Legend of the Five

Rings
5th Edition
Kata, Ninjutsu, and
Patterns Book
Table of
Contents
Kata................................5
Battle in the Mind........6
Breath of Wind Style.. .7
Chaotic Scattering......8
Crashing Wave Style...9
Crescent Moon Style. 10
Crimson Leaves Style11
Dissapearing World Style 12
Flowing Water Strike. 13
Heartpiercing Strike. .14
Iron Shell Style..........15
Iron in the Mountains Style 16

1
 Lord Hida’s Grip........17
Lord Shiba’s Valor.....18
Mind’s Edge..............19
Rider’s Haste.............20
Soaring Slice.............21
Soul Sunder...............22
Striking as Air............23
Striking as Earth........24
Striking as Fire..........25
Striking as Void.........26
Striking as Water......27
Tactical Assessment..28
Thunderous Hooves Style 29
Void Embrace Style...30
Warrior’s Resolve......31
Close Combat Kata..........32
Boar’s Wrath Style....33
Bonebreaker Style... .34
Coiling Serpent Style.35
Daring Swing.............36
Deflective Defense....37
Flashing Steel Strike. 38
Iaijustu Cut: Crossing Blade 39
Iaijustu Cut: Rising Blade 40
Iaijustu Cut: Reverse Draw 41

2
 Iaijustu Cut: Sword and Sheath 42
Improvised Assault....43
Iron Forest Style........44
Landslide Strike........45
Laughing Fox Style....46
Open-Hand Style.......47
Pole Vault..................48
Piercing Bolt Style.....49
Reckless Lunge.........50
Rushing Avalanche Style 51
Rushing Ox Style.......52
Snapping Branch Strike53
Spinning Blades Style54
Swirling Tempest Style55
Thunderclap Strike....56
Thunderous Blows Style57
Trip the Leg...............58
Twin Streams Style. . .59
Veiled Menace Style..60
Wheeling Sweep.......61
Ranged Combat Kata......62
Eyeless Sight Shot... .63
Falling Heavens Shot 64
Hawk’s Precision.......65
Pelting Hail Style.......66

3
 Pin the Fan................67
Staggering Shot........68
Swirling Viper Style...69
Wasp’s Spite Style....70
Ninjitsu............................71
Artful Alibi.................72
Cunning Distraction. .73
Deceitful Strike.........74
Like a Ghost..............75
Skulk.........................76
Slicing Wind Kick.......77
What’s Yours is Mine. 78
Stillness of Death......79
To Float or Sink.........80
Deadly Sting.............81
Noxious Cloud...........82
Silencing Strike.........83
Item Patterns...................84
Ghostlands Yodhaniya Pattern 85
Kakita Pattern...........86
Kenzo Blade..............87
Kökejin’s Heart of the Wind Pattern 88
Shirogane Jade Inlay. 89
Spirit of the Qamarist Pattern 90
Uchema’s Techniqe...91

4
Yasunori Steel...........92

5
Kata

6
Battle in the Mind
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 3
XP Cost: 3

Description:
As two masters of any martial art square off
before a duel, each seeks to predict the other’s
angle of attack, strategy, and the ways their
predictions might be foiled by the opponent’s.

Effects:
When you make an Initiative check for a duel
using your Void ring, you may spend in the
following way:

+: Choose a technique category. Learn one of

your opponent’s known techniques of that
category (chosen by the opponent) per spent
this way.

+: You name two rings, then your opponent

must name one of those two rings. When your
opponent selects their stance during their first

7
turn of the duel, they cannot select the ring they
named as their stance.

8
Breath of Wind Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 3
XP Cost: 3

Description:
A swift strike to the solar plexus or throat can
leave the target reeling; an experienced bushi
can steal the breath from their foe with a quick
jab even while executing another attack.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts [Melee, Ranged,
or Unarmed] (Air) check, you may spend in the
following way:

+ : One target of your action must resist with a

TN 3 Fitness check (Earth 4, Fire 1) or suffer
the Disoriented condition and fatigue equal to
their shortfall. Increase the TN of the check to
resist by 1 per spent this way.

9
Chaotic Scattering
Activation: TN 2 Survival (Air),
using one readied improvised weapon

Prerequisites: Rank 2

XP Cost: 3

Action Type: Movement and Scheme

Target: One position at range 1-2

Duration: Instant

Opportunities: : Choose one additional terrain

quality (Dangerous, Entagling, Obscuring) to apply to
the terrain.
Description:

Chaos on the battlefield is generally to the advantage of the

underdog. Whether the fight is a sake house brawl or a formal
duel, a crafty warrior knows the right time to knock over a
table full of drinks, kick up dirt to create confusion, or position
their katana in such a way as to blind their opponent.

Effects:

You throw the improvised weapon to the chosen position. If

you succeed, choose one of the following terrain qualities:
Dangerous, Entangling, or Obscuring. The weapon lands at the
target position. All terrain within 1 range band of the targeted
position gains that terrain quality. This effect persists for one
round, plus one additional round for every two bonus
successes. If you fail, the weapon lands at the target position.

10
Crashing Wave Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 4
XP Cost: 3

Description:
The wave washes over the stone, wearing it
away, and so the bushi’s weapon passes across
their foe’s flesh, leaving behind a bloody gash or
slice that is sure to slow their enemy even if the
hit is not fatal.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts [Melee or
Unarmed] (Water) check, you may spend in
the following way:

+: One target of your action must resist with a

TN 3 Fitness check (Earth 1, Fire 4) or suffer the
Bleeding condition and fatigue equal to their
shortfall. Increase the TN of the check to resist
by 1 per spent this way.

11
Crescent Moon Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 2
XP Cost: 3

Description:

Striking first is valuable, but so is surviving. To defend

without sacrificing offense, a bushi must be ready to
retaliate swiftly after blocking or evading. With a quick
shift, the bushi switches from defense to bring down
their full force upon their enemy.

Effects:

When you make the Center or Guard action, you may

spend in the following way:

: After a character at range 1–2 performs an Attack

action targeting you or another character you are
guarding, you may perform a Strike action with one
readied Martial Arts [Melee or Unarmed] weapon
targeting that character (if they are within your weapon’s
range). This effect persists until the start of your next
turn, or until you perform a Strike action this way.

12
Crimson Leaves Style
Activation: TN 4 Martial Arts (Earth),
using one readied weapon
Prerequisites: Rank 3
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack
Target: One character within weapon range
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : If you disarm the target, you
may take control of their weapon instead of
knocking it away.
Description:

Sweeping their blade down in a sudden arc, the bush

lands a blow atop the enemy’s weapon, scattering it
from their hand like falling leaves.

Effects:

If you succeed, your target suffers physical damage

equal to your Earth Ring, plus additional damage equal
to your bonus successes. Choose one of your target’s
readied weapons; the target must resist with a TN 4
Fitness check (Air 2, Water 5) or lose control of the
chosen weapon, which travels 3 range bands in a
direction of your choice.

13
Dissapearing World Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 4
XP Cost: 3

Description:
Seeing nothing but their enemy, the bushi
surges forward in a flurry of strikes, seeking to
land a hit to the eyes, temple, or other
vulnerable area rapidly after their initial attack.
This stunning blow can leave the enemy
staggered, giving the bushi a chance to finish
the battle with their next attack.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts [Melee or
Unarmed] (Fire) check, you may spend in the
following way:

+ One target of your action must resist with a

TN 3 Fitness check (Air 4, Water 1) or suffer
the Dazed condition and fatigue equal to their
shortfall. Increase the TN of the check to resist
by 1 per spent this way.

