Heroes of Rokugan I
- Plans and Storyline Development - A Discussion
- Satsume's Tournament
- Kitsuki Evidence
- A Chance Meeting
- Spiritual Presence
- Legacy of the Dark One
- Winter Court: Kyuden Asahina
- The Face of Fear
- Arrows From the Woods
- Evil Feeds Upon Itself
- A Mantis and His Rat
- The Falling Darkness, Soul of Iuchiban
- The Ties that Bind
- The People's Expense
- Occult Murders, Soul of Iuchiban
- Lies, Lies, Lies
- Drawing Out the Darkness, Soul of Iuchiban
- A Foreign Legacy
- A Magistrate's Duty, Soul of Iuchiban
- Fury of the Elements
- To Do What We Must
- Winter Court: Kanrinrin's Duty, Soul of Iuchiban
- The Fate of a Hantei, Soul of Iuchiban
- Smoke and Mirrors, The Lion and the Crane
- A Hidden Blade, The Lion and the Crane
- Treachery and Deceit
- Winter Court: Shiro Kyotei
- Ancestral Dictate, The Lion and the Crane
- A Heart of Vengeance, The Lion and the Crane
- Soul of Akodo, The Lion and the Crane
- Darkness Beyond Darkness, Shadow's Path
- The Chrysanthemum Festival, The Lion and the Crane
- Kuro's Fire
- Duty on the Wall
- Fist of the Earth, Shadow's Path
- Day and Night
- The Scorpion's Sting
- Flower's Kiss
- In Time of War
- Winter Court: Shiro no Kaiu
- Proposal of Peace
- Way of Deception
- A Walk Through the Mountains, Shadow's Path
- Narrow Ground
- Peasant Defense
- The Price of Loyalty
- Dark Eyes on the Wall
- Tao of the Naga
- The Cost of Duty
- Storm and Forest
- Stain Upon the Soul
- Command of the Kami
- The Jade Championship
- Twisted Forest
- Funeral Pyre
- Time to Pay the Price, Shadow's Path
- Damning Evidence, The Hidden Temple
- Test of Courage
- Winter Court: Kyuden Bayushi
- Corrupted Ground, Shadows of an Iron Citadel
- A Question of Honor, Shadows of an Iron Citadel
- A Last Wish, Shadows of an Iron Citadel
- Blood of Midnight, Shadow's Path
- Fires of Retribution, The Hidden Temple
- Faith in My Clan
- Along the Coast at Midnight
- Unmaker's Shadow, Shadow's Path
- The Dragon's Heart, The Hidden Temple
- Time of the Void
- The Day of Thunder
Heroes of Rokugan II
- Plans and Preparation
- The Topaz Championship
- Treacherous Terrain
- Writ of Justice
- Tears of a Fox's Heart
- Wrath of the Kami, Remorseful Seppuku
- Unrequited Love
- Devoured by the Sea
- Scholarship, Remorseful Seppuku
- Uncertainty
- Unquiet Graves, Remorseful Seppuku
- Way of Death
- The Sapphire Tournament
- Bloom of the White Orchid
- The City of Lies
- The Bon Festival
- Stolen Relics
- Forgotten Shrine, Remorseful Seppuku
- A Say's Sail, Shipping Lanes
- Charge of the Baraunghar
- The House of a Thousand Stories
- Winter Court: Shiro Hanagensai
- In Search of the Future
- Compassion, The Code of Bushido
- Bayushi Lineage: Fathers and Sons
- Unexpected Find
- Legacy of My Ancestors, Shipping Lanes
- Corrupt Officials
- Grave of Heroes, Ominous Portents
- Voice of the Emperor, Ominous Portents
- Imperial Funeral
- Test of Purity, Ominous Portents
- Essence of Yume-do
- Shadows on the Court
- Strength From Weakness, Twenty Goblin Winter
- City of the Lost, Twenty Goblin Winter
- Failure of Courage, Twenty Goblin Winter
- Kharmic Vengeance
- Sleepless Nights
- Honesty, The Code of Bushido
- Journey to the Burning Sands
- The Tortoise and the Hare
- Harsh Lessons
- A Champion's Heart
- Corrupted Region, Shipping Lanes
- Unexpected Betrayal
- Courage, The Code of Bushido
- City of Empty Dreams
- Campaign Fiction: Scenes from the Empire, Summer 1502
- Secluded Village
- Cursed Gift
- Touch of Obsidian
- The Siege of Shiro Usagi
- Campaign Fiction: The Seppuku of Bayushi Tenkai
- Retirement
- Shadows of Beiden
- Into the Darkness
- Heated Discussion, The Code of Bushido
- Campaign Fiction: Scenes from the Empire, Autumn 1502
- Broken Words
- Assigning Blame
- Winter Court: The High House of Light
- ➔ Winter Court: Shiro no Shosuro
- Duty and Honor, The Code of Bushido
- The Cherry Blossom Festival
- Campaign Fiction: Scenes from the Empire, Spring 1503
- Undignified Death
- Loyalty, The Code of Bushido
- Marriage Celebration
- Fall Before the Master
- Border Conflict
- Campaign Fiction: A Summer of War, Parts 1-4
- Nemesis of Justice
- Summoned to Justice
- Essence of Toshigoku
- Doom of the Crab
- The Hidden Heart
- A Long Journey, Shipping Lanes
