Skills

Rings and Traits represent the innate mental and physical abilities of a character. What they learn through training and experience, however, is represented by Skills. Samurai begin acquiring the basic building blocks of Skills at a very young age, when they first enter a dojo to begin training for a life of service in the name of their Clan. Each Clan’s dojo teaches different Skills, and even within a single Clan the Skills taught at particular dojo can vary widely. All dojo offer a number of additional, optional courses of study for their students, however, so even two samurai who attend the same dojo can have different Skills, albeit with a common base of training.
Like Rings and Traits, Skills are ranked from 1 to 10. A rank of 1 in a Skill indicates that a character has been introduced to the most basic principles of that Skill, whereas a character with a rank of 10 in any given Skill is either one of the greatest masters on the planet, or a supernatural being of some sort.
When a Skill Roll is called for, it lists the Skill first, then the Trait being used for the particular roll. A call for an Athletics / Agility roll, for instance, would require a player to roll a total number of dice equal to his character’s ranks in the Athletics Skill and Agility Trait, and to keep a number of dice equal to the character’s Agility Trait.

Raises

There are times when simple success is not enough. When a character needs to accomplish something truly spectacular, Raises are the means by which that can be accomplished. When a player declares he is making a Raise, he is choosing to voluntarily increase the TN of the task his character is attempting, by an increment of 5 per Raise. Raises are generally made when a player feels his character’s abilities will allow him to easily exceed the TN for a given task. The most common use of Raises is to allow characters to perform Maneuvers in combat (described later in this chapter), but individual GMs can allow any number of different effects with sufficient Raises. Players who wish to try unconventional or creative actions that are not covered by the basic rules should simply ask the GM how many Raises will be required to succeed. A character can make a maximum number of Raises per roll equal to his Void Ring. A character with Void 2, for instance, can make 1 or 2 Raises per roll, but not 3. Some mechanical effects grant a character Free Raises. These give the benefit of having made a Raise without actually increasing the TN of the roll in question, and do not count toward the maximum number of Raises that may be made per roll. Free Raises may also be used to reduce the TN of the task being attempted by 5 instead of augmenting the roll in the same way as a normal Raise.
Raises are not without risk, however. If a player declares Raises on a roll, and the result of his roll fails to meet the new, increased TN, the roll fails. This is a failure even if the result of the roll meets the original TN but falls short of the new, increased TN.

Types of Rolls

There are a number of types of rolls that come up frequently in a Legend of the Five Rings Role-playing Game session. The most common are:

Skill Rolls

Skill rolls are the most common type of roll made in the game. Typically a Skill is combined with a single Trait to determine the number of dice rolled for a particular task. When a Skill/Trait pair is announced by the Game Master, the player will use a number of dice equal to the character’s rank in the Trait plus their rank in the Skill. After rolling this number of dice, the player will keep a number equal to the Trait being used, adding these kept dice together to find the total for the roll. Skills thus grant additional rolled dice for each task, increasing the chance of getting better results, while also being less expensive to increase in rank than Traits.

Example: John’s character Bayushi Shinai is going to fire an arrow at an enemy samurai. The Skill that governs archery is Kyujutsu, which is usually paired with Reflexes. Shinai has Reflexes 3 and Kyujutsu 4, so he rolls 7 dice (3+4). John rolls seven ten-sided dice and gets a 2, 4, 5, 7, 7, 8, and a 12 (a 10 that was rolled again to get a 2). John may keep 3 dice with his Reflexes of 3, and chooses to keep the 7, 8, and 12 to get a total of 27. Since his Game Master had announced the TN for the shot was 20, Shinai has struck his target.
It is possible for characters to make Skill Rolls even if they possess no ranks in the given Skill. This is referred to as an Unskilled Roll.

Trait Rolls

Trait Rolls are far less common than Skill Rolls. They represent situations when the characters in question are attempting to complete a task based solely on their innate abilities, either mental or physical, without any benefit from training. This is more commonly a factor for physical tasks, such as holding one’s breath or holding onto a moving wagon. Trait Rolls for mental tasks are less common, but might include attempting to focus one’s attention on a subject being observed for a long period of time, or memorize a lot of material very quickly. To make a Trait Roll, a character rolls and keeps dice equal to his Rank in that Trait.

Ring Rolls

Ring Rolls, where dice equal to a character’s Rank in a Ring are rolled and kept, are very uncommon and typically involve magical or supernatural effects of some sort. Spells can sometimes require a target to make a Ring Roll in order to resist an effect, for example, or a character may have to roll Earth to resist the Shadowlands Taint.

