D&D 5E Adventures in Rokugan Arrives August 5th

Adventures in Rokugan is Edge Studios' official 5E version of Legend of the Five Rings, announced last year. Legend of the Five Rings is an East Asian inspired setting which goes all the way back to the 1990s, and was purchased by Fantasy Flight Games in 2018, before being moved over to FFG's sister company, Edge Studios in 2020 (which has taken over all the TTRPG operations from FFG, including Star Wars).

The 5E version includes new classes -- Shinobi, Pilgrim, Courtier, Ritualist, Bushi, Duelist, Acolyte -- and various new shapeshifting animal species.

It's coming out on August 5th and will cost $49.99.

Adventures in Rokugan brings the famous setting of Legend of the Five Rings to the ever-popular ruleset of the 5th Edition SRD. Players can explore this rich setting in a whole new light, and the familiar rules promise to engage an entirely new audience of roleplaying fans. Alongside a new focus on roleplaying activities such as dungeon delving and monster hunting, Adventures in Rokugan promises to provide something for all fans of Rokugan.

 

[doctorhook]

So, clarify, Edge Studios is the spinoff from FFG, but they’re publishing a L5R game based on 5E not FFG’s L5R system from a few short years ago? (That one was Genesis compatible, right? Or maybe I just thought so because typical FFG proprietary dice.)

 

[Shardstone]

So, clarify, Edge Studios is the spinoff from FFG, but they’re publishing a L5R game based on 5E not FFG’s L5R system from a few short years ago? (That one was Genesis compatible, right? Or maybe I just thought so because typical FFG proprietary dice.)

It was not genesis compatible.

 

[overgeeked]

So, clarify, Edge Studios is the spinoff from FFG, but they’re publishing a L5R game based on 5E not FFG’s L5R system from a few short years ago? (That one was Genesis compatible, right? Or maybe I just thought so because typical FFG proprietary dice.)

L5R 1E-4E. AEG’s roll-and-keep system.

L5R 5E. FFG’s custom dice, but different custom dice. It uses d12s and d6s with symbols. So similar to but not Genesis.

Edge is FFG’s RPG spin-off division. All their RPGs are handled by Edge.

Where it gets fun is with this new one we have L5R 5E and 5E L5R.

 

[Dire Bare]

So, clarify, Edge Studios is the spinoff from FFG, but they’re publishing a L5R game based on 5E not FFG’s L5R system from a few short years ago? (That one was Genesis compatible, right? Or maybe I just thought so because typical FFG proprietary dice.)

Edge Studios isn't a spinoff from Fantasy Flight, but rather both companies are owned by Asmodee, and the parent company shifted all RPG games to Edge Studios. Some of the FFG employees moved over with the games.

The L5R game, with it's own system, is still a thing supported by Edge. This is simply the same setting with different rules, both games will exist and be supported at the same time. Not unlike how Cubicle 7 published both "The One Ring" and "Adventures in Middle-Earth" (for 5E) at the same time.

 

[doctorhook]

Gotcha, thanks for the clarification!

Just out of curiosity, is there a most popular edition among L5R fans? Is the new 5E edition likely to supplant it?

 

[Dire Bare]

Gotcha, thanks for the clarification!

Just out of curiosity, is there a most popular edition among L5R fans? Is the new 5E edition likely to supplant it?

I'm not a L5R stan, but I doubt the new game will "supplant" the native rules system, they will exist in parallel. But, who knows?

 

[overgeeked]

Gotcha, thanks for the clarification!

Just out of curiosity, is there a most popular edition among L5R fans? Is the new 5E edition likely to supplant it?

Every edition has fans. The most popular seem to be 1E, 4E, and 5E. 1E through 4E are mostly the same with tweaks to the mechanics and updated setting as the meta plot advanced. 5E is the big departure mechanically, focuses more on story game and drama, and FFG reset the setting to their own version of Rokugan that's pre-Clan War.

1E for the OG fans. 4E for the revised and refined roll-and-keep fans. 5E for the more drama-focused and funky dice fans. The most recent edition is almost always the most popular because it's the one that's actively supported. Whichever edition it happens to be.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Every edition has fans. The most popular seem to be 1E, 4E, and 5E. 1E through 4E are mostly the same with tweaks to the mechanics and updated setting as the meta plot advanced. 5E is the big departure mechanically, focuses more on story game and drama, and FFG reset the setting to their own version of Rokugan that's pre-Clan War.

1E for the OG fans. 4E for the revised and refined roll-and-keep fans. 5E for the more drama-focused and funky dice fans. The most recent edition is almost always the most popular because it's the one that's actively supported. Whichever edition it happens to be.

I preferred 4e, as to me it was the most refined version of the original system. Never saw a reason to move on to 5e after they changed the rules AND the lore.

 

[overgeeked]

I preferred 4e, as to me it was the most refined version of the original system. Never saw a reason to move on to 5e after they changed the rules AND the lore.

As much as I prefer the roll-and-keep system, I really like the lore rollback. It was already complicated enough by default, stacking 20+ years of tournament-generated meta plot on top of it just weighed it down. I'd rather play through that stuff in an RPG than be beholden to it because it's official. It's always easier to add than subtract with fans of a setting or system.

 

[Micah Sweet]

As much as I prefer the roll-and-keep system, I really like the lore rollback. It was already complicated enough by default, stacking 20+ years of tournament-generated meta plot on top of it just weighed it down. I'd rather play through that stuff in an RPG than be beholden to it because it's official. It's always easier to add than subtract with fans of a setting or system.

I thought the gender swapping was unnecessary on top of a rollback (there were plenty of strong female characters in L5R from the beginning), and the new system was too narrative-focused and fiddly for me to bother with. I'm very glad it seemed successful though, and I own everything from before FFG's turn at bat, so I can use the 5e rules with whatever lore I want.