Editing Lion Clan (section)

==Culture & Role==
WAR and HONOR. These are the foundations of all Lion Clan culture and personality. They have the largest army, oversee all matters of war, and seek to live and die according to Bushido.

Within their own Clan, all Lions are raised to view themselves as an army first, and a family second. Before they ever get to anything personal, most of their decisions are made in terms of how it will affect the group or unit, which lends them a considerable amount of solidarity and a strong chain of command, even with hotheaded Matsu and rambunctious Ikoma. But practically all Lion families agree: the effects of war are terrible and damage the glorious Empire they serve, but the act of waging war is the ultimate expression of their courage, willpower, and duty.

As a people, Lions tend to be the closest to what one expects from the model samurai: strict, honorable, stoic, courteous, and completely ready and eager to give their lives for the Emperor. The general result of this is that Lions normally appear professional, disciplined, and humorless with the aforementioned stick up their collective asses, as well as perpetually judging you for not living up to Bushido and how no matter how hard you try, you will never be <s>Ultramarines</s> as honorable as them, though they'll still afford fellow samurai every courtesy their class deserves. Of course, to those on the receiving end of a Lion army or a courtier claiming "No, seriously guys, they were ASKING to be invaded when they insulted us", their more aggressive personalities contribute to the stereotype that they are brutal warmongers who glorify war and look down on less martial and traditional Clans. And their focus on war tends to mean that they treat the peasantry like shit, though it's less out of malice and more from a blunt mentality of "these half-people are our tools, and all our tools are made for war". Though Kami help you if you're an ''enemy'' population.

But all that martial spirit isn't just for show; in an Empire full of tensions and rivalries where battles have to be sanctioned now and then to vent resentments and nip threats in the bud, the Lions are vital to stability as the Right Hand of the Emperor. Besides protecting the Emperor alongside the [[Adeptus Custodes|Imperial Legions]], the Lion Clan serves as a huge deterrent that keeps internal military conflicts from getting out of hand (assuming they didn't instigate it, in which case the Crane are the ones who have to convince the Emperor to rein them in). Their central location in Rokugan, besides letting them wage war in all directions, means that virtually no two rival Clans in Rokugan can wage war without their knowledge or possibly involvement, since they often have to cross Lion lands to get to the fight. In short, they're the big jock brother who may be something of a dick who'll kick your ass if he thinks you're insulting him, but they're also there to keep the younger siblings from beating the crap out of each other. Which is important when said younger siblings decide to ignore daddy telling them to cut it out.

As an aside, when they're not called to be the masters of war, the Lions are also Rokugan's main historians, and there are few archives in the Empire which are as thorough and accurate as theirs. Between the Ikoma and Kitsu, as well as the overarching importance placed on ancestors and deeds, this is certainly a natural fit. Though it's also important to note that the Lions do make use of this position to hype up the Emperor and their own Clan.

===Tactics===
Lions are THE preeminent warriors and military leaders of Rokugan, and their army is its largest standing force at a whopping total of half a million troops organized into thousands of units, over twice the size of the next largest army. The extremely well-made roads of their lands help to mobilize this fighting force at a somewhat reasonable speed, aided by the fact that their leaders know how to delegate to specialists instead of trying to prove they're a master of EVERY detail in running an army.

Every Clan has its own ways of war suited to their strengths, and a few like the Crab and Unicorn are even just as martial in their traditions, but it's the Lions who wrote the art of war and developed the chain of command that other Clans would imitate. With their developed lands and high population, it's a given that a Lion army will always outnumber their opponents, remain united with a cohesive chain of command and unbreakable morale, and be directed by proven commanders who meet their exacting standards of leadership, whether through intelligent decisions or berserk fury.

