Khoshuud Family of the Unicorn
The Khoshuud family traces its origins to the Hyuga family. The greatest horse breeders and stable masters in Rokugan were sent with the Utaku that went to the Gunpowder Wars, to care for their horses and look to see if the gaijin perhaps had potentially worthy genetic material for the Shinjo Horses.
What they found instead was the Horseless carriage, and seeing the same spirit in these machines they sought to make their own. By the end of the war of 14 Thunders the Unicorn Clan Champion could see they were vastly different from the Hyuga that stayed home, and named them the Khoshuud vassal family of the Moto. By the time of space travel they had long since earned full family status.
The Khoshuud are recognised as the best mechanics in the Empire, having begun research into such vehicles over 50 years before anyone else. Fitting their origin, they tend to be slightly adventurous and have a great enjoyment of going fast, often considered frivolous by non Unicorn. As they were founded by the Clan Champion striping what the Utaku viewed as a semi-disloyal vassal from them, the Utaku and Khoshuud do not get along as much as they should given how closely they work together.
Motto: “We still serve Horse Souls.”
Khoshuud Family Bonus: +1 Agility
Khoshuud Engineer School
Mechanics without peers, adventurous speed freaks lacking common sense, and those who make the unmovable moving; the Koshuud Engineers have been accused of all these things. While in the past they were considered semi-blasphemous users of Gaijin technology, only a tiny step above Gaijin Sorcery in the eyes of many, now their ways are mimicked Empire wide.
But in the art of making 1-2 person craft they are completely unmatched, and it’s this talent that keeps the massive fighter and speeder fleets of the Unicorn in motion.
Benefit: +1 Intellect
School Skills: Artillery, Drive or Pilot, Engineering: Artillery, Engineering: Mechanical (Vehicle), Lore: Material Science, Any one Bugei or Merchant Skill.
Honour: 2.5
Outfit: Light Armour, Sturdy Clothing, Daisho, Any One Weapon, Mechanics Toolbox, Traveling Pack, Speeder or Fighter, 10 Koku.
Special: The Khoshuud Engineers low honour comes from its willingness to break Sakoku for new technology, and the idea that it’s possible that gaijin and Aliens can potentially have a better idea then fellow Samurai.
Such a dishonourable view is not publically visible most of the time, and most of those who are aware of such attitudes are willing to ignore them for the tech the Khoshuud bring the the Empire. Thus the Khoshuud Engineers begin play with 1 rank of Perceived Honour.
Techniques
Rank 1: To know the limits.
The Khoshuud engineers know vehicles better than any other school in the Empire and on coming across a new type of fighter or speeder they will often disassemble the whole thing and put it back together if you let them. This, along with a long history of working with these crafts allows them to not only push such vehicles to limits far beyond what anyone else can manage but to do so safely.
When piloting a fighter or Speeder, the movement rate of such a craft is considered 1 higher. You also add your Engineering: Artillery to the result of all Artillery rolls and Engineering: Mechanical to all your Drive or Pilot rolls (which ever is the school skill).
Rank 2: Fire is the heart of the Machine
Be is ancient Petrol, kami, fusion, fuel cells, or alien technology, the Khoshuud know that the heart of the machine, that which makes it function, is the power of Fire. And not only that, Fire gives the Khoshuud the knowledge to make such machines and the ability to use them to as no one else can. But most importantly, the Khoshuud know that unchecked Fire is death.
If a Khoshuud Engineer spends 1 day/Size ranking working on a ships reactor he may make a Engineering: Mechanical roll, TN 25. If successful the time it takes for Overcharge to start damaging the ships is increased by a number of rounds equal to the Khoshuud’s school rank. In addition, Khoshuud Engineers may enter Full Attack Stance while in control of a Fighter or Speeder and use the Artillery skill to make ranged attacks while in that stance.
Should a Khoshuud not spend some time once a week maintaining the reactor modification, it is lost.
Rank 3: Momentum and mass are simply numbers
As long as there has been Vehicles the Moto have been asking the Khoshuud to put weapons on them. Along the way, certain members of the Khoshuud began to focus on weaponry over speed and this has led to the Khoshuud developing ways to miniaturize weapons in smaller vessels while maintaining their capabilities and unique installation brackets to allow such weapons to stay in place even when momentum should cause otherwise. Such techniques are useless on larger ships as the limitation is not related to size or momentum but the reactor size.
The Khoshuud Engineer may install one weapon of Equipment Slots 4 or greater as if it costed 3 less Equipment Slots. The Engineer may only use this technique on weapons installed on Speeders, Fighters, and Corvettes. Such a tricky installation takes significant effort to maintain both inside and out and thus the Khoshuud must go over it once a week.
Rank 4: To control the flow.
The Khoshuud Engineer engineer’s connection to the ship allows them to at this point see coming imminent power failure or overload and move to stop it before it happens. The presence of the internet has long since allowed the Khoshuud to expand this ability to their squad. Meanwhile those who get to this skill level among the Khoshuud engineers have long since learned a more defensive style of flying to allow their continued service to the Clan.
Mechanically the Khoshuud’s ship is connected to up to five other ships, (Chosen at the start of combat should there be more than 5 allies in the combat). Once per skirmish, should a GM roll a 10 when checking for Overcharge Explosion against a ship in this link or a ship in this link is hit with an Ion Cannon, the Khoshuud can spend a Void point to negate it, allowing the component to continue to function.
This is once in totality per skirmish, not once a ship.
In addition you get a free raise to all Piloting or Drive checks (which ever is your school skill) and while you fly a fighter or Speeder your ships TN to be hit is 5 higher.
Rank 5: The Fires of War
The fighters of the Unicorn are recognized to be the best in the galaxy and this is due to no small part by the Khoshuud, and their mastery of Fire. Khoshuud at this level are assigned to only the most secretive and important Unicorn squadrons, those ships that have earned a reputation akin to the ninja.
That they don’t exist. That they can’t exist.
Enhancing connections between the weapon systems, engines and the reactor core, the Khoshuud make the fighters specifically designed to reach their target and destroy it before the enemy even has a chance to react.
Fighters and Speeders modified by Khoshuud Engineers of this rank roll an additional 0k1 on damage rolls, and when they overcharge their engines the moment rate of the vessel goes up by 1 per Overcharge, instead of every second Overcharge. As will all such modifications, the Khoshuud must look over the ship at least once a week to make sure nothing is of risk of failing.