Damage Rolls

Damage rolls are very common in combat. Any time a character makes a successful attack roll (a specific kind of Skill Roll), he inflicts damage upon his opponent in the form of Wounds. Damage rolls vary considerably depending upon the weapon used in the attack. Every weapon has a damage rating (or DR) that represents the amount of damage it is capable of inflicting. For melee weapons, a character using a particular weapon adds his Strength to the number of rolled dice in the weapon’s DR. For example, a Crab bushi with Strength 3 using a dai-tsuchi (DR 5k2) would roll 8k2 damage following a successful attack with the dai-tsuchi.
For ranged weapons, the character’s Strength is not always added to the DR of the weapon, depending upon the weapon used. The most common ranged weapons, bows, have a Strength rating of their own that is added to the rolled dice of the projectile’s DR. A yumi has a Strength of 3, for example. Using a yumi to fire a standard arrow would roll a total of 5k2 (Strength 3 plus the arrow’s DR of 2k2) for damage from a successful attack roll. For rules for other ranged weapons please see Equipment.
Another kind of damage roll is the unarmed damage roll. A character that has made a successful attack against an opponent using only his bare hands inflicts unarmed damage. Unarmed attacks normally have a DR of 0k1, which means the character rolls a number of dice equal to his Strength, and keeps one.

Spell Casting Rolls

Spell Casting Rolls are the province of shugenja and are made to determine if they are successful in casting a particular spell. When a shugenja prepares to cast a spell of a particular element, the player rolls a number of dice equal to the character’s Shugenja School Rank plus his Ring in the relevant element, and keeps a number of dice equal to the character’s Ring. EXAMPLE: Brent’s character Isawa Tishi is going to cast a Fire spell. Tishi has Fire 3 and is a Rank 1 student of the Isawa Shugenja School. Brent rolls 4 dice (3+1) and keeps 3 (equal to the character’s Fire Ring).

Contested Rolls

A Contested Roll is made when two characters are making a roll in direct opposition to one another, and only one can be successful. Any type of roll can be a Contested Roll, meaning that there can be Contested Skill Rolls, Contested Trait Rolls, Contested Ring Rolls, etc. In the case of a Contested Roll, both participants make the designated roll (i.e. in a Contested Agility Roll, the players both roll their characters’ Agility) and compare the result. The character whose player rolled a higher result is victorious. It is possible for multiple characters to be involved in a Contested Roll, in which case the player who rolls the highest of those involved is the victor. In any instance where there is a tie on a Contested Roll, and the circumstances of the roll are such that a tie is not a viable option, the players involved must immediately re-roll the Contested Roll. Multiple re-rolls may be made if subsequent ties are the result (although that is statistically unlikely!).
It is possible to declare Raises on a Contested Roll. If this is done, that character’s roll must exceed his opponent’s by an increment of 5 for every Raise declared, or he is considered to have failed the roll.

Skill Rolls, Expanded

Given that Skill Rolls are the most frequent kind of roll made in the L5R RPG, there are a wide variety of situations and circumstances that can arise as a result of rolls, and several different ways in which these rolls can be made. The following situations and roll types are likely to come up in most average campaign sessions.

Unskilled Rolls

It is possible for a character to attempt a roll when a Skill Roll is called for, even if they have no ranks in that Skill. In this case, they are effectively making a Trait Roll against a Skill Roll TN, which is typically higher than most Trait Rolls can realistically achieve. When making an Unskilled Roll, the following two conditions apply:

Dice never explode on an Unskilled Roll.
Unskilled Rolls may not benefit from Raises, either called Raises or Free Raises.

Failed Rolls

When a character fails a Skill Roll, it is often possible to make a second attempt (unless the GM rules that circumstances make a second attempt impossible). For example, a character attempting to climb a tree could try again if his first attempt failed. When making a second attempt at the same Skill Roll, the TN for the Skill Roll increases by +10. Second attempts on Skill Rolls utilizing Intelligence or Perception usually cannot be made without a change in the situation, such as new information becoming available to the character. Skill Rolls made as attacks (such as virtually all uses of the Weapon Skills) may not make a second attempt at +10 TN; an attack roll that fails simply misses, and the character may not make another attack unless he has an ability that confers multiple attacks.

Cooperative Rolls

Cooperative Skill Rolls involve multiple individuals working together to achieve a single result. There are two different types of Cooperative Rolls. The first involves a group working together toward one end, without significant consequences for failure. An example might be multiple shipwrights working on a new seagoing vessel. In these cases, one individual is chosen from those participating to make the Skill Roll. He receives a bonus to the total of his roll equal to the combined Ranks of all other participants in the Skill in question.
The second manner of Cooperative Roll is one wherein the circumstances of the roll allow for one participant with poor performance to impede the entire group. An example would be a group of samurai scaling a mountain, tied together for security. In this case, an individual Skill Roll is required from each participant, but the participant with the single highest rank in the Skill being used grants a bonus equal to his Skill Rank to all others making the roll. For example, continuing the above example of several samurai roped together, each of them will roll their Athletics (Climbing) Skill. The samurai with the highest Skill in the group has Athletics 4, so the other samurai with lower Skill Ranks will gain a bonus of +4 to their rolls.

