The Shugenja from 3.0 Oriental Adventures and the d20 Rokugan Setting

[DungeonmasterCal]

Has anyone converted the Shugenja (divine caster) from either of these sources? They're essentially the same, with a few tweaks made for the Rokugan version.

Thanks.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Not to PF1 but I can try my hand at it if you'd like.
I'm always tempted to redo elemental focus into something more like the R&K versions they are based on.

Question is, do you want something that is a spontaneous caster like the current versions (a niche covered nicely by the oracle) or something more like the original mechanic, which is basically a divine Arcanist?

[DungeonmasterCal]

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

Not to PF1 but I can try my hand at it if you'd like.

I'm always tempted to redo elemental focus into something more like the R&K versions they are based on.

Question is, do you want something that is a spontaneous caster like the current versions (a niche covered nicely by the oracle) or something more like the original mechanic, which is basically a divine Arcanist?

I think something along the lines of the original mechanic, if it could be worked out.

[DungeonmasterCal]

Also, though I've gone into gaming dormancy, I'd still love to see what you come up with. And believe me, there is no hurry.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

At work converting, and so is my SO. These will be quite different than the OA versions and you will have two variants to choose from. Do you want to keep Void as a mechanic? Lots of the original techniques are based on Void and Rokugan d20 has Void use. OTOH, it isn't hard to change most of them to x/day abilities.

[DungeonmasterCal]

Keep Void, please! It's a flavor thing for the setting that hopefully I can finish putting together soon. And thank your SO for lending a hand for me, too!

[DungeonmasterCal]

After thinking about it, which method would be better for game play, in your opinion? Void spells or x/day abilities?

[ronald paris]

interesting nice to see some love for the shugenja and would love to see void points be updated

[DungeonmasterCal]

ronald paris wrote:

interesting nice to see some love for the shugenja and would love to see void points be updated

I had big plans for a Far Eastern style setting in our 33 year old homebrew, but my health has forced us to stop for an unknown amount of time. Bjørn and his partner are wonderful for working on this. I hope to call my brood back together sooner than later, and I wanted this class to be an option. I think it's a terrifically interesting class and would love to see it used.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

We are both hard at work and the more we do the more we see stuff that needs doing/we want to do. In both cases I think the basics are down and it's a matter of filling in the things that make it interesting. WE should have something workable in a couple of days.

If you are going to keep the Void mechanic in general, I would keep abilities that use Void. Especially if you keep the ability to regain Void points through meditation, tea ceremony, etc. My version of the shuggie will have both Void and non-Void options so you can choose.
One thing we did when running d20 Rokugan was give Void Use free to all characters, which brings it more in line with the intent of the original system.

[DungeonmasterCal]

Making it available to everyone is a good idea, as it was pretty important to the system as a whole.

[Zepheri]

How about using the mystery of the Oracle for the proposes of gaining elemental power. 5 path of mystery for the 5 elements. And take the elemental spell of the wizard as the bonus spell for the shugenja to take

Of course this mean that the class shugenja will be a hybrid class whit parent class Oracle/wizard

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

The way I'm doing things so far is that elemental focus is baked into the class and you choose a School, corresponding to the various shugenja Schools in R&K, and every few levels get to choose abilities inspired by the various Paths and Advanced Schools of the original. The hardest part in converting is that so much of it would end up being +1 caster level to X type spell, or +X to Y roll, which quickly gets a bit boring.

[Zepheri]

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

The way I'm doing things so far is that elemental focus is baked into the class and you choose a School, corresponding to the various shugenja Schools in R&K, and every few levels get to choose abilities inspired by the various Paths and Advanced Schools of the original. The hardest part in converting is that so much of it would end up being +1 caster level to X type spell, or +X to Y roll, which quickly gets a bit boring.

