My only thought would be the engravings on the blade would match the Chosokate clan's mon (of which I can provide a design later tonight if you wish), with the Kaijustu mon antecediary to it (more prominent on the blade). Beyond that, you may run with it as much as you please.
It's under Handle Animal- the attack command:
Attack (DC 20): The animal attacks apparent enemies. You may point to a particular creature that you wish the animal to attack, and it will comply if able. Normally, an animal will attack only humanoids, monstrous humanoids, giants, or other animals. Teaching an animal to attack all creatures (including such unnatural creatures as undead and aberrations) counts as two tricks.
It applies to animal companions too for sure (as animal companions have to be controlled through tricks). The rule might not apply if they have 3 int, though I can't back that up with a quote right now.
Would you like me to design the Kaijutsu mon as well? I had something in mind.
It's up to you, but personally I'm more for fun than I am for realism. It makes perfect sense that Garand's buddy wouldn't be want to attack undead or aberrations but it does seem to make the little guy a bit less useful and forcing him to fill two of his limited tricks with overcoming that fear seems a little harsh to me. From what I've heard, druids can be very powerful on the other hand, but I'm not too concerned about it at this point since it seems like Garand has had to sit on the sidelines more than the rest of us. I'm all for what you and Set come up with.
That's a problem for all spellcasters at low level though James. Sorin especially, since he does all his casting right now pre-combat.
I'm ok with Garand's bear attacking unnatural creatures earlier than normal. Druids do get powerful, but it will be a long, long time before Garand can really buff the bear up and make it a really powerful beast. It takes quite a few spell slots to do it. He's also responsible for healing us, which further depletes his spell slots until we can afford potions, scrolls, wands. So shouldn't be too much of a problem.
I'm not sure what the Kaijutsu mon would look like. I can look it up and play around with it. Does it have Ameiko's family symbol in the book? If I had some idea of what the family symbol was based on, I'd maybe have an idea of what their mon might look like.
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Yeah, what James said, it's part of Handle Animal.
I can swap out the bears Track trick for the 'Attack weird stuff' trick, if that's acceptable with you, DW. With a Ranger in the party, we hardly need my bear to be able to track, after all.
I picked bear-shaman for thematic flavor, but the mechanics are just painful. Bears are smaller and weaker than wolves? The wolf companion ends up with a higher DPR than the bear? Ugh.
One of these days, I'm gonna learn my lesson and pick a more optimal animal companion, like a big cat, elk, roc or velocirator. Still, I'm pretty sure a dinosaur companion, A) wouldn't fit the Varisian setting, and B) wouldn't enjoy a trek across the icy Crown of the World. :)
A simple search for images with "family mon" gave out quite a lot of examples.
No real family theme for the Kaijutsu's that might influence their mon? I toss out some ideas once I take some time to look at designs.
Hey DW, I wanted to talk a little bit with you about stuff that would require knowing The Truth. Is there an email I could contact you at? It's about the clan designs and such.
And sent.
Hey guys,
Finished the designs, check them out. I really would like some feedback on them, including colour choice and such. Both designs are edited designs from real japanese mons (bonus points if you can name which.)
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Hey guys,
Finished the designs, check them out. I really would like some feedback on them, including colour choice and such. Both designs are edited designs from real japanese mons (bonus points if you can name which.)
The Kaijitsu mon seems appropriate and simple.
The Chosokate clan mon has a fractal / Penrose tile feel to it, which I like. Hundreds of cherry blossoms falling from the tree in the background, sort of motif, but focused on this one blossom. On this one, the yellow at the center clashes with the darker colors of the background and flowers, IMO. Making that yellow center red (preferably a darker red) might be better, at least to my color-blind and fashion-challenged eye. :)
I think you are right on the Chosokate clan mon. I would simply change the color to increase the contrast of the mon, and you will be good to go.
Nice mon, man.
CB: I am not sure if you have read up on the changes in Detect Magic/Identify/Spellcraft. I hadn't when I DMed a few months back and it caught me by surprise. Essentially it appears that Paizo wanted to eliminate the worthless magical item. Now a properly trained wizard can figure out what a magical item does so it can be utilized nearly immediately in the adventure without resorting to the old expensive Identify spell from 3.5.
While it initially took me aback...I actually really like the idea. It means that you can give your players items and see them get used rather quickly. For instance: low-level items like potions and wands can have an immediate impact on the flow of the story, rather than them sitting unused in a hero's inventory.
How well can you draw Izumi?
Maybe go with that crest for the Kaijutsu family, but I'd like to see Ameiko's crest more like this down the line.
http://heroesofrokugan.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Clan
http://www.dsfy.com/Crest_Family_Japanese_Heraldry.htm
A dragon formed into a circle kamon.
I like that detect magic also makes having a high Spellcraft mean something as well. So you use your detect magic and make a Spellcraft check to show your ability to analyze magical auras and magic items to figure out what they do. I like the magic/skill interaction. Seems more wizardly to me.
I'm actually a terrible drawer Raith, the only reason I can even work on the computer is the ctrl-z button. My main issue with the dragon symbol is just that traditionally, clan mons were either simple geometric shapes, or flower shapes of some kind (though of course, there are exceptions). Remember that alot of japanese were Zen Bhuddists, and preferred to see beauty in simplicity.
As far as the Chosokate clan emblem, the yellow at the center is the same yellow used on the Kaijitsu mon. I was trying to tie the two together. I even considered making the central flower the exact colour scheme of the Kaijitsu mon. (The symbolism there is that the Kaijitsu lords are surrounded and protected by their vassals). However, if you guys feel like the yellow really clashes, I will change it. I don't have a great eye for colour.
