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History

The Octopus Clan is one of the least known clans of Rokugan, and one of the most bizarre – and they prefer both of these things to be true. Their motto has always been “nobility is art, but not all art is noble” – they are a clan that blends the roles of artisan and shinobi together in equal measure – like the Kasuga, Daidoji or Yasuki, they have deep roots amidst the more unsavoury parts of Rokugani culture.

The formation of the clan is cloaked in quite a bit of mystery. What is known is that their founder was Kakita Tako - though even this is uncertain, for Kakita Tako admitted himself to altering his name at least once to give himself a new identity. Tako was a Kakita Artisan who had nothing notable about him, except, perhaps, his lack of notability. He was constantly compared unfavourably to his classmates, and his sensei deemed him worthy of only a life of mediocrity. Disillusioned and wanting for money, Tako let his honour slip in order to make ends meet, killing his integrity as an artisan and happily making goods for rich merchants or upstart local magistrates, who were eager to gain “Authentic Kakita Artwork”.

Usually such objects would only be obtainable through gift giving or large sums, but Tako made offers that were considered quite reasonable, at least by his new clientele. Tako soon found that his new contacts opened up a whole new, disreputable world for him which he took to with a gusto that surprised even himself – for the first time in his life, he no longer felt like he was useless. It was a dishonourable living – but it was a living! Tako was a flexible artist – one reason he had never really excelled at his studies was because he dabbled in many fields, a little interested in all of them. Now he found himself forging documents and artwork, inventing poems for merchants to impress their mistresses and even printing propaganda leaflets for people he never asked questions of.

To Tako’s surprise, his skills started to earn him work from higher and higher in the Rokugani social structure – while no one had wanted Tako the honourable artisan, now many people had need of the “Ronin Artist”. Tako realized there were certain things that Shiba and Kakita artisans simply would not do. Soon samurai patrons were requesting, very discreetly, for him to make wedding night manuals, portraits of their favourite geisha and personally commissioned pieces that regular society would find shocking.

Tako was so useful because he would happily produce these pieces, while, at the same time, having a level of quality beyond the normal peasant artists who would usually create these sorts of things. It wasn’t long before Tako had to get help in meeting the demand – he scraped together some of the least prestigious members of the famous artisan schools, and began to tutor ronin samurai seeking a touch of refinement.

What is still vague is exactly what earned Tako the grandest prize of a Minor Clan, for whatever it was apparently it was sworn to secrecy. The records only state that he did a “Great Service to the Imperial Family”, without saying anything more on the matter. Tako took the Octopus as his symbol to represent how he was not the master of one focus, but of many, and as homage to one of his personal favourite works.

The Octopus also represented the distribution of the clan – instead of having any central holdings, the clan instead established humbler bases in most major Rokugani cities. To this day the Tako Family, as they became known, provides a coarse, freewheeling, anarchic approach to art, existing in the shadows beyond the higher artisan families. This position never bothered Tako much – to him, all art served a purpose, in one way or another.

Lands

The Tako have no great holdings - like the octopus, their reach is everywhere, or at least in most major Rokugani cities. If they have anywhere that can be considered the Octopus's "Head", it could be an estate outside of Lonely Shore City, where the Clan Daimyo traditionally lives and manages his networks. Any who do know of the Octopus Clan usually think of this location - the Octopus Daimyo is by tradition open and friendly to travelers, and will usually happily tell a false history of his clan, where they were a minor family of the Crane elevated for their production of quality paints and inks, with which they won an important artistic challenge at an Imperial Winter Court.

Customs

The Tako exist in a sort of "art underworld" of their own creation. They undertake jobs requiring the hand of an artist with the skill level of a samurai, but with a sense of dishonour or secrecy attached. This can range from creating objectionable art, to forging documents, to spreading propaganda among the lower classes. The Tako also undertake the more prosaic task of producing artwork that is affordable and accessible by poorer samurai and ambitious merchants and ronin, who wish for a measure of quality but are unable to normally procure it from loftier artisans - many Tako artisans never make anything particularly beyond the norm, focusing on swiftly made and satisfactory pieces and imitations.

The Tako are more willing to swallow pride in their work than most artisans as well, and for an extra fee, they will keep quiet about the true authorship of the skillful poem a ronin composed for his mistress. As well, much of their "objectionable" art serves a social purpose, however - these include their Wedding Night Manuals, pictures to help identify monstrous creatures, and detailed anatomy diagrams. Many Tako also work as tutors in art for ronin and merchants - the world of the Octopus is always a busy one.

Those Tako with less artistic skills aid their clans in other ways, often more criminal. The Tako are known to use art in the smuggling of information or even goods - secret codes worked into paintings, or messages hidden at the bottom of flower vases. Though it is not something they speak about, even among themselves, the Tako have, on occasion, fallen into the role of art thieves for patrons, stealing artwork and replacing it with a near identical forgery.

