There is an in-depth history of Rokugan from its beginning up to the present timeline. The first chapter, the Book of Air, deals with the setting material. Next, the table of contents is hyperlinked, and the introduction has a sidebar for owners of the previous edition. I would have also preferred to have the names of the locations on the map instead of just the key codes in their places. The write ups for the locations are found in the last chapter of the book and it can be a bit annoying flipping through that chapter and the inside covers as you read the entries, most especially in this format. Indeed, as the tag line at the back of the book says, “Honor and service are valued more than magic swords taken from wandering ogres.”Ī map of Rokugan is included in the inside cover of the book. Life of a samurai is not easy – not only will he have to deal with “wandering monsters”, he will also need to act honorably and with courtesy. The cover is very dark but is appropriate for the mood of the game: grim and foreboding. I find this style is unique and very setting-appropriate, although I ran into some confusion when the chapters were referred to this way inside the book since I know that the titles of some of this game’s supplements are also titled as such. The book is divided into chapters named after the aforementioned five rings: The Book of Air (setting material), Book of Earth (RPG mechanics), Book of Fire (character creation), Book of Water (advanced mechanics), and Book of Void (game master's chapter). Of course, no Japanese RPG would be complete without the ninja as playable character, and there is also an option to play oriental monks. A "knight" (called "bushi" in this setting) is not the only type of character you can play, though: thankfully you can also be a courtier (politician/negotiator/diplomat), or a shugenja (priest/mystic).
Players portray samurai, which are akin to medieval knights, a class of nobles who serve their local lord through strength of arms.
This massive 405-page tome is a breathtaking piece of work, and I’m very happy with my purchase.įor the uninitiated, the L5R RPG is set in Rokugan, a fantasy setting based in medieval Japan.
L5r 4th edition character creation pdf#
I liked the setting of the CCG enough that I bought a PDF copy of the RPG core book when it was on sale. I got exposed to the Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) setting via the collectible card game (CCG), of which I was a casual player.