[Deleted]

Sozen we are the world tree. chosen by chakra, blessed by the lotus. CLAN TYPE: Kekkei Genkai CLAN ORIGIN: Bonchi no Kuni CLAN RESIDENCE: Takigakure CLAN IDEOLOGY The Sozen Clan has always been closely connected with chakra. It has become a central and vital part of their ideology and existence, deeply woven in their mentality and philosophical way of life. They live close, almost co-dependent lifestyles with their family and clansmen, believing that their ties to chakra extend to the soul and even the potential for of tying past lives together as does the cycle of gathering and exerting chakra. While not religious, the Sozen are very spiritual beings. What this means for one Sozenn member could be entirely different for another, but outliers and black sheep are not typical due to the closeness in which they are raised. With this spiritual connection to chakra, the Sozen spend much of their time at temples set within their clan compound, devoting large amounts of chakra to a statue on a weekly basis in celebration of its blessings. The statue, at its core, shines brightly that it served almost as a warm lamp to the entire compound, and the chakra forced into it strengthens that brightness. It is said that if the statue ever turned too dark, that their blessings with chakra would cease. The statue itself is shaped like a budding lotus, the symbol of their clan. CLAN HIERARCHY The Sozen do not believe much in a hierarchy system. They see each other as equals and rely on communication and trust between their members. Naturally, higher-ranking members and seniority do play a factor in decision making within the clan, but in essence, they keep mostly to majority rules in decision making among all clan members over the age of thirteen. The exception to this rule is if a member reaches Genin level before the age of thirteen where they then are invited to participate in clan decision making. A single member of the clan is chosen to be the arbiter of the blessing of chakra. He or she is selected based on their connection with chakra, which in some cases presents as the statue at the compound's center shines brightly during the birth of the arbiter. This is seen as good faith in their connection with chakra. Several arbiters can be present at a time, but the eldest arbiter is seen as absolute, often referred to as the Elite Arbiter. The death or resignation of an Elite Arbiter can lead to the promotion of a younger arbiter. If an arbiter is voted out as being seen incapable of performing their duties, they can be forced to resign. The Elite Arbiter often shows signs of possessing their enhanced chakra nature at birth but is not able to access it until unlocked, similar to other clan members. This is another sign of a future Arbiter. The duties of the arbiter are to address clan issues that pertain only to their connection with chakra by assessing the Lotus and controlling the flow of chakra being presented to it as an offering. They are also mostly in charge of clan celebrations for those being birthed as arbiters or the coming of age for members being able to participate in clan decision making. The arbiters are not held as higher ranking, but their duties are separate and specific. Other duties may vary based on circumstances or current events. CLAN HISTORY The Sozen clan has obtained quite a mysterious history over time. They have mostly remained to themselves, offering little to no assistance in war efforts unless ordered to by the leader of their time or if the threat directly hinders their efforts and existence. It is believed that the Sozen clan is one of the oldest clans in existence, with ties to history back before the creation of the villages and nations. To this day, a direct founder is not necessarily responsible for the formation of the clan, but an idea brought together between two unknown couples. The true names of the couple have been lost to history, but they have since been referred to by the Sozen as Yato and Hirume. The two were believed to have been involved in the separation of the lands during a small war that broke out between their clan and another called the Kamino. The two clans were once connected by marriage, but after the murder of the heir of the Kamino clan, war broke out between the two. While typically peaceful in their ways, the Sozen clan wiped out the Kamino entirely as they posed a threat to their clan's existence and to their ideals. As the villages began to form, Sozen was forced to choose sides. Given their long-lasting history in Bonchi no Kuni, Takigakure was an obvious choice. With the formation of Takigakure, the Sozen clan relocated and decided to settle in the village rather than live their lives as nomads. Their affiliation with the village was quite simple. They offered their services to temples, prayer grounds, and cemeteries, and stayed entirely out of the political affairs between Takigakure and the other villages. It was only until the First Shinobi War that the Sozen took up arms. Given the uniqueness of their Kekkei Genkai, their use in the war paid off, but over half of the Sozen clan was wiped out as they had not stepped foot in combat before the First War. After the First Shinobi War, the Sozen clan believed it now necessary to at least train in combat. It began to form inner