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August 6, 2000

The Battle at Oblivion's Gate

The Battle at Oblivian's Gate storyline tournament that will be held at GenCon. Participants were chosen in one of 3 ways: by total clan points this season (Warlords), Kotei winners and play at Race to Volturnum.

Warlords are expected to represent their clan. Kotei invitees may choose any clan and Race to Volturnum invitees are urged to continue with the same clan with which they qualified.

Congratulations to our Dragon Clan representatives!

Kelly, Garcia Thousand Oaks, CA USA RtV invite A Hidden Fortress Dragon
Greg, Osborn Michigan City, IN USA Clan Invite n/a Dragon

July 29, 2000

Juat received Hitomi Pukku's letter on the Dragon clan mailing list - will repost it here:

From:  "Joe Fulgham" <puck@holycow.com>
Subject:  GenCon Dragon Bounty
Date:  Wed, 26 Jul 2000 12:32:43 -0700

  Well, GenCon is only a few weeks away, so I guess I should offer up this
bounty while people still have time.

  To the highest ranking Dragon (HDM Guidelines-playing) player, I'm
offering an Ancestral Sword of the Dragon.

  If a Dragon player (whose deck goes by the HDM guidelines) manages to win
GenCon, I will give him my Designer Wins.  I received this card as part
payment for designing the FRPG web site.  It's one of my proudest
posessions, but I will gladly give it up for an Honorable Dragon win at the
end of the story arc.

  Yes, the HDM guidelines are strict, so this means if you're thinking of
playing "Bergstrom's Exploding Dragon Deck", you're going to have to keep
the Oni no Pekkles out of the deck.  The guidelines are thus:  No Ninja,
Kolat, Shadowlands or Maho (this includes Black Scrolls, except the 12th
which is ok for storyline reasons).  Cards that cause an honor loss are
*not* a problem in an HDM deck, though some will point out they're "frowned
upon".  This means Ambush, Kachiko's Kiss, Obsidian Hand, etc. are allowed
in the deck.

  To my cousins in the Scorpion Clan, I also offer a bounty:  The highest
ranking Scorpion player (who isn't playing "Junzo-in-a-can", or "We're
really, really, really Shadow-tainted"*) I will also offer an Ancestral
Sword of the Dragon.  A sword for a sword, in honor of our alliance.

* Scorp decks do *not* have to abide by the HDM guidelines.  Their brand of
evil is What They're Good At, but I won't give the sword up to a *really*
Shadowlands-corrupt or *really* Shadow-corrupt deck.  Final decision
completely up to me.

  To sum up:  I'm giving away two Ancestral Sword of the Dragon - one to the
highest ranked HDM Dragon, and one to the highest ranked "not entirely
corrupt" Scorpion.  If an HDM Dragon deck wins GenCon, I will give them my
Designer Wins.

Joe Fulgham | Hitomi Pukku | puck@holycow.com
Dragon Clan Shugenja * Master of the Web * Dragon in Black
http://www.holycow.com/l5r/
L5R Code (2.1): DR++ S++ G++ Y+ P:M- O- EJ+ SJ+ I C++++ E++ M- T- D++ K H++
Tk IC++ U++

reference: dragon-digest Digest V2000 #150
    Fri, 28 Jul 2000 01:16:50 -0400

July 27, 2000

Phoenix Win the Race To Volturnum

Mindy Sherwood-Lewis (Mouse) announced that the Phoenix have won The Race to Volturnum. They will be rewarded by going first in the finals at GenCon. Prior to the finals, who goes first will be decided by Family Honor plus Focus value of a randomly cut Fate Card.

GenCon Bounty Offered To Dragon and Scorpion Players

Hitomi Pukku (Joe Fulgham) has offered his Designer Wins card for any Dragon player that wins GenCon while meeting the requirements of the Honorable Dragon Movement (HDM).

• No Ninja
• No Kolat
• No Shadowlands
• No Maho (this means no Touch of Death, though the 12 th Black Scroll is allowed because it's a Dragon item.)

An Ancestral Sword of the Dragon will also be awarded to the highest ranking Dragon player using a HDM compatable deck.
The highest ranking Scorpion player at GenCon will also be receiving an Ancestral Sword of the Dragon if his / her deck isn't too currupt (entirely up to Hitomi Pukku's discretion).

