Schools

The dueling grounds of Dark Edge Village are famous throughout the Empire, and as a result many young duelists travel to the village to train and in hopes of meeting both worthy opponents and sensei looking for new students. The village is home to the only notable traditional dueling dojo within the Unicorn lands, although it is quite modest compared to those of the Crane or Dragon and is easily overlooked by visitors to the town. Ironically, most who adhere to the tradition come from the peaceful Ide family. Their purpose in creating a dueling tradition stems from their need to resolve conflicts in which their kinsmen, the representatives of the Unicorn Clan in court, become embroiled. The necessity of being able to skillfully defend the honor of the Ide and the Unicorn as a whole, and to do so without needlessly taking life, has given rise to the dojo of the Calm Heart Duelists.

The Hand of Peace follows Ide's peaceful dictums to their logical conclusions, becoming dedicated pacifists - often of a rather ascetic nature. Although they still carry the samurai weapons which are their legacy as members of the Unicorn Clan, they refuse to ever use them. They serve as good diplomats when dealing with the more peaceful and/or idealistic clans, such as the Crane and especially the Phoenix.

The Ide family of the Unicorn are not only its representatives in court, but they also serve as its most effective and numerous merchant patrons. In particular, the Ide are well known for their merchant caravans, which travel across the Empire and sell the clan’s unusual wares to all manner of interested customers. This is an incredibly profitable endeavor that brings in a great deal of revenue for the family and the clan as a whole. Those who are trained to oversee such activities occasionally suffer from some degree of stigma for their association with mercantile pursuits, but the rewards are significant enough that there is never a shortage of willing candidates.

Commerce is ill regarded in samurai culture, yet it is essential to fuel the engines of war. The few Great Clans that dedicate families to the manipulation of the economy - the Yasuki of the Crab and Crane, the Daidoji of the Crane, and the Yoritomo of the Mantis - have considerable advantages over the others. The Ide Traders carve their own niche into this domain of conflict, utilizing their friendliness and eagerness to help others to facilitate their mercantile activities. Their affability is for the most part only a facade, however, for the best Ide Traders are as cunning and ruthless as the most cutthroat Yoritomo.

Although they choose to refer to themselves by the humble appellation of the Iuchi Couriers, the shugenja who belong to this group are jokingly referred to by others within their clan as the Lords of the Plains due to their incredible ability to move at speeds no others can match. Shugenja trained by this group possess the ability to sooth the spirits of the Earth as they ride, creating a path of least resistance for their steed's benefit. This allows their horses to ride for much longer at a time, and with virtually no risk whatsoever of any missteps, even during the longest journeys.

The people of the Unicorn are the children of the Four Winds and their wanderlust is legendary. The Iuchi Traveler spends his life on the road from birth, moving from one place to the next in an attempt to see all the wonders of the Empire. The Travelers have developed secret rituals to traverse the land in mere moments, allowing them to come back from their journeys whenever the Unicorn Clan needed their powers. These rituals were later adapted for many uses, including war. Despite this change in responsibilities. the typical Traveler remains optimistic and cheerful at heart. Multiple spell slots may be expended in this manner to move across greater distances.

The Moto family prefers an extremely aggressive outlook on warfare rather than the more conservative viewpoint of the Shinjo. Moto warriors use the mobility of their horses to quickly close the gap to their enemy, and the Fanatics fully embrace that ideal of war. They charge the front lines of opposing armies with alarming frequency, often suffering surprisingly few casualties for their brash behavior. It seems these Fanatics survive the harshest battlefields through a mixture of skill and compete disregard for their own safety. They believe an all-out crazed assault disorients the enemy, forcing them to commit mistakes they would otherwise avoid, and their success would seem to prove the point.

The Rajya ke Varisa are a group of Crab, Unicorn, and Mantis samurai who study the fighting techniques of the Ivory Kingdoms kshatriya and find ways to use them in conjunction with Rokugani combat techniques. The gaijin turned-Mantis known as Yoritomo Singh also contributes to the organization’s training, seeking to preserve some aspects of his former culture. So far they have managed to devise only one technique, albeit one of significant value.

Even since its return to the Empire, the Unicorn Clan has established a tradition of upholding the law and protecting the common folk, a tradition which often puts it into conflict with groups like the Scorpion Clan and the Empire’s various criminal groups. The Shinjo family dominate this tradition and develop a Technique in support of it - somewhat ironic given that the Shinjo family was also heavily infiltrated by the Kolat. After the exposure and purging of the Kolat by Lady Shinjo herself, the Shinjo Magistrates remade themselves to be especially skillful at rooting out and purging the Kolat influence, later assisting the Ox Clan in establishing the order known as the Vigilant.

The Unicorn Clan traveled through the dangerous lands outside Rokugan's borders and uncovered threats on every horizon. It soon became apparent that the band of heroes needed an advance unit traveling before them to skirt the most dangerous enemies. The Shinjo family accepted this duty. The Shinjo Scouts soon became adept in quietly stalking through foreign lands, comfortable as if they were in their own homes. Upon the Unicorn Clan's return to Rokugan the Shinjo Scouts traded knowledge with the Hiruma Scouts of the Crab Clan and grew even more formidable.

Bariqu wrestling is distinct from the more widespread sumai wrestling, and is largely unknown outside of the Unicorn Clan. Within the Unicorn, its traditions date back to the time of the Ujik-Hai, the gaijin nomads who joined the clan and became the Moto family. Bariqu is focused on throwing the opponent, rather than driving him out of the ring, and makes heavy use of joint-locks and paralyzing holds.

The Doomseekers are a Rokugani adaptation of an ancient Burning Sands order dedicated to bringing"death to the deathless" by rooting out and destroying immortal supernatural evils. The original targets of their technique were the heartless sorcerers known as khadi, but over the centuries they expanded their mission to include other immortal threats such as demons and rakshasa. (Ironically, it was actually a rakshasa, Adisbah the Cruel, who introduced the Doomseeker technique to Rokugan in order to avenge himself on the Bloodspeaker Iuchiban.) Within Rokugan the technique is extraordinarily rare and is only taught personto-person; thus far, there has never been more than one Rokugani Doomseeker in the same generation.

During their time wandering the gaijin lands, the Unicorn tame and train a breed of dog unknown within Rokugan, eventually bringing it back with them to the Empire. These fierce and loyal animals are capable of fighting alongside their human masters, and the Unicorn maintain a small dojo which specifically trains bushi in the art of commanding and mastering their war-dogs.

Although the majority of Unicorn continued to practice Rokugani archery during their travel through the gaijin lands, a significant minority learned the gaijin style of archery which the clan calls yomanri. A yomanri archer draws his arrow to his cheek and sights down the shaft, then releases it once he is confident in his aim.

The Utaku family maintains the greatest stables in the Empire. They breed the strongest horses in the land, and their famous Battle Maidens are the only ones allowed to ride their Utaku steeds into combat. The men of the Utaku family are charged with raising and training these horses, and many of them choose to eschew the theatre of war entirely to devote their lives to this duty. The Utaku Horse Master serves as stable master, rider, hunter, and friend to the horses under his care. A popular joke says the Horse Master marries twice in his lifetime - once to his spouse, the other to his stable.