training circles with the remaining members, harnessing the powers of their Kekkei Genkai and offering more of their services to the Takigakure forces. As the Second Shinobi War began, Sozen was much more of a threat to the enemy forces. With their new training regime in place, they lost very few clan members in the Second War. Due to the nature of the Third Shinobi War, the Sozen kept to themselves, allowing for this time to bolster their own defenses and strengthen their numbers. Being cautious and more reclusive of a clan, they were also unaffected by the effects of the political implications of the Great Plague that so brutally affected Kumogakure. With many years of peace under their belt again, the Sozen clan has more than bolstered their numbers and has since become a very well-known and prominent clan within Takigakure. Their forces are many, and they continue to have near-complete control over the grounds for temples, cemeteries, and prayer grounds with both Takigakure and its fake counterpart. This has been and still is, one of the primary sources of income for the clan. CLAN ABILITIES Cycling Natures | Kekkei Genkai The Sozen clan has long been connected to chakra in a way most others may find both frightening and nearly impossible. Each member of the clan is born with  each of the basic elements [Katon, Suiton, Fuuton, Doton, Raiton] as their chakra affinities, and has access to these elements when they come to age, typically in their Genin ages. The caveat to this blessing of chakra is that they are only able to use one of these elements at a time. Like a revolver, they are forced to cycle through these elements if they wish to use elemental-based attacks. During their cycle of elements, they are locked to that element. Multiple elements can be used at a time if a technique requires it so long as they are side by side in the cycle, essentially moving through two natures in the cycle to the usual one. Non-elemental techniques do not affect the cycle. The cycle of the elements cannot be sifted through at will but is instead rotated in a preset order that is determined at birth. For ease of use: in character applications, the order in which these elements are written is to be the determined cycle. This cannot be changed except in the addition of an enhanced element with the additional SA described below. For Academy Students, while their natural chakra is assumed to be all elements, even with the Cycling Natures SA they cannot use the elements until Genin level, per rules. Blessing of the Lotus Perhaps due to their assumed relation with the origins of chakra or with time and experience, the Sozen has highly a tendency to obtain highly potent chakra, giving them a rather menacing presence despite their typically relaxed dispositions. This can become a double-edged sword. Without practice and control over their chakra, the clan member can be more easily detected by sensory ninja by up to 20% of their typical range, while their chakra is being exerted. Under control, their attacks using their element in the cycle are much stronger than normal, upping their attack power during this element's cycle by one rank. At the point of control over their chakra's potency, the Sozen clan member may show to have an affinity for one of these elements that become apparent in later years (typically Genin years older) that begins to occur twice in their natural rotation. The user's enhanced element cannot occur twice in a row, but can oddly change in the case of severe physical or mental trauma. The enhanced element often goes in line with the Sozen member's personality or motives at the time it is obtained. The sign of obtaining your enhanced element comes with a sudden change in eye color that reflects the element given to some degree, sometimes merging with their natural eye color or showcasing a monochromatic defect. Katon - Red or Pink Suiton - Blue or Teal Fuuton - Silver or White Doton - Brown or Black Raiton - Yellow or Emerald Techniques using their natural element have the ability to be performed without hand seals in later years with practice and tuning with their element. The clan member typical shows now natural chakra affinity until it becomes apparent through practice and tuning their element. This is often uncovered during Genin years. [Prerequisite: Cycling Natures SA] Chakra Tuning With their experience in chakra, members of the Sozen clan are very well known and expected to develop natural chakra sensing capabilities. Rivaling that of most sensor shinobi, they become natural hunters, capable of sensing even small bodies of chakra within 1.5km passively, and 6km actively. The Sozen receives an additional 0.5km of passive and 1km of active sensing capabilities against opponents whose natural chakra matches their enhanced nature. Their ability to sense chakra is not affected by a shift in day or night and is typically described as a sixth sense which allows them to follow the trail similar to a hound. It also allows them to pinpoint where the chakra is being sensed and can determine movements as subtle as taking a breath. CLAN MEMBERS Elite Arbiter: Sozen Seikaiju Arbiter: Open Arbiter: Open Open Open Open Open [Genin Slot]

[Yamato]

Have you spoken to and received Kaze's approval for the non-mechanical aspects of this clan?