Well why don't use a daily limitation in how many times per day can use such ability

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Whew! I'd forgotten how much work trying to make a fully functional and interesting class is. This is very much a first draft, so there are errors here and there and probably some unbalanced stuff. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

A short list of changes from the shugenja class presented in OA/d20 Rokugan/Complete Divine
- spontaneous caster with spellbook
- fewer spells per day
- revamped Elemental Focus
- Schools with Techniques, analagous to Mysteries/revelations for Oracle
- revised spell list in line with Rokugan. Spells that do not fit in Rokugan, like those that bring the dead back to life, are removed. Spells from all the d20 Rokugan line are listed in the spell lists
- specifically Rokugani in flavor, with options for more generic d&d. It maintains the imbalance between Schools that exists in the original versions.

Conversion notes:
This version of the shugenja is heavily based on the original version found in the Legend of the Five Rings rpg, with most mechanics being adapted from the second, third and fourth editions. As such there most of the mechanics reflect the setting of Rokugan and may not work terribly well in more traditional D&D settings.
Settings without the kami elemental spirits might treat these as D&D elementals that give powers, refluffing the shugenja to be more akin to the Athasian elemental cleric.
In settings where Taint and blood magic/maho does not exist or not have the same role, you may replace Shadowlands creatures with undead and/or evil outsiders, Taint with evil alignment, and maho with evil and/or necromancy spells.
There were a number of Prestige classes in the various d20 Rokugan books, and most of these have been reduced to School Techniques.

Shugenja for Pathfinder

An update of the Rokugani shugenja to Pathfinder 1, done in a manner that is hopefully more true to the original than existing versions.
Shugenja are divine casters, praying to various spirits of the land, primarily elemental spirits, and calling on their aid. In Rokugan most shugenja are trained in Schools that belong to a particular Family in a particular Clan. The ability to communicate with the kami tends to run in the family, hence entire Families of shugenja with their own Schools and techniques, but more than one shugenja has come from an otherwise non-magical background.
There are certain small ronin shugenja schools but these are dismissed by samurai. Officially, there are no peasant shugenja in Rokugan. Unofficially, the kami care little for birth and many is the peasant or eta who has been able to communicate with the kami though without proper training or opportunity to explore their gifts they often do not develop much skill. Samurai try to find those gifted and adopt them into the Family.

Shungenja cannot learn Item Creation feats, with a few exceptions Shugenja are generally very wary of creating magical items. The idea of binding kami or forcibly awakening spirits of items is borderline blasphemous to them. Apart from creating magical arms and armor for their bushi allies, only the Asahina, Horiuchi and the Agasha (or Tamori) regularly make any magical items.
Many shugenja

Hit Dice: d6

Level BAB Fort Ref Will Abilities
1 +0 +0 +0 +2 Spellcasting, Ofuda, School, Elemental Focus
2 +1 +0 +0 +3 Importune
3 +1 +1 +1 +3 School technique
4 +2 +1 +1 +4
5 +2 +1 +1 +4
6 +3 +2 +2 +5
7 +3 +2 +2 +5 School technique
8 +4 +2 +2 +6
9 +4 +3 +3 +6
10 +5 +3 +3 +7
11 +5 +3 +3 +7 School technique
12 +6 +4 +4 +8
13 +6 +4 +4 +8
14 +7 +4 +4 +9
15 +7 +5 +5 +9 School technique
16 +8 +5 +5 +10
17 +8 +5 +5 +10
18 +9 +6 +6 +11
19 +9 +6 +6 +11 School technique
20 +10 +6 +6 +12 Master of Elements

Weapon and Armor proficiencies: The shugenja is not proficient with any armor. The shugenja is proficient with staves, wakizashi, and dagger.

Skills:
4 + Int
The shugenja has the following skills as class skills: Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (WIs), Knowledge (any), Perform (any) (Cha), profession (any), Spellcraft (Int

Spellcasting.
Shugenja are divine casters that say prayers to elemental spirits and receive spells in return. Like Wizards, Shugenja study and learn new spells to add to their reportoire in a sort of spellbook. Unlike Wizards, Shugenja are spontaneous casters and once they have learned a spell they may use spell slots of the appropriate level to cast them as they wish without having to prepare them in advance.

They learn spells by studying and learning new prayers and adding them to their reportoire in the same way Wizards learn spells. Shugenja usually get new spells in one of three ways: being given new ones from their masters, researching their own (see spell creation for Wizards), or, more rarely, finding them in their travels. Shugenja have no upper limit on the spells they may learn, but in practise they are rather limited by the time and money necessary to research spells and what is given to them by their masters. Shugenja may also share spells with each other, if so desired. All shugenja start with a number of spells granted by their school and the Commune with Elements spell.

