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Recently, I had a conversation in the Rokugan discord about taking more rules from L5R 5e to use with 4e, specifically Strife. I always liked this mechanic from 5e and have used it in 4e with mixed success once or twice.
Here’s my latest attempt at making it work in a satisfactory way. Soon, I intend to playtest these rules with my own group. When I do that, I’ll post an addendum with the results and an example of play using our experiences here.
Here’s a Player Reference Sheet to help you and your group with the rules presented in this article.
STRIFE, COMPOSURE AND THE COMPROMISED CONDITION
Strife is the turbulence of emotions, good or bad, deep in the chest of a character. Samurai are supposed to be stoic and present an unblemished face to society, outpours of emotions are seen as shameful and have to be kept under control, bottled, suppressed… Of course, samurai are only human, and keeping a lid on all of your emotions like that can cause several problems.
A character can “safely” accumulate a number of points of Strife equal to their Willpower + Awareness + Insight Rank. This pool is their Composure, how much the character can keep their emotions in check. Once a character has more Strife than their Composure, they become Compromised and cannot explode dice or spend Void Points anymore. The character is so overwhelmed by their emotions that they’re barely able to function properly and can’t find their Center.
Removing Strife and Unmasking
There are several ways of removing Strife, many of them taking time. The first way is at the end of a scene: every character with more Strife than half their Composure reduces it to half their Composure, rounded down.
The second way is through the pursuit of passions, relaxation and pleasures the character enjoys. Every scene the character spends doing something like this removes 2 Strife points automatically. Using this method should take several hours to a full day of relaxing activities. A new kind of Advantage called “Passion” could improve this effect and will be described later in this article.
The third way involves a Meditation (Still Mind*) or Tea Ceremony (Relaxation*) skill roll. Using these skills for this effect does not recover Void Points. Instead, a success against TN 15 removes a number of Strife points equal to the PC’s Void Ring plus half their skill level (rounded down), with additional Strife removed for raises called. The participants of a Tea Ceremony use the Void Ring of the host of the ceremony.
*These are new emphases created for this use of these skills. See the last section of this document for the modifications done to these skills in full.
The last way of removing Strife is the most dramatic: Unmasking. When you do this, at the beginning or end of your turn, you let those emotions burst forth unchecked. The full effects of Unmasking will always involve the loss of Honor or Glory, depending on the situation, and exposing a vulnerability in exchange to fully removing all points of Strife accumulated by the character up to that point.
Unmasking at court will make the character lose a number of points of Glory and Honor equal to double the Status of the host or the most important guest at that court. In addition to that, the character must immediately remove themselves from the scene and is considered “defeated” in whatever social conflict they might be participating in at that moment.
Alternatively, an Unmasking character can escalate the situation. This will be discussed further below.
Unmasking during combat is more acceptable: the character loses no Glory and only -0.3 points of Honor. On the other hand, it might prove lethal. The character immediately shows an opening that can be exploited by their enemies: their ATN is reduced by -20 until the start of their next round.
It’s important to note that the narrative of how the character is unmasking is completely under control of the player. They can choose to scream in rage, cry in despair, loudly declare their love and kiss their paramour… Whatever it is, as long as it’s dramatic, public and shameful to the eyes of the samurai of Rokugan.
Accumulating Strife
There are a few ways of accumulating Strife during a game session. One of them is being targeted by the Incite maneuver, described later in this document. Another is by having contact with a new kind of Disadvantage called “Anxiety”, also explained later.
The GM could also inflict Strife on characters for general situations, like seeing a Shadowlands Demon for the first time or receiving a love letter from your True Love. Remember: Strife is meant to represent GOOD emotions as well. The amount of Strife received in situations like this should be mostly in the range of 1 to 3, or equal to a creature’s Fear score, if they have one.
Finally, one of the most recurrent methods of receiving Strife is keeping a Stress Die in a roll.
STRESS DICE
Stress dice represents the tension inherent in performing actions that can result in failure. When using these rules, before making a roll, designate one rolled die as a Stress Die. I recommend using a different-colored die to represent this.
If the character keeps a Stress Die when determining the result of their roll, they suffer 1 point of Strife, plus another point of Strife for each explosion that die rolled.
For every full 3 points of Strife a character has, another one of their dice is changed into a Stress Die. So for example, when a character with 5 Strife makes a roll, they’ll change 2 of their dice into Stress Dice: 1 for the basic Stress Die everyone always has, plus 1 for the first three points of Strife they have. The fourth and fifth points of Strife are ignored.
The two bonus dice given by the Full Attack Combat Stance are always considered Stress Dice.
