (Agility)
SUB-TYPES:
EMPHASES: Car, Bike, Motorized Bike

DESCRIPTION:
The ability to drive a vehicle is essential to participation in mobile units, and to swift travel through the cities of the Empire. It is a utilitarian skill, taught in most bushi schools in the Empire without having any real degree of prestige attached. In general, all samurai can drive normal vehicles at normal speed on level ground without the need for a Skill roll. The Skill comes into play when driving in difficult or stressful situations (bad terrain, combat, etc.) or driving a non-standard vehicle (armored trucks, for example). When driving a vehicle, the character cannot enter Full Attack, Full Defense and Center stances. Boarding a vehicle or straddling a bike requires a Complex action.

MASTERY ABILITIES:

RANK 5: The character may utilize the Full Attack Stance while driving a vehicle. The bonuses only apply to the weapons the character is wielding and not to the weapons mounted on the vehicle.

Piloting (Agility)
SUB-TYPES:
EMPHASES: Helicopter, Plane, Shuttle, Spaceship, Glider, Low Flying* (Emphases marked with a * are considered Low Skills)

DESCRIPTION:
This skill allows a character to operate flying machines, be they planes, shuttles or massive battle cruisers. Not all samurai are taught the skill, and the pilots often consider themselves an elite cadre, modern epitomes of true samurai as they often engage in individual combat, as opposed to the more indiscriminate killing taking place on the ground beneath them. Assuming character has the skill, ordinary flying does not require a Skill Roll. Skill Rolls are only used when some extreme circumstance exists (such as inclement weather or an unusual space phenomena), or when the character is flying during a dramatic situation (the character is being chased or attacked, for example). When piloting an air or space born vehicle, the character cannot enter Full Attack, Full Defense and Center stances. The Low Flying emphasis allows the character to roll Piloting (Low Flying) /Agility to conceal their approach from the enemy in certain situations. GM always has the last call on whether this emphasis can be applied to a given situation.

MASTERY ABILITIES:

RANK 5: The character gains a bonus of +5 to the total of any Piloting Skill Roll made as part of a Cooperative or Cumulative Skill Roll.