Asahina Archers [Bushi]

The Asahina Archer technique emerged from a partnership between those few Asahina who chose to follow the path of the bushi and the Daidoji family, which enlisted them and encouraged them to pursue the ways of archery. The organization has existed for centuries, although its relative obscurity means that most samurai in other clans are unaware of its existence.

Replaces: Daidoji Iron Warrior 4, Doji Magistrate 4
Requirements: Air 3, Kyujutsu 5, and must be a member of the Asahina or Daidoji family
Technique: No Regrets - Asahina Archers are taught to minimize the influence of their family's traditional pacifism and focus on defeating their enemies swiftly so that wars may be ended equally swiftly. Their technique allows them to call on their own inherent Air, delivering precisely accurate shots. When making an archery attack, you may make Called Shots for one less Raise (to a minimum of 1) and add half your Air (rounded down) in unkept dice to your attacks.

Asahina Artisans [Shugenja]

Founded in the sixth century by Asahina Hake, the Asahina Artisans use magic to create artwork that is transitory and unique, yet supremely memorable. They rely heavily on illusion magic, often using it to either enhance or replace the material components of their art.

Replaces: Asahina Shugenja 3
Technique: Hake's Lesson - The artisans of the Asahina family specialize in infusing magic into their craft in order to give it an otherworldly sense of serenity and beauty. When making an Artisan Skill Roll, you may expend a spell slot to add +2 per slot expended to the total of your roll. You may expend a number of slots equal to twice your Insight Rank in this manner. Air spell slots spent in this manner add +3 instead of +2.

Asahina Fetishist [Shugenja] (Core Rules p252)

The Asahina shugenja follow the path of peace and beauty, finding harmony in the tranquility of nature. Over the years they have become masters of a secret art of creation that allows them to imbue magical power into small objects. These items, called tsangusuri, temporarily give their bearers the ability to ask for the blessings of the kami. Each item is painstakingly made to honor the Elements and to reflect the Crane vision of a beautiful world.

Replaces: Asahina Shugenja 2
Requirements: One Craft or Artisan Skill at rank 3

Technique: The World in the Palm of the Hand - The Asahina are the finest crafters of tsangusuri (fetishes) in the world of Rokugan, and their treasures are highly prized. When using an Artisan Skill or a Craft skill to create a small token of some kind, you may spend a Void Point to confer a one-time blessing into the token. Whoever is in possession of the token may activate this blessing at any time. Whenever activated, the token grants a bonus of +2k0 to one High Skill Roll. No more than one token may be used per day per individual.

Crane Elite Spearman [Bushi]

The Crane Clan has always had a strong tradition of yarijutsu among its ranks, particularly the Daidoji. Given that the Crane military forces are typically fewer in number than their traditional enemies, any advantage that can be exploited on the battlefield is ruthlessly put to good use. While there are other groups within the clan who excel in this field, such as the Tsume vassal family, it is the Daidoji who supply the clan with its most numerous and proficient spearmen.

Replaces: Daidoji Iron Warrior 2 or Daidoji Scout 2
Requirements: Spears 3

Technique: Talons of the Daidoji - The ferocity of the Crane spearmen is well known upon the battlefield, as is their ability to pin and immobilize those who would threaten the clan. When using a spear to attack an opponent, if you strike an opponent who has not yet acted this round, he must make two Raises to successfully attack you for the remainder of this Round.

Daidoji Heavy Regulars [Bushi]

The samurai of the Daidoji Heavy Regular units usually train alongside the Crab for at least a year; they are always equipped with the heaviest armor and wield a combination of spears and heavy weaponry. On the battlefield they are usually employed to blunt or break enemy charges, especially when fighting the Lion or the Unicorn. They are also sometimes used as blocking forces to resist enemy arrow barrages, since their heavy armor makes them more resistant to archery fire. They usually prefer either the tetsubo or the dai tsuchi as their primary armament.

Replaces: Daidoji Iron Warrior 4
Requirements: Heavy Weapons 5

Technique: Way of the Iron Crane - The Heavy Regulars use their experience serving alongside the Crab on the Kaiu Wall to inform their own training in heavy weapons, enhancing their defensive position against enemy attacks and striking back hard against charging foes. When wielding a heavy weapon in the Attack Stance, you may add +1k1 to your attack rolls against any opponent who is in the Attack or Full Attack Stances. When wielding a heavy weapon in the Defense or Full Defense stances, you may add your Heavy Weapons Skill Rank to your Armor TN.

