Fishy

Either it is all okay (Arcane Scion and Azdrazi) or none of it is okay. Fervant Flare in [2] is also good, too often is outclassed by other abilities at [3]

The free-form conversion ritual is neat, and is totally in line with the original intent of ologs as a CA. That said, there is too much powercreep here, particularly of olog intelligence and capabilities. This is an uruk but better, having an actual 'rage' mechanic that is both strength and speed, with a potential [8] emote uptime for [1] emote cost. Considering the unfettered ability to learn non-aengudaemonic magics, it would allow something like an arcane scion olog which would be profoundly minmax, allowing them to attack + charge + soul lag along with Indomitable retaining uruk strength tier. Likewise, when you add in materials like volatite, which ologs should not be able to use at all frankly, the stack just becomes ridiculous even stripped of its properties because of the 2x weight. Throw that olog on cavalry and it is just a recipe for powergaming. The original olog lore is pretty shoddily written, especially by today's standards. This ain't the solution. What needs to be reflected on more is the archetype of the CA, what is an olog meant to be. Their mutinous nature is something you have covered well already. An olog is an analog for an ogre, it is meant to be a big dumb brute, hardly above a beast of burden. If you want a character that has a more freeform niche, play an uruk. Got a number of suggestions that would make this more palatable, but I think this still strays too far from the mark. -Add to general redlines: "Ologs cannot wield volatite due to their instinctual fear of the metal." -Add to general redlines: "Ologs cannot engage in CRP while mounted." It is against the archetype for a 10' 400 lbs brute to be a cavalryman, can say it is due to their innate lack of dexterity or agility. This also helps prevent them from minmaxing and stacking movement buffs. -Add to general redlines: "Ologs cannot dodge." Again, olog size should be to their detriment, it would be rather hard to miss a 10' 400 lbs target. This presents a counter balance to the raw strength and speed they gain from Rage. They can still always block. -Remove from general redlines: "Ologs cannot denature from their innate affiliation with Orcs due to their conceptions of strength birthed from Krug. An Olog within non-orc society will always feel out of place, frustrated and depressed." This is cultural and player choice, it should not be enforced via redlines. -Change general redline: "Ologs may only crossbreed with Uruks, and are incapable of hybridization, creating whole Uruks or Ologs only." Ologs should not crossbreed. -Change general redline: "Ologs are incapable of romancing other creatures as they do not align with Krug’s visions of strength and honor." Ologs should not romance. -Change general redline: "Ologs are an open CA with Uruk Strength unless utilizing Rage. They possess 5 magic slots and may learn compatible feats and magics described above." Ologs should not get the full compliment of magic slots, it is against the archetype of an "ogre." if anything, they should be limited in tiers and/or limited by slots. They should also not be getting combative feats, such as arcane scion. Crafting feats are fine.