Clan Ideology:
This section doesn't really give a good sense of what it means to play as a Sozen. You mention that they are close-knit and spiritual, devoting their chakra to a statue, but otherwise it's unclear what exactly it is the clan stands for? It's in this section where you should specify a few key things that influence how a person plays a member of this clan. What are the Sozen's general thoughts on peace and war? Are they typically straightforward or subtle? Law and chaos? What are personality traits or skills they value? Thoughts on politics? Individualism or collectivism?



Clan History:
Overall, this history would benefit greatly from having actual dates written in.

Generally, it's not a staff member's job to grade the creative/subjective aspects of an application, but I do feel that it is necessary to more closely examine what I would consider a plot contradiction with the Sozen. How can they be described as a 'prominent' clan of Takigakure when they so adamantly avoid political matters? Takigakure, and most shinobi villages, are defined by the conflicts that have taken place throughout history. Takigakure is filled with clans that pride themselves on ambition and progress. Essentially, you can't have a clan be 'prominent' or important in a village and also have them abstain from participating in village matters. They can not be "unaffected by the effects of the political implications of the Great Plague" if they are a part of Takigakure. Clans and their villages are intertwined, so if you're adamant about keeping them super apolitical, then the Sozen would most likely be more appropriate in a World Clan Slot, though the KKG slots are full.


Clan Abilities:
Cycling Natures:
Balance concerns are generally viewed as a subjective matter, but more often than not there is a way to objectively compare abilities and see roughly when one is stronger than another. The whole picture can be hard to grasp, but side-by-side observations tend to reveal inequality.

I feel 99% confident in saying that this ability, as it is currently written, is absolutely more powerful than being clanless, or being a part of any of the clans that confer an additional element. There is no argument you can make to me that would convince me otherwise.

There are roughly 100 clans currently on site, I believe the exact number is 98. A cursory check reveals that of those clans, about 7 of them have specific immunities/vulnerabilities to certain elements. Just to be conservative, we'll bump that to 10. That means, that in 10% of situations where a Sozen faces off against someone from a clan (and we aren't even thinking about clanless shinobi yet!) their 'weakness' of rotating elements will come into play. What that means is, in the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of situations, a Sozen needing to rotate their chakra nature isn't a downside or even really a consideration at all. In most cases, being limited to one element at a time just simply isn't a big deal.

With that in mind, the upside of having access to EVERY BASE ELEMENT at genin is extraordinarily beneficial. General ninjutsu is already the most versatile specialization on site, and its biggest limitation is that gaining more elemental affinities is costly. The Sozen bypass that limitation for free. A genin Sozen has 5 times the options of elemental ninjutsu to learn when compared to a normal genin.

You might make the argument that the Sozen make up for this by 'needing' to purchase/train more jutsu? And that I can tell you only makes the inequity even more obvious. A Sozen genin receives 5 elements for free, whereas a non-Sozen genin would spend 6000 exp to purchase the 4 elements they're missing, and then they would still need to purchase more jutsu to make use of their newly acquire elements.

I hesitate to give this a denied stamp, but I also don't know if there's a version of this ability that can compensate for the immense benefit of having access to all 5 elements for free, without either adding massive, multiple banes to the ability, or perhaps drastically changing the method of rotating through elements. This SA lacks any limiters that keep the abilities of other strong clans in check. There is no gradual progression of power like with EGF and most dojutsu, there is no plot related roadblocks like with the Uchiha tomoe or the Hyuuga clan/branch family system, there isn't even a negative cultural bias against the clan as it seems they're very well received in Takigakure.

