L5R 4th edition School Review Part II: Bushi Schools
Ok first off a note about most of the schools in general. One of the effects of removing static bonuses from the bushi schools is that they no provide less general competence and more specialized maneauvers or tricks. This effects some schools more strongly than others, take the Toritaka bushi school for example. In 3e they had attack, damage and init bonuses because their special trick are only of use against spirits and ghosts, which are rarely encountered in a typical game. In 4e they are still decent vs spirits, but basically useless anytime else.
The Great Clan Schools:
Hida Bushi School:
Still the best at soaking damage, although the addition of reduction to armor allows everybody to do that to some extent. This school focuses on Heavy Armor and Heavy Weapons. If you favor a katana you will miss out on all of the offense bonuses other than the extra attack. The ability to ignore all penalties from armor means that you will be wearing heavy armor at most times in battle, which, when combined with the already defensive techniques, grants a truly amazing staying power to this school.
Hiruma Bushi School:
Let me state that this has always been one of my favorite schools, and I am so glad they brought back this one instead of using the crappy hiruma scout school. This school is a very nice blend of offensive and defensive techniques, focusing much more on not getting hit than on soaking the damage. Hit fast and hard, and do whatever you can to get a higher initiative score, so you can hit them before they hit you, adding together wound penalties, plus the school bonuses can be crippling for their attack roll.
Kakita Bushi School:
While stylistically I love this style, mechanically it is incredibly overpowered for dueling. Granted it is a bit underpowered for combat, but not by as much as it rocks at dueling. The +1K1+rank to all attack and focus rolls in the center stance isn’t too much use in combat, but it is devastating in a duel, at rank 1 basically no other school of comparable rank can match this, especially if the kakita bushi spends a void point. The rank 5 technique makes this school one of the more deadly schools around (Only one attack, but that attack gets at least +2K2+7, probably more.
Diadoji Iron Warriors School:
This is an excellently made school, a great balance of useful techniques for both offense and defense. They have the best extra attack in the game (absolutely no restrictions on what weapons it applies to, you want to throw 2 greandes…Fine!). I really like how for the first rank honor literally becomes a shield for their wound points. All in all I like this school both thematically and mechanically.
Mirumoto Bushi School:
Wait why the heck does the school boost stamina? The focus of this school is speed, precision and reflexes. OK, the mirumoto family grants agility, so I can understand why they didn’t go with that (double dipping on family and school traits is bad, regardless of what 3e thought), but why not Reflexes? Oh well, still a very good school, although I do believe there are some problems with it. Maybe I just missed it but I can’t find any refrence to a TN bonus for fighting with two weapons, but if there is one it explicitly stacks with the Mirumoto school. I like this bonus to Iaijutsu, a simple STATIC bonus at rank 3, not an overwhelming technique at rank 1. Also: still 3 attacks at rank 5, commence blender of death!
Akodo Bushi School:
While it is hardly a secret that the Lion Clan is not my favorite I do like this school. I like that instead of a bonus, static or otherwise, to attack this school instead allows you to bypass their armor, great for the feel of the school, it will frequently amount to the same thing on the battlefield, but it is not due to precision but to understanding their weaknesses, way to be Akodo! Also, the rank 5 technique seriously rocks. I know that is true of many schools, but I find it particularly true here. A fairly solid school even if all of the techniques are offensive in nature. Hey what should I expect from a Lion?
Matsu Berserker School:
This school is what it always was, a violent school with an almost unparalleled ability to utterly destroy everything in its path, with the sole downside of requiring recklessness to work. That being said many of the techniques will work even without being in the full attack stance, but it is fairly clear that the school does expect most of its students to be all attack all the time.
Yoritomo Bushi School:
Sigh…Still pirates. But now they are very good at being pirates. This school focuses on keeping your footing and then knocking your opponents down. Obviously this is the best school for fighting on a ship, but that isn’t commonly a huge concern for most players. This school does offer a fair mix of attack boosts, damage boosts and some defensive bonuses, so all in all a pretty good school.