I wish we had more to go off of. I've read the synopsis of the Jade Regent because Iplan to run it for my local group after we finish Kingmaker and Carrion Crown, which is quite a ways off since we are nearing the end of KM and haven't even started CC.
The empire we're going to is referred to as the Dragon Empire. I figured that would be a suitable symbol for Ameiko's house. Then again I have no idea if the Kaijutsu family is even Ameiko's real family. For all I know about the module, she is adopted. Which is why I asked Dreaming Warforged for more information for the mon design.
I'll save the dragon mon for something else. I like the fierceness of an animal mon, but I'll also probably use it for my own samurai or ninja concept at a later time.
I've watched enough Japanese movies and read up on Japanese culture to get the whole natural beauty preference. The Shogun's mon was the Hollyhock. They used that mon in Lone Wolf and Cub. I also read how many samurai were into gardening, poetry, calligraphy, playing intruments, and the like near the end of the samurai era as well as swordsmanship. Heck, one swordsman intimidated Miyamato Musashi by being such a quality gardener as well as swordsman. He saw how careful the man was with his garden and knew he would be a similar swordsman.
But earlier in the feudal era, the samurai and Japanese society was as barbaric and vicious as western society. The cultured samurai was a later, romanticized version of the samurai much like the chivalric knight in France and England. Knights and Samurais were brutal men. I wasn't sure what part of the feudal era Tien Xa is in right now. I'll leave that up to Dreaming Warforged.
I'm fine with your idea for mon. I hadn't even thought about it prior to you mentioning it. Since you've put the work in, I'll leave it to you. If I get to make a mon for myself at some point, it will probably be a crane. Haha.
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How well can you draw Izumi?
Maybe go with that crest for the Kaijutsu family, but I'd like to see Ameiko's crest more like this down the line.
http://heroesofrokugan.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Clan
http://www.dsfy.com/Crest_Family_Japanese_Heraldry.htm
A dragon formed into a circle kamon.
If I cut and paste those links to a browser, they work fine, but clicking on them takes me to the Campaign page for this game.
Is that happening for others?
I probably formatted it incorrectly. My bad. It's doing the same for me.
** spoiler omitted **
Sounds good to me.
The Crane Tsuba looks pretty cool. If I have a house mon, that will most likely be mine. We'll see who wins Ameiko's hand, though Izumi has the inside track because he's such a charismatic guy. And we all know women love emotional men like Izumi. Haha. Raith's probably too gruff and simple for a complex woman like Ameiko.
That thing with the links happens alot on the Paizo boards. I think it has to do with the code the board uses.
DW, I've yet to hear your opinion on the emblems.
buncha stuff about Japanese culture, samurai, knights
I agree with you here, and alot of these themes are the kind of thing I'm exploring with Izumi. As most of you noted, Izumi has a very... naive and narrow view of honour, romanticizing battle and the samurai. One thing I hope to explore in the campaign is the meaning of honour from the perspective of someone with an ingrained notion.
I dunno how much of a chance Izumi has either. Girls swoon for the knight, true, but Ameiko is an independant woman, I can't imagine her falling for someone just cause they charge into battle for her. It's possible NEITHER of them will win Ameiko's hand. We're both lawful and she's chaotic after all.
That thing with the links happens alot on the Paizo boards. I think it has to do with the code the board uses.
DW, I've yet to hear your opinion on the emblems.
buncha stuff about Japanese culture, samurai, knights
I agree with you here, and alot of these themes are the kind of thing I'm exploring with Izumi. As most of you noted, Izumi has a very... naive and narrow view of honour, romanticizing battle and the samurai. One thing I hope to explore in the campaign is the meaning of honour from the perspective of someone with an ingrained notion.
I dunno how much of a chance Izumi has either. Girls swoon for the knight, true, but Ameiko is an independant woman, I can't imagine her falling for someone just cause they charge into battle for her. It's possible NEITHER of them will win Ameiko's hand. We're both lawful and she's chaotic after all.
We show back up to camp and she's in bed with Sorin. That's when we look at each other and go "Son of a b... She likes wizards.".
** spoiler omitted **
Sounds cool to me.
I hear wheels turning in your mind. Go with it.
Sorin secretly plans to ignore Ameiko. As they go forward working together day in and day out, this will quietly erode her sense of self worth until she is desperately throwing herself at Sorin.
If that doesn't work, Sorin is going to blow up the world.
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Sorin secretly plans to ignore Ameiko. As they go forward working together day in and day out, this will quietly erode her sense of self worth until she is desperately throwing herself at Sorin.
If that doesn't work, Sorin is going to blow up the world.
Heh. That was Garand's plan, too! (Well, not the blowing up the world part...)
Actually, of the four NPCs, I find Ameiko the least interesting.
Garand, not coincidentally, shares my view. Shalelu has the nature thing going on, Koya has the priestly / healer thing going on, and Sandru has the rebelling-against-his-family thing going on.
Ameiko has the 'stranger-in-a-strange-land' vibe, being as separated from her own people as Garand is estranged from his, but that won't last, as the plot of the AP involves her going home, from what I understand of it...
I already role-played a bunch with Shalelu in Rise of the Runelords. I thought I would go with someone knew. A small hot Asian woman inspires my imagination.
CB: Spellbook up and posted per your request. The forbidden schools were buried in the "Special Abilities" section...which I found to be kind of a pain to parse out, so I reposted them in the spellbook.
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Also: Dragon Tsuba search.
Ooh, pretty!
This one defies my expectations, and therefore intrigues me!
The dragon tsuba are very cool. I like those. Wish the katana was a monk weapon.
Also: Temple Sword. It's a monk weapon, and you could just SAY it's a katana. (It's close, but trades a threat range for trip quality, and loses the deadly quality for the monk quality). Still requires an exotic weapon prof feat to wield it properly.