ESCALATING A SITUATION
A court in Rokugan is never a simple social gathering. Behind the masks of Honor and propriety, the smiles and folding fans of courtiers, there's always the subtle threat of violence. Duelists come to court with honed blades, knowing they can be called on a moment's notice to prove the Honor of their household and righteousness of their objectives with blood.
The rules in this section are particularly untested. Only use it if you want a pretty complex “social combat” scene and everybody is willing to put the work into making the situation pop. Also, as a GM, I recommend only using these particular rules if you’re adept at using a PC to run the game and, specially, excel or other spreadsheet program designed to facilitate these things.
Whenever there's a court scene in which the PCs have an objective at stake, count the amount of Strife amongst all players and their rivals in that scene. This amount is the Heat in the scene.
Whenever a scene has less than 15 Heat, it is Calm. Negotiation proceeds carefully, arguments are presented and counterarguments are respectful and logical. Characters in Water Stance have +1k0 bonus to their social rolls in this situation.
When a scene has more than 15 Heat, it becomes Intense. Discussion is heated, caustic words start to be thrown around and there’s an edge of disrespect amongst the delegations. Everyone involved in the scene has one of their dice turned into a Stress Die.
When a scene has more than 30 Heat in it, it becomes a Shouting Match. Everyone involved suffers a Major Breach of Etiquette immediately and every roll made in the Fire or Earth Stances receives a bonus of +1k0 as Stress Dice. Additionally, everyone involved in the scene has one of their dice turned into a Stress Die, cumulative with the previous escalation.
Whenever a scene hits 50 Heat or once the first character Unmasks during a Shouting Match, things get serious. The situation can only be resolved through a Duel to First Blood now. One courtier per side of the issue makes a final resisted roll of Courtier (Manipulation) to set general terms of the duel.
The winning side can set the location and moment of the duel, up to the next day. One raise can extend the deadline for the duel to happen by one week. Four raises can be called to walk back the challenge entirely or to make the situation even worse, turning it into a Duel to the Death.
Characters don’t know the general Heat of the scene, but the Escalation Level is clear by the way everyone is acting.
NEW SOCIAL STANCES AND MANEUVERS
Just like Combat Stances and Maneuvers, these can be used during a social scene to represent a method of acting or to manipulate the situation in some way by calling Raises on your roll. These assume social conflict scenes using structured time, but no initiative, necessarily.
This article can be used as an inspiration for social conflicts using turns that can accept these stances and maneuvers easily.
Most of these interact with the Strife mechanic, but there are some that don’t and are presented here for completion’s sake.
Social Stances
Air Stance (Manipulative): You suffer a penalty of -1k0 to all your social rolls, but any opponent trying to target you with one of their actions must declare an extra Raise for no benefit.
Earth Stance (Resolute): You suffer a penalty of -2k1 to all your social rolls, but any opponent trying to target you with one of their actions must declare two extra Raises for no benefit and you ignore the first two Strife points you would receive each round.
Fire Stance (Inflammatory): You add +2k1 to your roll as Stress Dice, but automatically suffers a Minor Breach of Etiquette for your incisiveness and brash attitude. Opponents targeting you get a Free Raise to their actions until the start of your next round. You can’t use the Assist, Calming Breath or Gauge maneuvers when in this Stance.
Void Stance (Contemplative): You make no actions this round, but you remove one Strife, can’t have Strife inflicted on you this round and receive a bonus of +1k1 + your Void Ring on your next action.
Water Stance (Conciliatory): This is the standard social stance, with no benefits or penalties.
Social Maneuvers
These maneuvers can be used as their own action or as part of another action, usually by calling 1 or more raises on your test.
Assist (Complex Action: 0 Raises)
As your action for the round, you offer an ally an argument they might use, an insight about the opposition, or a novel idea to pursue. The next action of the character you target receives a bonus equal to your Skill + Trait that would be used for their action.
Calming Breath (Complex Action: 0+ Raises or Free Action: 1+ Raises)
As your action for the round, you can target a character that currently has more Strife than half their Composure and make an Etiquette (Conversation) / Awareness test against a TN equal to the target’s (Willpower*5)+(current Strife*2) to make them calm down and recover their focus, removing an amount of Strife from the target equal to your ranks in the Etiquette skill, plus the amount of raises called on this roll. You can target yourself with this maneuver, substituting the Etiquette roll for Meditation (Still Mind) / Willpower roll with the same TN.
Alternatively, you can use this maneuver as part of another action, removing only 1 Strife per raise called.