14
Flowing Water Strike
Activation: TN 3 Martial Arts (Water),
using one readied weapon

Prerequisites: Rank 3
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack and Movement
Target: One character at range 0-2
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : Remove the Dazed,
Disorientated, Immobilized, or Prone
Condition from yourself.
Description:
A skilled warrior is not restricted by the optimal
range of their weapon and can open or close
gaps to compensate for positional
disadvantages.

Effects:
If you succeed, the target suffers physical
damage equal to your Water Ring and suffers
the Bleeding condition. The target must resist
with a TN 4 Fitness check (Earth 2, Fire 5); if
15
they fail, increase the physical damage they
suffer by your weapon’s base damage.

16
Heartpiercing Strike
Activation: TN 4 Martial Arts (Fire),
using one readied weapon
Prerequisites: Rank 3
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack and Movement
Target: One character within range of weapon
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: +: Before resolving the effect,
move up to 1 range band toward your target.
Description:

Battle is the art of killing, and woe betide any warrior

who forgets it. With a roar, the bushi launches forward,
stabbing out with their weapon to fatally impale their
enemy. Even if the strike does not slay the foe, it is likely
to weaken them significantly.

Effects:

If you succeed, your target suffers a critical strike with

severity equal to your weapon’s deadliness plus your
bonus successes. The TN of the Fitness check to resist
this critical strike is 3 (Air 4, Water 1) instead of the
normal TN.

If you fail, you suffer the Disoriented condition.

17
Iron Shell Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 3
XP Cost: 3

Description:
To defend against a single, predictable blow, a
warrior can dig in, rooting themselves and
dispersing the force as it comes. Such a
complete defense is exhausting to maintain, but
it can keep a fighter on their feet when they
otherwise would have surely fallen.

Effects:
When you perform a Guard action, if you have
not moved any range bands this turn, you may
spend in the following way:

Earth or Void +: Choose one character you

can perceive per spent this way. The next
time you defend against physical damage from
that character, your fatigue cannot be increased
to a value greater than your endurance. This
effect lasts until the end of your next turn.

18
Iron in the Mountains Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 4
XP Cost: 3

Description:
The bushi strikes with crushing force, breaking
their enemy’s roots with an overwhelming blow
or sweeping their stance out from underneath
them with a well-placed kick.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts [Melee, Ranged,
or Unarmed] (Earth) check, you may spend in
the following way:

+ One target of your action must resist with a

TN 3 Fitness check (Air 1, Water 4) or suffer
the Prone condition and fatigue equal to their
shortfall. Increase the TN of the check to resist
by 1 per spent this way.

19
Lord Hida’s Grip
Activation: Fitness (Void) TN = Target’s
silhouette
Prerequisites: (Crab) Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Target: One creature of silhouette 3+, at
range 0-1
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : Your target must resist with
a Fitness check or suffer physical damage
equal to its silhouette, ignoring its resistance,
and the Prone condition. The TN of this check
is equal to your school rank
Description:

While traditional Rokugani martial arts struggle to overcome

many creatures of the Shadowlands because they are meant
to vanquish human opponents, warriors of the Crab Clan are
instructed in techniques that target the weak points of trolls,
ogres, and even oni, turning their great weight against them
by pinning or strategically damaging specific body parts.

Effects:

If you succeed, your target suffers the Immobilized

condition.

If you succeed, you count as granting assistance to all

20
characters who perform Attack actions against your target.
This effect persists until the beginning of your next turn.

21
Lord Shiba’s Valor
Activation: TN2 Tactics (Void) (Once per session, using
one readied weapon)

Prerequisites: (Phoenix) Rank 2

XP Cost: 3

Action Type: Support

Target: Any number of friendly characters within

range of your weapon

Duration: for a number of rounds equal to your school

rank

Opportunities: : If you succeed, increase the TN of

Attack and Scheme checks targeting you by 1. This
effect persists until the end of your next turn.
Description:

Once, in the Shadowlands, the Kami Shiba stood alone

between a vast horde of its foul denizens and the last of the
Seven Thunders after their victory against Fu Leng. Drawing
the legendary sword Ofushikai, Shiba
cut his way through the host to the First Oni. Legends say that
their blades flashed for a hundred days, shattering mountains
around them and cutting great rifts across the ground. In the
end, each slew the other, but Shiba fell with his oath to
protect unbroken.

Effects:

If you succeed, other characters cannot select your targets as

the targets of their Attack or Scheme actions if they could

22
select you instead. If an action has multiple targets, you must
be the first target chosen.
.

23
Mind’s Edge
Activation: TN 1 Meditation (Void).
Once per scene, after you perform an
action that does not require a check
while in void stance.
Prerequisites: Rank 1
XP Cost: 3
Target: Self
Duration: Until the start of your next turn
Opportunities: : Effect applies to each time you
would receive strife instead until the start of your next
turn, : You may use this technique one additional
time this scene.

Description:

The warrior focuses not on their foe’s hands, nor their

feet, nor their sword. Rather, they watch all and none of
these things, perceiving their opponent’s energy and
intentions throughout their entire body.

Effects:

If you succeed, the next time you would receive strife,

reduce the amount you receive by 3, plus 1 per two
bonus successes.

24
Rider’s Haste
Activation: If you are riding a mount,
you may spur it to move more
quickly.
Prerequisites: Rank 2
Action: Movement and Support
XP Cost: 3

Description:
Most samurai are trained in riding, as horses are
a symbol of their status and make travel far
easier than it would be on foot. Riding across a
battlefield is a far more challenging task,
however, and fully using the advantages a
mount provides can take intense training for
both steed and rider.

Effects:
Your mount receives an amount of fatigue up to
your ranks in Survival, then carries you that
many range bands plus one, to a maximum of 6.

25
Soaring Slice
Activation: TN 2 Martial Arts [Any]
Prerequisites: School Rank 1
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack, using a readied weapon
in a one-handed grip.
Target: One Character at range 2-3
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: +: +1 Max range of technique,
: -1TN to next Attack action against the
target before the end of your next turn.
Description:
Jerking their arm in a sudden motion, the bushi hurls
their weapon at the enemy, hoping to take the foe off-
guard or create a gap in their defenses.

Effects:
You hurl your weapon at the target.

If you succeed, you deal physical damage to the target

equal to the weapon’s base damage plus your bonus
successes. The weapon lands at range in a direction of
your choice from the target if they defend against the
damage or embeds in them if they suffer a critical strike.
If you fail, the weapon travels a number of range bands
equal to the maximum range of the technique in the
direction of the target.
26
27
Soul Sunder
Activation: TN 4 Meditation (Void)
Prerequisites: Rank 1
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Support
Target: One readied weapon
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: +: Persists an additional
round,
: Otherworldly beings cannot attack you
until the start of your next turn, :
Immediately perform strike action using
readied weapon.
Description:
While bushi are generally less well equipped to deal with
supernatural threats than shugenja, mastery of any art
reveals how the world is all interconnected. Warriors
deeply engaged with the mysteries of the sword can
attune themselves to their ancestral blades to cut even
those beings who walk between worlds and whose flesh
steel normally will not bite.

Effects:
If you succeed, it gains the Sacred quality, and when
you use it to inflict a critical strike on an Otherworldly
being, treat its deadliness as increased by your bonus

28
successes. This effect persists until the end of your next
turn.

29
Striking as Air
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 1
XP Cost: 3

Description:

Not every stroke a warrior throws in battle is intended to kill—

even if they all lead to that end goal. A skilled fighter can tell
when an attack will not land and subtly shift it into a different
sort of attack, meant to probe the enemy’s defenses or draw
their guard out of position. By carefully placing attack after
attack, a master of the blade can eventually whittle down
their opponent’s options until none remain but death.

