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Bayushi Distracter [Courtier] [S&F]

The Scorpion Clan often approaches court, like war, as a domain where misdirection and confusion are its most potent allies. Although the Bayushi Courtier School focuses primarily on blackmail as its favored weapon, the school’s sensei also teach specialized techniques in spreading false information. The more rumors and confused gossip suffuse a court, the easier it is for the Masters of Secrets to prevail.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank3
  • ReplacesBayushi Courtier 3
  • RequirementsSincerity (Deceit) 3
  • TechniqueSmoke Screen - The Distracter specializes in spreading false information in order to confuse and disrupt his opponents. When in conversation with another individual, you may roll Sincerity (Deceit) / Awareness against the target’s Investigation / Awareness to inflict misinformation on a specific topic. (If the target possesses a directly relevant Lore skill, he may substitute Lore / Intelligence for the Investigation roll.) If successful, the target’s future discussions of that topic are weakened by his false information; he must call a Raise for no effect any time he makes a Social Roll involving that topic. You may call Raises on the Contested Roll to increase the number of non-effect Raises the target must call.If the target fails to call the Raises (or is unable to call them due to insufficient Void Rank) he is considered to automatically fail the Social Skill Roll. At the GM’s option, a character who calls the Raises and then fails his Social Skill Roll due solely to those Raises may embarrass himself in public due to his display of false information, resulting in a loss of 1-5 points of Glory (depending on the importance of the topic).The effects of this Technique last one week, and it cannot target the same person within the same week.

Bitter Lies Swordsman [Bushi] [CR]

The fact that the Bitter Lies technique works at all is astounding. The founder of the Bitter Lies style, Bayushi Tangen, was a man who capitalized on chance and reaches success through sheer force of will. He refused to accept anything as out of his reach and would take insane risks to accomplish his tasks. He passed this style of no-holds-barred adventurous fighting to a single student, who later found several students of his own. The Bitter Lies Swordsmen carry on this legacy with their own reckless antics. The Swordsman's natural fortune helps him survive situations where logic says he could not.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank3
  • ReplacesBayushi Bushi 3
  • RequirementsKenjutsu 3
  • TechniqueThe Dark Sword of Bitter Lies - The Bitter Lies Swordsman charges into battle with no regard for his own safety. You may spend a Void Point to immediately re-roll any one roll. This re-roll suffers no penalty to the TN, even if you failed the original roll. You may keep either result that you prefer. However, you may not re-roll the same roll another time through any means.

Fading Shadows [Shugenja]

The Fading Shadows are a tiny sect operating out of the Hidden Moon Dojo, the secretive Scorpion organization devoted to studying the Nothing and its manifestations in Rokugan. The Fading Shadows recognize that a link may exist between the Nothing and the Void, a disturbing idea but one that provides useful means of defeating the Nothing’s machinations. They are predominantly Soshi, but the Hidden Moon Dojo does not hesitate to recruit shugenja from other Scorpion families if it seems advantageous to do so.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank5
  • ReplacesAny Scorpion shugenja 5
  • RequirementsVoid 4, Spellcraft 5, Forbidden Knowledge: Lying Darkness
  • TechniqueUnravel the Shadow - The shugenja of the Fading Shadows are trained to perceive the lies and distortions of the Nothing and to disrupt the powers of the Shadowspawn by exploiting their vulnerability to the Void. As a Simple Action, you may spend a Void Point to try to strip away the false identity of any Shadowspawn and other minions of the Nothing within your sight, revealing them for what they are. This requires a Contested Roll of your Void against their Willpower. With a success, the creatures are revealed as what they truly are, and are unable to reassume a false identity as long as they remain in your sight. As a Free Action, you may spend a Void Point when you cast a spell or make a physical attack. That spell/attack will have full effect on a minion of the Nothing, regardless of normal resistances or immunities.

Kuroiban [Shugenja]

The Kuroiban were originally created by the Yogo, and the Yogo family still leads the organization. However, it draws recruits from both the Scorpion shugenja Schools. Only the most trustworthy and skillful shugenja are recruited into the Black Watch, since its very existence is known to only a handful of people. Outside the Scorpion Clan, only the Kuni family is full aware of the Kuroiban, although the Asako Inquisitors have a vague realization that something of the sort exists.