Daidoji Trading Council [Courtier]

The Trading Council handles the commercial side of the Crane Clan's interests. This is considered a somewhat embarrassing and unpleasant duty, but the Trading Council accepts this task just as the rest of the Daidoji accept the duty of protecting their Doji and Kakita cousins - even at the cost of their own honor. The Trading Council watches their fellow Daidoji carefully and recruits those with the appropriate skills and mindset.

Replaces: Doji Courtier 3, Doji Magistrate 3, Daidoji Iron Warrior 3, or Daidoji Scout 3
Requirements: Commerce (Merchant) 3, and either Gentry or Wealthy. The Advantage requirement can be waived if the individual has distinguished himself as a merchant in other ways (GM's discretion).

Technique: The Golden Path - The members of the Trading Council are taught to detect and exploit any possible opportunity for commercial gain, to manipulate markets to their advantage, and to crush mercantile rivals from other clans. Once per month you may wage commercial warfare against a rival merchant by making a Contested Roll of Commerce (Merchant) / Awareness against the rival merchant patron. If you succeed, you inflict a loss on that merchant, a number of koku equal to the amount by which your roll exceeded theirs. If you lose the Contested Roll, you lose half that amount of koku. If the GM allows you to purchase additional Advantages (or Ranks in existing Advantages) after character creation, you may purchase Gentry, Wealthy, and Servants for 1 less Experience Point (to a minimum of 1).

Doji Innocents [Courtier]

The tradition of the Innocents focuses on upholding Honesty even in the nasty world of politics, avoiding falsehood at all costs and calling on the strength of their honor to lend their words weight.

Replaces: Doji Courtier 3
Requirements: Honor Rank 5.0 or better, Sincerity (Honesty) 4

Technique: The Power of Innocence - The Innocents forgo the traditional Crane method of building favor networks through gifts and favors. Instead, they win allies by speaking the truth in all cases. In any situation in which the Crane could gain advantage or protect their interests by lying or concealing the truth from a specific person, the Innocent may choose instead to tell that person the truth, then roll Sincerity (Honesty) / Awareness against the target's Investigation (Interrogation) / Perception. With a success, the target realizes what the Crane has just done and is deeply impressed by the Innocent's devotion to honor and truth. With the GM's permission, the Innocent gains the target as an Ally with 1 point of Devotion. This Technique may be used multiple times on the same target, with each success increasing Devotion by 1 (to a maximum of 4 points); however, it cannot target the same person more than once per month. Any time an Innocent knowingly tells a lie, he loses 2 points of Honor (over and above any other circumstantial Honor loss that might apply) and is unable to use his Technique for a period of one month.

Doji Warrior-Poet [Bushi]

The Kakita are generally regarded as the Crane Clan’s finest artists with a blade, and for exceptionally good reason. The Doji, on the other hand, are generally regarded as courtiers, with both families having a strong tradition of artisans within them as well. However, despite the general stereotype, the truth is that the Kakita produce a significant number of courtiers as well, and the Doji are just as likely to have a scion of the blade among their ranks as any other Crane family. One need look no farther than the Thunders of the Crane Clan, Doji Yasurugi, a brilliant orator, swordsman, and blacksmith, or his later reincarnation Doji Hoturi, one of the finest duelists in the history of the Empire, to see the full potential of the Doji line manifested. Unlike many other families in the Empire, the Doji consider pursuit of the blade and the arts of equal value, and the Doji are more likely to produce individuals gifted in both domains than perhaps even the other Crane families.

Replaces: Kakita Bushi 2
Requirements: Iaijutsu 2, Perform: Poetry 2
Technique: Fan & Sword - A warrior-poet understands that focus is the one and only key to not only victory, but enlightenment as well. When you spend a Void Point to augment an Iaijutsu Skill Roll or a Perform: Poetry Skill Roll, you gain a bonus of +2k1 instead of +1k1. Additionally, whenever you are victorious in a duel or a poetry contest, you gain one additional point of Glory. If you were championing someone else, that person also gains one additional point of Glory. This is in addition to any normal amount being rewarded.

