Legend of Five rings Lore questions.

[Nyan]

Hey i am going to run a game for my group using the legend of five rings 5e books and as ive been looking through ive had a hard time trying to find what i need.

So first or all im planning on running the topaz championship from the beginner game and then going on to the beginner game set directly after. I belive its called the castle of the emerald champion.

My first issue is that i cant figure out what year this topaz championship and subsequent investigation of the current emerald champions assassination is. I tried some digging in the lore and according to what is stated the book was that the current emperor is the 38th hantei. So Looking at his history the only topaz championship of note was the year 1118.

But the murder of the emerald champion doji satsume happened the year 1128 or something. Which cant be if the topaz championship in the adventure is happening shortly after that event. But also the murder itself is different in the adventure versus what i read online.

So clearly none of the years add up. So what is the year of the adventure? It has to be sometime then during the hantei the 38ths rule.

Then looking at the years that he ruled i wanna find out the current political situation among the clans. But i dont find any of that stuff in the 5th edition book. 4th edition had entire chapters dedicated to the culture and traditions, religion and eveything how people behaved etc. But i find nothing of that in the new 5e book. Am i missing something? There was the 5e emerald empire book but thats only about places and not info about the society or current political affairs.

Also looking at a 3rd edition book about the way of the courts i belive it was called. It totaly skips over the years ive mentioned earlier when looking at different eras of rokugans political history and the current state of the courts. The only thing of note in that regard is mentioned in the adventure books that the crane and lion are having a dispute about a castle and a peice of land. Cant remember the name of it atm.

So in short.

1. what year is the adventure set in and what is the current state with the clans and stuff at that point in history?

2. Where can i read about the society and stuff for 5e? Would it be fine with the 4e version?

More questions.

1. What premade adventures would you run after the topaz championship and the castle of the emerald champion?

2. If you would make a dueling system to emulate the one in this game to DnD 5e what would you do?

[Faily]

For reference, I use old5R when describing L5R prior to FFG's new rebooted timeline. Nu5R for anything that is FFG L5R.


1. Can't answer this, sorry.


2. I would say, just use 5e rules (if that's your preference) but use the timeline of old5R. As you say, old5R dedicated a lot more into describing the setting and fleshing out the world than nu5R does, and you also have the benefit of splats like Imperial Histories I and II, the Winter Court-books, the comprehensive Time of the Void resource book that covers most of what you need for running a Clan Wars-era game. And last but not least, you can then use the L5R-wiki ( https://l5r.fandom.com/wiki/Legend_o...ive_Rings_Wiki ) to answer a lot of your questions. They even have rundown of years, like the aforementioned 1118 and 1128.

In closing, setting trumps crunch in a lot of ways. You can quite easily play Legend of the Five Rings as a setting and using the rules of whatever edition you prefer (or hey, other system for that matter), and I highly recommend using old5R setting-stuff simply because it's been developed and covered so well over the years it was alive. If you don't mind filling in the crunch yourself for adventures, you can adapt adventures from previous editions of L5R:

- Night of a Thousand Screams
- Legacy of the Forge
- Code of Bushido
- Honor's Veil
- Bells of the Dead
- Midnight's Blood
- Void in the Heavens
- The Tomb of Iuchiban
- Twilight Honor
- Lesser of Two Evils

And the unofficial but popular ones (which along with some others can be found here: http://www.kazenoshiro.com/forge/4/h_4.php ):
- Mirror, Mirror
- Fortunes Lost

[Nyan]

For reference, I use old5R when describing L5R prior to FFG's new rebooted timeline. Nu5R for anything that is FFG L5R............

You are a lifesaver! Thank you so much for all the info.

But so lets say i want to run a campaign where the spider clan has not yet formed, mantis is still a minor clan and i start with the beginner game topaz championship and then the palace of the emerald champion from the 5e reboot. From the adventures you mentioned which would you play and in what order after that? To make sort of a cohesive campaign.

Cause I don't know if any of the adventures mighr have conflicting events or timelines i have no idea. Any tips on how to go on about it?