Shugenja cast spells from the Shugenja spell list (see below). All shugenja start with Commune with Elements (Rokugan, p. 97) and Read Magic as an Innate Abilities (see School Techniques, below).

Learning spells in Rokugan
While there is nothing in game mechanics that prevents two shugenja from sharing spells, this is rarely done. There is a matter of pride and face, and indicating that you are lesser than someone you meet may be embarrassing, and indicating you are better than can lead to unfriendly relations. Sharing spells between clans is very rarely done. Even if a given spell is generally known to all Schools, any particular insistance of a spell is considered a Clan and School resource. Few want to give a potential rival an edge on them, and there is a general feeling that if a clan wants a shugenja to have a specific spell, they will give it to them. The one exception to this is the Kuni family, who will share the Jade Strike spell (and often other Jade spells) with any who ask and many who do not ask.

Shugenja use their Charisma as their casting ability.

Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 1 - - - - - - - -
2 2 - - - - - - - -
3 2 1 - - - - - - -
4 3 2 - - - - - - -
5 3 2 1 - - - - - -
6 4 3 2 - - - - - -
7 4 3 2 1 - - - - -
8 4 4 3 2 - - - - -
9 4 4 3 2 1 - - - -
10 4 4 4 3 2 - - - -
11 4 4 4 3 2 1 - - -
12 4 4 4 4 3 2 - - -
13 4 4 4 4 3 2 1 - -
14 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 - -
15 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 1 -
16 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 -
17 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 1
18 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 2
19 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3
20 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

Ofuda.
Shugenja record their prayers to the kami on holy texts called ofuda. When casting a spell the shugenja recites the prayer using the ofuda as something between a reusable spell scroll and a divine focus. If the ofuda is lost the shugenja also loses access to the spell on it and must reacquire it normally. Using the ofuda requires at least one hand to retrieve and unroll, and two hands to stow; this counts as the somatic components in the spellcasting.
Shugenja may learn a small number of spells innately, removing the need for an ofuda. See the Innate Spell Universal Technique below.

The cost of scribing a spell on an ofuda is twice that for a wizard to inscribe in a spell book. Ofuda are holy writ as well as mere magical instructions, and they often need to be made of solid material to stand repeated use in often hostile environments, such as combat.

Elemental Focus
There are four elements: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. A shugenja learns to call on one of these elements better than all the others, called Affinity, at the expense of being Deficient with another element, usually the opposing one. Affinity and Deficiency are determined by which School you belong to (see below). The fifth element, Void, is very rare and few can train them properly (see the Isawa Ishiken below).

Shugenja have a +1 caster level bonus to their elemental Affinity, and +4 bonus to learning spells belonging to their Affinity. Conversely, they suffer a -1 caster level penalty to spells from their Deficient element, a -4 penalty to learning such spells, and all spells belonging to to their deficient element must be learned as though they were one level higher. E.g. A 4th level shugeja with Fire Affinity and Water Deficiency would be treated as a 5th level caster of Fire spells for level dependent effects, but only 3rd level for Water spells, and must learn and cast Cure Light Wounds as a 2nd level spell. Even worse, they must spend two spell slots to cast spells of their Deficient element.

A small number of especially gifted shugenja may become ishiken, attuned to the Void. These are exclusively taught by the Isawa School and must take the Ishi-Ken feat at character creation.

Schools
Most shugenja belong to a tradition that teaches a particular way of entreating the kami, usually called a School, which grant a variety of abilities. Each school has an elemental Affinity and a Deficiency.

School Spells
Each school teaches its students certain spells, which they gain for free in addition to the normal spells they learn. These spells are gained at the level the shugenja is capable of casting them.

School Techniques
Schools teach a variety of abilities, called Techniques, to their members. Unless otherwise noted each Technique may only be chosen once. Ronin and certain minor clan shugenja not rich enough to wrangle a place in another clan's School will not belong to a specific school but may still learn Universal Techniques. Within Schools there are two special subsets, Paths and Dojos, that also grant Techniques but may have special entry requirements.

