Clans and Factions of the Emerald Stars
The nine Great Clans of Rokugan have changed a great deal in the many centuries that have passed since the days of the first Iweko sovereign, but they remain the driving forces behind the Empire’s progress and the most powerful factions within its borders. Although technology and expansion have transformed all of the Great Clans, they still remain true to the core philosophies of their founders. 

The Crab Clan 

     After the Festering Pit of Fu Leng was closed, the Crab Clan endured a spiritual crisis of sorts, having lost the primary focus of its existence. Soon, however, the children of Hida proved as pragmatic as ever, reorganizing around two areas of focus. First, with the growing importance of science and technology, the Kaiu family became an important part of Rokugan’s development, and much greater resources were allocated to them in order to expand their operations, in mining and engineering particularly. Secondly, the opening of space exploration revealed many planets inhabited by strange and often hostile life-forms influenced by the more dangerous Spirit Realms, occasionally including Jigoku. This gave renewed purpose to the Crab, who took to the stars to fight against the most dangerous and inhuman species, as well as establishing gigantic mining and construction operations for weapons and defense development. Long used to hardship and difficult conditions, the Crab adapted very well to exploring strange new environments, and became a force to be reckoned with in the Empire of Emerald Stars. 

    Unsurprisingly, the greatest number of systems controlled by the Crab are at the ‘southern’ border of the Empire, where there are also many barren worlds where unfortunate incidents have happened. The ever paranoid Crab maintain close watch over the area, wary of possibly sinister forces at work. Their core system, unimaginatively named Hida Prime, holds several moons and planets of great mineral value, which have been put to good use for the production of ships and weapons. Kyuden Hida Prime, a gigantic orbital stronghold located above the largest solid planet, is the center of Crab activities in the galaxy, and quite possibly impregnable. It orbits a planet known as Inferno, a place of extremely high temperatures and toxic atmosphere, populated by a variety of creatures which draw their influence from Gaki-do, Toshigoku, and more rarely Jigoku. The Kuni have developed a process which allows them to turn the already massive radiant cannons of Kyuden Hida Prime into orbital jade strikes able to annihilate all traces of corrupted life in a radius measured in miles. The fact that the creatures still keep fighting back is a testament to the danger they represent, but the surrounding moons are so rich with rare minerals that the Crab would never give up the place. Secondary systems include Hida Secundus, virtually identical to Hida prime if smaller in size, and Hiruma prime, which holds the busiest Crab spaceport in the northern section of the galaxy.
11/07/2023 11:52:00 AM | Category: | 0 comments

The Age of Space Exploration
The universe beyond the confines of the world of Rokugan is nothing like ancient samurai might have imagined. It is at once vastly more horrible and unimaginably more wondrous than any mortal mind could ever have grasped without experiencing it firsthand. Centuries ago, the discovery that other worlds existed beyond Rokugan caused enormous discord among the people of the Empire. The theological ramifications alone were almost enough to cause a complete breakdown of society, and a brief but very intense schism erupted between the various religious viewpoints. This conflict, known as the War of the Tao might have raged on far longer than it did if not for the Emperor of that era. Unwilling or perhaps unable to quell the theological warfare taking place across the land, the Emperor instead funded advances in magical theory and technology that permitted the observation of these distant other worlds. Although this project took nearly a decade to complete, a decade in which war threatened to rip the Empire into many smaller nations, the endeavor was ultimately successful. The nearest planetary neighbor to Rokugan was observed clearly, and the most powerful shugenja in the Empire collaborated on a ritual that allowed them to make very rudimentary contact with the spirits of that world. Their conclusion was that this hot and verdant planet was closely tied to the Spirit Realm of Chikushudo, a reflection of that realm in a manner not much different from the most undeveloped regions of Rokugan such as the Shinomen Mori. This observation allowed the various theologies of Rokugan to accommodate the reality of other worlds with their theological beliefs, and the reigning theory that each alien planet is a manifestation of the Spirit Realms in differing proportions persists to this day. With this peace of mind (whether real or manufactured) attained, the Empire returned to peace and the Great Clans began looking outward in a policy of expansion that continues to this day. 