Effects:

When you make a Martial Arts [Melee, Ranged, or Unarmed]

(Air) check, you may spend in the following way:

+: Reserve 1 of your kept or dropped dice, plus one

additional die per spent this way. These dice become
dropped dice. When making a check with the same skill before
the end of your next turn, you may roll 1 fewer Ring die per
reserved Ring die and 1 fewer Skill die per reserved Skill die.
These dice count as rolled dice but are added set to the
results they had when they were reserved.

30
Striking as Earth
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: School Rank 1
XP Cost: 3

Description:
After striking, the bushi roots, hunkering down to
make sure their armor takes the brunt of a hit or
raising a weapon in a warding position where it
can deflect harm without being damaged.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts [Melee, Ranged,
or Unarmed] (Earth) check, you may spend in
the following way:

+: Increase the physical resistance of your

armor by 1 per spent this way. This effect lasts
until the beginning of your next turn.

31
Striking as Fire
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 1
XP Cost: 3

Description:

Victory cannot be achieved through defense

alone, and it is a poor student of the sword who
forgets that their most important goal is simple:
cut down their enemy. All else fades to the
background as the bushi fiercely presses the
attack, trying to force an error or open an
opportunity to end their foe.

Effects:

When you make a Martial Arts [Melee, Ranged,

or Unarmed] (Fire) check, you may spend in
the following way:

+: The next time your target suffers a critical

strike, increase its severity by 1 per spent this
way. This effect persists until the end of your
next turn.

32
Striking as Void
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 5
XP Cost: 3

Description:

The future is part of Void’s domain, infinite in possibility

and unfathomable in depth. Because of its formlessness,
one cannot scheme to undermine the uncertain future—
but the instant it takes shape, an action is vulnerable to
countermeasures. The bushi rests until the last possible
second, allowing the potential energy of their strike to
take shape only after it is too late for their enemy to
respond.

Effects:

When you make a Martial Arts [Melee, Ranged, or Un-

armed] (Void) check, you may spend in the following
way:

: Immediately switch to a different stance of your

choice.

: If you fail, you may perform another action. This must

be an action you have not yet performed this turn. You
can only activate this opportunity once per round.

33
Striking as Water
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 1
XP Cost: 3

Description:
The finest armor is useless if a warrior can
bypass it, slipping a blade through the gaps that
allow the wearer to move or using blunt,
concussive force to create a vulnerability. As the
bushi strikes they attempt to slide past the
target’s defenses to deliver a lethal blow.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts [Melee, Ranged,
or Unarmed] (Water) check, you may spend in
the following way:

+: Your target treats their physical resistance

as 1 lower per spent this way. This effect
persists until the end of your next turn.

34
Tactical Assessment
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 2
XP Cost: 3

Effects:
When you make an Initiative check, you may
spend in the following way:

Air : Choose an enemy in the conflict. Learn

one of their advantages (of their choice) and
their physical or supernatural resistance (your
choice).

Earth : Choose a character in the conflict. They

do not apply any of their disadvantages to their
checks until the end of their first turn.

Water : Choose a piece of terrain in the scene.

Until the start of your first turn, it counts as
having the Obscuring quality for Attack action
checks targeting you and your allies.

Fire : Choose a character in the conflict and

one of their advantages you know. Until the end

35
of their first turn, they apply that advantage to
all of their checks.

36
Thunderous Hooves Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 4
XP Cost: 3

Description:

The Ujik whom the Ki-Rin Clan first encountered as they

traveled west were terrifying enemies not only because
of their skill with the bow, but also because of the
experience with which they handled their steeds, easily
breaking infantry formations unprepared to face such
heavy cavalry. Over the centuries, the Unicorn Clan has
both adopted the Ujik’s riding methods and extensively
studied many of their cavalry tactics to bring an entirely
new art of battle to Rokugan.

Effects:

When you make a Fitness check as part of a Movement

action while mounted, you may spend in the following
way:

+: One character at range 0 of your ending position per

spent this way suffers fatigue and strife equal to your
mount’s silhouette unless they choose to immediately
move 1 range band away from you.

: Your mount may perform a Strike action with your

assistance, targeting one character at range 0.

37
Void Embrace Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation

Prerequisites: Rank 5

XP Cost: 3

Target: One character your can perceive

Duration: Until the end of your next turn

Description:

It is said that some martial artists of surpassing skill can give

themselves over wholly to the Void for an instant, foreseeing
the exact arc of an attack and completely negating it with
little more than a gentle brush of the hand. Tales abound of
masters who matched steel with only a flimsy reed or caught
an opponent’s sword mid-swing, but few warriors can say they
have personally seen such mastery on display.

Effects:

When you make a Meditation (Void) check during a duel or a

skirmish, you may spend in the following way:

: Choose one character you can perceive, then secretly

select a number. The next time you are dealt damage by that
character or suffer a critical strike inflicted by that character,
reveal the number you chose. If the number is higher than the
damage or the severity of the critical strike (before any
reductions), you suffer it as normal and this effect ends. If the
number is lower than or equal to the damage or the severity
of the critical strike, reduce it by that amount, to a minimum
of 0. If you reduce it to 0, the character you chose suffers 5
strife. If you reduce the severity of a critical strike to 0 this
way, you do not suffer it.
38
Warrior’s Resolve
Activation: 1 Void Point
Prerequisites: Rank 1
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Support
Target: Self
Duration: Instant
Description:
The bushi draws a deep breath, exhaling as they
rise to their feet. Pain can be conquered as long
as there is a duty to be done. Honor is stronger
than steel, it is said, and it falls to the samurai to
prove it.

Effects:
Remove fatigue equal to your honor rank.

39
Close Combat Kata
Performed with weapons that use Martial Arts [Melee] or
Martial Arts [Unarmed] skill.

40
Boar’s Wrath Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 3
XP Cost: 3

Description:

Tales have been told of samurai found dead, their

weapons shattered, their hands and feet bloody and
battered, amid mountains of their broken foes- a
testament to the samurai’s final wrath. Such tales likely
have a grain of truth, as any skilled brawler can attest to
the danger posed by a fighter who is wounded and
desperate. Lashing out with a fury born of instinct and
training, the warrior responds to harm in kind, smashing
enemies with hands, feet, and improvised weapons.

Effects:

Choose one of your unarmed profiles or readied

improvised weapon. When you make a check to resist a
critical strike during a skirmish, if you are Enraged and
not Incapacitated, you may spend in the following
way:

Fire or Void +: Each other character at range 0-1 with

vigilance lower than or equal to spent in this way
suffers physical damage equal to the base damage of
your unarmed profile plus 1 for each spent in excess of
their vigilance.

41
Bonebreaker Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 5
XP Cost: 3

Description:
As heavy weapons are exhausting to wield, each
blow must count. A sufficiently skilled fighter
who uses such a weapon knows exactly where to
strike to shatter a femur or snap an arm and end
the fight.

Effects:
When you make an Attack action check with a
Cumbersome weapon, you may spend in the
following way:

: If your target would suffer a critical strike as

a result of this check, instead of making a check
to resist, they suffer the severity 5-6: Debilitating
Gash result.

42
Coiling Serpent Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: School Rank 5
XP Cost: 3
Target: One target of your action
Duration: Instant
Description:
Entrapping techniques can be performed with
many different weapons, from the kusari-gama
wielded by brigands to the ornate, hook-headed
polearms used by the Phoenix Clan’s greatest
masters of the spear.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts [Melee] or Martial
Arts [Unarmed] check using a Snaring weapon,
you may spend in the following way:

+: Choose one weapon a target has readied;

that weapon cannot be used for Attack actions.
This effect persists until the end of your next
turn.

