Building Character – Ichiro

By: Dozer

I know I was supposed to do a post on the Infinity RPG character creation system. Instead I got my copy of the Legend of the Five Rings RPG Beta package. So I will instead build a character for the new Legend of the Five Rings RPG.

As I am stuck with the Major Clans; Crane, Lion, Phoenix, Dragon, Unicorn, Scorpion, and Crab, I’ve decided to work with the Twins. All seven of the Major Clans are founded by 7 out of 9 gods, called Kami. One of them, Fu-Leng fell to earth apart from his siblings. The other 8 had duel on who would rule the land. The winner became the Emperor while the other 7 siblings founded the Major Clans.

The Scorpion founder, Bayushi, and the Phoenix founder, Shiba, are twins. In the past I tend to play a Scorpion but I’ve always longed for the more enlightened way of the Phoenix. I’ve always wanted but instead take the darker path and once more work as a Scorpion. As such I will one more put on my mask and take on the mon (crest) of the Scorpion Clan.

Used without permission

I’ve decided to play an older Bushi who is retired. I’ll explain my low stats and skills as old age, letting myself go, and not keeping up my skills. When I advance this character I’ll focus on his skills but I his attributes will be low on my priority of advancement. I also expect this character to only last a single campaign. In most cases players build characters with futures and goals, once a campaign ends they long to use that now experienced character again. Other players simply imagine a fitting end or continuation to their character. For me this campaign will be my characters last, he will die completing it or simply fade away once the work is done.


Legend of the Five Rings has always used a organic method of character creation by asking players to answer twenty questions. This latest take on the RPG does the same.

Part I: Core Identity

Q1. What clan does your character belong to?
I pick Scorpion and as such I’ve added a ring increase of +1 to Air, a skill increase of +1 to Skulduggery, and set my Status to 35.

Q2. What family does your character belong to?
I’ve chosen the Yogo family. Cursed to betray the one they love, the family left the Phoenix Clan to work for the Scorpion Clan because they could never love the Scorpion like they did the Phoenix. They are traditionally masters of magic with a focus on wards and protections. I’m not sure if I will be a Shugenja but it’s a possibility now.

With that I add the ring increase +1 Earth, and the skill increases of +1 Composition, and +1 Theology. Yogo also start with 39 Glory.

Part II: Role and School

Q3. What is your character’s role and school?
With the Beta package there are only two schools for me to choose. I can be a Courtier of the Bayushi Manipulator School or a Ninja of the Shosuro Infiltrator School.

That leaves me with limited options but something I can work with. Right off the bat I feel that my character is quietly put aside, he failed semi-publicly at a task for the Scorpion. He either did so on purpose or because he simply made a mistake, either way he has been barely accepted by his peers and rivals in order to keep the secret of this shame from the public. After some thought, he did so on purpose. Another Scorpion of greater importance would have been blamed and as such the could have caused issues. Instead a deal was made between the offended and the Scorpion that my character would live out his life quietly. The Scorpion kept him but being without purpose made it hard for him to motivate himself and as age slowly claimed him he fell to the wayside. He’s able to return because the offended has passed away and he is now able to come out of the shadows for one last effort and making his life be more than an early sacrifice.

I like how this has developed but I’m still at odds with what school I want. After looking at the starting Kata and Shuji of both schools I feel that a Ninja would be the best bet. This means my character will be identifying himself as a bushi near retirement who has taken on less martial pursuits. I add the + 1 Air, and the +1 Fire to my rings. I’m allowed to pick 5 skills for the list and I pick +1 Courtesy, +1 Games, +1 Performance, +1 Martial Arts [Melee], and +1 Skulduggery. Fitness and Martial Arts [Unarmed] don’t fit my concept.

Q4. How does your character stand out within their school?
This was easy for me and my character has aged and knows himself and what he plans to do now that he is back in the world. I pick “Self-awareness, insight, or mysticism” and add +1 to my Void Ring. My character has no illusions of what and who he is and what will happen to him in the coming years. He is not suicidal but he is pragmatic when looking at himself.

Part III: Honor and Glory

Q5. What is your character’s duty to their lord?
There are some more details in the mix when you look at the character creation including the selection of a Ninjo and Giri. Ninjo is the core personal desire while the Giri is the way in which they serve their master.  At this stage players shape their relationship with the setting.

My character’s Lord is a Yogo Jura, a Shugenja who inherited the service of my character. His father was the one who was protected by my character. The Lord is a expert in Wards and Protection spells who spends his time researching at home instead of traveling outside of Scorpion lands. Yogo Jura is a bookworm and he uses my character for menial tasks.

The Giri that I select for my character is simple. Serve Yogo Jura at all costs.

Q6. What does your character long for?
This is simple as my character feels he has lived a life where he has served well but personally has been unfulfilled. The Ninjo I pick is he wants to prove himself publicly one last time before he must give up his duty and retire. This puts him at odds with the work he performs for his lord which keeps him hidden and out of the way.