    The vast interstellar expansion of the Empire of Rokugan has been made possible by the development of an extremely powerful magical ritual, first created by the Phoenix Clan. Thousands of years ago, the rare precursor of this spell was known to many as Walking the Way, in which a single shugenja could create a tunnellike conduit linking two physical locations and a traveler could walk through it, ensuring they were in no danger from environmental difficulties or enemy attacks during this travel. The current spell that operates on the same principle, known as Opening the Way, can require up to one hundred shugenja to cast depending upon the size of the vessel being affected. It opens a similar conduit, but one of vast size that massive spacecraft can enter. This spell allows for immeasurably vast distances to be covered in short amounts of time, essentially giving the Rokugani the ability to move their vessels at speeds faster than light. 

    The state-of-the-art spacecraft currently employed by the fleets of the Great Clans is without question the Katana-class battlecruiser. With its sleek lines and a shape reminiscent of the weapon whose name it bears, the Katana is present in the fleets of all clans, altho ugh the numbers fielded vary greatly due to the vast resources and manpower necessary to create and maintain such craft. At the bare minimum, however, almost every family in each Great Clan maintains at least one of these magnificent ships as its flagship. (A few rare exceptions do occur, such as the Tsuruchi family.) 

    If the Katana is the grand example of spacecraft prowess, it is only fitting that the Wakizashi-class light cruiser is the workhorse. Far and away the most numerous ship found in the fleets of Rokugan, the Wakizashi is slightly less than half the size of a Katana but requires only a fraction of its crew. They are exceptionally efficient vessels, able to traverse known space much quicker than other comparable vessels, and easily modified to serve a number of purposes. The Unicorn have several Wakizashi which serve as light carriers, for example, while the Crab reinforce them with additional armor and weapons to serve a heavier combat role than they normally fulfill in other fleets. 

    Beyond these two models of cruiser, there is a great variety of smaller ships that still generally fall under the category of cruiser. These vary widely in design and function, and many clans have their own particular ship types unique to them. One of the most prevalent is the Atakebune-class cruiser, a smaller ship utilized by the Mantis Clan. The Atakebune are the smallest vessel that can bear the name cruiser, and are remarkably swift craft capable of operating both in space and also in atmospheric conditions. In particular, the Atakebune excel at aquatic operations, and it is not uncommon for large numbers of them to travel through space together and then descend into the oceans of a distant world to harvest specific resources. At the other end of the frequency scale, the Scorpion are rumored to have a light cruiser with advanced stealth technology and unrivaled surveillance abilities, although this may be just a rumor to explain away the clan’s superior intelligence-gathering. 

    The majority of spacecraft that are too small to classify as cruisers are simple transports, used to move goods throughout the many star systems of the Empire. Most are quite simple, little more than interstellar barges. Small single-pilot combat craft also exist and are a vital component of any fleet, and used to great effect during large-scale battles. Much as with cruisers, a great variety of these fighter-ships exist, with many unique models employed by individual clans. The most common form is the Tanto-class combat spacecraft, a ship used in one design or another in every known fleet in the Empire. These ships are unable to access faster-than-light travel and are generally dependent upon larger ships to ferry them through space to engagements. The sole known exception to this are the slightly larger vessels used by the Unicorn Clan. Nearly half again as large as a Tanto, these ships – the Baraunghar class – employ both a pilot and a single shugenja. The shugenja is able to use a variant of Opening the Way to allow these ships to make short faster-than-light jumps, which gives the Unicorn a distinct advantage. 

    Carriers are the least numerous of large-scale spacecraft, and most clans only employ a small number. Although they vary in size, carriers are typically at least as large as a cruiser, with the largest of them exceeding the scale of Katana-class heavy battlecruisers. These vessels are the Daikyu-class carriers, ships of such enormous size that many clans choose not to employ them at all. The Tsuruchi family of the Mantis Clan has one as their flagship in place of a Katana, and the Phoenix and Crane are known to utilize them as well. Each Daikyu is capable of fielding several hundred Tanto-class ships or the equivalent. Smaller variants of the Daikyu include the Yumi (the most common class of carrier) and the much smaller Hankyu, which can carry only a single squadron of fighters. 

