Corrupt stuff-just a note

[Joe Fulgham]

> >Really?   Who was it that set us up for the fall in the first place?
> >Dark Dragon is almost inherent in the new cards; obviously, >somebody's
> just waiting for us to bite the corrupt carrot, and the >other players
> aren't the ones who made the cards.
>
> They did set us up for the fall "in the first place". However, they've
> taken note of our actions, and we've (pardon the pun) sucessfully
> avoided fate. I was just pointing out that every post I see is getting
> more and more paranoid of everything.

  We don't do it because we're worried about what others think.  Honor is
not something you find in the opinions of others.  It is within.  You *know*
Maho is wrong.  The Kolat are dishonorable dogs, seeking to control that
which they do not deserve.  And the Shadowlands... there is no such thing as
"only a little corruption".

  There are time when we must do thing we normally would not, this is true.
If there is one lesson we have learned from the battle with Fu Leng's
forces, it is that honor is a double-edged sword.  We Dragon have always
known this.

  Therefore, if someone is foolish enough to attack my provinces, they may
meet Hitomi Kobai bearing a poisoned weapon.  I will not, however, employ
the Kolat - it would only further their nefarious purposes.  Using
Shadowlands creatures to run our gold mines leaves a foul taste in my mouth,
and I will not use Corrupt Gold Mines.  And Maho?  Blood magic is wrong,
unless it is the divine blood of my Lord Togashi (which is *not* maho, by
the way).  The fact of the matter is that Touch of Death is maho.

  A short digression on this point... an hour before the GenCon qualifier I
was about to play in, I was sorting through my deck to double-check EJade
legality and Upeer was looking over my shoulder.  I asked him if Touch of
Death (which I had two of in the deck) was Jade legal.  He said "Yeah, but
you know that's maho, right?"  He explained how it was described in the RPG
as maho and very, very evil.  I looked at the card, shrugged, and pulled it
out of the deck (which was over 40 cards anyway).  He was stunned, and later
told me that he gained a huge amount of respect at that action.  But I
didn't do it for him, or his reaction.

[Why start this movement snipped]

> I think the term you mean is "Fear of unwarned, unwarranted corruption".
> The plan of making the Dragon corrupt was not because there was all
> sorts of evil rampant all over in Dragon decks everywhere. It was
> because every good story needs an interesting villian, and Hitomi would
> have made an excellent choice. However, we did show that we wouldn't
> just sit by and say "okay, please run our Clan into dust" and they
> noticed. What I am saying now is that we need to maintain a good showing
> of being clean and honorable. What I am also saying is that this is
> starting to spiral into mindless reaction.

  On the contrary.  Dragon is the one clan that *knows* what is going on.
In my mind, Dragon is the "Foundation" (a la Asimov's series) that makes
sure things go as planned/prophecied for a better future.  The Dragons in
Black isn't just a joke.  It's really how I see the Clan.  The Scorpion may
be the underhand of the Empire, but the Dragon handle the bigger problems,
because we *know*.

  I don't just want Dragon to appear non-corrupt.  I want us to be the LEAST
corrupt clan.  I dream of looking through the Morikage results and Dragon
deck lists containing NO corrupt holdings, NO maho, NO kolat.

  Remember this, my brothers, Morikage's tournament does not save the
empire.  We are not fighting an ultimate evil, merely finding one man, held
(most probably) by the Kolat.  It is my fear that whoever "wins" the
Morikage tournament will merely be playing into the hands of the Kolat -
they are masters of plans within plans within plans.  I would rather lose
the tournament due to lack of the "power" of shadowlands/maho/kolat cards.

  And that's about all I have to say about that.

Joe Fulgham | Hitomi Pukku | puck at holycow.com
Dragon Clan Shugenja * Master of the Web
http://www.holycow.com/l5r/
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