The End of Rokugan d20

[ivocaliban]

A secret about the fluff. Buy the seriously discounted 2e L5R books. The history and clan write-ups are just as valid as anything in the dual stat books, and far more in depth. Especially the Players book and Game master book. I am very glad I bouight them, just for the fluff.

Absolutely! Great reading, all of it.

 

[Truth Seeker]

While searching the link for the Rokugan d20 preview ninja pdf (to post in the "best ninja" thread), I read two things: 1. They're going to release a 3rd edition of the Legend of the Five Rings RPG, and 2. They're going to stop doing dual supplements - no more d20 Material for Rokugan.

Which is really a great pity, I loved that stuff.

The last supplement will be "The Hidden Emperor", a "historical" book about the abduction of Tutori I by the living darkness.

So, that is what it is all about...oh well, I have to say...the whole D20 series, has been a great collection to buy...no regrets.

 

[ivocaliban]

Now, the fact that most of the heroes in the novels aren't alive any more doesn't bother me too much. After all, it's the players' turn now, they are to become the new heroes.

Perhaps, but the heroes in the novels are the characters from L5R (1120s in Rokugan) and my PCs were heroes in those days, too. The original clan books did such a great job of portraying the daimyos and other imporant NPCS, and that detail seems absent from the d20 material (and the NPCs of the new era).

 

[Storyteller01]

I agree with blue. WotC's addition to the mix had been ...well... a mixed blessing. I'm sure sales went up, but Wotc's 'crunch' style took away a lot of the mysticism inherent in the storyline. I'd like to see what AEG does with this new take.

 

[Dareoon Dalandrove]

I also read all the novels and thought that they were good. So good that I started running my own OA campaing. I changed stuff and reworked things to make a new world but you can definatly tell Rokugan was an insperation. I hated the fact that none of the "main characters" of the Scorpion Clan coup and Clan War were detailed, ie stats. They do have great plot arcs for their world. All the short stories from all the source books and all the ones that they post on the L5R site are in order on a site called Pony Express. I wish that I could get in on a L5R game. From what I hear on the message boards people (the L5R die hards) never liked d20. They didn't think it did justice to their world.

 

[ivocaliban]

From what I hear on the message boards people (the L5R die hards) never liked d20. They didn't think it did justice to their world.

Well, L5R had it's own particular style. It was very easy to learn (at least compared to most RPGs) and play. Most importantly, however, was the elemental (or five rings) aspects of the characters. I love the d20 system and I loved the Rokugan book, but there's something very different about having a character with an Earth 4 as opposed to a Con 18. Going from the flavor-rich style of L5R to the utilitarian nature of d20 is a difficult transition. It's workable and it's great for d20 players to be introduced to the setting, but it does lose something in translation.

The news of a 3rd edition of L5R really excites me. It will be the first non-d20 game/system I've bought in a long, long while. The design diaries on Alderac's homepage are quite impressive.

 

[Dareoon Dalandrove]

I'd also like to see more novels from them.

 

[Dragonhelm]

So, that is what it is all about...oh well, I have to say...the whole D20 series, has been a great collection to buy...no regrets.

Definitely.

My understanding is that they originally went with d20 in order to bring more people in. Yet there wasn't a significant amount of people who got into L5R through d20 (I was one of them.). Seems they already had their fan base, who were just fine with the d10 system.

Personally, I like both systems.

 

[johnsemlak]

I wonder, will Rokugun remain the 'official' setting for Oriental Adventures? Particularly if eventually sometime in the future a 4e (or whatever) version of OA is released.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I wonder, will Rokugun remain the 'official' setting for Oriental Adventures? Particularly if eventually sometime in the future a 4e (or whatever) version of OA is released.

I don't think so. I believe the whole Rokugan deal was much like Dragonlance. Publish the first, main campaign book through WotC, and the rest goes to AEG.