    The void of space is an eerie place to the Rokugani, despite that the Ishiken of the Phoenix Clan insist it is distinct from the Void of the Five Elements. It is not occupied by spacecraft alone. Rare indeed is an inhabited world without at least one major orbital facility, and these massive constructs often fulfill the roles once taken by opulent ancestral estates or mighty war-fortresses. The largest stations, able to accommodate multiple cruisers simultaneously and with room for thousands of residents, are often referred to as Kyuden in imitation of Rokugan’s past. It is exceptionally rare for a system to have more than one of these behemoths, and most systems have none simply because the majority of settled star systems do not see enough traffic to warrant such a massive facility. Much more common are the Shiro, smaller stations which can accommodate only a single cruiser at a time. The Shiro is the standard space station, and only the most lightly populated or tactically unimportant systems do not have at least one. Finally, there are numerous smaller stations which lack the capacity to dock a cruised, serving as monitoring posts or orbital defense platforms; these go by many different names, although Torid-e is the most common.
11/06/2023 02:36:00 PM | Category: | 0 comments

Personal Technology in the Era of the Emerald Stars
    The only thing more surprising than the amount samurai culture has changed over two thousand years is the amount of samurai culture that has not changed. Most of the closely held beliefs samurai embraced during the dawn of the Iweko Dynasty thousands of years ago have changed somewhat, evolving in different ways to deal with the massive changes and new discoveries Rokugan has encountered in the intervening years… but few have disappeared outright. The Code of Bushido in particular has changed almost not at all, although the interpretation of the different Tenets of the Code are quite a bit different among certain clans. And of course warfare, the ultimate duty of all samurai, has changed immensely yet remained fundamentally the same. 

    At the start of the Iweko Dynasty, ranged combat was an essential aspect of all samurai training but was still considered largely secondary to the perfection of the art of melee combat (especially with the sword). In the era of the Celestial Empire, however, the balance between the two has largely reversed. Ranged combat is now an absolutely essential component of all forms of warfare, and of course the only means of combat when conducting fleet actions against enemies in space. However, the sacred status of melee combat still exists. Every samurai still carries a katana and wakizashi, the sacrosanct symbols of the samurai caste. The essential techniques used to fight with these weapons remains the same, but the materials and technology used to create them have changed dramatically, resulting in weapons that would seem godlike to the samurai of ancient Rokugan. Even an average samurai now carries a blade of steel encased in an aura of radiant energy, and the wealthiest and highest ranking members of the samurai class wield blades forged from the metals found in the heart of collapsed stars, their incredible mass offset by magical blessings which make them as light as the average sword. 

    As weaponry has advanced with the development of metallurgy and the harnessing of radiant energy, so too has armor been forced to advance in order to maintain its usefulness. Ironically, the armor most widely used during the days of the Celestial Empire is only as successful at stopping melee attacks as it was in millennia past, but the ceremony of utilizing it remains. Most armor is composed of astonishingly thin layers of blended metals and ceramics, and often feels no heavier or more restrictive than a particularly heavy cloth. However, it is also encased in a field of radiant energy, making it more likely to deflect a direct shot or a katana blow. This alone is part of the reason why melee combat is still a part of Rokugani warfare, since ranged weapons are not guaranteed a kill against properly equipped samurai.
11/04/2023 02:29:00 PM | Category: | 0 comments

The True State of the Galaxy
    While the state of affairs within the boundaries of the Empire is as good as can reasonably be expected, there is a great deal amiss beyond its borders, far more than any samurai truly realizes. The region of space to the ‘south’ of the Empire is stripped bare of resources because another alien empire has already laid claim to everything of value, leaving once-verdant worlds in a state of almost complete desolation. This empire is smaller than that of Rokugan, moving constantly and occupying only a single system at a time, but it is warlike in a manner the Rokugani have yet to experience in another culture. Ironically, it is their rampant warlike nature and raging xenophobia that is their greatest similarity to the people of the Rokugani Empire, yet it is also this which will set them against the samurai with incredible fervor and passion. In terms of setting and campaign structure, this alien empire can be seen as a replacement for the hostile gaijin of the canonical Rokugani setting. Alternatively, they can become a vessel for the power of Jigoku to wage war against the samurai, either as directly controlled vassals, willing accomplices, or simply dupes and distractions to avoid the Empire realizing that another Day of Thunder is coming. (If Nazo is being employed in a campaign as the Champion of Jigoku, he will almost certainly deliberately provoke a confrontation with these beings in order to conceal his true agenda.) 

