Samurai vs. Ninja, Round 2!

Spent almost all of my break time at work today writing up the skill dice section of rules for my Chanbara expansion for Flying Swordsmen.  I also did write-ups for the four Bushi (warrior) classes and the Ninja, although I think I'll need to slightly expand the descriptions of their class special abilities.  I may also need to slightly expand the Skill Dice section, although it's likely that anyone who would download it is already a gamer so that may be unnecessary.  We'll see.

Anyway, one thing I did make sure to add was a few optional ways to run each class.  The "Samurai" class need not be a Bushido-following retainer of a feudal lord, but could be a member of the noble class trained for war, an up-and-coming ashigaru (peasant footman), or a warrior-monk without any mystical abilities (Sohei covers warrior-monks with magic in addition to combat skills).

Also, important, is that Samurai who become ronin, and Ronin who swear fealty to a new lord, DON'T change their class, lose abilities, or suffer any penalties.  It's all role-play.  Someone could even play their Samurai character as a ronin from the start, and vice-versa a Ronin class PC could be a clan or house samurai who just has a more tricksy fighting style.

Possibly confusing, but I prefer encouraging characters to re-fluff the mechanics, and also prefer not limiting events from happening because it might mechanically hinder a player's fun (like a Paladin losing his powers for ending up in a no-win situation). 

Disclaimer:  the game will not be written with "samurai vs. ninja" as the default play-style.  It will be more like "I'm Kikuchiyo from Seven Samurai.  You're Sarutobi Sasuke.  Together we fight the cast of Ge-ge-ge no Kitaro."

Miyamoto Musashi, self portrait