FOREWORD: These being the words and philosophy of Shugo Tsukinomiya Honda, Dai Yondaime as transcribed by Tsukinokenin Kawasaki. They represent his thoughts in his final years on the Samurai of Kurai-Kuni. They do not represent the customs and styles of the Samurai of other domains, only Kurai-Kuni. 春 進化 Shinka The Spring of Shinka is brought on by shinkō, the development of one’s physical form. From the day we are born our shinkō begins. We learn to grasp, to crawl, to walk. The physical body develops rapidly in the first days of life. It requires nourishment both to grow and to sustain itself, but also challenges to firm muscle from fat. If the body is not nourished, it will wither and die. Those that subsist on mana alone will find their form compromised, as is common amongst the practitioners of kuku mahō. Proper sustenance should consist of red meat, dairy, and eggs. Pork should be avoided as swine are unclean creatures. In the absence of meat, blood is the material essence of life and may serve as a substitute. Blood contains all that is required for shinkō, which is why many yokai are drawn to it as creatures lacking in material firmament. Practitioners of mahō no chi will likewise puddle in blood given its potency. However, chido users fail to realize that all that their mahō promises is what the body was capable of to begin with; they should have eaten more meat. Furthermore, drinking blood is vulgar in civilized societies and likely to spread contagion so it is best avoided. If the body is nourished but not challenged, it will grow like a weed. High in volume, but without substance. A weed lacks strength; it propagates itself wherever it finds nourishment. While one may pluck a weed, it is just as likely to come back the next day. One may pluck a thousand weeds, and they will bring beauty to their village for a thousand days. If one strives to pluck every weed, then their shinkō will never cease. It is impossible to pluck every weed, it is the kani in which we all persist. It is by attempting such regardless that we experience shinkō; challenge necessitates development and development necessitates challenge. This experience is what allows us to learn what we are truly capable of. A man who expires before learning what their body is capable of is a pitiful thing. If the body is both nourished and challenged, then shinkō is achieved. It is from shinkō that one may achieve the Spring; to exceed a limit. One and one’s ancestors toiled beneath their limitations, be it size, strength, agility, or perception. By shinkō, one gains the ability to surpass what was previously possible. It is a fundamental truth that all children learn this instinctively. One day they can only crawl, the next they can walk, then they might finally run. Each generation that ingrains this contributes to their descendant’s shinka. The body is thus cultivated of their ancestor’s shinkō, each increment raising the bar of what the next is capable of. It is the realization of this physicality that allows the Spring of Shinka to bloom, from which all other shinka arises. 夏 超進化 Chō Shinka The Summer of Shinka is brought on by the accumulation, pursuit, and usage of knowledge. It is accomplished when knowledge transforms into wisdom. Its beginning varies from person to person. Some may start when their thoughts can weave their first words, others when they are old enough to write their clan’s name. The mind requires a permanence of thought and idea coupled with the faintest ability to create abstractions. Not all learning is encompassed by the Summer, wisdom must be carefully cultivated in accordance with one’s profession. One can spend a thousand years upon this earth and never realize the Summer. Likewise, one can diligently study the greatest scholars and scrolls and still never achieve the Summer. It is through one’s experiences that it is defined. To learn a mahō is no substitute for practical experience. One may learn its rhythm, its pace, yet have no concept of its application. Whether studying an adversary or one’s own weapons, there are unspoken rules and implications written into every action and inaction. To know them all is an impossibility. To attempt knowing them all invites insanity. One who has achieved this shinka knows their own, and knows them well. With the accumulation of experiences, these useful grains of knowledge, one ferments a potent wisdom. Too much can poison the mind, too little renders one blind. Like a good sake, it is clear in both purpose and form. Wisdom by knowing what is essential to themselves, and tuning out what is not, is the clarity one should seek. Knowing the celestial movements of the Heavens is of paramount importance to a sailor, however, a warrior does not gain by dwelling upon such in the course of battle. One’s wisdom is specialized; one’s shinka is specialized. The Oni achieves the Summer at a base level; its most instinctual expression is in the mind of no mind. To be ultimately ignorant is not the Summer. The truest realization of the Summer is when one’s accumulated knowledge transforms into collective wisdom. It is wisdom that transcends generations, such as gold being the bane of kegare. How many generations passed before this was learned none might say. Once this knowledge became the collective wisdom, however, it forever changed the manner in which kegare were fought; it became second nature. To contribute one’s own wisdom in this manner is the Summer of Shinka, pushing further the limits of knowledge for the next generation. 秋 究極進化 Kyūkyoku Shinka The Autumn of Shinka is brought on by the crystallization of one’s mastery. It begins when one is of the shōnen age. Whether with Bisutofoma or by learning their father’s trade, these experiences accumulate into ability. Earning recognition coincides with the height of Autumn, as one reaches the pinnacle of their craft. Too, however, with this comes the narrowing of the path. Autumn is only truly ripe when the forest grows bare. The forest is of one’s own potential, as it is realized it withers. With each step a leaf falls. This is the double-edged sword that haunts the mind of the elderly, for they have few leaves left. What mastery they have accrued has only drawn tight the noose; a forgone conclusion. This is why unrealized potential is the most bitter beverage; it is why humanity propagates and dominates. Time to realize his potential is more precious to a man than his lifeblood. His forest is already falling by the time he can step into it with mindfulness. In this barren wood, one must persevere through the mire to attain their ultimate shinka, the summit of their mortal abilities. As in nature, Autumn must be preceded by Spring and Summer. They are the bedrock from which the forest grows. Without their development, the forest is sparse and pitiful. With their development, the forest is full and abundant. There is nothing more beautiful than the full Autumn when leaves hang in red, orange, and gold. This fleeting beauty is that of a life well lived, it is something that all seek to obtain for themselves. This is a shinka of contrasts, there is as much beauty as there is ugliness in it. When one holds onto the dreams of youth, they continue to radiate beauty. When one gives in to their own cynicism, they wither and dim. To guide this shinka one must envision with clarity the form they wish to take. Then one must pursue it without a single step back. Regret and indecision only serve to impede the natural progression of this shinka. The skills one masters in this pursuit redefine them. While they sever alternative paths, they define the path forward. By continuing to follow this path, even once all else has fallen, one achieves the Autumn of Shinka. It is from this achievement that the forest is revealed to us, so that we may learn from our ancestors and refine our own path through the Autumn of Shinka. 冬 最終進化 Saishū Shinka The Winter of Shinka is brought on by death. It is only with such finality that the purpose of a life is determined. With purpose, the potential of a life is ended. It is bleak, it is stark, it is cruel. All shinka meet their end within the Winter. Yet, too is it from the Winter that the shinka of others may begin. The greatest of deaths pushes the next generation onwards, to aspire to ever greater heights. The aspiration of all is that their death may serve twice the purpose of their life. The Way of the Samurai is death; bushido is to live as though one were already dead. A thousand and one scrolls explain this truth, expanded upon by minds wiser than I. However, what few realize is this is not the worship of Nokumi-sama and her shinigami; it is not a code of death. In the practice of bushido, one transcends through their awareness of death, liberated to absolute freedom, from which it is possible to perfectly fulfill one's calling as a warrior. Such a liberated mortality grants one the final shinka, to surpass the limits of life. It is to do the impossible, to see the invisible. It is to contradict all contradictions. With one’s life, heart, and soul on the line all barriers fall. Death is inevitable for all. No power in the Heavens or upon this earth supersedes it. All such claims to the contrary are merely an extension of the Autumn; a return to the narrowing path. One should engage the Winter within the span of seven breaths. Only then one has determined their spirit to break on through to the other side. If one’s head is to be taken with certainty, then they should perform a final, single action with the same certainty. By such determination does one remain master of their purpose. Revenge is likewise the determination to kill, there is no long way around to it. Revenge is to be pursued with immediacy; it is best to dash in, a headlong rush. Such resolution is the onslaught Winter brings with it. The seasons change obliviously. Before long, one passes to the next. They are ever present, a facet of existence. By gaining awareness of them, may one consciously strengthen what they pass on. In this shinka is attained. The final act of the Winter is one which thrusts forward the frontier of possibilities. By it, a continuous progression can be maintained as those that come after reach further than those that came before. Even if such advancement is trite, it shall compound generation by generation. The Winter consumes all for this purpose, body, heart, and soul. One’s death is likewise consumed by Winter. To choose the time and place of death is a liberty few are spared. At this moment one is not powerless, however. In the exchange, one may write the final words of their tale. What is written shall become a mantra to the next; a fire lit in the depths of the Winter of Shinka.

