Player Handout

Welcome to the Emerald Empire!

Here's some quick catch-all information you may find useful - a quick update to how my Rokugan is different from that presented in the main book, useful skills, what is Bushido, etc.

Our "base" setting will be the one described in the 3rd Edition Revised core book. All families, schools, spells and techniques are available for your use, with some minor changes.

The Unicorn have an additional family, the Shinjo, who have another School. The events of the canon story removed them from the game, but they're still around in my game. If you wish, I have rules for their Techniques and family bonuses. The leader of the Unicorn in my game is a Shinjo, Shinjo Yokatsu. Also, the Utaku family will be using their original name, the Otaku. There's no real game mechanics for this, I just cringe at the overuse of the "U" sound in Japanese names. Utaku is just stupid.

The campaign map is changing. My Rokugan is an island, surrounded by smaller islands to the East, South and North. To the West is a mainland continent, home to several civilizations including the lands known as the Burning Sands, the Ivory Kingdoms and a kingdom of my own creation called Shen-zou, based on "Middle Kindgom" China. Shen-zou has had a heavily influence on the Empire.

The Western Shore of Rokugan is mostly sheer cliffs, broken by only one useable bay, Sunset Bay Village. The Scorpion and Unicorn are in almost constant struggle over this valuable port that trades with Shen-zou.

Aside from those changes, the map is mostly intact, with positions of major clans holding true. The "shape" of territory wouldn't be the same if you were to draw the map, but for our purposes, that makes no major difference.

Naval ships are more common since there is so much more coastline. Mantis ships, operating out of the islands of Spice and Silk are the most common ships. Phoenix, Crane, Unicorn and Scorpion vessels are somewhat common. The Lion and Dragon have no naval tradition, since they have landlocked provinces in the center of Rokugan. Large-scale naval battles remain rare.

Our story starts shortly after the arrival of foreigners to Rokugan, the Nanbanjin, Southern Barbarians. They are from the nation of Utrecht, far to the East of Rokugan. Most simply call them "Koho" which means red-hair because of the common feature they seem to share. Several hundred years ago, gaijin came to Rokugan which resulted in a war and their expulsion. These Koho seem to know their history and have shown up with several offerings and gifts. The current Emperor, Hantei Jian-mei, has welcomed them to the Imperial Capital, Otosan Uchi.

The Koho arrived from the southeast, passing the Islands of Silk and Spice and landing on Crane lands on the eastern coast. They are currently being harbored in Crane ports, dealing with Crane merchants and chasing after Crane women.

Needless to say, this new arrival has caused some contention in Rokugan. Here's a quick rundown of how the Clans tend to feel:

The Crab show an admiration for the advanced shipbuilding skills of the Koho and also seem interested in their weaponry. They have not advanced any particular emotion towards the new arrivals, simply curiosity.

The Crane seem to be welcoming to the nanbanjin. However, the public face of hospitality seems to be covering internal strife over the matter - the Daidoji in particular seemed conflicted, according to rumors.

The Dragon, as usual, are cryptic and seemed determine not to interfere.

The Lion are in complete opposition to the Koho. They have no interest in their culture, language, weaponry or religion. Akodo Arasou, the current Daimyo of the Lion, has banned all nanbanjin from travelling in Lion lands.

The Phoenix are very cautious, but the Isawa family is vocal about their opposition. They believe the Koho should be removed, and quickly.

The Scorpion seem very eager to learn all they can about the new visitors and help them enjoy themselves in Rokugan.

The Unicorn are happy to meet new people and learn new things, comparing their collected tales over their own travels with what the Utrecht travelers have found.

The Mantis are simply eager for more trade.

These gaijin bring two things with them that have caused so much concern. The first is the flintlock musket, the second is the Faith.

The Faith is the religion of the nation of Utrecht and conflicts with Rokugani belief over two major points - Those of the Faith believe in resurrection, rather than reincarnation and they believe that the world is to put to the service of man, rather than man having a place in the Celestial Hierarchy. These two points mean any discussion between a priest of the faith and a Rokugani Monk or Shugenja is nearly impossible to keep civil.

The musket could revolutionize warfare, but several samurai believe that using one sullies one's honor. As of yet, no Rokugani armed force has yet adopted the use of firearms.

Character Creation -

Your characters will be samurai, regardless if you will be a warrior, courtier or shugenja. You are nobility, servants to local rulers called daimyo, who are servants to bigger daimyo, who are servants to Daimyos of entire families, then entire clans, then the Emperor. As nobility, you are expected to be able to act with decency and humility and honor.

As part of your character's behavior, you will have to decide how they view Bushido, the Way of the Warrior, the code of honor samurai are believed to/expected to follow. There are seven tenants to the Code:

Honesty - Gi

Courage - Yu

Compassion - Jin

Courtesy - Rei

Honor - Meyo

Sincerity - Makoto

Duty - Chugo

On your character sheet, you have a stat called Honor. It is measured in Ranks from 1-5, which each Rank made up of ten points. Honor is the stat we use to track how well your character follows Bushido and is determined by your starting school. Some game rules reference Honor, forcing you to roll your rank like another trait. Daidoji Techniques, for example, allow them to use their Honor in place of a trait for some rolls. You can also call upon your Honor once per session - if you flub a critical roll, you can roll your Honor to try one last time to make it. However, if you loose, you will loose an entire rank of Honor!

Glory is your fame inside the Empire. As you adventure (and brag about them), you'll rack up Glory points, ten points to each Rank. Glory is ranked from 1-10. Samurai love glory. They love earning it, having it, bragging about it. Do you have to? No. It's a staple of samurai drama, but you do not have to chase Glory if you do not wish to.

Important skills - Your school will provide a set number of skills, while also allowing you to pick up some of your own choosing. If your school does not provide these skills, you may want to consider picking them up:

Etiquette - Politeness is very, very important in Rokugan. You will be rolling this skill quite a bit and while you can use it unskilled, that is a very dangerous option in certain situations.

Medicine - the skill which allows you to reduce and remove Wounds, your hit points in the l5R system.

Mediation and Tea Ceremony - You have the option of using Void points to boost rolls and to activate certain techniques and abilities. These are refreshed by getting a good night's sleep or by using these skills. Meditation allows you to recover 2 points per successful use, Tea Ceremony allows everyone involved in a successful ceremony to regain one point.

In addition, a person capable of performing the Tea Ceremony well is happily welcomed everywhere in the Empire - and they will be expected to show their skills.

Defense - useful in combat, makes you harder to hit.

Know the School - You select a school that you have studied (For example, Akodo). If someone uses that school and you can identify it, you will receive several benefits in both social rolls and in combat against this person. It's not a definite path to victory, but can provide a bit of an edge.