Tsuruchi Archer School:
I personally don’t like this school. Mostly because in my mind it doesn’t quite fit in. That being said it is quite good at shooting a bow, and doesn’t really do anything else at all. Oh, sorry, it gives a flat +3 to init. So yeah, exclusively bow oriented school, but is quite effective within that limitation. With the ranges you can hit at, you can almost always put an opponent down long before they get to melee range, which seems pretty unsporting in a samurai game.
Shiba Bushi School:
While I love the phoenix above all others this school is not all that great. The skill of spears doesn’t apply to the most common phoenix secondary weapon, the Naginata. The rank two technique is only slightly better than half of the mirumoto school’s rank one technique. This certainly is one of the worst rank 2 techniques. Guarding as a free action is pretty sweet, as is the useage of void points, even if it isn’t as good as it was in 3e. the rank 5 technique is actually a bit disappointing, considering most schools have a very powerful final technique, and this one is sadly lacking in comparison to 3e.
Bayushi Bushi School:
I do love this school. The bonus to init is paired with a technique that activates if you win init, usually those two effects come at different ranks, so this is a nice change. The bonus to feint is awesome because feint is now very, very good. For this school much better than raising for damage. The ability to inflict status effects on opponents is very much in theme and works well mechanically too. Still a favorite.
Shosuro Shinob…I mean Infiltrator School:
Without a doubt the best assassination school in print. By rank 5 if your target doesn’t know that you are there they are a walking dead man. This version doesn’t offer as much in a straight up fight as 3e did, but this version adds in a ton of bonuses for staying hidden. If I were to play this school I would try to pose as a courtier or artisan, because they lack the skills and techniques of a bushi, although kata can help make up for that lack if you want to impersonate a bushi (obviously you can’t openly state that you are a ninja).
Moto Bushi School:
Even at first rank this school is capable of dealing much damage. Without spending any extra points, your strength is already 3, you are usually wielding a scimitar, and your technique gives you a bonus for a 6K3 damage pool at 1st rank. Pretty damn nice. This is yet another school that is all offense, but that is a bit less of a problem for the unicorn who tend to wear riding armor and strike and move past their foes quickly. One thing I definitely like about this school is that in the full attack stance you can use most of these technique dismounted, which makes it a bit more versatile.
Utaku Battle Maiden School:
There is only one bit of advice for those who train in this school: Get a high honor score! This school have a number of decent techniques, some offensive, some with the ability to be either defensive of offensive. The only problem I have with this school is that half the techniques, including the second attack require the character to be mounted. Quick way to defeat to Battle Maiden? Four words: Aim for the Horse.
Minor Clans:
(Yes this time I remembered to include stuff from the book of water, sorry about last time)
Diagotsu Bushi School:
This is an interesting school. Obviously it relies on the taint in the character and thus is unsuitable for most PCs, but I still like this school. Combine its rank 4 technique with touched by Gaki-Do and you can regain a fair amount of health by killing an opponent. Due to this ability, after rank 4, all offensive abilities can also help shore up your defense, as long as you keep hurting people. Which is fairly easy to do for this school.
Ichiro Bushi School:
This school makes the ronin paths look good. I know I shouldn’t expect wonders from a minor clan, but this school really, really sucks. The rank 3 technique is almost as good as the Akodo Bushi rank 1 technique. If you have the misfortune to be born into the badger clan, for the love of whatever god you follow, take the different school advantage.
Heichi Bushi School:
This is actually a half decent school, as long as you are using a spear. If you intend on using a katana then this school is utterly useless, but with a spear it is actually quite nice, especially the rank 5 technique, which allows you to gain all the benefits of full defense and then launch a single buffed attack at the same time.
Toritaki Bushi School:
This school is very good at dealing with spirits and the restless dead as well as a variety of other monsters. It is not of too much use if you are fighting humans though. A slight damage boost at rank 1, and the ability to negate blindness and darkenss, as well as negating part of the opponent’s reduction. Not too much vs humans, but there is none better at dealing with spirits.
