Imperial Favor Game

A card game will be held to determine which clan is currently in favor with Imperial Court.

For simplicity & fun we will determine the way the tournament played when we get there. We will probably got with Lotus Legal unless we get a lot people have really old cards they want to play.

Imperial Favor Rules

Any one can play, but if we have to refuse players then those not involved in the LARP will be the first excluded.
The faction that the winner plays is the faction that wins the favor. HOWEVER, the person who won can choose to not let that faction receive the Imperial favor (if he plays the LARP). Additionally the person who won the Imperial Favor Game can politick with the clan that potentially won the favor to determine if they get it.

Example: A person who plays a Dragon in the LARP brings a Crane Deck to the Imperial Favor card came and wins. He can negotiate with the other Crane players in the LARP for them to receive the Imperial Favor. If the Crane and the Dragon player make a deal they like then the Crane receive the imperial favor. If they come to no agreement then the Dragon player can deprive the Crane of the Imperial Favor, and no one has the Imperial Favor this game.

If the Mantis Clan wins, it means that the whole of Yoritomo’s Alliance has won the Imperial Favor.
At this time in the story the Scorpion Clan are disbanded and disgraced, but they are still a very powerful force in the Empire. If the Scorpion Clan win they may not keep the Imperial favor, however in the LARP a shadowy NPC played by the Storyteller or another player can offer it to another faction in return for favors which will accrue to any Scorpion players.
If the Shadowlands Horde win they may tempt the PCs with in one faction with their seductive promises, but no one gains the Imperial Favor. PCs of 2 target factions may choose to gain one minor Shadowlands power or learn 1 maho spell. If the gift is accepted the PC automatically gains 1 point of taint.
If the Ratlings win then at this point in the LARP it means that no clan impressed the Emperor this month. If the Ratlings take a more prominent role in the future then this may change.
Players are welcome to work out deals among themselves regarding the Imperial Favor. For instance if someone is playing Dragon, but he has a very good Crane deck, he could work out an IC deal that if the Dragon courtiers this month will support the Crane in their bid for Imperial Favor this month in return for XXX. However be warned, the Storyteller will not enforce these deals. They are between player to player and character to character. However if the Storyteller is informed of the broken deal, this is grounds for Honor loss in many cases.
At this point in time there 5 types of Imperial Favor. The winner of the Card Game determines which one the faction gets, not the players.
Here is the order of preference as to who gets to bear the Imperial Favor

The winner of the card game
The first player of that faction to arrive (to avoid arguments if someone else arrives within 10 minutes of another person they will be treated as arriving at the same time)
The character with the highest status
The character with the highest glory

Types of Imperial Favor

All

· Bearer gains a 0.3 to their Status and 1.0 to their Glory while carrying the Imperial Favor.

Right Hand of the Emperor (choose 1 at beginning of Session)

· For one session and one downtime your faction lent 1 unit of Elite Samurai Calvary

· For this session half the military maintenance costs up to 100 Wealth are covered by the Emperor.

Left Hand of the Emperor (choose 1 during the Session)

· Bearer can issue 1 irrefutable duel to death and can set reasonable concessions for winning the duel.

· Bearer can “cancel” 1 dishonorable act of 1 person that they witness or perform. Characters are to act officially as though it never happened and there will be no legal ramifications of the act. To act other wise would be the gravest of offenses. Characters can still use unofficial methods to discuss or act on the event.

· Bearer can double the honor and glory gain of 1 act they witness or perform.

Voice of the Emperor (choose 1 during the Session)

· If the Bearer is a Shugenja they may learn one spell of their choice.

· The Bearer can force someone to remain silent during Court for the remainder of the session. To continue to speak would be the gravest of offenses.

· The Bearer can have NPC Shugenja cast one 1^st through 4^th level spell cast for them. Depending on the scene at the time this request it may require the PC to still out up to 10 minutes and in some cases impossible. Examples: Asking for spell while in Daimyo’s Palace or a temple may be receive immediately. Asking for the spell while in the eta slums may take 10 minutes. Asking for the spell in the middle of the Shinomen Forest while alone may be impossible.

Dark Hear of the Emperor (choose 1 during the Session)

· The Bearer can choose to have up to 3 units of their choice poisoned. Tracking down the poisoner will be futile (either it leads to very high ranking PCs or leads to no where). The units gain wounded status if healthy, or are destroyed if already wounded. This poisoning can not be doubled up to kill healthy units. Characters who request this use of the Imperial Favor loose a number of honor points equal to double their honor rank.

· The Bearer can choose to gain a minor Shadowlands power or learn 1 maho spell. Automatically gain 1 point of Shadowlands Taint.

Under hand of the Emperor (choose 1 at the end of the Session)

· The Bearer can have one PC loose 5 points of glory from a very effect spreading of rumors in the Capital. If this would result in the character having a glory rank less than 0, they must commit seppuku or become a ronin by the end of the next session.

· No PC may gain glory this session unless the Bearer chooses to allow them to.

· The Bearer may learn one social or mental disadvantage of another character that they interacted with during the session. The target PC chooses which one to reveal, but it must be one that is not known to the bearer.