Q7. What is your character’s opinion of their clan?
My character is loyal and believes in what and how the Scorpion Clan performs it’s duties. As such my character gains +5 glory as many Scorpion privately know he gave up his life early in his duties and has lived a life many would consider unfulfilled.

Q8. What does your character think of Bushidō?
To my character Bushido is a great series of tenants but few truly use them and because of that truth Bushido is a waste of time for those who need to protect those who live it from those who don’t. I pick Skullduggery as my bonus skill point.

Part IV: Strengths and Weaknesses

Q9. What is your character’s greatest accomplishment so far?
He has lived a long life keeping a bargain at the cost of his own personal growth and success. As such his life has been long but uneventful. I pick Seasoned (Void) as the associated distinction advantage with my character due to his years and experience.

Q10. What holds your character back the most in life?
He loyalty and duty to keep the bargain. I’m fleshing out what happened and it starts to really form when I find the Scorn of [One Group] (Water) adversities. The idea quickly blows up and the details fill in quickly.

Yogo Mira, father of Yogo Jura was working alongside a Crane Courtier. Lots of time and effort was spent to have Yogo Mira embedded and close to the Crane Courtier (named Doji Hanata). When Hanata was haunted by a ghost, Jira promised on his honor to use his magic to remove the haunting. Mira publically failed in establishing his wards and the Hanata became a monk instead of taking a prestigious position in the Crane courts. My character took the blame for the failed wards, by publically admitting to damaging the wards his master has set down, taking the blame for the failure and preserving the relationship between his master the rest of the Crane.

For his failure he was sent back to the Scorpion lands banished publically by his lord, but privately thanked by Mira. Only Hanata knew the truth but would reveal what he knew so long as the Scorpion publically shamed my character. Now that Hanata is dead, my character can leave the lands and participate in the campaign but there is still some bad blood between my character and the Doji who remember the incident.

With my character’s backstory finally sorted, I mark down Scorn of Doji (Water) on my character sheet.

Q11. What activity makes your character feel at peace?
Experiencing life is what gives him peace. He’s missed out on so much in his shamed state that when he has the opportunity to experience something he relishes in it. Now that he is allowed to leave the lands of the Scorpion Clan he is connecting with those who from the other clans who are now established and successful. I pick Travel (Water) as his passion.

Q12. What concern, fear, or foible troubles your character the most?
Not using this second chance to explore life to the fullest. Reading through the anxieties Dark Secret (Void) was the easy one to pick. If the bargain he made Jira would come out it would damage his clan and the decades spent in the lie instead of living a full life would be wasted making his life’s work (keeping the secret) meaningless.

Q13. Who has your character learned the most from during their life?
That service is rewarding but also costly. I pick Famously Reliable (Earth) as my advantage as Mira and later on his son Jura would trust my character earning him a reputation for being reliable.

Part V: Personality and Behavior

Q14. What detail do others find most striking about your character?
His dress is old and out of fashion as if he’s been unable to keep up with fashion standards because of ignorance or due to being poor.

Q15. How does your character react to stressful situations?
He compromises he did it when he started his service to the Clan and there is no reason this should change.

Q16. What are your character’s preexisting relationships with other clans, families, organizations, and traditions?
Outside of the already explored situation with the Doji and the rest of the Scorpion Clan my character build relationships with other subordinate samurai when he traveled with his previous master and later one when he helped host members of other visiting clans into the Scorpion lands.

Part VI: Ancestry and Family

Q17. How would your character’s parents describe them?
Both his parents are dead and they passed being proud of his resolve and personal sacrifice to the Scorpion’s goals.

Q18. Who was your character named to honor?
I rolled an 8 on my d10, and got Stolen Knowledge. It seems a Yogo discovered something and passed it down the family line.  I rolled a second d10 and came up with a 9. So my character knows a Kiho.

This is interesting so I look through the Rank 1 Kiho abilities. I want to pick something that makes sense and I find myself drawn to The Great Silence or Earth Needs No Eyes. Feeling that my character is more sneaky and less of a hidden bodyguard I pick the Air Kiho allowing him to create a range 0-4 bubble of silence.

Q19. What is your character’s personal name? 
Interestingly enough I only get to name my character at this point of creation (if you follow each step). So I pick Ichirō, a common male name given to a first born son.

Part VII: Death

Q20. How should your character die?
This is an easy question for Ichiro. He would want to die in the service of the Scorpion or while doing something that was fulfilling personally. He does not want to die a retired monk but if he did he would want to die keeping to duty and holding on to the secret that has shaped his life.

So there we have it, I'm ready to play the adventures of the new Legend of the Five Rings role-playing game. I'll still need to sort out the equipment and the last details with whom ever would run my character but I feel pretty good about Ichiro right now. 

- Cheers

Dozer