From the Desk of Kuni Tetsu

(Last updated: )

Ohayo-gozaimashita!

I thought I would put this page together to let you know why I am doing all of this and where I am planning on going with Kyuden Hida. If this seems self-indulgent, I apologize. I will warn you up front that some of this stuff is going to be real up-on-a-soapbox kind of stuff, I just hope I do not come across as pompous <grin>.

Background

Since I got to play Clan War at GenCon in 1998, I have been very excited about it. It combined the fast-play style of table-top war game I like with the world of Rokugan, which I have loved since I saw my first cards when some friends brought them back from GenCon the year the CCG premiered. The fact that the rules are well thought out, capture the feel of the battle field I am looking for, and yet do not bog-down game play with infinite minutia is a huge plus!

During the later half of 1998, AEG had not yet had the time or resources to create a page supporting their excellent new game, so I decided to put up my own. I wanted to create a place full of useful information for Clan War players. To that end I have tried to collect all of the rulings, information, and news that I could collect on Clan War and put it all in one place. If it is Clan War related, I wanted to get at least a mention of it on my page. I hope I have managed to keep Kyuden Hida useful to everyone who visits it.

All my hard work paid off when I was tapped to become one of two official sites for Clan War on the web. I am also the keeper of the Clan War FAQ. I have continuted to keep Kyuden Hida as full of information as I can manage. Most of the material on my site is still unofficial. Only the stuff in the Official section is sanctioned by AEG. Any errors or omissions are mine, entirely. This is, after all, still my hobby and not my job, so sometimes I may forget to post a new ruling for a while or be unable to update my page as often as I would like. The good news is that I am now getting more information directly from AEG, so I should be able to keep Kyuden Hida more up to date than I have been able to in the past. There may even be some cool stuff coming for loyal Kyuden Hida readers in the future.

As a result of trying to keep my knowledge of the CW rules encyclopedic to answer peoples questions, I was lucky enough to be asked to be a play-tester for AEG. I am fortunate enough to be a member of a gaming group which composes some people who have been doing game development and play-test for many years. Unfortunately, this means that I am less free to talk about many of the "rumors" of upcoming products I hear about. Please do not ask me about future products, I do not want to violate the trust I have been given.

AEG started a mailing list for Clan War. The instructions for subscribing can be found in the Kuni Library. Members of the AEG staff are present on the forum for feedback and rulings where needed. The information available on the list is pretty broad, covering strategy and tactics as well as rulings and new product information. Many of the folks have over a decade of Wargaming experience, but new players are also welcome. Come join us!

AEG also instituted a demonstration team program called The Bounty Hunters. They are folks who do demonstrations for AEG with the full support of the company. That includes flyers for the store and other promotional materials. Yet another example of the support that AEG is willing to give to Clan War and the folks that support it. I have included an announcement section on Kyuden Hida where demo games can be listed to help folks find any that may be going on in their area.

AEG continues to run Storyline tournaments as well. Players can go to a local game store and compete for prizes on behalf of their clan. All the winners are tallied, and the clan with the most winners gets some in-game effect as a result. In April of 2000, this was a set of scrolls won by the Phoenix that has some power that will be revealed in an upcoming AEG publication.

Recent Events

Recently, the playtesters have just finished work on the long-awaited Daimyo Edition. This is Clan Wars, second edition, and it a terrific piece of work. AEG has listened to the players, and tried to improve Clan War to make it more fun to play, smoothing out any less than optimal mechanics, and fixing errors in the old system. Now I am waiting for Daimyo Edition to hit the shelves in its final form. I think it is going to be excellent!

One of the things that impresses me the most about AEG is that they are very dedicated to customer service. This practice started with the "koku" included in the original Legend of the Five Rings CCG packs and continues to this day. They do the best they can to create a superior product, and listen to what you have to say. You can see this in things like the new "Reinforcement Packs" that they began developing when people expressed a concern over the cost of creating large units from blister packs. Unlike some other companies in the miniatures industry, AEG is honestly interested in the concerns of the players, and does its best to meet your expectations. That is the main reason why I am doing everything I can do to support them.

Plans

I am hoping to add much more information to the terrain and painting sections of Kyuden Hida in the future, as well as the miscellaneous extra bits. Hopefully, I will not need to add to the new Daimyo Edition errata and rulings section <grin>. If anyone comes up with an idea to make game-play easier, or a great idea for terrain, or storing figure for transport, or anything else, and would like to make it available to other CW players as well, then I would be honored to include it on my site. I am also trying to have as much product information available as I can so that Clan War players can make informed purchase decisions about new products.

I think that will be enough of my ramblings for now! I still have some hills to make, a hundred or so figures to paint, and some new rules to stress and beat on to see if we can make them break. I wish you all continued enjoyment of Clan War, and Good Gaming!

Kuni Tetsu (mka Bob King)