The Unicorn, once known as the Ki-Rin Clan, were absent from the Empire for nearly eight centuries as they wandered the world, exploring and ensuring that there were no external threats to the Emperor that might remain unknown. Since their return, they have been regarded by many as barbarians and outsiders, due mostly to their embrace of customs that are in stark contrast to the norm for Rokuan. Still, the Unicorn are universally respected because of their cavalry. They use gaijin steeds and their horse-mounted troops are without compare in the Empire.
The White Guard are an elite heavy cavalry force that often serves as the center of the Unicorn army. They represent the best warriors of the Moto family, upholding the causes the Moto hold close their hearts. They fight against gaijin forces that may threaten the safety of Rokugan and fight anything that might tarnish the Moto family legacy. Their extreme pious dedication to the gaijin gods known as the Lords of Death is notable, as are their merciless tactics.
Although the Unicorn Clan is known for its cavalry, the tactics of Shinjo’s children also require infantry to serve as a base of maneuver and to “fix” enemy infantry in place. The need for such tactics became clear during the clan’s years of wandering in gaijin lands, most notably during the 200 years after Shinjo disappeared in battle against the Lying Darkness. During those two centuries the clan fought a variety of opponents, many of whom could not be defeated with a simple cavalry charge.
The Utaku Battle Maidens, also known as the shiotome, are the finest and most respected cavalry in all the Empire, feared by reputation even more so than their kindsmen among the Moto and Shinjo families. While the remainder of the Clan trans on gaijin riding horses, a larger and sturdier breed than the simple Rokugani pony, the Utaku alone have the right to breed, raise, and ride into battle the legendary Utaku steeds, the finest horses in the world.
The Shinjo excel at mounted tactics, a trait common to all Unicorn bushi traditions. The family's fighting techniques incorporate a number of gaijin fighting methods encountered during the clan's centuries of travel outside the Empire, and as a result they employ a unique defensive style that depends on concepts such as the active parry, riposte, and other such oddities that most Rokugani are unfamiliar with.
The Moto family suffered a great blow to their morale and honor during the ninth century when their daimyo Moto Tsume, fueled by pride and arrogance, rode into the Shadowlands with the majority of his forces. He and his men fell to darkness and became some of Jigoku's greatest tools in the fight against Rokugan. These Moto who survived or remained behind were deeply shamed and swore to eradicate all those Tainted creatures who bore their name. This oath gave rise to both the elite White Guard and to the Moto Vindicator School.
The starting individuals known as the Moto Death Priests are adherents of the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang, the pantheon of wrathful gods of death and judgment who were worshiped by the Moto family prior to its allegiance to the Unicorn Clan. When the Moto were still nomads, they paid homage to these Lords of Death out of both reverence and fear. However, when the Lady Shinjo taught the Moto there gods who could show compassion and reward loyalty, they forsook their old devotion and joined the Unicorn.
The Moto Bushi are the living stereotype that many hold of the Unicorn Clan. More so than any other family, they are born of a union between the Rokugani people and the gaijin who were allowed to join the Unicorn during their travels abroad. Owing to their descent from the wild, nomadic, barbarian tribes of the northern steppes, the Moto practice an unfettered fighting style that makes them awe-inspiring opponents on the battlefield, even as it earns them the enmity of all those who despise deviation from the customs and nature of Rokugani warfare.
With the possible exception of the Tamori, the Iuchi are the least conventional and conservative shugenja family in the Empire. They are wild and carefree, and as many of their sensei's lessons are taught in the open plains as in the temple. This stems from their history of teaching while the Clan was traveling through distant realms. The impact of those years is also felt in the diversity of the family's magical styles. The Iuchi embrace, among others, the style called meishodo, which involves the creation of magical talismans that shugenja can draw on in lieu of the kami.
The Ide Techniques focus on a calm mind, serenity in all things, and meditation. They are the most pacifistic of any courtier tradition among the Great Clans, save possibly for the Asako of the Phoenix Clan. The intensity of their conviction with regard to pacifism has waxed and waned over the years, but on the whole they remain devoted to defusing conflict whenever possible. This makes them welcome allies to some Clans, and meddling outsiders to others. The Ide accept compliments and criticism with equal cheer.
The Horiuchi family was formed late in the history of the Unicorn, but the shugenja school bears their name in modern times has an ancient history with roots from before the Great Clan's return to their ancestral home in Rokugan. During their travels outside the borders of the Emerald Empire, the Unicorn discovered many different methods and styles of magic among both their allies and enemies, incorporating them into a single method.