THE SWORD BURNS IN GOLDEN FLAMES

Please get us the spears, if even as a training weapon, asap. Proper jousts are finally possible.

An LotC month is not the same length as an IRL month. An LotC year is the equivalent RP length of an IRL year, except that the LotC year is divided into 7 months, not 12.

"Rest in peace, nakama." The Shugo said, resting after his battle with the Kuma-Kami. "The friendship between our peoples remains eternal."

SHUGO’S DIRECTIVE: KUMA Issued from the Storm Crowned-Capital of Yorumachi Nyazoku no Toshi | 446 Kamijikan “I believe in the power of diplomacy and negotiation to peacefully resolve conflicts. There is no diplomatic tool more powerful than a katana.” - #23 of The Little Pink Book DIRECTIVE As the corrupted Kuma-Kami stalks within the swamplands of the Shugonate, its slaying is the duty of our state. The Shugonate reserves the right to prohibit, exclude, and execute any suspect individual(s) attempting to participate in the hunting of the Kuma-Kami. Any and all reinforcements to aid in its merciful slaying are to be screened by the Marines, failure to comply is itself a suspicious act. All efforts to hunt the Kuma-Kami are to be coordinated with the Shugonate. Trophy taking of the Kami is to be strictly prohibited, any offending individual will be executed on the spot regardless of nationality. Any and all that is taken from the Kuma-Kami is property of the Shugonate, and to be subsequently ritually purified. SHUGO-SAMA Tsukinomiya Honda, Dai Yondaime, Yōbushi of Machiman, Father of the Land of the Heavenly Thunder, DEFENDER OF THE FARFOLK and the rightful Shōgun of Oyashima.

Shugo Honda bowed his head to his friend and ally, now Emperor of Azuras. What a thing to witness in the final years of life. For a man who had lived a century, this was quite the sight for the sunset of life. "Congratulations,"

I am Godfrey's strongest soldier.

Dated 20XX THE HELVETS DOMAIN RISES Hear ye, hear ye. . . Let it be known that hereafter, the Kurai-Kuni Shugonate, is hereby dissolved and replaced with the HELVETS DOMAIN, to be lorded over by LORD HONDA HELVETS and his heirs. All talk of ‘katana’ is to be replaced with ‘sword.’ Our state is no longer that of the farfolk, but the purest strain of Heartlandic blood. All citizens are hereby ordered to take on proper Heartlandic names, such as John, George, and Thomas. It is hereby declared to be a HEARTLAND BOY SUMMER By the way, we are now a part of the Empire. Signed, Lord HONDA HELVETS, Lord of the House of Helvets, King of Kaedrin, Duke of Cathalon, Earl of Lemon Hill, Count of Angren, and Captain and Defender of Liberty.

