The Storytellers are the closest thing to true artisans in that poverty-stricken clan. Their tradition originated with Doji Edakumi, a Crane artisan whose descendants form the Edakumi vassal family of the Sparrow. Edakumi was the founder of the Sparrow artistic tradition and became the most popular and welcomed samurai in the clan’s territory; the members of the Edakumi family are known as the best storytellers in the clan and perhaps in the Empire.
One of the things generally agreed among the Tonbo to be a mark of Enlightenment is an understanding of something they call “dependent arising” - the nature of cause and effect; the realization that all things exist only as a result of other causes and conditions. Nothing spontaneously comes into being without a precedent giving birth to it, and an Enlightened person comprehends the consequences of every action and condition. The Tonbo Advisors use their studies on this aspect of existence to become effective diplomats and also to gain insights into the ways of divination.
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.
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.
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.
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.
At the end of the twelfth century, the Susumu have existed as a family for only a single generation, and have barely begun to differentiate themselves from the earlier methods of the Daigotsu family. This is represented mechanically by giving them a Path rather than their own full School.
Dark Whisper courtiers use the power of a bound Air kansen to dig out the secrets and sins of their foes, allowing them to subtly inflict chaos on the courts they attend. Because of the danger that their supernatural nature might be uncovered, they are deployed selectively, preferably in courts where their kansen ally is unlikely to be uncovered.
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.
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.