Broken Guard [Bushi] (Enemies of the Empire p201)

In the aftermath of the infamous Scorpion Clan Coup at the beginning of the twelfth century, the Akodo family of the Lion Clan was dissolved by a wrathful Emperor. The majority of the family joined other Lion families, and many others took their own lives in shame. Some, however, took up the life of the ronin rather than remain within the now hostile Lion Clan with its new Matsu leadership. Of those who became wave men, a small group banded together for mutual defense and survival. These men, known as the Broken Guard, were led by a former officer named Saigorei, a man with a deep grudge against the Unicorn Clan. Saigorei gathered men with similar philosophies to his banner, honing their skills with an emphasis on anti-cavalry maneuvers. The Broken Guard quickly gained a reputation as dangerously effective against mounted foes, and they saw regular employment throughout the Clan War era. When the Akodo family finally reformed, many of the Broken Guard rejoined it. Of those remaining, most joined together with other ronin who had fought in the amalgamation known as Toturi’s Army, becoming the Wolf Legion.

Generalization: Independent of the timeline, this Path could be used to represent any anti-cavalry group, or a group with a grudge against the Unicorn Clan for whatever reason.

Requirements: Polearms 3+, Heart of Vengeance (Unicorn)
Technique: The Tiger’s Teeth – The Broken Guard are among the finest anti-cavalry forces in the Empire. You may make a melee attack as a Simple Action when using a polearm. You gain a bonus of +1k1 on attack rolls made against targets on horseback (or mounted on similarly-sized creatures).

Hidden Sword [Bushi] (Enemies of the Empire p202)

The ronin band known as the Hidden Sword is a large group that patrols the outskirts of the Shinomen Mori, trying to protect the people in the lands around it from the various enemies who threaten them. The Sword targets primarily bandits but also the various enigmatic creatures emerging periodically from the Shinomen. The band’s area of operation requires them to interact with the Scorpion, Crab, and Unicorn clans fairly regularly, and as a result the men of the Hidden Sword, while honorable, remain extremely practical and realistic individuals who do not succumb to blind idealism. Historically, the group has opposed and been sworn enemies of the Forest Killers, one of the Empire’s largest and most violent groups of ronin bandits, who lair within the Shinomen Mori. On at least one occasion, the Hidden Sword has been completely wiped out by the Forest Killers, but was reformed by its leader’s sons to carry on his work.

Requirements: Hero of the People
Technique: Keeping the Peace – The Hidden Sword excel at combating criminals and bandits, and have been taught effective techniques for dispatching such individuals. When fighting against an opponent with lower Honor Rank than yours, you may make melee attacks as a Simple Action instead of a Complex Action when wielding weapons with the Samurai keyword.

Machi-Kanshisha [Bushi] (Enemies of the Empire p202)

This band of ronin are known by the name of their preferred weapon, a long iron smoking pipe. Perhaps fortunately, the machi-kanshisha pipe is not well known in many parts of the Empire, and as a result many associate the name with the ronin band itself rather than the pipe for which they are named. The Machi-kanshisha are the guardians of the City of the Rich Frog, a major trade hub that sits in the narrow divide between the holdings of the Lion and Unicorn clans. Because of the militant nature of the two clans in question, who closely observe any significant violence near their borders, the Machi-kanshisha prefer to use their namesake smoking pipes as non-lethal weapons, employing them to subdue their foes rather than kill them. In the twelfth century, the City of the Rich Frog is annexed by the Lion Clan, and the Kaeru ronin family, administrators of the city and employers of the Machi-kanshisha, become vassals of the Ikoma family.

Generalization: Most of the Empire’s history has seen the Machi-kanshisha employed as listed above. If the GM chooses to modify a campaign set in the modern era, they can remain doing exactly what they have for so long without the Ikoma’s involvement.

Requirements: Athletics 2+, Staves 3+
Technique: Smoke and Mirrors – The Machi-kanshisha are extremely adept at wielding their namesake weapon. When using an iron pipe, you gain a Free Raise on any Disarm or Knockdown attack. You may also spend a Void Point to make a melee attack with a machi-kanshisha as a Simple Action (you may spend up to two Void Points per Round in this manner).

Order of Isashi [Shugenja] (Secrets of the Empire)

This ronin shugenja order was founded in the wake of the second war with Iuchiban. Its members travel across Rokugan, always going to the most war-torn and disaster plagued regions, healing the injured and treating the sick with no expectation of payment or reward. They are welcomed in Crab lands but tend to encounter suspicion and hostility in most other regions, since their actions can be perceived as shaming the local clan shugenja for callousness.