The additional potency in a certain element and interactions with sensory on top of this are also quite gratuitous and I would rule they should be removed entirely.

[Deleted]

First of all, thank you for your response...and sorry if this is a long reply.

Most of clan ideology and history is blahblah and tldr until I figure out the clan abilities as it would influence my take. So...skip if you want idk as I can necessarily make edits to it yet until I know what's going on with the abilities.

1) I have not spoken to Kaze for approval. Was not under the impression I needed to but can work on that now. I've messaged Kaze with questions and to make them aware that my clan may need their approval.

Clan Ideology:

1) I can extend this section but would require some answers from other sections of this review first if it’s okay that we come back to it. Some of my changes to this section would depend on the other changes.
2) The clan doesn’t necessarily ‘stand’ for anything. They are a peaceful group of people that are family-oriented and worship a creepy Lotus statue (let’s be real). They are spiritual and guided by the thought and energy of chakra and are thus very close and sensitive to it.
3) I genuinely am not comfortable restricting a clan to certain personality traits and a defined way of thinking, as every human (real or made up) is going to be different based on their experience and how they wish their character to play out. I purposefully left these mentions quite vague to allow for creative freedom of character personality and backstory with those who wish to join the clan. This includes thoughts on politics, war, and peace. Everything that I saw as a necessity for how the clan holds itself, I included, but can flesh out more details if you'd prefer, but is this a requirement or a suggestion? Either way, this entire section will be fleshed out further.

Clan History:

1) I believe we have different definitions or expectations of the word ‘prominent’. Most clans are prominent for reasons such as sheer number, strength, contribution to the country/village, or even wealth/status. This clan would fall under contribution, though for post-war efforts as opposed to other clans with their efforts during wartime. With Kaze’s approval, I have noted that they manage most of the country’s cemeteries, prayer grounds, and temples. If this is acceptable to Kaze, then this would be their prominence. This is vital to a large majority of players both canon and lore-based who seek guidance, reason, and acceptance as their loved ones have passed. While atypical, is using it to this definition okay with you or would this need to be reconsidered on my part?
2) My vision of this clan is not scattered or world based. They are a familial clan. You say this contradicts, but a World Clan would directly contradict most of their intended and expressed creation. They devote their chakra to the Lotus, which is in a central location. They can't travel worldwide to devote the chakra. They are close-knit, and previously nomads that travel together. They did not split off at any point. Is using this clan as a Takigakure KKG clan still, or again would I need to reconsider how their history is written?
3) I do not believe a clan should be forced to provide or aid in political efforts, but this is ultimately Kaze's decision(?) I think? A clan is a group of people closely related, but a group of people closely related is not directly required to side with any one political power. Deciding to remain politically neutral should not void them of their citizenship. It'd be one thing if they were anarchists or trouble-makers or opposed the politics in place loudly. They side with the people, not the leaders, and still do supply shinobi forces and aid, but their attention is more citizen-based rather than political or power-based. They wouldn't care about politics so long as the people are getting the best mental and spiritual health that is available under their leadership and within their capabilities. I can flesh this out more or explain it better.
4) I can add dates once I have refreshed these sections, but again only wish to do that after the section below is dealt with as it would change the routes of their history and perhaps ideology.

Clan Abilities:

I appreciate your input, and I understand. Please let me know if these suggestions are more balanced.

Things I believe should be added regardless:

1. Removal of Chakra Tuning entirely .Though I have a question, would this remove the possibility for me to do this ICly as an SA if I wanted to go the route of a sensory-nin in the future, or would it just be done as a non-clan related SA?
2. Chakra Control Prerequisite for clan SA (This makes sense with lore as well with consistency pouring of chakra into the Lotus)
3. Removal of hand-seal reduction for the enhanced element (I actually meant to take that out originally, my bad)
4. Not one I'm sure about, but would you suggest for the removal of the enhanced element entirely as it can technically be done without a clan? Same as Chakra Tuning in this section.

