The Crab Clan
The Crab are Rokugan’s greatest line of defense against the horrors of the Shadowlands, the wilderness outside the Emerald Empire filled with goblins, oni, and other monsters. Crab samurai are among the most highly trained warriors in Rokugan… they have to be in order to maintain the Kaiu Wall, the physical border that divides civilization from chaos. With their enormous duty, the Crab samurai are not occupied with ways outside war, ignoring courtesy, luxury, and even hygiene.
The mighty Hida founded the Crab. They are charged with the protection of Rokugan from the Shadowlands, a task they perform from the mightiest structure in all of Rokugan, the Kaiu Wall.
Colors: Blue & Red on Dark Gray
Daimyo: Hida Kisada
Personalities: Hida Kisada and his sons Sukune and Yakamo, Kuni Yori (the great witch hunter)
Families
:
- Hida
: The powerful warriors who lead the armies against the Shadowlands. The Hida are renowned for their physical size and tactical knowledge
- Kuni
: The keen minds and iron wills of the Kuni have aided the Crab’s quest against the Shadowlands by provided necessary information about the enemy
- Kaiu
: The engineers of the mighty Kaiu Wall are the foundation of the Crab. As master crafters, they are also among the finest weaponsmiths and armorers in Rokugan. Nearly every Crab carries a Kaiu-made daisho in his obi
- Hiruma
: The Hiruma lost their province to the Shadowlands long ago. They now serve as scouts into the dark lands. Though merely scouts, many a horror of the darkness has fallen to a vengeful Hiruma blade
- Yasuki
: Originally a Crane family, the Yasuki defected to the Crab during the first major war between the two clans. Merchants to the core, the Yasuki are more suited to court life than most other Crab.
Dojos
:
- Hida Bushi Dojo
: The Hida teach their warriors to wield the power of the earth within. It is said that a Hida who does not wish to be moved cannot
- Kuni Shugenja Dojo
: The shugenja of the Crab perform dark experiments to better understand their enemy. Many a finger has been pointed at the Kuni accusing them of forbidden practices
- Kaiu Engineer Dojo
: The Kyodai na Kabe sano Kita (Great Wall of the North) or the Kaiu Wall is but one of the greatest achievements of the Kaiu. Their engineers are responsible for creating the tools necessary to keep the minions of Fu Leng at bay, as well as to siege Shadowlands strongholds
- Hiruma Scout Dojo
: After the Shadowlands took their castle, the Hiruma struck an alliance with the Unicorn Clan. Now their scout school resides in Unicorn lands, where they learn to move quickly and unseen through the blasted landscape of the Shadowlands.
- Hiruma Bushi Dojo
(lost): Before they became landless people, the Hiruma were powerful warriors whose quick and elegant fighting style perfectly complimented the sturdier style of their cousins, the Hida. No known Hiruma still remembers the techniques of the Hiruma Bushi Dojo, and all texts of the powerful style were lost within their castle.
- Yasuki Merchant Dojo
: Bringing with them the gift of gab from the Crane, no one in Rokugan has a finer grasp of trade and bartering than the Yasuki. In fact, the Yasuki have spent centuries crafting Rokugani markets to their liking, steadily increasing the value of koku.
Special Notes
:
- Crab Bushi prefer the heaviest armor they can find, usually a form of full plate called Rokugani Plate. Additionally, they march for days at a time in full armor and have become quite accustomed to it. To represent this, every Bushi has the Sprinting skill. They use a multitude of weapons, favoring large swords and clubs. The most favored weapon is the Tetsubo, a huge club which follows the same rules as a Great Mace.
- The Crab are the only clan to use the gaijin technique of carrying shields. This is not practiced by many Crab, as they prefer two-handed weapons, and those that do are most often archers.
- Kuni Shugenja are masters of the black arts. They perfect their techniques of hunting demons by summoning them first as practice. As a result a great many are air mages, favoring the Dimensions group. This is not a requirement, just a preference.
- Kaiu engineers use many of the skills common to ship building, but only apply it to land-based fortifications. So even though very few people on Rokugan spend much time in the water, the Kaiu are most likely marines.
- Hiruma Scouts are rare. They prefer speed and stealth to power. As for use in games, they are simply warriors with a few extra auger skills.
- Hiruma Bushi do not exist, they all died long ago of old age. This does not mean that more might not appear in future. But first the scrolls detailing the techniques must be recovered from the lost castle (in other words, it might be a good adventure hook).
- Yasuki Merchants are typical merchants. They are base augers with all the appropriate skills.