Usagi Bushi School:
The rank 5 technique is rather underpowered (roughly equivalent to the bayushi bushi rank 2 technique) and the rank 2 and 4 techniques allow you to put on surprising bursts of speed, but to not actually help you past that. That being said I actually like this school. Not the best, but definitely not the worst either. And I will always have a little bit of a soft spot for the hare clan.
Toku Bushi School:
This is a very odd school. The bushi gets better the worse their circumstances are. Not my favorite school by any means. It is hard to rate this school. Against a single opponent of equal rank then it is decidedly inferior. But against multiple opponents or a more skilled opponent it is superior.
Morito Bushi School:
Actually quite a powerful school. The rank 1 technique and the extra attack only work while mounted, which is a serious drawback. The rank 2 technique is quite useful, and the rank 5 technique is awesome if you have a high initiative, and the rank 4 technique is useful in getting there (and frankly after one or two turns you shouldn’t need it anymore, so it is ok that it fades).
Suzume Bushi School:
Other than rank 3, all of the techniques are pretty decent. Not quite as good as a great clan, but pretty good for a minor clan, even if it is a bit slow. Strike that, exceedingly slow for a bushi school.
Seppun Guardsman School:
This school is very good at protecting the emperor, and little else. In 3e this was a decent school in most circumstances, but now only the rank 2 and 3 techniques are all that useful in an open fight. Definitley the best at detecting ambushes, and having one around will ruin a ninja’s day, but not all that good in a straight up fight.
The Ronin Paths:
I really dislike this setup I know not everyone agrees with me, but I would much rather have the ronin schools from 3e. All of these are effectively 1st rank techniques, which makes all of them fairly week.
Disciples of Sun Tao:
Meh, this is an Ok bonus to dueling, but nothing like the kakita school.
Forest Killers:
Actually, for a ronin path, this one is quite good.
Tawagoto’s Army:
Not aweful, but nothing spectacular. Would be better if, like the great clan schools that focus on honor, they got 6.5 honor.
Tengoku’s Justice:
A half-decent assassination technique.
The Tessen:
A decently useful defensive technique, but nothing to write home about.
The Great Clan Schools:
Hida Bushi School:
Still the best at soaking damage, although the addition of reduction to armor allows everybody to do that to some extent. This school focuses on Heavy Armor and Heavy Weapons. If you favor a katana you will miss out on all of the offense bonuses other than the extra attack. The ability to ignore all penalties from armor means that you will be wearing heavy armor at most times in battle, which, when combined with the already defensive techniques, grants a truly amazing staying power to this school.
Hiruma Bushi School:
Let me state that this has always been one of my favorite schools, and I am so glad they brought back this one instead of using the crappy hiruma scout school. This school is a very nice blend of offensive and defensive techniques, focusing much more on not getting hit than on soaking the damage. Hit fast and hard, and do whatever you can to get a higher initiative score, so you can hit them before they hit you, adding together wound penalties, plus the school bonuses can be crippling for their attack roll.
Kakita Bushi School:
While stylistically I love this style, mechanically it is incredibly overpowered for dueling. Granted it is a bit underpowered for combat, but not by as much as it rocks at dueling. The +1K1+rank to all attack and focus rolls in the center stance isn’t too much use in combat, but it is devastating in a duel, at rank 1 basically no other school of comparable rank can match this, especially if the kakita bushi spends a void point. The rank 5 technique makes this school one of the more deadly schools around (Only one attack, but that attack gets at least +2K2+7, probably more.
Diadoji Iron Warriors School:
This is an excellently made school, a great balance of useful techniques for both offense and defense. They have the best extra attack in the game (absolutely no restrictions on what weapons it applies to, you want to throw 2 greandes…Fine!). I really like how for the first rank honor literally becomes a shield for their wound points. All in all I like this school both thematically and mechanically.
