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Simply knowing the rules for Legend of the Five Rings is not enough; even passing your gempukku and earning your place as a samurai in the will not truly prepare you for the trials ahead. If one is to survive, even thrive, in the land of Rokugan then one must know Rokugan: its places, its people, its customs and history and spirits. So it is that, the first major sourcebook for the Fantasy Flight Games’ edition of Legend of the Five Rings, has come into being. What’s actually within its pages? Is it worth getting yourself?

I’m going through the book chapter by chapter to find out!IntroductionThe introduction is actually a history overview chapter, written in-universe by Imperial Scribe Miya Chinatsu, covering everything from Lady Sun and Lord Moon and the creation of the world to the present day of 1123 IC. It’s much more comprehensive than Bayushi Kachiko’s story to Doji Hotaru in the core rulebook, detailing many of the major milestones in the history of Rokugan that created the Emerald Empire we know today.As setting primers go, it’s a solid start. Interestingly, there’s also a sidebar that stress the fact that it’s an in-universe history, and thus possibly inaccurate due to everything from simple error to political spin. It’s an important note, to understand that there are secrets to uncover and masks to see through throughout the setting.

Chapter 1: Strongholds of PowerOn the face of things castles and palaces are the primary subjects of this section. The book does go into quite a bit of detail about their construction, the different types of stronghold, the architectural and cultural details of castles and palaces (if you build a castle ten stories high, get ready to be killed for trying to put yourself on the same level as the Emperor), and several example strongholds. The castle at contested Toshi Ranbo, Ky ū den Bayushi of the Scorpion, Ky ū den Doji of the Crane, the Imperial Palace itself, and “Ky ūden” Gotei of the Mantis are all featured, including facts of note, adventure seeds (that include a hook, the rising action, and the climax), rumors, and an example NPC. Looking ahead, we can see that all of the sample locations in the book will be similarly accompanied.All of that is very useful stuff, giving us actual locations to work with that the core book lacks, but it actually all sort of comes in second in importance to the real gem of the chapter and, as we’ll see, the real focus of the book: treatises on the culture and history surrounding castles. As the eponymous Strongholds of Power in Rokugan castles and palaces are where courts are held, where governmental and military powers are based, and where both war and diplomacy often pivot. As a result this chapter spends a lot of words talking about life in the castle, including what various classes and types of people might find themselves doing day to day, and goes into detail on Rokugani courts and how they function, even across different regions. The Crab Clan deals with courtly matters during meals so that everyone can get back to their posts more quickly, for instance, which would be shockingly rude anywhere else in the empire, while talking about the weather is a bad idea in a Crane Clan court because of the recent tsunami.

This is, in short, a courtier character’s goldmine.As strongholds are often the target of military campaigns in Rokugan, this is also the chapter that talks about war in the Emerald Empire, from basic practices to the Imperial Legions to a number of the conflicts that have raged throughout the past millennium to the different ways each major clan wages war. If you’re planning to cross swords en masse in Rokugan, this is a pretty good primer on how it’s done.

Chapter 2: Centers of TradeThe Centers of Trade this chapter wishes to highlight are the cities of Rokugan, and to a somewhat lesser extent the large towns and harbors that are scattered between them. Several examples of each are featured, although you’ll notice a bit of overlap with some of the castles from Chapter 1. Otosan Uchi itself starts us off, but there are also the City of Lies and Khanbulak of the Unicorn for cities, Red Horn Village for a bustling town between three Great Clans, and the Mantis-controlled Gotei City and Imperial-controlled City of the Rich Frog for harbors. All of the specific example locations continue to have plot hooks, points of interest, and NPC presented for them.A significant amount of general information on cities and towns is also presented, including several paragraphs each on what life in a Rokugani city is like for the different classes. Food, drink, entertainment, navigation, how and where cities and towns get built, architecture, government, and crime are also discussed in broad strokes, from which type of alcohol is preferred among which Great Clan to the extreme threat fire poses to most such settlements.As Chapter 1 was a boon to courtiers, Chapter 2 also has an L5R character type it can help a great deal: magistrates.

As cities and towns have the populations large enough for crime to thrive in the margins, this section also focuses on crime and the punishment thereof. Seeing as how being magistrates, particularly Emerald Magistrates, is one of the common ideas to bring a party of otherwise disparate L5R characters together, this strikes me as a wise choice of subject to cover here. If you want to learn everything about Rokugani law from the hierarchy of authority surrounding the Emerald Magistrates to the Kitsuki family’s borderline heretical fascination with ‘facts’ and ‘evidence’ as opposed to testimony, to what happens when a criminal has their day in court, this is the chapter for you. Chapter 3: Heart of the EmpireCastles are great, and cities are bustling, but they’d all likely die on the vine without the many villages and farms that feed and otherwise supply them.

Unsurprising, then, that those farms and villages are the focus of a chapter entitled Heart of the Empire. Practically every facet of rural life in Rokugan, which involves the majority of the population, is covered here: the dangers of natural disaster and war, agriculture, bandits, taxation, key buildings, the kind of travelers that pass through, and so on.The example locations are a diverse lot, showing how villages tend to distinguish themselves via a particular role or resource. In the lands of the Kitsu one can find the sake-brewing Buzzing Fly Village. In the mountains of Senseki Province, Unicorn territory, is the mining settlement of Anbasukai Village, also home to the beautiful Earth’s Heart Shrine. The Crab Clan often find themselves reliant upon fishing communities like the Swirling Pool Village to sustain themselves. Finally, it is perhaps unsurprising to find the Kaori Tea Farm trying to carve out a section of Daidoji wilderness for itself.For the cultural material, this chapter isn’t particularly beneficial to any single type of character; rather, it’s useful to all player characters because it focuses on the relationship between samurai and the classes of people beneath them in the Celestial Order. As much as some samurai would like to avoid doing so, at some point most are going to have to interact with the bonge, the burakumin, and perhaps even the gaijin.

