Instead of the samurai of the Great Clans and their intrigues and struggles, this playstyle focuses on the forgotten heroes and villains who live on the outskirts of society and struggle to survive in a dangerous world.

While defending a village from bandits, fleeing the consequences of one’s actions, or scraping together a few bu for one’s next meal may not be the stuff of epic poems, it is just as harrowing for those who live it.

Assumptions of this Playstyle

This sort of story hinges on the idea that the player characters are outsiders in the broad scope of society. They are not notable political actors as the default playstyle assumes, and they are not likely to be given any political power they do not seize with their own hands. If they are samurai, they have likely forsaken or lost their titles and become rōnin, but they may also be merchants, ashigaru, peasants, and burakumin.

As a result, the company is often much rougher than the high courts of the Emerald Empire—courtesy is still important to some people, but being discourteous is only as dangerous as the person you have chosen to insult.

Character Creation Alterations

Apply the following alterations to the Game of Twenty Questions (see page 41) for each character:
Question 1: Which clan’s lands did your character grow up in? The mechanical choice is the same, except that your status is a value of your choice from 20 to 24. After all, the peasants and samurai of a given region share many cultural values (even if most samurai are loathe to admit it).
Question 2: Who is your family? Unless you are a fallen samurai, your family falls far beneath the notice of the Great Clans—you might have no family but the comrades you choose for yourself. Use the Rokugani peasant family above unless you are a fallen samurai, in which case choose a family as normal.
Question 3: Where did you learn their skills? Unless you are a fallen samurai, use the Worldly Rōnin school on page 87. If you are a fallen samurai, use a school package as normal, but your starting honor is 30.
All characters use the following starting outfit: Traveling clothes, any 1 weapon of rarity 7 or lower, traveling pack, any 1 item of rarity 5 or lower.
Question 5: What is your past? Instead of selecting a giri, select a past. A past is the set of circumstances that led you to life on the fringes of society. Your past might be a grim reputation as a warrior that you seek to outrun, circumstances of birth that forced you to be a rōnin, or the enemies who pursue you.
Your past should meet the same rough criteria as giri—something that can clash with your desires, and can create drama for your character that you will enjoy during the campaign. To attain glory, you must overcome your past, but the more glory you acquire, the more likely your past is to come crashing down upon you.
Question 7: Skip this question.
Question 18: Who was your character named after? Unless you are a fallen samurai, instead of rolling on Table 2–1: Samurai Heritage (see page 96), choose 1 additional item of rarity 5 or lower that you inherited from the family member, friend, or mentor who gave you your name or outlook on life.

Iconic Locations in the Emerald Empire Setting Sourcebook



“Honored samurai, please present to me your travel papers.”
   –Matsu Hideji, Magistrate of the Lion Clan

The scent of grilled fish and soy, punctuated by notes of incense from the local temple, mixes with the earthy odor of the canal. Riverboats and pleasure barges float beneath the great arched bridge, thronged with pedestrians in cotton kimono, bright coats, and wicker hats. On the main deck of the bridge, peasants hurry to make way for the carts carrying cargo or rich merchants, or the rare palanquin shielding a noble from the rabble. Narrow shops and stalls line the streets, with colorful banners and lanterns overhanging the road. Beyond the walled district high atop the hill, the Emperor’s own palace rises into the clouds, an incredible ten stories tall. Those who attempt to gain entry to the Forbidden City uninvited or carrying ill intent are said to become hopelessly lost—you must trust that the Emperor is expecting you on behalf of your lord.



Travel to the famed palaces, cities, and harbor towns of Rokugan with Emerald Empire, a setting sourcebook for the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game. Each Great Clan molds their holdings in their own image, from the shadowed alleys of the City of Lies to the magnificent palaces of Kyūden Doji, to the tent city of Khanbulak that straddles the border between Rokugan and the plains beyond. In this article, we’ll preview some of the specific locations detailed in the book, and how Game Masters can use them in their own campaigns!

