Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game

Design Diary #4: Advantages & Disadvantages
By Shawn Carman

In keeping with the last entry in this series, which discussed Skills and the changes we made to that system, this time we are going to discuss the Advantage/Disadvantage system and how it will be different from previous incarnations.

Advantages and Disadvantages (which I am going to refer to as just “Advantages” in order to keep from going mad) represent a unique niche in the L5R character creation system. They cannot cover areas that are clearly covered by Skills or Traits, and yet cannot get too close to the area of training covered by Techniques. Basically, the concept of Advantages is to bestow minor mechanical effects that a character is either born with or has acquired through life experience prior to the campaign’s beginning. Many are designed to allow a player to develop aspects of their character that are not mechanically represented in their initial Skills or School selection. Through Advantages, a bushi can be a bit more canny in court, or a courtier could be a bit more handy with a weapon. Advantages should allow for diversity without stepping on the toes of Techniques, or at least not without a major expenditure of points.

The first goal that we had in mind when creating the Advantage selection for Third Edition was to consolidate as many previously existing Advantages as possible, and to put them all in one place. What we rapidly realized, however, is that there was a great amount of redundancy in the existing Advantage selection, almost as much as we had found with the Skill list. Honestly, this isn’t much of a surprise. So many talented writers have worked on the L5R RPG since it was first released in 1997 that some degree of overlap is just inevitable. However, redundancy was not in keeping with our overall goals for Third Edition, so we had to cut back as much as possible. When possible, similar Advantages were combined (such as in the case of Allies, Sensei, and True Friend), while others were eliminated because they were no longer appropriate (Fertile, anyone?).

Once the final list had been compiled, we began assessing the existing point costs. Due again to the diversity of authors and sources from which these Advantages were taken, there were a great deal of inconsistencies with how they were priced. Two with similar effects might vary wildly in cost, while others might have the same cost and yet extremely different effects. Obviously, Third Edition represented an excellent chance to correct this imbalance, and we took the opportunity to do so.

A common question that has been received by RPG writers throughout L5R’s history (or at least the part of it that I’ve been around for anyway) is whether or not Advantages can be purchased after character creation. For the most part, the answer has usually been no except for special cases such as Multiple Schools, though optional rules for purchasing Advantages later on appeared in Second Edition.

When we were considering the issue for Third Edition, the team spent some time considering the issue. Why was it that an Advantage like Hands of Stone, which specifically states in its description that it is a trained martial art technique, could not be purchased after creation? Why couldn’t a character who aspires to develop devastating martial arts techniques learn the methods grant Hands of Stone? Frankly, it didn’t quite make sense. Third Edition allows for characters to purchase Advantages after character creation at the listed cost, but with certain restrictions.

Many Advantages now have the descriptors Granted or Inherent. Those with this descriptor are not eligible to be purchased after character creation without very specific conditions being met. If an Advantage is Granted, then it implies that the Advantage relies upon some outside force. A Granted Advantage specifically requires the character to meet the conditions listed in its description before it can be purchased. If a player wants to purchase Allies for his character, for example, then the character must have cultivated a relationship with the prospective Ally beforehand. Similarly, a character must be selected by his family or clan to bear a Sacred Weapon (such as the perennial fan favorites Kakita Blade and Kaiu Blade) before the player can purchase the Advantage. Simply paying the points does not cause a character’s daimyo to mystically appear and reward them with a rare and powerful weapon! A new character who purchases Granted Advantages is assumed to have fulfilled the requirements as part of his back story.

While it is difficult to acquire Granted Advantages after character creation, it is still possible. The other new Advantage descriptor, Inherent, denotes those Advantages that cannot be purchased after creation. These Advantages represent innate physical or mental abilities that cannot be learned or taught, and as such they are unavailable for purchase. The sole exception to this, of course, lies with the GM, who can assign any Advantage or Disadvantage he or she feels appropriate without any Experience Point expenditure.