    The power of Jigoku, the Realm of Evil, has been largely dormant since the last and definitive defeat of the Shadowlands some five hundred years ago when the Festering Pit of Fu Leng was sealed forever. The demons of Jigoku have been biding their time since then, waiting for an opportunity to unleash their Spirit Realm’s war on the mortal world once again; the ancient Law of Daigotsu that restrained their actions has long since ended, of course. They have found a new weapon in a long-forgotten race of creatures: the Scarabs. The Scarabs were originally demons in the legends of the Ivory Kingdoms and the Senpet, encountered by Rokugan only in the Colonies of the late twelfth century and so quickly destroyed that they were but a footnote to the many other dangers of that place. However, their unique abilities make them far more dangerous in the fourth millennium. Scarabs look like humanoid man-sized versions of their namesake, covered in chitin and possessing large cutting claws at the end of each leg. They are surprisingly intelligent, and their complex mandibles give them fine manipulation ability. Their most dangerous aspect, however, is their ability to turn a human being into one of them in a matter of hours through a gruesome infection process. Considering the vast numbers of citizens in the Empire of Rokugan, the Scarabs can potentially spread at an incredible rate and pose an existential danger to all, even the Spider. Naturally Jigoku fully intends to unleash such a danger, and the loss of Hida Sedundus is only the first step in this campaign. 

    Finally, in preparation for the impending Day of Thunder, a terrible occurrence has taken place in an uncharted solar system far from anything the Empire has ever encountered. An ancient star on the brink of collapse has combined with a sinister ritual conducted by unknown parties (perhaps human, perhaps alien) to open a gateway to the Realm of Evil on a scale unprecedented in human history. The gateway is of such immense size that unthinkably large demonic entities, previously restricted to the depths of Jigoku, are now able to cross into the mortal realm. These creatures are as far beyond mere oni as the oni are above goblins, and they hunger for the destruction of all life, leaving only an empty universe ready to be filled with their spawn.
11/03/2023 02:26:00 PM | Category: | 0 comments

The State of the Galaxy
    The Empire of Rokugan in the fourth millennium is known by many names depending on who is asked. The most common variants are the Empire of the Emerald Stars and the Empire of the Celestial Heavens, although the various cultures Rokugan has encountered and defeated have much less flattering names for it. The Empire spans a substantial portion of the known universe, at present controlling fifty-seven ritually sanctified solar systems, with perhaps half that many again in as-yet-unconsecrated systems that are in the process of being settled. The era of history when Great Clans controlled simple provinces are long gone, and all clans control at least two solar systems completely, with some of the larger clans controlling many more than that. Some of the sanctified systems on record with the Imperial bureaucracy are small, with only one or two planets, devoid of life-sustaining conditions but rich in mineral resources, while others are enormous, with a dozen or more worlds, literally scores of moons, and multiple planets capable of sustaining life. 

    The Empire of Rokugan is sustained by an almost inconceivably vast administrative organization that is generally referred to as the Imperial bureaucracy. This organization is led and principally staffed by a half-dozen Imperial families, all of whom are blessed to serve the Emperor directly without need of a Clan Champion to stand as an intermediary. Millions strong, each of these families serves its own purpose within the bureaucracy, although crossover between them is common. The significant tithes supplied by the Great Clans and the Minor Clan Alliance ensure the bureaucracy never wants for funding, and indeed its employment of conscripts and volunteers from the ranks of the clans is entirely a matter of heredity rather than necessity; were it to prove necessary, the Imperial families could assemble a fleet capable of challenging even the largest Great Clan, although it would take time to accomplish such a thing and it has never been necessary to do so since Rokugan first took to the stars. 