Your Guide to the Emerald Empire

What challenges and intrigues await you in some of the most storied places in the Empire? Will your samurai be tempted by the pleasures of the Licensed Quarter in Ryokō Owari, or will you join the bands of rōnin protecting the City of the Rich Frog? Will you request the spirits’ blessing at the Shrine of the Ki-Rin, or attempt the journey to the legendary High House of Light? What manner of scoundrels and pirates might you encounter as you travel along the River of Gold, and what dangers lurk beneath the canopy of the Shinomen Forest? Emerald Empire highlights these and many more iconic locations, providing GMs with a stage on which to set their stories. A full-page map of Rokugan showcases the locations of the over twenty-four entries highlighted in the gazetteer sections of Emerald Empire.

Each location description includes an overview of the location’s founding, its current political landscape, and its historical or cultural importance to the clan or Empire. Descriptions of the holding’s architecture, condition, and nearby geography provide the GM with cues to include when narrating the sights, scents, and sounds encountered by the player characters. Each section also includes a discussion of the unique cultural elements to be found in that location, as well as some of the most famous landmarks, including city districts, tea and sake  houses, gardens, and more secret holdings. The book also supplies GMs with snippets of gossip centered around each location—these can be used to lend local color to a place, or they could inspire you to spin the rumor into a plotline for your players to explore.

Each location also includes the profile of a non-player character who might serve as an ally, rival, or a mixture of both to the players. These characters serve to supplement the list of  NPCs already included in the Legend of the Five Rings Core Rulebook, now representing more specialized samurai and peasants, as well as the movers and shakers of the setting. From Go masters to acclaimed poets, city governors to guard captains, and warrior monks to tree-spirits, GMs can populate the world with dozens of interesting characters. In-depth discussions of the daily routines for different members of society also lets GMs breathe new life into their NPCs and evoke a realistic world. Finally, each location features adventure hooks to highlight the themes and secrets of a location, embroiling the PCs in a conflict that will challenge their skills and their dedication to their duty—or desires.

Cartography from the Imperial Archives
In addition to the detailed gazetteer entries for specific locations, Emerald Empire also supplies generic maps of commonly visited locations that GMs can use in any city or town. Beautifully illustrated by Francesca Baerald, these lavishly detailed floor plans are meant to inspire GMs and help them describe the setting to their players. A total of eight labeled maps in this style can be found in this setting book, including an example castle, road station, and monastery, to name but a few.

For example, the Estate of Emerald Magistrate Seppun Tatsuko showcases the layout of a mansion typically owned by members of her station. Built in the shinden-zukuri style, the multi-building, one-story complex features an entrance hall, courtyard, and audience hall to receive guests, which also doubles as a dining hall. A sweeping garden and the pavilion overlooking a pond are painstakingly maintained for the enjoyment of the magistrate and high-ranking visitors. Those who are “guests” because they are being held for trial for crimes committed against the Empire are appointed lodgings in the holding cells, watched over by a dedicated warden in a nearby guardhouse. For the family members of the magistrate and their servants, buildings offset from the main complex contain private rooms, the kitchen and larder, and the magistrate’s personal library and armory. GMs can use this map as the foundation for creating their own magistrate’s mansion, or to represent the clan or Imperial magistrate’s dwelling in the city where they’ve set their campaign.


An Invitation to Adventure

Emerald Empire provides players, GMs, and fans of the setting with a guide to Rokugan that is a true companion to the Core Rulebook. The highlighted locations serve as a springboard for GMs wishing to base their campaigns around classic setting locales, and the writeups provide insight to players whose characters might have visited or even hailed from these places. The gazetteer sections showcase the diversity within Rokugan, and how the influence of the clans and the surrounding geography can mold similar places into very different shapes. Where in the Empire will your duty take you?

Announcing a New Sourcebook for Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying



South of Rokugan, the foul Shadowlands fester, providing a home to horrid demons and unnatural creatures. Centuries ago, the Crab Clan built the mighty Kaiu Wall to contain these threats, but each day sees new assaults. Without samurai of courage and honor to defend against the threats of the Shadowlands, the Emerald Empire would surely fall.

