Schools

Rank One: The Force of Honor

The Iron Warrior serves as the shield of his clan, defending the honor and homes of the Crane. You gain a bonus of your Honor Rank (rounded down) minus 4 to your Wounds at each Wound Rank, to a minimum bonus of one. (Thus at Honor Rank 6.5, you gain a bonus of 2 Wounds to each Wound Rank.) Additionally, you gain a bonus of +1k0 to the total of all attack rolls while in the Attack Stance.

Rank Two: The Shield of Faith

The Iron Warrior truly believes that his work serves a higher purpose. When you perform the Guard Maneuver, the benefits last for an additional Round. Additionally, the Armor TN bonus of the Guard Maneuver is increased by 5. (This bonus applies to both your Armor TN and your target's Armor TN - thus, you suffer not TN penalty when Guarding, and your target gains a bonus of +15 to his Armor TN instead of +10.)

Rank Three: Strike Beneath the Veil

The Daidoji is an intractable foe, devastating to face under any circumstances. You may make melee attacks as a Simple Action instead of a Complex Action while in the Attack Stance.

Rank Four: Vigilance of Mind

The Iron Warrior is always on the lookout for dangers. You may spend a Void Point during the Reactions Stage to target an opponent who has attempted to strike at either you or the target of your Guard Maneuver during the Round. You gain a bonus of +2k1 to the total of all attack and damage rolls against that opponent during the next Round.

Rank Five: To Tread on the Sword

When the Iron Warrior fights to protect his charge, he will continue on long after others would perish. You may spend two Void Points as a Free Action when someone declares an action against the target of your Guard Maneuver. You become the target of the action instead (if it would be a legal action - GM's discretion in questionable instances). You also gain one Free Action that you may use immediately for the sole purpose of moving toward the target of your Guard Maneuver. If you cannot reach your target, this Technique has no effect.

Rank One: Surveying the Land

The Daidoji scouts are masters of observation and pursuit, tracking their opponents, harassing them, and delaying them with traps and ambushes. You gain +1k0 with Stealth and Hunting skill Rolls. Any rural/improvised traps you create are exceptionally deadly, inflicting +1k1 extra damage.

Rank Two: Scouring the Shadows

Daidoji scouts strike from concealment, hitting their opponents with swift and devastating attacks. When attacking an unaware opponent you gain a bonus of +2k0 to your attack roll.

Rank Three: Weaken the Resistance

The Daidoji learn to strike with precision, hitting their opponents in weak spots and evading their armor. You may ignore any Reduction your opponent gains from wearing armor or from school techniques. (You cannot ignore the natural Reduction of creatures, or Reduction bestowed by magical or supernatural effects.) If you attack an opponent who has no Reduction from armor or techniques, you gain +1k0 to your damage rolls.

Rank Four: Strike and Move

The Daidoji scout strikes with the swiftness of the wind itself. You may make attacks as a Simple Action instead of a Complex Action when wielding a katana, wakizashi, knife, or bow. Your traps now inflict +2k1 extra damage.

Rank Five: Cunning of Daidoji

The true master of the Daidoji scout school needs only a single strike, for his opponent never survives to see the second one. During a skirmish, you may spend a Void Point as a Free Action to attempt a deadly precision strike on your next attack (this may be done with a melee or a ranged attack, but cannot be done more than once in the same Turn). Any Maneuvers called on this attack require 1 less Raise (to a minimum of 1 Raise), and if you successfully hit you gain a bonus of +1k1 to your Damage roll. Furthermore, if your opponent is unaware of you, your Raises on this attack are not limited by your Void.

Rank One: The Soul of Honor

Apprentice Doji courtiers are taught to rely on their Honor when dealing with others, infusing their every word and gesture with the power of their purity, and to build networks of allies by discerning what others need and fulfilling those needs. So long as you maintain your Honor Rank at 6.0 or better, you gain a Free Raise on all Courtier, Sincerity, and Etiquette rolls. Also, by conversing with another person for a few minutes, you can make a Contested Roll of Courtier (Manipulation) / Awareness against the target's Etiquette (Courtesy) / Awareness to learn whether they are in need of any favors or assistance (such as needing travel papers to reach another province, for example).

