Legend of the 5 Rings - 3rd Edition: Tell me About It

[GoodKingJayIII]

The title says it all. I'm looking to branch out from D&D/d20, and this is an RPG I've had my eye on for quite some time. Is the 3rd edition the most recent version of the game? Can you give me general impressions of the core rules book? How does the system read? How does it play? That kind of thing. I'm curious to hear any and all information. Thanks!

 

[Treebore]

Yes, 3E is the newest version.

Your best source for this kind of feedback is here:

http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=60&sid=5d0794638ac346317f4422900cd998aa

The Core Rulebook REVISED will be out ASAP after GenCon, and likely available at GenCon, so I would wait for it if I were you.

As for the core rule book, I think the rules are poorly explained and make things unnecessarily challenging to understand (the revised version will address this to some extent, just don't know how thoroughly), however I think L5R is an awesome example of how the rules and the setting can come together to make an awesome gaming experience.

I was recently talked into buying the Warhammer RPG because they said the same thing about it. Its in the mail, still, so I have yet to find out if I agree, but it sure sounded like I would.

Anyways, I highly recommend you give L5R a try. If you have as strong an interest as you sound to have, I think you'll come to like it a great deal as well.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

Thanks for the info! Is there a release date for the revised edition yet? All I've seen at this point is "Summer 2008." I guess GenCon is only a few weeks away, so if it's being released at the convention...

 

[Atlatl Jones]

The Core Rulebook REVISED will be out ASAP after GenCon, and likely available at GenCon, so I would wait for it if I were you.

As for the core rule book, I think the rules are poorly explained and make things unnecessarily challenging to understand (the revised version will address this to some extent, just don't know how thoroughly)

Based on what the developers have said about the revised edition, clarifying confusing rule explanations was a primary goal, as well as tweaking some of the more problematic rules.

I think L5R is an awesome example of how the rules and the setting can come together to make an awesome gaming experience.

I quite agree. It's a great game, and the game mechanics fit the setting very well. Combat and duels in L5R feels a lot like the Zatoichi movie that came out a few years ago; lightning fast and extremely deadly.

The "metaplot" of the game is driven by CCG tournaments, and is generally quite awful IMO, but the core setting and the many ideas in it are awesome.

 

[malladin]

I've played L5R since 1st edition and 3rd is definately mechanically the best, if not best explained. Though the CCG metaplot mars the setting somewhat, the style and flavour of the game are outstanding. The comparison to brutal and elegant oriental action, a la Zatoichi or the films of Kurosawa, is well made. Well worth picking up the revised edition by the sounds of it. Another fact is though the suppplements are nice the main book is very complete and you could easily use just it.

 

[Treebore]

Thanks for the info! Is there a release date for the revised edition yet? All I've seen at this point is "Summer 2008." I guess GenCon is only a few weeks away, so if it's being released at the convention...

General release will be as soon as they can manage after GenCon. Masters of Court has been released already, but is not available at Amazon yet. They are very slow to get on Amazon, which is pretty much where I buy all my RPG books.

Master of Courts should be an awesome resource on courtly intrigue in the Rokugan setting, which is just as deadly as sword play, btw, and often loses or saves the lives of thousands with a single word. So in reality, political play is far more deadly. A samurai may kill or save hundreds, maybe thousands, in their career. A Courtier will likely effect millions if they have a long career.

If you get into it, hunt down Creatures of Rokugan, Emerald Empire (getting hard to find on line), Prayers and Treasures (explains and fleshes out Rokugan magic), and probably Masters of Court.

The prior Poster saying you only need the core book is pretty accurate, however these books flesh out dimensions I think make them worth picking up.

However, every book has such great fluff, and adds such great elements, I find them all worth getting.

Still, start with the core, and make your decisions from there.

 

[malladin]

The Third Edition supplements are very high quality. I just picked up Masters of Court and it's excellent. If your planning on picking any GKJ3, which if you pick up the core I think you'll be tempted to, up then Emerald Empire would be my first recommendation, it fleshes out the world and cultures really well. The Masters of.... books are great for their respective clans, Creatures of Rokugan gives you the mechanics for the playable non human races, despite being a metaplot book Four Winds has a lot of mechanics that flesh out the less mainstream schools of the clans. As Treebore says well worth getting the core and taking it from there.

 

[malladin]

oops double post

 

[Donovan Morningfire]

I'll vouch for 3rd edition L5R as well (for what it may be worth), given that my group had a lot of fun playing the game, and that things did seem pretty well thought out if not necessarily well laid-out. Will probably pick up the revised version as well. Helps if the GM has an understanding of Japanese culture but can remember that Rokugan =/ Japan.

As for the CCG storyline, just do what our GM did... set the campaign a few hundred years in the future, when all that nonsense is either historical or folklore/legend, and just wipe away the parts you don't like.

Case in point: http://www.heroes-of-rokugan.com/

It's a 'living campaign' of sorts, and is set in the year 1500, well past events of the CCG with a long period of stability and peace in the time prior to the campaign kick-off.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

As for the CCG storyline...

I don't actually know anyone that plays the CCG, so the metaplot is not too much of a concern.

I'm also not terribly familiar with Japanese culture (well... I'm familiar with what's leaked into America's culture, but I imagine that's pretty superficial). I figured that the book would supply enough of the background and culture that I could run the game without having to worry too much about real world analogies. It sounds like that will be the case, so I'm not too concerned.

Is it a class-based system, point-based, or something else?