Protecting Rokugan from the threats of the Shadowlands is an honorable and vital task. But many samurai who join the cause never find their way home. In the domain of Fu Leng, where the very elements are corrupted and hideous monsters lurk around every corner, do your players have what it takes to survive?

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce Shadowlands, a new sourcebook for Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying!

Shadowlands is a 144-page hardcover sourcebook that serves as a guide to the dread realms of Fu Leng, where corruption and evil thrive in place of honor and courage. In it, players find information on this region, as well as Crab lands and the great Kaiu Wall that divides the Shadowlands from Rokugan. With new schools, techniques, weapons, and more to aid them, players can fight the Tainted creatures and other terrors that would destroy the Emerald Empire.

Like Emerald Empire before it, Shadowlands provides everything you need to roleplay in Rokugan in a whole new way, tinged with elements of horror and despair that can be found nowhere else in the Emerald Empire!



As a special bonus for pre-ordering Shadowlands through our website, you’ll also a receive a bookmark and eight 5" x 7" art prints showcasing art from the book. This bookmark is the perfect way to mark important sections of the sourcebook such as charts or NPC information. Meanwhile, the art prints represent beautiful moments and characters found within the Shadowlands sourcebook!



A History of Corruption

The Shadowlands sourcebook is split into three chapters, the first of which explores various locations across the corrupted lands, from the Festering Pit of Fu Leng to Daylight Castle. The book not only features detailed histories of these locations, but also introduces their corrupted denizens to use as NPCs in your adventures! Like Emerald Empire before it, each of these locations will also feature adventure seeds for Game Masters to introduce to their players, potentially leading them to the next step on their journey.



Furthermore, rumors about each of these areas brings the Shadowlands to life, and can inspire Game Masters to craft their own adventures in the dread lands. Perhaps your players are investigating the Fallen Chrysanthemum Lake, and the strange disappearances that always seem to happen in its proximity. Or maybe your party has traveled to the False Lantern Grove to retrieve the remains of a Hida commander whose party fell to the darkness of the realm. Either way, Shadowlands gives you all the tools you need to craft a thrilling adventure.

This chapter also details the stalwart defenders repulsing these forces from Rokugan: the Crab Clan. While the families of the Crab are detailed in the Core Rulebook, Shadowlands greatly expands on this information, detailing important locations, NPCs, and adventure hooks for each family. The Hida, Kaiu, Kuni, Yasuki, and Hiruma are all expanded upon, inviting Game Masters to integrate the families' unique history into campaign, or allowing players to expand on their family history.



Finally, the first chapter details the convergence point of these two forces, the massive Kaiu Wall and the brave patrols that explore and investigate the Shadowlands. Here, you can discover what it truly means to patrol in the Shadowlands, with devious NPCs and adventure hooks waiting around every corner.

Honor Against Demons
The second chapter introduces the ghost-hunting Falcon Clan, including rules for creating player characters from the clan. It also includes other new player options, including schools, weapons, armor, and techniques, plus patterns to create customized items to better protect the Empire. There are new advantages and disadvantages relating to the Shadowlands and, for those who dare, there is guidance for using mahō and new techniques for employing such dread blood magic.



These player options introduce even more new ways to interact with Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying, and let you inject your characters with some more Shadowlands-related backstory.

Out of the Shadows
In the final chapter of Shadowlands, you'll find important tips to the Game Master in regards to running campaigns in the Shadowlands. This chapter not only details how to convey the horror themes central to the setting, but also includes advice for roleplaying corruption, new ways to spend opportunity in the Shadowlands, and additional NPC templates for creating characters themed for Crab and Shadowlands adventures. Lastly, there are rules for crafting unique new oni to terrorize and devour the Empire—unless there are samurai courageous enough to stop them.

For some additional inspiration, be sure to check out the Mask of the Oni adventure launching alongside Shadowlands. This adventure plunges your players into the heart of Daylight Castle, and it's the perfect starting point to discover the horrors that lurk in these areas where few dare to venture!