Deescalate (Complex Action: 0 Raises or Free Action: 1+ Raises)
As your action for the round, you can smooth things over and attempt to bring an air of relaxation and respect to the court, in order to bring a scene to a lower level of Heat. Make an Etiquette (Conversation or Courtesy), Sincerity (Honesty), Perform or another appropriate social skill roll against the current Heat of the scene. Success allows you to decrease the Heat of the scene by the level of the skill used plus the amount of raises called on the roll, without decreasing anyone’s Strife. This maneuver can only decrease the Heat of the scene up to the Strife of the characters involved.
Alternatively, you can use this maneuver as part of another action, decreasing Heat by 1 per raise called.
Escalate (Complex Action: 0 Raises or Free Action: 1+ Raises)
As your action for the round, you can throw around subtle insults, make comments on a rival’s spouse or other low-blows to make everyone more on edge, in order to escalate the scene to the next level of Heat. Make a Courtier (Manipulation), Intimidation (Bullying or Control), Temptation (Seduction) or another appropriate social skill roll against the current Heat of the scene. Success allows you to increase the Heat of the scene by the level of the skill used plus the amount of raises called on the roll, without increasing anyone’s Strife.
Alternatively, you can use this maneuver as part of another action, increasing Heat by 1 per raise called.
Expose (Complex Action: 0 Raises or Free Action: 2+ Raises)
As your action for the round, you can force a target to Unmask by making an Courtier (Manipulation), Intimidation (Bullying or Control), Temptation (Seduction) or another appropriate social skill roll against the target’s (Willpower*3)+(Etiquette*5)+(the target’s Honor Rank). Alternatively, you can attempt this social maneuver as part of another action by calling enough raises to clear the difficulty previously mentioned.
The opponent must be Compromised for this maneuver to work.
Gauge (Complex Action: 0 Raises or Free Action: 1+ Raises)
As your action for the round, you make an Investigation (Notice) / Awareness test against the target’s (Awareness*3)+(Etiquette*5) to find out one of the following options:
How much accumulated Strife they currently have and if they are Compromised;
Their Honor score if you roll Lore: Bushido (or Lore: Samurai if using these rules) instead of Investigation;
The character’s Social Power, or their Disposition towards one character of your choice, or one of their Virtues or Vices, if using these rules;
You can use this maneuver to assess the Heat of the scene, by rolling against the Heat of the scene as a TN.
Alternatively, you can use this maneuver as part of another action by calling enough raises to clear the difficulties previously mentioned.
Incite (Complex Action: 0+ Raises or Free Action: 1+ Raises)
As your action for the round, you make an Courtier (Manipulate), Intimidation (Bullying or Control), Temptation (Seduction) or another appropriate social skill roll against the target’s (Willpower*3)+(Etiquette*5) to inflict a number of Strife points on the opponent equal to the ranks of the skill used, plus the amount of raises called on this roll.
Alternatively, you can use this maneuver as part of another action, inflicting only 1 Strife per raise called.
Predict (Complex Action: 0 Raises or Free Action: 5 Raises)
You bait your opponent by signaling a rhetorical position you never intended to defend. By predicting their reaction, you leave them open to a decisive counterargument or force them to show their cards early. As your action for the round, you may secretly select Air, Earth, Fire, or Water and record it.
The next time your opponent chooses their Social Stance, you may reveal your selection; if it matches the stance they chose, your opponent receives 4 Strife and must choose a different stance.
Alternatively, you can use this maneuver as part of another action by calling 5 raises.
ADAPTING OTHER MECHANICS
Below are adaptations of mechanics already in the game to work with the Strife rules.
New Advantage Type: Passions (Mental)
You can turn any advantage already present in the game into a Passion by increasing its XP cost by 2, 4 or 6 points. Once per scene, when that advantage is activated, the character removes an amount of Strife equal to half the amount of points invested in this Passion.
For example, a character with a 2-points Passion version of the Prodigy advantage would remove 1 point of Strife from their sheet once per scene when asked to roll a test of one of their school skills. Another character with Dangerous Beauty advantage as a 6-points Passion would remove 3 points of Strife from their character sheet every time they use their beauty to seduce someone or get it to be recognized by others.
You can also make a skill or trait a Passion. For example, a character with Passion (Iaijutsu) 4 would immediately clear 2 points of Strife from their sheet every scene they needed to roll a Iaijutsu skill roll or were confronted with the possibility of having to duel.
Usually, each individual Passion can be activated only once per scene, unless some major shift in situation occurs. Adding 3 points to the cost of a Passion could also allow for it to be activated twice during a single scene.
