Honor

To be truly honorable, one must follow the path of Bushido. However, this is often easier said than done, and even an honorable man sometimes slips, or must make dishonorable choices.

Honor Points and Ranks
In-character, honor is a nebulous concept that cannot be graded as such. Sure, you could call someone "very honorable" or "somewhat honorable" or "having the honor of a diseased dog," but these are descriptors, not numbers. The Honor ranking system is purely an abstraction designed to give players something of a tangible idea of where their character sits on the scale of scum to saint.

Honor Ranks 0-1

 * Honorless Dog:Those individuals with Honor Ranks 0 or 1 do not adhere to or even recognize the tenets of Bushido, and mock those who are restricted by such an antiquated code of conduct. Individuals of this sort cannot be trusted, and value only their own interests and well-being at the expense of anyone and anything else. Criminals fall into this category.

Honor Ranks 2-3

 * Untrustworthy:While characters of Honor Ranks 2 and 3 are not particularly honorable, they at least pay lip service to the concept and make a marginal effort to uphold principles under certain circumstances. Perhaps this is a vestige of the individual’s upbringing, or perhaps he only wants to avoid completely dishonoring his clan or lord through his actions. Still, the most important thing to a man of this caliber is himself, and very little can convince him otherwise.

Honor Ranks 4-5

 * What Is Expected:Characters of Honor Ranks 4 and 5 are the standard against which most others are measured. Such samurai make an effort every day to adhere to the tenets of Bushido and to bring honor and glory to their families and clans. Still, they are human and flawed individuals. As such they fall short of their potential on occasion, but not so much that they spiral downward into shame and disappointment.

Honor Ranks 6-7

 * Exceptional:A samurai of Honor Ranks 6 or 7 understands the strength inherent in the code of Bushido. Such a man still feels the temptations to which lower-Honor characters succumb, but he is capable of resisting them through conviction and strength of will. These samurai may occasionally abandon virtue in the name of practicality, but such things are the exception rather than the rule.

Honor Ranks 8-9

 * A Soul above Question:Samurai of Honor Ranks 8 and 9 are rare individuals who have managed to put aside their personal feelings and concerns, replacing them with zeal for duty and Bushido. To some, these men and women are paragons of virtue who are to be respected and admired, while to others, they are rigid and inflexible disciplinarians unwilling to deviate even slightly from their own intractable code of conduct.

Honor Rank 10

 * Strength of A Thousand Ancestors:Perhaps one soul in ten thousand reaches Honor Rank 10, and represents the greatest and most virtuous heroes of an entire Empire. Such an individual is virtually beyond reproach save from the highest ranks of the Imperial bureaucracy. Individuals of this caliber are completely selfless, devoted to their lord, clan, and Emperor, and exhibit virtue in every action.

Gains and Losses
The gains and losses noted here are for points of honor (i.e. being at Honor 3.7 and being an accomplice to a minor crime would reduce you to Honor 3.3). Also, the higher a character's Honor climbs, the harsher most infractions are judged, and many honorable acts become commonplace.

Tracking Honor
To try and keep a hand on the fluctuations of every character's Honor score would be a heavy burden on the staff of the game. Generally speaking, everyone should try and keep tabs on how their own character's Honor rises and falls. Logging scenes is a great help with this, less as evidence (though that may come up if disputes arise) and more as a way of keeping notes. It's easy to forget just why your character gained 3 points of Honor a month ago, but if you tag your logs with such things it helps keep not only your character's Honor track in greater clarity, but also their own personal story.