The Juzo Monks

New Path: The Juzo Monks [Monk] Nobody but the monks themselves understand precisely why they refer to it as the Burden of Lord Moon, and they ignore the question when asked. Almost invariably, however, a Crab who shoulders the Burden chooses to take on more, forsaking his previous name, becoming a Juzo, and becoming one of their monks. Those of other clans sometimes take up the training, but only rarely take the Juzo name. In any case, those who take on the full burden swiftly gain reputations similar to the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang, as tireless punishers of the guilty, even when the guilty would normally be untouchable, and even when it costs them their life to do so.

Technique Rank: 3+ Replaces: Any School Rank 3+ Requirements: Burden of Lord Moon, Meditation 3, Earth 4, Void 3. Technique: Shouldering the Burden - The monk’s maximum honor drops further, to 2.9, and they also gain Compulsion: Punish the Guilty (TN 20). The monk’s previous tattoo loses its restrictions and follows the normal rules for tattoos, and if the tattoo drained a void point permanently, that void point is returned. The monk may choose one additional tattoo, for a total of two. Further, the monk gains full kiho access as a non-brotherhood monk, and learns the kiho “Rest, My Brother”.

Special: This is a Crab path, but may be taken by any clan at the cost of a rank 4 obligation to the Crab. Equipment: A suit of Juzo Armor is added to the equipment list of any Juzo Monk, replacing any armor they previously had.

New Equipment: Juzo Armor More expensive even than heavy armor, owing to its customized and piecemeal nature, Juzo Armor is made specially for each monk of the order, even the shugenja. Pieces are carefully removed from full heavy armor and the armor re-engineered to account for their displacement, yielding armor that protects as well as full heavy armor and allows the use of tattoos, with the relatively minor drawback of a few gaping weak points.

Bonus to Armor TN: +10 Reduction: 5 Special Rules: Wearing Juzo Armor increases the TN of all Skill Rolls using Agility or Reflexes by 5. Juzo Armor’s reduction may be bypassed by taking 1 raise for a Called Shot maneuver. Price: Cannot be purchased.