KATA

STRIKIRG AS EARTH
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
This simple kata draws on the vast inner reserves of Earth within the body. Just as Earth is
shielded from harm, so does it often fail to perceive the world around it.
Requirements: Constitution 13+
XP Cost: 20
Effect: You gain a +2 natural armor bonus for the duration, but suffer a -2 penalty to all Wisdom-
and Charisma-related skill checks.

STRIKIRG AS FIRE
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
This simple, short kata is adaptable to any weapon or empty hands. Schools that primarily focus on
speed over power teach this kata right away, improving the accuracy and repetition of a student's
strike.
Requirements: Intelligence 13+
XP Cost: 20
Effect: While using this kata, you gain a +1 insight bonus to melee attack rolls and initiative checks,
but suffer a -2 penalty to all weapon damage rolls.

STRIKING AS WATER
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
Focusing on pure strength, Striking as Water brings to bear the power of Water, sacrificing
precision for the pure ability to inflict damage. Given the nature of this kata, however, bladed
weapons gain no benefit from this kata (though penalties still apply). Only bludgeoning weapons or
unarmed attacks benefit from Striking as Water.
Requirements: Strength 13+
XP Cost: 20
Effect: While using this kata, you gain a +2 insight bonus on all melee damage rolls, but suffer a -2
penalty to your initiative check and all attack rolls.

STRIKING AS WIND
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
This kata relies upon speed and maneuverability at the cost of all else. Striking as Wind allows
phenomenally quick movements at the cost of both power and accuracy.
Requirements: Dexterity 13+
XP Cost: 20
Effect: While using this kata, you gain a +6 insight bonus to your initiative check, but suffer a -6
penalty to all attack and damage rolls.

STRIKING AS VOID
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: One day
Special: You must know Striking as Earth, Striking as Fire, Striking as Water, and Striking as Wind
to learn this kata.
Requirements: Void Use, Depths of the Void
XP Cost: 50
Effect: The effect of this kata is the same in both systems. Striking as Void allows you to use two
other kata simultaneously. These two kata (neither of which may also be Striking as Void) must be
named while preparing this kata, and cannot thereafter be changed. These kata must be prepared
normally.
This basic kata does nothing in and of itself. It simply broadens the mind so that other kata may be
utilized more easily.

THE EMPIRE RESTS ON ITS EDGE

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
Special: Must be used with a katana or daisho.
The first common truth that Uso and Kaiten discovered about their ancestors’ styles is that both
men applied the art of the sword to every aspect of life. Each endeavor requires devotion, training,
purpose, and a goal. Those who learn this kata realize that everything must be treated as if it rests
upon the edge of a sword.
Requirements: Void Use
XP Cost: 450
Effect: When you learn this kata, choose a single Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom-based skill
you know. While using this kata and rolling to attack, you gain a circumstance bonus equal to one-
fourth of that skill’s modifier. For the duration of this kata when the chosen skill is used, its modifier
is halved (round up).

STANDING ON THE HEAVENS

Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Duration: 180 minutes
Special: Must be used with a katana or daisho.
The ultimate lessons of Kakita and Mirumoto teach that the blade is a living thing, guided by the
soul of a samurai. Like anything that is alive, it is bound by the will of the Heavens in action —
though a truly skilled samurai can stand above the Celestial Pattern to get a better understanding
of destiny. It is this view of the world and its patterns as a whole that leads to ultimate mastery not
only of the sword, but of one’s own destiny. This kata primes the samurai’s soul to be an
indomitable force that is assured of the outcome of a fight — his victory.
Requirements: Depths of the Void, Knowledge (Shin- tao): 10 Ranks, Void Use
XP Cost: 3,000
Effect: Whenever you would be struck in combat, you may spend a Void Point to force the attack
roll to be rerolled. If you ever have zero Void Points while this kata is active, you suffer a -4
circumstance penalty to AC for the rest of the day, and cannot inflict critical hits.