 Emperor Iweko CXII has been upon the throne for eighty-four years, and despite his advanced years he yet appears claim this is a sign of a strong manifestation of divinity within him, for his blessed ancestor Iweko I ruled for nearly a century before abdicating the throne. Others are more realistic, and refrain from referring to the advanced state of preservative medicine and the ministrations of shugenja out of courtesy and duty. Iweko CXII is a distant ruler, but his judgment is generally regarded as both wise and fair, and there have been no significant uprisings against his reign. He has a minimalist policy with regards to intervention in clan affairs, and on many occasions has permitted hostilities between Great Clans to run their course unless they reach the point of impacting the overall stability and prosperity of the Empire as a whole.

The Emperor is represented most often by his trusted vassal, the Emerald Champion. The man called Nazo is something of an enigma in Rokugani society since his ascension to the position of Emerald Champion some twenty-one years ago. He attended the Emerald Tournament under a veil of secrecy, and his true identity and clan of origin (if any) are unknown to all save the Emperor himself. Most assume he is of Scorpion birth due to his tendency to wear an all-concealing mask, but his reign has certainly shown the Scorpion Clan no favoritism. Described at best as meddlesome and at worst as tyrannical, Nazo takes an extremely heavy-handed and interventionist approach to the execution of his duties, in contrast to his Emperor. His tactics might be less troublesome to the Great Clans were it not for the incredible power at his immediate disposal in the form of his personal flagship, the Emerald Blade. A prototype constructed in absolute secrecy, the Emerald Blade is unique. It is half again as large as a Katana-class cruiser, carrying enough firepower to rival no less than three of those most dangerous craft. The forces of the Jade Champion are housed aboard the ship as well, and their power and magical prowess lend the Emerald Blade protective shields that are vastly superior to anything  commanded by other contemporary craft.

Thus far, no intelligent life has been found within the  Empire that is not ultimately native to or descended from the various Spirit Realms. However, this is not to say there are not populated unaligned planets on the periphery of the Empire’s border. Some are filled with outcasts from  the Empire, those who wish to find their own fate and to escape the rule of a distant and unknowing Emperor. For the most part, these individuals flock to planets of little value to the Empire, and as such they are usually left alone; the effort of returning them to the Empire would exceed any possible benefit for doing so. The handful of profitable planets that are not claimed by the Empire are those ceded to the other cultures from the homeworld of Rokugan in exchange for their vacating that world. The remnants of many cultures can be found lingering in the  border worlds under the watchful eyes of the Unicorn Clan; they include what remains of the Senpet Empire and the culture of the ancient metropolis of Medinaat-al-Salaam, as well as a mere handful of surviving immortal Ashalan, among others.

    The Empire of the Emerald Stars is a vast region of space, but there is an even greater expanse beyond its borders that has proven more difficult to explore. The entire ‘eastern’ edge of the Empire is dominated by an incomprehensibly vast nebula that wreaks havoc on the systems of any spacecraft that draws too near to it, much less actually enters its boundaries. Conversely, the ‘western’ border of the Empire is a strangely empty expanse of space bereft of star systems. The master navigators of the Moshi family estimate it would take enormous resources to allow a ship of any size to cross this gulf of space and reach whatever systems might exist on the opposite side. None have yet attempted this nigh-impossible feat, though there is currently a race of sorts between the Unicorn and Mantis to be the first to find a means of doing so. 

    It is along the ‘northern’ side of the Empire that most exploration continues. Because of the highly competitive behavior of the Great Clans in this regard, recent Imperial edicts forbid exploration of any systems that have not first been examined and properly sanctified by the priests of the Imperial Exploration Corps. Once systems have been opened to exploration, there is usually a brief but intense period of conquest by various clans, often with quite a bit of skirmishing between their expeditionary forces, before planets are fully claimed. In centuries past it was the custom for clans to be permitted to lay claim to entire planets or even whole solar systems, but the current process of exploration generally does not allow a clan to claim more than a single continent on a planetary body at a time, although smaller lunar bodies are allowed to be taken as a whole if the clan has sufficient forces present to defend its claim.