43
 +: One target of your action per spent this
way becomes Immobilized

44
Daring Swing
Activation: TN 3 Martial Arts [Melee] (Water), using a
readied Snaring weapon

Prerequisites: Rank 3

XP Cost: 3

Action: Attack and Movement

Target: One position within range of your weapon that

you could not normally reach. (The GM is the final
arbiter to determine that you could swing to this
position.)

Duration: Instant

Opportunities: +: Choose a character at range 0 of

your final position with vigilance lower than or equal
to the you spent this way. That character suffers
physical damage equal to the number of range bands
you travelled this round plus your bonus successes.
Description:

Stories tell of pirates swinging from kusari-gama stuck into the

mast or masters of the spear launching themselves across
gaps with ji. Few have seen such feats performed, though
many Mantis sailors will gladly tell you of the time they swung
from the rigging to tackle a shark hungry for their captain’s
blood.

Effects:

If you succeed, you snag your weapon on that position (or

another nearby feature of the terrain, such as a beam or a
branch) and then swing to the position.
45
46
Deflective Defense
Activation: TN 2 Martial Arts [Melee] (Earth), using a
readied Cumbersome weapon.

Prerequisites: Rank 3
XP Cost: 3
Action: Movement and Support
Target: Self
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : After you defend against
physical damage from an attack made by a character
at range 2-6, that character suffers 2 strife.

Description:

Large-enough weapons can, in a pinch, serve as shields

against missile attacks. If a warrior plants their weapon
in the ground and takes cover behind it with a narrow
profile, even a bisento makes the likelihood of a lethal hit
with an arrow or dart far lower.

Effects:

If you succeed, treat your physical resistance against

attacks made by characters at range 2-6 as increased by
your ranks in Fitness.

47
Flashing Steel Strike
Activation: Martial Arts [Melee] (Air or Fire), using a
readied weapon, TN = your target’s vigilance

Prerequisites: Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Action: Attack and Scheme
Target: One character within your weapon’s range.
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: +: If your weapon is
Cumbersome, choose one additional target with
vigilance lower than or equal to your original target’s
vigilance.

Effects:

If you succeed, your target must choose one of the

following:

Receive strife equal to your ranks in Performance and

the Dazed condition.

Suffer a critical strike with severity equal to your

weapon’s deadliness.

48
Iaijustu Cut: Crossing Blade
Activation: TN 2 Martial Arts [Melee]
Prerequisites: School Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack and Movement action,
using one sheathed razor-edged weapon

Target: One Character at range 1-2

Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : Ready one other sheathed
Razor-Edged weapon.
Description:
The bushi twists their scabbard outward as they
draw, cutting horizontally to extend their reach.

Effect:
You draw and ready the sheathed weapon in a
one-handed grip.

If you succeed, you deal physical damage to the

target equal to the weapon’s deadliness plus
your bonus successes.

49
Iaijustu Cut: Rising Blade
Activation: TN 3 Martial Arts [Melee]
Prerequisites: School Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack, using one sheathed
razor-edged weapon

Target: One Character at range 0-1

Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : Ready one other sheathed
Razor-Edged weapon.
Description:
The bushi grips their scabbard against their hip
and draws, cutting upward to catch an
advancing foe without being cut themself.

Effect:
You draw and ready the sheathed weapon in a
one-handed grip.

If you succeed, you deal physical damage to the

target equal to the weapon’s deadliness. Your

50
target cannot defend against this damage if they
are Compromised.

51
Iaijustu Cut: Reverse Draw
Activation: Martial Arts [Melee] using a sheathed
Razor-Edged weapon. TN = your target’s vigilance

Prerequisites: Rank 4
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack, Movement, and Scheme.
Target: One character at range 1
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : If this damage causes your
target to become Incapacitated, they suffer a critical
strike with severity equal to your weapon’s deadliness
plus 1 per every two bonus successes.

Description:

Offhand draw cuts are a particularly unexpected move,

especially among reputable duelists. Taking up a reverse
grip with the blade down using the off hand, the warrior
makes a quick upward draw, cutting for their foe’s face
or torso. While this draw can often end the fight before it
begins.

Effect:

You draw and ready the sheathed weapon in a one-

handed grip. You suffer the Disoriented condition.

If you succeed, your target suffers physical damage

52
equal to your weapon’s deadliness plus 1 for every two
bonus successes.

53
Iaijustu Cut: Sword and
Sheath
Activation: TN 2 Martial Arts [Melee] using a
sheathed Razor-Edged weapon.

Prerequisites: Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack and Movement
Target: One character at range 0-1
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : If you succeed, your target
suffers the Dazed condition.

Description:

Bashing your enemy with a sheathed blade is hardly a

refined move, but it can give a fighter the space needed
to free their blade. By striking, then pulling off the sheath
in a single movement, the fighter also gives themself a
second weapon: the sheath. Some ronin carry iron-shod
sheaths for this very purpose.

Effect:

If you succeed, your target suffers 5 physical damage

with deadliness 2, plus additional damage equal to your
bonus successes.

54
 You draw and ready the sheathed weapon in a one-
handed grip in one hand and its sheath in a one-handed
grip in the other hand.

55
Improvised Assault
Activation: TN 2 Tactics (Water) or Smithing (Water),
Using a readied improvised weapon.

Prerequisites: Rank 3

XP Cost: 3

Action Type: Movement and Support

Target: Your readied improvised weapon

Duration: Until the end of the scene

Opportunities: : You may immediately perform a

Strike action using the readied weapon. : If you
succeed, choose one of the following item qualities:
Cumbersome, Razor-Edged, or Snaring. The weapon is
treated as having the quality.
Description:

The character adapts something in their environment for use as an

improvised weapon that suits their own fighting style. This might
mean blocking hits with a chair like a shield, swinging a heavy
branch like a club, or even wielding an umbrella with a
swordmaster’s skill. Such improvised weapons rarely survive
combat, but even if a broken sake bottle won’t hold an edge for
long, a single good stab can often end a fight.

Effects:

If you succeed, you may choose a Martial Arts [Melee] weapon

profile for a weapon similar in shape to the improvised weapon (the
GM has discretion over whether the substitution is appropriate).
Treat the improvised weapon as having that profile, with its damage
and deadliness reduced by 1. This effect persists until the end of the
scene, at which point the improvised weapon gains the Destroyed
quality.

56
Iron Forest Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: School Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Target: One target of your action
Duration: Until the Beginning of your next turn
Description:

A bushi versed in the spear can control their spacing with

their opponent, forcing their foe to risk impalement each
time they advance or catching loose clothes or stray
body parts on the head of the weapon. Akodo’s
Leadership refers to such a technique as the Iron Forest
style, which turns the length of a single spear into an
insurmountable distance.

Effects:

When you make a Martial Arts [Melee] check using a

spear, naginata, or other polearm, you may spend in
the following way:

+: The area in range of your weapon counts as

Dangerous terrain for one target of your action per
spent this way. When an affected character attempts to
move closer to you, they must make a TN 4 Fitness
check (Air 2, Water 5); if they fail, they cannot
advance. This effect persists until the start of your next
turn.

57
Landslide Strike
Activation: Martial Arts [Melee] (Earth or Water),
TN = your target’s vigilance. If your target is in
Dangerous, Entangling, or Obscuring terrain, the
TN is 1 instead.

Prerequisites: Rank 2

XP Cost: 3

Action: Attack and Scheme

Target: One character within your weapon’s range.

Duration: Instant

Opportunities: +: If your weapon has the

Cumbersome quality, choose one additional target
with vigilance lower than or equal to your original
target’s vigilance.
Description:

Lashing out at the foe’s legs, the warrior forces their enemy to
either abandon their stance or to be knocked from their feet.
This tactic is especially effective on uneven ground, as the
enemy must watch their footing or risk even further injury.

