|
It's an alright book and the fluff is nice but it doesn't have the production values of 4th edition and I don't know that I'd love paying that much for it, but I never really bought the book to get it on the table. If you know you're going to play it that's a fine price. As an aside, is Imperial Histories 2 actually out yet? I have a hell of a time keeping track of L5R stuff since amazon doesn't really carry it.
|
#
?
May 4, 2013 03:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 28, 2024 14:48 |
|
|
Theoretically yes, as of April 29th. My FLGS has not got my copy in, but there are folks reviewing it elsewhere. Apparently the phrase "Orbital Jade Strike" appears.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2013 03:22
|
|
|
I'm a bit new to L5R, and I'm wondering how do you handle Minor Clan Shugenja? For example, the Monkey Clan have the Fuzake Family, but they don't have a school to get their array of skills/spells from, so what do they do?
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2013 04:05
|
|
|
Hiro Protagonist posted:Is LBS worth the $25 price tag? I'm looking for a good, Arabic setting, and I already like L5R, but that's a pretty high price tag, and I don't know how well the free conversion works. I think it is, but I really love the LBS fluff.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2013 04:08
|
|
|
RicochetD20 posted:I'm a bit new to L5R, and I'm wondering how do you handle Minor Clan Shugenja? For example, the Monkey Clan have the Fuzake Family, but they don't have a school to get their array of skills/spells from, so what do they do? The Fuzake family is known for doing it sideways.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2013 04:27
|
|
|
RicochetD20 posted:I'm a bit new to L5R, and I'm wondering how do you handle Minor Clan Shugenja? For example, the Monkey Clan have the Fuzake Family, but they don't have a school to get their array of skills/spells from, so what do they do? I typically allow someone from a Minor Clan to take the basic schools of the clan they're most aligned with, to fill in roles that they'd otherwise not have. So a Fuzake might join the Soshi shugenja school, due to their ties with the Scorpion, or maybe the Seppun shugenja school, due to their Imperial ties. Whereas a Tonbo bushi would join the Mirumoto bushi school owing to their connection to the Dragon. I don't usually require the Different School advantage in this case, unless it'd be a big stretch. As far as shugenja go, if the player would rather not go that route, I also allow them to use the ronin shugenja schools from Enemies of the Empire to represent a minor shugenja tradition within a minor clan, and will even let a minor bushi clansman take ronin techniques to represent a school that is half-formed and still in its infancy.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2013 04:29
|
|
|
Hiro Protagonist posted:Is LBS worth the $25 price tag? I'm looking for a good, Arabic setting, and I already like L5R, but that's a pretty high price tag, and I don't know how well the free conversion works. It's... a mixed bag, I think. It's the kind of thing where obviously the writers might want to dream of a full game line, but you only have one book, so it's basically like a super-brief core and then the quickest run of splatbooks you ever did see. It's more of an adjunct to Legend of the Five Rings than something that feels like a really independent game on its own. I mean, you can run it and all, but you'll have to do a lot more homework than Five Rings requires, IMO. You'd also have to have a tight idea of what sort of game you want to run, because there's some more profound factional differences than the Clans have.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2013 05:20
|
|
|
It got splatbooks? I thought all it ever got was the core book.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2013 05:23
|
|
|
Zero Suit Ridley posted:It got splatbooks? I thought all it ever got was the core book. Oh, no, I'm referring to is how it's structured, where every chapter is like a mini-splatbook.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2013 05:26
|
|
|
The card game lasted for like, a year, too--it was really not a very heavily supported line, so they didn't have nearly as much to work with. There's enough there to be interesting though. It really feels like something that they did so they could not...I wanna say pollute, I guess? Rokugan with a bunch of details about some not-Rokugan cultures and setting that happened to be really important, briefly, to the storyline.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2013 05:52
|
|
|
Been looking at the Second City mechanics since Winson is recruiting for a game, and ARBco raised an interesting point. Namely, what's the benefit of the Second City Guardsman's technique? The Status Rank bonus is obvious, but I don't see the point of their stance-switching ability. How does switching out of Defense/Full Defense and to Attack out of turn actually help? I'm sure it would interact with a counter-attack technique but I can't think of any of those off the top of my head, and certainly none at Rank 1.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2013 19:16
|
|
|
For clarity of folks that don't have the book, it says this: "When [flavor cut] you are in the Defense or Full Defense Stance, if your opponent attacks and misses you before your Turn for the Round you may immediately change your Stance to Attack. You lose all bonuses to your Armor TN from your previous Stance." Since you can freely change your stance at the beginning of your turn anyway, it actually seems disadvantageous as far as techniques go.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2013 19:25
|
|
|
It lets you declare your opening combat stance as Def/Full Def, get attacked and miss, and still attack on your turn, since you can't switch stance round 1.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2013 19:54
|
|
|
I knew I was missing something. That still seems pretty weak, though. The flavor restriction isn't a meaningless one, and even without that it's pretty corner case.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2013 20:02
|
|
|
It's good unless ambushes, at least, then!... unless the GM rules it isn't. (The ambush section is a little vaguer than it needs to be.)