The Tako are also often asked to produce particularly evocative prints for the purpose of advertisement and propaganda - unbeknownst to even the Tako themselves, their patrons for this are very often members of the Scorpion Clan or Daidoji or Yasuki families, who are fully aware of what the Tako do and consider them a useful tool.

The Tako spend most of their time honing and practicing their skills and most of their samurai have much leeway in the commissions they take - usually all Tako in a single city report to a senior member of the family who acts as an overseer. The Tako tend to dress plainly - indeed, if not for their mon, many would mistake them at first glance for ronin. The one exception to this is the Tako court at Lonely Shore City, where glamorous purple and black robes are generally the fashion.

To those not actively seeking the wide range of their services, the Octopus tend to assume a nature of humility - they present themselves as but a simple clan of minor artisans, not as lofty as a Great Clan, but ones who attempt their best, and will be happy to demonstrate the more mundane examples of their artwork.

There are even a few samurai who honestly appreciate the Octopus's legitimate work, describing it as "quaintly urban, with a clear appreciation for the city and the sea." The rise and acceptance of the Mantis clan and their gaudier art forms has done much to help the Octopus clan gain a small and narrow niche of acceptability for their "mainstream" pieces.

Families
Tako: +1 Perception

The first Tako retainers were a combination of the fallen and the raised - Samurai artisans, mostly Kakita, who struggled to succeed or had been shamed in some way, and ambitious ronin who aspired to have at least some artistic training. This invariably led to a suspicious character among many of the new recruits.

Kakita Tako did a remarkable job in giving such a disparate group of samurai training in such a disparate style some semblance of unity - unlike other artistic schools who attempt to instill a sense of beauty first, Tako believed in teaching practical technique and critiquing skills as a priority, letting his students develop their own senses of beauty over time.

As he enjoyed reminding his students "Unskilled hands on a brush are as disastrous as unskilled hands on a katana." The Tako also tend to be quick witted and perceptive - they need to be good at being aware of what attention they may be receiving at any time.

Tako Artist [Artisan]
Benefit: +1 Awareness

Starting Honor: 2.5

Skills: Commerce, Courtier [Manipulation], Forgery, Lore (Underworld), Temptation, any two skills chosen from the following list:
Artisan (Bonsai, Ikebana, Origami, Painting, Poetry, Sculpture or Tattooing), Calligraphy,
Craft (Armorsmithing#, Blacksmithing, Bowyer#, Brewing, Carpentry, Cartography, Cobbling, Cooking, Farming, Fishing, Masonry, Mining, Poison*, Pottery, Shipbuilding, Tailoring, Weaponsmithing#, Weaving, etc)

Outfit: Simple Clothing, Wakizashi, Art Supplies, Calligraphy Set, Any 1 Weapon with the “Small” Keyword, Traveling Pack, 5 Koku

---N.B : forgery = faussaire en L5A

Rank 1: Eight Arms, Seven Virtues

When making opposed Artisan Skill Roll, as long as you possess more total Artisan and Forgery skills than any of your opponents, you gain a free raise. In addition, whenever you succeed in a contested Artisan or Forgery Skill Roll against an opponent who has more ranks in that skill, you gain 1 point of Glory. You also do not lose Honour for using the Commerce skill.

Rank 2: Hidden in Color
You may add your Ranks in Forgery to the total of any Artisan or Crafting Skill Roll. When making a Forgery Skill Roll, you may spend a Void Point to add the sum of all ranks in Artisan skills you possess to the total. Using this ability also increases the TN to determine the forgery by the same amount.

Rank 3: Floating Existence
Gain a +1k0 on all Low Skill Rolls, Artisan or Crafting Rolls and on Attack rolls made Unarmed and with weapons with the “Small” keyword. Gain a Free Raise on Social Skill rolls made with Actors, Merchants, Ronin, Geisha and Criminals. You also only lose half Honour, rounding down, for using Low Skills.

Rank 4: Arms That Give, Arms That Take
You gain a bonus of +2k0 to all Social Rolls against targets currently in ownership of a piece of your artwork. In addition, you may add your ranks in a single Artisan or Crafting Skill to the total of your Commerce Skill Rolls and you gain a free raise to your Commerce Skill Rolls against targets who have fewer total Artisan and Craft skills.

Rank 5: Reach All Corners
Whenever your artwork is commissioned and accepted by a target, you may spend a Void Point to gain them as an Ally at devotion 1 or to gain the Blackmail advantage against them. This benefit is lost in 30 days. In addition, you gain Fame equal to the difference in your Status.