After all, in 5e, the Strife mechanic is meant to mirror the conflict a PC has between their desires and their duty, and unmasking is a thing that can happen with negative consequences. Even if you have safety mechanics in play, it seems like the sort of thing that would quickly fly off the rails. Yes, you are playing samurai in a society where "honor is life," but asking your players to imagine themselves as characters who walk around with that sort of threat just casually dancing around can be problematic. But from a player perspective, it's a horrible idea. Even the Lion in the game, traditionally the most honor-bound clan, have shinobi-like skirmishers, so the limits of "honor" are more flexible than perhaps they have been in past editions. From an in-game perspective, demanding ritual suicide from people who are otherwise on your side and working for you seems foolish at best. I understand why it was there in the first place, but now that the setting is moving away from Japan as the sole informant of Rokugan's cultural base, seppuku seems like something that doesn't fit. And I was doing some reading on other forums, and for some reason, it hit me: why does the setting still use seppuku? Why is it there? (I think this was because I heard from somewhere else that the game is moving away from it, and I'm glad, but it still came to mind). So the setting, to me, feels like it's opening up and shedding some of the elements that people might say are "necessary" for the game. I think there's also been more of an attempt to pry the game away from "fantasy medieval Japan" and more toward "fantasy east Asian" in general. The 5th edition of the game has reset the timeline, and with it, changed some of the setting as well-Rokugan feels less like a walled-off area and more like just a distant country, there's less emphasis on the Shadowlands being the big spiritual realm you interact with, things like that. Awesome! I love the game, and I'm excited to run it! However, as I read up on and reflect upon the setting, I've come to realize that the idea of seppuku really doesn't sit well with me, and I'm not sure what to do about it. So my group is starting a new game, and they all elected to do Legend of the Five Rings, 5th edition. Lemme give others some space in the mouse-over. I realize this is a touchy topic for some, but this is RPG.net, and this is somewhat central to an RPG, which is why I'm coming here to talk about it in-depth.
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