Part I:  Core Identity

1.  Which clan's lands did your character grow in?

Migeru was born and grew up in the Scorpion lands.

Ring Increase:  +1 Air
Skill Increase:  Skulduggery
Status:  24

2.  Who is your Family?

Migeru was originally from the Shosuro family of the Scorpion.  His family was pretty influencial.

Ring Increase:  +1 Water
Skill Increase:  +1 Performance
Glory:  40
Starting Wealth:  6 koku

3.  Where did you learn their skills?

Migeru was a playful child but he followed the ways of his family.  He entered the Shosuro Infiltrator School.

Rings:  +1 Air, +1 Fire
Starting Skills:  +1 Fitness, +1 Martial Arts (Melee), +1 Martial Arts (Unarmed), +1 Performance
Honor:  30
Techniques Available:  Kata, Rituals, Shuji
Starting Techniques:
* Ninjutsu:  Deadly Sting
* Shiji:  Sensational Distraction
The Path of Shadows (School Ability): While performing an Attack action against a target who is Compromised, Incapacitated, Unconscious, or unaware of your presence, treat the damage and deadliness of your weapon as being increased by your school rank.

4.  How does your character stand out within their school?

Migeru acts friendly as expected by his parents but at times he was not really happy about it

Adaptability, friendliness, awareness
Ring Increase: +1 Water

Part III: Honor and Glory

5. What is your past?

During one assignment, his group underestimated their target who turned out to be a majo tsukai.  He survived the encounter but has been infected by the Shadowland Taint.

Past:  Failed an assignement and got tainted because of it.

6. What does your character long for?

Migeru longs for normalcy.  He yearns that the Shadowland Taint be cleared but has accepted that it will not go away soon.

Ninjo:  Be cleansed of the Shadowland Taint.

7.  skipped

8. What does your character think of Bushido?

Divergent.  Bushido is useless against that which is really important to self.

Bonus skill: +1 Seafaring

Part IV: Strengths and Weaknesses

9. What is your character’s greatest accomplishment so far?

Migeru has successfully hidden the existence of his Taint and has become used to approaching people as if it really did not exist.

Distinction advantage: Dangerous Allure (Fire)

10. What holds your character back the most in life?

The Taint has affected Migeru that he cannot feel anything physically.  He cannot deny the effects it has done to him and he longs for true companionship.

Adversity disadvantage:  Shadowland Taint (Earth)

11. What activity makes your character feel at peace?

He plays the flute.

Passion Advantage: Playfulness (Air)

12. What concern, fear, or foible troubles your character the most?

Anxiety disadvantage: Irrepressible Flirtation (Earth)

13. Who has your character learned the most from during their life?

A Kasen spirit (Khipapboi) has been tutoring him on how to control his Taint

1 Mentor Disadvantage --> Haunted
1 Mentor Skill  --> +1 Theology

Part V:  Personality and Behaviour

14. What detail do others find most striking about your character?

He has above average scorpion features which he does not keep behind a mask.  He is usually playful to the point that he might break decorum.

15. How does your character react to stressful situations?

When stressed out, his first reaction is to talk to himself.  His mentor sometimes whispers back to him.

16. What are your character’s preexisting relationships with other clans, families, organizations, and traditions?

His yearning to be free of his family's pretentious care has forced Migeru to join up with the crew of the Karasubofu.  He has invested in a pair of mantis escrima weapons during his tenure with them.

Part VI: Ancestry and Family

17. How would your character’s parents describe them?

His parents were well known courtiers and business people.  They tried to instill the lessons to their child but he continues to rebel more so after they ignored the fact that he is tainted.

Bonus Skill: +1 Martial Arts (Ranged)

18. Who was your character named to honor?

A Shosuro ancestor once infiltrated a Maho Tsukai cabal and was able to steal some of their sacred text.  With the help of his mentor, Migeru was able to access these.

Samurai Heritage result: Stolen Knowledge (Honor -5), Maho ritual:  Mark of Desecration

19. What is your character’s personal name?

Migeru or Migu.

Part VII: Death

20. How should your character die?

Burning out his Shadowland Taint to unleash it against his enemies (which he will hopefully defeat) and then rise up as one of the Tainted.

* * *

Migeru

Rings and Ring Values:

Air 3
Earth 1
Fire 2
Water 3
Void 1

Skills and the Dice they add

Artisan
Martial
- Fitness 1
- Martial Arts (Melee) 1
- Martial Arts (Ranged) 1
- Martial Arts (Unarmed) 1
Scholar
-Theology 1
Social
- Performance 2
Trade
- Seafaring 1
- Skulduggery 1

Derived Attributes

Endurance:  6
Composure:  8
Focus:  5
Vigilance:  3

Void Points:  1

Honor:  25
Glory:  40
Status:  24

Equipment:   Traveling clothes, traveling pack, two flutes/escrima sticks/ninja-to.