Paths
Paths can be considered sub-Schools focusing on a specific concept within the general philosophy taught by the School, such as . These are usually freely available to all members of the appropriate School but some have special requirements to enter, such as an invitation or a mechanical prerequisites, and all require GM permission. While many Paths can be learned by any Shugenja in the correct School, some few Paths are taught only at particular Dojo (see below). In general, once you have embarked upon a Path you cannot join another until you have learned all Techniques taught by the first Path.

Dojo
Many Schools also provide Dojo benefits. Whereas as School is a certain philosophy and techniques which may be taught any number of places, Dojo benefits are learned only at one location. A Dojo usually only teaches a single School, but some may teach more, including Paths, prestige classes, and .

A Shugenja gains their first School Technique at 1st level, which is common to all members of a particular school. At 3rd level and every 4th level thereafter they gain another School Technique which must be chosen from their School's list or from the list of Universal Techniques.

For a list of Schools and the Techniques they grant, see below.

Importune
Shugenja can attempt to call on the kami to grant them a spell they don't know. The kami are inhuman and without the proper prayer to guide them they may be fickle or misunderstand what the shugenja is asking of them. Successfully importuning the kami first requires a successful casting of Commune With Elements, then a Spellcraft check DC 15+2xspell level and costs double the normal spell slots. If successful, you can cast the spell. The kami require compensation for this aid beyond the extra spell slots. This usually means perfoming some task in compensation. The exact details are left up to the GM but as a generaly rule the greater the spell level, the greater the compensation expected. A 0th level spell might be as simple as moving a rock so the earth kami can get a more comfortable resting place or singing a song praising the air kami. A 9th level spell might require the building of a shrine to the kami that aided you. Obligations to the kami ought to be repaid as soon as reasonably possible, though the timing may be inconvenient for the shugenja - elemenetal spirits have a poor grasp of propriety and convenience though they understand immediate mortal peril. As a rule of thumb, a sacrifice of valuables up to 50 gp/spell level, or services rendered of equivalent value, is necessary to importune the kami.

Kami who are not properly compensated will avoid helping shugenja who cannot show proper gratitude. This may result in some spells becoming unavailable, Concentration or Spellcraft rolls required to cast spells at all, or in the worst case loss of all spellcasting abilities until the proper atonement is made.

Master of Elements
At 20th level the shugenja learns the truth of elements: that they are all basically one. They lose their Deficiency and gain Affinity with all elements. Formerly deficient spells they have learned have their effective spell level reduced so you may cast them with a lower level spell slot than they used to.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

....and as soon as I look over things I realize I've messed up the formatting.
Bleh. I'll get back to it, as well as the various Schools I'm working on. Hopefully the Kuni school will be nearly ready to critique.

[DungeonmasterCal]

This looks terrific, Bjørn! Thanks to you and your Significant Other for all of the work. I only just saw the post so my apologies for not getting back sooner. I'll take a better look at it tomorrow when I'm not nodding off from my pain meds.

Thanks, again!

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Double bleh! I just realized I posted the version I hadn't spellchecked.

Since I usually work in notepad and wordpad I didn't notice how big the file was getting. I moved it to a Googledoc to try to make things a bit easier for working on this thing while at work, and I realized it's at 61 pages and will get bigger. No wonder this was taking more time than I had expected.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

The first list of School Techniques. Universal ones which any Shugenja can pick.

Schools

The various shugenja Schools of Rokugan are collections of techniques and philosop

Universal Shugenja Techniques

Blessing of Air (Su)
You gain a +1 sacred bonus to all Charisma based rolls. As a move action you can spend a Void Point to gain a Deflection bonus to your AC equal to your Charisma modifier for 1 round.
Prerequisite: Air Affinity

Blessing of Earth (Su)
You gain a +1 sacred bonus to all Constitution-based rolls, including Fortitude saves. you may spend one Void Point to grant yourself temporary hit points equal to half your level+your Constitution modifier. These hit points last up to one hour.
Prerequisite: Earth Affinity

