Doji Courtier School: Doji Courtiers

The Doji courtier is part of a tremendously large system of give-and-take between the Clans, a system which has resulted in the collection of "favors" from various families and individuals. Often, the Crane will intercede in political situations on behalf of other clans, and from this will gain certain political compensation. A Crane diplomat begins at rank one with the ability to exchange these favors - either on the his own behalf or for another. Each chart on the favor tables for the Crane show examples of political favors which the Crane Clan can call upon. At the courtier's first school rank, they must be from the rank one favor table; at the second school rank they may be from either the rank one or two favor tables, and so on. The courtier may call upon a maximum number of favors per adventure equal to their Air+School Rank.

A second rank courtier has gained a great amount of control over their emotions, enough so that they can affect others with them - for good or ill. Through the study of a person's motivations and desires, the courtier gains a certain influence over that person's mental state - be it one of levity, depression, or fear. The ability to influence people's emotions is a powerful one, and can change people's reactions or alter how they perceive their surroundings. Certainly, it can make someone more sympathetic to the courtier's cause, or it can foster trust towards the courtier. With the use of this skill, the courtier attempts to change a person's emotional state to one more useful to the courtier's goals. A courtier who shifts a person's emotional state towards anger while telling them of an imminent Lion army's invasion might cause their audience to react poorly toward any Lion Clan members they come in contact with later, even to the point of offering their services to those opposing the Lion. In order to be successful, the courtier must spend a minimum of five minutes talking to their target, and make a successful contested Awareness roll.

Beginning at this rank, the courtier has the ability to challenge another person's action with a test of honor. The courtier can do this a number of times per day equal to the courtier's school rank. Before an action has been rolled by the target (any action, from an etiquette roll to an attack roll), the courtier may may challenge the target. If the courtier's honor challenge is successful, the action of the other character immediately becomes a failure, no matter what the roll.
In order to challenge an opponent's honor, the courtier and his victim must make a contested roll based on their Honor ranks (round down). The TN is equal to the opponent's Honor x5, and any non-Crane character must drop all dice that roll lower than the Crane's Honor. If both contestants succeed on their rolls, the one who rolled higher wins. If neither contestant succeeds, the contest continues on to the next round; the action which the courtier contested is "in stasis" and does not occur until the contest is resolved.

At this rank, the courtier has gained such mastery over the political niceties of the court that such things become almost effortless. When the courtier is using Etiquette, Manipulation, Heraldry, Oratory, or Sincerity, they no longer need to roll. Their attempts are automatically successful. The courtier gains no raises when they are using this skill - if they wish to add raises for the skill, they must still roll, but a failed roll in that case is considered to be a base success, without the bonuses the raises would have applied. This technique may not be applied to contested rolls.

Once the courtier achieves Rank 5, it is a simple matter for them to gain friends and allies. They can make someone's reaction of them more favorable, even going so far as to assuage any warlike or offensive feelings. If the person is trying to influence has a Willpower less than or equal to that of the courtier, the courtier can automatically manipulate their actions. If they have a Willpower greater than the courtier, they must still make a successful Willpower+Etiquette roll against a TN of the courtier's Willpower x5. If successful, they have found a way out of the courtier's manipulation.
If the courtier succeeds, their target is friendly to them, and treats them in all ways as a trusted advisor. Charmed by the courtier's ability, the person affected will consider them to be a friend, and will listen to the courtier's words and counsel. Unless the person affected has a direct reason to mistrust the courtier (obvious signs of betrayal, or if the courtier asks them to risk their life), the target will continue to trust the Crane as a trusted ally.
However, this ability diminishes over time, and must be maintained carefully by the courtier. For every day beyond the courtier's school rank that the courtier does not have prolonged contact (long conversations, visits, or some other time spent in the company of the target), or if the courtier asks them to do something against their personal code of ethics, the person who has been charmed may roll their Willpower against a TN of 30. For each successive day, or each request, the charmed person gets an additional +5 to their die roll, until they break free of the courtier's influence.
If the person influenced by the courtier has been treated well, and the courtier has genuinely attempted to be friendly and has assisted their target's own goals and desires, the courtier will have gained a true ally. However, if the courtier has been unreasonable, asking their target to reveal hidden information or risk themselves in some way, the person may feel used and unfriendly toward the Crane character, and may actually become an enemy. In any case, the person is considered to have a Willpower of 2 ranks higher if the same courtier attempts to use this ability on him or her again.