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This chapter examines the relationship between these classes and the samurai, particularly as to how (and why) they interact with one another.The chapter closes out on the nature of travel in Rokugan, which will be vital for any campaign that doesn’t stick to one location for the duration, including such things as travel papers and way stations. Some example routes and locales are provided including the River of Gold that runs from Scorpion lands (going straight through the City of Lies) all the way into Crab territory, the Emperor’s Road used for Imperial business that links together important holdings across the land of five Great Clans, and the way station known as Hy ōseznhō that actually serves as an important staging ground for the Utaku Battle Maidens of the Unicorn.

Chapter 4: Sacred SpacesThis chapter is probably of greatest interest to shugenja, who have as much of a religious responsibility as a magical one, but it’s generally useful for every Rokugani. Everyone could use a way to get some help from the spirits now and again, after all, or at least a way to keep them from causing trouble.The actual Sacred Spaces of Rokugan aren’t limited to Rokugan itself, though: this chapter actually starts off with the cosmography around the physical world (with another note that this is the understood cosmography, not necessarily the correct one). The Heavens of Tengoku and Yomi, the ‘beside’ realms of animals and illusions, and the various underworld realms of Jigoku are all featured. Next the book goes into detail about kami and Fortunes, with particular focus on the Great Fortunes and a few other notables.Interestingly, because many of the Fortunes and kami in L5R are either based on real-world religious figures or actually are real-world religious figures, there’s a sizeable (most of a page) sidebar discussing how to portray these figures and religious beliefs in general in a respectable manner at the table. Nice touch.Then it’s onto the sacred spaces that can actually be found on Rokugan itself: the shrines. Basic facts of daily life at a shrine, the importance of the various architectural aspects of one, the different practices of samurai and peasants, and common rituals like weddings, funerals, and festivals are all discussed. Several sidebars provide some of the most interesting tidbits when it comes to clan-specific superstitions, beliefs, and customs.

Lightning is a good omen in the Crab Clan, for example. Scorpion weddings are always officiated by a Soshi (to let a Yogo do it would be unlucky), and the banquets are even open to peasants. The Lion believe in holding their funeral rites on the battlefield where the dead fell. There’s also general information as to how a supplicant should approach a spirit, and what is considered religiously prohibitive.The Shrine of the Ki-Rin, last stop of Shinjo herself before she journeyed beyond the Empire, leads off the example locations. Benten Seid ō, shrine to the Great Fortune of Art and Romantic Love, is a frequent stop for ‘enamored pilgrims and muse-seeking artisans’.

The Shrine of the Willow-Healing Kami is in honor to a kodoma who saved Clear Water Village from destruction by entreating the Fortune of Pestilence to stop his assault.The chapter actually closes out on a darker note: forbidden beliefs and practices, and the places and rituals that fuel them. Shrines that have been corrupted, haunted, or outright created in service to Jigoku are discussed, as well as the blood magic, curses, and name-trading used by mahō-tsukai and oni alike. No additional rules to go with, but still interesting. Suffice to say that campaigns and characters focusing on fighting this sort of thing, like the Kuni Purifiers, are going to pay particular attention to this section. Chapter 5: Paths to EnlightenmentUnsurprisingly this section of the book is going to quickly draw the eyes of monk-type characters. Although oddly enough not as much for the monk-type schools from the core rulebook.

The Kaito are more akin to shugenja in their practices, and the Togashi are typical Dragons, standing out from the crowd; neither are precisely orthodox followers of Shinsei. Still, there’s a lot of generally useful information here when it comes to seeking spiritual enlightenment, and this chapter will be of special value to two schools we’ll see in Chapter 7.A large part of the chapter is about Shinsei, the Little Teacher who taught even the first Hantei Emperor about the all-encompassing nature of the Void, the cycle of reincarnation, and the path to enlightenment that would allow one to escape the cycle. It also discusses the conflicting perceptions of Shinsei, how he is considered by some to be a philosopher, some to be a hero, and by some to even be a god. The Tao of Shinsei ’s place in the larger religious framework of Rokugan is explored, and several orders of monk are featured, including ones that both purely follow the Tao and those who are devoted to the Fortunes.Next comes the basic facts and daily life at the monastic temples and monasteries: how they’re supplied, how they defend themselves, their nature as scholastic centers as well as spiritual ones, the rituals that take place there, and even the complicated relationship that monks have with the Celestial Order and the rest of Rokugan’s class system.

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So, I’m not super familiar with the previous versions, but: like I mentioned this version doesn’t really cover any of the big individual players, and it’s my understanding that that’s where most of the differences between the timelines have taken place, so the lore value is probably lower for those familiar with the setting already. Like using 3.5 Eberron books to inform a 5e D&D campaign, you’d probably be fine using older L5R setting info, with the understanding that if you cover any of the big events you’ll be on your own in terms of mechanics. Least for now.If the editions were more similar I’d say veterans could pass, but the different mechanics do mean there’s a good bit of new stuff.

For players they’ll get a pretty solid chunk of new character options. GMs get 30+ NPCs to work with.

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Then there’s all the adventure hooks, rumors, and such.If I’d give it an A for a newcomer, I’d give it a B- for someone knowledgeable about the setting already.Like.