Cumulative Rolls

Cumulative Skill Rolls require multiple successes over time in order for the task at hand to be completed satisfactorily. The TN for Cumulative Skill Rolls is typically very high, but can be achieved through multiple Skill Rolls over time. Each time an individual makes a successful Skill Roll, the total of the roll is deducted from the total of the TN. For example, if a TN of 60 is required to finish a sculpture, an artisan might make an Artisan: Sculpture / Agility roll and achieve a total of 24. On the next Skill Roll, the artisan’s total TN is only 36. Individual Cumulative Skill Rolls typically list how long a character must allow to pass between rolls. It should be noted that Cumulative Skill Rolls could be abused by the unscrupulous if the GM is not careful. In general, such methods can only be used in situations where it makes sense to do so (such as the sculpture example above). The GM is also justified in requiring the individual skill rolls to hit a minimum TN (such as 15, 20, or even 25) in order for them to count against the cumulative total. Potentially, a very low “flubbed” Skill Roll might even subtract from the cumulative total, representing a mistake that must be corrected. It is possible to have a Cumulative Skill Roll required that is also a Cooperative Skill Roll, in which case the Cooperative Roll is generated as described above, and the total is deducted from the Cumulative Roll’s TN.

Special Dice Rules

Exploding Dice

Sometimes dice rolls yield a spectacular result. When a die comes up as a 10, it is rolled again, and the next
result is added to the die’s total. If the result is another 10, the die is rolled again until a result that is not a 10 is gained.

The Ten Dice Rule

In the L5R RPG, characters can progress to a point where they are rolling large handfuls of dice, so much that it can become difficult to count and track them all. To keep matters relatively simple, no roll can ever use more than ten dice at a time. Additional rolled dice become kept dice at a ratio of one kept die per two additional rolled dice. If both rolled and kept dice already equal ten, then each additional die of both types converts to a bonus of +2 to the total of the roll. c EXAMPLE: A roll of 12k4 would become 10k5, because the two extra rolled dice that exceed the Ten Dice Rule become one extra kept die.

Combat

Definition of Terms

Action – What a character does when it is their Turn during a combat Round.
Initiative – A measure of how quickly a given character reacts compared to other participants in a skirmish.
Round – A unit of time, 3 to 10 seconds in length, during which all participants in a skirmish have an opportunity to take Actions.
Turn – The opportunity for an individual character to take Actions during a combat Round. Under normal circumstances, every participant in a skirmish has one Turn, which takes place on their Initiative.

Sequence of Events

A combat Round unfolds in the following stages:

Stage 1: Initiative – During the first Round of a skirmish, all participants make an Initiative Roll, rolling Reflexes and Insight Rank (see Book of Fire for information on Insight Ranks), keeping Reflexes (noted as Insight Rank / Reflexes). The result of this roll, called the Initiative Score, determines the order in which all characters will act. An Initiative Roll is only made on a character’s first Round of participation in the skirmish, and the resulting Initiative Score is used for the remainder of the skirmish. However, in subsequent Rounds, Initiative Scores may potentially change as a result of different character abilities or situational modifiers. During the first Round of combat, characters also select their Stance immediately before they make their Initiative Roll.

Stage 2: Turns – The bulk of a combat Round involves each individual participant taking their Turn. When this stage begins, the character with the highest Initiative Score takes their Turn first, and may take any legal Action. A character may choose to delay taking their Turn, and instead allow the character with the next highest Initiative Score to take their Turn. After that, the character who delayed their Turn has the chance to take it or delay again, and so on. Delaying a Turn has no effect on a character’s Initiative Score the following Round, and Turns cannot be “saved” from one Round to the next. If every participant Delays their Turn, when the participant with the lowest initiative score is reached he must take his Turn, then the Round ends. After the first Round of a skirmish, characters may change their Stances at the beginning of their Turn, before taking any Actions. A character only ever has one Turn per Round, regardless of how many Actions he may take during the Round.

Stage 3: Reactions – At the end of a Round, when all characters have taken their Turn, there are certain abilities that take effect as a result of the events of the Round. For example, spell effects that have expired end during the Reaction Stage. All such effects happen simultaneously during Stage 3. Reaction effects, typically generated by Techniques, Spells, or Advantages, are always clearly labeled as such.

Attack & Defense

Any attack a character makes against an opponent requires a roll, typically a Skill Roll that includes a Weapon Skill as one of its components. Attacks may be melee or ranged in nature, depending upon the weapon being used. These rolls are made using the rules included for Skill Rolls above, and the result of an attack roll is compared to the opponent’s Armor TN. All characters have an Armor TN that is calculated by multiplying their Reflexes Trait by 5, adding 5, and adding any bonuses that apply to the Armor TN (typically from Stances or from the character wearing armor of some kind).

If the result of the attack roll meets or exceeds the target’s Armor TN, then the attack was successful and the opponent was struck with the weapon in question. Damage must now be rolled. Penalties or bonuses may be applied to attack rolls for a variety of reasons. The most obvious and frequent penalty is for being injured (see the discussion of Wounds immediately following this section). Any ranged attack made against an opponent who is within melee range also suffers a penalty of -10 to the total of the attack roll, due to the awkwardness of firing at someone who is a direct threat. Additional bonuses and penalties are discussed under Stances and Status Effects, and the GM can apply bonuses or penalties based on specific circumstances (a character trying to attack while balancing on a railing would probably suffer a penalty, for example).