Empress Guard [Bushi] (Core Rules p252)

The Doji family has been intertwined with the Imperial dynasty from the dawn of the Empire. Over the years this connection has garnered them great favors and great responsibilities. The Empress Guard is a unit with some of the greatest warriors of the Crane Clan. They train to protect the Empress herself and spare no expense in their training. Only a handful of the Empress Guard are on duty at any given time, while the rest train intensively, dedicated to maintaining their abilities.

Replaces: Kakita Bushi 3 or Daidoji Iron Warrior 4
Requirements: Perception 3
Technique: To Defend Unto Death - The Empress Guard hold the honor of their duties seriously. Only the pure of soul and shape of eye meet the Crane Clan's exacting standards. You may add half your Honor Rank to all attack and Perception rolls. Also, while defending the Imperial family, you may add +10 to your Armor TN.

Kakita Jesters [Artisan]

Within the Kakita Artisan Academy is a small dojo where students are instructed in one of the most peculiar arts of the Kakita: the path of the Jester. The Jesters are a specialized variant of kabuki acting, and their studies include acting, dance, poetry, music, and political commentary. There are few samurai suited to the life of a Jester, and the dojo is never crowded.

Jesters are a very unusual form of performance artisan, created by the Crane but occasionally seen among other clans. While most Artisans focus on creating beautiful and immortal works of art, the Jesters focus on tearing down the pretensions of the arrogant and the powerful. A Jester is chosen for his role early in his schooling and is expected to serve in that role throughout his life, wearing a distinctive kabuki-style costume and makeup and using his performance skills to mock, deride, and needle those who deserve it. Highly experienced and skillful Jesters eventually earn access to the special Technique taught by a handful of sensei at their dojo.

Jesters dance and strut through the courts, singing, telling stories, making slightly inaccurate quotes from famous books, and generally making sure any samurai knows when he or she does something inappropriate. They usually speak in rhymes or riddles and have a habit of foretelling doom for anyone who criticizes or attacks them. It should be noted, however, that Rokugani jesters never behave in a light-hearted or "wacky" manner - their humor is satiric, biting, and often sour, and their favored tool is mockery. Among normal samurai such behavior would prompt duels, but the Jesters receive the sanction of their lords to say things otherwise never tolerated. They are permitted to speak publicly about another person's loss of reputation, honor, or face so long as they do so in a tone of mockery and satire. The GM should generally not inflict Glory or Honor losses on Jesters who are making public insults or committing minor breaches of etiquette as part of their "role" as a Jester. Notwithstanding this "immunity", however, most Jesters are careful to attach themselves to a noble patron in order to gain extra protection for their often-acerbic performances.

Replaces: Kakita Artisan 5
Technique: The Art of Mockery - The Kakita Jester is tasked with sardonically puncturing the pretense and arrogance of court, reminding all present of their flawed and mortal natures. You may publicly mock a suitable target (someone hypocritical, arrogant, dishonorable, or otherwise deserving of your attention) by means of speech, dance, song, or other such methods. This requires a Contested Roll of you (chosen art) / Awareness against the target's Etiquette (Courtesy) / Willpower. If you lose the roll, you lose points of Glory equal to the target's Status Rank. If you win the roll, the target loses face in public, suffering a loss of Glory points equal to your Glory Rank, and a loss of Honor points equal to half as much (rounded up). You may not target the same person with this Technique more than once per month.

Sisters of the Sacred Light [Shugenja]

Founded in the years immediately after the creation of the Centipede Clan, the Sisters of the Sacred Light were originally created to deal with infestations of mischievous spirits. Although founded by the Centipede, they recruit women from several clans, and those women are expected to forsake their former loyalties in order to follow the path of purity and wisdom which the Sisters teach. They dress in the traditional garb of a temple priestess (a red hakama and white gi), bereft of all markings save for a single clan mon to indicate their ancestry.

Replaces: Asahina Shugenja 2, Isawa Shugenja (Air) 2, Moshi Shugenja 2
Technique: Light Banishes Lies - The Sisters of the Sacred Light specialize in exposing illusions as the falsehoods they are. When attempting to Banish the kami of Air, who are of course responsible for the vast majority of illusion effects, you require only 2 Raises on the Sense spell (rather than the normal 3) and only 3 Raises on the Commune spell (rather than the normal 5).

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, the Daidoji continued their tradition and training in their dojo.

Replaces: Any Crane Bushi 3
Requirements: Spears 3, Polearms 3, Honor 3.0+
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 10' (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 2 Void Points instead of 1.