Students of the Kuroiban are taught a secret technique to call on their connection with the kami and root out those who are corrupted by Jigoku's touch.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank4
  • ReplacesAny Scorpion shugenja 4
  • RequirementsWillpower 4, Lore: Maho 3, Lore: Shadowlands 3. Must have been chosen to serve in the secret order of the Kuroiban.
  • TechniqueThe Black Watch - You have been taught to sense the presence of the Taint through your connection to the kami. Any time you target someone with a spell (including a benign or helpful spell) you may expend an additional spell slot (in any Element) and take a Free Action to make a Contested Willpower roll with the target. If you succeed in the roll, you can sense whether or not the target is Tainted (e.g. has at least one full Rank of Taint). Normally this technique can only be triggered with targeted spells that have an instantaneous effect. However, if you are trained in the Yogo Shugenja School you may also use this technique with your wards, activating it when the ward is placed. If the spell has a duration, you may only use the technique at the moment you place the ward.

Saigo's Blades [Bushi]

The iaijutsu duel is a sacred tradition in Rokugan and a lynchpin of the Empire's legal system. Given the history the Scorpion Clan has in the creation of that system, it comes as no surprise that a small but effective branch of the clan's primary bushi school is devoted to the art of iaijutsu. Through much of the Empire's history the group did not have an official name, but during the years immediately prior to the Clan War it drew attention for the deeds of Bayushi Saido, one of the finest graduates of its training program. Saigo's victories over other clans' duelists were so notable that the graduates of the dojo became known - first informally, then later formally - as Saigo's Blades.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank3
  • ReplacesBayushi Bushi 3
  • RequirementsIaijutsu 3
  • TechniqueSaigo's Technique - A true Scorpion duelist knows that intimidation and deception are the keys to victory. When dueling any opponent that you have previously used the Intimidation Skill upon successfully, you gain a bonus of +5 to the total of the your roll during the Assessment Phase of the duel. Additionally, by spending a Void Point, you may report one statistic of your choice as being one rank higher during the Assessment Phase.

Scorpion Loyalist [Artisan, Courtier, Bushi, Monk, Ninja] [IH]

The long period of relative peace and tranquility the Empire enjoyed took its toll upon the Scorpion just as it did all the clans. When the whispering of Ambition began to take hold in Bayushi Shoju’s mind, his demeanor changed, affecting those closest to him, then their vassals, and so on. When the Scorpion discovered the prophecy that foretold the return of Fu Leng through the last Hantei, this growing seed of dissent and paranoia blossomed into a loyal cadre who would do anything to make Shoju’s vision a reality. These warriors, priests, and courtiers, conspirators one and all, formed the bulk of the forces in the Imperial City during the Clan Coup, commanding even senior officers and agents in the successful capture and security of the city as a whole.

The technique which these men and women employed was not wholly exclusive to their era, however. The Scorpion Clan has always had those willing to do anything at all to fulfill their lord’s commands, and in truth the technique of the Scorpion Loyalists can probably be traced back to the internal split within the clan during the Gozoku era.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank2
  • ReplacesAny Scorpion School at Rank 2
  • RequirementsCourtier 4 (courtiers), Spellcraft 4 (shugenja), one Weapon Skill at 4 (bushi or ninja)
  • TechniqueNo Matter the Cost - Those Scorpion agents who embrace their duties to the fullest strike viciously at the clan’s many enemies without regard for the constraints of honor, custom, or propriety. You may sacrifice points of Honor up to a maximum number equal to your Scorpion School Rank to gain a bonus on one roll made against non-Scorpion opponents. Bushi and ninja gain a bonus of +1k0 per point of Honor on attack rolls, courtiers gain the same bonus on Contested Social Skill Rolls, and shugenja gain the bonus on spell-casting rolls made on Air spells (only) targeting those opponents.