Effects:

If you succeed, your target must choose one of the following:

Receive fatigue equal to your ranks in Fitness and the

Prone condition.

Switch to a different stance of their choice and suffer the

Immobilized condition.
58
Laughing Fox Style
Activation: 1 Void Point and a Martial Arts
[Unarmed] check. Only when you are targeted
by an Attack action and if you have an open
hand.
Prerequisites: Rank 4
XP Cost: 3
Target: One other character at range 0-1.
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: +: If you succeed, move 1
range band away from the attacker, : If you
succeed, the new target also suffers physical
damage equal to your ranks in skullduggery,
: If you succeed, both the attacker and the
new target suffer the Prone condition.
Description:

The moment after a strike has been launched but before

it lands is one of great vulnerability for the attacker –
and, if a martial artist is sufficiently skilled, a threat to
other foes nearby. By carefully deflecting an attack or
grabbing a nearby foe and pulling them into the path of
the blow, a cunning fighter can send two foes toppling
with a single move.

Effects:

59
If you succeed, you cease being the target of the Attack
action, and your target becomes the target of that action
instead.

60
Open-Hand Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: School Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Target: One target of your action
Duration: Instant
Description:
Power does not come from speed alone. A
master martial artist can apply force for
maximum effect, making even gentle
movements devastatingly effective blocks and
strikes. With enough experience, a martial artist
can even control their opponent’s stance.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts [Unarmed] check
using a weapon with the snaring quality, you
may spend in the following way:

+: One target of your action per spent this

way must switch to a different stance of your
choice. Targets of silhouette 3 or greater may
resist with a TN 3 Fitness check and ignore
this effect if they succeed.
61
62
Pole Vault
Activation: TN 3 Martial Arts [Melee] (Air or
Water)
Prerequisites: School Rank 3
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack and Move Action using
one readied polearm.
Target: One Character at range 3-4
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: [None]
Description:

The Bushi uses the butt of their spear and the springy
haft to propel themselves into the air, over obstacles,
and into their foe from above.

Effect:

You move to range 2 of your target, ignoring the effects

of any terrain you pass over. You may also pass over
impassable terrain such as ravines and low walls if your
GM permits.

If you succeed, you deal physical damage to the target

equal to the weapon’s base damage plus your bonus
successes.

63
If you fail with a shortfall of 2 of more, you suffer the
Prone condition and receive 2 fatigue and 2 strife.

64
Piercing Bolt Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 3
XP Cost: 3

Description:
Long-hafted weapons have the advantage of
reach, but this does not mean that mobility
cannot play a key role in fighting styles built
around a spear or ax. A slash or jab that might
only cause a light wound from a standing
position becomes far deadlier with the weight of
a charge or throw behind it.

Effect:
When you make an Attack action check using an
ax or polearm, you may spend in the following
way:

: Treat the deadliness of your weapon as

increased by the number of range bands you
have traveled this round, and if you threw it, add
the number of range bands it has travelled this
round.

65
Reckless Lunge
Activation: TN 3 Martial Arts [Unarmed](Fire),
using your unarmed punch or kick profile
Prerequisites: Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack and Movement
Target: A target at range 2-3
Duration: Instant
Description:

A diving tackle or flying kick is never an especially safe

way to get around a battlefield full of sharp objects and
the angry people holding them, but sometimes closing
the gap with a dangerous foe is worth the risk of leaving
oneself prone and open to counterattack.

Effect:

You move to range 0 of your target and suffer the Prone

condition. Reduce the TN of your target’s next Attack
action check targeting you by 1.
If you succeed, your target suffers damage equal
to the base damage of your unarmed punch or kick
profile plus your ranks in Fitness and must make a TN 3
Fitness check (Water 2, Air 5) or suffer the Prone
condition.

66
Rushing Avalanche Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: School Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Target: One target of your action
Duration: Instant
Description:
When adopting this style, the bushi strikes with
reckless abandon using a heavy armament.
Thanks to the sheer weight of their weapon and
the ferocity of their strikes, even a glancing blow
can cause serious harm, and a telling blow
usually ends the battle.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts [Melee] check
using a blunt weapon, you may spend in the
following way:

: If you fail with a shortfall of two or less, your

target suffers physical damage equal to your
ranks in Fitness.

67
 : If you succeed and your target is Prone,
increase the damage you deal by your ranks in
Fitness.

68
Rushing Ox Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 3
XP Cost: 3

Description:
With a roar of determination, the warrior plows
forward, heedless of obstacles and foes, to strike
a particular enemy.

Effects:
When you perform a Maneuver action during
your turn, you may spend in the following way:

Fire or Water : After you move, you may

perform a Strike action using a readied Martial
Arts [Melee] weapon or a Martial Arts [Unarmed]
profile targeting one character. The target must
be in range of the readied weapon or unarmed
profile, and the TN for the Strike action is equal
to your target’s vigilance. You can only target a
character you moved toward this way.

69
Snapping Branch Strike
Activation: TN 3 Fitness (Earth) check
Prerequisites: Rank 1
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack and Support
Target: One character at range 0-1
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: +: Your target must resist
with a TN 4 Fitness check (Air 2, Water 5) or
be pushed 1 range band (per ) away from
you.
Description:
The warrior whirls the haft of their weapon,
jabbing at a foe with the butt or blunt end. By
wielding a polearm or club in this manner, a
character can essentially use it as a staff, letting
them strike enemies inside its normal threat
range.

Effects:

70
If you succeed, your target suffers physical
damage equal to 5 plus your bonus successes
with deadliness 2.

71
Spinning Blades Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: School Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Target: One target of your action
Duration: Instant
Description:

The biggest advantage of dual wielding does not usually

stem from striking with two weapons simultaneously,
largely because this is a very difficult feat. Instead, it
comes from the fact that the warrior does not need to
sacrifice defense while attacking or offense while
defending. The off-hand blade can deflect and threaten
even as the main-hand weapon attacks, or the bushi can
strike with the offhand weapon while the main-hand
weapon is locked with the foe’s blade. Either weapon can
deliver death, and so the enemy must watch both at all
times.

Effects:

When you make a Martial Arts [Melee] or Martial Arts

[Unarmed] Attack action check, if you have a second
readied weapon you did not use for the attack, you may
spend in the following way:

+: You must spend equal to your target’s Vigilance to

activate this technique. You use your second readied
weapon against one target of your action, inflicting
72
physical damage equal to its base damage. If that target
is Dazed, increase this damage by your ranks in the skill
you used for the check.

73
Swirling Tempest Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 5
XP Cost: 3
Target: Special
Duration: Instant
Description:
A spear or club’s reach not only allows it to
threated foes at a distance, but also gives its
wielder the ability to engage more foes,
threatening numerous enemies simultaneously
with a furious crash of blows.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts [Melee] check
with a blunt weapon or polearm, you may spend
in the following way:

+: Choose one character in range of your

weapon other than your target with vigilance
lower than or equal to spent this way. That
character suffers physical damage equal to your
weapon’s base damage. You may activate this

74
technique multiple times, choosing a different
character each time.

75
Thunderclap Strike
Activation: TN 3 Martial Arts [Melee or
Unarmed] (Air) check

Prerequisites: School Rank 2

XP Cost: 3
Target: Each character in the weapon’s
range.

Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : Increase the TN of checks
to resist the effect by 1 per spent this way.
Description:
Sweeping their weapon in a wide arc, the bushi
lashes out at their foes, driving them back to
make an
opening for their next move.