Legacy of the Naga to be a Global Storyline Event

Update -  You don't have to live around Alabama to participate in putting the Naga to sleep. Now all participating stores can host this tournament, the winning clan being the one to "watch over" the Naga as they hibernate.

July 25, 2000

Dragon Clan - Jack of All Trades and Master of None?

Yogo Ono has completed the final clan rankings of Kotei 2000 and Dragon came in 7th out of the 13 clans. Not really great but better than the hapless Naga who won no tournaments and ended up with 0 points. The proprietary ranking system used by Yogo Ono is enough to get an idea of the relative strength of the clans based on card quality and clan popularity.

Ono's predictions?

The strong favorite is:

the Fox Clan based on Kyuden Kitsune due to quick personalities, Kihos and fast Gold scheme

Contenders include:

The Crane (Kosaten Shiro) due to its fast gold production and ...

The Phoenix (Eternal Halls of Shiba) due to the strong shugenja base. Even with the power reduction of the Most Recently Printed Stronghold rule (no more "rent a shugenja") the Phoenix have too strong a spell and personality base in the Open format to discount.

The Scorpion got a boost in the Dishonor deck archetype with Lessons of Honor + Enlightened Tutor or Kuru Sensei.

The Crab (the Kaiu Walls) have new allies in the Ratlings and the new Iron Mines. They are the Dark Horse to win due to the Ratlings ability to generate Force and because no one is expecting it.

Notice that the Dragon clan is not mentioned by Ono - too unpredictable?

Archival Gold (or at least old paper anyway)

While searching for new L5R related information, an old announcement for Imperial Herald volume I, number 3 was found featuring The Oracle of the Void's Frequently Asked Questions by DJ Trindle. c1976!

Ikoma Andy Moves Web Site to Deathseeker.com

In response to the ever increasing administrative burden of maintaining a news site, Ikoma Andy has changed his site location and format. Using "slash", he is able to monitor his site and make changes more automatically. Viewers are also able to add articles and comments - the self-updating site. The page is "busy" because the screen is filled with more words and less graphics. The new "look" is efficient but some of the "character", "charm" and "flavor" of his old site seems to have been lost in the translation. His old site is still around but the updates have stopped. 07-19-2000

So far most of the visitors to his site are "readers" instead of "writers" because he has hundreds of visitors daily but only a handful of contributors. Contrast his new site with the established Crane Clan Discussion Group to see the different audiences that each site attracts.

Legacy of the Naga

There will be a Strict Jade 40/40 storyline tournament on October 7, 2000 at Visions Cards & Games in Montgomery Alabama that will decide which clan will watch over the Naga as the return to hibernation. Temptation - if the Dragon clan wins this tournament ....

Speaking of the Naga, they have been fighting for so long that some of them can't get any other jobs. Why else would they advertise themselves as "Rent A Naga?"

Came across Mirumoto Maiyako's Hikus while searching on the net. Remember, the way of the Mirumoto is to be cultured as well as good with a katana.

July 16, 2000

Site graphics revised.

July 4, 2000

It's the Independence Day holiday in the United States today. Government offices, schools and many stores are closed , which means that there's time to make scans of Dragon Clan cards in Soul of the Empire.

Saw more Soul of the Empire cards at the Sunday (7/2) Pre-release tournament at Philly Game Cards in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Mirumoto have been working overtime to try to figure out significant events in Soul of the Empire expansion set - see part II.

July 1-2, 2000

Soul of the Empire Update

The pre-release tournament is this weekend. A near complete Soul of the Empire Spoiler list can be found at the Islands of the Mantis (but no flavor text). See the Rumours page for an early look into what's happening in the storyline as pieced together by MIST. Caution - storyline spoilers.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Hitomi Hokosaki  has a site that is a "supplement" to the Mountain Keep of the Dragon. He has evaluations of personalities, gold production and deck design theory. Current decks that he has posted include Tattooed Military, Honor/Dueling, and the Tattooed Dragon Empty the hand (DETH) of Hitomi Hakene, the Kotei Germany second place winner. See here for Hitomi Hakene's deck list.

June 27, 2000

Mirumoto Ieyasu Promoted!