[BWR]

You're asking the wrong person(s). We don't follow the nucanon, don't buy FFG L5R at all, and when we (and her online crew) do deviate from old canon it's our/their own stuff, not nucanon.
We haven't read the adventure you speak of and don't know the details of nucanon. All we can advise on specifically is related to old canon. General advice might be too general but we will try.

That said, sounds like you are set before the Second Day of Thunder, considering the MC status of the Mantis. So PSCC (pre Scorpion Clan Coup), considering things will be a bit tense after the SCC.
Conflicting timelines shouldn't be a problem since most of the adventures mentioned, barring the Tasteslikephoenix ones (and I wouldn't run them for beginners in any case - they are meant for powerful characters and players well versed in Rokugan), are pretty clear of official characters, and aren't written with a particular order in mind - I would just look at them and see which fits your vision best. However, they were written in 1e with the general 1e setting of PSCC, so this shouldn't be too bad. Just note that 1e L5R was quite a bit grimmer and nastier than later editions. It's quite a bit more sexist, for one and many of the adventures and events from that time show this. Other than that you'll just have to read them yourself and see if there is anything that conflicts with nucanon. Oh, "Tomb of Iuchiban" is basically Rokugan's version of Tomb of Horrors, so don't run that until well into the PCs's career, or unless you hate your players.

Or you can just ditch nucanon altogether and run old canon, which has the advantage of a ton of existing information, lots of discussions about what was good and bad with it, ideas to run games with, and less work adapting to your game. Plus all the previous edition books are set then which makes adapting less of a pain. Or you can base yourself off whatever you wish and go your own way and not worry about canon.

[Nyan]

You're asking the wrong person(s). We don't follow the nucanon, don't buy FFG L5R at all, and when we (and her online crew) do deviate from old canon it's our/their own stuff, not nucanon.
We haven't read the adventure you speak of and don't know the details of nucanon. All we can advise on specifically is related to old canon. General advice might be too general but we will try.

That said, sounds like you are set before the Second Day of Thunder, considering the MC status of the Mantis. So PSCC (pre Scorpion Clan Coup), considering things will be a bit tense after the SCC.
Conflicting timelines shouldn't be a problem since most of the adventures mentioned, barring the Tasteslikephoenix ones (and I wouldn't run them for beginners in any case - they are meant for powerful characters and players well versed in Rokugan), are pretty clear of official characters, and aren't written with a particular order in mind - I would just look at them and see which fits your vision best. However, they were written in 1e with the general 1e setting of PSCC, so this shouldn't be too bad. Just note that 1e L5R was quite a bit grimmer and nastier than later editions. It's quite a bit more sexist, for one and many of the adventures and events from that time show this. Other than that you'll just have to read them yourself and see if there is anything that conflicts with nucanon. Oh, "Tomb of Iuchiban" is basically Rokugan's version of Tomb of Horrors, so don't run that until well into the PCs's career, or unless you hate your players.

Or you can just ditch nucanon altogether and run old canon, which has the advantage of a ton of existing information, lots of discussions about what was good and bad with it, ideas to run games with, and less work adapting to your game. Plus all the previous edition books are set then which makes adapting less of a pain. Or you can base yourself off whatever you wish and go your own way and not worry about canon.

That really helps alot! I guess you two play together?

Anyways yes you are right I am set before the scorpion clan coup at the very least and in the 12th ish century so yes they are probably building up to a second day of thunder.

But dissregarding the systems and only thinking about the story of these adventures (as I have no problem simply making my own crunch for whatever. Im really just looking for story bits when I look at these premade adventures.) the events that follows are such that i've decided to run.

1. They all gather for the topaz championship. They will (hopefully) stop a scorpion sabotaging the event and go through their Gempukku.

2. after the events of the tournament they are recommended for their deeds to become emerald magistrates and will go through training and subsequent test to investigate the current emerald champions murder.

So now after those two adventures they will be fully fledged imperial magistrates etc.

Again only thinking about the story of the adventures in question what would you guys run after that point? Difficulty of adventures is also inconsequetial as im making all the crunch myself I can lower it to the partys skill level. How would you set it up and why? What happens in these adventures? You dont have to describe in detail im just curious how you would do it.

[BWR]

I guess you two play together?

In person, yes; pbp, no.

