At Gen Con this year, Fantasy Flight Games released the first product in its new Legend of the Five Rings line, the Beginner Game boxed set. Last year, they introduced the Living Card Game (LCG) set in the same world. These products serve as the latest edition of the games created by Alderac Entertainment back in the mid-1990’s.
The Legend of the Five Rings is set in a fantasy version of Asia, with the empire of Rokugan serving as a version of feudal Japan on what amounts to a Chinese mainland. Supernatural elements lurk on the edges, while the main aspects of the game concern themselves with courtly intrigues and the conflicts that arise from pitting the duty toward one’s lord against one’s own desires.
The original version of the role-playing game used a system called “Roll and Keep,” where a player would assemble a pool of dice based on skills and attributes (here called “Rings,” which correspond more with elemental aspects than clearly defined traits), roll the dice, and select out a limited number of these dice to keep for their final total. The number of successes would then determine how well they were able to complete the action.
There was also a D20 version that was little more than a brief revival of the AD&D Oriental Adventures book, but that’s more of a footnote, for our purposes.
For the new system, Fantasy Flight has taken specific cues from their success with their Star Wars line and brought out a set of new, weird dice with abstract symbols. It’s still a “Roll and Keep” system, but rather than having a binary of success or failure, the new system adds in Strife as a mechanic on the dice. This models the inner conflict that a character must face in their lives. In play, the accumulation of Strife feels similar to the use of Strain in the Star Wars games.
As noted, this game sets itself in a very strict, very Japanese milieu. This means that the characters are bound by the concept of “wa” in their daily lives, the concept of maintaining harmony at the expense of one’s own personal interests. In the game, they further define this with the ideas of “giri” and “ninjo,” respectively “duty” and “human feeling.” For the betterment of Rokugan, a samurai must place the needs of the society or their superiors over their own beliefs and impulses.
What this means is that emotional displays would be disruptive to society, and the samurai must be vigilant against expressing such things publicly. This is where the Strife mechanic comes in. On the dice, the Success and Exploding Success can be linked with Strife, meaning that being able to carry through on a task will often come at the expense of an upwelling of emotion. Should this emotion build up too much, without proper relief, the character risks “Unmasking.”
“Unmasking” is a player-controlled mechanic that takes place when the inner turmoil spills over into a visible meltdown. Characters are given specific guidelines toward how their Strife manifests itself, be it a sudden and overdramatic expression of anger or an uncontrollable weeping jag. These outbursts can affect a character’s standing (as expressed by their Glory or Honor scores), but they can also be used to express something that they would otherwise be prohibited from doing by social structures. Because the mechanism of the “Unmasking” is left in the hands of the players, there is a tension in every roll as the potential for Strife accumulates, but it can also be a dramatic method of moving the plot forward.
The most interesting thing about the dice mechanics and the accumulation of Strife is that a player may choose to have their characters fail at a task rather than risk Unmasking. When the results are rolled, the kept dice can come down to a choice between Success with Strife or Failure with grace. Depending on the scene, this can push the characters in different directions as the players choose what the better outcome might be.
The original setting of the Legend of the Five Rings RPG was directly influenced by the events of the card game that preceded it, beginning with the Clan Wars edition that culminated with the assassination of the Emperor of Rokugan. Rather than try to summarize the events of 20 years of plotlines, Fantasy Flight has opted to reset the timeline back to the time prior to the Clan War and the Scorpion Clan Coup, thereby allowing them to revise the history of Rokugan as needed. This will also allow them to release specific RPG products to coincide with big events, such as the death of Hantei XXXVIII.
The politics of Rokugan are tied heavily to the function of the Great Clans of the setting. Each of the clans has its own distinct families, each of which controls certain aspects of life in the Empire. In the game, this translates to a loose sort of class system, less restrictive than Dungeons & Dragons, but born in the same mold. More than anything, it allows characters to specialize in certain areas of interest, based on what background they come from.
The Great Clans are as follows:
- Dragon – Reclusive and scholarly, the Dragon Clan distances itself from the petty aspects of the other clans. Their tattooed monks wield power unlike any others.
- Crab – Among the courtly and mannered clans of Rokugan, the Crab are the least inclined to dabble in the niceties of society, as they have pledged to guard the realm from incursion by demons.
- Unicorn – Formerly exiled, the Unicorn Clan has lately returned, bringing gaijin ways to the Empire. They are accomplished horsemen from their time wandering.
- Scorpion – Viewed as manipulators and spies, the Scorpion Clan serves the Empire by eliminating any internal threat that would seek to disrupt society.
- Phoenix – Cleaving to the ways of the spirit, the Phoenix Clan is known for its Shugenja, the priests and spirit binders of the setting.
- Crane – One of the most Imperial-connected families, the Crane Clan excels as courtiers within the Emperor’s Court, as well as being master Iajutsu Duelists.
- Lion – Proud warriors, the Lion Clan commands the mightiest armies of Rokugan, as their generals innovate new tactics and strategies.
There are an abundance of Minor Clans, powerful families and alliances that nonetheless stand in the shadows of the Great Clans. Of these, there is one that is worth noting, as they later ascended to Great Clan status as the metaplot of the setting moved forward.
- Mantis – The sailors and traders of the setting, the Mantis Clan holds the Islands of Silk and Spice to the east of the mainland of Rokugan.
Reuben Beattie
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- Legend of the Five Rings – Beginner Game - November 15, 2018