Effects:
If you succeed, each target suffers damage
equal to your weapon’s base damage and must
resist with a TN 3 Fitness check (Earth 4,
Fire 1) or move 2 range bands directly away
from you.

76
Thunderous Blows Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 2
XP Cost: 3

Description:
One advantage of a blunt weapon is that it can
be wielded with reckless abandon compared to
an edged weapon. A warrior with a blunt weapon
does not need to waste energy targeting weak
points in the enemy’s armor and can simply
batter them down with sheer, overwhelming
force.

Effects:
When you make an Attack action check with a
blunt weapon, you may spend in the following
way:

Fire +: One character at range 0-1 of your

target per spent this way receives 1 fatigue,
or 3 fatigue if they are suffering the Dazed
condition.

77
Trip the Leg
Activation: TN 2 Martial Arts [Melee]
Prerequisites: School Rank 1
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack Action using one readied
polearm

Target: One character at range 1-2

Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : If you succeed, the target
suffers 2 strife and 2 fatigue,
>/= Target’s Vigilance: Target suffers the
Disoriented condition.
Description:
The bushi’s spear flashes out, aiming low to trip
up their opponent and send the unlucky foe
crashing to the ground.

Effects:
If you succeed, your target suffers the Prone
condition.

78
Twin Streams Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 3
XP Cost: 3

Description:
Wielding two blades as a single instrument of
violence, the fighter stabs into their foe with
both points or drives home simultaneous
slashes. By presenting two threats
simultaneously, the warrior makes it much
harder to guard against either.

Effects:
When you perform an Attack action check using
a sword or ax, if you have another readied
weapon of the same category, you may spend
in the following way:

: If your target suffers a critical strike as a

result of this check, increase its severity by the
deadliness of your other readied weapon.

79
Veiled Menace Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: School Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Target: One unaware or disorientated target
of your action

Duration: Instant
Description:
Assassination and other clandestine tactics are
frowned upon by many samurai. None can deny
the effectiveness of such techniques, however.
By drawing their enemy’s gaze away from the
true threat, a bushi can often tip the scales
against a strong foe.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts [Melee] or Martial
Arts [Unarmed] Attack action check using a
weapon in a one-handed grip, you may spend
in the following way:

+: If you succeed, that target suffers a critical

strike with severity equal to your weapon’s

80
deadliness plus 1 per spent this way beyond
the first.

81
Wheeling Sweep
Activation: Martial Arts [Unarmed](Water), TN = your
target’s vigilance, using your unarmed punch profile

Prerequisites: Rank 3
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack and Movement
Target: A character with silhouette 2 or lower at
range 0

Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : Choose one character within
range of the throw, you hurl your original target into
that character and they must resist with a TN 4
Fitness check (Earth 3, Fire 6) or suffer the same
amount of damage the original suffers from falling
and the Prone condition, +: Reduce the physical
damage your target suffers from falling this way by 2.

Description:

Grappling and throwing are important parts of the

repertoire of most combatants, as few strikes do more
harm than an enemy’s own momentum directed toward
the ground. Kicking an enemy’s leg out from beneath
them or seizing a striking arm can quickly lay even a
tough foe low.

Effects:

82
If you succeed, your hurl your target 1 range band in the
direction of your choice, plus 1 range band for every two
bonus successes. Your target suffers the effects of falling
the distance they were moved.

83
The following kata
are performed with
Ranged
weapons that use
the Martial Arts
Combat
[Ranged] skill.

Kata

84
Eyeless Sight Shot
Activation: Martial Arts [Ranged](Void), using
a readied ranged weapon

Prerequisites: Rank 4
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack and Movement
Target: One character within your weapon’s
range to whom you do not have direct line of
sight.

Duration: Instant
Description:
To hit a target without seeing it is a masterful
feat for any warrior who specializes in projectile
weapons. Whether by firing through dense
underbrush to hit a deer by the sound of its
steps or banking a slingstone off a wall to hit a
foe when you feel their heavy footfalls shake the
floorboards, there are many ways to use one’s
other senses to place a shot.

Effects:
If you succeed, your target suffers physical
damage equal to your weapon’s base damage
85
and receives strife equal to your bonus
successes.

86
Falling Heavens Shot
Activation: Martial Arts [Ranged](Void), using a
readied ranged weapon, TN = your target’s vigilance

Prerequisites: Rank 5
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack and Movement
Target: One character within your weapon’s range
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: +: Delay this effect for one
additional round, you increase the deadliness of the
critical strike by 2.

Description:

Arrows, stones, and darts have an arc when fired,

traveling not in a straight line to a target but in a curve.
The better an archer understands this curve intuitively or
intellectually, the better their aim. Rumors and heroic
tales recount the exploits of archers with such skill that
they can fire bolts straight up, predicting their landing
position perfectly and using this to catch foes totally
unaware.

Effects:

If you succeed, at the start of your target’s next turn,

they suffer a critical strike with severity equal to your
weapon’s deadliness.

87
Hawk’s Precision
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 1
XP Cost: 3

Description:
While most bushi are expected to be proficient in
the use of the bow, some are terrifyingly
accurate, capable of hitting targets well beyond
the expected engagement range.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts [Ranged] check,
you may spend in the following way:

+: Treat the range of the weapon as 1 higher

per spent this way, to a maximum of range 6.

88
Pelting Hail Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 2
XP Cost: 3

Description:
A volley of arrows on the battlefield can be
deadly, but most importantly from a strategic
standpoint, it is terrifying to even the staunchest
veterans. Even if only one in ten shots finds its
mark, the salvo rattles opponents and forces
caution.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts [Ranged] check,
you may spend in the following way:

+ : Choose a number of other characters at

range 0–2 of your target equal to spent this
way. Each chosen character suffers strife equal
to the base damage of your weapon.

89
Pin the Fan
Activation: Martial Arts [Ranged] check,
TN = Target’s Vigilance + Range of the
Attack.
Action Type: Attack and Movement
Prerequisites: Rank 5
XP Cost: 3
Target: One target within your weapon’s
range.
Duration: Instant
Description:

While it is difficult to kill at range with a single arrow, it

can certainly be done, and master archers have been
performing legendary feats of precision since the early
days of Rokugan. From Hantei Genji’s famous shots to
the arrow loosed by Doji Hotaru that slew Akodo Arasou,
killing shots have often changed the course of the
Emerald Empire’s history.

Effects:

If you succeed, the target suffers damage equal to two

times the weapon’s base damage plus your bonus
successes.

: If the target becomes Incapacitated as a result of

damage from this action, they suffer a critical strike with
90
severity equal to two times the weapon’s deadliness
damage plus your bonus successes.

91
Staggering Shot
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 2
XP Cost: 3

Description:

Putting an arrow at a foe’s feet can cause them to

stumble or trip, and an experienced archer knows how to
take full advantage of this, planting bolts to break an
enemy’s stride or pinning their clothes to slow them
down, making any approach extremely treacherous.

Effects:

When you make a Martial Arts [Ranged] check, you may

spend in the following way:

Earth or Fire : Your target treats all terrain as having

the Dangerous quality. This effect lasts until the start of
your next turn.

Air or Water : Your target treats all terrain as having

the Entangling quality. This effect lasts until the start of
your next turn.

92
Swirling Viper Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 3
XP Cost: 3
Target: The target of your attack.
Duration: Until the start of your next turn.
Description:

Firing a bow while moving is extremely difficult, but a

master archer can nock and fire an arrow even as they
sweep backward to gain distance from their enemy.

Effects:

When you perform a Maneuver action during your turn,

you may spend in the following way:

Air or Water : After you move, you may perform a

Strike action using a readied Martial Arts [Ranged]
weapon targeting one character in range, treating the TN
as equal to you target’s vigilance. You can only target a
character you moved away from this way.