Blessing of Fire
You gain a +2 sacred bonus to all Intelligence based rolls and Reflex saves. When you spend a Void Point to enhance a ranged attack roll, you add 2+your Dexterity modifier to the damage roll.
Prerequisite: Fire Affinity

Blessing of Void (Su)
Your maximum Void Points increase by +4
Prerequisite: Ishiken-do feat

Blessing of Water (Su)
you gain a +1 sacred bonus to all Wisdom based rolls and Will saves. You may spend 1 Void Point to increase your speed by 5 for one hour.
Prerequisite: Water Affinity

Elemental Insight (Ex)
Choose one of the following:
- you learn one spell of your Affinity of any level you can cast
- you learn two spells of your affinity up to one level lower than the highest you can cast
- you learn one spell of any other element you can cast up o one level lower than the highest
you can cast.
These spells must be legal choices, and you gain the ofuda necessary to cast them without having to spend time or money on them.

Elemental Versatility (Ex)
Spells from your deficient element do not cost double spell slots to cast. They still suffer from the penalty to caster level and level to learn.

Friendly Kami (Su)
One kami of the element of your affinity has grown very fond of you and follows you around. Once per day you may spend a Void Point to cast a spell of that element without a spending spell slot. You may Importune this kami with a +5 bonus to your roll.
You must stay on friendly terms with this kami, and at least once per week perform some favor for it (DM's discretion).

Innate Spells (Ex)
You learn three spells as innate abilities and can cast them without an ofuda, removing the need for a divine focus. Casting time is unchanged if you perform a minor ritual (somatic components), or increased to 1 round if you cast without somatic components.
This Technique may be learned multiple times.

Metamagic Feat (Ex)
Choose one Metamagic feat you qualify for.

Multi-Element Mastery
You may learn and cast Multi-element spells (see Way of the Shugenja) as though they were part of your Affinity so long as one of the constituent elements is your Affinity.
Normal: Multi-element spells are learned

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

KUNI SCHOOL
The Kuni school of the Crab clan has one job: destroy Tainted creatures. They are experts at dealing damage to unholy beings and enhancing the resiliency of their fellow Crab. Though focused on Earth, Kuni value both Water for its ability to heal the many wounds of their fellows, and Fire to give even more options for killing the Enemy. Few like to spend time with them but there is no one you would rather have at your side when the hordes of supernatural evil attack.

Non-Rokugani Kuni: The Kuni school specializes in destroying evil outsiders and undead. Their members are famous for their garish face-paint and dour demeanors.
Affinity: Earth - The Kuni value endurance and purity above all other things.
Deficiency: Air - The Kuni have little patience for flighty and unclear things.

Spells taught by the Kuni School
0 - Resistance
1- Jade Strike
2 - Tetsubo of Earth
3 - Magic Circle Against Taint
4 - Dismissal
5 - Dispel Taint
6 - Banishment
7 - Tomb of Jade
8 - Binding
9 - Imprisonment

At 1st level the Kuni Shugenja gains the following technique.
Gaze into the Shadow (Su)
You gain +1 caster level on all spells you cast that specifically affect Shadowlands targets.
You learn Jade Strike as an Innate Spell.

Kuni Techniques

Bound by the World (Su)
You may sacrifice an extra spell slot of 3rd level or higher when casting Magic Circle Against Taint and increase the casting time to one hour in order to make the Circle a trap. It lies dormant for any amount of time until an oni enters the area of effect, at which point it activates, trapping the oni inside. In order to escape the trapped oni must make a Will save against the magic Circle, with the DC increased by the level of the spell slot sacrificed. The trapped oni may attempt a new save every hour. While the Circle is in existence, whether it has been triggered or not, you cannot regain the spell slots used to cast and enhance the Circle. You can dismiss the spell as a standard action regardless of the distance. If you die before the trap is triggered the spell ends.

Glory of Jade (Su)
When casting a spell you may spend a Void point to more easily enhance any spell that specifically damages Tainted beings. When you metamagically enhance you may choose to either not increase the casting time, or reduce the level increase by 1.