Rank Two: Speaking in Silence

At this Rank the Doji learns Cadence, the art of communicating through subtle gestures and body language. This gives them a huge advantage in the courts by allowing them to share information while their rivals are none the wiser. You can roll Courtier / Intelligence at TN 15 to communicate simple ideas and instructions (things like "distract them," "this favors us," or "Intercept that person") with any other Crane who is trained in the Doji Courtier School or who has at least 5 Ranks in the Courtier Skill. More complex ideas can be conveyed with Raises, although there is an upper limit (set by the GM) on how complicated Cadence can become.

Rank Three: The Perfect Gift

The Doji build their networks of alliances through selflessness, offering others what they need so that in the future the Doji may rely on their assistance. Any time you are in court or in an urban area, you can roll Courtier / Awareness at TN 20 to come up with a suitable gift or a helpful political favor for someone else. By calling Raises on this roll, you can acquire a rarer or more potent gift or favor. If such a gift or favor is accepted, you may immediately take that person as an Ally with 1-point Devotion, without XP cost (subject to the GM's permission).

Rank Four: Voice of Honor

At this Rank the Doji has learned the art of political maneuvering, making his positions and arguments appear synonymous with Honor, forcing anyone who disagrees with him to take a dishonorable position. In any debate or argument, you may make a Contested Roll of Courtier (Manipulation) / Awareness against the target's Etiquette (Courtesy) / Awareness. If you win the roll, the opponent is forced to concede that his position conflicts with the demands of Honor and Bushido, and if he persists in that position he will commit a breach of etiquette. (It is the GM's discretion, based on the circumstances, as to whether it is a minor or major breach.)

Rank Five: The Gift of the Lady

The final training of the Doji teaches them the art of influencing the emotions of others, making friends and allies out of almost anyone - even bitter enemies. By conversing with someone for a few minutes, you may make a Contested Roll of Courtier (Manipulation) / Awareness against the target's Etiquette (Courtesy) / Willpower. If the target is an Ally, you gain a bonus of +5k0 to the total of this roll. With a success, you shift the target's emotions in a favorable direction, persuading them to listen to your advice and counsel. The GM is the final arbiter but in general, the target will go along with anything you suggest which does not conflict with his basic loyalties.

Rank One: Temper Steel With Honor

Doji Magistrates are trained to fight with compassion, avoiding injury to both themselves and whenever possible to others, a style known to the Crane as Mizu-do (the Way of Water). They specialize in the use of weapons designed to disarm or capture foes rather than kill them. You may add an amount equal to your Air Ring to your Armor TN (unless caught helpless or unaware). You gain a +1k0 bonus to your attack rolls when fighting with a jitte or a sasumata.

Rank Two: Flowing Like Water

The Magistrates are taught the art of subduing law-breakers non-lethally by turning their own strength against them, an especially useful skill when dealing with drunken samurai whose deaths might carry political repercussions. When rolling to control a Grapple or to resolve a Disarm attempt, you may use your opponent's Strength Rank in place of your own.

Rank Three: Breath of the Law

The Doji Magistrates practice a variety of submission holds designed to disarm and disable lawbreakers without harming them. If you successfully Grapple or Disarm an opponent, they are also Dazed.

Rank Four: Flowing Like Air

A true student of the Doji path can move as swiftly as the wind of justice that brings ruin to his enemies. You may make attacks as a Simple Action when fighting unarmed or when wielding a jitte, sasumata, or a weapon with the Samurai keyword.

Rank Five: The Willow in the Storm

In their final lesson, Doji Magistrates are taught to maneuver around their opponents, redirecting their energy and defeating them with their own momentum. You may spend a Void point during the Reactions stage of a skirmish Round to force anyone who attacks you on the next Round to subtract their Air Ring from each of their dice. (Dice which explode have their final total reduced.) This technique cannot be activated while you are in the Full Attack stance or the Center stance.

Rank One: Soul of the Artisan

The Kakita Artisan is taught from the earliest youth to focus on one specific form of art above all others, devoting himself to it heart and soul and pursuing the goal of absolute perfection within its forms. Of course, in keeping with Crane tradition, the Artisan is also taught to be a ruthless critic to any artistic rivals. Select one of the three chosen School Skills (Acting, an Artisan Skill, or a Perform Skill) as the focus of your artistic training. This becomes your 'chosen art'. When making skill rolls with your chosen art, you gain a +2k0 bonus and your Raises are not limited by your Void.