THE VICTORY OF THE RIVER

Preparation Time: 30 Minutes
Duration: 180 minutes
Special: Must be used with a katana or daisho.
Central to the master’s control of swordplay is the relaxation of mind and body. This kata helps the
samurai to adapt to the changing tides of warfare and the art of combat. Once the kata is complete,
the samurai’s strikes flow beautifully and cleanly; ten strikes blend together in one flowing arc of
steel. The strikes this kata favors flow together, causing one effective attack to create another, and
then another. These bold attacks even sacrifice defense for fluidity.
Requirements: Cleave, Great Cleave, Power Attack
XP Cost: 2,250
Effect: For each successful attack you make on an opponent, all additional melee attacks you
make against that opponent in the same round receive a cumulative +5 insight bonus. You may not
declare total defense while this kata is active, and you are denied any Dexterity bonus to your
Armor Class (making you vulnerable to sneak attacks).

VICTORY OF THE WIND

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
Special: Must be used with a katana or daisho.
In both the art of Iaijutsu and in a skirmish, the master of the sword understands that it is not he
who strikes first who is victorious, but he who strikes first with perfect form. This kata enforces the
idea that a hindered man strikes slowly and poorly, and the man who can attack with precision and
speed is to be feared. By focusing on disabling the opponent instead of overpowering him, this
kata’s quick, shallow strikes take advantage of opponents who attack with sheer force.
Requirements: Expertise, Improved Initiative, Quick Draw
XP Cost: 500
Effect: Each time you deal 10 or more points of damage with a single melee attack against an
opponent, you gain a +1 insight bonus to attack that opponent for the remainder of this kata’s
duration. These bonuses are cumulative, but may not exceed half your class level (rounded up).
You suffer a -2 penalty to your damage rolls.

THE WORLD IS EMPTY

Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Duration: Special (Maximum 60 minutes)
Special: Must be used with a katana or daisho.
Both Mirumoto Hojatsu and Kakita were mortal men, but ones who walked alongside the Kami in
the armies that defeated the Dark Brother Fu Leng. Even though they were not as powerful as the
Kami, they found that seven mortals could reach within to find a point of perfection: the Void. Both
men sought to hone this ability through training with the sword. This kata, a natural outgrowth of
their styles, draws out and expends this inner power in a swift display of awesome skill. The focus
of this kata is more intense than most, and it cannot be maintained for very long.
Requirements: Depths of the Void, Void Use
XPCost: 1,500
Effect: When this kata is completed, you may choose to activate it as a free action at the beginning
of any round in the next sixty minutes. When you activate it, you gain a Void bonus to all of your
attack and damage rolls during that round equal to the number of Void Points you have remaining.
All of your remaining Void Points are spent by this action, and you are considered fatigued. You
cannot recover Void or recover from this fatigue until you rest for at least one hour.

BLACKENED CARESS
Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
Without question the deadliest secret of the ninja, this kata is the fabled death touch that peasants
often ascribe to the mythical ninja they fear lurk in every shadow. In truth, this kata is possessed by
only a handful of the most sinister, depraved individuals throughout Rokugan.
Requirements: Ninja level 14+, must be chaotic, Improved Unarmed Strike, Kiss of the Lotus,
Stunning Fist
XP Cost: 1,250
Effect: For the duration of this kata, you may hold nothing in your hands without immediately
canceling the effect. You must land a successful unarmed attack against an opponent for this kata
to take effect (the strike must land on bare skin). A successful strike requires the opponent to make
an immediate Fortitude save (DC = 10 + your ninja level) or die instantly. The kata ends once an
opponent is killed by this effect.

DWELL IN DARKNESS
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
This exercise combines an alternating series of careful, slow movements, such as creeping
cautiously from one spot to the next, and lightning fast, precise movements, such as jumping from
a single concealed perch among the trees to another such spot. Upon conclusion of the kata, the
ninja has centered himself on moving silently, regardless of his surroundings. This causes a
reduction in the strength of the ninja’s strikes, as they are focusing on silence rather than strength.
Requirements: Ninja or Rogue level 1+, Hide (4 ranks), Move Silently (4 ranks)
XP Cost: 450
Effect: For the duration of the kata, you gain a +4 competence bonus to all Hide and Move Silently
checks, although you suffer -2 to damage rolls for all melee attacks.
School Rank: Any ninja school 2
Cost: 3
Effect: You roll two extra dice on all Stealth rolls for the duration of the kata. You must subtract 5
from all damage rolls for the duration of the kata.