Mirumoto Bushi School:
Wait why the heck does the school boost stamina? The focus of this school is speed, precision and reflexes. OK, the mirumoto family grants agility, so I can understand why they didn’t go with that (double dipping on family and school traits is bad, regardless of what 3e thought), but why not Reflexes? Oh well, still a very good school, although I do believe there are some problems with it. Maybe I just missed it but I can’t find any refrence to a TN bonus for fighting with two weapons, but if there is one it explicitly stacks with the Mirumoto school. I like this bonus to Iaijutsu, a simple STATIC bonus at rank 3, not an overwhelming technique at rank 1. Also: still 3 attacks at rank 5, commence blender of death!
Akodo Bushi School:
While it is hardly a secret that the Lion Clan is not my favorite I do like this school. I like that instead of a bonus, static or otherwise, to attack this school instead allows you to bypass their armor, great for the feel of the school, it will frequently amount to the same thing on the battlefield, but it is not due to precision but to understanding their weaknesses, way to be Akodo! Also, the rank 5 technique seriously rocks. I know that is true of many schools, but I find it particularly true here. A fairly solid school even if all of the techniques are offensive in nature. Hey what should I expect from a Lion?
Matsu Berserker School:
This school is what it always was, a violent school with an almost unparalleled ability to utterly destroy everything in its path, with the sole downside of requiring recklessness to work. That being said many of the techniques will work even without being in the full attack stance, but it is fairly clear that the school does expect most of its students to be all attack all the time.
Yoritomo Bushi School:
Sigh…Still pirates. But now they are very good at being pirates. This school focuses on keeping your footing and then knocking your opponents down. Obviously this is the best school for fighting on a ship, but that isn’t commonly a huge concern for most players. This school does offer a fair mix of attack boosts, damage boosts and some defensive bonuses, so all in all a pretty good school.
Tsuruchi Archer School:
I personally don’t like this school. Mostly because in my mind it doesn’t quite fit in. That being said it is quite good at shooting a bow, and doesn’t really do anything else at all. Oh, sorry, it gives a flat +3 to init. So yeah, exclusively bow oriented school, but is quite effective within that limitation. With the ranges you can hit at, you can almost always put an opponent down long before they get to melee range, which seems pretty unsporting in a samurai game.
Shiba Bushi School:
While I love the phoenix above all others this school is not all that great. The skill of spears doesn’t apply to the most common phoenix secondary weapon, the Naginata. The rank two technique is only slightly better than half of the mirumoto school’s rank one technique. This certainly is one of the worst rank 2 techniques. Guarding as a free action is pretty sweet, as is the useage of void points, even if it isn’t as good as it was in 3e. the rank 5 technique is actually a bit disappointing, considering most schools have a very powerful final technique, and this one is sadly lacking in comparison to 3e.
Bayushi Bushi School:
I do love this school. The bonus to init is paired with a technique that activates if you win init, usually those two effects come at different ranks, so this is a nice change. The bonus to feint is awesome because feint is now very, very good. For this school much better than raising for damage. The ability to inflict status effects on opponents is very much in theme and works well mechanically too. Still a favorite.
Shosuro Shinob…I mean Infiltrator School:
Without a doubt the best assassination school in print. By rank 5 if your target doesn’t know that you are there they are a walking dead man. This version doesn’t offer as much in a straight up fight as 3e did, but this version adds in a ton of bonuses for staying hidden. If I were to play this school I would try to pose as a courtier or artisan, because they lack the skills and techniques of a bushi, although kata can help make up for that lack if you want to impersonate a bushi (obviously you can’t openly state that you are a ninja).
Moto Bushi School:
Even at first rank this school is capable of dealing much damage. Without spending any extra points, your strength is already 3, you are usually wielding a scimitar, and your technique gives you a bonus for a 6K3 damage pool at 1st rank. Pretty damn nice. This is yet another school that is all offense, but that is a bit less of a problem for the unicorn who tend to wear riding armor and strike and move past their foes quickly. One thing I definitely like about this school is that in the full attack stance you can use most of these technique dismounted, which makes it a bit more versatile.