New Disadvantage Type: Anxieties (Mental)
This works exactly like Passions, but having a value in XP equal to 1, 2 or 3 points and inflicting Strife to the character instead of clearing it.
For example, a character with 1 point Anxiety version of Bad Eyesight would suffer one point of Strife every time the GM asked for vision-related tests for the group or when they needed to make a ranged attack. Another character with Bitter Betrothal as a 3-point Anxiety would suffer 3 points of Strife every time they had a scene with their spouse, and so on.
As with passions, Anxieties also only activate once per scene, unless you get a more intense form of it, receiving 3 more points and allowing it to activate twice per scene.
Modified Advantage: Balance [Mental]
Add: "Additionally, increase your Composure by 2.”
Modified Advantage: Enlightened [Spiritual]
Add: “When you’re Compromised, you can still spend Void Points.”
Modified Advantage: Heartless [Mental]
Add: “You receive one less Strife from the previously mentioned uses of those skills.”
Modified Advantage: Irreproachable [Mental]
Add: “You receive one less Strife from Temptation skill uses.”
Modified Skill: Meditation (Void or Stamina)
Sub-Type:
None.
Emphases:
Fasting, Still Mind, Void Recovery.
Description:
A dutiful samurai is a spiritual soul. In order to fully embrace the code of Bushido, all samurai are expected to study the Tao of Shinsei and meditate upon its wisdom. In practice, of course, this is rarely the case among many martial families, but a surprising number of soldiers can often be found meditating in a shrine or temple to prepare themselves for war.
Meditation is the simplest means other than resting that you can recover spent Void Points. A Meditation (Void Recovery) roll versus TN 15 allows you to recover one Void Point with a half hour of uninterrupted meditation. The Still Mind emphasis, on the other hand, can be used in the same way to reduce the inner turmoil of a character instead, reducing the amount of Strife they have by their Void Ring plus half their level in this skill if they succeed. The Fasting emphasis allows you to make a Meditation / Stamina roll (TN 15, +1 Raise per additional day of fasting) to ignore the effects of going without food and water for the rest of the day.
Mastery Abilities:
Skill Rank 3: A successful Meditation Skill Roll restores up to 2 Void Points or removes an amount of Strife equal to your Void Ring plus your full level in this skill.
Skill Rank 5: The TN for all Meditation (Fasting) Skill Rolls is reduced by 5.
Skill Rank 7: A successful Meditation Skill Roll restores up to 3 Void Points or removes an amount of Strife equal to twice your Void Ring plus your full level in this skill. Alternatively, you can use both the Void Recovery and Still Mind emphases at the same time, with a single roll, restoring 1 Void Point and removing Strife equal to your Void Ring plus your full level in this skill simultaneously.
Raises:
2+ Raises to recover 1 additional Void Point or remove an additional amount of Strife equal to your Void Ring;
1+ Raises to ignore one additional day of fasting.
Modified Skill: Tea Ceremony (Void)
Sub-Type:
None.
Emphases:
Relaxing, Void Recovery.
Description:
The tea ceremony is an ancient and sacred tradition that was created in the Empire’s earliest days, ostensibly by Lady Doji herself. It is a ritual that is handed down from parent to child, often with as much weight and attention as the passing down of a family blade from one to another. In a formal tea ceremony, the individual conducting the ritual formally sets the table, prepares the tea, and pours it for all participants, who then consume it in unison, all in complete silence. The ceremony has great spiritual significance, and helps clear the mind for those involved.
When conducting a tea ceremony, you must make a Tea Ceremony (Void Recovery) TN 15, a success allows everybody participating to recover one Void Point. The Relaxing emphasis allows this skill to reduce the amount of Strife the participants have by an amount equal to your Void Ring plus half your level in this skill. Each two Raises allows for one additional Void Point recovered or reduction of Strife.
Mastery Abilities:
Skill Rank 3: A successful Tea Ceremony Skill Roll restores up to 2 Void Points or removes an amount of Strife equal to your Void Ring plus your full level in this skill.
Skill Rank 5: A second attempt to use this skill may be made without an increase in the original TN.
Skill Rank 7: A successful Tea Ceremony Skill Roll restores up to 3 Void Points or removes an amount of Strife equal to twice your Void Ring plus your full level in this skill. Alternatively, you can use both the Void Recovery and Relaxing emphases at the same time, with a single roll, both restoring 1 Void Point and removing Strife equal to your Void Ring plus your full level in this skill.
Raises:
2+ Raises to recover 1 additional Void Point or remove an additional amount of Strife equal to your Void Ring.
Modified Courtier Schools
Courtier Schools have their Composure increased by their School Rank. Below are some additional modifications for specific schools and paths.