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2013 20:32
|
|
|
Has anyone played in one of the alternate Rokugans presented in "Imperial Histories" or "Imperial Histories 2?" I just picked up IH2, and am very intrigued by the Iron Empire setting, and the Togashi Dynasty looks pretty neat. Wondering what other people think of some of these alternate universe versions of the L5R setting.
|
|
#
?
May 18, 2013 19:20
|
|
|
The Imperial Histories are pretty responsible for my own (big) game here on SA, though I'm not using one of the settings they provide. They are awesome books, though. Part of me hopes we will see a third, though I'm not sure what would be left to cover, canonically, beyond maybe Vacant Throne.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2013 00:06
|
|
|
Man a book comprising nothing but alternate timelines would be fun.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2013 00:12
|
|
|
I really like both of the books, finally finished reading all of IH2. They do a much better job than the older edition setting books imo, because they provide much more useful advice on how to make each era 'feel' different, if that makes any sense. Also, they provide lots of good jumping off points/ideas for things to go differently, so it is less of 3rd edition syndrome where there is a big list of stuff that happens and the PCs get to watch, and more 'How will putting the pcs into this environment change it (and them).'
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2013 00:13
|
|
|
Zero Suit Ridley posted:The Imperial Histories are pretty responsible for my own (big) game here on SA, though I'm not using one of the settings they provide. They are awesome books, though. Part of me hopes we will see a third, though I'm not sure what would be left to cover, canonically, beyond maybe Vacant Throne. I'd love to see more alternate histories, personally. The Togashi Dynasty in particular makes me want to see an alternate setting where Bayushi took the throne. Or Shinjo. Or Hida. How would that have changed the shape of the Empire? I could see a setting where the Scorpion Clan Coup was successful. Or Akodo Kage succeeded in becoming Emperor, with a Kolat triumphant. Or one where the Naga woke up earlier, leading a large-scale conflict between humans and non-humans. Or one where Iuchiban was never stopped. neongrey posted:Man a book comprising nothing but alternate timelines would be fun. Yes, this.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2013 00:26
|
|
|
ScottyBomb posted:
Funny you should say that...
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2013 00:27
|
|
|
ScottyBomb posted:I could see a setting where the Scorpion Clan Coup was successful. We are writing this via PBP even now!
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2013 01:17
|
|
|
I like the alternate settings more as ideas to mine for my own. For example, I might use elements of the peasant revolt in Imperial Histories in a more "modern" Legend of the Five Rings setting. I haven't gotten to look at Imperial Histories 2, but the actual alternate universes in Imperial Histories didn't strike as too compelling, mainly because I have no investment in Living Rokugan, and 1,000 Years of Darkness focuses on the Shadowlands, which right now I'm not interested in as the focus of a game. I always did want to do a Dawn of the Empire sort of game even before it was a thing in Imperial Histories, where the PCs are the early luminaries of a clan or even an alternate Seven Thunders. It feels like a great thing to pitch, but cooking up a compelling campaign plan out of it has stymied me so far.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2013 02:56
|
|
|
ProfessorCirno posted:We are writing this via PBP even now! Zero Suit Ridley posted:Funny you should say that... Ha! Didn't even realize you'd already hit upon one of those for exploration. Just goes to show that any good idea I've ever had, someone else has already thought of. Which isn't a bad thing, because I'm way too lazy to implement most of my good ideas. I'd still love to see other alternate Rokugans in future print though.
