Ultimate Combat Priest Asahina Shugenja

You are discussing the same school. The Seppun have an affinity for both Air and Water, but also have deficiencies in both Earth and Fire. (Making them one of the least martial Shugenja Schools in the game). Also considering that in my opinion Air and Water spells are by far WAY better then the Fire and poor Earth spells. Fire has 12 different way to do damage, but Air do damage, turn things invisible, reveal hiding things, listen at distance, give skill ranks ect. Water has healing and scrying and rerolls. Earth, well Earth just sucks. This is what really makes the Seppun one of the best shugenja school in the game. A similar shugenja with Affinity Fire and Earth and deficiency Air and Water would not be nearly as good. The REAL scary part, is Asahina 2, then Seppun at Rank 3; Double affinity Air and Affinity Water. Rank 5 Air, Rank 4 Water and Rank 1 Fire and Earth is nuts. Sure you don’t get firery burnination, but you have tempest of Air, so meh.

Earth magic does have a use. It's the best element for enhancing and repairing other people's equipment. Other than that... we'll it's got Jade Strike; useful in Crab and KYD campaigns.

Earth is very powerful when abused especially at lower ranks. Earth has many spells that gives negatives buffs to your adversary and most of them aren't specified that they don't stack. Cast Earth Stagnation three times in a row and you can have two opponents with -3 Agility and Reflexes. Even just the -1 agility and -1 reflexe will be enough to make an opposing bushi ineffective against your own bushis. Earth also has the greatest destruction capcity in regard to large srtucture. I don't say that Earth has the versatility of Air (which is clearly the best element) but I think Earth is actually better than Fire and at least equal to Water.

Cast Earth Stagnation three times in a row and you can have two opponents with -3 Agility and Reflexes. Even just the -1 agility and -1 reflexe will be enough to make an opposing bushi ineffective against your own bushis. In those same three combat rounds, 3 targets died from the bushi. Those three casting would usually have been better served with the earth shugenja simply attacking the target three times with a weapon.

A prepared earth/fire shugenja can self buff or buff a bushi friend in a badass way. Speed of flame, touch of the fire kami, biting steel, fires of purity, armour of earth, slash of the lion all give quality bonuses at low ranks. Also note that multiple castings of: Slash of the lion, Speed of flame stack with themselves. So given time (or silent waters) you can seriously buff someone. Like any magic in most games its preparation, from a standing start at early ranks Bushi have the edge, given prep time the shugenja will pwn.

In those same three combat rounds, 3 targets died from the bushi. Those three casting would usually have been better served with the earth shugenja simply attacking the target three times with a weapon. The junghuar tech and a few raises makes the spell worthwhile when ALL of the badguys are at penalties. But personally I hit them with grasp of earth.

The junghuar tech and a few raises makes the spell worthwhile when ALL of the badguys are at penalties. But personally I hit them with grasp of earth. Well come on, you're talking about the clan with (apparently) better tacticians than the Lion, bushi capable of sustaining (almost) as much abuse as the Crab, more shugenja families than Phoenix, merchants who are as mobile and commerically savvy as the Mantis, and courtier who are by definition the match for anyone else. About the only thing they don't have are tattooed monks, and that may just be a matter of time. Of course one of their Alternate Paths can do impressive stuff with Earth magic, I'd be more surprised if it couldn't.

This is what really makes the Seppun one of the best shugenja school in the game. A similar shugenja with Affinity Fire and Earth and deficiency Air and Water would not be nearly as good. The REAL scary part, is Asahina 2, then Seppun at Rank 3; Double affinity Air and Affinity Water. Rank 5 Air, Rank 4 Water and Rank 1 Fire and Earth is nuts. Sure you don’t get firery burnination, but you have tempest of Air, so meh. We have wandered way off the established track although the discussion has been interesting. I for my part do not allow shugenja to multischool outside of established paths. Affinities and Deficiencies are a representation of the way you were trained in your formative years, spending a few months at a different school doesn't fix or cfhange that in my opinion, but I am notoriously hostile to multiple schooling in general. My question remains, why is the peacefull school the only one with the ability to raise spell damage?

My question remains, why is the peacefull school the only one with the ability to raise spell damage? I am sort of curious. According to the books, which shugenja families are not pasifistic? Beyond that, which shugenja families do not have taboos against using magic to cause direct harm to their enemies? The Asahina are definitely supposed to be pasifists. The Kitsu are definitely supposed to be pasifists. The Isawa are theoretically pasifists. The Iuchi have a taboo against using their magic to cause direct harm. I don't know about the Kuni, Tamori, Moshi, Agasha, Soshi, Yogo, Horiuchi or Minor Clan families. (I still don't consider the Moto or the Yoritomo to be shugenja families... but that is unfortunately a moot point) --- While I doubt the Kuni are anti-violence, they are definitely anti-taint, and Jade Strike is one of the few damaging spells that does allow for Raises to increase damage.

My question remains, why is the peacefull school the only one with the ability to raise spell damage? It is mainly an artifact of shugenja no longer having the ability to raise for spell damage mixed with the designers thinking all Asahina have 10 point Soft Hearted disadvantage innate to the school and family.

It is mainly an artifact of shugenja no longer having the ability to raise for spell damage mixed with the designers thinking all Asahina have 10 point Soft Hearted disadvantage innate to the school and family. Huh, I always figured it had something to do with overlooking the fact that there actually are damaging Air spells. It always seemed to me that the theory was that the Asahina should be two School Ranks behind the more martially inclined shugenja when it comes to learning damaging spells. A Rank 3 Asahina can spend a Void Point to throw a fireball doing XkX where X is the sum of the Asahina's Fire and Honor. (Fires from Within) A Rank 3 Tamori does not need to spend a Void Point to throw a fireball doing XkX damage to everyone within a 25' radius where X is twice the Tamori's Fire Ring. (Heart of the Inferno). A Rank 3 Fire Phoenix has no real edge over the Tamori, as there are no heavy damage Rank 4 Mastery Level fire spells, but they can pull off those spells with significantly more ease. Moreover, a Fire based phoenix can be cast "Burn the Mind" at Insight Rank 4, when the Asahina and Tamori are still fiddling around with "Heart of the Inferno."

A Rank 3 Fire Phoenix has no real edge over the Tamori, as there are no heavy damage Rank 4 Mastery Level fire spells, but they can pull off those spells with significantly more ease. Ah, but the rank 3 fire phoenix has all those wonderful free raises, or the ability to roll high and make more raises, for extra targets on "fires from within" *Spends 2 void for free raises* 4 free raises? 2 extra targets. WHAM. Which raises the question... can the one enemy count as 2 targets? You could choose his top half as one target, and his bottom half as the second... as long as you can see both targets..... 'nuff said. Moreover, a Fire based phoenix can be cast "Burn the Mind" at Insight Rank 4, when the Asahina and Tamori are still fiddling around with "Heart of the Inferno." I am guessing you mean "burn the soul", "burn the mind" is a rank 3 fire spell that confuses people. ;)

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