Legend of the Five Rings RPG 3rd Edition

Return to Rokugan, where honor is a force more powerful than steel.
For one thousand years, the Empire of Rokugan has stood as a bastion of nobility, honor, and virtue. These lands are ruled by the samurai, powerful heroes who carry the katana and wakizashi as their badge of rank. Eight Great Clans vie with one another for supremacy over these lands, all under the eye of the mighty Emperor. And to the south, the Shadowlands, the eternal enemy of Rokugan, waits for the next opportunity to disrupt all that these foolish mortals have built. It is a land of intrigue, wonder, and adventure.

Welcome to the third iteration of the Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game. This player's guide will provide players and GM's with all of the setting, culture, and rules needed to create characters in the Legend of the Five Rings world and stage ongoing campaigns in Rokugan. While this book contains an updated version of the familiar rules, conversion rules will be included so that none of the many previous volumes set in this world will ever be obsolete.

The best Asian style fantasy setting roleplaying game of this generation returns to its roots with its release this summer. Legend of the Five Rings 3rd Edition returns focus to the Roll and Keep(R&K) system originally released in 1996. Conveying a deeper sense of realism, the R&K system best simulates the tension, reality, and lethality of Samurai drama. Look for it more information in the coming weeks here at L5R.com.

• Thrilling fantasy setting based on the myths and culture of Japan, China, and other Asian nations
• A new generation of the beloved Legend of the Five Rings roll and keep system.
• Streamlines existing rules without making previous products obsolete.
• Excellent sourcebook for Rokugani culture and history

$39.95

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The Four Winds: The Toturi Dynasty from Gold to Lotus

"No man can know his own destiny until it is complete." - The Keeper 

The reign of Toturi is at an end, and now it falls to his heirs to determine the future of the Empire. The Four Winds clash among themselves to determine who shall rule Rokugan. The Dark Lord Daigotsu makes plans to restore his evil god to his former glory. Yet even when a new Emperor is chosen, this is not the end of Rokugan's troubles. Iuchiban, master of the Bloodspeakers, escapes his prison. A Rain of Blood falls upon the Empire, corrupting all those with sinister intent. The descendant of Shinsei returns, hoping to restore enlightenment to the heroes of the Empire, but has he arrived too late?

The Lotus sourcebook recounts a tumultuous time in Rokugan's history, the rise of the Four Winds and the reign of the Bloodspeaker, Iuchiban. Players of the Legend of the Five Rings CCG are familiar with these events as the Gold and Diamond Story Arcs. This sourcebook not only contains the important people and events of this era, but also updates events for campaigns set in the Lotus/Dark Lotus period.

• Thrilling fantasy setting based on the myths and culture of Japan, China, and other Asian nations.
• A new generation of the beloved Legend of the Five Rings roll-and-keep system.
• Recounts the events of the popular Gold and Diamond Edition Story Arcs.

$34.95

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Art of the Duel

“Set... focus... Strike!” A samurai of Rokugan who does not thrill to these words is no samurai at all, and would do well to abandon his swords by the side of the road. Dueling captures many important facets of a samurai’s life: skill with a blade, moral and physical courage, personal honor and loyalty to family and clan. It is an experience which compresses his existence to its essence… his entire being summed up in a single instant of perfect action.
But dueling is not limited to the warrior ranks alone. Shugenja have used the rites of taryu-jiai to settle matters of honor between them almost since the dawn of the Empire. Courtiers have a myriad of less violent (but no less dangerous) methods of dealing with rivals for personal and political ends.

The Art of the Duel covers the full range of Rokugani dueling practices: iaijutsu dueling, Phoenix naginata duels, Tsuruchi archery contests, Unicorn competitions of horsemanship, Crab and Badger sumai wrestling, Ikoma storytelling contests, Doji debates — even Crab Clan drinking games. The book features:

• A comprehensive survey of Rokugani traditions of dueling and personal
  competition, as practiced by each Great Clan, the Imperial Families,
  the Minor Clans and even the samurai of The Lost.
• New Schools, Advanced Schools, Paths and Kata related to dueling — including rules covering human swordsmen who study with kenku
  sword masters.
• Rules variants for simplifying and speeding up the resolution of
  iaijutsu duels.
• Rules for resolving taryu-jiai duels.
• Rules for resolving courtly forms of competition, such as go and shogi,
  ikebana (flower-arranging) challenges, oratory challenges, and the like.
• Appendices describing the legendary Test of the Emerald Champion
  tournament and the Test of the Minor Clans tournament, and how
  to incorporate them into your campaign.
  Every Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game campaign includes moments when the material in these pages prove invaluable, because as we all know, there is a time in every samurai’s life when a challenge becomes personal.

The Art of the Duel is a rules supplement and its use requires the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game Third Edition core rulebook.

$34.95

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Emerald Empire - The Legend of the Five Rings Companion 

Emerald Empire is a must-have for Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game Players & GMs who wish to bring their campaigns alive with a wealth of details about the workings of Rokugani life, as well as plot hooks and adventure ideas. It is also a crucial resource for players who want to understand how their characters — or the NPCs whom they encounter — are expected to act, and think and feel, and how they are shaped by the world in which they live.