KISS OF THE LOTUS

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
This is one of the more insidious of the common ninja kata. The practitioner conducts a lengthy
series of martial arts maneuvers while focusing on anger and other impure emotions. This
channels the ninja’s negative energy outward so that a single unarmed strike can temporarily
cripple an opponent by disrupting his own energy flow. Rumor has it that this kata was developed
by agents of the Kolat to facilitate the kidnapping and replacement of troublesome individuals.
Requirements: Ninja level 3+, Dex 16+, Str 14+, Improved Unarmed Strike
XP Cost: 950
Effect: This kata requires you to use only unarmed attacks; the use of a weapon disrupts the
energy flow the kata depends on and instantly cancels the remainder of the duration. You must
land a successful unarmed attack on an unarmored portion of your opponent’s body (a completely
armored opponent would be immune). An opponent who is struck by this attack must make a
Fortitude save (DC 10 + your Wisdom modifier) or be stunned for one round. If a stunned opponent
fails his save against this kata, he is knocked unconscious for one hour. If you take more than ten
damage (subdual or actual damage) during the duration of this kata, the kata ends.

POISONED WIND
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
This kata takes the form of a period of meditation followed by a series of athletic maneuvers that
gradually increase in pace until the ninja is moving with incredible speed. With the ninja so focused
on speed and dexterity, however, he fails to cover himself as well as he normally might.
Requirements: Dex 16+, Tumble (6 ranks)
XP Cost: 750
Effect: For the duration of the kata, you gain a +2 enhancement bonus to your initiative, but suffer
a -1 penalty to your AC.

RECKLESS ABANDON STYLE

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Duration: 60 minutes
The Reckless Abandon Style was a kata which was learned in the Daigotsu Bushi, Matsu
Berserker and Usagi Bushi schools. It taught how even attacking without care of his own life a
samurai also have defence against the enemy.
Requirements: Wis 13+, Base attack bonus +7.
XP Cost: 950
Effect: Add your Wisdom to your AC, this effect does not stack with other bonuses to AC like the
Monk class ability to add Wis bonus to AC.

Kata of the Crab

SOUL OF STONE
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
This is one of the simplest kata taught by Crab sensei. The bushi folds his palms across his chest
and focuses on drawing his own strength inward, hardening his body against harm.
Requirements: Hida Technique, Way of the Crab
XP Cost: 40
Effect: While under the effects of this kata, you gain a deflection bonus to AC equal to one-fourth
your level (minimum 1), but you cannot charge or run.
SHARDS OF EARTH
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes or until an attack roll is made
Other: When he learns this kata, the bushi applies it exclusively to either tetsubo or jiujutsu attacks.
Shards of Earth may be learned separately in both forms.
The Hida teach their samurai to focus their chi like the earth, to become impenetrable and strong
like the mountains. They show their students how to draw out the Earth in themselves to augment
their strength, but this kata takes a different approach to the Hida's affinity for Earth.
The bushi must focus his chi around a small stone or other object at the beginning of this kata.
When the bushi reaches the end of the ritual, he raises either his tetsubo or his empty hand high
above his head and strikes down quickly, stopping a hairsbreadth above the stone. Within
seconds, the stone begins to crumble into dust.
This kata ends after your first attack roll, whether or not you successfully strike the target.
Requirements (tetsubo version): Cleave, Martial Weapon Proficiency (tetsubo), The Mountain
Does Not Move, Power Attack, Void Use.
Requirements (unarmed version): Breaking Blow, Fists of Iron, Improved Unarmed Strike, The
Mountain Does Not Move, Power Attack, Void Use.
XP Cost: 500
Effect: While under the effects of this kata, you may make a single attack roll as if it were a touch
attack. Your weapon is considered to be +1 for the purposes of piercing damage resistance only. (If
the weapon is already magical, it can pierce damage resistance as if its bonus were +1 higher).
If you strike a flat-footed opponent with this attack, he must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + your
Constitution modifier + half your level) or be stunned for ld3 rounds.