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2013 07:00
|
|
|
Alien Rope Burn posted:I like the alternate settings more as ideas to mine for my own. For example, I might use elements of the peasant revolt in Imperial Histories in a more "modern" Legend of the Five Rings setting. I haven't gotten to look at Imperial Histories 2, but the actual alternate universes in Imperial Histories didn't strike as too compelling, mainly because I have no investment in Living Rokugan, and 1,000 Years of Darkness focuses on the Shadowlands, which right now I'm not interested in as the focus of a game. "Imperial Histories 2" goes much, much further afield than the first book in regards to non-canonical settings, and even offers up ideas for how you can have the canonical historical settings go down differently. The canon settings include the reign of Hantei Genji immediately after the first Day of Thunder, the Five Rings Heresy (where Monks run amok), the Eighth Century Crises (which includes the Maw's attack on the Crab and the return of Iuchiban), the Return of the Unicorn, the Four Winds, the Destroyer War and the Age of Exploration. The non-canon settings are the Togashi Dynasty (Togashi becomes the first Emperor), the Iron Empire (where a different Battle of the White Stag results in a less xenophobic Empire, and a rush toward industrialization), the Shattered Empire (where everyone but Hitomi dies defeating Fu Leng, leaving the throne empty, and the Empire falls apart), the Shadowed Throne (where Hantei Naseru becomes the power behind the throne of his sister Tsudao, Empress Toturi II) and the Empire of the Emerald Stars (Rokugan IN SPAAAAAAACE!) I'm really, really enjoying this setting book. It's very imaginative, and well presented. It may be my favorite L5R RPG book printed to date.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2013 04:45
|
|
|
I am having a problem, I am thinking about doing a Ryoko Owari game and I remember in one of the old D20 books they had a super awesome map of Ryoko Owari anyone remember what book that was?
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2013 01:46
|
|
|
wargames posted:I am having a problem, I am thinking about doing a Ryoko Owari game and I remember in one of the old D20 books they had a super awesome map of Ryoko Owari anyone remember what book that was? City of Lies is the boxed set for Legend of the Five Rings 1st edition that covers Ryoko Owari. It had a super-awesome map! I don't know about any in a d20 book, though.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2013 03:54
|
|
|
Alien Rope Burn posted:City of Lies is the boxed set for Legend of the Five Rings 1st edition that covers Ryoko Owari. It had a super-awesome map! Is that the one where the kolat are literal demon worshipping maho users because Five Rings hadn't written what the kolat actually were and the author had to make it all up?
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2013 07:50
|
|
|
Yes. Yes it is. I'm about to recruit for Ryoko Owari in Ridley's continuity thing. Spoiler: it will not be the Kolat in my game. I do have a copy of the giant RO map that I managed to track down. I'll share, but not yet. 
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2013 08:03
|
|
|
Is the Togashi dynasty quite as confusing and inspired by wuxia movies as I think it is going to be?