A Realm of Corruption

While running adventures in the Shadowland is alluring, be warned—samurai that venture south of the Kaiu Wall are never quite the same. It is a forsaken land where corruption and madness reign. Do your players have what it takes to venture into Fu Leng’s domain with their body, sanity, and soul intact?

Announcing a New Adventure for Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying



When a group of samurai pursues a dangerous master of blood magic to the ruins of Daylight Castle, they discover a secret that could redeem or stain the honor of the Hiruma family forever. These samurai must overcome threats to both body and soul if they are going to halt a wicked plot that could bring about the doom of the Empire…

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce Mask of the Oni, a new pre-made adventure for Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying!

This adventure pits your samurai against the dangers of the Shadowlands and the horrors found within the crumbling walls of the Hiruma family’s fallen castle. Hot in pursuit of a dangerous bloodspeaker, your players will soon find themselves entrenched in a brand-new adventure stemming from a centuries-old secret. Tokens, maps, and an adventure booklet will guide players on their journey, but will they survive with their souls intact?

Mask of the Oni is the perfect companion to the Shadowlands sourcebook, providing an adventure to use the lore and tools introduced in Shadowlands as well as additional context for your adventure.



As a special bonus for pre-ordering Mask of the Oni through our website, you’ll also a receive a bookmark and four 5" x 7" art prints showcasing art from the book! This bookmark is the perfect way to mark important sections of the adventure such as charts or NPC information. Meanwhile, the art prints represent beautiful moments and characters found within Mask of the Oni!

A Dark History
Mask of the Oni begins as your players take a perilous journey to the ruins of Shiro Hiruma, the once-proud stronghold of the Hiruma family of the Crab. There, the characters must face dangerous opponents, stark horror, and their deepest fears if they wish to survive.

While traversing into the Shadowlands is a dangerous quest for any group of samurai, Mask of the Oni gives players and Game Masters all the tools they need to keep their adventure organized and running smoothly, including a 32-page adventure booklet that drives the narrative of the campaign.



The first section of this booklet lays out the adventure background, split between what the players should know and secrets withheld for the Game Master's eyes only. Here, you'll find details on the fall of Daylight Castle prior to the construction of the Kaiu Wall, and the subsequent attempts that the Hiruma family has made to try and reclaim it. Mask of the Oni can also be played as a follow-up to the Dark Tides adventure found in the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game Master's Kit or as a completely standalone adventure. Either way, the booklet gives the Game Master plenty of ways for players to become involved in this dark tale.

From there, the adventure booklet gives the Game Master everything they need to guide the players on their journey, providing a narrative that accounts for player choice and dialogue. With the adventure book in hand, any Game Master can run Mask of the Oni with ease.

Uncover an Ancient Secret
The adventure booklet isn’t the only tool for Game Masters and players included in Mask of the Oni. You'll also find a beautifully illustrated, double-sided fold-out map that depicts the lands of the Crab Clan, the Shadowlands, and the ruins of Daylight Castle. These vivid maps not only provide a visual identifier on where the players currently are, but steep your game in atmosphere and allow players to become engrossed in your story. With such a wide swath of land covered by the map, it can also be useful in any of your own adventures that you choose to locate in the Shadowlands. 




More than 50 tokens are also included in the adventure to helps players visualize their surroundings. These tokens represent the various NPCs—both friends and foes—that you may come across during your journey, and they not only convey important locational information during combat, but they can also provide a visual identifier for what these characters look like. The dread, disgusting monstrosities that call the Shadowlands their home are brought to life with these tokens, and like the above maps, they can be used in any adventure taking place south of the Kaiu Wall. 



Under the Mask

The foreboding Shadowlands await your players. If these brave samurai have any hope of survival, they’ll have to reckon with the horrors that await, a dangerous blood speaker, and the knowledge of an ancient secret. Can your players survive the perils in Mask of the Oni? Find out in the first quarter of 2019!