Every weapon has a damage rating (DR). This rating indicates how much damage the weapon inflicts upon those struck with it. The katana, the most common weapon wielded by samurai, has DR 3k2. For melee attacks, characters add their Strength to the first number of a weapon’s DR. A character who makes a successful attack roll wielding a katana, and who has Strength 3, would roll 6k2 for damage (3 Strength plus the 3 from the first number of the DR). The character’s player selects the two dice he wishes to keep out of the six and totals them together. This is the number of Wounds the attack has inflicted upon its target. A character adds his Strength to certain types of ranged attacks in the same manner, but not all (see Equipment).

Wounds

Individual characters have Wound Ranks that measure the amount of damage that they can sustain before it begins to impair their ability to take actions and eventually incapacitates or kills them. The Wounds inflicted by an attack fill up these Wound Ranks in order, with each Rank containing a maximum number of Wounds determined by the character’s Earth Ring. As soon as a character suffers damage that begins filling in a particular Wound Rank, the character is then considered to be in the state described by that Rank. Once that Rank has been filled, additional damage goes to the next Rank. The ranks are as follows:

Healthy
This is the default condition of any character who has not suffered damage. Regardless of what Earth Ring multiplier is chosen for a campaign (see sidebar), this Wound Rank should utilize the character’s Earth x5 in order to create a buffer for normal activity. All further Wound Ranks normally utilize the character’s Earth x2.

Nicked
(Increase the TN of all rolls made by +3 while nicked)
A character who has been nicked has suffered a mild but distracting injury.

Grazed
(Increase the TN of all rolls made by +5 while Grazed)
A grazed character is injured, but still able to function without tremendous difficulty.

Hurt
(Increase the TN of all rolls made by +10 while Hurt)
A character who is hurt has begun to suffer noticeably from the effects of his injuries.

Injured
(Increase the TN of all rolls made by +15 while Injured)
An injured character has difficulty focusing his attention on the task at hand.

Crippled
(Increase the TN of all rolls made by +20 while Crippled)
A crippled character can barely stand, much less move. Any attempt to make a Move action is increased by one level of difficulty (a Free Action becomes Simple, etc.)

Down
(Increase the TN of all rolls made by +40 while Down)
A character who is Down is virtually incapacitated. They may speak only in a whisper. Such a character may only potentially take Free Actions unless a particular wound makes such action impossible (and cannot take Move actions), and must spend a Void Point in order to be able to do so.

Out
A character who has been reduced to this level is immobile, unconscious, and likely dying. Once this Rank is filled, any additional damage inflicted to the character kills him instantly.

Stances

A character’s Stance determines what actions they may or may not take during their Turn in a combat Round. Stances reflect the basic postures every samurai is taught to prepare them for combat, and even the most pious shugenja or effete courtier is familiar with them. During the first Round of a skirmish, characters assume their Stance during Stage 1. On every subsequent round, they can change their Stance or choose to maintain it at the beginning of their Turn in Stage 2. The Stances a character may adopt are as follows:

Attack : Attack is the standard Stance adopted by most bushi in a combat situation, and is tied closely to the Ring of Water in that it is fluid and versatile. A character in the Attack Stance has no restrictions on the kind of Actions he may take.

Full Attack : Full Attack is the Ring of Fire, raging and consuming all in its path. A character in the Full Attack Stance may take no Simple or Complex Actions other than those used to make attacks, and may only use Move Actions to get closer to his enemies. Characters may not use the Full Attack Stance to deliver ranged attacks. A character in the Full Attack Stance gains a bonus of +2k1 to attack rolls made that round, but his Armor TN is reduced by 10 to reflect the all-or-nothing nature of the attack. A character in the Full Attack Stance who takes a Move Action during his turn may move an additional 5 feet beyond the normal amount allowed for the Move Action. This bonus movement is granted only once per Round, and the character still may not exceed the normal maximum distance he may normally move in one Round. Full Attack may not be used while mounted.

Defense : Defense is the Ring of Air, adaptable and reactive. Defense allows for the greatest freedom of action. Characters in the Defense Stance add their Air Ring plus their Defense Skill Rank to their Armor TN. There are no restrictions on what kind of Actions a character in the Defense Stance may take, other than that they may not attack. The Defense Stance is useful for making oneself less vulnerable while making Skill Rolls or Spell Casting Rolls during skirmishes. A bushi attempting to light a spark for a burning arrow in the middle of a melee would use Defense, as he may still need to drop what he is doing to defend himself from an enemy who attacks.

