L5R Advantages

Advantages Changed due to Timeline

Ishiken-do: 5 Points, Isawa Family only. [Inherent]
No mechanical changes, however, no one outside the Isawa family is known to possess this gift. If a GM permits, non-Isawa may spend an additional 20 points, or 10 if Phoenix, to possess this advantage outside the Isawa, reflecting their drastically increased rarity.

House Ruled

Balance: 5 Points, 6 for Hida, Matsu, and Moto
Balance also grants its bonus versus fear and any other effect that would make you act irrationally.

Great Destiny: 4 Points [Granted]
Normally, I grant this advantage for free to PCs if they are allowed to take it. It doesn't always result in leaving you at the out level - often, it twists circumstances so that they will result in survival.

Great Potential: 8 Points [Inherent]
This may be taken by shugenja for spellcasting of a specific element. They must effectively raise their rank in that element to 10 (school rank 9, with an affinity, for example), to get the exploding benefit.

Sacred Weapon: 5 Points, 8 Points out-of-clan. [Granted]
All Sacred Weapons are harder to break and never tarnish or rust (though only the Kaiu blade is truly immune to damage), and gain a free raise for all purposes. Most blades are changed slightly:

• Crab: Kaiu Blade: 3k2, ignores insight rank in Carapace, indestructible
• Crane: Kakita Blade: 3k2, allows an additional focus in a duel, may re-roll damage once per duel
• Dragon: Twin Sister Blades: 3k2 / 2k2, adds +1 TN to be Hit per Insight Rank for Mirumoto Bushi technique.
• Lion: Akodo Blade: 4k3
• Mantis: Don't exist yet
• Phoenix: Inquisitor's Strike: 2k2 Wakizashi, considered powerful jade nemuranai. +2k2 damage to Tainted targets and wounds receive permanent scar.
• Scorpion: Shosuro Blade: 3k2 Katana, can be concealed as a wakizashi, poison resists at +5 TN
• Unicorn: Otaku Saddle Cutter: 3k2 no-dachi, double strength for damage when attacking from horseback (instead of *1.5)

Servant: 1 or more points [Granted]
Many samurai have a servant that attends to various needs. This could be anywhere from a personal eta attendant to a loyal scribe, spy, or budoka warrior. A Samurai may have a cp value of Servants equal to her Status cubed.

• Basic eta servant: 0 Points. All traits begin at one, Stealth 1 (Sneaking Emphasis), a single other skill at one, and ten cp to spend. May only select skills from Athletics (Any), Peasant Weapons (Any), Staves (Any), Jiujutsu, Defense, Craft: Leatherworking (Any), Anatomy (Autopsy, Torture), and Stealth (Sneaking). Honor begins at .5, Glory at -10, and they may not purchase most advantages.
• Training: +1 Point. The servant has 25 additional cp to spend. Traits and skills may not be raised above four.
• Status: +1 Points. The servant is a geisha, entertainer, or heimin of some sort. They are built like the above, but do not necessarily begin with Stealth (Sneaking), instead taking a total of four skills at rank 1. They may not take Craft (Leatherworking) or Anatomy, but can have a larger selection of advantages. In order to take significant numbers of skills requiring extensive training, additional points must be spent. The following is mostly a rough guideline:
  • Budoka: +1 Point (+0 for Dragon)). The servant has access to all Bugei skills save for Kenjutsu and Iaijutsu.
  • Craftsman: +1 Point (+0 for Crab). The servant has access to all Merchant and Craft skills.
  • Drilled: +2-10 Points. The servant is exceptionally trained. For every two points invested, she gains an additional 25 cp. In wartime, characters from clans that treat their heimin well pay half cost for this benefit (pretty much everyone except Crane, Imperials, Lion, and Scorpion).
  • Entertainer: +1 Point (+0 for Crane). The servant has access to all Social, Performance, and Artisan skills.
  • Honorable: +1 Point (+0 for Lion). The servant has a starting honor of 3.5.
  • Loyal: +1 Point (+0 for Unicorn). The servant is exceptionally loyal and may be trusted implicitly, to the extent of their ability. Mechanically, they receive a +10 bonus to their roll, or their opponents a -10 penalty, whenever something might cause them to betray such loyalty.
  • Scribe: +1 Point (+0 for Phoenix). The servant has access to Calligraphy, and all Lore Skills except for Anatomy and Underworld.
  • Spy: +1 Point (+0 for Scorpion). The servant has access to Investigation, and all Low skills.

Social Position: 5 Points per Rank, 4 Point per Rank for Imperial Families [Granted or Inherent]
Each rank grants +1 Status. Members of Imperial families have a minimum Status of 2.0 (considered a Granted advantage, but not one stripped of or gained lightly).
Inherent Purchases: Characters with special lineages may purchase this advantage to represent it.

• Characters who can trace their lineage to a Kami (not Hantei or Togashi) pay an additional rank to represent such. If Hida, Doji, Bayushi, Akodo, or Shinjo, this is required for being a prominent member of said families (see below).
• Four ranks are needed to represent tracing their lineage to the original Hantei (thus an Otomo who can prove her relation to Hantei has a minimum status of 6.0).
• One to three additional ranks can be purchase to place the character within a prominent position within the family. At one rank, the character is on an official line of succession, though it is distant and of interest only to scholars of their family. For three ranks, the character is in a close line of succession - a direct blood relative, cousin or niece of the current daimyo. Note that, for the Phoenix, this is largely ceremonial.

The only known blood relative to the current Hantei is not legitimate, so a direct relationship may not be purchased - but up to two additional ranks may be purchased to improve her standing in the event of the emperor's death.

Wealthy: 1-10 Points [Granted]
For every point you spend on this advantage, one of your starting items is of fine quality, you begin with 5 additional koku. Every season, you gain an additional koku. If some of your starting items is already of fine quality, 2 points can turn a fine item into an excellent quality item. Crane, Imperials, and Unicorn receive 5 additional koku per rank.

New Advantages

Blessed Jade: 2+ Points, 1 point less for Crab [Granted]
You have a finger (or more) of the prized Blessed Jade, rumored to have fallen from Yomi or even Tengoku itself. It functions like a normal jade finger, except that it cannot be corrupted by any means, and would remain fresh and pure even next to the Festering Pit of Fu Leng for a thousand years.
It is, however, somewhat of a mixed blessing. Blessed Jade shines brilliantly within the Shadowlands, and any creature with the Taint who comes within 10 yards of a single finger takes xk1 damage per turn, where x is the creature's Taint rank. The downside to this is, any creature within their Taint Rank x 100 yards can feel the presence and location of Blessed Jade.
More points invested in this advantage mean a larger quantity of such jade. 10 points worth, with the skills of a legendary craftsman, could be forged into one of the legendary Jade Katanas.