Here are a few examples of Granted and Inherent Advantages:

Dangerous Beauty [Inherent] (2 points)
Something makes you irresistible to members of the opposite sex. You gain two additional rolled dice on any Deceit roll made against someone of the opposite sex. Scorpion characters may purchase this Advantage for 1 point.

Imperial Spouse [Granted] (3 points)
Through political wrangling, you have been married to a member of the Otomo, Miya, or Seppun families. Although your spouse now bears your name, your connections to his or her previous family afford you considerable benefits. When major news form the Imperial Court becomes available, you are among the first to hear. You may receive more koku than normal in your annual stipend. You also receive a Free Raise in social interactions with members of the Imperial families.

Another existing problem that has plagued the Advantage system in L5R is one that involves item-based entries. In essence, the process of spending points on purchasing an item means that a character has fewer points to spend on their Skills and Traits. This ultimately had the ironic result that slower, duller, less skilled individuals were apparently entrusted with the most powerful items in Rokugan, which violates several basic principles of logic and common sense. For example, if a character spent all their starting Character Points on purchasing the Inheritance Advantage, they could conceivable begin with a very powerful nemuranai that would be highly treasured by their clan. That character would have no points left over to sharpen his beginning Skills or Traits, which beggars the question of why his clan entrusted such a valuable item to such an incompetent character.

How could we address this problem? We certainly couldn’t eliminate such Advantages altogether, as items such as such Advantages are traditionally among the most popular. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game at a convention that didn’t have at least one person carrying a Kakita or Kaiu blade. Instead, we’ve changed the benefits of these Advantages so that they grant a permanent benefit to their user in addition to a physical item. Your character was granted a Kakita Blade because he is something special – and the Advantage now represents that accordingly.

Here is a perfect example of how things have changed: the Third Edition version of Inheritance:

Inheritance [Granted] (8 points)
Upon reaching your gempukku, you were honored by your family with an item once possessed by your revered ancestors. This item is sacred to you, and you will die before you allow dishonor to come to it. Whether a weapon or an object, you roll 1 additional die when using the Skill that applies to this heirloom, and you gain a Free Raise when using any object of the same type in a non-combat situation due to your innate familiarity with such objects. Examples of Inheritances and the benefits they confer include:

As you can see from the description of Inheritance above, we’ve made a lot of changes to the old favorites in order to bring them in line with the changes made to the system overall. The goal is for each and every Advantage to function properly within the rules with a minimal amount of guesswork and book-keeping required. Third Edition will see the return of many fan favorites, all of which have been carefully evaluated and altered as necessary to fit in the overall paradigm for Third Edition. Here are some old favorites that you’ll probably recognize:

Benten’s Blessing [Granted] (3 points)
You have been noticed by one of the Seven Fortunes. Benten, the Fortune of Romantic Love, has graced you with her blessing. Whenever you are attempting to persuade someone, you keep one additional die (two dice if the person is attracted to you). Crane characters may purchase this Advantage for 2 points.

Black Sheep (-5 points)
For whatever reason, you family has all but cast you out. You are not ronin and you retain your family name, but just barely. You may use the Allies Advantage to purchase friendly ties to your family, but otherwise you’re effectively on your own. You cannot advance in your School without great effort to find a willing teacher, and most things Clan samurai take for granted are impossible for you.

Brash (-2 points)
You are exceptionally hot-headed and likely to answer any insult with steel. You must make an Honor roll at TN 30 to keep control of your emotions when insulted. This Disadvantage is worth 3 points for Crab characters.

In addition to the old favorites, you’ll find new entries in the Third Edition Advantage list. We have incorporated many popular entries from previous works and created a few new ones to fill niches that were left empty when we finished culling the herd. The extensive new list of combat options was too tempting to pass up as options. Clear Thinker has been changed to make a character more resistant to Feints, and the Advantage Wary makes it more difficult to use the disarm maneuver on characters. Fleet replaces many Techniques that were previously squandered on movement abilities, notable in the Hiruma and Miya Schools, and Languages can help a character better reflect a cosmopolitan background. Here are some examples of entries new to Third Edition:

Fleet (2-6 points)
You are as swift as the wind. You may move an additional 10’ per round above the normal Water x 10’ per round for every level you possess of this Advantage. This Advantage costs 1 less point for Miya and Hiruma characters (they still gain the full movement benefit).