Scorpion Maskmaker [Courtier, Artisan]

Although every clan has artisans who specialize in the creation of courtly masks, the Scorpion Clan takes such artistry to a much higher level. This is hardly surprising given the importance of masks to Scorpion culture.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank2
  • ReplacesBayushi Courtier 2, Soshi Shugenja 2, Yogo Shugenja 2
  • RequirementsCraft: Maskmaking 5, Sincerity (Deceit)
  • TechniqueConceal the Eyes - The artisans who craft masks for Scorpion samurai know how to direct attention away from the wearer’s face (and any social cues it might reveal) to the distracting mask itself. Once every three months, you may craft a mask which is especially effective at concealing thoughts and emotions; this mask matches the abilities of the Inheritance Advantage with the Sincerity Skill, and creating it requires two Raises on your Craft: Maskmaking roll. Also, your experience at using masks to conceal emotions teaches you how to read others’ intentions without relying on facial expressions. You gain a +2k0 bonus on any Social Skill roll to detect falsehood or concealed intentions in others.

Scorpion Weaponmaster [Bushi]

The Scorpion are not generally known as a clan of great warriors, at least not in the same manner as their rivals among the Lion and the Crab. They are much more commonly perceived as villains, thieves, and assassins, accusations that are vehemently contested and yet not without a kernel of truth. Still, there are many within the Scorpion Clan who excel at martial pursuits, and the Scorpion army is rightfully feared on the battlefield. A small handful of Scorpion, however, possess the perfect combination of natural talent and extensive training to elevate combat beyond the simple act of war; in the hands of a Scorpion master, a weapon is but a brush and combat is his art. Perhaps ironically, the greatest weaponmasters among the Scorpion are typically found within the ranks of the Bitter Lies legion, which has led some within the clan to speculate that the prodigious physical talents these samurai possess are in fact some manner of compensation for their damaged psychological state.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank4
  • ReplacesBayushi Bushi 4
  • RequirementsAny three Weapon Skills at 2
  • TechniqueI Am A Weapon - A true weaponmaster understands the common thread between all weapons, and draws upon it. When wielding any melee weapon, a number of times per skirmish equal to your school rank, you may as a Free Action use any other melee Weapon Skill you possess for attack rolls using your current weapon. For example, you could spend a Void Point to use Kenjutsu when wielding a tetsubo if you had no ranks in Heavy Weapons. You gain no benefits from any Mastery Abilities or Emphases when utilizing this Technique. The effect lasts a number of Rounds equal to your School Rank, and while this Technique is in effect you may make melee attacks as a Simple Action rather than a Complex Action.

Shadow Blades [Ninja]

Among the military ranks of the Scorpion, there is one unit that is known to the clan’s leadership but which appears in no formal documentation anywhere in the clan’s annals. These men are trained by sensei of both the Bayushi and Shosuro families, and are among the most proficient killers in the entire Empire. When they take the field, there are no survivors to tell tales of their abilities. Even their allies never lay eyes upon them. The location of their secret dojo is unknown to all save those who dwell within it, and those of family daimyo status or higher among the Scorpion. A persistent rumor among the attendants of those who know of the Shadow Blades’ existence places the dojo within Zakyo Toshi, but no one knows if this is simply conjecture or if there is a kernel of truth to the matter.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank3
  • ReplacesBayushi Bushi 3 or Shosuro Infiltrator 3
  • RequirementsNinjutsu 3
  • TechniqueNever Beyond My Reach - The flawless blend of warrior and assassin works unlocks a samurai’s true potential as a killer of men. You may make melee attacks as a Simple Action instead of a Complex Action when wielding a katana, weapons using the Ninjutsu Skill, and to the Ninja-to sword. You may also add +1k1 to your attack and damage rolls with that weapon.

Shadow Hunter [Shugenja] [CR]

The Scorpion Clan never publicly acknowledges the existence of many of their elite forces. Their assassins and ninja can slip past powerful defenses to reach their targets. However, these ninja are only humaan and have limits to their abilities. The Soshi's Shadow Hunters are adept in speaking with kami, bypassing normal thresholds of power. The Shadow Hunters can alter the world with the help of their spells. These elite assassins meld with the darkness, revealing themselves only to devastate their foes.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank3
  • ReplacesAny Scorpion Shugenja School, Rank 3
  • RequirementsStealth 3
  • TechniqueScourge in Shadow - There are some targets the Shosuro ninja are unable to eliminate, either because of their protection or simply because they are too difficult to kill. For such targets, the Soshi send in their Shadow Hunters. When casting a damaging spell targeting an opponent who is unaware of your presence, you gain a bonus +2k0 on the Spell Casting Roll. You may also spend a single spell slot as a Free Action to gain a bonus of +1k1 on a Knives or Stealth Skill Roll.