Replaces: Ronin shugenja 3 (any ronin shugenja school)
Requirements: Medicine 3, Honor Rank 5.0 or better
Technique: Isashi’s Mercy - The Order of Isashi devotes itself to healing the sick and the injured. You gain a +1k0 bonus to Medicine Skill rolls and a Free Raise when casting any spell that heals Wounds or cures illness.

Serpents of Sanada [Bushi] (Enemies of the Empire p202)

Over the centuries there has been no shortage of ronin who have turned to violence and brutality to make their way through the world. Some, such as the Forest Killers, have cultivated such a reputation that their name is used to frighten children throughout the Empire. There are very few, however, who have the sheer audacity and penchant for destruction as the Serpents of Sanada. The Serpents are a naval band and over the years they have accumulated a small fleet of vessels, using them to become one of the most successful (and hated) pirate groups in almost a thousand years. In particular the Serpents are an offense to the Mantis Clan, who not only have many former members among their ranks but have actually been attacked on their home islands by the Serpents, something no pirate ever before dared to do. The Mantis ruthlessly hunt down vessels in the Serpents’ fleet but find it difficult to destroy the whole force.

Requirements: Knives 3+, Sailing 3+, Honor Rank 3 or lower
Technique: The Serpents’ Coils – The Serpents of Sanada are utterly ruthless pirates, and like others of their ilk they have been forced to master weapons that will not corrode in the sea air. When wielding a wooden weapon or a weapon with the Peasant keyword, you may make melee attacks as Simple Actions rather than Complex Actions.

Snow Riders [Bushi] (Enemies of the Empire p203)

Through most of Rokugan’s history winter has brought an abrupt end to war. The costs of waging war in the bitter cold and snow are simply too high, and every time it has been attempted the army responsible has ultimately been defeated. This did not change until the Empire’s twelfth century, when the boundless ambition of the Unicorn Clan Khan, Moto Chagatai, led him on a winter campaign across the Lion provinces. Although Chagatai’s campaign to capture the Imperial City was ultimately unsuccessful, the punishment he inflicted on the Lion forever changed the way the Empire regarded winter warfare. Few attempted to recreate the extent of that campaign, but most recognized it was possible to fight in the winter with adequate preparation and training. One group of ronin who served in Chagatai’s forces and survived the Lion’s vengeance went on to sell their services as couriers, messengers, and general supplemental cavalry, all with a specialty in winter tactics. The Yasuki family of the Crab would be envious of the discreet promotion the Snow Riders have conducted on behalf of their organization, and they have ensured they are always employed during the winter – if nothing else because their employers don’t want their enemies employing the Riders instead. Generally speaking, the Riders make adequate profits during the winter months to support them through the summer, which is exactly their intention.

Generalization: Although the story of this group is tied specifically to the Khan’s infamous campaign, there is no reason a small group could not develop along these lines independently of that incident. Doing so might make their services more difficult to market and sell, however.

Requirements: Athletics 3+, Horsemanship 4+
Technique: The Journey’s Beginning – The Snow Riders have mastered the art of mounted warfare and of waging war in winter conditions. You may ignore movement penalties based on terrain if the penalties in question are caused by snow or ice. You may spend a Void Point while fighting mounted in order to make a single attack as a Simple Action.

Tsume Pikemen [Bushi] (Imperial Histories p275)

The Tsume vassal family prided themselves on being masters of the spear, teaching their bushi to specialize in defensive tactics and rely on a wall of spear-points to break enemy charges. After the Tsume ruling bloodline is exterminated in the War of Bleeding Flowers, their samurai become ronin but do their best to preserve their traditional fighting methods, passing their Technique down from parent to child. The process is further enhanced by their tradition of meeting annually to renew their sense of loyalty and identity.

Tsume ronin often hire themselves out as guards or escorts, using their spear tactics to defeat bandit raids. In keeping with their legacy as former Crane samurai, they are trustworthy and reliable soldiers and refuse to ever betray their employers. This makes them quite popular among merchants and others in need of reliable guards.

Requirements: Spears 3+, Polearms 3+, Honor Rank 3 or higher
Special Notes: Within the Heroes of Rokugan setting, this Technique is normally only available to ronin descended from the retainers of the deceased Tsume vassal family, or to close allies of that family. In other eras of play, GMs may use this technique to represent any honorable, trustworthy ronin band that replies primarily on spears or polearms.

Technique: Wall of Pikes - The Tsume Pikemen are taught to use defensive tactics, luring the enemy into a charge and then impaling them on their spears. While you are in the Defense posture and wielding a spear or polearm, immediately after an opponent makes a melee attack against you or one of your allies within ten feet (whether or not the attack hit), you may spend a Void Point in order to take a Free Action to attack that opponent with your spear/polearm. You may also use this Technique in the Full Defense posture, but making the attack will require spending two Void Points instead of one.