Utaku Battle Maiden School:
There is only one bit of advice for those who train in this school: Get a high honor score! This school have a number of decent techniques, some offensive, some with the ability to be either defensive of offensive. The only problem I have with this school is that half the techniques, including the second attack require the character to be mounted. Quick way to defeat to Battle Maiden? Four words: Aim for the Horse.
Minor Clans:
(Yes this time I remembered to include stuff from the book of water, sorry about last time)
Diagotsu Bushi School:
This is an interesting school. Obviously it relies on the taint in the character and thus is unsuitable for most PCs, but I still like this school. Combine its rank 4 technique with touched by Gaki-Do and you can regain a fair amount of health by killing an opponent. Due to this ability, after rank 4, all offensive abilities can also help shore up your defense, as long as you keep hurting people. Which is fairly easy to do for this school.
Ichiro Bushi School:
This school makes the ronin paths look good. I know I shouldn’t expect wonders from a minor clan, but this school really, really sucks. The rank 3 technique is almost as good as the Akodo Bushi rank 1 technique. If you have the misfortune to be born into the badger clan, for the love of whatever god you follow, take the different school advantage.
Heichi Bushi School:
This is actually a half decent school, as long as you are using a spear. If you intend on using a katana then this school is utterly useless, but with a spear it is actually quite nice, especially the rank 5 technique, which allows you to gain all the benefits of full defense and then launch a single buffed attack at the same time.
Toritaki Bushi School:
This school is very good at dealing with spirits and the restless dead as well as a variety of other monsters. It is not of too much use if you are fighting humans though. A slight damage boost at rank 1, and the ability to negate blindness and darkenss, as well as negating part of the opponent’s reduction. Not too much vs humans, but there is none better at dealing with spirits.
Usagi Bushi School:
The rank 5 technique is rather underpowered (roughly equivalent to the bayushi bushi rank 2 technique) and the rank 2 and 4 techniques allow you to put on surprising bursts of speed, but to not actually help you past that. That being said I actually like this school. Not the best, but definitely not the worst either. And I will always have a little bit of a soft spot for the hare clan.
Toku Bushi School:
This is a very odd school. The bushi gets better the worse their circumstances are. Not my favorite school by any means. It is hard to rate this school. Against a single opponent of equal rank then it is decidedly inferior. But against multiple opponents or a more skilled opponent it is superior.
Morito Bushi School:
Actually quite a powerful school. The rank 1 technique and the extra attack only work while mounted, which is a serious drawback. The rank 2 technique is quite useful, and the rank 5 technique is awesome if you have a high initiative, and the rank 4 technique is useful in getting there (and frankly after one or two turns you shouldn’t need it anymore, so it is ok that it fades).
Suzume Bushi School:
Other than rank 3, all of the techniques are pretty decent. Not quite as good as a great clan, but pretty good for a minor clan, even if it is a bit slow. Strike that, exceedingly slow for a bushi school.
Seppun Guardsman School:
This school is very good at protecting the emperor, and little else. In 3e this was a decent school in most circumstances, but now only the rank 2 and 3 techniques are all that useful in an open fight. Definitley the best at detecting ambushes, and having one around will ruin a ninja’s day, but not all that good in a straight up fight.
The Ronin Paths:
I really dislike this setup I know not everyone agrees with me, but I would much rather have the ronin schools from 3e. All of these are effectively 1st rank techniques, which makes all of them fairly week.
Disciples of Sun Tao:
Meh, this is an Ok bonus to dueling, but nothing like the kakita school.
Forest Killers:
Actually, for a ronin path, this one is quite good.
Tawagoto’s Army:
Not aweful, but nothing spectacular. Would be better if, like the great clan schools that focus on honor, they got 6.5 honor.
Tengoku’s Justice:
A half-decent assassination technique.
The Tessen:
A decently useful defensive technique, but nothing to write home about.