Potential SA edits that I would like your opinion on:

1. Ninjutsu optionally as secondary specialization, but never allowed as primary specialization. This is loosely clan-lore-based, and a reason I wanted to wait on ideology and history. With this, they would also not get the perks of Ninjutsu cost reduction for sole or primary spec, essentially making them a Buki/Tai-focused clan (which I do have ways I can fit this into clan history). This also limits the wide range of jutsu they can purchase or effectively greatly increasing their cost and lowering the pool of techniques available at their disposal.

2. The ability to 'bypass' elemental purchase with a minimum four-thread proof SA appeal per element to be appealed for at once, not in batches (12 proofs minimum and only at Chuunin+ as a late blooming KKG clan). This prevents them from using these threads for additional SAs and requires a lot of work to obtain the elements, and is a lot of proofs for an SA This is in addition to the required Chakra Control SA already required. With this in mind, most will not have all elements until Chuunin no matter what...I am hoping that with the specialization requirements and the fact that they would be bleeding SA proofs just for the Clan SA it would be a fairly decent nerf?

3. Potentially allowing for the same jutsu to be used once every other rotation, making more use of 'Null' techniques to filter through if they do not have the elemental techniques available, but adding great deficits in their rotations. More nerfs can be made to these if needed such as rank ups, cost, and hand seals, but would prevent them from getting entirely 'stuck' in rotation while in combat Chuunin+.

These are suggestions that I’m putting forward for consideration. I am mostly asking for input and opinion for changes. Please let me know if there are any changes, removals, or merges of any of these suggestions. I am open ears and am willing to make as many edits/nerfs as needed to create it as a balanced clan. My biggest priority is the lore and feeling behind the clan, not its power. It just seems like it would be incredibly fun to roleplay this out. These changes or a mixture of them would allow for the elemental rotation, but would become a secondary form of fighting style to back up their buki/tai as opposed to a primary like before.

On your comment regarding limiters, gradual progression, and roadblocks, I hope all the above explains and balances this? I also would like to point out that along with political issues pointed out in this section as well, I don’t personally believe every clan has to have some sort of cultural bias. This seems like an odd standard to me…That being said, the clan wouldn’t be well received. They sit around a basic Lotus statue and pour chakra into it. The rest of the village thinks they're weird af, but why do they have to be not well received?

[Yamato]

I would prefer if you didn't treat your clan's ideology and history as "blahblah" because it's just as important, if not more, as the rest of the application.

You always need a village leader's approval when creating or editing something that is majorly intertwined with village history as they need to check that it doesn't contradict anything in terms of plot.

Clan Ideology:
This section doesn't control how people play their characters, it would simply be a guideline to what the clan as a whole believes in/values. You saying "They are a peaceful group of people that are family-oriented and worship a creepy Lotus statue (let’s be real)" shows that they do in fact 'stand' for something, and that should be written into the ideology section as that would tell members that the 'average' Sozen would prefer non-violence. That doesn't mean someone couldn't make a Sozen who enjoys war, but it does inform them that it would be unusual for the clan. Individuals do have their own beliefs and ideologies, but that doesn't mean large groups don't have general beliefs and ideologies as well.

As it stands, this section would lead me to believe that they shouldn't care about who is in charge, and wouldn't expend their lives and effort to fight for Takigakure. If all they care about is spirituality and giving chakra to a statue, then why would the group try so hard to fight for Takigakure/Bonchi no Kuni specifically? Do they believe that other nations ruling the country would restrict their access to a spiritual life?

Clan History:
My point about the clan being contradictory has nothing to do with them being focused on spiritual matters, such as ceremonies, cemeteries, etc. My point was that in a feudal world, a clan deliberately going out of its way to be apolitical would be not grow to prominence due to competition from the other clans or just would have little reason to fight for their village.

"Their affiliation with the village was quite simple. They offered their services to temples, prayer grounds, and cemeteries, and stayed entirely out of the political affairs between Takigakure and the other villages.

It was only until the First Shinobi War that the Sozen took up arms..."