Full Defense : The Full Defense Stance is the Ring of Earth, reserved, unmoving, and unassailable. Upon declaring his Stance, a character in the Full Defense Stance makes a Defense / Reflexes roll and adds half of the total (rounding up) to his Armor TN until his following Turn. This Skill Roll is considered a Complex Action, so a character in this Stance may only take Free Actions.

Center : The Center Stance is the Ring of Void. The principle function of Center Stance is related to the benefits it offers in iaijutsu dueling (see the rules for Iaijutsu Duels later in this chapter), but it has benefits in skirmishes as well. Characters in the Center Stance take no Actions, instead focusing their energy in preparation for action the following round. A character in the Center Stance forfeits all Actions while in that Stance. On the round following his adoption of the Center Stance, the character gains a bonus of 1k1 plus his Void Ring on any one roll made during his Turn. The character also adds 10 to the total of his Initiative Score for that Round only

Actions

During a combat Round, every character may take Actions on their Turn. Although a character’s Stance can limit what kind of Actions they may take, in general a character may take one of the two following options:

One Complex Action + Free Actions
Two Simple Actions + Free Actions

Free Actions are minor activities that do not disrupt a character’s ability to perform other tasks during the course of their Turn. Unless otherwise specified, a character may only perform each Free Action a maximum of once per Round.

Simple Actions are more complicated tasks that require more of a character’s attention, but not so much that he is not capable of taking more than one action at a time.

Complex Actions are elaborate or time-consuming efforts that require all of a character’s attention in order to complete.

Move Actions

Characters in L5R can move a certain amount per round depending upon the Action or Actions they devote to that task.
Actions correspond to the following movement rates:

Free Action: A number of feet equal to five times the character’s Water Ring
Simple Action: A number of feet equal to ten times the character’s Water Ring.
Complex Action: These are not normally available, but some mechanics can require a character to perform specific tasks as Complex Move Actions.

A character may not move more than twenty times his Water Ring in feet per round unless he has an ability that increases his maximum possible movement per round. Movement is also modified by the type of terrain where characters are located. It is far easier to run down a city street, for instance, than a rocky beach. It is ultimately up to the Game Master to determine what level of terrain any particular area falls under. Terrain types and the movement penalties they incur include:

Basic: City streets, plains, sparse forest, etc. A character has no movement penalties in basic terrain.
Moderate: Tall grass, foothills, beaches, etc. A character’s Water Ring is considered one Rank lower (to a minimum of one) for the purposes of determining how far he can move using Move Actions when on moderate terrain.
Difficult: Mountains, dense forest, hip-deep water, etc. A character’s Water Ring is considered two Ranks lower (to a minimum of one) for the purposes of determining how far he can move using Move Actions when on difficult terrain. GMs may optionally choose to assign penalties to physical rolls (both Skill and Trait rolls) made in Difficult terrain, typically a -5 or -10 to the roll, if it seems appropriate.

Maneuvers

Maneuvers are specialized actions and attacks that are more difficult than the standard melee and ranged attacks that characters can make as part of a combat round. Because these attacks accomplish additional effects above normal attack damage, they require Raises in order to be made. Certain Maneuvers can only be performed in particular Stances. It should be noted that these maneuvers do not constitute an exhaustive list of the things which a character might be able to accomplish with an attack. Rather, they specify the maneuvers that are most likely to come up during a skirmish. The GM and players should feel free to improvise other maneuvers based on the rules presented here.

Called Shot (Variable raises)
A Called Shot is an attack that specifically targets one section of the body. Without the Called Shot Maneuver, it is assumed that an attack will strike the target’s torso, but with an increasing number of Raises, smaller and more specific parts of the body can be targeted. A specific limb can be targeted with 1 Raise, a hand or foot with 2 Raises, the head with 3 Raises, or an eye, ear, finger, or other similarly small part with 4 Raises. There is no specific mechanical effect for striking a particular body part in this manner, although individual GMs may rule that a certain amount of damage may sever or destroy the body part in question, and any items held or worn on that part may be dropped or destroyed.

Disarm (3 Raises)
The Disarm Maneuver specifically targets a weapon held by the target, with the intent of knocking it out of the target’s grasp. A successful Disarm attack inflicts only 2k1 damage from the jarring impact of the strike, regardless of the weapon used, and characters executing this Maneuver do not add their Strength to the number of rolled damage dice. If the Maneuver is successful, the character and his target make a Contested Strength Roll. If the attacking character wins, the target drops the weapon in question. Weapons with wooden components that are the target of a Disarm Maneuver by weapons with a steel blade may be broken, at the GM’s discretion. Recovering a dropped weapon requires a Simple Action on the part of a character who has been Disarmed.

Extra Attack (5 Raises)
The ability to make multiple attacks per Turn is normally only granted by powerful School Techniques. This Maneuver allows anyone to gain an extra attack per Turn, however, as long as they have the skill necessary to pull it off. To gain an additional attack, a character must make 5 successful Raises on the first attack roll. These Raises confer no benefits, but if they succeed, the character may immediately make a second attack roll as soon as the first attack has been resolved (including damage). The Extra Attack Maneuver may only be used once per turn. The initial attack in this Maneuver must be successful, but the second may miss without any negative effects.