* * *

Experience

Rings:
Earth 2
Void 2

Endurance:  8
Composure:  10

Skills:
Skulduggery 2

Techniques
Kata - Soaring Slice
Kata - Striking as Air
Ninjutsu - Veiled Menage Style
Ninjutsu - Skulk

Nemur

Rokugan is a land where supernatural powers run rampant and, sometimes, provincial intrigues are truly not the greatest threat in a story. GMs and players who wish to explore stories about champions banding together to save cities, provinces, or even the world itself can certainly do so in the Emerald Empire, as the setting is rich with cosmological threats.


Assumptions of this Playstyle This playstyle assumes that the player characters are samurai who are tasked with dealing with a suitably epic problem—or series of problems—that threaten multiple
clans, and perhaps even the Empire itself. Dangers such as massive Shadowlands armies, bloodspeaker sects, lunar cultists, and other, more insidious threats create story opportunities for characters to undertake epic quests to protect their homes and loved ones. This playstyle mirrors more “classic” fantasy adventures of great deeds, mighty heroes, and dire foes to be vanquished.
There are numerous locations in Rokugan where this sort of campaign fits most naturally. The Shadowlands encompass a vast realm surrounding the Festering Pit of Fu Leng, and this region is the grave to countless heroes.

The Shinomen Forest is an untamed wildland within the Empire itself, to which no clan lays claim and in which primal beings still stir. Even within smaller patches of wilds, there are strange and dangerous beings. Not all spirits are friendly to humans, and some see the expansion of towns into the wild lands as an affront to nature. The PCs might need to find compromise between ancient forces and humanity so that both can survive and thrive.

Character Creation Alterations

Apply the following alterations to the Game of Twenty Questions (see page 41) for each character:

Question 5: What is your character’s appointed quest?

Instead of a giri, each PC has a quest: a task given them by their lord, by their own will, by supernatural forces, or perhaps by destiny itself. This task might be to set something right in the universe, recover or destroy a magical artifact, seal a particular evil entity again for another ten thousand years, or face a particular foe who threatens the entire realm. As with a giri, a character’s  quest should be able to conflict with their ninjō, and sets the means by which the character will strive for glory. At the discretion of the group and the GM, all characters might share a quest, or they might have different quests with overlapping objectives.

Extra Experience: After character creation, each character receives 30 XP to spend on advancements.

Nemuranai

Nemuranai, meaning “unsleeping” in reference to the object’s kami, are miraculous artifacts of spiritual power. They are items that, through centuries of use, miraculous origins, or other incredible events, have attained power and even a degree of awareness. While they can appear in any campaign, they are usually vanishingly rare, accessible to PCs only under exceptional circumstances. In this
campaign style, however, each PC chooses one nemuranai with an appropriate sealed invocation of their choice that they possess as their quest begins. They must also determine how the item relates to their quest:


Awakened Weapon

A weapon nemuranai has the standard profile, plus:

• Its deadliness is increased by +2, and it has the Durable and Sacred qualities.
• It has a distinguishing quirk with narrative effects.
• It has one Attack or Scheme action invocation of Rank 1–3 sealed within it. Once per game session as an action, the wielder may perform this invocation, substituting the skill used to wield the weapon for Theology.

Awakened Armor

An armor nemuranai has the standard profile, plus:

• It has physical and supernatural resistance +2, and it has the Durable and Sacred qualities.
• It has a distinguishing quirk with narrative effects.
• It has one Support or Movement action invocation of Rank 1–3 sealed within it. Once per game session as an action, the wearer may perform this invocation, substituting Fitness for Theology.

Awakened Item

An item nemuranai has the standard profile, plus:

• It has the Durable and Sacred qualities.
• It has a distinguishing quirk with narrative effects.
• It has one invocation of Rank 1–4 sealed within it. Once per game session as an action, the holder may perform this invocation, substituting Meditation (or other skill of the GM’s choice) for Theology. While wielding this item, the character adds a kept  set to an  result to their Theology checks using sealed invocation’s Element.

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!

Preview the New Player Options in Emerald Empire



"To serve the Tao is to serve the Empire. The one cannot be parted from the other, no more than the sea can be parted from the land."
   –The Tao of Shinsei

Your duty to your lord sends you traveling across Rokugan. As a samurai, you have studied the proper etiquette for dealing with your superiors, and you have been shown how to deal with your lessers. You have trained in the arts of court and war, and you have performed the proper prayers to ensure your safe return. Your travel papers are in order, and your horse is fresh, for you will not be following the roads for long. But if you have never before ventured beyond your home province, you may not be prepared for the spectacular beauty of this mystical land, whose very forests and mountains are alive.