Above all, Emerald Empire: The Legend of the Five Rings Companion is a comprehensive guide to the world of Rokugan, its wonders and its commonplaces. It is a rules supplement that requires the Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game Third Edition core rulebook to make full use of it, but it also contains by itself much of interest to any Legend of the Five Rings fan.

• Clear and systematic descriptions of Rokugan’s social and political hierarchy, so that you never have to wonder about who answers to whom in the Great Clans, the Minor Clans and the Imperial Court. Includes the most detailed description to date of Imperial Court offices and their duties.
• Vassal family rules updated for Third Edition, including descriptions of 48 different vassal families.
• Detailed discussion of how the Clans and the Imperial magistrates preserve law and order throughout the Empire, including descriptions of the workings of the Emerald Magistrate system, the Kuni Witch-Hunters and the Asako Inquisitors.
• A discussion of the Rokugani art of war in its various forms, including a soldier’s various duties, various Clan military traditions and elite units, and advice for incorporating military cam-paigns into your RPG campaign.
• Much, much more!

272 pages, hardbound.

$39.95

Masters of War

172 pages, softbound

“Let the Kakita fret over their flower arrangements and leave the Isawa to their scrolls; we know that only steel and courage can preserve the Empire.” - Crab proverb

Of the Great Clans of Rokugan, three have always embraced the art of war with a dedication that their peers cannot match: the Crab, who keep the Shadowlands at bay by sheer force of arms; the Lion, whose founder wrote the definitive Rokugani treatise on military strategy; and the Unicorn, whose tradition of exceptional horsemanship and unconventional ways have made them a formidable opponent on the battlefield. Masters of War views each of them through their contributions to Rokugani military practice and history.

Here you will find:

• Detailed description of each of the three Clans’ standing armed forces and military organization, including elite units and new Paths and Advanced Schools that allow you to incorporate them into your PC or campaign.
• Descriptions of each of the three Clans’ fortifications and strongholds, including a detailed cross-section diagram of the Kaiu Wall.
• Detailed descriptions of each of the three Clans’ battlefield tactics and corresponding optional mass battle rules.
• Discussions of how the art of war has influenced the outlook and histories of the Families of these Clans.
• A timeline of major conflicts that have shaped the Empire’s history, plus commentary on selected individual battles.
• Masters of War reveals the soul of three of Rokugan’s Great Clans and describes them in unprecedented detail. It is a crucial resource for anyone interested in the Crab, the Lion or the Unicorn - or indeed, anyone interested in the Rokugani art of war.
• Masters of War is a rules supplement and its use requires the Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game Third Edition core rule book.

$34.95

Prayers and Treasures

172 pages, softbound

Prayers and Treasures is an essential resource, and not just for those who play shugenja characters or who are interested in the profession. Anyone who is interested in enchanted items and legendary artifacts will find this a must-have book.

Rokugan is a place of enchantment, as well as honor and courage. The Elemental spirits known as the kami inhabit every place and every thing, and those who are blessed with the gift of communicating directly with them can tap into their power and unleash forces that others can scarcely imagine. The kami that reside in physical objects have also been known to awaken on their own, or in response to human stimulation, thereby creating items with supernatural powers that are both revered and respected in all corners of the Empire.

Prayers and Treasures is a comprehensive guide to magic in Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game Third Edition, encompassing not only the shugenja’s art, but also the vast range of magic items that can be found in Rokugan.

Here you will find:

• Extensive catalogue of nemuranai, described for incorporation into the RPG. Many of these items have appeared in Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game, but never in the RPG until now.
• Over 100 new spells. Many of these are updated from previous editions of Legend of the Five Rings RPG. Includes maho spells, multi-Element spells, and spells that are specialties of certain Clans or families.
• Discussion of the role that shugenja play in each major faction, as well as Minor Clans and among ronin. Includes new Shugenja Paths.
• More detailed rules for nemuranai creation than are found in the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game Third Edition core rule book.

Prayers & Treasures is a rules supplement and its use requires the Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game Third Edition core rule book.

$34.95

Masters of Court

Far from the fields of war, the Great Clans of Rokugan struggle against each other behind the walls of elegant palaces and amidst the theater of great public events. They understand that politics and diplomacy - the arts of the court - are no less important to their ongoing fight for power and influence than the sword and the bow.

But as with war, the subtleties of court play a more prominent strategic role for some Clans than for others. Masters of Court views three such Clans - the elegant Crane, the cunning Scorpion and the relatively new and enigmatic Spider - through the lens of their practice of diplomacy. One chapter is also devoted to the Otomo Family and their relationship to the Great Clans.

Masters of Court features:

• New and updated character creation and development mechanics focusing on Social Skills and courtiers in general and the Crane, Scorpion and Spider Clans in particular.
• Descriptions of palaces that serve as a particularly important focal points of political and diplomatic activity.
• Profiles and NPC stats for prominent and otherwise interesting political figures in the Crane, Scorpion and Spider Clans.

$34.95