Few among the Phoenix champion the cause of pacifism as devoutly as the specially-trained Mediators, a near-monastic order dedicated to the cause of peace above all. They believe that few if any conflicts are beyond peaceful resolution, and seek to bring opposing parties to a harmonious accord whenever possible.
School Type
Source
Source Book
Clan School
Replaces
Asako Loremaster 2, Shiba Bushi 2, Isawa Shugenja 2
School Techniques
Stand Down - Any time you are in a situation where samurai are preparing to enter into formal hostilities (examples would include a challenge to a duel, a declaration of Blood Feud, or even a declaration of war), you may approach either or both parties and attempt to persuade them not to follow through. This is a Contested Roll of your Sincerity (Honesty) / Awareness against their Etiquette (Courtesy) / Willpower. With a success, that party in the conflict will agree to back down, and your mediation prevents them from suffering any loss of Glory for doing so.
Special GM Considerations for the Asako Mediator Technique: If the parties in a conflict are deeply or honorably committed to their quarrel, the GM may require the Mediator to call Raises on the roll (anywhere from 1 to 5 Raises, depending on the depth of their anger or the strength of their Honor). Note that this may result in the Mediator being unable to impose a solution due to being unable to call enough Raises - quite likely when trying to mediate the highly honorable and easily-angered Lion, for example. However, if the Mediator is able to propose an honorable and reasonable solution to the quarrel, the GM may also choose to award a bonus to the roll, ranging from +1k0 to +5k0, depending on the GM’s judgment of how appealing the solution seems to the parties involved. In some cases, the scope or severity of a quarrel will be such that it is not possible for a Mediator to actually prevent the conflict. In this case, a successful roll will merely delay the onset of hostilities by a reasonable amount of time (as determined by the GM). In general, the larger the scale of the conflict, the longer the delay - thus a duel might only be delayed for a day or two, while a war might be delayed as much as a month.
Special GM Considerations for the Asako Mediator Technique: If the parties in a conflict are deeply or honorably committed to their quarrel, the GM may require the Mediator to call Raises on the roll (anywhere from 1 to 5 Raises, depending on the depth of their anger or the strength of their Honor). Note that this may result in the Mediator being unable to impose a solution due to being unable to call enough Raises - quite likely when trying to mediate the highly honorable and easily-angered Lion, for example. However, if the Mediator is able to propose an honorable and reasonable solution to the quarrel, the GM may also choose to award a bonus to the roll, ranging from +1k0 to +5k0, depending on the GM’s judgment of how appealing the solution seems to the parties involved. In some cases, the scope or severity of a quarrel will be such that it is not possible for a Mediator to actually prevent the conflict. In this case, a successful roll will merely delay the onset of hostilities by a reasonable amount of time (as determined by the GM). In general, the larger the scale of the conflict, the longer the delay - thus a duel might only be delayed for a day or two, while a war might be delayed as much as a month.
Requirements
Sincerity (Honesty) 3
Alternate Path Special
Members of the Mediators must swear an oath never to initiate violence against their fellow Rokugani. Violating this oath should entail a major loss of both Glory and Honor (roughly equivalent to a Blasphemous Breach of Etiquette) and will also result in expulsion from the Mediators organization.
Path Technique Rank
2