UNYIELDING FURY
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
The bushi has learned to tap into the boundless rage of the Crab, the raging fire that fuels their
boundless sense of duty.
The Crab can never be defeated; those who slay a true Crab will find themselves being dragged
into the next world as well. This kata is seldom seen in action; its very existence is a matter of
whispered legend.
Requirements: Great Fortitude, Hida’s Rage, Hida’s Technique, Strength of the Earth, The
Mountain Does Not Fall, The Mountain Does Not Move, Toughness, Void Use, Way of the Crab.
XP Cost: 1,500
Effect: When under the effects of this kata you may spend a Void Point to make an immediate
melee attack (out of turn and as a free action) against an attacker who has just struck you with an
attack that will reduce you below zero hit points. This attack is made before damage is applied, and
is automatically a critical threat. The damage inflicted by the original attack is not reduced in any
way.

STANCE OF THE CRAB

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
This is one oldest kata of the Crab. It was developed for defending against any odds
Requirements: Way of the Crab
XP Cost: 400
Effect: While wearing Armor and in full defence, you gain a damage reduction 2/-.

Kata of the Crane

WATCHFUL FALCON
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Duration: 60 minutes
While technically a kata, this is actually more of a ritual that the Doji courtiers and magistrates both
make use of in order to sharpen their senses. It involves a slow series of alternating slashing and
sweeping strikes with the wakizashi that focus the Doji’s perception of things around him.
Requirements: Base attack bonus of +2 or better, Concentration (2 ranks)
XPCost: 1,000
Effect: You gain a +4 enhancement bonus to all Spot and Search checks, but suffer —2 to all
Diplomacy and Bluff checks.

ONE LEG STANCE

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Duration: 40 minutes
Other: This kata may be learned using either the katana or the yari. It must be learned separately
for each weapon.
This kata involves a flurry of motion with the arms with virtually no movement of the legs
whatsoever. Like a crane, the warrior tucks one leg beneath his body, then practices a series of
rapid strikes all about them. Upon conclusion of the kata, the bushi is prepared to strike multiple
times in rapid succession, but at the cost of his mobility.
Requirements: Improved Initiative, Void Use, Weapon Focus (katana or yari), Weapon Proficiency
(katana or yari)
XPCost: 1,200
Effect: You gain an additional strike equal to your highest attack modifier when using the full attack
action. You are denied your Dexterity bonus to AC while using this kata, and cannot run or charge.
Any opponent using a reach weapon gains an additional +5 to hit you if you are practicing the
katana version of this kata.

ONE-STRIKE BLADE
Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Duration: 90 minutes
By focusing, the Kakita bushi emulate the speed of their founder. This kata consists of a lengthy
series of blade strikes while focusing on a single object. Gradually, the number of strikes
decreases while the bushi’s speed increases. At the end of the kata, the bushi is making single
attacks of incredible speed and accuracy.
Requirements: Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Whirlwind Attack, Weapon Focus
(katana) XP Cost: 1,200
Effect: During your turn each round, you may choose to sacrifice an attack to add +5 to your
initiative for the following round. Multiple attacks may be sacrificed in this manner, beginning with
the lowest attack modifier and moving upward.

STANCE OF THE CRANE

Preparation Time: 120 minutes.
Duration: 60 minutes
A powerful kata, which taught that honor would guide his strike true.
Requirements: Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Whirlwind Attack, Weapon Focus
(katana) XP Cost: 1,000
Effect: When fighting with a sword or spear you add an amount equal to your Honor Rank to your
attack and damage rolls.

Kata of the Dragon

MY BROTHER’S SOUL
Preparation Time: 25 minutes Duration: 120 minutes
Special: This kata must be used with the daisho.
Dragon samurai, who train closely with the shugenja of their clan, are capable of talking to an
erudite Agasha master about the ways of spellcraft for hours on end. This training teaches the
Mirumoto something else as well — how to defeat their brothers. This kata focuses on striking
between the elements, anticipating the shugenja’s defensive tactics and abilities. Benefits are
gained not just by the moves practiced, but by the focused mindset this kata grants.
Requirements: Way of the Dragon, Heart of the Dragon XP Cost: 1,500
Effect: Once per round, while this kata is in effect, the Mirumoto bushi may forego the damage he
would cause when he strikes an opponent. Instead, the strike acts as if a sorcerer with a
spellcaster level equal to the Mirumoto’s class level had cast dispel magic on the creature struck.
This dispel may be used as many times as the character has maximum Void points. During the
time this kata is active, the character’s initiative scored is halved as he maintains a constant focus
on the kata’s mindset.

