L5R Homebrew Advantages/Disadvantages

Advantages:
Distinctions:
Honour Debt(Water)
How can I possibly repay you?

Types: Interpersonal

● Someone owes you their life (either literally or metaphorically) and they feel obligated to pay
you back for what you have done.
● When performing a check to ask favours of the chosen individual (such as a Courtesy [Water]
check to guilt them into helping you or a Commerce [Water] check to negotiate a trade deal
with them), you may reroll up to two dice.

Renowned Lord (Earth)

I understand that you are hungry and desperate my friend, you would not be robbing us if
you were not. However, I’d like to ask you to look at the mon on the side of my litter and
reconsider your actions.

Types: Interpersonal, Social

● Your lord is highly renowned and respected throughout the Emerald Empire. You receive
some respect by others simply by association and stating that you are acting on behalf of
your lord will open doors not normally available to someone of your status.
● When performing a check to represent your lord, (such as a Commerce[Earth] check to stand
in for your lord in a trade negotiation or a Meditation[Earth] check to determine initiative
while championing your lord in a duel), you may reroll up to two dice.
 Passions:
Sparring (Fire)
“Have you had enough,” Asked Kakita Shoto “Or are you hungry for more?”.

“Isn’t it obvious?” spat Moto Yū as the nearby Shugenja healed his 5 broken ribs, dislocated
arm and burst eyeball. “I haven’t had this much fun in ages!”

Types: Martial, Physical

● You have a basic idea of how skilled a martial artist each individual you meet is from their
general stance and demeanour. Continued interactions can let you learn additional
information such as their school and preferred stances.
● After performing a check related to sparring matches (such as a Meditation[Fire] check to
determine initiative in a duel or a Commerce[Fire] check to get someone to agree to a bet on
a fight), you remove 3 strife.

Family (Water)
Mirumoto Tamon burst through the door panting with unseemly exhaustion. To arrive on
time he had to go through bandits, snow and even a minor avalanche but when he held his daughter
in his arms he knew it was worth it.

Types: Social, Interpersonal

● You are on good terms with all members of your close family unless something else such as a
disadvantage states otherwise. You have a good knowledge of your family tree and have at
least met most living members of it.
● After performing a check related to interacting with your family (such as a Games[Water]
check to play go with a sibling or a Aesthetics[Water] check to paint a family portrait), you
remove 3 strife.
Complaining (Earth)
Isawa Jin would frequently follow his servants from room to room as they cleaned to helpfully
inform them about spots they had missed. He was found beaten to death with a scrubbing brush last
week.

Types: Social

● You have a critical eye for everything wrong with the world and how it could be done better
and imparting such wisdom brings joy to your heart. You have an easier time identifying
problems in most things such as battle plans.
● Whenever you make a check related to expressing your disapproval (such as a
Command[Earth] check to reprimand troops or a Martial Arts[Melee][Earth] check to find
problems in someone’s technique), you remove 3 strife.

Romantic (Water)

Types:Social

● You have a love of romance and strongly believe that there’s someone for everyone. You pry
into the lovelives of people close to you. When meeting people you always know someone
who would be perfect for them (in your opinion).
● Whenever you make a check related to romance or marriage (such as a Composition[Water]
check to write a love letter or a Perform[Water] check to act in a romantic play), you remove
3 strife.

Reading (Earth)
Sadism (Fire)
Because it amused me

● You delight in inflicting misery upon others and like to savour their grief. You can quickly
deduce what series of actions or words can cause the most pain to others.
● Whenever you make a check to perform an action that is gratuitously cruel (such as a Martial
Arts[Unarmed][Fire] check to beat an underperforming servant or a Courtesy[Fire] check to
make an egregiously brutal insult), you remove 3 strife.
Disadvantages:
Adversities:
In Debt (Water)
Yoritomo Kai expects payments to be made on time. Do not test his patience.

-Anonymous Letter delivered to Doji Shoji via arrow through a paper door

Types: Interpersonal, Material

● You owe money to some unsavoury individuals. They may ask for “favors” to pay off your
debt or simply get violent if you do not meet payments. You start with half the amount of
koku/zeni listed under your family at character creation. This Disadvantage represents such a
large debt that the samurai will be unable to pay it back just from his current income and
may be struggling to regularly make payments. The samurai must actively pursue acquiring
wealth to pay back his debt.
● When performing a downtime check to acquire wealth (such as a Commerce[Water] check to
make trade deals or a Labour[Water] check to work for a living), you must choose and reroll
two dice containing [Success] or [Exploding Success] to represent paying off your creditors.
After resolving the check, if you failed, you gain 1 Void point.

Emotional Blackmail(Air)
Never let a Scorpion save your life friend. They’ll never let you forget it.

Types: Interpersonal

● You owe someone your life (either literally or metaphorically) and you feel obligated to pay
them back for what they have done. Not doing so could lead to a loss of honour.
● When performing a check to evade complying with the character whom you are indebted
(such as a Courtesy [Air] check to nominally tell them what they want without giving away
key pieces of information or a Performance [Air] check to pretend as though you will go
through with something they have asked of you), you must choose and reroll two dice
containing [Success] or [Exploding Success]. After resolving the check, if you failed, you gain
1 Void point.
Black Sheep (Void)
If I don’t see a bloody horse again in this lifetime it’ll be too soon

-Utaku Sakura

Types: Personal,

● You are a very atypical member of your family. You struggle with skills and techniques that
are stereotypically expected of members of your clan. People sometimes doubt your origins
and may take some convincing.
● When performing a check to do something stereotypically associated with your clan (such as
using a Martial Arts[Melee][Void] to use a weapon associated with your clan or a
Culture[Void] check to perform ceremonies important to your clan), you must choose and
reroll two dice containing [Success] or [Exploding Success]. After resolving the check, if you
failed, you gain 1 Void point.

