"The Kuroiban" Home of the Scorpion Clan

Let me tell you about this card game that I always spend my time to and where some of my savings go. The Legend of the Five Rings is an Asian inspired game by AEG (Japanese, Chinese and Korean). It is all about samurai, ninja, shugenja, monks and many more., in the land of Rokugan.

There are 9 major clans to choose from: The Crab, the defenders; The Crane Clan, the artisans; The Dragon Clan, the mystics; The Lion Clan, the warriors; The Mantis Clan, the seafarers; The Phoenix Clan, the shugenja (wizards, sorcerers, etc.); The Scorpion Clan, the underhand; The Spider Clan, the unknown and The Unicorn Clan, the explorers. Included are the shodowlands, the evil, these are the evil creatures of Rokugan. (See the site for more details about the clans).

It was way back in high school that I was introduced to this game. It was Sigfried (Lion) and Sig (Dragon) who both showed me how it is played and interested I am in the game, I asked them which clan would they prefer for me to play. They told me that each clan has its own strategy in winning. The Scorpion for example, wins by dishonoring its opponents, while The Dragon, wins mostly by enlightenment victory (You win an enlightenment victory when you successfully bring into play all the elemental rings, namely: fire, earth, water, air and void) and so on so forth.

I wanted a clan with ninjas and wizards. So they told me that the scorpion clan is the perfect clan for me. Although for beginners, this clan is not advisable because deck construction for this clan require good strategy. But I don't care actually.

It was inspiring in playing the Scorpion clan, even though I don't win in all the card battles. I just like them story-wise. "Even when the Scorpion lose, they win.", this is a similar quote that was given to this clan in the story. And the scorpion has ninjas.

Let me introduce the Scorpion Clan:

Clan mon of the Scorpion

When the Kami first established their place in the Empire, they held a tournament. Hantei was victorious and claimed the title of Emperor. His brother Bayushi however was easily defeated. The other siblings thought him weak for his loss. This was exactly what Bayushi wished.

Bayushi, the kami of the Scorpion clan. Personality Card

The Scorpion are a Clan of deceit and misdirection, blackmail and lies. The Scorpion will use any tactic to discredit his enemies, draw them into dishonor, and use their shame to destroy them. However, they do it as part of their duty. Hantei I charged his brother Bayushi with protecting the Empire from the threats the other Clans cannot see: conspiracies, cults, plots against the throne. The Scorpion do their duty with ruthless efficiency. Their shadow war against the unseen forces of evil have afforded them the ability to spy on the other Clans, and use their knowledge as weapon against potential rivals.

If you carry a shameful secret, there is likely at least one Scorpion who already knows it.

(description taken from L5R site)

The scorpion are the villains in the story but their loyalty to the empire is unquestionable. They are hated, underestimated, untrusted but they use this to their advantage. So many times has the clan of secrets saved the empire from destruction. This is why I like them and because as I have said... they have ninjas.

Last month I realized that I was a pure blood scorpion. (Geekness activated) Bayushi from the calendar year of Rokugan is a Rooster. A gemini falls under the wind element and scorpion shugenjas are mostly air. My favorite sin... lies. So there. :P

One of the many strongholds of the Scorpion Clan

Last year, I decided to visit kuroiban.net, a site where most of the Scorpion players around the world converse and discuss Scorpion related subjects.

I found out that Ryofune, the site moderator, wanted a logo for the site. Since I'm a proud scorpion player, I volunteered myself (without any pay of course). After a few feedbacks and revisions from the governor (that is what they call him there), walah the sub-logo of the scorpion clan:

The governor and the rest of the scorpion community liked the logo that I've made. They also like the 2nd design (the one with the scorpion tail only) and included it into the site.

At first the site looks bare. It is full of text without the logo and just the Kuroiban word as the title. To practice more on my Photoshop skill, I told the governor that I will be making a banner for the site:


Inspired in doing something for the site I made another banner:


The members of the site liked the new look and feel of the site. They say it feels very scorpion-like and really really proud of what I did.

AEG made the game interesting by putting up "The Race for the Throne" event, where people compete through tournaments and join side events to earn a clan some points. There are 7 leg in the entire race and 5 spheres to compete and rule (Military, Economy, Political, Knowledge & Spirit). There are best in costume competition, cooking competition and many more. In the end the clan with the highest point will assign a personality from their faction and become the next emperor of Rokugan. A clan who excel in a certain sphere also selects a personality from their faction who will then be promoted as Chancellor for Politics, Treasurer for Economics, Voice for Spirit, Adviser for Knowledge and Shogun for Military.

Alliance are formed to aid each clan in the alliance in the race. A kuroiban member asked me to create a logo for "The Crescent Moon Alliance", a Scorpion, Unicorn and Dragon alliance.


My clan gave me, if I'm not mistaken a 30$ worth of AEG membership that's good for a year. This includes free newsletter and free promo cards. All members receive a free copy of every issue AEG publishes with the new set of promo cards.

At this point all that I can say is that I was proud to be recognized and be a part of the scorpion clan.