TIME BETWEEN BREATHS

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
Special: This kata may only be performed with a katana.
One of the signature techniques of the Swordmaster school is the Half-Beat Strike, of which this
kata forms the foundation. Performing this kata involves a series of staggered movements and
feinted strikes, all intended to throw the opponent's rhythm off just enough to give the Swordmaster
an advantage.
Requirements: Combat Reflexes, Let Him Go By
XP Cost: 2,000
Effect: This kata allows you to gain a +5 insight bonus to your next attack roll against someone
who has made an attack and missed you. This bonus is only granted against opponents who have
attempted to attack you in the current round. Because the kata focuses on delayed tactics, your
initiative is reduced by 5 for its duration.

BREAKING WAVES
Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Duration: 140 minutes
Special: This kata may only be performed with a katana.
Breaking Waves teaches the Swordmaster one of Miru- moto’s greatest lessons — any tide can be
stemmed, and any force can be used against itself. Emphasizing defensive movements and
techniques creates a mindset that is the undoing of those who wish to overpower the samurai with
flashy strikes.
Requirements: Expertise, Improved Trip
XPCost: 1,750
Effect: Whenever an opponent uses Power Attack against you, you may make an attack roll (at
your highest base attack bonus, using your katana). This is not an attack, but is simply compared
to the amount of the opponent’s attack roll. If your total is higher, your opponent gains no bonus to
damage from the use of Power Attack. You may not use any feat which lowers your bonus to hit
(such as Power Attack or Expertise) while using this feat.

STANCE OF THE DRAGON

Preparation Time: 80 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
Special: This kata may only be performed with a katana and a wakizashi.
A kata which taught how to use the daisho to better protect its wielder.
XPCost: 1000
Effect: While wielding a katana in your main hand and a wakizashi in your off hand, you gain a +2
bonus to AC.

Kata of the Lion

GENTLE BLADE OF WINTER
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Duration: 40 minutes
Special: This kata works only with the katana.
Actually a series of kata, this powerful maneuver requires considerable time to prepare, but has a
deadly effect. With each successful strike, the Akodo can disrupt the flow of chi through his
opponent’s body, lessening his abilities and leaving him weak and defenseless.
Requirements: Akodo’s Technique, The Final Lesson, Power Attack, Void Use, Way of the Lion,
Weapon Focus (Katana).
XPCost: 1,500
Effect: Each of your attacks that causes a loss of hit points inflicts a -1 to all attack rolls made by
your opponent. This penalty lasts for a number of minutes equal to twice your overall level. Multiple
penalties from this kata stack.

FURY WITHOUT END

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
Other: This kata can be applied to any melee weapon or barehanded attack.
Lion samurai are taught to focus on precision and honor, ignoring pain and difficulty until their goal
is achieved. This kata combines a series of fluid, sweeping movements that focuses the samurai’s
mind and clears his thoughts of all distraction, allowing him to concentrate exclusively on his goal.
Requirements: Toughness, Way of the Lion, Proficiency in the weapon being used
XP Cost: 550
Effect: For the duration of the kata, you do not suffer penalties for being reduced to 0 or fewer hit
points and cannot be stunned, staggered, or knocked unconscious. You remain conscious and fully
active. If you are reduced to -10 hit points, you die normally. After this kata’s effects fade, you are
considered fatigued until you receive at least eight hours of rest, and must rest an additional eight
hours before you can recover hit points or spells (if you can cast them) naturally.

TSUKO'S STORM
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
This kata is a flurry of rapid strikes, with the bushi striking, then spinning in a different direction to
lash out, only to change direction once more. Upon completion of the kata, the practitioner finds his
senses sharpened and his mind attuned to the possibility of attack from any direction.
Requirements: Matsu's Roar, Void Use.
XPCost: 1,500
Effect: For the duration of the kata, you cannot be denied your Dexterity bonus to AC for any
reason, so long as you are not helpless.