Hostage (-2 points)
A common practice to ensure the observance of a disputed treaty is for one or both of the samurai involved to exchange hostages. Often, these hostages are second sons or daughters, and they are raised in their new homes as honored guests of the host Clan. You may take the Different School and Multiple Schools Advantages for one fewer point apiece, so long as you attend a school of your host Clan. Your captors treat you with hospitality and respect and may even allow you to leave their lands, so long as you do not venture too far beyond their grasp and do not return to your homeland without an escort. If war begins between your clan and your captors, your life is forfeit (thus it is in your best interest to promote peace).

Rumormonger (-4 points)
Others come to you to share thoughts and feelings they wouldn’t dream of telling someone else. You are considered a good listener, which means you hear lots of interesting stories… and you don’t mind repeating them. In order to avoid spreading secrets when given the chance, you must succeed at a Willpower roll with a TN equal to 5 times the Glory of the character with the highest Glory involved. This Disadvantage is worth 5 points for Crane characters.

Hopefully you’ll find the information above as exciting as the writing team and playtest teams found it for Third Edition. As a lovely parting gift, here’s a list of the Advantages and Disadvantages you can find fully detailed in the Third Edition rulebook.

Advantages

• Absolute Directon
• Allies
• Ambidextrous
• Balance
• Benten’s Blessing
• Bishamon’s Blessing
• Blackmail
• Bland
• Blessing of the Elements
• Chosen by the Oracles
• Clear Thinker
• Combat Reflexes
• Crab Hands
• Crafty
• Daikoku’s Blessing
• Dangerous Beauty
• Daredevil
• Death Trance
• Different School
• Ebisu’s Blessing
• Fleet
• Forbidden Knowledge
• Friendly Kami
• Friend of the Elements
• Fukurokujin’s Blessing
• Gaijin Gear
• Great Destiny
• Great Potential
• Hands of Stone
• Heart of Vengance
• Heartless
• Higher Purpose
• Hotei’s Blessing
• Imperial Spouse
• Inheritance
• Inner Gift
• Irreproachable
• Ishiken-do
• Jurojin’s Blessing
• Kharmic Tie
• Languages
• Large
• Leadership
• Luck
• Magic Resistance
• Multiple Schools
• Perceived Honor
• Precise Memory
• Quick
• Quick Healer
• Read Lips
• Sacred Weapon
• Sage
• Servant
• Social Position
• Strength of the Earth
• Tactician
• Voice
• Wary
• Way of the Land
• Wealthy

Disadvantages

• Antisocial
• Ascetic
• Bad Fortune
• Bad Health
• Bad Reputation
• Bad Sight
• Benten’s Curse
• Bitter Betrothal
• Black Sheep
• Brash
• Can’t Lie
• Cast Out
• Compulsion
• Contrary
• Coward
• Cruel
• Dark Fate
• Dark Secret
• Deathseeker
• Dependant
• Doubt
• Driven
• Elemental Imbalance
• Epilepsy
• Fascination
• Forced Retirement
• Forsaken
• Frail Mind
• Gaijin Name
• Greedy
• Gullible
• Haunted
• Hostage
• Idealistic
• Insensitive
• Jealousy
• Lame
• Lechery
• Lost Love
• Low Pain Threshold
• Meddler
• Missing Eye
• Missing Limb
• Momoku
• Nemesis
• Obligation
• Overconfident
• Permanent Wound
• Phobia
• Rumormonger
• Shadowlands Taint
• Small
• Social Disadvantage
• Soft-hearted
• Spoiled
• Sworn Enemy
• True Love
• Unlucky
• Weakness
• Wrath of the Kami

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