    The systems beyond the Empire’s ‘southern’ border are both widely scattered and largely dead and valueless. Few have any sort of sustainable atmosphere, and other than some meager mineral resources, nothing of any significant value has been discovered along the ‘southern’ border in almost a century. Exploration in this region has slowed almost to a halt, as none of the clans wish to expend resources that could better be spent seeking holdings of value on the ‘northern’ border instead. This point has been driven home rather forcefully of late due to the disappearance and destruction of numerous small expeditionary forces in the southern regions. No one is sure as of yet exactly what is taking place there.
11/02/2023 02:05:00 PM | Category: | 0 comments

Empire of the Emerald Stars
    Isawa Tsutai fell, his mind lost in the void as he spiraled head over heels without any sense of direction. He could not remember how far he had fallen, or for how long, but it seemed an eternity, and he distantly wondered if he would die upon striking the ground… assuming he ever did.
    The answer came in an impact that drove the breath from his lungs in a great gust, but he did not die. Instead he lay on the ground, wheezing and desperately trying to fill his lungs.
    “Be easy, friend,” an unfamiliar voice said. “Do not try to move too much. It will pass in a moment.”
    Tsutai’s disorientation began to pass, replaced by panic. Why was he on a stone floor, or what appeared to be a stone floor? Who was it speaking to him? He tried to get to his feet, but could not gather the strength. “Where…” he gasped, then: “Who are you?”
    “Where you are is not important at the moment,” the voice said. It spoke Rokugani, but with a strange, lilting accent that Tsutai could not place. “We will discuss that in a moment. I am Shiba Dankaro. Is there anything I can get for you? Do you require medical attention?”
    The phrase ‘medical attention’ was very strange indeed, but Tsutai did not have time to consider it. He remembered now. There had been some beast, some strange creature he did not know. It had pursued him, tearing at him with its talons. He had fled, and just when he thought his desperate flight had allowed him to escape, he had burst through some underbrush only to find himself plummeting over a cliff toward a lake impossibly far below. He remembered the pain where the thing had torn at his arm, and looked down… but his flesh was unmarked.
    “What… what is this?” He looked around, finally seeing clearly for the first time since his fall ended. He appeared to be in a simple room with walls and floor made of stone, but he could not recognize the stonework. “What is happening?”
    The man who called himself Shiba Dankaro sat next to Tsutai and smiled. He was dressed in a Rokugani kimono in Phoenix orange, but the clothing was slightly off somehow, as if small details had been misunderstood. And the material was very strange, slick-smooth, shiny. “You were exploring the Colonies,” he said. The man’s accent was still strange, still unidentifiable. “You were one of the clan’s most promising young scholars, and wrote several very important works concerning the things you and others discovered within the ruins of that land. You discovered a group of as yet unidentified creatures, intelligent yet fierce, and were chased. You fell from a cliff into a lake far below.” His smile became somewhat sad. “Your body was never recovered. It was assumed you were consumed by predators. But your work lived on for generations. You became one of the most celebrated scholars of your generation, even if only posthumously.”
    Tsutai looked at him in horror. “I… am I dead?”
    “History considers you dead long ago,” Dankaro replied. “Your loss, and the circumstances under which you were lost, is what allowed the ritual we employed to retrieve you. You are not dead, no. You yet live, and hopefully shall for quite some time. We need your unique talents, you understand.”
    Tsutai frowned and started to ask a question, then stopped. He peered at the floor beneath him. “What is this?” he demanded, glancing around. “This entire chamber is an illusion! You have entreated the kami to deceive me!”
    “Yes,” Dankaro admitted. “It was not meant to deceive you, however. It was done for your comfort. We have discovered it is better to ensure your surroundings are familiar. If you like, I can have the… illusion… removed.”
    “Yes,” Tsutai demanded instantly. “I want to see.”
    “Of course,” the other Phoenix said. “Please, try to remain calm.” He turned and nodded as if to someone unseen, and there was a great shimmering in the air, matched by a low humming sound. The stone room that surrounded them vanished as though it had never been.
    “Fortunes!” Tsutai swore, glancing all about him. “What is this? Is this metal? Some form of prison?”
    “No, not at all,” Dankaro replied. “It is metal, yes, but far from a prison cell. This is… let us call it an audience chamber. It was utilized for the ritual that brought you here. We require a smaller space for the proper preparations to be made, and I suspect you are not quite ready to see the other portions of the… the castle.”
    “You said you required my help,” Tsutai said, his confusion and disorientation now fully giving way to anger. “If you expect anything from me, anything at all, then I demand you tell me precisely what is going on at once. At once, do you hear? I will not be made a fool of!”
    “You are far from a fool, my friend,” Dankaro said. “That is why we need your help, after all. Still, if you feel you are prepared, I will accommodate you. Try to remain calm, if you can.” Again, he looked as if to someone else. “Open the viewing port, please.” There was a loud noise, a sort of whirring sound, followed by a soft hiss, and then Dankaro smiled. He gestured behind Tsutai. “Please, have a look.”
    Confused, Tsutai turned… and then recoiled. There was a large window on the wall where a moment before none had been. Or at least it appeared to be a window, but what was beyond it made no sense whatsoever. Perhaps it was a painting? “What is this? What… what am I looking at?”
    “You are looking at Rokugan, my friend,” Dankaro said softly. “Imagine for a moment you are on board a ship, a ship that could sail through the skies themselves.”
    “Do you mean like the Heavenly Kobune of Suitengu?” Tsuati had studied the history of that relic, which had carried living shugenja into the Celestial Heavens.
    “Yes, precisely,” Dankaro said, nodding. “Now, imagine we sailed so far above the land it was revealed that the Empire was merely one part of a much larger world, and that world itself was shaped like a sphere that hung perfectly in a great void, bereft of the Elements themselves.”
    Tsutai stared. “What are those small lights?” he asked weakly. “Are they stars?”
    “Some of them are other great ships like ours, sailing far above the Empire,” Dankaro said. “The others are distant stars, yes. Sisters of the Lady Amaterasu, may her soul be forever at peace.”
    Tsutai was quiet for a moment. “Are you certain I am not dead?” he asked.
    “Quite certain, yes.”
    “Then something has dramatically changed, and I have slept or perhaps wandered in the spirit realms for a long time,” Tsutai said. “Please tell me, what is the year?”
    “The year is 3122 according to the Isawa calendar,” Dankaro replied. “It is the eighty-fourth year of the reign of the one-hundred and twelfth Emperor of the Iweko Dynasty. And the Empire of Rokugan is in great danger.”
    Tsutai turned and looked at him. “From what?”
    Dankaro’s smile was very sad. “We are hoping you can help us determine exactly that,” he replied.