News from L5Rinfo indicates that Mirumoto Ieyasu is now the new brand manager for L5R. Is it too early to start a wish list for the Dragon? There is need for a new clan to replace the Agasha and for some female personalities. You can point out that the Dragon won only only one Kotei event despite being the largest faction in the Imperial Assembly. (note: after playing with Chris's deck for the last week, it's evident that he won because of his playing skills - the deck isn't so hot.)

June 26, 2000

Clan Letters from Imperial Herald 15 -  now available.

The Doom of the Thunders

It's been written that all clan Thunders from the Time of the Void (Day of Thunder) have to die, bringing closure to the Cosmic Cycle.

Let's see . . .

• Crane Clan - Doji Hoturi: died after being struck by Fu Leng in the throne room at the Day of Thunder.
• Phoenix Clan - Isawa Tadaka: died in the throne room at the Day of Thunder.
• Crab Clan - Hida Yakamo: died fighting the Shadowlands after Hidden Emperor. Brought back to life by the Naga using the power of the Black Pearl, thereby cheating death. Hitomi always said that he cheated . . . . ;)
• Dragon Clan - Mirumoto Hitomi: committed seppuku after the War in the Heavens.
• Lion Clan - Akodo Toturi: committed seppuku in Phoenix lands after being injured by Sanzo using the Bloodsword Ambition. Thought to have been cleansed of the Taint by Kaede, Oracle of the Void.
• Scorpion Clan - Bayushi Kachiko: died (?) / fell asleep at Sleeping Lake under Bayushi Castle at the time of Race to Volturnum.
• Unicorn Clan - Otaku Komoko: soon to die leading the Dark Moto against the Light Moto. (Soul of the Empire?)

Speaking of Toturi, it's rumoured that he will die and then be brought back to "life" in the Soul of the Empire. "One man will kill his master. The other will save him." From the artwork on the Wizards of the Coast site, it looks like Hiroru is Toturi's second, thereby fulfilling the first part of the prophesy.

Ginawa is at the Oblivion's Gate in Volturnum, seeing the battles unfold. He [reaches] ". . . out across the gate as the Darkness began to close between them. 'Give me your hand!' . . . . " This would fulfill the second part of the prophesy ". . . The other will save him."

reference: rumoured Soul of the Empire rulebook

June 19, 2000

Chris Bergstrom wins Kotei Seattle

The only first place win for the Dragon Clan was accomplished by Chris Bergstrom in Seattle. See his report in the Pearl Herald with a separate listing of his "Exploding Dragon" deck.

Yogo Ono has put together a chart with the clan ranking based on tournament wins.

Heroes of Rokugan

As a reward for belonging to the Imperial Assembly, a special binder with 27 Unique cards was promoted to assembly members. Relatively expensive at $90.00 U.S., it is a beautiful set containing a binder with dust cover, a story book and cards depicting important people, items and events.

For scans of the cards themselves, go to The Stronghold.

A checklist of the cards is available along with the spoiler list from Ikoma Andy.

Kharmic Tie - Hitomi and Yakamo

Wizards has put together a semi accurate overview of the famed feud between Mirumoto Hitomi and Hida Yakamo. It's part of the "tell a story with cards" advertisement, relatively long at 35! web pages worth of pictures and history. :)

Guess they never did find the original painting of Hitomi as the Dragon Thunder - there's no picture shown. (They lost the original computer file and asked fans if they knew who bought the original painting from Matt Wilson).

Dragon Clan Letter #15 is now available. Other clan letters will be posted as they are gathered.

War in the Heavens story archived. This is the more complete version that appeared in Imperial Herald #12.

May 31, 2000

Interview with Mirumoto Ieyasu

The Stronghold scooped all other web sites by having the first published interview with Mirumoto Ieyasu (May 29, 2000). Ieyasu is the former Dragon Clan Warlord who retired from his magistrate duties to work at Wizards as an assistant Brand Manager for Legend of the Five Rings. He is famous for defending the Honorable Dragon Movement's honor (HDM) against supporters of The Daini, a former Mirumoto samurai who turned traitor to his clan by helping the Naga attack his homeland. Read his letter regarding the duel at OrcCon.