Jade Fire (Ex)
You may sacrifice a finger of jade when casting a spell in order to increase spell penetration and spell DC by +5 against affected oni.

Points of Weakness (Ex)
When facing Tainted opponents, your spells that require attack rolls to hit (e.g. Searing Light or Tetsubo of Earth), have their critical threat range increased by 1 and you gain +4 to confirm critical hits.

Purge the Darkness (Su)
You may make a Perception check against the Stealth of Invisible or Incorporeal spirits in order to notice their presence. They do not gain the normal bonus to Stealth from being invisible.
Requirements: You must belong to the Toritaka Family.
Requirement: Toritaka Traditions

Purity of Jade (Su)
All spells that specifically target and damage Tainted creatures gain a +1 bonus to damage per damage die.

Strength of Jade (Su)
You gain a +4 bonus on all saves to resist gaining Taint. This stacks with other abilities that grant a similar bonus.

Strike of Purity (Su)
When you use Taint Binding, affected creatures who fail the Will save take 6d6 points of damage. Those who succeed are still driven off.
Requirements: You must be at least 10th level to learn this Technique, and have learned the Taint Binding Technique

Taint Binding (Su)
You may present a piece of jade or crystal and spend a spell slot as a full-round action to drive off Tainted beings. Any Shadowlands creature within 20' must make a Will save DC 10+1/2 your shugenja level + level of slot expended or flee panicked for one minute.

Toritaka Traditions
When the Falcon clan was absorbed into the Crab, their small shugenja tradition was subsumed by the Kuni, to the benefit of both. While the few shugenja the Toritaka produce now train in the Kuni School they have maintained enough of their ancient ways that they alter the basic Kuni training somewhat. Toritaka shugenja have Fire Deficiency instead of Air. You may spend a Void point to gain the level bonus from Gaze into the Shadow on spells affecting any spirit from a Realm other than the Realm of Mortals.
Requirement: Must be a member of the Toritaka Family.

Toritaka Exorcist
As a Full-round action you can attempt to exorcize a possessing spirit from a creature. You must spend a spell slot and the target makes a Will save as if the slot were used to cast an Earth spell of the appropriate level. If successful, driven out and cannot reposses victim for 24 hours.
Requirement: You must have the Toritaka Traditions Technique .

Track the Darkness (Ex)
You may use Knowledge (Shadowlands) in place of Survival to track Shadowlands creatures, and gain a +2 bonus on such rolls.

KUNI PATHS

Crystal Master Path
Some few Kuni learn the deeper secrets of mystic crystal found in certain special places in the empire. The crystal not only functions as jade against Tainted creatures, it also has powerful effects against creatures of the Nothing. In order to learn this Path a shugenja must first acquire a piece of mystic crystal, then turn it into Kuni crystal with the Crystal Awakening spell, then convince one of the rare masters of the Path to teach them. Kuni Crystal and the spell Crystal Awakening are detailed in Secrets of the Crab.

Binding Adept (Ex)
You may use crystal focus to gain one the following benefits:
- your your binding spells gain a +1 bonus to their DC
- Your attempts to use Taint Binding have their DC increased by +2
- you may double the duration of binding spells.
The crystal used as a focus must have a level of at least half the spell you attempt to enhance.

Bonds of Purity (Su)
You may spend 2 Void Points when casting binding spells with a Duration of 1 round or greater to become Permanent (D)
Requirement: Level 10 or higher

Crystal Fury (Su)
By focusing the kami through Kuni crystal you can drastically increase the strength of your spells. Twice per day when casting a damaging, binding or any Crystal Wisdom (see below) spell on a Shadowlands target, you may use a Kuni crystal as additional focus to gain a bonus to your caster level of +1/crystal level.
ALT: You may spend a Void point when casting a damaging, binding or any Crystal Wisdom (see below) spell on a Shadowlands target, you may use a Kuni crystal as additional focus to gain a bonus to your caster level of +1/crystal level.

Crystal Wisdom (Ex)
You learn new ways of entreating the kami. You may learn the following spells as Earth spells: spiritual weapon, searing light, holy smite, repulsion, mind blank, and you gain the ofuda for one of them.
These may be taken in place of new School spells when you level up to the appropriate level.

