Since someone asked for it here it is.  Similarities of the Scorpion and Crane.  First off, up until gold if I was writing this I'd say something like, "The Crane and Scorpion are similar so much as they both tend to be decent duelists (high chi) and they both control the courts (with the Unicorn allowed one good courtier every so often)."  That's it.  Since Gold edition however, suddenly the Scorpion have decided, "Let's steal the one thing the Crane hold most dear... Their Gimicks!!"  So now I'm waiting to get 2 force, 5 chi, 8 honour requirement, 4 personal honour, Double chi, unique Scorpion.  We took  over the courts (yea!), have more 5 chi people then the Crane, I'm not sure but I think the Scorpion have more people with innate dueling abilities than the Crane (Crane: Reju xp2, Kurohito xp, and thier Kolat master.  Scorpion: Katai, Higatsuku, and Tjeki xp), and suddenly for no real reason *poof* 3 personal honour Scorps... what the heck?!  Oh yeah, let us not forget that three (maybe more) times this arc tournaments/Seasons have awarded nice, sexy Shosuro wives (Toku got one at the Season of the Monkey, Otemi got Yasuko, and I think another one was up for grabs from Season of the Scorpion) to the clan that wins, now I'm not sure, but all the sourcebooks for Rokugan I've read made it out like everybody wants a nice Doji girl.
	At one point or another both clans have had an awesome tactician as thier champion (Doji Kuwanan and Bayushi Shoju), nothing changes the tide of battle like hand swapping or +3 force (generally) to all of your personalities.  The base forces of 5 and 6 never hurt either.
	In the L5R RPG the Crane and Scorpion have the distiction of being the only 2 clans with Iaijutsu as a basic skill at thier bushi schools, this of course ties back into both of them being duelly clans.  Both have very good courtier schools (which is becoming less signifigant since the Yoritomo and Shiba got courtier schools, and the Ikoma Bards got courtier techniques) but that is hardly suprising, they also both have schools based around ambushing/suprise attack (the Daidoji Harriers and the Bayushi Saboteurs) something that no other clan has.  Each clan's primary Shugenja use Air magic, which isn't a suprise.
	And the two clans Kami?  Well, both were related to their clans Thunder, the Crane one being Doji's daughter and Shosuro being Bayushi's daughter... or something, its kind of hazy.  Lady Doji had a good relationship with most of her  siblings, Bayushi was the guy that emerged out of the shadows when he felt like it.  Doji was a fluffy headed babe (for lack of better term) who became the greatest duelist ever's trophy wife.  Bayushi, he was the second most serious of the Kami (As I consider Togashi being the most serious) and he married some woman who gave birth to probably the most enigmatic person in Rokugani history... I mean I like to  t h i n k  that Shosuro was a woman, but then again that might just be because Shosuro decided to be female upon its freedom during the Shadow war.  Anyways, enough about Shosuro, both Bayushi and Doji died by walking into a large body of water and similarily both are celebrated during the bon festival with basins of water from where they both died.
	Anyhow as I pick this up again now in Diamond edition Scorpion and Crane personalities work very nicely together.  Higatsuku and Domotai both work Kharmic Strike better than anyone else out there, Eitaru and Masazumi both boost thier stats by their chi, Kurohito and Sunetra are both Samurai/Courtiers (though one of them is amazing and the other isn't worth the gold).  Jotaru and Nagori should have been Scorpions and thier Scorpion counterparts, Tabito and Shintaro complement them well.  Just think if it wasn't for Jotaru's honour requirement you could combine the Scorpion and Crane nicely in a Shadowed Tower deck.... but Jotaru has his eight honour requirement.  So play Crane and ponder which of your personalities will bow for that political action, since nearly all of them are Courtiers and don't be suprised that red & blue and black & white are complementary colours.
	Similarities for two (remarkably) different editions, some pining for Kachiko's Fan and finding some common ground Rpg and storywise.  There you go, not quite as freakily coincidental as the Scorpion and Phoenix, but then Scorpion and Crane are just two sides of the same political coin.  I just wish we'd stop stealing each other's schticks.