Feint (2 Raises)
A Feint is an attack that contains, as its first component, a deceptive movement intended to make a target believe that the attack will come from one direction, and then the actual attack comes from another direction, exploiting a hole in the target’s defenses opened by their attempt to defend against the initial attack. If the Feint Maneuver is successful, half the amount by which the character’s attack roll exceeded the target’s Armor TN (taking the 2 Raises for his Maneuver into account) is added to the damage roll for that attack, to a maximum amount equal to five times the character’s Insight Rank.

Guard (0 Raises)
Guard is a unique combat Action that does not actually require an attack roll. However, it has been placed here with Maneuvers for convenience, since it is used only in combat. During a skirmish, a character can choose to dedicate himself to protecting another character, making it harder for enemies to attack that person. Guarding is a Simple Action, and you may not take the Guard Action while in the Full Attack stance. When you declare a Guard Action, you must designate one other person within 5 feet of you. Until your next Turn, any time that person is within 5 feet of you, their Armor TN is increased by 10 and your Armor TN is decreased by 5.

Increased Damage (1 or more Raises)
The simplest of all Maneuvers, an Increased Damage Maneuver adds a bonus of 1k0 to the total of the damage roll that corresponds to the attack. Multiple Raises can be made to gain a larger amount of Increased Damage, but all Raises made in one combat Round count as one effect for the purposes of any mechanics that decrease the number of Raises required.

Knockdown (2 or 4 Raises)
The Knockdown Maneuver is a specialized attack intended to damage an opponent and knock them prone. Because this attack generally targets the legs, it is only useable against two- or four-legged opponents (requiring 2 and 4 Raises respectively). If successful, the attack deals normal damage and forces a Contested Strength Roll between the character and the target. If the character is successful, the target is knocked prone.

Archery Called Shots (Varies – BoA)

2 Raises: Shoot an arrow with a rope attached (such as when trying to get out of a pit, for example). This trick shot would probably require a Rope cutter arrow to be properly effective.

3 Raises: Pin an opponent’s extremity (hand or foot) in place, either to the floor or to a convenient wall, table, or pillar. The opponent takes normal damage but is pinned in place until pulling himself loose (which would probably inflict a small amount of additional damage, such as 1k1). The GM could also rule that the wounded extremity cannot be used effectively, such as by penalizing a character hit in the hand when he uses two-handed weapons, or inflicting the Lame Disadvantage on a character hit in the foot.

3 Raises: Shoot someone’s helmet off his head. This might result in a 1-point reduction in Reduction from armor. o 3 Raises: Shoot an object in order to knock it away (e.g. shooting a sword off the table before a ronin can grab it up, for example).

4 raises: Pin an opponent’s extremity without hitting flesh, such as pinning his sandal to the ground or pinning his kimono sleeve to the wall. If the opponent is wearing Heavy Armor, this trick shot might require an additional Raise unless the character is shooting an armor-piercing arrow.

4 Raises: Pierce another arrow in an existing target (the classic Robin Hood shot).

4 Raises: Cut a foe’s forehead so blood gets in his eyes, rendering him Blind until he takes a Simple Action to wipe the blood away. This trick shot would probably require a flesh cutter arrow to be properly effective.

5 Raises: Shoot a small or medium weapon out of an opponent’s hand. This is different from the melee Disarm maneuver, which requires a Contested Strength roll and thus clearly cannot be performed with a ranged attack. However, allowing an archer to “auto-disarm” a foe with 5 Raises may be too strong, so a possible alternative is to require the foe to make a Strength roll at, say, TN 20 to hold on to the weapon. This option also allows the archer to call additional Raises to make it harder for the foe to hold on to the weapon.

5 Raises: Sever an enemy’s bowstring.

5 Raises: Cut the ties on a foe’s armor, causing it to partially fall off. This could reduce an opponent’s Armor TN and/or Reduction from armor by 1 or 2 points—possibly even reducing Heavy Armor to Light Armor for an extra Raise.

6 Raises: Shoot an enemy arrow or missile out of the air. This sort of action transcends the normal restrictions of the L5R game mechanics, since there is no “flight time” rule for missile weapons. However, a GM who wishes to encourage a more cinematic approach to archery could allow an archer who is holding/delaying his action for the Round to react to an enemy missile attack by immediately taking his own attack and trying to shoot it out of the air.

Iaijutsu Dueling

The iaijutsu duel is the formal means of conflict resolution in Rokugan between members of the samurai caste. Such duels are most often to first blood, but matters of a truly grievous nature can result in a duel to the death. The social rules of such duels, and the circumstances giving rise to them, are described in the Book of Air. Mechanically, once a challenge has been issued and accepted, the process takes place over the course of two combat rounds. In an iaijutsu duel, both duelists are considered to be in Center Stance throughout the duel, and may not take any actions other than the ones outlined below.

