New Families

Spider Clan: Susumu Family
The Susumu were founded soon after Empress Iweko I declared the Spider a Great Clan in 1173. They are named after Daigotsu Susumu, former Imperial Advisor, who was later elevated as the Dark Fortune of Deception. Today the Susumu serve as Spider diplomats, merchant patrons, and spies, following the teachings of their founder. Given their small size, the Spider need to claim every advantage they can, and the Susumu are at the forefront of their non-military machinations. They are the smiling face of the Spider in court, presenting a seductively reasonable view of Shourido and a quiet piety with regards to Dark Fortunes and ancestors that most of the Empire remember as formidable villains. Of course they populate the shadows of court as well, seeding them with whispered rumors and dark suspicions, offering further temptations to sway positions, and gathering illicit information to wield on the Spider's behalf.

Family Bonus: +1 Awareness
Mon: a simple web

Spider Clan: Kuchiki Family
The dawn of the 15th century saw the establishment of the Kuchiki family. The origins of the small, secretive Family are not well known, but what little can be found in the Ikoma histories on the matter speak of a young woman, Daigotsu Kuchiki, who was widely known for her healing skills as well as her dedication to the dark Fortunes. What the woman did to earn her own family among the Spider is somewhat unclear, though most speculate she must have earned the honor by performing some dark service for the reigning Spider Champion. Currently, though, it is well-known that the Kuchiki serve the Spider as priests, healers, scientists, and engineers working on the myriad forge-factories of the Spider home world Hive.

Family Bonus: +1 Stamina
Mon: A tree on the right side of the mon with a small spider among its roots.

Osprey Clan: Nakauchi Family
After one of their members saved an Imperial heir, the Emperor awarded the ronin group calling group calling themselves the Children of the Osprey with the formation of a minor clan and an Imperial grant to continue their work attempting to contact and learn more about the stars they now traveled through. They new Clan received two out-dated frigates from the Imperial arsenal and the right to settle on Silent Gardens, a habitable moon housing a Seppun agricultural colony. Today the Osprey continue their stellar research, both technical and mystical while serving the Imperial Army and the Imperial Explorers as navigators.

Family Bonus: +1 Awareness
Colors: Sky blue and tan
Mon: Soaring Osprey with a star in its talons

Firefly Clan: Hotaru Family
During the end of 30th century, an audacious Crab deep space campaign nearly escalated into galaxy wide war. Infuriated, the Otomo daimyo of the time called the Crab champion into attendance. Hida Fumie was curtly told that the constant skirmishes causd by the Crab operation were about to end. The Crab miners would be ‘honored’ by the Emperor to form a new Minor clan that would sell all the resources it unearthed to the Throne, whom in turn would sell the minerals to the Great Clans. The Crab, the Otomo announced, would always have the right of first refusal as recognition of their part in the new clan’s creation. Additionally, the new clan would pay tithes to the Crab for the right to continue using the large Lord Kaiu class mining carriers. Only two months later, the Firefly clan was born. with Kaiu Hotaru, the mastermind behind the Lord Kaiu carriers and the Crab mining operations, as it's daimyo.

Family Bonus: +1 Intelligence
Colors: Brown and gold
Mon: Three golden fireflies on a brown background

Shark Clan: Same Family
The Same were founded after planet HNE-122’s pacification by Empress Iweko LXIX. Yoritomo Same, who had saved the Empress during the campaign was honored with the privilege of founding a Minor Clan, the Shark, whom the Empress tasked with training hunters and scouts for the Imperial armies. Soon after this, the Mantis and the Shark clans jointly claimed the newly explored and sanctified world, renaming it as Zuiryu, with the Shark building their castle on a chain of islands close to the archipelago that had began their story. Today, in honor of their origins, the Shark gempukku requires the student to enter the jungles of the archipelago and survive among the lethal flora and fauna for a week, carrying only fishing line, hook and a knife with them.

Family Bonus: Perception +1
Colors: Pale gray and cyan
Mon: Band of Small white triangles pointing inwards on the edge of a cyan circle--a stylized 'jaw'

Adjusted Families

Dragon Clan: Tonbo Family
The Tonbo, after long cycles of growth and near-destruction, were nearly eradicated by the 23rd century plague. Having lost the resources needed to serve their closest ally and with the Empire in turmoil, the Tonbo had no other choice, but to join the Dragon. Ever since, the Dragonfly have served the Dragon as priests, diviners and diplomats, working closely with both the Kitsuki and Tamori families, supporting their activities.

Family Bonus: +1 Awareness

Mantis Clan: Komori Family
The Komori have been part of the Mantis ever since Komori Heihachi swore fealty to the Yoritomo after the great earthquake of 2504 destroyed most of the lands on the Island of Lost Wilderness. Ever since, the Komori have served the Mantis as priests and messengers, using the teachings of the first Komori to serve their new masters. Before the invention of communicators and the networks, contingents of Komori shugenja used to serve in each Mantis legion as living communications links, allowing their general to coordinate their units with uncanny precision. This tradition continues even now, providing the Mantis an advantage in combat areas without networks, or in places where communication networks have been damaged or destroyed.

Family Bonus: +1 Intelligence

Kitsune Clan
While the Kitsune originally joined the Mantis reluctantly, the family grew and prospered during their centuries serving the Yoritomo. As the Mantis headed to the stars, so too did the Kitsune, though often in smaller numbers, unwilling to leave their ancestral forests. Nonetheless, the Kitsune established several holdings of their own, usually on worlds bearing the heaviest touch of Chikushudo, building their small bio-dome villages in the sheltered locations.

Years of constant war between the Lion and Mantis took a toll upon the Kitsune’s numbers, wearying the peaceful family. Atrocities committed by the Mantis high command finally drove Kitsune leadership into revolt, forcefully taking over their small planetary defense fleets and commandeering the vessels to evacuate their people. Fleeing Mantis space, they were given permission by the Lion to settle upon Inari’s Cradle, one of the Lion farming worlds with substantial forests, with the stipulation that the Kitsune would not be expected to fight for the Lion, save in defense of their new home. While all this happened, those Fox dwelling in the hallowed Kitsune and Shinomen Mori, quietly stripped off their Mantis mons, replacing them with ancient Fox ones.

Family Bonus: +1 Willpower