Essence of Purity (Su)
You may channel your spells through a piece of Kuni crystal allowing it to affect creatures as though the spell were both jade and crystal, bypassing resistances and immunities they might have to physical or elemental damage.
ALT. You may channel damaging spells through a piece of Kuni crystal to ignore damage reduction and element resistance/immunities of undead and evil outsiders.

Kuni Witch Hunter
Some Kuni specialize in the detection and purging of human Tainted instead of non-human Tainted. They learn to detect the often subtle signs of Taint in others and train in techniques to resist and counter blood magic. Since Witch Hunters often travel in more civilized circles than most Kuni shugenja, most are expected to show a minimum of decorum and not provoke unnecessary duels. As such, Kuni masters show some discretion in choosing those who will be trained in these Techniques.At the end of the day, though, finding and killing blood magicians is considered more important than a Crane’s hurt feelings so promising students might get a pass on the social aspect.

Dispel the Darkness (Su)
As a standard action you may spend two Void Points and make a Spellcraft DC 20+spell level check to dispel a maho spell. This may be done as a counterspell.
ALT: As a standard action once per day you Spellcraft DC 20+spell level check to dispel a maho spell. This may be done as a counterspell.

Hunter's Focus (Ex)
Perception and Sense Motive become class skills, and you gain 1 rank in them.

Sharpened Senses (Ex)
You gain a +2 bonus to all Perception, Sense Motive and Survival (tracking) rolls against Tainted humans.

Speaking with the Darkness
Spend at least one minute in conversation with a target and make a Sense Motive roll against their Bluff. If you win you can learn the exact extent of their corruption, in terms of Shadowlands Ranks and Points.
If you spend a Void Point and make a successful Knowledge (Shadowlands) check DC 15 against a Tainted being, you learn the number and power level of Shadowlands powers they have. in terms of Minor, Major and Greater) one Shadowlands power they have, and for every 5 points you exceed the DC you learn the precise nature of one power.
ALT. Spend at least one minute in conversation with a target and make a Sense Motive roll against their Bluff. if you win you can learn if the target is undead or an evil outsider.
Once per day you may make an appropriate Knowledge check to identify an undead or evil outsider with a DC of 15, regardless of the normal DC to do so. You also learn one additional piece of useful information with this roll.

Witch's Bane (Ex)
Your attacks against blood magicians gain a +1 morale bonus. Blood magicians suffer a -1 penalty to their saving throws against your spells.

Kuni Dojo

Akuma's Ruin Dojo (Ex)[/b]
In true Crab fashion, the Kuni built a dojo on the site of the defeat of one of the largest and most dangerous oni to threaten the Empire as a testament to the power of the Crab. Those who train here are experts at defeating oni of all sorts.
You gain a +1 bonus on your rolls to overcome the Spell Resistance of Oni, and they suffer a -1 penalty to their saving throws against your spells.

[i]Kuni Wastelands Dojo
This is not a true dojo but a collection of individual shugenja who rigorously train their apprentices in the same techniques all over the Kuni Wastes. You +10 competence on all Spellcraft rolls to attempt spellcasting without gaining the Taint in the Shadowlands.

Shiro Kuni Dojo
Few Kuni spend much time at their ancestral home, but those who do are blessed with having the largest and most complete collection of Shadowlands lore at their fingertips.
You gain a +2 bonus to all Knowledge (Shadowlands) rolls and all Spellcraft rolls concerning blood magic or jade magic.

[DungeonmasterCal]

Holy cow! I didn't expect a clan-by-clan conversion! If we ever get to use the Far Eastern part of our setting we might or might not use the Rokugani clans. Unless you really want to go that deeply into the conversion, just a "greatest hits" of the options offered by each of the clans would be fine for a "generic Shugenja". What you've put together so far is amazing and I really, really appreciate the time and work already invested in the project.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Oh, I'm still hard at work with the other clans, plus spell lists. No plans for maho-tsukai or non-human casters but I may get to them eventually.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

So instead of spamming walls of text on the forum I'll just leave a link to the document for people to view. Should be easier to read.