THE SOUL’S ROAR

Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
This is one of the most basic kata the Matsu teach their students. It involves a short series of crisp,
sweeping katana strokes and ends with the blade held aloft and a roar of primal fury. They often
conduct it in large formations shortly before entering battle, and the blood-chilling roar of thousands
of Matsu soldiers has been known to shatter the resolve of the hardiest warrior.
Requirements: Power Attack, Cleave, Great Cleave, Way of the Lion.
XP Cost: 750
Effect: You may impose a penalty to your AC of up to twice your base attack bonus. You gain an
insight bonus to your attack rolls equal to half this penalty, or a bonus to your damage rolls equal to
one-fourth of this penalty (round down).

Kata of the Mantis

HOWL OF THE SON OF STORMS
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Duration: 180 minutes
Believed to have been devised by Yoritomo himself, this kata embodies the bold, powerful
techniques of the Mantis. Only the most skilled bushi can master it.
Requirements: Power Attack, Soul of the Storm, Void Use, Way of the Mantis.
XP Cost: 2,000
Effect: You may spend two Void Points any time you roll a critical threat for that attack to
automatically hit the target. (Re-roll the die to determine the chance of a critical hit normally).

PRAYER'S END
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
Special: This kata may only be used when wielding two kama.
Like the insect from which his clan takes its name, the Mantis bushi rests with weapons raised,
gathering his chi, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The twin kama of the wielder lash out at
once with an explosion of action.
Requirements: Ambidexterity, Hand of Osano-Wo, Two-Weapon Fighting, Way of the Mantis.
XP Cost: 500
Effect: When fighting two-handed, you gain a bonus to your initiative equal to your Strength
modifier. However, you must fight two-handed for a full round before you gain this bonus; it takes
effect on the next round. This bonus is lost if you did not fight two-handed during the previous
round.

STRIKE OF THE CLIFF’S EDGE

Preparation Time: 1 minute
Duration: 10 minutes
This kata uses the weaving, rolling style of fighting of the Yoritomo bushi school to strike an
opponent at any point on his body.
Requirements: Way of the Mantis
XP Cost: 40
Effect: When using this kata, you gain a +1 bonus to all melee attack rolls. This bonus does not
apply to any opponents who have struck you successfully during this combat. Opponents who
strike you successfully gain a +1 bonus to all attack and damage rolls made against you for the
duration of the combat unless you cease using this kata.

Kata of the Phoenix

TAIL OF THE SUN
Preparation Time: 10 minutes Duration: 60 minutes
The Shiba are great advocates of the naginata. Other clans consider it a woman’s weapon, but the
Shiba prize
its elegant control. You may not use any weapon other than a naginata while using this kata; if you
release your grip on the naginata at any time, the kata ends immediately.
Requirements: Weapon Focus (Naginata).
XP Cost: 500
Effect: If you are wielding a naginata, you may threaten squares adjacent to you along with those
threatened by the weapon’s 10-foot reach.

DEEPER REFLECTION
Preparation Time: 60 minutes Duration: 120 minutes
The Phoenix shugenja are the acknowledged masters of the mysteries of the Void, but Phoenix
bushi also share in this deeper understanding. The meditative techniques of the Shiba allow even
warriors to draw deeply from that well of potential.
Requirements: Depths of the Void, Void Use, Concentration Skill (10+).
XP Cost: 4,000
Effect: You must meditate for an hour (Concentration check, DC 20) to activate this kata. While
under its influence you gain two extra Void Points. These are always the last Void Points the
character may spend, and they disappear at the end of the kata’s duration if not spent.
HEAVEN’S WINGS
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Duration: 60 minutes or until discharged This difficult kata is not exclusive to the brotherhood that
shares its name, though they pride themselves on a greater mastery of its mysteries. The kata
builds focus through simple, wide movements of the naginata. Although rarely seen in
competitions, the steps are beautiful and sure as the bushi guides his weapon in long flowing arcs
to finally release the built-up energy in a flurry of startling motion. This kata can only be used with a
naginata. If you do not discharge Heaven’s Wing after beginning the kata, all of your Void Points
are spent when the
kata ends.
Requirements: Depths of the Void, No-Mind, Void Use, Way of the Phoenix, Weapon Focus
(Naginata).
XP Cost: 3,000.
Effect: As a full-attack action, you may choose to discharge this kata. You gain a number of attacks
this round equal to one plus your current remaining Void Points at your highest base attack bonus.
This action immediately expends all of your remaining Void Points. After using this kata, you are
considered fatigued, and you may not attack for a number of rounds equal to the number of attacks
you gained.

