Roleplaying game

16
Chapter 1: Playing the Game
Chapter 1: Playing the Game
Checks to Resist Effects
While most checks targeting other characters are made against static 
values (such as the target’s vigilance), some are opposed by an opponent’s 
more active efforts. When a character succeeds at a check to resist an 
effect (whether the effect comes from a check or another source), they 
avoid the ill effects they would otherwise have suffered.
For instance, if one character succeeded at a check to hurl an opponent 
off a parapet, the target would get a chance to resist with a skill check 
using an elemental approach based on their chosen method of resistance. 
If the target succeeds on the check to resist, they are able to avoid being 
thrown off the parapet.
When setting the TN for a check to resist the effects of another check, 
if the effect does not have a listed TN, the GM should come up with a 
TN for the check to resist. If they want to take the other character’s effort 
into account, they can use the bonus successes of the acting character to 
modify the resisting character’s TN.
Competitive Checks
If the GM needs to compare the performance of two or more characters 
on similar checks where neither is clearly resisting the other, each char-
acter’s bonus successes (or the amount by which the character fell short) 
provide this information. The character with the most bonus successes 
(or smallest shortfall, if all failed) performed the task best, most quickly, 
or most efficiently (or least badly, in the case of failure).
For example, if two characters are engaged in a footrace and both suc-
ceed on their check, the one with more bonus successes finishes first. If 
two characters are preparing poems for a poetry contest but both fail, the 
character with a smaller shortfall on their check writes the less embar-
rassing of the two bad poems.
Scaling Opportunity Abilities
A character can only resolve a given opportunity once per check, but 
many Opportunity abilities can scale for effect. If an effect reads “+” in 
the cost to activate it, the character may spend 1 or more  when activat-
ing this ability. These abilities provide a single scaling effect based on the 
number of  spent, specified within the text of the ability.
Simultaneous Dice Modification
Some effects modify rolled dice, such as by rerolling them or altering 
them after they have been rolled (or rerolled).
If two or more effects would cause a die to be rerolled (or altered), the 
player whose character made the check performs their rerolls (or altera-
tions) after the GM and any other players have resolved their effects. If a 
single player controls multiple such effects, that player chooses the order 
in which they resolve.
Strife and Composure
Rokugani ideals state that samurai are to maintain proper decorum at all 
times, keeping their emotions under a tight leash in almost all situations. 
However, achieving this ideal would hardly be a worthy accomplishment 
if the world did not heap challenges, joys, frustrations, and sorrows upon 
every soul. Even those raised under the strictest standards of emotional 
self-control or committed to finding spiritual peace risk cracking from time 
to time under the pressures of rule, courtly life, love, or warfare.
Accumulating Strife
Strife is in all things, and therefore a common result on both Skill dice 
and Ring dice is a face containing  . When kept dice contain  
results, the character suffers strife as a cost of their effort. This mental, 
emotional, and spiritual turbulence can reflect run-of-the-mill frustra-
tion, the joy of a challenge, old sorrows dredged up by the present situa-
tion, fear, shame, rage, passion, hope, the thrill of victory, deep ambiva-
lence, or any number of other feelings that heighten the character’s emo-
tional state. If the check is a crucial one for the character, the GM should 
ask the player to narrate the emotions stirring in the character’s heart. For 
checks with lower emotional stakes, the GM should consider whether or 
not it is worthwhile to go into detail on the strife the character is suffer-
ing, as too much lengthy narration of inner turmoil can bog down play.
Characters can also acquire strife for other reasons, such as facing their 
Anxieties (see page 60), neglecting their Ninjō (see page 22) or Giri 
(see page 24), being affected by abilities used by other characters, and 
for narrative reasons. Players should feel free to suggest times that their 
characters should suffer strife to the GM, and the GM can inflict strife on 
characters as circumstances dictate.
Players are responsible for tracking how much strife their characters 
have accrued. The GM should track strife for NPCs, though some NPCs 
use simplified rules for strife.
Composure
Each player character has a composure value, which represents the 
character’s ability to withstand strife. As a character’s strife approaches 
that character’s composure, they move toward an emotional tipping 
point, at which the character must express their feelings in one way or 
another. This can come in the form of a minor slip-up or a major public 
scene, depending on what the player feels is appropriate for their charac-
ter in that moment. Collectively, these moments in which the character’s 
outward mask drops are referred to as outbursts—though some are 
subtle but meaningful expressions of vulnerability while others are major 
breaches of social protocol.
Outbursts
Although specifics vary by region and tradition, Rokugani culture at large 
idealizes a samurai who maintains a stoic outward demeanor. However, 
the truth of the matter is that no individual upholds this ideal perfectly 
all the time. In fact, important moments in a character’s life often revolve 
around the incidents in which they let their mask slip, even briefly. Some-
times, this bared emotion even allows the character to transgress societal 
norms for an advantage or surpass their own limitations to pursue a goal 
they otherwise could not.
The first time a character’s strife exceeds their composure each 
scene, the upswell of emotion causes the character to have an outburst. 
Importantly, the player does not lose control of their character during an 
Universal Tiebreaker
Many effects stipulate a tiebreak mechanism (such as higher honor, 
lower honor, higher focus, etc.), but some effects do not specify 
a means of breaking the stalemate if these values are tied as well. 
While sometimes a draw is possible, at other times, effects require 
an additional level of tiebreaking beyond what is provided to re-
solve properly. In these cases, the GM should have PCs supersede 
NPCs and Adversary NPCs supersede Minion NPCs. If there is 
still a tie, the GM should determine a random means of resolving 
it (such as flipping a coin, or having the participating parties play 
rock-paper-scissors).

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