Shosuro Assassins [Ninja]

The Assassins are the venomous sting of the Scorpion, their activities one of the greatest sources of paranoia in all Rokugan. They are trained to dispatch all manner of targets in every sort of circumstance, relying on tanto as small, easily concealed weapons which are ideal for infiltration work. The Shosuro Assassins learn to employ precise knife cuts and stabs to slay their targets in a matter of seconds with a minimum of noise and commotion.

Requirements:
  • Technique RankN/A
  • ReplacesN/A
  • RequirementsCraft: Stealth 5, Knives 5, must have attained Rank 5 in either the Shosuro Infiltrator or Shosuro Actor school
  • TechniqueThe Hidden Blade - The Assassins are the elite killers of the Shosuro shinobi orders, trained to kill their targets with a single precise stab or slice. When attacking a surprised or unaware opponent with a knife, you may activate this Technique by spending a Void Point (as a Free Action). Your attack will target a vital spot, and any Raises for damage you make on that attack are kept dice (+1k1 per Raise) instead of unkept (+1k0).

Shosuro Defilers [Courtier]

The Defilers are an elite group within the Scorpion who specialize in the destruction of reputations, skillfully spreading lies and calumnies against their opponents, often lies backed with just enough truth to make them effective. They tend to be prominent figures whose vicious tongues earn them many enemies, and their tactics can sometimes rebound back on them - especially if the target of their words has a better dueling champion than they do. However, a true Defiler is more than ready to give his life in return for shattering the name, honor, and repute of an enemy of the Scorpion.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank3
  • ReplacesBayushi Courtier 3 or Shosuro Actor 3
  • RequirementsSincerity (Deceit) 3, Glory Rank 3.0 or better
  • TechniqueShameless Slander - The Defilers forsake blackmail and manipulation in favor of smearing and destroying their foes. If you slander someone in court, either directly or indirectly, you may roll Sincerity (Deceit) / Awareness against their Etiquette (Courtesy) / Willpower; if you are able to base your slander on a real secret or disgrace involving the target, you gain a +1k1 bonus to the roll (GM's discretion). If you succeed in the roll, the target is humiliated and disgraced, losing a number of points of Honor and gaining a number of points of Infamy equal to your current Glory Rank. If he does not promptly and effectively answer your slander (GM's discretion, but in general the victim should have to make a concerted effort within the first week after he has been targeted), he also loses 1 Rank of Devotion from all of his Allies. The Defiler's attacks are not without rank. If you lose the Contested Roll, your blatant insults degrade your own reputation, lowering your Glory by 3 points. This technique cannot target the same person more than once per month.

Sons of Shadow [Bushi, Shugenja]

The Colonies are a vast area in which many dangers and secrets are hidden. The other clans are interested in those secrets, interested in what resources and power might be contained or unleashed by them, interested in how they can benefit from such things. But while the clans understand the physical dangers of such things, only the Scorpion understand the spiritual threat. Only they know the razor’s edge on which they walk, risking the integrity of their honor and indeed their souls by studying such gaijin artifacts. The two branches of the Soshi family, those who follow the path of the priesthood and those who follow the ways of combat and law enforcement, have both dedicated themselves to ensuring the danger presented by the Colonies is never fully realized. Whatever horrors they must perform, they accept them as necessary burdens to prevent even greater horrors from being unleashed. If all goes as planned, the other clans will never know the suffering the Scorpion have spared them.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank3
  • ReplacesSoshi Magistrate 3, Soshi Shugenja 3
  • RequirementsLore: Shugenja 3 or Lore: Law 3 (whichever applies to the opposite School)
  • TechniqueNone Shall Know My Path - The Sons of Shadow train extensively with their cousins throughout the Soshi family, learning the skills of both of the family’s schools. If you are a Soshi Shugenja, you may as a Simple Action spend a spell slot to gain temporary ranks equal to your School Rank in Athletics, Defense, Intimidation, or Lore: Underworld. If you are a Soshi Magistrate, you may as a Simple Action spend one Void Point to gain temporary ranks equal to your School Rank in Calligraphy, Courtier, Etiquette, Lore: Theology, Spellcraft, or Stealth. These temporary Skill Ranks last for one hour. No Mastery Abilities are gained for any of these temporary Skill ranks.