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2013 08:20
|
|
|
Alien Rope Burn posted:City of Lies is the boxed set for Legend of the Five Rings 1st edition that covers Ryoko Owari. It had a super-awesome map! I have the Ryoko Owari boxset, I just remember in one of the D20 books they had a color verison of it.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2013 09:52
|
|
|
wargames posted:I have the Ryoko Owari boxset, I just remember in one of the D20 books they had a color verison of it. Sadly, the only color books I can recall for d20 Legend of the Five Rings were Oriental Adventures and Rokugan, and their color maps were maps of Rokugan's entirety. All I can think of is this picture of Ryoko Owari, but that's not a map per se.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2013 17:32
|
|
|
Alien Rope Burn posted:Sadly, the only color books I can recall for d20 Legend of the Five Rings were Oriental Adventures and Rokugan, and their color maps were maps of Rokugan's entirety. Its in one of the D20 books but hell if I an find it.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2013 21:46
|
|
|
It's in Oriental Adventures, Page 227, the section about Rokugan. Back when WotC had the whole L5R thing and... well that chaotic period. So not strictly an L5R book but sort of. *edit* I should add it is less detailed than the map from the boxed set and doesn't really show any proper street layout, just the quarters and stuff. It's ok as a simplified map of the city though I suppose. Entoloma fucked around with this message at 23:33 on May 27, 2013 |
|
#
?
May 27, 2013 23:30
|
|
|
Josef bugman posted:Is the Togashi dynasty quite as confusing and inspired by wuxia movies as I think it is going to be? There's definitely some wuxia inspiration, and the Empire under Togashi has a much stronger mystical connection, but I wouldn't call it confusing. It also has options for how similar - or different - you want events to play out in it's history. For example: The Battle of White Stag may play out largely the same under Togashi's rule... or it might not happen at all. Instead, an invasion by a mystically empowered force from the Burning Sands may ultimately lead to the xenophobic isolationism of the Empire. It's actually a fairly well presented and imaginative chapter. In particular, I like the thought put into Hantei's "Owl Clan," and the role it plays in Togashi's empire. Though, I don't know that it'd necessarily work under any other kami.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2013 01:24
|
|
|
Where the hell can I order The Great Clans or Imperial Mysteries 2? Ald own website doesn't have either of them up or anything, and Amazon lists The Great Clans at thousands of dollars.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2013 03:00
|
|
|
Undead Unicorn posted:Where the hell can I order The Great Clans or Imperial Mysteries 2? Ald own website doesn't have either of them up or anything, and Amazon lists The Great Clans at thousands of dollars. I get them from coolstuffinc.com, but The Great Clans is out of print and out of stock everywhere. Drive-thru has it in PDF http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/93584/Legend-of-the-Five-Rings%3A-The-Great-Clans
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2013 03:06
|
|
|
Undead Unicorn posted:Where the hell can I order The Great Clans or Imperial Mysteries 2? Ald own website doesn't have either of them up or anything, and Amazon lists The Great Clans at thousands of dollars. Sci-Fi City is where I ordered a good chunk of my Legend of the Five Rings 4th edition books (they also have Book of Air, Book of Earth, Imperial Histories, and Imperial Histories 2 at 1/2 off, not counting shipping) - looks like they still have Great Clans in: http://shop.sci-fi-city.com/product_info.php?products_id=55251 I've ordered from them twice so far and they were very prompt with shipping.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2013 03:17
|
|
|
Thank you, it kinda weird that Alderac dropped the ball like it has though. I'm going to order Great Clans and Imperial Histories 2 but are they going to reprint Great Clans and update their online store or are they kinda lax on that front?
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2013 03:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 28, 2024 14:48 |
|
|
AEG typically does smallish print runs, and does not reprint books once they go out of print. Towards the latter years of 3rd Edition trying to find a copy of Emerald Empire was literally hundreds of dollars for the cheapest available, and it took me six months of searching (and a custom programmed web bot a friend made) to locate a copy for a reasonable price. Historically, they don't reprint things like that this far into an edition's lifespan. That having been said, it's not really "dropping the ball" not to have an out of print title listed on their web store, or they'd have a shitton of clutter. To be honest, it's my own pet theory at this point that once we get the Books of Fire, Water, and Void, plus Secrets of the Empire and Unexpected Allies--that is to say, once AEG have released the currently announced titles for 4th Edition--that we will very likely be looking at a new edition anyway. Content saturation will have essentially been reached, and diminishing returns will start to hit critical point by then.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2013 06:05
|
|