Outcast (Void)
Junshin means "pure of heart" and the rest of Rokugan would probably consider the term a
compliment. As far as the Scorpion Clan are concerned, it means "not of the blood" and there
are few insults more disparaging.

Types: Infamy, Personal, Social

● You are well known for being an atypical member of your clan. Some members of your clan
do not consider you to be a “true” member of the clan and dismiss any of your suggestions.
Sometimes you feel like a foreigner in your own home.
● When performing a check to interact with conservative members of your clan (such as a
Courtesy[Void] check to advise the use of non-traditional methods or a Command(Void)
check to command soldiers of your clan to use unorthodox tactics), you must choose and
reroll two dice containing [Success] or [Exploding Success]. After resolving the check, if you
failed, you gain 1 Void point.
Colourblind (Air)
“No Hana-chan, I’m fine. Treat the others first.”

“You are not fine! Can’t you see how badly you are bleeding?”.

Types: Physical, Scar

● You are either red-green colourblind, blue-yellow colourblind, or have completely

monochromatic vision.
● When performing a check from which you are disadvantaged by your inability to perceive
colour (such as a Survival[Air] check to see camouflaged enemies, or a Design[Air] check to
send an appropriate message with your outfit), you must choose and reroll two dice
containing [Success] or [Exploding Success]. After resolving the check, if you failed, you gain
1 Void point.

Resting Bitch Face (Water)

I think your mother hates me.

Types: Physical, Social

● You have a look of disappointed contempt about you regardless of your actual feelings.
People when meeting you for the first time think you have a negative opinion of them and
either take offense or wilt due to what they think is a withering stare.
● When performing a check to get someone to open up to you (such as a Courtesy[Water]
check to try and earn someone’s trust or a Games[Water] check to build a rapport with your
opponent), you must choose and reroll two dice containing [Success] or [Exploding Success].
After resolving the check, if you failed, you gain 1 Void point.
Anxieties:
Unquestioning (Fire)
I was just following orders

Types: Mental, Interpersonal

● You fully believe in the judgement of your superiors over your own. You cannot disobey the
orders given by your lord on your own initiative unless those orders are overruled by your
lord or one of his superiors
● After performing a check to disobey or question orders given to you by a superior (such as a
Courtesy [Fire] check to dissuade your superiors from undergoing an action or a Tactics [Fire]
check to find holes in your commander’s strategy), you receive 3 strife. If this is the first time
this has occurred this scene, gain 1 Void point.

Problem with Authority (Earth)

“I must compliment your adherence for bushido my lord, as only someone who doesn’t dirty
their mind with knowledge of commerce could have ever thought of that.”

-Yasuki Kota

Types: Mental, Interpersonal

● You have no patience for fools and chafe under authority. You cannot follow orders you
disagree with without voicing your complaints either directly or indirectly.
● After performing a check to obey superiors you do not respect (such as Courtesy[Earth] to
compliment a superior you think is undeserving or a Martial Arts[Melee][Earth] to duel
someone as a superior’s champion), you receive 3 strife. If this is the first time this has
occurred this scene, gain 1 Void point.

Starstruck (Water)
Notice me, Senpai!

Types: Mental, Interpersonal

● You are easily impressed by people of higher station or reputation. You are incredibly
nervous around people with 20 higher status or glory than you and do not want to make a
bad impression unless they do something to lose your respect.
● After performing a check to interact with someone with 20 higher status or glory (such as a
Courtesy [Water] check to make small talk or a Performance [Water] check to play an
instrument for them), you receive 3 strife. If this is the first time this has occurred this scene,
gain 1 Void point.
Mottainai(Air)
Negotiations with the Crab began well with Doji Ono offering Hida Goro, an immaculate Jade
sculpture of the Dragon of Thunder crafted by one of the most skilled Kakita Artisans of our
generation.

Negotiations soured however, when Hida Goro promptly smashed the statue with his Tetsubo
and ordered that the shards be sent directly to the wall.

Type: Mental

● You have a hatred of waste and are disdainful of extravagant displays of wealth. You cannot
make extraneous or unnecessarily expensive purchases. When offered a choice between
form and function you would choose function every time. As long as it works it is good
enough for you.
● Whenever you interact with items you consider to be a waste of koku (such as a Design[Air]
check to put on expensive Jewelry or an Aesthetics[Air] check to admire artwork made out of
valuable materials), you receive 3 strife. If this is the first time this has occurred this scene,
gain 1 Void point.

Narcissist(Earth)
I didn’t do anything wrong! You did!

Type: Mental

● You have an incredibly high (and probably unrealistic) opinion of your abilities and believe
yourself to be far above most Rokugani of your status. You cannot publicly admit any failure
as being your own fault. You will try and find scapegoats or excuses to explain any public
failing regardless of how believable they are.
● Whenever you trust the judgement/abilities of someone with equal or lower status over your
own (such as a a Labor(Earth) check to construct an item by following written instructions or
a Tactics(Earth) check to perform maneuvers advised by a subordinate), you receive 3 strife.
If this is the first time this has occurred this scene, gain 1 Void point.

Procrastinator(Earth)
Placeholder

Type: Mental