May 30, 2000

The Duel of the Two Chris

In true samurai fashion, there was a duel between the two Chris to see who would be the first on the 'net with the three new Strongholds from Soul of the Empire. In one corner is the newcomer, The Stronghold with pictures supplied by Chris Heywood. In the other corner is the heavyweight champ, The Writings of Deathseeker Ikoma Andy with photo contribution from Chris Bergstrom. The final result was ... a tie? By some strange coincidence all 3 pictures on both sites were identical! How can this be? Is this a Kolat or Shadow plot to confuse us mere mortals? Or is this a Kharmic Strike where great minds think alike? Enough Talk! Onward toward the specifics....

(See pictures here).

Kosaten Shiro
(Crane)
Province Strength-5   Gold-4   Family Honor-6
Gold- and Honor-producing Holdings cost 1 less Gold
for you, to a minimum of 0, but cannot have
their costs changed in any other way.

Northern Provinces of the Moto
(Unicorn)
Province Strength-5   Gold-5   Family Honor-4
Bow the Northern Provinces of the Moto to produce
7 Gold when paying for a Cavalry Follower.
Battle: Switch the locations of two of your cavalry
units that this action has not targeted this turn.

Vigilant Keep of the Monkey
[Toturi's (Toku's?) Army]
Province Strength-7   Gold-4   Family Honor-4
Your Human Personalities each gain +1 Chi.
You may ignore Follower's Honor Requirements.

Commentary:

Kosaten Shiro - the Crane's legendary wealth allows them to bring in Holdings more cheaply. The Province Strength, Gold, and Family Honor are in line with the clan's relatively standing in Rokugan. As a side benefit, this also protects them from the Nio Sensei.

Northern Provinces of the Moto - the above average Gold production is traditional. The 7-Gold for a Cavalry Follower and the ability of Cavalry units to switch locations during Battle is a strong advantage. You also can surmise that the Moto were not eradicated during the battle at Volturnum. Matched up against our Iron Mountain, it negates some of the defensive advantage built into the Iron Mountain stronghold ("Players cannot assign units during the Cavalry Maneuvers Segment when you are the Defender"). The Unicorn still cannot send their units to empty provinces but regain the advantage of mobility (read uncertainty) in battles where units are already assigned. Centipede Tattoo anyone? For more information about tattoos, please see Hitomi Karasusan's article, A Guide to Tattoos.

Vigilant Keep of the Monkey - average Gold and Family Honor but a monstrous 7-Province Strength! How they got one of the highest Province Strengths in Rokugan is still a mystery. The +1Chi to Human Personalities along with Province Strength-7 seems conducive to an Honor running dueling deck.

It seems that Toturi's Army may disband after the current story arc - how can Toturi's Army survive without Toturi? The Imperial Guard was composed of many of his best troops - they were decimated by Lady Shinjo and the Unicorn during the War in the Heavens. Isawa Kaede gave Toturi sanctuary in Phoenix lands but he will probably not survive into the Gold Edition basic set - (too old, stabbed by Sanzo using the Bloodsword Ambition). Who will take Toturi's place? Why Toku of course! Already the daimyo of the Monkey Clan, Toku is young enough to survive into Gold Edition where he will be middle-aged (~40 years old).

May 28, 2000

Old News is better than No News???...

Hitomi Puck released Wazaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!? last month (April 29). This Flash generated movie features animated renditions of Legends of the Five Ring Personalities overlaid with the sound track of a contemporary commercial. Note: The commercials referred to in Puck's movie are usually shown during American sports programs on television.

You Can Come home Again

If your Imperial Assembly membership expired after Imperial Herald #14, you can still renew before June 1st to take advantage of the special Heroes of Rokugan 27 card limited edition set. New information from the Wizards of the Coast site also indicated that you also get a $5.00 coupon good toward next year's membership dues. They take Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover cards. So hurry and re-enlist in the Imperial Assembly - great benefits are promised for members.

First Legends of the Five Rings Novel Update

The Scorpion is the first L5R novel. Written by Stephen D. Sullivan, it chronicles the Scorpion Clan Coup. As a bonus, the cover of the novel is available as free wall paper. They also made a new Scorpion animated gif - it's blinking merrily on the left side of their page.

• Official press release
• Advertisement page. Excerpt from the introduction (PDF format - requires Adobe Acrobat reader)

News from earlier this year

News from the last century 1999