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.
Rank One: The Way of the Ki-Rin
The Shinjo family's natural affinity for horsemanship is immediately obvious and pervades their every action. When spending a Void Point to add +1k1 to any School Skill Roll, you may also add your Horsemanship to the total. This bonus cannot be used while in the Center Stance.
Rank Two: Dance of the Blade
The ancient gaijin swordsmanship techniques practiced by the Shinjo have given them a defensive edge against many styles practiced within the Empire. When you are in the Full Defense Stance and an opponent succeeds with an attack roll that targets you, you may immediately take a Free Action to make a Contested Agility Roll against that opponent. If successful, the attack misses instead. This may be done a number of times per Round equal to your School Rank.
Rank Three: The Four Winds Strike
The swift and relentless assault of a Shinjo is a dreadful sight to behold for his enemies. You may make attacks as a Simple Action rather than a Complex Action when wielding weapons that possess the Samurai keyword. If you are fighting while mounted, you may also attack as a Simple Action when wielding a bow.
Rank Four: Spirit of the Blade Unleashed
Those who mistake the defensive style of the Shinjo as weak can find themselves brutally surprised in the last moments of their lives. When you are in the Defense or Full Defense Stances and an opponent makes a melee attack targeting you, after the attack resolves you may immediately take a Free Action to make one melee attack against that opponent. This causes you to immediately assume the Attack Stance. This Technique may be used a number of times per skirmish equal to your School Rank, but may only be used once per Round.
Rank Five: Dancing With the Fortunes
A Shinjo atop a horse is a sight that gives even the most seasoned among his enemies pause, and for good reason. During a skirmish, when mounted, when you wish to spend a Void Point you may make a Void Ring Roll (TN 20) as a Free Action. If the Ring Roll is successful, you gain the mechanical benefit of having spent the Void Point without actually spending it. (This does not actually create a bonus Void Point, it simply generates the mechanical effects of spending one.) If the roll fails, you spend the Void Point as normal. You may only use this Technique a number of times per skirmish equal to the number of Void Points you had at the start of the skirmish.
You may utilize this Technique when on foot as well, but the TN of the Void Ring Roll increases to 30.