You don't explain why they take up arms right after you state that they stayed entirely out of the political affairs between Takigakure and other villages. The history also fails to touch on the statues that they give chakra too as mentioned in the ideology section. Where did they come from? Things can be mysteries or unknown to characters, but OOC'ly members should be privy to key information. You should take a look at the Oborozuki clan page as well as a few of the others. No other clan in the village deliberately stays away from politics, it's simply not feasible. If the Sozen being completely removed from village politics is an absolutely core part of their concept, then they would be much more suited to being a Religion instead of a Clan.

I'm not requiring that the Sozen be avid participants in village politics but they have to engage with it to some degree in order for them to be, by definition, a village clan (I believe the Oborozuki are the closest and best example of this).

Clan Abilities:
I would remove every other ability this clan has aside from "Cycling Natures" at least as long as it is in its current state. Elemental specific sensory or enhanced elements would not and should not be locked behind a clan, particularly one where the main mechanical draw is having all the elements. In other words, you could potentially have the improved sensory later on as a non-clan specific SA, same as an enhanced element SA.

I don't think a chakra control requirement should be added. This is a kekkai genkai clan, so by definition their abilities should be inherently available to them.

Potential SA Edits:
1. I would not go in this direction as I don't think it makes a lot of sense. Their lore specifically says they are closely connected with chakra and the main ability confers more elemental access. If anything it would make more sense to lean into this connection with chakra and say that all Sozen are born as sole specialists in General Ninjutsu. Or that if you would like access to the cycling natures that you must be solely specialized in general ninjutsu, which would also give people the option of playing as a Sozen but without the having inherited the clan ability and spec restriction.

2. While I think delaying the acquisition of all the elements until chuunin, along with thread proofs, is a potential step in the right direction, I'd like to know what that means in character? In the lore, what is a Sozen doing to unlock access to their genetically inherited ability? Overall I just don't think that delaying when the SA is available is enough to balance the benefits, and I don't think that it makes sense thematically.

3. This was something that I considered touch on in my initial review, but is something that I do not should be approved as a part of the clan. The concept of rotating elements is already complex, but adding another set of jutsu that can only be used once every other elemental rotation just adds unnecessary complications. Additionally, I think these null jutsu directly circumvent the one limiting aspect of rotating elements by giving a practically free (low cost and 1 handseal) way of cycling to the next element.

My point was not that a negative cultural bias is required, but is one potential way of adding balance to a clan in a non-mechanical way. However, yes every clan is going to have some type of cultural bias, whether positive or negative or neutral.

Hardline Ruling:
I can not continue to review this unless you actually begin to edit the clan application itself to show exactly what it is you'd like to pitch, along with the additions I've asked you to add to the ideology and history. As far as mechanics go, there should be no other abilities available to this clan aside from the "Cycling Natures."

Softline Ruling:
This is my personal opinion based on what I have read in the app so far, but I don't think locking the Sozen to a secondary spec in ninjutsu is a step in the right direction. Their beliefs would make it seem like they should be more talented in general ninjutsu than normal shinobi, not the opposite. Buki and tai very much don't rely on chakra as much as ninjutsu so I don't particularly see why they would favor it. I also don't necessarily think they should be restricted to acquiring their ability until chuunin+, and the balancing focus should go into leaning into the concept that Sozen are naturally attuned to elemental chakra specifically. Some other clans lock their members into having only one specific elemental affinity, and just as a spitball pitch I might suggest something similar here, but perhaps for other specs instead, or maybe even the use of non-elemental ninjutsu.

[Deleted]

I was not meaning that I'm a way where it is unimportant, just didn't want you to have to spend a lot of time on something that would potentially need a lot of changing.

Either way, I have 5 appointments this week's Father's day thing this weekend, and apparently will need surgery. With this being said, I'd like it removed from Notify staff until I can recover from my surgery fully and commit to edits as it will likely take well over 2 weeks for things to get back to normal with everything going on.

I will make edits based on what has been discussed here and repost when I've recovered.

Appreciate your time.