Crab Clan - Yasuki Courtier School
Add the following to their Rank 2 technique: “You gain a Free Raise to use the Incite or Escalate social maneuver.”
Crab Clan - Severed Hand Alternate Path
Add the following to their technique: “Once per round, you ignore the first point of Strife inflicted on you by an opponent.”
Crane Clan - Doji Courtier School
Add the following to their Rank 2 technique: “During a social conflict, you can use your Cadence ability to deliver the Assist social maneuver to an ally as a Free Action.”
Crane Clan - Kakita Bushi School
Add the following to their Rank 3 technique: “During the Assessment Phase of a duel, you can call raises to use the Calming Breath social maneuver.”
Crane Clan - Doji Apologist Alternate Path
Their technique can smooth over the use of the Fire Social Stance once per day of court.
Add the following to their technique: “You gain a Free Raise to use the Deescalate social maneuver.”
Crane Clan - Kakita Jester Alternate Path
Add the following to their technique: “You gain a number of Free Raises to use the Expose social maneuver equal to your Insight Rank.”
Dragon Clan - Kitsuki Investigator School
Add the following to their Rank 2 technique: “You gain a number of Free Raises to use the Gauge social maneuver equal to your Ranks in this school.”
Dragon Clan - Mirumoto Bushi School
Add the following to their Rank 2 technique: “During the Assessment Phase of a duel, you can call raises to use the Gauge social maneuver.”
Dragon Clan - Kitsuki Debater Alternate Path
Add the following to their technique: “Once per day, when you successfully use this technique against a target, you can spend a Void Point to cause them to immediately suffer a number of points of Strife equal to your Insight Rank.”
Lion Clan - Ikoma Bard School
Add the following to their Rank 2 technique: “Once per day, you can ignore all the downsides of Unmasking. If you do so while arguing in favor of your clan, lord or companions, you can spend all your remaining Void Points to cause everyone who’s against you in the scene to suffer a number of points of Strife equal to your School Rank plus the number of Void Points spent in this way.”
Lion Clan - Ikoma Orator Alternate Path
Add the following to their technique: “You gain a Free Raise towards the use of the Calming Breath social maneuver.”
Mantis Clan - Yoritomo Courtier School
Add the following to their Rank 2 technique: “You gain a Free Raise to use the Incite and Escalate social maneuver.”
Mantis Clan - Yoritomo Emissaries Alternate Path
Add the following to their technique: “You gain a Free Raise towards the use of the Calming Breath social maneuver.”
Phoenix Clan - Asako Loremaster School
Add the following to their Rank 2 technique: “You can spend a Void Point to use the Predict social maneuver as a Free Action.”
Phoenix Clan - Asako Philosopher Alternate Path
Add the following to their technique: “You gain a Free Raise towards the use of the Calming Breath social maneuver.”
Scorpion Clan - Bayushi Courtier School
Add the following to their Rank 2 technique: “You gain a Free Raise to use the Incite social maneuver.”
Scorpion Clan - Scorpion Instigator Advanced School
When they spend Void Points to activate their rank 2 technique against someone using the Gauge social maneuver on them, they increase the TN of the test the TN must pass by +15.
Scorpion Clan - Bayushi Distracter Alternate Path
Add the following to their technique: “When the target of this technique fails a social roll because of it, they suffer an amount of Strife equal to your Intelligence Trait.”
Scorpion Clan - Saigo’s Blade Alternate Path
Add the following to their technique: “When you duel someone you previously intimidated, you can make raises on your Assessment roll to use the Incite maneuver on them. Doing so causes you a loss of -0,1 points of Honor per raise called this way.”
Scorpion Clan - Shosuro Defiler Alternate Path
Change the wording of their technique in the following way: “If you succeed in the roll, the target is humiliated and disgraced, losing a number of points of Honor and gaining a number of points of Infamy and Strife equal to your current Glory Rank.”
Unicorn Clan - Ide Emissary Courtier School
Add the following to their rank 2 technique: “When you successfully activate this technique, it counts as an automatic use of the Gauge social maneuver. You gain a Free Raise when using the Calming Breath social maneuver when targeting the opposite side of a social scene.”
Add the following to their rank 4 technique: “Once per day at court, when you use the Deescalate social maneuver, you automatically eliminate 1 Strife from everyone in the scene.”
Unicorn Clan - Calm Heart Duelist Alternate Path
Add the following to their technique: “When you duel someone you don’t intend to kill, during the Assessment Phase of the duel, you can call raises to use the Calming Breath social maneuver.”
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