Soshi Deceivers [Shugenja]

For centuries the Soshi Deceivers are the darkest secret of the Soshi family: a secret group who combine Air magic and the power of Nothing to produce a host of sinister effects. They are notably adept at illusion magic, cloaking their actions in concealing shadows, rendering themselves invisible, or taking on the visage of others to deflect blame for their actions. After the exposure and apparent defeat of the Lying Darkness, the original Deceivers are purged from the clan, but the organization is later re-started in the belief that its powers can be replicated without relying on the dangerous influence of the Shadow. Whether this effort is truly successful, or the Soshi are merely deceiving themselves, remains to be seen.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank3
  • ReplacesSoshi Shugenja 3
  • TechniqueWay of the Shadow - A master of Shadow gains many powerful abilities. You may sacrifice a spell slot of an Element to gain perfect vision when in absolute darkness. Alternatively, you may spend an Air or Void spell slot to gain a bonus of +1k1 to the total of any Stealth, Sleight of Hand, or Sincerity (Deceit) Skill Roll. You may not spend more spell slots than your Insight Rank in this manner on any one Skill Roll.

The Scorpion Elite Guard [Bushi] [S&F]

Most clans and families maintain a highly skilled force known as an Elite Guard or House Guard, usually tasked with protection of the Clan Champion and/or of key clan holdings. Appointment to such a force is a privilege and reward, a mark of great trust from the clan’s rulers. The Scorpion Elite Guard, however, is a very different sort of force. Each member of the Scorpion Clan’s Elite Guard trains to adapt his fighting style to that of a specific enemy clan, becoming an intimidating opponent to any members of that clan - and also gaining the ability to pose as one of that clan’s samurai if necessary. Of course, this is a secret largely unknown outside of the Scorpion Clan, and most opponents believe the Scorpion Elite Guard is merely a highly proficient bushi unit like the comparable force of other families and clans. Within the ranks of the Scorpion Clan itself, the warriors of the Elite Guard are sometimes called "Violators".

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank3
  • ReplacesBayushi Bushi 3, Shosuro Actor 3
  • RequirementsLore (selected clan) 3, Kenjutsu 5. At the GM’s option, characters may substitute "Heart of Vengeance [Selected Clan]" for the Lore requirement.
  • TechniqueThe Eyes of My Enemy - You select a specific Great Clan when you learn this Technique (this choice cannot be changed). You may attack as a Simple Action when targeting a samurai from this clan. When fighting a Skirmish against a samurai from this clan, as a Simple Action you may spend a Void Point to prevent that samurai from using his School Techniques for his next two Turns. (This Technique cannot be used in iaijutsu duels.)Historical Note: In the twelfth century, the Scorpion Clan is exiled for a time in the Burning Sands. During that period, a warrior named Bayushi Eiyo encounters one of the legendary Ashalan and learns a fighting technique that also disrupts the enemy’s fighting style; Eiyo later teaches this technique to a number of successors, and the members of this group also call themselves "Violators". Mechanically, the GM can use this Path to represent both the Elite Guard and Eiyo’s later group.

The Scorpion’s Tail [Bushi, Ninja]

Chain weapons are taught in the Scorpion Clan’s shinobi organizations, and in addition there is a showier type of chain ghting taught at the Shosuro Acting Academy which is designed to appear as a form of dance. Those few Scorpion bushi and assassins who actually specialize in chain weapons above other types of armament train in the small dojo which calls itself the Scorpion’s Tail. Their style specializes in the kusarigama, using it as both an infiltration tool and as a vicious weapon. They especially appreciate its ability to disable and even cripple opponents at a distance.

Requirements:
  • Technique Rank3 or 4
  • ReplacesBayushi Bushi 3, Shosuro Infiltrator 4
  • RequirementsAthletics 4, Chain Weapons 4
  • TechniqueThe Tail’s Reach - The Scorpion’s Tail dojo teaches students several effective ways to employ the kusarigama and its brethren. If you use any chain weapon as a climbing tool, you gain a +1k1 bonus to any Athletics rolls made for that purpose. You may attack with a kusarigama at a distance of up to 15’ from your target. Also, any time you attack with a kusarigama, you may call three Raises on the attack to inflict the Lame Disadvantage on your opponent ; the Disadvantage lasts until the Wounds from the attack are healed.