When it comes to tactics, aside from "win with your superior MARTIAL MIGHT AND HONOR", Lions are actually [[Ultramarines|rather competent generalists]]. They've had a looooong time to study what the other Clans do, and while they may dismiss certain methods of war as being dishonorable or blasphemous, they also co-opt anything they think is worth learning. Some, like the [[Imperial Fists|siege engineers of the Crabs]] or the [[White Scars|elite cavalry of the Unicorns]], were adopted pretty quickly, but others such as the [[Alpha Legion|special ops of the Scorpions]] or the [[Thousand Sons|magical force multipliers of the Phoenix]] only saw minor acceptance or counterplay.

But in all cases, the Lions religiously examine all their fights post-mortem to properly dissect how they won or lost. ''Especially'' if they lost because, no matter how bitter, defeat reveals a lot more about what they're doing wrong, whether it's a loss to a devastating new tactic or an incredible blunder in command like marching your troops up a hostile mountain without any preparation because your pride thought your honor would be enough to see you through it. The Lions diligently record these lessons and endeavor to never repeat them...[[Derp|and then proceed to make new mistakes generations later for similar reasons because they fixate on the mistake and not the attitude that caused it.]]

===Bushido & Religion===
If the Lion Clan has any form of religious fervor, it's for Bushido and ancestor worship. They may not seem pious when compared against the mainstream religions of Fortune worship and the Tao of Shinsei, but Lions have a devotion to Bushido, the ancestors, and honor which can rival that of any holy man from the Dragon or Phoenix Clans. Funnily enough, Bushido wasn't even meant for day-to-day samurai and was more a code for warriors initially; it just really, really caught on as Rokugan's social values.

As stern warrior traditionalists who practically wrote the actual book on war and Bushido (Akodo's ''Leadership'' and its various editions), its tenets and honor matter a great deal to the Lions. But where the average samurai from another Clan deals with the usual tension between their public mask and inner self, following some tenets while paying lip service to the others, the Lion Clan seek to make sure there is no difference, in essence shaping themselves to fit Bushido rather than the other way around.

There are many ways this can play out, but it all boils down to the ideals of living honorably, serving loyally, and being firmly for the Emperor and the Clan. That doesn't mean they don't have exceptions to this attitude, though. While your average Lion tends to buy their own hype, Akodo himself infamously wrote "On the battlefield, all actions are honorable." Seriously, his initial draft was so pragmatic in how to provoke enemies and exploit weaknesses that Hantei VII declared the work dishonorable. Ikoma scholars have edited subsequent editions to be more PG-13 for everyone, and only they and the Lion Champion actually know the original contents ([[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|while giving all later versions a 5-out-of-10 "It was OK" review]]).

Lions also revere their ancestors, using their honored, glorious dead as examples to live up to. Given their actual tangible connection to the spirits of the dead which the Kitsu can give voice to, it's understandable; when your descendants can call you up to ask questions, it gives you an incentive to live on the straight and narrow. All Lions know their ancestors are very actively watching their every move, and long to be worthy additions of that honored assembly when their time has come.

But while the Lions are devoted to Bushido and their ancestors, they are notably hostile to the Tao of Shinsei. Its emphasis on contemplation and seeking enlightenment from worldly matters is seen as the antithesis of how the Lions prioritize taking action within the world as soldiers, a difference of opinion which stems from Akodo's scorn for Shinsei. He refused to let the Tao be preached or followed among his followers until Hantei commanded him otherwise.

As a result, every Lion dojo holds a copy of the Tao in an honored spot. Honored, and unopened, a perfect reflection of the Lions' attitude to Shinseism. Something to pay lip service to because they have to, and ignore otherwise. And for the most part, that's as far as their dislike goes, because the Lions would never be so dishonorable as to actively attack or persecute honored monks...but they have been known to make convenient excuses that let them basically leave endangered monasteries to die. Ironically, using equivocation which is right out of the Doji playbook they so despise. That being said, if a Lion samurai approaches retirement age (assuming they actually let themselves retire), it's rare but not unheard of for them to join a monastery and spend their life in introspection after a lifetime of handling outward affairs.