The Shugo fell back onto his litter, the exertions of the day having taken their toll upon the Samurai a century old. His dark gauntlet sizzled, burning the white flames of his patron. A thorough and complete war, one that was few and far between. The tether of his soul upon his body grew weak, it would not be long before it was gone completely. In this victory, Tsukinomiya Honda could bask in the accomplishment if only for a while longer yet.

Into Fire Nation Territory SHUGO’S DIRECTIVE: NONE ESCAPE THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE ALIVE Issued from the Storm Crowned-Capital of Yorumachi Nyazoku no Toshi | 450 Kamijikan “To struggle is righteous. A people who are without the means to live peacefully shall wage tireless war to achieve them!” - #9 of The Little Pink Book DIRECTIVE The dwarven fleet has been detected attempting to run the blockade of the Southern Straits. The Admiralty is hereby directed to OPEN FIRE on any vessel attempting to leave or enter the Skull Sea with EXTREME PREJUDICE. Ships may be directed from other fronts to accomplish this task. No humanitarian corridor is to be offered, no leave given for the dwarves to slip their mooring. Pursuit is only to be terminated via the destruction of offending vessels or their return to the dwarven harbor. Let the treasures of Urguan be scattered across the seafloor of the Skull Sea, it shall keep our divers busy for the next decade. Those that flee in such a manner shall suffer the indignity of wounds upon their back or a cannonball ripping through their chest. @AlaricGrimgold SHUGO-SAMA Tsukinomiya Honda, Dai Yondaime, Yōbushi of Machiman, Father of the Land of the Heavenly Thunder, DEFENDER OF THE FARFOLK and the rightful Shōgun of Oyashima.

Submissions are closed, sending out requests to make GCs.

Shugo Honda wheezes, pained by the pollen in the Southern Air. While he had mounted the battlements in the assault, he had forgotten to wear his mempo-respirator, soon Honda was taken by his allergies. Only able to offer a vague nod at Ena's direction, the Shugo quickly made for the litter.

The Shugo salutes his fallen Automaton.

That isn't Helvets, that is Rochefort. It has the Novellen Quartering. These are the Helvets COAs. This is Cathalon's.

(Name means your RP name(MC name in parentheses))

The Second Kurai-Kuni Shinka Examination Issued from the Storm Crowned-Capital of Yorumachi Butajin no Toshi | 471 Kamijikan “To struggle is righteous. A people who are without the means to live peacefully shall wage tireless war to achieve them!” - #9 of The Little Pink Book PREAMBLE Decades have passed since the first Shinka Examination. What once was a generation of our nation’s finest has become old, gray, and wrinkled. As I approach a century of life, I am burdened by the weight of Horutosama’s Pact. It is now I make preparations to fall to the earth as we all must. From this, I cast a final ember to the scattered autumnal leaves, so that a new generation may spring forth from the ashes to take up our mantle. As Shugo, I call forth all amongst our people to participate in the Second Shinka Examination of Kurai-Kuni. Whether it be for the honor and dignity of their clan or the demonstration of one’s own prowess, all beneath the Heavenly Thunder may participate. Show our great nation the means by which you struggle, and by your labors yield the path to the future. The Shinka Examination of Kurai-Kuni shall be established to ascertain the combat prowess of participants. Examinations are to take place all throughout the given year as scheduling allows. Examinations are to be in two parts; First, a singular one-on-one combat match, predetermined by the Samurai to best evaluate participants. Second, a team-based taijutsu (pvp) mission to be issued by the Shugo. All examinations are to be overseen by Samurai, who shall grade the performance of participants and serve as referee. All techniques, save for those forbidden by the will of the Shugo, are permitted, including those of lethal force. [3/11/2026-3/18/2026] SIGN UP SHEET Name (MC Name): (Discord): Clan: Citizenship: Mahō: Materials: Availability Preference (Day(s) of the Week): CURRENT MATCHES [EXAMPLE] [X] vs [Y] (March 11th) - - - - - - SHUGO-SAMA Tsukinomiya Honda, Dai Yondaime, Yōbushi of Machiman, Father of the Land of the Heavenly Thunder, DEFENDER OF THE FARFOLK and the rightful Shōgun of Oyashima.

"Again they do not give battle, have they no shame?" Grumbled Shugo Honda as his litter crossed another valley devoid of the enemy. "Ena-san, arrange for the ships to begin bombardment, proceed with no rules of engagement."

"If the dwarves will not show the hearts of warriors, then they will not receive a warrior's death. Let their people be no more than fuel for our forges, hang the rest. I have five scarce years left in me, I will battle again before I meet my end." The Shugo says to his Admiral @Reckless Banzai Screamer, ordering warcrimes, as the aged Samurai was carried by his litter through the Valley of Gold.

The Marines of Kurai-Kuni embark onto the river, joining the Imperial advance.