It's still very much a work in progress, and there is a heading warning you when you're getting to stuff that isn't into the first draft stage yet.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Asahina and Tamori schools are 'finished'.

[DungeonmasterCal]

Thanks for the document link! And whew, you've put in some toil on this. It looks great.

[ronald paris]

thank you looking good!

[Zepheri]

I suggest that you remove craft in the skill since they don't produces magic items for being a blasphemy to the spirit and take perception and language

[Name Violation]

Zepheri wrote:

I suggest that you remove craft in the skill since they don't produces magic items for being a blasphemy to the spirit and take perception and language

the craft skill has nothing to do with making magic items

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

First off, all critique is very welcome. Thanks for what is here so far.

Perception is left off because it's not a class skill for lots of PF classes, wasn't a class skill for most of the Schools in the original system, and isn't particularly appropriate fluff-wise.

Linguistics is a good choice to add for non-Rokugani shugenja but in setting there is basically only two languages and mechanically they aren't distinct. There are foregin languages but vanishingly few Rokugani know them - basically only the Unicorn and Mantis and far from all of them - so there is no real reason to give Linguistics as a class skill.

Craft is a bit of a weird one. Shugenja rarely learn any peasant skill, like carpentry or masonry, but weaponsmithing is certainly acceptable. Also, certain artistic skills are probably Craft, like flower arranging.

IIRC, the Shugenja in the d20 Rokugan core book lists this. I should go look at that one again.

I should probably put in specifics of these various skills. Possibly letting Schools have a special addition...

[Zepheri]

Ok but from my point of view perception and sense motive are in essence a way for the shugenja to persive the natural world of the kami since this 2 skills can be represented as your sixth sense

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

A perfectly reasonable house rule to add to your game. It's just not what I'm aiming for, for reasons already stated.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Kitsu shugenja is 'ready'.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Moshi is up.

I've noticed I've gone well beyond mere conversion of R&K mechanics and adaption of existing d20 stuff and into pure invention.

[DungeonmasterCal]

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

Moshi is up.

I've noticed I've gone well beyond mere conversion of R&K mechanics and adaption of existing d20 stuff and into pure invention.

I don't see this as bad.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Not bad, just more work. We're pushing 100 pages now and there will be more.

[DungeonmasterCal]

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

Not bad, just more work. We're pushing 100 pages now and there will be more.

WOW

[Bellona]

The Shugenja conversion looks interesting and I hope to download a copy when it's done.

One small issue: the last part of the introductory class description (just before the mechanics like HD size, etc.) seems to have a floating sentence fragment. It's just after the paragraph which starts with "Shungenja cannot learn Item Creation feats, ..." and the fragment itself is "Many shugenja".

Anyway, thank you for the work so far! :)

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Soshi shuggie is ready, floating sentence fixed (thanks for pointing that out).

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Yoritomo shug-shug ready to chug-chug.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Fire-chicken ready to burninate.

[DungeonmasterCal]

Outstanding! Thanks!

[Bellona]

Looking good!

One spelling nit-pick: on p. 112, the full-length description of the Shugenja 7 Air spell "Borne by the Wind" has an extraneous "u" in its title ("bourne").

There also seems to be a plethora of "Breath of Battle" spell write-up templates after that, but maybe they're just place-holders?

(This was in no way an extensive editing pass, but just something that I noticed when checking the end of the document.)

Anyway, thank you for this fantastic work! :)

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Thanks for the nit-picks (and I mean that - the only way I'd pick up on them is putting the whole thing aside for a year or two before coming back to it)
Yeah, Breath of Battle is a placeholder, a template to fill in more spells when I get around to it.

Damn dirty traitorsSecond best shugenja family is up.

[Freehold DM]

Great work.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Iuchi shugenja ready to ride.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Moto Death Priests ready to scare the everlovin' shit out of you.

[DungeonmasterCal]

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

Moto Death Priests ready to scare the everlovin' s#@$ out of you.

Good lord! Those are terrifying! LOL

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Yogo shugenja ready

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Jade Magistrate Path is ready

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Kitsune School ready

I'm on a roll today. It helps that I stopped trying to get them done in order of clan and alphabet and just go with what was easiest.