93
Wasp’s Spite Style
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: Rank 4
XP Cost: 3
Target: The target of your attack.
Duration: Until the start of your next
turn.
Description:
Unlike most bees, a wasp can sting multiple
times before expiring, letting it threaten
numerous foes. So too can a skilled archer
menace one target while secretly aiming at
another, forcing all enemies in their sight to
wonder: “Is it me they are aiming at?”

Effects:
When you perform a Martial Arts [Ranged]
check, you may spend in the following way:

Air or Void : If you did not succeed, choose

another target at range 0-2 of your target with
vigilance lower than or equal to your target’s.
The new target suffers physical damage equal to
your weapon’s base damage.
94
Ninjitsu

95
Artful Alibi
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: School Rank 3
XP Cost: 3
Target: One target Item
Duration: Instant
Description:
A cunning shinobi is always prepared with an
alibi, whether it’s a love letter to be sheepishly
delivered in the dead of night or a work of art
that surely must have taken all day to create.

Effects:
When you make a skulduggery check to surveil
or engage in other clandestine activities during
downtime, you can spend in the following way:

Air or Water +: If you succeed, you also count

as having made a successful downtime
Composition or Design check to refine (air) or
adapt (water) an item, with one bonus success
per spent this way.

96
Cunning Distraction
Activation: TN 2 Skulduggery

Prerequisites: School Rank 2

XP Cost: 3

Action Type: Scheme Action, during a duel or a clash.

Target: One character

engaged in a duel or a clash

Duration: Instant

Opportunities: +: +1 vigilance required to spot the

cheating.
Description:

During a duel, the contestants are completely focused on

each other’s smallest moves, waiting for the slightest signal
that their opponent is going to strike. This gives unscrupulous
duelists a chance to distract by reflecting the sun off a piece
of jewelry or their weapon into their opponent’s eyes, flapping
their kimono to simulate a sudden movement, or even kicking
a small stone at their opponent’s feet. Particularly devious
individuals can perform these actions from the sidelines to aid
an ally. All such actions are considered cheating… but only if
someone notices.

Effects:

Performing this action is cheating. Any character observing or

engaging in the duel or clash with a vigilance of 2 or higher
spots the cheating.

If you succeed, during the next round of the duel or clash,

both characters engaged in the duel or clash swap their
97
initiative order.

98
Deceitful Strike
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: School Rank 1
XP Cost: 3
Target: Each observer
Duration: Instant
Description:
Knowledge of when and how to strike is not just
mastered by the bushi, and assassinations can
be made to look like accidents.

Effects:
When you make a Martial Arts check during a
duel or clash, you can spend in the following
way:

+: Each observer with vigilance equal to or less

than one plus the amount of you spend this
way believes your attack was not meant to be
lethal.

99
Like a Ghost
Activation: TN 2 Fitness (Air)
Prerequisites: School Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Movement and Scheme.
Target: Self
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : Your footfalls are so light
as to be completely silent.
Description:

Shinobi must move quickly and quietly, avoiding notice

while scaling walls and obstacles, climbing over roofs,
and hopping across gaps between buildings. The very
best can seem to be in one location only to “vanish” and
reappear elsewhere a few moments later.

Effects:

If you succeed, you may move one range band, plus one
additional range band per two bonus successes. This
movement ignores the effects of any terrain you pass
through. You may also move up or down vertical surfaces
or across gaps that could conceivably be jumped if your
GM permits.

100
Skulk
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: School Rank 1
XP Cost: 3
Target: One target of your action
Duration: Instant
Description:
Shinobi are known for walking silently from
shadow to shadow, moving like phantoms. Some
of this relies upon agility and speed, of course,
but veterans in the art of stealth know that using
a crowd or another visual distraction to walk
unnoticed can be as effective as the most
complex acrobatics.

Effects:
When you perform an Initiative or Attack check
using Air, you may spend in the following way:

: If you are in Obscuring terrain, a crowd, or

otherwise concealed from sight, one character
with vigilance lower than or equal to your ranks
in Skulduggery loses sight of you.

101
Slicing Wind Kick
Activation: TN 3 Martial Arts [Unarmed] (Air)
Prerequisites: School Rank 3
XP Cost: 3
Action Type: Attack and Movement, using one
readied polearm.
Target: One character at range 1-2
Duration: Instant
Opportunities (Air): : Before or after resolving
successes, move 1 range band, : One target
suffers the Prone condition, +: Choose one
additional target per spent this way.
Description:

The Shika of the Deer Clan have perfected the art of

impairing their targets by using their momentum to
launch themselves with their spears. Shinobi who make
use of this technique can make precise attacks with their
feet to knock the wind out of their opponents.

Effects:

If you succeed, the target suffers physical damage equal

to your unarmed kick profile’s base damage plus your
bonus successes.
If you succeed, the target suffers the Disoriented
condition.
102
What’s Yours is Mine
Activation: TN 3 Martial Arts [Melee] (Fire),
using one readied weapon without the cumbersome
quality.

Prerequisites: School Rank 2

XP Cost: 3

Action Type: Attack and Movement

Target: One character at range 0-1.

Duration: Instant

Opportunities (Fire): : Target suffers the Dazed

condition, +: Move 1 range band (+1/ spent
beyond the first), +: If you succeed, may steal one
additional item.
Description:

Shinobi are adept at moving and striking swiftly in combat,

and they often use the slow reactions and confusion of their
opponents to steal from their targets and make their escape.

Effects:

If you succeed, the target suffers physical damage equal to

your weapon’s base damage.

If you succeed and your target is Dazed, you may steal one
item that your target has on their person; the size and
location of an object should be narratively reasonable and is
subject to the GM’s approval. If you choose to steal a readied
weapon, the target may resist with a TN 3 Fitness check
(Air 5, Water 2).

103
Stillness of Death
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: School Rank 5
XP Cost: 3
Target: One character
Duration: Until the start of your next turn
Description:
A favorite theme of stories featuring ninja
involves an unaware character waking up in a
house or castle keep. It is utterly still, no
servants or hosts bustling around. As they move
from room to room, they find the inhabitants- all
dead. Each was killed so quickly and suddenly
that they had no time to raise the alarm.

Effects:
When you perform a check to use a Ninjutsu
technique, you may spend in the following
way:

+: Increase the TN of the next check a

character makes to resist a critical strike you
inflict by 1 per spent this way.

104
To Float or Sink
Activation: Opportunity Activation
Prerequisites: School Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Target: Self
Duration: Instant
Description:
Shinobi are never knocked down for long. A
trained assassin can bounce back from being
prone in a moment, or with a quick roll and
acrobatics, and always manage to land on their
feet.

Effects:
When you make a Martial skill (Water or Earth),
you may spend in the following way:

+: Remove one existing Disoriented or Prone

condition from yourself.

: Do not suffer the Disoriented and Prone

conditions if the check would cause you to suffer
them.

105
Deadly Sting
Activation: TN 3 Martial Arts (Air)
(Using a dose of poison and a concealable
weapon)
Prerequisites: School Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Action type: Attack
Target: One character within the weapon’s
range.
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : Move 1 Range Band, +: If
you succeed, the target suffers a critical strike
with severity 2 (+1/ spent)
Description:

Poison is not a weapon an honorable samurai would

choose, but it is tremendously effective, and like its
namesake, the Scorpion Clan is not above envenoming
its weapons to defeat foes it otherwise could not best.

Effects:

If you succeed, apply the chosen poison to your weapon.

Then, the target suffers physical damage equal to the
deadliness of your weapon plus your bonus successes.

