History Characters / LegendOfTheFiveRings

* DramaPreservingHandicap: The Crab Clan must devote so many resources to its ForeverWar against the Shadowlands that they cannot fully devote themselves to any inter-clan conflict. If they could, they'd likely be a match for any two other clans in the Empire, save the Lion and Unicorn. The one time they got out from under this fact (the ill-fated attempt to ally with the Shadowlands under Hida Kisada), they ''did'' steamroll everyone else.

* OpportunisticBastard: The Yoritomo family to a goddamn T. Not even considering how they forced their way into Great Clan status and absorbed three other minor clans to bolster their ranks and expand their territory, they count among their greatest heroes a man who attempted to blackmail the Emperor by ''holding his son hostage''.

* AbsoluteXenophobe: The Nezumi of the Green-Green-White tribe are ultra-reclusive; having learned about the existence of Taint and what it does to humans, they have begun preaching that [[KillEmAll humanity should be wiped out]] to reduce one source of allies for Fu Leng. Other nezumi think they're crackpots, and they're paranoid that other nezumi tribes could be Tainted as well, so they basically avoid everybody.

* HotBlooded: The Lion Clan's Matsu family, ESPECIALLY the [[AmazonBrigade women]], to the point where even other Lion consider them to be nigh-psychotic at times. And yet, the Matsu are NOT the Lion family that tends to have naturally red hair.

* FemmeFatale: A common and acceptable career path for Scorpion women. Notably, Bayushi Kachiko.

* HonorBeforeReason: Inverted- strict adherence to the tenets of Bushido above pragmatism or the needs of the Clan is considered ''highly'' suspicious by most Scorpions. These "junshin" are usually excluded from major Clan activities, since their honorable actions tend to clash with the Scorpion's typical ''modus operandi''.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Shinjo Min-Hee, the current Khan, comes off as this, especially in regards to Naleesh. [[http://www.kazenoshiro.com/2011/12/24/state-of-the-clans-part-4/ This fiction compounds that with Takeru mentioning that Min-Hee hasn't even said hello to her husband in over a month. She just continues to brood over Naleesh instead of visiting.]]
** She later breaks her own arm to make Naleesh mad at her former fiancee, the Dragon Champion. Saying that Min-Hee hates him is an understatement - this is touching in on PsychoLesbian territory.
* TheBerserker: The Moto family
* ConfusionFu: Moto Chagatai's march for the throne during the winter.

* DeathSeeker: Albeit not as famous as the Lion Clan.
* DoesNotLikeMen: Otaku herself, only marrying to produce loyal servants to Shinjo. Her favored descendants deal extra damage to men (and only men).
* ForeignQueasine: The Unicorn make use of strange spices that they brought with them back to Rokugan that many Rokugani find strange and unappealing, and that's not to say of their blatant consumption of red meat (a taboo in the Empire.)
* LadyLand: The Utaku Battle Maiden School is one of the very few outright women-only schools. It is commonly expected of the men to stay at home and raise the kids when they marry.

* OddFriendship: With the Crane clan. One is a clan of courtiers and dedicated to property, while the other is a master of cavalry and follow their own traditions that differ from the rest of the Empire. The Crane helps the Unicorn with adjusting to the laws and traditions of Rokugan, while the Unicorn support and protects the Crane in military matters, specially against the Lion who is a rival to both clans.

** Turned UpToEleven with the Hiruma Slayer alternate path, who dual-wield axes while in a "[[TranquilFury dead eyed]]" trance.

The Lion Clan were the [[PraetorianGuard Right Hand of the Emperor]], recording the military and political interactions between the Clans and serving as the Emperor's army and enforcers. They were the epitome of bushido and the very example of valor. Next to the Seppun family, they were the most likely to serve as the Emperor's guardsmen and they comprised the greater portion of the Imperial Legions. The Lion Clan was founded by the Kami Akodo.

The Scorpion Clan was founded by the Kami Bayushi. The clan and its members are widely considered to be villainous and untrustworthy by the rest of Rokugan, though they merely attempt to fulfill the duty given to their family by the First Emperor on the day of his ascension.

As the Kami created the Empire of Rokugan, the fallen Kami Fu Leng created the Shadowlands, a nightmarish, corrupted wasteland to the southwest of Rokugan. It is home to oni, ogres, trolls, goblins, and other vile creatures. Samurai that are warped of twisted by the Taint of the Shadowlands turn into twisted parodies of themselves called the Lost. These Lost formed a mysterious Spider Clan that swore fealty to [[EvilOverlord Daigotsu, Dark Lord of the Shadowlands.]]

Nezumi (or [[RatMen "Ratlings") were one of the non-human races that walked Ningen-do before the fall of the Kami.

* GambitRoulette: While they're often good at shortterm plans, the clan's jaundiced view of others tends to lead to this, most famously in the Scorpion Clan Coup, when ThePlan fails due to [[spoiler: Shoju asking Hida Kisada for aid. Had he not done so, Kisada would have backed Shoju without question, but requesting support made Kisada look on Shoju as either too weak or wanting to manipulate the Crab.]] Simultaneously, [[spoiler: Bayushi Aramoro assassinated a child magicked to look like the child Emperor, and Kachiko's favored geisha assassin had fallen in love with Toturi, subduing him briefly rather than killing him outright as ordered.]] Notably, had any one of these efforts gone the other way, Shoju's primary plan would have succeeded. [[spoiler:Kisada backing Shoju in the imperial city would have made the other clans' siege pointless; the Hantei line would have been dead, preventing Fu Leng's return; Toturi's leadership is what allowed the clans to survive until Kisada's arrival, and penetrate the Imperial City's defenses before Shoju could further adapt.]]

* TheTrickster - Soshi Air Shugenja are employed to create illusions, steal enemy secrets, and screw with people's heads.
* UndyingLoyalty - The Scorpion believe that loyalty is more important than [[PunctuatedForEmphasis any. Thing. Else!]] In fact, we are presented with the story of the [[MagnificentBastard Scorpion Clan Champion]] Bayushi Ujiro and his bodyguard Shunsen. Ujiro issued a challenge to the other Clan champions to determine which clan best understood the concept of loyalty. The challenge involved all the champions and their bodyguards performing an action to be set by Ujiro. If the bodyguards do not follow through with the command, that clan is disqualified. So, Ujiro gives Shunsen the command, [[ThanatosGambit "Kill me."]] He did, then commited suicide. The gathered Clan champions and bodyguards, shocked, conceded defeat. And then the Crane go and adapt the event for [[TheMovie Winter,]] because that's just how the Crane are!

* AbsoluteXenophobe: The nezumi of the Green-Green-White tribe are ultra-reclusive; having learned about the existence of Taint and what it does to humans, they have begun preaching that [[KillEmAll humanity should be wiped out]] to reduce one source of allies for Fu Leng. Other nezumi think they're crackpots, and they're paranoid that other nezumi tribes could be Tainted as well, so they basically avoid everybody.

* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: The Nezumi once held a massive empire... which was annihilated by the fall of Fu Leng, which transformed all that they once ruled over into the Shadowfell and left them fighting a guerrilla war against the dark god and his hordes of monsters.

* ThisIsUnforgiveable: Early in the Empire's history, the Yasuki family defected to the Crab Clan, and the Crane have never forgiven it. They refuse to enter Yasuki territory or to accept Yasuki diplomats. Even though relations between the two clans rise and fall through the centuries, and there are in fact many examples of lifelong friendships between individual Crabs and Cranes, no member of the Crane Clan would '''ever''' willingly associate with a Yasuki.