Assessment: On the first Round of the duel, both characters enter the Assessment stage on the Initiative Turn of the faster duelist. During the Assessment stage, each participant assumes the Center Stance and makes an Iaijutsu (Assessment) / Awareness roll against a TN equal to 10 plus their opponent’s Insight Rank x 5. If successful, a duelist’s roll reveals any one of the following pieces of information, plus an additional piece of information per Raise.

The opponent’s Void
The opponent’s Reflexes
The opponent’s Iaijutsu Skill
Any Iaijutsu Emphases the opponent may possess
The current number of Void Points the opponent has available
The opponent’s current Wound Level

If a character’s Assessment roll exceeds the total of their opponent’s roll by 10 or more, whether or not it gained any information, the winning character gains a bonus of +1k1 on his subsequent Focus roll. At this point, it is possible for either of the duelists to concede defeat, recognizing his opponent as superior.

Focus: During the second Round of the duel, both characters enter the Focus stage on the Initiative Turn of the faster duelist. The opponents study one another carefully, looking for any weakness. The duelists make a Contested Iaijutsu (Focus) / Void Roll. If one duelist beats the other’s roll by 5 or more, that duelist earns the right to make the first strike. He gains a Free Raise toward his strike roll for every additional increment of 5 by which he beats his opponent’s roll. If neither duelist beats the other’s roll by at least 5, then a simultaneous “kharmic strike” takes place.

Strike: On the third Round of the duel, both characters enter the Strike stage on the Initiative Turn of the slower duelist. The duelist who won first strike makes an Iaijutsu / Reflexes attack roll against his opponent’s normal Armor TN. Any Free Raises gained from the Focus stage apply to this roll. The attack is resolved normally, including Wounds being applied. The second duelist may then make his Iaijutsu / Reflexes roll, assuming he still lives. In a duel to first blood, the second duelist has lost the duel if his opponent struck him, and striking after first blood is considered extremely dishonorable. In the event that neither opponent won the Contested Roll during the focus stage, both make their attack rolls simultaneously, an event known as a kharmic strike. Destiny has intervened, and the cause of the duel is considered dropped by both parties. Neither is the victor or the defeated. If neither duelist is dead at the end of the Strike phase, and if the duel is to the death, the duel becomes a standard skirmish, continuing until one combatant is dead. Regardless of the results of the duel, the act of striking counts as each character’s actions for this Round.

Conditional Effects

There are a number of different conditions that can afflict
a character during combat, each with its own unique mechanical effects. School Techniques can cause many of these,
while others simply happen as a result of environmental factors. This list of conditions is not exhaustive, but covers all
the most likely conditions for a character to suffer. The GM should use these rules as guidelines for any unusual conditions that are not covered here.

Blinded : A character who has been struck blind or who suffers from the Blind Disadvantage suffers a penalty of -3k3 to all ranged attack rolls and -1k1 to melee attack rolls. A blind character’s base Armor TN is equal to his Refl exes Trait plus 5 (armor adds bonuses as normal). The character’s Water Ring is considered two ranks lower for the purposes of determining how far he can move as part of a Move Action. Any attempt at a Simple Move Action requires an Athletics/Agility roll (TN 20) or the character is knocked Prone.

Dazed : A character who has been dazed suffers a penalty of -3k0 to all actions. Dazed characters can only use the Defense and Full Defense Stances and cannot perform an Iaijutsu duel. The character may recover from this Status Effect by making a successful Earth Ring Roll versus a TN of 20 during the Reaction Stage. The target may attempt this roll once each Round, and the TN decreases by 5 each time he fails the roll.

Entangled : A character who has become entangled can take no Actions other than attempting to break free. This is a Strength roll against a TN determined by the GM based on the nature of the entanglement; it is a Contested Roll if someone else is actively trying to keep the character entangled. Opponents may initiate a grapple with an entangled character without an attack roll.

Fasting : A character who goes without food and water for 24 hours loses the ability to regain Void Points from rest, although they can still be regained from meditation. After two days of fasting, a character suffers a +5 TN penalty to all his Skill rolls, physical Trait rolls, and Spell Casting Rolls until he gets food and drink. This increases by +5 for each additional day of fasting. After a number of days of fasting equal to his Stamina, he begins losing 2k1 Wounds per day until he gets food and drink or dies.

Fatigued : A character who goes without rest for 24 hours suffers a +5 TN penalty to all his Skill rolls, physical Trait rolls, and Spell Casting Rolls until he rests. This penalty increases by an additional +5 for every day that passes without rest. After a number of days equal to the character’s Stamina Trait, he must begin making Willpower Trait Rolls at TN 20 every two hours to avoid falling asleep. A fatigued character may not take the Full Attack Stance.

Grappled : A character who is participating in a grapple is considered grappled. Characters who are grappled are much easier to hit with attacks, and have their Armor TN reduced to 5 plus any bonuses from armor they are wearing.

