Scorpion Clan

Imports : Gold, wool Exports : Timber Alignment : LN

If the Lion clan exemplifies the ideal of the samurai warrior, the Phoenix clan models the ideal shugenja : a master of magic whose devotion to the kami and attunement to their ways is as complete as mortal minds can attain . The Phoenix are the most pious clan in Rokugan, and enjoy many blessings of the kami as their reward. The clan has its samurai, of course, but they are sworn to protect the shugenjas above all else .

RECENT HISTORY

The Phoenix study of history leads to only one possible conclusion : The Phoenix clan is preeminent among the clans of Rokugan . No other clan can claim as exalted a position . According to Phoenix legend, their glory predates the arrival of the kami, for their city Gisei Toshi flourished in the time before time, the first example of human civilization . Magic was discovered in Gisei Toshi, the Phoenix claim, and it was Isawa shugenjas who taught magic to the other clans. In the centuries since, the Phoenix clan has produced countless masters of elemental magic and oraclesincarnations of the divine dragons-to continue the glory of the clan . Phoenix inquisitors have guarded the empire from practitioners of maho and the heresies of the Bloodspeakers . The Agasha family's decision to leave the Dragon clan and join the Phoenix clearly shows the excellence of the Phoenix way.

More recent history continues to affirm an outlook of Phoenix superiority . Isawa Hochiu is widely regarded as instrumental to victory over the Shadow, for he destroyed Goju Adorai at Oblivion's Gate . An ancient Phoenix champion, Shiba Mirabu, rode out from Jigoku to save the beleagured armies trapped in the Shadowlands after the Shadow's defeat, leading them back to safety behind the Kaiu Wall . Phoenix masters taught religion to Hantei Naseru, and all the shugenja's arts to Toturi Sezaruone of the most powerful shugenjas in recent history.

Jealous of this record of success, other clans view the Phoenix as insufferably proud . In contrast, the Phoenix feel they are the only ones who clearly understand the terrible burden they hold-shepherding the religious ideas of an empire . Seeing themselves as the only true practitioners of magic has not won them any friends among the shugenjas of the other clans . They tend to be quick to take insult, and Isawa Tetsuya's angry reaction to an impassioned Dragon remark ("We need room to live, not your protection") may have spurred the two clans into war without real cause . The blame for the poor relationship between Isawa Taeruko and Tamori Shaitung of the Dragon probably belongs to both women, but Taeruko is a very vocal proponent of the philosophy of Phoenix superiority .

PHEONIX FAMILIES

The Phoenix clan revolves around its shugenjas and maintains two distinct schools for shugenjas : the Isawa and the Agasha . The Shiba school trains samurai to serve and protect the shugenjas, though now, for the first time, a Shiba (Shiba Ningen, Master of the Void) sits on the Council of Five-the Elemental Masters who rule the clan . The Asako are something of an anomaly in the Phoenix, for they are monks rather than shugenjas and stray rather far from the piety of the Isawa-and their enmity with the Isawa stretches back a thousand years .

The Isawas are arguably the greatest shugenjas of the empire, though their arrogance in such matters has led to great evils in the past . The Isawa school teaches all the elements, without focusing on any one . The school also teaches techniques relating to the element of Void, available only to members of the Void disciple prestige class, detailed in Chapter 3 : Prestige Classes .

The Phoenix clan has a second shugenja school, thanks to the Agasha family's secession from the Dragon clan . They are masters of alchemy and herbalism and accomplished crafters of magic weapons .

The Shibas are the warriors of this scholarly and magical clan . The Shiba protector prestige class, the embodiment of the family oath to defend the Isawas, is described below .

To outsiders, the Asako appear to be nothing more than healers, librarians, and historians . In fact, they are the caretakers of a great secret, passed from Shinsei to Shiba to Asako : Humanity can aspire to godhood . The heirs to that secret adopt the henshin mystic prestige class, described in Chapter 3: Prestige Classes .

THE SHIBA PROTECTOR

The warriors of the Shiba family are sworn to protect the Isawa family, just as the first Shiba swore to protect the Isawa family while its leader ventured into the Shadowlands with Shinsei . For a thousand years the descendants of Shiba have pursued this duty, giving them a clear sense of purpose that defines their family character. They pursue this duty with the aid of rigorous military training, combined with a spiritual discipline that grants them a keen awareness of magic's ebb and flow, allowing them to heighten its effects on themselves, resist it more strongly, or even shrug it off entirely .

Shiba protectors are almost exclusively drawn from the samurai character class .

Young Shiba protectors serve a period in the Home Guard, patrolling Phoenix lands and defending them from any threat . As they advance, some choose to become yojimbo (bodyguards), assigned to protect an individual courtier or dignitary . It is in this capacity that the Shibas truly excel, and where their vow to defend their fellow Phoenix shines most clearly .

Hit Die : dio .

REQUIREMENTS

To qualify to become a Shiba protector, a character must fulfill all the following criteria .

Race: Human (Phoenix) .

Base Attack Bonus: +5 .

Skills : Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks .

Feats : Alertness, Expertise, Iron Will.

CLASS SKILLS

The Shiba protector's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Iaijutsu Focus (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Sir),

Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Swim (Str). See Chapter 4: Skills in the Player's Handbook for skill descriptions . The Iaijutsu Focus skill is described in Chapter 4 of this book . Skill Points at Each Level : 2 + Int modifier.

CLASS FEATURES

The following are class features of the Shiba protector.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency : Shiba protectors do not gain any additional weapon or armor proficiency.