- Allegiance to the Emperor
- Campaign Fiction: A Summer of War, Part 5 and 6
- Contest of Artistry
- Reverence for Chikushudo
- Masterpiece: Iron Crane Chef
- Mujina Tricks, Remorseful Seppuku
- Spider's Lair
- Words and Deeds
- The Final Interactive: Weekend in Rokugan 2010
- Campaign Fiction: Brother and Sisters
- A Fallen Friend
- Truth and Falsehood
- A Hard Rain Will Fall
- An Arranged Marriage
- Whispers of the Moon
- Fate of the Assassin
- March Unto Death
- Celestial Journey
- Words Cut Like Steel
- To the Last Breath
L5R Homebrew
- A Root Problem: Conflicting Themes
- Power Levels and Power-Creep
- Defense Versus Offense
- Raises
- Narrative Control Mechanics
- Wounds and Death Part 1
- Thugs Versus Characters
- Dueling
- Wounds and Death Part 2
- Schools, Techniques, and Kata Part 1
- Spells and Secrets
- Schools, Techniques, and Kata Part 2
- What's with these Shugenja, anyway? br>
- Unofficial 5th Edition
Download The Adventure
Download the Cert
The Low-Rank counterpart to High House of Light, this module served as the conclusion of the story arc begun in Bayushi Lineage: the PCs must deal with the last of the Scorpion souls freed from Traitor’s Grove. It also answered the question of what Akodo Mako had intended to accomplish by setting fire to the Grove in the first place – his goal was to free _this_ soul, Shosuro Kumade, who had tried to murder the Scorpion Clan Champion in his first life and could be counted on to do the same again.
Structurally, this module was basically a series of murder mysteries as Kumade kills off the descendants of those who defeated him the first time, leading up to an eventual attempt on the Clan Champion when he visits the court at the end of winter. This meant I had to construct three successive crimes, each with their own sets of clues that could be uncovered through investigation – a considerable amount of work. However, much as with High House of Light, I made sure there were plenty of other things going on for the PCs to do and see, with a suitably large cast of NPCs. There were winter festivals and celebrations, a potential winter romance, and more Scorpion-specific things like the struggles of a Scorpion playwright and the Clan of Secrets’ revenge on one of its enemies -- Shiba Yota, who had killed a prominent Scorpion’s son in a duel during Bayushi Lineage. It seemed only fitting to show the Scorpion Clan’s sadistic vengeance on him in the module that also resolved the escaped-souls plotline in Bayushi Lineage. (I also felt it was important to show that revenge “on-screen” to remind people of why the Scorpion Clan is feared throughout the Empire.) Since this was a Low-Rank module depicting a Winter Court in a secondary Scorpion castle, the cast of NPCs included a lot of “oddball” types who had character flaws – the rapacious Crane couple from Shiro Hanagensai, the Kitsuki-trained Kasuga from The Tortoise and the Hare, the womanizing Mirumoto from Tears of a Fox’s Heart, and so forth.
In order to make the villain unique and threatening without letting him be grossly overpowered relative to the PCs, I decided to make him one of the Soshi Deceivers, the secret Scorpion school that exploited the powers of the Shadow. Of course… *shifty eyes*… this choice may also have been influenced by the fact that I was the one who updated this school and its spell-list for 3rd Edition in the book Masters of Court (my first official L5R project, published in spring 2008). In any case, it worked pretty well for supplying Kumade with an unusual set of abilities and also for explaining why he was able to carry out his various murders without being caught.
It was possible, if a majority of tables failed to track down and capture Kumade, for this module to end with the assassination of the Scorpion Clan Champion. That would certainly have made for some interesting changes to the Scorpion storyline for the campaign’s final 18 months, and since this mod was played by “backup” PCs rather than experienced primaries, I felt there was a distinct possibility it could happen. As it turned out, however, pretty much all the tables succeeded, and Bayushi Tamoru was able to stick around and pick up the pieces after the PCs finally took down Shosuro Hido.