Again only thinking about the story of the adventures in question what would you guys run after that point? Difficulty of adventures is also inconsequetial as im making all the crunch myself I can lower it to the partys skill level. How would you set it up and why? What happens in these adventures? You dont have to describe in detail im just curious how you would do it.

Honestly, we'd have to read through them again to make a detailed recommendation since it's been a while since we read/played them. While you can crunch it up all you want, some of these are intended to be for higher powered characters with bigger stakes, like Tomb of Iuchiban and Void in the Heavens, and rewiring them to work for low-powered characters will make little sense (like how you can nerf Tomb of Horrors or Undermountain to be beatable by 1st level characters if you want, but that kind of ruins the point).
We'll have to get back to you on this.

In the mean time, here is a collection of Challenge, Focus, Strikes (story seeds) that may help. I've found them very useful.

[BWR]

Having skimmed quickly through the adventures, I can make some rough suggestions. Many of these were written as a sort of series of themes, which may or may not be played in some sort of order.

I'd start with the B series, the bushido adventures: Code of Bushido and Legacy of the Forge
Then I'd go on to the I series of intrigue adventures: Honor's Veil and Bells of the Dead
Lastly it would be either the M series of high magic or the S series of Shadowlands adventures, Midnight's Blood/Void in the Heavens, and Tomb of Iuchiban/Twilight Honor/Lesser of Two Evils (depending on which aspect of the setting you wish to focus on)

I cannot stress enough that you would be best served by reading through the adventures and seeing what fits for you, and be careful about which elements you reduce the difficulty of - some of the encounters are meant to be highly dangerous for just about anyone, in some cases potentially apocalyptic, and nerfing them kind of ruins the point.

[Nyan]

Thats great! Thank you so much. Im gonna read through the adventures and see what i find fitting for sure. But your suggestions at least give me a place to start.

[Nyan]

Hey another question that popped up.

Ive read that female samurai is expected to make a vow of chastity. But is the Matsu Female samurai an exeption to this or is it just the Matsu female damiyo that can marry/have children?

[Faily]

Hey another question that popped up.

Ive read that female samurai is expected to make a vow of chastity. But is the Matsu Female samurai an exeption to this or is it just the Matsu female damiyo that can marry/have children?

The samurai-ko "vow of chastity" is a very old L5R line of thought, and they did step away from that line of thinking in later editions (which is both good and... interesting for the setting as it makes the matriarchal families seem a little odd if there's gender equality? anyway, Your Rokugan, Your Rules).

All samurai are expected to marry and produce little samurai, that even goes for the Matsu Lion's Pride, and the Battle Maidens of the Unicorn (who are considered the most gung-ho about "purity" if comparing the two). Providing a future generation and carrying on the family line is important and part of your duties as a samurai.

All in all, sexual relationships in Rokugan is very much about what you present in public. In public, everyone expects a samurai to not be swayed by things like Desire (one of the three big sins) and is of course 100% loyal only to their clan and lord with no room for others in their heart. Behind closed doors, anything goes as long as it doesn't become a public thing or a scandal. There's a big thing in books like Emerald Empire and Sword & Fan about courtly love, romance, and how love and romance is viewed in Rokugan.

I'd say you're free to interpret gender roles as you wish in your Rokugan that fits for your playgroup. Some people prefer it harsher and more "unfair", while others like it more with a stronger gender-equality.

[BWR]

1e L5R was quite a bit harsher and less gender equal than it later became. Even the Crab bought into the 'women stay at home' thing; Hida Kisada, for instance, was unsure about what to do with a girl child so he just raised her like his boys. In later times this is pretty much the norm. Bayushi Kachiko's motivation was in large part a response to being treated as nothing more than a political bargaining chip to be married off.
The gender inequality in the setting got reduced to the point where it's pretty much gone (because gender inequality is terrible but caste systems are ok...), which makes things like the matriarchal nature of certain families a bit odd.

[Nyan]

Hey another sort of trivial fact I have learned at one point about this setting but I cant seem to find again. What was the deal with Kakita laying the back of his hand on the hilt of the blade when he did Iai. I belive thats like the last technique of the Kakita dueling school right? I remember the way he did it like that had some significance but I cant for the life of me figure out where I read or heard it from.