I bought a hardcover version of the book at Origins (and am trying to cancel one of the books that I ordered from the website, which hasn't come yet).
Character Creation is by the book. Advantages are capped at 15 points (as suggested in the book). Disadvantages are "soft" capped at 10 points (as stated in the book). Character Creation is the standard XP (as stated in the book).
Ancestors are available, provided you buy them like normal Advantages. Spider Clan is allowed, as are Minor Clans*. Ronin* will be exceedingly difficult. Current Era, with only a few very minor tweaks to the setting (Fox Clan was not forced into Mantis being the only one I know of right now).
The only thing that is out-and-out banned is Maho, though your character must also fit within the Campaign Primer, below.
I'm using a modified version of the Topaz Championship adventure module to start things off; it will probably take two weeks to play through, and I'm not going to try to figure out where we go from there until I know what everyone is playing.
Campaign Primer: From the module:
The Topaz Championship is a three-day competition that tests young men and women in all the skills that a samurai is expected to know. It is a rigorous, exhausting whirlwind of activity that can overwhelm even the most stalwart soul. Points are awarded to those who receive the highest marks in each contest, and the competitor who achieves the most points is declared the Topaz Champion. While the Topaz Champion receives no set reward or accolade, the prestige associated with the position ensures that the competition is fierce, and Topaz Champions are typically offered a number of different assignments, each coveted by young samurai.
Your character has (or is about to) come of age, and has not yet undergone his/her Gempukku Ceremony. Instead, your Clan has chosen you (and a few others of your age) to attend this year's Topaz Championship, the grandest and most prestigious Gempukku Ceremony in all Rokugan.
There are a total of ten tests over course of two days, plus the Iajutsu Tournament on the third day. Succeeding at a given test awards one point; success in each round of the single-elimination Iajutsu Tournament awards one point (and allows advancement to the next bracket).
The tests can cover anything that is proper and expected for a Samurai to know (meaning any "High" skill is a possible test, as are some Bugei skills). Every young man/woman who scores at least 6 points is considered to have passed, and the person with the most points is named the Topaz Champion.
Traditionally, any young participant who has not scored at least 4 points by the end of the second day withdraws, to avoid bringing shame on themselves and their families (who occasionally forcefully withdraw said participant to prevent exactly that). Any young Samurai who has already scored at least 6 points is permitted to bow out of the Iajutsu Tournament (most Courtiers and Shugenja do so, but are by no means required or expected to).
It is rare for a person unskilled at Iajutsu to be named Champion, but the first-place Tournament winner does not always claim the title.
*Technically, the Topaz Championship is open to any young samurai, regardless of credentials. However, it is held by the Crane, and they are
very good at making entry "inconvenient" for anyone without Great Clan backing. Minor Clans do not always have young Samurai of appropriate skill, and when they do, they have to kiss someone's rear to get in (so standard operating procedure for Minor Clans, basically). Ronin "never" get in - some
try every year, of course (and there's been a handful that have pulled it off - and won) but it officially "never happens" (retroactive arranged marriages to anyone convenient are the most frequent solution). The Crane are highly entertaining that way.