Rokugan in Space!

    This chapter is designed to show how far both the Rokugani setting and the L5R rules system can be pushed by those seeking unusual or alternate settings for their games. Instead of merely an alternate outcome to a canonical event, or a Rokugan sent on a different path at its origin, this chapter relocates L5R into a science-fiction setting, a hypothetical distant future in which Rokugan is a modern, powerful starfaring empire with a history stretching across more than three millennia.
11/01/2023 11:31:00 AM | Category: | 0 comments

Adventures in Rokugan
Adventures in Rokugan brings the famous setting of Legend of the Five Rings to the ever-popular ruleset of the 5th Edition SRD. Experience thrilling adventures in Rokugan like never before!

Rokugan. The Emerald Empire...

For thousands of years, the samurai of the Great Clans have served the Hantei Emperor in guiding this land’s destiny. But now, danger besets Rokugan on all sides. While the Great Clans march to war with one another, blood magic users corrupt the Empire from within, the spirits of the restless dead haunt its wilds, and to the south, hordes of foul oni batter against the Kaiu Wall, the last defense against the vile demons pillaging Rokugan.

With the Great Clans distracted on all fronts, it falls on brave warriors and adventurers to protect the common folk and fight these threats. Do you have what it takes to defeat these ancient evils and ensure the Emerald Empire stands for another thousand years?

Adventures in Rokugan brings the famous setting of Legend of the Five Rings to the ever-popular ruleset of the 5th Edition SRD. Players can explore this rich setting in a whole new light, and the familiar rules promise to engage an entirely new audience of roleplaying fans. Alongside a new focus on roleplaying activities such as dungeon delving and monster hunting, Adventures in Rokugan promises to provide something for all fans of Rokugan.
8/05/2022 06:03:00 PM | Category: | 0 comments