Prepare to embark upon your journey with Emerald Empire, the essential setting guide to the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game. New lore and tools for players, Game Masters, and fans of Rokugan fill its 256 pages, along with a key to the locales and ways of life of those dwelling within the Empire. Today, we’ll take a closer look at some of those new player offerings, as well as the cultural and roleplaying guidance detailed in this sourcebook.



Servants and Disciples
If you're a player of the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game, Emerald Empire begins by offering you new answers to the Game of Twenty Questions, including three new families, nine new schools, nine new titles, and over two dozen new advantages and disadvantages.

Whereas the Core Rulebook focused on the samurai of the seven Great Clans, Emerald Empire expands players’ options to include the Imperial families, who serve not one single clan, but the entirety of Rokugan. Members of the Miya family who have trained in the Miya Herald School ride across the realm to deliver the Emperor’s news and edicts, while the family’s school of Miya Cartographers are experts at navigating and recalling the landmarks and geography of the Empire. The Otomo family ensures that no clans or alliances become a threat to the Emperor, and the actions undertaken by the Otomo Schemers are shielded from rebuke by the majesty of the Throne itself. Finally, the family dedicated to the Emperor’s spiritual and physical protection—the Seppun—divines the future to warn against potential threats with the help of the Seppun Astrologers, and overcomes any physical dangers thanks to the Seppun Palace Guards.



While the Imperial Families occupy the very top of the Celestial Order, monks stand outside that order. Initiates of the Fortunist Monk Order devote themselves to a Great Fortune or one of the ten thousand other deities that oversee aspects of nature or daily life. In exchange for their prayers and service, the monk may be granted special boons by the Fortune. When selecting this school, you choose a single invocation that represents the Fortune’s power, which your character can perform despite not being a shugenja, and you gain one additional invocation each time your school rank increases. Disciples of the Shinseist Monk Order focus instead on the wisdom of the Little Teacher. By understanding that all reality flows from the Void and must one day return to the Void, they can catch glimpses of Enlightenment. When you spend a Void point to Seize the Moment, you may treat your ranks in the skill as being equal to your school rank. The order’s curriculum also focuses on Kihō techniques as expressions of their elemental studies.

Away from the monasteries and civilized places of Rokugan, the Realm of Animals sometimes bisects the world of mortals. Kitsune, or fox spirits, possess powerful shapeshifting abilities that permit them to travel across Rokugan and dwell among humankind undetected. Sometimes, these mythical creatures fall in love with a mortal or find themselves part of a lord’s court or retinue, where they can serve as cunning tricksters with other potent magical powers. The False Identity adversity models the stress that arises from maintaining the ruse of mortality, but at the GM’s discretion, a character in this situation who reaches Rank 2 in their actual school may spend 2 XP to learn the basics of their false school's regimen through direct exposure, deepening the deception. In addition to these trickster spirits who can be found in the most surprising of places, further secrets and conspirators span the breadth of the Empire.



Castes and Customs
The Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game offers a roleplaying experience like no other. With its strong focus on the complex dynamics of a society markedly different from our own, it can seem daunting to try to roleplay a character who's familiar with Rokugan’s traditions and taboos, much less try to bring the world to life as a Game Master. Complicating matters further is the overlap—and divergences—between the fictional setting of Rokugan and its real-world counterparts. Emerald Empire delves deep into the etiquette, culture, and daily life for the inhabitants of castles, cities, towns, villages, and wild places across the Empire. It also calls attention to parts of the setting that should be treated with additional consideration and respect.

In each chapter, the book explores the culture underpinnings of a particular locale central to samurai life. In Chapter 1, “Strongholds of Power,” the book details the prescribed behavior of retainers in a castle during times of war or the games of court. Gempuku ceremonies and matchmaking methods, gift-giving and hostage-taking customs, and guests’ rights are all covered at length. Chapter 2, “Centers of Trade,” offers a deep dive into city life and the nuance of law, enforcement, and crime for those playing as Emerald or Clan Magistrates, or as one of their assistants. Chapters 3 and 6 explore life in the villages, countryside, and remote outposts, while Chapters 4 and 5 look at the cosmology, deities, and religion of the Empire, and how samurai are expected to act in the presence of the sacred. A detailed index also assists both players and GMs to locate important cultural concepts when they arise at the game table.



Lands of Wonder
With the Empire plunged into turmoil, samurai, nobles, and monks will be called upon to serve, but their oaths of fealty and devotion may be challenged by what they encounter across the Empire. Other unexpected allies will be drawn into these same stories—but will they have a change of heart, or stay true to their original intentions? With these new player options and cultural guides, Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying groups can explore new themes and mechanics, and better understand the setting itself. Join us next time for a closer look at the gazetteer elements of the sourcebook, as well as the setting’s history and legends!