Any time you are using Games: Sadane to criticize someone else's art or performance, you gain a Free Raise on your Skill Roll.

Rank Two: The Soul's Dream

The Kakita Artisan is taught to use his art to affect those around them, inspiring emotions and shifting the views of the audience. When presenting a public performance or display of your chosen art, you may make a Contested Social Roll of (chosen art) / Awareness against Etiquette (Courtesy) / Willpower of the audience members. Those audience members who fail their rolls are profoundly swayed and their emotions shift in a direction you desire - becoming friendlier, more hostile, calmer, or whatever other emotional shift your art is designed to evoke. This emotional shift normally lasts a number of hours equal to your Insight Rank.

Note that not all persons are equally susceptible to the impact of art - the GM may rule that a particular individual is affected for a shorter period of time, or award a bonus to the resistance roll for person whose emotions are difficult to manipulate. The GM should normally have each individual audience member roll separately to resist this technique (this should always be done for PCs or important NPCs), but with large groups of ordinary NPCs the GM can opt to save time by making a single roll for most or all of them.

Rank Three: Free the Spirit

You may select a second of your three chosen School Skills as a chosen art, and all Technique bonuses and effects which applied to your first chosen art now applies to it as well. The bonus to your chosen art skill rolls increases to +2k1.

Rank Four: Undying Name

Your art is now so magnificent that you make and break the reputations of others by depicting or referencing them in your work. You may create a piece of art referring to another person by rolling (chosen art) / Awareness at a TN equal to 20 plus 5 x their Glory Rank. With a success, you may either increase (if your art is complimentary) or decrease (if it is critical) their Glory by up to 5 points, plus an additional 5 points for every Raise you make on the roll. You may call two additional Raises to inflict a gain of Infamy on the target instead of a Glory change.

You may not target the same person with this technique more than once every six months. Furthermore, persons of high station cannot have their reputations damaged by artist lacking in prestige - the target's Status cannot exceed your Glory or Status Rank (whichever is higher).

Rank Five: A Gift Beyond Price

Your art is now so perfect that a gift of it can profoundly change another person's attitude toward you or your clan. Once per month, you may give a gift of your chosen art to someone from another clan or faction. Make a Contested Social Roll of your (chosen art) / Awareness against their Etiquette (Courtesy) / Willpower. (The GM may aware Free Raises to you or the target of this technique based on the type and subject of the art and the attitudes and beliefs of the target - some people are easier to sway than others.) With a success, you permanently alter their attitude toward your clan/faction in a favorable direction. With a failure, the target becomes aware of your attempt to manipulate his emotions, and his attitude toward your clan/faction permanently shifts in a hostile direction.

Rank One: The Way of the Crane

The study of the sword demonstrates the many ways in which the art of Kakita's technique can be applied. You add twice your Iaijutsu Skill to all Initiative rolls. You gain a bonus of +1k1 plus your School Rank to the total of all attack and Focus rolls while assuming the Center Stance. This bonus also applies during the Combat Round following one in which you assume the Center Stance.

Rank Two: Speed of Lightning

Enemies who are slow or weak of spirit are doomed to failure. You gain a bonus of +2k0 to the total of all attack rolls against those with lower Initiative than your own.

Rank Three: First and Last Strike

A Kakita Bushi is feared throughout the Empire as a follower of the oldest and most venerated dueling tradition in the Empire. You may Strike first in a duel if you win the Iaijutsu/Void roll by a difference of 3 or higher. You gain a Free Raise on your Strike for each additional margin of 3 instead of 5.

Rank Four: One Strike, Two Cuts

With one pure strike, the advanced student of Kakita's technique cuts his opponent twice. You may make attacks as a Simple Action instead of a Complex Action while using weapons with the Samurai keyword.

Rank Five: Strike With No Thought

A true student of Kakita requires no thought before the perfect strike, depending entirely on instinct. You may take one Simple Action per Turn while assuming the Center Stance. You gain the benefits of Center Stance while you assume the stance instead of the following Turn, and you may remain in the Center Stance as many consecutive Turns as desired. The Simple Action you take can be a Move Action (bypassing the normal restriction of the Center Stance).