This website is being used to manage some tables for the new Heroes of Rokugan, Legend of the Five Rings living campaign called “The Spirit of Bushido”.  The campaign started last week and has five modules released.

Here's the national campaign yahoogroup, it's the best place to start:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/heroesofrokugan3/

Here is the local L5R group:

http://groups.google.com/group/atl5r

Here is where you can get the 4th edition book - on sale!

http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Five-Rings-4th-RPG/dp/1594720525

Here’s a few places with some background information on the setting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rokugan

http://l5r.wikia.com/wiki/Rokugan

http://www.l5r.com/rpg/

If all of this sounds like gibberish, then worry not!  This campaign is in the early stages and new players are always welcomed and appreciated.  Sign up. Let the GM know you’re new. Show up.  We’ll provide explanation, dice, and pregenerated characters.

A Little More about Rokugan and the Legend of the Five Rings Mindset

Rokugan is a fictional kingdom, a vast Empire whose history, myths, and culture draw heavily upon the real-life history and culture of ancient and medieval Asia, primarily Japan but also including China and Korea, among others. It is a land where samurai, honorable servants of the Divine Emperor, wage war and forge peace in the name of their lords. It is a land where mighty Great Clans, each comprised of multiple ancient families, work together and against one another in hopes of  accomplishing their political and military agendas. It is a land where valiant warriors, or bushi, struggle to win the day for their clans on the field of battle. It is a land where pious shugenja priests offer prayers to the multitude of Fortunes in hopes of achieving the blessings of Heaven for their lands. It is a land where courtier politicians wage an endless war of words, seeking any possible advantage for their clans. Rokugan is an Empire of honor and glory, of strife and adventure, of horror and mystery.

Legend of the Five Rings (often shortened to “L5R”) is a fantasy game, with magic and monsters, but it is not about killing monsters, collecting treasure, and rescuing princesses. It is a game about honor, heroism, and the moral consequences associated with the samurai code of Bushido. Rokugan is a world with a rigid code of conduct, morality, and authority. Samurai do not adventure for gold. They do not roam the land in search of vorpal blades conveniently nestled in the caves of wandering ogres. They honor their families, lords, and ancestors by respecting the traditions set forth by over 1,000 years of history and valor. What use are gems and flying carpets to the samurai, who carries the soul of his grandfather and the burden of tradition everywhere he walks?

It should be noted that L5R is not about playing a real world samurai, but rather about the romanticized vision of samurai found in stories and film, a vision in which Honor and Bushido have real meaning and force. Players and GMs are creating the mythical and legendary tales of samurai who excel in their station. Such stories are not based on rational self-interest or self-preservation, but rather on heroic conduct in the tradition of Bushido. So if you don’t know all the details of how samurai addressed each other, if you don’t remember the myriad subtle differences between the Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, Nara, Edo, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa eras of historical Japan – don’t sweat it too much! Rokugan is ultimately a fantasy world, a fusion of Asian culture from many eras and many peoples. Samurai legends do not need to concern themselves with every mispronounced word or poorly placed Japanese honorific.

Bushido is the centerpiece of L5R, the fulcrum of every scene, act, adventure, and campaign. It is, ultimately, what sets this game apart from every other RPG. Bushido is the moral code, the “way of the warrior,” that informs the behavior of every samurai, whether bushi, shugenja, or scholar. It is a double-sided blade of conviction and narrow-mindedness. It is a culture of obedience and tradition. It is the path of the honorable and courageous. And it is the reason the characters face the complex and often difficult consequences of their decisions and choices. Following Bushido is not easy, and characters’ choices can twist in their hands like a bloodied knife.