Mounted/Higher : A character sitting atop a horse or other mount, or who is on higher ground (at least a four foot height advantage), gains a bonus of +1k0 on attack rolls against un-mounted/lower characters. A mounted character may not use the Full Attack Stance.

Prone : A prone character is lying fl at on his back, side, or stomach, and cannot move, attack, or defend himself to full effect. A prone character immediately suffers a -10 penalty to his Armor TN against melee attacks. This penalty lasts until he stands up. He cannot use Move Actions, and may only adopt the Defense or Attack Stances. He cannot attack with large weapons, and suffers a -2k0 penalty to attacks with medium and small weapons. It requires a Simple Action to stand up from the prone position.

Stunned : A character who is stunned may take no actions. Such a character has an Armor TN equal to 5 plus any bonuses from armor worn. The character may recover from this Status Effect by making a successful Earth Ring Roll at TN 20 during the Reaction Stage. If he fails this roll, the status ends at the end of the next Combat Round.

Grappling

Like the iaijutsu duel, grappling is a unique combat situation that is different enough from a standard skirmish that it warrants its own system. Grapples occur within the normal rules for a skirmish, however, and as such use the same rules for Initiative, Actions, Rounds, and Turns.

A character may initiate a grapple by making an attack roll using Jiujutsu / Agility. This is always a Complex Action unless the character possesses an ability that specifically renders grapples a Simple or Free Action. To successfully initiate a grapple, the attacking character must hit the target’s Armor TN with his attack roll. This attack roll ignores the benefits of armor to the Armor TN. If the attack is successful, both the attacker and the target are considered to be in a grapple.

When characters are involved in a grapple, one of them is in control. Initially this is the character who initiates the grapple, but it can change every round. A grappled character must try to control the grapple at the beginning of his Turn. All characters involved in the grapple must make a Contested Jiujutsu / Strength Roll. The character with the highest result on this roll is considered to be in control of the grapple until the next character’s Turn.

A character who has control of a grapple may do one of the following things on his Turn:

Hit: As a Complex Action, the character may inflict normal unarmed damage on any one other participant in the grapple. This damage cannot benefit from Raises, as there is no attack roll being made. Free Raises can still be applied, however.
Throw: As a Complex Action, the character may throw one opponent, causing them to become prone anywhere within five feet of the character performing the throw. This removes the thrown character from the grapple.
Break: As a Simple Action, the character may immediately remove himself from the grapple.
Pass: As a Free Action, the character may do nothing, choosing to maintain the grapple and retain control.

Certain weapons, primarily chain weapons and certain polearms, may be used to grapple opponents. These types of grapples are identical to normal grapples, except that the attack roll and control rolls use the appropriate Weapon Skill in place of Jiujutsu, and a Hit inflicts damage based on the weapon instead of unarmed damage. There is a risk associated with this, however. If a character using a weapon loses control of the grapple, his opponent gains two free Raises on his next Turn to use the Disarm Maneuver against him.

Sumai Tournaments

Although sumai wrestling can be represented by the conventional L5R 4th Edition rules for unarmed combat and Grappling, many players and GMs may find this unsatisfactory as a simulation of a sport.

Accordingly, we present the following option: To represent sumai tournament wrestling, simply have the two wrestlers perform a Contested Roll of Jiujutsu (Sumai) / Strength. If one wrestler wins the Contested Roll by 5 or more, he wins the match (either knocking his opponent down or forcing him out of the ring). If neither wrestler beats the other’s roll by at least 5, the bout continues and another Contested Roll is made.

Sumo gain a considerable advantage from being larger and heavier than their opponents. GMs may represent this by awarding a +1k0 bonus to the roll for the larger wrestler, e.g. for a Large wrestler facing a normal or Small wrestler, or a normal wrestler facing a Small one.

GMs who want to add a little more depth to their sumai tournaments may also wish to incorporate the “stare-down” that takes place before each match, when each sumo seeks to intimidate the other and gain a psychological advantage. This can be represented with a Contested Roll of Intimidation / Willpower, with a wrestler who wins the roll by 5 or more gaining a +1k0 bonus to the subsequent Jiujutsu roll.

Off-hand Weapons & Multiple Attacks

Many players are interested in having their characters use two weapons simultaneously. This is not particularly common in Rokugan, as the vast majority of bushi use the katana, which is traditionally wielded in both hands. Exceptions exist, notably with the Dragon Clan and their daisho technique, the Mantis and their tendency to use matched pairs of small weapons, and the Lion’s favoring of the katana and war fan combination.

A character’s handedness is determined by the player. A character attempting to make an attack with a weapon in his off-hand suffers a penalty of -5 to the roll if it is a small weapon, -10 if it is medium, and -15 if it is large. Additionally, attacks made with the character’s dominant hand suffer a penalty of -5 to attacks as long as a secondary weapon is held in the off hand. However, a character wielding two weapons is more difficult to hit due to the larger area covered. As a result, characters wielding two weapons add their Insight Rank to their Armor TN.