STANCE OF THE PHOENIX

Preparation Time: 60 minutes
This kata has a double use from the ancient times when bushi e shugenja were fighting alongside,
it grants great coordination or concentration, depending on the path of the user.
XP Cost: 500
Effect: If you are a phoenix samurai, the kata grants a +2 AC bonus while fighting at 5’ radius
from a shugenja, if you are a shugenja, it grants a +10 bonus to Concentration skill checks while
performing spells, if there is a samurai in a 5’ radius.

Kata of the Scorpion

BLACKENED SIGHT
Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
Special: This kata must be learned and used with a particular weapon.
The Blackened Sight kata is a high art among Scorpion bushi. Few have ever mastered its
movements, much less the focused state of mind it requires to produce the effect Bayushi Nikute
intended when he developed the kata hundreds of years ago. The complex movements of this kata
summon forth the chi of the bushi, pushing it outward around him in formations that slowly become
shadowy reflections of himself. When the ritual is complete, the bushi’s eyes are completely black,
and his form shimmers and flickers.
Requirements: Dodge, Expertise, Improved Initiative, Mobility, The Pincers Hold The Tail Strikes,
Strike at the Tail
XP Cost: 3,000
Effect: You gain the effects of one-half concealment for the duration of the kata. Any round in which
you do not move ten feet cancels the effects of the kata.

Kata of the Unicorn

SHINJO'S BREATH
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 180 minutes
Unicorn bushi quickly learn that they have a distinct advantage when fighting from horseback, and
fight best when they can mount or dismount rapidly. This kata allows the Unicom to perform an
acrobatic backward flip, mounting or dismounting with ease.
Requirements: Way of the Unicorn, Ride Skill.
XP Cost: 40
Effect: You may make a Dexterity check (DC 10) to mount or dismount as a free action if your
steed is within five feet. If you fail this check, you fall prone and take ld6 subdual damage.

THUNDERING THE SKY

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 180 minutes
Some believe a Unicorn can only fight on horseback. They are wrong. This kata developed over
many centuries, and was perfected shortly after the return of the Unicorn to the Empire.
Thundering the Sky is an awesome maneuver to behold, as the Shinjo samurai leaps and spins,
never stopping until every sweeping and dizzying movement of the kata is completed. The bushi’s
attacks seem to come from all angles, dizzying his opponents with multiple feints and distracting
maneuvers.
Requirements: Dancing With the Fortunes, Dodge, Expertise, Mobility, One Spirit.
XP Cost: 700
Effect: While under this kata’s effects, you cannot run or charge. However, you gain a dodge bonus
to AC equal to your Charisma modifier, and gain a +4 bonus to attack any opponent who attacked
you and missed since your last action.

HOWL OF THE MOTO

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Duration: 120 minutes
Nothing is quite as terrifying as a Moto warrior in a fury, and this kata is proof of it. The war cry of
the Moto is horrifying, even to those who think themselves without fear. In recent times, even
members of other Unicorn families have begun to learn this frightening Moto kata.
Requirements: Cleave, Depths of the Void, Intimidate skill, One Spirit, Power Attack, Void Use.
XP Cost: 700
Effect: You may spend three Void Points to duplicate the effects of a fear spell with a mighty roar.
This fear emanates from you in a thirty-foot radius rather than the standard area, and persists for
the duration of the encounter. The DC to resist this effect is 14 + your Charisma modifier. Enemies
who are immune to fear due to feats or class abilities must save normally if you inflict 20 damage
or more upon them with a single melee attack. Allies who are not immune to fear are affected
normally unless they also know this kata.