106
Noxious Cloud
Activation: TN 2 Medicine (Air)
(Using two doses of a single poison)
Prerequisites: School Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Action type: Attack
Target: Each other character at range 0-2
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: : Move 1 Range Band, +:
Until the end of scene, the area becomes
Obscuring and Dangerous terrain, +: If
you succeed, one target suffers a critical
strike with severity 2
Description:

Volatile concoctions are an important weapon in many

shinobi’s arsenals, allowing them to create choking
smoke into which they can escape or even poison
unprepared foes to weaken them for a killing blow.

Effects:

If you succeed, each target suffers 3 physical damage,

ignoring their resistance. This damage counts as being
inflicted by a weapon envenomed with the poison you
chose.

107
Silencing Strike
Activation: TN 4 Martial Arts (Air)
(Using a readied weapon)
Prerequisites: School Rank 2
XP Cost: 3
Action type: Attack
Target: One character within the weapon’s
range.
Duration: Instant
Opportunities: +: If you succeed, the target
suffers a critical strike equal to your weapon’s
deadliness.
Description:

Shinobi must often eliminate targets without raising an

alarm, and so they often train in the art of disabling with
a single strike. A shuriken to the trachea or a swift blow
to occlude the carotid artery can leave a target unable to
scream while the shinobi finishes their unsavory work.

Effects:

If you succeed, the target suffers physical damage equal

to your weapon’s base damage and suffers the Silenced
condition.

108
If you succeed, other characters beyond range 0–2 of the
target do not notice that they have been struck for 1
round, plus additional rounds equal to your bonus
successes.

109
Item Patterns

110
Ghostlands Yodhaniya
Pattern
XP Cost: 6
Target: A blunt weapon
Rarity Modifier: +4
Description:
The Ghostlands hunters of the Ivory Kingdoms,
known as the Yodhaniya, spend most of their
spend most of their lives hunting within the
haunted rainforest makes weaponry like urimi
(whip swords) difficult to handle, so most
Yodhaniya use blunt weapons like gada, or
maces. Their weaponsmiths have learned to
make these weapons stronger without adding
additional weight and have imbued them with
coral and gold to make them highly effective
against Tainted creatures.

Effects:
A blunt weapon made using the Ghostlands
Yodhaniya pattern gains +1 physical damage. It
also gains +1 additional damage against Tainted
beings and the wielder ignores the
Cumbersome quality while in Defiled terrain.

111
Kakita Pattern
XP Cost: 6
Target: A bladed weapon
Rarity Modifier: +4
Description:
Kakita swordsmiths are known across
Rokugan for their finely crafted weapons.
While hardly one sword in a generation is
deemed worthy to bear the “Kakita Blade,”
all of their works have an exquisitely sharp
edge with no sacrifice to the weapon’s
sturdiness.

Effects:
A bladed weapon produced in the Kakita
pattern gains +1 Deadliness.

112
Kenzo Blade
XP Cost: 8
Target: A weapon produced in the Kenzo
smithy

Rarity Modifier: +5
Description:
The Kenzo smithy is one of the premier
smithies in the Crane lands. Founded
centuries ago by Ashidaka Kenzo, this
smithy produces wondrous dueling
weapons for the Kakita family. Indeed,
Kenzo blades—nearly every weapon that
has come out of the Kenzo smithy has
been a sword of one kind or another—are
considered to be among the finest dueling
weapons in Rokugan. Kenzo blades are
both beautiful and extremely deadly.

Effects:
A weapon produced in the Kenzo smithy
gains +1 deadliness, -1 damage, and the
Resplendent quality.
113
114
Kökejin’s Heart of the Wind
Pattern
XP Cost: 8
Target: A polearm
Rarity Modifier: +5
Description:
Along the Sand Road, the way of the horse is the
way of life. Those who design weapons there do
so not only with mounted combat in mind, but as
the default. A particular master crafter named
Kökejin, a mysterious woman who lives in the
small oasis city of Süüdriin Gazar, or the Land of
Shade, is said to make the sharpest, most
versatile spears in all of the Burning Sands.
Rumors say the khan himself outfits the best
warriors with deadly weapons of Kökejin.

Effects:
A polearm made with Kökejin’s Heart of the Wind
Pattern gains the Razor-Edged and Durable
item qualities. Additionally, its wielder treats this
weapon’s damage value as 2 higher while
mounted.

115
Shirogane Jade Inlay
XP Cost: 3
Target: A weapon or armor set designed
for Shirogane jade inlay
Rarity Modifier: +2
Description:

Kuni Shirogane was a weaponsmith renown for his

beautiful and deadly weapons. During his long career,
Shirogane developed a process to make Jade-infused
resin that could be applied to suitably crafted weapons
and armor to protect an individual against the terrors of
the Shadowlands. Items forged to use this jade resin are
typically heavily engraved with ornate designs into which
the resin is poured. As the item is exposed to
Shadowlands Taint, the jade slowly turns to muck,
requiring another application of the resin. While it seems
inconvenient to some, Shirogane jade inlay has
protected the lives and souls of many Crab warriors.

Effects:

Weapons and armor designed for Shirogane jade inlay

gain the Sacred quality. Armor so altered loses 1 point
of physical resistance, and weapons lose 1 point of
deadliness. Should the item become Damaged, the jade
is chipped away as well and must be reapplied. When
this happens, the item loses the Sacred quality until a
smith applies more jade resin by making a TN 3 Smithing
(Earth) check as a downtime activity. This process
consumes one finger of jade per attempt.
116
Spirit of the Qamarist Pattern
XP Cost: 5
Target: Armor
Rarity Modifier: +4
Description:
Those who hail from the Cradle of the
World – The Qamarist Caliphate- come
from a culture of spiritual and military
might. The warriors and religious leaders
of this iron-willed empire are familiar with
the dangerous supernatural beings and
creatures that exist across the world.
Several great Qamarist alchemists have
discovered a way to treat armor to
increase its supernatural resistances to
fend off such enemies.

Effects:
Armor made using the Spirit of the
Qamarist pattern gains +1 supernatural
resistance.

117
Uchema’s Techniqe
XP Cost: 4
Target: A suit of armor
Rarity Modifier: +3
Description:
Uchema’s technique is a style of
armorsmithing used to produce specialty
armor for scouts and siege engineers. A
suit of armor made using Uchema’s
technique can be anything from ashigaru
armor to a splendid, heavy suit of O-yoroi.
With careful tailoring and cleaver use of
lacing and straps, an armorsmith can use
the technique to make a suit of armor
more flexible and easier to wear. A warrior
wearing a suit made with Uchema’s
technique can run, climb, bend, leap, and
otherwise move as if they were wearing
simple clothing rather than bulky armor.

Effects:

118
A suit of armor made using Uchema’s
technique loses the Cumbersome quality
and loses 1 point of physical resistance.

119
Yasunori Steel
XP Cost: 5
Target: A weapon
Rarity Modifier: +4
Description:
Decades ago, Kenru Yasunori, a Crab
swordsmith, developed a new steel alloy while
tinkering in his forge. Quite by accident, they
discovered a mix of various ores and refined
materials made of steel that is both lightweight
and strong but lacks the beauty of traditional
Rokugani steel. Soon they began creating
massive two-handed swords and axes used in
defending the Wall. Yasunori steel weapons are
popular among Crab samurai who appreciate a
sturdy, well-made blade and care little for
aesthetic.

Effects:
A weapon made from Yasunori steel loses the
Ceremonial, Cumbersome, and Resplendent
qualities (and can never gain any of these). It
gains the Durable quality; if the weapon already
has the Durable quality it gains +1 Deadliness
instead.
120